Prophecy

“So what’s the plan?”



They were huddled in the shadows behind some large crates in the hanger bay. The swelling in Jade’s ankle had subsided and with the strapping wound tight around it, she could run without too much pain.



“We wait for the change over. I’ll take that ship and draw them away. You take the X-50 and follow. They’ll think you’re one of them. Things will get ugly real quick. In the confusion, split off from the formation and get the hell outta here. Once you’re clear, go get your kids and disappear.”



“The X-50 huh? That’s the most powerful ship here.”



“What’s the matter Jade? Can’t you handle it?”



“Are you kidding me? I learnt from the best.” She smirked, “I could fly that thing blindfolded.”



“Then what’s the problem?”



“Why don’t we just take out the guards and both leave on the X-50? There is nothing in this hanger that can match it. We’ll easily out run them.”



“There’s more than one hanger on this ship. We don’t know what else they’ve got. It’s safer if we split up.”



“Safer for me, not for you.”



“I can handle them.”



“Richard…”



“Don’t argue with me Jade. I won’t risk them catching you again, especially since we don’t know why they want you so badly. We’re doing this my way.”



“I don’t like it.”



“What’s not to like? We steal two of their ships and they are left looking like idiots…again.”



She opened her mouth to speak but he stopped her with a gesture. Pulling her deeper into the shadows he motioned for her to stay. She nodded and he melted into the darkness. Seconds ticked by and she heard nothing but the grind of machinery and the low hum of engines. Straining her ears she tried to sense what was going on. The seconds slowly turned into minutes and still he didn’t return.



“Dammit Richard where are you?” she whispered and adjusted her position to ease the ache in her ankle.



The longer she sat there the more agitated she became. What if something happened to him, or worse? What if he decided to take the ship now, to leave before she had a chance to convince him that his plan was stupid? That they should stay together. She shook her head; ok the plan wasn’t stupid, if anything it was inspired but that wasn’t the point. She didn’t want him to leave. Not again. Every time it got harder to deal with, every time it hurt just that little bit more.



“Dammit!”



Pulling herself into a crouching position she edged towards the front of the crates and peeked around. Nothing. She could see nothing. Flattening her back against the crate she slid upwards and carefully looked around. The guards were still there, talking aimlessly between themselves, their rifles hanging idly at their sides. The ships were still sitting in their bays, the alarms were silent and Riddick was nowhere to be seen.



Suddenly a hand clasped over her mouth and she felt cold metal against her throat. She froze as fear gripped her. The assailant pulled her back into the shadows.



“I thought I told you to stay.”



Relief swept through her as the familiar voice hissed into her ear.



“Are you trying to get yourself killed? Dammit Jade, why can’t you listen?”



He removed the blade from her throat and turned her around to face him. She gazed into his luminescent eyes.



“Don’t go,” she whispered barely audibly.



The anger Riddick felt quickly dissipated. His features softened as a knot formed in the pit of his stomach. She looked so vulnerable, so raw. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her.



“Don’t worry Jade,” he whispered, “I’ll find you. You can’t hide from me.”



She closed her eyes and sighed. “Don’t go,” she repeated, knowing full well that her request was futile and hating herself for voicing it.



Rubbing his thumb across her cheek he leaned in and kissed her again. As their tongues intertwined he picked her up and moved deeper into the shadows, pressing her against the hanger wall. She wrapped her legs around his waist as his lips left hers and moved down her throat. His hand roamed over her breast and tugged at the zipper of her overalls. Suddenly his body tensed. He lifted his head and stared into nothingness, a look of concentration on his face. A moment later his gaze focused on her and she knew full well that this was goodbye. She sighed and disentangled herself from his embrace.



“Put this on,” he ordered, handing her a blue flight suit.



She peeled off her clothes and stepped into the garment pulling it over her shoulders and zipping it up. The fit wasn’t much better than the overalls and her fingers recoiled as they touched something wet and sticky. She looked up at him and pulled a face.



“The previous owner was reluctant to part with it,” he shrugged.



“Great,” she replied wiping the blood from her fingers onto his overalls. He didn’t flinch.



“Are you ready?” he asked.



“Yeah,” she replied reluctantly.



“Remember to disable the tracking beacon.”



She nodded.



“And Jade, stick to the plan.” He gripped her shoulders and looked deep into her eyes, “No matter what. Am I clear?”



She stared at him, storing every part of him to memory.



“Jade, are we clear?” he repeated intently.



“Yes,” she replied, shaking off her emotions.



She had to focus on what needed to be done. Riddick had enough to deal with without having to worry about her as well. Distractions like that could easily get you killed, and she had no intention of letting that happen, not to her and definitely not to him.



“We’re clear,” she stated.



“Good,” he nodded satisfied. “Put this on,” he handed her a helmet. “It’s time.”











“Sorry to get you out of bed Captain but they are demanding to speak with you.”



The Captain rubbed his eyes and tried to clear the fog from his brain. “Who?” he asked groggily.



“Them!”



“What?”



“Them – the clients for the girl!”



“The girl?” his brain slowly came into focus. “You mean the missing girl?”



“Yes sir.”



“Fuck! Fuck…Is there any new info on her?”



“No sir. It’s like she disappeared into thin air. No sign of either her or Riddick. You don’t think he killed her and disposed of her body somewhere?”



“God I hope not,” he paused and considered his options. “Double, no triple the search parties. I want her found. I want her found now.”













The alarms were blaring throughout the mammoth ship, drowning out everything in their wake. Normally the Captain would have ordered their silence by now but this time they worked to his advantage.



“As you can see Lord Vaako, we are in the middle of a situation here. Protocol prevents me from allowing any ship to dock while we are under alert conditions,” the Captain stated matter-of-factly.



“I am not interested in your protocols Captain. I am here for the girl.”



“And you shall have her, just as soon as this situation is rectified.” He knew that he was taking an awful risk lying to this man but what choice did he have?



“Perhaps I can help you with your ‘situation’ Captain?”



The Captain feigned considering his request for a moment then shook his head.



“It’s an internal matter Lord Vaako,” he began then a thought occurred to him. Maybe he could turn this situation around, perhaps even salvage it.



“We have an escapee. A very dangerous man.”



He looked away from the screen for a moment then turned back to face his counterpart a look of grave concern etched into his features.



“I have just received word that he has taken your girl hostage.”



The thunderous expression on the screen made him regret his ploy instantly. He was digging himself in deeper by the minute.



“The girl better be retaken unharmed Captain,” he growled. “Or you will feel the full force of the Necromonger’s wrath,” and with that the screen went black.



Cold shivers ran down the Captain’s spine and shattered his normally serene composure. That man was evil personified. He half hoped that Riddick had murdered the girl. It would be a much kinder fate than whatever cruelty that man would inflict on her. This day was only going to get worse. He could feel it in his bones. He was so not ready to die.











“Riddick,” the voice hissed over the speaker bringing a smile to his face.



“What brings you out here Johns?”



“You, of course,” he chuckled.



“Aren’t you getting sick of this game yet?” he asked amused.



“Hell no. You got lucky last time Riddick. Today it’s my turn. Today you’re mine.”



“We’ll see about that,” he smirked and placed his ship in a steep dive, avoiding all of Johns’ efforts at targeting him.



Looking at his screen, Riddick watched as Jade’s ship broke off from the others and vanished into the darkness. He reset his scanners and followed her progress for some time, making sure that she wasn’t being tracked. Once she was out of reach of his equipment he smiled in relief. At least she was safe. It was time for him to leave too.



“Is your stinking merc ass still out there Johns?” he asked



“You can’t get rid of me that easily,” came the reply.



Pointing his ship in the opposite direction to Jade’s, Riddick gunned the engines. “Let’s play.”















“My Lord, there is a trader ship entering our quadrant.”



Lord Vaako looked up from the monitor that he had been studying a feeling of hope surging through him. “Put it on screen,” he ordered.



The dark screen shimmered and was replaced with an image of an X-50 moving towards them. He reached out and moved his hands over the controls. The fighter gradually enlarged until finally he could see into the cockpit. A smile emerged on his face as he realised that he won’t have a failure to report back to the Lord Marshall.



“Bring her in,” he ordered. Turning, he left the room and made his way to the docking bay to meet his ‘guest’.









Jade stood in a room that could only be described as grotesque. What looked like melted bodies intertwined in hideous poses, screaming in pain reached out from the walls. Everything looked twisted, gruesome. She felt like she had fallen into some sort of nightmare, a nightmare that she desperately wanted to wake from. She had no idea who her captors were and she had no way of contacting Riddick. They had blocked her communications before they had even appeared on her scanners and once they had her locked in their tractor beam it was too late. Riddick would have no idea that she had been captured again. He would assume that she had escaped and it would be some time before he would come looking for her. He would stay away until he was sure that no one was following him, that interest in her would die down. This time she was on her own. No-one would be coming to her rescue, not for a very long time.



The thought almost brought tears to her eyes as she realised that she wouldn’t be seeing her girls anytime soon. She had been so exciting about going home, about taking them into her arms and holding them, smothering them in kisses, telling them how much she loved them, how much she missed them but that excitement had been shattered. It was now nothing more than a dream, a desperate hope that she needed to hold onto, a desire that she wouldn’t let die.



Her hands and feet were shackled and two burly guards with expressionless faces stood either side of her and two paces back. The door hissed open and another large imposing man walked in, flanked by a dark beautiful woman. Jade eyed her suspiciously, considering.



The man strode up to her and gripped her face in his hand, turning it side to side and studying her intently.



“Are you injured,” he asked.



She just stared at him.



“Answer me!” he demanded, the fervour in his eyes sending chills through her.



“No,” she replied confused.



He glared at her a moment longer then let her go and stepped back satisfied. “Good.”



“So this is her?” The woman stepped past the man running her hand along his arm and eyed her up and down. “She doesn’t look like much. You’re certain she is the one husband?”



“She is the one Lady Vaako,” he said glaring at her. He hated it when she questioned him in front of his underlings and she knew it.



“Lady?” Jade sneered.



The woman stepped closer to her and glared. “What did you say?”



Jade held her gaze. “I know you,” she whispered, “does your husband know who you are?” In a louder voice she stated, “You’re no more a lady than I am.”



The woman pulled her hand back and moved to strike Jade but her husband stopped her with an iron grip. “We all began as something else,” he stated in a well rehearsed monotone. “The Lord Marshall has ordered her delivered to him unconverted and unharmed.”



“Then that is what we shall do husband,” she said raising a mocking eyebrow at her, then turning she smiled at her husband and placed her arm through his.



“I’d tell you to go to hell but I don’t think that’s an insult to you people,” Jade spat.



She fixed Jade with a contemptuous glare and patting her husband’s arm she glided out of the room with him.



“Remind me to never hire your decorator,” she called out after them. “Your decor really sucks.”