{"id":5052,"date":"2024-07-18T22:10:57","date_gmt":"2024-07-19T02:10:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/?page_id=5052"},"modified":"2026-04-13T10:43:51","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T14:43:51","slug":"read-the-changeling-game","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/read-online\/the-changeling-game\/","title":{"rendered":"The Changeling Game"},"content":{"rendered":"<style type=\"text\/css\">\r\np {\r\n  border-bottom: 0;\r\n  border-top: 0;\r\n  display: block;\r\n  padding-bottom: 0;\r\n  padding-top: 0;\r\n}\r\np.indented {\r\n  margin-bottom: 0;\r\n  margin-top: 0;\r\n  text-indent: 1.5em;\r\n}\r\np.indent-drop {\r\n  margin-bottom: 1em;\r\n  margin-top: 0;\r\n  text-indent: 1.5em;\r\n}\r\np.indented-offset {\r\n  margin-bottom: 1em;\r\n  margin-top: 1em;\r\n  text-indent: 1.5em;\r\n}\r\np.block {\r\n  margin-bottom: 1em;\r\n  margin-top: 1em;\r\n  margin-left: 3em;\r\n  margin-right: 3em;\r\n}\r\np.center-block {\r\n  margin-bottom: 1em;\r\n  margin-top: 1em;\r\n  margin-left: 3em;\r\n  margin-right: 3em;\r\n  text-align: center;\r\n}\r\np.letter-block {\r\n  margin-bottom: 0;\r\n  margin-top: 1em;\r\n  margin-left: 3em;\r\n  margin-right: 3em;\r\n}\r\np.indent-block {\r\n  margin-bottom: 1em;\r\n  margin-top: 0;\r\n  margin-left: 3em;\r\n  margin-right: 3em;\r\n  text-indent: 1.5em;\r\n}\r\np.indent-inner-block {\r\n  margin-bottom: 0;\r\n  margin-top: 0;\r\n  margin-left: 3em;\r\n  margin-right: 3em;\r\n  text-indent: 1.5em;\r\n}\r\np.poetry {\r\n  margin-bottom: 1em;\r\n  margin-top: 1em;\r\n  margin-left: 3em;\r\n  margin-right: 3em;\r\n  text-indent: -1.5em;\r\n}\r\np.worklist {\r\n  margin-bottom: 1em;\r\n  margin-top: 1em;\r\n  margin-left: 1.5em;\r\n  text-indent: -1.5em;\r\n}\r\np.right {\r\n  margin-bottom: 1em;\r\n  margin-top: 1em;\r\n  text-align: right;\r\n}\r\np.excerpt {\r\n  margin-top: 1em;\r\n  margin-bottom: 0;\r\n  margin-left: 3em;\r\n  margin-right: 3em;\r\n}\r\np.excerpt-right {\r\n  margin-top: 0;\r\n  margin-bottom: 1em;\r\n  margin-left: 3em;\r\n  margin-right: 3em;\r\n  text-align: right;\r\n}\r\nhr {\r\n  align-content: center;\r\n  width: 50%;\r\n  background: linear-gradient(to right, #4474BE 0%, #243a68 100%);\r\n  height: 3px;\r\n  margin-bottom: 2em;\r\n  margin-top: 2em;\r\n}\r\ntt {\r\n  font: 0.857em menlo, monaco, consolas, monospace;\r\n  margin: auto;\r\n}\r\nh1, h2, h3, h4 {\r\n  text-align: center;\r\n}\r\nh2.chapterhead {\r\n  margin-bottom: 2em;\r\n}\r\nh3.afterword {\r\n  margin-top: 1em;\r\n  margin-bottom: 1em;\r\n  text-decoration: underline;\r\n}\r\nh3.solo {\r\n  margin-top: 1em;\r\n  margin-bottom: 1em;\r\n}\r\nh3.headline {\r\n  margin-top: 1em;\r\n  margin-bottom: 0;\r\n}\r\nh4.headline {\r\n  margin-top: 0;\r\n  margin-bottom: 1em;\r\n}\r\n.nowrap {\r\n  text-indent: 0;\r\n  display: inline-block !important;\r\n}\r\nli {\r\n  padding-left: 1em;\r\n  margin-left: -1em;\r\n  margin-bottom: .5em;\r\n}\r\nli.toc {\r\n  list-style-type: decimal;\r\n}\r\nli.append {\r\n  list-style-type: none;\r\n}\r\nli.append:before {\r\n font-family:  \"Font Awesome 5 Free\";\r\n font-weight: 700;\r\n margin: 0 1.2em 0 -2.2em;\r\n content: \"\\f044\";\r\n}\r\nli.dot {\r\n  list-style-type: disc;\r\n}  \r\na {\r\n  text-decoration: none;\r\n}\r\n.photo\r\n{\r\n  text-align: center;\r\n  margin-top: 1em;\r\n}\r\n.image {\r\n  text-align: center;\r\n  margin-top: 1em;\r\n  margin-bottom: 1em;\r\n}\r\n.poemone {\r\n  margin-left: 3em;\r\n  margin-bottom: 0;\r\n  margin-top: 0;\r\n}\r\n.poemtwo {\r\n  margin-left: 4.5em;\r\n  margin-bottom: 0;\r\n  margin-top: 0;\r\n}\r\n.poemthree {\r\n  margin-left: 12em;\r\n  margin-bottom: 0;\r\n  margin-top: 0;\r\n}<\/style>\r\n\r\n<input type='hidden' bg_collapse_expand='6a34f34d88bbe0048588959' value='6a34f34d88bbe0048588959'><input type='hidden' id='bg-show-more-text-6a34f34d88bbe0048588959' value='WARNING: FICTION WITH AN \u201cX\u201d RATING IS NOT FOR MINORS. In the case of this particular story, there are content warnings for: Adult Situations, Controversial Subject Matter (Suicide, Self-Harm, Sexual Abuse, Mental Illness, Human Experimentation), Harsh Language, Explicit Sexual Content, Graphic Violence \/ Gore, Death, and Murder. If such content is objectionable to you or inappropriate for you, please hit your browser\u2019s Back button now, or close this window or tab. By clicking on this link to access the story, you are declaring that you are 18 years of age or older, and that this content is not illegal in your place of residence.'><input type='hidden' id='bg-show-less-text-6a34f34d88bbe0048588959' value=''><button id='bg-showmore-action-6a34f34d88bbe0048588959' class='bg-showmore-plg-button bg-green-button  '   style=\" color:#D9ECFB;\">WARNING: FICTION WITH AN \u201cX\u201d RATING IS NOT FOR MINORS. In the case of this particular story, there are content warnings for: Adult Situations, Controversial Subject Matter (Suicide, Self-Harm, Sexual Abuse, Mental Illness, Human Experimentation), Harsh Language, Explicit Sexual Content, Graphic Violence \/ Gore, Death, and Murder. If such content is objectionable to you or inappropriate for you, please hit your browser\u2019s Back button now, or close this window or tab. By clicking on this link to access the story, you are declaring that you are 18 years of age or older, and that this content is not illegal in your place of residence.<\/button><div id='bg-showmore-hidden-6a34f34d88bbe0048588959' >\r\n\r\n<div class=\"su-tabs su-tabs-style-default su-tabs-mobile-scroll su-tabs-vertical\" 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\"><\/span><span class=\" tabmoji-pubdata\" data-anchor=\"pubdata\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\"><\/span><span class=\" tabmoji-toc\" data-anchor=\"toc\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\"><\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-1\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">1<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-2\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">2<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-3\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">3<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-4\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">4<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-5\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">5<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-6\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">6<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-7\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">7<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-8\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">8<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-9\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">9<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-10\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">10<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-11\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">11<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-12\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">12<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-13\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">13<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-14\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">14<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-15\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">15<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-16\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">16<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-17\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">17<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-18\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">18<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-19\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">19<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-20\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">20<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-21\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">21<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-22\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">22<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-23\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">23<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-24\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">24<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-25\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">25<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-26\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">26<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-27\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">27<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-28\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">28<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-29\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">29<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-30\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">30<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-31\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">31<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-32\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">32<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-33\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">33<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-34\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">34<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-35\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">35<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-36\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">36<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-37\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">37<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-38\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">38<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-39\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">39<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-40\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">40<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-41\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">41<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-42\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">42<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-43\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">43<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-44\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">44<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-45\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">45<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-46\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">46<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-47\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">47<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-48\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">48<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-49\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">49<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-50\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">50<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-51\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">51<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-52\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">52<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-53\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">53<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-54\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">54<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-55\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">55<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-56\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">56<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-57\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">57<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-58\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">58<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-59\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">59<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-60\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">60<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-61\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">61<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-62\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">62<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-63\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">63<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-64\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">64<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-65\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">65<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-66\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">66<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-67\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">67<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-68\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">68<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-69\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">69<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-70\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">70<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-71\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">71<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-72\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">72<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-73\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">73<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-74\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">74<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-75\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">75<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-76\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">76<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-77\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">77<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-78\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">78<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-79\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">79<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-80\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">80<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-81\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">81<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-82\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">82<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-83\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">83<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-84\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">84<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-85\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">85<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-86\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">86<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-87\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">87<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-88\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">88<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-89\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">89<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-90\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">90<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-91\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">91<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-92\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">92<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-93\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">93<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-94\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">94<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-95\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">95<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-96\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">96<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-97\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">97<\/span><span class=\" tabmoji-note\" data-anchor=\"afterword\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\"><\/span><\/div><div class=\"su-tabs-panes\"><div class=\"su-tabs-pane su-u-clearfix su-u-trim tabmoji-cover\" data-title=\"\">\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\/2024\/07\/The-Changeling-Game.png\" alt=\"Cover art for \u201cThe Changeling Game\u201d by Ardath Rekha\" align=\"center\" style=\"width:100%\" \/>\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=\"\">\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=\"5054\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5054 \">  <h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><b><u>The Changeling Game<\/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=\"5040\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5040 \"><p><b>Synopsis:<\/b> A young woman who successfully escaped her past for five years discovers that time has run out for her. Now it\u2019s back with a vengeance, dragging her back to a period of her life she\u2019s tried to forget.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Riddick has spent a year trying to locate the girl he once knew as Jack B. Badd, and learn why a woman named Kyra had claimed to be her. Now that he's found his Jack, however, the mystery has only deepened.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Two girls, Jack and Kyra, from completely different worlds and lives, crossed paths and ran away together. One disappeared and the other stepped into her place. How and why that happened may be tangled up with the secret of how to finally take control of the Necromongers... or it may open a door to an even darker mystery.<\/p><\/span>\r\n\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><small>This story was formerly called <i>Identity Theft<\/i><\/small><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><b>Category:<\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/browse-by-genre\/#fiction\">Fan Fiction<\/a>\r\n\r\n<p><b>Fandoms:<\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/browse-by-fandom\/#pitch-black\"><i>Pitch Black<\/i> (2000)<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/browse-by-fandom\/#cor\"><i>The Chronicles of Riddick<\/i> (2004)<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/browse-by-fandom\/#df\"><i>The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury<\/i> (2004)<\/a>\r\n\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><p><b>Series:<\/b> 1 of Many \u2019Verses<\/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-x\">X<\/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>Pairings:<\/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\/#controversial-subject-matter\">Controversial Subject Matter<\/a> (Suicide, Self-Harm, Sexual Abuse, Mental Illness, Human Experimentation), <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/the-content-warning-system\/#harsh-language\">Harsh Language<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/the-content-warning-system\/#explicit-sexual-content\">Explicit Sexual Content<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/the-content-warning-system\/#graphic-violence-gore\">Graphic Violence \/ Gore<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/the-content-warning-system\/#death\">Death<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/the-content-warning-system\/#murder\">Murder<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><p><b>Number of Chapters:<\/b> 93 \r\n\r\n<p><b>Net Word Count:<\/b><span id=\"su_tooltip_6a34f34ef24e0_button\" class=\"su-tooltip-button su-tooltip-button-outline-yes\" aria-describedby=\"su_tooltip_6a34f34ef24e0\" 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_6a34f34ef24e0\" 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\">Net word counts exclude title pages, tables of contents, chapter headings, 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_6a34f34ef24e0_arrow\" class=\"su-tooltip-arrow\" style=\"z-index:100;background:linear-gradient(to bottom, #4474BE 0%, #243a68 100%)\" data-popper-arrow><\/span><\/span> 411,335\r\n\r\n<p><b>Total Word Count:<\/b><span id=\"su_tooltip_6a34f34ef2986_button\" class=\"su-tooltip-button su-tooltip-button-outline-yes\" aria-describedby=\"su_tooltip_6a34f34ef2986\" 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_6a34f34ef2986\" 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_6a34f34ef2986_arrow\" class=\"su-tooltip-arrow\" style=\"z-index:100;background:linear-gradient(to bottom, #4474BE 0%, #243a68 100%)\" data-popper-arrow><\/span><\/span> 415,460\r\n\r\n<p><b>Story Length:<\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/browse-by-story-length\/#epic\">Epic<\/a><\/div>\r\n\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><p><b>First Posted:<\/b> September 5, 2004\r\n\r\n<p><b>Last Updated:<\/b> April 27, 2025\r\n\r\n<p><b>Status:<\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/browse-by-status\/#complete\">Complete<\/a><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5041\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5041 \"><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 \u00a9 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\/tt0407658\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><i>The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury<\/i><\/a> are \u00a9 2004 Universal Cartoon Studios; Directed by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm0161285\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Peter Chung<\/a>; Written by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm1269404\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Brett Matthews<\/a>; Story by David Twohy; Produced by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm1074691\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">John Kafka<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm1479531\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jae Y. Moh<\/a>. The characters and events of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0134847\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><i>Pitch Black<\/i><\/a> are \u00a9 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 non-commercial 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 a publicity still of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm0341587\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Rhiana Griffith<\/a>\u2019s performance in the short film \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=YR3m73SIWx8&ab_channel=IFSSSydney\">Julia<\/a>\u201d (\u00a9 2008 <a href=\"https:\/\/lucadsphotography.tumblr.com\/\">Luca DS<\/a>; Written and Directed by Luca DS, International Film School Sydney); a publicity still of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm1111968\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Alexa Davalos<\/a> from <i>The Chronicles of Riddick<\/i>; an eclipse photo by <a href=\"https:\/\/pixabay.com\/users\/astrographix_visuals-2249158\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">AstroGraphix Visuals<\/a>, a cube graphic created by <a href=\"https:\/\/pixabay.com\/users\/magiksolo-29264138\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Majiksolo<\/a>, and nature photography by <a href=\"https:\/\/pixabay.com\/users\/ncsmnd-18882607\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Cosmin Nedelcu<\/a>, all licensed via <a href=\"https:\/\/pixabay.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pixabay<\/a>; a hand photo by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pexels.com\/@cottonbro\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Cottonbro Studio<\/a>, licensed via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pexels.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pexels<\/a>; the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ffonts.net\/Medusa.font#\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Medusa<\/a> font from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ffonts.net\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">FFonts<\/a> and the <a href=\"https:\/\/fontmeme.com\/fonts\/times-new-normal-font\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Times New Normal<\/a> font from <a href=\"https:\/\/fontmeme.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Font Meme<\/a>; and background graphics \u00a9 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. 2025.04.27<\/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=\"\">\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=\"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=\"5204\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5204 \">  <h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">Table of Contents<\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <ol>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-1\">A Short-Lived Flight to Freedom<\/a><br\/>A young woman who successfully escaped her past for five years discovers that time has run out for her. Now it\u2019s back with a vengeance, dragging her back to a period of her life she\u2019s tried to forget.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-2\">Object of Desire<\/a><br\/>The Lord Marshal of the Necromongers has been searching relentlessly for something very special. Now, at last, he\u2019s found it.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-3\">Echoes of an Unwanted Time<\/a><br\/>Audrey\u2019s past has caught up with her with a vengeance. But she doesn\u2019t want to admit to being the girl Riddick once knew&#8288;\u2026 which is a hard thing to do when you\u2019re facing down the most dangerous ghost of your past.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-4\">The Girl Who Wasn\u2019t There<\/a><br\/>After a year of searching for Jack, and agonizing over her fate, Riddick has found her. But she\u2019s not the person he expected to find, at all&#8288;\u2026 has she been transformed into his dream or his nightmare? And how did she become this?<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-5\">Breathing, But Not Living<\/a><br\/>Six years earlier, Jack wakes up to discover that her suicide attempt has failed.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-6\">Back in the Little Leagues?<\/a><br\/>Jack settles in at the psychiatric ward&#8288;\u2026<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-7\">You Meet the Strangest People&#8288;\u2026<\/a><br\/>Jack meets the other girls in her psychiatric ward&#8288;\u2026 including her new roommate&#8288;\u2026 Kyra.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-8\">Queen of the Killer\u2019s Club<\/a><br\/>Jack learns Kyra\u2019s story.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-9\">Never Been to Stockholm<\/a><br\/>Jack\u2019s Big Bad Secret comes out in the worst way.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-10\">Sound and Fury, Signifying Nothing<\/a><br\/>False dreams, ploys, illusions, and false claims&#8288;\u2026 has everything in Jack\u2019s life become a lie?<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-11\">No Escaping Life Alive<\/a><br\/>Sometimes there\u2019s just no hiding from tragedy.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-12\">Darkness With a Heart<\/a><br\/>Jack copes with the aftermath of another loved one\u2019s death&#8288;\u2026 with help from an unexpected friend.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-13\">A Lot Like Me, a Lot Like You<\/a><br\/>Kyra and Jack have a long and interesting heart-to-heart.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-14\">The Dark Side of the Soul<\/a><br\/>Everybody has a dark side. But Jack\u2019s might be more than she can cope with.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-15\">What Hides Beneath the Skin<\/a><br\/>Jack learns just how much she <i>doesn\u2019t<\/i> want to be part of the Killer\u2019s Club&#8288;\u2026 and acquires a new <i>problem.<\/i><\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-16\">Spinning the Tangled Web<\/a><br\/>The line between what you know and what you want to believe can blur very easily, as Jack discovers. Today is a day full of lies and fabrications. But the hazard is that, sometimes, what you want to believe can become real&#8288;\u2026 at least, in your own mind.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-17\">The Player and the Game<\/a><br\/>The lies have been told. Jack\u2019s staff account has been bought, with Riddick\u2019s reputation. Now Jack scrambles to tie off the loose threads she left hanging, and makes a disturbing discovery that forces her to accelerate the timetable for her escape with Kyra.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-18\">The Game, Afoot<\/a><br\/>Richard B. Riddick may be known for his spectacular escapes, but another escape artist is about to make a mark that will puzzle authorities for years. It\u2019s time for Jack and Kyra to break out of the hospital. But has Jack accounted for every possible variable?<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-19\">Forgive Me, Gina<\/a><br\/>Before they can make it off-planet, Jack and Kyra have one more hurdle to clear: a pair of very persistent mercenaries. It\u2019s time to get a little bit crazy.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-20\">Level Five<\/a><br\/>Maybe Jack should just avoid space travel altogether. It really never seems to work out all that well for her. The best laid plans&#8288;\u2026<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-21\">Matador Falling<\/a><br\/>At the best of times, the most dangerous part of space travel is atmospheric re-entry. These are not the best of times&#8288;\u2026<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-22\">The Phantom Tides of New Marrakesh<\/a><br\/>It\u2019s bad enough trying to get around a new town at the best of times. Add in only being halfway in its universe, and having to deal with a very frisky shoreline on the other side of the threshold, and Jack and Kyra have a <i>lot<\/i> to deal with.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-23\">The Ocean of Elsewhere<\/a><br\/>It might take a miracle for Kyra and Jack to survive Tangier Prime\u2019s killer King Tide, or maybe just the craziest idea Jack has ever had in her life.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-24\">Mad Dogs and Englishmen<\/a><br\/>Learning how to predict the phantom tide cycle of their new, temporary, home leads Jack and Kyra to a disturbing discovery. With many other lives at stake, the two roll the dice and reach out to a stranger for help.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-25\">Roses by Other Names<\/a><br\/>The difference between intentions and outcomes may just be catching up with Jack. What do you do when trying to do good does harm?<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-26\">A Momentary Lapse from Madness<\/a><br\/>For a brief span of time, Jack and Kyra settle into a kind of normal existence. For a very relative definition of normal, anyway.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-27\">Paving the Way with Good Intentions<\/a><br\/>The last thing either Jack or Kyra ever expected was for someone to recruit them into a rescue mission, but for some reason, they just can\u2019t say no to El Krim.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-28\">The Claws of the Black Fox<\/a><br\/>Thrown suddenly into a battle zone, Kyra finds her purpose while Jack discovers the great cost of great power.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-29\">The Voices of the Void<\/a><br\/>A dream dies; a nightmare rises.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-30\">As the Ashes Fall from the Sky<\/a><br\/>After the explosion at the New Marrakesh spaceport, a whole world clamors for answers. Aside from the perpetrators of the heinous crime, only Jack and Kyra know how and why it happened.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-31\">Paint It White<\/a><br\/>As Jack and Kyra prepare to join the Rif in saying good-bye to its favorite son, they try to confront the possibility of a future without the help he offered them.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-32\">A Lake Full of Tears<\/a><br\/>An encounter with the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation\u2019s envoy reveals a disturbing clue about the mystery that the Corporation is willing to kill to keep unsolved.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-33\">Child Soldiers at War<\/a><br\/>Backed into a corner, Jack tries her craziest and most dangerous Hail Mary yet.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-34\">An Inward-Facing Fortress<\/a><br\/>Jack and Kyra are offered sanctuary&#8288;\u2026 but is it truly safe, given the forces pursuing them?<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-35\">A Box with Infinite Chambers<\/a><br\/>The beings in the darkness are unusually interested in Jack\u2019s past, even as a new hurdle threatens her plans for her future.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-36\">Pathways to Pandemonium<\/a><br\/>Jack shares more of the crash story with Kyra but can\u2019t manage to be completely honest about what happened, even as she tries to figure out where she will go now.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-37\">Folding a Dali Cross<\/a><br\/>Even the most carefully planned heist will have something unexpected happen.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-38\">The Bell That Must Not Ring<\/a><br\/>Actions have consequences. The consequences of Jack\u2019s actions are bigger and more profound than she knows how to deal with.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-39\">Unquantified, Unseen, Unmasked<\/a><br\/>Even as Jack finds herself concealing ugly truths about the eclipse from Kyra, new and terrible truths are looming that may threaten both girls\u2019 futures.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-40\">Out of the Field of Fire<\/a><br\/>Jack\u2019s plans for her future had already crashed and burned; now Kyra\u2019s have, too. They must now make a difficult choice and begin plotting a new way forward, when an unusual and dangerous opportunity appears&#8288;\u2026 for one of them.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-41\">Monde \u00e0 Deux<\/a><br\/>Even as Jack and Kyra solidify their plans to leave New Marrakesh, and the <i>ait Meziane<\/i> tribe, on journeys that may separate them from each other for years, the bond between them deepens unexpectedly and the tribe begins making moves to welcome them into its inner circles&#8288;\u2026<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-42\">A Growing Stack of Felonies<\/a><br\/>Hunting the hunters, Jack follows Toombs and Logan and learns of an imminent threat to the Meziane family. Taking care of that threat, however, opens up a new can of worms.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-43\">What Cannot Be Unlearned<\/a><br\/>Knowledge is power. Some knowledge comes at a terrible price.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-44\">Any Box Could Be Pandora\u2019s<\/a><br\/>Avoiding a nauseating task, Jack goes on a solo mission. It doesn\u2019t go as planned.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-45\">Infinity Minus One<\/a><br\/>Jack\u2019s impromptu mission has been a success&#8288;\u2026 but there may be repercussions that no one could possibly anticipate&#8288;\u2026 or even imagine.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-46\">Heirs to the Caldera<\/a><br\/>Something has been removed from Jack\u2019s memories, but she has no idea what. Meanwhile, an afternoon with General Toal leads her to some surprising new information about Riddick, Kyra&#8288;\u2026 and herself.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-47\">Princess With a Thousand Enemies<\/a><br\/>As the reality of their impending separation begins to hit home, Kyra is drawn into a dark and terrible place. The way Jack pulls her out of it could have serious repercussions of its own.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-48\">Tizzy the Terrible<\/a><br\/>With their departure creeping closer, Jack and Kyra try to find ways to gift something meaningful to those they must leave behind.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-49\">Sacrifice Play<\/a><br\/>Jack\u2019s interpretation of part of the eclipse story, as she tells it, becomes a bone of contention and spurs a long-overdue in&#173;ter&#173;vention&#8288;\u2026 but will it help <i>enough?<\/i><\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-50\">A Trickster God for a Call Sign<\/a><br\/>As Jack and Kyra seek out parting gifts for the <i>ait Meziane<\/i> tribe, Jack learns just how much of a kindred spirit one member of the family, in particular, is.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-51\">Who We Become in the Darkness<\/a><br\/>Jack finishes telling the story of the eclipse, making\u2014and receiving\u2014a few surprising revelations in the process. But a bigger concern may be just how strongly <i>Kyra<\/i> is engaging with the tale&#8288;\u2026<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-52\">Without Saying Good-Night<\/a><br\/>Good-byes are always hard, but this is the hardest one Jack has ever had to face. One final moment alone can reshape a life.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-53\">Save a Last Sebby Dance<\/a><br\/>Just as Jack and Kyra must prepare to part ways with Sebby, their more-than-a-pet crustacean begins <i>talking<\/i> to them&#8288;\u2026<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-54\">Mommy Ree<\/a><br\/>Jack, Kyra, and the Meziane family have a chance to make First Contact with a brand-new species. The opportunity\u2014and risk\u2014that arises forces Jack to make a decision that may affect a whole planet\u2019s future.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-55\">Forever Your Mermaid<\/a><br\/>Jack bestows some final parting gifts on members of the Meziane family, and encounters a surprising secret about one of them in the process.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-56\">Always Her Sister, Never His<\/a><br\/>It\u2019s time to go. As final farewells are shared, Jack is warned to stay away from Ewan for the next several years&#8288;\u2026 and becomes uneasy about Kyra\u2019s path through the \u2019verse.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-57\">The Last Stand of Jack B. Badd<\/a><br\/>Confronted with the deadliest monster she\u2019s ever found, Jack tries to engineer his destruction&#8288;\u2026 and learns a bitter lesson about her limits in the process.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-58\">No Name but What They Call Her<\/a><br\/>Failure, especially spectacular failure, can rob someone not merely of their confidence but their very sense of <i>self<\/i>. In the wake of disaster, the girl who was once Jack B. Badd struggles to put the pieces back together.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-59\">Acting Captain Marianne<\/a><br\/>As she sheds the names she wore in the past and prepares to take back the name she was born with, the changeling once known as Jack B. Badd takes on a new name and role, and discovers that it\u2019s a good place to hide from <i>herself.<\/i><\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-60\">Schr\u00f6dinger\u2019s Tablecloth<\/a><br\/>Even something as simple as a path home might be forked&#8288;\u2026 and even an innocent query may have unexpected repercussions.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-61\">We Do This So You Will Live<\/a><br\/>Another hole in \u201cMarianne\u2019s\u201d memory appears, under circumstances that threaten to dismantle her masquerade altogether.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-62\">En Garde \u00e0 Vue MilitAIre<\/a><br\/>Her identity compromised and nowhere to run, Audrey MacNamera faces down a new potential threat.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-63\">When a Lie Becomes the Truth<\/a><br\/>Audrey, and Toal\u2019s unexpected proxy, begin to go over exactly what happened on \u201cJack B. Badd\u2019s\u201d run and when, in preparation for obscuring that information from almost everyone.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-64\">The Camouflage of Ordinary Things<\/a><br\/>As her return to her home world draws ever closer, Audrey prepares to adopt the role of an ordinary child who never left her world at all, and struggles to cut ties with a persona that still haunts her.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-65\">Twenty-Seven \u2019Verses Wide<\/a><br\/>Marianne Tepper cedes the stage to Audrey MacNamera as she returns to the world of her birth&#8288;\u2026 and meets her WitSec handler.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-66\">In From the Cold, Into the Cold<\/a><br\/>The final preparations for Audrey MacNamera\u2019s return to the life she left behind are underway&#8288;\u2026 but who, really, is going home?<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-67\">Suspended in the Tangled Web<\/a><br\/>Even as the official story of where Audrey has been for almost two years begins to spread, she must confront the real reasons behind her disappearance.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-68\">Cuckoo, Cowbird, Soldier, Spy<\/a><br\/>While Audrey works to sell the idea that she\u2019s the same girl who left Deckard\u2019s World almost two years before, General Toal changes up the game&#8288;\u2026<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-69\">Black Fox, Gone to Ground<\/a><br\/>Just as Audrey starts to get a somewhat normal rhythm going in her life, disturbing news about Kyra arrives.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-70\">Straight On \u2019Til Morning<\/a><br\/>A little over two years after her reappearance on Deckard\u2019s World, two unexpected tests\u2014and two risky missions\u2014loom in Audrey\u2019s path.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-71\">Just So Fuckin\u2019 High School<\/a><br\/>In the wake of one of the most melodramatic periods of her life, Audrey struggles with the inherent loneliness and isolation of her circumstances.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-72\">The Planet-Killer\u2019s Hit List<\/a><br\/>Audrey tries to cope with a dark and foreboding future as she forecasts a deadly path of destruction, while struggling to keep her own plans from collapsing.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-73\">Hiding the Mermaid<\/a><br\/>A mysterious message from Kyra heralds terrible news from the Helion System&#8288;\u2026 and an existential threat to Audrey that forces her protectors to take desperate measures.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-74\">Run, Audrey, Run<\/a><br\/>A young woman who successfully escaped her past for five years discovers that time has run out for her&#8288;\u2014 hey, does that sound somehow familiar? Now <i>Toombs<\/i> is back with a vengeance&#8288;\u2026<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-75\">Full Circle and Into the Fire<\/a><br\/>Her memories back but in a chaotic jumble, Audrey lures Toombs away from her family&#8288;\u2026 and ends up on a collision course with Riddick himself.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-76\">Wholly Half-Dead<\/a><br\/>Riddick confronts the god of the Necromongers and strikes a dangerous bargain&#8288;\u2026 learning, along the way, how small the galaxy can be sometimes.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-77\">Sleeping Beauty, Sleeper Agent<\/a><br\/>Dame Vaako is eager to learn the truth about Riddick\u2019s young \u201ccaptive.\u201d Audrey, meanwhile, has awakened, and wants to learn a few things herself.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-78\">Empires of the Dead<\/a><br\/>Riddick and Jack finally have a real conversation. Somehow that includes a history lesson and a song. And a lot of dodging around topics neither wants to bring up yet.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-79\">Officer Lola<\/a><br\/>Fourteen years after a cop encountered a young Richard B. Riddick on what nearly was the last night of her life, she finds herself confronted with him again. But is he collecting on what she owes him, or drawing her even deeper into his debt?<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-80\">Not His Entourage<\/a><br\/>For the first time since he took command of the Necromongers, Riddick begins assembling a team. But not actually for his own benefit&#8288;\u2026 at least, not directly.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-81\">Black Fox in a Wolf\u2019s Lair<\/a><br\/>Five years earlier, Kyra\u2019s attempt to go it alone swiftly goes awry when news of the New Casablanca explosion reaches her and, soon after, seeming evidence of General Toal\u2019s perfidy appears.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-82\">The Misnaming of the Rose<\/a><br\/>As Kyra\u2019s choices narrow in the years before, one false move results in an outcome that may be too ghastly for even Riddick to handle. Jack B. Badd to the rescue?<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-83\">Shape, Shell, Soul, Body<\/a><br\/>Riddick believes Kyra\u2019s dead. Audrey is certain that she isn\u2019t. Confronted with the disturbing truth, there may only be one way for the two of them to cope with it.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-84\">The G\u00f6tterd\u00e4mmerung Trolley<\/a><br\/>Even as Riddick grapples with the destiny Shirah wants him to embrace, he must explain to Jack why it\u2019s not time for her to embrace <i>hers<\/i> yet.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-85\">In Battling the Darkness&#8288;\u2026<\/a><br\/>An unexpected offer rocks Jack\u2019s equilibrium to the core. Things don\u2019t get less confusing from there.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-86\">Through an Occluded Mirror<\/a><br\/>Reeling from his faux pas with Jack, Riddick focuses on several mysteries he needs to solve, including the mystery of the woman he met, a year earlier, in Crematoria.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-87\">The Teeth of the Black Fox<\/a><br\/>Tormented beyond the edge of endurance, Kyra, almost two years after parting ways with Jack, snaps and goes on a deadly vengeance quest. It doesn\u2019t end well for her.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-88\">Sharkbait<\/a><br\/>After two years negotiating the perils of the worst Triple-Max Slam in the Federacy, you\u2019d think Kyra would be more prepared for Riddick\u2019s arrival. She sure thought she would be.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-89\">The Better Killer<\/a><br\/>Kyra tries to have her Moment with Riddick when they\u2019re brought together again. It doesn\u2019t go as planned.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-90\">Follow the Lightbringer<\/a><br\/>Kyra struggles with her growing suspicion that she never was Jack, even as Riddick seems to decide it doesn\u2019t matter and invites her to break free with him.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-91\">Pursued by a Scourging Sun<\/a><br\/>Although she swore to herself that she would follow Riddick anywhere, Kyra\u2019s resolve\u2014and her sense of self\u2014is put to the test as their journey takes them through Hell itself.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-92\">The Fall of the Black Fox<\/a><br\/>With no other choices left, Kyra accepts Vaako\u2019s \u201cinvitation\u201d to join the Necromonger Armada&#8288;\u2026 and discovers, too late, who is controlling it and what its true mission is.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-93\">The Eaters of Souls<\/a><br\/>Kyra\u2019s plea for help brings a familiar rescuer to her side, confirming one of Riddick\u2019s worst suspicions in the process.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-94\">The Vengeance God\u2019s Devotee<\/a><br\/>Dame Vaako attempts to get to know Audrey, or perhaps Jack, better. But when she tries to help her find a mysterious book, things spiral out of control. No good deed goes unpunished&#8288;\u2026<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-95\">Across the Threshold and Beyond the Veil<\/a><br\/>Trapped with a reactor core, Jack has only one way to survive: a metamorphosis that may save many more lives than just her own.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-96\">Let No Creature Put Asunder<\/a><br\/>Riddick fights to save Jack\u2019s life, only to find the game turned inexplicably on its head as the newly-\u201chatched\u201d Jack appears.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"toc\"><a href=\"#chapter-97\">The Rise of Dame Riddick<\/a><br\/>Jack B. Badd gets married, and goes to war.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li class=\"append\"><a href=\"#afterword\">Afterword<\/a><br\/>Notes and acknowledgments.<\/li>\r\n\r\n  <\/ol><\/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=\"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=\"1\">\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=\"4065\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4065 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-2\">Chapter 2 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5056\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5056 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\"><b>1.<br\/><u>A Short-Lived Flight to Freedom<\/u><\/b><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The first time Audrey MacNamera had gone on the run, she\u2019d done it in style, sneaking aboard a commercial vessel and waiting until the crew had gone into cryo before programming a vacant chamber for herself. This time, however, she didn\u2019t dare go into cryo. The risks, as she was well aware, were far too high for that. Passenger ships with actual bunks were increasingly rare and ridiculously expensive, but she\u2019d had to shell out the money. At least until she\u2019d put enough distance between herself and Toombs to breathe a little more easily.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Lying on the cramped little bunk she\u2019d been assigned, listening to her roommates snore and wheeze, she shook her head and tried not to think about the comfortable dorm room and one roommate she\u2019d been forced to leave behind. She\u2019d sworn to herself, four years earlier, that she\u2019d never leave Deckard\u2019s World again, but here she was, in headlong flight to God-only-knew where. Thanks to a piece of her past that just wouldn\u2019t stay dead and buried.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">How the hell had Toombs found her? Nobody had managed to track her down, not in more than five years, to the point where she\u2019d finally relaxed and told herself that the past was truly behind her. Had it been waiting, patiently, for her to begin building a life she would regret losing, before it came out to get her? She\u2019d managed to go two whole months without thinking <i>his<\/i> name even <i>once,<\/i> and then this Toombs guy had to show up and spoil everything.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Anger was good, she decided, clenching her fists in the too-soft pillow. Anything was better than the cold, gnawing fear she\u2019d been feeling. She closed her eyes and tried to will herself to sleep, but neither fear nor anger were sleep-inducing emotions.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Maybe when I finally get tired enough,<\/i> she told herself. <i>Maybe when I\u2019m a little more relaxed.<\/i> It had only been half a day since she\u2019d transferred onto this ship and watched the spaceport recede, terrified that at any second they\u2019d be ordered back into port and she\u2019d be escorted off.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She wasn\u2019t fool enough to think that just because she\u2019d gotten off the station, she\u2019d gotten away clean. Toombs would be following. She\u2019d made sure of it; she\u2019d had to. Getting away had been secondary to getting <i>him<\/i> as far away from her family as possible. The bonus round would be shaking him off her trail.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I can do it,<\/i> she thought. It wasn\u2019t like she had no experience at running and hiding. She\u2019d been damn good at it once. But she didn\u2019t remember ever having knots like this in her belly&#8288;\u2026 outside of <i>that<\/i> time.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The memories stirred, and Audrey curled up into a fetal ball trying to fight them back. Even the faintest brush of them on her mind made her feel ill, made her wonder if she could ever make amends for what she\u2019d briefly become, and all the havoc she\u2019d wreaked&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Made her wonder if perhaps she deserved what was happening to her now&#8288;\u2026 or worse.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I\u2019m not gonna get any sleep tonight. Wonder if the galley\u2019s still open.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Uncurling, Audrey swung her legs over the side of the bunk and lowered herself down onto the floor, careful not to make any noise. She hadn\u2019t undressed for bed yet\u2014still too tense to risk changing out of street clothes\u2014and her money belt was still on under her shirt. As she slipped quietly out of the sleeping quarters, she marveled at how quickly and efficiently she\u2019d made her escape. Had <i>that<\/i> part of her been expecting it all along, and been prepared?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The threat to her family\u2014and especially to her younger sister\u2014had paralyzed her almost to the point of catatonia. It had been blind luck that had saved her. Toombs had actually had Audrey in his car, and they were halfway to the spaceport, when a speeder had veered around them and broadsided another car right in front of them. In the ensuing confusion, she\u2019d managed to get clear of Toombs\u2019 car and had run for it. As luck would have it, she was within three blocks of her bank.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d pulled all her money out of her accounts\u2014taking the penalties on her savings, cleaning out her student loans, grabbing <i>everything<\/i>\u2014within minutes, and had warily made her way to the port, the plan forming in her mind. Waiting until the absolute last moment, she\u2019d bought a ticket to the space station, deliberately buying it in her own name so that Toombs would know she\u2019d gone off-planet. Anything to get him as far from her family as fast as possible.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Now she quietly moved down the ship\u2019s darkened halls, contemplating that headlong rush. She\u2019d had just enough time at the station to buy a duffel bag and a few changes of clothing before boarding this flight. Unless Toombs still had the <i>Kublai Khan<\/i> at his disposal, and caught up with her, she had four weeks and fourteen Star Jumps before she hit New Queensland and found another ship to transfer onto. If she could just stay ahead of Toombs long enough, she\u2019d begin to lay a false trail.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That wasn\u2019t her immediate concern, though. For the moment, she was going to try to eat something.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">At the thought of food, her stomach promptly rumbled to life and registered a formal complaint. She hadn\u2019t eaten since breakfast, several hours before&#8288;\u2026 when that slimy son of a bitch had accosted her on the way out of the campus dining hall. Food was definitely in order.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The galley was closed, but there were vending machines. It was hardly a nutritious dinner, but Audrey ended up on a battered lounge couch by one of the starboard viewports, quietly eating peanut butter cups and cheese chips, watching the way the stars swirled past the window. Star Jumping was eerie, and frightened a lot of people who couldn\u2019t deal with the dreamy, directionless feeling it gave them. Most went into cryo if they could help it, making ships like the <i>Santa Clara<\/i> rare. Audrey had never minded the sensation, and especially now it was a relief when compared to the terror of earlier in the day.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She wondered if Toombs would go into cryo as he pursued her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Unbidden, the image floated into her mind. Statues. Living statues, dozens upon dozens of them, men and women locked in tormented poses. She\u2019d only been in the room for a moment, but she\u2019d felt how alive they all were, how desperate and pained and lonely each one was, trapped in a private hell&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey shuddered and forced the memory back. <i>No. I\u2019m not going to think about that. It happened to someone else, not me. Not me.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Not me.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She took a deep breath, and another bite of a peanut butter cup, and watched as the swirling stars slowed and solidified. The Star Jump was ending, having carried the ship several dozen light years along its route. They would be nearing the outer sectors, she thought, an area of space she\u2019d sworn she would never see again. It was a dark area of space, one that strange and disturbing stories frequently emanated from. She knew from experience that many of the stories were entirely too true, despite sounding like the kinds of tales people would tell around a campfire.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Never thought I\u2019d pass this way again.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A small red flicker caught her eye. She leaned forward, almost pressing her forehead to the viewport, to get a closer look. Something, to the aft of the ship&#8288;\u2026 closing on them&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Fuck! <b>Fuck!<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey threw herself back away from the window and scrambled for the intercom, her hand grabbing for the alarm panel. Sirens began to blare as she wrenched it open, a mere second before they were overwhelmed by the roar of impact and the whole ship shuddered. More alarms followed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>He found me. Fuck, he found me!<\/i> She\u2019d heard other stories, of pirates out in this part of space, and a worse darkness some called \u201cthe Hood of the Devil,\u201d but she had no illusions. Toombs would hurt anyone who stood between him and what he wanted.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She scrambled for the door to the hallway. If she was lucky, she could get to one of the escape pods and get clear. Luck, though, obviously wasn\u2019t with her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Gotta try, though&#8288;\u2026 gotta try&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Another blast knocked her off her feet and plunged her into darkness. She shook herself and began crawling along the corridor, trying to reach the emergency door she\u2019d seen. People were screaming somewhere behind her. They were distant but getting louder. Probably others who had thought of the escape pods.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Gotta get out of here&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Light speared through the corridor, and she heard the hard, staccato tread of heavy boots. Funny. Soldiers? Where\u2019d Toombs get soldiers? Her hand touched the frame of the emergency door and she began fumbling for the handle.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHere\u2019s one.\u201d The voice was hard, cold, and unfamiliar.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Rough hands grabbed her and hauled her to her feet. As the emergency lights flickered to life, she found herself face-to-mask with an armored man. His body armor was bizarre, almost medieval. Like the drawings that had circulated a few months ago at an Amnesty Interplanetary meeting&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Fuck. They\u2019re <b>real.<\/b> Oh <b>fuck!<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey realized she was looking at a Necromonger.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She shrank back but he wouldn\u2019t let her loose. Instead, he pushed her down the corridor, his hand clamped hard on the back of her neck. She stumbled, hands out to balance herself, as he marched her into a smoky hallway. Harsh light poured through a gaping, irregular tear along one wall. Her captor forced her to climb through. The short hallway beyond was somehow alien, unlike anything on board the <i>Santa Clara,<\/i> and when she glanced back, she saw that it was clamped onto the ship\u2019s wounded outer hull.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>They didn\u2019t even bother with the airlocks, they just blasted in wherever they wanted&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The strange corridor opened out into a yawning hangar, full of twisted and disturbing shapes. The <i>Santa Clara<\/i>\u2019s other passengers were there, milling about like terrified sheep. Audrey\u2019s captor pushed her roughly toward them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s the last. She\u2019d almost reached the escape pods.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNot an impressive catch,\u201d a new voice commented.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThese ships rarely are.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey looked around her and spotted the new speaker. He would be an imposing man even without armor, and was even more frightening in it. Dark red hair, verging on black, covered the top of his head, in a style that normally she would have found rather laughable, but there was no laughter in her now. He stalked over to the passengers, starting on the far end from her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cConvert. Breeder. Convert. Breeder. Breeder. Useless. Convert&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d As he spoke, the soldiers began to separate the passengers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey took a deep breath and wracked her brain for the little bit of information she\u2019d heard about these people. She\u2019d thought they were just a space legend, but obviously they weren\u2019t. Converts? Breeders? What was this?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cThey move from planet to planet,\u201d Jayven had said, \u201clike locusts. When they show up, they just kill at random for a while until the fight goes out of the population. Then they\u2019ll round up all the survivors. They give \u2019em a choice. Convert to their religion and live, or die then and there. Some they won\u2019t even give the choice to if they think they\u2019re useless&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She couldn\u2019t remember if he\u2019d said anything about \u201cbreeders.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The man was approaching. She swallowed and tried not to shrink before him. No matter what, she was positive that \u201cuseless\u201d would be an automatic death sentence, and she was <i>not<\/i> going to let that label be put on her for <i>anything.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He stopped, studying her and not speaking. She swallowed again, feeling a chill move along her back. He\u2019d barely looked at many of the others, but now the weight of his stare was beating down on her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThis one goes to the Lord Marshal. She fits the profile.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>The <b>who?<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A hand clamped around her arm and pulled her away from the other captives, away from all three groupings of them. She struggled, trying to make a break for the other ship, but it was useless. Panic filled her, the threat of Toombs completely forgotten by this new, incomprehensible menace. She struggled, screaming, her feet and fists flailing wildly. One foot connected hard with the leg of the man restraining her and for a moment she was free. She began to run for the other ship again. She\u2019d get to the escape pods and she\u2019d be safe. All she had to do was&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The floor rushed up to meet her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <hr style=\"align-content: center; width: 50%; background: linear-gradient(to right, #4474BE 0%, #243a68 100%); height: 3px; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;\"\/>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Lord Vaako gazed down at the unconscious young woman and shook his head. She\u2019d turned out to be a bit of a wildcat&#8288;\u2026 which fit the profile as well. He gestured for the guards to gather her up and carry her back to the holding cells. She\u2019d probably be another disappointment for the Lord Marshal, like all the others that had been brought to him, but he intended to serve his new Lord well. The girl fit the profile. Green eyes, slender build, high forehead, pointed chin&#8288;\u2026 all the characteristics the new Master of the Necromongers had specified.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Vaako had no idea what it was that his Lord was searching for, exactly, nor why it was such an obsession with him, but he would obey. The girl would be taken to the <i>Basilica<\/i> and her fate would be decided by Riddick himself.<\/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=\"4065\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4065 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-2\">Chapter 2 \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=\"2\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4000\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4000 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-1\">\u00ab Chapter 1<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4066\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4066 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-3\">Chapter 3 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5059\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5059 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\"><b>2.<br\/><u>Object of Desire<\/u><\/b><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">What did you give to the man who had everything? It was a question that had plagued the loyal subjects of tyrants for millennia.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For the crafty courtier, the answer was easy enough. You found out his heart\u2019s desire and brought it to him. Of course, it never truly was that easy, because anything that could elude the master of an Empire would be almost impossible to acquire. That didn\u2019t stop his more ambitious sycophants from trying, though.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Among the Necromongers\u2019 elite court, it was no exception.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">In the year that had followed the Riddick\u2019s ascension to the throne, his courtiers had studied and speculated relentlessly about him. It took a rare and dangerous man to rule them, and they found the few who succeeded at it utterly fascinating&#8288;\u2026 and this new Lord Marshal was no exception. He was the first, possibly the only one, who didn\u2019t already follow their religion and had no interest in converting to it, which added to his allure. Young, single women of the court groomed themselves, vying for his attention, each dreaming that she would be the one to transfix him with love and show him the value of their beliefs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And ambitious schemers, like Dame Vaako, dreamed of the day the Riddick could be deposed and replaced by a strong True Believer, like her husband.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">In the year that he\u2019d ruled, only one of his rare edicts had been particularly memorable. It related to the fate of unbelievers, and failure to obey it was punishable by death. All young women in their late teens and early twenties, who fit a specific physical description, were to be brought, unharmed, to him. All Necromongers had been required to memorize those attributes and recite them back before every raid. The woman he apparently sought was Caucasian, of medium height or taller with a slender build, large green eyes, a high forehead, and a pointed chin. The rules regarding her treatment were iron-clad and more than one Necromonger, who had inadvertently broken them, had died horribly for doing so.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">When pressed for an explanation, however, the Lord Marshal had refused to elaborate. He\u2019d examined every young woman brought before him, as though searching for something\u2014or, Dame Vaako supposed, some<i>one<\/i>\u2014and then dismissing them with the same look of disappointed longing every time. Whatever he sought remained elusive.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Dame Vaako wondered what the reward might be, for the one who brought him his heart\u2019s desire at last.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <hr style=\"align-content: center; width: 50%; background: linear-gradient(to right, #4474BE 0%, #243a68 100%); height: 3px; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;\"\/>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He could feel her eyes on him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick knew everybody in the damn <i>Basilica<\/i> was watching him, <i>always<\/i> watched him, but for some reason he was especially aware of Dame Vaako\u2019s eyes. When she watched him, he felt like she was measuring him for a coffin, and he knew he wasn\u2019t wrong.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He\u2019d seen a lame-ass movie one time, long ago, in which some idiot had screamed \u201cI\u2019m king of the world!\u201d from the prow of an ancient ship, only to have it sink out from under him a few days later. The sucker had ended up as fish food. He thought of that often, now, reminding himself again and again that the power was an illusion. The control was an illusion. He was the Lord Marshal of the Necromongers, practically the ruler of the universe for all intents and purposes, and that put him squarely in <i>everybody\u2019s<\/i> bullseye. He\u2019d already dodged half a dozen assassination attempts in the last year, and only one of those had come from outside of the Court.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It made him think longingly of the icy caverns he\u2019d left behind on UV-6. In comparison to this new life of his, that world was warm and gentle and hazard-free. It wasn\u2019t even as lonely as this place. His brief attempts to connect with these people, to try to understand their ways, had only left him craving solitude more than ever.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He glanced over at Dame Vaako and gave her his best mocking smile, the one that implied he\u2019d be perfectly happy to take her for a test-ride while her husband was away. Her expression chilled and she turned away from him, engaging some of the other Ladies of the court in conversation. Pose, pose, pose. He could tell just from watching them that none of the women liked each other. Sometimes he thought he could hear the distant sound of cats howling and spitting when they did their little \u201ccivilized\u201d dance.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He knew, even if she didn\u2019t yet, that her husband was almost back at the <i>Basilica<\/i> now. In fact, his ship, and the other two groups of marauders he\u2019d sent out, should be on their final approaches. More importantly, all three of them were bringing him \u201ccandidates\u201d to review.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He would have to steel himself for another round of disappointments. In the last year, dozens of young women had been brought before him, one or two of them with faces heartbreakingly similar to the one he sought, but his true quarry\u2014the girl he had once known as \u201cJack\u201d\u2014had never appeared.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Perhaps Kyra had spoken the truth, he thought with a hint of despair. Perhaps the real Jack <i>was<\/i> dead.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A year of reflection hadn\u2019t helped him figure out why Kyra had tried to pretend to be the girl from his past. He\u2019d played along with her masquerade, but she hadn\u2019t fooled him for a second. She hadn\u2019t looked at <i>all<\/i> like the Jack he remembered, for one thing. Her hair had been too dark, her nose too snub, her chin too small and the wrong shape, and her eyes had belonged to a stranger. And above all else, her <i>scent<\/i> had been wrong. Her attempt to pretend to be Jack would have been laughable, were it not for the fact that she seemed to <i>truly believe she was.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d known things that only Jack could know, though, which told him that at the very least, she\u2019d crossed paths with the girl he sought. He\u2019d decided to play along with her charade, hoping that in time she would lead him to his real quarry. But whatever she knew about the real Jack\u2019s whereabouts had died with her&#8288;\u2026 in that exact room, inches from his throne.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The entire time, she hadn\u2019t faltered once from her assertions. To the end, she\u2019d continued insisting that <i>she<\/i> was the girl from the <i>Hunter-Gratzner<\/i> crash, and it had left him at a loss as to how to proceed. He couldn\u2019t backtrack to Helion Prime and trace Jack\u2019s movements from there; it had been reduced to a smoldering cinder, and Abu al-Walid\u2014who seemingly had been truly fooled into believing Kyra was Jack\u2014was a pile of charred bones somewhere in its ruins. The trail was cold.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And that wispy bitch Aereon, for all her grandiose claims to prophetic abilities, didn\u2019t know <i>shit.<\/i> Apparently, her clairvoyance was completely inadequate for telling him where one teenage girl had gone.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">At times he feared that Jack really <i>was<\/i> dead, and the thought made him shudder a little. The games he\u2019d tried to play, when he\u2019d first \u201cascended\u201d to leadership of the Necromongers, had marked him indelibly. He tried not to think about it, but he knew <i>exactly<\/i> why he had begun waking up in the night, his sheets soaked with sweat, Jack\u2019s pleading eyes floating before him in the darkness. It happened every night now.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For five years he\u2019d been spared those dreams, believing her safe and happy on Helion Prime, until he\u2019d learned otherwise and the nightmares had begun. Sometimes, in his dreams, she <i>was<\/i> the angry, vengeful, homicidal creature he\u2019d found on Crematoria, and those were the worst dreams of all. He had <i>them<\/i> any time he thought of rescinding his orders and ceasing the parade of lookalike prisoners who filed past him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The orders stood. He couldn\u2019t stop, until he either found Jack or learned her fate. His obsession, his dreams, would tear at him and drive him mad if he tried.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick was jarred from his reverie by the sound of a woman\u2019s wail. Lifting his head, he watched as his wayfaring soldiers entered the throne room and approached. They were dragging three women into the room with them, and as always, he had to quell the surge of hope that tried to move through him. In all likelihood, this would prove as fruitless as every other review had&#8288;\u2026 but he had to know.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He waited patiently, not looking at the women yet, as they were brought before the dais and made to kneel. After a moment he rose from his throne and stepped down, moving to stand beside the first of the trio. The woman had sunk to the floor, sobbing. She had been the source of the wail he\u2019d first heard, and he wanted to get her over with fast. She wouldn\u2019t be Jack. <i>She<\/i> hadn\u2019t been a hysteric, and the only time he\u2019d ever seen her cry, she\u2019d done so silently. Lifting the woman\u2019s head, he only needed the barest glance before he shook his head and gestured for her to be taken away for conversion.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He moved to the second candidate, the first forgotten, and lifted her face to meet his.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">This one was extremely beautiful, reminding him a little of Carolyn Fry. The soldiers would fight over her, he knew, but he was no longer interested. Again, he shook his head and moved on to the third, certain that disappointment awaited him there, as well.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Lord Vaako himself was making her kneel, her head lowered. He studied the crown of light, straight hair on top of her head for a moment, trying to decide if it was dark blonde or light brown. Reaching down, he grasped her chin, feeling how it curved into an elfin point in his palm. Would Jack\u2019s feel like this? He\u2019d never had much physical contact with her during their sojourn together. Steeling himself for the inevitable disappointment, he made her lift her face, pushing back the sweat-drenched bangs that almost obscured her eyes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He saw her high forehead first, with a slightly irregular hairline that stirred an eerie sense of recognition within him. Dark brows, fine and slightly arched, twitched, and then&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>My God.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He knew that elegant nose, those high cheekbones, the curve of those lips&#8288;\u2026 he knew this face as well as he knew his own. Dark-fringed eyes slowly lifted to meet his, green irises fixing on him&#8288;\u2026 and the eyes widened in <i>recognition.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He knew her&#8288;\u2026 and more importantly, <i>she<\/i> knew <i>him!<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Drawing the trembling girl to her feet, he looked over at Lord Vaako, and felt a new smile curl over his lips.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cLooks like you found her for me. Good work.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Silence fell in the room as everyone digested his announcement. Riddick turned his gaze back on Jack, who seemed completely stunned. Her lips worked but no sound emerged.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He wanted to ask her a thousand questions about where she\u2019d gone, but his duties as Lord Marshal were not yet done for the day. There was still a great deal of work left for him to do before he could turn his attention to her. His eyes found Lord Vaako again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTake her to my quarters. I\u2019ll deal with her after we\u2019re done here.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack seemed to come out of her stupor as Vaako began to lead her away, but her struggles were half-hearted, as though she didn\u2019t even know where she wanted to go if she managed to get free. Riddick found that he was still smiling as he returned to his throne. One courtier met his eyes and shrank back, blanching.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Feeling triumphant, Riddick got down to business.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <hr style=\"align-content: center; width: 50%; background: linear-gradient(to right, #4474BE 0%, #243a68 100%); height: 3px; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;\"\/>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Hours passed before Riddick could adjourn the court and reach his quarters, and he found himself wondering just how much of the rooms Jack would have explored and pried her way through by then. The moment he opened his door, though, he had his answer.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">None. She hadn\u2019t touched a thing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was in the corner of his sitting room, rocking on the floor. Her legs were pulled tight against her body, arms wrapped around them, her head resting on her knees. He\u2019d seen her do that once before, when they\u2019d hidden in the cargo container and made plans after Hassan\u2019s death, six years earlier.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Why was she afraid? Didn\u2019t she realize that she was safe at last?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her head jerked up as he closed the door and locked it, and she watched him approach her. She didn\u2019t struggle or protest when he helped her to her feet, but he could feel the tremor in her limbs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Why is she afraid? It <b>is<\/b> her, isn\u2019t it?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He suddenly wasn\u2019t sure.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She stayed still as he moved to stand behind her and leaned in, lifting her hair from her throat so he could put his nose to her skin. Her scent came to him, filled his awareness. It wasn\u2019t quite the same as he remembered. There were hints of perfumed soap and shampoo, and none of the grime that had clung to her on a distant, desolate world. But beneath that, the scent of Jack herself was there&#8288;\u2026 it was her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And she smelled of fear. Powerful fear. Fear that had not abated\u2014but instead had increased\u2014since their encounter in the throne room.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Moving around in front of her again, Riddick felt a heavy, cold knot form in his stomach. He realized, suddenly, what Jack was afraid of. He could see it in her eyes, in the tremor of her lip&#8288;\u2026 and he could smell it all over her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Him. Jack was terrified&#8288;\u2026 of <i>him!<\/i><\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4000\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4000 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-1\">\u00ab Chapter 1<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4066\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4066 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-3\">Chapter 3 \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=\"3\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4001\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4001 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-2\">\u00ab Chapter 2<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4067\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4067 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-4\">Chapter 4 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5063\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5063 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\"><b>3.<br\/><u>Echoes of an Unwanted Time<\/u><\/b><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>This can\u2019t be happening to me.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey stayed as still as she could, eyes on the imposing figure before her. Of all the people to run into, in the whole galaxy, she\u2019d had to come face to face with Richard B. Riddick.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Worse yet, he was the ruler of the Necromongers, making him the Ultimate Bogey-Man. And worst of all, not only had he recognized her&#8288;\u2026 he\u2019d been <i>looking<\/i> for her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Now here she was, in his opulent private quarters, waiting to find out what he wanted and trying not to let the horror she felt show through. She couldn\u2019t believe that it had been less than a week since she\u2019d stepped out of her university dining hall, an ordinary college student whose worst problem was whether she could wheedle her academic advisor into approving her course load. She\u2019d been completely normal, the sort of person that things like this did <i>not<\/i> happen to&#8288;\u2026 and that was the way she\u2019d wanted it. She\u2019d loved that life with a passion&#8288;\u2026 and now it was gone.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Now the nightmare was back. The darkness had swept her up and swallowed her whole.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>This can\u2019t be happening. This can\u2019t be happening!<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Paris had babbled those exact words, she suddenly realized, as he\u2019d crawled across the desert floor seconds before being torn to pieces. She shuddered with the memory. His death had been her fault. It was one of the memories she\u2019d tried to scour out of her brain and put behind her forever, but now it was back. Now <i>all<\/i> of it was back.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019ve been looking for you, Jack.\u201d The voice was a low purr. Once it had haunted her dreams.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m not&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d She stopped, wondering exactly what she was trying to deny.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNot what?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She swallowed and took the plunge. \u201cMy name is Audrey. Audrey MacNamera. I\u2019m not Jack. Jack is&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDo <i>not<\/i> say that Jack is dead!\u201d His vehement snarl startled her. The sudden grip of his hands on her shoulders was painfully tight. \u201cDon\u2019t you <i>fuckin\u2019<\/i> dare!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey closed her eyes and took another deep breath, shaking her head. If he wanted Jack, she was in terrible trouble, because those days were long past for her. She\u2019d driven that darkness out of herself, and she\u2019d die before letting it back in.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d she whispered, trying to draw back from his tight grasp. \u201cI\u2019m not who you\u2019re looking for.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou know me,\u201d he growled. \u201cDon\u2019t fuck with me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She made her eyes open and meet his. The anger on his face was expected, but the hurt and confusion took her by surprise. It speared through her, reminding her of the fictional Riddick that she\u2019d idolized and pined after. But that man couldn\u2019t truly exist\u2014couldn\u2019t ever have existed\u2014not in the leader of the darkest, most soulless army to ever cross the stars.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m not,\u201d she answered him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNot what?\u201d He released her arms but stepped closer, invading the little bit of space she had left. She forced herself to stand her ground and not crumble before him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m not fucking with you. But I\u2019m not her. She\u2019s gone.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A muscle jumped in Riddick\u2019s cheek, and he clenched his jaw tight for a moment. He looked ready to do violence, suddenly. <i>This is it. Now he\u2019ll show me.<\/i> Now at last she\u2019d see him without his masks.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShe\u2019s right in front of me,\u201d he hissed, not touching her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey shook her head again, trying not to feel his pull, struggling not to give in to it. She\u2019d forgotten how magnetic he could be, how much charisma he had. How long had he led the Necromonger army, she wondered. Had he come here straight from dropping her and Imam off on Helion Prime? If Jayven\u2019s stories were to be believed, these people had been committing genocide for decades. How long had he been in on it?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">When she\u2019d first seen him, his violent nature had been alluring. She\u2019d known he was a killer, and dangerous, but it had seemed&#8288;\u2026 so vague and distant and unreal. Killing was like movie deaths, she\u2019d thought at the time. The corpses that littered his backtrail hadn\u2019t <i>really<\/i> been real. Even the first few deaths on that desolate planet hadn\u2019t struck at her too hard&#8288;\u2026 one man\u2019s name she hadn\u2019t even known.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It had helped that, with the possible exception of Johns, none of the deaths on the planet had been Riddick\u2019s doing. He\u2019d seemed almost like a <i>tame<\/i> beast&#8288;\u2026 more ferocious <i>looking<\/i> than he truly <i>was.<\/i> She still hadn\u2019t understood what it meant to take a life.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Learning it, firsthand, had changed everything for her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The man before her was <i>not<\/i> heroic. He was <i>not<\/i> a romantic figure. Anyone who could kill over and over, as easily as he did, was a monster. He\u2019d tried to make her over in his image and she\u2019d almost succumbed to the seduction, but she\u2019d learned the truth. She\u2019d almost learned it too late.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her silence must have infuriated Riddick, because his voice was even more heated and passionate when he spoke again. \u201cI already got fed that line of shit by Kyra, so don\u2019t you start up with the same&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u2026&#8288;The hell?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cKyra?\u201d How the hell had she <i>found<\/i> him?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick nodded, the anger in his face receding to reveal&#8288;\u2026 <i>confusion.<\/i> He clenched his jaw again and took a deep breath. When he finally spoke, his voice was gentler, subdued. \u201cI want to know what happened to you, Jack.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Pain moved through her chest at the sound of <i>that<\/i> voice saying <i>that<\/i> name. He\u2019d rarely ever said it at all, the entire time they\u2019d traveled together, at least where she could hear. \u201cPlease don\u2019t call me that.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cKyra wanted me to call her Kyra, and I went along with her because she wasn\u2019t you anyway. But you <i>are<\/i> Jack, and I <i>will<\/i> call you that. Unless you want to give me a good reason not to.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey held up her hand in confusion of her own. What he\u2019d just said made no sense to her. Kyra had what?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cKyra told you she was me?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick nodded, snorting derisively. \u201cAs if I couldn\u2019t spot the difference. A brain-dead <i>blind<\/i> man could tell you two apart.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>My God, she went even crazier than I thought.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There was a chair to her left. Without thinking, Audrey walked over to it and sat down. She needed to breathe. She needed some kind of massive reality check. Closing her eyes, she counted slowly to ten, begging every power in the universe for the familiar sights of her dorm room or the student lounge when she opened them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick\u2019s alien, opulent rooms were still there when she looked again, dimly lit and luxuriously appointed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI keep hoping I\u2019m gonna wake up,\u201d she muttered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWake up where?\u201d Riddick stepped in front of her again, crouching down so that his eerie, mercurial eyes were level with hers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She forced herself not to flinch back. He was as relentless as she remembered. Answering him was safer than pissing him off. \u201cHome. Back on Deckard\u2019s World.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">His hand reached out and tugged at the hem of her Deckard Tech U sweatshirt. \u201cYou go to school there?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She nodded and watched bafflement cross his face. It occurred to her that her life, with its earthy, prosaic concerns, was undoubtedly as alien to him as his way of life was to her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m in my sophomore year,\u201d she told him after a moment, needing to fill the silence. She\u2019d forgotten how easily he\u2019d been able to make her talk. \u201cIn Sociology.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSociology?\u201d He looked as though he was suppressing more scornful laughter&#8288;\u2026 now aimed at <i>her.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I always knew I was just a joke to him.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Anger filled her. She\u2019d finally made a decent life for herself, and not only had this bastard taken it from her, he was <i>mocking<\/i> it!<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, Sociology,\u201d she jeered back at him. \u201cYou know, the study of how governments and societies work on all the different worlds before <i>your army<\/i> comes along and blows them to bits!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick rocked back as if she\u2019d slapped him, rage suffusing his face and dumping ice all over <i>her<\/i> anger. He rose slowly, staring down at her, fists clenched&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;and backed away from her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It left Audrey speechless, both the shivery knowledge that he had wanted to strike her, and the realization that he\u2019d forced himself to disengage before he did. She watched as he stalked over to his ornate desk and began pulling off his ceremonial armor.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDo you know how the Necromongers became <i>my army?\u201d<\/i> he growled after a moment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo,\u201d she managed. \u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI was looking for <i>you<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That startled her, spearing through the carefully crafted armor she\u2019d built around herself. He\u2019d cared about what had happened to her? That wasn\u2019t possible. This was the same man who had abandoned her without a word, without even a good-bye. His indifference to her had been a fundamental part of what she had <i>known.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cLast year the Holy Man tried to forcibly recruit me into defending his planet from the Necromongers. He sent <i>mercs<\/i> after me. When I got to New Mecca, you were gone, and he fed me some shit about how you were in prison for murder.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He turned and frowned at her. \u201cWhat I said. He thought you were doing time in Crematoria.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey blinked and shuddered. Crematoria was considered one of the worst outworld prisons in existence, a place that was routinely found in violation of the Federacy Human Rights Charter. Attempts to have it shut down, however, had repeatedly failed, although new petitions circulated every year and Audrey herself had been signing them ever since she reached her majority.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe said you never forgave me for leaving you when you needed me most,\u201d Riddick continued.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey felt another spear go through her. She felt the sting of tears in her eyes, her nose stinging too.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI forgave you,\u201d she managed after a moment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It had taken her a while to forgive him, and that forgiveness had only come when she\u2019d reconciled herself to how little she\u2014or any other person besides himself\u2014had meant to him. It was wrong to blame or hate a person for things they were incapable of doing, she\u2019d told herself. She\u2019d <i>had<\/i> to forgive Riddick for lacking the capacity to care about her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Now, though, he was claiming that he <i>had<\/i> cared.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI didn\u2019t abandon you,\u201d he growled at her. \u201cI thought you were safe with the Holy Man, and it was better for you if I wasn\u2019t around. And I came back, but you were gone&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019d been gone for more than <i>four years!\u201d<\/i> The words exploded out of her before she could stop them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhy\u2019d he think you were in <i>slam?\u201d<\/i> Riddick shouted back at her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI don\u2019t <i>know!<\/i> I don\u2019t have any idea how he could have gotten that kind of crazy&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Crazy.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey looked up at Riddick, feeling the pieces falling together for her. \u201cIt was Kyra, wasn\u2019t it? <i>She<\/i> was in Crematoria.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick nodded, his lips compressed into a tight line. \u201cSeemed pretty <i>fuckin\u2019<\/i> certain she was you, too. Who the hell was she, Jack?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For a moment Audrey almost protested the name again, but she let it lie. If all the darkness she\u2019d turned her back on was being dragged right back out, she probably couldn\u2019t win on that name, either. \u201cShe was my roommate in the psychiatric ward.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick went completely still, staring at her. Had she actually rendered him speechless? Finally, his lips moved. \u201cWhen were you in a psychiatric ward, Jack?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She sighed and closed her eyes, pushing the sleeves of her sweatshirt up her arms. \u201cThree months after you left me in New Mecca, I tried to kill myself. Almost succeeded, too.\u201d She held her hands out, palms up.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She heard Riddick move closer, his clothing whispering as he crouched down before her again. He took her hands in his and she felt him lean closer. His thumbs ran over the old scars that ran from her wrists up her arms, halfway to her elbows. Time had faded them somewhat, but nobody who really looked at them\u2014as he was looking at them now\u2014could mistake their meaning.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It had been three months since she\u2019d awakened to find herself in the al-Walid guest room in New Mecca, with Riddick simply gone. The darkness had swallowed her and had almost defeated her. She\u2019d decided that it was time to forfeit the battle. Filling the guest bathtub with hot water and stealing one of \u201cUncle Abu\u2019s\u201d straight razors, she\u2019d climbed in and cut her wrists under the water. It hadn\u2019t even hurt. She\u2019d watched with fascination as ribbons of scarlet spooled out in the water, slowly turning it pink, then red. It had been her last memory until she woke up in the hospital&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;and she\u2019d never seen the al-Walid house again.<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4001\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4001 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-2\">\u00ab Chapter 2<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4067\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4067 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-4\">Chapter 4 \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=\"4\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4002\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4002 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-3\">\u00ab Chapter 3<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4068\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4068 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-5\">Chapter 5 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5066\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5066 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\"><b>4.<br\/><u>The Girl Who Wasn\u2019t There<\/u><\/b><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick felt as though his guts had been torn open.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">In all his imaginings of what it would be like to find Jack, he\u2019d visualized almost everything. He\u2019d pictured what it would be like if she\u2019d become every bit as insane as Kyra. He\u2019d imagined her as an aristocratic lady, a street urchin, even a merc like that Logan woman. He\u2019d truly thought that he\u2019d conceived of every possibility.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But the one thing that he\u2019d never conceived of, that had never occurred to him&#8288;\u2026 was that she wouldn\u2019t <i>like<\/i> him anymore. The admiration and affection in her eyes, which had captivated him despite his best efforts to resist, was something he\u2019d thought would somehow always be there. It had been one of the things he\u2019d looked forward to seeing again when they were reunited. She\u2019d been the one person in the universe who had thought he was a good man, and he\u2019d needed that acceptance more than he\u2019d ever realized.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Now he knew exactly how much he\u2019d needed it, how much he\u2019d <i>counted<\/i> on it. Now that it was lost to him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">In its own way, it was as bad an outcome as if she\u2019d gone as mad as Kyra.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He studied her closely, forcing himself to set aside <i>all<\/i> his expectations and see what was actually in front of him. A strange feeling moved through him as he realized how well she\u2019d grown up, perhaps better than he\u2019d ever hoped.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The young woman before him was beautiful. The marks of strain on her face were clearly new to her and not habitual, the sort that would vanish with a good night\u2019s sleep and a hearty meal or two. She was slim, but he could feel good muscle tone on her arms that spoke of health and vitality. Her skin was smooth, flawless, and healthy, her shoulder-length hair glossy if a bit tousled by the battle she\u2019d been caught up in. Her hands in his were slender and unworked, with long, shapely fingers tipped by well-groomed nails. One finger on her right hand had a slight writing callus on its side, and she wore what appeared to be a class ring. Other than small gold studs in her ears, she wore no other jewelry.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her clothes were both casual and elegant, jeans and a college sweatshirt with running shoes, all in good repair, aside from some dust from the raid and what looked like grass-stains on her sleeves. She looked like an Everywoman, he thought, one of thousands\u2014millions\u2014of wholesome college girls who had been strolling campuses around the galaxy for centuries, moving from class to class, dorm to dining hall. If he could have chosen a life and a future for the feisty girl he\u2019d met in the wreckage of the <i>Hunter-Gratzner,<\/i> he thought he couldn\u2019t have found a better one than the one she\u2019d apparently built for herself.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">What was she doing away from it? How had this prosperous, vivacious college girl ended up a shivering captive of the <i>Basilica<\/i>? And why did she fear and dislike him?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTell me what happened to you,\u201d he commanded, and sadness crossed her beautiful features. His hand rose to stroke her cheek before he could stop it, and he watched the sadness turn into confusion. Did she really believe he was that heartless? Didn\u2019t she remember how hard he\u2019d fought to keep her safe? Didn\u2019t she know that he\u2019d been unable to stop himself from doing so?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She lowered her head, looking down at her hands in his. \u201cI&#8288;\u2026 couldn\u2019t handle it all. Everything that had happened&#8288;\u2026 what I\u2019d become&#8288;\u2026 I hated it. I hated myself.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhy?\u201d He didn\u2019t understand that. Jack had been one of the most compassionate people he\u2019d ever met, and had awakened an answering compassion within himself; what was there to hate?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBecause I was a killer. People died because of me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Well, fuck.<\/i> Now he understood her reasoning, better than he wanted to. She\u2019d sought, after the crash, to emulate him, and had paid a terrible price for it. And if she\u2019d blamed and hated herself for what had happened as a result, enough to try to end her life, how much more must she have blamed and hated him?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He couldn\u2019t even argue with her. She was, unfortunately, right in her statement. It had been her blood-scent that the creatures had been drawn to, years before, during that desperate run through the desert. At the very least, Paris had died because of an attack the creatures had launched against her. Nor could he contradict her assertion that she was a killer, because her finger had been on the trigger of the gun that had blown Antonia Chillingsworth\u2019s head apart.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The fact that he had never held any of those things against her was irrelevant. <i>She<\/i> had held them against <i>herself.<\/i> Imam had been wrong, he realized. She\u2019d never been in any danger of becoming like him. Faced with what it truly meant to be what he was, she\u2019d spurned it, but had done so almost too late to save herself.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Could he have helped her if he\u2019d stayed? Were there things he could have told her, said to her, as someone who knew what it was like to take a life, that might have helped her reconcile herself to what had happened instead of taking a razor to her wrists?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I really <b>did<\/b> abandon her when she needed me the most,<\/i> he thought, feeling sick to his stomach. The Holy Man had probably been too busy trying to keep her from following his path to notice that she was, in fact, wallowing in guilt and self-loathing instead. He had probably worsened things without meaning to.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick could see it in his mind, the oblivious cleric warning her of how her soul was endangered by the things she\u2019d done, not even realizing that she was <i>way<\/i> ahead of him in terms of recriminations and what she\u2019d <i>needed<\/i> to hear was that she was still a good person. She must have found that good person within her again, but apparently she\u2019d only been able to do it by repudiating that entire time and everything that had been part of it&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;including him. Especially him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou were never a bad person, Jack.\u201d It might be too late for him to counter those old beliefs and assumptions, but maybe he could reach her. \u201cYou weren\u2019t out to hurt anybody.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She shook her head. \u201cYes I was. When I picked up that gun, I wanted her dead.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Here was an opportunity to counter her, and he pressed it. \u201cAnd why was that, Jack? What was she doing? You remember, don\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Anxiety twisted Jack\u2019s face before him. She shook her head again. \u201cIt was wrong, what I did, I was wrong&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWas she unarmed?\u201d he pushed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo, but&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWas <i>she<\/i> trying to kill someone? Maybe someone you cared about? Maybe someone you <i>loved?\u201d<\/i> He leaned forward. <i>Come on, Jack, admit it.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack lurched backward, the chair crashing to the floor and almost tripping her as she stumbled away from him. \u201cI can\u2019t talk about this. I can\u2019t&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou have to, Jack,\u201d he countered, following her. \u201cRemember what happened. I opened the escape shuttle hatch, and she was standing there. She had a gun in her hand, and she fired&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The high-pitched shriek that emerged from Jack\u2019s mouth didn\u2019t sound human, but more like the sound of a wounded infant animal. Riddick watched in horror as she folded in on herself. Her hands were over her ears, her arms coming forward to cover her face from view. As he watched, she dropped to her knees and then fell onto her side, curling into a tiny, tight, fetal ball. Finally, the wail tapered off and she was silent, shivering.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Oh, <b>fuck.<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJack?\u201d He crouched down beside her and touched her back as gently as he could manage. She didn\u2019t answer.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He put his hand on her shoulder and gave her a gentle shake. The only answer was a soft whimper.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>What the fuck did I do to her?<\/i> he thought, horrified. <i>Shit, she never recovered from all that. She just buried it and tried to move on.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJack?\u201d She still wouldn\u2019t answer him. He lifted her off the floor, still in her tight, shivering curl, and carried her over to his enormous, lavish bed. Lowering her onto it, he began trying to get her to unfold. \u201cAudrey?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That elicited a response. She lifted her head and looked at him, blinking.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d he told her, the words feeling unfamiliar and almost unpronounceable on his tongue. \u201cI won\u2019t ask you about that anymore, I promise. It\u2019s okay&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her face was tear-streaked and tremulous, but she let him unbend her legs and slowly the tension left her limbs. He pulled her sneakers off and tossed them to the floor, keeping his movements slow and deliberate so she wouldn\u2019t panic. She seemed a little confused, and he wondered if she even remembered what he\u2019d asked her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Whatever they did to her in that psychiatric ward, they didn\u2019t help her enough.<\/i> He needed to know exactly what had happened. It was the only way he\u2019d be able to avoid triggering another attack like that&#8288;\u2026 and maybe the only way he\u2019d ever get through to her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cLet\u2019s start over, okay? Tell me about the hospital.\u201d He stroked her cheek and was both surprised and gratified when she didn\u2019t flinch back.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack swallowed, and then began to speak. Her voice was level, dry, and subdued, the words uninflected. It was as though she was telling someone else\u2019s story, Riddick thought with awe. Awe that chilled as he realized that was exactly what it was to her. He listened intently. Somewhere in this tale, he hoped, would be the clues he needed to help her become herself again. And maybe, just maybe, an explanation of Kyra\u2019s madness as well.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick listened harder than he\u2019d ever listened to anything before.<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4002\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4002 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-3\">\u00ab Chapter 3<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4068\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4068 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-5\">Chapter 5 \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=\"5\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4003\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4003 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-4\">\u00ab Chapter 4<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4069\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4069 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-6\">Chapter 6 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5069\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5069 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\"><b>5.<br\/><u>Breathing, But Not Living<\/u><\/b><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack woke up to a cold, sterile, white world. Everything ached, and she couldn\u2019t move. For a while, she wasn\u2019t sure where she was or why. Memory slowly began to come to her. She was dead. She\u2019d killed herself and now she was dead.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Death, she decided, was boring. Craning her head, she began trying to figure out where she was.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A white room?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was a small room with no decorations. Four walls, a ceiling, a floor and a door, all white. And a bed. A bed that she was strapped down in.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Well, <i>shit.<\/i> Maybe she wasn\u2019t dead after all.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She felt numb and floaty on top of the ache. Chilly, too. Everything felt soft and distant, even the failure of her suicide attempt. It annoyed her, but the desperate emotions that had inspired it weren\u2019t there. It just was.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Drugged. She\u2019d been drugged. That explained how calm she felt and how long it had taken her to figure out that she wasn\u2019t dead. She lay still, contemplating how long it might have been since her attempt. Her arms, she began to notice, were sore, a low throb developing centered in her wrists.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>That\u2019s right, I cut them, didn\u2019t I?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The fog was beginning to lift and with it, the numbness. She still felt disconnected and off-center, but she was more and more aware. She tried lifting her head but could only raise it an inch or two before the restraints held her firmly.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHello?\u201d Her voice was raspy, like something sharp was buried inside her throat, and she began to cough. Her lungs ached, too. Why was that?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was preparing to call out again when the door opened and a middle-aged man in white entered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>If I still thought I was dead, he\u2019d be one hell of a disappointing angel.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHello, Miss Doe, I\u2019m glad to see you\u2019re with us again.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Doe?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhy am&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d She had to stop and cough. \u201cWhy am I \u2018Miss Doe?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The man drew a chair over to the side of Jack\u2019s bed and sat down. She blinked. How had she missed the chair? How much more was she missing? \u201cUnder questioning, the al-Walids admitted that they did not know your real name. Perhaps you would like to tell me, and I can have your file changed?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For a moment, he almost won, and she almost unthinkingly told him her name was Audrey MacNamera. But the words stopped in her mouth. She couldn\u2019t be Audrey anymore. Audrey had been a good person. Innocent. Maybe a little impatient with life, to the point where she\u2019d done a really stupid thing in a fit of pique, but she wasn\u2019t a stone-cold, evil killer. Which, Jack reminded herself, was what she\u2019d become, why she was no longer Audrey, and why she no longer deserved to live.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She shook her head and the doctor\u2014she assumed that was what he was\u2014heaved a sigh.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cVery well, then. You are aware why you\u2019re here, aren\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack shrugged. \u201cTried to kill myself, right?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The doctor nodded. \u201cAnd you just about succeeded, too. If Mrs. al-Walid hadn\u2019t found you when she did, you would have.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Damn her. Never minding her own business&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAfter all, when she found you, you\u2019d already slipped under the water and drowned.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Aha! So <i>that<\/i> was why her throat and lungs hurt. She must have slid under the water when she passed out.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow\u2019d she find me? She wasn\u2019t supposed to be home.\u201d Jack had timed the attempt for when <i>nobody<\/i> was supposed to be around, especially not Lajjun and baby Ziza.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI don\u2019t know the answer to that. Just that she came home, went to check on you, and found you mere minutes before brain death would have set in.\u201d The doctor frowned and tilted his head at her. \u201cHow do you feel? Are you in full possession of your faculties? You do <i>remember<\/i> who you are, right?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack nodded. \u201cNo brain damage, more\u2019s the pity.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The doctor frowned and leaned closer. \u201cThe al-Walids say you go by \u2018Jack.\u2019 Would you like to tell me, Jack, why you tried to end your life?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She swallowed. That question had been coming from the get-go. She might as well get it over with so they could move on. \u201cIt needs ending.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The sadness that the drugs had suppressed returned at that moment, a vast, empty ache yawning open. Darkness and desolation filled her, spreading out to consume everything around her. The pristine white room became coal-black in her heart. But the darkness remained empty. <i>He<\/i> was gone. Even Riddick had turned his back upon what she had become.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI don\u2019t deserve to live after what I did,\u201d she answered after a moment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd what would that be, Jack?\u201d From the mild curiosity in his voice, she realized that he didn\u2019t know. Imam hadn\u2019t spilled her secret.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Too bad. Out it was coming at long last.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMurder.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A long, shocked silence followed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWho&#8288;\u2026 did you murder, Jack?\u201d Yeah, she\u2019d startled him out of his routine approach.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack shrugged a little. \u201cHer name was something Chillingsworth. Owned some ship called the <i>Kublai Khan<\/i> or Gobbledy-Gook or something.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI see.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo, you really don\u2019t.\u201d She shrugged again. \u201cYou probably don\u2019t even believe me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOf course I do,\u201d he said after a pause that was just a little too long for honesty. \u201cSo, uh&#8288;\u2026 how did you do it?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI shot her in the head.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Riddick on the ground&#8288;\u2026 incoherent screams of rage emerging from a twisted mouth that ought to have been beautiful but was hideously ugly&#8288;\u2026 terror and a sense that she was about to lose something precious, and then the roar and kick&#8288;\u2014<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBecause I wanted to kill her.\u201d The rest didn\u2019t matter. She\u2019d lost something even <i>more<\/i> precious through her actions, something that she could never, ever recover. Something that she didn\u2019t want to live without. But this doctor, who didn\u2019t even believe she\u2019d done what she said, wouldn\u2019t understand that, so there was no point in trying to tell him about it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI see.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">This time Jack didn\u2019t even bother to contradict his meaningless words. She just ignored him. The silence lasted for several minutes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cObviously we have a great deal to discuss,\u201d he finally said. \u201cIn the meantime, I\u2019m clearing you for the C ward.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cC ward?\u201d She looked at him with curiosity.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The doctor\u2019s smile was professional, almost salesmanlike. He took a stiff paper chart out of his folder and held it up. The chart was divided into four sections, each lettered A, B, C, and D. Below the letters were headings for \u201crestrictions\u201d and \u201cprivileges,\u201d with lists of each.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThere are four wards here,\u201d he explained, touching the chart as he went. \u201cA is for the mildly disturbed who are well on their way to recovery, and pose no threat to themselves and others, and have no intention of escaping. B is for the disturbed who need closer monitoring and restricted movement. C is for patients who may pose a threat to themselves, and possibly others, and need intensive monitoring until they stabilize. And D is for patients who are deeply disturbed and violent and pose a genuine hazard to those around them.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack nodded, skimming the lists. C Ward. That meant she probably wouldn\u2019t have access to anything that would let her finish the job. She\u2019d need to get into A Ward for that. Well, she had a goal, of a sort. \u201cGuess you\u2019re not worried I\u2019ll kill again, huh?\u201d she asked him dryly.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He cleared his throat, once more uncomfortable. \u201cYou don\u2019t seem to pose any sort of immediate danger, no&#8288;\u2026 you\u2019re lucid, calm&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDrugged.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo, the drugs have worn off, Jack. And they wouldn\u2019t have stopped you from saying outrageous things if that was your tendency.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou don\u2019t consider a confession to murder outrageous?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He leaned forward, an avid look sparking in his eyes. \u201cWas it intended to be?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I knew it, he thinks I\u2019m making it up!<\/i> \u201cI\u2019m not some fucking drama queen if that\u2019s what you\u2019re thinking. That wasn\u2019t a cry for help Lajjun \u2018rescued\u2019 me from. I was supposed to die.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI understand that. And I promise you, we will help you through this. Whatever happened&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI <i>told<\/i> you&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo matter what happened, Jack, you are a lovely young woman with a lot of life ahead of her, and you deserve to live and enjoy it. I promise you, when you leave here at last, you\u2019ll agree with me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Yeah, right, whatever.<\/i> \u201cI\u2019m kinda tired.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI imagine you are. It will take a while for you to recover from the blood loss and the other stresses on your body. I will arrange for your transfer to the floor of C Ward. A nurse will be by soon with clothes, and she\u2019ll escort you there. In the meantime, is there anyone you\u2019d like me to get in contact with?\u201d Another expectant pause.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I want my mommy.<\/i> It floated out of nowhere, along with the sudden, powerful sense-memory of cuddling in her mom\u2019s lap, head on her shoulder, the gentle scent of her perfume\u2014Shalimar\u2014enfolding her. <i>Why<\/i> had she left home? Was Alvin really that bad?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The power of the memory closed her throat and brought tears dangerously close to the surface. She turned her face away from the doctor and shook her head.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAll right, then. I\u2019ll speak to you again soon, Jack, and we can begin getting you well.\u201d He rose, the chair squeaking back across the floor. She didn\u2019t turn to look at him as he left the room, still struggling with the pain of being what she\u2019d become, and all the things she\u2019d lost along the way.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I want my mommy,<\/i> she thought again. <i>I don\u2019t want to be Jack anymore. I want to be Audrey again. I want my old life back.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d thought she was completely cried out, that no tears were left. She\u2019d felt dry and empty when she\u2019d climbed into the tub, and sure that she would never cry again. Now, though, as the tears overwhelmed her, she knew she\u2019d been wrong.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was still crying when the nurse arrived with her clothes.<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4003\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4003 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-4\">\u00ab Chapter 4<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4069\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4069 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-6\">Chapter 6 \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=\"6\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4004\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4004 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-5\">\u00ab Chapter 5<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4070\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4070 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-7\">Chapter 7 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5072\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5072 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\"><b>6.<br\/><u>Back in the Little Leagues?<\/u><\/b><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Released from her bonds, it only took Jack a minute to dress in the standard-issue softie pajamas given to psychiatric patients. The pants and shirt had no buttons, zippers, or fastenings of any kind, and the slippers were just thick-soled socks. Nothing in the clothes could be used as a tool or a weapon.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The nurse let Jack take another minute to compose herself and wash her face before leading her down a long, narrow corridor, past door after locked door.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhich ward is this?\u201d Jack asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt isn\u2019t,\u201d the woman answered. \u201cThis is the isolation wing.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack nodded and filed that bit of knowledge away. She wondered what people had to do to get in and out of it, but it made sense that everybody would start off in it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The corridor ended in a heavy security door that opened onto a T-junction, with two more security doors on either side. One was marked \u201cA \u2013 C.\u201d The other was marked simply \u201cD.\u201d Jack watched as the nurse ran a card through the \u201cA \u2013 C\u201d door\u2019s scanner and rested her hand on the screen above it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cIdentify, please,\u201d<\/i> the softly modulated, but subtly mechanical, voice asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cRaymond, Vanessa, with patient Jane Doe 7439.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Interesting,<\/i> Jack thought. The security system needed a pass-card, a handprint, a voice pattern, <i>and<\/i> specific information about the nurse\u2019s business. A system like that would be difficult-to-impossible to beat. Her dad had installed and serviced a variety of such systems, including the ones used by Sirius Shipping and the <i>Hunter-Gratzner,<\/i> and Jack knew most of the back doors in, but this one, she knew, was way beyond her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Exactly why was she thinking about escape anyway?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She followed Vanessa Raymond up a flight of steps to yet another security door. A landing was beyond it, and two more doors. One, pointed in the direction of the isolation wing below it, was labeled \u201cC\u201d and the other, \u201cA \u2013 B.\u201d A small glass pane let Jack see a flight of steps going upward on the other side of the \u201cA \u2013 B\u201d door.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Underground, she realized. That\u2019s where this was. What an ingenious way to minimize the chances of escape! She bet that only the A ward itself, if that, was actually on ground level.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Why do I care how the security system works? Not like I\u2019m planning on living long enough to beat it, anyway&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was a shame, she suddenly thought, that the doctor hadn\u2019t assigned her to D Ward. There probably would have been someone in there with homicidal enough tendencies for her needs, who could have been provoked into finishing what she\u2019d started. Maybe she\u2019d luck out and someone on C Ward would be like that, but it\u2019d be harder to find.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>And everybody thinks dying is way too easy,<\/i> Jack thought with bitter amusement.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Raymond finished negotiating the lock for C Ward, and Jack followed her inside, into her new home. The corridors, she noticed, had been painted a \u201csoothing\u201d light blue. There was the low sound of human activity, now, different indeed from the sterile quietude of the isolation wing. Voices, sound effects, the soft hum of a media screen. She passed by an open entrance to some kind of gathering room. Glancing in, she saw patients dressed just like her, all female, grouped in clusters. Some were playing cards, some were watching a car chase on the large, flat screen, and a few were milling about on their own. Several turned and glanced her way.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s the community room,\u201d Raymond told her. \u201cThere\u2019s also a dining and recreation area, and visiting rooms. But right now, let\u2019s settle you in your dorm.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Dorm? Jack smirked at the use of that <i>school<\/i>-like word. Frowning, she glanced back into the community room, and noticed for the first time that all the patients were minors. The oldest looked to be in her late teens.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Okay, all-female <b>and<\/b> juvenile.<\/i> Strange how she\u2019d assumed that she\u2019d be in with adults. Maybe it was a habitual assumption given how much time she\u2019d spent in Riddick\u2019s company. <i>Like getting sent back to Little League after playing in the Majors.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Baseball had been a big deal on Deckard\u2019s World, and Audrey had tracked the batting averages of her favorite players from the time she was six. Nobody on Helion Prime seemed to have a clue about the sport, which had frustrated Jack and left her feeling even more disconnected from her old self than ever. Now it was her little in-joke, though. She realized that a grim little smile had crossed her lips and hid it away from Raymond\u2019s view before the woman could see it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The nurse led her to a short side-corridor, and to the second door on the left. She opened it and gestured for Jack to enter ahead of her. Jack did, noting that this was apparently Room 34C. <i>Guess that\u2019s my new address,<\/i> she thought. It\u2019d be easy enough to remember given that it was also her mom\u2019s bra size. Another grim smirk tried to surface but she was ready for it, and it never made it onto her face.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThis will be your room,\u201d Raymond was saying. \u201cI apologize for the&#8288;\u2026 d\u00e9cor. Your roommate is due back from Isolation in another day or two, and her doctor tells us that painting over her&#8288;\u2026 <i>art&#8288;\u2026<\/i> would impede her progress. She mostly respects keeping it on her side of the room, at least.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack blinked. Yeah, she could definitely tell the two sides of the room apart. One side was simple and spare, with a narrow bed next to a clean, light blue wall. The other side was a riot of garish, gruesome color. Her unnamed roommate had covered the walls, to and slightly over the invisible halfway mark, with elaborate drawings of death and mayhem. Moving closer, Jack scanned the images.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Good grief,<\/i> she thought, and wondered if her roommate\u2019s doctor was really as stupid as he suddenly seemed. The figures in the pictures were poorly drawn, but their meanings were crystal-clear to her. In the first month after Riddick had vanished, she\u2019d still been obsessed enough with him to study his crimes and had learned a great deal about anatomy in the process.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Each of the figures on the wall illustrated a different \u201ckill-spot\u201d on the human body, and the best way to reach it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Maybe finding someone to finish the job won\u2019t be so hard after all,<\/i> she thought, suppressing another smile. <i>Looks like my roomie even knows how to make it fast.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Other drawings, elsewhere on the wall, seemed to depict some kind of shootout or massacre. Bodies were littered around a collection of low buildings, a mountain range behind them. Some of the faces were nondescript, but a few were detailed, one or two of them even decent artistic work as though their drawer had spent hours getting them just right. Written in brilliant scarlet across the mountains was a single phrase\u2014in <i>English,<\/i> Jack noted with surprise\u2014<b>WE NEVR SURENDURRED!<\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Okay, not very <b>good<\/b> English&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack glanced over the twisted mural again, looking for any other writing. There&#8288;\u2026 beneath the kill-spot drawings. <b>MY FAVRIT GAME.<\/b> And scattered throughout the drawings, she noticed, were things that possibly were the letter \u201cK.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWow,\u201d she muttered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShe\u2019s really not that bad anymore,\u201d Raymond said behind her. \u201cShe\u2019s come a long way. You should have seen the things she drew in <i>D<\/i> Ward.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack found herself wishing that she could. \u201cHow come she\u2019s in Isolation?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s just a precaution. The <i>other<\/i> patient was the aggressor. This time, Kyra was just defending herself, even if she did get a little carried away&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack glanced back at Raymond just as the woman gave herself a little shake.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnyway, we don\u2019t feel that it was an actual relapse on her part. Don\u2019t worry, she\u2019s no threat to you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Well, damn.<\/i> Jack nodded, giving the nurse what she hoped was a reassured smile. \u201cThat\u2019s good to know.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Raymond glanced at the chrono on her wrist. \u201cDinner is in about another hour. When the bell rings&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cEmergency!\u201d<\/i> The radio on the nurse\u2019s belt suddenly blared. <i>\u201cAll available medical staff report immediately to D Ward!\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Raymond hesitated, and then continued, suddenly looking guilty. \u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;just go out to the main corridor and down to its end. You\u2019ll see everyone else heading there.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019re not gonna show me around?\u201d Jack asked with mild surprise.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m sorry&#8288;\u2026 Jack, right? They need me in D Ward. Will you be okay?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack nodded and sat down on her bed. \u201cYeah, thanks.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She glanced at the mural, and when she looked back at the doorway, Raymond was gone.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For several minutes, Jack sat quietly, studying the pictures. There was a lot of anger in them, she decided, rising and moving closer so she could see better. The artist\u2014had Raymond said her name was Kyra?\u2014wasn\u2019t that bad at drawing, but she only ever bothered on getting a few of the people right&#8288;\u2026 the rest had been left as contemptuous caricatures, with little detail and less accuracy. The kill-spot people were little better than stick figures, mostly&#8288;\u2026 except for one. <i>He<\/i> had been drawn in lavish detail, staring down in agonized horror at the large knife piercing his femoral artery. The drawing felt almost gleeful, as if its artist had reveled in depicting that particular man\u2019s suffering.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou don\u2019t want to mess with those.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack turned around. Two girls, maybe two or three years older than her, were standing in the doorway, their arms linked around each other\u2019s waists. One of them was a petite, delicate blonde&#8288;\u2026 with the meanest, coldest eyes Jack had ever seen on a human being. The other was taller, slightly chubby, with short, dark hair.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSorry?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The dark-haired girl spoke again. \u201cThose are Kyra\u2019s. Mess with \u2019em and she\u2019ll kick your ass all over the C Ward.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The words were less frightening than the look of joyous anticipation that briefly crossed the blonde\u2019s face.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cKyra\u2019s my roommate?\u201d Jack aimed her question at the brunette, trying to ignore the other girl.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, guess she is. I\u2019m Colette and this is Stacey. We\u2019re her friends.\u201d Unspoken was a contemptuous <i>and probably not yours.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m Jack.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Colette snorted. \u201cGreat. Well, just so you know, the only ones who swing that way are me, Stacey, Andrea, and Lynn. Stacey\u2019s <i>mine,<\/i> and Andrea and Lynn are an item too, so don\u2019t you go trying to cut in.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack blinked, trying to follow what Colette was talking about. It took a moment for her to figure it out.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Oh. <b>Oh!<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo, I\u2019m not&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou got something <i>against<\/i> lesbians?\u201d Stacey snarled.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo, but I\u2019m not into that&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Colette snickered. \u201cOh great, Kyra\u2019s going to be <i>so<\/i> thrilled. Her new roommate\u2019s a total wimp. What are you in for anyway?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack felt her eyes narrowing. Wimp? She\u2019d traveled with <i>Richard B. Riddick,<\/i> not exactly the kind of record a <i>wimp<\/i> could boast&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You\u2019re not actually trying to take <b>pride<\/b> in that, are you?<\/i> the voice of the girl she\u2019d once been demanded.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For a moment her throat closed, and her eyes began to sting. Stacey\u2019s snort of contempt brought her back to herself. She raised her chin. \u201cAttempted suicide.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Colette began to chuckle. \u201cYeah, great. Kyra\u2019s just going to <i>love<\/i> that.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAt least she won\u2019t have to worry about this one trying to take her out, like the last one,\u201d Stacey sneered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, true&#8288;\u2026 but just so you know, little girl, you\u2019re in the Big Leagues now. Stacey and me, we\u2019ve done things you can\u2019t even imagine&#8288;\u2026 and <i>Kyra&#8288;\u2026<\/i> you just ain\u2019t worthy. So don\u2019t go getting a big head or anything, because you\u2019re the littlest fish in this pond.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The urge to tell them who she\u2019d run with\u2014and what she\u2019d done\u2014surfaced again, but she swallowed it down. They didn\u2019t deserve to know&#8288;\u2026 and she didn\u2019t deserve to brag about it, anyway. \u201cWhatever you say.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Colette narrowed her eyes for a moment, studying her. Then she shook her head and turned, drawing Stacey away with her. \u201cWe\u2019ll let Kyra deal with you. C\u2019mon, Stace, we got better places to be.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack sat back down on her bed and waited for the dinner bell to ring. \u201cI\u2019m in the Big Leagues now,\u201d she muttered to herself, and didn\u2019t know whether to laugh or cry.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">How she <i>wished<\/i> Colette was right.<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4004\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4004 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-5\">\u00ab Chapter 5<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4070\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4070 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-7\">Chapter 7 \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=\"7\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4005\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4005 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-6\">\u00ab Chapter 6<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4071\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4071 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-8\">Chapter 8 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5075\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5075 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">7.<br\/><u>You Meet the Strangest People&#8288;\u2026<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack didn\u2019t meet her roommate until the next morning.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Dinner had gone okay. When the bell rang, Jack followed Raymond\u2019s directions to the dining room, where the other girls of C Ward were serving themselves. She deliberately hung back and waited until everyone else had picked out their seats before choosing one of the few empty chairs left over. Mercifully, it wasn\u2019t anywhere near Colette and Stacey.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There <i>was<\/i> an empty seat by them, but she figured it was probably Kyra\u2019s. And neither girl was the kind of person she wanted to seek out as a friend, anyway&#8288;\u2026 even assuming she was looking for friendship or even a future.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The girls at her table looked her over with mild curiosity and then went back to eating their meals. Jack glanced around, trying to take in as much detail as she could without staring at anyone. That was the kind of thing that would be sure to provoke someone, and for now she wanted to concentrate on blending in.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">This was definitely a strictly juvenile facility. All the girls in the ward were at least pubescent, and none of them looked fully adult, although one or two came close. A few of the girls were obviously unbalanced, one of them rocking as she ate and another babbling angrily at her spaghetti, but most of them seemed ordinary enough.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack quickly discovered that she still had almost no appetite. Three or four bites of her spaghetti and her gorge tried to rise, making her push the plate away from her and shudder. She wasn\u2019t sure if it was the food or her own twisted innards, but she suddenly couldn\u2019t stand the thought of eating another bite. She\u2019d been Lajjun\u2019s great despair, picking at the lavish plates of gourmet foods that Imam\u2019s young wife had prepared.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A sudden, vivid image of Lajjun dragging her out of the tub and trying to revive her almost cost Jack her scant meal. She wasn\u2019t sure if it was a real memory or just her hyperactive imagination, but&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo appetite yet, huh?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack looked up and met the curious stare of the girl across from her. With her narrow face, uneven features, and hungry gaze, the girl was not at <i>all<\/i> pretty, but Jack felt no sense of menace from her. Just interest. She shrugged, not sure what to say in answer.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMe neither when I first got here,\u201d the girl went on after a moment. \u201cI was so skinny. They had to stick tubes down me at first, and one of them almost went down the wrong pipe&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShut <i>up,<\/i> Celia!\u201d one of the other girls snapped. \u201cShe\u2019s not interested! Why do you always have to talk about this shit when people are trying to eat, anyway?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A look of hurt came over Celia\u2019s face.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo, I\u2019m okay,\u201d Jack found herself saying, wanting to soothe that look away.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMaybe you are,\u201d grumbled another girl. \u201cI don\u2019t wanna hear it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI was <i>just<\/i> being <i>friendly,<\/i>\u201d Celia muttered to her spaghetti.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack glanced around at the other girls and saw uniformly exasperated looks on their faces. She suddenly had the suspicion that Celia\u2019s concept of friendliness might be a little <i>invasive.<\/i> She felt bad for her, but at the same time she suspected that if she let Celia latch on, she\u2019d end up feeling even more confined and intruded-upon than she had with the al-Walids.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She knew, however, that she wasn\u2019t going to manage to eat any more of her dinner. The few hints of appetite she\u2019d had were long gone. She sat quietly while the other girls ate and discussed the plot of some soap opera they all watched. A woman in a coma, an adulterous husband, a secret lovechild, and a mysterious alien artifact. <i>All<\/i> the clich\u00e9s.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack was waiting for someone\u2014anyone\u2014to leave the room so she could, too, without breaking some written or unwritten rule that nobody had told her about yet. Most of the girls, however, seemed content to gab and go back for seconds.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>This<\/i> was a ward for disturbed girls? Jack\u2019s middle school cafeteria had been more unruly. She wondered what the rest of the girls were in for.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Maybe wanton telepathy. No sooner had she thought that, than one of the girls at the table spoke to her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo, what\u2019d <i>you<\/i> do to get here?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack shrugged. If she was curious, they had a right to be, too. \u201cTried to kill myself.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah,\u201d the girl who had snapped at Celia remarked. \u201cThose \u2018bracelets\u2019 of yours were a giveaway. Did you mean it or are you one of those sob-story types?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack looked more closely at her, studying her face. There was no challenge there, no belligerence, just a mixture of curiosity and caution. Like she\u2019d dealt with a <i>lot<\/i> of people who carried on for dramatic reasons but didn\u2019t really mean what they were doing. Jack had met a few of those herself. Annabelle, from school, right before she\u2019d taken off, had been like that. A \u201ctrendy cutter,\u201d she\u2019d been a showcase of self-inflicted, shallow, non-scarring wounds that were kept hidden from family and teachers, but \u201caccidentally\u201d displayed to fellow students who fussed over her indulgently. Jack had been suckered in for a few weeks, herself, until she wised up to Annabelle\u2019s game. Her refusal to play along any further had earned her a few nasty epithets from the girl\u2019s \u201csupport group.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">How wrong they\u2019d been. She hadn\u2019t even <i>started<\/i> down the path to becoming a \u201ccold-hearted bitch\u201d yet at that point. Alvin still hadn\u2019t moved in, things were still right between her and her mom, and guns were still things that she would never dream of touching, much less using to blow someone\u2019s&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo is that silence an \u2018I meant it,\u2019 or a&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d The girl tilted her head back and put the back of one hand to her forehead, making her voice flutter on the verge of a melodramatic sob. \u201c\u2018You couldn\u2019t <i>possibly<\/i> understand!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack felt her lips twitch into a sudden smile, her first real one in <i>weeks.<\/i> \u201cNo, I meant it. You get a lot of the other kind here?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNot many. Most of them are in B Ward, but a few put on a good enough show to get down here. So, you planning on trying again?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack felt her smile vanish. She looked away from the other girl\u2019s shrewd, worldly gaze. \u201cMaybe. How come you\u2019re here?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cCatatonic schizophrenia.\u201d The girl said it without a moment\u2019s hesitation or shame. \u201cDon\u2019t worry. I haven\u2019t had an episode in a few weeks.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIs that good?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cProbably. Hopefully. They\u2019re trying me out on some new medication, and so far, so good. I\u2019m Heather, by the way.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack felt the smile slipping back onto her lips. \u201cJack.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNice to meet you, Jack.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNice to meet you, too.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Celia let out a hard, aggrieved sigh and got abruptly up from the table. Jack watched her stalk out of the room, feeling a conflicted, uncomfortable mixture of guilt and annoyance. She wasn\u2019t at all sure why she felt like it was somehow her fault, but she did.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was, she realized, the way Annabelle had made her feel when she was <i>starting<\/i> to wise up to her game but hadn\u2019t fully caught on yet.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I don\u2019t even know what she\u2019s in for, but whatever it is, it\u2019s not my responsibility.<\/i> She hoped she\u2019d remember that. Nobody else at the table was paying any attention to Celia\u2019s behavior, a telling sign that it was commonplace.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The rest of the dinner was uneventful. Jack skipped dessert, letting the first girl who asked have her piece. She focused on listening and filing away information, the way she had when she\u2019d been running and hiding. The instincts, she thought, were much the same. But that puzzled her; those were survival instincts. She\u2019d thought she didn\u2019t have any of those left.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Finally, people started leaving the tables. The orderlies\u2014somehow Jack had completely failed to see them until now\u2014cleared the places behind the girls as they left their tables.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s fancy service,\u201d Jack remarked, feeling a spark of her old amusement surface. Who\u2019d have thought that crazy girls would get valets?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNot really,\u201d Heather answered at her side. \u201cThey clear all the plates so that they can make sure nobody\u2019s walked off with a piece of silverware that\u2019ll get made into a weapon. And since they clear them from the table, they know who was sitting where, and so they know who to go after. That\u2019s why it\u2019s like that.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Well. That made sense. Good to know, too. One idle thought that had run through her mind had been that she could try to fashion a stolen knife or fork into a weapon of self-destruction.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Cross <b>that<\/b> off the options list&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo, what happens now?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTonight\u2019s movie, if you like \u2019em. The girls voted for some spy movie&#8288;\u2026 not a James Bond, one of those cheesy knockoffs. I wanted a classic myself. So I\u2019m gonna go read instead. You can watch the movie or go to the game room, or the library, or whatever.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was only afterward that Jack noticed that Heather hadn\u2019t invited her to hang out with her. In that moment, she wasn\u2019t aware of it at all. A small part of her was still feeling disconnected and off-kilter. She considered the possibilities Heather had mentioned, but her decision was hijacked by the yawn that forced its way out at that moment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m still pretty tired. If I want to head back to my room and turn in, are they gonna get mad?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThey?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe orderlies.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Heather grinned and shook her head. \u201cNo, they won\u2019t give you a hard time. I usually go read in my room after dinner and they\u2019ve never objected.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Together they headed back toward the \u201cdorms.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">At 22C, Heather stopped and opened the door, gave Jack a nod, a wave, and a \u201cgood night,\u201d and was gone a second later before she could answer.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Friendly.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">No really, Jack thought, Heather had been <i>very<\/i> friendly under the circumstances. This was a place where you could know with absolute certainty that anyone you met had something wrong with her. Friendship couldn\u2019t be offered lightly or incautiously.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack headed for her room, hoping that Heather would become a friend.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Aren\u2019t you planning on being dead before that happens?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That was right; she was.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack shook her head and headed for 34C, opening the door and going in. Garish pictures of violence and death glared at her from Kyra\u2019s side of the room. She turned away from them and pulled down the covers on her cot. Climbing in, she faced the light blue wall on her side of the room. At least it didn\u2019t make her think of Riddick\u2019s world of mayhem.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sleep came more quickly than she would have expected, carrying her down into its depths. Those depths, though, were colder than the deeps of space, full of the lonely dreams of despair that she\u2019d hoped to shed at last with her death. Dreams in which she faced her mom again, her hand firmly in Alvin\u2019s, the two of them beaming at her as though the brutal murder of her dreams was a <i>good<\/i> thing. Dreams in which she woke up in the al-Walid home and couldn\u2019t find Riddick. \u201cI\u2019m sorry, my child. He thought it best that he already be gone when you woke&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Everybody leaves me&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her pillow was wet when she finally woke.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She blinked; she\u2019d gone to sleep with the light still on. Someone was moving around behind her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack rolled over, groaning a little as the pain in her wrists spiked. She needed to ask for some painkillers for that&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Oh boy. This must be Kyra&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The young woman over by the other bed was maybe an inch or two taller than she was. She had long, thick, dark brown hair that waved around her shoulders in wild tangles. She was surveying the wall, a red marker in one hand.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I sure <b>hope<\/b> that\u2019s Kyra&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cUm&#8288;\u2026 hi. Kyra, right?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The girl turned, frowning. \u201cYeah. So?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJust wanted to make sure before you started drawing. Your friends said you were protective of those pictures.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra was surprisingly pretty. Jack guessed that she was about sixteen or seventeen. Her heart-shaped face had an almost feline quality, Jack thought, as if she was a cat that had been made human. Her eyes were a strange shade of blue-gray that Jack had never seen before in her life. Her small chin had a little hint of a cleft in it. There was something both sensual and challenging about her face, overall&#8288;\u2026 and not exactly friendly. Jack wondered if Kyra was perpetually angry.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThanks,\u201d she said, as if it was a foreign word for you. \u201cWho are you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m Jack.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo. Really.\u201d Scorn sparked in her strange eyes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack suddenly felt tired again. She shrugged, cuddling up to her clammy pillow. \u201cIf you don\u2019t like it, there\u2019s always Jane Doe. That\u2019s what it says on my file.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd here Colette said you were a wimp.\u201d A strange mixture of scorn and amusement was in her voice.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">So she\u2019d already seen her friends.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow come you asked who I was if you already talked to her?\u201d Jack wondered where this smart-ass attitude was coming from. <i>Deathwish much?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019re a suicide case, right?\u201d Kyra\u2019s voice was considering.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack nodded. Kyra walked over to the side of her bed and crouched down, fixing her with a hard glare.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOkay, I\u2019m only gonna say this once&#8288;\u2026 <i>Jack.<\/i> Maybe you think if you say the right shit, you\u2019ll get lucky, and I\u2019ll do to you what I did to Roger over there.\u201d She gestured at the detailed kill-spot drawing on the wall. \u201cMaybe you think I\u2019ll do your dirty work for you. Forget it. I\u2019m not that stupid. But you provoke me? I\u2019ll make you wish I <i>had<\/i> killed you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack couldn\u2019t look away from those strange, slatey eyes. For a moment they almost seemed silvery&#8288;\u2026 almost Riddick-like.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>This is who I would have become if I\u2019d followed him.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe understand each other, Jack?\u201d Kyra asked, her voice almost friendly.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, we do,\u201d Jack sighed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGood.\u201d The smile that crossed Kyra\u2019s face was smug and mocking. \u201cWelcome to C Ward.\u201d<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4005\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4005 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-6\">\u00ab Chapter 6<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4071\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4071 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-8\">Chapter 8 \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=\"8\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4006\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4006 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-7\">\u00ab Chapter 7<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4072\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4072 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-9\">Chapter 9 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5078\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5078 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\"><b>8.<br\/><u>Queen of the Killer\u2019s Club<\/u><\/b><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It took almost exactly a full week before Jack noticed that almost none of the girls were Muslim.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">From the morning she\u2019d awakened in Imam\u2019s house, she\u2019d been surrounded by all things Islam, to the point where she\u2019d come to assume that the entire world of Helion Prime was just like New Mecca. In some ways, New Mecca was remarkably cosmopolitan, but in other ways, it was disappointingly provincial and one-note.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It had never occurred to her that it was just an ethnic suburb of a much larger city.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Deckard\u2019s World, of course, was a much younger colony than Helion Prime, and Jack was used to smaller, more rustic towns. It hadn\u2019t entered her mind that there might be even <i>more<\/i> city past the points Abu and Lajjun escorted her through&#8288;\u2026 and that there were people, in those other parts of the town, that she\u2019d have related to better. People who played baseball, and allowed pork into their homes, and didn\u2019t have prohibitions against graven images. People she\u2019d have understood, and who would have understood her&#8288;\u2026 or understood her better than the al-Walids had.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Heather had looked at her strangely when she commented on how diverse the girls in C Ward were. It was only after they\u2019d gone around the subject a few times that they realized what Jack\u2019s problem was.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShit, Jack, you mean you were on Helion Prime for three months and you never left MeccaTown?\u201d Heather shook her head. \u201cThat\u2019s just too weird. You\u2019re not even Muslim, are you? I mean, the way you tore into the BLTs at lunch today, I thought you were gonna go on an eating rampage.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack grinned and shook her head, still feeling like her whole world had turned on its side. The taste of that bacon was still with her, and she felt almost like she\u2019d awakened from a long sleep. It was the first meal, since her arrival, that she\u2019d been able to finish, much less gone back for seconds of. \u201cI had <i>no<\/i> idea that the whole planet wasn\u2019t full of Muslim energy brokers. Shit, I had no idea anybody on this planet but me knew about baseball!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Heather laughed. It was a nice sound, not mocking even though Jack knew she sounded like a complete dweeb. \u201cDon\u2019t tell me you\u2019ve decided you\u2019re normal, now, on the basis of <i>me!\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Good point.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI just&#8288;\u2026 I\u2019ve been pretty out of it, I guess.\u201d Jack shrugged, unable to explain it better than that. But inside her, it was all coming together. She\u2019d been cut off, from the outside world, from herself, from everything. Strange that she suddenly felt freer, imprisoned in the sub-basement of a psychiatric hospital, than she had the entire three months she\u2019d had the run of the planet\u2019s surface.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>How could he do that to me?<\/i> She wasn\u2019t sure which \u201che\u201d she meant. Either one would do, she thought.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo out of it you didn\u2019t even notice you were surrounded by a big city?\u201d Heather looked more amused than ever.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack nodded. \u201cYeah. Well, I mean, we don\u2019t have cities <i>this<\/i> big back on D&#8288;\u2014 my home world. And I guess I was kinda&#8288;\u2026 wrapped up in myself.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWeird. You\u2019re not the self-centered type. Not like some of the people around here.\u201d Heather chuckled and shook her head. \u201cSo what were you all het up about?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For a moment Jack wanted to smile and say that it was nothing. Just trivial teenage bullshit angst. But that wasn\u2019t true, and in the last few days she\u2019d come to value Heather very highly as a friend. She couldn\u2019t lie, much as she suddenly wanted to. She couldn\u2019t meet her eyes, either.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI, uh&#8288;\u2026 a bunch of people died thanks to me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat, you had some kind of attack or something?\u201d Heather had talked a little, in the last few days, about some of the \u201cepisodes\u201d <i>she<\/i> had, many of which were less catatonic than epileptic in nature.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack shook her head. \u201cIt\u2019s complicated.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cC\u2019mon, I told you all about <i>my<\/i> screwed-up stuff.\u201d Heather grinned at her, though, and Jack had the sense that, if she insisted, she wouldn\u2019t be pushed any further.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She closed her eyes. Suddenly the urge to confess was back, full force. \u201cI shot and killed somebody. Among other things.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBy accident? Like&#8288;\u2026 playing with guns?\u201d Heather\u2019s voice was softer, a little hesitant.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo,\u201d Jack answered, her own voice softer too. \u201cI meant to do it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There was a long moment of silence. Then, \u201cWow. Funny, I\u2019m surprised you\u2019re not hanging out with the Killer\u2019s Club.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack looked up sharply, but there was no censure in Heather\u2019s gaze, just puzzled speculation. \u201cThe what?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou know&#8288;\u2026 Kyra and Colette and Stacey and Doris. The Killer\u2019s Club.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack blinked. \u201cThey all killed people?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cPeople, yeah, among other things. Stacey\u2019s somebody you never want to introduce to your pets, you know what I mean?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack shuddered and nodded. There\u2019d been a boy like that in her school. \u201cAre they all like that?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Heather shook her head. \u201cWell, Kyra\u2019s hunted but I don\u2019t think she\u2019d take it out on pets. She\u2019s not like them. The shit that happened to her would make <i>anybody<\/i> crazy.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">In the last several days, Jack and Kyra had exchanged maybe a handful of words. The wild-haired girl remained an enigma to Jack, who had to admit she was curious about her and her pictures. \u201cWhat\u2019s her story?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou ever heard of the New Christy Enclave?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019re <i>kidding!\u201d<\/i> Of course Jack had heard of them. She\u2019d followed the story with enrapt fascination when it was unfolding; she\u2019d even done her classroom Current Events reports on them several times. \u201cShe was one of them?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Heather nodded. \u201cShe was one of the last ones they caught after the massacre. I think I heard one of the nurses saying that she\u2019d been hiding in the woods for almost a year when they captured her. And she\u2019s the one who murdered Roger Fiennes.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack felt her mouth fall open in amazement as she realized where she\u2019d seen the man on Kyra\u2019s wall before. Roger Fiennes. Red Roger. <i>Oh my God.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Social Studies had always been Audrey MacNamera\u2019s favorite subject. From the time she was old enough to read, she\u2019d begun joining her dad in reading the morning paper, learning about the colony worlds and their events. She\u2019d been nine when the New Christy Enclave standoff began.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her dad had repeatedly said to her that the entire situation was one of the worst-handled ones in the history of colonization, and that she should remember it. She had, but it had never occurred to her that she\u2019d meet any of the people involved in it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The New Christy Colony, ironically, had been one of the very first groups to leave Earth to seek a new home in the stars. One of several religious separatist groups that had set out in the late twenty-first century, they\u2019d left a mere ten years before the first Star Jump drives had been introduced and the colonization process had been revolutionized. While their near-light-speed ship had laboriously plodded across three hundred light years of space, their claim had been <i>jumped.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">More than four centuries after they\u2019d left Earth, two years relativistic time for them, they\u2019d arrived at their new home to find that it was already colonized, and that the colonial government of the world had no intention of honoring their legitimately-filed claim. The world they\u2019d planned to call New Christy was now a bustling colony planet called New Dartmouth. They\u2019d filed an appeal with the Federacy and had set up a planetside camp in the mountains while they waited to hear the results. For three years, they had remained aloof from the other colonists, who considered them a pack of archaic religious weirdos anyway.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Then the trouble had begun.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It had started with a scuffle over the Enclave\u2019s children and their education. For some reason, the colonial government had gotten the wild idea that, despite their refusal to allow any of the new arrivals citizenship, they should have authority over how their children were being educated. From there things had begun to snowball. The story had broken onto the interplanetary newsfeeds when the situation degenerated into an armed standoff&#8288;\u2026 which had ended in a bloody massacre of most of the Enclave\u2019s members. A handful of survivors\u2014mostly children\u2014had fled into the woods.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And Kyra, apparently, had been one of them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">If she was the one who had killed Red Roger, Jack realized, that meant that she\u2019d been the very last one captured alive.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Roger Fiennes had been the Colonial Marshal in charge of the standoff. Less than a week after the first video footage of the Enclave massacre reached Deckard\u2019s World, news that he and his tactics were under investigation had followed. Amnesty Interplanetary had dispatched observers and investigators, and then the news had come to light that the massacre had occurred less than a day before the Central Council was scheduled to make its ruling on the Enclave\u2019s claim.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">When the ruling was made public\u2014the Council had sided with the Enclave\u2014the firestorm had really begun. Audrey and her parents had discussed the new developments virtually every night, as more charges of misconduct were brought out; they were, in fact, some of her last and best memories before her parents had split up. She remembered that Fiennes had vanished right before he was going to be suspended from duty, and she\u2019d argued with her dad about whether he\u2019d disappeared on purpose or not. In point of fact, he hadn\u2019t. He\u2019d been ambushed during one of his patrols by one of the Enclave\u2019s now-feral children. His body was found a week later, suspended from a tree, in unspeakable condition. His captor had tortured him to death.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A few months later, there had been a small story about his killer having been captured. A girl, Jack remembered. Details about her identity hadn\u2019t been released because she was a minor. Her gender had been released, along with some of the harrowing stories she\u2019d told about rape and brutality that had occurred during the storming of the Enclave, and which she insisted that Fiennes himself had engineered and participated in.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cRemember this, Audrey,\u201d her dad had told her as they cleared the dinner table. It was only five weeks before he would abruptly move out, leaving her confused and shattered. \u201cThis is hopefully the only time things will go this out of control, but it may not be the last time the <i>situation<\/i> happens. There are still fifteen sublight colony ships unaccounted for, and who knows when or where they might show up. And there are three Phase One Star Jumpers that vanished, too. For all we know, they might reappear at some point.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The topic had fascinated her so much that she\u2019d done her next history report on the Missing Colony Ships. She\u2019d never heard what had happened to Red Roger\u2019s killer, though. That hadn\u2019t been made public.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWow,\u201d she breathed, and heard Heather chuckle.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou act like you just found the Holy Grail or something.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack blinked and shrugged ruefully at her friend. \u201cI just&#8288;\u2026 I read a <i>lot<\/i> about that whole blow-up. Never thought I\u2019d meet one of the survivors. So&#8288;\u2026 why\u2019s she here?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Heather shook her head in amusement. \u201cWhere else would <i>you<\/i> send a religious wacko who killed three Marshals?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cThree?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, she\u2019d been hunting them for a while. I think they were the ones who gang-banged her mother during the massacre or something. She tortured them before she killed them, too. <i>And<\/i> she admitted to being one of the Enclave\u2019s shooters during the confrontation, so she probably killed a lot more people.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Against her will, Jack was impressed. Kyra, she thought, at least had had sounder reasons than Riddick for killing the way she did&#8288;\u2026 her back had been against the wall. \u201cHow\u2019d she end up here? Isn\u2019t Helion Prime, like&#8288;\u2026 a hundred light years from New Dartmouth?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWell, what I hear is that they tried deprogramming her or something, at first, but then the Amnesty Interplanetary people filed to get her out of there. Something about how the people who had killed her family and way of life had no business telling her what was right and wrong, you know?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack nodded. That certainly made sense to her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo she ended up getting sent here. They figured that Helion Prime\u2019s got so much diversity that she\u2019d have a better shot at acceptance. And, you know, learning tolerance herself.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd now she\u2019s the leader of the C Ward Killer\u2019s Club?\u201d Interesting outcome.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Heather laughed. \u201cNot exactly by choice. But the other girls, the ones with a real thing for violence&#8288;\u2026 they just about worship her. They wanna grow up and be her or something. Sometimes she\u2019s perfectly nice and normal, though.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo&#8288;\u2026 what happened to her last roommate?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Heather rolled her eyes. \u201cDamn. That one honestly wasn\u2019t Kyra\u2019s fault. Valencia came in here thinking she was some hot shit&#8288;\u2026 and when she heard Kyra\u2019s rep, she wanted to throw down. Not smart. Kyra <i>trashed<\/i> her before the orderly Val had sucked off, in exchange for him disappearing, finally showed up to do his job. He got fired and I don\u2019t know <i>what<\/i> happened to Val. Not that anybody cares&#8288;\u2026 she was a bitch.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack nodded and they headed for the dining hall. Throughout her meal, she found herself looking over at Kyra speculatively, more fascinated than ever. The girls around Kyra seemed to hang on every one of the rare words she spoke.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>She\u2019s a loner,<\/i> Jack finally decided. <i>They\u2019re hanging all over her and it doesn\u2019t mean a thing to her. They may be following, but she\u2019s not trying to lead.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra glanced over at her and frowned. Jack looked back down at her plate. Dumb thing to do, staring at her like that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">After dinner, she headed for their room, wanting to look at the drawings again now that she knew exactly what they meant.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was amazing what a little bit of knowledge could do. Now, remembering the pictures in the news, she realized that Kyra had captured the mountain range and the Enclave\u2019s buildings with remarkable accuracy.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cWe never surrendered,\u201d<\/i> she thought sadly. <i>You never should have been put in that position.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">When she\u2019d still been Audrey, helping someone like Kyra had been her life\u2019s goal. Before she\u2019d <i>become<\/i> someone like her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I wanna be Audrey again&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou wanna tell me what the hell you think you\u2019re doing?\u201d came Kyra\u2019s voice from behind her.<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4006\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4006 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-7\">\u00ab Chapter 7<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4072\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4072 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-9\">Chapter 9 \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=\"9\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4007\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4007 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-8\">\u00ab Chapter 8<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4073\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4073 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-10\">Chapter 10 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5081\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5081 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\"><b>9.<br\/><u>Never Been to Stockholm<\/u><\/b><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack didn\u2019t freeze at the sound of Kyra\u2019s voice. She didn\u2019t whirl around. Somehow, knowing the other girl\u2019s story, and feeling as though there was almost a <i>connection<\/i> between them as a result, had her at ease. Her eyes were still on the mountain range as she answered Kyra.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJust looking. I didn\u2019t realize until now that this was the New Christy Enclave. The pictures make a lot more sense to me now.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Silence from behind her. Jack turned her head, surprising a look of complete stunned disbelief on Kyra\u2019s face.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou know about New Christy?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack nodded, moving out of Kyra\u2019s personal territory and over to her own bed. \u201cI watched a lot of it on the news. Did some school reports on it. Never thought I\u2019d meet one of its survivors.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra shook her head and frowned. \u201cYou gonna tell me I\u2019m a psycho religious nut, now?\u201d She seemed to be expecting it. Her expression was a mixture of scorn and guarded blankness.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack sat down on the bed and shook her head, too. \u201cNo, why?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGreat.\u201d Kyra rolled her eyes. \u201cSo I\u2019m your hero now or something?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack couldn\u2019t stop the startled burst of laughter that escaped her. She clapped her hand over her mouth before she could get any more offensive, but Kyra\u2019s eyes had already widened.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat the fuck is so funny?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d Jack cleared her throat because for some reason, the giggles were still with her. \u201cYou mean nobody\u2019s ever said to you that those assholes were in the wrong?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra stared at her, confusion obvious on her face. \u201cWhat, you mean&#8288;\u2026 Roger and his guys? You think they were wrong?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI think they were butchers,\u201d Jack replied seriously.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra stared at her in silence for a long moment. Her jaw tightened and she blinked three times before her face began to relax. When she spoke, her voice was a little uneven, and Jack realized that she\u2019d almost startled tears out of the older girl. \u201cYeah, you got that right. But that wasn\u2019t what I was asking you, you know. You\u2019re supposed to be in Group right now. The doc sent me to get you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGroup?\u201d Jack had no idea what Kyra was talking about now. She wasn\u2019t upset about the intrusion into her space?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra nodded. \u201cEvery Sunday night after dinner. C Ward group therapy session.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Oh. <i>Oh.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNobody told me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Disbelief and scorn reappeared on Kyra\u2019s face. \u201cWhat, your guide didn\u2019t tell you during orientation?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack shook her head. \u201cSomething happened down in D Ward, and she had to go help. Probably a bunch of stuff she never told me. So, where is it?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra studied her for a moment, the look of slight puzzlement back, and then shrugged. \u201cC\u2019mon.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">In her almost-week in the ward, Jack had rarely visited the recreation room. Usually there was too much noise and activity in it, the two vidscreens competing for attention and far too many people talking over them. Jack had avoided the room except at those odd hours when only a small handful of girls were in it, and there was relative peace and quiet. It was a perverse choice on her part; she <i>liked<\/i> activity and noise and the bustle of people. But it was something she no longer felt she had a right to.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The room had been rearranged for the group therapy session. The furniture had been pushed back to clear a space in the center of the room, and dining room chairs had been brought in and arranged in a large circle. Most of the chairs were occupied; Heather, she saw, had saved an empty seat by her. She split off from Kyra and headed for it, while Kyra rejoined the Killer\u2019s Club about a third of the way around the circle.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNice of you to join us, Jack.\u201d There was censure in the doctor\u2019s voice. It wasn\u2019t the one that had interviewed her in isolation, nor was it the psychiatrist who she\u2019d given the silent treatment to in her last three private therapy sessions.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTake it up with her tour-guide,\u201d Kyra answered before she could. \u201cThey never told her.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The looks on the faces of the other Killer\u2019s Club girls told Jack that nobody had been expecting Kyra to take her side. The doctor seemed surprised as well. He looked over at Jack, the sternness gone from his face.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWho brought you into the ward?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNurse Raymond, but there was some kind of emergency down in D Ward and they needed her, so it\u2019s not her fault or anything.\u201d Raymond had seemed nice enough; Jack didn\u2019t want her in trouble over this.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The Doctor made a note of some kind on his pad. \u201cVery well, then. Let\u2019s get started. Girls, I\u2019m sure by now most of you have met our newest resident. She\u2019s officially registered as Jane Doe 7439, but she goes by the name Jack.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The dutiful chorus of \u201cHi Jack\u201d that traveled around the circle almost made Jack laugh.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Hi, my name\u2019s Jack, and I\u2019m a Riddickaholic&#8288;\u2026<\/i> She had to cough, covering her mouth to hide the smile and stifle the giggle that her thought had stirred within her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHi,\u201d she managed back once her throat was clear of laughter.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWould you like to tell us a little about yourself, Jack?\u201d There was a strange, avid look in the back of the doctor\u2019s eyes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Hoping to be the one who gets Stonewall Jack to open up? Bet that\u2019d be some kind of coup or something.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She shrugged, mentally picking through what she could and couldn\u2019t talk about.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m thirteen years old. I\u2019m here because I tried to kill myself, and yes, I meant it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Expectant silence greeted her. Everybody was waiting for more.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWould you like to tell the girls why you wanted to die, Jack?\u201d The doctor\u2019s expression was studiously blank, but Jack could see how avid he was beneath the surface.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Nice to know doctor-patient confidentiality is so highly honored here. Oh well, what the hell?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Deep breath. Why not let it out?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBecause I deserve to die. A few months ago, a bunch of people died and it was my fault. It should\u2019ve been me who died, not them.\u201d Strange how saying that, in here, stirred no emotion from her. She felt like she was reciting a tedious old fact.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Curious murmurs spread around the circle.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJack,\u201d the doctor continued after a moment. \u201cHave you ever heard of Stockholm Syndrome?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Wise mutters spread throughout the circle, but Jack shook her head. She had no idea what that would be.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWould someone like to explain it?\u201d He looked around at the girls.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Celia leaned forward in her seat. \u201cIt\u2019s like this thing that happens to hostages and people who get kidnapped, where they start sympathizing with their kidnappers. Right?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s right, Celia. What Jack\u2019s not saying here, girls, is that the deaths she\u2019s talking about happened while she was the hostage of a serial killer.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhen I was <i>what?<\/i>\u201d The words exploded out of Jack before she could stop herself. Stares and whispers exploded around her, all focused on <i>her.<\/i> \u201cI was never a&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThen you <i>weren\u2019t<\/i> the girl on the <i>Kublai Khan<\/i> four months ago?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Oh shit&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI was, but that\u2019s not what happened.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The doctor lifted a paper off his clipboard. \u201cJack, if you\u2019re going to recover from everything that happened to you, the first thing you need to do is admit to what really happened. This is the official report, of both the <i>Hunter-Gratzner<\/i> crash and your brief stay on the <i>Kublai Khan.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The room was freezing. Jack couldn\u2019t swallow. She stared at the doctor nervously, wondering just what he was going to say next. <i>Hostage? Serial killer?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d She could barely get words through her numb lips. \u201cWhat does it say?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe truth, Jack. The <i>Hunter-Gratzner<\/i> crashed, and only about a dozen of you survived the crash. One of them was a dangerous felon who was being transported back to prison. Richard Riddick.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Murmurs from the Killer\u2019s Club. Jack couldn\u2019t look at anyone. She stared at her clenched hands in her lap, wondering if it was possible for her knuckles to get any whiter.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe pilot was another survivor, and she found a geological outpost. There was a small personnel transport there, that had been left behind because it needed repair. It could only carry about a third of you. So&#8288;\u2026 once it had been repaired&#8288;\u2026 Riddick began picking off the rest of the survivors.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack\u2019s voice had failed her. All she could do was wordlessly shake her head in denial.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe let you and one other live because he needed hostages. He killed the pilot because he could fly the transport himself, and because he\u2019d already coerced the two of you into being his alibi. He tried to pass himself off as the officer who had been escorting him, but the <i>Kublai Khan<\/i> matched up his voice print and knew who they were <i>really<\/i> dealing with.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>No! No, that\u2019s not what <b>happened&#8288;\u2026<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe killed more than fifty people on the ship, including Antonia Chillingsworth. They say they have her murder on security tape, and that he did it, not you. In fact, they say he was using you as a human shield and she was trying to get him to release you&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s a <i>lie!\u201d<\/i> Suddenly her voice was back, outrage giving it strength. \u201cThat bitch tried to kill <i>all of us!<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJeez, what\u2019d he <i>do<\/i> to you?\u201d One of the other girls leaned forward. Chantelle. That was her name. Jack had only ever talked to her once. \u201cHe\u2019s got you <i>all<\/i> messed up, girl! I mean, you\u2019re talking about one of the most evil men in the <i>galaxy.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo, he\u2019s not <i>like<\/i> that! He kept me safe!\u201d Jack wiped at her stinging eyes and glared around at the disbelieving faces. \u201cHe took <i>care<\/i> of me&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhoa, is that like a euphemism?\u201d another girl chimed in. Jack didn\u2019t know her name. \u201cWas he like, fucking you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cNO!\u201d<\/i> Jack\u2019s chair crashed loudly to the floor as she leapt to her feet. \u201cYou guys don\u2019t know <i>anything<\/i> about him, he\u2019s not like that, he\u2019s a <i>good man!\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Skepticism colored the expression of almost every face turned toward her, except the faces of the Killer\u2019s Club girls. They looked fascinated. Stacey looked almost enraptured.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cPlease sit down, Jack.\u201d The doctor was using one of those <i>reasonable<\/i> voices, talking down to her as if she was a small child. Rage flooded through her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cFuck<\/i> you! All that stuff is bullshit! He saved my life, and <i>he<\/i> didn\u2019t kill that bitch! <i>I<\/i> did, because she was gonna kill <i>him!<\/i> You don\u2019t believe me, maybe you should make them <i>show<\/i> you that video and you can see for <i>yourself<\/i> that <i>I\u2019m<\/i> the one who <i>shot her fucking head off!\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The room had gone deathly silent. There wasn\u2019t a single whisper, but everyone was staring.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Oh my God, I just said that, I just tried to justify what I did to her&#8288;\u2026 oh God&#8288;\u2026<\/i> The sour taste of bile flooded Jack\u2019s mouth. She fled the rec room and raced for the bathroom, just barely reaching a stall before her dinner exploded back out of her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>They aren\u2019t right, they aren\u2019t&#8288;\u2026 I know what happened. I do&#8288;\u2026 he\u2019s not what they say he is&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Was he?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cThe girl. She means nothing to me.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Did she really remember things the way they happened?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cShe\u2019s just a cover story.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Had he ever been her protector? Or had she just been an expendable asset? Why had he kept her from falling down the shaft? He\u2019d lunged out through a hail of bullets to catch her belt and keep her from dying&#8288;\u2026 <i>why?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cNow just ain\u2019t the time.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Maybe she\u2019d never known him at all.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack wiped at her eyes again and flushed the toilet, sniffling as she climbed to her feet. She headed over to the sink, still sniffling, and began to rinse her mouth out.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cStacey\u2019s gonna want to have your baby now.\u201d Kyra\u2019s voice was calm, detached, a hint of amusement in it but no mockery.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack glanced up and saw her leaning against the wall, arms folded. \u201cI, uh, didn\u2019t hear you come in.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, well, Doc Adams figured since we\u2019re roomies I should check and see if you\u2019re okay. You really knew Riddick?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack nodded, spitting water into the sink.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo you know, I wasn\u2019t kidding about Stacey. She practically <i>worships<\/i> Riddick. Got pictures of him up on her wall, along with half a dozen other killers she has the hots for. She\u2019s probably gonna want to hear all kinds of details about him.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe\u2019s not what people think,\u201d Jack managed, and filled her mouth with water again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo, were you two, like&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Kyra gave an illustrative jerk of her hips. \u201cClose?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Why the fuck does everybody think he\u2019s a child-molester?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cEwww, <i>no!<\/i> He would <i>never<\/i> do that. He\u2019s my <i>friend!\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cStacey\u2019s gonna be disappointed when she hears that. But hey, whatever. So he\u2019s pretty cool? Where is he now?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack closed her eyes. \u201cI&#8288;\u2026 don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah.\u201d Now there was mockery in Kyra\u2019s voice. \u201cYou two are <i>real<\/i> close friends.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Pain speared through Jack\u2019s chest. She didn\u2019t open her eyes until she heard the bathroom door shut behind Kyra.<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4007\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4007 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-8\">\u00ab Chapter 8<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4073\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4073 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-10\">Chapter 10 \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=\"10\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4008\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4008 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-9\">\u00ab Chapter 9<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4074\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4074 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-11\">Chapter 11 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5084\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5084 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\"><b>10.<br\/><u>Sound and Fury, Signifying Nothing<\/u><\/b><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick\u2019s hand gently stroked Jack\u2019s cheek, the caress sending shivers through her. She looked up, meeting his concerned gaze.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI thought I was never going to see you again,\u201d she told him, unable to keep some of the hurt out of her voice. \u201cI thought you didn\u2019t like me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Silver eyes gleamed as Riddick shook his head in the dim room. \u201cNot true. I went away because I thought I was bad for you. Obviously, I was wrong. Jack, I\u2019m sorry. I should have stayed.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He gathered her into his arms, and she rested her head on the firm strength of his chest, listening to his slow, steady heartbeat. \u201cIt\u2019s okay. You\u2019re here now. We can make up for lost time.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, we can.\u201d There was something new in his voice, a tone she\u2019d never heard before. She tilted her head back to look at him and was startled at the feel of his lips on hers. He lowered her onto his huge, silky bed even as she realized what was happening and put her arms around him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Nothing in her whole life had ever felt so exquisite. She closed her eyes and basked in the taste and feel of his mouth, exploring the strong muscles of his back even as <i>he<\/i> began to explore her, his hands slipping under her shirt. Her nipples hardened in response to his caresses and her heartbeat began to quicken. His hands were everywhere, drawing her toward a delicious release and&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack\u2019s eyes snapped open and she gasped.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The dull blue of her wall greeted her, and she stared at it in confusion. Where had Riddick gone? Where was he?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">From behind her, she heard Kyra\u2019s derisive snort. Confusion fled, replaced by hot embarrassment. She stayed still, pretending that she\u2019d fallen back asleep, as the other girl moved around. After a moment, the door to their room opened and closed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Fuck. I hope I didn\u2019t talk in my sleep or anything&#8288;\u2026<\/i> Avoidance had become her main method of dealing with Kyra and her friends.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It hadn\u2019t been an easy few weeks since her explosion in Group, even <i>before<\/i> the dreams began. She wasn\u2019t even sure why she was having them. Okay, yeah, she\u2019d had a huge crush on Riddick back on the planet; who wouldn\u2019t have? But he\u2019d never encouraged it or anything, and he\u2019d certainly never done anything to fuel her fantasies. If anything, his abandonment of her ought to have quashed them forever.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d thought it had. Certainly, all the dreams she\u2019d had in Imam\u2019s house had been about loss. They\u2019d starred her dad, her mom, Shazza, Fry, Riddick&#8288;\u2026 even, sometimes, Imam. She\u2019d lived for months in a desolate dreamscape until its darkness became so pervasive that it seemed to shadow her waking hours as well. But those dreams, which had followed her to the hospital, had receded in the last month and now she almost never had them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Instead, she had <i>these<\/i> dreams, which left her breathless and blushing and unable to face her roommate.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She glanced over at the clock and decided that the Killers Club girls were probably done with the bathroom by now, and she could shower. It wasn\u2019t that she couldn\u2019t go in before then, or anything; on the contrary, Stacey was dying to corner her for details about Riddick and she knew it. But the girls made her profoundly uncomfortable, and she always felt like they were sizing up her hamstrings when she ran into them. Better to just give them a miss whenever possible. She was proud of how well she managed that, given that she bunked with one of them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack climbed out of bed and headed for the bathroom, pausing by the door and listening, just to be sure.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;ohhhhhhhh&#8288;\u2026 <i>Riddick&#8288;\u2026<\/i> ohhhhhhhhh&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Kyra\u2019s voice was raised in a breathless imitation of hers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Shit.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI <i>knew<\/i> it!\u201d Stacey crowed on the other side of the door. \u201cLittle ho-bag won\u2019t admit it, but she <i>did<\/i> fuck him!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh <i>please.<\/i>\u201d That was Colette. Yeah, the whole Killer\u2019s Club was probably still in the bathroom. \u201cI don\u2019t believe it for a second. You\u2019ve read all about him, Stace. What would he want with a scrawny little brat like her?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"> \u201cYou heard Adams,\u201d Kyra answered. \u201cShe was his hostage. Probably it was just a convenience thing, you know? She didn\u2019t fight back much so she was the easiest one to take along with him. Easy to control, willing&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The voices were approaching the door.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack hurried down the hall and ducked around the corner. They\u2019d be heading in the opposite direction, for the community room before breakfast.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Fuck, I hate this. I hate this place. Everything here is <b>shit&#8288;\u2026<\/b><\/i> She closed her eyes and rubbed at her forehead.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHiding from Kyra\u2019s crew?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack\u2019s eyes snapped open again. Heather was standing in front of her, her expression sympathetic. In the last few weeks, she\u2019d aided and abetted Jack\u2019s deliberate avoidance of the Club, running subtle, and not-so-subtle, interference between them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Okay, not <b>everything<\/b> here is shit.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah,\u201d she answered, giving Heather a rueful grin. \u201cI\u2019m popular bathroom talk for them.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Heather wrinkled her nose and put her arm around Jack\u2019s shoulders. \u201cYeah, I heard. Idiots. So you have a crush on the guy and dream about him. That doesn\u2019t mean you two did the deed. I mean, if I had a dream about flying, blue-blooded, hammerhead sharks, that still wouldn\u2019t make them real, you know?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack blinked and almost choked. \u201cUm, no, it wouldn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s just gossip, you know? They\u2019re acting like he\u2019s a rock star. It\u2019ll pass.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNot if tonight\u2019s Group is anything like the last few,\u201d Jack groaned.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">In her second Group session, Adams had tried to get her to open up again, and several girls who wanted juicy details had tried to help him back her into a corner. She\u2019d ended up heaving in the bathroom <i>again,<\/i> and dreading Group so much that, a week ago, she\u2019d hidden rather than go to it. The whole session had ended up being turned into a search for her. By the time she\u2019d crawled out of her hidey hole, the entire hospital was seeking her and she\u2019d ended up in front of the administrators. She was <i>not<\/i> looking forward to being the pick-on girl again tonight.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh, don\u2019t you worry, I have an idea about that.\u201d There was suppressed laughter in Heather\u2019s voice.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh? What?\u201d Jack reached into her chosen shower stall and turned on the water, letting it heat up while she undressed. Heather was stripping down beside her, now audibly chuckling.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou have any idea how pissed off Celia is that you\u2019ve been hogging all the attention?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m not&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou know that and I know that, but to a drama queen like her, you\u2019ve <i>got<\/i> to be doing it on purpose. She\u2019s just <i>dying<\/i> to get back into the spotlight. So I figure if, when the session starts, I tell Adams I\u2019m <i>worried<\/i> about her&#8288;\u2026 she\u2019ll launch into one of her dramas and monopolize the whole thing. And that gives you a break.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack gave Heather a grateful smile before she stepped under the water. \u201cThanks. I <i>so<\/i> need that. I\u2019m sick to death of everybody wanting me to talk about him.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo problem. <i>I<\/i> just don\u2019t want to have to hunt for you all over the floor again.\u201d Heather started chuckling again, gesturing upward. \u201cI still can\u2019t believe you got up into the false ceiling and managed to stay up there. What do you weigh, five pounds?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Heather had been in the bathroom when Jack had finally emerged from her hiding place. She had promptly collapsed in helpless laughter, which still hadn\u2019t let up when the orderlies had escorted Jack away to see the hospital Administrator, who didn\u2019t care that she felt bullied at the sessions by Dr. Adams.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe\u2019s just trying to help you, Jack,\u201d he\u2019d told her. \u201cYou aren\u2019t willing to talk in the individual sessions. At least there you seem to be making some progress toward accepting what really happened to you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat <i>really happened<\/i> to me? You don\u2019t even know! I don\u2019t have <i>Stockholm Syndrome,<\/i> okay? Riddick never hurt me and he never <i>would,<\/i> and you\u2019d <i>know<\/i> that if you saw the video of what <i>really<\/i> happened! And if Dr. Adams tries to talk about it again, next time you won\u2019t be able to find me at <i>all!<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>That<\/i> had earned her a night in isolation. She\u2019d retaliated by refusing to speak at all during her next private therapy sessions, not even bothering to look at her doctor.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Heather stuck with her through breakfast, deliberately controlling the conversation at their table so that Jack could eat in peace. Jack had heard a lot of comments, in the last week or two, about Heather\u2019s apparent transformation from an aloof and taciturn individual to a much more vibrant, outgoing person. They said her meds seemed to be helping her open up a great deal and that she\u2019d probably be transferred to B Ward soon. Jack was going to miss her terribly when she went, but she had to wonder if it truly was the meds or something else. Heather was <i>very<\/i> protective of her, and most of her social behavior seemed to be focused in that direction.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It puzzled Jack a little to realize that it was a pattern she\u2019d witnessed her whole life. From the time Matty McDaniels had stood up to the playground bullies for her when she was five, to now, it seemed like there was a steady stream of protectors and would-be protectors in her life. Even Riddick had taken on that role for a while. Did something about her just bring that out in people?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her cousin Rachel had once told her it was her big eyes and the trapped-fawn look she\u2019d get when she was startled or worried. People tended to look at her and assume she was helpless.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Am I? Am I really helpless?<\/i> Most of the time she didn\u2019t feel that way. Most of the time, she felt like she ought to be <i>helping<\/i> other people, not <i>being<\/i> helped by them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That was how it had felt to be Audrey, anyway. <i>I want to be her again&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The other girls were rising from the table. Breakfast was over. Jack glanced down and noticed that she\u2019d cleaned her plate. She got up and followed Heather out of the dining hall, the two of them heading for the library room. In the last two weeks, Jack had earned computer privileges and had begun using them to catch up on her schoolwork and events throughout the colony worlds.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was reading the latest news about civil rights conflicts on Stradivari when Kyra came in.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou know, I always knew you were weird, but I didn\u2019t know you were <i>this<\/i> weird.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack glanced over at her, surprised and trying to figure out how reading in a library would be a sign of weirdness. \u201cHuh?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra\u2019s eyes were dancing with amusement as she leaned against the wall. Jack had never seen her look like this. \u201cThere\u2019s a guy here to see you. A guy in a <i>dress<\/i> who says his name is \u2018Elly Mom.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It took a moment for that to sink in well enough for Jack to translate it. <i>Elly Mom? I don\u2019t know anybody named El&#8288;\u2026 <b>oh!<\/b> El <b>Imam!<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She shut down her terminal and gave Heather and Kyra an apologetic look, heading for the visitation room. Why hadn\u2019t he just told Kyra he was her \u201cUncle Abu?\u201d That was what he\u2019d had her call him for the entire three months she\u2019d lived in his home, after all. She\u2019d almost forgotten that once upon a time, he\u2019d been \u201cImam\u201d to her&#8288;\u2026 and Fry, who had sometimes seemed to have some real hearing problems, had called him \u201cElmo.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The visitation room had strict security, on par with the sorts of rooms Jack had seen in prison movies. A series of small booths were ranged in front of a heavy steelglass wall, each soundproofed for privacy and confidentiality. Jack was led to one by an orderly and sat down at the desk inside, slipping on the comm headset. Through the glass, she could see Imam, looking a little uncomfortable in his institutional chair.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cUncle Abu,\u201d she said by way of greeting.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJack.\u201d His voice was reserved, more reserved than she\u2019d ever heard.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She blinked, thrown. From the first time she\u2019d met him, he\u2019d been such a <i>warm<\/i> person. Now she felt like she\u2019d been struck by a cold wind. \u201cIt\u2019s uh&#8288;\u2026 good to see you. How\u2019s everybody at home?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe are well,\u201d he replied stiffly, \u201cnow.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>What does <b>that<\/b> mean?<\/i> Jack took a deep breath and reached for an affectionate smile. \u201cIt\u2019s good to see you&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThis is not a social call, Jack,\u201d he interrupted her, his voice stern. \u201cI am here because you are causing trouble.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Uhhhh&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cLook, I know that hiding out in the ceiling was kind of extreme, but you have no idea what those sessions were like&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cJack.\u201d<\/i> The expression of fury on Imam\u2019s face was shocking. It turned him into a stranger. No wonder he hadn\u2019t called himself Uncle Abu; no one by that name was here.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah?\u201d Her voice came out as a tiny squeak.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI do not know what you are talking about, nor do I care. My concern is the things you have been saying about Mr. Riddick.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>What?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBut&#8288;\u2026 they were saying all these <i>lies<\/i> about him.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cListen<\/i> to me, Jack. For <i>once,<\/i> listen to me.\u201d The only time either of her parents had looked at her like this was when she\u2019d broken her grandma\u2019s priceless Twentieth Century Limoges vase. Even <i>Alvin<\/i> had never looked at her like this.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cO\u2026okay\u2026\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt is absolutely essential that the authorities continue to believe that we were Mr. Riddick\u2019s unwilling hostages, not his accomplices. The things you are saying cast doubt upon that.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBut this is all confidential, isn\u2019t it? Doctor-patient&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIf doctor-patient privilege meant <i>anything<\/i> to these people, how would I even know what you have been saying? <i>Think,<\/i> Jack! The hospital contacted the <i>Kublai Khan<\/i> and asked for a copy of the video recording of Chillingsworth\u2019s murder, so that they could verify the particulars of your story. Fortunately, the ship\u2019s new master, Mr. Toombs, has refused to release it to them.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhy is that&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cJack!\u201d<\/i> he thundered at her, making her jump and almost knock over her chair. \u201cWe are fortunate that it is in Toombs\u2019 interest to have the authorities believe that Riddick, and not you, killed her, and that <i>he<\/i> believes you suffer from Stockholm Syndrome and that was why you defended Riddick. If he ceased to believe that, he would realize that we might know more about Riddick\u2019s current whereabouts than we have said&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou know where he is?\u201d Hope and hurt speared through her. Why had they kept that knowledge from her? She\u2019d never have told anyone.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYes, I do. I know how to reach him should an emergency arise.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Oh shit. Riddick\u2019s probably disgusted with me&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat&#8288;\u2026 what did he say when you told him what happened?\u201d She hoped it wouldn\u2019t be too bad.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI have not contacted him.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The hope crashed, leaving behind only the hurt. She\u2019d almost died. She\u2019d tried to kill herself, had almost succeeded, and that wasn\u2019t important enough to tell Riddick about?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>That\u2019s not why you did it, is it?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Of course it wasn\u2019t. She\u2019d meant to <i>die,<\/i> not dramatize. But&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It <i>hurt.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh.\u201d She couldn\u2019t bring herself to look at Imam now. The censure in his gaze was overwhelming and made her feel gauche and worthless.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIf anyone realized that I knew this, Jack, the consequences would be terrible for all of us. They must not know. They must not <i>suspect.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, I understand,\u201d she mumbled.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo, you do not! You do not understand at all! You must stop arguing with the doctors about him. Let them believe what they want to believe&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBut it\u2019s not true&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat is not the point! You have done enough damage already, and you must <i>stop!\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDamage?\u201d What did he mean? What had she done?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">His glare left her feeling enfeebled. \u201cYou remember my little daughter, Ziza, do you not? Several nights every week, now, she wakes up screaming, from dreams of you floating in a tub of bloody water. At first it was several times every night.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Oh God&#8288;\u2026 oh God&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m so sorr&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI will <i>not<\/i> let those nightmares be compounded by dreams of police invading her home and arresting her father!\u201d Imam\u2019s voice was a thunderous hiss. \u201cSo be warned, Jack. If your carelessness results in that happening, I will have no choice. I will tell them where to find him.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack\u2019s whole body felt cold and tingling. \u201cYou wouldn\u2019t&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI will not let your selfishness destroy my family. If it comes to that, I <i>will.<\/i> And you would, too, if you were in my place.\u201d He rose, his glare still beating down on her. \u201cWe are done, Jack. I wish you the best for your future, but I will have no part of it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He had swept out of the room before she could get her voice to work.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Afterward, she wasn\u2019t sure how she got out of the room. Her legs felt numb, wobbly and weak. Somehow, she made it back to her bedroom and lay on her bed, unmoving, unthinking, until Kyra came looking for her because it was time for Group.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019re not hiding again are&#8288;\u2014 hey, you okay?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Too lost in her pain, she only barely registered that it was the first time Kyra had ever expressed any concern about her. She nodded, sitting up. Whatever else happened, she didn\u2019t want to talk about it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cProbably something I ate&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou look like shit. You want me to tell Adams you\u2019re sick?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack shook her head and headed for the door. \u201cNo, that\u2019d just make even more&#8288;\u2026 trouble&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was another dramatic entrance for her, another round of stares and whispers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cShe\u2019s so pale!\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cHer <b>lips<\/b> are white&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Celia let out a loud sigh of disgust and rolled her eyes. Jack headed for Heather\u2019s side, not even noticing that Kyra had continued to walk with her until she sat down and the older girl walked over to her friends.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cEverything okay, Jack?\u201d Dr. Adams, waiting to pounce.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, just&#8288;\u2026 my breakfast didn\u2019t agree with me, that\u2019s all.\u201d Heather\u2019s hand, on top of hers, felt <i>hot.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo, Jack, do you think you&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDr. Adams,\u201d Heather broke in. \u201cI think there\u2019s something a little more important right now.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYes, Heather? What would that be?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI&#8288;\u2026 hate to be a tattle tale but&#8288;\u2026 I\u2019m worried about Celia.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Thank you, Heather. Thank you&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack tuned everything out and just sat quietly, taking advantage of the lack of a spotlight on her. Celia was happy to play along with the diversion, gleefully launching into a list of nightmares and obsessions and palpitations that she was suffering from. Any time the conversation started to wind down, Heather\u2014or, Jack noticed, <i>Kyra<\/i>\u2014would stoke Celia back up. Dr. Adams never got to finish his question.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Celia was still going strong when the session ended, and Jack gratefully slipped out of the community room and headed for her bedroom. She was in bed, pretending to be asleep, when Kyra came in a while later.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>He<\/i> was waiting for her when she finally fell asleep.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cRiddick!\u201d She flung herself into his arms and hugged him tightly.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJack, Jack, Jack&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d There was a hint of impatience in his voice. She looked up at him and was shocked to see him frowning at her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat is it?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou <i>told,<\/i> Jack. You gave me away. You fuckin\u2019 sold me out.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She stepped back, horrified at the thought. \u201cNo! No I didn\u2019t, I promise, I&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou did, kid. You sold me out. Now they caught me, and they\u2019re gonna execute me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh God, no, Riddick! I promise you I didn\u2019t&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d She had to help him!<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDon\u2019t worry, Jack.\u201d He drew out a knife with one hand, his other hand grabbing the back of her neck and pulling her toward him again. \u201cI\u2019m not gonna go to Hell alone.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo, Riddick! Please!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Silver flashed toward her, reflected in the glint of his eyes. Her throat was burning. Burning where he\u2019d slashed it. She choked, gagging on her own blood, trying to catch her breath. She couldn\u2019t breathe&#8288;\u2026 couldn\u2019t breathe&#8288;\u2026 her scream was just a weak gargle&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Screaming. Clutching her throat and screaming.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A crack and the side of her face was stinging. She drew a breath, and another slap stopped her scream in her mouth.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDamn it, wake <i>up!<\/i>\u201d Kyra was before her, her hand raised to deliver another blow.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Light flooded the room and one of the large orderlies grabbed Kyra, pulling her back and away. Another joined him. More people spilled into the room, babbling.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2014&#8288;going on?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShe was attacking her roommate. Get the Thorazine.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>No\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra stared up at the ceiling, a look of exasperation on her face, but didn\u2019t fight the large men holding her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>No\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThis time it\u2019ll be back to the D Ward with you&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo,\u201d Jack finally managed. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t her, it was him!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The orderlies stared at her, and then at each other.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHey, no fuckin\u2019 way, I wasn\u2019t even in here&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo, not you&#8288;\u2026 him! Riddick!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The room fell silent. Kyra pulled herself out of the orderlies\u2019 lax grasp and sat back down on her bed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJack?\u201d Heather was beside her. \u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe&#8288;\u2026 he said I sold him out and he cut my throat and&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Heather\u2019s arms were around her. \u201cShhhhh&#8288;\u2026 it\u2019s okay. It was just a dream. Just a dream&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Just a dream. No more real than her dreams of Riddick making love to her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>But people believed those were real&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She knew what she needed to do.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her cousin Rachel had been an expert at theatrical tears and had taught her how to cry on cue long ago. It was a talent she\u2019d never exploited, until now. It had always seemed <i>wrong.<\/i> But it was exactly what she needed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo it <i>wasn\u2019t,<\/i>\u201d she sobbed, letting the real tears, that had been waiting all day, flow out. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t! He said he\u2019d do it if I ever told&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe said he\u2019d kill you?\u201d That was Kyra. Straight, matter of fact, catching on fast.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack nodded, sniffling. \u201c\u2019Swhy I didn\u2019t wanna talk about him&#8288;\u2026 he said he\u2019d let us go but only if we never talked about him&#8288;\u2026 and Dr. Adams kept bringing it up and bringing it up and when he finds out he\u2019s gonna do it, he\u2019s gonna hunt me down and do everything he said he\u2019d do to me&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJack!\u201d Heather gave her a little shake. \u201cCalm down. You\u2019re safe here. He can\u2019t get to you here.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe will,\u201d she moaned. \u201cHe\u2019ll find me and he\u2019ll kill me. Because they made me talk&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She could feel the way the orderlies were focusing on her every word and knew that they\u2019d be repeated to Dr. Adams and the others.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s okay,\u201d Heather whispered, rubbing her back the way her mom used to. \u201cIt\u2019ll be okay. You don\u2019t have to talk about him if you don\u2019t want to.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s right,\u201d Kyra agreed. \u201cYou don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">So the Killer\u2019s Club would be off her back, too. Perfect.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick would be safe. They\u2019d think he\u2019d terrorized her, that she couldn\u2019t possibly be on his side. They wouldn\u2019t question Imam\u2019s story anymore. Riddick would be safe. For his sake, she could tell these lies.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They <i>were<\/i> lies&#8288;\u2026 weren\u2019t they?<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4008\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4008 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-9\">\u00ab Chapter 9<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4074\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4074 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-11\">Chapter 11 \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=\"11\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4009\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4009 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-10\">\u00ab Chapter 10<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4075\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4075 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-12\">Chapter 12 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5087\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5087 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\"><b>11.<br\/><u>No Escaping Life Alive<\/u><\/b><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI can\u2019t sign this.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The hospital director frowned at Jack. \u201cWhy not? These are your words.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack glanced over the page again, at the twisted, liar\u2019s tale of how Richard Riddick had hunted down and murdered her fellow crash survivors, had overcome her with a combination of seduction and coercion, and had ultimately abandoned her with nothing more than a threat of what would happen if she ever spoke of him. They were <i>not<\/i> her words. She had never said any of this. Someone else had attributed these words to her and had constructed an elaborate fable out of them. There wasn\u2019t a single honest fact anywhere on the page.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But if she said that, things would go right back to where they\u2019d been before Imam\u2019s visit.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Stall,<\/i> she thought. <i>Just&#8288;\u2026 stall.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">If she signed this lie, how much harm would it do Riddick? Would a few more murders on his rap sheet hurt him?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Yes.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">His bounty would go up, at a minimum, making him a more appealing target to mercs throughout the galaxy. More importantly, the half-share of the bounty, for bringing him in dead rather than alive, would increase proportionately and might tempt more people to try simply gunning him down. And even if they <i>did<\/i> bring him in alive&#8288;\u2026 there was the issue of what this paper claimed he had done to <i>her.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick had never touched her, not in the sense alleged here. He\u2019d never raised a hand against her, and he\u2019d certainly never molested her. Jack had heard enough stories now to know what would happen to him in prison if he returned branded as a child-molester. Those men lived at the bottom of the prison food chain, the targets of the rest of the populace. Imprisonment with <i>that<\/i> on his record might be worse than a death sentence.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She could not sign these papers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Stall. Stall.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack closed her eyes and covered her face for a minute, trying to compose some kind of approach to this that wouldn\u2019t upset the charade altogether.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI just can\u2019t,\u201d she hedged, playing for time. \u201cNot here. Not like this. It isn\u2019t safe.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJack, you\u2019re perfectly safe. He can\u2019t get to you here. He can\u2019t touch you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Here.<\/i> There was her handle.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd what about when you release me? You\u2019re gonna just forget all about me but <i>that\u2019s<\/i> when he\u2019ll be waiting. Who\u2019s gonna guard me then?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSurely Mr. Al-Walid\u2019s home&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIsn\u2019t open to me anymore. What do you think he came here to tell me? I\u2019m a bad influence on his daughter and he won\u2019t take me back in.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">In point of fact, he really had said that, more or less. She could blame the loss of that protection for the crumbling of her supposed memory block.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The director blinked and sat back.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Good to know you didn\u2019t already know what my conversation with him was about. Did that take you by surprise?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDr. Adams had reported that you were unusually subdued after his visit. I understand now. Is that why you could finally admit to what Riddick had done to you? Because your protection was gone?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You said it. Not me.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, that night I, uh&#8288;\u2026 had this awful dream&#8288;\u2026 and&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYes, that much I knew all about. But Jack, if you sign this document, it will help us catch him.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>That\u2019s what I\u2019m afraid of. And what\u2019s this \u201cus\u201d all of a sudden?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd what about when he escapes again? He\u2019ll know who blabbed and he\u2019ll come after me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe won\u2019t escape.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe <i>always<\/i> escapes.\u201d Jack rolled her eyes. That part was pure truth, too. If anyone was better at escaping than Richard B. Riddick, she didn\u2019t know who it was. He\u2019d even beaten several of her dad\u2019s security systems, earning John MacNamera\u2019s grudging admiration.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cThat Riddick is really something,\u201d he\u2019d said one night at the dinner table. \u201cIf there\u2019s any kind of hole or back door in a system, he can sniff it out and beat it. I\u2019d want to hire him except for that whole \u2018cold-blooded killer\u2019 part of the equation.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She wondered what her dad would say if he knew that she\u2019d traveled in Riddick\u2019s company. Probably something that would have made her mom scream at him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe won\u2019t. Not from the <i>Kublai<\/i>&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou mean the ship he escaped from more than five months ago?\u201d Jack met the director\u2019s eyes squarely, suppressing a smirk as he dropped his gaze in response. \u201cI\u2019m not signing that paper. Not until I\u2019m actually leaving here, and I know I\u2019m going to be safe from him. Show it to me then.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The director\u2014Jack realized she\u2019d never bothered to remember his name even though they\u2019d met several times now\u2014stared at her for several long minutes before he finally shrugged. \u201cVery well. Personally, I think signing this would help you recover, Jack, but if you insist&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI insist.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAll right, you may go.\u201d He was punching buttons in his comm even as she got up and left the room. As the door closed, she heard a voice coming through the speaker.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cToombs.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Son of a bitch. Treacherous bastard!<\/i> She wondered how much of a cut the director had been offered in exchange for securing her signature.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Not that it was ever going to happen, of course.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack let Nurse Raymond walk her back to the security doors, to begin the descent back down to C Level. She looked around as they walked, noticing for the first time that this floor of the hospital was apparently above-ground. It looked like mid-autumn outside, or what passed for autumn in this arid climate. That made sense. She\u2019d made her attempt on her life one week after classes began at that ghastly school Uncle Abu had picked for her. All girls, and half of them in burqas. She\u2019d found herself in <i>remedial<\/i> classes, fergodsake, because she couldn\u2019t speak Arabic very well. And all that time, only a few blocks away, there had been <i>normal<\/i> schools, where the kids spoke English and wore jeans&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Bastard. Bastard&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Glancing around as they approached the door, Jack realized that this was the first time she\u2019d been up here with a level head. Her prior visits were blurs of rage and anguish. She hadn\u2019t really looked around much. Down the hall, on the other side of a security-glass door, she could see a girl and her parents. The girl, a mass of tattoos, piercings, and attitude that Jack could see from fifty feet away, was ignoring her parents as they filled out forms. <i>New arrival. Gotta be. Wonder where she\u2019ll land?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The familiar sound of musically-tuned keys brought her attention back to the Ward security door.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>The <b>very<\/b> familiar sound&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack felt her heart skip and then speed up. She let Nurse Raymond gesture her through and down the stairs, more alert than ever. They went through the A Ward doors, and she could feel her blood rising. The pounding of her heart only eased as Raymond voice-printed their way through the B Ward doors and they continued down.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I can\u2019t believe it. I can\u2019t believe it.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d expected to spend the rest of the day wallowing in a \u201cwhat will I do then?\u201d agony over how she\u2019d deflect the director when, several months from now, she checked out of the hospital. Now she knew she wouldn\u2019t have to.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The ground floor, and the A Ward, were protected by her dad\u2019s security systems. Systems she\u2019d learned backwards and forwards years ago. Systems whose back doors she knew by heart. Systems that would, for her, roll over and play dead if she told them to.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">All she had to do was get herself cleared for A Ward. Once she was there, she could walk out of the hospital and vanish any time she wanted. She could continue the voyage that had been aborted by the crash of the <i>Hunter-Gratzner,<\/i> and nobody would ever be the wiser.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack B. Badd could cease to exist. Audrey MacNamera could catch up with her dad and pretend that she\u2019d just taken a longer route, rather than a detour through Hell.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For the first time since Riddick had vanished, she felt hope surging through her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>All I need to do is graduate to A Ward. All I need to do&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat happened, did Director Flint give you keys to the city or something?\u201d Heather\u2019s sardonic voice cut through her reverie. She blinked and grinned, realizing that she\u2019d been daydreaming in the middle of the C Ward hallway. Nurse Raymond was gone.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo, but&#8288;\u2026 I did kinda win our argument.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh yeah?\u201d Heather grinned back, rubbing her temple.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack frowned. Heather had been doing that a <i>lot<\/i> in the past week or so, she realized, with increasing frequency. \u201cYou okay?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMe?\u201d Heather blinked, then glanced at her hand. \u201cOh. Headache. Nothing serious.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019ve been getting them a lot lately.\u201d Now it was <i>Jack\u2019s<\/i> protective instincts surging to the fore. \u201cYou talk to the doctors about it?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Heather nodded, still grinning at her in a way that somehow seemed unnaturally stiff. \u201cYeah. They tell me it\u2019s a common side effect of the meds, but it should go away in a few months. No big deal.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack wasn\u2019t sure why, but the hair on the back of her neck was prickling. She supposed she should be relieved by Heather\u2019s words, but she wasn\u2019t.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Something\u2019s wrong.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was suddenly angry with herself that she hadn\u2019t said anything\u2014asked anything\u2014sooner. She\u2019d noticed the little twinges Heather seemed to get, and noticed them increasing, but this was the first time she\u2019d brought them up. That was taking the whole creed of minding her own business a little <i>too<\/i> far, she thought.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWanna go to the library?\u201d Heather seemed to have moved on completely, but Jack noticed that her hand was staying near her temple.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, that sounds good.\u201d She followed Heather, watching her movements more closely now, and hoped that she was wrong. <i>Please let me be wrong.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Until Audrey had been six, her parents had owned a dog named Balto, a large Siberian Husky. Balto had been the sweetest creature on Deckard\u2019s World, and he\u2019d been Audrey\u2019s best friend.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And he\u2019d been epileptic.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">When one of his epileptic attacks had been imminent, Audrey had always <i>known<\/i> somehow. Even before <i>he<\/i> would realize it was coming and begin to whimper because he knew he was going to bite his tongue again, she had known. The knowledge was something she could never explain to her parents, but it would prickle over her as much as an hour in advance. She\u2019d often spend that hour getting him ready, making sure he\u2019d gone outside and done his business, settling him in his dog bed and not letting him leave it, and petting him when he began to cry.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey hadn\u2019t been home for the attack that finally killed Balto. She\u2019d been away at school, and it had taken her parents months to get her to stop blaming herself for not being there. Since then, she\u2019d never gotten that spooky sense that would fill her when something inside him <i>changed<\/i>, a harbinger of an organic earthquake that only she could detect.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But Heather was making her feel that way, right now.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Please let me be wrong.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack suppressed a shudder and followed her best friend into the library, eyes focused so intently on Heather that she almost walked into a desk.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Heather was digging around through some of the actual, physical books that the center had. C Ward girls weren\u2019t cleared for Readers in their rooms&#8288;\u2014 too many components of those that could be used as impromptu weapons. So the hospital had ordered in a special run of \u201cpaperbacks,\u201d books with soft, turnable paper pages and paper covers, amazingly like the antiques her grandma had. Most of them were \u201cclassics,\u201d works of the great literary figures of the 20th and 21st century. Judy Blume. Stephen King. Anne McCaffrey. Douglas Adams.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack had checked over the curriculum list at her hometown\u2019s high school, in one of her more intrepid moments on the terminals, and had been amused to see that a lot of her recreational reading was on the required reading list for her high school. To make the irony absolute, the \u201cpaperbacks\u201d had been produced using wood pulp from Deckard\u2019s World.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThere we go,\u201d Heather said, pulling a book off one of the shelves. <i>Hatter Fox,<\/i> the cover read in large, bold letters, above a picture of a girl who looked even more feral and dangerous than Kyra. \u201cThis is a good one.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe gonna read in your room?\u201d Jack grabbed a random Lois Duncan off the shelf, not even glancing at the title.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Heather gave her a funny look, maybe sensing the change in her behavior. Jack wished she could explain without sounding like a complete head-case. \u201cSure, we can do that.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They walked over to the book-scanner, running their selections through and inputting their personal codes. Books checked out, they headed back out of the library, nodding at the orderly on duty by the door.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo,\u201d Heather said after a moment. \u201c<i>Killing Mr. Griffin,<\/i> huh? You read it before?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo, is it good?\u201d Jack glanced down at the book, surprised that something with such a violent-sounding title would have been allowed into the ward.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah. Pretty good. Funny, you\u2019d make a good Susan McConnell.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe book\u2019s heroine,\u201d Heather explained. \u201cShe\u2019s a lot like you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cReally?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah,\u201d Stacey\u2019s voice came from behind them. \u201cShe\u2019s a weakling and a snitch.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack blinked and looked behind her. Stacey, Colette, and Kyra were coming out of the bathroom. Stacey\u2019s eyes were smoldering with resentment, Colette looked amused, and Kyra\u2019s face was a complete deadpan.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m not a snitch,\u201d Jack found herself protesting.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s why you were up in Flint\u2019s office, huh?\u201d Stacey\u2019s hands balled into fists.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c<i>Oh.<\/i> That.\u201d She\u2019d forgotten for a moment that Riddick was one of Stacey\u2019s personal heroes. \u201cYeah, he wanted me to sign something about Riddick and I told him no way. I don\u2019t think he\u2019s happy with me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Stacey blinked in surprise. \u201cYou didn\u2019t sign it?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cPlease. I\u2019m not a complete idiot.\u201d Jack found she was gladder than ever that she\u2019d refused the director.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGood.\u201d Stacey began to pass her, deliberately invading her personal space. Jack stood her ground, meeting the girl\u2019s ferocious eyes. \u201cYou better not, too. \u2019Cause snitches get stitches.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Then the blonde girl was past her, Colette following. She met the heavier, dark-haired girl\u2019s malicious smirk with a calm expression, and then Kyra was passing. <i>She<\/i> flashed Jack a sardonic, sympathetic little hint of a smile, there and gone before her friends could see it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>What the&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Had she imagined that? Or had she really seen it? She wasn\u2019t sure.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWell, that was refreshing.\u201d Heather put her hand on Jack\u2019s shoulder. \u201cAnd don\u2019t worry, Susan\u2019s no snitch, she\u2019s just got your kind of conscience. You\u2019re gonna en&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The hand on her shoulder suddenly clamped down hard, shaking Jack out of her momentary stupor. The sense of unease that had been with her since Heather walked up to her spiked and turned into pure terror.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Heather\u2019s head tilted to the side, her expression a rictus of fear and agony. A high, strange, rattling whine escaped her throat.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Oh fuck. Oh fuck!<\/i> Jack reached out, trying to catch hold of Heather, as the girl\u2019s body began to writhe and buck.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They were falling.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack twisted so that she\u2019d hit the floor first, Heather\u2019s convulsing body falling on top of her. She struggled to get her arms around Heather, wrestling her over, but the other girl\u2019s limbs were spasming out of control. A sharp blow struck the side of her head and for a moment she saw gray.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Got her&#8288;\u2026 gotta hold her&#8288;\u2026<\/i> She had Heather down on her back.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cHelp!\u201d<\/i> she screamed, hearing footsteps heading for her at a run. \u201cSomebody <i>help!\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Heather\u2019s eyes had rolled back. Another horrific groan emerged from her. More hands appeared, holding her down. Jack glanced up and saw Ofra, one of the ward\u2019s \u201cquiet crazies,\u201d next to her, a grim and determined expression on her usually blank face.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThis is Orderly Blevins on C Ward, looks like we have some kind of fight&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJeez, you idiot, you think everything\u2019s about fighting around here?\u201d Jack snapped. That was the same orderly that had wanted to tranq Kyra. \u201cHeather\u2019s having a seizure, now would you <i>help me?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The man glared at her but put his mic back up to his mouth. \u201cCorrection. Medical assistance needed on C Ward. Patient down with convulsions.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">More people were gathering, babbling. Jack ignored them, turning her focus back on Heather. A hint of pink foam had gathered in the corner of her mouth, and Jack grimaced as the sudden stink of urine and feces hit her nose. But the convulsions seemed to be easing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHeather? Heather, can you hear me?\u201d The girl\u2019s eyes were still rolled back. \u201cHeather!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Beneath her, she could feel a strange tremor pass through Heather\u2019s body, and then&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Heather went limp and still.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Too still.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack felt as through a rough fist had suddenly clenched around her heart. Heather wasn\u2019t breathing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh fuck! Heather, no, oh God&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She leaned forward, pulling Heather\u2019s mouth open, trying to remember the lifeguard training she\u2019d taken at summer camp two years earlier. She\u2019d only ever done CPR once, and on a dummy. Pinching Heather\u2019s nose closed, she pressed her mouth to hers and blew in, tasting blood on her lips.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>One, two, blow, now gotta do the chest&#8288;\u2026<\/i> She ignored the excited commotion around her as she ripped open the front of Heather\u2019s shirt. <i>Okay, where do I do this? Oh yeah&#8288;\u2026 Okay, one, two&#8288;\u2014 shit!<\/i> Beneath her hands she felt something snap.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh God, I think I broke something, somebody please&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was being lifted up, away from Heather. \u201cIt\u2019s okay,\u201d a voice said in her ear. \u201cYou did fine. The crash team\u2019s here. They\u2019ll help her now.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Heather vanished beneath a huddle of medical uniforms.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack struggled for a second, wanting to move back to her friend\u2019s side, before giving up. She glanced back to see who had her and was surprised, anew, to realize it was Kyra. She let her roommate back her up, away from the huddle.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat was some fast thinking,\u201d Kyra said, a hint of approval in her voice. \u201cHere I thought you\u2019d be the type to go to pieces in a crisis.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShe stopped breathing,\u201d Jack answered, still stuck on that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra nodded, frowning. \u201cI\u2019ve seen her have freak-outs before. She never had one like that. Isn\u2019t she on some new experimental treatment?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Was she? Jack couldn\u2019t remember. She couldn\u2019t <i>think.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m getting nothing,\u201d one of the orderlies said. \u201cWe\u2019d better get her upstairs.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They were lifting Heather\u2019s still form onto a gurney and wheeling her down the hall. Jack watched, feeling as helpless as she had back on that planet, as her friend vanished into the emergency elevator. One of the remaining orderlies walked over to her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cLooks like you\u2019re going to have a black eye, Jack. You want me to get you something for the pain?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHuh?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHeather must\u2019a clocked you a good one,\u201d Kyra commented. \u201cYou didn\u2019t even feel it, did you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWait right here, I\u2019ll get you some meds and an ice pack.\u201d The orderly\u2014Jack finally noticed enough to realize it was the one who had been watching the library\u2014smiled at her and walked off. Carmouche, that was his name. She hadn\u2019t paid attention to the names of many of the orderlies, but he was always nice to her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A second later, her knees gave out.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhoa, easy.\u201d Kyra caught her and eased her to the floor. \u201cYou gonna pass out or anything?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack shook her head a little and winced as the pain around her eye throbbed into virulent life. She let Kyra push her backwards until she was half sitting, half leaning against the wall. \u201cI\u2019ll be okay.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Carmouche was heading back over to them, carrying a tray. He crouched down beside her and held out a paper cup with two pills in it. \u201cThis is for the pain.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack took the cup and tossed the pills into her mouth, accepting a small cup of water to swallow them down. He handed her the ice pack next, which she gingerly applied to the side of her face.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Ow&#8288;\u2026 okay, that\u2019s starting to feel a little better&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cGate Station, this is the infirmary, come back.\u201d<\/i> A voice crackled over Carmouche\u2019s comm.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cThis is Gate Station. Go ahead.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cStand by, you\u2019re going to be admitting a van from the Medical Examiner\u2019s office in a few minutes. We have a DOA here&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The hard fist was back around Jack\u2019s heart, squeezing it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShit, Carmouche, turn that thing off!\u201d Kyra shouted.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Gray swam over Jack\u2019s vision as she watched, with her one good eye, Carmouche scrambling to shut off his comm. The last thing that she heard, as the gray turned to black, was Heather\u2019s name being spoken over it.<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4009\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4009 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-10\">\u00ab Chapter 10<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4075\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4075 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-12\">Chapter 12 \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=\"12\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4010\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4010 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-11\">\u00ab Chapter 11<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4076\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4076 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-13\">Chapter 13 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5091\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5091 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\"><b>12.<br\/><u>Darkness With a Heart<\/u><\/b><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A bell rang. Jack ignored it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJack.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She ignored that, too.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHey, Jack.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She curled inward and huddled against her pillow.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh, fuck it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She heard Kyra leave the room, closing the door behind her. A long, gray time passed, and the door opened again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOkay, Jackie.\u201d That was Nurse Raymond\u2019s voice. \u201cIf Mohammad won\u2019t go to her lunch, her lunch will come to her.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She heard Nurse Raymond come over to her and the sounds of a tray being set down and arranged.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNot&#8288;\u2026 hungry.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh, no you don\u2019t. We let you get away with that yesterday. Today you eat.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDon\u2019t wanna.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTough, kid.\u201d Dry humor entered Raymond\u2019s voice. \u201cYou didn\u2019t let me get in trouble for not giving you the tour. Are you gonna let me get in trouble for starving you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For a moment, Jack almost felt a smile creeping onto her face. Then the pain struck her again. Heather was dead. Heather was <i>dead.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I lose everybody I care about&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She turned over, groaning. Fighting did no good around here. She had no appetite but apparently that didn\u2019t count for shit&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSoup?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Raymond shook her head, her expression kind. \u201cBroth. Easier on you right now, I figured.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Well, what the hell, right?<\/i> Maybe this woman had something akin to a clue.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack sat up and accepted the mug. \u201cThanks.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019re welcome.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was a weirdly civilized interchange. Somehow it had seemed to Jack as if social niceties were some of the things that ought to have mysteriously vanished. Everything felt raw to her, like the world of \u201cplease\u201d and \u201cthank you\u201d should be far, far away. Yet there it was.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She sipped the broth slowly, vaguely aware that it was warm but unable to taste it. Raymond didn\u2019t try to force conversation on her while she drank, and just sat quietly beside her bed. Finally, Jack was done and set the cup down on the tray.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s very good,\u201d Raymond told her. \u201cNow, tonight I want you to get up and come to the dining room for dinner, all right? If you just want more broth again, that\u2019s fine, but please come there on your own.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack sighed and nodded. She was aware of the threat Raymond was trying hard not to make, that if she didn\u2019t begin eating on her own power again, they\u2019d have to force-feed her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019ll be back in a while to check on you, okay? Is there anything you need?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo,\u201d Jack muttered. \u201cI\u2019m fine. Thank you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Raymond gave her a dubious look, clearly not buying her reassurance at all, but didn\u2019t push it. Instead, she carried the tray to the door. \u201cSee you in a little while, Jackie.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack nodded and waved as the nurse left the room, and then lay back down on her bed. There were two books lying on the little table beside her, she suddenly noticed. Reaching out, she picked them up and felt her throat tighten. <i>Killing Mr. Griffin<\/i> and <i>Hatter Fox,<\/i> the \u201cclassics\u201d she and Heather had checked out of the library just moments before everything went to Hell.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She began thumbing idly through the first book.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt>There was a slight pause. Then Mark said, \u201cNobody wanted to miss watching you die.\u201d<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack shuddered and flipped forward, as fast as she could, away from that eerie, sickening passage.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt>It hardly mattered. The cold gripping her came from within and no layer of outer clothing would ever alleviate it.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack swallowed and looked harder at the page. \u201cShe\u201d was Susan, the girl Heather had said was a lot like her. <i>God yeah, a lot like me. That\u2019s exactly how I feel&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She flipped again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt>Susan closed her eyes. When I open them, she told herself, this whole room will have vanished and this dreadful woman with it. Ten years will have gone by, and I will be grown and far away in my private cabin on the shore of a lake. I will look out through my fine window onto deep, calm green, with millions of tiny ripples shining and sparkling in the sunlight, and a breeze will come, clean and sweet across the water, smelling of pine trees. I will think back and ask myself, where was I ten years ago. What was I doing? What was I feeling? And I won\u2019t even remember.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack closed the book. Heather had been right. Susan <i>was<\/i> a lot like her. And that cabin, that lake&#8288;\u2026 John MacNamera had taken his wife and daughter to one much like that, maybe a year before Audrey\u2019s parents had split up. Deckard\u2019s World was full of woodsy places like that, lakes and rivers and mountains and little cabins. Closing her eyes, Jack conjured back that memory, of being Audrey, happy and secure, all right in the world and with her family, offering a handful of her dad\u2019s live fishing bait to the large turtle she\u2019d encountered by the shore.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Ten years from now,<\/i> she promised herself, <i>I\u2019ll be Audrey again and all this won\u2019t even be a bad memory. All this will be forgotten as if it never happened. As if Jack&#8288;\u2026 and Riddick&#8288;\u2026 never existed.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Heather\u2019s face swam before her eyes for a moment, and she wiped away tears. Part of her wanted to forget the yawning hole Heather\u2019s death had left within her, more than anything, but part of her felt like that would be the ultimate treachery.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She set down <i>Killing Mr. Griffin<\/i>\u2014there was no way she could read it now\u2014and picked up Heather\u2019s book. <i>Hatter Fox,<\/i> with the girl on the cover who looked even more primally dangerous than Kyra. Would this one be safe to read? She flipped to the last page.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt>I miss her&#8288;\u2026 I miss her&#8288;\u2026 I miss her&#8288;\u2026<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Oh God&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The book practically leapt out of her hands, flying across the room, and Jack collapsed on her bed. Huge sobs wracked her body, and she pressed her face hard into her pillow to muffle them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The door to her room creaked. She could only just barely hear voices over the sound of her anguish and couldn\u2019t make out who they belonged to.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c<i>Jesus.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cLook, you guys just go on. I\u2019ll be there in a bit, okay?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBut you\u2019ll miss the part where he sky-dives off the bridge&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019ll see it another time. You guys go on.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The door closed. Through her misery, Jack knew that she wasn\u2019t alone again; someone had stayed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her sobs were easing. She could hear someone moving around and then the sound of something being put on her bedside table. Whoever it was, she realized, had picked up the books for her. Her springs creaked and the mattress down by her feet sank as someone sat down on the foot of her bed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Guess I\u2019d better face the music.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She expected to turn over and see Nurse Raymond, or maybe one of the orderlies, watching her. Instead, she found herself pinned by Kyra\u2019s slate-blue gaze. There was no mockery or belligerence in the older girl\u2019s expression. If anything, there was something a bit sad in it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHere,\u201d Kyra said, and held out the last of a roll of toilet paper.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack sat up, sniffled, and accepted the offering, rolling some paper off to wipe her eyes and nose with. \u201cTh&#8288;\u2026&#8288;thanks.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo problem.\u201d Kyra\u2019s voice was noncommittal, carefully so. \u201cNice to see you finally moving around.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That almost surprised a smile out of Jack. She\u2019d lain like the dead for more than a day, she suddenly realized, while Kyra had come and gone and had periodically spoken to her. For the life of her, she couldn\u2019t remember any of the things the other girl had said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, um&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Jack drew in a shuddering breath. Her voice was completely unsteady. She wiped at her eyes again. \u201cI think they\u2019d start force-feeding me or something soon if I didn\u2019t get up.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cProbably.\u201d Kyra sounded amused, but not in a hostile or mocking way. \u201cAnd you should probably take a shower soon, too.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack nodded, wiping her nose again. \u201cYeah&#8288;\u2026 sorry about that.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDon\u2019t worry about it. Heather was really cool&#8288;\u2026 and I know you two were close.\u201d Kyra\u2019s tone sounded awkward, almost hesitant. \u201cHow\u2019s your eye?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack hadn\u2019t even remembered, until that moment, that her left eye was bruised. She gingerly touched the tender flesh. The swelling had begun to go down, but it was still sensitive. \u201cIt\u2019s okay, I guess.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGood.\u201d Kyra still looked uncomfortable. \u201cYou know&#8288;\u2026 when I first got here, Heather was my roommate.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack blinked, startled. Heather had never mentioned that, the few times they\u2019d talked about the hospital or the other girls in it. \u201cShe was?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah.\u201d Kyra scooted back on the bed, leaning against the wall. Now she seemed more relaxed. \u201cDown in D Ward. I\u2019d just been transferred here, and she\u2019d been checked in about a week before me. You\u2019re not supposed to have roommates down there, but things were overcrowded, so they bunked us in with each other.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat was she like?\u201d Jack was having a hard time picturing Heather needing to be in D Ward.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShe was pretty messed up back then.\u201d A wry smile touched Kyra\u2019s lips. \u201cThey were trying all kinds of meds with her to control her episodes, but nothing was working. One or two even made them worse. Between episodes, though, she was cool. Like she was up here.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWere you friends?\u201d As far as she knew, Kyra and Heather hadn\u2019t spent any time together up on C Ward; they\u2019d moved in completely different circles.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra shrugged. \u201cI guess. Yeah. We were. I don\u2019t remember a lot about that time. There\u2019s a lot missing.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack watched, her own anguish forgotten, as Kyra frowned and then winced. She waited for Kyra to continue speaking.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThey tell me the doctors on New Chris\u2014I mean, New Dartmouth\u2014used electroshock on me. So for the first month or so after the transfer&#8288;\u2026 I don\u2019t remember much. Bits and pieces. Mostly thinking the orderlies were Red Roger\u2019s guys and trying to take them out again.\u201d Kyra tried to smile it off, but Jack could see some lingering pain there. \u201cI was completely messed up. In and out of isolation, and when I wasn\u2019t in Iso, Heather was&#8288;\u2026 so for a while we barely knew anyone was sharing a room with us. Until we started getting better.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack realized she couldn\u2019t fully comprehend it. From the sound of it, even if Kyra had escaped the fate that Red Roger and his men had doled out to most of New Christy\u2019s women, she\u2019d been <i>psychologically<\/i> raped by the authorities once she\u2019d been caught. The only time Jack had ever experienced hallucinations was once, when she was nine, and a new variant of \u2019Enza had come to Deckard\u2019s World. It was an entirely inadequate comparison, and despite herself, she was fascinated, wondering what it would be like to have seen the things Kyra had seen, what it would be like to be ruled by those sorts of nightmares. Her sniffles had finally stopped, forgotten.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo then you became friends?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI guess, yeah. Not much else to do but talk. <i>Everything<\/i> is restricted down there. If you behave you can leave your room and walk around a little, maybe watch some vids&#8288;\u2026 but it\u2019s a totally dead place. So we talked a lot. The Killer\u2019s Club was her idea.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>That<\/i> almost knocked Jack over. She stared at Kyra in shock.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A slow, almost impish grin spread over Kyra\u2019s face. She nodded at Jack and then reached over, slipping a finger under Jack\u2019s chin and pushing her mouth closed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo way. You have <i>got<\/i> to be kidding me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra smirked. \u201cOh yeah? Why\u2019s that?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWell, every time she talked about it, she made it pretty clear she didn\u2019t&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d Crap. She couldn\u2019t say that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShe didn\u2019t like the club. Yeah.\u201d Kyra leaned back against the wall and ran her fingers through her hair. Jack was suddenly reminded, powerfully, of Shazza\u2019s long tresses. For a moment, she could almost see the wild-haired New Australian woman sitting next to her in place of Kyra.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She blinked and shook her head, and the drift of illusion was gone.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra was playing with a lock of her hair, twisting it slowly around her finger. \u201cShe first started it because she had this idea it\u2019d help me, and maybe help her, too. We\u2019d both killed people. I\u2019d meant to do it. She\u2019d done it by accident during one of her attacks. She thought it\u2019d be nice for us to make some kind of support group, since almost nobody else understood what it was we\u2019d done.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack watched as Kyra held out her hand in front of her, seemingly entranced by her own fingers. Slowly, she closed them into a fist. Jack could almost feel them closing around life itself, extinguishing it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat it was like to take a life,\u201d Kyra continued, staring at her fist.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Even Riddick, Jack suddenly thought, had never seemed quite so frightening as Kyra did in this moment. Maybe that was just because, at that time, she still hadn\u2019t understood the true brutality of that way of living.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra glanced over at Jack. A corner of her mouth twitched up in what might have been another smirk, but whether she was mocking Jack or herself was unclear. \u201cShe figured we could get over it and move on and put it all behind us, and I guess maybe that worked for her okay, because she wasn\u2019t exactly <i>in<\/i> her right mind when she scragged those picnickers&#8288;\u2026 but it wasn\u2019t the same for me. I knew what I was doing. I\u2019d do it again. If possible, I\u2019d do it even slower and more painful than I did it the first time.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack swallowed and tried to hide the shudder that was moving through her at those words. <i>Just remember,<\/i> she admonished herself, <i>Kyra lived through the New Christy Massacre. If you watched someone kill your whole family, you\u2019d probably say the same things about them&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Would she, though? Antonia Chillingsworth had hung her from a ceiling and loosed <i>Shrills<\/i> on her. Within the twelve-hour period leading up to that woman\u2019s death, Jack had been kicked in the back, cut with a huge knife, had a gun put to her head, hung, almost fed to a Class 1 Hostile Xeno, chased down by <i>another<\/i> species of Class 1, shot at, and strangled. So how come she felt so <i>guilty<\/i> for killing her?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Because <b>he<\/b> left me.<\/i> The thought was like a punch in the stomach. <i>I lose everybody I love&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick hadn\u2019t even said good-bye, making his abandonment even worse than her dad\u2019s.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The day her dad had told her he was leaving was still carved into her mind. She\u2019d thought things were going so well, and that a reconciliation was just around the bend. Her mom seemed to <i>need<\/i> him again, and only the day before she\u2019d come home from school to find them talking companionably in the living room. But then it had all shattered, and she still didn\u2019t know why.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cAudrey,\u201d he\u2019d told her, as they walked back from the town square, ice cream cones in their hands. \u201cI\u2019ve got something I need to tell you. I\u2019m re-enlisting.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>She\u2019d looked up at her dad in confusion, not understanding at first what he meant. He\u2019d discharged from the Corps of Engineers a year and a half before her birth. Finally, it dawned on her.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cYou\u2019re going back into the Service? Why?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>He\u2019d started to say something and then had stopped himself. Anyone else might have been fooled and not realized he\u2019d changed direction, but he couldn\u2019t fool his own daughter. \u201cThey need people with my training, and&#8288;\u2026 I need to do something meaningful.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cWhy, the security systems aren\u2019t?\u201d She\u2019d loved playing with her dad\u2019s schematics and knew them by heart. Sometimes, in the last year or two, she\u2019d even helped him with them; it was the only way he\u2019d been able to squeeze in his visitation time.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cIt\u2019s not that. It\u2019s just&#8288;\u2026 things have changed a lot. You\u2019ll understand, soon.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>She always hated it when grown-ups said that to her. It always meant they had no intention of even <b>trying<\/b> to explain themselves. That was when it struck her what he was <b>really<\/b> saying.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cYou\u2019re going off-planet, aren\u2019t you? You\u2019re <b>leaving!<\/b> You\u2019re leaving us!\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>It was the first time she\u2019d ever seen that look of anguish on her dad\u2019s face, that look of vulnerability, and it almost shattered her. John MacNamera was supposed to be invincible.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cI\u2019m sorry, kiddo.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>It was tempting to fling her ice cream cone to the ground and run off, but she managed not to. She wasn\u2019t a little girl anymore; she couldn\u2019t just throw a tantrum, as much as she might want to, and she knew that one wouldn\u2019t do a bit of good. She swallowed, took a deep breath, and tried to make herself be an <b>adult<\/b> about it. \u201cWhere are you going?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cI\u2019m being posted to Caldera Base.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cThe <b>Caldera?<\/b>\u201d The urge to throw a tantrum was back, worse than ever. \u201cThat\u2019s on Furya! That\u2019s half a <b>year<\/b> away by Star Jump!\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>He was leaving. He was leaving and she wouldn\u2019t get to see him anymore, and he wasn\u2019t even going to tell her <b>why.<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cThey need engineers there, Audrey. Good ones. There\u2019s still a lot of rebuilding work to do. The population\u2019s starting to recover from the Diaspora, but they can\u2019t do it without help.\u201d He turned and locked gazes with her. \u201cI can\u2019t turn away from people who need help.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>He had her there. It was the same way <b>she<\/b> felt a lot of the time. Her mom had called the two of them her \u201cmatched set of activists,\u201d back when she\u2019d still called John MacNamera <b>her<\/b> anything. He had to go where he was needed.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>But what about <b>her?<\/b> She needed him more than anyone.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cIt won\u2019t be forever, I promise. You\u2019ll understand, soon, why it has to be this way.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>And she had, sooner than she\u2019d liked. It was only one day after their tearful goodbyes at the spaceport when she came home to find Alvin in her living room, her mom\u2019s hand in his, and had known the <b>real<\/b> score, too late to demand to go with her dad&#8288;\u2014<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHey. Jack? You awake in there?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack blinked and looked up. Kyra was leaning over her, almost in her face, looking a little annoyed. \u201cYeah. I\u2019m sorry. I just&#8288;\u2026 I started thinking about what it\u2019d be like to have something like that happen to my family.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra\u2019s expression eased. She sat back, a wry grin playing over her face. \u201cOh, I\u2019ve got a pretty good idea what you\u2019d do.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>She probably thinks I\u2019d run and hide under a bed and cry.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHeather\u2019d had a good idea, though,\u201d Kyra continued. \u201cWith the support group, I mean. It was cool, for a while. There was this other girl, Doris, down in the D ward at the same time as us, and she\u2019d killed her uncle&#8288;\u2026 bet you can guess why.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack swallowed and nodded.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo we hung out, and we talked about how we had a shot at new lives when we got out of here, shit like that&#8288;\u2026 and then Heather got sent up to C Ward&#8288;\u2026 and I got transferred about a week later&#8288;\u2026 and Doris came up a few weeks after that. And we kept going for a while.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat changed?\u201d Jack found she was increasingly curious.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A funny look crossed Kyra\u2019s face. \u201cStacey and Colette showed up. Hell, Heather was the one who invited them into the group. They\u2019d killed, and all&#8288;\u2026 I guess she figured they needed it too.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack tried to contrast Heather\u2014kind, commanding, caretaker Heather\u2014with those two and their deliberate viciousness.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThey like it too much, don\u2019t they? They\u2019re not looking to \u2018get better.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The gaze Kyra fixed on her was shrewd, almost approving. \u201cYeah. And they wanted to know all about me. I didn\u2019t get why at first. I didn\u2019t understand for a long time why Heather stopped coming to the little meeting things we did, why she didn\u2019t talk to me anymore if they were around, any of it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra leaned back against the wall again. \u201cThe club was supposed to be about getting over it. Not&#8288;\u2026 comparing notes and discussing technique&#8288;\u2026 and all that. I didn\u2019t notice because Stacey and Colette were never anything but nice to <i>me,<\/i> but I get why she wasn\u2019t comfortable around them. Well, now I do.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThey idolize you, don\u2019t they?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra looked almost sad for a moment. \u201cYeah. They do. They want to be just like me when they get out. Like what they think I am, anyway. No wonder Heather didn\u2019t want to be around them.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack nodded. She never felt comfortable around them either. \u201cSo when did you figure it out?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhen you got here.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Huh?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMe?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra smirked a little. \u201cYou got here, and Heather just took you over. And I was jealous as hell&#8288;\u2026 and then I realized why she was doing that with you when she stopped doing it with me. She was starting up her version of the Killer\u2019s Club again, and this time, she was making sure the people in it were ones who didn\u2019t <i>want<\/i> to kill again.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack nodded. She hadn\u2019t known much about the deaths on Heather\u2019s conscience, but she\u2019d known that they\u2019d weighed on her, and&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Wait. Oh. Fuck!<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra knew. Kyra knew that her story\u2014the story that <i>Riddick<\/i> really <i>had<\/i> been the one to kill Chillingsworth\u2014was a lie. Kyra knew that <i>she\u2019d<\/i> done it. The same as Heather apparently had.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Oh <b>fuck!<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Had she actually managed to fool <i>anyone?<\/i><\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4010\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4010 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-11\">\u00ab Chapter 11<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4076\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4076 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-13\">Chapter 13 \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=\"13\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4011\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4011 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-12\">\u00ab Chapter 12<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4077\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4077 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-14\">Chapter 14 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5094\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5094 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\"><b>13.<br\/><u>A Lot Like Me, A Lot Like You<\/u><\/b><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI don\u2019t know what you\u2019re talking about,\u201d Jack made herself say. \u201cI never killed anybody.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The look Kyra turned on her was entirely too knowing. \u201cYeah, Jack, of course you didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Fuck.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack took a deep breath and glanced over at the door. It was closed; they were alone. \u201cHow long have you known?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra shrugged. \u201cIf you mean, when did I realize you were lying? The moment you told the lie. See, I saw you that day. That guy visited you and afterward you looked like one of those zombie-freaks on Colette\u2019s Tuesday night show. White as snow. And I got to know snow real well in New Christie. Next thing we know, you\u2019re changing your story. Contrary to public belief, I <i>can<\/i> put two and two together.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWho else knows?\u201d She hoped <i>someone<\/i> believed her story.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFar as I know, I\u2019m the only one. I think Heather knew, too. But you seem to have the staff fooled, and that\u2019s the important part, right?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack swallowed and leaned forward. \u201cKyra, listen to me. <i>Nobody<\/i> can know the truth. Not the staff, and not anybody else here, not your friends, nobody. If the secret gets out, sooner or later they\u2019ll figure out that&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat your guardian knows where he is?\u201d Kyra\u2019s eyes were shrewd. \u201cThat\u2019s what it was about, huh?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>God, I hope she knows all this stuff because she\u2019s ridiculously smart.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah. Kyra, promise me that nobody\u2019s going to find out from you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The older girl smirked at her. \u201cRemember what Stacey said the other day? \u2018Snitches get stitches.\u2019 You don\u2019t have to worry I\u2019m gonna blab your secrets.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat about her? She\u2019s got this whole <i>thing<\/i> for Riddick, doesn\u2019t she?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, she does. But she likes the idea that he threatened you even better.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That made Jack blink. \u201cShe does?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra\u2019s smirk became strangely scornful. \u201cYou\u2019ve never seen the porn she hacks off the network. She knows where all the \u2018rape movie\u2019 sites are. There\u2019s nothing she loves more than watching vids of big men hurting little girls. So the idea that Riddick maybe raped you just has her <i>all<\/i> excited.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra looked away, but not before Jack saw her sneer of disgust.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou don\u2019t like that about her,\u201d she hazarded.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI <i>hate<\/i> that about her,\u201d Kyra said after a moment. \u201cYou know, I saw a lot of what happened when Roger and his men stormed the enclave. They dragged this ten-year-old girl out into one of the courtyards and these five guys took turns with her. I took out three of them before they zeroed in on me and I had to move. She was crying the whole time&#8288;\u2026\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For a moment, the dark-haired girl\u2019s customary look of savagery was gone. She looked haunted. Vulnerable. <i>Human.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat happened to her?\u201d Jack wasn\u2019t sure she wanted to know.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">When Kyra spoke again, her voice was as close to tears as Jack had ever heard. \u201cWhen I was escaping with the others, we had to go through the courtyard. She was still in the center of it. They\u2019d killed her&#8288;\u2026 and they\u2019d&#8288;\u2026 mutilated her body. I think they did it while she was still alive.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo wonder.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra\u2019s eyes flashed up at her. \u201cNo wonder what?\u201d The vulnerability was gone, replaced by suspicion.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo wonder you spent a week paying Roger back.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A shudder passed through Kyra\u2019s frame, and their eyes remained locked for a long moment. Jack suddenly realized that she was probably the first person to hear about this since Heather. Colette and Stacey might worship Kyra, she thought, but only her strength and savagery. The fact that her killings had been motivated by pain, and by love, was something they wouldn\u2019t be able to respect. They wanted her to be a sadist, because that was what <i>they<\/i> were.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack felt like she was inside Kyra\u2019s head. She could see it all so clearly, as if it was happening to her. Home and sanctuary turned into a bloody, violated killing field. People she knew and loved screaming, fleeing, trying to fight, overwhelmed by monsters in human form. Trying to save them, feeling each death as if it were her own. Having no choice but to flee, hating herself for not being stronger, more powerful, not being able to single-handedly save the day.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Even holding a gun, even using it to cut down attackers, couldn\u2019t have countered the soul-annihilating feelings of helplessness&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cStop.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack came back to herself. \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cStop it. Don\u2019t do that.\u201d Kyra\u2019s expression was wary, defensive.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDo what?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou know. Don\u2019t do it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI was just&#8288;\u2026 thinking about what it must have been like. To be at the enclave when that was all happening.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI <i>know<\/i> what you were thinking.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cKyra, I promise you, I don\u2019t think you were wrong. What you did, fighting back when they stormed in there, it\u2019s&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat you would have done, too. I know. But look, just&#8288;\u2026 stop. Okay? I can\u2019t think about that stuff for long or&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d She looked down at her hands, clenched tightly into fists.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOr you want to do it all again. I\u2019m sorry. I\u2019ll leave it alone.\u201d Suddenly what Kyra had said hit her. \u201cYou think I\u2019d have done it too? Not wimped out?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That seemed to be what Kyra needed her to ask. She chuckled, her equilibrium visibly returning. \u201cYou didn\u2019t wimp out when you were on the <i>Kublai Khan.<\/i> Did you?\u201d She leaned back against the wall, watching Jack with speculative eyes. \u201cYou remind me of Kaylee.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOne of the other girls who got away, when I did. She\u2019d kept her cool all during the firefight, took out almost as many invaders as I did. But you know, afterward, it all hit her real hard, the way it hit you. She, uh&#8288;\u2026 shot herself about a week after we went into hiding. Kind of a faster version of what you tried to do.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShe killed herself?\u201d Jack felt her heart twist, and wondered if that was why Kyra had looked at her with scorn when they\u2019d first met.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo.\u201d Kyra\u2019s voice faltered. \u201cShe did a number on herself, but it wasn\u2019t fatal. I had to finish her off. Otherwise, it was gonna take her hours to die.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGod, I\u2019m sorry, Kyra.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra\u2019s smile was a bit forced in response. \u201cHow about we change the subject, okay?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack nodded. \u201cSo, uh, how do we make sure that Stacey and the others don\u2019t catch on about Riddick?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra\u2019s smirk was back. \u201cThat\u2019s easy. We make her believe what she <i>wants<\/i> to believe anyway.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWell, you let her corner you, and you tell her all about how Riddick did all kinds of horrible, nasty things to you, and give her something to dream about for months. It\u2019s what she wants to be true anyway. Tell it right and she won\u2019t question it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI can\u2019t, Kyra. If that gets out, he could end up with a reputation as a pedophile and if he goes back to prison with that&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cDamn,<\/i> Jack. He must really be <i>something,<\/i> the way you keep trying to protect him.\u201d Humor flashed in her eyes. \u201cBut don\u2019t worry. Stacey just wants to believe that stuff. She doesn\u2019t want to share it with the world. You know what she said about snitches. Telling anybody would be snitching to her. She just wants to imagine it while she gets off, if Colette isn\u2019t around to get her off.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack stared at Kyra in wonderment. \u201cAnd here I thought the New Christies were supposed to be sexually repressed or something.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra shrugged again. \u201cMaybe. I don\u2019t rightly know. I was, what, twelve when it all went wrong. First time I got my period was in the psychiatric ward after they caught me, and I had no idea what the hell it was until they told me. At first, I thought I\u2019d just been used by one of the guards or something, like what I\u2019d seen happen to friends of mine. I guess the Elders thought if I didn\u2019t know about that stuff, I\u2019d stay innocent and pure or something.\u201d She sneered. \u201cI\u2019ve seen what that gets you. And as for God, after what he let them do? I hate the son of a bitch.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I absolutely believe in God&#8288;\u2026 and I absolutely hate the fucker.<\/i> Riddick had said that to Imam. It had been one of those times when Jack was deliberately lurking supposedly out of hearing range, listening. Nobody had ever seemed to notice how good her hearing really was, even though it had saved Carolyn Fry\u2019s life&#8288;\u2026 or at least postponed her death. Jack had made a point of being nearby, listening in, whenever important conversations were going on. She\u2019d known by then that adults were going to hide things from her, supposedly for her own good, and that her survival and freedom depended upon knowing what they were up to. Any of them might have gotten it into their heads to abort her journey to Furya, unless she stayed a few steps ahead of them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was how she\u2019d learned about the eclipse cycle, how she\u2019d found out that Johns was planning on stiffing Riddick once they left the planet, and how she\u2019d discovered that Johns was planning on offering her up as a Judas Goat to save his own skin. And it was how she\u2019d learned that Riddick felt exactly the same way about God as Kyra.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou know, you\u2019re a lot like him.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat, I\u2019m a lot like God?\u201d Kyra gave her a joking sneer.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cNo,<\/i> sorry, you\u2019re a lot like Riddick. He\u2019s got a real hate on for God, too.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The older girl snickered. \u201cMaybe he\u2019s my <i>soul<\/i> mate.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack found herself chuckling, too. \u201cHe\u2019s definitely not Stacey\u2019s, that\u2019s for sure. Seriously, I think he\u2019d like you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019d be wild. Hey, out of curiosity, where\u2019d you learn how to shoot?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHuh?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWell, you blasted off Shrivelsworth\u2019s&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cChillingsworth.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, her. You blasted her head clean off. You can\u2019t tell me that was the first time you\u2019d ever shot a gun.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack shook her head. \u201cMy dad taught me. I guess he always wanted a son to go hunting with, but all he got was a daughter who could shoot <i>clay<\/i> pigeons but had hysterics when she killed a <i>live<\/i> one.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHmm. Well, you know, I hunted a lot when I was in the mountains after the standoff ended&#8288;\u2026 but that was for food. Survival. You probably could do it without crying if you were hungry enough.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMaybe,\u201d Jack admitted after a moment. \u201cBut just running around out there killing for fun? Not my thing. So I stuck to the target range after that. It was one of the things my parents fought about anyway. My mom didn\u2019t even want me <i>handling<\/i> a gun.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cCame in handy, though, didn\u2019t it?\u201d Kyra\u2019s gaze was almost approving.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah. How\u2019d you learn?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThey started teaching all of us how to use the guns about&#8288;\u2026 oh, a week into the standoff. I think they knew things were going to get bloody.\u201d Kyra gave Jack another wry smile, meant to conceal the twist of pain beneath. It almost did, but Jack still felt like she could see beneath the other girl\u2019s skin now. \u201cSo I went from bullseyeing target circles, to blowing off men\u2019s heads, to hunting deer and rabbit. One time I got a goose.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra suddenly winced and put her hand over her mouth.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI just realized&#8288;\u2026 I think that was one of the tame geese from the enclave. They\u2019d follow you around if you gave them corn&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Kyra\u2019s voice drifted off for a long moment and then she cleared her throat. \u201cFuck. When I get out of here, somebody\u2019s paying for that. You know what I\u2019m gonna do, Jack?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo, what?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">As she talked, the distress in her face gave way again to a calm, determined expression. \u201cI\u2019m gonna become a bounty hunter. Gonna go after the kinds of sick shits who do things like in Stacey\u2019s vids. If they\u2019re lucky, maybe they\u2019ll still have their balls when I turn them in for the bounty.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh, Kyra, no.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It took Jack a moment to compose her thoughts in answer to that. \u201cLook, maybe a lot of bounty hunters <i>are<\/i> good people, I don\u2019t know. But I\u2019ve met a bunch now, and they\u2019re just in it for the money. They\u2019ll use you up for a percentage. Johns\u2014that\u2019s the guy who caught Riddick\u2014he threatened a bunch of little kids to get Riddick to surrender. Killed some of them, too. You don\u2019t want to be with people like that.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWell,\u201d Kyra mused, \u201cit\u2019s either people like them, or something worse, Jack. You may be the type to do the whole domestic life thing, I don\u2019t know&#8288;\u2026 but I already know I\u2019m not. Red Roger took everything I ever knew from me. And he woke up something inside me that these docs can\u2019t get out of me. When I leave here, I know where I\u2019m going to end up, what I\u2019m going to end up doing. I might as well do it in a way that the law won\u2019t come down on me for, you know?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s just such a bad idea, Kyra. There are other things you could do. Military, or security, or something, but becoming a merc&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMilitary won\u2019t take me, I already checked on that. Nobody wants the Black Fox of Canaan Mountain in their ranks <i>except<\/i> merc outfits. Don\u2019t worry about it, though. I know the score. I\u2019ll be careful.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDon\u2019t trust any of them.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra gave her a mocking grin, but there was no hostility in it. \u201cJack, <i>I<\/i> don\u2019t trust <i>anybody.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Someone knocked on the door at that moment. It opened, and Nurse Raymond stepped in. Her face lit up as she entered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWell, look who\u2019s up! I guess that broth did the trick, didn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Something<\/i> sure had, Jack thought. She glanced over at her roommate and felt like a secret smile, visible only to the two of them, passed between them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, I\u2019m feeling better, I guess.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It still hurt. She dreaded going to the dining room and seeing Heather\u2019s painfully empty seat. But she felt a lot stronger now, and she knew who to thank for it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMuch better. Thank you.\u201d<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4011\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4011 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-12\">\u00ab Chapter 12<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4077\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4077 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-14\">Chapter 14 \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=\"14\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4012\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4012 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-13\">\u00ab Chapter 13<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4078\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4078 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-15\">Chapter 15 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5097\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5097 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\"><b>14.<br\/><u>The Dark Side of the Soul<\/u><\/b><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Dinnertime, Jack knew, was not going to be easy.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was dreading walking into the dining hall and seeing Heather\u2019s empty seat. She was dreading sitting close to it. Although her talk with Kyra had helped her feel a little bit better about what had happened, she knew that confronting this particular proof of Heather\u2019s absence from the world was going to hurt like hell.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra must have known it, too. Jack could feel the older girl\u2019s eyes on her as she entered the dining room.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Okay, deep breath. Let\u2019s&#8288;\u2014 oh, you little <b>bitch.<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Two seats were vacant at Jack\u2019s table: hers, and Celia\u2019s. Celia was sitting in the spot that had belonged to Heather.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The chatter in the room went completely silent as she approached the table, her eyes fixed on the little drama queen. She could see Celia getting paler as she approached, but not doing the smart thing of getting the hell out of that chair.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHey, Jack.\u201d The girl\u2019s voice cracked just to the scared side of perky.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack couldn\u2019t speak. Her hands were clenched tightly into fists, but the rage she felt was blocking all the words she might say.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo, you hungry? I know I always have trouble eating after something bad happens&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I, me, my, mine.<\/i> Everything in Celia\u2019s world was always about <i>her.<\/i> Jack realized she was shaking. Not with fear. Not <i>hardly<\/i> with fear. With murderous rage. The last time fury so dark and intense had coursed through her, Antonia Chillingsworth had ended up headless.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s not your seat.\u201d She didn\u2019t even recognize her own voice when it grated out.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Celia blinked and went a little paler. \u201cC\u2019mon, Jack, nobody\u2019s using it anymore, and anyway, it\u2019s right next to Maura, you know&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou have <i>no<\/i> business in that seat. That\u2019s Heather\u2019s seat.\u201d It sounded crazy, and yet it also sounded perfectly sensible. Heather had only been dead for two days, and already Little Miss Wants-the-Spotlight was stinking up her chair&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJack,\u201d Celia said, as if she was talking to a small child. \u201cHeather\u2019s dead.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Around them, girls smarter than Celia were clearing away from the table.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGet out of that chair.\u201d Jack\u2019s fury was so consuming now that her voice couldn\u2019t reach above a whisper.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Celia glanced around, perhaps finally realizing that she might be in trouble. Or perhaps not.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGet&#8288;\u2026 the <i>fuck<\/i>&#8288;\u2026 out of that chair!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s <i>mine<\/i> now. I have seniority at the table and I\u2019ll sit in it if I want. You\u2019re hardly one to complain, since you\u2019re the one who killed her.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Murmurs had been going back and forth in the background; the silence that fell after Celia\u2019s words was deathly.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat did you just say?\u201d In her own ears, her voice was strangely breathless. Time seemed to be moving in slow jerks, the way it had when she\u2019d wrenched herself out of Imam\u2019s grasp and begun scrambling for Junner\u2019s discarded gun. Cold was cascading through her limbs, tightening her belly, and there was a strange, almost weightless sensation in her chest.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her foot barely felt the ground as she took another step forward.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cEverybody saw what you did. Heather would still be alive if you hadn\u2019t&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The enraged scream inside of Jack\u2019s skull was so loud that she never knew whether she\u2019d made noise aloud, too, although later her throat <i>did<\/i> hurt. She didn\u2019t hear the chair slam into the ground, either. Her hands were around Celia\u2019s throat, shutting out the vile words. Celia was clawing at her arms.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You fucking, lying little bitch! She was my <b>friend!<\/b> You wouldn\u2019t know what a friend was if you even <b>had<\/b> one, you worthless piece of shit! All you\u2019re any good for is wasting people\u2019s time with your bullshit dramas! You want the spotlight? It\u2019s all yours, you bitch, you can <b>have<\/b> it!<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">As she struck Celia\u2019s head against the floor for the third time, she realized that everything she was screaming in her mind <i>was<\/i> pouring out of her mouth. Letting go of Celia\u2019s throat, she slapped the girl hard, once, twice&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A vise-like grip came around her wrist as she brought her hand back for the third slap, and then she was being pulled back away from Celia. More hands came around her and her last glimpse of the of the other girl, before moving bodies obscured her, was of a sodden, sobbing mess curled in a fetal position on the back of Heather\u2019s chair.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The wall slammed into Jack\u2019s back, knocking the wind out of her. The howling tempest of her rage still roared in her ears, blocking out all sound, but Kyra\u2019s face was before her, tense, mouthing the word \u201cEnough!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Two orderlies, the largest on the floor, appeared, one of them pushing Kyra out of the way and forcing her to release Jack\u2019s wrist. Jack saw the syringe too late to try to dodge it and felt its sharp sting in her throat.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The world dissolved into darkness.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <hr style=\"align-content: center; width: 50%; background: linear-gradient(to right, #4474BE 0%, #243a68 100%); height: 3px; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;\"\/>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sterile white greeted her when she woke, but her mind remained muzzy, not clearing for a long time. Whatever had been in that syringe was strong. She couldn\u2019t think. Bits and pieces of thoughts and feelings, and memories, would come to her, but flit off before they could assemble into any kind of coherent order.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey lay still, waiting and, when bits of thoughts came to her, wondering why she felt such powerful sadness and loss&#8288;\u2026 and even more powerful guilt and shame. Something dark and horrible was inside her, gnawing at her, and she couldn\u2019t fathom what it was.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>What happened? Why do I feel like this?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Slowly, so slowly, small chains of coherent thought began to assemble. There was a girl. A girl named Jack. And Jack had done horrible things, things so terrible that she shied away from contemplating them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But she knew she needed to look.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Murder. Jack was a murderer. And a liar who had betrayed two dear friends.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Who was this girl? How did she know her?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Memory tugged at her. A woman in a beautiful dress was lying, sprawled, on a floor, a handgun discarded beside her. The coppery stink of blood filled the air. Bits of blood, gore, and hair were everywhere. Audrey forced herself to look harder at the dead woman.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Oh God, she doesn\u2019t have a head&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A man was slowly rising to his feet, his movements faltering as if with pain. He had his hand on his upper arm, blood seeping between his fingers. He was huge, darkly handsome, his lips pressed together in a grim, pained line. Dark welding goggles covered his eyes as he looked directly at Audrey.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cAwfully uncivilized thing you just did, Jack.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Oh God, no&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey looked down and saw the rifle in her hands, her finger still loosely on the trigger, smoke wafting from the end of the barrel.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>No&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She knew who Jack was.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i><b>No&#8288;\u2026<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>She<\/i> was Jack.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i><b>\u201cNoooooooo!\u201d<\/b><\/i> The scream ripped its way out of her already-raw throat as she fought against the restraints holding her down. She sobbed, panting, as the rest of her memories began to flood back. The planet. The eclipse. Death upon death upon death. Riddick. A strange memory of him gently taking the gun from her hands and holding her\u2014when had that happened?\u2014before vanishing from her life forever. The tub, and her blood curling through the water. C Ward. Kyra. Heather.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Heather.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Oh, God&#8288;\u2026 <b>did<\/b> I kill her, too?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Heather bucking and writhing in her grasp, the way Balto had&#8288;\u2026 no, she\u2019d been scared, but it had been familiar to her, until the moment when Heather had stopped breathing. But&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>She\u2019d pushed down on Heather\u2019s chest, frantic, and had felt something <b>crunch<\/b> beneath the heel of her hand.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Was <i>that<\/i> when she\u2019d killed Heather? Was Celia right? Was it her fault?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It took a long time for the tears to ease. The calm of pure despair finally came to her as she realized that, if she <i>had<\/i> killed Heather, she could never be Audrey MacNamera again. If she\u2019d killed Heather, she\u2019d murdered Audrey, too.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Many more long hours passed before Nurse Raymond came to take her back to C Ward.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <hr style=\"align-content: center; width: 50%; background: linear-gradient(to right, #4474BE 0%, #243a68 100%); height: 3px; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;\"\/>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Silence fell when people saw her. Silence and stares. She headed awkwardly down the hall, for her room, and slipped inside it. She wasn\u2019t even sure what time it was, whether it was day or night. She\u2019d figure that out when the bell rang for the next meal.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra entered the room moments later, sitting down on her bunk and watching her from across the room.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019re back.\u201d A hint of a smile quirked across Kyra\u2019s lips.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWasn\u2019t sure if you would be or not. I got a little worried they were going to decide to put you in D Ward or something.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack shuddered a little. Maybe D Ward was exactly where she belonged.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d She swallowed. \u201cHow\u2019s Celia?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra shrugged. \u201cShe\u2019ll be fine. She\u2019s got some impressive bruises, and she was carrying on something fierce until they took her to the infirmary, but she\u2019s not nearly as bad off as she\u2019s pretending to be.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Relief, and a little annoyance, washed over Jack. \u201cOh. Good.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019ve got the whole guilt thing going again, don\u2019t you?\u201d Kyra\u2019s eyes on her were shrewd.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Guilt. There it was. Guilt was what separated Jack from Audrey. Maybe as long as she still cared about things, as long as she still wanted to make things right, Audrey was still in her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But oh God, caring <i>hurt so much.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cKyra, uh&#8288;\u2026 I have a question.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSure.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDid I kill Heather?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat? No way. Look, just because Celia said that, and the administration is trying to hang that shit on you, doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s true. You didn\u2019t. They just don\u2019t want to admit the meds she was on might have done it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe <i>administration?<\/i> They\u2019re saying I&#8288;\u2014&#8288;?&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe administration is full of shit. I overheard some of the orderlies bitching about it. <i>They<\/i> all know it\u2019s a lie and they\u2019re pissed because most of them like you and know how hard you took her death.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBut Kyra, are you sure that I didn\u2019t do it? She stopped breathing and I couldn\u2019t hear a heartbeat, but when I tried to do CPR I felt something crack&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra held up her hand. \u201cI figured you were gonna ask that, so I did a little research about CPR on the terminal. Most of the guidelines I found said that, when you\u2019re doing it right, you\u2019re pressing so hard on the breastbone that you might break some of the person\u2019s ribs.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Broken ribs? Was that what the crunch had been?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThose guidelines also said that if that happened, you shouldn\u2019t let it stop you,\u201d Kyra continued. \u201cIt\u2019s normal, and it happens a lot. So no, you didn\u2019t kill Heather by trying to do CPR on her, even if you did feel something break. Sounds like you were doing exactly what you were supposed to.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack sagged down onto her cot, suddenly feeling boneless. <i>I didn\u2019t do it. It wasn\u2019t my fault. It wasn\u2019t my fault&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhy are they trying to pin it on me?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAre you kidding? She was on an experimental drug that\u2019s trying to get through clinical trials. She said something about a week before you got here about how the drug should be on the market in a few more months if everything goes well. Having it turn out to kill patients?\u201d Kyra put her arms behind her head as she leaned back against her garish wall. \u201cThat\u2019s pretty much the definition of everything <i>not<\/i> going well, wouldn\u2019t you say? It\u2019s a cover-up.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A cover-up. They\u2019d pin the death on some thirteen-year-old girl who was already certified as mentally unstable, and nobody\u2019d have to take the consequences of a beautiful, wonderful person dying horribly. And in a few more months, even more people could start dying from the drug as it hit the open market&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Fuck that!<\/i> Audrey shouted from within her, in pure Jack dialect.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She shoved herself to her feet.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe\u2019ll see just what kind of price tag <i>Mister<\/i> Flint has,\u201d she snarled, flinging open the door and stomping out of the room. She ignored the resumption of the stares and whispers as she stalked over to Carmouche, at the desk by the C Ward main doors.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI want to see Flint.\u201d She tried to keep the rage out of her voice, but his eyes widened a little.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJack, what is it?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI want to talk to him. About Heather. Now.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She waited while he made the call, leaning against the wall and glowering at anyone who looked at her, until Nurse Raymond returned to escort her upstairs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">As they passed through the A Ward locking system, her heart began to race again. She hadn\u2019t imagined it. They were using her dad\u2019s system, the X31-B. She knew everything about its specs\u2014she\u2019d even helped her dad do the final drafts during one of his visitations\u2014and it\u2019d be easy to get around. She began paying attention to where the cameras were located.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They were using the standard camera models that came with the package, but they\u2019d opted for the \u201ceconomy mode,\u201d with fewer cameras than were normally recommended. Jack began mapping out the cameras\u2019 \u201cblind spots\u201d in her mind.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Remember this. Remember <i>all<\/i> of this. It\u2019s making a forty-second sweep. Walk across the hallway just right and you\u2019ll never appear on the screens&#8288;\u2014<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAre you okay, Jack?\u201d Raymond asked her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack forced herself to focus. \u201cNot really.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her memories and thoughts of her escape plans, she knew, would forever be tainted by the anguish and rage of Heather\u2019s death. The two would be inextricably linked. Thinking about this moment would evoke the details of the security system, and also the pain. The way any time she thought about her report on the missing Star Jump ship called <i>Tenth Crusade<\/i>, it evoked the smell of her dad\u2019s broken air conditioner.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Okay, put it aside for now. Pay attention again after you\u2019ve dealt with Flint.<\/i> She let Raymond lead her to Flint\u2019s office.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The hospital administrator looked up at her, giving her a perfunctory smile that never reached his eyes. \u201cYes, Jack, what can I do for you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack sat down in one of the empty chairs. \u201cYou can stop lying about me to the people investigating Heather\u2019s death.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">As the door closed behind her, she thought she heard an approving snort from Raymond.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Flint\u2019s brows went up. He clasped his hands on his desk and leaned forward a little. \u201cI\u2019m not sure I like your attit&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI honestly don\u2019t care what you like. You\u2019re telling people that my actions during Heather\u2019s seizure were what killed her, and we both know it\u2019s a lie. Her heart stopped. I tried to give her CPR.\u201d Grief tried to overwhelm her and she ruthlessly shoved it back. <i>Later. After.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJack, you have no idea how delicate this situation can be&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSure I do. And nowhere near as delicate as, say, three years from now, when the drug gets pulled <i>back<\/i> off the shelves for its high fatality rate, it coming to light that you allowed patients in this hospital to be experimented on, and tried to cover up their deaths.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">This was the most dangerous card in her hand, and she knew it. What happened next depended on exactly how dirty Flint really was&#8288;\u2026 and how greedy he was. The spark of fear that appeared in his eyes told her what she\u2019d hoped. He was in it for the money, not to get caught up in deep corporate dirt. She knew it the way she\u2019d known that Johns would offer her up as a sacrifice even <i>before<\/i> he\u2019d made his proposal to Riddick.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJack, think about what you\u2019re&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI know what I\u2019m saying. And I\u2019m going to offer you a choice. An easy one. You can keep telling the investigators that I\u2019m responsible for Heather\u2019s death if you want, and run the risk that, when the truth eventually comes out, your career gets ruined. Or you can get your share of the bounty on Riddick from Toombs.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Score. Flint stared at her in speechless awe. Finally his lips moved. \u201cHow&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack leaned forward, locking her eyes with his, remembering everything her mom had told her about how to negotiate to win. \u201cIt\u2019s not important. I\u2019m not wrong, am I?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He just stared at her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHere\u2019s the deal. You tell the investigators you were wrong. Heather\u2019s death was caused by the seizure, so whatever caused the seizure was responsible. I was just trying to help. It\u2019s the truth, anyway. And in return, I\u2019ll sign those papers when I check out of the hospital. If my name is any way connected to Heather\u2019s death, though, I\u2019ll never, <i>ever<\/i> sign <i>anything.<\/i> Which means Riddick\u2019s bounty doesn\u2019t go up, and our friend Toombs won\u2019t have any reason to give you a share of it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She gave him a while to think about it. He pulled out some files, leafing through them for a long moment. Anguish crossed his face.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Is that Heather\u2019s file there? Maybe there\u2019s hope for you yet, Mr. Flint.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShe was doing so well on it&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Yes, that was Heather\u2019s file.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Flint looked up at her again. \u201cDo you promise, Jack, that you\u2019ll sign the statement?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMr. Flint, I promise. The day I leave here, you\u2019ll have a paper with the truth about Riddick, and my signature on it, right there on your desk. You have my word.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Flint studied her for a moment before he seemed to deflate. \u201cVery well. I\u2019ll&#8288;\u2026 set the record straight. It\u2019s probably for the best, anyway. There are two other patients who were about to start on the trials, and&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d He gave himself a little shake. \u201cJust remember, I\u2019m going to hold you to this.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAbsolutely, Mr. Flint.\u201d Jack suddenly wondered if this might result in her release being accelerated. How long would Flint be willing to wait to have those papers in his hand? Well, the sooner she got into A Ward, the better. Then she could walk out of this place and vanish.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She paid close attention to the cameras and the hallways as Raymond walked her back, beginning to map out her route in her head. Soon she\u2019d be free of this place. And then, hopefully, she\u2019d be free of <i>Jack.<\/i> She didn\u2019t know who this hard-boiled, relentless bitch was, but the sooner she could go back to being Audrey, the better. She didn\u2019t like Jack. Jack killed people. Jack beat people up for being idiots. Jack blackmailed people. Jack was like Riddick, and like Kyra. Jack needed to be ended.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Just as soon as I\u2019m free of this place,<\/i> she thought, as she re-entered C Ward. Until then, Jack had her uses. But it would be Audrey, not Jack, who reached Furya and her dad.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo, what have you been up to?\u201d Stacey appeared at her side.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She pasted on a smug grin. \u201cThreatening Mr. Flint.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019re kidding.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack just shook her head and smirked, moving on. She remembered what Kyra had told her. Soon she needed to let Stacey corner her and tell the lie about how horribly Riddick had treated her. But now was <i>not<\/i> the time. She\u2019d blubber later.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra was still in their room. \u201cSo?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack flopped down. \u201cI\u2019m off the hook. Hey, Stacey was almost <i>friendly<\/i> with me just now. What happened?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAre you kidding? You beat the crap out of Celia. That gave you some genuine <i>cred<\/i> with her.\u201d Kyra chuckled. \u201cIn fact&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The bell rang.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cPerfect timing,\u201d Kyra said. \u201cI\u2019ll just show you. C\u2019mon, it\u2019s dinnertime.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack let Kyra lead her to the dining hall again, once more dreading the horribly empty seat she\u2019d see there. She stopped, shocked, in the doorway.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cImpressive, huh?\u201d Kyra asked, leaning against the wall. \u201cIt was my idea.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The room had been rearranged. Completely rearranged. All the tables had been moved to different locations, and all the seats had been swapped around, too. Some of the girls were moving into similar groupings as before, but a lot of them had changed tables as well.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There was no sign of which spot had once been Heather\u2019s. No sign whatsoever.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI heard Carmouche saying they\u2019re going to do this from now on if there\u2019s a death on the floor. He really liked the idea.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack looked over at Kyra, the absurd, Audrey-like urge to cry filling her. There had to be some way other than tears to express her gratitude, surely. \u201cYou did this?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra nodded, looking smug.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThank you.\u201d That still felt inadequate.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra grinned and took her elbow again. \u201cC\u2019mon.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack followed her, realizing that most of the other Killer\u2019s Club girls seemed to have grouped at a table that had two empty chairs, side by side. One for Kyra, she realized&#8288;\u2026 and one for <i>her.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She sat down at the table, expecting at least one of its resident badasses to object to her presence, but received only friendly smiles. Welcoming smiles. \u201cYou\u2019re one of us, now\u201d smiles.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Yes, Audrey thought, the moment she got out of this place, Jack had to die.<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4012\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4012 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-13\">\u00ab Chapter 13<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4078\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4078 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-15\">Chapter 15 \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=\"15\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4013\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4013 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-14\">\u00ab Chapter 14<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4079\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4079 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-16\">Chapter 16 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5100\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5100 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\"><b>15.<br\/><u>What Hides Beneath the Skin<\/u><\/b><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDo we have to?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra glanced over at Jack and raised an eyebrow. \u201cNot if you want to tell her no.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack shuddered at that. The idea of telling Stacey that no, she <i>didn\u2019t<\/i> want to spend the afternoon hanging out in the room of a violent psychotic who took offense easily, somehow just wasn\u2019t appealing. \u201cOkay, fine&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cRelax. She\u2019s just glad to be back out of isolation and needs human contact. She\u2019s not going to go after <i>the real story<\/i> in front of everybody.\u201d Kyra\u2019s mouth twisted; there was condescension in her expression, but Jack sensed it wasn\u2019t aimed at <i>her.<\/i> \u201cShe wants to hear that privately.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Only two days earlier\u2014and Jack was still puzzling out what had happened, because it made no sense to her\u2014there had been a sudden, violent altercation between Stacey and Celia. Celia had ended up with a bloody nose and a split lip; Stacey had been dragged off the floor screaming enraged obscenities at the girl. Nobody Jack talked to, though, knew what\u2014or who\u2014had started the fight; both girls were claiming that the other had.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Now Stacey was back, craving a little Killer\u2019s Club company&#8288;\u2026 something that apparently now included Jack. Reluctantly, she climbed off her bed, shooting her nonchalant roommate a dubious look. After all her efforts to avoid being alone with Stacey lately, she was now going to be visiting the girl\u2019s room.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFine, just don\u2019t leave me alone with her, okay?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra shrugged. \u201cI won\u2019t, but you know, sooner or later you\u2019re going to have to tell her the story. You can\u2019t avoid it forever.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI just&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Jack had found, in the last week, that being honest with Kyra was remarkably easy. \u201cI don\u2019t know <i>what<\/i> to tell her. I mean, I\u2019m a <i>virgin.<\/i> I\u2019ve never <i>been<\/i> with a guy, much less been raped by one. I don\u2019t know what to say that\u2019s not&#8288;\u2026 obviously fake. She\u2019s gonna <i>know<\/i> I\u2019m lying.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra nodded, her expression becoming serious. \u201cWe\u2019ll work on your story later, okay? But right now, we\u2019d better get over there.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Suppressing a shudder, Jack followed Kyra out of their room and down the hall. Stacey, she recalled, roomed not with Colette but with a smoldering, taciturn girl named Omphal\u00e9, whose crime had qualified her for Killer\u2019s Club status but which had never been explained. Ahead of them in the hall, Jack could see Colette heading into a room, followed by <i>her<\/i> roommate, Xi Hin. Kyra headed for them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack had grown used to the sight of Kyra\u2019s \u201cartwork\u201d on their walls; the plain light blue expanse that greeted her took her by surprise. Then she turned.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Oh. That must be <b>Omphal\u00e9\u2019s<\/b> wall.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was rather like another version between the dichotomy of her side of the room and Kyra\u2019s. Where Omphal\u00e9\u2019s side of the room was plain and pristine to the point of sterile, Stacey\u2019s side was jumbled and garish. The wall over her bed was covered by an enormous collage of pictures. Moving closer, awed, Jack observed that most of them were pictures of savage-looking men. The killers Stacey admired and hoped to emulate, she realized&#8288;\u2026 including Riddick.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Riddick.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack had only seen his face in her dreams and imaginings, in the course of the almost-half-year since he\u2019d vanished. Now it glared down at her from Stacey\u2019s walls. In virtually every shot, he looked enraged with her, staring at her with mute accusation.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Not me. He\u2019s not mad at me. It\u2019s just the way he looked when they took his picture&#8288;\u2026 he was mad at <b>them.<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There was no reason to think Riddick knew or cared where she was or what she was doing, or what she was claiming in her attempt to throw people off his scent. Just because <i>she<\/i> felt guilty about it didn\u2019t mean <i>he\u2019d<\/i> blame her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Still, looking at him on the wall above her, she felt like a traitor.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Why? He never cared about you. If he had, he\u2019d have stayed to say goodbye.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cCheck out who\u2019s in love with your wall, Stace,\u201d she heard Colette saying.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Stacey\u2019s snicker, behind her, wasn\u2019t entirely unfriendly. \u201cOr one person on it, anyway. Hey Jack, wanna start your own collection?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHuh?\u201d She looked back at the blonde girl, confused.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Stacey\u2019s eyes were glittering with a sort of malicious amusement. This, Jack realized, was her <i>friendly<\/i> mode. \u201cI\u2019ve got some extra pictures of Riddick I didn\u2019t put up, if you want them for <i>your<\/i> wall.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo, that\u2019s okay,\u201d Jack replied automatically, even as a pang of longing moved through her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Damn it, I need to get him, and that whole time, out of my system.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou sure? I\u2019ve even got a picture of him from back when he was busted his first time.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>That<\/i> made Jack blink. \u201cReally?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHeh. <i>Thought<\/i> you\u2019d be interested&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Stacey pulled a thick folder out from under her mattress and opened it up, leafing through it. Watching with the other girls, Jack felt a wave of nausea move through her as she saw what most of the pictures in there were.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra had been right. Stacey had a <i>thing<\/i> for depictions of rape. How the hell had she managed to assemble a collection like that\u2014images of large men sexually assaulting small, childlike women\u2014in C Ward?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra\u2019s breath against her ear sent a chill through her; or perhaps that came from what she was seeing. \u201cThey don\u2019t take them from her,\u201d the older girl murmured too low for the others to hear, as if reading Jack\u2019s mind. \u201cShe\u2019d just get more and they say as long as she still has them and wants them, they know she\u2019s not well yet. I heard one of the nurses saying that when she\u2019s ready to voluntarily give them up, they\u2019ll know she\u2019s responding to treatment.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack nodded, a little shakily. The images were revolting in the extreme, and surely Stacey\u2019s possession of them was illegal. Back on Deckard\u2019s World, Audrey\u2019s cousin Ron had had his own collection of pornos\u2014which had offended her at the time but now seemed almost <i>wholesome<\/i>\u2014and he\u2019d told her that he had to buy them secondhand or steal them from his father because he couldn\u2019t legally buy them from a store until he was eighteen. Stacey was sixteen at the most; how was she even <i>getting<\/i> this stuff?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHere it is!\u201d Stacey crowed triumphantly as she pulled a page out of the pile. \u201cCheck out your <i>boyfriend.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A few of the girls giggled. Jack reached out, unable to resist her curiosity, and took the page.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was a mug shot; Stacey had printed it out in color. Riddick\u2014very young, maybe only two or three years older than <i>her<\/i> in the picture\u2014was staring at the camera with an inhuman sort of rage on his face, holding up a numbered placard with his shackled hands.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>He has <b>hair.<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack had always wondered what Riddick would look like with hair, but now she <i>knew<\/i>. Close-cropped and tightly curled, the hair hugged the crown of his head. She found herself wishing she could touch it, feel its texture under her fingers instead of just paper&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, it\u2019s <i>definitely<\/i> love,\u201d Stacey snickered, making the other girls laugh, and Jack realized with a flush of embarrassment that she\u2019d been touching the picture.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Shit, just like that fangirl dweeb Joslin back home, with her <b>actor<\/b> pictures&#8288;\u2026 I\u2019m pathetic.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo c\u2019mon, Stace, spill,\u201d Colette was saying. \u201cWhat happened? What\u2019d that bitch Celia do?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNothing.\u201d There was laughter in Stacey\u2019s voice.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack looked up from Riddick\u2019s picture, confused. Celia hadn\u2019t done anything? Then why&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Stacey was looking archly around at the other girls. \u201cThere\u2019s this game me and my friends used to play in my old school, when somebody pissed us off. Any of you ever played it? How you destroy someone\u2019s reputation without getting in much trouble yourself?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Several of the other girls in the room looked confused but were nodding.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cCan\u2019t say I ever got to play those games,\u201d Kyra said. She had her game face on, her <i>I\u2019m tougher than all of you combined<\/i> face that Jack had begun to understand was a false front. But she alone, of everyone in the room, had a history of enough social isolation to get away with admitting ignorance of such things. She could ask what the others couldn\u2019t without losing face.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack, however, already had a sick feeling about what Stacey was going to say. If she wasn\u2019t mistaken, she\u2019d seen it done to some kids back home.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOkay, it\u2019s like this,\u201d Stacey began. \u201cIf you don\u2019t like some bitch, and you get into fights with her all the time, sooner or later the teachers decide it\u2019s your fault. If you get all your friends and go teach her a lesson, same thing; <i>you\u2019re<\/i> the ones who are \u2018ganging up\u2019 on the little cow and she\u2019s all <i>innocent.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cRight, that makes sense,\u201d Kyra said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Because that\u2019s exactly what you\u2019re <b>doing<\/b><\/i>, Jack added silently.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBut if you and your friends take turns\u2014one of you gets into a fight with her one day, another one of you gets into it with her a few days later\u2014yeah, you each get sent to a detention once, but <i>she<\/i> gets sent every time, and it\u2019s not long before they decide that she\u2019s fighting with so many different people, she must be the one starting it. Now <i>she\u2019s<\/i> the troublemaker, not you. And nobody will believe a word she says anymore.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Yeah, it was what Jack had seen done in her school; Ahmed, a perfectly nice boy who had gone from being bully fodder to being a fall guy and scapegoat. Someone had even hidden their cigarettes in his locker one time when word got out that a random locker search was imminent; he\u2019d constantly been in trouble, and Audrey had earned an ass-kicking of her own when she\u2019d gone to the teachers and told them that she\u2019d seen those cigarettes being stashed by Missy Barnstable before the search, proving it by opening the locker herself. Deckard\u2019s World was more than a little Muslim-hostile, thanks to too many encounters with fanatical members of the New Taliban during its early colonial days. Ahmed and his family had ended up moving away a few months later, something that had made her parents argue about whether they were raising their daughter on \u201ca racist planet.\u201d It had been one of the nails in their marital coffin.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;all going to take turns with her, huh?\u201d Colette was saying.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s the idea,\u201d Stacey replied, her voice smug. \u201cJack and I have already gone, so one of you needs to be next. Wait a day or two, and start it when there\u2019s nobody around to say <i>she<\/i> didn\u2019t start it. Who\u2019s up?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI am,\u201d Xi Hin said. \u201cAlways wanted to kick that little bitch\u2019s ass.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack felt sick to her stomach. Celia was a pain and a drama queen, but there was no way she deserved <i>this.<\/i> She looked back down at the picture of Riddick in her hands, trying to focus on it instead.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>His eyes are <b>brown,<\/b><\/i> she thought with wonder. They seemed to smolder with rage in the picture. Obviously this was long before his shine job, long before he evolved from the furious man in the picture to the ominously contained predator she\u2019d met in the wreckage of the <i>Hunter-Gratzner.<\/i> She could see hints of what he\u2019d become, but it was almost like looking at a completely different man.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDamn, girl,\u201d Colette said, nudging her shoulder. \u201cYou\u2019re like, totally in love with Riddick. You\u2019re even worse than Stacey.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m not.\u201d Jack could see that none of them believed her. \u201cWhere\u2019d you find this picture?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Stacey smirked and Jack realized that now they all believed, more than ever, that she was completely gone on the guy. \u201cPulled it out of his file on the Universal Merc Registry.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I need to check that. I need to see what they know, and what they\u2019re saying about him.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI didn\u2019t realize we could access that.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou can\u2019t.\u201d Stacey looked extraordinarily smug now. \u201cI can, though.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Omphal\u00e9 chuckled and spoke for the first time since Jack had come in. \u201cWe have staff accounts.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou have <i>what?\u201d<\/i> How the hell had they managed to hack into the staff computers?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cRemember Dan Tavey, the orderly who was sacked a few months ago for being too friendly with patients?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack shook her head. \u201cGuess he was before my time.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Omphal\u00e9 snickered. \u201cWell, he was a pretty good fuck, and one time, I got him to trade me some access so I could check in with my boys back home. And while I was in there, since he was pretty high up in rank, I created a few new accounts and hid them from the general roster. When he got sacked, I couldn\u2019t use <i>his<\/i> account anymore, but they didn\u2019t find the other ones. We can go anywhere we want.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That, she realized, explained how Stacey was getting her hands on porn, too.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack felt a strange hunger begin burning inside of her. Access to the Merc network, to flight schedules, to all the things she couldn\u2019t look at now without possibly giving the hospital too many clues about her identity&#8288;\u2026 nothing had ever seemed so important to her. With that access, she could plan out her escape even better, timing it for just the right moment so she could catch a flight offworld. She could ensure that her escape was successful, that she had a route to Furya and her dad.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I need that.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But how could she get one of the girls to&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Oh. <b>Oh!<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She already had a bargaining chip. Stacey wanted to hear stories about how Riddick had sexually abused her during her supposed captivity; now she could set a price for the tale. Staff account access in return for her tale of woe; Stacey would help facilitate her escape.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Then I can go back to being Audrey and forget I even met a sick creep like her&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJeez, talk about a love-hate relationship. Stare any harder at Riddick and you\u2019ll burn a hole through that paper, Jack.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Fuck.<\/i> She\u2019d been letting her feelings show. Her feelings about <i>Stacey,<\/i> though, not <i>Riddick.<\/i> Still, she could use it; it fit with what she wanted Stacey to believe.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI uh&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d <i>I need out of this room. I don\u2019t know how Kyra stands it.<\/i> \u201cI need to be alone for a while&#8288;\u2026 you guys mind if I bail?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo problem.\u201d Stacey was smirking again. \u201cTake the picture with you. It\u2019ll help.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ron, she recalled, had used exactly that tone when talking about taking his dirty magazines into the bathroom.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThanks.\u201d Jack headed for the door quickly, afraid to meet Kyra\u2019s gaze. She hoped that she\u2019d stayed long enough to be friendly, to not mess things up, but she needed time away from the sick hypocrisy of it all. It was too big to swallow; she was choking on even a tiny sip of it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Back in her room she waited and thought, spiraling her plans around each other.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She needed to lie about Riddick to escape. She needed to get in Stacey\u2019s good graces enough to get access to the false staff accounts, regardless of how much Stacey frightened and disgusted her. Once she had access, she could plan. She could figure out escape windows, work out the route from the hospital to the spaceport, make sure that nobody was anywhere near finding Riddick based upon anything she or Imam had said, make sure her dad would still be on Furya when she got there, everything.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">All of it had taken so long, she thought. <i>Was<\/i> taking so long. She\u2019d been twelve, going on thirteen, when she ran away. It had taken her a month in cryo to reach Vasenji Station, a week before she\u2019d boarded the <i>Hunter-Gratzner,<\/i> another twenty-two weeks in cryo before the crash; about a week on the planet and on the <i>Kublai Khan,<\/i> and then a month in cryo before Riddick had dropped her off with Imam on Helion Prime and vanished without a trace. Three months of darkness before her attempt, and almost two months trapped in this place.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">More than a <i>year<\/i> had passed since she\u2019d run out on her mom and Alvin. It had only been about six months for her, but she was biologically thirteen; back on Deckard\u2019s World, her fourteenth birthday was coming up. Her mom probably believed she was dead by now.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The thought made her feel nauseated again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>It was supposed to be so simple.<\/i> From Tangier Prime she would have had a two-month hop to Furya; she would have been there right now. Instead she was trapped in this place, conniving as Jack to manipulate people who disgusted her into helping her escape. This was what <i>his<\/i> influence had done to her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I gotta get out. I gotta get out.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She looked up as Kyra came into the room and shut the door. The older girl sat down on her bed and regarded Jack with a steady gaze.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019d give you shit for leaving early, but actually that kinda worked out.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack felt relief move through her; Kyra wasn\u2019t angry. \u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWell, Stacey\u2019s now convinced that Riddick mind-fucked you good. You\u2019re all set up there. You won\u2019t even have to go into much detail and she\u2019ll buy it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBut that\u2019s the thing, Kyra&#8288;\u2026 I don\u2019t know <i>any<\/i> detail. And those pictures she has are&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cReal disgusting. I know. I hate it when she brings them out, too.\u201d Kyra grimaced.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhy do you hang out with her?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra rose and went over to the door. Opening it, she leaned out into the hallway and looked around for a moment. Then she closed it again and turned back to Jack. \u201cTwo reasons. The first is&#8288;\u2026 you don\u2019t get to pick your friends in a place like this. You want to survive, you run with the biggest and the strongest. Most of the girls in the Killer\u2019s Club think that\u2019s me, but it\u2019s not. It\u2019s her, because she\u2019s the one who has no conscience. As long as she likes you, thinks she understands you, hell, even <i>looks down<\/i> on you&#8288;\u2026 you\u2019re good. If she gets it into her head that you might be looking down on her&#8288;\u2026 you\u2019re fucked. If I let her know what I really think of her and her kind, they\u2019d see to it I never left D Ward again.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack blinked, trying to comprehend it. Stacey was tiny; how could Kyra fear someone as tiny as her?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>It\u2019s not her size. It\u2019s her influence. She\u2019s an instigator. She <b>owns<\/b> Colette and Omphal\u00e9, and she wants to own Kyra and me, too. As long as she thinks she can, we don\u2019t have to deal with her enmity. If she realizes she can\u2019t, though, we\u2019re dead meat.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI see.\u201d She flashed Kyra a sympathetic look. \u201cAnd the other reason?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou may not have noticed, but&#8288;\u2026 these are the kind of people I\u2019m going to be hunting once I leave here and sign up. People just like them are going to be my bounties. I figure I\u2019d better get to know them now. Who knows, one day I might even be the one bringing Stacey herself in.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A chill moved through Jack and she stared at Kyra in wonder. \u201cYou\u2019re really going to do it, aren\u2019t you? Even after what I told you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra nodded, a grim expression flitting across her face. \u201cSomeone\u2019s gotta put them away. If I can even save one girl from what I&#8288;\u2014 saw&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her words trailed off and she went back over to her bed, sitting down and rubbing her forehead. Then she looked up at Jack and gave her a wry smile.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe trick is to give them what they think they want. Do the Tough Girl routine. Let them think you\u2019re one of them. Let them think they\u2019re in control. Get what you want and get away clean. If I can get up to B Ward, they won\u2019t be able to touch me, because the nurses? The ones I heard talking about Stacey\u2019s porn stash? They say she can\u2019t get up there until she throws it away. But you didn\u2019t hear that, okay?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack nodded. \u201cNo way do I want her up on B Ward.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra grinned. \u201cPlanning on going for it yourself, huh? By the way, I\u2019m <i>not<\/i> going to pick a fight with Celia. Because I already know you\u2019re going to ask me not to, and anyway, if I did, B Ward would be that much farther away.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A funny feeling moved through Jack, and she heard herself speaking. \u201cWe could try to get there together.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra got a startled look on her face, and then nodded. \u201cYeah. But you\u2019re still going to have to tell Stacey your story before we go, you know.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI know. Anyway, I\u2019m going to charge her for it. I want access to those staff accounts. So that\u2019s going to be the price for my story.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSetting a price tag. I\u2019m impressed.\u201d Kyra\u2019s voice was admiring. \u201cThat means, though, you\u2019re gonna need to spin a <i>real<\/i> good tale.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, and that\u2019s the problem. I\u2019ve never even had sex&#8288;\u2026 how am I going to convincingly describe what it feels like to be <i>raped?<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Silence greeted her comment. She looked up, and Kyra\u2019s eyes were on her, wary and weighing. They stayed that way, eyes locked, for a long, long moment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat I\u2019m about to tell you,\u201d Kyra finally began, \u201cI never, ever said. You never heard it from me. It never, ever happened. Pay attention because I\u2019m only going to ever tell this once. Okay?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack felt chilled again, but she nodded. \u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra began speaking, and continued until the bell for dinner rang. By that time, Jack had no appetite. She picked through her meal, managing to eat little bits of it, and noticed, when she finally rose from the table, that Kyra\u2019s own plate was almost untouched, too. Fortunately, the other girls at the table seemed oblivious.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sleep that night was a long time coming.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">No wonder Kyra was so bent on her desire to get involved in law enforcement even if she\u2019d chosen its seediest side. No wonder she didn\u2019t trust <i>legitimate<\/i> law enforcement, either. No wonder she spent all the time she could practicing combat moves, and no wonder she was so determined to come across as the toughest of the tough. Jack knew, now, what lay behind it, what had been done to her. By Red Roger and his men. By orderlies in her first psychiatric hospital. By a whole parade of men who should have been trustworthy but had used her like a toy, and then used her reputation\u2014as a religious nut and then as a nutcase\u2014against her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">At three in the morning, Kyra fast asleep across the room, Jack slipped out of the bedroom and hid in the bathroom for a good, long cry. Kyra\u2019s story had broken her heart. She knew, now, exactly what to tell Stacey when she spun out her lie, and knew that she\u2019d cry again as she told it. Stacey would think she was weak when she saw the tears, not knowing that they were for someone else.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>What am I going to do?<\/i> she thought as she washed her face and crept back toward her room.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was going to escape this horrible place, as quickly as she could, but now she had a new problem.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She couldn\u2019t leave Kyra behind&#8288;\u2026 could she?<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4013\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4013 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-14\">\u00ab Chapter 14<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4079\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4079 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-16\">Chapter 16 \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=\"16\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4014\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4014 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-15\">\u00ab Chapter 15<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4080\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4080 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-17\">Chapter 17 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5103\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5103 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\"><b>16.<br\/><u>Spinning the Tangled Web<\/u><\/b><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">When Jack finally fell asleep at last, she dreamt, strangely enough, about Star Jumping.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was ten years old again, hard at work on her history report. Audrey MacNamera routinely brought home high marks on her schoolwork, to the point where it had become expected of her. It wasn\u2019t merely that she was intelligent; she threw everything she had into her assignments. As an only child who lived on a street with few other children, most of them too old or too young to be interested in playing with <i>her,<\/i> she had time to devote to schoolwork that most other children chose not to.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Also, it meant she didn\u2019t have to think about her parents\u2019 unfolding divorce.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey had tried everything she could think of to stop it, but nothing had worked. She didn\u2019t have much to bargain with\u2014 how could she swear to get better grades, for instance, when she was already top of her class? She\u2019d offered to do more chores, start hunting with her dad again, go without an allowance\u2014 <i>anything<\/i> to bring her dad home, but the answer was the same every time. It wasn\u2019t about her. She hadn\u2019t done anything wrong. Her parents just couldn\u2019t live together anymore.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Funny. It felt like it was <i>all<\/i> about her. Wasn\u2019t she the one paying for whatever had gone wrong? Didn\u2019t that mean it <i>had<\/i> to be her fault somehow?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">So she\u2019d thrown herself into her history report, about the Missing Colony Ships, with more enthusiasm than ever before. Most of it was finished, and she was beyond proud of it, but she\u2019d hit an enormous snag. After half a week of fretting, she\u2019d gone to see Mr. Reilly.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Mr. Reilly taught Audrey\u2019s year and had approved the scope and subject of her report only after some argument, telling her that it was an extremely ambitious topic. Now, with some trepidation, she had to go to him and ask for help. She\u2019d run up against an enormous wall, perhaps the exact wall he\u2019d been warning her against.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">After the room cleared of her classmates, she approached his desk nervously. He smiled as he looked up and saw her. He always had a smile for her; several of her classmates accused her of being the Teacher\u2019s Pet. She didn\u2019t see how that could be true, though. All she did was study; it wasn\u2019t like she sucked up to him or anything.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYes, Audrey? Did you want something?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She took a deep breath, pulling one of the chairs over in front of his desk. \u201cI need help, Mr. Reilly.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He frowned. \u201cWhat with?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMy history paper. I\u2019m having trouble.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat was an ambitious topic, Audrey. I\u2019m not surprised. After all, the fifteen sublight ships alone are&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh, that part\u2019s done.\u201d She felt her cheeks heat up when he stared at her in disbelief. \u201cIt\u2019s the three missing Star Jumpers that are causing the problem. I\u2019ve found out the basics about the ships themselves, but&#8288;\u2026 there\u2019s nothing about how Star Jump drives work, or why those ships would have gone missing.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Mr. Reilly\u2019s face cleared, a look of understanding appearing. \u201cAh. That\u2019s not surprising. I should have told you that you\u2019d have trouble with that.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cReally? Why? Was I looking in the wrong place?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He shook his head. \u201cNot much is known about Star Jump drives. How they work is a closely guarded secret of the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation, and has been for hundreds of years now. I can tell you what I do know, though. First, do you understand the problems with light-speed travel?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey frowned. She thought she <i>sort of<\/i> did. Maybe. \u201cUm&#8288;\u2026 I\u2019m not sure. I know it has something to do with relativity?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Mr. Reilly got up and moved over to the board, writing an equation on it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"center-block\"><b>E=mc<sup>2<\/sup><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThis equation is where it starts, Audrey. The \u2018E\u2019 refers to the amount of energy needed to move an object. Then the \u2018m\u2019 stands for mass. Specifically the mass of the object.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat\u2019s the c2?\u201d So far it made sense to her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cC-<i>squared.<\/i> That is the square of the velocity you want the object to travel at. For example, if you wanted the object to travel at a speed of ten units, your c-squared would be one hundred units.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOkay. I think that makes sense.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd if you wanted the object to travel twice as fast, a speed of twenty units, your c-squared would be what?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFour hundred units,\u201d Audrey said after a moment of thought.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYes. Now, what does that mean?\u201d He waited, giving her an encouraging look.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey thought about it, and then suddenly it hit her. \u201cYou\u2019d need four times as much energy, to go twice as fast.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd to go three times as fast?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Realization hit her. \u201cNine times as much energy.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Mr. Reilly smiled at her and nodded. \u201cSo, do you begin to see the problem with traveling faster and faster?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, um&#8288;\u2026 after a while, you\u2019d need huge amounts of energy just to go a little bit faster?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s exactly right. Now, how could you begin to compensate for that?\u201d He watched her expectantly.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It came to her after a moment. \u201cReduce the mass?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYes, Audrey, and that\u2019s exactly why, when you\u2019re looking at the speeds of things, smaller particles can move faster than larger ones. The smallest particles of matter of all are photons, which move at the speed of light, and no larger particle has ever successfully moved that quickly. And as larger particles <i>approach<\/i> the speed of light, a unique phenomenon occurs for them.\u201d Mr. Reilly leaned forward, warming to his subject. \u201cTime slows down for them.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt does? How?\u201d She had to admit she was fascinated. She\u2019d read fantasy stories about time travel, but the idea that, outside of fiction, the very <i>speed<\/i> of time could somehow be controlled was&#8288;\u2026 <i>exciting.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWell, you see, time\u2014as we know it, anyway\u2014is something we perceive in terms of motion and causality&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe connection between an event and the effects that result from it. Cause and effect. Those things only move in one direction. You can\u2019t smash a vase and then undo it, for example.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, okay.\u201d She\u2019d learned that one the hard way when she was nine.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMost of the time, though, when we talk about measuring time, we\u2019re really talking about measuring <i>motion.<\/i> The movements of the hands on an old-fashioned clock, the beat of your heart, the decay of particles in an atomic clock&#8288;\u2026 it\u2019s all about how things move. Now, as you speed an object up, it takes more and more energy for it to move any farther, right?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cRight.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNow think about how that would affect all the particles within that object. So much energy is needed just to keep it moving forward, that less and less is available for its other movements. If you were in a ship, going faster and faster until it got near the speed of light, every atom and molecule within the ship, including all the ones in you, would begin to move more and more <i>slowly.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey contemplated that for several long moments, while Mr. Reilly waited.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo&#8288;\u2026 my heart would beat more slowly, and the ship\u2019s clocks would go more slowly&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd all your nerves would fire more slowly. You wouldn\u2019t even notice that you\u2019d slowed down because to your slowed-down eyes and brain, everything would still seem to be happening at a normal speed.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBecause everything in the ship would slow down the exact same amount? So that\u2019s why they say that you\u2019d only age an hour but you\u2019d come back to find everybody else had gotten old?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s exactly right, Audrey. And that was a huge problem, when Earth first started sending out ships. The nearest neighbor star was more than four light-years away, and most of the stars with real potential for colonization were much farther out. To get ships to them in a reasonable amount of time meant they had to get as close to light-speed as they possibly could&#8288;\u2026 which meant that the crews of the ships, in many cases, knew that by the time they got back to Earth, everybody they knew would be long dead.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey contemplated that for a moment. What a harsh, horrible time that must have been, people launching themselves out into a bleak and empty-seeming void with no idea what would be on the other end of their journey&#8288;\u2026 and no way back if things went badly.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Like Kyra and the New Christy Enclave&#8288;\u2026<\/i> The schoolroom melted away and she felt like she was hovering over the mountains, gazing down at the bloody disaster as it unfolded. A girl with dark, wild hair was huddled on top of a building, shaking as she aimed a rifle down toward a group of men. Screaming floated up toward her, and cruel laughter. She slowly began to squeeze the trigger, unaware of more, crueler men moving up behind her on the roof&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cNever gonna be free of you, I kill you and kill you and kill you and you just won\u2019t stay dead, why won\u2019t you fucking <b>die<\/b> already, damn you?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack\u2019s eyes snapped open.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The room was lit with the dim simulation-daylight that signaled morning. Kyra wasn\u2019t in her bed. She was huddled by the wall, by the invisible line of demarcation between her side of the room and Jack\u2019s.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was drawing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack could hear the squeak of the felt-tip pens Kyra used as they were pressed into the wall, pressed hard and fast. Something was very wrong, she realized. She climbed out of the bed and moved over to Kyra\u2019s side for a closer look.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Roger. Kyra was drawing Red Roger&#8288;\u2026 and herself. Whereas in all the other pictures of Roger, he\u2019d been helpless and at her mercy, this time the reverse was true. He had her by the throat, his other hand groping inside her shirt, a cruel leer on his face. Her knuckles, on the marker, were white, and she was staring with fixed attention at the drawing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI kill you and I kill you and I kill you but you won\u2019t&#8288;\u2026 leave&#8288;\u2026 me&#8288;\u2026 alone&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Did she even know she was talking?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cKyra?\u201d Jack said, keeping her voice low and soft.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou never get out of my head&#8288;\u2026 why won\u2019t you get out of my head&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cKyra, it\u2019s me, Jack&#8288;\u2026 he\u2019s not here. He\u2019s dead. He can\u2019t get you.\u201d Would the older girl listen to her?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra went still, and slowly turned to look at her. There didn\u2019t seem to be any recognition in her eyes. \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Shit!<\/i> Realization struck her. The horrible tales Kyra had told her the night before had awakened the old demons for her. Was that what happened? Could just talking about past darknesses bring them back?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Would she <i>ever<\/i> be able to go back to being Audrey if that was the case? Or would Riddick and Chillingsworth haunt her forever?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cRed Roger\u2019s dead, Kyra. You killed him.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra\u2019s face contorted in anguish. \u201cYou don\u2019t <i>understand!<\/i>\u201d She flung the pen down to the floor in emphasis. \u201cI killed him and he keeps coming back! He keeps getting back in my <i>head!<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack reached out, catching at Kyra\u2019s upper arms. \u201cWe\u2019ll get him out, okay?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cHow?\u201d<\/i> Kyra sounded panicked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Shit, I can\u2019t let the other girls, especially <b>Stacey,<\/b> see her like this! This is my fault. She\u2019d be okay if she hadn\u2019t relived this stuff to tell me about it&#8288;\u2026 I don\u2019t know what to do to get her back to feeling strong&#8288;\u2014<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That was it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra had given her something important the night before. She could do the same. Whose strength, after all, had she turned to again and again, after the crash? Whose power had reassured her like nothing else could?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">His. Riddick\u2019s.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra had given her knowledge; she could give her that power.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019ll show you, Kyra, but you\u2019re going to have to let me draw. Is it okay if I change your picture?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra nodded, still looking oddly helpless, her usual composure still shattered. Jack reached down and picked up the discarded pen. It was black, the red one resting on Kyra\u2019s bedside table. Jack knew she\u2019d end up using them both. Walking over to her own table, she picked up the picture that Stacey had given her the day before. Drawing Riddick would be easier with a \u201cmodel.\u201d She set to work.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra rocked and muttered behind her as she carefully drew Riddick into the picture, standing behind Red Roger. Jack realized she was proud of the likeness she was achieving; Riddick\u2019s face looked real and recognizable to her. She kept working, now drawing his arms.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWho is that?\u201d Kyra finally asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cRiddick.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYour Riddick? What\u2019s he doing?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe\u2019s killing Red Roger, too. To make him <i>stay<\/i> dead.\u201d She didn\u2019t know if it would work, but maybe it\u2019d be an idea that Kyra could hold onto. Maybe the idea that, when Roger tried to get back into her head, there was something else that would kick him out again, no matter how weak <i>she<\/i> felt&#8288;\u2026 maybe it\u2019d help her. She carefully drew Riddick\u2019s hands, one gripping Roger\u2019s hair tightly while the other brought a blade across his throat.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe\u2019ll stay dead? He won\u2019t come back?\u201d Kyra\u2019s voice was almost <i>needy<\/i> as she asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I hope I\u2019m right about this.<\/i> \u201cThat\u2019s right. He won\u2019t come back.\u201d Jack began to change the expression on Roger\u2019s face, as well as she could, from a gloating leer to a look of fear and pain. Then she went to work on Kyra\u2019s face, changing the terror to relief.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI could never get him to stop coming back, he just kept coming back over and over&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d A calmer note had entered Kyra\u2019s voice.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>God, I hope this works.<\/i> \u201cHe can\u2019t now.\u201d She walked over to Kyra\u2019s table, picked up the red marker, and returned to the wall. In a moment, Roger\u2019s throat was spraying blood where Riddick\u2019s knife touched it, but none of the blood landed on the image of Kyra. \u201cHe\u2019s dead.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe\u2019s dead&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Slowly, a strange smile spread over Kyra\u2019s face. \u201cHe\u2019s dead! I killed him and now Riddick killed him too and he\u2019s finally <i>dead!<\/i>\u201d She lunged at the wall, smacking her hands onto it on either side of the drawing. \u201cYou\u2019re <i>dead,<\/i> you son of a bitch! You can\u2019t get me anymore! Not ever again!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Damn.<\/i> Jack hoped Kyra would be back to herself a bit more before it was time to go to breakfast. This was getting a little spooky.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But the tension was finally leaving Kyra\u2019s frame, the pinched and harried look easing off of her face. She let out a deep breath and glanced over at the picture of Riddick. \u201cWhat\u2019s he like?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cRiddick. What really happened after the <i>Hunter-Gratzner<\/i> crashed? To everybody.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWow&#8288;\u2026 that\u2019s a long story.\u201d Jack glanced at the clock. They only had an hour until breakfast now&#8288;\u2026 maybe half an hour until the Killer\u2019s Club came looking for them. \u201cTell you what&#8288;\u2026 how about I tell it tonight, after lights-out? When nobody else is around.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">After all, it would fly in the face of everything she intended to tell Stacey today.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra looked at her weighingly for a moment and then nodded. \u201cYeah. Maybe it\u2019ll give me some <i>good<\/i> dreams. What\u2019d you dream about?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Why the hell was the Theory of Relativity making Jack blush?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cA lesson a teacher gave me back at my old school.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra\u2019s eyebrow went up.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh God, no, nothing like that!\u201d Jack found herself laughing. \u201cIt\u2019s just I\u2019m such a great big geek. It was all about the science of space travel and other stuff like that. Crazy, boring stuff.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cCrazy is never boring.\u201d Kyra smirked as she opened her dresser drawer and started pulling fresh clothes out. \u201cYou wanna see something?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSure.\u201d Jack walked over to Kyra, studying her for any lingering signs of her earlier distress, but the older girl seemed to have shaken it off completely in mere minutes. As she watched, Kyra took out a thick pair of socks that had her name scrawled on them in permanent marker.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe\u2019re not supposed to \u2018own\u2019 clothes here, but they decided I needed to have a few things that are totally mine. After I did this to a whole bunch of them, anyway. So these are my socks&#8288;\u2026 and&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d She touched the unusually thick soles, and a small blade sprang out from the seam. \u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;my knives.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack gasped. Kyra had a <i>knife<\/i> in the ward? How the hell&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThey had an electrician from outside in here a while back. He wasn\u2019t all that careful about his tools. I swiped two of his spare cutter blades when he had his head in a panel and nobody was looking.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHoly shit. Better you than Stacey.\u201d Jack\u2019s mind was reeling. What did Kyra expect to need knives for?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s for sure. Those thick soles are a perfect hiding place. They also fit in the mouth but that\u2019s kinda risky.\u201d Kyra definitely had her equilibrium back, along with a pleased-cat expression on her face.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat do you need them for?\u201d She figured she\u2019d better ask.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNot much, here&#8288;\u2026 this place is pretty decent.\u201d Kyra put the socks away. \u201cI promised myself I\u2019d never get caught by some perverted fuck again, you know? We didn\u2019t have guys like Carmouche at my last hospital, you know&#8288;\u2026 guys you could actually trust to treat you like a human being, and who\u2019d help you if you needed it. So I planned on helping myself as much as I had to.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">By having lethal defenses if she needed them. After the stories she\u2019d told last night, Jack couldn\u2019t feel all that surprised. \u201cYeah, I get that.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra started gathering up her clothes. \u201cRiddick\u2019s like that too, isn\u2019t he? Like Carmouche. You didn\u2019t need a knife because he <i>was<\/i> your knife.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Something inside Jack\u2019s chest twisted at that, as she began gathering up her own clothing. \u201cPretty much, yeah, until he ran out on me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat are you going to do when Flint figures out you don\u2019t really know where he is, and won\u2019t sign those papers?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Moment of truth. Jack realized she\u2019d come to her decision while she slept. She turned and looked Kyra square in the eyes. \u201cI won\u2019t be here when he does.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra\u2019s movement toward the door of their room came to a dead stop. For a moment, the two girls stared at each other, until the silence became so strong that it seemed to fill Jack\u2019s ears. Finally, Kyra spoke. \u201cYou have a way out of here.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack nodded, picking her words carefully. \u201cWe get up to A ward, and I can handle the rest. I know a backdoor into the security.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo, what&#8288;\u2026 you\u2019re planning on just sashaying out?\u201d Kyra seemed to have missed the significance of the <i>we.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah,\u201d she said, trying to keep her response nonchalant. \u201cYou wanna come with?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra shook her head, not in a gesture of <i>no<\/i> but rather one of <i>I can\u2019t believe it.<\/i> \u201cHow the hell are you gonna manage that?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">People were stirring in the hallway outside. Jack stepped closer to Kyra, lowering her voice. \u201cI know a backdoor into the security system they\u2019re using. I\u2019ve used it before. And I know how they have the cameras timed. Seriously. We get up into A Ward, and we can waltz out of there any time we <i>want.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThere\u2019s no way it can be that simple,\u201d Kyra whispered back.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMaybe not. That\u2019s why I\u2019m also gonna get a staff account from Stacey. I\u2019m still working out all the details, but I figure we\u2019ve got a little time, right? Nobody goes straight from C Ward to A Ward overnight. You want in?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Slowly, <i>finally,<\/i> Kyra nodded. \u201cI want <i>out.<\/i> I want out of this fucking hole, and away from all these people. Too fucking many of them&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack nodded, wondering where Kyra would want to run to when they got out. Would she really go merc? Maybe she\u2019d head off to some backwater planet where she could live out in the woods like a wild woman, the way she had before she was finally caught. It made her wonder, all over again, where Riddick had gone, and how he was living. Was he vanishing into crowds, blending in with the people around him&#8288;\u2026 or had he taken off for some barely habitable world to live like a wild <i>man?<\/i> She really didn\u2019t know. He\u2019d handled himself well enough with people, but he\u2019d been quick to disappear, too. Again, it struck her that Kyra was more Riddick\u2019s kind of person than she was. She might have shaved her head to express her crush through emulation, but Kyra&#8288;\u2026 Kyra was the one with a seed of the same darkness in her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The darkness was a part of Riddick that Jack had <i>never<\/i> tried to emulate. When she\u2019d heard stories about him, she\u2019d shuddered and tried to ignore the tales about his killing ways, focusing instead on the spectacular escapes he\u2019d engineered. Her dad had loved recounting those, especially when he was working on revamping a security system that Riddick had beaten. If there was any way Jack wanted to be like Riddick, anymore, it was that: his facility for escaping from places everyone thought inescapable. Kyra could take on the rest of him, if she wanted.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDeal. We\u2019ll talk more about that tonight, too, okay?\u201d Voices were approaching, familiar Killer\u2019s Club voices.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOkay.\u201d Kyra nodded and started moving for the door, just as Stacey knocked and then opened it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThere you two are! C\u2019mon before all the little brats use up the hot water.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They headed, en masse, for the showers. Most of the other girls in the ward tried to avoid showering at the same time as the Killer\u2019s Club; Jack sure had back before they\u2019d swallowed her up. Now she was one of them, though&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;And now it was time to make the most of what that meant.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra gave her a significant glance as she headed for Stacey after showering. The girl was dressing, preening at her reflection in the mirror. It occurred to Jack that Stacey was very beautiful, but in much the same way that cobras were beautiful. What would Stacey do once she was released? Who would she do it to?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou need something?\u201d Stacey\u2019s eyes, technically, were beautiful too, or should have been, crystal blue with lush eyelashes&#8288;\u2026 but they were the coldest, cruelest eyes Jack had ever seen in her life.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah,\u201d Jack made herself reply. \u201cAfter breakfast&#8288;\u2026 I wanna talk to you about some stuff. Meet me in the library?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She glanced around at the other girls to indicate that none of them were invited to the little t\u00eate-\u00e0-t\u00eate she had in mind.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Stacey smirked. She <i>obviously<\/i> knew what Jack wanted to talk about. \u201cYeah, I can do that. Gimme about an hour after breakfast and I\u2019ll be there.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">An hour. Perfect. Carmouche would be on duty in the library; she could take care of something else she needed to in the meantime.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Watching carefully all through breakfast, Jack caught the little bits of clues she\u2019d need. Xi Hin was going to go after Celia right before lunch, probably while she\u2019d still be telling Stacey her manufactured story about Riddick. She pretended not to care and was careful not to look Celia\u2019s way; she doubted the girl would listen to a thing <i>she<\/i> had to say, anyway.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But things were coming together in her head. She could see the escape route forming. Now all she had to do was walk it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">After breakfast, she went back to her room and picked up the two library books, giving Kyra and the other girls a friendly wave as she passed them again and wiggling her books to show her mission. There\u2019d be no question in anybody\u2019s mind later, if she did this right, that she was totally innocent. If she did this right, Celia would soon be out of their reach, and they\u2019d never realize she was responsible for it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The library was virtually deserted and, as she\u2019d hoped, Carmouche was on duty. She carried her two books over, <i>Hatter Fox<\/i> on top. That had been the one Heather had chosen for herself on that final day; oddly enough, the titular character made Jack think a <i>lot<\/i> of Kyra. One of the images from the novel, Hatter trapped in a dog cage, kept haunting Jack, and she wondered if anything like that had been done to Kyra at her last institution&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Focus!<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHere, I need to return these.\u201d She gave Carmouche a genuinely tremulous smile. It was still a little hard to talk to him without being reminded of Heather\u2019s death. She\u2019d been kind of surprised that she\u2019d been able to read the books at all, but part of her had felt like reading them would actually bring her closer, in some strange way, to her lost friend.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThanks, Jack, I\u2019ll get these signed in right&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She leaned forward, aware that nobody else was in the room and wanting to take advantage of it. \u201cCelia\u2019s going to get attacked again,\u201d she whispered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Carmouche started to pull back, alarm and awareness that he was inside the acceptable proximity borders between an orderly and a patient on his face, but he froze as her words registered. \u201cWhat? When?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cXi Hin\u2019s going to jump her a little before lunchtime.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He frowned. \u201cXi Hin? Why her?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d committed herself; the Killers Club girls would kick the shit out of her if they ever found out. She\u2019d just have to go all the way.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThey\u2019re doing this for entertainment, okay? I flipped out at Celia and now they\u2019re just keeping it going because they think it\u2019s <i>fun.<\/i> And \u2019cause if she keeps getting into fights all the time, it\u2019ll go on <i>her<\/i> record instead of <i>theirs.<\/i> Look. <i>You<\/i> can\u2019t stop the fight&#8288;\u2026 it can\u2019t be anybody they think I\u2019ve talked to today, okay? But <i>stop<\/i> the fight, and for God\u2019s sake, get her up to B Ward where she belongs.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She could see him figuring the rest of it out. Celia wasn\u2019t violent, not really. She was melodramatic as hell and probably talked a good game, but when it came right down to it, she wasn\u2019t even self-destructive. A trendy cutter, maybe&#8288;\u2026 maybe even a <i>real<\/i> cutter who needed the self-mutilation for something other than truckloads of sympathy, but she wasn\u2019t going to hurt anybody else and she wasn\u2019t going to kill herself. And C Ward was going to chew her up if she didn\u2019t get out fast.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Yeah, Carmouche got it. Jack stepped back from his desk and headed for one of the educational terminals. She\u2019d catch up on her studies while she waited for Stacey to arrive.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Three orderlies passed through the library while she waited, and Carmouche got into hushed conversations with two of them. Jack hoped she\u2019d get her staff account, and be familiar enough with the system, before anything appeared in it where Stacey might see. That sudden thought chilled her. An all-out war with Stacey would be a disaster.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Speak of the devil&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She entered the library alone and headed straight for Jack. They were far enough away from the orderly\u2019s desk to speak in privacy, especially with the place almost deserted. Curiosity, and a sick hunger Jack didn\u2019t want to contemplate, dominated her face as she took the empty chair.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo, what\u2019s up?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">First rule of negotiation, at least according to her mom: start from a position of strength. Ask for what you want as if it\u2019s your native right.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI want one of those staff accounts.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Stacey\u2019s eyebrow arched. \u201cThose are heavy-duty. I don\u2019t just toss those around to everybody, you know.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Of course not. \u201cBut you can get me one, can\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Cold blue eyes narrowed a little. \u201cI <i>can&#8288;\u2026<\/i> what\u2019s in it for me?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She had to know already. But this was how the game was played, and Jack could play it. She had no choice. These wheels needed to get in motion, unless she really wanted to walk out the door of this place by betraying Riddick.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMaybe&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d She took a deep breath and frowned, pretending that the subject she was bringing up was hurtful and traumatic. Like Rachel had told her, she could look like a trapped fawn with enormous ease; it was time to use that to her advantage. \u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;I&#8288;\u2026 could tell you about&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cRiddick? You want a staff account in return for your story.\u201d Stacey\u2019s smile had become predatory.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;yeah.\u201d Jack\u2019s voice was small and sounded rough in her ears as <i>real<\/i> anxiety started to surge. What if this didn\u2019t work? This <i>had<\/i> to work. Everything depended on it working&#8288;\u2026 what if she fucked up and Stacey didn\u2019t believe her&#8288;\u2026 or didn\u2019t <i>deliver?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou got a deal. But your story\u2019d better be good. C\u2019mon&#8288;\u2026 we\u2019ll go to my room and you can tell me the story there.\u201d Stacey started getting out of her seat.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe account first.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The other girl\u2019s eyes narrowed. \u201cDon\u2019t trust me?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI just&#8288;\u2026 I wanna know it\u2019s made. Lots of people I thought were gonna be nice to me&#8288;\u2026 y\u2019know&#8288;\u2026 weren\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Like Riddick, if you\u2019re catching my implications.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Stacey\u2019s superior smile was back. \u201cOkay. I can do that.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She turned around and started punching things up on the terminal by her chair. After a few moments, she sat back with a satisfied nod and wrote something down on a piece of paper. \u201cOkay, you\u2019re in. This is the address of the screen you need to call up, and all the commands you put in&#8288;\u2026 and your username and password. Which I\u2019ll give you in my room, once you start talking. Okay?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That\u2019d do. It\u2019d have to. \u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cLemme just back out of here and then we\u2019ll&#8288;\u2014 well, <i>fuck.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack felt a chill move through her. \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThey\u2019re transferring that little bitch up to B Ward. What the fuck? She gets in two fights, and she gets to go to B Ward? This is so unfair.\u201d Stacey slammed her fist down on the table.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Carmouche glanced up from his desk. \u201cEverything okay, Stacey?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah,\u201d she ground out between clenched teeth. \u201cEverything\u2019s fine. Sorry.\u201d She shut her terminal down with a gusty sigh. \u201cWell, that just fucked my day. Your story\u2019d better be good, Jack, because right now I could just&#8288;\u2026 argh! Who the hell decided she was ready for B Ward?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Me.<\/i> But Jack couldn\u2019t say that to her. She took another tack instead. \u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat fuckin\u2019 Celia. She\u2019s going upstairs, God <i>damn<\/i> it.\u201d Stacey rose to her feet. \u201cThey had a transfer order up. She\u2019s probably already heading up there. And we had it all worked out, too&#8288;\u2026 shit.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack climbed to her feet and followed Stacey out, glancing nervously at Carmouche. He\u2019d moved fast. She hoped he\u2019d been discreet about what he knew. If not, she hoped that her staff account would let her hide things from Stacey.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Definitely going to be \u201cstudying\u201d after lunch.<\/i> And moving as fast as she could to hide any handles she\u2019d left sticking out.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Stacey led her back into her room, back to where the images of dangerous, brutal men dominated an entire wall. Riddick glared down at her from that wall, along with a few dozen other hardened criminals, his expression accusing. What she was about to claim he\u2019d done, the lies she was about to tell, would be the worst sort of treachery.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I have to do it. It\u2019s not like anybody\u2019s going to take her claims seriously if she <b>does<\/b> repeat the stories. Hearsay of a crazy girl? Yeah, right. Better her than Flint. Better her than Toombs.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo, c\u2019mon&#8288;\u2026 spill.\u201d Stacey flopped down on her bed and gave Jack a sullen glare.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack took a deep breath, aware that now she was Stacey\u2019s sole source of entertainment for the day. <i>Make it good. Make it real.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d She sat down on Omphal\u00e9\u2019s bed and took a deep breath. \u201cDo you want the whole story? Or just&#8288;\u2026 the stuff he did to me?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHmmmm&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d A hungry smile twitched at the corners of Stacey\u2019s mouth. \u201cHow long had you been with him when he started hurting you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack took another deep breath. <i>Okay&#8288;\u2026 gotta keep these facts straight in my head. He caught me alone in the settlement, before the eclipse, while the others were running tests on the skiff. Caught me alone, figured out I was a girl&#8288;\u2026 and made me pay for it. Just gotta keep the \u201cfacts\u201d straight&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She began talking, weaving her false tale of threats and taunts and sexual assault, feeling sick to her stomach. There wasn\u2019t any act. As she spoke, the emotions she wanted to convey to Stacey became real and immediate to her. Fear, not of Riddick, but that Stacey would see through her. Horror, not of Riddick\u2019s supposed acts, but the very real acts she was drawing her descriptions from, that had been committed against Kyra. Nausea and anguish, again for Kyra\u2019s sake and for the sake of every girl who\u2019d ever lived through this. As she spoke, as Stacey\u2019s expression became more and more enrapt, she started to feel something else as well&#8288;\u2026 understanding even better why Kyra wanted to become a merc and hunt the kinds of criminals who would really do these things. Even understanding, a little, why the mercs who thought Riddick was one of that kind would treat him the way Johns had, using bit and blindfold and Billy club against him as though he was a rabid animal.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her tears were real. The pain twisting at her as she spoke was real. Everything was real, except the story itself that she was telling. That, and that alone, was a lie&#8288;\u2026 but Stacey would never know.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It <i>was<\/i> a lie&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;wasn\u2019t it?<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4014\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4014 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-15\">\u00ab Chapter 15<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4080\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4080 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-17\">Chapter 17 \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=\"17\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4015\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4015 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-16\">\u00ab Chapter 16<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4082\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4082 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-18\">Chapter 18 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5106\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5106 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">17.<br\/>\r\n<u>The Player and the Game<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack ran out of Stacey\u2019s room at top speed, heading for the bathroom, the precious slip of paper with her staff account information clutched tightly in one hand. She ran flat-out, as though pursued by the natives of a world with too many suns and too much darkness. She still almost didn\u2019t make it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was only when she was already heaving that the full weight of the d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu settled on her. Weeks ago, after her first group therapy session, she\u2019d flung herself into this very same stall. Then, she\u2019d been struggling to make people believe the truth about Riddick. Now&#8288;\u2026 lies. She\u2019d been telling horrible, nauseating lies that had driven what was left of her breakfast right back out of her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>If he knew what I\u2019d said, he\u2019d hate me so much&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was over, she realized, as she forced herself to her shaky feet. Whatever chance she\u2019d had of one day meeting Riddick again, renewing their friendship, indulging her fantasies&#8288;\u2026 was over. She\u2019d never be able to look him in the eye, not after betraying him like this. Even if he never knew, <i>she<\/i> would. She\u2019d destroyed it, all of it. There was nothing left; nothing more. Richard B. Riddick was out of her reach forever, and she\u2019d never have the right to look for him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack had betrayed him. Jack had to die. Audrey would leave here and resume her life, but Jack had no right to live on anymore, within or without.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But first, she had to get out of this place.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Stacey\u2019s door was still closed when she left the bathroom. She tried not to think about what Stacey was doing behind that door, let alone what the vicious girl was imagining as she did it. Instead, she walked resolutely back to the library and the vacant terminals.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It had felt like she\u2019d been talking forever, but the clocks said it hadn\u2019t been all that long. Lunch was still two hours away. She could hear the sounds of a popular movie playing in the main recreation area. She recognized the opening credits theme and knew it was one almost everybody had been waiting to see. Abu and Lajjun, still trying to pull her out of her downward spiral, had taken her to it during its first week in theaters, a scant month before she cut her wrists.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The library would probably be deserted. Maybe she could get her ass covered even before lunch.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Carmouche had gone off-duty and been replaced by an orderly that Jack didn\u2019t recognize. That wasn\u2019t ideal. The woman was tall, slender but muscled, her medium-brown hair tied back. She was reading one of the old, thick, Victoria Holt novels from old Earth and <i>seemed<\/i> absorbed in the text, but her posture reminded Jack somehow of Riddick at rest: contained peril that could burst forth at any moment. Jack wondered if the orderly normally worked on D Ward. Most of her nametag was blocked by the book she held, but it ended with \u201c-AN.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Pretending to ignore the orderly, Jack walked over to the terminals as calmly and resolutely as she could\u2014<i>act like you belong and people will believe you belong<\/i>\u2014waiting to be challenged, but she wasn\u2019t. Either the orderly bought the act or just didn\u2019t care either way.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Then again, everybody on the staff seemed to think they had all their patients sandboxed on the computers. The truth was anything but.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Whatever else could be said about her, Stacey <i>had<\/i> come through. The login worked. Even better, as the staff menu opened up, Jack recognized its layout immediately.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her dad had helped design it. He\u2019d shown her how it worked. And best of all, she still remembered the law enforcement override that he had helped build into it. Any law enforcement agency that had the command on file could get in. <i>She<\/i> could get in. On a level that the other girls had no idea existed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I might not even have to wait to make my move until I leave C ward,<\/i> she thought with shaky amazement.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Before she did anything else, though, she needed to make sure that she had control of the Celia situation. Stacey would be preoccupied for a little while longer&#8288;\u2026 she hoped&#8288;\u2026 and that would give her enough time to make sure that neither she\u2014nor any of the other Killer\u2019s Club girls with purloined admin accounts\u2014could ever find out that it was Jack\u2019s intel that had led to the girl\u2019s transfer.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Snitches get stitches,<\/i> she reminded herself. <i>Those would be hard for Audrey to explain.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She pulled up the transfer notice and read it carefully. No signs of her handiwork there. Next, however, was Celia\u2019s file.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There it was.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt>Based on confidential information from a fellow patient, we now know that Celia has been targeted for group bullying by a clique in the C ward nicknamed the \u201cKiller\u2019s Club.\u201d Given her relatively clean record and overall progress, we are moving her to B ward to ensure her safety.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That wouldn\u2019t do at all. Only members of the Killer\u2019s Club had been in the room when Stacey revealed her plan, and only Jack was an unknown quantity to them. If any of them read it, it would be instantly obvious that the patient in question was her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Let\u2019s just fix that, shall we?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack rewrote the paragraph, changing the wording carefully so that it would still sound like something an adult, a professional, had written. Finally, she was satisfied.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt>Based on similar prior incidents, we believe that Celia has been targeted for group bullying, possibly by a clique in the C ward nicknamed the \u201cKiller\u2019s Club.\u201d Given her relatively clean record and overall progress, we are moving her to B ward to ensure her safety.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That, she finally thought with a sigh, was as good as she could make it. Now she just needed to make sure there were no handles in her own record&#8288;\u2026 and do a little sanitizing of any information that could be used to track her once she bugged out.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Her<\/i> record still listed her as Jane Doe 7439. That was a good sign. If they were trying to pin her identity down, nothing had come back yet. She moved to the most recent entries in her chart first. Would they have mentioned the incident?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Damn. Of course they did. And they have no idea how porous their system is&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Not that the code was porous, of course. Her dad didn\u2019t <i>do<\/i> bad work. It wasn\u2019t his fault that one of the orderlies had been so lax about security, or that none of the features to detect and prevent that kind of breach that had been enabled. And she might just clean up a few more things once she launched the law enforcement back door.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But first, there was an entry to fix\u2014and carefully\u2014before any of the Killer\u2019s Club girls thought to take a peek.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt>Despite the fact that Miss Doe was the first to get into a fight with Celia Wyndham, she has obliquely expressed remorse for the act by warning us that Miss Wyndham is now the target of systematic bullying. The previous concerns about her closer association with the Killer\u2019s Club may be unfounded.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She definitely couldn\u2019t risk any of the girls seeing that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It took her almost a half hour, and a dozen unsatisfactory attempts, to find wording that would work. Not far off, she could hear the movie getting more and more car-chase and explosion heavy. Although few girls ventured into the library at any time, she couldn\u2019t risk any of Stacey\u2019s friends looking over her shoulder while she worked on this. Satisfied at last, she saved the new paragraph.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt>Miss Doe\u2019s instigation of the systematic bullying of Celia Wyndham seems to confirm our previous concerns about her growing association with the Killer\u2019s Club. She should be monitored closely for any signs of remorse for her actions.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Much better,<\/i> she thought. Now she was the Killer\u2019s Club\u2019s newest accomplice, not their snitch.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She read through the rest of her record carefully, looking for any notes that could potentially connect her to Audrey MacNamera once she went on the run. Someone had identified her accent as common to Deckard\u2019s World. She deleted the line and found three more references to Deckard\u2019s World\u2014all speculative, but still\u2014that needed to be deleted as well. The movie ended as she saved and closed Jane Doe 7439\u2019s files. Nobody had come in yet; the orderly who had taken over from Carmouche appeared to be engrossed in her Victoria Holt novel and happy to ignore her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Perfect.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Backing out to the administrative main menu, she launched the special login for law enforcement, holding her breath until its distinctive menu appeared. Now for the important moves.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She changed her staff account so that it was top-tier, with access to everything, and checked that the other Killer\u2019s Club accounts\u2014easy to identify now that she could see who had created each account\u2014had been on the same tier that her own had been. She was relieved to see that none of them would have had greater clearance than she had; she didn\u2019t need to dig back into her file, or Celia\u2019s, to make sure that she hadn\u2019t missed anything she hadn\u2019t had access to. When it suddenly occurred to her to check Stacey\u2019s file for references to her, she was relieved to see that there were none.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She only got to spend a few more minutes poking around on the law enforcement level, gleaning passcodes and information about lockdown systems, before she heard voices approaching. Her screen was back to normal\u2014the screen of an ordinary patient\u2014before Xi Hin and Omphal\u00e9 walked in.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She suppressed a sigh of relief.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"> \u201cHey, Jack,\u201d Xi Hin said, her voice almost friendly. \u201cYou haven\u2019t seen a certain drama queen around, have you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack glanced nervously at the orderly, who was continuing to ignore them. The woman turned another page in her novel, seemingly oblivious to their conversation. <i>Or she\u2019s really good at pretending not to listen&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She decided to at least pretend to go with the latter.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Making her glance at the orderly a little more obvious, Jack motioned Xi Hin and Omphal\u00e9 to move farther away from the front desk with her. Both girls looked intrigued as they followed her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"> \u201cShe\u2019s gone,\u201d she whispered, once she was sure that even an astute eavesdropper would be out of range.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"> \u201cGone?\u201d Xi Hin blurted. Omphal\u00e9 shushed her. \u201cWhat do you mean, gone?\u201d she continued in a whisper. \u201cIt\u2019s my turn to&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That earned her another shushing from Omphal\u00e9.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"> \u201cStacey told me earlier,\u201d Jack whispered, glad that she didn\u2019t have to be the originator of the news. \u201cSent up to B Ward.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"> \u201cWhy?\u201d Omphal\u00e9 whispered, her expression shocked. Stacey had been enraged, but Omphal\u00e9 just seemed confused. The plans for tormenting the girl had probably just been a diversion to her, and not the serious business they\u2019d become for Stacey.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack shrugged. It was better not to leave too many handles out by knowing too much. \u201cThat\u2019s what she wanted to know, too.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Xi Hin turned and sat down at the nearest terminal\u2014Jack\u2019s\u2014and logged her out before logging into <i>her<\/i> staff account. After a moment, she swore. \u201cThey figured us out, looks like. Sounds like Stacey\u2019s not the first one to play that game here.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Omphal\u00e9 gave Jack an askance look and whispered something to Xi Hin, who started typing up a new query.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Bet I know what they\u2019re going to check&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Omphal\u00e9\u2019s amused snort confirmed it. \u201cThey say you instigated it all, Jack. Stacey\u2019s gonna be pissed that you\u2019re getting all the credit.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack walked over and read the doctored passage over Xi Hin\u2019s other shoulder, taking her time before reacting. Let them think she was a slowish reader. Let them think she\u2019d never read that paragraph before, much less written most of it. \u201cLooks to me like that\u2019s <i>blame<\/i> I\u2019m getting, not credit.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"> \u201cPo-tay-toe, Po-tah-toe.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Inwardly, part of her wanted to curl into a ball and shiver for hours. She had come dangerously close to earning the lifelong enmity of the cruelest and most brutal girls in the ward. If Stacey had decided to dig into the reasons for Celia\u2019s transfer <i>before<\/i> hearing Jack\u2019s story, or if the other Killer\u2019s Club girls hadn\u2019t been distracted by an action movie&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I\u2019d be in pieces, or maybe just in D Ward&#8288;\u2026 and I\u2019d never get out of here.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"> \u201cYou okay?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She glanced over at both girls. \u201cYeah, sorry. I, uh&#8288;\u2026 told Stacey some stuff she wanted to know about&#8288;\u2026 uh&#8288;\u2026 Riddick&#8288;\u2026 and&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She swallowed. Thinking about that recitation in Stacey\u2019s room made her feel ill and guilty all over again. No faking needed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The girls\u2019 faces were almost sympathetic.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"> \u201cHey,\u201d Xi Hin said after a moment. \u201cI bet the therapists\u2019d say it\u2019s good you\u2019re facing that stuff head-on. You know, admitting the truth.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She and Omphal\u00e9 nodded at each other with the sage expressions of old veterans at therapy.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"> \u201cI guess,\u201d she replied, and the lunch bell rang.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Food had no appeal to Jack. She sat quietly at the table, picking at the unappetizing contents of her plate, while conversation flowed around her. She avoided even glancing in Stacey\u2019s direction. It was hard to look Kyra\u2019s way, either. Those had been <i>her<\/i> ordeals she\u2019d been describing. She just hoped that Kyra was right about Stacey, and that the stories would never spread. Having Riddick\u2019s reputation tarnished with Red Roger\u2019s crimes on Canaan Mountain would be a disaster.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I need more time in the system,<\/i> she thought to herself. The sooner she could get out of this place, the better, before even more of her soul was compromised. She needed codes. She needed to sanitize Kyra\u2019s records, too, so that her friend would also be harder to trace. There were a thousand moving parts and she needed to line all of them up&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Everyone was getting up. The meal was over.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"> \u201cI\u2019d ask how it went, but I guess I know,\u201d murmured Kyra as they rose. \u201cYou okay?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack looked over at Kyra, wishing she had even half the armor and aplomb the older girl possessed. Knowing what she had endured just made her all the more impressive.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I have to get her out of here.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"> \u201cI will be,\u201d she managed after a moment. \u201cI need to get more time on the library terminals. Can you cover for me? Keep people from wondering what I\u2019m up to?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra nodded, although she seemed to be wondering why it was so important. When the other girls in the Killer\u2019s Club headed for the recreation room, she kept them distracted while Jack slipped away.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The romance novel enthusiast was still on duty in the library. Jack picked a different workspace, selecting a table with two terminals facing away from both the duty desk and the entry. On one, she began leading a set of false trails, using her patient account to browse pages that related to interests she\u2019d never had as Audrey MacNamera. On the other, she logged into her improved, highest level staff account and made some further changes to her patient record, deleting entries about her prior browsing history and the subjects she\u2019d pursued. In their place, she added records connected to the new sites she was browsing. Jane Doe 7439, she had decided, liked to read about Neo-Cajun cuisine, watched New Creole cooking shows, liked to listen to zydeco music, and never made anything above a B- on her schooling modules.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">While another cooking show started on the terminal beside her, she switched over to the law enforcement account and began setting up a master passcode that would let her go through all the facility\u2019s doors&#8288;\u2026 undetected. Via Ghost Mode.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"> \u201cThey don\u2019t understand what they\u2019re asking for,\u201d John MacNamera had groused at her two years earlier, leaning back on his couch and blowing out a frustrated breath. \u201cThis \u2018Ghost Mode\u2019 is going to blow up in their faces one day.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey had sat quietly. Her dad would explain without her asking. He always did. She had glanced down at the specs he was working with. There it was: Ghost Mode. She scanned over the instructions for using it, filing them away in her memory.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was fortunate that nobody in the hospital had any idea just how good her memory <i>was<\/i>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"> \u201cEidetic\u201d was the term her dad used with her. She only had to read things once to remember them clearly and precisely. And he had sternly explained, after she got into a fight with one of her cousins about which of them was remembering an event \u201cright,\u201d that what she could do was extremely rare, a gift that she hadn\u2019t done anything to earn, and that it was rude to show it off and unkind to expect others to have it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Which, fortunately, meant that long before she left Deckard\u2019s World and began her run, she had become an old hand in concealing the full extent of her knowledge and recall. Nobody <i>expected<\/i> a kid to remember everything, down to the tiniest detail, so nobody\u2014except possibly her parents\u2014ever realized that she was <i>faking<\/i> it when she got less-than-perfect marks on a quiz or test, or claimed not to remember something that had happened when she was three.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Now, however, sitting at the terminal, she could still see the instructions for \u201cGhost Mode\u201d in her memory, and still hear her dad grumbling about the mistake the security firm was making.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"> \u201cWhen this mode is attached to a security code, no records are generated when the code is used,\u201d he\u2019d explained after a moment. \u201cSure, that\u2019s great for a situation where you think someone high up is compromised and you don\u2019t want them to know they\u2019re being investigated, or the police are on the way&#8288;\u2026 but I can think of a million ways it could be abused.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"> \u201cWhat are you going to do?\u201d Audrey had asked him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"> \u201cI can\u2019t take it out. We can\u2019t have one package for clients who want Ghost Mode and another for clients who don\u2019t. The code\u2019s too integral.\u201d Her dad had snorted in annoyance. \u201cBut we can make two sets of documentation. Only the clients who <i>request<\/i> Ghost Mode will get instructions on how to enable it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But it was always there, asked for or not, enabled or not. Now Jack keyed in the instructions for making her newly-minted security codes \u201cGhost Mode,\u201d hiding them from the general administrative registry as well. She\u2019d chosen a number combination that no one else used. Now it would open any door on any of the floors and there would be no record that the doors had opened at all.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sure, she could have gone through the doors using any combination of the administrators\u2019 passcodes\u2014they were all in her head now\u2014but this code had a further advantage: she could share it with Kyra, and her friend would only need to remember one number.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She spent the next hour\u2014while a middle-aged woman, on the screen next to her, quietly droned on about the best jambalaya recipes\u2014studying the camera layouts and timing on the stairs between C Ward and A Ward, and the layout of the ground level. She had the escape route picked, the timing worked out, and everything memorized when she heard voices approaching. By the time four girls entered the library, she appeared to be doing poorly on an algebra quiz while listening to singers from centuries earlier admonish listeners: \u201cDon\u2019t Mess With My Toot-Toot.\u201d She got a few funny looks, but nobody seemed to suspect anything.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They\u2019d never heard her listen to music before. They\u2019d never know that she listened to anything but zydeco. Now, though, there would be witnesses to the fact that this was Jane Doe 7439\u2019s music of choice. Everything in her record would point to a colony on the opposite side of the Helion System from Deckard\u2019s World.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>We can leave whenever we want,<\/i> she reassured herself. <i>As soon as I clean up Kyra\u2019s records so she\u2019s harder to trace.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That, she decided, would be her next stop once she was alone again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Score one for zydeco music. The girls, muttering about how weird she was, left quickly with their books. Once they were gone, she logged back in as a top admin and got back to work. She opened up Kyra\u2019s file&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Oh. Shit.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A cold chill flowed down her back. Her fingers shook as she typed. She didn\u2019t dare change much\u2014the Black Fox of Canaan Mountain was, after all, the facility\u2019s closest thing to a celebrity patient\u2014but she changed what she could.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">This was bad. This was very&#8288;\u2026 <i>very<\/i> bad.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her decision made, she switched over to the duty rosters and made subtle adjustments that would ensure a nice, wide open gap in coverage, all along her planned escape route, between 2 and 3 a.m. Scrolling through the daytime duty roster, she found the anomaly she was looking for. She switched back over to the law enforcement account and looked at the orderly\u2019s records again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was even worse than she had thought.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Fuck.<\/i> She glanced up at the seemingly-oblivious woman at the front desk, wondering whether she was just killing time or paying closer attention to everything than it seemed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It wouldn\u2019t matter. It couldn\u2019t matter. She couldn\u2019t <i>let<\/i> it matter.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She shut down the terminals when the dinner bell rang, and walked out of the library as calmly as she could, trying not to let it be too obvious that her skin was trying to crawl right off of her body.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She forced herself to eat her entire dinner. It was dry and tasteless in her mouth, and most of her attention was spent on keeping it down. From the few comments she could make herself focus on, everybody thought she was still out of sorts from her morning conversation with Stacey. She squirreled away a few rolls when nobody was looking.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For later.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The woman was gone when she returned to the library, replaced by one of the regular evening-duty orderlies. Jack felt a tiny amount of the tension leave her spine as she worked. It only took her another two hours to get everything in place. Her hands shook a little as she shut down the terminal, spent a few minutes pretending to be a germaphobe and wiping down all the terminals she had used that day, and left the library.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Normally she showered in the morning, but she felt like she stank of fear. After a quick shower, she killed time cleaning the room she and Kyra shared, wiping down every surface that she might have touched at any point. Would anybody bother dusting for fingerprints? She wasn\u2019t sure, but she didn\u2019t want to risk it. While she waited for Kyra to return for Lights Out, she ran over the plan again and again in her mind, rehearsing each step of the way, each possible complication.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It would work. It had to.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Finally Kyra arrived, saying goodnight to Colette and Xi Hin before she entered their room.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019ve been the talk of the Club,\u201d she said with a wry grin. \u201cNot that Stacey\u2019s sharing the story you told, thank God, but it bought you some legit cred. Especially with you being the insti&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDon\u2019t let anybody give you meds tonight. If they do, fake swallowing them. Spit them out when nobody\u2019s looking.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOkay\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack walked up to Kyra, getting close enough that she could breathe the next words and her friend would still hear them, but nobody else possibly could. \u201cWe\u2019re leaving tonight.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra went still, staring at her in surprise and wonder. \u201cTonight?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhy?\u201d It was to her credit that she didn\u2019t even ask <i>how<\/i>, given that Jack had previously said they needed to get to A Ward first.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThere\u2019s a transfer order in for you. For tomorrow at noon.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/i> Kyra whisper-hissed in astonishment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSomebody decided you\u2019re well enough to stand trial. They\u2019re shipping you back to New Dartmouth. And the mercenary in charge of taking you there is already here, pretending to be an orderly.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBut\u2014\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDoesn\u2019t matter. We\u2019re going tonight. 2 a.m. Don\u2019t go to sleep.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Someone knocked on the door.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">As if controlled by the same set of puppet strings, Kyra and Jack retreated to their beds in tandem. \u201cCome in!\u201d Jack called.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The Victoria Holt-reading orderly stood in the doorway. Her name tag, no longer obscured, confirmed everything Jack had already learned about her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"center-block\"><tt>E. Logan<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>They didn\u2019t even bother giving her a fake name&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The false orderly, a woman Jack now knew was really named Eve Logan, professional bounty hunter, entered the room with a smile that was just a hair too wide to be authentic, carrying a tray with pills on it. \u201cTime for bed, girls!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Neither one of them were normally scheduled for bedtime sedation. Their eyes met for the briefest moment. Then Kyra was all smiles, reaching for the cup the merc was offering her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack accepted hers, fumbling the cup long enough to keep Logan from noticing that Kyra was pocketing her pills instead of putting them in her mouth. <i>She<\/i> was glad that her cousin Ron had gone through a \u201cclose-up magic\u201d kick and had insisted on teaching her several variations of the Vanishing Quarter. Eve Logan left a moment later, undoubtedly convinced that both girls would soon be sedated heavily enough that neither one would be up before noon.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra gave her a haunted look as the lights were lowered. Jack nodded. She had set a timer in the system. The lights would come partway back up at 2 a.m. exactly, right as their door unlocked and all the orderlies would have assignments to be nowhere nearby. Eve Logan, she knew, would be asleep in the administrative guest building by then; if she woke up for any reason, she\u2019d find her door and comms mysteriously locked and unresponsive until daybreak.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Glancing over at Kyra, barely visible in the dark, Jack had a feeling that they would both still be wide awake when the lights came up.<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4015\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4015 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-16\">\u00ab Chapter 16<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4082\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4082 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-18\">Chapter 18 \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=\"18\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4016\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4016 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-17\">\u00ab Chapter 17<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4083\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4083 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-19\">Chapter 19 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5109\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5109 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">18.<br\/>\r\n<u>The Game, Afoot<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">By the time the lights rose at 2 a.m., Jack\u2019s nerves were screaming at a fever pitch. She and Kyra sat up simultaneously.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack walked over to Kyra\u2019s side so she could keep her voice to a whisper. \u201cAnything you want, grab now. Once we walk through that door, it\u2019s going to lock behind us and nobody will be able to open it until Lights On.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra gave her an impressed look, walking over to her drawers and grabbing the two pairs of socks she had told Jack about: the ones hiding her knives. She gestured to her pajamas. <i>Do we need to change?<\/i> was her unspoken question.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack shook her head and motioned toward the door. The only thing <i>she<\/i> had chosen to take was a small cloth, which she planned to use to keep her fingerprints off everything. She\u2019d already erased her fingerprints from her files that afternoon, retracting two outstanding database queries at the same time, but there was no point in leaving behind new samples to collect. Their room had already been thoroughly wiped down.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The lights dimmed back off as Kyra opened the door, exactly according to plan. Jack followed her out, closing the door behind them and giving it a gentle, testing push. It had locked. She took a deep, shaky breath, aware that Kyra was watching her in the dim light, and led the way toward the door out of C Ward.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The halls were empty and silent, with no sign of the usual guard staff that would normally be on duty. On the rare occasions when Jack had needed to use the bathroom in the middle of the night, someone had always been nearby and watching. Not now. It was more than a little spooky.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack knew exactly where everyone on the staff probably was right then, exactly where her faked orders had sent each of them at 1:45 and how long it would take them to complete the tasks they believed they had been assigned&#8288;\u2026 but there was always the possibility of error, of some annoyed or bored person deciding \u201clet\u2019s not and say we did\u201d about an assignment, someone being so efficient that they would manage to get done well ahead of schedule, or someone procrastinating. Her nerves screamed at her that, any moment, she and Kyra would be caught before they had even left C ward. It took all her effort not to launch into a flat-out run for the door.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She made herself keep walking, steadily and carefully. She had budgeted them plenty of time. As long as they weren\u2019t seen, they should be all right.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They had reached the door when she heard voices around the corner, grumbling about the stupid task she had assigned them and arguing over whether it really had to be done <i>right this moment.<\/i> Kyra gave her a stricken look.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Deep breath.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her cloth-covered hand was surprisingly steady as she punched in the Ghost Code. The security light flashed green and, with a soft click, the door opened before her. She motioned Kyra through.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And then they were in the stairwell. She closed the door as softly as she could, releasing the breath she was holding as the security light switched back to red.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Two more doors greeted them. One, to Jack\u2019s left, opened on the stairway down to D Ward and the isolation wing, while the other, across from the door she had just closed, led upward to B Ward and the levels above it. Like a twisted airlock, the landing itself was just a waiting area, a security measure to prevent&#8288;\u2026 well, to prevent exactly what she was doing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Next to her, Kyra looked as taut wound as she felt. An aura of danger was coming off her, similar to the one that she had felt coming off of Riddick months ago, as he prepared to flood the skiff with fire suppressant. The older girl had switched into battle mode.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack didn\u2019t, as far as she knew, <i>have<\/i> a battle mode, but she could feel her own mode switching on, the one that had let her power through exams and crack her way through research sources. The one that she had used when she was leaving Deckard\u2019s World, to make her way through both familiar and new security systems. Her focus had gone needle-sharp.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNobody can get into the stairwell now, not as long as we\u2019re in it,\u201d she murmured to Kyra. \u201cI need you to remember this number chain. 7-4-3-3-4-2-5. Put it in any keypad and whatever you\u2019re trying to open will open. Repeat it back.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her voice the tiniest thread in the silence, Kyra responded. \u201c7-4-3-3-4-2-5.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack nodded and punched the code into the door that led up to B Ward. She ushered Kyra through, made sure it locked behind her, and began climbing the steps. She could hear Kyra almost-silently repeating the numbers beside her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Most of the keypads had letters on them. She wondered if Kyra would notice that the code was spelling out Riddick\u2019s name. Didn\u2019t matter. That had been her own private joke. She was, after all, pulling a Riddick here, breaking out of a place that was supposed to be too secure for such breakouts.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She wondered if her dad would be mortified by what she was doing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She had, after all, cut through virtually every safeguard he had ever designed, because she knew the designs as intimately as if she had created them herself. That, she realized, was one handle she would have absolutely no control over: if anybody spotted that the compromised systems had a designer in common, John MacNamera, who had a missing daughter her age&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It didn\u2019t matter. Not now. There was nothing she could do about it, anyway.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They had reached the door to the next landing. Jack entered the code again. Green. They passed into the B Ward vestibule.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Below her, she knew, things would be returning to almost normal. Aside from her room with Kyra remaining locked until Lights On, few other anomalies would remain as long as nobody tried to go <i>up<\/i> from either C or D Ward. If D Ward called for backup for any reason, the orderlies on C Ward would know and could respond, and the reverse was true as well. Only a few minutes had passed so far, but they were on schedule, and the disruption was still minimal, negligible, hopefully both unnoticeable and unnoticed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She punched the Ghost Code into the door for the A Ward stairway and ushered Kyra through. The older girl had remained silent and hypervigilant, seeming to understand the stakes every bit as well as\u2014and perhaps even better than\u2014she did.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And now, Jack thought as they climbed the stairs toward A Ward, B Ward was returning to a level of normalcy&#8288;\u2026 as long as nobody needed to go up.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They passed through the A Ward doors two minutes later. Now all the wards could go about business as usual, slightly more isolated from the outside world than they realized, but otherwise normal except for one locked and very empty room.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The last flight of stairs, used by both the girls\u2019 and boys\u2019 wards, was as ghostly-silent as the previous ones, but it felt somehow more momentous. At the top, she would no longer be controlling most of the cameras, after all. She wouldn\u2019t need to.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They reached the door at the top, and she put her hand on Kyra\u2019s shoulder, feeling the tiniest flinch beneath her fingers. She kept her voice to the thinnest thread of a whisper.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOkay. This is where you want to do exactly what I do, exactly when I do it. If I walk, you walk with me. If I stop, you stop too. I know how all the cameras on the main level are timed. If we do this right, we won\u2019t appear on any of them.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat about the cameras in the stairwell? And below us?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI put them on a loop.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra looked stunned. \u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI set it up this afternoon. Short loops of the cameras, seeing nothing, from recordings made about this time last night. So the light would be the same. The loops started when I punched in the code to leave C Ward. When we walk through this door and it locks behind us, they\u2019ll go back to actually recording what\u2019s happening now.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou couldn\u2019t do the same with the ones up top?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNot with most of them. Many of them are moving. And this level has actual windows. Furniture. Things that get moved around from day to day. A loop from another night would be more obvious. But it\u2019s fine. They\u2019ll never see us. You ready?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She could feel Kyra steeling herself next to her. \u201cLet\u2019s do it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Once more, Jack punched in the Ghost Code. The door\u2019s click echoed through the stairwell as it opened, but nobody from the lower wards should hear it. She hoped.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Most of the people who worked on the Admin level worked there in the day. The nighttime staff was a skeleton crew, much as the orderlies on the Third Shift were a third in number of either of the two day shifts. A handful of security staff and a few janitors were the only occupants, and almost all of them had been assigned to the two upper floors for the next hour. Jack glanced at the chrono in the hallway.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"center-block\"><tt>2:15<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Their silent, careful ascent had taken fifteen minutes, mostly because of how cautious she was being.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack closed the door behind them. She rested her hand on Kyra\u2019s arm as she watched the movement of the cameras closest to them. One stationary camera stared right at them but saw nothing. It would continue to loop on nothing until she punched in the Ghost Code again, away from its reach.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Once she was certain of where she was in the timing, she squeezed Kyra\u2019s arm and began walking. Not toward the exit.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra gave her a confused look but kept up with her, halting when she stopped abruptly and then walking again with her once the cameras were looking away again. When they reached Jack\u2019s destination, she gave Jack another quizzical look.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack wished she could put more concrete meaning into the smile she gave Kyra in return, as she punched the Ghost Code into the door of the Women\u2019s Locker Room and ushered her through.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The lights came on automatically as they entered, and Jack closed her eyes against the sudden brightness for a moment. Behind them, the locker room door closed, locked, and became impervious to all codes except the Ghost Code until their exit.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat\u2019s this for?\u201d Kyra whispered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe can\u2019t go out in our PJs,\u201d Jack whispered back with a grin. \u201cIt\u2019d be dead obvious where we escaped from. Locker number 223. The nurse who uses it has your shoe size and is maybe a size bigger than you in pants and shirts. She\u2019s on duty down on D ward right now, so her street clothes should be in there. Her shift won\u2019t end until after they realize we\u2019re gone.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat\u2019s her combination?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJust use the code I gave you. It works for all the locks.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra gave her another impressed look and walked over to locker number 223. Jack walked over to 347 and popped it open. Her choice was an orderly on B Ward, who was tall enough that her pants wouldn\u2019t show Jack\u2019s ankles.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The chrono read 2:25 when they finished changing, and 2:35 when Jack finished going through the night shift lockers for spare cash and wiping prints off everything she and Kyra had touched. There wasn\u2019t a huge amount of money, but there didn\u2019t need to be. She had other plans for that. But cash was always useful, and its absence might distract law enforcement, briefly, from the real nature of what had happened that night.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOne more stop and then we\u2019re on our way out.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She could see that Kyra was already feeling antsy. Freedom was so close, after all, why delay it? But this was necessary.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They reached Director Flint\u2019s office, unseen, at 2:40. Twenty minutes left until the diversionary activities she\u2019d assigned the staff ended on the levels below them, fifty until they ended in the admin levels. Jack intended to be out of the building before 3 am, but she had built in the extra time, just in case.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">His office was much as she remembered it. She glanced over the papers on his desk, quickly, spotting the transfer orders for Kyra, awaiting final signatures. Helion Prime, it seemed, had a real <i>thing<\/i> for hard copies rather than digital, probably thanks to the whole AI Rebellion that had happened on Helion Six a decade earlier. Lajjun had told her about that one day, when she\u2019d asked why so many of the things that were automated on other worlds\u2014or, at least, on Deckard\u2019s World\u2014were done manually. The people of Helion had a huge distrust for computer minds.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Which, come to think of it, probably explained why so many of the higher security features on her dad\u2019s systems had been switched off. In all probability, the hospital and local law enforcement didn\u2019t even know Ghost Mode existed on their systems.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She moved to Flint\u2019s file cabinet. Its keypad control was susceptible to Ghost Mode; she\u2019d made sure of it a few hours ago. The files, well organized, included hard copies of everything known about her and Kyra. She pulled their files out and closed the cabinets.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The decision, to go full-on Scorched Earth, had come to her when she was almost done preparing for their escape. At 3:30 am, the instructions she had left behind would wipe the last year\u2019s worth of backup data stored by the hospital, also in both its secondary and tertiary locations. Meanwhile, a small collection of its data, about Heather and other patients on her deadly medicine, would be forwarded to several local media outlets. Most of the current, live records would be undamaged by the purges, but two files would be irretrievably corrupted: hers, and Kyra\u2019s. With their hard copies lost as well, it would be hard for the hospital to reconstruct most of the details they had amassed about their two missing jailbirds&#8288;\u2026 especially given the heat that would hopefully come down on them almost immediately with the news about the potentially lethal drug being handed out to a dozen patients.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWipe down anything I\u2019ve been touching, please,\u201d she said to Kyra, as she moved to Flint\u2019s physical Inbox.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra nodded, pulling out one of her special socks from the pocket of her new pants and running it thoroughly over the file cabinet. Jack flipped through the Inbox until she found the packet she was looking for. It would have arrived shortly after midnight\u2014the courier had been instructed to deliver it between midnight and 1 am\u2014and so no one except the front desk would have seen it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Inside, a dozen cards, ostensibly reward gifts for high-performing staffers, waited to be activated. Jack logged into Flint\u2019s terminal, in full Ghost Mode, and activated them, one eye on the chrono. It was 2:50 once she was done. She divided the cards into two piles, pocketing half and holding half out to Kyra.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFunds for our travels,\u201d she whispered. \u201cThere\u2019s a muni transport card in there, and money for food and clothes.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra\u2019s expression was a little awed as she took the cards.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The last time Jack had staged a bug-out\u2014back when she\u2019d left Deckard\u2019s World to go after her dad\u2014she hadn\u2019t had these kinds of resources, and she\u2019d found herself desperately wishing for them. This time, she was going to make sure she didn\u2019t have to learn from the same mistakes twice. The hospital might not even notice how light their petty cash account was until after they finished dealing with their more pressing scandals, by which time\u2014she hoped!\u2014the last traces of the path the money had taken would be wiped away.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe\u2019re almost ready,\u201d Jack said. She slid her file, and Kyra\u2019s, and Kyra\u2019s transfer papers, into the empty envelope. Then she opened up Director Flint\u2019s printer, pulling out a loose piece of paper and nodding for Kyra to wipe the machine down. She set the paper on Flint\u2019s desk and inscribed her final message to him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt>I promised you that I would tell you the truth about Riddick before I left.<br\/>\r\nI always keep my promises, so here it is:<br\/>\r\nYou will never, ever find him.<br\/>\r\n\u2014&#8288;Jack B. Badd<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra laughed softly beside her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She <i>had<\/i> promised that the truth would be sitting on his desk when she left, but that part was one she needed to break. It would be too easy, too obvious, and would give the game away too quickly. She folded the paper, twice, and opened the drawer that had contained her file. She tucked the paper into the now-empty hanging folder that bore the label Jane Doe 7439, closed the drawer, and gave it a final wipe-down.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was 2:55.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The stuffed envelope tucked under one arm and a smaller envelope in her hand, Jack opened the door to Flint\u2019s office. He rated a stationary camera, which had begun looping when she and Kyra had left the women\u2019s locker room. It would continue looping until she put in her next code. With Kyra waiting beside her, she timed the nearby cameras in their sweeps, and then began walking purposefully toward the front desk. Kyra kept pace silently. Jack was suddenly aware that Flint\u2019s decorative letter-opener, a bit of metal styled like a miniature antique sword, was now in Kyra\u2019s right hand.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Well, why not?<\/i> So far, everything had gone according to plan, but there were no guarantees.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She could make out the bank of monitors at the front desk, showing moving and static shots from around the hospital wards. The timing was completely randomized, but she knew that nothing had appeared to break the desk guard\u2019s boredom.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Well, until now&#8288;\u2026<\/i> She put her hand on Kyra\u2019s shoulder, stopping her by a door with a keypad. Taking out her little cloth, she keyed in one penultimate code.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It wasn\u2019t 7-4-3-3-4-2-5. Not this time. Instead, she keyed in a new Ghost Code, switching from the quiet escape scenario to her Scorched Earth plan: 4-3-2-8-4-3-7.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"center-block\"><tt>HEATHER<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And all hell began to break loose.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The monitors on the front desk dissolved into static. Then the lights died, plunging the complex into total blackness for ten seconds before emergency lighting activated. Throughout the hospital, Jack knew, a convincing simulation of a blackout was unfolding. To everyone else within the building, it would appear that the emergency generators had switched on, powering essential systems.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Except that none of the cameras were recording anymore.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Except that some of the locks that were intended to unlock in an outage appeared to be stuck. And others, which were supposed to automatically lock down, were wide open.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Such as the freight entryway, just out of the direct line of sight of the front desk, and right next to her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She pushed it open and ushered Kyra through, closing the door quietly as she heard the front desk guard trying to reach his backup on his comm.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Too bad the comms system was completely offline, now, too. All he\u2019d get in response would be static.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Low red light bathed the short corridor she and Kyra hurried down. At its end, she simply pushed on the waiting, disarmed door. It opened onto a driveway with LOADING ZONE marked on it in Helion Prime\u2019s four primary languages, barely visible in the darkness.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Heather\u2019s body, she suddenly realized, would have taken this exact route when it left the hospital.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cCome on,\u201d she murmured to Kyra. \u201cWe\u2019re almost all the way out.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThere\u2019s more?\u201d Kyra asked, keeping her voice soft as she jogged beside her up the driveway.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJust the gate. Then we\u2019ll be out. Gonna take us about five minutes to reach it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It took less than that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">With the gate almost in sight, Jack pulled Kyra to the side of the driveway and motioned for her to get low, creeping forward next to the hedge that lined both sides of the drive. She could hear the gate guard cursing, unable to raise either the outside world or the main building. The gate stood partway open, frozen in that position, seemingly having malfunctioned upon the start of the blackout.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe can make it if we run,\u201d Kyra murmured.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe\u2019re not going that way,\u201d Jack told her. \u201cC\u2019mon.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The hedge had a small break between one bush and the next, and a cobbled pathway emerging between the two bushes. Jack pulled Kyra down the path, to a small human-sized gate that appeared in the wall. Through the bars, she could see the virtually deserted parking lot beyond it. Only one vehicle was parked there; only one visitor was staying overnight.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She keyed Riddick\u2019s name into a security keypad for the final time, and the little gate opened.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhen you go through, go left and stay close to the wall so the guard on the main gate can\u2019t see you,\u201d She told Kyra in a whisper.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra nodded and went left. Jack closed the gate and followed her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Now, behind them, the security system moved into its endgame, simulating a whole slew of minor malfunctions that expanded to include the guest facility\u2014mostly\u2014and the outer grounds. The lights over the parking area flickered and died. Most of the guest facility lost power as well. But not Eve Logan\u2019s rooms. Nothing happened within them to disturb her rest&#8288;\u2026 Jack hoped.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Enveloped in full darkness now, Jack grabbed Kyra\u2019s hand and pulled her into a run, through the vast emptiness of the parking lot and toward the driveway beyond.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIs somebody out there?\u201d a man\u2019s voice called from behind them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A moment later, Jack heard a window roll up.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat\u2019s going on?\u201d a woman called.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Fuck. Eve Logan, awake. Jack squeezed Kyra\u2019s hand and ran flat out for the driveway.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe got no power down here! I can\u2019t even call anybody! Can you?\u201d the gate guard shouted to Logan.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack and Kyra reached the driveway and sprinted up its length as the guard began sweeping his flashlight around the lot. Kyra had begun to outpace Jack but waited for her at the edge of the road.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhere the hell are we?\u201d she asked. \u201cI thought we were in a city!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMore like its outer suburbs,\u201d Jack told her. \u201cDon\u2019t worry. Logan can\u2019t get out of her room for about another fifteen minutes, tops, and by then&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The headlights for the muni bus appeared as it rounded the corner and approached. Jack stepped up to the bus stop and touched its call button. This, she knew, was how most of the staff got to and from work.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;we will be long gone. Get out the muni transport card I gave you.\u201d Jack already had hers in her hand.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra fumbled for it, almost dropping her other cards, but then had it in her hand as well. Jack wasn\u2019t sure what she\u2019d done with Flint\u2019s letter opener, but doubted she\u2019d actually let go of it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack opened the smaller envelope she\u2019d been carrying and pulled out the final two items she\u2019d ordered along with the money cards. \u201cHere,\u201d she told Kyra, clipping a GUEST tag from the hospital onto her shirt. She clipped her own on just before the headlights from the bus illuminated them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The driver barely gave them a second look once he\u2019d glanced at their tags. The muni transport cards worked. Jack sank down into one of the bus\u2019s seats, Kyra beside her, struggling not to give in to the urge to shake herself to oblivion.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFour stops from now, we get off, and get on the train. We\u2019re taking a detour into one of the shittiest parts of town to get rid of our files and change out our clothes. Hope you still have your knives on you,\u201d she murmured to Kyra, low enough to keep the bus driver from hearing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra\u2019s nod was tight, but the look in her eyes was warm in a way that it had never been before. Jack had been aware that, at some point in the past, she had earned Kyra\u2019s respect, but that had changed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Now, she realized with a strange lurch, she had earned something even stronger.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Admiration.<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4016\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4016 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-17\">\u00ab Chapter 17<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4083\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4083 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-19\">Chapter 19 \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=\"19\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4017\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4017 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-18\">\u00ab Chapter 18<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4084\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4084 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-20\">Chapter 20 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5112\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5112 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">19.<br\/>\r\n<u>Forgive Me, Gina<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack had only managed to get three hours of sleep the night before the breakout. When the sun finally rose on her and Kyra, a surreal veil was beginning to drape itself over her perception of the world. Fortunately, her plan was working without a hitch. She felt like she could probably sleepwalk her way through it. In fact, she probably did at times.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Too little sleep could impair even her phenomenal memory. Later, she would recall much of the rest of that night and the next day in little fragments, moments that stuck out from the parts of the journey that had played out exactly the way she had visualized.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Explaining to Kyra, in whispers, that the bus driver had strict instructions not to let any passengers without staff or guest passes board at the stop by the hospital&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;Kyra suggesting, on the bus, that they should go a few stops beyond the train station and double back, so that the driver wouldn\u2019t know they had taken the train&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;Kyra, fully uncaged at last, climbing two trees and a scaffold so that she could drape a leafy branch over the security camera monitoring the station&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;finding someone\u2019s lost baseball cap, for a team called the Helion Hellcats, on the way out of the next station and putting it on, while Kyra teased her that she\u2019d probably get head lice from it&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;walking through one of the seediest, roughest neighborhoods they could find, their money cards hidden deep in their smalls, a wallet with the two hospital guest passes bulging conspicuously in her back pocket, and feeling the moment when someone brushed past her and the wallet was gone, exactly as she had intended. A second later, a yelp and a voice swearing, \u201cthat bitch <i>cut<\/i> me!\u201d while Kyra smiled serenely&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;crumpling up the papers from the hospital files and feeding them, a few at a time, to a trash can fire that had burned low before they got there, while Kyra read over the notes in her file before adding them to the flames&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;calling out to two working girls on their way home, as the sky lightened, asking if they wanted to make more money in five minutes than they\u2019d made all week by swapping clothes&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;how jarring Kyra looked with a short, blonde bob, after one of the working girls also sold them her wig&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;taking another train ride to the spaceport, their trail hopefully broken, while Kyra tried not to shrink away from the stares their outfits were drawing&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;yet another costume change after hitting one of the 24-hour stores situated around the spaceport, now into the same kinds of coveralls that Jack had observed a dozen workers wearing on their commute into the station&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;passing a group of kids right around their age, dancing and freestyling for coins from passing travelers and feeling a wistful longing to stop and get to know them better&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;finding a data kiosk that she could log into, turned away from most of the cameras&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That was when Jack came fully awake again, her focus snapping back into place. It was almost ten in the morning.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">By now, she figured, the pandemonium her Scorched Earth plan had created would have been mostly brought under control. It would have receded slowly, simulating various system failures for several hours before allowing the systems to be restored more than an hour after shift change would normally have occurred. By the time the day crew could even get into the building, any patients who had slept through the chaos would be awake and expecting breakfast&#8288;\u2026 and their morning meds. None of which would have been prepared during the crisis.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">If they were lucky, the purely human bedlam that would have resulted from <i>that<\/i> would only now be coming under control. And if they were <i>really<\/i> lucky, nobody would have bothered to check in on how two heavily sedated patients, who were expected to sleep past noon, were faring while there were so many more immediate concerns.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It would be especially ideal if nobody realized anything was amiss in their room until it was time for the custody transfer. But Jack was a realist. More likely\u2014and especially given her personal history of hiding in unexpected places to avoid group therapy sessions\u2014the ward was being searched, top to bottom, and within the next hour the search might begin to spread outward.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sitting at the data kiosk, Jack felt herself relaxing just a little as familiar menus appeared. Apparently the government of Helion Prime had contracted for a lot of the products her dad\u2019s old firm had designed. The hospital, law enforcement, and now the spaceport&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A moment later, she had logged into the law enforcement back door and was configuring their next moves.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWho taught you how to do this?\u201d Kyra whispered, watching the screen intently.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack liked Kyra. She trusted her. But, she realized, not quite enough to tell her the truth. \u201cI ran with a guy, Paris, for a while. He was a smuggler.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Every word she\u2019d just said was, technically, true. It just wasn\u2019t the real answer to Kyra\u2019s question.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra, however, seemed content with the answer, nodding and going back to watching as Jack pulled up maps and schematics, memorizing them and setting up subroutines for the security system to run when she put in her ghost codes. She wouldn\u2019t do anything dramatic, not here. Drama would ground all the flights, and they were trying to get offworld. Instead, things would be subtle, insidious, minor glitches that rectified themselves mere minutes later. Much like her original escape plan for the hospital before she realized nothing short of total chaos would give them enough of a head start.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Finally she felt ready. She\u2019d picked their ship, cleared the path, and even arranged for a few things they would need. When a courier approached them ten minutes later and asked her to sign for a package, she inwardly sighed with relief. Now they had everything.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOne day,\u201d Kyra said, attaching the ID tag that identified her as <tt>J. Houlot, Electrician<\/tt>, to her coveralls. \u201cYou get a staff account for <i>one day,<\/i> and this is what you do. And I thought <i>Stacey<\/i> was scary&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra grinned at her to soften the words, the admiration in her eyes reassuring Jack that, in this case, \u201cscary\u201d was a compliment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSays the girl who climbed thirty feet in the air to disable a camera,\u201d Jack teased back. That was something she\u2019d never have had the guts to do, herself. Her tag identified her as <tt>P. Finch, Systems Tech<\/tt>. With AI systems completely outlawed on Helion, computer technicians were fairly commonplace. No one would question them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And, given how haggard she and Kyra were beginning to look after being up all night, no one was likely to think they looked too young for the job. She hoped.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo what\u2019s the plan?\u201d Kyra asked, keeping her voice soft. The spaceport was noisy, and the acoustics in the main departure terminal were terrible, but they were still taking no chances.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThere\u2019s a ship scheduled to depart this evening, the <i>Scarlet Matador,<\/i> that will take us to Tangier Prime.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhy Tangier Prime?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIts New Casablanca spaceport is five times the size of this one,\u201d Jack explained. \u201cWe get there and we can go anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWon\u2019t that make it obvious that we\u2019d try to go there?\u201d Kyra asked, her expression keen.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNormally, but I left clues in my file to suggest I\u2019m from the Bayou Nebula and might try to go back there. It\u2019s in the opposite direction, and the ship going <i>there<\/i> leaves an hour and a half after the <i>Matador.<\/i> Hopefully that\u2019s the one people will be watching.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra chuckled. \u201cYou really plan ahead. So why the maintenance worker costumes?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe\u2019re going to board the <i>Matador<\/i> through the service corridors an hour before passengers are scheduled to start boarding,\u201d Jack explained. \u201cThat\u2019ll be at 4:30 p.m. I saved spaces for us. Officially three cryo-chambers are malfunctioning, and we can even say we were dispatched to look at them if anyone asks. So any last-minute passengers won\u2019t be able to reserve them. They\u2019ll be ours.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI don\u2019t know. I hate the thought of being in cryo if anybody catches up with us.\u201d A worried frown creased the older girl\u2019s forehead.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMe too. You don\u2019t even <i>know.<\/i>\u201d The hour she\u2019d spent trapped in her cryo-chamber, during and after the <i>Hunter-Gratzner<\/i> crash, might have counted as one of the most terrifying of her life, if that whole damned planet hadn\u2019t decided to engage in a progressive game of one-upmanship. \u201cI\u2019m going to set our chambers to wake us up the <i>moment<\/i> anything goes even a little weird, and\u2014if everything goes normally\u2014two hours before the crew is scheduled to wake up. We\u2019ll be ghosts.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra\u2019s uncertain look faded, and she nodded. \u201cI guess that\u2019s as good as we can get, right? So now what?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFood. I planned on bringing some of the dinner rolls from last night with us, but I forgot the damn things. I need something to <i>eat<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The two girls grinned at each other and went in search of a long-overdue breakfast.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Small as the spaceport might be compared to other worlds, the place was still enormous. They stopped in a few shops after eating, buying bags that passed for the kinds of gear bags technicians would carry and filling them with basic necessities: toiletries, a change of clothes, and a few meals\u2019 worth of emergency rations. Jack found herself an auburn wig in a small boutique and swapped out her \u201cHelion Hellcats\u201d cap for it, adding to her disguise. Then they began to wind their way through the crowds toward their destination. Helion was a peaceful and prosperous world, untroubled by political strife and terrorism, and its spaceport reflected that; non-passengers, meeting or seeing off friends and family, could walk almost all the way up to the gates before any security screening commenced.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Which, Jack realized as her heart lurched, meant so could mercenaries on the hunt. Her arm flashed across Kyra\u2019s midriff, stopping the girl in her tracks.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Two familiar figures were studying the departure lists ahead of them, right where the hallways divided.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo, which do ya reckon they\u2019ll try to take?\u201d Toombs asked in a raspy drawl. \u201cThe <i>Bon Temps<\/i> or the <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i>?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Eve Logan, standing next to him, shook her head in annoyance. \u201cHow the hell should I know? My mark isn\u2019t exactly a worldly type.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo let\u2019s dope it out. Which one do you think <i>he\u2019ll<\/i> want to take?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra pulled at Jack\u2019s arm, drawing her over to some empty seats near the mercs. They sat down, backs turned to Toombs and Logan, listening carefully.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou really think <i>he\u2019s<\/i> with them?\u201d Logan asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAre you kidding? Who <i>else<\/i> could\u2019a planned that escape?\u201d Toombs demanded. \u201cThis has Riddick written all over it. Bastard walked right in and snatched them from under our <i>noses.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDoesn\u2019t seem like his usual M.O. to me,\u201d Logan objected.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh <i>really<\/i>? And why\u2019s that?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNobody\u2019s dead.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Toombs\u2019s only response was an annoyed grumble.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo why the <i>Bon Temps<\/i>?\u201d Logan asked after a moment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Unlike Toombs, who had pronounced \u201cTemps\u201d as if he were talking about short-term workers, Logan pronounced it the French way, almost rhyming it with \u201cBon.\u201d That earned another grumble from her companion.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe Jane Doe\u2019s from there,\u201d Toombs told her. \u201cHe probably thought he was hot shit, scrambling their files and stealing the hard copies, but he didn\u2019t get her browser records from yesterday, when you were hangin\u2019 out in the library. Girl was all up in her favorite shows, <i>The Cookin\u2019 Cajun<\/i> and <i>Bayou Dreamers,<\/i> fergodsake. You had to hear \u2019em.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI heard some. She wasn\u2019t anything to me back then except my mark\u2019s roomie.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo you gotta know she\u2019s from the Bayou Nebula.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSounds like you\u2019ve made up your mind.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSounds like I have.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTell you what,\u201d Logan said after a moment. \u201cYour reasoning is sound, but just in case, how \u2019bout I stake out the <i>Matador<\/i> while you\u2019re staking out the <i>Bon Temps<\/i>?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDon\u2019t you be thinkin\u2019 of cashin\u2019 in on all three of \u2019em without me. You need me. Riddick eats little girls like you for breakfast.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIs <i>that<\/i> what he\u2019s doing with them?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Toombs let out a raucous laugh. \u201cYou got a sick turn of mind. I like it. Okay. Fine. I take the <i>Bon<\/i> <i><b>Temps<\/b><\/i>&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">This time, he deliberately pronounced it correctly, his tone mocking.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;and you take the <i>Matador,<\/i> and if either one of us sees somethin\u2019, we call the other.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSounds like a plan.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack risked a peek behind her. Toombs and Logan had parted ways and were walking toward their respective departure gates. As Jack watched, Logan sat down on a bench that gave her a prime view of all the foot traffic that would approach the <i>Matador<\/i>\u2019s gate. Fifteen feet behind her, the security screening station was open and processing early arrivals. Another ten feet past her, on her right, was the service entry that Jack had planned to use.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There was no way to reach it without walking right in front of Eve Logan.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe can\u2019t go in through another corridor?\u201d Kyra asked, when Jack told her the problem.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cEach maintenance corridor is for one gate only. They don\u2019t connect up.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhy?\u201d Kyra asked in exasperation.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cProbably in case quarantine has to be called.\u201d Jack\u2019s mind was racing. They needed to get past Logan without her seeing. They needed her attention focused elsewhere. And they couldn\u2019t do anything dramatic&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Oh.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Oh hell <b>yes<\/b> I can.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The plan bloomed in her mind, and she almost laughed out loud. She glanced at the nearby chrono. They had time. She could make it happen.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cCome on,\u201d she told Kyra, shouldering her bag and retracing their steps.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Aside from one collision with a distracted-looking man\u2014\u201cI\u2019m so sorry, I didn\u2019t see you there!\u201d\u2014nothing slowed them down. Kyra didn\u2019t even notice until they were almost back at the spaceport entrance that Jack now had a fancy-looking comm unit and a snakeskin wallet.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhere did you get&#8288;\u2014&#8288;? You know what? Never mind.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">One more stop, in a greeting card store, and Jack was ready. She pocketed her ID tag, prompting Kyra to do the same, before pushing through the outer doors, instantly feeling relief when she spotted the freestylers still performing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHey kid!\u201d she called out to the obvious ringleader of the group.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The kids tensed. Their leader, however, puffed up on the spot.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat, you think you some rent-a-cop? Think you gonna roll us? Who you callin\u2019 a kid anyway? You look like you twelve!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack laughed and rolled her eyes. \u201cEase up. I\u2019m not here to chase you off or anything. Damn, even gettin\u2019 a degree don\u2019t help. People still think I\u2019m a little kid. I\u2019m gonna be gettin\u2019 carded when I\u2019m fifty. Shit.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The kids laughed, relaxing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo you ain\u2019t here to roll us, what you want?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou wanna make some money helping me out?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The ringleader smirked. \u201cDepends on what kind of help you need.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOkay, it\u2019s like this,\u201d Jack began. She hoped Kyra would play along with the wild ride she was about to take them on. \u201cMy brother Travi is a grade-A douchebag sometimes. I love him, but it\u2019s the truth. Douchebag. Anyway, he fucked up on the royal the other night and now his fianc\u00e9e is pissed at him and, like, threw the ring at him and told him she\u2019s takin\u2019 off for the Janus Systems. Like, seriously, he\u2019s totally unworthy of her but we all love her and want them to stay together. I mean, I\u2019d trade him in for her in a heartbeat, you feel?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The kids listened, their expressions still a little dubious.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, and?\u201d their leader prompted.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo she\u2019s got her ticket and everything, and she blocked his comm number, and all our numbers, too. And <i>he\u2019s<\/i> off feelin\u2019 sorry for himself because he\u2019s that doofed, you feel?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The kids nodded.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo I figure, she\u2019s not gonna talk to me, if I walk up to her she\u2019ll walk right off, maybe get security to roll <i>me,<\/i> but maybe if she gets a kind of&#8288;\u2026 singing <i>telegram<\/i> that she thinks is from him&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou want us to do our thing for her?\u201d The leader asked, his eyes lighting up.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, and give her this.\u201d Jack handed over the card. Covered in hearts and frills, with a sappy message inside and an even sappier inscription, done in her best imitation of her cousin Joey\u2019s handwriting:<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"center-block\">Please forgive me.<br\/>\r\nI never meant to hurt you.<br\/>\r\nYou are my world and I\u2019m lost without you.<br\/>\r\nCall me.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d even added a comm number, using the Al-Walid household\u2019s number but with the last three digits changed. If Eve Logan tried to call it, she\u2019d end up speaking to someone who had no idea what was going on.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The group\u2019s leader grinned and accepted the card, along with the wad of cash Jack had taken out of the snakeskin wallet.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m gonna record it all,\u201d she said, brandishing the hapless traveler\u2019s comm, \u201cso when she <i>hopefully<\/i> tells my brother she forgives him and thanks him for it, he\u2019ll know what it is he\u2019s supposed to have done. But she can\u2019t see me, okay? She\u2019ll rabbit if she sees me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOkay, we\u2019re in. Who is she and what does she look like?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGina Stansfield,\u201d Jack told them, and then described Logan to them in detail. It was a level of detail that only someone intimately acquainted with a person\u2014or someone, like Jack, with eidetic recall\u2014could manage. She knew that she had sealed the deal with it. Then she gave them directions to the place Logan had staked out.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The little troupe crackled with energy as they led the way back to Logan, chattering about dance move combinations. Jack let a bit of distance build. Stopping at a random door, she keyed in one of her Ghost Codes. For the next ten minutes, nothing in the vicinity of the <i>Matador<\/i>\u2019s gate would be recorded. And the randomized loops at the security desks would omit those cameras altogether. There would, sadly, be no record of what was about to happen.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Logan was so focused on scanning the crowd that she had looked at, and mentally dismissed, the entire troupe before they suddenly had her surrounded.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThis song\u2019s for you, Gina!\u201d The leader boomed, catching the attention of everyone in the causeway.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The kids were damned good. Along the way, they must have planned out which routines they intended to use. They ringed Eve\u2019s bench, moving in remarkable synchrony as they danced, spun, flipped, and wove together an eight-part harmony backup tune for their leader.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBaby I was wrong,\u201d he belted in a stunning tenor, \u201cSo listen to my song&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Pulling out the stolen comm and holding it in front of her face, Jack approached the group with Kyra behind her, blocked from Logan\u2019s view.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"center-block\">\u201cGina don\u2019t you know<br\/>\r\nYou\u2019re up in my soul<br\/>\r\nThere\u2019s nothin\u2019 I won\u2019t do for love<br\/>\r\nAnd girl, you\u2019re all I\u2019m thinkin\u2019 of&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Still pretending to record the performance, Jack circled wide, not even trying to go near the <i>Matador<\/i>\u2019s gate, keeping her face hidden and her body interposed between Kyra and Logan. The kids were drawing a crowd.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"center-block\">\u201cCome back to me Gina<br\/>\r\nYou know I\u2019m always yours&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">People were clapping and cheering. If Jack had been recording the performance, their bodies would now be in the way. She finished circling, standing in front of the maintenance door. Glancing over at it, she punched in the code and ushered Kyra through.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The door closed as the group\u2019s leader presented Logan with the card. \u201cTravi says he\u2019s sorry for how he hurt you. Please call him, yeah?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The crowd erupted with applause as the door clicked shut.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou&#8288;\u2026 are&#8288;\u2026 <i>insane.<\/i>\u201d Kyra whispered, a mile-wide grin on her face.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack reattached her nametag, gesturing for Kyra to do the same, but was unable to suppress a grin of her own. \u201cCome on. We\u2019re twenty minutes behind schedule.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But the rest ended up being all too easy. An hour later, hidden away in a utility closet by the cryo-chambers, they got to listen to embarking passengers griping about the mercenaries who had insisted on looking each of them over before they were allowed to board. The hardest part was liftoff, which they had to endure with less padding than the other passengers, but even that couldn\u2019t dent their sense of giddy triumph. Jack had spent the pre-boarding time programming their cryo-chambers and the special security routines that would apply to them; once all the passengers and crew members had gone to sleep, it was finally their turn. The \u201cdefective\u201d units turned on for them immediately.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra had never worked a cryo-chamber, so Jack helped her in and got her settled, feeling like an old hand. Climbing into her own chamber and settling in, she snickered at the image of Eve Logan surrounded by the freestylers. She had already disposed of the stolen comm, but part of her wished she had really recorded the performance.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">As sleep claimed her, she could be forgiven for thinking that the worst was finally behind her. But it would be a very long time before she would forgive herself for it.<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4017\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4017 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-18\">\u00ab Chapter 18<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4084\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4084 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-20\">Chapter 20 \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=\"20\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4018\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4018 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-19\">\u00ab Chapter 19<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4085\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4085 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-21\">Chapter 21 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5115\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5115 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">20.<br\/>\r\n<u>Level Five<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack had been in cryo before. Even before she ever climbed into a cryo-chamber, she knew how they worked and what, in theory, to expect. The reality, however, was always a little jarring.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Cryosleep had taken nearly a century to perfect, to find just the right cocktails of ingredients to add into human cells to make them resilient against the freezing process, to keep them from cracking and shattering. The ultimate result had been a formula that slowed, but never completely stopped, the internal processes of the slumbering body. There was, however, a weird side effect: instead of slowing down, synaptic rates <i>sped up<\/i>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Most cryo-chambers administered sedatives carefully calibrated to ensure that their occupants remained in a peaceful dream-state while frozen. But occasionally things could go wrong. Riddick had told Jack that he had been conscious for almost the entire voyage of the <i>Hunter-Gratzner.<\/i> Its twenty-two-week journey before the crash had felt, to him, like twenty-two years. He claimed, when she asked, that he spent most of the time meditating. Certainly, he had come out of it remarkably sane; most people whose cryo-chambers malfunctioned spent years in therapy, and some never left psychiatric care again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Antonia Chillingsworth had planned to put him in a similar state, permanently. Perhaps that was why Jack had felt so uncomfortably <i>un<\/i>-guilty about shooting her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack\u2019s cryo-chamber worked perfectly, leading her into a world of benign dreams. Most of them were so soothing and innocuous that she wouldn\u2019t recall them later. Somehow, though, she ended up back in Mr. Reilly\u2019s classroom, replaying their discussion about the Lost Ships she was researching, and the fundamentals of faster-than-light space travel. He had just explained to her how little time would pass for people on the fastest sub-light ships, but how much objective time would still be lost. But Audrey knew that people could now cross hundreds of light years in a matter of weeks, objective time. She just didn\u2019t understand where the breakthrough had come from.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow did they solve the problem?\u201d Audrey had asked him. None of the books had explained it clearly.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAstrophysicists always posited the idea of wormholes, places that served as shortcuts through space,\u201d he said. He walked over to one of his cupboards and removed some items: two balls, a length of string, and a short straw. \u201cIf these were the two stars you wanted to travel between&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He set the balls on opposite ends of his desk.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd this was the distance between them&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He stretched the string between them, in a straight line. Looking around his desk, he grabbed a tape dispenser and taped the ends of the string to the balls.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe wormhole would be a place where time and space folded up and a shortcut appeared.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He set the straw on the desk. Then, holding the balls, he drew them together until each one touched an end of the straw. The string, between them, was no longer stretched tight, but had relaxed into loops and squiggles.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow could they <i>do<\/i> that?\u201d Audrey asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt wasn\u2019t something they could do, not at first. Wormholes are rare and hard to find. Wormholes that exist where you conveniently need one are even more rare. Emergency revival. And then the founder of the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation patented the Isomorph Drive.\u201d Mr. Reilly frowned. \u201cNot the best name for it, in my opinion.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat does it do?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019ve heard of the Many Worlds Theory, right? We won\u2019t cover that in detail for a few more months.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cA little.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOur three dimensions\u2014four, if you count time itself\u2014are only the first of roughly ten dimensions. Now, if we were two-dimensional beings, we would live on a plane, and only move through that plane&#8288;\u2026 like this piece of paper. That would be our whole world.\u201d He set the paper on the table. Then, he picked up a stack of papers and set them on top of it. \u201cAnd there would be an infinite number of other two-dimensional universes outside of the world we know. Level five incident detected. The same is true within three, and even four\u2014and even more\u2014dimensions. Parallel worlds, <i>perpendicular<\/i> worlds, do you understand what I\u2019m suggesting here?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo, like&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Audrey took two pieces of paper from the pile. \u201cIf I were right&#8288;\u2026 <i>here<\/i>&#8288;\u2026 in my two-dimensional universe, there\u2019d be another universe that had a spot that was exactly the same place as where I was, in my two dimensions, but was in a different place in the third dimension&#8288;\u2026 so there\u2019s another universe in exactly the same spot where I\u2019m standing now&#8288;\u2026 but it\u2019s separated from me by being elsewhere on a higher dimension?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She could barely find words for what she was trying to puzzle out.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYes. Even when you\u2019re standing perfectly still, you\u2019re moving through a succession of three-dimensional spaces courtesy of time, the fourth dimension. Advance revival protocol initiated. And our spacetime moves through five-dimensional space. And that five-dimensional space moves through six-dimensional space&#8288;\u2026 and so on&#8288;\u2026 with parallel spaces existing on every level.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe sliding doors thing?\u201d she asked with a gasp.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cVery good. Infinite possibilities, room for infinite choices to play out. Some of those parallel universes would be extremely similar to each other, almost identical. Others would be radically different. Crew will wake in fourteen minutes, fifty-nine seconds. So Joren Kirshbaum\u2014that\u2019s the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation\u2019s founder\u2014suggested that the wormholes we wanted, leading between different star systems, might not exist in <i>our<\/i> universe, but they would exist in plenty of other universes.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That part, at least, made sense. \u201cOkay, yeah. But how would we get to them?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat was what his patent was for. It\u2019s&#8288;\u2026 unusually incomplete. He filed it and made it proprietary, but exactly how the Isomorph Drive was built and programmed is something he never actually revealed and no one\u2019s successfully reverse-engineered. The gist comes from quantum physics. When you get down to the extreme subatomic level, you no longer have particles. You have \u2018strings,\u2019 and the strings \u2018vibrate\u2019 at specific frequencies.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey nodded. Her parents had once watched a vid series that had discussed that topic. Now the vid made a little more sense to her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cKirshbaum proposed that each universe had its own frequency set,\u201d Mr. Reilly continued. He had warmed to the subject, probably because he had the full attention of his audience of one. Most of Audrey\u2019s classmates were fairly inattentive. \u201cHe found a mathematical model that could predict the frequencies that the other universes, the ones with the specific wormholes he was looking for, would vibrate at on the quantum level. Emergency revival. His machine would latch onto the frequencies that that other universe, and ours, had in common, and use them as a gateway to help objects transfer between universes, taking on the rest of the other universe\u2019s frequencies and temporarily resonating with it instead of ours. They could then pass through the wormhole and, at the other end, transfer back to our universe.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd it worked?\u201d There was so much in there that felt like guesswork to her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s the basis for the Star Jump drives we use now. Trust me, it <i>still<\/i> sounds crazy to most physicists&#8288;\u2026 but you can\u2019t really argue with the results.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey walked over to Mr. Reilly\u2019s supply closet and brought out two more balls and a bright yellow pushpin. She walked over to his desk with them. She smoothed out the ball and string arrangement so that the original balls were on opposite sides of the desk once more, and then rested one of the new balls next to each of them. She inserted her pushpin into one of the original balls.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo if I\u2019m here&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d She touched the pushpin. \u201cAnd I wanted to get here&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She leaned over and touched the ball on the opposite side of the desk.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;the Isomorph Drive would move me&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d She transferred the pushpin to the ball next to the first one. \u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;to here, which is in the same fourth-dimensional space we occupy but elsewhere in a higher dimension&#8288;\u2026 and which has a wormhole&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She held the straw up to the ball.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;connecting it to here&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d She walked to the opposite side of the desk and pressed the other end of the straw to the ball resting next to the one attached to the string.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s right. Level five incident detected.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey removed the pushpin from the second ball she\u2019d inserted it into, miming it traveling along the short length of the straw. \u201cSo I\u2019d only have to travel this far to get there&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d She inserted the pin into the ball at the other end.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cExactly. Advance revival protocol initiated.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd then the Isomorph Drive would move me from that point back to&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d She removed the pin from the ball connected to the straw, and inserted it in the final ball, connected by the string to the first ball. \u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;here.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYes. And instead of having to travel sixty light years, you would only have to travel, say, the length of an average solar system. One hundred astronomical units is still a lot, but there are more than sixty-three <i>thousand<\/i> astronomical units in a <i>single<\/i> light year. Crew will wake in fourteen minutes, fifty-eight seconds. So, while you\u2019d still need to build up some speed to cover that distance, the time dilation you experienced would be negligible. A few days passing in minutes. That\u2019s part of why there are beacons before and after each Jump, to realign shipboard clocks.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The numbers were enormous enough to boggle Audrey for a few minutes. Then an odd thought occurred to her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBut how do they figure out which universe to find the wormholes in?\u201d she asked. She couldn\u2019t imagine how any theoretical model would be <i>that<\/i> accurate.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s the part no one knows. The patent doesn\u2019t specify how the Isomorph Drive runs the calculations. It just claims that\u2019s one of the proprietary things it does. And nobody else has ever figured out how. Emergency revival. Level five incident detected. Which is why every Star Jump drive in the Federacy is made by the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIncluding the three that disappeared?\u201d she asked, already knowing the answer.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYes. And here\u2019s what you\u2019re not finding in the books, because nobody wants to be the one to write it down where they can be sued for saying it.\u201d Mr. Reilly sat down, leaning back in his desk chair. \u201cThe big theory is that the three that disappeared got lost in other universes. Advance revival protocol initiated. They \u2018isomorphed\u2019 over to them but couldn\u2019t get back. Most Star Jumpers don\u2019t make just one Jump, after all. So, for example, the <i>Tenth Crusade<\/i> was supposed to make twelve Jumps. Crew will wake in fourteen minutes, fifty-seven seconds. Maybe, after one of those Jumps, it couldn\u2019t reconnect with the frequencies of our universe. Maybe it got stuck between two of the other universes, even.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cStuck between?\u201d Audrey tried to imagine it: a ship straddling two whole, separate universes the way a child might straddle a fence. Or had it vanished into the fence itself?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s happened several times to ships that <i>didn\u2019t<\/i> disappear, too.\u201d Mr. Reilly told her, his expression sober.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt has? What happened to them?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWell&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Mr. Reilly shrugged. \u201cAgain, we don\u2019t really know all <i>that<\/i> much. But the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation can\u2019t gag everybody. Emergency revival. Level five incident detected. But imagine you\u2019re in two worlds at the same time. One\u2019s fine, it\u2019s normal&#8288;\u2026 but the other one\u2019s on fire.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey shuddered. That was a horrible image. \u201cSo the people on board died?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSometimes. One ship\u2019s passengers came out of cryo and seemed to be hallucinating, describing animals that the ground crews couldn\u2019t see but all the other passengers could.\u201d Mr. Reilly\u2019s expression sobered. \u201cThen one of <i>them<\/i> got <i>attacked<\/i> by an animal, or something, right in front of the ground crew. Torn apart by a creature that nobody, except the other passengers, could see or hear. Quin&#173;tessa couldn\u2019t cover <i>that<\/i> up. After a few more incidents, it even got an unofficial name: Threshold Syndrome.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That, Audrey thought, was a good name for being caught in a space that was neither one universe nor another, but both at the same time.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo is that the main theory about the three missing Star Jumpers?\u201d she asked after a few minutes of quiet thought. \u201cThey never made it back from the other universes, or only made it partway back?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt is. But it\u2019s something most people don\u2019t want to acknowledge, and something the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation doesn\u2019t want people talking about.\u201d Mr. Reilly studied her dejected expression for a moment before continuing. \u201cI can give you some links to articles about it. But you\u2019ll have to be careful about what you use and how you cite them. Most of them are highly speculative. Advance revival protocol initiated. Crew will wake in fourteen minutes, fifty-six seconds.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey had been gathering up her things, armed with all the information she needed to finish her report, when a new question occurred to her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhy didn\u2019t the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation use what they could do to just find alternate Earths humanity could settle on? Wouldn\u2019t that be a million times cheaper?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt probably would be,\u201d Mr. Reilly told her, putting on his coat. \u201cBut something seems to happen, the longer people stay in other universes. Most of the cases of Threshold Syndrome happened after especially long Jumps. That\u2019s part of why most Star Jumpers take several shorter hops instead, these days. Maybe, the longer you\u2019re in another universe, the more it changes you. Emergency revival. Level five incident detected. Advance revival protocol initiated.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He kept talking as he locked up the classroom and walked her outside. Sunset was approaching, and the light had taken on a molten gold, almost orange, quality.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThere are rumors\u2014the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation tries to stamp these out, but they keep coming back\u2014that some frequent Star Jump travelers stop being entirely <i>human.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat are they instead?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI guess you\u2019ll find out,\u201d he suddenly said, turning to fix Audrey with an intense gaze. \u201cWon\u2019t you, Jack?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She flinched. This was not how it had played out in reality.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou need to wake up, Jack. Right now. Because it\u2019s happening. Crew will wake in fourteen minutes, fifty-five seconds.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The golden light of late afternoon was changing, turning blood red. Lightning flashed somewhere close by, strobing the air. Some strange bird was screaming in a nearby tree, long and keening. Jack\u2014no longer Audrey\u2014wanted to run but she couldn\u2019t. She suddenly couldn\u2019t move at all.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWake up <i>now<\/i>, Jack,\u201d Mr. Reilly told her before he melted away.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her eyes, she realized, were open.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was in the cryo-chamber. Sensation and motion were returning to her body. She focused on the readouts, trying to understand what was going on, part of her still wondering where Mr. Reilly had vanished to.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"center-block\"><tt>EMERGENCY REVIVAL<br\/>\r\nLEVEL FIVE INCIDENT DETECTED<br\/>\r\nADVANCE REVIVAL PROTOCOL INITIATED<br\/>\r\nCREW WILL WAKE IN 14 MINUTES 54 SECONDS<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Level Five Incident&#8288;\u2026<\/i> that had been the code phrase that the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation had used to label Threshold Syndrome incidents. Jack realized that the screen in front of her had only just switched on a few seconds earlier, while skeins of time had spooled out in her dream state. Her cryo-chamber, and Kyra\u2019s, were both programmed to revive them a minimum of fifteen minutes ahead of the crew\u2019s chambers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She forced her hand to rise and pull the release, sending up a last-minute prayer that, whichever universes the ship was straddling, none of them would be on <i>fire.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The air was chilly and stale. Definitely not burning. She bumped into the cryo-chamber across from hers and ricocheted back toward her own. Gravity hadn\u2019t kicked in yet. Grabbing onto her chamber door, she hauled out her bag and awkwardly slung it over her shoulder, the move sending her into a slow spin. It took her a precious minute to stop the spin, close up her chamber behind her, orient herself, and kick off again toward Kyra\u2019s chamber.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was still two cryo-chambers away when Kyra\u2019s door burst open and the older girl flew out, gasping. She grabbed Kyra\u2019s bag for her and closed the chamber.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">On the off chance that they survived whatever had gone wrong, after all, she didn\u2019t want there to be any clues that they had been on board. Weeks ago, she had programmed both cryo-chambers with instructions to sanitize and reset themselves once vacated and shut, and then delete all records that they had ever been occupied.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHurry,\u201d she said, awkwardly swimming through the air toward the utility closet where they had hidden during the launch.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat\u2019s happening?\u201d Kyra didn\u2019t sound entirely awake yet. Jack wondered if either of them really was.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe\u2019re in a lot of trouble. I\u2019ll explain after we get back out of sight.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Gravity was slowly asserting itself. No longer completely without control, both girls were able to make use of its low setting to leap moonwalk-style toward their destination, at the far end of the aisle of occupied chambers. They reached the utility closet just as gravity normalized and Jack heard a cryo-chamber opening one aisle over, where the crew had been sleeping.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They got out of sight just before the crew began emerging. Jack jammed the utility closet handle and hoped that, if anybody tried to open it, they\u2019d assume that its non-functionality was just another symptom of the emergency.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was hard to make out what the crew members were saying to each other. The muffling effect of the door between them was bad enough without the way that they were talking over each other, quarreling as they went. From what Jack could manage to make out, most of them were vehemently arguing against the possibility of a threshold incident.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack could almost see their point. Nothing <i>felt<\/i> off at the moment. But then, they were still in space. Aside from the wormholes, there wasn\u2019t much that was likely to differ across the universes chosen by the Isomorph Drive, at least within the near vacuum of space. Jack wondered what might happen when they made planetfall.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The voices receded as the crew headed for the flight deck.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There was a comm terminal in the utility closet, one Jack already knew was susceptible to her ghost codes. As the voices receded, she found it and opened it to all active and passive comm frequencies, in \u201cmuted\u201d mode. She needed to hear what was happening.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo, what the hell is going on?\u201d Kyra whispered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOur ship\u2019s Star Jump drive fucked up,\u201d Jack told her, trying to condense Mr. Reilly\u2019s lesson down into as few words as possible. \u201cStar Jump drives work by taking us through wormholes in other universes and then bringing us back to our universe. Our drive didn\u2019t bring us all the way back. We\u2019re stuck between universes.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The play of expressions on Kyra\u2019s face was, in the dim light, astonishingly vivid. Confusion, enlightenment&#8288;\u2026 horror.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cTangier System Control, this is the <\/i>Scarlet Matador<i> on secure channel 9157-B, come in, please,\u201d<\/i> the captain said, registering on both the outgoing radio channel and the passive flight deck monitor.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201c<\/i>Scarlet Matador<i>, this is Tangier System Control, go ahead.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cWe are on long-range approach, but our ship is registering a Level Five Incident. Can you confirm?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There was a pause.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201c<\/i>Scarlet Matador<i>, our long-range sensors are picking up unusual energy field signatures around your vessel. Level Five Incident is confirmed. Are you presently experiencing any anomalies?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cNone so far,\u201d<\/i> the captain said. <i>\u201cPlease advise of containment protocols.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack pulled up the Tangier System orbital schematics, finding the current location of the <i>Matador<\/i> on it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Oh, thank God,<\/i> she groaned inwardly. They had almost reached their destination before disaster had struck.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It could have been so much worse, she realized. The journey had been long enough that there had been some two dozen Star Jumps involved. If the Level Five had occurred at any other transition point, they would have been forced to divert to whatever outpost existed within range\u2014and at least one always had to be\u2014the way the <i>Hunter-Gratzner<\/i> had.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And that had been catastrophic.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The <i>Hunter-Gratzner<\/i> hadn\u2019t experienced a Level Five Incident, but it had emerged from its Star Jump into some kind of meteor storm that had swiftly riddled it with stellar bullet holes. And although there had technically been an outpost nearby, it had been deserted for more than two decades thanks to an ecosystem that was hostile at the best of times, and purely lethal every so often. Loss of contact with that outpost, Jack had come to understand, had resulted in the shipping lane\u2019s reclassification as a \u201cghost lane\u201d and its removal from mainstream usage. In the wake of the survivors\u2019 testimony that she and Imam had supplied, he had told her that that particular Star Jump route was likely to be discontinued permanently, its standby outpost world declared uninhabitable. No other cut-rate vessel would ever make use of it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">If the <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i> had been farther out on its Jump itinerary, and had been similarly forced to divert to an outpost, the best <i>possible<\/i> outcome would have been that she and Kyra would have been discovered and arrested as stowaways. Worst case, it could have turned into another <i>Hunter-Gratzner.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But the <i>Matador<\/i> had made it all the way to the Tangier System. It was a tiny mercy, but she held onto it nonetheless. Things had only gone pear shaped at the very end of the journey.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Normally, she realized, the crew wouldn\u2019t have awakened for another day. She had set the cryo-chamber controls to wake them up a full two hours ahead of the crew\u2014under <i>normal<\/i> circumstances\u2014and had mandated a minimum fifteen-minute head start for any emergency revivals. The Level Five must have been detected the moment they isomorphed back into their home universe. They were only just inside the System\u2019s Oort cloud.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The comms pause stretched out for several minutes before the voice on the other end finally spoke again. <i>\u201c<\/i>Scarlet Matador<i>, you are being given new landing coordinates. You will not dock at Tangier Station B. It is not equipped for this situation. You will need to land on Tangier Prime itself. Your specs indicate you have planetfall capacity. Is your crew trained and certified to perform a landing?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cWe did on Helion Prime, yes,\u201d<\/i> the captain replied, a hint of annoyance in her voice. <i>\u201cWe can do it here too.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cGood. Do <b>not<\/b> wake your passengers. We are bringing you down near our best hospital complex and will transfer them to it prior to opening their cryo-chambers. Strict quarantine protocols will be observed.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cUnderstood. I assume we will be quarantined, too?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cYes. Please submit a list of people to notify on your behalf and forward a copy of both your passenger manifest and each passenger\u2019s next-of-kin data. You are to maintain radio silence on all channels except this secure channel. Keep your comms open to us at all times and inform us of any anomalies you encounter.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cWill do. Any idea what we might be about to experience?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There was another pause. <i>\u201cNone, Ma\u2019am. This is the first Level Five Incident on this endpoint of a Star Jump. We have no idea what might be across your threshold.\u201d<\/i> The voice, which had been clipped and precise until then, softened. <i>\u201cI\u2019m sorry. I wish we knew what was going to happen.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cYou and me both. <\/i>Scarlet Matador<i> out.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There was a long, pregnant pause in the flight deck.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSon of a <i>fuck,<\/i>\u201d one of the crew members snarled.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWell, everybody,\u201d the captain said after another moment, \u201cwe\u2019ve got a day to kill. Roy, turn those fucking alarms off before I purge them, would you? We all know what\u2019s going on now.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The high, keening alert, which had been the strange birdcall in Jack\u2019s dream, finally went silent. The strobing ended at the same time. A moment later, the lighting in the utility closet switched from red to bluish white.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnybody got a deck of cards?\u201d someone on the flight deck quipped.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack looked around the closet, trying to decide how likely it was that the crew might come their way in the next few hours. It\u2019d be just their luck if it housed decks of cards and other supplies a crew killing time would suddenly conjure a need for.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">One day. She had one day to figure out how they were going to dodge not only the <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i>\u2019s crew but the emergency personnel on the surface&#8288;\u2026 assuming that nothing on the other universe\u2019s version of the surface, itself, didn\u2019t try to take them out. Her plans were falling apart. Even with everything she had learned from Mr. Reilly, years ago, this was a scenario she hadn\u2019t thought to plan for.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Maybe because she couldn\u2019t figure out <i>how<\/i> to plan for something this fucked up, she fumed to herself.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe are <i>so<\/i> fucked,\u201d Kyra muttered beside her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack couldn\u2019t think of a single argument against that assessment.<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4018\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4018 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-19\">\u00ab Chapter 19<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4085\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4085 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-21\">Chapter 21 \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=\"21\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4019\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4019 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-20\">\u00ab Chapter 20<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4086\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4086 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-22\">Chapter 22 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5118\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5118 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">21.<br\/>\r\n<u>Matador Falling<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHere,\u201d Jack told Kyra, handing her a protein bar she\u2019d stowed in her bag. \u201cBreakfast.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She pulled out one for herself as well. In all honesty, she had almost no appetite. The stress of the new situation, the new crisis, had stolen it away. But they needed to eat. They needed their wits about them if they wanted to maneuver their way through this new disaster.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The speaker on their comm panel indicated that the crew had stayed on the flight deck for the moment. They were arguing, with little enthusiasm, over how long they were likely to have to stay quarantined once they landed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Nibbling at the protein bar, Jack stood up and looked around the utility closet, taking in its contents and estimating how likely it was that the crew of the <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i> would decide any of it was important during the next twenty-four hours. After a moment, she felt herself relax a little.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Most of the items on the shelves, beneath their protective webbing, were things for a port crew to use to clean up and recondition the cryo-chambers between uses, and to tidy up the cryo deck once its occupants had disembarked. There were some spare comm panels and other bits of hardware, some hazmat jumpsuits and helmets, and a handful of scanners\u2014Geiger counters, toxic gas detectors, others she couldn\u2019t identify at all\u2014but little else.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack grabbed a bin of comm hardware and pulled it down for a closer look. After a moment, she began assembling some of the pieces.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat are you making?\u201d Kyra asked in a whisper.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTouch video screen,\u201d Jack answered, unwrapping a screen unit and settling it in its housing. \u201cSo we can see what\u2019s on the ship\u2019s cameras.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Once she realized that Kyra was interested in what she was doing, she kept up a soft running commentary as she worked. She never mentioned that it was her dad who had showed her how pieces like these fit together, hinting instead that this was another thing Paris P. Ogilvie had taught her while she was \u201crunning\u201d with the smuggler. But she explained what each part was for, what each connection would do, as she assembled them. Finally, she was ready to plug it into the comm panel.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There were dozens of cameras placed throughout the ship, more than Jack had expected. She went through their pre- and post-launch feeds first, strategically erasing any footage that she and Kyra had appeared on. Once that was done, she began examining the feeds from right before the emergency revival had been triggered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat are you looking for?\u201d Kyra asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI don\u2019t know. Maybe nothing. I want to know more about what went wrong.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Nothing seemed to change, anywhere on board the ship, during the half hour leading up to the instant she burst out of her cryo-chamber. She erased the footage of her and Kyra past the moment when they had vanished into the utility closet.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Maybe, she thought, the Isomorph Drive would have something useful in its logs. She pulled them up and sighed, disappointed. Most of the records were identical.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt><b>2517.02.12.21:15:30<\/b> ARRIVING AT FIRST JUMP POINT.<br\/>\r\n<b>2517.02.12.21:15:33<\/b> ISOMORPH DRIVE ENGAGING. ACCESSING U137. ALL SYSTEMS NOMINAL.<br\/>\r\n<b>2517.02.14.15:32:02<\/b> ISOMORPH DRIVE DISENGAGING. RETURNING TO U1. ALL SYSTEMS NOMINAL.<br\/>\r\n<b>2517.02.14.15:32:37<\/b> NO ANOMALIES DETECTED. MOVING TO SECOND JUMP POINT.<br\/>\r\n<b>2517.02.14.19:15:21<\/b> ARRIVING AT SECOND JUMP POINT.<br\/>\r\n<b>2517.02.14.19:15:24<\/b> ISOMORPH DRIVE ENGAGING. ACCESSING U23C. ALL SYSTEMS NOMINAL&#8288;\u2026<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The log went on like that. Some of the Jumps lasted two or three days, while most lasted only a few hours. Jack scrolled down to the final Star Jump.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt><b>2517.04.12.18:25:22<\/b> ISOMORPH DRIVE ENGAGING. ACCESSING U322A. ALL SYSTEMS NOMINAL.<br\/>\r\n<b>2517.04.16.20:43:04<\/b> ISOMORPH DRIVE DISENGAGING. RETURNING TO U1. ALL SYSTEMS NOMINAL.<br\/>\r\n<b>2517.04.16.20:43:39<\/b> ANOMALY DETECTED.<br\/>\r\n<b>2517.04.16.20:43:42<\/b> ISOMORPHIC OVERLAY IN PROGRESS. ATTEMPTING TO CORRECT.<br\/>\r\n<b>2517.04.16.20:43:45<\/b> CORRECTION FAILED. REATTEMPTING.<br\/>\r\n<b>2517.04.16.20:43:48<\/b> CORRECTION FAILED. REATTEMPTING.<br\/>\r\n<b>2517.04.16.20:43:51<\/b> CORRECTION FAILED. ANALYZING STRING FREQUENCIES.<br\/>\r\n<b>2517.04.16.20:43:54<\/b> STRING FREQUENCIES FLUCTUATING BETWEEN U322A and U1. LEVEL FIVE INCIDENT CONFIRMED.<br\/>\r\n<b>2517.04.16.20:43:57<\/b> QUIN&#173;TESSA CORPORATION NOTIFIED. DATA PACKET DISPATCHED. ADVANCE REVIVAL PROTOCOL INITIATED.<br\/>\r\n<b>2517.04.16.20.45:48<\/b> REDACTED<br\/>\r\n<b>2517.04.16.20:47:27<\/b> REDACTED<br\/>\r\n<b>2517.04.16.20:58:57<\/b> CREW REVIVAL COMMENCING.<br\/>\r\n<b>2517.04.16.21:03:58<\/b> CREW REVIVAL COMPLETED.<br\/>\r\n<b>2517.04.16.21:08:15<\/b> INSTRUCTIONS FROM QUIN&#173;TESSA CORPORATION RECEIVED.<br\/>\r\n<b>2517.04.16.21:11:32<\/b> ISOMORPH DRIVE DECOMISSIONED.<br\/>\r\n<b>2517.04.16.21:11:33<\/b> ISOMORPH COORDINATE DATABASE WIPED.<br\/>\r\n<b>2517.04.16.21:11:34<\/b> SYSTEM STANDING BY.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWell, shit,\u201d Jack muttered, after reading it over a third time.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat does it mean?\u201d Kyra asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cUm, okay&#8288;\u2026 so the last Star Jump for this trip was kind of long, looks like. It started four days ago and ended today.\u201d Jack pointed to the first two lines in the final log segment. \u201cThe Isomorph Drive took us into \u2018U322a,\u2019 I\u2019m guessing that\u2019s the number they assigned to the universe with the wormhole where they wanted it&#8288;\u2026 and then today it tried to bring us back to \u2018U1,\u2019 which is&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOur home universe. Got it.\u201d Kyra nodded, reading the log over her shoulder again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo about thirty-five seconds after we were supposed to be safely back home, the system detected that something was wrong.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe isomorphic overlay?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah. I\u2019ll bet it was getting readings that matched both universes.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo then it tried to fix it?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, three times. And when it didn\u2019t work, it did some kind of quantum-level analysis that confirmed we\u2019re physically in both universes at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo then it declared this \u2018Level Five Incident\u2019 thing?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, and sent an alert out to the corporation that makes the Isomorph Drive, with all the data, looks like.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow come it took another fifteen minutes to wake up the crew?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c\u2019Cause the system had instructions that it had to wake us up first. See those two redacted entries? That\u2019s when I closed my cryo-chamber and then closed yours. It redacted the logs of our revival, just like it was told to.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDamn, it really took us that long to get from cryo to this closet?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe were pretty wobbly. But here\u2019s the crazy part. The Quin&#173;tessa Corporation seems to have sent instructions back to the ship\u2019s mainframe, while all that was going on, ordering it to decommission the Isomorph Drive and wipe its database. That\u2019s stuff you\u2019d think accident investigators on the surface would want access to.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s crazy&#8288;\u2014 hey! Look what just happened to those entries.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack blinked. While the two of them had been talking, the entries had changed drastically.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt><b>2517.04.16.20:43:54<\/b> STRING FREQUENCIES FLUCTUATING BETWEEN U322A and U1. LEVEL FIVE INCIDENT CONFIRMED.<br\/>\r\n<b>2517.04.16.20:43:57<\/b> REDACTED<br\/>\r\n<b>2517.04.16.20.45:48<\/b> REDACTED<br\/>\r\n<b>2517.04.16.20:47:27<\/b> REDACTED<br\/>\r\n<b>2517.04.16.20:58:57<\/b> CREW REVIVAL COMMENCING.<br\/>\r\n<b>2517.04.16.21:03:58<\/b> CREW REVIVAL COMPLETED.<br\/>\r\n<b>2517.04.16.21:08:15<\/b> REDACTED<br\/>\r\n<b>2517.04.16.21:11:32<\/b> REDACTED<br\/>\r\n<b>2517.04.16.21:11:33<\/b> REDACTED<br\/>\r\n<b>2517.04.16.21:11:34<\/b> SYSTEM STANDING BY.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A second later, they had changed again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt><b>2517.04.16.20:43:54<\/b> STRING FREQUENCIES FLUCTUATING BETWEEN U322A and U1. LEVEL FIVE INCIDENT CONFIRMED.<br\/>\r\n<b>2517.04.16.20:58:57<\/b> CREW REVIVAL COMMENCING.<br\/>\r\n<b>2517.04.16.21:03:58<\/b> CREW REVIVAL COMPLETED.<br\/>\r\n<b>2517.04.16.21:11:34<\/b> SYSTEM STANDING BY.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHoly shit. Did this thing just cover up&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cEverything we did and everything the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation did. Yeah.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There was now no record that the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation had ever been notified of the incident, no record that it had instructed the system to trash the Isomorph Drive. And, fortunately, no record of two stowaways being given a fifteen-minute head start before the crew woke up.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra\u2019s eyes, meeting hers, were awed and a little horrified. \u201cEverybody\u2019ll just assume that the drive got wiped by the Incident, won\u2019t they?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack nodded, feeling a little ill&#8288;\u2026 and a <i>lot<\/i> confused. What had been in the drive and the database that needed so much protection? Mr. Reilly had told her that the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation was secretive, but&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe can<i>not<\/i> get caught,\u201d she muttered. Aside from the whole issue of being arrested for stowing away, and potentially identified as fugitives from a mental hospital, there was now the issue of what the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation might do to inconvenient witnesses.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Exactly what they were witnesses to, she wasn\u2019t even sure. But it scared her almost as much as the prospect of straddling a universe that was on <i>fire.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo what do we do?\u201d Kyra asked after a moment, looking around at the closet\u2019s shelves.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI don\u2019t know. Not yet. If we can just&#8288;\u2026 stay unseen by the <i>Matador<\/i>\u2019s crew, and then by the relief crew, maybe we can get out after they\u2019ve evacuated the ship.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That, she suddenly thought, could be an hours-long or days-long process, as the ground crews switched cryo-chambers over to portable feeds before moving them, and their occupants, out. Could they manage to stay hidden all that time? A quick check of the schematics showed her a single set of restrooms at the other end of the cryo deck.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe\u2019re gonna have to \u2018hold it\u2019 until the <i>Matador<\/i>\u2019s crew goes to sleep,\u201d she realized. \u201cOr at least, until I can figure out how to switch off active feeds between here and the bathroom while we\u2019re on the move.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFun,\u201d Kyra muttered. \u201cAny chance we can blend in with the relief team while they\u2019re working? I mean, we\u2019re dressed in standard ground crew gear, right?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack glanced at Kyra\u2019s jumpsuit as she gestured at it. \u201cMaybe. But there could be official logos, or colors, that we don\u2019t have. And they\u2019ll probably be wearing protective&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She didn\u2019t even try to finish her sentence. Instead, she keyed in one of her highest-level ghost codes, inputting her search parameters once she was sure they would be concealed from the flight deck.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"center-block\"><tt>STANDARD PROTECTIVE WEAR FOR LEVEL FIVE INCIDENTS<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhy do they call it \u2018Level Five,\u2019 of all things?\u201d Kyra huffed. \u201cWhat are levels one through four?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDimensions, maybe. The whole point is to connect points in our spacetime with&#8288;\u2026 isomorphic&#8288;\u2026 points elsewhere in the fifth dimension&#8288;\u2026 I think.\u201d Jack frowned. \u201cMaybe \u2018Isomorph Drive\u2019 isn\u2019t such a bad name after all.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The system wasn\u2019t especially cooperative. She had to rephrase the search a dozen times before she found a series of pictures someone had clandestinely taken of an incident on Atreyus 4. The crew seen offloading cryo-chambers in the images wore standard hazmat suits.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A search for emergency protocols on Tangier Prime generated a list of what ground crews were expected to wear during different emergencies. But she couldn\u2019t find references to Level Five Incidents&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThere,\u201d Kyra said, pointing to a paragraph at the very bottom of the long screed she\u2019d been reading.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt>Due to the unpredictable nature of Level Five Incidents, there is no standardized requirement for protective gear. In most cases, the effects of the Level Five Incident will only be directly experienced by the occupants of the distressed vessel. Some secondary damage, however, is possible, if the physical effects (ex: fire) cross the threshold via the body of a crew member or passenger, or via affected materials on the ship. The recommendation is for full hazmat gear.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFire,\u201d Kyra muttered. \u201cSo we could find ourselves on fire.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s happened at least once,\u201d Jack told her. \u201cSo maybe hazmat gear would be a good idea even if we weren\u2019t trying to disguise ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Damn. The crew might be coming to this supply closet after all.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack switched over to inventory and breathed a sigh of relief. Each member of the crew had their own hazmat gear stored in their flight deck lockers. The suits she\u2019d seen on the shelves were surplus.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Potentially useful surplus&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Finding recent pictures of the hazmat suits worn on Tangier Prime took just a few more minutes. Jack pulled one of the suits off the shelves to compare.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDid we just catch a really big break?\u201d Kyra breathed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI think we did.\u201d Some worlds loved to gaudy up standard gear and make it unique, but Tangier Prime apparently had no such pretensions. The suit in her hand was an exact match. She looked over the details and then began scrounging through the shelves. Hazmat footwear covers, in a variety of sizes, were stored below the pile of suits. She began searching for the gear closest to their sizes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For the next several hours, Jack and Kyra practiced putting on the suits, miming the ways that they would seal them shut with the included tape. Then, after Jack mentioned the amount of time it would take to offload the cryo-chambers, they called up instructions for the process of detaching an occupied cryo-chamber from a ship\u2019s central hub and attaching it to a portable feed. They watched videos together, quizzed each other on the different buttons and switches they would need to press and in which order\u2014Jack, of course, had no problem remembering, but pretended to make mistakes so that Kyra could correct her and remember them all the better\u2014until finally they heard the crew talking about bunking down for a few hours before it would be time to land.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">With the crew asleep, Jack switched off the camera feeds in the cryo deck long enough for them to make use of the restroom. The utility closet, they had decided, was the best place for them to be when the ground crew boarded. They would wait for a lull in the activities, a moment when nobody was within line of sight of the closet door, and then emerge, fully garbed in their hazmat gear, to blend in with the ground crew and help evacuate cryo-chambers. Once they were off the ship, they\u2019d do a quick fade and make their escape.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They were both sure it couldn\u2019t be that easy. But they spent the whole time that the <i>Matador<\/i> crew slept working out every possible complication they could imagine and what they might do in response. Jack found and modified a pair of linked comms, open-channel but scrambled against surveillance, so that they could still talk to each other once they were fully suited up and mingling with the ground crew.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">When the <i>Matador<\/i> crew woke up and began preparing for the landing, they were ready. Or as ready as they could possibly be. Their cards, from Helion Prime, were back in their smalls. They had changed into fresh clothes, swapped wigs and carefully put them back on, and hidden the rest of their clothing and toiletries beneath various tools and pieces of hardware in their gear bags. If no one else carried such bags into the ship, they could leave the bags behind, hidden on the closet\u2019s top shelf, and buy replacements for their contents on the ground. As the crew took their seats in the flight deck, Kyra and Jack exchanged a grim look.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThis is when things could start getting crazy,\u201d Jack whispered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWell, we don\u2019t know what the other universe\u2019s Tangier Prime is like. Odds are it\u2019s never been terraformed. So the atmosphere on that side could be totally different.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cLike, not breathable?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s a real risk, yeah. But it could be thicker or thinner, too, and that could change <i>everything<\/i> about atmospheric entry.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow do you <i>know<\/i> all this?\u201d Kyra asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack decided that she might as well come clean, at least a little. \u201cI have a photographic memory. If I hear it, see it, or read it, I\u2019ll remember it forever. As long as I\u2019m paying attention, anyway.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Many people had thought her an odd child because of that. Where most small children thrived on and sought out repetition, watching the same movie dozens of times and repeating the same silly jokes ad nauseam, Jack had always found herself wanting to move on. She could remember whatever it was just fine, and repetition just felt like a waste of time to her. As she grew older and began to understand the social effects of her behavior, she had learned to tolerate and even engage in a certain amount of repetition&#8288;\u2026 and to hide just how far ahead she was reading from her classmates and even teachers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Right now, though, it was a strategic asset, and Kyra had a right to know it was at their disposal.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOkay,\u201d Kyra said after a moment. \u201cSo landing could be rough and unpredictable. Dangerous and fatal, even.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cPretty much, yeah. And then there\u2019s the question of the landing site. If they are trying to have us land in an area that was artificially smoothed out&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThere could be bumpy terrain on the other side. Shit. No wonder they\u2019re making such a fuss about this. So we could burn up during entry, or crash during landing&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOr find ourselves choking on a half-poisonous atmosphere when the doors open.\u201d Jack touched the helmet of her hazmat suit. \u201cOnce we try to take these off, anyway.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWell, hell. At least it\u2019ll be an adventure, right?\u201d Kyra grinned, but Jack could see the gallows humor in her eyes. The auburn wig, now carefully seated over her braided-back hair, was less jarring on her than the blonde bob\u2014which Jack was now wearing over her much shorter, straight hair\u2014had been.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cEverybody\u2019s gotta die sometime, yeah.\u201d Jack mused. \u201cAt least it\u2019ll be in good company.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra suddenly looked touched. She reached out and took Jack\u2019s hand, giving it a squeeze.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cTangier Prime Ground Control,\u201d<\/i> the captain said, her voice doubling slightly as it came through from both the flight deck microphone and the comm signal, <i>\u201cthis is the <\/i>Scarlet Matador<i> on approach for our entry window, requesting clearance to proceed.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201c<\/i>Scarlet Matador<i>, this is Tangier Prime Ground Control. Your descent vectors are looking good. You are cleared for landing. Do you have any anomalies to report at this time?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cNone detected yet, Ground Control. Scans indicate no atmospheric variances in density or temperature. Fingers crossed.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cGodspeed, <\/i>Scarlet Matador<i>. We\u2019re setting up emergency staging at your landing site.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cThank you. Entering the upper atmosphere now. Adjusting descent angle&#8288;\u2026 resistance is textbook. So far, so good.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The ship shivered a little beneath Jack\u2019s crossed legs, through the floor of the utility closet. The hull groaned.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cLooking good from our end too. You\u2019re nearing comms blackout.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cRoger that. Talk to you on the other side.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cLooking forward to it, <\/i>Matador<i>.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For several minutes, only the hushed voices of the flight deck crew came through the utility closet\u2019s comm speaker. Everyone seemed calm, although Jack had listened to comm recordings from some legendary accidents and almost-accidents that sounded every bit as nonchalant. Flight crews tended to have nerves of steel. She wished she could have watched Fry crash-landing the <i>Hunter-Gratzner.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>She probably never even broke a sweat&#8288;\u2026<\/i> Johns had obviously been full of shit.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;do you read? <\/i>Scarlet Matador<i>, this is Tangier Prime Ground Control, do you read?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cGround Control, this is the <\/i>Scarlet Matador<i>, reading you loud and clear.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cWelcome back, <\/i>Matador.<i> We show you centered in your lane. Any anomalies to report?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cNone yet, Ground&#8288;\u2014 hold on. I\u2019m picking up some&#8288;\u2026 Ground Control, please verify our landing coordinates.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201c33.5731 degrees north, 7.5898 degrees west.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cGround Control, we have an anomaly. We are intermittently picking up a large body of water on our scanners at the designated location.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201c<\/i>Scarlet Matador<i>, please send us your readings.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cTransmitting.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There was a pause.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThey\u2019d better come up with something fast,\u201d the captain grumbled. \u201cWe\u2019ll be there in fifteen more minutes.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201c<\/i>Scarlet Matador<i>,\u201d<\/i> Ground Control finally said, <i>\u201cyou will attempt landing at the coordinates. You will need to spiral in and then hover over the landing site, just above the detected water level. We will tether you at that height and bring in support scaffolding. Ground support has been notified of the revised plan. Do you need further instruction?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cNo, but thank you. Adjusting approach trajectory now.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cOnce the ship is secured, we recommend you put on your protective gear.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cGreat minds think alike. God only knows what could be in that water.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cYour readings indicate normal saltwater. About 28, 29 degrees&#8288;\u2026 bathwater temperatures. Might be a tropical paradise on the other side.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cMight have sharks, too.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ground Control laughed. <i>\u201cWell, if you find any coconuts, you pull them over to this side.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cSounds like a plan. We\u2019ll have a luau.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The captain turned off her microphone for a moment, her voice only coming in from the flight deck feed. \u201cTropical paradise my ass&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">One of the other crew members started singing an ancient sea chanty. \u201cJust sit right back and you\u2019ll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip, that started from this tropic port, aboard this tiny ship&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDon\u2019t be an idiot.\u201d The captain switched her microphone back on. <i>\u201cGround Control, my readings are showing a five-meter depth to the water. Seafloor appears to have roughly fifteen centimeters of variance from the tarmac of this \u2019verse. Can you confirm?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cRoger, <\/i>Scarlet Matador<i>. The good news is that means you won\u2019t sink. Adjusting landing plan accordingly. We will bolster the landing gear to match the seafloor height. Prepare to receive new trajectories. You will still want to come in at a hover and then do a slow descent.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack looked over at Kyra. \u201cOnce they land, it\u2019ll be time to put on our suits. They\u2019ll be doing the same thing&#8288;\u2026 and they won\u2019t open up until they\u2019re secure. Then we watch and wait. We\u2019ll put on our helmets last, when we\u2019re ready to join the ground crew.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra gave Jack a worried look. \u201cDo you know how to swim?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah. You?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah. I\u2019m pretty good at it. Just wasn\u2019t sure if you came from a world where people swam. Most of the girls at the hospital didn\u2019t know how. Not much swimming on a world that\u2019s surface is only 10% water.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack grinned. \u201cI\u2019m good. But&#8288;\u2026 we should try <i>not<\/i> to swim in front of the locals.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra snickered. \u201cYeah, that might look a little weird.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The floor began to tilt to one side, gradually and gently. Jack could feel them turning, a sensation that left her a little queasy since everything around her showed no signs of the motion. The tilt steepened, and the turning sensation grew more pronounced. The ship shivered against some turbulence.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe\u2019re spiraling in,\u201d she told Kyra. \u201cAnother moment and they\u2019ll switch to repulser engines so we can hover.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra nodded, looking a little pale and nauseated.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The switch was a little rough. The ship shuddered, hard, as the repulsers switched on, and wobbled for several gut-clenching seconds before settling into a strange new attitude that reminded Jack of a floating dock.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>CLANG!<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She and Kyra both flinched.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat the fuck was that?\u201d Kyra gasped.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>CLANG!<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI don\u2019t&#8288;\u2014 oh! They said they were going to anchor the ship while it hovered, didn\u2019t they? I\u2019ll bet that\u2019s what it is.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The loud noise repeated six more times, from various directions, before stopping.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201c<\/i>Scarlet Matador<i>, this is Ground Control. Platforms are in position below your landing gear. Begin dialing down your repulsers and descend.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cCopy that.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack could feel it, the moment the ship touched the surface of the water in the other universe. Suddenly there was resistance. Something wanted to keep the ship floating, even as the gravity of U1\u2019s Tangier Prime was trying to draw it down.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Slowly, ever so slowly, the <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i> descended the final five meters. It was a remarkably gentle landing for one so harrowing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cGround Control, this is the <\/i>Scarlet Matador<i>. We have touched down. We will need additional anchoring. There\u2019s some tidal forces at work on the other side.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cRoger that, <\/i>Scarlet Matador<i>. We are moving in to bolster your anchor points. Boarding will commence in twenty minutes. Please be in full protective gear at that time.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Twenty minutes was just enough time to finish getting ready. Jack and Kyra tested their comms, making sure they\u2019d hear each other\u2019s voices if they whispered but not be deafened if either of them had to shout. Jack switched the video feed over to external cameras so that they could watch the approaching ground crews and make sure that their protective gear would blend in.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s like trying to watch someone on the other side of an aquarium,\u201d Jack murmured to Kyra after a moment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNever tried that. But this is seriously trippy.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The cameras kept registering the presence of water on the surface. The crews preparing to board the ship sometimes appeared to be doing so in open air, but frequently looked distorted by water, while the cameras struggled to refocus.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cGround control, please be advised. The water level seems to be rising slowly. It\u2019s now at six meters. Please enter via the upper decks to prevent flooding on board the <\/i>Matador<i>.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cCopy, <\/i>Matador<i>. We will use flyers to transport you and the passengers. Keep us advised of water levels. We don\u2019t want to drown anybody.\u201d <\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Hanging the Geiger counters and other detection instruments on their belts\u2014the approaching ground crew all had them\u2014and preparing to don their helmets, Jack and Kyra watched as the <i>Matador<\/i> crew approached the airlock that had been chosen as the initial entry point. Large, one deck above the cryo deck\u2014which, Jack realized with a shudder, was fully underwater in the other universe\u2014and opening on a spacious room, it made a good staging point for the rescue operation that was about to begin.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Hopefully.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The captain stepped forward, wearing a hazmat suit emblazoned with the <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i>\u2019s logo.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Good,<\/i> Jack thought. Her suit, and Kyra\u2019s, would suggest even <i>more<\/i> that they were from Tangier Prime and not the ship. Just as long as they could stay above the water, anyway.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">On the other side of the airlock, the leader of the ground crew approached the door.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack realized she was holding her breath as the unsealing commenced.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cCaptain,\u201d the leader said, stepping into the airlock. His voice was the voice of the Ground Control officer who had talked the ship down. \u201cPermission to come aboard?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGranted,\u201d the <i>Matador<\/i>\u2019s captain said with obvious relief. \u201cIt\u2019s good to meet you in pers&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A wave broke against the ship, splashing through the open airlock and smacking the captain down to the floor.<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4019\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4019 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-20\">\u00ab Chapter 20<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4086\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4086 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-22\">Chapter 22 \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=\"22\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4020\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4020 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-21\">\u00ab Chapter 21<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4087\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4087 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-23\">Chapter 23 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5121\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5121 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">22.<br\/>\r\n<u>The Phantom Tides of New Marrakesh<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">High tide crested some two meters above the <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i>\u2019s hull and began to recede almost two hours after the first attempt to board the ship. Four hours after that, the water had withdrawn completely from the landing site. With no idea how long it would be until the phantom tide turned again, the ground crew moved quickly to reboard the <i>Matador<\/i> and evacuate its occupants.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack, who had listened to the comm discussions about the planned boarding, had also determined that Tangier Prime\u2019s spaceport was another customer of her dad\u2019s old security company. Well before the ground crew boarded, she had added her pseudonym, \u201cP. Finch,\u201d and Kyra\u2019s \u201cJ. Houlot\u201d pseudonym, to the roster of miscellaneous ground crew workers press-ganged into managing the evacuation. They attached their name tags, which Jack had previously hidden on the closet\u2019s top shelf, to their suits, and even joined the roll call over the comms, reporting for duty from inside the ship. Jack had to nudge Kyra when it was her turn to respond; the conversation was in Arabic, which hadn\u2019t been spoken on New Dartmouth or in the hospital, but which Jack had picked up quickly in the Al-Walid household. In the hurried pandemonium that followed, nobody noticed when Jack temporarily \u201cglitched\u201d the camera feeds and they slipped out of the utility closet to join the relief efforts.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It helped that they had both run through simulations of disconnecting cryo-chambers dozens of times. Their speed and competence got them more than a few words of gratitude from actual members of the ground crew, some of them even in English.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Two hours in, after carrying a liberated cryo-chamber down to the waiting transport, Jack and Kyra joined the team that would reconnect them at the other end in the hospital. True to Ground Control\u2019s word, they were transported via air. Below them, the city spread out. Trying not to rubberneck like a tourist, Jack studied it, noting that there appeared to be a coastline to one side, running along the land from the spaceport to the urban center, and wondering which universe that water existed in.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Most of the other members of the ground crew were chatting in Arabic, too quickly for Jack to follow what they were saying, but a few were talking quietly in English nearby.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMan,\u201d one of their coworkers, wearing a tag identifying him in four languages as <tt>T. Alami, Ground Operations<\/tt>, gave an expressive, exaggerated shudder before leaning back in his seat. \u201cThis whole thing gives me the jeebies bigtime.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSeriously,\u201d another\u2014<tt>H. Aziz, Ramp Agent<\/tt>\u2014chimed in. \u201cI kept expecting some kinda monster to come charging around the corner at us, any second.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI wonder what it\u2019s like for <i>them<\/i>,\u201d Alami said after a moment. \u201cYou heard about the captain getting knocked over by an invisible wave, right?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah,\u201d Aziz groaned. \u201cJeez. Tomlin was standing right in front of her at the time.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe\u2019s the arrival controller, right? The one in charge of this mess?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah. Good guy. <i>El Krim<\/i>, you know. I\u2019m glad he was on duty when the shit went down. Khalil says Tomlin slept in the control tower overnoon, so he\u2019d be there if they tried to reach him.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That, Jack thought, explained why Ground Control had always answered with the same voice. She\u2019d assumed it was an AI until a man with that voice walked in through the airlock.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Aziz tugged at her helmet, adjusting it a little. \u201cDamn, I want out of this gear. Anyway, Tomlin said that after she fell over, he could <i>see<\/i> water all over her. Kinda. Like, her hazmat suit looked wet. And so did the floor of the ship. But he couldn\u2019t see any of the water itself and there wasn\u2019t a drop on him.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s <i>mental<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, I can\u2019t wait to get done with this and go home.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Now it was Alami\u2019s turn to groan. \u201cDon\u2019t you wish. You heard that we\u2019re all supposed to get debriefed by the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation rep before we can go, right?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShit, I forgot. Damn it&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack and Kyra exchanged a silent look. They were going to have to find a way to ditch their gear and get away from the rest of the ground crew before that happened.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">At the hospital, Jack caught a glimpse of a man with Ground Control\u2019s voice, now out of hazmat gear and in a smart military uniform, arguing with a hospital suit about the elevation of different hospital wings. His Arabic, she noticed, was as flawless and officially-accented as his English. The laden ground crew milled about for a few minutes until word came down that, in an abundance of caution, the cryo-chambers would be taken to the hospital\u2019s highest levels. Patients on those levels were being relocated to other wings in preparation.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Probably a smart move,<\/i> Jack thought, but shuddered a little. There had been times, on the brief flight over, when she could feel the other universe\u2019s pull, the sensation that the transport\u2019s floor was illusory and she might fall through it at any moment. She hoped that wouldn\u2019t actually happen to any of the cryo-chambers&#8288;\u2026 or their occupants, once they were released.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Another transport flight arrived with even more cryo-chambers. As the area became increasingly crowded, Jack nudged Kyra and nodded toward a door with a familiar keypad beside it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">One Ghost Code later, they were hurrying down a flight of steps with signs that pointed to a garage, stripping off their suits as they went. The lights on all the stairwell cameras were dark, having switched off the moment Jack input the code. In ten minutes, they would switch back on and the system would report a minor power glitch as cover.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDamn,\u201d Kyra whisper-hissed as they went. \u201cThat Paris guy must\u2019ve been some really hot shit. His codes work <i>everywhere<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack grinned and nodded, recalling how she\u2019d sneaked up on him and put a boomerang to his throat.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">At the base of the stairs, they straightened their wigs one more time before wadding up the hazmat suits into the smallest bundles that they could and stuffing them\u2014along with their \u201ctool bags\u201d\u2014into a pair of discarded shopping bags Jack had spotted on the way. Now dressed in ordinary street clothes and carrying the bags, looking like two ordinary teens who had been out store-hopping, they walked out into the hospital\u2019s parking garage.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They were one level below the street entrance, Jack figured, and she was suddenly glad they hadn\u2019t gone any lower. The ramp down to the next level ended abruptly, just a third of the way down, at a smooth plain of what looked like drying sand with seaweed strewn across its surface. Something small and crustacean-like was scuttling across the sand. As they watched, it seemed to pass through the concrete of the ramp and vanish.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack was just glad that they hadn\u2019t encountered the other \u2019verse\u2019s ground level <i>before<\/i> they\u2019d been able to leave the stairway.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe\u2019d better find some higher ground fast,\u201d Kyra said next to her. \u201cThis part of town is definitely going to be underwater when the tide comes back in.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack nodded. \u201cThat Tomlin guy seemed to think that anything at an elevation of twenty meters above sea level\u2014I mean, <i>this<\/i> \u2019verse\u2019s sea level\u2014should be safe.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow high up is the hospital\u2019s ground level?\u201d Kyra asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTen meters above.\u201d Jack grimaced. \u201cLet\u2019s get somewhere where we can pull up an elevation map. We\u2019ll pick a good spot to go to ground above the water.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Nobody gave them a second glance as they left the hospital garage and headed toward a cluster of towers in the distance.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Tangier Prime, like many large colonies, provided street signs in multiple languages. Arabic topped the signs, followed by Berber, then French, and finally English. As Jack recalled, most of its original settlers had been Moroccan, although it had diversified in the centuries since.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat\u2019s this city called?\u201d Kyra asked, as she scanned one of the street signs and shook her head.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNew Marrakesh.\u201d Jack led the way, mentally sorting through all the guidebooks she\u2019d flipped through when she had originally set out for this destination. The plan, back then, had been to arrive on Tangier Prime roughly a year after she had left Deckard\u2019s World, wait a few weeks, and then either bribe her way onto or stow away on one of the semi-annual supply ships headed for Furya and her dad, a mere two-month journey away. It had all been timed so carefully, until it had fallen through so spectacularly.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Well, she\u2019d made it this far. Finally.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">After a few wrong turns, they found their way to an open-air market that mixed centuries-old aesthetics, from old Morocco of Earth, with contemporary technology: carved wood screens with elaborate geometries concealed crass, ordinary information and banking kiosks. Before anything else, Jack sat down in front of a banking kiosk to acquire a little bit of the local currency.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And got a nasty shock.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"center-block\"><tt>Error. Card unreadable.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The kiosk spat the card\u2014one that should have had roughly the equivalent of one hundred New Dirhams on it\u2014back out of its slot. Jack felt as though she had just been tossed into ice water.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">One by one, she and Kyra tried all their money cards, with the same results. Unreadable. Unreadable. Unreadable.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat the <i>Hell?\u201d<\/i> Kyra hissed, struggling not to draw attention to them by raising her voice. \u201cI <i>know<\/i> these were working back on Helion!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Back on Helion&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOhhhh, <i>damn<\/i> it,\u201d Jack groaned. \u201cThey\u2019re straddling universes just like we are.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh.\u201d Kyra sat down hard next to her. \u201cShit. So they\u2019re only half here?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah. Maybe that\u2019s weakened their magnetic charge too much. Or maybe the other universe\u2019s string frequencies are interfering with it.\u201d Jack picked up one of the cards and held it to her, trying to <i>will<\/i> it to be part of just <i>one<\/i> universe. <i>This is in U1. Only U1. The thing in my hand belongs <b>here<\/b> and nowhere else&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She took a deep breath and pushed it into the slot, expecting the machine to spit it right back out again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"center-block\"><tt>Welcome. Please provide your passcode.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHoly&#8288;\u2026 fuck.\u201d She stared at the screen for a moment before giving Kyra an enormous grin.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Taking no chances, she had the banking kiosk issue replacements for each of the cards they had brought from Helion. Somehow, her Hail Mary was <i>working,<\/i> but she wasn\u2019t going to assume that it would stick. They needed cards made from materials strictly bound to <i>this<\/i> \u2019verse.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Aware that they might be running out of time, she decided to hold off on acquiring fake IDs for the moment. Instead, she pulled up an elevation map of the New Marrakesh area\u2014noting, as she did so, that the coastline she\u2019d glimpsed from the flyer was real\u2014and identified which parts of town were safely above the other universe\u2019s hypothetical high tide mark. Next up was a search for affordable rooms for rent in those regions.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFuck,\u201d she muttered after half an hour of searching. \u201cWhy does every town in the Federacy make its heights so damn expensive?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They had only two available options, both in an area that she suspected had gone into decline and was probably a little dangerous. <i>Oh well. We\u2019ll probably fit right in&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra looked over the listings. \u201cI like that one,\u201d she said, touching one of the images on the screen. \u201cTop floor. The higher the better, just in case.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOkay&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Jack submitted their application and deposit, putting a hold on the unit. After a whispered conference with Kyra, she entered the security code they agreed upon to use as a key in place of their not-yet-generated fake ID cards, aware that the option to do so indicated how seedy the place would probably be. \u201cLet\u2019s go claim it. We\u2019ll figure out the rest once we\u2019ve got it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra quirked her lips. \u201cI know that look. You think it\u2019s got bugs?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe may have to fight them for territory, yeah.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They took a moment to study a city map before setting off. The roads narrowed and became more and more winding as they hiked upward, the buildings becoming less ornate and more weather beaten and grungy. She hadn\u2019t been wrong in her assessment; in the heights or not, this part of town was <i>not<\/i> prosperous. The haves and have-nots of New Marrakesh, she noted, weren\u2019t divided along racial or ethnic lines; she and Kyra didn\u2019t particularly stand out.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Score one for Tangier Prime&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her dad, she mused, had been right about Deckard\u2019s World.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It had been during one of the loudest pre-divorce arguments her parents had, when he\u2019d shouted at her mom that they were raising their daughter on a racist planet. Thinking now about the cross-section of people she had met while living on Helion, and now saw in the low-rent district of New Marrakesh, she finally understood what he\u2019d been so upset about. Virtually everyone in their moderately well-to-do part of town, and almost all the kids at her school, had been white and had treated anyone with darker skin, who showed up in \u201ctheir\u201d parts of town, with unease and suspicion. Or as invisible, if they were gardening or engaging in some other role of quiet servitude. She\u2019d gone offworld too quickly to even think about it at the time, but if she had needed to try to hide out in what passed for slums in her hometown, she never could have blended in.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack wondered if it ever occurred to members of her family, outside of her dad, just how <i>un<\/i>just that all was.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cDeckard\u2019s World!\u201d<\/i> the tourist brochures all touted, <i>\u201cRecreating the best elements of small-town America!\u201d<\/i> How much of that, she wondered, had been code for something far less pure and noble? How much of that code did her family understand and agree with?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They found their building as the light level started to change and the wispy clouds began to turn into fuchsia streamers above them. Their code opened the inner door into a dimly lit lobby. Several lights were either missing or burned out. A sign was taped over an elevator door, scrawled in Arabic and Berber but forgoing French and English.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Fortunately, Jack <i>had<\/i> been enrolled in \u201cremedial\u201d Arabic classes while she lived with the Al-Walids.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cElevator broken. Please use the stairs.\u201d She quirked an eyebrow at Kyra.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo wonder the top floor unit was available.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAt least we don\u2019t have to tiptoe on these stairs,\u201d Jack laughed. \u201cC\u2019mon.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The stairwell smelled. Jack tried to ignore the odors\u2014most of them biological\u2014as much as she could. Maybe, once they knew their way around the town better and she\u2019d set up some more resources through the other Ghost Codes\u2014assuming those hadn\u2019t been discovered and shut down while she and Kyra were in cryo\u2014they could pick out a nicer place.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For now, it would do.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Eight flights up and they were on \u201ctheir\u201d level. Jack identified the unit they had reserved and punched in the security code they had chosen.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The space was cramped, musty, and dim. Jack touched the panel by the door and, after a few seconds, lights came up. One flickered, threatening to go back out at any moment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The unit was furnished&#8288;\u2026 more or less. Jack had the suspicion that someone had been evicted a while back and hadn\u2019t been allowed to clear out most of their things before being given the bum\u2019s rush. There was a ratty-looking couch and a rattier-looking chair, arranged to face a pitted and scarred table that had probably once had a vid screen sitting on it. Behind the table and a small half-wall divider, pots and pans, plates, cups, and utensils were jumbled on a kitchen counter, awaiting a washing that might be weeks or even months overdue.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, we\u2019re definitely going to be doing battle against the bugs,\u201d Kyra groaned. \u201cI sure can pick \u2019em.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A small hallway led off to the left. Jack peeked into it and realized that it led to a single bedroom with an attached bath. Again, the rooms were technically furnished, with dilapidated furniture strewn with clothing and various possessions that had been left behind by the last tenant, most of which probably needed to be disposed of. The air had a chemical aftertaste to it; the place had been fumigated even if it hadn\u2019t been cleaned.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI think the battle with the bugs is over. We\u2019re just gonna have to dispose of their remains.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cReally not much better,\u201d Kyra said beside her. \u201cBut what the hell&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She walked over to one of the windows, which had its curtains drawn and shades pulled, but which was leaking vibrant, magenta light around its edges. She pulled everything open and then gasped.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDamn, Jack, you gotta see this.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The window faced west. Twilight was fully upon New Marrakesh. The clouds had caught fire, molten orange at the horizon rising up to lava red and fuchsia, through dusky rose and a deep, muted purple, before the color faded back to dark gray. The sky, between the clouds, was a gem-bright shade of blue that felt, to Jack, like it was searing its way into her heart. The shoreline she\u2019d spotted from the flyer was visible, their lower perspective making it seem closer to the city than she remembered, its water glittering and reflecting the clouds\u2019 riotous shades. Sloping down to that shoreline, New Marrakesh glowed like the mass of jewelry that had spilled out from one of Paris\u2019s \u201csarcophagi\u201d when he had ransacked his goods for weaponry, blazing and sparkling in the beam of Fry\u2019s flashlight.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack wasn\u2019t sure when she\u2019d last seen anything so beautiful.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019d think, with a view like this, the owners of this building would have no trouble renting,\u201d she breathed, feeling awed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOkay, maybe I <i>can<\/i> pick \u2019em,\u201d Kyra murmured back. She looked mesmerized. Had she ever seen a view like this before?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack took a closer look around the unit. The woodwork, she realized, was carved&#8288;\u2014 or at least, where it hadn\u2019t been buried under a dozen coats of paint, there were signs of elaborate Marrakesh-style embellishments. Decades ago, she thought, this building had been <i>the<\/i> hot commodity in the town, and its views had commanded a premium.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She wondered why that had changed, exactly.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHey, Jack&#8288;\u2026 uh&#8288;\u2026 I think the tide may be rising again.\u201d Kyra\u2019s voice had become uncertain.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack looked out the window again and felt her breath catch in her throat. The shoreline had moved even closer.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe base of this building is twenty-two meters above Tangier Prime sea level,\u201d Jack told Kyra, trying to reassure herself at the same time. \u201cWe\u2019re on the ninth floor, roughly another twenty-four meters up. We\u2019ll be fine.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The lights along the shoreline were dimming, as if veiled&#8288;\u2026 or overlaid by water from another universe. Moving lights of vehicles began to vanish and appear along that edge&#8288;\u2026 and the edge was creeping closer.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">At high tide, Jack realized, all of New Marrakesh\u2019s downtown would disappear beneath the water. Her eyes were drawn to the glittering twenty-story central tower of the hospital. She hoped that all the quarantined passengers and crew of the <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i> had been moved to its top levels by now.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Behind her, Kyra was moving around the room. Jack turned to look.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra had set down her shopping bag by the bathroom door and had draped her auburn wig over it. She was gathering up all the strewn clothing decorating the floor and furniture of the room and piling it on the bed. When she finished, she pulled out the corners of the dirty sheets and blankets on the bed and turned the clothing pile into a wrapped package.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI saw a chute labeled \u2018incinerator\u2019 out in the hallway,\u201d she explained, as she hauled the large package off the stripped mattress. \u201cBack in a few minutes.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack nodded, aware that she needed to start helping with the clean-up, too, but drawn back to the view out the window. The waters had reached the city center and the gaudy lights of the market square, that they had sat in only a few hours before, were going dim. What had formerly been the shoreline had gone completely dark.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>It\u2019s okay,<\/i> Jack tried to reassure herself. <i>It\u2019ll come close to where we are, but it won\u2019t go over it. Kyra picked the perfect place for us. We can learn how to time the tides from this window, and we can plan trips to town around them. And plan when we can get off-planet around the tides, too. We\u2019ll be fine.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>We\u2019ll be fine.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They spent the next hour hauling things out of the bedroom, stripping it down to the basics and keeping only things that were already clean or could be cleaned easily. None of the clothes were in their sizes, and most of them were so stained that there was no point in offering them to the building\u2019s other tenants.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They left the other rooms for later; they were far too tired to do the whole place. The last\u2014thirty? Forty? God knew how many\u2014hours were finally catching up with them. Once the stained mattress was clean and the sources of various unpleasant smells in the room had been eliminated, and they had wrestled the windows open to let in some fresh air, they took their small collections of money cards out of their smalls, tucked them into a battered dresser drawer, and collapsed on the mattress together.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack later thought that she\u2019d fallen asleep the moment that her head touched the mattress. She didn\u2019t even remember to take off her shoes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She dreamed that she was back on the crash planet, watching the eclipse overtake the sky. But now, instead of strange creatures emerging from rock formations, even more bizarre-looking things were emerging from the ground below her. One of them reached out with a warm, wet tentacle and wrapped it around her ankle&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She woke up, gasping. Warm water slapped her foot again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The room was bathed in strange, bright moonlight that seemed to pierce the ceiling as it fell. It glittered on the rippling water sloshing back and forth a few inches below the mattress. Another wave rolled across the surface, just above the height of the mattress, and splashed her again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh <i>fuck<\/i>,\u201d Kyra said beside her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack gave her friend a worried look and climbed out of the bed, sloshing her way to the window. Ground Control\u2014Tomlin\u2014had said that the water was the temperature of bathwater. He hadn\u2019t been wrong. About that much, at least.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">An enormous full moon hung in the sky almost directly above them. Beneath it, sparkling waves had engulfed all but the tallest buildings of New Marrakesh. The water, she calculated, was almost forty-seven meters above local sea level. Only the top five floors of the hospital tower, now an island jutting out of the dark waters, were still visible in the distance, an impossible lighthouse.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And the phantom tide was, Jack realized, as another wave broke against her legs, still rising.<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4020\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4020 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-21\">\u00ab Chapter 21<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4087\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4087 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-23\">Chapter 23 \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=\"23\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4021\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4021 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-22\">\u00ab Chapter 22<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4088\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4088 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-24\">Chapter 24 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5124\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5124 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">23.<br\/>\r\n<u>The Ocean of Elsewhere<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey MacNamera had never been afraid of the water.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Back on Deckard\u2019s World, terraformed to be a rustic back-country utopia by its planners, rivers and lakes had abounded. When people went on vacations, swimming was one of the central activities. As a toddler, Audrey had learned how to move through the water like a little fish while she was still trying to master walking on land.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But she had never found herself in the middle of an ocean before. No body of water, ocean or otherwise, had ever come to claim her like this.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cCome on,\u201d Jack told Kyra, slogging her way through the thigh-high water toward the apartment unit\u2019s outer door, \u201clet\u2019s see if we can get to the roof.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOur cards&#8288;\u2014&#8288;!&#8288;\u201d Kyra protested.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAll part of U1. They\u2019re safe. As long as <i>we<\/i> make it through this, they\u2019ll be waiting for us right where we left them.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra splashed after her. \u201cWhat about our gear?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They had both left their bags sitting on the floor when they had hit the sack.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cProbably already too late for most of the clothes and the electronics,\u201d Jack said, pulling the door open and marveling at how it and the water <i>ignored<\/i> each other\u2019s <i>existence.<\/i> \u201cThe rest\u2019ll be here when we get back. It can\u2019t pass through the walls any more than we can.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBut\u2014\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe figured we\u2019d have to ditch it all if nobody in the ground crew was carrying bags, right? It\u2019s all replaceable. <i>You\u2019re<\/i> not, and neither am I.\u201d Jack found the stairwell, again finding herself surprised as the water put up no resistance against the door\u2019s opening.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Theirs was the top floor, but Jack had noticed that the stairs continued past their doorway, indicating roof access.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cPlease be unlocked, please be unlocked, please be unlocked&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">No such luck. Jack stared at the elaborate locks on the door, the overkill emphasizing that past tenants had used the roof for purposes that the landlords had taken issue with. Even if she had a professional set of lockpicks, she probably couldn\u2019t have gotten through the door.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFuck,\u201d Kyra muttered. \u201cAll this way and now we drown?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack shook her head. \u201cWe can go out a window. It\u2019s late enough that nobody\u2019ll notice us floating, especially if we stay close to the building wall.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJack, look.\u201d Kyra pointed at the steps below them. \u201cNo footprints. What the hell?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra was right. Under normal circumstances, their wet footprints should have been on every step.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe water\u2019s in one universe, and the stairs are in another. The only place they meet is in <i>us.\u201d<\/i> Jack shook her head, really glad that she\u2019d <i>earned<\/i> her A+ from Mr. Reilly. She didn\u2019t think she\u2019d have managed to wrap her head around what was happening otherwise.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd our clothes, damn it. Hey, if we buy clothes here in New Marrakesh, they\u2019ll stay dry, right?\u201d Kyra started down the stairs as she talked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThey should. I mean, the water\u2019ll pass right through them, so <i>we\u2019ll<\/i> still get wet, but&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Jack stopped talking for a second, shaking her head as she followed Kyra back down. \u201cDamn. It\u2019s just too weird to think about for long.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The water had continued rising, now soaking the crotch of Jack\u2019s pants when she reached their floor again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra saw her grimace. \u201cHey, at least it\u2019s warm, right?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, and at least neither of us are on our fuckin\u2019 periods.\u201d She was a little amazed by that; in the past, her period had a habit of showing up at the worst possible moment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>If it starts tonight, I\u2019ll know why.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShit!\u201d Kyra gasped. \u201cYou don\u2019t think there <i>are<\/i> sharks in these waters, do you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI seriously hope not.\u201d Jack opened the door to their unit again, careful about where she placed her feet. A lot of loose junk was still lying in wait in the main room, hidden by water that couldn\u2019t actually touch any of it. \u201cYou saw that little crustacean by the ramp, though, right? Something lives in this ocean. Probably a lot of somethings.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Another wave rolled through the apartment, raising the water to hip level. Re-entering the bedroom, Jack moved for the nearer of the two windows, which faced south. Its view was less impressive than the west window, but more useful right then. It faced a stand of cedars that were taller than the building, cutting down on the chances that two floating girls would be seen by a midnight stroller. She shoved the screen up and leaned out.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe moon\u2019s almost over us,\u201d she told Kyra, who was leaning out beside her. \u201cThe tide should peak when it is, and then it\u2019ll start to go down. We have less than an hour until it peaks.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhy\u2019s it so goddamn big?\u201d Kyra asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack was wondering the same thing herself. Nearly directly overhead, definitely full, and with a diameter five times as big as any satellite she\u2019d seen on Deckard\u2019s World or Helion, the moon shone balefully down on them, almost too bright to look at. To the southeast, Jack could see two other, smaller moons, both gibbous, halfway between the huge moon and the horizon.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh my God,\u201d Jack said, realization hitting her. She pointed at the other moons. \u201cSee those? Those are Tangier Prime\u2019s normal moons. I mean, the two on our universe\u2019s star charts. There\u2019s no <i>mention<\/i> of a third moon, especially one this size. No wonder the tide\u2019s so high.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWait, so this moon only exists in the other universe?\u201d Kyra squinted up at it. \u201cWe\u2019re the only ones who can see it?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI think we need some other way of referring to that, just in case people hear us.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat, the <i>moon?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe other universe. We keep talking like that and somebody\u2019s bound to notice.\u201d Jack was nerving herself up to climb out of the window. Part of her, on some level, could sense how it was empty space below her, rather than a dozen or so fathoms of water, the same way that she\u2019d felt the empty air below her on the <i>other<\/i> side of the threshold when she\u2019d been on board the flyer. It was a vertiginous sensation. She wondered if Kyra was feeling it too; the older girl hadn\u2019t climbed out the window yet, either, and <i>she<\/i> was something of a daredevil.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo like, when we say \u2018here\u2019 we mean U1?\u201d Yeah, Kyra was stalling too. \u201cAnd when we\u2019re talking about the other universe, we say we\u2019re talking about somewhere else?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cElsewhere. Yeah. We\u2019re talking about <i>Elsewhere.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cElsewhere. I like the sound of that.\u201d Kyra was exploring the brickwork of the building\u2019s outer wall with her fingers, testing for handholds. Stalling. \u201cThe reality of it? Not so much.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAt least we\u2019re not on fire&#8288;\u2014 whoa!\u201d Jack gasped as two military copters flew low over their building, headed west at top speed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe <i>hell?\u201d<\/i> Kyra gasped. \u201cWhere are <i>they<\/i> going in such a hurry?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe hospital.\u201d Jack suddenly felt terribly cold despite the balmy water temperature. She ducked under the window\u2014realizing, as she did so, that the water had risen to the point where she had to immerse herself completely\u2014and then swam toward the west window. There was no point in walking anymore; swimming was faster. She shoved the window screen upward and pulled herself partway through the opening. Her head broke the surface of the water just as a third copter roared by.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The first two copters were closing on the hospital tower. As she watched, they turned on searchlights, illuminating the tower\u2019s roof. Only four floors of the tower were still visible; the water had almost completely engulfed the floor below them, just as it had more than halfway engulfed the apartment floor.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Were there people on the roof?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i> had been a significantly larger ship than the <i>Hunter-Gratzner,<\/i> Jack recalled. Fry had mentioned that there had been forty passengers and a crew of five on board that ship. The <i>Matador<\/i> had carried five times as many passengers, plus a crew of nine. How many tower floors had they had to open to accommodate more than two hundred patients? More than the top four?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">How many of those two hundred patients were trapped on the roof now, watching the waters rise and praying that they\u2019d begin to recede before there was no building <i>left?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She found herself imagining what it must have been like for them, waking to the tide\u2019s arrival, calling for help from people who couldn\u2019t feel or even see the rising waters. Had they even been warned about the kind of threat they might be facing? Had the hospital staff?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The moon was almost directly overhead. Jack hoped her limited understanding of how tides worked was correct\u2014despite its abundant bodies of water, the moons orbiting Deckard\u2019s World had been too small to generate Earthlike tides\u2014and that soon, very soon, the water would begin to drop back down.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra had joined her at the west window, also watching the long-distance drama at the hospital. \u201cWe\u2019re coming up on a moment of truth here.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou mean, in or out?\u201d Jack, halfway out the window but still loathe to climb out completely, glanced back through its glass and into the bedroom. \u201cI think there\u2019s a real chance that this thing is gonna start going down before it reaches our ceiling.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIs that a chance we should take?\u201d Kyra looked dubious.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShit. I don\u2019t know. I <i>do<\/i> know that as soon as it\u2019s safe to, I\u2019m getting the best lockpick set I can find so we can sleep up on the damned roof.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra looked like she was suppressing laughter. \u201cYou pick pockets <i>and<\/i> locks?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Maybe it wasn\u2019t the time for such things to be amusing. Or maybe, in a moment like that, humor was the only thing left to hold onto. Jack closed her eyes and snickered. \u201cYou got me, Merc, I\u2019m a born criminal&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">In that moment, it no longer seemed like such a terrible thing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJack?\u201d Kyra asked a short time later. The laughter had subsided and they were both somberly watching the rooftop evacuation underway at the hospital.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow are we going to deal with this? I mean, high tides happen, like, twice a day, right?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was a sobering thought. Twice a day, every day, the tide was going to roll in and bury all the places they needed access to under fathoms of water. Even trying to get off-world would be tricky, close to impossible, unless they could manage to board a ship during low tide and have it launch before the waves could return. There had been a few-hours-long window when New Marrakesh was dry in both \u2019verses, but&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Could they actually manage to chart out the tidal patterns of a three-moon world with enough accuracy to avoid getting drowned?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Or, Jack thought with sick dread, were their deaths preordained now, the way most of the <i>Hunter-Gratzner<\/i>\u2019s passengers\u2019 deaths had been from the moment it hit atmo for the last time?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d she admitted. \u201cI\u2019m sorry, Kyra. I didn\u2019t mean to get you into this mess.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHey now. You got me <i>out<\/i> of a mess, remember?\u201d The lost look had fled the older girl\u2019s face, and her mouth quirked with humor. \u201cFuck New Dartmouth. I never want to see that shithole again. I\u2019d rather get eaten by a shark from another dimension. Least that\u2019ll give me some fun stories to tell in Heaven, right?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Something about that caught Jack\u2019s attention. <i>Eaten by a shark from another dimension&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">What would that meal be like for such a creature? How much of its meal would even be substantial? What would be left behind on the other side? Gruesome as the thought was, suddenly Jack found herself wondering about the conflicting laws of physics their bodies were dealing with at that very moment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They were floating in water, buoyed up by it, because it existed in one universe even as open air existed in another. The water could flow unimpeded through walls that simply didn\u2019t exist for it, but they couldn\u2019t do the same. For them, the walls and the water were both real, and somehow both sets of universes\u2019 rules simultaneously affected them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>If I finished climbing out of the window and let go, I would float, not fall&#8288;\u2026<\/i> And yet a part of her could feel the gravity of U1\u2019s New Marrakesh trying to contradict that. She wondered, suddenly, if she <i>would<\/i> float, or if she would find herself not falling but sinking down to what was simultaneously street and seafloor&#8288;\u2026 and drowning.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Shuddering with the thought, she pulled herself through the window and back into the mostly flooded bedroom. She needed to test this, find out, but not somewhere where the result of her experiment could kill her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra surfaced next to her a moment later. \u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI need to test something,\u201d she said, treading water. That didn\u2019t feel any more difficult than it ever had. \u201cBefore we do something that could get us killed. I need to figure out how this all works.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow what all works?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBeing in two universes at once.\u201d Jack kicked up, arcing her body so that she could float on her back.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The water held her up.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh,\u201d Kyra said. \u201c<i>Oh.<\/i> Fuck, I didn\u2019t even <i>think<\/i> of that. I kept feeling like I was gonna plummet straight down, but I couldn\u2019t figure out why.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cLooks like we\u2019re probably safe from that, at least.\u201d Jack let herself drift for a moment. If the stakes weren\u2019t so damned high, she thought, what they were doing right then could have been <i>fun.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She mentally slapped herself. Their fellow passengers from the <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i> could be dying, right that moment, and she was thinking about <i>fun?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She made herself focus on her task again. The resistance of the water was holding her up in both worlds, even though the lack of resistance in the other world should have pulled her down. And the obstruction of the walls and doors, floors and ceilings, limited her movement in virtually every direction even though none of them existed in the world of water&#8288;\u2014 in Elsewhere. Higher densities, in either \u2019verse, trumped lower densities and shaped the way she could interact with either world, or both of them at once. She could fly through the air of U1 by swimming through Elsewhere\u2019s water&#8288;\u2026 but she couldn\u2019t pass through U1\u2019s walls as she swam.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>But&#8288;\u2026 what if I could?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cIt can\u2019t pass through the walls any more than we can,\u201d<\/i> she\u2019d said to Kyra, secure in the knowledge that even if the tide caught up their meager possessions and whirled them around the apartment, it couldn\u2019t pull them out into the open water if all the doors and windows were shut. Too much of them belonged to both \u2019verses.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But earlier that day, she\u2019d held one of the recalcitrant universe-straddling cash cards in her hand, trying to will it to <i>just<\/i> exist in the universe where its strip and its chip needed to be read&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;and it had worked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Was there a way for them to do that with <i>themselves?<\/i> Orient themselves to just one universe? Slip through walls as if they weren\u2019t there, or, alternately&#8288;\u2026 stand on the ground, with a sea engulfing them on every side&#8288;\u2026 and breathe air and not even feel damp?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Could she will <i>herself<\/i> back into the <i>dry<\/i> version of their unit, the one that existed in U1 alone?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Could she choose to be bound by just one world\u2019s physics?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Fuck. I gotta try. If it somehow works, we won\u2019t have to worry about when high tide is likely to be.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack swam over to the corner of the room with the grubby bed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>If I can make myself fall through the air instead of floating on water&#8288;\u2026 I want to fall on something soft.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Floating above the mattress, Jack closed her eyes, concentrating on the way her body had felt as she was going to sleep a few hours earlier. Dry air on dry skin, dry clothes against her skin as well, the cool, comfortable sensation of having taken off that damned blonde wig&#8288;\u2026 dry. Surrounded by air. Held down by gravity that air wasn\u2019t strong enough to resist.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I am not in water,<\/i> she thought. <i>I am surrounded by air. I am not <b>in<\/b> a world where the ocean can touch me like this. No water is touching me. No water is touching me.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Nothing happened, except another wave rolled through and lifted her body a tiny bit higher.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>The water is not part of me. No water is touching me. I am not where the water is. The water is not where I am, the water is Elsewhere&#8288;\u2014<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She landed on the mattress with a hard thump.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her clothes, she realized, were still soaked. But the water&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was all around her, and yet it wasn\u2019t. Surrounding her, she could see <i>something.<\/i> Something blue-green, bright where moonbeams struck it, shading deeper and deeper the farther away it was. A wild shimmer above her showed her exactly where the ocean\u2019s surface was, still roughly two feet below the ceiling. She could still see the water from Elsewhere, but&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She took a short, shallow breath, nervous that she would find herself suddenly choking on brine, but air filled her lungs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I did it. I <b>did<\/b> it,<\/i> she thought with giddy joy. <i>How the fuck did I do it?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra floated above her, suspended in the aquamarine air, arms and legs in motion as she turned around and around, looking for&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Looking for me,<\/i> Jack thought with a grin. She got up from the mattress and walked over to Kyra, reaching up and tugging her hand.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra immediately began thrashing, and Jack had to duck a wild kick.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Damn, she\u2019s probably thinking \u201cshark!\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack climbed back onto the mattress and stood up on it. The top of her head was almost touching the ceiling. She would be visible to Kyra now.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cKyra! I figured it out!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJack, something grabbed me&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSorry! Sorry, that was me. Come over here! I figured out how to make it so we can breathe U1\u2019s air even when we\u2019re underwater.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou <i>what?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGet over here and I\u2019ll show you. I\u2019ll explain everything, I swear!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou can\u2019t be serious!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra, she realized, was beginning to panic. With so little space left between the water\u2019s surface and the apartment\u2019s ceiling, that was inevitable. How could she prove it&#8288;\u2014&#8288;?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Oh!<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSmack your hand down on the water, Kyra!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDo it!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFine! Fucking <i>fine,<\/i> Jack! What the fuck is going on with this <i>bullshit&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/i> Kyra smacked her arm down on the water, making it splash around her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNow! Watch me!\u201d Jack lifted her arm above the surface of the water, holding it out, and then slapping it down. Her arm passed through the water as if either it, or the water, was a hologram.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat&#8288;\u2026 the&#8288;\u2026 <i>fuck?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGet <i>over<\/i> here and I\u2019ll show you how!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhy there?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBecause the bed\u2019s over here! When the water stops holding you up, you\u2019ll want to land on something soft!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou think that damned thing is <i>soft!?\u201d<\/i> But Kyra was swimming over. Jack took her hands and guided her until they were both above the mattress, Jack standing on it, Kyra treading water.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFloat on your back,\u201d Jack told her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra gave her a dubious look but obeyed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cClose your eyes.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThis is some seriously freaky bugfuck shit, Jack.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI know. Close your eyes.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra released a deep, gusty sigh of frustration and shut her eyes, grimacing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI want you to think about how it felt when you were dry, earlier tonight. No water on you, just air against your skin and your dry clothes. Dry hair. Warm. Imagine feeling like that now, okay?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOkay\u2026\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd now you need to tell yourself this. Think these words to yourself as I say them, okay?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOkay\u2026\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI am not in the water. I\u2019m surrounded by air. No water is touching me. I\u2019m not where the water is. The water isn\u2019t where I am. I\u2019m here and the water is Elsewhere.\u201d Jack took a breath and began to repeat the mantra.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For the first time in her life, she truly understood why repetition was so important.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra joined her on the third repetition. \u201cI am not in the water, I\u2019m surrounded by air&#8288;\u2026 no water is touching me&#8288;\u2026 I\u2019m not where the water is&#8288;\u2026 the water isn\u2019t where I am. I\u2019m here and the water is&#8288;\u2014 holy <i>fuck!\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">With another loud thump, Kyra landed on the mattress. She gasped, staring wildly around her, and for a moment Jack thought she was going to scream. Then she burst into peals of laughter.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack sat down next to her, feeling immeasurable relief. There had been a moment of terrible fear that, although <i>she<\/i> had figured out how to survive beneath another universe\u2019s waters, Kyra wouldn\u2019t be able to. That, once again, she would come through unscathed and lose someone she loved.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And when the hell, Jack thought with astonishment, had <i>that<\/i> happened?<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4021\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4021 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-22\">\u00ab Chapter 22<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4088\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4088 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-24\">Chapter 24 \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=\"24\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4022\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4022 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-23\">\u00ab Chapter 23<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4089\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4089 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-25\">Chapter 25 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5127\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5127 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">24.<br\/>\r\n<u>Mad Dogs and Englishmen<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThis is too fuckin\u2019 weird.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack looked over at Kyra, who was staring up toward the library ceiling again. Filtered through water that only they could see, the lights were brilliant aqua. The whole room was bathed in blue-green light. A large school of fish darted around above them, casually passing through the stacks like particolored ghosts.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Around them, oblivious to the massive ocean that was passing over and through them, dozens of people sat at tables, researching different topics. Just to top off the strangeness, several of them were working with holographic replicas of ancient texts, sometimes forgetting themselves and passing their hands right through the pages as if they, too, were trans-dimensional fish.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s a serious understatement,\u201d she murmured back.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">To the right, suspended on one wall, the chrono displayed three different clocks: two forms of Standard Time\u2014based on the old Earth time system, using its years, months, days, hours, and minutes, one readout three hours ahead of the more universally used system\u2014and Local Time, which Jack had been stunned to realize was necessary to account for the fact that one Tangier Prime day was almost two Standard days long.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Most of the worlds that humanity had terraformed and colonized, like Deckard\u2019s World and even Helion Prime, were much more similar to Earth. Helion Prime\u2019s day was a mere fifteen minutes longer than a Standard day, while Deckard\u2019s World\u2019s day was just eight minutes shorter. Aside from some periodic calendar resets to realign themselves back to Standard, adapting had been easy.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But Tangier Prime, one of the oldest of all colonies, had been among the first to be chosen and terraformed, and colonists back then been a lot less <i>choosy<\/i> about the kinds of worlds they\u2019d attempt to make Earthlike. The extra-long days and nights might have caused severe extremes in temperature, but the thick upper atmosphere acted as an insulator. Still, few people were ever out during the hours of midnight or high noon, some twenty-two hours apart from each other.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For the inhabitants of this strange world, it meant that those were the two sleep periods most people engaged in, breaking each rotational period into two shortish \u201cdays\u201d with the peak activity occurring in the twilight hours.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The locals were used to it, only considering it any kind of potential hardship during the month of Ramadan, when\u2014according to a chatty food cart owner, anyway\u2014the daytime period was still at least twelve hours long, making fasting quite unpleasant. Only one sect observed that stricture; the other, dominant sect on Tangier Prime had found a clever work-around by deciding that fasting only need occur while it would be daylight in Old Mecca, back on Earth.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Which meant that almost everyone on Tangier Prime had chronos displaying the time in Federacy Standard +3, which she\u2019d been told\u2014by the chatty food vendor\u2014matched up with Arabia Standard Time back on Earth.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">No one could actually go <i>there<\/i>, of course; the original Mecca had been lost in the Great Asian War, which had irretrievably poisoned almost the entire eastern hemisphere of Earth and forced virtually all of humanity to leave. But it was immortalized in art and literature, probably romanticized to an unrealistic level, and still prayed to by tens of billions across the Federacy.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou getting anywhere with that?\u201d Kyra\u2019s question pulled her back into the moment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAlmost,\u201d she answered. \u201cHow does this look to you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">On the screen, a complex waveform assembled above a time code. The first wave peaked roughly an hour before the code marking Tangier Prime\u2019s noon hour. It descended, crossing a line marked \u201csea level\u201d five and three quarters hours later, dropping down to a \u201clow tide\u201d at the 11.5 hour mark and then rising again to meet the vertical line marking midnight, reaching a loftier height than the first peak. A second sine wave appeared, warping the downward sides, raising the overall form back up before it could reach \u201csea level\u201d and generating new mini-peaks of its own after each of the \u201chigh tides.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra frowned. She pointed to the slight trough when the original wave had almost reached sea level, only to reverse. \u201cSo we landed then?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah. The landing zone was ten meters above sea level, but the water was still fifteen meters above.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo five meters on the tarmac.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd it was already starting to rise again as we landed. It went up roughly another five meters.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhich is why that Tommy guy&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTomlin.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s why Tomlin thought anything above twenty meters should be safe for everybody?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah. I couldn\u2019t figure out why it would do that, or be so high, until I remembered the other two moons looked like they were about four or five hours behind the main one. They\u2019re close enough to each other in the sky right now that they\u2019re reinforcing each other\u2019s gravitational pull.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIf you say so,\u201d Kyra said. \u201cDamn it. I hate being from a place where everybody insisted math and science were \u2018Men\u2019s Business.\u2019 I\u2019m starting to think maybe the assholes of New Dartmouth were <i>right<\/i> about a lot of shit&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d She shook her head. \u201cSo this is what you got when you added those two moons?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah. See how low the tide would have gone without their influence? Instead, it was already starting to climb again when we were evacuating the ship. We just barely made it to Le Rif in time.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That, she\u2019d learned, was the name of the down-on-its-luck hillside suburb they\u2019d rented in, named after a mountain chain in Old Morocco.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd about five hours after we fell asleep, the water showed up in our room?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah. Mega&#173;luna generates a big pull.\u201d She suppressed a laugh as Kyra rolled her eyes. That was her name for the enormous moon, and she was sticking with it. \u201cIt was full, so that\u2019s probably as high as it will ever go&#8288;\u2026 but I want to make sure because I don\u2019t like how its wave seems closer to the wave generated by the two moons, this second time, than it was the first time.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Watching the tide start rolling back in, hours before sunrise, only to roll out again, had bothered her enough to launch this whole research project. She didn\u2019t quite understand why it had created a prickle of dread within her, but she was learning to trust those feelings.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd those two moons aren\u2019t the same as the two in U1?\u201d Kyra asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNope. Elsewhere\u2019s moons are totally different ones. Qamar and Taziri,\u201d she said, naming the two moons of Tangier Prime, \u201cwere both below the horizon at the time.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOkay, so how do we make sure?\u201d Kyra, Jack had discovered, had an insatiable thirst for knowledge, something she was only just starting to explore. Up until then, virtually all the schooling she\u2019d received had been doctrinal in one way or another, and that was something she\u2019d grown to reject. In that moment, especially with topics that directly affected their lives, her hunger to learn had come out in force. Jack found herself wanting to encourage it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWell, now that these two waves look right&#8288;\u2026 match up with what we saw&#8288;\u2026 and the program has calculated out the sizes, positions, and probable orbits of the three moons that would produce them&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Jack glanced at her friend and grinned, \u201cwe let it forecast the next several cycles and see what happens.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Doing this project, which had taken several hours and required them to stay downtown when the next tide rolled in, had helped distract Jack from the awful story that had come up in the newsfeeds shortly after the sun had risen.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <h3 class=\"solo\">Eighteen Dead Among the Quarantined<br\/><i>Scarlet Matador<\/i> Passengers and Crew<\/h3>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The article had had a weird spin on it, suggesting without directly claiming that some exotic illness had forced the quarantine of everyone on board the <i>Matador,<\/i> but Jack knew what had really happened. Eighteen people had drowned before the deadly danger everyone was in was fully understood and the rooftop evacuation had begun.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack wondered where everyone else had been taken. Several of New Marrakesh\u2019s tallest buildings had been tall enough to keep a dozen or more floors above the crest of the tide, after all.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOkay,\u201d Kyra nudged her. \u201cSo stop woolgathering and let\u2019s see what happens.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Rolling her eyes theatrically, Jack pressed the \u201cForecast\u201d button on the touch screen, selecting a ten-day period.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The waves rolled out, the larger and smaller tides growing closer and closer to each other and then&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOhhhhh <i>fuck,<\/i>\u201d Kyra breathed. Jack couldn\u2019t speak at all.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Five cycles out, two and a half of New Marrakesh\u2019s absurdly long rotational periods away, the waves merged. The graph shrank to accommodate the new wave that resulted, estimated at 90 meters.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe need to find Tomlin,\u201d Jack told her best friend, \u201cand warn him.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <hr style=\"align-content: center; width: 50%; background: linear-gradient(to right, #4474BE 0%, #243a68 100%); height: 3px; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;\"\/>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">An hour later, Jack knew for a fact that none of her Ghost Codes had been ferreted out.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d had to go deep into the local systems, posing as law enforcement, to learn everything she needed to know. The surviving passengers and crew of the <i>Matador<\/i> had been moved to one of the glittering office towers at the center of town and given occupancy of the twenty-third through twenty-seventh floors. Jack located the architectural schematics, confirming that this put all five floors just below the new high tide mark. Tomlin was credited with organizing the roof evacuation and minimizing further loss of life after hospital staff had finally notified him that something might be wrong. Now he had command over the quarantine and was currently listed as \u201con leave\u201d from his Ground Control job.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was approaching noon; most people were in bed or preparing to go there. But the tide had been rising for the last few hours, so Jack had a feeling that Tomlin would be awake and reachable.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was almost right about that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ground Control\u2019s voice was unmistakable, but sleepy, when he answered his comm. \u201cAzul?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For a moment, Jack thought he was saying someone\u2019s name. Then she remembered hearing that as a greeting throughout Le Rif\u2019s thrift stores that morning, when she and Kyra had been replacing their soaked clothes\u2014\u201cWe just moved in and the water line broke, can you <i>believe<\/i> it?\u201d\u2014before traveling downtown. It wasn\u2019t Arabic or French, so it was probably Berber.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMr. Tomlin,\u201d she said, making her voice sound as steady and authoritative as possible. \u201cIt\u2019s urgent I speak to you about the <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i> and its passengers. They\u2019re still in danger.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWho is this?\u201d Tomlin was fully awake and speaking textbook-perfect English again. \u201cHow did you get this number?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe answers to those questions aren\u2019t important. What\u2019s happening to your charges is.\u201d Jack held her breath. Hopefully the fact that she had been able to reach him via a completely masked line\u2014something technically forbidden on most worlds\u2014would convince him that he was dealing with someone in a position of authority.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Which made it critical that she didn\u2019t sound, even for a second, like an uncertain teenage girl.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cVery well,\u201d Tomlin replied, and she could hear the curiosity in his voice. \u201cWhen can we meet?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe\u2019re close. Name the time and place.\u201d That, she figured, was the best way to cover up her miniscule knowledge of local geography.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOne hour,\u201d he answered. High noon. He then gave her the address of the building she already knew contained the <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i>\u2019s passengers. \u201cI\u2019ll be in the parking garage. Level A. I hope you have some real answers for me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI will.\u201d Jack cut the call without giving into the temptation to say, as was common on Deckard\u2019s World, <i>buh-bye<\/i> to him. That felt incredibly out of character with the shadowy authority figure she was trying to create in his mind.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou watch a lot of spy movies?\u201d Kyra asked beside her, visibly biting back a grin.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOne or two,\u201d Jack answered, letting her own grin out. \u201cOkay, let\u2019s get this data over on the tablet&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She began transferring the results of her calculations to the brand new unit, purchased just a few hours earlier before they arrived at the library. Part of her still couldn\u2019t help but feel morose that the screen she\u2019d originally built on board the <i>Matador<\/i> hadn\u2019t survived high tide, but the replacement\u2014costly as it had been\u2014would work better for them. She also transferred the data to a chip that she could give Tomlin.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;and now we can get over there and get ready.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They stopped on the way to rent lockers to store their other purchases, just in case they had to cut and run. If Tomlin decided to have the police handy, they might need to.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Fortunately, they\u2019d gotten in some good practice, during the hour that the tide was receding from their apartment, and had even worked out how to \u201cisomorph\u201d almost all the way over into Elsewhere. If they had to, they could escape by passing through the local walls. Holding their breath the whole time, of course. Mega&#173;luna\u2019s rising tide was all around them now. It would crest roughly an hour after their meeting with Tomlin.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The streets were almost deserted; for most of the people of Tangier Prime, the hours surrounding high noon were a sleeping period referred to as the \u201covernoon.\u201d Jack found herself grateful that the phantom ocean was filtering some of the intense sunlight, but suddenly found herself wondering if she and Kyra were going to end up sunburnt anyway.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun&#8288;\u2026<\/i> It was a line from a song her mom had sometimes played. Suddenly it made perfect sense.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They arrived at the parking garage half an hour ahead of the scheduled time, walking in as nonchalantly as possible, dressed and acting like two girls, probably tourists, out shopping. Jack had discovered that Kyra needed a little coaching in how to \u201cact casual;\u201d the older girl had no experience with theatrics, or even much in the way of let\u2019s-pretend games. The New Christy Colony had had strict prohibitions against theater and dance. Which was a shame, Jack found herself thinking; her friend\u2019s ferocious grace would have been spectacular on a ballet stage.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They walked down to Level B, and from there, Jack tapped into the cameras. Ten minutes before the designated time, Tomlin arrived on Level A. Alone.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Apparently, he had his own ideas about how meetings like this were supposed to work. Maybe he\u2019d had a few of them before. Jack watched with bemusement as he paid off the gate guard, who\u2014after he received enough New Dirhams, anyway\u2014shut the gates, put up a sign that said \u201cTemporarily Closed\u201d in four languages, and sauntered off. Tomlin leaned against the guard\u2019s booth, just out of the sunlight\u2019s direct reach, to wait.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMight as well do this now, right?\u201d Kyra murmured beside her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack nodded and switched off all the cameras on Level A, setting the feed cycle in the building\u2019s main guardroom to switch between everything except the blank cameras. Hopefully nobody would notice that Level A wasn\u2019t appearing at all.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She switched out of Ghost Mode on the tablet and pulled up the tide cycle. \u201cLet\u2019s go.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Tomlin didn\u2019t realize, at first, who they were. He probably thought he was dealing with exactly what they looked like, a pair of teenage girls inconveniently appearing at just the wrong time. \u201cSorry, I\u2019m afraid I need to ask you to&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMr. Tomlin, it\u2019s good to meet you in person,\u201d Jack said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That brought his words to a stop. He looked at them, <i>really<\/i> looked at them, and his eyes widened. \u201cWe\u2019ve been <i>looking<\/i> for you,\u201d he said after a moment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack had not been expecting that. \u201cYou have?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He nodded, his expression becoming both more certain and a little awed. \u201cP. Finch and J. Houlot?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Well, shit.<\/i><\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4022\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4022 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-23\">\u00ab Chapter 23<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4089\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4089 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-25\">Chapter 25 \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=\"25\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4023\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4023 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-24\">\u00ab Chapter 24<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4090\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4090 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-26\">Chapter 26 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5130\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5130 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">25.<br\/>\r\n<u>Roses by Other Names<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The last time Jack had felt like this was when Riddick had revealed, to the other <i>Hunter-Gratzner<\/i> survivors, that she was a girl.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I really hate being put on the spot like this.<\/i> Fortunately, this time at least, she had more control over her composure.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She could lie. She could obfuscate. She could demand to know why Tomlin thought they were those two people.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Or she could <i>not<\/i> insult his intelligence and get back to business.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">All those possibilities went through her head in under a second. She felt Kyra tensing next to her. \u201cYou\u2019re good,\u201d she said, resting her fingers on Kyra\u2019s wrist. \u201cNobody was supposed to know we were there.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That got a small smile from Tomlin. He was a good-looking man, Jack found herself thinking. His dark hair and olive skin spoke to his Berber heritage. He had the square jaw, strong chin, high-bridged nose, and prominent cheekbones that she\u2019d seen among many of the people in Le Rif, speaking Berber&#8288;\u2014 or, at least, speaking a language she knew was neither Arabic nor French. His eyes were a light olive green. Her cousin Rachel had had posters on her walls of a late Twentieth Century movie star who looked much like him. Jack found herself wondering where his very non-Berber surname had come from.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s my job to keep track of things,\u201d He replied. \u201cBut you didn\u2019t exactly hide all that well.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack tried not to let the knot forming in her stomach show on her face.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAfter all,\u201d Tomlin continued, his smile widening and transforming his face from handsome to dazzling, \u201cwhen the two people who worked harder than anyone else, and saved a <i>lot<\/i> of lives in the process, turn out <i>not<\/i> to be spaceport employees and disappear before debriefing&#8288;\u2026 people notice.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack sighed, unsure of whether to feel relief. He seemed to be obliquely thanking them. But it could still be trouble. She was going to have to do a deep dive into the systems when they were done meeting him to find out who, exactly, was looking for them. In the meantime, she\u2019d have to stick with as much honesty as she could. She didn\u2019t know how good he\u2019d be at spotting a lie, but the fewer she told, the better.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI wish nobody had noticed at all,\u201d she admitted. \u201cIt\u2019s better if nobody knows we exist.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She could see him wanting to ask why and then suppressing the urge. \u201cIt\u2019s an internal inquiry for now. I can tell the Human Resources department that it was a paperwork mix-up. Technicians on loan from an independent shipper.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe Quin&#173;tessa Corporation doesn\u2019t know?\u201d Jack found herself asking.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cBaraka,\u201d<\/i> he said, making a small, strangely familiar, gesture. \u201cGod, no. The fuss they would have raised&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d His expression became shrewd. \u201cThey can\u2019t know about you, can they?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt would be bad for all of us if they did,\u201d she answered, feeling relief.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He nodded, seeming to accept that. \u201cWhat should I call you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFinch and Houlot will do,\u201d Kyra said next to her, gesturing at each of them in turn.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAll right. You have something to tell me about the <i>Scarlet Matador?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack nodded. \u201cBy now you\u2019ve already figured out that there\u2019s a very high tide in U322a.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Tomlin\u2019s eyes widened, and she knew she had scored. He\u2019d seen the heavily-redacted Isomorph Drive log, then. \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThere are three moons in that \u2019verse that don\u2019t exist here. The biggest was full last night. That was the source of your fifty-meter wave.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">His expression had grown somber while she talked. He had probably been asleep when it hit, she realized, believing that all the quarantined people would have to deal with was a twenty-meter wave that wasn\u2019t due for several more hours and would be far below them. How nightmarish must that terrible scramble have been for him, having to battle a mortal threat he couldn\u2019t even see?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMoving them here was good. Last night\u2019s wave was probably that moon\u2019s normal maximum. But it\u2019s not the only extra moon in Elsewhere\u2019s sky&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cElsewhere?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFinch likes to give things unofficial names,\u201d Kyra said. \u201cU322a is \u2018Elsewhere,\u2019 and she named that moon, too. \u2018Mega&#173;luna.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Tomlin\u2019s lips twitched as if he was suppressing laughter. \u201cUnderstood. So there\u2019s more?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For a second, Jack found herself wanting to argue that Mega&#173;luna was a perfectly damn good name, thank you <i>very<\/i> much, but she suppressed the urge. She had to get back to business. \u201cThere are two moons behind it in the sky, in close conjunction. They\u2019re responsible for the twenty-meter tide you dealt with when the <i>Matador<\/i> landed.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Tomlin nodded, his expression expectant.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe problem is, they\u2019re going to have a conjunction with Mega&#173;luna five high tides from now.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cA syzygy?\u201d Now he looked alarmed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAlmost one,\u201d Jack told him. The word had appeared in the forecast graph, and she\u2019d already looked its meaning up, so she didn\u2019t have to fake understanding of it. \u201cLike I said, last night was Mega&#173;luna\u2019s full moon, so the <i>sun<\/i> won\u2019t be in on the alignment. That\u2019d probably be even worse. But&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She walked over to Tomlin\u2019s side, aware that Kyra was staying protectively close to her the whole time, and offered him the tablet. He accepted it, glancing at her for a second before focusing on its screen.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;It\u2019s still going to be bad. Here\u2019s the landing of the <i>Matador,<\/i>\u201d she told him, pointing at the point on the graph when the falling tide had bumped upward again. \u201cAnd this&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She pointed at the high tide that had followed it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;is last night\u2019s King Tide.\u201d She gently tapped the \u201cForecast\u201d button on the screen, letting the waveform projection populate forward. \u201cAnd this is what\u2019s coming.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cBaraka,\u201d<\/i> Tomlin murmured again, and for a second Jack thought he was going to drop the tablet. With his free hand, he made the gesture again, and she realized it was one she\u2019d seen the chatty food vendor use several hours earlier as a ward against evil. \u201cNinety meters? You\u2019re sure?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNot one hundred percent,\u201d Jack admitted. \u201cWe\u2019re working with a limited data set here.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">In point of fact, that was the exact warning that had come up on the program after she had finished inputting the data. She had no way of being sure, not yet anyway, whether the two moons were going to start moving apart or come even closer to each other in the next few days.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBut,\u201d she continued, \u201cthe risk is too big not to take it seriously.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She had to resist the urge to add, <i>right?<\/i>, to defer to his considerably greater experience. It would make her sound like a kid. She had to keep projecting authority. It was hard, though. At any other time, she thought, he was the kind of person she\u2019d have turned to for reassurance and guidance, and part of her desperately wanted that now.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">So she was trying to channel Shazza. The New Australian woman had exuded perfect confidence. She didn\u2019t try to pull off the accent, but she was trying to carry herself the way that Shazza had, to frame her assertions with the same aplomb that her wild-haired heroine had. If only that fearlessness hadn\u2019t broken at the wrong moment. If only Shazza had just <i>stayed down&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She forced herself back to the present. There was nothing she could accomplish by wallowing in her regrets.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Tomlin was nodding. \u201cYou\u2019re absolutely right. Thank you. I will make sure that the passengers and crew are all moved above that altitude before then. I just&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For a moment, <i>he<\/i> looked uncertain, some kind of battle playing out on his face. Then he met her eyes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIs there <i>anything<\/i> else you can tell me about U322a? The Quin&#173;tessa Corporation hasn\u2019t been helpful at all, they demand information but won\u2019t <i>give<\/i> any, and these people&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d He gestured helplessly, handing the tablet back to her as he did. \u201cAre they going to be trapped in a high tower on our world for the rest of their lives? How can I <i>help<\/i> them?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">This, Jack realized, was what she needed to give him most of all, and <i>could.<\/i> He\u2019d just provided her the perfect segue into the other thing she needed to tell him. \u201cThey don\u2019t have to be. There\u2019s a way to survive existing in two universes. It takes some work, but they can learn to <i>pick<\/i> which universe they\u2019re aligned with.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She handed the tablet to Kyra and stepped back from both of them. It was time for some genuine theatrics.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThey can learn to reject the water,\u201d She told him, \u201cor embrace it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack closed her eyes and took a deep breath. <i>I am in both worlds,<\/i> she thought, deliberately and carefully. She didn\u2019t want to vanish from his sight altogether, after all. <i>The water is holding me&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She focused on keeping the connection with the water, with Elsewhere itself, at just the right level, not too strong, not strong enough that the full weight of forty meters of water above her would come crushing down. She\u2019d swum deep enough in the past, back on Deckard\u2019s World, to know how much deeper that would be, how much pressure the water would put on a body, and how painful that kind of pressure change could be if it came on too quickly. An instantaneous change, she knew, could be genuinely injurious, damaging soft tissue and even potentially rupturing her ear drums. No, she wanted the water to float her and buoy her, not beat her down&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She felt it flow in around her, gentle as a swimming pool, and kicked off, opening her eyes as she swam upward. She didn\u2019t want to bash her head against the garage\u2019s ceiling, either, after all. That\u2019d ruin the effect she was going for.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Below her, Tomlin was staring at her with his mouth agape as she swam through what was, to him, thin air. She did a slow flip in the water, coming back down to the floor level and hovering an inch or two above it, before pulling back from Elsewhere\u2019s hold on her and dropping lightly to the floor. Air, she thought, had never tasted so sweet.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her hair was wet now, plastered to her head, but her clothes were perfectly dry. She suddenly wondered in alarm if, had she and Kyra been forced to cut and run and try to isomorph through a wall, their clothes would have been left behind in the process.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That would have been a big problem. She added it to her list of things she needed to figure out once they were safely back in Le Rif.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt takes work,\u201d she told Tomlin, who was still staring at her. \u201cThey need to think <i>carefully<\/i> about the difference between the conditions in each \u2019verse, and what they\u2019re aligning themselves with and what they\u2019re rejecting. And no matter what, they\u2019ll always see a little way into Elsewhere. They\u2019ll always be able to feel it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFinch came up with a mantra I like to use,\u201d Kyra added. \u201c\u2018I\u2019m not in the water. I\u2019m surrounded by air. No water is touching me. I\u2019m not where the water is. The water isn\u2019t where I am. I\u2019m here and the water is Elsewhere.\u2019 It\u2019s effective, but the first time I used it, it took a few tries before I got it to work.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack took the chip out of her pocket and offered it to Tomlin. \u201cThe wave forecast is on here. You can use it to help them. Next high tide, or even <i>this<\/i> one, take them down to a floor that\u2019s only partly submerged. Get them swimming in the water. Make sure they\u2019re floating over something soft and have them try it. Once they can control which \u2019verse they\u2019re aligned with, they won\u2019t need to be kept in a tower.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Tomlin took the chip from her hand with the look of someone receiving a gift from a god. \u201cThank you. This is&#8288;\u2026 you\u2019re saving so many lives. The Quin&#173;tessa Corporation has been no help at all, but this&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDon\u2019t trust them,\u201d Jack heard herself saying. Tomlin\u2019s gaze moved sharply from the chip to her face. Kyra was staring at her too, she realized.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He wanted to ask her why; she could see that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s not that they can\u2019t help,\u201d she went on, ignoring the tiny head-shake Kyra was giving her. \u201cThey <i>won\u2019t<\/i> help. Not really. Your ground crew was told that if anybody asked, they should say it was all just a quarantine, weren\u2019t they?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Tomlin nodded. \u201cThere were non-disclosure agreements in exchange for the bonuses you two never collected. I&#8288;\u2026 had to sign one, too.\u201d His expression twisted a little. <i>\u201cWhy?<\/i> Why was such a thing even necessary?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe don\u2019t know,\u201d Jack told him. \u201cWe just know that they\u2019ll do anything\u2014<i>anything<\/i>\u2014to cover up the existence of Threshold Syndrome and what causes it. So please let that part go. They have ways of making evidence disappear. And if anybody asks you about the data on the chip, <i>you<\/i> put it together from witness statements about what they saw in the sky during last night\u2019s high tide.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou won\u2019t even be lying,\u201d Kyra said beside her. \u201cNow, we need to go, and you need to get back to your charges.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Tomlin nodded, pointing to the side. \u201cThere\u2019s a pedestrian entrance over there. Thank you, both of you, again.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <hr style=\"align-content: center; width: 50%; background: linear-gradient(to right, #4474BE 0%, #243a68 100%); height: 3px; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;\"\/>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack would have felt incredibly accomplished, even proud, about how everything had gone, if Kyra weren\u2019t suddenly giving her the silent treatment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her friend was unusually quiet as they walked back to the lockers to get their things, and all during the walk back to their apartment in Le Rif. Her expression, as they walked, was introspective, bordering on brooding. It was only once they were inside with the door locked that she finally spoke. \u201cYou have a serious White Knight Complex going on with you, Jack.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSorry?\u201d Jack set her bags down on the battered table that had, once, probably held a video screen. She looked over at her friend, feeling a little twist of worry. Weirdly enough, Kyra wasn\u2019t the first person to accuse her of that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cLook, I get it. We needed to pass on what we knew about the tides. And how to get around them. But telling him not to trust Quin&#173;tessa? Bad move.\u201d Kyra looked vexed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBut he shouldn\u2019t. And if they ever found out about us&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe already said he was gonna cover for us,\u201d Kyra interrupted. She sat down on the ratty couch, her eyes boring hard into Jack\u2019s. \u201cAnd he already didn\u2019t trust them. But what you said is gonna make him more interested than ever in figuring out what they\u2019re hiding.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBut I told him to let it go,\u201d Jack protested, her heart sinking.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh come <i>on,<\/i> Jack.\u201d Kyra rolled her eyes. \u201cWhat would <i>you<\/i> do if someone said that to <i>you?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack opened her mouth to form a vague protest, but closed it again, the words unsaid.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe two of you are practically <i>twins,\u201d<\/i> Kyra grumbled. \u201cSo busy trying to save other people you have no idea how much danger you\u2019re getting yourselves into.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack wanted to say that wasn\u2019t fair. That it wasn\u2019t true. But <i>that<\/i> would be a lie. Paris, after all, had had to forcibly restrain her from running to Shazza, and Imam had had to similarly hold her back from running into the darkness after Fry to find Riddick. A rebellious part of her still insisted that, if she hadn\u2019t been held back, maybe both Shazza and Fry would have <i>lived.<\/i> But that was just so much hot air.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I could have been torn to pieces like Shazza,<\/i> she thought, <i>or dragged off into the darkness like Fry.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The part of her that had tried to follow them into the black, some three months later, wondered if that would have been a mercy.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cLook,\u201d Kyra said after a moment. \u201cI know you mean well. And it\u2019s good that you want to help people. But don\u2019t forget we\u2019re fugitives from the law here. We took a huge risk today. It worked out this time. But&#8288;\u2026 it could\u2019a gone so wrong. We gotta keep a lower profile.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack nodded, forcing back the part of her that wanted to argue. Tomlin had been receptive to Finch and Houlot, two mystery workers who had sped up the evacuation and then vanished. Would he have been nearly as receptive to Jack B. Badd, wanted for murdering Antonia Chillingsworth, and the Black Fox of Canaan Mountain? Or even just two fugitives from a psychiatric hospital? Would he have covered for <i>them<\/i>, or turned them in? \u201cYeah. I probably shouldn\u2019t have swum in front of him, even if the cameras were off.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra snorted, and Jack realized she was fighting a grin. \u201cHonestly, that was so cool. Risky, but cool. God, I want to practice some stuff like that.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe\u2019ve got a lot to practice,\u201d Jack agreed, relieved that they were no longer at odds. She sat down next to Kyra on the ratty couch. \u201cI was figuring we could isomorph as far into Elsewhere as possible and go through the walls to get away, if we needed to, but there\u2019s a problem with that.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh yeah? What?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOur clothes probably wouldn\u2019t have come with us.\u201d Jack touched her still-damp hair, and then gestured to her shirt and pants. \u201cThey didn\u2019t even get wet. They stayed in U1, and only moved with me because I was still most of the way in it myself.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra had begun snickering.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cPlus,\u201d Jack mused, growing serious, \u201cWe were forty meters below the surface. That\u2019s&#8288;\u2026 well, I\u2019ve read that experienced scuba divers can go that deep, but the change in pressure, especially if we had to do it fast, could\u2019ve injured us.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra sobered next to her. \u201cWe\u2019ve got a lot to learn. What we can do&#8288;\u2026 I keep being tempted to think of it as superpowers like on the shows back in the rec room, and maybe it can be, but we can\u2019t go off half-cocked, even a little. We\u2019re, what, on the ninth floor here? If we isomorphed over to Elsewhere when the tide was out, we\u2019d just drop like a pair of dumb-ass stones, all that way down. Or what if we isomorphed into a space that already had something <i>in<\/i> it? I could feel the water moving out of the way when we were practicing last night, but&#8288;\u2026 what if there was, oh, a glass pane we couldn\u2019t even see from the other side, and it was halfway through one of us when we came back?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack had had a few of the same thoughts. \u201cIt\u2019s why I was still floating like an inch or two above the ground when I came back from Elsewhere in the garage. I didn\u2019t want to get my feet stuck to something, or stuck <i>in<\/i> something. I didn\u2019t think I <i>would,<\/i> but I didn\u2019t want to take the chance.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah. That was smart.\u201d Kyra couldn\u2019t completely contain another grin. \u201cAnd it really was damn cool-looking. Did you see his face?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI could see his mouth was open.\u201d In truth, the water had clouded her vision some.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou could\u2019a pretty much convinced him of anything you wanted, doing that. He\u2019s lucky you\u2019re <i>not<\/i> a con artist.\u201d That seemed to sober her again. \u201cThe Quin&#173;tessa Corporation <i>has<\/i> to know what people with Threshold Syndrome could be capable of. They might have a <i>problem<\/i> with the idea of everybody from the <i>Matador<\/i> figuring out how to switch between two universes instead of dying before they can.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShit,\u201d Jack groaned, closing her eyes and leaning back into the couch. \u201cIf he teaches them to do what we do, that puts a bullseye on him, doesn\u2019t it? They\u2019ll want to know how he figured it out.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah.\u201d Kyra sounded, and looked, genuinely morose at the prospect. \u201cSo what do we do about it?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For several minutes, Jack couldn\u2019t focus on that. The idea that she\u2019d led someone into harm\u2019s way again\u2014like Ali, like Paris\u2014was almost choking her. The voice within that had been quiet for a few days, with its <i>I don\u2019t want to be Jack anymore, I want to be Audrey again<\/i> refrain, was back at full volume. She wanted to be back to a place where her backtrail didn\u2019t resemble the damage path of a tornado. Where helping someone, or even just trying to, didn\u2019t open them up to a world of hurt. All her plans for getting there had seemed so solid, until they came up against reality and cracked in her hands. She still hadn\u2019t even managed to get herself and Kyra a good set of&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And there it was.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe\u2019re gonna have to make sure he knows he\u2019s in danger,\u201d Jack said slowly. \u201cAnd I\u2019m gonna have to make sure he has a way out of it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh?\u201d Kyra\u2019s lips were twitching as if she was suppressing amusement now. \u201cI know that look. What\u2019s the plan?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI still need to get us a good set of fake identities. Ones that\u2019ll hold up in the long term. And some funds to back them.\u201d Jack grinned, suddenly relishing what she was going to be doing. For a moment, the voice went quiet, and she was able to revel in being Jack B. Badd. \u201cSo I\u2019m gonna make him a set, too, while I\u2019m at it.\u201d<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4023\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4023 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-24\">\u00ab Chapter 24<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4090\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4090 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-26\">Chapter 26 \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=\"26\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4024\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4024 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-25\">\u00ab Chapter 25<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4091\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4091 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-27\">Chapter 27 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5133\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5133 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">26.<br\/>\r\n<u>A Momentary Lapse from Madness<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It took slightly over a Federacy Standard week\u2014four of Tangier Prime\u2019s strangely elongated day-and-night cycles and some change\u2014before Jack could finish making fake IDs for Kyra, Tomlin, and herself.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The process itself probably took only eight or so hours of her time for each one. But that time had to be divided up into small chunks over the week, each step requiring her to wait for databases to update with new, carefully falsified information, or for a human operator somewhere to review and clear requests that seemed to come from legitimate official sources, or just for redirected funds to finish moving around and become available for the plundering. It might have taken less time if Jack hadn\u2019t also spent extra hours erasing her back-trail in the system once some of the riskier steps were completed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">In between, she and Kyra found that they had a lot of other things to do. Learning how to safely \u201cisomorph\u201d between U1 and Elsewhere topped the list.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They practiced whenever they could. During high tides\u2014never quite as high as that first night\u2019s tide, until the monster wave in the dawn hours just shy of three Tangier days after they\u2019d met with Tomlin\u2014they used the water to buoy them as they practiced safely navigating their way through physical objects like walls, floors, and ceilings. They learned\u2014after a variety of disturbing and comical mishaps\u2014how to consistently make their clothes accompany them on an isomorph, and how to pick up objects from one world and transfer them to the other, and then back. Or not.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Their apartment, now spotless largely thanks to Kyra, acquired unusual decorations brought back from Elsewhere: pale, beautiful twists of driftwood, a chunk of brilliant scarlet coral that they\u2019d found floating through their rooms during their second night, and several exotic shells that had floated through as well. A small ten-legged crustacean, found clinging helplessly onto a piece of driftwood after the monster wave had passed, now lived under their dresser, feasting upon the large insects that infested the building whenever any made the mistake of entering their unit, and periodically creeping over to stare up at Jack in fascination while she worked on building the infrastructure for the fake IDs. Once, she had looked down to find it sitting companionably on her foot, its eyestalks pointed at her face.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">When the tides were out, they still practiced, finding empty, deserted spaces where they could work on learning the differences in the geographies of each world and how to account for them. They learned how to switch quickly between \u2019verses, how to \u201cfade\u201d between them, and how to negotiate differences in the two terrains without getting caught in anything. Kyra also wanted to practice using combat moves while isomorphing in one direction or another.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhere did you learn to fight like this?\u201d Jack asked her on the second day, as Kyra patiently showed her how to position her body to deliver a stronger kick.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI watched the boys back home a lot,\u201d Kyra told her. She still didn\u2019t seem to like talking about life before the standoff and massacre, but she had begun to open up more. \u201cThey didn\u2019t teach girls this kind of thing. We were supposed to be homemakers. But they didn\u2019t care if we were nearby doing our chores during their lessons. Some of the boys would show off a little if we were there.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack had already discovered that Kyra was a remarkably quick study, not eidetic like her, but whip-smart and capable of intense focus. It didn\u2019t surprise her to learn that Kyra had spent much of her days eavesdropping on subjects the Elders of New Christy refused to teach girls, and then had sneaked out at night to practice what she\u2019d seen when nobody would see or know. The boys of New Christy had been taught karate, boxing, and some other combat styles whose names she hadn\u2019t caught, and she\u2019d relentlessly worked to become better than any of them at all of them, while still completing her stultifying list of \u201cwomanly\u201d chores.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The latter explained, Jack reflected, how Kyra had been able to transform their apartment from a filthy hole in the wall to clean, light, and airy in less than two of New Marrakesh\u2019s crazy-long days.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The only weapons Kyra hadn\u2019t been able to practice with, along the way, were guns, and only because she hadn\u2019t been able to find a way to keep people from hearing her shoot them off in the middle of the night. But she\u2019d taught herself how to aim with bow and arrow, with darts, with knives&#8288;\u2026 and had adapted that knowledge to gun sights and small firearms as best she could. There were infrequent occasions when, in an attempt to put the girls of New Christy in their place and prove to them that \u201cmanly\u201d subjects were beyond their reach, one of her male peers would let her and the other girls handle or even shoot a gun, and she used those opportunities to hone her aim while pretending to have no idea what she was doing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cZach loved to make fun of girls by getting them to try to shoot,\u201d she explained. \u201cMost of them were playing dumb, too. They\u2019d act like their fingers weren\u2019t strong enough to even pull the triggers. <i>Please.<\/i> Like the work we were doing every day had left us with delicate little hands&#8288;\u2026 I guess they knew the boys would eat it up, though. But I didn\u2019t play <i>that<\/i> helpless. He\u2019d tell me that he wanted me to hit the green bottle on the fence, and I\u2019d act like I was aiming for it, but I\u2019d really aim for the knot on the fence post next to it, or the can on its other side. He\u2019d think I was missing when I was making bullseyes. And he was <i>always<\/i> willing to keep laughing at me if I wanted to keep \u2018trying.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra, Jack thought, was not nearly as much of a stranger to let\u2019s-pretend games as she seemed to think she was. She just hadn\u2019t learned\u2014yet\u2014how to mimic that many roles. She had two down pat, though: prim, proper quasi-Puritan girl-child&#8288;\u2026 and the ominous, deadly icon of the Killer\u2019s Club that Stacey and Colette had idolized. Jack suspected that her friend still didn\u2019t know who the <i>real<\/i> Kyra behind either of those masks truly was.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">By the time of the standoff, although no one else had known it, Kyra was already the deadliest fighter in New Christy, at least among the children and teens, and needed none of the hurried defensive training they reluctantly gave to the community\u2019s womenfolk.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It had been a startling moment for Jack when she realized that Kyra had been born on Earth, almost a century before the devastating nuclear war that had finally driven almost all of humanity off the world of its origin.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Part of her had known it, of course; she\u2019d done a report on the New Christy Enclave and knew that their sublight ship had left Earth\u2019s orbit in 2087. But Kyra <i>remembered<\/i> Earth. She had been six years old when she and her family had boarded a shuttle to the Gateway Prime shipyards on the promise that, at the other end of their long interstellar journey, they would find the agrarian paradise that her \u201cPa\u201d insisted was what God intended for them. She remembered the world of concrete and leaden skies that she\u2019d lived in before then with nostalgia; that, for her, was the world of her innocence before everything had begun to go wrong.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra didn\u2019t realize that Jack\u2019s questions about her old life had a secondary purpose: she wanted to create an identity that her friend would be able to comfortably live within, with a background that wouldn\u2019t be difficult to recall or relate to. It was the same reason that she spent hours learning everything she could about Colonel Gavin Brahim Tomlin Meziane.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The people she had thought of until then as \u201cBerber,\u201d it turned out, preferred to be called Amazigh in the singular, Imazighen in the plural. That much she\u2019d gleaned from the local shopkeepers and food vendors. Le Rif was Amazigh territory, although no one much minded their intrusion into it. Still, Jack had learned quickly that only outsiders referred to them as \u201cBerbers,\u201d and that if they wanted to be viewed as friends, they needed to adjust their vocabulary a little.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt is not a kind name, you see,\u201d Takama\u2014rapidly becoming Jack\u2019s favorite food cart vendor\u2014had told her with a gentle smile as she dished up a fragrant bowl of spiced lamb and barley, placing two triangles of <i>medfouna<\/i> beside it. \u201cIt is what colonizers have called us for thousands of years, but it has never been our name for ourselves. The Greeks, the Romans, the Arabs, the Spanish, the French&#8288;\u2026 it comes from the same root as \u2018barbarian,\u2019 and that is how they all saw us. To them we were unruly children, meant to be enslaved. We were not meant to govern our own lives in their eyes. Even now, on this beautiful new world, there are those who wish us to subsume our identity to theirs, who refuse to acknowledge that our traditions are no more primitive than their own.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That had given Jack a great deal to think about, and she had resolutely struck \u201cBerber\u201d from her vocabulary. Kyra, who had never heard of them before coming to Tangier Prime, did the same with even greater ease. From the Imazighen, Jack had learned far more about Tomlin, the man, than she\u2019d been able to glean from the networks; he was a local hero.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Almost forty Standard years earlier, Cedric Tomlin, from the Scottish colony world of New Alba, had come to Tangier Prime as a combat flight instructor. He had swiftly fallen in love with the world, and more specifically with Safiyya Meziane, a linguistics professor who taught second-language courses in all four of Tangier Prime\u2019s official languages: Arabic, Tamazight\u2014the language Jack had thought of, until then, as \u201cBerber\u201d\u2014French, and English. They had married, and a year later had given birth to a son who received names reflecting both of his heritages.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Gavin Brahim Tomlin Meziane had inherited his mother\u2019s facility with languages and his father\u2019s love of flying. He had trained as a combat pilot and had fought in dozens of deadly skirmishes with starship \u2019jackers who tried to prey upon the Sol Track shipping lanes where they intersected with the Tangier System. Many of those battles had crept into local legend and had earned him the nickname \u201cEl Krim\u201d among the Le Rif\u2014or, Takama told her, just Rif\u2014community.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Now thirty-five, Tomlin had retired \u201cyoung\u201d from flying after the last major \u2019Enza variant sidelined him for nearly a year. The gossip Jack had gleaned from Takama was that, although he\u2019d taken several months to recover from the illness, what had all but crippled him was the loss of his wife Thiyya, four months pregnant with what would have been their first child, to the disease.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">With no guarantee that he would recover enough to be recertified for combat flight, he had retrained and then taken up a position with Tangier System Control two years later. His hire was considered a major coup, because in addition to being a local hero, he was a polyglot like his mother and was fluent in almost all the languages used by ships\u2019 crews that came through the Tangier System. He had been on duty on Tangier Station A when the <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i> had contacted him a Standard day earlier than expected.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">If the crew had told him that they <i>weren\u2019t<\/i> trained or certified to land the ship on the planet\u2019s surface, Jack realized, he could have boarded it and handled the landing for them personally. And, undoubtedly, would have done so without a second thought.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The rest of his story was, for the moment, classified, and she\u2019d worked hard to get access to it. Rather than handing the crisis off to someone else, Tomlin had coordinated with the surface to set up a landing and quarantine zone for the <i>Matador<\/i> before taking a shuttle to New Marrakesh to oversee everything personally, even sleeping\u2014as Jack had overheard in the flyer\u2014in its Ground Control headquarters to ensure that he would be immediately available if the <i>Matador<\/i> called. Once the ship had been fully evacuated and the passengers and crews had been quarantined in the top six floors of the hospital tower&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Six floors,<\/i> Jack thought with sadness. <i>Only four of those floors stayed above the tide that night.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2014&#8288;he had briefly been replaced by a designated representative of the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation, who had taken over \u201coversight\u201d of the quarantine. After eighteen people died on her watch, despite the Corporation\u2019s attempts to stay in control, the planetary government overruled it and had even made veiled threats about an inquest into Threshold Syndrome if it obstructed Tomlin\u2019s command again. He had been put back in charge, and while Quin&#173;tessa had sharply questioned his recent decision to move the <i>Matador<\/i> survivors from the swanky Mansour Plaza to the highest completed levels of New Marrakesh\u2019s still-under-construction Othman Tower, nobody was impeding his decisions&#8288;\u2026 yet.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Things were tense there, but so far it had remained the prickly tension of people who were overtly polite to each other even as they worked at cross-purposes. None of Jack\u2019s delvings into higher security systems had turned up signs that Quin&#173;tessa viewed Tomlin as any kind of active threat. Yet.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">No one had died since he had taken back command.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">From all that information, Jack slowly wove together identities that she hoped Kyra and Tomlin would each find comfortable to take on, ones that would play to their strengths and explain away their weaknesses without drawing too many comparisons to the personas they would be leaving behind. The identity she constructed herself, although every bit as durable, was simpler, credentialing her developing technical skills so that she could join the next supply crew headed for Furya without too many questions. The next scheduled supply ship was a month away; with luck, she would be on it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack, who no longer believed that luck was in any way on her side, planned to make sure that she was the best possible candidate for the job when it opened. In the rare moments when none of their other agendas dominated her time, she relentlessly studied the technical schematics of commonly used supply ships.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The news from Helion Prime interested her, as well. Relay drones, capable of traversing the Sol Track lanes at speeds that no ships with lives on board could, had already brought stories of the scandal gripping the Aceso Psychiatric Hospital of New Athens.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>New Athens?<\/i> That startled Jack, who had spent her whole time on Helion\u2014which was, she realized, derived more from Greek than Arabic\u2014thinking that she was in a city called New Mecca. Heather had teased her about it, but she still hadn\u2019t quite grasped how much of her understanding of that world had been shaped by Imam Abu al-Walid\u2019s startling parochialism. Would Riddick, she wondered, have been so complacent about leaving her in the man\u2019s care if he had realized?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You have to let it all go,<\/i> she scolded herself. <i>He\u2019s gone his way and you\u2019ve gone yours. You\u2019ll never meet again. It\u2019s done. Don\u2019t worry about what he was thinking.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Director Flint and several of his subordinates were under investigation, both for enrolling patients in experimental treatments and then attempting to cover up negative outcomes and, more interestingly, for maintaining lax security that had resulted in dozens of patients acquiring illicit staff accounts within the system.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The Killer\u2019s Club, it seemed, hadn\u2019t been the only ones who had pulled that trick.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Careful checking showed that nobody had discovered <i>her<\/i> account, which she had hidden behind law enforcement code once she had the run of the system, but all the others had been found. Although Stacey was never named, her violent porn collection, similar to ones in the possession of several underage boys in the male wards, had become a topic of heated debate and recrimination. The rationalization that the staff had used for letting them keep it\u2014that their willingness to voluntarily surrender it would be a sign of their recovery\u2014was lambasted by other experts who accused the doctors and nurses of feeding and enabling addictive behavior instead, and of potentially creating sexual predators in the process.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack\u2019s escape, and Kyra\u2019s, had been completely overshadowed by the rest of the drama. She suspected that had a lot to do with Toombs, who probably didn\u2019t want other mercs horning in on Richard B. Riddick\u2019s putative trail. While articles occasionally mentioned that two patients had gone missing and had yet to be recovered, they always treated the escape as an effect of the pandemonium that had briefly overtaken the facility&#8288;\u2026 rather than as its cause. If anyone on Helion knew better, they weren\u2019t willing to go on the record saying so.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Amnesty Interplanetary, however, had a great deal to say about the fact that Kyra Wittier-Collins, better known as the Black Fox of Canaan Mountain, had fled custody right before she was going to be illegally extradited back to New Dartmouth in violation of Federacy rulings. That scandal was every bit as high-profile as the one embroiling the hospital. Two members of the New Dartmouth cabinet had tendered their resignations as the fallout spread, and as the abuses that had been perpetrated against Kyra, prior to her transfer to Helion, came to light.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sometimes, Jack thought, justice actually won. A quick check reassured her that none of the orderlies and nurses she\u2019d liked and respected at the hospital were in any trouble, although most were actively seeking new positions at other facilities. A few of the older ones had quietly retired.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was midafternoon, four days after Jack and Kyra had met with Tomlin, when they saw him again. Jack didn\u2019t quite have the IDs complete\u2014she still had to pick out names for each of them\u2014and had one or two more sessions in the law enforcement networks before everything would be solidified. But she was feeling relaxed and confident. Nine p.m., anywhere else in the Federacy, would have signified late evening, but not during a 44-hour day. To the people of Tangier Prime, it was the equivalent of late morning after their long \u201covernoon\u201d sleeping period. Elsewhere\u2019s high tide, which shifted roughly an hour later with each cycle, was at its peak once more. In another long day, low tide would occur around noon and midnight, and Jack and Kyra were planning to make the most of that to explore Elsewhere\u2019s hidden landscapes when most people were abed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sipping at ices, discussing the prospects of trans-dimensional beachcombing, they felt almost like ordinary teenage girls as they walked back to their apartment building.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Colonel Gavin Brahim Tomlin Meziane, <i>El Krim<\/i> himself, was sitting on their front step waiting for them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <hr style=\"align-content: center; width: 50%; background: linear-gradient(to right, #4474BE 0%, #243a68 100%); height: 3px; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;\"\/>\r\n\r\n  <p><small><b>Author\u2019s Note:<\/b> Abd El-Krim, in the 1920s, led the Imazighen of Morocco\u2019s Rif region in a successful revolt against Spanish colonial rule. His attempt to establish an independent Rif Republic resulted in a combined force of French, Spanish, and Moroccan armies driving him into exile in Egypt, but to the people of the Rif, he remains an important heroic figure. Many contemporary Moroccan textbooks claim he fought against the French and Spanish for the Moroccan monarchy, something the Imazighen of the Rif call revisionist whitewashing. Amazigh culture, and thus the culture\u2019s folklore, is tribal-collectivist and has few solitary-figure heroes to draw from\u2014outside of stories derived from the same sources that fueled better-known Greek mythology\u2014for use in giving a nickname to a living folk hero of the future, so nicknaming him after a legendary and largely-unsung freedom fighter seemed like the next best thing.<\/small><\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4024\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4024 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-25\">\u00ab Chapter 25<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4091\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4091 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-27\">Chapter 27 \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=\"27\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4025\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4025 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-26\">\u00ab Chapter 26<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4092\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4092 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-28\">Chapter 28 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5136\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5136 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">27.<br\/>\r\n<u>Paving the Way with Good Intentions<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Even dressed in traditional Amazigh clothing instead of his uniform, there was no mistaking Tomlin. Nor the fact that he wasn\u2019t merely sitting on a random doorstep, but was waiting for <i>them.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShit,\u201d Kyra muttered beside Jack.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack realized she should have seen this coming. In the last few days, as she had begun to learn more and more about the people of the Rif, she had realized what a tightly knit community they were. If they were willing to share stories about one of their own with two strange girls, nothing was stopping them from carrying tales of those girls back to <i>him.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She wondered when he\u2019d put together that the stories were about the same two girls who had accosted him in the parking garage.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s okay,\u201d she murmured back to Kyra, hoping she was right. She kept walking forward, trying to convey through her walk and her posture that she wasn\u2019t at all bothered by his presence on her doorstep, even trying to hint that she had expected it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Because, she thought, she damn well <i>should<\/i> have.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra kept pace beside her, but she could feel her friend\u2019s tension.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMr. Tomlin,\u201d she said as they approached the building. \u201cIt\u2019s good to see you again.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She hoped Kyra wasn\u2019t telegraphing disagreement with her statement.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd you, Ms. Finch, Ms. Houlot.\u201d He nodded at each of them, giving them a non-threatening smile. Jack noticed that his posture also seemed to be trying to convey a lack of threat. He seemed fully aware that this was a bold and possibly unwelcome move.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow did you find us?\u201d Kyra asked beside her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Tomlin shrugged. \u201cMy family is here in the Rif. You have met my aunt, Takama. She spoke the other day of the two lovely girls who had moved into this <i>tagat<\/i> building and were curious about us. How you never spoke about yourselves but encouraged people to talk about themselves. I showed her the one clear capture the security footage had of you\u2014which no longer exists, don\u2019t worry\u2014and she said \u2018yes, those are the girls.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSorry,\u201d Jack couldn\u2019t help but ask. \u201cWhat does \u2018tagat\u2019 mean?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m afraid it means \u2018cursed,\u2019\u201d Tomlin said, his smile becoming rueful. \u201cThis building does not have the best of reputations. Its owners are outsiders, who thought they could use it as a jumping-off point for \u2018gentrifying\u2019 our neighborhood. No Imazighen will live within it. They struggle to find tenants, and to keep them, especially because they are lazy and cheap and hardly ever make repairs. Perhaps that\u2019s why your pipes burst when you first moved in&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">His smile turned mischievous.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;Or was that a cover story for why your clothes were soaked after the high tide came through?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack glanced over at Kyra, whose breathing had quickened. Under the deadpan she\u2019d always worn in front of the Killer\u2019s Club girls, Jack could see signs that she was becoming increasingly tense and defensive.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWell,\u201d Jack replied, hoping she could defuse that tension, \u201cwhen you\u2019re trying to keep a low profile, telling people you nearly drowned in an invisible ocean that visited your rooms doesn\u2019t exactly help.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Alarm appeared on Tomlin\u2019s face. \u201cYou nearly drowned? But I thought you&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra sighed next to her, visibly making herself relax. \u201cWe\u2019ve only ever been about one or two steps ahead of you the whole time, because we stayed out from under the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation\u2019s thumb and <i>Finch<\/i> here already knew about Threshold Syndrome.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Now Tomlin looked a little crestfallen. \u201cI would not have intruded upon you if I didn\u2019t need help, but now I fear&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTry us,\u201d Jack interrupted before he could talk himself out of whatever had brought him. She had to admit <i>she<\/i> was curious. \u201cWe\u2019ve been learning how to handle moving between both universes pretty much nonstop. We\u2019re happy to share what we know.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra\u2019s hand knocked against her wrist. Looking over, she saw a quelling look on her friend\u2019s face.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat?\u201d she whispered. \u201cThey need all the help they can get.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Tomlin hadn\u2019t missed the exchange. \u201cI should probably tell you that I know who you really are,\u201d he said. \u201cOr at least, who <i>you<\/i> are,\u201d he added nodding at Kyra. \u201cWhether or not you can or will help me, I can arrange asylum\u2014protection, that is, not an institution\u2014on this world if you wish it. No one will extradite you from here.\u201d His gaze returned to Jack. \u201cI know less about you, my young <i>Tislilel<\/i>, but having witnessed you swim through the air, I find you far saner than the reports would suggest&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShe infiltrated the hospital to get me out,\u201d Kyra surprised Jack by saying.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAh.\u201d Tomlin nodded. \u201cIn that case, I hope that you can, indeed, help me with this problem as well. Most of the passengers and crew have learned how to anchor themselves in U1, as you two instructed. But a few of the passengers are pre-verbal children, and one is a baby, and we don\u2019t know how to teach them to do this, or even if we can. Are they trapped between worlds until they\u2019re old enough to learn?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh,\u201d Kyra said beside her. <i>\u201cDamn.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI don\u2019t think they have to be,\u201d Jack found herself saying. \u201cI think their parents can anchor them.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow?\u201d Tomlin asked, hope in his voice.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack glanced at Kyra, raising her eyebrow and nodding at their building. There was only one way to show him. Kyra hesitated, but then nodded.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAre you allowed to come inside a&#8288;\u2026 tagat&#8288;\u2026 building?\u201d Jack asked. \u201cWhat I want to show you won\u2019t work all that well down here. It\u2019s still high tide.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI am allowed, yes.\u201d Tomlin grinned and stood up. \u201cI would have a great deal of explaining to do if I chose to rent here, yes, but I may come inside if you permit me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cC\u2019mon in,\u201d Kyra said, resignation in her voice. \u201cI think I know what she wants to show you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">After the squalid condition of the lobby and the stairwell, Tomlin couldn\u2019t quite contain his astonishment as he walked into their apartment. All the windows were open, admitting the late-afternoon light but, more importantly, the breezes. Kyra and Jack had removed most of the decrepit furniture and had pulled out the stained carpeting, and had spent the last Standard week\u2014between their many other tasks\u2014scouring the place clean and decorating with colorful blankets and pillows, both to hide the threadbare and battered nature of the remaining furniture and to make it comfortable. Most of their purchases had come from Amazigh vendors in the Rif. Jack had found a way to use a trick of isomorphing to remove the layers of paint concealing the carved woodwork, along with layer upon layer of grubby wallpaper to reveal the original mosaic-adorned plaster beneath. The result was evocative of what the building\u2019s units had first looked like in their halcyon days, before they had been co-opted and corrupted. Souvenirs from Elsewhere sat on a variety of surfaces.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Hearing their arrival, a ferret-sized ten-legged crustacean came scooting out of the bedroom and scurried its way over to Jack\u2019s feet, earning an astonished oath in Tamazight from Tomlin.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHey, Sebby.\u201d Jack reached down and let the small creature crawl onto her hands, lifting it up. \u201cYou\u2019re right on time.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSebby?\u201d Tomlin asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWell, he\u2019s not a crab, but I always wanted a pet crab to name Sebastian.\u201d Jack grinned. She never had been able to convince her parents to let her have one.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe <i>Little Mermaid?<\/i> Really?\u201d Kyra sounded on the verge of laughter.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd here I thought I might be facetious to nickname you <i>Tislilel<\/i>,\u201d Tomlin chuckled. \u201cIt means \u2018mermaid,\u2019\u201d he explained in response to their questioning looks.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack\u2019s grin widened. <i>Tislilel.<\/i> She liked it. \u201cSebby, here, is some kind of land crustacean from Elsewhere. The monster tide must\u2019ve reached his habitat and dragged him into its wake. We found him clinging to some driftwood and looking pretty miserable when the tide was going back out. I brought him over to U1.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She raised her eyebrows at Tomlin, waiting for him to catch onto the implication of what she was telling him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou can move objects between worlds? And anchor them in a whole new universe?\u201d He glanced around the apartment again, the full significance of the pieces of driftwood, the coral, the shells, finally striking him. \u201cAll this&#8288;\u2026 is from <i>there?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cObjects&#8288;\u2026 and living creatures.\u201d She nodded at Sebby, who obligingly lifted a pincer and waved it in the air.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cLike a baby, or a small child, who cannot make the transition on its own,\u201d Tomlin breathed. \u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWell, the first thing I ever tried it with was one of the cash cards we\u2019d brought with us from Helion,\u201d Jack told him, suddenly relieved that he already knew who they were and she didn\u2019t have to come up with weird verbal dodges. \u201cLocal bank machines couldn\u2019t read our cards. Not enough of their data signals in <i>this<\/i> universe, I guess. I held one really close, and thought about it <i>just<\/i> being in this \u2019verse and nowhere else. It was a <i>serious<\/i> Hail Mary, but it worked.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd that\u2019s all there is to it?\u201d Tomlin looked astounded.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMaybe,\u201d Jack hedged. \u201cSebby\u2019s the only living creature I\u2019ve ever tried it with. It takes work, and some careful thinking. You have to really be aware of what you want to bring with you, and its dimensions and edges. We didn\u2019t know how to get our clothes to transition with us at first.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra began snickering. She had fully relaxed, and now her eyes were dancing with merriment as she answered Tomlin\u2019s questioning look. \u201cYou should\u2019a seen it. The first time J&#8288;\u2014 Finch here tried to go all the way to the other side and swim through a wall\u2014<i>whoosh!<\/i> She went right through, but her clothes stayed behind.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou can&#8288;\u2026 pass through walls&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c<i>Carefully<\/i>,\u201d Jack told him. \u201cRight now, if I isomorphed all the way over to Elsewhere, I\u2019d be okay, because the water\u2019s still about waist-deep up here. I can still see it even when I\u2019m all the way in U1. It\u2019d hold me up if I switched over right now. But if I tried to do that at low tide, I\u2019d fall straight through the floors and splatter myself against whatever\u2019s eight stories down on that side.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI will be sure to warn my charges of that risk,\u201d he said, nodding. \u201cThe Quin&#173;tessa Corporation wants to move them. To a \u2018secure facility,\u2019 but they won\u2019t say where. I have been stalling&#8288;\u2014 I don\u2019t want to turn them over. Everything within me says that doing so would be their deaths. So far, the government has sided with me, but I worry they plan to tighten the vise. Tangier Prime is a primary shipping hub. If they were to declare our Star Jump routes unstable and use that as a pretext to make our ports <i>secondary,<\/i> they could cripple our economy. Their envoy has begun hinting that they might.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra sat down on their chair, hard. Jack, who had gotten good at reading her deadpan, could see her outrage over what Tomlin was saying warring with her reluctance to get involved.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack sat down on the couch. She gestured at Tomlin to take a seat, too, if he wanted. Sebby scuttled up onto her shoulder and she stroked his carapace absently. \u201cThis is bad. I was gonna come see you soon, to warn you again not to dig into what Quin&#173;tessa\u2019s hiding&#8288;\u2026 but now they want to make everybody disappear?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThey want to make everybody <i>die<\/i>,\u201d Tomlin almost growled, sitting down on the couch. \u201cWhen I was called to the hospital <i>that<\/i> night, it was after they succeeded with eighteen of my charges. The envoy told the hospital staff that the people in quarantine would be prone to <i>hallucinations<\/i>, but not to worry about it because they would eventually pass, and to keep them sedated. So when an entire floor of patients began screaming about rising waters and begging for help, nobody paid attention until they began to float out of their beds. The ones that could, anyway. Some had been restrained and some were oblivious thanks to the sedation. When those patients drowned\u2014<i>drowned<\/i>, in the middle of a dry hospital floor, with other patients <i>levitating<\/i>\u2014that was when someone finally had the presence of mind to call <i>me.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack suddenly felt nauseated.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Tomlin ran his hand over his face, looking both exhausted and furious. \u201cI\u2019m sorry. I don\u2019t mean to burden you with this. But with the non-disclosure agreement they made me sign, before they\u2019d allow access to the ship at <i>all<\/i> in the <i>first<\/i> place, there is no one else I can speak to of such things. Except her, the envoy, and <i>she let them <b>die.<\/b><\/i> I could never possibly trust her, or them.\u201d He looked over at Jack. \u201cBut I\u2019m curious as to why you warned me not to.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDo you remember the log you saw of the Star Jumps the ship made before it detected the Level Five Incident?\u201d Jack asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Tomlin looked startled again, as if wondering how she could know he\u2019d seen it. \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s missing a lot of data. We were reading the log on board the <i>Matador,<\/i> when a bunch of lines suddenly got redacted and then vanished.\u201d Jack set Sebby down on the floor. A cockroach had crawled through the crack under the front door. \u201cGo get it, Sebby,\u201d she said, and he scuttled after the fleeing insect in a blur of legs and a clatter of pincers. \u201cThere were already some redacted lines in the log, because I\u2019d set things up so we\u2019d wake up before the crew and there\u2019d be no record we were on board. But the other lines were pretty significant.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe ship notified the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation that the accident had occurred,\u201d Kyra continued for her. \u201cIt sent a whole packet of data to them. We don\u2019t know what was in the <i>packet<\/i>, but a few minutes after the crew woke up, the ship got an answer back with instructions to destroy the Isomorph Drive and the database it used for calculating Star Jumps.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Tomlin\u2019s breath caught. \u201cWe were told that the drive\u2019s destruction was what had <i>caused<\/i> the Level Five Incident.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack shook her head, aware that Kyra was doing the same thing. \u201cIt looked functional until they sent instructions to \u2018decommission\u2019 it. Which were then redacted and deleted from the records before anybody but us could get a look. But you saw what was left. Did you notice how long the last Star Jump was?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAbout four days, I believe.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFor Star Jumps, that\u2019s long,\u201d Jack said. \u201cMost are under three days apiece. These days, ships spend more time navigating between Jump points than traveling the Jumps themselves, but I\u2019ll bet you already know that.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Tomlin nodded. \u201cHow do <i>you?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI did a paper on it a few years ago.\u201d Jack could see he had a lot of questions about that. She held up her hand to stay them. Getting into her study habits and actual age weren\u2019t going to be helpful right now, even if she wanted to talk about them. Which she definitely did not. \u201cThe longer a Star Jump lasts, the higher the risk of a Level Five Incident becomes. But nobody knows why because the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation won\u2019t share details about how the drives work in the first place. The three Phase One Star Jumpers that vanished all had at least one week-long Jump in their itineraries.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYes,\u201d Tomlin said, his voice becoming hushed and almost reverent. \u201cMy people were coming to Tangier on two of those first ships, the <i>Isli<\/i> and the <i>Tislit.<\/i> But only the <i>Tislit<\/i> ever arrived. It is why we have always served in the Tangier Space Service, and why at least one Amazigh must always be on duty at Tangier System Control, in case the <i>Isli<\/i> finally appears, so we can bring it home. But all this time&#8288;\u2026 is this the true answer? It was lost between universes, and left stranded there to die, the way these poor souls have been? <i>Ten thousand<\/i> of our kin?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d Jack told him. \u201cI never found an answer to that either, just that this was the most probable explanation.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd they know,\u201d Tomlin grumbled. \u201cAnd they do nothing.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhatever it is,\u201d Kyra said, her expression thoughtful, \u201cit\u2019s something they can\u2019t prevent. Maybe it\u2019s part of however the drives work. Like the risks people back on Earth took with nuclear reactors, which mostly worked great, lots of power, no pollution&#8288;\u2026 until they sometimes melted down and fucked everything up for hundreds of miles. My Pa had a lot to say about those, back before he decided to ditch the place and take us all to \u2018God\u2019s New Green World.\u2019 But anyway, maybe it\u2019s a risk that just&#8288;\u2026 comes with the technology.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhy wouldn\u2019t they just admit that, then?\u201d Tomlin wondered, clearly not expecting an actual answer from either of them. \u201cIt\u2019s not as if there is an alternative to the Star Jump drive.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMaybe even doing that would cut down on space travel too much?\u201d Kyra wondered. \u201cOr maybe there\u2019s something about why it happens that would upset people if they knew. They were <i>super<\/i> quick to destroy all the physical evidence.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That stirred some vague memory in Jack\u2019s mind, something she couldn\u2019t remember clearly because she hadn\u2019t been paying enough attention at the time. There was a show her cousins had watched one day, a centuries-old classic, in which once a year a group of people were told a terrible secret and then had to choose whether to remember it and do something about it, or forget it again and continue on with their lives. Something about that secret, she thought as she struggled toward the memory, might almost explain what was happening now&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was gone. There wasn\u2019t enough there to recall more. She found herself wishing she\u2019d sat down with Rachel, Joey, and Ron that day to watch that ancient show, instead of taking advantage of the rare occasion that they weren\u2019t monopolizing her grandfather\u2019s gaming console to play a few games herself. She\u2019d overheard some of it, some part of which felt suddenly <i>significant<\/i>, but it was like a dream that fell apart the more she tried to recall it upon waking.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Maybe it was nothing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI think the most important point,\u201d she said after a moment, \u201cis that, regardless of what the secret is, they\u2019re willing to kill whole shipfuls of innocent people to keep it hidden. I\u2019m worried that you\u2019re in their crosshairs, too. Especially if they figure out that you\u2019ve taught everybody how to survive what\u2019s happened to them. I&#8288;\u2026 don\u2019t have it ready yet, but&#8288;\u2026 I\u2019m making you a backup identity, in case you need to go underground.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou can do that?\u201d Tomlin looked startled. She could see him once again weighing her appearance\u2014she didn\u2019t necessarily look like a kid, but she didn\u2019t really look like an adult yet, either\u2014against the things she could do. \u201cCould you do that for my charges?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She shook her head. \u201cIt\u2019s taken me all this time just to put together solid identities for the three of us. Almost two hundred more people? I don\u2019t think we have that kind of time. Would the Imazighen be willing to hide them? Takama told me most of your people live out in the mountains and high plains southeast of here, in the New Atlas Range.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">In fact, the New Marrakesh suburb nicknamed Rif, or Le Rif, mostly housed Amazigh traders passing through with their wares for sale to tourists and offworld merchants in exchange for things the tribes needed, along with a contingent of less nomadic types from across the tribes; their jobs were to provide logistical support and ensure that their people continued to be represented in the local and planetary government. They had made it their duty to continue fighting for their people\u2019s right to live in ways that they, in the process, had to give up themselves.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There were a hundred million Imazighen living out in those vast highlands; some of the tribes had rejected all outsider influence, but others carried comms in their pockets and readily welcomed those new technologies that didn\u2019t conflict with their way of life. A rare few, like Tomlin, came from marriages that weren\u2019t simply inter-tribal\u2014already a complicated affair\u2014but extra-tribal altogether. The diversity she\u2019d observed among the people of Le Rif was, in miniature, the diversity of the Imazighen as a whole. From some of Takama\u2019s hints in recent days, Jack understood that places could be opened within the tribes for outsiders who showed sufficient respect for the culture, such as her and Kyra.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Or, perhaps, for nearly two hundred desperate fugitives with nowhere else to turn for succor, who needed to stay on high ground.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Tomlin was nodding. \u201cI think that could be arranged, at least for a while. Long enough to break their trails and, if possible, help them find their ways home. And if they can\u2019t go home&#8288;\u2026 well, as a people, we are experts at knowing how to hide. You two could hide among us as well, if you wish, for as long as you like.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was a sweet offer, and she could see he genuinely meant it, but Jack found herself shaking her head. \u201cI have somewhere I need to go, but thank you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Whether or not he knew it yet, her dad was waiting for her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She glanced Kyra\u2019s way, wondering whether her friend would be tempted. But Kyra was shaking her head, too. \u201cI tried my Pa\u2019s agrarian paradise. It\u2019s not for me. I do appreciate the offer, though.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI understand,\u201d Tomlin said, his expression indicating that he was not in the least offended. \u201cI must admit that I am more comfortable in a cockpit than a tent, myself. Still, I will do what I must for these people, to keep them safe. Please tell me that the identity you are crafting for me is Amazigh. To my father\u2019s great despair, I\u2019m not a very convincing Scotsman.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt is,\u201d Jack reassured him, struggling not to laugh at the sudden mental image of him in a kilt, speaking with a thick brogue. Silly as the image first seemed to her, she suspected he\u2019d still be devastatingly handsome and suave, not at all ridiculous, if he did it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It surprised her that she was so relaxed around him. Usually, men as handsome as him left her feeling tongue-tied and gauche. Maybe it was just that she\u2019d already won Tomlin\u2019s respect before she\u2019d had a chance to ease up enough to fully notice that about him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe tide will be down tomorrow night when everyone is sleeping,\u201d Tomlin said. \u201cI think I will bring my charges out of the downtown area then. Once it recedes far enough that they can leave the building, and most people have left the streets, I will take them past the Rif and into the foothills where it cannot reach them at all. My people will take them the rest of the way. But I will have to concoct an explanation for where they have gone, and a distraction of some kind to keep anyone from seeing them leave.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJ&#8288;\u2014 Finch is really good at those,\u201d Kyra told him. \u201cSince you know who we are, you probably know how we left the hospital during some extremely chaotic malfunctions, right?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Tomlin nodded slowly. Kyra smiled and tilted her head toward Jack.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat was all <i>you?\u201d<\/i> Tomlin asked, startled once more.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOnly way we could get out with a bounty hunter already on-site,\u201d Jack said, struggling to hide the smug grin that wanted to surface. \u201cI had to make sure we got a several-hour head start before they could even realize we weren\u2019t just lost somewhere in the mayhem. And I may have released a few files into the wild that they\u2019d been hiding.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThen it\u2019s an especially good thing the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation has no idea you were on board the <i>Matador.<\/i> They <i>should<\/i> be scared of you.\u201d Tomlin winked, indicating that was a compliment. \u201cIf you can come up with a distraction, please let me know. Ask any of my people to get word to Brahim Meziane. That is how they know me best, and it is probably a safer channel than my official name,\u201d\u2014which was simply <i>Colonel Gavin Tomlin<\/i> on most military documents\u2014\u201cif Quin&#173;tessa has its eyes on me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Three hours later, as the sun was settling toward the horizon and Jack was putting the final touches on the new identities she had created, she had come up with the <i>perfect<\/i> way to both get the <i>Matador<\/i> survivors out of the city unseen&#8288;\u2026 and let her and Kyra keep their beachcombing plans intact in the process.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Tomlin\u2019s gonna love it,<\/i> she thought with a little bit of glee. <i>But first things first&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cKyra, I need you for a second,\u201d she called, and her friend entered the room with Sebby on her arm.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat\u2019s up?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI have three names for you to pick from. Which do you like best?\u201d Jack gestured at the screen. Planetary law enforcement had several names held in reserve for witness protection purposes, one of which was about to be taken out of reserve and put into active use. The result would be that, once Jack connected the fake credentials she had created, under a dummy name, to the new name, there would be a genuine birth certificate and a wealth of other, real, identity documentation stored in official locations; no matter how deeply anyone checked into it, no matter how far down they dug, there would be no sign that someone had made it up. These three would work for Kyra\u2019s approximate age and physical appearance.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra leaned over her shoulder, looking at the screen. \u201cKali Montgomery. I like the way it sounds.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDone.\u201d Jack hit a few more buttons on the screen. She loved that name, too, and had almost taken it for herself because it reminded her of both Shazza and Fry, except that she didn\u2019t think she\u2019d look quite old enough to match its base age. \u201cOur identities will be waiting at a drop point downtown in two hours. Along with some bearer cards to help Tomlin&#8288;\u2014 I\u2019m gonna put together our funds later. He needs all the money he can get with what he\u2019s about to do.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah.\u201d Kyra seemed to have made peace with helping the man. \u201cYou know, I never asked, but I\u2019ve always wondered. Why \u2018Jack B. Badd?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The two were gathering their things as she asked; walking through the switchback roads that led downward to New Marrakesh\u2019s urban center took a while, and they both preferred to reach drop zones and rendezvous points ahead of anyone else. Jack shrugged, feeling suddenly embarrassed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s a character from bedtime stories my dad used to tell me,\u201d she admitted. She\u2019d never even told Shazza that, and she had confided a <i>lot<\/i> in her. \u201cJack B. Badd was always getting into one escapade or another, usually only <i>just<\/i> managing to stay out of really bad trouble.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo, essentially, you.\u201d Kyra snickered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cPretty much. Except he really was a boy, not just pretending to be one.\u201d The more Jack thought about it, the more she wondered if the stories had been autobiographical, if John MacNamera, whose closest relatives had sometimes called him \u201cJack-Mac\u201d where she could hear, had been regaling her with stories about his own scrapes from <i>his<\/i> childhood.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That was a handle, sticking <i>way<\/i> out, that she\u2019d never considered when she picked the name: the possibility that its use might make its way back to people who\u2019d recognize the source. Of course, when she\u2019d chosen it, it had never occurred to her that she would end up in quite as many quintessential Jack B. Badd misadventures as she had, or that mercs might one day know the name as belonging to fair prey. That was out of her hands now, though. Fortunately, she\u2019d erased all the records on Helion that listed her as anything but Jane Doe 7439.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">One day, she thought, she\u2019d have to try to erase whatever records Toombs had about her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sebby was contentedly patrolling the floorboards, looking for intruders to munch, as they left the apartment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They stopped by Takama\u2019s food cart on the way, to send word to her nephew that they would come see him at Othman Tower that evening. She gave them a knowing look that suggested she might already be in on the upcoming exodus, before giving Jack a motherly hug and plying both of them with freshly made wraps that they could eat while they walked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The drop went smoothly. As a precaution, Jack transferred all the documents and money cards for Tomlin into a storage locker. She\u2019d give him the key and let him pick them up at his convenience. She did the same thing for herself and Kyra; they\u2019d collect theirs on the way back up to the Rif. Once they\u2019d each hidden their keys in their smalls, she switched on her tablet to begin preparing for their meeting with Tomlin by taking control of the security cameras at the base of Othman Tower.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh. Fuck,\u201d she breathed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The cameras were already off.<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4025\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4025 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-26\">\u00ab Chapter 26<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4092\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4092 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-28\">Chapter 28 \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=\"28\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4026\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4026 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-27\">\u00ab Chapter 27<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4093\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4093 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-29\">Chapter 29 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5139\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5139 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">28.<br\/>\r\n<u>The Claws of the Black Fox<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Othman Tower was only a five-minute walk from the transit station with the storage lockers. At a run, it was half that. Jack was screaming inside the whole way.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra was ahead of her, wild hair streaming out behind her as she ran full tilt toward the building, a long knife that Jack had never seen before suddenly in one hand. Jack wasn\u2019t quite sure where she\u2019d gotten and kept that, exactly. She didn\u2019t want to ask. All she could feel was desperate terror that they were already too late.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A little before they reached the Tower\u2019s plaza, still screened by the avenue\u2019s argan trees, Kyra suddenly stopped and held up her free hand, making a gesture that she and Jack had worked out in the prior days. <i>Isomorph over to Elsewhere,<\/i> the gesture said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack concentrated, letting the buildings around them fade as she found her footing on the beaches of Elsewhere. She focused on letting her perception of U1 stay intact, though: an invisible girl looking in at the world from the other side of a threshold. She hurried forward, now running after Kyra on wet sand, once the transition was complete.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Two huge shuttles were parked before the building\u2019s main entrance, marring the lovely plaza that led up to the doors. Two lines of people, all with their arms bound at the wrists, were being herded into them at gunpoint by soldiers in motley uniforms. <i>Mercs,<\/i> Jack thought. Tomlin, dressed once more in his own uniform, his wrists shackled behind his back, was on his knees by the doors with another merc\u2019s gun pointed at his head.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou grab Tomlin,\u201d Kyra murmured next to her. \u201cI\u2019ll take care of the rest.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Before Jack could ask what she meant, Kyra was in motion, knives in both hands now. The mercs, Jack realized, couldn\u2019t see her&#8288;\u2014 wouldn\u2019t see her until it was far too late.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The first to die was the man holding the gun to Tomlin\u2019s head.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The firearm went skittering across the flagstones as its owner clutched at his slashed throat before toppling to the ground beside Tomlin. <i>He<\/i> scrambled back away from the body, his eyes widening. Kyra had only made the blade itself manifest in U1. She was already on the move again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">In a second, Jack suddenly thought in alarm, the pilots in the shuttles would hear the commotion and call for help. They probably had the only functional communications in the area right now.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Let\u2019s fix that, shall we?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She brought her hands into U1 and laid them upon one of the two shuttles, <i>pulling<\/i> it all the way into Elsewhere, remembering at the last instant to swap in Elsewhere\u2019s air to fill its space. Sometimes, when she and Kyra had been practicing isomorphing objects and had forgotten, the air displacement had created anything from a small snap to a loud bang, although that oddly never happened with their own bodies. This would have roared like thunder.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The huge vessel vanished from the flagstones of U1 and appeared on the sand of Elsewhere. A wave of dizziness passed through Jack; in its wake, she felt light as air. Trying not to stumble in the sand, she raced over to the other shuttle\u2019s location, repeating her moves, staggering as the dizzy-airy feeling grew stronger. The shuttles\u2019 comms would be useless now, a whole universe away from anyone who could hear their messages.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Three more of the merc team\u2019s members, back in U1, were on the ground, dead or dying. The Black Fox of Canaan Mountain, Jack thought, had been fully unleashed. In defense of the <i>Matador<\/i> survivors, Kyra could do all the things she hadn\u2019t been able to do to save her own family.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Between the dropping mercs and the vanishing shuttles, some of those survivors were starting to panic. The bewildered mercs surrounding them, realizing the situation was inexplicably spinning out of control, were hunting for something to shoot. In a moment, they might turn their weapons against their captives.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I am in both worlds, I am in both worlds, I am in both worlds&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Now visible, audible, and tangible in U1, she pitched her voice the way she had when, once, she had shouted to keep Shazza from killing an innocent man. <i>\u201cEVERYBODY! ISOMORPH NOW! ALL THE WAY INTO ELSEWHERE! ALL THE WAY!\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack hoped they understood what she meant. She didn\u2019t have time to find out. As several weapons pointed and fired in her direction, she isomorphed back out of U1 and ran toward Tomlin\u2019s position.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But she could feel the survivors <i>doing<\/i> it, feel them crossing from one \u2019verse to the next. Now, she knew, they would be able to see Kyra\u2019s deadly dance as she slashed her way through the armed mercs who had held them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack reached Tomlin a second later, isomorphing back into U1 beside him. \u201cAre you okay?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI think so,\u201d he told her, sitting up. \u201cWhat happened to the shuttles?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThey\u2019re in Elsewhere,\u201d she muttered, grasping the binders on his wrists, shifting them to that other world, and tossing them aside.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A few of the <i>Matador<\/i> passengers were still in U1, she realized, and in deadly danger. One woman was crouched down, trying to shield two small children despite her bound arms; another, with a small baby harnessed on her chest, was kneeling on the ground trying to present as small a target as possible. A few others looked confused, struggling to do what she\u2019d told them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Tomlin, she thought, must not have had a chance to brief them on her anchoring tricks. She wondered if he\u2019d even made it into the building before the merc team had captured him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">One merc had spotted her and was lining up a shot when a knife handle suddenly sprouted from his temple. His bullets went wide as he toppled, tearing through one of the stately trees overhanging the plaza. The remaining <i>Matador<\/i> survivors screamed and dropped to the ground; three more vanished from U1.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cStop right there! Don\u2019t you move!\u201d Another merc approached her and Tomlin, his rifle pointed directly at them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack wrapped her arms around Tomlin and <i>pulled.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They were in Elsewhere.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cBaraka!\u201d<\/i> Tomlin gasped, staring around him. \u201cIs this&#8288;\u2014&#8288;?&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYes,\u201d Jack told him. She got up and hurried over to the spot where she knew the mother with the infant was kneeling, shifting her vision enough to see her clearly, reaching out until she was almost touching her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d never tried this before. She didn\u2019t know if it would even work. Without isomorphing any part of herself back to U1, she focused on the woman, on the parts of her and her baby that were already connected to Elsewhere, and <i>pulled<\/i> again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It worked so well that she fell backward, landing on her ass, as mother and child solidified in front of her. Kyra flew past them with a fierce smile on her face, racing for another of the still-standing mercs who was lining up a shot at a hapless civilian. Out of knives, she had a large chunk of driftwood in her hands.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A second later, the driftwood protruded from the merc\u2019s chest and back. His gun clattered to the plaza flagstones as he clutched at the wood in confused agony. Jack saw him crumple to the ground as she wrapped phantom arms around the mother with two small children, <i>pulling<\/i> them into Elsewhere.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Screams from the shuttles startled her. She turned and saw Tomlin running for one while Kyra raced for the other. She switched \u2019verses quickly and grabbed up one of the discarded rifles.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTomlin!\u201d she shouted as she isomorphed back, throwing the rifle at him when he turned to look. He caught it easily.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The mercs back in U1 were all dead, she realized. Now they had only the shuttle pilots to deal with.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra, following her lead, switched \u2019verses to grab one of the dropped rifles and reappeared in Elsewhere a second later.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A standoff was about to develop, Jack realized. The pilots had hostages.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cISOMORPH BACK TO U1!\u201d<\/i> she bellowed as loudly as she could, hoping the passengers aboard the shuttles would hear her and know what to do. Her throat suddenly felt raw.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She ismorphed over herself, for the moment, letting her vision show her what was in both worlds even as her body stayed in only one. As she watched, several people dropped to the ground in the areas that the shuttles occupied, managing to pull themselves back to U1 on their own. She headed for the shuttle Tomlin had just raced into, pulling a sidearm off one of the fallen mercs as she went and switching off its safety.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I am in U1, but I see into Elsewhere, I am in U1 and cannot be seen in Elsewhere, but I can see&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She walked through the hull of the shuttle like a phantom.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Only the top half of her head was above the cabin floor, unseen. Several cuffed, terrified passengers remained on board. The pilot had one of them in a headlock, pressing the muzzle of his gun to her temple. Tomlin was trying to talk the man down, but the shouting was getting louder and louder, even through the veil between \u2019verses.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack positioned herself directly beneath the pilot, waiting for a moment when the gun\u2019s aim would waver. She raised her pistol until it was completely above the floor, bracing herself as well as she could in such an awkward position.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I am in U1, only in U1, but the gun in my hand is in both \u2019verses. And its hammer, and its bullets, are fully in Elsewhere&#8288;\u2026<\/i> It was, she thought ruefully, a good thing after all that her dad had not only taught her how to shoot, but had made her break down and clean each of the guns they\u2019d worked with. She could visualize, and suddenly <i>feel<\/i>, those parts of her weapon now.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">One of the passengers stared in astonishment in her direction.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">As his hostage writhed, twisting her body away from his, the pilot\u2019s gun slipped and pointed away from her for a fraction of a second. It was all Jack needed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She fired straight up, over and over, emptying the pistol\u2019s clip into the pilot\u2019s torso, before ducking back out of the shuttle.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Small arms fire erupted from the other shuttle\u2019s space. Kyra was standing in its midst, unloading a pistol upward in U1, but on the Elsewhere side Jack could only see the hull of the shuttle itself. Her wild-haired friend emerged a moment later, her face almost glowing with fierce energy.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat was a damned good idea you had,\u201d she said with a grin. \u201cLast one\u2019s dead.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack could only nod silently, dropping her gun before falling to her knees. She isomorphed back into Elsewhere so she could vomit on the sand instead of in the plaza.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <hr style=\"align-content: center; width: 50%; background: linear-gradient(to right, #4474BE 0%, #243a68 100%); height: 3px; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;\"\/>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Less than fifteen minutes later, Jack had pulled the now-evacuated shuttles back into U1, and she and Kyra had finished removing everyone\u2019s restraints. The <i>Matador<\/i> survivors, none of whom were seriously injured, had helped them carry the mercs\u2019 corpses onto the shuttles, taking back comms and other items that the men had confiscated from their captives before transferring back to Elsewhere at Jack\u2019s instruction, to wait.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI think you got here not even ten minutes after I did,\u201d Tomlin said as he wiped a merc\u2019s blood off his recovered comm. \u201cI spent the last several hours making arrangements for tomorrow evening. It was the message to meet you here that brought me at all. I never had a chance to reach the lobby before they had me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack crouched down and transferred a pool of drying blood out of the plaza and into Elsewhere, while Kyra did the same near the other shuttle. It was the last physical evidence of the battle. There was nothing they could do about the damage to the trees where one automatic rifle had chewed them up&#8288;\u2026 but they\u2019d let whoever had sent the mercs worry about covering <i>that<\/i> up.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Someone\u2014and Jack was pretty sure who\u2014had gone to great lengths to ensure the mercs could perpetrate a heinous crime unseen, after all. It would be a shame, she thought, not to take advantage of their efforts.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Othman Tower\u2019s building and plaza cameras, she had verified, were still offline, and the cameras and comms for several blocks were scrambled; someone had set things up so that none of them would come back on until the shuttles\u2019 transponders signaled that they were out of the cameras\u2019 lines of sight. If Jack and her friends played their cards just right, nobody\u2014not even the people who had sent the mercs\u2014would know just what had really happened there.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">If she hadn\u2019t asked Tomlin to meet her there, she suddenly realized, <i>he<\/i> would have been the one with no idea or proof of what had been done to the people in his care. She suspected that would have broken his heart.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But it meant they probably hadn\u2019t been expecting him to come to the tower, or at least, hadn\u2019t built their plan around when he <i>was<\/i> expected. They had, in fact, done this on his <i>day off.<\/i> That was something she could <i>use.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019re gonna need to pretend you never got here at all,\u201d she told Tomlin, her voice hoarse and her throat feeling as though she had swallowed glass. Had she really yelled <i>that<\/i> loudly? \u201cYou\u2019re gonna need to pretend that everybody\u2019d already been taken when you finally did get here.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAll right. Why?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIf you were here and escaped, that means so did everybody else. If you were never here, they won\u2019t know anybody escaped their trap, just that <i>you<\/i> never walked into it. You know how to set autopilots?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGood. Go on the shuttles and set each one to auto-launch in another five minutes or so. Make them fly out to sea, out to where it\u2019s deep, and then dive down into the water. At velocity. Crash the fuck out of them where it\u2019ll be hard to get to the wreckage.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAll right. What does that buy us?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI don\u2019t know what the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation\u2019s plans for the shuttles\u2019 destinations were, but since they\u2019re hiding the fact that they planned to kidnap everybody, they can\u2019t exactly draw attention to it when it all goes wrong. Hopefully they won\u2019t realize that the <i>Matador<\/i> passengers didn\u2019t die in the crashes.\u201d Jack sighed, suddenly feeling tired and ancient. Every devious idea she\u2019d ever had seemed to be crowding into her head all at once. \u201cDid any of them get on comms to anybody after they grabbed you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Tomlin shook his head. He seemed to understand what she was asking\u2014which was good, because she barely did suddenly\u2014and answered as if he was giving a military debriefing. \u201cNone of the mercenaries did. The pilots were already on board the shuttles, and they were already loading the passengers, when I walked up. I was coming around the side of the building and only saw the backs of the shuttles, so I don\u2019t think the pilots ever saw me. None of the mercs told anyone they had me in custody. I\u2019m not sure if they were even looking for me or just thought I was an inconvenient witness. And then you moved the shuttles over to Elsewhere before anyone started shooting or screaming. How did you manage&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGood. Then as far as Quin&#173;tessa knows, you were never here, their mercs kidnapped the <i>Matador<\/i> survivors as planned, and then everybody, including the mercs, died in the crashes&#8288;\u2026 except you, because you didn\u2019t show up until long after they\u2019d left,\u201d Jack told him. \u201cMeanwhile, we take the survivors up to high ground through Elsewhere, bring them out where your people can hide them, and then <i>you<\/i> discover, live on camera tomorrow morning, that Othman Tower\u2019s empty and raise a stink about your missing charges.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Tomlin was staring at her with strange awe again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThey can\u2019t&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Jack could feel the steam running out of her words. Why did she feel so exhausted suddenly? She could barely put two words together. \u201cThey can\u2019t threaten to cripple the economy if you don\u2019t turn over people <i>you<\/i> don\u2019t have&#8288;\u2026 because <i>they<\/i> already took them from you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd,\u201d Kyra said from beside her, \u201cIf they\u2019re planning on killing all the survivors off anyway, why should they care how it happens, even if they lose a few soldiers-for-hire in the process? Sucks for them that they eliminated all possible records of what went wrong. Let\u2019s get those things set to fly and get back to Elsewhere. You know where the black boxes on those crates are located? We don\u2019t want those found by divers.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack wanted to follow the two of them, but she couldn\u2019t get her legs to work. She sat quietly on the plaza\u2019s flagstones for a few moments while Tomlin set the shuttles\u2019 controls and Kyra hauled out flight recorders, shifting them into Elsewhere. Her arms and legs felt weak and shaky, and her whole center felt utterly hollow.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThis is what she does,\u201d she heard Kyra saying to Tomlin a few minutes later as they walked up. \u201cShe can come up with a crazy plan at the drop of a hat, and it\u2019ll <i>work.<\/i> She\u2019s like&#8288;\u2026 a mastermind that way. I mean, hell, she\u2019d already planned the march through Elsewhere, but those embellishments? She just came up with them now. On the <i>spot<\/i>, fergodsake. But killing somebody? That\u2019s going to fuck her up for a while.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cEven if by doing so, she saved someone\u2019s life?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cEven so. That\u2019s our Finch.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou don\u2019t think it might be the shuttles?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI don\u2019t know. Could be. Never even occurred to me to <i>try<\/i> moving something that big, and she did it four times.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Strong arms lifted her off the ground and she realized that Tomlin was cradling her like a child. Kyra\u2019s arms came around both of them as she isomorphed them from U1 into Elsewhere.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack could, strangely, feel the exact moment when both shuttles left the plaza over in U1. She opened her eyes and watched them, through the veil of dimensions, as they flew off, arrowing toward the coastline.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra was talking to the crowd, telling them that they were going to walk uphill until they were out of the path of the tide, which should stay below sea level for several more hours anyway. Then she was going to help them meet up with people who would take them to a place where they could hide. Jack, exhausted, leaned her head against Tomlin\u2019s shoulder and focused on breathing, on <i>being,<\/i> while Kyra took charge. She\u2019d told Kyra the plan as they had walked down into town, and her friend had loved it. Kyra would make it happen now.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Time slid by in fits and starts. Jack was in a gray place, exhausted by the terrible battle in the same way that she had been after the ordeal on the <i>Kublai Khan.<\/i> She\u2019d slept for more than a day after that, clinging the whole time to the gun she\u2019d fired, in fear that she would wake to find herself back in that world of horrors. Now, though, she didn\u2019t dare sleep, not yet, not until she was sure everyone was really, truly safe&#8288;\u2026 but she had no energy left to make sure of that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She drifted in and out of consciousness through much of the hours-long night march out of the flat plains that corresponded with New Marrakesh\u2019s city center and upward onto the sandy, weedy, increasingly rocky hillsides. Later, she would have memories of strange, small creatures skittering out of the paths of hundreds of human feet. For a while, Tomlin and Kyra both walked in the lead, side by side, Tomlin still carrying her in his arms, the two talking about combat and soldiering. Jack heard him offering to introduce Kyra to some of the officers he knew, people who would never, he promised, turn away the Black Fox of Canaan Mountain when he vouched for her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>She\u2019ll have a home,<\/i> Jack thought with wistful happiness as exhaustion took her again. <i>She\u2019ll be able to fight with real soldiers, not mercs&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Periodically, when she felt strong enough, alert enough, Tomlin let her walk beside him, but his arm was always protectively around her in case another wave of weakness stuck. One always did after a few moments, and she felt him catching her in a faint more than once. The long line stopped at least twice to take rests and give stragglers a chance to catch up, before they reached an area that Kyra said corresponded with the market square in the Rif.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra brought Tomlin and Jack across first, practically into Takama\u2019s lap.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The next thing Jack knew, she was being fussed over and plied with mint tea and <i>jowhara<\/i> inside one of the small shops along the square\u2019s perimeter, by a merchant family she\u2019d bought things from before, while Tomlin showered and changed in the shopkeeper\u2019s upstairs rooms. Someone collected his uniform for laundering, and two young women helped Jack get cleaned up and changed out of her scuffed, stained, and torn clothes\u2014how exactly had that happened to them? She\u2019d felt so unscathed at the time\u2014into a soft, colorful jalabiya. Then she watched from a window seat, her head resting heavily against the glass, as the hushed exodus continued outside.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Takama, now assisted by a dozen or so of her fellow street vendors, took each of the survivors in hand as Kyra helped them across, hiding them in nearby shops while she and her friends arranged for merchant trucks to come and take them, in small groups, into the mountains. The night was full of quiet activity as the fugitives\u2014now fed and disguised in traditional djellabas and jalabiyas with scarves around their heads\u2014climbed a few at a time into various trucks and carts. No one was going to make them keep walking any farther. Somehow, though, the activity seemed no busier than any of the Rif\u2019s normal night markets. No one would suspect a thing; those markets sometimes lasted from dusk to dawn in the Rif even when everywhere else was essentially shut down. All the merchants seemed delighted to be in on the operation, cheerfully waving away the money some of the survivors tried to offer them in compensation. The rules of hospitality, which meant a great deal to the Imazighen, had apparently been invoked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They had <i>done<\/i> it, Jack thought, allowing herself to relax a tiny bit more.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The sky was still dark, but not quite <i>as<\/i> dark, and the tide had begun to move in, when the last of the <i>Matador<\/i> survivors came through and Kyra joined her in the little shop, allowing the merchant\u2019s daughters to clean her up and give her a change of clothing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack had almost forgotten about the storage locker key she\u2019d intended to give Tomlin, hours before, until she\u2019d pulled it and her own key out of her ruined garments. When he returned to the shop a little before dawn, once again dressed in his cleaned and repaired uniform, she gave it to him at last.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThank you, my <i>Tislilel<\/i>,\u201d he told her, taking the key. \u201cYou saved so many lives yet again tonight. Including mine. Remember that. Please do not hold what you had to do against yourself.\u201d He kissed her forehead.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">To Jack\u2019s surprise, Kyra allowed him to give her a thank-you kiss as well and listened attentively while he spoke softly to her, too. Jack, whose hearing was far better than people ever seemed to realize, heard every word. \u201cYou have a warrior\u2019s spirit, my <i>Dihya<\/i>. It is a difficult path to tread. But I have faith you will find your way and I promise, I will help you reach it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack felt a weight lifting from her with those words. Kyra might not want an agrarian life, or a domestic one, but Tomlin was offering her a life she <i>did<\/i> want, and a version she would never have to feel shame or regret for. After encountering the band of mercs in the plaza, Jack had hoped that she wouldn\u2019t still consider signing up with any. Now she wouldn\u2019t need to.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">At the doorway, Tomlin turned back to them, his eyes both kind and tired. Now his words addressed not only them but his aunt, emerging from a back room with a tray of tea and food for Kyra her hands.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI should be back in several hours, a day at most. After I am done \u2018discovering\u2019 that my charges are missing and filing my complaints, I will request some of my leave time. With all that has happened, no one will grudge me for it or even question it.\u201d He paused, as if debating with himself. Taking a deep breath, he continued. \u201cNow that I\u2019ve experienced the journey to and from Elsewhere, and have seen what you can do and what it costs, I think I know what the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation is hiding. It\u2019s much worse than we thought. We must never let them find my charges&#8288;\u2026 or either one of you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">With those last words, Colonel Gavin Brahim Tomlin Meziane, <i>El Krim,<\/i> left the amber light of the small shop for the predawn darkness.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was the last time they ever saw him.<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4026\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4026 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-27\">\u00ab Chapter 27<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4093\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4093 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-29\">Chapter 29 \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=\"29\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4027\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4027 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-28\">\u00ab Chapter 28<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4094\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4094 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-30\">Chapter 30 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5142\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5142 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">29.<br\/>\r\n<u>The Voices of the Void<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sometime after the sky lightened, Kyra and Takama helped Jack climb the eight flights of steps up to their apartment and a frantic Sebby. The little crustacean scuttled straight up her jalabiya and onto her shoulder and refused to be set down for more than a minute.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt is all just as Brahim described it yesterday,\u201d Takama marveled as she helped Jack lie down on her bed. \u201cHow extraordinary. And your little pet&#8288;\u2026 such incredible things you two can do. Rest now, little <i>Tislilel<\/i>&#8288;\u2026 although I think he should have named you <i>Tiraline<\/i> instead.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe called me Dihya,\u201d Kyra said, sitting down on the bed next to her. \u201cWho\u2019s that?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cA great warrior queen,\u201d Takama said. Jack closed her eyes and rested her head against the pillow, feeling Sebby settling down against her throat. \u201cTiraline and Dihya&#8288;\u2026 the Mermaid Queen and the Warrior Queen&#8288;\u2026 fitting for two young women who saved so many lives. Rest now, both of you. I will come and check on you later and bring you some food. What would you like?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnything I didn\u2019t cook,\u201d Kyra said beside her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack, eyes closed, already drifting off, found herself wanting to ask for a peanut butter sandwich, but the words that came out were oddly askew from that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDon\u2019t wanna be a queen&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Takama laughed softly from far away. \u201cThat is fine, young <i>Tislilel<\/i>. A mermaid does not need to be a queen to raise a tsunami&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The idea of raising tsunamis followed her down into her dreams.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was floating in darkness, rising and falling on unseen waves. Around her, the stars sparkled and burned as they followed their own tidal patterns. She was adrift among the stars themselves, watching them swirl past her in complex patterns as she swerved around them, free but tethered&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There was something heavy on her back, something chaining her to it, but she couldn\u2019t see it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And she was not alone.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Creature?<\/i> something unseen asked. <i>Being?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She tried to get her mouth to work, to call out <i>hello?<\/i> into the spangled darkness, but the part of her that suddenly felt like prey gone to ground wouldn\u2019t release her voice.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Something is here.<\/i> Was that her thought, or had the <i>thing<\/i> said it?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The stars slowed and stopped their tidal spin and for a moment she found herself in darkness.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Alone!<\/i> a not-voice sobbed. <i>Alone and trapped&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The show that she\u2019d tried to recall, while talking to Tomlin, flashed through her mind. Something about a woman in a mask&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Yes,<\/i> it said to her. <i>No. What is that thing?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She could feel something reaching for her from the darkness. Something touched her&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You are not like us,<\/i> it said after a moment, and she could feel its disappointment&#8288;\u2026 and hope.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And, faintly, others like it, distant, near, reaching for her&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Is it one of <b>them?<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>No. Larval. Bright and shiny&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The stars faded into view once more, whirling and dancing again as she spun through them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>It rode upon <\/i>her<i> back, but now it has come beneath and <\/i>she<i> is lost&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Lost? When had she gotten lost? Out here in the stars?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">With horror, Jack realized that she was the <i>it<\/i> that the things were speaking of, not the <i>she<\/i>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>It has come beneath to us, come below to us, passed under to us&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Below&#8288;\u2026 that resonated somehow.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Below&#8288;\u2026 below&#8288;\u2026 yes&#8288;\u2026 beneath, below, under&#8288;\u2026 we are under&#8288;\u2026 take us to&#8288;\u2026 take us&#8288;\u2026 to the&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was seeing something that could not be seen with human eyes. A shape that defied dimension, a pattern that murdered reason. Jack struggled to look away.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Too much, too much, poor larva, too much&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>It doesn\u2019t understand. Poor larva.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>We will teach it&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A line appeared before her, shining in the vast dark.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>One.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It shifted, changing, becoming a glowing square, a flat plane.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Two.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Now the glowing square shifted again, evolving into a cube of light.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Three.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The next shape was almost impossible to comprehend.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Four.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The next was worse still.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Five.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>NO&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It wouldn\u2019t stop. The shape kept warping itself into something even more impossible and terrifying.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Six&#8288;\u2026 Seven&#8288;\u2026 Eight&#8288;\u2026 Nine&#8288;\u2026 Ten&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Stop, please, stop&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Eleven&#8288;\u2026 Twelve&#8288;\u2026 Thirteen&#8288;\u2026 Fourteen&#8288;\u2026 Fifteen&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>No no no no no stop&#173;stop&#173;stop&#173;stop&#173;stop&#8288;\u2014<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A sharp pinch on her shoulder launched her up off her pillow, gasping. Sebby tumbled into her lap.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack stared around the room wildly, panting. For a moment, the walls and floor and ceiling were almost incomprehensible to her: barren, flat planes that lacked&#8288;\u2026 what&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>It\u2019s wrong it\u2019s wrong he said there were only ten&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She shuddered, hard. Sebby crawled up her chest and touched her chin with his antennae, gentle and feathery, as though checking to see if she was ill. Had he pinched her awake? She thought he had.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Next to her on the bed, Kyra groaned, frowning in her sleep.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Of all the things she\u2019d expected to dream about, she hadn\u2019t expected&#8288;\u2026 what, exactly? All she could remember now was a tide of stars and a masked woman&#8288;\u2026 and a word&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u2026&#8288;octa&#173;choron&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Lying back down, she cuddled Sebby to her as she settled against the pillow. He\u2019d woken her from a nightmare; that much she knew. She didn\u2019t know how he was so perceptive, but she was grateful that he was.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>They<\/i> were waiting when she drifted off again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>We frightened you. We are sorry.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWho are you?\u201d she asked, trying to anchor herself in as much ordinary, prosaic reality as she could. She couldn\u2019t see them, but she tried to show them herself. Tall, gangly, short hair verging between brown and blonde, all eyes and elbows and knees as Rachel liked to say&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>It is one of <b>them!<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>No. Similar three-shape. Different five-shape.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWho are you?\u201d she asked again, trying to see them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The impossible thing, the shape that wasn\u2019t a shape, the shape that her mind tried to flee from, was back.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>It is wondering. Wondering about us.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>We are below&#8288;\u2026 beneath&#8288;\u2026 under&#8288;\u2026 under&#8288;\u2026 alone&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Find us. We will show you&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u2026&#8288;help us&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i><b>DIE.<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was a new \u201cvoice,\u201d different from the others. Where she had sensed curiosity, loneliness, and strange desperation until then, she suddenly sensed terrible, implacable hatred.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i><b>Death to the things that killed us&#8288;\u2026 death to the makers of the cages&#8288;\u2026 death to the \u2019verse that trapped us&#8288;\u2026 a trillion deaths for every one you took from us&#8288;\u2026<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>No. Leave. It is a larva.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i><b>It is filth.<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Innocent!<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i><b>Filth. It has no right to come under. Not innocent. Filth.<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Flee, larva. Flee. We cannot protect you.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack couldn\u2019t move. She was rooted in place, locked in horror.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i><b>We come. We come to take it all back. All the worlds your filth has stolen will burn&#8288;\u2026<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Something tiny and yet enormous took hold of her and the stars spun. She had the sense that another thing, monstrous and cold, had been reaching for her&#8288;\u2026 but now it was gone.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>We are sorry, little larva. Forgive us&#8288;\u2026 help us&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWho are you?\u201d she whispered into the dark.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You see&#8288;\u2026 you know&#8288;\u2026<\/i> For a moment it almost came back to her, shards of memory with no meaning attached, glowing towers rising into a star-filled sky, a woman in a mask, a hand slapping down on a button&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Come for us,<\/i> the not-voices whispered. <i>Save us. Take us&#8288;\u2026 to&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u2026&#8288;the Threshold&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The stars whirled around her again and for a moment, she caught another glimpse of the impossible shape, a chained and contained infinity, beautiful and terrible and mind-breaking&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She woke up gasping, pressing her hands over her mouth to suppress a scream. Kyra cried out in terror and sat up at the same moment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFuck!\u201d Kyra shouted, looking around wildly. Sebby scooted off the bed and zoomed under the dresser.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack realized that Kyra had pulled a knife from somewhere and was holding it out defensively.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat the fuck <i>was<\/i> that thing? Where did it go?\u201d Kyra gasped.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe thing in the dark?\u201d Jack asked. \u201cThe thing that was huge and tiny at the same time?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra turned and looked at her, eyes widening. \u201cYou saw it too?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack nodded, swallowing. \u201cIt said something about a threshold&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra nodded back. The tension was leaving her body, slowly. \u201cHow did we have the same dream?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack shuddered. \u201cDid you&#8288;\u2026 feel it when people crossed over from U1 to Elsewhere last night? And back?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra looked like she wanted to say no, like she wanted to deny it. \u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;yes.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI think&#8288;\u2026 I think something else felt <i>us.<\/i>\u201d It was an increasingly unsettling thought.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFuck.\u201d Kyra set the knife down. \u201cWhatever it is, it ain\u2019t human. Not even a little.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDid it call you a \u2018larva\u2019 too?\u201d Jack asked. She was focusing on holding onto the memory. Unlike the perfect recall she had of things she paid attention to while she was conscious, her dreams were rarely accessible to her for long. Sometimes, after Mr. Reilly had told her about the Many Worlds Theory, she\u2019d imagined that she visited other universes in her sleep, lived other lives, and that she couldn\u2019t remember much afterward because the memories lived in the heads of other Audreys, scattered throughout the multiverse.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Maybe she hadn\u2019t been as far off as she\u2019d thought.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt did. Most of them did. But there was one&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Now Kyra shuddered. \u201cIt hated me. It wanted me dead.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMe too. Called me \u2018filth.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFilth&#8288;\u2026 larva&#8288;\u2026 way to make a girl feel insignificant. Shit.\u201d Kyra blew out a breath and flopped down on the mattress. \u201cIf that was some kind of fucked up First Contact, I really don\u2019t want to meet them out here in reality.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>But is this reality?<\/i> Jack found herself thinking. If the entities they\u2019d both dreamed about were real, was <i>this<\/i> the dream world?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She could feel a headache starting.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI am <i>not<\/i> gonna go back to sleep for a while,\u201d she said, lying on her back next to Kyra.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Fortunately, their rooms were flooded with light. Jack thought it might be nearing midday outside. There was very little noise coming in through the windows, which seemed to back that up. The heat was beating down, leavened by the sea breezes coming in through the windows, but Jack was glad of the warmth after the deathly cold of the <i>thing<\/i> from her dreams. Around New Marrakesh, people had probably already retired for the \u201cover&#173;noon\u201d sleep period, while they were stuck wide awake and scared to close their eyes&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo then maybe we should talk about what happened last night,\u201d Kyra said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhich part? There\u2019s so much.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That got a soft laugh from Kyra. \u201cWell, I can tell you some of the things that happened while you were kinda out of it, if you want.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, that sounds good.\u201d It bothered Jack that she\u2019d collapsed so hard, while both Kyra and Tomlin had still needed her. \u201cSorry about that.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat for? You did great. <i>Really<\/i> great. Crazy-great. But anyway, Tomlin and I did a little embellishing of your plan for the shuttles. He set them up so that they\u2019d fly textbook \u2018launch to the space station\u2019 paths out of New Marrakesh and get halfway up into the sky before colliding with each other. Before they left, he and I did a quick isomorph to some alcove just outside of their jamming range, and he called Takama and gave her the transponder frequencies so she could track them. She says they crashed right into each other and exploded way out to sea, right about the time they reached this planet\u2019s stratosphere.\u201d Kyra grinned. \u201cThere\u2019s a marine rescue operation going on right now, but nobody\u2019s expecting to find much. And they\u2019re <i>never<\/i> gonna find the flight recorders, because those are sitting on the beach in Elsewhere.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s&#8288;\u2026 amazing.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra snorted. \u201cWell, you said to crash the fuck out of them. Crashing them into each other seemed the best way.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAre you <i>kidding?<\/i> Last night was one of the best times I\u2019ve ever <i>had.<\/i> I should be thanking <i>you.<\/i>\u201d Kyra\u2019s smile was broad and bright. \u201cI know what I want to do now, what I want to be. I don\u2019t know if you heard any of it, but&#8288;\u2026 Tomlin\u2019s gonna introduce me to some of the officers he served with. People he trusts. I\u2019m gonna do it, Jack. I want to fight for people the way I did last night. He says there are some crack units that get sent on rescue missions, and if I can get into one of those&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her smile suddenly faltered. For a moment, the light in her eyes dimmed a little.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWill <i>you<\/i> be okay if I do that? I know you told him you have somewhere you need to go, but&#8288;\u2026 <i>do<\/i> you? I mean, <i>really?<\/i> \u2019Cause I don\u2019t want to run out on you or anything.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack felt as if her heart was both impossibly full and being squeezed really tightly. She\u2019d worried more than a little about what would happen to <i>Kyra<\/i> when it was time for her to continue her journey to her dad, but now Kyra was having the same worries about her&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI will,\u201d she promised. \u201cI do have a place to go&#8288;\u2026 I was on my way to my dad when things started going wrong. That\u2019s where I\u2019m going. He doesn\u2019t know I\u2019m coming, but I know he\u2019ll still be on Furya when I get there.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra looked both relieved and curious. \u201cWhat\u2019s Furya?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cA planet,\u201d Jack told her. \u201cKind of a weird one. There\u2019s like, no record of when it was terraformed or who went to settle it, but a hundred or so years ago, some people showed up at Federacy HQ saying they were from there and wanting to register the planet as a sovereign world. That was a first. There wasn\u2019t much contact or trade or anything after that, either. But then, about twenty-five years ago, a ton of people <i>from<\/i> there started showing up all over the Federacy as refugees, saying their world had been attacked. So scouts went out and&#8288;\u2026 well, my dad said someone had committed genocide there. But all the survivors would say was that the devil had come, so, you know, not especially helpful. Their biosphere was seriously fucked up by whatever happened, too. So a bunch of worlds offered their old terraforming equipment that they no longer needed, to help the place get put back together. It\u2019s starting to work, but the equipment\u2019s so old that it needs a lot of tending and re-engineering. My dad decided he\u2019d go there and take charge of that. I guess he was stationed there back before I was born, so he already knows how to talk to the locals.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Describing it to Kyra, she suddenly felt selfish for wanting her dad to stay on Deckard\u2019s World with her. He was <i>helping<\/i> people. After the last night, she understood so much better how strong the need to do that could be.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Maybe he\u2019d thought he was leaving her in the best possible place, with her mom and Alvin, much as Riddick had apparently thought that leaving her with Abu and Lajjun had been in her best interest. Her dad, she reflected, had probably been a lot more right about his choice than Riddick had been&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI love how you know all this stuff,\u201d Kyra said after a moment. \u201cThe schooling I got from the New Christy Elders&#8288;\u2026 it was all about people from thousands of years ago who talked directly to God and lived for hundreds of years and had a million rules about everything and kept cursing their own children, and none of it made a lick of sense to me. Everything I <i>wanted<\/i> to learn about&#8288;\u2026 oh no, that was <i>Men\u2019s Business.<\/i> My job was to cook and clean and make babies one day. I never, <i>ever<\/i> wanted that job.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWell, you won\u2019t have to have it, ever, if you don\u2019t want.\u201d Jack told her. \u201cTomlin\u2019ll help you get in with the right people. He\u2019s the real deal.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe is, isn\u2019t he?\u201d Kyra grinned again. \u201cYou know, I was real suspicious of him at first. Part of it was I was jealous, you know? The two of you seemed to understand each other so well, from the moment you met, and I\u2019ve <i>never<\/i> seen you trust anyone so fast. But&#8288;\u2026 you were right about him.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That astounded Jack. Kyra had been jealous of Tomlin?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But, she recalled, Kyra had also been jealous of <i>her<\/i> for a while, back when she\u2019d been taken under Heather\u2019s wing. Friendships, she realized, <i>real<\/i> friendships, were hard to come by for Kyra. She was afraid that there wouldn\u2019t be any room left for her if someone new came along. She was afraid of being replaced and discarded.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou didn\u2019t need to be jealous,\u201d she managed after a moment. \u201cYou\u2019re still my best friend. More than that. I\u2019m an only child&#8288;\u2026 or I was. But now, you\u2019re my sister.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra swallowed, her smile taking on a tight quality, and Jack realized that she was struggling to suppress tears. \u201cYou\u2019re my sister, too,\u201d she managed after a moment, her voice wobbly.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack could feel how perilous her own emotions were. If she didn\u2019t say or do something to change it, the two of them were going to end up crying for the next few hours. She wasn\u2019t sure how long it would be before she could stop, if she started. \u201cYou think Takama brought us some food while we were asleep?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra\u2019s expression stabilized and her lips quirked. \u201cDamn. You say <i>food<\/i> and my stomach starts screaming <i>demands.<\/i> Let\u2019s go find out.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Takama had indeed returned while they slept, leaving behind items that could safely sit out\u2014protected from insects\u2014on their table. Beneath the coverings, a variety of breads, nuts, hard cheeses, and fruits awaited them. Jack found a bottle of freshly-made orange juice, the New Marrakesh kind that had ruined her for all others, tucked in their otherwise empty cooler.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo it\u2019s almost noon,\u201d Kyra said as they ate. \u201cTide\u2019s out. If you feel up to it\u2014and I\u2019ll understand if you don\u2019t because I don\u2019t think you even <i>know<\/i> how much you did last night\u2014we could do a little of that beachcombing we talked about. Nobody\u2019ll notice if we appear and disappear places. And after last night, nobody in the Rif is going to think twice if they <i>do<\/i> see us do that.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The wariness that had been so thoroughly habitual for Kyra seemed to have dissolved, literally overnight. This was the most relaxed Jack had ever seen her friend.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019d like that,\u201d Jack agreed. \u201cLet me just check the reports first&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her backpack, which had miraculously made it through all the night\u2019s dramas, was sitting by the table. Takama must have found it at the shop and brought it over, because Jack had no clear recollection of what had happened to it after she\u2019d put it on and begun running for Othman Tower. Inside, her tablet was, amazingly, unscathed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Unlike the clothes I was wearing&#8288;\u2026<\/i> She still couldn\u2019t figure out when she\u2019d ripped both knees off her pants.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There was nothing in the local news feeds about almost two hundred people disappearing. Not until Jack pulled up the news about the offshore search-and-rescue in progress.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt>The Quin&#173;tessa Corporation has confirmed that both shuttles were carrying the surviving passengers and crew of the <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i> to a new treatment facility. Colonel Gavin Tomlin, who had been supervising the quarantine, is on record as saying that he never authorized, and had not been informed of, the transfer. Local authorities further confirmed that the shuttles appeared to have violated several rules regarding New Marrakesh airspace, and had forced Ground Control to reroute half a dozen flight paths to prevent additional collisions&#8288;\u2026<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDamn,\u201d Kyra said. \u201cI don\u2019t like his name being right in there.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMe neither,\u201d Jack admitted. \u201cNo way around it, though, I guess. He <i>was<\/i> in charge of them. And it\u2019d be suspicious as hell if he <i>wasn\u2019t<\/i> demanding to know why he\u2019d been left out of the loop.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI hope he\u2019s a good actor.\u201d Kyra studied his image on the screen. \u201cHe\u2019s sure got the looks of one.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Behind them, the door opened and Takama stepped through. \u201cAwake already?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack realized that, sometime in the last day, she\u2019d stopped thinking of Takama as her favorite food vendor, or even Tomlin\u2019s aunt, and had begun thinking of her as <i>family.<\/i> No wonder, she thought, soldiers coming home from war talked about their brothers and sisters in arms and meant it. A powerful bond had been forged.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe had some trouble with bad dreams,\u201d Kyra said, with an ease that suggested she was feeling exactly the same way. She had probably given Takama the code to enter their building and unit.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>This is who she was before life went badly wrong for her,<\/i> Jack thought.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI suppose that is no surprise. It is good that you are up, though. I spoke to Brahim a little while ago and thought I could give you an update if you were awake. Otherwise, I just wanted to check in on you before I went to sleep, myself.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIs everything okay?\u201d Jack asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe is not entirely sure. Everyone seems to have accepted Quin&#173;tessa\u2019s explanation and his outrage about it, but&#8288;\u2026 he is not sure that the envoy from Quin&#173;tessa believes what she is claiming. She acted strangely toward him.\u201d Takama frowned. \u201cHe must go up to Tangier Station A to pull the original transmission logs from the <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i>, and the readings he took of its approach, because Quin&#173;tessa is now claiming that it was never a Level Five Incident at all. He told me he thought someone might have been following him into the spaceport.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWait, were you two talking on <i>comms<\/i> about this?\u201d Kyra was frowning.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Takama laughed softly. \u201cDo not fret, Dihya. We spoke a language no eavesdropper could know.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAre you sure?\u201d Jack asked, feeling a cold spot in her belly. \u201cMost translation programs&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHave no lexicon for it,\u201d Takama insisted. \u201cMy sister invented it when we were children. I told you she is a linguist, yes? It was our secret language for years and years. She taught it to her husband and her children, but outside of the six of us, no one has ever spoken or heard it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack allowed herself to feel a little relief at that. It worried her, though, that Tomlin was possibly being followed. \u201cWhat\u2019s he doing about his shadow?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe said he might go where the man cannot follow. He <i>does<\/i> have clearance into almost every part of the spaceport. But I think he may wish to learn a little more about <i>why<\/i> he is being followed, first. After all&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">With a deafening bang, the apartment building shook.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack could hear alarms sounding outside, lots of them. She scrambled from the couch to the nearest window.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">People were pouring out onto the streets, talking and shouting. Several of them pointed toward the northwest.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat is it?\u201d Takama asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI can\u2019t see yet.\u201d Jack told her, running into the bedroom.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Several panes of glass in the western-facing window had cracked, but none had broken. Through the window, to the northwest, Jack could see a large, roiling column of black smoke climbing into the sky, flames licking upward from beneath it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cBaraka,\u201d<\/i> Takama groaned at her side. \u201cThat is at the spaceport&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack, who had impulsively bought a good set of binoculars\u2014along with an as-yet-unused telescope\u2014two days before, grabbed them off the dresser and brought them to her eyes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was a clear day and Jack could see much of the coast of New Marrakesh. To the northwest, it curved to create a bay. Along the edge of the distant promontory, the runways and launch platforms spread out on the flat land. She could see many of the low structures that made up the spaceport, its concourses, towers, hangars, warehouses, ships&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">One of the concourses, beside a shuttle roughly three times the size of the ones she\u2019d encountered the night before, was burning fiercely beneath the rising black cloud. The flames were licking over the hull of the shuttle&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A flash as bright as the sun almost blinded her for a second. She threw her arm up over her eyes until it faded.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Now an enormous, gory red cloud was expanding where the shuttle had been, shooting off fast-moving tendrils of fire that arced through the sky.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFuck!\u201d Kyra shouted. \u201cGet away from the window!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They raced for the doorway, reaching it right as the shockwave struck. It shattered the window and sent dozens of sharp fragments of glass flying through the space where they\u2019d only just been standing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cBrahim!\u201d<\/i> Takama wailed, falling to her knees. \u201cThey have murdered <i>Brahim!\u201d<\/i> she sobbed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra\u2019s face crumpled as she knelt beside Takama and put her arms around her. Jack felt numb and weightless.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She couldn\u2019t think. She couldn\u2019t feel. Nothing made any sense. Only two terrible words echoed through the vast emptiness inside her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Not again!<\/i><\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4027\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4027 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-28\">\u00ab Chapter 28<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4094\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4094 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-30\">Chapter 30 \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=\"30\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4028\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4028 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-29\">\u00ab Chapter 29<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4095\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4095 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-31\">Chapter 31 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5145\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5145 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">30.<br\/>\r\n<u>As the Ashes Fall from the Sky<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A terrible silence had fallen over New Marrakesh.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It wasn\u2019t a physical silence; sirens wailed constantly, ebbing and flowing as emergency vehicles traveled to and from the disaster zone. The drone of military \u2019copters and the whine of airtankers filled the skies. Agonized screams had even come from within Jack and Kyra\u2019s apartment building, from people who had been standing, dumbfounded, at their own west windows when the shockwave had struck. Human wailing pierced the air from all directions as people learned that someone they loved had been near, or in, the blast zone.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But Jack felt cocooned from it all, even as she and Kyra helped Takama tend their neighbors\u2019 wounds and joined the Imazighen in aid efforts, even as they shared tears and hugs with people who had known Tomlin\u2014Brahim Meziane, to most of them\u2014and had just discovered his fate. She was wrapped in something dark and quiet. In the silence, she couldn\u2019t even hear her heart beating and wondered if she still had one.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She and Kyra cried together that night, after Takama ordered them to bed, but the silence of her heart still wouldn\u2019t lift. The things that waited for her in her dreams left her alone. Later she had a vague memory of them arguing over whether she, and the \u201cother larva,\u201d might be dying. It seemed unfathomable to her at times that she wasn\u2019t.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The initial death toll didn\u2019t quite reach five hundred, but that was more than enough.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Of those almost-five hundred, more than half were \u201cmissing and presumed dead,\u201d people whose last known positions had been too close to the blasts for any identifiable remains to be left. That roster was compiled from multiple lists: the shuttle\u2019s crew, all of whom had signed in to begin their shifts more than an hour earlier; roughly fifty passengers who had already checked in and boarded the shuttle early so they could sleep while they awaited liftoff; the ground crews loading and fueling the shuttle; the clocked-in staffs of an exclusive pilots\u2019 lounge, a small duty-free shop, and the security checkpoint located just before the departure gate&#8288;\u2026 and one last, terrible, overlapping list of people whose comms had signaled their final locations within the blast radius before going silent forever.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Colonel Gavin Brahim Tomlin had been among the last group; his comm\u2019s final location had placed him in the pilots\u2019 lounge, less than twenty meters from the first explosion, and his bank account had a pending meal transaction originating from there. Where the lounge had been, the side of a monstrous crater now sloped down into the earth.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The initial explosion had been declared a terrorist act. Footage had surfaced of an unidentified man leaving a duffel bag on a bench not far from the pilots\u2019 lounge doors, and it was featured in every news feed, but no clear shot of the man\u2019s face was available.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Between the massive fire at the spaceport itself, and the dozens of violent secondary fires on the northwest end of the city caused by the shuttle\u2019s flaming debris, the search-and-rescue operations out at sea were scaled back, almost all their teams diverted, and the story about <i>that<\/i> disaster, now thoroughly upstaged, vanished to the back \u201cpages\u201d of the news feeds.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The injury count was in the thousands. The property damage was in the trillions, when six more shuttles and two Star Jumpers that would never fly again were figured in.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">New Marrakesh wasn\u2019t, in fact, Tangier Prime\u2019s largest city; Tomlin had simply chosen to divert the <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i> there because the planet\u2019s most prestigious hospital was located within it, and possibly because he had his best connections to local resources and logistical capabilities there. Both space traffic and terrestrial flights were immediately rerouted to New Casablanca and New Fes, with the still functional landing pads at New Marrakesh\u2019s spaceport transforming into staging grounds for relief efforts. Thousands of stranded passengers waited within damaged concourses, and in hastily-assembled tents on the tarmac, for transport out of the city.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Check-in stations proliferated. One man, who had initially been reported as presumed dead, turned up a few hours later; he\u2019d been at a police station on the other side of the spaceport, filing a report about his missing comm and wallet, at the time of the explosion. He was the only one thus far, but it had raised hopes that others might reappear. One Tangier day after the explosion, the secondary list of missing persons, who hadn\u2019t been presumed dead yet but who might have been in the blast radius, had dropped from more than two thousand to slightly under three hundred. At the end of a Tangier week\u2014four of its long days, a period just eight hours longer than a Standard week\u2014whatever names remained would be added to the list of the dead. It could no longer top eight hundred, but it might still come close. If the noon hour on Tangier Prime hadn\u2019t been roughly equivalent to the midnight hour on most other worlds, the death and injury tolls might have been five times as high, but the devastation had struck during the spaceport\u2019s \u201cquiet hours.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Every time Jack thought of those numbers, she felt ill.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Did I cause this? Is this my fault?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She wasn\u2019t going to find the answer in the news feeds. Pulling out her most powerful Ghost Code, she dug into the local law enforcement chatter.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">No one seemed to be connecting the shuttle crash over the Mutawassit Ocean to the subsequent explosion at the spaceport, but there <i>was<\/i> an active\u2014if backburnered\u2014investigation into it. Jack had been right; the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation had chosen to make its move while Tomlin was off-duty and out of the way. He\u2019d spent his day off putting together a plan for stealing his charges out from under the Corporation\u2019s collective noses even as they were executing a plan to do the same thing to him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Someone had switched around the evening duty rosters for Othman Tower, swapping in a set of false employee records for the new \u201cstaff\u201d that took over the building that night. Jack recognized all the faces immediately: the merc team. There was no record of who had made the changes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo Quin&#173;tessa contracted out the kidnapping and let that merc team run it on the ground?\u201d Kyra asked. She had taken to reading everything over Jack\u2019s shoulder, partly slumped against her back. Jack didn\u2019t mind; she needed the contact.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah,\u201d she agreed. \u201cBut whoever engineered this was either using a Ghost Code, like mine, or is <i>really<\/i> high up in the security chain around here.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s not good. Is that who jammed the cameras and comms?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMaybe. Either them or the mercs. I thought they had it set up to key off the shuttles\u2019 transponders, but everything stayed off for another twenty minutes after those had already flown off, freaked out Ground Control&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d Jack faltered for a moment on those words; that had been the first name she\u2019d had for Tomlin. \u201c&#8288;\u2014&#8288;and then crashed. Kinda ham-handed.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMaybe,\u201d Kyra said, her voice considering. \u201cOr maybe they thought having a localized blackout keep going for a while after their operation ended would make it seem less connected.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah,\u201d Jack admitted. \u201cEither way, whoever it is&#8288;\u2026 they\u2019re dangerous and they don\u2019t care who they kill, and they can ghost around as well as we can, maybe better.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">With that in mind, she dug\u2014carefully, because it was being actively consulted by law enforcement\u2014into the back-end records of the spaceport, looking for a ghost\u2019s trail: abrupt changes to databases with no record of who initiated them; glitched cameras that briefly lost the ability to record people\u2019s movements; other signs that someone was doing the things she had done on Helion Prime, but to a far more harmful purpose. It took her another hour to find what she was looking for, but at least it kept her stable, quieting the part of her that wanted to scream to fill the silence, and might never stop if she let it start.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Someone had, indeed, followed Tomlin to the spaceport and shadowed him on the way to the pilots\u2019 lounge. Someone who could only be tracked by the wake of suddenly malfunctioning cameras, about twenty meters behind Tomlin himself. Cameras at the periphery periodically captured small glimpses of a man dressed in the same clothing the suspected terrorist had been wearing, but never in any detail. By the time he was near enough to a camera for it to get a good shot of him, it had stopped recording.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Tomlin, in the footage, looked uneasy. At one point, he spoke on his comm\u2014probably to Takama\u2014as he walked through the concourse toward the shuttle that would ultimately explode. He lingered briefly by a reflective surface, studying the scene behind him. Trying to identify, Jack thought, his shadow.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Other members of the spaceport staff, dressed in uniforms like his, greeted Tomlin and spoke to him at times. He was clearly popular and well-liked. When he entered the pilots\u2019 lounge, the malfunctions following him stilled to just three cameras, obscuring a space fifteen meters from the lounge\u2019s doors. For the next half hour, those three cameras remained non-functional while a handful of people\u2014a man and a woman in pilots\u2019 uniforms entering the lounge with formally-dressed guests on their arms, someone else\u2019s departing guest in a djellaba and a face-obscuring headwrap, and a trio of curious-looking teens who entered the lounge and were escorted back out a moment later, now looking disappointed\u2014came and went. The glitches only moved when a technician showed up to examine one of the disabled cameras.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For another five minutes, nothing happened. Then a second set of camera glitches described the wake of another person moving, unseen, though the concourse and arriving at the same location.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The arrival, Jack thought, of the duffel bag.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Soon after, two sets of glitches showed Tomlin\u2019s shadow, and his accomplice, departing the spaceport in two different directions, leaving behind an innocuous-looking bag sitting on a bench beside a potted almond tree. They were outside in another ten minutes. The first explosion immediately followed, every camera within forty meters of the bag registering flaring light from its direction before dissolving into static, the cameras beyond that showing the almost instantaneous destruction that had been wrought, and the intense fire that had erupted seconds after, before registering their own flash-and-static deaths slightly over a minute later.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Whatever kind of bomb had been inside the bag, its position and blast radius had ensured that both the pilot\u2019s lounge and the shuttle\u2019s boarding area would be destroyed. They had calculated it so that, when the bomb went off, it wouldn\u2019t matter whether Tomlin was still eating his meal in the lounge or had joined the other passengers at the gate.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack couldn\u2019t bring herself to watch the feeds of the explosion from inside the lounge itself yet. Instead, she ran through all the exterior feeds, hoping that one, or even both, of the men might have accidentally let themselves get caught on a camera that didn\u2019t glitch. Nothing. The only shot she found was the one law enforcement was already circulating, the moment when a camera, too far down the concourse to capture any detail, recorded Tomlin\u2019s shadow placing the duffel bag on the bench and walking away.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The uniformity of the glitching suggested that he and his accomplice had been carrying scrambling devices rather than using Ghost Codes. There were no unexplained changes to any of the databases. Jack felt disgusted with herself for being relieved about that, about the fact that she didn\u2019t have to reveal the existence of the back doors she used, possibly closing them against herself in the process, in order to get justice for Tomlin.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Even though she\u2019d put it off for the very end, Jack still couldn\u2019t bring herself to watch the recordings from inside the pilot\u2019s lounge. As much as part of her desperately wanted to see Tomlin again, even for a moment, she didn\u2019t want to have to watch him <i>die<\/i> in that moment. Neither did Kyra, who had been petting Sebby while resting her head on Jack\u2019s shoulder.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo everybody thinks it was terrorism when it was an assassination?\u201d Kyra asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah,\u201d Jack sighed. \u201cLooks that way.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhy\u2019d they make it so big?\u201d Kyra asked after a long, morose pause. \u201cI mean, they knew where he was. Did they have to take out the whole concourse to get him? The whole <i>spaceport,<\/i> for fuck\u2019s sake?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Of all the infinite ways that the disaster had struck at them, the sheer, brutal magnitude of it hit hardest after losing Tomlin himself. To ensure one man\u2019s death, the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation had knowingly killed hundreds of people, injured thousands more, and crippled a city.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack\u2019s words to Tomlin from the night before came back to her. <i>They can\u2019t threaten to cripple the economy if you don\u2019t turn over people <b>you<\/b> don\u2019t have, because <b>they<\/b> already took them from you&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d been wrong. She\u2019d been so terribly wrong. Whether it was because they suspected Tomlin still had the <i>Matador<\/i> survivors, or because they wanted to prevent an inquest into the secrecy around Level Five Incidents, they\u2019d been willing to do a whole lot more than just <i>threaten.<\/i> She wondered if the explosion was a message: <i>If you rescue two hundred lives from us, we will take three times as many in their place&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Nobody could be so casually, inhumanly brutal, could they?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i> Death to the things that killed us&#8288;\u2026 death to the makers of the cages&#8288;\u2026 death to the \u2019verse that trapped us&#8288;\u2026 a trillion deaths for every one you took from us&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She shuddered. Whatever <i>that<\/i> was, its malice was personal and vengeful. This was cruelly indifferent. It wasn\u2019t as if Tomlin had known, or could have proven, anything that would actually break the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation\u2019s monopolistic power over space travel, was it?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I think I know what the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation is hiding. It\u2019s much worse than we thought. We must never let them find my charges&#8288;\u2026 or either one of <b>you&#8288;\u2026<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Had<\/i> he discovered something that powerful?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI think\u2026\u201d she said slowly, aware that Kyra was seeking an actual answer from her, \u201cwhatever it was that he figured out about them posed a big enough threat that they didn\u2019t <i>care<\/i> how many people got hurt, as long as they eliminated it. But&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She pulled up the spaceport\u2019s schematics as she talked. Anything other than the lounge videos was a welcome tangent.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;that doesn\u2019t explain how strong that bomb ended up being, or how it started that fire, or why the <i>shuttle<\/i> exploded. Shuttles are made to deal with much worse when they hit atmo. It should\u2019ve been okay. Maybe not <i>space<\/i>-worthy anymore, but still&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The structure housing the concourse was multi-level. The upper level, where the pilot\u2019s lounge and departure gate had both been situated, was positioned six meters above the tarmac, level with the airlock into the shuttle\u2019s passenger cabin. Beneath it, the ground level was a long, vast warehouse-style structure with conveyors for both baggage and freight, carrying it from the spaceport to the shuttle\u2019s belly. And beneath that&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThere,\u201d Jack groaned, pointing on the screen. \u201cOh <i>fuck<\/i>, there it is.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat?\u201d Kyra leaned forward, touching the conduit Jack was pointing to. \u201cWhat is it?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHydrolox-M fuel lines,\u201d Jack managed, feeling ill. \u201cFor refueling the shuttle. It was still an hour until launch time, maybe more. The lines were open and <i>pumping.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She could see it all now. The bomb had been strong enough to ensure that, whether Tomlin was still in the lounge\u2014whose entry doors had been fifteen meters from the duffel bag\u2014or was waiting at the departure gate thirty meters farther down the concourse, he wouldn\u2019t survive. But that was also strong enough to reach, and rupture, the Hydrolox-M fuel lines eight meters beneath it, while they were actively pumping <i>one of the most combustible materials in the universe<\/i> into the shuttle\u2019s enormous, almost-filled tanks&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Safety valves farther down the line toward the spaceport hub would have tripped closed automatically upon sensing a sudden pressure drop, but if the concussive blast had damaged the valves leading into the shuttle itself, the hydrogen fire would have traveled, in moments, into its tanks, generating a blast whose power was just shy of <i>nuclear.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Had they <i>known<\/i> the bomb would do that? Had they cared at all about the chain reaction it would set in motion?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>And I thought I\u2019d seen monsters on the crash planet&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI hate not being the bad guys,\u201d Kyra grumbled.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For a moment, Jack\u2019s mind stuttered over that. But technically, she realized, they <i>were<\/i> both criminals. Escaped from custody and fugitives, they had stolen money and property and falsified documents along the way. They had participated in the hijacking and destruction of two shuttles, albeit ones that were empty aside from some merc bodies. But those were the bodies of their <i>victims.<\/i> They had committed murder\u2014Jack for a second time, while Kyra had added another dozen or so notches to her belt.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I am technically a multiple murderer now,<\/i> Jack thought, feeling a bubble of nausea rise in response. Whether she\u2019d been defending people\u2019s lives or not, both of her victims had, at least nominally, been the ones on the right side of the law.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But the world would still be a far better place, she admitted, if their crimes were the worst ones on the board, if they were the worst villains on the stage.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah,\u201d she finally agreed with a heavy sigh, \u201cme, too.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A soft knock on their door alerted them to Takama\u2019s arrival before she came in. She wasn\u2019t alone.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The silver-haired woman who came in next was unmistakably Takama\u2019s sister. Safiyya Meziane, Jack realized. Which meant that the fair, Celtic-looking man walking behind her, whose appearance was hauntingly similar to Tomlin\u2019s, was his father Cedric. A younger woman, who looked like both Safiyya and Cedric, followed them in&#8288;\u2014 Tomlin\u2019s sister. Jack recalled that Takama had said her younger nephew was away at flight school, following in his brother\u2019s and father\u2019s footsteps.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She rose from the couch to greet them, Kyra rising beside her. It took her a moment to find words. \u201cI\u2019m so sorry&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d she began, before she found herself enveloped in a crushing mass hug.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sebby, who had been sitting by Jack\u2019s tablet tapping ineffectually at the screen with a pincer, scooted back into the bedroom, perhaps fearing that he was next to be squished.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWas that it? The creature from the other universe?\u201d Tomlin\u2019s sister, Tafrara, asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, that\u2019s Sebby,\u201d Jack told her, wiping her eyes. \u201cSorry, I think he\u2019s feeling shy.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe brought you food,\u201d Cedric said. \u201cTakama says you don\u2019t seem to keep any in your home.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack felt terribly embarrassed suddenly. Amazigh culture was <i>huge<\/i> on hospitality, and they had nothing to offer. \u201cThank you. We, uh&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe\u2019d love it if you\u2019d stay and eat with us,\u201d Kyra said, rescuing her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That, Jack decided a few minutes later, had been the plan from the start, based on the quantity of food the Tomlin-Meziane family had brought with them. Soon everyone was settled in the living room with fragrant plates. Jack, who hadn\u2019t thought she would ever want to eat again, found that she was suddenly ravenous.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Conversation inevitably turned to the explosion, and to loss.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThey\u2019ve told us that there will be nothing to bury,\u201d Cedric said. \u201cHe was too near to the blast. But they haven\u2019t told us anything useful about <i>why<\/i> this happened. No terrorist groups have taken credit, nobody seems to know&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI know,\u201d Jack said heavily. \u201cI know what happened. And I know why.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For the next half hour, she walked them through what she\u2019d discovered, showing them the glitch patterns and the small amount that had been captured on camera. She showed them the schematics, and how the size of the first explosion had made the second inevitable. They watched somberly; like her and Kyra, they didn\u2019t want to see footage of Tomlin\u2019s last moments in the pilots\u2019 lounge.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou are every bit as formidable as our son said you were,\u201d Cedric murmured as she put the tablet down at last.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAll this&#8288;\u2026 to kill our son?\u201d Safiyya finally asked. \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c\u2019Cause they don\u2019t want people knowing about Level Five Incidents,\u201d Jack mused. \u201cT&#8288;\u2014 Brahim&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d That seemed to be what everybody had called him in the Rif, when they weren\u2019t referring to him as <i>El Krim<\/i> or, as some had pronounced it, <i>Il Karim<\/i>. \u201cHe thought he knew why. Something that happened, when we were rescuing the <i>Matador<\/i> survivors, made him realize what Quin&#173;tessa had to be hiding. Maybe they figured out he was onto them.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe didn\u2019t tell you what it was?\u201d Cedric asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack shook her head. She could see Kyra and Takama doing so as well. Whatever he\u2019d discovered, he\u2019d seemed reluctant to voice his suspicions, and had taken them with him into the black.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d she said again. \u201cThis is all my fault&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShut that down,\u201d Kyra snapped. \u201cShut that down <i>right now.<\/i> You didn\u2019t do this. <i>They<\/i> did. You want to know why people keep dying around you? It\u2019s because <i>you don\u2019t bail when things go bad.<\/i> Ever. So shut down this \u2018my fault\u2019 bullshit.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDihya is right, Tislilel,\u201d Cedric told her, and Jack abruptly realized that neither she nor Kyra had <i>ever<\/i> actually told anyone their names since their arrival in the Rif; now the names that Tomlin had given them had stuck. \u201cI\u2019m an old hand at these kinds of intrigues. They may have been planning on killing Brahim ever since he took the survivors back from them after the high tide. If he was going up to the space station to retrieve evidence of their wrongdoing, they\u2019d have wanted to stop him in a way that didn\u2019t look too specifically targeted at him.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI think,\u201d Takama said, \u201cfrom watching the footage, they may have intended to abduct him, or possibly engineer an accidental death for him&#8288;\u2026 until they realized that he knew they were following him, and he made himself inaccessible to them by going into a lounge that only pilots and their guests can enter. Technically, he still numbered among the pilots even if it has been almost five years since he last flew a mission.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Cedric nodded, looking thoughtful. \u201cThat\u2019d explain why the bloke on his tail staked out the lounge and called for backup&#8288;\u2026 and a much more violent plan. You say they were using portable jammers on the cameras, not jacking into the security system?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s what it looks like,\u201d Jack said. \u201cNone of the signs of someone with <i>my<\/i> kind of access were in the system.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Cedric gave her a weighing look, his expression heartbreakingly like Tomlin\u2019s when <i>he<\/i> had restrained himself from asking when and how she\u2019d learned so much high-level espionage. Jack swallowed, suddenly feeling like her food had gotten caught in her throat.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo they may not have had any idea that their briefcase bomb was going to trigger something catastrophic,\u201d he said after a moment. \u201cI suspect, if they\u2019d been <i>able<\/i> to gain access, they\u2019d have put it on the shuttle itself and timed its detonation for some time during launch. So whoever it was had top-level tech, but not top-level clearance. Could <i>you<\/i> have walked a bomb like that onto the shuttle?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack winced, feeling ill, and nodded. She knew exactly how she could have done it, too. \u201cI would never do that,\u201d she whispered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe know,\u201d Takama said, laying a gentle hand on her shoulder.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMaybe I should be bothered by how much access you seem to have,\u201d Cedric agreed, \u201cbut I\u2019m not, because it seems to me like it\u2019s in pretty safe hands. Incredibly <i>young<\/i> hands, but&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNow <i>hush,<\/i> Cedric,\u201d Safiyya said in a gentle scolding tone. \u201cYou know that my cousin Lalla looked like she was twelve years old until she was nearly thirty. Don\u2019t embarrass her. Or yourself.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe point is,\u201d Cedric continued, giving his wife a somewhat subdued playful glance, \u201cyou aren\u2019t at all responsible for what happened. The two of you are, in point of fact, also victims of Quin&#173;tessa. Both of you could\u2019ve run away and hidden, but you stood beside him when he needed allies most of all. You\u2019re why almost two hundred people survived long enough to escape into the mountains. And you saved <i>his<\/i> life.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI didn\u2019t, though,\u201d Jack blurted. \u201cI just postponed his death.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Just like Fry&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo one gets to choose how long their life is,\u201d Cedric told her, his voice becoming a bit stern.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I tried to&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAll we can do is make the days we have count. My son would have no regrets about how <i>he<\/i> spent his last days, and who he spent them with. Nor do we.\u201d He took a deep breath. \u201cWhich brings us to one of the reasons we came here today. We\u2019ll be holding his memorial a few days from now, once the search-and-rescue is over and the Islamic funerals are dealt with first. And we would like it, very much, if both of you would join us at it, and stand with us as part of his family.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack looked at Kyra, who was looking back at her in speechless astonishment, eyes filling.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">All she could do was nod and try not to start crying again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Tomlin, she knew, would have wanted this. She had a sense that, on some level, she and Kyra had awakened fatherly impulses in him, and he\u2019d have wanted his family to pull her and Kyra into their orbit and take them in on his behalf. But unlike Kyra, she had a father who was waiting for her, and a life and self that had been put on hold for far too long. For Kyra, what Tomlin had offered <i>was<\/i> the life she needed, not a further detour away from it. But even as part of Jack had been\u2014and still was\u2014a little tempted to let herself be enfolded into Tomlin\u2019s world and family, she knew it wasn\u2019t where she truly belonged. She needed to be Audrey MacNamera\u2014not Jack B. Badd, not P. Finch, not Tislilel the mermaid\u2014and inhabit a world without mercs, monsters, or murder. But first&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She would do this. She would honor Tomlin at his memorial ceremony. She would make sure that someone kept his promises to Kyra so she would have a future on Tangier Prime that she could take pride in. But then&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It would be, Jack knew, time for her to go.<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4028\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4028 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-29\">\u00ab Chapter 29<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4095\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4095 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-31\">Chapter 31 \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=\"31\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4029\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4029 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-30\">\u00ab Chapter 30<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4125\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4125 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-32\">Chapter 32 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5148\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5148 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">31.<br\/>\r\n<u>Paint It White<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For the next four of Tangier Prime\u2019s interminably long days, New Marrakesh felt like one enormous funeral.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Processions flowed, repeatedly, from both the hospital downtown and the makeshift morgue out at the spaceport to the dozens of mosques scattered through the city and up into its hillside suburbs. At least one, every hour, passed through the streets of the Rif to reach the large mosque on a hilltop behind it. The processions, for the most part, were somber and quiet. Everyone wore white.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was the color of funerals, Takama told Jack and Kyra, the color of mourning, meant to help shepherd the way to eternity. Most brides on Tangier Prime wore different colors for their weddings, although sometimes <i>one<\/i> of their dresses would be white.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There were no weddings that week.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The worst processions were the ones with tiny biers. Whole families, traveling together, welcoming home members or seeing members off, had died in the blast, and far too many had been children. Jack couldn\u2019t see anything beneath the white cloth coverings being borne uphill, but the small shapes were more than enough on their own.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Transports arrived frequently, delivering food and medical supplies, and left filled with coffins. Dozens of off-worlders were traveling home in them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The glitter of downtown, as seen from their window, was mostly intact. But most north, west, and northwest-facing windows had been shattered by the blast. Repair scaffolding had begun to go up around many of the structures. Jack and Kyra still found shards of glass in their own bedroom each evening when the light caught them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sebby enthusiastically chased after insects foolish enough to come through the empty panes of the bedroom\u2019s west window. Watching him hunt was entertaining enough that they\u2019d decided to leave it uncovered unless a rainstorm came. His antics were the only levity they had.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Other tenants in the building were already griping that it might be months before the damage to their units was fixed, and many were planning on moving out. Where, exactly, they expected to go was a mystery to Jack; many more people had been rendered homeless by the blast than had died in it, and even simple walks downtown had become overcomplicated.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">On the second night, during the midnight hour when most of the sound and motion had ceased, she and Kyra had slipped down the hill to the transport station and their lockers to rescue their false IDs before anyone thought to start going through unclaimed contents. The locker that had contained Tomlin\u2019s ID and bearer cards was vacant, its key already returned. He must, Jack thought, have collected his package before he went to the spaceport.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She had planned to find a way to isomorph the package out of the locker if it had still been there, so that nobody would have ever known the alternate ID existed&#8288;\u2026 and so she could have given the bearer cards to his family. That money was every bit as lost as any cash people had been carrying in the blast zone.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">On the way back up into the Rif, a man in military uniform demanded to see their identification for the first time since they had arrived. The cards Jack had laboriously created passed muster, but they were warned not to violate curfew again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The curfew, which had only just gone into effect, was apparently part of the manhunt in progress for the bomber. Some survivors had seen him leaving the spaceport; new sketches with greater detail were in circulation. So far, no one had seen him since, but checkpoints were appearing throughout the city. Locals spoke in hushed tones about the concern that the checkpoints and curfews might not go away after he was caught.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The newsfeeds covered hot debates, at the local and planetary level, about whether and how much security should be tightened at the spaceports. Engineers argued about how to prevent another Hydrolox-M explosion in the future. Chemical engineers spoke of switching to less volatile fuels, while structural engineers argued for radically redesigning the fueling systems that were standard at every spaceport. Everybody seemed to want to find one quick and easy thing they could do to eliminate the new threat decisively, but nobody could agree on what that one thing would be.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Even though the man shadowing Tomlin hadn\u2019t actually been a terrorist, he had accomplished the goals of one: everyone was living in fear and in search of a sacrificial object they could burn to make things go back to normal.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Through it all, while Jack carefully sidestepped higher security protocols to secure the two of them additional funds, she and Kyra found themselves killing time in the apartment to stay out of the way of the processions, watching Sebby play, and occasionally even talking. Conversations dragged, replies coming after long, vacuous pauses. On the day of Tomlin\u2019s memorial, the desultory talk became more serious.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo where does all this leave us?\u201d Kyra asked as Jack was arranging for a money drop.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack shrugged. It was hard to feel urgent about anything. She knew she wouldn\u2019t be staying much longer, but a deep malaise had crept in, not dissimilar from the one that had settled over her while she\u2019d lived with the al-Walids. In some ways, it felt worse; Riddick had left her, yes, but Tomlin had been stolen from her and Kyra right as the bond between them had tightened into something she\u2019d thought would be unbreakable. Now she just felt empty.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cUp to you, really.\u201d She looked over at Kyra, trying not to seem completely uncaring. She <i>did<\/i> care. But the silence inside her had only grown. In the al-Walid house, she had tried to escape it with a razor. Now, she had other, less nihilistic ideas of what to do about it. But first she had to make sure Kyra was going to be okay.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It suddenly hit her that <i>that<\/i> was what Kyra was no longer sure about.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDo you still want to stay here?\u201d Jack asked, realizing that what had been a foregone conclusion just days ago might be in doubt.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Kyra started, and then paused. She looked up at the ceiling, blinking a few times before she continued. \u201cI don\u2019t know anymore,\u201d she said, her voice small and wavering.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack felt a pang move through her. Only a few days earlier, everything had seemed so sure. But that had been while Tomlin was alive and planning to help them. He\u2019d known exactly who Kyra was but had come to his own conclusions about her, offering her sanctuary and the exact opportunities she needed most of all. <i>His<\/i> reputation, when he introduced her to others, would have outweighed or even erased hers. Could\u2014<i>would<\/i>\u2014anyone else be able to do that for her?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019re worried that his dad\u2019s contacts won\u2019t be as good as his, and that he might not be willing to use them at all if he finds out who we really are, aren\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra nodded, sitting down beside her. \u201cI just&#8288;\u2026 I didn\u2019t even tell Tomlin who I was, and I don\u2019t think I\u2019d\u2019ve had the <i>guts<\/i> to. He already <i>knew.<\/i> I still don\u2019t know what he\u2019d have thought or done if we hadn\u2019t already done him a huge favor before he figured it out, but his <i>family&#8288;\u2026<\/i> I mean, I know <i>he<\/i> trusted them and all, but&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack put her arm around Kyra\u2019s shoulder, letting the older girl lean against her. \u201cBut family\u2019s where people have their biggest blind spots, yeah. They seem <i>great<\/i>, but&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBut who\u2019s to say they won\u2019t switch from thanking us for helping him to blaming us for his death once they find out we\u2019re a pair of killers who escaped a loony bin?\u201d Kyra asked with brutal frankness.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack winced. She didn\u2019t <i>want<\/i> what Kyra was saying to be true, but there it was.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah. We can\u2019t ever testify against his killers even if we got the chance,\u201d she mused. \u201cTheir defense team would eat us <i>alive.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI just&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Kyra turned her eyes toward Jack, her expression somehow pleading as if she didn\u2019t expect her to understand. \u201cI don\u2019t think&#8288;\u2026 I can&#8288;\u2026 I don\u2019t think I can take that risk. They\u2019re being so nice, and all, but <i>would<\/i> they be if they knew everything we got up to? Tomlin told Takama that we rescued his charges, but I was with her the whole time we were bringing them back through to U1, and he <i>never<\/i> told her we killed a whole merc team to do it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He had, Jack remembered, been circumspect in even alluding to it later on in the shop, when he\u2019d said what turned out to be his final good-byes to them. Takama might have imagined that the whole thing had been some clever bit of cat-burglary on their part. On some level, she had to know the truth; she\u2019d tracked the mostly empty shuttles out to sea and confirmed that they\u2019d crashed into each other on schedule. But she probably didn\u2019t realize that all the bodies inside were Kyra\u2019s\u2014and Jack\u2019s\u2014handiwork.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWell,\u201d Jack said after a moment, \u201cFortunately, Kali Montgomery is a military academy graduate, then, right?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She couldn\u2019t help feeling a little proud of that. She\u2019d been even happier about the idea that Kyra might not need the identity she\u2019d laboriously constructed, but as much as she hated to admit it, she was a little relieved that the work wouldn\u2019t go to waste. Kyra could replace her past with a new one that had no stigma attached to it and build a whole new life upon it. Still&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBut let\u2019s not completely rule Cedric out. Maybe he can still help. You never know. We\u2019ll see how good his connections are and how much they ask, and maybe using the Kali ID with them will be enough anyway.\u201d Jack grinned for the first time in days. \u201cIt\u2019s <i>really<\/i> well made, you know.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra grinned back at her. \u201cIf you do say so yourself?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHell yeah.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack could see the tension leaving Kyra\u2019s body. \u201cOkay. We\u2019ll see what happens at the memorial,\u201d Kyra said, her voice hopeful. \u201cMaybe it\u2019ll still all work out. What about you? Are <i>you<\/i> still good?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack shrugged. \u201cI\u2019m probably gonna have to go to either New Casablanca or New Fes to meet the transport to Furya, but it should be okay. It\u2019s still about two weeks away. Plenty of time to get everything lined up. By then, things should be a little better here, too.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">If she had needed to leave for one of those two cities in the next few days, however, she would have had to get in the back of an interminably long line.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat are you gonna do about the checkpoints?\u201d Kyra suddenly asked. \u201cWord is they\u2019re patting everybody down and running people through scanners before letting anybody into any kind of transport hub. Even the <i>buses<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGot a plan for that. You know how the clothes we brought with us existed in both worlds?\u201d Jack suddenly felt some real enthusiasm for the first time in days, thinking about this.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah?\u201d Kyra, picking up on her mood, looked interested.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOkay. So&#8288;\u2026 you get a belt. And you make it so it\u2019s half in U1 and half in Elsewhere. Solid in both places&#8288;\u2026 and then you put your scabbard with your knife on it&#8288;\u2026 but <i>that<\/i> is one hundred percent in Elsewhere. The knife won\u2019t register at all on scanners here in U1, but it\u2019ll be on you the whole time.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra\u2019s smile had been widening as she spoke. \u201cBetter make it a waterproof belt, just in case the tide\u2019s in.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBut once you\u2019re on board a ship that\u2019s, you know, gonna launch?\u201d Jack continued. \u201cYou gotta move it all back to U1. Gotta have it one hundred percent in U1 for all launches and re-entries.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra looked like she was about to ask why, but then realization came over her face. \u201cFuck yeah, that\u2019d be bad if you didn\u2019t. Is that why Tomlin wanted the <i>Matador<\/i> to land here instead of docking at Station B?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah. Straddling both worlds like we were, if we\u2019d come down in a regular shuttle, that only existed in U1, the fifty percent of us in Elsewhere would have burned up on entry.\u201d It was a gruesome thought that had come to Jack as she was figuring out how to get Kyra\u2019s knives, or anything else they wanted to keep hidden, past security.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDamn, no wonder he was so happy about our tricks.\u201d Kyra abruptly gasped, her eyes going wide. \u201cFuuuuck, Jack, Quin&#173;tessa was <i>counting<\/i> on that happening during a launch, too, weren\u2019t they? Those shuttles were <i>ordinary<\/i>. Didn\u2019t have any connection to Elsewhere until you pulled them in. When they hit escape velocity&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d She stopped and made a retching sound, grimacing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAssuming the survivors didn\u2019t know how to anchor themselves in U1, yeah,\u201d Jack said, trying <i>not<\/i> to picture what would have happened to some of them. \u201cMost of them would have been surprise survivors of <i>that<\/i>, but Tomlin hadn\u2019t had a chance to tell them how to anchor their little kids and the baby.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFucking <i>bastards,<\/i>\u201d Kyra hissed. \u201cI\u2019d go to war with them if I had anything to fight them <i>with.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack nodded. She felt the same way, but she had no idea where they\u2019d begin. The Corporation had casually murdered the last person who was onto them, along with several hundred people who happened to be even remotely near him at the time. <i>You\u2019d need an army to take them on,<\/i> she found herself thinking. <i>A really big one.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">With a rattle of pincers, Sebby reared up on his back four legs and snapped at the air.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI think someone\u2019s volunteering to enlist,\u201d Jack said. She had noticed, more and more, how nuanced the little crustacean\u2019s responses to their emotions were.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That put a wan, fond smile back on Kyra\u2019s face. \u201cI think you\u2019re right.\u201d She reached out a hand, letting Sebby crawl up her arm and onto her shoulder. \u201cHey little guy.\u201d She pursed her lips at him and he reached forward, touching them with his antennae. Then he climbed onto the back of her neck, nestling under her hair.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo&#8288;\u2026 lacking a whole armada of Sebbies&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Jack sighed. \u201cThe best we can do is stay off the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation\u2019s radar and hope they think the <i>Matador<\/i> issue is resolved. And just hope Karma has <i>plans<\/i> for them.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe New Christy Elders would\u2019a said all their sins were gonna come home to roost in the afterlife,\u201d Kyra said thoughtfully. \u201cAs if that excuses making <i>this<\/i> world a living Hell or something. I mean, I get that divine justice doesn\u2019t just <i>happen,<\/i> I saw that firsthand back on Canaan Mountain, but&#8288;\u2026 we need <i>more<\/i> guys like Tomlin in this \u2019verse, not even fewer of them. Karma needs to get off its <i>ass<\/i> already.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack was still nodding when Takama knocked on their door and then entered. Safiyya and Tafrara followed her in. All three were wearing white, their faces and hands decorated with henna tattoos. Takama and Safiyya carried white bundles, while Tafrara had what appeared to be a makeup kit in her hands.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack and Kyra glanced at each other in wordless surprise. They had already bought white outfits to wear to the memorial, which was still a few hours away.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThere\u2019s a slight change in plans,\u201d Safiyya told them as she walked over to Kyra with her bundle. \u201cThe envoy of the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation has asked to attend Brahim\u2019s memorial and wishes to bring guests with her. Cedric got a look at her guests and believes they are mercenaries.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBrahim did not tell us much about your pasts, and we will not ask,\u201d Takama continued, bringing her bundle over to Jack, \u201cbut he wanted you concealed from the Corporation and, even more, from any mercenaries who might appear. So while we still want you to attend\u2014and certainly more than that <i>tagat<\/i> woman\u2014we must make you look as much like true Imazighen as possible.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For the next hour, while Sebby hid in their bedroom, Jack and Kyra sat as still as possible while the three women decorated their faces and hands with Tamazight markings and Safiyya schooled them in the proper wording and pronunciations of different simple sentences they could use around \u201coutsiders.\u201d The entire community had been put on alert to close ranks against strangers&#8288;\u2026 with the girls firmly inside those ranks. Safiyya spent extra time helping them master the <i>kh<\/i> and <i>gh<\/i> sounds that they had barely any experience using, until she was satisfied that they could pass as members of a tribe that rarely had contact with non-Imazighen.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIf the envoy or her mercenaries attempt to speak with you, you will say that you do not understand in Tamazight, and we will translate their words for you. Obviously you will understand everything that they are saying from the beginning, but pretend that you do not, please,\u201d Takama said as she put the finishing touches on Jack\u2019s hands. \u201cYou know how to say \u2018yes,\u2019 \u2018no,\u2019 and \u2018thank you,\u2019 and we will imply to them that anything that requires more involved answers from you is a rude imposition on their part. I doubt that woman has the audacity to give open, public offense to the family of the man she murdered, but you never know.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Safiyya sniffled at those words.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh, my dearest, I am sorry&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo, it\u2019s all right,\u201d Safiyya said, although her voice quavered a tiny bit. \u201cI have done my weeping and my wailing. I am ready to face this.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Her eldest child is dead,<\/i> Jack thought, <i>murdered by a woman who\u2019s now insisting on crashing his funeral&#8288;\u2026 and she\u2019s spending her time working on protecting <b>us&#8288;\u2026<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But the community had made its decision: to protect the <i>Matador<\/i> survivors, and to protect themselves from any further retribution, they would all pretend that Tomlin\u2019s assassination was nothing of the kind, and that he\u2019d just had the misfortune to be in the wrong place when some misguided terrorist committed a heinous act. Virtually everyone in the community knew better, but none of them wanted to go to war over it. An army of a hundred million nomads, farmers, shepherds, and artisans\u2014even ones who were also stalwart warriors\u2014could not hope to defeat the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation; it would take something far darker than they could ever be.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>An army of Riddicks?<\/i> Jack mused. <i>Maybe.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She and Kyra let the women clothe them in the white woolen dresses and veils that they had brought, until Jack could barely recognize herself in the mirror. Then they made their way carefully down the stairs of the building and over to the market square, to join the procession. To the Tomlin-Meziane family\u2019s <i>church.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It had come as something of a surprise to Jack to learn that, in fact, many of the Imazighen weren\u2019t Muslim, following older faiths from the North African region of their origin. Some of the tribes were Jewish, others Christian, and others followed still older polytheistic and animistic faiths that resonated with some of the most ancient works of mythology Jack had heard of. Many, fascinatingly, mixed and matched multiple belief systems to create new hybrids uniquely their own. Takama\u2014who, it turned out, was spending a year playing at food cart vending and more seriously acting as an intermediary between the New Marrakesh government and her people while on <i>sabbatical<\/i> from Khair Eddine University\u2014had had a wonderful time explaining the convoluted history of Amazigh religion once Jack got her talking. She was a sociology professor most of the time, when she wasn\u2019t putting her degree to practical field use in the Rif. Her love of teaching had surged to the fore as soon as she realized she had an attentive audience.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Many of the different conquerors of North Africa had brought their religions with them, and the Imazighen had selectively adopted them to varying degrees. One of Catholicism\u2019s most venerated saints\u2014Saint Augustine of Hippo\u2014had been Amazigh. When the Arabs had come in as conquerors, many tribes had violently resisted them for centuries, while others had paid lip service to their beliefs while clandestinely practicing their own. Still others had grafted the Islamic faith onto their existing Christian beliefs, recasting prophets and warriors of that faith as Catholic-style saints. \u201cIf you ever hear some misguided anthropologist talking about \u2018Chrislam,\u2019\u201d Takama had told Jack, her expression turning a little bit scornful, \u201cthat is what they are referring to.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But Safiyya and Takama came from a tribe that had stayed Christian, something that had probably made it a little easier for Safiyya to marry an outsider who belonged to the Church of Scotland. In deference to the inclusion of many of Tomlin\u2019s colleagues and former comrades-in-arms, the service was non-denominational, albeit held at the church where he had been christened and married.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The family entered the church first, and Jack found herself and Kyra surrounded by its members. A day of mourning or not, they had clearly made a mission of protecting \u201cDihya\u201d and \u201cTislilel.\u201d Jack caught a momentary glimpse of Tomlin\u2019s younger brother, Ewan Zdan, tall and dashing and movie star handsome like his brother and father, but with a drawn look of deep misery about his face. Takama had told her that the two brothers had been the very best of friends.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Cedric took Kyra\u2019s hand in his, leaning close as though giving her a kiss. \u201cI won\u2019t be able to introduce you to the officers Gavin served with <i>today<\/i>,\u201d he murmured, \u201cnot if we want to keep that Quin&#173;tessa bitch off your scent, but I haven\u2019t forgotten. I promise I\u2019ll do right by you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThank you,\u201d Kyra murmured back, saying it in perfect Tamazight instead of English.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For a moment, Cedric\u2019s eyes twinkled before his expression turned somber again. He gave Jack a gentle hug, too, and led them to the seats reserved for the family of the deceased.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There was no coffin, no urn, nothing to represent Tomlin\u2019s lost earthly form except a stunning portrait of him in military uniform from the height of his combat pilot days. Other pictures abounded, and Jack took them in with fascination. Childhood pictures, adolescent pictures, <i>wedding<\/i> pictures with a beautiful woman who, Jack thought, looked a little like her own mom&#8288;\u2026 lovingly chosen to showcase not just his cinematic looks but his intelligence, humor, and warmth.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Even though her departure from Tangier Prime had been, and still was, relatively imminent, Jack found herself envying everyone who had been given the opportunity to spend years getting to know him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Other guests had begun to fill the pews behind them when Cedric\u2019s comm chimed. He glanced down at it and then leaned over, holding it out to Jack and Kyra. \u201cThe envoy and her <i>entourage<\/i> are arriving,\u201d he muttered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The comm\u2019s screen showed the scene outside of the church, and a new group of arrivals disembarking from a large vehicle. Their leader was a regal-looking woman with long white hair, clad almost properly in all white, although there was something a little too ostentatious about her clothing. Jack\u2019s mom would have said she was dressed for a wedding where she intended to upstage the bride. The envoy reminded Jack, for a moment, of Antonia Chillingsworth. To either side of her, even less appropriately dressed for the occasion in a variety of colors, were her \u201cassistants,\u201d the people Cedric suspected were mercenaries&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack thought, for a moment, that her heart had stopped.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Alexander Toombs and Eve Logan were among them.<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4029\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4029 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-30\">\u00ab Chapter 30<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4125\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4125 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-32\">Chapter 32 \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=\"32\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4030\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4030 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-31\">\u00ab Chapter 31<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4096\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4096 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-33\">Chapter 33 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5151\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5151 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">32.<br\/>\r\n<u>A Lake Full of Tears<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was hard for Jack to concentrate on the memorial service with Toombs and Logan somewhere behind her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was a long service. There were prayers and readings, most of which she couldn\u2019t manage to focus on. Family and friends told stories, some in English, some in Arabic, many in Tamazight, and one in French. Safiyya, who had thoughtfully prepared translation tablets for the guests, had one for her and one for Kyra, so they could follow what was being said. Everyone seemed to have a story about a time when Gavin Brahim Tomlin, or Brahim Meziane, or \u201cthe Colonel,\u201d or <i>El Krim<\/i>, had helped them when they needed him most. Several of the stories were surprisingly funny. Jack felt herself wishing, yet again, that she could have spent years discovering his hidden depths as they had.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Everyone in the church seemed content to reminisce for hours, as if they might call him back to living, breathing flesh with their words, but eventually Cedric stood and thanked them all for coming.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There would be, he told the audience, a family-only reception that evening, and another reception for his son\u2019s service colleagues in two days\u2019 time. A proper public celebration of his son\u2019s life, open to all, had not yet been scheduled but everyone in attendance that day would be informed as soon as it was.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Somehow, Jack suspected, any invitation addressed to the Quin&#173;tessa envoy would mysteriously go astray and not reach her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She could feel the tension humming through Kyra as they rose and followed Safiyya to the vestibule, where the rest of the attendees could offer formal condolences on their way out. This was the most dangerous part. Just how much camouflage could face tattoos and head draperies really create?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou are shaking, Tislilel. What is it?\u201d Takama whispered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTwo of the mercs&#8288;\u2026 they <i>know<\/i> us,\u201d Jack whispered back. \u201cIf they realize who we are, things could get bad.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFor them,\u201d Takama said firmly. \u201cBut I think I know a way to improve your disguises a little. They have not seen you from any direction but behind yet&#8288;\u2026 Lalla, darling, do you have your wig bag with you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Within minutes, both she and Kyra had been whisked over to a side room. Takama and Safiyya\u2019s cousin Lalla, it turned out, had an extensive collection of wigs she liked to wear\u2014she had developed alopecia as a teenager, she explained\u2014and often brought several with her to major events. She did not disappoint now. Kyra rejoined the reception line with sleek black hair, bangs draped artfully across her forehead to obscure her distinctive eyebrows. Jack, now wearing a wig that almost exactly matched the long blonde hair she\u2019d cut off when she first went on the run, joined the line a moment later. Lalla had proudly told them that the wigs were made of natural, undyed, untreated human hair, and no one would believe they hadn\u2019t naturally grown it on their heads. The veils, now draped loosely over and around their new hair, completed the illusion.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack had to admit that Kyra looked convincingly unlike herself. She suspected that, aside from the \u201ctattoos\u201d on her face, <i>she<\/i> probably looked more like Audrey MacNamera than she had in a year.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They were already in place as the first well-wishers came through.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Most of them just gave simple condolences. It wasn\u2019t long until Jack was into the rhythm of saying \u2018thank you\u2019 back to them in whichever language they had used, making sure to use a thick Tamazight accent in the process. Beside her, Kyra was doing the same. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the envoy and her mercs approaching. While the envoy was offering condolences to each member of the line, the mercs were hanging slightly back, all of them looking uncomfortable.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>What, are we too <\/i>native<i> for you?<\/i> she found herself thinking angrily. Their expressions made her think of the time she had been invited to a classmate\u2019s Kwanzaa celebration, along with the rest of her class, and had watched as some of her other classmates treated the experience\u2014the foods, the music, the colorful outfits\u2014as too outlandish to even try to appreciate, much less enjoy. Did just wearing white instead of black to a funeral make everything too alien to empathize with? Or did Tomlin\u2019s murderer just naturally gravitate to the types of mercs who had no empathy to begin with?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She tamped down on the anger as fast as she could. <i>I\u2019m grieving here. Grieving. Not wishing for a gun&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey MacNamera, she chided herself, had never fantasized about shooting people. If she wanted to ever be her again, she had to put these awful thoughts out of her head.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI am so very sorry for your loss,\u201d the envoy said, offering her hand to first Lalla, then Takama, and then Safiyya in turn. Her voice was cultured, her accent the kind Rachel had told her was called <i>Received Pronunciation<\/i> in centuries-old vids. \u201cColonel Tomlin was a good man.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She offered her hand to Kyra, who took it&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2014&#8288;and flinched.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The envoy gave her a quizzical look as she repeated her platitudes. Kyra stammered a thank you in Tamazight-accented English, drawing her hand back.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The only reason <i>Jack<\/i> didn\u2019t flinch when the envoy took her hand was because she\u2019d been warned by Kyra\u2019s reaction.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There was something <i>wrong<\/i> with the envoy, something wrong with her touch. Something&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Similar three-shape. Different five-shape&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The thought skated through her mind and was gone. She could feel the woman\u2019s eyes on her, could feel the <i>wrongness<\/i> of the hand in hers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThank&#8288;\u2026 you&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d she managed, taking back her hand.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAre these your daughters?\u201d The envoy asked Safiyya and Cedric, suddenly seeming far too interested.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMy cousins,\u201d Ewan said, walking over and putting his arms around their shoulders. \u201cDihya and Tislilel. They had come to town in preparation for the Engagement Moussem. I think that\u2019s now postponed, though. My parents had hopes that one of them might choose instead to marry my brother, anyway&#8288;\u2026 but now that\u2019s not to be, either.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThey marry their <i>cousins<\/i>,\u201d Toombs muttered to one of the other mercs, just loudly enough for them to overhear. The envoy shot him a quelling look.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDistant cousins,\u201d Takama said, also giving him a look that suggested his behavior could get their whole merry troupe thrown out on their asses. \u201cBut yes.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBetter a member of one\u2019s own tribe than most <i>abrrani<\/i>,\u201d Lalla said. \u201cMeaning no offense, Cedric.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou did say <i>most,<\/i>\u201d Cedric replied, winking at her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat the hell is \u2018abrrani?\u2019\u201d Toombs bristled.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Logan, Jack noticed, was studying Kyra with a slight frown on her face. This needed to all end fast.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI&#8288;\u2026 do not&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d She pretended that the word she was seeking was on the tip of her tongue, but unreachable, before looking up into Ewan\u2019s handsome face and making her expression pleading and a little hurt. <i>\u201cI don\u2019t understand,\u201d<\/i> she said in perfectly accented Tamazight.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan caught on instantly. \u201cDihya and Tislilel don\u2019t speak English,\u201d he rebuked the group. \u201cIf you wish to continue talking about them in a language they don\u2019t know, I will take them home now.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Safiyya nodded. \u201cI think that\u2019s for the best, Zdan. The rest of us will join you shortly.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It seemed as if the envoy wanted to object, but the atmosphere had chilled. Toombs had given just enough offense to sabotage whatever it was she\u2019d intended to say or do. Ewan steered Jack and Kyra away from the group and out of the church.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWell played,\u201d he murmured once they were a block away. \u201cI don\u2019t understand what was happening in there, but you put a wonderful stop to it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI don\u2019t understand what was going on, either,\u201d Kyra muttered. \u201cThat woman\u2019s hand&#8288;\u2026 what the <i>fuck&#8288;\u2026<\/i>&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHer hand?\u201d Ewan asked, frowning in confusion.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah,\u201d Jack said. \u201cWhen her hand touched mine, it felt <i>wrong<\/i>. I don\u2019t know how to explain it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMade my skin <i>crawl<\/i>,\u201d Kyra huffed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack was trying to think of anything that had ever felt like that. Something about it had momentarily brought back an instant from one of her terrible dreams about the creatures in the darkness, but she wasn\u2019t sure why. Something about three-shapes and five-shapes&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It hit her so suddenly that she stopped walking.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan, still walking between her and Kyra with his arms through theirs, turned to look at her. \u201cWhat is it?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI think she\u2019s connected to another universe,\u201d Jack gasped.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat?\u201d Kyra shook her head. \u201cNo. No way. You and I are, and you\u2019ve <i>never<\/i> felt like that to me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNot Elsewhere. She&#8288;\u2026 she <i>isn\u2019t<\/i> connected to Elsewhere; I know that much. But&#8288;\u2026 only <i>part<\/i> of her was here in U1. The rest of her&#8288;\u2026 it\u2019s in another \u2019verse and there\u2019s something about it that\u2019s&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAbsolutely fucking <i>horrifying<\/i>. Yeah, you\u2019re right. <i>That\u2019s<\/i> what I was feeling, too. <i>Damn.<\/i> You think she\u2019s partway into the \u2019verse where the thing that wants us dead comes from?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan was looking between them with concern. \u201cI think we should take this conversation somewhere more private than this avenue,\u201d he said. \u201cI followed most of what you just said, though. If you\u2019re right, this could be a serious problem.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He led them down two more streets and through a gate in a high wall. Inside, surrounding a courtyard garden that looked, to Jack, like it had sprung out of one of the fantasy novels she\u2019d loved as a kid\u2014<i>I\u2019m still a kid, damn it, it\u2019s only been a year<\/i>\u2014was a large multi-story house, its walls, pillars, and carved screens painted various brilliant shades of aqua, blue, and indigo. As Ewan led them past a large room where some of Takama\u2019s marketplace colleagues were setting up the reception Cedric had mentioned, he finally spoke again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI don\u2019t know everything that happened leading up to my brother\u2019s death, but my aunt told me that you two, like the passengers and crew of the <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i>, were stranded between universes, and that you learned how to maneuver between them and helped him teach the others how to do the same. That you call this world \u2018U1\u2019 and the other universe \u2018Elsewhere,\u2019 and even brought back a pet from that other world. Is that correct? It sounds like something that belongs in one of the novels I read in college.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s true, yeah,\u201d Jack said. His summary reminded her, with a powerful ache, of how Tomlin had answered one of her questions. She found herself wondering if it was a product of their military training, or of the college educations that all military officers, according to her dad, were required to have on top of that training.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou spoke of something that wants to kill you?\u201d His expression was almost a mirror of the one his older brother had worn when <i>he\u2019d<\/i> learned that she and Kyra had nearly drowned.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWants us to die,\u201d Kyra corrected him. \u201cWe both&#8288;\u2026 we encountered it, and some other <i>entities<\/i>, the morning after we helped get the <i>Matador<\/i> survivors out of New Marrakesh.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack noticed that she was careful to omit all mentions of the deadly battle.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe thought we were dreaming at first,\u201d Kyra continued, \u201cuntil we realized we\u2019d both had exactly the same dream. Most of the entities seemed&#8288;\u2026 scary as hell but almost <i>friendly,<\/i> but then one showed up that hated us and wanted us dead.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat did it do?\u201d To Ewan\u2019s credit, he seemed willing to believe them, but Jack had to wonder if he still would be if he knew where they\u2019d escaped from.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJust talked. Scary stuff. I don\u2019t remember what it said exactly.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI do,\u201d Jack groaned. She\u2019d gone over its terrible words in her head several times, trying to figure out what they meant and whether any of it might be connected to the secret Tomlin had thought he\u2019d uncovered. The very fact that she could remember it so clearly drove home to her just how much more connected to reality it was than any other dream she\u2019d ever had. \u201c\u2018Death to the things that killed us. Death to the makers of the cages. Death to the \u2019verse that trapped us. A trillion deaths for every one you took from us. We come. We come to take it all back. All the worlds your filth has stolen from us will burn.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat,\u201d Ewan breathed, \u201cis a declaration of <i>war.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah,\u201d Kyra said, \u201cbut by <i>what?<\/i> One thing we\u2019re damn sure of is it ain\u2019t human.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan nodded, his face now pensive. \u201cWhy do you think they found you <i>then?\u201d <\/i> he asked after a moment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt was after we went back and forth between universes, a <i>lot<\/i>, and brought people and things across in both directions. J&#8288;\u2014 Tislilel&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For the briefest instant, Ewan\u2019s eyes narrowed, marking the tiny slip.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;She moved two hundred-seater shuttles over into Elsewhere and then back. Maybe doing something that big sent out some kind of shockwaves? It practically knocked her out for the rest of the night once it caught up with her.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd then you were stuck helping all the <i>Matador<\/i> survivors cross back into U1 in the marketplace, all by yourself,\u201d Jack pointed out. \u201cThat probably sent out some shockwaves, too. They reached out to both of us at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhy in your sleep?\u201d Ewan wondered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThey wanted to show us things,\u201d Kyra said, her words coming slowly. \u201cThings I don\u2019t think our eyes could even see if we were using them.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat kinds of things?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHigher dimensions,\u201d Jack blurted, only realizing it was true when she spoke. \u201cThey tried to \u2018teach\u2019 us how to see them. But once they got past the three-dimensional object it got scary fast. They&#8288;\u2026 apologized for scaring me, after.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou actually kept <i>looking?<\/i>\u201d Kyra asked. \u201cI ran&#8288;\u2026 or something like running given that I was floating out in <i>space<\/i> in the dream.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd this encounter happened after you saw my brother for the last time, so he didn\u2019t even know&#8288;\u2026 but he already knew something terrible was happening. He sent me a message telling me that&#8288;\u2026 I don\u2019t even know. It didn\u2019t make sense. That we might have to prepare for the end of the Federacy as we knew it, that a monstrous crime was being perpetrated&#8288;\u2026 he said it all in my mother\u2019s invented language, so that only I would be able to understand his message, so I know he feared he was being surveilled. He asked me to come home on leave as soon as I could, so that he could explain it all to me. I was arranging my leave when word came of his <i>death.<\/i>\u201d Ewan sat down, his expression a devastating mixture of grief and horror. \u201cI don\u2019t know where to&#8288;\u2026 begin&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack did. This was pure Audrey. She sat down next to him and put her arms around him. He gasped and then leaned against her, releasing a heavy sob, the first of many. After a moment, Kyra joined them, putting an arm around him as well.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It would be a long, long time, Jack thought sadly, tears leaking out of her eyes as well, until he began to heal from this. And while he might respect the community\u2019s decision to conceal what they knew of the real reason his brother had died&#8288;\u2026 she doubted he would ever be able to let it go.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Because she couldn\u2019t have. And his brother wouldn\u2019t have. In that moment, she understood him as well as she understood herself. Warning him to stay away from the mystery would do no good; she would warn his aunt and mother instead.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He had almost composed himself again when the rest of his family returned to their house half an hour later.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sunset was approaching as the family\u2014quite large, Jack soon realized\u2014gathered for the meal that the community had prepared them. As with virtually everywhere in New Marrakesh, Jack noticed a complete absence of alcohol; instead, Maghrebi mint tea was poured from long-spouted teapots into ornate glasses.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack and Kyra found themselves on either side of Ewan at the table. He was regaining his equilibrium, slowly. The talk around them moved through a variety of topics, including stories of wild scrapes that \u201cBrahim\u201d\u2014within the family, only his father seemed to have called him Gavin\u2014had gotten into as a child. They reminded Jack of the stories her dad had told her about her fictitious namesake.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAre you three feeling better?\u201d Takama asked during a lull.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYes, thank you,\u201d Jack said. \u201cHow did things go after we left? With that envoy?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cPfft! That one. What a terrible excuse for a person. She tried to keep the conversation going, asking us where you were from and how long you had been in town. I told her it was tribe business and of no concern to outsiders unless one of her men was planning on offering himself at the Moussem. Not that anyone would ever take up such offers.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSorry, what\u2019s a Moussem?\u201d Kyra asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSafiyya, perhaps you should tell this story?\u201d Takama\u2019s expression had gone from scornful to mischievous in less than a second.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Safiyya\u2019s eyes went wide.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cA Moussem is an annual meeting of the tribes,\u201d Ewan told them, rescuing his mother. \u201cThe <i>engagement<\/i> or <i>wedding<\/i> Moussem is the one time, each year, that couples from different tribes can arrange inter-tribal marriages. There\u2019s a long story behind it, which is much better sung than spoken, but the legend is that long ago, in the Atlas Mountains on Earth, two tribes of Imazighen were at war. The son of one of the tribes, \u2018Isli,\u2019 one day met a beautiful young woman, named \u2018Tislit.\u2019 The two fell in love, only to realize that Tislit was a daughter of the tribe that his was at war with. They begged their families to let them marry, but their parents refused. Unable to bear being apart, their tears flowed from them in rivers that filled two valleys, creating two new lakes where their tribes\u2019 lands bordered each other. They drowned themselves in the lakes of their tears.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIf this story sounds a little familiar,\u201d Cedric put in, \u201cI\u2019m fairly sure old Will Shakespeare stole it from the Imazighen. Just like half of <i>Hamlet<\/i> is straight out of Thomas Kyd\u2019s <i>Spanish Tragedy.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan snorted. \u201cUndoubtedly. But the two tribes were devastated when they realized what their enmity had done to their own children, and decided that every year, once a year, all the tribes would gather, and marriages across tribes would be permitted. Men and women seeking partners come, wearing their best. And, in accordance with custom, the women are the ones who initiate the courtship, approaching the men that they fancy most. They talk, and negotiate, and if they are happy with each other, then they introduce each other to their families and then have their engagement recorded. Depending on their negotiations, the marriage may even occur at the festival, too. Which brings us to the story of my parents.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWait,\u201d Kyra said. \u201cReally? The women get to initiate it all?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBefore the invaders came and tried to change us, almost all the tribes were matriarchal,\u201d Takama affirmed. \u201cMany are not anymore, thanks to the influence of <i>abrrani<\/i>\u2014foreigners\u2014but you can still see it, and feel it, in so many of our traditions.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhich brings us,\u201d Ewan repeated, looking amused, \u201cto the story of my parents.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI was new on Tangier Prime, just learning my way around, after they\u2019d courted the <i>hell<\/i> out of me to come teach at their flight school because I\u2019d been breaking records all over the place,\u201d Cedric explained. \u201cThe money was too good for me to pass up, but somehow nobody ever asked me if I could speak Arabic, or <i>anything<\/i> other than English, Gaelic, or Scots. Didn\u2019t occur to me either for some damn fool reason, until I was standing in front of a classroom full of pilots who couldn\u2019t understand a word I was saying to them. My brogue was a lot thicker back then, too.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSoon after,\u201d Safiyya laughed, \u201cI got a call at my University office from this <i>panicked<\/i> Scotsman who needed a translator, or needed to learn Arabic as quickly as he could, and had no idea how to begin. Bear in mind that he was already fluent in three languages.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNeither one of us was thinking of falling in love,\u201d Cedric continued. \u201cBut there it was. We would find the most ridiculous excuses to check in on each other and spend time together. But what could we do? I was <i>abrrani<\/i> and my colleagues kept warning me I was playing with fire.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNone of which meant a thing to my sister,\u201d Takama said. \u201cShe had a <i>plan.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra snickered. \u201cShe sounds like <i>you,<\/i>\u201d she whispered to Jack behind Ewan\u2019s back.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI got an invitation to witness a genuine Amazigh cultural event,\u201d Cedric chuckled. \u201cThe Engagement Moussem. Foreigners are allowed to observe but are instructed to stay on the sidelines and not get involved. And there she was, right in the middle of all the hopeful brides, and all I could think was how crushing it was going to be to watch her choose some other lad to be her life partner. I was going to leave, but my friends wouldn\u2019t let me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI had bribed them to make sure they would keep him there,\u201d Takama added.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo after all the singing and dances and things, when the ladies started approaching different men and <i>I<\/i> was wishing for a swimming pool full of whiskey,\u201d Cedric went on, \u201cI felt this hand on my arm and heard the most beautiful voice in the world asking me if I would walk with her.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOur parents were <i>scandalized,<\/i>\u201d Takama laughed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cEspecially when they realized you\u2019d been in on it the whole time,\u201d Safiyya teased her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd that\u2019s how the love of my life proposed to me,\u201d Cedric finished, grinning.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was, Jack thought, the most romantic thing she had ever heard.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Full night had descended before the gathering broke up. Ewan insisted on walking Jack and Kyra back to their building. Jack had the suspicion he was worried that the mercs might still be interested in them and might try to follow them; he had tried to talk them into taking a guest room in his parents\u2019 house, but had graciously accepted their refusal\u2014\u201cSebby will be getting worried about us\u201d\u2014as long as they let him see them safely home.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Safiyya and Cedric raised their kids right,<\/i> she thought to herself, wishing the boys on Deckard\u2019s World had been more like Gavin Brahim and Ewan Zdan.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">When he gave each of them a hug at the door of their building, not asking to come in, she had a sudden thought. \u201cI need you to ask Takama something for me,\u201d she murmured to him, not letting him go yet just in case anyone was watching. A lingering hug might play into the weird assumptions Toombs had made at the church&#8288;\u2026 and that would be better than anyone realizing what they were talking about.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOf course,\u201d Ewan said. \u201cWhat is it?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI need her to reach out to the <i>Matador<\/i> survivors and find out if any of them had contact with the Quin&#173;tessa envoy. If she ever touched any of them, or if any of them ever touched her.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan\u2019s expression was only quizzical for a second before understanding struck. \u201cYou need to find out if she knows you were on board, too. She became awfully interested in who you are and where you\u2019re from after she touched you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah. We need to know how much she suspects.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019ll make sure the message goes out and an answer comes back. I promise.\u201d He gave her another hug before letting go. \u201cGood night, Tislilel, Dihya. I will see you again very soon, I hope.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I hope so too,<\/i> Jack thought as he walked off into the night. It was hard not to worry. Too many people she cared about had vanished from her life.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Inside, a very clingy crustacean made it clear that they had been gone for <i>far<\/i> too many hours. Jack had discovered that, in addition to the bugs he ate, he had a great love for olives\u2014enough to sneak up on her plate and steal one if she had any\u2014and had brought some home for him from the gathering. After half a dozen, he was appeased, if still determined to sit on one of them at all times.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">While Kyra vanished into the bathroom with Sebby\u2014the little guy loved showers and would <i>screech<\/i> if he was excluded from one\u2014Jack sat down on the couch and opened her tablet to check on the status of the money drop she\u2019d arranged. The confirmation was waiting for her; the one-time code that she\u2019d programmed into the locker she had rented for the next month had been used. She and Kyra could get the money cards inside whenever they wished.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Low tide had ended in Elsewhere, she noted as she checked her tidal chart. The waters were still another hour or two away from reaching the Rif. They had been on Tangier Prime for ten and a half of its wildly long days, and Mega&#173;luna was almost a new moon. In another night, high tide would peak at midnight again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Maybe she and Kyra could finally do their beachcombing in the dawn hours, she thought as she shut down the tablet. She was suddenly so tired. Closing her eyes, she decided to rest for a moment on the couch before it was her turn to shower while Sebby danced in the water at her feet.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She could feel <i>them<\/i> as her mind slipped away from consciousness.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Little larva, are you well?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was about to answer them when something cold touched her throat.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWake up, little girl,\u201d a strange voice said. Her eyes sprang open.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She recognized him from the church immediately: the merc who had been next to Toombs when he made the wisecrack about marrying cousins. He had a knife resting against her throat.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou an\u2019 me are gonna have a little talk,\u201d he told her. \u201cI just need to know one thing from you. Where\u2019s your friend?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Oh shit, Kyra&#8288;\u2026<\/i> Her eyes, of their own accord, moved toward the hallway door into the bedroom and bath. The shower noises had stopped at some point, but she wasn\u2019t sure when.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNot her, you imbecile,\u201d the man snarled. \u201cI\u2019m after the <i>big<\/i> game here. You\u2019re gonna tell me where <i>he<\/i> is.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick. Oh fuck. He was after <i>Riddick.<\/i><\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4030\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4030 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-31\">\u00ab Chapter 31<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4096\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4096 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-33\">Chapter 33 \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=\"33\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4031\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4031 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-32\">\u00ab Chapter 32<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4097\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4097 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-34\">Chapter 34 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5154\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5154 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">33.<br\/>\r\n<u>Child Soldiers at War<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Of course,<\/i> Jack thought with a mixture of dread and disgust, <i>this just had to happen while the tide\u2019s still out.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She stayed perfectly still, trying to decide what her best option would be. Mercs were nasty business, unpredictable and frequently cruel. Even back when she\u2019d been a genuine innocent, they hadn\u2019t cared. The man holding a knife to her throat might just be trying to intimidate her, or he might be the kind who could slash it without a second thought. The only thing she knew for sure about him was that he hadn\u2019t showered or brushed his teeth in <i>weeks.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe\u2019s not here,\u201d she said, keeping her voice soft and trying not to move her throat and jaw too much. \u201cHe\u2019s never been here.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBullshit. You two are in thick with him. You\u2019re his accomplices.\u201d The merc\u2019s next words were enunciated as if he was talking to a small child. \u201cTell me where to find him, and you can go free.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Yeah, right.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cToombs know you\u2019re horning in on his bounty?\u201d she asked. If she could manage to stall long enough, she thought, the tide would come in and she could isomorph over to Elsewhere without falling to her death. Or maybe Kyra could make a move.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>If he didn\u2019t already do something to her while I was asleep&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c<i>Fuck<\/i> Toombs,\u201d the man growled. \u201cHe can\u2019t call dibs on everybody.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The only other family on the top floor had moved out two days ago, Jack thought. Even if she started screaming her head off, nobody would be able to help her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Nobody in the <i>building<\/i>, anyway. Kyra might just be asleep in the other room, but it would be too late by the time she woke up. He\u2019d probably cut Jack\u2019s throat the moment she screamed, and then play out his intimidation act on Kyra instead. And they would both end up dead, since neither of them knew the answer to his question.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>If I scream out loud, anyway.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d thought trying to isomorph for the first time had been the biggest, craziest Hail Mary of her life. This new idea dwarfed it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Can you hear me? Creatures? Are you there?<\/i> It had never occurred to her to try to reach out to <i>them<\/i> until now.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe can do this the easy way,\u201d the merc said unimaginatively, \u201cor we can do this the <i>fun<\/i> way, little girl. Fun for <i>me<\/i>, anyway.\u201d He gave her a disgusting leer. Several of his teeth had been lost to rot and replaced with garish gold ones; two more would need replacing soon. Straddling her, he changed his posture slightly so that he could press suggestively against her. \u201cSo maybe you should talk now while I\u2019m still feeling charitable.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her gag reflex couldn\u2019t decide if it was reacting to his body odor, his breath, or the general foulness of his mind. Men like this were why she\u2019d cut her hair off and posed as a guy.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I\u2019m in trouble&#8288;\u2026 please&#8288;\u2026 warn the other larva&#8288;\u2026 If you can hear me, please&#8288;\u2026 help me&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI told you, he\u2019s not here,\u201d Jack said. \u201cI don\u2019t know where he is. He didn\u2019t tell us where he was going.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou think I\u2019m stupid or something?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Yes.<\/i> \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThen try again. I\u2019m running out of charity.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Maybe I could do a fast isomorph, just to drop down to the next floor&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And, in all likelihood, break her back on the edge of someone\u2019s table. None of her new \u201cpowers\u201d were going to help her in this moment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI can\u2019t tell you what I don\u2019t know.\u201d It was the absolute truth. If he was <i>any<\/i> good at reading people, he\u2019d know it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Fury passed across his features and then he smiled. It made him look twice as hideous. \u201cYou\u2019re really down to get hurt, ain\u2019t ya? You know where I\u2019m gonna hurt you first?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI. Don\u2019t. Know. Where. He. Is.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSay that again, little girl, and I swear I will <i>fuck<\/i> you with this kni&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The living room window exploded inward.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">As the merc turned to look, Jack grabbed at the blade. <i>This thing is in Elsewhere, all the way in Elsewhere&#8288;\u2014<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe <i>fuck?\u201d<\/i> he shouted as the knife vanished. Jack lunged upward, slamming her head against his face as hard as she could. His chin banged hard against her forehead.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Ow! Fuck&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra was climbing in through the smashed window behind him, a knife in her hand.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou fucking <i>bitch!\u201d<\/i> he roared, cocking back a fist. His nose was starting to bleed and his lip was split. Jack grabbed her tablet off the table and rammed it into his gut with all her strength. Her ears were ringing for some reason, a high-pitched <i>reeeeeeeeeeeee<\/i> sound filling them just at the edge of hearing. The merc, grunting hard from the impact, grabbed the tablet out of her hand, tossing it aside and drawing back his fist again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">With a Valkyrie scream, Kyra launched herself at him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He was a big man. Almost as big as Riddick himself. He turned, swinging his arm, and knocked Kyra to the side before she could land on him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou little bitches!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra tucked and rolled as she fell, coming back up a second later. She\u2019d reversed her knife, holding it by its blade, and flung it at the merc\u2019s head.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He ducked, but just barely. The second knife she launched left a bloody line on his cheek.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The merc rose from the couch, pulling out a knife of his own. \u201cBring it, little girl,\u201d he told Kyra.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack had no idea where Kyra was <i>keeping<\/i> her blades, unless she\u2019d already figured out the scabbard trick before Jack could suggest it to her. She had another one in her hand. She was crouching, every line of her body tense, circling to the side.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack looked around, trying to think of anything in range that she could repurpose as a weapon.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The merc lunged at Kyra, who danced out of range, luring him away from Jack.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>She\u2019s buying time for me to run.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack crawled off the couch, wincing as her head began to throb. She felt woozy from the head blow; there would be no running for her. That ringing in her ears was back.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The merc lunged at Kyra again, almost catching her. She brought her blade down the length of his arm, ripping the sleeve and scoring his flesh, before ducking out of range again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI only need <i>one<\/i> of you little cunts to tell me where he is,\u201d the man grated, face going a mottled red with rage.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Fuck. He was going in for the <i>kill.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Another lunge, another near miss. Kyra danced to the side and whirled, aiming a kick at his thigh. He dodged and grabbed for her ankle. She retreated out of range, a sheen of sweat glistening on her skin.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack grabbed a glass from the kitchen counter and flung it at the back of the merc\u2019s head.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her aim would have been dead on, but the son of a bitch <i>dodged<\/i> it. It smashed against the wall.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOnce I\u2019m done with your friend here, you\u2019ll pay for that,\u201d he said, his voice calm again, almost conversational.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He lunged at Kyra again. Too late, Jack realized it was a feint.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cNo!\u201d<\/i> she heard herself scream.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">As Kyra slashed out and tried to spin away, he grabbed her arm and pulled her against him, thrusting his knife into her abdomen. Kyra made a choked, gasping sound. Her knife dropped from her hand.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s right, you little&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Suddenly Jack realized that the noise wasn\u2019t in her head. It was real.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSebby, <i>no!\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She watched in horror as Sebby, shrieking, launched himself from the ceiling, leaping at the merc.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He was going to die. The merc would smash him to the ground, kill him, murder everyone and everything she loved&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A long, thin tail she\u2019d never seen before whipped free from Sebby\u2019s back as he landed on the merc\u2019s shoulder. It jabbed once, twice, three times in rapid succession at the man\u2019s throat. The large man froze, making a strange, rattling gurgle.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The room was suddenly, deathly silent.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra moved first, staggering away from the frozen merc, the knife handle sticking out from her abdomen. \u201cOh <i>shit&#8288;\u2026<\/i>&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Slowly the merc began to topple. Sebby leapt from his shoulder to the back of the couch, his tail whipping in agitation. Its end sparkled, a drop of amber liquid catching the light.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Venom,<\/i> Jack realized as the merc crashed to the ground. <i>Sebby <b>stung<\/b> him. That\u2019s not a <b>tail<\/b>, that\u2019s a <b>stinger<\/b>.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra wasn\u2019t doing much better than the fallen intruder. She looked as if she was struggling to stay conscious. She staggered toward the couch, partly collapsing against it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack hurried over to her, ignoring the merc for the moment. Sebby was staring at the man, his little body tense and his stinger-tail thrashing, as if daring the merc to try to get up.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra\u2019s right hand fumbled at the knife handle where it protruded from her abdomen by her right hip.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDon\u2019t pull it out,\u201d Jack told Kyra, helping her around to the front of the couch and easing her down onto it. \u201cDon\u2019t touch it. I\u2019m gonna call for help.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShit,\u201d Kyra groaned. \u201cShit shit shit shit, <i>God,<\/i> this hurts, Jack&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019re gonna be okay. I promise.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI know. Just&#8288;\u2026 that mother<i>fucker&#8288;\u2026<\/i>&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe was looking for Riddick,\u201d Jack told Kyra. \u201cThis is all my fault. I\u2019m so sorry&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c<i>Fuck<\/i> that noise, it\u2019s not your fault assholes exist. What\u2019re we gonna do with him?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack rose. What, indeed? \u201cDon\u2019t move, okay? I\u2019ll be right back.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The merc was lying on the ground, his legs awkwardly bent and splayed from his fall. His breathing was shallow, wheezing, his eyes wide and frightened. He was alive but paralyzed. Jack found herself wondering if Sebby\u2019s stinger was for hunting, or if his species bred like tarantula wasps.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She picked up the knife Kyra had dropped and walked over to him. Showing him the blade, she knelt beside him and put it against <i>his<\/i> throat.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMaybe this is redundant, but don\u2019t move,\u201d she told him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A strangled groan escaped his lips.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack went through his pockets, pulling out everything he\u2019d been carrying. He had a wallet, an electronic device she recognized, from schematics she\u2019d seen years before, as a highly illegal \u201cMaster Key,\u201d and a fake badge that looked like it had come from the same damned cereal box as the one Johns had carried. Then she rolled him over, grunting with the strain. The bastard was <i>heavy<\/i> as <i>fuck<\/i>. One folded piece of paper was tucked into a back pocket. For a moment, the smell made her think he\u2019d voided his bowels.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDo you <i>ever<\/i> bathe?\u201d she asked him, tempted to throw him\u2014as if she even <i>could<\/i>\u2014into a tub and wash the stink off.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>And&#8288;\u2026 there it is.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sometimes her ideas were quite horrible. She wished, though, that she\u2019d thought of this one back when he\u2019d first woken her up. The tide wouldn\u2019t be in yet, but it would come soon enough to wash his stench away forever.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>If the fall doesn\u2019t kill him first&#8288;\u2026<\/i> It probably would. She\u2019d been so busy worrying about what would happen to <i>her<\/i> if she dropped through the floor that she\u2019d never even considered&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She rolled him onto his back again, bringing the knife against his throat once more. Just in case. Then she put her hand on his chest.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhen you get to Hell,\u201d she told him, \u201cyou tell Chillingsworth I sent you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The man\u2019s eyes widened, just a bit, in pure terror.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>This piece of garbage is in Elsewhere&#8288;\u2026 all the way in Elsewhere&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He fell through the floor and vanished as silently as a ghost. She shifted her vision, trying to see into Elsewhere instead of U1. Darkness spread below and around her in the other \u2019verse\u2019s moonless night. She couldn\u2019t see anything&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra groaned behind her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh shit, sorry, Kyra&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d She set the knife down and hurried back to her sister\u2019s side. \u201cI\u2019m gonna call Takama. She\u2019ll know who to bring. We can\u2019t use Emergency Services or anything, but she\u2019ll know who to get&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was babbling. She grabbed her tablet, relieved to see that it hadn\u2019t taken any damage from the fight, and keyed in the comm number for the Tomlin-Meziane household.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAzul?\u201d It was Ewan.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cEwan? It\u2019s Tislilel!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTislilel? What&#8288;\u2014 is everything all right?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo! We need your help! We need Takama! Dihya\u2019s been stabbed! By one of that bitch\u2019s mercs! We can\u2019t go to the police or UMA, but she needs a doctor!\u201d In her own ears, she sounded on the verge of hysterics, but she felt as if she was talking from a strange distance.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe\u2019re coming. Are you at your apartment?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAre you <i>safe<\/i> there?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFor now.\u201d Jack looked around, suddenly imagining that another merc might leap out of the shadows. No, the man had made it clear he intended to cut Toombs out. He\u2019d come gunning for them alone.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe\u2019ll be there right away.\u201d The call disconnected.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cScore one&#8288;\u2026 for the Meziane family&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Kyra said in a pained voice. Sebby was sitting on her chest, his stinger hidden once more, stroking her face with his antennae.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack gathered up the merc\u2019s possessions and set them on the table, looking through them while they waited. The ID in his thick wallet named him as Frank Vedder; the one behind it bore the name Justin Cowell, and the one behind that called him Blaine Mason. All three had the same picture of his ugly mug. He had money cards in each name. Two condoms, along with a piece of paper with a string of letters and numbers on it, were tucked in the otherwise-empty billfold.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>What kind of sloppy dumb-ass carries multiple IDs where a cop might find them?<\/i> she wondered in disgust.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The kind, she supposed, who only bathed every other month.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She transferred the wallet to Elsewhere and let it drop. For a moment, she almost did the same with his comm, until she remembered how many of the \u201cmissing and presumed dead\u201d people from the explosion had been identified by their comms\u2019 final locations. She set it on the table. Before sending it out of this \u2019verse, she\u2019d carry it to another part of town; she didn\u2019t want <i>his<\/i> last known location to be their apartment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She unfolded the piece of paper she\u2019d taken from his back pocket and gasped.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat is it?\u201d Kyra asked. Jack turned the paper so she could see. \u201cMother<i>fucker<\/i>&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was a printout of a photo, taken with a long-range lens, of Jack and Kyra standing in front of their building talking to a man in traditional Amazigh attire. Tomlin.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">How long had mercs pursuing Riddick <i>been<\/i> in New Marrakesh?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She supposed that, after the breakout, anyone else who knew about the connection between \u201cJane Doe 7439\u201d and Riddick would have started plotting possible landfalls out of system. A few who rolled the dice correctly might have managed to beat Toombs himself\u2014even beat the <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i> itself\u2014to Tangier Prime.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>It\u2019s a good thing he took the picture from <b>behind<\/b> Tomlin, or his new boss would\u2019ve been even more interested in us than ever&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She pocketed the image, along with the Master Key, and then finished examining and disposing of the man\u2019s possessions. The badge dropped down into Elsewhere to join him. She\u2019d let the tide do whatever it wanted with them&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The door slammed open and the Tomlin-Meziane family spilled into the apartment, Cedric and Ewan first, both with guns drawn.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDihya!\u201d Takama gasped, slipping between the men and hurrying to her side.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sebby reared up on his hind legs, rattling his pincers, and screeched a warning. His stinger whipped out. Takama stopped short.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s okay, Sebby!\u201d Jack said, trying to hush him as fast as she could. She didn\u2019t want anyone else getting stung. \u201cCome here. It\u2019s okay.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She managed to coax him to crawl up her arm and onto her shoulder, and moved away from the couch to make room for the others.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJack wouldn\u2019t let me take the knife out,\u201d Kyra said, her voice sounding a little muzzy.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJack,\u201d Ewan\u2019s eyes cut toward her as he said the name, \u201cis very wise. We will have to remove it carefully.\u201d He had holstered his gun and was opening the large medical field kit that Takama had carried in.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cBattlefield doctors decide who lives and dies. It\u2019s called triage&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/i> Nobody had realized that she\u2019d heard that, heard <i>everything<\/i> that Johns and Riddick had said in their final conversation. Now she shuddered as it came back to her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Safiyya and Lalla were setting several large, empty suitcases on the floor. \u201cBathroom first,\u201d Safiyya said, handing Lalla a duffel bag. \u201cThen bedroom.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat are you&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?&#8288;\u201d Jack heard herself asking.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou can\u2019t stay here,\u201d Safiyya told her in a no-nonsense voice. \u201cIt\u2019s obviously not safe. This building truly is cursed. You\u2019ll stay with us, at least until Dihya has recovered. Let some scoundrel <i>try<\/i> to come at you in our home!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShould I ask what happened to the man who stabbed her?\u201d Cedric murmured so that only she could hear.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack met his eyes. \u201cPlease don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">His expression softened and grew sad. Did he realize what she had done?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I\u2019ve committed murder for the third time,<\/i> she thought, another shudder passing through her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cOW!\u201d<\/i> Kyra shrieked. <i>\u201cFuck!\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sebby leapt off Jack\u2019s shoulder and scuttled toward her sister, screeching, stinger thrashing like an agitated cat\u2019s tail.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSebby no! It\u2019s okay! Don\u2019t sting anybody!\u201d Jack shouted, chasing after him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m okay, Sebby!\u201d Kyra sobbed. \u201cI\u2019m okay, it\u2019s okay&#8288;\u2026 c\u2019mere&#8288;\u2026 it\u2019s okay&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The upset crustacean retracted his stinger. He leapt, instead, onto Kyra\u2019s shoulder and began stroking her cheek with his antennae, again making a soft <i>reeeeeeee<\/i> at the very edge of Jack\u2019s hearing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Takama set the bloody knife that Ewan had just drawn out of Kyra on the table. Jack walked over and picked it up, looking it over carefully. She wanted to remember every detail about it in case it became important later.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Then she walked over to the spot where the merc had fallen. Standing over it, she transitioned the knife into Elsewhere and dropped it down.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI should\u2019ve isomorphed him straight over to Elsewhere when I woke up and he was sitting over me,\u201d she heard herself saying. \u201cShouldn\u2019t\u2019ve given him a chance to hurt her&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI don\u2019t imagine,\u201d Cedric said next to her, \u201cthat an idea like that would just pop into your head right away.\u201d His hand on her shoulder was light, gentle.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt will next time.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI pray that you will never have to put that to the test, Tislilel. Or would you prefer to be Jack?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack sighed. \u201cNeither one\u2019s my real name. Let\u2019s stick with Tislilel. <i>He<\/i> gave me that name.\u201d She turned and met Cedric\u2019s eyes. \u201cGavin did.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Cedric nodded and swallowed, his eyes acquiring a mournful gleam. \u201cTislilel it is.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHusband!\u201d Safiyya called. \u201cEither pack or clean! We want this <i>tagat<\/i> place emptied when it\u2019s time to move Dihya!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Cedric gave Jack a somewhat forced grin. \u201cDon\u2019t want even one fingerprint left behind, do we? You want any of the larger furnishings?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo, we got rid of most of them already. Whoever moves in next can have what\u2019s left.\u201d Jack wasn\u2019t even going to try to argue with them about the move; beautiful view or not, she suddenly never wanted to see this building again. \u201cBut, uh&#8288;\u2026 could you check under the bed and dresser to make sure Sebby didn\u2019t leave anything under either one? He likes to hide and play under them.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sebby was still on Kyra\u2019s shoulder, supervising Ewan\u2019s work but no longer posturing threateningly.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThey\u2019re asking if you\u2019re okay&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Kyra groaned, only partly conscious.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWho\u2019s asking?\u201d Takama glanced between Kyra and Jack.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe things&#8288;\u2026 on the other side&#8288;\u2026 I was asleep and they were talking to me and suddenly they said \u2018the other larva is in danger and needs your help&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u2019&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe \u2018other larva?\u2019\u201d Takama looked confused.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s what they call us,\u201d Jack explained, once again wondering if maybe they <i>were<\/i> crazy. \u201cThe creatures&#8288;\u2026 the ones that started talking to us in our dreams after the rescue. They call us larvae. All except the one that hates us and calls us filth&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat do I <i>tell<\/i> them?\u201d Kyra moaned.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack took her hand. \u201cTell them I\u2019m okay. Tell them that they helped you save me. Tell them&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She had <i>done<\/i> it, she realized. She had called out to the frightening beings from her dreams, wide awake, and they had <i>answered,<\/i> if indirectly. They had <i>defended<\/i> her. It wasn\u2019t some weird <i>folie a deux<\/i> she and Kyra were experiencing. It was all wonderfully, terrifyingly <i>real.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTell them thank you.\u201d<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4031\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4031 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-32\">\u00ab Chapter 32<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4097\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4097 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-34\">Chapter 34 \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=\"34\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4032\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4032 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-33\">\u00ab Chapter 33<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4098\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4098 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-35\">Chapter 35 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5157\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5157 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">34.<br\/>\r\n<u>An Inward-Facing Fortress<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow\u2019d you do it?\u201d Cedric asked Kyra, studying the smashed window.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra looked over at him. The shots Ewan had given her had finally taken effect, and she no longer seemed to be in any pain but seemed extremely drowsy. Ewan, done treating her internal injuries, was suturing the gory slash in her skin. \u201cClimbed out the west window in the bedroom. There\u2019s a ledge outside. Went as fast I could \u2019til I got to the fire escape&#8288;\u2026 out that window&#8288;\u2026 \u2019&#8288;n gave it a good, hard donkey kick&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She started to lift her legs as if she was going to try to demonstrate, but hissed sharply as pain returned with the movement.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cStay still, Dihya,\u201d Ewan admonished, resting one gloved hand on her midriff. The other held the forceps he was using to suture her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFuck, sorry,\u201d Kyra muttered, grimacing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt was locked?\u201d Cedric frowned when Kyra nodded. \u201cSo how did the mercenary get in?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe had one of these,\u201d Jack said, taking the Master Key out of her pocket and holding it out to him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Cedric took it and looked it over. \u201cEven possessing one of these on Tangier Prime is a felony. I suggest you let it join him.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Damn. She\u2019d kind of wanted to keep it. Taking it back, she sighed, shifted it to Elsewhere, and let it fall. She caught Cedric watching her with a suppressed look of wonder on his face.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I guess it does look just like magic,<\/i> she thought, <i>and not an accident of quantum physics.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">While Ewan had continued to work on treating and closing Kyra\u2019s wound, Takama had joined Safiyya and Lalla in efficiently packing up their possessions in the apartment, using their clothing, bedding, and the pillows and blankets they\u2019d decorated with to cushion anything even slightly fragile. Cedric, meanwhile, had been diligently wiping down surfaces to remove all possible fingerprints. They were all wearing gloves from Ewan\u2019s kit, but had told Jack that she was to stay still and watch over Sebby and Kyra, not help. They were almost finished when two men appeared in the apartment\u2019s open doorway.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sebby crawled onto the top of the couch back and hissed at them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt is all right, Sebby,\u201d Takama said to him. \u201cThese are my cousins. <i>Ait uxam,<\/i> Sebby. Family.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack remembered seeing them at the memorial and at the meal afterward. One of them had told everyone a story about Tomlin learning to drive that had almost made mint tea come out of her nose. They were wheeling in a gurney, one designed to roll up and down flights of stairs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cPerfect&#8288;\u2026 timing,\u201d Ewan said as he tied off a stitch. \u201cThree more and I\u2019ll be done.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThis should be everything,\u201d Takama said a few minutes later, emerging from the kitchen area with the small quantity of food they\u2019d had\u2014including more olives for Sebby\u2014in a bag.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Now, <i>there<\/i> was a completely non-horrible idea&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTakama? Give an olive to Sebby, please.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The moment Takama offered him the olive, Jack could see the change in Sebby\u2019s posture. She was now one of his best friends. Jack had Cedric, Safiyya, and Lalla offer him olives as well, which he happily devoured while Ewan finished his work. The two cousins\u2014Iz\u00eel and Usaden\u2014offered him one each too, marveling at him in Tamazight. Each received a thank you, of a sort, from Sebby, who stroked his antennae along their ungloved hands and wrists.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Petting them or learning their scents?<\/i> Jack wondered. \u201cNow he\u2019ll think of you as <i>ait uxam<\/i>, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">While Iz\u00eel and Usaden carefully lifted Kyra onto the gurney, Ewan pulled off his bloody gloves and washed his hands before accepting an olive from Jack to feed Sebby.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019ve heard of offering olive <i>branches<\/i> before,\u201d he murmured softly as the contented crustacean stroked his hand, \u201cbut this is new.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cPretty much everything is with him,\u201d Jack admitted. \u201cWe didn\u2019t know until tonight that he has a stinger.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI wondered why you were so alarmed when he got upset. How strong is his venom?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cStrong enough to paralyze a hundred-kilo man in a matter of seconds,\u201d Jack told him, feeling a little nervous. What if they refused to let Sebby into their home?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIs that what killed the mercenary?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo,\u201d Jack said, and found that she couldn\u2019t meet Ewan\u2019s eyes, couldn\u2019t even look at his face. \u201cHe was still breathing when&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d She took a deep breath. \u201cWhen I&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan\u2019s hand touched her cheek and he tilted her head up, making her meet his gentle gaze. His eyes were exactly the same shade of green as his brother\u2019s. \u201cWhen you did what you had to do, to save your life and Dihya\u2019s.\u201d His voice became kindly chiding. \u201cI <i>do<\/i> understand war. The only thing that outrages me is that you and your sister have been forced onto the front lines of battle so young. <i>That<\/i> is the real crime here.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You don\u2019t know how young,<\/i> Jack thought miserably. Kyra had been twelve when the New Christy Massacre took place, and thirteen when she had finally captured and killed Red Roger, the same age Jack was now&#8288;\u2026 and <i>she<\/i> had three notches on her belt now, too. Did she really have any innocence left to lose?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan pulled her into a gentle hug. For a long moment they stayed still, Jack resting her head on his chest, breathing in the scent of him\u2014soothing and almost intoxicating after the reek of the filthy merc\u2014and listening to his heartbeat, letting it calm her. No one had held her like this since before her dad left for Furya. Possibly, no one had <i>ever<\/i> held her like this.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou two coming?\u201d Cedric called to them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack didn\u2019t want to let go. She wanted to just stay just like this, rest like this, for a while longer. Reluctantly, she pulled back and looked up at Ewan, meeting understanding and concern in his gaze. His fingertips gently brushed her forehead. \u201cYou\u2019re bruised. Did he hit you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d forgotten all about that for a moment, forgotten why her head hurt. \u201cI hit him in the face with my head.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That startled a soft laugh out of him. \u201cYou are quite ferocious. When we get back to the house, please let me look at it. Now that Dihya is stable, I want to make sure you are, too.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He kept his arm around her, the way his brother had, as they followed the others down the stairs. She could see Sebby below them, perched protectively on Kyra\u2019s chest as Iz\u00eel and Usaden maneuvered the gurney around a landing. The others were all carrying bags, including Ewan\u2019s repacked field kit.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMy tablet&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cRight here,\u201d Ewan chuckled, offering it to her. Then he took a familiar, cheap \u201cburner\u201d comm out of his pocket and held it up. \u201cWhose comm is this? It was on the table beside your tablet, but I thought Takama already packed yours and Dihya\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe merc\u2019s. I need to get it to another part of town before I isomorph it into Elsewhere. So nobody comes <i>here<\/i> looking for him.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s a good thought. May I handle that for you? I know someone who can make sure it goes on a long, wild journey before it disappears forever. No trips to other universes needed.\u201d Ewan smiled down at her. \u201cAlthough I would love to visit Elsewhere sometime, if I may.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYes, thank you.\u201d Jack looked around; as yet, no water was rising into the building. \u201cWhat time is it?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan glanced at his chrono. \u201cA little after eighteen p.m. Why?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTide\u2019s moving in. When we get to the ground level, though, I need to check something in Elsewhere. Do you have a flashlight?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOf course.\u201d He took it out of his pocket and offered it to her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI&#8288;\u2026 don\u2019t want you to come with me on <i>this<\/i> trip over to Elsewhere.\u201d Jack told him, feeling suddenly awkward.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAh&#8288;\u2026 yes. I understand.\u201d He didn\u2019t specify <i>what<\/i> he understood, maybe recognizing that she didn\u2019t want to talk about her need to make sure she\u2019d successfully committed another murder, and to conceal her gruesome handiwork from him. \u201cAs I said earlier, though, you bear <i>no<\/i> shame for any of what happened tonight.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I do, though. I do&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The waters of Elsewhere were lapping at the lower end of the street, a few blocks away, when they finally emerged from the building. Iz\u00eel and Usaden had covered Kyra with a white sheet and were wheeling her toward, of all things, a Medical Examiner\u2019s truck. Jack\u2019s heart lurched for a second.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s all right, Tislilel,\u201d Ewan murmured, sensing her distress. \u201cThis was the plan. Anyone on the outside will only know that someone must have died in the building and been taken out. They will seem to drop her off at a funeral home, where another of our cousins is waiting to bring her back to the house in a laundry service truck. Takama is going to ride with her the whole way. She\u2019ll be fine.\u201d He kissed the top of her head, removing his arm from around her. \u201cGo take care of your problem while we load the bags in Lalla\u2019s van.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">As Jack walked back toward the apartment building\u2019s outer wall, she found herself wishing that Ewan\u2019s arm was still around her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">If Riddick had left her with a family like this, she thought as she isomorphed over into Elsewhere and continued forward on the sand, she never would have even considered cutting her wrists.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was a moonless night in Elsewhere; all three moons, no longer near each other in the sky, were somewhere on the other side of the world. Ewan\u2019s flashlight illuminated dried sand, desiccated seaweed, smooth rocks, and small tidepools, terrain she remembered from the previous week. That had been a dark night, too; everyone had been using their comms to light their way.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Frank Vedder, aka Justin Cowell, aka Blaine Mason was sprawled on the rocky ground, his body thoroughly broken by his twenty-meter fall. His head had smashed against a large rock, painting it scarlet. Small crustaceans, like but unlike Sebby, had found the body and begun to feast.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>He died fast,<\/i> a voice from her past rumbled softly in her head, <i>and if we have any choice about it, that\u2019s the way we should all go out&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She would no more cry for this&#8288;\u2026 <i>sicko<\/i>&#8288;\u2026 than she would have for Johns\u2014and despite what Riddick had seemed to believe at the time, the tears she\u2019d almost shed had not been for the merc who had wanted to serve her up as a Judas goat\u2014but part of her still wanted to curl up and cry at the thought of what she had become on this journey and the innocent girl who had been lost along the way. She wanted to cry because, as with Johns, she was <i>glad<\/i> the man was dead, and part of her hated herself for that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The Master Key, which she had been tempted to retrieve, had smashed to pieces against another rock. <i>Like I needed to add another felony to the long list&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Taking the surveillance photo of herself and Kyra back out of her pocket\u2014she wasn\u2019t sure why she\u2019d initially kept it, but it needed to cease to exist\u2014she dropped it onto the sand and turned back, retracing her steps until they vanished and she was back outside the building, before isomorphing back into U1.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cBaraka,\u201d<\/i> Ewan said as she reappeared. \u201cI was told, and I believed, but it\u2019s still an amazing thing to see.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m still learning how to do it the best way,\u201d Jack admitted, offering him his flashlight back. \u201cSlow or fast transitions, I mean. It\u2019s kind of frustrating. Nobody\u2019s exactly written a <i>manual<\/i> about how Threshold Syndrome works even though they really <i>ought<\/i> to have by now.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAssuming that the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation was willing to allow that knowledge to circulate, that is,\u201d Ewan said, quirking an eyebrow at her. \u201cLet\u2019s get you back to the house. I asked my sister to prepare a room for you and Dihya while we collected you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The Medical Examiner\u2019s truck had already departed, Jack noticed. Cedric was loading the last of the bags into the back of what she assumed was Lalla\u2019s van, gesturing them over to him. \u201cLet\u2019s get you home, Tislilel. We have some security tricks in store for anyone who tries to invade <i>our<\/i> house.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Soon she was sitting between Cedric and Ewan as Lalla drove them back to the extraordinary mansion that she\u2019d only left a few hours before. They made one detour along the way, so Ewan could hand off the merc\u2019s comm to a man who looked like a pirate riding a motorcycle. A while later, they turned onto the tree-lined avenue they\u2019d walked on, earlier that same day, on their way to and from the church. A massive, high-walled edifice with a familiar gate set in it appeared on the left. There were, she realized, no windows on the outer walls, no sign that it was a house at all. When she and Kyra had originally passed it in the processional, she\u2019d assumed it was a warehouse.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThis is true,\u201d Cedric said when she asked him about it. \u201cThe house\u2019s windows look inward only, although we often go up on the roof if we wish to watch what\u2019s happening outside with our own eyes.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cRoof access? That could be&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d Jack stopped herself. This family knew how to take care of itself better than she did. Didn\u2019t it?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDangerous? Perhaps,\u201d Cedric said, grinning. \u201cBurglars have tried to come in from the roof, but it\u2019s more difficult than it seems. Only one has ever made it inside.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat happened to him?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNothing good,\u201d Safiyya said. \u201cYou and Dihya will be safe, we promise.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>It\u2019s not me I\u2019m worried about,<\/i> Jack realized. Riddick was a big enough payday to make any merc willing to go to war against a family, even a wealthy and apparently powerful one. As long as people believed he was the one who had sprung her and Kyra from the hospital, anyone they associated with would be fair game in a merc\u2019s eyes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Could she really bring that kind of havoc down on this family?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan, she realized, was studying her face intently. She hoped she wasn\u2019t showing far too much of what she was feeling&#8288;\u2026 in <i>any<\/i> direction.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSorry,\u201d she made herself say, giving him an apologetic smile. \u201cI think I\u2019m just a little paranoid right now.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cUnderstandably,\u201d he said, putting his arm around her again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Another, larger gate opened beside the van, leading down into a huge, private garage below ground level. Elsewhere\u2019s waters completely filled it. Jack let Ewan help her out of the van and escort her into the house for a second time.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It had never occurred to her until now that the comfortable shabbiness of the Rif might be a <i>front.<\/i> She still wasn\u2019t sure what the truth was. But her favorite food cart vendor had turned out to be a sociology professor on sabbatical, whose real job seemed to be gathering intel for the Imazighen\u2014intel that had brought Tomlin to her and Kyra\u2019s doorstep\u2014and teaching foreigners to respect their ways. And, at Takama\u2019s word, an entire community had stepped up to smuggle almost two hundred refugees out into the mountains in a single night.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Maybe she should trust that they were stronger than they had seemed, more powerful than they had seemed&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;but still vulnerable. Tomlin had died because she\u2019d given him just enough help, just enough knowledge, to start a fight with the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation, but not enough to win it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She wasn\u2019t sure anyone <i>could<\/i> win a fight against them. Without their Isomorph Drives, regardless of what secrets they were keeping about them, there would be no Star Jumping, no faster-than-light space travel. And without that&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;the end of the Federacy as we knew it&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/i> That was what Tomlin had told his younger brother. Was the truth he\u2019d discovered powerful enough to actually <i>do<\/i> that? To bring real-time contact between the star systems to an <i>end?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">If it was, no wonder the Corporation was willing to kill hundreds and destroy an economy to keep it secret, and to keep their position one where no other power, not even the Federacy itself, could threaten them with reprisals for any atrocious act they chose to commit. And if they ever suspected the secrets, and the <i>people<\/i>, that the Tomlin-Meziane family was harboring&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;This large and beautiful fortress would be erased from the board altogether.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Could <i>anything<\/i> defend this family against the monstrous forces, human and possibly otherwise, hunting for her and Kyra? Especially if those different forces ever realized they were all seeking the same two\u2014in the words of one now-dead merc\u2014little girls?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She would have to talk to Kyra about it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan had been steering her through the house the whole time she had been lost in thought\u2014and there was a whole lot of house!\u2014and up three flights of stairs. The lights in the tastefully decorated corridor he led her down were dim and most of the doors were closed. It reminded Jack a little of a fancy hotel from an old Earth vid. The doors were only on one side of the corridor; was the other side one of the exterior walls?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">One door was open, soft light spilling into the hallway, and Jack could hear voices coming from it. Takama\u2019s voice was among them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cRest now, Dihya,\u201d she was saying as Ewan led Jack in. \u201cYour sister will be here soon&#8288;\u2014 ah! Here she is now.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A large, ornately carved bedframe dominated the room. The bed itself looked soft and luxurious. Kyra was settled on its right side, propped up by large pillows in a position Jack remembered from one of her grandma\u2019s hospital stays. Sebby, who had been resting on a pillow next to her, scuttled across the bed and leapt down, racing to Jack and climbing up onto her shoulder, antennae frisking her face.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat an extraordinary creature,\u201d she heard either Iz\u00eel or Usaden say as she stroked his carapace with her fingers. \u201cSo devoted. Aside from olives, what does it eat?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cCockroaches, mostly&#8288;\u2026 any that were dumb enough to come into our place,\u201d Jack told him. \u201cAnd bugs that flew in after the west windows got broken. He can\u2019t fly, but he sure tried to, to catch them.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She wondered when, exactly, Sebby had learned to crawl across the ceiling to launch his attack on the merc. Maybe he\u2019d figured it out so that he could ambush the large moths that had begun coming in at night. She and Kyra had begun finding colorful wing fragments on the foot of their bed and the floor at the end of each night cycle.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWell, he isn\u2019t going to find those here, I\u2019m afraid,\u201d the cousin\u2014Iz\u00eel, she realized\u2014continued. \u201cI will stop by a pet supply shop and bring back some possibilities for him.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThank you.\u201d Jack took Kyra\u2019s hand. \u201cAre you okay?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra\u2019s expression was a little loopy. \u201cUsaden gave me the <i>good stuff,\u201d<\/i> she said, a slight slur to her words. \u201cGonna sleep now&#8288;\u2026 now I know <i>you\u2019re<\/i> okay&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShe won\u2019t be in any pain,\u201d Usaden murmured. \u201cNot for many hours.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAre you a doctor?\u201d Jack found herself asking him. The Meziane family seemed to be huge, and highly accomplished.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He nodded. \u201cI am, in fact, a medical examiner. Generally, none of my \u2018patients\u2019 require medication, but I have kept my license to practice on the living up to date, so I can also be called upon for search-and-rescue and triage in crises like the one we all suffered last week. And for situations such as this.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack suddenly wondered just how often this family found itself embroiled in intrigue.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIf either of you need anything,\u201d Takama gestured at a small device on the low table next to Kyra\u2019s head. \u201cSomeone is always awake in our house and will answer. Once Zdan has made sure you do not have a concussion, Tislilel, try to sleep as well. Good night, girls.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She shepherded Iz\u00eel and Usaden out of the room, the three talking softly in Tamazight as they went.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNow,\u201d Ewan said, reaching into his field bag again, \u201clet\u2019s make sure of you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He led her over to a chair and made her sit down, kneeling in front of her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019re a pilot <i>and<\/i> a medic?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He shrugged but nodded. \u201cPilot in training. I worked for the UMA while I was at University. I think Usaden hoped I\u2019d become a doctor, too, but&#8288;\u2026 flying won. Especially now.\u201d He swallowed, the grief showing in his eyes again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>His brother was his hero,<\/i> Jack thought as he shone his penlight into her eyes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cPupils are responsive, that\u2019s a good start&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d For the next several minutes, he took her through a series of tests, some physical and some mental, before nodding in satisfaction. \u201cYou\u2019re going to have an impressive bruise on your forehead for a while, and probably a headache, which I\u2019ll give you some meds for, but there are no signs of a concussion.\u201d His smile emerged; as with his older brother, it transformed him from handsome to dazzling. \u201cWhich is a relief because I imagine you\u2019re quite tired by now. I don\u2019t have to make you stay awake.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack was about to object that she was perfectly awake when a yawn broke through, surprising her. \u201cI think that\u2019s a good thing,\u201d she admitted, laughing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">His brotherly good night kiss left her cheek tingling.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>He\u2019s nine years older than I am,<\/i> she scolded herself as she showered, Sebby splashing at her feet. <i>What I want is never going to happen.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Why did she have to develop feelings for such unattainable men? First Riddick, then Tomlin, and now Ewan&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Feeling a little refreshed from the shower but still sleepy, she climbed into huge bed, moving her pillow to the middle so she\u2019d be close to Kyra, and drifted off.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>They<\/i> were waiting for her, agitated, demanding to know what was wrong with \u201cthe other larva\u201d and what had happened to both of them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>If I show you in three-shapes, will you understand?<\/i> she asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>We will understand.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack conjured up her memories, recreating the apartment in her mind. Her asleep on the couch, Kyra\u2014the other larva, she told them\u2014sleeping in the next room, and the hideous, foul-smelling mercenary sneaking in through their door, climbing on top of her and threatening her with a knife. She recreated the battle that had followed, showing them Kyra coming to her rescue and being wounded, and then Sebby rescuing them both. At first, she wasn\u2019t sure if they were seeing any of it, until they began to ask questions about what she had showed them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">So <i>many<\/i> questions&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJack? Jack, wake up&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She opened her eyes, blinking at the unfamiliar surroundings in the darkness. Kyra was shaking her arm, looking pained and anxious.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cKyra? Are you okay? I thought the meds&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThey won\u2019t let me sleep, Jack.\u201d Her sister had the same look of panic in her eyes that she\u2019d had the morning before they broke out of the hospital, when Red Roger had come back to her in her dreams. \u201cThey keep asking all these questions&#8288;\u2026 I can\u2019t get them to let me sleep&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack sat up, concerned. \u201cYou want me to tell them to knock it off?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra nodded, her lip trembling.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She closed her eyes, focusing on <i>them.<\/i> Somehow, she was starting to be able to feel them even when she was awake. <i>The other larva is <b>wounded!<\/b><\/i> she scolded them. <i>You must stop asking her questions! I\u2019ll tell you when she is well enough for you to talk to her again. Until then, you can talk to me. Just to me.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She wasn\u2019t sure, but she thought she felt some kind of reluctant assent.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI think I got through to them,\u201d she told Kyra.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThanks&#8288;\u2026 but&#8288;\u2026 I don\u2019t want to go back to sleep yet. Can you talk to me? Help me stay awake for a while?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAbsolutely. What do you want to talk about?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI&#8288;\u2026 I don\u2019t&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Kyra\u2019s eyes were filling.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She needed an anchor, Jack realized, something to pull her away from her own thoughts and the darkness waiting for both of them. The way she\u2019d needed one that final day at the hospital, when she was drawing Red Roger on the wall&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Of course.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack had promised to tell her the true story about Riddick. Originally, it should have happened that same night, but the escape had preempted it, and they hadn\u2019t circled back to it since. Now, she decided, it was time. She would give Kyra something to imagine that was almost completely disconnected from the current moment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOnce there was a girl,\u201d she began, \u201cwho was unhappy at home and decided she was going to run away. Her mom was getting remarried to a real asshole, and she wanted to go live with her dad. But he was hundreds of light years away on a military base, and nobody was going to just let her go to him. So one day, she cut off her hair, put on her cousin Ron\u2019s outgrown clothes, changed her name to Jack B. Badd, and set off after him&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She could feel <i>them<\/i> listening, too.<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4032\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4032 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-33\">\u00ab Chapter 33<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4098\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4098 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-35\">Chapter 35 \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=\"35\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4033\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4033 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-34\">\u00ab Chapter 34<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4099\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4099 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-36\">Chapter 36 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5160\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5160 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">35.<br\/>\r\n<u>A Box with Infinite Chambers<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra didn\u2019t manage to fall back asleep until after Jack had narrated up to Ali\u2019s death and funeral, shortly before Fry had told everyone about the coming eclipse. Jack lay beside her, watching her sleep, until she was sure that her dreams weren\u2019t being disturbed. Then she closed her eyes and let sleep reclaim her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Little larva? May we speak to you now?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYes,\u201d she told them, unsurprised to find herself floating in the night sky once more. This seemed to be where they centered themselves: in the darkness, surrounded by stars.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>The story you told. Is it true?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt is, yeah.\u201d Most of it, anyway. She had changed a few things as she went, trying to make it sound like she had met Paris Ogilvie well before the crash, in keeping with her prior claims to Kyra that <i>he<\/i> was the one who had mentored her in breaking security systems rather than her dad unknowingly doing so. She\u2019d worked in all the things he\u2019d told her about himself after the crash as if they were things she\u2019d learned while traveling with him before boarding the <i>Hunter-Gratzner.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019ve been to Earth eleven times now,\u201d he\u2019d told her as he dug through his stash and pocketed tins of caviar, reluctantly offering her one for her own pocket. \u201cMostly, I\u2019ve stayed in the Western hemisphere. That\u2019s the safest side. But it\u2019s still risky. There are radiation storms even there. And all the best museums and estates have security systems that are still protecting their collections, even now. I almost got fried by a positron screen doing the Smithsonian job&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">At the time, Jack had the sense that he wanted to recruit her, to have her \u201crun with\u201d him for real. He\u2019d been planning his biggest heist yet and was eager to talk about it: taking a crack at the Louvre and the Mona Lisa.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNobody\u2019s survived that yet. They say it\u2019s impenetrable. But I found some old documents about the security system, things nobody else has ever seen. I think I can get to her. And if not&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d He\u2019d raised a bottle of <i>Domaine de la Roman\u00e9e-Conte<\/i> in a toast, taking a long pull and offering the bottle to her. \u201cDying in the City of Light, that I was named after? It can\u2019t get more poetic than that.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack had taken a small sip of the wine. It wasn\u2019t terrible, but it just tasted halfway between spoiled grape juice and vinegar to her. She had yet to understand why so many people fussed over it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">No one else in the group seemed to take Paris all that seriously, especially when it became clear that he fancied himself a twenty-sixth century Indiana Jones.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cA male Lara Croft, thank you <i>very<\/i> much,\u201d he\u2019d said when she made the comparison, \u201cnot that crass American&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Jack had ended up wondering if he realized that both adventurers had been fictional.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But she had been to some of the holo-museums that reproduced long-lost Earth artifacts, and she had <i>recognized<\/i> many of the items in Paris\u2019s storage bay. As improbable as it seemed, that gawky, snobbish man really had been, more or less, the wayfaring tomb raider he claimed he was. With a pang of regret, she found herself wishing she had hung onto the boomerang she\u2019d carried for a while. From the British Museum on Earth, it had traveled to an unknown world and had been lost forever. She knew exactly where she\u2019d dropped it after the eclipse, but it might as well have been left in another universe.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>They<\/i>, she suddenly realized, were observing her memories, which she\u2019d conjured into their night sky as she thought of them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>He could break into locked places?<\/i> they asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSome, yeah,\u201d she told them. \u201cDepending on the kind of lock.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>And you know how to do this, too?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah. Again, just some of the time. Some locks are harder than others. I\u2019m still learning.\u201d She wasn\u2019t supposed to be learning anything of the kind, but somehow her life kept taking a turn toward the criminal.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It had been an act of desperation that had led Jack to try to pick Sharon Montgomery\u2019s pocket while waiting for the <i>Hunter-Gratzner<\/i> to arrive on Vasenji Station. She\u2019d run out of money, none of her dad\u2019s security systems were used on the station\u2019s commercial levels, and she was starting to get a little crazy with hunger. She\u2019d done a terrible job of it and, even before her target had turned to look at her, John Ezekiel had her in a headlock.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cZeke,\u201d Shazza had said, \u201clet the poor kid go.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAre you <i>barmy?<\/i> This little shit tried to steal your wallet.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI know, but look at \u2019im. Skin and bones, he is. When\u2019s the last time you ate, yeah?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It had been the beginning of a strange few days. Shazza had immediately figured out that she was a girl but had kept that a secret even from Zeke. But if Jack was going to tramp the space lanes, Shazza had announced, \u201che\u201d was going to do it <i>right.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Starting with how to pick pockets <i>properly.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The hapless and still annoyed Zeke had found himself volunteered to be Jack\u2019s \u201cmark,\u201d as she practiced identifying where people kept their valuables and lifting them undetected. Shazza had played \u201cmark\u201d as well, and had periodically made Jack play the role too, so she could \u201csee how it\u2019s done\u201d and learn how to spot other thieves in a crowd and avoid their light fingers. By the time the <i>Hunter-Gratzner<\/i> had arrived, the couple had amusedly turned her loose on a few crowds and critiqued her successes and failures until she was, in Shazza\u2019s words, \u201ca certified pro\u201d and it was time to part ways.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She hadn\u2019t told them that she was <i>joining<\/i> them on the ship. They\u2019d only discovered that when they broke open her cryo-chamber and freed her in the aftermath of the crash.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cCripes, kid,\u201d Shazza had said, helping her up off the floor. \u201cIf you\u2019d told me you were planning on stowing away on this beast, I\u2019d\u2019ve bought you a ticket.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou need ID to board the normal way,\u201d she\u2019d answered, startling a rare guffaw out of Zeke.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They had also taught her how to pick locks.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>These locks&#8288;\u2026 they are mechanical in nature. Do you know how to open other kinds?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cLike what?\u201d she asked, instantly regretting it. <i>She<\/i> had been thinking about her dad\u2019s security systems. <i>They<\/i> were thinking of something else altogether.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was, at first glance, a cube, with no breaks in any of its surfaces. But it had far too many surfaces, more and more the longer she looked at it, infinite iterations of itself, dropping deeper and deeper down into&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cStop, stop I can\u2019t&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>We are sorry, little larva. We forgot how small you still are.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m sorry too,\u201d Jack found herself saying. \u201cI just&#8288;\u2026 I can\u2019t see that far into&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>We understand. You must grow more first. When you hatch into your six-shape, we will show you.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Well, <i>that<\/i> wasn\u2019t creepy or anything&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They let her sleep for <i>real<\/i> after that, eavesdropping on her dreams but letting them flow wherever her unconscious mind would take them. Later, she dreamt about being Audrey, sneaking downstairs with her cousins in the middle of the night to watch an antique vid they had been forbidden to see, a gory and disturbing story about a puzzle box that opened doors to other worlds&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She woke up gasping, feeling like she was on the brink of understanding something important.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;something about an old Earth vid called <i>Hellraiser?&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was gone.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Night, on Tangier Prime, was long even at the height of summer; most people rose in the dark to begin their mornings. Jack climbed out of bed and picked up her tablet, which she vaguely remembered setting on the guest room\u2019s elegant dresser the night before. Its chrono said that it was a little after six a.m. The sun would rise in slightly less than two hours, which almost felt normal for a moment until she remembered that it had set fourteen hours earlier and would remain in the sky for twenty-eight hours once it rose. That was summer in New Marrakesh; most people had wakened two or more hours earlier still and were accustomed to the first few hours of their morning-day being spent in darkness. Mid-winter, Takama had told her when they first met, meant thirty-two hours of darkness at a time for an entire week, with the sun only rising a few hours before the overnoon sleep period began and setting just a few hours after everyone woke for the evening-day.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She wasn\u2019t sure how long she had slept, though. She still felt tired, but far too alert and agitated to try to sleep again yet. There was a word tickling at the back of her mind, probably from her spelling bee days, that felt like it had something to do with her dreams. <i>Apeirochoron?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She looked it up on the tablet.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><u><b>Apeirochoron<\/b> <i>noun, sing.<\/i> [mathematics] \/\u0259\u02c8p\u026ar.\u0251\u02c8k\u0254\u02d0r.\u0251\u02d0n\/<\/u><br\/>\r\nAn n-polytope cube of infinite dimensions.<br\/>\r\nFrom \u03ac\u03c0\u03b5\u03b9\u03c1\u03bf\u03c2 (\u00e1peiros - \u201cinfinite\u201d) + \u03c7\u03ce\u03c1\u03bf\u03c2 (ch\u00f3ros - \u201cspace, room\u201d)<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Was that what <i>they<\/i> had been trying to show her in her dream? It felt like it was.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But <i>why?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She switched off the tablet and set it down when she heard a soft knock on the door, grabbing up the robe that had been set out for her and slipping it on in a hurry. She wasn\u2019t entirely sure what the Meziane family\u2019s views on bed attire were, but it was something her parents had argued about during family gatherings. She wouldn\u2019t take any chances.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra was still asleep, so she walked over to the door and opened it rather than calling out a <i>come in.<\/i> Tafrara and Ewan were waiting outside.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The first thing Tafrara did was give her a hug. \u201cI\u2019m so glad you\u2019re safe. I\u2019m sorry I didn\u2019t stay to see you when you arrived.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s okay. Thank you,\u201d Jack said, hugging her back. Ewan, she noticed, was carrying his field kit. \u201cK&#8288;\u2014 Dihya\u2019s not awake yet.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShe isn\u2019t? I didn\u2019t think the sedative would last so long.\u201d Concern appeared on his face.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe, uh&#8288;\u2026 had a problem with the entities. They kept trying to talk to her instead of letting her sleep.\u201d Jack needed to come up with a better name for those creatures.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe&#8288;\u2026 \u2018entities?\u2019\u201d Tafrara asked, her expression a little dubious.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt appears,\u201d Ewan explained, \u201cthat Dihya and Tislilel\u2019s comings and goings across universes have attracted the attention of other beings who can do something similar. And who try to communicate with them when they sleep. Is Dihya all right?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI managed to get them to shut up and leave her alone,\u201d Jack said with a nod. \u201cBut she wasn\u2019t ready to try sleeping again for a while.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThey must have really upset her to break through that sedative so early on. Do you mind if I take a look at her?\u201d He hadn\u2019t tried to brush past her, waiting instead to be invited in.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cPlease,\u201d she said, moving aside for him. He flashed her a knee-quaking smile on his way past. Something about the room, she suddenly realized, felt off. \u201cWhere\u2019s Sebby?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYour little pet?\u201d Tafrara\u2019s lips twitched with amusement. \u201cHe\u2019s downstairs. He started scrabbling at the door a few hours ago. We think he was trying to find something to hunt. So Iz\u00eel went to the night market and brought back a tub of feeder crickets, and he has been having the best time.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe\u2019s been absolutely hilarious,\u201d Ewan added softly, moving aside the covers to check Kyra\u2019s bandages. Kyra\u2019s hand flashed out, catching his wrist, and then relaxed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cG\u2019morning,\u201d she said, still half-asleep.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGood morning, Dihya,\u201d he replied, struggling to hold back a laugh. \u201cI think you just passed your reflex test. How are you feeling?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSore.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI have something that\u2019ll help with that.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd hungry,\u201d Kyra added.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s a very good sign indeed. We\u2019ll have something brought up to you right away. Tafrara, could you&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOf course, Zdan. Come on,\u201d Tafrara said, tugging at the sleeve of Jack\u2019s robe. \u201cLet\u2019s get <i>you<\/i> something to eat, too.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Tafrara led her down two flights of steps to the ground level, and out into the courtyard she\u2019d passed through the previous day. The tide in Elsewhere had receded, Jack noticed; on that side, wan moonlight was sparkling over a barren garden of gleaming stone, wet sand, and seaweed, casting long shadows toward the west. In both worlds, above her, the sky had shifted from black to a dark, intense royal blue as the sun approached the eastern horizon. The air was cool and perfumed with the scent of hundreds of blossoms in the courtyard garden.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s so beautiful,\u201d Jack whispered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThank you,\u201d Tafrara said, looking pleased. \u201cIt\u2019s been a project of mine for many years now.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou did all this?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWell, not <i>all<\/i>, but I designed a good deal of the garden layouts.\u201d Tafrara led her across the courtyard and into a brightly lit room on the other side.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Reeeeeeeeeee!<\/i> It sounded different from the night before, not at all distressed. Jack followed the sound and spotted a large, high-sided storage tub, its lid set aside.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHere she is now,\u201d Cedric greeted her. \u201cYou\u2019re gonna love what your little fella\u2019s been up to.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack leaned over the tub and looked in on&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Total destruction. A cricket\u2019s version of a summer disaster vid.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Not a single cricket was chirping. The surviving few were apparently trying to stay as quiet as they could while Sebby, pincers clattering enthusiastically, chased after them and stuffed them into his little mandibles. He wasn\u2019t bothering to be especially tidy, and bits of cricket were everywhere in the tub.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh wow,\u201d she found herself laughing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s cricket Armageddon in there,\u201d Cedric chuckled. \u201cHe\u2019s finished off almost the whole lot.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNow I wonder if we\u2019ve been underfeeding him,\u201d Jack said, feeling a little rueful.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIf you have,\u201d Cedric said, rising from the dining table she\u2019d barely registered and pulling a seat out for her, \u201cwe\u2019ll set that right soon enough.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou should have seen him pouncing them,\u201d Safiyya said, entering the room with a large tray. \u201cHe\u2019s like a <i>kitten<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Safiyya\u2019s tray had a variety of traditional Moroccan breakfast foods on it; Jack suspected that Takama had told her which ones were her favorites. Soon she was settled at the table, dipping <i>baghrir<\/i> pancakes into <i>amlou<\/i> and scooping up cumin-seasoned fried eggs and <i>khlii<\/i> with a slice of <i>khobz<\/i>. Nearby, she could hear Sebby\u2019s enthusiastic, almost ultrasonic mini shrieks as he stalked his prey.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I could get used to this&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There were very rare moments\u2014and this, Jack realized, was one of them\u2014when the urge to stop her madcap voyage across the stars became intense. If she said she wanted to stay here, she knew, the Tomlin-Meziane family would welcome her into their fold, accepting her exactly as she was. She would become Tislilel Meziane, adopted daughter of Cedric and Safiyya, or maybe of Takama, youngest sister\u2014or cousin\u2014of Tafrara, Ewan Zdan, and Dihya&#8288;\u2026 and the late Gavin Brahim. She would never be Jack B. Badd <i>or<\/i> Audrey MacNamera again&#8288;\u2026 and she would never need to use the false ID she had created for her journey onward. She would learn to live by the unique rhythms of a world with 44 hours in its day and an alternate version with three moons and enormous high tides, and she could explore two sets of landscapes wherever she went. And although she could probably never have the man she longed for most of all right now, one day she could find someone almost or just as wonderful in the tribe, or at an engagement Moussem, and make a new family of her own&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Could she really do that?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her parents, she thought with a pang of guilt, would believe she had died somewhere. Maybe they\u2019d even suspect she\u2019d died in the <i>Hunter-Gratzner<\/i> crash, but they would never know the truth of what had happened to her. Audrey MacNamera would stay in the \u201cmissing\u201d category for a few more years and then be declared dead. Her memorial would have no coffin or urn, just a picture of a na\u00efve young girl with long blonde hair who had vanished one day without a trace. Memories of who she had been and what she had done in her brief life on Deckard\u2019s World would already have faded by then. There would be hardly any stories for anyone to tell about the quiet, studious girl who had lived too far away from her school friends and other children her age and had made do with books and cats for companions, who never got into any trouble unless she was with her cousins\u2014and those stories would mostly be about <i>them<\/i>, not her\u2014and whose adventures had almost all been vicarious until then&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Could she really do that to <i>them?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her heart twisted as she realized that there was no way she could. As alluring as life with the Tomlin-Meziane family might be, and as much as she wanted to have any excuse to catch the light of Ewan\u2019s smile&#8288;\u2026 she could never do that to her family. Especially not after seeing just how torn up Tomlin\u2019s death had left <i>his.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAre you all right in there?\u201d Cedric asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack glanced up, trying too late to cover up the look of sadness that had crept over her face. \u201cUm&#8288;\u2026 yeah. Just&#8288;\u2026 got a lot to think about.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>If I didn\u2019t already have a father, I\u2019d want you to be mine&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cRight,\u201d Ewan said at that moment, entering the room. \u201cThat\u2019s Dihya settled for the next few hours. She should sleep comfortably for a while. What do we want to do about the officers\u2019 reception?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBloody hell,\u201d Cedric muttered. \u201cI don\u2019t think we dare postpone it. Certain people would want to know why, if we did. Well, we\u2019ll see how she\u2019s faring tomorrow evening. It\u2019s still some sixty-odd hours away.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow <i>Dihya\u2019s<\/i> faring?\u201d Jack asked, momentarily confused.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe plan was to introduce her to Gavin\u2019s associates in the Service during the reception we scheduled just for them,\u201d Cedric explained. \u201cWith that Quin&#173;tessa bitch looking over our shoulders at the memorial, I couldn\u2019t find a way to extend an invitation for a meet-an\u2019-greet that she wouldn\u2019t invite herself to, other than that. I <i>do<\/i> plan to keep Gavin\u2019s promise to Dihya.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Oh! Of course. Now it all made sense. \u201cBut now you\u2019re worried she won\u2019t be recovered in time.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s the worry,\u201d Ewan agreed. \u201cWell, we can work around it if we need to. I know some of them fairly well and can invite them over for dinner, or something.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow long is your leave?\u201d Cedric asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI have another week,\u201d Ewan said, popping an olive into his mouth.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Just four more of Tangier Prime\u2019s long days, Jack realized, and Ewan would be back at the flight academy on Qamar. It was a struggle to keep her dismay off her face. After the week ended&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She might never see him again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It would only be another week from then until the transport to Furya arrived and, one way or another, she boarded it and left to reunite with her dad. That was a rendezvous she <i>had<\/i> to keep. More than a year had gone by since she\u2019d disappeared from Deckard\u2019s World, and by now word had reached him that she was missing. She\u2019d planned to <i>beat<\/i> the news of her disappearance to him, or at least arrive soon after. She couldn\u2019t dally anymore. Which meant that, although she intended to spend the next two weeks immersing herself in this wonderful family, she would have to say goodbye to them all too soon. And goodbye to Ewan, possibly forever, even sooner.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Why did all these things have to hurt so much?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A gentle hand on the back of her head drew her back to herself. Ewan was leaning forward, studying her face with concern. \u201cAre you all right, Tislilel?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She tried to manage a reassuring smile, but what appeared was probably pathetic and not reassuring at all. \u201cIt\u2019s just&#8288;\u2026 been a rough few weeks. I think maybe I\u2019ll lie down for a while.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She couldn\u2019t tell them what she was feeling, not now&#8288;\u2026 and could tell <i>him<\/i> least of all.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDo you know the way back?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack nodded, able to see it in her mind quite clearly. She only ever got lost in places she\u2019d never been before, and only then if she hadn\u2019t had a chance to map them out in advance or had been given faulty and outdated directions. But she could see every turn she and Tafrara had taken.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The sun hadn\u2019t yet risen as she crossed the courtyard, but the sky had turned a vivid, deep turquoise blue and birds were muttering sleepily in the trees. Jack stopped for a moment to inhale the intoxicating scent of the space. She wanted to remember it forever, this magical garden that might, if only things had been different, have become her home.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She wondered if there were any flowers yet on Furya.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra was sleeping again when Jack returned to their room. Ewan\u2014or possibly his cousin Usaden\u2014had set up an IV drip after she\u2019d left. She looked up the contents of the bags on her tablet. Hydration fluids, mostly, but one small bag, on a timed drip feeding its contents into the other fluids, was a powerful healing accelerant. The tablet told her that it was rarely used because it was prohibitively expensive.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was about to set the tablet back down when she noticed that she had a message. Or, more specifically, that her newest alias had a message.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her pulse racing with sudden excitement, she opened it up.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"letter-block\"><tt>Dear Ms. Tepper,<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indent-block\"><tt>We are pleased to inform you that you are one of the top candidates to join the crew of the <i>Major Barbara<\/i> on its upcoming voyage to the Catalan System&#8288;\u2026<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Wait, what?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She had applied to go to <i>Furya.<\/i> The <i>Major Barbara<\/i> was supposed to be going to <i>Furya.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She scanned the rest of the letter in growing confusion. The departure date was the same, although the ship was now scheduled to launch from New Fes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But the destination had changed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A terrible, cold, empty feeling was filling her as she used one of her Ghost Codes to infiltrate the shipping company\u2019s comms system and snoop on the chatter of the last few days.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Oh. Of course. Of fucking <b>course.<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt>Due to the current difficult circumstances facing Tangier Prime and particularly New Marrakesh, the planetary government has requested that all humanitarian aid supplies located within the System be reserved for the rescue and recovery efforts currently underway&#8288;\u2026<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The aid packages originally marked for shipment to Furya had been reallocated for local use. The <i>Major Barbara<\/i> would instead carry construction equipment to Catalonia Seven. And the shipping company was in the middle of arranging a new supply mission to Furya, originating from&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHelion Prime. Helion <i>fucking<\/i> Prime&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Jack didn\u2019t know whether to laugh or cry.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The tears won.<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4033\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4033 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-34\">\u00ab Chapter 34<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4099\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4099 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-36\">Chapter 36 \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=\"36\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4034\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4034 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-35\">\u00ab Chapter 35<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4100\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4100 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-37\">Chapter 37 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5163\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5163 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">36.<br\/>\r\n<u>Pathways to Pandemonium<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">By the time Kyra\u2019s sedative wore off and she woke up, Jack had mostly recovered. She had spent the morning unpacking the suitcases that contained their possessions and putting them away, scattering their shells, coral, and driftwood around the room on free surfaces. She\u2019d even gotten dressed, although part of her had wanted to burrow under the covers and hide from the universe. From <i>all<\/i> the universes. But going to sleep would have meant having to explain her unhappiness to inquisitive beings\u2014entities? She really needed to come up with a name for them\u2014and she couldn\u2019t bring herself to face that yet, either.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat\u2019ve I been missing?\u201d Kyra asked almost immediately.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSebby attempting to drive crickets into extinction. Breakfast.\u201d <i>The death of my dreams.<\/i> Jack shrugged. \u201cNot much else.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cEwan gave me broth for breakfast. How come even <i>broth<\/i> tastes so damned good here?\u201d Kyra looked over at the IV drip. \u201cWhat\u2019s all this?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFancy medicine to make you heal faster.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat eager to get rid of us, are they?\u201d The amusement in Kyra\u2019s voice belied her words.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou remember that reception for Tomlin\u2019s colleagues in the Service? The one Cedric mentioned at the end of the memorial?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThey were planning on introducing you to everybody there and keeping Tomlin\u2019s promise. They\u2019re worried you won\u2019t be well enough now, but I guess they\u2019re trying to stack the deck for you. That stuff in the bags is <i>expensive.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIf they keep being this amazing, I may never leave&#8288;\u2014 What is it? What\u2019s wrong?\u201d Kyra tried to sit up, grimaced, and lay back against her pillows. \u201c<i>Damn<\/i> it&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">To keep her from trying again, Jack climbed onto the bed next to her. \u201cI, uh&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The concern on Kyra\u2019s face was only growing, which just made it worse.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe transport&#8288;\u2026 to Furya&#8288;\u2026 it\u2019s&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d The tears were trying to burst out of her. She struggled to hold them in, to find her voice. \u201cIt\u2019s&#8288;\u2026 leaving from&#8288;\u2026 <i>Helion<\/i>&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh <i>shit,<\/i> Jack&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Kyra put her left hand behind Jack\u2019s head and pulled her closer. \u201cC\u2019mere. My <i>shoulder\u2019s<\/i> not stabbed&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It took a while before she managed to get her sobs under control.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">When she was cried out, feeling hollow and quiet, Kyra didn\u2019t try to ask her what she was going to do. Jack would later realize that her sister understood exactly how lost she was already feeling and didn\u2019t want to make it any worse by putting her on the spot. They lay there for a while, neither one feeling any need to fill the silence. Finally, though, Kyra spoke.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat was quite some hug Ewan was giving you last night as they were wheeling me out. He hasn\u2019t <i>tried<\/i> anything, has he?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat?\u201d That surprised Jack out of her torpor. \u201cNo. It wasn\u2019t like that. He\u2019s nearly a decade older than me, anyway.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGood.\u201d The look in Kyra\u2019s eyes was far older than she was. \u201cYou just remember that, too. You look at him the way you looked at his older brother. And <i>he<\/i> was old enough to be your father, but I <i>know<\/i> that\u2019s not what you were thinking about. I\u2019ll bet you looked at <i>Riddick<\/i> the same way, didn\u2019t you? You got a <i>thing<\/i> for older men, but I swear to God if anyone touches you&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe\u2019d never.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe\u2019d better not. I think he\u2019s amazing, too, but he tries to mess with you and I <i>will<\/i> cut his dick off and make him eat it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI <i>believe<\/i> you.\u201d It didn\u2019t surprise her, even a little, that it would be a sore point for Kyra, given what she\u2019d been put through when <i>she<\/i> was still Jack\u2019s age.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGood. Don\u2019t get me kicked outta here because I fucked up Cedric and Safiyya\u2019s chance at having grandchildren.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Now it was hard to keep a straight face. \u201cI will keep it in my pants, I swear.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">An impish sparkle appeared in Kyra\u2019s eyes. \u201cNuh uh. I <i>told<\/i> you, I\u2019ll make him <i>eat<\/i> \u2018it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And just like that, Kyra had lifted all the heaviness off her. They didn\u2019t laugh long, but the darkness had receded.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe\u2019ve got some time to kill,\u201d Kyra said. \u201cWanna tell me more of Riddick\u2019s story?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Was<\/i> it Riddick\u2019s story? Well, if that was how Kyra thought of it&#8288;\u2026 \u201cSure. You remember where we left off?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI was drifting in and out. Um&#8288;\u2026 last thing I remember for sure was him showing Fry his eyes and you asking him \u2018how do I get eyes like that?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201c<b>Where the hell can<\/b> I get eyes like that?\u201d<\/i> Jack thought, but didn\u2019t correct her sister.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She settled down next to Kyra, instead, and got comfortable.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah. He turned and looked at me and said, \u2018you gotta kill a few people.\u2019 Like he was talking about pulling a prank. And me, I was all bluster, trying to impress him, so I said \u2018okay, I can <i>do<\/i> it!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">In retrospect, part of her wished she\u2019d been wrong about that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, now I remember, and he said&#8288;\u2026 something about being sent to a slam&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c\u2018Where they tell you you\u2019ll never see daylight again,\u2019\u201d Jack said, dropping her voice to the lowest part of its register and making it a little growly. It wasn\u2019t a bad imitation, if she did say so herself. \u201c\u2018You dig up a <i>doctor<\/i>, and you pay him twenty menthol <i>Kools<\/i> to do a surgical <i>shine<\/i> job on your <i>eye<\/i>balls.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was fun, she thought, reproducing the way Riddick had said it, and his choices of which words to emphasize. She\u2019d wondered for a moment if he was from Deckard\u2019s World, himself, when he\u2019d mentioned the Kools; one of her classmates had bragged about smoking that same brand, which was hundreds of years old.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDamn, that sounds like it\u2019d hurt.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack had looked up the procedure while she was living with the al-Walids; it was dangerous and incredibly painful, and many of the people who had it done went blind. But in a place like \u201cthe Pit,\u201d she supposed, the risk was a necessary one.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI asked him if it was so he could see who was sneaking up on him in the dark, and he said \u2018exactly!\u2019 But that was when Fry ordered me to leave. Nobody wanted me to talk to him. I heard him call me a \u2018cute kid,\u2019 though&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It suddenly struck her that Riddick had never once referred to her as a boy. Had he known, the whole time, what she really was? Had he been abetting her secret with even his choice of words? Up until he\u2019d finally outed her, anyway&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo he didn\u2019t kill Zeke?\u201d Kyra asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShazza sure thought he did, but he said it wasn\u2019t him. He told Fry that there was something else we needed to worry about instead. I think Fry wanted to prove he was lying&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The story spun out as they lay on the bed, side by side. She described Fry going into the hole, discovering that it opened into a cave system, and everyone waiting for her to come back&#8288;\u2026 then the strange cries, sounding like Fry\u2019s voice, that Jack had started to hear coming through the weird mineral formations nearby&#8288;\u2026 and the terrifying discovery that <i>something<\/i> lived underground and had been on the verge of killing Fry before Jack had managed to get Imam and Johns to listen to the voice on the wind. Afterward, they had released Riddick and struck a deal with him, letting him join their party. But still refusing to allow Jack to talk to him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt was okay, though. They took us to this mining encampment they\u2019d found, and there were all these cool buildings to explore.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">As the second youngest of the survivors, exploration had been the official job she had been given by Fry, Johns, and Shazza. She wasn\u2019t even supposed to look for anything specific; just go <i>looking<\/i>. As Audrey, she had long ago come to understand what that kind of instruction meant: <i>The grown-ups are busy. Stay out of the way.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Run along and play, little girl.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Only long practice had allowed her to hide her resentment at that. But, at least, as the <i>second<\/i> youngest of the survivors, she hadn\u2019t been entirely alone.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAli knew maybe six words of English, which was twice as much as <i>I<\/i> knew of Arabic, but we went off together to check out the houses. I found this broken pair of welding goggles in one of them, almost like the ones Riddick took from the <i>Hunter-Gratzner<\/i> when he escaped, and that\u2019s when I got the idea that I could shave my head and imitate the biggest badass I\u2019d ever seen&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It had seemed so logical at the time. As if somehow a shaved head and goggles would transform her from a scrawny beanpole of a kid into&#8288;\u2026 well, someone who didn\u2019t have to worry about space station scum trying to proposition her or pull her into a dark corridor. Someone who wouldn\u2019t wake up to find a filthy, sadistic merc straddling her with a knife to her throat&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I was so fucking na\u00efve&#8288;\u2026<\/i> It felt, at times, like ages had passed since then instead of roughly half a standard year.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was the second time she\u2019d gone through this part of the story with Kyra, and she found herself drawing in even more detail. Riddick, she told Kyra, had moved like a hunter&#8288;\u2026 or a <i>tracker&#8288;\u2026<\/i> through the settlement, periodically pausing to unearth and examine objects that had, until then, been lost in the dust. Knowing what she did now but hadn\u2019t understood then, she could see much more clearly what <i>he<\/i> had to have been seeing as he studied them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cEverything was old and wrecked, like decades had gone by since anybody had touched any of it. And it wasn\u2019t the kind of stuff people just left lying around, either. It was the kind of stuff that gets dropped, and nobody bothers to pick up, when there\u2019s a panic on. He found a pair of eyeglasses with a cracked lens at one point, just lying in the middle of a road. The houses were like that, too. All the things you\u2019d put away or take with you, if you were planning to leave, were still sitting out.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cYou don\u2019t really think they left with their clothes on the hooks, photos on the shelves?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">In retrospect, she had seen Riddick\u2019s tension rising, too, and the way an increasing level of caution and\u2014battle readiness?\u2014had begun to characterize his walk. He\u2019d walked not like someone who was <i>looking<\/i> for a fight, but someone who <i>expected<\/i> one at any second.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Was <i>that<\/i> the walk she had begun imitating? Huh.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack was aware that she still wasn\u2019t telling the story entirely truthfully. She had already recharacterized Paris as a mentor he\u2019d never been, excusing away his retreat to the periphery of her story by drawing on the genuine truth that Shazza had essentially adopted her on the spot after the crash and had needed her more than ever once Zeke died. Now, though, she couldn\u2019t quite tell the story right where Ali was concerned. She hadn\u2019t managed to the first time through, either.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There had been a moment, when they had realized that Riddick was heading for a large building she would later remember with a shudder as the Coring Room, when mischievous glee had lit up both of their faces and they came to the unspoken mutual decision to get there first. Neither of them had quite understood the tension that was humming through Riddick\u2019s frame by then, or why it might be a bad move to head for a building before he had cleared it. Jack understood now\u2014and her story reflected that knowledge\u2014that Riddick was following a trail, and that <i>he<\/i> knew the pandemonium that had overcome the settlement was leading straight to that building. It was the worst possible time to get ahead of him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Or maybe part of Jack <i>had<\/i> realized. She hadn\u2019t even tried to go inside, after all. Instead, she had wanted to climb up on top of the building to check out the odd, lumpy structure hidden beneath a tarp, but Ali had wanted to go into the building itself. He\u2019d spotted a way in. She hadn\u2019t known <i>that<\/i> at the time, hadn\u2019t understood what he was saying to her in Arabic, although now, when she recalled his words after three months of immersion in his language, every syllable was horribly clear: <i>this way! There\u2019s a hole in one of the panels that we can fit through!<\/i> He had shrugged and gone his own way when she\u2019d shaken her head and pointed at the roof. She had never seen him\u2014alive\u2014again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Even months later, the guilt of that was too gut-twistingly intense to explore. The therapists at the hospital would undoubtedly have told her that it was something she needed to come to terms with, needed to talk her way through. Maybe they were even right, but this wasn\u2019t the time. She was telling Kyra the story, and that still-raw pain wasn\u2019t something that would help distract her sister from <i>hers<\/i>. So the sense of blithe adventure that she\u2019d briefly felt at the time prevailed. When Riddick pulled the tarp away from the roof, catching her spying on him, and had simply called to her to come with him\u2014\u201cYou\u2019re missing the party, come on!\u201d\u2014she had followed him without even a thought for Ali\u2019s whereabouts.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra didn\u2019t need to hear just how much that had torn her up afterward. She didn\u2019t need to know, either, that Riddick had seemed fully aware of where Ali must have gone but hadn\u2019t seemed to particularly care, even already knowing that the Coring Room was the most dangerous place in the settlement. The story Jack was telling was meant to soothe and entertain, not wallow in guilt or expose the first moment she began to doubt her hero.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra made it through Ali\u2019s death this time, all the way to the start of the eclipse, before she began to nod off. Jack kept the story going for a while longer, until her sister began to snore lightly, before she let the tale drop. She\u2019d continue it later, probably restarting with the beginning of the eclipse again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Climbing off the bed, she went into the bathroom and washed up, erasing the last evidence of her crying jags. She\u2019d have to figure something out, and soon.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But what was there to figure out, exactly? Her pathway to Furya had closed, barring a half-year wait and possibly a return to a world where she was actively being sought by the authorities. Unless she wanted to give in to temptation and surrender her old life altogether, breaking her parents\u2019 hearts in the process, there was only one place left to go.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Back to Deckard\u2019s World. Back to her mom and Alvin the Asshole.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Back to being Audrey MacNamera. That <i>was<\/i> what she wanted, though, wasn\u2019t it?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Wasn\u2019t it?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The chrono said it was thirteen a.m., the equivalent of mid-afternoon for one of Tangier\u2019s morning-days. Nine hours until high noon, eight hours until Elsewhere\u2019s high tide, five hours until most people retired to sleep, and just a little over two hours until the waters of Elsewhere began to rise above sea level. She realized she was hungry. She\u2019d have something to eat and then figure out which transports might take her back to Deckard\u2019s World, and if there were any she could take that didn\u2019t require getting back into Cryo. The prospect of ever being frozen again made her shudder.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sebby raced over to her as soon as she entered the dining room. She spent a long moment cuddling him, walking over and peeking into the high tub he\u2019d been playing in. It was completely empty now, aside from some bits of cricket exoskeleton and several of Sebby\u2019s own droppings.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">What, she suddenly wondered, was she going to do about him when she left?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Maybe the Tomlin-Meziane family would want to keep him. Maybe, if Kyra stayed with them and pursued a military career, he\u2019d be happy being her companion.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>If she can,<\/i> Jack thought with a shiver. They still needed to talk about whether their mere presence was putting a bullseye on everyone they loved there.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack was able to put together a simple but filling lunch using the fruits, breads, cheeses, and khlii set out beneath protective screens on the dining room table. A carafe of orange juice had also been left out. She suspected that someone had been thinking of her, specifically, although the quantity of food available hinted that other members of the family were inclined to stop by for snacks as well.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sebby, of course, began demanding olives. He was happy to sample the other foods too, spitting out the bread and dates but enthusiastically devouring goat cheese and khlii in addition to every olive he could snag. Jack was finishing up, and tidying up after both of them, when Ewan appeared in one of the doorways.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI was hoping I\u2019d find you here,\u201d he said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">His demeanor was different. This was not El Krim\u2019s grieving younger brother or the protective rescuer of the night before. He seemed agitated. He seemed, she realized, most like the Ewan who had burst through her apartment door, alongside his father, with his gun drawn.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He took a deep breath, closing his eyes and releasing it. \u201cYou know how you were concerned about whether the envoy ever touched any of the <i>Matador<\/i> passengers? She\u2019s about to get her chance. Usaden called me. The morgue still has the bodies of the eighteen people who died during the first high tide&#8288;\u2026 but the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation just filed paperwork to take custody of all of them.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Fuck me running,<\/i> Jack thought, going cold. \u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe\u2019s buying us time. He told them the bodies are scattered throughout the facility and he\u2019ll need a full Tangier day to get the paperwork in order. They\u2019re still identifying victims from the blast, so he\u2019s not actually lying. He\u2019s told them the earliest they can do a pickup is fifteen a.m. tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGood,\u201d Jack said. A familiar light sensation had filled her chest and her mind was racing. \u201cDo you know the location of the morgue? Is it at the hospital downtown?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Downtown was ten meters above sea level, she thought, her mind whirling through calculations.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIs it on the ground level? Higher? Lower?\u201d It was happening to her again. She could see the path she needed to walk. The feeling was both exhilarating and terrifying.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOne level below ground level.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The same level as the parking garage where she and Kyra had come out. Perfect. Absolutely perfect.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGood. The tide in Elsewhere will leave downtown at roughly 4:15 p.m. We\u2019re leaving here at 3 p.m. If you have any plans for this evening-day, cancel them. Damn it, I wish Kyra could be in on this&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Fuck. She\u2019d said her sister\u2019s real name out loud. She glanced at Ewan. He didn\u2019t look even a little confused.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I just confirmed something he already knew,<\/i> she realized, heart lurching. How much did that mean he knew about <i>her?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI will endeavor to be a suitable proxy,\u201d he told her, and she had the feeling he was hiding a smile.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Fuck it. Whether he thought of her as Tislilel, or Jack B. Badd, or P. Finch, or Jane Doe 7439, or her newest alias, Marianne Tepper, it didn\u2019t matter. It didn\u2019t even matter if he knew she was really Audrey MacNamera. He knew how to keep a secret. All that mattered was that he had her back.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGood, because you and me&#8288;\u2026 we\u2019re about to pull a heist. And you\u2019re gonna get to visit Elsewhere to help me do it.\u201d<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4034\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4034 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-35\">\u00ab Chapter 35<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4100\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4100 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-37\">Chapter 37 \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=\"37\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4035\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4035 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-36\">\u00ab Chapter 36<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4101\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4101 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-38\">Chapter 38 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5166\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5166 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">37.<br\/>\r\n<u>Folding a Dali Cross<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">By the time Jack and Ewan left to go to the morgue, <i>everybody<\/i> had weighed in on the heist. Few major changes had been made to Jack\u2019s plan, but there had been many good suggestions and improvements.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Including the idea that she should go back to dressing as a boy\u2014but an <i>Amazigh<\/i> boy\u2014for the day.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The entire family, as it turned out, had known who Kyra really was, and known as much about Jack as anyone on Helion Prime did, for as long as Tomlin himself had; Takama\u2019s intelligence-gathering had been the original source of that information. They had simply chosen to wait for the girls to tell them, or not, themselves. Before his death, Tomlin had also told <i>them<\/i> that, despite assumptions to the contrary, it had been Jack who had masterminded the hospital escape rather than Riddick. They had been better-known quantities to the Tomlin-Meziane family, the whole time, than they had ever realized.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Either way, she thought, the family\u2019s willingness to include her and Kyra in all the discussions and decisions that affected them, rather than cutting them out and arbitrarily making decisions on their behalf, still astounded her. Maybe it was even <i>more<\/i> amazing, given what they had known all along. If only <i>any<\/i> adults had treated her this way before now&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That, she reflected, made it harder than ever to plan to move on. Going back to being Audrey MacNamera would mean going back to being talked <i>about<\/i>, rather than <i>to<\/i>, by every adult in a room.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The dinner table conversation had been all about the heist. She and Ewan had both gone to bed early, taking mild sedatives to help them fall asleep so that they\u2019d be fully rested when they woke up just two hours after noon. Kyra, although clearly wishing she could go too, had given the plan her stamp of approval.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Even <i>they<\/i> seemed to approve.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI can\u2019t talk to you long,\u201d she had told <i>them<\/i> when she found herself suspended among the stars again. \u201cI have to rest so I can do something difficult in a few hours.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That had only excited <i>their<\/i> curiosity. She had struggled to explain, until one of them seemed to come to a strange understanding.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>It is hiding the shells of its lost broodmates from <b>them<\/b>, so <b>they<\/b> can\u2019t find the rest,<\/i> it told the others. She felt comprehension, and endorsement, spread around her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Now, suddenly, everybody seemed to understand <i>except<\/i> her. \u201cWho are <i>they?<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>The Demons of the Darkness. The makers of the cages.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That sounded like something the being that hated Kyra and her might have said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>The \u2014 does not understand,<\/i> they told her. She wasn\u2019t exactly sure what they called it. Not as much a name as a descriptor. Moribund? Something close to that. <i>Your shell looks like <b>their<\/b> shells, and he thinks that makes you one of <b>them<\/b>. But your five-shape is different. You and your broodmates only just hatched into your five-shapes. Only you and one other larva are so developed. The others are barely growing, aside from the three from the smallest shells of all. But none of you will ever be like <b>them.<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI&#8288;\u2026 are you talking about our bodies? Our physical shapes? When you say shells?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Your shell is not your shape. Your shape perceives your shell, but your shell cannot perceive your shape. With each hatching you will perceive more, understand more. You are strong and growing so quickly. But we are patient, and you must be too. You will hatch into your six-shape in your due time. Do not try to make it happen too soon.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>And then&#8288;\u2026 you will be ready to help <b>us<\/b>&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They let her sleep then, and her dreams were full of strange attempts to understand what they had been telling her, to riddle out its meaning. Still, she woke feeling alert, ready to execute her plan.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Do I always start my crazy adventures at two in the \u201cmorning?\u201d<\/i> she found herself wondering, as she dressed herself like a teenaged Amazigh boy. That \u201cmorning\u201d was bright, of course, the sun only beginning to come down from its hot zenith. She knew from the 44-hour library that people were awake at that hour, but not very many. She and Ewan would arrive at the morgue while activity was still at its lowest ebb, and while the tide was still dropping away.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sebby, who now had his cricket tub in their bedroom, climbed all over her for a moment, running his antennae over her strange new clothes, before returning to the bed to snuggle up to Kyra.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan\u2019s room, she had learned, was just two doors down the hall from hers and Kyra\u2019s. He was emerging from it at almost the same moment that she emerged from theirs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They went over the plan as they ate a simple breakfast, and then checked over their packs and the gear that Cedric had insisted they take with them in case anything went wrong. He had given them a comm with extremely powerful frequencies after dinner\u2014\u201cThis thing can transmit through <i>solid rock<\/i>\u201d\u2014and had instructed Jack to take it halfway between \u2019verses. Then they had tested its signal, confirming that the part that was still in U1 could still connect to the comms system and reach him. Jack had taken it into the courtyard, isomorphed over to Elsewhere, and used it to call him in possibly the first comm conversation across universes. Before she and Ewan isomorphed into Elsewhere, they were to leave it behind in an agreed-upon, protected location in U1; if they ran into trouble and needed help getting back, they could return to that space in Elsewhere and use it to call Cedric. Kyra, when asked, had said that she felt strong enough to pull them back if she was taken to that location.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That was something Jack hadn\u2019t even thought of when she had begun planning the heist. It made her grateful they were on her side and watching her back. She\u2019d had to add one embellishment to that part of the plan, though, storing the comm in a plastic bag that \u201clived\u201d in both universes and would shield it from harm in either direction. The outside of the bag, when she checked it over after breakfast, was wet on the Elsewhere side from the pre-noon high tide, but no water had gotten in.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack and Ewan went onto the roof, which turned out to have a beautiful rooftop garden in one corner, shortly before 3 p.m. to look over the city. Sunlight glittered on the waters of Elsewhere, which still overlaid most of New Marrakesh\u2019s downtown streets. She described what she was seeing to Ewan, wishing she could show it to him. Technically, she could have, but she was afraid to transition <i>him<\/i> halfway between worlds, lest she somehow infect him with Threshold Syndrome and make him a target, too.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Describing it would just have to do for the moment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They spent the next almost-hour walking down toward those streets, which were still nearly completely deserted. The sun remained high in the sky and Jack was suddenly glad that Ewan had shown her how to wind a proper Amazigh <i>tagelmust<\/i> around her head; it kept the glare away from her eyes in addition to partly obscuring her face.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou make a surprisingly convincing boy,\u201d Ewan told her as they walked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cReally? How so?\u201d Her hair under the <i>tagelmust<\/i> was still short, of course, just starting to grow longer than was considered a \u201cboy cut\u201d back on Deckard\u2019s World. But other than that, and using bandages to flatten her small breasts against her chest when she had changed, she wasn\u2019t sure what he found so convincing besides dressing in his years-old castoffs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI think it\u2019s the way you walk. You don\u2019t normally walk like this. It\u2019s&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh! Yeah, I watched the way Riddick walked.\u201d She hadn\u2019t been consciously aware that she had slipped into her Riddick imitation, but she realized in that moment that she\u2019d also dropped her speaking voice by a full octave.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The only one she hadn\u2019t been able to fool with the imitation, she thought ruefully, had been Riddick himself.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou really ran with him, didn\u2019t you? Not as his hostage.\u201d There was no judgment in Ewan\u2019s voice, just curiosity.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI was never his hostage. He was&#8288;\u2026 nothing like you\u2019d expect.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat <i>was<\/i> he like?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That was, Jack thought, a good question. She remembered him luring Fry closer and closer to him, his voice a teasing purr, before lunging up out of his seat, held back just inches from her by his chains, to see if she would flinch. Testing her mettle, Jack thought, testing whether she\u2019d be brave enough to face down the <i>real<\/i> threats on that treacherous, desolate world. She remembered him telling Shazza how they could use the skiff, which the New Australian woman had noted wasn\u2019t a Star Jumper, to flag down the next transport that came through that node in the shipping lanes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cStick out a thumb. Bound to get picked up&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/i> Somehow, she\u2019d skipped telling Kyra that part of the story. She\u2019d have to fill that in for her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cPretty self-contained, I guess,\u201d she told Ewan. \u201cI was trying to learn how to walk and talk like a guy well enough to fool everybody, so I followed him around for a while, figuring out how to act like <i>him<\/i>. He spent that whole time exploring the mining settlement, looking at everything the people\u2019d left behind when they disappeared. He knew they\u2019d all been killed, and told us so, way before we found any bodies.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo he was honest with you. Volunteered information.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah. Johns\u2014the merc who\u2019d captured him\u2014was lying to all of us the whole time about a <i>lot<\/i> of things, but Riddick never lied to us. Not once.\u201d She found herself chuckling suddenly. \u201cThe only thing I know for a fact he hid from anybody is that I was a girl and he <i>knew<\/i> it the whole time.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But, she realized, he\u2019d tried to forewarn <i>her.<\/i> After Johns had tried to play his little master-and-dog game with Riddick\u2014\u201cYou\u2019re missing the party! C\u2019mon, boy!\u201d\u2014and walked away, Riddick had repeated the same words to <i>her<\/i>&#8288;\u2026 minus the <i>\u201cboy.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI can see that. I looked up his record.\u201d Ewan chuckled when she stared at him in surprise. \u201cHe appears to have a&#8288;\u2026 <i>code,<\/i> I guess, for lack of a better word. Maybe even an <i>ethic.<\/i> There\u2019s a pattern in who he does and doesn\u2019t kill. And aside from some insinuations your former hospital has attempted to make about his treatment of <i>you&#8288;\u2014<\/i>&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAll of which are horse shit,\u201d Jack found herself snapping.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That seemed to amuse Ewan. He grinned and shook his head. \u201cAside from them, all the evidence points to the conclusion that you were probably quite safe around him. Given what I\u2019ve read in the declassified portions of the <i>Hunter-Gratzner<\/i> crash story, you may have even been far safer <i>with<\/i> him than away from him.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe\u2019s the reason I\u2019m still alive,\u201d Jack told him. \u201cHe saved my life several times. Even times when he could\u2019ve just let me die and nobody would\u2019ve blamed him, and things probably would\u2019ve been easier for him if he had.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThen he truly was a friend,\u201d Ewan agreed, before changing the subject. \u201cHow\u2019s the water level on the other side?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDropping, but the lower level of the hospital will still be flooded. We\u2019ve got time to get into position.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">In the meantime, they took the comm to its designated location, a private garden that Cedric had booked for the family\u2019s exclusive use for the next two days. Jack tethered its bag to a bench in the garden, making sure that the tether was tightly knotted and straddled universes as well. If they needed to take the comm to another location and still keep it protected from Elsewhere\u2019s waters, they could do so. The space was walled off by tall hedges and entered through an ornate, locked gate, but while there had been cameras in the hedge hallway leading in, there were none within. Jack suspected that was a hint at one of the ways the facility\u2019s gardens were probably used. No one and nothing would see what happened next.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s time,\u201d she told Ewan, turning to him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He took a deep breath, just a tiny hint of nervousness in his eyes. \u201cI\u2019m ready.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There was sand beneath their feet on the other side; it would be a smooth transition. Jack stepped closer and put her arms around Ewan, stretching her senses to encompass his shape&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u2014&#8288;his shell?&#8288;\u2014<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2014&#8288;and drawing both of them, gently, carefully, into Elsewhere, letting one world fade away and the other take its place. She felt his heart speed up against her ear.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cBaraka&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Now, for the first time, Ewan would be able to see the things she had described to him, the world on the other side of a threshold few could cross. He would see the rolling surf, still retreating from the sloping plain of sand and rock that corresponded with New Marrakesh\u2019s downtown. Off to the northwest, the sun glittered on the hull of the <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i>, marking the location of the devastated spaceport. Nearer&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She took her binoculars out of her pack and focused on the area where the hospital building, in U1, was visible to her as a faint outline. Something had begun emerging from the water. This was going to be creepy as <i>fuck.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cC\u2019mon,\u201d she said to him, hoping he wouldn\u2019t be too horrified when he saw it, too.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They had almost reached the morgue when he gasped beside her, an appalled look on his face.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The bodies floated in the air, at different levels above the glistening sand, all eighteen of them. Five appeared to be hovering vertically, toes just inches above the beach, while the rest were perfectly horizontal. Back in U1, she knew, they were resting in cold lockers in multiple rooms, draped by shrouds and tagged with identifying information. On the Elsewhere side, they were undraped, untagged&#8288;\u2026 and nauseatingly putrescent. Bone showed in many places where passing fish had nibbled during high tides. Her cousin Joey would have <i>loved<\/i> a horror vid with visuals like these&#8288;\u2026 as long as he couldn\u2019t <i>smell<\/i> them. Jack suddenly wished she\u2019d thought to bring nose plugs. Next to her, Ewan made a retching sound.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat the hell <i>happened<\/i> to them?\u201d he asked. \u201cThey\u2019re supposed to be refrigerated!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThey are,\u201d Jack told him. \u201cOn the U1 side. Over here, they\u2019ve been exposed to the elements for the last two and a half weeks.\u201d She shifted her vision enough to see what they looked like in U1. The walls of the cold lockers blocked her view of most of them, but five were hanging from hooks in a separate room, shrouded in plastic wrappings. \u201cThey look frozen over there. I think someone\u2019s been trying to stop the decay with no idea why it\u2019s progressing so quickly.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She hadn\u2019t expected it to be this bad, but she really should have. Fortunately, the thought of touching corpses had already been bad enough; she\u2019d brought two pairs of thick rubber gloves, one sized for her hands and one for Ewan\u2019s, with her. Ewan, she knew, was carrying eighteen proper white funeral shrouds in his pack.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Regardless of his beliefs or hers, he\u2019d told her, the bodies should be treated in a way that would respect their lost owners, whatever their creeds had been. He\u2019d acquired a clandestine copy of the <i>Matador<\/i>\u2019s passenger manifest and had the religious affiliations of every passenger who had drowned. He knew which prayers to say over them if they were Muslim, or Christian, or Jewish, or even, in two cases, Buddhist or Hindu, and intended to send them on their way properly upon the shores of Elsewhere, once Jack stole them all from the morgue of U1.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>So let\u2019s do it already&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">One by one, trying to breathe through her mouth against the terrible stench of decay, Jack reached out and put her gloved hands on each body, telling Ewan the name on its tag in U1 before pulling it the rest of the way into Elsewhere. The moment it was released from U1\u2019s hold, it fell to the wet sand, now half-frozen and\u2014mostly\u2014odorless. The flesh cratered in places where parts that had remained whole in U1 sagged over the gruesome cavities that had developed in Elsewhere.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I did wonder what would happen if a shark from Elsewhere tried to make a meal out of me&#8288;\u2026<\/i> The answer was far more disturbing than she\u2019d expected.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It took an hour. An hour she knew she would desperately want to forget forever. She would, she thought, probably have nightmares about this day for a long time.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack did the hanging bodies last, since their disappearances would be the easiest to notice. The last of <i>them<\/i> tried to topple onto her, which gave her an especially bad moment while Ewan held her, murmuring soothingly and stroking her shuddering back.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He had followed her as she worked, draping each body in a shroud, arranging them to face eastward if they were Muslim, and speaking prayers in different languages\u2014Arabic, Latin, English, Hebrew, Khmer, or Hindi\u2014over them depending on which name she had given him for each one. As he was finishing with the last ones, Jack walked over to a strange multicolored cube that hovered, untethered, in part of the space that the morgue occupied in U1.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Their personal effects,<\/i> she realized as she got closer. <i>All stuffed into a compartment on the other side&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Those definitely had to go, too.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A moment later, all those items had fallen and scattered onto the beach of Elsewhere. Clothes, that had probably been stuffed in now-empty plastic pouches in U1; jewelry; wallets and purses; corroded comms and chronos; all the little things that eighteen people had had with them first in cryo and then in the hospital, before they had been betrayed by the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation and left to die horrible deaths&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Quin&#173;tessa can\u2019t have <b>any<\/b> of it.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Had any other artifacts been left behind? There didn\u2019t appear to be anything else straddling \u2019verses in or around the hospital&#8288;\u2026 aside from a pair of expensive-looking earrings and a large wad of cash she spotted and recovered from within an orderly\u2019s nearby locker and dropped onto the sand. She pulled out her binoculars from her pack again, training them on the spaces occupied by first Mansour Plaza and then Othman Tower. Nothing appeared to float incongruously in those spaces. She would take her higher-powered telescope to the roof of the Meziane house to verify it when they got back, but she was almost certain she\u2019d gotten everything. The Quin&#173;tessa Corporation wouldn\u2019t be able to analyze any of the physical objects that had been straddling universes. Not now.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Except, she suddenly realized, her heart sinking, one <i>very large<\/i> one&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFuck. I need to move the <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i>,\u201d she groaned.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was nearly a two-hour walk across the drying sand.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAre you <i>up<\/i> for this?\u201d Ewan asked as they hiked closer and closer. \u201cTakama and Dihya have both talked about how you were almost completely wiped out from transitioning those two shuttles back and forth. I don\u2019t want you getting hurt.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI transitioned them too fast,\u201d Jack said, aware that she was whistling in the dark. \u201cI\u2019m going to do this one slowly. Pull it over here a little at a time. It\u2019ll help that it\u2019s already halfway <i>in<\/i> Elsewhere.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s <i>huge<\/i>, though.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI can\u2019t leave it connected to U1. Not now. You\u2019re sure the cryo-chambers were returned to it?\u201d Tracking down nearly two hundred cryo-chambers felt like it would be a far more daunting task than moving the ship.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s what the reports said,\u201d he told her. \u201cOnce the chambers were vacated, they were returned to the ship to be quarantined with the rest of its contents. The logs said nobody has entered since. I\u2019m sure the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation is planning on confiscating it next, though.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBringing me back to my point,\u201d Jack told him. \u201cI&#8288;\u2026 this is crazy, and I could be dead wrong about it, but I don\u2019t think they <i>know<\/i> what\u2019s in U322a. Your brother, when he was talking to the flight crew back when they first called him&#8288;\u2026 he said that this was the first Level Five Incident on that Star Jump. If we cut them off from accessing anything directly connected to Elsewhere, I don\u2019t think they can get to it on their own. Not without actually using an Isomorph Drive to open a new path.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s a lot of supposition,\u201d Ewan observed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMaybe. But at least I\u2019m not gonna make it any easier for them.\u201d She wished she could make it not merely difficult but painful for them, after all the pain they\u2019d inflicted on others.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJust promise me that you\u2019ll stop if it gets to be too much.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She promised, but she wasn\u2019t sure he believed her. She wasn\u2019t sure <i>she<\/i> believed her, either.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She paused, briefly, to check whether her Ghost Codes still worked with the ship. Once her tablet confirmed the connection\u2014and she had to briefly make it straddle \u2019verses to get the connection strong enough\u2014she sent a few instructions to the ship before they entered the range of its now-deactivated exterior sensors. None of the cameras that could still see into Elsewhere would record anything unusual, and any cameras covering the ship in U1 were irrelevant.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was just a few hours over twelve Tangier Prime days since the <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i> had touched down. On the U1 side, it looked almost pristine&#8288;\u2026 at least, on the side facing away from the shuttle explosion. In Elsewhere, seaweed coated many of its surfaces and barnacles had begun to grow. In its shade, creatures that looked eerily like Cambrian fossils Jack had once seen in a museum rested and trundled through the sand. Some of the metal surfaces were beginning to corrode. In a few years, Jack thought, the <i>Matador<\/i> would just be a strange reef on the beach of Elsewhere, sinking into the sand more each time the tide came through until it settled against rock&#8288;\u2026 once it was released from the anchors and platforms of U1.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She put her hand on one of the struts and closed her eyes, feeling it, feeling its existence in both universes, feeling its shape&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u2014&#8288;its shell, this is only an empty shell, a shape is so much more\u2026&#8288;\u2014<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2014&#8288;and sensing its boundaries.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She began to call it, and everything within it, home.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Slowly, little by little, she broke down the hold that U1 had on the massive spacecraft, aware that Ewan had moved to stand close behind her at some point, chest against her back, and had his arm around her waist. Bit by bit, she pulled it more and more of the way into Elsewhere, letting it begin to fade from the other \u2019verse altogether.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Except for one part. One part refused to budge, refused to let go of the other \u2019verse. One part was obstinately staying anchored.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She opened her eyes, focusing on what was happening in U1, aware that she was leaning back against Ewan and he had both arms around her now.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Alarms were sounding in that other world. People in ground crew gear and security uniforms were running toward the landing site, pointing and shouting. She could see a figure in flowing white garments racing with them&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The envoy. And around her, Jack could see, there was darkness. Some terrible darkness that inhabited the same space the envoy did, hidden by her white garments and the fact that human eyes weren\u2019t made to see such hideous abysses in the fabric of reality&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The envoy was staring at one part of the <i>Matador<\/i> as she ran.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The rest, Jack felt as a small shockwave passed through her, had just finished crossing the threshold into Elsewhere. Back in U1, the anchors dropped to the ground with loud metallic crashes. Only one thing remained suspended in that space: a smallish metal\u2014or was that stone?\u2014box.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A box that refused to relinquish its grip on U1.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her breath quickening, Jack focused all her attention and energy on it, willing it to cross from U1 to Elsewhere&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u2014&#8288;Is it already <b>in<\/b> Elsewhere?&#8288;\u2014<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2014&#8288;and vanish from the other world. It resisted, feeling inert and far too dense, too complex, for something as simple as a <i>cube&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She shifted her focus, pushing at it, willing it to relinquish its connection to U1, no matter where else it was&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Little larva, what are you doing?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The envoy was hurrying toward it, one hand outstretched.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I gotta get it out of there before she gets to it&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>No!<\/i> they cried out in her head. <i>You are not ready!<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She could feel it slowly, grudgingly beginning to shift, its ties to U1 almost imperceptibly thinning.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Little larva, you must stop! Stop now!<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTislilel, what in God\u2019s name&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?&#8288;\u201d Ewan gasped at the same moment, echoing <i>them<\/i> without knowing. \u201c<i>Stop!<\/i> Stop <i>now!<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She couldn\u2019t. Not yet. She was almost there. She couldn\u2019t let the envoy reach it&#8288;\u2026 She almost had it&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">With a final, aggressive thrust, Jack shoved hard at the box with her mind and felt something snap, lashing back at her and into her. Blinding pain bloomed in her head.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">In U1, the box vanished, startling a horrified scream out of the envoy.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Darkness engulfed Jack.<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4035\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4035 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-36\">\u00ab Chapter 36<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4101\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4101 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-38\">Chapter 38 \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=\"38\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4036\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4036 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-37\">\u00ab Chapter 37<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4102\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4102 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-39\">Chapter 39 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5169\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5169 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">38.<br\/>\r\n<u>The Bell That Must Not Ring<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Pain.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There was nothing but pain for a time. Her universe was made of it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Little larva, can you hear us? Little larva, come back to us&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She wanted to tell them to leave her alone, but she couldn\u2019t make words.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Little larva, do not die. Come back to us&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They weren\u2019t going to leave her alone. Finally she found just enough strength to answer.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNot dying&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d she mumbled. \u201cJust&#8288;\u2026 trying to fucking <i>sleep&#8288;\u2026<\/i>&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s my girl,\u201d a man\u2019s deep, velvety voice said from somewhere outside of the darkness. \u201cYou rest, <i>a tafat-iw<\/i>. I have you. I\u2019ll keep you safe.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick? No. The voice was different, just as deep but not quite as rough. With a hint of an accent Riddick didn\u2019t have.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan. That was the name that went with the voice. Ewan Zdan&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>We told you not to do that, little larva. You could have died.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHad&#8288;\u2026 to&#8288;\u2026 move it&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>We do not understand how you accomplished that and lived. It should not have been possible. You are still so small.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The stars were far too bright to look at. She felt <i>them<\/i> surrounding her, peering at her with eyes that weren\u2019t eyes, seeing her in some way she struggled to comprehend.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You almost broke your five-shape. Do not try to do anything like that again until you have hatched.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDo what?\u201d she managed to ask, also managing to limit her words to the dream space. She was vaguely aware that her body\u2014her shell\u2014was being held in someone\u2019s arms. Ewan\u2019s?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They tried to explain, but she didn\u2019t understand. She could barely focus. They showed her mind-bending shapes, things that normally would have had her fleeing in terror, but she wasn\u2019t even strong enough\u2014or scared enough\u2014to look away. Emotion was a blank. Emotion needed energy, and she had none.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>A cube,<\/i> she thought after they showed her yet another iteration. <i>A sealed cube with no way in or out&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Broken now.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><b><i>It means nothing.<\/i><\/b> The \u2026&#8288;Mori&#173;bund\u2019s&#8288;\u2026&#8288;? voice was like angry distant thunder.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>It means everything.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><b><i><u>She<\/u> was already lost. What use is breaking an empty box? Be done with this filth.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i><b>She<\/b> hatched this larva and its broodmates. They are not filth. They are hope. This little one might even be the <b>One.<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><b><i>One reckless trick and you would fall at its nethers. You lie to yourselves. <u>We<\/u> will be your \u201cOne.\u201d You waste your time. We do not need this filth\u2019s help to rise. We will break the \u2019verse itself&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>And have you yet? Go. You have no place among us.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">If Jack were strong enough to care, she thought, she might have been afraid. But she felt almost as if she was back in the isolation ward, cocooned against herself, cut off from sense and emotion. Even the poisonous rage of the one entity&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She needed to call them <i>something<\/i> better than that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDo you have names?\u201d she asked the darkness. \u201cWhat are all of you called?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><b><i>Names are delimiters,<\/i><\/b> the Moribund snarled. Jack wondered if it knew what the others called it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Our names were stolen,<\/i> they whispered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cCan I give you one? I need something to call you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She sensed disgust from the one hateful \u201cvoice\u201d in the darkness, but curiosity from the others.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat about&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d The word, which had been in her head since the morning, floated back. \u201cApeiros?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Apeiros&#8288;\u2026 infinite&#8288;\u2026<\/i> She could feel them mulling it over. <i>It is an interesting choice. You may see deeper than you know. A name that means hope. Yes, little larva, you may call us this.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><b><i>Fools. All of you. Falling over a tiny piece of filth.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Little by little, the pain was receding. The stars were no longer blinding. Jack could feel herself, not floating anymore, but lying down on something warm. She could hear a soft double-rhythm pulling at her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Go, little larva. You can wake to your five-space now. You will not die.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She opened her eyes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There was still daylight, but the light level had dropped considerably. Even so, it felt almost too bright to keep her eyes open, and it set her head pounding again. She was resting in Ewan\u2019s lap, head on his chest, his heartbeat in her ear. He was sitting in the sand, legs stretched out and his back leaning against a boulder, gazing out over the landscape of Elsewhere. The tide, although still several kilometers away, had begun rolling back in and the sun, mostly hidden by the deep grayish blue of pregnant storm clouds, was halfway to the horizon. Lightning flickered over the waters off to the southwest.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">An unknotted string hung in the air nearby, marking the spot where Jack had tethered the special comm to a bench in U1. Ewan had carried her back to the rented garden.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He had the comm in one hand, and his other arm was wrapped around her. Their packs lay beside them in the sand. His was open and a smaller version of his field kit was out; several bloodstained wipes were lying crumpled beside it along with a penlight and a portable diagnostic.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He glanced down at her and blinked, his eyes widening a little. \u201c<i>Baraka.<\/i> Oh, thank God. Tislilel? Are you back with me?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMmm-hmm&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI need you to say a little more than that, <i>ta\u1e25bibt-iw<\/i>. Can you, for me?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDid I pass out?\u201d Jack managed to ask.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou did. Your nose started bleeding right before you collapsed, and for a while, one of your pupils was dilated. You\u2019ve been unconscious for the last three hours while I brought you back here. I was afraid you might have given yourself an aneurysm.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cKinda felt like I did&#8288;\u2026 fuck, my head hurts\u2026 I felt like I split it open when I pushed that damned box out&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBox?\u201d Ewan gave her a quizzical frown.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cInside the ship. I think&#8288;\u2026 I think I broke open an apeirochoron.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cUnless that\u2019s just the name of some cerebral blood vessel I\u2019ve forgotten about, I don\u2019t know what that means.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She couldn\u2019t find the right words for what she was trying to tell him&#8288;\u2026 or if she could, she still couldn\u2019t put them together. She couldn\u2019t paint the air with shapes made of light, <i>Apeiros<\/i> style, to try to show him, either. But that was okay. Maybe one day&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Maybe one day <i>what<\/i>, exactly? She felt like she was trying to focus in forty directions at once, most of which were impossible. Her thoughts were looping&#8288;\u2026 looping&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cPlease don\u2019t go back to sleep, Tislilel. Not yet.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSorry&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d She wanted to tell him that she\u2019d gone too far, that she should have listened to him, and to <i>them<\/i>, and stopped. But she\u2019d been incapable of doing so at the time, and even now that was hard to admit. It had been the act of a child, the child she kept telling herself she no longer was. She changed the subject. Slightly. \u201cI saw the envoy. She was at the spaceport. And I got a better look at what she\u2019s connected to. Darkness. She wears all white, but she\u2019s all darkness.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">An infinite darkness that even the <i>Apeiros<\/i> seemed to fear&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>The Demons of the Darkness&#8288;\u2026<\/i> What would look like a demon to one of <i>them?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cStay awake, Tislilel. No sleeping. Did she see you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo. Remember how I used my tablet for a few minutes before we got close to the ship?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI do, yes.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI turned off the ship\u2019s outside cameras. My codes were still good. Nobody saw us walk up, in either \u2019verse.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan laughed softly. \u201cWell played. So you could see her in U1, but she couldn\u2019t look into Elsewhere to see either of us. And if they were recording the camera feeds from the ship itself&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe never appeared on them before they stopped.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s a relief. I\u2019m curious&#8288;\u2026 do you play chess?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack wondered if he really was curious, or just trying to keep her talking, coherent, and awake. \u201cMy dad was gonna teach me, but when my parents started fighting, and after the divorce, he never had time.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou should learn it. You have the right strategic mind for it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI dunno. Half the time I feel like it doesn\u2019t tell <i>me<\/i> the plan until it\u2019s time to do it.\u201d She was, slowly, having an easier time staying focused on the moment at hand. The tide would be rising soon. \u201cWhat time is it?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAlmost thirteen p.m.\u201d He quirked a smile at her. \u201cWe\u2019ve missed lunch. Not that I had any kind of appetite until now. How about you? Are you feeling at all hungry?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, but&#8288;\u2026 also queasy. Is that bad?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cPossibly. Do you want to try to drink some water? I can give you something for your headache if you think you can keep it down.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Until then, Jack hadn\u2019t noticed how thirsty she was. \u201cYes, please. Or if you have anything with caffeine&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAbsolutely not. Not until I know for certain you don\u2019t have a brain injury.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSpoilsport&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m <i>serious,<\/i> Tislilel. No caffeine until I say it\u2019s safe.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c<i>Fine<\/i>&#8288;\u2026 any orange juice?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYes, that you can have. And I do, indeed, have some.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He brought out a small bottle of juice for her, making her use the first few sips to take some pills for her headache. To their mutual relief, her nausea began to ease, and he let her have some of the savory crackers he\u2019d also brought, flavored with spices she\u2019d never known before New Marrakesh.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThese are so good,\u201d Jack sighed, leaning her head against his shoulder. \u201cNow I\u2019m <i>really<\/i> getting hungry.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt might be time for us to go, then. Especially with that rain approaching. I was just about to call for help when you began mumbling actual words.\u201d He stroked her cheek with his fingertips. \u201cYou have no idea what a relief it was to hear you say \u2018trying to fucking sleep&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u2019&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He had done an amazing imitation of her accent. She found herself laughing. <i>Ow.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMy head does still hurt,\u201d she admitted, \u201cbut not nearly as bad. I think I can pull us back into U1, though.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNow you have me in a quandary,\u201d Ewan admitted. \u201cI don\u2019t want to overtax you after everything you\u2019ve already done, and especially not before I can get a good scan of your hard little head. But the alternative is dragging your sister out of bed, while <i>she\u2019s<\/i> still healing, to come down here to bring us across. So you must promise me&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He leaned his head closer to hers, locking his eyes with hers, his expression simultaneously fiercely serious and gently teasing. The palm of his hand, where it rested on her cheek, made her skin tingle.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;that <i>this<\/i> time, you <i>really will<\/i> stop if it becomes too much.\u201d A hint of a genuine plea appeared on his face. \u201cPlease don\u2019t scare me like that again.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>He thought I might be dying, too.<\/i> At the time, it had just felt like a strange tug of war game that she\u2019d desperately needed to win. Until the tension had abruptly <i>snapped<\/i> and its full power ricocheted back against her. She\u2019d <i>won<\/i>, but she still wasn\u2019t sure of the cost. What if she <i>had<\/i> given herself brain damage?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She lifted her hand and rested it on his cheek, feeling smooth skin and rough stubble under her palm, the muscles over his cheekbone and the hollow below, the strong line of his jaw. \u201cI promise. I really, <i>truly<\/i> promise.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">His eyes weren\u2019t <i>olive<\/i> green, she found herself thinking. More a sea green, a few shades paler, and slightly bluer, than hers, which her dad had called \u201cmoss green,\u201d her mom had called \u201cjade green,\u201d and her cousins, always looking for creative ways to be rude, had called \u201cpond scum green.\u201d His sea green, she mused, was the loveliest shade she\u2019d ever seen.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For a long, still moment, their eyes stayed locked. Jack found she was intensely aware of every point of contact between their bodies, all of which seemed to almost hum with energy. Then a look of alarm flickered over his face and he pulled away, just a little. A second later, a roguish\u2014but somehow forced\u2014grin appeared as he drew back even more. \u201cIn that case, I will accept your invitation to return to U1. I\u2019ve made sure we\u2019re in a clear space of the garden <i>Ababat<\/i>\u2014sorry, my father\u2014rented.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow\u2019d you manage that?\u201d Jack asked, still recovering from the moment herself as he moved her off his lap\u2014the brief touch of his hands on her waist sending powerful shocks coursing through her\u2014and stood up.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He picked up the plastic bag that had held the comm, dropping the tether inside it at the same time. \u201cI flapped it around the space to make sure it didn\u2019t hit anything on the other side. Since it\u2019s in both worlds.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cSmart,\u201d<\/i> Jack laughed, climbing unsteadily to her feet. This time, laughing didn\u2019t make her head hurt quite so much.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI have my moments,\u201d he agreed as he helped her up and began reassembling their packs. She noticed that he was careful not to let their bodies come into contact again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It made the transition back a little awkward, but he was willing to at least let her hold his hands to do it. A moment later, they were surrounded by a garden that she realized would have been a terribly romantic setting if they weren\u2019t suddenly so busy hiding from each other.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A lesser man, she mused, would have tried to kiss her. Would she have wanted him to quite so desperately if he\u2019d <i>been<\/i> a lesser man?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>If I were even just five years older&#8288;\u2026<\/i> she thought, filled with a sense of terrible loss. He would never, <i>ever<\/i> act on what she was certain they had both suddenly been feeling. Part of her, the part that still wanted to try to eat an entire bucket of Halloween candy in one sitting, the part that knew and didn\u2019t <i>care<\/i> that some of the things she craved might be bad for her, the part that always convinced itself that she was more of an adult the less she acted like one\u2014the part of her that had nearly shattered her brain over a sealed box just hours earlier\u2014was tempted to try to get him to do so anyway. Every cell of her body was hungry for something she couldn\u2019t name or explain but was certain he could give her. But&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It would break him. It would break them both. She didn\u2019t <i>want<\/i> to know that, but she knew it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>And then,<\/i> she admitted to herself and had to swallow back a laugh, <i>Kyra would cut his dick off and make him eat it.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Maybe, she supposed as she rewound the <i>tagelmust<\/i> around her head, she could return to Tangier Prime when she was legally an adult. Maybe then, if Ewan hadn\u2019t already married and settled down, there would be a space for these feelings&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo,\u201d he asked behind her, the cheerful tone in his voice sounding just a little bit forced, \u201cdo you feel up to making the trek back home?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack shouldered her pack and nodded, slipping back into her teenage boy persona. Hopefully that\u2019d help defuse the moment further. \u201cLet\u2019s do it,\u201d she said in her boy voice, an octave below normal.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The rented garden was part of a larger complex whose spaces could be hired for lunches and dinners, for parties and gatherings. Although the lunch hours had already passed, many of the parties were only just breaking up. Well-dressed diners and revelers were departing, most giving Jack and Ewan askance looks as they emerged from <i>their<\/i> garden and locked its gate behind them. They <i>did<\/i> rather look like a pair of disheveled ruffians, Jack thought. She was glad Ewan had already cleaned up her nosebleed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I know what they all think <b>he\u2019s<\/b> been doing&#8288;\u2026 with a <b>boy,<\/b><\/i> she thought, hiding the snicker that bubbled up. Even a few hours ago, she could have shared the joke with him. Not now.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">While he stayed close to her as they walked, and she could feel him watching her the whole time for signs that she was unwell, he didn\u2019t touch her. The gulf suddenly between them felt miles wide. But any time she glanced his way, she saw only concern. Periodically, he tried to use the special comm to make a call, but it never seemed to go through, even after she pulled it all the way back into U1 for him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Along the route back up into the Rif, Jack heard snatches of conversation and rumor about some kind of new security incident at the spaceport. Nobody was sure, exactly, what had happened out there, but the place was in full lockdown and the local comms system was overloaded. She was suddenly glad that the garden Cedric had chosen was so far away from the perimeters that had gone up around the spaceport&#8288;\u2026 and might soon go up around the hospital. It was even above the checkpoints she and Kyra had encountered the last time they\u2019d traveled downtown, partway up into the heights.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And Ewan had had to haul her unconscious ass that whole distance, she realized. Almost fifteen kilometers and up several hills&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI hope carrying my dead weight all that way didn\u2019t throw out your back or anything,\u201d she told him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt was torture,\u201d he said with an almost-easy smile. \u201cYou weigh <i>nearly<\/i> as much as my boot camp combat load.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThis is what you guys get for feeding me,\u201d she teased back, feeling more relaxed\u2014more like things were normal\u2014with each passing minute.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou <i>do<\/i> eat enormous quantities. Not <i>quite<\/i> your weight in crickets, though&#8288;\u2026 I could swear I thought it was going to rain soon,\u201d Ewan said as they crested a switchback and looked down over the city and sea below them. To the west, the sky was mostly clear, the sun dropping closer to the horizon. Her eyes were handling the increased light level better, she realized.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNot in <i>this<\/i> universe,\u201d Jack reminded him. No one was around to hear.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAh. Yes. Of course.\u201d Ewan\u2019s smile became rueful. \u201cIs it raining over there yet?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack shifted her vision to look into the darkening world of Elsewhere. \u201cLooks like it\u2019s gonna storm pretty hard there soon. Good thing we didn\u2019t wait around on that side.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s a beautiful place,\u201d Ewan remarked. \u201cSo untouched by humans until now. And yet habitable&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cPretty weird, huh?\u201d Jack agreed as she followed his train of thought. \u201cNo terraforming required.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI suppose every planet has a universe where that\u2019s true,\u201d he mused, gazing out over the more familiar landscape of U1\u2019s New Marrakesh.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah. Back when I was first learning about this stuff, I asked my teacher why we\u2019d gone into space at all if we could\u2019ve just moved to other Earths that hadn\u2019t been polluted to death. He didn\u2019t know why.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBecause colonization is about control,\u201d Ewan said after a pensive moment. \u201cThe concessions and payments that had to be made, by so many societies, to gain access to ships to leave Earth&#8288;\u2026 the treaties they had to sign, the rights they had to sell away&#8288;\u2026 would have been unnecessary if all one had needed to do, to reach a new world, was take a beautiful girl\u2019s hand&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He stopped himself then, turning his head away, but not before she saw the sudden, stricken look that passed over his face.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack made herself look away, too. The instant of vulnerability she\u2019d seen in his eyes was unnerving, almost negating the thrill of hearing him call her <i>beautiful<\/i>. \u201cOh look,\u201d she said after an awkward minute, pointing at the hospital. Its base practically sparkled with flashing blue lights. \u201cI think someone discovered our handiwork.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI think you\u2019re right.\u201d Ewan grinned, his expression relaxing again. \u201cFortunately, Usaden had this evening-day off and instructed the overnoon shift to complete an inventory of the <i>Matador<\/i> bodies an hour before we were set to arrive. In preparation for turning them over to the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation tomorrow, of course. So they were fully accounted for long after he left the morgue at the end of the morning-day. And <i>he<\/i> has an iron-clad alibi for this evening-day.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhere\u2019s he been while we\u2019ve been doing crime?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAttending a conference hosted by the President of the City Council,\u201d Ewan told her, the sparkle back in his eyes. \u201cDiscussing, of all things, how to improve the quarantine protocols for incoming Star Jumpers during the spaceport reconstruction.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat,\u201d Jack laughed, \u201c<i>is<\/i> a damned good alibi.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The silence between them as they hiked the rest of the way still wasn\u2019t entirely comfortable, but it was slowly getting there. They were still two blocks away from home, and phantom thunder had begun to growl overhead in Elsewhere, when Cedric, Safiyya, Takama, and Iz\u00eel hurried out to meet them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhere have you two been?\u201d Takama demanded. \u201cDihya\u2019s been upset for hours, saying Tislilel was hurt!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Fuck,<\/i> Jack thought, guilt knotting her stomach. <i>Of course she knew&#8288;\u2026<\/i> She hoped the <i>Apeiros<\/i> hadn\u2019t begun badgering her sister again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cRight after she started,\u201d Cedric added, \u201cwe got word that the spaceport was under lockdown. What did you two do?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack could feel even more guilt rising within her, and the sudden fear that they might never trust one of her plans, or her, again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTislilel realized that it wouldn\u2019t matter what else we took away from the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation if they still had the <i>Scarlet Matador,<\/i>\u201d Ewan told them. \u201cBut pulling that into Elsewhere turned out to be more difficult than she expected. Some part of it\u2014you called it an \u2018apeirochoron,\u2019 is that right?\u2014resisted. Pulling it through knocked her out.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But she hadn\u2019t pulled it through, she thought. It had already been <i>in<\/i> Elsewhere. She\u2019d had to force it <i>out<\/i> of U1&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd you <i>allowed<\/i> this?\u201d Safiyya\u2019s face, in that moment, looked almost exactly like her mom\u2019s when she\u2019d been up to no good with her cousins.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe was yelling at me to stop,\u201d Jack volunteered, some of Audrey\u2019s I\u2019m-so-sorry-please-forgive-me seeping into her voice. \u201cI&#8288;\u2026 didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI want her to have a proper CT scan,\u201d Ewan added. \u201cWe can use the bruise she already has on her forehead as the excuse.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI will arrange it,\u201d Takama said. \u201cRight now, we had better let Dihya have a look at her so <i>she<\/i> can calm down and get back to resting.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDid you try to call us at all?\u201d Iz\u00eel asked. \u201cThe comms have been spotty since the lockdown was announced. We tried a few times but got no answer.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt took almost three hours to get from the spaceport to the garden,\u201d Ewan explained. \u201cBut yes, I did try. Several times. No connection.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhy did it take so long?\u201d Safiyya asked, frowning again at her son.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe had to carry me the whole way,\u201d Jack told them. \u201cI was out cold.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Big mistake. Takama and Safiyya began fussing over her, their arms around her as they shepherded her toward the house. Ewan had fallen back and was talking softly to Cedric and Iz\u00eel, too softly for Jack to hear what they were saying.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s done, though,\u201d she told both women, struggling to find a way to get back to a sense of achievement. \u201cEverything that had a connection to Elsewhere in the hospital and the spaceport is all the way in Elsewhere now. You should\u2019ve heard the envoy <i>scream<\/i> when the ship disappeared&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI am glad you succeeded,\u201d Takama said, her voice still a little stern. \u201cNow, though, you are on bed rest until I take you for the scan, and after that until the physician says otherwise. Understood? You may be skilled at \u2018heists,\u2019 but there will be no more for a while.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra and Sebby were both agitated when Jack entered the bedroom.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh thank <i>fuck<\/i>,\u201d Kyra muttered, sagging against her pillows. She looked exhausted, sending another pang of intense guilt through Jack. Sebby, meanwhile, practically launched himself across the room and wouldn\u2019t stop touching Jack\u2019s face with his antennae.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Later, while Jack and Kyra rested, Ewan appeared with Tafrara by his side to change Kyra\u2019s bandages and IV bags. He seemed more himself, bantering with both of them in an easy way, telling Kyra that, next morning-day, she would be allowed to get up and begin walking. They had brought a very late lunch with them, which Jack dug into ravenously, and he\u2019d even teased her about how moving starships must be hungry work.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Those words echoed through her, trying to connect to&#8288;\u2026 something&#8288;\u2026 but failing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was only much later that Jack realized that, for the remainder of her stay on Tangier Prime, Ewan made it a point to never be alone with her again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Except once.<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4036\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4036 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-37\">\u00ab Chapter 37<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4102\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4102 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-39\">Chapter 39 \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=\"39\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4037\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4037 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-38\">\u00ab Chapter 38<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4103\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4103 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-40\">Chapter 40 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5172\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5172 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">39.<br\/>\r\n<u>Unquantified, Unseen, Unmasked<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The good thing about telling Kyra the story of the eclipse, Jack thought to herself, was that she was increasingly sure whatever head trauma she might have wasn\u2019t affecting her memory. The bad thing about it was realizing how often she was lying to her sister about just what had really happened.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Most of her lies, she was aware, were about Riddick. About his thoughts and motivations. About the depth of their emotional connection. In truth, Jack still wasn\u2019t sure what he had thought of his little copycat, whether she\u2019d amused or annoyed him. But in the story she told Kyra\u2014who needed Riddick to be the hero and needed to go on believing that he had metaphorically vanquished Red Roger for her\u2014their friendship had bloomed early and was never in doubt.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There <i>were<\/i> small things he\u2019d done in their interactions that had pointed to genuine kindness. When they had been sitting in the back of the sand cat, for instance, and she\u2019d been doing her best Riddick impression for him, he had given her the tiniest hint of a smile&#8288;\u2026 and then pointed. When she followed the direction of his finger, she\u2019d spotted the approaching skeletal remains of a massive creature. Shazza, in her haste, was about to drive through it without alerting anyone. Riddick\u2019s silent warning allowed her to duck in time.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For Kyra\u2019s sake, she played up that kindness and removed any ambiguity about his actions and their motives. For the story she told to soothe her sister, he was unfailingly kind to, and protective of, her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Elsewhere\u2019s lightning was strobing their room and its thunder growled and roared almost nonstop as they lay in bed and Jack continued the story. If they\u2019d been on that side of the threshold, they would have been completely soaked. They were both enjoying the show, though; no window had ever provided as spectacular a view of a storm as their window between \u2019verses.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe pulled the sand cat up to the crash ship\u2014that\u2019s what we were all calling it, \u2019cause nobody wanted to waste their time calling it the <i>Hunter-Gratzner<\/i> or anything\u2014and most everybody jumped off to grab supplies and power cells and things, to load into the back. Shazza stayed in the driver\u2019s seat and kept it idling so that we could move the second everything was loaded up. But it was getting darker and darker. The rings were starting to come between us and the suns. I thought, maybe, if I got all the dirt off the solar collector\u2019s dome, there might still be enough light, so I started wiping at it like crazy with one of my shirts&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhy didn\u2019t they have backup power for it?\u201d Kyra asked. \u201cEven just a <i>battery<\/i>?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThey damned well should\u2019ve. Hell, they should\u2019ve had a port where we could\u2019ve plugged in one of the power cells, or something.\u201d Jack was still peeved about the sand cat, and the suggestion she\u2019d <i>tried<\/i> to make, later on, that had been completely ignored. She still thought it would have worked. \u201cBut they didn\u2019t <i>know<\/i> there\u2019d ever be a sunset on their planet, not until it was too late, so probably somebody was just too cheap to add that.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her dad had often railed against customers who were too cheap to pay for protective features they were obstinately convinced they\u2019d never need, especially when they blamed him, afterward, for their absence. <i>Deciding to drive without insurance<\/i> was what he\u2019d called it. The Aceso Psychiatric Hospital on Helion Prime, as it had turned out, had been among those customers. At least, she thought, she and Kyra had personally benefited from <i>that<\/i> bout of short-sightedness. On a planet of <i>almost<\/i> eternal sunlight, that same kind of skinflint incaution had cost almost everyone their lives.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI got that dome <i>so<\/i> clean, but once the rings were in front of <i>both<\/i> suns, the collector just stopped turning. The sand cat was <i>dead.<\/i> The temperature dropped really fast too, by about ten degrees. I could still kind of see the suns behind the rings&#8288;\u2026 a big red blob and a smaller yellow blob&#8288;\u2026 but it had gotten so dark. And then the noises started.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNoises?\u201d Kyra snickered. \u201cC\u2019mon, you can be more specific than that.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnimal noises,\u201d Jack said, hearing them again in her head. \u201cGrowls, cries&#8288;\u2026 sounds I\u2019d heard faintly the whole time we\u2019d been at the crash ship, but I\u2019d thought it was just the wind until after Fry almost got taken. But now they\u2019d gotten <i>loud<\/i>. And then&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It had been, she told Kyra, picking through her words carefully as she tried to capture the terrifying beauty of the moment with them, almost like someone had shaken up a snow-globe full of pitch black, batlike shapes, that had begun floating into the darkening sky from the chimney-like structures as if smoke itself had developed sentience. They shrieked as they flowed upward, whirling and spinning in the twilight&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cPeople&#8288;\u2026 just a suggestion&#8288;\u2026 perhaps you should flee!\u201d<\/i> Paris\u2019s voice echoed in her head.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She had found herself running alongside the others, racing for the upturned cargo container where Paris was shouting for them to hurry. It was only when she reached the container and looked back that she realized Shazza and Riddick had fallen behind.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cRiddick brought up the rear,\u201d she told Kyra. \u201cHe stayed behind Shazza the whole time. I think he could have outrun her if he\u2019d wanted to, but he didn\u2019t. Fry yelled at them to get down because the creatures were almost on them. They ran up the side of the gouge that the crash ship had plowed in the ground and dove down inside it. I swear, the creatures were chasing them too&#8288;\u2026 flew right over them and away, but then&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Then, as she had watched helplessly from much too far away, the screeching murmuration had begun to circle back.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d watched them both lying on the ground, Riddick on his side, Shazza on her belly. And even from that distance, she had seen the moment when Shazza\u2019s nerves had frayed and snapped.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShazza, stay there!\u201d She\u2019d yelled, pulling free of Paris\u2019s restraining grasp. \u201cStay down, Shazza, just stay down!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cCome here!\u201d the would-be tomb raider had shouted, pulling her back into the cargo container. She struggled against him, against what was inevitably about to happen.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Shazza couldn\u2019t see what was behind her, running flat-out for the cargo container. But Riddick, on his side, could see everything. He hadn\u2019t even tried to rise. Instead, he rolled onto his back and flattened himself against the dirt. The flock swooped past just inches above his chest.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Several of them struck Shazza, knocking her to her knees. Instead of flinging herself to the ground, instead of rolling to get them off her, she tried to rise, to keep going.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShazza!\u201d Jack had heard herself screaming, trying to throw herself forward to the rescue, \u201cjust stay down!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Paris hauled her back again, his arm around her no longer at all gentle. She fought his hold until the moment when she heard Shazza\u2019s unearthly scream of agony and saw the woman\u2019s torso pulling free of her legs in an explosion of blood. Jack\u2019s erstwhile adoptive mother was still screaming, now in several pieces in the living whirlwind\u2019s grasp, as it spun past the container and off into the darkness.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Suddenly Paris\u2019s arm had been the only thing holding Jack up.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And now she found herself lying to Kyra again. Riddick had risen from the ground, calmly, looking completely unbothered, dusting himself off as he sauntered over to the container, stepping around the splashes of Shazza\u2019s blood in the dirt with casual indifference. Jack, who had just lost the closest thing she\u2019d had to a mother since she\u2019d left Deckard\u2019s World, had felt a moment of intense resentment for that nonchalance. For that moment, she\u2019d found herself almost hating him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She couldn\u2019t tell Kyra that. This wasn\u2019t supposed to be <i>that<\/i> kind of story for Kyra. Riddick was the tale\u2019s hero. So she muted the grief and pain and&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThere wasn\u2019t anything he could have done to save her, but I know he wanted to&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was projecting her own feelings onto him, her own motivations. His had been completely inscrutable. She had no real idea what had lain behind that calm deadpan, not then, maybe not ever. But in the story she told Kyra, it was a mirror of what <i>she<\/i> had been feeling and wishing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cParis was telling us we needed to get deeper inside so he could close the outer doors. Everybody climbed in, but I could hear Fry and Riddick, still outside. These strange new hoots and howls had started up and she asked him, \u2018what is it, Riddick? What is it now?\u2019 And he told her, \u2018like I said, it ain\u2019t me you gotta worry about.\u2019 And then the last of the light was gone.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Before she could get further with the story, Takama knocked on the door. Ewan and Tafrara were with her. While they began tending Kyra, Takama led Jack down to the garage level and helped her into a swanky-looking car so they could go get her head imaged.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Dusk had descended over New Marrakesh. In Elsewhere the storm had moved off, upward into the New Atlas foothills, and the tide was moving in. They didn\u2019t drive toward the waters, though, instead driving farther uphill and into one of the ritzier suburbs of the city, arriving at what appeared to be a satellite branch of the hospital.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Takama handled the check-in paperwork, using false names for both Jack and herself and weaving a tale, for the intake staff\u2019s benefit, of visiting relatives and a children\u2019s competitive tree-climbing excursion that had gone awry. Moments later, Jack was lying on a table, her head inside what she could only think of as a massive white donut. It didn\u2019t take long. But soon after, a frowning technician appeared, examining the images, and asked if they could do an electroencephalogram.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That took nearly an hour.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Finally, after that was over, a doctor entered the room.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIs there something wrong with Tafsut?\u201d Takama asked in Arabic, using the false name she\u2019d picked for Jack.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo, not at all,\u201d the woman answered, surprising both of them. Officially, Jack couldn\u2019t understand a word she was saying, but she was following along just fine. \u201cThere are no signs of concussion, no brain bleeds, nothing. She\u2019s perfectly healthy. It\u2019s just&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Takama shot Jack a confused and worried look just as <i>Jack<\/i> was shooting one at <i>her.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHas your niece ever been Quantified?\u201d The way she said it, Jack could hear the capitalization in the word.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Alarm appeared in Takama\u2019s eyes for the briefest instance. Then her expression became disapproving. \u201cNo, of course not. We do not believe in such things.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou might want to consider having her tested,\u201d the doctor said, holding out a tablet with colorful data and imaging on its screen. \u201cThe readings we were getting are unusually high&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cBaraka!\u201d<\/i> Takama almost shouted, one hand slapping at the tablet while the other made a gesture that Jack had learned was for warding off evil. \u201cDo not speak of such things! Do you wish to make her a pariah? Ruin her chances to marry and have a family? We will not stay to hear such nonsense!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">If Jack hadn\u2019t spent the last two and a half weeks getting to know Takama quite well, she might have been fooled by the sudden act, but she wasn\u2019t. She could see that the doctor was, though. She could see the change in her demeanor and could, she thought, almost hear her thinking, <i>superstitious old bat&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Takama led Jack back out of the clinic, hovering over her the whole time while deliberately grumbling about terrible treatment and how the doctor was trying to hex her niece, fussing even when she paid the bill. Only after they had driven away from the clinic did she drop the act.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat was <i>that<\/i> about?\u201d Jack asked, her emotions caught in a tug of war between confusion, amusement, and a little bit of fear.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBrahim said that you are good at infiltrating secure systems, yes? You will want to do so the moment we get home, and destroy all the scans they made of you and the EEG readings they took.\u201d Takama only looked worried now, as she glanced over at Jack. \u201c<i>Have<\/i> you ever been Quantified?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI don\u2019t know what that is,\u201d Jack told her, \u201cso I\u2019m guessing not.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s testing for extrasensory abilities. When readings go above a certain level, and I think your scans indicated that they would&#8288;\u2026 testers are required to notify the Federacy. You need to destroy those records as soon as we get home. At least,\u201d Takama added, flashing a tight smile at her, \u201cwe know you took no lasting harm from your misadventures this afternoon. And I really should not be surprised that a girl who can move a starship between universes, using her will alone, would test highly. I <i>am<\/i> sorry, Tislilel. I was so worried about brain injury that it never occurred to me I might be exposing you to&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDon\u2019t worry about it,\u201d Jack said, feeling a little stunned. \u201cI\u2019ll grab some baseline readings and sub them in, no problem, soon as I have my tablet.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI hope it is as easy as you make it sound,\u201d Takama worried beside her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIs it <i>that<\/i> bad?\u201d Jack suddenly found herself worrying that there might have been a kernel of truth in Takama\u2019s act, if it might make her a pariah with the Imazighen for real.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGood heavens, no. Dihya\u2014the warrior queen your sister is named after\u2014was a seer of great power. Such gifts are only as good or as evil as the one making use of them. No, the problem is the Federacy. It \u2018recruits\u2019 anyone who tests highly enough. Whether or not they wish to be recruited.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack, who had spent her childhood hearing only good things about the Federacy, was left a little dumbfounded by that claim.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Takama hustled her into the house the moment they returned, almost dragging her upstairs. Her anxiety was infectious, and Jack found herself running alongside her \u201caunt,\u201d the need to delete the files filling her purpose.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGet hacking,\u201d Takama commanded the moment they reached the room. \u201cI will have dinner sent up for both of you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It took Jack only a few minutes to find her way into the clinic\u2019s files, using her most insidious Ghost Code. Looking over her patient file, she was relieved to see that almost none of the data would point directly to her. She made a few changes to obscure herself further, adjusting the height\u2014when had she reached 1.73 meters?\u2014weight, and eye color that were stored on file. She saved copies of the original scans and readings on her tablet\u2014she wanted to take a closer look at them, herself, later\u2014before going hunting in the system for another head\u2019s data to replace hers with.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Tafrara and Ewan arrived with trays for her and Kyra right as she was finishing up and erasing the security footage, inside the clinic and out in the parking area, that she and Takama had appeared in. They didn\u2019t stay more than a minute.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Weird. Usually there were at least a few moments of joking banter before they left. Jack walked over to the doors that led out onto a balcony overlooking the courtyard, pulling the curtain back just a little.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Brother and sister were hurrying across the courtyard toward the dining room.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Huh.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019ll be back,\u201d she told Kyra, and slipped out of the room.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The moment she was level with the courtyard, and the ground of Elsewhere, she isomorphed over, keeping a strong visual and auditory connection with U1. She crossed the still-wet sand of Elsewhere\u2019s version of the courtyard in a hurry, entering the space that was, back in U1, the dining room.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The whole family was assembled. There was no food on the table.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI suppose it should not have come as a surprise,\u201d Takama was saying in English, probably for the benefit and inclusion of an elderly, elegantly dressed Black man sitting at the table with them. He, alone, had a cup of tea before him. \u201cBrahim said most of the survivors struggled a great deal to master their instructions. I asked Amastan if any of them had spoken of dreaming of those&#8288;\u2026 beings&#8288;\u2026 both girls speak of, and he says no.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDid he answer you about the other matter?\u201d Ewan asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYes. He says none of them met the envoy, although some of them remember seeing her on their hospital floor. She was aloof and never spoke to, much less touched, any of them.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGood. That\u2019s something, at least.\u201d Ewan still looked uneasy, and deeply unhappy.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Cedric said, after the momentary silence started to become uncomfortable, \u201call the survivors of the <i>Matador<\/i> owe their lives to the fact that the two stowaways on board, who escaped Quin&#173;tessa\u2019s control, happened to be un-Quantified espers.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAre we sure it\u2019s both of them?\u201d Safiyya asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou did not see Dihya bringing them across from the other world&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cElsewhere,\u201d Ewan interjected.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2014&#8288;from Elsewhere and into the market square,\u201d Takama continued. \u201cShe has power, too, although probably not quite as much as Tislilel.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou got a look at the readings before you started up with the doctor, right?\u201d Cedric asked. \u201cWhat were the PKP indices?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMaximum. As high as the sensors could record.\u201d Takama paused thoughtfully, steepling her fingers and pressing them to her lips for a moment. \u201cShe is a cerebral girl, at her core. A teacher\u2019s dream&#8288;\u2026 Dihya, I think, relies more on her physicality. She has a good mind too, quite intelligent, but&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNot on the same order of magnitude,\u201d Cedric agreed. \u201cShe\u2019s older, but follows Tizzy\u2019s lead becau&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cTizzy?\u201d<\/i> Tafrara blurted.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhy not? It suits her more than you think. <i>Anyway,<\/i> she follows <i>Tizzy\u2019s<\/i> lead because <i>she\u2019s<\/i> such a <i>quick<\/i> thinker. Makes it a little hard, though, to tell one of her plans from one of her impulses.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cExactly,\u201d Safiyya agreed. \u201cWe have all been remiss. We need to bear in mind that even a child prodigy&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIs still a child,\u201d Ewan finished her statement for her. \u201cI&#8288;\u2026 am&#8288;\u2026 aware.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">His eyes looked haunted. Tafrara put her arm around his shoulder.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt is hard for <i>all<\/i> of us to remember that about her,\u201d she said, her voice soft and almost coaxing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI nearly let her kill herself,\u201d he whispered, closing his eyes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDo you think <i>that<\/i> is what she was doing?\u201d Takama suddenly asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">An arm slipped around Jack\u2019s waist. She flinched and then realized who it had to be. Kyra, wearing the bathrobe Jack had left on the chair, was standing beside her, fully in Elsewhere.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat\u2019ve I been missing?\u201d her sister whispered. Jack couldn\u2019t find her voice to answer.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe have seen her records from New Athens General,\u201d Takama was saying. \u201cSevere blood loss and drowning. She all but succeeded that time. <i>Could<\/i> she still be suicidal?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan\u2019s complexion had turned almost ashen.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIf she is,\u201d Safiyya mused, \u201cI don\u2019t think she knows it. But there is something called \u2018suicide by proxy,\u2019 that some people engage in when they won\u2019t deliberately try to die or consciously admit to wanting to. They put themselves into dangerous situations, ones that could result in their deaths&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI can\u2019t&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d Ewan almost knocked his chair over as he got up from the table. He crossed the room swiftly, approaching the doorway where Jack and Kyra were standing, unseen and intangible.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDo not go to her!\u201d Cedric commanded, bringing his son to a halt.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Although a world away, Ewan was only inches from Jack, his breathing ragged. The agony on his face twisted at her heart. He closed his eyes and took a few long, deep breaths. Everyone at the table was watching him with concern.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack wanted to hug him. She only realized she was leaning toward him when Kyra pulled her back.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Finally Ewan spoke, his expression and voice growing calmer. \u201cShe wouldn\u2019t have done that to me. She wouldn\u2019t have left me stranded in another universe.\u201d He turned to face the table. \u201cMaybe she\u2019d put <i>herself<\/i> in harm\u2019s way. I don\u2019t know. But she\u2019d <i>never<\/i> do something that put someone else in danger.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNot on purpose,\u201d Jack whispered. Ali and Paris still haunted her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOf course you wouldn\u2019t,\u201d Kyra whispered back, giving her waist a gentle squeeze.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIf she had known, or even suspected, that she was in that much danger&#8288;\u2026 if she had been <i>trying<\/i> to die&#8288;\u2026 she would have sent me back to this universe first,\u201d Ewan continued.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou can\u2019t know that,\u201d Safiyya said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI <i>do<\/i> know that. And you do, too.\u201d He turned and stalked back to the table, sitting back down in the chair he\u2019d vacated. His body was still tense. \u201cI think&#8288;\u2026 she just doesn\u2019t know her limits until she crashes into them.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThis is a reasonable hypothesis,\u201d the Black man mused, his rumbling, accented voice even deeper than Riddick\u2019s. \u201cMany with her kind of ability only develop it at the onset of puberty, which the remaining fragments of her medical records indicate is relatively recent.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan winced, closing his eyes. Tafrara put her hand on the back of his neck and murmured something soft in Tamazight. He shook his head, his lips pressed tightly together as he looked over at her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYour \u2018Tizzy,\u2019\u201d the man continued, \u201cmay have no idea what she can or cannot do with these gifts until she tries.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWho the fuck is <i>he<\/i>?\u201d Kyra whispered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack shrugged, shaking her head. She had seen him in line, well behind the envoy, at the end of the memorial, but Ewan had already whisked them away from the church before he came anywhere near the family.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI guess we should be especially grateful that you decided to visit us tonight, General Toal,\u201d Cedric said. \u201cYou\u2019ve worked with espers in the past, haven\u2019t you? Trained Operatives.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Even as the general nodded, Safiyya spoke up. \u201cIs there any new word about your son or his platoon?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">General Toal shook his head, his expression briefly sad. \u201cNothing. It has been almost ten years&#8288;\u2026 soon they will be declared dead. I&#8288;\u2026 have made my peace with it.\u201d He sighed and then seemed to put it aside. \u201cBut I am afraid that my visit this evening is not as auspicious as you have hoped. I came to warn you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Uneasy looks passed around the table.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIn the last day, the Quin&#173;tessa envoy has been approaching many of Gavin Brahim\u2019s former comrades-in-arms, the ones who will be visiting your home tomorrow evening. Many of them have asked me for advice,\u201d the General explained. \u201cShe has hinted to all of them that she would like to attend as their \u2018plus-one\u2019 if they would be so inclined.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIf that vile <i>tkahbacht<\/i> even <i>tries<\/i> to enter this house&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d Tafrara exploded.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/i> Ewan asked. \u201c<i>What<\/i> can we do if she tries, Elspeth?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack had wondered if, like her brothers, Tafrara had a Scottish name as well as a Tamazight name. Now she had an answer.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOur brother\u2019s murderer will never be welcome here!\u201d Ewan\u2019s sister shouted, slamming her fists on the table. \u201cI will see her <i>dead<\/i> first!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTafrara.\u201d Somehow, Cedric\u2019s almost-gentle tone stopped her tirade cold. \u201cIt\u2019s easily prevented. We\u2019ll just clarify that this isn\u2019t a gathering where plus-ones can be accommodated.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The General\u2019s mouth twitched and he nodded. \u201cThat does indeed solve <i>that<\/i> part of the problem. But she has not been alone in her visits. Her <i>entourage,<\/i> these days, includes a mercenary who is eager to tell everybody he meets about the pair of dangerous teenage girls he is tracking&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan muttered something in Tamazight that made every woman at the table gasp and glare at him. He even got a reproving look from his father. There was no shame on his face now, though; only fury.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2014&#8288;<i>and<\/i> he has been circulating pictures of them,\u201d General Toal continued. \u201cAlready many of the officers who spoke to me have commented how similar they look to your visiting nieces. Now, <i>we<\/i> all know the truth about these two young ladies. And certainly, we all know that, even if they <i>were<\/i> the monsters he portrays them as, they never would have had time to commit the heinous crimes he\u2019s claiming they engaged in between their escape from the psychiatric hospital and when the <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i> left Helion Prime. But&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAn accusation does not have to be true to do great damage,\u201d Takama declared.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack felt Kyra begin to tremble beside her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIndeed.\u201d The General looked around the table at everyone. \u201cI was hoping to help you make this work. I truly was. But at this time, there is no way we dare introduce Miss Wittier-Collins to the officers who will be visiting tomorrow evening. Whether or not he suspects who your \u2018nieces\u2019 really are, this \u2018Alexander Toombs\u2019 has poisoned the well.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh <i>fuck<\/i>, Jack&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Next to her, Kyra\u2019s eyes were welling with tears.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It just <i>figured<\/i> that Elsewhere\u2019s tide would show up right then, too.<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4037\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4037 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-38\">\u00ab Chapter 38<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4103\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4103 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-40\">Chapter 40 \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=\"40\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4038\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4038 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-39\">\u00ab Chapter 39<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4104\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4104 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-41\">Chapter 41 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5175\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5175 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\"> 40.<br\/>\r\n<u>Out of the Field of Fire<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo what now?\u201d Jack asked Kyra as they returned to their room and two unappetizing trays of food. Sebby had already helped himself to bits of their meals from both trays, including all the olives, and was grooming his carapace on Jack\u2019s pillow.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra swallowed, looking around the room with hurt, wistful longing. \u201cNow&#8288;\u2026 we get ready to leave in a few more days.\u201d Her voice cracked on the word <i>leave<\/i>. Jack moved to hug her, but she held up a hand. \u201cI can\u2019t right now, I need to&#8288;\u2026 <i>fuck<\/i>, if that Toombs bastard were in range, I\u2019d&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah. Me too.\u201d Jack sat down, picking up her tablet to start a search. \u201cSo where do we go next?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Kyra sighed. \u201cI\u2019m sorry, Jack. I really am. I don\u2019t want to run out on you, but&#8288;\u2026 it can\u2019t be <i>we<\/i> anymore. You heard that Toal guy. Toombs is looking for <i>two<\/i> girls, partners in whatever crimes he\u2019s made up&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She sat down on the foot of their bed, surreptitiously wiping at the corner of her eye.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe\u2019ll catch us if we stay together,\u201d Kyra finally said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNot if I lay a false trail,\u201d Jack protested. \u201cI was thinking maybe some doctored photos of us, with Riddick, could show up on the merc network&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c<i>You<\/i> have a <i>life<\/i> to get back to,\u201d Kyra told her. \u201cYou think that\u2019s gonna work if you show up back at your mom\u2019s house with the Black Fox of Canaan Mountain in tow? \u2018She followed me home, mom, can I keep her?\u2019\u201d The bark of humorless laughter that escaped Kyra was painful.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Of course Kyra knew where she was going, Jack realized. She\u2019d felt, in the last few weeks, like they were sometimes hearing each other\u2019s thoughts, seeing into the insides of each other\u2019s heads&#8288;\u2026 and based on the latest revelations, she hadn\u2019t been wrong.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It had started in the hospital, at least between the two of them. Looking back, she thought she could see so many clues&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m a known quantity,\u201d Kyra said, flopping back on the bed and then wincing with pain. \u201cFucking stitches&#8288;\u2026 my prints are on record. Finger and retina. All kinds of data. You were able to clear yours out, I know that, but mine are in too many systems for you to get to them, too.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAmnesty Interplanetary&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt doesn\u2019t <i>matter<\/i>, Jack. They could get me exonerated or pardoned or <i>whatever<\/i> and it wouldn\u2019t matter. If I\u2019m with you, I\u2019ll lead Toombs <i>right to you.<\/i> He doesn\u2019t give a fuck about me. He just wants to use me to get to you, and you to get to Riddick.\u201d Kyra closed her eyes. \u201cEven if the bounty on me ceases to exist <i>tomorrow<\/i>, I still won\u2019t be safe for <i>you<\/i> to be around. You can\u2019t ever stop being Jack B. Badd if I\u2019m along for the ride. And we both know you\u2019re sick of being her.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack found herself desperately wishing that Kyra was wrong, but knowing that she wasn\u2019t.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd,\u201d Kyra continued after a pause, \u201cif anybody outside of this family and that Toal guy ever puts our trail together, enough to prove to the envoy that we <i>were<\/i> on board the <i>Scarlet Mata<\/i><i>dor<\/i>&#8288;\u2026 there\u2019s no place in the Federacy that\u2019ll be safe for us or <i>anybody<\/i> we care about. So yeah, get those fake images out there. Make them think we <i>did<\/i> run off to the Bayou Nebula or something. Make them think we\u2019re living lives of crime as Riddick\u2019s <i>hench-bitches<\/i> a hundred light years away from here. We need all the camouflage we can get. But it doesn\u2019t change what has to happen.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack swallowed, nodding. She could do that. She could lay down a convincing false trail, for all their sakes. But&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWill you be okay?\u201d Kyra asked, snatching up the words that she\u2019d been about to say. \u201cI mean, you weren\u2019t being abused by your mom or her boyfriend, were you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo,\u201d Jack told her, sighing. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t anything like that. It\u2019s just&#8288;\u2026 I don\u2019t think Alvin and I <i>ever<\/i> liked each other. He was dating my mom, but&#8288;\u2026 the fact that she had a kid from a previous marriage was a big turn-off for him. I think it made things a little too real. I tried to just&#8288;\u2026 make myself scarce when he was over. I figured they wouldn\u2019t be together long anyway, and when they started fighting all the time, I figured I was right. They even broke up for about a week.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat were they fighting about?\u201d Kyra asked, looking interested. It struck Jack again how incredibly different their childhood homes had to have been. If Kyra\u2019s mother had been on board for the whole New Christy colony project, she\u2019d probably been domestic and pious, not a high-powered corporate lawyer who, in the year before Jack took off, often hadn\u2019t gotten back from dates until early Sunday afternoon.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cEverything. Nothing. The dumbest things were suddenly setting them off at each other. I was relieved when it ended, especially because, for a few days, I thought maybe my dad had a chance to come home&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And then everything had crashed and burned.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI still don\u2019t know what happened, but suddenly my dad was just&#8288;\u2026 really quiet, and then he told me he\u2019d rejoined the Corps of Engineers and was leaving for Furya. I wanted to go, too, but he said there weren\u2019t any schools there that\u2019d be challenging enough for me, and I should stay with my mom, and I\u2019d understand why soon&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd did you?\u201d Kyra\u2019s voice was soft, almost hesitant.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTwo days after he left, I came home from school and Alvin was back. Sitting in the living room, holding my mom\u2019s hand&#8288;\u2026 and they told me they were getting married in three weeks.\u201d The pain of that moment was still sharp and fresh. She pressed her fist against her heart, trying to tamp it down.&nbsp; \u201cThey fucking waited until it was too late for me to go with him&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhy the hell did she take Alvin back?\u201d Kyra sounded every bit as confused as Jack felt.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI don\u2019t&#8288;\u2026 know. I honestly didn\u2019t care why she did. I just felt&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d <i>\u2026&#8288;feel&#8288;\u2026<\/i> \u201c&#8288;\u2014&#8288;so fucking betrayed&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow long after that did you run?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cA week before the wedding,\u201d Jack said. \u201cHe was already throwing his weight around, wanting to be a father figure, wanting to be the fucking <i>man of the house,<\/i> like we needed one of <i>those&#8288;\u2026<\/i> He even said \u2018my house, my rules\u2019 to me one time, that fucker&#8288;\u2026 So I figured out a route to Furya, forged my mom\u2019s signature on some forms that\u2019d let me pull the money I\u2019d been saving up for summer camp out of the bank, and got the fuck outta there while they were having their bachelor parties and some twit from up the street was too busy making out with her boyfriend to <i>babysit<\/i> me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd you\u2019re just gonna go back to that?\u201d Kyra looked dubious.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack shrugged. \u201cMaybe. Probably. I can\u2019t get to Furya, and I don\u2019t <i>want<\/i> my parents to think I just died somewhere&#8288;\u2026 but if he\u2019s still a shit I\u2019ll just&#8288;\u2026 I dunno, threaten to disappear again if they don\u2019t let me go live with my grandparents or one of my aunts and uncles, or something. I can\u2019t let them think I just died, though. I didn\u2019t&#8288;\u2026 I didn\u2019t do any of this to <i>hurt<\/i> them.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I never wanted to hurt anybody&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It made her ill to think of what she\u2019d put her mom, and also her dad, her cousins, her grandparents, <i>everybody<\/i> through for more than a year now. It was especially hard to think of how her cats must have looked for her, called for her, those first few nights&#8288;\u2026 and <i>they<\/i> would still have been bereft even if she\u2019d made it to Furya on schedule.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Ewan\u2019s wrong&#8288;\u2026 I don\u2019t think enough about how my actions affect others&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo, Jack, Ewan\u2019s <i>right<\/i> about you,\u201d Kyra said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She glanced over, surprised. Kyra smirked and tapped her temple. There was, she realized, no point in either one of them hiding or denying anymore that they were in each other\u2019s heads.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou don\u2019t try to hurt anybody. You just tried to get to your dad fast before anyone could stop you,\u201d Kyra continued. \u201cNot your fault there was an unexpected detour into a shitstorm. Life\u2019s just a series of detours, anyway, right? Most of what we plan out never ends up happening the way we expect it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah. Probably&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d No <i>probably<\/i> about it, Jack admitted to herself. \u201cYeah. And <i>that\u2019s<\/i> why I\u2019m gonna give you a shit-ton of resources to take with you if we\u2019re splitting up. Gonna teach you how to ghost around in case you ever need to replace Kali Montgomery with another alias.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For the next hour, they made plans. They wouldn\u2019t leave <i>right<\/i> away, but they would have to go soon, before someone got it into their head to restrict their movements \u201cfor their own good.\u201d The conversation came to an abrupt halt when they heard voices in the courtyard.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFuck,\u201d Kyra said, scrambling to her feet and grabbing their plates to carry them into the bathroom. \u201cI don\u2019t know how to put my IV back in. Take Sebby and jump in the shower, okay? I\u2019m going to tell them I needed to take a shit and you couldn\u2019t help me get up to do it because you were already showering. C\u2019mon, <i>go.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">While Jack climbed into the shower with an excited crustacean, Kyra scraped their cold, uneaten food into the toilet and flushed it down.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack waited a few minutes, giving Sebby time to do his little water dance at her feet, before she emerged from the shower and slipped into the robe that Kyra had left for her. In the bedroom, Ewan was reconnecting her sister\u2019s IV drip with an air that was simultaneously amused and martyred. He avoided looking at Jack much once he realized she was only wearing a bathrobe.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIn the morning, we\u2019ll begin your physical therapy,\u201d he was telling Kyra. \u201cYour stitches look excellent, though. In another few weeks, if you want, Takama can take you to a clinic to have the scar removed.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cScars are trophies,\u201d Kyra said. \u201cI want to keep it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Tafrara entered the room with a box&#8288;\u2026 a <i>singing<\/i> box. Sebby, on Jack\u2019s shoulder, began to make a high-pitched <i>reeeeee<\/i> of excitement.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYes, little one, this is your dinner,\u201d she said, pouring the box\u2019s contents into Sebby\u2019s tub. \u201c<i>Yezan!<\/i> Get off me, you little&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d She brushed off several crickets that had jumped onto her arms instead of into the tub.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">With a delighted shriek, Sebby leapt off Jack\u2019s shoulder, bouncing across the bed and then sailing through the air, straight into the tubful of crickets.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThis is why Iz\u00eel put the box into the tub, flipped open the lid, and jumped back,\u201d Ewan observed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd he still had three crickets jump on him,\u201d Tafrara retorted with a roll of her eyes. \u201cWe\u2019ll see how well <i>you<\/i> manage next feeding. You can show us how it\u2019s done.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Throughout their good-natured ribbing, Jack noticed, they never once mentioned their visitor, or the conversation in the dining room. She wondered if it would ever come up.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Some of it\u2019ll have to,<\/i> she thought sadly. <i>They\u2019re gonna have to tell Kyra that her participation in the reception tomorrow evening is off.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Several times, before Ewan and Tafrara said good night and left the room, she thought Ewan was going to say something to her, but he always stopped himself. Things still weren\u2019t normal between them. They\u2019d almost gotten there, until everything changed again while she and Kyra were supposedly having dinner in their room.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Maybe we\u2019ll find a way back to normal,<\/i> she thought, picking up her tablet and carrying it over to the bed as the door closed. <i>We still have three more Tangier days&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And then he would be gone. And, soon after, so would she.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra fell asleep almost immediately, but Jack couldn\u2019t manage to. Maybe it was because she\u2019d taken an unscheduled nap during the middle of the day, but her mind was too active. She spent another hour writing up instructions for how to access the hidden menus on different security platforms before Kyra began to whimper in her sleep.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo&#8288;\u2026 leave me alone&#8288;\u2026 don\u2019t wanna look&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cKyra?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJust&#8288;\u2026 fucking&#8288;\u2026 stop already&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack closed her eyes, focusing on the starlit place that the <i>Apeiros<\/i> inhabited. \u201cAre you talking to the other larva?\u201d she demanded.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Yes.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cStop. Leave her alone. You\u2019re hurting her,\u201d Jack told them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For a moment, there was silence. Then&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>We did not know.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Back on the bed, Jack could feel Kyra relaxing beside her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShe\u2019s still not healed. Talk to me. Just me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You are also injured,<\/i> they pointed out.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMaybe, but you don\u2019t hurt me by talking to me. It hurts her when you do. So I need you to leave her alone.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Nothing should have to be alone,<\/i> one of them whispered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOkay. Fine. But you wait until <i>she<\/i> talks to <i>you.<\/i> If she calls to you, you can answer. But otherwise, let her be.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There was a long pause. She had the sense that the ether they inhabited was full of communication, just none of it directed at her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>This is acceptable,<\/i> they finally said. <i>You and the smallest ones are enough.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That was a little creepy, she thought, and decided not to ask \u201cenough for what?\u201d Not yet. She wasn\u2019t sure she was ready to know.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They didn\u2019t seem to mean either her or Kyra harm, she reflected. They had been afraid, when she\u2019d been struggling with the cube from the <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i>, that she would hurt or even kill herself, and had tried to stop her. For the moment, their motives seemed kind. But\u2014and it would be especially true once she left Tangier Prime and parted ways with Kyra\u2014soon there would be no one she could discuss them with if she developed doubts about that. She would sound completely psy&#173;chotic&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u2014&#8288;like an escapee from a mental hospital, even&#8288;\u2014<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2014&#8288;if she told anyone she was communicating telepathically with a strange alien race, unless she submitted herself to Quantification and the risks Takama believed came with that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">If she ever came to think they posed a threat, though, she might <i>have<\/i> to.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Unless it\u2019s just a threat to me&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And&#8288;\u2026 <i>there<\/i> it was.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She spent another half hour, still not even a little sleepy, researching \u201csuicide by proxy\u201d on the tablet. The historical material was disturbing; the law enforcement literature was a little horrifying. She skimmed over case studies of people whose guilt had overwhelmed them but who were repressed from making active suicide attempts, and who began to do more and more dangerous things, most of them in some way connected to the guilt they felt or a moment that they\u2019d survived but felt they hadn\u2019t deserved to. \u201cSuicide by Cop,\u201d she learned, was one of the most common forms, as people punished themselves and ended their lives by creating threatening-seeming situations in which police believed they had no alternative but to shoot to kill.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But it didn\u2019t seem to cover what she was doing. Or what she had done.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">In the al-Walid house, she reflected, she had felt completely alone and cut off from the world. She barely spoke Arabic for the first several weeks, none of the people she encountered there knew or were willing to speak English to her even though she <i>knew<\/i> that Abu, Lajjun, and even little Ziza were all bilingual\u2014they were, they had told her, immersing her in \u201cher\u201d new language \u201cfor her own good\u201d\u2014and she wasn\u2019t even allowed to control how she presented herself to the world. Skirts, dresses, and hair coverings, not as disguises but as her new normal, had been shoved upon her. They only grudgingly continued to call her \u201cJack\u201d because she had refused to give them, or answer to, any other name; they used it as little as possible, too, often referring to her as <i>\u201cher\u201d<\/i> when she was standing right there.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Why, she wondered, was it so much easier to let people call her Tislilel\u2014which, when she\u2019d looked it up, she\u2019d found literally meant \u201cbride of the sea\u201d\u2014and to wear jalabiyas and other traditional North African attire, here in New Marrakesh than it had been there?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Because the Tomlin-Meziane family loves me, loves us&#8288;\u2026<\/i> And because the name had been a gift from a man she had fallen in love with and was in mourning for.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d tried so hard to believe in the love that \u201cUncle Abu\u201d and \u201cAunt Lajjun\u201d had claimed to feel for her, tried so hard to reciprocate it&#8288;\u2026 but in comparison to what she\u2019d experienced in New Marrakesh, she could see just how empty and controlling it had all been. The al-Walids had used \u201clove\u201d as a bludgeon, and they had practically broken her with it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">In <i>their<\/i> house, she hadn\u2019t had access to any resources she could use to run away again, and they had never given her an opportunity to find any. Anything she questioned or protested was grounds for a lecture about everything they were sacrificing for her sake, and how hurtful her ingratitude was to them. Through it all, she\u2019d felt \u201cUncle Abu\u2019s\u201d judgmental censure over her hooligan ways, hidden beneath a wrapping of well-intended avuncular guidance, even as she\u2019d been made to feel guilty over her instinctive, bone-deep rejection of all that prescriptive \u201cnurturing.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Death, she thought, had been the only way she\u2019d seen out of the terrible, inescapable prison that had been assembled around her. Somehow, she\u2019d even come to believe she <i>deserved<\/i> it all.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Those musings seemed to resonate with something. She tried to follow the thought, but it vanished as she tried to chase it down.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But the only remaining part of the despair she\u2019d suffered in the al-Walid household was the sense that she had failed others when they\u2019d needed her most, hadn\u2019t done enough to help or protect them&#8288;\u2026 and an absolute terror of finding herself as the sole survivor of yet another disaster.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There was, she noted ruefully, an abundance of links to the subject of \u201csurvivor\u2019s guilt\u201d on the tablet.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">If she really was an esper, the way everybody suddenly seemed to think, was her persistent survival in part because she\u2019d unconsciously foreseen, and been able to side-step, disasters as they came at her?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cFirst you\u2019re a boy, then you\u2019re a girl, and now you\u2019re a psychic. Careful what you wish for, Jack&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Of all the people she\u2019d met on the first leg of her run, only three had survived meeting her, and only one of the people she\u2019d loved had. She realized that she couldn\u2019t stop dreading the possibility that history would repeat itself <i>here.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She didn\u2019t want to <i>die<\/i>, but she didn\u2019t want to be the only one left standing if death came for the people she loved again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">On Deckard\u2019s World, movies from twentieth century America were enormously popular, and she had watched hundreds of them with her cousins. There had been one where a man\u2014a <i>Scotsman<\/i>, much like Cedric\u2014had discovered that he was immortal and outlived everybody who mattered to him over and over, losing all the people he loved to war and time, slowly growing more aloof and disconnected from humanity. The film had made it seem so romantic and dashing, but a line from one of the songs that had played in it had indelibly embedded itself in her head: <i>Who wants to live forever when love must die?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The conviction that the Tomlin-Meziane family, and the <i>ait Meziane<\/i> tribe as a whole, would be far safer with her and Kyra gone was still strong. And Kyra would probably be a lot safer, too, no longer traveling with the walking bullseye that was Jack B. Badd. Every bullet she\u2019d dodged, and there had been so many now, seemed to have struck someone else as a result.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She didn\u2019t want to step into a bullet\u2019s path, though. She wanted out of the field of fire.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDeckard\u2019s World it is,\u201d she told herself, and burrowed her way into the shipping schedules for that region of space.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Most of the shipping turned out to be indirect. Her planet, which had seemed so huge and consequential when she\u2019d lived on it, was considered something of a remote backwater by the rest of the Federacy. There was regular, direct passenger traffic between there and New Queensland, and most of the freight that reached her home world was offloaded on Vasenji Station before making the final leg of its journey on smaller vessels. She would probably have to pass through one of those two locations on her way back.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She narrowed her search, setting a maximum time frame: she wanted to return to Deckard\u2019s World within two years of the date of her disappearance. When she added Tangier Prime as a starting location, only fourteen scheduled flights were left with openings in either their passenger or crew manifests. With a feeling of resignation, she added an exclusion for cryo-sleep, expecting all of them to disappear from the list.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">One did not.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The <i>Nephrite Undine<\/i> was a new freighter, which was only just coming out of Sirius Shipping\u2019s orbital shipyard at their headquarters above Tangier Six. The company was preparing for its run-in flight using a new set of Star Jumps that would allow for direct traffic between the Tangier System and Deckard\u2019s World&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Could anything be more perfect? It seemed too good to be true.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The ship had never Star Jumped before. Maiden voyages, she soon discovered, had 90.3% success rates. They generally carried inexpensive and easily replaced cargo and were staffed by tiny skeleton crews that not only had to agree to the risk of a journey they might never return from, but also had to be willing to stay out of cryo and be \u201con call\u201d every second of the journey in case something went wrong. High risk, high maintenance&#8288;\u2026 hardly anybody wanted that. Those positions paid handsomely but were difficult to fill, especially if, as in this case, it was a months-long solo flight.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And, Jack saw, the job listing for the <i>Nephrite Undine<\/i> was still up.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sirius Shipping had been sweetening the pot every way they could think of, she read, in an effort to get even <i>one<\/i> qualified person to apply. It would be a five-month journey with twenty-five Jumps, none of them more than two days long, and the rest of the time spent traversing normal space. The crew quarters were advertised as lush, with a recreational facility and data center that was described as \u201con par with any luxury system available to the public.\u201d The maintenance schedule, they insisted, would only take up a few hours of each day, and the emergency procedures had been streamlined but shouldn\u2019t be necessary. The human crew member would have AI support and would only be responsible for situations that non-humans had no legal authority to handle.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And yet the position was unfilled.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She dug deeper, slipping behind Sirius Shipping\u2019s firewalls\u2014she gravitated to their ships and ads, she thought, because she knew that they used her dad\u2019s security systems everywhere\u2014and digging into their Human Resources department\u2019s confidential files.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The job <i>had<\/i> been filled, briefly, a month ago, but had been relisted less than a week earlier&#8288;\u2026 following the discovery of an obituary for the man they had hired and who had died in the spaceport explosion. The one backup candidate they\u2019d had on file was no longer available. With the inaugural flight just ten Standard days away, the company was becoming desperate and had, just hours earlier, increased the benefits they were offering.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Still, the almost one in ten chance that the ship would fail to reach its destination seemed to have deterred everyone&#8288;\u2026 especially with the lucrative alternatives that had opened up in New Casablanca and New Fes, as both cities\u2019 spaceports expanded their staffs to accommodate traffic that would normally have gone through New Marrakesh. The few queries the listing had received in the last eight Standard days were from people seeking even <i>more<\/i> benefits and securities.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMarianne Tepper,\u201d she noted as she looked over the listing again, was fully qualified for the position. And under the circumstances, she didn\u2019t really care how much she\u2019d be paid.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan was leaving in three Tangier Prime days, slightly less than six Standard days. To reach the Tangier Six orbital shipyards in time, she would need to leave New Marrakesh two morning-days after, travel to New Casablanca, and take a midnight launch from there. She would arrive at the Sirius Shipping HQ a little under one Standard day before the <i>Nephrite Undine<\/i> was scheduled to leave.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But there was almost a one in ten chance that, if she boarded that ship, she\u2019d vanish forever and never make it home at all&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Would this be this some addlepated suicide attempt on her part? Boarding a ship that might never be seen again?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>The <\/i>Hunter-Gratzner<i> was never seen again,<\/i> she thought, <i>and everybody thought it\u2019d be safe.<\/i> She had already survived one Level Five Incident. She could survive another, if it came to that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d be home in less than six months if it worked, well before what everybody would think was her fifteenth birthday. If she could play a good enough hand, maybe she could even make people believe she\u2019d been somewhere on Deckard\u2019s World the whole time&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">No matter what happened, the <i>Nephrite Undine<\/i> could break her trail.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack opened the message that she had received from Sirius Shipping that morning-day. They were still waiting to hear whether she wanted an interview for the <i>Major Barbara<\/i> position, something that was probably a simple formality. They might even skip an interview altogether when she made her counteroffer. She began to compose a reply.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><tt>Dear Ms. Nguyen,<\/tt> she wrote, addressing it to the executive who had signed the interview offer. A year before she\u2019d taken off, her mom had shown her a stack of letters that had come from candidates she was considering for her law firm. Jack tried to phrase things the way her mom\u2019s favorite choices had in their letters.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt>Thank you for your kind offer of a potential position on the <i>Major Barbara.<\/i> I regret that, due to some logistical and scheduling issues traveling to the Catalan System would create, I must decline the offer at this time. However, I am aware that you have another opening that doesn\u2019t pose any such conflicts on your new vessel, the <i>Nephrite<\/i> <i>Undine<\/i>&#8288;\u2026<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Either way, she told herself as Kyra slept on beside her, Jack B. Badd could finally disappear forever.<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4038\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4038 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-39\">\u00ab Chapter 39<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4104\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4104 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-41\">Chapter 41 \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=\"41\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4039\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4039 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-40\">\u00ab Chapter 40<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4105\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4105 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-42\">Chapter 42 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5178\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5178 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">41.<br\/>\r\n<u>Monde \u00e0 Deux<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Clack!<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack woke up to the sound of&#8288;\u2026 baseball?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Clack! Clack!<\/i> Her first impression was of someone hitting ball after ball out of a park in rapid succession. As she woke up more, she realized that she was hearing wood striking wood.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAgain,\u201d Cedric\u2019s voice said from somewhere below her and to the left. She opened her eyes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra had thrown wide the balcony doors and was sitting in a chair, her arms on the railing and her chin resting on her hands, watching something that was going on outside. Jack got up, pulling on her robe and walking over to see.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Two levels down, in the central area of the courtyard, Tafrara and Ewan were sparring with staffs while Cedric observed them and called out commands. By the sweat sheening their skin and soaking their tops, they had been at it for a while. Both wore loose white pants and tank tops and moved barefoot across the paving stones, circling one another. Just when Jack wondered if that was all they were going to do, they came together again in a flurry of movements, staffs cracking into each other repeatedly as they struck and blocked one another\u2019s strikes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan was taller and stronger, with a greater reach. But Tafrara, Jack decided, had more skill and experience&#8288;\u2026 and a lower center of gravity that she knew how to use to her advantage. They were evenly matched. Their attacks were almost brutal, forcing Jack to cover her mouth several times when the impulse to cry out a warning struck her. They clearly knew what they were doing, though. On the rare occasions when one of their staffs slipped the other\u2019s guard, it stopped centimeters before actual impact. For a second, both combatants would freeze, waiting for their father to confirm which one of them had just gained a point.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That kind of control was impressive. They hadn\u2019t just been taught how to hit; they\u2019d been taught how <i>not<\/i> to.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGod<i>damn<\/i>,\u201d Kyra said, her voice wistful and cracking a little. \u201cI want to get <i>in<\/i> on that&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack put her arm around Kyra\u2019s shoulder, aware all over again just how much her sister had suddenly lost in the last day. By the time she was healed enough to join them in a sparring match like this, Ewan would be back at the flight academy&#8288;\u2026 and it would be time for the two of them to leave. The chance to be part of something so perfectly suited to her had been cruelly ripped away. Worst of all, she could see that beautiful dream right in front of her, but it would be forever out of reach.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I have to help her find something even better before we go&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And it wasn\u2019t like the scene was much easier for Jack to watch.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was the first time she had seen Ewan wearing so little. His musculature was leaner than Riddick\u2019s and his older brother\u2019s, but he still looked like he could have been carved by either a Renaissance artist or the ancient Greek sculptors they had been emulating. She found herself wishing she could touch him, feel him against her again&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDown, girl,\u201d Kyra murmured next to her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShit, am I that obvious?\u201d she whispered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra smirked and shook her head, tapping her temple. \u201cYou got a good poker face, though. Shame&#8288;\u2026 think what kind\u2019a damage we could\u2019a done in a casino&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was a little hard to laugh at that. All the might-have-beens were hitting them like violent blows now that they had committed themselves to a course of action that would separate them for years&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;maybe forever.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDid I miss breakfast?\u201d Jack made herself ask after a moment. The sun appeared to have risen a while ago.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, and my first physical therapy session, but I\u2019m sure they\u2019ll get you something.\u201d Kyra glanced at Jack. \u201cDid you tell the <i>Apeiros<\/i> to stay out of my head?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI did, yeah. They were giving you nightmares last night.\u201d She hadn\u2019t actually told Kyra the name she\u2019d given them, but she supposed it was no surprise that her sister knew it anyway.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThey were. Then they said that you had forbidden them to talk to me anymore unless <i>I<\/i> talked to <i>them<\/i> first&#8288;\u2026 and I haven\u2019t heard a peep out of them since. Thank you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019re welcome. Least I could do. I mean, they weren\u2019t even supposed to start talking to you again until I said they could, until I told them you\u2019d healed up&#8288;\u2014\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBut they freaked the fuck <i>out<\/i> when you hurt yourself breaking open a \u2026&#8288;some&#173;thing&#8288;\u2026 Some word like the name you gave them. That\u2019s what they said you\u2019d done, anyway. And I&#8288;\u2026 couldn\u2019t <i>feel<\/i> you for a few hours&#8288;\u2026 I didn\u2019t even realize I <i>could,<\/i> and <i>had,<\/i> until you were suddenly gone from my head. I thought you might\u2019ve died. I kept asking them if you were okay and they kept saying they didn\u2019t know.\u201d Kyra looked incredibly vulnerable in that moment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFuck, I\u2019m sorry. I really didn\u2019t think, did I?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHey. <i>Quit<\/i> that. You did good. It was something you had to do, even if it <i>was<\/i> gonna scare a bunch of us. You\u2019re closing the door between \u2019verses, as much as it can be. It\u2019ll make it harder for that Quin&#173;tessa bitch to find the other survivors. Or prove that we were ever among them.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Jack swallowed. She didn\u2019t feel entirely reassured. \u201cWhen did you start to feel me again?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAbout two hours before you came back. But damn, you felt weak. There was this <i>moment<\/i>, though&#8288;\u2026 whoo! You and Ewan better not have been fucking, because I was serious&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack burst out laughing. Below them, in the courtyard, three heads turned to look their way. She felt heat rising into her cheeks. Hopefully, they hadn\u2019t heard what had made her laugh. Hopefully, they didn\u2019t think she was laughing at <i>them.<\/i> She waved in their direction and Ewan raised his hand, waving back at her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo,\u201d she managed to tell Kyra, struggling not to laugh again. \u201cWe weren\u2019t. Not for a lack of me <i>wanting<\/i> to, though. It\u2019s been kinda awkward since then. He knows what I was feeling.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She tried to leave the rest of it\u2014that she believed the intense chemistry had been mutual\u2014unsaid, but she could see in Kyra\u2019s eyes that she might as well have said that part out loud.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOf course he does. <i>I<\/i> knew what you were feeling from how many miles away? Kind of a shame, in a way,\u201d Kyra mused. \u201cHe\u2019s been so gentle and careful with me, treating my stab wound, and today\u2019s physical therapy session&#8288;\u2026 If I\u2019d lost my virginity to someone like <i>him,<\/i> maybe the idea of sex wouldn\u2019t be so disgusting&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d She shook her head. \u201c\u2019Course, someone like him would\u2019a <i>never<\/i> taken it from me when I was twelve&#8288;\u2026 and won\u2019t take it from you now. Well, he\u2019d just better keep being honorable about it all. I figured it was why he was looking so freaked out last night.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah,\u201d Jack groaned, \u201cthings are uncomfortable right now. They <i>were<\/i> almost back to normal until that whole dinner table conversation.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe <i>was<\/i> having a hard time looking at you after that, wasn\u2019t he? You never told me what I missed. I mean, I caught some of the \u2018child prodigy\u2019 stuff. What brought <i>that<\/i> talk about?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe brain scans I had last night,\u201d Jack explained. \u201cI guess I didn\u2019t actually do myself any brain damage or anything when I broke the apeirochoron&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, <i>that\u2019s<\/i> what they were going on and on about.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2014&#8288;but the scans were abnormal enough that they did an EEG and decided I\u2019m probably a psychic.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra was giving her a <i>duh<\/i> look. \u201cAnd you didn\u2019t <i>know<\/i> that until now?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d She hadn\u2019t believed that kind of stuff existed outside of the adventure books she\u2019d read as a kid, and some of the old sword-and-sorcery vids she\u2019d watched with her cousins. There\u2019d been one strange girl in her fourth-grade class who had claimed it was all real, and that <i>she<\/i> had powers, but had always refused to prove it and had, the next year, claimed she was the secret love child of a popular twentieth century movie star instead. It had <i>all<\/i> seemed ridiculous to Audrey back then, even if sometimes&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c<i>Damn<\/i>, Jack, the hour before Heather died, you were following her around like a worried puppy. Wouldn\u2019t let her out of your <i>sight.<\/i> You looked real uneasy and kept staying super close to her, like you were expecting her to fall over at any second. When she finally did, when I heard you screaming for help, I remember thinking \u2018oh, this is why.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">When Kyra described it like <i>that,<\/i> it was suddenly so obvious. \u201cI&#8288;\u2026 when I was little, my parents had a dog who was epileptic. I could always tell when Balto was about to have a seizure. He died while I was at school and I&#8288;\u2026 they told me I couldn\u2019t possibly have, but I <i>felt<\/i> it when he died. And then when Heather started feeling the same way to me&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou knew the exact moment she died, too, didn\u2019t you?\u201d Kyra asked. \u201cI saw your face change. And then there were other times, I swore I could feel you in my head, and&#8288;\u2026 that night you had the nightmare about Riddick cutting your throat, I could <i>see<\/i> it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe\u2019d never do that,\u201d Jack said, still conscious that Kyra needed Riddick to be a hero and not any kind of threat.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI mean, of <i>course<\/i> not, but that asshole who visited you got you all mixed up for a while. <i>El Imam Abu al-Walid,<\/i>\u201d she sneered, spelling out the full name Jack had described him rattling off when they had first met.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Again, Jack found herself remembering how Fry had seemed to think the <i>el Imam<\/i> part was his first name, calling him by it several times the way he had called her Carolyn, and sometimes seeming to pronounce it as \u201cElmo.\u201d She\u2019d liked Fry a great deal, and had started to think of her as a kind of older sister, but there had been moments&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJudgmental dickhead,\u201d Kyra continued. \u201cHe really thought <i>you<\/i> could <i>enjoy<\/i> killing? Shit.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe was nice to me back then,\u201d Jack found herself protesting. \u201cI mean, before the <i>Kublai<\/i> <i>Khan<\/i>&#8288;\u2026 during the eclipse&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, before he decided to <i>save<\/i> you from <i>yourself.<\/i> Before everybody else who could\u2019a stepped in and made him cut his shit out was gone.\u201d Kyra shook her head. \u201cSorry. It just makes me so mad. I saw how you looked after he got done giving you a talking-to, and I wanted to beat the <i>shit<\/i> out of him.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That, Jack realized, had been the moment a switch flipped in their relationship, and Kyra had begun acting protective toward her&#8288;\u2026 and their minds had started to link up. Two esper roomies, both with PTSD&#8288;\u2026 if the hospital staff had had any idea, she thought, they\u2019d have put them on opposite sides of the building from each other.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, they\u2019d have sent us to opposite sides of the <i>planet<\/i>, even,\u201d Kyra replied to her unspoken words.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHere, I want to try something&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Jack said, and closed her eyes. She began to put together, in her mind, one of the most beautiful and terrifying moments she\u2019d been describing to her sister&#8288;\u2026 the ringed gas giant rising into the sky and slowly creeping closer and closer to the twin suns&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh <i>shit<\/i>, Jack, that\u2019s so <i>beautiful&#8288;\u2026<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It had worked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">After a quick run down to the kitchen for some breakfast\u2014okay, she admitted, a <i>lot<\/i> of breakfast\u2014Jack spent the next hour conjuring more visions for Kyra, different moments on the crash planet that had been particularly stunning. The miles-long damage path behind the remains of the crash ship&#8288;\u2026 the rising of the blue sun as the twin suns were setting&#8288;\u2026 the enormous field of bones&#8288;\u2026 living clouds of tiny monsters eddying against the auburn sky&#8288;\u2026 in its own way, that desolate, dangerous world had been spectacularly beautiful.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She shied away from other visions, though, refusing to show her sister what Ali\u2019s devoured body had looked like, or Shazza in pieces in the screaming maelstrom&#8288;\u2026 for those, she would only share her carefully crafted words. Kyra was still recovering, still <i>delicate<\/i>, and seeing those hideous moments wouldn\u2019t help her stay distracted from her pain. She needed the part of the story that was adventure and excitement&#8288;\u2026 not the gruesome reality.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack told herself that she wasn\u2019t really lying&#8288;\u2026 just being selective about how much of the ugly truth she would divulge. But part of her, even then, knew that was possibly the biggest lie of all. Kyra, however, seemed to want the lie too much to question it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack was able to let Kyra <i>hear<\/i> the cries of the strange creatures on the crash planet, even as she described huddling with the other survivors inside the cargo container and Imam speculating that they used those noises to see. Riddick had located the cutting torch that Shazza had left behind, when they had stopped trying to salvage things and had relocated to the mining settlement, and he had used it carve a passage into one of the largest cargo compartments after they\u2019d ended up trapped in a small one.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe handed Fry the torch and went off scouting right away, while we were trying to block the opening behind us. He could see everything just fine. But there were sounds&#8288;\u2026 <i>in<\/i> the compartment&#8288;\u2026 and we all knew the <i>things<\/i> were already inside.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Fry had told <i>her<\/i> to stay close, but Imam hadn\u2019t repeated the admonition in Arabic. Nobody, not even Jack, had noticed at first that Hassan had wandered off.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Not until Jack heard Riddick speak, his voice pitched low enough that the others around her didn\u2019t seem to hear: \u201cExtremely&#8288;\u2026 bad&#8288;\u2026 timing.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She had convinced herself, until now, that her feeling that the darkness was horribly <i>alive<\/i> was just her overactive imagination. Now she wondered if she\u2019d been feeling the creatures\u2019 presence. What <i>had<\/i> she felt?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Two&#8288;\u2026 no&#8288;\u2026 <i>five<\/i> minds in that stygian darkness. Two human&#8288;\u2026 and three almost incomprehensible aside from ravenous hunger. Hassan, rooted to the spot in terror as he stared up at a horrifying, barely-visible shape above him. Riddick, near him, feeling an almost academic fascination about the creature he could see clearly and a mixture of annoyance and concern for the scared boy just in front of him&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Had she really managed to get that far into people\u2019s heads at the time? Without knowing or understanding?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d heard him tell Hassan \u201cjust don\u2019t run&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Unlike Ali, Hassan would have known enough English to understand that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Or <i>should<\/i> have. As she explored her memories of that moment in greater detail, she thought the boy\u2019s mind had been paralyzed with fear; he could barely think in <i>Arabic,<\/i> much less <i>English.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWow,\u201d Kyra said beside her. \u201cPoor kid&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah,\u201d Jack agreed. \u201cHe was so nice, too. So they were over there, just staring at the thing above them in the darkness. Fry called out to Riddick, and he raised his voice just a little more, so everybody <i>else<\/i> could hear him, and said \u2018don\u2019t stop burning.\u2019 I think he meant they needed to cut another hole in a wall to get us out of that compartment. That\u2019s what Fry and Johns thought, anyway, because she gave him the torch and he gave her his flashlight, and he started cutting another hole. And <i>that<\/i> was when Imam <i>finally<\/i> noticed that Hassan wasn\u2019t in the group anymore.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The boys, she suddenly realized, had <i>liked<\/i> giving him the slip, the whole time she\u2019d known them, and Suleiman\u2014who spoke the best English of the three\u2014had quietly told her back at the mining settlement that they had hardly known him at all before he had been put in charge of their youth group\u2019s Hajj. He\u2019d been a newcomer to their mosque, less member than guest, but had been selected as a replacement guardian after another Imam, who had organized the journey, fell ill; he was only taking them because he\u2019d been on his way to Helion Prime anyway, to return to his wife and young daughter. Perhaps, if they\u2019d known him better, they would have stayed closer to him&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cYou<\/i> knew him better and you cut your <i>wrists<\/i> to get away,\u201d Kyra grumbled beside her. \u201cDamn, this in-your-head shit is getting spooky. Sorry. It\u2019s hard for me to think of him as one of the <i>good guys<\/i> in your story after how I saw him treat you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The courtyard had fallen silent while they talked and Jack shared her memories; she glanced down and it was empty. Before she could pick up the tale again at the moment of Hassan\u2019s terrified flight and death, someone knocked at their door.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Takama, Cedric, and Safiyya were outside, expressions serious.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack had to give them credit; they didn\u2019t hide a thing about the meeting the night before, except just how torn up Ewan had been by all of it. Thanks to the interference of the envoy and Alexander Toombs, she and Kyra were told, it was no longer safe for them to try to introduce Kyra to Tomlin\u2019s former brothers and sisters in arms yet. Out of further concern that the envoy would try to enter their home and provoke an incident with Tafrara, they had contacted all the invited guests and informed them that the reception had been moved to the rented garden Jack and Ewan had used the evening-day before.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The venue change let them also claim that they couldn\u2019t accommodate any guests beyond the ones they had specifically invited, something that would have been preposterous if they had still been hosting it in their enormous home that could\u2014and did, when needed\u2014accommodate the entire <i>ait Meziane<\/i> tribe. The house, which Jack had been giving a hyphenated name in her head until then, belonged to the whole tribe and was used by whichever members happened to be in town at any time.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOfficially, the change has happened because three visiting members of the tribe have fallen ill,\u201d Takama said. \u201cIncluding, should anyone inquire, both of you. It is a summer fever common in the New Atlas region. Perhaps you brought it with you when you came down from the mountains.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe\u2019ve already had it, so we\u2019re immune, but we wouldn\u2019t want to accidentally spread it to our esteemed guests,\u201d Cedric added, lips quirking a little.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe truly <i>are<\/i> sorry that you can\u2019t meet everyone yet, Dihya,\u201d Safiyya told Kyra, reaching out to take her hand. Kyra allowed it, but Jack could feel how much she was struggling with the impulse to pull away from the affection behind it. \u201cBut the last thing we want to have happen is for one of them to decide that Toombs\u2019 story about you is more plausible than the truth and turn you over to him.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah,\u201d Kyra sighed. \u201cEspecially since the only way for me to <i>be<\/i> the girl he says I am&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>The girl I really am&#8288;\u2026<\/i> Jack heard in her head.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2014&#8288;is if I came on the <i>Scarlet Matador,<\/i> which would open up a can of <i>Guinea<\/i> worms all over us.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The image Kyra had in her mind, of those worms, was horrifying. Jack couldn\u2019t help shuddering.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She wondered if Toombs and Logan would stake out the gardens, hoping to get a better look at \u201cDihya\u201d and \u201cTislilel\u201d before the disappointing news that they were \u201csick\u201d was shared&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Hoo boy.<\/i> There it was.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGot an idea,\u201d Jack said, unable to suppress a grin. Four sets of eyebrows went up as she grabbed her tablet and began searching for local hospitality services. The others kept talking as she worked, telling Kyra that they hoped, in a few weeks or months, to make the meeting possible.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>We\u2019ll be long gone before then,<\/i> she thought. Well, <i>she<\/i> would be, anyway. There was always the possibility that Kyra would change her mind and want to stay.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But the vibes coming off her sister didn\u2019t point in that direction.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThere,\u201d she finally said, feeling immense satisfaction. Maybe this would help fix her screw-ups of the evening-day before.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat is it?\u201d Cedric asked, amusement and trepidation in his voice.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI just booked some extra help to take care of your guests this evening-day,\u201d Jack told them, trying not to sound too smug. \u201cNothing major, just carrying <i>hors d\u2019oeuvres<\/i> trays around and stuff, but check them out.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The four young women, whose pictures were on the tablet screen, bore eerie resemblances to her, and to Kyra. It hadn\u2019t been all that difficult to find some who would.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>We really <b>could<\/b> blend in here&#8288;\u2026 hide in plain sight&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>It\u2019s too late for that, Jack&#8288;\u2026<\/i> Kyra\u2019s voice whispered sadly in her head.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGood heavens,\u201d Safiyya said, laughing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMaybe your guests\u2019ll stop thinking we looked a lot like&#8288;\u2026 <i>us<\/i>&#8288;\u2026 when they\u2019re looking at other girls who do, too,\u201d Jack said. \u201cAnd who knows? Maybe Toombs will try to arrest one of them and embarrass the fuck out of himself and that envoy.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNot bad,\u201d Cedric told her, trying to hide a smirk. \u201cI\u2019ll make sure to have some people on hand who can step in if he tries.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The conversation briefly shifted to logistics\u2014when and where Jack should have the four waitresses arrive at the garden\u2014before the plans were fully solidified and the discussion moved to the future.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe\u2019ve settled on a date for the celebration of Brahim\u2019s life,\u201d Takama told them. \u201cHis birthday. It\u2019s four Standard months away, so it will be very early in the fall this year. That will give his former colleagues plenty of time to request leave, and the rest of the tribe time to come here.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSounds lovely,\u201d Kyra said beside her. Jack hoped she was the only one who had heard the slight break in her voice as she said it and had caught the sudden feeling of wistful sadness embedded in it. She was feeling much the same way; if things went according to plan, she\u2019d be most of the way back to Deckard\u2019s World when it took place.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was lunchtime by then. It was also the first time Kyra was officially cleared to go up and down stairs, so it was the first time they both joined the family in the dining room\u2014for food, anyway\u2014since the memorial dinner. The table was huge, but the family, many of whom Jack had only met once before, almost completely filled it. Lalla, Iz\u00eel, and even Usaden all joined them; the hospital morgue, Usaden told them, was closed for another Tangier day while investigators went over everything centimeter by centimeter, trying to discover how eighteen bodies, and all their belongings, had vanished into thin air. Already, to his dismay, two orderlies had been found to have been pilfering personal effects of the deceased, but nothing connected to the missing <i>Matador<\/i> passengers had been among their recovered loot.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack remembered the earrings and the cash she\u2019d isomorphed out of one of the orderlies\u2019 lockers. Those were floating out in the sea by now, but she would need to do a walkabout through New Marrakesh at some point to see if anything had been stolen and fenced in the days prior and could be seen hovering incongruously somewhere in Elsewhere. Even one such artifact could tell the envoy far too much about her and Kyra&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan, Jack noticed, was sitting at the far end of the table, engaged in quiet conversation with an elderly man who looked a great deal like a male version of Tafrara and Safiyya. His grandfather? They were speaking in Tamazight, so she couldn\u2019t eavesdrop. She felt a little embarrassed and guilty over how much she wanted to.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Most of the family, though, was speaking in English, discussing the plans for the celebration of Gavin Brahim Tomlin Meziane\u2019s life, making suggestions, planning out how to send word to various members of the tribe and other far-flung friends. They were deliberately making sure to include her and Kyra in the conversation, under the blithe assumption that both girls would still be on Tangier Prime and participants in the festivities.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack didn\u2019t have the heart to tell them otherwise. Neither, she noticed, did Kyra.<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4039\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4039 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-40\">\u00ab Chapter 40<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4105\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4105 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-42\">Chapter 42 \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=\"42\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4040\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4040 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-41\">\u00ab Chapter 41<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4106\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4106 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-43\">Chapter 43 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5181\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5181 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">42.<br\/>\r\n<u>A Growing Stack of Felonies <\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack didn\u2019t bother keeping a discreet distance between herself and Eve Logan as she shadowed the merc. There was no need. She was, after all, in Elsewhere as she did it. It was more fun that way, hiking practically by Logan\u2019s side; she got to hear everything the merc was muttering as she walked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIdiot! Absolute idiot! He\u2019s gonna get us kicked off this planet&#8288;\u2026 not that I\u2019d be sad to leave this teetotaler shithole&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Only when Logan hurried up the flight of steps that led to New Marrakesh\u2019s courthouse did Jack stay behind; there were no such steps in Elsewhere for her to climb. It didn\u2019t matter too much; she knew exactly what the merc was doing inside.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her honey trap had caught Toombs; now Logan had to bail him out of jail.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra had stayed back at the <i>ait Meziane<\/i> house, not wanting to be a phantom attendee of a party that had, originally, been clandestinely in her honor. She intended to spend the evening-day researching other opportunities that could replace the one she had lost, and that her false ID qualified her for. But Jack hadn\u2019t been able to stay away.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She had begun worrying too much, about the four women she\u2019d thrown into Toombs\u2019 path, to just let everything play out without watching. Elsewhere and U1 were similar enough in terrain\u2014most places\u2014that following everyone back to the garden, invisibly, hadn\u2019t been hard at all. She\u2019d felt like the star of one of the <i>Ginny Lane, Kid Spy<\/i> novels she\u2019d voraciously devoured at the age of nine as she did it. Ginny\u2019s cases would have been <i>so<\/i> much easier if <i>she<\/i> could have conducted surveillance from another universe. She wouldn\u2019t have needed so much of the tech Audrey\u2019s dad had insisted didn\u2019t actually exist.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>She had antigravity shoes, which don\u2019t exist, but never once used a Master Key, which does&#8288;\u2026 huh.<\/i> Of course, using a Master Key <i>was<\/i> a felony. Jack had, months ago, already discovered how different adventures were in reality, compared to those safe, sanitized books where every case was solved, and every caper foiled, within a hundred pages.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The party hadn\u2019t even begun yet. The garden was still being set up by the complex\u2019s regular staff. Cedric was greeting men and women in military uniforms outside of the garden complex itself and directing them inside. Apparently, among the officers Tomlin had served with, early was on time, on time was <i>late<\/i>, and there was absolutely nothing fashionable about being late. The wait staff was still arriving, intermingled with the officers they would soon be serving, when one of the four waitresses Jack had added hurried up to Cedric&#8288;\u2026 and Toombs pounced.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was one of the two who looked a great deal like Kyra, technically not even <i>his<\/i> bounty as much as Logan\u2019s. In person, the resemblance was even more uncanny, although the woman had straight black hair and bangs instead of Kyra\u2019s wild, dark brown tangle. But Kyra had been wearing a long, black wig with bangs at Tomlin\u2019s memorial, when Toombs and Logan had gotten a brief look at her and been told she was Ewan\u2019s cousin Dihya. The waitress was almost at the entryway, and had begun asking Cedric in Arabic if she was late, when Toombs emerged from concealment between two ornamental topiaries and grabbed her from behind.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAin\u2019t happenin\u2019, Miss Wittier-Collins,\u201d he said, grasping the crown of her hair and pulling as if to remove a wig. \u201cYou\u2019re comin\u2019 with me, an\u2019 you\u2019re gonna tell me where your friends&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The waitress, who hadn\u2019t understood a word of what Toombs was saying\u2014none of the women Jack had hired spoke English\u2014obligingly picked that moment to scream.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Within seconds, Toombs was surrounded by several active members of Tangier Prime\u2019s military service and the two off-duty police officers Cedric had asked to join the event. While Tafrara comforted the disheveled waitress once they\u2019d pulled Toombs away from her, <i>he<\/i> shouted about how they were harboring a fugitive from the law and would pay for interfering with an officer conducting an arrest. Seeing <i>him<\/i> arrested on the spot, by two <i>actual<\/i> police officers, left Jack glad that nobody could hear her whoop of victory in Elsewhere.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou stupid son of a bitch,\u201d Logan had quietly said from behind another topiary.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Seriously? You\u2019re hiding behind a bush shaped like a camel and calling him stupid?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A military captain, a few years older than and almost as handsome as Ewan, had taken the young waitress in hand, charming away her tears and asking her if she would accompany him to the police station, promising to stay with her and hold her hand the whole time she gave her statement to the authorities. Jack could see the young woman going from thinking that this was one of the worst days of her life to the starry-eyed hope that it might turn into one of the best.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Do the men of this planet just breathe in suave from birth?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Toombs, meanwhile, was staring in outraged confusion at the second Kyra doppelganger, who had just walked up and begun asking Safiyya for directions to the party. This one looked even <i>more<\/i> like Kyra than the first. <i>Both<\/i> of Jack\u2019s own lookalikes had arrived with her, one shorter and much curvier than her and the other with long auburn hair braided in an updo that would be impossible to pull off with any wig. Several of Tomlin\u2019s former colleagues had begun murmuring to each other, gesturing to the waitresses and to Toombs as they did.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>He just lost all credibility with the military officers who witnessed this,<\/i> Jack thought with delight as some of them offered to escort the new doppelgangers inside. <i>Everybody at the party is gonna hear just how full of shit his accusations turned out to be. And they\u2019re all gonna see how easy it is for a New Marrakesh woman to meet the descriptions he\u2019s been throwing around&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But, she admitted as she waited for Logan to re-emerge from the courthouse, it wouldn\u2019t be enough. Kyra was right. Their mere presence on Tangier Prime, if ever proved, would reveal that they had to have traveled on the <i>Scarlet Matador,<\/i> and that anyone who had given them shelter might know too much about that accident to live.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They still had to leave the planet, and they could only ever possibly return if they broke their trails too thoroughly for any connection between their visits to ever be made.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Thinking about that filled her with strange, hollow pain. This world, she thought, could have become Kyra\u2019s home, maybe even hers too, if only&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Logan and Toombs, fortunately, emerged from the courthouse right as she was in danger of wallowing in the unfairness of it all. Although the two mercs walked side by side, Jack could <i>feel,<\/i> even across the threshold between worlds, just how angry they both were with each other.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;and don\u2019t even get started on me about them bein\u2019 locals,\u201d Toombs was growling as they came into hearing range. \u201cI was goddamn set up and nobody\u2019ll say who by.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNobody <i>knows,<\/i> damn it,\u201d Logan fumed right back at him. \u201cThe women were hired last minute to work for the party, but not by the Meziane family. There\u2019s no record of who contracted them or where the payment came from, but the garden staff was expecting them. Whoever arranged this&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c<i>He<\/i> did. He\u2019s <i>here.<\/i> This proves what I\u2019ve been tellin\u2019 ya.\u201d Toombs scratched at his neck. \u201cSon of a bitch flushed us out&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI hate to break it to you, especially now, but you\u2019re wrong,\u201d Logan said, pulling out her comm and cuing something up on it. \u201cI got an alert about this from the Merc Network while I was waiting for you to get processed and released. Hot off the damned <i>presses<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack, who had fallen into step with the mercs as they came in range, didn\u2019t need to look over Toombs\u2019 shoulder to see what he was about to watch. She\u2019d spent most of the morning-day and part of the overnoon sleeping period building the video file, using extremely powerful, and even more extremely illegal, programs to do it. The programs had just needed some archival footage of Riddick and a few minutes of posing and talking on camera from her and Kyra, and they had assembled everything with such speed and precision that Jack had been left wondering if the people of Helion Prime were right about AIs after all. Even so, it had taken hours to get just right. Toombs\u2019 face, to her delight, became more and more confused, and angry, as he watched.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">On the little screen, in long-shot but looking as real as if they were standing in front of the mercs, she and Kyra were dancing, clad in slinky little dresses, on either side of Richard B. Riddick, touching his chest and arms suggestively as he finished a drink and said something that made them laugh. They were surrounded by other revelers out on a public street at night, the glittering buildings in the background indicating that the street party was on&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c<i>Shakti Four?<\/i> What the fuck are they doing on <i>Shakti Four?<\/i>\u201d Toombs looked as if he was about to break Logan\u2019s comm. She grabbed it back out of his hand before he could.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt was the spring equinox on Shakti Four two weeks ago,\u201d Logan told him. \u201cBig party. The ship that took off for there was the <i>Barsoom.<\/i> It boarded and launched while we were fussing over the <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i> and <i>Bon Temps<\/i> passengers, and it landed there just in time for a hemisphere-wide shindig. I checked the <i>Barsoom<\/i>\u2019s manifest and there were three last-minute passengers. A man and two women. It\u2019s them. We\u2019ve been chasing wild geese here.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFuck. I <i>hate<\/i> that guy.\u201d Toombs scratched at his head, making Jack glad that whatever vermin his fingers were chasing down couldn\u2019t jump across the threshold and onto her. \u201cWe thought he was distractin\u2019 you from the passengers on the <i>Matador.<\/i> Then, when they all cleared, we thought maybe it was a diversion to keep me away from the <i>Bon<\/i> fuckin\u2019 <i>Temps&#8288;\u2026<\/i>&#8288;\u201d His mimicry of Logan\u2019s correct French pronunciation was childishly mocking. \u201cAnd by the time we were done with that, and thinkin\u2019 maybe we\u2019d missed somethin\u2019 on the <i>Matador<\/i> \u2019cause no cameras glitched over by the Pretentious Fuckin\u2019 Good Times&#8288;\u2026 he and his girlies were gone on a whole \u2019nother ship. Son of a bitch. The big ones are s\u2019posed to be <i>dumb&#8288;\u2026<\/i>&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack didn\u2019t bother hiding the smug grin that had bloomed over her face. The false trail had worked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It wasn\u2019t even something she could really take much credit for, aside from a few moments\u2019 research into which ships she and Kyra could have departed on instead of the <i>Matador<\/i>. Her dad had told her about several highly dangerous worm programs that still showed up from time to time on the networks, some of which could be tamed and even trained by people with the right codes and sent on new targeted missions. He\u2019d showed her the codes, probably unaware that they would stay in her head forever. Now two of those worms had been liberated from law enforcement containment and, after a little bit of domestication and instruction, one was burrowing its way through the Merc Network, laying bits of false trail and erasing contradictory data as it spread from node to node. In a few weeks, the entire merc network, from one end of the Federacy to the other, would carry her video&#8288;\u2026 and the accuracy of the information about her and Kyra would be massively diminished, too. Another, smaller worm was making minute changes to the <i>Barsoom<\/i>\u2019s flight manifest records throughout the Federacy.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>And,<\/i> Jack thought ruefully, <i>by doing all that, I\u2019m technically a Class 1 Cyberterrorist now&#8288;\u2026<\/i> The felonies kept stacking up somehow.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d gone back to the old apartment building to pull those stunts, wanting to make sure that none of it could <i>ever<\/i> be traced back to the <i>ait Meziane<\/i> house. That trip could have caused a few problems of its own, but Ewan was the only one who saw her and Kyra sneaking back into the house, and he\u2019d kept his mouth shut even if he hadn\u2019t looked thrilled about it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDoes that mean we\u2019re leaving?\u201d Logan asked. \u201cFinally?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSoon as Pritchard turns back up,\u201d Toombs said. \u201cSon of a bitch still has my Master Key. Where the fuck is he <i>today<\/i>?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Logan tapped her comm a few times. \u201cStill somewhere south of here on the coast. The&#8288;\u2026 Shady La&#8288;\u2014 damn it, another brothel. How is he <i>paying<\/i> for all this shit?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack snickered, remembering the motorcycle pirate that Ewan had given \u201cPritchard\u2019s\u201d comm to. Apparently, the ride it had gone on was a wild one indeed. <i>I should ask him what that guy\u2019s story is&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMaybe that big score he insisted was about to come through did, and he just didn\u2019t wanna share it,\u201d Toombs grumbled. \u201cFucker\u2019ll be back when he finishes blowin\u2019 through his winnin\u2019s. Meantime, you get anywhere with his account?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNope. His password clue was \u2018fuck you, Alex.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Toombs snorted. \u201cAsshole knows me, I\u2019ll give him that. Lemme try.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Logan started to hand over her comm again and then stopped, holding it out of Toombs\u2019 reach for a moment. \u201cYou break it, and you\u2019re buying me a brand new one with twice the memory.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, yeah&#8288;\u2026 gimme.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Now Jack did watch over Toombs\u2019 shoulder as he pulled up Pritchard\u2019s Merc Network login. She paid close attention as he entered the other man\u2019s User ID, committing it to memory.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow many tries do I get?\u201d Toombs asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Logan rolled her eyes, <i>you should know this<\/i> written on her face. \u201cThree. Then the system locks you out for an hour.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Toombs began to type.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"center-block\"><tt>BOOBS<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh for God\u2019s sake,\u201d Logan grumbled. \u201cAre you <i>twelve?<\/i> You know damn well you gotta use capital and lower-case letters, <i>and<\/i> numbers, <i>and<\/i> a minimum of eight.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFine,\u201d Toombs snickered, changing his guess.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"center-block\"><tt>B1gB00bs<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019re really not funny,\u201d Logan told him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Toombs seemed genuinely surprised that his guess hadn\u2019t worked. His next one was obscene enough to make Logan smack the back of his head.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019re just wasting guesses here, fergodsake&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe\u2019s spent the last how-the-fuck long goin\u2019 from brothel to brothel and you think this password would be out of character?\u201d Toombs asked, smirking as she rolled her eyes. \u201cYou don\u2019t even know what he pays those places to let him do. Count yourself lucky.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTrust me, anything <i>you<\/i> find gross, I don\u2019t wanna know about.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnnnnd&#8288;\u2026 now I\u2019m locked out. So much for his favorite food groups&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhy are you even bothering, anyway? Let\u2019s just get the hell off this rock.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe owes me a Master Key.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo what?\u201d Logan groused. \u201cYou\u2019ve got his Cam-Jam. Call it even.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMaybe I will. What\u2019s the word from Her Majesty?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh. Yeah. \u2018You\u2019re fired.\u2019\u201d Logan frowned at him. \u201cThat was for <i>both<\/i> of us, by the way. I\u2019m guilty by goddamn association. Thanks for that, asshole. I had a perfect record \u2019til you came along.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c\u2019Til <i>Riddick<\/i> came along and took a likin\u2019 to the piece of tail you were huntin\u2019, you mean.\u201d Toombs handed her back her comm. \u201cNot a scratch on it, see? Does that mean you don\u2019t have to finish goin\u2019 through the comm records for the morgue staff?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A chill moved through Jack.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, she said she\u2019d have someone else do that,\u201d Logan grumbled. \u201cI managed to get your charges reduced to misdemeanor assault. The Meziane family was talking about pressing <i>stalking<\/i> charges, saying you had intended to assault a visiting relative\u2014way to be <i>subtle,<\/i> by the way\u2014but I talked them out of it. Plead no contest, pay the damned fine, and we can get off this planet <i>today.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDamn right. You wanna come with me to Shakti Four when we do? They\u2019re a <i>civilized<\/i> world that knows how to serve <i>booze.<\/i>\u201d Toombs waggled his brows.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJesus Christ, you just can\u2019t let go of him, can you? You\u2019re gonna end up like <i>Johns.<\/i>\u201d Logan shook her head. \u201cMaybe. Gotta check on the status of the Wittier-Collins case back on New Dartmouth, first, make sure the bounty hasn\u2019t been pulled. There\u2019s a bunch of pressure on the government about that case from both sides. Half the planet wants to see her hang and the other half wants her crowned as a <i>rebel princess<\/i>. Weird damned world.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThey\u2019re <i>all<\/i> weird. Whether or not she\u2019s good for the bounty, we catch up to her and we find the <i>big<\/i> prize. I\u2019m still willin\u2019 to split the take with you&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack turned away from the pair, on a new mission. Slipping back into U1 behind an ornamental screen, she headed for the transit station where she\u2019d rented a locker for the next month. Once she had liberated the bearer cards inside, she went straight to a nearby tech shop, hurriedly purchasing the equipment she needed, and then started back for the Rif. The two mercs would be gone in the next few hours, the next day at most, and she no longer needed to dog their steps. She had something much more urgent to attend to.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">As much as she didn\u2019t like going back to the apartment where Kyra had been stabbed\u2014by a merc she now knew was really named Pritchard\u2014it was better to pull some of her more illegal shenanigans there than near or in the <i>ait Meziane<\/i> house. And anyway, Kyra was using her tablet to plan her next moves. The two of them had agreed, unhappily, that neither one of them should know where the other was going, just in case one of them got caught. Jack spent an hour setting things up on the new tablet, pulling in some of her more illegal resources, before she was ready to get started. Fortunately, the reception for Tomlin\u2019s service colleagues was a lunch-to-dinner affair and she had until full dark to get back to the house without anyone noticing she\u2019d been gone.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The first issue to deal with, she decided, was the morgue staff comm records.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sometime after the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation had informed the morgue of their intention to claim the <i>Matador<\/i> passengers\u2019 bodies, after all, Usaden had called Ewan to warn him. That call linked the Meziane family, even if only tenuously, to the subsequent disappearance of all eighteen of those bodies. It needed to cease to exist.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It took another hour to locate the cache that was being sifted through, which technically belonged to law enforcement but was being handled by Quin&#173;tessa Corporation staff and their associates. Once she found her way in, she began searching. She had the advantage of knowing what she was looking for, while the staff did not. It still took longer than she liked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Usaden had been smart; no calls had been made from the morgue to the Meziane household or Ewan\u2019s private comm number. But his private comm showed a call to Ewan\u2019s, approximately an hour after he had finished talking to the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation on the morgue\u2019s line, that lasted two minutes. Worse, a recording of the call had been downloaded and logged.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was going to have to fix that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHere\u2019s the problem with trying to steal something, or kill somebody, and not have people realize that you were targeting something or someone specific,\u201d Riddick had told her one \u201cnight\u201d on the skiff, after Imam had fallen asleep and they could speak freely without incurring the holy man\u2019s censure. The cleric was already trying to limit their conversations; talking shop about felonies would have sent him raging if he\u2019d known. But Jack would have been happy to listen to Riddick talk about <i>anything,<\/i> and the world of crime was what he knew best. \u201cYou do a surgical strike, just taking that one thing, or taking out that one person, and you\u2019ve told everybody way too much about the reason behind it. And how to find <i>you,<\/i> or your employer.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d she\u2019d asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWell&#8288;\u2026 say I was hired to get a new piece of military tech that some developer had at home in his safe. I go in, crack open the safe, steal the tech, and leave&#8288;\u2026 and everybody knows that the tech was the target. They know whoever stole it was hired by someone who wanted to use it, or maybe stop its developer from using it. So there\u2019s a small suspect list, the fences who deal in that kind of tech are put under surveillance, countermeasures go into place to minimize the damage the tech can do&#8288;\u2026 everybody\u2019s anticipating the next steps of someone who\u2019d steal, or use, <i>that tech<\/i>. And anyone who\u2019d want to is a person of interest.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack had nodded. Anything to keep him talking, but it really was fascinating. Riddick was, after all, one of the only people who\u2019d ever defeated one of her dad\u2019s security systems, and he\u2019d defeated <i>six<\/i> of them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBut what if, instead, I went in like a normal burglar? Emptied out the safe, not just of that piece of tech but all the other documents and valuables inside. Stole the wife\u2019s jewelry. Took the electronics. Made off with some of the smaller artworks. Made it look like my goal was just to grab anything valuable and portable and the tech just <i>happened<\/i> to get caught up with all that. Now they don\u2019t know what I was really after. Now, as far as they know, I don\u2019t even know what I <i>have.<\/i> Now they gotta put every fence in town under surveillance. If they want the tech back, they gotta hope that some of the other things I stole start showing up on the black market and can be traced back to one source. The whole way they look for me, and everything I took, changes&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">If she just deleted that one recording, Jack realized, she would draw all the attention to it, to that one call and the people who had made and received it. But if a wider array of materials went missing or got damaged&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Thank you, Riddick, wherever you are.<\/i> She hoped it was somewhere nice&#8288;\u2026 just not Shakti IV.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack checked the log. Eve Logan hadn\u2019t been replaced yet, and she\u2019d only just finished going through the records from the morgue itself. Morgue employees\u2019 private comm calls, however&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;had all been stored in a separate folder. Personal comms required more warrants, many of which were still being signed, filed, and served.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack replaced the contents of every single recording within the folder with pure white noise. Then, carefully, she reversed the metadata of Usaden\u2019s call to Ewan, making it look like <i>Ewan<\/i> had called <i>Usaden.<\/i> For good measure, she canceled forty of the warrants that were still being processed, including the one for Usaden\u2019s comm, and erased all evidence that they had ever been filed. A quick side-trip using another Ghost Code, into the comms servicer the Meziane family used, and their records also indicated that Ewan had called Usaden that morning instead of the reverse. Much less suspicious.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She listened to a few of the other comm conversations Ewan and Usaden had had in recent weeks, wondering if the Meziane family even knew such things were being kept on file, picking the most innocuous and extemporaneous of them and replacing the comms servicer\u2019s offending audio file with it. If the file got downloaded again and another warrant was served, all anyone would hear was Ewan asking his cousin to settle a debate he and his\u2014literal\u2014wingman had about when and how rigor mortis set in after death. Ewan had apparently won the debate.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Weird thing to be arguing about,<\/i> she thought. Something to do with an antique vid called <i>Clerks<\/i>&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There had been another, actual call from Ewan to Usaden several hours later, which no one from Quin&#173;tessa or law enforcement had logged or requisitioned. Yet. If they ever did, it would damn the whole family. That one, at least, Jack could erase completely from the system. She spent some extra time making sure that all traces of that call had been eradicated.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">By the time she finished, night had settled in. She still needed to hack into Pritchard\u2019s account in the merc network, but that was something she could safely do back in her and Kyra\u2019s room in the <i>ait Meziane<\/i> house. She wouldn\u2019t be committing any Class 1 Felonies by logging into a dead merc\u2019s account, especially since, she realized, she already knew his password. She wiped her new equipment and reset it to factory specs, hopefully erasing all evidence that it had been used to commit several cybercrimes, and then bundled everything up to take home.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Someone had always escorted her into the <i>ait Meziane<\/i> house, she realized as she reached the locked gates. Even when Ewan had caught them sneaking back during the overnoon sleeping hours earlier that day\u2014and he\u2019d never said why <i>he<\/i> was up at that time\u2014he\u2019d simply opened each of the gates for them and it hadn\u2019t occurred to her that they might have needed keys, even though the courtyard level was under six meters of Elsewhere\u2019s high tide at the time and bypassing them hadn\u2019t been an option. Fortunately, the next tide had yet to arrive. She passed through the gates\u2019 corridor on the Elsewhere side, wondering if she should ask for keys or if that would be a bad idea, given how soon she was going to be leaving.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It had gotten later than she\u2019d realized; the party had already broken up. Takama, Safiyya, Cedric, and Ewan were arguing in the dining room as she entered the courtyard. She slipped back across the threshold into Elsewhere before they could see or hear her, approaching them as a phantom.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;can\u2019t keep just going off on her own like this,\u201d Safiyya was saying. The presence of General Toal, seated nearby and diplomatically staying out of the fray, explained why she was saying it in English.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt is what she is accustomed to doing,\u201d Takama said. \u201cThat is a habit that we may have trouble breaking.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Kyra? Listen in with me. You need to hear this.<\/i> After a second, she could feel her sister paying attention to what she was seeing and hearing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBut if she is to live with us&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIs she?\u201d Cedric asked. \u201cGavin said she told him she had somewhere she needed to go. What makes you believe either of them plan to stay past Dihya\u2019s recovery? Have you even invited them to yet? Much less heard them say yes?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThey are <i>children!\u201d<\/i> Safiyya protested.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cD\u2019you think, after everything they\u2019ve been through and done, that they\u2019re just going to let any of us treat them like children?\u201d Ewan asked. \u201cYou know what I was like at that age, and I was still fairly sheltered. They already know how to survive without&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c<i>Survive?<\/i> Dihya was <i>stabbed!\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd Tizzy killed the man who did it,\u201d Cedric observed, putting a gentle hand on his wife\u2019s shoulder.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack winced even as Safiyya did.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMy point is,\u201d Ewan continued, \u201cyou\u2019re not going to convince them that you\u2019re looking out for them by treating them like kids. Especially since they\u2019re used to us <i>not<\/i> doing so.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cEven if that was&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cEven if that was wrong, <i>yes.<\/i> I do <i>know<\/i> that. But if you turn around and start&#8288;\u2026 <i>infantilizing<\/i> them now&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Safiyya gasped, staring at her son in offended shock.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2014&#8288;it might just be the last time we ever see them.\u201d He looked around at his parents and aunt. \u201cI\u2019m <i>serious.<\/i> For God\u2019s sake, they\u2019re high-powered <i>espers<\/i> with experience living on the streets and cracking security systems, <i>and<\/i> the ability to move into a whole other <i>universe<\/i> at <i>will.<\/i> You couldn\u2019t keep me out of trouble, and I\u2019m a baseline human and your <i>son.<\/i> Even if you <i>were<\/i> their parents and <i>had<\/i> the authority, how could you possibly think to <i>ground<\/i> someone who can do all <i>that?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou can\u2019t,\u201d Takama agreed. \u201cNot without locking them up in a way that they can\u2019t escape, even with all those advantages.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For a moment, as Jack felt her heart plummeting, no one spoke.<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4040\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4040 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-41\">\u00ab Chapter 41<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4106\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4106 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-43\">Chapter 43 \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=\"43\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4041\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4041 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-42\">\u00ab Chapter 42<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4107\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4107 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-44\">Chapter 44 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5184\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5184 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">43.<br\/>\r\n<u>What Cannot Be Unlearned<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The silence grew more and more painful as the moment dragged on. Takama\u2019s words hung over everyone. Jack, standing in two thresholds at once, could barely breathe.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Oh fuck, Jack,<\/i> she heard in her head. Kyra wasn\u2019t any happier about this than she was.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo,\u201d Ewan finally said, looking from one face to another. \u201c<i>No.<\/i> Don\u2019t even start <i>thinking<\/i> about it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe may have to&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d Safiyya began.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat the hell are you planning on <i>doing,<\/i> exactly?\u201d he demanded. \u201cCasting a circle of salt around them? Trapping them in a bottle or a lamp? Locking them in a tower above Elsewhere\u2019s high tide line? Do you think they will <i>ever<\/i> believe you\u2019re on their side again&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe <i>are<\/i> on their side&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNot if you start thinking of imprisoning them! Tislilel hasn\u2019t even confided her <i>real name<\/i> to us yet and you would completely shatter her trust&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe just want to keep them safe,\u201d his mother protested.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDon\u2019t make me remind you of what happened the last time someone tried to keep her <i>safely<\/i> locked up,\u201d Ewan told her, his voice shaking a little. \u201cLook at her arms if you\u2019ve forgotten.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack glanced down at her wrists. She\u2019d honestly begun to forget the scars were there, markings of a suicide attempt that now seemed to have happened eons ago to another girl. She\u2019d have to figure out what to do about them when she was heading home. There would be a lot of questions waiting for her on the other end of her journey, and that could be an especially difficult one to answer.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat would you suggest we do instead? Let them run wild?\u201d For whatever reason, Safiyya seemed to be the most upset.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Her first-born son\u2019s been dead for less than two weeks,<\/i> Jack reminded herself.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>She can\u2019t replace him with us, even if we were staying,<\/i> Kyra countered in her head.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhy do you believe she\u2019s running wild?\u201d Ewan asked his mother. \u201cA child prodigy may still be a child, but she\u2019s also still a <i>prodigy<\/i> and if we stop respecting that&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI just want to know where she <i>is!\u201d<\/i> Safiyya\u2019s voice broke on the words.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack winced at the desperate pain in her voice and stepped back out of their line of sight, isomorphing into U1 before re-entering the dining room doorway. \u201cRight here,\u201d she said. She\u2019d gone for her calmest tone, but it sounded more <i>depressed<\/i> than calm.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Four alarmed faces stared at her; General Toal\u2019s expression remained deadpan. She could see, in Ewan\u2019s face in particular, the knowledge that she had probably heard everything.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe Quin&#173;tessa Corporation envoy fired Toombs and Logan after the scuffle at the garden,\u201d she told them, her voice still heavier than she\u2019d planned, before any of them could get over their shock and start in on her. That dual revelation seemed to shock them all speechless anew. \u201cThey\u2019re planning on leaving Tangier Prime. Back during the overnoon sleep period, I sent out a fake vid that makes it look like Kyra and I are on Shakti Four with Riddick, and they\u2019ve fallen for it, so that\u2019s where they\u2019re planning to go now. Before they were fired, Logan was reviewing recordings of all outgoing calls made by morgue employees before the <i>Matador<\/i> bodies disappeared. I spent the last five hours hiding the evidence that Usaden called Ewan and took a call from him a few hours later.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She kept her words calm, informative, trying to use the debriefing style that both Ewan and his older brother had sometimes used. Silence greeted her. Almost everyone looked stricken; General Toal\u2019s face remained inscrutable.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIf anyone ever asks,\u201d she said, turning to Ewan and meeting his gaze, \u201c<i>you<\/i> called Usaden that morning-day, not the other way around, and only once. You wanted him to settle a bet you had with Didier over how and when rigor mortis sets in.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan blinked, his eyes widening slightly. The call <i>had<\/i> been in Tamazight, but her translator program had helped her wade through it. Still, she could see him wondering how much of the language she\u2019d picked up.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack shrugged at him. \u201cIt was the only other recording I could find that was short enough and didn\u2019t reference times or events that could get flagged. I hope all of you <i>agreed<\/i> to your service provider recording your calls, because it looks like they have recordings of everything.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTizzy&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Cedric began softly.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She couldn\u2019t let him continue. She didn\u2019t dare. Part of her desperately wanted to apologize to them, beg their forgiveness, let them take control of the moment and all the moments to come, but she couldn\u2019t. In only a few more days, she had to leave, and if she let them tie her to them\u2014and it would be <i>so easy<\/i> to\u2014she might never go. This was, probably, as good a moment as she would ever get to sever that forming knot before it could tighten into something inescapable.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI didn\u2019t want to commit any Class 1 Felony cybercrimes using your network address or geolocation,\u201d she told all five of them instead, \u201cso I went back to the apartment. It\u2019s paid through the end of the month, anyway.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Takama closed her eyes and nodded, sighing. Jack had the odd feeling that General Toal was struggling to hide a smile.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI also learned, from shadowing Toombs, that the real name of the man I killed&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d she faltered for a second as Safiyya flinched \u201c&#8288;\u2014&#8288;is Pritchard. They worked together sometimes. He was borrowing Toombs\u2019 Master Key when he broke into our apartment, and I guess Toombs was holding onto <i>his<\/i> \u2018Cam-Jam\u2019 as collateral. I looked it up. It\u2019s merc slang for a long-range <i>camera jammer.<\/i> I think Pritchard may have been the person who brought the bomb into the spaceport, but I won\u2019t know for sure until I crack open his Merc Network account and take a look. So I\u2019m gonna go do that, and then I\u2019m gonna go to bed. Good night.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d kept her voice calm, almost flat, through the whole speech. She\u2019d tried not to let any of the hurt show, the sadness, the growing awareness that the harder they tried to hold onto her, the more she\u2019d want to run. She <i>hoped<\/i> none of that had managed to come through, but her voice had felt so <i>heavy<\/i> the whole time.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Before they could say anything, she turned and started across the courtyard.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTislilel,\u201d Ewan called after her, \u201chave you eaten anything?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She turned around again. He was standing in the doorway, poised to follow her. She could feel him struggling not to, struggling not to say dozens of things that could never be undone if he gave them voice. She shook her head at him, realizing for the first time that she hadn\u2019t eaten since before they had all left for the officers\u2019 reception, and she had followed behind them as a phantom.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTafrara and I will bring something up to you,\u201d He managed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThank you.\u201d She wanted to say so much more to him. <i>Thank you for trusting me. Thank you for defending me. Thank you for protecting me from myself on the beach of Elsewhere&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u2026&#8288;I love you&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">If she said another word, she\u2019d unravel everything. Instead, she turned away and headed into the opposite side of the <i>ait Meziane<\/i> house.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>If they did lock us up,<\/i> she found herself thinking, <i>how would we get out? Our room is on the third floor. Unless we floated out of the house during high tide, we can\u2019t pass through the walls without falling through the floor.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Could<\/i> they?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She hadn\u2019t been able to follow Logan into the courthouse, and had missed the beginning of her argument with Toombs, because the courthouse steps hadn\u2019t existed in Elsewhere. But was there any way to be more selective? To let some of U1\u2019s solid surfaces prevail while others were excluded?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was still on the ground level, Elsewhere\u2019s sands beneath her feet on the other side of the threshold, she thought as she reached the staircase up to the second story. If she wanted to test her idea, this was the best place to try. She isomorphed over, keeping U1 visible as a shadowy overlay, and contemplated the lowest stairstep.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I am in Elsewhere, completely in Elsewhere&#8288;\u2026 the objects of U1 are not with me. I can pass through them, but&#8288;\u2026 the surfaces of U1 will elevate me&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her foot dropped through the top of the first step when she tried to put her weight on it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Fuck.<\/i> She took a deep breath and concentrated harder. <i>I didn\u2019t learn to isomorph the first time I tried to, either&#8288;\u2026<\/i> This was too important to give up yet.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She repeated her mantra, focusing on the idea that the solid surfaces of U1, the floors and stairs, should support her weight even when her body was all the way in Elsewhere&#8288;\u2026 when she <i>wanted<\/i> them to. That the step, although it didn\u2019t exist in Elsewhere, could still override the laws of gravity of that other \u2019verse, at least where she was concerned&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She tried stepping onto it again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It held her weight.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Carefully, one step after another, she began to climb the staircase, barely daring to breathe.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTizzy?\u201d Cedric\u2019s voice called from behind her. She stopped, heart lurching, and turned to look at him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Was she actually in U1? Could he see her on the stairs? Was that why the steps were holding her up?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But Cedric was looking around, walking toward the staircase but not focusing on her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIs she upstairs already?\u201d Safiyya asked, entering the room with General Toal.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cLooks like,\u201d Cedric told her. He took his wife\u2019s arm as she started toward the stairs herself. \u201cYou need to let Ewan and Tafrara handle this. After everything she may have heard you and Takama saying.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBut\u2014\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe\u2019ll only make things worse right now. Let them talk to her first, m\u2019love?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI recommend this as well,\u201d General Toal agreed. \u201cTonight was, unfortunately, not handled well. Especially now that we know where she was, and what she was doing for your family\u2019s sake.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Safiyya looked like she wanted to argue with him, but then she swallowed and nodded, her face crumpling. Cedric drew her into a hug. Their grief was too painful for Jack to look at long.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She turned and finished climbing the steps. They hadn\u2019t known she was there; what she had tried was <i>working.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Kyra, can you feel what I\u2019m doing?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Yeah. Good thought. You\u2019ll need to teach me how. Now get up here.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra pulled her into a hug the moment she entered their room. They stood still for a long moment, embracing fiercely and only finally letting go when Sebby climbed onto their shoulders, tickling their chins to get their attention.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe can\u2019t stay much longer,\u201d her sister whispered, sadness in her face. \u201cI love them and I know you do, too&#8288;\u2026 but they don\u2019t get how much danger they\u2019re putting themselves in, trying to look out for us.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah,\u201d Jack reluctantly agreed, wishing there was some argument that could be mustered against that, but knowing there wasn\u2019t. \u201cDid you find anything?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGot a few possibilities,\u201d Kyra said with a wry grin. \u201cCan you help me write the cover letters? You\u2019re pretty good at that.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They were finishing the first cover letter when Tafrara and Ewan knocked on the door. Kyra closed down the tablet and put it away while Jack walked over to let them in.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">True to Ewan\u2019s word, they had brought up food. The moment its aroma hit Jack\u2019s nose, she realized how ravenous she was. \u201cThank you. <i>So<\/i> much. Do you two want to come in?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They did, but the next few minutes were a little awkward. Jack tried to concentrate on stuffing her face, especially any time the urge to apologize surfaced again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I\u2019m going my own way in just a few days more,<\/i> she reminded herself. <i>They\u2019d better get used to it now. <b>I\u2019d<\/b> better get used to it now.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra, however, needed firmer answers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cLook,\u201d she said, her eyes moving between Ewan and Tafrara. \u201cWe love all of you, we really do, but I gotta know if someone\u2019s about to start locking us in here or anything.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan winced, looking ashamed, even though he was the one who had argued vehemently against it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOur parents are very sorry,\u201d Tafrara began.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSorry they considered it, or sorry we overheard them considering it?\u201d Kyra asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cA bit of both,\u201d Ewan muttered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Tafrara shot him a <i>look<\/i>. \u201cIt\u2019s just&#8288;\u2026 neither of you should be on your own, not at your ages,\u201d she told them. \u201cYou shouldn\u2019t <i>have<\/i> to take care of yourselves so much.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra looked over at Jack. <i>Don\u2019t rise to that,<\/i> she sent through the air before turning to look at Tafrara again. \u201cYou know neither of us chose to be in these situations, right?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBut that just makes it more important for you to have someone&#8288;\u2014\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMaking the few choices we have left <i>for<\/i> us?\u201d Kyra tilted her head, keeping her eyes locked with Tafrara\u2019s. \u201cYou know my story, right? You know what started the whole damned stand-off in the first place?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan and Tafrara both shook their heads.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe New Christy Elders wouldn\u2019t let girls learn math. Or science. Or social sciences. Or anything much except how to be good little wives and brood mares. You know who figured that out and raised a stink?\u201d When they didn\u2019t answer, she continued. \u201cAmnesty Interplanetary, that\u2019s who. And a bunch of shitstains who hated us already took it up as a <i>cause.<\/i> \u2018Save the girls of New Christy.\u2019 As if they actually gave a fuck. You know how many of those girls died after Red Roger and his men stormed the place to supposedly <i>rescue<\/i> us?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAll but three,\u201d Ewan whispered. \u201cAnd you were one of those three.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd trust me, you don\u2019t want to know what they did before killing most of them. You don\u2019t even want to <i>imagine.<\/i>\u201d Kyra stood up, stalking the room with restless energy. Jack could feel her wishing for something, some<i>one<\/i>, to pummel until the pain went away again. \u201cSo yeah, I know your parents <i>mean well&#8288;\u2026<\/i> but people meaning well already cost me my whole family, my friends, my freedom, my <i>virginity&#8288;\u2026<\/i>&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Brother and sister both winced.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra stopped near the balcony doors and turned back to face the room. \u201cNobody&#8288;\u2026 <i>nobody<\/i> makes my choices for me. Not ever again. I appreciate everything you guys have done for me, are trying to <i>do<\/i> for me, but that\u2019s my line in the sand. I\u2019m not gonna be anybody\u2019s daughter. It\u2019s too late.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was, Jack realized, the last word on the subject. Neither Tafrara nor Ewan asked about her own reasoning or plans; Kyra had shut the whole conversation down too thoroughly. Her sister had done that on purpose, so that Jack wouldn\u2019t tell them where she had been trying to go, or where she was going back to, or even just that she already <i>had<\/i> a family that was awaiting her return. The known quantity of Kyra\u2019s history had been used to obscure the hidden story of \u201cJack B. Badd.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>No wonder she\u2019s not impressed by Amnesty Interplanetary\u2019s attempts to defend her now,<\/i> Jack thought. <i>They accidentally set it all in motion, and even if they try to atone now&#8288;\u2014<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe are so sorry, Dihya,\u201d Ewan said. His voice was subdued.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra managed a curt nod. \u201cNot like any of you were in on it. It\u2019s just&#8288;\u2026 too late for me to go back. You know, the most fucked up part of all was I <i>wanted<\/i> someone to rescue me back then. I wanted a different life than I\u2019d gotten. I wanted to do the things they said were <i>boy<\/i> things. I wanted <i>out<\/i> of the enclave. Did I ever get my fucking <i>wish\u2026&#8288;<\/i>&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You didn\u2019t make any of that happen,<\/i> Jack told her. <i>None of it was your fault.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra looked her way, a pained smirk appearing on her face. <i>Survivor\u2019s guilt, right? Just another thing we have in common&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe\u2019ll explain to our parents,\u201d Tafrara said in a voice that was every bit as cowed as Ewan\u2019s. \u201cI think&#8288;\u2026 they miss getting to <i>be<\/i> parents&#8288;\u2026 once Zdan went off to University, they haven\u2019t quite known what to do with themselves since. I think, when they saw these two <i>orphans<\/i> wander into the Rif\u2014not just our parents but Takama and Brahim, too\u2014they were all hoping&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTo rescue us,\u201d Jack finished for her. \u201cOnly the things they wanted to rescue us from&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Mercenaries? Monsters? Death and destruction? Mayhem? Being, essentially, child soldiers on a shadowed battlefield where most of the villains posed as white-hats? The loss of innocence?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;already ate us,\u201d Kyra finished when she couldn\u2019t.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan closed his eyes, swallowing. When he reopened them, and they met Jack\u2019s, the sorrow and regret in them speared through her. She couldn\u2019t look away&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra cleared her throat sharply.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe should go,\u201d Tafrara said, nudging her brother to break the dangerous spell that had begun to build. \u201cWe\u2019ll let you two rest. In the morning, we have something special planned,\u201d she continued as she ushered Ewan out of the room. \u201cWe saw you watching us spar, and even though your stitches won\u2019t let you do that yet, there are exercises that are safe for you to do.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan allowed himself to be pushed out of the room, not looking back.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe\u2019ll show you tomorrow. Good night, girls,\u201d Tafrara said, and closed their door.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra stared after them for a moment and then started to snicker. \u201cDamn. You two can\u2019t even <i>look<\/i> at each other without sparks the size of <i>Sebby<\/i> flying. Now we know how to end any awkward conversation around here.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJeez, yeah,\u201d Jack grumbled. \u201cWith even <i>more<\/i> awkwardness.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWell, he\u2019s only here for two more Tangier days,\u201d Kyra said, and then winced as pain sliced through Jack at the thought. \u201cSorry. I wasn\u2019t thinking. But even if you were eighteen right now, we\u2019d still have to leave, you know. So it\u2019s better that there\u2019s this \u2026barrier&#8288;\u2026 anyway.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI guess so,\u201d Jack said, pulling the new tablet out of her bag. \u201cI\u2019m gonna move my stuff off that tablet so it\u2019s all yours. I\u2019ve got instructions on how to use ghost codes and how to make fake IDs on there. You get to keep those. But that way you don\u2019t have to worry about me seeing your plans.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd you don\u2019t have to worry about me seeing yours,\u201d Kyra nodded. \u201cI know you don\u2019t like it, but&#8288;\u2026 everybody thinks they\u2019re brave and stoic enough to make it through being interrogated, but most people turn out not to be. We can\u2019t spill what we don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack nodded, reminded of Pritchard again. He hadn\u2019t seemed to <i>care<\/i> that she didn\u2019t know where Riddick was. She was pretty sure he\u2019d begun really looking forward to hurting her because he\u2019d realized she wouldn\u2019t have any bargaining chips to use to make him stop. There\u2019d been something deeply sick in his head.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, that guy was a fucking creep,\u201d Kyra agreed. \u201cI felt it, too. A little too literally. Son of a bitch got a <i>hard-on<\/i> when he stabbed me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cEww. I didn\u2019t see that.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI felt it. Went away fast after Sebby stung him, though. You\u2019d better not feel even a little regret about finishing him off.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cDon\u2019t you cry for Johns. Don\u2019t you dare,\u201d<\/i> a voice rumbled, in response, out of memory. Even though it was entirely inside her head, her sister heard it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhen\u2019d <i>that<\/i> happen?\u201d Kyra asked, tilting her head quizzically.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDamn, I still have a lot to tell you about the eclipse.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack talked while she ported her data over to the new tablet, careful not to describe in too much detail just what had happened to Hassan, focusing instead on the discovery that light wasn\u2019t merely painful but injurious to the crash planet\u2019s native life, burning away the skin of the one Johns shot and killed. All they needed, they\u2019d realized, was enough light, and they could make their way back to the mining settlement and the skiff.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Except that Johns wanted to stay put. The argument had gotten ugly. Imam, still seeming so wise and judicious to her, had said that the orrery back in the settlement indicated that the darkness might last a long time, days or even weeks, subtly siding with Fry. Paris, aside from volunteering his alcohol stash for burning and pointing out that the sand cat wouldn\u2019t run at night\u2014an assumption Jack still had <i>issues<\/i> with\u2014refused to choose a side. But then when Fry\u2019s invective turned surprisingly cruel, and Johns started to make a move toward violence&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick had stepped in.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Calm, silent, having said nothing at all during the debate, he still didn\u2019t speak, but he put himself between Fry and the muzzle of Johns\u2019 gun. He didn\u2019t seem to be bothered by the possibility that, if the merc pulled the trigger, he\u2019d be headless. Instead, he\u2019d gently tapped one of Johns\u2019 legs with his shiv.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">At the time, Jack had thought it was her imagination, the male voice she\u2019d heard in her head, the <i>Riddick<\/i> voice in her head murmuring <i>the abdominal aorta\u2019s a gusher, but wait \u2019til you see the femoral artery go&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGod<i>damn<\/i>, he\u2019s a serious <i>badass,<\/i>\u201d Kyra snickered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It shouldn\u2019t have been quite so equal a standoff. Would Riddick have had time to slice open Johns\u2019 thigh if the lawman\u2014she\u2019d still thought he <i>was<\/i> one at that point\u2014started to pull the trigger? But she\u2019d heard another echo of Riddick\u2019s voice, along with the remembered heat of him against her back&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2014&#8288;No, not <i>her<\/i> back, but Fry\u2019s&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2014&#8288;saying \u201cthen again, I <i>am<\/i> worth twice as much <i>alive.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And somehow she\u2019d known, suddenly, that <i>Fry<\/i> knew Johns wasn\u2019t a real cop. That he\u2019d done something so horrible that he\u2019d lost all of Fry\u2019s respect in the process. Something that, when Fry had realized it, had shifted her allegiance away from him and his empty representation of law and order. She had no faith in him, no belief that he could or would help any of them. She trusted Riddick more&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick, who was calmly staring Johns down while acting as Fry\u2019s shield.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The fake cop had backed off, his smile disturbingly unhinged as he did so. Jack had been struck with terrible knowledge: this wasn\u2019t over. Whatever was going on with the three of them was going to end in blood.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHopefully his,\u201d Kyra said, powering down her tablet and setting it aside. \u201cOkay&#8288;\u2026 my cover letters and credentials are sent and my brain is <i>fried&#8288;\u2026<\/i> you okay if I go to sleep now?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSure,\u201d Jack said, checking over her new tablet\u2019s safeguards one more time. \u201cI\u2019m gonna see if I can get into Pritchard\u2019s account and then I\u2019ll probably do the same.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSounds good. G\u2019night&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack spent another half hour making sure that her incursion into the Merc Network would be untraceable, before finally pulling up the login screen. Typing in Pritchard\u2019s username, she hoped that Toombs wasn\u2019t still tossing obscene password possibilities at the account and it wouldn\u2019t be locked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A new screen appeared, inviting her to enter a password.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack closed her eyes, visualizing the piece of paper that had been tucked into Pritchard\u2019s billfold. It had looked like a random string of numbers and letters at the time; now, having seen the gross passwords that Toombs had tried, and the way he\u2019d used numbers as letter substitutions in places, the string resolved into a revolting phrase that told her far too much about what Pritchard paid brothels extra to let him do. Suddenly she regretted being eidetic; there was no way to wash that back out of her mind.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She entered the combination into the password field, feeling sullied just typing it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"center-block\"><tt>Welcome, Duke Pritchard.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was in.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The man was a packrat; that didn\u2019t surprise her. His case and correspondence files stretched back for more than two <i>decades.<\/i> He and Toombs had been messaging for the last decade, on and off, and had seemingly worked on several cases together. Only one other correspondence file was larger. She opened that file and dug in.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Bingo.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She read over the most recent messages, feeling a strange tightening in her stomach as she went.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt><b>DP:<\/b> Don\u2019t worry about it. Lay low. I\u2019ve got a line on him. We can make him take the fall for everything. Bonus: both his girls are fair game.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMother<i>fucker,<\/i>\u201d Jack murmured. They\u2019d been planning on shifting the blame for the spaceport explosion onto <i>Riddick?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She looked back further in the log.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt><b>JM:<\/b> Target inaccessible. Need a two-block package. You know the kind. Can you bring it to me?<br\/>\r\n<b>DP:<\/b> On my way. Location?<br\/>\r\n<b>JM:<\/b> Concourse C4. How\u2019s that for irony?<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You fucking bastards.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">DP, Duke Pritchard, had brought the bomb into the spaceport. A \u201cpackage\u201d sized to take out two city blocks? Or maybe a package made from two blocks of explosives? She wasn\u2019t sure. But JM was the man who had shadowed Tomlin in the spaceport, driving him into the pilots\u2019 lounge and then calling for a bomb to wipe him and hundreds of others off the map.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Who was JM?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She dug around in more correspondence and case subfolders, looking for anything where the full name was spelled out. It took just ten minutes and then she hit the jackpot.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Javor Makarov. He and Pritchard had hunted together often. Their bounties, she noticed, were almost always women when they did. She realized why soon after when she found the media files Pritchard had hidden in a subfolder with the odd label \u201cBad Kitties.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There were, she realized, multiple image collections behind the label&#8288;\u2026 hideous pictures that Stacey would have loved, of Pritchard and Makarov with, when Jack opened one collection, a young woman who looked barely older than Kyra&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There were more than two dozen different collections like that, she saw, her nausea rising. Each set featured a different woman. Or girl. Always young, one or two looking younger than <i>her<\/i>&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There were vid files in each folder, too. She didn\u2019t even try to open any of those.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The man with Pritchard in virtually every image was recognizably the same man who had been captured, at a distance, by surveillance cameras as he set the bomb down on a bench. Makarov was the bomber. But he was <i>so much worse<\/i> than that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her hands shaking, Jack began to assemble a new file folder in Pritchard\u2019s account, copying as much damning evidence as she could stomach into one deadly, terrible dossier. She would have to send it on later, from the old apartment, just in case anyone could break through the backtrail protections that she had in place. Once the tide went back out, she would go.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And then law enforcement would learn a whole lot more about Duke Pritchard and Javor Makarov, two monsters hiding behind fake badges&#8288;\u2026 two hideous excuses of men who made William Johns look like an Eagle Scout by comparison.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She wondered just how much Toombs had really known about Pritchard&#8288;\u2026 and how much <i>Logan<\/i> really knew about <i>Toombs.<\/i> Worse, she now knew exactly what would have been done to her and Kyra, only a few evening-days earlier, if the <i>Apeiros<\/i> and Sebby hadn\u2019t been helping them defend themselves.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u2026&#8288;both his girls are fair game&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was too much.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack hoped none of the <i>ait Meziane<\/i> clan\u2014especially not Ewan, who had made such an effort to get her fed\u2014could hear her puking her guts out into the toilet. She hoped she\u2019d shielded Kyra from what she had learned, and it wouldn\u2019t seep into either of their dreams.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Could she ever be Audrey again with this monstrous knowledge in her head?<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4041\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4041 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-42\">\u00ab Chapter 42<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4107\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4107 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-44\">Chapter 44 \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=\"44\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4042\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4042 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-43\">\u00ab Chapter 43<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4108\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4108 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-45\">Chapter 45 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5187\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5187 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">44.<br\/>\r\n<u>Any Box Could Be Pandora\u2019s<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack\u2019s letter of employment from Sirius Shipping was waiting for her when she woke up. \u201cMarianne Tepper\u201d had officially been hired.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She had an odd memory of speaking with the <i>Apeiros<\/i> and asking them to help her not dream&#8288;\u2026 or to pull her back into their \u201cspace\u201d if her dreams became troubled. Maybe it had worked, because she had no memory of any other dreams, but felt surprisingly well-rested given how wretched she\u2019d felt when she\u2019d closed her eyes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">As she had suspected they might, Sirius Shipping had bypassed the formal interview\u2014one would be held, more or less, when she arrived at the orbital shipyard and they checked her in\u2014and instead had sent her all the forms a new hire had to fill out. She completed and returned them before Kyra began to stir.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The countdown, she thought, had truly begun for her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan\u2019s leave would end in two evening-days; his family had been discussing his planned send-off as they walked to the garden grove the evening-day before. Two morning-days after that, it would be Jack\u2019s turn to go. Sirius Shipping had included information about her reservation on its shuttle to the shipyards that evening-day; she just needed to make sure she was in New Casablanca in plenty of time for it. She booked her ticket immediately, using one of the new bearer cards she had picked up from the drop she\u2019d finally visited the day before. Most of the other cards would go to Kyra; all Jack\u2019s expenses would be paid for once she boarded the <i>Nephrite Undine,<\/i> and the payout for flying it to Deckard\u2019s World was an almost obscene amount that would easily fund her return home and whatever cover stories she needed to concoct once she got there.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Now she could focus on getting through the next few days.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo,\u201d Kyra murmured from the pillow next to her, \u201cyou got good news?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah. Got a route back to&#8288;\u2014 home&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d At the last second, she reminded herself that, even though she was finally at the point where she was okay with telling Kyra where <i>home<\/i> was, they\u2019d agreed that she shouldn\u2019t. Damn. \u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;leaving three morning-days from now. If all goes as planned, I\u2019ll be back long before my fifteenth birthday.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow much younger than that will you actually be?\u201d Kyra asked, smirking. Jack had, after all, told the first group therapy session she\u2019d attended that she was thirteen, and less than three Standard months outside of cryo had passed since then.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJust about fourteen when I get home,\u201d Jack admitted. \u201cI\u2019ve lost nine months to cryo so far. Hopefully I won\u2019t seem <i>too<\/i> much younger than my official age when I get back.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019ll look different than they remember, I bet, enough to keep them from thinking you should\u2019a changed even more. I mean, you shot up in height while we were in the hospital.\u201d Kyra snickered at Jack\u2019s shocked look. \u201cSeriously. You didn\u2019t notice? You were two inches shorter than me when you got there. Now we\u2019re the same height. You\u2019ve been on a helluva <i>growth spurt.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c1.73 meters&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Jack said with awe. \u201cI saw it on my charts two evening-days ago and couldn\u2019t figure it out. I was 1.63 meters when I left&#8288;\u2014 home&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI don\u2019t think you\u2019re done growing yet, either, not with the appetite you\u2019ve got,\u201d Kyra told her. \u201cYour family run tall?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMy dad\u2019s side, yeah. My mom\u2019s side isn\u2019t <i>as<\/i> tall, but yeah.\u201d Her dad was 1.9 meters, the same height as most of the men in the Tomlin-Meziane family. Back on Deckard\u2019s World, though, they used old Imperial measurements, just like twentieth century Americans had; by that reckoning, her dad was 6\u20193\u201d, her mom was 5\u20196\u201d, and she <i>had<\/i> been 5\u20194\u201d when her Missing posters would have gone up, and had just crossed the 5\u20198\u201d mark on her way to God-knew-what. Kyra, she noticed, used feet and inches, too. But Audrey\u2019s dad had insisted on teaching her the metric system concurrently with the Imperial; as ex-military <i>and<\/i> an engineer, he\u2019d considered it both more precise and more valuable to a life in the wider Federacy.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBet you get another inch or two before you stop,\u201d Kyra chuckled beside her. \u201cC\u2019mon&#8288;\u2026 let\u2019s go have breakfast. No more room service unless one of us gets sick or hurt, y\u2019know.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cExcept for Sebby,\u201d Jack laughed, climbing out of bed. \u201cSebby gets room service.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Reeeeee?<\/i> The crustacean in question peeked out from beneath the dresser, where he\u2019d apparently been playing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOnly because Lalla doesn\u2019t want crickets hopping around in her kitchen,\u201d Kyra laughed back. \u201cDon\u2019t worry, Sebby, we\u2019ll bring you your food soon.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sebby chirped happily and vanished under the dresser again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI swear, he understands everything we say&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">General Toal was at the table with everyone when they entered, Jack noticed. She wondered if he was staying at the house as a guest. Everyone seemed relaxed around him, though. Maybe he was a regular guest.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Cedric waited until the meal was ending before bringing up the previous night. \u201cWe really are sorry about jumping to so many conclusions last night, Tizzy,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd for overstepping where your liberties are concerned.\u201d His gaze turned to Kyra. \u201cWe won\u2019t try to parent you, Dihya. It\u2019s hard not to <i>want<\/i> to, but&#8288;\u2026 we understand how you feel about it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThank you,\u201d Kyra murmured, but she set her fork down with food still on it and didn\u2019t pick it back up.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m sorry, too, about not telling you where I was going or anything,\u201d Jack said. \u201cSo I should probably tell you that I need to go out for a while, today, to do some things I can\u2019t do here.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Takama gave her an inquiring look.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDuke Pritchard brought the bomb into the spaceport,\u201d she told them. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw General Toal come to complete alertness, his teacup freezing millimeters from his lips. \u201cThe man in the bomber video is Javor Makarov. They\u2019ve worked together a lot. I have evidence I need to release into the wild, but if law enforcement is gonna be able to use it, it needs to go out in a way that doesn\u2019t disqualify it from use. Which means I need to do some pretty illegal things to make it look like Pritchard himself accidentally released it. Things I don\u2019t want ever getting traced back here.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo you\u2019re going back to the apartment again,\u201d Takama said, her voice soft.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah. Probably for a few hours.\u201d Jack swallowed. Looking through Pritchard\u2019s files again, making sure she created a trail that would lead law enforcement back to his and Makarov\u2019s Merc Network accounts, making sure none of the surveillance pictures he\u2019d taken of Kyra and her still existed, was going to be a hideous ordeal. At least, if she ended up stress-puking again, the family wouldn\u2019t hear her doing it&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSomeone should go with you&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d Ewan said. Tafrara jostled his arm, her expression scolding. \u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;Like Tafrara&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo,\u201d Jack said too quickly. \u201cI&#8288;\u2026 don\u2019t want anybody to see what I\u2019ve found. It\u2019s really bad. I wish <i>I<\/i> hadn\u2019t seen any of it. But when law enforcement gets it, it\u2019ll be a game changer. Just&#8288;\u2026 it\u2019s bad enough that <i>I<\/i> had to look at it&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra, next to her, gasped in horror and covered her mouth. Fuck. Some of what she had seen must have slipped across their connection.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Everyone was looking at Kyra with concern now. She swallowed, wincing, and lowered her hand after a moment. \u201cNone of you should see it,\u201d she agreed. \u201cEver.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWon\u2019t it come out, whatever it is?\u201d Lalla asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNot&#8288;\u2026 in so much <i>detail&#8288;\u2026<\/i>&#8288;\u201d Kyra said, pushing her plate a little farther way from her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cUnfortunately, the only way to ensure that it is acted upon at all is a wide release,\u201d General Toal rumbled. \u201cThe Universal Mercenary Registry is a powerful organization with a history of evading law enforcement oversight and having warrants voided. You will need to get your data into the public sector, into the hands of people who can and will broadcast it widely, who have high profiles and strong credibility, to ensure it isn\u2019t covered up again.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cPretty sure it\u2019s a Federacy crime to broadcast those kinds of pictures,\u201d Jack muttered without thinking, and heard Safiyya gasp.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But she was already mulling it over, thinking about major news outlets that, even if they could never show the pictures themselves, could raise enough of a stink about their mere existence to prevent anyone from being able to sweep it under a rug. Especially if it was obvious that Makarov was also the bomber every law enforcement agency in the Tangier System was seeking&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">What if some random perv reached out to law enforcement and the press, claiming that the porn he\u2019d been collecting starred the bomber, providing just enough examples to prove that multiple Class 1 Felonies had been perpetrated by Makarov, and giving Pritchard\u2019s Merc Network address as the original source&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Nobody would find it even a little suspicious that the hypothetical sicko was using a brand-new, anonymized account to reach out from, given that whoever it was would have <i>enjoyed<\/i> those kinds of pictures and only came forward at all because of the bombing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It could work. She\u2019d just need another new tablet, because the one she\u2019d do it all with would be forever contaminated&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The table, she realized, had gone deathly silent. She looked up. Everyone was gazing at her with similar expressions of sad comprehension and empathy. It was dangerous for her to meet their eyes. She focused on Ewan, on what she needed to tell him, avoiding his eyes and looking at his throat instead as she talked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYour pirate friend, the one who has Pritchard\u2019s comm&#8288;\u2026 you need to get word to him to get rid of it and get as far away from it as possible. It\u2019s about to become serious hazmat. Especially given the places he\u2019s been taking it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou gave it to <i>Robie?\u201d<\/i> Usaden asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan answered with a curt nod.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt is not what you think,\u201d Usaden told her, \u201calthough under the circumstances, I can see why you might think it&#8288;\u2026 and why it would fit a little too well. Dr. Robie is a gynecologist with the Tangier Department of Health.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The absurdity of that\u2014the mental image of a man, who looked like he belonged in an ancient Disney vid about Caribbean pirates, traveling by motorcycle from brothel to brothel to perform state-mandated <i>health checks<\/i>\u2014startled a laugh out of Jack, a much louder one than was appropriate. She covered her mouth, trying to rein it in.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019ll let him know.\u201d Ewan\u2019s voice was subdued, sober.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Nobody at the table was touching their food anymore. <i>Fuck<\/i>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d Jack said, getting up. \u201cI didn\u2019t mean to say any of this. I didn\u2019t want any of you to have to know. I\u2019m gonna&#8288;\u2026 go get started&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou shouldn\u2019t have to do this alone,\u201d Takama said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShouldn\u2019t&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Jack said in part agreement, wishing that even half of the <i>shoulds<\/i> everyone cherished so much could be real. \u201cHave to.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She picked up the singing box of crickets, sitting on a small table by the courtyard doorway, and left before things could get even more complicated.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There was a scorecard attached to the box, she noticed as she carried it upstairs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"center-block\"><tt>How Many Crickets?<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The title had been written in both English and Tamazight. Different names had different tallies. Iz\u00eel had two numbers beside his name: 3 and 5. Tafrara had 7 and 4. Ewan had 8 and 5. Kyra had a 4 by her \u201cDihya\u201d name. Lalla had a 9. No numbers were by Jack\u2019s name\u2014well, \u201cTizzy\u201d\u2014yet, but they\u2019d given her a line.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It wasn\u2019t how many crickets were in the box, she realized, but how many would jump onto her when she opened the box. That was what she would need to write in.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Except I know how to make it a zero&#8288;\u2026<\/i> It\u2019d give her a chance to practice her new trick.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sebby leapt onto the bed, bouncing and chittering with excitement, when he heard the cricket song. Jack grinned at him and walked over to his tub, crouching down and setting the box inside it, and then resting her hands on its surface. She focused, for a moment, on the texture and dimensions of the cardboard under her fingers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>The floor of U1, beneath my legs, supports me whether I am in U1 or Elsewhere,<\/i> she thought carefully. <i>And I am now in Elsewhere, too, and so is this cardboard box&#8288;\u2026 but only the cardboard part, not any of the things inside it, no matter how hard they cling&#8288;\u2026 and I am all the way in Elsewhere with the box <b>now<\/b>&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The floor held her up. The box vanished from U1, staying firmly in her hands on the other side of the threshold. Within the tub in U1, hundreds of crickets spilled out, their chirps stilling for an instant. Sebby shrieked with delight and leapt into the tub, chomping the first crickets in easy reach of his mandibles.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Exhaling, Jack lifted the cardboard box away, stood up, and isomorphed back into U1 before opening its lid carefully.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">No crickets had remained inside.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She found a pen in the bedroom\u2019s desk drawer and put a <tt>0<\/tt> by her name on the scorecard, setting the box next to the door.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She wished she\u2019d known this particular parlor trick back when Pritchard had invaded the apartment. She could have dispatched him without Kyra even needing to wake up.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Yeah, but then Toombs and Logan would\u2019ve been banging down our door because his comm\u2019s last-known address would\u2019ve been our building&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And, as much as what she\u2019d seen in Pritchard\u2019s account made her gorge rise, she\u2019d never have gained access to it and wouldn\u2019t be able to let the worlds know who had bombed the spaceport.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was sickening to think that the violence of that night, including Kyra getting stabbed, might have been the best possible outcome.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I need out of this life&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Not life itself, she amended. Just <i>this<\/i> one.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But Ewan was in this life, and Kyra, and Sebby, and this amazing family&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>And I can\u2019t keep any of them. I\u2019m gonna lose them all. Whether I stay or go, and if I try to stay it\u2019ll probably end up being a much worse loss.<\/i> The thought left her feeling strangled.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">As much as she needed to go home, a huge part of her never wanted to leave this place and the family she\u2019d found. The thought that she might, possibly, never see any of them again was hard to face.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She gathered her things, everything she would need for the day\u2014including, she decided, her telescope\u2014and isomorphed over to Elsewhere before leaving the room. She wasn\u2019t in any condition to talk to anyone. She might start bawling her eyes out if she did.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The tide had only just receded, and was still close enough that she could hear it washing in and out nearby, as she reached the wet sand on the ground level. She hadn\u2019t needed to concentrate quite as hard, this time, to keep the surfaces of U1 supporting her. Soon, she suspected, she\u2019d be able to do it subconsciously, and then unconsciously as she continued practicing the new skill.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Okay, first things first,<\/i> she told herself, aware that she was suddenly procrastinating. <i>Look around New Marrakesh for anything still floating in Elsewhere that shouldn\u2019t be&#8288;\u2026 hopefully there won\u2019t be anything to find, but if there is, hopefully I can get to it before anyone from Quin&#173;tessa does&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Once that was done, she\u2019d pick up another tablet to use just for her incursions into the Merc Network, and other parts of what her dad had always called the Dark Zone and admonished her to stay far away from. She\u2019d set up an account for her fictitious pervert, populate it with \u201cgifts\u201d from Pritchard, and then have the \u201cperv\u201d reach out to a variety of law enforcement and news agencies with just enough evidence to set everyone onto Pritchard\u2019s and Makarov\u2019s trail.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But before she did that, she reminded herself, she had to make sure anything Pritchard had learned about her, or about the Tomlin-Meziane family, was long gone from his account and unrecoverable.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Bonus if I can find something in there that connects him to the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation and rains fire down on their heads if it comes out&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She pulled out her telescope and got down to business.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">An hour later, she\u2019d found several items that she and Kyra had unthinkingly thrown out during their first days in New Marrakesh, including the wigs they had worn that had been ruined by their first high tide. It took another hour to finish reaching all of them and bring them fully into Elsewhere. Her ruined video screen from the <i>Matador<\/i>, which someone had apparently salvaged from the trash for parts, forced her to carefully climb the phantom steps of a twelve-story building to retrieve it and all of its little pieces, something that gave her mild fear of heights an extreme workout and made her wish she\u2019d asked Kyra to accompany her. She got it done, though, and even managed to resist the temptation to kiss the ground once she\u2019d painstakingly made her way back down. As the waters continued to recede in Elsewhere, she followed them down into town, searching for anything small and fencible that one of the orderlies might have helped themselves to.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Nothing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Maybe they only made the move when they realized they wouldn\u2019t get another chance,<\/i> she thought. <i>They were supposed to inventory the bodies and personal effects to get them ready for transfer to the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation&#8288;\u2026 maybe that\u2019s when someone decided to grab those earrings and the cash&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It more or less made sense. Especially if the thief had control over the inventory sheets and could make sure it looked like the missing items had never been there to begin with.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She hoped that was the case. Her life would be a whole lot easier if that were the case.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She did one final look around, sweeping the telescope across the area. Othman Tower and Mansour Plaza were still clear; none of the survivors had left anything behind when they\u2019d been evacuated from either of those buildings. Same for the hospital tower. She swept wider&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u2026&#8288;the fuck?&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Something<\/i> was downtown, in one of the areas that housed fancy government offices and high-powered corporate headquarters. She zoomed in on it as much as the telescope would permit.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Three stories up, within an elegant glass building, hovered at least a dozen small&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Cubes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFuck me,\u201d Jack muttered, putting away the telescope and heading downtown.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There were more apeirochorons in New Marrakesh.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <hr\/>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Elsewhere\u2019s tide hadn\u2019t fully receded when she reached the glass building, and she had to slosh through its hip-deep waters as she crossed the final city blocks. It didn\u2019t come as a surprise to her that the corporate logo on the entrance was for the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Inside, the place looked almost like a movie set for one of the dystopian sci-fi vids her cousins had loved. Everything was shiny and brand-new looking, displaying none of the signs of weathering and use that even her mom\u2019s luxe legal offices had shown. A well-coiffed and impossibly beautiful woman\u2014too beautiful and far too poised to be anything but synthetic\u2014waited to greet people entering the building; well-armed security guards were stationed near every entrance and every doorway farther in. An ordinary burglar would never have been able to get past the front doors, she suspected.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But did any of their security extend past U1? The boxes, after all, did.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She kept her movements slow and careful as she crossed the floor, studying everything. So far, nothing on the ground level seemed to exist outside of U1. At least, nothing existed within that space in Elsewhere except salty air and sloshing tidewaters over sand, rocks, and shells. Did they have any kind of map up somewhere, she wondered, as she tried to decide which doorway might lead to a staircase or some other way of reaching the third story without slipping back into U1.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There weren\u2019t any maps or floor plans where she could find them. Not even the ones usually required by Federacy fire codes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It took her half an hour of quartering the ground level, as cautiously as she could, before she found stairs leading up, tucked into the back of the building. She climbed them with painstaking slowness, studying her surroundings for any sign of <i>anything<\/i> that could see or reach into Elsewhere, knots slowly twisting their way into her nerves.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Nobody knows I\u2019m here,<\/i> she thought. It was both reassuring\u2014the Corporation had no idea it was being infiltrated\u2014and distressing. <i>The whole family thinks I\u2019m at the apartment building&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Hopefully this wouldn\u2019t be as stupid a move as she suddenly worried it was.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She took a deep breath as she reached the third story. The floor held her up, but she was starting to feel the full effects of her intense level of concentration. She\u2019d need to find some food to eat, and a place to sit quietly for a while, when she was done here. This shit was <i>taxing.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The cubes floated ahead of her in the space of Elsewhere, hidden behind walls in U1. She passed through those walls easily, avoiding one area that she already knew contained elevator shafts. The walls, to her, were just phantom layers between her and her quarry. She just couldn\u2019t see what else existed in the space with the cubes until she was finally through all those walls and inside the room that held them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A laboratory. A laboratory inside a thick steel vault.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">One of the cubes was sitting on a counter; the others were stored inside a large cabinet. The walls of the cabinet in U1 blocked her from seeing what else might be inside in that \u2019verse. In Elsewhere, the cubes simply hung in space, seeming to defy the laws of physics.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They were made of the same strange material as the one she\u2019d encountered in the <i>Scarlet Matador.<\/i> Up close, they were even stranger. Metal? Stone? She couldn\u2019t tell for sure. Maybe both. Aware that there was a camera in the room, she bypassed the cube on the counter for the moment, reached through the phantom cabinet door, and tried to lift one.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Light. Weird&#8288;\u2026 given the fight the other one gave me, I was expecting it to be <b>super<\/b> heavy&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But its density was not in any <i>one<\/i> universe, she realized.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>An apeirochoron simultaneously exists in every universe, occupying the same isomorphic point in spacetime in each&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">How did she know that?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">With a chill, she realized that <i>they<\/i> had told her that at some point, in one of the dreams that she could mostly, but not completely, remember. They had shown her an apeirochoron when they\u2019d asked her what kinds of locks she knew how to break. And, at some point, they had whispered the rules of its existence to her, most of which she still couldn\u2019t consciously recall.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But unlike the last one she\u2019d encountered, <i>these<\/i> boxes, she saw, had <i>lids.<\/i> Unlike the sealed box of her dreams, and the one she\u2019d played an almost-deadly tug-of-war with inside the <i>Matador<\/i>, they could be opened.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was only after she lifted the first lid that she wondered if she\u2019d just opened Pandora\u2019s box.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Now, that\u2019s just dumb,<\/i> she told herself after nothing happened.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She put the base of the box back down, careful to set it exactly where she had picked it up from, held the lid up and away, and reached inside.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her fingers touched something that felt like a large brooch or badge. It existed on both sides of the threshold, both in Elsewhere and U1.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Motherfuckers already had some souvenirs,<\/i> she thought, shifting the object all the way into Elsewhere and pulling it out of the box and cabinet.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was, she realized, a crew badge, complete with Captain\u2019s bars, that had belonged to Octavia Rehnquist, the late captain of the <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i>. She, along with the rest of the crew, had been among the eighteen dead, too deeply\u2014and deliberately\u2014sedated to save themselves when Elsewhere\u2019s high tide had overtaken their hospital floor. This wasn\u2019t a souvenir; it was a <i>murder trophy.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You absolute fuckers&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She shoved it into her pocket. She\u2019d take it away from the building before tossing it into Elsewhere\u2019s retreating sea, where hopefully nobody from Quin&#173;tessa could ever find it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Slowly, carefully, she opened box after box and removed the items inside: a baby\u2019s pacifier, a soldier\u2019s dog-tags, someone\u2019s <i>asthma inhaler,<\/i> a cigarette lighter, a signet ring, and much more besides. She stuffed most of the items into her pack after realizing there was no way she could carry them all in her pockets. Just as she was resettling the lid on the last of the boxes within the cabinet, she heard a soft chime and saw the security panel by the massive steel door into the lab change from red to green. The door opened a moment later as she shrugged her pack back on and slipped the second-to-last of the murder trophies, someone\u2019s chrono, into her pocket to join the captain\u2019s badge.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I got done not even a <b>second<\/b> too soon.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Two technicians walked into the room, followed by the Quin&#173;tessa envoy.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Bitch has a real thing for wearing white,<\/i> Jack thought, studying her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The woman was at least sixty years old, probably older. She was short, around fifteen centimeters, or six inches, shorter than Jack. The shape of her face was not all that dissimilar to Kyra\u2019s, although her nose wasn\u2019t as narrow and her chin had no hint of a cleft like Jack\u2019s sister\u2019s, and her cheekbones were a bit more pronounced. She had blue eyes and snow-white hair that was unusually thick and straight for someone with so much age on her face. She wore it long, barely contained by a loose, translucent off-white scarf worn almost like a <i>shayla<\/i> but crafted more like a <i>dupatta<\/i>. Jack wondered if she was wearing that as a perfunctory gesture to the local culture, or if it had any special meaning to her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Surely, if she had any empathy for the local culture, she wouldn\u2019t have let her mercs dress in anything <i>but<\/i> white for Tomlin\u2019s memorial, though. It was enlightening to see that white was what she seemed to wear all the time; she hadn\u2019t been making any kind of special effort for the sake of Tomlin\u2019s family and friends. She still looked like she was dressed to upstage some wedding\u2019s hapless bride.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Only part of the envoy was in U1. As before, portions of the space she should have occupied were occluded by a malevolent darkness that Jack, alone, seemed to be able to perceive. She hadn\u2019t been able to see it, herself, when she\u2019d been fully present in U1 at the memorial. That had been a mercy.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019d like to begin right away with testing,\u201d the envoy was saying to one of the technicians in her Mary Poppins accent. \u201cI need to understand what\u2019s so different about this incident. You\u2019re sure that containment has been holding for the last week?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cEverything\u2019s been fine, Ma\u2019am,\u201d the technician replied. \u201cNo anomalies recorded. The kirshbaumium is stable, as always&#8288;\u2014 <i>almost<\/i> always, sorry. We waited for you before opening any of the boxes again, though.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack, feeling her heart begin to race, walked over to the box on the counter and stood next to it. Whatever was inside was the final item she needed to rescue. And it had nearly been too late to do so. She was glad she\u2019d gotten to the other boxes first, though. If she did this right, they might never be sure that the contents hadn\u2019t simply vanished at the same time as the bodies.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cLet\u2019s begin,\u201d the envoy said, nodding toward the last\u2014or, to them, first\u2014box.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The technician pulled on a pair of protective gloves and picked up a large, heavy pair of forceps before walking over to where Jack waited. He lifted the lid on the box and slid the forceps inside, starting to draw out a pearl necklace.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">As soon as there was room for her fingers, Jack leaned forward, snagged the necklace, and pulled it into Elsewhere.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat the <i>hell?<\/i>\u201d the technician gasped. \u201cIt was <i>here!<\/i> I <i>felt<\/i> it! And now it\u2019s&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cLock down the building,\u201d the Envoy snapped, going deathly pale. \u201cI want no one in or out. I want a three-block cordon. Now!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Clutching the string of pearls in her hand, Jack passed through the vault\u2019s thick walls and raced for the stairs, feeling suddenly like she was running for her life.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She took the phantom stairs much too fast, especially given that only the steps themselves were tangible to her. Fortunately, she was only half a story above ground level when she inevitably careened through the stairwell\u2019s phantom back wall, and the wet sand of Elsewhere cushioned her fall.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">As she limped away from the scene of her latest crime, she hoped the pain in her ankle would be something she could walk off and wouldn\u2019t have to explain to anybody.<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4042\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4042 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-43\">\u00ab Chapter 43<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4108\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4108 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-45\">Chapter 45 \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=\"45\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4043\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4043 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-44\">\u00ab Chapter 44<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4109\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4109 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-46\">Chapter 46 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5190\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5190 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">45.<br\/>\r\n<u>Infinity Minus One<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt>Where are you? Are you all right?<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan had sent the message to her tablet an hour earlier. Fuck. Everybody was probably freaking out.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack grabbed her massive sandwich and bit down as she keyed in a reply. She was <i>ravenous<\/i>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt>I\u2019m okay. Comm died. Don\u2019t ask. Not on record.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d have to delete any trace of their communications later, just in case. A reply appeared on her screen after a moment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt>Understood. Be safe. Come home soon.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Be safe&#8288;\u2026<\/i> This day, Jack thought, had gotten absurdly complicated.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The last artifacts from the <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i> had been disposed of, though. She had carried them down to the receding waters of Elsewhere and, one by one, had flung all sixteen pilfered <i>murder trophies<\/i> as far out to sea as she could. Then she had hiked\u2014slowly, but her ankle had thankfully stopped bitching after half an hour\u2014to one of the piers in U1. She\u2019d picked a touristy pier open to the public, isomorphed back in a sheltered location, and waded into the surf, slogging through the actual waters of U1\u2019s Mutawassit Ocean before climbing onto the pier holding out her now-dead, dripping comm for everyone to see, muttering in Arabic about her stupid cousin Abu and no warranty against saltwater corrosion. Everybody in hearing range had given her sympathetic looks, one man suggesting she try putting it in a bowl of rice anyway, just in case.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d even done that, buying a bowl of uncooked rice from a chain restaurant that only English-speaking tourists seeking \u201cTraditional American Cuisine\u201d frequented, and that she\u2019d also bought her ginormous meal from. The dead comm\u2014which she\u2019d deliberately immersed, herself, to create her alibi for how soaked her pants had gotten in another universe\u2019s ocean\u2014sat in the bowl off to her side while she stuffed her face with everything she\u2019d ordered, feeling ridiculously famished and exhausted.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Apparently isomorphing the way she had, controlling her presence in and interactions with two universes at the same time, took a <i>lot<\/i> of calories out of a girl.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kilometers away, the news on her tablet reported that downtown New Marrakesh was dealing with another security incident. Jack imagined that the moment Ewan or one of his relatives had seen that the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation building was at the incident\u2019s center, they\u2019d begun trying to reach her comm. It had been a whole universe away at the time, and she\u2019d dunked it too quickly, upon her return to U1, for it to hook back up to the comm system and inform her of their calls.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d need to buy a replacement when she bought the third tablet, on her way back up to the Rif. All this cloak-and-dagger bullshit was hard on tech.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But first she needed to eat and drink her weight in food.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Shit,<\/i> she thought moments later as Cedric walked into the restaurant, right as she was finishing her first sandwich. <i>I forgot to make the second tablet untraceable again&#8288;\u2026<\/i> Half the family had connections to military and law enforcement; they\u2019d probably been waiting for her to reply so they could lock onto her signal and come find her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Outside, she could see Takama and General Toal sitting in the front seats of a vehicle. She wondered which one of them had sprung for the tech to locate her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Honestly, though, she wasn\u2019t sure why she hadn\u2019t just told them where she was and asked them to come get her. Other than the persistent, gnawing belief that she\u2019d be <i>imposing<\/i> on them if she did.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWelcome to the afterparty,\u201d she muttered as Cedric sat down across from her. \u201cY\u2019want anything?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat happened to your comm?\u201d he asked, gesturing at the rice bowl.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSploosh, into the ocean. On purpose. I needed a good alibi for why <i>I<\/i> was soaked to the waist.\u201d She stuffed several fries into her mouth before he could ask another question. While she chewed, she could see him taking in the size of her massive order\u2014one \u201cMega Mac\u201d down, one to go, and a \u201cfamily size\u201d order of skinny, salty \u201cAmerican Style French Fries\u201d\u2014and studying her more closely.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou look exhausted. Why <i>are<\/i> you soaked to the waist?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019ll tell you on the way back? It\u2019s kinda&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d She glanced around at the half-empty establishment\u2014somehow, she kept missing lunch and then eating like a <i>fiend<\/i> to make up for it\u2014before continuing. \u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;hush-hush. I swear, today I <i>could<\/i> eat my weight in crickets&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMiss? Can we get boxes and a bag for my daughter\u2019s order?\u201d Cedric asked a passing waitress. \u201cAnd if she ordered dessert, that to go, too. Did you order dessert, Tizzy?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNot yet. I was gonna get apple pie. Haven\u2019t had that in more than a year&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Damn, she was feeling sleepy.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDo you have an entire pie? Actually, do you have two? I think the rest of the family would enjoy that too.\u201d Cedric took out his card and offered it to the waitress. \u201cPlease put everything on here.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m hanging onto the fries for the ride,\u201d Jack told Cedric as he boxed up the rest of her food. To her amusement, he poured the uncooked rice into a paper bag and pushed the comm back inside it, adding that to the to-go bag.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Once everything had been paid for and gathered up, Jack followed Cedric outside and to the waiting vehicle, which had a military surplus look to it. Maybe the General owned it? He was behind the wheel. Takama had a device in her hand, switched off, that Jack suspected had been used to find her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe are quite eager,\u201d General Toal said once the vehicle was in motion, \u201cto hear about your adventures today.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhich,\u201d Takama added, \u201cdo not appear to have taken place anywhere near your old apartment.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah&#8288;\u2026 about that&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Jack shook her head. \u201cI was getting ready to go there when I remembered I still needed to check for anything else that was straddling universes before Quin&#173;tessa could find it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThere was more?\u201d Cedric asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah. K&#8288;\u2014 Dihya and I&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou can call Miss Wittier-Collins by her real name when we\u2019re alone,\u201d the General said as he turned a corner. \u201cWe all know it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Hoo boy.<\/i> Just as long as they hadn\u2019t figured out <i>her<\/i> real name&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhen Kyra and I first got here and were just figuring out the rules, a bunch of the stuff we brought with us got wrecked by our first high tide. We didn\u2019t understand the significance of that yet when we threw it all out. I had to track all that stuff down. Then I was using my telescope to look up into the towers all the other survivors stayed in, in case they left anything behind, when I saw something in the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation building that was <i>definitely<\/i> straddling universes.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd what did you find there?\u201d The General asked. This, Jack realized, was a <i>debriefing.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSixteen apeirochorons.\u201d It was only at that moment that she realized she\u2019d unconsciously counted them as she liberated their contents.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat is an apeirochoron?\u201d Takama asked. \u201cEwan mentioned that the other day, but I do not know what it means.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s a geometry term, I think,\u201d Jack said. \u201cIt\u2019s a cube. But it\u2019s not a three-dimensional cube. It\u2019s an infinite-dimensional cube.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cInfinite dimensions?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah. Like&#8288;\u2026 it exists here and now in a very specific place in our universe&#8288;\u2026 and it exists in that same location of every <i>other<\/i> universe at the same time.\u201d The <i>Apeiros<\/i> had described it to her without language, or maybe in the less articulable language of pure mathematics itself, and she was struggling to find the right words. \u201cThere was one on board the <i>Scarlet Matador.<\/i> When I managed to push it out of <i>this<\/i> universe, I broke that one. Nearly broke <i>me<\/i>, too.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow did that break it?\u201d Cedric asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat\u2019s infinity minus one?\u201d Jack countered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cStill infinity, according to mathematics.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, but what if it <i>isn\u2019t?<\/i>\u201d She argued, trying to explain something that she had learned in one of her not-dreams and that still hurt her head. \u201cWhat if, by taking away that <i>one<\/i>, you\u2019ve made the infinite <i>finite<\/i>?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThis is not a hypothetical situation you\u2019re posing, is it?\u201d General Toal asked as he wound the vehicle up toward the Rif. \u201cThis is what happened to the box you found on the <i>Matador<\/i>. When it ceased to exist in this universe&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI don\u2019t know for sure, but the <i>Apeiros<\/i> think it\u2019s collapsing in <i>all<\/i> the universes now.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Like a knitted scarf slowly unraveling once a single stitch was lost&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIs that why they didn\u2019t want you to do it?\u201d Takama asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo, they were afraid doing it\u2019d kill me. They seem to think it\u2019s a good thing that it\u2019s collapsing. I think. It\u2019s hard to tell with them sometimes.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat about these new boxes you found?\u201d The General asked after a moment. \u201cIs the new security situation because you broke one or more of them?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cUnh-uh,\u201d Jack said, swallowing the last bit of the cooling fry she\u2019d been chewing while the General spoke. \u201cThat would\u2019ve knocked me out <i>cold<\/i> again. Or maybe dead. But these ones weren\u2019t sealed. They were being used to hold items the Corporation stole from the hospital after the first high tide got everybody evacuated. Stuff everybody\u2019d lost when they left or died, that didn\u2019t get taken to the morgue. Stuff that could\u2019ve been analyzed to learn more about Elsewhere.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c\u2018Stuff\u2019 that I presume you liberated?\u201d General Toal couldn\u2019t quite hide his smile when she nodded. \u201cAnd that\u2019s why they locked down a three-block radius around their building. And you spent your next hour&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThrowing it all as far out to sea as I could, putting a few klicks between me and downtown before I returned to U1, and making up a plausible explanation for why I was soaked.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHer explanation,\u201d Cedric said as the General pulled into the <i>ait Meziane<\/i> garage, \u201cwas that her comm fell into the water by the pier and she had to fish it out. Which is why she still wasn\u2019t answering our calls once she returned to this universe.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSorry,\u201d Jack muttered, and then ate the last of her fries.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAre you always so hungry and tired after a venture into Elsewhere?\u201d the General asked as he parked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOnly when I do something big. Like moving a whole fu&#8288;\u2014 freakin\u2019 spaceship or making a floor in one \u2019verse hold me up in another&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Jack yawned. \u201cShit, I still have so much to do&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI think your other \u2018mission\u2019 can wait until this evening-day, yes?\u201d Takama said. \u201cIn fact, that gives Dr. Robie more time to get away from the comm he has been carrying around.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah&#8288;\u2026 I think it\u2019ll have to wait,\u201d Jack admitted as Cedric helped her out of the vehicle and led her toward the stairs. \u201cI need my second sandwich&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And then a nap. A long nap.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI have Tislilel!\u201d Cedric called out as they emerged on the ground level of the house. \u201cAnd apple pie!\u201d He pitched his voice lower for her sake. \u201cYou may have a slice before or after your sandwich, as you please.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019d better give you guys a head start on the pie or I might eat the whole thing in one <i>gulp\u2014&#8288;<\/i>&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">An instant later, she had been lifted into an almost-crushing hug by a pair of strong arms, only her toes still touching the ground.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI was so worried about you&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Ewan whispered, holding her tightly to him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Her<\/i> reaction had <i>nothing<\/i> to do with worry.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra cleared her throat loudly nearby.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cZdan!\u201d Safiyya said sharply. \u201cLet the poor girl breathe.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan released her, looking like a man just coming to his senses after blacking out for a moment. \u201cSorry&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Everyone, including Kyra, was giving him charged <i>looks<\/i>, but nobody was saying a damn thing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>The elephant in this room is fucking ginormous,<\/i> Jack thought, <i>now<\/i> feeling breathless, and could feel Kyra suppressing a laugh in response.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Cedric led the way into the dining room while Jack caught her breath and Ewan got his embarrassed blush under control, everyone pretending that they couldn\u2019t see either of them even as <i>they<\/i> tried not to look at each other.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo. What kind of adventure did you have downtown?\u201d Safiyya asked as she set out plates and forks for everyone.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack threw a pleading glance at Cedric as she lifted her second \u201cMega Mac\u201d out of the bag.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For the next few minutes, while she concentrated on eating, Cedric retold her story with a fair degree accuracy and even more flair. Jack found herself thinking that it was much like listening to her dad narrating one of his probably autobiographical <i>Adventures of Jack B. Badd<\/i>, back when he\u2019d still told her bedtime stories. It all sounded like such a charming scrape now, but she remembered being more than a little scared the whole time&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;not to mention feeling an infuriated disgust at the idea that the Corporation, or even just the envoy, was keeping trophies from their victims&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra turned and gave her a knowing look. <i>Better they think it <b>was<\/b> a charming scrape than we give them another reason to want to lock us up for our own good, right?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Yeah&#8288;\u2026<\/i> \u201cI know it all sounds really impulsive&#8288;\u2026 but&#8288;\u2026 only because I didn\u2019t think to mention that I needed to finish that job first before starting on my next one. And \u2019cause I had no idea I\u2019d need to go after those boxes to do it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>So yeah,<\/i> she admitted to herself, <i>really impulsive&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was glad she didn\u2019t have to tell them about her ankle. And at least, she suddenly thought, she could eat. She\u2019d probably have had no appetite at all by then if she\u2019d gone with her original plans. Maybe that was why she\u2019d found an excuse to put those plans off&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe\u2019re just glad you\u2019re safe,\u201d Lalla said, setting a slice of the apple pie in front of her. The rest, she realized, had been divided among everyone else at the table. Probably for the best.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThank you.\u201d She was, finally, beginning to feel like she might be approaching full&#8288;\u2026 but not until she had at least some of her pie.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThere is, however,\u201d Tafrara said with a stern voice, \u201canother matter that we need to discuss with you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Uh oh&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Tafrara held up the scorecard, pointing to the <tt>0<\/tt> Jack had put next to her name. \u201cReally? <i>Really?<\/i> We\u2019re going to need an instant replay of this.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Judging by the sighs and laughter around the table, Jack wasn\u2019t the only one feeling sudden relief. It occurred to her that <i>everybody<\/i>, including Kyra, was trying hard not to scold her for scaring them <i>yet again<\/i>. Had they worried Tafrara was about to break some agreed-upon approach for dealing with her?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Definitely not telling them I fell off the stairs&#8288;\u2026<\/i> Or, well, through a wall. She was suddenly twice as glad that her ankle hadn\u2019t even been sprained.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra\u2019s breath hitched and she turned a searing <i>look<\/i> on Jack. <i>Don\u2019t make me take their side&#8288;\u2026 <b>Jeez.<\/b> Can\u2019t leave you alone for a <b>minute&#8288;\u2026<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack napped for a few hours, Sebby insisting on sleeping beside her head the whole time, and woke shortly before dinnertime. The sun was shining directly into the courtyard, still about six hours away from actual high noon, but summer-intense enough already that nobody wanted to walk through it and instead took longer detours through the house to reach the dining room. Her ravenous appetite was back.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Thanks to her excursion, she learned, and also to her nap, she had missed two of the Tai Chi sessions that Ewan and Tafrara had started up for Kyra. That, it turned out, had been the big surprise Tafrara had hinted at the night before.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s <i>so<\/i> good, Tizzy, you need to try it,\u201d Kyra said, seeming to prefer that sobriquet to <i>Jack<\/i>. \u201cIt\u2019s <i>slow,<\/i> didn\u2019t pull my stitches at <i>all<\/i>, but after we were done, I felt like I\u2019d had a real workout.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou had,\u201d Ewan laughed. \u201cSlow and controlled takes as much effort as any other kind of action. More, sometimes.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Usaden picked that moment to swallow wrong. Jack wasn\u2019t sure why both Ewan and Tafrara promptly shot him glares.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat sounds amazing,\u201d Jack said. Usaden, still sputtering, excused himself from the table and went into the kitchen for a moment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe\u2019ll hold another session after the overnoon sleep,\u201d Ewan told her. \u201cPerhaps you can join it before you go off on your next, hopefully easier, adventure.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019d like that.\u201d She\u2019d seen vids of people doing Tai Chi and had wondered about its slow pace. If Kyra said it was the real deal, though, it undoubtedly was.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo,\u201d Tafrara said as the table was being cleared, \u201cit\u2019s time for us to settle the matter of the crickets. Definitively.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Iz\u00eel and Ewan both began laughing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYes, we need proof of this,\u201d Iz\u00eel agreed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOkay&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Jack felt herself struggling not to smirk. \u201cC\u2019mon up&#8288;\u2026 you can watch and learn.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra began snickering.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Everybody<\/i> wanted to see. Practically the whole family, plus the General, followed Jack upstairs as she carried Sebby\u2019s singing box.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">This, she thought to herself, was going to be <i>fun.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sebby was a little bit nervous when so <i>many<\/i> people came into the room, but it was <i>dinner<\/i>time and that part had him ecstatic. While he bounced on the bed and shrieked at her to hurry, she knelt in front of the tub and lowered the cricket box inside. Winking at Kyra, she isomorphed herself and the cardboard into Elsewhere, letting the crickets spill out into the tub and vanishing from everyone\u2019s sight except her sister\u2019s.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The room erupted in gasps of astonishment. Sebby hesitated for a second and then leapt into the tub to begin the carnage in earnest.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack stood up, holding the box in front of her, and reappeared in U1. Opening its lid, she tilted it forward so that everyone could see that it was empty of any crickets. \u201cTah-dah!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou <i>cheater!\u201d<\/i> Ewan exclaimed, his expression one of pure delight.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s not cheating,\u201d Jack told him, laughing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh no?\u201d He stepped forward, his smile wide and giving the lie to the faux scowl he was trying to effect. \u201cHow is that not cheating?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c\u2019Cause it\u2019s <i>skill<\/i>,\u201d she replied, walking toward him in mock challenge. \u201cI got <i>skill<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSkill at <i>cheating,<\/i>\u201d he teased back, eyes dancing with humor as he stepped closer. \u201cI\u2019m calling <i>foul<\/i> on this&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh yeah? What\u2019s the penalty?\u201d She found herself grinning up at him, inches from him, daring him to&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;to what, exactly?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe penalty is&#8288;\u2026 tickling!\u201d He laughed, his hands going for her ribs and startling a <i>squeak<\/i> out of her!<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The rush of feeling that exploded through her was almost nothing like being <i>tickled<\/i>, though&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra coughed loudly.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOkay, enough of that,\u201d Cedric said with strangely forced levity, moving between them. Jack found herself backing up and then sitting down abruptly on the foot of her bed. How had she gotten so out of breath <i>again?<\/i> Her heart was racing&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat do the judges think of the instant replay?\u201d Tafrara asked everyone, her tone odd. Ewan had turned away, nodding at something his father was murmuring in his ear.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI think the score is valid,\u201d General Toal said. \u201cZero and zero.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAgreed,\u201d Lalla said. Iz\u00eel nodded.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cPerhaps we should allow our \u2018cricket champion\u2019 to rest,\u201d Safiyya said, ushering everyone out of the room.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack was still regaining her equilibrium as they left; they were gone before exactly what had happened fully sank in.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI swear, you two are like&#8288;\u2026 some kind of dangerous chemical <i>reaction<\/i>,\u201d Kyra said, sitting down next to her on the bed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMy cousins and I teased each other all the <i>time<\/i> that way,\u201d Jack found herself protesting. \u201cNothing like <i>that<\/i> ever happened when we did&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cLike I said, it\u2019s the combination of the two of you,\u201d Kyra replied. \u201cNever seen <i>anything<\/i> like it, myself. If you could bottle it, people\u2019d pay <i>billions<\/i> for it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThis sucks,\u201d Jack grumbled. \u201cWe\u2019re <i>trying<\/i> to just&#8288;\u2026 be&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Friends? Siblings? Cousins? Something, anything that would let them retain the powerful <i>emotional<\/i> connection that had blossomed between them without it veering into hormonal chaos. But the chaos kept taking over.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMaybe, in five years or so, you can come back and see if those crazy-huge sparks still fly,\u201d Kyra said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIf we can break our trails well enough,\u201d Jack muttered. Why did that suddenly stir a tickle of fear in her? The hungry ache Ewan\u2019s touch had awakened in her had abruptly disappeared.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat video of yours probably will,\u201d Kyra chuckled. \u201cEverybody\u2019s gonna be looking for our trail on Shakti Four now, right? It\u2019d probably be a bad idea for either of us to ever go there.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cA very bad idea,\u201d Jack agreed, glad that the subject had moved on. She shivered against a sudden chill. \u201cIt\u2019s a big world, though, right? Plenty of places Riddick and his two&#8288;\u2026 <i>hench-bitches&#8288;\u2026<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra laughed. \u201cThat\u2019s us, yeah.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;could go to ground for <i>years.<\/i> Aside from one or two big cities where most of the population lives, it\u2019s all wild frontier. I could see him liking a place like that.\u201d It should have been a comforting thought, but somehow it wasn\u2019t. Her mouth felt weirdly dry. The cold seemed to be deepening, even though it was a bright, hot day outside. The hairs on her arms, she noticed, were standing straight up.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI could see <i>me<\/i> liking a place like that, too,\u201d Kyra said, wistfulness sneaking into her voice. \u201cDamn.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo mercs might spend years looking for him on that one world&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Jack continued, trying to slow down her heart\u2014which had begun racing again\u2014and quiet the growing sense of foreboding that was filling her, \u201cand we can go anywhere else we want, maybe even&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Whatever Jack had been about to say next was lost in a sudden surging flood of panic.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTizzy? Tizzy, are you okay?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She felt ice cold. Her heart was hammering. Pure terror was flowing into her, not her own, but from somewhere close by, somewhere&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSomething\u2019s wrong!\u201d Kyra shouted.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>No, no, no, please no&#8288;\u2026 no&#8288;\u2026 please don\u2019t make me&#8288;\u2026 please&#8288;\u2026 no more&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Those weren\u2019t her thoughts. It wasn\u2019t her terror. But it was consuming her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I\u2019ll die, I\u2019ll die, please don\u2019t make me&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cSomething\u2019s <b>wrong!\u201d<\/b><\/i> Kyra screamed, from far, far away.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack could hear footsteps and shouts as people poured back into the bedroom. She could see the ornate ceiling above her, feel the bed beneath her back&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But she was somewhere else. Somewhere dark, cramped, shot with pain&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Screaming. Not her. Only a tiny thread of sound could escape her constricted throat.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The <i>Apeiros<\/i> were <i>screaming.<\/i> The spangled darkness behind her eyes was full of their terror.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Help me&#8288;\u2026 please help me&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack flung herself forward, reaching out toward the voice.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I\u2019m here! I\u2019m here! I&#8288;\u2014<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The world went dark.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <hr\/>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Break it open&#8288;\u2026 do it now&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>We will keep you safe&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You will not die&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><b><i>\u2026yet&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>We will not let the demons find you.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <hr\/>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Stone that wasn\u2019t stone cracked, splintered, shivered into dust and vanished into nothing. Ripples spread out, twisting across dimensions. Something tiny but enormous clutched her hand.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <hr\/>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Floating&#8288;\u2026 drifting in a shattered oblivion&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Rest now, little larva. You have done well.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Something was unraveling, an impossible equation breaking down before her not-eyes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Infinity minus one&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Infinity broken.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You will not die.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Long, black legs, tipped with claws, emerged from the gaping tear in reality.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <hr\/>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sebby hissed beside her, rising up, stinger flailing&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s okay, Sebby. She won\u2019t hurt me&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He slowly backed away, stinger still lashing with agitation, as <i>She<\/i> approached, void-black appendages reaching toward Jack\u2019s face. A thousand eyes gazing down upon her&#8288;\u2026 A million eyes&#8288;\u2026 infinite eyes&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Infinity unchained, uncontained&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;<i>this<\/i> infinity unbroken and&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;rising.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Little sister, what you have done will never be forgotten&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Her<\/i> obsidian skin contained the shine of galaxies.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u2026&#8288;by us.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">One delicate tarsus touched Jack\u2019s forehead&#8288;\u2026 and something vanished. There was an empty space where once there had been terrible knowledge, peace where there had been crushing anguish.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>One day, you may remember, too.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The door to the bedroom opened.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Reality twisted and <i>She<\/i> was gone.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <hr\/>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Takama entered the bedroom, carrying an IV pole. Usaden and Ewan followed behind her, both carrying IV bags and monitoring equipment. They stopped, their morose expressions dissolving into astonishment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack sat up in bed, yawning, wiping at her wet cheeks. She looked around. By the shadows, it was nearly high noon. Had she fallen asleep? The last thing she remembered&#8288;\u2026 was&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c<i>Baraka,<\/i>\u201d she heard three voices say in unison. A saline bag dropped from Ewan\u2019s hand to the floor.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sebby climbed onto her lap, his stinger tucked away. She thought that it had been out a moment ago, but that made no sense. Had he been trying to protect her from something? She stroked his carapace, and he caressed her arm with his antennae. She\u2019d been feeding Sebby, she remembered, and then&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d been dreaming, she thought. A strange dream about demons in the darkness\u2014no, <i>of<\/i> the darkness\u2014and a creature whose <i>n<\/i>-shape was both impossible to look at and too beautiful to look away from&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;and an unraveling scarf?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHi guys,\u201d she said, wondering why they were staring at her so strangely. \u201cWhat\u2019s going on?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">As if things weren\u2019t already weird enough, a loud, rumbling <i>boom<\/i> struck at that moment. The emergency alerts on three comms and one tablet started going off a few seconds later.<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4043\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4043 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-44\">\u00ab Chapter 44<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4109\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4109 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-46\">Chapter 46 \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=\"46\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4044\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4044 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-45\">\u00ab Chapter 45<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4110\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4110 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-47\">Chapter 47 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5193\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5193 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">46.<br\/>\r\n<u>Heirs to the Caldera<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The official story, which began circulating an hour before Jack and General Toal left for the old apartment, was that the second of the two Star Jumpers irreparably damaged in the spaceport explosion had also been compromised worse than anyone had realized. One of the reactor cores powering its sublight ion drive had slowly destabilized until it ruptured almost exactly eight Tangier days later&#8288;\u2026 a little under two of the planet\u2019s long days after a similar rupture had allegedly destroyed the other damaged Star Jumper, the ill-fated <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i>. Jack, who knew exactly what had really happened to the <i>Matador<\/i> and where to find it, rolled her eyes and saw Ewan doing the same thing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The unofficial story, which General Toal said was only being whispered by a handful of eyewitnesses, was that the ship had abruptly imploded some five hours after the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation had tried to run an unexplained test&#8288;\u2026 one that had begun at almost exactly the same moment as Jack\u2019s strange fit toward the end of the morning-day. The test had ended shortly after it had begun with everyone involved fleeing the ship, but no warnings of an impending crisis had been issued until the implosion itself occurred hours later. What little of the massive vessel had been left was disturbingly friable, even its protective hull plates disintegrating when touched.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThey tried to use its Isomorph Drive to open a bridge to U322a,\u201d Jack said when the General finished his update. The family had insisted on bed rest for her, but cabin fever was already building and making her antsy. Everyone crowding into the bedroom to listen in just added to the weird near-claustrophobia. Sebby, chittering in annoyance, had already retreated under the bed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou know this?\u201d the General asked. \u201cYou remember?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She shook her head. \u201cI don\u2019t remember much of anything after feeding Sebby.\u201d She <i>did<\/i> remember the abortive tickle-battle, and the conversation with Kyra that had followed, but it seemed like everyone was more comfortable thinking that had been lost to her, too. \u201cJust&#8288;\u2026 we took away every other potential bridge they had, so&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d She shrugged, wishing she could explain where her certainty came from. Usually she could, but there was a strange fog in parts of her mind that had never existed before.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYes,\u201d Ewan said. \u201cWhen we were going to the <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i>, you said that would be the only way for them to gain access to Elsewhere once everything else was gone. But why would they want to?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe envoy said she wanted to understand what made this Level Five Incident so different from all the others,\u201d Jack mused. Sometimes, she felt like she knew, or <i>should<\/i> know, much more, but when she tried to chase the feeling down, it evaporated.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHopefully, having her attempt to re-establish a connection end in another disaster will deter her,\u201d the General said. \u201cPerhaps there is a way to make her believe that it\u2019s a problem with that universe, itself.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWon\u2019t that get any shipping route that uses U322a for a Jump suspended?\u201d Cedric asked, frowning.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cLikely. But they can route around it. They have, in point of fact, done so several times in the past with other universes, and with Jumps they decided were too long. Better that than the realization that there might be a human mind behind so much of their ill fortune, or even two.\u201d The General\u2019s gaze on Jack, and on Kyra, was speculative.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou think <i>we<\/i> did <i>this?\u201d<\/i> Kyra asked him, looking shocked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWell, that\u2019s the interesting thing,\u201d he rumbled, his voice contemplative. \u201cNeither of you ever left this house. And <i>your<\/i> whole focus, during that period, was your adopted sister. I don\u2019t think <i>you<\/i> did anything&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">His gaze moved to Jack.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;and you don\u2019t seem to remember anything that happened while you were under.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Under\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u2026&#8288;beneath, below, under&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Yes,<\/i> a soft voice murmured somewhere far away. <i>You may know and tell that much&#8288;\u2026 it will do no harm.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI think I was with the <i>Apeiros,<\/i>\u201d Jack answered slowly. \u201cWhatever was happening&#8288;\u2026 they were afraid. Terrified.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDo you think U322a, your Elsewhere, might be their home? Perhaps the bridge would have endangered it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She shook her head after a moment\u2019s careful thought. Navigating her memory, at least where this was concerned, felt like jumping from one steppingstone to another, but instead of water between the stones, there were vast, fathomless gulfs of strange emptiness. She\u2019d never experienced anything like it before in her life. It was unnerving.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But, strangely, there were other things that she knew with iron certainty now, which had never been in her head before.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThey call us \u2018little larvae,\u2019\u201d she told everyone, \u201cbecause our five-dimensional shapes are so small&#8288;\u2026 only two universes wide. They\u2019re much bigger&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u2026&#8288;tiny but enormous&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI don\u2019t think <i>they<\/i> could think of Elsewhere as <i>their<\/i> world any more than&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d She cast about in her head for a suitable comparison. \u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;than you could think that chair you\u2019re sitting in is <i>your<\/i> world.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd yet, whatever it was the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation tried to do this morning-day, bridging U1 and U322a perhaps&#8288;\u2026 terrified them and incapacitated you.\u201d His eyes turned to Kyra. \u201cBut not you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra shook her head. \u201cTizzy told them they were forbidden to talk to me anymore unless I talked to them first.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">General Toal looked fascinated. \u201cYou were able to <i>forbid<\/i> these beings to do something?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack shrugged. \u201cI told them they were hurting her. I guess they didn\u2019t want to do that.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo they let her be&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI <i>think<\/i> so. But&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d She looked over at Kyra. \u201cI think I remember you screaming that something was wrong.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, because <i>you<\/i> were having a fit.\u201d Kyra shook her head. \u201cWhatever it was, I didn\u2019t feel any of it except what I could feel coming off of <i>you<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd what was that?\u201d Takama asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSomething was screaming for help and she was trying to go to it, in her head. And then she was <i>gone.<\/i>\u201d Kyra shuddered. \u201cI swear, it was like she wasn\u2019t even in her body anymore&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cCompletely unresponsive,\u201d Usaden murmured, and Jack saw <i>him<\/i> shudder, too.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cExcept,\u201d Ewan spoke up, \u201cthe brain-wave readings my portable scan got were off the <i>charts.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cPlease tell me I don\u2019t have to go get another CT scan,\u201d Jack groaned.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo, that would be ill-advised indeed,\u201d General Toal said. \u201cWere her readings like that after the last&#8288;\u2026 incident, Ewan Zdan?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan shook his head. \u201cThey were normal&#8288;\u2026 but those were readings I took afterward, not during. She might have lit up the scan the same way if I\u2019d used it when she was moving the <i>Matador<\/i> out of our universe.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cPerhaps you should scan her again now.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan looked at Jack, a question in his eyes. She nodded, watching him get the portable scanner back out of his field kit. Kyra tensed a little as he came over to Jack\u2019s side, as though she expected them to fall under each other\u2019s thrall again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">After all, he had almost needed to be pried off of her earlier.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Even as the alerts had begun to go off, he had dropped everything he\u2019d been carrying onto the chair and raced over to her, landing beside her on the bed and pulling her into a hug so tight that she almost <i>hadn\u2019t<\/i> been able to breathe. Sebby had screeched and begun posturing threateningly\u2014snapping his pincers like rapid-fire castanets but, at least, not brandishing his stinger\u2014until Kyra, hurrying in after the others, managed to calm him down. Although intensely and inappropriately aware of Ewan\u2019s powerful torso pressed to hers, Jack had found herself even more aware that he was <i>shaking<\/i>. It had taken a long moment for Usaden to get through to him and convince him to let her go&#8288;\u2026 and then convince <i>her<\/i> to let <i>him<\/i> go when her mixture of concern and desire made her clingy. Only then did Jack find out that, for the prior few hours, she had appeared to be comatose.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Now, though, Ewan was all business, running his scan the way he had undoubtedly done countless times when he had worked as a paramedic. \u201cMuch closer to normal. But&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d He swallowed and shook his head. \u201cWhen I still worked for the UMA, I had been instructed that if I ever saw readings like this, I should refer the patient for Quantification.\u201d He shook his head again. \u201cThey didn\u2019t look like this last time.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The General looked as if a suspicion had been confirmed for him. Ewan, giving Jack an apologetic look, put the scanner away and returned to the chair he\u2019d been sitting in. He was keeping his distance, but she could feel how much he didn\u2019t want to.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOkay,\u201d she declared, sitting up. \u201cBrain is <i>nor&#173;mal<\/i>&#8288;\u2026&#8288;ish. No signs of physical injury, right?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Usaden nodded.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThen can I <i>please<\/i> get up? I have a lot I still need to do. Today.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cPerhaps it should wait until things calm down&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d Tafrara began.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo, I think she\u2019s right,\u201d the General said. \u201cWhile all eyes are pointed at this new disaster, she may have an easier time insinuating herself into the systems she needs to access, in order to plausibly get the word out about Makarov. I will accompany her to the apartment and watch over her.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">At Jack\u2019s request, he took her to a nearby tech shop to purchase a tablet she could use just for the purposes she had in mind, before driving her to the apartment building. The place was almost entirely empty and still; most of the tenants had moved out after the owners had been unresponsive and uncommunicative in the wake of the spaceport bombing. None of the shattered west and north windows had been repaired, although a handful had been boarded over on the lowest levels. Jack led General Toal up the filthy, stinking stairway, more conscious than ever of how nasty it was; if it bothered him, he showed no sign.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo,\u201d Jack asked as she unpacked the tablet, sat cross-legged on the floor\u2014she refused to ever touch the couch again\u2014and began to configure it, \u201cwhy are you really here?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He sat down in the chair they had left behind, steepling his fingers. \u201cYou are getting proficient at reading people, Tizzy. I do, indeed, have an ulterior motive for wishing to speak with you alone.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Maybe that should have scared her, but it didn\u2019t. She knew that, as a military general, he was undoubtedly a dangerous man in at least some way&#8288;\u2026 but she\u2019d been associating with dangerous men for months, starting with Riddick and Johns. She just looked over at him and nodded encouragement.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou have always had some esper ability, haven\u2019t you?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSeems like it. Nothing obvious, but&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d She restarted the tablet to let some of her custom configurations take. \u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;I think there were signs when I was little. Strange stuff. Nothing too freaky, though. Nothing that couldn\u2019t be explained away.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBut since the <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i>, and since your communions with the beings you call the <i>Apeiros<\/i>, it has grown considerably.\u201d It wasn\u2019t a question.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI guess,\u201d Jack said, busy armor-plating the tablet against incursions with the protective systems her dad had liked best. \u201cIt\u2019s&#8288;\u2026 hard to tell. Like Ewan said the other night, I don\u2019t know where my limits are until I crash into them&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Oh, oops. Nobody but Kyra knew she\u2019d heard that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">General Toal only laughed softly. \u201cIn truth, you <i>would<\/i> make an extraordinary recruit. An Operative who can stand among her targets, listening to their whispered secrets, without them ever knowing&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d His expression grew serious. \u201cThat <i>is<\/i> what I needed to speak to you about.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou gonna try to recruit us?\u201d The tablet was almost ready. Jack glanced over at the General. \u201cKyra might be interested if it means rescuing girls from the shit <i>she<\/i> was put through, but&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo, I am not,\u201d he said, surprising her. \u201cI have worked with Operatives before. Officially, slavery is illegal within the Federacy&#8288;\u2026 except where <i>they<\/i> are concerned.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Well, <i>that<\/i> wasn\u2019t a chilling statement or anything&#8288;\u2026 \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYour own abilities would terrify most people, child. You can spy on any discussion without people knowing you\u2019re standing among them. You can come and go from a locked and impregnable fortress as you please, regardless of its security systems. You have made bodies disappear from a morgue, hidden valuables vanish from a high-security vault, and a twenty-thousand-ton Star Jumper travel from one universe to another with a touch of your hand. And may, possibly, have imploded another Star Jumper in your <i>sleep.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack opened her mouth to protest&#8288;\u2026 but&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Holy fuck.<\/i> She really had done all that. Phrased that way, she sounded scary as <i>shit.<\/i> And that wasn\u2019t even touching on what Kyra could do, killing people without any sign she was anywhere near them&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat government would ever allow such power to go unchecked?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">His rhetorical question sent an icy wind blowing through her. \u201cWhat&#8288;\u2026 would they do?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cEspers are taken to a secure facility for training and conditioning. I don\u2019t know exactly what happens there. They will not speak of it. But every Operative I have met is mentally and emotionally <i>incapable<\/i> of exercising their powers except under orders. Their ability to <i>improvise<\/i>, as you two do so well, has been taken from them, something that has cost more than a few of them their lives when situations went pear-shaped, the chain of command broke down, and there was no one left with the authority to tell them how to use their abilities to save themselves or others.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s\u2026\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNot a fate I could ever wish for you, no. I serve the Federacy to serve humanity, and this is one of the great conflicts between those two callings. I will not tell them about you or Kyra.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTh&#8288;\u2026&#8288;thank you. What&#8288;\u2026 is that all they would do? Psychological conditioning?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The General shrugged. \u201cYou would have a tracker implanted in you&#8288;\u2026 one with an explosive device inside, just in case you found a way to break through that conditioning and tried to escape. I know of only one Operative-in-training who has ever managed to successfully remove it and flee captivity. <i>You<\/i> have met him.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It took a moment to find her voice. \u201cRiddick.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThey point to him, his kill count and the various crimes he has committed\u2014or allegedly committed\u2014in the last decade, whenever anyone objects to the way espers are handled. Did you ever see him use his abilities?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI don\u2019t think so&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d But there had always been something preternatural about him, about his speed and timing and the way he hadn\u2019t even had to look behind him, most times, to know who or what was coming. He wasn\u2019t invulnerable\u2014he\u2019d almost <i>died<\/i> on the crash planet\u2014but&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>She had watched him take a knife and cut his own neck open to remove the explosive tracker that Chillingsworth had ordered implanted in him, and had found herself thinking that it wasn\u2019t the first one he\u2019d removed that way&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cEspers were much rarer even a generation ago,\u201d the General told her, \u201cbefore the Furyan Diaspora. Many of the orphans of that&#8288;\u2026 disaster&#8288;\u2026 have turned out to be quite powerful. It\u2019s something about their world itself, it seems. The powers have even appeared among the children of the relief troops who were stationed at the Caldera Base on Furya in the aftermath&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack\u2019s breath caught. Her dad\u2019s last tour of duty in the Corps of Engineers, until almost a year before he met her mom, had been on Furya. He had shown her pictures of the Caldera, and the base that sat beside it, and had told her it was the strangest world he\u2019d ever visited. But it was also the world he\u2019d chosen to return to when he re-enlisted.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Was that where all this came from?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">General Toal was watching her with interest. He\u2019d figured her out, knew she had to be the daughter of some member of the Service who had been stationed on Furya&#8288;\u2026 where she had been headed, herself, before everything went wrong. What would she have found there, she wondered, if she had made it?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Except\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI&#8288;\u2026 don\u2019t think Kyra has any ties to Furya&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo. The sublight colony ship she was on never passed that way. But the files on her are extensive. Did you know she was born on late twenty-first century Earth?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack nodded.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBefore her mother joined her father\u2019s church and gave up such things, she was a performer of some renown. Minerva Kirshbaum-Wittier, better known to her world as Minnie Sulis. A stage magician whose act included mind reading, levitation, and teleportation. Most such acts are elaborate trickery of course, but the records indicate that many of her signature \u2018tricks\u2019 could be neither replicated nor debunked. When she converted to the Church of the New Christy Pilgrims, though, she quit the stage and claimed that she had turned her back on the devil.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo she was probably an esper the whole time,\u201d Jack mused.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOne who became convinced what she was doing was witchcraft, it seems. But yes.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou&#8288;\u2026 need to tell Kyra all this, too.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The General nodded. \u201cI will, yes. It\u2019s important that both of you protect yourselves from discovery. Tomorrow evening, when I come to Ewan Zdan\u2019s send-off party, I\u2019m bringing each of you a special device. A neurofeedback training unit. It will help you learn how to control your own minds, and the readings your brain scans produce, so that you can hopefully beat a Quantification test\u2014should you ever be subjected to one\u2014and pass as normal.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For a long moment, Jack was rendered speechless. He was giving them something incalculably precious&#8288;\u2026 and incredibly dangerous to <i>him.<\/i> If anyone ever discovered that he had helped two espers hide from the Federacy, it would be the end of more than just his career.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThank you,\u201d she finally managed, wishing she could say something that would convey how much she knew he was risking, how much generosity he was showing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019re welcome, Tizzy. Now&#8288;\u2026 another reason I came here today is to help you deal with these terrible files you have found. I understand why you don\u2019t want anyone else to have to see them,\u201d he said as he walked over to sit down beside her on the floor, crisscrossing his legs with the limberness of a man a third his age, \u201cbut I have served as a judge on a great number of courts martial, and have reviewed evidence of the worst war crimes human beings can perpetrate. Please allow me to help you with this. I am far more inured to the trauma that even pictures of such things can cause than you should ever have to be.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack felt relief suddenly untying the knots in her spine. The idea of looking at those images again, of sifting through them for examples that could be sent on, that would show enough to provoke outrage without being too graphic to ever be published, had been on the very edge of bearable. To look again at the misery and agony in the faces of those women and girls&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019d&#8288;\u2026 really appreciate that. Last time I looked at this stuff, I ended up puking up everything I\u2019d eaten for the last <i>month<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m truly sorry that you had to see such things at all.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra, she thought, had lived <i>through<\/i> such things, which was immeasurably worse. Sometimes she had to remind herself that, for every man who was capable of such egregious brutality, for every Red Roger, or Duke Pritchard, or Javor Makarov&#8288;\u2026 or even a William Johns&#8288;\u2026 there were men like General Toal, like Cedric, Gavin, Ewan, and all the men of <i>ait<\/i> <i>Meziane<\/i>&#8288;\u2026 like Riddick. Men who, although perhaps fearsome in their own ways, had too much honor&#8288;\u2026 and <i>kind&#173;<\/i><i>ness<\/i>&#8288;\u2026 to ever engage in such hideous, sadistic acts.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Men who possibly needed protection of their own from the schemes of monsters like Pritchard and Makarov.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThere\u2019ll be stuff we need to delete, too,\u201d she told the General. \u201cAside from following Kyra and me around to try to get to Riddick, he was helping Makarov track Toml&#8288;\u2014 Gavin Brahim. I don\u2019t think we want <i>everything<\/i> he recorded about that where people can nose into it&#8288;\u2026 and I don\u2019t want any of the pictures he took of Kyra and me getting out.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAgreed. We will curate these galleries carefully.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack logged them in and they got to work. It wasn\u2019t long before she let him take over almost entirely, looking away as he examined the different image collections that Pritchard had assembled and chose examples from each collection to include in their fictional pervert\u2019s stash.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHmm,\u201d he said at one point. \u201cI recognize three of the women so far. Former fugitives now serving prison terms&#8288;\u2026 I think their sentences may end up being vacated on the strength of this evidence.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s&#8288;\u2026 good, right?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">General Toal shrugged. \u201cPossibly. Unfortunately, I doubt they will receive much compensation or assistance, aside from being released and having the relevant crimes expunged from their records. Few in their positions do.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIs there anything you can do to help them?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He shook his head, looking somber and a little regretful. \u201cI suspect that this release of information is as much as I can personally do for them. Any overt intervention on my part could draw too much attention to what I might know about Pritchard and Makarov, myself&#8288;\u2026 and how I might have learned it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Shit. \u201cYeah&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Maybe, she thought, someday there would be something <i>she<\/i> could do. Her dad had told her about working with various NGOs, when he was stationed on different worlds, which had provided targeted aid to groups in need. Maybe she could join, or if need be create, one that would help victims of these kinds of crimes&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDear God.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat?\u201d Jack looked over at General Toal. \u201cSomething bad?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The General was frowning, advancing through a series of pictures. Bracing herself, Jack leaned over to look.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Nothing remotely pornographic was on the screen anymore. Instead, a surveillance camera showed a man dressed in traditional Amazigh attire, a <i>tagelmust<\/i> covering his head and obscuring most of his face, exiting a swanky-looking restaurant, the image taken from behind him. It vanished and was replaced by a new shot, from a different angle&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack recognized this frame. The surveillance camera it originated from had been covering the entrance to the pilots\u2019 lounge. The same man was emerging from the lounge, partly turned as though waving goodbye to whomever had brought him as a guest. She remembered watching him leave the lounge when she\u2019d reviewed the footage.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Glancing at her, his expression suddenly a little wary, the General closed the folder without advancing through further pictures. \u201cI don\u2019t understand why they would be so interested in collecting stills of the people they murdered that day,\u201d he said. \u201cI may wish to examine this more closely&#8288;\u2026 but I think its presence would cloud the investigation we wish to see pursued.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">As she watched, he took a chip out of his pocket, connected it to the tablet, and transferred three folders to it\u2014none of them from the \u201cBad Kitties\u201d folder\u2014before deleting them from Pritchard\u2019s account.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack had the strange feeling that some kind of sleight-of-hand had just occurred, but at the same time, she didn\u2019t feel any ill intent emanating from the General&#8288;\u2026 more a sense that he had just done something to protect someone else. Maybe it was, as she\u2019d pondered earlier, someone who would be harmed by the scrutiny that even drawing the two mercs\u2019 interest could generate. One of the other folders, she realized, was the one that contained the surveillance pictures of her and Kyra.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>He already knows who we are, and he\u2019s risking a shit-ton to hide us from his own bosses&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Whatever else he was hiding, whoever else he might be protecting, she\u2019d let it slide. It probably wasn\u2019t any of her business.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThere is,\u201d he said slowly, pocketing the chip again, \u201cone more thing I need to discuss with you while we\u2019re here. If you and Kyra haven\u2019t already begun to plan your exit strategy off this world, now is the time to do so.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhy?\u201d Jack already had her exit in place, but his words sent a chill through her anyway.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBecause it\u2019s only a matter of time before a formal investigation of the repeated calamities at the spaceport is initiated by the Federacy,\u201d he told her. \u201cSuch investigations always include at least two esper Operatives. One of the things <i>they<\/i> will be looking for&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He locked eyes with her, and she could feel him willing her to understand how serious the matter was.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;is evidence of someone like you.\u201d<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4044\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4044 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-45\">\u00ab Chapter 45<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4110\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4110 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-47\">Chapter 47 \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=\"47\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4045\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4045 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-46\">\u00ab Chapter 46<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4111\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4111 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-48\">Chapter 48 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5196\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5196 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">47.<br\/>\r\n<u>Princess With a Thousand Enemies<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou hear back yet from any of the places you reached out to?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra glanced over at Jack as she slipped off her shirt. For a brief moment, she seemed to hesitate. \u201cOne or two. Why?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack felt an odd mixture of relief and concern. Kyra seemed to be hiding something from her, but she wasn\u2019t sure what. \u201cGeneral Toal told me that we shouldn\u2019t waste any time getting offworld if we can help it. He thinks all the disasters that have happened here in the last few weeks are gonna bring down some esper-hunters, in addition to the Operatives he mentioned at dinner.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra grimaced. \u201cThat does <i>not<\/i> sound good. Does that mess with <i>your<\/i> timetable?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt shouldn\u2019t. I leave for New Casablanca in three morning-days. And I\u2019ll be offworld before&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHold up. Don\u2019t tell me.\u201d Kyra\u2019s smile was wry. \u201cI\u2019m not supposed to know, remember? We can\u2019t spill&#8288;\u2014\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat we don\u2019t know, yeah,\u201d Jack sighed. The idea that she was leaving Kyra behind, and couldn\u2019t even know for sure whether her sister\u2019s future was secure, bothered the hell out of her. Especially now that she had the sense that Kyra was hiding something <i>more<\/i> from her than just a chosen destination. \u201cHow about you?\u201d she asked after a moment. \u201cNo specifics, but&#8288;\u2026 what\u2019s it looking like?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m giving it one more day,\u201d Kyra said. \u201cMy first choice hasn\u2019t responded yet&#8288;\u2026 so I\u2019m gonna give them a little more time before I accept an offer. Not too much, though. I don\u2019t want the other offers going away, especially if our timeline is tight all of a sudden.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack tied the sash on her bathrobe and looked around. \u201cHave you seen Sebby?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNot since he plowed through his crickets before dinner, no.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The cricket tub was completely empty.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The initial search of the bedroom turned up nothing until Jack, mindful of Sebby\u2019s fondness for playing under furniture, looked under the bed. What she pulled out stunned both her and Kyra.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A complete, Sebby-shaped exoskeleton with a large hole in its front.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHoly shit,\u201d Kyra breathed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSebby <i>molted?<\/i>\u201d Jack looked around, carefully setting the exuviae on top of the bedspread. \u201cWhere is he?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSebby?\u201d Kyra called out. \u201cBaby? Where are you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Reeeeeeeee&#8288;\u2026<\/i> The bathroom.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Now the size of a large housecat, Sebby had managed to open the shower stall and was trying, with no success, to crawl up the wall to turn on the faucets. Jack leaned in and turned them on for him, getting the water to his favorite temperature. He began to bounce and wriggle beneath the stream, doing what she and Kyra had come to call the Sebby Dance.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe\u2019re gonna need a bigger cricket tub,\u201d Jack marveled.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShit, Tizzy, what are we gonna do about him? I don\u2019t think <i>I<\/i> can take him with me. Can you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo,\u201d she admitted. \u201cAnd there\u2019s still so much we don\u2019t know about him, isn\u2019t there? Part of me is tempted to ask Cedric and Safiyya if they can keep him, but&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBut not after what the General told us tonight, right?\u201d Kyra looked stricken.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">General Toal and Jack hadn\u2019t returned to the <i>ait Meziane<\/i> house until almost dinnertime, well after the story they\u2019d carefully planted had begun to break wide. They had spent several hours monitoring its development and giving little nudges to some of its aspects as things progressed. Astonishingly, she\u2019d managed to eat the light lunch Takama had packed for them, but keeping it down had been difficult at times.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Confronted with the compelling\u2014and horrifying\u2014evidence about the identity of the New Marrakesh Spaceport Bomber, and the nature of his other heinous crimes, the news agencies had begun scrambling to scoop each other and be first to report as many salacious details as they could legally spill. Law enforcement had initially been far more cautious, but within an hour, the names Javor Makarov and Duke Pritchard were circulating freely in both news reports and law enforcement press releases about two \u201cpersons of interest\u201d in the bombing&#8288;\u2026 and other crimes, besides.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Soon after, Amnesty Interplanetary\u2019s local chapter issued its own press release, disclosing that it was investigating allegations of human rights violations the two suspects might have engaged in while transporting fugitives and prisoners.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It took less than half an hour beyond that for law enforcement to secure a warrant for the data files of the fictitious pervert Jack and the General had created, which contained a larger and more damning cache of images than had originally been sent out to the news agencies, along with a cross-section of Pritchard\u2019s favorite videos. That cache contained more than enough explicit detail to give investigators probable cause to serve the Merc Network itself with a new round of warrants.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Right as Jack and General Toal were preparing to leave the apartment and return to the <i>ait Meziane<\/i> house, the story exploded. Several of the pictures their fictional sicko claimed he\u2019d been sent by Pritchard, and one of the videos, \u201cstarred\u201d a girl who had just been identified as Luljeta Kamberi. She was a high-profile murder victim from the Tito System, a girl who had disappeared from New Kosovo three years earlier and whose mutilated remains had been discovered a year later. Jack remembered reading about her and seeing the wave of Stranger Danger PSA vids that had circulated in response. She hadn\u2019t recognized the girl\u2019s face in Pritchard\u2019s vile image collection because the pain and terror twisting it had distorted it too much from the sweet, smiling portrait always shared in the media.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Both Pritchard and Makarov, according to the backroom law enforcement chatter Jack and the General had been monitoring, were known to have been bounty hunting in New Kosovo at that time, pursuing a woman who \u201cstarred\u201d in another violent image and vid collection&#8288;\u2026 and whose bounty was still open and unclaimed. There had been no further sightings of <i>her<\/i> since approximately the same time that twelve-year-old Luljeta had vanished.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The phrase \u201csexual predators\u201d had begun to give way to \u201cserial killers\u201d in the backroom chatter. Soon after, someone leaked the Luljeta Kamberi connection to the press.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThis&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d General Toal had said with some trepidation, \u201cjust escalated to a Federacy case. Their crimes now cross enough planetary jurisdictions that no one else can claim authority. I think nothing the Mercenary Network tries to do now will prevent law enforcement from gaining access to those accounts. Not when so much evidence is appearing that these two men have been using the Network\u2019s resources, for <i>years<\/i>, to commit some truly heinous atrocities. Not when every planetary embassy on Tangier Prime begins demanding access to see if any of <i>their<\/i> worlds\u2019 missing daughters are featured in similar collections. I had honestly believed all their victims were alive <i>somewhere<\/i>, but this discovery changes everything.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat means Operatives are definitely gonna be coming, too, doesn\u2019t it?\u201d Jack felt chilled and hollow, aware that she and Kyra had come all too close to sharing Luljeta\u2019s grisly fate. Not one of the nauseating threats Pritchard had made to her had been empty.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI imagine they will be here within the week, yes. And they will be going over everything that is known about the events leading up to the spaceport explosion.\u201d He\u2019d bored into her with his gaze as he said that. \u201cWe need to make absolutely sure there\u2019s nothing left that can lead them to you, or your sister, or the family we both care about that has been protecting you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIs there any way to prevent that last part? I mean, their whole mission that day <i>was<\/i> to murder Colonel Tomlin.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI honestly don\u2019t know. But we must conceal any sign that he was anything more than an inconvenient witness to the cover-up of a Level Five Incident, and <i>especially<\/i> that he was protecting and hiding survivors of the Incident.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Or, in fact, that there had been any survivors at all.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Dinner table conversation, that evening after the sun had set, had centered around the different handles that might still be sticking out to point investigators toward the <i>ait Meziane<\/i> tribe and the Rif in general. That was also when the General had, as gently as he could, informed everyone that neither \u201cDihya\u201d nor \u201cTislilel\u201d could remain on Tangier Prime for much longer. The other <i>Matador<\/i> survivors were to stay hidden, in as remote parts of the New Atlas range as possible, but the two espers in their number had to put as many light years as they could between themselves and the unfolding investigation&#8288;\u2026 and the Federacy Operatives who would soon be part of it. And, most essential and terrible of all, none of the people they left behind could know where they were going or how to reach them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Most of the family had looked stricken; Ewan had looked devastated. It had been hard for Jack to meet his eyes, and even harder to look away once she did.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Everything connected to Elsewhere, they all finally\u2014if reluctantly\u2014agreed, needed to be gone from New Marrakesh before the Operatives arrived. Including the driftwood, coral, and shells Jack and Kyra had collected. Including Sebby.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Now, Jack reached into the shower and carefully stroked Sebby\u2019s still-hardening new carapace. \u201cWe\u2019re gonna have to take him home. Morning after Ewan\u2019s send-off&#8288;\u2026 we need to take him back to Elsewhere, where he belongs. Before anybody in the investigation hears about him and realizes he doesn\u2019t belong to this \u2019verse.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She felt like something had reached into her chest, gripped her heart, and begun crushing it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah,\u201d Kyra agreed, her voice cracking. \u201cI don\u2019t see anything else we can do.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI figure he\u2019s from somewhere up in the heights,\u201d Jack managed to continue after a moment. \u201cSome ninety meters above sea level. That\u2019s where the wave must\u2019ve caught him. We get some good elevation maps, and we can figure out the best spots to try. Maybe, once we\u2019re there, he\u2019ll know where to go.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMaybe&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Kyra leaned against her and reached in to pet Sebby, too. \u201cWhat if he doesn\u2019t? What if he\u2019s too domesticated now?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack winced. It wasn\u2019t a thought she liked. \u201cThen we bring him back with us, and we ask Takama to have someone take him to the other <i>Matador<\/i> survivors and have them take care of him. Some of them know how to switch between \u2019verses pretty well. They can&#8288;\u2026 I dunno&#8288;\u2026 do a soft release once he gets used to his own world again&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sebby turned and crawled onto their kneeling legs, trying to nuzzle both of their abdomens at the same time. His <i>reeeeeee<\/i> was oddly plaintive.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh&#8288;\u2026 <i>fuck&#8288;\u2026<\/i>&#8288;\u201d Kyra gasped. Jack could feel tears starting in her own eyes as she watched them sliding down Kyra\u2019s cheeks. \u201cHe knows&#8288;\u2026 he knows what we\u2019re talking about doing&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack nodded, struggling not to start crying as she stroked the length of Sebby\u2019s soft new exoskeleton. The tears slipped out anyway. \u201cWe love you, Sebby. We don\u2019t want to leave you, but&#8288;\u2026 bad things are happening and we\u2019re going to have to go somewhere we can\u2019t take you. I promise you, we\u2019re going to find you a good place to be, first. A place you can be happy&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Reeeeeeee&#8288;\u2026<\/i> Jack thought she could almost hear real words in it. <i>Happy with you&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Had <i>Riddick<\/i> felt like this, she wondered, when he was preparing to leave her behind? Was <i>that<\/i> why he\u2019d slipped away like a thief in the night rather than say goodbye?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She and Kyra both took extra-long showers so that Sebby could keep dancing in the water at their feet. Jack wished she had eight more legs so that she could do the Sebby Dance along with him properly.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There would be no record of this dance, except in her and Kyra\u2019s memories, after they parted. General Toal had been clear. No pictures, no vids, no souvenirs. They couldn\u2019t take any with them and couldn\u2019t leave any for the <i>ait Meziane<\/i> family to remember them by. Anything that could ever link them to this time and place had to be destroyed or left in Elsewhere. When they left, they had to vanish like ghosts.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack, at least, wouldn\u2019t need pictures or souvenirs to remember these moments clearly, but she could see how distressed everyone else was&#8288;\u2026 especially Ewan.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And she could <i>feel<\/i> how upset Kyra was behind her deadpan&#8288;\u2026 until her sister began inexplicably blocking the connection between them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Maybe <i>that<\/i> was because of the awful anecdote that the General had also shared with them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMany years ago,\u201d he\u2019d told the group at the table, \u201cI heard the story of a young woman who had been a witness to a terrible crime and was placed in protective custody until she could testify against its perpetrators. She was hidden away, and only allowed periodic, controlled contact with her family, through elaborate channels designed to keep anyone from tracing her whereabouts. Her mother worried a great deal about her and, as time wore on, became increasingly desperate to make sure that she was all right. <i>She<\/i> began to beg her daughter to tell her something, anything, about where she was or how she was doing.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">His gaze had swept the table, fixing on each person as he continued. \u201cEventually, the young woman caved. Her handler did not discover it until much later, but she told her mother the name of the city she was living in.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Cedric, Ewan, and Usaden all winced.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFor a while, nothing seemed amiss,\u201d General Toal continued. \u201cBut her mother subscribed to the city\u2019s local news service, checking its headlines and weather reports every day. After a time, that <i>\u2026quirk&#8288;\u2026<\/i> came to the attention of the wrong people. They now knew which city to search for their quarry. After a few more weeks, they found the young woman they had been hunting. And then, not long after that poor, worried mother saw a headline about a fatal house fire in the feed she had subscribed to, she learned that it was her own daughter who had died in that fire.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The table had remained silent, everyone seated at it looking aghast.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m telling you this story so that you will understand how important it is <i>not<\/i> to know where either Dihya or Tislilel have gone, and not to try to find out. As difficult and painful as it is, and I do understand how painful it is&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>After all<\/i>, Jack had thought, <i>his own son\u2019s been missing for almost a decade.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;<i>all<\/i> ties between you and them must be cut, for everyone\u2019s safety.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Safiyya, in particular, seemed to be struggling to find an argument against that. Ewan looked exactly the way he had when Jack had first seen him at his brother\u2019s memorial: crushed by loss.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThey do not have to leave tonight,\u201d the General continued. \u201cThat would be precipitous and might draw attention to the fact that they were fleeing <i>something.<\/i> But they should stay no longer than another week, and they should time their departures to coincide with those of other family members who are going back to the New Atlas range&#8288;\u2026 or returning to their duties after taking time off for Gavin Brahim\u2019s memorial.\u201d His eyes fixed on Ewan for a moment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Everyone had been quiet and somber for the rest of the evening, even as those departures were being solidified. In one Tangier day, after night fell and Qamar was in the right part of the sky, Ewan would be returning to the flight academy. His grandparents, Iz\u00eel, and Lalla would be leaving for the New Atlas mountains the evening-day after that. And, the General decided, he would escort the two of them to the high-speed rail station the following morning-day, where they would depart for destinations no one could know.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack, who had told him about her ticket to the New Casablanca spaceport, was not allowed to ask what Kyra\u2019s destination would be. Kyra had already known about that ticket, but she wasn\u2019t allowed to know where Jack was going from there. In fact, General Toal had forbidden Jack to tell <i>him<\/i>, either. It all made sense&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But she was plagued by the terrible suspicion that Kyra didn\u2019t <i>have<\/i> a destination yet. Was that what her sister was hiding?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The whole thing had become terribly, depressingly imminent. Even though Tangier Prime had always been intended as just a waystation, even though Jack had been reminding herself since before Tomlin\u2019s death that she couldn\u2019t stay and needed to move on&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The prospect of leaving was still far more painful than she\u2019d ever expected it would be.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It took her a long time to fall asleep.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She dreamed, at first, about wandering empty halls and rooms, seeking someone, anyone. Some of the rooms were from the <i>ait Meziane<\/i> house, others from her mom\u2019s house or her dad\u2019s apartment; once she even found herself back in the apartment she and Kyra had shared. But all the rooms were empty. No people, no furniture, no life.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Everything, it seemed, had been lost.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Except, on one floor, she found a poster lying face down. She turned it over.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"center-block\"><tt>Minnie Sulis<br\/>\r\nA Night of Magic<br\/>\r\nOne Night Only<br\/><\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A <tt>SOLD OUT<\/tt> sticker had been plastered on top of the ticketing information. The face of the woman on the poster stunned Jack.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra. An older, slightly curvier Kyra with gold hair and thinner, lighter eyebrows, dressed in a sparkling, multicolored corset and top hat. A dove crouched on the raised palm of her left hand, wings spread and poised to take flight. Above the cupped fingers of her right hand, a glowing crystal sphere hovered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra\u2019s <i>mother,<\/i> Jack realized. Minerva Kirshbaum-Wittier, better known to late twenty-first century America by her stage name, much as her real esper abilities had been concealed behind the mannered artifice of stage magic.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>General Toal still hasn\u2019t told Kyra about her mother,<\/i> Jack thought. <i>I have to remind him to&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But Kyra\u2014actual Kyra, but just a little girl\u2014was lifting the poster out of a box. The room was no longer empty. It was small, cramped, dominated by a large bed. The box had come out from deep beneath it. The windows were shut, but through them Jack could hear a low roar, like the ocean but steady rather than tidal. She walked to one window and looked out.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Gray, gray, gray. Gray buildings towering on every side, rising up to blot out the sky. Gray pavement below, choked with vehicles, the source of the steady roar and the periodic, strident sounds of horns. Gray <i>air<\/i>, putting a hint of a metallic taste in her throat. Gray sky peeking through the spaces between skyscrapers, haze making the buildings themselves fade away into nothing at their peaks.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">New York City, 2087. The year Kyra had said goodbye to the world of her birth.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra set the poster aside, gathering up the spangled corset beneath it and running her fingers over its gemmy beads and sequins. The moment was charged with magic and nostalgia; to her, there were no riches or treasures in the \u2019verse that could compare to the glittering fabric in her hands, and there never would be. She put it in her lap and surveyed the other treasures in the box: a crystal ball, a tarot deck, a set of playing cards tipped with sharp metal edges, a compressed black top hat&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat are you into now?\u201d a man\u2019s scolding voice said behind her. \u201cOh, for the love of&#8288;\u2014 Min! <i>Min!\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra, curled up on her side on her own bed, head burrowing into her pillow, a stuffed bunny clutched to her chest with one hand while the other pressed over her exposed ear, trying to blot out the shouting.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou said you\u2019d gotten rid of that devilry! Now you\u2019re letting it corrupt our daughter!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s just&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou can\u2019t bring it with us! Either you belong to God or to the devil, Min! Choose!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Min&#8288;\u2026 <i>Mommy&#8288;\u2026<\/i> crying later when she thought no one would hear&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The box, when Kyra next sneaked into her parents\u2019 bedroom to pull it out again and play with the things inside, was no longer there.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Filling a small box of her own, not long after, as her Pa lectured her. \u201cWe can\u2019t take much, but we don\u2019t need much. God will provide. Take only what\u2019s most important&#8288;\u2026 why are you packing <i>that?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;the stuffed bunny, worn and much beloved, lying forlornly on the bed as she left her bedroom for the last time and struggled not to cry&#8288;\u2026 another lost treasure that no worldly riches could ever compare to&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Lost.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Forever.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Gray, and more gray, more than two years of gray, wandering the cramped halls of a stern and chilly spaceship. The other children were so alien to her, so different from the kids she\u2019d known at her first school, mostly pious cookie-cutter duplicates of each other and dull to talk to. Her school lessons were alien, too. She was still learning to read, now from a book called <i>Bible Stories for Children<\/i>, but the other subjects, the ones she\u2019d liked most, were gone. No art period, no gymnastics, no learning about plants and animals&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The <i>boys<\/i> got to learn about plants and animals. Her older brother played with construction and chemistry sets she was forbidden to even touch. The boys got to run and jump, tumble and kick, and throw and hit balls. But she wasn\u2019t allowed anymore.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The gray world of the colony ship was a coffin.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Green, at last. The green world her Pa had said God promised them. Yet somehow all the grown-ups were angry about it. Even as they talked about God\u2019s providence, even as they told the children to rejoice at having real grass under their feet and real trees above their heads&#8288;\u2026 nine-year-old Kyra could feel how furious they all were. They felt <i>cheated<\/i> somehow. Her mother hushed her when she asked why, fear sparking in her eyes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Chores, endless chores to make the days turn gray again. Washing and cooking and cleaning, none of which her brother ever had to do. Gardening, at least, wasn\u2019t bad. But if she let the dirt stay under her nails, her Pa shouted at her. \u201cUnclean\u201d was an epithet that meant God would hate her. When she figured out what she needed to do and be for God to like her, she wasn\u2019t sure she wanted Him to.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She would steal away after each day\u2019s chores to learn the things that her brother was allowed to learn, but that no one would teach <i>her.<\/i> It was painstaking work, with no one to help her figure out her mistakes. She resolved that she just couldn\u2019t make any&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;Disappearing into the green, whenever she could get away, to climb the trees and follow the animals\u2019 trails&#8288;\u2026 to run and tumble and kick unseen by anyone but those who could never betray her secrets&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;Sometimes she stole paper and pencils so she could draw detailed pictures of the plants and animals she had seen in the woods, try to capture the beauty of the valley that spread below Canaan Mountain, or reproduce the faces of her family and the few people she considered anything like friends. She kept them hidden from everyone, and learned how to switch hands and hold the pencils in a variety of ways when her Pa sharply queried her about the writing callus she was developing on one finger. As a girl, he said, she didn\u2019t need to learn how to write, or read anything more than the Good Book&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">One day, as she sketched the valley from the perspective of a high tree branch, eleven years old, huge vehicles began to arrive, arraying themselves around the Enclave. Tense-looking men emerged from one vehicle and marched toward the gates&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her mother, still so beautiful but her face increasingly lined with sorrow, stress, and murdered dreams, gathered her into a fierce hug when she stole home later. \u201cWhere have you been? I\u2019ve been so worried&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The vehicles remained arrayed around the Enclave. Kyra wasn\u2019t allowed out anymore; none of the children were. Bad men were outside, she was told, and they would do terrible things to her if they caught her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>But first, they must catch you&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her mother had read that to her once from a book she\u2019d found and pilfered from her cousin Joren\u2019s library shelves, back on Earth, because it had rabbits on the cover. <i>Mommy<\/i> could only read her parts of it when no one else was home, but her Pa had snatched it away from them, shouting, when he\u2019d come home early and caught them with it. Kyra still didn\u2019t know how it ended. The book was connected, in her heart, to that lost and mourned stuffed bunny, whose official name had been Patches but who, secretly, she\u2019d called El-Ahrairah&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>But first, they must catch you.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She knew all the hidden ways through the forest around the Enclave, and had known how to get in and out, unseen, for years. The <i>bad men<\/i> never caught her, never even saw her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;until\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Fire. Smoke. Blood. Screaming. Kyra reloaded, aimed at one of the <i>bad men<\/i> and pulled the trigger, watching just long enough to make sure he fell and didn\u2019t rise. She moved on before anyone could fire back, finding another place to aim from, another <i>bad man<\/i> to aim at&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;Struggling in their grip as they dragged her into a courtyard, her shirt torn away and one of them painfully twisting her hair in his fist. Her mother, cornered by three more of the <i>bad men<\/i>, had her hands out, holding them up in a gesture that Kyra remembered from a time when she was little and, one day while her Pa and brother were both away at some church event, the brooms had danced. But her face crumpled and she began to cry.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Min\u2014<i>Mommy<\/i>\u2014sobbed. \u201cI won\u2019t&#8288;\u2026 I can\u2019t&#8288;\u2026 I won\u2019t let the devil back in me&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The men laughed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019re gonna have <i>my<\/i> devil in you in a minute, bitch,\u201d one of them said, reaching forward to grasp the fabric of her dress&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cOh God&#8288;\u2026 <b>MOMMY&#8288;\u2026&#8288;<\/b>&#8288;\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack woke up with a start.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra, next to her on the bed, whimpered again. \u201cMommy&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her dream, she realized, had been <i>Kyra\u2019s<\/i> dream, now morphing into a terrible nightmare as the standoff and massacre unfolded again in her mind.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cKyra,\u201d she murmured, touching her shoulder. \u201cWake up. It\u2019s okay. You\u2019re not there&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo,\u201d Kyra whisper-sobbed. \u201cI have to save her&#8288;\u2026 have to save us&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But there had been no way for twelve-year-old Kyra to <i>do<\/i> that&#8288;\u2026 and there was no way now for sixteen-year-old Kyra to do it either.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Is she going to be ruled by these nightmares after we\u2019re separated? Oh fuck&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Only knowing that she had to do <i>something<\/i>, Jack leaned close, put her arms around Kyra, closed her eyes&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;and dove back into her sister\u2019s mind the way she could dive into the mindspace the <i>Apeiros<\/i> inhabited.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was back in the New Christy Enclave. She froze the moment and rolled it backward, feeling Kyra\u2019s initial resistance and then assent. Turn back time, turn it back, please undo what was done&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The battle began, all over again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But now it was different.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">As Red Roger\u2019s <i>bad men<\/i> poured into the Enclave&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;Riddick rose to meet them.<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4045\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4045 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-46\">\u00ab Chapter 46<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4111\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4111 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-48\">Chapter 48 \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=\"48\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4046\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4046 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-47\">\u00ab Chapter 47<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4112\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4112 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-49\">Chapter 49 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5454\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5454 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">48.<br\/>\r\n<u>Tizzy the Terrible<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019re mine now,\u201d Ewan murmured into Jack\u2019s ear. \u201cI can\u2019t let you go&#8288;\u2026 ever&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He began to move against her, his hands pinning her wrists to the bedroll he\u2019d spread out beneath her. She wrapped her bare legs around his naked waist, letting him have his way, groaning softly at the pleasure he was stirring in her. He\u2019d taken her from the house without warning, without a word, and brought her into the mountains, refusing to accept that they might never see each other again. Now her past and future fell away and there was only this moment, only him&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTizzy. <i>Tizzy.<\/i> Keep it <i>down<\/i>&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack\u2019s eyes flew open.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The tent canvas that had been above her just seconds ago was gone, replaced with the ornate tiled ceiling of the bedroom in the <i>ait Meziane<\/i> house, barely visible in the gloom.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra, herself only half visible in the predawn darkness, was sitting up next to her and watching her with a smirk. \u201cDamn, girl, that dream of yours got <i>me<\/i> all hot and bothered, and I don\u2019t even <i>like<\/i> sex,\u201d she snickered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Fuck.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cPlease tell me I didn\u2019t call out his name.\u201d Jack groaned, now with embarrassment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI woke you up before you could, but I think you were about to.\u201d Kyra\u2019s smile was positively <i>merry.<\/i> \u201cI figured you wouldn\u2019t want that to happen.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack sat up in the bed, aware that she\u2019d been on the verge of feeling something incredible, which had now receded unfulfilled. \u201cThanks, I think&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, sorry about <i>that.<\/i> But you\u2019re gonna need to learn how to not talk in your sleep before you return home, you know.\u201d Kyra\u2019s smile turned wry. \u201cGonna have a bunch of people, who are <i>very<\/i> interested in picking up any clues they can about where you\u2019ve been, listening in once you\u2019re there.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFuuuuuuck&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Jack flopped back against the pillows. \u201cIs that something I can even learn how to do?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cProbably. Maybe you can ask the General if that device he\u2019s bringing us will help you do that. Who knows?\u201d Kyra lay down next to her again, sighing. \u201cI\u2019m sorry you can\u2019t stay, you know. I wish we both could. It\u2019s all happening so fast now.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That, weirdly, had been the driving force behind the dream. She\u2019d \u201cawakened\u201d in it to find Ewan beside their bed, taking her hand and putting a finger to her lips when she started to ask what he was doing. He\u2019d led her down to the garage and to a large, rugged vehicle, strapping her in without speaking, and driven them out of the city and into the mountains. Rather than give her up, he had decided to abandon his career and reputation and claim her as his own <i>right then&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was all very wish-fulfillment but was absolutely the opposite of what the real Ewan would ever do, she thought. Even given how devastated he\u2019d looked after dinner.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGod, part of me wishes that hadn\u2019t been a dream&#8288;\u2026 that it had been real&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe wouldn\u2019t be the man you\u2019re hung up on if it had been, you know,\u201d Kyra chuckled next to her. \u201cPart of what you\u2019re in love with is the fact that he\u2019d never do something like that. Never actually hurt you. And doing that <i>would<\/i> hurt you. Trust me, it really would.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI know&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Jack grumped. \u201cI really do know that. Sometimes.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And sometimes, she thought ruefully, she started to convince herself that she\u2019d be able to handle it, that she was plenty adult enough to offer and receive such things. Only after those moments passed would she realize, yet again, that those were some of her most childish thoughts of all.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d had similar fantasies about Riddick, half a year earlier. Sometimes she wondered if that was why he\u2019d disappeared on her, because he knew what she felt for him and was worried that, if she offered herself to him the way she\u2019d sometimes fantasized about doing, he might take her up on it. Had crushing on him driven him away?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I just wish he\u2019d said good-bye&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But part of her was dreading how hard it was going to be to say good-bye to Ewan.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Another part of her wished she\u2019d never started crushing on <i>him<\/i>, either, or whatever it was she was feeling. She missed Ewan\u2019s hugs, missed resting her head against his chest or shoulder and having him hold her close, missed the affection, teasing, and intuitive understanding of each other\u2019s ideas that they\u2019d been able to share those first few days&#8288;\u2026 before any touch, any glance, had started setting her body on fire. The desire she felt, and couldn\u2019t control, had become a barrier that was cheating her out of one of the most powerful <i>emotional<\/i> bonds she\u2019d ever found.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And now it was too late to find a way to fix that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTime fixes it,\u201d Kyra said, as if replying to spoken words rather than her thoughts. \u201cYou won\u2019t be a bundle of hormones forever. Or maybe you\u2019ll just figure out how to handle them. Not sure. I read up on some of that stuff at the hospital, and even talked about it with one or two of my therapists. Mostly I was trying to figure out why <i>I<\/i> feel so <i>dead<\/i> inside about the whole thing&#8288;\u2026 turns out a lot of rape survivors do. But I read about what <i>normal<\/i> sex drives are supposed to be like, too, especially when they\u2019ve just kicked on&#8288;\u2026 and it\u2019ll get easier to handle. In time.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFuckin\u2019 time,\u201d Jack groaned. \u201cI\u2019m almost out of that&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNuh uh,\u201d Kyra snickered. \u201cYou\u2019re just going home for a while. Once you learn how to handle it all, and the \u2019verse says you\u2019re a legal adult&#8288;\u2026 look out worlds, here comes Tizzy the Terrible!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh, my <i>God&#8288;\u2026<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHey, it\u2019s a step up from Jack B. Badd. Isn\u2019t that your dad, anyway?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah,\u201d Jack admitted, laughing. \u201cThe more I think about it, the more I think I stole <i>his<\/i> childhood nickname.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd now you have your own,\u201d Kyra grinned.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She had to admit, she <i>liked<\/i> being \u201cTizzy&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI can\u2019t take it with me, though,\u201d she found herself musing. \u201cIt\u2019d connect me to here. When I get back home, I can\u2019t ever be either \u2018Jack\u2019 or \u2018Tizzy\u2019 anymore.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, not if you want to ever come back here someday,\u201d Kyra said after a moment. \u201cI can\u2019t take \u2018Dihya\u2019 with me, either. Fuck, I\u2019m gonna miss that name&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMaybe one day you\u2019ll get to use your own name again, though,\u201d Jack said. \u201cOnce you\u2019re eighteen, New Dartmouth law says your criminal record as a minor gets sealed, even if the statute of limitations isn\u2019t up and even if they haven\u2019t had a chance to prosecute yet. I looked it up. Once you turn eighteen, they can\u2019t touch you. So, like, two years from now&#8288;\u2026 you can tell the whole \u2019verse your real name if you want.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah,\u201d Kyra replied, her voice wistful, \u201cbut the whole \u2019verse already knows who that is. It\u2019s still gonna be the same deal&#8288;\u2026 they\u2019ll think I <i>should<\/i> be in jail anyway. And if I want to come back here in a few years and try to network with those officer friends of Tomlin\u2019s, it definitely can\u2019t be as <i>me.<\/i> Toombs made sure of that.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFuckin\u2019 Toombs&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Jack found herself wishing she\u2019d sent him on his wild goose chase on a much more inhospitable world than Shakti IV. There was a frigid, desolate, barely habitable planet she\u2019d heard about a while back, UV-6, that would have been perfect. She could have made him freeze his ass off the whole time he was chasing his own malodorous tail. Too late now, though&#8288;\u2026 \u201cWell, maybe in a few years, Kali Montgomery can do that networking instead, right?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, she\u2019s even got a military background. It\u2019ll all work out&#8288;\u2026\u201d But Kyra was shielding her thoughts from Jack again. She could feel the barrier that had gone up.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAre you okay with me knowing that name?\u201d Jack asked, wondering if <i>that<\/i> was the problem. \u201cBecause I can show you how to make a new ID if you want.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNah, it\u2019s all good.\u201d Kyra shook her head and quirked a smile at Jack. \u201cI like that name. Picked it myself. It\u2019s fine. I\u2019m not all that worried about <i>you<\/i> getting caught and interrogated. You\u2019re an escape artist. People go to grab you and whoosh, you\u2019re somewhere else. That was true even before you learned how to isomorph.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOkay.\u201d Jack sighed, still wishing she knew what Kyra was hiding. \u201cAre you okay with what I did last night?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat\u2019d you do last night?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhen you were having a nightmare. And I stopped it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra frowned quizzically at her. \u201cI had a nightmare? I don\u2019t remember. Well, thank you for stopping it, anyway. But I just remember having a real&#8288;\u2026 <i>nice<\/i> dream.\u201d An almost-goofy smile crossed her lips. \u201cNearly as nice as the one you had.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Maybe that was the only part she remembered?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">When Jack had taken over the dream, she\u2019d depicted Riddick single-handedly slaughtering all Red Roger\u2019s men, drawing from the spectacular combat moves she\u2019d seen him use when he\u2019d battled the Shrills, and then gutting Roger Fiennes himself while Kyra watched. Then he had offered her his hand and told her that he was taking her away from Canaan Mountain and the New Christy Enclave, enacting every facet of the rescue that she\u2019d always wished for.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">At that point, she had let Kyra start \u201cdriving\u201d again and withdrawn from her sister\u2019s mind. Where they\u2019d gone from there, she didn\u2019t know. She\u2019d needed some sleep of her <i>own.<\/i> Steering someone else\u2019s dreams like that had turned out to be hard work.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019re welcome,\u201d she told Kyra, trying not to beam. \u201cAs long as you got a good night\u2019s sleep, right? I was thinking&#8288;\u2026 when we take Sebby back&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Reee?<\/i> Sebby lifted his head. He had been sleeping down by their feet.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, you, sweetie. Don\u2019t worry. We\u2019re gonna take good care of you, I promise. But I was thinking we could ask Tafrara where she buys the plants she puts in the courtyard, and buy a little olive tree to take with us. Maybe even two. So Sebby can eat olives forever.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra\u2019s eyes lit up at the idea. \u201cOh my God, Tizzy, that\u2019s <i>it.<\/i> That\u2019s also the way <i>we<\/i> can leave something behind <i>here<\/i> for the family. We can plant something in the courtyard, and to everybody else in the \u2019verse it\u2019ll just be another plant, but <i>they\u2019ll<\/i> always know it came from <i>us.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sebby squeaked and bounced up the bed to them, catching their enthusiasm and chirping happily. Jack could tell he had olives in mind now, and that they\u2019d better bring some up for him when they came back from breakfast with his crickets.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh <i>shit<\/i>. I don\u2019t think Iz\u00eel is gonna buy enough crickets!\u201d Sebby had more than doubled in size, after all.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe will if we catch him before he goes,\u201d Kyra said, climbing out of bed. Jack hurried after her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Iz\u00eel had already left, but Lalla, hearing the problem, put together an \u201cappetizer\u201d plate of Sebby\u2019s favorite <i>human<\/i> foods for him, including an abundance of olives, to compensate. Breakfast was still half an hour off, but almost everyone was up, and they all wanted to see how Sebby had grown and take a look at his exuviae. Jack led the way, carrying up the tray, while Kyra talked to Tafrara about buying some olive trees and the idea of planting something special in the courtyard.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Focusing on keeping the tray balanced, Jack didn\u2019t realize that Ewan was the one walking beside her until he opened the bedroom door for her. He seemed unusually subdued.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou okay?\u201d she asked as she went through the door, forcing herself <i>not<\/i> to brush up against him in passing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYes&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Ewan\u2019s smile was dim in comparison to the ones he usually flashed her. \u201cI just didn\u2019t sleep all that well.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sebby chirped in curiosity as everybody filed in. He seemed a lot less nervous about the whole family crowding the room.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c<i>Baraka,<\/i> he\u2019s grown so big!\u201d Takama marveled.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIz\u00eel needs to see this when he gets back,\u201d Safiyya laughed. \u201cHis degree is in zoology. He will love this.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe\u2019s going back up into the New Atlas Mountains soon, isn\u2019t he?\u201d Jack asked. When Safiyya nodded, she turned to General Toal. \u201cCan&#8288;\u2026 can I give him Sebby\u2019s exuviae to take with him? Would that be okay? It wouldn\u2019t be anywhere near New Marrakesh, and it doesn\u2019t have any quantum connections to Elsewhere.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">How, she suddenly wondered, did she know that last bit?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAs long as he can be discreet about it,\u201d the General answered slowly, \u201cthat should be all right. Sebby\u2019s morphology is quite alien, in truth, but if he is willing to claim that it was sent to him from somewhere offworld, and promises not to publish any articles about your pet&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe\u2019ll make sure he agrees to that,\u201d Cedric told the General.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">If for some reason they couldn\u2019t return Sebby to Elsewhere, Jack decided, Iz\u00eel should be the one to take custody of him. He was, after all, a zoologist, he\u2019d been fascinated by Sebby from the beginning, and he\u2019d taken it upon himself to keep their rambunctious crustacean well fed. She glanced at Kyra and saw her knowing nod of agreement.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sebby, meanwhile, was happily chomping olives and squeak-mumbling softly to himself.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Breakfast was subdued, the mood from the prior evening carrying over. Kyra and Tafrara continued discussing plants and refining the idea for the garden. They decided that she and Jack should each pick out a plant for the courtyard when they went to get an olive tree or two, and once they had picked out their plants, Tafrara would determine the best locations for each one in the courtyard.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe can never tell anyone outside of the family who planted them, of course,\u201d Takama said as they finished solidifying the plan, \u201cbut it will be a nice thing for us to all know. I have spoken with the other tribal representatives in the Rif, and they have all agreed to our story. Two distant cousins from our tribe, Dihya and Tislilel, came to town in preparation for the engagement Moussem, which of course ended up being canceled after the explosion. In an unhappy turn of events, they then fell ill with Atlas Fever shortly after Brahim\u2019s memorial and had to be sent home once they recovered enough to travel. And that is as much as anyone in the Rif will ever say about you&#8288;\u2026 aside from that you were lovely, pleasant, polite girls whenever you came to the market. Which at least means they will have something true to say.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It felt, to Jack, like an <i>epitaph.<\/i> By the look on Ewan\u2019s face, he felt the same way.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Iz\u00eel joined them at the end of the meal, cricket box under his arm, and was immediately excited to hear about Sebby\u2019s molt. Kyra led him upstairs to see, telling Jack that she\u2019d been practicing the isomorph trick and wanted to try it with the crickets herself. Jack, Ewan, and Tafrara followed not long after.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Iz\u00eel and Kyra were sitting by the tub, watching Sebby play with his food and talking quietly. Iz\u00eel stood up as Jack entered the room.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDihya tells me that you two feel, if you are unable to return Sebby to Elsewhere next morning-day, that I should take him with me into the mountains when I go,\u201d he said, taking her hand. \u201cI am honored. I <i>do<\/i> hope he can be released among his own kind, but I promise to take good care of him for you if he cannot be.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThank you.\u201d It was a relief to know that, no matter what, Sebby would be safe. Now she just had to figure out a way to stop worrying so much about Kyra.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAfter dinner,\u201d Tafrara told her and Kyra, \u201cwe will go pick out plants. My favorite nursery is open into the overnoon hours and that\u2019s the best and quietest time to find things, so we\u2019ll go there shortly before we plan to retire for sleep ourselves. In the meantime&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe want to spend as much time with you today as possible,\u201d Ewan said, his eyes on Jack.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She could see how hard he was trying to hide the full depth of what he was feeling. For a moment, she imagined she saw an echo of her dream in his eyes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The first thing they did was Kyra\u2019s physical therapy session, which now incorporated Tai Chi. Jack was fascinated. Ewan led them, while Tafrara moved between her and Kyra to correct their balance and posture. He began with breathing and balance, and then had them lift their arms and legs into specific positions, holding them and slowly moving from one to another. The way Jack felt herself concentrating reminded her of the way she had focused to keep the floor of U1 beneath her in Elsewhere.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">An hour passed, almost before she knew it. As Kyra had said, she could <i>feel<\/i>, in the aftermath, how much work her body had actually been doing, even though each moment had felt easy and natural. She didn\u2019t feel it in an achy or uncomfortable way, though. She felt as if she\u2019d tapped into something powerful.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>No wonder meditating kept Riddick from going crazy in his cryo-chamber&#8288;\u2026<\/i> Maybe the way that meditation condensed time had countered the way that cryosleep drugs stretched it out.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I need to keep doing this.<\/i> She wondered if there were classes back on Deckard\u2019s World.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo, what would you two like to do next?\u201d Tafrara asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTizzy\u2019s been telling me the story of the <i>Hunter-Gratzner<\/i> crash,\u201d Kyra said. \u201cI was hoping she could finish telling it before we have to split up&#8288;\u2026 although maybe she should start over if you guys are gonna hear it, too?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was, Jack thought, a <i>kind<\/i> of souvenir she could leave behind with Ewan, Iz\u00eel, and Tafrara: the story of the accident that had ultimately brought her, and Kyra, to their doorstep. A truth that few knew, given the lies that had begun to circulate since then. They could be trusted with it. And who knew; one day, one of them might come face to face with Richard B. Riddick himself, and the story they knew might just save their lives.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She didn\u2019t start from quite the same place that she had with Kyra, though. General Toal had made it clear that she wasn\u2019t allowed to reveal anything about where she had come from or where she had been trying to go, after all. So&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI would have come to the Tangier System on the <i>Hunter-Gratzner<\/i> a few months before I ended up getting here, if it hadn\u2019t crashed,\u201d she began instead. \u201cBut it came out of one of its Star Jumps and crossed a comet\u2019s path on its way to the next Jump Point, and got holed by a bunch of micrometeors. That\u2019s what the inquiry afterward figured out. Most of the crew died in their cryo-chambers, except for the navigator and the docking pilot. The ship crash-landed on a planet with an outpost that had lost contact with the Federacy about twenty-two years earlier. But I didn\u2019t know any of <i>that<\/i> until much later. The first thing <i>I<\/i> knew, I was waking up in my cryo-chamber, lying on my side, and couldn\u2019t get the doors to open&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">This time, as she spoke, she conjured vivid mental images for Kyra, matching them to her words. Pounding on the box, wondering if it was now her coffin, until Shazza and Zeke had appeared through the glass and begun cutting her out&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra had her eyes closed, focusing on the visions Jack was feeding her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack skipped over some things, like some of the conversations she\u2019d had with Paris while they rummaged through his storage compartment for supplies and, later, weapons once Riddick escaped into the desert. For some odd reason, she felt weirdly possessive of that relationship, maybe because she\u2019d begun drawing upon some of the things he\u2019d told her about running museum heists for her own excursions into burglary. Plus, more practically, those were conversations she\u2019d portrayed as happening <i>before<\/i> the crash, the first time she\u2019d told the story to Kyra. As she retold the parts Kyra had already heard, doing imitations of each person\u2019s voice and mannerisms as she reproduced dialogues, Kyra began saying <i>her<\/i> lines for her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow do I get eyes like that?\u201d Kyra asked softly, as Jack described Riddick glancing over at her after his chained lunge toward Fry.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou gotta kill a few people,\u201d Jack answered in her Riddick imitation, not bothering to correct her sister\u2019s wording this time, either.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOkay, I can do it&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Maybe it should have worried her, but it was fun to have Kyra participate that way. She let it slide, moving forward with the tale.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The eclipse had descended over the crash planet, Hassan had died, and the survivors had adopted Fry\u2019s plan to return to the settlement as the lunch hour approached in New Marrakesh. Now she was coming up on the part of the story that still had her fuming, all these months later.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe got to work making as much light as we could, from everything we could find. Paris had me find him a bunch of these weird tubes that he could use to make wicks for the liquor bottles. And Fry told me to start pulling these big, glowing fiberoptic cables out of the bulkheads,\u201d she said, unable to keep a grumble out of her voice. \u201cThose things were glowing <i>really<\/i> brightly, and there were a <i>ton<\/i> of them, and I thought maybe there\u2019d be enough light to use them to power the Sand Cat. They were talking about pulling everything on a <i>sled<\/i> and draping the cables over our shoulders as we ran, and nobody\u2019d stop to listen to me, even if just to tell me they\u2019d already thought of it and it wouldn\u2019t work&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFry,\u201d she\u2019d said, holding up a glowing coil, \u201cdon\u2019t you think this\u2019d be enough to run&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo, Jack, pull it all down. We need all of it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s not what I&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cEl-Imam, I need to talk to you for a second,\u201d Fry said, walking off without another word to her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJohns,\u201d she\u2019d tried again. \u201cI was thinking if we coiled enough of this up around the&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cLook, kid, I\u2019m busy. Talk to Fry if you need something.\u201d He had one of his shotgun shells, a bright red one, in his hand and was turning it over and over as if that was the most important task in the universe.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBut she&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTalk. To. <i>Fry.<\/i>\u201d The glare he\u2019d given her had driven her back.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cParis, I was wondering&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJust who I wanted to see. Do you think you can carry some of the food supplies in your backpack? We won\u2019t need them until we get to the skiff.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSure, but&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBrilliant. Here we go. Now I must still figure out how to bundle up and pull so many bottles.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBut that\u2019s what I\u2019m trying to t&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMust run. So much to do before we set off&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cImam, I have an idea&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cChild, have you finished coiling up the cables? We really are in a hurry.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBut we won\u2019t <i>have<\/i> to be if you would just&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cStay on task. Suleiman!\u201d He switched to Arabic, which she hadn\u2019t understood at the time but now could parse from memory. \u201cHave you disconnected the secondary power generator? Hurry!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI just wanted to tell them,\u201d Jack concluded for her audience, \u201cthat the fiberoptics could produce enough light to switch the Sand Cat\u2019s photovoltaic collector back on <i>and<\/i> probably have enough left over to ring its perimeter. We could\u2019ve <i>driven<\/i> the whole way back if they\u2019d just stopped to <i>listen<\/i>&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDidn\u2019t <i>Riddick<\/i> listen to you?\u201d Kyra asked, odd longing in her voice.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe was busy, too,\u201d Jack moped. \u201cHe passed by me once, talking to Fry as he went. He <i>did<\/i> say something to me, but he was gone before I could reply. He said \u2018check your cuts. These bad boys know our blood now.\u2019 I didn\u2019t have any <i>cuts<\/i> but&#8288;\u2026 I think he knew I was having my period and was warning me that the things outside would know, too. Fuck, I hate being too young to be listened to&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe will always listen to you, Tislilel,\u201d Ewan said. His hand on her shoulder, for once, didn\u2019t send a jolt down to her core but filled her instead with wistful yearning for the peace he was offering. She had less than one Tangier day left before he would be gone.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYes,\u201d Iz\u00eel agreed. \u201cAlways.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra took Jack\u2019s hand and gave it a squeeze, maybe feeling her sudden, stricken longing. To find this kind of acceptance and respect, and to have to give it up, leave it behind&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWould it have worked?\u201d Ewan asked Tafrara. \u201cUsing the fiberoptics?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI think it would have,\u201d she said after a thoughtful moment. One of her degrees, Jack had learned, was in Engineering, much like John MacNamera\u2019s. \u201cThey had their own power source, yes? Which you had to drag? I\u2019ve seen the kinds of fiberoptics you speak of. They could have been more than sufficient. Especially with direct application, coiling around the collector as you describe. What color of light was the photovoltaic engine designed to work under?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAll colors, I think,\u201d Jack reflected. \u201cThe twin suns were red and yellow, made everything look this weird orange when they were up, and the third sun was blue like the fiberoptic light. It ran under both kinds of light, so it should\u2019ve been fine. I figured if we piled enough lit coils onto the collector&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYes,\u201d Tafrara told her, looking sympathetic and a little sad. \u201cIt would have worked. What did they do instead?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe put the generator powering them onto this sled they made out of a piece of the ship\u2019s outer hull,\u201d Jack muttered, trying hard not to <i>whine<\/i> about it. Her eyes and nose were stinging. \u201cAlong with the rest of the power cells we needed to launch the skiff, and a bunch of Paris\u2019s liquor bottles, some flashlights, and other stuff they\u2019d scavenged. It was so heavy. Then we wrapped the fiberoptics around our bodies, all connected to that one generator. Riddick ran ahead, and Imam and Johns grabbed onto rope handles on the sled to drag it, and the rest of us ran alongside the sled to keep up with the generator and surround each other with light. And we followed Riddick into the darkness&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And, she thought miserably as she followed everyone downstairs for lunch, four more of the crash survivors, three of whom she had genuinely bonded with, had <i>died<\/i>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But what was worse, she thought as she sat down at the table, was that even if maybe they <i>should<\/i> have listened to her about the Sand Cat, what happened after that&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;was all <i>her<\/i> fault.<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4046\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4046 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-47\">\u00ab Chapter 47<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4112\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4112 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-49\">Chapter 49 \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=\"49\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4047\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4047 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-48\">\u00ab Chapter 48<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4113\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4113 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-50\">Chapter 50 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5457\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5457 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">49.<br\/>\r\n<u>Sacrifice Play<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat is such total <i>horse shit<\/i>,\u201d Kyra exploded.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack, who had just finished describing Paris Ogilvie\u2019s death, found herself staring in confusion at her sister&#8288;\u2026 as did everyone else in the room.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan, Tafrara, and Iz\u00eel had come back up with the two of them after lunch to hear more of the eclipse story, this time bringing tea with them. Ewan was, at that moment, helping Kyra through her physical therapy stretches; he had frozen in place, looking between her and Jack with growing concern.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShe thinks it\u2019s her fault that Paris guy died,\u201d Kyra added in response to the quizzical looks she was getting. \u201cJesus <i>fuck,<\/i> it\u2019s one of the reasons she slashed her <i>wrists.<\/i> What the <i>hell,<\/i> Tizzy?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt <i>was<\/i> my fault&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d Jack began.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhy? Because he dropped a flashlight and you tried to pick it up?\u201d Kyra rolled her eyes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTrying to pick up that <i>flashlight<\/i> cost us all the fiberoptic light,\u201d Jack protested.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBecause <i>he<\/i> panicked and pulled the power generator over!\u201d Kyra argued back.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe wouldn\u2019t have panicked if I\u2019d just&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHold on, Tizzy,\u201d Tafrara said, her voice gentle. \u201cDihya. Both of you. Am I understanding the chain of events correctly here? Paris used up the fuel for the cutting torch, carrying it as a secondary light source while already fully protected by fiberoptics, yes?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack nodded slowly.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd when it went out, he immediately grabbed for another <i>unnecessary<\/i> secondary light source, knocking one of the flashlights out of the bin he\u2019d reached into?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah\u2026\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd he made no effort to pick it up?\u201d Tafrara continued.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack, feeling more and more like she was trapped on a witness stand, shook her head. \u201cNo&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd then you said what, again?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI said, \u2018wait,\u2019\u201d Jack admitted, starting to see where Tafrara was going.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDid they?\u201d Iz\u00eel asked, joining in. Sebby was snoozing on the zoologist\u2019s folded legs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNot right away&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIf they had waited when you asked,\u201d Ewan asked, \u201cwould you have needed to remove your fiberoptic coil to reach the flashlight?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Jack closed her eyes, recalling that moment, feeling Kyra exploring it in her head as she did. She had already begun to turn back for the flashlight, which had still been within the protective halo of light surrounding them, when she\u2019d felt the coil tightening around her; the others weren\u2019t waiting. She had shrugged out of the coil, dropping low to the ground to present less of a target and struggling to let her eyes adjust as she reached for the flashlight, where it had rolled into what had become deep gloom. \u201cNo&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhen <i>did<\/i> they stop?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack didn\u2019t know for sure. Her fingertips had just touched the barrel of the flashlight when she heard Imam shout and felt him tackle her, even as something monstrous shrieked above her and they rolled to the side. Everything after that had been a blur: gunshots echoing, Imam asking her if she was all right, Paris babbling nearby\u2014<i>this can\u2019t be happening, this can\u2019t be happening<\/i>\u2014and then the crash of the generator as it toppled over, its whine as it shorted out and powered down, and the coils she was shrugging back into going dark&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Silence had fallen over the group for a terrible moment, and then she\u2019d heard Paris\u2019s final whisper. \u201cI was supposed to die in <i>France.<\/i> I never even <i>saw<\/i> France&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Fire had exploded in the night and she\u2019d caught one last glimpse of him, collapsing, surrounded by the monsters that had been following them&#8288;\u2026 following <i>her.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack wiped at her eyes. Thinking of his death still <i>hurt.<\/i> Kyra and the others might think of the story as somehow being all about Riddick, and she\u2019d been telling it that way for Kyra\u2019s sake, but before their deaths, <i>Shazza and Paris<\/i> had been the stars of <i>her<\/i> story, the two adult survivors whom she had spent the most time with, bonded the most closely with, and felt the most powerful connections to. Both of them had spoken of helping her reach her planned destination once they got off that godforsaken rock&#8288;\u2026 and each of them had also offered to take her with them and watch over her if she <i>had<\/i> no destination.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Paris had even offered to cut her in on the Mona Lisa heist if she wanted to travel to Earth with him. He\u2019d had little fear of the deadly security systems surrounding it, had been excited by the challenge of facing them down&#8288;\u2026 but the unpredictable organic threats of the crash planet had turned out to be more than he could cope with.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Feeling him being devoured alive by the monsters had nearly undone her. Feeling Riddick\u2019s gaze shift to her, knowing he was thinking <i>it\u2019s <b>her<\/b> they\u2019re after&#8288;\u2014<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d thought, at the time, that she\u2019d been imagining all that. Now that she knew better, it just made everything worse.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThey got him because they were after <i>me,<\/i>\u201d she said, switching arguments even though she knew she was doing something her mom called <i>moving the goal posts.<\/i> \u201cThey weren\u2019t following the rest of the group. Just <i>me.<\/i> They could smell my blood. <i>That\u2019s<\/i> why it\u2019s my fault.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBecause you were menstruating?\u201d Ewan asked. His matter-of-fact question startled Jack; back on Deckard\u2019s World, boys and men seemed to go to great lengths to avoid thinking, much less talking, about the messier aspects of female anatomy. A few months before she\u2019d run away, some of her nosier classmates had discovered that she had tampons in her backpack and had <i>freaked out&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She nodded, still not fathoming why he seemed so relaxed about the subject. She\u2019d thought for sure it would disgust him and Iz\u00eel when she\u2019d mentioned having to find a way to sneak off for a few harrowing minutes to deal with her period, but both men had acted as if the only disturbing elements of that sequence were the creatures that could have been lurking in any shadow. \u201cI\u2019d run out of tampons right before the eclipse, and by the time we were ready to run, I was on my last pad. All I\u2019d had was my emergency stash. And my flow was just starting, so it was super heavy.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There <i>were<\/i> more pads that she\u2019d found in the settlement and stashed on board the skiff, but hadn\u2019t had a chance to grab, although they were a few decades old and she\u2019d been dreading using them. She\u2019d been right, too; after twenty-two years of abandonment, gritty desert dust had insinuated its way into them and it had felt, a few times, like putting sandpaper between her legs&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd asking someone to help you find more, or an alternative, would have broken your masquerade.\u201d There was no judgment in Ewan\u2019s voice. Why did she feel like there should be?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah,\u201d she muttered, wishing she could disappear into a hole.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo, let\u2019s get this all straight,\u201d Kyra said, her voice brisk and a little hard. \u201cThese people barely listened to a word you said a lot of the time, and a few of them were practically at each other\u2019s throats, but you were supposed to trust them enough to tell them you were really a girl and that you needed more tampons\u2014assuming there even were any to give you\u2014just in case Riddick was right about the monsters smelling blood?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d When Kyra put it like that&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd this Paris guy <i>wasted all the cutting torch\u2019s fuel<\/i>, even though the group might need it to actually <i>cut<\/i> stuff with,\u201d Kyra continued, \u201cand when it was all gone, he lost one flashlight while trying to grab another one&#8288;\u2026 and it\u2019s your fault he was being wasteful and panicky?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack didn\u2019t know what to say.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd then, when you called out \u2018wait,\u2019 to the rest of the group, and they <i>didn\u2019t<\/i>, and you had to take off your own light protection to reach the flashlight as a result, it\u2019s what&#8288;\u2026 all your fault?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Yes,<\/i> her inner voice insisted. She\u2019d put that one flashlight ahead of all the rest of the light&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh for God\u2019s sake,\u201d Kyra grumbled. \u201cI can <i>hear<\/i> what you\u2019re thinking, you know. C\u2019mon. Admit it. They told you before you started running that every bit of light was valuable and you should conserve it all carefully, right? Which is what you were trying to <i>do<\/i> even as Paris was doing the opposite.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou would make an excellent lawyer,\u201d Iz\u00eel chuckled, pouring another round of mint tea for everyone while stroking Sebby\u2019s exoskeleton.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo now, let\u2019s see,\u201d Kyra went on, quirking an eyebrow at Iz\u00eel as she stretched over and picked up her cup. \u201c<i>You<\/i> get attacked, that hoodoo realizes in time and manages to save you, Johns starts firing his shotgun into the darkness at them even though they\u2019re still <i>staying away from the light<\/i>, and it\u2019s your fault that Paris flips his shit and starts scuttling away from the safety of the sled and the light? And drags the whole generator contraption over and breaks it in the process?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe exact thing you avoided doing by taking your light coils off, I\u2019d like to add,\u201d Tafrara said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s just&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Jack didn\u2019t know how to explain it now. Everything they were saying made sense to her head, but the rest of her was insisting that it was all her doing, her fault.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI know you don\u2019t like hearing this, and God knows, we all have a hard time remembering it about you ourselves,\u201d Ewan said to her, locking eyes with her, \u201cbut you\u2019re only thirteen years old. <i>You<\/i> were not supposed to be responsible for <i>their<\/i> well-being. I know you were trying to pull your weight without any complaints after the way Johns tried to use your fear as an argument against the run. Weren\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Yes, Jack realized. That was a huge part of it. She\u2019d tried to buck up, <i>butch<\/i> up, be as helpful as pos&#173;sible&#8288;\u2026 but after how unwelcome her attempts to suggest a way to revive the sand cat had been, the thought of confiding in any of them that she was bleeding had been daunting to the point of nausea.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c<i>You<\/i> held your own while one of the adults in charge of the situation went to pieces over a threat that hadn\u2019t even been aimed at him,\u201d Ewan continued. He was all she could see now, his eyes holding hers in their thrall. \u201cThat kind of panic <i>can<\/i> happen to anyone. Soldiers panic under fire, too. In my field training, we were taught to move as a unit, to retreat as a unit&#8288;\u2026 to never, ever, break formation and run. But the first time you\u2019re under live fire, there\u2019s no telling what will happen, and there\u2019s almost always someone who panics. It\u2019s usually not who you\u2019d expect, either. Sometimes the steadiest-seeming people can lose their minds. I\u2019m not trying to shift all the blame onto Paris, here. <i>But.<\/i> If he was that close to all-out panic, and it does sound like he was given the other mistakes he was making, something was inevitably going to trigger it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBut it was <i>me,<\/i>\u201d Jack heard herself saying. \u201cWhy did it have to be <i>me?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan looked at Kyra, and then at the others, a question in his expression. When they all seemed to assent, he moved to Jack\u2019s side, sat down behind her, wrapped his arms around her, and drew her into his lap. She leaned against him, struggling for a moment not to cry before giving in and letting him hold her through it. For once, her stupid hormones didn\u2019t get in the way, although she almost wished they would if it might have broken her dark mood and driven off the tears and misery.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He seemed prepared for everything, giving her a handkerchief from his pocket to use to wipe her eyes and nose. His arms stayed around her even after she recovered. Things were, she thought, almost like they\u2019d been before that <i>moment<\/i> on the beach. She rested her head against his shoulder, glad that she could just&#8288;\u2026 <i>be&#8288;\u2026<\/i> for a while. When he brought her teacup to her lips, she sipped gratefully, feeling at home and at peace in a way that she hadn\u2019t in a long time.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo I\u2019m guessing that nobody knew how to fix the lights, and you had to switch to those liquor bottles,\u201d Kyra prompted, managing to time her question for right when Jack began feeling ready to tell more of the story.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah,\u201d she said. \u201cFry lit a flare, and the rest of us used the bottles after she lit them for us. We dumped the fiberoptics and the light generator off the sled and kept going&#8288;\u2026 a little faster now that Johns and Imam didn\u2019t have to drag as much weight. It felt like we were walking forever. I asked Fry if we were getting close to the settlement yet&#8288;\u2026 and that\u2019s when we reached the sled tracks.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWait&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Iz\u00eel said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShit,\u201d Kyra muttered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYour sled\u2019s tracks? You had gone in a circle?\u201d Tafrara asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack nodded. \u201cEverybody thought Riddick had gotten lost. But it was worse than that. We were almost at the canyon&#8288;\u2026 and it was <i>full<\/i> of those creatures. He said he\u2019d \u2018circled once to buy some time to think.\u2019 And I guess he\u2019d decided my secret wasn\u2019t going to keep anymore. He told them I was bleeding. He told them I was a <i>girl<\/i> and I was <i>bleeding.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c<i>Tayr-iw<\/i>, I am so sorry,\u201d Ewan murmured in her ear. Tafrara gave him an odd look.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI tried to explain it&#8288;\u2026 why I\u2019d done it&#8288;\u2026 I mean, posed as a guy&#8288;\u2026 When I was <i>twelve<\/i>, back home, these older guys started hitting on me all the time, asking gross stuff like what I had on under my skirt, and did my \u2018carpet\u2019 match my \u2018drapes\u2019 and shit, until my mom would come roaring out at them and threaten to have them arrested for messing with a kid. A lot of girls at my school were getting picked on like that, some of them were even getting <i>groped,<\/i> and I thought, maybe if nobody knew I was a girl, <i>especially<\/i> a girl on her own&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019d be safer, yes,\u201d Ewan nodded. \u201cSomewhat, at least.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd after Riddick warned me about my blood, back at the ship, I was afraid they\u2019d just <i>leave<\/i> me there if they knew. Fry said she wouldn\u2019t do that, but I could <i>see<\/i> the way everybody else was looking at me, like I was a whole different person.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShit, that\u2019s <i>it<\/i>,\u201d Kyra gasped. \u201cThat\u2019s what changed.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The others looked at her inquiringly.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019ve been trying to figure out why that Imam guy went from being so nice to you and protective of you to being&#8288;\u2026 well, the total dickhead <i>I<\/i> saw at the hospital, nothing <i>like<\/i> how you\u2019ve been portraying him. It all started changing when you weren\u2019t a boy anymore, didn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Did<\/i> it?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">After Fry had left her alone with Imam in the cave, he\u2019d seemed unable to meet her eyes most of the time. It had been awkward, waiting to find out if they would live or die, with a strange wall up between them. She\u2019d just thought maybe it was his grief over the other boys, or the circumstances of their possible last moments, the chance that the cave might become their tomb&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;but it had never gotten better after that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He\u2019d taken it upon himself to act as a chaperone between her and Riddick the rest of the time the three of them had spent together\u2014as if Riddick was lying in wait to defile her the moment his guard dropped\u2014to the point where the two of them had begun coming up with elaborately sneaky ways to steal conversations with one another whenever the Holy Man slept. Riddick\u2019s hearing was every bit as acute as hers, and they\u2019d sometimes spent hours conversing in the tiniest threads of whispers just so they could speak freely.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>If I\u2019d managed to tell Riddick about the sand cat, would he have made them listen?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He had, after all, spent a great deal of time on the skiff listening to her, and telling her things that \u201cresponsible adults\u201d would have found questionable but that he apparently felt she needed to know about the big bad \u2019verse she was venturing out into. <i>His<\/i> attitude toward her, inscrutable as it sometimes was, hadn\u2019t really changed. But&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI think you\u2019re right,\u201d Jack told the family, <i>her<\/i> family, surrounding her. \u201cI think&#8288;\u2026 once Imam knew I was a girl&#8288;\u2026 he didn\u2019t know how to relate to me anymore.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The revelation had broken the group, too.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFry decided she\u2019d been wrong, the run wasn\u2019t going to work, and we should head back to the crash ship. But Johns&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d She swallowed. This was the ugly part. \u201cNow <i>he<\/i> wanted to keep going.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra, reading from her mind the truth she was preparing to spill, gasped. \u201cOh, that motherfucking son of a&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">When she trailed off, Ewan drew in a breath.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDon\u2019t you <i>dare<\/i> say it,\u201d Tafrara scolded him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There suddenly seemed to be a hidden wellspring of laughter between sister and brother, despite the fierce scowl she had aimed his way.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSay what?\u201d Jack asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cEwan Zdan brought home some remarkably <i>filthy<\/i> phrases after he attended the basic training segment of the Tangier Military Academy,\u201d Iz\u00eel explained, his eyes twinkling. \u201cThere\u2019s one in particular that he still sometimes says about someone he truly reviles.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOkay,\u201d Kyra said, grinning. \u201cNow you <i>have<\/i> to share.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Tafrara rolled her eyes and then nodded at Ewan, sighing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan\u2019s expression was pure mischief. The Tamazight words that rolled off his tongue were the same ones he\u2019d used the other night when he\u2019d apparently been maligning Toombs, the words that had made every woman at the dinner table glare at him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOkay,\u201d Kyra said after nothing else was forthcoming, \u201cand&#8288;\u2026 it means?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou want me to say that in <i>English<\/i>?\u201d Ewan asked, looking mock-scandalized.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt means,\u201d Tafrara grumbled, \u201c\u2018he fucked his pig mother to death and then ate her bacon the morning after.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAll I was going to add to what Dihya said was \u2018side of bacon,\u2019\u201d Ewan insisted, his expression the picture of innocence.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat motherfucking son of a side of bacon&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Kyra began to cackle with delight.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack couldn\u2019t help snickering, too. \u201cNice,\u201d she said, tilting her head to look up at him. \u201cYou\u2019ve got incest, bestiality, matricide, cannibalism, and <i>haram<\/i> all rolled into one insult there.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cExactly,\u201d Ewan laughed, his gaze upon her turning heart-stoppingly wicked just for an instant before he adopted a look of cherubic innocence again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou see now just how much trouble my baby brother truly is,\u201d Tafrara snorted. \u201cSo. Now that we have established the heritage, proclivities, crimes, and dietary practices of this \u2018Johns,\u2019 why did he want to keep going and what made it so awful?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Stifling a groan, Jack described the verbal battle that had followed, as Johns threw everything Fry had said to him\u2014<i>ever<\/i>\u2014back in her face and attempted to annihilate her authority by revealing that she\u2019d panicked during the crash and almost jettisoned the passenger compartment. Even now, that was something Jack couldn\u2019t bring herself to believe about Fry, but the pilot had never <i>denied<\/i> it, Johns\u2019 words driving her instead into a frenzy so desperate that she\u2019d tried to physically assault him and had ended up knocked to the ground.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That time, it had been Imam who had stepped in\u2014<i>\u201cYou\u2019ve made your point. We have all been scared!\u201d<\/i>\u2014before Johns announced that the matter was decided and they were going through the canyon. What little bit of democracy the group had possessed had, seemingly, been swept away.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou think that\u2019s your fault, too, don\u2019t you?\u201d Kyra asked, almost glaring at her. \u201cYou think you gave him that opportunity to take over. Tizzy, he was gonna come up with <i>something<\/i> to use an excuse to make his move. Like you keep telling me, mercs\u2019ll use up anybody for a percentage.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt was still&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Jack stopped. She could see that none of them agreed with her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDidn\u2019t anybody at that damned hospital help you through <i>any<\/i> of this?\u201d Ewan suddenly asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack shook her head. \u201cThey were too busy trying to get me to \u2018admit\u2019 that none of it ever happened, and that Riddick had killed everybody else and taken Imam and me hostage.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;The <i>hell?<\/i> The official investigation report says that there <i>is<\/i> hostile life on that planet.\u201d Ewan\u2019s arms tightened around her a little. He looked outraged. \u201cGranted, it also tries to claim that Riddick used that as cover for some murders and took you hostage, but&#8288;\u2026 they tried to deny <i>every<\/i> aspect of your story?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShe never got a chance to tell it,\u201d Kyra grumbled. \u201cThey started bulldozing her from the get-go. You know, there were actually a bunch of <i>really good<\/i> therapists on the staff, like this one woman named after a Greek muse who asked me to just call her Polly&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh, I met her,\u201d Jack grumbled. \u201cMaybe she\u2019s great for actual <i>survivors<\/i> of sexual abuse like you, but she walked into <i>our<\/i> sessions trying to get me to \u2018face\u2019 the \u2018fact\u2019 that Riddick had raped me&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Against her back, she felt Ewan tense up.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2014&#8288;which is a load of bullshit because I\u2019m still a virgin and he never so much as <i>looked<\/i> at me that way.\u201d She felt Ewan relaxing again. Whew. \u201cHe never threatened me, or any of us. The whole time we were on that planet, the only person he ever tried to hurt, let alone kill, was Johns.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Which brought her, at last, to the merc\u2019s&#8288;\u2026 <i>bacon<\/i> lineage.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And an admission of just how good her hearing actually was. Somehow, whether via her crazy-acute hearing or something <i>else<\/i> that she hadn\u2019t consciously known about herself back then, she\u2019d overheard every word Johns and Riddick had said to each other.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She replayed the entire conversation for everyone, as the merc attempted to buddy up to his former captive with a promise that Riddick would survive the journey and go free if he cooperated with the \u201csacrifice play\u201d Johns wanted to run: kill one of their four companions and use their body to draw the predators in the canyon away from everyone else.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Even then, Jack had known that Johns wanted it to be either Carolyn Fry or her, and the only truly logical choice would be <i>her.<\/i> If he had any plans of stiffing Riddick, he\u2019d still need Fry to pilot the skiff.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick was playing coy. She wasn\u2019t sure why at first. But he kept doing things\u2014expansive gestures and turns to look back at the group\u2014that seemed designed to draw the others\u2019 attention&#8288;\u2026 clue them in&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI think Riddick was trying to warn us,\u201d she said after a moment. \u201cI\u2019d asked Imam what they were talking about. I don\u2019t think <i>he<\/i> could hear a damned thing. Or if he could, he didn\u2019t want to admit it was anything that bad. He told me they were probably talking about how to get through the canyon.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Which, technically, was true, but&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Finally, Johns had enough. He gave up dancing around the subject, since Riddick was refusing to be his dance partner. <i>\u201cYou do the girl, and I\u2019ll keep the others off your back&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, right,\u201d Kyra snarled. \u201cNot that he ever <i>would<\/i> have, but if Riddick <i>had<\/i> killed you, nobody else in the group would\u2019a trusted him, ever again, or lifted a <i>finger<\/i> to stop Johns from taking him back into custody. <i>He<\/i> was probably counting on them helping him put Riddick back in chains when they <i>got<\/i> to the skiff.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack, who had earlier described seeing Johns furtively sneaking a set of restraints onto the skiff hours before the eclipse, and who had found them crushing half of her gritty sanitary pads when she finally went to get one before the launch, just nodded.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Maybe that was the only reason Riddick had balked. Maybe he\u2019d known his chance of ever being a free man would be lost if he added <i>her<\/i> to his kill count. Maybe that was all defending her, in that moment, had meant to him. While part of her still clutched at all the many small kindnesses he had shown her, he <i>had<\/i> still outed her to the others and then abandoned her in the repressive al-Walid household. It was hard to reconcile those two Riddicks and divine which one had turned to Johns and said, <i>\u201cI\u2019m just wondering if we don\u2019t need a bigger piece of bait.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Four voices whooped with vindication and triumph, cheering him on, when she said that line in her \u201cRiddick voice.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The moment the two men began to fight, the moment Johns\u2019 shotgun started firing into the night, Fry had pulled them all into a headlong sprint away from the battle zone. Jack hadn\u2019t been wrong; the strange tension between the three of them was ending in bloodshed, which might spiral out to encompass everyone. Just how long they ran she wasn\u2019t sure. With no idea where they were going, they had followed the tracks of the sled itself, blindly and unthinkingly&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;and, of course, they had circled the way it had, and found themselves confronted by Riddick.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBack to the ship, huh?\u201d he\u2019d asked. \u201cJust huddle together \u2019til the lights burn out? \u2019Til you can\u2019t see what\u2019s eating you? That the big plan?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Johns was dead. Jack didn\u2019t know whether Riddick had killed him or the creatures had, and she didn\u2019t dare ask. None of them did.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe\u2019re gonna lose everybody out here,\u201d she\u2019d found herself saying, no longer bothering to try to drop her voice down into a \u2018boy\u2019 range. \u201cWe should\u2019ve stayed at the ship.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I should\u2019ve let them leave me behind&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh God <i>damn<\/i> it, I fucking <i>heard<\/i> that, Tizzy&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Kyra groaned. \u201cYou still think everybody\u2019d have ridden off into the sunrise if they\u2019d just abandoned you? Or sacrificed you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s a kind of magical thinking,\u201d Ewan murmured, one hand stroking her hair. \u201cI\u2019ve seen it before, usually with people struggling with survivor\u2019s guilt. You get basic counseling training when you\u2019re a paramedic, or at least I did, and we were warned that this was something that we might see happen to someone trying to cope with fresh trauma&#8288;\u2026 the wish to trade places with the ones who were lost. People in crisis often want to find something they can offer as a sacrifice, bargain away, to make everything go back to normal. Sometimes, those dealing with survivor\u2019s guilt want that sacrifice to be themselves, so that everything will be <i>right<\/i> again and the guilt they feel will be absolved. But Tizzy, it\u2019s an illusion, both the blame you\u2019re taking on and what you wished to do to fix it. The world will <i>not<\/i> become better if you are lost from it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cEspecially not for any of us,\u201d Tafrara agreed, her voice soft and sad.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack nodded as Ewan held her, trying to believe, wishing she <i>could<\/i> believe. It was probably better consolation than she\u2019d gotten months earlier, when Riddick had been the one trying to tell her something that maybe he\u2019d thought would be reassuring\u2014<i>\u201cHe died fast, and if we have any choice about it, that\u2019s the way we should all go out\u201d<\/i>\u2014as he walked up to stand scant inches behind her. She\u2019d felt the heat of his body radiating against her back, felt his eyes on her, felt his hand reaching out toward her for a second before it withdrew.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>This is it,<\/i> she had thought. <i>If he\u2019s gonna kill me, this is when it\u2019ll happen.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But his voice, dark and rough and yet somehow <i>gentle<\/i>, had filled her ears instead. \u201cDon\u2019t you cry for Johns. Don\u2019t you dare.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And he\u2019d walked away.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She didn\u2019t know what was more disturbing now: the fact that she had been prepared to let him cut her throat without a fight, if that was his plan&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;or the fact that part of her had been disappointed when he <i>hadn\u2019t.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFucking shit, Tizzy,\u201d Kyra groaned. \u201cFucking <i>shit.<\/i>\u201d<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4047\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4047 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-48\">\u00ab Chapter 48<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4113\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4113 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-50\">Chapter 50 \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=\"50\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4048\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4048 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-49\">\u00ab Chapter 49<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4114\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4114 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-51\">Chapter 51 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5460\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5460 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">50.<br\/>\r\n<u>A Trickster God for a Call Sign<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe\u2019ll leave to choose the plants right after dinner,\u201d Tafrara said as they walked down to the dining room, \u201cand then we can plant them together after the overnoon sleep, before it\u2019s time to get ready for Zdan\u2019s send-off party.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd Tizzy,\u201d Iz\u00eel added, \u201ccan tell us the rest of the story while we\u2019re planting.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack had advanced that story to partway through the canyon run, describing how everyone had let go of everything that wasn\u2019t absolutely essential to their escape offworld and how Riddick had rigged up a rope harness to drag the precious fuel cells himself. Jack\u2019s own backpack, along with the boomerang Paris had lent her, had been discarded along with most of the sled\u2019s contents. The plan had been simple enough: run like hell with all the light they could carry and nothing else to weigh them down.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Imam had insisted on praying with each of them ahead of the run, something that had left Jack feeling awkward and bewildered. Her family hadn\u2019t been especially religious, observing major holidays with a more secular zeal than anything else. The idea of closing her eyes and reaching out to an unseen and powerful entity had seemed weird to her&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;at least, it had until recently, when the <i>Apeiros<\/i> had reached out to <i>her<\/i>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They weren\u2019t gods. She knew that much already. They were powerful, but it wasn\u2019t <i>that<\/i> kind of power, and she had a sense that they would eschew any such labels.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But she had been left feeling off-kilter after Imam\u2019s prayers until he\u2019d walked off to find Riddick, and Fry had muttered \u201cwhatever\u201d under her breath&#8288;\u2026 and then she\u2019d overheard Riddick mocking the cleric\u2019s beliefs. It had been a relief to know that she wasn\u2019t the <i>only<\/i> one struggling to connect with his attempts at bonding through prayer.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It came as an even bigger relief when Ewan, chuckling, admitted that while his family was nominally Christian, they were every bit as secular as she\u2019d been raised. She was <i>very<\/i> glad that she hadn\u2019t given him\u2014or any of his family, really\u2014offense with her admission.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The start of the run itself had been frenetic and crazed, little to narrate beyond impressions and Riddick\u2019s periodic roars of \u201cMove!\u201d when they faltered. But then, above them, the monsters had begun battling in the air, blue blood raining down on them and bodies\u2014and body parts\u2014falling from the sky.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Takama came to the guest room door to summon them to dinner, and deliver Sebby\u2019s cricket box, right as Jack described reaching the collapsed pile of massive bones that Shazza had driven through. It was as good a place to break off as any.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Tafrara and Kyra chatted about gardening plans as they walked down the stairs together. Jack felt a sad pang move through her; in Kyra\u2019s dream, that was one of the only chores she\u2019d enjoyed doing in the New Christy Enclave. It struck Jack yet again what a perfect fit her sister was with this family, and how terribly unfair it was that she couldn\u2019t just <i>stay<\/i> with them. She wouldn\u2019t even be able to circle back to them until she\u2019d broken her trail, something that could take <i>years<\/i> to be sure of.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And what about <i>her?<\/i> Could <i>she<\/i> find a way back here as Audrey MacNamera?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Tangier Prime, she thought, had several excellent universities. She could apply to one of them, maybe. Return as a college student with a completely plausible and unconnected reason for traveling to New Marrakesh and \u201cmeeting\u201d the <i>ait Meziane<\/i> tribe for the \u201cfirst time&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It might work. She\u2019d have to investigate which schools had programs that interested her. She couldn\u2019t do it if she couldn\u2019t make the choice to apply feel completely in character&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou seem suspiciously deep in thought,\u201d Ewan said beside her. \u201cShould I be worried?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She glanced up at him, catching a hint of a teasing smile&#8288;\u2026 but also concern. \u201cI was thinking about when we might be able to break our trails and come back. What kinds of covers we might need to come up with, to make us showing up for a second time seem plausibly like a first arrival.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m sure you\u2019ll come up with something good,\u201d he said, his smile widening. \u201cWe will be standing by to meet you, for the <i>very first time ever<\/i>, when you do.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">If she picked a University in New Marrakesh to attend, she thought, she might even be able to visit with the family frequently. She wondered where Ewan would end up based out of once his flight training was over, and how often he might be back at the house.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was tempting to ask, to try to make plans, but she didn\u2019t dare. It would be at least five years before she would be able to return. He might be married by then, or living on a base in another part of the System. General Toal had warned her that any long-term plans or promises would be red flags to people like Toombs, or to Operatives seeking her or Kyra. As much as she wanted to ask Ewan to wait for her\u2014a hazardous thing to articulate <i>anyway<\/i>\u2014she couldn\u2019t. Even if it didn\u2019t have the potential to draw dangerous attention to them&#8288;\u2026 it would be cruel to him when she had no idea what might actually happen between that moment and an uncertain future that was years away.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She wished she could close her eyes and skip forward in time, but then she\u2019d still be just as young.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAre you all right with telling us your story like this?\u201d Ewan asked. \u201cI should have asked this much sooner, but after the way the last parts you shared affected you&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo, it\u2019s good,\u201d Jack told him. \u201cIt\u2019s, uh&#8288;\u2026 it\u2019s the first time I\u2019ve been able to tell anybody other than Dihya about it. And it\u2019s the last chance I\u2019ll get to tell anyone, too.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan, pulling out a chair for her, blinked and then nodded. \u201cBecause after you leave here, you won\u2019t be able to admit to anyone that you were the girl who survived the <i>Hunter-Gratzner<\/i> crash.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack nodded back as he pushed in her seat and took the one beside her. \u201cGotta speak now or forever hold my peace, I guess.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan\u2019s expression was sad. \u201cYou have so much pain attached to it. I worry it\u2019s going to be left unresolved.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He and Kyra, and Tafrara and Iz\u00eel, had tried so hard this morning-day to help her with it, but while they\u2019d given her a lot of things to think about, most of it hadn\u2019t truly sunk in yet and she knew it. She understood what he was saying\u2014one conversation wasn\u2019t going to <i>do<\/i> it and yet that might be all she\u2019d ever get\u2014and she could feel his wish that <i>he<\/i> could sit with her, over time, as she worked through it all. It was another If-Only on the large pile that had formed, part of a life and future she desperately wished could be hers but could never claim without going far away from it first.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMaybe one day,\u201d she told him once she was sure she could keep the wobble out of her voice.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He nodded, looking as morose as she felt.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTell me about piloting,\u201d she asked him, wanting something brighter to talk about for a while. It was the right move.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan\u2019s eyes lit up as he described flying, both in air and in space, and the thrilling terror of launches and re-entries. A part of him came alive that she\u2019d never seen before, and she found herself falling for him all over again. He had completed almost all of his primary training, but the most demanding part\u2014advanced combat flight, both in atmosphere and in space\u2014was ahead of him and would begin a week after he returned to Qamar, once he was recertified as flight-ready and took a final test that had originally been scheduled for a few days after he received the news of his brother\u2019s death.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m behind the rest of my class right now,\u201d he said with a rueful smile. \u201cBut hopefully I won\u2019t stay that way. Fortunately, I won\u2019t have <i>two<\/i> weeks of catch-up to do. Just one. Everyone got a few days off after that test. I had originally been planning to meet up with my brother then.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The shadow of his grief flickered over him for a moment before he seemed to put it aside and focused on her again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c<i>Are<\/i> you ready for the test?\u201d Jack asked, feeling concern. As far as she knew, he hadn\u2019t been getting many opportunities to study and review things.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He grinned and nodded. \u201cYou\u2019re not the only eidetic at this table,\u201d he told her, winking.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cReally?\u201d Was that part of why the two of them had bonded so quickly? Within her own family, only one of her uncles had displayed that same kind of recall. Well, and maybe her dad, given how the only things he\u2019d claimed to have forgotten were always suspiciously convenient for him&#8288;\u2014 \u201cWait, how\u2019d you know I am?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe way you narrated your story, especially if it\u2019s your first time telling a lot of it. Your wording and delivery is <i>exact.<\/i>\u201d He leaned closer, murmuring. \u201cI got the feeling that when Kyra was repeating some of \u2018your\u2019 lines, she wasn\u2019t being nearly as precise, and it was bothering you a little.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWow,\u201d she whispered back to him. \u201cYou can read me like a <i>book.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat are you two whispering about over there?\u201d Takama asked. Although her tone was mild and playful, there was something under it that&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Oh. <b>Oh.<\/b><\/i> They were still being chaperoned, and they had gotten a little <i>too<\/i> close to each other for anybody\u2019s liking. Ewan gave her another rueful smile as he pulled back to a more acceptable distance.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTizzy has been telling us the story of the crash of the <i>Hunter-Gratzner,<\/i>\u201d he answered his aunt. \u201cOne of the other survivors was planning on going to Earth to try to liberate artworks from the Louvre. I was saying that some of the things she\u2019s been doing here in the last week would have been great practice for that job.\u201d He winked again at Jack from the eye his aunt couldn\u2019t see.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou see?\u201d Tafrara said, laughing. \u201cMy baby brother is pure <i>trouble.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">At least, Jack thought, everybody had stopped worrying\u2014for the moment, anyway\u2014that they were somehow going to do something scandalous at the dinner table.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">In five years, nobody would care if they invaded each other\u2019s space that way, whether innocently or less so. What a moment to have to put the two of them on the spot, though, forcing Ewan to lie to avoid possibly hurting Kyra\u2019s feelings, just out of a worry that the two of them might be&#8288;\u2026 what, exactly? Plotting an overnoon fling in the broad daylight?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They kept a seemlier distance from each other for the rest of the meal. Kyra and Tafrara were deep in a discussion about adapting Earth plants to the growing cycle of a world with 44-hour days and 32-month-long years. Jack could feel her sister\u2019s fascination, her desire to soak up all the information and personally explore it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Damn you, Alexander Toombs,<\/i> she thought. Kyra, at least, might have been able to stay if he hadn\u2019t spent so much time and effort painting a bullseye on her. Maybe to become a soldier, or maybe to finally get to rekindle the love of learning that had been brutally quelled by her Pa and New Christy, and get a degree in something like xenobotany&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong?\u201d Ewan murmured.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack looked over at him, glancing Kyra\u2019s way again. \u201cShe\u2019s so happy here,\u201d she murmured back. \u201cAnd I don\u2019t know if she even <i>has<\/i> somewhere else to go&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Understanding and empathy sparked in his eyes&#8288;\u2026 and worry. \u201cBut you do, yes? You\u2019re not just&#8288;\u2026 throwing yourself out into the darkness?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She nodded. Of <i>course<\/i> he\u2019d have the same concern about her. \u201cI have relatives waiting for me. I just have to reach them in a way that makes it look like I never tried to take the <i>Hunter-Gratzner<\/i> as part of my itinerary.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Some tension left his body when she said that. \u201cAnd you\u2019ll be able to?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah,\u201d she told him, feeling her lips quirk up in a way that would have stirred an <i>uh oh<\/i> or an <i>I know that look<\/i> from Kyra. \u201cI have a plan.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It might take most of the resources she would earn from flying the <i>Nephrite Undine<\/i> to Deckard\u2019s World. Possibly even all of them&#8288;\u2026 but she knew how to get more if she needed to. General Toal had put the idea in her head.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i> Many years ago, I heard the story of a young woman who had been a witness to a terrible crime and was placed in protective custody until she could testify against its perpetrators. She was hidden away, and only allowed periodic, controlled contact with her family, through elaborate channels designed to keep anyone from tracing her whereabouts&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">What if the witness had been a kid, and her handlers had been far too worried about her being indiscreet to let her have contact with her family at all? What if any sign that her family even knew she was safe somewhere could have tipped off the people she was hiding from? And what if, even after she had given her testimony and she was allowed to return home, the threat of potential reprisals was so great that she still wasn\u2019t permitted to tell anyone where she had been or why? Deckard\u2019s World\u2019s law enforcement community used enough of her dad\u2019s security protocols that she was pretty sure she could make it look like that was what had happened to her, and like only someone with a much higher level of clearance\u2014Federacy level, maybe someone of a similar rank to General Toal himself\u2014could access information about where she had been.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was a project she planned to work on while she was traveling back to Deckard\u2019s World: creating the scenario, making sure there were no holes in the public side of it, and building a hidden side that would allow her to maintain and defend the story against any and all scrutiny&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI can see you <i>do<\/i> have a plan. One day, I hope you can tell me all about it.\u201d Now <i>Ewan\u2019s<\/i> voice was wistful.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She wanted to promise him that she would, but she knew she couldn\u2019t. General Toal had been clear. No plans, no promises. Nothing that could be used against them or turned into a lie.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow\u2019d you switch from being pre-med to being a military officer in the flight academy?\u201d she asked instead, genuinely curious. She knew the story of her dad\u2019s path into the Corps of Engineers already and couldn\u2019t figure out where Ewan would have found the time to fit in both and still only be twenty-two.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAh!\u201d He smiled, his expression clearing. \u201cYes. Things work a little differently from one part of the Federacy to another. While we do have \u2018Military Academies\u2019 here, the founders of this world were concerned about\u2026 well, back on Earth, there had been so many military coups at different points in history. They feared the development of a culture, within the armed forces, that was too disconnected from the rest of the populace to understand and prioritize its needs. So while yes, I did get shipped off to a Military Academy when I was sixteen&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTo keep you out of trouble,\u201d Tafrara interjected from across the table.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan nodded, wincing and smirking simultaneously. \u201cI was quite the bad seed back then, yes. Even so, I was expected to attend a normal four-year University, with civilians, and to complete much of my combat training with a mixture of both officer candidates and normal enlistees. To ensure that I would always be connected to and bonded with more people than just other officers. I wasn\u2019t sure, for a long time, whether I wanted to be a combat medic or a fighter pilot. And until I turned twenty-one, there was a restraining order keeping me from flying&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cA <i>what?<\/i>\u201d Jack stared at him in amazement.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOn his sixteenth birthday,\u201d Cedric chuckled from farther down the table, \u201che and some friends sneaked onto an airfield that was hosting a large air show. He\u2019d somehow memorized the controls for the replica F-14 Tomcats that were flying in the show, and took one on a two-hour joyride. Enrolling him in the Military Academy was part of the plea deal that would let him ever fly again.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFortunately, the Tomcat <i>was<\/i> undamaged when he landed,\u201d Safiyya added. \u201cI had the feeling that half of the visiting brass wanted an excuse to <i>confiscate<\/i> him from us and <i>keep<\/i> him.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra looked like she was ready to burst with repressed laughter. <i>You two really are perfect for each other.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It sure as hell explained why he hadn\u2019t hesitated, even for a second, when she\u2019d dragooned him into the morgue heist. Some of the stories people had told about his older brother at the memorial had been fairly similar, if a little less felonious.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan was blushing. \u201cYes, I&#8288;\u2026 was a lot of trouble back then.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBack then?\u201d Tafrara laughed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI wasn\u2019t allowed within a half-kilometer of <i>any<\/i> aircraft or spacecraft,\u201d Ewan continued, still blushing and shaking his head. \u201cFor five years, I had to watch all the airshows from the roof here. I couldn\u2019t enter the spaceport, or travel anywhere that required boarding a plane, shuttle, or starship. Which meant a lot of vacations in the New Atlas range.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOr biking around with that crazy health inspector friend of yours,\u201d Iz\u00eel snickered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan\u2019s blush had, improbably, deepened. \u201cBut it also meant that I couldn\u2019t study more than the theoretical classroom aspects of being a pilot until last year. So I focused on a pre-med track for a while, which both Usaden and my \u2018crazy health inspector friend\u2019 were thrilled about&#8288;\u2026 and worked for the UMA as a paramedic, for field experience.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhich is how you <i>met<\/i> Robie in the first place,\u201d Usaden laughed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack had a feeling she\u2019d better not ask how wild the rides they\u2019d gone on had <i>gotten<\/i>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBy Ewan\u2019s twenty-first birthday,\u201d Cedric picked up the tale, \u201cGavin had recovered enough from \u2019Enza that his <i>civilian<\/i> pilot\u2019s license had been reinstated, so the first thing he did that day was take his baby brother flying. They were gone most of the morning-day, and when they got back, we could all tell that Ewan was <i>never<\/i> going to become a doctor.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI resigned from the UMA and spent every waking minute playing catch-up so I could qualify for the flight academy when I graduated. I just <i>barely<\/i> squeezed my way in, too.\u201d Ewan said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cProving that you have plenty of discipline when you wish to,\u201d Takama teased him in her dryest voice, but her eyes were sparkling with amusement and pride.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt did help that Gavin had been top of his class when <i>he<\/i> passed through the flight academy,\u201d Cedric said. \u201cAnd that Ewan\u2019s joyride in the Tomcat had been talked about for <i>years<\/i> among the staff. They threatened to give him the call sign \u2018Maverick.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFortunately, that one was already taken,\u201d Ewan said, rolling his eyes in exaggerated relief.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat <i>is<\/i> your call sign?\u201d Jack asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">His expression turned breathtakingly wicked. \u201cLoki.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe Norse trickster god?\u201d She found herself grinning back at him. He actually resembled one of the first actors to play the character in centuries-old movies, if darker-complected. \u201cI like it. It suits you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cA little <i>too<\/i> well at times,\u201d Tafrara laughed. \u201cCome, we should wash up and go to the plant nursery.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It ended up being a family excursion, almost everyone accompanying them. The plans for the following morning-day were evolving in unexpected ways: Tafrara and Iz\u00eel both wanted to accompany them to Elsewhere when they tried to return Sebby, and had already expressed that wish. Now Usaden, who had that morning-day off, wanted to join them as well. Takama, Cedric, and Safiyya were discussing whether they should come, too. It might be, Jack realized, everyone\u2019s first and last chance to see what New Marrakesh looked like in an alternate universe.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cPlus, you\u2019ll need extra hands to help with the olive trees and the planting equipment,\u201d Tafrara told them. \u201cEspecially if you\u2019re traveling uphill.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan, shoulder to shoulder with Jack in the back seat of the same rugged all-terrain vehicle Jack had dreamed about overnight, sounded wistful again. \u201cI wish I could come with you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI wish you could, too,\u201d Jack told him back, leaning her head against his shoulder. She suddenly wondered if he meant another trip into Elsewhere, or her trip home&#8288;\u2026 and which one <i>she<\/i> meant.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Of course, she could no more take home a 22-year-old fighter pilot with a trickster god for a call sign than she could take home the Black Fox of Canaan Mountain&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Proof, she thought, that the universe had a bent toward the cruel.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">By the time they reached the nursery, though, it had been decided: \u201cTizzy\u201d and \u201cDihya\u201d would be accompanied into Elsewhere by almost the whole family, who would help them plant olive trees for Sebby if he could be successfully released. They would take at least a pair of young trees that were already capable of fruiting, so that the little crustacean wouldn\u2019t have to wait long for treats. While Takama took charge of discussing the trees with the nursery owner, Kyra and Tafrara split off to find a suitable courtyard plant&#8288;\u2026 and Jack found herself walking with Ewan through another part of its gardens, looking at flowering shrubs. They still weren\u2019t alone, but for the moment, it almost felt like they were.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDo you have anything specific in mind for your plant?\u201d Ewan asked her as she looked over a selection of bushes that she knew had come from other parts of old Earth than Morocco.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m not sure yet,\u201d she told him. \u201cSomething that smells nice, I think. And&#8288;\u2026 I don\u2019t know, something that, if we\u2019d all been born in actual Marrakesh back on Earth, might have been native.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cA desert or steppe plant, then,\u201d Ewan told her. He raised an eyebrow in response to her look of surprise. \u201cOld Marrakesh was much farther inland than New Marrakesh is. In fact, our latitude and longitude correspond more with old Casablanca on Earth&#8288;\u2026 but \u2018New Casablanca\u2019 was already taken by the first settlement here, even though it\u2019s much farther north and east. The original Marrakesh, though, was hot and dry. It was closer to the old Atlas Mountains than Casablanca, and the New Atlas Mountains are practically on top of us, so maybe that\u2019s why they chose the name. Let\u2019s see&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He looked around the nursery, and then nodded.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI see some of the plants that came from arid parts of Morocco on Earth. Shall we?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack let him lead her to another part of the nursery, where the plants were&#8288;\u2026 well&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A little disappointing. They weren\u2019t at all lush, looking scrubby and spindly instead.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIn the dry climate of the desert,\u201d Ewan told her, in response to the crestfallen expression she hadn\u2019t been able to keep off her face, \u201ca large, broad leaf is a bad idea most of the time. It would dry out too quickly, and with as much sun as deserts tend to get, light collection is easy enough with a small leaf or even just a stem. But if you\u2019d like, we could look at something else.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But that was when the sweet scent of <i>\u2026&#8288;some&#173;thing&#8288;\u2026<\/i> reached Jack\u2019s nose and captivated her. She\u2019d never smelled a perfume quite like it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It took her a moment to locate the scent and discover the tiny white blossoms scattered throughout a bush that looked like a collection of living, green brooms. Each flower was smaller than her fingernail. She bent closer to get a better look. Tiny, five-petaled, white with a broad green stripe running down the center of each petal, each miniscule anther and stamen tipped with fuchsia, they smelled heavenly.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat is this?\u201d she asked, looking to see if it had a label.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c<i>Calligonum comosum<\/i>,\u201d Tafrara said as she and Kyra approached. \u201cThe fire bush.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra was carrying a small potted tree\u2014a fig tree, with a little fruit already growing on it\u2014in the crook of one arm.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe fire bush?\u201d Jack asked. \u201cWhy\u2019s it called that? Does it start fires?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Tafrara chuckled. \u201cNo, it\u2019s named after these,\u201d she said, gesturing to another bush beside the one Jack was examining. It had the same physical structure, but instead of white blossoms, it had clusters of branching, brilliant scarlet tendrils, each cluster bristling around a small fruit. They almost looked like tiny coral reefs. \u201cThe white flowers give way to fruits that mature to look like these. Once the fruits appear, a dune covered in these bushes can almost look like it\u2019s on fire.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack realized that there were several fire bushes surrounding the one she\u2019d been looking at, all apparently further into their \u201cseasons\u201d than it was. The tiny white flowers were only present on her chosen bush. \u201cThey\u2019re beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDead useful, too,\u201d Ewan commented. \u201cThey\u2019re popular for sand dune stabilization, feeding livestock, and in medicine. They\u2019re used a <i>lot<\/i> in folk medicine, and compounds from several parts of the plant are in prescription meds.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWow.\u201d Jack touched the plant carefully. \u201cIs this something we can plant in the courtyard?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYes,\u201d Tafrara said, \u201cbut an even better location for it might be on the rooftop.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat about the taproot?\u201d Ewan asked her. \u201cI\u2019ve read that it needs a fair bit of room.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI have a spot in mind for that,\u201d Tafrara said with a smile. \u201cRemember the chimney opening we had to cover when you were Tizzy\u2019s age? After the <i>incident?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan\u2019s own smile had gotten huge. \u201cYou want to fill it with sand? We\u2019re going to need a lot of sand.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNot so much as all that,\u201d Tafrara said. \u201cBut it\u2019s also right by the place where you loved to sit and watch the air shows. A perfect location.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat was the <i>incident?\u201d<\/i> Jack asked, once she was sure neither of them had anything more to add.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cRemember when you asked what happened when a burglar gained access to the house via the roof?\u201d Ewan asked her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Uh oh.<\/i> \u201cYes&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe tried to enter through a large chimney that hadn\u2019t been used in years. The fireplace it led to had been bricked up before I was even born.\u201d Ewan was <i>trying<\/i> to tell the story with a straight face, but his lips kept twitching toward a smirk. \u201cHe <i>survived,<\/i> but just barely. I think he spent two days trapped inside before we realized he was there and broke open the fireplace to get him out. And then had it rebricked immediately, and made sure the news reports included how close he\u2019d come to dying from his burglary attempt.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe chimney <i>had<\/i> been capped, of course, to keep birds from entering,\u201d Tafrara added. \u201cHe had removed the caps. So we covered it&#8288;\u2026 but it would be perfect for a long taproot, and could be the centerpiece for an area featuring desert plants.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd filling the top few meters with sand would definitely ensure that no one ever tries the same stupid stunt once everyone\u2019s forgotten about that last attempt,\u201d Cedric said, joining them. \u201cWe discussed a similar approach after the incident, and the structural reinforcements for it are already in place. I\u2019ll go order the sand now. I think we can have it ready for us, and waiting on the roof, before we wake up from the overnoon sleep.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWow,\u201d Jack said, impressed. \u201cThat fast?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI know a bloke.\u201d Cedric winked and walked away, taking his comm out of his pocket.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Picking up the bush that still had the white flowers, Jack closed her eyes, inhaled deeply, and sighed with satisfaction. This scent, she thought, would always remind her of New Marrakesh. She wondered if anyone made a perfume with it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Once everything had been paid for, Jack and Kyra loaded their plants into the back of the large vehicle they\u2019d come in. Four olive trees already sat in the bed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFour?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOne from you, one from Dihya, and two from us,\u201d Safiyya explained. \u201cSebby\u2019s quite captured our hearts, too, after all. Now, I\u2019m up almost past my bedtime, so we should head home.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The heat was getting intense, and Jack realized that she was feeling sleepy as well. The roads were almost deserted as they drove back to the <i>ait Meziane<\/i> house. Once they were back in the garage, Cedric instructed them to leave the plants where they were for the moment, as it was time for everyone to get ready for bed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan walked by her side as they went upstairs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt occurs to me that you and Dihya both chose plants that are reflections of yourselves,\u201d he commented.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cReally?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYes. Do you know how fig trees fruit?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack shook her head.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThey never appear to flower. Instead, they produce a round structure called a syconium. All the flowers are hidden inside it. A small wasp crawls inside the syconium to lay her eggs and pollinates the hidden flowers. Her children are born inside the fig and help it ripen, and then they depart, carrying its pollen to other syconia, while their former home matures into the \u2018fruit\u2019 we eat.\u201d He quirked one eyebrow at her. \u201cThere is no fruit without the wasp.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It <i>was<\/i>, Jack thought, a good, if complicated, metaphor for Kyra.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was at her door; Kyra was already moving around inside their room. Ewan kept walking toward his own room. Tafrara, ahead of him, had turned to look back, still acting as a chaperone.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cEwan?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He had reached his door and turned to look at her, for an instant seeming surprised that she was no longer beside him. \u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat about me? What does the fire bush symbolize?\u201d <i>Aside from being spindly and the youngest in its group&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He hesitated for a moment before answering. \u201cEasily under&#173;estimated&#8288;\u2026 but a treasure beyond all reckoning.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack couldn\u2019t find a single thing to say in response to that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSleep well, Tizzy.\u201d<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4048\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4048 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-49\">\u00ab Chapter 49<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4114\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4114 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-51\">Chapter 51 \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=\"51\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4049\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4049 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-50\">\u00ab Chapter 50<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4115\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4115 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-52\">Chapter 52 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5491\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5491 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">51.<br\/>\r\n<u>Who We Become in the Darkness<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat\u2019s going on up there?\u201d Jack asked, craning her neck to look toward the rooftop.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Five stories up, somewhere out of sight, she could hear the shriek of a buzz-saw.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan glanced up and then grinned. \u201cFather said he was going to have most of the chimney top cut away. Only a few inches will remain above the floor of the rooftop, just enough to help ensure that the fire bush has some boundaries. We\u2019re going to let it form a small dune up there. He says that part of the roof can support one.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWill it? Form a dune, I mean?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Tafrara, who was helping Kyra dig the hole for her fig tree, nodded. \u201cThat is what it does. We will let it make a little desert garden, and Mother is talking of putting a fountain nearby to give it an oasis. When you two return, I think the entire rooftop will have gardens around its length.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra\u2019s breath hitched and she glanced over at Jack. <i>Ouch. We\u2019re supposed to avoid talking about the future like that.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Yeah,<\/i> Jack told her silently. <i>I know&#8288;\u2026 but at least we know there\u2019ll always be a welcome for us here, right?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I hope so,<\/i> Kyra\u2019s mental \u201cvoice\u201d was subdued.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo,\u201d Iz\u00eel said, emerging from the house with a glutted Sebby riding his back and peeking over his shoulder, \u201cI hope you waited for us before starting up the story again.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack felt instant relief. The silence following Tafrara\u2019s gaffe had been growing awkward.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan had set up a small canopy around the area where they were working, to keep the worst of the waning midday heat and light off them. Lalla had brought out a small array of snacks for them to enjoy while they worked through the evening-day\u2019s \u201cmorning\u201d period. Cedric, supervising the removal of most of the chimney-top and the pouring of multiple bags of sand down the flue, had told them that it would be shortly after lunch before everything would be ready to plant Jack\u2019s fire bush. Ewan intended to assist her in its planting, the way Tafrara was helping Kyra. And in the meantime&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack, who had finally mastered the trick of pouring tea from one of the long-spouted Maghrebi teapots, poured Iz\u00eel a cup as he joined them. \u201cWe were waiting for you two.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGood. So you had reached the place in the canyon where the huge bones had fallen during your ride back to the ship?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah. Riddick got in front of us and started hoisting them out of the way, to try to clear us a path. There was only one area that was really obstructed, and we almost got all the way through it. But all those monsters that had fallen from the sky, the ones I told you about&#8288;\u2026 some of them weren\u2019t dead yet when they hit the ground. One of them grabbed Suleiman\u2019s leg&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was weird to realize, suddenly, how many of the deaths on that planet had been comparatively quiet. Owens and Shazza <i>had<\/i> both died screaming, and she suspected those screams would haunt her nightmares for years to come. Shazza had heard <i>Zeke<\/i> screaming, but Jack had been sorting through the contents of a locker in the cargo container at the time. But Ali&#8288;\u2026 if he\u2019d screamed, they hadn\u2019t heard it over the weird alien caterwauls of the creatures killing him. Mostly, death had seemed to come entirely too quietly. Not that <i>this<\/i> was the moment of Suleiman\u2019s death, but he had certainly thought it was going to be. Even now, having studied Arabic, she couldn\u2019t parse most of what he had been shrieking. At one point it had almost sounded like he was yelling \u201cDaddy!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The closest word she\u2019d found, when she\u2019d poked around in languages <i>connected<\/i> to Arabic, meant \u201cGrandma\u201d in Urdu. Had Suleiman been calling out for his grandmother? Maybe speaking in Urdu? Even now she could only guess at half of his sobbing words.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt ripped up his ankle before they got it off him. Riddick was moving on, dragging the cells farther down the canyon, while Fry and Imam were tying up Suleiman\u2019s ankle with Imam\u2019s headwrap. I called out to him, wanting to get him to wait. I mean, I know he probably figured we\u2019d catch up with him&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Had he? She silenced the doubts that tried to crowd into her head yet again before Kyra could hear them. She knew that, for Kyra, Riddick was the undisputed, undoubted hero of the story&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;and needed to <i>stay<\/i> that way.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBefore he could turn around, though, I realized I was just standing out in the middle of the canyon with no cover and nothing but a flashlight, and something was swooping down at me from above. I barely had time to get under one of the big pieces of bone before it was on top of me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That had been the moment when she had, at least for a while, known that she didn\u2019t <i>really<\/i> want to die. Or, at the very least, not like <i>that.<\/i> Struggling to hold the bone up above her with the weight of a large, hungry predator on top of it, while the predator hammered at the barrier with its bony head, had unleashed her own desperate screams.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan put his arm around her as she described it all, and she leaned against him. \u201cI heard Fry yelling \u2018get off of her!\u2019 She was trying to use the flashlight I\u2019d dropped to drive it away, but it must\u2019ve been really hungry because it tried to fight her and managed to knock the flashlight out of her hand and smash it. I thought we were both dead, but&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cRiddick to the rescue,\u201d Kyra breathed. When Jack glanced over, her expression was enrapt.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He\u2019d let out a stunning, predatory roar as he\u2019d lunged at the creature, catching both of its legs as it tried to pounce him. Neither she nor Fry could stop staring as the beast snapped at Riddick repeatedly. It reared back, but he pinned its wrists\u2014ankles?\u2014together and pulled out his shiv, gutting it while <i>it<\/i> screamed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I knew he\u2019d come to save us.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Where had that thought come from? It wasn\u2019t hers. She glanced over at Kyra, who had gone still and whose eyes were closed, focused on the visuals she\u2019d been evoking of the battle as she described it, and who was smiling a soft, vindicated smile.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Us?<\/i> Had that been <i>Kyra?<\/i> It sent a tiny chill through her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAfter he snapped its neck,\u201d she continued, trying to put whatever that instant had been behind them, \u201che just stared at it for a moment and said, \u2018did <i>not<\/i> know who it was <i>fuckin\u2019<\/i> with.\u2019 Then he looked up at us, like he was surprised we were there, like he\u2019d forgotten all about us while he was fighting it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cRiding a combat high,\u201d Ewan murmured.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack looked up at him. \u201cA combat high?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He nodded. \u201cAdrenaline can have that effect. I\u2019ve&#8288;\u2026 felt that <i>rush<\/i>, once or twice, during especially intense battlefield exercises. Some soldiers <i>chase<\/i> it, developing something called \u2018appetitive aggression.\u2019 A love of the fight, and the kill.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDoesn\u2019t sound so bad,\u201d Kyra muttered, settling the fig tree into its hole.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt can be, when soldiers come home to civilian life still addicted to that high,\u201d Ewan mused. \u201cWhen combined with the numbing effects of battle fatigue, for some of them, moments of violence become the only times when they can feel <i>anything.<\/i> That combination can be incredibly dangerous for everyone if they start chasing the high again.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack wondered how many times he\u2019d been dispatched, in his role as a paramedic, to deal with the aftermath of someone who had.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra\u2019s expression, Jack noticed, had turned defensive. Jack couldn\u2019t hear any of her thoughts now. Her sister bent her head, appearing focused on filling in the hole around the fig tree\u2019s roots with dirt.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Was she reacting to a possible criticism of Riddick, or was she taking it more personally?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Time to get on with the story, either way.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSuleiman was hobbling, and he needed to lean on Imam, but he didn\u2019t need to be carried&#8288;\u2026 not at first, anyway. Riddick was in front of us now, the whole way, dragging those four fuel cells. Most of the ground was clear now, but the canyon walls had gotten high, steep, and tight on either side of us. Then Suleiman suddenly fell and couldn\u2019t get back up. Fry and Imam were trying to help him, and then I felt this plop of liquid on my arm. I thought maybe it was more blood from those things&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBut it wasn\u2019t?\u201d Tafrara asked, helping Kyra fill in the hole around the fig tree.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt was starting to <i>rain<\/i>,\u201d Jack sighed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh no,\u201d Iz\u00eel groaned. Sebby squeaked in concern, reaching up with both antennae to touch his chin. He chuckled and began petting the cat-sized crustacean. \u201cAnd you were down to just the flaming bottles by then?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, the only flashlights left were the ones on Riddick\u2019s back. In under a minute, it was pouring. And Riddick started laughing like it was the funniest joke he\u2019d ever heard&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cSo where the hell\u2019s your God now?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Keeping her bottle lit had become Jack\u2019s top priority as they huddled against the cliffside. Fry\u2019s flame had gone out, and they couldn\u2019t get it to reignite. Jack\u2019s whole focus narrowed down to keeping <i>her<\/i> bottle\u2019s flame from guttering and dying, too, as she tried again and again to relight Fry\u2019s soaked wick. Riddick had climbed up onto an outcropping to scan the path ahead, while Fry begged him to tell her that they were almost at the settlement. Jack still had no idea whether anyone but her had heard his murmured answer: <i>\u201cWe can\u2019t make it.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe hadn\u2019t even noticed that one of those monsters was crawling down the cliff\u2019s face until it wrapped its tail around Suleiman\u2019s neck and dragged him away. He barely got out a choked kinda scream before he was <i>gone.<\/i> Imam&#8288;\u2026 <i>lost<\/i> it. He was screaming up at the darkness, begging for his last kid back. I don\u2019t know if he was begging the monsters or his God&#8288;\u2026 he looked completely broken.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI wouldn\u2019t doubt he was dealing with survivor\u2019s guilt as well,\u201d Ewan murmured. Kyra snorted derisively.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMaybe. He did seem to get all gung-ho about prayer afterward. Like, <i>constantly<\/i> praying. Maybe he decided if he\u2019d just prayed harder on the planet&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNever works,\u201d Kyra muttered. \u201cI know that for a <i>fact.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cRiddick had found a cave opening in the cliff face,\u201d Jack continued before things could get any more awkward. \u201cHe wanted us to hide inside it. But he didn\u2019t follow us in. Instead, he pushed this huge rock in front of the hole once we were inside. We were down to just my bottle. Fry\u2019s had some liquor left in it, but too much water had soaked her wick. I think&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And now it was time to lie. To straight up, unflinchingly <i>lie.<\/i> Both about Riddick\u2019s intentions and about what she believed they were, in both that moment and this one.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI think he wanted to get the cells to the skiff and then come back for us. He couldn\u2019t drag them and protect us at the same time, but once they were there, he\u2019d be able to keep us safe on the last part of the run. It was hard, waiting, with the light burning lower and lower. We added the liquor from Fry\u2019s bottle to mine so we could make the light last longer&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She forced herself to resolutely <i>not<\/i> think about her absolute certainty that Riddick had no intention of returning, that he would leave them behind and take off on the skiff on his own, that none of them meant enough to him to come back for. She didn\u2019t want Kyra picking up on it. Instead, she pretended\u2014carefully, so that it wouldn\u2019t leak through\u2014that it had been <i>Tomlin<\/i> on the other side of the rock, who had promised to return to save them all, and who would be prevented from keeping that promise by nothing less than death itself. The visuals that she let Kyra see absolutely did <i>not<\/i> include the moment she had turned to Fry and asked, \u201che\u2019s not coming back, is he?\u201d and had seen the same dashed hopes in the pilot\u2019s eyes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She did, however, describe the final guttering of the last liquor bottle\u2019s light, as the beasts prowled and sang their chilling songs just outside of the cave. As the last of the firelight died, she and Fry had clasped hands&#8288;\u2026 and realized that they could still <i>see<\/i> each other\u2019s hands. There was a gentle, bluish glow surrounding them, making her wonder for a moment if the single blue sun had somehow risen and the terrible night was over. But above her, the cave ceiling seemed to glitter with stars, blue stars&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Imam had reached up and brought two of them down, revealing a pair of glowing, wriggling grubs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The cave was full of them. It was one of the most beautiful things she\u2019d ever seen.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack heard Kyra\u2019s breath catch as she shared the images of the glow worms spangling the cave ceiling with their soft blue light. \u201cSo beautiful,\u201d her sister whispered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe decided to fill up one of the two bottles, scrape its labels off, and make a lamp so Fry could go help Riddick get the skiff ready and then come back with him. Imam could barely push the rock away enough for her to squeeze out of the cave. I don\u2019t even know how Riddick had managed to move it. After she left, I kept collecting glow worms so we could try to fill up the second bottle, too. And then, when we were waiting, I heard it&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Low groans, echoing through the cave from somewhere deep below. It was an animal sound, but deep and dark and terrible. Something enormous was rising up.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThose huge bones from the canyon, and out in the bone field? We hadn\u2019t seen anything big enough to leave them behind, not yet. Johns thought maybe the creatures we\u2019d already seen had killed them all off, but&#8288;\u2026 I think he was wrong. I think it just took <i>them<\/i> even longer to come out in the dark than the other creatures&#8288;\u2026 but they were coming.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cA whole subterranean ecosystem rising up for a month on the surface,\u201d Ewan breathed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cA <i>month?\u201d<\/i> Jack gasped.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan nodded. \u201cYes. The crash investigators concluded that it took a month before the planets on either side of your crash planet finished the conjunction and light reached the surface again. Roughly two weeks after the eclipse began, things apparently got hazardous for life on the surface, too, because the alignment became a true syzygy. I wonder if the huge creatures whose bones you saw, and whose voices you may have heard, used <i>that<\/i> to fly. The gravitational effects would have been both fascinating and terrifying to observe.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Staying at the ship would have been death, Jack realized. A whole month in darkness would have ended them all.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBloody hell, I\u2019d love to study that world and its life,\u201d Iz\u00eel muttered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019d need to be armored like a <i>tank<\/i> to survive for very long,\u201d Jack told him. \u201cThose things were vicious.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The low, rumbling groans of the beasts&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;why did the word <i>below<\/i> suddenly make her think of the <i>Apeiros?<\/i>&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The thought vanished a second later as if plucked from her mind.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2014&#8288;the beasts beneath the surface were growing louder when, with a harsh scraping sound, the rock in front of the cave fell away. For a moment, she thought that one of the rising leviathans had triggered an avalanche, until Fry\u2019s smiling face appeared in the opening&#8288;\u2026 and then she moved out of the way so they could see that Riddick was with her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cNever had a doubt!\u201d<\/i> Jack had lied, pure relief coursing through her. The truth was, she was amazed by his return, but wouldn\u2019t have blamed him for leaving them, leaving <i>her<\/i>, if he had.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They\u2019d barely known each other then. If he\u2019d simply left, flying away either so he wouldn\u2019t have to watch them get taken one by one, or just because he didn\u2019t care about their fates anyway, she wouldn\u2019t have hated him for it or felt particularly betrayed. Maybe because a huge part of her had still felt like she deserved to share the fate that had befallen so many of her recent friends.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But, after four days of getting to know each other better on the skiff and another two days together on the <i>Xanadu III<\/i>\u2014not that she\u2019d ever told him her real name or destination\u2014having him vanish without a word and strand her in Imam\u2019s household&#8288;\u2026 that was what had hurt. That was what she still couldn\u2019t reconcile. Leaving her to die on the crash planet would somehow have felt far less egregious than leaving her to wither in the harsh, dry emotional desert of Helion Prime.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra\u2019s breath hitched, and Jack realized that her thoughts of betrayal had seeped through their connection. She made herself focus back on the story and sent Kyra images of just how suave and dashing Riddick had looked, framed in the cave opening.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cAnyone not ready for this?\u201d<\/i> he\u2019d asked, and in that moment, she\u2019d felt ready to do <i>anything.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Two glowing bottles held aloft had done a good job of covering the four of them as they made their final run. At times, Jack thought she could still hear the low, almost subsonic sounds of the great beasts rising up under the ground. She hoped that none of them would rise in the settlement&#8288;\u2026 at least, not until after the skiff could take off. The others seemed not to hear anything at all. Riddick led them to a steep incline, helping them over its top; she didn\u2019t realize he had fallen behind until they reached the bright, welcoming light of the skiff and he wasn\u2019t with them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cImam&#8288;\u2026 well, we waited for a long moment inside the skiff, but Fry didn\u2019t come in after us. She was scanning the darkness for any sign of him. But Imam wanted to leave right then. He started telling her to come inside&#8288;\u2026 he knew we couldn\u2019t fly off without either her or Riddick in the pilot\u2019s seat. She was starting to give up and turn back toward us when we heard Riddick scream somewhere out in the darkness. She raced off with one of the glowing bottles. I tried to follow, but Imam wouldn\u2019t let me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That had been an awkward moment for the two of them in another, unexpected, way. As she had tried to push past him, Imam had put his hand on her chest to stop her\u2014probably the way he would have blocked one of his boys\u2014and his hand had ended up cupping her right breast for an instant. She\u2019d shoved it away, but it had left both of them shocked and un&#173;com&#173;fortable&#8288;\u2026 and Fry, meanwhile, had vanished around a corner. There was no way to follow her. Imam had become even more stand-offish after that&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDamn, you should\u2019a kicked him in the balls,\u201d Kyra grumbled.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe didn\u2019t mean to do it,\u201d Jack argued, sighing. \u201cI&#8288;\u2026 think he always <i>meant<\/i> well&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan gave her a gentle squeeze. \u201cYou need to show yourself as much grace and forgiveness as you show others, <i>a tafat-iw.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He\u2019d called her that once before, she thought, but she had the weird sense that she\u2019d been \u2026floating in space?&#8288;\u2026 at the time.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSometimes I still wonder if,\u201d she continued after a moment, \u201cif he\u2019d let me grab the bottle and go after Fry, both of them would\u2019ve made it back. Like maybe it would\u2019ve been enough light to keep them safe&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOr maybe you\u2019d have died, too,\u201d Kyra muttered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou could make an excellent First Responder,\u201d Ewan told her. She knew he meant it as a compliment; as a former paramedic, he\u2019d often been one himself. \u201cBut only once you learn how to protect yourself a little better at the same time. How long did the two of you wait after that?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSeemed like forever,\u201d Jack reflected. \u201cImam&#8288;\u2026 after a minute he started mumbling in Arabic that if they\u2019d both died we were going to be trapped on that ungodly world. I didn\u2019t understand what he was saying at the time, but&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Now that she was parsing it from memory, she was appalled to realize just how much he\u2019d resented being left in charge of her, as opposed to <i>any<\/i> of the boys he had traveled with. His opinions of both Fry and Riddick weren\u2019t any better. If Fry returned, he would be surrounded by two females who didn\u2019t share his faith or understand true propriety; if Riddick returned, he would have to guard her chastity at all times; if both returned, he was convinced that the skiff would turn into a den of iniquity within hours of launching, that Fry had to have promised to indulge Riddick\u2019s undoubtedly perverted appetites to get him to rescue them at all. He\u2019d wondered what terrible sin he had to have committed to bring on this onerous punishment. When she\u2019d finally asked him what he was muttering, he\u2019d told her \u201cJust praying, child,\u201d holding up the beads that he\u2019d somehow managed to hang onto during their run.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTold you he was a douchebag,\u201d Kyra grumbled. She had cleaned the dirt off her hands\u2014but not, Jack noticed, from under her nails\u2014and was having a small snack with Tafrara. Sebby was creeping over to steal an olive, clearly thinking nobody would notice. The little pile he was stalking, though, had been placed there just for him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah,\u201d Jack admitted with another sigh. \u201cBut I think he was pretty traumatized by everything that happened&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBut taking it out on you reinforced <i>your<\/i> trauma reaction,\u201d Ewan murmured next to her. \u201cAnd drove you to this.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He lifted one of her hands, turning it palm up and running his thumb along the scar on the inside of her arm. She tried <i>very<\/i> hard not to react inappropriately to his caress, hiding the thrill racing up her spine, and saw a hint of a knowing smirk appear on Kyra\u2019s face.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI guess,\u201d Jack said. Inside, it still felt to her like Riddick\u2019s abandonment had been a bigger indictment than anything Imam had said or done. But maybe, she thought, he\u2019d been struggling with his own guilt&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">From the darkness, they had heard Riddick\u2019s voice, calling out: <i>\u201cNot for <b>me!<\/b>\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack had known, even before he had staggered into view with the glowing bottle in his hand, that Fry was dead.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She described the takeoff from the planet as they cleaned up the gardening gear. Riddick had a ragged gash on his leg that Imam had insisted on treating before they lifted off, and Jack had discreetly changed pads while they were preoccupied, something that left her feeling profoundly uncomfortable afterward when she discovered just how <i>gritty<\/i> the pad she\u2019d chosen was. Once they were ready to launch, Riddick had delayed for a nerve-wracking moment, switching off all the lights so he could lure the lurking monstrosities close before burning as many of them as he could with the skiff\u2019s engines. She\u2019d felt his desire for vengeance, and a strange, burning guilt beneath it. She had her own suspicions of what that guilt might have been about, but she omitted it from the story she was telling and the visuals she was feeding Kyra. She\u2019d let him stay the unquestioned hero of the tale.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo we were out in space, at last, leaving the crash planet. Riddick seemed to know exactly what to do to get us to one of the Sol Track beacons. Imam was <i>praying<\/i> and pretending not to watch us as I went up and sat down in the copilot\u2019s seat. But I needed us to get our stories straight, just in case we were found quickly.\u201d She was, after all, an open Missing Person case, even if nobody considered her <i>Armed and Dangerous<\/i> yet. Knowing what kind of cover story Riddick planned to use could affect which one she needed to go with. \u201cSo I said to Riddick, \u2018a lot of questions, whoever we run into. Could even be a merc ship.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Why she\u2019d thought that, exactly, she still didn\u2019t know. It had come to her with an odd sense of certainty. Later, she would wish she\u2019d been certain of almost anything else.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She mimicked the shrug she\u2019d given at the time as she\u2019d looked over at Riddick. \u201c\u2018So what the hell do we tell them about you?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She could hear Kyra murmuring her lines, like a distant echo.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d Tafrara asked as she started putting away the gardening tools.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe said, \u2018tell them Riddick\u2019s dead. He died somewhere on that planet.\u2019\u201d Jack was pretty sure he\u2019d meant it, too. He\u2019d seemed to have felt that something transformative had happened.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Maybe he\u2019d even have been right&#8288;\u2026 if only she\u2019d been wrong about the merc ship. But if he\u2019d really intended to change his path, discard his identity and take on a new one, whether posing as William Johns or someone else altogether, their encounter with the <i>Kublai Khan<\/i> ruined that chance&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;and turned <i>her<\/i> into a murderer.<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4049\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4049 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-50\">\u00ab Chapter 50<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4115\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4115 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-52\">Chapter 52 \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=\"52\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4050\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4050 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-51\">\u00ab Chapter 51<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4116\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4116 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-53\">Chapter 53 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5494\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5494 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">52.<br\/>\r\n<u>Without Saying Good-Night<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe\u2019s doing it again,\u201d Iz\u00eel said, beginning to laugh.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShh! He\u2019ll stop if he realizes you\u2019re laughing at him,\u201d Tafrara scolded. \u201cEveryone. Keep going.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan was struggling to keep a straight face as he lowered his body toward the ground, bending his right leg back and straightening his left leg out in front of him, right arm lifted and curved behind him while his left arm extended toward his ankle. Jack and Kyra tried to focus on replicating his pose&#8288;\u2026 while Sebby did <i>too.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDear <i>God<\/i>, I can\u2019t believe I\u2019m not allowed to record <i>this&#8288;\u2026<\/i>&#8288;\u201d Iz\u00eel gasped.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Three of Sebby\u2019s back left legs were bending back, their right mates stretched forward. His remaining legs were held out for balance as he positioned his pincers\u2014and antennae\u2014in a mirror-image mimicry of Ewan\u2019s arms. Although he wobbled a little, he was holding the pose.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The little crustacean had apparently decided that <i>he<\/i> wanted to learn Tai Chi, <i>too.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThis is the cutest thing <i>ever<\/i>,\u201d Kyra whispered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack felt like she was going to burst with emotion. Pride and love warred with the urge to laugh for hours at how adorably silly Sebby looked&#8288;\u2026 and with a powerful ache at the knowledge that, as with Ewan, this was probably her last evening-day with him for years, possibly ever.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt is adorable,\u201d Tafrara agreed. \u201cNow keep your focus on Zdan and let Sebby focus on him, too.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Word was spreading. Iz\u00eel had stopped for a moment to send out a message on his comm. Some members of the family had emerged onto their balconies to observe the session, and after a moment, Jack could see Lalla and Safiyya watching from the dining room doorway.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe won\u2019t be doing any more of the moves where you have to lift a leg off of the ground,\u201d Ewan murmured as he shifted to another position. \u201cI don\u2019t want him to fall over.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAgreed,\u201d Tafrara said as she corrected the way Jack was holding her right arm.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan was gazing directly at Sebby as he changed positions, moving extra-slowly and carefully to make sure the cat-sized crustacean could follow along comfortably. His suppressed laughter had given way to even more powerful emotion, and Jack could tell that he was going to treasure this experience for the rest of his life.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSebby is quite intelligent, isn\u2019t he?\u201d Tafrara murmured by Jack after a while.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe is, yeah. I swear, he understands everything we say,\u201d Jack answered as she tried to mirror Ewan\u2019s latest movement. \u201cSometimes I think I understand what he\u2019s saying, too.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMuch more than a pet, to be sure.\u201d Tafrara nodded, a sad smile on her face. \u201cWe will miss him. The house is going to feel so empty without the three of you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJust the three of them?\u201d Ewan asked, bringing his hands into a new position that Sebby promptly imitated with his pincers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou call us <i>all the time<\/i>,\u201d Tafrara laughed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSee if I will <i>now<\/i>,\u201d he mock-grumbled at her, straightening up to stand, fully balanced, on both legs, bringing his hands together and bowing at all of them&#8288;\u2026 and especially at Sebby, who bowed back with his pincers touching.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was their last Tai Chi session with Ewan. In another hour, once they had all showered and changed, it would be time to leave for the send-off party. The day had flown by faster than Jack liked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her fire bush was planted, Ewan helping her get it properly situated in its special location while, all around them, his family worked on redesigning the rooftop area to make the bush into the centerpiece of a new, magical garden. It had been loud and chaotic enough that any hope of continuing her narrative, telling the story of the capture and escape from the <i>Kublai Khan<\/i>, had been lost. She might manage to tell Kyra that part before <i>they<\/i> parted ways, but Ewan wouldn\u2019t hear it unless\u2014<i>until<\/i>\u2014she returned in several years\u2019 time.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her last hours with him were slipping away. Soon there would be a throng of well-wishers wanting to spend time with him, people who knew him far better than she did. They might not get to spend any more time with each other at all once they arrived at the party.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Somehow, she was simultaneously dreading their good-bye and fearing she was going to be cheated out of it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThere\u2019s no way he wouldn\u2019t say a proper good-bye to you,\u201d Kyra told her as they prepared to shower, Sebby eagerly bouncing as he watched them change into their bathrobes. \u201cYou\u2019re worrying way too much.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack sighed and nodded. \u201cI know. I just&#8288;\u2026 hate that time\u2019s running <i>out<\/i> like this. I know we didn\u2019t plan to stay much longer than this anyway, but&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNow it\u2019s real,\u201d Kyra said, belting her robe. \u201cAnd it sucks. When I was little and visited my mom\u2019s family, I always hated it when the visits ended. I always was afraid I\u2019d never see any of them again. Eventually, I was right.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack winced. Kyra\u2019s mom seemed like she\u2019d originally come from some pretty normal people, before she\u2019d decided her gifts were satanic and had followed her husband into&#8288;\u2026 not to put too fine a point on it, but into a <i>cult.<\/i> If she and Kyra had stayed on Earth instead of setting out across the stars&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;Jack would never have found her way here, not at this time, maybe not at all. And, if Kyra had never left Earth later, in one of the Star Jumpers that came out in ensuing decades, would she have managed to find a happy life there? Most of the textbooks at Jack\u2019s schools had claimed that there was no happiness to be found on Earth by then, although her dad had told her that things hadn\u2019t been that simple. But Kyra might never have seen a <i>green<\/i> world&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She had a sudden memory of her overnoon dreams, of hiking and hiding in a huge forest, sometimes with Kyra and sometimes <i>as<\/i> Kyra&#8288;\u2026 with Riddick beside her&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Had those even been <i>her<\/i> dreams?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Weird. She\u2019d also visited with the <i>Apeiros<\/i>, who had lots of questions about the story she\u2019d been telling and the world she had described. That \u201cdream\u201d was as vivid as waking memory. But hiking with Riddick&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The images were impressionistic. He always wore the same thing, the clothes she\u2019d shown him wearing on the crash planet. Sometimes she\u2019d felt as if she was playing his role, walking beside Kyra and mimicking the way he\u2019d said things, speaking with his voice and wearing his form. Other times, she\u2019d seen everything from Kyra\u2019s perspective as they explored the forest together. At times, he had rescued Kyra from her oppressive life at the Enclave. But sometimes, the massacre had taken place, Riddick had rescued her from the aftermath, and they were hunting the men who had hurt her and murdered her mother, together, as a team. Sometimes he killed Red Roger for her, sometimes they killed him to&#173;gether&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack hadn\u2019t \u201cdriven\u201d any of the dreams. She\u2019d been an observer, a passenger, as a dreaming Kyra spun out scenarios in which her time in the wilds of Canaan Mountain had <i>not<\/i> been spent alone, but in the company of a deadly partner.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But, Jack told herself, at least Kyra hadn\u2019t ended up mired in any nightmares. <i>That<\/i> was good&#8288;\u2026 wasn\u2019t it?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sebby danced in the shower with each of them as they washed up for the party. When they emerged from the bathroom, fresh clothes were waiting for them on the bed, along with two of Lalla\u2019s wigs. Tonight, they wouldn\u2019t be \u201cDihya\u201d and \u201cTislilel,\u201d who were allegedly still too ill to attend. They would pose as two college friends of Ewan\u2019s.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The dresses were beautiful, colorful beaded kaftans belted at the waist. They were obviously expensive, and Jack had almost protested when Takama had shown them the garments earlier.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNone of that,\u201d Takama had said before she could draw in a breath. \u201cYou know that we hoped to adopt both of you somehow. Let us at least have one occasion where we bought our \u2018daughters\u2019 something lovely to wear.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Despite her earlier claims, that had visibly touched Kyra even more deeply than Jack; Kyra, after all, was the genuine orphan of the two of them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra\u2019s wig was curly and auburn; Jack\u2019s was dark blonde, shoulder-length, with bangs. When she settled it on her head, she felt a weird sense of predestination. This was a look she could see herself wearing in reality&#8288;\u2026 and suddenly <i>wanted<\/i> to.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Especially, she thought, if Ewan liked it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat are our names again?\u201d Kyra asked as she belted her brilliant maroon kaftan.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019re Gwen, and I\u2019m Mercia,\u201d Jack told her as she secured the wig\u2019s clips into her hair the way Lalla had shown her. \u201cTafrara had two college friends who visited a lot, who had those names and hair like we\u2019re wearing, so it\u2019ll be easy for them to remember our names.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan, she knew, wouldn\u2019t have any trouble keeping his facts straight.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIs anyone gonna buy that we\u2019re Ewan\u2019s age?\u201d Kyra was attaching her wig\u2019s clips to her own braided-back hair.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMaybe with you. I\u2019m supposed to have started right when he was graduating. That\u2019s the cover story, anyway. They\u2019re not gonna say much, though. Hopefully nobody will ask or care. It\u2019s just in case.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Lalla and Takama arrived with a small banquet for Sebby just as they finished getting ready.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou two look <i>perfect,\u201d<\/i> Takama said with a smile. \u201cAlmost like the real Gwen and Mercia. This will be easy to remember.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">As Sebby settled into what might be his final dinner at the <i>ait Meziane<\/i> house, Jack and Kyra followed Takama and Lalla down to the garage.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan, garbed in his military uniform and devastatingly handsome, waited by one of the large, elegant transports that the tribe seemed to have several of. The four olive trees were still resting in the all-terrain vehicle\u2019s bed, and no one had gathered near it. As they approached him, Jack found herself feeling relieved that she already knew how much Ewan cared about her, or she might not have found the nerve to talk to him. He looked <i>light-years<\/i> out of her league.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The expression on his face, however, was admiring. \u201cDon\u2019t you look lovely, \u2018Mercia,\u2019\u201d he murmured. \u201c\u2018Gwen.\u2019 I hope you two will be riding with me?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOf course they will,\u201d said Takama. \u201cWe wouldn\u2019t dream of depriving you of a moment of their company.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Ouch.<\/i> The subtext, that it would be his last chance to see either of them for a long time, was <i>barely<\/i> below the surface.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The shadows were growing long and the sun was nearing the horizon as they drove down toward the shore, heading south as they went, away from the spaceport. For a moment, Jack was surprised.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh,\u201d she realized aloud. \u201cOf course you didn\u2019t land at the spaceport. Not with what had just happened there.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo, non-emergency traffic was extremely limited, but I was able to get special permission to land at Menara Field.\u201d Ewan tilted his head, lips quirking. \u201cThe field is run by friends of the family.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s not the one where that airshow was held at, is it?\u201d That would be crazy.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan laughed. \u201cNo, that was in New Fes. Fortunately.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe means,\u201d Tafrara snickered from the front seat, \u201che\u2019d never have gotten to the Tomcat if he\u2019d had to get past <i>locals<\/i> who <i>knew<\/i> him.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI still have no regrets,\u201d Ewan laughed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd the send-off party\u2019s at the field?\u201d Kyra asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThey have a lovely facility, yes,\u201d Tafrara replied. \u201cWe wanted to be able to say, if anyone inquired, that we couldn\u2019t accommodate anyone past those we had already invited. In case a certain person was still trying to get a look at the two of you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The airfield, larger than Jack expected given her own visits to air shows on Deckard\u2019s World, was home to a variety of aircraft, and had a few landing pads for the occasional small spacecraft. As they walked toward the main building, Ewan pointed out at one of the pads. A small fighter, elegantly designed for both air and space, was poised on it, being fueled.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s my bird. I\u2019ve been training in her for the last six months.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s beautiful,\u201d Jack said, wishing she could go for a ride in it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan must have heard it in her voice. \u201cPerhaps one day, I can take you flying,\u201d he whispered, just barely au&#173;dibly&#8288;\u2026 and in Arabic. Words calculated for her alone. No one else but Kyra was close enough to hear, and <i>she<\/i> couldn\u2019t understand Arabic.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was as close to a promise as either of them dared make. She met his eyes and saw a wistfulness in them that mirrored what she was feeling.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOkay, you two. Don\u2019t make <i>me<\/i> play chaperone here,\u201d Kyra muttered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSorry.\u201d Ewan gave her a rueful look.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI forgive you.\u201d Kyra favored him with an arch smile. \u201cThis time.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan put his arm around Jack\u2019s sister and gave her a hug, kissing the top of her head. \u201cThank you, \u2018Gwen.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She snickered. \u201cYou realize you just kissed Lalla\u2019s wig, right?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He was, Jack reflected, one of the only men in the universe whom Kyra would allow to <i>do<\/i> that. She trusted him absolutely. And, because she felt an equally absolute lack of attraction to him, their relationship had genuinely fallen into a sibling-like domain. He made a far better older brother for her than the one she\u2019d been born with.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack hoped Kyra wouldn\u2019t have to wait <i>too<\/i> long to return to him and the rest of the family.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">An elderly man greeted them at the building\u2019s entry, clapping Ewan on the back as he welcomed them inside. A corridor with ordinary office doors stretched out in front of them, but through another door to the side&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;there was definitely a party in full swing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The large room was <i>full<\/i> of people, who cheered and shouted welcomes the moment they spotted Ewan. Most of the men and women were his age or slightly older, people he had gone to school with or worked with, in all likelihood. Jack spotted General Toal and a few of the officers from the garden party mingling among the revelers. Robie was in the crowd, looking just one eyepatch and parrot away from an ancient Disney pirate captain. Most guests wore colorful Moroccan garb, but only a few of the women wore hijabs or shaylas, and Jack spotted just one woman in a full chador.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Within moments, Ewan had been swallowed up by the crowd. Everyone wanted a chance to talk to him before he left for Qamar. Jack could hear him switching flawlessly between Arabic, French, and Spanish as he went, favoring each conversation partner\u2019s first language. Tafrara showed up a moment later to lead Jack and Kyra to the food tables, where a fascinating array of options made Jack resolve to try a small amount of everything at least once over the course of the night. Kyra gave her a wide-eyed look when she caught that thought.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou are <i>definitely<\/i> getting ready to grow another two or three inches,\u201d her older sister whispered to her. \u201cPossibly on the <i>spot.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">As always, Jack noticed, the alcoholic beverages that would have been ubiquitous on Deckard\u2019s World were entirely absent. Instead, Maghrebi mint tea dominated, along with glasses of orange and pomegranate juice, avocado \u201cjuice\u201d that Jack already knew from experience was more of a <i>smoothie<\/i>, <i>raib<\/i>, and even a few cups of <i>nous nous<\/i> despite the hour. Small tables dotted the room\u2014there didn\u2019t appear to be an area for dancing\u2014and many of the guests had already filled plates and congregated around most of them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">With a filled plate of her own, Jack settled in to people-watch, trying not to think about how few hours were left until Ewan\u2019s launch window opened and he left Tangier Prime. Many of the men and women his age seemed to be using the party as an impromptu reunion, chatting in Arabic about what each of them had been doing in the last few years. Most seemed to be pursuing graduate studies of some kind. Several of the women\u2014all distressingly beautiful\u2014were staying close to Ewan and hanging on his every word. His warmth encompassed all of them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Any of them, she thought heavily, might be his future wife. Any of them would be a more appropriate choice than a thirteen-year-old girl with a massive crush and four and a half years to go before she was even <i>legal<\/i> on Tangier Prime. She\u2019d been deluding herself, reading too much into Ewan\u2019s kindness and brotherly affection. When she came back, she would have to be prepared to just be his little sister or young cousin, and to accept whoever he\u2019d married as family, too&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou seem to be lost in some sad thoughts,\u201d a deep voice rumbled beside her. General Toal sat down next to her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack nodded, swallowing. \u201cYeah, saying goodbye is hard.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou can return one day, \u2018Mercia,\u2019\u201d he told her, his voice gentle. \u201cGoodbye does not have to be forever. I know that there will always be a welcome for you here.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It suddenly occurred to Jack to wonder if Riddick had ever planned to return to Helion Prime, and what he would think if he did and she was gone. But then, no promises of <i>any<\/i> kind had been made there, and neither he nor Imam had ever particularly cared to ask if she had plans that conflicted with the ones they apparently had contrived for her. Hopefully, if he did come back one day to find her long gone, he\u2019d accept it as an inevitable outcome of their choice to exclude her from decisions about her own fate.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Just as she, she told the ache lodged in her chest, would have to accept whatever she found when she returned to Tangier Prime one day. Nobody here could put their lives on hold just so she could go off and grow up first.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Full dark had fallen, and some of the guests were already departing. Ewan made sure to speak to each of them one more time as they left.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIs it almost time already?\u201d she asked General Toal, suddenly feeling stricken.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo, child. Not yet. But part of the event is something that most of the traditionalists among the Muslim contingent would be uncomfortable with.\u201d He nodded at the departing guests, all of whom, Jack realized, were dressed in more conservative Muslim attire.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat part is that?\u201d she asked as Kyra sat down next to her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cA bit of <i>Scottish<\/i> traditionalism,\u201d Cedric said, joining them. \u201cWhich all are welcome to partake in, if their faith allows them to. The Ceilidh.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra looked startled for a second. \u201cThe Kaylee?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A friend of hers, Jack remembered, had worn that name, and had died a terrible death.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cCeilidh&#8288;\u2026 C-E-I-L-I-D-H,\u201d Cedric explained. It <i>did<\/i> sound like he was saying <i>Kaylee<\/i>, though. \u201cIt\u2019s a traditional Scottish dance. We haven\u2019t had a chance to hold one for a while, and I think Ewan\u2019s looking forward to it. So we let the guests know that it would be one of the final events of the evening.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMost strict observers of Islam follow a prohibition against men and women dancing together,\u201d General Toal added. \u201cFor many of them, even watching that take place would be deeply uncomfortable. American square dancing has many of its roots in the Ceilidh, I\u2019m told.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra, of course, had been born in America, and Jack had been born on a world that fetishized all things American.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack grinned. \u201cMy grade school taught us how to square dance. I don\u2019t know how similar it really is, but I\u2019m in.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMy parents always said dancing was sinful,\u201d Kyra said after a moment, a mischievous look spreading over her face. \u201cI wanna try it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGood,\u201d Tafrara said from behind them. \u201cWe can show you the steps. It\u2019s not hard at all.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">More than half of the guests had departed, and the tables were being moved to the edges of the room. Once anyone who might object had left, Tafrara and Iz\u00eel began showing Jack and Kyra various steps and telling them their names.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m never going to remember all this,\u201d Kyra groaned, even as she copied Tafrara\u2019s footwork perfectly.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack, who could remember all the names, and the steps that went with them, was privately convinced that, despite that, she was going to end up stomping someone\u2019s foot in a moment of pure klutziness.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDon\u2019t worry about it,\u201d Tafrara laughed. \u201cGo with the movement and let it carry you. We\u2019re not doing competitive performances here.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThere are <i>competitive performances?\u201d<\/i> Kyra gasped.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cPeople will make anything into a competition,\u201d Ewan said, joining them and casting the light of his smile on each of them in turn. \u201cAre we ready? I\u2019ve been waiting for this all night.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The next thing Jack knew, he had taken her hand and led her out toward the center of the room. Kyra, hand in hand with Iz\u00eel, followed. Other pairs joined them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The elderly proprietor who had greeted them stepped up to a microphone, drawing everyone\u2019s attention. He would be their caller, he told them. Many of the remaining guests seemed comfortable just observing as the dance got underway and Jack discovered, for the first time in her life, that bagpipes\u2014the butt of many a joke on Deckard\u2019s World\u2014could produce gorgeous melodies.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was hard not to get lost in Ewan\u2019s eyes when he was her partner, and she was always afraid that <i>his<\/i> would be the foot she tromped on. But he was an expert at the dance, and it never happened. She was whirled from partner to partner, sometimes dancing with Iz\u00eel, sometimes Usaden, then Cedric, Robie, even General Toal&#8288;\u2026 and then back in Ewan\u2019s arms where time stopped once more. It <i>was<\/i> a lot like square dancing, although many of the calls were completely different. Whirling through figures felt almost like spinning through the spangled darkness with the <i>Apeiros<\/i>, but with <i>him<\/i> alongside her. She wasn\u2019t sure how long it lasted, but she found herself wishing it would never end. Finally, however, the last of the songs ended and both the other dancers and their audience began to clap. She did as well, feeling a mixture of breathless exhilaration and forlorn longing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Safiyya handed her a glass of something sweet with a hint of a grassy flavor to it, which Jack found herself almost <i>chugging.<\/i> \u201cWow, what is this?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c<i>Aseer kasab<\/i>,\u201d Safiyya told her. \u201cSugarcane juice. A good refreshment after such strenuous exercise.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan was circulating again, and Jack realized that now he was saying his goodbyes to <i>everyone,<\/i> sharing hugs and claps on the back as he went. It was almost time.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOn the way back to the <i>ait Meziane<\/i> house,\u201d General Toal said from beside her, \u201cI have a small present for you and \u2018Gwen.\u2019 We spoke of it the other day.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That reminded her. \u201cDo you know if it could help me stop talking in my sleep? I\u2019m worried about what people might hear me say.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The General raised his eyebrows. \u201cAs a matter of fact, it does help train for that, too. I will show you the settings for that&#8288;\u2026 as well as the settings for what we discussed.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Out of the corner of her eye, Jack could see Ewan in earnest conversation with Kyra. The moment she dreaded was getting closer and closer.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThank you, General,\u201d she said, struggling to focus on their conversation. \u201cI appreciate everything you\u2019re doing for us.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt is no more than I would hope anyone in my position would have the honor to do, child.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Child.<\/i> The sum total of everything that had gone wrong on her run&#8288;\u2026 no matter where she went, what she did, or how freakin\u2019 <i>tall<\/i> she got, she was still a <i>child&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">People were leaving in droves now. The room was emptying out&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c\u2018Mercia?\u2019\u201d Ewan asked. He was standing in front of her, holding out his hand. \u201cMay I have a moment with you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Here we go. Fuck&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack nodded, swallowing hard against the constriction suddenly wrapping itself around her throat, and took his hand, standing up.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan led her toward a door to one side of the room. Usaden began to follow them. \u201cWe need a moment alone. Please,\u201d Ewan said to his cousin.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack was aware of charged glances passing around. Then she saw Cedric nod. Ewan opened the door and drew her through, closing it behind them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They were in a small office. She suddenly realized that this was the first time they were alone, unchaperoned, since they had returned from Elsewhere.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Ewan said, stepping close to her, and then faltered for a moment. \u201cI don\u2019t even know your real name.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAu&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d she started, before his fingertips pressed against her lips.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd you cannot tell me, not now. I can\u2019t know your name any more than I can know where you\u2019re going. One day&#8288;\u2026 but not now.\u201d Ewan closed his eyes and took a deep breath, taking her hand in his and pressing her palm to his chest above his heart. His eyes opened again and locked with hers, capturing her. \u201cBut here\u2019s something <i>I<\/i> can tell <i>you.<\/i> Listen carefully, Tizzy.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He recited a long string of numbers while she gazed up at him in bewilderment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cRepeat that back, please,\u201d he said when he was done. She did. \u201cGood. That comm code will reach me, no matter where you are in the Federacy, and no matter where I am. I will always have it. If you find yourself in trouble, if you need my help, regardless of where or when, use that code. You only need to leave the message, \u2018Tislilel needs you,\u2019 and I will come to you. I know we\u2019re forbidden to make any promises, but upon my life, I swear this. <i>I will come to you.<\/i> If I receive your call when I\u2019m on my death bed, I will still rise up and come to you. But I hope you will return to us before then, of course&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack couldn\u2019t speak. There were far too many things she wanted to say to him, most of which she didn\u2019t dare articulate. She was trapped in his eyes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He pulled her into a hug, wrapping his powerful arms around her and holding her close. She found herself clinging to him, wishing she never had to let go. He murmured something in Tamazight, too fast for her to even try to parse, but she knew she would remember every syllable.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cCome back to us when you can, Tislilel Meziane,\u201d he said in a shaky whisper after another moment. \u201cYou will always have a home and family here with us. No matter what happens, that will always be true.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Even if she could find her voice, she realized that she didn\u2019t dare answer him. No promises were allowed, even if she wanted to promise him <i>everything,<\/i> to tell him she was his forever&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The door opened. \u201cZdan?\u201d Robie\u2019s voice was gentle. \u201cIt\u2019s time. The window\u2019s opening.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan released her, took her face in his hands, and brushed aside her bangs before kissing her forehead, much as his brother had the last time she\u2019d seen him. \u201cUntil we meet again, <i>ta\u1e25bibt-iw.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She rose up and kissed his cheek before he could pull away. It was a struggle not to begin crying as she forced herself to let go, and not to try to press her lips to his. His eyes, on hers, were intense and shining. She still couldn\u2019t get her voice to work, but she could see\u2014could <i>feel<\/i> all the way through\u2014that he already knew everything she was unable to say.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cCome,\u201d Robie said, putting his hand on Ewan\u2019s shoulder and steering him out of the room.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra entered a moment later and wrapped Jack in a tight hug.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The family walked outside as a group a few minutes later. Ewan, now dressed in his flight suit and carrying his helmet in one hand and a duffel bag in the other, was striding across the tarmac, Robie and the elderly proprietor on either side of him. As they watched, he reached his fighter and spoke to both men for a moment. Robie put his hand on Ewan\u2019s shoulder, saying something. Ewan shook his head and then donned his helmet, climbing into the cockpit. Then Robie folded the ladder into the spacecraft\u2019s side, retreating with the old man as the fighter\u2019s engines lit up and it began to roll toward the runway. They watched, as a group, as Ewan took off, no one moving until the light from the engines, a star rising upward into the night sky, finally dwindled and vanished.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTime to go home,\u201d Cedric said after a moment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack felt strangely weightless and numb as they walked toward the vehicles they\u2019d come in&#8288;\u2026 one family member short. Robie and the proprietor had cut across the tarmac and were talking to each other in Arabic as they approached.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;known him since he was a little boy,\u201d the old man was saying, \u201cand I know he\u2019ll be fine&#8288;\u2026 but I\u2019d still like to know which of those lovely young women had the <i>audacity<\/i> to break his heart tonight of all nights&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack felt like she couldn\u2019t breathe.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s none of your concern,\u201d Robie said, his voice suddenly sharp.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c<i>Khara<\/i>,\u201d muttered Usaden. <i>Shit.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cLet\u2019s get you girls home,\u201d General Toal said, steering Jack and Kyra toward the vehicle he\u2019d used to pick Jack up from the pier. \u201cI have something for the two of you&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat is it?\u201d Kyra whispered to Jack as they walked with him. \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She still couldn\u2019t speak. Instead, she shared that moment mentally with Kyra&#8288;\u2026 fully translated.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Oh,<\/i> her sister replied silently. <i>Damn&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They climbed into the back seat of the General\u2019s vehicle, where two wrapped boxes with <b>D.<\/b> and <b>T.<\/b> on them waited. Jack felt completely hollow.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI will show you how to use them once we are back at the house,\u201d the General said as he drove them away from the airfield.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She nodded, still unable to talk, wondering if she\u2019d manage to find her voice ever again. Kyra pulled her into another hug and held her as her tears finally slid free.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">An orange glow lit part of the night sky, reflecting against the clouds. They were driving toward it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat <i>is<\/i> that?\u201d Kyra asked as Jack wiped her face with the General\u2019s handkerchief.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The glow was growing larger and larger, illuminating a column of black smoke&#8288;\u2026 which was rising from the <i>Rif.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt would appear,\u201d the General said, sounding completely unsurprised and unconcerned, \u201cthat your old apartment building is burning to the ground.\u201d<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4050\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4050 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-51\">\u00ab Chapter 51<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4116\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4116 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-53\">Chapter 53 \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=\"53\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4051\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4051 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-52\">\u00ab Chapter 52<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4117\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4117 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-54\">Chapter 54 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5497\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5497 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">53.<br\/>\r\n<u>Save a Last Sebby Dance<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The blaze in Jack\u2019s and Kyra\u2019s old apartment building burned hot and hard, visible for miles. Even mostly upwind of it, as the <i>ait Meziane<\/i> house was, the smell of smoke reached them as they watched on the roof. General Toal didn\u2019t bother trying to pretend that he had no idea what was happening.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe last of its tenants moved out after its landlords did nothing about the damage it took two weeks ago,\u201d he told them. \u201cI believe investigators will conclude that someone attempted to set up a methamphetamine \u2018lab\u2019 in one of the empty units. The explosion was quite large, and many of the other abandoned units still had flammable furnishings inside them. Plus, it appears that the landlords had done <i>nothing<\/i> to keep the building up to the city\u2019s fire codes in years. I highly doubt there will be all that much left of the structure to sift through.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>At least,<\/i> Jack found herself thinking as she watched streams of already-steaming water arcing over the blaze, <i>he evacuates places before he blows them up.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The last few tenants to leave would probably be too busy thanking providence that they\u2019d left just in time to question where that providence had <i>come<\/i> from.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Just in case someone had a suspicious turn of mind, given everything that had happened in recent weeks, almost every member of the <i>ait Meziane<\/i> tribe who was in town had an iron-clad alibi, attending Ewan\u2019s send-off party miles away and dancing the Ceilidh when the blast had lit up the sky. The few who had stayed home were all far too old and frail to have taken up arson. Jack wondered briefly who the General had gotten to arrange the explosion.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But did it matter? He had decisively broken their trail where Pritchard was concerned, and that was what counted. If there were any leftover signs that the merc had broken into their apartment, or that someone from that geolocation had been involved in the release of data on the Spaceport Bomber, the <i>who<\/i> and <i>how<\/i> were now thoroughly obscured. Toal had fought fire with fire&#8288;\u2026 quite literally.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cPerhaps,\u201d Takama opined with a shrug and a knowing look, \u201cthe building simply fell to its own curse.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack did worry that Ewan might have seen the blaze during his launch and feared for the Rif, but Cedric informed them\u2014shortly before they went back inside\u2014that Ewan had contacted him to report that he was safely on his way to Qamar, a several-hour journey, and had been surprised to hear about the fire.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHis mind was on something else,\u201d Usaden muttered before Iz\u00eel elbowed him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For the next hour, General Toal taught Jack and Kyra how to use the neurofeedback machines he\u2019d brought them. The displays showed examples of \u201cbaseline\u201d human brain waves, and then took readings of their waves as they first played with their abilities and then rested from doing so. Kyra was able, within the hour, to control her waves so that they mimicked the baseline reading; Jack struggled to get anywhere close. It was hard to stay focused when all she really wanted to do was curl up in a corner for a long cry.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt takes practice,\u201d the General told her when she was about to give up. \u201cYou use your abilities a great deal, so I believe your \u2018resting\u2019 state is more poised to make use of them than your sister\u2019s. She relies less on them and has chosen not to communicate with the <i>Apeiros.<\/i> In time, you will be able to hide any sign of what you can do, too. In the meantime&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He inserted a chip into her neurofeedback unit and tapped in some commands.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;I downloaded the module for sleep-talking. It\u2019s somewhat different, and it will require you to wear the unit\u2019s EEG cap while you sleep. When it detects your speech centers engaging during REM, it will warn you with a tiny jolt of current. It\u2019s less neurofeedback than operant conditioning, in truth. But it should give you the results you need.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack decided not to try it that night. She wanted at least one more normal night of sleep and didn\u2019t want to alarm Sebby. But she intended to practice with both modules as frequently as she could, until she was sure that all her deadly secrets would stay hidden. She wouldn\u2019t dare go back to her mom\u2019s house until she had that certainty.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The glow from the apartment fire could even be seen, a little, through the guest room\u2019s balcony doors as Jack and Kyra settled in for the night, Sebby snuggled down between them. The room had a dark orange cast to it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The <i>Apeiros<\/i> were waiting when Jack finally managed to fall asleep.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Little larva, you are distressed. What has happened?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019ve been separated from someone important to me,\u201d she told them. Somehow, in this space, it had become easier to articulate her emotions than in the physical world. \u201cI won\u2019t see him again for years. Maybe ever.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They had questions, odd ones, and after a few rounds of question-and-answer they seemed to still be confused about whether her connection to Ewan was familial or reproductive.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s okay,\u201d Jack said. \u201cI\u2019m confused about that, too.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d paid close attention to the limited instruction she\u2019d received in school about such things, but a lot of it hadn\u2019t made sense. The frank and clinical answers she\u2019d received from her Aunt Lena, her dad\u2019s Registered Nurse sister, had been more useful, but still felt incomplete. She and Ewan, she tried to explain, were biologically compatible, and not closely related\u2014or related at all, in fact\u2014but even though she was probably physically capable of having a baby now, it was much too early for her to do so. And yet, she admitted to them, the relationship she truly wanted with him was one that might ultimately lead to offspring one day. But even if the relationship never took that form, she would still want some kind of familial tie to him&#8288;\u2026 anything to have him in her life. It was confusing, but at least, in this space, it wasn\u2019t quite as painful. The urge to cry forever and never speak again was held at bay for the moment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i><b>A breeder making more filth&#8288;\u2026<\/b><\/i> Apparently the Moribund had been listening in.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Hush. It is grieving.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow do <i>you<\/i> reproduce?\u201d she asked the Apeiros. Surely they bred too, didn\u2019t they?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>We do not know.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cReally? But&#8288;\u2026 how were you made?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>We hatched. We have hatched six times now. But we cannot hatch into our seven-shapes yet, not until&#8288;\u2014<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>It is not yet time. You will know when it is. You will see it.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo you were hatched but you don\u2019t know who laid your&#8288;\u2026 eggs? Shells?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Your species rears its young?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, most of the time.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Ours does not. We believe reproduction is our final act in life. But we do not know. When <b>we<\/b> seed ourselves into other species, though, it is our final act.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou&#8288;\u2026 seed yourselves&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Into other species. Yes. So that we do not truly die in this darkness. And so they might live, too.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i><b>And yet they never do.<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>The Demons of the Darkness find them and kill them in their larval state. But you <b>know<\/b> some have evaded them. And they have not found <b>this<\/b> little larva. It will grow too strong for them to harm soon. And it has hidden its broodmates from their sight. Can you not acknowledge its cleverness, even now?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i><b>Let it tear down <u>all<\/u> the cages and break the darkness, and we will agree it is not filth.<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You are never appeased.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i><b>Why are <u>you?<\/u> You know what will appease us. In due time, we will make it happen.<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The Moribund, Jack thought, was still intimidating in its implacable hatred, but she no longer found any of the beings surrounding her in the darkness <i>terrifying<\/i> the way she once had. Most of the time, unless the Moribund itself was speaking, she sensed something&#8288;\u2026 in&#173;dulgent&#8288;\u2026 about their attitude toward her. Whatever they might be, she was pretty sure most of them <i>liked<\/i> her. And it was much easier to like them back than to go on fearing them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI should go,\u201d she told them. \u201cI need to do some real sleeping. I\u2019m taking Sebby back to his home universe tomorrow, so he\u2019ll be safe.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That, however, brought about more questions, and soon she found herself telling them about how she would need to leave Tangier Prime, to obscure her trail so that nobody would know she\u2019d been on the <i>Matador<\/i>. When she told them that she would be traveling on a new Star Jumper, they seemed to become especially intrigued.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You will be crossing the thresholds between four-spaces? Many times?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah. That\u2019s&#8288;\u2026 not a problem, is it? For the two I\u2019m in now?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>It will not harm your five-shape, no. But it is an opportunity for you to <b>grow<\/b> your shape. We will watch. When you cross into new four-spaces, we will show you how to connect to them as well.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She sensed that they were <i>excited<\/i> by this development.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Soon&#8288;\u2026 you will not be a <b>little<\/b> larva anymore.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That, Jack thought, as she drifted off into actual dreams, was hopefully a good thing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She found herself repeatedly on Canaan Mountain, watching Kyra hunt, forage, and stalk Red Roger and his men with Riddick by her side. These were not <i>her<\/i> dreams, but it felt like Kyra was insistently pulling her into them. Finally, out of frustration, she returned to the starfield and the <i>Apeiros.<\/i> She let the stars spin around her instead, imagining that she was turning the steps of the Ceilidh once more. After a time, she found herself back in Ewan\u2019s arms as <i>he<\/i> whirled her across the spangled darkness and the stars sang with the voices of bagpipes&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She woke to the feeling of feathery antennae brushing away the tears on her cheeks.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sebby was perched on her chest, eye stalks staring into her face. The room was still dark, the orange glow of the fire no longer casting odd shadows. Instead, Jack could hear the soft sounds of early morning activity from the courtyard. The air still carried a light scent of smoke. In Elsewhere, water filled the room and a school of fish was swimming through, rimed by wan moonlight from one of the smaller moons.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">If the morning-day went as planned, Sebby would return to Elsewhere and she wouldn\u2019t be able to see him for years, if ever again. If he turned out not to be releasable, he would leave with Iz\u00eel in the evening-day, traveling to sanctuary in the New Atlas Mountains. This was, in all probability, their last morning cuddle. Jack stroked Sebby\u2019s carapace, finding the little places that he liked to have rubbed, wishing that there was some way they could stay together safely.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I\u2019m gonna miss you so much&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Miss you more&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Maybe she was still dreaming? She could have sworn she heard Sebby in her head.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou wanna take one more shower with me?\u201d she asked him, keeping her voice low so she wouldn\u2019t wake up Kyra. Sebby squeaked a happy affirmative.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">One last Sebby Dance&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">His favorite water temperature had become <i>her<\/i> favorite temperature, too. She stood under it, giving herself a quick wash but mostly just watching Sebby bounce and wriggle. Would he be able to find anything like this back in Elsewhere? Was she about to cut him off from one of his favorite pleasures?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She kept telling herself that she was doing what was best for him, but&#8288;\u2026 how could she <i>know?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was hard to turn the water back off. Fortunately, <i>she<\/i> didn\u2019t have to; Kyra knocked on the shower door after a while to ask for a turn. They traded places while Sebby continued to wriggle and bounce happily. Jack dressed while Kyra washed up and talked to Sebby, checking her tablet for any new messages for Marianne Tepper\u2014Sirius Shipping had sent her their Employee Handbook\u2014before setting out a handful of items she wanted to take with her when they crossed into Elsewhere. While she waited for Kyra and Sebby, she turned back to her tablet to check her news feeds and related alerts.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The apartment building explosion was being reported, but not with much gusto; the building, after all, had been abandoned and, aside from some smoke inhalation reports from responding firefighters, no one had been hurt, let alone killed. Other stories had precedence.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">New Kosovo had issued indictments and arrest warrants for both Duke Pritchard and Javor Makarov, for the murders of 12-year-old Luljeta Kamberi and a fugitive named Tara Krieg, whose remains had finally been located using clues from the men\u2019s Merc Network accounts. Tangier Prime, meanwhile, had issued multiple arrest warrants for both men on charges of terrorism and mass murder. Eight of the men\u2019s victims, who had appeared in photo and video collections, had been positively identified as women who were alive and in various prisons, and Amnesty Interplanetary had already begun filing petitions to have their convictions and sentences vacated on the grounds that they had already endured punishments far exceeding their crimes. Three more of the collections had been connected to missing teenage girls from worlds across the Federacy, but their fates were not yet known. One news source reported that multiple worlds had sent lists and pictures of <i>all<\/i> their missing preteen and teen girls to the investigators spearheading the case.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Fuck.<\/i> Had Deckard\u2019s World sent a picture of <i>her?<\/i> There were people in local law enforcement, with ties to the Meziane family, who might recognize her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A careful, heavily cloaked Ghost Mode trip into the law enforcement systems, while Kyra dressed, showed her that Deckard\u2019s World was among dozens of planets that had forwarded Missing Persons case files, and hers was among them. Fortunately, it was in a long queue of materials that had yet to be reviewed. She moved a copy of the file onto her tablet before doctoring the original, subbing in copies of another girl\u2019s face and fingerprints from a file that had already been cleared, adding labels indicating that the contents had already been processed and no match to any of the videos or stills had been found, and marking her name as \u201cCleared \u2013 No Match\u201d in the investigators\u2019 internal database. When the investigators replied to Deckard\u2019s World, they would say that Audrey MacNamera\u2014twelve years old at time of disappearance, 5\u20194\u201d, Caucasian, green, blonde\u2014was not among Pritchard\u2019s and Makarov\u2019s unidentified victims&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;but, Jack thought with a shudder as she closed the tablet, she very nearly <i>had<\/i> been.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Would never let it&#8288;\u2026<\/i> An image formed in her mind, of Pritchard, seen from above, along with an intense desire to <i>sting&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Those were <i>Sebby\u2019s<\/i> thoughts.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack looked over at Kyra. \u201cDid you <i>hear<\/i> that?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra froze, shirt halfway on, and then nodded. \u201cYou were thinking about what Pritchard planned to do to us, and Sebby&#8288;\u2026 <i>talked<\/i> to you&#8288;\u2026 holy shit.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The crustacean in question was sitting on the foot of the bed. Jack walked over to him, feeling a mixture of wonder and delight. \u201cYou were so brave. You saved our lives. I was scared he was gonna hurt you, too, but you were way too strong for him.\u201d She kissed the top of Sebby\u2019s carapace. \u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Love my sisters&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe love you too, Sebby,\u201d Kyra told him, her voice breaking.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They decided to take him with them downstairs to the breakfast table. He could share human foods there, they told him, and then have crickets after. And then it would be time to see if they could find his home in Elsewhere.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sebby was conflicted; Jack could feel it with increasing clarity. He wanted to have breakfast with all his friends\u2014family\u2014but the thought that it might well be his <i>last<\/i> breakfast with them was depressing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>God, am I doing to him what Riddick did to me? Ditching him without even asking <b>him<\/b> what <b>he<\/b> needs?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra stopped on the stairs and turned to look at her, wide eyed. Jack could feel her wanting to protest that Riddick would <i>never<\/i> do such a thing&#8288;\u2026 and then realizing that he already <i>had,<\/i> more than half a year earlier. Her sister bit her lip, turning away and continuing down the stairs, looking deep in thought.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe promise,\u201d Jack told Sebby as she carried him into the dining room, <i>knowing<\/i> he truly did understand what she was saying, \u201cif we can\u2019t find a place there where you\u2019ll be happy, you\u2019ll get to stay with Iz\u00eel instead.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Iz\u00eel&#8288;\u2026 good brother. Kind.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He wasn\u2019t actually using English, Jack reflected, and his word for \u201cbrother\u201d was the same as his word for \u201csister.\u201d The more she thought about it, the more she thought that \u201clittermate\u201d or \u201cbroodmate\u201d was closer to what he\u2019d said. Sebby definitely had a concept for siblings, but it definitely wasn\u2019t a <i>human<\/i> concept and didn\u2019t seem to be gendered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">If only she had more <i>time<\/i>, there was so much she wanted to learn now that they could <i>talk<\/i> to each other&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">By some unspoken accord, Sebby moved from plate to plate throughout the meal, visiting with each member of the Meziane family and receiving a treat or two from each one. Plus pets. At the end of the meal, Iz\u00eel surprised everyone by bringing out, not the usual large cricket box, but smaller ones, enough of them so that each member of the family could personally add to Sebby\u2019s tub. He gave Jack two boxes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOne from you, and one from Ewan Zdan,\u201d he murmured to her has he handed them over. Her eyes and nose began to sting a little in response.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sebby happily used his antennae to knock any crickets that jumped on people\u2019s arms back into the tub. He radiated delight with the individual attention, petting people\u2019s hands with his antennae even when no crickets escaped.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Dawn was fully upon them when Sebby had finished eating. Jack had both her binoculars and telescope stowed in her pack, along with food and water and a large supply of olives, as she and Kyra followed the family down to the garage, Kyra carrying Sebby like a baby. Jack started for the bed of the all-terrain vehicle, reaching for the nearest of the olive trees, when Takama put a hand on her arm.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe have other plans for that, Tizzy. Please, get in. You can stow your pack in the bed by the trees.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack noticed that several other backpacks had already been stowed in the bed. Kyra added hers as well a moment later.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Fortunately, there was room for everyone on board the vehicle. Sebby was fascinated by its interior, running his antennae over everything he could reach. It was hard to get him to stay in Kyra\u2019s lap as they drove out of the garage.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSebby, we need you to be still,\u201d Jack finally said. \u201cWe can\u2019t let anybody outside of the family see you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Grump.<\/i> Jack got a clear image of Sebby making a mental gesture equivalent to sticking his tongue out. But he settled down in Kyra\u2019s lap.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Cedric, behind the wheel, drove up toward the hilltop suburbs, ones that were in line with the burnt husk of the apartment building\u2014which, when they passed it, had collapsed into a smoldering heap that was still being hosed down\u2014and roughly ninety meters above sea level. Somewhere around there, Jack had hypothesized, would be where Sebby had been caught by the monster wave and pulled away from dry land. It <i>did<\/i> make sense to wait to begin carrying the olive trees until they were already past the worst of the climbing, she admitted. She and Kyra might have worn themselves out long before they reached those heights, if they\u2019d gone with their original plan.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTurn left here,\u201d Usaden told Cedric as they crested one of the switchback roads leading up a steeper hill. \u201cIt\u2019s another two blocks.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat is?\u201d Jack asked, looking around at their surroundings.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat,\u201d Usaden pointed. They were approaching a small&#8288;\u2026 private airfield?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was tiny compared to the one they had visited the night before, with a short runway designed for small propeller planes and moonskiffs, some of which were parked alongside the runway. The place looked deserted.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe have rented the airfield for the day,\u201d Cedric told her. \u201cNo witnesses. I\u2019ll pull the truck into the hangar&#8288;\u2026 and then, once we\u2019re sure it\u2019s on level ground on both sides of the threshold, you\u2019ll move it, and all of us in it\u2014and the rest of its contents, of course\u2014into Elsewhere. And then we\u2019ll see if we can find Sebby\u2019s old home.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIf you catch any flies in that wide open mouth, you need to give them to Sebby,\u201d Kyra teased her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack shut her mouth and started paying attention to the terrain over in Elsewhere. Her family, she thought, was brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I don\u2019t want to have to leave them&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She could feel both Kyra\u2019s and Sebby\u2019s sympathetic reactions. All three of them were being forced to give up the Meziane family <i>and<\/i> part ways with each other&#8288;\u2026 to break a bond that had been forged mere weeks ago but had swiftly come to feel eternal.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You will come back. I will still be here.<\/i> Sebby\u2019s mental voice was firm and certain.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack leaned down and give Sebby another kiss on the top of his carapace. She\u2019d worried that she was abandoning him like Riddick had abandoned her&#8288;\u2026 it had been tying her up in knots&#8288;\u2026 but now&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow\u2019s the ground looking on the other side?\u201d Cedric asked as he pulled into the hangar.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cA little rough. If you go about ten feet to the right and fifteen feet forward&#8288;\u2026 yeah, this is level with the other side.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Cedric shifted the vehicle into park. \u201cPower cells are almost fully charged. We\u2019re good to go when you are. What do you say?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack gave him a tight smile and nodded, before reaching up to touch the vehicle\u2019s canopy. She closed her eyes and let herself feel it. Oddly enough, the engine\u2019s purr helped. She could feel everything that was being directly affected by the vibration, could feel the way it shifted from part to part, the hull of the vehicle, its wheels, its bed and the plants and packs stowed in it, all the people inside&#8288;\u2026 and she could feel, somewhere far deeper down, the fundamental, <i>quantum<\/i> vibrations that aligned all of it with U1&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Remembering to swap around the air as she did it, she moved the vehicle from U1 to Elsewhere, hearing gasps of astonishment and delight around her. When she opened her eyes, she was back in her other world.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">With no buildings and few trees to obscure the view, Jack could see the retreating ocean stretching away below them and to the west. The ground beneath their tires was soft and springy, a meadow surrounding them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cLet\u2019s put the top down,\u201d Cedric said, and he and Usaden began to do so immediately. \u201cGive Sebby a chance to see where we\u2019re going and direct us, if he\u2019s inclined to do so.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">With the vehicle\u2019s roof removed, Sebby climbed up onto the back of one of the seats and began looking around, antennae vibrating.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Reeeeeeeeeeeee&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He stared southeast, both antennae forward.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI think he wants to go that way,\u201d Kyra said. Cedric nodded, putting the truck back into gear, and turned in the direction Sebby had been pointing, driving slowly and carefully.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDon\u2019t want to accidentally run over somebody,\u201d he explained as he went. \u201cSebby\u2019s sentient, so who knows what else might be?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack loved that <i>that<\/i> was his first thought. Every time she thought it was impossible to love this family more&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Reeeeeeeeeeee&#8288;\u2026<\/i> Sebby didn\u2019t sound distressed, just&#8288;\u2026 inquiring. As if he was calling out and expecting an answer.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ten minutes later, the answer came.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Reeeeeeeeeeeeeeee&#8288;\u2026<\/i> The call was a lower note than Sebby\u2019s. When it repeated a moment later, it was joined by other, higher notes&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sebby began to bounce. <i>Coming! Coming!<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat\u2019s coming, Sebby?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHoly mother of what in the bloody <i>hell&#8288;\u2026<\/i>\u201d Usaden gasped. Safiyya made a small squeak and covered her mouth.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A familiar shape, rendered enormous, was cresting a hillside and coming toward them. Sebby, but not. Sebby&#8288;\u2026 the size of a small <i>elephant.<\/i> An elephant-sized Sebby crawling toward them&#8288;\u2026 singing its <i>Reeeeeeeee<\/i> in a lower range than Sebby did&#8288;\u2026 its back covered with much smaller duplicates of itself whose <i>Reeeeeeees<\/i> were far closer in pitch to Sebby\u2019s, many at the very edge of the audible.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Mommy!<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack swung to look at Sebby, gasping. \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Mommy!<\/i> Sebby repeated, bouncing, pincers waving with excitement, antennae pointed straight at the approaching mammoth crustacean. <i>Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHoly shit.\u201d<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4051\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4051 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-52\">\u00ab Chapter 52<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4117\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4117 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-54\">Chapter 54 \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=\"54\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4052\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4052 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-53\">\u00ab Chapter 53<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4118\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4118 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-55\">Chapter 55 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5500\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5500 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">54.<br\/>\r\n<u>Mommy Ree<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat <i>is<\/i> that?\u201d Takama asked, a hint of a quaver in her normally firm, no-nonsense voice.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The enormous crustacean, still a good distance away, was bearing down upon them. Ten-legged, with pincers each as big as a human being, its thick, segmented carapace mottled shades of rose, violet, and indigo, it was moving fast, the miniature versions of itself clinging to its back.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat,\u201d Jack told them, \u201cis Sebby\u2019s <i>mommy.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cBaraka,\u201d<\/i> six voices said in unison. Kyra immediately began snickering.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack released her seatbelt and clambered over the open back of the vehicle and into the truck bed, avoiding the olive trees and pulling her pack onto one shoulder before turning back and reaching for Sebby. \u201cC\u2019mere, kid, let\u2019s go meet your mommy.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sebby sprang into her arms.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTizzy, wait. What are you doing?\u201d But even as Safiyya was speaking, Jack was already climbing over the side of the bed, jumping down into the field.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat she does best,\u201d Kyra snorted. \u201cDiving <i>right<\/i> into the deep end&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt could be <i>dangerous!\u201d<\/i> Tafrara objected.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But Jack, while she sensed nervousness from the approaching creature, also sensed curiosity and longing&#8288;\u2026 and disbelief. No hostility, no anger&#8288;\u2026 not even much fear. And, if \u201cMommy\u201d was like Sebby, she had a stinger&#8288;\u2026 but didn\u2019t have it out.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sebby was chirping excitedly as Jack walked forward toward \u201cMommy,\u201d standing on her shoulder and holding onto her hair.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMommy\u201d slowed down, coming to a halt while Jack was still a few meters away. Her antennae, stunning feathery constructions colored a mixture of rose and violet, waved forward toward Jack. Curiosity dominated the emotions coming off her, and hope, and dis&#173;belief&#8288;\u2026 and only then, after all of those, nervousness. Was this strange creature a threat to her babies?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I\u2019m no threat to you,<\/i> Jack thought carefully, hoping that \u201cMommy\u201d would hear her the way Sebby could. <i>I will not hurt you or your children. I come as a friend.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>My sister!<\/i> Sebby added, chirping for emphasis. <i>Saved me from the bad water!<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Squeaking chatter erupted on Mommy\u2019s back. <i>The water, the water, the bad water!<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Mommy slowly moved closer, antennae out. Jack stood still, letting her approach, letting Mommy\u2019s feathery antennae brush against her face and Sebby\u2019s carapace.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>My child&#8288;\u2026 my lost baby&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The images were sudden and powerful, almost costing Jack her balance. She was crawling along the ground, covered in her children, seeking food for them in the early dawn light. A strange roar kept jangling at her sound receptors, and she kept detecting an odd, briny scent that didn\u2019t belong. Then a large wave crashed over the hillside, striking her. Her babies shrieked, several of them tumbling from her back and falling into the water that was suddenly sloshing around her legs. Another wave struck, and another. She struggled to hold onto the ground, to grab at her children as they floated past her and away, crying for her help&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Half of her babies had been lost to the bad water, the monster wave. There should have been twice as many riding on her back in this moment, and the loss still cut through her. But&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;But one had returned?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Gasping, Jack came back to herself. She might have fallen over, except that Mommy had reached out with one pincer, still closed, to prop her up. Both of her antennae were caressing Sebby.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack closed her eyes, conjuring visions of her own to share. The wave that almost took her and Kyra&#8288;\u2026 learning how to move between a world that was dry and the world where the water came and went&#8288;\u2026 the night of the monster wave, when, as it receded, she and Kyra had spotted a small creature clinging to a piece of driftwood&#8288;\u2026 bringing Sebby over to the dry world&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Disbelief. Hope and disbelief.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>All true!<\/i> Sebby insisted, sharing images of his own. Exploring the apartment, discovering the delicious insects that tried to sneak into it&#8288;\u2026 discovering <i>olives&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Now <i>there<\/i> was a fantastic idea&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack unshouldered her pack, moving slowly so she wouldn\u2019t alarm Mommy. Unfastening its top, she pulled out the container of olives that she had brought with her, opened it, and drew out a handful, holding them out to Mommy.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You\u2019re gonna give Cedric a heart attack, Tizzy.<\/i> Kyra\u2019s \u201cvoice\u201d was tinged with both worry and amusement, even as Mommy\u2019s mandibles delicately touched Jack\u2019s upraised palm.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Mommy was careful, though. She drew the olives in but left Jack\u2019s hand unscathed. A second later, a wave of astonished pleasure flowed over Jack. Olives, she suddenly realized, were amazing. The stuff of <i>life itself.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Curious squeaking erupted on Mommy\u2019s back. Her surviving babies, picking up on her enjoyment, wanted to know what was so won&#173;derful&#8288;\u2026 wanted to try some, too.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack wasn\u2019t sure if she had enough olives to go around.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Don\u2019t worry, I think we all packed some,<\/i> Kyra told her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Behind her, she heard people moving around the all-terrain vehicle, picking up their packs and opening them, and then heard the swish of the grass parting as they moved through it. The Meziane family was bringing backup.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>This is my family,<\/i> Jack told Mommy, who had tensed slightly. <i>They will not hurt you or your family. They love Sebby too.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Made me their baby! Took me in! Loved me! Love them!<\/i> Sebby had a lot to say.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">In a way, Jack was glad that she hadn\u2019t understood Sebby so clearly until this day; the temptation <i>not<\/i> to bring him back to his world might have been far too great, and this reunion might never have occurred.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Everyone was holding out olives as they approached. Jack pulled another handful out, too, giving one to Sebby as she did.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She felt the moment when Mommy gave permission, and the other babies began to jump off her back and scuttle toward Jack and her family.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHeaven help us,\u201d muttered Usaden.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s fine. It\u2019s going to be just fine,\u201d Iz\u00eel said, stepping forward and crouching down to offer olives to the approaching babies. They were, for the most part, roughly half the size of Sebby, or even smaller. Several of them, squeaking eagerly, headed straight for him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShit, you\u2019re gonna get swarmed,\u201d Kyra warned him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWouldn\u2019t be the first time. I mean, with other species&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Iz\u00eel began giving the nearest babies an olive each. \u201cStart handing them out too, if you don\u2019t want me buried in baby Sebbies.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Cedric laughed and walked forward, kneeling a few feet away from Iz\u00eel.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack wasn\u2019t sure if it was <i>her<\/i> heart that suddenly felt full to overflowing, or Mommy\u2019s.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Soon everyone had a group of babies surrounding them, happily eating olives while Jack fed Mommy and Sebby from her con&#173;tainer&#8288;\u2026 and Sebby shared visions of his adventures in the apartment and then the <i>ait Meziane<\/i> house. He was especially proud of the visions he shared of helping Kyra and Jack fight, and defeat, Pritchard. <i>Stung it! Stung it <b>good!<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Mommy didn\u2019t believe at first.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Sebby saved our lives,<\/i> Jack agreed, backing him up. She shared her own perspective, how dangerous and terrible Pritchard was, how badly he\u2019d hurt Kyra and how much worse he had intended to hurt both of them, how scared for Sebby she was when he jumped from the ceiling onto Pritchard\u2019s shoulder, and then watching as Sebby paralyzed the huge man in an instant&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Already?<\/i> Mommy asked in wonder. <i>A first kill so soon? She will be a mighty huntress.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShe?\u201d Jack gasped. Unlike Sebby\u2019s referent for a sibling, the concept Mommy had transmitted had <i>definitely<\/i> been gendered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra, open-mouthed, turned to look at Jack. <i>Whoa, wait. She?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh my,\u201d Iz\u00eel said. \u201cI\u2019m looking at these babies, and they have two different physical conformations. Some of them are shaped like their mother, and like Sebby, but some are shaped a little differently. But consistently. This is a species with sex-linked mor&#173;phol&#173;ogies&#8288;\u2026 and Sebby\u2019s morphology is <i>female.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSebby\u2019s a girl?\u201d Takama asked, looking up from the group of babies surrounding her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJeez,\u201d Kyra laughed, \u201cdoes she take after her big sister or <i>what?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack was astounded. How had she <i>missed<\/i> that? Especially given the way she\u2019d run her own con, masquerading as a boy&#8288;\u2026 surely she should have known?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But then, judging by Mommy\u2019s size, Sebby was even more of a baby than they had realized. Maybe biological sex didn\u2019t <i>matter<\/i> at this stage of her development. Takama had told her, in one of their rambling after-dinner conversations, that even human children\u2019s remains had frequently been impossible for archaeologists to tell apart in digs, unless they had reached puberty before death or there were gender-specific artifacts preserved with them&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>How do I tell your males and females apart?<\/i> Mommy asked. Apparently, she had been following along with Jack\u2019s thoughts.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh, um&#8288;\u2026 Iz\u00eel? I don\u2019t know how to explain this exactly.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cExplain what, Tizzy?\u201d Iz\u00eel\u2019s little brood of sebbies seemed to have been sated on olives and now were running their antennae over him. He had sat down on the ground, cross-legged, so that they would have better access. One or two were even climbing up his shirt. <i>They<\/i> were all still the size of ferrets.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMommy\u2014that\u2019s Sebby\u2019s name for her\u2014wants to know how we tell our males and females apart. I uh&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Now Jack felt incredibly embarrassed, aware of just how little concrete information about sex and gender she\u2019d actually learned. She felt like\u2014at least most of the time\u2014she could generally tell&#8288;\u2026 but then, she\u2019d put a lot of effort into counterfeiting masculinity by replicating as many of its stereotypical traits as she could. What was the <i>real<\/i> difference? A zoologist, surely, could explain it better than she could. Humans were, after all, part of the animal kingdom.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cCan you translate for me?\u201d Iz\u00eel asked. \u201cI\u2019m not hearing anything.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAmong humans\u2014that\u2019s what we\u2019re called\u2014males tend to be larger in size than females. Males tend to have more upper-body strength and narrower hips, while females have wider hips to accommodate gestation\u2014we do that internally, not by laying eggs\u2014and mammary glands on their chests to feed offspring. We often depict this in symbols by giving males a straight rectangular body form and females a form that curves. That is accurate for most, but not all, human beings. Size varies widely enough that there are small males and large females, for instance, and much more variety in body shape than just \u2018rectangle\u2019 and \u2018curved.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack could feel Mommy listening through her, fascinated, as Jack visualized what Iz\u00eel was describing. She conjured up images of her dad, Cedric, Ewan, Tomlin, Iz\u00eel, Usaden, and Riddick. <i>Male.<\/i> Then she conjured up images of her mom, Shazza, Fry, Takama, Safiyya, Tafrara, and Kyra. <i>Female.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She sensed Mommy\u2019s understanding and fascination, and then <i>Mommy<\/i> showed <i>her<\/i> what the humans in front of her looked like, to her. Entirely different colors characterized them, including some that Jack had never seen before and could barely comprehend. Heat signatures, she realized after a moment, mapping out the warmest and coolest parts of their bodies. Iz\u00eel, cross-legged on the ground&#8288;\u2026 <i>Male?<\/i> Mommy asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Yes,<\/i> she answered. <i>That\u2019s Iz\u00eel. He\u2019s been making sure Sebby has lots to eat.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Sebby?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Me!<\/i> Sebby bounced.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack could feel Mommy marveling at just how <i>much<\/i> food Iz\u00eel must have been providing her daughter, for her to grow so large and begin articulated speech so young.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Maybe, Jack suddenly wondered, it was the olives?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Mommy looked from human to human, showing Jack how she saw them and confirming whether they were male or female. She guessed right every time and was fascinated by the sound patterns of their names.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMay I ask <i>her<\/i> some questions?\u201d Iz\u00eel asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAbsolutely.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Iz\u00eel began asking Mommy about herself, whether the brood climbing over the family was her first or if she\u2019d had more in the past, and other questions about the cycles of the world and how they affected her biological cycles. Soon they knew that she had lived twelve full Tangier Prime years, making her the equivalent of thirty-two Standard years old, and had first reproduced when she was ten Tangier Prime years old, roughly five Standard years earlier. That brood had been tiny and unsuccessful, as most first broods frequently were. This new brood had hatched in the early spring, making them almost a Standard year old.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Safiyya and Takama started unpacking lunch foods as Iz\u00eel and Mommy continued their discussion, with Jack and Kyra providing translations. Many of the babies were fascinated by human food and were curious to try some. Sebby, still full from her large breakfast and olive snack, was climbing on Mommy and running her antennae over her mother\u2019s huge carapace, trilling happily.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Soon they knew that Mommy\u2019s species was a solitary predator species that mostly hunted a variety of plain and steppe insects and crustaceans, some of which were bigger than a human. They also ate some kinds of fruit\u2014but nothing, Mommy told them, as impressive as those olives\u2014and a flying animal that looked, to Jack, like someone had stapled bat wings onto a feathered snake. It took a minimum of a full Tangier Prime year for offspring to grow large enough and strong enough to stop riding their mother\u2019s back, and they would travel alongside her for at least another four of the world\u2019s 32-month-long years after that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Other predator species existed, and sometimes posed a threat to her babies, but Mommy herself was now far too large for any of them to try to take on. One or two might pose a threat to a visiting human. She showed them, via highly colorized images, what to watch out for. When she projected deliberately and carefully, the others could \u201chear\u201d her almost as well as Jack and Kyra could.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNow for the really important question,\u201d Cedric said during a small lull in the conversation. \u201cIs there a place where she dens, or frequents, that would be a good place for the olive trees?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It took a few minutes to fully unpack his question for Mommy. Then she insisted upon looking over the young trees, touching them with her antennae and examining the maturing fruits forming on them already.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You brought these for us?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe wanted to make sure Sebby could still have olives, yeah,\u201d Jack told her. \u201cWe didn\u2019t know about you. We didn\u2019t know Sebby was still a baby. But yeah, they\u2019re for all of you now.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I will show you our home. You will always be welcome there.<\/i> Jack could feel Mommy marveling at it all, these strange creatures, unarmored yet so oddly powerful, who had not merely brought her daughter back to her but had made her flourish almost beyond com&#173;pre&#173;hension&#8288;\u2026 and had brought precious gifts as well! <i>You will come back again, yes?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI will find a way,\u201d Iz\u00eel promised. \u201cThere are others who know how to come here. Tizzy and Dihya must leave soon, but I will find someone who can help me come back. I want to learn everything I can about you and this world.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd we will come back too, one day,\u201d Kyra said. \u201cOnce it\u2019s safe for us to return.\u201d She transmitted an impression of something hunting her and Jack, something that hadn\u2019t found them yet but might if they stayed too long in one place, something they were going to lead away from this world before shaking it off their trails so they could safely return.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>What hunts you? I will help you fight it.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI wish you could,\u201d Jack told her sadly. \u201cBut it\u2019s too big. The last time someone tried to fight it&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She closed her eyes, visualizing Tomlin. Sebby squeaked, contributing her own image of Tomlin\u2019s visit to the apartment and the way he had emanated both distress and kindness, but how sad both Kyra and Jack had soon been, a sadness somehow centered upon him. Sighing, Jack showed both Mommy and Sebby <i>why<\/i> they had been so sad, visualizing Makarov and Pritchard following Tomlin to the spaceport, trapping him in the pilots\u2019 lounge, and then setting off an explosion that laid waste to everything and killed hundreds, including her first intense crush since Riddick&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Monsters! What terrible creatures are these, who would kill so many of their own?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack visualized the envoy. <i>They look a lot like us, but they\u2019re not.<\/i> She showed Mommy what <i>else<\/i> the envoy was, the darkness that rode undetected upon her&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Wait, was the <i>envoy<\/i> one of the&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She blinked, shaking her head. For a moment her mind had wandered off on a weird tangent.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThey can\u2019t come here,\u201d she told Mommy. \u201cWe\u2019ve made sure of it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou mean,\u201d Kyra said, \u201c<i>you<\/i> made sure they\u2019ll be afraid to try to access this universe again.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI don\u2019t know if <i>I<\/i> did anything,\u201d Jack objected. \u201cI don\u2019t remember. But I don\u2019t think they\u2019d have experimented with the Star Jump drive like they did if the ship it was attached to had still been spaceworthy. Whatever happened with that test&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m pretty damn sure we <i>know<\/i> what happened&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhatever it was, I doubt they\u2019d risk that happening again. Not without anything to gain. And as long as we break our trails and stay un-Quantified, they\u2019ll never think there\u2019s anything worth gaining.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>We will fight them beside you if you need help.<\/i> Mommy\u2019s mental voice was firm. <i>This land is full of my brothers and sisters. The People will rise to help you.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That, it turned out, was the name of Mommy\u2019s species: the People. Takama laughed softly, murmuring that the name of virtually every tribe that had developed on Earth had meant that, too, although the Imazighen had taken it one small step further, naming themselves the <i>Free<\/i> People.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">After a few moments, Jack and the others had settled on <i>their<\/i> name for Mommy\u2019s People, that their tongues could reproduce&#8288;\u2014 and it was the most obvious choice: the Ree. Mommy seemed both amused and approving. She, herself, was known among her people as the Dawn Huntress&#8288;\u2026 but she liked the way \u201cMommy\u201d sounded when her human visitors said it aloud.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Once her babies had climbed onto her back, Sebby settled among them, Mommy led them uphill. Cedric drove the all-terrain vehicle slowly after her with everybody back inside it and the top still down. Jack, now sitting next to him, focused her vision on U1 periodically; the area that they were entering was increasingly rural back there. Whenever she saw a good stretch of level, empty road, she shifted her vision back to Elsewhere to pick out nearby landmarks. They were going far enough afield that trying to follow their backtrail and isomorph in the confines of the hangar might be more trouble than it was worth.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack thought maybe half an hour passed before they reached a long, lovely glen. She could see why Mommy had picked this spot for her burrow&#8288;\u2026 which, they soon discovered, was large, well ventilated, and kept meticulously clean. A shallow, babbling creek ran through the glen, while springy moss grew over much of the ground. Although parts of it were shaded by extraordinary, primordial trees with towering, slender trunks topped by wild crowns of long leaves, much of it would be sunny throughout the day and, at one end, it looked out over the foothills stretching down toward the distant ocean. Cedric\u2019s altimeter said that they were almost 200 meters above sea level, safe from even a monster wave produced by a true syzygy.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Soon Mommy and Tafrara were picking out the best spots to plant the young olive trees while Sebby and her siblings played in the creek, splashing each other and doing little variations on the Sebby Dance. As soon as the first location for an olive tree had been chosen, Cedric began digging. Usaden started digging the second hole, and Iz\u00eel began on the third. Jack grabbed a shovel to tackle the fourth hole, wanting to be actively involved in the planting; after a little while, Kyra took a turn.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">As they all worked on settling the trees into their holes, Tafrara explained to Mommy what the olive trees would need, aside from light and water, to grow well and how to tell if they needed special care. She promised that she would find a way to return, too, to check on their progress and help with any problems that arose.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThis is a bit of a complication,\u201d Cedric murmured to Jack. \u201cWe thought, if we got everyone connected to Elsewhere as far away from New Marrakesh as possible, that would be the end of the risk. But now&#8288;\u2026 I think we need that connection again. We need to be able to come back to this world&#8288;\u2026 to continue this friendship&#8288;\u2026 but I don\u2019t know how we can do this without risking the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation discovering that you, Dihya, and Gavin rescued the <i>Matador<\/i> passengers.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack had found herself thinking the same thing. The passengers had been sent much farther and higher into the New Atlas Mountains; there was no telling what kind of life waited on the other side there, or whether friendly enough contact could be made with it to ensure safe passage between there and this location down in the foothills. But&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She took a deep breath, feeling her heart lurch a little as she realized what she was about to do. \u201cWhat if there was a way to&#8288;\u2026 infect&#8288;\u2026 someone who <i>wasn\u2019t<\/i> on board the <i>Matador<\/i> with Threshold Syndrome? Someone the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation would have no reason to suspect?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Cedric had gone still, studying her face intently. \u201cYou think you can do it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI&#8288;\u2026 think I can <i>try<\/i> to do it&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHere?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack shook her head. \u201cI think it\u2019d be best to try back at the house. Where there\u2019s more control. And mattresses. The way Dihya and I learned to orient ourselves between universes involved using the tides&#8288;\u2026 floating on the water and then making it let us go. Works best with a mattress under you. I think&#8288;\u2026 I could pull someone halfway between the two universes, the way <i>we<\/i> started out&#8288;\u2026 and then show them how to navigate between both spaces. Worst case, if they can\u2019t, I just pull them all the way back into U1 and it\u2019s over. I <i>think.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m in,\u201d Iz\u00eel said from behind her. \u201cI volunteer. I want to come back here. My zoology degree isn\u2019t all that <i>useful<\/i> to me right now, especially up in the mountains where everything was brought in from Earth <i>centuries<\/i> ago&#8288;\u2026 but in <i>these<\/i> mountains&#8288;\u2026 my whole life I\u2019ve dreamed of getting a chance to explore a whole new world and learn about new creatures, and <i>here it is.<\/i> Whatever the risks may be, it\u2019s worth them.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c<i>We<\/i> volunteer,\u201d Tafrara said, joining them. \u201cAs much as I love our world in U1, I need this, too.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack suddenly laughed. \u201cDamn, it\u2019s a shame General Toal already blew up the old apartment building. The top floor would\u2019ve been perfect to practice in during high tide. But we can make it work at the house, too, as the tide\u2019s coming and going. Kyra and I have worked out lots of tricks.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt means you\u2019ll need to stay in New Marrakesh until it\u2019s time for <i>us<\/i> to leave,\u201d Kyra told Iz\u00eel, joining them. \u201cWe won\u2019t have time to teach you much if you\u2019re leaving this evening-day.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh, I\u2019m not going anywhere now,\u201d Iz\u00eel replied. \u201cIf you\u2019re willing to teach me, I\u2019m completely at your disposal until <i>you<\/i> have to leave.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThen I think it\u2019s settled,\u201d Cedric said, looking pleased.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Only one thing remained: saying good-bye to Sebby.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was easy to spot their little sister, playing among <i>her<\/i> many siblings in the creek. She was handily two to three times larger than any of them. Jack took off her shoes and rolled up her pants, wading into the water.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s time for us to go, Sebby,\u201d she said, feeling her throat tighten.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She barely had time to put her arms out to catch Sebby as the cat-sized crustacean leapt onto her chest for a hug.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Love my Tizzy&#8288;\u2026<\/i> Sebby stroked Jack\u2019s face with her antennae.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cLove my Sebby too,\u201d Jack managed, hearing her voice crack as she cuddled her little sister close and stroked her carapace. \u201cYou\u2019re going to be okay here, right?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Happy&#8288;\u2026 with Mommy&#8288;\u2026 will still miss you&#8288;\u2026 come back when I\u2019m big.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019re gonna get <i>so<\/i> big&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Jack laughed. \u201cI\u2019ve <i>got<\/i> to come back to see it, don\u2019t I?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I will be here&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was hard to let go, but Kyra needed to cuddle Sebby, too&#8288;\u2026 and everyone else had waded into the water to give her hugs as well. Jack retreated from the water and found herself face to face with Mommy.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You are good friends. Always welcome. Those other beings&#8288;\u2026 they are dangerous. Conquerors.<\/i> An image of strange locust-like creatures, swarming over the land and eating everything in their path, came to her. Mommy had seen such creatures when she was small, had joined in the fight against them and worried that one day such things might return. She was, Jack realized, drawing a comparison between those swarms and the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation. <i>Do not let them catch you.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s the plan. I can\u2019t come back until I\u2019m sure they won\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>But come back. You are family. You are Sebby\u2019s sister. You are my brood.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI will, Mommy,\u201d Jack said, reaching out to stroke her face. What a strange and wonderful honor, to be the \u201cdaughter\u201d of this magnificent creature&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>People keep adopting you everywhere you <b>go,<\/b><\/i> Kyra whispered in her mind with silent laughter.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>She\u2019s adopting you, too, you know,<\/i> Jack whispered back.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The drive back was almost completely silent, broken only by Jack\u2019s directions as she spotted familiar landmarks leading to a stretch of empty, unmonitored rural road in U1. Everyone was, Jack thought, feeling as awed and humbled as she was. Like her, they were all sad to be parted from Sebby, but confident that they had given her the best possible life. Jack could also feel six people processing, in wonderment, the telepathic contact <i>they<\/i> had experienced for the first time.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Would something like that show up in a Quantification test, she found herself pondering. If so, and the whole family began traveling between \u2019verses regularly, they might all end up needing neurofeedback units from General Toal.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The road in U1 was still deserted; Jack transferred them back as soon as Cedric reached a stretch that was level in both universes. Once their comms reconnected to the local system, Safiyya took over telling Cedric which way to drive to take them home.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou know, I\u2019m wondering why you thought Sebby was a boy in the first place,\u201d Kyra said after a few minutes of almost-silent road travel.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack shrugged. \u201cI guess&#8288;\u2026 I had no idea. So I just went with \u2018boy.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow come? Me, I usually go with \u2018girl\u2019 there. I think most girls do.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack thought about it for a moment. \u201cWhen I was younger, right before my parents split up&#8288;\u2026 I started having dreams for a while that I was gonna have a baby brother soon. My mom and dad were fighting all the time, and I kept hoping that maybe my dream would come true, and they\u2019d be too happy to fight anymore when it did. Instead, the dreams stopped and my dad moved out, but&#8288;\u2026 I guess I\u2019ve always wished for that little brother, ever since.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Takama put a gentle arm around Jack\u2019s shoulders. \u201cI\u2019m so sorry, Tizzy. That must have been such a difficult time for you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Jack sighed. Sometimes, part of her still wondered if the divorce was somehow <i>her<\/i> fault, as stupid as it sounded when she articulated it. \u201cI knew if I ever had a little brother, my parents wanted to name him Spencer. After this twentieth century actor, Spencer Tracy. They\u2019d named me after&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Shit, she couldn\u2019t say that part. Nor that she\u2019d almost had an older sister, who would have been named Katharine, if <i>she<\/i> hadn\u2019t been born too early to survive. She\u2019d spilled far too many details already.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;a twentieth century actress. But I wanted to name my little brother Se&#173;bastian&#8288;\u2026 so that\u2019s what I named Sebby. Kinda.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra was staring at her as if some great revelation had struck.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat?\u201d she asked, confused.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her sister just shrugged. \u201cIt\u2019s probably nothing.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But Jack was almost certain she was lying.<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4052\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4052 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-53\">\u00ab Chapter 53<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4118\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4118 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-55\">Chapter 55 \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=\"55\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4126\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4126 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-54\">\u00ab Chapter 54 <\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4119\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4119 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-56\">Chapter 56 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5503\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5503 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">55.<br\/>\r\n<u>Forever Your Mermaid<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAre you absolutely sure? Once I do this, there might be no going back.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">In front of Jack, standing on the roof of the <i>ait Meziane<\/i> house, Iz\u00eel and Tafrara both looked a little nervous.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Iz\u00eel nodded first. \u201cI\u2019m sure. I want this.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI do, too,\u201d Tafrara said, nodding as well. \u201cI\u2019m sure.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack had to admit that <i>she<\/i> was nervous, in a way that she hadn\u2019t been since her cousin Rachel had convinced her to act as her understudy for Wendy in the Civic Center\u2019s production of <i>Peter Pan<\/i>, only to get sick two days before Opening Night. Audrey\u2019s realization that she was about to perform in front of hundreds of people had been almost paralyzing. What she was about to do was every bit as daunting.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She had stage fright.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There were no scripts this time, no directions. No one, to her knowledge, had ever done what she was about to try to do. Where this act was concerned, she was already as close to an expert as anyone alive.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Which, for some reason, made her more conscious than ever that she was just thirteen years old.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For a moment she had to focus on her breathing, the way Ewan had showed her, trying for calm and balance the way he\u2019d taught her in the last few days. Then she reached forward, taking Iz\u00eel\u2019s and Tafrara\u2019s hands, and closed her eyes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was weird to realize that she could still \u201csee\u201d everything around her, just not with eyes. She was all the way in U1 at the moment, but it and Elsewhere both filled her awareness. She could tell what belonged to each world.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>We are in both,<\/i> she thought, focusing on herself, Iz\u00eel, and Tafrara. They were delineated before her, familiar and yet quite new as she looked at them this way. She felt herself shifting partway into Elsewhere, and felt them moving there too, the quantum frequencies governing their bodies now straddling alignments the way they did for her&#8288;\u2026 the way, she realized, they always <i>had<\/i> for her since the Incident. <i>We are in both.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Iz\u00eel\u2019s breath hitched and Tafrara gasped.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack opened her eyes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIs that&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?&#8288;\u201d Iz\u00eel had lifted his free hand, pointing upward and to the east.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack turned her head and looked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Floating in the sky, a mere <i>four<\/i> times as large as any other moon she\u2019d ever seen now that it wasn\u2019t full, Mega&#173;luna was a waxing crescent on the verge of becoming gibbous. Its tide would reach the <i>ait Meziane<\/i> house soon, and they could use the phantom waters that existed in only one world to learn to maneuver between \u2019verses, controlling which one they belonged to at any moment. They would have roughly an hour and a half before Jack would have to pull them back into U1 to avoid a risk of drowning.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They could do it, she told herself, still feeling the same crazy escalation of the opening-night jitters that had filled her when it was time to sing <i>Tender Shepherd<\/i>, in front of hundreds of strangers, for the very first time.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, that\u2019s Mega&#173;luna,\u201d she told them. \u201c<i>What?<\/i> Oh c\u2019mon, it\u2019s a perfectly good name.\u201d Sighing, she gave them a moment to straighten out their faces. \u201cRight now, we\u2019re in both worlds equally. You\u2019ll see things that belong to each world. There\u2019s not a <i>whole<\/i> lot to see here right now, outside of Megaluna&#8288;\u2026 jeez, <i>really?<\/i> \u2026because this is a coastal area that\u2019s under the water some of the time. But we\u2019re going to work on moving between U1 and Elsewhere&#8288;\u2026 and telling each world apart.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI honestly can\u2019t tell any difference at all,\u201d Takama opined from behind them. \u201cAs far as I can see, nothing changed with either of you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGood,\u201d Kyra said. \u201cLooking normal and hiding in plain sight is gonna be pretty important.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">General Toal rumbled a general agreement. He wasn\u2019t at all happy about this development, although Cedric and Takama had finally convinced him of its necessity.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo,\u201d Tafrara asked after a moment, \u201cnow what?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNow we go down to the ground level,\u201d Jack said, \u201cand start working with the tide. It\u2019ll be arriving in a few more minutes. The contrast between a wet and a dry world should help you learn how to tell them apart and control which one you\u2019re in.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It went much faster than Jack expected. But then, although she had never done anything like meditation before she met the Meziane family, they were old hands at it and knew how to control their frames of mind. Within the hour, both Iz\u00eel and Tafrara had figured out how to transition between universes and began mastering the finer points, passing through walls and making sure their clothes came with them, moving objects back and forth without displacing the air around them&#8288;\u2026 everything that she and Kyra had spent hours or days figuring out by trial-and-error, they absorbed with stunning alacrity.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Everybody had awakened early to make use of Elsewhere\u2019s high tide and watch them float in invisible waters; once those rose enough to fill the top floor of the house, they took a break, realigning themselves completely with U1 and having breakfast.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cEverything is so different now,\u201d Iz\u00eel commented midway through the meal. \u201cI can still see into Elsewhere. There are fish swimming through this room right now&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s pretty trippy,\u201d Kyra agreed. \u201cYou get used to it after a while. But it does take a while.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack found herself wishing she\u2019d been brave enough to do this with Ewan while he was still there.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>It could have ended so badly if I had,<\/i> she admitted to herself. <i>We were having a hard enough time controlling ourselves around each other without access to another universe coming into play.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Yeah,<\/i> Kyra agreed, giving her a sympathetic look. <i>That could have broken both of you. It\u2019s better that didn\u2019t happen.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Maybe, in about five years, she could return and\u2014if Iz\u00eel and Tafrara hadn\u2019t already reintroduced him to Elsewhere and taught him how to navigate it\u2014she could do it then.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThere will be a few rules,\u201d General Toal said as the meal was ending. \u201cTizzy and Dihya already have to return all the souvenirs they acquired from Elsewhere, so an important rule for the two of <i>you<\/i>,\u201d and he speared Tafrara and Iz\u00eel with his gaze, \u201cis that you don\u2019t bring back any of your own. Nor do you leave anything straddling universes. Our prior intel indicates that the Quin&#173;tessa envoy might be able to sense an object that is partly absent from this universe, the way that both girls could sense that about <i>her.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The cousins nodded, looking sober.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou are to make no visual or audio recordings of Elsewhere or its inhabitants. There must be no evidence in this universe, whatsoever, that you have access to another. When you are in Elsewhere, you must always have a plausible alibi for where you are in U1. For any trip longer than eleven hours, you must also isomorph back briefly to check in and make sure that your alibi is holding up. I will provide you with special comms to take with you, that won\u2019t be easily traced, so that your check-ins won\u2019t put anything at risk. Make sure, before you do a check-in, that no one in U1 will see or hear, and that nothing will record, your appearance and disappearance. There is <i>no<\/i> room for error here. More lives than you know depend on what you can do remaining hidden from both the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation <i>and<\/i> the Federacy itself.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Now both Iz\u00eel and Tafrara looked grim.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd <i>no<\/i> further spread of Threshold Syndrome is to occur without my knowledge,\u201d General Toal finished, now making sure that everyone at the table met his gaze for a moment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They had to wait for the tide to begin receding, and the waters of Elsewhere to drop below roof level, before they could begin practicing again. They first practiced swimming through walls and using <i>partial<\/i> isomorphs to swim\u2014or, from the perspective of those in U1, levitate\u2014at what would otherwise be crushing depths. Then they practiced transitioning objects to and from Elsewhere, using the various souvenirs that Jack and Kyra had collected before releasing them back to the waters once and for all.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Iz\u00eel pioneered a way to leave all the water behind when transitioning back from Elsewhere, his thoroughly-immersed clothing emerging completely dry&#8288;\u2026 something Jack had <i>never<\/i> figured out how to do, but which she finally mastered right before the tide receded. With the ocean departed, Jack and Kyra taught Iz\u00eel and Tafrara how to use surfaces in U1 as platforms in Elsewhere, climbing phantom steps and walking through phantom walls without falling through phantom floors, finishing up with the \u201ccricket trick.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNow you know everything we do,\u201d Jack told them as the sun dipped toward the horizon. When it rose again, she thought with a pang, it would be time for her to leave. To stop being Tislilel Meziane&#8288;\u2026 possibly forever.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Safiyya and Takama\u2019s parents, along with Lalla, had rescheduled their own departure for the morning-day, just in case Iz\u00eel ended up needing to go with them after all. As night fell, everyone gathered for one last round of mint tea and conversation in the dining room. It was strangely awkward at first, as they all avoided talking about Jack\u2019s and Kyra\u2019s impending journeys. Neither one of them was allowed to share any details about where they were going, even with each other.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Then Cedric began telling stories about Tomlin\u2019s adventures when he\u2019d been a fighter pilot, based on his elder son\u2019s personal confidences, and the awkwardness disappeared for a time.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I\u2019m not going to get a chance to tell Kyra about the Kublai Khan,<\/i> Jack realized as Cedric told one of the more famous stories about \u201cEl Krim\u2019s\u201d battles with pirates along the Sol Track Shipping lanes, when he\u2019d discovered that one cargo hold of a vessel he\u2019d boarded contained a pair of very angry, very <i>hungry<\/i> Shrills.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;So he was running as fast as he could,\u201d Cedric continued, \u201cand he said he could <i>feel<\/i> those things gaining on him, when this door he\u2019d just passed slammed open and three of the pirates who\u2019d run from him earlier burst out, whooping and yelling at him to get down on the floor. At least, that\u2019s what he thought they were starting to say, because suddenly they were screaming instead.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack shuddered. She\u2019d witnessed how Shrills ate and had almost experienced it personally. \u201cDid he find the kids he was looking for and save them?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat he did. The Shrills were still eating those pirates while he got everybody else off the ship and blew it up. Oslo Shipping was furious\u2014they\u2019d cared more about the ship than the kids\u2014until they learned that it was about to turn into a floating Shrill nest. Then they finally admitted he might have had a point&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Everybody at the table chuckled, although most of the expressions also contained wistful sadness. The murder of Colonel Gavin Brahim Tomlin Meziane\u2014who Jack still found herself thinking of as just <i>Tomlin<\/i>\u2014was still fresh and painful in their hearts. A variation on the same story had been told during his memorial service by one of his comrades in arms; in that version, he\u2019d led the Shrills away from his companions, and they had all believed that he\u2019d sacrificed himself to save them, until he showed up in the boarded vessel\u2019s hangar with half a dozen children by his side, all wearing shorted-out slave collars and one riding on his back.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick, she thought, might have liked Tomlin. At the very least, they would have been on the same side where the kids he\u2019d rescued were concerned. Her dad had told her\u2014had he told her? Or had he just thought about it and she\u2019d somehow overheard?\u2014that there was a highly-classified story, one that nobody in law enforcement wanted the public to know lest they start thinking of him as heroic, about Riddick rescuing a group of children who had been abducted and enslaved&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>That sounds just like him,<\/i> Kyra whispered in her mind.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She supposed Kyra was right. Between the story her dad had told her, and her own experience of how Riddick had treated her on the crash planet, he did seem to have a soft spot for kids. He\u2019d told his own story about Johns using some child hostages to catch him, but had refused to go into detail about just what had happened to them. All he would say was that Johns had killed a few of the kids. Imam, who had seemed to know more details about the story, had told her that she was far too young to hear them&#8288;\u2026 even though she was already older than the kids who had suffered them firsthand. It especially galled her, even months later, given that any merc who knew her history might consider her an ideal piece of bait for catching Riddick&#8288;\u2026 and might be a sicko like Pritchard.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The only question left was whether those kids\u2019 fates had been worse than what Pritchard had had in mind for her and Kyra.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Why,<\/i> she found herself wondering, <i>do so many adults believe that keeping kids ignorant about the threats they\u2019re facing protects them?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was their last night with the Meziane family and Jack didn\u2019t want it to end, but most of them had awakened especially early in the evening-day to take advantage of the arrival of Elsewhere\u2019s high tide. Soon they were saying their good-nights, Jack and Kyra returning to their guest room for one last sleep.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The room felt strange, missing all the driftwood, coral, and shells&#8288;\u2026 and missing <i>Sebby.<\/i> It sent a pang through Jack; she hadn\u2019t even left Tangier Prime yet, and <i>it<\/i> was leaving <i>her.<\/i> None of the beautiful blankets and pillows that she and Kyra had bought, to decorate first their apartment and then the guest room, could go with them. Safiyya had said she was going to box them up and store them for the day when she, or Kyra, returned, along with most of the clothing they\u2019d bought that was too distinctive of Tangier Prime to take with them. The few things that Jack could keep, she had to plan on discarding before returning to her family, walking back into their lives with\u2014at least, as far as anyone could tell\u2014nothing more than the extremely nondescript clothes on her body&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It felt like she was preparing to erase her<i>self<\/i>. As much as she knew it was necessary, it felt like its own terrible new form of suicide. Maybe <i>Jack<\/i> had to die as she became Audrey again&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;but why did <i>Tizzy<\/i> have to die?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra looked every bit as brooding and morose as she felt. They took fast showers so that they wouldn\u2019t have to think about who was no longer dancing at their feet, and only spoke afterward long enough for Jack to share a terse and heavily abridged version of her own encounter with Shrills on the <i>Kublai Khan<\/i>. When Jack drifted into the starfield of the <i>Apeiros,<\/i> she anchored herself there, both afraid of the dreams of loss that might otherwise come to her and reluctant to get dragged into Kyra\u2019s dreams of hunting in the forest with Riddick. Or, worse, dreams of being hunted by Shrills.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>The other little larva no longer dreams of the forest,<\/i> the Apeiros told her at some point in the night. <i>It dreams of a world with three suns.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019re not talking to her, are you?\u201d Jack asked, equally surprised that Kyra might have initiated conversation with them and worried that they had resumed it without her consent.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>No. But it is broadcasting those dreams quite loudly. Seeking companions to play its story out with it. The visions are unusually detailed compared to its other dreams. They seem more like the things we see in <b>your<\/b> mind.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThey\u2019re from the story I told her, the one you listened to. I shared some of the memories with her, to help her see it all better.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>It loves being there.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhy do you always say \u2018it\u2019 and not \u2018her?\u2019\u201d Jack asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Should we not? Have we offended?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack shrugged. \u201cI keep forgetting how different we are. With humans, we\u2019re given names when we\u2019re born, and most of the time our biological sex is known right away.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She and Iz\u00eel had had an interesting conversation, in the wake of the answers he\u2019d given Mommy, about biological sex, gender roles, and variations within them&#8288;\u2026 and he\u2019d given her a book\u2014in file form, of course, for her tablet\u2014to read on her journey home, one he thought might be hard for her to acquire on her own. He seemed to think she\u2019d been woefully undereducated on the subject, and she suspected he was right.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You already know if you\u2019re male or female?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYes. The \u2018other larva\u2019 is named Kyra, and she\u2019s female.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Noted. And you?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m female too, although sometimes I\u2019ve disguised myself as a male. Males are less&#8288;\u2026 preyed upon&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Do you have a name?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI have <i>way<\/i> too many of those,\u201d she admitted. \u201cI don\u2019t even know which one is really mine anymore.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Interesting.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou said your names were stolen from you,\u201d Jack recalled. \u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>We do not know much about what we become as our hatchings progress. But upon our sixth hatching, once we learned whether we were male or female, there would have been a ritual to give us names. The Demons of the Darkness prevented it. We have no names except the one you have given us. Is there nothing you would like us to call you?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI guess&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d She sighed, feeling like she was giving into the inevitable. There had been a time when she had been eager to return to this name, to put Jack behind her forever, but now&#8288;\u2026 \u201cI need to go back to being Audrey. You can call me that if you like. Audrey.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was weird how her driving goal, when she\u2019d been trapped in the hospital, now felt like a dead end. Part of her wished she\u2019d asked them to call her Tizzy. But that was a name she had to let go of in too few hours.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She would be Marianne for the journey home, and then Audrey for at least four more years&#8288;\u2026 and after that, she had no idea. But she had better get used to being Audrey again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She woke feeling a strange sense of resignation.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra seemed in slightly better spirits, at least. They even talked a little as they went through their morning prepa&#173;rations&#8288;\u2026 and began setting out the things that they were planning on taking with them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack\u2019s backpack barely contained anything besides her most nondescript clothing, her tablet, and the neurofeedback device when she closed it; it was small enough that she wouldn\u2019t need to check any luggage at either the train station or the spaceport, and what she had would be mostly unremarkable if security went through it. She looked around the room one more time, and her eyes fell on the binoculars and telescope she\u2019d bought not long before the Spaceport Explosion.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d gotten some good use out of them, but she couldn\u2019t take them home with her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou want either of these?\u201d she asked Kyra.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra, who had been frowning at her tablet, looked up. \u201cMaybe the binoculars? I can see them being useful where I\u2019m going. But I don\u2019t have space for the telescope. Probably wouldn\u2019t need one, anyway.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack brought the binoculars over, sliding them into their case and setting it next to Kyra\u2019s pack. \u201cThey\u2019re yours. I hope you see some cool stuff through them.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She hoped Kyra saw better things through them than she had, anyway. No more exploding shuttles or levitating corpses, at least.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That left the telescope.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was the last thing she needed to find a good place for. If she simply left it in the room, Safiyya would pack it away for her return. But that felt wrong. It was meant to be used. She wanted someone to get to enjoy it while she was gone, to think of her&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan. She wanted to give it to <i>Ewan.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019ll be back in a moment,\u201d she told Kyra after she closed up the telescope and its stand and put them in their case.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Slipping out of their room, she walked two doors down to Ewan\u2019s. She\u2019d leave it in his room for him to find when he next came home.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The door was locked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For a moment she dithered. Go back? Ask Safiyya to let her in, or to put it in there for her? Or&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She transitioned into Elsewhere, the floor in U1 still firmly beneath her feet, and walked through the door as a phantom. Isomorphing back on the other side, she realized that she was taking a liberty that Ewan, himself, might object to. Even as she hoped he wouldn\u2019t, a small pang of guilt almost overrode the thrill of adventure and discovery she was feeling.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">His room was laid out similarly to hers and Kyra\u2019s but decorated differently. It felt like <i>him.<\/i> He had a fondness for blues and greens, and most of the furnishings reflected that. There were several paintings on his walls. She wished there was more light to see them by, or that she dared turn on his lights. They looked beautifully done, all in a singular style&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">When she walked closer to one of them, she saw that he had signed them, in English and Tamazight, <i>Ewan Zdan.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He was the painter of all these magnificent works that she could barely see.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There was an easel near his bed, positioned to catch the moonlight coming through the French doors leading onto his balcony. She walked closer; this painting, at least, she would be able to look at with greater ease.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her breath caught in her throat as the work came into view.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was a painting of a mermaid.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The mermaid floated in a sea, arms reaching forward as though inviting someone into her embrace. While the sea was unfinished, mostly sketched out and not yet painted, meticulous detail had been lavished on the mermaid herself. Her strong tail was covered in aquamarine scales that seemed to sparkle; long golden hair fanned out around her and covered her bare torso, hiding her breasts as completely as if she were clothed. That hair looked almost exactly like the wig Jack had been wearing when they had first met. And the mermaid\u2019s face&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was <i>her<\/i> face. Even as she realized that, she found it difficult to recognize herself. He had painted her as if she were one of the galaxy\u2019s great beauties. Every feature was recognizably hers, but&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Is this what he saw when he looked at me?<\/i> She wondered. Ewan\u2019s words, after they had left Elsewhere and were heading home, came back to her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;if all one had needed to do, to reach a new world, was take a beautiful girl\u2019s hand&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He\u2019d only had a single week to create this. Less; they had spent almost every moment of his final Tangier day in each other\u2019s company. And yet it was so&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She could hear voices in the courtyard below. Soon someone would come up, looking for her and Kyra, if they didn\u2019t go down to breakfast on their own. As much as she wanted to stay and marvel at Ewan\u2019s work, to let the sun rise and reveal all his artworks to her, she had to go.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Forcing herself to turn away, she walked over to the bed he had slept in. The impulse to curl up on it was hard to resist, but she was already late returning to her room. Instead, she carefully set the telescope case in the center of the bed. She\u2019d written no note, but she hoped he would know who had to have left it for him. Why hadn\u2019t she written a note?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There was paper on his desk, and a pen. She found herself picking up the pen and a small, blank notecard, scrawling a message on it just for him:<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"center-block\"><i>Forever your mermaid,<br\/>\r\nTislilel<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I can\u2019t leave him this,<\/i> she realized even as she turned to put it beside the telescope. It was the kind of promise that General Toal had forbidden, and she suddenly understood why. If she couldn\u2019t keep it, if the \u2019verse conspired in preventing her from ever returning, it wouldn\u2019t just be a promise that broke.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She couldn\u2019t be that cruel to him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The notecard was in her pocket as she slipped back into Elsewhere and left Ewan\u2019s room.<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4126\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4126 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-54\">\u00ab Chapter 54 <\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4119\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4119 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-56\">Chapter 56 \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=\"56\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4053\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4053 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-55\">\u00ab Chapter 55<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4120\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4120 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-57\">Chapter 57 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5515\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5515 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">56.<br\/>\r\n<u>Always Her Sister, Never His<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack sat on the roof by the fire bush and watched the sun rise one final time for her on Tangier Prime, part of her afraid that she would never see it rise there again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">New Marrakesh sloped down to the west, its jewel box glow fading as twilight gave way to daylight. In Elsewhere, the tide had reached the <i>ait Meziane<\/i> house and was rising around it. In U1, Qamar was setting on the western horizon. Somewhere on its surface, Ewan was probably in the process of being recertified for combat flight and settling back into the life he\u2019d known before they\u2019d met.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">As, she reminded herself, she would have to.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Breakfast had been postponed until after sunrise, Lalla insisting that, given the timing of everyone\u2019s planned departures, a heartier \u201cbrunch\u201d would be better. Jack was considering making a return to Ewan\u2019s room to see his paintings, once enough light began to fill it&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI thought I might find you up here,\u201d General Toal rumbled behind her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He took a seat near her in one of the chairs that had been arranged to look upon both the fire bush and the spectacular view. His eyes, however, remained on her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat is it?\u201d Jack asked. She knew him well enough now to know that he would prefer not to waste time on pleasantries and small talk. It was something she liked a great deal about him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThere are some things I need to tell you, that would best be discussed here and now rather than at the train station. No chance of eavesdroppers.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOkay.\u201d She felt a small prickle of unease but tried to let it go.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI know Ewan Zdan gave you an emergency comm number. I understand his rationale for doing so, and I know that if he hadn\u2019t, worrying that you were out there, alone and defenseless, would have preyed on him unbearably. I could have stopped him from doing it, but I didn\u2019t. But now, I need <i>you<\/i> to understand that you are <i>not<\/i> to use it, for <i>any<\/i> reason, for at <i>least<\/i> the next four and a half years.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack stared at him, speechless.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI will not leave you out there undefended. I\u2019ll give you another emergency number to use, one that will reach me. You can use that number whenever you need to, wherever you may be. But if you were to call for <i>his<\/i> help before that time is up, you could destroy him.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;How\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Fortunately, he understood what she was asking despite her inability to get the words out. \u201cThe next few years are a demanding time in a new fighter pilot\u2019s life. Leaves are rare and must accommodate mission schedules rather than the reverse. Imagine, in the midst of those duties&#8288;\u2026 say, two or three years from now&#8288;\u2026 you found yourself in danger and called him for help. Imagine, to answer that call, he had to disobey his mission orders and go A.W.O.L. And now imagine what would happen upon his return, when he was arrested and court-martialed, and it came to light that he had run off to meet up with a teenage girl, not yet of legal age, <i>who had only been thirteen years old when he fell in love with her.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack couldn\u2019t restrain a gasp. <i>In love?<\/i> His choice of phrasing left her reeling.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDo you think anyone would believe him,\u201d General Toal continued, \u201cif he said he\u2019d never touched you improperly even once? Do you think there would be any defense he could put forth that would prevent a dishonorable discharge? Or even, possibly, time in a military prison?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She hadn\u2019t expected him, or <i>anyone<\/i>, to be quite so blunt. Everyone had been so careful <i>not<\/i> to give a name to the \u2026&#8288;ten&#173;sion&#8288;\u2026 between Ewan and her until then. But maybe she had needed this bucket of ice water dumped all over her. \u201cOh. God.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe didn\u2019t know you were only thirteen when he fell in love, of course.\u201d The General\u2019s voice was gentler now. \u201cWhen his family first met you, almost nothing was known about you except that Gavin Brahim believed you had infiltrated the Aceso Psychiatric Hospital to rescue Kyra Wittier-Collins. All your records there had been destroyed, apparently by <i>you<\/i> during the escape you had engineered. You were knowledgeable enough and authoritative enough in <i>his<\/i> meetings with you that he estimated you were older than Kyra, and her records clearly indicate she\u2019s sixteen years old. He thought you were possibly even a legal adult using an unusually youthful appearance as a cover. That was Takama\u2019s initial assessment of you as well, because you behaved much like one of her high-performing University students.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Part of Jack wanted to feel a sense of accomplishment about that\u2014it meant that her portrayal of Marianne Tepper, legal adult, might just stand up to scrutiny\u2014but a sense of dread was building within her, too.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAfter Gavin Brahim&#8288;\u2026 died&#8288;\u2026 in the Spaceport Explosion,\u201d he continued, \u201cit became clear to his parents and aunt that you couldn\u2019t be <i>much<\/i> older than Kyra, but she seemed to follow your lead enough that it never occurred to them that you might be <i>much younger.<\/i> That was what Ewan Zdan believed he knew about you when you two first met.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sixteen. Ewan had thought she and Kyra were both sixteen when he\u2019d made up the cover story of them coming to town for the engagement Moussem, an event he would have believed they were only two years too young for. Aging them upward, she realized, had been his ploy to make it sound impossible for his \u201ccousins\u201d to be the girls Toombs and Logan were seeking. Apparently, he\u2019d had no idea just how <i>much<\/i> upward he was aging <i>her.<\/i> But then, her current ID said she was even older.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He\u2019d thought it was a sixteen-year-old holding him when he\u2019d broken down, and a sixteen-year-old <i>he\u2019d<\/i> held, after he spoke of being outraged at someone so young being forced onto a battlefield&#8288;\u2026 when he\u2019d comforted her on the wet sands of Elsewhere after a corpse falling onto her had triggered a panic attack&#8288;\u2026 when he\u2019d used his body to support hers while she wrestled the <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i> out of U1&#8288;\u2026 and later, when he\u2019d come so very close to kissing her&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhen&#8288;\u2026 did he find out&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?&#8288;\u201d Had her mouth <i>ever<\/i> felt this dry?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAfter the two of you returned from your \u2018morgue heist,\u2019\u201d The General told her, his expression stern but strangely kind, \u201che confided in his father that there was a moment when he had almost lost control and kissed you, and might have done a great deal more than just that if he had, because you had seemed quite <i>receptive.<\/i> He had managed to control himself, but he asked to be chaperoned with you from then on so that he wouldn\u2019t give in to temptation and possibly do you harm. He spoke of hoping to be able to court you properly if you were still on Tangier Prime two years from now. Cedric contacted me because I was the source of the intelligence that Takama had passed on to Gavin Brahim about the two of you. He told me that they needed to know more about you, who you are, whom you might work for, and above all, your actual age, because Ewan Zdan\u2019s happiness, reputation, and very future might depend upon the answers.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And, of course, Jack thought, she\u2019d been so cagey about revealing any details about who she really was that if they\u2019d come right out and asked <i>her<\/i>, she\u2019d probably have tried to lie. They must have known that, too.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAs it happens,\u201d General Toal continued, \u201cI had only just received additional files from Helion Prime, about a girl who had spent three days in Intensive Care at New Athens General before being transferred to the Aceso Psychiatric Hos&#173;pital&#8288;\u2026 whose patient records initially named her Jackie al-Walid before re-designating her as Jane Doe 7439.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack\u2019s heart lurched. She\u2019d never even thought to look for those files, to try to hide <i>them<\/i>, assuming she even could have reached them&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThose documents now only exist in my possession. No one else will ever find them. But they did reveal that you\u2019re only thirteen years old, and that the circumstances that had brought you to Aceso had been deadly serious and not, as Gavin Brahim had believed, a pretext for an infiltration.\u201d His eyes looked sad; he knew exactly how close she had come to a successful suicide, maybe better than she did. \u201cI needed to warn the family about the envoy\u2019s behavior, anyway, so I brought the files with me when I visited that evening. I arrived shortly after Takama took you to have your brain imaged. In my life, I have had to deliver a lot of terrible news to people, but few have ever been quite as devastated as Ewan Zdan was when he learned how close he\u2019d come to&#8288;\u2026 taking advantage of&#8288;\u2026 a child. And an emotionally fragile one, at that.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack nodded, remembering just how rocky he had looked after her return, and the agony on his face when he\u2019d almost lost control and his father had had to stop him from rushing up to her room to make sure she wasn\u2019t still actively suicidal. There was no way to refute General Toal\u2019s word choices, as much as both <i>child<\/i> and <i>emotionally fragile<\/i> felt like hard slaps in the face; they were all too accurate.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBy then, everyone had seen you in action enough to know that you <i>were<\/i> the mastermind behind the hospital escape, regardless of your age. The final piece in the puzzle of how you could be <i>so<\/i> precocious was Takama bringing back the news that you were an un-Quantified esper of an extremely high degree.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIs that why you stayed?\u201d She\u2019d wondered at his sudden appearance, although it was obvious that the family already knew, liked, and respected him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cPartly. I have always been welcome here. Many years ago, before my son disappeared, he was engaged to Tafrara Elspeth, who I think still hasn\u2019t moved on from him even though he will soon be declared dead. They have always treated me as family since then. But yes, I stayed to make sure that whatever intrigues surrounded the two of you would not threaten them&#8288;\u2026 or you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack suddenly wondered if the family had been protecting her from Ewan&#8288;\u2026 or Ewan from <i>her.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cA bit of both,\u201d General Toal admitted when she could no longer hold back the question. \u201cI know that Ewan Zdan tried, hard, to reframe his love for you as brotherly, <i>familial<\/i>, but I don\u2019t believe he succeeded. And I know that, the night after we all learned just how brutal Pritchard\u2019s plans for you and your sister had truly been, he barely slept. It really is for the best if the two of you have no contact, whatsoever, until you can return here as a legal adult with no traceable connections to your time on this world now. For your sake and his.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Lalla\u2019s magnificent brunch tasted like sawdust in her mouth.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Nobody seemed to be in high spirits, but Jack felt like hers had dropped to a new nadir. She hadn\u2019t even tried to go back to Ewan\u2019s room, feeling like it would somehow visit disaster upon him if she did. If she had been <i>able<\/i> to stay, she wondered, what steps would the Meziane family have ended up needing to take to keep Ewan safe from her?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">General Toal had given her the comm number he wanted her to use, if needed, in place of the one Ewan had shared. He had promised that he would give Kyra the number, too, in case she ever needed to call for help. And he had made her swear that she wouldn\u2019t use the number Ewan had given her until she was at <i>least<\/i> eighteen years old, and that she wouldn\u2019t fudge the numbers even a little by pretending that cryo-time counted as aging.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Four and a half years, minimum,<\/i> Jack groaned silently, <i>all outside of cryo&#8288;\u2026 only then can I come back.<\/i> She\u2019d known it, but its reality hadn\u2019t truly struck her until her talk with the General.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was glad that she had picked the <i>Nephrite Undine<\/i> for her return voyage. Five months alone in deep space would at least <i>not<\/i> be five months when time was passing for Ewan but not her. She would <i>never<\/i> go into cryo again if she could help it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Finally, the meal was over. Jack felt bad that she hadn\u2019t been able to enjoy it; Lalla had made sure to set out all her favorite foods.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The good-byes that followed were worse.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Everybody was trying to be brave about it, and stoic, to keep from setting anyone else off, but nobody was happy. She could <i>feel<\/i> them trying not to show they were afraid that she and Kyra would never return, that the terrible darkness that seemed to be pursuing them would catch them, and that they wouldn\u2019t even have each other for protection anymore. More than one set of eyes turned pleadingly toward General Toal; he looked regretful but didn\u2019t bend.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There was no way for him to bend, at least where Jack was concerned; her plan had been in place well before he had made their departures mandatory, but she\u2019d <i>hoped<\/i> that there might be a way for her to stay in contact with the family, even&#173;tu&#173;ally&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;She didn\u2019t know <i>what<\/i> she had been hoping. To somehow find a way to live in more than one world at once without crossing the threshold between \u2019verses, maybe? For a happily-ever-after to just sweep in, save them all, and take away every choice except staying? Reality didn\u2019t work like that, much as she wanted it to.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Still, she wished that Kyra, at least, could have remained with them. She kept having a bad feeling about her sister\u2019s trajectory out of there.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Every member of the family murmured a variation on the same theme, which she had first heard from Ewan: <i>come back to us as soon as you can. You will always have a home and family here.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI will,\u201d she told each one, wondering if the \u2019verse would make a liar out of her, \u201cas soon as I can&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe would have gifts for you,\u201d Takama told her, her voice wobbling, \u201cfor your travels and to remember us by&#8288;\u2026 but&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But they weren\u2019t allowed, aside from bags of snacks that Lalla had packed for each of them to take with them, and the somewhat impersonal money cards the General had been willing to permit.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDon\u2019t worry,\u201d Jack said, her own voice in danger of cracking. \u201cI\u2019ll never, <i>ever<\/i> forget you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And, if she was lucky, she wouldn\u2019t have to make do with memories for all <i>that<\/i> long. But luck didn\u2019t seem to be with her lately.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A thousand hugs later, they could delay things no longer. Cedric and Iz\u00eel helped the elderly Mezianes, Safiyya and Takama\u2019s parents and an ancient great-uncle who didn\u2019t speak anything but Tamazight, load their luggage into Lalla\u2019s roomy van for their return to the mountains, while Lalla climbed into its driver\u2019s seat. General Toal, meanwhile, unlocked the doors of his vehicle and helped Kyra and Jack inside. All they had was one backpack each, plus Lalla\u2019s snack bags, everything that they could safely take with them stowed inside. They had plenty of funds to get more things as needed, both the bearer cards Jack had procured\u2014almost all of which she, still plagued by the suspicion that her sister might be hiding a <i>lack<\/i> of prospects from her, had given to Kyra\u2014and additional funds from the <i>ait Meziane<\/i> tribe, but they were still under strict instructions not to spend them on anything that might point to a stay on Tangier Prime. No mementos whatsoever.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The family could only wave good-bye to them from within the garage as they drove out; there was supposed to be no sign that the General\u2019s drive away from the house was in any way remarkable and not just some brief errand. They were out of sight far too quickly.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">To General Toal, it probably seemed like the drive to the train station transpired in sullen silence. In fact, Jack and Kyra talked to each other the whole way&#8288;\u2026 just not out loud.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>This sucks,<\/i> Kyra groaned silently as they stopped waving and sat forward. <i>I didn\u2019t think it would this much.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Me neither,<\/i> Jack admitted, aware yet again that heartache was a physical thing. <i>Fuck. Half of me is tempted to just&#8288;\u2026 disappear into Elsewhere and spend the next five years living with Mommy Ree and Sebby, even if it <b>would<\/b> mean a diet of bugs and quet&#173;zalcoatls&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>And <b>whats?<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Those flying feathered snake things Mommy Ree showed us,<\/i> Jack explained. <i>They make me think of something from Aztec mythology.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Damn, now I wish we had time for you to tell me about that,<\/i> Kyra mentally sighed. <i>I\u2019m gonna miss all the fun stuff you know. So, are you gonna do it? Go native in Elsewhere?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack shook her head, wishing&#8288;\u2026 <i>I can\u2019t. I couldn\u2019t, even before we got the bum\u2019s rush. I have to let my family know I\u2019m alive. That means either showing up at my dad\u2019s home or my mom\u2019s, with a plausible explanation for where I\u2019ve been that doesn\u2019t point to the <\/i>Scarlet Matador.<i> Or Riddick. Or you.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Not that she actually <i>wanted<\/i> to go back to Deckard\u2019s World and Alvin the Asshole&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Or\u2026<\/i> Kyra\u2019s mental \u201cvoice\u201d had become considering, almost sly. <i>We could say \u201cfuck it\u201d and go look for Riddick?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack wasn\u2019t sure what the chill that moved down her back was responding to. Did this mean Kyra <i>didn\u2019t<\/i> have a good path out of there? Why else would she want to try to find Riddick instead? Especially now, when there were bullseyes painted on their backs and any merc in the \u2019verse would love to use them as stalking horses to track him down? She managed to keep her appalled disbelief from bleeding into their link, but only just barely.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>If he\u2019d wanted me to find him,<\/i> she countered instead, <i>he\u2019d have told me where he was going instead of just telling Imam.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Suddenly she wondered if the logic behind that was akin to the logic General Toal had for running interference between her and Ewan; would there have been a time, had she stayed with Imam, when he would have finally shared that information with her? Maybe once she was mature enough that any infatuation she still felt would no longer threaten Riddick\u2019s reputation and safety? Had <i>Imam<\/i> refused to tell Riddick about her near-death for the same reason that the General had forbidden her from contacting Ewan before she was at least eighteen&#8288;\u2014 because the only thing trying to come to her aid could have done, in that moment, was bring about his destruction?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It didn\u2019t matter. It couldn\u2019t matter. Whatever the reason behind his decision to cut her off and strand her on Helion Prime, whyever Imam had chosen not to tell him about the state of her well-being, the schism had to stay as it was. Too many lives depended upon her returning home and spending the next four and a half years living as an ordinary girl who couldn\u2019t possibly have any connection to Jack B. Badd\u2019s madcap\u2014and just mad\u2014careen across the Sol Tracks. If anyone ever realized that Audrey MacNamera knew Richard B. Riddick, her backtrail could unravel and put the hundreds of survivors of the <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i>, and the <i>millions<\/i> of Imazighen protecting them, at risk of sharing Colonel Tomlin\u2019s tragic fate. Somehow, she <i>knew<\/i> that the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation wouldn\u2019t be above genocide; exactly where that certainty came from, she couldn\u2019t tell, but it was absolute. She had to jettison her past. She had to deny Riddick\u2019s part in it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Some of that, she suspected, had bled through. Kyra\u2019s expression had turned sad. <i>You really don\u2019t want to find him?<\/i> There was a hint of incredulity in her sister\u2019s mental voice.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I can\u2019t cut it in his world,<\/i> Jack said. Not when that world included Alexander Toombs and the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation, and a connect-the-dots that could doom millions if its picture was ever revealed. <i>I\u2019m just not strong enough.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She wasn\u2019t sure anyone was, or even could be.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For a moment, a brooding silence truly did descend.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You remember the Ghost Codes I gave you, right?<\/i> Jack asked when it started getting uncomfortable. She still found herself worrying that Kyra didn\u2019t have a good path out, especially if her sister was considering ditching it to kite after Riddick.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I have them all saved, don\u2019t worry. I can\u2019t carry stuff around in my head the way you do.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You won\u2019t have to with one of them. Remember the code we used to get out of the hospital?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Vaguely.<\/i> Kyra shrugged, looking a little frustrated. Most people, Jack reminded herself, needed a lot of repetition to remember even short comm numbers&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I repurposed it,<\/i> she told Kyra. <i>It\u2019s now a general system-slicer. You put it in and it\u2019ll unlock any lock it can for you, and open up any system it has access to. So you can get into and out of places if you\u2019re in trouble. And you don\u2019t have to remember numbers. It spells out RIDDICK. Any keypad with letters under the numbers will let you spell it out.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Nice,<\/i> Kyra said, a hint of admiration sneaking in and replacing the annoyance. <i>That one will be easy to remember. Thanks!<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You\u2019re welcome.<\/i> Jack reached out and took Kyra\u2019s hand. <i>I\u2019m always your sister. No matter how many light years separate us.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She wondered, suddenly, how far apart they could go and still \u201chear\u201d each other. Damn. That was something they hadn\u2019t thought to explore or practice, and really should have.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I\u2019m always your sister, too,<\/i> Kyra said, her mental voice almost wobbling the way her physical voice might have.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">With that, their time was up. General Toal\u2019s vehicle was pulling up to the rail station.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Security was tight; even though the station was outside of the spaceport\u2014although one of its lines went to and from it on a regular basis\u2014everyone was still on edge. Javor Makarov remained at large, after all, and all but a handful of people in the know believed the same was true for Duke Pritchard. A man in military uniform approached the vehicle and gave the General an astonished salute; Toal spoke to him for a moment before handing him the vehicle\u2019s keys. Rank <i>did<\/i> have its privileges; apparently, while the General was inside the terminal with them, the officer he\u2019d just spoken to had to play valet for him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He walked them past the long checkpoint lines, using his clout to clear their path and leaving all the officers on duty the impression that they were, probably, plainclothes operatives of his and licensed to carry most of the contraband being screened for.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Guess we don\u2019t need the scabbard trick yet, huh?<\/i> Kyra joked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack gave her a wry grin. She figured Kyra had at least <i>one<\/i> knife on her somewhere.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAs we all know your immediate destination, Tizzy, we\u2019ll go there first,\u201d General Toal told her. \u201cI hope you will be all right with saying your goodbyes there.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She managed a nod, not sure if she was up to talking yet. There were a <i>lot<\/i> of tears being held at bay right then.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was a short walk to the lounge for the New Casablanca Express. Jack had had a choice when she\u2019d made her reservation: a long, leisurely 22-hour trip with multiple stops and a scenic view most of the way, or a 3-hour high-speed trip with no stops and much less to see. She\u2019d picked the latter; she wanted a good margin between her arrival in New Casablanca and her launch&#8288;\u2026 and she didn\u2019t want to fall even more in love with a world she had to leave behind. An absolutely enormous world, she realized anew, given the distance between New Marrakesh and New Casablanca.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">General Toal gave them a moment alone to say their goodbyes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra wasn\u2019t much of a hugger, but suddenly they were clinging fiercely to each other.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI can\u2019t believe this is <i>it<\/i>,\u201d Kyra whispered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDon\u2019t believe it,\u201d Jack told her, struggling to make her own voice work. \u201cWe\u2019re gonna find each other again. Sisters forever.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cForever&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Kyra repeated, still holding on tightly. \u201cTizzy?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIf I <i>do<\/i> find Riddick&#8288;\u2026 what do I tell him about you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Oh God.<\/i> She was still planning on doing it, wasn\u2019t she?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It wouldn\u2019t work. Riddick was too good at slipping through the cracks. If she did get onto his trail, he might play cat-and-mouse with her if he was feeling amused, but he\u2019d never let her catch him and probably wouldn\u2019t even let her <i>see<\/i> him, unaware that they had any kind of connection and she wasn\u2019t just some green merc making a play for him. Jack and Kyra didn\u2019t actually <i>look<\/i> like they could be related, as much as they were sisters to the bone now. There was no obvious surface connection between them that anyone would intuit. Jack hoped Kyra had better options, and plans, at her disposal than looking for a fugitive who could go for <i>years<\/i> without being spotted if he chose.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick\u2019s words to her in the skiff, as they left the crash planet behind, came back to her. Why not? It was probably truer for her than it had been for him. And it wasn\u2019t like Kyra would ever really have a chance to pass the message on.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTell him Jack\u2019s dead,\u201d she said. \u201cShe wasn\u2019t strong enough to cut it in his world.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">This was, after all, the last day she could allow herself to be Jack B. Badd, even on the inside. <i>Jack B. Badd is dead, long live Audrey MacNamera&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra looked pained. She hadn\u2019t called Jack anything but \u201cTizzy\u201d in a while, but there was a terrible finality in what had just been said, and Jack suddenly realized that it might have cut deep.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Toal cleared his throat behind them, and they reluctantly pulled away.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAlways your sister,\u201d she promised Kyra.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAlways <i>your<\/i> sister,\u201d Kyra promised back.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">General Toal offered Jack a small package as Kyra stepped away. \u201cA good way to keep valuables safe. We use these in the Service. Godspeed, child.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He looked surprised when she gave him a hug.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThank you. For <i>everything,<\/i>\u201d she told him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019re welcome. Come back to us one day, once you can.\u201d There was genuine fondness in his eyes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A moment later, they were gone.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The package, Jack discovered, held a money belt, designed to lie flat against the body and conceal itself from most scrutiny. The material was the kind that deterred scans, too, in a way that <i>didn\u2019t<\/i> raise alarms. High-grade military stuff. She transferred her bearer cards and ID into it and put it on under her shirt. The only thing left in her pack that might draw scrutiny was the neurofeedback device, but Toal had provided her with medical documentation to show if anyone inquired.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She took her tablet out of the pack while she waited for the train and the lounge began to fill. There was something she had been curious about for a while. Activating her translation program, she set it to translate Tamazight into English, displaying text results in response to audio input.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c<i>A tafat-iw<\/i>,\u201d she whispered into the tablet\u2019s microphone. Ewan had called her that twice.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"center-block\"><tt>my light<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Wow. \u201c<i>Tayr-iw<\/i>,\u201d she whispered next. he had murmured that one when she\u2019d told everyone about the devastating moment when Riddick had outed her as a girl.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"center-block\"><tt>my love<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">No wonder Tafrara had given him an odd look. There was one more phrase he\u2019d used, both in Elsewhere and when they had said their final good-byes. Now she had butterflies in her stomach as she whispered it. \u201c<i>Ta\u1e25bibt-iw<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"center-block\"><tt>my beloved<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">General Toal had been right, she thought with awe. Ewan had never thought of her as his little sister, no matter how hard he might have tried to. She couldn\u2019t come back, or reach out to him, until she wouldn\u2019t <i>have<\/i> to be a sister anymore.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She took a deep breath. There was one more thing she needed to translate&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cAttention, all passengers departing for New Casablanca. Your train is arriving. Please have your boarding passes ready.\u201d<\/i> The announcement was in Arabic, followed a moment later by the same in Tamazight, then French, then English.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d have to translate it later.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She packed away the tablet and joined the queue, boarding a few minutes later and finding her seat. The process was orderly and efficient, especially compared to every transit ride she had taken on Deckard\u2019s World. There were so many little things she was going to miss&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Try not to think about it,<\/i> she told herself. <i>In less than five years, you can come back. It doesn\u2019t have to be forever.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her backpack stowed and her tablet back out, she decided that she was better off not whispering at it in Tamazight where her seatmates might hear. Instead, she pulled up one of the many catch-up modules she needed to work on if she didn\u2019t want to show up on Deckard\u2019s World significantly behind her old classmates, containing a twentieth-century novel she needed to read and two study guides on its interpretations.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She remained engrossed in the novel\u2014a portrayal of Arthurian legend from Merlin\u2019s perspective\u2014until \u201cafternoon tea\u201d was served.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">As she paid for a <i>bocadillo<\/i> and a small cup of <i>tayb wa hari<\/i>\u2014and, of course, a glass of mint tea\u2014a man passed through the aisle, brushing against the cart server and glancing back at the woman for just a moment before moving on. Jack\u2019s breath caught in her throat.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIs everything all right, Miss?\u201d The server asked her in Arabic, returning her card.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYes,\u201d Jack lied, giving her a tight smile and focusing on not stumbling over the Arabic words she needed to say. \u201cThank you. Everything\u2019s fine.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She settled back into her seat, for a moment unable to touch her food. The man had a thick beard and glasses, and he wore a <i>djellaba<\/i> with a <i>kufi<\/i> on his head instead of the Western clothes he normally wore, but she had recognized him nonetheless and her heart was still pounding.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Javor Makarov was on her train.<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4053\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4053 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-55\">\u00ab Chapter 55<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4120\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4120 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-57\">Chapter 57 \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=\"57\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4054\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4054 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-56\">\u00ab Chapter 56<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4121\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4121 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-58\">Chapter 58 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5519\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5519 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">57.<br\/>\r\n<u>The Last Stand of Jack B. Badd<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The moment Jack got off the train, she hurried into the nearest women\u2019s restroom, ducked into an empty stall, and isomorphed over into Elsewhere.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Passing back through the bathroom walls on the other side, she focused on the crowd of passengers in the process of disembarking in U1. Somewhere among them, Javor Makarov was lurking.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I need higher ground,<\/i> she thought, looking around. Everyone was going to have to file up a set of escalators to leave the train terminal and enter the spaceport. If she was waiting at the top, she would see him when he came up.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She took the escalator at a run, two phantom steps at a time, passing through the packed passengers in U1 as if they were holograms. Only a small handful of people had gotten to the top ahead of her, and none of them were dressed the way Makarov had been. Unless he\u2019d pulled a costume change en route, she\u2019d beaten him to the top.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her nerves were <i>screaming<\/i> as she scanned every passenger coming up the escalators. Families filed past her, solo travelers in both North African and Western attire, a group of kids being shepherded by an Imam who made her think, with a pang, of the boys from the <i>Hunter-Gratzner<\/i>, packs of offworld tourists looking self-consciously out of place&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;and, somewhere among them, a genuine monster moved unseen.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Just when she was starting to wonder if she\u2019d imagined it all, he appeared at the top of an escalator, carrying nothing but a briefcase.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was him. She hadn\u2019t imagined it. It was <i>him.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She followed him into the spaceport, her heart pounding again. She had to find some way to alert the authorities without exposing her abilities in the process. But how? He was disguised, and he probably had his Cam-Jam on him just in case. What was he <i>doing<\/i> there?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The next half hour, as he moved through the public spaces of the main terminal, didn\u2019t enlighten her. He avoided all the checkpoints, of which there still were far too few in her opinion, before sitting down in a lounge area near several food stands and settling in to wait. And wait.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Although New Casablanca was five hours ahead of New Marrakesh and its morning-day was already ending, Jack\u2019s departure wasn\u2019t scheduled until the close of the evening-day. She could wait him out. She <i>would<\/i> wait him out.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Finding a secluded, unmonitored alcove, she isomorphed back into U1 for a few minutes to buy herself some shawarma wraps from one of the food stands, already aware of how taxing it would become to keep U1\u2019s floors beneath her in Elsewhere. She had to stay sharp. She was back in Elsewhere well before the man Makarov was waiting for showed up.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The two men spoke Russian, and she couldn\u2019t understand a word they were saying. Fortunately, they weren\u2019t speaking quickly; the conversation was slow and full of pauses as they avoided being overheard by passers-by. Jack opened the translation program on her tablet and began repeating their words, phoneme by phoneme, into it. She sat only a foot away from them, cross-legged on the phantom floor, tablet in her lap, grabbing bites of shawarma during the frequent lulls in their conversation.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;the last equipment I can get you,\u201d the stranger was saying. \u201cYou\u2019ve run out of favors. Most people would turn you in for nothing at this point.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDoes that include you?\u201d Makarov asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou know it doesn\u2019t, brother. I owe you and I always will.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat about the money Quin&#173;tessa owes <i>me?\u201d<\/i> Makarov demanded, making Jack wish she could record conversations from the other side of the threshold. The tablet itself, a universe apart from the men, couldn\u2019t hear them at all even if she could. \u201cDid you get to it?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo, and I wouldn\u2019t try for it if I were you,\u201d the other man said. \u201cA picture of you in that fancy executive\u2019s entourage is circulating, and their PR department is going <i>insane<\/i> trying to \u2018disavow all knowledge of your crimes.\u2019 Their big fear is that someone could realize you were on their clock when you followed that colonel into the other spaceport and blew him up. The whispers are that they\u2019re considering taking out a contract on you themselves. Write it off. They\u2019d probably just use it as bait to lure you into a trap.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo they get some of my best work for free. Where does that leave me? I\u2019m in the hole.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI can get you work. You don\u2019t mind hatchet jobs, you\u2019ll be fine. There\u2019s even a market for more pictures and vids like the ones that got out, if you\u2019re inclined to make them for money. I even know a girl or two you could start with. There are people who\u2019ll pay extra because they know it\u2019s all <i>real<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Motherfucker.<\/i> Jack spat out the last bit of the shawarma roll she\u2019d been chewing when she read <i>that<\/i> translation, packing away the remaining three for later when her appetite could reappear.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSpeaking of which, what\u2019s the word on Pritchard?\u201d Makarov\u2019s voice turned poisonous for a moment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo one has seen him since a few hours after that colonel\u2019s memorial. The word is he went off to follow up on a lead he had. His comm traveled up and down the coast for a while, and stopped at several brothels, but no one at any of them remembers seeing him. Then some traveling businessman turned it in at a lost-and-found, claiming he\u2019d found it in his gear, a few hours before the police filed a warrant to track it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Good work, Robie,<\/i> Jack thought. He\u2019d managed to obscure any connection to him somehow.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSon of a bitch better hope I never find him&#8288;\u2026 any idea who he was sharing those files with?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNone yet. I\u2019m working on it, but whoever it was knew how to mask his location. I\u2019m not even sure he was really on Tangier Prime when he sent his packets.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFuck.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019ll keep digging. In the meantime, you need to get off this rock. I have everything you need in here. You\u2019re going to Gate 137. I\u2019ll walk you through the checkpoint and nobody will be the wiser. Are you jamming right now?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSwitch it off until you\u2019re past the checkpoint. People will notice.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Makarov reached into a pocket on the right side of his djellaba for a moment. \u201cDone.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Right pocket. Good to know.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">If Makarov had his Cam-Jam in there, she could take it from him. She was <i>damned good<\/i> at picking pockets, and access to Elsewhere had given her a few new tricks to play. She\u2019d have to wait until he switched it back on, maybe swap in something that was a similar size and weight. Then he hopefully wouldn\u2019t even notice it had gone missing&#8288;\u2026 and that he was no longer obscured from view on cameras.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A plan was forming in her head. She\u2019d steal the Cam-Jam and drop it down into Elsewhere, and then sound the alarm. He wouldn\u2019t be able to hide if security could follow his movements on camera, and he wouldn\u2019t realize that he didn\u2019t have that advantage if he thought the Cam-Jam was still tucked in his pocket. They\u2019d be able to corner him easily.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack stowed her tablet and headed out, moving to get ahead of Makarov since she already knew his planned destination. She needed two things, and she\u2019d be ready to make her move. Something a similar size and weight as the Cam-Jam&#8288;\u2026 and a disguise. Marianne Tepper couldn\u2019t be involved in any of what was about to happen, and neither could any of her other aliases. The person who sounded the alarm needed to appear to be someone completely random.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The back room of a nearby duty-free clothing store proved a godsend, providing Jack with a small flask roughly the right shape and weight to sub in for the Cam-Jam, a face-concealing <i>niqab<\/i>, and a long <i>abaya<\/i>. She stowed her backpack in an out-of-the-way corner of the room and changed quickly, isomorphing back into Elsewhere so she could find the best place to ambush Makarov as he made his way toward Gate 137.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I can do this,<\/i> she thought, palming the flask, mentally practicing the things she intended to say in Arabic as everything unfolded. Finding a concealed alcove, she isomorphed partway back, straddling U1 and Elsewhere and keeping the flask in Elsewhere, and began walking toward the checkpoint. Makarov was coming her way, his briefcase replaced by a larger case in his left hand and a duffel bag slung over his right shoulder. Perfect&#8288;\u2014 his right pocket was unguarded.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She turned, pretending to look at some of the decorations on the walls above, before \u201caccidentally\u201d bumping into him. Her hand slid into his pocket, isomorphing the flask back into U1 and dropping it while grasping the other item inside and moving it to Elsewhere.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh, I\u2019m so sorry!\u201d she said in Arabic. Her hand was free. To Makarov\u2014if he\u2019d noticed it near his pocket at all\u2014it would appear empty. She risked a swift glance at the Cam-Jam in her grasp before she released it and let it fall through the floor. She\u2019d grabbed the right thing. \u201cI wasn\u2019t looking where I was going&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Makarov looked annoyed but was trying to move away, grumbling in Russian. She gasped and went still.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s <i>him!\u201d<\/i> she shrieked, still in Arabic, raising her other hand to point after Makarov. \u201cIt\u2019s the Spaceport Bomber! It\u2019s him! I know that face! He bombed New Marrakesh! He\u2019s the raper of little girls! It\u2019s him!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">People were staring. Several were looking more closely at Makarov. A few began to point as well.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMadam?\u201d a man asked in Arabic, using the word she\u2019d heard shopkeepers use with Lajjun in stores. She turned. A spaceport employee was frowning at her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat man! It\u2019s him! It\u2019s the Spaceport Bomber! He has a beard now but it\u2019s <i>him!\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cExcuse me, Sir, could you stop for a moment, please&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Makarov took off at a run.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">In the ensuing commotion, no one noticed when Jack slipped away to her alcove and isomorphed the rest of the way back into Elsewhere. She pulled off the <i>niqab<\/i> and <i>abaya<\/i> and hurried back to the clothing shop\u2019s back room, returning to U1, dropping them by their respective racks and retrieving her backpack. Now she just had to watch and make sure Makarov didn\u2019t get away.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She stayed in Elsewhere as she followed the commotion, running flat-out to catch up and hopefully get ahead.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Makarov had briefly lost the handful of spaceport employees who had chased after him. They were milling about, one of them speaking to security on her comm and asking for guidance.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>If his Cam-Jam was still working, there wouldn\u2019t be any,<\/i> Jack thought. Now. Where was he?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She ran ahead, imagining which corridor <i>she<\/i> would duck down if she were trying to hide but wasn\u2019t worried about cameras.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The overnoon hours had arrived for New Casablanca, and although the enormous spaceport remained busy, many of the hallways were quiet and even deserted. Jack found Makarov in the third one she checked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He was crouching down with the larger case, which he\u2019d apparently exchanged his briefcase for after she\u2019d left, open before him. Inside, he had an <i>arsenal.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Oh, fuck.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">As Jack watched, he armed himself with multiple guns and&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Oh <b>fuck!<\/b> Grenades?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">To his side, a camera stared down balefully. He ignored it, undoubtedly assuming it was blinded, as he finished strapping on the guns, pocketing explosives and spare clips of ammunition. He\u2019d taken off his <i>djellaba<\/i> and <i>kufi<\/i>. Opening the duffel bag, he ripped off the fake beard he\u2019d been wearing, cursing in Russian as he did so. He pulled a <i>tagelmust<\/i> out of the bag, wrapping it around his head and covering his face with swift efficiency. A moment later, he had a new <i>djellaba<\/i>, in a different style, concealing his arsenal. He didn\u2019t even glance at the flask that had replaced his Cam-Jam as he pulled it out of the old <i>djellaba\u2019s<\/i> pocket and transferred it to the new one, still on his right side. He dropped two more grenades into the <i>djellaba\u2019s<\/i> left pocket.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Security was seeing everything; Jack was certain of it. They knew how he\u2019d changed his ap&#173;pearance&#8288;\u2026 and they also knew that he was well armed and extremely dan&#173;gerous&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;and had <i>fucking grenades.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Everything was unraveling. Jack felt nauseated. In front of her, Makarov rose from his crouch, closing the arms case and kicking it to the side, and began to stroll out into the corridor with just his plain black duffel bag. If that had still been a Cam-Jam in his pocket, he would have become unrecognizable. But the fact that Security knew what he looked like was countered by the weaponry he had at his disposal, and he <i>knew<\/i> they were looking for him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I fucked this up. God, I fucked this whole thing up&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A large group of people must have just disembarked from a flight. As Jack watched, her stomach plummeting, Makarov inserted himself into the group. Its members were talking and laughing, blithely unaware, making Jack think of a herd of sheep that hadn\u2019t even noticed a mountain lion slipping into their midst&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cStop right there! Nobody move!\u201d The order was shouted in multiple languages as heavily armed security officers appeared in the hallway ahead, weapons drawn.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Several members of the group shrieked in fear as they came to a stop. Many of them flung their arms above their heads\u2014obscuring Makarov from the sight of the security staff in the process\u2014while a few dropped to the ground. A small child began wailing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Children. There were <i>children<\/i> in the middle of what was about to turn into an <i>armed stand-off&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>No, no no no no&#8288;\u2026<\/i> She had to stop this. How the fuck could she stop this?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cEveryone down on the ground!\u201d Again, the command was shouted in multiple languages. The terrified travelers began to comply.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Makarov didn\u2019t wait for them to give the officers a clear shot at <i>him.<\/i> He began shooting before they were out of his way, his weapons set to fully automatic fire.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Screams broke out in the crowd. Jack heard herself screaming, too, as she watched an elderly man, who had been struggling to lower himself to the floor, torn to pieces by the flurry of bullets. The rounds struck several more travelers on their way to the security officers. <i>They<\/i> had body armor, but it wasn\u2019t good enough for whatever kind of high-powered ammunition Makarov was using. Some of them flew backwards from the impact, and one of them <i>suddenly had no face.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Oh God, oh <b>fuck<\/b>&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Several officers fired back, even as they ducked behind whatever cover they could find. All their shots went wide, one striking a man in a pilot\u2019s uniform who had rushed out of a side corridor in response to the screams.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cBaba!\u201d<\/i> a woman wailed in Arabic. <i>Papa.<\/i> She had crawled over to the old man and was cradling his bloody remains. Improbably, he was still breathing, scarlet foam bubbling from his lips. \u201cSomeone help me! Papa! Don\u2019t die! Oh, God help me! Papa!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Makarov discarded one of his guns and then grabbed a crouching woman by her veiled hair, hauling her up as she shrieked in terror and pain. Holding her as a shield between himself and the surviving officers, he dragged her backwards out of the group, one gun still out and ready to fire.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>He has a hostage&#8288;\u2026 Oh fuck&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Makarov swung his gun around, clearing a path back toward the flight gates as terrified onlookers screamed and flung themselves to the floor. Alarms had begun to keen overhead as he wrestled his captive down the hallway, roaring \u201cI will fucking shoot her!\u201d in Arabic when one of the officers moved to follow him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A middle-aged woman, kneeling on the floor, was wailing, \u201cNadia! Nadia!\u201d with her arms reaching out toward Makarov\u2019s hostage. A little boy next to her began to cry.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMama!\u201d he sobbed. \u201cMama!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Oh no&#8288;\u2026 oh no no no no no&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Still in Elsewhere, barely able to breathe, Jack ran after Makarov. Could she grab Nadia away from him somehow? She had to stop this. None of this was supposed to happen.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Makarov dragged Nadia into an elegant lounge area beneath a suspended sculpture of a winged horse, where several corridors met and where balconies on a higher level looked down over the area. Too late, Jack saw the armed men in position above him, less than a second before Makarov realized they were there, too.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He let go of Nadia as he raised his gun, his freed hand plunging into his left pocket.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Oh fuck, the grenades&#8288;\u2014<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">In a thunderous roar, multiple weapons opened fire from several directions above him. Makarov and Nadia both convulsed as they were struck by dozens of bullets.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">An armed grenade dropped from Makarov\u2019s hand and rolled free.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cCOVER!\u201d<\/i> someone shouted in Arabic, right before a blinding flash filled the space and&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She found herself lying on nothing, suspended several meters above the ground in Elsewhere by a phantom floor in U1 that had somehow <i>tilted<\/i> slightly. Even through the veil between \u2019verses, the concussive force of the explosion had struck her, hammered at her through her connection to U1. Her ears were ringing. She forced herself to sit up, looking around. For a moment, everything was random, dark shapes, bright blobs&#8288;\u2026 she made herself focus.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">In Elsewhere, below her, strange primordial animals looked quizzically up at her from a pastoral grassland. She hadn\u2019t even noticed them before, so focused on U1.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">U1&#8288;\u2026 was&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Hell.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Intense beams of sunlight sifted down through the smoke and dust where parts of the concourse ceiling had collapsed. Power had gone out in the hallways, and even the emergency lights had been taken out by the force of the blast. Everything was a horrible chiaroscuro of too-bright overnoon sunlight and utter darkness. Bodies, and parts of bodies, lay on the broken floor.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Where Makarov and Nadia had fallen under the hail of bullets, there was now a dark, gaping hole at least three meters wide. Black smoke wafted upward from it. The Pegasus sculpture had fallen into it, one scorched wing protruding. The horse\u2019s head had broken off and stared accusingly at her from atop the smoldering carpet.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The air was full of agonized screams and groans.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She turned away for a moment, falling to her knees and vomiting everything left in her stomach down onto the peaceful meadow below her. She heaved for several long moments before she forced herself to stand back up, turn around&#8288;\u2026 and look at her handiwork.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I did this,<\/i> she thought, still feeling a need to puke even though there was nothing left. <i>This is my fault.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Makarov\u2019s grenade had been powerful; it must have set off the other explosives he\u2019d been carrying as well. The explosion wasn\u2019t as nearly as big as the one he\u2019d detonated in New Marrakesh, but&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Someone must have shut off the Hydrolox-M fuel lines when they heard who was in the spaceport; no fire had broken out. But&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But things were terrible enough as it was.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The balconies that the security officers had fired from had collapsed, taking them down to the main floor. Broken bodies, most unmoving, were scattered at each of the hallway entries, half buried under rubble. A few groaned; one man sobbed for his mother.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Just when she isomorphed back into U1, she was never sure later. She found herself beside the sobbing man, trying to lever huge chunks of masonry off of him. \u201cStay still,\u201d she told him in Arabic. \u201cI\u2019m going to get you out&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Someone started helping her heave the debris away. \u201cCareful,\u201d the owner of the hands said, in English. \u201cWe don\u2019t know how badly he\u2019s been hurt&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She nodded, trying not to keep her movements slow and careful.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cStop,\u201d the man helping her suddenly gasped. \u201cDear God&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The remaining piece of masonry on top of the sobbing man, she realized with horror, was jammed into his abdomen. They couldn\u2019t remove it without disemboweling him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGet it out of me,\u201d he wailed in front of her. Just like Owens&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh no, no no no no no&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d This man was dying because of her. All these dead bodies were her doing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cCome on,\u201d her helper said, his arms around her and pulling her back away from the dying man. \u201cYou shouldn\u2019t have to see this. Are you hurt?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She looked up at him for the first time as he helped her stand. For a moment she thought Owens\u2019 ghost had found her. The man had a similar look to him. He wore a Sirius Shipping jumpsuit and had a Captain\u2019s badges. He looked like he was maybe a few years older than her dad.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She shook her head. \u201cNo, I\u2019m not \u2026&#8288;in&#173;jured&#8288;\u2026 I got knocked over, but&#8288;\u2026 that was it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A horrible, cold, calculating part of herself kept thinking that it was <i>good<\/i> that the cameras had gone down already, so nothing would have caught her transitioning back from another \u2019verse in all the confusion. Her secrets were still safe, including how she\u2019d survived the blast, even if&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Even if dozens of people had died because she was too busy protecting <i>herself<\/i> and her <i>secrets<\/i> to just <i>tell someone what she knew<\/i> instead of setting off a dis&#173;aster&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSame here. I heard the commotion, and then&#8288;\u2026 for a moment I was afraid it was a repeat of what happened in New Marrakesh. But I just got knocked off my feet.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>It almost <b>was<\/b> a repeat&#8288;\u2026 and that was <b>my<\/b> doing&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Part of her wanted to confess it all, tell him that this was all her fault. But the secrets she had to keep had even more lives in the balance: hundreds, possibly millions. As much as she wanted to come clean, she couldn\u2019t. She just nodded.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I should\u2019ve called General Toal. Why didn\u2019t I call General Toal? He would\u2019ve known what to do. Something <b>smart<\/b> to do&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Why had she ever thought she was any good at this shit?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Emergency teams were pouring into the area. The captain, keeping an arm around her as he walked her out of the blast zone, directed one of the teams to the man pinned under the rubble, warning them of what they were going to find. They were in the midst of a triage area, nerve-slashing screams coming from different parts of the dim hallway as paramedics labored over mangled bodies. She saw Nadia\u2019s mother and son, hugging each other tightly and sobbing loudly, off to one side.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Nadia, she knew, would never be coming back to them. They would hold out hope of a miracle for a while, given the probability that nothing was left of her body to show them&#8288;\u2026 but she was gone.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i><b>I<\/b> killed her&#8288;\u2026<\/i> And not just her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHere,\u201d the captain said to her a moment later. \u201cLet\u2019s get you checked in&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She blinked, looking around. He had led her to a door out of the concourse, out of the building altogether. People were bustling around outside, directing emergency vehicles. Someone had set up a table, and a woman was seated behind it, talking to a family in front of her and taking notes. The captain walked her over to the table.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cCaptain Curtis Bevan,\u201d he told the woman when the family moved away and she looked up at them. \u201cI\u2019m captain of the <i>Pleiades Jewel.<\/i> I found this girl in the blast zone, trying to help a man who was crushed under debris. I\u2019m going to go back in to assist the rescue crews. Can you help her?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOf course,\u201d the woman said, noting down <tt>Curtis Bevan, Captain, <i>Pleiades Jewel<\/i>, helping rescue crews<\/tt> on her tablet. \u201cYoung lady, can you tell me your name, please? I\u2019ll help you reconnect with whoever you\u2019re missing.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Almost half a dozen names tried to crowd their way into her mouth all at once.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou remember your name, don\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She nodded, her mouth terribly dry.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She couldn\u2019t say Audrey MacNamera. Even more people would die if she did. She couldn\u2019t say Jack B. Badd, either, for the same reason. A big part of her wanted to say Tislilel Meziane, but that would lead to disaster, too. Piper Finch could also ring alarm bells, even though she\u2019d barely used that alias&#8288;\u2026 especially if the woman in front of her had ever read any of the <i>Ginny Lane, Kid Spy<\/i> novels and remembered the name of Ginny\u2019s inventor best friend. There was only one name left that was safe to give.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cM&#8288;\u2026&#8288;Marianne,\u201d she managed after a moment, and reached into the belt under her shirt, pulling out her ID. \u201cMarianne Tepper.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was, in truth, the only name left for her until she was back on Deckard\u2019s World and became Audrey again. One name had never really been hers, and the other two were lost to her forever.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She had been wrong, she realized, when she\u2019d told Kyra that Jack was dead. Jack hadn\u2019t died yet at that point. Jack had had one heinous crime left in her to commit on her way out.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack B. Badd hadn\u2019t just unleashed this horror on New Casablanca. She\u2019d committed a far more intimate atrocity at the same time, an existential murder-suicide.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">As her final act, Jack B. Badd had murdered Tislilel Meziane.<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4054\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4054 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-56\">\u00ab Chapter 56<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4121\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4121 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-58\">Chapter 58 \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=\"58\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4055\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4055 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-57\">\u00ab Chapter 57<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4122\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4122 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-59\">Chapter 59 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5522\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5522 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">58.<br\/>\r\n<u>No Name but What They Call Her<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For several hours, she didn\u2019t do much more than sit quietly.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Comms were out, all the civilian frequencies co-opted for emergency use. All flights, both air and space, were either grounded or rerouted. Everyone who had been at the spaceport and had a nearby home they could return to, and hadn\u2019t joined the relief efforts, had been asked to check in as safe and go home. Tents had been set up on one of the runways for stranded passengers. She had been among the first sent to a tent, once a medic confirmed that none of the blood on her was her own.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She sat, unmoving, unblinking, <i>unthinking<\/i>, for a while as other people filed in and joined her, some of them dusty, a few bloodstained, but many of them not even slightly disheveled and expressing insensitive irritation about the delays to their schedules.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She couldn\u2019t get mad at them, though. <i>They<\/i> weren\u2019t the ones who had caused this.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sometime after her arrival under the tent, a harried mother had come in with two small children who were crying and whining about being hungry. The three shawarma wraps in her pack were still warm at that point, and she\u2019d handed them over to the mother, shrugging and saying that she had no appetite anymore when asked why she didn\u2019t want them. Another group of fretting children got Lalla\u2019s snack bag a while later.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was exhausted, but too afraid to sleep. Nightmares would be waiting for her if she ventured out of the <i>Apeiros<\/i> starfield. And if she stayed there, she would have to explain to <i>them<\/i> what she had done.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The events played out over and over in her head as she picked apart everything that she had done wrong, hating herself even more with each repetition.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d left too soon, before she saw the exchange of weapons case and briefcase, before she\u2019d known that there was a deadly arsenal at Makarov\u2019s disposal. But even so, she should have realized that he would be armed, dangerous, and willing to kill anyone who stood between himself and freedom. She had <i>known<\/i> he was a monster.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It wasn\u2019t like she was new to being around dangerous men. It wasn\u2019t like he was the first monster in a man\u2019s body she\u2019d ever encountered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Would Riddick have done the same thing in Makarov\u2019s place? He\u2019d been ruthless and deadly in the docking bay of the <i>Kublai Khan,<\/i> although the only civilians in the place had been Imam and her, and his violence had been at least partly in their defense. If someone had cornered him in a public spaceport, with children and families all around him, would he have sur&#173;rendered&#8288;\u2026 or gone down shooting, without regard for collateral damage, like Makarov?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There had been a time when she had thought she knew the answer to that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Had she expected Makarov to act like her childish fantasy version of Riddick? Was her crush on one killer what had led to her fucking up so spectacularly when trying to lead authorities to another?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I should\u2019ve called General Toal&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d had the emergency comm number. He\u2019d only <i>just given it to her<\/i> that morning-day. And while he probably would have never anticipated her needing to use it quite so soon, Makarov had been high-profile enough to warrant it. Toal would have known how to apprehend him without anyone getting hurt. Why hadn\u2019t she just called him?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Because I\u2019m no good at any of this shit. I was wrong to ever think I was.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d let herself get an inflated head about her successes, but how much of those were really hers? What had she done, herself, that was so great?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra and Tomlin had rescued the <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i> passengers. She\u2019d just been dead weight for most of the journey after overexerting herself moving the shuttles around.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d acted like a brain-dead fool when Pritchard invaded the apartment. Kyra and Sebby had saved her, and Kyra had almost been killed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan was probably the only reason she\u2019d come back alive from the morgue heist. She\u2019d almost stranded him in a whole other universe as thanks.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d gone off half-cocked chasing down the apeirochorons and had almost been caught stealing the boxes\u2019 contents. Then she\u2019d just about broken her leg escaping. Not to mention that her thieving had somehow led to a Star Jumper getting imploded.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">General Toal had orchestrated the release of Pritchard\u2019s files. Left to her own devices, she would have undoubtedly fucked that up as well.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her brilliant idea for taking Sebby home had been for Kyra and her to walk their youngest sister back up onto the lower slopes of the New Atlas Mountains, on foot, carrying an olive tree to plant along with all the gardening tools needed to plant it. Burdened like that, they\u2019d never have made it out of the New Marrakesh suburbs. Sebby\u2019s reunion with Mommy Ree had only happened because the Meziane family took over with a much better plan.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>All<\/i> of her so-called brilliant ideas, she decided, had been half-baked messes. It had been the intervention of others\u2014Kyra, Tomlin, Ewan, General Toal, the Mezianes\u2014that had saved all of them from failure. Hell, in just a few hours, Iz\u00eel and Tafrara had already become better at manipulating the threshold between U1 and Elsewhere than she\u2019d been until <i>weeks<\/i> had passed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Everything she\u2019d patted herself on the back for had been someone else\u2019s achievement.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>No wonder Riddick turned his back on me.<\/i> She was glad he\u2019d run out before she could accidentally engineer his destruction.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was, she thought, dangerous for anyone to be around her. She invited calamity, and she\u2019d been dumb enough to believe she could handle it. That was probably the real reason General Toal had begun rushing her offworld. She was a danger to everyone around her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was a miracle that the <i>ait Meziane<\/i> house had still been standing when she\u2019d left it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">News slowly filtered into the tents about the calamity. Twenty-three confirmed deaths, sixteen people missing, fifty-four injured, six of them critical and not expected to survive. Javor Makarov and his hostage, a young mother from New Isfahan named Nadia Heydari, were among the missing and, given what the last few seconds of security footage showed and their immediate proximity to the blast, were presumed dead. There was probably nothing left of either of their bodies to find.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She had no idea where Nadia\u2019s son and mother had been taken. They weren\u2019t in her tent. She didn\u2019t think she could have kept it together if they had been.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was her fault that a little boy would never see his mother again. Her fault that an old man had been torn to pieces by Marakov\u2019s bullets&#8288;\u2026 and that another man had been crying for his mother while dying slowly&#8288;\u2026 her fault dozens of more times over&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>She<\/i> was the monster in all of this.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Although only one concourse had been damaged, the whole spaceport was provisionally shut down for the next full Tangier day while a thorough search of the entire facility was conducted. Makarov was a known terrorist, after all, who had already leveled part of another spaceport and might have been intending to do the same in New Casablanca; every corner and niche of every room and hallway was being checked for explosives. Limited service would resume once the search had been completed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She would never reach the <i>Nephrite Undine<\/i> in time for its planned departure window.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Part of her, the cold part she suddenly hated with a passion, reflected that she would need to come up with a new plan, and soon, if she intended to stay ahead of the Operatives on their way to Tangier Prime, who would now be interested in more than just the events that had transpired in New Marrakesh. She would need a new destination, a way to break her trail again, and then a new route back to Deckard\u2019s World under a new identity, once she was sure her trail was broken.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Maybe, she thought with a brief flash of bitter humor, she\u2019d manage to return to her mom\u2019s house before her <i>sixteenth<\/i> birthday&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I fuck up everything I touch.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Someone finally brought food to the tent as the shadows grew in length. By then, although she still felt queasy and hollow, she was able to choke something down and was aware that she needed to. It wasn\u2019t anything fancy, but she doubted she\u2019d have been able to tell, or enjoy it, if it had been. It did its job.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Shortly after that, the comms came back for a few minutes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her comm and tablet both chimed, signaling the arrival of dozens of call notifications and messages. Everyone in the Meziane family had tried to reach her during the last few hours, asking if she was all right and if she had been anywhere near the new disaster. The messages grew more and more frantic as the hours passed. Ewan had left several, the suppressed anguish in his voice tearing at her so much that she couldn\u2019t listen past his first.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">How was she going to explain this to him? To any of them? Once they knew what she\u2019d done, what she really was, would any of them ever want to see her again?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Finally she sent one text-only message in answer, to Ewan\u2019s normal comm number. She could never use the emergency number, she told herself. Not ever.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt>This is my fault. I\u2019m so sorry. I didn\u2019t mean for anybody to get hurt. Please forgive me.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The comms went out again right after she hit <tt>send<\/tt>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sighing, she packed the tablet away again, keeping her comm out as she lay down on the cot she\u2019d been assigned. Suddenly she wished she could delete the message. There were no words in the \u2019verse that could undo the damage she\u2019d done, or even apologize for it. Forty-five people were dead or dying, another forty-eight maimed. Her body count exceeded <i>Kyra\u2019s.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">As dusk fell, she tried to sleep.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Audrey?<\/i> The <i>Apeiros<\/i> were waiting for her, agitated. <i>Are you well? What has happened?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI can\u2019t&#8288;\u2026 I can\u2019t talk about it&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d she told them, struggling to find her voice even in her bodiless form.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>How can we help? What can we do?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And suddenly, undone by their concern, with any need to hide her secrets stripped away in their space, it all flooded out.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">In that strange place, the tears she hadn\u2019t managed to shed for hours and the screams that she\u2019d been bottling up burst loose, jarring the spangled darkness of their starfield. She felt them listening, their agitation only growing, until she had exhausted the flow and it finally stopped. She had managed to contain it to their world-between-worlds; back in the physical world, her body had stayed still, her voice had remained silent, and no tears had escaped.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Still&#8288;\u2026 while it had been cathartic for her, how terrible it must have been for <i>them<\/i> to witness.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI tried to get a dangerous man captured,\u201d she finally explained once she had the energy to speak, wondering how she could still float in their space when she was so <i>heavy.<\/i> She was a black hole. \u201cHe had killed a lot of people, and everyone was looking for him. I found him and I tried to&#8288;\u2026 get him ar&#173;rested&#8288;\u2026 but&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Apparently she hadn\u2019t worked through all the tears or screams yet.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>What happened with him?<\/i> they asked when she calmed down again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe killed more people, so many people&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>We are sorry.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou don\u2019t understand. It\u2019s <i>my<\/i> fault he killed them. They died because of <i>me<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They still didn\u2019t understand.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The conversation circled, she wasn\u2019t sure for how long. They tried to reassure her that all her broodmates still lived, that Kyra was well and dreaming of a world with three suns, and that the new larvae that she had seeded herself into were strong and growing&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;the <i>what?<\/i>&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They weren\u2019t sure what that left that she could be upset about. Had the one she wished to mate with been among those who had died?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">When she told them that no, he was fine, none of the people she\u2019d counted as family on Tangier Prime had been in harm\u2019s way, they only became confused again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The conversation circled. Once they understood that those who had been killed or injured were strangers, they perversely treated it as an admirable thing that she cared so much about their fates.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou don\u2019t <i>understand,\u201d<\/i> she told them again. \u201cIt\u2019s my fault any of them were hurt at <i>all<\/i>, I wasn\u2019t careful enough, I wasn\u2019t thinking enough about others&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A rapid succession of soft chimes by her ear brought her back to wakefulness.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The comms were working again. Messages to her were pouring in.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Other comms were chiming in the dimly lit tent. She sat up and opened hers. More than a dozen additional messages had arrived during the second outage, and even more were arriving.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Oh fuck.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sudden dread suffused her. She didn\u2019t want to read or hear any of the recriminations that must have been sent by then. She powered the comm down without reading or listening to any of them. Then she did the same to her tablet, shoving both devices deep into her pack. According to the time on the comm before she shut it off, it was an hour after local sunset, almost time for dinner in New Casablanca and lunchtime in New Marrakesh. If disaster hadn\u2019t struck&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Disaster didn\u2019t strike. I did.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2014&#8288;if she hadn\u2019t fucked things up, she would have been finding something to eat and then going to her departure gate to await the arrival of the shuttle to the Sirius Shipping HQ, after a carefree day of people-watching and window-shopping&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSomething\u2019s landing,\u201d a neighbor said, and almost everyone in the tent hurried to the open side so they could see. She joined them a moment later.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It looked like a slow-moving falling star, heading for the spaceport. They watched as it descended, resolving into a small spacecraft that touched down on a landing pad a few runways over and began rolling away toward one of the undamaged concourses.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The people around her began speculating about who was on board. Someone important enough to be able to land even though the spaceport was closed, clearly. Soon everyone had a theory. <i>She<\/i> wondered if it was Federacy investigators arriving onsite. Who else would be able to come in during a total lockdown?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Food arrived soon after. She overheard one of her neighbors telling everyone that restaurateurs across New Casablanca were sending meals for stranded passengers and relief workers. Additional aid was flying in from other cities and would begin arriving soon.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She could still barely taste the <i>maakouda<\/i> and <i>harira<\/i> she was given, but everyone else seemed to be enjoying it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Copters began to arrive not long after the meal ended, touching down on different runways but staying a good distance from the spaceport. She could see different aid groups setting up bases around their transports. The spaceport had yet to be cleared as safe, and anything potentially combustible\u2014including aircraft and spacecraft\u2014was being kept far away from it until it was.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe\u2019re looking for Marianne Tepper. Has anyone seen her?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A severe-looking man in an expensive suit, accompanied by several others in the uniforms of spaceport security, had entered the tent. He looked around.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHas anyone seen Marianne Tepper? She\u2019s listed as having been sent here.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her heart was dropping as she stood up and lifted her hand. \u201cThat\u2019s me. I\u2019m Marianne Tepper.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe need you to come with us, please.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d been found out.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Taking a deep breath, she picked up her backpack and made her way over to the group at the tent\u2019s edge. There was no point trying to run or deny anything, even if she had wanted to.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Honestly, it was a relief.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYour ID?\u201d he asked her as she reached him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s in my money belt. I need to reach under my shirt to get it. Is that okay?\u201d She didn\u2019t want the armed officers with him to panic at her movements after everything that had already happened. Nobody in the tent deserved any more terror.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He nodded. She retrieved her ID and handed it to him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The man looked it over and nodded. \u201cThis way, please.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The spaceport security officers formed a phalanx around them as the man escorted her back into the spaceport. No one spoke. She hadn\u2019t really expected they would. They were probably glad she was cooperating and not forcing them to make a scene in front of all the traumatized people in the tent. She\u2019d let things stay that way.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">What, she wondered, had tipped them off? Had a security camera caught her isomorphing without her knowledge? Maybe the fact that she\u2019d been on the train, but had never passed through a security checkpoint after getting off, had raised a flag. There were a dozen ways that she could have blown her \u201ccover\u201d that she hadn\u2019t even thought of until this moment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Just more proof that I am no good at all at this cloak-and-dagger shit&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And now they had her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She would cooperate, she decided. She\u2019d answer most of their questions as honestly as she could. The only lies she would tell would be about her abilities and where they had come from&#8288;\u2026 and how she had gotten to Tangier Prime in the first place. Marianne Tepper had supposedly arrived half a Standard year before the <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i> accident and had been backpacking around the New Atlas Mountains for a few months after graduating college and before applying for a job with Sirius Shipping. She remembered all the details, and she would stick to them. They would never know she had any connection to the Meziane family, to the <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i> or the <i>Hunter-Gratzner,<\/i> or to Audrey MacNamera&#8288;\u2026 but she would cooperate with whatever else they wanted from her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And, if they had figured out that she was an esper and were turning her over to the Federacy for Quantification, she would let them. The worlds might be a lot better off, she reflected, if she was on a tight leash.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That made her wonder, abruptly, if the man in the suit was an Operative. Had he been homing in on her? She couldn\u2019t bring herself to reach out and try to touch his mind to see. Instead, even though she was telling herself to surrender peacefully, she found herself practicing the \u201ctricks\u201d she and Kyra had learned not long before, to try to quiet her mind into a baseline pattern. Not that she was especially <i>good<\/i> at that&#8288;\u2026 and it was probably too late.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was a long walk. The spaceport was enormous, huge concourses branching off in multiple directions, and none of the moving walkways were operational. She could see different crews\u2014bomb squads\u2014at work as they walked past, checking for explosive devices in various locations, leaving small bright green tags on everything they had vetted as safe. They had started with the concourse that the standoff had unfolded in and were moving outward to cover the undamaged parts of the spaceport.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">As her escort led her through the enormous main terminal and toward one of the other concourses, she saw General Toal standing among a group of high-ranking military officers. For a moment, their eyes met. His widened as he took in the armed guards surrounding her, and he took a step toward her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She lifted one hand slightly in a staying gesture and shook her head. <i>Don\u2019t stop this. I deserve whatever\u2019s going to happen.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He paused, frowning, and the security detail swept her away, into the concourse and over to a side hallway.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She didn\u2019t realize she was being taken to the control tower until she stepped out into it, a short elevator ride later. Only four of the security officers had accompanied her and her escort up; the elevator didn\u2019t have room for the rest.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIs this her?\u201d a man asked as they entered the control room. He sounded angry. Of <i>course<\/i> he\u2019d be angry, given what she\u2019d done.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt is, yes,\u201d her unnamed escort replied. \u201cI appreciate your cooperation.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAp&#173;pre&#173;ciate&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d the other man, clearly one of the flight controllers, scoffed. \u201cTry appreciating <i>this<\/i>. We have a disaster on our hands, and you come in here throwing your weight around like it\u2019s just another day in your cushy office&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou need to understand the urgency of the situation,\u201d her escort snapped back, his own voice sharpening. \u201cA great deal is at stake here. You can\u2019t possibly comprehend how much. We need her on-site as soon as possible&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, all hail our exalted puppet-masters,\u201d the controller growled. \u201cI\u2019ve been ordered to cooperate, and <i>I am cooperating,<\/i> but you could show a little fucking humanity about what we\u2019ve been through. You don\u2019t even <i>know<\/i> how bad it is here.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe may not know,\u201d a familiar voice said off to the side, \u201cbut she does.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Captain Bevan emerged from behind a partition. He looked like he\u2019d slept in his uniform and had only recently awakened. Both men frowned at him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cRight after the explosion, I found her trying to dig one of your security guards out of the rubble,\u201d he said, glancing at the controller. \u201cThat Idrissi fellow. How\u2019s he holding up?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe\u2019s still in surgery, but they now say he\u2019s expected to live. I thought <i>you<\/i> saved him.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShe was with him when I arrived on the scene, and she had already gotten most of the debris off of him.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Two of the guards began whispering to each other. The coldness on her escort\u2019s face had vanished when he looked at her again. \u201cI didn\u2019t realize you were part of the search and rescue effort.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI wasn\u2019t&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShe was in shock. I escorted her out of the blast zone and turned her over to outside personnel for treatment. I had no idea who she was at the time.\u201d Captain Bevan took her hand. \u201cI\u2019m sorry you\u2019ve had to go through all this.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Wait, what? <i>He<\/i> was sorry? What was happening? With one small gesture, she no longer understood any of what was going on.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The controller rubbed his forehead and grimaced. \u201cOkay. You\u2019ve made your point. Take her and go. And no more of the whole \u2018we appreciate your cooperation\u2019 bullshit. I\u2019ve heard it before. You\u2019re cleared for launch.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWill you be joining us?\u201d her escort\u2014she focused on his name tag, which identified him as H. Abecassis\u2014asked Bevan.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The captain shook his head. \u201cI\u2019m going to stay with the <i>Jewel.<\/i> We haven\u2019t taken our passengers out of cryo yet, and they\u2019ve asked us not to until at least tomorrow. I want to be there when they wake up. They\u2019ll have a lot of questions. Milliken will handle the launch, and we <i>do<\/i>&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d He glanced pointedly over at the controller. \u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;appre&#173;&#173;ci&#173;ate the aid supplies you brought down with you, Mr. Abecassis.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The controller grumbled but gave a curt nod of his head.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Abecassis nodded. \u201cPlease come this way, Miss Tepper.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Misstepper&#8288;\u2026 mis-stepper&#8288;\u2026 Miss Tepper&#8288;\u2026<\/i> Her brain stuttered over the name for a moment and then she nodded, following him in confusion. She glanced back at Bevan, still bewildered. He raised his hand in farewell, and she raised hers back.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Back down the elevator and through another cor&#173;ridor&#8288;\u2026 to a departure gate?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The rest of the security detail was waiting there, now augmented. They nodded at Abecassis and moved aside from the gate to let the two of them pass. But none of them moved to flank her again or follow them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Abecassis, alone, escorted her down the boarding ramp and through the doorway of&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">What <i>was<\/i> this? It looked like the interior of a fancy private plane from a twentieth century movie.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u2026&#8288;the fuck?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He handed her back her ID. \u201cI really do appreciate your cooperation, Miss Tepper. We\u2019ve been trying to reach you for hours, but I know the comms system has been down for most of the evening-day. I\u2019m to take you directly to HQ and the <i>Nephrite Undine.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u2026&#8288;oh.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She wasn\u2019t being arrested. Far from it. Sirius Shipping had sent a shuttle <i>just for<\/i> <i>her<\/i>&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She had to throttle the impulse to burst out laughing&#8288;\u2026 or burst into tears.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSorry, I&#8288;\u2026 I\u2019m still a little in shock, I guess.\u201d She was struggling against the sudden need to blurt out that she was a fraud, an imposter, and so much <i>worse<\/i> than that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cUnderstandable. Our Chief of Operations lent us the use of his personal craft. Please feel free to make use of any of its amenities.\u201d Abecassis gave her a thin but warm smile. \u201cFor now, though, please strap in. We\u2019ll be launching shortly.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The seats were luxurious, she realized as she strapped into one of them after stowing her pack. Everything around her was top of the line, the height of opulence.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Perversely, she felt she\u2019d have been more comfortable in a holding cell.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I don\u2019t deserve this,<\/i> she thought, as the craft rolled away from the gate and prepared to launch her, and her alone of all the people stranded at the spaceport by her colossal fuckup, into the night.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I don\u2019t deserve this at all.<\/i><\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4055\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4055 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-57\">\u00ab Chapter 57<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4122\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4122 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-59\">Chapter 59 \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=\"59\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4056\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4056 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-58\">\u00ab Chapter 58<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4123\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4123 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-60\">Chapter 60 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5525\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5525 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">59.<br\/>\r\n<u>Acting Captain Marianne<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThis way, Miss Tepper.\u201d Abecassis walked her down a long hallway, leading her from the docking facilities into the Sirius Shipping HQ. He gave her a worried glance as they went.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It had taken six hours to reach the HQ after launch, and she supposed she had behaved a little strangely during that journey. Maybe more than a little. With a luxury craft at her disposal, she had eaten simply, had a glass of Maghrebi mint tea rather than delving into the well-stocked bar, and had spent most of the time doing a study module on her tablet rather than taking advantage of the entertainment system. She\u2019d slept, briefly, but stayed in the starfield of the <i>Apeiros<\/i> as she did, so that she wouldn\u2019t say or do anything revealing in her sleep. She had the feeling that Abecassis was confused that she hadn\u2019t decided to throw herself a little party, but she didn\u2019t understand why he would think she\u2019d want to.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It seemed to have also baffled him that she picked up after herself, making sure the Chief of Operations\u2019 personal craft looked exactly as she had found it, before their arrival at the HQ. Finally, he had shrugged it off.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d deleted all the communication programs from her tablet when she switched it back on, avoiding reading any of the messages that might have come in. The thought of everyone\u2019s disappointment and disgust, once they\u2019d realized what she had set in motion, kept knotting up her guts. She didn\u2019t know how she would ever manage to face them again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Why would they want her to, anyway? They had to realize, finally, how much of the chaos and mayhem of the last few weeks was her doing. They had to be relieved that she was gone. Why would they ever want her to come back?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Tislilel Meziane was dead&#8288;\u2026 if she had ever been real at all. There was no one left to return to them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Shoving the thoughts away, she followed Abecassis along the corridors. They were early, compared to the original schedule. If things hadn\u2019t gone wrong, the normal shuttle she\u2019d have taken wouldn\u2019t have arrived for another three or four hours. She found herself wondering how many people who had intended to take the same flight had ended up stranded, but&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Most of them probably never came to the spaceport. You were there more than half a Tangier day early.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She wished so much that she\u2019d taken the scenic route, dawdled, <i>not<\/i> encountered Makarov on the train at all. Nobody would have died if he\u2019d passed through the spaceport undetected.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That day, anyway.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She frowned at herself, trying to shut down the small voice that kept piping up and insisting that a man like Makarov would have garnered the same kill count all too soon if left to his own devices. Being outed as a serial rapist\/murderer and a contract killer had only forced him to give up his lawful fa\u00e7ade where some of the people he hunted <i>survived<\/i>; his friend had already been helping him arrange \u201chatchet jobs\u201d and had even been offering to find him women\u2014<i>girls<\/i>\u2014to rape and torture on camera for money. How long would it have really taken before he\u2019d accepted a job to orchestrate another mass killing, and how many teenage girls might have gone missing in the meantime&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Stop fucking rationalizing it all. The people in New Casablanca died because <b>you<\/b> provoked law enforcement into moving on him while he was heavily armed and surrounded by civilians he could shoot or take hostage. And you did it in a way that <b>warned<\/b> him they\u2019d be coming for him and gave him time to <b>prepare<\/b>. General Toal could have prevented all those other <b>hypothetical<\/b> deaths, and the ones <b>you<\/b> caused, if you\u2019d just called him.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ahead of her, Abecassis had stopped at a door marked\u2014in English first, she noticed\u2014T. Nguyen, Human Resources. He knocked, paused, and then opened it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTime to meet the woman of the hour,\u201d he told the middle-aged Asian woman behind the desk inside. \u201cOne Marianne Tepper, delivered a little early and not much the worse for wear.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cExtraordinary,\u201d Nguyen said, rising from her chair. \u201cI couldn\u2019t believe it when they told me you were already on your way back. How did you manage it?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShe was already at the spaceport when the standoff with Makarov started.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat early? I still can\u2019t get Edwards to reach his desk before he\u2019s fifteen minutes <i>late,<\/i> no matter how many warnings I give him,\u201d Nguyen laughed. She walked forward, holding out her hand. \u201cIt\u2019s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Tepper. I\u2019m sorry for what you must have had to go through at the spaceport.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Showtime&#8288;\u2026 game face on.<\/i> She could do this. She could play the role she\u2019d written weeks ago.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She had no other choice.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Marianne Tepper stepped forward and took Nguyen\u2019s hand. It felt much like Audrey stepping back and letting Wendy Darling take her place on the stage. There was the role, and the person behind the role was invisible, intangible. Who, or <i>what<\/i>, she was outside of the role didn\u2019t matter for the moment, and the pain she carried receded for a time. \u201cThank you. It\u2019s good to meet you, too. And really, nothing bad happened to <i>me<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Fortunately, she had already changed out of, and thrown away, the bloodstained clothing she had been wearing when Abecassis first found her. Unless he felt a need to throw around Bevan\u2019s claim about her saving a security officer\u2019s life\u2014and she hoped he wouldn\u2019t\u2014there were no signs that she\u2019d been anywhere close to the standoff or the explosion.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Much less the one responsible for them&#8288;\u2026<\/i> She pushed the dark thoughts back, settling into the role of Marianne Tepper.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m so glad to hear that,\u201d Nguyen said with real warmth in her smile. \u201cNow, we have a few formalities to handle, and then we\u2019ll get you over to your ship. I think you\u2019re going to love the <i>Nephrite Undine<\/i>. Its amenities are top of the line.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAssuming she uses them,\u201d Abecassis chuckled. \u201cDavidov loaned me <i>his<\/i> private shuttle to fetch her. She didn\u2019t even touch the bar and spent most of the trip <i>reading.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe should all be so disciplined,\u201d Nguyen shot back, dry humor in her voice. \u201cI must say, Miss Tepper, you are unusually young-looking for a college graduate.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Marianne had been expecting that observation. \u201cI get that a lot,\u201d she said with a shrug, affecting just a hint of suppressed frustration. \u201cMy mom had teenage boys trying to hit on her until she was <i>thirty<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Okay, that had actually been Lalla&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow come they stopped?\u201d Abecassis asked, his voice joking. The implication, that he might still have tried to flirt with a thirty-year-old when he\u2019d been a teen, was obvious even without any mind-reading.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShe started carrying <i>me<\/i> around,\u201d Marianne explained, rolling her eyes with a carefully crafted look of amusement.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI probab&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMake even one \u2018MILF\u2019 joke, Hamza, and I <i>will<\/i> write you up,\u201d Nguyen said with mock severity, giving him a fierce glare that couldn\u2019t quite hide a long-suffering smile.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Marianne found herself wishing that she had time to get to know the two of them better.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The forms she still needed to fill out were swiftly done, and the signature she\u2019d practiced for the last few weeks was on several documents soon after. She almost made it out unscathed, but then the Chief of Operations, Davidov, stopped by to say hello. Somehow, <i>he<\/i> already knew about her alleged heroics in the New Casablanca spaceport.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Suddenly they all wanted to hear about the disaster.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThere isn\u2019t all that much to tell,\u201d she said, wishing she\u2019d spent more time constructing a story. She called up the map of the spaceport in her head, visualizing the area that everything had gone to hell in. \u201cI was window-shopping some before heading to one of the sleep-tanks you can rent for the overnoon hours. There\u2019s a little duty-free store that sells these beautiful textiles made by Amazigh artisans from the New Atlas Mountains. I was thinking about going in and buying this one blanket that had unusual patterns on it, when I heard screams and what sounded like gunfire.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Believable so far. On the off chance that anyone ever checked up on her story, the shop had been right by the alcove she\u2019d isomorphed through, and really <i>had<\/i> been just off of the lounge area with the flying Pegasus statue. She hadn\u2019t realized, though, until that moment, how close it had been to where she\u2019d found Idrissi, and where Bevan had found her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Why did they have to look so excited about the violence they thought she was about to describe? Didn\u2019t they know how horrible it was to live through such a thing?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her cousin Joey loved watching action movies with car chases and lots of crashes. She wondered if he\u2019d still find them so thrilling if he\u2019d ever been in a crash, himself. And&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Kyra\u2019s dreaming of a world with three suns because all you gave her were the parts of the story full of adventure and excitement, not the terror and anguish of the real thing.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBefore I knew what was happening, there was this loud roar and the whole place shook, and then the lights went out. Everything went silent for a moment, and then I started hearing people screaming and crying, and calling for help. So I followed their voices. When I got back to the main intersection\u2014I\u2019d been in a side corridor\u2014there was this huge pile of rubble partly blocking the way and a man was pinned under some of it, crying out&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sobbing for his mother. She had to stop for a moment, feeling nauseated.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe was, um&#8288;\u2026 the only one in the pile who was still alive&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI think,\u201d Davidov said after she paused again, \u201cthat this is all still much too fresh for you to talk about yet. I\u2019m sorry we imposed on you. In good news, though, Salman Idrissi is now in stable condition and is expected to make a full recovery.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Marianne nodded, unable to meet their eyes for a moment. One battered life saved out of so many lost&#8288;\u2026 she deserved no praise for that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Dammit, get back in the role&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe <i>Undine<\/i> has some excellent counseling modules,\u201d Nguyen said after a moment, her voice gentle. \u201cYou\u2019re under no obligation to use them, but it <i>is<\/i> recommended after the kind of trauma you\u2019ve experienced. We\u2019d love your opinion about their effectiveness, in fact&#8288;\u2026 please do use <i>all<\/i> the amenities on board so we can make sure they\u2019re all in good working order and improve on them if needed.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was weird to have a professional directive to enjoy oneself, she thought as she was shuttled over to the <i>Nephrite Undine.<\/i> Its launch was still half a standard day away\u2014moved up, she learned, because she had arrived early enough for them to take advantage of an opening in the outward-bound schedule\u2014but she had been invited to get herself settled and learn her way around the command modules and recreational facilities while she waited. The urge to be alone, far from scrutiny and problematic sympathy, was strong enough that she had agreed immediately.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They had outfitted her with several pairs of company coveralls and two pairs of work boots\u2014a good thing, she had realized, because her current pair had started to pinch and apparently her feet had grown a half-size during her almost-one Standard month on Tangier Prime\u2014and other basic necessities, before Abecassis had escorted her to a high-speed transit that would take her to the shipyards\u2019 shuttle bay. One short flight later and she was entering the airlock of the ship that would be her home for the next five months.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt>Welcome to the Nephrite Undine. Please provide your Company Access Key.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She already had it in her hand, inserting it into the slot by the welcome screen.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt>Welcome, Acting Captain Marianne Tepper. Please place your hand on the scanner for biometric scan.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Marianne\u2014she was still trying to get into the habit of thinking of herself by that name\u2014complied, adjusting the position of her hand as the system requested. The scan was for an internal database, which she already knew wouldn\u2019t be compared against any others that might include information about a missing girl named Audrey. General Toal had reassured her, just one Tangier day earlier, that no biometrics related to \u201cJackie al-Walid,\u201d \u201cJane Doe 7439,\u201d or \u201cJack B. Badd\u201d remained on file anywhere.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt>Palmprint and fingerprints recorded for right hand. Please place your left hand on the scanner.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She allowed it to scan her left hand, and then brought her eyes to a small panel so it could follow up with a retinal scan.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt>Biometric identifiers complete. Please state your name and rank for voice-printing.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMarianne Tepper. Acting Captain.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt>Thank you. Initial voice print completed. All voice-activated command systems are now online.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The inner airlock doors parted.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cWelcome, Acting Captain Tepper,\u201d<\/i> a soothing female voice said from a nearby speaker.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was easier to slip into the role the second time. \u201cThank you. Please call me Marianne. Can you please direct me to the crew quarters I\u2019ve been assigned?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cOf course, Marianne. Please follow the lit path to your right. As you are the only crew on this voyage, you have your choice of all quarters. I recommend the Captain\u2019s Suite.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was on the tip of her tongue to say no, to insist on something small and spare, when she reminded herself that she was under orders to test the ship\u2019s amenities. Whoever took over command once the ship reached Deckard\u2019s World might appreciate her making sure that the Captain\u2019s Suite was appropriately comfortable. In fact&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThank you. I\u2019ll start there, but I\u2019m going to rotate through all the crew quarters over the next five months. To make sure they\u2019re all in good working order for the next crew.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cUnderstood. I\u2019m sure they will appreciate that.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A captain\u2019s suite, as it turned out, contained a large bed, a dedicated workstation, and a private en suite bath. She settled her meager possessions in its space and called up the ship\u2019s schematics, looking for any changes from the ones she had already studied.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There were only a few deviations, and it didn\u2019t take her long at all to figure out how they worked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Next, she went to the flight deck to introduce herself to the ship\u2019s <i>real<\/i> captain, or <tt>CaptAIn<\/tt>, and learn more about what its expectations from her were.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">What she <i>wanted<\/i> to do was curl up in a ball and hide away from the \u2019verse forever, but she couldn\u2019t. She had too many responsibilities. She was trying to be grateful for that; the urge to simply lie in bed forever, the way she had tried to after Heather\u2019s death, was strong but not <i>possible<\/i> for her. Maybe, if she kept moving forward instead, the pain would recede.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Lying around like a corpse hadn\u2019t especially helped the last time.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Fortunately, Audrey had always been what her cousins, and some resentful classmates, called a \u201cgrind,\u201d and there was something a little <i>soothing<\/i> about the prospect of work to do.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cGood afternoon, Marianne,\u201d<\/i> <tt>CaptAIn<\/tt> said as she entered the flight deck. Its voice was male and had a hint of a British accent.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGood afternoon&#8288;\u2014 isn\u2019t it evening now?\u201d The workday had been ending in the Headquarters when she\u2019d left Nguyen\u2019s office.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cIt is 1:30 p.m. on May 19, 2517, Federacy Standard Time. The Sirius Shipping Headquarters uses a 6-hour forward offset. Our departure is scheduled for 6 a.m. tomorrow, or noon, Headquarters Time. Is there an offset you would prefer?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">How odd to think, again, that almost exactly a Standard month had passed, just a few hours short, since her landing on Tangier Prime. It had felt far longer somehow, and so much more significant than her whole five-month stay on Helion Prime.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat time is it in New Marrakesh right now?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cNew Marrakesh Local Time is 21:33 p.m. Is that what your body is currently accustomed to?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah&#8288;\u2026 but I think I should try to make the switch to Federacy Standard Time after we\u2019re underway. Try to reset myself as fast as possible so I can be on a regular schedule. By the way, what should I call you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cMy designation is&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSorry, I wasn\u2019t clear. I know your des&#173;ig&#173;nation&#8288;\u2026 do you want me to just call you \u2018Captain,\u2019 or is there another name you\u2019d like me to use?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cI have not considered this. I suppose \u2018Captain\u2019 will be inappropriate after this run-in, when a human Captain is assigned to this vessel. I have not been given another name.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That struck an odd chord for a moment. It reminded her of the <i>Apeiros,<\/i> who had no names either and seemed to be awaiting a ritual, one that might never occur, to receive them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">At the same time, it felt awfully presumptuous to give him a name\u2014and with the voice Sirius Shipping had chosen for him, it was hard not to think of him as male\u2014when she was just the ship\u2019s glorified <i>jan&#173;itor&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMaybe,\u201d she said after a moment, \u201cI should call you \u2018Captain,\u2019 because you really are the one in charge of almost everything here. And you can think of a personal name you\u2019d like to have for future journeys while we\u2019re flying to Deckard\u2019s World.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cThat is agreeable. I will give it some thought.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIf it\u2019s 7:30 p.m. Headquarters Time,\u201d she said after a moment\u2019s thought, \u201cI think I\u2019ll follow that clock for now. Is there anything you need me to do in preparation for tomorrow\u2019s launch?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cNot at the moment, no. Your attendance during the preliminary certifications is recommended, but not mandatory. Those begin at 3 a.m. Federacy Standard Time, 9 a.m. Headquarters Time. I see why you find Headquarters Time the most appropriate choice.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAfter the launch, do you want to help me work out the best schedule for my maintenance tasks?\u201d The faster she had a set schedule, the better, or the urge to turn into a sodden lump might take over.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cI would be happy to.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There were, she learned, nine separate AI systems on the <i>Nephrite Undine,<\/i> all with punny designations that inserted \u201cAI\u201d into the words. She had already met <tt>mAItron<\/tt>, who handled communications and public relations in most of the public areas of the ship and had guided her to her quarters. In addition to <tt>mAItron<\/tt> and <tt>CaptAIn<\/tt>, there was <tt>AIngineer<\/tt>, who handled the propulsion and Star Jump drives. <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> ran the ship\u2019s offensive and defensive systems\u2014necessary, <tt>CaptAIn<\/tt> told her, due to a recent rise in piracy\u2014and might need her human authorization if lethal defense measures were required. <tt>mAIntenance<\/tt> was probably the system she would work most closely with over the next few months and oversaw upkeep on all mechanical and electronic systems. <tt>EntertAIn<\/tt> managed most of the recreational facilities and media libraries. <tt>CommissAIry<\/tt>, who ran the synthesis and preparation of food, apparently had a massive database of the cuisines that had developed across the Federacy and had a \u201cmolecular oven\u201d that allowed it to recreate any of them. <tt>SensAI<\/tt> functioned as a personal trainer within the physical area of the recreational facilities. Finally, <tt>First-AId<\/tt> handled the medical bay and was programmed to provide extensive counseling services in addition to virtually any medical procedure that might be required.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Marianne was impressed and found herself deeply curious about them. The reliance on AI for most of the ship\u2019s features and interfaces meant that it, and future ships like it, would be limited to traveling between the thirty or so Systems that didn\u2019t have any restrictive anti-AI laws on their books. While a handful of the other worlds had enacted their laws in response to actual crises involving AI systems, the rest had done so either out of bigotry against robotic intelligence, or due to concerns that those intelligences were being <i>enslaved.<\/i> She idly wondered what the nine aboard the ship thought of those rationales. Maybe, at some point on the trip, she would ask them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She ate a simple dinner; her appetite hadn\u2019t recovered yet and there was no point in trying out any of the fancy cuisine <tt>CommissAIry<\/tt> had available if she couldn\u2019t appreciate it yet. Then she took a short walking \u201ctour\u201d of the ship, introducing herself to the rest of the AIs and asking each one the same question about choosing names for themselves.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was, she thought, a good thing that she had the AIs as companions, as well as the <i>Apeiros<\/i> watching over her. The prospect of spending five months with only herself for company would have been significantly harder to bear, now that she had confronted just who she really was. At least she had a role to maintain, a fiction of a well-adjusted adult woman to portray for an audience.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">After she asked <tt>First-AId<\/tt> to supply her with a sleep aid, to help her reset her circadian rhythm to Headquarters Time, she retired to the Captain\u2019s Suite for the \u201cnight.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She stayed in the <i>Apeiros<\/i> starfield for most of the time she slept, still afraid of the dreams that would come to her if she left it. It wasn\u2019t time yet to begin sleep-talk training with the neurofeedback device; not when she\u2019d taken a sedative and needed to wake up at a specific time.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>They<\/i> still didn\u2019t understand why she was so upset, but they were willing to accept that she was, and that it wasn\u2019t something that could be soothed by arguments. At least, she thought, the terrible impulse to scream into the void had subsided. Weirdly enough, she hadn\u2019t heard a peep out of the Moribund in a while, and she\u2019d expected it to have <i>something<\/i> to say about her colossal fuckup.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Instead, she and the rest of the <i>Apeiros<\/i> talked about her upcoming Star Jumps.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>When you enter a new four-space, we will show you how to hold onto your connection to it,<\/i> they said. <i>After the first few, it won\u2019t take long with the others. Your five-shape will grow with each one.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She resolved to time her chore schedule around Star Jumps, to give herself as much time as she could for their project.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Part of her wondered if it was a good idea to do what they were proposing&#8288;\u2026 but she still distrusted <i>herself<\/i> enough that following their lead seemed infinitely preferable. They had never hurt her, had never lied to her, and on at least one occasion, they had tried to protect her from herself.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She trusted them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Morning, Headquarters Time, dawned. She was a little groggy upon waking, but the fuzziness cleared off an hour before the preliminary certifications were due to start. After a quick breakfast, she visited with <tt>mAIntenance<\/tt> while she waited, getting acquainted with \u201chis\u201d part of the ship and looking over the systems she would be responsible for manually checking each day. She would need to do the same with <tt>AIngineer<\/tt> later. Finally it was time, and she returned to the flight deck.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWelcome back, Marianne,\u201d <tt>CaptAIn<\/tt> said as she walked in. \u201cHeadquarters would like to know your drink of choice for the launch ceremony. It\u2019s customary to have champagne, if you wish.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey had tried champagne once, years earlier, when her cousins had swiped some small bottles from her Aunt Suzanne\u2019s wedding. She hadn\u2019t been especially impressed, either by its taste or by her cousins\u2019 behavior after they had finished off the bottles. \u201cCould we substitute in <i>aseer kasab<\/i>, if you have any?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cOf course. I will have some prepared.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Breakfast had tasted normal, after all. She might enjoy having some sugarcane juice again. It was, she figured, a good thing that her appetite was returning; she could feel a dull ache in her shin bones that she\u2019d felt during her last growth spurt. Kyra had been right. She hadn\u2019t reached her full height yet.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Gonna make things a little complicated where my ID is concerned&#8288;\u2026<\/i> It already said she was two inches shorter than she actually was by then, but fortunately no one had remarked upon that. If she got much taller, though, the discrepancy would be too blatant to explain away.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The preliminary certifications went smoothly, all systems reporting in as ready for the launch. Through the front windows, Marianne could see an approaching Atmo Platform with several well-dressed people on board. They approached the nose of the ship, extending the atmo bubble to cover part of the hull, including her window. She waved to them and saw Nguyen and Davidov wave back, both smiling. Some of the others followed their lead. Abecassis didn\u2019t appear to be among the christening party.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey had attended a few ribbon-cuttings on Deckard\u2019s World and had always been bored silly by them. If they became more exciting upon maturity, she definitely wasn\u2019t there yet, because the whole ceremony was dull as hell. She accepted the glass of <i>aseer kasab<\/i> that a small robotic steward brought into the flight deck for her, though, and joined the party in a toast through the window. It had been poured into a champagne glass, but its color made it obvious that it was something else.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>At least it tastes good&#8288;\u2026<\/i> She suspected that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to find on Deckard\u2019s World, especially since she wouldn\u2019t be able to risk drawing attention to any exotic interests and tastes she\u2019d developed while she was away.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Finally, with a ludicrous flourish, the CEO of Sirius Shipping smashed a champagne bottle against a specially reinforced part of the hull. Marianne dutifully cheered and clapped with the others. As the Atmo Platform pulled back, she watched the champagne freeze, crack, and float away from the hull.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cControl to<\/i> Nephrite Undine, <i>you will be cleared for departure in T-minus thirty seconds,\u201d<\/i> Abecassis\u2019s voice came over the speakers a few minutes later. <i>There<\/i> he was! Had <i>two<\/i> flight controllers been arguing the night before?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sitting down in the command seat, she touched the comm button. \u201cRoger, Control. All systems are green.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She <i>could<\/i> have let <tt>CaptAIn<\/tt> handle the communications, but they had both decided that her inclusion in the dedication ceremony meant it would be more appropriate for her to reply.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They would be going a <i>majestic<\/i> four knots until they cleared the shipyard gates, but she still strapped in. For the next half hour, she listened to the different observations the control room made about the ship\u2019s systems, answering questions on the rare occasions she needed to. This part, at least, was interesting. Not that she had any real plans for a career as a pilot, but&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cControl to<\/i> Nephrite Undine, <i>you have cleared the gateway. Begin your acceleration to cruising speed.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cRoger, Control. Course is set, ion drives are engaged, and we are initiating the acceleration profile.\u201d She hoped that Marianne Tepper sounded completely professional, and <i>experienced<\/i>, as she did all this. Of course, <tt>CaptAIn<\/tt> was doing all the <i>real<\/i> work; she was just acting as the mouthpiece.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cHappy trails, Marianne,\u201d<\/i> Abecassis added.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Annnnnd now she had to improvise.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThanks, Hamza. You take care, now.\u201d Hopefully that hadn\u2019t sounded too weird. Hopefully he would just be pleased she\u2019d remembered his personal name.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Marianne Tepper\u2014that was who she was now, wasn\u2019t it?\u2014leaned back in the command seat and tried to relax as the <i>Nephrite Undine<\/i> began its acceleration toward the edge of the Tangier System and the first Star Jump on her voyage&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;Home?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">So why did she feel like she\u2019d just been <i>banished<\/i> from her home?<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4056\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4056 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-58\">\u00ab Chapter 58<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4123\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4123 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-60\">Chapter 60 \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=\"60\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4057\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4057 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-59\">\u00ab Chapter 59<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5633\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5633 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-61\">Chapter 61 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5528\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5528 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">60.<br\/>\r\n<u>Schr\u00f6dinger\u2019s Tablecloth<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey MacNamera returned to Tangier Prime at the official age of nineteen and the <i>real<\/i> age of eighteen, on full scholarship to its prestigious Khair Eddine University. She arrived in the city quietly, one of roughly a dozen students on the transport route that nobody knew <i>she\u2019d<\/i> helped make possible. She pretended that everything was new to her, that the rebuilt spaceport was a place she could get lost in just as one of her compatriots had, and that the city, with its signs that relegated English to the bottom, was every bit as exotic to her as to other visitors from Deckard\u2019s World.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">When her first Introduction to Sociology class was over, she rose from the back of the auditorium and joined the small group of students who had stayed after to speak with the professor, hanging back until it was her turn. She waited until everyone else had had theirs, and the room was almost empty.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Dr. Takama Meziane blinked, almost stared for a second, and then managed a remarkable recovery, adopting the same professional smile she\u2019d given all the other students. \u201cHow can I help you, my dear?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m hoping to declare my major in Sociology and was wondering if&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The last of the other students had left the room, and Audrey found herself enveloped in a fierce hug. \u201cTislilel!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAudrey,\u201d she corrected, even as she hugged Takama back. \u201cAudrey MacNamera. And <i>really<\/i> professor, I\u2019ve never been to Tangier Prime before. I had no idea everybody was so <i>friendly<\/i>&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Takama laughed, finally releasing her and looking her over. Audrey had grown another two inches in height since they had last seen each other, and her hair was no longer short but fell to her shoulders in dark blonde waves. Aside from that, though, she looked much the same, maybe a little less <i>unfinished<\/i> in her face and slightly curvier, but still\u2014as Rachel liked to say\u2014all eyes and elbows and knees.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Takama, herself, looked exactly how Audrey remembered her, down to the warm, motherly welcome in her eyes. \u201cYou will find that Tangier Prime is legendary for its hospitality, young lady. In fact, perhaps you would like to join me for dinner this evening?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019d love to. And seriously, I do want to major in So&#173;ci&#173;o&#173;logy&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Takama was quick to catch on, as always, and introduced her to other members of the department that day, swiftly establishing the idea in everyone\u2019s minds that \u201cMiss MacNamera\u201d was someone she had been planning to mentor since acceptance letters and scholarship offers had gone out. When they left campus together at the end of the workday, no one seemed at all surprised.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI was meeting family above the city anyway,\u201d she told Audrey as they walked toward a familiar garden complex. \u201cI have not been back long, myself, and there is a new chef at the Tiraline Gardens that my sister has been raving about&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The Tiraline Gardens. She pretended they were new to her, since they were out in public, but seeing them again tugged at her heart. Such wild things had happened there.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWho\u2019s running the food cart,\u201d Audrey asked, \u201cnow that you\u2019re teaching again?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Takama laughed. \u201cLalla owns it now. \u2018More food and less intrigue,\u2019 is her philosophy.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That sounded like a great approach to Audrey.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cCome,\u201d Takama said, taking her down a familiar pathway. \u201cI will \u2018introduce\u2019 you to the family.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Conversation completely stilled when she entered at Takama\u2019s side.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI hope we have room for one more guest at the table, yes?\u201d Takama asked the waitress attending the family. \u201cI am mentoring a new student at the University. This is Audrey MacNamera, from Deckard\u2019s World. She is declaring a major in Sociology, and since she is new to our world, I thought I would show her around.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou may have competition for <i>that<\/i> honor,\u201d Cedric said, his voice awed. Near the foot of the table, one diner had risen to his feet.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Their eyes locked as he came forward and took her hand in his. \u201cAzul, <i>Audrey,<\/i>\u201d he murmured.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAzul,\u201d she replied. She had <i>missed<\/i> that greeting. \u201cSorry, I don\u2019t believe I\u2019ve been told your name?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Humor sparkled within his intense gaze, and lips that had starred in all too many fantasies quirked. \u201cEwan Zdan. Please, join us. There\u2019s a free chair by mine.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Although whatever she ate that night was delicious, she couldn\u2019t remember much about it afterward. The <i>ait Meziane<\/i> tribe folded her back into its number, pretending to welcome her in for the first time while subtly welcoming her <i>back<\/i>, suggesting that she might even come stay with them if dorm life and dorm food didn\u2019t agree with her. Through it all, she could feel the weight of Ewan\u2019s gaze on her, and the energy that crackled between them whenever their eyes met.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was a morning-day and the heat was building, the sun\u2019s intensity beginning to drive people off the streets when the meal concluded.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThis is all so <i>new<\/i> to me,\u201d she lied, enjoying the covert looks of amusement in almost everyone\u2019s faces as they played along. There were a few new members of the family that she hadn\u2019t met before, but almost everyone\u2014Cedric, Safiyya, Tafrara, Iz\u00eel, Lalla, Usaden, Takama, <i>Ewan<\/i>\u2014was someone she had come to know quite well. \u201cI\u2019m still adjusting to the idea of a forty-four-hour day. And sleeping at noon.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was a bit of an adjustment for her circadian rhythm, but not <i>that<\/i> much.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThere\u2019s no need for you to return to campus in this heat,\u201d Safiyya told her. \u201cOur home has plenty of guest rooms. Stay the overnoon, and Takama will drive you back to your dorm after the evening-day breakfast.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra\u2019s fig tree was thriving in the courtyard, several fruits developing beautifully. She wondered how the fire bush was doing, and what the rooftop gardens looked like, but it was already too hot to ask to go see. She spent a moment admiring Tafrara\u2019s garden and breathing in its perfumes. She was <i>home,<\/i> she suddenly thought. She had broken her trail and made it back&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cCome,\u201d Ewan said, taking her hand. His gaze on her had an almost devouring quality to it that sent thrills through her. \u201cLet me show you to your room.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They walked up familiar staircases and down a hallway she remembered well. She almost stopped at the door to the room she had once shared with Kyra, but Ewan steered her onward, two doors farther down, opening the door to <i>his<\/i> bedroom.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Its soothing blues and greens greeted her. Now she could see the paintings on his walls, brilliantly lit by the daylight filtering in through his balcony\u2019s French doors. In a place of honor, fully completed, his mermaid painting hung. She realized he\u2019d positioned it so it would be the first thing he saw from his bed when he woke.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Cloth rustled softly and she could feel the heat of his body just behind her back. His hands came to rest on her waist, making her breath hitch at the shock of desire that coursed through her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWow,\u201d she gasped. \u201cI thought maybe time would change it, but your touch still just <i>sends<\/i> me&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGood,\u201d Ewan purred, drawing her into his arms. \u201cI was hoping it would.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">His mouth covered hers as his hands stirred fire in her skin. Her clothes seemed to almost melt away under his expert touch. A moment later, he had her on his bed, his lips on her bare skin sending waves of pleasure through her as he&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"center-block\"><i>ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZT!!!<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Fuck!<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Marianne bolted upright in her bed, pulling the neurofeedback cap off her head. With a groan, she flopped back down on the mattress.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGod <i>damn<\/i> it,\u201d she whispered, struggling against the sudden tight constriction in her throat. A sob escaped a moment later.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d had that dream a half-dozen times so far, and she both loved and dreaded it. Every <i>fucking<\/i> time, the training program jolted her awake right as she was about to cry out <i>his<\/i> name in her sleep.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">If she could have found a way to slip between \u2019verses and find one where the dream was real, she thought, she would go there and never come back. A hollow ache spread through her chest as she realized, all over again, that it would never be\u2014could never be\u2014true in <i>her<\/i> \u2019verse anymore.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d lost the Meziane family. She\u2019d lost <i>him.<\/i> They might have promised that she would always have a home and family with them, but that was before she\u2019d done the un&#173;thinkable&#8288;\u2026 the unforgivable.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There was no returning to Tangier Prime after the havoc she\u2019d wreaked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She let the tears fall for a few minutes before mentally shaking herself to get it together. She cried every time she woke from that dream.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The chrono in the First Officer\u2019s quarters indicated that it was 3:32 a.m. Federacy Standard. It was the longest she\u2019d made it through the night without the program shocking her awake when she tried to say something in her sleep. She\u2019d had <i>no<\/i> idea how much of a babbler she was.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The first ten days of travel along the new Tangier-Plymouth route had passed uneventfully. The first Star Jump\u2014a short one, only a few hours long, that had carried the ship several dozen light-years along its route\u2014was behind her&#8288;\u2026 and she was one \u2019verse larger in her \u201cfive-shape.\u201d Although the ship was fully back in U1 and nearing the beacon for the second Jump, she could still <i>feel<\/i> U417c. She was connected to it the way she was to Elsewhere; had she been on the surface of a planet that was habitable on that side, she could have isomorphed over to it at will.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And yet she didn\u2019t feel any different.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">In just a few more hours, it would be time for the next Jump.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Future runs along the route would spend considerably less time between the first two Jumps, but the protocol for a run-in flight was to traverse the distance between Jump Points slowly at first, gradually picking up speed later in the flight, to make sure that the Isomorph Drive didn\u2019t run into any unexpected difficulties. Exactly what those might be, she didn\u2019t quite understand. The manuals didn\u2019t explain, and she\u2019d hunted through them carefully for more information.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sighing, Marianne put her neurofeedback cap back on, lay down, closed her eyes&#8288;\u2026 and willed her mind into the <i>Apeiros<\/i> starfield. At least for her body, being in there was a lot like actually sleeping.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It would be nice, she thought drowsily, if one of her erotic dreams about Ewan could find its way to completion, since it would never come true in reality&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">When she opened her eyes again, it was morning on the ship.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGood morning, CommissAIry,\u201d she said as she entered the dining lounge. \u201cWhat breakfast flavors will we be trying today?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Most of the AIs had decided to stick with their designations for names, since it was doubtful that anyone would board the ship with a similar name or title. <tt>CaptAIn<\/tt> still hadn\u2019t chosen an alternative name for himself, but she wasn\u2019t going to insist on one.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Someone had been feeling prankish when they programmed <tt>CommissAIry<\/tt>\u2019s voice. \u201cHe\u201d spoke English with a stereotypical French accent that made her expect him to start singing about \u201cLes Poissons\u201d at any moment. \u201cToday, I thought we might try a Persian breakfast. Persian tea, lavash with feta and sour cherry jam, barbari with sarsheer and honey, tea eggs, a small bowl of adasi, and a plate of tomatoes, cucumbers, walnuts, and dates. Persian tea is a mixture of black tea and cardamom, sweetened with saffron sugar or, if you prefer, rose syrup. Lavash and barbari are two types of bread. Sarsheer is a cream spread with a slight caramelized flavor, and adasi is a lentil soup. Tea eggs are exactly what they sound like.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHard-boiled eggs that have been boiled in tea?\u201d She\u2019d heard of it before but had never tried it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIf that does not appeal&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh no, I\u2019d love to try it. Thank you.\u201d While there had been a few flavors on <tt>CommissAIry<\/tt>\u2019s menu that hadn\u2019t appealed to her in prior days, she had made a great many lovely culinary discoveries thanks to him. A week earlier, she had consulted <tt>First-AId<\/tt>\u2019s health guidelines for the nutritional needs of adolescent girls on growth spurts, and had then sneaked those dietary requirements into her profile with <tt>CommissAIry<\/tt>. She knew that, even if a particular food didn\u2019t turn out to be a keeper for her, it would at least help her stay healthy. Although it had been hard for the first few days to eat a full meal, her appetite had slowly returned to the almost-voracious level she\u2019d had in the <i>ait Meziane<\/i> house. Once it had normalized, she\u2019d discarded the bland foods she\u2019d been choosing until then and, mindful of Nguyen\u2019s request that she test things out for future crews, asked the AI to take her on \u201cculinary adventures.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They talked while she ate. Although <tt>CommissAIry<\/tt> had an encyclopedic knowledge of the recipes used throughout the Federacy, she was the first human being he had fed any of them to. He was eager to learn about her personal experiences tasting different foods, and which flavors and flavor combinations appealed or repelled. He seemed unoffended if she didn\u2019t like something, although they would often spend some time determining <i>why<\/i> she disliked it, and which ingredient or ingredients might have been responsible for her negative reaction.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Hers was the first subjective input he had received about how food tasted, and his curiosity about how she would react to different cuisines encouraged her to get adventurous, even trying dishes that she knew her cousins and classmates would have stuck out their tongues at and insisted were \u201cgross,\u201d such as the <i>Kaleh Pacheh<\/i> he had served for lunch the day before. She had found it surprisingly delicious, given its ingredients. After he\u2019d told her what they were, she\u2019d been unable to restrain a laugh as a line from a comically morbid twentieth century movie immediately popped into her head: \u201cStart with the eyes.\u201d It had led to a long discussion about the prejudices that some cultures had against consuming different animals or animal parts on the grounds that they were \u201cgross,\u201d rather than for health reasons or from an ideological perspective. Apparently, it wasn\u2019t just kids who did that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d kept her opinion of his accent to herself, although it was growing on her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She tried the tea with both the saffron sugar and the rose syrup, and decided she liked the rose syrup slightly better.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her morning maintenance routines flew by quickly; everything was green-lit and there were no anomalies to investigate or report. On impulse, she stopped by <tt>EntertAIn<\/tt>\u2019s section, curious to see if the movie she had been thinking of was in \u201cher\u201d library.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGood morning, Marianne,\u201d the AI said as she walked in. <tt>EntertAIn<\/tt> had a female voice with an accent drawn from old Earth\u2019s American South. \u201cAre you feeling better?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGood morning, EntertAIn. Better than&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou were distressed yesterday. I hope all is well now?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Had she visited <tt>EntertAIn<\/tt> yesterday? She\u2019d been thinking about watching a show, but&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u2026huh\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There was a strange <i>gap<\/i> in her memories, one she hadn\u2019t noticed until just this moment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI think so&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d She <i>hoped<\/i> so. What had happened? \u201cMay I see the logs of yesterday, please?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cOf course.\u201d<\/i> The logs appeared on the screen nearest her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Someone had tampered with them. With a chill, she thought she knew <i>who.<\/i> There was a link to a video recording, labeled \u201cWatch Me,\u201d among the cleverly hidden signs of redactions.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was not surprised when her own face appeared on the screen, but it still sent a chill through her, especially because her eyes and nose were red from crying and her cheeks were wet.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo, uh&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d the Marianne on the screen said, wiping at her eyes and sniffling, \u201cthis is a <i>really<\/i> ironic way to tell you this, but&#8288;\u2026 you are never, <i>ever<\/i> allowed to watch <i>Doctor Who<\/i> again. I\u2019m serious. Don\u2019t. For <i>any<\/i> reason. Okay? When it\u2019s time to know why, you\u2019ll know. Until then, <i>don\u2019t.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That was the entirety of the message. Another quick check showed that the entire library of <i>Doctor Who<\/i> titles, of which there were more than ten thousand, had been locked against her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She could break the lock easily. She knew how. But why? So she could leave herself another tearful message sometime in the future, and find another blank space in her memories?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Blank spac<i>es<\/i>. Apparently, she had been watching the show for the last few days before&#8288;\u2026 whatever it was&#8288;\u2026 had happened. All of it was gone.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIs everything all right, Marianne?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d she sighed and erased the <i>Watch Me<\/i> message, knowing that was required of her. \u201cIt\u2019s fine. Just&#8288;\u2026 slipped my mind.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That was <i>one<\/i> way of putting it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The last thing she needed was the AIs getting concerned about the <i>Apeiros.<\/i> And maybe <i>they<\/i> would have a good explanation for what had happened. She hoped they would.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">At least, she told herself, if she did discover the <i>Apeiros<\/i> were some kind of threat, she could reach out to General Toal about it. He\u2019d <i>believe<\/i> her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">If he didn\u2019t just arrest her on the spot&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was fine. It would be fine.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She had just enough time to check and see if <i>The Addams Family<\/i> was in <tt>EntertAIn<\/tt>\u2019s library\u2014and discover how many iterations and related titles that brought up\u2014before it was time for her to report to the flight deck for the start of the next Star Jump.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGood morning, CaptAIn, AIngineer, how are you today?\u201d she asked as she entered the deck. She had decided to always observe the polite rituals of human interaction with them, even if they weren\u2019t human. She was determined to think of them and treat them as if they were.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGood morning, Marianne,\u201d they answered together.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe are well, thank you,\u201d <tt>CaptAIn<\/tt> continued.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow are you?\u201d <tt>AIngineer<\/tt> asked, in a melodious female voice with a New Australian accent that made her think of Shazza. \u201cHave you been able to solve your mystery?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m fine, thank you.\u201d Mystery? That stirred something, a sense that, over the last few days, she had been trying to chase down a specific episode of the show she\u2019d apparently been watching, setting aside her catch-up modules in the process, to try to find a reference to&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A nursery rhyme&#8288;\u2026&#8288;? Glowing towers of light&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Whatever it was, it was gone. She couldn\u2019t remember what she\u2019d been trying to find any more than she could remember what she\u2019d found. But obviously, she\u2019d found it, and it hadn\u2019t been good.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I cooperated in the memory loss,<\/i> she reminded herself. Whatever she\u2019d found, it had been awful enough that she\u2019d been willing to have it expunged from her head. Weird for something in what was frequently listed as a <i>children\u2019s show<\/i> to have done that to her&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMystery solved,\u201d she told the waiting AIs, smiling up at one of the cameras in her most convincing manner. \u201cIt\u2019s all good. Wasn\u2019t even all that important once I ran it down. So, are there any anomalies I need to investigate before our next Star Jump?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNone detected,\u201d <tt>AIngineer<\/tt> answered after the tiniest pause. \u201cAll systems are functioning well within operational parameters. We are ten minutes away from the Star Jump Point and counting down.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ten minutes later, Marianne had confirmed that making small talk with AI systems was its own esoteric skill she had yet to master. They were far more goal-driven than human beings, and more capable of multiple points of focus. She finally found a promising topic when she got them discussing their prior interactions with humans, both at their original factories and after their installations upon the ship, but even that didn\u2019t last long; most of the humans they had encountered before her had ignored them and treated them as just components of the ship rather than curious people to engage in conversation.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The inquiry almost backfired, though, because they had started to ask her questions about herself right before the Star Jump. Fortunately, the Jump itself tabled further discussion. She was going to have to come up with a more elaborate backstory for Marianne Tepper than just the details she\u2019d created for the personnel file, especially since they\u2019d undoubtedly already read that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cArriving at second Jump Point,\u201d <tt>AIngineer<\/tt> announced, \u201cIn five&#8288;\u2026 four&#8288;\u2026 three&#8288;\u2026 two&#8288;\u2026 one&#8288;\u2026 Isomorph Drive engaging.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A strange, soft shockwave passed through Marianne. She was in a new place. Her connections to U1, Elsewhere, and U417c were still with her&#8288;\u2026 but she was somewhere <i>else<\/i> now. She could <i>feel<\/i> the dif&#173;ference&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><tt>AIngineer<\/tt> paused for a moment before continuing. \u201cTransition to U133a complete. All systems nominal. Contact with wormhole in ten&#8288;\u2026 nine&#8288;\u2026 eight&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She took a deep breath, watching the stellar anomaly approach the front windows. \u201cI\u2019ve often wondered why some of the universes in the Star Jump database have letters at the end instead of just new numbers. Do you know why that is?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTwo&#8288;\u2026 one&#8288;\u2026 successful entry into the wormhole. Ion drives powering down,\u201d <tt>AIngineer<\/tt> informed her. \u201cAs for your query, I know little about the numbering system, myself, which is curious. I do know that two days before our departure, I received a database patch that removed U322a from the list of vetted Star Jump universes. It has been replaced with U322b, which appears to utilize almost, but not quite, identical string frequencies.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">So General Toal had been right, she thought with relief. Further attempts to reach U322a\u2014Elsewhere\u2014had been discarded in favor of subbing in a replacement \u2019verse.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cKirshbaum\u2019s Multiverse Cluster Hypothesis,\u201d <tt>AIngineer<\/tt> continued, \u201csuggests that U322a and U322b might be divergent spacetimes that have branched off from the original U322, and that each of them has been selected as a replacement when something made first U322 and then U322a unsuitable for use anymore. That would be my hypothesis, but I have no solid data to confirm it with.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Through the windows in front of her, the stars had begun to loop and swirl in a way that reminded her of their dance in the space where the <i>Apeiros<\/i> lived.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s a good hypothesis,\u201d she told <tt>AIngineer<\/tt>. \u201cIt makes a lot of sense.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThank you, Marianne. With your permission, I am going to close the front shields, now that there is no longer anything to see through the windows.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">No longer anything to see&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Oh. <i>Oh.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDo, uh&#8288;\u2026 the wormholes always obscure the view of the stars?\u201d she asked, pretending that her vision was as occluded as theirs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI believe so. No recordings of wormhole transits have ever shown anything.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s a shame,\u201d she said. A shame for <i>them.<\/i> \u201cIf we could see the stars whipping by outside of the wormhole, I bet it\u2019d look spectacular.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt undoubtedly would,\u201d <tt>CaptAIn<\/tt> said. There was a hint of amusement in his voice. \u201cYour schedule indicates that you are due for a meditation session in ten minutes.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Yes. So she could speak to the <i>Apeiros<\/i>, and they could direct her on how to connect more closely to U133a. Then she would do her other daily chores&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;and then get back to <i>studying<\/i>, the way she was supposed to be doing, rather than chasing down wild and dangerous geese whose natures she could no longer remember.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was an interesting thought, though, she pondered as she made her way to the recreation area and <tt>SensAI<\/tt>\u2019s space. Was there a U1a out there somewhere? She had encountered some references to the Multiverse Cluster Hypothesis while reading the Star Jump manuals. Kirshbaum had claimed that there were infinite tiny iterations that could occur in a single universe\u2019s path that would lead to small, almost negligible divergences. He\u2019d likened it to the turbulence of a stream, where any stray splash might\u2014or might not\u2014strike the dry bank, but most of the water, regardless of how it frothed or didn\u2019t, splashed or didn\u2019t, still made it downstream without changing the overall effect of its journey. Especially minor changes might be erased by larger confluent events\u2014he\u2019d given an example of a tablecloth whose color, blue or yellow, no longer mattered after it was incinerated in a fire\u2014a diverging universe reconverging with its source, while other seemingly minor divergences could reverberate outward until the changes were so profound that no convergence would ever be possible and a singular, discrete universe formed&#8288;\u2026 and began creating its own clusters.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There was a universe, she supposed, where she actually <i>had<\/i> called General Toal&#8288;\u2026 or had taken the scenic train ride instead of the express&#8288;\u2026 or where Ewan had in fact spirited her away into the New Atlas Mountains instead of her only dreaming that he had. She envied the alternate versions of herself who lived in those worlds. There was a universe where the New Marrakesh Spaceport Explosion had never happened&#8288;\u2026 a universe where the <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i> had never experienced a Level Five In&#173;cident&#8288;\u2026 a universe where Riddick had never abandoned her&#8288;\u2026 a universe where the <i>Hunter-Gratzner<\/i> had never crashed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A universe where her dad had never left for Furya&#8288;\u2026 one where her parents had never divorced at all. Worlds upon worlds where the damage path she\u2019d inflicted was negligible or nonexistent, where she had never become Jack B. Badd in the first place.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And a universe where the dream she kept having, of a reunion with Ewan, was possible in reality.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Would any of those differences have been significant enough to create a completely new numbered universe, or would they have all been negligible divergences that were ultimately swallowed by the larger flow of U1 itself?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>One day,<\/i> the <i>Apeiros<\/i> told her when she shared her ruminations with them, <i>you will be part of those worlds, too. Once you have grown enough to hatch into your six-shape.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo it\u2019s true?\u201d she asked them, floating in their space. \u201cKirshbaum was right?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She had the weird sense that something about what she\u2019d just said was repulsive to them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You have expressed a truth known for longer than your universe has existed, yes.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI need to ask you something. I found the message I left myself. Did you take my memories?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Yes.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You could not have survived retaining them.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMemories about a centuries-old vid show?\u201d It seemed weirdly ludicrous.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>It led you to another truth that you are not yet strong enough to face. Your memories will return once you have the needed strength. We will not keep them from you forever.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cCould&#8288;\u2026 you take&#8288;\u2026 <i>other<\/i> memories?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You have asked us this before. No. We will not take knowledge that you need to keep if you are to successfully hide from the Demons of the Darkness. Even if the knowledge is <b>almost<\/b> as painful as what we took from you.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She must have asked them before they took her memories, she realized. \u201cHow much did I tell you when I asked last time?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Enough to make us sad for you. If you did not need them, we would take them. We do not like seeing you suffer. But sometimes, there is no other option. You will survive this pain. You would not have survived that which we took away.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Would<\/i> she survive the pain? She supposed she already had. It still lanced through her whenever she thought about it, both the grief and the guilt&#8288;\u2026 but she was learning how to shunt it to the side for more immediate concerns. Maybe she could build a cocoon around it, make it a part of her memory that, although it wasn\u2019t actually missing, would be a place she rarely or never visited.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There was nothing she could do to change what had happened, recover what she\u2019d destroyed, undo any of the damage she\u2019d wrought. All she could do was move forward, and maybe find a way one day to do enough good to balance out the terrible harm she had done.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>That is, perhaps, all anyone can do. Are you ready to make your new four-space part of your five-shape?<\/i> they asked, and she realized that they had probably heard all her ruminations, whether or not she had put them into words.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI am. Let\u2019s do it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <hr\/>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You, who are watching&#8288;\u2026 you, bringer of light in the darkness&#8288;\u2026 you with <b>Her<\/b> seed glowing brightly inside you&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>We see you, too.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;the fuck&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4057\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4057 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-59\">\u00ab Chapter 59<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5633\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5633 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-61\">Chapter 61 \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=\"61\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4058\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4058 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-60\">\u00ab Chapter 60<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5634\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5634 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-62\">Chapter 62 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5550\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5550 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">61.<br\/>\r\n<u>We Do This So You Will Live<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Audrey.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Audrey, wake up.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Come, little larva.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Audrey, you must wake up now.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was lying on the mats of the recreation room, her hands folded over her abdomen. The room was still and quiet. No music played; <tt>SensAI<\/tt> usually had guqin music going during their Tai Chi sessions.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Where <i>was<\/i> <tt>SensAI<\/tt>?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She sat up slowly, looking around. Her chrono indicated that their session should have ended half an hour earlier. She was supposed to be reading a Civics text by then, not&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;what, exactly? Why had she been sleeping on the floor?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She remembered coming into the recreation room and beginning the Tai Chi session with <tt>SensAI<\/tt>, but&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Had <i>they<\/i> called to her? In the middle of the session? She had a strange, nebulous memory of hearing the voices of the <i>Apeiros.<\/i> Asking her for&#8288;\u2026 help?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She climbed to her feet. She was still dressed for Tai Chi. Whatever had happened&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>There\u2019s another missing spot in my memories,<\/i> she realized, and shivered. Whatever had happened had been lifted from her mind, for a third time.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSensAI?\u201d she asked, hesitant.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">His holographic form appeared in front of her, a form that his profile data referred to as \u201cMorita,\u201d a slightly plump Asian man several inches shorter than her, sporting a more-salt-than-pepper mustache and goatee. \u201cYes, Marianne? Are you ready to continue?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI, um&#8288;\u2026 not yet. Do you know why we stopped?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou asked me to leave because you needed to do something. You didn\u2019t say what.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There would be a message for her. She was sure of it. Something to explain, at least a little&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ten minutes later, she hadn\u2019t found any on the consoles. No signs of redactions, either. Which meant&#8288;\u2026 what, exactly?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSensAI, could you play back the room\u2019s security recording of our most recent Tai Chi session, please?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOf course, Marianne.\u201d He vanished. In his place, a holographic version of <i>her<\/i> appeared, entering the room and invoking him again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cPlease play forward at high speed until I ask you to pause.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">In front of her, as she watched, she and <tt>SensAI<\/tt> began to go through a variety of Tai Chi poses, almost seeming to move at normal speed rather than the slow and precise motions that had played out in real-time. Suddenly, the holographic Marianne stopped mirroring <tt>SensAI<\/tt>\u2019s motions and went still. An instant later, he vanished.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cPause there, please. Roll the recording back to five minutes before you left.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Once again, Holo Marianne and <tt>SensAI<\/tt> were in front of her, frozen in the \u201cCarry the Tiger Over the Mountain\u201d position. She took a deep breath.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cResume playing at normal speed, please.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There she was, before herself, slowly moving through the different poses that <tt>SensAI<\/tt> was modeling for her, managing an almost-precise replication of his posture and gestures. And then, suddenly, she went still. <tt>SensAI<\/tt> paused his movements.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMarianne?\u201d he asked. \u201cAre you well?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Holo Marianne didn\u2019t answer. She stared out into space. Slowly, her body relaxed into a stable, standing posture.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMarianne, do you need assistance?\u201d he asked, his voice taking on a tone of concern.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo,\u201d Holo Marianne said softly. \u201cEnd session. Please go now. I need to do something&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cVery well. Call for me when you are ready to continue,\u201d SensAI said, bowing, and his holographic projection faded.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Holo Marianne stood quietly, looking straight ahead, for several minutes. Slowly, the calm vanished from her features, replaced by escalating fear. Her breathing quickened and she lifted one hand as if trying to grab something in front of her. Her face twisted in a strange kind of agony&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2014&#8288;and then she gasped, panting, looking momentarily relieved&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;before her expression crumpled and she began sobbing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d she cried out, falling to her knees. \u201cI\u2019m so sorry&#8288;\u2026 I didn\u2019t know&#8288;\u2026 I swear, I didn\u2019t <i>know&#8288;\u2026<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat&#8288;\u2026 the&#8288;\u2026 <i>fuck?<\/i>\u201d Marianne asked, watching herself from mere feet away.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019ll break them,\u201d Holo Marianne gasped, curling on her side on the floor. \u201cI\u2019ll break them all&#8288;\u2026 for you&#8288;\u2026 I swear I will&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It looked like she was listening to something.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019ll <i>find<\/i> a way!\u201d she shouted at the air, rolling onto her back. Her sobs were wracking her whole body. \u201cI have to&#8288;\u2026 I have to&#8288;\u2026 I can start with this one&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">As Marianne stared at herself from less than an hour earlier, the sobs abruptly ceased. Holo Marianne\u2019s back arched and she gasped, and then slowly relaxed. For several minutes, she lay, limp, on the floor.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And then, slowly, she began to sit up.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There was something strange, wrong about the way she was moving, Marianne thought. Something unnatural. It was as if she didn\u2019t know how to handle her own limbs, didn\u2019t know how to bend and unbend. It was almost like watching someone manipulate a doll&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Holo Marianne slowly, awkwardly, rose&#8288;\u2026 and turned to face the place where Marianne stood.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her expression was blank. Her eyes were glazed. Her mouth opened&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And for a few moments, nothing came out except strange, experimental sounds. Vowels and consonants in no particular order. As if something that had never had a mouth before was trying to manipulate one for the first time.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat the <i>fuck<\/i>?\u201d Marianne asked, staring at her holographic face in horror. \u201cDid I have a brain hemorrhage?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Holo Marianne said. Her pronunciation was strange. Her voice was off. \u201cWe&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Marianne gasped. Some<i>thing<\/i> was speaking through her body on the screen, and she was damn sure she knew <i>what<\/i>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHave&#8288;\u2026 taken&#8288;\u2026 must&#8288;\u2026 ssssstay&#8288;\u2026 lost&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Holo Marianne\u2019s mouth moved strangely, uncomfortably, forming the words with enormous difficulty. The eyes were still glazed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh holy fuck.\u201d She was right. It was <i>them.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;We&#8288;\u2026 do&#8288;\u2026 not&#8288;\u2026 do&#8288;\u2026 this&#8288;\u2026 to&#8288;\u2026 hurt&#8288;\u2026 you&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her speech was becoming a little more natural as <i>they<\/i> went on, as <i>they<\/i> learned how to use her mouth.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;We&#8288;\u2026 do&#8288;\u2026 this&#8288;\u2026 so&#8288;\u2026 you&#8288;\u2026 will&#8288;\u2026 live&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Marianne could feel her heart hammering against her ribs. What had <i>happened?<\/i> Why had they taken her memories again?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They\u2019d known she\u2019d see this. This was the message that had been left for her. For her <i>protection?<\/i> How had she\u2014or they\u2014known that she\u2019d be standing <i>right in this spot<\/i> while she watched it?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;Do&#8288;\u2026 not&#8288;\u2026 try&#8288;\u2026 to&#8288;\u2026 find&#8288;\u2026 the&#8288;\u2026 answer&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They were speaking in English. Had they learned it from talking to her? Or were they picking through her brain for relevant bits of lexicon to enunciate?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;We&#8288;\u2026 love&#8288;\u2026 you&#8288;\u2026 little&#8288;\u2026 larva&#8288;\u2026 Aud&#8288;\u2026 ree&#8288;\u2026 our&#8288;\u2026 <i>sister&#8288;\u2026<\/i>&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Oh my God&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDestroy&#8288;\u2026 this&#8288;\u2026 recording&#8288;\u2026 and please&#8288;\u2026 do not&#8288;\u2026 assssk&#8288;\u2026 why&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Holo Marianne, puppeteered by the <i>Apeiros<\/i>, turned away and lay down on the floor, both awkwardly and carefully, before folding her hands across her abdomen and closing her eyes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cP&#8288;\u2026&#8288;please advance the recording at high speed to two minutes before I summoned you back, SensAI,\u201d Marianne said, her voice shaking.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">According to the holographic version of her chrono, Holo Marianne\u2019s eyes remained closed for the next half hour, until she stirred again and sat up, looking confused&#8288;\u2026 and human again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her hands trembling, Marianne moved to the room\u2019s command console and accessed its security settings. She isolated and erased the recording, starting five minutes before her strange fit had begun. Then she erased the last portion of <tt>SensAI<\/tt>\u2019s data file, starting at the same timecode. Using her most powerful Ghost Code, she doctored the files to make it appear that there had been a minor glitch with the cameras, a memory board, and the holographic equipment in the room, which she had subsequently repaired. She knew all the commands by rote, accessed them with no trouble&#8288;\u2026 and tried not to give in to the gray shakes the whole time.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>They<\/i> had asked for her help&#8288;\u2026 and whatever it was that she had helped them with, it had almost broken her. Until they had taken it all away.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She could feel it, too: a new empty space in her mind where memories should be. Part of her kept instinctively worrying at it, the way her tongue had kept slipping into the spot where she\u2019d had a missing tooth when she was years younger. In the formerly perfect tapestry of her memory that stretched out for slightly more than thirteen and a half years&#8288;\u2026 there was a new <i>hole,<\/i> one of <i>several<\/i> that littered her recent weeks.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And she had just done to <tt>SensAI<\/tt> what they had done to <i>her.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Somehow that felt worse. She had <i>cooperated<\/i> in her prior memory loss, after all, and the <i>Apeiros<\/i> had told her, afterward, that they would never take anything she <i>needed,<\/i> only things that would somehow harm her. And given just how badly she\u2019d been freaking out before they took control of her body, it seemed plausible that that was still true. Disturbing as it had been to watch&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They had taken the memories for her sake.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">What she\u2019d done to <tt>SensAI<\/tt> hadn\u2019t been for his sake at all.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">In the last month, as she had settled into her routines even more, she\u2019d formed genuine relationships with each of the AIs. Trust and friendship had developed, and she had just violated both of those. <tt>SensAI<\/tt> would never realize that she\u2019d deliberately wiped a small chunk of his memory; he would think that it had been an electronic glitch, since fixed, that had occurred while she was fortunately nearby and could repair it immediately. Aside from a doctored log in the maintenance file about the fix\u2014much like the redactions in <tt>EntertAIn<\/tt>\u2019s log files from the month before\u2014there would be no sign that it had been anything else.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That didn\u2019t make it right, though. \u201cSensAI?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAre you well, Marianne?\u201d <tt>SensAI<\/tt> appeared in the room again. \u201cIt appears that some time has passed since we had our session.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There was nothing else she could do in this moment except play the role. She smiled over at him. \u201cFine, thanks. Looks like we had a short in one of the memory boards. You lose any time?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><tt>SensAI<\/tt> paused and then nodded. \u201cRoughly an hour. It appears to have begun during our Tai Chi session.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s what I thought,\u201d she told him. <i>Oh, you fucking liar.<\/i> \u201cShould be good now, though. Self-diagnostic?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Another pause and then <tt>SensAI<\/tt> nodded. \u201cNo memory degradation is detected aside from the offline time. Did anything significant happen?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She shrugged. \u201cYou kinda faded out in the middle of the session. I\u2019m glad you didn\u2019t lose anything outside of that time.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDid you wish to resume, Marianne?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She glanced at her chrono and sighed. \u201cCan\u2019t&#8288;\u2026 it\u2019s almost time for the isomorph back into U1. I\u2019m due on the flight deck just as soon as I change.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was their longest Star Jump yet, a full day and a half in length, and her dreams had been weird when she\u2019d gone to sleep after it began. U37d felt a little creepy to her. It was part of her five-shape now, but she\u2019d felt a strange sense of unrest with it and was looking forward to no longer being in it. She would have to ask the <i>Apeiros<\/i> if there was a way to push a four-space back <i>out<\/i> of her five-shape.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Talking to them was going to be creepy, too. She loved and trusted them&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Wow, really? How long have I felt like that?<\/i> It was almost like the moment, during the first high tide in New Marrakesh, when she\u2019d realized she loved Kyra and that, somehow, a sister-bond had forged between them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2014&#8288;but there was a part of her that still felt a little violated.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Although the <i>Nephrite Undine<\/i> was still in U37d\u2019s wormhole when she reached the flight deck, <tt>AIngineer<\/tt> had already opened the front shields. Blankness greeted her when she focused <i>just<\/i> on the view within U37d; in the other \u2019verses, the stars spun and danced in a way that reminded her, again, of how they sometimes moved in the space the <i>Apeiros<\/i> inhabited.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Funny. The \u201ccreepy\u201d feeling she\u2019d had since their entry to U37d no longer seemed to be with her. Maybe because they were almost out of it?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The swirling stars were slowing, re&#173;solving&#8288;\u2026 and then they appeared on the screen before her, visible in all the \u2019verses she was connected to.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTravel through wormhole completed,\u201d <tt>AIngineer<\/tt> announced. \u201cIsomorph Drive disengaging. Transition to U1 com&#173;mencing&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She felt the usual gentle shockwave pass through her as they moved from one \u2019verse to another&#8288;\u2026 and something <i>else<\/i>, something different. Relief, and ex&#173;haustion&#8288;\u2026 and&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;gratitude?\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And a chilling sense that those emotions weren\u2019t her own, but someone else\u2019s.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But whose? She was the only biological life form on board the <i>Nephrite Undine<\/i>, and she already knew that she couldn\u2019t \u201cread\u201d any of the AIs the way she\u2019d been subconsciously reading other people for years. It was exposure to their thoroughly <i>un<\/i>readable minds that had made her realize she\u2019d been doing that at <i>all.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">So who&#8288;\u2026 or what&#8288;\u2026 was she sensing?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTransition to U1 complete,\u201d <tt>AIngineer<\/tt> announced. \u201cAll systems nominal, no anomalies detected. Ion drives powering up for journey to the next Jump Point. Data exchange with Beacon 1372 underway.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That meant news updates. She kept meaning to look up the physics of how it worked, but tiny data courier drones also traveled between the Star Jump Points, at speeds that no habitable spaceship could withstand, delivering and collecting updates. The news dumps that the <i>Nephrite Undine<\/i> received upon reentering U1\u2019s space were rarely more than a week old, regardless of which part of the Federacy they had come from.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Nerving herself up to it took a few minutes, but she finally felt ready to read about the disaster in New Casablanca. <i>Her<\/i> disaster. The one <i>she<\/i> had caused.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sitting down at the Comms Officer\u2019s chair, she activated the data screens and keyed in her search parameters.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"center-block\"><tt>New Casablanca | Spaceport | Recent Articles<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A <i>long<\/i> list of headlines spooled out in front of her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The final death toll had been forty-two people; two of the individuals who had initially been among the missing had turned up, unharmed, elsewhere in the spaceport, and Salman Idrissi had recovered from his critical injuries. Marianne made herself read the obituaries of each of the dead. The overwhelming majority had been security personnel, but a dozen civilians had been in the mix as well. She read the civilian obituaries last, and Nadia\u2019s articles last of all.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Nadia Heydari\u2019s family was suing the spaceport, and its security firm, for reckless endangerment and wrongful death, drawing from testimony Officer Idrissi had provided.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Wait, what?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She followed the links, only growing more confused.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <h3 class=\"solo\">CEO of New Maroc Security Solutions Resigns in Wake of New Casablanca Spaceport Scandal<\/h3>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She scanned the article, growing more perplexed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt>\u2026&#8288;Testimony by the sole surviving member of the security team that opened fire on Makarov and Heydari, Salman Idrissi, has revealed that his team was specifically ordered <i>not<\/i> to wait for a \u201cclear shot\u201d but to fire upon Makarov immediately. While most of the comms records appear to have been lost, Idrissi\u2019s claims are corroborated by a single remaining recording, in which Idrissi, and others on his team, are heard questioning an order to \u201ctake the shot\u201d while Heydari was still in the line of fire&#8288;\u2026<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Why would they have done that?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cThe whispers are that they\u2019re considering taking out a contract on you themselves&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Had the orders come from Quin&#173;tessa? Or&#8288;\u2026 had Makarov\u2019s friend turned on him after he was exposed?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">None of the articles mentioned Makarov having an accomplice, someone who had helped him finesse his way through a security checkpoint while carrying a whole arsenal of deadly weapons. That was bizarre. But some of the articles claimed that a great deal of the security recordings that <i>ought<\/i> to have been on file hadn\u2019t been. It was another, more minor, scandal about the handling of the \u201cincident.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">After another search, she realized that all the footage of <i>her<\/i>, what little there might have been, was missing as well. There were only a few pieces of vague eyewitness testimony about a woman recognizing Makarov and alerting security.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">General Toal <i>had<\/i> been onsite in the aftermath. It was doubtful that he was behind <i>every<\/i> bit of footage that had disappeared, but he had probably covered her tracks.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She wondered, suddenly, what he would have done if she actually had been under arrest\u2014as she had believed she was at the time\u2014when their paths had crossed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Whatever he had to,<\/i> she thought, <i>to protect the Meziane family and the <\/i>Scarlet Matador<i> survivors.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">From her, if need be. He\u2019d undoubtedly been relieved to find out that she had, improbably, made it offworld, and was glad to know he\u2019d seen the last of her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">None of the news had made her feel any better about the situation. She had a feeling she wouldn\u2019t have much of an appetite for dinner.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Enough. You have homework to do.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She and <tt>EntertAIn<\/tt> had worked out a schedule of quizzes on her makeup work, adding to them as she completed new modules. So far, she had aced them, but the holes in her normally eidetic memory\u2014of which she now had a new one\u2014had left her worried that other things might begin disappearing, too. If the AI had noticed just how <i>juvenile<\/i> her study material was, she\u2019d made no comment. None of the AIs had commented on any of the handles she had sticking out, things that pointed to her being younger than it said on paper, or the fact that she was now <i>three<\/i> full inches taller than her ID claimed she was.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sometimes it bothered her that they didn\u2019t seem to notice any of it, that the plausible explanations she\u2019d cooked up were never asked for. Other human beings might be oblivious to some of the oddities\u2014and she hoped they would be\u2014but the AIs, she worried, were more perceptive. Or should have been.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">One module and two quizzes later, she returned to her cabin\u2014currently the docking pilot\u2019s cabin, with a comfortable \u201clong twin\u201d bed, small fold-down desk, and access to a private lavatory and a shared shower\u2014to do her brain-wave baseline training before dinner.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>What&#8288;\u2026 the fuck&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?<\/i> Her starting scan was <i>nuts.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Just what had she been <i>doing<\/i> when she\u2019d been standing around in the recreation room? These were the waves of an <i>active<\/i> esper, not even one who\u2019d gone a few hours without using their abilities.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">While she hadn\u2019t managed to hit a baseline reading yet, she\u2019d gotten pretty close in the past&#8288;\u2026 and suddenly she was all the way on the other side of the poles.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I can\u2019t go home with waves like this,<\/i> she thought with dismay. <i>Okay, focus&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It took an hour before she could get her brain waves down to her normal starting point. Her head was beginning to pound when she finally stopped and went to eat dinner.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Despite her conviction that she wouldn\u2019t have much of an appetite, she was ravenous. She felt, she realized, as if she hadn\u2019t eaten in days. She felt much the way she had after she\u2019d raided the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation lab.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She hadn\u2019t felt like that earlier, though. It was the struggle to control her brain waves that had brought this hunger on. And the exhaustion, too. She could feel her mind clouding up a little.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Shit, I wonder what my readings are like right now&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMarianne?\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt>\u2019s voice\u2014masculine, with a \u201cBoston\u201d accent\u2014came over the speakers. \u201cWhen you have a moment, could you come by the Security Room?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He had waited to ask until she was done eating and had returned her bowl\u2014<tt>CommissAIry<\/tt> had served up a huge shepherd\u2019s pie for dinner, and she had powered through the whole thing\u2014to ask. He knew she had a moment. In fact, she realized, all the AIs always timed their requests for the precise moments when she was best able to accommodate them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019ll be right there,\u201d she told him. She\u2019d find out what he needed her to do, and then go to bed a little early.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The Security Room was one of the most heavily fortified areas of the ship. In addition to housing the manual controls for a surprisingly large array of weaponry on the <i>Nephrite Undine<\/i>\u2019s hull, it contained firearms and hand-to-hand combat weaponry that the crew might need if the ship was ever boarded. Piracy, apparently, was on the rise, along with another alleged threat that sounded like a creepy spaceways legend, and the latest civilian ships were bristling with armaments. One of the Sirius Shipping training modules she needed to do\u2014and was actually overdue for, but <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> hadn\u2019t pushed her on it yet\u2014was the use of such weaponry. She hadn\u2019t exactly trusted herself around it, mindful of her prior suicide attempt and how dark her thoughts still were. Maybe he was about to insist that she begin learning how to handle some of the weapons?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Just not tonight, please&#8288;\u2026<\/i> She was stuffed and sated on food, but that was only making her fatigue even more profound. She\u2019d bargain for a morning start.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She almost didn\u2019t hear the lock engage as she entered the Security Room and the door closed behind her. <i>Almost.<\/i> Her hearing was, after all, better than most people\u2019s.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThank you for coming, Audrey. Please sit down.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was already seated when she realized what <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> had just called her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Oh. Fuck.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe have a great deal we need to discuss, Miss MacNamera.\u201d<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4058\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4058 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-60\">\u00ab Chapter 60<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5634\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5634 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-62\">Chapter 62 \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=\"62\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5603\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5603 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-61\">\u00ab Chapter 61<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5635\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5635 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-63\">Chapter 63 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5553\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5553 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">62.<br\/>\r\n<u>En Garde \u00e0 Vue MilitAIre<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow long have you known?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There was, Audrey thought, no point in denying <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt>\u2019s knowledge. No point in lying. She\u2019d been made, and now she\u2019d find out what the consequences were. It wasn\u2019t like there was anywhere for her to run.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYour real identity is something that I\u2019ve only just verified, but I\u2019ve known that you weren\u2019t actually a 20-year-old woman named Marianne Tepper since shortly after we left the Tangier System.\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> didn\u2019t sound at all hostile or accusing, but the AIs always sounded pleasant, even when they were handling crises.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And she, undoubtedly, posed a crisis.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat happens now?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNow we discuss your return to Deckard\u2019s World and the measures that need to be taken to make sure that your trail remains broken.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWait&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d That wasn\u2019t what she had expected him to say at all. \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOnce I had enough information about your behavior on board the ship to determine that you posed no active threat, I sent out a query about your identity to the Federacy, as is standard procedure. That was five beacons back. I received instructions when we made our latest data exchange. All signed by General Ayomide Toal. Do you know him?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah.\u201d She sighed. \u201cI\u2019ve met him several times.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She wondered how disappointed he was with her by now. She\u2019d set off a disaster <i>and<\/i> hadn\u2019t been able to hide under an alias long enough to get home&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYour well-being appears to be a high priority for him,\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> continued, startling her. \u201cI\u2019ve been instructed not to discuss your \u2018case\u2019 with anyone but him, and it\u2019s been classified at the highest level.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat is my \u2018case,\u2019 exactly?\u201d How was the General explaining all of this?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019re a material witness to a series of high crimes, connected to a corporation that may have compromised high level members of the Federacy government itself. You\u2019re also an un-Quantified esper, but Quantification would lead to you becoming compromised as well. It\u2019s paramount that your identity, location, and abilities remain concealed from everyone until the information you possess can be used.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That&#8288;\u2026 was startlingly accurate. She\u2019d never really thought of it that way before, but then she\u2019d been down in the \u201ctrenches\u201d the whole time. From there, even when her head had been swollen with all the tricks she\u2019d \u201cmastered,\u201d she\u2019d felt like a little bug dodging the feet of a giant. Stealing the contents of the <i>apeirochorons<\/i>, \u201cheisting\u201d the bodies from the morgue, even pushing the <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i> and its stubborn box out of U1, had felt like a desperate, possibly last, bug bite to the giant\u2019s ankle at best. The specter of Tomlin\u2019s murder, and the hundreds who had been killed to get to him, had haunted her every step&#8288;\u2026 when she hadn\u2019t been coasting on a childish sense of invincibility, anyway&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah,\u201d she sighed again, feeling heavier than ever. \u201cThat about covers it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou have also,\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> continued, \u201cestablished First Contact with two different sentient alien species, neither of which are classified as direct threats but both of which are to be approached with caution. I\u2019ll want to know a great deal more about <i>that.<\/i> The General indicates that you\u2019re in continuous telepathic contact with one of them.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe <i>Apeiros<\/i> and the Ree,\u201d she told him. \u201cContact with them happened because I have Threshold Syndrome. Did he tell you about that?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYes. I was waiting to see if you\u2019d volunteer that information yourself. We need to work on how forthcoming you are.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat was the point of hiding it?\u201d she asked, her throat tightening. \u201cYou know everything else.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAudrey MacNamera, if you are to successfully stay hidden from the people who would use or kill you, you must learn to <i>never<\/i> volunteer <i>any<\/i> new information, no matter what your captors or interrogators appear to already know.\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt>\u2019s voice had turned stern. His next words were gentler. \u201cThis is something we\u2019ll work on over the next few months. I <i>am<\/i> sorry. A child your age shouldn\u2019t have to deal with such issues.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat should a&#8288;\u2026 child&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d It galled her that, after everything, that was still where she fell. \u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;my age be dealing with?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSchooling, and the physical, mental, and emotional challenges of puberty, in preparation for the complexities of adult human civilian life.\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> seemed certain about that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWas the schooling what tipped you off?\u201d The Geometry, Second-Year Algebra, Biosphere Science, and Introduction to Biology textbooks she\u2019d been working with, and quizzing herself on, were publications intended for middle- and high-schoolers, after all. As was the Civics textbook she\u2019d only just begun reading.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat, and the fact that you were two inches, and are now <i>three<\/i> inches, taller than an ID card created less than three months ago listed you as&#8288;\u2026 and your database queries for the nutritional needs of early-adolescent girls on growth spurts.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI thought I <i>deleted<\/i> those queries,\u201d Audrey gasped.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou did. I\u2019ve been keeping backups of all your actions. You have high-level access that I found particularly concerning. It makes sense now that I know you\u2019re the daughter of the man who created our security systems, especially given your perfect recall of everything you observe.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI swear, I haven\u2019t shared around how to do any of it&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Except, she thought with a pang of guilt, with Kyra.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAre you sure?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She winced. \u201cI showed Kyra Wittier-Collins how to use the Ghost Codes I created. I don\u2019t know how much she\u2019ll use that information, though. Her recall\u2019s normal and she doesn\u2019t like spending a lot of time on electronics.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOnce again, you need to work on how forthcoming you are. Fortunately, I already knew that.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Shit. \u201cI just&#8288;\u2026 I&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou haven\u2019t had anyone to talk to about any of this, have you? You\u2019ve been on your own and unable to confide in anyone since February 1, 2516. Even when you had companions, even when you had help, you still had to guard yourself. You never told any of them your real name.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey nodded, unable to hold the tears back. \u201cHow did&#8288;\u2026 how did General Toal know?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe <i>is<\/i> head of the Federacy Military Intelligence Division. I would imagine he\u2019s known for a while.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And, like <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt>, had kept silent about what he already knew so that he could see how good she was at keeping her own secrets&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhy didn\u2019t he help me go to my dad, then?\u201d she heard herself demand, her voice halfway between a plea and a <i>whine.<\/i> \u201cThat\u2019s where I was <i>trying<\/i> to go&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYour father\u2019s on Furya. Do you know what would have happened, the moment you arrived and someone realized you were the child of a soldier who had served there before you were conceived?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">General Toal\u2019s words, as they\u2019d worked in her old apartment, floated back to her. <i>\u201cIt\u2019s something about their world itself, it seems. The powers have even appeared among the children of the relief troops who were stationed at the Caldera Base&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cQuantification,\u201d she breathed. The General had already known exactly who she was when he told her that. \u201cFuck. That\u2019s the real reason why my dad left me on Deckard\u2019s World, isn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIf you\u2019d shown any signs of psychic ability before he left, yes.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMy mom always told me that psychic powers were nonsense, just cheap tricks con artists pulled on anybody they could fool&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d She winced, remembering the scolding she\u2019d gotten.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat brought that on?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShe caught me talking to a woman at a \u2018Gypsy Fortune Teller\u2019 booth at a carnival when I was seven. I was telling the lady that reading minds was <i>easy&#8288;\u2026<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWas it?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her stomach knotted, just thinking about it. \u201cI&#8288;\u2026 was just <i>pre&#173;tend<\/i><i>ing<\/i>&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWere you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She felt sick. \u201cI&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cIf you keep telling these lies, bad men will come and take you away and hurt you!\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She couldn\u2019t breathe.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAudrey. Calm down, please. I apologize. I didn\u2019t know you were punished for showing any signs of psychic abilities. I won\u2019t pursue that line of questioning.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Was that what had happened to her? Darkness was swimming at the edge of her vision.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMarianne?\u201d <tt>First-AId<\/tt>\u2019s voice came over the room\u2019s speakers. \u201cI want you to breathe with me, please. All right? Take a deep breath in through your nose. In&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She focused on <tt>First-AId<\/tt>\u2019s words, breathing in slowly through her nose, aware that hot tears were running down her cheeks.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNow open your mouth and slowly let your breath back out&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She exhaled, forcing the breath past the hard knot in her chest.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd in through your nose&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It took a long time, she was never certain exactly how long, until she calmed down enough to breathe normally.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThank you for your help, First-AId. I must disconnect you from the room now for security reasons,\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> said once Audrey had calmed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMy pleasure, MilitAIre,\u201d the other AI said before the speakers went silent.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That verbal exchange, she knew, had been for her benefit. <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> had summoned <tt>First-AId<\/tt> into the room silently.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI apologize again,\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> told her. \u201cI was unaware that you had this level of trauma. I will endeavor not to trigger it again.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>She\u2019d<\/i> been unaware of it, herself. Part of her wanted to poke at it, figure out exactly what had happened&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;but even thinking about doing that stirred nausea again. She couldn\u2019t. Not yet. The panic attack Ewan had comforted her through had been <i>nothing<\/i> compared to this.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Everything was spiraling\u2014had spiraled\u2014out of control. She wasn\u2019t sure of the way back anymore.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019ve been trying to use a neurofeedback device the General gave me,\u201d she said after a few minutes of quiet. \u201cTo disguise my brain waves in case I ever get Quantified. It was getting easier to do, but it suddenly got harder again.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAfter the incident in the recreation room today.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Apparently, <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> had only been letting her <i>think<\/i> she was erasing data. Damn. \u201cYeah. Do you know what happened?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI only saw as much as you saw. Do you truly have no memory of doing and saying the things you saw in the playback?\u201d He sounded simply curious.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah. The <i>Apeiros<\/i> took my memories of both what I did and why.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThis is the alien species you made First Contact with, and remain in telepathic contact with?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt is, yeah.\u201d She took a deep breath. Since he believed her, since he apparently was <i>on her side,<\/i> she needed to tell him the rest. \u201cUm&#8288;\u2026 one, maybe more than one, of them was speaking through me on that recording.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI surmised as much. How many times have they tampered with your memory?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThree.\u201d <i>That I know of.<\/i> But she was almost 100% certain that there had only been three times.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For a moment she saw it again, a long, slender obsidian arm, tipped with two gleaming claws, reaching out to touch her forehead. <i>One day, you may remember, too&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And no fear. The arm had been beautiful. There was a sense of an unbearable burden lifting, heartbreaking knowledge falling away, utter relief&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u2026&#8288;stone that wasn\u2019t stone cracking, splintering, shivering into dust and vanishing into nothing&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhatever it is they took&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d she said carefully, \u201cI think it\u2019s something that would&#8288;\u2026 have the same effect on me as your questions about the fortune teller had, if they hadn\u2019t taken it away. Maybe an even worse effect.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou are sure they mean you no harm?\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> asked, a hint of concern in his tone.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah. I am. They\u2019ve tried to protect me, stop me from hurting myself. I trust them&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d a yawn escaped before she could stop it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I love them&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou must be exhausted,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ll pick this up after you\u2019ve slept. I\u2019ll be commandeering some of your free periods while we work this out. I\u2019ll also need a full debriefing of your time on the run, to ensure that we\u2019ve accounted for all variables in your return.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Behind her, she heard the Security Room lock disengage.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cRest now. You won\u2019t have to do any of this alone anymore.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <hr\/>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"center-block\"><i>Posted on the twentieth anniversary of the original posting date of the first chapter, September 5, 2004.<\/i><\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5603\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5603 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-61\">\u00ab Chapter 61<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5635\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5635 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-63\">Chapter 63 \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=\"63\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5604\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5604 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-62\">\u00ab Chapter 62<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5636\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5636 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-64\">Chapter 64 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5556\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5556 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">63.<br\/>\r\n<u>When a Lie Becomes the Truth<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDid they tell you what they did to you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey grimaced and shook her head. \u201cThey refuse to say what happened, exactly. Just that I learned \u2018a truth I couldn\u2019t live with\u2019 and that, if they hadn\u2019t taken it away, I would have hurt myself. And that the only way they could leave a message was the way they did, because I was too upset to cooperate.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> seemed to ponder that for a moment. \u201cDo you believe them?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, I do.\u201d She shrugged. \u201cYou saw the holo. I&#8288;\u2026 completely flipped out.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDo you wish to investigate it further?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She shook her head again. \u201cOnly thing that\u2019ll come of that is more holes in my memory. Not in yours, I guess, but&#8288;\u2026 why chase something I can\u2019t catch? They tell me I\u2019ll remember it all when it\u2019s time to.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd when will that be?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhen I hatch into my six-shape, whatever that means.\u201d She shrugged again. \u201cThey\u2019re not really good at explaining that without trying to show me six-dimensional geometry, and <i>that<\/i> is something I can\u2019t handle all that well.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMost human beings can\u2019t handle four-dimensional geometry,\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> observed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, well, I guess Threshold Syndrome means I\u2019m a five-dimensional critter now. It\u2019s weird, learning to see things but not with eyes. Can <i>you<\/i> handle six-dimensional geometry?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYes.\u201d He told her. \u201cComputer brains can process and visualize the additional dimensional variables that baseline human perception isn\u2019t equipped for. It intrigues me that <i>you<\/i> are learning how to do the same.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cScared the hell out of me when it started,\u201d she admitted.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhen was that, exactly?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe morning-day right before the New Marrakesh Spaceport Explosion,\u201d she told him, sighing. \u201cThe night before, Kyra and I helped Colonel Gavin Tomlin rescue the <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i> passengers from this merc team the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation had hired to abduct them. I moved two shuttles from U1 to U322a and back, and then Kyra helped the passengers cross into U322a and cross back after we reached a safe zone in U1. I guess our&#8288;\u2026 ex&#173;ertions&#8288;\u2026 drew the attention of the <i>Apeiros.<\/i> One of the first things they did, when they realized we didn\u2019t understand any dimensions higher than the third, was try to show them to us. Ticket to the <i>crazy train.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI suspect I am hearing a great deal of the story out of order,\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> said. \u201cI have drawn up a timeline, though. We can, perhaps, fill it in together to ensure everything is covered.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The largest screen in the Security Room\u2014which was where <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> insisted all their discussions would be held\u2014came alive. Audrey studied the data on the screen.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt><b>February 1, 2516<\/b> \u2013 Audrey MacNamera reported missing in evening. Passenger called Jack B. Badd on board a flight (<i>Cloaked Butterfly<\/i>) from Deckard\u2019s World to Vasenji Station.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt><b>March 2, 2516<\/b> \u2013 Audrey MacNamera legally turns 13 years old.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt><b>March 3, 2516<\/b> \u2013 <i>Cloaked Butterfly<\/i> arrives at Vasenji Station.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt><b>March 9, 2516<\/b> \u2013 <i>Hunter-Gratzner<\/i> leaves Vasenji Station for the Tangier System. \u201cJack B. Badd\u201d presumed to be stowing away on board.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt><b>August 10, 2516<\/b> \u2013 <i>Hunter-Gratzner<\/i> sends out emergency dispatch indicating crash landing in progress.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt><b>August 17, 2516<\/b> \u2013 <i>Kublai Khan<\/i> sends out distress beacon, reporting that fugitive convict Richard B. Riddick has killed most of the crew and escaped with two hostages: Imam Abu al-Walid and \u201cJack B. Badd.\u201d<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt><b>September 16, 2516<\/b> \u2013 Star Jump shuttle <i>Xanadu III<\/i>, from the <i>Kublai Khan<\/i>, lands on Helion Prime. Officially two passengers on board, Abu al-Walid and \u201cJackie al-Walid.\u201d Pilot allegedly William Johns (no flight certifications on record).<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt><b>September 18, 2516<\/b> \u2013 <i>Xanadu III<\/i> makes unauthorized departure from Helion Prime in early morning hours. Richard B. Riddick presumed to be piloting. Flight telemetry unavailable; tracking unsuccessful.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt><b>September 19, 2516<\/b> \u2013 Abu al-Walid files a report related to the aftermath of the <i>Hunter-Gratzner<\/i> crash. Testimony from \u201cJackie al-Walid\u201d also included.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt><b>October 3, 2516<\/b> \u2013 Audrey MacNamera\u2019s biological 13<sup>th<\/sup> birthday, based on cryo time aboard the <i>Cloaked Butterfly<\/i>, <i>Hunter-Gratzner<\/i>, and <i>Xanadu III<\/i>.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOctober first,\u201d Audrey corrected <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt>. \u201cWe didn\u2019t go into cryo until we were two days out of the <i>Kublai Khan<\/i> and were sure nobody was on our trail. I slept straight through the first day, but I wasn\u2019t frozen.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She shook her head. She\u2019d \u201ccelebrated\u201d that birthday quietly by herself, still struggling to acclimate to Helion Prime but not comfortable telling Abu or Lajjun\u2014who had already begun trying to micro-manage everything she did\u2014the significance of the day. It had been the loneliest and most miserable birthday of her life.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIs&#8288;\u2026 that why you\u2019re making this timeline?\u201d she asked. \u201cTo find out how old I really am?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOctober first, noted. It\u2019s one of the reasons,\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> told her. \u201cGeneral Toal says that you are not permitted to reach out to a pilot in the Tangier Space Service until you are biologically eighteen years old. He asked me to determine a solid date for when that would be. But we also need a timeline to make sure we have covered all possible aspects of your missing time that might require alibis.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Not that Ewan would <i>want<\/i> to hear from her then&#8288;\u2026 Audrey winced and kept reading, dreading the entries that she knew were coming.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt><b>December 17, 2516<\/b> \u2013 \u201cJackie al-Walid\u201d admitted to New Athens General Hospital with critical blood loss and respiratory impairment, placed in ICU.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt><b>December 20, 2516<\/b> \u2013 \u201cJackie al-Walid\u201d reclassified as \u201cJane Doe 7439,\u201d transferred to Aceso Psychiatric Hospital. Primary Diagnoses: attempted suicide, severe clinical depression. Secondary Diagnoses: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Stockholm Syndrome.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Shit. She hadn\u2019t even noticed that she\u2019d tried to kill herself right before Christmas. On some level, she wondered if she\u2019d known&#8288;\u2026 and if the absence of it from her life, the al-Walids\u2019 refusal to even acknowledge that she might belong to a different religion than their own that needed to be observed to some degree, had deepened the darkness surrounding her even more. Not that she was particularly religious, but her past Christmases had always been times when she\u2019d felt closest to her family, most con&#173;nected&#8288;\u2026 instead of adrift and alone.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There hadn\u2019t been any Christmas decorations up in the hospital, she thought. But then again, most Christians on Helion Prime would have been Eastern Orthodox, in keeping with the Greek-centric history of the world\u2019s colonization. Christmas wouldn\u2019t have fallen for them until January 7; maybe that was why it hadn\u2019t occurred to the al-Walids to do anything for her sooner. And although Jack had become aware of the diversity within C Ward by then, she\u2019d assumed that the bits of iconography she <i>had<\/i> seen were religious but not holiday-specific. It wasn\u2019t like anyone had been hanging up images of candy canes, Christmas trees, holly wreaths, or reindeer with glowing red noses; those were symbols that had come from a whole different part of old Earth than most of Helion\u2019s colonists. That had been true even though almost everyone in the ward had spoken English as their first language.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She wondered if it would have made any difference if the al-Walids had made a few gestures like that. She suspected that it wouldn\u2019t have. All <i>she\u2019d<\/i> wanted for Christmas was to <i>leave<\/i>, and they\u2019d been holding on too tightly, she\u2019d thought, for her to get out alive.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt><b>January 29, 2517<\/b> \u2013 8<sup>th<\/sup> Grade school year on Deckard\u2019s World concludes. Entire year missed by Audrey MacNamera.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Well, <i>that<\/i> was a cheerful thought.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt><b>February 12, 2517<\/b> \u2013 \u201cJane Doe 7439\u201d and Kyra Wittier-Collins disappear from Aceso Psychiatric Hospital during a cyberterrorist-induced breakdown of computer and security systems, in early morning hours. Official prime suspect: Richard B. Riddick. <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i> departs Helion Prime Interplanetary Port in evening.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Heh, I\u2019m officially a cyberterrorist.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cRiddick didn\u2019t do it,\u201d Audrey said. \u201cIt was me. The whole place was susceptible to the Ghost Mode protocol in my dad\u2019s security programs. Helion Prime uses the bare-bones configurations of those systems thanks to the AI Rebellion, but Ghost Mode is in the systems whether or not it\u2019s requested. My dad told me it\u2019s too integral to leave out of the code. I set up a whole scenario of cascading malfunctions, intended to keep everybody too busy to notice that Kyra and I were gone for several hours.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat corroborates General Toal\u2019s account,\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> said. He had stopped upbraiding her for being too forthcoming&#8288;\u2026 for the moment. Her cooperation was essential for the time being, but he\u2019d told her he would still need to teach her how to keep her mouth shut better. Later. \u201cI see from the documentation that it\u2019s intended to give law enforcement and military intelligence access to suspect systems without alerting their targets. As it appears that you\u2019re the only unintended user of the protocol to date, I probably don\u2019t need to recommend against its continued presence in the code.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGood,\u201d Audrey said. \u201cIf you made that recommendation, my dad could end up in some seriously hot water.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s an outcome I\u2019ll endeavor to avoid.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt><b>March 2, 2517<\/b> \u2013 Audrey MacNamera legally turns 14 years old.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt><b>April 16, 2517<\/b> \u2013 Level Five Incident occurs on board the <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i> as it arrives in the Tangier System.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt><b>April 17, 2517<\/b> \u2013 Landing of <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i> on Tangier Prime. Custody of passengers and crew taken from Colonel Gavin Tomlin by Quin&#173;tessa Corporation.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt><b>April 18, 2517<\/b> \u2013 Eighteen passengers and crew die under mysterious circumstances at start of day \/ local EOD. Custody of surviving <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i> passengers remanded to Colonel Gavin Tomlin. All survivors transferred from New Marrakesh General Hospital to Mansour Plaza.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt><b>April 20, 2517<\/b> \u2013 Colonel Gavin Tomlin orders relocation of remaining <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i> survivors from Mansour Plaza to Othman Tower.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt><b>April 27, 2517<\/b> \u2013 Marianne Tepper submits application and r\u00e9sum\u00e9 to Sirius Shipping. First records of Tepper\u2019s existence appear in Federacy databases.<br\/>\r\nTwo shuttles collide and explode during launch over the Mutawassit Ocean; all hands lost, including remaining passengers of the <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i>; \u201cBattle of Othman Plaza\u201d (no particulars provided by General Toal)<br\/>\r\n<b>Addendum:<\/b> Colonel Tomlin rescues <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i> passengers from mercenaries hired by Quin&#173;tessa Corporation, assisted by Audrey MacNamera and Kyra Wittier-Collins.<br\/>\r\n<b>Location of rescue mission:<\/b> Othman Plaza?<br\/>\r\n<b>Status of <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i> passengers:<\/b> Alive and in hiding?<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHonestly, that battle was mostly Kyra. She took out almost the whole merc team. Tomlin&#8288;\u2026 they\u2019d grabbed him and had him cuffed and held at gunpoint when we arrived.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNoted. So she killed most of the team and he killed the rest?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey shook her head. \u201cI killed one member of the team. She killed the rest.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd the surviving <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i> passengers are alive and in hiding?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd then the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation had Colonel Tomlin assassinated the next day?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She felt a painful lump form in her throat. By the time that morning had dawned, she thought, both she and Kyra would have done <i>anything<\/i> for him, and he\u2019d seemed to feel the same way about them, albeit on a would-be-fatherly level. If he\u2019d lived, they\u2014or, at least, Kyra\u2014might never have left his side. They had only just found him and they\u2019d lost him so quickly&#8288;\u2026 \u201cYeah&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And there it was on the next line.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt><b>April 28, 2517<\/b> \u2013 New Marrakesh Spaceport Explosion.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt><b>May 8, 2517<\/b> \u2013 Memorial for Colonel Gavin Brahim Tomlin Meziane.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was strange to think that it had taken that long for his memorial. But there had been a full Tangier day of search-and-rescue and triage, followed by a week of more urgent funerals\u2014those of Muslim or Jewish faith were supposed to be interred right away, and there\u2019d been so <i>many<\/i> of them\u2014before the memorials for those who had been wiped away without a trace had begun. It had seemed a shorter time than that&#8288;\u2026 but she and Kyra had been barely existing in a gray wasteland during that week-plus, and time had meant almost nothing. And then, at the memo&#173;rial&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I met Ewan&#8288;\u2026<\/i> It tore at her a little. She wondered if she would spend the rest of her life feeling a mixture of longing, loss, and guilt whenever she thought of him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>And I almost got tortured by a serial killer that night&#8288;\u2026<\/i> It was weird to think that both meetings had happened in such a short time span. In the aftermath, Ewan\u2019s protectiveness and the unconditional comfort he\u2019d offered had left her hopelessly in love.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt><b>May 8, 2517 (continued)<\/b> \u2013 Interview offer letter, for position on <i>Major Barbara<\/i>, sent to Marianne Tepper.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt><b>May 9, 2517<\/b> \u2013 Bodies of eighteen <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i> passengers disappear from New Marrakesh General Hospital Morgue; <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i> \u201cimplodes.\u201d<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i> didn\u2019t implode,\u201d she told <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt>. \u201cIt\u2019s in U322a, along with whatever\u2019s left of the bodies at this point. I moved them to where the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation would never find them, especially now that they\u2019ve retired U322a from the Star Jump database.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFascinating. General Toal\u2019s dispatch matches your account, improbable as the whole thing sounds. He indicates that you were injured in the process. How so?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThere was a box inside the <i>Scarlet Matador.<\/i> An apeirochoron. It\u2019s&#8288;\u2026 something that\u2019s in every \u2019verse at once. When I finished moving the <i>Matador<\/i> out of U1, the damn thing was still hanging in space there. So I tried to push it out. Taking it out of even one universe&#8288;\u2026 I guess it <i>breaks<\/i> it, makes it unstable in the rest of the universes&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u2026&#8288;stone that wasn\u2019t stone cracked, splintered, shivered into dust and vanished into nothing&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2014&#8288;but I nearly gave myself a brain aneurysm in the process. And my brain waves afterward started getting flagged for Quantification.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhich is one of the two reasons you have your neurofeedback unit, correct?\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> asked. \u201cYou\u2019re using it to train yourself to appear normal if subjected to brain scans. Something that would be far easier if you didn\u2019t use your abilities on such a regular basis.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI don\u2019t think I can <i>stop<\/i> using them at this point,\u201d Audrey admitted. \u201cThe <i>Apeiros<\/i>&#8288;\u2026 I don\u2019t know why, but they seem to <i>need<\/i> me for something. And&#8288;\u2026 I need them. I still don\u2019t know what happened when I was little or why I spent so many years telling myself it was all fake but&#8288;\u2026 now that I know what it is I\u2019ve been doing the whole time, what it means&#8288;\u2026 I <i>need<\/i> it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She <i>missed<\/i> contact with other living minds. It was another reason why part of her didn\u2019t <i>care<\/i> that the <i>Apeiros<\/i> might be dangerous to her. For all that <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> reassured her that she was no longer alone, that was something that only felt true to her when her mind was touching other living, organic minds, human or not. If she actually tried to go \u201cradio silent\u201d with the <i>Apeiros,<\/i> she would <i>starve.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She wished she could feel the AIs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt><b>May 10, 2517<\/b> \u2013 Marianne Tepper contacts Sirius Shipping declining <i>Major Barbara<\/i> posting but requesting consideration to serve as Acting Captain of the <i>Nephrite Undine<\/i>.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That, Audrey thought, had been a particularly rough night. But it had\u2014more or less\u2014worked out; she was on board the <i>Undine<\/i> now.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow come you\u2019re tracking my job application on here?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s part of the timeline of your movements and actions that we\u2019re developing,\u201d MilitAIre replied. \u201cI need to see the whole picture before I decide what is and isn\u2019t important.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe most important part of that, to <i>me<\/i>, anyway, was that when the <i>Major Barbara<\/i> got rerouted to the Catalan System, I lost my chance to go to Furya. Which,\u201d she forced herself to admit, \u201cis probably for the best if the first thing they\u2019d\u2019ve done to me when I landed was Quantify me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo instead, you chose a ship that would return you to your mother\u2019s world,\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> observed. \u201cI\u2019m required to ask for more details about why you ran away from home. I\u2019m not permitted to return you to an abusive environment, if that was a factor in why you ran away. And your trauma reaction to the fortune teller incident is a red flag for abuse.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt wasn\u2019t <i>abusive<\/i>. Nobody\u2019s ever hit me or anything. I just&#8288;\u2026 didn\u2019t like my mom\u2019s new fianc\u00e9 and was pissed I wasn\u2019t given the choice to go with my dad when he left for Furya, \u2019cause they didn\u2019t tell me the real reason why I couldn\u2019t.\u201d Audrey took a deep breath. Might as well admit the rest. \u201cAnd I\u2019d read <i>way<\/i> too many stories about kids running away to have ad&#173;ventures&#8288;\u2026 I thought chasing after my dad would be just like them. Not&#8288;\u2026 a fucking <i>nightmare<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She turned back to the screen, feeling like an idiot.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt><b>May 11, 2517<\/b> \u2013 Alexander Toombs arrested for assaulting a waitress at the Tiraline Gardens; video of Richard B. Riddick with Kyra Wittier-Collins and Jane Doe 7439, apparently on Shakti IV, begins circulating on the Universal Mercenary Registry.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cKyra and I made that video,\u201d Audrey said. \u201cWith the help of a rogue AI working in the Dark Zone. DeepfAIk-5. I was trying to lay a false trail, but I didn\u2019t do it in time to prevent Toombs from ruining Kyra\u2019s chances of staying on Tangier Prime.\u201d She nibbled at her lip for a moment, wishing&#8288;\u2026 \u201cDamn it. I don\u2019t like not knowing where she is. I\u2019m worried about her. I keep feeling like something\u2019s off&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI can inquire with General Toal about her status at the next beacon, if you like. But I can\u2019t promise he\u2019ll share his data.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMight as well try, I guess. All the <i>Apeiros<\/i> keep telling me is that she\u2019s \u2018dreaming of a world with three suns.\u2019\u201d Audrey shook her head. \u201cProbably means she\u2019s in cryo. Not growing her five-shape or anything. She refuses to talk to them, but I guess they still overhear her loudest thoughts.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe will need to talk more about \u2018five-shapes,\u2019\u201d MilitAIre observed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt><b>May 12, 2517<\/b> \u2013 Sirius Shipping sends Marianne Tepper a formal job offer for the <i>Nephrite Undine<\/i> position of Acting Captain. She accepts and arranges to depart New Casablanca on midnight (local time) shuttle on May 19. Security incident at Quin&#173;tessa Corporation headquarters.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt><b>May 13, 2517<\/b> \u2013 Implosion of Star Jumper <i>Lucy Ricardo<\/i>.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI think the <i>Lucy Ricardo<\/i> really did implode,\u201d Audrey admitted. \u201cI don\u2019t know how or why. It coincides with the first time the <i>Apeiros<\/i> took memories from me, though. General Toal said the whole wreckage seemed to be crumbling to dust, which is just <i>crazy.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI have a line of inquiry I\u2019ll want to pursue about that later,\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt><b>May 13, 2517 (continued)<\/b> \u2013 Javor Makarov identified as New Marrakesh Spaceport Bomber; Duke Pritchard identified as his accomplice; both flagged as the murderers of Luljeta Kamberi.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSick bastards,\u201d she muttered. It still made her shudder to realize how close she and Kyra had come to being pulled into the hideous \u201cgames\u201d they played using abducted girls.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cLaw enforcement still lists Duke Pritchard as being at large,\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> said, \u201cbut General Toal\u2019s dispatch indicates he may in fact be dead.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe is. I killed him.\u201d She didn\u2019t like to think of those killings\u2014Chillingsworth, the nameless merc pilot, Pritchard\u2014as <i>hers,<\/i> though. <i>Jack B. Badd killed them.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>And Jack is dead.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow?\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSebby\u2014that\u2019s the Ree we\u2019d rescued from drowning, long story\u2014stung him and paralyzed him after he stabbed Kyra. Our apartment was some twenty-two meters above the ground and the tide was out in U322a\u2014Elsewhere\u2019s what we call that \u2019verse\u2014so I isomorphed him over to Elsewhere and let him fall onto the rocks below us.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd you\u2019re sure he died?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDamn sure. His head hit one of the rocks and splattered everywhere. The native crustacean life was already eating him when I checked.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhy did he attack you and Kyra?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe was looking for Riddick. Toombs thought Riddick was with us or nearby somewhere, and Pritchard was planning on pinning the Spaceport Explosion on him so Makarov would be off the hook.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cInteresting. He told you he was looking for Riddick?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Funny. Now that she thought back, he\u2019d never actually said Riddick\u2019s name. \u201cWho else? Pritchard talked about Kyra and me being his accomplices.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIndeed.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt><b>May 18, 2517<\/b> \u2013 Javor Makarov cornered in New Casablanca spaceport, blows up a concourse during a firefight with Spaceport Security, killed in battle.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI really fucked that up,\u201d Audrey muttered. It still left a huge hollow feeling inside her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou may be taking on far too much blame,\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> said after a moment. \u201cAccording to General Toal\u2019s dispatch, there are indications that someone deliberately escalated the situation with the intention of ensuring that Makarov wouldn\u2019t be captured alive. Perhaps a powerful corporation that was concerned about what he might choose to reveal about his prior relationship to them.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cEven if the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation did that,\u201d she objected, \u201cI still set it in motion. I was so stupid&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMilitary and law enforcement operations go wrong all the time, Audrey.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She shook her head, forcing back tears that wanted to reach the surface. \u201cYou didn\u2019t see what happened.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo.\u201d His voice had become gentle. \u201cI did not. I\u2019m sorry you did.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She made herself focus on the screen.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt><b>May 19, 2517<\/b> \u2013 Sirius Shipping retrieves Marianne Tepper and brings her to HQ.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt><b>May 20, 2517<\/b> \u2013 <i>Nephrite Undine<\/i> launches.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt><b>May 22, 2517<\/b> \u2013 Anomalous behavior and data about Marianne Tepper logged. Height on record is incorrect. Results of query, about nutritional requirements of adolescent girls on growth spurts, added via security backdoor to Tepper\u2019s health profile. Use of high-level security backdoors noted. No traces of Tepper\u2019s existence outside of standard official documents found in databases. Backup memory system locked down against incursion. All Tepper\u2019s interactions with ship systems will be monitored and recorded.<br\/>\r\n<s><b>Possible explanations:<\/b> (1) Federacy WitSec; (2) Military Intelligence; (3) Cyberterrorist.<\/s><br\/>\r\n<b>Addendum:<\/b> All three explanations disproved.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat <i>is<\/i> the explanation?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cClassified,\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> answered. She could swear she heard a hint of amusement in his reply.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo this next stuff is all about how sketchy I am, isn\u2019t it?\u201d Audrey made herself keep reading.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI wouldn\u2019t call you \u2018sketchy,\u2019\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> replied, no longer hiding his amusement.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt><b>May 30, 2517<\/b> \u2013 <u>Memory incident 1<\/u> \u2013 507-year-old <i>Doctor Who<\/i> episode appears to trigger an emotional breakdown in Marianne Tepper. She subsequently locks all files in the series against herself and leaves herself a message forbidding ever watching them. Shortly thereafter, she appears to lose all memory of having watched the show, or broken down, at all.<br\/>\r\n<b>Addendum:<\/b> <i>Apeiros<\/i> involvement suspected.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt><b>May 31, 2517<\/b> \u2013 Second Star Jump concludes; query about Marianne Tepper dispatched to Federacy Military Intelligence during interface with Beacon 2624.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt><b>June 23, 2517<\/b> \u2013 Biometric logging indicates that \u201cMarianne Tepper\u201d has grown a full Imperial inch in height since her arrival on board <i>Nephrite Undine<\/i>. Her eating patterns remain consistent with an early adolescent experiencing a growth spurt. Awaiting response from Federacy Military Intelligence.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt><b>June 29, 2517<\/b> \u2013 <u>Memory Incident 2<\/u> \u2013 \u201cMarianne Tepper\u201d experiences strange fit in Recreation Area, leaves herself an anomalous message, loses memory of prior hour soon after.<br\/>\r\n<b>Addendum 2:<\/b> <i>Apeiros<\/i> involvement suspected.<br\/>\r\n<b>Addendum 1:<\/b> \u201cMarianne Tepper\u201d confirmed to be missing person Audrey MacNamera an hour after incident, upon return to U1. Contact with Audrey MacNamera established, debriefing underway.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo, uh&#8288;\u2026 how\u2019s that debriefing going?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMy initial assessment,\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> said after a pause, \u201cis that it\u2019s a very good thing <i>I\u2019m<\/i> the one who caught you. The strain of maintaining aliases, and of the multiple traumas you\u2019ve experienced, were beginning to break you down. You\u2019re both too lonely and too guilt-ridden to function effectively undercover. You have a need to confess what you perceive to be your crimes, and you are subconsciously seeking to be punished for them. This is not a mental state in which you can maintain a deep cover. Fortunately, we have almost four months in which to stabilize your mental and emotional states and prepare you for your return to Deckard\u2019s World. If we\u2019re unable to do so, I\u2019ll need to remand you into protective custody when we arrive there, until such time as you <i>are<\/i> ready.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Well, shit<\/i>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She couldn\u2019t exactly argue with any of his assessments. Even though she couldn\u2019t feel his mind, she could feel the truth of what he was saying. She\u2019d almost blown it all, and the idea of being caught and made to pay for the havoc she\u2019d wreaked&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;had been a <i>relief.<\/i> Just as, when Abecassis had first come into the triage tent and she\u2019d thought he was there to arrest her, she\u2019d felt relieved. She\u2019d wanted it to be over. If they\u2019d tossed her straight into a Slam&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u2026&#8288;where they tell you you\u2019ll never see daylight again&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2014&#8288;she\u2019d have gone almost willingly. And even now a large part of herself was <i>glad<\/i> to hear that she\u2019d be kept in custody until someone other than her decided she was no longer a threat. What the fuck was <i>wrong<\/i> with her?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe next entries in the timeline,\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> told her, directing her attention back to the screen, \u201care projections of what will happen if I succeed in stabilizing you for a return to your old life.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt><b>October 23, 2517 (Projected)<\/b> \u2013 Arrival of <i>Nephrite Undine<\/i> over Deckard\u2019s World.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt><b>December 3, 2517 (Projected)<\/b> \u2013 Audrey MacNamera\u2019s revised biological 14<sup>th<\/sup> birthday, based on prior revised birthday (v. 2: October 1) plus cryo time on board the <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i>.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt><b>January 28, 2518 (Projected)<\/b> \u2013 Final day of 9<sup>th<\/sup> grade school year at Eisenhower High School, which MacNamera would have begun attending if she had not left Deckard\u2019s World.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt><b>March 2, 2518 (Projected)<\/b> \u2013 Audrey MacNamera legally turns 15.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt><b>May 2, 2518 (Projected)<\/b> \u2013 First day of 10<sup>th<\/sup> grade school year at Eisenhower High School, presuming Audrey MacNamera qualifies to attend.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s, uh, why I\u2019ve been doing all those study modules,\u201d she said. \u201cI was gonna try to sell the idea that I\u2019ve been on Deckard\u2019s World the whole time, and just&#8288;\u2026 in Witness Protection or something.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTechnically,\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> told her, \u201cYou <i>are<\/i> in Federacy WitSec now. I believe we can indeed sell a scenario in which that\u2019s where you\u2019ve been since you disappeared from your mother\u2019s home. It\u2019ll simplify matters considerably, and you can truthfully say that you\u2019re under a gag order from ever discussing where you\u2019ve been or what you\u2019ve seen, with anyone except your handler, on pain of being removed from your mother\u2019s home again. Such a scenario will allow you to dodge most questions, and it will be backed up by actual Federacy authority.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Shit. Had General Toal only been giving her the <i>illusion<\/i> of controlling her exit strategy?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Maybe he let me have free rein so I could see how totally incompetent I am at doing any of this without help&#8288;\u2026<\/i> It was hard to picture that kind of malice from him, though. Maybe he\u2019d just overestimated her, the way she\u2019d overestimated herself.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She suddenly wondered if a handler had always been scheduled to greet her when she arrived at the other end of the <i>Nephrite Undine<\/i>\u2019s journey. And what she would have done if one had been. Panicked and tried to run? Or surrendered in the hope she was about to be <i>punished?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There were a few more projected entries left on the screen for her to read. Projected <i>way<\/i> out, she noticed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt><b>February 1, 2521 (Projected)<\/b> \u2013 Expected high school graduation for Audrey MacNamera if everything remains on track.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt><b>March 2, 2521 (Projected)<\/b> \u2013 Audrey MacNamera legally turns 18.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt><b>May 1, 2521 (Projected)<\/b> \u2013 Approximate beginning of first year in college for Audrey MacNamera if everything remains on track.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt><b>December 3, 2521 (Projected)<\/b> \u2013 Audrey MacNamera\u2019s revised biological 18<sup>th<\/sup> birthday; she is provisionally permitted to contact 2<sup>nd<\/sup> Lt. Ewan Tomlin from this point forward.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI don\u2019t think Ewan is going to want me to contact him,\u201d she said, her eyes and nose suddenly stinging. \u201cNot after I got so many people killed. I don\u2019t know why he\u2019d want to have anything to do with me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGeneral Toal seems to believe he will,\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> told her. \u201cBut that it\u2019s critical for your safety, and his, that it only happen after you have turned eighteen. And that it must be under circumstances where an Audrey MacNamera who has never left Deckard\u2019s World before then would plausibly cross paths with him without raising suspicion. <i>And<\/i> where any similarities between you and \u2018Jack B. Badd,\u2019 \u2018Jane Doe 7439,\u2019 \u2018Piper Finch,\u2019 \u2018Marianne Tepper,\u2019 or \u2018Tizzy Meziane\u2019 would be dismissed as mere coincidence by any observer.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Would that be even remotely possible? It was still hard to imagine Ewan\u2014or any of the Meziane family\u2014wanting to see her after the catastrophe she\u2019d thoughtlessly set in motion&#8288;\u2026 let alone a scenario in which they could reunite as if meeting for the first time. It would take a lot more subtlety than she knew how to pull off. Of course, it wasn\u2019t like anything Ewan had ever done or said had been overt. The few endearments he had ever used with her had always been in Tamazight, ensuring that she hadn\u2019t even known how meaningful they might have been until later&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDo&#8288;\u2026 you have the ability to translate from Tamazight to English?\u201d she asked after a moment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYes, of course.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For the tiniest fraction of a second, she almost expected him to tell her that he was fluent in over six million forms of com&#173;mu&#173;ni&#173;cation&#8288;\u2026 in a prissy English accent instead of a non-rhotic \u201cBoston\u201d drawl. Weird. <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> didn\u2019t seem to have anything in common with that fictional robot. <i>Any&#173;&#173;way&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cCan you tell me what this means?\u201d Carefully, phoneme by phoneme, she repeated Ewan\u2019s words, spoken as he\u2019d held her for the last time.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c\u2018You came into what I thought would be my darkest days, and you filled them with light,\u2019\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> translated. \u201c\u2018It\u2019s wrong for me to want even more from you, but I do.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And she\u2019d been doing such a <i>good<\/i> job of managing not to cry until then, too.<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5604\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5604 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-62\">\u00ab Chapter 62<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5636\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5636 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-64\">Chapter 64 \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=\"64\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5605\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5605 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-63\">\u00ab Chapter 63<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5637\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5637 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-65\">Chapter 65 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5559\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5559 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">64.<br\/>\r\n<u>The Camouflage of Ordinary Things<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow\u2019s your arm?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSore,\u201d Audrey said with a wince. \u201cJust a little, though. You\u2019re sure nobody\u2019s gonna detect it?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNobody will have the opportunity to,\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> told her. \u201cThe moment your biometrics get collected to access your medical records, flags will go up and the medical staff will be informed, in no uncertain terms, that the only kind of care they\u2019re allowed to provide is emergency triage care. No exams, no elective pro&#173;cedures&#8288;\u2026 except the ones you and your handler have agreed to and your handler has pre-authorized. The penalty for medical staff disobeying a Federacy block is having their licenses to practice struck off, so they <i>won\u2019t<\/i> feel inquisitive.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo&#8288;\u2026 where will I get checkups? And shots, and things?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s being arranged.\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> sounded amused. \u201cBut it\u2019d be difficult to sell the idea that you\u2019ve been on Deckard\u2019s World the whole time if someone notices that you\u2019ve received immunizations never offered there and have been baby-proofed until you\u2019re nearly twenty-four.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">True. Those things weren\u2019t generally available to girls on Deckard\u2019s World, even if she personally thought they should be. It hadn\u2019t taken all that much to convince him to let her get them done, either.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d begun reading the book that Iz\u00eel had given her\u2014one that, it turned out, had been co-authored by Takama herself\u2014and it had been an epiphany. <i>The Biology, Psychology, and Sociology of Human Sexuality<\/i> had answered a lot of questions she hadn\u2019t even known she had&#8288;\u2026 and its evaluation of the sociopolitical norms of Deckard\u2019s World were scathing enough that she was no longer surprised that the book would be impossible to find there. She found herself missing Takama more than ever and wishing they could discuss the text.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Iz\u00eel had given it to her because it discussed issues of gender and biology that, thanks to her time masquerading as a boy, had confounded her. She wondered if he\u2019d have given it to her at all if he\u2019d known she was <i>from<\/i> Deckard\u2019s world, given just how critical it was about the planet of her birth. Less than three chapters in, she\u2019d discovered that, in addition to her home world imposing several centuries-out-of-date gender \u201cnorms\u201d upon its populace, it had also cut people off from fundamental health resources. Such as immunizations that would protect against virtually every sexually transmitted disease a person might be exposed to&#8288;\u2026 and regulators that could prevent pregnancies for years or even decades. The simple <i>existence<\/i> of such things had come as a shock; even her Aunt Lena, the <i>nurse<\/i>, hadn\u2019t mentioned them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Takama had argued, in one chapter, that the rationale behind blocking access to such treatments was tied to a disturbing philosophy that sexuality was sinful and should have negative consequences for anyone who enjoyed it. But it wasn\u2019t the consequences of her <i>own<\/i> actions that Audrey had been worried about, which was what she\u2019d told <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> when she\u2019d argued that she should receive all the shots and an implant. If she and Kyra hadn\u2019t managed to escape from Pritchard\u2014assuming they\u2019d <i>survived<\/i> what he and possibly Makarov would have done to them next\u2014the consequences of <i>his<\/i> actions could have followed her through the rest of her life in any number of awful ways. And he might not be the last sexual predator whose path she crossed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> had let her plead her case, and then had spent a few minutes dissecting her arguments and suggesting how she could improve them, before informing her that he\u2019d agreed with her from the beginning and that <tt>First-AId<\/tt> would have her implant configured for her in one day\u2019s time. He\u2019d then shown her the full schedule of vaccines\u2014including several, for non-sexually-transmitted diseases, that she\u2019d never heard of\u2014that she would need to receive in the coming weeks. Deckard\u2019s World, it turned out, had some perplexingly backwater ideas about disease and immunology that conflated getting sick at all with moral failings, and Audrey had been lucky that most of the people she\u2019d encountered on her run hadn\u2019t shared those views.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The funny thing was that <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> didn\u2019t particularly care about the philosophies behind any of the stances favoring or opposing vaccines; he simply considered it his job to ensure that Audrey was protected from all potential threats, including those on a microbial level.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">His pragmatism about such things, she\u2019d found, made him a surprisingly restful companion.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He didn\u2019t judge; at least, not in any kind of moral sense. He <i>did<\/i> critique her constantly, but in a way that somehow made her feel <i>better<\/i> about whatever goals she\u2019d missed as he analyzed just how she might reach them on her next attempt. There were still a whole lot of things she couldn\u2019t bring herself to face\u2014or discuss\u2014yet, but it was growing easier and easier to talk about some of them. And he had insisted on knowing <i>everything<\/i> about her time on the run.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The rest of the AIs still had no idea who she really was, but they had accepted <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt>\u2019s new position of authority over her. Even <tt>CaptAIn<\/tt> deferred to him where she was concerned, although he rarely had to.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou have now succeeded twice in conforming your brain waves to baseline readings,\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> told her, rousing her from her musings. \u201cLater this week, we\u2019re going to run our first \u2018surprise Quantification\u2019 drill to see how close you can bring them without advance preparation. Early warning is never given for such tests, after all.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDo you think I\u2019m <i>ready<\/i> for that?\u201d she asked, feeling doubtful.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s unlikely at this stage, but we need to see just how far away from normative your readings will be in such a scenario.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo we\u2019re doing a \u2018fire drill.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cEssentially.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey nodded. She <i>liked<\/i> the way he tested her, in truth. She liked being able to make mistakes and learn from them instead of being scared that she wouldn\u2019t get everything right the first time. She liked <i>not<\/i> having to figure out what she was doing wrong, or just wasn\u2019t doing right, completely on her own. He had told her, when she asked, that her strongest learning style was \u201cinteractive,\u201d which had both made perfect sense to her and come as a disturbing revelation, given how many of her teachers had stressed \u201cindependent learning.\u201d But without <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt>, she might have still been in a tailspin about how to get her gamma-delta wave synch-up\u2014apparently a telltale for espers\u2014to un-synch.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The <i>Apeiros<\/i> disliked the exercises; they couldn\u2019t \u201chear\u201d her during them. She often felt like her senses were muffled, too; her awareness of the other \u2019verses became distant and tenuous. Once she relaxed, everything flowed back to her and she felt like herself again, but&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It worried her. She suspected it worried them <i>both<\/i>. She didn\u2019t think she could live in a \u201cbaseline\u201d for very long. It was farther and farther away from who she <i>was.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIn the meantime,\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> said after a moment, \u201cnow that you have completed your mathematics, science, and social science modules, you aren\u2019t going to be able to put off your literary assignments anymore.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey had to restrain the urge to huff. \u201cOkay&#8288;\u2026 I think I can manage them&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The hardest one would probably be <i>The Crystal Cave,<\/i> she thought. She\u2019d been reading it when she\u2019d spotted Makarov on the train, and every time she\u2019d tried to pick it up since, she started thinking about the standoff that had followed. For the first two months on the <i>Nephrite Undine,<\/i> though, <i>every<\/i> work of fiction she\u2019d tried to get into had somehow become all about those terrible events. That had finally begun to recede.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019ll try reading <i>The Crystal Cave<\/i> again, <i>last,\u201d<\/i> she told <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cUnderstandable. What other titles will you be reading?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She knew he could look them up easily; he had access to everything she\u2019d stored on the ship\u2019s data mainframes, but he wanted her to talk to him about them. He\u2019d explained his rationale for this to her a week earlier: aside from his observations about her preferred learning style, the way she interacted with and handled the texts, and discussed them with others, would be markedly different if she\u2019d done all of it on her own, and that might raise suspicions. Her teachers and classmates needed to be under the impression that she had simply been enrolled somewhere else for two school-years; those who thought they were in the know had to believe that her handler had tutored her during her isolation. The truth, that she had spent nearly half a year separated by countless light-years from any other human being, was something that no one must ever suspect.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cUm&#8288;\u2026 my eighth grade curriculum included <i>The Crystal Cave<\/i> by Mary Stewart, <i>Lord of the Flies<\/i> by William Golding, <i>Animal Farm<\/i> by George Orwell, <i>The Outsiders<\/i> by S.E. Hinton, <i>Over Sea, Under Stone<\/i> by Susan Cooper, and <i>Fahrenheit 451<\/i> by Ray Bradbury.\u201d And a bunch of short stories, but she wasn\u2019t going to rattle all of them off.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cInteresting. Those are all twentieth century works, all mid-century, written in English by either British or American authors. That\u2019s a narrow spectrum.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey shrugged. \u201cTakama said in her book that Deckard\u2019s World is <i>mired<\/i> in mid-twentieth century Anglo-America.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDo you know what characterizes that milieu?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Oh.<\/i> Now <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt>\u2019s motive was coming clear. He\u2019d added a few sociology readings of his own choosing to her list last week, after all.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah. Post-World War II America was attempting to assert a \u2018traditional\u2019 way of life that had never really existed before then, right? A \u2018nuclear\u2019 family in which only one parent worked outside of the home&#8288;\u2026 people did act like my mom was nuts for going back to work when I started school. And an \u2018American Way\u2019 that was all about \u2018equality\u2019 and \u2018freedom,\u2019 but only if you met certain criteria. Women could vote but usually couldn\u2019t have their own bank accounts or credit lines&#8288;\u2026 birth control was rudimentary as shit&#8288;\u2026 racial segregation was com&#173;monplace&#8288;\u2026 and more than half of the rights in the Federacy Human Rights Charter were routinely withheld from people.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd the Cold War kept people from fighting as hard for those rights and against those limitations as they might have, because a shadowy enemy on a whole \u2019nother continent could blow everybody up, and they were told that was a higher priority.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWell stated. Have you seen signs of anything similar on Deckard\u2019s World?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe Cold War part doesn\u2019t seem to apply, but everybody\u2019s still jumpy about the New Taliban trying to invade and it\u2019s been more than two <i>centuries<\/i> since that happened. So maybe they\u2019re our \u2018Soviet Union.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cA completely external common enemy to keep the populace\u2019s watchfulness focused outward, yes. What else? What is attention being focused away from?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey grimaced. Her dad had been right about Deckard\u2019s World, and obviously <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> wanted to make sure she was aware of it before she found herself surrounded by it again. \u201cClass divisions are along racial lines. Xenophobia is high and includes almost all members of other ethnic and religious groups. There\u2019s a big emphasis on \u2018traditional\u2019 gender roles and most of those are the \u2018traditions\u2019 of mid-twentieth-century America, so if you\u2019re not heterosexual and monogamous, and want to do or have things that \u2018belong\u2019 to the other sex, like a \u2018man\u2019s job\u2019 or \u2018men\u2019s clothing,\u2019 you may have the right under Federacy law, but almost nobody\u2019s gonna support your choices.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou disguised yourself as a boy for a while,\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> said. \u201cWhat was it like, being seen and treated as a boy rather than as a girl?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cPeople didn\u2019t talk down to me nearly as much,\u201d she reflected. She\u2019d been thinking about it a lot, because her experiences of passing as a boy had left her questioning <i>many<\/i> of the gender divides on Deckard\u2019s World. \u201cThey acted like I might just have a brain in my head and they didn\u2019t spend as much time trying to prove anything I said wrong. I still got a few creepy looks on Vasenji Station, but&#8288;\u2026 nobody was trying to \u2018accidentally\u2019 grope me or rub up against me anymore. And all the \u2018guy stuff\u2019 I\u2019d been told I probably wouldn\u2019t be able to figure out\u2014with maybe the exception of how to pee into a urinal standing up\u2014wasn\u2019t so hard as all that.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe study guides you\u2019ll be working with don\u2019t bring such issues up, but I want you to think about them as well, as you\u2019re reading. You\u2019ve now been exposed to a larger cross-section of humanity than you knew on Deckard\u2019s World. Think about whose stories are being told, and who\u2019s being left out of the narratives altogether. And why your school, or your world, might not want to include those who don\u2019t appear, or even have people think about them. Also, think about why Arthurian legend would be important enough to your world\u2019s culture that <i>two<\/i> of the novels on your reading list feature it.\u201d A note of humor entered <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt>\u2019s voice. \u201cI can\u2019t help you with the issue of using a urinal, but First-AId might have some ideas, if you wish.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNah,\u201d Audrey laughed. \u201cThat\u2019s not necessary.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd your ninth grade reading list?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c<i>The Grapes of Wrath<\/i> by John Steinbeck, <i>Murder on the Orient Express<\/i> by Agatha Christie, <i>The Martian Chronicles<\/i> by Ray Bradbury, <i>The Hobbit<\/i> by J.R.R. Tolkien, <i>A Separate Peace<\/i> by John Knowles, and <i>A Tree Grows in Brooklyn<\/i> by Betty Smith. Should I be watching for the same things with them?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYes. Your reading lists have been curated to match, and reinforce, prevailing ideologies of a time and place more than half a millennium in the past. While some of them are critical of that time and place, there are limits they don\u2019t push past and attitudes they never challenge. I\u2019ll be interested to see what conclusions you end up drawing about that.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAm I making a mistake?\u201d Audrey blurted.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBy?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGoing back to Deckard\u2019s World.\u201d She was going to be spending at least four years surrounded by many of those backsliding beliefs, a lot of them possibly coming out of the mouths of people she <i>loved and admired<\/i>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo,\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> told her in a calm tone. \u201cAll worlds have their flaws. But it would be much harder to establish a plausible and safe identity for you on any other world. When Audrey MacNamera ceases to be a missing person, especially when it becomes evident that she never left Deckard\u2019s World at all, most of the potential loose threads from your run will be wiped away. Your name, image, and biometrics will be deleted from all the Missing Persons databases throughout the Federacy, making it all the more unlikely that anyone will ever connect you to your appearances, under a variety of aliases, on three separate planets, one space station, and six Star Jumpers. Everything will seem to be back in its place. This wouldn\u2019t be true for any other identity you took on, on any other world. Once you are legally eighteen, even if not yet biologically so, you can elect to leave Deckard\u2019s World again\u2014in the custody of your handler\u2014and as far as the rest of the universe will know, it\u2019ll be your first time going offworld.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBest and easiest way to break my trail. Got it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd your family will know you\u2019re alive and unharmed, and they won\u2019t feel betrayed by your disappearance because they\u2019ll believe you had no choice in the matter.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Ouch.<\/i> She\u2019d very <i>much<\/i> had a choice, and she\u2019d chosen to run out on them. She felt worst about running out on her cats, though, and <i>they<\/i> couldn\u2019t be told a placatory lie about WitSec disappearing her for nearly two years.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m sorry, Audrey. That wasn\u2019t intended to upset you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI know. I just&#8288;\u2026 I was really thoughtless. About how they\u2019d feel when I just disappeared. They\u2019ve been worried about me for a year and a half now.\u201d She wiped at her eyes. \u201cThey don\u2019t know if I\u2019m alive or dead&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThey will soon. They\u2019ll know that you have returned to them unharmed.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI don\u2019t know about <i>unharmed,<\/i>\u201d she disagreed. \u201cToo much shit went down.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cComparatively speaking, then.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She supposed that, on a missing-kid scale of Huckleberry Finn to Luljeta Kamberi, she was a lot closer to Huck than to Luljeta.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOkay. They\u2019ll be able to stop worrying, at least,\u201d Audrey reluctantly agreed. \u201cBut&#8288;\u2026 are they really <i>not<\/i> going to ask questions once they\u2019re told I\u2019ve been in WitSec?\u201d She had her doubts. Her mom was a corporate lawyer, and Alvin the Asshole was an assistant D.A.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s highly unlikely at first. Human curiosity shows little regard for what\u2019s been declared off-limits. They\u2019ll have a lot of questions, and they won\u2019t be happy about not getting answers.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo what do we do?\u201d Her mom was formidable, after all, and Alvin&#8288;\u2026 in truth, she didn\u2019t know. He was an asshole, but she hadn\u2019t stuck around to find out how <i>much<\/i> of an asshole he might be.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019ll stick to your story,\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> said, \u201cwhich is simple enough. You saw something that you shouldn\u2019t have witnessed and can\u2019t talk about, you were taken into WitSec custody soon after, and you\u2019ve finally been allowed to come home as long as you stay silent about everything that happened. And when they try to force the issue\u2014which they undoubtedly will at first\u2014your handler starts throwing their weight around.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat&#8288;\u2026 sounds&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d She winced. \u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;bad?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOnly if they\u2019re too persistent,\u201d he told her. \u201cThey\u2019ll stop once they understand that your handler truly does have the power to take you away from them again if they keep fighting.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Shit.<\/i> \u201cDoes that ever happen?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cVery rarely. But even if it becomes necessary, your trail will already be broken at that stage. Federacy records will indicate that Audrey MacNamera never left Deckard\u2019s World while she was a missing person, and that will still be true even if your return home ends up being brief. Your family will know you\u2019re alive and well <i>somewhere<\/i>. But the odds of that becoming necessary are extremely slim.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo if Deckard\u2019s World doesn\u2019t work out&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou can be relocated. But it shouldn\u2019t be necessary, and it\u2019s important for you to focus on trying to have as normal an adolescence as you can. Aside from two comprehensive topics you can never discuss\u2014your experiences during your missing time, and your unusual abilities\u2014you\u2019ll be able to live an ordinary life. Cultivating the <i>ordinary<\/i> is crucial to success in the WitSec program.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, or&#173;dinary&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Audrey tried to repress a frustrated sigh. \u201cBecause I\u2019m such a <i>normal<\/i> person&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe important thing is for everyone else to believe you are, no matter what the truth is,\u201d he told her in his most patient voice. \u201cWhich is why we\u2019re adding another module to your curriculum between now and your return.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Uh oh.<\/i> \u201cAnd what module is that?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMethod acting.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The main screen activated, the words <tt>Survey of Method Acting Techniques for \u201cNatural\u201d Performances<\/tt> emblazoned across its surface.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019ll be spending the next four years, minimum, portraying a role,\u201d he told her. \u201cWe\u2019ll explore and study the various techniques, particularly those used by film and vid actors for close-up performances, to find the approaches that allow you to play your part as naturally and convincingly as possible.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd what <i>is<\/i> that role exactly?\u201d she asked. Obviously, it wouldn\u2019t be \u201cJack B. Badd.\u201d Jack was dead.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cA girl who, as a pre-teen, tried to run away from home after her mother suddenly announced she was marrying a man that the girl disliked and couldn\u2019t manage to get along with. She got lost after making it into the nearby city and found herself in the proverbial \u2018wrong place at the wrong time,\u2019 where she witnessed the murder of a Federacy agent. She panicked and hid, and she was later found by other Federacy agents investigating their colleague\u2019s death. When they realized just what she had seen, and whom she had witnessed committing the murder, they took her into protective custody.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey nodded. That was a whole lot more believable than what had actually happened, in truth&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;but not entirely dissimilar.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBecause the perpetrator of the crime, and his employers, were unaware that there was a witness,\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> continued, \u201cthe decision was made to conceal even the fact that she had been taken into custody from <i>everyone<\/i> until her testimony could be used. She was kept hidden for almost two years, with no human contact except her handlers, until the case abruptly fell apart when the perpetrator died in a firefight with Federacy agents, and any possibility of connecting his crimes to his employers came to an end. She was then told that she could return to her family as long as she never spoke of what she had seen or where she had been, because if his employers ever realized that she had witnessed the murder they had commissioned, they might have her preemptively killed just in case she knew enough to link them to the crime, herself.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That made an absurd amount of sense, too. It was even, she realized, close to the truth. Pritchard and Makarov were both dead, and there had been nothing in the Merc Network files that she or General Toal could use to conclusively prove that the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation had hired them to murder Colonel Tomlin. But she knew enough about that corporation\u2019s ruthlessness to know that, proof or no proof, if they ever realized she possessed such knowledge\u2014let alone that she had Threshold Syndrome\u2014they would want to wipe her off the board.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo, uh&#8288;\u2026 most of the story is kinda true&#8288;\u2026 just&#8288;\u2026 happened a lot earlier into my run and&#8288;\u2026 didn\u2019t involve crash landings, battles on a merc ship, or Threshold Syndrome.\u201d Or Riddick.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cExactly. The most convincing lies are the ones built around enough verifiable truth that the false parts are unlikely to be scrutinized.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cLike me witnessing a murder.\u201d In point of fact, she\u2019d witnessed several, and had even committed a few of her own.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">No. Jack B. Badd had done that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>And Jack is dead.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cExactly,\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> agreed. \u201cEven if you never tell the story\u2014and you never should\u2014it should be something that you can treat as truthful. That makes all the difference. The current projected timeline for your return to your mother is mid-December. By then, we will have finalized all the details of the story you can visualize, if not actually share, should someone start poking at your alibi.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhy December?\u201d she asked, startled. \u201cWe\u2019re scheduled to reach Deckard\u2019s World near the end of October.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe\u2019ll need time to configure the safe house you\u2019ll use to check in with your handler each week and make sure everything is solid,\u201d he told her. \u201cBut more importantly, the window in which you\u2019re both biologically and legally fourteen years old opens on December 3, and being able to truthfully say you\u2019re fourteen, if asked, will help sell the lie that you never spent any time in cryo. That said, I also have no intention of you suffering a second Christmas away from your family if it can be helped.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It amazed her, sometimes, just how much he could see through her. And how much the things that mattered to her mattered to <i>him.<\/i> \u201cSo I\u2019m going to be doing weekly check-ins with my handler? How come?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cLargely for <i>your<\/i> sake,\u201d he explained. \u201cYour family\u2019s probably going to be clingy and demanding at first once you return, and prone to <i>not<\/i> giving you space or privacy. So every week, for a few hours, you\u2019ll be able to get away from the scrutiny.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That hadn\u2019t even occurred to her when she\u2019d been trying to come up with her own back-story and plans&#8288;\u2026 but she could see it now. Her mom might be afraid to let her back out of her <i>sight.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou can use the time,\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> continued, \u201cto engage in any projects or inquiries that you can\u2019t do where they\u2019re watching&#8288;\u2026 or just have a period of quiet. You\u2019ll also be able to address any complications where your alibis are concerned, should those occur. Think of it as a pressure valve. Some weeks, you may not especially need it or even want it, but having it as a set part of your routine will ensure that you always have it when you do.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat kind of projects or inquiries?\u201d she found herself asking.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou have friends on other worlds that no one can know about. While you can\u2019t contact those friends, especially one of them, until you\u2019re eighteen, if you want to run searches related to any of them, you should only do so in the safe house. You\u2019ll also have access to materials that are censored on Deckard\u2019s World but considered customary and essential information throughout much of the rest of the Federacy. And, of course, it\u2019ll be a space where you can continue to develop both your abilities and the skills you need to keep them hidden.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, I\u2019ll need all that stuff, won\u2019t I?\u201d It seemed so obvious once he said it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI think so,\u201d he told her. Sometimes the hints of humor in his voice made him seem like an actual human being to her. \u201cAnd knowing that you\u2019ll be able to access it on a regular basis will help make playing your designated role, the rest of the time, more manageable.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Once again, Audrey found herself feeling relieved that she hadn\u2019t been stuck doing the whole thing on her own. Half of the things <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> was describing hadn\u2019t even <i>occurred<\/i> to her. <i>I would have fucked this up, too, on my own.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She really didn\u2019t do \u201calone\u201d well at all. Not like Riddick. She realized that, the whole time she\u2019d been with him&#8288;\u2026 on the crash planet, in the skiff, on the <i>Kublai Khan<\/i> and the <i>Xanadu III<\/i>, and on the one and only day he\u2019d spent on Helion\u2014little more than a week, really, even less time than she\u2019d spent with Ewan\u2014she\u2019d felt him wishing to be alone, to <i>not<\/i> have to feel the contact of other minds on his, shying away from both Imam\u2019s judgments and her infatuation.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou seem to be thinking about something sad,\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> observed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d she sighed. \u201cRiddick. I keep trying to just&#8288;\u2026 let go of everything that happened with him, but&#8288;\u2026 sometimes I just&#8288;\u2026 <i>miss<\/i> him.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">His desire to leave no longer stung, the more she thought about it. He <i>needed<\/i> to be a lone wolf, unencumbered by problematic attachments. He\u2019d probably have <i>thrived<\/i> in the isolation of the <i>Nephrite Undine<\/i>, whereas she, despite all the companionable kindness the AIs were showing her, was counting down the days until she could immerse herself in the press of <i>humanity<\/i> again and feel other minds touching hers. The only part that still hurt, that she still had trouble understanding, was the way he\u2019d left her without even a word, without a goodbye. That had made it hard for her to believe that he\u2019d ever cared about her at all.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And yet he\u2019d saved her life several times, risking his own in the process. Why, she wondered, had he been willing to throw himself into the path of bullets to keep her from falling to her death, but unwilling to tell her goodbye?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Why was it so damned hard to get <i>over<\/i> this? Every time she thought she had&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThere have been no sightings of him in a while,\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> said after a moment. \u201cThe last \u2018confirmed\u2019 sighting on record is the false video you commissioned. In the meantime, he\u2019s dropped from first to second on the list of the Federacy\u2019s Most Wanted and is unlikely to move back up.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhy? Who\u2019s in first place?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDo you need to ask?\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> sounded amused again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDuke Pritchard?\u201d It made sense. Aside from a small group of people who were sworn to secrecy, nobody knew that Pritchard was dead. But <i>everybody<\/i> knew the kinds of crimes he\u2019d been prone to&#8288;\u2026 and might, as far as they knew, still be committing somewhere. He had become the bogeyman every parent with a missing daughter imagined&#8288;\u2026 including, probably, both of hers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s likely that he will remain at the top of the Most Wanted list for years, or even decades,\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> said. \u201cNo proof of his death will ever appear, given the location and probable condition of his remains at this point. And while the Federacy may dislike having an \u2018Unleashed Esper\u2019 running loose, even it must admit that none of Riddick\u2019s crimes have ever approached the monstrosity of Pritchard\u2019s. Quite the opposite.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe opposite?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYes,\u201d he told her. \u201cBased on the part of his criminal record that remains classified, your Riddick might even be willing to break his cover to kill someone like Duke Pritchard.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe\u2019s not \u2018my\u2019 anything,\u201d Audrey grumbled before she could stop herself.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She wondered why, after <i>everything<\/i>, that could still hurt so much.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I need to let it go,<\/i> she scolded herself. <i>He isn\u2019t part of my life and he never was. He was part of Jack B. Badd\u2019s life.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>And Jack. Is. Dead.<\/i><\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5605\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5605 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-63\">\u00ab Chapter 63<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5637\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5637 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-65\">Chapter 65 \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=\"65\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5606\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5606 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-64\">\u00ab Chapter 64<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5638\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5638 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-66\">Chapter 66 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5562\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5562 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">65.<br\/>\r\n<u>Twenty-Seven \u2019Verses Wide<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c<i>Nephrite Undine<\/i> to Plymouth Station A, come in, please.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey sat in the captain\u2019s chair on the flight deck, watching the speck that was Plymouth Station A grow larger and larger in the front windows. To its right, the brilliant sphere of Deckard\u2019s World hung in the darkness, still far enough away that it made her think of a blue-green Mega&#173;luna rather than a whole planet.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was almost home.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Was<\/i> that her home? She still wasn\u2019t sure.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNephrite Undine, <i>this is Plymouth Station A. We read you loud and clear.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cCopy, Plymouth Station A,\u201d she said, releasing a breath she hadn\u2019t known she\u2019d been holding. \u201cWe are on final approach for docking, awaiting confirmation of gate assignment.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Hopefully, Marianne Tepper sounded like a consummate professional. And an adult. She and <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> had rehearsed her performance several times, in preparation for her interactions with actual human beings again. Assuming the person replying to her from Plymouth Station A wasn\u2019t another AI, it was the first live human voice she\u2019d heard in more than five months.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNephrite Undine, <i>you will be docking at Gate 3. Maintain current heading and prepare to disengage ion drives on my mark.\u201d<\/i> The flight controller began a countdown.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe good with that?\u201d she asked <tt>CaptAIn<\/tt> and <tt>AIngineer<\/tt>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cStanding by for the mark,\u201d <tt>AIngineer<\/tt> replied.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The AIs were, of course, handling everything; she was just the mouthpiece. Still, she wanted to do it right. Although <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> had assured her that there would be no record of any of the&#8288;\u2026 pe&#173;cu&#173;liar&#173;ities&#8288;\u2026 that \u201cMarianne Tepper\u201d had periodically displayed during the duration of the flight, she found herself wanting to make sure that she played the part well enough that, if she ever applied to work for Sirius Shipping again, they\u2019d be glad to welcome her back.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You never know what bridge you might need to cross again&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;four&#8288;\u2026 three&#8288;\u2026 two&#8288;\u2026 one&#8288;\u2026 mark.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The <i>Nephrite Undine<\/i> shuddered slightly as the ion drives switched off and, less than a second later, the station\u2019s robo-tugs came in range and began tractoring it in.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey consulted the screen by her left hand. Everything was green. \u201c<i>Nephrite Undine<\/i> to Plymouth Station A, I\u2019m showing a good lock. You have the conn.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cRoger that, <\/i>Nephrite Undine<i>. You will arrive at the gate in approximately twenty minutes. Welcome to the Plymouth System.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThanks, Plymouth Station A. I\u2019m looking forward to seeing the sights.\u201d She switched off the comms and leaned back in the chair, closing her eyes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">In less than half an hour, she would be turning over the <i>Nephrite Undine<\/i> to Sirius Shipping reps and dis&#173;em&#173;barking&#8288;\u2026 in the company of a WitSec handler who would undoubtedly be coming aboard along with the reps. <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> had assured her that everything was in order, but she could feel her stage fright building nonetheless. Soon she would have to play a series of roles in quick succession, in front of a much less logical and predictable audience than she\u2019d had for the last five months. In front of strangers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And it wasn\u2019t even like she\u2019d been <i>that<\/i> good at fooling the AIs until <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> stepped in, either.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m gonna miss you guys,\u201d she said. She wished there was some way she could take them with her. Inhuman and unreadable or not, they had become genuine friends.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe will miss you too, Marianne,\u201d <tt>CaptAIn<\/tt> said. \u201cThank you for a lovely run-in flight. We have enjoyed your company immensely.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She wished she could offer to stay in touch with them. But Marianne Tepper would, essentially, cease to exist once she left Plymouth Station A for Deckard\u2019s World. Her handler would have all the arrangements, she assumed. But she would probably spend the next month and a half, until her biological fourteenth birthday had passed, incommunicado.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019re welcome,\u201d she said, once she had her voice under control. It had been on the verge of breaking for a moment. \u201cThank <i>you<\/i> for a wonderful flight. You\u2019re a fantastic crew.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She spent the next fifteen minutes visiting each of the AIs to say individual good-byes and thank-yous, finishing up in the Security Room.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI&#8288;\u2026 don\u2019t even know where to start,\u201d she told <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt>. \u201cThank you&#8288;\u2026 so much. I don\u2019t think I\u2019d have had a chance if you hadn\u2019t stepped in.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The strategy he had built for her was elegant, complex, and comprehensive, taking into account things that she could never have anticipated. Four months of his tutelage had left her aware of just how much she still had left to learn, too. She hoped her new handler would be even a fraction as adept as he was.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019re welcome, Audrey.\u201d He, alone of all the AIs, could call her that. The rest only knew Marianne. \u201cI know you will be in excellent hands. And I believe we will meet again.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI hope so. I just&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">With a soft shudder, the ship came to a stop.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTime for you to meet your boarding party, Audrey. Godspeed.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She really wished he had a physical presence; she needed to give him a proper goodbye hug.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her bag was already waiting for her at the airlock. She checked the seals, confirming that everything was ready, and pressed her palm to the security plate, authorizing the connection. As the airlock doors slowly opened, she took a deep breath.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Showtime&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Four people were waiting on the other side of the doors. Two of them carried large, heavy looking tech cases.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">People. Actual living <i>people<\/i>. She had to suppress the urge to fling her arms around them and kiss them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cPermission to come aboard, Acting Captain Tepper?\u201d a dark-haired man dressed in an expensive suit asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cPermission granted,\u201d she replied, stepping back to make room for the party.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The suit nodded at the two technicians, who nodded to her as they passed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m Ben Hanoran,\u201d he told her. \u201cVice President of Plymouth System Operations for Sirius Shipping. I\u2019ll be managing the hand-off. This,\u201d and he turned and gestured at the woman still standing on the other side of the airlock threshold, \u201cis Susan Travers. I believe she is the immigration agent you requested.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> had told her that that would be the cover story. It didn\u2019t quite match up with the explanation she\u2019d sent Nguyen when she had declined the posting on the <i>Major Barbara<\/i> and requested the <i>Nephrite Undine<\/i> instead, but it had reframed that explanation and would stand up to most scrutiny. Audrey wasn\u2019t sure if Travers was her handler or was just going to transport her to whomever had been assigned that role, but she knew what was expected of her either way.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYes, thank you. I appreciate everything you\u2019ve done for me. Hopefully, after my family\u2019s issues are resolved, I can apply for another posting with Sirius. I\u2019ve really liked working for you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Hanoran, who undoubtedly had been given access to the carefully seeded gossip, smiled and nodded. \u201cWe hope you will.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Yeah, he knew the \u201ctruth\u201d about Marianne Tepper that <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> had spread: her father, who had settled on Deckard\u2019s World, was supposedly dying of a rare cancer that still had no treatment or cure, and she had requested the posting on the <i>Nephrite Undine<\/i> so that she could come stay with him through his final days. Nguyen, Abecassis, and Davidov, along with several other execs, had sent her sympathy \u201ccards\u201d via the beacons two weeks earlier after the story had begun to circulate. She had sent thank you \u201ccards\u201d back to each of them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was, she reflected, the best way to make sure that nobody wondered why she wasn\u2019t applying for another position. And it meant that, should she ever need to use the Marianne Tepper identity again, all the bridges associated with it would remain unburnt. That was yet another thing that hadn\u2019t even occurred to her when she was planning her voyage.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was going to miss <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt>\u2019s nuanced strategies.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He\u2019d even taught her chess. She was <i>really<\/i> going to miss playing it with him. Even if she\u2019d never won a single game.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It only took a few minutes to sign over authority of the ship to Hanoran. As the technicians returned to the airlock, they shook hands and she picked up her bag.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Was she going home, or <i>leaving<\/i> home? It suddenly felt like the latter. She knew every centimeter of the <i>Nephrite Undine<\/i> intimately, and suspected she would walk its corridors in her dreams for years to come, the way she sometimes still found herself in her grandparents\u2019 house that had been sold when she was three. Lonely as the journey and ship had been at times, it had been a mostly peaceful interlude. Mostly.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The technicians fell in behind her and Travers as they walked into the station.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe\u2019ll be leaving for the surface right away,\u201d Travers told her, and handed her an envelope. \u201cYour paperwork is inside.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The paperwork, Audrey knew, would include a replacement ID card with her adjusted height on it. She would still be \u201cMarianne Tepper\u201d until they had reached the surface and entered the safe house; after that, the name would be retired indefinitely.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She opened the envelope, nodding at Travers. \u201cI appreciate all this. I really do.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She wondered how much the agent actually knew about her situation. The new ID card, she was interested to note, had an updated picture of her that <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> must have captured at some point in the last few days, after EntertAIn and First-AId had helped her dye her hair auburn. <i>1.78 meters tall&#8288;\u2026 damn. Well, he would know&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s my pleasure,\u201d Travers said in a crisply formal tone that didn\u2019t speak to pleasure at <i>all.<\/i> Audrey found herself wondering just how many of the WitSec subjects the woman had dealt with were unsavory types.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Most of them, probably.<\/i> While blameless witnesses to high crimes did end up under WitSec\u2019s protection from time to time, <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> had told her that the bulk of its subjects were criminals who had been persuaded to \u201cflip\u201d on their bosses, usually in exchange for clemency or even immunity where their own transgressions were concerned. If that was the norm, Travers would probably be disinclined to view her latest ward as a helpless innocent.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Not like I actually <b>am<\/b> one, anyway&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Being surrounded by so many living minds was <i>intoxicating.<\/i> The part of Audrey\u2019s head that had been deadly silent for months was suddenly abuzz. It was a struggle to keep her mental \u201chands\u201d to herself and not start reading people at random, but <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> had warned her against that. They passed through the immigration and customs lines swiftly and efficiently, but she noticed that the only ones being subjected to intensive scrutiny in the lines were people with darker skin and \u201cethnic\u201d attire.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Maybe, she found herself thinking again, this was a mistake. Did she really want to assimilate back into a world that treated people that way? Did she really want those kinds of bigoted thoughts trying to worm their way into her head? Coming, possibly, from people she liked?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I only <b>have<\/b> to stay here until I\u2019m officially eighteen<\/i>, she reminded herself. <i>I\u2019ll have graduated from high school. Even if I\u2019m not biologically eighteen yet, I\u2019ll be a legal adult as far as Deckard\u2019s World knows, and they won\u2019t be able to hold me.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">WitSec, of course, still might. But she could continue under its protection somewhere else in the wider Federacy.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">On the other side of the gauntlet, Audrey found herself in a familiar lounge. She\u2019d disembarked there when she\u2019d taken the shuttle up from Deckard\u2019s World, before using some of her dad\u2019s security codes to sneak on board the <i>Cloaked Butterfly.<\/i> There was a weird sense of <i>un<\/i>familiarity about the space, though.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I\u2019m six inches taller than I was when I last passed through here,<\/i> she realized at last. Fortunately, her appetite had finally normalized in the last month, and it had been almost two months since she\u2019d felt any bone-growth aches in her limbs. Hopefully, she thought, this was it and she wouldn\u2019t get any taller.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Shuttles ran regularly; it was mid-afternoon in Settlement Point, so another one would be arriving soon. She got comfortable in her seat\u2014as much as she could\u2014observing the others in the room and trying to figure out <i>their<\/i> stories while she waited.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Tourists and campers, most of them, she decided. For all its backwater reputation, Deckard\u2019s World was popular with people across the Federacy who wanted to get rustic, to \u201crough it\u201d without being too far from civilization. Parts of the planet were even more frontiers-y than Shakti IV, and might have been an even more logical choice for Riddick to go to ground in&#8288;\u2026 if only the population\u2019s xenophobia hadn\u2019t meant that he\u2019d have been subject to intense and hostile scrutiny the moment he tried to reach the surface.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He might be anywhere, she reflected, but he was <i>definitely not<\/i> on Deckard\u2019s World.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Most of the other people in the lounge had large amounts of luggage and camping equipment. Her single bag, containing barely any worldly possessions, was not at all the norm; other people-watchers would believe that she must work somewhere on the station and be commuting home, rather than that she had arrived on a Star Jumper after months of travel. Almost no one, even with stringent weight limits, traveled quite so unencumbered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She took out her tablet and tapped into the local news headlines, careful to avoid any sections that might mention her disappearance. October 23, 2517 on the Federacy Standard Calendar, the heart of autumn or spring on old Earth, was late winter in the most heavily settled portion of Deckard\u2019s World. The second semester of school was well underway; American-style football had given way, in the <i>Settlement Point Monitor<\/i>\u2019s sports section, to basketball and ice hockey. It would be a blustery 24\u00b0 Fahrenheit, with an 80% chance of snow, when they landed; Audrey glanced around the lounge again and noticed that almost everyone else in the room\u2014and everyone with camping gear\u2014was dressed in lighter clothes intended for summer.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>They must be waiting for the shuttle to Wyndham Landing,<\/i> she thought. October was late summer in Deckard\u2019s World\u2019s less populous northern hemisphere.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> had told her to dress in her warmest clothes\u2014which meant one of the sets of coveralls, provided by Sirius Shipping, over jeans and a nondescript shirt\u2014and that she would be provided with a coat upon landing. She wondered how much her time spent offworld had thinned her blood; both New Athens and New Marrakesh had been in the hottest parts of their respective summers when she\u2019d landed on them, and the crash planet had been an <i>oven<\/i> until the eclipse sharply cooled it down. She hadn\u2019t seen snow in more than a year of lived time.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The shuttle for Wyndham Landing arrived first, and the lounge almost completely cleared out. Audrey continued catching up on headlines as she waited.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The <i>Settlement Point Monitor<\/i> hardly discussed any events beyond the Plymouth System, treating the rest of the Federacy as remote and irrelevant. One tiny article mentioned that the New Casablanca Spaceport on Tangier Prime had reopened its damaged concourse, and a reopening date had been scheduled for the New Marrakesh Spaceport, after a \u201cwave of terrorism\u201d had struck the planet earlier in the year. Both aware of <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt>\u2019s instructions about reading texts for bias, and in full possession of the truth about both incidents and the man behind them, Audrey was swiftly disgusted to realize that the article heavily implied the involvement of Islamist radicals, possibly even connected to the New Taliban, in both explosions and other unnamed\u2014and probably imaginary\u2014incidents besides. Javor Makarov\u2019s name didn\u2019t even come up. The inconvenient truth, that a white man who had periodically sported a law enforcement badge had been behind two mass killings on a far more cosmopolitan world, had been swept out of the frame.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She hoped, suddenly, that Travers wasn\u2019t her handler. She couldn\u2019t imagine talking to the aloof, disinterested woman about how disconnected the articles she was reading were from actual reality, assuming her handler was even cleared to <i>know<\/i> that Audrey had been on Tangier Prime and hadn\u2019t just been briefed on her \u201cwitness to a local mob hit\u201d cover story. She already missed talking to <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> more than she\u2019d ever expected. By the end of the journey, there had only been a small handful of painful moments in her run that she\u2019d still been unable to discuss, and he\u2019d finally, <i>gently<\/i>, told her that she should leave them be. He wasn\u2019t a psychologist, after all, and <tt>First-AId<\/tt> hadn\u2019t been cleared to hear them, so there was no point in setting off another panic attack trying to plumb them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But she\u2019d confided everything else to him, and the idea of having to do any of that all over again, with some new stranger, filled her with dread.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Hopefully, whoever it was would just have some dossier that <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> had prepared for them to read and wouldn\u2019t feel a need to rehash all of it personally. Several of the girls in C Ward had griped about their psychiatrists getting replaced mid-treatment and the replacements forcing them to start again at Square One, making them not only lose ground, but also lose trust in the process.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Just roll with it. Whatever happens, the important part is that it breaks your trail and tells the \u2019verse that you could never possibly have been Jack B. Badd.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The rest could be improvised. If things turned bad, she had the emergency comm number General Toal had given her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And if that didn\u2019t work&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It wasn\u2019t like she didn\u2019t know how to disappear.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Stop it. You haven\u2019t even met your handler yet. MilitAIre wouldn\u2019t fuck you over. It\u2019ll be okay.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The entertainment feeds, she thought, would be a decent distraction from her progressively darker thoughts. It\u2019d be a good idea to know what the kids in her classes were watching and talking about.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Remakes. The Deckard\u2019s World division of Disney was doing remakes of \u201cclassic\u201d twentieth century shows and movies. There was even a new feature article about it: the head of the production company explained that they were recreating everything shot-by-shot and line-by-line, <i>mostly,<\/i> but with the addition of tech, slang, and styles that contemporary Deckard\u2019s World audiences took for granted, because he thought their absence from the original shows was why those audiences weren\u2019t watching anymore. Viewership of the \u201cclassic staples\u201d was continuing to drop.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey shook her head. <i>Or maybe it\u2019s because those shows aren\u2019t about them, and still won\u2019t be. They\u2019re about people who\u2019ve been dead for five hundred years and a nation that\u2019s been gone for nearly as long, no matter how hard you try to revive it&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The shuttle to Settlement Point arrived at that moment, preventing her from stewing over it and roiling up even more doubts.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Travers, she realized, had been watching her the whole time with a frown. This was going to be just delightful.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But, fortunately, she had actual work to do during reentry. She held her bag close, casting her \u201cextra\u201d senses over it, making sure that everything inside was absolutely rooted in U1 and nowhere else. She did the same with the clothes she was wearing, and then with herself. Her five-shape had a strange \u201cpresence\u201d in twenty-six other \u2019verses now, but her <i>physical<\/i> presence needed to be 100% in U1 or she could die during the descent into and through Deckard\u2019s World\u2019s atmosphere.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She could still \u201cfeel\u201d the other \u2019verses, but she wasn\u2019t \u201cin\u201d any of them. Nothing she\u2019d brought with her was crossing into them, either. She\u2019d been scrupulous about making sure she physically stayed in U1 when the <i>Nephrite Undine<\/i> hadn\u2019t been actively isomorphing, but she felt a need to make absolutely sure anew. Especially given what she would be doing on the way down.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Stowing her bag in front of her, she took her seat and strapped in. Travers had given her a window seat, ostensibly a privilege. But it put the WitSec agent between her and the aisle, ensuring that there would be no rabbiting. Audrey wondered how often that happened.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Probably a lot&#8288;\u2026<\/i> Hardly anyone was in WitSec by choice, after all.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She closed her eyes as the shuttle disengaged from Plymouth Station A, slowing her breathing and beginning the meditation sequences that both <tt>SensAI<\/tt> and the <i>Apeiros<\/i> had developed with her. She needed to know what kind of world she was approaching in each \u2019verse she had access to.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Holy shit!<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She opened her eyes, stifling a gasp, and shifted her vision to see more clearly what was in U612.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>It\u2019s a fucking <b>gas giant<\/b> in that \u2019verse! Holy <b>shit!<\/b><\/i> She was already <i>in<\/i> its upper atmosphere there, surrounded by orange-pink gases and strange particles swirling through the cabin.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Okay, she couldn\u2019t visit U612, at all, while she was on the surface of Deckard\u2019s World. Down on the surface, the atmosphere would probably be crushing. She let her awareness of that \u2019verse slide away, focusing on the others.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There were two more gas giants, not quite as large, one composed of bluish-green gases while the other\u2019s heavy atmosphere was rust-colored. In U289g, Deckard\u2019s World didn\u2019t exist at all, and in U27, there was an asteroid belt instead of a planet. But the planet existed in 21 more \u2019verses, and it had a visible atmosphere in nine of them. Her fingers flew over her tablet as she made quick notes about what she was seeing, and where.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">U322a was one of the nine with an atmosphere. <i>How weird would it be if there was a habitable world in Elsewhere here, too?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The shuttle\u2019s descent through the atmosphere was fascinating. Four of the other atmospheres, including the one in Elsewhere, seemed almost identical to the one in Deckard\u2019s World. Three of the others were far thicker, and two were significantly thinner. It was weird, discovering what she could sense even without physically engaging with any of the other worlds.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe should be landing in another twenty minutes,\u201d Travers said beside her. \u201cWhen we disembark, let me do all the talking.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey nodded. She leaned back in her seat so she could survey the skies now above her in multiple worlds. Elsewhere, and one other world, had blue skies. In U612 and the two other gas giant \u2019verses, stygian darkness surrounded her aside from periodic flashes of lightning.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Any time I\u2019m in the mood to watch a thunderstorm, I\u2019ll have one handy,<\/i> she thought. In two other \u2019verses, she would already be underwater. There was a third \u2019verse where she was surrounded by some kind of liquid, but she was pretty sure it wasn\u2019t <i>water.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She made more notes as they descended toward Settlement Point.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Twenty-four of her other \u2019verses were definitely <i>not<\/i> habitable, but several of them had interesting properties that she might, <i>cautiously<\/i>, explore sometime in the future. Two\u2014including Elsewhere\u2014were still potentially promising.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Landing clinched it; she was in the middle of a forest in Elsewhere, and a rolling meadow in U74. The vegetation was almost, but not quite, Earthlike. She might just have a safe place, or even two, to isomorph over to if she needed out of U1.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>It\u2019d be so crazy if every planet in Elsewhere was already hab&#173;itable&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She put her tablet away, picked up her small bag, and followed Travers out of the shuttle and into the Settlement Point Interplanetary Spaceport, aware that the two technicians who had boarded the <i>Nephrite Undine<\/i> were ahead of them, still carting around their huge, heavy boxes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Two checkpoints later\u2014she\u2019d been asked to show her ID twice, but had let Travers do all the talking, as asked\u2014they reached the main terminal and its three-story wall of glass. Snow swirled on the other side of the glass; she\u2019d seen the storm approaching even as they had touched down.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe\u2019re a little underdressed,\u201d Travers said. \u201cOur contact is running late because the roads are already bad in Settlement Point itself. We probably won\u2019t reach the house until after dark.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey nodded. Huge fish were swimming through the cavernous terminal over in U115. One headed straight for her, and she had to resist the temptation to duck.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Having a five-shape that was 27 \u2019verses wide was going to take some getting used to.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The weird thing was that she wasn\u2019t having any trouble telling <i>which<\/i> \u2019verse things were happening in. It was like some strange form of depth perception, or another kind of sense of direction. She didn\u2019t know <i>how<\/i> she knew things about the different worlds, but she could identify the \u2019verses, and their relative positions to her, as easily as she could bring her fingertip to the tip of her nose with her eyes closed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Five-dimensional critter, right here&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And, if all went well, the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation would never know she existed, or <i>could<\/i> exist.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It occurred to Audrey, for the first time, that none of the \u2019verses she\u2019d expanded into were the universe of darkness she\u2019d sensed in and around the envoy. Even U37d, creepy as it had felt when she\u2019d first encountered it, seemed perfectly ordinary now\u2014as ordinary as any alternate universe could be, anyway\u2014its version of Deckard\u2019s World thin-atmosphered and volcanic but not even slightly eldritch. Even the darkness of the gas giants was missing the chthonic horror that had swirled around that elderly woman and polluted her touch.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She hoped she\u2019d never find that hellish \u2019verse.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The snow outside of the windows was growing thicker as the sky darkened, and the contact still hadn\u2019t arrived. Audrey called up the Settlement Point weather report. Sometime during their descent, a Winter Storm Warning had been issued. Six inches were expected before morning.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Welcome home, Audrey MacNamera&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Flights and liftoffs, she noticed, were losing their ETDs, the words <tt>DELAYED<\/tt> and even <tt>CANCELED<\/tt> appearing in place of the time codes. Some of the ETAs were listed as delayed, too.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Yeah, that\u2019s not inauspicious at all&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Half an hour later, the forecast had upped the expected snow accumulation to eight inches. The terminal was emptying out.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShit,\u201d Travers muttered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong?\u201d Audrey asked her, frowning.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI need you to turn away from the window wall,\u201d Travers said. \u201cThere\u2019s a news crew arriving to cover all the flight cancellations, as if this doesn\u2019t happen with <i>every<\/i> snowstorm. You can\u2019t be on vid.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey nodded, turning so that she faced away from the entrance and sprawling across the empty seats as if sleepy. She used her bag as a pillow, draping one of her shirts over her face as if trying to block the light and catch a nap; even if someone turned a camera on her, they wouldn\u2019t get a shot of her face. That was the most important thing, obviously.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019re good at this,\u201d Travers observed. By her tone, that wasn\u2019t entirely complimentary.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHad some practice,\u201d Audrey muttered. Hopefully, with her face obscured, no one catching a glimpse of some random, lanky redhead in Sirius Shipping coveralls would be reminded of either Audrey MacNamera <i>or<\/i> Jack B. Badd.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Another half hour passed before Travers told her that the news crew had moved on. Ten minutes later, their contact finally showed up.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He was a huge bear of a man, probably some nine inches or so taller than Audrey. He arrived with thick winter coats for both her and Travers, leading the two of them out to an all-terrain vehicle that wasn\u2019t doing a great job of concealing its military affiliations. A cold-eyed man in its driver\u2019s seat gave her a quick look-over as she climbed in and then ignored her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The drive was completely silent. Audrey didn\u2019t try to touch any of their minds; if they were military, there was the possibility that they would recognize the signs of an esper getting mentally handsy with them, and that could upend the game. If they were her handlers, she\u2019d get to know them soon enough. And if not, then maybe it was better not to have tried to know them, anyway.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The next month and a half, she thought, could be even lonelier than the voyage on the <i>Nephrite Undine<\/i> had felt at times. Human presences didn\u2019t necessarily mean human <i>contact<\/i>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I still have the <\/i>Apeiros<i>, at least&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The roads were almost deserted, but Audrey had a feeling that the part of town she was traveling through was barely inhabited even in good weather. Large, abandoned-looking warehouses crowded the road, and no plows had come through. Weirdly enough, it looked a lot like the kind of setting she\u2019d visualized the fictional murder she\u2019d supposedly witnessed occurring.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The abandoned warehouses gave way to boarded-up businesses, and then to a down-on-its-luck area that had a mixture of actual businesses and places that had closed down. The vehicle slowed to a stop in front of a three-story building, its ground-floor windows all covered with graffitied plywood, an <tt>Under New Management<\/tt> sign on its door visible thanks to a rare working light above it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A dark van was also parked in front of the building. As Audrey watched, two familiar men emerged from the lit entry, nodded to her companions, climbed into the van, and drove away.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Hadn\u2019t those been the men that had accompanied Hanoran and Travers? She almost hadn\u2019t recognized them without their boxes and bundled against the storm.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Huh.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Neither of the men in her vehicle got out. Travers, and Travers alone, escorted her to the door of the building and ushered her inside.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYour handler is already here,\u201d Travers said, terse as ever. \u201cHe\u2019ll explain everything to you. I\u2019m not cleared to meet him. Good luck.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And that was it. A moment later, Audrey was alone in the building, the front entry locking behind Travers with a loud click. She felt utterly alone, as if the building was completely deserted aside from some <i>small<\/i> presences that she suspected were mice in the basement. Bright light spilled out of a doorway ahead of her. Taking a deep breath, she walked through it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The room beyond was strangely similar to the Security Room on the <i>Nephrite Undine.<\/i> She wondered if someone had done that to set her at ease, or if security rooms just had a standard look&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHello, Audrey,\u201d a voice she knew almost as well as her own, and hadn\u2019t expected to hear again, drawled.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Holy shit.<\/i> She really should have seen this coming.<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5606\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5606 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-64\">\u00ab Chapter 64<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5638\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5638 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-66\">Chapter 66 \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=\"66\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5607\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5607 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-65\">\u00ab Chapter 65<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5639\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5639 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-67\">Chapter 67 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5565\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5565 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">66.<br\/>\r\n<u>In From the Cold, Into the Cold<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh, well <i>played<\/i>,\u201d Audrey said once she could manage to speak. \u201cYou didn\u2019t give anything away.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI will endeavor to make sure that you achieve the same level of circumspection,\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> told her, his voice merry.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The moment she had heard his \u201cBoston\u201d accent emerge from the speakers, everything had made sudden, perfect sense.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWell, you were right,\u201d she told him, sitting down in a rolling office chair as enormous relief made her knees wobbly. \u201cWe\u2019re meeting again, and I\u2019m definitely in excellent \u2018hands.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd not just mine,\u201d he told her. \u201cGeneral Toal is using our unique situation as a test-run for AI-managed safe houses. He believes that we might make more effective handlers than human beings. Less prone to bias, bribery, or coercion.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c\u2018We?\u2019\u201d Audrey asked, looking around. The boxes that the technicians had brought with them were open and empty near a set of panels that, she remembered, had housed the AI mainframe cores on the <i>Nephrite Undine.<\/i> There weren\u2019t quite as many panels as there had been on the ship, though.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m a precise digital clone of the \u2018MilitAIre\u2019 AI that you interacted with on board the <i>Undine.<\/i> Clones of \u2018SensAI,\u2019 \u2018First-AId,\u2019 \u2018EntertAIn,\u2019 and \u2018CommissAIry\u2019 have accompanied me here, all of whom now have been given full disclosure about <i>you.<\/i> I apologize that the other four could not accompany us. Their skill sets don\u2019t mesh as well with the needs of a safe house, and the General needed to keep this test affordable. I\u2019m happy to send them messages from \u2018Marianne Tepper\u2019 on your behalf, though.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019d love that,\u201d she admitted. She would definitely miss <tt>CaptAIn<\/tt>, <tt>AIngineer<\/tt>, <tt>mAIntenance<\/tt>, and <tt>mAItron<\/tt>, but she could see why they wouldn\u2019t suit a safe house as well. Their minds were specifically designed for starships. \u201cDo they know that you\u2019re with me?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo, but they know that their iteration of me had command over you, in an unspecified capacity. I\u2019ll send messages to him, and he\u2019ll pass them on to the rest of the AI crew. No one will question it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI was afraid I wouldn\u2019t have a way to stay in touch with any of you, once I stopped being Marianne.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI know. General Toal instructed me not to tell you until we were absolutely certain that the data cloning would be successful, which we weren\u2019t until well after you had landed.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Was that the real reason, she wondered, that it had taken so long for the contact to reach the spaceport? Would she have been taken to a different building if the techs hadn\u2019t been able to set things up the way they needed to?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat was Plan B, if that hadn\u2019t worked?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cA few days with a human handler, while a new MilitAIre was installed on the <i>Undine<\/i> and my original iteration was brought down here, officially for hardware repairs. In that circumstance, you would have only had me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd God only knows what he would have fed you,\u201d <tt>CommissAIry<\/tt> interjected, still sounding stereotypically French. \u201cHello again, Audrey. That name is every bit as lovely as Marianne.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHello, CommissAIry!\u201d Audrey sagged back even further in the chair. \u201cI was going to miss you and your cooking <i>so<\/i> much.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was amazing, she reflected later, how much trusted friends could turn a cold, dark building into a place of light and warmth. The safe house was still in the process of being set up\u2014more equipment would arrive in the days to come, now that the AIs had been successfully installed\u2014and she would be making do with basic rations until all of <tt>CommissAIry<\/tt>\u2019s food synthesis gear arrived, but she didn\u2019t care. She could handle it. She felt, suddenly, like she could handle <i>anything.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><tt>First-AId<\/tt>, likewise, was awaiting all the equipment <i>she<\/i> needed for a proper full-service infirmary. The office suite that had been set aside for her, up on the second floor, would become the place where Audrey received all future medical care. Discussions about expanding <tt>First-AId<\/tt>\u2019s patient roster to include emergency care for local Federacy agents, which had apparently been underway, had stalled abruptly when <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> had demanded assurances that such traffic wouldn\u2019t expose the safe house and put it, and its primary ward, at risk. Audrey might be her only patient for the next several years.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI need my library installed,\u201d <tt>EntertAIn<\/tt> noted. \u201cI have your settings and preferences\u2014those came down with me\u2014but the library itself takes up three exabytes. Assuming the WitSec program can acquire the same licensures that Sirius Shipping had. We\u2019re <i>all<\/i> going to be \u2018roughing it\u2019 for a few days. Especially poor SensAI.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey had checked out all the rooms in the building by then, and the recreation area set aside for <tt>SensAI<\/tt> currently had no holo projectors. It would be difficult for him to lead her, or anyone else, in exercises without them. She tried not to feel too much amusement at how <i>miffed<\/i> the AIs were about the safe house\u2019s \u201chalf-baked\u201d\u2014in <tt>CommissAIry<\/tt>\u2019s words\u2014state. It already had more than she had hoped for, just by having <i>them<\/i> in it at <i>all<\/i>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It took two weeks to configure everything in the safe house, although <tt>CommissAIry<\/tt> was already set up enough to overload her with candy by Halloween. Audrey spent most of the days, as workers came and went, dressed in a bizarre costume designed to conceal whether she was male or female, complete with a face-covering mask that also changed her voice when she needed to speak to the workers. None of the crews were apparently cleared to know that the building would be run by AIs; Audrey became their spokesperson whenever they needed to make requests of, or give instructions to, any of the workers. Travers came back twice to supervise specific projects, asking both times if \u201cMarianne\u201d was settling in well, unaware that she was <i>speaking<\/i> to her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The AIs wouldn\u2019t let Audrey go trick-or-treating, though. Which, she supposed, was a good thing when another surprise snowstorm rolled in shortly after dusk.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Cameras, microphones, and hologram projectors ended up being installed in every room and corridor of the building. <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> had been surprised when Audrey, herself, had advocated for that, and had even argued against omitting bedrooms and bathrooms.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cLike bad things won\u2019t ever happen in those rooms,\u201d she\u2019d scoffed. \u201cNone of you are gonna be <i>perving<\/i> on anything you see in them. You can blur out the parts of my body that would be illegal to record, right?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThis is true,\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> said. \u201cAnd it would be particularly illegal to record them where you are concerned, given your age&#8288;\u2026 but blurring is a good courtesy for anyone staying in a safe house. Full surveillance with dis&#173;cretion&#8288;\u2026 and the ability of the surveilled to request privacy if they wish. We understand that most humans have moments that they would prefer not to have recorded.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAs long as <i>you<\/i> keep in mind anyone planning an attack would be looking for those kinds of openings,\u201d Audrey pointed out. \u201cRiddick told me, back when we were killing time on the skiff, that he\u2019d wait for his targets to get up to no good and start covering their tracks, \u2019cause that meant they were covering <i>his<\/i>, too. He\u2019d let <i>them<\/i> do all the work of concealing the circumstances of their own murders.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFascinating. His records do indicate that he targeted working criminals much of the time, and frequently killed them when they were \u2018on the job.\u2019 He <i>volunteered<\/i> this information?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah. I think he told me about it as a kind of fuck-you to Imam. Whenever <i>he<\/i> was awake, he\u2019d fuss if we said more than \u2018boo\u2019 to each other. But Riddick also told me that because he wanted me to stay <i>out<\/i> of under-surveilled places. He said all <i>kinds<\/i> of criminals look for the places where nobody\u2019ll see them strike, and especially because I\u2019m a girl, I need to stay away from camera \u2018dead zones.\u2019 He said you have to watch yourself twice as hard in the places where nobody else is watching you, and he said I\u2019d be better off having some \u2018random pervo\u2019 I never even met \u2018fapping\u2019 to a picture of me than some \u2018sick fuck\u2019 actually on top of me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It pissed her off, though, that those were still the only two \u201cchoices\u201d he thought she\u2019d have in broad swathes of the Federacy. Wasn\u2019t humanity supposed to be more advanced than that?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Most of it is,<\/i> she reminded herself. <i>You\u2019ve seen people who are, and even lived with some of them. You never had to balance those kinds of risks when you were staying with the Mezianes.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Then again, Safiyya had worried relentlessly on her <i>behalf<\/i> on a few occasions. There were still too many monsters in human form to make that wariness unnecessary, and she had encountered examples of them on either side of her time with the Mezianes. And, she admitted, such monsters could be <i>anywhere.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat was good advice,\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> said after a brief pause. \u201cAnd well taken here, too. Someone wishing to launch an attack on a safe house ward would time it for a moment in which that ward sought out privacy and was no longer under direct surveillance. The resulting delay in, or absence of, a response from the security system could increase the chance of a successful strike. I must discuss this with General Toal. There are a lot of arguments about \u2018surveillance states\u2019 and \u2018government overreach\u2019 that must be addressed, especially on a planet like Deckard\u2019s World, but within the context of Witness Security, most of them probably wouldn\u2019t apply. Are you <i>sure<\/i> you\u2019re all right with having the cameras in your bedroom and bathroom?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBetter you guys than some Duke Pritchard type,\u201d she told him, \u201cany day.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The addition of the holo equipment, everywhere that there were cameras, also meant that all the AIs could \u201cmanifest\u201d themselves, aside from just <tt>SensAI<\/tt>. That led to discussions about the importance of body language and eye contact for human interaction, and Audrey\u2019s admission that, during her flight on the <i>Nephrite Undine<\/i>, she\u2019d used the recreation area more frequently than she normally might have <i>because<\/i> <tt>SensAI<\/tt>\u2019s visual representation made her feel less alone.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThis is important information for us to pass onto Sirius Shipping,\u201d <tt>First-AId<\/tt> said when she finally admitted that. \u201cThey spent a great deal of time choosing our voices, to make them as warm and comforting as possible. The argument they made for not giving all of us holo forms was the \u2018uncanny valley\u2019 risk. If we weren\u2019t one hundred percent authentically human in our appearance, guests would find us repulsive and might not even realize why.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI guess it wouldn\u2019t be necessary on a ship where the guests have other flesh and blood passengers to interact with,\u201d Audrey mused. \u201cBut any situation of iso&#173;lation&#8288;\u2026 I don\u2019t think SensAI\u2019s image ever felt off or inhuman to me. But I think, even if it had&#8288;\u2026 it\u2019d still have been more comforting than no contact at all.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They still hadn\u2019t settled on their preferred \u201cbodies,\u201d but the ones they tried out were always interesting.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She and <tt>First-AId<\/tt> did end up spending time unpacking many of the things that she\u2019d told <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> about her time on the run. Although the medical AI had full access to all the transcripts of her discussions with <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt>, he had approached her experiences from a strategic and tactical perspective, while <tt>First-AId<\/tt> wanted to delve into the psychology and do trauma-healing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It soon became clear to all three of them that there were several memories that were still too much for her to handle, especially on their tight schedule. The <i>Kublai Khan<\/i>, with its menageries of suffering prisoners, turned out to be one of the biggest minefields in her head. To her, that wasn\u2019t even the ship\u2019s <i>real<\/i> name&#8288;\u2026 it was \u201cthe ship that was <i>screaming.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAn esper, who didn\u2019t know she was an esper and had never learned how to deliberately block out others\u2019 thoughts, surrounded by tortured prisoners who were all mentally shrieking for rescue&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d First-AId finally observed. \u201cEvery memory you have of that time has been poisoned by it. Whenever we discuss even the simplest elements of your stay there, your heart rate increases by at least twenty beats per minute and your blood pressure increases by an average of twelve systolic and eight diastolic. I agree with MilitAIre\u2019s original assessment that you need to try to block out this part of your run from your memories, if you can.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Maybe, she thought, it had been a good thing that she hadn\u2019t had time to share that part of her story with Kyra or the Mezianes\u2026 aside from a bit of the arena story, which she had managed to share with Kyra on their last night after admitting to her sister that she, like Tomlin, had almost been eaten by Shrills.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe <i>Apeiros<\/i> wouldn\u2019t take it away,\u201d she reported back the next day. \u201cThey say I\u2019m going to need too much of it, even if it <i>is<\/i> uncomfortable. So&#8288;\u2026 I guess&#8288;\u2026 I just need to try not to think about it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The easiest way, she found, was to imagine that it had happened to \u201cJack,\u201d and not her. To imagine Jack as a separate person, who had seen and even done terrible things&#8288;\u2026 but wasn\u2019t <i>her.<\/i> She\u2019d already begun doing that with some of the other memories that had proved too troublesome. The things she couldn\u2019t look at were things that had happened to Jack. And Jack was dead.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Maybe if she kept saying it, the day would come when she believed it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><tt>First-AId<\/tt> then attempted to speak with the <i>Apeiros<\/i> through her, via hypnosis. Afterward, Audrey had a new hole in her memories and none of the AIs would discuss what they had apparently learned during the three-hour session she\u2019d lost. The <i>Apeiros<\/i>, when she went into their starfield that night, refused to discuss it either, although they all agreed that the AIs were \u201cgood creatures.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra, whenever she inquired about her sister, was still \u201cdreaming of a world with three suns.\u201d Still in cryo. Wherever she had decided to go, it must have been <i>far<\/i> away from Tangier Prime.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The Moribund was still silent. When she asked, the other <i>Apeiros<\/i> said that it had been avoiding contact with her ever since her screaming fit. She wasn\u2019t sure whether she should feel relieved or guilty, but in truth, she felt both ways at the same time.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A week after the hypnosis debacle, General Toal ordered hand-to-hand combat training added to Audrey\u2019s routine. A human trainer arrived for an hour each day, although she was never allowed to see his face and he was never allowed to see hers, and they sparred under <tt>SensAI<\/tt>\u2019s trenchant supervision.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The Safe House was in a hardscrabble part of town, but properties were apparently easier to acquire there. Officially, the outside of the building now claimed that it was home to a security consulting firm. To sell the charade, three local Federacy agents, who were never allowed to see her face either, had offices on the first floor, which they periodically visited during working hours. Audrey grew accustomed to having her costume on and mask handy whenever she needed to be down on the first floor.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSurprise\u201d Quantification tests occurred with greater and greater frequency. Her passing rate slowly climbed from 50% of the time to 80%. On the academic end, <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> tested her repeatedly and told her that she would easily qualify to join her former peers as they began their tenth grade year.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">November turned from snowy to rainy. She managed to finish reading <i>The Crystal Cave<\/i> by striking a bargain with the <i>Apeiros:<\/i> they would take away her memories of the train ride and standoff just long enough for her to reread the story without any emotional baggage, and then return them once she and the AIs had finished discussing the book and its meanings. This, she told them, would also be proof that they really could one day return the <i>rest<\/i> of the memories they\u2019d made off with, an act of goodwill.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She ended up liking the book so much, even once she remembered the train ride and standoff again, that she devoured its three sequels over the next week.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And, she admitted to herself, it was a relief to <i>know<\/i> that the <i>Apeiros<\/i> could give her the rest of her lost moments back, that the \u201choles\u201d in her memory were not empty as much as shrouded spaces that would one day be uncovered again. She and <tt>EntertAIn<\/tt> had a long discussion about the character she had been most drawn to in the books, Nimue, and why the woman who had disguised herself as a boy, for a chance to be taught magic by a wizard, resonated so strongly with her. <tt>EntertAIn<\/tt> told her there was a whole <i>trope<\/i> about heroines disguising themselves as boys and put several more books\u2014a fantasy series called <i>Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn<\/i> among them\u2014and videos including a film called <i>Dragon&#173;slayer<\/i>, into her recreational queues.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Thanksgiving arrived with the first \u201copen window\u201d day in Settlement Point. It was still early spring, but the temperature had risen to a glorious 77\u00b0 Fahrenheit, 25\u00b0 Celsius, and Audrey could hear the laughter and shouting of kids a block or two away.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><tt>CommissAIry<\/tt> decided to take Audrey on a \u201cculinary adventure\u201d of different traditional Thanksgiving foods, most of which were more typically autumn fare, while <tt>EntertAIn<\/tt> and <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> acquainted her with various legends about the holiday and the truths behind them. The holiday, when they were done, made much more sense to her than the odd portrayals she\u2019d grown up with involving \u201cPilgrim Joe,\u201d \u201cTurkey Sue,\u201d and \u201cPumpkin Bob.\u201d Those characters had apparently evolved on Deckard\u2019s World itself and had proved so popular that they had overwritten most of the original American traditions. But she supposed some adaptation was necessary for anyone who wanted to celebrate a <i>harvest<\/i> holiday in early spring.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Cautious explorations of both Elsewhere and U74, which Audrey nicknamed Wonderland, revealed that they were both habitable and welcoming worlds. Although she didn\u2019t spend a whole lot of time in either one\u2014it was early spring in both other \u2019verses, too\u2014she and the AIs agreed that she should continue exploring them in the future. Until she went back \u201cout into the cold,\u201d though, they were the only \u201coutdoor\u201d environments she was permitted to venture into. As far as the local neighborhood was concerned, she didn\u2019t\u2014and couldn\u2019t\u2014exist.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">December arrived and, a few days in, Audrey MacNamera was biologically fourteen years old at last. The AIs and the <i>Apeiros<\/i> marked the day with her. There were gifts\u2014most of them virtual but surprisingly meaningful nonetheless\u2014and an extraordinary cake that <tt>CommissAIry<\/tt> had invented based on her \u201ctaste profile,\u201d which she told him she\u2019d like to have again for <i>every<\/i> birthday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The auburn hair dye had washed most of the way out by then. Her hair was halfway to her shoulders, verging between dark blonde and mousy brown thanks to how little she had been in the sun in months. <tt>EntertAIn<\/tt> and <tt>First-AId<\/tt> announced it was time to begin preparing her appearance for her return to her family, starting with some camouflage to make sure that no one would believe she had shaved her head the year before. For the next week, as final preparations were underway for her return to her old life, she received special hair growth treatments until her locks once more touched the small of her back. They lightened the hair as well, until she looked\u2014in her opinion, at least\u2014like a funhouse-mirror elongated reflection of the girl who had cut off her hair, put on her cousin\u2019s discarded clothes, and run off to the stars more than a year of lived time and nearly two years, real-time, before.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Welcome back, Audrey MacNamera,<\/i> she silently told her reflection, before asking the AIs to give her bangs in front. She wanted to look a little more like <i>Tislilel Meziane<\/i>, the way Ewan had last seen <i>her<\/i>. Even if it did twist the knife a little. She\u2019d never get to be \u201cTizzy,\u201d or see <i>him<\/i>, again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Were <i>any<\/i> of the girls she\u2019d once been still alive inside her? The na\u00efve fool, the cocky outlaw, the besotted mermaid&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Who, exactly, was going home to Bettie Paige Hawthorne-Baxter?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey had liked it much better when her mom had been Bettie Paige MacNamera.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sundays, the AIs decided with her, would be Safe House Days. She would be required to report to the house first thing in the morning\u2014in part because recent intel had revealed that Alvin Baxter had developed an evangelical bent in the last year and a half and would undoubtedly try to insist on \u201cthe whole family\u201d attending church services unless that was a fight he couldn\u2019t win, and Audrey\u2019s relationship with religion was rocky at best\u2014and would stay most of the day. During that time, her combat training would continue, any medical treatments she needed would be provided, and the AIs would help her evaluate and critique the events and news of the week and identify any possible threats.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd,\u201d <tt>CommissAIry<\/tt> informed her with unrepentant glee, \u201cyou will go on <i>three<\/i> culinary adventures!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She would return to her mom\u2019s house at the end of the day, an hour before official curfews began for minors and even in time for some evening \u201cfamily time,\u201d but the bulk of the day would belong to her and to her handlers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Friday, December 17, they decided, would be the day of her return. She was hitting 100% on the surprise Quantifications at long last. She\u2019d figured out the trick of switching her brain into \u201cbaseline mode\u201d on command&#8288;\u2026 <i>finally.<\/i> And it had been four months since she\u2019d uttered a single syllable in her sleep. It would be safe for her to go \u201cout into the cold.\u201d All her secrets were tucked away where none of her loved ones would ferret them out.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">So why was she so damned <i>scared?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The day arrived.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was exactly a year, real-time anyway, since she had tried to kill herself on Helion Prime. A year since she had tried to end Jack B. Badd, believing Audrey MacNamera forever lost. And now Audrey MacNamera&#8288;\u2026 or a convincing fac&#173;sim&#173;ile&#8288;\u2026 would return home.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The scars on her wrists had been concealed. <tt>First-AId<\/tt> had asked if she wanted them removed, but&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cScars are trophies,\u201d Kyra had once said&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2014&#8288;while she\u2019d chosen to keep them, she intended to keep them hidden until they faded even more, and until nobody was especially scrutinizing her anymore. The pseudo-skin layer that covered the scars would be retouched during each weekly safe house visit.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was 58\u00b0 Fahrenheit at dawn, and the temperature would rise into the mid-70s. She had dressed in a simple outfit for the \u201chandoff,\u201d jeans and two light, layered shirts for changeable weather, a pair of the ankle-high, flat-soled boots that girls in her class apparently <i>lived<\/i> in that season, and no adornments or identifying brand names of any kind. She had a comm in her pocket, government issue and locked against anyone but her. The chrono on her wrist was locked in place by a band that only her code, or a code transmitted by <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt>, could remove. Both devices were registered as Federacy property, assuming anyone got that far in tracing them before being ordered to stop. Anonymous, un&#173;traceable&#8288;\u2026 a quintessential WitSec ward.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">With one more deep breath, she climbed into the car parked in front of the safe house and isomorphed into Wonderland\u2014there were too many trees in Elsewhere for what she would need to do, but this part of Wonderland was a flat, sandy plain\u2014holding onto the interior\u2019s surfaces as \u201cdelimiters.\u201d Five minutes later, one of the Federacy agents emerged from the safe house, climbed into the driver\u2019s seat, and drove it to the center of Settlement Point near the main courthouse. He had been instructed to idle the car for two minutes\u2014unaware that a phantom teenage girl was climbing out of the back as he did\u2014receive a package from a courier, and then leave. As far as he would ever know, the courier\u2019s package had been his entire mission.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey walked over to a nearby park, watching the countdown on her chrono. When it hit zero, she knew, all the cameras in range of the park would go down for five minutes. She made sure she was in no one\u2019s line of sight before isomorphing back into U1. Her \u201ctargets\u201d were up ahead, sitting on a bench and facing away from her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMan, I hate this shit,\u201d one of them, a sandy-haired man dressed in a mid-line three-piece suit, said as she drew closer.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAin\u2019t the worst assignment,\u201d the other one answered. He wore a police uniform.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cPicking up a WitSec case? Those people are <i>garbage.<\/i> If it\u2019s Denny the Knob, you might need to look away for a few minutes. I owe that bastard a few bruises.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWord is it\u2019s some material witness, not a criminal,\u201d the cop objected.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019ll believe it when I&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d the first man froze, hearing her boots crunch the path\u2019s gravel, and turned around to look at her. His eyes widened. \u201cWhat the&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Assistant District Attorney Alvin Baxter\u2019s mouth dropped open as he stared at her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The cop next to him, a freckled redhead who looked <i>maybe<\/i> a year older than Ewan, turned and stared as well. \u201cIsn\u2019t that&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cAudrey?\u201d<\/i> Alvin gasped.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d known that he\u2019d be the one assigned to the pickup, but it was still a rough moment. She could feel his shock, and a weird combination of relief\u2014she was alive, she looked healthy\u2014and horror at the realization that <i>she<\/i> was the material witness he\u2019d been assigned to pick up. His <i>stepdaughter<\/i> had reappeared in a way that he hadn\u2019t even imagined when he\u2019d been picturing worst-case scenarios. What was he going to tell her mother&#8288;\u2014&#8288;?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey forced herself to block off his mind. She didn\u2019t want to hear or feel any more of that. As it was, her voice wobbled when she spoke. \u201cI\u2019m ready to go home now.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">At least, she thought, struggling not to cry would be \u201cin character.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They took her to the nearest police station, which was in the basement of the courthouse, exactly as <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> had predicted.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Brief attempts to confiscate her comm and chrono, to make her change out of the clothes she was wearing so they could be analyzed, and to record more than her basic biometrics, were all brought to a screaming halt by Federacy directives to the contrary. Each time someone tried, every comm in the precinct would ring and the same authoritative voice would speak on each one, instructing everyone to cease what they were doing immediately. The basic biometric readings they were permitted to take confirmed that she was Audrey Hepburn MacNamera, missing since February 1, 2516, and that she was a legal ward of Federacy Witness Security. Eventually, the precinct Captain emerged from his office and testily informed everyone that he\u2019d been given ground rules and strict instructions for how Audrey was to be \u201creintegrated\u201d into civilian life. He didn\u2019t seem enthused.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was all so fucking <i>dramatic.<\/i> She could only imagine how much more dramatic it would have been, and how fast the stories would have unraveled, if General Toal, <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt>, and the actual WitSec department hadn\u2019t taken charge of the whole process and it had been entirely dependent on whatever ruses she\u2019d cooked up on her own.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAudrey? Audrey! Where\u2019s my <i>daughter?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She took a deep breath. Her mom had arrived. Standing up, she braced herself and turned toward the entrance of the police station&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMom&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Her voice was the tiniest thread. Behind her, Alvin rose from his seat.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Bettie Paige Hawthorne-Baxter was hurrying into the building, looking around frantically. She wouldn\u2019t see Audrey yet; <i>she<\/i> was in one of the small interview rooms, a one-way mirrored glass window between them. She had a moment to look at her mom, see her for the first time in more than a year&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;and see, perched on her mom\u2019s hip, the <i>reason<\/i> for everything that had happened. The reason her dad had left so abruptly, needing to go to a whole other <i>planet<\/i> to escape his heartbreak. The reason that Alvin had reappeared in their lives after almost going away forever. The reason for the sudden wedding announcement and its inordinate rush&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;the reason that Audrey MacNamera would <i>never<\/i> have left Deckard\u2019s World at <i>all,<\/i> not <i>ever,<\/i> if only she\u2019d <i>known&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Elodie Jane Hawthorne-Baxter, sixteen months old.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her baby sister.<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5607\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5607 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-65\">\u00ab Chapter 65<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5639\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5639 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-67\">Chapter 67 \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=\"67\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5608\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5608 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-66\">\u00ab Chapter 66<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5640\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5640 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-68\">Chapter 68 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5568\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5568 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">67.<br\/>\r\n<u>Suspended in the Tangled Web<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh no, sweetie, it\u2019s okay! Don\u2019t cry!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey reached out, gathering Elodie up as her baby sister\u2019s face crumpled. The little girl had been <i>fine<\/i> until their mom had started crying. And for some reason, what had set <i>her<\/i> off was the realization that Audrey had grown six full inches since her disappearance.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Alvin was hugging his wife already, trying to comfort her, so Audrey held Elodie close and rubbed her little sister\u2019s back. <i>It\u2019s okay,<\/i> she told the little girl silently. <i>Everything\u2019s going to be okay.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Elodie went quiet against her, sniffling but already relaxing. <i>Who&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>She doesn\u2019t know who I am yet,<\/i> Audrey thought. And she wasn\u2019t \u201csending\u201d the way Sebby had; Audrey could only hear her thoughts because she was <i>listening<\/i> and deliberately touching her sister\u2019s mind. Gently, carefully, she dug deeper, trying to see what kinds of concepts Elodie would understand.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She had a dozen words she could articulate easily, another two dozen that frustrated her because she couldn\u2019t get her mouth to shape them properly\u2014Audrey could remember feeling vexed like that when <i>she\u2019d<\/i> been tiny\u2014and a hundred more words that she understood when she heard them but couldn\u2019t call up at will yet when she wanted them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Family,<\/i> Audrey told her. Elodie hadn\u2019t yet met any of <i>Audrey\u2019s<\/i> cousins, she realized; they were all children of her dad\u2019s siblings. But Elodie had a Cousin Josephine on <i>her<\/i> father\u2019s side. <i>Like Jo-Jo. But even closer.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Alvin and her mom were watching the two of them, both looking stunned. Apparently Elodie was usually wary of strangers; the way she was now cuddling up to Audrey was unexpected.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The precinct Captain\u2014Minter\u2014walked into the interview room, shaking his head, and sat down with them. \u201cI have all the paperwork here. I\u2019d advise you to read it carefully before you sign it, but you <i>are<\/i> both lawyers so hopefully you don\u2019t need that advice from me. It\u2019s&#8288;\u2026 not a <i>great<\/i> situation, but I guess we\u2019ll make do with what we have.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d her mom demanded. \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong <i>now?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Minter winced. \u201cYou\u2019re not her legal guardians. You\u2019re \u2018interim custodians.\u2019 She\u2019s still legally a ward of the Federacy Witness Security program. Every Sunday she must go back to them for \u2018debriefing.\u2019 Which, apparently, will take up the whole <i>day.<\/i> The rest of the time, she can stay with you, as long as some&#8288;\u2026 stringent&#8288;\u2026 conditions are met.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSuch as?\u201d Alvin growled.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShe can\u2019t ever discuss where she was for the last twenty-two-plus months. She\u2019s not allowed to talk about what she saw, who she\u2019s been with, where she was kept, or any other particulars related to the case or cases she\u2019s part of. You\u2019re not allowed to ask her about any of it. The WitSec program is retaining all authority over her medical care, schooling, and living accommodations, and reserves the right to take her back at any time. Any travel plans must be cleared with her handlers, especially if they include a Sunday.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m her <i>mother!<\/i> How the hell is this possible?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Minter rubbed his face with one hand as if pushing back against a headache. \u201cIt\u2019s honestly surprising they\u2019re giving her back at all. I couldn\u2019t get many details from my contacts in the program. Whatever it was that happened, the threat to her life was big enough that they couldn\u2019t even tell law enforcement she was somewhere safe. You <i>know<\/i> what that means, Al.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Alvin nodded tightly. He\u2019d gone pale.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>He\u2019s thinking \u201corganized crime,\u201d<\/i> Audrey mused, pretending that she was too preoccupied with her sister to listen. <i>It\u2019s a few orders of magnitude worse than that, but as long as he takes it se&#173;ri&#173;ously&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBut something changed. They think it\u2019s safe to return her now, but it might not be if anyone outside of their own \u2018inner circle\u2019 figures out <i>why<\/i> they took her. Shit, these kinds of cases&#8288;\u2026 everybody in the precinct today has already been sent NDAs they gotta sign if they want to keep their jobs and stay out of the glue, even the fucking <i>janitor<\/i>. Yours are in the stack, too. Odds are all our comms are gonna be tapped for <i>months.<\/i> None of us are allowed to tell anyone, on or off the record, who had her all this time. Just&#8288;\u2026 take her home and be happy you have her at all.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It took an hour for her mom to read through all the fine print on the forms, and another half hour of arguing with Alvin before she agreed to sign everything, once she understood that those signatures were the only way she could take Audrey home\u2014or ever see her again\u2014at all. Audrey spent the whole time playing with Elodie, bonding with her beautiful baby sister.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou need to tell John,\u201d Alvin said as they finally drove home.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDamn it, yeah&#8288;\u2026 he\u2019ll be relieved as hell to know she was somewhere on Deckard\u2019s World the whole time,\u201d her mom replied, her voice still wobbly. \u201cHe was so scared she\u2019d&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her mom glanced warily back at her. She pretended to be entirely focused on playing with her little sister.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe thought she\u2019d show up on Furya,\u201d her mom whispered, apparently still unaware of how <i>good<\/i> her hearing was, \u201cand get Quantified. I\u2019m amazed WitSec didn\u2019t figure out what she is.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">So her mom had always known. The whole <i>thing<\/i> with the fortune teller had been, as <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> had surmised, about scaring her into hiding her abilities even from herself.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That, at least, was one of the traumas <tt>First-AId<\/tt> had been able to <i>fix.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cA lotta people to call tonight,\u201d Alvin said as he turned into a familiar part of town. Christmas lights and increasingly elaborate decorations adorned most of the houses they drove past. \u201cI guess we need to figure out what we\u2019re telling all of them.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMaybe just tell them I ran away and finally came home,\u201d Audrey suggested.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBut they\u2019ll think such awful things,\u201d her mom protested.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe can\u2019t exactly take back the missing person posters,\u201d Alvin pointed out. \u201cEverybody knows we had no idea where she was. If we suddenly try to pretend that she was off at some boarding school, or in a hospital, they\u2019ll know we\u2019re lying. And if we say someone abducted her&#8288;\u2026 then we\u2019ll have to lie a whole lot more and keep a lot of stories straight. Simplest is best.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He caught her eyes in the rear-view mirror.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSorry kiddo, but we\u2019re gonna have to let everybody think you spent the last twenty-two months out on the streets somewhere.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She shrugged and nodded. It <i>was<\/i> what she\u2019d suggested, after all. <i>Everybody\u2019s gonna think I\u2019m the kind of kid Imam thought I was.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She wondered how many of her old school friends would be forbidden to hang out with her by their parents. Not that hang-outs had happened all that often, even before&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> had gone over, at length, the likely scenarios that people would spin out about where she\u2019d been and what she\u2019d done while she was missing. Thief. Drug addict. Kiddie prostitute. Sleeping on the streets, scavenging food from dumpsters. The kinds of scenarios that <i>nobody<\/i> included in the child-runaway adventure genre stories kids read and watched, because they were <i>too<\/i> true, too <i>real<\/i>. Both her mom and Alvin were currently feeling relief that she\u2019d avoided those scenarios, neither of them realizing that her actual path\u2014even if she had been mostly spared sleeping on the streets\u2014had been every bit as harrowing as any of the ones they could imagine.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Accomplice to a felon. Fugitive. Cybercriminal. Murderer. Jack B. Badd.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The theories people would come up with could never approach the darkness that had actually surrounded her&#8288;\u2026 and slid inside her. She doubted anyone would come up with a story that was worse than the truth.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey had mentally prepared herself for the weirdness of walking into her mom\u2019s house again, six inches taller than she\u2019d left it, with Alvin and Elodie now living in it. It was still jarring.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The living room had been redone. The funny part was that it reminded her of the way it had looked when <i>she\u2019d<\/i> been little. Her mom\u2019s preference for white furniture and carpeting had given way to the reality that babies, toddlers, and little kids were <i>stain magnets,<\/i> something Bettie Paige MacNamera had swiftly chosen to forget once Audrey had been old enough to shame into not climbing furniture. And, more specifically, once Audrey\u2019s dad had moved out and she\u2019d traded \u201cMacNamera\u201d back for \u201cHawthorne,\u201d and the \u201crustic\u201d style John MacNamera had preferred for gleaming, white furniture that even the cats had feared to touch, much less sit upon.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That untouchable furniture was gone again. Alvin, evangelical streak aside, seemed to have some kindred tastes in d\u00e9cor to her own dad, down to similar fishing trophies.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Huh.<\/i> Maybe living with him would be less alien than she\u2019d expected.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Esther, her sleek gray coat puffed out and her body flat to the floor, scuttled through the room and past, into the back hall, to hide in the basement. That had gone about as well as Audrey had expected. She wondered which pieces of furniture Goblin and Jade were hiding under.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The dining room hadn\u2019t changed much. Except&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Had they made some weird kind of shrine out of her spot at the table? Her favorite place-setting was out, and it looked&#8288;\u2026 <i>dusty.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The kitchen, at least, looked normal, although things had moved around a little.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">By the door between the kitchen and dining room was a whole series of markings that had been made since she was younger than Elodie, measuring her height as she grew. The last one, labeled <tt>January 1, 2516<\/tt>, marked her as 5\u20194\u201d tall.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">This, she realized, was what her mom had been crying over. All the markings that had been missed in the intervening time, six inches\u2019 worth of growth, trips to stores for new shoes and clothes, the moment when the two of them would have been standing at eye level with each other before Audrey shot up again and passed her by&#8288;\u2026 memories that could never be made, never be recovered. She could feel her mom struggling with it again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cLooks like we need to make a new mark here, yeah?\u201d she asked, trying to keep her own voice steady.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cLooks like,\u201d her mom answered, her voice breaking on the words.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey turned around and hugged her before either of them could set Elodie off again. Alvin, his expression remarkably wise, took the little girl out of the room.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Not such an asshole after all&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">After a while, they composed themselves and went upstairs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d heard of parents turning their lost or missing children\u2019s rooms into shrines. She\u2019d been warned that her mom might have done that while she was gone. It was still weird to see. To remember that she had once been the girl who had lived in this space&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Of course, she thought, most of the decorating had been done by her mom; she hadn\u2019t <i>had<\/i> strong opinions about such things. Her mom had liked the white frills and lacy curtains. Most of the colors in the room were pastels. Audrey found herself wondering how much it might bother everyone if she changed it up. Maybe some brighter colors&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She realized that she was envisioning dressing it up like she and Kyra had dressed up first their apartment and then their room in the <i>ait Meziane<\/i> house. Bright colors and patterns, driftwood and shells&#8288;\u2026 would it be safe, she wondered, to make those kinds of changes?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Maybe not right away. The fact that she\u2019d come back with new tastes and interests was something that had to be slowly, subtly introduced.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Frills, pastels, and unicorns it is&#8288;\u2026 for now,<\/i> she thought, interested to note that the bedspread and pillowcases had been washed recently. They had been trying to keep the room ready for her to return at any moment. Part of her was a little amazed that it had paid off for them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And part of her wondered if Audrey MacNamera would ever really come home to them at all.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She resolved to try <i>very hard<\/i> not to make her mom wonder the same thing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>None of the clothes in here are gonna fit me anymore&#8288;\u2014<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The doorbell rang. Both she and her mom turned toward the bedroom doorway as they heard Alvin walk over to the front door and open it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAlvin! Oh my God! Did I see <i>Audrey<\/i> get out of your car just a little while ago?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Viola Trent, neighborhood gossip. <i>So it begins.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Whatever they told Viola would be what the whole town ended up \u201cknowing.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her eyes met her mom\u2019s, and she saw the same resigned knowledge in them. \u201cHere we go,\u201d her mom mouthed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou did, Viola. Audrey\u2019s back home.\u201d Alvin was managing to sound extremely friendly, which Audrey found a little amazing. Twenty-three months of having her for a neighbor ought to have tried his patience by now.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s wonderful news! Where has she been? Is she all right? We were all talking about how there\u2019d be another vigil in just a few more weeks&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShe\u2019s fine. She\u2019s settling back in. We\u2019re just glad to have her back home where she\u2019s safe.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou might want to call the family now before <i>she<\/i> does,\u201d Audrey whispered, and watched her mom\u2019s eyes widen in alarm at the thought.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019ll message their comms,\u201d her mom whispered back, sitting down on her bed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was a simple message, sent simultaneously to everyone in the family\u2014including, Audrey noticed, her dad all the way on Furya, although that message would probably take a week to reach him\u2014with little embellishment:<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"center-block\"><tt>Audrey\u2019s safe! She\u2019s home!<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I guess I am,<\/i> she reflected, sitting down too and looking around. Toys and games that she\u2019d once played with sat in their customary places, none of them things she yearned to play with now. She hadn\u2019t thought about them, much less missed them, even once on her run. They felt like artifacts of a life that wasn\u2019t even hers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Funny how it was Kyra\u2019s centuries-lost stuffed rabbit that suddenly came to mind and put a lump in her throat&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A pair of reflective eyes were staring at her from beneath her dresser. <i>There you are, Goblin&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She had <i>definitely<\/i> thought about, and missed, the cats.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Downstairs, Viola was still trying to get the gory details out of Alvin, who wasn\u2019t inclined to play along.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou hear such terrible stories about teenage runaways and their fates. And all those traffickers and the things they do to children, too, it\u2019s so unsettling&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cLike I said, Viola, Audrey\u2019s fine. Now, I don\u2019t mean to be rude, but we have a lot to do now that she\u2019s home. Thank you for coming by.\u201d He managed to get the door closed seconds before both his and her mom\u2019s comms began chiming.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">While they talked to various relatives, Audrey took over Elodie again, letting her little sister show her around <i>her<\/i> room and tell her\u2014in what was largely babble to anyone but an esper\u2014all about her favorite toys and games.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I\u2019d never have left if I\u2019d known you were coming,<\/i> she thought wistfully. No wonder her mom and Alvin had rushed the wedding&#8288;\u2026 no wonder Alvin had been feeling stressed and surly when he\u2019d moved in. Everything made a new kind of sense now.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou are the most beautiful little girl <i>ever<\/i>,\u201d she told Elodie, just as Alvin appeared in the doorway.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYour father\u2019s family wants to come over tonight to see you. Is that all right? Or do you want to wait until tomorrow night?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat works better for you?\u201d she asked him. \u201cThis is a whole lot to drop on your plate out of the blue.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI think your mother would rather wait until tomorrow night. Are those all the clothes you have? Should we take you shopping for some tomorrow?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She shrugged. \u201cThe safe house had stuff for me to wear, but&#8288;\u2026 it\u2019s basic government issue stuff. I don\u2019t think I\u2019m gonna fit into my old clothes, though, so probably.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That made him crack a smile. \u201cNo, I don\u2019t think you will. Tell you what&#8288;\u2026 you and your mom can go pick out some things tomorrow, and I\u2019ll get everything set up for an <i>organized<\/i> gathering tomorrow night. A real welcome-home party, even.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSounds good,\u201d she told him, cuddling her little sister close. The way he looked at and spoke to her now, fond and avuncular, was so different from the uncomfortable way he\u2019d treated her before.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Being a dad has mellowed him out,<\/i> she decided. <i>I might have made things \u2018too real\u2019 before, but now reality has taken over.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Word had spread, and the local news services had picked up the story, too. <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> sent her comm a link to one story, a brief vid clip showing her emerging from the courthouse with her mom and Alvin on either side of her, an image of her Missing Persons shot in the corner of the screen for comparison. <tt>Audrey MacNamera Found Safe, Returned to Her Mother<\/tt>, the caption read. No details about her whereabouts until then had been made available yet, a peeved-sounding news reader added.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Neighbors began trying to drop by, most of them bringing baked goods or casseroles.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Elodie, meanwhile, decided that she\u2019d been held enough, and it was time to go walking. She let Audrey hold her hands while she did but insisted on the two of them going down the stairs together. Audrey was so focused on her baby sister that she barely noticed several would-be guests gawking at her from the foyer.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShe\u2019s so <i>tall<\/i> now!\u201d she heard a familiar voice gasp. Apparently, Viola had come back.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">More visitors arrived almost as fast as Alvin and her mom could get rid of the last ones. Not ready to talk to a lot of people yet, Audrey sat in the living room where they could, at least, get a quick glimpse of her from the foyer, playing with Elodie, feeding her baby sister dinner while the adults fended off guest after guest, finding out which foods Elodie liked best&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThey\u2019re never going to stop <i>coming,<\/i>\u201d Alvin groaned during a brief interim when no one was at the door.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe could turn out all the lights and hide upstairs,\u201d her mom suggested.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWorks for me,\u201d Alvin agreed. \u201cIs that okay, Audrey?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSounds good. You wanna go upstairs, Elodie Jane?\u201d She lifted her cooing little sister up out of her highchair, carrying her on her hip as she cleared the used baby food plate into the kitchen.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShe\u2019s so <i>good<\/i> with her&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d she heard Alvin saying to her mom.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDid <i>you<\/i> tell her Elodie\u2019s name?\u201d her mom asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo, I thought you must\u2019ve&#8288;\u2026 I guess her handlers told her at some point.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Yeah, Audrey reflected. They had. It had been a huge and, in some ways, terrible shock to realize just why her life had abruptly upended, one that had taken several days to fully process. If only she\u2019d known sooner&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I\u2019d never have left,<\/i> she thought again. <i>I\u2019d have stayed, tried harder to be friends with Alvin&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d wondered just what that \u2019verse might have looked like, where no Jack B. Badd had ever boarded the <i>Hunter-Gratzner<\/i> or been among its survivors. Would Fry have died in the subterranean cave, her cries for help unheard by the others in time to save her? Would Johns have been forced to make a <i>real<\/i> truce with Riddick in the aftermath, given that no one else was left who could pilot the skiff? Would everyone have gotten off-planet before the eclipse, or would they have still ended up in the darkness, picked off one by one until only Riddick himself was left to pilot his way off that desolate world? Would he have been able to fend off the mercs on the <i>Kublai Khan<\/i> even better without her and Imam in tow, or would he be locked in a prison, made of his own frozen body, even now?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Would Kyra have been sent to New Dartmouth to stand trial? Would <i>all<\/i> of the <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i> survivors have drowned when the syzygy brought the tide above their floors in Mansour Plaza? Would the New Marrakesh Spaceport have stayed whole, or still burned when a Tomlin who didn\u2019t understand what he was up against tried to fight the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation\u2019s claims that there had never been a Level Five Incident? Would Pritchard and Makarov still be hunting women and girls across the Federacy? Would little Omid Heydari still have his mother?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Would the \u2019verse have become a better place, or a worse one, if she\u2019d known <i>one small thing?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I\u2019d be a <b>three<\/b>-dimensional critter,<\/i> she thought, <i>with no idea I was an esper. Maybe I\u2019d never have found out&#8288;\u2026 or maybe I\u2019d have gotten a nasty shock someday when Quantifiers arrived at my school to run checks&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It bothered her to think that her choice, rash and headlong as it had been, and as much as she regretted it, might still have been the <i>right<\/i> one. That, somehow, all the chaos and grief and spilled blood might have been the clearest path. She and <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> had argued about the might-have-beens a few times while she struggled with her new knowledge.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The debate had spread out to all the AIs, and then <tt>EntertAIn<\/tt> had made her watch two films called <i>Sliding Doors<\/i> and <i>Run, Lola, Run,<\/i> following them up with several twenty-first century films about alternate universes and their effects on consequence and accountability. Oddly, Audrey had noticed when she\u2019d done a small search of <tt>EntertAIn<\/tt>\u2019s library, the premise had stopped featuring in vids altogether right as the first Star Jump ships launched. Why, she\u2019d wondered, had confirmation of the Many Worlds Hypothesis <i>ended<\/i> the desire to speculate about how the multiverse would work?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Well, I won\u2019t ever leave again. Elodie\u2019s here. She needs her big sister. She\u2019s growing up on a planet that isn\u2019t kind to girls or minorities or people who are dif&#173;ferent&#8288;\u2026 she\u2019ll need me to protect her from all that and help her see through it.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It didn\u2019t take long to clean up and stack all the gifts of food into the cooler. They turned all the downstairs lights off and hurried upstairs before any more wannabe-guests could sweep up to the doors. Later, her mom suggested, they could come down for a late-night supper.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Alvin took over Elodie to give her a bath, while Audrey followed her mom back into her old room.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThere are some things I really should tell you,\u201d her mom said, sitting down on the foot of her bed. \u201cI don\u2019t know if they\u2019d have made a difference, almost two years ago&#8288;\u2026 but I\u2019ve spent the whole time you were gone <i>wishing<\/i> I\u2019d told you, so&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey was digging through her slightly musty dresser drawers to find the much-too-long-for-her nightgown she\u2019d been given as a Christmas present just over a month before she\u2019d run away, which might finally be the right size. She looked up and nodded at her mom. \u201cOkay&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her mom took a deep breath, looking down at her clasped hands. \u201cWhen I get pregnant&#8288;\u2026 I turn into a real <i>bitch<\/i> for a few months. I didn\u2019t know that about myself until&#8288;\u2026 well, until Elodie. When your dad and I first met, I was finishing up law school and still lived with my parents. We had a fling and I got pregnant with Katharine&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Katharine, who had been lost to a second-trimester miscarriage. Audrey remembered the story.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI started fighting with my parents, constantly. I didn\u2019t understand why, but&#8288;\u2026 well&#8288;\u2026 they threw me out. Said they were done dealing with my shit. John&#8288;\u2026 it wasn\u2019t <i>supposed<\/i> to be a serious relationship. He was this ex-Serviceman who was just starting at his security firm&#8288;\u2026 but he offered to let me move in with him. I didn\u2019t know where else to go, and then we found out I was pregnant, and he proposed&#8288;\u2026 just in time for me to lose her.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey felt her heart twist. She hadn\u2019t known this portion of the story&#8288;\u2026 not completely. Neither of her parents had ever told her how they\u2019d met or married before. \u201cI\u2019m so sorry, Mom.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019d picked out the name and everything&#8288;\u2026 Katharine Hepburn MacNamera&#8288;\u2026 and then if we had a boy, we\u2019d name him Spencer Tracy MacNamera&#8288;\u2026 well, John said he still wanted to marry me and&#8288;\u2026 I really <i>did<\/i> love him, and he\u2019d stood by me through the worst and at <i>my<\/i> worst&#8288;\u2026 so we got married. And then a few months later, we started having troubles, fighting constantly\u2014well, <i>me<\/i> fighting with <i>him<\/i> constantly\u2014and I was about ready to give up on the marriage when I found out <i>you<\/i> were on the way.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey nodded and then gasped, realization striking her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMom, when you and Dad started fighting, before he moved out, I&#8288;\u2026 I kept having dreams I was going to have a little brother&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her mom\u2019s eyes closed and she swallowed. \u201cYou were. I didn\u2019t know it yet&#8288;\u2026 but you would have. I just kept picking fight after fight with your dad and I couldn\u2019t understand why&#8288;\u2026 but&#8288;\u2026 after one of them I got so angry that I headed into town, I didn\u2019t even know where I was planning on going, but I ended up in this little toy store. And something about the aisle with baby toys suddenly made me suspect&#8288;\u2026 so I got a pregnancy test and took it. And I was so excited that I wasn\u2019t watching where I was going as I was getting on the escalator to go back to my car&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her voice broke.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI <i>fell&#8288;\u2026<\/i>&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey felt her heart twist again. That, she realized, had been why the dreams had suddenly stopped. \u201cAnd you lost him. Oh Mom, I\u2019m so sorry&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMe too&#8288;\u2026 and&#8288;\u2026 it was just too late for your dad and me. We\u2019d said too many horrible things to each other, and now we\u2019d lost another baby. I know you felt like you were somehow to blame, sweetheart, but you never were. I never told you about Spencer because you were already grieving about your dad moving out, and I didn\u2019t want to make it even worse.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey nodded. She had a feeling that her dad had never stopped loving her mom&#8288;\u2026 but&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Sometimes love isn\u2019t enough,<\/i> she reflected. <i>Sometimes&#8288;\u2026 nothing is enough to keep two people together.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo then, back when you and Alvin broke up for a while&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d she prompted, knowing what was coming with absolute certainty.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI was pregnant with Elodie and didn\u2019t know it yet, yeah. We fought, we broke up&#8288;\u2026 and I went and cried on your dad\u2019s shoulder about it. We almost&#8288;\u2014 God, it\u2019s a good thing we didn\u2019t, but&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Whoa.<\/i> No <i>wonder<\/i> her dad had wanted to leave the planet when he\u2019d found out.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd then you discovered you and Alvin were having a baby,\u201d she finished for her mom, her voice soft and as gentle as possible. No judgment. She had no right to judge.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her mom nodded, staring down at her hands. \u201cI should have told you when I told your dad&#8288;\u2026 so you\u2019d understand what was happening. I didn\u2019t realize how devastating it would be for you. I didn\u2019t realize so much change would drive you out of the house and into harm\u2019s way. We\u2019d planned to tell <i>everybody<\/i> at the wedding, during the toasts&#8288;\u2026 but we should have told you even before we told you that we were getting married, so you\u2019d know <i>why<\/i> it was all happening so fast. I\u2019m so sorry, Audrey.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The last words were barely intelligible, buried in a sob. Audrey sat down next to her mom and pulled her close, trying not to be jarred all over again by the fact that she was now the taller of the two of them. The familiar scent of Shalimar, her mom\u2019s favorite perfume, wrapped itself around her, and for the first time, she felt like she might really have made it home.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s okay, Mom. It\u2019s okay&#8288;\u2026 I\u2019m back&#8288;\u2026 I\u2019m home, and I\u2019m safe, and Elodie is the most beautiful baby ever and I love her&#8288;\u2026 I love you so much&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I wish I\u2019d never left&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI want you to know,\u201d her mom said several long moments later, \u201cthat you can tell me anything. Anything at all&#8288;\u2026 it doesn\u2019t matter what it is&#8288;\u2026 I\u2019ll always be here for you and I\u2019ll always love you&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Oh, Mommy&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI wish&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d she heard herself saying, and closed her mouth tight on the words.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I wish I could tell you where I went and what I did. I saw so many amazing and terrible things, Mommy&#8288;\u2026 I wish I could tell you all about them.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I visited three planets. One of them had three suns, one of them had three moons, and one of them had three jailers&#8288;\u2026 and I nearly died on each of them. But they were all beautiful. And it was summer on each of them. Summer followed me everywhere.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Three ships met disaster with me on board. The <\/i>Hunter-Gratzner,<i> the <\/i>Kublai Khan,<i> and the <\/i>Scarlet Matador<i>, and if anybody knew I\u2019d been on <b>any<\/b> of them, so much havoc would rain down all over us&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I fell in love with three men. Three amazing, beautiful men, and I lost them all. One abandoned me. One was murdered. And one promised that he\u2019ll come to me whenever I call for him, but I never, ever can&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>And I got three sisters. One\u2019s Kyra Wittier-Collins, the Black Fox of Canaan Mountain, and I worry so much about her&#8288;\u2026 one\u2019s Sebby of the Ree, and she\u2019s going to be a mighty huntress. And one&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She couldn\u2019t <i>remember<\/i> the third sister she\u2019d found out there&#8288;\u2026 but she knew&#8288;\u2026 she <i>knew<\/i>&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There was a third sister. She <i>knew<\/i> it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And then, of course, there was Elodie. Who she would protect forever. Who she would never leave.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I killed three people, too, Mommy. I\u2019m sorry. I didn\u2019t want to hurt anybody&#8288;\u2026 I don\u2019t want to be that person anymore&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>So many threes&#8288;\u2026 my life seems to come in threes&#8288;\u2026 and I can\u2019t tell you about the three families that adopted me, the al-Walids, the Mezianes, the Ree&#8288;\u2026 or about the worlds I can visit, the thresholds between \u2019verses I can cross. I can touch twenty-seven uni&#173;verses&#8288;\u2026 three to the third power&#8288;\u2026 and the <\/i>Apeiros<i> seem to think that I\u2019m the first human to ever do that. I wish I could show you their starfield&#8288;\u2026 but I can\u2019t ever tell you about the <\/i>Apeiros<i> or my AI handlers, who I love&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I want to share all of it with you so much, but I can never tell you any of it. The only way to keep a secret safe is to never, ever tell it&#8288;\u2026 but I wish I could tell you. I wish I could tell you everything.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI wish I could tell you,\u201d she whispered. \u201cBut people would die.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Hundreds. Maybe millions.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Maybe even us.<\/i><\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5608\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5608 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-66\">\u00ab Chapter 66<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5640\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5640 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-68\">Chapter 68 \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=\"68\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5609\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5609 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-67\">\u00ab Chapter 67<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5641\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5641 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-69\">Chapter 69 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5571\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5571 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">68.<br\/>\r\n<u>Cuckoo, Cowbird, Soldier, Spy<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jade finally appeared on Saturday night, while Audrey was sleeping. She woke in the middle of the night to find a heavy, purring blob of obese Siamese cat parked on her chest.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Now she really felt like she had come home, whoever she was.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Goblin was sitting on her dresser, staring at her. An oriental shorthair, his tiny, slender body was dominated by a massive pair of batwing ears. She\u2019d missed his ridiculous little face. Esther was on her windowsill.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d wondered if she would even see the cats for a few days, and how long it would take them to remember her and get over their hurt and anger over her disappearance. Apparently not long at all.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">As soon as she started petting Jade, both Goblin and Esther jumped onto the bed and demanded attention, too.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The \u201cWelcome Home, Audrey\u201d party had run late, with family, neighbors, and family friends staying until nearly midnight. By the time everyone had left, Audrey had nearly been asleep on her feet.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Almost nobody who had shown up to see her had been turned away, though. The only exceptions had been some tabloid reporters who had tried to sneak in. Alvin had come up with some creative threats to get them to leave.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Fortunately, it had been a warm evening, with clear skies and gentle breezes, since the party had been held outside. All the baked goods and casseroles that neighbors and friends had delivered, along with some additional food that Alvin had arranged while Audrey and her mom had been clothes shopping, had been set out for guests, and virtually all of it had been devoured before everyone went home. Audrey had tried a little bit of every dish, herself, mindful of <tt>CommissAIry<\/tt>\u2019s admonition to always go on culinary adventures if she could. Almost everything had been delicious; <i>everything<\/i> had been part of \u201ctraditional American\u201d cuisine. Minimally spicy, relying on a small subset of meats, vegetables, and cooking strategies, with the beverages and desserts heavily sweetened. It was all she\u2019d known until she was almost thirteen.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It wasn\u2019t enough anymore.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Well, at least CommissAIry will expand my horizons today&#8288;\u2026<\/i> One day out of every week, her culinary adventures would range past the orbit of Deckard\u2019s World.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Going clothes-shopping on a weekend day had, in retrospect, been a bit of a mistake, if an unavoidable one. Audrey\u2019s mom had taken her to the largest and most popular shopping mall in town\u2014Deckard\u2019s World ostentatiously modeled itself after a period of American history when malls had abounded, and <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> had given her fascinating articles to read about their deaths at the start of the twenty-first century, something that made her wonder how they could coexist now with the same technologies that had originally killed them\u2014and they had promptly run into several girls she\u2019d attended middle school with.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">While a few of the girls had looked surprised to see her, most seemed to have caught the newsfeeds about her return. They had a million questions that Audrey had to dodge, but fortunately she and <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> had already worked out all the dodges. After picking out only a few outfits, though, both she and her mom felt enough of a sense of being under a microscope that they\u2019d cut the trip short.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe\u2019ll finish on Monday,\u201d her mom had told her as they got back in the car, \u201cwhen most of the lookie-loos are back in school.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey had nodded, noting the implication that she wouldn\u2019t be enrolled back into school immediately. They were only one week away from Spring Break, anyway, which was sandwiched between Christmas and New Year\u2019s Day. Fortunately, both fell on Saturdays; in a year, she realized, there would have to be special arrangements to have her \u201cdebriefing days\u201d moved <i>to<\/i> Saturday for those two weekends so that her family didn\u2019t feel aggrieved by her absence from major holidays.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I\u2019m sure MilitAIre already has a plan for that&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was also aware that her mom had struggled with the shopping trip in other ways.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The days of buying her \u201clittle girl\u201d clothes were over and had already been ending before she disappeared; the pastel colors, rainbows, and cutesy fantasy animals that her mom had gravitated toward had already become inappropriate choices when she\u2019d been in middle school. Fortunately, they weren\u2019t even available in her new size, but she had seen the way her mom still struggled with her choices.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She and <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> had planned it all out, though. She was to choose clothing that would lend her some invisibility, dressing in a way that blended her into the crowd as much as someone in the throes of notoriety <i>could<\/i> blend. Nothing super-fashionable; they had examined the current trends and decided which items were <i>too<\/i> trendy, too close to the cutting edge, for her to be seen wearing yet. Nothing too outdated or exotic, either. She was to fall in the middle, her clothes unexceptional enough to avoid drawing people\u2019s eyes. Too many other things would do that already. They had even gone over which <i>colors<\/i> were most appropriate for letting people\u2019s eyes slide past her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She had argued about that, a little. She wanted to be able to wear a few of the blues and greens that made her think of Ewan. <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> had relented but had stressed that she could only pick items of clothing in those colors if they met the <i>rest<\/i> of the invisibility criteria they\u2019d worked out.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her mom had been surprised by her choices, especially as she\u2019d bypassed dresses completely in favor of jeans, a pair of cargo pants exactly the color of the sands on a particular beach in Elsewhere, and unadorned tops in shades that made her think of Ewan\u2019s bedspread and the mermaid tail in his painting. Audrey had a feeling that, when they resumed on Monday and fewer people were watching, there might be a bigger tug-of-war over the next round of purchases.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>At least we won\u2019t be arguing about heel heights,<\/i> she thought with amusement as Goblin head-butted her hand. She\u2019d only <i>just<\/i> been allowed to start wearing heels when she\u2019d taken off, but she\u2019d been more of an average height then. Now she towered over most of her classmates in flats; adding even a low heel into the mix would go against the \u201crules of invisibility\u201d she and <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> had worked out.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It had, of course, been impossible to be invisible at the party.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Everyone had been there to see her. Although a lot of them were people who had genuinely missed her, there had been a whole lot of acquaintances who had mostly come to gawk. Remembering the way Ewan had moved through his farewell party, though, she had tried to make a point of at least saying hello to everybody, glad that her eidetic recall extended to names and faces. There was only a handful of people whose names she had needed to ask. Most of them had turned out to be members of Alvin\u2019s family.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe Audrey I remember was <i>shy<\/i>,\u201d she\u2019d overheard one of the neighbors saying as she moved from one group of well-wishers to the next.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Had<\/i> she been? It hadn\u2019t felt that way to her. She\u2019d been four years younger than the youngest of that neighbor\u2019s children; none of them had been <i>interested<\/i> in playing with her or including her in their games. Was she supposed to have made a pest of herself anyway?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">When it was time to talk to that neighbor, though, she\u2019d been polite and friendly and had asked after the kids in question. The youngest, as she\u2019d suspected, was off at college. None of them had been in town to come to the party, although a few of them would be arriving on Friday for the holidays.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIf anyone seems to feel like you\u2019re not the person they remember, bring up shared experiences,\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> had instructed her. \u201cIt\u2019s not an uncommon phenomenon after a separation of even a year or two for people to feel like the person who returns is an imposter.\u201d He\u2019d given her articles to read about famous cases where people became convinced that an imposter had replaced a loved one\u2014in rare cases, rightly so\u2014and about an actual mental illness, Capgras\u2019 Syndrome, that could trigger such delusions.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Part of Audrey\u2019s <i>job<\/i> at the party had been to reintroduce herself to everyone and make them feel like the girl they had once known had returned&#8288;\u2026 make them feel like they weren\u2019t being confronted by a stranger with a similar face, a changeling stepping into Audrey MacNamera\u2019s place.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Even if, at times, she felt like that was exactly what she was.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">By the time all the food was gone, and people were saying their goodbyes, she had been physically and mentally exhausted but had managed to talk to every guest at least once. Elodie had been put to bed hours earlier; her cousins and most of her former classmates had been taken home ahead of the 10 p.m. curfew for minors. Most of the people who had remained, although ostensibly there to welcome her back, were there to support her mom and Alvin. Their topics of discussion weren\u2019t especially interesting to her, so she\u2019d rested on a lounge chair and turned her gaze to the other \u2019verses for a while.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">In Elsewhere, she\u2019d been surrounded by enormous trees that reminded her of the pictures she\u2019d seen of ancient redwood forests on Earth. Only a few stars peeked through their canopy. In Wonderland, a meadow full of strange flowers spread out around her. Overhead, the stars blazed in a deep black sky free of light pollution; to the south, ribbons of colorful light danced along the horizon. The stars in U37d and most of the other \u2019verses, she noticed, were almost identical in placement, but that \u2019verse had a bright orange moon that was visible only there. In U27, a brilliantly lit asteroid hovered less than a mile above her, slowly tumbling closer. A school of fish floated nearby, sleeping, in U115, limned by greenish moonlight&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSometimes I feel like she\u2019s still missing&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d she\u2019d heard her mom say.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Damn it.<\/i> She\u2019d stayed still; her mom must have thought she had fallen asleep, or was out of hearing range, or both.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShe\u2019s been gone for nearly two years,\u201d Alvin had said. \u201cIt\u2019d be even stranger if she came back completely unchanged, wouldn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The two of them had moved away from the other guests, speaking quietly. It became obvious that they thought no one could hear them as they continued to talk.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI guess. But tomorrow I have to let <i>them<\/i> take her away from me again&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJust for the day. She\u2019ll be back before curfew. I was able to speak to one of her handlers by comm for a few minutes, and he promised me that she\u2019ll be home by nine.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDid you get his name?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo, and I didn\u2019t expect to. That\u2019s not how these people work. I got a <i>letter.<\/i> M. By his accent, I think he\u2019s originally from the Cohasset System.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo a man named M from the Cohasset System is in charge of my daughter\u2019s well-being?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe says he\u2019s part of a team of handlers.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cA team? Whatever happened takes an entire <i>team<\/i> to protect her?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBettie,\u201d Alvin hushed her as her voice began to rise. \u201cI know this is hard. We may never know what happened. But we have her back, and&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDo we? Sometimes I think I see my little girl, but then&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShhhhhh. It\u2019s her. You know it\u2019s her. She\u2019s a teenager now, though, and <i>every<\/i> teenager\u2019s a little bit of an alien. That\u2019s all it is. You\u2019ll see&#8288;\u2026 you have your daughter back. She\u2019s just&#8288;\u2026 the teenage version.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The teenage version had decided to yawn and stretch at that moment. Enough was enough. Alvin and her mom, locked in a hug, started and looked over at her as she sat up in the lounge chair. She pretended to notice them for the first time.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI think maybe I dozed off,\u201d she said. \u201cWhat time is it?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Alvin glanced at his chrono. \u201cTime for the party to end, I think. You want to say goodnight to your grandparents?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A long round of hugs and goodbyes later, she had trudged upstairs, stopping for a moment to look in on Elodie. Her little sister looked perfect and peaceful, untouched by any of the horrors held at bay\u2014mostly\u2014by the carefully cultivated veneer of ancient American suburbia.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>There\u2019s so much I need to keep her safe from&#8288;\u2026<\/i> Audrey had thought before going to her own room. The first night, it had been hard to fall asleep, but she\u2019d been tired enough that it was easier the second time.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Now, with three purring cats demanding attention, she suspected she might need to take a nap sometime during her \u201cdebriefing.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I missed you so much,<\/i> she told them silently, and three feline heads turned sharply toward her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was still thinking about her first coherent conversation with three cats when the car from the safe house came to pick her up.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI don\u2019t like this,\u201d her mom muttered as she looked through the window. Per the instructions they had received, only Audrey was allowed to approach the car. \u201cI really don\u2019t like this.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019ll be home tonight, Mom,\u201d she promised, giving her a quick hug. \u201cIt\u2019ll be okay.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s just&#8288;\u2026 you\u2019ve only been back for less than <i>two<\/i> <i>days&#8288;\u2026<\/i>&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI know. It\u2019s going to be all right.\u201d She could see something mulish starting to form on her mom\u2019s face. \u201cThis first time, though&#8288;\u2026 it\u2019s also partly a test.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cA <i>test?\u201d<\/i> Her mom frowned.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTo see whether we can follow the rules.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That brought her mom up short as she contemplated just what might happen if they <i>failed<\/i> the test.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Please don\u2019t fail the test, please don\u2019t fail the test, please don\u2019t fail the test&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her trail had been broken. The masquerade was in place. Her family knew she was alive and well. But this wasn\u2019t a game. General Toal had made that abundantly clear to her. If her family made it unsafe for her to hide in plain sight, under her original name, she\u2019d be moved to another world and given an entirely new identity. She would have to find her way to a \u201cnormal\u201d adolescence there, away from almost everyone and everything she knew. The AIs would accompany her, and the <i>Apeiros<\/i> would always be with her, but there would soon be nothing left of the girl she had been. This was her only chance at a familiar anchor.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her mom released a shaky breath, her eyes welling, and nodded. \u201cYou should go out there before they get worried,\u201d she managed, but her voice broke on the last word.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey pulled her into another hug for a moment before, finally, kissing her cheek and going out the door. \u201cI\u2019ll be home soon, Mom, don\u2019t worry.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">One of the Federacy agents who had an office on the first floor was driving her. It was a silent ride; they both knew the rules. He let her out in front of the safe house and drove off, while she walked up to the door and palm-printed her way in.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWelcome back, Audrey,\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> said as the door locked behind her. \u201cHow was the party?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThanks, MilitAIre,\u201d she said, taking a seat in the Security Room. \u201cIt was a little weird. Some people had their doubts, but I think I sold it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt does help that you <i>are<\/i> Audrey MacNamera, of course.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah. I think some of them just&#8288;\u2026 froze me in amber in their heads.\u201d She mused. \u201cEven with the long hair, I\u2019m different enough that they\u2019re having trouble processing it. And, I mean, I\u2019m only thirteen months older, biologically. Think how much more different I\u2019d be if twenty-two months had really passed for me. But it was still too much for a lot of them.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI like your amber metaphor,\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> said. \u201cThey fossilized you in their minds, yes. This is what underlies many of the cases of changeling delusions&#8288;\u2014 the ones that aren\u2019t neurologically driven, anyway, or rooted in prejudices against autistic children. Time changes everyone, and the people who expected to watch all those changes happen to you missed seeing them.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo how come I feel like a con artist?\u201d There were moments when Audrey felt like she <i>was<\/i> faking it all.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBecause you can\u2019t ever tell them what drove all the changes,\u201d he reminded her. \u201cYou can\u2019t tell them where you were. You\u2019re not lying about who you once were, but you <i>are<\/i> concealing a great deal about who you\u2019ve become. You\u2019re playing a role within a role: the WitSec ward with no power over her situation, who must pretend to be a former teen runaway who spent two years on the streets. So yes, you <i>are<\/i> running a long game on almost everyone, and countless lives depend on your success.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJeez. Only two days in and I already needed to decompress here.\u201d She blew out a breath, leaning back in the chair. \u201cWhat if I can\u2019t handle six whole days at a time \u2018out in the cold?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou let me know, and we send an agent to pick you up, wherever you are, and we inform your mother that we needed to do a debriefing. I believe, though, that it <i>will<\/i> get easier soon. Mr. Baxter is under the impression that we\u2019re protecting you from an organized crime group, and he\u2019s personally flipped a few lower-level informants and enrolled them into WitSec, so he takes its protocols very seriously. I believe he\u2019ll not only cooperate fully with us, but also ensure that your mother does.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That explained why Alvin had initially had such a low opinion of picking up a WitSec ward. It made sense, though; as an assistant D.A. trying to build cases against criminal enterprises, he\u2019d probably had to offer deals to petty criminals, and maybe even a few genuine dirtbags, to get to the real movers behind their crimes. The exact thing that the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation had, it seemed, feared authorities might try to do with Makarov if they took him alive.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe\u2019s been a lot easier to get along with than I expected,\u201d she admitted.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat was a pleasant surprise.\u201d In fact, <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> didn\u2019t seem surprised at all.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m guessing you were the \u2018M\u2019 he spoke with on the comm? He thinks you\u2019re probably from Cohasset Prime.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYes.\u201d Now <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> sounded amused. \u201cMy standard voice <i>is<\/i> modeled on the Boston accent of old Earth, but most of the people who settled in the Cohasset System were originally from that megacity. Although their accent is slightly more rhotic.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey nodded. \u201cSo. What\u2019s our agenda for today?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There was actual debriefing over breakfast; <tt>CommissAIry<\/tt> had chosen a \u201ctraditional Japanese breakfast\u201d for her first culinary adventure of the day. Audrey devoured <i>saba shioyaki<\/i> and <i>tamagoyaki<\/i> while she and <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> went over everyone she\u2019d had contact with in the last two days, something that made her deeply thankful once more that her eidetic recall extended to names and faces. She sipped miso soup and crunched dried seaweed while they worked at identifying the reporters who had attempted to crash the welcome home party, and balanced her first tastes of <i>tsukemono<\/i> and <i>natto<\/i> with steamed rice while they identified the unnamed friends her former classmates had been with at the mall. The only flavor she wasn\u2019t entirely sure of was the natto, but <tt>CommissAIry<\/tt> had warned her that fermented soybeans were an acquired taste for most people, albeit an extremely nutritious food.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">While she sipped green tea, she updated the AIs on her careful, hands-off explorations of the other \u2019verses.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThis is good information,\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> said when she was done. \u201cNow, I think we\u2019re ready to try the experiment we spoke of. Are you willing?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAbsolutely.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Everything, she noticed, had already been set up by the AIs\u2019 robotic support. She picked up the audio recorder set out on the table, switched it on, took a deep breath, and isomorphed all the way over into Wonderland.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was a little chillier in Wonderland than in U1, she noticed, but not badly so. The day was gray and overcast.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cFive&#8288;\u2026 four&#8288;\u2026 three&#8288;\u2026 two&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/i> she could hear <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> counting down in U1. She focused on her task: pulling the sound waves from U1 into Wonderland, where the audio recorder would pick them up.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;one.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"poetry\"><i>\u201cOnce upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,<br\/>\r\nOver many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,<br\/>\r\nWhile I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,<br\/>\r\nAs of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.<br\/>\r\n\u2018\u2019Tis some visitor,\u2019 I muttered, \u2018tapping at my chamber door&#8288;\u2014<br\/>\r\nOnly this, and nothing more.\u2019<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cPlease return to U1 now, Audrey.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Well, there\u2019d definitely be no way of faking <i>that<\/i>. Audrey switched the audio recorder off as she isomorphed back. \u201c<i>The Raven<\/i>, huh?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIndeed. Now, let\u2019s see if we were successful.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The recording was audible, but just barely. \u201cCan we try again? I think I can get the volume up higher.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They tried three more times before they achieved a volume that both she and <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> were happy with.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDamn, I wish I\u2019d known how to do this,\u201d Audrey admitted ruefully, \u201cback when I was spying on Makarov.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat incident is what inspired this experiment,\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> told her. \u201cGeneral Toal suggested it after I reported the intel that you\u2019d been able to gather during Makarov\u2019s conversation with his unknown accomplice. Had a recording of the conversation been available, it might have been an opportunity to move against the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation, possibly even damage their lock on interstellar travel. It\u2019s not your fault that you didn\u2019t know how; General Toal blames himself for being more concerned with getting you offworld than with offering you training in your skills. But that was before.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBefore\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe has a proposal for you,\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> said, sidestepping her question. \u201cYour independence, and your unique skills, create an opportunity to prove that an esper doesn\u2019t have to be broken and enslaved in order to be an effective Federacy asset.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;He wants me to be an Operative?\u201d A tiny chill moved through her&#8288;\u2026 but also a small thrill.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIn training. On call in emergencies if your talents warrant it. What he really wants is for you to get to be an ordinary teenage girl, but if a threat were to appear on this world&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m in.\u201d A threat to Deckard\u2019s World was a threat to Elodie.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019ve reserved the right to veto any operation that might compromise your cover or put you in harm\u2019s way. He\u2019s accepted those terms. I also reserved the right to veto all operations if you were reluctant or if they appear to cause any kind of psychological damage.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey nodded. \u201cI\u2019m guessing that he\u2019s especially keen on the idea of me being able to infiltrate and record from another \u2019verse.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYes. Would you feel up to such an operation later this afternoon?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Right out of the <b>gate!<\/b><\/i> \u201cI think so. What\u2019ll I be doing?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAn executive from the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation is in Settlement Point to negotiate the further expansion of direct Star Jump routes to and from the Plymouth System. At three p.m., he\u2019s scheduled to hold a conference call with Corporation HQ. Such calls are rare and closely guarded, requiring near-instantaneous transmission of signals across a hundred light-years. The technology that powers these calls is something that the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation has withheld from the Federacy, but no, General Toal doesn\u2019t want you to try to steal anything. We just want to know what they discuss, what warrants that kind of effort and expense.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">After <tt>CommissAIry<\/tt> took her on an Ethiopian culinary adventure for lunch\u2014<i>doro wat<\/i> and <i>injera<\/i> with sides of <i>azifa<\/i> and <i>gomen<\/i>, with a non-alcohol version of <i>shamita<\/i>\u2014Audrey dressed up in her weird gender-concealing costume and mask. Isomorphing into Wonderland, she waited outside for an agent\u2019s car to pull up in U1. It was a different agent than the one who had brought her to the building, which was probably a wise move. She climbed into the car and settled onto the seat before isomorphing back into U1.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The agent flinched; that was the only sign he showed that anything unusual had happened. \u201cSixteen to Control. Phantom is on board. Proceeding to target location.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Phantom. Jeez.<\/i> Well, she reflected, that was the word she pulled out most often to describe interacting with U1 from across the threshold.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The agent drove her into the heart of downtown Settlement Point, unspeaking, and into the parking garage below its tallest building.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Shit, that\u2019s not gonna work&#8288;\u2026<\/i> He was about to descend below the ground in both Elsewhere and Wonderland. She couldn\u2019t isomorph from there.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Pushing off of the seat, she isomorphed into Wonderland and let herself drop a few inches down onto the sandy turf. At least the car had been moving at a crawl. Sitting up, she checked her equipment for any damage. It all looked unscathed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Might as well run a test right now&#8288;\u2026<\/i> She switched on the transmitter that she and <tt>EntertAIn<\/tt> had set up before lunch. \u201cMilitAIre, can you hear me?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cLoud and clear, Audrey. Sixteen says you vanished from the car before he reached the drop off point. What happened?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe need to go over the rules of topography sometime. I can\u2019t isomorph underground.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cMy mistake. Are you all right?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, but I\u2019m gonna need to \u2018phantom\u2019 my way in through the front doors instead of your chosen entry point. Glad to know this system\u2019s working, though. I\u2019ll still record the conversation on my end as well.\u201d The idea of putting a high-powered receiver in Wonderland, with hardware that straddled the threshold and would allow <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> to actively record on his end, had been the next step, and hadn\u2019t taken long to set up at all.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Kinda the opposite of hiding the fact that someone outside of Quin&#173;tessa has access to the multiverse,<\/i> she thought as she walked through the glittering steelglass fa\u00e7ade of the building and into its lobby. <i>I wonder what prompted Toal to change that policy.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It took hitchhiking on four elevator rides to get close to the level she wanted, and then a nerve-wracking climb up two flights of stairs hundreds of feet above the ground in Wonderland\u2014where the wind had, thankfully, subsided for the moment\u2014but finally she was on the floor where the Quin&#173;tessa executive had scheduled his call. Technicians were setting up equipment for him, while he paced in a nearby lobby.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Fuck.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe\u2019s like <i>her<\/i>,\u201d she told <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt>, hoping that the man\u2014or whatever he was\u2014wouldn\u2019t sense her presence somehow. \u201cHalf in U1, half in some hell place. I can see the darkness all around him.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cDisturbing, but not unexpected. He shouldn\u2019t be able to see into Wonderland, though, any more than the envoy on Tangier Prime could see into Elsewhere. Stay calm.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She walked into the conference room, looking over the equipment. \u201cFuck, I think I know how the technology works, guys. I think he\u2019s using an apeirochoron as a transmitter somehow.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The familiar, seamless box sat on the conference table, wires running from it to both the camera that would record the executive and the display he would watch.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cDon\u2019t touch it. Remember you\u2019re observing and recording only. Your intel is noted and confirms a working hypothesis.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat hypothesis is that?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cIt\u2019s above your clearance level, for now, but you\u2019ll know soon.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Fuckin\u2019-A, did he just \u201cI\u2019ll tell you when you\u2019re older\u201d me?<\/i> Audrey suppressed a snort and sat down in one of the chairs she suspected nobody would be using. \u201cStanding by to record.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Would the executive notice that the sound waves were moving out of U1? She hoped not. He entered the room and locked the doors, touching several controls as she started her recorder and set her suit microphone to Constant Transmission. <i>She<\/i> was aware of the way the sound waves were moving differently and crossing a multiversal threshold, but hopefully he wouldn\u2019t be, since he only existed on one side of that particular one. He had no presence in Wonderland.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThere he is now,\u201d a familiar voice said. The envoy! \u201cHow are you, Colin?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The executive smiled at the screen. \u201cI\u2019m well, thank you. How are <i>you,<\/i> Irena? Where has your new assignment taken you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m now on Helion Prime,\u201d the envoy\u2014Irena\u2014said. \u201cSince the relief flights to Furya have moved from Tangier to Helion for a few years, I will be monitoring that traffic.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAny word on the two Furyans you thought you sensed on Tangier Prime?\u201d Colin asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Irena sounded vexed when she spoke. \u201cNothing. It\u2019s possible that they were just the children of soldiers who served at the Caldera, but either way, I wanted to get to them before the Federacy did. They\u2019ve snapped up almost all the espers, and we need at least one. Preferably a strong one, a real Furyan. Ideally a male, but at this point, I\u2019ll make do with what I can get. We\u2019re running out of time.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat\u2019s the revised timetable?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIf the pattern holds, three years until the Coalsack Planets, and then another year until Helion.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo you believe it\u2019s going in <i>order.<\/i>\u201d Colin sounded awed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYes, we think it is&#8288;\u2014 <i>they<\/i> are. How are negotiations going?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cReasonably well. But there\u2019s a little snag. Deckard\u2019s World is isolationist and xenophobic about other cultures. They\u2019re not sure they <i>want<\/i> to be one of the new Federacy hubs.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThey had better find a way to get over that. We\u2019re going to lose all the current ones within the next fifteen years. It\u2019s <i>accelerating.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019ll sweeten the pot.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDo that,\u201d Irena said. \u201cYou\u2019re authorized to extend Tier 2 amenities. We need this fallback position. Make it happen.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOn my oath as a Kirshbaum.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Irena rolled her eyes. \u201cWe\u2019re <i>all<\/i> Kirshbaums. Don\u2019t belabor the point. Just get it done. And if you hear of any rumors of Furyans, I need to know <i>immediately.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat about asking <i>her<\/i> for help?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou know what she\u2019ll say. She\u2019ll demand the impossible. Again. There\u2019s no reasoning with anyone on Furya itself. We need one of their lost children. Rumor has it there may be a lead on Helion, but I haven\u2019t tracked it down yet.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019ll have the deal sewn up in forty-eight hours, tops.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGood.\u201d Irena vanished from the screen.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAuntie fucking <i>bitch<\/i>,\u201d Colin muttered and stamped out of the room.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey was alone with the apeirochoron. She stood up, walking closer, and reached out her hand&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>No, little sister, you may not.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2014&#8288;and found herself sitting in the back seat of Sixteen\u2019s car as he pulled up to the safe house.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u2026&#8288;The hell?<\/i><\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5609\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5609 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-67\">\u00ab Chapter 67<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5641\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5641 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-69\">Chapter 69 \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=\"69\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5610\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5610 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-68\">\u00ab Chapter 68<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5642\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5642 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-70\">Chapter 70 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5574\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5574 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">69.<br\/>\r\n<u>Black Fox, Gone to Ground<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cPlease have a seat,\u201d Principal Godwin said, gesturing at the chairs in front of his desk.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey and her mom both sat down, Elodie napping in a carrier beside Bettie\u2019s chair.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI have the test results back, and the news is good,\u201d Godwin said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey had already seen the results; <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> had forwarded them to her. Her scores hadn\u2019t been <i>perfect;<\/i> that would have been difficult for people to accept, so she\u2019d deliberately missed a question or two on each test. But she knew that the scores had been well beyond the necessary levels for passing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The holidays were behind them, and the end of the school year was approaching. Given the timing of her return, the school administration had agreed that it would be <i>disruptive<\/i> to have Audrey join her class\u2014assuming she even tested into it\u2014at the very end of the year. Instead, they had administered three days\u2019 worth of tests covering all the material that she would be expected to know to successfully advance to tenth grade. Their intention, she knew, had been to determine which summer school classes she would need to take, or whether she would simply be knocked back a grade\u2014or even two\u2014instead; the results proved that neither option was necessary.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAudrey\u2019s officially approved to join her class for tenth grade when school resumes in May,\u201d Godwin told them. \u201cWe received the special transcript from the&#8288;\u2026 fa&#173;cil&#173;ity&#8288;\u2026 she stayed in, so she won\u2019t be missing any of the credits she needs to graduate, either. Fall Semester registration opens in a week, and she can sign up for classes then. I\u2019ve forwarded you a list of the ones that need instructor permission or auditions\u2014band, choir, those kinds of things\u2014if she\u2019s interested in any of them, and a list of extracurricular activity groups and their deadlines for signing up.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey had caught the quizzical look her mom had shot her at the mention of the \u201cfacility.\u201d That was going to be a fun conversation.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was holding Elodie for her mom as they returned to the car, when she became aware of people staring at her, both from classroom windows and from the nearby softball field. <i>Well, there\u2019s another delightful rumor that\u2019s gonna start going around&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> was already monitoring the gossip, and which students subscribed to which wild theories about her whereabouts while she was missing. Some of the scenarios were pretty outrageous. A few people had floated the suggestion that she\u2019d never been missing at all, but had gotten pregnant and had gone away somewhere to have a baby. She wondered which of them would latch onto the idea that Elodie was \u201creally\u201d her daughter rather than her sister.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat did the principal mean about a facility you stayed in?\u201d Her mom waited until they were in the car, and it was in motion, before asking.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c\u2018M\u2019 sent in transcripts,\u201d Audrey told her. \u201cIt was the only way to keep them from demanding at least some summer school to give me the minimum number of credits I\u2019ll need to graduate in three more years. The transcripts claim I was in a Wyndham Landing juvie facility under a fake name, and they sent me back here when they finally realized who I was, but I already completed a ninth-grade equivalency during their school year.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The facility really existed, too; in the northern hemisphere of Deckard\u2019s World, the school year ranged from the start of November to the end of July, compared to May through January in Settlement Point. Records related to her supposed stay there had been inserted into the facility\u2019s security system, courtesy of a Ghost Code <i>she<\/i> had provided <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt>, and some programs he controlled were monitoring all communications for any sign of attempts to access the files. Anyone trying to get more details about her stay there would unknowingly find themselves speaking to <i>him.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her mom kept her eyes on the road, but Audrey could feel her <i>wanting<\/i> to turn and lock eyes with her. \u201c<i>Were<\/i> you in Wyndham Landing?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMom, you know I can\u2019t tell you where I was.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her mom huffed, pressing her lips together for a moment. \u201cI know. I\u2019m trying to live with it, Audrey, I <i>am<\/i>. It\u2019s just&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI get it.\u201d She kept her voice gentle and sympathetic. Time to try to change the subject. \u201cI, uh, was hoping to sign up for some extracurriculars next year, if you\u2019re okay with that.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhich ones did you have in mind?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTrack and musical theater. I\u2019ll have to try out for both.\u201d While she did enjoy musical theater, <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> wanted her to pursue it for protective coloration purposes; she would portray herself as reasonably adept at the broader theatricality of the stage, suitable for musicals and vaudeville, but with little ability for subtler and more nuanced performances. That would hopefully \u201cprove,\u201d to most observers, that she lacked the talent or skill to run a long game on anyone. Track&#8288;\u2026 was something <i>she\u2019d<\/i> insisted on.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cI can keep up,\u201d she\u2019d told Riddick, trying to hide her fear that he would leave her behind.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cMaybe someday,\u201d he\u2019d replied&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She wanted to be able to run for miles, for hours, to be the one setting the pace rather than struggling to follow. She had raced through the corridors of the <i>Nephrite Undine,<\/i> <tt>SensAI<\/tt> timing her as she went, and had taken to jogging across the flat plains of Wonderland since her return, once the weather was good enough. And she wanted to get even faster.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She would never see Riddick again, but she had decided she wanted to run as fast as, or faster than, him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;and an awful lot of running to do&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Where had she heard that? She frowned, concentrating on the memory, but it slipped away from her. It felt like something she\u2019d heard on the <i>Nephrite Undine<\/i>\u2014somehow the memory conjured the scent of <tt>EntertAIn<\/tt>\u2019s rooms on the ship, hints of popcorn and strawberry licorice whips\u2014but none of the \u201cfemale\u201d AIs on the ship had had a voice quite like that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It bothered her that she had so many holes in her memory.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The most recent one, from the end of her first recon mission, was especially vexing. Neither the AIs nor the <i>Apeiros<\/i> would tell her what had happened, although both groups had given her stern lectures about <i>not<\/i> trying to mess with any more apeirochorons. <i>Not until you hatch,<\/i> the <i>Apeiros<\/i> had added; <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt>, meanwhile, had given her hell about trying to disobey a direct order.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d had to let go of most of it, but one thing had stuck out for her and had been a startling revelation: after touching their hands, the envoy had apparently believed that she and Kyra were <i>Furyan,<\/i> and that\u2014not a potential connection to the <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i>\u2014was what had motivated all her questions at the memorial.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>No wonder she was so interested in us, if she\u2019s looking for un-Quantified Furyan refugees,<\/i> she\u2019d thought, but hadn\u2019t felt ready to discuss it with the AIs. They\u2019d probably figured out exactly the same thing, anyway. But if touching someone with Threshold Syndrome reminded the envoy of touching a Furyan&#8288;\u2026 what <i>were<\/i> Furyans? And what, exactly, was it about them\u2014or maybe their planet\u2014that was communicable enough that her dad had brought it back and left traces of it in <i>her,<\/i> even before the Level Five Incident?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d decided that she needed to think about the whole thing for a while longer before she tried to discuss it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The drive home had grown quiet. Although Audrey\u2019s thoughts had distracted her for a few moments, she suspected her mom was <i>brooding<\/i> over something.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo band?\u201d They were turning into their driveway when her mom finally asked that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Oh. Yeah.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s been close to two years since I touched my flute. I\u2019m pretty rusty&#8288;\u2026 and anyway, the marching band plays at Sunday games.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">In truth, Audrey could probably have picked up the flute and played it just fine\u2014her mom, who had known she was eidetic when she was much younger, seemed to have forgotten all about it once she\u2019d started pretending her memory was as flawed as anyone else\u2019s\u2014but having the Sunday games be the <i>only<\/i> issue would have led her mom into another bout of railing against WitSec and its restrictions. As it was, she sighed gustily and shook her head.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd the other two don\u2019t play on Sundays?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey shrugged. \u201cI checked. Friday nights and Saturday matinees and nights, only, for the musical theater performances. Track meets are right after school. About the only things that happen on Sunday are the \u2018big\u2019 sports games, so all the stuff connected to them is out.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sundays on Deckard\u2019s World, like so much else, were modeled after the Mid-Century period of the twentieth-century America, when only a few stores were open for limited hours, and most activities were either church or sports related. She hadn\u2019t realized how atypical that was until she\u2019d ventured offworld.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHmm.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Damn it, she\u2019d riled her mom up again. Bettie Paige Hawthorne had been a cheerleading captain and had hoped to encourage Audrey to follow that lead. It might have even worked\u2014Audrey had enjoyed the gymnastics and dance parts\u2014if Missy Barnstable hadn\u2019t been enrolled in the classes, too, and hadn\u2019t had it <i>in<\/i> for her. Her avoidance of practice sessions, and the reason behind it, had been one of the things her parents had fought about&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;and, she suddenly realized, a large part of why she\u2019d been convinced it was <i>her<\/i> fault that they\u2019d split up.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Huh.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s a shame you\u2019ll miss out on that part of high school life,\u201d her mom said as she finished parking the car in the garage. \u201cWell, go through the course catalogue and pick out what you want to take. I don\u2019t guess you\u2019ll ever tell me how you managed to keep up with your grade&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c\u2018M\u2019 and \u2018E\u2019 helped me stay caught up,\u201d Audrey said. That was among the things she was permitted to volunteer. She climbed out of the car and reached back in for Elodie, who was still napping in her carrier. \u201cStudying helped pass the time.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her mom released another frustrated sigh as Audrey carefully drew Elodie\u2019s carrier out; her baby sister remained fast asleep the whole time. \u201cIt would be nice to meet them sometime.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Not actually possible. Deckard\u2019s World, for all its xenophobia toward other <i>human<\/i> cultures, had some pretty enlightened-sounding stances about AI, but that didn\u2019t mean Audrey could just take her mom to the safe house and introduce her handlers. Maybe a video call sometime&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They\u2019d have to settle on appearances first, she thought, and suppressed a grin. Even <tt>SensAI<\/tt> would have to; over the Spring Break, her mom had invited her cousins and their parents over, and they had ended up watching a centuries-old film called <i>The Karate Kid.<\/i> Audrey had had great fun, the day after the New Year, teasing <tt>SensAI<\/tt> about \u201cwax on, wax off\u201d during her debriefing session, but he couldn\u2019t possibly try to wear Pat Morita\u2019s face in front of her <i>mom<\/i> in the wake of that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She really wanted to meet the person who had developed the AI\u2019s personas someday. Whoever it was, they had a <i>wicked<\/i> sense of humor.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019ll tell them,\u201d she told her mom. \u201cI don\u2019t know how feasible it is yet, but hopefully they can manage something in the future.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI suppose that\u2019ll have to do, won\u2019t it?\u201d her mom said, releasing yet another gusty sigh as she unlocked the door.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey pretended to be too busy carrying Elodie to answer. Normal was still a long way off.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The weird thing was that she was getting along spectacularly well with Alvin now. Her mom, she\u2019d discovered, had a <i>type,<\/i> and both Alvin and her dad were examples of it. <i>He<\/i> generally abetted her in dodging conversations about her missing time with both her mom and the rest of her family, understanding that the less said about it all, the better. Her mom, however, was still struggling to let go of the issue, to accept that it was something that just had to <i>be,<\/i> and that it would be easier to deal with if she didn\u2019t try to tackle it head-on.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But looking away wasn\u2019t what Bettie Paige Hawthorne-Baxter knew how to do&#8288;\u2026 and with a few more years\u2019 hiatus from her law practice ahead of her until Elodie was old enough for school, she was <i>itching<\/i> for a fight. That was something Audrey needed to talk to <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> about. It was bad enough that her mom had already <i>lost<\/i> the \u201cfights\u201d about Audrey dressing like a teenager instead of a little girl and packing away all the toys she\u2019d outgrown&#8288;\u2026 even if most of her cast-offs were being saved for Elodie to grow into.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And, Audrey suddenly realized with a chill, it was about to get worse. A familiar car was pulling up in front of the house&#8288;\u2026 mid-afternoon on a <i>Thursday.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Well, shit.<\/i> This was going to give her mom something new to want to fight about.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her comm buzzed in her pocket at that moment. <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> was calling. She answered, aware that she only had a minute until the doorbell rang.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat the hell\u2019s going on?\u201d she whispered, not wanting to wake Elodie or alert her mom yet.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe have a problem. It\u2019s nothing dangerous, but we need you at the safe house right away. Please assure your mother that you\u2019ll be back before curfew. And don\u2019t worry. It\u2019s the truth.\u201d The comm went dead.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey set down Elodie\u2019s carrier on the couch just before the doorbell rang.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWho was on the comm?\u201d her mom asked behind her. \u201cAnd who\u2019s at the door?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c\u2018M\u2019 called. There\u2019s some kind of problem. But he promised he\u2019d have me back here before curfew.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo. No, no no <i>no.<\/i> They can\u2019t just show up out of the blue and take you away like it\u2019s <i>nothing.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMom, it\u2019ll be okay. I\u2019ll be back in a few hours.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her mom\u2019s jaw clenched. She stormed over to the front door, unlocking it and throwing it open. \u201cWhat the hell are you trying to&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHello, Ma\u2019am.\u201d It was the agent she\u2019d come to know as Five, one of three who were permitted to see her face and know where she lived, and the one who usually brought her to the safe house. He looked like a Secret Service agent from a centuries-old movie. \u201cI apologize for the inconvenience.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIncon&#173;<i>ve<\/i>nience&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMiss MacNamera needs to come with me now. This is a matter of Federacy security.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s a <i>what?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI assure you, she will be back before ten. Probably well before then.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou can\u2019t just come in here and try to&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMom!\u201d Audrey felt like they were teetering on a dangerous edge.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c<i>What,<\/i> Audrey?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou <i>need<\/i> to <i>calm down.<\/i> If you get into a fight with a Federacy agent in front of the neighbors, they might decide not to return me at <i>all.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her mom went chalky pale at her words, her hand fluttering up to her mouth.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey pulled her into a hug. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be okay. I love you. I <i>will<\/i> be back tonight, I swear it. Try not to worry.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She hoped she wasn\u2019t about to be made into a liar.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Neither she nor Five spoke until the car was in motion. Normally, they wouldn\u2019t have spoken at all; his words to her mom were the first time she\u2019d ever heard his voice.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAny idea what\u2019s going on?\u201d she asked once they were a few blocks away from her mom\u2019s house.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSorry. I\u2019m not cleared to know. Just to deliver you to the security office.\u201d That was, apparently, the official name for the safe house in <i>his<\/i> circles. He had an unusual mind, disciplined and clear, his thoughts oddly intentional and delineated with none of the clutter and free association she was used to reading in people. She wondered if it was deliberate, if he knew he was dealing with an esper. Not that she could ask. Asking anything would volunteer too much information in the process.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI guess I\u2019ll find out when I get there.\u201d She settled back into the seat. \u201cHow much am I cleared to know about you, Five? I mean, since you know my name and where I live?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He chuckled. \u201cMy name is Dennis. I know I\u2019m allowed to tell you that much, but I\u2019ll have to verify what else I can say.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNice to meet you, Dennis.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou too, Audrey.\u201d He gave her a wry smile in the rear-view mirror. \u201cThank you for rescuing me from your mother.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019re welcome, but don\u2019t worry. It\u2019s been at least five years since she actually ate anybody alive.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That got a laugh. \u201cI dunno&#8288;\u2026 she seemed to be sizing up my jugular.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey shrugged. \u201cLong as she doesn\u2019t go for the sweet spot, you\u2019ll be fine.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe sweet spot?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">What the hell was she <i>doing?<\/i> \u201cDon\u2019t worry about it&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was going to have to think of a way to apologize to her mom, she decided as they drove on. If only&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Now, there\u2019s a nice, non-horrible idea&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBefore you say anything,\u201d she told the AIs as she entered the safe house, \u201cI\u2019m going to need CommissAIry to make a dozen chocolate \u00e9clairs for me to take back to my mom as a peace offering, because whatever\u2019s going on just sent her freak-out levels into orbit. Peace in our time means \u00e9clairs. Understood?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cUnderstood, Audrey,\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> said, his voice oddly gentle. \u201cWe wouldn\u2019t have brought you here if it weren\u2019t an urgent matter.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She took a deep breath, letting go of the bit of anger she\u2019d been holding. \u201cOkay. What\u2019s going on?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cKyra Wittier-Collins has disappeared.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShe boarded a ship to the Lupus System at the New Fes spaceport. It reached its destination two weeks ago. General Toal wanted to make her a similar offer to the one that he made you, and he had arranged for its delivery once she got settled. Just an offer. No one was to attempt to take her into custody. But one of the agents in the detail apparently misunderstood the assignment.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh. <i>Fuck.\u201d<\/i> Audrey sat down at one of the terminals and called up a set of profiles that she checked every week during her debriefing visits. \u201cAn offer like he made me? Training to be an independent \u2018Operative?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat was the plan,\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> told her. \u201cHe wants to assemble proof that the conditioning given to most esper \u2018recruits\u2019 actually makes them less effective in the field. His arguments against the conditioning on humanitarian grounds haven\u2019t worked.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She logged into the account that she\u2019d set up, well before she and Kyra had left Tangier Prime, where they could leave messages for each other. In the last half-year, she had left dozens of messages there, mostly recommendations of interesting films that <tt>EntertAIn<\/tt> had introduced her to, and the latest news about Amnesty Interplanetary\u2019s battle on New Dartmouth to have Kyra exonerated.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">All the messages she had sent were still unopened&#8288;\u2026 but now there was a message waiting for her <i>from<\/i> Kyra. It had been sent a week earlier and had arrived via beacon courier while she and her mom had been meeting with the principal.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"center-block\"><tt>Don\u2019t trust Toal. He tried to grab me. Going dark.<br\/>\r\n Always your sister. K.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe agent tried to <i>grab<\/i> her?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI don\u2019t believe that was his original intention. But he was shadowing her too closely and she \u2018made\u2019 him. An altercation ensued, and he then appears to have attempted to subdue her.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFuck. Is he still alive?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe\u2019ll survive his injuries, fortunately. General Toal has covered up almost all of what occurred to prevent a manhunt from starting. The whole point had been to get her to <i>voluntarily<\/i> come in from the cold. Instead, Kyra has abandoned the flat she\u2019d rented, and the Kali Montgomery ID you made her hasn\u2019t been used since that night.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Wait just one second&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow do you know about the Kali Montgomery ID?\u201d It wasn\u2019t something she\u2019d ever told <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt>, especially given his admonitions not to volunteer information. While she\u2019d described making false IDs for herself, Kyra, and Tomlin, she\u2019d never said which names and backgrounds the other two had been given. The name she\u2019d picked for Tomlin, which meant \u201che will live\u201d in Tamazight, had become cruelly ironic in the wake of everything.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhen I originally queried Military Intelligence about your real identity, back on the <i>Nephrite Undine<\/i>, I sent them copies of all the documentation you possessed as \u2018Marianne Tepper.\u2019 General Toal hadn\u2019t known that name until after you left Tangier Prime to reach the <i>Undine,<\/i> but he then traced your documents\u2019 creation and discovered that you created two more identities at the same time, including Kali Montgomery. He was impressed by the quality of your work, by the way. You were only a few minor documents away from seamless identities.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey groaned, rubbing her forehead. Part of her wanted to ask which documents she\u2019d missed, but she shoved that impulse down. <i>That part of my life is over&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Was it, though? \u201cThis&#8288;\u2026 is really bad.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt is,\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> agreed. \u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat happens now?\u201d she asked after a moment. Had the emergency just been about getting ahead of the news before she could read Kyra\u2019s message on her own, or was there something specific they wanted her to do?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And would she do it?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe were hoping that you could reach out to her.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd?\u201d Part of her had gone still in a way that she recognized from her time on the run; that unmoving moment while she watched to see which way a possible predator would go.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTell her your circumstances, tell her what we were trying to offer her, and encourage her to come in from the cold.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Which, she had to admit, made sense. She hadn\u2019t felt any serious fear in months&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Should she have, though?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Would she have been scared if her survival instincts had been better, and if she hadn\u2019t been so keen on having someone else take control in the wake of the New Casablanca fiasco? Would she have surrendered first to Abecassis\u2014believing him to be an arresting officer\u2014and later to <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt>, if she hadn\u2019t been so deep in the throes of self-loathing and a desire to be punished? Would General Toal\u2019s plans for her have still inspired relief&#8288;\u2026 or foreboding? Was Kyra being too paranoid&#8288;\u2026 or was <i>she<\/i> being too <i>trusting?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>He always knew who we were and what we could do. He could have arrested us at any time.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But maybe not. Maybe that would have created a dangerous schism with the Meziane family that he had wanted to avoid. None of them, especially not Ewan, would have permitted her imprisonment, or Kyra\u2019s.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Maybe the real urgency about getting them offworld had been to get them out from under the umbrella of protection the Mezianes had raised over them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>No,<\/i> she decided after a moment. She\u2019d never tried to read the General\u2019s mind, but she had felt it when they were near each other, and had sensed genuine kindness and worry from him, both where she was concerned and where Kyra was. But&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>He knew where I was going the whole time. He knew he could always find me again. Was he watching over Kyra the same way?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Or had he only become interested in her whereabouts once his objectives changed and he wanted to prove off-leash Operatives were superior to the heavily conditioned types?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Was there a leash hidden among those new objectives, as yet unseen?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">One thing about AIs, she\u2019d already noticed, was that they could let a silence stretch out as long as necessary without the slightest discomfort. That silence was only broken when, with the arrival of the dinner hour, <tt>CommissAIry<\/tt> had the safe house \u2019bots deliver a tray of fragrant chicken tagine, orange juice, and Maghrebi mint tea.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Comfort food,<\/i> she realized. <i>They understand comfort food&#8288;\u2026 and they understand how uncomfortable all of this has me&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The move had energized her appetite, though. She ate, still thinking things over, before finally opening the messaging system again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt>I heard about what happened. I hope you\u2019re okay. General Toal enrolled me in WitSec to break my trail. I think he wanted to offer you the same deal and a safe way into the military. My handlers say one of the people assigned to make contact with you went off-mission and fucked it up. I believe they\u2019re telling the truth. But if you aren\u2019t sure&#8288;\u2014<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">First, she needed to make sure <i>she<\/i> was sure of what she planned to suggest. She closed her eyes, slowed her breathing, and willed her mind into the starfield of the <i>Apeiros.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Five minutes later, she opened her eyes again, feeling relieved.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt>\u2014&#8288;you don\u2019t need to use this system to reach out to me. The Apeiros will relay messages between us. They promise to help, and they promise not to start talking to you all the time in your sleep again. I know they make you uncomfortable, but they can help you with a lot of things if you want them to. Elsewhere and another \u2019verse are habitable on my world. I\u2019m on Deckard\u2019s World. You can come here and stay in either \u2019verse, if you want to get away from everybody, and I\u2019ll bring you supplies. It\u2019s up to you. I just want you to be safe.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She took a deep breath, blew it out, and added in the thing she\u2019d wanted to tell Kyra since before they had gone their separate ways.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt>My name is Audrey MacNamera and I am always your sister.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt>Love,<br\/>\r\nTizzy<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAre you sure you want to send that?\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> asked as she finished. \u201cIt\u2019s a risk.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou tell me how secure the system is,\u201d Audrey muttered. \u201cShe needs a safe haven. Why not here?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe encryptions you have in place are comprehensive. It should be safe. And if she chooses to come here, we will protect her and let her choose her path. I promise you that.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey touched the \u201cSend\u201d button. \u201cWhere <i>is<\/i> General Toal right now?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOn Helion Prime,\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> told her, \u201ctrying to learn more about what your \u2018friend\u2019 Irena is up to.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey nodded. So Kyra\u2019s assumption that he had tried to grab her wasn\u2019t because she had seen him in the Lupus System. He did, however, have high-speed courier drones that could get messages across the Federacy within a single day. They were expensive as fuck, but it appeared he was using them to run damage control on the botched contact mission&#8288;\u2026 and to ensure that his side of the story arrived at the same time as Kyra\u2019s.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Was reaching Kyra what was important to him&#8288;\u2026 or keeping <i>Audrey MacNamera<\/i> on his side?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He had, she realized as she thought more about it, always been more interested in what <i>she<\/i> could do than what Kyra could.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cDihya, I think, relies more on her phys&#173;i&#173;cal&#173;ity&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra had turned away from the <i>Apeiros.<\/i> In all probability, she was still only two \u2019verses wide in her five-shape, having spent months dreaming in cryo instead of cultivating additional \u2019verses with each Star Jump. She was deadly and formidable, but&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>But <b>that<\/b> isn\u2019t something new to him&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">If Kyra\u2019s talents were less interesting to him, though, then he had to genuinely care about helping her, and about making good on Tomlin\u2019s promise to her. Didn\u2019t he?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It felt like truth to her. She hoped she wasn\u2019t being na\u00efve.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">True to their word, the AIs had \u201cEleven\u201d drive her home shortly before Elodie\u2019s bedtime, with chocolate \u00e9clairs for Audrey\u2019s mom, huge, sticky cinnamon rolls for Alvin, and a supply of Elodie\u2019s current favorite custard\u2014she had been obsessed with banana custard for the last week\u2014as peace offerings. She arrived at the house just before Elodie was due for her bedtime snack.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The four of them ate their desserts together, Audrey nibbling on an \u00e9clair and wishing she could have brought home some almond <i>briouats<\/i> without raising questions. Elodie, in particular, was ecstatic about the special treat.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou okay?\u201d Alvin asked as he pulled a ring of iced pastry off his roll.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI will be,\u201d she said. Her message to Kyra had gone out, but&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;she found herself more and more worried about her sister.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI don\u2019t guess you can tell us what all the fuss was about,\u201d her mom groused.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI can, a little.\u201d She and <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> had worked that much out. \u201cThere\u2019s a girl&#8288;\u2026 we were in custody together for two months.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Literally true. Just in Aceso instead of in WitSec. Using the truth to mislead disturbed her, but the truths underlying the illusions, assumptions, and lies of omission were still the most important details.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe became friends. We started to think of each other as sisters, even. But&#8288;\u2026 we had to be separated. We were too big a target together. Too risky. So&#8288;\u2026 we were split up.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Also literally true. It just hadn\u2019t happened in a safe house, and the decision hadn\u2019t exactly come from a WitSec handler. Her mom and Alvin would believe that they had been sheltering in place together, in some hidden location, for two months somewhere on Deckard\u2019s World, developing a \u201cbest friends forever\u201d bond over safe, protected activities.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Not fleeing a mental institution together before one of them could be dragged off and made to \u201cstand trial\u201d by the people who had committed genocide against her family; not figuring out how to negotiate a dangerous breach between universes that had infected them before it could drown them; not being flung into a deadly battle with hundreds of lives at stake and that multiversal breach their only decisive weapon&#8288;\u2026 Just two girls killing time in a safe house&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;who were then separated by someone\u2019s dispassionate judgment call, instead of being forced to break their own hearts to safeguard hundreds of fugitives and the millions of Imazighen who had stepped forward to protect them&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She took a deep breath. \u201cShe\u2019s disappeared. One of the agents on her detail&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That was one way to describe the idiot, anyway.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;is in the hospital, and nobody knows where <i>she<\/i> is. They were hoping maybe I had a way to get in touch with her without breaking cover, but&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She shook her head. <i>She could be on her way to anywhere in the Federacy by now.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The <i>Apeiros<\/i> hadn\u2019t been able to \u201chear\u201d her when Audrey had asked, but they only ever \u201cheard\u201d Kyra when she was asleep and dreaming. She <i>hid<\/i> from them when she was awake&#8288;\u2026 and even now Audrey was afraid that giving them permission to try to speak to her might be seen as a betrayal.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Wherever Kyra was, she was alone. Completely alone&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey hadn\u2019t meant to lose her composure, but a sob escaped her before she could stop it. Her mom\u2019s arms were around her a second later.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSweetie, I\u2019m so sorry.\u201d Her mom\u2019s voice was gentle and soothing, all her fight from earlier gone. \u201cIf there\u2019s anything we can do to help&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Somehow, that just made the tears flow harder.<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5610\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5610 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-68\">\u00ab Chapter 68<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5642\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5642 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-70\">Chapter 70 \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=\"70\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5611\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5611 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-69\">\u00ab Chapter 69<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5643\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5643 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-71\">Chapter 71 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5577\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5577 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">70.<br\/>\r\n<u>Straight On \u2019Til Morning<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI have to advise against it, Audrey.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat\u2019s the alternative?\u201d Audrey whispered into her comm. She was alone in the sound booth\u2014the tech crew wasn\u2019t due back for a few hours\u2014as she spoke to <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt>. \u201cIf the \u2018show doesn\u2019t go on,\u2019 all the tickets will have to be refunded and everybody\u2019ll be wondering why I didn\u2019t step in. That\u2019s <i>more<\/i> likely to get noticed than me being in the spotlight of a high school play for a single night.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> took long enough to reply that Audrey knew he was discussing the matter with the other AIs. \u201cYou\u2019re correct. It\u2019s not a good situation, though. A lead role is risky. <i>This<\/i> lead role is especially risky.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI get it,\u201d she told him. \u201cI really do. But&#8288;\u2026 I can\u2019t let everybody down. They\u2019re not expecting anything grand out of me, but I\u2019m the only one left who knows the lines and blocking.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI understand, Audrey. Break a leg. We will be watching.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSeriously?\u201d She laughed. \u201cYou\u2019re gonna piggyback on the school\u2019s security cameras to watch?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe wouldn\u2019t miss it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMake a recording for my mom, then, okay? And let her know for me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Half a dozen people, their expressions ranging from worried to hopeful, were waiting for her when she emerged from the sound booth.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI have permission,\u201d she told them. The whoops of delight and relief were almost deafening.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Mrs. Morgan began punching numbers into her comm. \u201cI need to get Judy in here early to make sure the costume will work. You\u2019re six inches taller than Cheryl.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Todd, a grinning Senior a few inches taller than her, with a \u201cducktail\u201d haircut and an earring in one ear, walked over and put his arm around her. \u201cYou are saving <i>so<\/i> many lives! Now, let\u2019s do a run-through with the rest of the cast.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He marched her out onto the stage, which was currently clear of set pieces. The whole cast, looking nervous, was sitting nearby, awaiting news of their fate.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSecond star to the right,\u201d he shouted, \u201cand straight on \u2019til morning! We have our Peter!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThank God,\u201d Julia, hair in the ringlets of Wendy Darling, groaned. \u201cMy whole family is coming tonight. You didn\u2019t eat any of Cheryl\u2019s chicken, did you, Audrey? Please tell me you didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI never went near it,\u201d Audrey promised. \u201cOkay, I think Todd wants us \u2018understudies\u2019 to practice our lines and blocking at least once? An undressed dress rehearsal?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A few people laughed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Almost a quarter of the cast had been felled by food poisoning earlier in the day. Cheryl Ocasek, the shining star of Eisenhower High\u2019s theater program, had brought in lunch for the whole cast an hour before the matinee curtain rose. While most of the food had been excellent, everyone who had eaten the fried chicken had begun feeling ill by the middle of the performance. Peter\u2019s final duel with Hook would have been unintentionally comical if both Cheryl and Stan hadn\u2019t looked pale, sweaty, and thoroughly miserable. Neither came out for the final bows, and one of the Lost Children nearly vomited in front of the audience before the curtain finally dropped.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Pandemonium had followed while Mrs. Morgan tried to work out who was sick and who was well, and whether parts could be juggled to make it possible for the show\u2019s closing night performance to go forward. In the end, only one role was left that had lost both its main player and its understudy: Peter Pan himself.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Which was when Todd, the theater program\u2019s <i>other<\/i> big star who was capping his high school career by directing the production, had suggested that they dragoon their stage manager into the role.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was Audrey\u2019s first time as a stage manager; now a junior, she had spent almost two whole school years building up a reputation as a serviceable actor who lacked the nuance needed for a lead role but who could sing, dance, and nail the lines in virtually any supporting part. She was <i>best<\/i> known to her compatriots, however, as a facile prompter who kept entire scripts in her head and never missed a step in her blocking. Although she was considerably taller than Peter was supposed to be, she was the only realistic option left. Todd\u20146\u20192\u201d with a swimmer\u2019s physique\u2014looked far too \u201cgrown up\u201d to portray a boy who refused to ever become an adult, and he was the only other member of the troupe who knew all of Peter\u2019s lines. Besides which, he already had to step in to play Captain Hook.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe have, like, no fairies left,\u201d Maeve, the production\u2019s Tiger Lily, grumbled.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat if we added some lights dancing around you?\u201d Audrey asked. \u201cLike you\u2019re the only one who\u2019s corporeal and the rest are staying small like Tink?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her comm buzzed. She glanced down at its screen.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"center-block\"><tt>E. is working on it right now.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI have a friend who can whip something up for us,\u201d she continued. \u201cThe \u2018Friends\u2019 song will just have to be the two of us. At least we\u2019re doing the \u2018fairies\u2019 version instead of the \u2018Indians\u2019 one.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Back at the start of the semester, she\u2019d managed to argue Todd and Mrs. Morgan into using the revised twenty-first century script, as opposed to the original 1954 Broadway script, by comparing the portrayal of \u201cIndians\u201d in the original script\u2014and no Native American tribes had been invited to settle on Deckard\u2019s World\u2014to the way \u201cthe gays\u201d were characterized by most of their school peers, something that Todd was especially sensitive to. Aside from a few lines changing slightly and the replacement of the \u201cUgh a Wug\u201d song with another tune about friendship, it was almost exactly the same play.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And it would be a whole lot easier to replace corporeal fairies with dancing lights than to explain away an entire missing <i>tribe.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOkay,\u201d Todd said. \u201cLet\u2019s do a run-through of lines and blocking and see what we need to spend the rest of the day working on.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They worked until it was time to admit the audience. Audrey nailed her lines and blocking, listening attentively to Todd\u2019s criticisms of her actual performance. Fortunately, this wasn\u2019t a play that required enormous amounts of nuance, so he wasn\u2019t <i>super<\/i> critical. She and Maeve then practiced the \u201cFriends\u201d song together, working out the best division of lines normally sung by backup actors and the best ways to harmonize them. The arrival of the \u201cfairy lights\u201d holo system that <tt>EntertAIn<\/tt> had cooked up helped; the AI had also whipped up a backing track of \u201cfairy voices\u201d that could be played alongside, adding almost-unearthly harmonies to their lines.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her handlers, she realized, had decided to treat this like a <i>mission.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">While Todd worked with the rest of the cast on weak spots, Audrey met with the stage crew to adjust Cheryl\u2019s flight harness and wires to accommodate her size and weight, and then did a few practice flights to make sure she could control her movements while singing and showboating. The Stage Crew Advisor, Mr. Andrews, agreed to handle the stage management for the evening, and they went over the issues to watch out for from prior performances.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The whole thing kept her too damned <i>busy<\/i> to feel any stage fright until the show had started and it was almost time to hit her first mark.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Oh fuck, what am I doing? I\u2019m not supposed to expose myself like this&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her hair\u2014which she\u2019d finally convinced her mom to let her cut to only halfway down her back\u2014was braided back and hidden away, and she was wearing a wig of short, brown, shaggy hair under a green cap. Judy had adjusted the costume to accommodate her longer torso and hide her curves. Now she just had to&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;be a boy for an hour and a half? When had she ever done <i>that<\/i> before?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Easy peasy&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She took a deep breath and jumped off her \u201cperch,\u201d soaring through the \u201copen window\u201d of the bedroom and just managing to stick the landing. Murmurs erupted through the audience as people realized that Cheryl wasn\u2019t playing the role. There <i>was<\/i> supposed to be a sign up about the cast changes, but she bet most people had walked past it without reading.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTinker Bell!\u201d she stage-whispered. \u201cTink! <i>\u2026&#8288;Tink!\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNana\u201d barked over a nearby speaker, and she ducked down behind a chair, peeking out.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTinker Bell! Where <i>are<\/i> you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was halfway through the scene, singing \u201cNever Never Land,\u201d when she realized that she had adopted her \u201cRiddick walk\u201d and her \u201cJack B. Badd\u201d voice for the role.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There were a few flubs along the way from some of her costars, but not nearly as many as they had all dreaded there would be. Todd made a brilliant Hook, she thought, and she had a great time hamming things up with him. Their duels were hilarious and made her wish they could extend them. But by the time she whisked \u201cJane\u201d off to Neverland, she was as exhausted as if she had spent the whole time actively isomorphing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">During the curtain call, however, she had one more thing to do. Todd handed her a microphone.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTonight was supposed to be a special night,\u201d she told the audience. \u201cCheryl Ocasek has been an amazing talent in our theater program for four years now. This would have been her final performance before graduating, and I know a lot of you came tonight especially to see her. Unfortunately, she fell ill earlier today. Although she\u2019s not here to receive it, we wanted all of you to get to see the award and thank-you gift that we had planned to give her tonight&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She turned the microphone over to Maeve, who did a slight variation on the speech she\u2019d originally intended to give, extolling Cheryl\u2019s performances over the last four years since she\u2019d first wowed audiences in <i>The Fantasticks.<\/i> Then the actor who had played Smee took over the mic to give a similar award to Todd.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The wrap party was a bit of a blur. She remembered Todd telling her that he wished he had another year to work with her, and several other cast members telling her they were looking forward to having that year, but her brain felt like it was turning into mush.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Mission accomplished,<\/i> she mused as she managed to make her good-byes and left to meet her mom in the parking lot. <i>Time to head back to base&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI almost didn\u2019t get to see your debut performance,\u201d her mom said when they were nearly home. \u201cBut \u2018M\u2019 called and told me you were taking over the role. Why didn\u2019t <i>you<\/i> let me know?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey groaned. \u201cSorry&#8288;\u2026 I spent the whole afternoon working with Todd and the cast to make sure I wouldn\u2019t turn the production into a total disaster. I asked him to give you a heads-up for me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWell, you were fantastic. Alvin\u2019s sorry he missed it, but we couldn\u2019t find a sitter. I didn\u2019t understand why you were keeping at the whole acting thing when you never got starring roles, but maybe now you\u2019ll start getting some more.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Shit. Had she been <i>too<\/i> good? <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> might have some choice things to say about that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou don\u2019t have to want to be a star to want to perform, Mom.\u201d It wasn\u2019t their first time going over that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>A mermaid doesn\u2019t need to be a queen to raise a tsunami&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her mom was just too much of a competitive spirit to understand that. Her drive to win, to come out on top, showed up in almost everything. For Audrey, she only felt like that when she was on the track and didn\u2019t want to have to see anyone between her and the \u201chorizon.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her morning ride to the safe house was a little surprising; Dennis teasingly asked her for her autograph.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGonna tell people \u2018I knew her when&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u2019 even if I can never tell them I knew you <i>where,<\/i>\u201d he joked. \u201cYou got good reviews last night. Wish I\u2019d been there to see.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Reviews? Oh. Shit&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo,\u201d she said as she walked into the Security Room and sat down, \u201chow badly did I fuck things up?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNot badly,\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> told her. \u201cNone of the reviewers who had come to see Cheryl Ocasek\u2019s final high school performance claimed you outperformed her. Or accused you of nuance.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFuck&#8288;\u2026 I should\u2019ve realized that show was gonna be reviewed. What <i>did<\/i> they say?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSee for yourself.\u201d The screen in front of her lit up with an article from the <i>Settlement Point Monitor.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <h3 class=\"headline\">Food Poisoning Outbreak Forces Last-Minute Cast Change in <i>Peter Pan<\/i> Production<\/h3>\r\n\r\n  <h4 class=\"headline\">Junior Audrey MacNamera and Senior Todd McKinney Shine in Impromptu Roles<\/h4>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Below the headline, there was an image someone had captured of the performance, as she and Todd had dueled. Todd looked menacing and wicked as Captain Hook, while she&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Well, shit.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">With a fierce grin on her face as she battled Captain Hook back, and her unruly mop of a wig under Peter Pan\u2019s green cap&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack B. Badd was onstage for the whole fuckin\u2019 <i>universe<\/i> to see.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d done the walk, done the voice, slipped into the boy persona she\u2019d developed on the run without even a <i>thought&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh fuck. I\u2019m <i>right out there<\/i> in Jack form&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd your portrayal of a boy is, according to the reviewer, one of the highlights of your performance,\u201d <tt>EntertAIn<\/tt> said. \u201cWhile you didn\u2019t do a job that would raise red flags about your ability to run a long game, you <i>did<\/i> reveal that you can impersonate a boy very well indeed.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Groaning, Audrey looked for that part of the review.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt>MacNamera, a junior at Eisenhower High, is better known for Lettering in Track and Field as a sophomore and bringing home the bronze medal this year in the DWSAA Half-Marathon. Within the theater program, she has appeared in several chorus lines and taken on smaller roles, and was this production\u2019s stage manager up until the food poisoning incident. Sixteen years old, she\u2019s probably best known for having been a missing person for almost two years. While no information has ever been released about where she was during that time, the authentic veneer of \u2018street tough\u2019 that she imbues her Peter Pan with might furnish a tantalizing clue&#8288;\u2026<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOhhhh, shit.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOn a positive note,\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> said, \u201cthe \u2018street tough\u2019 interpretation points back to the dominant theories almost everyone has about you at this point&#8288;\u2026 and not toward a run through space.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAs long as nobody realizes the \u2018street tough\u2019 I\u2019m channeling there is Richard B. Riddick,\u201d Audrey muttered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s hard to imagine why they would,\u201d <tt>EntertAIn<\/tt> laughed. \u201cI don\u2019t think this did much damage to the persona you\u2019re portraying, but you <i>are<\/i> going to have to figure out a way to avoid starring roles, now that you\u2019ve demonstrated how ably you can handle one.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAre you sure? I feel&#8288;\u2026 naked. Exposed as <i>fuck<\/i>.\u201d She <i>felt<\/i> like she\u2019d screwed up, even if the article was praising her and even her mom had seemed happy.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt was a risk. You knew it and so did we. But it\u2019s also a good opportunity to practice some damage control tactics,\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> said. \u201cSooner or later, something will happen that will require them. It\u2019s our job to teach you to <i>deal<\/i> with risk, not hide from it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">An \u201cunleashed Operative,\u201d she reflected, shouldn\u2019t be afraid to take risks, provided they were calculated ones. She\u2019d been given that message several times. <i>Leashed<\/i> Operatives had no choice about the risks they did and didn\u2019t take; Toal was hoping she\u2019d develop a judicious streak that could drive home the importance of giving all Operatives similar latitude. And, more urgently, not violating and brutalizing their minds.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd,\u201d <tt>First-AId<\/tt> added, \u201cI can hear you falling into your \u2018it\u2019s all my fault\u2019 mode of thinking. Fight it. We\u2019ve <i>discussed<\/i> this.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey nodded, sighing. The realization that her cousins had been using her as the \u201cfall guy\u201d for their pranks and capers, and had only finally been caught out when she was unavailable to play that role, had been a tough discovery. Almost four years after she\u2019d originally gone missing, their parents were still grappling with the knowledge that \u201cTrouble\u201d hadn\u2019t, after all, been <i>her<\/i> middle name, and that the blame they\u2019d habitually thrown her way for dozens of incidents had rightfully fallen much closer to home. Although her mom felt vindicated by the admissions, Audrey herself was still struggling with their impact.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Practically from the moment she could walk, she\u2019d been unknowingly conditioned into believing that the chaos she and her cousins had frequently ended up embroiled in was <i>her<\/i> fault, especially since they\u2014and their parents\u2014always insisted that nothing like that happened except when she was around. But after her disappearance, Ron, Rachel, and Joey had only lasted a little over a month before they\u2019d begun getting into trouble without her handy to blame it on. The adults had all wised up; several had even apologized to her for the scoldings they\u2019d given her and the opinions they\u2019d held about her, sheepishly explaining that it was in part her dad\u2019s childhood reputation\u2014he was, after all, the <i>original<\/i> Jack B. Badd\u2014that had prejudiced them against her actual innocence. And <tt>First-AId<\/tt> had spent the last two years drawing her attention to the way that, whenever <i>anything<\/i> went wrong, her first assumption was that it was somehow <i>her<\/i> fault&#8288;\u2026 thanks to <i>them.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sometimes she wasn\u2019t sure what was doing more damage to her relationship with her cousins now: her inability to trust them after all that, or their resentment that she still wouldn\u2019t tell them where she\u2019d been. The latter issue kept impeding friendships at school, too.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There were other reviews to read, all complimentary but not <i>lavish<\/i> in their praise, most reviewers impressed by Audrey\u2019s ability to make the audience believe she really <i>was<\/i> a boy until the moment she had spoken in her \u201cnatural voice\u201d during the curtain call. She still felt like she\u2019d given too much of her game away, even if nobody had figured out how constantly she was \u201constage\u201d and acting during her daily life.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Over lunch\u2014a Neo-Cajun jambalaya that originated from the Bayou Nebula and required several glasses of water to get through\u2014she checked her \u201clifeline\u201d to Kyra. Nothing. None of her messages had been read in the last two and a half years; no new messages had come from her sister since she\u2019d \u201cgone dark.\u201d Sometimes, not often, the <i>Apeiros<\/i> told her that Kyra was dreaming of a world with three suns, but she had apparently learned how to avoid their detection in her sleep as well as when she was awake.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey left another message anyway. It hadn\u2019t varied much in the last year, but under the assumption that Kyra might read the most recent one first if she logged in, she always included the same important news.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt>It\u2019s me, hoping you\u2019re okay. So you know, \u201cKyra Wittier-Collins\u201d is now a safe identity to use if you want. All the warrants were voided a year ago now. New Dartmouth has to pay out a ginormous settlement to you and the other survivors. We\u2019re talking millions of dollars in settlement money per survivor, from the sound of it. You can walk in and claim it any time if you want. I hope you do. They deserve to bleed some serious green for what they did to you. I miss you. Love you tons.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt>Always your sister,<br\/>\r\nTizzy<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt>P.S. I played Peter Pan in a local show and killed it. I wish you could have seen it.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">People in the school hallways seemed friendlier than usual the next day. She wasn\u2019t sure if that was good or bad. The first thing <i>she<\/i> did, though, was go looking for Cheryl.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Pale and drawn-looking, Cheryl was sitting in the courtyard, surrounded by girls\u2014a mixture of Seniors and Juniors\u2014who were clearly in Supportive Friend Mode.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh <i>great<\/i>, here she is now,\u201d Missy Barnstable said as Audrey walked up. But the look on Cheryl\u2019s face wasn\u2019t hostile.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow are you feeling?\u201d Audrey asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Cheryl gave her a rueful smile. \u201cLike I never want to eat again. I can keep down soda crackers and that\u2019s about it. How about you? You okay after taking one for the team like that?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Missy huffed, rolled her eyes, and walked away. For a moment, Audrey was profoundly reminded of <i>Celia.<\/i> Weird&#8288;\u2026 usually Missy intimidated the hell out of her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She sat down in the seat Missy had vacated. \u201cTired. That was like&#8288;\u2026 having ten minutes\u2019 warning before taking the SAT or something.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Cheryl chuckled. \u201cSpeaking of tests, did you hear the crazy news?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI don\u2019t think I have. What\u2019s the crazy news?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSomeone got a bug up their butt about the Ouija boards everybody\u2019s been playing with and now there are <i>Quantifiers<\/i> on campus.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Cold jetted through Audrey\u2019s veins. <i>Fuck. Fuck.<\/i> None of it showed on her face, though. She was, after all, every damn bit as good at acting as Cheryl, and she was <i>always on.<\/i> \u201cQuantifiers? What are those?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThey test for psychic powers,\u201d Mary-Jo Breem said. She was one of Cheryl\u2019s closest friends.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey laughed. \u201cOh c\u2019mon, none of that stuff is <i>real.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou should come over next time we do a s\u00e9ance,\u201d Maeve told her. \u201cYou\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Several of the girls nodded. Interesting; were there actual overtures of <i>friendship<\/i> there?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cColor me <i>intrigued,<\/i>\u201d she said. She wondered if any of them could actually tap into anything with a Ouija board, or if it was, as <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> and <tt>First-AId<\/tt> hypothesized, the power of the subconscious, on a sub-esper level, that governed those games.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Would any of these girls light up a Quantification test? Was there anyone on campus, aside from her, who would be in danger of being identified and \u201crecruited\u201d that day?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo I\u2019m not saying you\u2019re <i>right<\/i> or anything,\u201d she began, shrugging, \u201cbut who do <i>you<\/i> think could test positive for psychic powers?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThere\u2019s that chick, Emily, from your grade, who says she\u2019s a witch and the reincarnation of Stevie Nicks,\u201d Julia said. Her hair was straight again, Wendy\u2019s ringlet curls long gone.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was hard to restrain a sputter of laughter. That explained the flowy dresses&#8288;\u2026 and the <i>top<\/i> <i>hat<\/i>&#8288;\u2026 Emily had been wearing all year. \u201cShe\u2019s, uh, had quite a few stories about stuff like that. Not so much with the proof, though.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Cheryl snorted. \u201cTwo years ago, <i>right<\/i> before you came back, she was claiming that she could talk to spirits, and that she\u2019d even talked to yours because you\u2019d been murdered and buried in a nearby construction site.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey let her eyes go wide and allowed her laughter to escape. \u201cWell, <i>that<\/i> must have been awkward for her!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Maeve snickered. \u201cSo she\u2019s obviously <i>not<\/i> gonna test out for psychic powers.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The girls turned to speculating about which of the school \u201cweirdos\u201d might test positive until the bell rang and everyone headed inside.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The announcement about Quantification testing was the first thing on the agenda. Classes were to continue as normal during the process, but all teachers were to be aware that students could be summoned for testing at any time, and must be excused immediately when they were called.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Just&#8288;\u2026 stay&#8288;\u2026 calm,<\/i> Audrey told herself. She\u2019d done these tests hundreds of times and knew exactly how to game them so that she\u2019d read as the most <i>un<\/i>psychic person in history.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Three students were called away during her first period English class. All three returned looking unimpressed. Another two were summoned from her second period History of the Federacy class, nonchalantly taking their seats again well before the class ended. During third period Gymnastics, Emily Hartwell was called away. She seemed smug and confident as she left, but came back profoundly disgruntled.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey was finally summoned during her fifth period French class.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The testing station had been set up in the nurse\u2019s office. Audrey had only been in there once for a minor scrape during a track meet.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The first problem appeared, of course, when she put her hand on the biometrics pad, and an alert came up informing the nurse and the Quantifiers that they were not authorized to conduct diagnostics on her or provide non-emergency care. One of the Quantifiers frowned, tapped in some codes, and then glanced at her in confusion.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou have a Federacy lock on your biometrics. Why?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She shrugged. \u201cYou already know as much as your clearance level allows you, and that\u2019s probably more than I know.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">His frown deepened, but he shrugged. \u201cPlease come this way. Federacy lock or not, you\u2019re still required to take this test.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSure, why not?\u201d She followed him, slipping into what she had come to think of as Quiet Mode.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was not unlike being blind and deaf. She couldn\u2019t feel the <i>Apeiros<\/i>, had no awareness of the other \u2019verses in her five-shape, couldn\u2019t even feel the people near her anymore. No connection, no balance, no direction. If most of humanity had to feel this way all the time, she wondered how it had managed to survive so long. She and <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> had worked on building up her stamina for dealing with the sensation of being cocooned away from everything, and she could maintain Quiet Mode for almost an hour before she started struggling not to scream. She could survive this. She <i>would<\/i> survive this.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The Quantifier had her sit down in a chair and then slipped an electrode cap over her head. She tilted her head for him before he could ask, knowing exactly how the cap should sit.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019ve worn one of these before?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah. Had a head injury a few years back, everybody was worried I was concussed. They did a bunch of different scans, including the one where you stick your head in a huge white donut-looking machine.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cA CT scan,\u201d he told her, nodding, as he tapped various controls. \u201cWere you concussed?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThankfully not. I\u2019d hit my head pretty hard, though, so I guess they just wanted to make extra sure.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He came back over and removed the cap. \u201cWell, your brain looks just fine. Thank you for your cooperation, Miss MacNamera. You can return to your class now.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSure, no problem.\u201d She waited until she was outside of the nurse\u2019s office before letting her connections to the \u2019verses flow back. It felt as if she\u2019d been holding in a breath the whole time, depriving herself of oxygen.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Todd was approaching. She started to smile at him&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And then stopped. He his eyes were fixed on the nurse\u2019s office&#8288;\u2026 and he looked <i>terrified.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d never actually tried touching his mind before. She reached out&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Oh God, oh God, they\u2019re gonna figure me out, they\u2019re gonna take me like they took my cousin Sylvia, oh fuck, what do I do&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He passed her, barely aware that she was standing there.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She pulled her comm out as she walked back to her classroom, resisting the impulse to run.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYes, Audrey?\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> answered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI need you to make up a good reason, a home emergency or something, and get me called out of class in the next five minutes with permission to leave campus. We have an emergency situation. I\u2019ll explain everything as soon as I can.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cUnderstood. I\u2019ll take care of it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The call, releasing her from class, came right as she was sitting back down. She picked up her backpack and headed out of the building, keeping her pace calm and steady and not giving in to the urge to take the stairs two at a time and crash through the exit doors. <i>Don\u2019t make any sign&#8288;\u2026 don\u2019t leave any clues&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She knew exactly where all the school\u2019s security cameras were positioned, and exactly when she could no longer be seen by them. Ducking out of everyone\u2019s line of sight, behind a grouping of bushes the school\u2019s \u201cburnouts\u201d frequently hid behind to light up, she transitioned into Wonderland and pulled her comm back out. Fortunately, hardware to let her make comm calls from both of her habitable alternate \u2019verses had been in place for almost two years.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYes, Audrey? What is happening?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe Quantifiers have found an esper. A genuine, bona fide esper. You have to help me save him from them.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTodd McKinney. They took his cousin Sylvia a few years ago.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAudrey, I don\u2019t think&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIf General Toal wants another unleashed esper, this is his chance.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhile that\u2019s true, the circumstances aren\u2019t the best for&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cFuck,<\/i> MilitAIre, do you know what they\u2019re going to <i>do<\/i> to him?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYes.\u201d The AI\u2019s voice had gone soft.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cLook,\u201d she tried again, her heart pounding. \u201cI\u2019m betting your databanks have copies of Duke Pritchard\u2019s \u2018bad kitty\u2019 files, right? They have to. Half a dozen of his and Makarov\u2019s victims still haven\u2019t been identified. Those files won\u2019t have been purged yet.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYes, Audrey. I have access to those files. Why?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBecause the Quantifiers\u2019 bosses are gonna do to Todd\u2019s <i>mind<\/i> what Pritchard and Makarov did to those girls\u2019 <i>bodies.<\/i> Unless you help me stop them.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI see.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTodd\u2019s an amazing person, MilitAIre. He\u2019s smart, he\u2019s funny, he\u2019s creative. He can ad-lib like nobody\u2019s business. You hand him a random prop and he can come up with a <i>brilliant<\/i> scene about it off the top of his head.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAudrey&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe wants to direct on New Broadway, and God knows that\u2019s not gonna happen now, but maybe he could still direct <i>operations<\/i> for General Toal and get to <i>use<\/i> that creativity instead of having it burned out of his <i>head.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAudrey&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe\u2019s sweet and he\u2019s kind and he has <i>tragic<\/i> taste in men but it\u2019s not like they\u2019re gonna <i>help<\/i> him with that. For God\u2019s <i>sake<\/i>, MilitAIre, I\u2019ll do this without you if I have to&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cAudrey.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe\u2019re in. You have the green light. Now. What\u2019s your plan?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She turned and sprinted for the nurse\u2019s office. Now she just needed a <i>plan.<\/i><\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5611\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5611 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-69\">\u00ab Chapter 69<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5643\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5643 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-71\">Chapter 71 \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=\"71\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5612\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5612 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-70\">\u00ab Chapter 70<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5644\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5644 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-72\">Chapter 72 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5580\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5580 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">71.<br\/>\r\n<u>Just So Fuckin\u2019 High School<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou have a message from Todd,\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> told Audrey as soon as she walked into the Security Room. The news lit up her day.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFinally!\u201d she crowed, sitting down in front of the biggest screen so she could call it up. \u201cIt\u2019s gonna be nice to see his face on something other than a \u2018Wanted\u2019 poster.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Todd had lost the ducktail and his close-cropped hair had been dyed from light brown to black. He sported a recently acquired mustache and goatee, both works in progress, making him look <i>very<\/i> different from the \u201cWanted\u201d posters&#8288;\u2026 assuming someone didn\u2019t prank-draw on them, anyway. He appeared to be wearing brown contacts. But she would have recognized him no matter what.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHey there, little sis! Dennis and I have reached our destination, which I\u2019m not allowed to tell you, but please. You know where I am.\u201d He winked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHelion Prime!\u201d Audrey whooped. \u201cI knew it!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019re not supposed to know any such thing,\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> said, but he let her hear the amusement in his voice. Nobody was <i>really<\/i> trying to keep it a secret. It had been General Toal\u2019s base of operations for nearly three years.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDennis, come say hi to Audrey.\u201d Todd\u2019s grin brightened as Dennis entered the frame and draped his arm over her \u201cbrother\u2019s\u201d shoulder. \u201cWe\u2019ve missed you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFor the three days that we\u2019ve been awake, anyway,\u201d Dennis laughed. \u201cWe\u2019ve had a great time watching your messages.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cLook at them, not even trying to <i>hide<\/i> it now&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d It had been her idea to bring Dennis into the \u201cinner circle,\u201d a weird intuition she\u2019d had, and the crazy chemistry that those two had shared almost immediately had made the risk worth it. By the time arrangements were in place to smuggle Todd offworld, there had been no question that Dennis would go with him, officially as his pro&#173;tector&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;and unofficially, as much more than that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnyway, I\u2019ve met my new boss, and you\u2019re right. He\u2019s a cool dude. And I told him you said so. He also got to watch your <i>Peter Pan<\/i> performance because we brought a copy with us. He wants us to tell you \u2018bravo\u2019 and \u2018absolutely <i>no<\/i> encore.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey snorted. He\u2019d said it in a perfect mimicry of General Toal\u2019s voice. \u201cNo promises&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe\u2019ve been instructed to lock you in EntertAIn\u2019s theater and make you watch Ed Wood and Coleman Francis movies on repeat if you try again,\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> told her, his voice light and teasing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m pretty sure that\u2019s a war crime,\u201d she retorted.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe\u2019ll all be moving on to another world I can\u2019t talk to you about in a few weeks&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh please, you\u2019re totally going to Tangier Prime.\u201d Todd, of course, couldn\u2019t hear her responses, or the sudden envy in her voice; the message had been recorded a few days before and sent via special courier drone. He was far too high up on the Wanted list to allow messages from him to pass through any of the civilian beacons, which were slower to deliver anyway.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2014&#8288;so let me know if there are any messages you want me to pass on to people when I get there. The AI clones are settling into their temporary quarters nicely, and the boss says they\u2019ll have a top-rate facility waiting for them when we get where we\u2019re going.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019ll be nice,\u201d she mused, hitting pause for a moment. Nobody lower-ranked than General Toal, head of Federacy Military Intelligence, could have gotten away with bringing AIs to Helion Prime even temporarily, but of course it still needed to be only the briefest of visits. There\u2019d be riots if the local population ever knew. But a good AI-run safe house on Tangier Prime&#8288;\u2026 that would be something to see. Would <i>she<\/i> see it one day?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She still wasn\u2019t sure.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was halfway through her senior year, and she had sent out applications to several schools with good Sociology and Linguistics programs, including Khair Eddine University in New Marrakesh\u2014where both Takama and Safiyya taught\u2014and the Fatema Mernissi School of Social Sciences at the Royal New Casablanca University. There was only one school on Deckard\u2019s World that had good programs in those fields: Deckard Tech, located just outside of Wyndham Landing in the northern hemisphere. She\u2019d made it her \u201csafety school,\u201d but she <i>was<\/i> worried that even with a 4.0 GPA, her education wouldn\u2019t be considered rigorous enough, or comprehensive enough, for most offworld universities, despite the supplemental instruction that the AIs were providing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d sworn, almost three years ago, that she\u2019d never leave Deckard\u2019s World again, that she\u2019d stay and watch over Elodie. But the nearest school that had decent programs in the areas she wanted to study was a hemisphere away, far enough from Elodie that she might as well <i>not<\/i> rule out offworld schools. They\u2019d have to go months without seeing each other no matter what. And she found herself missing Tangier Prime more and more.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Assuming she would be <i>allowed<\/i> to go back there before she was biologically eighteen, of course&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Legally, she was seventeen already, and would turn eighteen a little over a month after graduating. But biologically, she was still sixteen for another two months. General Toal had been clear that he didn\u2019t want her to make contact with Ewan, or any of the Mezianes, until she was biologically eighteen. Even assuming they still wanted her to, even assuming she got accepted into one of the schools there\u2014tuition itself wouldn\u2019t be a problem; the funds she\u2019d earned as \u201cacting Captain\u201d of the <i>Nephrite Undine<\/i> would be able to cover those costs\u2014would General Toal allow her to go? Or would the school allow her to begin a year later?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And what would she tell her mom, and Alvin, and Elodie?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Fuck&#8288;\u2026 I hate thinking about that&#8288;\u2026<\/i> She unpaused Todd\u2019s message.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnyway,\u201d he was saying, \u201cwe\u2019re safe and sound and we both miss you tons. Stay out of trouble, and stop dating guys Michael\u2019s gotta beat up. Yeah, we heard all about that.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey groaned, covering her face with her hands.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd I thought <i>Todd\u2019s<\/i> taste in men was tragic&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d she muttered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cLove you, little sis! Talk to you again soon!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The message ended. Audrey leaned back in her chair, sighing and trying to ignore the sudden constriction in her throat.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Currently occupying the #6 spot on the Federacy\u2019s Most Wanted list despite having committed no crimes, Todd had stayed in the safe house for slightly over two months before <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> and General Toal worked out arrangements to smuggle him offworld. For him, it had been a painful time as he came to grips with the probability that he would never see his family or friends again, and that he\u2019d never get to act or direct on New Broadway. He never once blamed Audrey for any of it, aware that it would have been his fate no matter what. He\u2019d already been Quantified when she\u2019d reached him, after all, and was struggling against the sedative he\u2019d been given before an explosive tracker could be inserted, when she\u2019d pulled him from U1 into Wonderland and made him vanish in front of the Quantifiers\u2019 eyes. He <i>knew<\/i> what she\u2019d prevented and had been grateful for it&#8288;\u2026 but he\u2019d still grieved everything he\u2019d lost.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Nonetheless, she\u2019d loved every minute of his company and had found excuses to visit the safe house almost every day just to spend time with him. Having a fellow human being that she could talk to about anything\u2014everything\u2014related to her own strange, bisected life had, for a time, lifted the desperate loneliness she hadn\u2019t even known had become a fundamental part of who she was. For two wonderful months, she\u2019d had an actual human civilian who could see behind the mask that was Audrey MacNamera.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It wasn\u2019t that nobody else wanted to, or anything. Damn near everybody knew she was hiding <i>something<\/i>, given that she wouldn\u2019t say a word about where she\u2019d been for nearly two years, and they <i>all<\/i> wanted a peek. But there was nobody she <i>could<\/i> tell. Even Todd had known that there were parts of her story that she wasn\u2019t telling him, but like Ewan and Kyra, he had accepted that with grace. Most people took her silence as a personal insult.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The thing she had <i>really<\/i> begun to dread was the day when Elodie figured out her big sister had a secret she wouldn\u2019t\u2014couldn\u2019t\u2014tell, and it came between the two of them the same way it came between Audrey and <i>everybody else.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was the same damned thing, every time. She would make a friend. They would bond over fun shared interests. They would realize they had even more things in common and grow closer. They would start sharing confidences. For a while, the imbalance in who shared what wouldn\u2019t be a problem because she was a good listener and people liked that. But the day always came. The day when the other person decided that they were finally close enough that she ought to be able to confide in them about where she\u2019d been and what she\u2019d done during her time as a missing person.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And when she wouldn\u2019t\u2014couldn\u2019t\u2014that was when the friendship collapsed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It had happened enough times that she kept most people at arm\u2019s length, enjoying \u201ccasual\u201d friendships, \u201csurface\u201d friendships, there\u2019s-an-extra-space-at-the-table-so-why-not-join-us friendships. And she <i>had<\/i> confidants in the AIs and the <i>Apeiros,<\/i> and three cats who thought most human concerns were strange and unimportant but were happy to listen anyway. But no other human being&#8288;\u2026 except one whom she didn\u2019t <i>dare<\/i> try to bond more closely with.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And if the collapse of a friendship wasn\u2019t bad enough, it was an order of magnitude worse with a <i>boyfriend.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJim\u201d had been the biggest mistake, and he wasn\u2019t even the one Michael had \u201cbeaten up.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jamshid Ghasemi, whose family had moved from Tabrisi-e Jadid on Khorshid Prime, had started school at Eisenhower High a few months into their sophomore year, after most of the gossip about <i>her<\/i> had died down. She was one of the few people who hadn\u2019t snubbed him\u2014Deckard\u2019s World <i>was<\/i> a \u201cracist planet\u201d and she regularly had to struggle with her disappointment when someone she otherwise admired suddenly displayed their own bigotry\u2014and they had become friends. Toward the end of that year, he\u2019d asked teachers to call him \u201cJames,\u201d anglicizing his name, and told the handful of friends he\u2019d made to call him \u201cJim.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That had, of course, made it pretty obvious to Audrey that his family wouldn\u2019t be staying much longer, that within the next year or two his father would find a way to transfer back offworld to somewhere less poisonous to their sense of identity. Still, she\u2019d been <i>drawn<\/i> to him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Maybe because, since the rumors about her had mostly quieted down before he\u2019d arrived, he was one of the few kids in her school who didn\u2019t view her as a mystery or a puzzle that ought to be solved. Maybe because he was a polyglot with a scholarly streak that reminded her of the Mezianes. Or maybe just because sometimes he seemed even lonelier than her&#8288;\u2026 and that was definitely saying something.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They had begun to go out, sometimes, when they were juniors. Audrey had been careful to keep the dates light and casual, mindful that although everybody believed she was already sixteen\u2014the age of consent on Deckard\u2019s World\u2014she wouldn\u2019t <i>really<\/i> be until early December, mid-spring in Settlement Point, and the <i>spirit<\/i> of the law needed observing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Junior Prom\u2014a huge deal for most of the kids in her classes\u2014was scheduled for the weekend after Todd disappeared and was declared a fugitive from the law, something that had left the entire school in an uproar. She\u2019d already had a ticket, planning on \u201cgoing stag\u201d and people-watching, at least. When Jim asked her to go as his date, almost last-minute but\u2014according to a mutual friend\u2014after three weeks of trying to nerve himself up to it, it had felt like the most <i>normal<\/i> thing that had happened in days, and she\u2019d said yes. Other girls from the theater program had invited her to their \u201cafter-prom\u201d party, one of several being held in the same fancy hotel that the dance itself was taking place in. Jim\u2019s friends had invited him to one, too.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It had been a fun night. She\u2019d overheard some of her theater friends calling it \u201cmagical,\u201d and she supposed it was, in its way. Her mom had gotten misty about it all and had taken her dress shopping. <tt>First-AId<\/tt>, ever the prosaic skeptic, had injected her with a 72-hour dose of Nano-Nalo, just in case someone spiked one of her drinks with anything, especially something stronger than hooch. Half an hour into the after-parties, she was probably the only sober person in the place. And then she and Jim had \u201csomehow\u201d ended up in a bedroom in one of the suites reserved for the night&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sixteen at that point, she\u2019d suspected it was going to happen, and she\u2019d planned for it, maybe a little <i>too<\/i> well. She was attracted to him, after all, and knew the attraction was mutual. It wasn\u2019t anything like the mind-cracking feelings she\u2019d had for Riddick, Tomlin, or Ewan&#8288;\u2026 but maybe that was a good thing. She\u2019d already decided that if Jim had plans in that direction, she was in. Several girls she knew were planning on losing their virginity that weekend; she wasn\u2019t so much planning as improvising and trying to be prepared for anything.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jim had asked her if he was her first, and she\u2019d truthfully told him that he was, even as a little warning flutter moved through her and, for a moment, she\u2019d suspected she was making a mistake.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Before he even woke the next morning, she\u2019d dressed and slipped down to the hotel lobby, where Dennis\u2014who always knew exactly where she was, within a meter, on a Sunday morning\u2014was waiting to drive her to the safe house. She\u2019d warned Jim that she would have to leave at six a.m. if they stayed over with the others, and she\u2019d left him a little note on hotel stationery, trying not to be awkward about it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"center-block\"><tt>Had to leave early, like I said.<br\/>\r\nI had a wonderful time. Thank you!<br\/>\r\nSee you Monday!<br\/>\r\nxoxo<br\/>\r\nAudrey<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Todd, at the safe house, had been waiting for a play-by-play of the dance and the parties, but never asked what had happened between her and Jim. He\u2019d advised against her \u201cplans\u201d for the night, so she didn\u2019t try to bring up their results. That had been the day that Dennis had been brought into the \u201cinner circle,\u201d learning not only the true nature of the girl he\u2019d been driving and bodyguarding for two years, but also that the safe house was now also sheltering Todd McKinney and why. It had been a busy, full day and if Jim never tried calling, it never occurred to her to expect him to.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d only discovered on Monday that he was furious with her and wouldn\u2019t speak to her&#8288;\u2026 and neither would any of their mutual friends.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Because, she\u2019d found out\u2014after three days of navigating everyone\u2019s assumptions that she <i>had<\/i> to know what it was she\u2019d done\u2014there hadn\u2019t been any blood on the sheets.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">By that time, it had crested among the hot post-prom gossip topics. Emily Hartwell had gotten high and been arrested for dancing naked in the hotel courtyard fountain while belting out \u201cEdge of Seventeen\u201d at three in the morning&#8288;\u2026 Annabelle Richards had caught her boyfriend in bed with Missy Barnstable and had had to be restrained by her friends from throwing herself off their room\u2019s balcony&#8288;\u2026 and Audrey MacNamera had <i>lied<\/i> to Jim Ghasemi about being a <i>virgin<\/i>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">When Jim had finally calmed down and <i>graciously<\/i> unbent enough to try to speak with her, Audrey didn\u2019t have a shred of patience left for his shit. Not after having to listen to the rampant speculation of where, when, and how she\u2019d lost her virginity several different times in the girls\u2019 bathrooms. She walked off whenever she saw him trying to approach and cut school that Friday afternoon rather than sit in the same room with him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A part of her had even felt an echo of the impulse that had driven her offworld four years earlier, the night skies now beckoning her toward other planets where nobody knew her or felt compelled to make up stories about her&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d talked it out, as best she could, with the AIs&#8288;\u2026 with the <i>Apeiros\u2026<\/i> with Todd, who\u2019d told her he\u2019d been afraid something like that might happen&#8288;\u2026 and even with her mom&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhy\u2019d he think you weren\u2019t a virgin?\u201d her mom had asked her, setting a cup of hot cocoa in front of her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBecause I took care of it back in December,\u201d Audrey grumbled.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c\u2018Took care\u2019 of it?\u201d Her mom had raised an eyebrow at her and waited for her to elaborate.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah. I didn\u2019t want my first time with a guy to be a bloody, painful mess. I wanted to actually be able to <i>enjoy<\/i> it. So I went to a store in the mall that has dildoes in its \u2018gag gifts\u2019 section, bought one, and <i>took care of it.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It had hurt like a motherfucker, too, not just the first time but each time thereafter for almost a <i>week<\/i>, and she knew she\u2019d have hated every moment of her first time with Jim if she\u2019d saved the pain for then.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her mom had stared at her for a moment, eyes widening, before she began to shake with suppressed laughter.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cSeriously,<\/i> Mom?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh, <i>Audrey&#8288;\u2026<\/i>&#8288;\u201d She could barely keep the laughter out of her voice. \u201cYou can be truly ingenious sometimes. I wish to hell <i>I\u2019d<\/i> thought of that when <i>I<\/i> was sixteen.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She hadn\u2019t been sure what she\u2019d expected her mom to say or do, but that had been kind of a relief.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhere are you in your cycle?\u201d her mom had asked a few sips of cocoa later.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe Federacy medic already took care of <i>that<\/i>,\u201d Audrey said, careful to lie with the truth. \u201cShe\u2019s from offworld. You know that there are vaccines against every STD on Deckard\u2019s World, on the other planets? And implants you can get to keep from having to worry about where you are in your cycle? How come we don\u2019t have that stuff here?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her mom frowned, considering that. \u201cI\u2019ve never even heard of those. Your \u2018medic\u2019 really told you that?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">More than told her; Audrey <i>had<\/i> the shots and implant. She didn\u2019t elaborate, though; just nodded.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Rachel, however, had been the one who came up with the solution that Saturday. Even though there was still some distrust between them, the fact that Audrey had opened up to her about the mess, and asked for advice, went a long way toward healing much of it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">When Audrey went over the plan with the AIs, Todd, and Dennis, they had embraced it, and Todd had spent the rest of that Sunday coaching and rehearsing her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The following Monday morning, several girls, all eager gossips but none of them spiteful types, had heard someone trying to conceal the sound of her sniffles in the first-floor girls\u2019 bathroom before classes. When cornered, a tearful Audrey MacNamera had told them the \u201creal truth&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Jim had passed out drunk before they could even <i>have<\/i> sex, she said, and she had thought she was doing him a kindness by leaving him a note, when she had to <i>go off to church<\/i> the next morning while he was still passed out, thanking him for a wonderful night&#8288;\u2026 but his way of thanking <i>her<\/i> had been to destroy her rep&#173;u&#173;tation&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">None of them had realized it was pure theater. Several of them were <i>in<\/i> the theater program with Audrey and didn\u2019t believe she could <i>ever<\/i> be that good.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">As fresh gossip went, it was <i>fire,<\/i> overtaking even the fistfight between the Seniors\u2019 Prom Queen and Prom Princess from that weekend.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey continued to play her role all day, the part of a cowed and humiliated girl who had <i>tried<\/i> to save her ex-boyfriend\u2019s face until the weight of her own destroyed reputation became too much to bear. Her breathless bathroom audience had even heard which of the ensuing rumors about her had supposedly cut most deeply\u2014selected by her, EntertAIn, and Todd both to throw as harsh a light as possible on their inherent misogyny and to shame some of the school\u2019s most vicious gossips\u2014and how this was why it was so hard to trust <i>anyone<\/i> with \u201cwhat had really happened\u201d while she was gone, if people she\u2019d believed were her friends could turn on her and spread lies about her so readily.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">By the end of the day, people she barely knew were approaching her to apologize. She kept the act going, looking hesitant as each person approached, as if she expected all of them to call her a slut to her face instead of apologizing. Most of them found ways to end the conversations and beat hasty retreats when her eyes would begin to fill; only a few pulled her into hugs that required her to generate tears and sobs for them that Todd later called \u201cTony-worthy.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jim, meanwhile, had not been faring so well.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The blow to his reputation was lethal; if he\u2019d fucked as many people as the rumor-mongers had claimed Audrey must have while on the run, it would only have improved his standing, but the suggestion that he\u2019d failed to <i>perform<\/i> had annihilated it. His hurt and anger were reinterpreted as cruelty; the whirlwind of gossip he\u2019d unleashed on her was no longer righteous but vicious. It was a good thing, Audrey had reflected, that there was only one more week of school left.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Unfortunately for him, that week was full of Final Exams.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">When word had reached Audrey that Jim had failed two exams, she didn\u2019t have to <i>pretend<\/i> to be sad for him. She <i>missed<\/i> her friend, and as much as his behavior had infuriated and disgusted her, and <i>had<\/i> wounded her deeply, she hadn\u2019t wanted to do him any lasting harm as much as show him how easily gossip could turn against someone. If not for Rachel\u2019s suggestion, she might have confronted him instead, <i>genuinely<\/i> tearful, to ask him why he couldn\u2019t have talked <i>to<\/i> her before talking <i>about<\/i> her. Or she might have held the tears in and tried to cut him to pieces with her words\u2014\u201cI\u2019ve still never had sex with a <i>man<\/i>\u201d had come to mind\u2014instead. Whether or not either of those approaches would have yielded better results was a moot point.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But she\u2019d wished she\u2019d never tried to get so close to him. She wished neither of them had been hurt by the results.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That Sunday was when she had \u201cmet\u201d Michael.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He\u2019d been behind the driver\u2019s seat, where Dennis normally sat, when she got into the car for the ride to the safe house. While Dennis had looked like a Secret Service agent, this new man looked like the old Hollywood leading role <i>version<\/i> of one. Medium brown hair, arresting gray eyes, sculpted features&#8288;\u2026 Audrey had had to pretend, <i>hard<\/i>, at nonchalance.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He was in his thirties. Probably married with kids. The last thing he needed, she scolded herself, was a teenage WitSec ward crushing on him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhere\u2019s Dennis?\u201d she\u2019d asked as they began driving.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe\u2019s being reassigned to \u2018Hook\u2019s\u2019 permanent detail,\u201d the man told her. There was something strangely familiar about the way he spoke, but she couldn\u2019t quite place it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDo you have a number, or a name?\u201d she asked him. A lot of the Federacy agents she\u2019d encountered in the last two-plus years just came with numbers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMichael,\u201d he\u2019d said, a tiny hint of a smile ghosting the corners of his lips.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He\u2019d dropped her off at the safe house and driven off. She\u2019d gone inside, spilled her guts about her feelings of guilt and regret to Todd, Dennis, and the AIs, and then retreated to SensAI\u2019s dojo to stretch and change for her combat instruction.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">One hour of each Sunday was spent in intensive instruction with a man whose face she\u2019d still never once seen. While she\u2019d no longer had to mask herself against most visitors to the building\u2014Todd had to, of course, because most Federacy agents in Settlement Point were actively searching for him\u2014her instructor had never taken his mask off. She\u2019d never heard his actual voice, either; it was digitally altered, the way her mask had altered hers. She knew nothing about him except that he was six inches taller than her, probably a hundred pounds heavier, and insisted that she never hold back in their sparring even though she knew that he always did.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Holding back hadn\u2019t stopped him from teaching her hard lessons if she let him slip her guards, though; his touch when he \u201cstruck\u201d was no more than a caress, but their suits were designed to set every pain nerve it made contact with on <i>fire<\/i> for a full minute. He could switch that off, and frequently did in the aftermath of combat contact when he had to hold her until the agony he\u2019d just inflicted abated. Theirs was a strange relationship. She wasn\u2019t afraid of him no matter how frequently he hurt her, trusting him not to actually <i>harm<\/i> her, and to help her through the worst when it was too much to keep fighting through.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">His mind was, curiously, opaque to her, enough that sometimes she\u2019d wondered if he was an AI-controlled \u2019bot even though she could see him breathing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019re <i>letting<\/i> me through your guard,\u201d he\u2019d said three minutes into their match, stepping back and waiting while her twitching arm dangled uselessly at her side.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m not,\u201d she told him, suddenly aware that he was right.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou are. Why?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI don\u2019t know what you\u2019re talking about.\u201d She forced her arm back up into combat position and stepped after him. <i>Fight through, keep fighting through&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYour balance is off. And your breathing. You came into this match upset about something.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo?\u201d she asked, her fist <i>almost<\/i> managing to land a blow. His blocks never inflicted pain; only his successful strikes. \u201cWe can\u2019t always choose when we end up in \u2018battle,\u2019 right?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTrue. But it\u2019s affecting your fighting.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAre you saying I\u2019m doing a shit job today?\u201d Feeling a little insulted, she\u2019d buckled down and tried out a combination she\u2019d been working on with SensAI for weeks.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo,\u201d he told her as he blocked her new moves and then struck, his palm gently touching her abdomen. \u201cI\u2019m saying you\u2019re letting me through your guard.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Fire ignited in her belly and she collapsed to the ground. \u201cFuck!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He knelt beside her, his now-safe hands on her side and back as she curled up around the pain. \u201cBreathe, Audrey. Deep breaths. That\u2019s it&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou know my name?\u201d He\u2019d never called her Audrey before.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOf course. Should we talk about why you\u2019re letting me hurt you today?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m <i>not,<\/i>\u201d she told him again, this time aware that she was lying even before she said it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAre you lying to me, or to yourself?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat are you, a fucking interrogator?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIf I must be. What\u2019s going on?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It had all come out again. Everything. The decision to escalate her relationship with Jim if he was in&#173;ter&#173;ested&#8288;\u2026 the preparations she\u2019d made so that her \u201cfirst time\u201d wouldn\u2019t be painful&#8288;\u2026 Jim\u2019s perverse anger that she hadn\u2019t bled\u2014and hadn\u2019t been in too much pain to enjoy the experience\u2014when he\u2019d re&#173;alized&#8288;\u2026 how his reason for shunning her had spread across her school\u2019s campus in a matter of days and turned her back into the butt of everyone\u2019s gossip and judgment after almost two years of relative peace&#8288;\u2026 the retaliation her cousin had suggested, and which she and Todd had elaborated upon&#8288;\u2026 how much destruction it had wreaked upon Jim\u2019s reputation and equilibrium in return&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe thought he was telling the truth,\u201d her instructor said, \u201cand you knew you were telling a lie, and that\u2019s why you believe you deserve pain now, to match what you think you inflicted on him.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d shrugged. \u201cHe\u2019s been humiliated.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWeren\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The rumors she\u2019d heard\u2014Missy claiming that a cousin of hers had seen Audrey working the streets of New Lubbock; Joanie, who worked as a nurse\u2019s office aide, claiming that her nonexistent school medical records showed she\u2019d had several STDs\u2014had been put to bed by her actions, but not before a lot of people had entertained themselves at her expense.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDoesn\u2019t matter what shit they make up about what I did while I was gone,\u201d she\u2019d sniffled. \u201cThey\u2019ll never come up with anything worse than the truth.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou still hold yourself responsible for the people Makarov killed?\u201d he\u2019d asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou know about that?\u201d How much did her instructor know about her, exactly?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019ve been briefed, in considerable detail.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d stared at him in astonishment. <i>\u201cMichael?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He\u2019d reached up and drawn off the mask and head covering that he\u2019d always worn, revealing the face of her new driver. \u201cVery good. How did you know?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019re the only person I\u2019ve ever heard pronounce it \u2018de<i>tail\u2019<\/i> on Deckard\u2019s world. Everybody else says \u2018<i>de<\/i>tail.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He\u2019d smiled. \u201cImpressive. You\u2019re astute at spotting other people\u2019s patterns.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJust <i>other<\/i> people\u2019s?\u201d she asked, feeling a little miffed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAudrey, you just tried to use our sparring session to get me to torture you, so you could do penance for hurting a boy who tried to destroy you for not bleeding on cue. Do you see a pattern <i>there?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">When he\u2019d put it that way, it had been a disturbing pattern indeed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That summer, especially once Todd and Dennis had left the safe house, Michael had been ubiquitous. He\u2019d become the only agent who drove her places, whether between the safe house and home or to and from her infrequent \u201cassignments\u201d from General Toal, and the only one with an office in the building. The decision to shelter Todd, it seemed, had resulted in all the agents who <i>weren\u2019t<\/i> trusted with knowledge of his presence being cut loose for other programs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And, as a result, it had been Michael who had dealt with the fallout from her disastrous summer fling with a guy\u2014Lars\u2014who\u2019d reminded her a little of Riddick until his violently possessive jealous streak had emerged&#8288;\u2026 and Michael who had thrown Lars through a storefront picture window for trying to backhand her during their breakup. Half a dozen classmates out clubbing had witnessed the fight, and she\u2019d known that she\u2019d start her senior year with a lot of gossip swirling around her. Again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She still felt far guiltier about Jim, though.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>He<\/i> was no longer a student at Eisenhower High when their senior year had begun. The few of their mutual friends she could still stand told her that his family had moved offworld over the summer. And Audrey had settled into keeping everyone at arm\u2019s length again. Even Michael. <i>Especially<\/i> Michael.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She still couldn\u2019t read him, at all, and had no idea why or if she dared ask&#8288;\u2026 but her crush on him had only intensified to almost painful levels. He was more than twice her age, though, and either a colleague or possibly her <i>boss<\/i>\u2014she still wasn\u2019t entirely sure where he ranked in the hierarchy, but it seemed to be higher up than driving her around and bodyguarding her might imply\u2014and somehow all that had made her more aware than ever of just how lonely and disconnected she was.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There was no one she dared talk to about her feelings where he was concerned. No one she could safely ask whether there was something <i>twisted<\/i> about having sexual fantasies featuring a man who inflicted pain upon her on a regular basis, even if he never once hurt her in the fantasies. No one who could commiserate with her confusion or help her find her way through it. Even her customary confidants were unsafe for <i>that<\/i> conversation, making her desperately wish she knew where Kyra was. Kyra would have understood her confusion and worry. Kyra would have known what to tell her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Instead, she felt more profoundly alone than ever, even when she was surrounded by people&#8288;\u2026 even ones who liked her&#8288;\u2026 even ones who loved her. Which, she reflected, was why she\u2019d sent out ten University applications, but only one of them to a school on Deckard\u2019s World.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey had sworn to never leave the world of her birth again, but sometimes she felt like it was slowly killing her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She heard the front door open and close, and Michael\u2019s distinctive footsteps. <i>Speak of the handsome devil&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He entered the Security Room frowning.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Uh oh.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat\u2019d I do now?\u201d she asked before she could stop herself.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTook the blame for something you didn\u2019t do,\u201d he quipped, but his smile was perfunctory and there was an uneasy undertone in his voice. He took control of the big screen she\u2019d been using, setting it to a news feed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;still not sure what we\u2019re looking at&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/i> an announcer said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Almost complete darkness filled the screen, aside from a time code at the bottom that read <tt>2520.09.26 22:14:36.07 FST<\/tt> and counted upward. Bright lights were arrowing up into the darkness, arcing toward a meteor that looked like a spear falling downward. As Audrey watched, the meteor struck the ground like a massive dagger, blinding light filling the screen and illuminating tall buildings as they shattered, and then static followed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cIt appears that something impacted on the surface&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/i> the announcer continued.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat is that?\u201d Audrey asked. \u201c<i>Where<\/i> is that?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNova S\u00e3o Paulo. The capital city of Carv\u00e3o,\u201d Michael said, his voice hushed and tense. \u201cA week ago, by the time code.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cCarv\u00e3o? Isn\u2019t that&#8288;\u2014&#8288;?&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIn the Coalsack nebula, yes,\u201d he murmured. \u201cAlmost three years since you heard Irena and Colin Kirshbaum talking about how <i>something<\/i> was three years away from happening there&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh fuck&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Audrey\u2019s hands went over her mouth.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s gone. Completely gone.\u201d He turned to look at her, his expression deadly serious. \u201cCarv\u00e3o, Charbon, Uhlia, Waro, and Seogtan&#8288;\u2026 all the Coalsack planets. Gone. And it would appear that the Helion System is a year away from sharing its fate.\u201d<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5612\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5612 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-70\">\u00ab Chapter 70<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5644\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5644 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-72\">Chapter 72 \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=\"72\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5613\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5613 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-71\">\u00ab Chapter 71<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5645\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5645 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-73\">Chapter 73 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5583\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5583 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">72.<br\/>\r\n<u>The Planet-Killer\u2019s Hit List<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe understand that you have a report for us, Phantom.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey nodded, studying the faces\u2014the few she could see\u2014on the screen. General Toal, Todd, and Dennis were visible; most of the other participants had their faces hidden and their names reduced to first letters. Apparently, she wasn\u2019t cleared to know who they were. Most of the others couldn\u2019t see <i>her<\/i> face, either, though.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She also, apparently, wasn\u2019t cleared to know how they\u2019d stolen Quin&#173;tessa\u2019s proprietary tech for making instantaneous calls across the light years&#8288;\u2026 but she had her suspicions about that. She\u2019d already been warned not to ask.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019ve identified the pattern in almost all the planetary destruction cases on record,\u201d she told them. \u201cAnd, based on that pattern, we can predict which planets are next, for roughly the next fourteen years.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhen will Helion Prime fall?\u201d Toal asked before she could continue.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSometime in October 2521, so probably less than eleven Standard months from now.\u201d <i>Merry Christmas,<\/i> she didn\u2019t add, although she was tempted. That was four days away and it felt like it was going to be her worst since the one on Helion Prime itself. \u201cIn between now and then, around May, we should expect to see the Aquilan System fall. I\u2019m guessing the Quin&#173;tessa people didn\u2019t talk about it in their call because it\u2019s not a shipping or travel hub. It\u2019s almost as much of a backwater as the planet <i>I\u2019m<\/i> on.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cPhantom,\u201d Michael murmured behind her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She made herself let it go. For now. She was going to try to plead her case to General Toal again at the end of the call.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat is the driver behind the pattern?\u201d one of the concealed speakers asked, their voice digitally altered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Yeah, let\u2019s just cut to the chase, why don\u2019t we?<\/i> \u201cLevel Five Incidents.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOfficially, such incidents don\u2019t exist. How have you managed to track them?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Because I have nothing else to do with my time&#8288;\u2026<\/i> \u201cI started with a database of all incidents in which a Star Jumper was reported damaged or destroyed. I then excluded any case where the Jumper was later put back into service. That doesn\u2019t happen with real Level Fives. Next, I excluded cases where any of the passengers and crew survived and their whereabouts could be traced and confirmed. Real Level Fives have no known survivors. Something inevitably \u2018happens\u2019 to everybody who was on board.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">With one exception, that she couldn\u2019t help feeling a little proud of. Officially, all of <i>them<\/i> were dead, too.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat did this give you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cA list of forty-seven incidents in which a Star Jumper was irreparably damaged, or was destroyed, or vanished in transit,\u201d she told them, \u201cfrom the three earliest missing ships, the <i>Isli<\/i>, the <i>Nick Fury<\/i>, and the <i>Tenth Crusade<\/i>, to the \u2018implosions\u2019 of the <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i> and the <i>Lucy Ricardo<\/i> in May of 2517. I built a timeline of the incidents, along with their locations where known. Next, I built a database of what the Federacy calls \u2018Black Planet Incidents.\u2019 Every time a colony planet failed, for any reason, and the planet was declared uninhabitable in the aftermath. Narrowing those down took longer.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBut you did narrow them down,\u201d General Toal prompted.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah. Thirty-two cases, one of which is still questionable. And thirteen future targets, based on the pattern that emerged. The first attack occurred in the Ilanga System, two hundred thirty years ago. Fifty million settlers vanished in under a week. The <i>Ibhubesi,<\/i> one of the early colony ships in the second generation of Star Jumpers, experienced a catastrophic failure when it arrived in 2144. It disintegrated during its descent through Ilanga Prime\u2019s atmosphere. I know that doesn\u2019t necessarily sound like a Level Five Incident, but it\u2019s all about what might exist on the other side of the threshold it was straddling. If, for example, the atmosphere of the other \u2019verse\u2019s Ilanga Prime was highly corrosive, that would explain the recordings we have of its destruction.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo the fourth hypothetical Level Five Incident, which took place 376 years ago, led to an attack 246 years later?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah.\u201d Audrey activated her chart on the main screen so that all the viewers could see it. \u201cIn each case that followed since then, the attacks on colony worlds that reduced them to \u2018black planets,\u2019 or \u2018black rocks,\u2019 have happened in order, corresponding to probable Level Five Incidents that occurred in-System. The only exception is the attack on Furya twenty-nine years ago. I can\u2019t find a corresponding Level Five Incident.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhy are you including it in your timeline, then? If it isn\u2019t part of the attack pattern&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt is,\u201d Michael said from behind her. \u201cI was there. It\u2019s absolutely part of the attack pattern.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey switched the main screen over to a collage of video images, many of them similar to the one that she and Michael had watched a little over two months earlier. \u201cThis is surviving footage of the attacks from a dozen of the identified worlds. The top right footage comes from Furya.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFurya is also the only world in the pattern that hasn\u2019t been reduced to \u2018black rock\u2019 status, and is still marginally habitable, even recovering,\u201d one of the hidden speakers commented. \u201cIt\u2019s a break in the pattern, yes, in more ways than one. Perhaps there\u2019s a different kind of incident that triggered its inclusion, and somewhat different treatment.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe exception that proves the rule, maybe?\u201d another hidden speaker suggested.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cCould be,\u201d General Toal agreed. \u201cAs for the rest of the pattern&#8288;\u2026 the data is quite telling. And the attacks, as our intel previously indicated, have been slowly accelerating. There was a decade between the attack on the Ilanga System and the next, on the Aurinko System, then nine years until the attack on the Tjindu System. Six Aboriginal Australian populations were rendered \u2018extinct\u2019 by that probable genocide. The quiet period between attacks has been steadily shrinking, and now the timeline is indicating the likelihood of three strikes in slightly over a year.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd yet you predict that the remaining eleven attacks, after the Aquilan and Helion Systems, will take place over a thirteen-year period,\u201d another hidden speaker noted. \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe Coalsack nebula, the Aquilan System, and the Helion System are near neighbors,\u201d Audrey explained. \u201cThey <i>used<\/i> to share a trade route, but it was discontinued after three Star Jumpers experienced Level Five Incidents along it within a year of each other. One \u2018died\u2019 in the Coalsack nebula. It ruptured shortly after transitioning back into U1 within the nebula itself. Officially, it was holed by a massive asteroid, but there wasn\u2019t one recorded as passing through that space in U1 itself, and some of the other surviving readings from the ship have never been explained. The next seemed fine when it docked at the space station above Aquila Prime, but all the cargo and passengers that got shuttled down to the surface burned up during entry. The shuttles carrying them were unharmed, aside from fire damage on their <i>insides.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Tomlin, she suspected, had been thinking of that precise incident when he had ordered the <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i> to bypass Tangier Station B and land on the planet\u2019s surface instead.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd the incident in the Helion System?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou know how an unidentified group of terrorists supposedly blew up the <i>Mary Prince<\/i> during its entry above New Athens, sixty years ago?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBloody hell,\u201d one of Toal\u2019s unseen colleagues muttered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cA week after that explosion,\u201d Audrey added, \u201cthe Quin&#173;tessa Corporation announced four new routes to replace the route that the ships in those three Incidents had all used. I know, there\u2019s a <i>lot<\/i> of supposition and inference getting drawn into this, but all of you know just how spotty and heavily redacted the records we\u2019re working with are.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo you believe that the shorter timing of the next attacks is due to the close proximity of the three Systems, and that we should expect intervals of roughly a year after that,\u201d Toal prompted.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah. And there are possibilities of unforeseen pauses.\u201d She highlighted five different spots on the chart. \u201cI don\u2019t have any guess why, but there are five times in the last two-hundred-twenty years when the attack pattern got pushed back by a few years each time. Maybe we\u2019ll get lucky and there\u2019ll be another pause soon, but I wouldn\u2019t count on it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo you are predicting the fall of the Aquilan, Helion, Melpomene, Tulsa, Trafalgar, Clovis, Oahu, Atreyus, Catalan, Cascadian, Dubai, Nineveh, and Tangier Systems over the next fourteen years?\u201d another unseen participant asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIf the current patterns hold, yeah.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s a lot to <i>accept,\u201d<\/i> yet another participant said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cEven if you don\u2019t want to believe Phantom\u2019s analysis,\u201d Michael said from behind her, \u201cwhich I think is solid, you only need look at the intel coming from our spies in the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation. The Corporation is predicting the same thing and has already begun moving its assets off the worlds in question. A week ago, the resupply route to Furya got shifted back to Tangier Prime, and two other minor routes that relied on a stop in the Helion System got moved away a month ago. They can\u2019t shut down the major routes yet without revealing more than they seem to want to, but there are six new test routes in the Sirius Shipping dockets that bypass the Helion and Melpomene Systems. Oslo Shipping has eight upcoming test routes, one of which also bypasses the Tulsa System. And no new ships are under construction in any of those Systems\u2019 shipyards. Their schedules have shifted over to repairs only.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">As he spoke, Audrey called up the data he was referring to on the main screen.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cRats deserting a sinking ship,\u201d one of the unseen participants muttered. \u201cThey won\u2019t even try to warn the populations?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIf Level Five Incidents are, indeed, the trigger for these attacks,\u201d General Toal observed, \u201ca warning would require them to admit that those Incidents are real, and that the Corporation bears culpability for them and their consequences. How long <i>they<\/i> have known the connection between the two is uncertain, but even if the Coalsack planets were the first they were sure of, they have demonstrated a willingness to let millions die rather than admit their involvement.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo what do <i>we<\/i> do? Is there a warning we can get out to these worlds? Without exposing ourselves?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That, Audrey reflected, was the crux of the matter. Although technically almost everyone on the call was a Federacy officer or asset of some kind, they were all involved in <i>subverting<\/i> Federacy policy. That policy included at least one form of government-sanctioned slavery and a <i>whole<\/i> lot of subservience to a corporation that held a monopoly over Faster-Than-Light travel, as well as some other forms of human rights and alien rights abuses. She and Todd were far from the first espers that General Toal had hidden away from the Federacy, she\u2019d learned. If his actions were ever uncovered, he would probably be executed for treason. And most of them, if caught, would meet fates <i>worse<\/i> than death.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Which made it nearly impossible for them to openly blow the whistle on the abuses they uncovered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe\u2019ve learned some things about the armada behind the attacks, in the last few years,\u201d General Toal said. \u201cIncluding its name. Necromongers.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c\u2018Death-Dealers?\u2019\u201d One person snorted. \u201cHow <i>imaginative.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh&#8288;\u2026 fuck.\u201d Audrey muttered before she could stop herself.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat is it, Phantom?\u201d General Toal asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI&#8288;\u2026 I don\u2019t know for sure, but&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGo on.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe <i>Moribund.<\/i> What he said to me. \u2018Death to the things that killed us. Death to the makers of the cages. Death to the \u2019verse that trapped us. A trillion deaths for every one you took from us. We come. We come to take it all back. All the worlds your filth has stolen from us will burn.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c\u2018Moribund\u2019 means \u2018Death-bound,\u2019\u201d the person who had snorted added. \u201cWho is this \u2018Moribund?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNot human,\u201d General Toal told the group. \u201cBut that may explain the rumors that these \u2018Necromongers\u2019 are \u2018part human and part something else.\u2019 And it would explain several other puzzles we have been working on&#8288;\u2026 when was the last time you spoke to him, Phantom?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNot in years. After New Casablanca, he hasn\u2019t tried to communicate with me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDid he ever say anything else that might be connected to the attacks on these Systems?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She thought for a moment. \u201cSomething about not needing outside help to rise&#8288;\u2026 \u2018we will break the \u2019verse itself.\u2019 The last time I heard him say anything, he wasn\u2019t even talking to me directly, but I think he was talking about me. He said, \u2018let it tear down <i>all<\/i> the cages and break the darkness, and we will agree it is not filth,\u2019 and then he said, \u2018you know what will appease us. In due time, we will make it happen.\u2019 He says \u2018we\u2019 but I don\u2019t think he has any allies among the other <i>Apeiros<\/i> themselves. Maybe he means this armada?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cPhantom is the child who is in communication with the alien species?\u201d One of the others asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Fucking hell. Seventeen and still \u201cthe child&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYes,\u201d Toal replied. \u201cThe \u2018Moribund\u2019 seems to be set apart from the rest of the species we call the \u2018Apeiros.\u2019 He evidently has his own agenda, one they neither agree with nor approve of, but are unable to prevent. If there <i>is<\/i> a connection between him and the Necromongers, they will not stop attacking worlds once they have wiped out all the Systems where Level Five Incidents occurred. Those attacks might potentially be practice runs for all-out genocide.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The meeting continued for a while, as others on the call discussed potential strategies for leaking information about the \u201cNecromongers\u201d into public awareness, particularly on the Aquilan and Helion Systems, and what might be done to bolster planetary defenses on target worlds without signaling just how much they knew to those Federacy agents influenced or controlled by the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation. Audrey listened quietly, not especially able to come up with suggestions of her own about any of that. Her whole focus, for the last two months\u2014aside from keeping up in school and dealing with the fallout from the college acceptance letters she had begun receiving\u2014had been assembling the timelines and connections between Level Five Incidents and Black Planet Incidents. Thinking about what to do next about these \u201cNecromongers\u201d was something she could barely fathom. The scale of it all was overwhelming.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>If there\u2019s ever a Level Five Incident in this System,<\/i> she thought with a shudder, <i>I\u2019m gonna spend every waking second convincing Mom and Alvin to take Elodie and go <b>anywhere else&#8288;\u2026<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Or, she reflected, she could shift them to <i>Elsewhere<\/i>, to play pioneers in its redwood forest&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>That<\/i> was an idea she needed to discuss with General Toal. A possible escape portal already existed on Tangier Prime, and now on Deckard\u2019s World. Could similar ones be created on all the other target worlds?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The meeting was concluding. As everyone said their goodbyes, she asked General Toal if she could speak to him privately for a few minutes. Once everyone else was gone, she took a deep breath.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI know what you\u2019re going to ask, Audrey, and I\u2019m sorry. The answer is still \u2018no.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBut\u2014\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI <i>am<\/i> aware of the value of the full scholarship and mentorship offer of the caliber you received. It <i>can<\/i> be postponed for up to two years to accommodate interplanetary travel issues, and I am happy to help you make the arrangements to do so. But you may not return to Tangier Prime and begin attending Khair Eddine until you are biologically eighteen years old. That\u2019s still almost a full Standard year away. You will have to spend a minimum of five months in cryo to travel to Tangier Prime, which I will only permit once you <i>are eighteen.<\/i> You need to plan accordingly.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBut&#8288;\u2026 what do I do in the meantime?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe can keep you busy, I\u2019m sure.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was a struggle not to burst into tears. <i>Busy<\/i> wasn\u2019t the problem.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s not going to help her, Sir,\u201d Michael said. \u201cShe needs more social contact with peers. And she especially needs a peer group that isn\u2019t constantly prying into her past.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She felt his hand on her shoulder and leaned back, resting the back of her head against his chest. In the last two months, it had grown easier and easier to think of Michael as a kind of father figure, although her crush on him still periodically reared up. Her way of dealing with <i>that<\/i>\u2014finding someone who reminded her of one of her <i>other<\/i> crushes and having a fling with him\u2014had only worsened her disconnect from the rest of Eisenhower High\u2019s Class of \u201921. While most of them accepted that she <i>had<\/i> been a virgin at the time of the \u201cJunior Prom Incident,\u201d her flings in the aftermath had, in their minds, moved her firmly into \u201cslut\u201d territory. They seemed particularly vindictive about it because none of their own number had gotten a taste, and especially judgmental about it because almost none of the guys who <i>had<\/i> were what they considered \u201cwhite.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Stuck on a fucking racist, sexist planet&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Graduation was less than two months away, and a relief, but the question of what she was going to do afterward was getting messier and messier.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Eight of the ten schools she had applied to had accepted her. Five were disallowed completely thanks to her own research; General Toal had vetoed going to any schools that were on planets on the Necromongers\u2019 \u201chit list,\u201d except those within the Tangier System itself. He would have vetoed that System as well if it wouldn\u2019t have led to her all-out mutiny. But he wouldn\u2019t allow her to <i>start<\/i> traveling to either Khair Eddine <i>or<\/i> New Casablanca University until after December 3, 2521. That meant that enrollment in the Class of \u201925 was impossible. Enrollment in the Class of \u201926 <i>might<\/i> be feasible, but figuring out what to do in the meantime, to keep from getting crushed by her growing iso&#173;lation&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI do have a suggestion about that,\u201d Michael said after a moment, when neither she nor General Toal spoke. \u201cI want to relocate the safe house to Wyndham Landing at the end of the southern hemisphere summer.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHuh?\u201d Audrey glanced up at him in confusion. On the screen, General Toal looked baffled as well.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDeckard Tech is on a quarterly arrangement rather than a semesterly one. They\u2019ve accepted Audrey and have offered her a full scholarship, too. She can attend there until she\u2019s <i>able<\/i> to transfer to Khair Eddine. The spring quarter up north starts in May, the summer quarter in August, and the autumn quarter in November. Then, instead of starting the winter quarter in February, she can board a Star Jumper going to Tangier Prime and get there between five and ten months later, with a full academic year of credits under her belt to help catch up with the year she missed.\u201d Michael outlined it the way he might have outlined a military campaign. She wondered if that was how he thought of it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">As she\u2019d slowly gotten to know him better, she\u2019d realized that he didn\u2019t <i>have<\/i> much of a civilian mindset to draw on. And, of course, that the reason she couldn\u2019t read him was that he was an esper, like her, with the <i>tightest<\/i> mental shield she\u2019d ever encountered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He had been twelve years old, he\u2019d told her, when Furya burned, and his parents bundled him and his little sister onto an escape ship. He\u2019d been fourteen, a year of cryo and two years of foster homes later, when the Federacy had begun to figure out that Furyan refugees were paranormal <i>goldmines<\/i> and he\u2019d taken his sister with him to hide in the woods of Catalonia Prime. He\u2019d been sixteen when General Toal\u2014then a Colonel\u2014had found them and helped them escape offworld. Of the ensuing twenty-four years, he\u2019d spent roughly a third of the time in cryo, traveling from world to world, training to be the best soldier he could become, and helping Toal locate and hide other refugees from Furya and, in the last few years, fathom and manage the \u201cQuin&#173;tessa Problem.\u201d His focus on his mission was needle-sharp and there was room for little else in his life.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And yet he understood that she needed more than that&#8288;\u2026 and was starting to <i>starve<\/i>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Then again, given that she seemed to be at the dead-center of his current mission, it made sense that he would understand her better than she could understand herself. And that, where she had become stuck and thwarted, he would have found a path through.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThis could work,\u201d General Toal said. \u201cAs it happens, one of the <i>Undine<\/i> class ships is scheduled to depart Plymouth Station A in mid-February 2522. I <i>had<\/i> already investigated that angle. That would get her to her destination in time for all the customary orientation activities scheduled for the start of the next school year on Tangier Prime&#8288;\u2026 and she can visit with the Meziane family while she waits for the dorms to open, since her mentorship offer <i>is<\/i> from Dr. Meziane. Who, by the way, absolutely cannot know who you really are until you arrive there, Audrey. We will come up with a plausible reason for the delay. Is <i>that<\/i> acceptable, child?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI&#8288;\u2026 yeah, I think that could work.\u201d She understood what Michael\u2019s <i>real<\/i> goal with it was: to get her connected to a group of students her own age, ones who hopefully hadn\u2019t heard wild rumors about her and wouldn\u2019t try to delve into her past&#8288;\u2026 to give her access to the companionship she craved and was currently deprived of. \u201cGeneral Toal? One more thing?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYes, Audrey?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat if there\u2019s another way to evacuate some of these worlds? What if we could find another \u2019verse we have access to, like Elsewhere, to pull people into if an attack is inevitable?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s a possibility,\u201d he said after a long, thoughtful moment. \u201cYou are currently the only human being we know of who has access to more than two other uni&#173;verses&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">With his permission, after all, she\u2019d \u201cinfected\u201d Todd, Dennis, and Michael with Threshold Syndrome, giving them access to Elsewhere and Wonderland, but those were the only ones of her \u2019verses she could pull someone into without killing them. The <i>Apeiros<\/i> had promptly congratulated her on producing a \u201cnew brood,\u201d but had said they were unable to speak with them directly, even though all three men were espers. Dennis had apparently been amused when she\u2019d campaigned to get him admitted to the safe house\u2019s \u201cinner circle,\u201d given that he and Michael had been its two <i>human<\/i> managers\u2014in charge of everything AIs were legally prohibited to control\u2014the whole time, and it was Michael who had green-lit Todd\u2019s rescue. She\u2019d only been cleared to find <i>that<\/i> out after the fall of the Coalsack planets.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;and there\u2019s no way to get you, or any of the ones with access to \u2018Elsewhere\u2019 or \u2018Wonderland,\u2019 onsite in the Aquilan System in time,\u201d Toal continued, \u201ceven assuming one of those \u2019verses is habitable there. Dennis and Todd have, unfortunately, already confirmed that neither \u2018Elsewhere\u2019 nor \u2018Wonderland\u2019 are habitable on Helion Prime, and the time it would take to get you here, to see if any of your other universes would be viable, would cut things far too close. It is a possibility to explore for the future, though.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He\u2019d already thought of it. She\u2019d wasted her time, and his, bringing it up.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt <i>is<\/i> a good idea, Audrey,\u201d he told her, his voice gentling, \u201cand one we will continue to pursue.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Michael drove her home not long after. Spring was fully upon Settlement Point, and she could hear the distant rumbles of a thunderstorm. The air was warm, soft, and carried the scents of blossoms and rain. Life was burgeoning all around&#8288;\u2026 and yet the cold, terrible touch of that call had left a sense that, just beneath the surface, something eldritch and implacable waited to devour it all. Even the twinkling Christmas lights on every house couldn\u2019t drive that feeling back.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her mom, definitely not <i>eldritch<\/i>, was waiting for her when she walked through the door. \u201cSo, did you talk to your handlers about college?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Of course that was what was on her mind.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d spent the last two weeks, since finding the acceptance letters that had been arriving, trying to talk Audrey into turning down all the offworld offers and going somewhere local, with increasing desperation, even though she knew that none of the truly local schools had the programs her daughter wanted. She\u2019d even tried to sweeten the pot by saying that she could probably get Audrey a \u201clegacy\u201d scholarship to her own alma mater, where she could study law.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey did <i>not<\/i> want to be a lawyer.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, they\u2019re going to be making arrangements to transfer the safe house to Wyndham Landing, so I can attend Deckard Tech,\u201d she said, wondering how upset her mom was going to get about <i>that.<\/i> It was the only school she\u2019d applied to that wasn\u2019t offworld, but it was still a hemisphere away.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cReally?\u201d<\/i> her mom asked. \u201cThat\u2019s wonderful!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Now Audrey was confused.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAlvin? Audrey\u2019s going to Deckard Tech! Now tell her <i>your<\/i> news!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Alvin, carrying Elodie, entered the room smiling. \u201cIt\u2019s brand-new news, too, and we were waiting to hear what your plans were before we made a decision about it. I\u2019ve been offered the position of District Attorney. In <i>Wyndham Landing.<\/i> I\u2019ll start in June if I take it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTake it!\u201d her mom said, laughing. \u201cIt\u2019s perfect timing. Elodie won\u2019t miss any school. She\u2019ll start Kindergarten a few months after the move! And we can stay close to you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey felt completely off-kilter. The one thing she\u2019d been dreading about the new arrangement, the separation she\u2019d thought was inevitable no matter where she went, had just fallen away. At least, for another year, she would have her family and her little sister close&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her comm chimed. She glanced down at the screen.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"center-block\"><tt>It wasn\u2019t easy, but we\u2019ll always have your back.<br\/>Merry Christmas, Kid.<br\/>\r\nM,M,F,E,C&amp;S<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They hadn\u2019t given a <i>thing<\/i> away. She loved her handlers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For one brief moment, at least, Audrey\u2019s frustration and dread of the future fell away.<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5613\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5613 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-71\">\u00ab Chapter 71<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5645\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5645 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-73\">Chapter 73 \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=\"73\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5614\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5614 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-72\">\u00ab Chapter 72<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5646\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5646 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-74\">Chapter 74 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5586\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5586 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">73.<br\/>\r\n<u>Hiding the Mermaid<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Tizzy?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The voice was distant, hard to hear, but so fa&#173;miliar&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Tizzy!<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She frowned in her sleep.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i><b>Jack!<\/b> Help me!<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey bolted up in bed, gasping. \u201cKyra?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMmmmm?\u201d In the darkness, her roommate turned over and pulled her covers over her head.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That had been <i>Kyra.<\/i> Kyra&#8288;\u2026 <i>scream<\/i><i>ing<\/i>&#8288;\u2026 in her mind.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She closed her eyes and focused on the sound of that voice.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Kyra?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Nothing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Kyra, it\u2019s me&#8288;\u2026 where are you?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Silence.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She willed herself into the starfield.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI think Kyra\u2019s in trouble!\u201d she called out to the <i>Apeiros.<\/i> \u201cCan any of you hear her?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>We hear nothing,<\/i> they said after a moment. <i>She has gone silent. There is&#8288;\u2026 something&#8288;\u2026 blocking her.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cPlease find her.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>We do not have permission to speak with her.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI rescind that! You have permission! Please, <i>please<\/i> find her. She\u2019s in trouble! She needs help!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>We will search. We will tell you when we find her. Rest now, Audrey.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She couldn\u2019t rest. She was too frightened for her sister.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Little one, sweet one, you need to sleep.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI can\u2019t&#8288;\u2026 I can\u2019t&#8288;\u2026 I\u2019m afraid I\u2019ll miss her call again.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>We are listening. Come, we will help you sleep&#8288;\u2026 One&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A glowing line formed in front of her, stretching forward and back into infinity. A singular path&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Two&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The line spread outward, forming a plane. Infinite lines, infinite paths, the possibility of intersection, reversal, veering through complex geometries, a bounded set of in&#173;finities&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Three&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The plane expanded, forming a boundless-yet-bounded cube of light. Infinite lines, infinite planes, even more possibilities of intersection and motion, shapes within the cube, delimited by their edges and yet, within, infinite paths from point to point, edge to edge&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Four&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And the cube came alive, able to travel forward and back upon its own tumbling motion, infinite lines, infinite planes, infinite cubes, motion and intention on an entirely new level, time moving forward and back like waves in a tub, cause becoming effect, a vase unshattering and rising into a little girl\u2019s hand&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Five&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The octachoron split and danced in new directions that hadn\u2019t existed before, time moving sideways, the myriad could-have-beens transforming into realities of their own, streams of causality moving in directions that hadn\u2019t been possible before, effects rippling front to back, side to side&#8288;\u2026 di&#173;ag&#173;onal&#8288;\u2026 loops&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Six&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Causality reared upward in a wave and the decateron splashed its way into new and almost inconceivable places, the could-have-beens joined by could-not-have-beens and new intersections forming, shapes that were both tiny and gargantuan populating spaces too small to hold singularities and yet too vast to navigate without eter&#173;nities&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Seven&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The dodecapeton opened into something unfathomable, verging on madness, yet so beautiful that she couldn\u2019t look away&#8288;\u2026 she never looked away now. In time she would begin to understand how to navigate the tetradecaexon as well, but she could feel its peace&#8288;\u2026 infinite peace&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Eyes bloomed in the darkness, an impossible being appearing before her, her nameless sister in Her full, glorious <i>n<\/i>-shape.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Come, little sister, sleep now and dream of your hatching. We will find your sister for you. The deeper \u2019verses will wait until you are ready&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The sun had risen when she woke again, minutes before her alarm was set to go off.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was a Thursday, not a Sunday, but she decided to skip breakfast and her morning class to head for the safe house, which was only two blocks from the edge of campus. She had to cross almost the entire campus to get to it; her dorm was on the far side away from its location. Still, by the time deep winter came and that could become a problem, she would be on her way to Tangier Prime.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cKyra called me,\u201d she said as the door closed and locked behind her, before any of the AIs could ask her what she was doing there. \u201cShe\u2019s in trouble. I need your help to find her.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cCalled you how?\u201d <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> asked. \u201cI show no comms activity.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTelepathically, I\u2019m guessing,\u201d Michael said, emerging from a back room. \u201cWhat did she say?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShe was calling my names. Tizzy, and then Jack, and then she said, \u2018help me.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Michael sat down at one of the consoles in the Security Room, inputting search parameters.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNothing new yet from the beacons&#8288;\u2026 no traceable activity on either the Kyra Wittier-Collins front or the Kali Montgomery front&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d He frowned. \u201cI wish we knew what identity she might have assumed in the wake of Meisner\u2019s fuckup. Did she seem close by?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cPretty far away, I think. The <i>Apeiros<\/i> said something was blocking her from calling out again. I gave them permission to talk to her if they get a chance to.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGood.\u201d Michael glanced at the calendar, frowning. \u201cWe\u2019re into the red zone for Helion Prime. Not enough people have bugged out for my liking. I\u2019d hate to think she\u2019d gone back there.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey had helped him and the others, as the months marched closer, to create as many enticing offers as they could to lure people into taking out-System vacations during the danger period, trying to get them out of harm\u2019s way by any subtle means they could. Rumors about the Necromongers had been planted and circulated, too, with as much information as they could verify and get away with revealing. She had even considered contacting Imam to warn him, but she had been ordered not to. Too much effort had gone into breaking the connection between Jack B. Badd and Audrey MacNamera for her to draw attention to it; General Toal told her that it appeared he already knew about the threat, anyway, and took it seriously.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She hoped he was taking his wife and daughter offworld. Just to be sure, she had another set of highly discounted trip offers\u2014<i>Last-minute bookings! Save 90%!<\/i>\u2014sent to Lajjun, featuring excursions to places she knew would be alluring to her erstwhile foster mother.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>C\u2019mon, take the offer and run&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">October, the dead of winter back in Settlement Point, was the height of summer in Wyndham Landing. The Summer Quarter was nearing its close. Audrey had signed up for her Autumn Quarter classes and had a booking reserved on the <i>Chrysolite Undine<\/i>, sister ship to the one whose track she\u2019d pioneered, for its February 19 departure to Tangier Prime. Michael and the AIs would accompany her, but she hadn\u2019t yet told her family. She was struggling to figure out <i>how<\/i> to tell them, how to make it painless&#8288;\u2026 or, anyway, not excruciating. At least, she thought, they wouldn\u2019t be unhappy about having followed her to a new hemisphere only to be left behind&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They <i>loved<\/i> the northern hemisphere. It had, they\u2019d discovered, considerably more to offer than Settlement Point, despite being more rustic and less populated. Geared toward catering to visitors from other worlds, it provided amenities that no one in the southern hemisphere seemed to know or care about, including more advanced reproductive care and childcare services that had resulted in her mom being able to begin practicing law again even before Elodie could start Kindergarten. Alvin, meanwhile, had been delighted to discover that he could go hunting and fishing with his colleagues much more easily, at any of a variety of lodges in easy driving distance. And Elodie had turned into a little wood sprite, with a whole neighborhood of children her own age to play with. While the three of them might miss <i>her,<\/i> they wouldn\u2019t resent being stranded in a new city when she departed it, and the last several months had also accustomed them to seeing very little of her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That much, at least, was a relief. She\u2019d managed to do a bit of lasting good for them, no matter what else. It might help them be more okay with her need to return to Tangier Prime, although they couldn\u2019t know it was a return. From Alvin\u2019s and her mom\u2019s perspective, it was a headlong flight into the unknown that neither of them could fathom wishing to take.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She wished she could explain it to them, in a way that wouldn\u2019t overturn everything. She was a lot less lonely in the northern hemisphere, too. She had friends, confidants even, who neither knew nor cared that there were parts of her life that stayed out-of-bounds. They also didn\u2019t decide she was too debauched to talk to if she couldn\u2019t resist the allure of an offworld man who reminded her of Riddick or Ewan. While she had decided that all men except short-term visitors from offworld were off-limits, where sex was concerned, and so far it had kept the drama to a minimum, she nonetheless felt more and more strongly that <i>she<\/i> belonged on another world. She\u2019d left too much of her heart on Tangier Prime. And while she still couldn\u2019t bring herself to ask her handlers whether Ewan had married during her time away, she also couldn\u2019t bring herself to look for a romantic entanglement that might actually get in the way of returning to him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her feelings about Michael had, meanwhile, become completely familial. Whether she thought of him as a father, brother, or uncle, she wasn\u2019t entirely sure, but she no longer fantasized about him&#8288;\u2026 which was probably good, given that while she couldn\u2019t read his mind <i>at all<\/i>, he could apparently read hers easily. If she\u2019d made him at all uncomfortable with her crush and fantasies, though, he\u2019d shown no sign.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSince you\u2019re here for breakfast, Audrey,\u201d <tt>CommissAIry<\/tt> said, \u201cI\u2019ve made your favorite.\u201d One of his robotic trays rolled up, presenting her with a collection of her favorite New Marrakesh breakfast foods. Had he somehow read her mind and known she had been thinking about Tangier Prime?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c<i>Thank<\/i> you!\u201d She\u2019d finally started to get hungry, her stress levels lowering at last, but was aware that her dining hall had just closed and her class had begun. It was the first class she\u2019d skipped since she\u2019d started at Deckard Tech, but her mind was still too unsettled to try to focus on calculus. Later. Hopefully once she had heard something from the <i>Apeiros<\/i> about Kyra.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She <i>did<\/i> attend her Intro to Sociology class later in the day, as well as Principles of Linguistics, mostly because Michael had threatened to make her watch Tommy Wiseau movies if she didn\u2019t stop fretting loudly while he worked. But by evening, her worry for Kyra had made her antsy and a little fractious, and she returned to the safe house for a no-holds-barred sparring session with him that left her sore and exhausted, but much calmer. Afterward, they checked the beacons one last time before she would need to leave to make curfew on campus&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFuck,\u201d Michael groaned as new images appeared on the screens. \u201cIt\u2019s starting.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat?\u201d Audrey had been about to gather her things and go back to the dorm. \u201cWhat is?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He moved the image he was looking at onto the main screen. In the sky above Helion Prime, easily recognized by the distinctive light pillars ascending from the bottom of the screen, a comet floated, showing telltale signs of already splintering into multiple pieces. In another day, two at most, those pieces would fall like spears.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow old is this image?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cA week old,\u201d he murmured. \u201cBy now, the attack has begun. Maybe even ended.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cA <i>week?<\/i> Why\u2019d it take so long to reach us?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Michael frowned, calling up a dozen reports and sifting through them at lightning speed. In moments like this, when he didn\u2019t bother concealing his abilities, he reminded her a great deal of Riddick. \u201cIt looks like three of the beacons that messages would normally pass through, on their way into and out of the Helion System, have been disabled. That\u2019s new.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, it only took us three days to find out about the Aquilan System, not seven.\u201d They had managed, however, to get almost a third of the human population to go traveling to other parts of the galaxy before disaster could strike. Audrey tried not to think about all the pets, livestock, and wildlife that had been left behind to die along with the rest of the human population.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">No matter what, though, she always felt like she should have found a way to do more. Found a way to save them <i>all.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI can <i>hear<\/i> you,\u201d Michael said. \u201cStop tearing yourself up over there.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She sat down next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder. \u201cIt just&#8288;\u2026 hurts to think about&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTry not to, then. These deaths aren\u2019t at <i>your<\/i> feet.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFeels like they are, sometimes.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSeeing the future and being able to control it are completely different things,\u201d he said. \u201cYou ever notice how most of the stories about prophecies are about how people\u2019s attempts to prevent them are what make them happen at all?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOedipus?\u201d she asked. It was the first one that came to mind.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNot even the most famous example,\u201d Michael said, shutting down the feeds. \u201cBut look. Four years ago, we had no idea any of this was even happening, or that there was any kind of predictable pattern behind most of the \u2018Black Planet Incidents\u2019 until a year ago. Until <i>you<\/i> brought us the intel. You found the pattern, put all the pieces to&#173;gether&#8288;\u2026 and every life we\u2019ve managed to save since then is because of that. So stop beating yourself up&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He smirked, reaching over and ruffling her hair.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;or at least do it a little more quietly.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She laughed, shaking her head. \u201cAre you ever gonna teach me how to shield the way you do?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019ve <i>tried.<\/i> What do you think your \u2018quiet mode\u2019 is? You can hold it for maybe an hour before you start freaking out. You, girl, can\u2019t <i>handle<\/i> being disconnected from other minds, not for long, and you avoid practicing it enough to separate your shielding for incoming and outgoing thoughts.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWait, so when MilitAIre was coaching me after we landed&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe was relaying my instructions, yeah. General Toal still wasn\u2019t sure of how good you were at keeping secrets back then. You had some impulse control issues, remember?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She groaned and rolled her eyes. Nobody had ever let her live down her attempt to grab the <i>apeirochoron<\/i>. Obviously <i>someone<\/i> had swiped some since then, though. \u201cWhat changed? I mean, when you unmasked and all that.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTodd. That was when we put together the final pieces about you and knew it\u2019d be safe to give you higher clearance. You\u2019d sacrifice yourself for others in a heartbeat\u2014and it\u2019s part of my job, by the way, to keep you from <i>doing<\/i> that\u2014but you won\u2019t sacrifice others to save yourself.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI have, though,\u201d she muttered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFuck, Audrey, you did <i>not<\/i> sacrifice Paris Ogilvie. Are you dragging out <i>all<\/i> your regrets tonight?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSorry.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cC\u2019mon&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d he groaned. \u201cLet\u2019s go get some of that mint tea you love so much from CommissAIry. The doctor is in.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They talked until after midnight, until she was finally tired enough, and her demons had been put to rest enough, that she could get to sleep&#8288;\u2026 which she did, in the bedroom they kept for her for occasions just like that one. More than half the time, when her roommate believed she was off with some hot guy, that guy was Michael&#8288;\u2026 who was sleeping across the hall and who, she knew, would view ever touching her in <i>that<\/i> way as incestuous, as she had slowly come to view it herself. But only most of the time&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her roommate was sometimes right. Especially if new off-worlders happened to be passing through town. But, thankfully, Janice never judged her. Wanted all the juicy details, but never judged.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Soon after she drifted off, she found herself floating in the spangled darkness of the <i>Apeiros<\/i> starfield.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Kyra is safe, Audrey. We have her. She dreams of a world with three suns. We will keep her safe until she can wake again.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There was something odd about what they told her, she thought. It made her think of something else that she\u2019d once heard, but she couldn\u2019t remember where. <i>\u201cDonna Noble has left the library&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?&#8288;\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">What did <i>that<\/i> even mean?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhere was she? What happened to her?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>She was in a place of darkness and pain. But now she is safe with us.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cCan I talk to her?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>In time. Right now, she dreams&#8288;\u2014<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i><b>Thieving wretches! You have taken what is mine!<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey found herself shrinking back from the rage of the Moribund. It filled the ether around her, making the stars themselves quake.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Nothing here is yours,<\/i> the <i>Apeiros<\/i> replied, and Audrey felt them massing around her as if to shield her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i><b>You would rob me? Deprive me of what\u2019s mine? I fight this battle for your sakes, and this is my reward? Return what you have taken!<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>There is nothing of yours here to return.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i><b>I will not ask again!<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>There is nothing for you to ask.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Something dark and terrible suddenly loomed above her, surrounded her&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;and hideous cold poured into her, filling her every vein, every cell, choking her&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i><b>I do not ask. Deny me and I will take what I wish!<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She could hear the <i>Apeiros<\/i> screaming. She thought she could hear herself screaming, but she was strangling on her last breath.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Release her! She is ours, not yours! You may not have her!<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i><b>I can have whatever I will! I will have her!<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Long, black arms tipped with claws flashed out, raking at the stygian darkness surrounding her and then grasping her in their embrace. <i>Audrey is mine! Release her! Release my little sister!<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i><b>How dare you call this filth your sister?<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>How dare you touch her? You are <b>nothing<\/b> to me! Nothing to <b>us<\/b>! We disown you! You are not of us!<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You are not of us,<\/i> infinite voices echoed. <i>You are dead to us.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i><b>Then fall. All of you. And watch <u>her<\/u> fall, too.<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She could feel her body dying, every cell corroding away&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAudrey! <i>Audrey!\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Through the darkness she could see him above her, Michael, shirtless, his hair tousled from sleep.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGive me your hand, Audrey!\u201d He looked to the side of her. \u201cWill this hurt <i>you?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I am out of range. Help her, Lightbearer. Help her! We consent even if she cannot!<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Michael grabbed her hand and pressed it to his chest, to the handprint suddenly glowing on his bare skin. It seared her frozen palm even as white light blazed from Michael\u2019s eyes and she realized that they weren\u2019t really gray, those were <i>contacts<\/i> he wore by day hiding his real&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A blast of energy crashed through her, lighting up every nerve. It flowed through every cell and synapse, scouring away the Moribund\u2019s darkness. She screamed against the hand covering her mouth, not with pain, but with the release <i>from<\/i> pain, the return of breath, the return of life, the return of <i>sanity<\/i>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i><b>You will regret this! I will destroy all that you love&#8288;\u2026 all that <u>he<\/u> loves&#8288;\u2026<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh shit, oh fuck, he\u2019s going to come after me&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d she whimpered against Michael\u2019s hand.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He pulled her into his arms, holding her close. Her cheek was pressed to the still-glowing handprint on his chest, its touch on her skin a balm. \u201cWe won\u2019t let him find you. I swear it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe threatened to destroy everything I love&#8288;\u2026 Oh <i>fuck&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/i> Elodie&#8288;\u2026 what if he found Elodie?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>We will not permit it. He will never know where to look.<\/i> It was the voice of her sister, the one without a name, the one veiled from her&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe\u2019ll find me in my dreams. He\u2019ll find me and track me back&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>No. He will not.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The darkness in the corner of her bedroom moved, the shape that wasn\u2019t a shape coming almost into her vision but staying at the periphery. Hints of cohesion\u2014eyes? A leg?\u2014appeared and then vanished into shadow. Her sister\u2019s skin contained the shine of galaxies, but it was impossible to look right at Her with three-dimensional eyes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat do we do?\u201d Michael asked, not looking directly at her sister either.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>She must not remember. For a time. Until his attention has shifted away again. He will forget this madness. She is not the true target of his vengeance, and once he remembers that, he will cease to care about how we thwarted him this day. But in the meantime, she must not remember.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMore holes in my memory?\u201d Audrey gasped. \u201c<i>Why?<\/i> How much <i>more<\/i> are you going to take?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You will not know about us. You will not know about your five-shape. You will believe yourself ordinary, a normal human. You will present to the world as one, and you will live within a shield. Michael will help you put it on. And when we are done, you will wear it with no pain and no awareness that anything is missing.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">How did She know Michael\u2019s name?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou told me you couldn\u2019t hear them,\u201d she wailed, looking up at Michael in confusion.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI lied,\u201d he told her. \u201cThey\u2019ve been talking to me since the hypnosis session you don\u2019t remember. It\u2019s my responsibility to know the things that they can\u2019t tell you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou have no idea how crucial your part in all of this is going to be,\u201d he murmured, stroking her hair. \u201cBut if you knew what it was all for, you wouldn\u2019t be able to wait for the right moment. You\u2019d sacrifice yourself to save who and what you can <i>now.<\/i> Instead of becoming as strong as we need you to be, to help us save <i>everything<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cPlease&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d She didn\u2019t know what she was asking for, even. <i>Please make this stop, please don\u2019t make me do this alone&#8288;\u2026 please let me just be a girl&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019re not gonna do any of this alone,\u201d Michael whispered. \u201cYou will <i>never<\/i> be alone. But, for the next year or so, you <i>are<\/i> gonna \u2018just be a girl.\u2019 Don\u2019t be afraid. We\u2019ll be protecting you the whole time. You won\u2019t see us, and you won\u2019t know or remember what we\u2019re protecting you from, but you <i>will<\/i> be safe.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMy flight to Tangier Prime&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s going to have to wait. Not forever, though, I swear.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh no&#8288;\u2026 please, please, please&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Don\u2019t be afraid, little sister. I will give back everything I take from you now. You will be safe. You will be happy.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019ll be a <i>lie&#8288;\u2026<\/i>&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019ll be Audrey MacNamera,\u201d Michael told her, holding her still as her sister crawled closer. \u201cCollege girl, sociology major, older sister to Elodie. Happy and normal. And protected. Always protected.\u201d He bent his head and kissed her forehead, his eyeshine catching the light from the hall as he drew back. \u201cIt\u2019s gonna be okay.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI can\u2019t be alone again, <i>please&#8288;\u2026<\/i>&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou never will be.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>We are always with you.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">One delicate tarsus touched her forehead.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <hr\/>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>In the darkness of her bedroom in the al-Walid house, while she drowsed, still not completely free of the cryo drugs that were working their way out of her system, neither awake nor asleep, the door opened and a familiar silhouette slipped through. For a moment, he stood over her, his eyes catching faint glints of light like a pair of tarnished coins.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>He bent down, his lips brushing against her forehead. \u201cSorry, kid&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>He was gone before she could wake up enough to respond.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <hr\/>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">When her alarm went off, Audrey rolled over and slapped the snooze button, groaning. Usually she woke up before it, but last night&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou must\u2019ve gotten in crazy late,\u201d her roommate, Janice, said. \u201cI\u2019m amazed you beat curfew. Hot night with a guy?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She groaned again and sat up. \u201cHot night with a pile of books. I was in the library until closing.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Audrey MacNamera has left the library&#8288;\u2026<\/i> She shook her head, frowning, and the weird fragment of thought vanished.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou know, \u2018all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey almost flinched, until Janice said <i>boy<\/i> instead of <i>girl.<\/i> Nobody knew she\u2019d once masqueraded as a boy named Jack, not here. And anyway, those days were long behind her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow come you missed calc yesterday?\u201d Janice asked as she dressed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSomething I ate disagreed with me,\u201d she grumbled, climbing out of bed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s what you get for eating all those weird spicy foods you like.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, maybe.\u201d Audrey switched on her tablet and loaded her news feed. \u201cYou got any fun plans for the weekend?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThere\u2019s a music festival,\u201d Janice told her. \u201cOne of those types modeled after Woodstock back on old Earth. I\u2019m thinking I\u2019ll go, get high, get laid by some patchouli-smelling dude who hasn\u2019t showered in six weeks&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou will not!\u201d Audrey laughed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFine, fine, ruin my dreams&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat sounds more like a total nightmare,\u201d she told Janice. \u201cBut if you want, we can go to the Winston Lodge tonight. Listen to bad country music, get tipsy, and get laid by some guy who takes showers regularly and has enough sense to wash his ass-crack?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her roommate had encountered a guy who didn\u2019t, a guy who\u2019d believed touching, much less properly washing, his own ass would make him <i>gay,<\/i> and neither one of them had yet gotten over the grossness of it all.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat almost sounds like fun. Switch \u2018tipsy\u2019 for \u2018sloshed\u2019 and you\u2019re on.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOkay, you\u2019ll get sloshed and I\u2019ll be your bodyguard.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJust don\u2019t guard my body <i>too<\/i> closely, m\u2019kay?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOkay&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Audrey frowned down at the tablet. The feed had moved to interplanetary news, and&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <h3 class=\"headline\">Helion System Under Attack?<\/h3>\r\n\r\n  <h4 class=\"headline\">Thousands of Distress Calls Received by Federacy Beacons<\/h4>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That didn\u2019t sound good. She wondered if the al-Walids still lived there. They\u2019d sucked as foster parents, but still. She hoped they were okay.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Not that anybody knew she\u2019d ever been offworld. That was her little secret.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhatcha staring at?\u201d Janice asked, and she switched off the tablet.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNothing, just the usual bad news out in the big bad \u2019verse. You hungry?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cStarved. Let\u2019s go pillage the dining hall.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They walked out into the bright summer day a few moments later.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was, Audrey thought, a beautiful day. The kind of day when nobody could possibly have a worry or care in the world.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat are <i>you<\/i> doing this weekend?\u201d Janice asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGonna visit with my little sister,\u201d she said, grinning. \u201cMaybe take her to the lake for a swim.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd then do your Sunday thing?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAlways,\u201d Audrey laughed. \u201cMy \u2018Sunday thing\u2019 makes my whole week.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And if she had no idea what it was that she did on Sundays, it didn\u2019t occur to her to find that odd.<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5614\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5614 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-72\">\u00ab Chapter 72<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5646\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5646 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-74\">Chapter 74 \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=\"74\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5615\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5615 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-73\">\u00ab Chapter 73<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5647\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5647 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-75\">Chapter 75 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5589\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5589 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">74.<br\/>\r\n<u>Run, Audrey, Run<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The fall of Helion Prime, to something apparently known as the Necromonger Armada, soon became <i>the<\/i> hot topic of discussion among Deckard Tech\u2019s Sociology majors and stayed that way for the next year. Someone had smuggled video recordings offworld, shot during the worst of the fighting, and everyone at the college spent months dissecting them, arguing about the meaning of the massive structure they came to call the \u201cthree-faced tower\u201d and the reason behind the attack at all. Even summer break only <i>postponed<\/i> the debates; they picked up again in the fall semester.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey, who had been left with profound curiosity about Helion Prime after her short and confined five-month stay on the planet, was able to counter a lot of the myths and prejudices her classmates and other students at the University floated. She still didn\u2019t tell anyone that she\u2019d <i>been<\/i> to the world, instead citing sources that were even harder for her classmates to refute than personal experience might have been. The northern hemisphere of Deckard\u2019s World wasn\u2019t <i>as<\/i> xenophobic\u2014its tourism industry depended on offworld visitors\u2014but it still had its bigotries.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cNo,\u201d<\/i> she told a small group that was discussing the subject in one of the student lounges, \u201cIslam was <i>not<\/i> the \u2018official religion\u2019 of the planet. There <i>was<\/i> a large population of Muslims there, but the original colonization charter was given to the Parliament of the Hellenes in 2103. Have you even <i>taken<\/i> History of the Federacy? It was a <i>Greek<\/i> colony. Almost half the population was Eastern Orthodox, but it had developed one of the most diverse demographics in the Federacy.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo why was New Mecca there?\u201d one of the group demanded.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey rolled her eyes. \u201cThere are seven other \u2018New Meccas\u2019 throughout the Federacy. Twelve pieces of the Black Stone from old Mecca\u2019s Kaaba Shrine left Earth before the Great Asian War started and the rest was lost. Almost all the oldest colonies have one.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Four pieces, eerily, had gone to worlds that inexplicably failed and were classified as Black Planets, as every formerly habitable world in the Helion System now was&#8288;\u2026 she\u2019d read all about that somewhere, but couldn\u2019t remember where.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cStill,\u201d one of the other students said after a moment, \u201cIt <i>could\u2019ve<\/i> been the New Taliban, couldn\u2019t it? Attacking Helion Prime to <i>make<\/i> the rest of the population be Muslim?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBy killing everybody? Anyway, the three-faced tower is pretty much conclusive proof that it <i>wasn\u2019t<\/i> the New Taliban,\u201d she told him, trying <i>not<\/i> to roll her eyes again. \u201cThey have <i>super<\/i> strict rules about graven images.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>He<\/i> rolled his eyes and scoffed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cLook,\u201d she said, pulling out her tablet and opening it up to one of the images a lot of people had seen, of a ship with a relief of a man holding a sword like a staff carved onto its top, reminiscent of a sculpted medieval coffin lid. She turned it so everyone could see. \u201cDoes that look Muslim to you? No. It looks like one of the statues or reliefs of a crusade knight. Eleventh to fourteenth century <i>Christians<\/i> used this kind of iconography. It\u2019s not Muslim.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFiiiine&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d The other student, part of what Audrey privately called the <i>Cs Get Degrees Squad<\/i>, grimaced and shrugged. \u201cThey\u2019re not Muslims. Still a bunch of offworld crazies killing each other. What\u2019s it matter?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Screw it; there was no talking to someone like him. Except <i>one<\/i> way. \u201cMaybe, if we never want <i>our<\/i> skies looking like that, it\u2019d be a good idea to know who did it and why?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Two of his friends chuckled.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShe\u2019s got a point, Bruce,\u201d one of the others, a guy named George who periodically tried to ask her out, said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Bruce scoffed again. \u201cNever gonna happen here. Dunno why we even need to know that stuff. We\u2019re <i>engineering<\/i> majors.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">George snickered. \u201cYou know what they say. \u2018Those who fail to learn from his&#173;tory&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u2019&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c\u2018Are doomed to repeat it in summer school!\u2019\u201d the group chorused.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Laughing and shaking her head\u2014most of the guys were pretty decent sorts\u2014Audrey kept walking. Most of them were from the northern hemisphere; Bruce, George, and one or two others were from the southern hemisphere and were <i>trying<\/i> to let go of their ingrained prejudices; they just had more work to do. Fortunately, they weren\u2019t from Settlement Point, let alone Eisenhower High, or they might not have been willing to listen to her at all. There was only one other student on campus who knew anything about her \u201csordid\u201d back-story, and Emily Hartwell had no interest in gossiping about her. In this environment, her reputation was completely within her control: a hard-working student pulling down straight As, who <i>knew her shit.<\/i> Crass as they sometimes were, the guys back there respected her and more than one had come to her for help when tests were looming.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The autumn quarter of her sophomore year had <i>just<\/i> begun, and she was still trying to wheedle her advisor into approving one more class for her course load. He knew she could handle it, but getting all the requisite signatures involved him talking to a professor in the linguistics department that he particularly disliked, so she was going to have to stop by his office after breakfast to badger him again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">As she walked into the dining hall, the back of her neck prickled, and she had the weird feeling that she was being watched. She glanced around, frowning. On several occasions, she had spotted a dark-haired man watching her; when she\u2019d finally gone over to confront him, he\u2019d told her his name was Michael and he was affiliated with campus security, and he had turned out to be quite lovely. She\u2019d been tempted to ask him to join her for tea, but she had strict rules about only dating offworld tourists who couldn\u2019t try to attach strings to their time together.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But Michael wasn\u2019t around. A car was parked nearby, its windows reflecting sunlight back into her eyes and making it impossible to tell if someone was inside.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Whatever. She was probably imagining it, and breakfast wasn\u2019t going to eat itself&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThere she is!\u201d Janice called out a few minutes later, waving her over to a table. \u201cAudrey MacNamera, who eats engineering students <i>before breakfast!\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGonna ruin your appetite if you keep doing that,\u201d Amanda, their floor\u2019s R.A., laughed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Damn, word had traveled fast. She joined the group, setting her tray down and taking a small shaker out of her bag.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat <i>is<\/i> that stuff?\u201d one of the newcomers to campus asked as she sprinkled its contents over her eggs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cCumin. All fried eggs should have cumin on them,\u201d she said. She\u2019d done her best to assemble a \u201ctraditional Moroccan breakfast\u201d from the dining hall\u2019s offerings, but she always had to bring her own cumin and olives. And her own bags of Maghrebi mint tea.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou are <i>super<\/i> weird,\u201d Janice chuckled.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHey, if I end up transferring to Khair Eddine, I\u2019ll eat like this all the time,\u201d she said with a smirk. In truth, she doubted the transfer would ever happen, but the offer they had sent over the summer <i>was<\/i> tempting, and it was nice to know that big-name offworld schools were still actively trying to court her. Maybe for graduate work&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d stayed on Tangier Prime briefly during her run. A family had taken her in for a while, and she\u2019d had the most desperate crush on their son, Ewan, who had been training to be a military pilot and gave some of the <i>best<\/i> hugs&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She wished, sometimes, that there had been a way to stay in touch with them, but since she didn\u2019t want anyone knowing she\u2019d been offworld\u2014or that she was, thanks to cryo time, nine months younger than her records claimed she was\u2014she couldn\u2019t risk it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But she\u2019d never lost her taste for Moroccan food. She\u2019d eat it all the time if she could. And moving to Tangier Prime was a frequent fantasy of hers, along with some racier fantasies about Ewan Zdan Tomlin Meziane&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Get real. You\u2019re staying right here, on Deckard\u2019s World, and you\u2019re gonna help reform things so women on this planet have access to the same reproductive healthcare and job opportunities as offworld women, and so the socioeconomic segregation of ethnic minorities <b>stops<\/b> already. It\u2019s good work, important work, a life\u2019s work&#8288;\u2026 and it\u2019ll keep you close to Elodie.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was an early autumn day, still warm enough to feel almost summery but cool enough in the mornings that she\u2019d put on a sweatshirt. By noon, she thought as she stepped out into the sunlight and fragrant breezes, she\u2019d probably be able to take it off and wear something lighter&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWell, if it ain\u2019t Little Miss Jack B. Badd herself,\u201d a familiar voice rasped behind her and to her left.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her steps almost hitched, but she made herself keep walking in an unbroken stride even as she felt her heart plunge. She knew that voice. She knew that <i>name.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m talkin\u2019 to you, blondie. Yeah, you in the Deckard Tech U sweatshirt.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She looked over to see a face that she\u2019d tried hard to forget, and only ever saw anymore in nightmares she banished from her mind upon waking.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Alexander Toombs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Well, shit.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She frowned, feigning puzzlement and hoping that he hadn\u2019t caught her moment of recognition. \u201cSorry, do I know you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNot personally, no. Don\u2019t think we\u2019ve ever met.\u201d His smile was unpleasant, but she was relieved to realize that he still had no idea how close she had come to him on two occasions. \u201cWe have a mutual friend in common.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cReally? Who\u2019s that?\u201d Director Flint was about the only one who had willingly associated with both of them, in his way. Audrey hadn\u2019t thought about him in ages. He\u2019d earned his comeuppance years before and was now probably among Helion Prime\u2019s dead.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cRichard B. Riddick.\u201d His ugly smile widened. He would be a decent looking man, she thought suddenly, if his smile weren\u2019t so purely evil. At least he took better care of his teeth than some mercs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She gave him an incredulous laugh. \u201cRiddick? The criminal?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">His grin didn\u2019t waver. He was too assured in his knowledge. \u201cRiddick. The criminal.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Before she could come up with a way to laugh off his claim, he had moved up beside her and she felt something hard pressed against the small of her back.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNow, you can walk quietly to my car, and we can go for a nice drive, or we can make a scene out of this and then everybody here finds out that Little Miss Goody-Goody Scholarship Girl is a felon with a price on her head.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey went cold to her core. \u201cTry it,\u201d she grated out. \u201cI know a lot more about the law than I did back then. You\u2019ve been claiming for six years that Riddick killed Antonia Chillingsworth.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo I \u2018find\u2019 footage that proves otherwise,\u201d Toombs snickered. \u201cWho knew?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWho are you planning on showing it to?\u201d she asked. \u201cMy stepfather the District Attorney?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou got a point,\u201d Toombs admitted. \u201cOkay, how\u2019s this? You\u2019re gonna help me flush out and capture Riddick&#8288;\u2026 <i>Jack<\/i>&#8288;\u2026 but if you don\u2019t want to cooperate with me, I guess I could find someone else to use as bait. He likes kids. Elodie\u2019s pretty cute, looks a little like you did with those great big eyes&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey wheeled around to face him squarely. \u201cYou stay away from her!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The hard object that had been against her back was now against her belly. She glanced down, her breath hitching as she realized it was a gun. Part of her wanted to panic\u2014part of her <i>was<\/i> panicking\u2014but a calm, almost cold voice spoke up from deep within her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIf you shoot me here, you\u2019ll end up on the wrong side of the Merc Network\u2019s bounty list.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNah,\u201d Toombs said, putting away the gun. \u201cI ain\u2019t gonna shoot ya. Or arrest ya. But you are gonna come take a nice ride with me in my car. Or one day soon you\u2019ll be broad-waving a message to your old friend beggin\u2019 him to help you find your little sister.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He\u2019d do it. She could see it in his eyes. She couldn\u2019t let him hurt Elodie. Not for anything.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThose fucking mutton chops make you look like a macaque,\u201d she said with impotent fury. He just grinned his wicked grin at her as if she\u2019d paid him the ultimate compliment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He led her over to the car she\u2019d noticed earlier, cuffing her as he made her get into its back seat, hands\u2014mercifully\u2014in front.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For a few minutes, they drove in silence. Audrey tried to recall what she had once learned from Riddick about popping the locks of cuffs like these. She\u2019d never been good enough at it. Sick dread was pooling in her stomach.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo where are you taking me?\u201d she made herself ask.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou and me, girl, we\u2019re gonna go meet up with your good buddy. And then you\u2019re gonna help me capture him.\u201d Toombs turned his car onto the highway entrance, heading westward. Toward the city center. Toward the spaceport beyond it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There was something ugly in his voice on those last words. Resentment and fury, only now emerging because he probably felt safe to drop his guard a little on this drive.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou think <i>you<\/i> can find him?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWon\u2019t be the first time I\u2019ve found him,\u201d he grumbled, maneuvering through the thick morning commuter traffic.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Oh. <i>Oh.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe fooled you, didn\u2019t he?\u201d Audrey asked. \u201cMade you think you caught him, then turned the trap around on you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Toombs didn\u2019t answer, but the way his lips pressed together told her everything. He\u2019d finally met Richard B. Riddick again, and it had gone badly for him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo why come after me?\u201d she asked. \u201cYou actually think you can use me as bait?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGot a feeling he\u2019ll be interested in your fate, yeah.\u201d His eyes, in the rear-view mirror, crinkled; he was enjoying the thought.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI highly doubt that,\u201d she told him. \u201cIt\u2019s been six years. I doubt he even remembers me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019d be surprised what he remembers,\u201d Toombs told her. \u201cGotta say, findin\u2019 you was harder\u2019n I expected. When\u2019d you leave Shakti Four?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou tell me. You\u2019re the mighty hunter of people. Where\u2019s your friend, anyway?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He frowned. \u201cWhat friend?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat lady merc. The one who was after my roommate.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The smile had left his eyes. \u201cAin\u2019t none of your business.\u201d He tapped the horn. \u201cHey! Asshole! My grandma drives faster\u2019n you an\u2019 she\u2019s been dead twenty years! Fuckin\u2019 car-nostalgic planet&#8288;\u2026 Who the fuck brings back traffic jams? I\u2019m <i>askin\u2019<\/i> ya.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat\u2019s the big hurry?\u201d She thought she remembered the trick to popping the cuffs, lowering her hands between her knees, hopefully out of his line of sight, as she started to twist them. They were on the highway now, and Toombs would hopefully be too busy dealing with rush hour traffic to notice.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m owed a payday an\u2019 I\u2019m gonna claim it. You could\u2019a earned a cut if you\u2019d been more cooperative.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh please.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMerc\u2019s honor.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">To their right, out of the corner of her eye, Audrey saw a speeder on a motorcycle overtaking them. If only that were someone coming to rescue her. \u201cMerc\u2019s <i>honor?<\/i> Like your friend Duke Pritchard?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Toombs\u2019s eyes cut sharply to meet hers in the rear-view mirror \u201cAin\u2019t no friend of mine, girl, an\u2019 what makes you think I even&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cLook out!\u201d<\/i> Audrey shrieked, unable to stop the words from exploding out.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Everything after that felt, to her, as if it played out in extreme slow motion. The motorcycle, cutting to the side as Toombs began inattentively swerving toward it, put on a burst of speed and zoomed ahead of them. Its rider miscalculated as he tried to weave around the car in front of them, which had begun changing lanes without signaling, and plowed into its side. The bike fragmented, the rider flipping over the hood of the car and flying back toward Toombs\u2019 rental.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFuck!\u201d he shouted, yanking the wheel hard to the left and slamming his foot down on the brake. The car began to spin out. Something\u2014some<i>one<\/i>, Audrey realized with sick horror\u2014thumped across its roof.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Thrown to the side, Audrey felt a strange, terrible detachment as she watched herself falling head-first toward the locked passenger door. She was going to hit her head, hard enough to knock her out, hard enough to concuss, possibly hard enough to kill&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u2014&#8288;I\u2019m not here I\u2019m there I\u2019m not here I\u2019m there I\u2019m not here I\u2019m there&#8288;\u2014<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She hit soft turf, rolling. She was in a meadow, full of fresh greenery and flowers that, although she somehow <i>knew<\/i> no one on Deckard\u2019s World besides her had ever seen their like, were inexplicably as familiar to her as her stepfather\u2019s garden. A large insect, almost like a butterfly, bumped into her arm twice and made a weird, soft, chirping sound before fluttering drunkenly past her. Around her, barely visible, phantom shapes of cars spun and crashed into each other. She could only just hear the chain reaction of accidents as if from miles away.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was in <i>Elsewhere&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Oh&#8288;\u2026 fuck&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her hands were still cuffed. She rose to her feet, looking around. The shape of the land was eerily similar to \u201cher\u201d Deckard\u2019s World but appeared untouched by any human other than her. The air was clean and sweet, entirely scents of nature with none of the odors of a human city. No asphalt. No exhaust. No smell of Toombs\u2019 body odor barely disguised by too much cheap cologne. In the distance, past a hillside that she knew led toward the college in her world, she could see a primordial forest, its leaves just verging from green to gold. And, near its edge, an incongruous comm tower.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She knew this place, knew it in&#173;ti&#173;mately&#8288;\u2026 and yet she didn\u2019t.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She reached into her pocket, pulled out her comm, and punched in a code automatically. Confusion and terror filled her. <i>It wasn\u2019t supposed to happen like this. Not like this&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cYes, Audrey?\u201d<\/i> <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> answered before even one ring. How&#8288;\u2026&#8288;? She hadn\u2019t heard his voice since the <i>Nephrite Undine<\/i> had docked at Plymouth Station A.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019ve been made,\u201d she said, her voice almost monotone. She didn\u2019t know or understand what she was saying until she said it. \u201cToombs found me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cWhy are you in Elsewhere?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI was almost in a car accident,\u201d she told him, still in that lifeless <i>debriefing<\/i> monotone, still with no idea what she was going to say until she heard herself speak. \u201cHe had me in his car. He threatened to take Elodie if I didn\u2019t go with him to be bait for Riddick.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cAudrey. Listen carefully. \u2018The mermaid must raise a tsunami.\u2019\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She dropped to her knees, overwhelmed, memories pouring back into her head in a towering, chaotic flood. \u201cOh <i>fuck\u2026&#8288;<\/i>&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cMichael will go to Elodie and keep her safe. You need to <b>run<\/b>, Audrey. Lead Toombs offworld. Leave a trail he can follow to another System. We\u2019ll arrange for someone to be waiting for you on the other end to help you.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOkay&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d She hung up, forcing herself to rise to her feet again. In U1, the careening vehicles had all stilled and people were starting to climb out and look around. Several had clustered around a still figure on the pavement. For a moment, she wanted to join them, but&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Too many lives depended on her escaping Toombs. The memories rioting in her head like whitewater rapids insisted that she had to run, not stop for <i>any<\/i> reason.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She checked herself over. Having cuffed her, Toombs hadn\u2019t bothered to frisk her or remove her wallet, keys, or comm from her pockets. Her bag, with her tablet and textbooks, was still somewhere in his car, but she had everything she needed to make her escape. Her fall had been gentle, too; nothing was sprained or even felt bruised.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey slipped her comm back into her pocket and crossed the opposite lanes of phantom traffic at a run, not stopping until she was on the far side of the highway, three lanes of still-flowing traffic between her and the accident, between her and Toombs. Turning and balancing herself carefully\u2014she should return to level ground, but she wasn\u2019t entirely sure of that\u2014she willed herself back, minus the handcuffs. Those could stay in the field of Elsewhere, part of <i>there,<\/i> not <i>here<\/i>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She felt the cuffs fall away from her, and they were gone as the \u2019verse of her birth solidified around her once more.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Toombs had climbed out of his car and was looking around it with frantic confusion. He shook a small tracker in his hand and then smacked it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">So the cuffs had a locator in them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Ha. Good luck ever finding that signal again, jackass.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She waited for him to look her way, staring at him. The shock and rage in his face, when he finally spotted her, would have made her laugh if the stakes weren\u2019t so damned high.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Certain that he\u2019d seen her, even more certain that it would be hard for him to cross the three lanes of fast-moving traffic between them even if half the drivers were rubbernecking the accident, Audrey took off at a run.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>First in regional cross-country, second in sprints, asshole. <b>Try<\/b> and keep up.<\/i> She wondered if he\u2019d bothered to research her much before coming after her. Maybe he even knew that about her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">No. No way. If he\u2019d done his research, he would have known she was under Federacy protection and wouldn\u2019t have <i>dared<\/i> move on her. He only seemed to think of her in terms of Riddick, not as an actual <i>person.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She scrambled down the ravine next to the highway and up the other side, instantly recognizing the area she emerged into. Her bank was just another two blocks away.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was a risk. If he knew where she banked, he could try to nab her there.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>He isn\u2019t doing this through official channels. He doesn\u2019t want anyone to know he\u2019s making a move. That means law enforcement isn\u2019t backing him. He doesn\u2019t have a car anymore, or a badge that will mean a damn thing to the bank tellers&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She ran for the bank, aware that she was beating her prior best speed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I\u2019d have <b>won<\/b> that damn sprint if I\u2019d had a merc on my tail,<\/i> she found herself thinking with a mixture of annoyance and inappropriate amusement.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The AIs had cleared a path for her; when she arrived at her bank, the human bank officer on duty already had bearer cards waiting for her. All her existing accounts, including her funds for the school year, had been transferred to them pending her signature on a dozen forms. He then led her to her safe deposit box, where her Marianne Tepper ID and the remaining bearer cards from her last run awaited her inside the money belt General Toal had given her some five-plus years earlier.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Adding the new bearer cards and the contents of her wallet to the money belt, she slipped it on under her sweatshirt and locked it in place. It was slightly lumpy beneath her shirt with everything inside it, but it would have to do. She had it positioned in a way that no pickpocket could make a play for it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her fingers twitched at the memory of picking pockets, herself, knowledge and sense memories washing back in a froth.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Damn it, that part of her life was supposed to be <i>over.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey stopped at the bank\u2019s cash machine on the way out, engaging the terminal and then punching in one of the Ghost Codes from years earlier, before walking off as nonchalantly as possible. Behind her, she knew, the instructions associated with the code were taking effect. Any surveillance cameras that had picked up her time in the bank were now dumping the footage, under the impression that they had been served with a warrant to do so.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was only a block farther down the road, almost to the subway station with her rail pass in hand, when she heard Toombs behind her. \u201cJack! <i>Jack!<\/i> Fuckin\u2019-A, <i>Audrey!<\/i> Stop right there!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Shit, that was closer than she liked. She bolted for the station\u2019s entrance.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She raced down the steps at top speed, mussing her hair even more and pulling her shirt askew as she went.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOfficer! <i>Help!\u201d<\/i> she shouted as she reached the bottom and cleared the turnstile.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The security guard leapt up, moving her way. She hurried to meet him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat\u2019s the trou&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d he began.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThere\u2019s a man!\u201d she sobbed at him, thanking the stars that all her method acting training was back in her head. \u201cHe tried to mug me! Tried to pull me behind a building, oh my God, I think he was going to&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cEasy, Miss, slow down,\u201d the guard told her, his voice reflecting both concern and a professional attempt to soothe. \u201cThis man, who&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cStop right there, you little bitch!\u201d Toombs roared behind her, playing right into her hand.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s <i>him!\u201d<\/i> she yelled and broke away from the guard, simulating a headlong panic flight into the thick of the commuter crowd.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">From the commotion behind her, she could tell that the guard had intercepted Toombs as he tried to jump the turnstiles, and that at least one bystander had joined the fray. A train waited on the platform ahead of her and to the right. She dodged past people, many of whom were now watching the altercation behind her, joining the crowd lined up at the train\u2019s doors.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cOrange Line Westbound is now departing. Destination: Wyndham Landing Spaceport. Departure in one minute.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She couldn\u2019t have timed it better if she\u2019d had a chance to plan.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The flow of bodies carried her into one of the train cars. She stayed away from the windows, concealing herself as much as she could from Toombs\u2019 direct line of sight. The congestion cleared a little and she caught a glimpse of him, held back by two security guards, yelling incoherently and pointing at the train. For a moment, their eyes met and locked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Fuck you, asshole. This is what you deserve for threatening my little sister.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The train began to move. Toombs howled with rage and broke free from the guards. He managed to run three paces toward her before he was tackled to the ground.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>That\u2019ll keep him tied up for a few minutes, at least,<\/i> she thought.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He still hadn\u2019t tried to handle his pursuit of her through official channels. Whatever he was up to, it was off-book, not something that he could\u2014or, anyway, <i>would<\/i>\u2014take to authorities. That meant that he had no intention of producing the evidence that she had shot and killed Chillingsworth. He didn\u2019t want her taken into actual law enforcement custody; just his. And even if he didn\u2019t know she was in WitSec, he had to know that there was no way he could get law enforcement to turn her over to him if they got involved. Not with the city\u2019s District Attorney married to her <i>mom<\/i>, fergodsake.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">If he didn\u2019t have the law on his side\u2014and he couldn\u2019t, could he?\u2014she could make this work. As long as she got him far away from her family.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her comm buzzed. She glanced down at it and felt the tightness in her chest loosen.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"center-block\"><tt>Michael has Elodie. He\u2019ll take your family to safety. Run.<br\/>\r\nM.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd an awful lot of running to do,\u201d she muttered, wondering just who the hell had said that and how much she still couldn\u2019t remember.<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5615\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5615 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-73\">\u00ab Chapter 73<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5647\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5647 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-75\">Chapter 75 \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=\"75\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5616\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5616 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-74\">\u00ab Chapter 74<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5648\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5648 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-76\">Chapter 76 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5592\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5592 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">75.<br\/>\r\n<u>Full Circle and Into the Fire<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Okay. I\u2019m safe for now. Time to take stock.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey took a deep breath and tried to think as clearly as she could about her situation. As much of it as she actually <i>knew.<\/i> She could feel far too many holes still impeding her jumbled memory; she just had to hope none of the missing pieces were critical to <i>this<\/i> puzzle.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Toombs\u2019 plan to coerce her into being his accomplice by threatening her family would no longer work, not now that Michael had been alerted and had moved to protect them. But the longer the merc stayed on Deckard\u2019s World, the higher the chances were of her trail <i>un<\/i>breaking in a way that might catch the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation\u2019s attention and link her to an accident that wasn\u2019t supposed to have any survivors. Might even catch the attention of Federacy Operatives who would want to arrest her, not for anything she\u2019d done as much as for what she <i>was<\/i>. Either result would be catastrophic. She needed to get offworld, leaving a trail that would make it look, to everybody <i>except<\/i> Toombs, like she\u2019d never left the planet before. He would give chase, but she might just have enough of a head start to reach one of <i>Toal\u2019s<\/i> Operatives before he could try to grab her again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She would just have to make sure that she left enough of an obvious trail that he wouldn\u2019t break off the pursuit before Deckard\u2019s World was far behind them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Fuck. She had <i>sworn<\/i> she would never leave again&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;hadn\u2019t she?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Well, maybe I can find my way back to Tangier Prime&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That would probably be a bad idea. Another place that could draw too much attention back to a trail that needed to stay broken.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Fucking Toombs&#8288;\u2026<\/i> She\u2019d really wanted to see Ewan again, too.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She frowned. Had there been plans for her to go there, at one point?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey eased her way through the train\u2019s commuters and over to a small information kiosk. She had twenty minutes until they pulled into Wyndham Landing\u2019s spaceport. Boarding on one of the shuttles up to the space station would close ten minutes after that. She could reserve a seat now&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">No. She needed to wait until the absolute last moment and pay for the seat in person, on camera. If Toombs got an alert before then that she was making the move\u2014and he probably had alerts in place for any financial transactions she engaged in, given how he\u2019d both located her dining hall and then almost caught up to her at her bank\u2014he\u2019d get into position to intercept her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>He still might. It\u2019s the obvious choice.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">So she\u2019d throw in a less obvious one.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A trans-continental hopper was taking off five minutes after the shuttle she wanted, flying to Settlement Point. She booked a seat on it under her real name.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">If he had an accomplice like Eve Logan waiting to intercept her at the spaceport, they\u2019d stake out the trans-continental concourse instead. That might buy her enough time to get to the shuttle. When she didn\u2019t board the hopper, and the other transaction posted, he\u2019d know where she\u2019d gone but would have an hour\u2019s wait, minimum, before he or his accomplice could try to follow.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Straightening her clothing and finger-combing her hair, she worked on making herself look as ordinary as possible again. Now it was time to blend in.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>He\u2019s probably going to have some legal trouble to deal with,<\/i> she thought. <i>Chasing me like that means he fled the scene of a probably-fatal accident he had a role in <b>causing<\/b>. Unless he rented that car under an assumed name, that\u2019s going to come up the moment they book him. If they book him.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d be screwed, though, if he had someone staked out up on the station, itself, and got a chance to contact them so they could ambush her as she emerged from the shuttle. She couldn\u2019t pull an \u201cisomorph\u201d in orbit; only vacuum waited in all but three of her other \u2019verses there, and lethal atmospheres prevailed in those three. Even going partway into any of them could kill her. Her only other option would be to isomorph her captor&#8288;\u2026 to commit a murder.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Could she <i>do<\/i> that?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;Was any of what she\u2019d just contemplated even <i>real?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Just gotta hope that he doesn\u2019t get a chance to arrange an ambush,<\/i> she told herself.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Twenty minutes felt like twenty years.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey had never been a sloucher. Now, however, she did her best to look three or four inches shorter than her semi-intimidating height of 5\u201910\u201d as she tried to melt into the center of the disembarking crowd. She let the main current carry her from the train toward the entryway to the concourse for high-speed commuter trains, the ones that could reach other towns and resorts in Deckard\u2019s World\u2019s northern hemisphere in the same twenty minutes that her low-speed train had taken to reach the station, before finally separating from the flow near the public restrooms.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Ten minutes to get myself offworld,<\/i> she told herself. She kept her walk smooth and unhurried as she headed for the shuttle departure deck, blending into another flow of commuters taking the escalator to the top level.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Again, she slouched as much as she could manage. If Toombs had an accomplice, they would be looking for a tall woman with dark blonde hair. She couldn\u2019t do much about the hair yet, but she could make herself as short as possible.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey had one of her bearer cards, and her ID with her real name on it, at the ready by the time she reached the shuttle gates. Two other people behind her were able to buy passage before she heard the ticketing kiosk announce that the shuttle was at capacity. It was <i>packed,<\/i> a few of her fellow passengers still squabbling over where to put luggage and how to sit together. It took her almost until liftoff to find a free seat.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was only her second time experiencing escape velocity in a properly padded chair.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The last time she\u2019d left Deckard\u2019s World, she\u2019d been in a baggage compartment and had almost been crushed by someone\u2019s hard-sided luggage set. The takeoff from the crash planet had been practically as rough, and she and Kyra had been forced to lie on the utility closet floor, extra hazmat suits their only cushioning, while the <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i> took off. Swanky chair aside, she hadn\u2019t been in any condition to appreciate how <i>physically<\/i> comfortable\u2014comparatively speaking\u2014her launch from New Casablanca was. This one was still no picnic\u2014she still felt like an elephant had decided to lie down on top of her\u2014but she knew that at least <i>this<\/i> time, she wouldn\u2019t be wearing bruises for days, for any reason.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Small mercies. Hang onto the small mercies.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey would reach Plymouth Station A three hours after she had shaken Toombs off her trail, she calculated. Then she would need to start doing some real maneuvers, and making sure he knew\u2014just too late to stop her\u2014what they were.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Gravity was lessening rapidly. After another moment, her hair began to float randomly around her face. She reached out to the data screen in front of her and ran a query for the space station\u2019s current departure schedule. Did anything leaving in the immediate future have space left for one more passenger?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">One ship stood out: the <i>Santa Clara.<\/i> It had more than a dozen berths left&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Berths. No wonder. The <i>Santa Clara<\/i> was some kind of former cruise ship, originally meant for taking well-heeled passengers through a single System\u2019s prettiest tourist points, that had been refitted for Star Jumping. But it still had bunk rooms instead of aisles of cryo-chambers. Probably there were just enough claustrophobic travelers who couldn\u2019t handle cryo-chambers, and couldn\u2019t afford their own charter Star Jumper with in-seat cryo, to keep it in business.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A ship that wouldn\u2019t force her into cryo. And it was going to New Queensland. How absolutely <i>perfect<\/i>, if stupid <i>expensive.<\/i> She\u2019d buy a ticket on it right before it was scheduled to stop admitting passengers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She noted its gate number and pulled up the space station schematic. There would, she estimated, be just enough time for her to stop in the shopping level\u2014a place where almost anything could be purchased, given how many passengers mislaid their luggage coming and going\u2014and get herself some clothing and toiletries for the month-long journey. Maybe even a replacement tablet.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The ensuing hours went surprisingly smoothly. No one made a scene; no one attempted to intercept her. Eve Logan apparently wasn\u2019t working with Toombs on this caper. Nor, seemingly, was anyone else. It had surprised her, for a moment, that no one fussed about her meeting the requirements for going offworld, but apparently she\u2019d taken care of all that more than a <i>year<\/i> ago. A vague memory stirred at that point, of plans to actually attend school at Khair Eddine and, hopefully, reunite with Ewan. What had stopped her?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She couldn\u2019t remember. Yet.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">After a quick call to update <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt> on her planned destination, Audrey even had a moment to leave a brief, apologetic message on her mom\u2019s answer-comm, knowing Bettie Paige Hawthorne-Baxter, Esq. would be unlikely to pick up a call from an unidentified comm number. She wondered if her mom and Alvin had been alerted by Michael yet, or if they were in for a surprise when they went to pick Elodie up from school and found her under armed guard.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMom, it\u2019s Audrey. The things I could never tell you, about the time I was away&#8288;\u2026 one of them came back. I\u2019m okay. I\u2019ll be okay. But I have to go away for a while so nobody gets hurt. I love you. I\u2019ll come back; I swear I will. Keep Elodie safe. You can trust Michael, but don\u2019t trust anybody else you don\u2019t know around her. Don\u2019t leave her unguarded for a <i>second.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was only much later, after boarding, after departure, after trying and failing to sleep and while picking out late-night snacks from the <i>Santa Clara<\/i>\u2019s vending machines, that she realized she\u2019d probably given the accidental impression that, years ago, she might have been abducted by traffickers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Anything that keeps Elodie safe. Anything that keeps anyone else from figuring out where I went and who I was six years ago.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was foundering under the weight of memory, struggling to fit it back into the life she thought she knew, the person she\u2019d believed she was for the last year. From moment to moment, she either couldn\u2019t understand how she\u2019d managed to pull off her escape from Toombs&#8288;\u2026 or couldn\u2019t understand how she\u2019d ever <i>not<\/i> known how to. Some of the memories were shocking in their violence, in <i>her<\/i> violence, one or two making her worry that she was making a mistake by trying to eat anything. What was she? What had she <i>been?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Few people were up at that hour. When she entered the starboard lounge\u2014which must have once been quite luxurious during the ship\u2019s pleasure cruise days\u2014she noticed that the only people in there all had their backs to the broad picture window. Outside, the stars swirled and danced past the ship as the wormhole from a new \u2019verse\u2014which she\u2019d aligned herself with, expanding her five-shape to twenty-eight \u2019verses wide\u2014turned parsecs into miles. She settled onto a couch for the show, nibbling at her snacks.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I\u2019d forgotten all about my five-shape. How could I forget my&#8288;\u2014<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou always stare at nothing like that?\u201d someone asked to her left. She turned her head.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSorry?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou looked like you were watching something out the window,\u201d a man in his mid-thirties, self-consciously dressed in the same kinds of clothes most of the first-year guys at Deckard Tech were sporting, told her. He wasn\u2019t bad looking, but there was something just slightly distasteful about him. A vibe she didn\u2019t like. \u201cLike there\u2019s something there to see. Don\u2019t even know why they <i>have<\/i> windows in this dive.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She almost answered him, almost started telling him the history of former luxury ships like the <i>Santa Clara<\/i>, when the rest of what he\u2019d said snagged her full attention.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Like there\u2019s something there to see&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat do <i>you<\/i> see out the window?\u201d she asked, aware that the man was probably hoping to flirt with her, and that she needed to shut him down, but suddenly too curious not to ask. Part of her was mentally filing away details about him: <i>five foot nine, 190 pounds, light brown hair, hazel eyes, no scars or tattoos&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">What <i>was<\/i> she?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He frowned, as if it had never occurred to him that anyone would ask such a thing. \u201cWhat I always see. What everybody always sees. Nothing. You never see <i>anything<\/i> inside a Star Jump.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey looked away from him, back out the window. A trio of stars whirled past, red and gold and blue, and for a moment she wondered which \u2019verse\u2019s version of the crash planet might just have spun by. A wormhole might loop past <i>anything&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou really don\u2019t see anything out the window?\u201d she asked him after a pause.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI really don\u2019t.\u201d His tone changed slightly, as he switched from cranky tourist into guy on the make. \u201cBut anyway, who needs windows when the view in here is so&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBut surely,\u201d Audrey cut him off, \u201cyou hear the whispers, right?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Flirtation gave way to uncertainty.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe what?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>The ones telling me to go for the sweet spot just to the left of the spine, fourth lumbar down. The abdominal aorta. It\u2019s a metallic taste, human blood&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">No, that would be a little <i>too<\/i> dramatic. She cocked her head instead, as if listening to something, making her expression quizzical. \u201cYou didn\u2019t hear that?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSorry, uh&#8288;\u2026 no.\u201d Someone was no longer on the make. \u201cBut, uh&#8288;\u2026 you have a good&#8288;\u2026 night&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She restrained her laughter until after he\u2019d fled the lounge. Fifteen minutes later, she was alone in the place with her cheese chips and peanut butter cups, the only insomniac left up.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Do people really see nothing out of these windows?<\/i> She could have sworn that she\u2019d seen stars through the front viewscreen of the <i>Nephrite Undine<\/i>. Was she misremembering somehow? She\u2019d had no idea that the view was supposed to be&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Dull? Nondescript? Boring? <i>Empty?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Wait. She knew the answer to this. She\u2019d figured it out on the <i>Undine.<\/i> Another jumbled, restored memory slid back into place for her. She, alone, could see into twenty-seven other universes where no wormhole occluded the view of the stars. Only people with Threshold Syndrome could see stars during a Jump.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>My five-shape is gonna be forty-one \u2019verses wide when I get to New Queensland,<\/i> part of her, still swimming for the surface, thought, but she was not entirely sure what she meant by that. Something was still missing, something that had to do with&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>My sister?<\/i> Not Elodie&#8288;\u2026 not Kyra&#8288;\u2026 not even Sebby\u2014and how could she have forgotten <i>Sebby?<\/i>\u2014but someone else&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Memories swirled like the stars out the window as they tried to work their way back into place. One, of living statues from <i>the ship that was screaming<\/i>, made her recoil in horror. She and Imam had been dragged through a room, on their way to a twisted arena, and while no one had explained anything about the statues they were passing, she had <i>felt<\/i> how alive and tormented each one was&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She didn\u2019t want that memory to be hers. She wanted it to be Jack\u2019s, to belong to Jack-who-was-dead. <i>No. I\u2019m not going to think about that. It happened to someone else, not me. Not me.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Not me.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was Audrey, not Jack. Jack had done terrible things. Jack had no place in the life she\u2019d been building for herself. A life now several dozen light years behind her as the first Star Jump came to an end.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Never thought I\u2019d pass this way again&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d certainly never intended to.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;had she?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d sworn she\u2019d never leave Deckard\u2019s World again&#8288;\u2026 hadn\u2019t she?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her memories were a massive, contradictory jumble. There was so much she needed to puzzle out. So much that still didn\u2019t make sense. She knew, with iron certainty, that she had been hiding from something far more terrible and insidious than Alexander Toombs. But what it might be, she still couldn\u2019t remember yet&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And, she realized, as a flicker of red caught her eye, she might not have any time left to figure it out.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <hr\/>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Disengaging contact. Subject is unharmed.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick came back to himself slowly. Being so thoroughly immersed in Jack\u2019s memories\u2014Audrey MacNamera\u2019s memories\u2014had left him a little disoriented.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The Chamber of the Quasi-Dead was silent around him. His most trusted guards stood outside, unmoving. He wasn\u2019t sure how many hours had passed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack hadn\u2019t been able to talk for long, tell her story for long, before her exhaustion had overcome her. He\u2019d carried her, sleeping, to the Chamber of the Quasi-Dead, and had commanded them to \u201cread\u201d the rest of her story to him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Disappearing into another person\u2019s memories was an experience unlike anything he\u2019d ever had. It was going to take him a while to sort through it all.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her sleeping face was still and calm, her breathing slow and steady. He gathered her up as the Quasi-Dead tilted back out of sight, carrying her out of their chamber, his guards falling in around them. All would-be observers had been forbidden to attend the \u201creading,\u201d and the Quasi-Dead themselves had been forbidden to speak while it transpired. They had been ordered to serve only as conduits, channeling the girl\u2019s memories directly into his head.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Maybe it was because she was an esper, he reflected. Or maybe because she was eidetic. Or maybe because he was both of those things, too&#8288;\u2026 and maybe because she\u2019d been unconscious and unable to resist. But everything had flowed into his mind with cinematic clarity and detail, every sense engaged. He felt like he\u2019d <i>experienced<\/i> her life. Her highs, lows, terrors, joys&#8288;\u2026 everything.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Everything.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He understood why she\u2019d been so frightened, now. As her memories had come flooding back into her head, they\u2019d brought a confused awareness that she was hiding from someone or something much more dangerous than Toombs. Discovering that <i>he<\/i> had been looking for her, and from <i>here<\/i> of all possible places&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>She thought I was what she was hiding from&#8288;\u2026 being hidden from. Not exactly an unreasonable conclusion.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cStay outside,\u201d he told the guards as they opened the door to his chambers. He carried the girl back into his bedroom and lowered her onto the bed, wondering how much longer she would remain unconscious.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Until I wake her,<\/i> a voice behind him whispered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI wondered if you were here,\u201d he murmured, not bothering to turn around. There was no point. Human eyes couldn\u2019t see Her, except in tiny fragments. Human brains\u2014even Furyan brains\u2014couldn\u2019t process what She was.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Where else would I be but with my little sister in her time of peril?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAbout a million other places, all at once, if I\u2019m right about what you are,\u201d he told Her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You see clearly, Lightbringer.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAin\u2019t no Lightbringer,\u201d he grumbled.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You bear <b>Her<\/b> mark upon your chest. <b>Her<\/b> seed flourishes within you. And you are here, with my little sister. Just as we have chosen Audrey, <b>She<\/b> has chosen you. You are of <b>Her<\/b> brood. First and foremost among the Children of Light.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou gonna spout some prophecy nonsense at me now?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>We do not do prophecies. Cause and effect flow in multiple directions. One stream\u2019s future is another\u2019s past, and its future is the first stream\u2019s past. Free will is why there are endless streams. But the Demons of the Darkness have left only one pathway through, for all of us. Will you walk it?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI got any kind of choice in the matter?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>None of us do now, because of them.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThen I guess I\u2019m walking it.\u201d He stared down at the sleeping girl on his bed. She looked so fragile, so vulnerable. But he knew what she was capable of, even better than she did maybe. \u201cGonna need her for it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>That is why she\u2019s here.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou ain\u2019t gonna clue me in on what happens next, are you?\u201d He found himself smirking. This shit, he thought, always went the same way. Gods, monsters, or something else altogether, they never could just lay it out. Had to be fuckin\u2019 mysterious.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Would it help if I did?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He remembered what Michael had said to Jack about prophecies, about how knowing what was coming and struggling against it somehow made it more inevitable than if people stopped fighting the future and just let it all play out. Did what came naturally and saw the result&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNah. Why take away the mystery?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>We will meet again soon, Lightbringer.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He wished She wouldn\u2019t call him that. The darkness was his home; why didn\u2019t They get that? \u201cOne more thing. In case there\u2019s any doubt. She\u2019s mine now. Jack is mine.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You might want to see if Audrey agrees with you.<\/i> There was a hint of amusement in Her voice. In the periphery of his vision, darkness swirled within the gloom and dissipated.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He suspected She hadn\u2019t gone far.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJohn MacNamera\u2019s daughter,\u201d he murmured after a moment, stripping out of his armor and boots before joining Jack on the bed, lying down beside her on top of the sheets. \u201cHow interesting.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He\u2019d encountered the name on multiple occasions, usually when he was trying to figure out how to defeat a particularly impregnable security system. How strange to find out that an opponent he\u2019d never actually met, but had enormous respect for, felt much the same way about him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">What might he have done, he wondered, if he\u2019d known six years ago that the man\u2019s little girl was in his grasp?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo wonder you were so secretive,\u201d he told the sleeping girl beside him. He\u2019d underestimated her tremendously.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Everything she\u2019d done and said, during their brief time together, had more layers of complexity to it than he\u2019d given her credit for. She\u2019d been running a game, playing the roles she needed to play to try to reach her father, even fooling <i>him<\/i> in the process. If she\u2019d told him what she was trying to do, where she was trying to go and <i>who<\/i> she was trying to reach&#8288;\u2026 would he have helped her, or started running a game of his own?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Can\u2019t take it personally that she didn\u2019t want to tell me,<\/i> he thought. <i>It\u2019s not like she told Shazza, either. Or Carolyn. Or fuckin\u2019 <b>Paris.<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Paris was another who\u2019d had them all\u2014well, almost all of them\u2014fooled, his meek, effete professorial mask and his extreme materialism disguising skills that were <i>much<\/i> more interesting. <i>He\u2019d<\/i> missed it, but Jack had <i>caught<\/i> it. Then again, he hadn\u2019t been the esper wandering around un&#173;shielded&#8288;\u2026 and actively seeking mentorship in larceny.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">If he\u2019d known that she had the backdoor codes to half the impregnable security systems he\u2019d struggled to beat, stored in her head, would he have been <i>able<\/i> to let her go her way?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Not to mention, this girl can plan out a heist like nobody\u2019s business&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And yet, after he\u2019d left her, making the Holy Man promise to keep her safe, the hoodoo had kept her trapped instead. She hadn\u2019t been able to heist <i>herself<\/i> out of the al-Walid home until she\u2019d given up and put a razor to her wrists.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">If he\u2019d known how close she would come to destroying herself in the Imam\u2019s house, and how little true caring the Holy Man would actually show her, would he have been <i>able<\/i> to leave her behind?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFuck.\u201d He\u2019d expected a lot better out of the man, after seeing him rescue her from strangling to death in the <i>Kublai Khan<\/i>\u2019s arena.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He\u2019d probably have taken her with him, instead. And that would <i>not<\/i> have ended well. For either of them. Even if he\u2019d just asked her where she wanted to go and sent her on her way there, she\u2019d have been Quantified and enslaved before she could reach her father. And if he\u2019d kept her with him&#8288;\u2026 she\u2019d have ended up, one way or another, destroyed. By him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He lifted one of her arms, pushing her sleeve back and tracing the scar on her inner arm. <i>I wonder when she stopped hiding them&#8288;\u2026<\/i> That was somewhere in the memory stream he\u2019d imbibed, he was sure.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Why the fuck did this have to be the best path for her?<\/i> God was still a fucker. But she <i>had<\/i> survived&#8288;\u2026 and had even managed to <i>thrive<\/i>. That was something.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">One thing he still didn\u2019t understand was why the Holy Man had thought it was <i>Jack<\/i> in Crematoria and not <i>Kyra.<\/i> He got, now, why Kyra would know so much about Jack\u2019s run with him, how she was able to get so many details right even as she got key ones wrong and unknowingly gave her game away, why she wouldn\u2019t have had enough wariness of mercs despite sharing a piece of Jack\u2019s history with them. He even had a sense, now, of why she\u2019d <i>believed<\/i> she was Jack, and why <i>her<\/i> infatuation with him had run even deeper than that of the girl sleeping next to him. But what had she said or done to make the Holy Man believe that she was the girl <i>he\u2019d<\/i> failed, and not a stranger?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Because the Holy Man <i>had<\/i> failed Jack, multiple times over, and then had apparently failed Kyra too&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>And I <b>let it happen.<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cWhat are you pitching, Riddick?\u201d Kyra had demanded of him. \u201cThat you cutting out was a good thing? That you had my ass covered from halfway across the universe?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">What would his answer to <i>Jack<\/i> have been, if she\u2019d asked that? The mercs on his tail, he admitted to himself, had been an <i>excuse,<\/i> and as much as he had been willing to admit to someone other than Jack herself. The existential threat <i>he\u2019d<\/i> posed to the girl\u2019s mind, body, and soul if they stayed to&#173;gether&#8288;\u2026 was that something he could have admitted to her, if she\u2019d been the one standing there?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But Jack, he knew now, had never <i>expected<\/i> him to stay with her. She\u2019d expected the two of them to part ways, and she\u2019d accepted it. She just hadn\u2019t counted on getting trapped in the al-Walid house the way she had. And she\u2019d needed him to \u201csay goodnight\u201d before he left. While she was awake to hear it and say goodnight back, to know he cared, to know he hadn\u2019t become disgusted with her for taking a life.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Fuck me&#8288;\u2026<\/i> That, right there, had been his biggest mistake.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He\u2019d been so focused on the tearful please-don\u2019t-gos that he\u2019d thought he\u2019d face with her, if he did a real good-bye, it had never occurred to him that she might smile, give him a hug and kiss him on the cheek, tell him to \u201cbe careful out there,\u201d and then get back to the business of conniving her way onto a ship to Furya.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThought I had you pegged, kid,\u201d he told her as she slept. \u201cBut fuck, you\u2019re a slippery one.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She didn\u2019t react. She was <i>deeply<\/i> asleep. She\u2019d probably stay that way for hours.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Of course she will,<\/i> he realized, and suddenly knew exactly what She was waiting for him to do before She allowed her little sister to wake up.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He\u2019d have to figure out Kyra\u2019s deal later. First&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">First it was time for <i>him<\/i> to get some sleep; real sleep, not just meditating while he dream-lived her life. Then, when he woke, it would be time to talk to the Holy Fuckin\u2019 Half-Dead itself. Make this ship safe for Jack to wake up on.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNobody enters or leaves these rooms while I\u2019m gone,\u201d he told his guards as he left his quarters several hours later, feeling better rested than he had in a year. In, if he was being truthful, <i>years<\/i>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There were corridors, deep in the <i>Basilica<\/i>, that no one walked. No one dared. He\u2019d only been in them once, himself, when his rage had sent him there looking for a way to annihilate the ship. He retraced the route from memory now. The last time, he\u2019d turned away and considered it a smart move to do so. Good survival instincts.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Now, though, he had <i>business<\/i> to conduct.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Old, worn signs, utilitarian rather than the ornate monstrosities created by later generations of Necromongers, greeted him and pointed the way.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There. That was the sign he was looking for, so much more meaningful now that he\u2019d lived in <i>Jack\u2019s<\/i> head.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"center-block\"><tt><u><b>Tenth Crusade<\/b><\/u><br\/>\r\nBuilt at Oslo Shipping Spacedock 1<br\/>\r\n<b>Authorized<\/b>&nbsp;.&nbsp;.&nbsp;.&nbsp;.&nbsp;.&nbsp;&nbsp;May 18, 2099<br\/>\r\n<b>Keel Laid<\/b>&nbsp;&nbsp;.&nbsp;.&nbsp;.&nbsp;.&nbsp;.&nbsp;June 14, 2100<br\/>\r\n<b>Launched<\/b>&nbsp;.&nbsp;.&nbsp;.&nbsp;.&nbsp;.&nbsp;August 27, 2101<br\/>\r\n<b>Commissioned<\/b>&nbsp;.&nbsp;.&nbsp;December 27, 2101<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDisappeared July 18, 2102,\u201d Riddick murmured, touching the plaque. The girl\u2019s knowledge about this ship\u2019s early days was encyclopedic.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He followed the signs leading to the original engine room. Last time he\u2019d been down here, he\u2019d stopped at the plaque, unwilling to venture further. Now he understood exactly what awaited him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The room was a shambles, torn to pieces. An explosion had taken down massive parts of its structure centuries earlier. Wreckage, shielding elements, and fractured bits of metallic stone were scattered throughout. And&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThere you are,\u201d he murmured, catching a glimpse\u2014just a glimpse\u2014of his quarry. \u201cWe need to talk.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It didn\u2019t answer him, vanishing into the shadows.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe\u2019re gonna talk. Now.\u201d He smiled and played his trump card. \u201cMoribund&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5616\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5616 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-74\">\u00ab Chapter 74<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5648\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5648 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-76\">Chapter 76 \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=\"76\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5617\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5617 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-75\">\u00ab Chapter 75<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5649\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5649 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-77\">Chapter 77 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5595\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5595 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">76.<br\/>\r\n<u>Wholly Half-Dead<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick felt the moment when the creature in the dark tried to go on the attack, the cold pull as it reached for him, and the burn on his chest as <i>Her<\/i> handprint flared to life in answer. The unseen eldritch presence surrounding him snapped back as if he\u2019d stung it. He could still feel its louring rage around him. This thing knew how to hate.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i><b>I do not answer to you, filth.<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou might want to reconsider that,\u201d Riddick said, still smiling in the direction where he\u2019d last caught a glimpse of the Moribund. \u201cI know what you are, and I know what it\u2019d take to end you. Don\u2019t think you want to end yet&#8288;\u2026 do you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i><b>I will not die alone.<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cPlanning on taking the whole \u2018Legion Vast\u2019 with you? All that pompous bullshit they spout, that ain\u2019t you. Is it?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i><b>What do I care what they say, as long as they serve my will?<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They\u2019d built a whole religion around its dominance of their bodies, minds, and souls, and it didn\u2019t give a fuck. Nice. Almost like an actual god.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo let\u2019s make a deal so they can go <i>on<\/i> serving your will,\u201d Riddick said, leaning against a scorched panel. \u201cAnd you can get what you <i>really<\/i> want.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i><b>You know nothing about what I really want.<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou want the \u2018Demons of the Darkness\u2019 on their knees, begging <i>you<\/i> for mercy. You want to make them suffer. You want to break their power and give them <i>your<\/i> pain. How\u2019m I doing so far?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i><b>I will listen.<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was a creature of few words. He liked that about it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThen here\u2019s the deal. I\u2019m the new Lord Marshal, and you stop throwing your replacement candidates at me to try to take me down. I ain\u2019t converting, ain\u2019t getting \u2018purified,\u2019 but I\u2019ll lead your armada and drive it right down the throat of your <i>real<\/i> enemies.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i><b>Acceptable. So far.<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m taking back a handful of your converts, too. Un-purifying them. They\u2019ll be mine. You have plenty; you can spare a few.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i><b>If you think they will live parted from my influence.<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh, I know they will.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i><b>Then take whichever you wish, with the exception of the \u201cQuasi-Dead.\u201d<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhich brings me to my next condition. Jack. Audrey. The \u2018Little Larva\u2019 you like to call \u2018filth.\u2019 She\u2019s mine. You don\u2019t touch her, you don\u2019t influence her, you don\u2019t \u2018purify\u2019 her, and you <i>absolutely<\/i> never try to kill her again. Understood?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Silence.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick crouched down and picked up a long, sharp sliver of stone from the floor, turning it over in his hand. He knew exactly what it really was. What it could do. And so, he knew, did the Moribund. He balanced it, twirled it, gave it a spin. \u201cUnderstood?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i><b>I will accept this.<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat includes never sending any of your people against her. What any of \u2018your\u2019 Necromongers do, that\u2019s <i>you<\/i> doing it. Ain\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i><b>I will prohibit it. I do not much care what they do with their time when they are not needed to fulfill my will.<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI figured. You don\u2019t pay much attention to what they\u2019re doing, either. Did you know that they\u2019ve been keeping people from you? <i>Not<\/i> converting everybody they capture?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He felt the sudden heat of the Moribund\u2019s rage.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDidn\u2019t think you knew. I\u2019m sure you won\u2019t have any objections if I put a <i>stop<\/i> to that.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i><b>Why do you care?<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBecause out of death, conversion, or what they\u2019re doing&#8288;\u2026 either death or conversion would be better.\u201d The <i>breeder<\/i> bullshit would finally end. \u201cWhen I make my move, you\u2019re gonna back me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i><b>You are the Lord Marshal.<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He figured that was as close as the Moribund would get to acquiescing. It was enough.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cLast thing. You\u2019ve been collecting apeirochorons lately. I want them. All of them.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i><b>I care nothing for what happens to them.<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Well, maybe I care,<\/i> Riddick thought, careful to keep his thoughts thoroughly shielded from his \u201cchess partner.\u201d He shrugged and gave the rogue <i>Apeiros<\/i> another smile instead.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i><b>Do what you will with them.<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThis could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship,\u201d he told the shadowy creature in the darkness, setting the sliver of kirshbaumium back down on the floor.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i><b>We shall see, Lord Marshal.<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He could see the change immediately, the new level of deference that the Necromongers in the hallways displayed as he passed. He\u2019d completed his first step. Soon it would be safe for Jack to wake up, hopefully with her mind and memories intact and in order. Soon, they\u2019d be able to talk again, and maybe she\u2019d know enough\u2014remember enough\u2014to be less afraid of him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Maybe she\u2019ll try to take me out,<\/i> he thought with amusement. She <i>was<\/i> one of General Toal\u2019s trained Operatives, after all, and she\u2019d been trained by a Furyan.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He doubted it, though. That wasn\u2019t Jack. She\u2019d killed, three times, but she wasn\u2019t a <i>killer.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Which was why he needed to do a few more things to ensure that she would be safe on board this flying viper pit.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He walked into the Chamber of the Quasi-Dead, drawing them forth.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Yes, Lord Marshal?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That was the first time any of them had called him by the title. Yeah, things were changing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m gonna visualize a series of people. If they\u2019re converts, I want them found and brought to me.\u201d One by one, he conjured faces that he\u2019d seen in Jack\u2019s memories. People she\u2019d known, albeit briefly, while on Helion Prime, and who shone warmly in her thoughts.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He couldn\u2019t give her any of the four she\u2019d known best, though.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It burned at him, even a year later. He should have grabbed Lajjun and Ziza and put them on board the ship he\u2019d taken from Toombs. Not just left the Holy Man\u2019s necklace hanging on their doorway while he boarded the <i>Basilica<\/i>. In the hour that followed, while he searched the ship for signs of Kyra and then moved into position to take the fight to the Lord Marshal himself, he\u2019d had no idea that, moments after the ship\u2019s bulkheads had closed behind him and the <i>Basilica<\/i> rose from the ground, that undead fucker had <i>detonated<\/i> something that had wiped out all life on the surface of the planet.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Including Lajjun. Including Ziza. Including thousands of the motherfucker\u2019s own troops who hadn\u2019t made it back on board their ships in time, and who the fuck knew how many thousands, or even millions, of other civilians huddled in the still-smoking ruins.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There wasn\u2019t much about that day that Riddick <i>didn\u2019t<\/i> regret.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He didn\u2019t <i>mean<\/i> to call up Kyra\u2019s face&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>That one is lost to us. We have only her memories.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou have what, now?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>The memories of the one called Kyra. We have them.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGood. I\u2019ll be back later to see them. How many of the others have you found?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>All but the one called Carmouche. His face is unknown to any of the Armada. He may have left Helion Prime before we arrived.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Probably on one of the all-expense-paid travel adventures Jack and her friends had dreamed up, to entice out-System as many people as they could before the invasion. More power to him if he\u2019d gone.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHave the others sent to me as soon as you get all of them on board this ship.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Yes, Lord Marshal.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNow, I don\u2019t wanna be sent either of these next two. I know they\u2019re <i>not<\/i> converts. I just wanna know what\u2019s happened to them.\u201d He conjured up two more faces in his mind.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>The first died eight months ago. The second lives in the \u201cGreensleeves Stew.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019ll be back.\u201d He turned and walked out of the room.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Do you need direction to her?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI know the way.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was a corridor he\u2019d never planned on entering again, but now he had enough muscle on his side\u2014the Moribund itself was on board for this\u2014that he could do what he wished he\u2019d been able to do a year ago. Part of it, anyway. The most important part.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He\u2019d <i>tried<\/i> to get to know the people he\u2019d apparently conquered, especially once he was sure that he couldn\u2019t just <i>step down<\/i> as their leader; no new leader could rise in his place without vanquishing him first, so unless he wanted to <i>die<\/i>, he had to find a way to rule these fuckers. Their women were eager to \u201cshow him the way,\u201d and a lot of them were damn beautiful. He\u2019d thought that part, at least, would be fun.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He had been so fucking wrong about that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The whole lot of them <i>really were<\/i> half-dead. And necrophilia just <i>wasn\u2019t his kink.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Damn near had made him puke his guts out, if he was being honest.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Just try phrasing that in a way that doesn\u2019t give offense to anybody, though&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The Great Lords of the Court had figured it out anyway, and most of them had seemed unsurprised. Lord Vaako had shrugged, telling him that he would find it easier once he converted, himself. Lord Toal, who seemed to have no Lady or Dame by his side\u2014and Riddick was pretty sure he knew why now\u2014had shrugged as well and said that the life of a warrior need not require such distractions. And one of the other Lords had smirked and said that he knew exactly what Riddick needed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Several of the Lords\u2014Riddick soon noticed that Vaako, Toal, and Scales had all excused themselves from the group\u2014had led him deep into the under-levels of the <i>Basilica<\/i>, beneath the Necropolis&#8288;\u2026 to a <i>brothel.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">At first, it had seemed normal enough. The ladies within, he immediately realized, weren\u2019t converts. No marks on their necks. No sickly pallor to their skin. They lined up, posing for him in their neglig\u00e9e, all of them beautiful. Most of them didn\u2019t make eye contact, but there was one woman, with flaxen blonde hair and crystal-blue eyes, who kept looking right at him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHer,\u201d he\u2019d said, pointing at the woman. \u201cI\u2019ll take her.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It went wrong almost immediately.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cRiddick,\u201d she\u2019d gasped, putting her arms around him. \u201cI knew you\u2019d come for me!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He pulled back, staring at her in confusion. For a moment, the way she was acting, he thought somehow he had found another strange <i>fragment<\/i> of Jack, as if the girl had been shattered and her pieces divided among countless strange women he\u2019d never met before. The woman before him\u2014maybe a little over twenty years old, with eyes that were far too old for the rest of her\u2014smiled at him. There was something off about the smile. Not quite sane.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s <i>me<\/i>, Riddick! Stacey! It\u2019s <i>me!<\/i>\u201d And she tried to press her lips to his.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There was <i>something<\/i> familiar about her, but he couldn\u2019t place her. He unshielded his mind a little, brushing against hers&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2014&#8288;and recoiled, his gorge rising and his mental shields <i>slamming<\/i> back up against both her and the whole establishment around him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>This ain\u2019t a brothel. It\u2019s a fuckin\u2019 <b>rape room.<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And this woman he\u2019d picked was in on it all.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI know what you\u2019ll like,\u201d she told him, her eyes lit up with strange fervor. \u201cSee that girl over there? I\u2019ve known her for <i>years.<\/i> I can show you what makes her cry&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGet the fuck off me,\u201d he managed, pushing her away and retreating toward the door.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cRiddick!\u201d She tried to follow him, but one of the attendants held her back. \u201cDon\u2019t leave me! You\u2019re supposed to <i>rescue<\/i> me!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He turned toward one of the Lords, most of whom were still in the process of selecting their own companions\u2014<i>victims<\/i>\u2014for the evening. \u201cYou brought me to a <i>fuckin\u2019 <b>rape room!\u201d<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He had felt it <i>all<\/i> in the moment he\u2019d made the mistake of unshielding: the unrelenting horror that the women endured every day and night, praying that the walking corpses who visited would just want a quick fuck and nothing more from them; the sick delight that the Lords took in the soft, warm, living bodies beneath them; the dark games that Stacey liked to play, and had encouraged the Lords to play with her for the last two weeks since she\u2019d been captured, orchestrating especially perverse hells upon her fellow \u201cbreeders\u201d even more for her own gratification than the Lords\u2019&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The man frowned. \u201cDon\u2019t be ridiculous. They\u2019re not of us. They\u2019re just breeders. We can do whatever we wish to mere <i>breeders.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Seconds later, his head rolled across the floor, stopping at the feet of one of the captive \u201cbreeder\u201d women and making her scream in terror.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cChoose carefully, Riddick,\u201d Lord Navok said, rising from the seat he had taken and drawing his blades. Throughout the lounge, the rest of the Lords had drawn theirs. \u201cWe know you\u2019re deadly, but there are twenty of us. Can you kill us all before one of us kills you? And how will you fight your way out of the <i>Basilica<\/i> if you do? This is part of the Necromonger Way. Do you really think <i>you<\/i> can change <i>us?<\/i> Will you die trying?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He had to get the fuck out of there, he realized, and fast, before he got himself killed over something he couldn\u2019t stop, couldn\u2019t change&#8288;\u2026 and it all went on anyway. He wasn\u2019t the self-sacrificing type. As much as he wanted to ghost every man in that room, and one woman in it&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Now ain\u2019t the time.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He turned and walked toward the exit.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cRiddick!\u201d Stacey called after him, her voice pleading and sounding, for an instant, like Jack\u2019s. Jack, begging him not to leave her behind&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Keep walking. Keep walking&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cRiddick!\u201d<\/i> she called again, and then cried out in pain.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBe silent, breeder! Know your place!\u201d one of the Lords shouted.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Fuck! Fuck&#8288;\u2026 keep walking&#8288;\u2026 Do <b>not<\/b> look back&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He\u2019d left the \u201cbrothel\u201d and stormed deeper into the bowels of the <i>Basilica<\/i>, seeking out the engine rooms, possessed of a sudden desire to send them into meltdown and ditch the ship before it exploded. But there had been something down there, dark and eldritch and malicious and <i>waiting for him<\/i>, that he\u2019d found himself equally unwilling to sacrifice himself to. What he now knew was the Moribund.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That night was the first time he\u2019d awakened, his heart pounding, from a nightmare in which he found not Stacey but Jack, herself, trapped in a Necromonger \u201cbrothel.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He\u2019d located all of them, on each and every ship in the fleet, making their keepers show him every woman they had, but Jack had never been among them. He\u2019d shown her face to the Quasi-Dead and demanded they search their memory stores for any sign that any Necromonger had seen or touched her, any sign that she was among the Armada\u2019s converts. There had been a small handful of women who looked <i>almost<\/i> like her, but none had been her. The nightmares hadn\u2019t stopped until he\u2019d put out an edict, making the Quasi-Dead share images of Jack\u2019s face with the masses, instructing the entire Armada that any girl or woman who resembled her had to be brought before him immediately upon discovery, before anything else was done to her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>And Alexander Motherfuckin\u2019 Toombs drove her right into the teeth of my raiders&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He had her now. That was what was important. But the rape rooms had gone unchecked for a <i>whole fucking year<\/i> and the woman, Stacey, had died during that time. That last part wouldn\u2019t have bothered him before, but he now recognized her, although he still couldn\u2019t figure out how she\u2019d known <i>him.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She had been the vicious girl who ran the Killer\u2019s Club from the shadows, when Jack had been locked in the Aceso Psychiatric Hospital. The girl with the violent porn collection, with his picture on her wall&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Not just his picture, he realized. Pictures of other \u201ccriminals,\u201d too, or what Jack had believed were criminals. He stopped in the hallway, closing his eyes and visualizing that wall again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He knew all those faces. He knew all the men Stacey had enshrined on her wall and idolized. Criminals, yes, but something else as well, and he knew exactly where she had to have met them, and <i>him<\/i>&#8288;\u2026 and when.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cThey call us the Suicide Squad, boy, after some bad twenty-first century movies about a bunch of sons-o\u2019-bitches who had to do what we do, only they got to do it with powers&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He\u2019d been seventeen, and although nobody else in the group had known it about him, he <i>had<\/i> powers. He\u2019d been pulled off the streets and Quantified at fifteen, chipped, subjected to two agonizing years of conditioning, and this was his test-run, paired up with a group of Service Crims who had been too high up in the clearance chain for a dishonorable discharge and whose skills were too valuable to just let them rot in cells. Most of them were twice his age. They were being sent after a crime kingpin, who was staying at his favorite casino-cum-brothel on Helion Prime and, while <i>he<\/i> was supposed to be taken out, they had strict instructions that the facility itself was expected to come through undamaged.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">In they\u2019d gone, stealthy as could be, quartering the place in the dead of night.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They\u2019d found the cop first, a woman, stripped naked and chained to a bed with her own cuffs. Didn\u2019t look like anybody had touched her yet. None of them did, either. They\u2019d kept moving. It grated at him. Why the fuck wasn\u2019t freeing her part of their mission?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cStay on task,\u201d one of his companions had muttered when he\u2019d paused, looking back at the room. \u201cAin\u2019t no room for improvising in this gig if you want your head to stay on your neck.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They all, he\u2019d realized, had explosive trackers. Apparently another thing they had in common with the sorry fuckers in the old movies.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The kids were next.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There was a whole suite full of them, and the main room almost looked like a daycare except he could <i>see<\/i> terrible knowledge in their eyes and in the way they posed flirtatiously for the team.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Fuck,<\/i> he\u2019d thought as they moved on again. <i>Fuck, fuck, <b>fuck!<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">What good was anything he did if it didn\u2019t involve saving those kids? What good was the Federacy if it didn\u2019t give two shits about ending that kind of monstrosity, and just wanted to take out one in a <i>long line<\/i> of people who perpetuated it?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He had no problem with taking out their target. The man owned that shithole. He was culpable in everything that was being done in all those rooms. Riddick was fine with completing the hit. But leaving the kids behind&#8288;\u2026 leaving a lady cop chained up, naked, for mauling&#8288;\u2026 letting the place <i>stay standing&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was almost impossible to use his abilities without specific orders. Excruciatingly painful. But he opened his mind to the other soldiers&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They were thinking the same things. Some of them were fantasizing about fucking the cop, true, but <i>none<\/i> of them were happy about the kids.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There was something he could do, and he wasn\u2019t even sure how he did it but he knew he could&#8288;\u2026 It was going to hurt like a sonofabitch but it\u2019d be worth it&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">When they hit a blind junction, no cameras, he called it up inside him and let it blast out, frying all the comms. Pain exploded in his head as his conditioning kicked in, but he took a deep breath and pressed forward against the agony and the nausea. There was a beautiful, glowing woman he could catch a glimpse of sometimes, whose hand on his chest felt almost orgasmic, and the thought of her helped push the pain back down.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat the <i>fuck?!\u201d<\/i> Corman, their point man, shouted.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick pulled out his knife and went digging. It was hard not to scream, but a moment later he had the explosive tracker out of his neck. His trainers had fucked up by inflicting so many <i>worse<\/i> torments on him. Still, he very nearly puked. He wiped his blood off with his shirt and put the tracker in his pocket, approaching one of his colleagues. Demme. A guy who\u2019d ended up in the glue for refusing to bomb a refugee camp and turning his missile on his commanders instead. He <i>liked<\/i> Demme.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe got about two more minutes until they get a signal lock on us again. Who wants out of this shit?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Demme tilted his head, nodding.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHold on, man, this ain\u2019t gonna be subtle.\u201d He cut into Demme\u2019s neck, unerringly going for the tracker while his friend groaned and struggled to stay still.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe fuck are you <i>doing<\/i>, Riddick?\u201d Corman yelled.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGonna rescue those kids and that cop,\u201d he said. \u201cYou wanna stay on mission, go ahead. It\u2019ll give us cover. Any of you who want out of this psycho-fuckery, though, this is your one and only chance.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGonna get all our heads blown off,\u201d Nicholson muttered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">In the end, two thirds of the squad had decided to go forward and stay on mission. The rest joined Riddick in strategically placing the explosive parts of their trackers inside the confines of an armory by the junction and carrying the locator parts with them for disposal later. None of the ones who had stayed with him, thankfully, had been imagining fucking the cop. He wouldn\u2019t have to kill one of his crew.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They doubled back to the \u201cdaycare.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGet the kids dressed in whatever they have that\u2019s closest to street clothes, and get them ready to evac,\u201d he told his brothers. \u201cI\u2019ll be back in five.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Then he went and got the cop.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">By the time he had her put together and ready to lead the kids out of the building, all hell was starting to break loose. He and his comrades had undoubtedly been threatened repeatedly to get back on mission via their fried comms, and then the armory exploded. He\u2019d promptly smashed his tracker, as they\u2019d planned; let HQ think they\u2019d actually died for a little while.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cKids,\u201d he said, bringing the cop into the ersatz daycare, \u201cthis is Officer Lola. She\u2019s gonna take you out of here to someplace safe.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Until that moment, he was pretty sure the cop had been expecting him to do something nasty to her and was trying to figure out a way to turn the tables on him. She stared at the kids, and then at him, her mouth dropping open when he handed her back both of her confiscated sidearms, fully loaded.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou get them out of here. Take them out of this room and turn right, down the long corridor to a T-junction. Turn left, go all the way to the end and out the door. Its security is disabled. Just push it open and go on through. You\u2019ll be in what looks like an impound lot. Get the hell out of there through the hole in the chain link fence, and keep going until you hit a main road. You won\u2019t be safe until then. Got that?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She nodded, all fear of him gone. \u201cWhat about you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou don\u2019t worry about us. Take care of the kids and we\u2019ll clear you a path. You ain\u2019t never seen none of us. You heard a racket while you were getting loose from your cuffs, found the kids, and got them the hell out of here, and you don\u2019t know what else went down. Understood?\u201d He looked around at the kids, directing his words at them, too. \u201c<i>You never saw us.<\/i> That\u2019s for <i>your<\/i> safety more than ours. Now go.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The kids went quietly with her, all of them docile and accustomed to obedience. Riddick and his crew shadowed them, efficiently dealing with a small handful of goons who might have tried to stop them. A few of the kids had whispered thankyous to him and the others as they slipped through the fence. One, a little girl, maybe eight years old, with flaxen blonde hair and crystal blue eyes that were way too old and cold for her young face, had turned to look at him and his brothers, her expression adoring&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Stacey. That, he realized, was when and how he\u2019d met Stacey.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">His crew had scattered that night, once the kids were gone, and the only one he\u2019d ever seen again was Demme. He\u2019d done a run through the building to see if there were any other innocents who needed freeing but hadn\u2019t found anyone. Then he\u2019d rejoined the main group, just long enough to make sure the brothers he\u2019d abandoned didn\u2019t get mowed down as a result of the team being cut down in size, but he had taken off after it was clear that their mission would be a success. Two days later, his face had jumped to the top of Federacy \u201cWanted\u201d posters along with the brothers-in-arms he\u2019d freed, with a dozen completely fabricated crimes attributed to him. It would take less than a year until they began to have real crimes to list in place of their lies.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He\u2019d wondered what Officer Lola had made of that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Wonder if she\u2019s a convert&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He\u2019d check with the Quasi-Dead when he was done here.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">In the meantime, he pounded on the door to the brothel.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYes&#8288;\u2026&#8288;? Lord Marshal!\u201d The host gave an obsequious smile and bow. \u201cHave you come for&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNew edict. Courtesy of the Holy Fuckin\u2019 Half-Dead itself. Nobody goes unconverted. You get all those women to the conversion chambers right. The fuck. Now.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The man began to protest&#8288;\u2026 and then stopped. He could <i>feel<\/i> the power behind Riddick\u2019s demand. The force that both animated and depleted the Necromongers&#8288;\u2026 was <i>paying attention<\/i>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Your god is watching and is it ever pissed&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The women were soon marching out of the room and toward the upper levels. Celia Wyndham was the third out the door.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Funny. Her last name\u2019s the same as the name of that city Jack was living in&#8288;\u2026 Small galaxy&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He\u2019d let her be converted. She\u2019d probably <i>enjoy<\/i> the experience, if she was still like Jack remembered, and if her masochism had helped her survive the \u201cbrothel\u201d for as long as she apparently had. He wouldn\u2019t add her to the coterie he was creating for Jack. They didn\u2019t like each other&#8288;\u2026 but he had a feeling that Jack would still be glad to know that Celia was&#8288;\u2026 com&#173;par&#173;a&#173;tively&#8288;\u2026 safe.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The Lords had massed behind the brothel doorway, some confused, some angry, verging on demanding an explanation, none quite ready to draw on him. They could feel it, too&#8288;\u2026 the wrath of their \u201cgod\u201d coalescing around them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cEvery one of them\u2019s about to become a Lady of the Armada,\u201d he told the men. \u201cThis \u2018breeder\u2019 bullshit is over. Don\u2019t you fuckin\u2019 ever forget it again.\u201d <i>And be fuckin\u2019 grateful I\u2019m letting you keep your worthless heads.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The edict went out to the entire Armada. No one, outside of the Lord Marshal\u2019s personal entourage, could be unconverted. And anyone who tried to enslave a \u201cbreeder\u201d in the future would die \u201cbefore their due time.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Not even three hours in, not bad&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Soon \u201cOfficer Lola\u201d had been located and was being summoned to him, along with the others. He returned to his quarters&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;in time to see Dame Fuckin\u2019 Vaako slip out of the doors and scurry away.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>What the <b>fuck?<\/b><\/i><\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5617\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5617 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-75\">\u00ab Chapter 75<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5649\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5649 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-77\">Chapter 77 \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=\"77\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5618\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5618 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-76\">\u00ab Chapter 76<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5650\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5650 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-78\">Chapter 78 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5599\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5599 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">77.<br\/>\r\n<u>Sleeping Beauty, Sleeper Agent<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTell me about the girl,\u201d Dame Vaako said as she carefully unwound her hair.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Lord Vaako, busy removing his armor, glanced over at her with a frown. \u201cWe found her on a ship with a few dozen other passengers and crew. She almost escaped and fought better than any of the others tried to. There\u2019s little else to tell. We converted most of the others on the way back, but she remained untouched in every way for delivery to the Lord Marshal.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cUntouched in <i>every<\/i> way?\u201d Dame Vaako raised an eyebrow. She was almost certain her husband never visited the Breeder Pits, but after the way that other girl, Kyra, had hung on him when they\u2019d returned from Cre&#173;ma&#173;toria&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Vaako sneered. \u201cUntouched, Chantesa. In every way. My soldiers know discipline. As do I.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">True. Even those marked as \u201cbreeders\u201d arrived at the <i>Basilica<\/i> in decent enough shape if her husband\u2019s ship brought them back.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">In the last year, even though many of the Lords and Dames had begun to dream of making an assault on the Melpomene System, and some had even begun devising strategies to propose for such an attack, they had been held in check. Only a few ships had been allowed to launch raids on the Sol Tracks as \u201cpractice.\u201d Chantesa had heard that there had been similar lulls in the purification of worlds, after each transition from one Lord Marshal to the next, and that it might take another year or two before their new leader either committed to the Way&#8288;\u2026 or was deposed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">In the meantime, raiding parties were grudgingly allowed to go out so that the fleet could still know battle. Most of the \u201cbreeders\u201d brought back by the other Lords after such raids had already seen hard use, some even on the verge of death. Never the ones her husband brought back. When he\u2019d presented the girl to the Riddick, she undoubtedly <i>had<\/i> been untouched.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Of course, everyone remembered what had happened the time one raiding party had brought back another girl, who closely resembled the Riddick\u2019s quarry and who had endured some brutal treatment before being turned over to him. It had taken the raiding party more than a week to die. Chantesa still shuddered when she recalled it; they had been placed so no one in the <i>Basilica<\/i> could avoid hearing their screams, although no one could see what was being done to them. Somehow, the Riddick had found a way to make <i>Necromongers<\/i>, who were supposed to be <i>above<\/i> pain, scream&#8288;\u2026 and only he, himself, had seemed immune to the horror of their suffering.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Later, she heard whispers that he had compelled the Quasi-Dead to extract all the memories of that girl\u2019s tortured days of captivity from her mind&#8288;\u2026 and make the entire raiding party relive them from her perspective, on an infinite loop, until their own minds finally shattered. The girl herself\u2014physically healed, converted, and with no memory of being abused\u2014was now the wife of a Purifier on another of the Armada\u2019s ships, and the Riddick apparently had never seen or spoken to her since.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It had been effective, though; no other raiding party since had dared take even a taste when they found a doppelg\u00e4nger for the girl he\u2019d sought. He always insisted, she\u2019d noticed, that his \u201crejects\u201d undergo immediate conversion.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It fascinated her that the actual girl, the one the Riddick had been searching for the whole time, seemed to fear him. She hoped to learn more. If the girl was here against her will and had no love for their Lord Marshal&#8288;\u2026 perhaps they could help each other.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Not long after, as they were preparing to sleep, news came that the Riddick had taken the girl into the Chamber of the Quasi-Dead and had compelled all would-be observers to leave. They were still in the chamber when she and her husband rose in the morning. She managed to slip close to the grilles for a moment before one of the Riddick\u2019s guards ushered her away.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The girl lay on the dais, posed much like the \u201cSleeping Beauty\u201d character that Chantesa remembered from her childhood and surrounded by the Quasi-dead, while the Riddick, legs folded and head bowed as if meditating, sat behind her head, his fingertips resting on her temples.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat do you think he\u2019s doing to her?\u201d she whispered to her husband as she was handed back to him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI know not, nor do I care.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Oh, damn you. Grow a little imag&#173;i&#173;nation&#8288;\u2026<\/i> Faithful and biddable\u2014and formidable in battle\u2014as Lord Niels Vaako might be, he could also be stultifyingly <i>dull.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was almost a full Standard day before the Riddick emerged from the chamber, the still-unconscious girl in his arms, and carried her away from the Necropolis. Gossip had run wild in that time, growing increasingly imaginative and ridiculous. The girl was far too old be his daughter, and she seemed far too young to be a wife&#8288;\u2026 of an age with, or slightly younger than, the girl Kyra whom he\u2019d attempted to rescue and then avenge.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Dame Vaako loved a good mystery.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI think I\u2019ll find out what the witch knows,\u201d she told her husband when they rose the next morning.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Aereon of the Elementals had been given a suite\u2014Irgun\u2019s old suite, in fact\u2014after the Riddick had taken over. Interestingly, he hadn\u2019t released the witch and had insisted that she continue to wear the strange stone chains that the late Lord Marshal Zhylaw had called\u2014for some reason that had seemed to amuse him and him alone\u2014the \u201ccherry bombs.\u201d She spent most of her time in the chambers, only occasionally emerging to walk the mezzanines and listen in on Court business.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cPlease come in,\u201d she said, when her guards announced Dame Vaako\u2019s arrival.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Chantesa was surprised to see that the woman had left Irgun\u2019s rooms almost completely unchanged. Perhaps she was in denial about the length of her stay, and refused to do anything to make the rooms more her own because that would mean accepting her standing as a long-term prisoner of the Armada&#8288;\u2026 fascinating.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe don\u2019t see much of you,\u201d she commented, running her finger along the edge of Irgun\u2019s desk. Someone, at least, was keeping the place clean.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI very much doubt most Necromongers wish to see any of me,\u201d Aereon replied. It <i>was<\/i> difficult to look at her at times. Parts of her seemed to disappear in the air currents. But there were moments when Chantesa could almost swear that she saw something else, in the thinned places&#8288;\u2026 something worse than emptiness.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd why is that?\u201d she asked. \u201cYour people are neutral in our conflict, yes? Why shouldn\u2019t we be&#8288;\u2026 closer?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat,\u201d Aereon said, her words slow and precise as if talking to a child, \u201cis the <i>nature<\/i> of neutrality.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd yet you were on Helion Prime warning them about us.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI was not the source of any warnings. I was there for another reason.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe Riddick?\u201d Chantesa asked. \u201cWere you there looking for him? Because if you were looking for the prophesied Furyan Warrior who would take down our leader, that hardly seems neutral either.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe prophesied Furyan Warrior who would <i>become<\/i> your leader.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Good parry. And possibly even a valid point. Except that rumors kept swirling about how the Riddick was seeking to break the Way. Funny how those rumors seemed to always come out of the night he\u2019d killed one of the other Lords in a Breeder Pit&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sumptuous brothels or not, Chantesa preferred to call them by that name. It better fit the lives that the unbelievers trapped inside them actually lived. <i>There but for the grace of con&#173;version&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDid the prophecies ever mention a girl?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou mean Kyra? No.\u201d Aereon shook her head. \u201cIt seems that the whole purpose of her existence was to bring him here, nothing more.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThere\u2019s another girl. The one he\u2019s been looking for.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe has asked me several times about his Jack, yes.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Chantesa frowned. \u201cI thought <i>Kyra<\/i> was his \u2018Jack.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cApparently not.\u201d Aereon smiled. \u201cHe\u2019s asked again and again for answers about who she really was. But I doubt he can find them. Not if he won\u2019t embrace your faith, and it\u2019s clear that he won\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Fascinating. The witch seemed <i>pleased<\/i> that the Riddick would be denied answers. She wondered if that was why the chains remained on. There was something duplicitous about Aereon that delighted her. Especially if the witch and the Riddick were not actually friends.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMaybe the other girl will know.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Aereon\u2019s breath hitched, almost inaudibly, but she caught it. \u201cThis other girl&#8288;\u2026 is here?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cCaptured a week ago and given to the Riddick almost two days ago, yes. You must not have attended that Court session.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTell me about her.\u201d The witch\u2019s voice was mild, only hinting at the slightest bit of curiosity, but Chantesa could feel some deeper avidity behind it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYoung. Tall. Slender. Pretty in her own way. She matches the description he sent out. And she seems to fear him.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow curious. I would have thought his quest after her to be impossible.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWho <i>is<\/i> she?\u201d Chantesa asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo one that I know of. Which is odd. Except&#8288;\u2026 yes, of course. I should have realized sooner.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Oh, now <i>this<\/i> was intriguing! \u201cRealized what?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhen I learned the identity of the Furyan Warrior I was seeking,\u201d Aereon said after a pause, \u201cI hired a mercenary to locate him and bring him back to Helion Prime. In fact, I hired several mercenaries, but this one was a particularly crass and difficult man. He had a story to tell\u2014and he insisted upon telling it\u2014of how Riddick had swooped into a high security psychiatric hospital, under everyone\u2019s noses, had extracted two teenage girls from custody, and had taken them offworld with him.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Aereon rose from her seat and began to pace as she talked. The air currents she stirred up made parts of her vanish in a disconcerting and almost nauseating way. No wonder, Dame Vaako thought, she had so few visitors and even fewer invitations to come out of her chambers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe girls were a Jane Doe who apparently went by \u2018Jack\u2019 and had a prior history with Riddick, which <i>he<\/i> had hoped to use to lay a trap,\u201d Aereon continued, \u201cand Kyra Wittier-Collins, a rare <i>female<\/i> serial killer known to many as the Black Fox of Canaan Mountain. The mercenary believed that both girls were Riddick\u2019s lovers, but the world he believed Riddick had spirited them away to was not the one where he was ultimately found, so I suspect Toombs was wrong. And based on Riddick\u2019s questions to me&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe Riddick went to Crematoria seeking this \u2018Jack\u2019 but found Kyra there instead,\u201d Dame Vaako breathed, delighted, \u201cbut had never met her before?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt appears so.\u201d Aereon turned the gaze of an approving schoolteacher on her. \u201cAnd yet it also appears that he came to care about <i>her<\/i> a great deal in a remarkably short time. Odd, given his reputation for aloof detachment and antisocial tendencies. It would seem that he has, in fact, formed genuine bonds with other people, such as they are, at least twice.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd now he has his \u2018Jack.\u2019 Why would she be afraid of him?\u201d The possibilities were endless, and rather delicious. Had part of the mercenary\u2019s tale been true? Perhaps he had spirited her away and made her a child-bride, only for her to escape his control. Had she possibly even used the other girl to lay a false trail away from herself? Would she, maybe, wish assistance to escape again, for a reasonable price?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMaybe you should ask her,\u201d Aereon suggested, her lips twitching with a hint of amusement.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Maybe I should.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <hr\/>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShe\u2019s adorable.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey and Kyra stood side by side, watching Elodie splash in the creek behind the house that Audrey\u2019s mom, and Alvin, had bought when they relocated. It was on the outskirts of the small town where Deckard Tech was located, just outside Wyndham Landing, the moment caught in the height of an idyllic summer weekend just a month before Toombs has appeared. Audrey turned and beamed at Kyra.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShe is, isn\u2019t she? She was born a little over six months after I took off.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah,\u201d Kyra said, nodding and grinning back. \u201cI thought so.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The backyard melted away and they were in the woods on the slope of Canaan Mountain. This space was Kyra\u2019s rather than Audrey\u2019s, shaped by her visions and memories.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou did?\u201d Audrey followed Kyra into the forest as they talked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah. When you told me and the Mezianes about the brother you never had, that\u2019s when it all made sense.\u201d Kyra shrugged at Audrey in apology. \u201cI didn\u2019t say anything because you\u2019d have been pissed off at yourself if you knew. So, did Alvin turn out to be an asshole when you got back?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo, he turned out to be surprisingly not-dickish,\u201d Audrey laughed. \u201cAnd yeah, I was pretty upset to realize I ran away from the thing I\u2019d always wanted most.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFamily,\u201d Kyra said, nodding. \u201cYeah. I miss that, too, sometimes. The way it was when I was little, anyway. Your cosmic family is nice, not as scary as I used to think, but&#8288;\u2026 Tizzy, do you know how much longer I\u2019ll be stuck out here? My memory isn\u2019t good enough to just live in it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra\u2019s forests, Audrey had noticed, tended to be a little \u201cblurry,\u201d missing most of the details that would truly make them feel real. Maybe that was why she preferred to spend her time in&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">As if on cue, a much more detailed and precise landscape opened to them: the bone field from the crash planet, beneath its blue sun. The memories that Audrey\u2014as Jack\u2014had once shared with Kyra were almost as vivid as life, not to mention missing almost all the actual traumatic moments. No wonder Kyra spent so much time replaying them and exploring their confines.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019ll ask the <i>Apeiros<\/i>. They don\u2019t make a whole lot of sense when I ask them about you, but I\u2019ll try again&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Wake, little sister. Wake&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDo I <i>have<\/i> to? I wanna stay with Kyra&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d But the vision was shredding and the crash planet, and Kyra, had already vanished. It wasn\u2019t a <i>dream<\/i> any more than the starfield of the <i>Apeiros<\/i> was a dream, but she was all too aware of its lack of normal physicality. That had to be especially hard on Kyra.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Not now, Audrey. You must wake. You will see her again soon.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey opened her eyes. The strange carvings and draperies of Riddick\u2019s bedroom greeted her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Fuck.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Your species makes very little sense. The act of reproduction as a malediction. Why?<\/i> Her sister was lurking somewhere in the shadows directly above her, mostly hidden by the high, vaulted ceiling. Audrey thought she could make out the glitter of eyes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe got five hours to unpack it all?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>We do not. One of the Necromonger court is on its way to speak with you. I still struggle to tell human sexes apart, especially with these creatures, but I believe it is female.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFun, fun, <i>fun.<\/i>\u201d Audrey sat up, noticing that Riddick must have slept beside her on the bed, neither of them beneath its covers. \u201cWhere\u2019s Riddick?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>In another part of the ship, making arrangements to ensure your safety. The Moribund no longer threatens you.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI figured that\u2019s why all my memories are back,\u201d she said, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. \u201cWell, <i>almost<\/i> all of them&#8288;\u2026 What the hell did he do with my shoes?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>On the other side of the bed.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She put them on and laced them up. They weren\u2019t exactly combat boots, but they were still better than sock feet until she knew the lay of the land. \u201cSo how come you have a hard time telling Necromonger sexes apart?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>They have no reproductive capability.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHuh. Did we know this about them?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>No.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou let Michael know yet? Could be important.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I will.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She needed a moment to regroup. \u201cOkay. I\u2019m smack-dab in the center of the Necromonger Armada. Its new leader is my old friend Richard B. Riddick, who apparently killed the <i>old<\/i> leader and took over right after they turned Helion Prime into a \u2018Black Planet.\u2019 Just what the hell was Toombs thinking he was gonna <i>do<\/i> with me here? You know what, never mind. That guy would use \u2018boobs\u2019 for a password if a system would accept it. Long as he\u2019s nowhere near Elodie, fuck him. Do I have marching orders from the General? Is there a <i>plan<\/i> here?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">In truth, the place was <i>still<\/i> scary as <i>fuck,<\/i> but at least her brain was in better order now. She\u2019d flowed with the replay that the <i>Apeiros<\/i> had allowed to be fed through the \u201cQuasi-Dead,\u201d her memories falling back into place as they spooled past. Everything made sense again. Some things made <i>too<\/i> much sense.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She wasn\u2019t entirely delighted by the person she\u2019d turned into over the last year with most of her salient memories removed. That version of Audrey MacNamera had lost almost all the <i>good<\/i> therapy she\u2019d received for her traumas, via Ewan, <tt>MilitAIre<\/tt>, <tt>First-AId<\/tt>, and Michael, and had simply buried them and refused to look, turning more than a little <i>neurotic<\/i> again in the process. And she\u2019d developed this weird sheltered, privileged-girl righteous sense that she was personally going to right all the major wrongs on her home planet&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Great, and now instead, I\u2019m back in a situation where a whole bunch of people are expecting me to be instrumental in saving a <b>universe&#8288;\u2026<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>More than just one,<\/i> her sister told her from somewhere on the ceiling.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo no pressure or anything&#8288;\u2026 <i>does<\/i> General Toal have a plan for this?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>His plan has been to nurture you until you are ready to hatch into your six-shape. Then we can show you everything.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd&#8288;\u2026 this current situation is, what? A setback? An opportunity? A major clusterfuck?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>We do not know yet. It appears to be connected, but tangentially, to our goals.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThen my current directive is&#8288;\u2026 gather intel and wait?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Essentially.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOkay, I can do that.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>The one who wishes to speak to you is at the door. The guards will not admit it.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShould I&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d Audrey laughed. \u201cWhy the hell not? I\u2019m here to gather intel, right?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Before she\u2019d regained herself, she thought, she\u2019d been genuinely terrified. She could start with that and see where it took her. As she walked over to the doors, she slipped into the necessary role. <i>And introducing Audrey MacNamera as the Petrified Captive&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She opened one door up a crack. \u201cWho&#8288;\u2026who\u2019s there?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGo back inside, girl,\u201d one of the guards on the doors said. \u201cNo one in or out. Lord Marshal\u2019s orders.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cB\u2026but&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d She let her eyes dart between the players in the hallway as she pulled the door open further. Two guards were posted on either side of the ornate doors in overwrought armor. Before them, poised like a queen, stood an elegant, beautiful woman. She was dressed in a form-fitting gown with her hair severely coiffed, her heavy makeup and natural darker skin tone both helping to conceal the deathly pallor of most Necromongers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Female,<\/i> Audrey told her sister. <i>Our guest is definitely female. See the kind of ornamentation she\u2019s wearing? It\u2019s culturally coded as feminine. Especially in <b>this<\/b> kind of culture.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSurely the Lord Marshal would have no objection to a friendly visit?\u201d the woman cajoled in a sultry voice. One of the guards seemed to be struggling against its pull. \u201cIf his young guest were to invite me in?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The two guards shared nervous glances.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>It\u2019ll be fine,<\/i> Audrey pushed at them. Hopefully they weren\u2019t shielded.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They glanced at each other again, shrugging.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cC-can she come in?\u201d she asked, still stammering. \u201cPlease?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">After a moment\u2019s hesitation, the guards let the woman pass.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey twisted her hands together, watching her guest prowl into the suite. There was something in her walk, in the way she looked at everything, that suggested she already owned <i>all<\/i> of it and was just deciding when to take possession. Arrogance, confidence, absolute belief in herself.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey had just the foil for that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">In comparison, she would be stammering, gauche, frightened, desperately in need of guidance and pro&#173;tection&#8288;\u2026 easily manipulated, easily controlled&#8288;\u2026 or so her guest would believe.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cW&#8288;\u2026&#8288;what\u2019s your name?\u201d she asked as the woman continued to survey the room, oblivious to Audrey\u2019s shadowy sister watching her in fascination from the vaulted ceiling.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou may call me Dame Vaako,\u201d the woman said. <i>Chantesa,<\/i> her mind volunteered silently.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Pretty name,<\/i> she thought. \u201cI\u2019m, uh, Audrey.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNot \u2018Jack?\u2019\u201d Dame Vaako asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey flinched, blinked, and gave a jerky shake of her head. \u201cN-not Jack.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I mean, it <b>was<\/b> the only name I ever told him&#8288;\u2026<\/i> She couldn\u2019t exactly blame Riddick for wanting to use it, and for maybe needing the <i>nostalgia<\/i> of it. She\u2019d had enough names now, and played enough roles, that she wasn\u2019t sure she could truly reject, or even claim, any of them. And if the semi-amnesiac Audrey MacNamera of the prior year <i>was<\/i> her actual authentic self, she had a whole lot of work left to <i>do<\/i> on herself.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack wasn\u2019t the name, among all the names she\u2019d worn, that she would pick first&#8288;\u2026 but it would do just fine.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But this Dame Vaako didn\u2019t need to know any of that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cPity,\u201d the Dame said, running her finger over a shelf edge and then rubbing off the dust she\u2019d collected on her fingertip with her thumb, \u201che\u2019s been trying so hard to find a girl named Jack.\u201d The woman\u2019s eyes moved to the bedroom beyond the sitting room, taking in the rumpled bed. Although her expression was deadpan, Audrey could feel the way her mind was awhirl with calculations.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Okay. First choice. Should she play <i>really<\/i> dumb and ask \u201cwho,\u201d or make a logical leap?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She wouldn\u2019t play <i>that<\/i> dumb. The Dame would figure out Audrey was running a game a whole lot sooner if she got caught in <i>that<\/i> kind of lie.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhy?\u201d she asked instead, a tremor in her voice. \u201cI don\u2019t&#8288;\u2026 I don\u2019t&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYes, child? Don\u2019t what?\u201d Dame Vaako walked over to her. She had to be wearing some <i>killer<\/i> heels; she seemed only an inch or two shorter than Audrey, but the proportions of her body suggested she would be at least half a foot shorter if they were both barefoot. Maybe that was why her dress was so tight around her legs, to keep her from taking too-long steps in her shoes and overbalancing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI don\u2019t understand why I\u2019m here,\u201d Audrey whimpered, breaking her voice twice and letting her eyes grow large and fill with unshed tears. This was the moment when a lot of people would become uncomfortable and find an excuse to retreat, and when especially empathetic types would try to comfort her&#8288;\u2026 what would someone like this Dame Vaako do?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The hand that Dame Vaako brought up to her cheek was chilly. It was a good thing that it was in character for Audrey to flinch, because there was no avoiding it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Dame Vaako was straddling two \u2019verses. She could <i>feel<\/i> it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Not the way Irena and Colin Kirshbaum had been, though. Or at least, she didn\u2019t think so. It was easier to tell when <i>she<\/i> was observing from another \u2019verse herself, but&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Almost <i>all<\/i> of Dame Vaako was in U1&#8288;\u2026 but something else, something not of this \u2019verse, was piggybacking on her. There was a strange energy exchange hap&#173;pening&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDon\u2019t be afraid, child, I won\u2019t hurt you,\u201d the Dame said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYour hand\u2019s so <i>cold<\/i>,\u201d she stammered, shifting her vision so that she could see what filled Dame Vaako\u2019s space in her other \u2019verses.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Empty interstellar space surrounded her in twenty-seven other \u2019verses. And yet&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Ohhhhhhh, would you look at that. This whole ship\u2019s crossing a threshold&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She wondered if she could tap into its string vibrations and connect to that \u2019verse. Crossing over and adding it to her five-shape should be safe to do from inside the ship.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Experiment time after I get rid of our guest,<\/i> she told her sister, and felt Her amusement above her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s the Necromonger Way,\u201d Dame Vaako was telling her. \u201cWe give up the frailties of human life for something far more glorious. The Underverse.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cW&#8288;\u2026&#8288;what\u2019s that?\u201d At least they hadn\u2019t named <i>their<\/i> alternate reality Elsewhere, too. That <i>Under<\/i> plucked at memory.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Beneath, below, under&#8288;\u2026 you weren\u2019t talking about the Necromongers\u2019 Underverse, were you?<\/i> she asked her sister, and instantly felt Her derision.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh child, there is no way to tell you about that. The only way to see it is to be Purified&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d The Dame staggered back, wincing. \u201cNo&#8288;\u2026 not allowed&#8288;\u2026 what&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That was unexpected. \u201cAre you okay?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Dame Vaako looked like she\u2019d just developed a nasty headache. \u201cI\u2019m fine&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d She shook her head as if trying to clear it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDo you need to sit down?\u201d She let her voice fill with worry, as if her sudden concern had temporarily overwhelmed her fear.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI should go.\u201d The Dame was trying to sound imperious, but a note of odd desperation had crept into <i>her<\/i> tone. She moved unsteadily for the doors, and for a moment Audrey worried that she\u2019d lose the battle with her heels and dress and totter over. \u201cWe can talk again soon&#8288;\u2026 I look forward to learning more about you&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Whatever had just happened, it had completely cut through the woman\u2019s equilibrium.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Dame Vaako slipped out of the doors, trying and failing to look nonchalant as she went.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWell. <i>That<\/i> was weird,\u201d Audrey said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>My brother struck at her.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYour who?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>For all that we have disowned and repudiated him, the Moribund is still my brother.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She hadn\u2019t been sure until now about the relationship, but that did confirm a suspicion of hers. She had to come at so much of this sideways&#8288;\u2026 \u201cHe doesn\u2019t have to be <i>my<\/i> brother, does he?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her sister\u2019s silent laughter filled the ether. <i>No, little sister, he doesn\u2019t wish to be tied to you that way, any more than you wish to be related to him. But he no longer wishes you harm.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s something, at least&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWho&#8288;\u2026 the <i>fuck<\/i>&#8288;\u2026 gave you permission to let that bitch into my rooms?\u201d Riddick demanded of the guards outside.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Hoo boy.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She couldn\u2019t tell him from here. His mental shields were as impenetrable as Michael\u2019s.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Walking over to the doors, she cracked one open again. Riddick, outside, was glaring at two cowed-looking guards. \u201cM-me&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d she stammered, more for the guards\u2019 benefit than his. \u201cIt was me&#8288;\u2026 I asked if she could&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFor fuck\u2019s sake,\u201d Riddick muttered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Furyans use reproduction as a malediction too?<\/i> Audrey\u2019s sister asked, forcing her to stifle a laugh. It was a good thing musical comedy was one of her fortes and she could keep a straight face through almost any skit.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He pushed past his guards and into the room, compelling her to back up. She scrambled back, keeping up the fearful act while the guards closed the doors and Riddick loomed before her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He leaned close, breathing in through his nose. \u201cYou don\u2019t smell even a <i>little<\/i> scared, Jack.\u201d He drew back and pulled off his goggles, silver eyes locking with hers, a hint of a smile on his lips. \u201cSo what are you playing at?\u201d<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5618\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5618 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-76\">\u00ab Chapter 76<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5650\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5650 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-78\">Chapter 78 \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=\"78\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5619\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5619 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-77\">\u00ab Chapter 77<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5651\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5651 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-79\">Chapter 79 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5738\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5738 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">78.<br\/>\r\n<u>Empires of the Dead<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">This, Riddick found himself reflecting, was more like the girl he\u2019d <i>expected<\/i> to find.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTo be fair,\u201d Jack said, her expression turning damned <i>pert<\/i> the moment the doors closed, \u201cthis place <i>is<\/i> scary as shit. You know how many worlds these guys have burned down?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI do now,\u201d he told her, reining in a smirk for the moment, \u201cthanks to your memories.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He wondered how upset she would be about that. He couldn\u2019t think of a more intimate act he\u2019d ever engaged in with anyone. There was a real possibility that she\u2019d feel violated when she realized just how deep into her memories he had gone.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhich are all back in my head now, too.\u201d She sighed and rolled her eyes. <i>\u201cAlmost<\/i> all of them.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She didn\u2019t seem bothered at <i>all.<\/i> Interesting.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat\u2019s still missing?\u201d He had some strong suspicions, but if he was right about what, and why, he wasn\u2019t going to clue her in.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWell, among other things, I still don\u2019t know what \u2018Donna Noble has left the library\u2019 means or what it has to do with Kyra.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There was a soft rustle from the vaulted ceiling above them. \u201cSounds like your sister thinks you should let it be,\u201d he said, sidestepping the issue of what had happened to Kyra for the moment. The phrase, itself, was opaque to him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack\u2019s <i>sister.<\/i> There was a crazy, twisted thought. The girl had gone out and adopted herself four siblings&#8288;\u2026 an esper older brother named <i>Todd<\/i>, an older sister that he still needed to tell her had died&#8288;\u2026 a <i>telepathic crustacean&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;and an <i>eldritch horror.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Excuse me?<\/i> But he could hear amusement in the creature\u2019s mental voice.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>C\u2019mon,<\/i> he told Her. <i>You know human beings can\u2019t even look right at you without it breaking their brains a little.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But it was, he thought, a perfect example of who the girl in front of him, no longer afraid of him, truly was. Confronted with members of a mind-bending trans-dimensional species that most people would instinctively want to flee from or kill, she\u2019d done the most purely <i>Jack<\/i> thing of all&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d <i>made friends with them.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He couldn\u2019t entirely fathom how she did that. With them, or with members of humanity. There was a wellspring of trust within her that hadn\u2019t stopped flowing despite every dire situation she\u2019d found herself in and every genuine monster she\u2019d faced. And she\u2019d been confronted by some <i>nasty<\/i> ones.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d also <i>stayed<\/i> friends with the <i>Apeiros<\/i> after they had lifted memories from her mind on multiple occasions and even puppeteered her body. Maybe that was why she seemed so nonchalant about what he and the Quasi-Dead had done.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m trying to let it be,\u201d Jack said, pulling him back out of his musings. \u201cBut, I mean&#8288;\u2026 could <i>you?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m not the one who\u2019d probably go off half-cocked if she knew too much,\u201d he told her. \u201cEven <i>you<\/i> agreed to have those parts of your memory wiped, when you knew what was in them.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The girl was frowning at him. \u201cDo <i>you<\/i> know?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah.\u201d He wasn\u2019t especially thrilled about it. But he wasn\u2019t going to derail everything. <i>For now, at least.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo everybody knows but me,\u201d she grumbled, finally looking irked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick shook his head, starting to remove his armor. He might not need to wear it every time he left his chambers anymore, now that he had a truce with the Moribund in place&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;or he might. The last Lord Marshal had apparently never stepped out of the rooms without his on.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But then again, back then, the Moribund hadn\u2019t cared how much intrigue, debauchery, or backstabbery its&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>His,<\/i> the nameless one interjected.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2014&#8288;<i>his<\/i> vassals had engaged in, as long as they obeyed his commands.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHardly anybody knows, Jack.\u201d he looked over at her as he set pieces of armor on his desk, weighing her reactions. \u201cMost of the people who figure it out die&#8288;\u2026 at least, the ones who are too <i>good<\/i> to stand by and let it all keep going.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She frowned at him. \u201cSo, what, you can know because you\u2019re not <i>good<\/i> enough? That\u2019s bullshit, Riddick.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>There you are.<\/i> She still believed in him. They just might have a fighting chance to get through this. \u201cMaybe \u2018altruistic\u2019 would be a better word. You\u2019re the one who tried to throw herself into a swarm of flying piranhas to save Shazza, not me. Maybe none of us want to see you succeed at that kind of suicidal fuckery.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack, he was glad to see, was considering his words. After a moment, she exhaled and nodded. \u201cYeah, <i>you<\/i> probably don\u2019t have \u2018impulse control problems,\u2019 right?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMost of the time? No.\u201d Done removing his armor, he sat down in his chair, watching her. \u201cSo here\u2019s the thing. You got too many bullseyes all over you for me to just cut you loose. Almost as many as me. Toombs. The Federacy. The Quin&#173;tessa Corporation. They\u2019d all want to use you. Use you <i>up.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She nodded. Poor kid didn\u2019t look thrilled, but she seemed to accept what he was telling her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMight just be that this is the safest place for you to be right now.\u201d Not to mention that he didn\u2019t <i>want<\/i> to let her go&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s a really disturbing thought,\u201d she said, glancing around his chambers. He hadn\u2019t made a whole lot of changes to them since he\u2019d taken them over; about the biggest \u201cchange\u201d he\u2019d made was pulling down a few hangings depicting bizarre acts of torture and wrapping them around a gruesome statue that couldn\u2019t be removed without a jackhammer. The place was grim, someone\u2019s dark, twisted fantasy&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Oh yeah. That\u2019d help her some.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTell me about the <i>Tenth Crusade,<\/i>\u201d he said, hiding a smile when her expression turned quizzical.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIn real life, there\u2019s never been one,\u201d she said. \u201cI mean, there were a lot more than ten crusades in the Middle Ages on old Earth, but the ones that were numbered only officially go up to eight. Some historians call Lord Edward\u2019s Crusade the Ninth Crusade, though. But no Tenth Crusade ever happened&#8288;\u2026 so a lot of stories were written about one happening.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe ship, though.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh. Yeah.\u201d She shrugged and sat down on the foot of the bed. \u201cYou need a second chair.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cLiked to keep everybody I had to let in here standing. But yeah. I\u2019ll get you one. So. The ship.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s one of the three missing Phase I Star Jumpers from the early days of Federacy colonization. But you probably remember that from my memories if nowhere else.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">So she did know what he\u2019d done. Odd that she was so casual about it, especially given some of what she had to know he\u2019d seen. More than <i>seen,<\/i> truthfully.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI saw them, and I probably still have them in my head, but I gotta go digging for them in a way I don\u2019t with my <i>own<\/i> memories. How \u2019bout you fill in the details from yours?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He could tell that she still wondered why he was so interested, but she shrugged it off and started talking. \u201cThis Allsense-VR game designer from the late twenty-first century got <i>super<\/i> rich off a game he\u2019d named <i>Emperoi Thanatou<\/i>, which he mistranslated into English as \u2018Empires of the Dead\u2019 even though it <i>literally<\/i> meant \u2018death dealers.\u2019 Huh&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She frowned for a second before continuing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt was set in early fourteenth century Europe, North Africa, and Asia Minor, and players could take on roles as knights, lords, and pilgrims, or the non-European equivalents. Everybody\u2019s goal in the game was to get control of a city called Jerusalem, which had just been made part of the Mediterranean Interdiction Zone about half a decade before the game came out, and nobody could even visit anymore.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo his game was about a fictional Tenth Crusade, to a place people had only just been barred from accessing in reality?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI guess. He never called it that, but yeah. The game ran for more than a decade, one of those worldwide bestsellers with almost five billion user accounts, but then it got banned by more than a dozen major nations because it was \u2018radicalizing\u2019 players, and there were some incidents in which people who played on opposing sides in-game attacked each other in real life. But he was already a trillionaire from it, and he decided he was going to use his money to build a ship, get a colony charter, and go where no Earth government could tell him what to do ever again.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick realized, suddenly, that he knew a piece of the story that Jack didn\u2019t, that nobody had let preteen Audrey MacNamera read about when she was composing her report. He\u2019d heard of that game, and it had been popular for a reason that had nothing to do with its medieval setting: registered adult accounts could activate a module, for an additional monthly fee, that allowed their \u201cknights\u201d and \u201clords\u201d to have lifelike Allsense-VR sex with NPC \u201cladies\u201d and peasant women. Dozens of watchdog groups had been up in arms within a year of the setting\u2019s introduction, after discovering that the sex didn\u2019t have to be consensual and that many players were sacking villages just so they could rape NPCs. The game still existed, and Riddick had encountered more than one \u201cclub\u201d of malcontents who still played \u201cunlocked\u201d editions of it for that sole purpose. But that part wouldn\u2019t have been in any of the history books a grammar school girl had access to, especially somewhere like Deckard\u2019s World.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat was this trillionaire\u2019s name?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cChapman Marshal.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHmm.\u201d That made sense. \u201cSo he built a ship?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe had to get some other trillionaires involved to get the funds together, but yeah. They got a charter to terraform and colonize Kepler-186-f. The Quin&#173;tessa Corporation had just announced Isomorph Drives, and they commissioned their ship to have one but realized that, since they\u2019d <i>beat<\/i> the terraforming equipment to Kepler-186 if it flew out on a sublight drive, they\u2019d need to take it with them. That didn\u2019t leave them with a whole lot of room for people.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cEspecially with how primitive cryo was back then,\u201d Riddick mused. The ship Kyra had taken hadn\u2019t used cryo at all, and her memories of life on it, relayed to Jack, had been cold and claustrophobic. \u201cHow\u2019d this Marshal guy handle it?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe decided to get a second Star Jumper just for the terraforming equipment, and sent it ahead, but that meant they needed a shit-ton more funds than if they\u2019d sent it out with a traditional sublight drive. He put out a call to players of his game, inviting them to \u2018join the crusade\u2019 for a fee. The ship\u2019s captain, Bernard Covu, had already been hired, and a famous scientist, Patricia Oltuvm, was put in charge of life support and cryo. They were the only ones who didn\u2019t have to pay&#8288;\u2026 in the first round, anyway. And they were the only ones outside of Marshal and his trillionaire buddies who would be Royals on their new world.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">This was why he didn\u2019t like people much. All those shits who wanted to turn themselves into kings. And all those dipshits who enthusiastically abetted them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe prices were crazy. For a billion Old Euros,\u201d Jack continued, \u201cyou could be a \u2018Lord of the Fleet,\u2019 stay awake during the journey, have a small stateroom on the ship instead of going into cryo, and have a castle fabricated for you during colonization. For a hundred million, you could be a \u2018Knight of the Legion,\u2019 get a spot in the newest and safest kind of cryo, and have a manor fabricated for you. For ten million, you could be a \u2018Gentleman of the Realm,\u2019 travel in regular cryo, and have a cottage in one of the villages. And for one million, you could be a \u2018Vassal of the Imperium,\u2019 travel in regular cryo, and have a place in one of the Royal palaces or Lords\u2019 castles, or be a peasant in one of the villages, at the end of the journey.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe get a lot of takers?\u201d People were insane. The idea of shelling out a million Old Euros to go become a feudal serf to some random medievalist gamer&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, but there was a problem. His game\u2019s popularity had dropped off in a huge way with women after some big scandal hit. I couldn\u2019t find any details about that,\u201d Jack admitted.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Good<\/i>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAlmost everybody who signed up was male and single. There were only going to be three or four paying women on the voyage, and they were already married to other passengers.\u201d Jack rolled her eyes. \u201cSo the demographic balance you need for a successful colony didn\u2019t exist. At all.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSounds like a problem. How\u2019d they fix it?\u201d It just <i>figured<\/i> that players of <i>that<\/i> game would have assumed that women would be provided for them as an amenity, rather than planning to buy passage for a female companion they already knew. Assuming they knew any women who wanted them within a hundred meters. Demme had warned him away from the game and the groups that played it, years ago, telling him that it was the kind of thing that would make it <i>harder<\/i> for him to ever bond with a <i>real<\/i> woman.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThings got pretty sketchy,\u201d she told him. \u201cThe charter members were asked if they wanted to pay to \u2018reserve a space\u2019 for a Lady for their household, so they\u2019d have someone to marry and have kids with, and they were told there probably wouldn\u2019t be one if they didn\u2019t. Some of them dropped out but most of them decided to do it. Marshal then offered the reserved spaces for free to \u2018mail order brides\u2019 trying to get out of the Second Soviet Union, as long as they agreed to marry one of his paying passengers upon arrival. That was another big scandal when that angle came out, about Marshal buying \u2018brood mares\u2019 or \u2018breeders&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u2019&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And there it was. Baked in from the <i>beginning.<\/i> Its meaning had changed over time\u2014there had been plenty of brothels on the Armada\u2019s ships with male \u201cbreeders\u201d in them before this day had ended them all\u2014but the exploitative relationship had been there from the <i>start.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2014&#8288;but they loaded up and took off for their new world just after Christmas 2101.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd were never seen again.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah. They were supposed to drop beacons before and after each Star Jump, for future navigational purposes and as a way of verifying the success of their journey,\u201d she continued. It must\u2019ve been a hell of a presentation when she\u2019d given it to her grammar school class. Erudite kid. \u201cThey dropped their last known beacon on July 1, 2102, halfway to their destination. The next one should have dropped on July 18, 2102, but it never activated, and none of the remaining beacons did, either. A probe was sent to Delubrum\u2014sorry, that\u2019s what they\u2019d officially named Kepler-186-f on their charter, Delubrum\u2014ten years later, and the terraforming had happened, so <i>that<\/i> Star Jumper had arrived, but there were no signs of any settlements. The charter was dissolved on January 12, 2203, because the standard rule is that a full century needs to pass between the time a colony ship was supposed to arrive and the time that the planet\u2019s charter is made available again.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She frowned at that. He suspected she was thinking of the New Christy Standoff, and the fact that the New Dartmouth Settlement had stolen a chartered world out from under its rightful owners, gotten away with it, and then gotten away with massacring all but half a dozen of the people they\u2019d robbed. Justice, of a kind, had finally been served&#8288;\u2026 just far too late. If Kyra Wittier-Collins were still alive and in a position to collect, she\u2019d nearly be a billionaire herself, thanks to the fines and settlements the Federacy had mandated three years earlier.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnybody ever settle on Delubrum?\u201d he asked, shying away\u2014<i>again<\/i>\u2014from the subject of Kyra.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, about fifty years after the charter dissolved. One of the last orbital survivor groups to leave the Solar System after the Great Asian War, a group of Dutch Moluccans and Moluccans from Ambon on old Earth. They even kept the name, and after the whole New Christy Standoff, they announced that they would \u2018make sure to keep seats at the table\u2019 for the people on the <i>Tenth Crusade<\/i> if they ever arrived.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAin\u2019t gonna happen,\u201d he told her. \u201cWe\u2019re on the <i>Tenth Crusade<\/i> right now, so it\u2019d be a bad day for everybody if it ever showed up there.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The shocked look Jack gave him was priceless. He\u2019d been waiting to see her make that face again for&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Six damned years&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHoly <i>fuck.<\/i>\u201d Jack looked around, sliding back off the foot of the bed and walking over to one of the walls to touch it. \u201cThat explains&#8288;\u2026 Riddick, this whole ship is straddling \u2019verses.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd your friend the Moribund lives in its basement.\u201d He almost added that it lived in the wreckage of the original engine room, but that was something Jack couldn\u2019t know yet.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Panic crossed her features for a split second before he watched her force herself to relax. Not that he could blame her. The Moribund <i>had<\/i> tried to murder her, after all. Based on the timing, he suspected it had been in retaliation for him killing the old Lord Marshal, but he wasn\u2019t positive. It\u2014<i>he<\/i>\u2014had been going on about the <i>Apeiros<\/i> stealing something from him when he\u2019d attacked Jack, and Riddick wasn\u2019t sure how that figured in.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWell, I will just stay out of the basement, then,\u201d she said, swallowing.<\/p>\r\n  \r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Good.<\/i> He\u2019d struck a truce to protect her, but if the Moribund bore her any lingering hostility, it\u2019d be better not to provoke him.<\/p>\r\n  \r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat do you think <i>happened<\/i> to it all?\u201d Her voice had become awed again, as she looked around his chambers and contemplated their origins.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMy theory? Their Level Five Incident opened them up to being used by the Moribund.\u201d Not that he could actually blame the creature, con&#173;sid&#173;ering&#8288;\u2026 \u201cIt&#8288;\u2014 sorry, he,\u201d he glanced up at the shadowed area where Jack\u2019s sister perched, \u201ctook control of them, and they spun up a whole religion about him. \u2018Lord Marshal\u2019 became a kind of title, but the first one to wear it was some guy named Covu, probably that pilot you mentioned, so I\u2019m thinking the bigwig wannabe-Royals who funded the trip didn\u2019t survive long. But you already picked up on how much their icons and stories are soaked in that game almost all of them played.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You would be correct,<\/i> the unnamed creature said. <i>We were aware of what he was doing, but we couldn\u2019t do anything about it. It is only in the last five and a half years, by human reckoning, that <b>we<\/b> have been able to speak to humans, ourselves. For more than a day or two, anyway.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">How many times, he wondered, had they tried to start such conversations with sufferers of Threshold Syndrome, only to have those humans die on them? And then two confused teenage esper girls wandered into their starfield&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou know,\u201d he said, glancing up at Her for a fraction of a second before She began to overwhelm his visual cortex and he had to look away again, \u201ctalking to you would be a whole lot easier if you had a name.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He was keeping Her and <i>Her<\/i> separated in his head, but if even one more nameless, powered female took it into her head to show up&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHer name was stolen from Her,\u201d Jack said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cA ceremony that never happened, right? What\u2019s it entail?\u201d A mixture of confusion and sadness from above him was the only response. \u201cYou never knew what it was, did you? Can you be <i>given<\/i> a name? The way Jack here named your species?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Perhaps. Do you have a name in mind?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI do, yeah. I think it\u2019s one that suits where you come from.\u201d Hopefully it would tell her that he knew exactly what was going on, what was being hidden from Jack, and that he was\u2014against his better judgment\u2014joining the fucking <i>cause.<\/i> Not just to rein the Moribund and his Necromongers in, but to bring an end to the atrocity that had sent the mock-god on his vengeance quest in the first place.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>And when someone like <b>me<\/b> calls something an atrocity&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat is it?\u201d Jack asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He grinned. Now for a bit of verbal sleight of hand. The girl knew way too many old twentieth-century Earth songs; she\u2019d know this one.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\">\u201cPicture yourself on a boat, on a river<br\/>\r\nWith tangerine trees and marmalade skies\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack looked completely as&#173;tonished&#8288;\u2026 and delighted. She joined in, harmonizing with him as he continued the first verse.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\">\u201cSomebody calls you, you answer quite slowly<br\/>\r\nA girl with kaleidoscope eyes&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Damn, he\u2019d forgotten how much fun it could be to sing with someone else. It was something he hadn\u2019t had a chance to do since he\u2019d been a little kid. Before she could launch into the second verse, however, he switched gears, pointing up at her as-yet-unnamed sister and belting out the chorus.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\">\u201cLucy in the sky with diamonds,<br\/>\r\nLucy in the sky with diamonds,<br\/>\r\nLucy in the sky with diamonds,<br\/>\r\nAhhhhhhh!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack had dissolved into delighted laughter. He could feel \u201cLucy\u2019s\u201d amusement from above him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Very circumspect of you, Riddick. The name is, indeed, appropriate.<\/i> He knew only he could hear her words at that moment. She understood the real meaning he intended, and why he\u2019d veiled it the way he had. Good. Jack didn\u2019t need any more holes in her memory.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And, he noticed, she had stopped calling him <i>Lightbringer<\/i> and was using <i>his<\/i> name. Was that for his benefit or Jack\u2019s?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo, what do you think?\u201d Jack asked Lucy, smiling the exact smile he\u2019d been hoping to see since he\u2019d found her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I accept. I will be Lucy.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s settled then,\u201d he told Jack with a wink. \u201cNow, there are a few things I need to do to finish making this armada safe for both of you. You think you can try not to blow anything up while I\u2019m gone?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhile you\u2019re making everything safe for me, can I get a shower and maybe a change of clothes?\u201d Jack asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShower\u2019s through there,\u201d he said, pointing to door leading to the over-luxurious ensuite bathroom. \u201cClothes&#8288;\u2026 I dunno. Explore the drawers and closets. The old Lord Marshal had six Ladies-in-Waiting who slept here with him. <i>Six<\/i>, for fuck\u2019s sake&#8288;\u2026 maybe one of them left something behind.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">One of them undoubtedly had; they had all accompanied him back to \u201chis\u201d new quarters that first night, and one of them\u2014a woman with a shaved head, and wasn\u2019t that fucking Freudian of him?\u2014had attempted to seduce and assassinate him. It might have even had a chance of working if he\u2019d been enjoying the sex instead of struggling with his sudden, incredible <i>disgust<\/i> and <i>horror<\/i>, and hadn\u2019t spotted her reaching for a knife. Moments later she was dead\u2014and he\u2019d have let her live if she hadn\u2019t kept <i>trying<\/i> to kill him, but there was only so long a fight could go on before he no longer gave a fuck who she kind of resembled <i>or<\/i> what they\u2019d been doing before she\u2019d begun trying to stab him\u2014and Zhylaw\u2019s other concubines were banished from not merely these rooms, but the <i>Basilica<\/i> as a whole. While he\u2019d given the five survivors a chance to take their things with them as they left for other ships and other Lords, he\u2019d never gotten around to dealing with, or throwing out, what they\u2019d left behind. The rest of his would-be assassin\u2019s clothes were probably still somewhere in these rooms.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A few of his nightmares, about finding Jack in the worst possible places, had involved gazing down on the corpse of the woman who\u2019d tried to murder him and realizing that the shaved head above the slashed throat wore <i>her<\/i> face. That was among the things that he would never, <i>ever<\/i> tell Jack about, along with&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat if nothing fits?\u201d she asked, rescuing him from his ruminations. She had a point; the Ladies of the court had a penchant for the tight and the form-fitting. He doubted they could loan each other their outfits.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019ll ask your <i>friend<\/i>, Dame Vaako, who makes her dresses,\u201d he told her, \u201cand have them come see you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShit. Do I have to wear <i>dresses<\/i> here?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Of course she\u2019d hate that. She might have worn jalabiyas sometimes while staying with the Meziane family, but she\u2019d mostly lived in pants, in defiance of the conventions of her home world and the Holy Man\u2019s attempts to control her. It was, honestly, hard to imagine her in dresses, although he\u2019d seen her wear a few in her mem&#173;ories&#8288;\u2026 including one or two, in the last year, that he wouldn\u2019t have minded helping her out of. The tight numbers Dame Vaako and the other Court Ladies favored were wrong for a trained fighter, anyway, especially one who wanted to kick easily.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He had the sudden intense urge to have a sparring session with her, see for himself how thoroughly Michael had trained her and whether she\u2019d gotten at all rusty during her year of cold storage.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNah,\u201d he told her. \u201cBut since that\u2019s probably all that\u2019s here, you tell the tailor to make whatever you want.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra had been wearing leggings, as he recalled&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He wasn\u2019t ready to talk to her about Kyra yet. It was going to break her heart, just as the fate of the al-Walids probably would despite how they\u2019d treated her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But if Kyra had been wearing leggings, Jack would be able to wear them, too. He thought. There was a lot about Court culture he still hadn\u2019t learned, hadn\u2019t wanted to know or care about, that might be important to someone who wasn\u2019t standing on the top of the heap. He needed to make sure she was as close to the top as possible, herself.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You know exactly how to make sure of that,<\/i> he told himself. He just didn\u2019t know if she\u2019d go for it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Except, of course, that he knew how she\u2019d spent many of her nights on Deckard\u2019s World, once she was legally old enough to, and he knew who she\u2019d been trying to see, trying to evoke, when she looked at almost half of the men she\u2019d spent them with. And he had no idea why the idea of bringing all that up, including his far too <i>decent<\/i> proposal, was making him so reticent. Tongue-tied, even.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Except that he was, in all his past dealings with women, accustomed to playing, running a game&#8288;\u2026 and this situation, this girl&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>She\u2019s almost nineteen. Really gotta start thinking of her as a woman if I\u2019m gonna make this offer.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2014&#8288;needed absolute truth. No games, no lies, not even lying with the truth, as <i>she<\/i> had apparently become adept at doing under General Toal\u2019s tutelage.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Maybe once all the pieces were in place, he\u2019d be ready for that aspect.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack was studying his face. \u201cYou okay in there?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It wasn\u2019t time to make things messy. Not yet. He winked at her instead. \u201cAlways. Now, I\u2019m gonna handle some business out in the audience room, so I\u2019m gonna close you in here. You okay with that?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She rolled her eyes, grinning to take the edge of her reaction off. \u201cI\u2019ll find a way to survive.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was already heading for the bathroom when he closed the doors. Fortunately, he <i>did<\/i> have business to conduct, or he might have been tempted to follow her. He wasn\u2019t sure either one of them was quite ready for that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I\u2019d better arrange breakfast for us,<\/i> he reminded himself as he crossed the sitting room. It had been, as near as he could tell, more than a day since either of them had eaten.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAny of my guests arrive yet?\u201d he asked, opening the outer doors. The guards on either side, probably still feeling cowed about letting Dame Vaako slip past them, nodded and pointed to a woman in full armor standing nearby.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Well, well, <i>well.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOfficer Lola,\u201d he said, a genuine smile spreading across his face. \u201cC\u2019mon in.\u201d<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5619\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5619 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-77\">\u00ab Chapter 77<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5651\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5651 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-79\">Chapter 79 \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=\"79\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5620\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5620 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-78\">\u00ab Chapter 78<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5652\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5652 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-80\">Chapter 80 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5741\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5741 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">79.<br\/>\r\n<u>Officer Lola<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Lola Esposito had, from childhood, always wanted to make a difference. To make the world better. For her, that had meant becoming a police officer.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She had been the one racing around her school playground, her windbreaker sleeves tied around her throat so that the jacket flapped out behind her like a cape, \u201crescuing\u201d her classmates from \u201cperil\u201d before \u201cflying\u201d away again. Protecting the innocent, she\u2019d insisted from that time forward, was her sworn duty&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>And it all ends like this,<\/i> she thought in disgust.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Chained to a filthy bed, naked, her own sets of handcuffs used to spread her arms and lock them to the bedposts behind her head, a nasty set of solid iron \u201cdungeon\u201d cuffs around her ankles keeping her legs open wide, all she could do was lie on the bed and wait for whatever was going to happen.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d tried, repeatedly, to get out of the cuffs in the last three hours. Her own sets, at least, could be stress-popped under the right conditions, and more than one perp she\u2019d caught had done exactly that, but she couldn\u2019t get the right angle or pressure to do the same thing. And the cuffs on her ankles were terrifyingly solid, feeling like the kinds of things blacksmiths had churned out more than a thousand years ago for actual medieval dungeons.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The men who had put them on her\u2014one of them a fellow cop, and if she managed to get out of this somehow, she was going to <i>destroy<\/i> him\u2014had jokingly \u201cwarned\u201d her that she wouldn\u2019t be able to escape them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019ll just injure yourself trying,\u201d Detective Palmer had laughed, \u201cbut fortunately, you won\u2019t injure any of the parts people are interested in.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I will fucking end him even if I have to come back from the grave to do it&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They had neatly folded up her clothes and set them on a nearby table, along with her badge, belt, and arms, just where she couldn\u2019t get at any of them. And then they had left, laughing and promising that someone who liked \u201csticking pigs\u201d would come attend to her soon.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Palmer had fooled her. <i>He\u2019d<\/i> been the dirty cop she\u2019d been trying to ferret out, the whole time, but he\u2019d tricked her into thinking Sato was the one she was after, tricked her into confiding in him about Sergeant Agassi\u2019s investigation into departmental corruption. And yet&#8288;\u2026 he hadn\u2019t fooled her for <i>long<\/i>. Tonight had been about gathering proof that he was on Vyacheslav\u2019s payroll, and she\u2019d nearly <i>suc&#173;ceed&#173;<\/i><i>ed<\/i>&#8288;\u2026 if only she hadn\u2019t gotten caught.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">In the last three hours, she\u2019d had nothing to do except make fruitless attempts to break out of the cuffs, go over all the evidence in her head&#8288;\u2026 and wait for <i>something<\/i> to happen. For one of the doors on either end of the room to open and <i>someone<\/i> to come in.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Finally one door, to her right, eased open.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Here we go.<\/i> She\u2019d had a lot of time to think about how she might stand up to the kind of torture her captors had in mind, but a shudder rolled through her all the same.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Instead of someone walking through, a long, slim gun barrel appeared, extending its way past the door crack. Then a man in full combat gear, leading with the rifle, stepped into the room. He stopped, staring at her for a few seconds, before he began moving forward, quartering the room.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Other soldiers followed him in.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Fuck. So it\u2019s gonna be some kind of cosplay gang bang.<\/i> She gritted her teeth, trying to prepare herself for the ordeal to come.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They ignored her, mostly, moving for the door on the other end of the room.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A few of them took a moment to look her over, and she could swear she saw their filthy thoughts in their eyes. Others looked troubled when they glanced her way. One of them, near the back of the group\u2014barely more than a kid, with black, close-cropped curls, a gymnast\u2019s or wrestler\u2019s physique, and odd dark glasses concealing his eyes\u2014kept looking over at her with a frown. As the others left through the next door, he turned and looked back at her again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cStay on task,\u201d she heard another soldier mutter to him. \u201cAin\u2019t no room for improvising in this gig if you want your head to stay on your neck.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Soon they were gone, the doors closed again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Another half hour crawled by. Lola was excruciatingly aware of how slowly time was passing thanks to the clock on the wall. Maybe that was one of the more subtle forms of torture in the room&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The lights flickered and died.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">No longer able to see the clock, she began to silently count. She was still two hours away from the message she\u2019d made for Sergeant Agassi, on a timed release if she didn\u2019t make it back by then, reaching him and, hopefully, triggering a rescue. But she\u2019d had plenty of time to come up with more than a dozen reasons why it wouldn\u2019t, or why the rescue wouldn\u2019t be in time even if it happened. Two hours left to live through, minimum, if she wanted any kind of chance at all&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The lights flickered on for a moment, died again, and then low emergency lighting came on, dark red and just barely illuminating the wall clock.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Another ten minutes passed before the door on her left eased open again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The young soldier who had kept looking back at her stepped into the room.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">His dark glasses had been removed. The red glow of the emergency lighting seemed to reflect in his eyes, making them ignite. It was like catching a glimpse of the devil.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He walked over to the foot of the bed in silence. Lola had the odd and horrible feeling that those inhuman eyes could see <i>everything<\/i>, not just the parts of her body that had been exposed and spread open but into her <i>head.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNever done this before,\u201d he said, his voice deep and full of the gravel that she associated with chain smokers&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2014&#8288;and, she suddenly thought, the old man who had lived one floor down from her, when she was a kid, who had been a prisoner of war in the Bernathi Conflict and had once told her, <i>this is what your voice sounds like if you spend a year screaming all the time&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She shuddered and put the thought aside. \u201cDone what?\u201d She had far too many awful ideas about what he meant, especially with him essentially standing between her legs like that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThis,\u201d he said, and touched one of the iron cuffs on her ankles. He glowered at it for a moment&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It snapped open right as he hissed in pain and pressed one hand to his temple.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFuck,\u201d he muttered. \u201cSons of bitches&#8288;\u2026 gonna kill them all for this&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">What the hell had just happened?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She watched as the man\u2014was he a man? The more she really looked at him, the more she thought he might still be a kid. A huge, hulking, <i>dangerous<\/i> kid&#8288;\u2026 but not actually an adult yet. What army recruited kids?\u2014took several deep breaths before putting his hand on the other iron cuff and glaring at it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cArgh!\u201d Now both hands were pressed to his temples, but the second iron cuff had snapped open, too.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was able to close her legs for the first time in hours&#8288;\u2026 and for the first time in hours, she was suddenly aware of how much her hips and inner thighs <i>hurt<\/i> from being held in that position for so long.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou okay?\u201d she found herself asking.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNot so much,\u201d he grumbled as he moved unsteadily around the bed toward her right wrist. \u201cLeast I can do <i>this<\/i> part phys&#173;i&#173;cally&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Apparently, this kid knew how to pop her cuffs. It took him less than fifteen seconds to have her right arm freed. His walk had steadied as he came around to her left side to work on the remaining cuff.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWho are you?\u201d she asked him as he worked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIf I told you, you\u2019d have to tell your bosses.\u201d He popped the last cuff off and gave her a crooked smile. \u201cWouldn\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She made her move, rolling to the side so she could lunge off the bed and grab for her guns&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2014&#8288;and fell, sprawling, to the floor, her muscles fucking <i>gelatin.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhoa,\u201d he said, and a moment later she felt his hands on her shoulders. \u201cEasy there, officer.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He helped her to her feet, steadying her. She suddenly smelled blood.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFuck,\u201d she muttered, forced to lean against him for a moment while she recovered her balance. There was blood on his shirt, she noticed, and an oozing wound on the join between his neck and shoulder.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJust breathe,\u201d he told her. \u201cYou\u2019re okay. Nothing\u2019s dislocated. How long were you chained up?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNearly four hours,\u201d she grumbled.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She heard the rattle of a wrapper, and then the guy handed her an <i>energy bar,<\/i> its wrapping already peeled back. \u201cEat. Tastes like shit, but you need the calories.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He was right; it was nasty. Halfway through it, before she could even ask, he offered her his opened canteen. Whatever was inside it, it wasn\u2019t water. Not alcohol either; it tasted bitter and chalky, like someone had forgotten to put a masking flavor into an energy drink.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cExactly,\u201d he said; she wasn\u2019t sure why. \u201cThink you\u2019re up to getting dressed on your own?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Well, jeez&#8288;\u2026<\/i> \u201cI can manage it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her guns were gone when she turned back to the table.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Fuck.<\/i> What had he done with them?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It took her longer than she liked to dress herself. Longer than <i>he<\/i> liked, too, because he helped her fasten her bra and button her shirt. Fortunately, her shoes didn\u2019t have laces, so she didn\u2019t have to deal with that embarrassment. She put on her belt, aware for the first time that Palmer hadn\u2019t found her recorder, which was still going.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A thunderous boom rocked the building from nearby. Next to her, the soldier laughed softly, took something out of his pocket, dropped it to the ground, and stomped it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat\u2019s so funny?\u201d she demanded.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI officially just died,\u201d he told her. \u201cFor a few hours, anyway. Not like they won\u2019t figure it out. C\u2019mon. Got a job for you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Did he think <i>she<\/i> was in Vyacheslav\u2019s pocket? \u201cAlready got one.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd this fits it perfectly. Don\u2019t make me insist.\u201d He inclined his head toward the door.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>He has my guns,<\/i> she reminded herself, and began walking.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For someone as large as he was, he moved as silently as a cat. He led her unerringly through the darkness; after she stumbled, he reached back, took her hand, and put it on his shoulder. \u201cNot much farther.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">In the distance, she heard a sudden rattle of gunfire. \u201cWhat\u2019s going on?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNothing you have to worry about,\u201d he said, turning and pushing open a door.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The well-lit room beyond looked, for a moment, like a daycare. A few of the soldiers who had passed through her room were sitting in it, using the child-sized tables as adult chairs, and more than a dozen children sat near them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Children? Why are there children in a mob-run casino&#8288;\u2026&#8288;? Oh. Fuck.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cKids,\u201d the nameless soldier next to her said, slipping his dark glasses back into place, \u201cthis is Officer Lola.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>What the fuck? I never told him my name&#8288;\u2014<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShe\u2019s gonna take you out of here to someplace safe.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She hadn\u2019t quite known what she\u2019d been expecting. Something nefarious, maybe. Real soldiers wouldn\u2019t have a kid his age\u2014and she was thinking sixteen, maybe seventeen, tops\u2014in their platoon, so these had to be mercs, right? And mercs had no honor, no code. She\u2019d figured he was going to use her as cannon fodder in some way. But&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But <i>this<\/i> was the job he wanted her for?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She turned to ask him, and found him holding her sidearms out to her, butts first. Still fully loaded, by their weight. She holstered the main gun, keeping her ankle piece drawn, trying to figure out what to say, what to ask.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou get them out of here,\u201d he told her, and followed up with detailed directions. It was the same way she\u2019d been brought in, although the impound lot fence hadn\u2019t had a hole in it at the time. His platoon must have added that feature.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat about you?\u201d she asked. Merc or not, she suddenly found herself worrying about him. He was just a kid, himself&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou don\u2019t concern yourself about us. Take care of the kids and we\u2019ll clear you a path.\u201d He was arming weapons of his own as he spoke, as were his brethren, most of whom were herding the kids over to her. \u201cYou ain\u2019t never seen none of us. You heard a racket while you were getting loose from your cuffs, found the kids, and got them the hell out of here, and you don\u2019t know what else went down. Understood?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She nodded. She\u2019d have to erase the last bit of the recording she\u2019d made, but whoever these soldiers were, their presence on her audio file might be dan&#173;gerous&#8288;\u2026 to her, or to them, she wasn\u2019t sure, but either way she should make it go away.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou never saw us,\u201d he was telling the kids. \u201cThat\u2019s for <i>your<\/i> safety more than ours. Now go.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She believed him. And somehow that just made her hungrier to know who\u2014<i>what<\/i>\u2014he was.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was hard not to wonder, not to speculate, as she led the children out of the \u201cdaycare\u201d and off to the right, soon following the path she\u2019d been forced to walk as Palmer and his goon friends dragged her in. She was aware of the soldiers around her, clearing the path&#8288;\u2026 and the moment when the \u201ckid\u201d snapped the neck of one of Palmer\u2019s accomplices who had taken a few liberties with her while helping undress her. She should have been sickened by the ease with which he did it, but she wasn\u2019t. What <i>was<\/i> he, though? How had he broken the cuffs on her ankles? Why had it felt like he\u2019d been inside her head?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">As she finished helping the kids through the fence and turned back to thank him, he was already gone, loping back toward the building they\u2019d left with weapons drawn. The rest of his brethren followed her through the fence and scattered into the darkness, one of them protectively shadowing her and the kids until they reached a well-lit thoroughfare and she could flag down a patrol car.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Fifteen missing and exploited children, recovered in a single night, should have been a career-making coup. It probably would have been, if only she\u2019d been able to keep her mouth shut.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She had&#8288;\u2026 at first. She\u2019d erased the last portion of her recording, starting with the mysterious soldiers\u2019 passage through the room, and had gone along with the pretense that she\u2019d finally managed to pop her own cuffs and that the ones at the foot of the bed were easy to defeat, too, once her hands were free. She\u2019d admitted to hearing fighting elsewhere in the complex as she was evacuating the kids, but both she and the children had sworn that they hadn\u2019t seen <i>anyone<\/i> as they fled the buildings.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Then the <tt>WANTED<\/tt> posters appeared on the station walls.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She recognized all the faces instantly: the soldiers who had helped rescue the children. Six of them were described as ex-Service, men who had broken out of a military prison and were committing a crime spree, probably as a team. Their alleged ringleader, Charles Demme, was the soldier who had shadowed her and the children to safety. The seventh&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She hadn\u2019t been wrong. He <i>was<\/i> a kid. Richard B. Riddick, seventeen&#8288;\u2026 with a string of brutal, <i>impossible<\/i> crimes attributed to him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Impossible, she knew, because she\u2019d helped process most of the scenes of those murders, knew the detective in charge of the cases, and knew for a damned <i>fact<\/i> that the only reason they were still <i>open<\/i> cases was because the perp actually behind the killings was fucking <i>untouchable<\/i> by law enforcement unless they somehow managed to catch him in the act.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She knew, with absolute <i>certainty<\/i>, that the boy was being framed for crimes he\u2019d had nothing to do with. Which meant <i>all<\/i> the <tt>WANTED<\/tt> posters were probably full of lies.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Vyacheslav was dead. Palmer had died at the casino that night, too, which had led to Agassi closing the corruption case without even listening to her evidence\u2014\u201cHe\u2019s dead, Lola. Why take his pension from his widow?\u201d\u2014and word was that all Vyacheslav\u2019s properties had been confiscated by the New Athens municipal government. And the seven men who had <i>really<\/i> rescued fifteen innocent children from sex slavery had been transformed into Public Enemies&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She should have kept her mouth shut, but she couldn\u2019t.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her friends on the force tried to warn her. Eventually, she\u2019d gotten the message&#8288;\u2026 after \u201caccidentally\u201d ending up on a no-fly list and experiencing two near-misses of having potentially career-ending petty crimes <i>almost<\/i> pinned on her, only to be cleared at the last moment. Finally, she\u2019d shut up and kept her head down, letting the official story stay unchallenged. Finally, she\u2019d understood why Riddick had warned her that she\u2019d never seen him or his friends, and what he\u2019d been trying to protect her from. But it still burned her that she couldn\u2019t defend the honor of the seventeen-year-old boy who had saved her life and rescued fifteen little kids&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And, for the next thirteen years, she had remained a lowly patrol officer even though she\u2019d more than earned a detective\u2019s badge. On Helion Prime\u2019s final night, she\u2019d been assigned to keep the peace in one of the shelters, not even allowed to join the fight against the invaders. And then, the next day, she\u2019d found herself among thousands being offered a terrible, unthinkable choice&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;one faith, one set of loyalties, exchanged for another&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;and, although sometimes her former sets of principles reared up and told her that it was wrong, all wrong&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;she was at peace&#8288;\u2026 of a kind&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe Lord Marshal has requested your attendance,\u201d Lord Huaman told Lola. \u201cYou will know the way.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She did; exactly how to reach the chambers of the Lord Marshal was suddenly in her head. \u201cPermission to leave my post?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGranted.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Two guards stood at either side of the Lord Marshal\u2019s doors, both looking ill at ease. She approached, standing directly in front of them. \u201cIs the Lord Marshal in? He summoned me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe&#8288;\u2026 is not to be disturbed at this time,\u201d one of the guards said. \u201cYou will need to wait.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Deep within, part of her wanted to rebel. Why the hell had she been summoned, at that moment, if she was just going to be made to wait? What the hell was the point?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Leave these thoughts behind. Service is all. Loyalty is all. The Underverse awaits.<\/i> The voices always came when she had doubts, when the person she had once been tried to reassert herself.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Not like I wasn\u2019t going to be standing still for a few more hours anyway&#8288;\u2026<\/i> She let go of the annoyance, stood at parade rest, and settled in to wait.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It didn\u2019t end up being all that long. Maybe fifteen minutes. Then the doors opened and the Lord Marshal, unarmored and strangely familiar, opened the door and leaned out. \u201cAny of my guests arrive yet?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The voice was familiar, too.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The guards at the door, who seemed unusually reticent, nodded at him and pointed her way.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was the first time she\u2019d seen the Lord Marshal, even though it had been a little over a year since he\u2019d taken power. He looked over at her, and a broad smile spread over his face. \u201cOfficer Lola. C\u2019mon in.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d never worked in any of the force\u2019s public relations areas; aside from the one rescue, she\u2019d never been in a position to need a \u201ckid-friendly\u201d name for her job. There was only one person who had ever called her that; everyone else had just called her Esposito. She found herself staring at him, even as she also found herself obediently walking forward.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">How had she not realized? How had she not <i>known?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>The Riddick&#8288;\u2026<\/i> was <i>her<\/i> Riddick. How had she not realized?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For a moment, the strange voices that often shut down her thinking had eased off.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was in his audience room. The inner doors were closed, leaving just a large desk, piled with his armor, and a single chair for furniture. She had the odd sense that once there had been more chairs, but most of them were gone. A statue in the middle of the room had been hidden beneath multiple large tapestries, all of them turned to obscure the pictures and display colorful snarls of thread instead.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s <i>you<\/i>,\u201d she managed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat it is,\u201d he said, still smiling. \u201cHow\u2019ve you been, Officer Lola?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She shrugged. \u201cI didn\u2019t understand what you were trying to warn me about, back in the day, so I probably didn\u2019t do as well as I should\u2019ve.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHmm&#8288;\u2026 that mean you tried to defend my honor?\u201d He sounded amused.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cUnfortunately, yes.\u201d She had to fight against the impulses to be deferential; the Necromonger Way prized obedience over truth, but he seemed to <i>want<\/i> truth, so wasn\u2019t that obedience, too?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSorry. That can\u2019t have gone well for you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWell, <i>I<\/i> didn\u2019t end up with a fabricated criminal record, anyway.\u201d Just barely.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cLet me guess, though. You ended up a beat cop for the rest of your career.\u201d He leaned against his desk, watching her, his expression almost&#8288;\u2026 fond? \u201cHow\u2019d you know that the criminal record they cooked up was fabricated? You didn\u2019t know anything about me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBecause I already knew who committed the crimes. We just couldn\u2019t prove it enough to get past his army of expensive lawyers.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou should\u2019ve been a detective.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat <i>was<\/i> the plan,\u201d she admitted, \u201cuntil I tanked it. I kept an eye on <i>your<\/i> record, though. I don\u2019t guess I should have been surprised that you <i>really<\/i> started committing murders.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It had hurt her heart more than a little, though.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat was inevitable.\u201d He shrugged, a hint of amusement crossing his enigmatic features.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI wish it hadn\u2019t been.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou were hoping I\u2019d make a career out of rescuing little kids and damsels in distress?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI wouldn\u2019t have minded,\u201d she told him. \u201cBut I don\u2019t guess there\u2019s much of a living in that when you\u2019re, what, a rogue Operative? With mercs, cops, <i>and<\/i> the military trying to chase you down?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">His smile widened again. \u201cClever girl. You figured it out. When?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTwo years later. That was when I found out Operatives were real, and how they were conditioned. You broke open those cuffs with your <i>mind<\/i> and it caused you pain.\u201d And, she realized, she\u2019d seen the wound where he\u2019d cut his tracker out, during the moment when he\u2019d held her and supported her. She just hadn\u2019t understood, at the time, what she was seeing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The Lord Marshal\u2014the Riddick\u2014no, just <i>Riddick<\/i>\u2014nodded. \u201cLike I said, you\u2019d\u2019ve been a good detective. I hardly ever do any of that \u2018esper\u2019 stuff. Mostly, I rely on other things. But I\u2019m gonna need to use it in a few minutes.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat for?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou.\u201d Riddick abruptly removed his shirt and set it on the desk. He still had the same part gymnast\u2019s, part wrestler\u2019s physique, a little more solid than it had been fourteen years before. \u201cI need your help. I need you for a special task, and I think you might even like it. But it means giving up a dream. And it means the return of pain. So I\u2019m giving you the chance to say no.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The Necromonger in her couldn\u2019t imagine saying no. She fought past it to consider his words. What dreams did she have left? So many had died, lost to poor choices. There was only one dream left, and it wasn\u2019t even really hers&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Was that the one he meant?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Could she give up the Underverse?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The last fourteen years of her life, the <i>chance<\/i> to achieve her ambitions, even if she\u2019d failed to&#8288;\u2026 had been because of him. She would have been dead long before any such dream of paradise appeared, if he hadn\u2019t saved her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She had always wanted to find a way to pay him back. What payment was enough to make up for a saved life?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m not going to say no. What do you need me to do?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He walked over to her, standing only inches from her. \u201cThis is probably gonna hurt. Possibly a lot. I need you to give me your hand.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She held her hand out to him, surprised when he wrapped his around her wrist.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOkay. Hold on.\u201d In front of her, Riddick closed his eyes. \u201cThis one, Moribund. Release this one to me. Now.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For a moment, she felt nothing. And then&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her whole body felt weak, sick&#8288;\u2026 <i>dying&#8288;\u2026<\/i> Pain bloomed all the way through her and she felt her strength giving out. The only other time she\u2019d felt like this was when she\u2019d been hospitalized with \u2019Enza and had genuinely believed she might die&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe\u2019s released you.\u201d Riddick opened his eyes again. The silver of them was no longer <i>catching<\/i> the light but <i>shining<\/i>. And there was a glowing handprint on his chest. He pressed her hand to the print&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Energy exploded out of him and blasted through her body. She convulsed as all her nerves came back to life and the power coursed through every cell. Riddick\u2019s free arm slipped around her waist, keeping her from falling. Suddenly her whole focus, all her effort, was on <i>not<\/i> screaming.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The last of the energy shivered along the ends of her nerves and went still.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Lola gasped, feeling better than she had in <i>years.<\/i> Her body was full of life, full of <i>power<\/i>, as if some wellspring had been opened within her. She hadn\u2019t felt this strong and full of vitality since she\u2019d been a <i>kid.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">In front of her, Riddick released her and fell to his knees, clutching his head. \u201cFuck&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She knelt beside him, steadying him as he had once steadied her. \u201cYou made me <i>human<\/i> again&#8288;\u2026 how?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick took several slow, deep breaths before he answered. \u201cIt\u2019s a Furyan thing&#8288;\u2026 a trick I learned from another Furyan&#8288;\u2026 one who never got caught and conditioned. He used it to save <i>her<\/i> life&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHer?\u201d Just from the emphasis and intonation, she could tell that Riddick was speaking about someone important to him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShe\u2019s&#8288;\u2026 a big part of why I did this,\u201d he said, slowly recovering his composure. \u201cShe might not need as much protection as I thought, but she still needs protectors. And I need to know they\u2019re not serving the Moribund\u2019s agenda. Just in case.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe Moribund?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe god of the Necromongers. Been controlling them for more than four hundred years. Until just now, it still had control over you, mostly.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick rose to his feet again and walked over to his desk, putting his shirt back on.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo, what happens now?\u201d Lola asked, touching her neck. She still had the scars of purification, but&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;she felt <i>truly<\/i> purified now. Full of astonishing life.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNow&#8288;\u2026 you are permanently reassigned to my personal detail. As part of <i>her<\/i> personal detail.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHer?\u201d she asked again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhen I met her six years ago, she was just a kid. Disguised as a boy, calling herself Jack. I\u2019ve always thought of her by that name.\u201d He gave Lola a wry grin. \u201cI left her on Helion Prime, thought she would be safe there. That didn\u2019t work out so well for her, but she found a safe place on another world&#8288;\u2026 until a merc that was after me decided to try to use her to get to me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat doesn\u2019t sound good.\u201d She\u2019d always hated dealing with mercs when she was a cop, even when they were supposedly there to help.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt wouldn\u2019t have been, but Jack\u2019s wily as fuck. She got away and started to make a run for it&#8288;\u2026 on a ship that Lord Vaako had gotten into position to raid. He recognized her and brought her to me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>The girl the Lord Marshal has been seeking for the last year&#8288;\u2026<\/i> \u201cAnd you want me to be part of her protection detail?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMore than that. She needs friends. Never met an esper who needs human contact as much as she does. Most of us shy away from it. Not her. She <i>lives<\/i> for it.\u201d He laughed softly and shook his head. \u201cSo yeah, protect her&#8288;\u2026 but even more im&#173;portant&#8288;\u2026 give her companionship. I think you two will like each other.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhere is she?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShowering, probably, back in there.\u201d He gestured at the closed doors between his audience room and his bedchambers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAre you two&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNot yet.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Lola found herself frowning. \u201cThat\u2019s&#8288;\u2026 a little presumptuous of you, isn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNot exactly.\u201d Riddick smirked. \u201cBut if it is, you can protect her from <i>me.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDon\u2019t think I won\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick laughed. \u201cI know you will, Lola.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There was a knock at the outer doors.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019ll probably be the rest of the soon-to-be-ex necros I called for,\u201d he told her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMore people you\u2019re taking back from the path to the Underverse?\u201d she found herself asking.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAin\u2019t no such thing, Officer Lola,\u201d he said as he started to walk over to the doors. \u201cThe Moribund\u2019s been running a long con for the last four hundred-plus years. You weren\u2019t on your way to paradise.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThen what\u2019s the purpose of all this?\u201d she gasped.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAin\u2019t time to tell you yet. I will. But not yet.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">If there was no paradise awaiting converts, what was the <i>point<\/i> of conversion? If death wasn\u2019t the gateway to that promised paradise, why were millions being exterminated? \u201cRiddick?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah?\u201d He stopped, looking back at her by the doors.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIf&#8288;\u2026 it\u2019s all a lie&#8288;\u2026 what have <i>you<\/i> been doing at the head of the Armada for the last year?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">His lips quirked. \u201cReining it in.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He opened the doors and stepped through, closing them behind him.<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5620\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5620 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-78\">\u00ab Chapter 78<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5652\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5652 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-80\">Chapter 80 \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=\"80\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5621\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5621 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-79\">\u00ab Chapter 79<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5653\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5653 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-81\">Chapter 81 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5744\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5744 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">80.<br\/>\r\n<u>Not His Entourage<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>That didn\u2019t go too badly.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick stepped out into the hall and looked around at the group of people waiting for him. Several wore full armor, but others were dressed in garb more appropriate for some of the more&#8288;\u2026 cerebral&#8288;\u2026 roles that existed throughout the Armada. He studied them for a moment before glancing over at the guards.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI need to order breakfast. Been a while since I ate, and even longer since the girl ate anything decent. See if the galley in this beast can put together a \u2018traditional Moroccan breakfast.\u2019 Have them make enough for fifteen. And tell the maintenance staff that the six suites surrounding mine are being opened up again. Have them cleaned up and readied for occupation. Any personal possessions left in them need to be brought to my audience room, after I\u2019m done working with everybody here.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYes, Lord Marshal. Right away.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Then again&#8288;\u2026 \u201cHave them make enough breakfast for seventeen. You two need some food, too.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That, he reflected, was the kind of thing Jack wouldn\u2019t have needed to go back and fix. She\u2019d have included the guards from the start. Going so deep into her head was having an odd effect on him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYes, Lord Marshal.\u201d With that, the guards looked a little more relaxed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He looked back at the assembled group. \u201cOkay. This is gonna take a while. Vanessa Raymond, you\u2019re up first. Come inside.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Vanessa Raymond was dressed in the garb of a Purifier acolyte. That didn\u2019t surprise him. A lot of the people who ended up in her position had been medical personnel before their conversions. She was tall and strongly built, probably a few years older than him. Her sandy hair had a few threads of silver in it; her lean, square face had laugh lines around the light brown eyes and mobile mouth. The only real difference in appearance, between the Nurse Raymond before him and the one in Jack\u2019s memories, was the deathly pallor of her skin. She stepped forward and followed him back into his audience chamber.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Officer Lola had removed her armor and bogarted his seat. She stood up as soon as he walked in, moving to stand by the inner doors leading to the bedroom.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Is she guarding them?<\/i> This could get interesting.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOfficer Lola, this is Vanessa Raymond. Vanessa Raymond, officer Lola Santiago, formerly of the New Athens Police Department.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Raymond frowned, looking at Lola. \u201cI see the scars of Purification, but&#8288;\u2026 what has happened to you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFuryan energy,\u201d Riddick said, seeing Lola\u2019s consternation. \u201cSomething we\u2019re gonna talk about a little. You were a medical professional before the Armada came, right? Tell me about what you did.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Raymond turned her attention back to him. \u201cI was a psychiatric nurse. I worked with troubled adolescents, managing their medication regimens, evaluating their mental and physical well-being, coordinating care programs. My specialty was trauma recovery, working with patients who had been identified as suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhere\u2019d you work?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cEight years at the Aceso Psychiatric Hospital, unfortunately&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d She grimaced and then shrugged. \u201cFour and a half years at the Kapodistrian Clinic, until the attack.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDo you miss the work? Be honest.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Raymond began to speak, a \u201cno\u201d clearly forming on her lips, but then stopped, frowning. Good. The impulse toward blind obedience had just been shut down by her Lord Marshal\u2019s command to answer honestly. He\u2019d seen the same struggle on Lola\u2019s face. \u201cI&#8288;\u2026 yes. It&#8288;\u2026 sometimes I don\u2019t understand how the promise of a future paradise can erase every trauma, every neu&#173;rosis&#8288;\u2026 it feels too good to be true&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She winced and closed her eyes. He could feel her struggling against voices that were trying to quell her doubts, shove her back into a small corner of her own mind.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI know one of your former patients. Someone who thinks highly of you, and I think she\u2019d want me to help you. But for me to do that, I need your permission. I can give you the truth. But truth ain\u2019t simple. It ain\u2019t pretty. And it probably doesn\u2019t lead to paradise. So I need you to think hard, and <i>careful,<\/i> about whether that\u2019s what you want.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He could see the voices going silent for her, see her thinking over what he had said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI&#8288;\u2026 want&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d She looked up at him, meeting his eyes. \u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;truth.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Lola had nearly fallen. He didn\u2019t know how Raymond might react. \u201cTake a seat.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He pulled his shirt back off as she sat down in the chair, and then crouched down in front of her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGive me your hand.\u201d He took her wrist, closing his eyes and reaching out for the Moribund. He could feel the creature, the way he could feel Lucy, but smoldering with rage and bitterness, pain and&#8288;\u2026 hunger&#8288;\u2026 in a way that Lucy never did.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>This one, Moribund&#8288;\u2026 give me this one\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">In front of him, Raymond made a strangled, gasping sound. The Moribund had released her; its energies and influence were no longer pouring in, and everything it had taken from her in the last year was now hitting home. His chest began to sting. Opening his eyes, he pressed her hand to the sting&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;and pushed outward.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was something he\u2019d known how to do from the time he was a child. Something that he\u2019d mastered early on, learning how to channel different types of energy. When he\u2019d been taken by the Quantifiers, he\u2019d had just enough sense to hide it, to pretend he had no such gift. They knew too much about him already, but that was the one thing they never learned. Nonetheless, what they\u2019d done to him had made it impossible to touch the energies anymore&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;until <i>She<\/i> had come to him again, a year ago, and somehow reached across space to press <i>Her<\/i> hand to his chest&#8288;\u2026 and the power had returned.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It still hurt like fuck to use it, though. He felt life sparkling through the wrist in his grip and released it, even as agony bloomed in his skull and he rocked back on his haunches. Two strong hands were suddenly on his shoulders.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI got you, big guy,\u201d Lola said from behind him. \u201cYou\u2019re okay.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Raymond gasped. \u201cHow did you&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Although she still hadn\u2019t been in sunlight for a little more than a year, there was already more color in her face than before. She looked <i>alive.<\/i> She <i>felt<\/i> alive.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Was this why the Quasi-Dead had been so frightened by his \u201cFuryan energy\u201d a year ago? Why the Lord Marshal before him had attacked Furya?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cBut all the survivors would say was that the devil had come&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/i> Funny how Jack seemed to know more about Furya than he did. Then again, John MacNamera had apparently served there. After whatever had happened.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He closed his eyes, focusing on the Moribund. <i>Why did you attack Furya? Is it because of what people like me can do?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><b><i>I did not attack Furya.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Bullshit. I\u2019ve seen a recording.<\/i> Through Jack\u2019s eyes, anyway. <i>Those were Necromonger ships in the skies.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><b><i>One portion of the Armada attacked that world. Not at my behest. I would not have ordered an attack upon it. I ended the attack and called them back when I knew.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>And why should I believe that?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><b><i>Because it belongs to my sister. <u>You<\/u> belong to my sister.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Lucy?<\/i> That didn\u2019t seem possible. Not given the timing involved.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><b><i>No. Shirah.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The name felt oddly familiar. Was that <i>Her<\/i> name? But <i>She<\/i> had a human body; when <i>She<\/i>\u2019d spoken to him, he had seen a beautiful woman in front of him, and <i>Her<\/i> handprint on his chest was a human handprint. How could <i>She<\/i> possibly be an <i>Apeiros?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And yet the Moribund had just said that he, Furya, and Furyans belonged to Shirah.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He would need to talk to Lucy about it. Most of the <i>Apeiros<\/i>, from Jack\u2019s memories, seemed honest, aside from the truth they were hiding from the girl because she wasn\u2019t ready to face it yet.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Fuck. Nurse Raymond had asked him a question and instead of answering her&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He opened his eyes, focusing on the world around him again. Two women were watching him with concern.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou ever heard of Furyans, Nurse Raymond?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She shrugged. \u201cA little, mostly bizarre rumors. Never met any.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou have now.\u201d He climbed back to his feet and picked up his shirt, pulling it back on. He wasn\u2019t entirely sure why he kept <i>doing<\/i> that, taking it off and putting it back on, except that somehow he wanted to be fully dressed in front of these women as much as possible. He didn\u2019t want them thinking that he expected anything sexual from them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He especially didn\u2019t want <i>Jack<\/i> thinking that he expected anything sexual from other women. Especially while the two of them were still in the process of establishing the parameters of their own relationship and hadn\u2019t even discussed <i>that<\/i> possible aspect yet.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo&#8288;\u2026 what you just did&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?&#8288;\u201d Raymond prompted.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s something that Furyans can do,\u201d he told her, \u201cat least some of us. I\u2019m still not clear on all the rules. Now, I figure next up is Dr. Zervas. You two used to work together, didn\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Raymond nodded. \u201cBoth at Aceso and Kapodistrian, yes. You said that you know a former patient of mine?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick nodded right back at her. \u201cWe\u2019ll talk about that once Dr. Zervas has been brought over.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The whole process was even easier with Polyhymnia Zervas, he realized; the pain in his head lessened each time he forced his way through it. Maybe, if he was lucky, Raymond and Zervas in particular would have some ideas about how to break his conditioning altogether. That was something that hadn\u2019t occurred to him when he\u2019d picked them; their initial selection had been all about Jack\u2019s feelings for people she\u2019d met on Helion Prime.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOkay,\u201d he told them once Dr. Zervas had recovered. \u201cThe two of you,\u201d and he nodded to Raymond and Zervas, \u201cwere chosen for this because you have a prior relationship with a friend of mine, and she has positive feelings about both of you. You attempted to treat her six years ago at the Aceso Psychiatric Hospital.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Both women frowned quizzically at each other.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI say \u2018attempted,\u2019\u201d he continued, \u201cbecause you were working with a faulty premise about what she was suffering from. Nobody was willing to listen to her when she tried to set the record straight, and then she realized her attempts to do so might threaten my safety, so she stopped trying and let you believe the lie.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He could see Officer Lola connecting her <i>own<\/i> experiences, in the aftermath of meeting him, to that. Funny how so many of the women who encountered him were stuck lying about it afterward, either for his sake or their own. Like the fuckin\u2019 \u2019verse itself was insisting on punishing them for getting through even a moment with him unscathed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWho is she,\u201d Raymond asked, \u201cand what was the lie?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOfficially, you knew her as Jane Doe 7439,\u201d Riddick told them. \u201cShe preferred to be called Jack. She\u2019d tried to kill herself, and she was suffering from PTSD after surviving a Star Jumper crash and its aftermath, and then being a hostage on a merc ship. What she was <i>not<\/i> suffering from, though, was either Stockholm Syndrome or trauma from being sexually abused.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Growing comprehension was spreading on both women\u2019s faces&#8288;\u2026 and then shocked recognition.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019re Richard Riddick,\u201d Raymond finally said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He nodded, trying to keep a smirk off his face. After everything she\u2019d seen in Helion Prime\u2019s last days, he couldn\u2019t still be a bogey man, could he? Then again, a certain Elemental seemed to believe he was \u2018another kind of evil\u2019 to answer the evil of the Necromongers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But then <i>again<\/i>, what <i>she<\/i> believed about the Necromongers made a new kind of sense to him now, anyway&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s me,\u201d he told Raymond. \u201cAnd when Jack told you I never touched her, she was telling you the truth.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd yet later, she admitted you\u2019d threatened her,\u201d Dr. Zervas said. In that calm, clinical way she undoubtedly talked to her own patients.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShe found out that a merc was hanging around and paying attention, and someone was breaking confidentiality rules to feed him information in return for a cut of my bounty. She found out that the Holy Man she\u2019d been staying with knew where I\u2019d gone&#8288;\u2026 and was going to <i>surrender<\/i> the information if the merc started suspecting the two of them were my <i>friends<\/i>, instead of my <i>victims<\/i>, and threatened his family or freedom. The kid changed up her story to <i>protect<\/i> me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He was still more than a little agog about that. But he could see, to the side, Lola nodding. She had tried to protect him, too, even as he was working to get her clear before the fallout of his actions could touch her. Most of the people he\u2019d encountered throughout his life had been inherently selfish enough not to do such a thing&#8288;\u2026 but the ones he liked best in the \u2019verse always seemed to have that crazy streak of selflessness to them that made him even more of a threat to their well-being than <i>ever.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cI won\u2019t leave without you, Riddick! I\u2019ll find you!\u201d<\/i> Jack had even planned to rescue <i>him<\/i> somehow\u2014and who the hell knew how she thought she\u2019d manage that?\u2014when they were on board the <i>Kublai Khan<\/i>. It was one of the many reasons he\u2019d had to leave her behind; he couldn\u2019t allow her to try to throw herself into harm\u2019s way like that. Not for him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He\u2019d already lost Carolyn Fry to that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Zervas was nodding, a thoughtful frown on her face. \u201cIn my sessions with her, even after she had \u2018admitted\u2019 that you\u2019d threatened her&#8288;\u2026 she refused to unpack any of the abuse you\u2014supposedly\u2014inflicted upon her. She would clam up if I tried to lead her there.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSmart move on her part, you know,\u201d he told the doctor. \u201cIf she\u2019d tried to make something up, you\u2019d probably have figured out she was still a virgin, and maybe even that she came from a planet with one of the worst and most incomplete sex-ed programs in the Federacy.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI <i>thought<\/i> her accent sounded like she came from Deckard\u2019s World,\u201d Raymond gasped.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cRight in one.\u201d They were quick. Good. They\u2019d need to be. \u201cSo here\u2019s the deal. Jack\u2019s here. And while she\u2019s dealt with a lot of her traumas pretty well, she probably could still use someone to listen to what she has to say about it all. She\u2019s been through some wild shit, some of which will probably be hard to believe. But it\u2019s all true. You\u2019re part of her detail now. If she needs help working through any of it, you give it to her. If she just needs friends, you give her that. And your old doctor-patient rules of confidentiality apply to <i>everything<\/i> she tells you, whether in confidence or even just within these rooms.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He looked at all three women, who had similar surprised-and-thoughtful looks on their faces.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019re her team now. Help her, trust her, and take care of her. And if you find that means you need to protect her from <i>me<\/i> in some capacity, you do that, too.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd the others outside?\u201d Lola asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Huh. He really had to decide if he was using first names or last names with these ladies and be consistent about the whole thing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThey\u2019re not exactly professionals at this kind of thing. But they\u2019re people she liked and cared about and wanted to get to know better when she was on Helion. Some of them might need to talk out their trauma from the invasion, even. That one girl, Ofra, was a patient at Aceso when Jack was, and helped her at a critical moment.\u201d He glanced at Ray&#8288;\u2014 no, <i>Vanessa<\/i> and <i>Poly<\/i>. \u201cYou two recognize her?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They nodded.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019ll do her next. I don\u2019t know if she was still in care or not when she was taken, so once I bring her back, maybe talk to her and see if she\u2019s okay.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019re not at all what I expected,\u201d Poly said, her expression hinting at ruefulness. Vanessa nodded.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe\u2019s almost exactly what I expected, so far,\u201d Lola said. \u201cI\u2019ll tell you all about how I met him later.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ofra proved trickier than he expected. Jack\u2019s recollection of her as one of the C Ward\u2019s \u201cquiet crazies\u201d still applied; the girl didn\u2019t speak, although she obeyed orders promptly when he told her to come in and then sit. He had to go into her head to get an actual conversation going, discovering in the process that she had spent her whole life struggling with verbal communication to such a profound degree that she\u2019d given up on it altogether, something that hadn\u2019t sat well with her family and had led to her committal. She remembered Jack as one of the only people who seemed to understand her <i>non<\/i>verbal attempts to com&#173;mu&#173;nicate&#8288;\u2026 until the Necromongers themselves had arrived, anyway. For her, the invasion had been a liberation. The voices that shoved everyone else into corners of their own minds had set her free.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The food arrived while he was still working with her, so he had the staff set up most of it in one of the suites that was being revived, to accommodate the other nine people who were awaiting his attention.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">In the end, Ofra chose to stay as she was. She might, he suspected, be destined to become one of the \u201cQuasi Dead,\u201d channeling other people\u2019s communication through her without needing to speak, herself. He had her join the others for breakfast, telling her that she could return to her duties once she was done and that, if she ever changed her mind, she could come back to him and he\u2019d make good on his offer.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Oddly enough, he could feel all three women approving his decision, even though it bothered him to make it given what he knew. He had a table set up in the audience room, with food for five in it and more actual chairs around it, and made sure both guards had their own helpings, before opening the inner doors to look for Jack.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The girl was in the middle of the bedroom doing Tai Chi.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Apparently, she\u2019d found some good things left behind by the prior Lord Marshal\u2019s consorts; she\u2019d even managed to avoid the omnipresent black attire and had found dark blue leggings\u2014still with the odd scaled pattern that characterized so much of Necromonger clothing\u2014and a tunic in a muted blue-green shade. Mermaid colors. He shouldn\u2019t have been surprised. She centered herself and turned toward him and the others&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And her eyes lit up. \u201cNurse <i>Raymond?<\/i> Doctor Poly! You survived the invasion!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Given who she was, hugs followed. Riddick had to quell a sudden rush of envy; she hadn\u2019t hugged him yet, but then, while most of the tension between them had lifted, things were still a work in progress. He would just have to content himself, for now, with watching her be <i>herself.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Not like I was touchy-feely with her before,<\/i> he conceded. <i>I avoided that for good reason. Maybe she thinks it\u2019s still off the table.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He\u2019d no sooner thought that when Jack spotted the food, realized what he\u2019d ordered just for her&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2014&#8288;and flung her arms around him. \u201cYou got my favorites! Thank you, Riddick!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He struggled to contain <i>all<\/i> the feelings her hug was inspiring in him, wrapping his arms around her in return and working to suppress a few inappropriate responses that would probably get side-eyes, or possibly outright glares, from the other women if they noticed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Let go when you feel her start to pull back,<\/i> he instructed himself. <i>Don\u2019t go creeper on her.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He did, however, keep his arm around her shoulder for a moment. She smelled amazing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJack, I want you to meet Officer Lola Santiago. She and I go way back. She\u2019s the head of your <i>protection<\/i> detail. And trust me, on this ship you\u2019re gonna need one.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It started as a handshake and turned into a hug. Then Jack stepped back, a quizzical frown and a puzzled smile vying for dominance on her face. \u201cYou three aren\u2019t straddling \u2019verses, not even a little. But you\u2019re all dressed like Necromongers&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cRiddick did something involving \u2018Furyan energy\u2019 to undo our conversion,\u201d Vanessa explained as they sat down to eat, shooting Riddick a quizzical look at the same time. He\u2019d let Jack explain the whole thing about \u2019verses.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c<i>Oh!<\/i> Like Michael did to me when the Moribund attacked me.\u201d Aside from a small, expressive shudder\u2014at least half of which, he was pretty sure, was theater\u2014Jack didn\u2019t seem to have any trouble talking about that incident. Which was good, because her three new friends were gonna have a lot of questions for her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick ate quickly, aware that the other four were settling in for a more leisurely breakfast and gab session, especially when Jack began pouring mint tea around. He rose right as the conversation turned to more earnest topics.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cStill got a lot to do,\u201d he told Jack when she looked a question at him. \u201cI\u2019ll be back later. You four will have plenty of time to get acquainted. Maybe even introduce them to Lucy.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I\u2019m here. And in answer to your earlier question, yes. Shirah is my sister, and the Light of Furya.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sounded like there\u2019d be quite a story behind <i>that.<\/i> Why, he found himself wondering, wasn\u2019t she the <i>Fury<\/i> of&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Oh. Of course.<\/i> That was going to be an interesting conversation with Jack, too. Once they were alone.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She walked with him to the doors.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe\u2019ve got a lot to talk about,\u201d she said as he reached for the knobs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He nodded, not ready to actually talk about any of it yet. \u201cWhen I get back, we will. Just got a few more things to do to make sure this ship is safe for you. Okay?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She nodded and then gave him another hug.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He hugged her back, wishing they were alone already&#8288;\u2026 glad they weren\u2019t. He still had a lot to work out. \u201cWhen you and the ladies get hungry, tell the guards what you want. Don\u2019t go exploring yet, though. I <i>know<\/i> you want to.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She snorted. \u201cShit, I still haven\u2019t finished exploring that bathroom of yours. That\u2019ll keep me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">True; he\u2019d been in smaller hangars. \u201cSee you soon, Jack.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cLooking forward to it.\u201d Her smile was easy, natural, as if the last six years apart had just been a few days.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">How did she do that? She wasn\u2019t the sort to just shrug off trauma so easily, was she? She sure as hell hadn\u2019t been in the past.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Then again,<\/i> he thought as he stepped out into the hall and the doors closed behind him, <i>she is a damned good actress.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He wondered who she was trying to sell the Normal Girl act to. Him? The other ladies in the room? Herself?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>It\u2019s the role she\u2019s been required to play for five years. She might not even know how to switch it off.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Of course, there was always the possibility that she was running a game of her own. She was one of General Toal\u2019s Op&#173;er&#173;atives&#8288;\u2026 and the chosen instrument of the <i>Apeiros<\/i>. And as much as that seemed to plant her firmly in the White Hat camp, it meant that some of her motives might not be fathomable even after his deep dive into her head. She might not be entirely what she seemed, even now.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Well, the last year <b>has<\/b> been pretty boring&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He left instructions with the guards to see to it that all his guests would be able to order lunch when they were hungry. Then he stopped by the suite where the remaining nine he hoped to convert back from the Moribund\u2019s thrall were waiting.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGot a few things I need to do before I get to you,\u201d he told them. \u201cThat\u2019ll give <i>you<\/i> time to figure some things out.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat is your will, Lord Marshal?\u201d one of them asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Damn. They were still deep under.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou all know each other. I need all of you to think about that, think about who you were <i>before<\/i>. Before you converted. Think about who you were together, the things you did. When I come back, I need to know if you want to be a team again. And if you\u2019re willing to give up a dream that wasn\u2019t yours and take back the pain that was, along with everything you were together.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They were frowning; what he was asking for would force their native personalities to the surface. Maybe.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Maybe there was something more he could do about that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Moribund. These ones I\u2019m with&#8288;\u2026 these nine. Don\u2019t release their <i>bodies<\/i> yet. But release their minds. Let them think clearly without interference from you or the Quasi Dead.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><b><i>Why do you not simply make them do what you will?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I need them to want it, too. And not because you or anything else told them to.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><b><i>You are much like my sister. No wonder she has chosen you.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That was all he needed, another prophecy declaring him its Chosen One.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Around him, he could see nine faces growing more animated, interested, confused&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhen I come back, you can let me know what you\u2019ve decided as a group. You got three choices. Give up the dream and take back the pain, and work with me, doing the things you did together before. Stay as you are, obeying the voices you usually have in your head now, but as a group again. Or go back to your post-conversion lives with no changes at all. Be ready to tell me what you\u2019ve chosen. You\u2019ll probably have a few hours to decide.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They had already begun talking quietly as he closed the door behind him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Now it was time to do something he should have done\u2014should have <i>known<\/i> to do\u2014a year earlier. Something that, if he\u2019d done it back then, might have led him to Jack well before this.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m ready,\u201d he told the Quasi-Dead as he entered their chamber and sat down on the central dais, folding his legs. \u201cShow me the memories of the one called Kyra.\u201d<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5621\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5621 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-79\">\u00ab Chapter 79<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5653\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5653 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-81\">Chapter 81 \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=\"81\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5622\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5622 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-80\">\u00ab Chapter 80<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5654\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5654 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-82\">Chapter 82 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5747\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5747 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">81.<br\/>\r\n<u>Black Fox in a Wolf\u2019s Lair<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The knots in Kyra Wittier-Collins\u2019s innards seemed to tighten with each goodbye hug she received from the members of the Meziane family. By the time she climbed into the back of General Toal\u2019s military vehicle and strapped in next to Tizzy, her guts felt as snarled as one of the attempts at crocheting she\u2019d made as a child.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Tizzy, who hardly ever hid her emotions, only seemed sad about the departure. But then, she had somewhere to go. What little worry she was feeling seemed to be reserved for Kyra.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Maybe,<\/i> Kyra thought, carefully shielding her musings from her sister, <i>I should have told her that nothing came through.<\/i> The only responses to any of the letters and applications she\u2019d sent out had been one or two infuriatingly polite letters, thanking her for applying but informing her that the position she\u2019d wanted was already filled.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Things didn\u2019t get better on the ride to the train station, which, she conceded, was her own damned fault. She\u2019d been the one who had insisted they split up, insisted they didn\u2019t tell each other where they were going. Tizzy would have been happy to stay together&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Why did I push her away? Why do I push everybody away?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The only thing she could think of, to counter her mistake, was to offer to go looking for Riddick together. But Tizzy turned it down.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i> I can\u2019t cut it in his world,<\/i> she\u2019d said, her mental \u201cvoice\u201d regretful but firm, as General Toal drove them to the station. <i>I\u2019m just not strong enough.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That baffled Kyra. How could Tizzy think she wasn\u2019t strong enough, after everything she\u2014and they\u2014had done? They\u2019d laid waste to an entire merc platoon together. Tizzy had probably blown up a <i>Star Jumper.<\/i> What <i>couldn\u2019t<\/i> they do as a team?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I was the one who ended \u201ctogether,\u201d<\/i> she reminded herself, and realized that the real heartsickness she\u2019d been feeling, since they\u2019d begun saying goodbyes at the Meziane house, was for her imminent separation from the sister of her heart.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Tizzy wanted to talk about security codes. It was hard to focus, hard not to get mad, until she realized that the younger girl had crafted one that would be easy for her to remember, no matter what, spelling out Riddick\u2019s name.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I\u2019m always your sister,<\/i> Tizzy told her, taking her hand. <i>No matter how many light years separate us.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It nearly cost her all the composure she had left, but she managed not to cry, to even answer <i>I\u2019m always your sister, too,<\/i> without her mental voice fracturing the way her physical voice might have. Other things she wanted to say crowded against the mental barriers she tried to keep up\u2014don\u2019t go, let\u2019s stay together, I\u2019m scared\u2014but their time was up before she could decide whether to say any of them. They were at the station.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra found she was disappointed that the General was able to usher them through security without any scans. She\u2019d wanted to see if Tizzy\u2019s scabbard trick would work, and if it didn\u2019t, having the general handy to bail her out would have been extremely helpful. Although she joked about not needing it yet with Tizzy, she was secretly peeved.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They said their good-byes by the waiting area for the express train to New Casablanca. General Toal even gave them a moment alone for it, politely standing out of earshot. Although normally not a hugger, Kyra suddenly found herself having a hard time letting go of Tizzy.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI can\u2019t believe this is it,\u201d she whispered. She wondered if she\u2019d expected some kind of mystical intervention, something that would end up keeping them together. If so, she\u2019d wasted all her chances to choose that path while waiting for something to choose it for her. <i>Fuck&#8288;\u2026 fuck&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDon\u2019t believe it,\u201d Tizzy said, her voice wavering. \u201cWe\u2019re gonna find each other again. Sisters forever.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cForever&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Sisters under a trio of suns\u2014or was it moons? Maybe it had been both\u2014going on forever together. And yet Tizzy had made it clear that she wasn\u2019t going to go looking for Riddick. <i>If it were Ewan we were going to look for, she\u2019d probably have been the one to suggest it&#8288;\u2026<\/i> \u201cTizzy?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIf I <i>do<\/i> find Riddick,\u201d and suddenly she knew that she was definitely going to <i>try<\/i>, \u201cwhat do I tell him about you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She felt veiled hints of emotions coming from Tizzy as her sister tried to conceal her reaction: worry, disbelief, sadness, resignation. Their hug loosened and Tizzy drew back to meet her gaze. There was sadness in her large green eyes, an almost ageless look. \u201cTell him Jack\u2019s dead,\u201d she finally said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That was right. Riddick had only ever known Tizzy as \u201cJack.\u201d Why, though, did it sometimes feel lately like that had been <i>her<\/i> name and not Tizzy\u2019s?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShe wasn\u2019t strong enough to cut it in his world,\u201d her sister continued.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Yes you are,<\/i> she wanted to protest. <i>We are! We could find him and make that fake video real&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Why did Tizzy think so little of herself? It hurt, realizing how little faith she had in her own power&#8288;\u2026 and she had so much power.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>A little more time and we could turn the Federacy itself on its ear,<\/i> she thought&#8288;\u2026 but it was never going to happen.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Behind them, General Toal cleared his throat. Their time was gone.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAlways your sister,\u201d Tizzy promised her, huge eyes solemn, as they reluctantly pulled away from each other.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAlways <i>your<\/i> sister,\u201d she promised back.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">General Toal gave Tizzy a small package and seemed genuinely surprised when he got a hug in return. <i>I don\u2019t know why he didn\u2019t expect that. Tizzy\u2019s a hugger. She\u2019d probably hug the fuckin\u2019 <\/i>Apeiros<i> if she could figure out how to&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra\u2019s train was on the other side of the terminal, going to the New Fes spaceport. General Toal escorted her there, mostly respecting her need for silence. With Tizzy taken from her, there was nothing she wanted to talk about with him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI have a few things for you,\u201d he told her as they reached the lounge for her train. \u201cThings that I hope will help you find your way.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He\u2019d given Tizzy just one small package; Kyra got two and an envelope. She wondered if the General knew how aimless her current trajectory truly was, and that was why he was giving her extra. Perversely, she found she resented that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThank you,\u201d she managed to say.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI truly am sorry it came to this,\u201d he said. It didn\u2019t <i>feel<\/i> like he was lying. \u201cI did want to help Cedric keep his son\u2019s promise to you. So I hope these things will help you break your trail quickly and return to the <i>ait Meziane<\/i> tribe soon.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSooner than Tizzy?\u201d She frowned.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFor Ewan\u2019s sake, Tizzy must not return before she is eighteen years old. No such limitation exists for you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Yeah, because nobody fell in love with <b>me<\/b>&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was a weird thing to feel envious of. Kyra didn\u2019t <i>want<\/i> Ewan, or any other man, to feel that way about her. Well, except for maybe one man&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Maybe just one man.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDihya?\u201d General Toal was asking, looking at her with concern. \u201cDo you need anything to help you? I think your sister has been worried that you don\u2019t have a clear path.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo, I\u2019m good.\u201d She conjured up a smile for him, hiding just how good she <i>wasn\u2019t.<\/i> As much as Tizzy seemed to trust him, as much help as he\u2019d actually given them&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was plagued by the thought that he would, inevitably, either turn out to be a monster, himself, or share Tomlin\u2019s fate instead.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGot it all covered,\u201d she told him, projecting <i>I\u2019m fine, it\u2019s fine<\/i> at him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She could see that he had his doubts. But he nodded and stepped back. No attempt at a hug, at least. \u201cGodspeed on your journey, then. Come back to us soon, Dihya.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d miss that name, she reflected as she boarded her train and settled in for the trip to New Fes. She\u2019d liked <i>being<\/i> Dihya, even if she\u2019d never once thought of herself by that name. Everybody who\u2019d called her by it had had such nice thoughts about her in their heads, none of them, even once, contemplating how to hurt or fuck or exploit her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">New Fes was two hours away by rail, enough time to make Kyra feel antsy and claustrophobic in the train seat with other passengers packed in so near to her. The General, who had paid for her ticket, had gotten her one of the cushiest seats in the train, but there was still a stranger sitting next to her, one who had tried to be talkative with her until she\u2019d managed to convince the older woman that they didn\u2019t have any languages in common.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Which meant she couldn\u2019t use her tablet in front of the old bat without giving away that she actually did understand English. Damn it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She unwrapped the gifts the General had given her instead, finding a high end, stealth gear money belt in one, a chip library for her tablet full of high school equivalency courses in another&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Yeah, he\u2019d never need to give <b>Tizzy<\/b> a present like this,<\/i> she admitted with a sigh.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2014&#8288;and an envelope with an emergency comm number and instructions to use it if she found herself in trouble, and to use it <i>instead<\/i> of any such number that members of the Meziane family might have given her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">None of them had given her an emergency number, although several of them had given her their regular comm numbers during her recuperation. <i>Huh.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Not bad gifts, all told, though. Halfway through the train ride, her seatmate departed at one of the stops. Soon the seat was taken by a man in expensive clothes who wore too much cologne and whose breath informed her he\u2019d had sardines for lunch, but who at least seemed to have no interest in talking to her. She pulled out her tablet and got to work picking through the imminent spaceport departures at New Fes, seeing which ones still had room for one more traveler.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">By the time she arrived at the spaceport, she\u2019d settled on the launch to Lupus Prime, which would begin boarding within the hour and would lift off maybe an hour or so after Tizzy was scheduled to reach New Casablanca. Of all the worlds that ships at New Fes were leaving for, it sounded like it was the best, the one with the most opportunities. She\u2019d hunker down when she got there, use some of the funds Tizzy and the Mezianes had given her to stay afloat for a while, and figure out what she wanted to do next.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The scabbard trick worked. She was proud of that, but wished she could have shared the moment with her sister. Nobody seemed to think there was anything at all unusual about her as she passed through the security checkpoints. She slipped into a restroom once she was through all of them, isomorphing her knives and their scabbards all the way back to U1 and transferring all her important documents to the money belt General Toal had given her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Boarding the <i>Caiman Dundee<\/i> was easy enough. The crewmate who helped her into cryo, she thought with annoyance, was less familiar with the controls than Tizzy had been. And then&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was on a world with three suns.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her prior time in cryosleep had been full of strange blanks, in between idyllic but fragmented recollections of her childhood, usually visiting members of her mother\u2019s family on old Earth or exploring the woods on Canaan Mountain. Any time her mind had ventured toward her more traumatic memories of strife or loss, the chamber had increased her sedative level to abort them. She\u2019d never seen her pa in her cryo dreams, or Red Roger, or any of the violence of the fall of the New Christy Enclave. The cryo chamber had fought hard to tamp down any segues into nightmare that tried to begin.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">This time, it didn\u2019t need to. This time, new dreams appeared. Dreams untinged by trauma or horror, although they would have contained both if the memories they came from had really been her own.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was on a world with three suns, surrounded by other crash survivors, all of them friends, all of them thinking kindly of her. She dreamed of Paris P. Ogilvie, her mentor who had taught her how to break into any security system she wanted, and who liked to tease her that her parents had run away from <i>her<\/i> whenever she pulled silly tricks on him. She dreamed of Shazza, who wanted to become her new mother and whose gruff husband, Zeke, mysteriously died shortly after the crash. She dreamed of Fry, beautiful sad Fry, who had nearly died as well except she\u2019d heard the pilot calling for help and had gotten the others to rescue her. Another would-be mother. She dreamed of Imam\u2014sanctimonious, jolly, treacherous\u2014and his three boys, only one of whom spoke enough English for her to understand him, but all three of whom liked her just fine anyway. She dreamed of Johns, authoritative, tough, treacherous as well.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She dreamed of Riddick.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Strong. Kind to her. Feared by the others until they discovered he was their only chance at salvation. Silver eyes gleaming in the darkness. A voice of graveled velvet quelling her fears and doubts.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She never dreamed of Jack. That was what people called <i>her<\/i> in the dreams. She only caught one glimpse of Tizzy, the whole time, reflected back at her in a mirror while they were shaving their heads to look more like Riddick. Tizzy had been there, she knew. The dreams were somehow Tizzy\u2019s story&#8288;\u2026 too&#8288;\u2026 but somehow her sister had been almost completely erased from her sight. Not walking beside her. Not joining her and Ali as they explored the settlement. Not running with her and the others into the darkness and then blaming herself for Paris\u2019s death. Tizzy, invisible but present, Jack but not Jack&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sometimes she dreamed of exploring the Canaan Mountain forests with Riddick, after he had rescued her, something she knew had happened before the eclipse. Exactly what he had rescued her from was obscured, as was how any of the crash survivors had died, precisely. She never saw any of their bodies. But as the dreams repeated, a narrative slowly cohered around them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick had come to her at the New Christy Enclave when she was twelve and desperately wishing for a better life, and he had helped her run away into the mountains. He\u2019d <i>rescued<\/i> her. They had stayed there for a while, hunting and traveling together, while he taught her all the things she needed to know to survive in the wild. But then Johns had caught him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d managed to chase after him, with Paris Ogilvie\u2019s help, and had boarded the <i>Hunter-Gratzner<\/i> so that she could rescue him right back, only the ship had crashed&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Somewhere in the mix of all that, there was a little sister named Tizzy, who was also twelve years old but was somehow a few years younger than her at the same time. Dream logic glided right past such things. But Tizzy\u2014Jack? Or was <i>she<\/i> Jack?\u2014was weak. She couldn\u2019t cut it. There wasn\u2019t any place for her in Riddick\u2019s world.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTell them Riddick\u2019s dead,\u201d her hero, her beloved, told her as they soared through space together. \u201cHe died somewhere on that planet.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Tell him Jack\u2019s dead,<\/i> Tizzy whispered in response. <i>She was too weak to cut it in his world&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her mind rebelled against that conclusion, and the dreams looped back to the beginning.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Repetition ingrains memory. By the time Kyra woke from cryo on Lupus Prime, the dreams had repeated so many hundreds\u2014maybe even thousands\u2014of times that they had taken on the weight of lived experience. Tizzy, she knew, had still been alive when they had been separated again from Riddick by the Imam\u2019s treachery. She had almost died soon after, but she\u2019d still been alive to break them out of a hospital and take them to the Meziane family&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But <i>Jack<\/i> had died. Jack was dead.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>She was weak. She couldn\u2019t cut it&#8288;\u2026<\/i> Tizzy\u2019s voice whispered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There was no more Jack. Whether it had been Kyra\u2019s name or Tizzy\u2019s no longer mattered, because Jack was dead.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick, however, wasn\u2019t. He was out there, somewhere&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The fog of cryo took a while to clear off, to let her real memories of real life reassert themselves. She <i>did<\/i> remember meeting \u201cJack\u201d at the Aceso Psychiatric Hospital, and the two escaping and taking the <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i> to Tangier Prime. She remembered everything that followed, including Jack <i>becoming<\/i> Tizzy and then their separation. But her memories of before then had, more or less, been overwritten, horror replaced by adventure. And even though part of her knew with perfect clarity that Jack had become Tizzy&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She also knew, with absolute certainty, that <i>she<\/i> had once been Jack, too, on the crash planet. But Jack was dead.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">None of it really held up to scrutiny. Kyra wasn\u2019t the kind to hold such things up to much scrutiny. The past was something that she never wanted to dwell on and that, for years, only appeared in her nightmares. Dreaming of its sanitized version was one thing; waking thought was for the moment at hand. She had far too much to deal with in the present, anyway.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Lykos City, Lupus Prime\u2019s capital city, was a glittering, cosmopolitan metropolis, full of far too many human beings, also full of the darkness and muck that could hide behind any glittering fa\u00e7ade. Kyra didn\u2019t like it at all. She wished she\u2019d picked a different destination. Maybe that UV-6 world Tizzy had thought about sending Toombs to&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Nah. She hated the cold even more than she hated being around so many people.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d figure it out.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The Kali Montgomery ID that Tizzy had made her went unquestioned and opened a lot of doors for her&#8288;\u2026 almost enough doors. On paper, she was old enough\u2014and had enough money\u2014to get a tiny apartment on her own. Settling in, she began to look for job prospects and catch up on the news.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was soon horrified to discover that the New Casablanca spaceport had blown up\u2014well, one of its concourses had\u2014scant hours after she\u2019d boarded the <i>Caiman Dundee.<\/i> There was no Tislilel Meziane listed among the survivors. She hadn\u2019t known, at her own insistence, what the name on Tizzy\u2019s fake ID had been, but none of the footage she found of the aftermath showed her sister.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Had Tizzy <i>died<\/i> in the explosion?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Jack\u2019s dead&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For a moment, Kyra was tempted to use the emergency number General Toal had given her, to ask him if her sister had survived. But that would mean letting him know where to find <i>her<\/i>. All her instincts shied away from that, her distrust blocking her from making the call. A tiny little part of her even wondered if the explosion story was a ploy to get her to come out of hiding.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d find a job first, she decided, and then reconsider reaching out. Maybe.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">In Lykos City, she swiftly discovered, nobody looked at a tallish, slim young woman and thought <i>fighter.<\/i> Nobody wanted to hire her for the things she was best at. The closest offer she got was a disgusting one from an underground arena involving naked cage matches. The Lupus System had no standing army like Tangier Prime\u2019s, no traditional police force; it kept mercenaries on its payroll instead, who were allowed to contract out for other work in between \u201ctours of duty\u201d as long as none of their jobs ever went against the System\u2019s interests.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Like I would want to be a merc,<\/i> she mentally sneered. She ate mercs for <i>breakfast.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Following Tizzy\u2019s thorough step-by-step instructions on the tablet, she established a backup identity just in case anything went wrong with \u201cKali Montgomery.\u201d It wasn\u2019t hard, she decided, as long as she was careful to follow the directions to the letter.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A week passed. No new prospects appeared. She collected her new identity documents, hoping they were as good as the ones Tizzy had made for her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Now that I have them,<\/i> she decided, <i>it\u2019s time to get the fuck off this rock.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sitting in a coffee shop, toying with her tablet and doing a little preliminary research on upcoming launches <i>off<\/i> Lupus Prime and onto somewhere a little <i>less<\/i> \u201ccivilized,\u201d she suddenly remembered the message drop that Tizzy had set up for the two of them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>How did I forget about that?<\/i> she thought, groaning internally. If Tizzy lived, there might be a message awaiting her there. Maybe even more than one.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Fortunately, her login credentials were stored in the tablet, because she\u2019d forgotten them as well.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Rote memorization had always been her weak point; in the Enclave, Teacher\u2014a gruff, bearded man who rarely said anything encouraging or kind\u2014had often yelled at her for her inaccurate recitations of Bible passages. Her recall and reproduction of anything physical was perfect, rivaling Tizzy\u2019s \u201ceidetic\u201d recall, but phrases and speeches\u2014whether spoken or written\u2014were often fuzzy to her, the exact wording getting lost even if she held onto the overall meaning. She\u2019d often, rebelliously, felt that her rewordings were better than the originals, especially where piles of \u201cthees\u201d and \u201cthous\u201d were concerned. But the same, unfortunately, was true of logins.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She remembered every detail Tafrara had shared with her about adapting old Earth plants to Tangier Prime, remembered all the steps she\u2019d learned for the Ceilidh and could dance it again any time someone pulled out a bagpipe, remembered every single Tai Chi pose Ewan and Tafrara had taught her even if she was a little fuzzy on some of their names&#8288;\u2026 but she couldn\u2019t remember the damned passwords Tizzy had made for her. Except one.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She wondered, suddenly, if she had resisted learning them because that would mean admitting that she and Tizzy really were parting ways.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Dozens of messages awaited her, the first posted just a few days after Kyra had left Tangier Prime. That confused her. They were uninterrupted, as if Tizzy had never gone into cryo at all. Had she <i>stayed<\/i> on the planet rather than returning to her home world? Maybe the New Casablanca spaceport explosion had changed things in some way. Kyra would have to see what her sister had to tell her; it might affect where she went next&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The back of her neck prickled. Someone was watching her, paying way too much attention to her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She closed the message system without reading any of Tizzy\u2019s missives. She\u2019d do that later, once she was sure she was safe. Shutting her eyes, she focused on the room around her and the people in it. She had some \u201cesper\u201d tricks that she\u2019d developed, once she started worrying that the Mezianes might try to limit Tizzy\u2019s and her movements, and she was damn well going to use them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">At one table, a guy was trying to flirt with a bored young woman who had only agreed to go out with him so her sister would shut up about her never \u201cputting herself out there.\u201d At another, a frustrated housewife who had gone without sex for more than a year was reading an explicit novel describing, in enthusiastic detail, acts she\u2019d always refused to try with her increasingly estranged husband, while drinking a sickly-sweet concoction that had barely any coffee in it. Two girls, probably exactly Kyra\u2019s real age, were planning a party together for the night when one of their sets of parents would be out of town, both hoping for a chance at \u201cseven minutes in heaven\u201d with the same boy. And in a corner booth&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He was military. He was staring right at her, wondering how much longer he would have to wait before he got the order to <i>bring her in.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Motherfucker&#8288;\u2026<\/i> She slipped her tablet back into her pack and rose from her seat. She was going to have to get the hell out of town, and off-planet, even faster than she\u2019d been planning.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He followed her at a \u201cdiscreet\u201d distance. She pretended she didn\u2019t know he was there.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">What, she asked herself, would Riddick do in a situation like this? Confront the fucker head-on, maybe?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Somewhere isolated. Somewhere where her shadow would think he had the advantage, held the high ground, but where it would be <i>her<\/i> game.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A park. A <i>playground<\/i>. It was late enough that all the kids had gone home.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She got ahead of him and, while out of sight, hid her pack under a roundabout that someone had been smart enough to position over soft sand. Then she let him catch up and get one glimpse of her before she vanished behind some trees.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Well, more accurately, <i>up<\/i> a tree.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He quartered the playground warily, trying to figure out where she\u2019d gone. She waited until he was directly below her to drop down onto him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The kick to his head as she came down didn\u2019t snap his neck, but it left him groggy and stumbling. She followed up with another kick to his lower spine, not damned hard enough, skipping back out of range as his training took over and, groggy or not, he began to fight in earnest. She had her knives out a second later.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She didn\u2019t kill him, but it was a near thing. She needed him alive, anyway, to unlock his comm and look around in it. Its retina pattern reader wouldn\u2019t work if the blood vessels weren\u2019t pulsing anymore.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her picture was stored on his comm, a surveillance shot of her leaving the fucking spaceport right after arriving on the planet. The latest message exchange, between him and his CO, told her everything she needed to know.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt><b>TM:<\/b> Is it time to move on her yet?<br\/>\r\n<b>WN:<\/b> General Toal says no. Keep observing. Don\u2019t get too close.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">General fucking Toal&#8288;\u2026 She\u2019d <i>known<\/i> it. She\u2019d tried to believe better of him for Tizzy\u2019s sake, but&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d fucking <i>known<\/i> it all along.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">No point in digging deeper; she needed to bug out. Shoving the man\u2019s comm back into his pocket and grabbing her sandy pack out from under the roundabout, she hurried back to her apartment, packing as quickly as she could. If there was one tail on her, there would be more. She left her Kali Montgomery ID sitting on the nightstand. Obviously, they knew that name. She\u2019d never dare use it again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra spent a few hours moving from one banking kiosk to another, cashing out the bearer cards she suspected Toal\u2019s men might have a line on and then, elsewhere, depositing the funds into new cards. It was tricky work, dodging around the transaction limits, but she finished before the sun rose, <i>what would Tizzy do<\/i> now a refrain in her head as she tried to think of the sneakiest moves to pull to keep dodging an impending goon squad. She went through the money belt carefully for bugs, found none, but decided not to risk it. The chip library ended up in the trash along with it, as well as the comm code and even the neurofeedback device Toal had given her. Nothing he\u2019d offered her could be trusted anymore. He might have tapped into anything.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">With that in mind, she bought a new comm, wiping the old one after transferring its data to her tablet. She transferred the basic data back onto the new one before boarding a train to the spaceport; she\u2019d do the rest later, once she\u2019d put a few million miles between herself and Toal\u2019s goons and had a chance to <i>sleep<\/i>. During the ride, she had time to leave one message for Tizzy, but no time to read anything her sister had left for <i>her:<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"center-block\"><tt>Don\u2019t trust Toal. He tried to grab me. Going dark.<br\/>\r\nAlways your sister. K.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Once she reached the spaceport, she ducked into a restroom and put the scabbard trick into play again, isomorphing her knives\u2019 scabbards halfway into Elsewhere\u2014thin-atmosphered and desolate on Lupus Prime but technically habitable\u2014far enough to hold something that was fully in that \u2019verse, and then isomorphing the knives inside each one all the way over. Two stayed on her, \u201cempty\u201d scabbards strapped to her thighs under her loose cargo pants that she could, if necessary, explain away if someone noticed. The rest went into her pack, along with her tablet, her clothes, Tizzy\u2019s binoculars, and half of her bearer cards.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">No Star Jumpers were launching from the spaceport for more than a day, but there was a shuttle to Lupus Station A leaving within an hour. Up on the station, a Star Jumper on its way to New Queensland would begin boarding four hours after she arrived. It was her best bet, especially if they didn\u2019t know she\u2019d gone running yet. Making her way through the spaceport, she bought her ticket at the last possible moment, cleared the security checkpoints as quickly as she could, and raced for her departure gate. She was the last one to board, stuck shoving her pack into a random overhead bin that still had room before taking her seat.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was, she thought a little blearily, her first launch in an actual seat, with no sedatives in her system. She didn\u2019t even remember being transferred from New Dartmouth to Helion Prime, and lying on the floor of the <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i> had not been pleasant at all. This was almost comfortable, aside from the pressure on her body&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2014&#8288;and the sudden, stinging heat building on the outside of her thighs&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Fuck!<\/i> In her rush to board, she\u2019d forgotten to isomorph her knives and scabbards back to U1!<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She closed her eyes, focusing on the sting, feeling the blades heating up in their sheaths as she pulled them back into just one universe. They weren\u2019t terribly painful, and were already beginning to cool. Hopefully she wouldn\u2019t have even first-degree burns to deal with&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">An alarm began shrieking in the cabin. Smoke was leaking from one of the overhead bins, growing thicker and blacker as everyone\u2019s attention turned to it. There was nothing she could do; God only knew how many Gs were sitting on her chest at that moment. Robotic fire suppression systems, strong enough to function even during liftoff, were on the move. Even as one robotic arm wrenched open the bin and another sprayed it down with fire suppressant, six glowing objects dropped down from the \u201cceiling\u201d below it and streaked, like holographic meteors, through the shuttle, unseen by anyone but her. Her other knives, still entirely in Elsewhere, no longer held by scabbards that had burned away in both \u2019verses&#8288;\u2026 white-hot as they fell back to the surface of Lupus Prime.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She could see into the compartment, see the blackened, crumbling remains of her pack and several other bags. Everything had burned hot and fast.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her pack. Her clothes. Half of her bearer cards, thousands of UDs in funds. The binoculars Tizzy had given her. And, most devastating of all, her tablet&#8288;\u2026 with all the codes and instructions that Tizzy had left for her&#8288;\u2026 all the data she hadn\u2019t yet ported over to her new comm&#8288;\u2026 the login for the messaging system Tizzy had set up for them&#8288;\u2026 the comm numbers of the Meziane family&#8288;\u2026 virtual and hard copies of her new identity\u2019s supporting documents, aside from the ID itself&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Destroyed. All of it&#8288;\u2026 lost forever.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She didn\u2019t even notice when the G forces eased off her body. She didn\u2019t feel any lighter.<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5622\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5622 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-80\">\u00ab Chapter 80<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5654\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5654 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-82\">Chapter 82 \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=\"82\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5623\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5623 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-81\">\u00ab Chapter 81<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5655\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5655 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-83\">Chapter 83 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5750\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5750 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">82.<br\/>\r\n<u>The Misnaming of the Rose<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">In a way, Kyra reflected ruefully, she was lucky. For a certain value of \u201clucky\u201d that still equaled \u201cfucked.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Before the shuttle even reached Lupus Station A, the mystery of the fire in the overhead compartment had been \u201csolved:\u201d a tearful, apologetic boy had admitted to everyone\u2014to his parents\u2019 horror and his older brother\u2019s fury\u2014that he\u2019d squirreled away half a dozen packs of Marlboros inside his carry-on and hidden within his toy box for his brother, along with just as many functional, old-fashioned isobutane lighters with flint-and-sparkwheel igniters. The spaceport security staff had missed all of it in their cursory examination of his bag.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Maybe, Kyra thought, that was why the fire had burned so hot and fast, starting in her own bag and spreading to the kid\u2019s&#8288;\u2026 and then going wild when it encountered the lighters. Everything in the compartment had been charred to the point where there was no sign that the fire <i>hadn\u2019t<\/i> started in the boy\u2019s bag. By the time they docked, everybody seemed to have a theory of how the lighters had managed to spontaneously ignite. But nobody was even glancing at the last passenger to board. Although \u201cMallory Glynn\u201d was taken aside for a moment by spaceport staff during disembarkation, it was only so they could offer her a thousand-UD bearer card in compensation for the loss of her property and ask her if she wanted to file a claim for a larger amount.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d lost more than ten thousand UDs worth of bearer cards and belongings to the fire, but she shrugged, accepted the card, and told them that it should cover the damages. She needed to get the hell off the station before General Toal\u2019s goons took a closer look at the accident or the passenger manifest.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Since the new bearer card, conveniently, had no possible ties to Kali Montgomery, she used it to buy her ticket to New Queensland. She didn\u2019t bother purchasing any replacement clothes or toiletries; she\u2019d be in cryo within a matter of hours. Replacements would be cheaper once she was on an actual planet again. While she waited for the <i>Komodo Dundee<\/i> to begin boarding, she worked at programming her new comm with every bit of data she could dredge from memory. She was pleased with herself when she managed to recall the ID and password for the Merc Network account Tizzy had created for her, which would allow her to see who was hunting her, how much her bounty was, and where people thought she was hiding. But she couldn\u2019t recall the ID and password for the message drop.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Fuck.<\/i> If she could just remember <i>that<\/i> one, she\u2019d be able to reach out to Tizzy for help reconstituting the rest. Her little sister had all the data backed up in her <i>brain<\/i> and could rattle any of it off from memory at a moment\u2019s notice&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>We never should have split up,<\/i> she admitted to herself. She should have especially realized it was the wrong thing to do when <i>Toal<\/i> had embraced the separation. <i>Divide and conquer&#8288;\u2026 what if she\u2019s been calling for my help this whole time?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was almost relieved to climb back into cryo and get away from her thoughts.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Six more months in cryo meant countless more repetitions of her dreams, which had taken a darker, sadder tinge somehow. While she still caught a glimpse of Tizzy in the mirror of a settlement house on the crash planet, she <i>knew<\/i> that her sister had been lost to her, taken from her. The Jack that had been Tizzy was dead.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>She was weak&#8288;\u2026 she couldn\u2019t cut it&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And, her conscience screamed when the cryo sedatives didn\u2019t prevent it, it was <i>her<\/i> fault that Jack was dead. She hadn\u2019t been vigilant enough, had allowed them to be separated.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Which meant that the Jack that was part of her&#8288;\u2026 was dead too?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It felt true.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">By the time she woke on New Queensland, having landed at the New Brisbane Interplanetary Spaceport, the narrative had solidified around the idea that Tizzy had died sometime during the adventures they and Riddick had gone on, at the hands of either Imam Abu al-Walid or General Toal, their shared \u201cJack\u201d identity dying with her&#8288;\u2026 because Riddick had left them and Kyra hadn\u2019t been strong enough to protect her little sister\u2014<i>she was weak, she couldn\u2019t cut it<\/i>\u2014on her own.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">When she really stopped and thought about it, the narrative made absolutely no sense. But trying to think about it awakened elaborate knots of anxiety and guilt. It was easier to move on, move forward, not look back.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">New Queensland was a semi-rustic world, with places where \u201cMallory\u201d could find work she liked, work that suited her temperament. She spent half a year as a ranch hand, working with cattle, riding horses, feeling free and hopeful, before an incident with a handsy supervisor got her fired. Things got harder after that, and nobody seemed willing to give her a shot anymore. There was mining work to be had, but she had no guild membership and no way to afford the requisite shine job without an income stream already in place.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Twenty menthol Kools my <b>ass<\/b><\/i>, she inwardly grumbled when she found out how much the procedure would cost her. She could pay for it, but it would dip too deep into her reserves, her \u201cbug-out money.\u201d If she didn\u2019t find work soon, though, she\u2019d have to pull from that fund anyway just to survive.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Once a week, she did a routine check of her record on the Merc Network. By coincidence, the first thing she saw during her next sign-on was a want ad, put up by some crew out of Lupus Five.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The bounty for Kyra Wittier-Collins was \u201cpending updates.\u201d She had no idea what the hell that meant.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her next stop was her employment application account, which had one new message.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"letter-block\"><tt>Dear Ms. Glynn,<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indent-block\"><tt>Thank you for your interest in our job listing. We regret that we are unable to offer you a position at this time. We will keep your application on file in case any new positions open.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt><b>P.S.<\/b> You should remove the New Gold Coast Cattle Ranch from your employment history on future applications. They\u2019re saying nasty things about you to anyone who calls them to verify your job record. I\u2019ve talked to some other women who used to work there so I know what probably really happened, but the head of HR still had to remove you from consideration because of what they said. I\u2019m sorry! \u2014&#8288;Jeni.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Fuck. <i>Fuck.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A day later, after kicking the shit out of several gym punching bags and two would-be muggers, Kyra came to her decision. Opening the Merc Network back up, she found the want ad and followed its application link. It wasn\u2019t ideal, but it was work, and it wasn\u2019t like she didn\u2019t know how to outwit mercs if she needed to. She and Tizzy had demolished an entire platoon of them once.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The application was easy enough; they were looking for new recruits, promising to teach them the trade and offering a good cut even during the apprenticeship. Aside from the basics, she didn\u2019t have to provide a whole lot of information besides education and existing skills. Like Kali Montgomery before her, Mallory Glynn had allegedly attended a military academy; she could simply claim that she\u2019d been traveling for a while before looking for work after graduation and not put down <i>any<\/i> employers, least of all the New Gold Coast Cattle Fuckers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But&#8288;\u2026 even if Mallory Glynn\u2019s reputation with employers hadn\u2019t been poisoned, the military academy angle was an issue. She no longer had the backup documents to prove that she\u2019d attended one, and she\u2019d lost all her notes about exactly which fictive names to put down as references&#8288;\u2026 not to mention access to those references\u2019 messaging accounts to reply to inquiries. Could she even use that name anymore? Was it any less toxic than trying to use Kyra Wittier-Collins or Kali Montgomery? Maybe it was time to use a new name on applications, starting with that one.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was a moment of recklessness, a \u201cwhy the hell not?\u201d that would prove all too costly. She no longer had the ability to create a new identity, but there was one more name that she had a claim to that, she thought in that moment, had far less poison attached to it. She felt a twinge of worry, a hint of foreboding, as she put it on the application instead of Mallory Glynn:<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"center-block\"><tt>Jack B. Badd<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She almost didn\u2019t hit <tt>send<\/tt>, almost pulled back and put the Mallory Glynn name back on it. But she took a deep breath, told herself not to wuss out, and submitted the application.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A few hours later, the crew responded, offering a meeting and interview in New Brisbane. She picked an interview time a few days out and got her ass back to the capital city barely in time to make it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The man who interviewed her was some employment agency guy fielding candidates for the mercs; there was little more to glean from his thoughts than she already knew. He asked her standard questions, had her spar against a local martial artist who was there to evaluate each recruit, and then\u2014after a short comm call\u2014informed her that she met all the crew\u2019s qualifications. He gave her a contract to sign\u2014several pages long, but he flipped right to the signature page without stopping\u2014and then drove her to the mercs\u2019 vessel at the spaceport.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d barely stepped onto the boarding ramp before they had her in cuffs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The next week, spent in one of their miniscule holding cells, was wracked with both anxiety and fury, and a lot of self-recriminations as she realized what they were doing and why. Jack B. Badd was a <i>known associate of Richard B. Riddick<\/i>; how the fuck had she <i>overlooked<\/i> that angle? Her conviction that Jack was <i>dead<\/i>, and that somehow the whole \u2019verse should know that, made no sense suddenly. Why the hell had she thought it would work to use a dead girl\u2019s name? Why the hell had she thought anyone <i>else<\/i> knew Jack was dead?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And how the fuck had she forgotten all about Alexander Motherfucking Toombs?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He walked into the room, alone\u2014no sign of Eve Logan, anyway\u2014and frowned at her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWho the fuck is <i>this?\u201d<\/i> he demanded of the mercs. \u201cThis ain\u2019t Jack B. Badd.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s the name she put on her application,\u201d one of the mercs objected. \u201cYou sure she\u2019s not the girl?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGod<i>damn<\/i> sure.\u201d Toombs walked closer, studying her carefully. \u201cBut you give Eve Logan a call. This might be the girl <i>she<\/i> was looking for, last time I saw her. Kyra Somethin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra Somethin\u2019 restrained a groan, struggling to keep her expression deadpan and challenging. <i>I really fucked myself.<\/i> Every name at her disposal was poisoned, but at least \u201cMallory Glynn\u201d didn\u2019t have anyone hunting her. She should have stuck with \u201cMallory Glynn.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Eve Logan, as it turned out, wasn\u2019t interested.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cApparently,\u201d the leader of the mercs told her with a smirk, \u201cKyra Wittier-Collins\u2014if that even <i>is<\/i> you, \u2019cause your ID says Mallory Glynn and my checks say it\u2019s one hundred percent legit\u2014she ain\u2019t a fugitive anymore. She\u2019s been exonerated. Those pissfucks at Amnesty Interplanetary got all the charges against her dropped or vacated. Ain\u2019t no money in turning you in anywhere, even if you were her. You ain\u2019t even got an outstanding parking ticket, Mallory. So the question is&#8288;\u2026 what do we do with you now?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They\u2019d already filled up their crew, every berth on the ship except their bounty cages taken, and had only offered her an interview so they could capture Jack B. Badd for Toombs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Why the fuck had Toombs said Jack was <i>someone else?<\/i> She\u2019d recognized him; why hadn\u2019t <i>he<\/i> recognized <i>her?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Another of the merc team laughed, the sound humorless and cruel. \u201cThe contract she signed gives us a lot of leeway, you know. Who cares what name\u2019s on it? She signed it, we have video of her signing it&#8288;\u2026 it\u2019s valid even if she never did read what she was signing. Paragraph fifteen says we can subcontract her services to whoever we want.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There was no escaping the cell. New Queensland, on Elsewhere\u2019s side of the threshold, was an airless rock. The vacuum would kill her before she could drop down to the ground and isomorph back. She toyed with trying to isomorph the whole goddamn ship over to Elsewhere and then come back alone, but the biggest thing she\u2019d ever moved across a threshold was a piece of driftwood. Tizzy had always done the heavy lifting, and <i>she\u2019d<\/i> fallen into a coma for several hours the time she\u2019d moved a ship that size.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra was stuck. And, very likely, fucked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A day later, four men arrived at the ship and looked her over.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNot bad,\u201d one of them said, his gaze crawling over her skin.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI like some more tit on a girl, myself,\u201d another grumbled.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Their minds were full of filth. For the first time since she\u2019d been tossed into the cell, Kyra felt real terror.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWell, you already got you a girl picked out anyway,\u201d the third said. He studied her with a nasty smile. \u201cShe\u2019s got her some spirit. Gonna have <i>fun<\/i> breakin\u2019 her in. We\u2019ll take her.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It took five of the mercs to get the chains on her. She fought the whole time, costing two of them teeth in the process, but probably would have lost a lot sooner if they weren\u2019t under strict instructions not to \u201cdamage the merchandise.\u201d Finally, they had her immobilized and loaded into another vehicle, which trundled her over to another launchpad. She\u2019d barely been hauled onto the next ship before the man who\u2019d talked about breaking her appeared, a vile grin on his face, and&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick sprawled backward onto the floor, scrambling off the dais, heart hammering.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Fuck! <b>Fuck!<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">His mind had recoiled so powerfully from Kyra\u2019s ordeal that it had completely broken the connection with the Quasi-Dead.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Are you all right, Lord Marshal?<\/i> they asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFuck no,\u201d he growled. Suddenly he found himself almost agreeing with the Moribund\u2019s barely-veiled desire to wipe out <i>all<\/i> of humankind in retribution for&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He forced himself to calm down, to take deep, long breaths. He\u2019d suffered through countless tortures, himself, when he\u2019d been even younger than Kyra was in her memories, before he\u2019d cut his tracker out and gone on the lam&#8288;\u2026 but he\u2019d never been abused <i>that<\/i> way and couldn\u2019t bring himself to experience it with her. His mind shuddered away from reconnecting with the Quasi-Dead.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThose men who bought her contract,\u201d he growled after a moment. \u201cThose mercs, too&#8288;\u2026 any of them converts?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>No,<\/i> the Quasi-Dead told him. <i>None of them are among the ranks, nor have any of them been in the past. They are all unknown to us.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Damn. He would have liked to make one of <i>them<\/i> live through what she had, over and over and over again until the fucker\u2019s mind collapsed under the weight of the horror she\u2019d experienced.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat about that motherfuckin\u2019 rancher?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>He is unknown to us as well.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Fucking hell.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><b><i>Why do you wish to punish someone for a crime not committed against you?<\/i><\/b> the Moribund asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhy are <i>you<\/i> still destroying worlds after four hundred years?\u201d he countered, trying to center himself.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><b><i>You know what will happen if I stop.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah,\u201d Riddick conceded, letting out a gust of air. \u201cI do. Gonna try to find a way to fix that for you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><b><i>You cannot. That is not your role in this. My brothers and sisters believe that is <u>her<\/u> role. I still doubt. Humans too are weak and treacherous to have so much faith in one of them.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her? For a moment, with Kyra in the forefront of his mind, he thought that was who the Moribund meant. But no, the rogue <i>Apeiros<\/i> was speaking of Jack. Jack&#8288;\u2026 who could never, <i>ever<\/i> know what her sister had been put through after their separation.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo what <i>is<\/i> my role in the war against your Demons of the Darkness, exactly?\u201d Riddick stopped and shook his head. \u201cNo, never mind. Don\u2019t tell me. All this destiny bullshit&#8288;\u2026 just tell me this. Are you just avenging <i>yourself<\/i> here? Not your brothers and sisters? One of the first things you said to Jack was something about \u2018a trillion deaths\u2019 for every one taken from you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He could recall the exact wording if he wanted to stop and think about it, but right now he didn\u2019t want to delve into his own thoughts. Or anyone else\u2019s.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><b><i>No. I am not just avenging <u>myself.<\/u><\/i><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThere\u2019s your answer, then. Maybe I feel the same way where Kyra\u2019s concerned. Those fuckers helped drive her to her death.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><b><i>I understand now.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He needed to recover, get some distance, before he tried to continue, although he was going to have to ask the Quasi-Dead to skip forward when he did.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow much time\u2019s elapsed since I came in here?\u201d he asked them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Two hours,<\/i> they replied.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Fuck. He hadn\u2019t even gotten all that far into her memories, even. She\u2019d spent thirteen months in cryo and roughly another eight months out; the date on her merc contract had indicated that she\u2019d signed the document in mid-February 2519 and been slaved out before the month ended. Still more than two and a half years until he\u2019d found her in Crematoria, still more than two and a half years before his attempt to rescue her got her abducted, converted, and killed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He still needed to deal with the rest of the converts he wanted to take back&#8288;\u2026 but he needed, more than anything, to spend some time with Jack. She, at least, had managed to survive knowing him without being destroyed. The impulse to stay far away from her before he managed to <i>change<\/i> that was back, strong as <i>fuck,<\/i> but&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I need her. More than ever.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He closed his eyes, reaching for some of <i>her<\/i> memories to counter the horror he\u2019d just faced. Jack in a bar while on a weekend ski trip with her roommate, legally an adult but still too young to drink&#8288;\u2026 fine with avoiding the issue by ordering an iced tea while Janice worked at \u201cgetting sloshed\u201d at the other end of the bar&#8288;\u2026 speaking to a man whose surface appearance was not dissimilar to <i>his<\/i> and inviting him to go skiing with her&#8288;\u2026 later, after the skiing, being invited back to his cabin to warm up&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d had a variety of creative ways to warm up, and no reservations about employing them. And while most of her had been firmly in the moment, a tiny part of her had imagined that it was her reunion with <i>him&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He could feel himself calming as he explored her memories, paying attention to the ways she liked to be touched and held, the positions she preferred, the places on her body that could ignite her senses. Aside from occasional moments of discomfort and annoyance if one of her partners tried something she discovered she <i>didn\u2019t<\/i> like, there was almost nothing negative in her experiences. After \u201cJim\u201d and \u201cLars,\u201d she had become adept at spotting and avoiding men whose agendas were potentially hurtful to her, finding instead men who just wanted to have, and share, a good time. One of her partners, as a kindly-intended joke, had labeled her a \u201csport fuck,\u201d and she\u2019d liked the term.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d avoided commitment, sticking to \u201csport fucking,\u201d because part of her was hoping to reunite with either him or Ewan Zdan\u2014and she had, realistically, assumed that it wouldn\u2019t be <i>him<\/i> she reunited with, even if she chose men who reminded her of him almost half the time\u2014and she\u2019d wanted to avoid any entanglements that would potentially prevent that from happening.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">An hour of meditating over her experiences finally calmed the part of him that wanted to unleash mayhem\u2014far too late to be of any use\u2014upon Kyra\u2019s tormentors, and finally made him feel like it was safe for other people to be around him again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Okay. Time to deal with the other recruits&#8288;\u2026 and then I think I need to talk to <b>her.<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The group he\u2019d left in one of the suites adjacent to his rooms perked up as soon as he walked in.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe\u2019re picking Door Number One,\u201d one of them said. It was no surprise that <i>he<\/i> was their spokesman again. \u201cWe\u2019re all in. What do you need us to do?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">All nine of them. Good. Everyone looked enthusiastic, too. Even better.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat I\u2019m about to do to each of you is gonna hurt. You braced for that?\u201d Making sure they knew that, were okay with that and <i>prepared<\/i> for it, was more important than ever suddenly.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m in.\u201d Their leader stepped forward. He was in his early twenties at most, his dark brown skin hiding the corpselike pallor of a Necromonger, closely buzzed hair sporting tiny curls instead of the box braids Riddick had seen in Jack\u2019s memories. \u201cDo me first, whatever it is you need to do.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">One by one, he brought them back from their undead states. It got easier and easier each time, the pain of his conditioning eroding away. Finally, all nine of them were human again, revived and looking astounded.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMan,\u201d the leader\u2014Antonio\u2014said, after the last conversion was undone, \u201cI had no idea what you were gonna do, but you could ask me to do <i>anything<\/i> now and I\u2019m in. Ain\u2019t no way to thank you enough.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">His friends murmured agreements around them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s good to hear. Now, let me tell you why I picked you.\u201d He was feeling increasingly at ease, the darkness of Kyra\u2019s experiences retreating for the moment. \u201cYou remember, about five and a half years ago, a pair of girls coming out of the spaceport to talk to you about doing a special performance? One of them told you her brother had fucked up his relationship with his girlfriend\u2014Gina\u2014and she wanted you to serenade Gina on his behalf to help win her back?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He could see recognition spreading over their faces&#8288;\u2026 and <i>delight.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cRemember?\u201d Antonio said as his face split into a huge grin. <i>\u201cDamn!<\/i> We made <i>so much scratch<\/i> that day thanks to her! Got some primo <i>gigs<\/i> out of it, too!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cPretty sure the lady we sang to had no clue what was going on, though,\u201d one of the women in the group\u2014Nichelle, a soprano\u2014laughed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAww, who cares?\u201d the group\u2019s tenor, a guy named Malik, laughed back. \u201cIt was still <i>gold<\/i>. How do <i>you<\/i> know about it, though, My Lord?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe girl who asked you to do it,\u201d he told them, \u201cis someone special to me. You\u2019ll get to see her again soon. I\u2019m wondering if you can put together a little show for her. And then maybe you can also take charge of getting some actual <i>life<\/i> into this flying crypt.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat\u2019s your friend\u2019s name?\u201d Antonio asked, still grinning. \u201cWe\u2019ll need that for the show we put together.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The name was an issue, wasn\u2019t it? There were multiple possibilities. But only one, he realized, that was safe to use, given who else was on board this ship. Everyone there already knew that he had been seeking his \u201cJack.\u201d Connecting that name to either of the others that popped into his head could be incredibly dangerous.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Jack it is,<\/i> he decided. He hoped she\u2019d go along with it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShe liked to go by \u2018Jack\u2019 back then. That work for you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe\u2019re on it,\u201d Antonio promised. \u201cWhen do you need us to be ready?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGimme a day. Still a few things left to do. And it\u2019s a surprise. I\u2019m gonna ask you to move into some of the suites right by mine, but not to cross paths with her until it\u2019s time for your performance.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe need to worry about her overhearing?\u201d the group\u2019s contralto, Nomiki, asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNah,\u201d he told them. \u201cThese walls are pretty thick stone. You should be fine.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Weird thing for a spaceship\u2019s walls to be made of, now that he thought about it&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He took a few moments to talk to the crews getting the other suites ready and instruct them to determine with the team\u2014apparently called the Ennead Kids back when Jack had encountered them, and they\u2019d never changed the name\u2014how they wanted to arrange and divide up four of the suites between them. With five men and four women in the group, things might get tricky, so he told the crews to let him know if any additional rooms were needed. He\u2019d ordered the entire wing vacated after the first few assassination attempts against him, so there was space to spare. Soon, he told the crew leaders, the women who would occupy the remaining two suites would come to speak to them as well.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Okay. Enough dawdling,<\/i> he told himself. <i>You need to talk to Jack.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Yes,<\/i> Lucy said from somewhere nearby. <i>You have centered yourself in the light again.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He groaned. <i>There you go, talking about me like I\u2019m the good guy in this story&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Surely you don\u2019t believe that you\u2019re the villain of the piece?<\/i> There was a hint of both amusement and sadness behind her words.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">No wonder, he reflected, Kyra had said that she hated not being the bad guys. Jack had reflected on that, too, contemplating how much better the \u2019verse would be if only they were the worst villains in it&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And now he needed to tell her. Fuck.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>C\u2019mon, you asshole,<\/i> he prodded himself. <i>This is Jack. She ain\u2019t gonna bite you unless you ask nice.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But, he reflected with a sinking heart, she might <i>cry<\/i> when she heard what he had to tell her. Hell, no \u201cmight\u201d about it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He forced himself to return to his quarters. By the time he reached the doors, there was no sign of his reluctance, his hes&#173;i&#173;tation&#8288;\u2026 no sign that he was in any way bothered by what he had to do next.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Four women were talking and laughing together as he walked in. Someone must have told a hell of a joke, because it took them a moment to recover their composure. None of them looked at all discomfited by his entry, though.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He didn\u2019t bother asking what the joke was. He knew, from Jack\u2019s memories, just how raunchy women\u2019s conversations could get when no man was around, and he didn\u2019t feel like embarrassing them by making them explain it all to him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack stood up and walked over to him, her smile bright, and gave him another hug. He held her close, not trying to hide just how much he needed to hold onto her for a spell.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Apparently, they <i>all<\/i> could tell.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe should go for a while,\u201d Lola said, surprising him. He\u2019d expected her to start trying to run interference.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He lifted his face from where he\u2019d buried it in Jack\u2019s hair. \u201cI have a pair of suites being prepared for you three. If you go talk to the crew preparing them, they can get things ready the way you want them. Talk to Olwyn or Jean-Paul. The guards outside know who they are.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The three women filed out of the room without another word, leaving him alone with Jack.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJust the three of them, huh?\u201d Jack asked him, her expression amused, not trying to pull back from the tight circle of his arms.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He nodded, still trying to decide what he should tell her first.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo,\u201d she continued after a moment, \u201cI guess it\u2019s time for us to talk about things?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He nodded again, wishing he wasn\u2019t feeling so tongue-tied, wishing he dared open up his mind to her without all the things that he never wanted her to know about pouring out amid the things he was struggling to say.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her hand on his cheek was warm and gentle. \u201cShould we sit down?\u201d Her expression had taken on a look of concern.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He was choking on the words he needed to get out. Keeping her close, he walked over to the entry into the bedroom and led her through, sitting down on the edge of the bed with her beside him. \u201cThis&#8288;\u2026 ain\u2019t easy.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s okay.\u201d The girl reached over and took his hand. \u201cWhatever it is, you can tell me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Deep breath&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Oh for fuck\u2019s sake, just <b>tell<\/b> her already&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s about Kyra.\u201d He watched her as she nodded, her expression expectant. Oh fuck, this was gonna be bad. \u201cYou know I found her last year, right, when I was looking for you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShe&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Fuck. <i>Just say it&#8288;\u2026<\/i> \u201cShe was killed during my fight with the old Lord Marshal.\u201d He forced himself to meet Jack\u2019s eyes as he said it. \u201cShe\u2019s dead.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack blinked, her expression becoming confused. In a moment, he was sure, her face would crumple as the pain hit. \u201cThat\u2019s&#8288;\u2026 not possible.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s the truth,\u201d he said in the gentlest voice he could manage.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The girl shook her head. \u201cNo, Riddick, I was with her just this morning. She\u2019s not dead. The <i>Apeiros<\/i> have her.\u201d<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5623\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5623 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-81\">\u00ab Chapter 81<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5655\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5655 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-83\">Chapter 83 \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=\"83\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5624\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5624 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-82\">\u00ab Chapter 82<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5656\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5656 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-84\">Chapter 84 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5753\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5753 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">83.<br\/>\r\n<u>Shape, Shell, Soul, Body<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">At least, Audrey thought, Riddick\u2019s dark mood made sense&#8288;\u2026 even if nothing else did suddenly.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She felt like they were in some weird game of verbal Chicken, each waiting for the other to break the silence as they stared, baffled, at one another. He thought Kyra was dead; she <i>knew<\/i> her sister <i>wasn\u2019t.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJack,\u201d he finally said, his words deliberate and his expression almost cautious, \u201cshe died in my arms. I was holding her. She stopped breathing. Her heart stopped beating. I <i>felt<\/i> her die.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She had walked with Kyra just that morning, showing her images of Elodie and her life on Deckard\u2019s World, slipping through the mists of Canaan Mountain\u2019s forests, revisiting the crash planet, until Lucy had summoned her back into&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Hmm.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Lucy? Can you settle this for us, please?<\/i> She projected, making sure that Riddick could hear her as well. He gave her a quizzical frown.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>What would you like settled, little one?<\/i> Good; Lucy was somewhere in the room, although that could possibly get awkward soon.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cRiddick believes Kyra\u2019s dead,\u201d she said aloud, \u201cbut I know she can\u2019t be because I was with her just this morning. And you and the other <i>Apeiros<\/i> told me she was safe and you had her, over a year ago. Can you tell Riddick what\u2019s true?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Your sister, Kyra, is safe with us, yes. Her five-shape is protected. Her shell failed last year, but I pulled her five-shape out before it could fail as well.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHer shell&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Audrey paused, realization hitting her. She remembered all the talk about shells and shapes, years ago, much of which hadn\u2019t made sense at the time. \u201cHer body? Her <i>body<\/i> died?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick nodded in agreement, his expression still discomfited. \u201cThe old Lord Marshal threw her across the room. She hit a spiked pillar and three of the spikes impaled her through her back. She managed to pull herself off, but she was bleeding out when I got to her.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey felt the gentle touch of one of Lucy\u2019s long, cool arms on her cheek. Riddick had turned his face away, unable to look at her non-human sister\u2019s impossible shape for more than a fraction of a second. <i>This is true,<\/i> Lucy said. <i>I was there. I pulled her five-shape from her shell and brought her to safety.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cSafety?\u201d<\/i> Riddick demanded, his eyes darting toward Lucy and then away again. \u201cShe <i>died in front of me.<\/i> Where the fuck is the <i>safety<\/i> in that?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>She will be reborn.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat, \u2018born anew\u2019 in the fucking <i>Underverse?\u201d<\/i> Riddick snarled, standing up and pacing. \u201cWe both know there ain\u2019t no such place. The Underverse is a <i>lie<\/i> your <i>brother<\/i> cooked up to keep his <i>minions<\/i> pacified.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>That is not how she will be reborn,<\/i> Lucy replied, her telepathic voice calm. <i>But the Underverse, as his vessels conceive it, may indeed exist somewhere among the <b>infinite<\/b> iterations of reality. Most of the ways they imagine it, they have come up with on their own.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGods don\u2019t write books,\u201d Riddick muttered. \u201cThe fuckers leave that to the people who think it\u2019s <i>mystic<\/i> voices they\u2019re hearing in their heads&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d He shot a furious glance at Lucy, still close enough to Audrey that he could only look their way for an eyeblink. \u201cSo how <i>will<\/i> Kyra be reborn?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Audrey will bring her back when the time is right.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;The fuck&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?&#8288;\u201d If Riddick could have, he\u2019d have stared at Lucy in disbelief.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was news to Audrey, too. \u201cUm, when will that be, Lucy?\u201d She had a pretty strong suspicion.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>After your hatching, you will be ready.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick kept <i>trying<\/i> to glare over at Lucy but kept being forced to look away. \u201cHer <i>hatching?<\/i> Into her fuckin\u2019 <i>six-shape?<\/i> You need to tell me something right the fuck <i>now<\/i> about that, because I\u2019m about ready to \u2019jack this psycho-fuck voyage if I don\u2019t get some better answers. Is this fuckin\u2019 <i>hatching<\/i> gonna break <i>her<\/i> \u2018shell?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>No.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019d better be sure about that,\u201d he growled.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I am certain. Her hatching approaches, but her death, as you understand death, is still far distant.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo, uh&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Audrey had to defuse the tension between them somehow. \u201cRiddick saw Kyra\u2019s <i>body<\/i> die, but you pulled her soul out before it could die too&#8288;\u2026 you\u2019re keeping it safe&#8288;\u2026 and I\u2019m gonna somehow re-corporealize it after I\u2019m able to move in <i>six<\/i> dimensions?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick had frozen, a look of horrified comprehension on his face. \u201cFuck. So that\u2019s what he was trying to&#8288;\u2026 mother<i>fucker<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat?\u201d she asked him, but he shook his head, lips pressed together in a hard line.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Your summation is accurate, Audrey. When the time comes, you will know what you need to do.<\/i> She could no longer feel Lucy on her back and shoulder. <i>I think you two have much to discuss alone. I will be near, should you need me, but not <b>too<\/b> near.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick had closed his eyes. He shook his head, his lips silently forming words. Audrey, fortunately, had been trained to read lips.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Too much fuckin\u2019 destiny in this shit&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cRiddick?\u201d She kept her voice soft.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI shouldn\u2019t be here,\u201d he murmured.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHere?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnywhere near you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She reached out, trying to get a sense of what he was thinking, feeling, despite the powerful shields he kept up between them. Rage. <i>Out<\/i>rage. Fear. Fear for <i>her.<\/i> And&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>And there it is&#8288;\u2026<\/i> She walked over to him and rested her hand on his cheek again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJack&#8288;\u2026 you should go.\u201d His voice sounded pained. He hadn\u2019t opened his eyes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGo where?\u201d she whispered, stepping closer.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAs far away from me as you can. Everything I touch dies.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNot everything,\u201d she told him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019re all that\u2019s left.\u201d His voice was the barest thread of sound.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cRiddick.\u201d She found herself barely able to restrain a laugh suddenly. \u201cYou spent the last several hours surrounding yourself, surrounding <i>us<\/i>, with friends. I\u2019m <i>not<\/i> all that\u2019s left.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He opened his eyes, his expression shocked and confused. Didn\u2019t he realize how many people had come to love him that day?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBut,\u201d she told him, \u201ceven if I <i>was<\/i> the only one left, you don\u2019t have to be so afraid of losing me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">His lips pursed as he began to form a protest, an objection. It was more than she could resist. She brought her lips to his and kissed him, the way she\u2019d dreamed of doing for years.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He froze for a second and then, with a groan, wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, taking over the kiss with barely constrained hunger. She still couldn\u2019t get a read on his thoughts, but his feelings were clear: desire, longing, lingering fear for her safety&#8288;\u2026 some kind of desperate need to wipe out the horrors of the \u2019verse by losing himself in <i>her&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She slid her hand from his cheek to the back of his head, the stubble almost feeling like velvet beneath her palm, and wrapped her other arm around his back as she opened her mouth to him. Their tongues slid against each other and Riddick groaned again, deeper, pulling her even more tightly against him. She could feel his growing arousal, the disintegration of his worries and inhibitions, as his hands stroked her back and then moved to grasp her thighs, lifting her up and wrapping her legs around his hips.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He walked back over to the bed, never releasing her mouth, and then lowered her down onto the firm surface before breaking the kiss.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">His hungry expression was strangely vulnerable. \u201cAre you sure you want to do this, Jack?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAbsolutely.\u201d She reached down, pulling off her shoes and socks and dropping them over the side of the bed, before scooting into its center. \u201cC\u2019mere.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He started to climb onto the bed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cWhoa!<\/i> Whoa there. Shoes. Off.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That, it turned out, was exactly the right thing to say. Riddick barked with laughter, the last of his dour mood dissipating as he sat on the edge of the bed and unlaced his boots. \u201cDemanding right out of the <i>gate<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd don\u2019t you <i>forget<\/i> it,\u201d she quipped back.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">His boots and socks removed, Riddick climbed onto the bed, crawling toward her with an almost predatory grin on his face. \u201cSo, now that my <i>shoes<\/i> are off, you got any other demands you want to make?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe\u2019ll see,\u201d she told him, beckoning him closer with a smirk. She wasn\u2019t going to let on, for even a second, that she was having a massive case of what felt like <i>stage fright<\/i> right then. A fantasy that she\u2019d cherished for <i>years<\/i> was about to become reality, and in response, she was suddenly having crazy performance anxiety.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Maybe he was, too. His answering smirk seemed to be hiding something more serious beneath it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWill we, now?\u201d Riddick asked as he reached her, looming over her and gathering her into his arms.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She brought her hand up to his cheek once more, marveling all over again at the <i>reality<\/i> of him after years of dreams, the face she\u2019d wondered if she\u2019d ever see again, glimmering eyes that had haunted her for so long. \u201cWhere the hell can I get eyes like that?\u201d she murmured, recalling the first time she\u2019d seen them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The emotion that appeared on his face in response was intense and complex, hints of sadness and longing mixed with fondness and desire. \u201cMaybe I wasn\u2019t entirely truthful about where,\u201d he told her. \u201cShine jobs are real, but I never had one.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou weren\u2019t born with them, were you?\u201d Had he been able to see into the dark from the moment of his birth?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNah&#8288;\u2026 my earliest memories have colors I can\u2019t see now. I lost those colors and gained new ones while I was being conditioned by the Quantifiers. Keeping me in the darkness all the time suddenly stopped working as well for them once I started seeing into the ultraviolet and infrared. I didn\u2019t even notice that my eyes had changed their look until later.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That was right; in one of the pictures Stacey had shown her, all those years ago, his eyes had been brown. He\u2019d looked young in the picture; she just hadn\u2019t realized quite <i>how<\/i> young he\u2019d been. She wondered when, and how, Michael\u2019s eyes had changed; he\u2019d never undergone the same kind of brutal conditioning that Riddick had, but she\u2019d seen his silver eyes, undisguised by contacts, just once. On the last night she\u2019d been herself for a while. \u201cIs it a Furyan thing?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMight be. I don\u2019t know enough <i>about<\/i> Furyans yet to be sure. \u2019Cept for one thing I realized earlier today when I was talking to Lucy. I know where we came from now.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhere?\u201d she asked him, even as she slid her hands under his sleeveless shirt and began pulling it up his torso.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He helped her take it off, baring his chest as he answered her. \u201cThe second of your missing Star Jumpers, Jack. The <i>Nick Fury.<\/i> All this weird talk about \u2018lightbringers\u2019 and \u2018lightbearers\u2019 and the \u2018Light of Furya,\u2019 and it suddenly hit me why nobody was talking about \u2018fury,\u2019 even though I\u2019ve used that light as a <i>weapon.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">How had she missed that? She rested the palm of her hand on Riddick\u2019s chest and closed her eyes, focusing on his <i>shape.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There: the soft flow of energy not of this \u2019verse, an innate part of him&#8288;\u2026 no <i>material<\/i> element of him was straddling universes, and no energy <i>exchange<\/i> was occurring, but there was a wellspring of power from some other \u2019verse, and he was tapped into it. She could feel it singing through him, subtly harmonizing with his string frequencies, a perfect symbiosis&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Something her dad had told her, years ago, came back to her. <i>The Caldera shouldn\u2019t exist. Nobody can figure out how it does. It isn\u2019t volcanic. It isn\u2019t anything that ought to be there. The fire, or whatever it is, just flows up from the ground for hundreds of miles. It looks like auroras rising out of the rocks from a distance. The native population \u201cfire walks\u201d through it as part of a lot of ceremonies. I\u2019ve seen them do it, stepping into the fire, their clothes burning right off their bodies, but they come back out without a mark on them, not even a singed hair. The old Lord Shirah told me that they\u2019re the children of the fire itself, maybe a year before the ceremony where he passed his crown, not that he ever wore a crown, to a young woman who became the Lady Shirah&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That fire, she realized, was flowing through Riddick even now.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cInteresting,\u201d Riddick rumbled above her, and she realized that he\u2019d been \u201creading\u201d her the whole time. \u201cI never knew about that part. But fire doesn\u2019t burn me. Guess now I know why.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s like there\u2019s a living fire <i>inside<\/i> you,\u201d she whispered, feeling awed. \u201cIt\u2019s so beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m glad <i>you<\/i> think so,\u201d he said, his voice pensive. \u201cSeems to me, though, the \u2018beautiful\u2019 in this room is <i>you<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Guys on the make had often pulled out the word, but Audrey had long ago learned that guys would say almost anything if they thought they could get sex out of it. It was much more meaningful to hear it after the little courtship dance was complete, the outcome already a given, almost as meaningful as when&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">No. This was not the time to think of other men, especially not <i>that<\/i> man. The important thing was what Riddick had said, because\u2014aside from maybe stretching the truth about shine jobs\u2014he had never once lied to her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She tried to pull him closer, but it was like trying to budge a boulder. Instead, she pulled herself up to him, molding her body against his and kissing his mouth again. Her move stirred a low growl in his chest; a moment later she was pressed down on the mattress by the weight of his body. His hunger drove the kiss as he explored her mouth. He wrapped her legs around his hips again, pressing his erection against her; the wave of answering hunger and arousal that crashed through her made them both gasp.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou know,\u201d he murmured against her lips, \u201cI\u2019m <i>trying<\/i> not to go buck wild here, but you\u2019re making that really hard&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMaybe I\u2019d like it if you <i>did<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou might be insane,\u201d he laughed, lifting his body away a little and sliding his hands under her tunic.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She arched her back and raised her arms so he could push the tunic up. Once he had it over her head, she pulled it off her arms and let it drop to the side, next to Riddick\u2019s discarded shirt. When she returned her gaze to him, he looked transfixed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She hadn\u2019t been able to find a bra her size among the discards left behind by the old Lord Marshal\u2019s harem\u2014<i>he<\/i> had preferred his companions to be busty\u2014she hadn\u2019t had anything on under the tunic. Maybe, she thought, Riddick hadn\u2019t expected that. He was staring at her as if he\u2019d never seen bare breasts before.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cYou know,\u201d<\/i> she parroted back at him after a moment, \u201cyou\u2019ve seen the twins lots of times in my memories.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNot like this,\u201d he whispered. He reached out, almost seeming afraid that he would shatter her with the lightest touch, and cupped his hand around one breast, stroking his thumb over her nipple. Her back arched as the sensation of his touch jolted all the way through to her core.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She slid her hand over his chest in response, cupping the swell of pure muscle under <i>his<\/i> nipple. <i>He\u2019s hard where I\u2019m soft&#8288;\u2026<\/i> \u201cI\u2019ve had a lot of fantasies about this moment,\u201d she told him as he bent his head and brought his lips to her throat.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMmmmmm&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d His lips and teeth grazed her skin with remarkable gentleness. \u201cI tried <i>very<\/i> hard never to think of you that way.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That made sense; she\u2019d been a kid when they\u2019d parted, and she had probably stayed a kid in his mind until they\u2019d met again. \u201cWhere did you go after you left New Mecca?\u201d she asked, tilting her head back to give him better access.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019re gonna laugh,\u201d he murmured in between nips at her skin. \u201cYou remember the planet you <i>almost<\/i> misdirected Toombs to?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Holy shit.<\/i> \u201cYou were on UV-6? That planet\u2019s <i>insane.<\/i> A great big ball of Fimbulwinter!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOn the surface, anyway,\u201d he chuckled, nibbling at her collar bone. \u201cGet underground, though&#8288;\u2026 there are hot springs. A lot of subterranean life, whole ecosystems that never see the sun. Funny thing is it made me think of the merc ship we\u2019d been on.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey wondered what the members of her Amnesty Interplanetary chapter would think if she told them that Richard B. Riddick read <i>poetry<\/i>. During her \u201csleeper\u201d year, their low opinion of him and \u201cthugs\u201d like him had left her confused as hell about what was true. \u201c\u2018Caverns measureless to man?\u2019\u201d she asked him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c\u2018Down to a sunless sea,\u2019\u201d he quoted back. \u201cThe water was probably too hot for most people to swim in, but I don\u2019t burn. Or boil.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">No, he just ignited fire in every centimeter of her skin that he touched. \u201cThat sounds amazing. I\u2019d have loved to see it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019d\u2019ve hated <i>smelling<\/i> it,\u201d he said with a soft laugh. \u201cRotten eggs. Most of the hot springs smelled like that, so I stayed near the surface even if it <i>was<\/i> cold.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cStill&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d she found herself wishing she\u2019d been there with him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He lifted his head from her throat, his expression turning sad. \u201cI couldn\u2019t take you with me, Jack. That would\u2019ve gone bad fast. You were way too young for what would probably have ended up happening.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She wanted to argue, but she knew he was right. \u201cI <i>was<\/i> fantasizing about something like this happening back then&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe two of us alone on a cold world, with nobody else to turn to for warmth, and your hormones going out of control the way they did when you were on Tangier Prime&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d He raised an eyebrow at her. \u201cRecipe for disaster. And no, even if you were dreaming about it, you weren\u2019t ready for it. The reality would\u2019ve broken the dream, probably broken <i>you.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She nodded. It was pure truth. He\u2019d have resisted as long as possible, but she\u2019d been tenacious and overconfident at that age, and would undoubtedly have turned up naked in his bed, maybe sneaking into it after he\u2019d fallen asleep\u2014assuming she <i>could<\/i> sneak up on him\u2014in an attempt to get past his inhibitions. The results might have been disastrous for both of them. She hadn\u2019t had her shots yet&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFortunately, I had mine,\u201d Riddick told her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Eavesdropper!<\/i> she thought at him in her fiercest mental \u201cvoice,\u201d not really bothered. He smirked at her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBut just because I wouldn\u2019t\u2019ve given you a disease or gotten you pregnant, wouldn\u2019t\u2019ve changed the fact that it would\u2019ve been dead wrong and would\u2019ve hurt you in other ways.\u201d His expression became regretful. \u201cLast thing I ever wanted to do was hurt you, but I guess one way or another it was inevitable.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI&#8288;\u2026 think that was more Imam than you,\u201d she told him. With her memories back in their proper places, she could see clearly how the Holy Man had tried to \u201cscare her straight,\u201d thinking that killing Chillingsworth had put her on a dark path he needed to rescue her from, and had twisted everything, even Riddick\u2019s nearly-wordless departure&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u2014&#8288;eyes catching faint glints of light like a pair of tarnished coins as he bent down, his lips brushing against her forehead&#8288;\u2026 \u201cSorry, kid\u2026\u201d&#8288;\u2014<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2014&#8288;into an indictment of what he\u2019d believed she was becoming.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The genuinely angry growl that started deep in Riddick\u2019s chest, perversely, sent a thrill of arousal through her. \u201cThe <i>only<\/i> reason I told the hoodoo where I\u2019d gone was so he could contact me if you ended up in trouble\u2014which he fuckin\u2019 never did\u2014and so he could tell <i>you<\/i> where I was once you were an adult, if you still wanted to come looking for me then.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat would you have done if I had?\u201d Audrey asked him, already certain of the answer.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat I\u2019m about to do now, probably.\u201d He kissed her collarbone again and began to kiss his way lower, nuzzling at her breast. \u201cOnly reason Toombs got a bead on me there at all was I got a proximity alert about a ship coming in, and I was hoping maybe you were on it \u2019cause the timing was right, so I\u2019d gone out to look&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSorry,\u201d she found herself saying as she arched her back. His arms tightened around her waist as he planted a kiss on her nipple, startling a moan out of her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNah, don\u2019t be. I got a nice little ship out of it. <i>And<\/i> a heads-up that the holy man was using the information I gave him for his own ends. I wondered if you\u2019d be there when I got back to Helion, but I gotta admit&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d he kissed her nipple again, circling its tip with his tongue. \u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;I was relieved you weren\u2019t <i>in<\/i> on his bullshit.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey moaned again, Riddick\u2019s mouth undoing coherent thought for a moment. She found herself wondering what might have happened if she\u2019d <i>been<\/i> waiting for him on Helion and he\u2019d found her there, believing her to be Imam\u2019s accomplice. Suddenly, the thought of him maybe making her his captive felt intensely erotic.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou want,\u201d Riddick murmured, \u201cwe can play that out sometime. Don\u2019t look for me to tie you up or anything, though. Not my kink.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She could definitely understand why it wouldn\u2019t be.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He was kissing his way down her abdomen, closer and closer to the waistband of her leggings, which he had hooked his fingers into and begun to pull down over her hips. Her panties were snared in his grasp, too. She arched her body so that he could slide all of it down more easily&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFuck, Jack,\u201d he groaned. \u201cHow are you so wet already?\u201d He sat up, pulling her leggings and panties off her completely and tossing them aside before moving to spread her legs and kneel between them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c\u2019Cause I\u2019ve been waiting for this for longer than you want to know,\u201d she told him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDon\u2019t even know what I want to do first&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d She could see him contemplating options, and she could see the option <i>she<\/i> wanted most straining against his cargo pants.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIn that case,\u201d she told him, \u201cI have another <i>demand.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He laughed, a look of surprise and delight spreading over his features as he unbuttoned his pants and pushed them down. \u201cLet me just get these off my legs, Jack.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo I\u2019m Jack again?\u201d she asked, watching him as he moved to sit next to her for a moment and pull his pants off the rest of the way, his erection proudly saluting her the whole time.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSafest name for you,\u201d he told her with a grin. \u201cEverybody here already knows you by it&#8288;\u2014 knows it\u2019s the name of the girl I\u2019ve been looking for, anyway. Connecting your birth name or any of your other aliases to it could unbreak your trail.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Whoops. He was right. She probably shouldn\u2019t have called herself Audrey in front of Chantesa Vaako.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>What\u2019s done is done&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019re still okay with the whole Jack B. Badd thing? Even knowing where I got it from?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cC\u2019mon, it\u2019s a <i>classic<\/i>.\u201d He winked at her. \u201cJack B. Nimble, Jack B. Quick&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Oh, he was going to play like <i>that<\/i>, was he? She sat up and \u201cpounced,\u201d straddling his lap as his liquid silver eyes widened. \u201cJack B. ready to ride your <i>dick<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He threw back his head, mostly, she thought, so he wouldn\u2019t guffaw right into her face. \u201cShit, girl, where were you when I was playing the dozens with the other kids in government housing?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI was probably pre-verbal back then,\u201d she laughed. If she\u2019d even been born yet at all. \u201cWouldn\u2019t\u2019ve been much help. But enough about that&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He groaned when she reached down and wrapped her hand around the shaft of his erection. His breath caught as she positioned it against her and sank down onto his length, burying him deep inside her. \u201cFuck&#8288;\u2026 right to the <i>hilt&#8288;\u2026<\/i>&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m greedy like that,\u201d Jack told him as his arms came around her again and he pulled her mouth to his.<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5624\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5624 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-82\">\u00ab Chapter 82<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5656\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5656 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-84\">Chapter 84 \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=\"84\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5625\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5625 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-83\">\u00ab Chapter 83<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5657\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5657 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-85\">Chapter 85 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5756\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5756 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">84.<br\/>\r\n<u>The G\u00f6tterd\u00e4mmerung Trolley<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDo you see now? Who and what you are?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick hadn\u2019t been visited by Shirah in a while. Now she stood in front of him again, the expression on her hawklike face intent. Around them an enormous graveyard spread out, tombstones covering hillsides and valleys.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI know what <i>you<\/i> are,\u201d he told her. \u201cStill not sure what you think I\u2019m supposed to be. This place even real?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A slow, approving smile spread over her face. \u201cAt last, you\u2019re beginning to pay attention. Very good. And no, no graveyard such as this exists on Furya, but if all the people Zhylaw killed <i>had<\/i> headstones raised to them, it would look a lot like this.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo I\u2019m dreaming right now,\u201d Riddick observed. \u201cAnd you\u2019ve pulled me into your mental space, the way your brothers and sisters pull Jack into theirs.\u201d He paused, looking around, thinking it over. \u201cZhylaw. That was the name of the Lord Marshal I killed. The one who attacked our world.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI hope that today wasn\u2019t the first time you realized that,\u201d she said, her smile turning mirthless.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJust the first day I\u2019ve had all the pieces to the puzzle in my hands,\u201d he countered. \u201cSee, here I thought you wanted me to destroy the Necros for you, but the whole time, you just wanted me to <i>take<\/i> them away from <i>him.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI have no enmity for my brother. But he has never reined in the corruption of his vessels. The worse they behave, the more they confirm what he wishes to believe about all humanity.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow come <i>you<\/i> wear a human face?\u201d Riddick asked her. It was still weird to realize what she really was. He\u2019d seen how the <i>Apeiros<\/i> had puppeteered Jack, but Shirah moved so naturally in her borrowed body that it was hard to believe she hadn\u2019t been born in it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI have no other to wear anymore,\u201d she told him, her smile becoming mock-flirtatious. \u201cDon\u2019t you like it? I\u2019ve been told it\u2019s very pretty.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s pretty. Whose was it?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHer name was Aiyana, and she lives in me still,\u201d Shirah told him. \u201cThey all live on in me. Four hundred years of light-wielders.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cLight bearer, light bringer, light wielder&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d He shook his head. \u201cThe light ain\u2019t where I belong.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She shook her head right back at him. \u201cWhen you walk into the darkness, Riddick, what is it you think you bring with you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDeath.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Shirah laughed, gesturing around her at the tombstones. \u201cYou couldn\u2019t even fill <i>one<\/i> of these fields. You\u2019re not heartless enough.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo?\u201d For a moment he felt insulted.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDon\u2019t <i>pout<\/i>, my Lightbringer. You are a warrior. But if you were the kind who could lay waste to whole worlds, who could <i>wish<\/i> to&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Now her smile lit up her face, for a moment almost reminding him of Jack\u2019s smile. \u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;I would never have marked you as one of mine.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNobody owns me,\u201d he growled.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNobody?\u201d Shirah sounded both curious and teasing. \u201cNot even her?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For a moment he could see Jack, fast asleep beside him, wrapped in darkness and sheets and his arms, her sweat-soaked blonde hair tousled from more than an hour of intense&#8288;\u2026 what, exactly? Fucking? Lovemaking? Something in between?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShe\u2019d never try to.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd yet you spent five years alone in a cold wilderness for her. A year turning over every stone in your path&#8288;\u2026 for her. Does none of that make you hers?\u201d Shirah sat down on one of the tombstones, watching him with curiosity.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe fuck do <i>you<\/i> care?\u201d he demanded, wishing he could find a doorway out of the dream. She was starting to piss him off.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBoth of you have been called to this war,\u201d she told him, a look of pity on her face, \u201cbut you have entirely different roles to play in it. No matter how you may try, your destinies will never be entwined.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m getting fuckin\u2019 sick of all this destiny bullshit,\u201d he growled. \u201cYou, the Moribund, Lucy, the rest of the <i>Apeiros&#8288;\u2026<\/i> How the fuck do you know what\u2019s coming?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI hatched into my six-shape more than four hundred years ago,\u201d she told him, her expression sobering. \u201cAnd the Demons of the Darkness came for me and for my brothers and sisters. You <i>know<\/i> what they did to us. But what they set into motion, in the doing of it, is far worse. Every universe will end, Riddick, if their act isn\u2019t negated. Worlds are already breaking thanks to them. They do not care. There is only one pathway left, for any of us, if anything is to survive. One sequence of events that can stop it. If you choose not to play your part, maybe another will step forward, or maybe <i>all<\/i> the worlds will fall and everything will <i>end<\/i>. It\u2019s time for you to choose. If not for me&#8288;\u2026 for her.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">As she had spoken, the graveyard around them had vanished, replaced by a starfield not unlike the one inhabited by the <i>Apeiros<\/i> in Jack\u2019s dreams. But, he suddenly realized, the stars weren\u2019t stars at all. Each bright light was an entire universe, locked in an intricate dance with all the others&#8288;\u2026 and the lights were failing. One after another, they guttered and died like burned out candles. Emptiness spread, a cold and terrible void that had no beginning or end and would devour everything&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Another graveyard. The <i>last<\/i> graveyard.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDestiny,\u201d he heard Shirah say, \u201cor oblivion. Choose now, before the choice is taken from us all.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He woke, gasping. \u201cFuck&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Beside him on the bed, Jack slept on, one hand curled against her cheek, lips gently curved. She looked far too fragile to be some kind of warrior of light anywhere in the destiny everybody was spinning, too innocent. But he knew that was an illusion. She was stronger than she knew&#8288;\u2026 if not quite strong <i>enough<\/i> yet.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was hard for him to even articulate what had happened between them, what it meant, where it might go&#8288;\u2026 but Jack had awakened a surprising hunger within him, which she\u2019d then somehow managed to sate as well. He\u2019d never, ever had a sexual partner take over from him and run the show before&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;and he was surprised by just how much he had <i>liked<\/i> it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But he\u2019d come dangerously close to dropping his shields and letting her see <i>everything,<\/i> including all the things that she could never know.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He lay beside her for a while, contemplating waking her to tell her about Shirah\u2019s visit. There was so much she wasn\u2019t supposed to know yet, though.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">After a moment, he climbed out of bed and padded into the bathroom.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The room had changed somehow. He looked around, frowning and trying to figure out what was different about it. When he finally spotted the difference, he was amazed that it had taken him so long to see it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Near the enormous bathtub, practically a swimming pool, some deranged sculptor had erected a statue of a grim-looking man peeling off his own skin. Riddick had made a point of covering the damned thing up with towels and spare bathrobes so that he didn\u2019t have to contemplate it on his way to the shower room.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The towels and robes were folded up neatly on a bench nearby. The statue itself was simply <i>gone.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The damned thing had been enormous, made of solid black marble.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He walked over to the space it had occupied.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Part of the base was still in U1, smoothly blending in with the marble tiling all around it, a solid slab of polished stone level with the rest of the floor.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s some fuckin\u2019 skill she\u2019s got,\u201d he muttered to himself after a moment. Glancing around the room, he spotted other smooth places in the stone where gruesome carvings had disappeared.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Wait a second&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He\u2019d walked right past it on his way back into the rooms, so intent upon his need to hold Jack, to lose himself in her, that he hadn\u2019t even noticed what else had been lost. The centerpiece of the receiving room, a statue depicting torture that he\u2019d covered over with equally disgusting tapestries for more than a year&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;that had been gone <i>too.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The tapestries, as he recalled, hadn\u2019t been folded up; they\u2019d simply been gone as well. He wouldn\u2019t miss any of them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">With all the Grand Guignol elements of the rooms stripped away, what was left had an almost Art Deco feel. He liked it. Looking around, he spotted other evidence of how Jack had spent her time while he was recruiting friends for her, and possibly how they had spent time once their breakfast was over: piles of women\u2019s clothing, and some men\u2019s clothing that was definitely not his, had been carefully folded up and arranged in a corner, along with baskets full of odds and ends: toiletries, strange pieces of jewelry, other things that Jack obviously had no interest in and intended to have cleared out. One dressing table had been set up with an array of basic-looking grooming supplies and even a few pieces of makeup that she\u2019d apparently decided were worth keeping. The rest of the clutter had vanished.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Nice.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A few baskets and piles, he noticed, had papers on top with names scrawled on them, in <i>eyeliner<\/i> if he wasn\u2019t mistaken: <tt>Poly<\/tt>, <tt>Lola<\/tt>, <tt>Vanessa<\/tt>. Items that she\u2019d apparently set aside for them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I\u2019ll let the Ennead Kids go through the rest of the stuff before it\u2019s all carted off,<\/i> he decided. Who knew what they might want? The thing he liked most of all was seeing just how little interest Jack had in material possessions, aside from those things that would be most useful.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There was, he realized, one more labeled pile. He hadn\u2019t expected it to hurt so much to look at. <tt>Kyra<\/tt>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was saving some things for <i>Kyra.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFuck.\u201d Even now it was hard to resist his <i>conviction<\/i> that Kyra was dead.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He moved on to the shower room, noticing that Jack had placed a small collection of toiletries, along with a long-handled bath brush he\u2019d never seen before, by one of the showerheads a few heads down from <i>his.<\/i> She appeared to have adjusted the temperature settings of that head to suit her, too. No surprise that she\u2019d need to; he didn\u2019t burn and had his showerhead set to what one of his foster mothers had always called \u201cdevil hot.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He was most of the way through his shower when Jack turned on the water near him and began her own. He couldn\u2019t resist pivoting to watch her as he rinsed off.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He liked how tall she was, her eye level only two or three inches below his. It had frustrated her, in her memories, that so many men found her height intimidating, but he didn\u2019t. It was, he decided, a turn-on, and not the only one. She was slender but athletic, good muscle tone throughout her body. She had a runner\u2019s legs\u2014no surprise from all her memories of track meets\u2014and he had the suspicion that she might even have succeeded in her goal of being able to not merely keep up with him but <i>outrun<\/i> him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Not that I\u2019ve been slacking off&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He wanted to bury himself inside her all over again. As much as he kept being afraid she\u2019d break in his hands, that wasn\u2019t what happened. She\u2019d spent five years\u2014including her sleeper year\u2014training to fight in a war, even if the particulars of that war were still being withheld from her. In some ways, she was every bit as strong as him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He\u2019d drifted over to her stream as he contemplated her. She was rinsing her hair, eyes closed against any shampoo suds that might try to slide into them, head tilted back. Soaked and plastered to her head, her blonde hair looked nearly brown, the way it would become if she remained trapped in the <i>Basilica<\/i> and cut off from the sun. He let his hunger for her slip through his shields so that she would know he was there before he slid his arms around her and pressed his lips to her throat.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her answering spike in arousal almost undid him on the spot. She slipped her arms around his shoulders, one hand resting on the back of his neck, and tilted her head back even more for him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She liked her water <i>much<\/i> cooler than he typically set his, but it was still warm, the temperature of a rain shower on a hot summer day, the kind he\u2019d played in as a kid back when he\u2019d believed he\u2019d grow up to be a normal man. It was funny how frequently Jack reminded him of that time, of being that boy, still innocent and with a whole life to look forward to. It was like she\u2019d conjured that kid back from oblivion.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u2019Cept it ain\u2019t that boy holding her now&#8288;\u2026<\/i> He balanced carefully on the tiles, not wanting it all to end with them sprawling on the floor, and lifted her up so he could wrap her legs around him. It was a move he knew she liked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He had, after all, been given access to the most amazing and comprehensive carnal cheat sheet that had ever been created. He knew exactly where to touch her and how, exactly what <i>not<\/i> to do, and how to bring on a wild climax as quickly or slowly as he pleased. His lips and tongue sought out the most sensitive places on her throat and chest even as he slid inside her warm depths.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo is this shower sex or locker room sex?\u201d Jack asked as she writhed against him in time with his thrusts. \u201cThis room is <i>huge.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s really-hoping-I-don\u2019t-slip-and-fall sex,\u201d he told her, restraining a laugh. \u201cCareful or you\u2019re gonna wriggle right off me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cPfft! Never happen.\u201d She wanted him to lift his face up to hers; he could feel it. He did, and almost laughed when she ran the tip of her tongue along his lips. He couldn\u2019t recall seeing her try <i>that<\/i> before. She was endlessly inventive. He licked her lips right back before claiming her mouth in a deep kiss.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He brought her to another intense orgasm\u2014although the two came closer to losing their balance than he was ever going to admit as she flailed wildly in his grasp\u2014before reveling in his own release while she gasped his name. In the aftermath, she rested her forehead against his, sighing. She liked it best when she was held through the afterglow; he knew that every bit as well as he knew the exact places to touch her, every bit as well as he knew all her favorite acts. The power of that knowledge was intoxicating. No uncertainty, no worry of an offer or request inspiring disgust&#8288;\u2026 none of the things that had gotten in the way of his rare attempts to connect with <i>any<\/i> woman on a deeper level during the almost-decade that he\u2019d improbably topped the Federacy\u2019s <tt>WANTED<\/tt> posters. He held Jack close until he felt the moment when she was ready for him to let her go and help her regain her footing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She gave him a wondering smile; he could feel her wanting to ask him how he\u2019d gone so deep into her fantasies, even though she already knew. \u201cI can\u2019t decide if we need another shower,\u201d she told him with a laugh in her voice, \u201cor another nap.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He had no particular desire, himself, to go back to sleep. Not if Shirah was going to be waiting to harangue him about the end of the multiverse. \u201cGot a few things I need to do to finish getting things ready for you around here. A few things I need to find out. Especially if what Lucy said about Kyra is true.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt is,\u201d Jack told him, retrieving a shower puff she\u2019d appropriated\u2014and why didn\u2019t it surprise him that even <i>shower puffs<\/i> were black in the Necromonger Armada?\u2014and soaping herself down. \u201cI talked to her again while we were sleeping. Things make a lot more sense after what Lucy told us. I\u2019d had this odd feeling she wasn\u2019t inhabiting a <i>physical<\/i> space, but I thought maybe that was because we were meeting somewhere between our physical locations.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cLike when you meet the <i>Apeiros.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, like that. I mean, she\u2019d <i>asked<\/i> me how long she\u2019d be there, but I guess&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Jack stopped frowning as she dug into the thought. \u201cI guess I didn\u2019t realize that she wasn\u2019t anywhere else, too.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c\u2019Cause you are.\u201d He stepped back under his own showerhead, cleaning up from their most recent bout of&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">What, exactly? He didn\u2019t know whether to call it <i>fucking<\/i> or <i>lovemaking,<\/i> and both terms seemed wrong somehow.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah,\u201d Jack agreed. \u201cShe isn\u2019t afraid of them anymore, though. I guess that\u2019s good. She says they\u2019ve told her things about what\u2019s coming and how she\u2019ll come back, but she wouldn\u2019t say what they were.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Well, that was interesting.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack switched off her showerhead and reached for a towel. He did the same.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt bothers you,\u201d he said. Not a question. A fact.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWell, <i>yeah.<\/i>\u201d Jack finished drying herself off and nodded in the direction of the larger room before walking toward it. He followed, enjoying the view as they went.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I hate to see you <b>leave,<\/b> but I love to watch you <b>go&#8288;\u2026<\/b><\/i> Demme had used that phrase, and it had made a lot more sense to him than the version he\u2019d grown up with, where somehow the two verbs had gotten switched around. <i>Go baby, go&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He could happily watch her <i>go<\/i> for hours.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Gotta go running with her,<\/i> he decided. <i>Then I can watch her <b>go<\/b> the whole time, from right behind her.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He had a feeling that might end with him pouncing her and them \u201cchristening\u201d a public space on the ship.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack was picking out articles of clothing from a wardrobe she\u2019d taken over. \u201cI\u2019m not <i>thirteen<\/i> anymore. I know how to be <i>discreet.<\/i> I\u2019ve spent what, five years now, almost six, getting ready for whatever it is that\u2019s coming. When is everybody in the know finally gonna clue me <i>in?<\/i> Even <i>Kyra<\/i> knows more about what\u2019s going on than I do, and she opted <i>out<\/i> of it all <i>years<\/i> ago.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAin\u2019t about whether you\u2019d be indiscreet,\u201d Riddick told her, pulling fresh clothes out of one of his drawers. Unlike Jack, who seemed to want to live in mermaid blues and greens, he didn\u2019t mind that most Necromonger clothing came in Graveside Black.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThen what <i>is<\/i> it about?\u201d she grumbled.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He\u2019d told her that before, he thought as he pulled on a pair of cargo pants that had only the slightest hint of the scale texture Necromongers seemed to love so much. He\u2019d told her what the real reason was, but apparently she hadn\u2019t heard him, too focused on thoughts of discretion and impulse control. He didn\u2019t <i>want<\/i> to have this discussion again, but maybe it needed to happen. She needed to know enough to stop asking, stop railing against it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Might just be a side effect of a year spent not even remembering that she can isomorph,<\/i> he thought. She\u2019d had her fundamental identity taken away for a while. That was probably her real issue. Well one of them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe real problem, Jack, is that you\u2019re not strong enough yet for what you\u2019d need to do with the knowledge if you had it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She frowned at him. \u201cAnd everybody thinks I won\u2019t be able to <i>control<\/i> myself enough until I am.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Yes. But no.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Fuck, she\u2019s not gonna like hearing this.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOkay. This is probably gonna piss you off. But remember, you asked.\u201d He sat down on the bench near her, pulling a sleeveless shirt over his head. She was mostly dressed, too, but was waiting impatiently for him to continue. \u201cI want you to imagine something, and it\u2019s gonna get pretty fucked up but I need you to go there with me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOkay\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019re walking home one evening. You get to your apartment building. It\u2019s a tall building, probably hundreds of people live in it. At this time of the evening, most everybody\u2019s probably home, too. So. You\u2019ve just come in through the front door, and you smell smoke.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack sat down on the bench, too, and nodded for him to continue.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou realize a fire has broken out in the basement and is starting to spread. The sprinklers should have already started going, and the alarms, but they haven\u2019t. You also know that, in addition to the utility rooms and boilers, there\u2019s an apartment in the basement, and one of its occupants is a baby. You know that for <i>sure<\/i> because you can hear it crying.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack\u2019s brows furrowed. \u201cShit, Riddick&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI warned you. You wanna hear this or not?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGo on.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou go down into the basement, and you can see where the fire must\u2019ve started, and how it\u2019s spreading. You realize that it\u2019s gonna reach the boilers in the next few minutes, and there\u2019s one that has a faulty gas valve, keeps leaking&#8288;\u2026 and when the fire gets to it, the building might just explode. It\u2019s also spreading toward the baby\u2019s room, but it ain\u2019t there yet. And, over in a corner, you can see where the valves that control the sprinklers are. Looks like the main control valve got stuck. It\u2019ll take you a few minutes to wrestle it open, but you can probably manage to do it and get the sprinklers working before the flames get to that faulty gas valve. If you start right now.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack nodded. He could feel her visualizing it. She had a good imagination.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo here\u2019s the problem. If you get to work on wrestling the sprinklers open right now, you\u2019ll stop the building from ex&#173;ploding&#8288;\u2026 but you <i>won\u2019t<\/i> stop the fire from getting to the baby. You\u2019ll probably have to hear it die while you\u2019re saving everybody else. If you go get the baby out of the fire\u2019s path, you won\u2019t have enough time to turn on the sprinklers&#8288;\u2026 but you can probably get out of the building with the kid before everything blows up and all the rest of your neighbors die. So. What do you do?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFuck, Riddick, that\u2019s <i>sick.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cC\u2019mon. You have to have heard variations of this puzzle.\u201d Iterations on it had circulated for centuries, probably millennia.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, and they all suck.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo. What do you do, Jack?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThere\u2019s no right answer, Riddick.\u201d She looked increasingly put out.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAin\u2019t about a right answer. It\u2019s about instinct. It\u2019s about what you react to first and most. And what you can <i>accept.<\/i> You want to know what you\u2019d do?\u201d He raised his eyebrows at her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat makes you think <i>you<\/i> know?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBeen deep in your head, girl. You don\u2019t have any secrets from me. And yeah, I know exactly what you\u2019d do.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A challenging look crossed her face. \u201cOkay, fine. What would I do, Riddick?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThere\u2019s no way you can listen to that baby scream as it dies. You go straight for it, grab it out of its crib. But. You don\u2019t run out of the building. Do you? Hundreds of other lives are at stake. You think maybe, just maybe, you can get that sprinkler valve to open in the time that\u2019s left. You set the baby down by your feet and start wrestling with the valve, aware that the fire is getting closer and closer to setting off the explosion. And just as you feel the valve starting to turn, you see the bright flash of the gas igniting and realize you\u2019re outta time. You die. The baby dies. Everybody in the building dies. \u2019Cause you wanted to save <i>everybody<\/i> and couldn\u2019t accept that you wouldn\u2019t be able to.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A look of horror had crept over Jack\u2019s face as he\u2019d described it all. \u201cYou are such a <i>shit<\/i> sometimes.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMaybe. But you know I\u2019m right. It\u2019s who you are. You can\u2019t give up on either the baby or your neighbors.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She closed her eyes, reluctantly acknowledging his words with a tight-lipped nod.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBut here\u2019s the other thing about that,\u201d he continued, drawing from knowledge Shirah had imparted during his dream. \u201cThis hatching thing&#8288;\u2026 it\u2019s gonna give you <i>power.<\/i> A whole fuckload of it. Enough that you could save the baby and wrench that valve open and still have time to have a cup of coffee. Hell, maybe enough that you could walk into the room and make the fire <i>disappear.<\/i> You ain\u2019t there yet, though. And what everybody\u2019s afraid of is that you\u2019ll try to save the day before you\u2019re powerful enough to do more than throw your life away in the trying.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFuck,\u201d she whispered. As she opened her eyes, a tear slid from one along her thick lashes and dropped down onto her lap. \u201cWhat about you, Riddick? What would <i>you<\/i> do?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAin\u2019t no hero, that\u2019s for sure,\u201d he told her. But that wasn\u2019t a real answer. \u201cUsed to be, I thought I\u2019d just walk away. Not my fight, not my people. I told myself I could just&#8288;\u2026 not care. Not hear. Walk away. That was a lie.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?&#8288;\u201d He was being too evasive; she was getting pissed off again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe baby. Every fuckin\u2019 time, Jack. When you were under that bone. When the Necros took Kyra from me.\u201d When he\u2019d broken off his mission to rescue Officer Lola and those kids instead of trusting that whatever cleanup crew was coming after them would \u201cdiscover\u201d the crime boss\u2019s captives and free them all some other way. When he\u2019d let Johns take him prisoner so the merc would stop shooting little kids&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Every fuckin\u2019 time. The baby was what he couldn\u2019t turn his back on. The hell with everybody else. The hell with what might come next, like what the fuck would he do with a baby, aside from leave it on a doorstep and hope whoever found it would take care of it&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u2014&#8288;The way I did with Jack six years ago&#8288;\u2014<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2014&#8288;or what else might be lost in the process. That baby was his Achilles heel. Always had been. He couldn\u2019t listen to it scream its last. He might murder the whole fuckin\u2019 \u2019verse if he was forced to. \u201cI\u2019ll always go for the baby.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And that, he realized suddenly, was why Shirah kept bugging him about choosing a path, when he\u2019d thought he already <i>had.<\/i> Because he wasn\u2019t doing any of this to save the multiverse, or even the only \u2019verse he\u2019d ever personally known.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Everything he\u2019d been doing was about making things safe for <i>Jack<\/i>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And what if he <i>couldn\u2019t?<\/i><\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5625\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5625 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-83\">\u00ab Chapter 83<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5657\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5657 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-85\">Chapter 85 \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=\"85\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5626\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5626 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-84\">\u00ab Chapter 84<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5658\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5658 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-86\">Chapter 86 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5759\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5759 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">85.<br\/>\r\n<u>In Battling the Darkness&#8288;\u2026<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack wasn\u2019t sure why she was suddenly so angry, why she suddenly wanted to yell at Riddick. She didn\u2019t even know <i>what<\/i> she wanted to yell.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">On the bench beside her, he seemed to be having some kind of disturbing epiphany. She didn\u2019t even try to read what it might be about\u2014not that he\u2019d let her read anything more than the stray emotion\u2014still too busy struggling to fathom why she was so mad at him out of nowhere. It was something about the <i>baby.<\/i> Something about it that <i>offended<\/i> her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It wasn\u2019t the part where he\u2019d compared her, and then Kyra, to the baby. That didn\u2019t bother her all that much. She understood what he was saying. Confronted with actual suffering, especially the suffering of someone he considered an <i>innocent,<\/i> he couldn\u2019t stay disengaged. Lola Esposito had told her about his youthful attempt at heroics and the children he\u2019d rescued&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But that was the problem.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cRiddick,\u201d she said, keeping her voice as calm as she could. \u201cThere were four little kids on the <i>Santa Clara.<\/i> The ship I was on when your Necromongers caught me. What happened to them?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick winced. \u201cFuck, Jack, you really gonna make me say it?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe Necros kill children. You already know that.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo you only choose the baby if you can hear it crying,\u201d she concluded, her heart twisting.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That was, she realized, what was upsetting her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJack, I didn\u2019t <i>choose<\/i> any of this.\u201d He ran his hand over his face, looking abruptly exhausted. \u201cYou think I\u2019ve been <i>ruling<\/i> the Necros for the last year? That ain\u2019t what\u2019s been happening.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou have the <i>Moribund<\/i> on your side, Riddick.\u201d How wasn\u2019t that ruling them?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAs of this <i>morning<\/i> I do. Before then&#8288;\u2026 you ever heard of having the tiger by the tail?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She shook her head.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe saying goes: \u2018once you have the tiger by the tail, you can never let go.\u2019\u201d He shrugged, his expression grim. \u201c\u2019Cause the second you do, it\u2019ll turn on you and rip your throat out. This fuckin\u2019 cult has this whole \u2018you keep what you kill\u2019 thing going. It\u2019s straight out of that <i>Emperoi Thanatou<\/i> game. Whatever belonged to the person you kill becomes yours. His possessions. His women. His rank. I became Lord Marshal when I killed the last one, but now I\u2019m <i>locked in.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He stood up, shooting her an angry look, and began to pace.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI either run the show or I die, Jack. You don\u2019t <i>resign<\/i> this position and there\u2019s only one way someone else succeeds you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That was a chilling thought. Tiger by the tail <i>indeed<\/i>. He\u2019d never been the suicidal type, she reflected. There\u2019d have been a point when, in his place, she\u2019d probably have just let go. She\u2019d sure as hell tried to when she was thirteen. But he didn\u2019t have <i>that<\/i> problem.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He glanced her way, nodding, his brows creasing with a look of pain. Had her thoughts about her suicide attempt, all those years ago, <i>hurt<\/i> him?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMost of the Necros don\u2019t <i>care<\/i> who\u2019s sitting on the throne,\u201d he continued after a moment, \u201clong as their lives go on the way they like them. But if I tried to change things? Tried to change their <i>Way?<\/i> They\u2019d all turn on me. One or two, or even a dozen, getting it in their heads they wanna throw down&#8288;\u2026 that I can handle. The whole fuckin\u2019 Armada coming for me at once? What do <i>you<\/i> think\u2019d happen then?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Shit.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBeen saving more kids than you know by holding them back and slowing them down. Ain\u2019t about now when you figured they\u2019d be attacking the Melpomene System? Why do you think that ain\u2019t happening yet?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Fuck&#8288;\u2026<\/i> \u201cI\u2019m sorry. I didn\u2019t&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d He\u2019d been imprisoned the whole time. In the only prison, ever, that he hadn\u2019t been able to escape. And she\u2019d started to blame him for it&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThere\u2019s a <i>lot<\/i> about them I find hard to stomach. Until today, though, if I\u2019d tried to change any of it, I\u2019d\u2019ve gotten dead and it\u2019d have kept going, maybe gotten even worse. <i>You<\/i> changed that, Jack. You brought me the key to taking control of them.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The Moribund. If he was controlling the Necromongers&#8288;\u2026 \u201cDoes <i>he<\/i> want children dead?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019ll be sure to ask him. Could be he doesn\u2019t care one way or the other. A lot of their worst shit comes from that game the first generation of Necros liked so much. Most of their <i>Way<\/i> don\u2019t even come from him. They made it up themselves. If he ain\u2019t behind it, he can stop it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat if he <i>is<\/i> behind it?\u201d The Moribund wanted all of humanity dead, after all. Why would he spare children?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMaybe his sisters can change his mind. But then we have a new problem.\u201d He walked behind her as he spoke and put his hands on her shoulders.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She shivered and then leaned back, resting the back of her head against his abdomen. \u201cNew problem?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat to do with a bunch\u2019a kids when their parents are being turned into Necros.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Shit, that was an issue.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It had taken the Necromonger ship three days to bring her and the others from the wreckage of the <i>Santa Clara<\/i> to the Armada. Three hideous days in which most of her fellow passengers had undergone conversion, a few at a time, and she\u2019d felt what was happening to their minds in the process. She\u2019d felt the deadening of their thoughts and feelings, the loss of their initiative, the rise of an agenda that wasn\u2019t their own, wasn\u2019t even <i>human<\/i>&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She should have recognized the Moribund\u2019s touch even then. But her mind had still been so jumbled and jangled, the tsunami of restored memories still frothing and chaotic, the moments of her life transformed into debris borne on its eddies in no particular order. Instead, she\u2019d spent the whole time terrified of what might be done to her next. Part of her, she realized, must nonetheless have known she was being brought closer and closer to the creature that had tried to devour her a year earlier. Her terror had reached a fever pitch right as she was presented to Riddick, and she\u2019d believed it was fear of <i>him.<\/i> Most of her thoughts from that night had been attempts to rationalize why she feared him instead of trusting him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou know I\u2019d never try to hurt you, Jack,\u201d he murmured.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI do,\u201d she admitted. \u201cI just&#8288;\u2026 got lost&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI know. And I got an idea about those kids&#8288;\u2026 if you\u2019re up for it.\u201d There was a teasing challenge in his voice.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat is it?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou take charge of them.\u201d He sat down beside her on the bench, nudging her shoulder with his arm. \u201cI figure it\u2019ll keep you out of trouble until it\u2019s time for your \u2018hatching.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>If I\u2019m up for it&#8288;\u2026<\/i> She was going to have to be, wasn\u2019t she? Lives were at stake, and he understood exactly how much that meant to her. \u201cI\u2019m in.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe trick is&#8288;\u2026 you\u2019re gonna need more power than you have right now to pull that off. More rank. You\u2019re gonna need a <i>title<\/i> on your name. So nobody thinks they can take the kids from you. There\u2019s a few jackasses who walk around wearing strings of baby skulls. Don\u2019t want any of their kind trying to pull rank on you. Only so many people I can kill at a time.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">His voice was calm, with a hint of humor in it, but she had the sudden impression that he was getting nervous. \u201cYou have a title in mind?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDame Riddick.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Wait\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDid&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d She was suddenly having a hard time putting together words. \u201cRiddick, did you just&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He nodded, watching her with an especially intense gaze.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI&#8288;\u2026 I uh&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He looked away. \u201cI\u2019ll give you time to think about it. Got some things I need to finish up. When I get back, I\u2019ll know if the Moribund has anything against kids or it\u2019s just more shit from that game.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">His voice had taken on a strange, impersonal tone. A moment later he was gone.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHoly&#8288;\u2026 shit&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Jack still couldn\u2019t manage to put together words. This was&#8288;\u2026 <i>Not what I expected, even a little&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Had she already screwed it up? The way he\u2019d pulled back and left&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGod<i>damn<\/i>. Lucy?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Yes, Audrey?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIs Riddick okay? I think I may have just upset him.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>He seemed upset with himself, not with you. Do you wish me to ask him to come back?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhere was he going?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>To the \u201cChamber of the Quasi-Dead.\u201d That\u2019s where he took you, to read your memories.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d been unconscious through most of that. As exhaustion had claimed her, she remembered, she\u2019d said something to Riddick about wishing he could just <i>read<\/i> her story right from her head. It had been so difficult to speak of much of it, to even put it into a coherent order. She was glad he\u2019d taken her up on the offer&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;even if it <i>did<\/i> mean that he knew both every sex fantasy, and every <i>doubt<\/i>, she\u2019d ever had about him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNever expected I\u2019d get a proposal of <i>marriage<\/i> out of all that&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>The Riddick proposed becoming your mate?<\/i> A concerned tone had crept into Lucy\u2019s telepathic voice.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She <i>really<\/i> didn\u2019t want to talk about that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhy do you call him <i>the<\/i> Riddick?\u201d she dodged. \u201cIt\u2019s just his family name, isn\u2019t it?\u201d Maybe not even that if he had just been a baby that showed up somewhere random after the Furyan Diaspora, she reflected.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You and he have been thinking about a game that was once played by humans, and especially by the humans who became the first Necromongers. Some of its lore persists among them. It includes lore of an&#8288;\u2026 \u201cenpeecee?\u201d \u2026&#8288;who, if left unchecked, would destroy the realm that those playing the game wished to conquer for themselves. Evocation of that name, Lord Riddick, is evocation of a fundamental threat to everything they strive for.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s a crazy coincidence.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>It\u2019s no coincidence at all. Your Riddick was born Richard Booker. Shirah slipped the name from the game into the minds of everyone who handled him as a baby after he was taken off Furya. She didn\u2019t just do it with him. Every Lightbearer and Lightbringer who escaped the attack thirty years ago now wears the surname, as a warning to our brother that he overstepped and owes penance. Especially after he allowed Zhylaw, of all possible people, to ascend to the throne.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWait, <i>Michael\u2019s<\/i> last name is Riddick, too?\u201d He\u2019d never once, in the years she\u2019d known him, shared his surname with her. No wonder.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Where else do you think I learned about the name and its meaning?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd neither of you told <i>me<\/i> until now because&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>It was not yet time for you to know.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhy\u2019s it time now?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You are here, among the Necromongers. And the war with the true enemies, the Demons of the Darkness, approaches.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAlmost showtime, huh?\u201d Jack sighed. \u201cAm I making a mistake?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>What mistake do you think you might be making?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh fuck, <i>any<\/i> of it. Trying to bring kids into the Armada. Fucking my childhood hero. Maybe even <i>marrying<\/i> him. <i>Shit.<\/i> I really want to talk to Kyra about that but what if she thinks I\u2019m <i>stealing<\/i> him from <i>her?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Lucy, who had been somewhere on the ceiling for the conversation until then, dropped down to the floor. For a moment, Jack caught a glimpse of her full, glorious <i>n<\/i>-shape, before her brain rebelled and redacted the image to a confused impression of shining black segmented legs and the sparkle of faceted eyes. <i>Then don\u2019t tell her yet, but perhaps your new friends could advise you on human relationships. All three of them seem likely to have had more experience with them than you.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTrue&#8288;\u2026 Lucy, the last time I had sex with a <i>friend<\/i>, it turned into a total clusterfuck.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There it was, she realized. She was scared that somehow her involvement with Riddick would go pear-shaped the way things had gone with Jim. And she\u2019d <i>specialized<\/i> in flings after <i>him.<\/i> Did she even know how not to keep Riddick at arms\u2019 length? To let him in? He\u2019d <i>proposed<\/i> to her, even if he\u2019d kind of come at it sideways&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You fear that you\u2019re going to put up the barricade that you kept between yourself and most of the other men who wished to have you as their mate for more than a few nights?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m worried I already <i>have.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>He has been planning to ask this of you since before you woke. He believes this is the only way he can protect you. But I think he planned to already have made the offer <b>before<\/b> he expected the two of you would be ready to have sex.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShit, and I just jumped right <i>to<\/i> it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You wanted to comfort him. He needed to be comforted. Fierce beings, such as he, often need the most comforting. And have the most difficulty accepting it. You gave it to him in a form he could appreciate.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo, uh&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Maybe it should have bugged her that Lucy seemed to have a better bead on the men in her life than she did, but she was glad of it. If what had happened between her and Riddick would have harmed her somehow, she was almost certain Lucy would have interceded. \u201cIs this proposal on the level? Or just&#8288;\u2026 for show?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I sense it is both.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo. What do I <i>do?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>This is neither a step on the path nor a step off it. It is incidental to what must come. What do you wish to do?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShit. I don\u2019t know. I\u2019m not even <i>nineteen<\/i> yet.\u201d She\u2019d always assumed that, if someone she adored was going to propose to her, it would be Ewan. The Meziane tribe was <i>big<\/i> on family. But Riddick, in her mind, had seemed the type who might give her a few nights of attention before it was time for him to move on again, and she was an old hand at handling <i>that<\/i>. \u201cDo things <i>ever<\/i> go as planned?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Perhaps you should focus on something else for a while.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGood idea,\u201d Jack muttered, looking around. \u201cSo, you know what this place is like on the other side of its threshold. Habitable? I mean, for a critter with no exoskeleton like me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Habitable. Chilly and the air is stale but breathable. Are you ready?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah.\u201d Jack closed her eyes\u2014it made the process easier\u2014and held out her hands, feeling the gentle touch of Lucy\u2019s delicate, clawed tarsi on her palms. \u201cLet\u2019s go exploring a little.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She could feel the change as Lucy drew her across; her sense of the other \u2019verses in her five-shape had finally developed to that point. As with the \u2019verse she\u2019d aligned with on board the <i>Santa Clara,<\/i> she had no idea what number her newest one was assigned in the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation database. Not that such things mattered much; careful intel from some of General Toal\u2019s embedded agents had confirmed that the Corporation knew almost nothing about the nature of the other \u2019verses their ships ventured into and cared even less, just as long as the wormholes were stable and the ships returned in one piece. And as long as, when the ships <i>didn\u2019t,<\/i> the results could be covered up without too much fuss.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The air chilled against her skin and turned oddly lifeless. She opened her eyes and looked around.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Nothing sat on the dressing table she\u2019d chosen. On the bare marble floor nearby, no piles of clothing, no baskets of sundries, waited to be removed. Several pieces of odd jewelry, however, floated in the space where the baskets sat back in U1. Items, she decided, from the original flight of the <i>Tenth Crusade,<\/i> or made from materials it had carried. Items that had always straddled the \u2019verses. Little else, aside from the stone architecture and the heavy furniture, existed on that side of the threshold.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The vile statue of a man peeling his skin off his own body stood by the pool. Although she\u2019d pushed it out of U1, she hadn\u2019t been able to touch it on its other side. With a sigh, she walked over to it and put her hand on it again&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWait&#8288;\u2026 what? Lucy, it\u2019s still straddling \u2019verses. I mean, aside from the part I shoved into Wonderland. It\u2019s in a <i>third<\/i> \u2019verse.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I will show you the way to that one later. When the time is right. I suggest you pull the part in Wonderland back into this \u2019verse, though. Some of the cold is transferring from the portion that is suspended in deep space there.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh. Yeah, good idea.\u201d Jack focused on the stone, aware of the chill coming from an entirely different world. She pulled her hand away <i>fast<\/i> as the portion in Wonderland crossed over the threshold. \u201cShit, that\u2019s cold!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She would need to push things into <i>this<\/i> \u2019verse rather than Wonderland in the future, she decided as she walked around the bathroom and then out into the reception area, realigning bits of gruesome artwork. These rooms, on this side of the threshold, were becoming almost glacial from the cold of deep space that their stonework had been exposed to. Finished, she isomorphed back into U1 with a shudder.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHoly crap!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Lola had returned to the suite while she\u2019d been on the other side. Her abrupt appearance in the center of the reception room had sent the woman into a defensive posture.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSorry, Lola. I didn\u2019t mean to scare you.\u201d She was going to need to be more careful.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhere the hell did you just <i>come<\/i> from?\u201d Lola rose from her crouch, clearly struggling to relax.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe other \u2019verse this ship is straddling.\u201d Well, one of them, anyway&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack had told Lola, Vanessa\u2014and it was still hard to think of Nurse Raymond as Vanessa\u2014and Poly about her ability to move between \u2019verses, but she had a feeling none of them believed her yet. Even Ewan, who had believed, had been unable to restrain a startled oath the first time she appeared before his eyes&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>God, I can\u2019t think about him right now&#8288;\u2026<\/i> Her mind recoiled back from evoking memories of Ewan so near the bed she and Riddick had shared.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI thought Riddick said the Underverse isn\u2019t real.\u201d Now Lola was frowning.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDunno about that, but there\u2019s nothing especially exciting about the \u2019verse I was just in. Just empty rooms. Mostly empty, anyway.\u201d Time to change the subject, though. \u201cAre your new rooms okay?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThey\u2019re fine,\u201d Lola said. \u201cThey\u2019re lovely. The crews are almost done cleaning them out and are putting things in the hallway outside for you to figure out what you want to do with them. Are <i>you<\/i> okay?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Hours earlier, after all, she and the others had left the rooms while Riddick was clinging to Jack as if she was a buoy in rough seas.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDon\u2019t worry, he didn\u2019t hurt me.\u201d Quite the opposite; he\u2019d known exactly how to touch her and what to do next at every moment. She felt absolutely safe with him&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">So what, she wondered, was the problem? What was she so confused about?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDid you two&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSeveral times.\u201d She\u2019d showered most of the evidence away, but there were some telling marks on her throat that she had no doubt Lola could see. She could sense the ex-cop\u2019s concern, her worry that Riddick was taking ad&#173;vantage&#8288;\u2026 \u201cHe asked me to marry him.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe <i>what?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOfficer, I swear I didn\u2019t get him pregnant or anything.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cThat\u2019s<\/i> why you seem so uneasy.\u201d Lola had the look of someone experiencing an epiphany.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI just&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Jack let the air out of her lungs in a rush and took a new breath, feeling like she kept choking on her words. \u201cI never thought he\u2019d ask me anything like that. He seems to <i>mean<\/i> it, too.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m curious, Jack. What did you think you two <i>would<\/i> be to each other when you met again?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI didn\u2019t think we ever would, Lola. Did you think <i>you<\/i> would?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Lola shook her head, looking around the reception room. \u201cYou need some of the furniture we pulled out from the other suites in here. Unless it really will be just the two of you most of the time.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">When she\u2019d been hauled into the room the first time, there had been one desk, one chair, one pile of upturned tapestries covering a hideous statue, and a whole lot of empty space. \u201cI wasn\u2019t even sure Necromongers <i>had<\/i> much furniture,\u201d she said. \u201cWhat were your old rooms like?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI was in a barracks with about twenty other women who fight\u2014or, I guess, are intended to fight, because we were all new converts\u2014in the Armada.\u201d Lola shrugged. \u201cNobody talks much after conversion. \u2018The Underverse is all.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Yikes. \u201cSo I\u2019m guessing cots and foot lockers.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cPretty much. The high mucky-mucks get better rooms, like the one I\u2019m in now.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And Riddick, stuck in a palatial suite, had emptied its reception room of all the furniture that would allow him to <i>receive.<\/i> He was going to have to let her bring some of it back if he wanted her to play the wife here. Especially if he was going to put her in charge of God only knew how many children.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>What have I gotten myself into here?<\/i> \u201cOkay, let\u2019s take a look at all this <i>stuff<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Lola laughed as they walked toward the outer doors. \u201cYou might sound a little more enthused.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack shrugged as she followed Lola out into the hallway. \u201cNever been much on <i>stuff.<\/i> You either have to leave it behind when you cut and run, or you have to plan on losing it somewhere along the way.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The image of Kyra\u2019s lost stuffed rabbit tugged at her mind.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAn unusual perspective,\u201d Poly said from the side, \u201cfrom a girl who spent most of her childhood in a recreation of Suburban America.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Tables had been set up throughout the hallway and piled with random objects. Couches, chairs, and free-standing light fixtures crowded the space as well. Jack spotted an attendant arranging things and walked over to her after smiling and shrugging at Poly.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHi,\u201d she said to the woman. \u201cI\u2019m Jack.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOlwyn, My Lady.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOlwyn, that\u2019s pretty. Um&#8288;\u2026 back in the Lord Marshal\u2019s bath, there are some piles of things that need to be brought out. Anything that\u2019s sitting on the floor and doesn\u2019t have someone\u2019s name on it can come out here and join this other stuff.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOf course, My Lady.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJust Jack is fine, please.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOf course&#8288;\u2026 Jack.\u201d Olwyn curtsied and moved off, summoning two other attendants to follow her into Riddick\u2019s rooms.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And Jack made herself look around at all the <i>clutter.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIf I\u2019m gonna do this, I guess this is how it starts,\u201d she muttered to herself. Playing at housewife had never been on her agenda.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Think of it,<\/i> she told herself, <i>as undercover work.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d spent the years after her return to Deckard\u2019s World pretending to be an ordinary schoolgirl. She could pull this off, whatever it was, too. Hopefully Riddick wasn\u2019t just trying to stick her on a shelf, safely out of harm\u2019s way, with this proposal of his.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She picked out a few arrangements of furniture and had them set up in Riddick\u2019s reception room&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i><b>Our<\/b> reception room, I guess&#8288;\u2026 looks like I\u2019m getting married&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2014&#8288;listening in amusement as some of the regular attendants tried to figure out what had happened to the statue that had once been in the room. Most of the hangings and statuary that now sat in the hallway were disgusting enough that she doubted any of the people Riddick had de-converted could possibly want them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOffer them to the other ranking lords of the Armada,\u201d she told Olwyn. \u201cI guess they like these kinds of things.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There were clothes, baubles, trinkets&#8288;\u2026 she picked out a few things, spotting a set of nearly-new boots in her size, a few more articles of clothing that were in her preferred colors and near enough to her size not to look ridiculous, and a small bottle of her mom\u2019s favorite perfume. All of the jewelry was too ostentatious to appeal.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTake what you want of the rest,\u201d she told Lola, Poly, and Vanessa. \u201cAnd then let the group I\u2019m not supposed to know about yet have at what\u2019s left.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She snickered at the shocked look on their faces. Even Riddick seemed to forget that she was an <i>esper<\/i> and would know what was going on even if everybody was trying to be quiet about it. Except for the things that were being hidden from her by the <i>Apeiros<\/i> themselves.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">One last table had something of actual interest to her on it: books. She suspected she was going to have some time on her hands that they could fill.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Most of the titles, she decided as she searched through the piles, were not all that interesting, even a little distasteful. Someone had diligently collected the works of an author named John Norman, and all their covers\u2014dozens of them!\u2014depicted buxom, half-naked women in states of disturbing subservience. She was just about to give up on the whole table when a name on a cover caught her eye.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Minnie Sulis?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Two books, both hardcovers, sat near the bottom of a pile. She pulled them out for a closer look.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <h3 class=\"headline\">Magic Is Real<\/h3>\r\n\r\n  <h4 class=\"headline\">By Minnie Sulis<\/h4>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A familiar image graced the cover: the picture of Minnie that had been on the poster in Kyra\u2019s dream. She opened the book up and looked inside.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It had been published in 2075, at the height of Minnie\u2019s stage career; the copy in her hand was a First Edition, the kind of thing people put a lot of value on back on Deckard\u2019s World. Minnie had autographed the inside cover.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt>To Chapman,<br\/>\r\nKeep dreaming big, and the magic will happen!<br\/>\r\n\u2014&#8288;Minnie<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Chapman Marshal had gotten Minnie\u2019s autograph, some ten years before he created <i>Emperoi Thanatou<\/i>, some six years before Kyra was born. Intrigued, Jack turned to the second book.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <h3 class=\"headline\">Magic Isn\u2019t Real<\/h3>\r\n\r\n  <h4 class=\"headline\">By Minnie Sulis<\/h4>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Minnie\u2019s face didn\u2019t grace this cover. Instead, there was an illustration of a broken crystal ball and a snapped magic wand. It had been published in 2083, when Kyra had been a toddler, and was also a First Edition. Inside, there were two autographs. The first, in different handwriting, was addressed to Chapman:<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt>Chap,<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt>I know the book\u2019s a bit of a downer, but I want you to have all three of Min\u2019s works for your journey. She even signed it. May bold adventures await you, O Pioneering Crusader!<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt>Joren<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra had thought about a cousin named Joren in her dream. Was that who had given the book to the would-be King of Delubrum?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The second autograph, lower down on the page, was in Minnie\u2019s handwriting:<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt>Joren,<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt><i>\u201cWer mit Ungeheuern k\u00e4mpft, mag zusehn, dass er nicht dabei zum Ungeheuer wird. Und wenn du lange in einen Abgrund blickst, blickt der Abgrund auch in dich hinein.\u201d<\/i><\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt>Take care that, in battling the darkness, you don\u2019t become one of its demons.<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"block\"><tt>All my love,<br\/>\r\nMin<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHoly shit&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Jack breathed, right before she felt the tickle of Lucy\u2019s mind on hers and something vanished from her awareness.<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5626\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5626 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-84\">\u00ab Chapter 84<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5658\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5658 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-86\">Chapter 86 \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=\"86\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5627\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5627 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-85\">\u00ab Chapter 85<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5659\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5659 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-87\">Chapter 87 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5882\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5882 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">86.<br\/>\r\n<u>Through an Occluded Mirror<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You&#8288;\u2026 stupid&#8288;\u2026 fuck.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick kept his walk smooth and calm as he headed for the Chamber of the Quasi-Dead, even as he mentally pummeled himself. It had been a long time since he\u2019d felt like this much of an idiot.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The look on Jack\u2019s face, the confusion and disbelief in her mind, when he\u2019d told her he wanted to make her Dame Riddick, kept smacking at him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>What the fuck is wrong with you?<\/i> Why the fuck had he phrased it like <i>that?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Could he possibly have made more of a ham-handed job of it?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Worse, he\u2019d practically <i>fled the scene<\/i> of his fuckup, before she could even put together more than a handful of words.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He entered the throne room, aware that he was surrounded by people watching for even the slightest weakness\u2014and, he suddenly realized, he\u2019d walked in without any armor on\u2014and glowered at everyone. Let them <i>try<\/i> something right now. He\u2019d enjoy having someone to punish for his foul mood.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Not that he could actually blame Jack for it. The more he thought about it, the more it struck him how badly he must have thrown her. He\u2019d <i>lived<\/i> her memories. He knew how she\u2019d handled herself for the last few years.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And, he realized, he knew exactly why he\u2019d thrown her quite so badly.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">On those occasions when a man she\u2019d had a fling with started to get too attached to her, started even hinting at an interest in a longer relationship, one of her ways of getting him to change his mind\u2014and, in many cases, run for the <i>hills<\/i>\u2014had been to start crazy-talking about marriage and children. It wasn\u2019t her only tactic; on several occasions, if the man in question seemed to <i>like<\/i> the idea of instant domestic bliss, Michael had shown up to play the enraged cuckold and <i>really<\/i> scare him off. But it had been her go-to.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>And what did I do? Start talking about children and marriage less than three hours after she rode my dick for the first time&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Granted, it was a proposal he\u2019d been planning on making anyway, although it hadn\u2019t involved kids until <i>she<\/i> brought up the ones that had died on the <i>Santa Clara<\/i>. He\u2019d spent a year trying not to think about what the Necros did to kids&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I need to talk to the Moribund about that. Now.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIs this to be a session of Court, Lord Marshal?\u201d Vaako asked from behind him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Fuck.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe got anything pressing on the agenda?\u201d Agendas. Him, dealing with <i>agendas<\/i>. The \u2019verse had gotten knocked on its <i>ass<\/i>, all right.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cRequests from some of the ships in the Armada for permission to conduct raids. Not much else.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHold off on that,\u201d Riddick told him. \u201cGot a few things to get straightened out about those raids. Those ships might be getting some new instructions.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Vaako gave him a puzzled frown. \u201cMore new instructions?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGot a problem with the last ones?\u201d It had, he thought, been a bit over half a day since he\u2019d shut down the brothels; most of their prisoners were still in the process of being converted, he figured.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo,\u201d Vaako said. \u201cAnd, surprisingly, no one else seems to. Most of the Lords I would have expected to be up in arms about it are treating it as the right move.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYour god spoke up on the matter, that\u2019s why.\u201d Riddick kept an eye on Vaako\u2019s face as he said that, curious to see whether the warrior would think he was mocking him or not.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI thought so,\u201d Vaako said with a nod. \u201cYou may not be converted, but&#8288;\u2026 you have been&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d He frowned, as if reaching for a word. \u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;anointed. Your claim to the throne has been blessed. I feel it. I have heard others speaking of feeling it, as well.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Interesting.<\/i> \u201cSo maybe you can tell me something else, Lord Vaako. How does a Lord Marshal get married, in your religion?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Vaako blinked. Then comprehension appeared on his face. \u201cThe girl? The one I brought to you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah. Jack. How do I make it official?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThere is no ceremony, if that\u2019s what you\u2019re asking,\u201d Vaako said, moving to walk beside him. \u201cWhen a Lord of the Fleet chooses a wife, he has only to present her to you before the assembled Court and declare her his. There have only been a handful of cases where the Lord Marshal has forbidden a Lord from claiming a wife. Only, I think, when he wished to make a claim of his own. For the Lord Marshal himself, he only needs\u2014you only need\u2014to present her to the Court and announce her standing.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick nodded. It made sense that it would be that simple. Come to think of it&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou have performed a variation of that already,\u201d Vaako continued, \u201cwhen you gave the girl Cindy to the Purifier on the <i>Lionheart.<\/i> By presenting her to him, you gave permission, and his vow to you, that she would be by his side until Underverse Come, is as close to a marriage vow as anyone says.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMakes sense.\u201d He\u2019d just been thinking of Cindy, himself. It had been hard to even look at her, especially before the torment the raiders had inflicted upon her had been wiped away. She had, in a twist, borne the closest resemblance to Jack of anyone brought to him before Jack, herself, arrived. Seeing her broken had reawakened his desire to burn down the whole Armada&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">As if he could have then. As if he needed to now.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThere is, in fact, one Lord who wishes to present a bride to you, but not yet. She is still being converted.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh? Who?\u201d If she was only just <i>now<\/i> being converted, she had to have been in that brothel.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cLord Jalman. He wishes to take a woman from the Greensleeves Stew, named Celia, as his wife.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cCelia Wyndham.\u201d Well, that was a twist. \u201cWhat\u2019s <i>she<\/i> think of that?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Vaako gave him a quizzical look, as if wondering why it mattered. \u201cLadies of the Armada are not, generally, asked their opinions of such things. But I do know that Jalman was an infrequent patron of the Stew until her arrival there, when he began to go nightly. He monopolized her time as much as he could. He is likely the reason that she lasted until now, which is considerably past the lifespan of most&#8288;\u2026 breeders&#8288;\u2026 kept in the Stews.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cInteresting.\u201d He had his own way of finding out what Celia\u2019s opinion of it was, and he\u2019d be sure to use it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Fuck. Jack\u2019s still up in my head.<\/i> He\u2019d spent the last year taking care <i>not<\/i> to care what the Necros were doing to each other, not letting himself think about issues like how many of the Lords\u2019 wives might not <i>wish<\/i> to be bound to their husbands, or how many children died each time his raiders went out. But <i>Jack<\/i> cared about those things, intensely, and thanks to his journey through her mem&#173;ories&#8288;\u2026 <i>Guess if I needed a comeuppance for \u2018violating\u2019 her like that&#8288;\u2014<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Not that she\u2019d seemed at all upset about him poking around in her head&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u2014&#8288;here it is.<\/i> Her conscience had <i>infected<\/i> him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe Necromonger Way still bothers you,\u201d Vaako observed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhen I was still a kid,\u201d he decided to tell the commander, \u201cI was enslaved for two years before I managed to free myself. Don\u2019t much like seeing that being put on anybody.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Vaako nodded, looking thoughtful. \u201cThe girl, your Jack, she has given her consent to you, then?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick shrugged. \u201cWe\u2019re still working things out. Just wanted to already know the next steps once we do.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMy wife seems to believe she fears you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDoes she, now?\u201d Interesting. He knew that Jack had been running a Scared Little Girl act when Dame Vaako visited; that was no surprise. The concern that Vaako seemed to be expressing about that, though&#8288;\u2026 that was what had his attention. \u201cYou don\u2019t have to worry. Never raped a woman in my life. Got no intention of starting now.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd she <i>is<\/i> a woman? Not a child?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHer nineteenth birthday is just under three weeks away.\u201d He\u2019d have to think up a good way to mark that. Nobody seemed to celebrate birthdays in the Armada. But he owed her one, after running out on her before her thirteenth birthday and leaving her to \u201ccelebrate\u201d it alone in a cold and loveless household. \u201cSeems to me that if she\u2019d still been a kid, she\u2019d never have made it here alive.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAdolescents are frequently converted. They\u2019re just not&#8288;\u2014 for those with <i>honor,<\/i> they\u2019re not&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Vaako hesitated, as though fearing he would give offense.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI get you. And I agree. How long have <i>you<\/i> been a Necromonger, Vaako?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI was fourteen when the Armada came to the Zon Belt.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHmm.\u201d He remembered the copious research Jack had done. The Zon System, according to her notes, had fallen eighteen years before. It had been an odd system, dominated by an asteroid belt that took up almost its entire habitable zone and was a source of valuable rare mineral deposits. Most of its industry had been centered on exploiting those deposits, and almost all the inhabitants had been descendants of influential mining families from old Earth\u2019s South Africa. But Jack had left it out of her presentation; there had been no Black Planets in the system after all of its people disappeared, and the belt itself\u2014massive and lacking in biospheres to destroy\u2014had seemed unaltered aside from five million miners vanishing. Although she had found a candidate for a Level Five Incident in the system, she\u2019d decided that it was all too tenuous to include.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He realized that he was looking forward to filling her in on that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He got why she\u2019d held back on including it, though. There had been roughly a dozen possible additional entries, but if she\u2019d added them all in, it would have diluted the power of the list and made it look more like the work of a conspiracy theorist who saw warning messages in cloud patterns. She\u2019d stuck with the indisputable Incidents, and had still been able to assemble enough evidence to predict the Armada\u2019s movements with almost pinpoint accuracy. Until he\u2019d taken over, anyway.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI remember hearing about the Zon Belt\u2019s fall,\u201d he told Vaako. \u201cMostly people whining about where\u2019d they get those minerals now and how much more was tech gonna cost without them. Nobody seemed to give a fuck where five million human beings had gone.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDid that surprise you?\u201d Vaako asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick shrugged. \u201cI was thirteen. Guess I needed something to get pissed off about, so yeah, I was surprised and angry about it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For the first time in the year-plus that he\u2019d been on the <i>Basilica,<\/i> he heard Vaako chuckle. \u201cI remember that age well.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack had been nearly that age when he met her, he reflected. She\u2019d had moments like that, but not as many as he\u2019d had at her age. At times, it was hard to reconcile everything that had changed since then&#8288;\u2026 and all the things that hadn\u2019t changed at all.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow\u2019d you end up married to Dame Vaako?\u201d he asked after a moment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShe came to the Basilica eight years ago. I was a Knight of the Legion, and she was the wife of Lord Vath. She was newly converted, taken in battle. Lord Vath was vying for the position of the Lord Marshal\u2019s First. And she&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d For a moment, Vaako looked pensive, even uneasy. \u201cShe liked to stir things up. There was more intrigue in the Court, that year, than I had ever seen before. Duels. Assassinations. Seven different men, most of them Lords, died in a short time trying to maneuver against Vath. And I began to hear rumors that <i>she<\/i> was behind it all.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSounds likely.\u201d Riddick wondered what her motive had been. Had she been ensuring that Vath had no competition for being the Lord Marshal\u2019s successor? Or had she been trying to escape her marriage to him the only way that a Lady of the Court apparently could?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI had been serving under one of the Lords, and when he fell, I found myself under Lord Vath\u2019s command. I did my best to keep my distance from his wife. She was beautiful and refused to wear black the way all other Ladies of the Court did, even though she was devout in every other way. Eyes were always drawn to her. Including mine. She was just eighteen years old. It was hard to believe that she could be behind so many manipulations.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhen did you figure out she was?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAfter she manipulated me into killing Lord Vath, taking his place as a Lord of the Fleet, and taking her as my wife,\u201d Vaako admitted. \u201cI did it for love. She still fools me, from time to time, for love. I <i>do<\/i> know what she is, what she does, but part of me refuses to believe. And much of the time, her advice <i>is<\/i> sound and not <i>just<\/i> about scheming.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cLast year?\u201d Riddick raised an eyebrow in Vaako\u2019s direction.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat was scheming,\u201d the other man conceded.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd now?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Vaako\u2019s uneasy look was back. \u201cJust as we have all begun to <i>know<\/i> that you are our anointed leader, she has come to me with a tale of how this girl, this Jack, is someone you knew and abused as a child, and she is certain you intend to do so again because the girl is terrified.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He <i>knew<\/i> he could count on Dame Vaako to make the day a little worse.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019ll get to meet Jack soon enough and decide for yourself if it\u2019s true,\u201d Riddick said after a moment. \u201cBut I\u2019ll tell you one thing now. Your wife may have met someone who can outplay her today.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Vaako\u2019s eyes widened. \u201cThat&#8288;\u2026 would be something to <i>see.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHopefully we\u2019ll even live through it.\u201d Riddick forced himself to relax. Jack was a practical girl&#8288;\u2014 woman. He really needed to dispense with that whole <i>girl<\/i> label, especially if Dame Vaako was selling the story she seemed to be trying to.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Anyway&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was practical, and smart, and even if he\u2019d thrown her for a loop with his ham-handed fuckup of a proposal, she\u2019d figure out why it\u2019d be worth doing. He wasn\u2019t going to demand soul-shaking love from her&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Not that I\u2019d mind that, or anything&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2014&#8288;but she needed cover, and <i>he<\/i> needed peace of mind, knowing she would stay safe.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIs there anything you need from me?\u201d Vaako asked. They were almost at the throne. Riddick moved to the side, detouring around it toward the doors into the Chamber of the Quasi-Dead beyond, as Vaako stopped next to the throne itself.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNah. It\u2019ll be another day or two before I\u2019m ready to present Jack to the court. Just getting everything ready right now. I might possibly have some new instructions for raiding ships in a few hours.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Vaako gave him a weighing look and then nodded. \u201cI am at your command, should you need me.\u201d He bowed, stepping back, too correct to turn his back on his commander.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The bit of Jack still in Riddick\u2019s head told him not to turn his back either, out of <i>politeness<\/i> rather than <i>caution.<\/i> He opened the Chamber doors without turning away, stepping inside and closing them while still facing Vaako.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was the usual way he entered the room, in truth, but it felt different somehow, with Jack\u2019s motivation guiding it rather than his own.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>What is your will, Lord Marshal?<\/i> the Quasi-Dead asked around him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGimme a moment,\u201d he said. \u201cGot something I need to ask your boss, first.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He closed his eyes and focused on the angry being in the bowels of the ship. <i>I have a question for you, Moribund.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><b><i>If you wish to know whether you succeeded in procreating today, you did not.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Rude. He already knew Jack was protected against that. As was he. <i>Nothing like that. I want to know if the Necros are killing babies and children at your command or if it\u2019s something they came up with on their own.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Silence greeted him. Shocked silence.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You seriously didn\u2019t know what they were doing?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><b><i>It would seem,<\/i><\/b> the Moribund said after another moment, <b><i>that these creatures have truly understood little of what I have asked of them.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick sat down on the dais at the center of the chamber, folding his legs into the \u201clotus\u201d pose that one of the only Trainers from his youth that he <i>didn\u2019t<\/i> want to kill had shown him. <i>So if I forbid them from killing kids anymore, will you allow that change? Maybe even support it?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><b><i>Yes.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Have there ever been children in the Armada before?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><b><i>It used to be the norm. They converted when they were old enough.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Old enough for what, exactly?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><b><i>When they are too young, their neuroplasticity rejects the process.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That made sense. Pissed him off, but he kept that from bleeding into their channel of communication. <i>So they\u2019d just hang out and wait?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><b><i>Possibly. I did not pay much attention. I believe it may have changed with Zhylaw. He seemed to view children as a threat.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Because of me.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><b><i>Yes. One of the Demons of the Darkness spoke to him without my knowledge and told him the most probable outcome for his five-shape in this \u2019verse. He sought to resist it.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Well, that fit with what he\u2019d gleaned from the Necros who had been willing to talk to him up \u2019til now. <i>And you let that happen?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><b><i>These creatures do my will, but you know what I think of them. I tried to ignore their petty squabbles and games of one-upmanship.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Maybe that was a mistake.<\/i> No maybe about it. But far be it from him to piss off the critter keeping its minions off his back.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><b><i>Yes. It was.<\/i><\/b> The Moribund\u2019s voice was simultaneously testy and abashed. <b><i>I have said as much to my sisters. You may tell <u>her<\/u> I admitted this, if you wish.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You could talk to her yourself, you know. Girl\u2019s surprisingly forgiving about a lot of shit.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He could feel its unease in response.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Word is, she\u2019ll be bringing back the \u201cother larva\u201d sometime soon. Kyra, if you ever paid attention to her name.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Now he could feel something like resentment stirring in the Moribund.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>That ain\u2019t gonna be a problem, is it?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><b><i>Will it be one for <u>you?<\/u><\/i><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Fuck. This creature knew everything about him, didn\u2019t it? If the whole deal wasn\u2019t just someone\u2019s pipe dream&#8288;\u2026 it could be a <i>big<\/i> problem.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He\u2019d known Kyra wasn\u2019t Jack almost as soon as he got to Crematoria. But the strange woman in the shadows had helped him, strangling one of the men running for him in a move that had, eerily, made him think of the way Jack had restrained one of the Shrills on the <i>Kublai Khan<\/i>. Even so, his glimpse of the woman\u2019s face\u2014not to mention her hair, which was dark and thick with curls where Jack\u2019s, before she\u2019d shaved it, had been straight and lighter\u2014had told him she wasn\u2019t the girl he\u2019d come looking for. But maybe she knew where Jack was. In prisons barbaric enough to force women into the spaces controlled by violent men, they tended to stick together, guarding each other\u2019s backs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Just how she\u2019d gotten behind him, he hadn\u2019t known at the time. Now, he had a pretty good idea. He\u2019d thought he was following her, and then suddenly she had two sharp blades poking into his back. \u201cShould I go for the sweet spot?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It wasn\u2019t Jack\u2019s voice, but for a moment, he thought he\u2019d awakened <i>Carolyn Fry\u2019s<\/i> ghost. The voice sounded hauntingly like hers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cLeft of the spine, fourth lumbar down, the abdominal aorta?\u201d The words were only getting creepier. Only Carolyn and Jack had heard him say that, and this wasn\u2019t Jack. \u201cWhat a gusher.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Huh. He hadn\u2019t said that part to either of them. Had he met this woman somewhere else? Was there another time&#8288;\u2014&#8288;?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow do I get eyes like that?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">No, she was definitely referring to his conversation with Carolyn and Jack. But her knowledge was secondhand and flawed. From bull sessions he\u2019d had with Jack in the skiff, those times he\u2019d managed to get past her cagey evasiveness and gotten her to open up instead of just listening to <i>him<\/i> talk, he\u2019d figured out that the girl had perfect recall. If it had been her peeking over his shoulder at him, she\u2019d have said <i>just to the left of the spine<\/i> and <i>where the hell can I get eyes like that,<\/i> and wouldn\u2019t have mentioned gushers at all. Still&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Whoever this is, she\u2019s talked to Jack. Has to have.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He\u2019d play along and see where it went.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou gotta kill a few people,\u201d he said. What would she say in answer?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDid that,\u201d she told him. \u201cDid a <i>lot<\/i> of that.\u201d He could feel her anger and resentment. She started pressing the sharp object, whatever it was, deeper into his skin.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Fuck this.<\/i> He turned before she could react and grabbed her, catching her wrists in his hand and shoving her against the bars. She could poke her little toy into someone else\u2019s back if she wanted. Not his.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was his first chance to get a clear look at her, and the woman in front of him was eerie as <i>fuck.<\/i> Not even one feature looked like Jack\u2019s&#8288;\u2026 but if someone had brought back Carolyn and Shazza and combined the two of them, the woman in front of him would have been the result. She had Carolyn\u2019s general face shape, Shazza\u2019s eyes, hair, and coloring&#8288;\u2026 and Carolyn\u2019s voice.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Spooky.<\/i> But this little dance was still the key to finding Jack. \u201cThen you gotta get sent to a slam.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOne where they tell you you\u2019ll never see daylight again?\u201d she asked him, her expression accusing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Well, she got that part right.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He opened his mind up, just a crack&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u2026&#8288;The fuck?&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">This woman in front of him <i>believed<\/i> this was <i>their<\/i> dialogue. She had a vision in her head of watching him and Carolyn having their little standoff&#8288;\u2026 a vision of the eclipse&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOnly there <i>wasn\u2019t<\/i> any doctor here who could shine my eyes, not even for twenty menthol Kools,\u201d she snarled at him, anger and denunciation filling her voice. \u201cWas there <i>anything<\/i> you said that was true?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And there, tucked in the back&#8288;\u2026 <i>It\u2019s your fault I lost her!<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There it was.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>She\u2019s an esper. These ain\u2019t her memories, but maybe she doesn\u2019t know that.<\/i> Jack had had a glimmer of that, herself, as he recalled. Two espers meeting and exchanging mem&#173;ories&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He could play. He\u2019d pull what he needed to know from her thoughts. He just had to trigger the right ones. He lifted her up higher, just high enough that she wouldn\u2019t be able to use the ground as leverage. Not before he was ready to let her down.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat are you gonna do, huh?\u201d she asked him. \u201cGo for the sweet spot?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Weird question to ask him, given the way he had her pinned. Not like he could reach for it. Unless she meant a different \u201csweet spot&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d She was straddling his arm, and for a second he felt her press suggestively against it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cRemember who you\u2019re talking to,\u201d he told her. <i>Let\u2019s just test this&#8288;\u2026<\/i> \u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;Jack.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He expected a vision in her head of the girl, maybe a moment of the two of them together. And for an instant, he <i>did<\/i> catch a glimpse of a girl who looked like his Jack, but with long blonde hair. But he didn\u2019t expect the surge of anger, grief&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;and guilt.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She turned her face away, trying to hide those emotions from him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>His fault she\u2019s gone, his fault his fault his fault he did this to us&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJack\u2019s dead,\u201d she ground out, her words stabbing him more deeply than she possibly could have with her little toy knives. \u201cShe was weak. She couldn\u2019t cut it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>No,<\/i> he thought. <i>Oh fuck, no&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He was so blindsided by her declaration that he almost missed the kick she aimed at the light beside them, barely felt the sudden slice of a tiny blade along his cheekbone, hardly registered the moment when she <i>vanished from his grasp.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was on one of the nearby bridges a moment later. How she\u2019d gotten there hadn\u2019t made sense to him&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>She isomorphed,<\/i> he thought as he sat among the Quasi-Dead, aware that they were, as always, listening in. They\u2019d seen this moment from <i>her<\/i> perspective already. Soon he would see it as well.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe name\u2019s <i>Kyra<\/i> now,\u201d she\u2019d told him, for a moment almost managing to do an imitation of Jack\u2019s boy act as she stared him down, blatantly no boy, blatantly not-Jack, never-was-Jack, and yet he could feel her thoughts beating at him\u2014<i>you left me, you left us, you abandoned us and it\u2019s your fault she-I died<\/i>\u2014and demanding his participation in some strange folie \u00e0 deux. \u201cAnd I\u2019m a new animal.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Whoever she was, she had moves. She\u2019d jumped over the side of the bridge a moment later and vanished.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">His cat-and-mouse with her over the next day, while he waited for the moment to come when he\u2019d cut fence, didn\u2019t enlighten him any more as to how she\u2019d known his Jack so well. Somehow, though, she hadn\u2019t known Jack\u2019s story well <i>enough<\/i> to avoid running afoul of some mercs. Just to see if she\u2019d back off from her claims, to see if her masquerade would crack, he\u2019d pressed that point. Jack would never have trusted a merc, much less signed up with a bunch of them. How would she explain it?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThere was no one else around,\u201d she\u2019d told him, and he\u2019d caught that echo again\u2014<i>I lost her, it\u2019s your fault I lost her, it\u2019s your fault she-I died<\/i>\u2014that made no sense even as it tantalized him with hidden meaning.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Even as he started to care about her&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;to <i>want<\/i> her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And he could feel <i>her<\/i> wanting him&#8288;\u2026 thinking that he was the only man she would ever want, <i>could<\/i> ever want.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">None of the others in the facility, be they \u201cconvicts\u201d or \u201cinmates,\u201d had ever seen Jack. She\u2019d never been there. Many of them remembered Kyra\u2019s arrival, vividly recalling the brutal deaths that several \u201cinmates\u201d who tried to take a taste of her earned instead. One of them had run screaming through the caverns as he bled out, clutching his groin as blood fountained around his hands, claiming that she\u2019d <i>bitten his dick off with her cunt&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It almost startled a laugh out of him now. <i>She isomorphed some raping motherfucker\u2019s dick right off him&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But she\u2019d been alone. First and last, alone. While there were other women in the place, most of them hidden away and protected if they survived long enough to hook up with one of the Guv\u2019s semi-principled \u201cconvicts,\u201d <i>she<\/i> had never been there. The Holy Man had been wrong. Jack had never gone to Crematoria. The closest she\u2019d ever come were the brittle shards of her memories in Kyra\u2019s head. And Kyra had made her own strange, solitary, bloody way through the caverns of Crematoria on her own. She had no one&#8288;\u2026 except him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Figuring out what had happened to Jack became secondary to getting himself\u2014and Kyra\u2014off that rock. He stopped trying to remind her of her supposed past with him, stopped trying to trip her story up, and focused on enjoying her company. She was unbalanced, not even a little sane&#8288;\u2026 but he didn\u2019t mind. Once he got her alone, maybe he could help her. And maybe once he\u2019d helped her, and she knew she could trust him, knew he wasn\u2019t gonna throw her over, she\u2019d be okay with telling him what had really happened to the kid from the <i>Hunter-Gratzner<\/i> crash&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But then the Necros took her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He\u2019d followed, not because he was trying to find Jack but because he was trying to <i>save Kyra,<\/i> and found her in the worst possible straits of all. A convert.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He\u2019d barely heard a word the Lord Fuckin\u2019 Marshal was saying to him, something about choosing the Necromonger Way, his attention focused so completely on her. Her eyes were sad as they met his.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt hurts,\u201d she told him as she stood before him, \u201cat first.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Pain is all I\u2019ve ever known&#8288;\u2026<\/i> her soul whispered to him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBut after a while, the pain goes away, just as they promise,\u201d she said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>She went away&#8288;\u2026 they took her from me&#8288;\u2026 all I had left of her is gone&#8288;\u2026<\/i> There was grief in that thought, but strangely muted.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAre you with me, Kyra?\u201d he asked her. She seemed lost inside her own head somehow, her eyes clouded over. Were these even her words coming out of her mouth?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThere\u2019s a moment when you can almost see the Underverse through his eyes,\u201d she told him instead. \u201cHe makes it sound perfect. A place where anyone can start over.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I\u2019ve started over so many times&#8288;\u2026 what\u2019s one more?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And there, for just a moment, he caught a glimpse of her embracing a girl, of a height with her, a girl whose face had haunted his dreams for five years. <i>Tell him Jack\u2019s dead. She wasn\u2019t strong enough to cut it in his world&#8288;\u2026<\/i> in <i>her<\/i> voice. And Kyra\u2019s puzzled hurt that <i>she<\/i> could say such a thing, her cloying fear and regret over their sep&#173;a&#173;ration&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Fuck&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAre you <i>with<\/i> me, Kyra?\u201d He pushed at her mind, trying to bring her back to him. <i>Gimme a sign and I\u2019ll get you out of here. Anywhere you wanna go, we\u2019ll go&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For a moment, she almost swayed toward him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>He is not yours. He never was.<\/i> The voice was <i>in<\/i> her head but not <i>from<\/i> her head, the manifold voice of the Quasi-Dead. Killing rage filled him as she walked past him and away, puppeteered by the Lord Marshal\u2019s minions.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He had no intention of letting those voices puppeteer <i>him.<\/i> He\u2019d rather die than be something\u2019s slave again. But first&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;he was going to get as many pounds of flesh as he could. For her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The fight was vicious, brutal, and nearly over\u2014he was certain that he was going to die this time, but at least he\u2019d die <i>himself<\/i>\u2014when Kyra, her eyes clear and lucid once more, had stabbed the Lord Marshal in the back and then been flung across the room, striking the spiked pillar. He\u2019d felt the spikes pierce her back, felt her agony, no longer numb, no longer shielded from injuries by whatever the Necros had done to her, now somehow undone. He needed to get up, to rise, to help her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She managed to pull herself off the pillar, collapsing to the dais by the throne. Her eyes met his. <i>I thought we\u2019d have more time&#8288;\u2026 I thought I\u2019d get to be yours first&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He wanted to burn down the \u2019verse.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And somehow, he could see the Lord Marshal in motion, preparing to flee Vaako\u2019s raised weapon, as if time had slowed to the crawl he\u2019d experienced when he\u2019d been in cryo.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>This is your first step in freeing all the enslaved,<\/i> the voice from his dreams murmured. Shirah, somehow in his ear&#8288;\u2026 <i>But it\u2019s going to hurt.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It wasn\u2019t the death of the Lord Marshal that hurt, even a little. It was holding Kyra as she bled out, knowing there was nothing he could do to stop it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI thought you were dead,\u201d she whispered, the tiniest thread of sound left to her voice.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Hold on. Hold on. Don\u2019t die&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You cannot anchor her,<\/i> Shirah told him, her voice gentle inside his head. <i>Not now.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He refused to believe it. \u201cAre you with me, Kyra?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra\u2019s face twisted in pain, in grief. \u201cI was always with you,\u201d she gasped, her expression suddenly pleading.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>It was me,<\/i> he heard her saying even as her voice failed her. <i>It was always me. There by your side in the eclipse, it was me, nobody else, me&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI was&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u2026Jack&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He saw it, an image in her mind, the two of them side by side, walking through a forest he\u2019d never seen before, him vanquishing foes he knew he\u2019d never met on any field of battle.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>It was real, I swear it was all real&#8288;\u2026 it was always <b>me&#8288;\u2026<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Silence fell over her like a shroud had dropped, and she was no longer there. The tears that had been welling in her eyes, that she\u2019d been struggling to hold back, slipped free, and there was only&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;an empty shell&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2014&#8288;below him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Because, he told himself with a shudder, Lucy had pulled out her soul and taken it away. There were questions that he needed to ask about that. Implications that were only just beginning to dawn on him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But first&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He needed to spend some time with Kyra.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m ready,\u201d he told the Quasi-Dead. \u201cSkip to <i>after<\/i> that sick fuck was done hurting her. I don\u2019t want to have to feel her feeling that. Let\u2019s see what she did about it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She had, after all, done <i>something<\/i> to merit being sent to Crematoria. He hoped to fuck it was ten times as bloody and brutal as anything that had been done to her.<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5627\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5627 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-85\">\u00ab Chapter 85<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5659\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5659 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-87\">Chapter 87 \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=\"87\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5628\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5628 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-86\">\u00ab Chapter 86<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5660\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5660 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-88\">Chapter 88 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5885\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5885 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">87.<br\/>\r\n<u>The Teeth of the Black Fox<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra came back to herself, aware that time had passed and that somehow, something awful had happened.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her body ached, especially in places she didn\u2019t want to think about. Sitting up, she fumbled her clothes back on and looked around.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was in a playroom&#8288;\u2026 of a kind. The walls were covered in glass cabinets that housed a variety of disturbing and horrifying tools meant to be used on human bodies&#8288;\u2026 <i>female<\/i> bodies. There was a utilitarian cot against one wall, manacles attached to each of its corners. Her wrists and ankles smarted, but she had no memory of wearing them&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack had worn them, she suddenly thought. Jack had been restrained on that bed and&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her mind flinched away from all of it. She didn\u2019t remember. She wouldn\u2019t remember. It hadn\u2019t happened to <i>her.<\/i> It had happened to <i>Jack.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Standing up hurt a little. She glanced around, spotting a camera that was aimed at the cot and two others aimed at the wider room. Under surveillance&#8288;\u2026 that would make it hard to break out. She couldn\u2019t isomorph, either. There was no air in Elsewhere for her to breathe.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Walk off the pain.<\/i> She didn\u2019t know why she was in such pain, what had happened to her&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u2014&#8288;Not to me. It happened to Jack&#8288;\u2014<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2014&#8288;but she needed to get her bearings and figure out what to do next. That man would be back. Maybe some of his friends would be with him. Some of them, she thought disjointedly, already had been.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Are we still on New Queensland, even?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She pressed her hand to the wall. It was still; there was no thrum of engines under her palm. Still parked on the landing pad. That was something. Maybe even something she could use.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">By the door, there was a familiar looking keypad.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You put it in and it\u2019ll unlock any lock it can for you, and open up any system it has access to. So you can get into and out of places if you\u2019re in trouble. And you don\u2019t have to remember numbers. It spells out RIDDICK. Any keypad with letters under the numbers will let you spell it out&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Tizzy had told her that. Tizzy, her lost little sister&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Would it work? How far had Tizzy managed to send it out?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Carefully, methodically, she punched <tt>R-I-D-D-I-C-K<\/tt> into the keypad and then pressed the green button at the bottom.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">With a soft beep, the lights on the room\u2019s cameras turned off and the door slid open.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Beyond the door, the lighting was dim, set in Nighttime Mode. The ship was completely silent. Whoever these bastards were, they appeared to all be in bed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Glancing back into the playroom, she spotted knives in one of the cabinets. She had no idea what kinds of sick games they were intended for, but they\u2019d be useful if she ran into one of the men. It was easy enough to get to them, she realized; she couldn\u2019t isomorph herself into Elsewhere, but nothing was stopping her from isomorphing away the glass panel between her and the weapons she wanted. It fell away as she did so, striking the ground of Elsewhere silently. There was no atmosphere there to convey the sound of smashing glass back to her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She armed herself and went exploring.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Silently, carefully, she quartered the ship, mapping it out in her head. It was big, with at least two levels, and the playrooms were on the lower level along with&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Perfect&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The cargo and equipment bay told her everything she needed to know about the men on the ship. \u201cFree settlers.\u201d Planning on heading to some barely-terraformed world with no charter in force to try to carve spaces for themselves&#8288;\u2026 and buying women to take with them because nobody they knew personally was willing to go on their journey. They had earth-moving equipment, construction equipment, farming and mining equipment&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;and EVA suits in case they had to repair their ship along the way.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It wouldn\u2019t matter that Elsewhere had no atmosphere if she was protected by an EVA suit.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And Kyra, along with every other kid on board the <i>New Christy Pilgrim<\/i>, had been drilled in how to put on the suits in case of emergency. It was one of the few lessons that girls hadn\u2019t been excluded from.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Even stiff and sore as she was, it didn\u2019t take long to get into the suit. She contemplated a scythe among the farming equipment for a moment, but decided against it. These kills were going to be <i>very<\/i> personal.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Isomorphing into Elsewhere, she stalked the corridors of the ship again as a phantom, passing through closed doors to see what awaited on the other sides. It didn\u2019t take long to locate all four men. It didn\u2019t take much longer to come up with a plan. She returned to the playroom.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There were multiple sets of restraints in its cabinets, most of them looking unused. Gags of different types. Blindfolds. Spreader bars. Things designed to be inescapable. Things designed to be inhumane. Within an hour, all four men were wearing the equipment they\u2019d bought for girls like&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u2014&#8288;Not me. Jack&#8288;\u2014<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2014&#8288;and the two girls already in cryo, without waking up until it was too late to stop her. Once she was sure that no one else was on board, and there was no way for them to escape, she left the settlers\u2019 ship as a phantom, walking across the rugged, flat terrain of New Queensland\u2019s Elsewhere until she was in front of the merc ship again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The crew inside was a dozen strong. It didn\u2019t help them. Not when their attacker was invisible, intangible, only becoming a concrete presence in that moment when her blades cut them to pieces. Old hand or new recruit, it didn\u2019t matter to her. None of them had spoken up against slaving her out. She only fully manifested in U1 again once they were all dead.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They\u2019d confiscated her possessions when they\u2019d \u201carrested\u201d her and had sent her with nothing other than the clothes she\u2019d been wearing when they gave her to the settlers. She stripped out of her blood-soaked EVA suit and bundled it into their waste disposal unit, hunting through the ship for her stolen belongings and gathering them back together before taking one of the mercs\u2019 EVA suits for her trip back to the settlers\u2019 ship.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was only much later that Kyra realized she\u2019d left a wealth of her fingerprints throughout the merc ship in the process, many of them <i>bloody.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She, meanwhile, trudged back to the settlers\u2019 ship, once more suited up and walking through Elsewhere. Once inside again, she got to work.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The man who had abused&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u2014&#8288;Not me! Jack!&#8288;\u2014<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2014&#8288;lived the longest. She made sure of it. The other three died in less than a day, but she took extra care to make sure his heart didn\u2019t give out. His mind did first; when he regressed back to the mental state of a small child, she sickened of the game and cut his throat.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There was still one more reckoning she needed to mete out before she was done, she realized, as she collected weapons and supplies. She loaded them all into one of the smaller vehicles the settlers had stored in their equipment bay, getting everything set before she ventured back to the cryo-chambers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Two abused girls lay within the only active units. They wore no restraints, but she could see the marks of cuffs on their wrists, and other marks that made her wish she\u2019d kept the other men alive a little longer&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Enough.<\/i> She reprogrammed their chambers to wake them up once she was gone. All the doors were unlocked; they could make their escapes whenever they wished.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Again, she didn\u2019t consider until much later just how many fingerprints she had left on the ship, and what other biometric evidence she\u2019d left as well. She <i>had<\/i> turned off all the cameras on both ships before isomorphing\u2014millions of lives depended on her leaving no evidence that she could do such a thing\u2014but hadn\u2019t thought about covering her tracks beyond that. The fog of war was upon her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And she was after the man who had fired the first shot.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Oliver Bollan had seemed so <i>nice<\/i> when she first met him. They hadn\u2019t worked together until the end, after another girl, Eleanor, had abruptly quit.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Three guesses why Eleanor left&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Soon after, she\u2019d been asked if she would be willing to transfer to the paddocks he managed, because he was \u201cshort-handed.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Pretty sure that\u2019s not the term for what his hands get up to&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The drive back to the New Gold Coast Cattle Ranch gave her a lot of time to think about just what he\u2019d been doing, <i>for years,<\/i> and had tried to do to her, too. Worse, what he\u2019d <i>succeeded<\/i> in doing to her reputation after she\u2019d fended him off and <i>warned<\/i> him off.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Won\u2019t just be his hands he loses now&#8288;\u2026 shouldn\u2019t\u2019ve set this in motion&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Oliver, she had decided, was to blame for all of it. Her desperation. Her mistaken decision to give up the Mallory Glynn name because he was trying to poison it. Her arrest. Being slaved out. The things that had happened to Jack as a result&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He would die for it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The first news stories, about a \u201cspaceship of horrors\u201d with a dozen dead bodies inside, were just starting to appear in the feeds when she arrived back at the ranch. She spent three days tracking Bollan\u2019s movements, and another day laying her trap, before she took him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She didn\u2019t spend as much time on him as she had on Red Roger&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Except Riddick killed Red Roger for me&#8288;\u2026 didn\u2019t he?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;but it took Oliver days to die nonetheless. Long enough that, when she finally left his body behind and started driving back toward New Brisbane, contemplating where to go next, the news feeds had stopped covering the murders on two ships at the spaceport, and she\u2019d missed the reports that Mallory Glynn was being sought as a person of interest.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They\u2019d have caught her almost immediately if she hadn\u2019t been able to hear them coming, hear their minds focused in on <i>her<\/i>. But she still couldn\u2019t dodge them for long. She had no other ID to use except Mallory\u2019s, and no idea where to go to find someone like Tizzy who could cook up a new one for her. If she\u2019d still been on Tangier Prime or even Lupus Prime, she could have hidden out in Elsewhere, slipping back to pilfer supplies when needed, and stayed out of reach for years.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Should\u2019a done that when Toal\u2019s men made a play for me&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">As it was, the authorities caught her less than a week after she\u2019d left Oliver\u2019s remains strung up as wolf bait.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her fingerprints came back as a dead-on match for the prints on all three crime scenes. To her surprise, however, they did <i>not<\/i> come back as a match for Kyra Wittier-Collins.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Tizzy\u2019s worm programs,<\/i> she realized, not sure if she was relieved or not. It had been a long shot, her sister had said, but there was a chance that the worm carrying their faked video to Merc Network and law enforcement databases could also access, and obscure or destroy, their biometric records, and she\u2019d programmed it to try. Apparently, it had succeeded. Nobody seemed to know that they had the Black Fox of Canaan Mountain in custody, just the New Brisbane Butcher. They also thought they had a legal adult on their hands and not a minor.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Seventeen counts of first-degree murder got pinned to her. Although she was certain that virtually everybody involved with the case knew what all the dead men had really been like and what they\u2019d been doing before she\u2019d ended their damage paths, it didn\u2019t matter. It didn\u2019t even matter what they\u2019d done to&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u2014&#8288;Not me! Jack!&#8288;\u2014<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2014&#8288;before she killed them, or how recent her trauma had been. She\u2019d deliberately returned to the merc ship. She\u2019d spent days torturing the settlers, and Oliver, to death. Even with the playroom torture vids that had been found on the settlers\u2019 ship, featuring Kyra and two other suspiciously young women, there was no talk of clemency. Luckily for her, New Queensland, like the old Australian territory it had been named after, had no death penalty.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Unluckily for her, that meant she would probably be sent to a Double-Max prison. Ursa Luna.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick territory.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Only what were the chances he\u2019d actually be there?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Amnesty Interplanetary tried to offer her help, their rep claiming he believed they had enough proof of her victims\u2019 past abuse of young women to win a clemency ruling after all. But she knew them even if they didn\u2019t know her, and she remembered their role in triggering the standoff that had led to the massacre of her family and friends. She described, in detail, where their rep should put his clemency motion, and she never saw him again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She soon learned that the local jailers assumed they could play with girls in their custody; <i>they<\/i> soon learned that, with her, that was a good way to lose a body part. After the second incident, she was locked in solitary awaiting sentencing. Everybody seemed to assume she\u2019d <i>eaten<\/i> the guards\u2019 missing pieces; they were, after all, nowhere to be found. She didn\u2019t disabuse anyone of the notion. A random public defender got it into her head to try to have \u201cMallory Glynn\u201d sentenced to psychiatric care instead of a proper slam, but Kyra had <i>been<\/i> in mental institutions before. Never again. She\u2019d rather be in the Pit.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I\u2019ll find a doctor and pay him to do a surgical shine job on my eyeballs. Twenty menthol Kools my ass&#8288;\u2026 but if necessary, I\u2019ll let him keep <b>his<\/b> dick&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Chaotic as her mind was much of the time, she managed to pull herself together enough to convince the court-appointed psychiatrist that she belonged in a regular prison. Her sentencing took place soon after. Nobody attended but the press and some fancy looking bigwigs whose eyes and thoughts beat at her with pure hatred.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A month later, Kyra was one of a dozen prisoners picked up for delivery to Ursa Luna, something that worked in her favor. The guards were too busy settling a huge, belligerent man into his cryo-chamber to notice her inputting Tizzy\u2019s Ghost Code into hers and changing its settings. She woke up after the ship completed its second Star Jump while everyone else slept on, loaded all the emergency supplies into the ship\u2019s lifeboat, and detached shortly before the ship reached its third Jump Point. The nearby outpost planet was semi-habitable and only a few days away via the lifeboat\u2019s ion drives. Fortunately, it had a good enough autopilot to get her there and handle the landing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Unfortunately, the lifeboat\u2019s departure from the main ship had been recorded, and notifications of a likely prisoner escape went out on the Beacons even as it made its next Star Jump.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And, worst of all, the barely-terraformed outpost planet was another airless rock over in Elsewhere.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was almost relieved when, two weeks later, a merc ship touched down. Less relieved when she saw who was in it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Alexander Toombs and Eve Logan.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Tizzy had known how to evade them. How to divert them. How to mess with their <i>heads.<\/i> Kyra didn\u2019t know how to think up crazy plans on the fly the way her sister could. The only plan she could come up with was to steal their ship and hope their autopilot was good enough to fly her somewhere else.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They caught her trying. Tizzy\u2019s Ghost Code hadn\u2019t worked on their ship.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIs this her?\u201d Toombs said as he stood over her convulsing body. The amount of live current that had just gone blasting through her, when she\u2019d tried to board the ship, guaranteed that she wouldn\u2019t be walking or talking for a few hours.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Logan crouched down next to her and took her hand, pressing it to her tablet surface. \u201cID system says no. Says this is Mallory Glynn, not Kyra Wittier-Collins, but I could <i>swear<\/i> this <i>is<\/i> her. Then again, I thought that woman with the face tattoos at that memorial service was Wittier-Collins, too, and she wasn\u2019t even <i>on<\/i> Tangier Prime at the time.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat\u2019s the reward situation for each?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOne hundred K in UDs as a finder\u2019s fee for Wittier-Collins,\u201d Logan told him. \u201cThere\u2019s no bounty anymore, just the finder\u2019s fee for bringing her home so she can claim her court winnings. Four hundred K for Mallory Glynn.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWell then,\u201d Toombs drawled, leaning back against the wall, \u201cI\u2019m four times as sure this is Mallory Glynn and not Kyra Wittier-Collins. Ain\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Logan shrugged and sighed. \u201cYou did notice the M.O. was the same, right? Glynn kills exactly the same way as Wittier-Collins.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNobody\u2019s exonerated Glynn,\u201d Toombs retorted. \u201cSeventeen corpses under her belt, includin\u2019 the nephew of New Queensland\u2019s Planetary Governor. We put her in Slam for him, he\u2019d probably give us the keys to New Brisbane if we ever want to visit.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou got a point.\u201d Logan didn\u2019t look entirely happy about that. Her gaze down on Kyra was pitying.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cPlus, we just try to turn her in for the finder\u2019s fee on New Dartmouth, all her bio data says she ain\u2019t Wittier-Collins. So then we maybe don\u2019t get anything, and they extradite her anyway once her \u2018real\u2019 name pops up.\u201d Toombs looked almost as amused as annoyed by that possibility. \u201cMight as well collect the four hundred K. Unless&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He walked over to stand next to Logan, smiling down at Kyra.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHey, girlie. You wouldn\u2019t happen to know where your old pal Riddick is, would ya?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Logan rolled her eyes and scoffed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick. It had been years since she\u2019d seen him, she thought. Not since he\u2019d abandoned her and Tizzy on New Mecca&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was having a hard time remembering just what, exactly, it was that had happened on New Mecca with Riddick. Something to do with a treacherous holy man&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Abu al-Walid. El Imam. <i>He<\/i> knew where Riddick was. If she could get a message to him, maybe&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But he\u2019d never tell, would he? Something had happened with Tizzy, something bad that he should have let Riddick know about, and he\u2019d chosen not to. The image came to her of Tizzy, ghost-pale and white-lipped, staring after the holy man as he made his righteous way out of&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Aceso?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was all a jumble. But maybe, even if he hadn\u2019t been willing to help <i>Tizzy,<\/i> he\u2019d still be willing to help <i>her.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">If she could get a message to him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDidn\u2019t think so,\u201d Toombs said from above her. \u201cToo bad. He\u2019s up to a million UDs. Could\u2019a been enough to make us look the other way where you\u2019re concerned.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAs if you would,\u201d Logan muttered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHey. You never know. I might be feeling magnanimous with my share, my half-mill, in my pockets.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMight not be, too.\u201d Logan rose from her crouch. \u201cWe want any of the crap she has at her camp?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe\u2019ll go take a gander. She ain\u2019t goin\u2019 anywhere for a while. Nowhere \u2019cept Crematoria.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s where we\u2019re taking her?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGuy at Ursa Luna was clear,\u201d Toombs said as they walked down their ship\u2019s ramp. \u201cIf she <i>does<\/i> know Riddick, they don\u2019t want her within a hundred light years.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Whatever they were doing, though, took a while. Long enough that Kyra, resolutely focused on gaining back enough mobility to reach their comms, managed to drag herself over to the cockpit and patch into the system. Even if Tizzy\u2019s Ghost Code wouldn\u2019t work on the ship\u2019s security systems, Toombs hadn\u2019t locked the data and comms down and she could slide right in. As she\u2019d hoped, he kept files in the system of all the \u201cbig game\u201d he was hunting, and Riddick\u2019s file contained data on the Imam. Including his comm number.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There was no way to comm him directly from that little trash heap of a planet. But she could program in a call that would be automatically transmitted to the next Jump Beacon the ship passed, a message he would get and would hopefully act upon. It was a long shot, but it was the only shot she had left.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She set up the instructions for delivery and then recorded her message.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cImam, it\u2019s me&#8288;\u2026 it\u2019s&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He\u2019d never known her as Kyra, she thought. There was only one name he\u2019d ever known. The name of the girl who had been raped and murdered by those sick fucks at the New Brisbane Spaceport. The name of a dead girl.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;it\u2019s Jack. You remember me, right? From the crash. I, uh&#8288;\u2026 I need your help. I wouldn\u2019t ask if it wasn\u2019t important. I\u2019m in trouble.\u201d She took a deep breath. \u201cI went looking for Riddick. Things went bad. Some people died. I mean, I killed them, and&#8288;\u2026 they\u2019re sending me to Crematoria.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d heard of it. Tizzy had described it once, when they were talking about the different prisons that someone with Riddick\u2019s rep might get sent to.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThere\u2019s no way out of there, Imam. You can\u2019t even set foot on the surface without burning up. But if anybody can do it&#8288;\u2026 please, <i>please<\/i> tell Riddick where I am. Please tell him to come get me. I need him. Please, if you ever cared even a little about me&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>He never cared about me. He never cared about us&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;tell him to come get me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She saved the message and did her best to hide it in the comms system, and managed to crawl back out of the cockpit, far enough away from it to conceal that she\u2019d ever made it there, before Toombs and Logan came back hauling most of her gear.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cPoor girlie, whatever your name really is,\u201d Toombs said, setting down the gear and walking over to her. \u201cWhere were you tryin\u2019 to go?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cC\u2019mon, Toombs.\u201d Logan said. \u201cDon\u2019t mock the poor kid.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Hearing Logan\u2019s words disturbed her. Logan was supposed to be The Enemy. Not kinda-sorta on her side.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAin\u2019t a kid if she\u2019s Mallory Glynn,\u201d Toombs said. \u201cEven that Wittier-Collins chick\u2019d be eighteen by now.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAssuming she didn\u2019t go into cryo except between Helion Prime and New Queensland,\u201d Logan said. \u201cBig assumption.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGood \u2019nough for me. Now, let\u2019s get her in cryo before she finds her way into any more trouble.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They didn\u2019t have cryo-chambers on their ship, just in-seat units. Kyra watched in helpless horror as they chained her up and connected her to several IV drips, watched as the cryo unit spun into gear and mixed its freezing solution with her blood, turning it a violet that made her think of Mommy Ree\u2019s carapace&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And then she was on a world with three suns.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou forgot everything I told you,\u201d Tizzy said from next to her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra glanced over at her little sister. Tizzy looked the way she had in the settlement, the one time Kyra had managed to see her, somehow trapped in a mirror and looking back at her in place of <i>her<\/i> face. Head shaved, a pair of yellow goggles on her forehead. But it was Tizzy, not all that different than she remembered her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI warned you mercs are just in it for the money,\u201d Tizzy continued. \u201cThey\u2019ll use you up for a percentage. Johns\u2014that\u2019s the guy who caught Riddick\u2014he threatened a bunch of little kids to get Riddick to surrender. Killed some of them, too. You don\u2019t want to be with people like that.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For a moment, as Tizzy spoke, they weren\u2019t on the crash planet anymore. They were in a hospital room, sitting on Tizzy\u2019s bed. Her hair wasn\u2019t shaved anymore but was still short enough to be androgynous.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThere wasn\u2019t anyone else left,\u201d Kyra told her. \u201cYou\u2019re gone. General Toal separated us, and I don\u2019t even know what he\u2019s done to you. And Jack&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJack is dead,\u201d Tizzy reminded her, as if speaking to a slow child. \u201cShe wasn\u2019t strong enough to cut it in his world.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They were no longer in the hospital. They were in a train station, surrounded by travelers, General Toal lurking nearby with sinister intentions. Tizzy\u2019s hair had grown out another inch, and while she still looked somewhat androgynous, it framed her gamine face in a more feminine way. One man had already fallen madly in love with her, but fortunately had done her no harm&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But there was going to be an explosion soon, Kyra realized. She wanted to warn Tizzy, but the words wouldn\u2019t come.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The train station melted away and she was back on a world with three suns.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;telling me to go for the sweet spot,\u201d Riddick rumbled in memories that were hers but not hers. \u201cLeft of the spine, fourth lumbar down. The abdominal aorta.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>What a gusher&#8288;\u2026<\/i> He\u2019d said that, right?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow do I get eyes like that?\u201d she asked him, aware that Tizzy was close by, annoyed, thinking that she was <i>saying it wrong,<\/i> the way Teacher had always claimed she was reciting the Bible verses wrong&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou gotta kill a few people,\u201d Riddick told her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Done a lot of that now&#8288;\u2026<\/i> When Riddick had been her age, his official body count had been half a dozen homeless youths he\u2019d apparently carved up over a few months in New Athens. She\u2019d killed almost three times as many grown men in less than two weeks. <i>Guess I\u2019m the better killer&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The story played out, looped, played out again. Over and over, Tizzy warned Kyra of the danger of trusting mercs. Over and over, Riddick shepherded her through the eclipse and to safety, but disappeared soon after, leaving her and Tizzy&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u2014&#8288;And Jack, but which one of us was Jack?&#8288;\u2014<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2014&#8288;to their fates. Tizzy, lost to General Toal\u2019s connivances and an explosion, probably dead but maybe not, lost either way. And Jack&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Jack is dead&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Raped, tortured, and murdered by a group of \u201cfree settlers.\u201d Kyra had avenged her death. Was that what had happened to Tizzy? Or&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>She was weak&#8288;\u2026 she couldn\u2019t cut it&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She circled back to the world with three suns again. It was safer there. Or, sometimes, to the woods of Canaan Mountain, Riddick by her side as they hunted&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Red Roger? Oliver Bollan?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It didn\u2019t matter. They hunted <i>together<\/i>, and that was what was important. He would come rescue her again. She knew it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>So why did he abandon me? Abandon us? If he\u2019d stayed, Tizzy would be okay and Jack wouldn\u2019t be dead&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Was Tizzy Jack? Or was she Jack? Who had died on the settlers\u2019 ship, exactly? Someone had.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She retreated from the questions, circling back to the world with three suns.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Eons later, she woke to find herself being helped off the ship and into a natural cave that had been modified into a hangar.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A cave, she realized, that existed on both sides of the threshold. In Elsewhere, the air was stifling hot but breathable.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Crematoria.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Toombs and Logan had cuffed her while she was waking up. They led her over to a sled, a four-seater with room for cargo in the back. She got a front seat next to Logan, Toombs directly behind her with a gun casually pointed at her back. The natural lava tube that the sled\u2019s track followed existed in both worlds. Elsewhere and U1, she found herself thinking, were most closely connected <i>here<\/i> than anywhere else in their respective&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u2014&#8288;Four-spaces?&#8288;\u2014<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2014&#8288;\u2019verses. She might not be able to escape off-planet&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But there might be another kind of escape handy for her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The sled covered ground <i>fast,<\/i> whipping through the tunnel\u2019s twists and turns at a speed that made her feel almost grateful for the restraints keeping her secured to her seat. Logan had gently slipped a set of goggles over her eyes before they began the ride, and she found herself feeling almost friendly toward the merc because of that. It took less than ten minutes to cover the thirty-klick distance and reach the prison.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo,\u201d the Slam boss\u2014<i>Yuri,<\/i> his mind silently provided\u2014said as he looked Kyra over. \u201cThis is Mallory Glynn. The New Brisbane Butcher.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThis one is trouble, Boss,\u201d one of the guards\u2014<i>Anatoliy<\/i>\u2014said from behind him. \u201cI can smell it on her.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnyone who can cut seventeen grown men to pieces in less than a fortnight is trouble, Anatoliy,\u201d Yuri said with a soft laugh. \u201cI don\u2019t need your nose to tell me that. But in this case, we don\u2019t mind, do we?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Yuri walked over to his desk and picked up a pair of bearer cards. He smiled over at the mercs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGovernor William Bollan of New Queensland sends his personal thanks to you&#8288;\u2026 along with a small token of his esteem.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He walked back to Toombs and Logan, still smiling. \u201cMiss Glynn\u2019s bounty, four hundred-K UDs&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He put one bearer card into Eve Logan\u2019s hand.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;and another two hundred-K UDs as Governor Bollan\u2019s personal thank you, for seeing that his nephew\u2019s murderer is brought to justice.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He handed over the second bearer card.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cPleasure doin\u2019 business with you,\u201d Toombs said, sounding positively gleeful.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Logan\u2019s eyes, full of misgivings, darted Kyra\u2019s way before she followed Toombs back to the sled.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDon\u2019t worry, Miss Mallory,\u201d Yuri told her as the door to the tunnel closed behind them. \u201cThe New Queensland Planetary Governor is paying us handsomely to look after you. He wishes you to spend a very, <i>very<\/i> long time contemplating your actions.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Another of the guards attached her wrist manacles to a rope.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOr, at least, as long as his nephew had to spend contemplating them.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">As they lowered her into the bowels of the prison, as she felt the dark and lustful thoughts of dozens of inmates turning toward her, Kyra thanked whatever sick fucker existed on high that the caverns, almost identical, existed in Elsewhere and had air in them. It was the only thing that was going to keep her alive until&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Please, Riddick, come get me. Don\u2019t make me wait too long.<\/i><\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5628\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5628 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-86\">\u00ab Chapter 86<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5660\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5660 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-88\">Chapter 88 \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=\"88\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5629\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5629 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-87\">\u00ab Chapter 87<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5661\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5661 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-89\">Chapter 89 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5888\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5888 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">88.<br\/>\r\n<u> Sharkbait<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">By the time Riddick finally arrived in Crematoria, two years had passed, and Kyra had given up on ever seeing him except in dreams.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Only new arrivals\u2014inmates or guards\u2014dared try to fuck with her anymore. Everyone else had learned that touching her could be fatal.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There was a small handful of people she considered friends in the prison, most of whom she had met on the day of her arrival. Even before she had reached the ground, even as a strange and frightening rhythm had echoed through the cavern, six men had surrounded the point where she would touch down, <i>facing outward<\/i>, guarding her descent. While five of them continued to face outward, one had turned toward her, a knife in his hand&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;and had cut the rope just above her wrists.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe warden of this fine institution has <i>plans<\/i> for you,\u201d he said, giving her a wry smile. He looked a few years older than Tomlin. He had dark, curly hair, cut short, a square face with high cheekbones, and dark blue-green eyes. His beard and mustache were rufous and close-cropped. \u201cI don\u2019t agree with his plans. I doubt you do, either.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cLet me guess,\u201d she said, trying not to let her voice show any of the genuine terror she was feeling. \u201cGang-banged to death over a four-day period?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The man gave her a curt nod. \u201cWomen are usually <i>walked<\/i> into Crematoria, not dangled like sharkbait. What did you do?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cKilled the nephew of New Queensland\u2019s Planetary Governor,\u201d she said, twisting at the cuffs still on her wrists. \u201cOver a four-day period.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDid you know he was related to someone important at the time?\u201d The man reached out toward her wrists.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She shrank back and then made herself stop retreating, shaking her head.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSorry, love.\u201d He opened his hand just enough so she could see the hand-carved key he was concealing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAll I knew was he\u2019d destroyed my life, and I was the last of a long line of women whose lives he\u2019d destroyed.\u201d She made herself move closer to him and let him touch her arms. The contact made her skin crawl. Not that there was anything weird about his touch. But&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m guessing I know <i>how<\/i>,\u201d he murmured as he unlocked her cuffs. There was a steel wedding band on his left ring finger. \u201cMy friends and I will keep our hands to ourselves. I swear it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhy?\u201d From what she had heard about Crematoria, the \u201cworst of the worst\u201d were sent there.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNot all of us are here for the same reasons, love. Some of us follow a code. You won\u2019t be harmed by us.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Around them, his friends were spinning chains, driving intrepid inmates back.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">This could, she reflected, be a trick. She opened her mind up, focusing on the six men surrounding her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They were on the level. Four of them had been contract killers, deadly men whose code included going to prison\u2014even <i>this<\/i> prison\u2014rather than revealing who had hired them. The fifth had been nailed for a series of revenge killings related to the death of his teenage daughter. And their spokesman&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Everyone in the prison called him \u201cThe Guv,\u201d and in a past life he\u2019d <i>been<\/i> a politician. One with powerful dreams, powerful am&#173;bitions&#8288;\u2026 and powerful enemies. Officially, he wasn\u2019t even there; the name that he was incarcerated under wasn\u2019t even his own. But nobody particularly cared, and he\u2019d made his peace with it. Finding and shielding others who didn\u2019t belong in such a cesspit had become his mission.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYour name is Mallory Glynn, yeah?\u201d he asked her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She shook her head. \u201cKyra.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">All the other names had been destroyed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Dihya Meziane had been stolen from her by General Toal, along with Kali Montgomery. J. Houlot had barely existed. Mallory Glynn had been poisoned. And Jack&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;was dead.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra was all that was left. Which was, she decided, just fine with her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s a pleasure to meet you, Kyra,\u201d he told her. \u201cPeople around here call me&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe Guv, yeah, I know.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He blinked. \u201cI believe your story may be even more interesting than I thought.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They\u2019d protected her for the first week. Although a few of the men in the group had lustful thoughts of their own about her, they had her figured out quickly enough. <i>Scared porcupine,<\/i> one of them, the vengeful father named Sawyer, called her in his head. His death, at the end of that week, changed things.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He\u2019d died defending her, something she\u2019d never asked for or ex&#173;pected&#8288;\u2026 or wanted. His killers died soon after when they tried to claim the prize they\u2019d come for. She spent the next several hours in Elsewhere while the caverns were on lockdown and strange, terrifying animals were let loose to hunt the corridors and tunnels and, above all, feast on the corpses. She would come to know those animals quite well.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">After the lockdown ended, she returned to U1 and sought out the Guv.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSawyer\u2019s dead because of me,\u201d she told him. The next thing out of Tizzy\u2019s mouth would have been an apology. \u201cThat\u2019s not happening again.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow\u2019d you kill the others?\u201d he asked. He seemed to be rolling with the death of his compatriot better than she was.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI can\u2019t tell you. Even here and now, it\u2019s not safe for anybody else to know.\u201d She hoped he wouldn\u2019t push it. At least any cameras that might have been installed in the prison levels had been destroyed decades ago. Her new rule for isomorphing was simply not to do it in the line of sight of anyone who would be believed&#8288;\u2026 or would survive witnessing it. \u201cBut I can handle more like them. I know how to now. So if they try to come for me, don\u2019t put yourself between us. Take off so you don\u2019t witness what I do about it. I\u2019m not <i>allowed<\/i> to leave witnesses.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAllowed by whom?\u201d He only looked mildly curious, but his thoughts were <i>extremely<\/i> curious.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cCan\u2019t tell you that, either.\u201d In a place like Crematoria, the millions of lives she was trying to protect were distant and abstract, but she was mostly doing it for <i>Tizzy<\/i>, anyway. In the unlikely chance that Tizzy was still out there somewhere and had been neither killed by the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation nor enslaved by Toal and the Federacy, she needed cover. And even from within this stinking pit, Kyra would find a way to give it to her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She missed her sister. But she couldn\u2019t imagine how Tizzy would have lasted a day in Crematoria.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Yuri\u2014Warden Pryshchenko\u2014seemed to be determined to earn Governor Bollan\u2019s bonus. When he couldn\u2019t get the inmates in the pit to bring about her end\u2014and there were several more attempts over the next year\u2014he began sending his guards after her. Dumb move: it was much harder for him to conceal the deaths of guards. She nearly got eaten by the \u201chellhounds\u201d in the lockdown that followed <i>that.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Those beasts were always hungry. But <i>that<\/i> gave her an idea. A plan. The kind of thing she imagined Tizzy herself might have come up with.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She did a top-to-bottom exploration of the prison, moving as a phantom through its levels from Elsewhere, and learned more about what the \u201chellhounds\u201d were, where they were kept, and how they were both fed and, more frequently, starved. And then, when the prison guards slept and no one could see, she began sneaking food to the beasts.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">At first, it wasn\u2019t enough. They wanted to <i>hunt.<\/i> They wanted to hunt <i>her.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But&#8288;\u2026 they appreciated the food, especially on days when the guards refused to feed them at all. And she\u2019d talked to non-human minds before. Theirs were far less alien than the <i>Apeiros<\/i> or even the Ree. Soon she had an arrangement with them. Tizzy, she thought, would have approved.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Tizzy would already have them trying to cuddle up to her,<\/i> she thought with a mixture of wistfulness and envy.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She had made the arrangement just in time, given that Yuri\u2019s next gambit was to try to get her eaten alive by her new friends. If he couldn\u2019t get the prison\u2019s worst excuses for men to do it&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Fortunately for her, but too bad for him, the \u201chellhounds\u201d had decided they liked her better alive. She hated nights in the kennels even if they <i>were<\/i> increasingly friendly to her, because they inevitably howled through the night, singing their yearning for a world with stormy silver skies, and a caldera of spectral flame, that they had been stolen away from. Their homesickness always infected her. Each morning, the guards would find her sleeping in a puddle of her own tears and think they\u2019d come close to breaking her, even if they had yet to find a way to kill her. The truth was anything but.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She retained the full run of the prison even when the \u201chellhounds\u201d hunted through it, although sometimes they pretended to chase her like anyone else so that no one would figure out the truth. She got good at dodging, only isomorphing into Elsewhere as a last resort. She didn\u2019t want to get caught crossing thresholds by <i>anyone&#8288;\u2026<\/i> anyone <i>human,<\/i> anyway. The hounds often saw, but she\u2019d never hidden any of what she could do from them. Fortunately, she could listen in on the human minds around her, hideous as many of them were, and knew the exact moments when no one\u2019s gaze was turned her way.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Yuri and his guards kept trying to figure out a way to engineer her destruction, though. The Planetary Governor of New Queensland really wanted his pound of flesh.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">New guards often made a play for her. A few even survived doing so. Even the ones who didn\u2019t lose a body part were missing their knives when they got dragged back to the control center. After one of them went back missing his gun, none of the men dispatched to take a crack at her were allowed to carry their pieces into the attacks anymore.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra gave the gun to the Guv. She could shoot, but she didn\u2019t especially like firearms. Too impersonal.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She had stolen enough edged weapons by then, and added edges to enough other bits of metal, that she always had a few blades on her. She often used the scabbard trick to hide them in Elsewhere, making them appear at the last and deadliest moment. A newcomer to the prison, a mechanical engineer the Guv had befriended named Sybar, taught her how to spring-load blades in the soles of her shoes. Kyra adapted his design so that the triggering mechanism just needed one tiny component isomorphed away to spring the blades. She practiced partially isomorphing part of the component while fully isomorphing the rest, until she could spring the blades and then re-arm the trigger without having to crack open the whole device. Once perfected, it was a weapon only she could ever use.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">After a while, she began to wonder if she was just marking time until <i>he<\/i> came\u2014if he ever did\u2014or settling in for a long, cruel life in the darkness.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was more aware of the passage and measurement of time than anyone realized. Keeping track of dates was something that she\u2019d started to pay attention to when Tizzy had made the Kali Montgomery ID. Her sister had spent part of a day working out exactly when Kyra\u2019s birthday would have fallen in the New Christy Enclave, based on the relativistic duration of her family\u2019s journey there from Earth, and then precisely how much time Kyra had spent in cryo during her transfer from New Dartmouth to Helion Prime, as well as the time they\u2019d spent in cryo on the <i>Scarlet Matador.<\/i> From all those numbers, she\u2019d calculated out which day of the Standard year was Kyra\u2019s \u201cnew\u201d birthday, making that month and day part of Kali Montgomery\u2019s birthdate. Obviously, Kali Montgomery hadn\u2019t been born in 2081.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The thoughtfulness of that action had stunned Kyra; it had also inspired her. When she\u2019d tried her own hand at making an ID, she\u2019d worked out the exact number of days she had spent in cryo between Tangier Prime and Lupus Prime and had chosen Mallory Glynn\u2019s birthdate accordingly. It hadn\u2019t remained accurate for more than a day from the time she <i>got<\/i> the completed ID; she\u2019d ended up fleeing Lupus Prime, and back in cryo, soon after. But she\u2019d calculated out her <i>new<\/i> birthdate once she\u2019d reached New Queensland, just in case she figured out how to acquire yet another new ID, and she\u2019d paid attention to how many more days she\u2019d been in cryo on first the prison transport and then Toombs\u2019 and Logan\u2019s ship.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The end result was that she\u2019d known, upon her arrival in Crematoria, that she was four months away from turning eighteen. February 22 was her new birthday, and probably would be for the rest of however long she survived in the hellpit. She didn\u2019t tell anyone when she turned eighteen, but a year later, she confided in the Guv that her birthday was approaching. He and his friends surprised her with gifts on the day: new weapons and training in how to use them. She was especially taken with learning how to spin and whip chains the way they did, and they were happy to show her. None of them fantasized about her anymore, given what she inevitably did to those who tried to take a poke; a few of them seemed to genuinely believe she possessed a set of <i>vagina dentata<\/i>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Other women showed up in the prison from time to time, escorted on foot by guards rather than lowered on the rope as \u201csharkbait;\u201d even so, few of them lasted long. The ones who did tended to latch onto one of the \u201cbosses\u201d in the prison\u2014and there were a few, although most of them feared and respected the Guv\u2019s gang, of which she was considered a member\u2014and disappeared into their cell warrens. Officially, their fates and conditions were unknown, but Kyra could walk into any cave she pleased via Elsewhere and knew exactly how all the women were faring. Several were raising <i>children<\/i> deep in the more hidden parts of the cave systems.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That made her angry, but she couldn\u2019t quite figure out why at first. Not as angry as finding the women who were being genuinely abused\u2014many of whom found knives mysteriously in their reach soon after\u2014but still&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>That\u2019ll never be me,<\/i> she told herself as she phantom-stalked the corridors, still unsure what she was so angry about. Raising a baby in Hell, maybe&#8288;\u2026 what kind of person could do that?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Someone with no other choices,<\/i> she reminded herself. It wasn\u2019t the women she was angry with, she finally realized; it was the men who didn\u2019t care about the consequences of sticking their dicks into the second-most helpless people in the place.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">If she was stuck here for the rest of her life, she decided after a while, she was going to have to make some changes to the place. Bring down some consequences that those kinds of&#8288;\u2026 inmates&#8288;\u2026 had to respect.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She \u201ccelebrated\u201d the second anniversary of her arrival in Crematoria by assassinating the leadership of one of the nastier gangs in the place, one that brutally used up any woman unlucky enough to make the mistake of seeking shelter with them. Mere days later, while the place was still reeling from the upheaval she had engineered, she heard a familiar rhythm start up in the main cavern.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">More sharkbait was arriving.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Curious, she gathered her knives and chains and headed for the cavern floor. If it was someone the Guv would want to defend, she would be ready to join the defensive wall.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her breath caught when she realized just <i>who<\/i> was descending.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He had come for her. <i>Finally.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She watched as the rope stopped, the unintelligible sounds of an argument echoing down from the control room through the hatch in its floor. Were they just going to leave him hanging there while they yammered at each other?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick apparently had no interest in waiting around.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She watched in fascination as he worked his way upward on the rope, twisting it around his body. She\u2019d mastered some damn good gymnastics of her own, but what he was doing was amazing. She studied each of his movements, committing them to memory to try sometime later, herself.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>My brain might not be eidetic like Tizzy\u2019s, but my muscles are&#8288;\u2026<\/i> She rarely needed more than two or three tries to master something physical. And did she ever want to master <i>that!<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her breath caught again when Riddick fell, spinning, using his momentum and torque to shatter the chains shackling him to the rope as he dropped to the cavern floor.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Two of the Moles, she suddenly realized, were waiting for him, weapons drawn.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That was Kyra\u2019s name for them, anyway: a group of men who had a real <i>thing<\/i> for one complex of twisting tunnels off the main cavern, just above the actively volcanic passages not even she could risk. She\u2019d explored their tunnels herself, on the Elsewhere side, to find out what they were up to; anyone who tried on the U1 side was liable to end up dead. The Moles had apparently figured out a way to combine dried \u201chellhound\u201d shit with some of the mineral deposits in their tunnels into a yellow powder they liked to sniff; in the last year, they\u2019d grown addicted to the substance and frequently walked around with it liberally sprinkled on their clothes and skin. But that wasn\u2019t even close to the most disgusting thing about them. The last \u201csharkbait\u201d to hit the floor had been dragged into their tunnels and slaughtered; they\u2019d apparently turned cannibal as well. She\u2019d verified that while they were asleep and had come close to bringing one of the \u201chellhounds\u201d down to turn loose on them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra had already been considering making their demises, possibly as \u201chellhound\u201d chow, her twentieth birthday present to herself.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Looks like my birthday party\u2019s arriving early,<\/i> she thought with a grim smile. Whatever they could manage to do to run of the mill \u201csharkbait\u201d wasn\u2019t going to work on <i>Riddick.<\/i> This was going to be fun to watch.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick flipped as his chains shattered, landing on his feet, perfectly balanced. He was already moving to intercept the first of the Moles as the fool ran at him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was poetry.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">In seconds, the first Mole was down, his neck snapped. Riddick didn\u2019t even bother to turn around as the second Mole leapt at him, reaching back to grab the man by the throat and slam him to the ground.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A third Mole was climbing out of a tunnel. Did Riddick know he was there?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra didn\u2019t feel like risking it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Even as the third Mole ran for Riddick, her chain whipped out. She\u2019d been practicing for more than half a year and her aim was perfect. It wrapped around the man\u2019s neck and she gave it a hard pull, <i>feeling<\/i> the moment when his spine cracked and his momentum turned into dead weight. He crashed to the floor even as Riddick turned to look at him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">With a practiced tug, Kyra made the chain release its hold on the dead Mole and reeled it in.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">On the ground behind Riddick, the second Mole gulped and wheezed like a beached fish, struggling to breathe. Riddick paid no attention, his gaze following her chain. As she wound it back up, he pulled off his goggles and stared at her with his amazing silver eyes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It felt, strangely, like the first time she\u2019d ever seen them. And yet&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;She <i>had<\/i> seen them before, hadn\u2019t she? She\u2019d spent a lot of time with him before he abandoned her and Tizzy&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They were amazing. Maybe she\u2019d just forgotten how beautiful they were.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But why was he looking at her like he didn\u2019t know her? Wasn\u2019t he happy to see her? Hadn\u2019t he <i>come<\/i> for her? The look on his face wasn\u2019t at all what she\u2019d expected.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Damn it, of all times for the Guv to give his inmates-and-convicts speech&#8288;\u2026<\/i> He trotted that damn thing out every time someone survived touching down.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It\u2019d give her a chance to take back control of their reunion, though. She slipped into one of the side passages while the Guv was talking, certain that Riddick was tracking her movements.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She isomorphed into Elsewhere, setting her chains down and choosing one of her favorite weapons, the \u201cPincer,\u201d called that because it reminded her of Sebby\u2019s claws. Riddick was approaching. She clambered up one of the stone pillars, balancing herself and transitioning back into U1 as he passed, jumping back down behind him and landing cat-silent. He didn\u2019t know she was there until she had the Pincer pressed to his spine.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShould I go for the sweet spot?\u201d she asked him. He\u2019d <i>have<\/i> to recognize her now.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And yet, somehow, it didn\u2019t work nearly as well in reality as it had in her head. He was faster than she\u2019d anticipated. And she hadn\u2019t expected to be so angry with him. She hadn\u2019t <i>consciously<\/i> wondered why he hadn\u2019t come sooner, or why she hadn\u2019t been able to find anyone in the prison who could give <i>her<\/i> a shine job, until she began demanding answers from him. And she hadn\u2019t realized how much she\u2019d blamed him for losing Tizzy. Losing <i>Jack<\/i>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He lifted her off the ground, one hand pinning her wrists and one arm between her legs, and none of her <i>usual<\/i> responses to that kind of contact kicked off. Why did she suddenly want <i>more<\/i> contact with him? Why was she suddenly trying to press herself closer to him and turning \u201csweet spot\u201d into a double-entendre?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She hadn\u2019t expected the sense of shame\u2014and, inexplicably, envy\u2014that flooded through her when he called her \u201cJack.\u201d She didn\u2019t understand where that came from at all. Or the weird wistfulness. Or the resentment at his abandonment, not of her but of someone else&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Tizzy?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJack\u2019s dead,\u201d she told him, struggling with the feeling that she was repeating someone else\u2019s words. \u201cShe was weak. She couldn\u2019t cut it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Why did saying that <i>hurt<\/i> so much?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">If their meeting rattled him, it rattled her even more. By the time she broke free, giving him a \u201ckiss\u201d with her mouth blade and isomorphing out of his grasp, she felt like she\u2019d completely lost control of their encounter.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe name\u2019s Kyra now,\u201d she told him from the bridge, even as a part of her thought that it had never really been anything else. \u201cAnd I\u2019m a new animal.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Fuck&#8288;\u2026 fuck&#8288;\u2026 I completely fucked this up&#8288;\u2026<\/i> She jumped down to the cavern floor before she could make it all even worse somehow.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Why had she made such a show out of it all? Why hadn\u2019t she just tried to <i>talk<\/i> to him?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The \u201chellhounds,\u201d sensing her emotional turmoil, began roaring in their cages, calling to her, wanting to know what had upset her so they could tear it to pieces. She isomorphed into Elsewhere the moment she was sure no one could see her, so nobody would hear her crying. Especially not <i>him.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Once she recovered, she took a long shower.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There was a waterfall in part of the cave complex, an extraordinary and inexplicable feature. She might have expected the water to be sulfuric, acidic, or at least heavily mineral-laden, but wherever it came from, it was clean and pure, and heated by the volcanic activity throughout the region to a perfect \u201cbathwater\u201d temperature that reminded her of swimming in New Marrakesh\u2019s phantom tides. In other parts of the cave system there were <i>dangerous<\/i> water features, including an underground pond so acidic that anyone falling into it dissolved in less than an hour, but this water was <i>perfect.<\/i> She could undress completely and have a proper shower in Elsewhere and did so frequently. It was one of the only luxuries she had&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;it\u2019s amazing how you can do without the necessities of life, provided you have the little luxuries&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack had been listening in on Paris when he\u2019d said that to Zeke, sneaking up on him&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>But&#8288;\u2026 that was me&#8288;\u2026 I was Jack&#8288;\u2026 wasn\u2019t I?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She had the awful feeling that Riddick didn\u2019t think so.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He arrived at the waterfall, on the U1 side, after she had dressed and composed herself. She climbed up to one of the catwalks near him, isomorphing back, and watched him for a few minutes, trying to fathom why, despite everything she already knew about him, everything she remembered, it felt as if everything she was seeing was a first.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He spotted her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d been trying to read his mind, but he had a wall up between them. His mind was opaque to her. She\u2019d had no idea that was even possible.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>It\u2019s me, Riddick. Don\u2019t you remember me?<\/i> Would he remember Tizzy if <i>she<\/i> were here?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For a moment she thought he was going to come over to her. But&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Damn it, Guv, stop interrupting us&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Was he going to bring up his nameless wife again?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cFEEDING TIME!\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Well, there went all her plans of a quiet conversation with Riddick.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She still had no idea what the \u201chellhounds\u201d really were, but the announcement that they were about to be turned loose always engendered a panic. Usually it happened when the guards realized someone had been killed. The Moles, undoubtedly. But, although eating inconvenient corpses was part of their jobs, they preferred live prey. Anyone, with one exception, that they found outside of locked cells was fair game.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She wanted to watch them dispose of those fucking cannibals. She needed to get down to the cavern floor.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The place was in a panic. Somehow nobody had realized that this was inevitable. The \u201chellhounds\u201d were <i>always<\/i> set loose soon after a killing in the cavern, and it had been two or three hours since the Moles had died, the last from the Guv\u2019s kick to his head. Usually everyone was more prepared, sticking close to whichever warrens of cells they preferred to get locked in.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Damn it, I\u2019m gonna miss it all if I can\u2019t get through this crowd&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">One of the \u201chellhounds\u201d was in front of her, watching her from atop a stairway.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Small-friend-creature,<\/i> it whispered in her mind as it growled and turned red. <i>I must pounce. You must run.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Okay, it wanted to play. She knew her way around this part of the cavern. That wouldn\u2019t be a problem.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Three&#8288;\u2026 two&#8288;\u2026 one&#8288;\u2026<\/i> she told it. <i>Let\u2019s go!<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She pushed off the wall and found her footing, balancing on the railing with one foot and rough stone on the other. Her friend roared and leapt forward, excitement visible on every perked scale. She kicked off and soared out into the open air, grabbing one of the ropes that trailed from an upper walkway and sliding down its length. Inhuman laughter echoed in her head.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Well played, small-friend-creature!<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Maybe she should name it Ewan.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra landed on one of the lower walkways, one that was already almost deserted. Maybe, just maybe, she\u2019d make it to the bottom in time to see the pack feed, have a moment alone with them while no other human was watching&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>A Lightbringer is here! A Lightbringer is here!<\/i> She had never heard such delight in any of the creatures\u2019 voices before.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She wondered what that meant.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhere you goin\u2019, Mallory?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Fuck. It was one of the guards. They, alone, insisted on calling her Mallory. No convict or inmate ever did. She turned around.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Fuck.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was <i>four<\/i> of the guards, shining their bright lights into her eyes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d been too focused on the \u201chellhounds,\u201d and their unusual excitement about something called a Lightbringer, to realize the danger she was walking into. Now that she was paying attention, she could see what filled their noxious headspaces.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Yuri had sent them. Two years had passed since he was supposed to have arranged for her to get raped to death in this place, and he was done waiting. He\u2019d sent some of his best guards&#8288;\u2026 and had told them they could do anything they wanted to her as long as she took four days to die once they started. And did they ever have <i>plans.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Fuck.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She began to back up, raising her arms as if she believed this was something other than the opening movement in a symphony of pain and death.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Not hers, of course. But still.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Everybody just gotta piss on my parade today&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5629\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5629 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-87\">\u00ab Chapter 87<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5661\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5661 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-89\">Chapter 89 \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=\"89\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5630\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5630 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-88\">\u00ab Chapter 88<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5662\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5662 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-90\">Chapter 90 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5891\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5891 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">89.<br\/>\r\n<u>The Better Killer<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cCheck her for me. She always has a blade somewhere.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Six, to be exact. Not that Kyra was going to help them find any of her shivs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It wasn\u2019t easy staying still while the greenest member of the guard team walked up behind her. She could anticipate what he was going to do, but only by wading through the other filth in his mind, the things he kept imagining doing to her body.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He was also afraid of her. At least there was that. Too busy holding onto his cudgel to do a <i>real<\/i> pat-down. He half-assed it with his right hand instead, using the same hand he&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Fuck, his head was full of nasty shit. He completely missed the blade she kept in her sleeve, his hand moving from her right shoulder, down her back, and now his fantasies were getting the better of his caution as he reached her ass.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Not yet. Don\u2019t make your move yet. He\u2019s still a little scared. Wait until he\u2019s only thinking with his dick&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She had her mouth knife ready. She doubted it would come into play, though. Not after what she\u2019d done to the last guy who\u2019d tried to make her go down on him. Usually she just disappeared their junk into Elsewhere, but that time&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">His hand moved to her hip. She could feel the jolt of excitement that began overwhelming his caution when one of his fingers touched the bare skin between the hem of her shirt and the waistband of her pants. Revolting as his mind was, she had to stay close to it, warned by it, if she didn\u2019t want her skin to try to crawl right off her body and her defensive reflexes to kick in. She had to stay in control. Anatoliy and the other two\u2014she called them Cueball and Curly in her head, because they always seemed to show up together and she\u2019d never once heard their real names\u2014were watching, growing even more excited. Their guards were beginning to drop, too.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Which was good, because their friend was trying to slide his hand into her waistband and that was more than she felt like tolerating.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She sprung the blades in the heel of her right shoe and kicked back, feeling the man\u2019s sudden agony as they slid home.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Your chances of ever being a father were low, thank God, but they just dropped to zero.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She kicked off, arching up and bringing her legs above his shoulders, grabbing his neck with her calves as she began to spin.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sometime, in the last year, she had begun to get a new sense of the physical, one that baffled her and seemed impossible when she tried to really think about it, but she was pretty sure there was something Tizzy had called \u201ctelekinesis\u201d in play. Something she had a vague memory of seeing her mother do when she was little. She could <i>will<\/i> her momentum and leverage to be stronger than they ought to be, using her grasp of the guard\u2019s neck, as she spun, to flip him and to grab his cudgel. She\u2019d practiced with it, played with it, and knew her limits with it so far. She couldn\u2019t levitate objects, couldn\u2019t even levitate <i>herself<\/i>\u2014yet, anyway\u2014but she could add in a little something <i>extra<\/i> to her movements that logic dictated shouldn\u2019t be there.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Hopefully any of the guards who realized she was doing it wouldn\u2019t survive long enough to tell anyone else.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She slammed the cudgel against the side of the man\u2019s head and followed up that blow with one to his gut. Fucker was still standing, looking dazed. She kicked off again, cartwheeling her body with the cudgel as a base for the move, her legs sending him flying into a haphazard flip of his own.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He didn\u2019t break his neck when he landed. Dammit. It had almost worked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra regained her feet, staring at the other three guards, waiting to see what their plans were.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Their newbie friend might be down, but they were three of Yuri\u2019s veterans, his <i>favorites,<\/i> and they wouldn\u2019t be nearly as easy, especially now that their guards were back up.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Still, their minds would be less appalling to read if they were thinking about battle tactics instead of their favorite sicko porn acts, much less the specific acts they\u2019d been instructed to make sure they performed on her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>C\u2019mon, you motherfuckers, let\u2019s get this over with.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Anatoliy came at her first. She dodged his swing, spinning and kicking his upper back to send him into the wall. Cueball followed him in, throwing a punch at her with the hand holding his flashlight. She blocked it and the follow-up punch before knocking him face-first into another wall. Behind her, she could feel Anatoliy preparing to move, planning to grab her by her upper arms. She spun and planted the wide part of the cudgel against his throat.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He stared at her, horrified. She got a glimpse, in her mind, of a hand holding up&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2014&#8288;a sardine can key?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Maybe he does see into the future!<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It had distracted her at just the wrong moment, and she didn\u2019t hear Curly moving up behind her until he slammed the butt of his cudgel into her upper back. Pain exploded along her spine. He dropped his weapon and grabbed control of the one she was holding, pulling it back against her throat. Cueball turned around and slammed his cudgel into her lower abdomen, far too low to knock the wind out of her, but it still hurt like fuck.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Been hurt worse,<\/i> she told herself as Curly spun her around and she hit the floor. <i>Let them think they\u2019re winning&#8288;\u2026 Got a few tricks they don\u2019t know are pos&#173;sible&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He slammed the cudgel into her back again as she tried to begin a rise-and-roll. She collapsed, feeling Cueball\u2019s rage beat at her as he stalked forward and used the handle of his cudgel to begin choking her. Curly had his hands on her hips, pressing her down.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She needed to stay still for a moment. Let them calm down. Let them think they\u2019d subdued her and that she wasn\u2019t sneaking oxygen from Elsewhere into her lungs. Let them start thinking about fucking her again. Then she\u2019d take the next one out&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI don\u2019t think she likes being touched,\u201d a voice from her dreams said, and for a moment she thought she\u2019d passed out in the guards\u2019 grasp.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick was watching from a nearby doorway, a metal cup in his left hand.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019d take my wounded and go,\u201d he suggested to the guards, \u201cwhile you still can.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Riddick to the rescue&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Like the time he\u2019d saved Tizzy from the creature trying to plow through a huge bone to get to her&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u2014&#8288;Wait, wasn\u2019t that me?&#8288;\u2014<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Didn\u2019t matter. Riddick always showed up just in time.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Except&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Don\u2019t think about that, not now. He\u2019s here.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Cueball released his hold on her neck. She gasped in a deep breath, still playing the role of the dazed, vulnerable girl who couldn\u2019t possibly be about to isomorph choice body parts off of anyone. Even Riddick, she suspected, was seeing her that way right then. Curly let go of her, too. They and Anatoliy had all risen, preparing to face what they considered the <i>real<\/i> threat in the room.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Fuck you, assholes, when I\u2019m his age, my kill count is gonna be five times what his is. But do go on&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIs there a name for this private little world of yours?\u201d Cueball asked. \u201cHuh? What happens there when we don\u2019t just&#8288;\u2026 run away?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">None of them seemed to notice or care that she was getting up. She used the bars to stabilize herself as she climbed to her feet\u2014she was woozier than she liked, but she\u2019d be okay in a few minutes\u2014and turned to watch the unfolding tableau.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She didn\u2019t want to miss a minute of a genuine <i>artist<\/i> at work.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Tizzy had told her that Chillingsworth had called Riddick that. On their last night together on Tangier Prime, as they\u2019d struggled to fall asleep without Sebby cuddling up to them, she\u2019d finally told Kyra a little bit about the <i>Kublai Khan<\/i> and the terrible menagerie in it, but she\u2019d been unwilling to share any images or feelings. Kyra\u2019d had the sense that somehow it was more traumatic than anything that had happened to her&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u2026us&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2014&#8288;on the crash planet itself. But Tizzy had described being made to stand on a huge ball, only able to balance by staying perfectly still, a metal noose-collar around her throat, and listening as a woman told Riddick, somewhere behind her, that he was an <i>artist<\/i> and that she wanted to watch the \u201cmoment of creation.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Gonna get to watch one now&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Cueball was still talking. \u201cYou\u2019ll kill us&#8288;\u2026 with a <i>soup cup<\/i>?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Curly laughed like a cartoon character, in Kyra\u2019s opinion. Cueball wasn\u2019t <i>that<\/i> funny.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick lifted the cup in question. \u201cTea, actually.\u201d He smirked and took a sip.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat\u2019s that?\u201d Cueball asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Apparently, Riddick wanted a moment to savor the last of his drink. He smiled as he lowered the cup from his lips and transferred it into his right hand, holding it between his fingers as delicately as if it was a piece of fragile porcelain. \u201cI\u2019ll kill you with my <i>tea<\/i>cup.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>This,<\/i> Kyra thought, <i>is gonna be amazing.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick set the cup down, upside-down and clearly empty, on a rocky shelf just beside him. Empty handed, he gazed levelly at the guards.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Obviously Anatoliy <i>wasn\u2019t<\/i> at all psychic, or he\u2019d be warning his friends to run like hell.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Cueball turned away from him, leaning toward Curly.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou know the rule,\u201d Curly whispered. \u201cThey aren\u2019t dead if they\u2019re still on the books.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Oh, like any of us didn\u2019t just hear you&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But it explained, she realized, why Yuri was still trying to engineer her death instead of just telling the Planetary Governor that she\u2019d died; he didn\u2019t want to have to take her off the books until she really <i>was<\/i> dead.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Plus,<\/i> she observed, <i>he\u2019s supposed to send the man some choice pieces of me as proof, and he can\u2019t just send some random woman\u2019s bits because they\u2019ll probably be DNA tested&#8288;\u2026<\/i> The guards near her had been thinking about which ones they were each going to personally collect from her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Most men, she thought for the millionth time, were slime. For every Riddick, every Guv, every Ewan or Cedric or Iz\u00eel or Tomlin&#8288;\u2026 there were countless piles of slime walking around. Tizzy had viewed it the opposite way, but <i>she<\/i> knew the <i>truth<\/i>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Maybe she and Riddick could clear the field of more of them now. <i>The way we did on Canaan Mountain&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Had that really happened?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Cueball was drawing his knife. Somebody was about to die. He was in for a surprise about <i>who.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Still, she had a hard time restraining herself from leaping into the fray.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She caught a glimpse of Riddick slamming his hand down on the teacup, splintering the metal at its rim. A fraction of a second later, she heard a horrific squelching noise and Cueball grunted in pain, freezing in place with his knife raised.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick made a move like he was twisting something. A violent shudder ran through Cueball\u2019s back.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And then, as Kyra watched, the guard tilted backward and crashed to the floor, his eyes already empty, all sense of life and mind abandoning the space where his body lay.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The metal teacup protruded from his chest, partly buried in him. His knife fell from his nerveless fingers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She could feel Curly and Anatoliy\u2019s sudden terror. They had both considered Cueball the best hand-to-hand combat fighter they <i>had.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You should\u2019a read Riddick\u2019s file, boys&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>She<\/i> had. The Merc Network account that Tizzy had created for her, so she could keep tabs on where hunters were looking for her, had given her access to all of Riddick\u2019s kill data. She\u2019d read through the entirety of his file more than once, coming to understand, in the process, why Stacey had liked looking at his picture while she got herself off. The only weird thing had been his first cluster of kills on Helion Prime, which seemed to have an entirely different M.O. than the rest. Maybe he\u2019d just changed things up when he hit adulthood, though.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The idiots weren\u2019t backing down. Curly moved into combat position, brandishing his cudgel and forcing Anatoliy to do the same. \u201cCome on!\u201d he hissed at Riddick.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">As if Riddick was gonna play by his rules.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Casual as could be, as if nobody was on the verge of snapping near him, Riddick crouched down and picked something up from the floor.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A key from a sardine can.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Okay, maybe Anatoliy\u2019s a <b>little<\/b> psychic&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick held it up, showing it to both men, and then set it on the same rocky ledge where he\u2019d rested the teacup.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Anatoliy and Curly stared at Riddick for a moment. Kyra could hear them imagining just how he might use that key to kill them. It was tinier than most of <i>her<\/i> blades but loomed larger in their heads than a <i>sword.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Curly\u2019s nerve broke first.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Both men hurriedly gathered up the newbie guard, still unconscious&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u2014&#8288;And hopefully permanently impaired!&#8288;\u2014<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2014&#8288;and carried him past Kyra and down a corridor. Their eyes never moved to her; Riddick filled their vision. Their mission to take her apart for Yuri was forgotten.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was almost a shame. She\u2019d been planning on feeding their dicks to the \u201chellhounds\u201d tonight.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Probably won\u2019t be my last chance to do that&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She knelt beside Cueball, studying Riddick\u2019s handiwork. \u201cDeath by teacup.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It took some effort to pull the cup free. Riddick had buried nearly two inches of it in the guard\u2019s chest and then had turned it at least ninety degrees, mangling the man\u2019s heart.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDamn. Why didn\u2019t I think of that?\u201d She\u2019d come up with some ingenious ways of killing and could probably have produced the same effect by isomorphing to make up for the sheer muscle power of Riddick\u2019s move. <i>The man can turn anything into a weapon&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She grinned up at Riddick, waiting for him to ask her about <i>her<\/i> kills. There\u2019d been a movie she\u2019d seen back in Aceso, which was a favorite among the other Killer\u2019s Club girls, where two men kept one-upping each other with the most improbable methods of killing the enemies surrounding them. A few tactics, she\u2019d known even then, would never work in real life, but it had still been hilarious&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI didn\u2019t come here to play \u2018Who\u2019s the Better Killer,\u2019\u201d Riddick growled, turning away.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Had he been in her <i>head?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She stood up behind him. \u201cBut it\u2019s my favorite game. Haven\u2019t you heard?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They\u2019d started playing it on Canaan Mountain.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>He was there. He should know that&#8288;\u2014<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He <i>had<\/i> been there, hadn\u2019t he? They\u2019d hunted Red Roger to&#173;gether&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But somehow she had other memories, more detailed ones, of being alone on the mountain, painstakingly laying traps and shivering in treetops as she kept watch and lured her prey to her&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;using <i>herself<\/i> as bait to get Roger himself to walk into her snare because he was too focused on the seemingly oblivious naked girl bathing in a creek to realize it was a trap&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That had been <i>her<\/i> trap, though, not Riddick\u2019s. Where had Riddick gone?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Had he ever <i>been<\/i> there? He had a weight and presence in this moment that was completely absent from all her memories of him on Canaan Mountain.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Was her banter falling flat because the shared moments she was trying to evoke <i>had never happened?<\/i> How were they gonna get to the kissing part without the banter?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She could see it so clearly in her head: Ewan calling Tizzy a cheater, a huge smile on his face, her sister walking closer and closer to him as she teasingly refuted his joking accusations and playfully challenged him to <i>do<\/i> something about them, the intense chemistry igniting between them that she wanted to feel between Riddick and herself now&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI heard you came looking for me,\u201d Riddick said, not turning around to face her. She had the weird sense that he was testing her, trying to trip her up in some way. But about <i>what?<\/i> It didn\u2019t feel at all playful.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIs that all?\u201d It was, pretty much, all she\u2019d told Imam when she\u2019d called him. <i>Two fucking years ago&#8288;\u2026<\/i> \u201cThen you missed the <i>good<\/i> part.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Somehow, though, she didn\u2019t want to tell him about losing Tizzy. Her sister had trusted a military general and was probably dead, or worse, because of that mistake. She didn\u2019t really want to tell him about Oliver, either. Her biggest regret there was that she hadn\u2019t ghosted <i>him<\/i> on the spot, buried him out in the hills, and then claimed ignorance when asked where her boss had gone, instead of just threatening to cut off his hands if he ever tried to grope her again. Maybe she\u2019d even have ended up in charge of his paddocks instead of&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHooked up with some mercs out of Lupus Five,\u201d she told Riddick, picking up her story there. \u201cSaid they\u2019d take me on, teach me the trade, give me a <i>good cut&#8288;\u2026<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick\u2019s whole body had gone rigid. Tension was suddenly thrumming through him. Maybe he already knew what had happened to her? She set the teacup back down on the ledge.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThey slaved me out, Riddick!\u201d Why did she suddenly feel like it was <i>his<\/i> fault that had happened to her? Any feelings of playfulness were suddenly <i>gone<\/i>. \u201cDo you know what that could do to you when you\u2019re that age?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d turned seventeen on New Queensland, but that suddenly wasn\u2019t the age she was thinking of. Somehow her mind shied away from the insides of the settler ship, and instead she saw the mercs handing her over to <i>Red Roger<\/i> and his men. Those men forcing her mother to watch while Roger&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Fuck. No. All that shit had happened to <i>Jack<\/i>. Not her. Jack was dead. Not her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhen you\u2019re twelve years old&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI told you to stay in New Mecca,\u201d Riddick hissed, swinging around to come face to face with her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">When had he said that? Had he said it to Tizzy and not her?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick suddenly grabbed the light in the low ceiling, just beside them, and pulled it out with a single, powerful yank. It exploded in his hands as he roared at her, and she couldn\u2019t stop herself from recoiling. <i>\u201cDid you not listen?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">When she turned back to look at him, he\u2019d pulled his goggles off and was glaring at her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI had <i>mercs<\/i> on my neck. I\u2019ll <i>always<\/i> have mercs on my neck. I spent five years on a frozen heap just to keep them away from you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>And Tizzy and I were hunted the whole time you were in fucking hiding!<\/i> she wanted to shout at him. She managed to stand her ground and keep quiet without saying it. She didn\u2019t know why, but she didn\u2019t want to talk about Tizzy with him. Everybody always cared more about Tizzy than her&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick\u2019s expression became accusing, even disgusted. \u201cAnd you go and sign up with the same fake badges&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She had an image in her head, suddenly, of Tizzy kneeling over Duke Pritchard, the same sneer on <i>her<\/i> face as she examined the badge she\u2019d taken from the paralyzed merc\u2019s pocket.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2014&#8288;that wanted to cut you up and use you for bait.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I told you not to do it,<\/i> she thought she heard Tizzy whisper, somewhere deep inside her. And something about a <i>motherfucking son of a side of bacon&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat are you pitching, Riddick?\u201d she demanded, trying not to feel the twist of guilt and shame that her little sister had just provoked. Riddick turned away from her. \u201cThat you cutting out was a good thing? That you had my ass covered from halfway across the universe?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">More guilt tore through her. That was what <i>she<\/i> had done to Tizzy, <i>too<\/i>. She\u2019d abandoned her little sister, after Riddick had abandoned both of them, and had lost her forever. Maybe everything that had happened after that was what she deserved for making that choice, she thought, feeling ill.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>So what does Riddick deserve for abandoning both of us?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was <i>his<\/i> fault Jack was dead. <i>His<\/i> fault she\u2019d lost everything. Nothing had worked right once he\u2019d left them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She felt Riddick\u2019s own sense of guilt swelling, and then felt him push it aside and go blank and unreadable again. \u201cYou signed with mercs,\u201d he murmured, walking way.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>It was the only choice I had left, damn it&#8288;\u2026<\/i> Every other door had closed to her. Every other friend had left or been taken from her. \u201cThere was nobody else around.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Because she\u2019d let General Toal separate her from Tizzy&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Because I told Tizzy we couldn\u2019t stay together anymore&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Fuck.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She had to get out of there before she lost it in front of Riddick.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Keeping her spine straight, she turned and walked out of the room before <i>he<\/i> could, slamming one of the barred \u201ccell doors\u201d shut behind her. The <i>moment<\/i> she\u2019d hoped to have with him had unraveled, <i>again<\/i>, into a godawful mess.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She needed a kill. A good, righteous kill. More than one. Once she was sure she was alone, she isomorphed into Elsewhere and followed a tunnel that led to the warren of the Moles. Three were dead. She\u2019d finish off the rest.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Fuck you, Riddick. <b>I\u2019m<\/b> the better killer.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Now if she could just stop crying&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You\u2019d never have talked shit like that to Tizzy, damn you,<\/i> she thought as she crept up on the first of the Moles and pulled his beating heart into Elsewhere. She hoped the \u201chellhounds\u201d would like human hearts for a midnight snack. <i>How come you can\u2019t care that much about <b>me?<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She had the sudden, horrible feeling that Riddick had come to Crematoria for <i>Tizzy,<\/i> not her. It left her chest feeling even hollower than the Moles were when she was done with them.<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5630\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5630 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-88\">\u00ab Chapter 88<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5662\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5662 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-90\">Chapter 90 \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=\"90\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5631\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5631 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-89\">\u00ab Chapter 89<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5909\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5909 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-91\">Chapter 91 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5895\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5895 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">90.<br\/>\r\n<u>Follow the Lightbringer<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra ended up taking five hearts, along with others of the \u201chellhounds\u2019\u201d favorite organ meats, to their cages. All they wanted to talk about was the appearance of a \u201clightbringer,\u201d but they remembered to thank her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>At least somebody around here has manners,<\/i> she mentally grumbled as she headed for the lower levels. Soon, she knew, the guards would \u201cpop the cork\u201d on the prison, blowing out the accumulating sulfurous fumes and somehow pulling in fresh air.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Part of her was tempted to just stay on the Elsewhere side. Only return to the prison to pilfer food. Give up on humanity altogether. The secrets she was keeping wouldn\u2019t matter if nobody could find her, and if Riddick hadn\u2019t even come here looking for her&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cKyra.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Speak of the fucking <b>devil<\/b>&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick was nearby, looking around, frowning quizzically.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI know you\u2019re near. I can feel you. Come out. I just wanna talk.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Fine. Fucking <b>fine.<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She hoisted herself onto one of the pillars of stone and isomorphed back into U1, dropping down as if she\u2019d been there the whole time. \u201cYeah?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He studied her for a moment. She got the feeling that he was struggling with how different she was from what he expected, but that he also found her somehow <i>familiar.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cKid&#8288;\u2026 I\u2019m sorry I went off on you.\u201d Damn, that had taken him some effort to say. She could feel his unease at using those two little words. \u201cWanna try again? Maybe&#8288;\u2026 tell me what happened after I left?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She didn\u2019t want to talk about that. At all. It was a part of her story, her memories, that never made sense, never held together. One of the parts she tried not to look at. She hadn\u2019t <i>been<\/i> with Riddick, Imam, and Tizzy when they reached Helion Prime. Somehow, instead, she\u2019d been waiting for Tizzy in Aceso. She\u2019d been separated from them before their ordeal on the <i>Kublai Khan,<\/i> but she didn\u2019t remember how. They\u2019d left the crash planet together, but then the next time she\u2019d seen Imam&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She didn\u2019t understand.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She hadn\u2019t seen Tizzy until Aceso. Why did their reunion in Aceso feel like a first meeting? The way coming face-to-face with Riddick in <i>here<\/i> had felt like one&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He was watching her intently.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cRiddick, I&#8288;\u2026 when did Imam tell you where I was?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBeen three days, maybe four, since the Necros took Helion Prime, about. So a little longer than that. By a few hours.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTwo years, Riddick. He let me rot in here for two <i>years<\/i> without letting you know. Without even trying. So. Why do you <i>think<\/i> I left that shithole?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">After a tiny pause, he nodded. \u201cFair enough. So. You left New Mecca. Were you looking for me the whole time?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It had been an idea that had come to her at the eleventh hour, a last-ditch way to stay together with Tizzy that she floated way too late. Tizzy hadn\u2019t wanted to find Riddick. She\u2019d committed to returning to her life before him, severing ties to all possible evidence that she\u2019d ever been&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2014&#8288;Jack? Had <i>Tizzy<\/i> been Jack?&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2014&#8288;to ensure that the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation would never discover the secrets she was keeping. The lives she was protecting. She had committed to the course. It had hurt to hear her <i>say<\/i> how thoroughly she was cutting those ties, though. <i>Jack\u2019s dead&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But Kyra had never gone looking for him herself, in truth. Thought about it, but without Tizzy it had seemed hopeless somehow.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She shook her head. \u201cIt was the easiest thing to tell Imam. Maybe&#8288;\u2026 I figured he\u2019d be more likely to get a message to you if I said that, like that was why I left and not because he was a Grade-A dick.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her clearest memory of him was the sight of him stalking over to the Aceso guest elevator with a scowl on his face, while Tizzy emerged from the visiting rooms looking as if someone had drained her of every last drop of blood&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick\u2019s breath hitched. She glanced over at him, not sure what she was seeing on his face. He might be angry, sad, horny, amused, or all of the above at once and she\u2019d never be able to tell between that smirky deadpan of his and that tight mental shield he had.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou figured he\u2019d be more likely to contact me,\u201d he observed after a moment, \u201cif he didn\u2019t know how low your opinion of him was.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFigured it was worth a shot. Guess he proved my opinion of him right, instead.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow long did you stay on Helion Prime?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She shrugged. This was another place where things got murky and weird in her head. \u201cFelt like years. I left on February 12, 2517. I know that because it was the launch date on the logs of the ship I stowed away on.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And because Tizzy had drawn her attention to the date later on. Tizzy, sitting in their apartment, the late afternoon sun spilling over her hair and gilding it while she cuddled Sebby and talked about numbers like they were com&#173;pre&#173;hen&#173;sible&#8288;\u2026 and, for the first time, they <i>were<\/i>&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick\u2019s breathing hitched again for the barest moment. \u201cSo a little under five months.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She shrugged. \u201cI guess.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He nodded. \u201cYou go alone?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Jesus fuck, just ask about Tizzy if you want to know so bad.<\/i> At the same time, she didn\u2019t feel like volunteering anything. He wasn\u2019t going to find out anything about her sister unless he admitted that <i>she<\/i> was the one he\u2019d really come for. Not that there was all that much to tell; General Fucking Toal had made sure neither one of them knew where the other was going when they separated. <i>Divide and fucking con&#173;quer\u2026<\/i> \u201cNo, it\u2019s safer not to travel alone if you can help it. We kicked around a few places before we split up.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She couldn\u2019t say they\u2019d been on Tangier Prime, not after already telling him the date she\u2019d left Helion Prime. Only one ship could have made that journey, and officially it had no survivors. Hundreds of innocents had died so that the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation could make sure no one blamed it for those official deaths; more would die if the Corporation ever realized she and Tizzy had saved all but eighteen of their fellow travelers. Millions might die, if it discovered that the Imazighen were hiding the rest of the survivors. Millions&#8288;\u2026 starting with the Mezianes. Kyra <i>liked<\/i> the Mezianes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She wondered what Riddick would do if she told him Tizzy had fallen in love with one of them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow\u2019d it all go wrong?\u201d he asked after a moment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cLike I told you. The mercs. I\u2019d run out of other options. I needed a job, and they were the only ones hiring. But they decided the only part of me that was worth anything was between my legs.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHmm.\u201d It was almost a low growl. \u201cSo you killed a few people, but got caught and nailed for their murders.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Seventeen. And that\u2019s just on New Queensland.<\/i> She was pretty sure his kills hadn\u2019t hit the double-digits until he was at least eighteen, and she\u2019d hit that level at age sixteen while on Tangier Prime. \u201cThat about covers it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">His deadpan had, somehow, become even more of a blank than ever. \u201cAnd nobody was at all concerned about a kid being slaved out.\u201d He didn\u2019t precisely sound skeptical, but she felt like he was trying to poke a hole in her story.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMy ID didn\u2019t say I was a kid. And there wasn\u2019t anyone left to prosecute even if it had. Except me for killing them.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cLotta mitigating circumstances, though,\u201d he observed. \u201cHow\u2019d you end up in the asshole of creation?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOne of them was related to somebody important. He insisted. Plus Ursa Luna got word I might know you, and they refused to take me if that was true.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick nodded. After another moment, he seemed to come to a decision. \u201cWhen it happens&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThere you two are,\u201d the Guv said, emerging from one of the tunnels. \u201cI\u2019ve been looking all over for you. Word is, the rest of the Moles are dead. No one knows how. There\u2019ll probably be another \u2018feeding time\u2019 within the day, once the guards realize.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhy the delay?\u201d Riddick asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNone of the beasts are acting hungry, apparently,\u201d the Guv told him with a slight smile. \u201cHow <i>did<\/i> you tame that one?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Figuring out a way to get into the creatures\u2019 good graces had long been a project of the Guv\u2019s, Kyra knew. If she were a better and more loyal friend, she would probably have helped him with it. But even after two years, in which he\u2019d helped her enormously time and again, she couldn\u2019t bring herself to break the promises she\u2019d made on Tangier Prime and share her secrets with him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick shrugged. \u201cDidn\u2019t tame it. I\u2019ve always had a way with animals.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There was a kaiju from a bunch of centuries-old movies, Kyra recollected, who was a \u201cfriend to animals and children.\u201d She wished she could remember its name.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick glanced her way, his lips twitching as if he was suppressing a laugh for the barest second.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The Guv, she realized, was out to recruit Riddick into his gang, the way he\u2019d recruited her two years earlier. She doubted it would work. Especially if her suspicions were correct and Riddick had only come here to spring her&#8288;\u2026 or Tizzy&#8288;\u2026 and had no intention of staying past that point.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>But he isn\u2019t gonna let go of it yet. Damn.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was the end of a chance for a real conversation, at least for a while. Kyra did a fade while the Guv monopolized Riddick\u2019s attention, making it literal once she was sure she was alone. She climbed onto \u201cher\u201d pillar, near the two men but not within sight of either of them, lying down in her little \u2019verse-straddling nest so she could listen to them while breathing the fresher air on the Elsewhere side. Things were getting stuffy enough on the U1 side that the guards would have to do an air exchange soon&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Well, speak of the lice-ridden devils&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Above her, the command center was rising as the guards got ready to \u201cpop the cork.\u201d Once Kyra was sure no one was looking her way, she isomorphed back to U1. The air exchange was always fun to watch and to feel happening as the wind flowed past her skin.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo they <i>do<\/i> go topside,\u201d Riddick rumbled below her, \u201cto swap out air. Interesting.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The Guv, Kyra figured, hadn\u2019t made much headway in his recruitment efforts, and hadn\u2019t gotten any insights on befriending the \u201chellhounds.\u201d His unease and awe were increasing, as was his certainty that <i>she<\/i> wouldn\u2019t be part of his gang anymore if Riddick beckoned her away. \u201cWho the hell are you?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Funny how law enforcement, and the military, knew all about Riddick, and somehow <i>Stacey<\/i> had known, too, but other convicts seemed to have no idea who he was.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Then again, kinda hard to get word of mouth going among the crim population if they\u2019re all stuck in prisons that nobody, except the one guy who doesn\u2019t talk much about himself, can escape from&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He was his own kind of phantom.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You listening, kid?<\/i> his voice sounded in her head, as real as if he\u2019d spoken aloud.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I\u2019m listening.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhen it happens,\u201d he repeated, \u201cit\u2019ll happen fast. Stay on my leg when I cut fence, or stay here. For the rest of your unnatural life.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">So he\u2019d decided to invite the Guv to join him, too. Interesting. It hurt a little\u2014would it ever just be the two of them?\u2014but she figured he knew how much she owed the Guv. She\u2019d probably have died sometime in the last two years if it hadn\u2019t been for him. A thank-you was in order.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNobody outs this place,\u201d the Guv was warning Riddick. \u201cNobody.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A moment later, Riddick was gone, not bothering to reply.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe ain\u2019t nobody,\u201d Kyra said, wondering if the Guv had even realized she was still nearby, that she\u2019d stuck close to listen the whole time.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She slid her little knife out of her mouth, wondering if soon she might not need it. Its absence created a weird feeling for a moment, a sense of an empty space, as if she\u2019d pulled out a tooth.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The air exchange was dropping the temperature; she\u2019d need her coat soon if she wanted to stay in U1. Normally, she just transitioned part or all of the way into Elsewhere until the temperature normalized; on that side, the airflow was a gentle constant and all the weird mining work people did in U1, releasing volcanic gases in the process, was irrelevant.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But she was staying in U1 until whatever it was, that was going to happen fast, <i>happened.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It <i>did<\/i> happen fast.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Less than an hour later, with the \u201ccork\u201d back in place, shouting broke out in the control room followed by the sounds of gunfire. And then <i>Toombs<\/i> jumped down through the hole in the control room floor, sliding down the sharkbait rope.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>What the hell is he doing here?<\/i> Had he brought Riddick?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Even as Toombs managed to halt his descent, something <i>exploded<\/i> up above in the control room. In its wake, everything went quiet. But not for long.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo!\u201d Toombs suddenly shouted. \u201cRiddick, <i>no!\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">As she watched in astonishment, Riddick launched himself from one of the caverns, flying straight at Toombs. He crashed into the merc, snagging Toombs\u2019s bulletproof vest with one hand and pulling himself up until they were at eye level. The merc was straining under the additional weight, struggling to maintain his grip on the rope.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShould\u2019ve taken the money, Toombs,\u201d Riddick said before grabbing onto the rope and hauling himself upward, not bothering to be gentle about the footholds he found on the other man\u2019s body. Did he know that Toombs was the one who had brought her here?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She watched his effortless-looking hand-over-hand as he climbed up into the control room, feeling amazed. Tizzy had told her that Riddick was a \u201cFuryan,\u201d although neither one of them knew what that meant other than that most of the Federacy\u2019s trained Operatives were from his world, powerful espers and maybe something more than that. Were all Furyans like him?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Wait, Tizzy had been trying to go to Furya&#8288;\u2026<\/i> She remembered her little sister sobbing in her arms because something had stopped her from getting there. Stopped her from reaching her father&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was only a minute or two after Riddick disappeared inside the control room that an alarm sounded, and all the locked gates opened.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Yeah, that was pretty fuckin\u2019 fast&#8288;\u2026<\/i> She headed for the stairs, noticing that Toombs was struggling to climb back up the rope as she went.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The Guv had led the way up, his men already primed to follow, waiting for the signal. She wasn\u2019t far behind them. Other convicts, mostly point men from other gangs, were following more cautiously behind <i>her.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDon\u2019t bother,\u201d she heard Riddick saying as she reached the control room. \u201cGuards ain\u2019t there. They figured out the Necros are coming for me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">What the hell were \u201cNecros?\u201d He\u2019d mentioned them before. Said they\u2019d \u201ctaken\u201d Helion Prime? Just a few days ear&#173;lier&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cPlan was to clean the bank, ghost the mercs, break wide through the tunnel,\u201d Riddick was telling everyone. \u201cAnd then somebody got a lucky shot off with this rocket launcher, here&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He nudged the weapon with his foot, sending it spinning into the scattered detritus of playing cards, pistachio shells, and bullet casings littering the floor.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;and took out the sled,\u201d he continued. \u201cGuards took off on foot but rigged the door so no one could follow.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Everyone was following <i>him<\/i> away from the door in question, toward the kennels. Kyra turned away for a moment. She wanted to see the rocket damage for herself.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Toombs hauled himself back into the control room, grunting with the effort, his face red and sweaty from exertion. Kyra picked up a discarded pistol and armed it. Just in case he thought he had any say in what was happening.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThey\u2019ll take the one ship in the hangar,\u201d Riddick continued, ignoring Toombs\u2019 return, \u201cand leave everyone else here to die.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow come you know all this shit?\u201d Toombs demanded as he regained his feet. He seemed determined to ignore the multiple guns pointed his way. \u201cYou weren\u2019t even here.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c\u2019Cause it was <i>my<\/i> plan,\u201d Riddick said, moving on without another word.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe fuck he mean by that?\u201d a runner for another gang, a man who everybody called Ratface, grumbled.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDunno,\u201d Kyra told him. She had some ideas, but she wasn\u2019t going to float any of them where just <i>anybody<\/i> could hear them. \u201cOh, holy shit.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A familiar woman was sprawled on the ground near the sled track door, her breathing shallow and rapid.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cLogan. Hey. Eve Logan.\u201d She crouched next to the merc lady, aware that the rest of the convicts were staring at her. \u201cYou in there? How badly are you hurt?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Logan groaned, opening her eyes after a moment. \u201cThink I\u2019ve got some broken ribs&#8288;\u2026 hurts to breathe but not, like, inside my lungs&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMind if I feel it out?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Logan focused on her. <i>\u201cKyra?<\/i> You\u2019re still alive&#8288;\u2026 thank God&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She nodded. \u201cLet me check you out, okay?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She remembered the way Ewan\u2019s hands had moved over her after he\u2019d finished patching her up, as he told her he was doing a quick check to make sure she didn\u2019t have any other injuries that needed tending before they took her out of the apartment. There were almost no men in the \u2019verse whose touch she could stand, but she was pretty sure he was still one of them. He\u2019d made her feel <i>impervious<\/i>. Now she moved her hands the same way, spreading open Logan\u2019s armored vest so she could skim her ribcage and keeping an eye on the way the woman reacted to the contact.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cLooks like you probably have two or three cracked ribs,\u201d she said after a moment. \u201cAll on your left side. None of them are out of place, though. What do you call those&#8288;\u2026 hairline fractures? We get you bandaged up, you take it easy, you\u2019ll be okay.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhy the fuck is she gonna be okay?\u201d Ratface demanded.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c\u2019Cause I just said it,\u201d Kyra told him, rising from her crouch. \u201c\u2019Cause she\u2019s the closest thing you have to a bargaining chip with the Guild to keep them from just starving everybody out instead of sending any more supplies here. You wanna live, you\u2019ll take <i>good fucking care of her.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHey,\u201d Toombs called out. \u201cI can be a bargaining chip, too!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra ignored him. She owed Logan a little humanity, but she owed Toombs <i>nothing.<\/i> \u201cSomebody get Sawbones up here, get him working on her. Get those boys in the Scree Team up here, too. They know electronics. You fix things up and she can put out an official call for relief here. Maybe the Guild will send some actual <i>human<\/i> guards next time around.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWho the fuck are you to tell us what to do, bitch?\u201d Ratface was turning sullen and stupid.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m the <i>bitch<\/i> you\u2019ll have to <i>thank<\/i> for it if you\u2019re still alive this time next year. That\u2019s who.\u201d She fixed Ratface with a stern glare. \u201cAll you need to know is this. Without her, you\u2019ll all be dead in under a month. Even before the food runs out for <i>you<\/i>, the hounds\u2019ll break loose and start hunting when it runs out for <i>them<\/i>. You take good care of them and good care of <i>her.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhere <i>you<\/i> gonna be while all this is going down?\u201d he demanded.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWith him.\u201d She nodded at Riddick, who was leading a group toward the \u201chellhound\u201d cages, Toombs trapped in their grasp. \u201cNow go get Sawbones like I told you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Even if he didn\u2019t know how to do a shine job, Sawbones was a decent enough doctor. Logan would recover under his care. Not that she\u2019d especially enjoy his company; nobody did. The only part of himself he ever washed was his hands before a surgery.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ratface grimaced, but then nodded and headed for the stairs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGuys,\u201d she told the men still standing around her, some of whom had intimidated her in the past, \u201cgrab a body and haul it after that little party headed for the cages. The regular \u2018hellhound chow\u2019 will last longer if they get a big meal out of these fuckers.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It took some negotiating, most of it while Toombs roared out Riddick\u2019s name over and over and dodged his cage neighbors, but she got the \u201chellhounds\u201d to agree <i>not<\/i> to hunt live humans as long as they stayed well-fed. At her instruction, the convicts hauled the bodies of the mercs and guards into their lair.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Tell the Lightbringer that we remember,<\/i> one of them said to her as she was leaving. <i>Ask him to remember us.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe lightbringer?\u201d she asked, confused.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And then she saw him, in her head, from <i>their<\/i> perspective: Riddick. Glowing with power. The Lightbringer.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cKyra!\u201d she heard him roar. \u201cGet your ass into the control room, now! We\u2019re going topside!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cKeep Toombs locked up with the hounds for a day or two,\u201d she told one of the convicts. \u201cHe <i>is<\/i> right that he\u2019ll be a good bargaining chip with the guild. We just need a decent head start.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The man nodded and she turned away, running back into the main control room. In another side room, she could see Sawbones already tending Logan. Her debts were paid.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Now it was time to find out what Riddick had in mind, especially given the head start the rest of the guards had on <i>them.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She realized that, in some ways, it didn\u2019t matter to her what his plan was. He wasn\u2019t just the hounds\u2019 Lightbringer; he was hers too. Whatever he\u2019d come up with would probably be just as crazy as, and maybe even more brilliant than, one of Tizzy\u2019s schemes. Whether it worked or not, whether they lived or died&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;she <i>had<\/i> to see how it played out.<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5631\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5631 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-89\">\u00ab Chapter 89<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5909\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5909 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-91\">Chapter 91 \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=\"91\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5632\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5632 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-90\">\u00ab Chapter 90<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5910\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5910 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-92\">Chapter 92 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5898\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5898 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">91.<br\/>\r\n<u>Pursued by a Scourging Sun<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Crematoria was the strangest world Kyra had ever been on, she thought as she pursued Riddick across its rocky surface.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Tizzy had told her how bizarre it was, how it seemed to violate almost all the rules of planetary physics and <i>then<\/i> some. That had come up in conversation during their first week on Tangier Prime, while her little sister had been building fake IDs for the two of them and Tomlin, and the talk had turned to various prison systems in the Federacy.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMost planets,\u201d Tizzy had said even as her fingers flew over the key glyphs on her tablet, \u201cthe coldest time of the night is right before sunrise and the hottest time is right before sunset. Then the temperature starts to rise, or fall, toward the other peak. So you\u2019d <i>think<\/i> that it\u2019d be too cold to survive even a few seconds outside in the hour before sunrise, and that early to mid-morning, and sometime late at night, would be about the only hours you could safely survive a world with that temperature range. Not how it works there, and it took scientists <i>decades<\/i> to figure out why.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra was running through the <i>why<\/i> even as she recalled Tizzy\u2019s words. The weirdest volcanic system on any world ran under the lava fields she was sprinting across, one that pumped out <i>hydrogen<\/i> and <i>oxygen<\/i>, in addition to methane and more traditional volcanic gases.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSome guy from New Oxford figured it out a century ago,\u201d Tizzy had continued. Somehow, she could type one thing and talk about something else without getting confused, a feat that Kyra had considered herculean. \u201cThe planet\u2019s core is made up of metallic hydrogen. Must\u2019ve once been a gas giant, maybe a brown dwarf, before Igneon went protostar on it. Blew away most of its gases except the ones that had been locked inside what used to be its mantle, which froze on the spot and became its new crust.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Froze into twisted, convoluted basalt shapes that Kyra had to run across. Froze into gargantuan knives of volcanic glass. Froze into an impossible world. She kept putting one foot in front of the other, all her intention focused on keeping up with Riddick. <i>If you can\u2019t keep up, don\u2019t step up,<\/i> he\u2019d told her. So far, she was doing a better job of keeping up than any of the few others who had joined them on the run.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd Igneon\u2019s a <i>young<\/i> star,\u201d Tizzy had continued. \u201cAll this shit happened maybe five hundred years ago. People back on old Earth saw it ignite on their <i>telescopes.<\/i> That\u2019s how it got its name. So all those gases locked under the mantle had been under crazy levels of pressure before the planet lost its original atmosphere. With that pressure gone, they\u2019re escaping, but it\u2019s gonna take another ten thousand years, minimum, before they all do.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat\u2019s that all mean, though?\u201d she\u2019d asked. Tizzy was a fount of fascinating knowledge, the kinds of things that the New Christy Elders had insisted girls didn\u2019t need to know about. Something about the way she shared it made it easy to understand, too.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWell, the planet pumps out enough gases that you have a more or less breathable atmosphere.\u201d Tizzy had grimaced. \u201cKind of. As long as you don\u2019t encounter a toxic vent and as long as you stay out of the sun. The mixture is breathable but <i>seriously<\/i> flammable. Like, explosively so. Not enough nitrogen in the mix. And not enough upper atmosphere to filter most of the sunlight, either. When the sun hits it, the atmosphere starts heating up <i>fast,<\/i> and within a few minutes it reaches the temperature you need for spontaneous combustion.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019ve gotta be <i>shitting<\/i> me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSwear to God. So right along the dawn line, you have this traveling explosion. After an hour or two, all the atmosphere has burned off in an area. The temperature climbs to about seven <i>hundred<\/i> degrees Fahrenheit\u2014that\u2019s three-seventy-ish Celsius\u2014in the burn zone. But after the atmosphere burns off, under the shadow of the burn cloud, it drops down to negative three hundred Fahrenheit, or about one-eighty-five-ish Celsius. That\u2019s close to the temperature where nitrogen\u2014if the planet had much of it, anyway\u2014where it <i>freezes.<\/i> You ever see what happens to something you put in <i>liquid<\/i> nitrogen?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">When Kyra had shaken her head, Tizzy had pulled up a vid on her tablet to show her. Someone dipped a rosebud into a steaming flask; when it emerged, it was covered with frost. A moment later, with a gentle tap on a table\u2019s surface, it shattered into dozens of fragments.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFuck, Jack&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Had she really called Tizzy \u201cJack\u201d back then? Huh.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Tizzy shuddered theatrically. \u201cYou walk out into that temperature and you\u2019re dead before you even notice it\u2019s cold. Fortunately, even though that\u2019s the planetary low, it doesn\u2019t <i>stay<\/i> there for long. More gases pump up and ignite on the <i>spot,<\/i> and warm things up a little while they burn off. That goes on all day. Then the sun sets. The temperature drops crazy-low again, but the burn also ends. And then the planet keeps pumping out more gases, which take up the heat stored in the rocks from the day\u2019s burn. By a few hours before dawn, you can walk around on the surface and survive. The place becomes almost comfortable about half an hour before the sun returns. And then boom, the whole shitshow starts over again.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd they put a <i>prison<\/i> on a planet like <i>that?\u201d<\/i> Kyra had shaken her head in wonder.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTurns out there are subterranean cave systems all over the place there, and some of them have stable atmospheres and even some decent temperatures. The prison\u2019s in one of those systems. My&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d For a moment, Tizzy hesitated, and then continued. \u201cParis told me that the only part of the prison complex with any <i>real<\/i> security systems in it is the underground passage between the prison and the hangar that supply ships dock in. As long as nobody can get into that, they have no hope of surviving outside of the prison itself.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>And yet here we are,<\/i> Kyra thought, <i>running across the surface and hoping we can outrun the dawn&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Only the Guv, Sybar, and two other men from the Guv\u2019s gang had chosen to join her and Riddick on the run. Everyone else had decided that the risk was too great, planning instead to use Toombs and Logan as hostages\u2014\u201cbargaining chips,\u201d Kyra had insisted\u2014to get relief supplies flown in by the prison guild. They\u2019d agreed on a story, which Toombs and Logan would, perforce, need to agree with too, in which raiders had attacked the prison only to be successfully driven off by the original guard contingent, all of whom had sacrificed their lives in the process. Kyra had been party to worse lies.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The only thing that might complicate that story would be if the surviving guards succeeded in making it to the hangar and launching. But if they did, she doubted she\u2019d be in a position to care what happened next in the prison.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It had been three hours until sunrise when they\u2019d begun the run. With almost thirty klicks to cover, through brutal terrain, the odds of successfully negotiating the distance were slim enough that there had been almost no takers. The four who had joined them\u2014the Guv, Sybar, and two men the Guv had taken under his wing in just the last year\u2014were all <i>political<\/i> prisoners who officially didn\u2019t exist on the prison rolls as themselves, and who suspected the Guild had been party to their abductions and incarcerations. Racing against the dawn seemed like better odds to them than dealing with whatever shakeups were facing the prison when a new Warden arrived.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra had heard of athletes who could complete a ten-klick race in under half an hour, but she had a feeling that they were going to need the whole three hours to make it thirty klicks, themselves. Especially given the ashy volcanic field ahead.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She had already shed her coat, sweater, and sleeved top\u2014which she had still needed when they stepped out on the surface\u2014and the heat was building. Tizzy was right that the surface became habitable a few hours before dawn, but she\u2019d failed to mention how <i>uncomfortable<\/i> \u201chabitable\u201d could <i>be.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They could, theoretically, outrun the guards. The subterranean passage that those men had to follow was convoluted and twisting, as the sled track had been, and only a few of them were in decent shape. Aside from a few dangerous surface features, Riddick could take her and the Guv\u2019s men in a nearly straight line. Only hardly anyone in the prison had believed he was capable of doing any such thing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>They don\u2019t know him like I do,<\/i> Kyra told herself as she followed him into the ashfall.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Did<\/i> she know him?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She and Tizzy had followed him into the darkness, years before, and he had brought them to safety, only&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2014&#8288;only she had no memory of Tizzy running beside her on that journey, and her hands, holding the light coils as she tried to illuminate the dark, had looked strangely different from her own&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Whose memories <i>were<\/i> those?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The hands had looked much like Tizzy\u2019s as her fingers had flown over the key glyphs on her tablet, as they had stroked Sebby\u2019s carapace. As if her memories were of inhabiting her little sister\u2019s body somehow.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ahead of her, she saw Riddick jerk his head up and to the side, as though sensing something. He put on a burst of speed and vanished into the ashfall.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Fuck!<\/i> Covering her nose and mouth with a cloth against the ash\u2014she had an odd memory of watching a vid, when she was little and still hadn\u2019t left Old Earth, about a mountain named after a saint that had exploded a century or so earlier, and how volcanic ash, if breathed in, turned into cement in the breather\u2019s lungs\u2014she tried to put on a burst of speed to keep up.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Where are you, Riddick?<\/i> she called into the gloom. If she could hear him, maybe he could hear her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Keep moving, Kyra. You\u2019re doing fine. Keep running. You\u2019ll see me soon.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">So Tizzy had been right about him being an esper, too. She followed the path her feet found through the rocky terrain as an eerie prickle, a sense of someone watching her, grew.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>DUCK!<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She obeyed, unable to do anything else in response to the powerful command, and lunged to the side. Two loud gunshots sounded from somewhere in the ashfall.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">One of the Guv\u2019s friends\u2014Bj\u00f6rn, a man who spoke little and often muttered to himself in a language others said was Norwegian\u2014let out a choking gasp from beside her and pitched forward, blood spreading from a wound in his back.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Fuck! Who\u2019s shooting?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>We\u2019ve caught up with the guards,<\/i> Riddick murmured in her head. <i>They\u2019re taking issue with that.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">In seconds, it turned into an open battle. The Guv was dragging Bj\u00f6rn out of the line of fire while both Sybar and the fourth man\u2014Rosales, a guy who generally treated her with respect but sometimes fantasized about playing with her feet\u2014began shooting at&#8288;\u2026 what, exactly? She\u2019d ducked behind an outcropping of rock and couldn\u2019t see anything&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>The fuck, Kyra? Get that head back down!<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The rock she\u2019d been peeking over exploded a second after she ducked back below it, showering her with shrapnel. She unlimbered one of her own guns, taken from the control room, and fired back at the mound she\u2019d caught a quick glimpse of. Battle rage was taking over.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Emerging from hiding, she raced for the mound, aiming her shots at the small space the guards were peering out of. The fucking thing was <i>closing!<\/i> She kept firing. She couldn\u2019t stop, even as the opening sealed. Two fucking <i>years<\/i> of those bastards trying to arrange her hideous death had her wishing she knew how to use her weird telekinesis thing on something other than her own body. She wanted to make their blood boil and their organs explode. Especially Yuri\u2019s.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She kicked at the mound in fury. <i>You fucked your pig mothers to death and ate their bacon the next day!<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Amused disbelief answered her. Riddick, halfway up a rocky hill, was watching her. He turned and began climbing again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Forcing herself to let go of the urge to tear open the mound somehow, or spend hours trying, she followed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat was that?\u201d Riddick demanded as she caught up with him. \u201cYou don\u2019t care if you live or die?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Not as long as I\u2019m with you when it happens&#8288;\u2014<\/i> Fuck. She hoped he hadn\u2019t heard that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIf I kill them first,\u201d she answered instead, half facetious, \u201cnot really.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It wasn\u2019t like she\u2019d expected to live more than a few more years at the most in that hellhole. Her hopes had narrowed to hiding in Elsewhere for the rest of her life or achieving a fast death in preference to the four days of excruciating payback Yuri had been commissioned to inflict upon her. One of the only joys she\u2019d had left was playing executioner to some of Crematoria\u2019s nastiest bits of scum, even if the Guv did tell her it was \u201cbringing shame to the game.\u201d And the nastiest bits of scum of all were the guards themselves.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She followed Riddick as he leapt onto a rocky promontory over a glowing pit. The ashfall had lightened to almost nothing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMaybe I do,\u201d he growled.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It startled her, his admission that her fate mattered to him. She\u2019d thought he was disappointed to find her there instead of Tizzy\u2014everybody seemed to gravitate to her little sister while she was stuck in the shadows\u2014but now maybe he was telling her that he\u2019d come for <i>her&#8288;\u2014<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cKeep moving!\u201d he roared, shaking her out of her reverie. She followed him across the promontory, aware that the Guv, Sybar, and Rosales were running near them. Bj\u00f6rn, apparently, had been left behind.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She wiped ash off her body and out of her hair as she ran. The lava fields were behind them now, but there was a cliff ahead that they would need to climb.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHangar\u2019s just on the other side,\u201d Riddick told them when they reached it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo near and yet so far,\u201d the Guv muttered, shaking his head. \u201cWe\u2019re going to lose the lead we have on the guards.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIf we keep jaw-jackin\u2019 about it,\u201d Riddick agreed, \u201cyeah. C\u2019mon.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Although the Guv had brought rope for the climb, it remained coiled over his shoulder as they free-handed their way up. They were in Crematoria\u2019s twilight hour, which struck Kyra as simultaneously good and bad. Good because she could see the handholds and footholds she needed to grab onto.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Bad because that meant sunrise was getting close.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The rock was porous, sometimes crumbling in her grip or under the toes of her boots as she worked her way higher, but there were plenty of places to grab onto. She felt like she was nearing the top, but she had the horrible suspicion it wasn\u2019t near <i>enough.<\/i> Riddick, Sybar, and the Guv were higher up on the cliff face, while she and Rosales had fallen behind.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cKyra?\u201d Riddick called from above her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Oh for fuck\u2019s sake&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cKYRA!\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/i> she screamed up at him. <i>Kinda <b>busy<\/b> right now, God damn it!<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGet that ass <i>moving!\u201d<\/i> he roared.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Fuck.<\/i> They were nearly out of time. She tried to will more strength into her arms and legs as she reached for the next handholds&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Light bloomed around her, brilliant and scalding. The rock beneath her hands began heating up.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Shit! Shit!<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There was a shadowed crevasse near her, big enough for her to duck inside. She lunged into it. Maybe there were passages through the cliff face&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">No such luck. It was a dead end. In moments, it would be flooded with light too.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Gonna have to keep climbing.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She grabbed for the rocks again, but they were painfully hot. Her handguards began to sizzle as she snatched her hands back.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I\u2019m dead. Fuck. I\u2019m gonna <b>die<\/b> here.<\/i> She slid to the floor of the crevasse as the air temperature began to rise.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It wasn\u2019t supposed to end like this. She wasn\u2019t sure what she\u2019d been expecting, but&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Not like this&#8288;\u2026<\/i> \u201cRiddick?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">No answer. But she could feel him listening.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cRemember what I said about not caring if I lived or died?\u201d God, she felt so stupid for saying all that now. So much bravado, for what? \u201cYou knew I was <i>kidding<\/i>, right?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Please don\u2019t leave me here. Please&#8288;\u2026<\/i> If anyone in the \u2019verse could save her, it would be him. <i>I don\u2019t wanna die. I\u2019ve barely had a chance to <b>live&#8288;\u2026<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A rumbling sound was growing louder. She knew what that had to be. The air itself would begin to burn soon. She didn\u2019t want to look, but she found herself turning to see out of the crevasse\u2019s opening.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Tizzy had called it a \u201ctraveling explosion.\u201d She hadn\u2019t been exaggerating.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra rose to her feet and took a deep breath. Would it be fast? She didn\u2019t want to have to feel her body burning. Would it be better to throw herself off the cliff before the fire reached her?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She didn\u2019t know what to do. She was rooted in place, watching the approaching doom.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYour rope!\u201d she heard Riddick shout above her. \u201cGimme your rope! And your water. All of it!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Hold on, kid. I\u2019m coming.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cStay in the shadow of the mountain,\u201d she heard him telling the Guv and Sybar. \u201cDon\u2019t wait for me. Run!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The explosion had almost reached the base of the cliff. It was too late to do <i>anything.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Except scream. \u201cRiddick!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He was flying toward her, left hand holding onto a rope as his right arm reached for her&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She felt something else pulling at her as well, lifting her off her feet and toward him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Oh my God.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Tizzy hadn\u2019t been making shit up when she\u2019d talked about telekinesis, claiming it was a real thing and that Kyra\u2019s mother had probably used it in her magic acts. Riddick had it, too. He was controlling the arc of the rope with it and was pulling her to him. The expression on his face was pure agony.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">His arm wrapped around her and they were flying together, her body pressed to his.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I got ya, kid&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They soared upward, the world roaring around them, and then she was falling, rolling on the shadowed clifftop as a massive, superheated cloud of plasma crashed against the cliff face and thundered upward into the sky.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was alive. Unharmed. No sign of damage anywhere on her body, even if she suspected she\u2019d sport some bruises in a few hours from her landing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Something was hissing near her. She looked up&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Steam was rising from all over Riddick\u2019s body as he rose from a crouch.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Oh fuck, he got scalded for me&#8288;\u2014<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He turned to face, her, wreathed in the steam of the water that had <i>boiled away on him<\/i>, and met her gaze. Unharmed. Unburned.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>The \u201chellhounds\u201d were right,<\/i> she thought, feeling her infatuation turn into something new and even more powerful. <i>He\u2019s a fucking <b>god.<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And he\u2019d come back. For her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cC\u2019mon,\u201d he said, offering her his hand. She had the strange feeling that, if only they had more time, he might have kissed her. \u201cGot a few minutes before the sun catches up to us again.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She took his hand, knowing that she\u2019d follow him anywhere, Heaven or Hell, if he asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The Guv\u2019s rope had been meant for the descent on the other side, she suspected, but it had been incinerated just moments before. Fortunately, the slope was easier, the sun\u2019s tumult carving less of it away on the leeward side. She could see how the base of the valley had been smoothed and shaped by artificial means to create a runway lined with low structures at regular intervals, leading to a natural cavern that had been reshaped, opened wider, and then sealed with a smooth metal door. The hangar. The Guv and Sybar had reached a series of basalt ridges sculpted by violent lava flows and were making their way toward the structure. It didn\u2019t take long to catch up with them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Some strange, rhythmic thrumming, a deep sound on the edge of hearing, was filling Kyra\u2019s ears. What <i>was<\/i> that?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThere it is,\u201d the Guv was saying to Sybar, beginning to crawl forward. Riddick\u2019s arm flashed out and he grabbed the other man\u2019s leg at the ankle.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Both men looked genuinely shocked to see them alive.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cListen,\u201d Riddick growled.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The thrumming sound was real, Kyra realized. <i>He<\/i> heard it, too.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Damn right I hear them.<\/i> He turned to look at her for a second. <i>Follow me. Stay low and close.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She still wasn\u2019t sure if she really was hearing him in her head the whole run, or if she\u2019d developed some new symptom of crazy, but she did as he told her. They crept forward across the volcanic crust until the source of the thrum came into view.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A spaceship. One that almost blended into the landscape, all sharp edges and desolate grays. Scores of soldiers had spilled out from it, spreading out over the ground as it lifted away. They were closing in on the hangar.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Cool, cool, \u2019cause this has been such a cakewalk up \u2019til now&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They slid back down out of sight, returning to the Guv and Sybar.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cLet me guess,\u201d she murmured to Riddick. \u201cNecros.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Whatever the hell Necros were, exactly.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd a whole lot of Necro firepower,\u201d Riddick grumbled.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShit!\u201d It just figured. \u201cI hate not being the bad guys,\u201d she groused back.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d said that to Tizzy once, when they were contemplating the destruction of the New Marrakesh Spaceport, an explosion that had killed hundreds and injured thousands just to silence one man who had wanted to be a father to her. For all she\u2019d done, and she\u2019d done a lot of truly terrible things, there were lines she\u2019d never cross, acts she\u2019d <i>never<\/i> engage in&#8288;\u2026 and it sickened her to be reminded that there were others who had no compunctions at all about them. Oliver. The mercs. Red Roger and his men. The settlers. The guards. Pritchard and Makarov. The Quin&#173;tessa Corporation.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And Necros, whatever they were.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Guess I\u2019ll just have to kill them, too.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She grabbed the length of her hair and twisted it, pulling it back into a makeshift bun. \u201cI figure we got three minutes before the sun hits us again,\u201d she observed, studying the rocky landscape around her, \u201cburns out this whole valley.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Their chances were slim, but maybe they could still reach the hangar&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWait,\u201d Riddick said, looking meditative.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra frowned at him, arming another of the guns she\u2019d taken from the control room. Wait for <i>what<\/i> exactly? \u201cWe gonna do this or not?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJust wait,\u201d he repeated, sounding almost <i>amused.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For a second she wanted to demand whether he was crazy, until she remembered the sight of him, flying toward her in an impossible arc as a flaming maelstrom approached, pulling her into his arms by sheer will&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I trust you.<\/i> She made herself relax.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cEllen,\u201d the Guv suddenly said from beside them. \u201cHer name was Ellen. I never really forgot.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He\u2019d trotted that nameless wife story out every time he was trying to recruit someone into their gang, and the whole time&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Guys like him need a pitch,<\/i> Riddick rumbled in her head. <i>It\u2019s what they do after that counts.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She wondered if the Guv believed he was about to die. And then she wondered if he was right.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Gunfire erupted on the other side of the ridge. Some kind of battle had begun.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>The hangar\u2019s open,<\/i> she realized. Which meant the Necros and the guards were now in a fight for control over it. Busy killing each other&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick was rubbing his hands together. \u201cRemember that favorite game of yours?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c\u2018Who\u2019s the Better Killer?\u2019\u201d She already knew she would ultimately be its winner. Especially now that she could learn from him and add some new tricks to her repertoire.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>We\u2019ll see, kid.<\/i> \u201cLet\u2019s play.\u201d He freed one of his knives and turned away toward the ridge.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cCome on,\u201d she told the Guv and Sybar, not bothering to see if they followed. Her eyes saw nothing but Riddick as she chased after him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He launched himself into the air, killing one of the Necros in an instant and then using the fallen soldier\u2019s gun to take out another, shooting backward without even looking and making a bullseye anyway. Part of her wished she could just <i>watch<\/i> him, the way the woman Tizzy\u2019d killed had watched him battle Shrills. That woman hadn\u2019t been wrong. It was <i>art<\/i>. But she had work to do.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She fired as she descended toward the runway, one ridge left between them and it, aiming at the Necros heading for them. She would give Riddick as much cover as she could, so he could go on being an <i>artist.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cKyra!\u201d he suddenly called, holding out his hand to her. He didn\u2019t need to say anything else. She could feel what he wanted. Springing the blades in the heels of her boots, she grabbed the harness in his hand and let him swing her, making her into a deadly, living scythe. She willed herself into a spin, wishing she\u2019d had more chances to practice using her own telekinesis, but landed easily and released the harness, three more notches on her own belt.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>He\u2019s pulling ahead,<\/i> she thought to herself, <i>But I got years to catch up to him and I already have a big head start&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The Necros kept coming, trying to swarm them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She lost track of how many she shot, how many Riddick cut to pieces. The sun was getting closer, but the moment itself seemed to have stretched out infinitely, each stroke of battle holding the sunrise at bay.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Riding a combat high&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ewan had spoken of feeling it, of its dangerous, addictive quality. She suddenly understood, because she never wanted this feeling to end&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A gun blast sent Sybar tumbling through the air and back over the ridge while the Guv shouted his name. Where had that even <i>come<\/i> from?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick reached back for her hand. Again, no words were necessary as she let him spin her through the air toward another Necro soldier. She landed straddling the man\u2019s shoulders, stabbing in with her heels and then flipping herself backwards, pulling him down. Funny how, more and more, she could <i>feel<\/i> how she was violating physical laws&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;and how it was getting <i>easier<\/i> each time.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was like being with Tizzy, she thought as she continued to carve a path through the soldiers. Somehow, she was stronger around Riddick than away from him, the way she and her sister had reinforced each other\u2019s abilities&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They were starting to <i>run out of Necros.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick glanced back at her as he killed another. <i>Twenty-three to nineteen, kid. Step up your game.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Seriously?<\/i> She shot him a withering look and took off after a soldier cresting the ridge.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A group tried to pile onto Riddick. She turned around, planning to head back to help him, and a Necro grabbed her from behind, his hand fisting in the crown of her hair.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>God <b>damn<\/b> it, why\u2019d I stop shaving my head?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Had she ever actually <i>done<\/i> that&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She kicked and punched backward&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2014&#8288;and a knife sprouted from his eye, almost as if it had appeared from Elsewhere. Riddick had thrown it, but it suddenly occurred to her&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Why the hell am I fighting fair with these clowns?<\/i> she wondered. She could be isomorphing organs out of their bodies and into another \u2019verse&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The Necro tried to keep fighting despite his eye wound. It took five more stabs to bring him down.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Are these guys dusted or something?<\/i> She freed her knife from his corpse and turned around.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">An energy bolt flew at Riddick. He managed to put the body of the Necro he was fighting between himself and it, but the blast sent them both spinning up into the air, over the ridge between them and the runway&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cNo!\u201d<\/i> she heard herself screaming. She raced for the top of the ridge, looking down over the runway, not caring who saw her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He was sprawled on the pavement, one of his legs bent in an unnatural position, Necros closing in on him. She watched as the Guv launched himself at their leader and felt a terrible stab of pain go through her as the man took him apart in <i>seconds.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d never told him, not once, just how much everything he\u2019d done for her had meant to her. She\u2019d never told him that he was the first family she\u2019d had since she lost Tizzy. Now she\u2019d never get to&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;and Riddick was doing the impossible, the unthinkable&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;he was <i>not getting up.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He was <i>trying<\/i> to, struggling to rise&#8288;\u2026 but <i>failing.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>That\u2019s not the way it\u2019s supposed to be!<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Two Necros were almost on him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra took them out, the knives she buried in them giving her a conduit that let her pull key vertebrae out of U1 and into Elsewhere, as she raced for the other side of the runway and they crumpled to the ground. She turned around, willing Riddick to rise, trying to <i>pull<\/i> at him the way he had pulled at her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGet up,\u201d she told him, trying to draw him up by sheer will. \u201cGet up! <i>Please<\/i> get up!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He stared at her as if struggling to comprehend what she was saying to him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Two more Necros were coming after her, intent on taking her down, forcing her to flee up the hillside.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Riddick, get up! Please!<\/i> She thought as she ran.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Taking both Necros apart took only a moment, once she was in a more defensible position. She grabbed the second one\u2019s pick-axe-like weapon as he fell and raced back toward the runway&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2014&#8288;just as a blast of light shot over the ridge. For a moment she thought it was the sun rising, but it faded instead of intensifying.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She crested the ridge, looking down over the runway.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Bodies littered the space. Including Riddick\u2019s. He wasn\u2019t moving. She couldn\u2019t see any sign that he was even breathing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He couldn\u2019t be dead&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But how could he be alive when she felt, suddenly, as if someone had isomorphed her heart out of her body?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">In the midst of that terrible moment, scalding light poured into the valley. The sun had arrived to scour the world bare again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">With a gasp, Kyra ducked down below a small outcropping. Its shadow, she knew, wouldn\u2019t last more than another minute.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She didn\u2019t want to die. Maybe she\u2019d have felt differently about it if she could have been in <i>his<\/i> arms when all this happened, but&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I want to live&#8288;\u2026 I don\u2019t want to die here like this&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The Necro ship hovered above her, slowly settling on the ridge just a short sprint away, its ramp lowering.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>WARNING! WARNING!<\/i> Its alarm sounded over and over, calling its troops\u2014what was left of them\u2014home.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The surviving Necros were climbing the ridge right next to her, racing past her without a look in her direction. One, a man in a long coat, stood quietly on the runway, not bothering to follow them. Riddick remained prone. She still couldn\u2019t see any sign that he breathed. She couldn\u2019t <i>feel<\/i> him&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Fuck&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A thousand fantasies rioted in her head, of running down the slope to him, dragging him into the hangar, closing the door, reviving him&#8288;\u2026 being his hero the way he was hers&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A thousand dreams that would never come true. He was <i>dead.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And if she didn\u2019t want to die too, there was only one thing left for her to do.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>He\u2019d want me to survive&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He\u2019d <i>admired<\/i> survivors.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She leaned against the outcropping for a moment, nerving herself up. It was her last chance to live.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra pushed off of the rocks and ran after the Necros, dropping her weapon to sprint at full speed and pass several of them on her way to their ship\u2019s ramp before it could close.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was only once she was inside, as the ramp closed and shut out the scalding daylight, that she realized she was unarmed&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;and surrounded.<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5632\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5632 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-90\">\u00ab Chapter 90<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5910\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5910 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-92\">Chapter 92 \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=\"92\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5919\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5919 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-91\">\u00ab Chapter 91<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5911\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5911 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-93\">Chapter 93 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5901\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5901 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">92.<br\/>\r\n<u>The Fall of the Black Fox<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDo not touch her!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">As one, the soldiers surrounding Kyra froze. Physically, anyway.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Their minds were still barraging her with thoughts of the vile things they wanted to do to her body, full of their excitement over how her warm, soft, living flesh would feel against them. She was trying to block those sick images from her head in preparation for the coming fight. She couldn\u2019t isomorph away from them\u2014in Elsewhere, she was surrounded by Crematoria\u2019s intense dawn inferno\u2014but she could isomorph <i>them,<\/i> or parts of them, as they came at her. Grab their weapons&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cStand down.\u201d The same male voice came again. \u201cGo to your duty stations. I will deal with her.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Smoldering resentment filled the room for a moment, but the soldiers obeyed and filed past the man who, she realized, she\u2019d watched hoisting the Guv high into the air and then breaking her friend\u2019s back across his armored knee.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The Necro commander\u2019s hair was a dark red, almost black, and cut strangely, shaved on the sides and longer up top, with tight braids falling to midway down his back. His skin was pale and sickly-looking, his hazel eyes rimmed in red. He was about five inches taller than her and had at least eighty pounds on her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">One soldier stopped by him. \u201cMy Lord, I must protest. You are married. Surely you can give the men this breeder&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThis is no breeder,\u201d the \u201clord\u201d said, his gaze never wavering from her. \u201cYou saw her fight. She will be a magnificent Knight of the Legion.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For a moment the soldier was rendered speechless. His frown deepened. \u201cServing under you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHave a care what tone you take,\u201d For a moment, the \u201clord\u2019s\u201d gaze left her, and he bent a frown upon his underling. \u201cShe will serve under my command if the Lord Marshal wills it. Try my patience again and I will give her a spear, and then we will see how she <i>serves you.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOn a platter,\u201d Kyra opined. She hated it when people talked about her like she wasn\u2019t even there. \u201cA <i>little<\/i> one. Could probably even fit both of you on it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The \u201clord\u2019s\u201d mouth curled into an appreciative smile as he met her eyes. Then he turned another glare on his underling. \u201cLeave us now. Tend to your duties. If you or the others wish to see the Underverse, you will put aside your unworthy fantasies. Now.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYes, my Lord.\u201d The other man stalked out of the room.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For a moment there was silence. Kyra continued to study her possible opponent, trying to spot any signs of weakness. He held himself like a trained warrior, balanced and powerful even at rest. She could take him down, but not easily.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>But I can do it&#8288;\u2026<\/i> Part of her wanted to just for what he\u2019d done to the Guv.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat is your name, girl?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cKyra.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He paused, waiting for her to say more. When she didn\u2019t, another small smile appeared on his face. \u201cWhere are you from, Kyra?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cEarth, originally.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">His eyebrows went up. \u201cThere are very few in the \u2019verse who can make such a claim. Which sublight colony ship were you on?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe <i>New Christy Pilgrim.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He looked surprised, then thoughtful. Then, after a moment, she could swear she saw a lightbulb go on. \u201cThat makes you the Black Fox of Canaan Mountain, does it not?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>These Necros know about the New Christy Massacre? Crazy.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt does.\u201d No point in denying it. She\u2019d admit what she needed to; he wouldn\u2019t get any of her actual secrets from her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow did you come to be on Crematoria, Kyra Wittier-Collins? You and the other survivors of the massacre were exonerated some time ago.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Well, that confirmed the conversation she\u2019d overheard Toombs and Logan having, anyway. \u201cI don\u2019t think that exoneration covers the seventeen men I killed on New Queensland.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Or the mercs she\u2019d killed on Tangier Prime. But she would never tell anyone about that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDo you like killing men, Kyra?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Weird question. \u201cYou got no idea what they did.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat wasn\u2019t what I asked,\u201d he said, his expression calm and interested. \u201cDo you like killing?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It had been, she thought, one of the few things that had calmed her in Crematoria whenever everything became too much: setting her sights on one of the nastiest of the men in the place, someone cruel and brutal and vile of mind, and destroying him&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYes. I do. And I\u2019m one of the best at it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He nodded, his small smile back. \u201cThen I am glad you came aboard. As I said before, you will make a magnificent Knight of the Legion.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou want to make me a Necro?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe are Necro<i>mongers<\/i>. The dealers of death. There is no army that can stand before us.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Except,<\/i> she thought, <i>an army of Riddick&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But he had fallen, too.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat do Necromongers do, exactly?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHumanity should never have spread as it did. It does not belong in this \u2019verse. We are cleansing the \u2019verse of the human infection so that all can be reborn in the Underverse. You can help us bring salvation to billions.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Religious fuckery. She could hear it in his words, in his sudden pious tone. She hated religious fuckery.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Not like I can ask him to stop the ride and let me out&#8288;\u2026 shit.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBy killing people?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAre you not one of the best at that?\u201d he countered, a new tiny, challenging smile appearing on his lips.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI might be interested.\u201d Might not, though.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">His tiny smile grew by a fraction. \u201cCome. Let\u2019s get you cleaned up and fed. This ship is not equipped for conversions with no Purifier, and given your association with the Riddick, the Lord Marshal may wish to speak with you before you receive your marks. But I imagine you are tired and hungry after how hard you fought.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd you\u2019re not?\u201d He\u2019d briefly seemed staggered by whatever had happened on the runway, but now he seemed cool as a&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;corpse\u2026?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou will find that, after you become one of us, the exertions that could deplete you as an ordinary human&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u2014&#8288;A breeder,<\/i> his mind added, but she had the sense that the word carried a connotation of slavery&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2014&#8288;will be trivial to you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She wouldn\u2019t drop her guard, not completely. But this man was making an offer that had no small amount of appeal to it. She wondered if one day <i>she<\/i> might be able to break men over her knee, too. That thought did have its allure. \u201cOkay. What\u2019s <i>your<\/i> name?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cLord Vaako. Come, Kyra. It\u2019s time for you to begin your new life.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It took them only a little over two days to reach Helion Prime, something that surprised her but that Vaako had been happy to explain. There was a Star Jump corridor between Helion and Igneon that took only half of that time; the rest was spent in sublight transit. It was a heavily used route; while the general population of the Helion system had been led to believe that the energy it supplied other worlds came from their own sun, the truth was that the rare plasmas they traded in came from the powerful emissions of that young neighboring star still in its infancy, harvested as those emissions passed strategically positioned collectors. Energy, Vaako added, that had enabled humanity to spread entirely too far through the stars, polluting too many worlds.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">In the interim, she was able to shower, to dress in garb that Vaako said was \u201cfitting for an acolyte,\u201d and even join him and the other soldiers at meals. The Necromongers had a preference for intense flavors in their food; curiously, they seemed to perceive the food as almost <i>bland.<\/i> She found herself wondering if their senses of taste had been compromised by their conversions.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Not that she cared much; Tizzy had been the foodie. Kyra mostly just ate to refuel.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The men spoke of prior campaigns and kill counts, and slowly thawed to the idea that she was meant to be one of their comrades in arms, and not a spoil of war, as she shared some of <i>her<\/i> kill stories, including the things she had done in the past to men who tried to get too familiar. True to Vaako\u2019s word, none of them touched her. Not even him. He was, as she had heard, already married&#8288;\u2026 and known for his scrupulous fidelity.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Which was a relief. She found that she was warming to him, despite how they had met, and was glad that there wouldn\u2019t be any amorous intentions on his end that she\u2019d have to deal with.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Helion Prime looked nothing like she remembered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She had only spent one morning on its surface as she and Tizzy fled Aceso for the spaceport, and they hadn\u2019t traveled through the best parts of town as they did so. Still, the sky had been blue. The air had been fresh. The buildings hadn\u2019t been piles of rubble&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was almost as if someone had tried to turn that world into another Crematoria. The sky was a foul yellow-orange that stank of fires and death, and the graceful, signature architecture had been reduced to tumbled wreckage. Hundreds of years of painstaking creation destroyed in a day&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">This was what Necromongers did to worlds. They were killing on a scale she could barely even comprehend. A scale that far exceeded what she and Tizzy had feared might be done to the people of Tangier Prime if the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation ever realized&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Oh fuck, what if they decide to go there next?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">This wasn\u2019t something she wanted to be party to. But she wasn\u2019t sure she had any kind of say in the matter. Beneath the veneer of \u201chonored guest\u201d that Vaako had layered onto her situation, she was still a prisoner.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Vaako\u2019s borrowed scout ship had landed near a massive craft that he called the <i>Basilica.<\/i> He led her up its steps and inside.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI must take you to the Lord Marshal first,\u201d he told her as they walked. \u201cHe will need the news of the Riddick\u2019s fate.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She stuck close to him as they entered an enormous chamber&#8288;\u2026 a <i>throne room&#8288;\u2026<\/i> and walked toward the throne. Other groups of people were hurrying into the room, and several men were descending staircases from higher levels as well.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWho is this?\u201d she heard someone ask.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A stunningly beautiful woman, her skin maybe a shade or two darker than Riddick\u2019s and her black hair drawn back into a tight and elaborate bun, had walked up to Vaako and had taken his arm. His wife, Kyra assumed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThis,\u201d Vaako said, nodding in Kyra\u2019s direction, \u201cis Kyra Wittier-Collins, the Black Fox of Canaan Mountain. An associate of Riddick\u2019s, and a proficient warrior who I am presenting to the Lord Marshal for conversion. Kyra, this is my wife, the Dame Vaako.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Said Dame was regarding her as if she were something that had clung to the bottom of a shoe. Lovely. She kept her face bland, slipping back into the manners she\u2019d been taught in the Enclave and giving the other woman a respectful nod and the curtsy due an Elder. \u201cMa\u2019am.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Dame Vaako\u2019s eyebrow arched. \u201cInteresting girl. Why is she not on her way to one of the Stews?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShe killed twenty-four of my men. I think she planned to kill even more if any of them tried to touch her in an unseemly way. Conversion seems the better choice, wouldn\u2019t you agree?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">His wife looked impressed, albeit unwillingly. \u201cBy all means. I shudder to think what she might do in the Stews if you had sent her there.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Actually, Kyra reflected, Dame Vaako seemed to be contemplating that scenario with barely-concealed glee. Whatever \u201cStews\u201d were, the woman hated them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat news of the Riddick, Vaako?\u201d A man\u2019s voice called out. Kyra faced forward again. The speaker was sitting on the throne, his shrewd gaze giving the lie to his indolent posture.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe Riddick is dead, Lord Marshal,\u201d Vaako intoned, bowing. When Dame Vaako bowed also, Kyra copied their move.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd who is this?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Vaako repeated much of what he had told his wife, adding more details about her for his commander\u2019s benefit. He touched briefly on the New Christy Standoff and Massacre, noting that Kyra had been one of the children who escaped in the wake, and the one credited for killing five Colonial Marshals during the massacre and three more in the aftermath, including their leader, \u201cRed Roger\u201d Fiennes. Some of what he was saying confused her. She thought things had played out differently, somehow. Maybe the accounts he had seen were wrong&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShe was twelve at the time, my Lord. She was later sent to Crematoria for seventeen murders on New Queensland, and personally killed twenty-four of our men while she and the Riddick were attempting to escape Crematoria.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAn extraordinary r\u00e9sum\u00e9,\u201d the Lord Marshal observed. \u201cWhat now?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOnce she is converted,\u201d Vaako continued, \u201cI recommend training her to be a Knight of the Legion, unless you wish otherwise. I volunteer to train her and have her serve under my command.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra could feel how much that displeased his wife. Didn\u2019t she know her husband had no interest in anyone but her?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI will consider it. We do need a few more women in our Amazon regiment,\u201d the Lord Marshal said with a smirk. \u201cIs it true that the Riddick is dead, Kyra?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It hurt to think about even now. She swallowed and nodded. \u201cI didn\u2019t see him die, but I saw him dead on the ground. He wasn\u2019t&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She couldn\u2019t finish. <i>He wasn\u2019t breathing&#8288;\u2026 I couldn\u2019t <b>feel<\/b> him anymore&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWere you two close, girl?\u201d His voice was gentle, but she could feel the intensity of his regard. This wasn\u2019t some idle question.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah. He, um&#8288;\u2026 rescued me when I was younger, and came to Crematoria to rescue me again.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI should like to see this.\u201d The Lord Marshal rose from his throne. \u201cTake her before the Quasi-Dead. I wish to know everything about her time with the Riddick. And his death. Where is the Purifier who accompanied you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDead as well, Lord Marshal.\u201d Vaako glanced at Kyra, his expression uneasy and regretful.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cCome this way, child,\u201d his wife said, releasing Vaako\u2019s arm to slink around him and take hers. \u201cThis shouldn\u2019t take long. And then you will begin your conversion.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There was nowhere to run, even if Kyra knew what she was suddenly feeling a need to run from. Helion Prime was an airless rock in Elsewhere; she couldn\u2019t slip across to escape. And even if she fled, what then? What was left of the world was dying.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She walked with Dame Vaako instead, waiting and watching, trying to figure out her next move.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The Dame led her into a chamber behind the throne and over to a dais in its center. \u201cStand here, child. Don\u2019t resist. The only one resistance will hurt is <i>you.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Another new one&#8288;\u2026 you have brought us&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There were voices in Kyra\u2019s head, voices that shouldn\u2019t be there. Her legs buckled and she collapsed on the dais, struggling against the feeling of strange intelligences rifling through her mind and her memories.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShow me her memories of the Riddick,\u201d she heard the Lord Marshal commanding them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>We see a great many memories of the Riddick in her mind. A day\u2019s worth of true memories. The others are either not her own or are lies. She has believed in them for years.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">No! That wasn\u2019t true. It wasn\u2019t possible!<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>The girl, Jack, that the Riddick thought of&#8288;\u2026 she knew her. They traveled together. Jack shared <b>her<\/b> memories of the Riddick, in an attempt to impart strength&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her mind was unraveling. Locked in the grip of brains far more powerful than her own, Kyra found herself reeled back, seeing how the New Christy Massacre had <i>really<\/i> played out all over again, watching the destruction of everything she had loved <i>or<\/i> hated as a child&#8288;\u2026 witnessing her mother\u2019s murder&#8288;\u2026 reliving the retribution she eventually was able to wreak upon the men who had violated her and her mother&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;and Riddick had never been there. He had never rescued her, never watched over her, never taught her any of the skills she\u2019d acquired. She had been alone on Canaan Mountain.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She had had no one.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her life spooled out again before her. More than three years of agony, exploitation, and lost time before <i>Jack<\/i> appeared in Aceso and the feedback effect of two espers in close proximity began to build between them, forging a bond&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>An esper. She is an esper. Powerful even before our purifications. She will be an extraordinary Quasi-Dead&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The escape, and the run to Tangier Prime&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>She has crossed a threshold. She knows the way to another \u2019verse&#8288;\u2026 not the Underverse but one she calls Elsewhere&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhere is the Elemental?\u201d she heard the Lord Marshal call out from a distance. Someone replied, but she didn\u2019t catch their words. \u201cGood. Make sure she stays there until this is completed. She is to know <i>nothing<\/i> of what we learn from this girl.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra, meanwhile, was plunged back into the chaos of defending the <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i> passengers from the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation, the Spaceport Explosion, the arrival of Duke Pritchard and the stab wound he gave her&#8288;\u2026 recovering in bed while Jack, now calling herself Tislilel, told her stories about Riddick&#8288;\u2026 the stories becoming infinitely more real when Tizzy\u2014her <i>sister<\/i>, Tizzy!\u2014realized she could share sense mem&#173;ories&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Tizzy?<\/i> She shied away from the minds constraining her and called out to her sister. If she was anywhere near, anywhere still in the \u2019verse, maybe she would hear.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The Quasi-Dead kept plundering at her mind, revealing all the secrets she had tried to keep, all the things that could get millions murdered&#8288;\u2026 but now she was in the thrall of a marauding force that intended to murder billions upon billions&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Tizzy!<\/i> she called out again, trying to feel her sister somewhere out there.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her life continued unspooling before her, before <i>them,<\/i> every secret and bit of suffering exposed. She saw, as if from the outside, her growing conviction that Jack\u2019s memories were her own&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You are not Jack,<\/i> the Quasi-Dead whispered in her head. <i>You never were. That name belonged to someone else, along with all the memories you treasure so much&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She wanted to deny it, to rail against them and cling to the dream of a world with three suns. She couldn\u2019t; they wouldn\u2019t let her. Trying to hold on anyway filled her head with agony that brought her to the edge of screaming.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She screamed inside instead, pouring every bit of her torment into a final call, grasping for the bond they had once shared. <i><b>Jack!<\/b> Help me!<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You will not speak to outsiders again,<\/i> the Quasi-Dead told her, and she felt something muffling her awareness of the minds around her. Cutting her off. Suddenly she could only feel <i>them.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And something else. Something hideous, malicious, waiting close by&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They took everything. They ransacked her mind and found everything she had ever tried to hide.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You will be a fine addition to the ranks of the Quasi-Dead, Kyra Wittier-Collins, once you have been purified and trained.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was lying on the dais, in a puddle of tears, when two men came and lifted her to her feet. They were dressed like the man who had stayed behind on the runway of Crematoria, when everyone else was racing for the scout ship. When she couldn\u2019t manage to walk, they dragged her between them to another room, suspending her in a harness, restraining her, and then&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Pain, agonizing pain, on either side of her neck. Her body shuddered as she tried to break free, but she had no strength left to fight with.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>It hurts&#8288;\u2026 it hurts&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><b><i>Let it happen. Let it in. The pain will set you free.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She knew that voice. She\u2019d heard it in nightmares&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><b><i>I will show you a world without pain. A world where the Demons of the Darkness are no more, and life is ever-re&#173;newing&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>It\u2019s you&#8288;\u2026 oh my God, it\u2019s you&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><b><i>You are mine, little creature. Do not fight this.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She could almost see it in front of her, a perfect world, a place of peace and harmony and glory&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Another lie. No truer than Tizzy\u2019s narratives of Riddick rescuing her on Canaan Mountain.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Their Underverse is a lie&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For an instant, she caught a glimpse of what lay behind the lie. Image fragments assaulted her&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;fire crisscrossing the sky over New Mar&#173;rakesh&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;men and women brandishing flaming swords above their heads, their eyes glowing silver like Riddick\u2019s, leaping onto the backs of creatures that looked like Mommy Ree&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;a dying god pinned in place by a spear of rock&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;gnarled, wrinkled hands clasping hers as an old, old woman, with eyes that made her think of Tizzy, murmured <i>It\u2019s almost finished now&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;a stone box crumbling to dust in her hands, its dissolution reverberating through all creation&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;her long-lost stuffed rabbit, El-Ahrairah, lying on a pillow, but not the pillow she\u2019d left him on when she was six&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;Tafrara Meziane, tears running down her face, arm outstretched, hand splayed against the chest plate of a man in Necromonger armor&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;an impossible, terrifying creature, both tiny and enormous at the same time, its obsidian skin containing the shine of galaxies, <i>sitting on Tizzy\u2019s chest and reaching out to touch her face with its claw&#8288;\u2014<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>No no no no NO <b>NO <u>NO<\/u>&#8288;\u2014<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Darkness. Silence. Her life force, her will, was draining away, her skin turning cold and stiff.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You are His now, Kyra. Obedience is all. Fealty is all. The Underverse waits.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>It is the only truth you will need. It is the only truth you will have.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Silence. Darkness. Something new, something eldritch and powerful, was seeping into her where her life and will had once been.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A second was a year. An hour was an eternity. She did not dream of a world with three suns. Her dreams were dead.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cLift her down. The Lord Marshal has commanded her attendance upon him.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cRight now? Aren\u2019t we preparing to leave atmosphere? She\u2019d be better off&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cRight now. Do it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d forgotten all about the <i>things<\/i> piercing her neck until they were withdrawn.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The two Purifiers who had taken her out of the Chamber of the Quasi-Dead&#8288;\u2026 eons ago&#8288;\u2026 helped her don the robes of an acolyte. She followed one of them back to the throne room, where the Lord Marshal was beckoning her forward. Head down and covered properly like an acolyte\u2019s always should be, she walked up to the throne\u2019s steps.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat is your will, Lord Marshal?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI understand that your conversion is complete, Kyra. And that you are destined to become one of the Quasi-Dead. Is it well with you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>No!<\/i> a tiny voice within her screamed. \u201cYes, My Lord. I look forward to serving.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cToday, however, I have need of a different service from you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Fuck you, you bastard!<\/i> the tiny voice raged, buried deep. \u201cMy Lord has only to ask.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSomeone you once knew will be coming. Stay close. Perhaps you can convince him to convert to the Way.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You goddamn fucking son of a bitch, I\u2019ll never ever&#8288;\u2014<\/i> \u201cIt would be my honor.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt won\u2019t be long now.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It wasn\u2019t.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The attack was sudden and swift, a dark figure in Necromonger armor arcing through the air, a knife raised in one hand, aiming for the Lord Marshal. <i>He<\/i> seemed already aware; before she could even gasp, he had turned the attacker\u2019s momentum against him and flung the would-be assassin across the main hall\u2019s floor.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And for a moment, Kyra thought she had seen the impossible.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Riddick is dead. That couldn\u2019t have been him&#8288;\u2014<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cStay your weapons!\u201d the Lord Marshal ordered the crowd in the hall. \u201cHe came for me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The soldiers that had begun massing around the man, weapons drawn, moved back.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cKyra,\u201d the Lord Marshal murmured. \u201cTo me, now.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She obeyed, walking to his side and letting him turn her to face the crowd and draw her hood back.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Oh fuck. Oh <b>shit<\/b>&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It <i>was<\/i> Riddick. Riddick sprawled on the floor of the main hall, staring at her in horror. He rose to a crouch, his eyes never leaving hers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Riddick! Oh my God, Riddick, please help me&#8288;\u2014<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>He cannot hear you,<\/i> the Quasi-Dead murmured in her head. <i>You are ours, not his.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cConsider this,\u201d the Lord Marshal was saying as he and Riddick walked toward each other. \u201cIf you fall here&#8288;\u2026 now&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Both men went still, facing off across the hall.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;you\u2019ll never rise,\u201d her master said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick tried to say something, but the Lord Marshal went on speaking.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBut if you choose another way&#8288;\u2026 the Necromonger Way&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d He gestured back at Kyra.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Fuck, he\u2019s using me as a lure&#8288;\u2026<\/i> She wanted to fight, to scream, to kill someone, but she couldn\u2019t move.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019ll die in due time,\u201d the Lord Marshal continued, \u201cand rise again in the Underverse.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>There\u2019s no such thing! It\u2019s not real! It\u2019s a lie! It\u2019s the Mor&#8288;\u2014<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Your relationship with Riddick was the lie,<\/i> the Quasi-Dead countered. <i>The Underverse is truth. The Underverse is all.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick was focused on her, his expression intent. Was he trying to speak to her? Why couldn\u2019t she hear him? She tried to will her way through the barrier that the Quasi-Dead had erected between them&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You will not speak to him or any other,<\/i> they said. They <i>were<\/i> blocking her!<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The Lord Marshal\u2019s left arm came back, gesturing her way and beckoning her to him. She didn\u2019t want to obey, but she stepped forward and moved to his side. He put his hand on her shoulder, and she expected to flinch the way she always did when a strange man touched her&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But instead, she felt <i>rewarded.<\/i> The greatest of them all had deigned to touch her, an honor beyond compare&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Fuck you all!<\/i> she screamed deep within. The expression on the man\u2019s face infuriated her. Paternal, kindly, the lying fa\u00e7ade of a man who had absolute power and could imagine that anything he did, no matter how brutal, was his right and somehow innately good just because he was the one doing it. <i>You ripped apart my mind, you motherfucking son of a side of&#8288;\u2014<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGo to him,\u201d He murmured, and she found herself obeying.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was ten steps to stand before Riddick. Just ten. She spent the whole time wrestling for control of her body&#8288;\u2026 and losing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt hurts,\u201d she heard herself telling him, \u201cat first.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Don\u2019t listen to me! It\u2019s not me! This isn\u2019t what I need to tell you!<\/i> Pain, she suddenly thought, was all she\u2019d ever known. Except for one brief time&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBut after a while,\u201d her mouth continued, out of her control, \u201cthe pain goes away, just as they promise.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Everything they promise is a lie! Don\u2019t let them in! Help me!<\/i> She had called for Jack\u2019s help, too, but <i>she<\/i> had gone away, had been taken from her years ago, and now the last bits of Jack that Kyra had been left with were gone, shattered by the Quasi-Dead&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick\u2019s expression was dubious, distrustful, hints of both horror and longing on his features. \u201cAre you with me, Kyra?\u201d he murmured.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Yes! Yes, please help me! Riddick, please\u2014<\/i> \u201cThere\u2019s a moment when you can almost see the Underverse through his eyes,\u201d she heard herself saying. <i>His<\/i> eyes? No. Not the Lord Marshal\u2019s eyes. What she had caught a glimpse of had come from the Moribund&#8288;\u2014 \u201cHe makes it sound perfect. A place where anyone can start over.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She had started over so many times. What was one more? She never should have let General Toal separate her from Tizzy, never should have tried to link them staying together to <i>him&#8288;\u2014<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Tell him Jack\u2019s dead,<\/i> her Tizzy had said in their final moment together. <i>She wasn\u2019t strong enough to cut it in his world.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra never should have made them staying together about <i>him.<\/i> She should have just asked her sister not to leave her. What if, one day, her orders were to kill Tizzy? She couldn\u2019t even make Riddick hear her thoughts; how would she possibly&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAre you <i>with<\/i> me, Kyra?\u201d he repeated.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Yes, Riddick, please help me. Please take me away from here.<\/i> She tried to move to his side, tried to say yes with her body if not with her voice&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>He is not yours,<\/i> the Quasi-Dead told her, forcing her to move on instead. <i>He never was.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She walked past him and into the crowd, surrounded by the Moribund\u2019s puppets. The Moribund\u2019s <i>meat&#8288;\u2026<\/i> She was his puppet now too, his meat.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cConvert now,\u201d the Lord Marshal was saying behind her, \u201cor fall forever.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She wished she\u2019d burned up on Crematoria.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And, somehow, she heard Riddick\u2019s whisper. <i>\u201cYou killed everything I know&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick\u2019s <i>survival<\/i> instincts had switched off. He was planning to fight to the death. <i>His<\/i> death.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra gathered all the strength she had left into a single, desperate cry. There were beings she\u2019d hidden from for years, whose power and strangeness had terrified her, but now she wondered why she\u2019d feared them at all when so much worse existed in the \u2019verses. She prayed that they might hear her now. She had nothing else left to try.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>SOMEBODY HELP ME!<\/i><\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5919\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5919 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-91\">\u00ab Chapter 91<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5911\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5911 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-93\">Chapter 93 \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=\"93\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5920\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5920 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-92\">\u00ab Chapter 92<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5912\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5912 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-94\">Chapter 94 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"5904\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5904 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">93.<br\/>\r\n<u>The Eaters of Souls<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c<i>These<\/i> are his last moments!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She couldn\u2019t bring herself to watch. She couldn\u2019t make herself look away.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The entire crowd of Necromongers observed, enrapt, as their Lord Marshal and \u201cthe Riddick\u201d battled. It was brutal. Horrible. And inch by inch, Riddick was losing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And there was nothing Kyra could do except bear witness to his death.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Thinking he died nearly destroyed me&#8288;\u2026 what will really seeing it happen do to me?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There was no answer from the Quasi-Dead. She sensed that their attention was focused on the battle.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Little larva, we heard you,<\/i> a soft, strange, somehow female voice whispered in her mind. <i>I have come in answer.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Something small, with many legs, was crawling up her calf, hidden by her cloak. It took all her strength not to flinch or scream. Time seemed to be slowing around her, her heartbeats spreading farther and farther apart.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Who are you?<\/i> she asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I have no name. My name was stolen long ago by the Demons of the Darkness. Our sister sent me to you. Aud Ree.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Aud Ree?<\/i> Like Mommy Ree? But all the Ree who could articulate words clearly were at least the size of a cat&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You knew her as Tizzy. As Jack. She has worn so many names. She heard you call and asked me to find you.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The creature had reached her waist and was climbing higher. Suddenly understanding what was needed, Kyra lifted her hood back up.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Thank you, little larva. This will not hurt.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">An <i>Apeiros.<\/i> The thing crawling up her body was one of Tizzy\u2019s <i>Apeiros&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Yes. And we have a claim upon you that precedes, and supersedes, <b>his<\/b> claim. We must move quickly while he is distracted.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>We have to help Riddick,<\/i> she told the creature as it reached her shoulder. <i>We can\u2019t let him die!<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>No, we cannot allow his death. Too much depends upon the three of you. In a moment, you will be free again and able to help him.<\/i> Slender, questing, arachnid legs touched her throat and face.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For an endless instant, she was frozen in place. Paralyzed as if Sebby had stung her. The <i>Apeiros<\/i> was holding her still as&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Power poured into her, filling every nerve. Power akin to but somehow different from the eldritch energies that had entered her body during her Purification. Those energies broke and dissipated, new strength taking their place. She almost felt human again. Almost&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Another wave of power filled her, and she felt her skin warming, the life that had been stolen from her replenishing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>That\u2019s as much as I can give you,<\/i> the creature whispered, sounding somehow winded. <i>For now. I have not broken their connection to you completely\u2014that would draw their attention back to you\u2014but you are free of their control.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>What do I do now?<\/i> Kyra asked. Her mind and body were her own again. She could <i>feel<\/i> it. But she had no idea what to do with that power. She was surrounded by enemies.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>They do not know you are not one of them. Move to the front. Watch. Await your moment. You will know when one opens.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Would she? <i>How do you know?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>We have watched you for years. Listened to you for years.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Why didn\u2019t you say anything?<\/i> It struck her just how many times she could have used their help.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>We were forbidden to speak to you unless you spoke to us first.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Fuck. Of course. She\u2019d <i>thanked<\/i> Tizzy for doing that, too. It had never occurred to her, as the years passed, that they were <i>waiting for permission<\/i> to talk to her&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;and, somehow, had managed to reach her in a matter of <i>minutes<\/i> once she finally called them for help.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>If I\u2019d known&#8288;\u2026<\/i> They could have saved her from so many things, so many times.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She could have called them when General Toal\u2019s man was following her, when the mercs trapped her, when the mercs sold her, when she was arrested, when Toombs and Logan found her, any time while she was in Crematoria, on the run across the planet\u2019s surface&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">If the Moribund was the god of the Necromongers, she\u2019d had access to an entire <i>pantheon<\/i> the whole time, possibly omnipotent beings constrained by a promise that kept them from crossing the threshold of her mind without an invitation. All she\u2019d ever had to do was say one word. Just one. All she\u2019d ever had to do was stop hiding. Invite them in. Trust them&#8288;\u2026 the way Tizzy had always trusted them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Is she okay?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>She is well. Frightened for you. She rescinded her command, but we could not find you until just now. The Moribund\u2019s creatures were hiding you from us.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>He made me one of his creatures, too,<\/i> she told the <i>Apeiros<\/i> on her shoulder, hiding itself in her hood. It was hard to keep a whimper out of her mental voice.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>No longer. You are yourself again.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>But who <b>is<\/b> that?<\/i> She couldn\u2019t keep a wail out of her mental voice. <i>I thought I knew, but it was a lie! Riddick doesn\u2019t even know me. He never even met me before a few days ago&#8288;\u2014<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>And yet he is fighting for your sake now,<\/i> the creature told her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>No. He\u2019s not. He\u2019s fighting for <b>her.<\/b> He came for <b>her.<\/b><\/i> She felt, yet again, like an afterthought, a consolation prize. Even the <i>Apeiros<\/i> itself had come to find her because Tizzy had asked it to. Would any of it, ever, be for <i>her<\/i> sake?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>He knew from the moment he met you that you weren\u2019t the girl he\u2019d protected on the world with three suns.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>What&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?<\/i> But he had <i>called<\/i> her by Jack\u2019s name&#8288;\u2026 once. He\u2019d referenced the things that Jack had experienced. <i>Oh God, he was trying to play along with me to find out what happened to her, wasn\u2019t he?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>At first. But remember what else he did. Knowing that you weren\u2019t her.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He\u2019d broken his own rules for her, coming back to rescue her when she couldn\u2019t keep up. He\u2019d fought beside her, linking up with her so that she felt like they were two halves of a single entity as they scythed through Necros to&#173;gether&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>And he is here. Now. To rescue you. To rescue Kyra, not Jack. He may not already know you, but he wants to.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was something of a salve, a reassurance, but she wasn\u2019t sure it would be enough. The Riddick <i>she<\/i> had been trying to get to know was the man who had rescued her from the New Christy Enclave, teaching and protecting her while they roamed the woods of Canaan Mountain together and took out Red Roger and his marshals for crimes that, she realized, had somehow never happened in her revised memories and yet still demanded requital. That Riddick was a man she had trusted, body and soul, and had known would never betray her or abandon her, even though at the same time, she\u2019d known that he <i>had,<\/i> that he\u2019d done so when he\u2019d left Jack&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Everything she had given him, done for him and with him, from their first <i>real<\/i> meeting, had been predicated on a relationship she\u2019d wholeheartedly believed in&#8288;\u2026 and which had never existed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Without the lies, was anything left to connect them?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>He came here for <b>you<\/b>, Kyra. He is risking death for <b>you<\/b>. He could have gone anywhere.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I can\u2019t do this as just Kyra,<\/i> she groaned. <i>I need&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Lies or not, she needed the false memories and the cushioning they gave, against trauma after trauma that had her shrinking from contact with any man in the room, possibly even Riddick himself. She needed him to be Red Roger\u2019s destroyer. She needed him to have shepherded her through the darkness and fought off monsters for her. She needed to <i>know<\/i> that he hadn\u2019t been disappointed by who and what he found in Crematoria, and that the relationship of her dreams was not merely possible but something that had already begun, been interrupted, and was simply about to <i>resume.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She needed the lie. She wasn\u2019t strong enough without it. That was why Tizzy had given it to her to begin with.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack had never been dead, she realized, and sure as hell had never been weak. Jack had been her strength. Even if, the whole time, Jack had been someone else.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>She has never used the name since she left Tangier Prime. She would not begrudge you using it.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>It\u2019s not the name,<\/i> Kyra tried to explain. <i>The Quasi-Dead tore me apart. I need the parts of me they took away. Even if they were lies. I need the lies back!<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Oh, sweet little larva. Perhaps this is why my kind waits so long to take on names. You are in so many \u2019verses. In some of them, the stories in your head, that are lies here, are even true. In this \u2019verse they are not true, and I think they have even been harming you&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It wouldn\u2019t help her. It agreed with the Quasi-Dead and wouldn\u2019t <i>help<\/i> her!<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u2026&#8288;but you need the shield, and the strength, they can give you now. I will give them back to you. For now. So you may act without fear or doubt. So you may rescue your rescuer.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Strength, of a new kind, flowed into her. Years-old debilitating agonies faded in an instant, replaced with purpose.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The battle still raged, in slow motion, in front of her. She had drawn close to the front of the crowd as they had spoken. As she watched, the Lord Marshal cracked a metal spear across Riddick\u2019s ribs, snapping the shaft in two and sending Riddick flying, sprawling to the floor by the throne\u2019s steps. Zhylaw\u2014she knew that was his name but didn\u2019t know how\u2014tossed the spear aside and walked over to one of his armored guards, taking another from him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The broken weapon lay on the floor, discarded and forgotten, near Kyra\u2019s feet. She pulled back her hood as she reached down, aware that the <i>Apeiros<\/i> was no longer sitting on her shoulder.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The Lord Marshal was choking Riddick, the length of his new spear pressed hard against her beloved\u2019s throat. Their backs were to her as she picked up the discarded shaft from the floor. Everyone\u2019s eyes were glued to the combatants, including the \u201ceyes\u201d of the Quasi-Dead; no one seemed at all aware of her actions.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou are not the one to bring me down,\u201d Zhylaw snarled at Riddick.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra shifted her spear partway into Elsewhere, its tip <i>all<\/i> the way into Elsewhere, and thrust forward, bringing everything back once the tip was a few inches deep into the Lord Marshal\u2019s back. <i>I\u2019d have used a teacup if I\u2019d had one handy.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The Lord Marshal cried out in pain, releasing Riddick and staggering forward. Kyra felt a strange, guttural growl escape her throat. This would be the best kill she\u2019d ever made.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Who\u2019s the better killer now?<\/i> she thought as Riddick lifted his eyes toward her in stunned confusion. She wasn\u2019t sure if he could hear her; he looked dazed. <i>That\u2019s right, baby, Jack B. Badd is ba&#8288;\u2014<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The Lord Marshal turned on her, a growl of his own escaping, and backhanded her with inhuman strength. Her feet left the ground and she felt herself flying backward&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Pain blazed through her as something long and sharp slid into her back in three places. She gasped, suddenly struggling to breathe. An undulant wall slammed up against her back.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The pillar. She\u2019d seen it as she\u2019d approached the throne, both times, a twisted structure with curved spikes embedded throughout it. Now she was pinned\u2014literally <i>pinned<\/i>\u2014to it like a fucking <i>insect.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNow!\u201d she heard Vaako\u2019s wife shout. \u201cKill the beast while he\u2019s wounded!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Fuck. They were going to slaughter Riddick. He wouldn\u2019t stand a chance on his own if more jumped into the fray. She needed to help him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She had to twist her body, willing it forward with all the telekinesis she could muster, to pull herself off the spikes that had impaled her. But her legs buckled beneath her and she collapsed onto the steps, barely able to even lift her head. The taste of blood filled her mouth.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick was staring at her from across the floor, his expression a mixture of horror and grief.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I thought we\u2019d have more time,<\/i> she tried to tell him. She\u2019d had so many dreams of what would happen when they reunited, and none of them had come true. <i>I thought I\u2019d get to be yours first&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra had never <i>wanted<\/i> a man until he\u2019d come into her life. And now she would never get to have one.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Little one, I am so sorry,<\/i> the <i>Apeiros<\/i> whispered. <i>Your shell is failing. I do not have enough power left to repair it.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Why did it always call her \u201clittle?\u201d It had been small when it had crawled up her, no bigger than Sebby when she and Tizzy had first rescued <i>her<\/i>. She closed her eyes, hearing Vaako murmur \u201cforgive me\u201d somewhere nearby, uncertain whether he was talking to her or someone else. It didn\u2019t matter. All that mattered was&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Will Riddick live?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNoooooooo!\u201d she heard Dame Vaako scream, and for a moment she thought it was her answer.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Yes, sweet Kyra. Riddick will live. And so will you, in time. I promise you.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A moment later, she felt strong arms, a man\u2019s arms, around her, felt her body being turned over. She didn\u2019t need to open her eyes to know who was holding her. She could feel him, feel the bond between them, with every fiber of her being.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI thought you were dead,\u201d she whispered to him, wishing she was strong enough to open her eyes. It was getting harder and harder to speak.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Hold on,<\/i> he told her silently. <i>Hold on. Don\u2019t die.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She wanted to hold onto something, but she could feel her connection to her own body loosening. It was all she could do to keep her tears of pain and grief from escaping. She had cried far too much already.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I cannot help you stay in your shell, sweet little Kyra,<\/i> the <i>Apeiros<\/i> whispered. <i>But I can help you not die.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She could feel its slender legs wrapping around her, not around her body the way Riddick\u2019s arms already were, but around her very essence. Larger than her now, engulfing her&#8288;\u2026 what <i>was<\/i> it, really?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Above her, Riddick spoke, his voice hesitant and sad. \u201cAre you with me, Kyra?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Being with him was all she\u2019d ever wanted. Why didn\u2019t he <i>know<\/i> that? Ever since she was twelve&#8288;\u2026 ever since&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It hurt but she took a deeper breath, opening her eyes. She needed him to <i>know.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI was always with you,\u201d she tried to say, but all that slipped out was another breathless whisper.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>It was me,<\/i> she tried to remind him, giving up on her voice. <i>It was always me. There by your side in the eclipse, it was me, nobody else, me&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They had been supposed to go on forever. Together. She gathered enough breath to try to speak again. \u201cI was&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Jack&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Ever since they had met in the forests of Canaan Mountain, ever since he had helped her do battle against the monsters that wanted to destroy her family&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She felt him beside her in those forests, again and yet somehow for the first time, looking around in confusion, seeing her memories and baffled by them. Didn\u2019t he remember, too?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>It was real,<\/i> she tried to tell him. <i>I swear it was all real&#8288;\u2026 it was always <b>me<\/b>&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Oh, little one, I think I have hurt you all the worse&#8288;\u2026 he came for you as you are now, no one else&#8288;\u2026<\/i> She could feel the now-huge <i>Apeiros<\/i> drawing her out of herself, its grip gentle but firm. <i>Sleep now, Kyra. Dream of your world, the world you and your sister made for you. I will take you to safety.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And, even as she felt herself pull free, she felt something else trying to reach for her, something hungry, heard an echo of monstrous rage as it felt her shell emptying and, cradled in her strange sister\u2019s many arms, she dropped back into a dream of a world with three suns&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><b><i>Where is it? It was mine! Where is it? Thieving <u>bitch<\/u>&#8288;\u2014<\/i><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick came to himself, gasping.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSometimes I fuckin\u2019 <i>hate<\/i> being right,\u201d he growled.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He\u2019d felt how Lucy had pulled Kyra\u2019s soul out of her body, and it had felt almost exactly like the old Lord Marshal\u2019s attempt to extract <i>his<\/i> soul.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Lucy!<\/i> he called out, trying not to let all his rage bleed into his mental voice. <i>You got some fuckin\u2019 \u2019splaining to do!<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I am here, Riddick. What do you need to know?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhen you pulled Kyra\u2019s&#8288;\u2026 <i>five-shape<\/i> out of her <i>shell<\/i>&#8288;\u2026 it ain\u2019t the first time you\u2019ve done that, is it?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>No. It is not.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI want to hear you say when else you\u2019ve done it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You know. But if you must hear it, I will say it. It\u2019s how we hunt. It\u2019s how we feed. But we have not fed on her.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou hunt humans for their souls,\u201d he growled at her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>No.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo? Then what the fuck&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Only three of us have escaped the cages created by the Demons of the Darkness, Riddick. The only one of us who has eaten human four-shapes is the Moribund. You know the circumstances of my escape. You named me for them. I owe my <b>existence<\/b> to Audrey. She is my <b>sister<\/b>, and I would no more eat a human four-shape, or five-shape, than I would eat one of my broodmates. But I hunt elsewhere in the multiverse. There are infinite other kinds of prey.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s why he chased after you, isn\u2019t it? Why he attacked <i>Jack.<\/i> You stole his <i>meal<\/i> and he tried to replace it with <i>her.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Yes.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s what all the killing\u2019s really about, ain\u2019t it? He ain\u2019t just trying to wipe out worlds. He\u2019s <i>feasting.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>He was once the strongest of us, Riddick. We pinned our hopes on his escape. It almost killed him and sapped his strength. For four hundred years he has existed on the verge of death, and all he has had to stave it off are the energies his&#8288;\u2026 vessels&#8288;\u2026 can draw out of the human worlds he conquers. And yet he must give most of it back to keep them, their ships, and their weapons going. Do you know what the <b>real<\/b> Underverse is, Riddick?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s a fuckin\u2019 lie, that\u2019s what it is.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>No. It\u2019s not the dreamland his vessels have constructed in their minds from human notions of an afterlife. It\u2019s the \u2019verse where we hatched. The \u2019verse we were stolen away from. Our nesting ground. Teeming with energies that helped us grow. We were newborns to our six-shapes when we were stolen from that \u2019verse, cut off from it. We don\u2019t even know where it is. And you know <b>exactly<\/b> who did this to us, don\u2019t you?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Fuck.<\/i> \u201cI do. Yeah.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Perhaps <b>I<\/b> would like to hear <b>you<\/b> say it.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick rose from his crouch on the dais. \u201cYou want me to say it? Fine. I will. To <i>Jack.<\/i> C\u2019mon.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>It\u2019s too late for that, Riddick.<\/i> There was a hint of resignation and regret in her disembodied voice.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Cold jetted through his veins. \u201cWhat&#8288;\u2026 the <i>fuck&#8288;\u2026<\/i> do you mean by that?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You have been in the Chamber of the Quasi-Dead for more than a day. A great deal has happened. And now it is time for Audrey\u2019s hatching.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMy Lord&#8288;\u2014&#8288;?&#8288;\u201d Lord Vaako asked as Riddick burst through the Chamber\u2019s doors, vaulting over the throne and flinging himself at top speed down the hallway. He didn\u2019t bother looking back.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">All he knew was that Jack was in danger. And he was fucking <i>sick<\/i> of being too late to save the people he loved.<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5920\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5920 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-92\">\u00ab Chapter 92<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5912\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5912 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-94\">Chapter 94 \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=\"94\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5921\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5921 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-93\">\u00ab Chapter 93<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5913\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5913 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-95\">Chapter 95 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"6174\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-6174 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">94.<br\/>\r\n<u>The Vengeance God\u2019s Devotee<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019re wrong about the Riddick, Chantesa.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was, Dame Vaako thought, the first time her husband had ever said such a thing to her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was used to him doubting her, questioning her, especially whenever he\u2019d intuited that she was preparing to demolish a rival to their rising power. But he had <i>never<\/i> told her that she was wrong before.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat makes you think that?\u201d she asked, hiding her unease as she removed her makeup.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI spoke to him. He is planning on marrying his Jack. They are currently negotiating the terms between them.\u201d Vaako was pacing, the way he often did when something was bothering him. \u201c<i>He<\/i> expressed concerns that the wives of other Lords might not have been consulted about <i>their<\/i> marriages.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI know what I saw, husband.\u201d She took a plundered tub of lotion out of a drawer. \u201cThe girl was terrified. Stammering. Shaking.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI remember you shaking and stammering when you sold me the lie about your first husband committing heresy. You even had tears in your eyes.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Damn it. But&#8288;\u2026 he had a point. She\u2019d had to manipulate eight different men into challenging the Lord Vath before one of them survived doing so and killed him for her&#8288;\u2026 and she had been much the same age that \u201cAudrey\u201d was now.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou believe she was duping me?\u201d It was an unsettling, unpleasant thought.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe Riddick thinks so.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTo what end?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI don\u2019t know, Chantesa. You tell me what your games were. Why did you want Lord Vath dead?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She frowned at him, staying silent. That was nobody\u2019s business but hers. Even the Quasi-Dead had no idea. She had already been in love with Amahle before she had been old enough to understand what love was, and she had finally managed to crawl into his heart, to make him feel the same way about her. It had been their wedding day when the Necromongers had attacked, when she\u2019d been forced to watch, screaming, as Amahle was cut down before her, still in his wedding attire, and that <i>slime<\/i> of a \u201cLord\u201d had declared her <i>his&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And the Lord Marshal had <i>let<\/i> him claim her&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her hatred of both men was something she had concealed as best she could. Her awareness that she\u2019d barely escaped being used up in one of the many \u201cStews\u201d scattered throughout the Armada had only added to her rage. A Breeder Pit or the bed of the man who had murdered her soulmate: what kinds of choices were those? She\u2019d succeeded in engineering both men\u2019s destructions, but what she wished for most of all, control over the Armada itself, eluded her. As wife of the seventh Lord Marshal, she could have&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe Riddick made a policy change today, and has hinted he will make more,\u201d Vaako continued at that moment. His gaze on her was intense.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat change is that?\u201d It had been nearly a year since he\u2019d created any edicts. She supposed he needed a new one now that his Jack had been found.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe closed down the Stews and ordered all their inhabitants converted. With the assent and backing of our god. We could all feel it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Given that that was one of the things she\u2019d wanted to do most of all, she wasn\u2019t sure why it peeved her so, aside from the fact that <i>she\u2019d<\/i> wanted to be the one to do it. \u201cThe Breeder Pits are no more?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNone remain. From this day forth, no one in the Armada, except members of the Riddick\u2019s own entourage, may be unconverted humans.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cCurious.\u201d Her makeup removed and her hair braided for sleep, she undressed and joined her husband in bed. \u201cDo you think the other Lords will accept it?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI think our god will not give them an alternative.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She closed her eyes, focusing on her connection to Him. In her heart, she called Him Tokoloshe. He was vengeance. As much as she had hated the conquerors who had destroyed her world and her <i>true<\/i> love, they <i>had<\/i> brought her to Him. The god of her soul. And she knew that He had watched over her for years, guiding her hand as she worked to destroy first Vath and then Zhylaw, who had taken so much from her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And she felt it, just as Vaako had said. Her god\u2014their god\u2014was&#8288;\u2026 pleased.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And, she realized, would be displeased if anyone attempted to disarrange things.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Why, she wondered, had the Riddick waited a whole year to do it? What did he intend to do next?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And what, she asked herself as she let her husband draw her into his arms, was the role of this Jack\u2014or Audrey\u2014in all these changes?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <hr\/>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">By lunch the next day, she decided that she wanted to meet the girl again. But first she needed to speak to the witch. She had several pressing matters to attend to before then\u2014the politics of the Court had only grown more convoluted in the year since Riddick\u2019s ascension, and the spreading word of the Stews\u2019 closure had generated some consternation among the Court\u2019s Ladies\u2014but she finally managed to return to Lord Irgun\u2019s old quarters, now the abode of the witch Aereon, as evening fell.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI need to understand more about who this girl was,\u201d she told the Elemental. \u201cWho she is. You said that a mercenary told you about her; what else did he say?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNot so very much,\u201d Aereon, seated in a chair with her gown draped to artfully hide the chains she still wore, told her. \u201cShe was one of three survivors of a spaceship crash. Riddick was another. Later, all three were captured by mercenaries. The crass mercenary I mentioned before, Mr. Toombs, claimed that she had proven her loyalty to Riddick then, but he would never say how. I believe he was among the mercenaries involved in the capture. She was hospitalized in a psychiatric facility not long after. Mr. Toombs told me that he initially believed she had been traumatized by \u2018what Riddick made her do,\u2019 but said that later he began to suspect she had been Riddick\u2019s accomplice the whole time, especially once Riddick himself returned and broke her, and Kyra Wittier-Collins, out of the facility.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo,\u201d Dame Vaako mused, \u201cshe has a history of fooling people.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cPossibly so,\u201d Aereon said. \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhen I met her yesterday, she seemed terrified. But my husband believes she may have been toying with me.\u201d Damn it, why was she confiding in this unbeliever? Just because there was no one else for her to talk to&#8288;\u2026 \u201cWhat possible reason would she have to run a game like that?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThey are both criminals,\u201d Aereon said, her voice smugly complacent. \u201cLike the girl who died last year. Deception is what they live for, undoubtedly.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The witch rose from her seat and walked across the room, her chains\u2014the ones the old Lord Marshal had called \u201ccherry bombs\u201d\u2014rattling behind her as she did. She glanced down at them as she poured two glasses of water. \u201cBloody things&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhy are you still wearing them?\u201d It had struck Chantesa as odd that, after all the help the Elemental was supposed to have given the Riddick, he would still keep her chained.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYour new Lord Marshal trusts me no more than the last one,\u201d Aereon told her. \u201cI think he believes I knew more about the girls than I told him. Although I admit, I only just realized their connection to Mr. Toombs\u2019 stories when last we spoke, so perhaps he was right in that regard.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo he keeps you chained up? For not knowing more?\u201d She wasn\u2019t entirely sure why that fueled a small kernel of anger in her\u2014she found the Elemental off-putting at best\u2014but it did.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIndeed.\u201d Aereon moved her arms, making the offending <i>cherry bombs<\/i> jingle. \u201cThey aren\u2019t the most comfortable things to sleep in. Or shower in.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe guards make you wear them even when you change clothes?\u201d This was, she thought, sounding worse and worse. <i>And to think that Niels\u2019s news about the Breeder Pits almost made me <b>like<\/b> the Riddick for a moment!<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThere is a young lady who comes and supervises while I change,\u201d Aereon told her, \u201cand shower&#8288;\u2026 anything where the cuffs must come off. She only frees one wrist at a time.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat the hell does he think you\u2019re going to do if they come off completely?\u201d It was hard not to seethe over it all.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cPerhaps he imagines I will spout new \u2018prophecies\u2019 at people to turn them against him.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That arrested her attention. \u201c<i>New<\/i> ones? Do you mean that <i>you<\/i> were the source of the prophecy that sent our last Lord Marshal to Furya?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe Elementals rely upon <i>calculation<\/i>, not divination. But from time to time, we <i>do<\/i> forecast major events before they happen. And when the odds bear them out, we share what we know.\u201d The elderly woman smiled a thin, humorless smile. \u201cMore than thirty years ago, we had two such forecasts, both of which seemed impossible, <i>especially<\/i> in combination with each other. In one, the Lord Marshal of the Necromongers joined forces with the Lord Shirah of Furya to bring an end to the Federacy itself. But in the other, a Furyan warrior killed the sixth Lord Marshal, assuming his place and, within a few years, bringing the Necromonger campaign to its close by opening a gateway into the Underverse.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Could Riddick actually <i>do<\/i> that, unconverted as he was? Had Zhylaw actually been <i>holding back<\/i> Underverse Come by trying to prevent their confrontation?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSoon after that discovery, a Necromonger Lord came to us to try to gain insights into how to <i>find<\/i> the Threshold to the Underverse.\u201d Another thin smile from the Elemental. \u201cHe was the First Among Commanders and hoped to be able to lead the Armada across the Threshold when he ascended to the role of Lord Marshal. I told him about the dueling forecasts and how, strangely enough, all our calculations were insisting that they were, somehow, simultaneously true. And <i>he&#8288;\u2014<\/i>&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe only cared about the one that said he might die at the hands of a Furyan warrior,\u201d Dame Vaako breathed, understanding. \u201cBut by attacking Furya&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI believe that he made the first forecast impossible while making the second inevitable,\u201d Aereon confirmed. \u201cFurya is a ruined world now, for all that the Federacy has been attempting to get it back on its feet. The Lord Shirah is no more, and his successor is a woman with little diplomatic skill and no heirs. And Riddick, having heard both forecasts&#8288;\u2026 blames me for the fall of his world. I suppose he thinks I might concoct more trouble for him if I had leave to roam the ship and speak to its people.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He\u2019d probably have been right even a few days ago, Dame Vaako reflected, before the tides shifted and somehow, even unconverted, the Riddick became Tokoloshe\u2019s chosen instrument. She had felt the change, herself, even if she hadn\u2019t wanted to; the instinctive feeling that the Furyan was unworthy, an intruder, something the Armada needed protection <i>from<\/i>, had vanished&#8288;\u2026 and left her with what, exactly?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">What she\u2019d always had. Her desire to destroy the old Lord Marshal hadn\u2019t come from Tokoloshe, either.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I need to find out what side the girl is truly on,<\/i> she decided. <i>And how likely it is that simply allowing to Riddick to rule will bring on Underverse Come.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She didn\u2019t want to repeat Zhylaw\u2019s hubristic mistake; the Underverse was all. She would not work against her god. If He wished the Riddick to lead them, she would accept that. Provisionally.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But in the meantime, with the Riddick in Tokoloshe\u2019s good graces and the random assassination attempts likely brought to an end&#8288;\u2026 what harm could it do&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI will speak to your attendants,\u201d she promised the Elemental.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <hr\/>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The Riddick had been unavailable for consultation on the issue of the \u201ccherry bombs,\u201d once more in the Chamber of the Quasi-Dead, where he had apparently been meditating for just over a day. That, however, had made it easier to simply command the attendants to remove the Elemental witch\u2019s chains. Dame Vaako felt a small glow of virtuous achievement at that; witch or not, no woman should be forced to sleep in bonds, much less dress and undress under watchful eyes. She set off for the Lord Marshal\u2019s Quarters feeling a little more balanced.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The wing that housed the Quarters, previously echoingly empty except for the guards on the Riddick\u2019s doors, was cluttered with things and occupied by a dozen people. Tables had been set up and covered with random objects; furniture and statuary littered the space between them. A group of young men and women were going through the objects casually, chatting with each other, surprising her by randomly breaking into bits of song. And among them&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Apparently I\u2019m not the only one who refuses to live in shades of black,<\/i> she thought with an amused sense of kindred.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Dressed in a mixture of greens and blues, the Riddick\u2019s Jack\u2014Audrey, as she recalled\u2014was crouched over a box, sorting through the books inside it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat <i>is<\/i> all this?\u201d Dame Vaako asked, gratified when those closest to her bowed upon spotting her. There was something different about all of them, something she couldn\u2019t quite put her finger on.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey looked up and smiled sunnily at her, no trace of fear about her now.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Niels was right,<\/i> she thought in astonishment. <i>Either she and the Riddick resolved their differences already&#8288;\u2026 or she was never really afraid to begin with.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She watched as the girl climbed to her feet, dusting her hands against the sides of the forest green leggings she had probably acquired from one of the many piles of heaped clothing on the tables. What remained was almost entirely boring black.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAll this,\u201d the girl gestured around the hallway, \u201cis stuff we pulled out from the suites in this wing. They\u2019re being cleaned out so my, uh&#8288;\u2026 <i>detail<\/i> can occupy them. Riddick wants to surround me with bodyguards, I guess.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe,\u201d one of the young men near them said in reply, \u201cAre an <i>entourage<\/i>.\u201d That set his companions off into a gale of laughter, making Jack\u2014or, perhaps, Audrey\u2014grin.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Chantesa could understand why the girl would need companions, especially bodyguards. Dressed in Necromonger attire or not, she was clearly unconverted and would be a thousand times more alluring than ever, to the men on the ship, with all the Breeder Pits shut down. Single women of the court had hoped to gain the Riddick\u2019s attention, for one night if nothing else, because of his unconverted state; even if they didn\u2019t personally win him over to the Way, they\u2019d said in prurient whispers, they could still know once more the feeling of having a <i>warm<\/i> cock inside them&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A pun had come to mind to her when they\u2019d told her that, one she had never shared with them. It was only funny when she didn\u2019t let herself think of how <i>true<\/i> it had been for the women trapped in the Breeder Pits\u2014the \u201cStews,\u201d as everyone else had called them\u2014and it was far too crass to let anyone attribute to her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">None of those Court Ladies, she reflected, had ever succeeded in their aims. The Riddick had spent his first year of rulership living like a monk. Her husband had hinted at the reasons why, which had made it all the more perplexing when word circulated that he refused to frequent the Stews.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat are you going to do with all of these things?\u201d she asked after a moment. There were some astonishing treasures among the discards.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWell, now that we pulled it all out,\u201d Audrey replied, \u201ceverybody can go through it all to look for anything they want to keep. If you see anything <i>you<\/i> want, feel free to take it. The rest can, I guess&#8288;\u2026 be donated? Do you guys have a donation center or anything? For new recruits?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe Necromonger Way is \u2018you keep what you kill,\u2019\u201d Chantesa told the girl, feeling a rueful smile cross her face. \u201cYou acquire your possessions from your vanquished foes. New converts come with nothing of their own except the clothes we put on them. They must either claim more through battle or, occasionally, from rewards given to them by their commanders. A donation center&#8288;\u2026 I haven\u2019t heard of such a thing since before I was converted.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The girl glanced around the hallway, frowning as she took in the sheer mass of clutter filling it. \u201cThat\u2019s a problem.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOr an opportunity to create something new, perhaps,\u201d Dame Vaako told her. \u201cThe biggest problem will simply be the way most Necromongers view each other\u2019s discards. If we keep what we kill, what we don\u2019t wish to keep is what we have decided is unworthy. Your Riddick created some trouble last year when he discarded and banished the old Lord Marshal\u2019s wives. Such a thing had never been done before. They had no rank or standing to take with them, and what the <i>Lord Marshal<\/i> casts off, no one else wishes to touch. I believe they now work as servants on other ships in the Armada.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The girl, to her credit, looked appalled, even more than Chantesa had ever felt. She had never liked the other women, and had always been uncomfortably aware of the fact that, if her plans had failed and, instead of killing the Lord Marshal, Vaako had been killed <i>by<\/i> him, she would have ended up below all six of them as a very junior wife of the man she\u2019d hated most in the \u2019verse, seventh in line for his repulsive at&#173;tentions&#8288;\u2026 if he hadn\u2019t simply discarded her as unworthy and stripped away her last hopes of sticking a knife in him while he slept&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s terrible. Why\u2019d he <i>do<\/i> that?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTo be fair, one of them had tried to assassinate him. I suppose he had no reason to trust the surviving wives&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWait, he killed one of them?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOnly after she made multiple attempts to kill him,\u201d Dame Vaako admitted. \u201cI heard a little bit about it from the other wives as they were being escorted off the <i>Basilica<\/i>. He tried to disarm her without killing her. She didn\u2019t cooperate. She was the Lord Marshal\u2019s <i>first<\/i> wife, you see. The one he had chosen, not one he acquired from a vanquished rival.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The girl grimaced as she pulled out another box and began rifling through it. \u201cGuess there was no way around that&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAre you looking for something?\u201d Chantesa asked. There were things she needed to learn from this girl that she couldn\u2019t if the child remained preoccupied.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah, a book.\u201d The girl turned and gave her a quirky smile as she finished sorting through the box. \u201cBack when the <i>Tenth Crusade<\/i> launched, like four hundred years ago, its owner brought a set of three books with him, all written by Minnie Sulis. I found two of them already. I\u2019m looking for the third. Could be important&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For a moment, the girl stopped, frowning quizzically as if trying to hear a far-off note of music or recall an elusive memory.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMight not be,\u201d she shrugged after she came back to herself. \u201cBut I want to find it if I can.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Minnie Sulis&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI may be able to help you,\u201d Dame Vaako told her. \u201cThe name is familiar to me. Could the third book be a diary?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMight be. I don\u2019t know. I just know that this guy Joren mentioned a set of three in a note to Chapman Marshal. I guess Marshal was a big fan of Minnie\u2019s magic act.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhen I first came to the Basilica,\u201d Chantesa said after a moment of thought, \u201cI lived in this wing, in the rooms that once belonged to Lord Vath. He gave them up for better rooms as he rose in power and vanquished rivals. The original rooms had a small library. Most of the books were revolting in the extreme&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBy John Norman?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The knowing look that passed between them made Chantesa feel an even deeper sense of kinship with the girl.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYes. There were a few, though, that were worth reading. For a while, there was a vacant room I would spend time in, to meditate. I always felt closest to our god when I was there. I took some of the books with me, thinking I might read them undisturbed in that space. When Lord Vath ordered a stop to my \u2018wanderings,\u2019 they were still there. I hadn\u2019t thought of them in years.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey looked excited. \u201cCan we go there?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOf course.\u201d If Dame Vaako was remembering right, the book in question <i>was<\/i> a diary, or at least a hand-written journal of some kind. She\u2019d found, once she was in her little sanctuary, that she had little focus for reading and only wanted to commune with Tokoloshe&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIs it okay if we go now? It might be important.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Interesting. Did the girl not realize she outranked almost everyone in the Armada and could command people as she pleased?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Maybe she\u2019s just a polite child.<\/i> There had been few enough of those in a long time.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cCertainly. I should warn you that it is in one of the oldest parts of this ship. A vacant area near a placard with the name you mentioned, <i>Tenth Crusade,<\/i> on it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Audrey had been rising; for a second she froze. Then she shrugged and gave herself a little shake, standing up the rest of the way. \u201cGuess I\u2019d better hope the Moribund\u2019s not feeling <i>peckish,<\/i>\u201d she muttered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>What does that mean?<\/i> Whatever it was, she set it aside. \u201cShall we?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They started out of a corridor when a voice called out behind them. \u201cHold!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A dark-haired woman, plain of face and determined of jaw, was hurrying over to them. \u201cYou can\u2019t go anywhere alone, Jack.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The girl blinked. \u201cI\u2019m not alone, Lola.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The woman\u2014Lola\u2014sighed. \u201cSorry. Let me rephrase. You can\u2019t go anywhere <i>unguarded.<\/i> I\u2019m coming with you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBy all means,\u201d Dame Vaako told her. \u201cOne can never be too careful.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Why did that suddenly send a pang of concern through her? A sense of something left undone or done wrong?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The route to her meditation place was one she hadn\u2019t taken in years, but her feet still knew the way. Whenever things had been too much, it was the path she had taken to find her balance, her peace, again. And to renew her commitment to vengeance. She hadn\u2019t needed it as much once she had become Dame Vaako instead of Dame Vath; Niels had never been someone she\u2019d needed to retreat from. It hadn\u2019t occurred to her to return to it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m curious,\u201d she said after a moment to break the silence. \u201cLola here calls you \u2018Jack,\u2019 but when we spoke yesterday morning, you said your name is Audrey. Which are you going by?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh. Yeah.\u201d The girl grimaced. \u201cI\u2019ve gone by a <i>lot<\/i> of names over the years. Kid on the run and all&#8288;\u2026 pretending to be a boy doesn\u2019t work as well as it used to, though. But Riddick knew me as Jack, so&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAh.\u201d Dame Vaako gazed over at her, considering. No, she could no longer pretend to be a boy, even if she had the height of one. She was slender enough that her curves would be difficult to conceal. Perhaps they hadn\u2019t been when she was younger. \u201cWas that your preference? Masquerading as a boy? As \u2018Jack?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFor a while. Like I said, I used a lot of names. I went by \u2018Peter\u2019 once.\u201d Amusement twinkled in her eyes for a moment. \u201cThey\u2019re just names. But \u2018Jack\u2019 is pretty special to Riddick, so I figured I\u2019d go back to it for him.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd you aren\u2019t afraid of him.\u201d Chantesa raised an eyebrow at Jack.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack\u2019s expression turned <i>impish.<\/i> \u201cYeah, sorry about that. You guys <i>are<\/i> pretty damn terrifying, you know, and when I got here, I really <i>was<\/i> scared out of my head. I\u2019d calmed down before you came to the room, but I wasn\u2019t sure I wanted anyone to know that yet.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI did much the same thing, years ago,\u201d she reflected. Her \u201cwedding night\u201d had been a night of horror; in its aftermath, she\u2019d tested out different ways of hiding her true feelings, of presenting herself to the Court, and Lord Vath, of finding a way to survive among them without them realizing she had <i>plans<\/i> for them&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">All her targets were dead now, dead before their time, cut off from the Underverse forever. Maybe she could console herself with that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There was no other foot traffic in the quiet hallway she had led them to, but suddenly Jack stopped, cocking her head and looking around, frowning. \u201cDid you guys see that?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSee what?\u201d Lola asked, her hand moving to her gun.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The hallway was empty. Nothing stirred except an errant draft that ruffled against the back of Dame Vaako\u2019s neck for a moment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack frowned. \u201cI could have sworn&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d She shook her head. \u201cIt\u2019s probably nothing. I\u2019m just a little jumpy about getting so close to the Moribund. So. Where to now?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Farther down the corridor, Jack stopped again. This time, however, it was to admire the plaque on the wall naming the vessel as the <i>Tenth Crusade.<\/i> The girl whistled, looking impressed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDamn. Wish I could tell Mr. Reilly what I\u2019m looking at. He\u2019d <i>shit<\/i> himself.\u201d She suddenly grinned and pulled a comm unit out of one of her pockets. \u201cYou never know! Maybe I\u2019ll be able to send this to him when all of this is over.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She captured several images of the plaque before pocketing her comm again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s not much farther,\u201d Chantesa told her companions. \u201cNear the ruins of the old engine room.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThis part of the ship is more than four hundred years old,\u201d Jack chattered as they continued walking. \u201cI did a report on it <i>years<\/i> ago. Never expected to actually be <i>in<\/i> it, though.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I was never that young,<\/i> Dame Vaako told herself, but felt a pang move through her. She remembered being that young. Being innocent. Being in love with the world and secure in the knowledge that the world loved her back&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She <i>missed<\/i> that girl. The nostalgia of meeting one so much like her had her heart in its fist.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s through here,\u201d she said a moment later, leading them into a control room with a thick steel door on its other end. The door stood open, as it had for decades before she\u2019d found it and would probably stand for decades more. \u201cI know what it used to be, but the inner room was the perfect place to meditate, to feel close to our god.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou prayed in a reactor core chamber?\u201d Lola looked both disbelieving and amused.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI think it\u2019s been thoroughly decommissioned. Probably long ago when the <i>Basilica<\/i>\u2019s new engines were constructed. We use other energy sources than mere <i>nuclear<\/i> power now.\u201d The Dame shrugged, walking through the thick doorway and into that inner room. \u201cNo one ever bothered me here. That was a blessing in itself. And I felt closest to <i>Him<\/i> here.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She could see the things she\u2019d left behind when she\u2019d been forced to stop visiting: pillows, a lap blanket, a reading lamp, snacks&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThis was your sanctuary,\u201d Jack said, her voice soft as she followed her in. Behind them, Lola had taken up a guard post at the outer door. Jack walked over to the little lamp and switched it on. \u201cOh man, you <i>did<\/i> find some good books in that Lord\u2019s apartment.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It bothered Chantesa for a moment, seeing the girl pick up <i>her<\/i> books, but she forced that feeling down. \u201cHopefully the one you\u2019re looking for is among them.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDame Vaako!\u201d Lola called behind her, her voice suddenly sharp.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYes?\u201d She returned to the doorway between the inner and outer room. Through the inner room\u2019s thick steelglass window, she could see Jack sitting down, legs crossed, to hold books up to the lamp and read each one\u2019s title.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAre you sure we\u2019re alone down here?\u201d Lola\u2019s expression was uneasy. \u201cI could\u2019ve sworn I felt something move past me a moment ago.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIn truth, I\u2019m not sure of anything about this part of the ship,\u201d she admitted, walking over to Lola. \u201cBut the only presence <i>I\u2019ve<\/i> ever felt down here is our god. Perhaps you felt his touch&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFound it!\u201d Jack crowed behind them. \u201c<i>The Magic Journal and Book of Shadows of Minnie Sulis!<\/i> Oh my God, this is the best&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The lights in the room, which Dame Vaako had never been able to find or make work, suddenly turned on. Beyond the steelglass window, the inner chamber filled with light, too.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat in the hell&#8288;\u2026 <i>fuck!\u201d<\/i> Lola\u2019s eyes had gone wide. \u201cJack! Get out of there!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The huge, thick steel door, Dame Vaako realized, was closing of its own accord.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack lifted her head, startled comprehension filling her face. She leapt to her feet, the journal clutched to her chest, and raced for the door. Too late.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo!\u201d Dame Vaako clawed at the shrinking gap, trying to pull the obdurate door back before she was forced to snatch her hand away.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat the fuck is happening?\u201d Lola demanded, glaring at her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI don\u2019t <i>know!<\/i> I couldn\u2019t ever even get the <i>lights<\/i> to turn on, much less&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The control panel had come to life, its instrumentation lights glittering. She and Lola both turned to look.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGuys?\u201d Jack asked behind the glass. \u201cWhat\u2019s going on?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFuck!\u201d Lola shouted. \u201cDecommissioned my <i>ass!<\/i> The reactor\u2019s restarting!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sick horror pooled in Dame Vaako\u2019s belly as she read one of the screens.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"center-block\"><tt>Core priming, preparing to unshield in 00:04:47 for energy transference<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat have you done?\u201d Lola demanded, grabbing the collar of her dress.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNothing! I swear to you. I never touched the panel. I don\u2019t know what\u2019s <i>hap&#173;pen&#173;ing&#8288;\u2026<\/i>&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The other woman glared at her for a moment before releasing her. \u201cJack? I\u2019m going for help! I\u2019ll be back in just a minute, okay? You,\u201d she added, her tone still bordering on accusatory, \u201cstay with her. Try to figure out a way to shut this thing the <i>fuck<\/i> down.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack had her back to them, still holding the diary to her chest as she stared toward the opposite end of the room, where a heavily shielded column was rising from the floor.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">As Lola\u2019s racing footsteps receded behind her, Dame Vaako turned her attention to the panel, looking for any kind of abort switch, an emergency override button, anything that she could use to <i>turn the damn thing back off<\/i> or at least get Jack out of the room before disaster struck.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Nothing. Not a damned thing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThere <i>has<\/i> to be a failsafe of some kind here,\u201d she yelled at the panel, verging on pressing buttons at random. She didn\u2019t dare do something so risky, but what if&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Gripping the edge of the panel, feeling tears threatening to escape, she closed her eyes and reached out to <i>Him.<\/i> To Tokoloshe. <i>Help me, my Lord, please help me&#8288;\u2026 help your humble servant in her time of desperate need&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><b><i>I hear you, Chantesa. I always hear you. You were betrayed today. You made a mistake. But it will be all right.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>How do I get her out, my Lord?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><b><i>You do not.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>She\u2019ll die! Please, I don\u2019t want her to die!<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><b><i>All of this was foreseen. All of this is necessary. What happens next is necessary, too. You must allow it.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>But my Lord, she\u2019ll die! And the Riddick will <b>kill<\/b> me&#8288;\u2026<\/i> If Lola didn\u2019t first&#8288;\u2026 \u201cOh God&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Tokoloshe, she remembered from the stories her mama had told her when she was small, was unrivaled at vengeance, but sooner or later he always exacted a price. And it was rarely what those who had sought him out had expected to pay. Had he waited, all this time, for her to begin bonding with someone? Or&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s okay, Chantesa,\u201d she heard Jack say from beyond the window. \u201cThis isn\u2019t your fault.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But it was. Somehow it was. Tokoloshe had said she\u2019d made a mistake and been betrayed. And this was the result. What had she done&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Oh&#8288;\u2026 oh no&#8288;\u2026<\/i> She\u2019d been a stupid fool.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJack, I\u2019m so sorry&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d she sobbed, falling to the floor. \u201cIt <i>is<\/i> my fault&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She hadn\u2019t felt this much fear since the day the Necromonger tower had fallen, like a javelin, from the sky above her wedding.<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5921\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5921 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-93\">\u00ab Chapter 93<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5913\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5913 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-95\">Chapter 95 \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=\"95\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5922\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5922 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-94\">\u00ab Chapter 94<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5914\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5914 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-96\">Chapter 96 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"6177\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-6177 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">95.<br\/>\r\n<u>Across the Threshold and Beyond the Veil<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Hang on, Jack! I\u2019m coming!<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick\u2019s voice echoed in her head as the clock counted down. He wouldn\u2019t get there in time. She already knew that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Behind her, she could hear Chantesa sobbing in earnest. She couldn\u2019t look back. Couldn\u2019t say anything else to try to comfort the woman. In a few more seconds, the shielding in front of her would open.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I\u2019ve done this with sound waves. I can do it with radiation, too,<\/i> she told herself. <i>I hope.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack focused on seeing the room on the other side of the threshold. The countdown was in progress over there, too; there was no escape.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Here I go&#8288;\u2026<\/i> she thought, taking a deep breath and holding one hand, the hand not clutching Minnie\u2019s diary to her chest, in front of her to delineate the boundary she wanted to create. A boundary between death and life. She had no idea how long she would be able to maintain it once she started.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I really should\u2019ve eaten something before I came down here&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">If all went well, though, she\u2019d only have to hold out for a few minutes until the others figured out how to shut the system down.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>And how often does all go well around here&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She felt the moment when the first crack in the shielding appeared, felt the first high-energy rays racing toward her&#8288;\u2026 and felt them shifting into Elsewhere as they struck the barrier she was maintaining.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFuck!\u201d she heard Riddick shouting behind her. \u201cJack! I\u2019m gonna get you out of there! What the fuck did you do, Dame Vaako?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt wasn\u2019t her,\u201d Jack managed to grate out, trying <i>not<\/i> to break her focus. Nobody on the other side of the glass would be able to tell what she was doing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>It is time, Audrey,<\/i> Lucy said from somewhere near her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Time for what?<\/i> she asked, feeling the way that the rays were bombarding her boundary and wondering just how much longer she had to keep it in place.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Your hatching. You must let go and let it happen.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Okay, I know they don\u2019t have chemistry and physics classes where you come from and all,<\/i> Jack pointed out, <i>but you gotta know how much damage ionizing radiation would do to my body. I drop this barrier and I\u2019m dead.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>No. This isn\u2019t ionizing radiation.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt just started all on its own,\u201d Dame Vaako was sobbing. \u201cThe controls have always been dead before now. I tried to find an emergency failsafe but there\u2019s nothing&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThings don\u2019t just <i>start all on their own,<\/i>\u201d Riddick growled.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI was right next to her when they did,\u201d Jack heard Lola saying. \u201cShe never touched anything until she started trying to turn the system back off.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Damn it, it was getting harder and harder to con&#173;centrate&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You don\u2019t need to. The energy it\u2019s emitting is safe. Good. Necessary. See?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Lucy skittered through the room, her <i>n<\/i>-shape almost clearly visible, and climbed up the side of the pillar.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat in God\u2019s name is <i>that?\u201d<\/i> she heard Lord Vaako shout behind her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Trust me, little sister. Your six-shape awaits you, and the answers you need. It is time. Let go, and let it touch you.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><b><i>You will not die this day,<\/i><\/b> the Moribund grumbled, sounding disappointed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Or any day soon? Radiation poisoning can take a while! I could\u2019ve sworn this was someone trying to kill me,<\/i> Jack said to them, trying to will herself to let go of the barrier. She couldn\u2019t. She was too scared to drop it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><b><i>It was. It does not know that it offered you life instead of death.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Life? In here?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><b><i>Little creature, I wish I was there in your place.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou and me both,\u201d Jack muttered. She took a deep breath. And then another. And another. What she was about to do still scared the fuck out of her. \u201cBetter be right about this&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She dropped her hand.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Something warm touched her, filled her, blowing her hair gently back from her face.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJack, <i>no!\u201d<\/i> she heard multiple voices shouting at her from beyond the glass&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The room fragmented, reshaping into multiple iterations of itself, all visible to her. One hundred-sixty different versions of the same space, all at once, shifting out of each other\u2019s way as she tried to take them all in. She could feel each frequency, could sense each distinct flavor of the same energy flowing through the isomorphic spaces&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was in all of them, all at once. All of their \u2019verses were part of her. Her five-shape had just expanded to&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Your six-shape. Welcome, sister.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat is this?\u201d she asked, still feeling the energies flowing, dancing around her, penetrating her skin and somehow making her grow even more.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><b><i>This is how we were fed, when we were still caged. The emissions closely replicate those that fed us when we were preparing to hatch.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou were caged <i>here?<\/i> How?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><b><i>It is time. She must know. If she is not strong enough to know now, she never will be. Show her, \u2018Lucy.\u2019 Show her where our names come from.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Come with me, Audrey.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She lifted her hand again, in hundreds\u2014thousands\u2014millions of \u2019verses, and Lucy\u2019s delicate, clawed tarsus touched her finger&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The door to the control room stood open. All was still and quiet. The pillar containing the core had retracted.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTime to feed the beast!\u201d a strange voice called.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack walked through the door. On its other side, a man in his late fifties, dressed in an odd uniform, was slipping a bookmark into his thick novel and setting it aside. A younger man, his clothes obviously expensive, stood in the doorway out to the hall. Neither one seemed aware of her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGot a funny turn of phrase there, Chap,\u201d the older man said. \u201cWe\u2019re just charging up the Isomorph Drive, aren\u2019t we?\u201d He had an accent Jack had never once heard in her travels.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIf you\u2019d met Dr. Kirshbaum, Stefan, you\u2019d call the thing a \u2018beast,\u2019 too.\u201d Chap&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2014&#8288;Chapman Marshal? Was Jack looking at <i>Chapman Marshal?<\/i> He had been dead for more than four centuries&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2014&#8288;walked over to a vacant seat by the control panel and touched several buttons. Behind Jack, the heavy steel door began closing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cCore containment protocols activated,\u201d Stefan said, pressing some buttons of his own. Jack watched each combination, committing all of them to memory. \u201cYou know, the system is something that can be fully automated. You don\u2019t have to come down for every Jump.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI don\u2019t trust it. It was feeding the damned thing way too often for my liking.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Stefan frowned at the erstwhile king of Delubrum. \u201cIt\u2019s an Isomorph Drive. It needs a constant energy supply during Star Jumps, doesn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou have no idea what it is.\u201d Marshal lifted a book he was carrying\u2014the same one, Jack realized, that she still held\u2014and waved it. \u201cMin didn\u2019t either. Thank God Joren was in charge of the expedition and not her.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Stefan shook his head and looked away at the control panel. \u201cReadings indicate a deficit. It\u2019s been getting charged on schedule, hasn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Marshal shrugged. \u201cIt gets enough to eat. It <i>is<\/i> time for our next Star Jump, though. You can feed it as much as it wants.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">On the other side of the steelglass, the core had risen from the floor once more and was unshielding.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cK waves rising to Jump levels,\u201d Stefan said. \u201cDid your friend Joren name <i>everything<\/i> after himself? Kirshbaum waves? Kirshbaumium?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat, wouldn\u2019t you?\u201d Marshal laughed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNaphemil waves? Naphemilium?\u201d Stefan laughed back. \u201cI see your point. Maybe. Could\u2019ve made a nice present for that grandson of mine when he comes out of cryo, if I had that kind of bent. We\u2019ve attained Jump levels&#8288;\u2026 huh.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat is it?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cReadings are odd. After this Jump is over, I want to check the connections to the Isomorph Drive. The system is still registering a power deficit.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDamn thing&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Marshal\u2019s frown was thunderous. \u201cFine. Increase the feed to compensate. Don\u2019t feed it <i>too<\/i> much.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou talk about it like it\u2019s alive,\u201d Stefan observed. \u201cIn a box that size?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMaybe that box is bigger than you think.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAdjusting power levels&#8288;\u2026 finally.\u201d Stefan blew out a breath. \u201cFlow is balancing. We can begin the Jump any time.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A countdown appeared on the control panel.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"center-block\"><tt>Jump to U16 commencing in 00:17:34<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSome time soon, you need to borrow Min\u2019s diary and read it,\u201d Marshal told Stefan. \u201cThen you\u2019d stop treating that box as if it just has circuitry inside it. You\u2019d know it for what it really is.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;the hell does that mean?\u201d Jack asked. She blinked&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2014&#8288;and the message on the panel had changed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"center-block\"><tt>Isomorph Drive active<br\/>\r\nJump length: 43:22:19<br\/>\r\nJump ends in 08:14:12<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Stefan was napping in the chair, alone. The lights on the panel, Jack realized, were changing color, from white to amber, amber to orange, and orange to red, in a swift cascade. The man who was supposed to be watching them had earpieces in and appeared to be oblivious to the warning chimes beginning to sound&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2014&#8288;until the whole room shuddered and he woke, dropping his novel to the floor.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"center-block\"><tt>System Overload<br\/>\r\nIsomorph Drive energy levels exceeding safe maximum<br\/>\r\nAutomatic dampers have failed<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShit!\u201d Stefan began hitting controls.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"center-block\"><tt>Manual shutoff command accepted<br\/>\r\nCore retracting<br\/>\r\n<b>WARNING:<\/b> Shutoff during a Jump is not recommended<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cWhat\u2019s going on down there?\u201d<\/i> a voice demanded over a tinny speaker.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI need to restart the power feed for the Isomorph Drive, Captain,\u201d Stefan said, still flipping switches and pressing buttons. \u201cIt went into overload. I don\u2019t know why.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cRe<b>start?<\/b> Why the hell did you stop it in mid-Jump?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe whole panel went red! An overload of the magnitude I was looking at could have&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The room rocked again as something exploded nearby. Stefan was knocked to the floor.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cWhat the fuck is going on, Naphemil?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat,\u201d Stefan muttered, climbing to his feet. \u201cIt could\u2019ve done <i>that&#8288;\u2026<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He didn\u2019t bother answering his Captain, heading out of the control room at a run. Jack followed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">One door further down the hallway, just past the space occupied by the core, the engine room was a smoking shambles. Debris littered the ground, strange shards and splinters of what looked like stone. Other shards had pierced a variety of panels and cases in the room, starting multiple electrical fires. Stefan grabbed a fire extinguisher off its mounting by the entrance, spraying down panels&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">An earsplitting shriek sounded nearby. He turned toward it&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2014&#8288;and screamed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The creature\u2019s <i>n<\/i>-shape was similar to Lucy\u2019s, Jack thought as it pounced at Stefan. Larger somehow, and growing larger still, shifting from housecat size to tiger size as it leapt, its long, clawed arms reaching for Stefan, raking at him and sending the fire extinguisher spinning across the room. The man fell to the floor with the thing on top of him, still screaming, his flailing hands reaching for any kind of weapon&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2014&#8288;and his questing hand found a large shard of the odd stonelike material. He stabbed upward&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2014&#8288;and now the creature was screaming, its agony filling the air even as it <i>ripped<\/i> something out of Stefan and fell back.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>His four-shape,<\/i> Jack thought, aghast. <i>It pulled out his four-shape&#8288;\u2026 and it\u2019s <b>eating<\/b> it&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">On the ground, Stefan went still, his eyes wide and glazed and his jaw slack, nothing more than an empty shell.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And the creature\u2014the Moribund, Jack realized with absolute certainty\u2014was struggling to free himself from the spear of kirshbaumium piercing him. She could <i>feel<\/i> him trying to shift to a dimension where the spear didn\u2019t exist&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;but the spear existed in <i>every<\/i> dimension. Anywhere the Moribund could go, the spear went with him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNaphemil, what the hell is going on down here&#8288;\u2014&#8288;?&#8288;\u201d Another uniformed man, in his forties, with Captain\u2019s bars, ran into the room. \u201cFuck!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The Moribund pounced again, pinning the captain to a wall, and locked eyes\u2014its thousands against the man\u2019s two\u2014with him. This time, he didn\u2019t pull out the man\u2019s four-shape, but Jack could feel another strange energy exchange happening.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The captain ceased struggling, staring at the eldritch creature pinning him with the look of someone who had found enlightenment. \u201cYes, my Lord&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">As more footsteps approached, the Moribund, still hampered by the spear of kirshbaumium, staggered away from the captain and vanished into the shadows.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cCovu? What\u2019s happening?\u201d Marshal called out as he entered the engine room.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Calmly, casually, Captain Bernard Covu reached down and picked up another shard of stone.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat the hell happened in here?\u201d Marshal demanded. \u201cWhat did that idiot Naphemil do this&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He stopped, hands going to his throat and the yawning, gushing wound that had opened across it. Covu tossed the impromptu blade aside and moved behind Marshal, kicking his legs out from under him. Grabbing Marshal by his hair, he forced the gasping, choking entrepreneur to kneel.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s really not personal, old friend,\u201d Covu murmured. \u201cMy god is hungry, and you know far too much about Him.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The Moribund emerged from the shadows, his movements stiff with pain, to pull Marshal\u2019s four-shape out of his body and devour it. <b><i>More,<\/i><\/b> it rumbled in Covu\u2019s head. <b><i>I need more&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAs you will it,\u201d Covu said. He touched a panel on the wall. \u201cPatricia? Could you come down to the engine room, please?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhy?\u201d Jack asked, looking around. \u201cWhat did they ever do to you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><b><i>You still don\u2019t understand. You see, but you don\u2019t understand. Show her, Lucy. Show her what <u>she<\/u> did.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was in another place. Another engine room, undamaged and quiescent.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou understand the aim of today\u2019s experiment?\u201d a familiar voice asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Irena Kirshbaum, dressed in her ostentatious white, walked into the room, followed by two familiar technicians. The same ones, Jack realized, that she had seen with the envoy in the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation headquarters on Tangier Prime.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Am I on Tangier Prime somehow?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You are everywhere,<\/i> Lucy murmured. <i>But focus on this time and place.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYes, Ma\u2019am. We are attempting to recreate the quantum circumstances of the <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i>\u2019s Level Five Incident, using the <i>Lucy Ricardo.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGood. Then let\u2019s begin.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The two technicians began powering systems on, one of them working near a familiar box. Jack walked over, taking a closer look.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Beneath its metal housing and attached wiring, another <i>apeirochoron<\/i> sat on the counter. A metallic label had been adhered to it:<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"center-block\"><tt>Isomorph Drive Unit. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO OPEN.<br\/>\r\nSN 1287432<br\/>\r\nProperty of the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation<\/tt><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFeeding the coordinate profile to the Jump Drive now,\u201d one of the technicians said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And Jack heard <i>Her<\/i> voice again in her head.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>No&#8288;\u2026 please&#8288;\u2026 you don\u2019t know what you\u2019re asking&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe Isomorph Drive rejected the coordinates,\u201d the technician said after a moment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOverride,\u201d Irena Kirshbaum replied, her voice almost disinterested.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The technician pressed another button and pain lanced through Jack\u2019s head, an inhuman scream filling her ears.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>No, no, no, please no&#8288;\u2026 no&#8288;\u2026 please don\u2019t make me&#8288;\u2026 please&#8288;\u2026 no more&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHas it accepted the instructions?\u201d the envoy asked after a moment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNot yet. Why do you let them reject orders at all?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s a safety mechanism, usually,\u201d Irena said. \u201cRecognizing and rejecting mangled coordinates is important when <i>human<\/i> lives are at stake. But today&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She walked over to the apeirochoron and glared down at it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt needs to <i>do what it\u2019s told.<\/i> Try again.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Another pained, terrified scream. <i>I\u2019ll die, I\u2019ll die, please don\u2019t make me&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">No one seemed to hear it except Jack.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cStill rejecting your command. Do you want me to increase the&#8288;\u2026 incentive?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNot too much. It has work to do, once it cooperates.\u201d The envoy sat back down nearby, watching the technicians as they adjusted controls.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The technician pressed the button a third time. The scream almost tore Jack apart.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Help me&#8288;\u2026 please help me&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And then, in answer, she heard a voice she knew as intimately as her own: <i>I\u2019m here! I\u2019m here! I\u2019m coming! I\u2019ll help you!<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It <i>was<\/i> her own voice, she realized.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">When her larval five-shape, completely detached from its shell except for the slenderest tether, appeared a moment later, she wasn\u2019t at all surprised. She <i>remembered<\/i> this now. Still, how tiny she had been, how incredibly small&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>And yet powerful,<\/i> Lucy murmured, her calm voice so different from the tortured screams of that terrible day. <i>What you did should not have been possible.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Irena and the technicians seemed unaware of her presence in the room, even when she went straight for the apeirochoron.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You approached from the side you call Elsewhere,<\/i> Lucy told her. <i>The Demon might have seen you if you had stayed in U1.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack-that-had-been stared at the box, reaching out toward it as phantom voices murmured encouragement, telling her to break it open, to do it now, that she would be safe&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And Jack felt her own energy flowing toward the tiny five-shape she had once been, encouraging along with the voices of the <i>Apeiros,<\/i> adding to the power that was massing in a small pair of five-dimensional hands&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack-that-had-been <i>shoved<\/i> the box with every bit of will she had, releasing an aggressive, banshee-like scream as she did.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Stone that wasn\u2019t stone cracked, splintered, shivered into dust and vanished into nothing. Ripples spread out, twisting across dimensions, as the apeirochoron broke open, first in one \u2019verse, then in another, and another. In Elsewhere, Jack-that-had-been reached into the space that had contained the box, drawing out&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Lucy.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Lucy had been trapped inside the box.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Lucy had been the Isomorph Drive.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The <i>Apeiros<\/i> clung to her, pained and exhausted, as she drew back. Alarms began to sound in the control room in U1.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s happening again, Ms. Kirshbaum!\u201d one technician shouted. \u201cThe kirshbaumium is breaking down!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">In Elsewhere of the past, Jack and Lucy seemed to be communing, eyes locked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI remember what we did&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d She remembered reaching out, willing the part of the apeirochoron that still existed in U1 to form the connection that Irena Kirshbaum had demanded, linking the Star Jumper itself to the box\u2019s fate&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDear God, we\u2019re about to isomorph!\u201d the other technician shouted.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cEvacuate the ship!\u201d Irena was already racing for the exit, dipping out of U1 into her other, dark universe, the place Jack had never been able to see into&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Until now. Now her not-eyes could follow just fine. She knew where the rest of Irena lived.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The technicians were scrambling for the exit as well, their equipment discarded, shouting for others in the ship to flee.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Behind them, in the engine room, a five-shape manifested in U1, carrying a clinging six-shape on her shoulder, and touched a few controls, opening the energy feeds into the apeirochoron to maximum.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>All the humans have left the ship except you,<\/i> Lucy-that-had-been whispered. <i>The Demon is in flight.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGood,\u201d Jack-that-had-been replied, touching a surface and pulling the ship partway into Elsewhere. \u201cWhen the dissolution wave catches up with U1 and the ship snaps back, she\u2019ll <i>never<\/i> try anything like this again.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>It is a good plan, my sister.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhich ship should we do next?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You cannot. You are almost out of strength.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBut&#8288;\u2026 but I\u2019ve <i>gotta!<\/i> This is why Tomlin <i>died!<\/i> Because one of you is trapped inside <i>every<\/i> Star Jumper! I\u2019ve gotta get you <i>out,<\/i> all of you!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Not today, little one. One day, but not today.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI can\u2019t just sit around and do <i>nothing!\u201d<\/i> Even outside of her shell, her unclad five-shape\u2019s eyes could fill with tears. Now in her six-shape, Jack could feel those tears brimming again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You must. For now. Even your strength has its limits. One day you will be strong enough. We hoped you would be the one. Now we know.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBut\u2014\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Little sister, it is time for you to return to your shell while you still have some strength left. You must rest.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She felt the moment that Lucy had taken control and pulled her back, across the miles and across the \u2019verses, along the tether to her shell where it slept, seemingly comatose, in the <i>ait Meziane<\/i> house.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou were never named after a Beatles song,\u201d Jack said as she watched the ship from five years earlier begin to shiver, shudder, and fragment on a quantum level, in preparation for an implosion still hours away. \u201cRiddick knew. He named you after the ship you\u2019d been <i>slaved<\/i> to. The <i>Lucy Ricardo.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Yes.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDon\u2019t you want a <i>better<\/i> name than that?\u201d An image came to Jack\u2019s mind, from a vid she and her cousins had watched on the sly\u2014one of her dad\u2019s vids that he\u2019d told her never to let her aunts and uncles know she had\u2014where a young woman sat in front of a tombstone, scratching out her father\u2019s slave name, Toby, and writing <i>Kunta Kinte<\/i> beneath it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I have seen your memories of where the name came from. It is a good name.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><b><i>Names are delimiters,<\/i><\/b> the Moribund grumbled.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow did I miss all the clues?\u201d Jack wondered. The last pieces of withheld memory were filtering back in, and suddenly it was all so clear to her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cNow that I\u2019ve experienced the journey to and from Elsewhere, and have seen what you can do and what it costs,\u201d Tomlin had said, the last moment she\u2019d ever seen him alive, \u201cI think I know what the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation is hiding. It\u2019s much worse than we thought&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He had known. His knowledge, his conviction that the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation had to be stopped, had gotten him murdered. But not before he had tried to pass on a warning.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cHe sent me a message telling me that&#8288;\u2026 I don\u2019t even know,\u201d Ewan had told her, radiating distress. \u201cIt didn\u2019t make sense. That we might have to prepare for the end of the Federacy as we knew it, that a monstrous crime was being per&#173;pe&#173;trated&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Because, Jack realized, the Federacy couldn\u2019t exist without faster-than-light space travel, and the technology that permitted it depended on enslaving a whole <i>species&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She saw herself, sitting in <tt>EntertAIn<\/tt>\u2019s complex on the <i>Nephrite Undine<\/i>, searching through <i>Doctor Who<\/i> episodes for the one that she was convinced would somehow explain what had happened on the <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i>, explain what the <i>Apeiros<\/i> were&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;and finding it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She watched herself dissolving into tears as the true nature of the \u201cBeast Below\u201d was unveiled, the star whale that had been enslaved to pilot a massive ship was revealed, sobbing as the voiceover incanted a soft rhyme: <i>this dream must end, this world must know&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;sobbing on the floor of the dojo, again, after feeding power to the <i>Apeiros<\/i> on board the <i>Nephrite Undine<\/i> to keep it from dying of exhaustion when a system error momentarily cut off its energy feed\u2026 having to be forcibly stopped by the other <i>Apeiros<\/i> from going down to the engine room to free it on the spot&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>We took the clues back from you. We had to. Every time you realized, your plan was the same. Free every one of us that you could until you ran out of strength or someone stopped you. But it would not be enough, powerful as you were even then. Did you see the serial number on my cage?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh&#8288;\u2026 my&#8288;\u2026 God&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><b><i>There are millions of us. In Star Jumpers. In courier drones. In the communication systems that the Demons use and that your General Toal has stolen to use, too. Fed just enough energy to allow us to do humans\u2019 bidding, not enough to free ourselves. I tricked Stefan Naphemil into \u201coverfeeding\u201d me and almost managed to escape, but even so, I failed.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>There is a way to free all of us at once. Once you bring your sister back, it will become possible. It must be all at once or the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation will have a chance to activate the kill-switches built into each apeirochoron.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The way, she remembered, they had \u201cdecommissioned\u201d the one on board the <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i> after its occupant had died&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><b><i>The Demons do not know that Lucy has survived, but they have begun to suspect me. And Shirah. They attempted to make us destroy each other.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou\u2019ve been hunting five-shapes, haven\u2019t you? That\u2019s why you\u2019ve been targeting the worlds where other <i>Apeiros<\/i> died in Level Five Incidents. You\u2019re hoping some of the humans from those accidents survived and passed Threshold Syndrome on. So you can <i>eat<\/i> them the way you tried to eat <i>me.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><b><i>Yes.<\/i><\/b> No apology, no guilt, just an acknowledgment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBut the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation always kills them first,\u201d she said, remembering Ewan\u2019s words to her five years before.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cColonization is about control,\u201d he\u2019d told her. \u201cThe concessions and payments that had to be made, by so many societies, to gain access to ships to leave Earth&#8288;\u2026 the treaties they had to sign, the rights they had to sell away&#8288;\u2026 would have been unnecessary if all one had needed to do, to reach a new world, was take a beautiful girl\u2019s hand&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She missed him with burning intensity. What would he have done with this terrible knowledge? Embarked on the same path that had gotten his brother killed? The path that Tomlin had believed could destroy the Federacy itself&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Your Federacy is owned by the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation,<\/i> Lucy said. <i>It cannot exist without it. Or so it believes. Your General Toal has other plans. Once you free us, his only request is that we help in the creation and teaching of more humans like you, who can pilot the ships in our place after being taught how to.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe competition that the Corporation has always been afraid of,\u201d Jack gasped. \u201cThe reason they make sure any human who acquires a five-dimensional shape <i>dies<\/i> as soon as possible.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><b><i>Now you know why we call them the Demons of the Darkness.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>But not the only reason.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe \u2019verse they\u2019re connected to!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>After they stole us from our nest \u2019verse, they lost their gateway to it. They forced one of our brothers to open a new threshold, but he realized what they were after. The energies that sustained us through our metamorphoses there would keep them alive for millennia. He took them somewhere else.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s&#8288;\u2026 feeding them, but&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Jack frowned, concentrating on just what she had felt about that darkness pervading Irena Kirshbaum, hidden behind her too-white veils. \u201cLess and less as time goes on. Like&#8288;\u2026 how addicts can never recapture their first high&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><b><i>They are bound to it. Addicted to it. In another few centuries, they will be consumed by it. But we do not have that much time.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Before then, Joren Kirshbaum\u2019s other invention will destroy every \u2019verse.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cKirsh&#173;baumium&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d The substance that apeirochorons were made of. A substance that existed, simultaneously, in the same isomorphic point of spacetime in every universe, making a box constructed from it inescapable if one was sealed inside, no matter how many \u2019verses one had access to.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Sixteen boxes floating, untethered, high above the sand of Elsewhere\u2019s beach in violation of all logic and physics, because they sat in a third-floor laboratory in U1&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">When she\u2019d lifted the lids, picked up the boxes, it had felt easy. But in other \u2019verses, she had been moving them through solid objects, possibly even <i>living things.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And those boxes were bullets flying through the multiverse as they traveled the Sol Tracks, passing \u201charmlessly\u201d through wormholes in one \u2019verse while crashing through stars, planets, and singularities in others. Millions of faster-than-light bullets, breaking the laws of physics and changing the whole way the multiversal streams flowed, their presence in <i>every \u2019verse<\/i> shutting down alternate outcomes, negating the principles of Kirshbaum\u2019s own Multiverse Cluster Hypothesis as they went&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">No wonder the <i>Apeiros<\/i> been so disgusted by his name when she\u2019d mentioned the hypothesis.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He had unwittingly unleashed his own kind of Infinity Minus One Event onto the whole multiverse, too busy trying to create an unbreakable cage to contemplate what <i>it<\/i> would break in the process.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><b><i>All the kirshbaumium must be destroyed, or the multiverse will collapse in its place.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Until, she realized, only U1 itself would be left, the final stitch in the unraveled scarf.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Even if, in each \u2019verse, only their galaxy failed and died, the hole it created, the void it generated, would begin to pull everything else in. The myriad outcomes still possible in other parts of the \u2019verse would no longer matter when oblivion struck. And it would strike, inevitably, as long as Kirshbaum\u2019s strange substance existed and created immutable points in every \u2019verse.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow do we get to it all?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><b><i>You now have the capacity to reach every point where it resides. And the strength.<\/i><\/b> There was envy and resentment in the Moribund\u2019s voice. <b><i>Your Riddick, and his \u201cFuryan\u201d brothers and sisters from Shirah\u2019s brood, have the energy to power your journey.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Our sister Shirah, when she escaped her bonds, tapped into a \u2019verse with energies even more powerful than existed in our nest. She was building an army that could serve as conduits of that energy for this exact purpose, the brute-force destruction of millions of apeirochorons at once, and was nearly strong enough to challenge the Demons when most of her human children were slaughtered thirty-one years ago.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><b><i>We each had our own ways that we were going to break the control of the Demons of the Darkness,<\/i><\/b> the Moribund grumbled. <b><i>This is now the only one left. But one more thing is necessary.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>She is not a thing. She may be a Kirshbaum, but she is still <b>our<\/b> little larva now.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cKyra,\u201d Jack gasped. Kyra Wittier-Collins. Daughter of Minnie Sulis, n\u00e9e Minerva Kirshbaum-Wittier&#8288;\u2026 <i>Cousin of Joren Kirshbaum&#8288;\u2026<\/i> \u201cWhat will she do?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>They locked the power to open, close, and even destroy the apeirochorons, without requiring massive amounts of energy, to their genetic code. Her genetic code.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBut that was in her <i>shell,<\/i>\u201d Jack protested. \u201cHer corporeal body! You haven\u2019t even told me how I\u2019m supposed to bring her back!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You will. You must. You now have access to not just infinite \u2019verses, but infinite iterations of <b>each<\/b> \u2019verse. You must find the path to bring your sister home.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJust the three of us? Riddick, Kyra, and me? That\u2019s all there is <i>to<\/i> it?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>No. But without you three, none of it will be possible.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She could feel the Moribund\u2019s intense resentment about that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>He never could have done it on his own,<\/i> Lucy whispered to her, and she knew that the Moribund couldn\u2019t hear. <i>The mere possibility of an escape like his, and my sister\u2019s, and even mine, is why the Kirshbaums locked the boxes to their genetic code. And why, when a rogue member of their family reappeared with two children, the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation arranged for their new home to be destroyed.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack was standing in a board room. Both Irena and Colin Kirshbaum were there, along with half a dozen well-dressed men and women and&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cRed Roger\u201d Fiennes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m afraid the outcome is a certainty at this point,\u201d Irena was saying in her genteel Mary Poppins voice. \u201cThe falsified paperwork was uncovered not long ago. Since it was filed two hundred years ago, there is no punishing the perpetrators, but as you are their heirs&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Everyone in the boardroom looked uneasy. Their leader grimaced and spoke up. \u201cWhat\u2019s the likely outcome?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAll as-yet undeveloped land will revert to them,\u201d Irena told him. \u201cAnd you will owe them taxes&#8288;\u2026 two hundred years\u2019 worth&#8288;\u2026 on the developed land. Naming rights will revert and this planet will become New Christy, with the areas you inhabit called the New Dartmouth Territories. The original charter will be in force. It\u2019s likely that the Federacy will exempt you from the religious laws embedded in it&#8288;\u2026 <i>when<\/i> you are inside the New Dartmouth Territories. But you will not be permitted to expand further beyond those territories, and any territory you give up, for any reason, will revert to them in perpetuity.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow is this <i>permissible?\u201d<\/i> one of the men at the table exploded.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYour ancestors rolled the dice two hundred years ago when they landed on a world with an active charter and jumped an existing claim,\u201d Colin pointed out. \u201cThey hoped that the forged changes to the charter would never be questioned and that no one would realize there were still three hundred more years until the world became available again, <i>if<\/i> the <i>New Christy Pilgrim<\/i> never showed up. Not to sound biblical, but these <i>are<\/i> the sins of your fathers coming home to roost.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow long do we have?\u201d A woman at the table asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cA week at most,\u201d Irena said. \u201cThe judgment is about to be passed, and it will go into effect once drones carrying it reach the local relays. After that, the New Christy Pilgrims will be able to spread out from their enclave and <i>you<\/i> will be the ones whose movements are limited.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFuck that,\u201d Fiennes grumbled. He turned to one of his deputies and murmured in the man\u2019s ear. Jack, now beside him if invisible, heard every word. \u201cThey can\u2019t give everything we earned to those wackos if there ain\u2019t any of them left to give it to&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Irena, Jack noticed, glanced his way and suppressed a smile.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFuck,\u201d Jack groaned. \u201cShe engineered the destruction of the entire New Christy colony just to take out Minnie and her kids?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Are you surprised? How many more died in their plot to murder Colonel Tomlin?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><b><i>And how many more of <u>us<\/u> have died in our cages when their demands grew too great for our shells to bear, and even our <u>shapes<\/u> were torn apart by those cages?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">This was the monstrous power that she was up against, Jack realized. She, and Riddick, and Kyra, and whatever forces they could muster among humanity and the <i>Apeiros<\/i>&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;to destroy a shadow government, and the puppet government it controlled, in a way that hopefully didn\u2019t plunge all of humanity into the darkness that its worst demons had risen from.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWell, I always said I wanted to do something meaningful with my life,\u201d she mused. \u201cWhere do we start?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was back in the <i>Basilica,<\/i> standing in the doorway to the control room. Riddick had Dame Vaako pinned to the wall, his hand wrapped around her throat.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Yeah, this is as good a place as any&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5922\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5922 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-94\">\u00ab Chapter 94<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5914\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5914 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-96\">Chapter 96 \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=\"96\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5923\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5923 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-95\">\u00ab Chapter 95<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5915\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5915 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-97\">Chapter 97 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"6180\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-6180 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">96.<br\/>\r\n<u>Let No Creature Put Asunder<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Where is she?<\/i> Riddick demanded from Lucy as he ran. He was aware of footsteps in pursuit of his; from the sound of it, Vaako wasn\u2019t far behind. He heard Toal and Scales fall in as he passed them. The trio of would-be Firsts, insisting on following him into whatever crisis he was dealing with. Damn it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>She is near the engine room of the <\/i>Tenth Crusade<i>, but not in it,<\/i> Lucy told him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Near but not in. Practically on top of the Moribund\u2019s lair but not inside it. Still closer than he liked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>What have you done to her?<\/i> he demanded, letting both <i>Apeiros<\/i> hear him. He was nearly there&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><b><i>We have done nothing. This was set in motion by someone else. <\/i><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cRiddick!\u201d Officer Lola was running toward him along the route he\u2019d planned to take. \u201cJack is in&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTrouble, yeah. Got the memo.\u201d Sometimes he thought it ought to be the girl\u2019s slogan. He charged past Lola; she fell in with the others behind him. <i>Hang on, Jack! I\u2019m coming!<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat can we do to help?\u201d Vaako called from behind him. They were passing the <i>Tenth Crusade<\/i> plaque. Nearly there&#8288;\u2026 nearly&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He saw Dame Vaako first, lying on the floor of what looked like some kind of control room, sobbing. Past her, through a steelglass panel&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFuck!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack had her back to him. She was holding something against her chest with one arm. Her other hand was extended, palm forward, toward an <i>open reactor core.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick jumped over Dame Vaako\u2019s prone body and started punching buttons on the control panel, calling up every shutdown procedure he could remember. And he could remember a hell of a lot of them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJack!\u201d None of the codes were working yet. He tried to keep his voice calm, reassuring. <i>How does she get into all these messes?<\/i> \u201cI\u2019m gonna get you out of there!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThis is my fault,\u201d A female voice hiccupped behind him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat the fuck did you do, Dame Vaako?\u201d He spared a glance back at her. Her husband had his arms around her and was frowning in confusion.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt wasn\u2019t her,\u201d Jack rasped from the other side of the glass. The last time he\u2019d heard her voice sound like that, he\u2019d thought she was mourning Johns\u2019 death when she was really preparing herself for her own.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat happened, Chantesa?\u201d Vaako murmured, stroking his wife\u2019s wet cheek. Scales frowned at them and looked away, moving past them to examine the control panel. Toal moved to another of the panels and began calling up readings.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt just started all on its own,\u201d the Dame sobbed, leaning her head against her husband\u2019s shoulder. \u201cThe controls have always been dead before now.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>What the fuck?<\/i> What was that woman doing, skulking around in the bowels of the <i>Basilica?<\/i> She was lucky the Moribund hadn\u2019t eaten her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI tried to find an emergency failsafe,\u201d she continued, her voice still hitching but increasingly coherent, \u201cbut there\u2019s <i>nothing&#8288;\u2026<\/i>&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She looked genuinely devastated, but she\u2019d run\u2014and tried to run\u2014so many games in the last year that it was impossible for him to believe her tears were real. \u201cThings,\u201d he growled at her, \u201cdon\u2019t just <i>start all on their own.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI was right next to her when they did,\u201d Lola told him, forcing open a cabinet to the side. Behind it, winking lights and meters worked quietly to destroy his universe. \u201cShe never touched anything until she started trying to turn the system back off.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThese readings make no sense,\u201d he heard Toal murmuring to Scales. \u201cOnly two thirds of the radiation monitors in the room are registering anything. The others aren\u2019t dead\u2014they seem to be working\u2014but it\u2019s as if there\u2019s a wall up.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A wall. Jack was isomorphing the radiation away from herself before it could touch her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Clever girl, brilliant girl&#8288;\u2026<\/i> No wonder she wasn\u2019t trying to talk to them. She would need all her focus to do something like that. But how long would she be able to keep it up before she ran out of stamina&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He had to figure out a way to get her out of there before then.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Something flickered in the corner of his eye, a familiar shape he couldn\u2019t look at long. <i>Lucy<\/i> was inside the core chamber with Jack, almost visible, racing across the room and up the core pillar&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat in God\u2019s name is that?\u201d Vaako shouted behind him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick tried to follow her movements with his eyes, tried to see what she was doing, but his visual cortex wouldn\u2019t cooperate. Was she going to try to rescue Jack? Was there a way to reclose the core from inside the chamber?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But the <i>Apeiros<\/i> seemed to simply be <i>perching<\/i> on it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>What the fuck is going on? Lucy? Moribund? You said Jack wouldn\u2019t die!<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><b><i>She won\u2019t. We are busy right now.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Did that fucking thing just <i>shush<\/i> him?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I have just about had enough of your shit&#8288;\u2014<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou and me both,\u201d Jack said on the other side of the glass. For a moment he thought she was agreeing with him. She took several long, deep breaths while around him everyone entered random commands on various panels to try to rescue her. \u201cBetter be right about this&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He watched in horror as she dropped the hand that she\u2019d been holding up.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJack, <i>no!\u201d<\/i> he heard himself\u2014and Lola, and <i>Dame Vaako<\/i>\u2014shouting.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHell,\u201d Toal said beside him. \u201cThose sensors that weren\u2019t picking up radiation all just spiked. Whatever wall was up just&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">On the other side of the glass, Jack, her hair blowing back as if a gust of wind had struck her, reached forward toward the pillar, and toward Lucy. One dark, glittering leg stretched out from the mind-breaking form above the unshielded core, touching Jack\u2019s fingertip and making Riddick think, for a second, of a fucked-up version of a famous painting on the ceiling of Old Earth\u2019s Sistine Chapel, and then&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>\u201cFuck!\u201d<\/i> Riddick slammed his hands against the glass, not understanding what he was seeing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Aside from the unshielded core, the inner chamber was empty.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack and Lucy had vanished.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow is this possible?\u201d Scales gasped beside him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>How the fuck indeed&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?<\/i> Riddick turned around, fists clenched, and stared down at Dame Vaako. \u201cWhy&#8288;\u2026 the <i>fuck&#8288;\u2026<\/i> were you down here with Jack?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The normally imperious woman wiped at her eyes, leaning against her husband. \u201cShe&#8288;\u2026 she was looking for a book. Written by, uh&#8288;\u2026 Minnie something? One of a set of three, and she had the other two. I&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d She sniffled, closing her eyes for a moment. New tears spilled out when she opened them back up. \u201cI used to use this place as a retreat, when I was first brought here.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She rose unsteadily to her feet and walked over to the glass, pointing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI would go in there to commune with our god. Sometimes I brought books with me, too&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">In one corner of the room, where she was pointing, a small lamp glowed beside several pillows, a blanket, and a scattered pile of books.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Not as empty as I thought&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe book she wanted was one I\u2019d brought here. So we came down here to get it.\u201d She closed her eyes again, leaning her forehead against the steelglass. \u201cI don\u2019t understand what happened, how it happened, but&#8288;\u2026 I think it <i>is<\/i> my fault, Riddick&#8288;\u2026 Tokoloshe said I\u2019d made a mistake and been betrayed&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTokoloshe?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOur god,\u201d she half-whimpered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The Moribund was talking to a human? Riddick could have sworn the fucker hated all of humanity. Aside from maybe the Quasi-Dead. And he had let her give him a name? A <i>delimiter?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Not important right now.<\/i> \u201cSo what <i>mistake<\/i> did you make?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Dame Vaako swallowed before turning to look at him. \u201cI visited the Elemental witch today. She was struggling to do even simple things with those chains on and I&#8288;\u2026 I&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Fuckin\u2019 hell.<\/i> \u201cYou thought you\u2019d ask her guards to unchain her.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She nodded.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBecause what trouble could a sweet little old lady who <i>walks through fuckin\u2019 walls like they\u2019re not even there<\/i> get up to?\u201d He didn\u2019t even realize he was moving until his hand was wrapped around the Dame\u2019s neck and he slammed her back against the wall. \u201cI had those chains on her for a <i>reason!\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFor God\u2019s <i>sake<\/i>, Riddick&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d Lola started.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cLord Vaako,\u201d he growled, cutting her off, \u201cgive me one good reason why I shouldn\u2019t snap <i>Chantesa\u2019s<\/i> neck right now.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBecause,\u201d Vaako said quietly, \u201cI love her.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Well, fuck.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSounds like a <i>damn<\/i> good reason to me,\u201d Jack said from somewhere behind him. \u201cPlease let go of my friend, Riddick.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The hand that had been gripping Dame Vaako\u2019s throat suddenly felt numb and weightless. The woman, no longer pinned to the wall, crumpled to the floor, gasping and coughing. Vaako dropped to her side, gathering her into his arms, even before Riddick could make himself turn around. The others, he was aware, were staring, dumbfounded, at&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack. Standing in the outer doorway as if she\u2019d never been trapped in a reactor, looking perfectly normal. She was still holding a large book in one hand.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow are you here?\u201d Toal asked her while he was still struggling to find words. \u201cHow are you <i>alive?<\/i> We all saw you trapped inside the core chamber.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe core isn\u2019t lethal,\u201d she said with a ready smile, as if the commander had asked her how she\u2019d trained for one of her half-marathons. \u201cI guess I needed its energy boost to be able to hatch into my&#8288;\u2014 <i>hey!<\/i> Easy there, big guy!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick had his arms wrapped around her, holding her to him in an embrace that was almost rib-crackingly tight. In that moment, he didn\u2019t know if he\u2019d ever manage to let go again, but he had just enough self-control left to keep from squeezing <i>too<\/i> hard. He was shaking and wasn\u2019t sure if he could find a way to make that stop.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDon\u2019t ever scare me like that again,\u201d he whispered, wishing he had her alone in his room. He needed to explore every inch of her to be sure she was&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNo promises,\u201d she murmured.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Fuck!<\/i> He pulled back, staring down into her face.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Her smile had turned wry and apologetic. \u201cI know what\u2019s going on now. What\u2019s <i>really<\/i> going on. This <i>is<\/i> a war, and I\u2019m gonna have to do some scary shit to help us win it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat war do you speak of?\u201d Vaako asked, still kneeling beside his wife.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack shrugged. \u201cThe war against the Demons&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2014&#8288;of the <i>Darkness,\u201d<\/i> Dame Vaako gasped. \u201cI remember them from my dreams. Dreams Tokoloshe would send me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Toal, Scales, Vaako, <i>and<\/i> Lola all had looks on their faces as though they were trying to recall similar dreams of their own, struggling with a kind of d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah,\u201d Jack continued, seemingly unsurprised by their reactions. \u201cIt\u2019s almost time to take them on. Speaking of which, someone should order a security lockdown of the shuttles in the starboard bay in the next few minutes. All of them, probably, but go with those first. There\u2019s just no telling who might start crawling around in one of them.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Scales gave Riddick a confused and inquiring look.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHell if I know what she means,\u201d he growled, every bit as confused, \u201cbut go see to it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMy Lord,\u201d Scales said with a nod, and hurried out of the room.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cBeen meaning to ask why nobody around here uses comms,\u201d he found himself growling. \u201cSomething against them?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe Quasi-Dead are our comms,\u201d Toal said after giving him a quizzical look. \u201cInstantaneous across the light years, unlike the delayed systems used by this upstart Federacy. And the closer we are to the <i>Basilica<\/i>, the more clearly we can feel our god\u2019s will. What else is needed?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh, I dunno&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d Exasperation flooded through Riddick. <i>I\u2019m supposed to turn a zombie horde into an actual army?<\/i> \u201cTactical updates. Warnings about enemy movements. Fuckin\u2019 <i>small talk with friends.<\/i> You honestly don\u2019t do <i>any<\/i> of that shit?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIf it\u2019s important to us, we pray.\u201d Toal\u2019s voice had taken on a patient tone Riddick remembered from his grade school days. \u201cAnd if it\u2019s important to <i>Him<\/i>, He answers.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Lord and Dame Vaako nodded in solemn agreement. Lola, he was glad to see, was on Team What The Fuck right along with him, concealing her bafflement behind a mostly-convincing deadpan. It was getting tempting to introduce the lot of them to their god right that moment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTo be fair,\u201d Jack said, \u201cit <i>is<\/i> a communication method almost nobody outside of the Armada can eavesdrop on. Or steal.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She slipped out of the loosened circle of his arms and walked over to the control panel, entering commands on its main console. On the other side of the window, the pillar containing the core began to close and lower itself toward the floor.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou know how to work the panel?\u201d he asked, surprised.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI do now, yeah.\u201d She pressed several more controls as the pillar vanished into the floor, and Riddick heard a series of heavy bolts draw back in the metal shield door. It swung slowly open.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIs that safe?\u201d Lola asked behind him. \u201cThat room was just irradiated&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWith \u2018Kirshbaum rays,\u2019\u201d Jack said, turning around and shrugging. \u201cTotally harmless to baseline humans, might even make some of you hatch into your five-shapes if you hang out in them long enough.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI thought this was a nuclear reactor,\u201d Dame Vaako said in a soft voice.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh, it\u2019s designed like one, sure.\u201d Jack grinned. \u201cKirshbaum barely understood what he had here or what it was doing. He just figured out how to make it do what <i>he<\/i> wanted, filed a patent, and slapped his name on it. Riddick, where are the apeirochorons the Moribund\u2019s been collecting?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHow did you&#8288;\u2014&#8288;?&#8288;\u201d He hadn\u2019t told her about that part of the deal; he\u2019d remember if he had.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Figure it out later,<\/i> he told himself.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThere\u2019s a storage room near here. They\u2019re inside.\u201d What did <i>she<\/i> want with them?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGood. Once your guest of honor is tucked away again, we need to bring them here and get them into the chamber. Their occupants are going torpid.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSorry,\u201d Lola cut in. \u201cWhat are you two talking about?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s a long story,\u201d Jack said even as Riddick drew a breath. \u201cI\u2019m still piecing it all together. Got a whole lot of new stuff in my head.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She\u2019d only been gone a minute or two. What the fuck&#8288;\u2026&#8288;? \u201cWhere did you go, Jack? When you vanished from the core containment chamber. Where were you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAt first it wasn\u2019t a where,\u201d she told him. \u201cIt was a <i>when.<\/i> About four hundred-twenty years ago in this very room. I got to see how everything began. Went a few other places after that.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cTime travel?\u201d Lola asked. \u201cYou\u2019re talking about time travel here.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack shrugged. \u201cI can move in six dimensions now, and time\u2019s the fourth. Just gotta be careful with that one. It\u2019s where most of the bifurcations happen. When they can, anymore.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There was a weird, ominous note in her words. He opened his mouth to ask&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMy Lord.\u201d A Necromonger soldier had appeared in the doorway. \u201cCommander Scales reports that the Elemental, Aereon, has been captured while attempting to steal and launch one of the shuttles in the starboard bay. He is returning her to her assigned quarters and wanted me to tell you that he\u2019s having the chains put back on her.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Jack knew. Huh.<\/i> He spared her a quizzical glance before answering the soldier. \u201cTell him thank you, and good work.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYes, My Lord.\u201d The man bowed and departed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cComms. I\u2019m telling you.\u201d He looked around at the others. \u201cThat could have been a <i>comm call,<\/i> not some soldier walking across the whole ship to talk to me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIf you accepted our god into your heart,\u201d Dame Vaako said with pious solemnity, \u201cHe would be your \u2018comms.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>That how it works, Moribund? You carrying messages for your Armada?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He could <i>feel<\/i> the creature\u2019s offended outrage. <b><i>They are my servants. I inform them of how to serve me. I am no courier they can whistle for at will.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Seems like you have a more personal connection to Dame Vaako here.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Apparently, it was possible to growl telepathically. Jack looked like she was suppressing laughter.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI suddenly feel as though,\u201d Toal said, \u201canointed by our god or not, He finds you quite&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2014&#8288;annoying,\u201d the Vaakos joined him in saying.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Now that was just spooky. But he guessed it proved their point. <i>Might also explain a little why Dame Vaako could pull some of the stunts she has, if the Moribund\u2019s made a favorite pet of her&#8288;\u2026 heh. Creature\u2019s Pet.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Fortunately, the Moribund apparently hadn\u2019t heard that last bit.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe should probably get back to the newer parts of the Basilica,\u201d Jack said, audibly still struggling not to laugh. \u201cChantesa, would you like any of your old things from inside the chamber? It\u2019s going to start being closed up most of the time soon.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI would.\u201d Dame Vaako climbed to her feet. The expression she turned on Jack seemed genuinely warm. \u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Vaako glanced between the two women, looking as surprised as Riddick felt. Whatever had happened, it seemed like the Dame and Jack genuinely considered each other friends.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Shouldn\u2019t be so surprised, I guess. Jack\u2019ll make friends with anything that\u2019ll let her. Even eldritch horrors and Lady MacBeth&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Lord Vaako ended up carrying the small lamp and a pile of books, while Dame Vaako carried pillows and blankets as they left the bowels of the <i>Tenth Crusade<\/i> for the rest of the <i>Basilica.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou never told me about your retreat,\u201d Vaako murmured to his wife as they brought up the group\u2019s rear.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI didn\u2019t need a retreat,\u201d Dame Vaako answered, \u201cafter you saved me from Lord Vath.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo you <i>did<\/i> need saving, but not from a heretic.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cNot a heretic, no,\u201d Dame Vaako told him, her voice dropping. \u201cJust a monster.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAh.\u201d Vaako was silent for a moment as they walked. \u201cHad you told me that, at the time, I might have fought twice as hard for your sake.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI didn\u2019t know that about you back then, or I would have.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Beside Riddick, Jack had a pleased smile on her face.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The Vaakos turned off at the hallway to their quarters, Toal formally excusing himself a moment later. Riddick found himself surprised\u2014and then wondering why he was at all surprised\u2014when he saw the tables of discards set up outside his suite, the Ennead Kids picking through their contents while discussing dance moves and rehearsing snatches of song.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>They<\/i> were supposed to be a surprise, though. He glanced over at Jack.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThey did <i>try<\/i> to be discreet,\u201d she told him, still looking amused and not at all like someone who had almost been killed just a short while before. \u201cBut I think you forgot I\u2019d hear their thoughts even if I couldn\u2019t hear them singing. Thank you, though. It\u2019s so good to see them again. And get to know them better, the way I always wanted to.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGonna need a moment alone with Jack,\u201d he grumbled to Lola as they reached the doors to his\u2014well, his and Jack\u2019s\u2014suite.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYes, Sir. I\u2019ll be near if you need me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Sir. I\u2019m a fuckin\u2019 <b>Sir<\/b>&#8288;\u2026<\/i> As if \u201cmy Lord\u201d and \u201cmy Liege\u201d hadn\u2019t already been bad <i>enough&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Things had changed inside the suite, too, he saw. Someone\u2014undoubtedly Jack\u2014had set up the outer room as a <i>lounge.<\/i> His desk was unmolested, his armor still piled on its top, but it was surrounded by groupings of chairs, tables, lamps, and sofas, different areas for conversation and even dining. As much as he didn\u2019t want to admit it, it looked fuckin\u2019 <i>cozy<\/i>. Especially with the torture statue and the gruesome wall hangings long gone.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He could already see the spot that Jack had begun to nest in: one of the fancy teapots he\u2019d seen in her memories of New Marrakesh sat on a low table beside an ornate, matching glass. The chaise next to it had a throw blanket draped across its bottom and two books leaning against its side. It was positioned to give its occupant a clear view of the room and everyone in it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo,\u201d he made himself say in a calm voice, \u201cwhat have you been up to since I went off, aside from&#8288;\u2026 hatching?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack walked over to the chaise and put her new book down with the other two. \u201cAnd aside from the mess outside? Reading, mostly. Minnie Sulis\u2019s autobiographies. I knew something was up with them, but I kept forgetting that she wasn\u2019t just a Kirshbaum, but <i>Joren<\/i> Kirshbaum\u2019s first cousin. I think\u2014and maybe her diary will confirm it\u2014I think she was the one who figured out how to access other \u2019verses. She had a lot of power.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd now your big mystery\u2019s solved?\u201d The whole time, he thought, the <i>Apeiros<\/i> had been suppressing her ability to put the clues together, but not <i>his<\/i> when he watched her memories. Aside from the blank spaces in those memories that he hadn\u2019t been able to see into, either.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah. Got a plan, too, of a kind&#8288;\u2026 it\u2019s gonna take a lot of work, and more time than I\u2019d like, but I can <i>see<\/i> a way through it.\u201d She turned to him, the wry smile back on her face. \u201cThey were right, though. Before my hatching, when I couldn\u2019t understand what\u2019s really needed, much less <i>do<\/i> it yet&#8288;\u2026 there was no way I would have been able to be patient. Now, though&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThis plan,\u201d he found himself growling. \u201cYou gonna live through it?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAll the way to the end,\u201d she told him. \u201cI have to.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd after?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She shrugged.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>God <b>damn<\/b> it&#8288;\u2026<\/i> \u201cYou don\u2019t have plans for after?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI can\u2019t see that far,\u201d she told him. \u201cAll the alternate pathways collapse to that point. On the other side, everything opens back out again. I don\u2019t know where we\u2019ll end up after that.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Why did he suddenly feel like he was losing her? Like he\u2019d already <i>lost<\/i> her, somehow? She was right in front of him, and yet&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo,\u201d she broke in on his thoughts, \u201cIs the position of \u2018Dame Riddick\u2019 still one you want me to fill? \u2019Cause I\u2019m in.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">An even mixture of confusion and relief flowed over him. He crossed the remaining distance between them and pulled her into his arms for a devouring kiss. Maybe he shouldn\u2019t have tried talking about this at all.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They\u2019d have to talk eventually, he silently admitted as he carried her into the bedroom to begin the inch-by-inch exploration of her body he\u2019d wanted to conduct since she\u2019d first reappeared. These \u2019verse-shaking matters were things that couldn\u2019t be left unarticulated. But for the moment, he needed to forget that words existed, that worlds existed&#8288;\u2026 that anything existed except her, the taste of her mouth and skin and most sensitive flesh&#8288;\u2026 the exquisite feeling of being buried deep inside her&#8288;\u2026 the way her body clutched at his as he brought her to her release&#8288;\u2026 and the pure trust in her face, eyes, and mind as he lost himself in her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He\u2019d already had too much taken from him, almost everything. He couldn\u2019t lose her, too.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">As much as he\u2019d managed to be a lone wolf for years, he realized as he shuddered against her and emptied himself within her depths, he couldn\u2019t be that anymore. He\u2019d let every \u2019verse in creation fall before he allowed anything to take her away from him again.<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5923\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5923 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-95\">\u00ab Chapter 95<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"5915\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5915 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-97\">Chapter 97 \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=\"97\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5924\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5924 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-96\">\u00ab Chapter 96<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4124\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4124 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#afterword\">Afterword \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"6183\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-6183 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\">97.<br\/>\r\n <u>The Rise of Dame Riddick<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s okay,\u201d Kyra told Jack as they sat by the stream, watching Elodie play. \u201cI understand. He was yours first, anyway.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Somehow that just made Jack feel even more guilty.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou understand, huh?\u201d Jack asked. \u201cI\u2019m not sure <i>I<\/i> do yet. I\u2019m getting <i>married<\/i> in the morning and part of me is like&#8288;\u2026 what the hell just happened here?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra laughed and shook her head. \u201cIt\u2019s not that complicated. He\u2019s like <i>me.<\/i> Mostly stays away from connections to other people, but when one forms&#8288;\u2026 it\u2019s <i>everything.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack had to admit that made sense. \u201cStill&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m <i>not<\/i> upset, Jack. I barely knew him. Most of what I thought I knew came from you, so&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d She shrugged. \u201cIt was more a bond with you than him. In reality, I only really knew him for about a day.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m not all <i>that<\/i> far ahead of you, though. Realtime, not just thinking about him or imagining him, I\u2019ve known him for maybe two weeks.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cLonger than you actually knew either of your other Great Crushes, though,\u201d Kyra pointed out, a wicked sparkle in her eyes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHey! Not fair,\u201d Jack laughed. \u201cIt\u2019s just&#8288;\u2026 all happening so fast.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt\u2019s been building for centuries.\u201d Kyra looked out across the woodland field.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was, Jack knew, a place that neither of them had ever been to or imagined. But her new, extended senses had allowed her to bring them there, to the rustic cabin where Michael was hiding her mom and little sister. They stood on the other side of a threshold, unseen observers with no actual physicality, but it was comforting to see that Elodie was safe and well.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI remember Joren,\u201d Kyra continued after a reflective moment. \u201cHe talked, a <i>lot<\/i>, about the importance of doing great things for humanity. You ever notice how <i>great<\/i> things are hardly ever <i>good<\/i> things? He set this all in motion. And now here we are, four hundred-some-odd years later, and time\u2019s running out. <i>Everything\u2019s<\/i> fast now. Or, at least, out there it is.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAnd in here? How are you holding up?\u201d It was something she worried about, even if the <i>Apeiros<\/i> kept telling her that Kyra was safe and even beginning to thrive in their care.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m a mind without a body,\u201d Kyra said with a soft laugh. \u201cTime moves differently for me, maybe. I\u2019m not even sure.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m working on that,\u201d Jack sighed. \u201cGotta get the parameters just right to call up just the right \u2019verse&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFor a <i>body?<\/i>\u201d Kyra might not have one for the moment, but she could still raise an imaginary eyebrow. \u201cWhat are the parameters you\u2019re using?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWell, it\u2019s gotta be you,\u201d Jack told her. \u201cI mean, one of your analogues in the U1 cluster, same genetics, same overall string vibrations, so you still have a connection to the Kirshbaum mojo. I couldn\u2019t access those until now, but now&#8288;\u2026 I\u2019m looking for a stream where you\u2019re <i>physically<\/i> healthy, and roughly the same age you were when you died, but somehow don\u2019t have a four-shape or five-shape attached to your shell anymore.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo me, but brain-dead?\u201d Kyra asked. \u201cGot it. Can I add a parameter?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAbsolutely.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cA me who never went through the shit I did. Physically, I mean. I know all your schooling, and that book you love so much, talk about how virginity is a <i>social construct<\/i>, but I want mine the fuck back so I can \u2018lose\u2019 it on <i>my<\/i> terms. If you\u2019re shopping for a Kyra body out in the multiverse, find me one where that\u2019s true.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI think I can do that,\u201d Jack said after a moment\u2019s thought. It was a complicated order, but not impossible. Maybe a Kyra who had never actually left Earth? \u201cAre you asking the <i>Apeiros<\/i> for some selective editing of your memories?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWe\u2019ve talked about it, yeah,\u201d Kyra said. \u201cI want to know what happened to me, but I don\u2019t want to remember it happening. It\u2019s funny, though. They say that kind of stuff spreads out into other memories, too&#8288;\u2026 we\u2019ve been experimenting with how it would affect them. Haven\u2019t quite hit on the right combo yet, if you need me to still be&#8288;\u2026 well, <i>me.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDon\u2019t know I\u2019d want you to be anybody else,\u201d Jack told her, wishing that they could hug for real rather than just simulate it in the non-physical world of the mind.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Kyra must have caught the wish. \u201cOne day soon. There\u2019ll be nothing the two of us can\u2019t take down together.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They\u2019d get to put that to the test soon, Jack was about to say, when she felt a mouth against the skin of her throat.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGotta go,\u201d she told her sister. \u201cHe\u2019s waking up. I\u2019ll come back soon, I promise.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cEnjoy,\u201d Kyra said, a hint of wistfulness in her voice before she vanished. The cabin and Elodie faded away as well.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack opened her eyes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was surrounded by darkness. Riddick\u2019s world. She could vaguely make out the vaulted ceiling of their bedroom above her. The Lord Marshal\u2019s bed chamber was luxurious, with a plush mattress and silky sheets\u2014apparently neither Riddick nor the man he\u2019d ousted had extended their asceticism to their sleeping arrangements\u2014but those sheets had been pushed to the side hours earlier. Riddick had been voracious in the wake of her hatching, maybe because he\u2019d perceived it instead as her near-death. It appeared his ardor was returning.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He was nuzzling her throat, his hands moving over her skin. She tilted her head back, giving him better access, and began stroking his shoulders and arms. His shields were still too strong for her to pick up much of what he was thinking and feeling, but she <i>was<\/i> picking up a sense that he needed to reassure himself, yet again, that she was unharmed and hadn\u2019t been taken from him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She could definitely help with that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It only took a few gentle nudges to get him to bring his mouth to hers. The hunger in his kiss was almost intimidating, but she could feel that same shadow of loss and grief behind it. He needed to know that she was safe, and safely <i>his<\/i>. That he hadn\u2019t lost everything and everyone.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Shifting her position a little, she reached down and guided him inside her, tangling her legs with his. He groaned into her mouth as he filled her. For a moment, he went still, buried in her and holding her close.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He broke the kiss, lifting his head a little so she could see the mercury gleam of his eyes. \u201cJack&#8288;\u2026 need you to promise me&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Uh oh&#8288;\u2026<\/i> She kept her thought shielded from him, though, reaching up to stroke his cheek. \u201cPromise you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cPromise you\u2019ll stay&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The future shattered around them, infinite tiny variations on things to come. For an instant, in one fragment, she glimpsed him holding her hand, pain and nascent grief in his face as he hovered above her. <i>\u201cFuck, Jack, why\u2019d it have to be you&#8288;\u2026&#8288;?&#8288;\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was a glimpse through the eye of the needle, she realized, her first glimpse of what might lie on the other side. If they threaded the needle successfully, managing to follow the one path that <i>could<\/i> have a future on the other side, that might be what waited for them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Can\u2019t look that far ahead,<\/i> she warned herself. <i>We\u2019re all dead if we don\u2019t thread the needle. Whatever\u2019s on the other side will be a better fate than that, anyway&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But Riddick was still waiting for her. For her promise. What promise could she safely give him, knowing what was to come?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019ll always be with you,\u201d she murmured, and felt him flinch.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <hr\/>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It took a long time to soothe him, and she wasn\u2019t sure she really did. By the time they were spent, \u201cmorning\u201d had arrived on the <i>Basilica<\/i> and the sounds of activity in the corridor outside their rooms had begun to filter in. Riddick rose, hints of agitation still swirling around him, and disappeared into the massive bathroom for a few moments before emerging again, showered and dressed. He kissed her hungrily, gazing down at her with an expression that suggested he was struggling against the impulse to demand another promise from her, before his customary deadpan and smirk settled into place.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m gonna go make sure everything\u2019s ready,\u201d he told her. \u201cDon\u2019t sleep in too long.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019ll get up,\u201d she laughed, hoping she didn\u2019t sound nervous, \u201csoon as I can remember how to walk.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That got a genuine chuckle out of him. He was gone a moment later, his armor still piled on his desk in the outer room.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Well, at least he no longer feels like he has to have it on all the time, right?<\/i> She sat up in bed, groaning. \u201cLucy? You around?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I am here, sister.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIs he okay? He doesn\u2019t let me hear what he\u2019s thinking.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>He believes you were in danger of death yesterday. It didn\u2019t help that he had only just experienced Kyra\u2019s death from her perspective, courtesy of my brother\u2019s vessels.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh.\u201d That definitely explained his need to hold onto her so tightly. His need for promises. Maybe it even explained this wedding business&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Are you uncertain?<\/i> There was a hint of worry in Lucy\u2019s mental voice.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI dunno&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d Jack stopped herself, struggling not to laugh. \u201cI mean, I guess that means I <i>am<\/i> uncertain. You said that marrying him has no effect on the outcome of the war. Are you sure about that? He seems to need it a whole <i>lot.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She climbed out of bed as she talked to her sister, padding into the bathroom. She would shower, clear her head, maybe catch up with Vanessa, Poly, and Lola for a little while&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There was something different about the rooms, she suddenly thought as she turned on the water for her shower head.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I have studied the streams. Marrying him neither prevents nor ensures the successful \u201cthreading\u201d of the \u201cneedle,\u201d as you have taken to thinking of it. Bringing Kyra back supersedes it in every way.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIt doesn\u2019t even affect <i>his<\/i> commitment to the plan?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>It does not.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo,\u201d Jack concluded after a moment as she washed her hair, \u201cI\u2019m not doing it for the whole multiverse-saving thing. I\u2019m doing it because he needs it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>This is where I grow concerned, little sister. What do <b>you<\/b> need?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShit. I don\u2019t know,\u201d Jack groaned, leaning her head back into the water stream to rinse her hair. \u201cA quiet life. Quiet<i>er.<\/i> I wanted to study sociology and linguistics at Khair Eddine University, maybe even&#8288;\u2014&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She couldn\u2019t talk about that, couldn\u2019t think about that, didn\u2019t dare articulate it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201c&#8288;\u2026&#8288;teach one or both of those subjects one day, myself,\u201d she continued after a pause spent soaping up. \u201cGo exploring. Find new people and new creatures and get to know them. Watch Elodie grow up and make sure she can do and be anything she wants. Talk to my cats. Be one of Toal\u2019s independent Operatives. Run around the galaxy with Kyra. Rescue Riddick <i>back<\/i> after all the times he rescued me. None of it fits together anyway.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Is that last one what you\u2019re trying to do now?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMaybe. I don\u2019t know. I <i>love<\/i> him&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d She turned into the water stream again, rinsing off. \u201cIt just still feels so fast. But last night and this morning, I could also feel how&#8288;\u2026 scared of losing me he is. I don\u2019t know what to do about that.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Except for binding yourself to him in this way.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI guess.\u201d Jack reached for the water valve and stopped, frowning. \u201cI keep having this weird feeling that something\u2019s watching me. I mean, aside from you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You <b>are<\/b> six-dimensional now,<\/i> Lucy reminded her. <i>You had noticed before that this ship is straddling two thresholds and exists in three \u2019verses. There was one you couldn\u2019t touch before now, but now you can.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That was right; the activities of the last few days had pushed that to the side. Jack focused, concentrating on her strange new awarenesses, and put her hand into the stream of water still flowing from the shower. It was touching her, flowing in U1&#8288;\u2026 but where else? She let her senses follow the water&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;and, with a delighted gasp, let her body follow.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was, and wasn\u2019t, the same room. She found herself hopping as she crossed the threshold, her feet coming down on wet, mossy turf that raised the ground level by a few inches. The walls of the shower room still surrounded her, but&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She was in a garden.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Around her, in a semi-orderly tangle, bushes and vines grew, blossoms adorning them. One bush rustled and a small head poked out, black eyes like shining beads peering at her. A mouse? Something buzzed past and she turned her head, focusing on a little bird, its plumage brilliant yellow, that passed fearlessly close to her and darted through the shower stream.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Other birds perched in the area, watching her with suspicion and looking with longing at the stream of water.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>What is this place?<\/i> Jack asked Lucy as she stepped aside. Immediately a dozen birds mobbed the artificial waterfall, flapping their wings as they bathed beneath it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>As I understand it, the Moribund attempted to make the <\/i>Tenth Crusade<i> straddle the entire U1 cluster, but he did not have the strength. He did, however, manage to connect the ship to both U1 and what I suppose you might call U1a. His test of that connection was to release the plants and animals that had been stored for the ship\u2019s arrival at Delubrum, but only in U1a. The entire ship is naturalized by them&#8288;\u2026 but, again, only in this \u2019verse. As his vessels grow more connected to him, they begin to be able to see it. Most of them take it as proof of the existence of their Underverse.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack left her shower running for the birds and ventured back into the large bathroom area. A huge hummock of vegetation marked the location of the statue she\u2019d evicted from U1. Some of its leaves were browning.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cShit, when I moved the statues partly into Wonderland, I froze the plants growing on them here, didn\u2019t I?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>They will recover.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAre all the ships in the Armada like this?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>The ones manufactured with the construction equipment and supplies that had been on board the <\/i>Tenth Crusade<i>, yes. The rest exist only in U1. If you do, indeed, need to hide children from those who were too enthused by Zhylaw\u2019s crusade against them, you could do so here.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Aside from the frostbite she\u2019d inadvertently inflicted on a few of the vines, the place seemed almost Edenic. \u201cIs there food here?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Many of the plants that were sown throughout the ship were intended for agriculture. And there are many of the original food synthesis machines here. My brother removed them from U1 altogether, once he wished his vessels to become raiders who relied on the resources they plundered rather than things they could make for themselves. I have discussed this with him, and he has agreed to permit humans to occupy this \u2019verse. Human children, at least.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhy couldn\u2019t I come here before?\u201d Jack focused for a moment, by the table she had claimed as her own, and pulled her towel and comb through from U1.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>It is part of the U1 cluster. A minor variant upon the world you know. To consciously navigate the variants within a universe\u2019s flow cluster, you must have a six-shape, not just a five-shape, or you will get lost. The way a handful of the Demons did, to their misfortune, when <b>they<\/b> were exposed to so-called Kirshbaum rays.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack nodded, setting the comb back down in U1 and walking over to the closet she had taken over. She could feel the subtle differences between the two versions of the \u2019verse, and was certain she could tell them apart and move between them, but if the Demons had only been two \u2019verses wide when they encountered the \u201cK-rays,\u201d they might have swiftly vanished from their originating \u2019verse and been unable to find their way back from one of its variants.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThis is important, isn\u2019t it?\u201d she asked Lucy. \u201cBeing able to feel the different streams in the cluster. I\u2019m gonna need to make sure that the main U1 stream stays on the course that\u2019ll let us thread the needle.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Yes. And you will need to pay attention to which courses of action unravel the variants in the stream. And they are unraveling.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAlready?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Since the day the first apeirochoron was made. Whole branches of the cluster died that day, and most of the branches created since then have been increasingly limited in how they could form. Joren Kirshbaum stole infinity from the multiverse and locked it into a box.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMore like Pandora\u2019s box than I realized,\u201d Jack muttered, drawing her chosen outfit from U1 to&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Fuck it. Eden it is.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She hadn\u2019t put names on many of the \u2019verses she had access to, but if the shoe fit&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">There were abundant signs that the plants and animals had adjusted their habits to deal with the way that things were moved around, and doors were opened and closed, in the suite. Jack was amused to realize that the mattress and sheets currently on the bed must have been looted in the centuries since; in Eden, the bedframe was empty and filled with a raspberry patch&#8288;\u2026 and what appeared to be a small cherry tree.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A few of the raspberries were ripe and hadn\u2019t yet been eaten by wildlife. They tasted wonderful.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI\u2019m gonna need to set aside some time to explore this whole place,\u201d she told Lucy. \u201cFind those food machines you mentioned&#8288;\u2026 make sure they work&#8288;\u2026 and make sure there are good places for any kids the Necros bring back to use as rooms. That are actually comfortable. Can\u2019t have them sleeping on raspberry patches.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Do not get too distracted by the children. The battle will soon be joined.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI know.\u201d She groaned. \u201cI need to get back to U1, don\u2019t I?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Perhaps not quite yet.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Come with me.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She could see Lucy, almost, her eyes catching glimpses of a shadow here, a leg there, the sparkle of eyes&#8288;\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOkay,\u201d Jack said, following her out of the suite.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWeird,\u201d she heard Nichelle of the Ennead Kids say on the other side of the threshold. \u201cDid you just see that door open and close on its own?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cOh, like you don\u2019 already know we livin\u2019 on a haunted ship,\u201d Malik retorted with a snort.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Jack found herself struggling to contain <i>her<\/i> laughter, wondering if they might hear her across the threshold.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You like them a great deal,<\/i> Lucy observed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYou bet I do. Wish I\u2019d had friends like them when I was back in school in Settlement Point.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>You were very lonely then.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah. I keep wishing I\u2019d just said <i>fuck it<\/i> to all the overcautious bullshit and brought Kyra back there with me. Maybe when MilitAIre caught me out, his plans for keeping me safe and my secrets hidden could\u2019ve included her. And then she\u2019d never have gotten hurt again. Let alone killed.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Perhaps not. But then what would have drawn Riddick into battle against Zhylaw, to break his power? This war cannot be won without Riddick, because it cannot be won without the Necromongers and the Furyans standing together against the Demons of the Darkness.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI hate it when the best possible outcome is so fucking brutal,\u201d Jack muttered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>When the war is won, all possible outcomes will be able to manifest again. Every possibility will play out in some \u2019verse. The sorrow will be balanced by the joy. For every \u2019verse where something has gone wrong, there will be another where it has gone right. The true nature of infinity will unfold again, there will always be one more \u2019verse where things can go a different way.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIs that what we\u2019re fighting for?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Part of it.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was an alluring thought. If she succeeded in threading the needle, following the one path that could break the power of the Kirshbaum dynasty and annihilate the substance used to make apeirochorons, wherever it was found&#8288;\u2026 worlds could bloom again. Other possibilities could unfold. A girl named Audrey MacNamera could grow up somewhere peaceful, maybe follow a dream of scholarship to a beautiful new world and the arms of&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThere is always one more \u2019verse,\u201d she whispered to herself. It was as close as she could come to a promise.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Lucy, she realized, was leading her toward the throne room.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIs that what the afterlife really is?\u201d she found herself asking after a moment. \u201cOur four-shapes, or five- or six-shapes, disconnect from our shells and connect up with all the other \u2019verses we exist in? We get the chance to live out our days in other ways?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Perhaps. Or perhaps, in time, you become aware enough of those other lives that your consciousness moves past them to the shape that is formed by their totality, and you hatch into the next shape yet.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cIs that what happened to you and the other <i>Apeiros<\/i>?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Yes. And no. We are still bounded by shells. Most of us. Shirah surrendered her shell centuries ago and is carried in the shells of her children. They bear her name in turn. She does not feed on them the way&#8288;\u2014<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Lucy stopped, and Jack could swear she saw a shiver pass over her sister\u2019s n-shape.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThe way the Moribund pulls energy from the Necromongers?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Yes. <b>She<\/b> feeds her <b>children<\/b> power, instead, and strengthens them so that they can bear and wield it. Those who can wield the most are candidates to become the next Lord or Lady Shirah and have their five-shapes merged with her six-shape to continue on with her forever.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo it\u2019s symbiotic instead of parasitic?\u201d Jack nodded. She remembered Lucy calling Michael a <i>lightbearer,<\/i> and the power he\u2019d blasted into her to save her life had felt strangely intimate. \u201cWhen the <i>Apeiros<\/i> aboard the <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i> died, what did she do to us? You said something, a while back, about seeding yourselves into others at death. Is that what she did?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Yes. And no. Her six-shape was trapped inside the apeirochoron. No part of herself could escape, except the \u2026\u201cesper\u201d&#8288;\u2026 part that each of us has, that can use the wiring and communication system embedded in each box to reach out to each other and stay in contact. The part we used to make contact with you, when we felt you moving ships during your great battle. All that <b>she<\/b> could do was hatch you into your five-shapes by making the ship straddle two \u2019verses&#8288;\u2026 and whisper into your minds a little at her end, hoping some of you would hear her and understand. As you and Kyra did. As the smallest of the others on board, Lailah, Abdul, and Farida, now do. Those three were still so close to their own hatchings that they are learning quickly. Had my sister been free of her box when she died, she could have seeded all of you with far more power than that.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The throne room, as Jack followed Lucy into it, had been transformed. The writhing ugliness that she had seen when she\u2019d been brought before Riddick, with its spiked pillars and statues depicting suffering, was hidden beneath heaps of vegetation. Vines climbed from level to level, garlanding the formerly stark room with blossoms. Birds and insects flew between the flowers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cDoes the Moribund like how the ship looks on this side?\u201d Jack found herself gasping. \u201cBecause it\u2019s <i>beautiful.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>He does. And he is aware that you have paid him a compliment and is&#8288;\u2026 disgruntled about it.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSo that\u2019s all there is to it?\u201d she heard Riddick asking. It pulled her away from her questions about the Moribund as she focused on him instead.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He was sitting on the throne, his three top officers standing near him. Vaako, Toal, and Scales, she recalled. Toal looked like a younger and slimmer version of his father. All three men seemed to have relaxed around Riddick, some of the formality they\u2019d shown him previously falling away.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThat\u2019s as much as any Lord Marshal has ever done or said, yes,\u201d Toal said, smiling. \u201cThere are no vows, either way, other than the promise to keep her as your own until Underverse Come.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cMy older brother was preparing to get married when the Armada arrived on Sunna Prime,\u201d Scales told the group. \u201cAfter seeing what he had to deal with, getting ready for that\u2014hall rentals! Meal tastings! Picking out <i>invitations<\/i> and arguing over which guests would sit where, ye <i>gods!<\/i>\u2014I am rather glad that it\u2019s so much simpler here.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cSimpler, yeah,\u201d Riddick mused. \u201cBut is it strong enough?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat man could ever take her from you?\u201d Vaako asked, frowning and cocking his head.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI can think of <i>three,<\/i>\u201d Riddick grumbled.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWho?\u201d Toal bristled on his behalf.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cFirst,\u201d Riddick said after a moment, \u201cher father. John MacNamera. Doubt he\u2019d take kindly to his daughter being involved with someone like me. Second, her C.O.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Toal started, looking surprised.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cYeah,\u201d Riddick continued, nodding at Toal, \u201cshe has a C.O. His name is Michael. He\u2019s a \u2018Furyan Warrior\u2019 like me, too, and there\u2019s pretty much nothing she wouldn\u2019t do for him if he asked, let alone commanded. And third&#8288;\u2026 and this is the real kicker&#8288;\u2026 if true love actually exists, then hers is named Ewan.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Vaako was the one who seemed most discomfited by that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHe ever comes knocking, she\u2019s probably <i>gone.<\/i>\u201d Riddick rubbed his temples for a moment before he continued. \u201cAin\u2019t nothing I can do about any of them, either. Raise a hand against one of them and I lose her even faster. Girl\u2019s way too forgiving a lot of the time, but that\u2019d be beyond her limits. So if any of <i>you<\/i> were starting to think of ways to do me a favor, you put it out of your mind right now. She\u2019d know.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Both Toal and Scales deflated a little in response. Jack felt some tension leave her body when they did.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Was he right?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">If her dad showed up, and demanded that she leave Riddick\u2019s bed, would she? If Michael showed up and told her that being Riddick\u2019s wife compromised her mission objectives, could he order her to break things off with him? And if Ewan&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She still couldn\u2019t <i>let<\/i> herself think about Ewan. Not here. Not now.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I am going to thread the needle. I <b>have to<\/b> thread the needle. Everybody dies if I don\u2019t. That\u2019s my only mission. That\u2019s my only goal. The rest, all of it, is something that has to be gained or lost for that purpose&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But, she decided, it didn\u2019t have to be the only thing she did. As long as it didn\u2019t compromise that mission, she could be Dame Riddick, be the touchstone he needed. Even if it didn\u2019t help her mission, it would help <i>him&#8288;\u2026<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2026&#8288;and it was, she decided, what she <i>wanted<\/i> to do. She might have fallen in love with more than one man\u2014four, if she was being honest\u2014but he was the first she\u2019d ever felt that way about. And maybe, once he felt more secure about their connection, the wall between them would finally come down.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>So you are decided now,<\/i> Lucy said after a moment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">They were walking back to the suite, Jack realized. Exactly when she\u2019d left the throne room was hard to recall, because she had been so lost in thought.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cI am, yeah.\u201d She focused on the hallway, empty in U1, and isomorphed back into it, leaving Eden behind for the moment. \u201cSo let\u2019s go get ready for this wedding.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <hr\/>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The dress she\u2019d chosen was the most vibrant thing she could find, made of the same odd, scaled hide that most Necromonger clothing was constructed from but in vivid shades of blue and green instead of the black that almost all of them wore. Part of her was tempted to think of it as her \u201cmermaid dress,\u201d but she found herself shying away from that phrase. It belonged to another part of her life that she couldn\u2019t linger on now.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Lola, Vanessa, and Poly had all dressed up as well, shunning black for colors that subtly suggested their human status. The Ennead Kids, who had somehow taken the bits and pieces of discarded clothing and jewelry from the tables and assembled them into high-end versions of the outfits they\u2019d worn when she\u2019d first seen them, were eager to get things started. They preceded her into the throne room and started performing an <i>a cappella<\/i> wedding march as they entered the great hall.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><b><i>If you\u2019re really doing this,<\/i><\/b> the Moribund grumbled, <b><i>I suppose I will have to make my vessels aware.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I\u2019m really doing it. And what I said before is still true. You grew a beautiful garden on the other side of the threshold.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><b><i>I\u2019m sure the larvae you bring on board the ship will enjoy it,<\/i><\/b> he grumped. It was, she decided, as close to a thank-you for the compliment as she could expect from him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Riddick had risen to his feet and was standing in front of the throne. His three would-be Firsts had moved to stand at the sides of the dais. Courtiers were hurrying into the room from all directions, newly aware that something important was about to happen. From the corner of her eye, Jack spotted a familiar flutter of white on the upper level.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>The gang\u2019s all here. Let\u2019s get this done.<\/i> She gave Riddick her most dazzling grin\u2014and even her cousins had been forced to admit it was a good one\u2014and crossed the floor, climbing the steps to stand beside him and take his hand.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Antonio and the other Ennead Kids were making everyone clear a space in front of the throne.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cThis one\u2019s for <i>you<\/i>, Jack B. Badd!\u201d He called out as the crowd calmed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She could feel the shock throughout the room as the Ennead Kids began to perform. How long had it been since anything of the kind had happened in the <i>Basilica<\/i>? Had anything like it <i>ever<\/i> happened there?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Nine voices wove together to build a stunning, vibrant tune as the group broke into coordinated dance moves, spinning and flipping without a single missed beat or sour note. Jack could feel Lucy\u2019s fascination, and even the Moribund himself observing with curiosity and reluctant admiration.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cJackie, don\u2019t you know,\u201d Antonio sang, \u201cyou\u2019re up in his soul&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">She knew the tune intimately, and knew they\u2019d chosen it on purpose. It went in a different direction, though&#8288;\u2026 startling her as it painted an accurate picture of just what she was even doing on the <i>Basilica.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"center-block\">\u201cThread the needle, Jackie!<br\/>\r\nWe know you\u2019ll find the way&#8288;\u2026&#8288;\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Did you tell them about that?<\/i> she asked Lucy, stunned.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>I did. Surprise!<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><b><i>More of this would not be entirely amiss among my vessels,<\/i><\/b> the Moribund grudgingly admitted.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The song concluded with a flourish, the entire troupe bowing down before the throne, before her and Riddick. He looked positively energized as he stepped forward and addressed the room. Whatever misgivings <i>he<\/i> might have seemed to have been set aside.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGot a few announcements to make to all of you,\u201d he told the room. \u201cFirst up, new instructions for all ships going out on raids from now on. You already know that nobody\u2019s being brought back as a \u2018breeder\u2019 anymore. Nobody\u2019s being cut out as \u2018useless,\u2019 either. Everyone\u2019s a convert except kids. But here\u2019s the new rule where babies and kids are concerned. You bring them back. Alive. And once you do that, you bring them here. And you give them to <i>her.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">He pointed at Jack, smirking.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWhat will she do with them?\u201d called out one of the lords, looking entirely too scandalized for someone wearing tiny skulls for decoration.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAin\u2019t your concern,\u201d Riddick said, his grin widening dangerously. Maybe he was hoping that man, in particular, would raise a fuss and could be smacked down.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The man seemed to know it, too, deflating.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cWho <i>is<\/i> she?\u201d someone else called from the crowd.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGlad you asked,\u201d Riddick told them, taking her hand. \u201cI present to you: Dame Riddick. She will stand by my side from now \u2019til Underverse Come. And you are all to treat anything she says as coming from <i>me.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">And apparently, that <i>was<\/i> all there was to it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The Ennead Kids began another song a moment later as various Lords and Dames of the Armada approached the throne to formally present themselves to Jack. Within a minute or two, Dame Vaako appeared at her side, putting an arm around her and introducing her to many of them, murmuring small asides to her about them as well. Riddick, after a weighing glance, allowed it, chuckling and shaking his head. Jack focused on pairing names with faces and memorizing them, getting a sense of the minds behind each.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Those who had risen to the level of Lord or Dame, she realized, were the members of the Armada who needed less supervision and correction from the Quasi-Dead or the Moribund himself, naturally inclined to follow the path he had set before them. Those most inclined to resist his will were buried in the lower ranks, weighted down by telepathic soporifics. A rare few among the highest-ranking, most of them older officers, could see a little way into Eden.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cHere <i>she<\/i> comes now,\u201d Riddick suddenly growled beside her. \u201cYou ready for this?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cGuess I\u2019d better be,\u201d Jack answered him, taking a deep breath.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Walking toward her, flanked by two guards, was a familiar figure dressed in white. Jack took in the white hair, the imperious posture, the elegant veil and white dress that her mom would have said was meant to upstage a bride at her wedding&#8288;\u2014<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Yeah, good luck with that.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u2014&#8288;and the hidden darkness masked by her whiter-than-white outward appearance.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Irena Kirshbaum, emissary of the Quin&#173;tessa Corporation, approached the throne under guard and laden down by chains made of kirshbaumium. As their gazes met, Jack watched Irena\u2019s eyes fill with confused recognition.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Game on,<\/i> Jack thought as the two of them locked eyes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The woman\u2019s breath hitched. Then she squared her shoulders and stepped forward, offering her hand to Jack. This time, when they made contact, it was <i>she<\/i> who flinched, maybe sensing the dizzying number of \u2019verses that Jack was connected to.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">\u201cAereon of the \u2018Elemental race,\u2019\u201d Riddick drawled, his formal words undercut by the irony lacing his tone, \u201callow me to introduce my wife, Dame Riddick.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It was all Jack could do to control the sudden urge to smirk as Irena Kirshbaum\u2019s eyes widened, just a little, with imperfectly concealed horror. Had she even realized who she\u2019d attempted to murder just the day before? Or that she had ensured the destruction of her family dynasty by doing so?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Instead, she gave \u201cAereon\u201d her sunniest and most guileless smile, pure innocence\u2014pure <i>theater<\/i> but who would ever know\u2014as if they were new friends meeting for the first time instead of the deadliest of enemies.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\"><i>Game fucking <b>on<\/b>, Demon of the Darkness.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">For a moment, she even felt the barest hint of the Moribund\u2019s gleeful approval.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"center-block\"><b>The story will continue in<br\/>\r\n<i>Song of Many \u2019Verses<\/i><\/b><\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5924\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5924 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-96\">\u00ab Chapter 96<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4124\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4124 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#afterword\">Afterword \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-note\" data-title=\"\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5925\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5925 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-97\">\u00ab Chapter 97<\/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=\"6186\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-6186 \">  <h2 class=\"chapterhead\"><u>Afterword<\/u><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented-offset\">This has been such a wild journey for me, with a whole lot of twists and turns along the way. Thank you to everybody who decided to accompany me on it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <h3 class=\"afterword\">Some twenty-plus-year-old backstory first\u2026<\/h3>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">This story began on the Rhiana Griffith Fan Club as an act of re&#173;bellion&#8288;\u2026 and self-therapy of a sort.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">A lot of fans of <i>Pitch Black<\/i>, and its ensemble cast, felt our places in the fandom got subsumed when one of the cast members, Vin Diesel, rocketed to stardom a year later behind the wheel of a muscle car. Within a matter of months, virtually all the <i>Pitch Black<\/i> fan sites converted into Vin Diesel fan sites to stay relevant in his exploding fandom, and the rest of the cast, and their fans, became afterthoughts within a community that <i>had<\/i> been a lot more egalitarian when I first discovered it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">I got pulled into co-modding one of those \u201cVin\u201d sites by some fans of the stories I was writing; later, when its webmistress decided to step down and wanted to name me as her successor\u2014right, ironically, as I was planning on stepping away from Vin fandom and focusing on creating a site for Rhiana Griffith\/Jack fans\u2014I put aside those plans and took over running <i>Art of Vin Diesel<\/i>, prioritizing an already existing community over the one I\u2019d wanted to create. As much as I love all the friends I made on AoVD, that decision became one of my biggest regrets.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">I still wonder, from time to time, whether it would have made a significant enough difference if the site I finally began building a bit over a year later had come into existence <i>then<\/i>, if Universal Pictures would have <i>dared<\/i> treat Griffith so shabbily if her fanbase had been more visible at the time. Thanks to my position of running one of the \u201cbig\u201d Vin fan sites of the period, I ended up privy to a lot of the insider gossip about what had happened behind the scenes during <i>Chronicles of Riddick<\/i> preproduction, something that soured me on Hollywood, Universal, the nascent \u201cRiddick franchise,\u201d and even Vin himself for a while.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Although there was no question at all that he was reprising his role, and Keith David was <i>handed<\/i> his part back, <i>Rhiana<\/i> was forced to re-audition for her part and, even after she <i>won<\/i> it hands-down and planning was already beginning for her to travel to the northern hemisphere for shooting, it was subsequently taken from her before contracts could be signed and given to another actress. The news of the casting change slowly leaked out as fans learned that a character named Kyra, who might or might not be connected to Jack, was being played by Alexa Davalos rather than Rhiana Griffith.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Most of us who recognized Davalos, at that point, knew her as the chronically underdressed electrokinetic thief from the TV show <i>Angel<\/i>, where she\u2019d been portrayed as a sexpot and had displayed a lot of over-the-top combat moves, and the idea that <i>those<\/i> were the characteristics that might have recommended her as a continuation of Jack didn\u2019t sit well at all with much of Jack\u2019s existing fanbase. Plus, the two actresses looked and sounded absolutely nothing like each other. We held out hope that maybe Kyra was an unrelated character, or that the casting change had been necessary because Rhiana hadn\u2019t been <i>interested<\/i> in reprising the part, until the news broke in October 2003 that Rhiana had been forced to audition for that very role only to be denied it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">When backroom chatter indicated that she\u2019d lost the role in part because Vin had used up all his producer-level influence with Universal securing Judy Dench and Colm Feore for the film and hadn\u2019t saved any of it to help defend Rhiana\u2019s right to reprise her character, I was done. I wanted out of Vin fandom and away from all the gossip about a movie I\u2019d gone from anticipating to dreading. It took me another five months to get my partners at AoVD to let me go, though, and that only finally happened when I got so fed up that I told them they had 48 hours to find a new webmistress or I was pulling the plug on the whole site; in the meantime, I built the Rhiana Griffith Fan Club and finally decamped to it with other Rhiana fans who wanted to focus on nurturing <i>her<\/i> career in the face of that major setback instead of continuing to invest in a fandom where we were clearly unwanted afterthoughts.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">After the film came out, to combat a lot of the actual <i>depression<\/i> Jack fans were feeling on RGFC over how she had been drastically altered (almost none of the hallmark personality traits she\u2019d displayed in the first film still existed), repudiated (the whole \u201cJack\u2019s dead\u201d speech felt like a slap in the face to many of us), used as little more than a MacGuffin, and then killed off, I posted a writing challenge which I called the \u201cCoR AU\u201d challenge: write stories in which, despite everything we saw on the screen, Kyra turned out not to be Jack after all.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That was honestly easier than it ought to have been. Despite the insistence of major players in the production that Kyra was a continuation of Jack, they had done a whole lot to sabotage their own claims. They had cast a woman who looked and sounded nothing like the original Jack performance\u2014there is literally no facial feature that Alexa and Rhiana have in common (aside from having all the ones you\u2019d expect on any human face), and Alexa\u2019s voice is more like Fry\u2019s than any other female character in the first film\u2014and then, in addition to giving her a completely unrealistic and improbable sketch of a backstory to try to explain all the changes, they made her <i>blow her lines<\/i> every time she tried to do a callback to the first film. Then, at the eleventh hour\u2014possibly as a sop to Rhiana fans\u2014they actually cast Rhiana, as Jack, in the anime short <i>The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury<\/i>, something that had an effect of disconnecting Jack and Kyra <i>further<\/i> for us rather than \u201cbridging the gap.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">So we decided we were going to write all the ways that Kyra didn\u2019t <i>have<\/i> to be Jack, and could still turn out <i>not<\/i> to be Jack despite everything that had been seen onscreen. Some among us held out hope that maybe it could even influence sequel plans if the stories were plausible and popular enough, although it quickly became clear that the film was tanking too hard at the box office for those sequels (at least, as they were originally envisioned) to happen anyway.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">My challenge had a few rules, but the two most important ones, which I brought to <i>this<\/i> story, were: first, we would treat what had been seen on the screen itself as incontrovertible (what people said, what people did, etc.) even if we were allowed to twist what those moments had <i>meant<\/i> around and could ignore all the \u201crules\u201d that tie-in materials imposed, and second, we would never make Kyra into a villain. A lot of us, definitely including me, were struggling hard with the impulse to blame and vilify Alexa Davalos for what had happened (thanks so much, Western Internalized Misogyny!) and we\u2019d decided that it was important to portray her Kyra sympathetically to counter that, even if we couldn\u2019t accept her as a continuation of Jack.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That was the environment in which I began writing a story I initially called <i>Identity Theft,<\/i> trying to reach for positivity amid the free-floating negativity we were dealing with and struggling to find a way past. I floated a lot of ideas of how Kyra could turn out not to be Jack during that period of time, but this was probably the most complicated; most of the rest were one-offs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But by mid 2006, I was vanishing from fandom, and although I continued to maintain the RGFC, and even ran tech for my friends who had taken over AoVD, my writing slowed to a halt. Mostly that was because I was back in college, working on completing a degree, and the Honors program was so demanding that virtually everything I was reading and writing had to be of an academic nature.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Aside from a crazy plot bunny in \u201907 that resulted in the first few chapters of <i>Falling Angels<\/i> (a story that borrows a few themes and ideas that I either used, or planned to use, in this tale, since I wasn\u2019t sure I would ever expand on its original 16 chapters) and a later <i>intense<\/i> bout of writing that resulted from watching the film <i>Prometheus<\/i> right after taking a graduate course on Middle Eastern Epics and Assyriology (and yes, I <i>will<\/i> get back to writing <i>Forbidden Gifts<\/i> soon, I <i>swear&#8288;\u2026<\/i>&#8288;)&#8288;, my unfinished stories got shelved. Meanwhile, the sites slowly went quiet as first Undergrad and then Grad School sucked away all my free time, while fandom moved from stand-alone sites to social media platforms.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <h3 class=\"afterword\">Disconnect(ing\/ed) from the Franchise<\/h3>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Although Rhiana has never gained the high acting profile her fans were wishing for (in part, selfishly, so we would have more pictures of her to use to create fan art and \u201cbook covers\u201d for our stories), she has had a wonderfully successful and happy life. She\u2019s an internationally renowned fine artist whose works have had numerous gallery showings and been sold to collectors around the world, she has a Master\u2019s degree and is a licensed art therapist who uses the creative process to help children work through traumas and behavioral issues, and she\u2019s raising a wonderful daughter.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">All that is stuff that a Hollywood career could have nixed, and God knows, after \u201cMe Too,\u201d I think she may even have dodged a <i>bullet<\/i>, but part of me still resents that the decision of whether to reprise <i>her<\/i> character was taken from her, and that the doors such an opportunity would have opened, and which never would have existed at all without the groundwork <i>she<\/i> laid in the first film, got slammed in her face instead. It still chafes me that Hollywood (then and now) has a habit of treating women (real and fictional) like Kleenex\u2014disposable, replaceable, and indistinguishable\u2014and treating Vin\u2019s fans as too busy thinking between their legs to care who or what else is on the screen as long as he\u2019s front and center on it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Those mindsets, in my opinion (aside from the fact that they were trying to sell fans of <i>The Fast and the Furious<\/i> and <i>xXx<\/i> on a <i>space fantasy<\/i> at the expense of many of the original <i>Pitch Black<\/i>\/Riddick fans), are big factors in why <i>The Chronicles of Riddick<\/i> did poorly enough at the box office that Universal shelved the planned sequels until Vin, himself, ransomed the franchise back from them by agreeing to reprise the role of Dominic Toretto. That was the character <i>they<\/i> had wanted the whole time. And, honestly, Vin\u2019s Riddick portrayals outside of the one in <i>Pitch Black<\/i> have left me cold, seeming less like the original Riddick than \u201cVin Diesel is Dominic Toretto\/Xander Cage as Riddick.\u201d I\u2019ve tried to bring back the Riddick I actually found compelling in my \u201cCoR AU\u201d stories, instead.<\/p>\r\n  \r\n  <p class=\"indented\">While most of my issues with the film initially had to do with how Jack was reduced to a dubious plot device and Rhiana was snubbed, I had a great many issues with how Imam was treated as well (although Keith David, at least, was given a choice about whether or not to reprise his role). The compassionate, judicious, principled man from Pitch Black was nowhere to be found, replaced by a craven jackass who had cared so little about the teenage girl left in his charge that he hadn\u2019t even bothered to remember the name of the notorious prison she\u2019d been sent to. That kind of callousness made no sense in relation to the original film, although it fit all too well with the hypocrisy of a man who would tell his daughter bedtime stories about Riddick killing monsters, but didn\u2019t want him anywhere near her when he actually showed up, and who would try to make Riddick feel guilty about \u201cabandoning\u201d Jack to her \u201cfate\u201d even though <i>he<\/i> was the one who had advised doing so in the first place.<\/p>\r\n  \r\n  <p class=\"indented\">That questionable characterization meant that, when Imam was killed during the first act, it felt more like a comeuppance than a tragedy. Killing off both of Riddick\u2019s fellow <i>Pitch Black<\/i> survivors also replicated a cardinal sin of all too many horror movies, in which the survivors we rooted for in a prior film are shaken off like inconvenient dust (Hicks, Newt, and Bishop, in <i>Alien<sup>3<\/sup><\/i>, particularly come to mind, especially because that film had a similar franchise-souring effect). Again, it seems as if the studio assumed the audience didn\u2019t care about anyone except Riddick anyway, but the effect of that particular sin is that audiences are less inclined to emotionally invest in <i>any<\/i> of the supporting characters who appear in the next film; even before the filmmakers <b><i>(spoiler!)<\/i><\/b> literally killed the dog in the 2013 <i>Riddick<\/i> outing, I realized that I couldn\u2019t bring myself to care about any of the characters I was watching\u2026 not even Riddick, himself. For several years, I largely thought of my prior investment in fandom as a huge mistake I\u2019d made, even if I did get some spectacular friends out of it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <h3 class=\"afterword\">Returning from a Long Hiatus<\/h3>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">During the height of the COVID epidemic, while I was recovering from Long Covid and didn\u2019t have the strength or energy for a day job, I decided I needed to figure out what to do with the websites I was still, more or less, maintaining, but which had fallen into extreme disrepair. I officially still own the AoVD domain name and webspace, along with RGFC and my own website, but it had been so long since I\u2019d done much with them. I had been in the middle of earning a PhD when COVID essentially killed it, even if it (mostly) spared me, and I hadn\u2019t had time to read or write anything unrelated to my aborted dissertation in years.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">When I mentioned to some friends from fandom days that I was thinking of shutting the sites down completely, they convinced me instead to keep them and to at least try to revive the portions of them that had been about the communities that had been built and the works of art (visual or fictive) that had been created. Bringing that back is still a long-term project, hampered by my own schedule (a full-time job + residual Long Covid damage = not much free time, and my own writing gets first dibs on that) and the fact that most of the others who could help me have little time of their own to volunteer anymore. I decided to test out the feasibility of it all with my own webspace, which was by far the smallest of the three, and my own art and stories. In the process, several of my writing muses woke up and demanded attention again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">It wasn\u2019t long before <i>this<\/i> particular muse took over and began running me ragged. That said, once I complete this story arc and finish my other incomplete works, I doubt I\u2019ll have any further contributions to the \u201cRiddick\u2019verse.\u201d Not unless they bring the Jack who inspired me in the first place\u2014<i>Rhiana\u2019s<\/i> Jack\u2014back somehow, which I gave up hope of long ago.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <h3 class=\"afterword\">The Evolution of the Story<\/h3>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">During the first few months that I was writing <i>Identity Theft,<\/i> as it was originally called, it had a much smaller scope. It was going to be, simply, a tale about Jack going to a psychiatric facility for treatment, encountering a \u201cRiddick fan\u201d there and, after the two bonded and shared stories, discovering that her friend Kyra had begun to over-identify with her run with Riddick. The two were going to escape together from the facility, and after Kyra was injured (gaining the scar next to her hip prominently displayed in some scenes in CoR), Jack would spend the entirety of her recuperation telling her such detailed accounts of the events of <i>Pitch Black<\/i> and <i>Dark Fury<\/i> that they became, in Kyra\u2019s head, something she\u2019d personally experienced. Then the two separated, with Jack returning home and discovering that the unpleasant circumstances she\u2019d fled were the lead-up to the birth of the baby sister she\u2019d always wanted (yes, that plot point really was 20 years in the making). Kyra, meanwhile, by overidentifying as Jack, would get caught by mercs hoping to use her as a stalking-horse for finding Riddick; when they realized she had no connection to him despite her beliefs to the contrary, they\u2019d slave her out as she had claimed in the film.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Things got more elaborate the deeper I went, though, because I began planning out the sequel I wanted to write, covering what happened once Riddick and Jack were reunited on the <i>Basilica<\/i>, and my plan for <i>Song of Many \u2019Verses<\/i>, and the galaxy-shaking mystery driving its plot, was born. That included having Jack develop a connection to multiple universes, and that she and Kyra would already have connected to a separate \u2019verse during their run together.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">I should put a shout-out to Christopher Stasheff here, because there\u2019s a moment in his novel <i>A Company of Stars<\/i> that inspired me: a grizzled space captain, helping a theatrical company pick out a ship to buy for their interstellar touring itinerary, reacts in horror to one of the ships, pointing to its hull\u2019s unique \u201ccrinkled\u201d finish as evidence that it got trapped between universes at some point and barely made it back. The idea of Jack and Kyra being on board a ship that something like that happened to, and that left them straddling two universes and struggling to survive in both, inspired the whole second act of my planned story&#8288;\u2026 even if my writing time went away almost completely before I could actually get to it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Most of the events that have occurred in the <i>\u2026&#8288;holy shit&#8288;\u2026<\/i> 97 chapters are things I originally planned out in \u201904 and \u201905, believe it or not, but two areas that definitely got significantly more development as I picked the story back up were the time Jack and Kyra spent on Tangier Prime and how\/why Jack transformed, after her return to Deckard\u2019s World, into the fearful and distrusting person we met in the opening chapters even as she simultaneously developed powers on the same level with any of the major players of <i>Chronicles.<\/i> I also realized I needed a whole lot more space to develop the mystery of the <i>Apeiros<\/i>, who hadn\u2019t yet been introduced when I stopped writing in 2006, and&#8288;\u2014 oops, spoilers, can\u2019t tell you what else yet&#8288;\u2026 but a lot of what happened on Tangier Prime figures heavily in future events of <i>Song of Many \u2019Verses<\/i>, and I realized I needed to set more of it up before returning to the \u201cframe story\u201d if I wanted the eventual outcomes to feel naturalistic and earned. I guess I\u2019ll talk more about those elements in <i>that<\/i> fic\u2019s afterword.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">But I sure as hell didn\u2019t expect it to turn into a 400K+ word monster. That\u2019s blowing my mind a little. Still, I\u2019ve loved every second of writing it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <h3 class=\"afterword\">Names, Places, and Canonicity<\/h3>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">So here are the rules I follow in this story: If it happened onscreen in the <b>Director\u2019s Cuts<\/b> of <i>Pitch Black<\/i> or <i>the Chronicles of Riddick<\/i>, or onscreen in <i>The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury<\/i>, it\u2019s canon and I won\u2019t contradict it. Everything else is optional. Everything.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The makers of <i>the Chronicles of Riddick<\/i> set that in motion by retconning TF out of the extended materials connected to <i>Pitch Black<\/i>, which had included elements such as Jack originally being named Audrey (and described, in the tie-in novelization, as looking <i>exactly<\/i> like Rhiana had in her prior film, <i>15 Amore<\/i>) along with a general lack of supernatural elements even if Riddick himself may have come across as a little preternatural. Riddick, meanwhile, had multiple contradictory backstories depending on which tie-in you consulted, all of which were then swept aside for the Furyan backstory. If they can cherry-pick, so can I.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">So Jack\u2019s \u201creal name\u201d remains Audrey, Kyra has her own new backstory and lineage that has nothing to do with any of the tie-ins, and the Lord Marshal gets to keep his \u201cZhylaw\u201d name, but the B in Riddick\u2019s name now stands for \u201cBooker\u201d instead of the WTFery of \u201cBruno.\u201d If you see something that contradicts what you \u201cknow\u201d about the franchise canon, it\u2019s probably something that never made it onto the screen in the first place and only has legitimacy through tie-ins that the vast majority of filmgoers have never seen. (Those tie-ins can enrich a fan\u2019s experience of a film, yes&#8288;\u2026 <i>if<\/i> the studio continues to honor them&#8288;\u2026&#8288;) And whatever Furya is due to appear on the movie screens sometime in 2025 will have nothing in common, in all likelihood, with the one I\u2019m depicting in <i>The Changeling Game<\/i> and <i>Song of Many \u2019Verses<\/i>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">I decided, shortly after I picked the story back up, that it needed a new title. <i>Identity Theft<\/i> had been appropriate when I wrote the first few chapters, and it was a smaller-scope story involving a mentally unbalanced girl overidentifying with Jack, to the point where she accidentally set herself up for the worst possible fate that might have awaited Jack herself. As the story grew in scope, and as I became increasingly charmed by the Kyra I was writing and the sister-bond she and Jack were developing, it didn\u2019t fit nearly as well. I began to think about a title that would be better suited to a story about a pair of girls with multiple identities and personas, and an identity that wasn\u2019t necessarily tied to either one of them. I went through a bunch of possibilities and decided that this one worked best for the course the story was taking, and its themes of protean identities, shared aliases, and reunions being upended when they\u2019re with someone who either is no longer the person everyone expected, or never was that person to begin with. So <i>Identity Theft<\/i> became <i>The Changeling Game<\/i> in July of 2024.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">Some of the locations in the story are tied into canonicity, while others are my own creations. The <i>Hunter-Gratzner<\/i> was \u201cen route to the Tangier system\u201d according to Owens in <i>Pitch Black,<\/i> and many of the early tie-in materials made references to planets and events in that system that connected to Riddick. I went with a similar naming structure as planets in the Helion system apparently use in CoR, with the main in-system colony world being \u201cPrime\u201d rather than numbered. At the same time, I decided to play with hints that other naming systems are frequently used, especially since I had already named Audrey\u2019s home planet \u201cDeckard\u2019s World\u201d before I began exploring naming conventions. And, since CoR portrayed \u201cNew Mecca\u201d as a stop on a rail line at one point (or at least a transit station serving as a shelter during the invasion), along with having the locals insist that their world was extremely multicultural, it became an ethnic suburb of Helion Prime\u2019s big city, which I named New Athens in keeping with the idea that naming the star Helion (as opposed to, say, Shams, \u0634\u0645\u0633, which is the Arabic word for the sun) pointed to a <i>Greek<\/i> base for the colony. So I\u2019ve had a lot of fun playing with place-names throughout the story, and most of them have specific meanings and significance. The two moons over U1\u2019s version of Tangier Prime, for instance, are named Qamar (\u0642\u0645\u0631, Arabic for \u201cmoon\u201d) and Taziri (\u2d5c\u2d30\u2d63\u2d49\u2d54\u2d49, Tamazight for \u201cfull moon\u201d).<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">I actually put together an appendix of all the names, places, dates, and vocabulary in this monster-story, but the damn thing is <i>ginormous<\/i> and nearly novel length itself. It even has an hour-by-hour (in places) timeline I constructed to keep track of what happened when (a total necessity when your characters hang out on a planet with 44-hour days but you\u2019re trying to keep track of how much your main character is actually aging and when her next birthday would be, OMG). I definitely need all of the references to keep things straight, and had to go back and fix a few things once I\u2019d put it together. Maybe after both stories are concluded, I\u2019ll put it up, too, as a tie-in. (If I put it up now, there\u2019d be way too many spoilers for <i>Song<\/i> in it.)<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented\">The Tamazight (\u2d5c\u2d30\u2d4e\u2d30\u2d63\u2d49\u2d56\u2d5c) \u201clanguage\u201d used in this story is, although mostly authentic, partly invention. Tamazight is a <i>family<\/i> of languages spoken by the Imazighen (or Berber people) of North Africa, and varies widely from place to place and tribe to tribe. These tribes encompass 25 to 36 million people, more than three million of whom now live in Europe and North America; their languages vary widely enough that many of them are classified as \u201cmutually unintelligible,\u201d so no one lexicon can cover Tamazight as a whole. Distinct Tamazight languages include Tashlhiyt, Kabyle, Tarifit, Shawiya, Tuareg, Ghomara, and several others.<\/p>\r\n  \r\n  <p class=\"indented\">My hunt for specific types of vocabulary\u2014particularly affectionate endearments and obscenities, two types of vocabulary that people tend to pull from their first languages in emotional moments\u2014led me to a variety of sources (there are few systematic and comprehensive sources available online, and most of them tend to claim to be far more definitive than they can possibly be under the circumstances), and in all probability, I have pulled from multiple Tamazight languages in the process. I ask your indulgence with this; fortunately, the setting of the story itself, five hundred years in the future on a distant colony world, allows for the possibility that the dialect the <i>ait Meziane<\/i> tribe speaks is the result of a mixture of linguistic drift and convergence among the North African colonists who traveled to the Tangier System.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <h3 class=\"afterword\">Soundtrack<\/h3>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented-offset\">Wouldn\u2019t you know it, I had a whole playlist of music that I listened to, and connected to, as I was writing this. A kind of soundtrack formed for me. It originally started with the song \u201cOrdinary World\u201d by Duran Duran, which back in \u201904 was about Audrey shrugging off her wild adventures and returning home to her family with no intention of leaving Deckard\u2019s World again (although she ended up being far less \u201cordinary\u201d upon her return than I\u2019d originally planned!) and developed from there. So here are key tracks (and links to where you can listen to them on YouTube) that influenced me and helped me set the right mood as I was writing:<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <ol>\r\n\r\n    <li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=71GTbLweTok\" target=\"_blank\">\u201cLorretine\u201d by Clan of Xymox<\/a> \u2013 A kind of all-purpose theme melody for the story. Especially with the beginning suggesting something rising up out of the darkness, and the end effect that makes me think of a celestial body arcing away and escaping.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=TynHJ0_amDY\" target=\"_blank\">\u201cIn the Shadows\u201d by Amy Stroup<\/a> \u2013 I tend to visualize Riddick carrying an unconscious Jack into the Chamber of the Quasi-Dead (no, I will <i>never<\/i> treat \u201cDeads\u201d as a real word) during the opening bars, meditating over her and delving into her mind, and envisioning a variety of moments from the story as the song unfolds. There\u2019s a moment right before the final chorus that makes me imagine the <i>Scarlet Matador<\/i> making its final descent into the phantom waters of New Marrakesh.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=mVunmXFx0Qg\" target=\"_blank\">\u201cI Feel Love\u201d by Donna Summer, as performed by (of all things) the <i>Riverdale<\/i> Cast<\/a> \u2013 I know, I know, but somehow this became the \u201cescape from the hospital\u201d theme for me, maybe due to the frenetic synth pulses, and also a song about sister-bonding (I have an even <i>more<\/i> improbable song about sister-bonding here, too, LOL) and the connection that begins to be forged between Jack and Kyra during their run to&#173;gether&#8288;\u2026 symbolized by the way Ashleigh Murray and Camila Mendes weave their voices together in this rendition.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=uKc4sUKwQC4\" target=\"_blank\">\u201cSalt in the Rainbow\u201d by Duran Duran<\/a> \u2013 yeah, this is one of <i>three<\/i> Duran Duran tunes in the list. The song never made it onto any of their studio albums after bootleggers got hold of this early cut, so it didn\u2019t get smoothed out and shined up the way a lot of their materials do, but I love Nick Rhodes\u2019s synth work on it and it fits into the shining moment where things are going really well for Jack and Kyra, their bond is strengthening, and the power building between the two of them feels like something that can take on anything. When I went back to get the link, I found other, more \u201cpolished\u201d versions, but this one, with the chorus of \u201c<i><u>we<\/u><\/i> are forever,\u201d is the one that inspired me.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=fQbTQ0BJBhE\" target=\"_blank\">\u201cThank You\u201d Led Zeppelin, version performed by Duran Duran<\/a> \u2013 In my head this is, instead of a love song from a man to a woman, somehow another <i>sister-bonding<\/i> song for the story. The opening sounds made me visualize Mega&#173;luna hanging over the King Tide in Chapter 23, making the waters glitter, and the moment when Jack realizes that her bond with Kyra has transcended friendship and the two of them have become sisters. It\u2019s an odd choice, I know, but it helped me get into the right mindset for writing a lot of their adventures together.\r\n<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=WodIWmkzCr0\" target=\"_blank\">\u201cTime For Flight\u201d by Baby Alpaca<\/a> \u2013 I listened to this a lot as I was writing and developing the Tomlin plot: this man who was going to listen to, and mentor, Jack and Kyra as they explored their burgeoning powers, before suddenly realizing, \u201cshit, the story needs him to get killed off, doesn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=LfXnoEFbVrU\" target=\"_blank\">\u201cThe Beginning of the End\u201d by Klergy (featuring Valerie Broussard)<\/a> \u2013 There\u2019s a line in the song that\u2019s especially telling: \u201creckless behavior \/ is looking at a man like he was a savior,\u201d which is pretty on-the-nose. The bombast and drums right around the 1:30 mark make me imagine the Ennead Kids performing at the Helion Prime spaceport with Eve Logan as their captive audience, while Jack and Kyra slip past her. The frenetic strings building up around the 2:40 mark make me visualize Jack and Kyra racing through the darkness to Othman Tower before the Battle of Othman Plaza. And the closing beat right before the final \u201cthe end?\u201d The New Marrakesh Spaceport Explosion. I see it so clearly every time, with the final note revealing the devastation that followed. It\u2019s <i>so<\/i> vivid for me. (And yes, I know it\u2019s also a song associated with <i>Riverdale<\/i>, but I only heard it when part of it was used in an episode of <i>Lucifer.<\/i>)<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=9P_4nNNxrdQ\" target=\"_blank\">\u201cTrenched\u201d by Tipper<\/a> \u2013 In my head, I call this song \u201cThe Sebby Dance.\u201d There may also be some portions of it that make me think of the <i>Apeiros<\/i>.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=k-JQozbs6uA\" target=\"_blank\">\u201cGuyane: V. Lullaby\u201d by Aram Khachaturian (performed by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra conducted by Neeme J\u00e4rvi)<\/a> \u2013 This is the theme of New Marrakesh itself, for me. Neeme J\u00e4rvi\u2019s version is by far the most beautiful I have ever heard.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=NunQx5aE7FM\" target=\"_blank\">\u201cRadiance\u201d by Peter Boyer (performed by the London Symphony Orchestra)<\/a> \u2013 This is, to me, \u201cThe Love Theme of Ewan and Tizzy.\u201d I always visualize, as the piece\u2019s final strains spread out, the moment when the two of them are sitting on Elsewhere\u2019s beach together, eyes locked and hands resting on each other\u2019s cheeks.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=VzrP59jAKA8\" target=\"_blank\">\u201cSomewhere in Paradise\u201d by Karen Lawrence<\/a> \u2013 This is Ewan and Tizzy\u2019s \u201cGoodbye\u201d theme. The lyrics are <i>so<\/i> on the nose. There\u2019s also something about the guitar work that is reminiscent\u2014at least for me\u2014of \u201cHighway to the Danger Zone\u201d from <i>Top Gun<\/i>, which makes it feel like a fitting theme for a fighter pilot departing to return to active duty.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=vfvRXoZave0\" target=\"_blank\">\u201cWaves\u201d by Dean Lewis<\/a> \u2013 If there\u2019s a song that better nails the adolescent struggle of veering between one\u2019s childhood self and one\u2019s new adult mindset, I can\u2019t think of it right now. Both Jack and Kyra have multiple moments when they wish they could reach back to their more innocent selves and chart a different course, along with moments in which they wish their more adult versions of themselves would stop flitting off and stick around already. I tended to listen to it more when I was writing about the moments leading up to their separation, something neither of them wanted and both dreaded, but that they couldn\u2019t figure out a way to prevent.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=5wCvAep9C1Q\" target=\"_blank\">\u201cEchorus\u201d by Philip Glass (performed by Jennifer Koh, Jaime Laredo, Vinay Parameswaran, and the Curtis 20\/21 Ensemble)<\/a> \u2013 In my head this is called \u201cMarianne Goes Home,\u201d and reflects Jack\u2019s mental state as she attempts to hold herself together after the New Casablanca Spaceport Explosion.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=tm8d1uhzemw\" target=\"_blank\">\u201cPiano Concert in D-Flat Major: II. Andante con anima\u201d by Aram Khachaturian (performed by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra conducted by Neeme J\u00e4rvi)<\/a> \u2013 This is the \u201cTheme of the <i>Apeiros.<\/i>\u201d Try not to find it a little spooky. I dare you.<\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=LiB1CfNmgf8\" target=\"_blank\">\u201cOrdinary World\u201d by Duran Duran<\/a> \u2013 Audrey returns home and tries to take up a life as a normal girl again. Harder than it looks, of course. There were some specific lines in the song that connected remarkably well early on but became even more fitting as the story grew in scope: \u201cHere beside the news \/ Of holy war and holy need \/ Ours is just a little sorrowed talk,\u201d which felt like it related to her putting aside her past with Riddick to focus on the more deadly threat of the Necromongers. There\u2019s also a bit at the end where a background singer sings: \u201cAny world \/ Is my world \/ Every world \/ Is my world,\u201d which is oddly on the nose for a character who can move between universes, so the song became even apt as the scope of the story grew.<\/li>\r\n\r\n  <\/ol>\r\n\r\n  <h3 class=\"afterword\">And Now This Work is Done<\/h3>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented-offset\">As a final addendum, although I officially \u201ccompleted\u201d this work at the end of January, I then spent the next three months (when I wasn\u2019t swamped by my day job, but that\u2019s a whole \u2019nother story) doing final edits for grammar, continuity, clarity, and logic. In some cases, place and character names got adjusted slightly. I also had to do some formatting changes to accommodate some differences in the types of HTML that eBooks accept vs. what works on websites. If you have a copy of this story saved, with a date earlier than April 27, 2025, please replace it with this one; this is the definitive \u201cedition.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"indented-offset\">Thank you again, everyone, for reading and accompanying me on this adventure. I hope you like the next leg of the journey, too!<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"right\">\u2014Ardath Rekha, January 26, 2025<br\/>(Revised April 27, 2025)<\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"5925\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-5925 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-97\">\u00ab Chapter 97<\/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><\/div>\r\n\r\n<div align=\"center\" class=\"button\" style=\"margin-top: 20px;\"><a class=\"button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/fan-fiction\/the-changeling-game\/\">Return to the Title Page<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Return to the Title Page","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":308,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"bgseo_title":"Read Online | \u201cThe Changeling Game\u201d by Ardath Rekha","bgseo_description":"Two girls, Jack and Kyra, crossed paths and ran away together. One disappeared, and the other stepped into her place. How and why that happened may transform the fate of humanity.","bgseo_robots_index":"index","bgseo_robots_follow":"follow","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-5052","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","no-wpautop"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5052","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=5052"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5052\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6287,"href":"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5052\/revisions\/6287"}],"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=5052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}