Chapter 7: RETURN OT THE LORD MARSHAL
"All right people, switch to the encrypted short-range comms channel." Riddick instructed, gesturing for Toombs and Eve to release each other. Their heated happy to see you again session was making him I'll. "We don't want the Necros thinking anybody's here when they arrive."
"Affirmative." Everyone sounded off.
"Kearyn, is there anything you'd like to add before our guests arrive?"
"Yes, there is a Basilica class frigate inbound as we speak." Kearyn warned, as he moved to the terminal next to the med-bay door, putting the second stasis pod in auxiliary battery backup mode.
"Shit," Toombs said ominously. "If it were a fast frigate, we might've had a chance, but a basilica class. How are we supposed to board and secure a vessel of that size? Even with the element of surprise, we'll never be able to overpower an entire garrison of Necros. There are ten thousand battle-hardened troops on a Basilica Class ship."
Kearyn's voice seemed to emanate from within Toombs head; not out of the speakers in his helmet, "Normally, I would agree with you. But twenty-six months ago The Sheong-Jé was retrofit as the Armada's primary science and deep space exploration vessel."
"Should I ask," Riddick interjected, his tone suggesting he knew what was coming.
"As chief science officer and developing technologies adviser to Lord Marshal Zhylaw, the decision to move all the fleet's covert science projects, innovative technology research, as well as, the Rapier's main docking bay onto the Sheong-Jé was ultimately my decision." Kearyn explained, while pressing a few more buttons on the terminal beside the med bay door. Hastily making his way towards the cockpit, he added, "In addition, I handpicked each of the 1213 crew members, including the 125 man security detail patrolling the ships predominantly inactive areas." Kearyn stepped inside the cockpit door, sat down in the first seat on the right and began turning off subsystems, one by one. "As well, I also picked the ship's commander."
"Is that before or after you planned your defection from the Armada?" Riddick asked.
Kearyn moved from the engineer's seat into the copilot's seat and began shutting down more systems. "Oh, I can assure you, I have been planning this day for a long time. I did not take the Rapier to defect. I took it to lure the Sheong-Jé out where we could take it; we need that-"
"You knew they were coming." Toombs interrupted. "This whole goddamn time, you knew, and you didn't warn us."
"Of course, I purposely left the Rapier's transponder beacon in place to make sure they would find us. Although, I will admit, I did not expect the Sheong-Ja to fire at us. But then again, Krone has always been unpredictable."
"Krone." the anger in Riddick's voice was palpable.
"Yes," Kearyn said, looking through the windscreen at the body floating in the distance. "You may consider his arrival an unexpected gift from me to you. I heard the stories Krone told about killing you and thought you may enjoy an impromptu reunion with an old colleague." Kearyn reached overhead, flipped a switch venting the Rapier's remaining fuel supply into space.
Riddick asked, "And what can we expect for resistance?"
"There are 1,214 nonmilitary crew members aboard; they are loyal to me and want to leave the service of the Lord Marshall." Kearyn said, strapping himself into the copilot's seat. "They are currently in possession of 608 reasons they need to leave."
"What reasons?" Riddick asked.
"Their children." he replied, tightening his seat harness. He didn't want to get sucked out with everything else.
Toombs interjected, "Necros don't allow natural childbirth; they replenish their ranks through conquest."
"True," Kearyn answered. "But as I explained earlier, love is unpredictable and often, uncontrollable. However, Necro pregnancies can be controlled. These families were lucky enough to cross my path before anyone learned of their unfortunate circumstances."
"That's why they want out," Riddick said.
"It is," Kearyn answered, as he pressed a button on the rightside console, opening the inner airlock door. "But that's not the only reason I chose them."
"There's another?" Riddick asked.
"Most certainly. But as for now, there is still much to be done before the Sheong-Jé arrives. We can speak of that later." Kearyn answered.
"Why do I always feel like there is so much you're not telling me?" Riddick asked, shaking his head as if he were about to reach his limit of half truths and evasive answers.
"Because there is only so much time I can dedicate to revelations." Kearyn answered, pressing the button to open the outer airlock hatch. In an instant, the rest of the Rapier's air supply vented into space, taking with it everything not secured in place. Kearyn sat in a frozen vacuum of open space, unaffected by the sudden loss of cabin pressure.
"Welcome to my world." Toombs said, laughing. "Hey wait." he blurted. "You said, 608.?
"I did," Kearyn replied. The last child is in my care and has been long before our defection."
"Toombs," Riddick said, heading off his sideline conversation. "I want you and Eve to take up concealed positions at opposite ends of the gantry debris. When the Sheong-Jé arrives, wait for the boarding party to cross over and then make your way to the access hatch they exit through." Riddick instructed. "Be prepared for resistance."
"Where will you be?" Eve asked.
"I'm going over there." he said, pointing at the burned out ship he arrived in. "I'll take up a position behind what's left of the backup generator. The generator's mass should mask my presence from any scans."
"What about us?" Toombs asked, "We'll be sitting ducks out there." She was right. If the Necros discovered them, there would be no chance of escape.
"Don't worry. The first thing they'll do is dispatch a boarding party. If there is one thing, you can always count on, it's Necromonger arrogance. They won't perceive anyone left is still a threat. Their overconfidence will give you the time needed to get inside and deal with whoever gets in your way." Riddick reassured him.
"All right, we're heading over there now." He said as they turned and moved off towards the gantry.
Only a few seconds had passed before Riddick called out, "Eve, when next we meet, I trust you will have chosen a more mutually beneficial path?"
Eve turned back to Riddick and found they were 100 feet apart; Riddick was facing her as if they were squaring off for a shootout. She fired her words at him. "I thought you said no one could choose the path for me?"
"I did," he shot back at her, "But what l failed to tell you, is the one thing the voice forgot to tell me."
"And that is?" she said, spitting her words at him.
"Every choice... good or evil... carries its own consequences. I had to learn that the hard way. I hope your more fortunate."
Eve was becoming increasingly livid with each question Riddick forced her to ask, "What consequence might those be?"
"If you choose to forego your humanity in favor of the beast within, I shall meet your rage with rage, meet your violence with violence and make certain you know the pain and defeat." He answered.
"WHAT ARE YOU SUGGESTING?" she blared at him.
"If it's a suggestion, you think I'm making, then let me make myself clear. When you finish your assignment, go find your husband in the park. Because I do not want to live out the rest of my days with your blood on my hands." he answered, holding up his gloved hands and staring at them. Before she could continue, he turned and used the jet packs on his suit to rocket out of range. The conversation finished, leaving her stammering a trail of expletives Riddick never heard.
Toombs watched as the rage ebbed from Eve's face, leaving behind the stark realization that losing control meant certain death. He waved her over to him and said, "Come on, we have to get to cover before the ship arrives."
"Do you think he means to follow through on his threat?" Eve asked, already knowing the answer to her query.
"Darlin'," Toombs began ominously. "If you mess with that man one more time, he will kill you. So, if you don't want to find the control for yourself, then find it for me. Because I've already lost you once and I can't bear the thought of losing you again."
"You'd really let him kill me?" Eve asked coldly.
"No darlin', I wouldn't." he answered. "I'd have to get between the two of you. But the only thing that would accomplish is getting us both killed. So the sad truth about our current situation is while the upcomin' choice may be yours to make; you won't be the only one who pays for your lack of self-control."
"I never wanted this to happen!" Eve replied as she raised her hands in desperation. "I just wanted to get away from home. Have a little fun. Not end up some freak-ass-looking, sex-crazed, serial-killing, psycho-bitch."
"It doesn't matter what you wanted or how we got here. This is the shit hand they have dealt us. So, I say we wait for these bastards to show up, then kick open their front door, and kill anybody who gets in our way. After that, we take what we need and get the hell out of here." Toombs raved at her.
"What part of that plan involves the slightest bit of control?" Eve asked.
"Listen, I know you saw what happened to Riddick." Toombs pointed at the spot where Riddick was hiding. "He completely lost control of the thing inside him. It was only through sheer force of will he pulled himself back from the brink of madness. He made a choice. So, if he can, you can too."
Eve turned to him with a dire expression and said, "You heard what he said, dammit. He's had years to practice regaining control and I've had zero minutes. And, if you didn't notice, that's how long it took me to lose control."
"True." Toombs noted. "But more importantly, you regained control. So, if you can do it once, you can damn well do it a second time." His voice was pleading. "I need you to do it again. This not how our story ends."
Toombs words were like an epiphany striking her over the head; she had never even considered the last few moments when Riddick had pulled her back from the abyss. Was that his plan for Riddick to teach her self-control? Maybe so. Because here she was only minutes later speaking with Toombs like her old self. She thought, l'm conscious, cognitive and in control of my own actions. "Holy shit," she blurted out. "You're right. I can find my way back. Although..."
Toombs cut her off, screaming like a hopped-up drill sergeant, "There's no although, god dammit. When he goes in there, he's going to let that thing out and when he does the shits gonna hit the fan. For him it's not personal, it's not for pleasure, it's about one thing and one thing only; survival. If we do any less, we're not gonna make it through this battle. It doesn't matter what Kearyn did to our bodies or what these suits can do. Nobody can take 125 blaster hits and walk away. To hell with self-control. After it's over, God willing, we'll find our way back to each other and our humanity. Now, are you with me or not?"
Eve nodded in vehement agreement and said, "Hoorah."
Toombs nodded triumphantly and said, "Now that's my girl." Then he instructed, "When we get in there you will keep your head down."
Eve rolled her eyes, shook her head and said, "Are there any other pre-battle cliches you'd like to tell me. You know, like hey little girl you best watch your ass."
"Oh baby, you just keep your eyes straight ahead. I'll be the one watching your ass." Toombs teased sporting a naughty grin.
Eve turned to him, drawing down a veil of shock. "You're absolutely incorrigible."
He snickered. "I thought that was my most endearing quality." Then they both turned and took concealed positions at opposite ends of the gantry, where they patiently lay in wait.
"While that was a truly rousing speech, Alexander, I do have another course of action I would like the both of you to take." Kearyn advised, as he manually opened the med bay door leading into Kera's stasis pod. "Eve, after the two of you enter the Sheong-Jé, I want you to go down to sub level 4B. You'll need to access the sarcophagus bays. You can gain entry by inputting 6/1/67, into the keypad beside the door."
"Hey, that's my birth date."
"Then the entry code should be easy to remember," Kearyn said, walking over to Kera's stasis pod. He checked it for signs of damage. "Once you are inside the bay, I want you to make your way up onto the overhead gantry, where you will find a neural interface helmet spliced directly into the computer's primary conduits. It will allow you complete access to all ship's operations." Turning slowly, he floated to a supply locker a few feet from the pod and removed a roll of tape. He returned to the pod, placed a strip of tape over the blinking light on the auxiliary power panel, and then covered the view port with a piece of debris floating nearby. "As soon as you gain control of the mainframe, I want you to seal off all the airlocks, shutdown the elevators and close all security bulkheads except those leading to the C&C deck."
"Won't the Necros know something is up?"
"No." he replied. "Because at the same time you're sealing up the exits I want you to send out a ship wide alert warning of a bio-containment breach in sector 2C." he explained, returning to the cargo hold where he sealed the outer airlock hatch. There, he thought, that will force them to enter through the breach in the med-bay hull. "When you sound the alert, the crew will realize we have boarded and they will to go to the Bio Sciences Division. Once there, they will lock themselves in until the fighting has ceased. Toombs, as soon as you get inside I want you to go up to level 2C and make sure everyone gets safely inside the quarantine zone. Do not engage the enemy or any civilians you may encounter along the way. I have briefed them about your presence and they will expect you to be there to protect them while Riddick deals with the Necros."
"Are you fuckin' serious?" Toombs snapped. "You expect me to just take a back seat and let him face down 125 troops all by himself?"
"I expect you to protect the children who are counting on you to keep them alive. You may well be their last line of defense against those 125 heavily armed security guards you seem so eager to engage." Kearyn snapped, while moving back into the med-bay. He calmly sat down in the middle of the floor and continued giving out instructions. "Let me be clear. I do not know where those forces are going to be stationed, so don't let your guards down. These children are our most precious resource and we can ill afford to lose them."
"OK, OK," Toombs conceded, rolling his eyes. "I got it. Just shut up and do as your told."
"Eve, as soon as you are able, I want you to channel the security forces away from the retreating crew and towards Riddick's location. Then, shut down all nonessential lights except those leading to the command deck. As soon as Riddick gets inside, he will undoubtedly make a B-Line straight for the C&C deck." Kearyn explained, checking over Kera's stasis pod one last time.
"Why's that?" Eve asked.
"Because that's where Commander Krone will be." He explained. "Alexander," he continued, sitting on the floor like an Indian calmly waiting for a pow-wow. "On your way up to your destination, you will pass the main armory. The code to the weapons storage locker is 10/16/96, and yes, I already know it's your anniversary. You should stop by and stock up on a few items you may find useful. You can decide what weapons to bring. Personally speaking, I suck in a ground fight."
Eve snorted back a half laugh and said, "Yeah, right."
Kearny smiled, but said nothing.
"Hey, what about me?" she asked, voice suddenly sounding like she'd come down Christmas morning to find everyone else opening presents and realizing there wasn't a present waiting for her. "Don't I get a weapon?
"No," he replied matter-of-factly. "As I have already informed you, you will be in the sarcophagus bay controlling the flow of battle from your position high atop the gantry." Kearyn stressed. "Do not leave your post, Eve. It is imperative to the success of this mission that you maintain control at all times; everyone aboard is counting on you."
"Understood," Eve answered begrudgingly. "But I'd still like a weapon of my own."
"Young lady," Kearyn countered. "I spent a great deal of time and effort to ensure you are a weapon."
The Rapier drifted nose down like a dead fish bobbing in a fish tank with its belly torn open. It vented gases into space. No one approaching would believe there was anyone alive inside. It appeared as though the trident missile had struck one ship, sending it hurling into the other.
Toombs was anxiously waiting for the necro ship when he felt a tapping resonate through the gantry and turned to find Eve pointing at Riddick. He turned towards Riddick and saw him waving a piece of debris, signaling the Sheong-Jé. "I'd forgotten how big they are." Toombs said to himself.
A brilliant blue comet streaked through the darkness behind the remains of Riddick's ship; its tail seemed to be a hundred miles long. As the ship approached, it slowed to a crawl, presumably scanning the debris field for signs of life. Luckily for them, the scans revealed nothing. There were no threats here. The missile had done its job.
Toombs and Eve watched as the enormous ship pulled to a stop alongside the floating debris and he realized, even though he had spent over a year on a Basilica class frigate, he'd never seen one up close. At least not from the outside. And certainly not this close up.
It dwarfed the 275 foot long Rapier. The Sheong-Jé must have been over 8,000 feet long and nearly half as wide and half again as thick. It was massive at the leading end. The Goliath tapered to a 500-foot cylinder at the aft. Basilicas were 200 decks deep, with 50 loading docks and over a 100 storage bays, they could carry 150,000 people for over a year in deep space. He wanted to ask Kearyn why the crew was so small, but didn't want to risk the Necros picking up his transmission.
Eve pointed towards a small boarding party crossing over to the Rapier and Toombs laughed to himself when he thought about the blanket in the park and the line of ants making their way over to the plate of crackers. He thought about what they had done to Eve and wanted to step on them as if they really were ants. He knew why Riddick hated them and why he wanted to make them all pay. As soon as the boarding party disappeared inside the Rapier, he signaled for Eve to head towards the airlock where the boarding party had exited.
"Look," he whispered, gesturing towards the Sheong-Ja.
Eve turned to where he was pointing and saw Riddick. "He's already at the airlock. He'll be inside long before we get there."
"That's not a bad thing," he whispered.
The airlock hissed as the inner seal released and a Necromonger security guard turned and said, "What the hell are you guys doing back..." But as the hatch rolled sideways, Riddick's blade cut across his neck before he could finish his sentence. The guard stood holding his throat as Riddick walked past, ignoring his efforts to keep himself from gargling to death in a pool of his own blood.
One of the three other guards lingering in the room realized what had happened and shouted, "Look out... intruder!"
But the time for action had gone before any of them realized the battle had begun. Their complacency left them vulnerable to attack. The two men closest to Riddick reeled around, trying to fire their cumbersome weapons, but they were too close to avoid his blade. He spun to the left, raking one guard across the eyes while continuing around in a single fluid arc that ended with his knife embedded in the other guard's chest, just over his heart.
Riddick stared at the other men in the room and said, "Don't just stand there with your mouths hanging open. Let's dance."
The guard at the center of the room swung his rifle around, trying to get off a shot, but Riddick was on him before he could take aim. He grabbed the barrel of his rifle and forced it beneath the guard's chin. "This is really gonna hurt." he said, knocking the guard's hand off the grip and pulling the trigger. His battle hardened comrades watched the man's face disappear in a spray of reddish chunky ichor that sprayed across a nearby wall.
The guard nearest the corridor entrance panicked, dropped his weapon at his feet and backed into the outer hallway as Riddick followed him, carrying the other guard's weapon like a club. A blood-curdling scream filled the room as the hatch closed behind him with a hiss. Riddick walked back into the room, removing the environment suit now covered from head to toe in blood.
He noticed the guard with the slashed throat still gargling on his own blood. Riddick walked over beside him, grabbed him by the helmet, peered into his wild eyesand said in friendly tone, "Here, let me help you." Then, he bounced the terrified guard's brain bucket off the airlock hatch and watched as his limp body slide down the inner hatch. It came to a rest on its knees, leaning against the airlock as if the man were quietly praying for a forgiveness that would never come.
Eve and Toombs reached the outer airlock at almost the same time. They grabbed onto the handrails next to the control terminal and Eve said, "Hold fast, this should only take a few moments." A faint hiss stifled out in the void as the outer airlock opened, venting air into the black of space.
"Nice work." he said, offering her a round of applause.
Eve smiled at him, bearing a mouthful of white shark teeth. She made a little curtsy and said, "I aim to please."
Toombs nodded in kind and replied. "I am going to hold you to that later."
"Incorrigible."
"I like to think of it as consistent."
They entered the airlock and stood staring tensely at one another, waiting for the airlock to re-pressurize. A tone sounded. A tiny green light flashed. Good seal, Eve thought, and the inner hatch slid sideways. She jumped back as the bloody security guard fell face first into the airlock. His face bounced off the steel grating with a dull thwack. Sticky crimson blood spattered the tops of her feet. She turned to Toombs with an exasperated expression and said, "Dammit, I just got these feet and now look at them; they're filthy already." Eve wiped her feet off on the man's armor. It didn't help. She kicked him angrily.
Toombs wanted to laugh but wasn't sure if she was being sincere or not. So, he thought it best to let the comment slide. He stepped through the inner airlock hatch without even checking the area first and said, "Let's go. We need to get to our positions." It surprised him when he thought, how do I get this helmet off and it suddenly vanished. "Damn, these suits are cool." Then, he turned to find Eve smirking at him with a coy grin that said, my suit is still cooler than yours is. "OK, your suits better." He admitted with a snide, little sideways smirk.
Eve's expression changed suddenly, and she said, "Wait. What the hell are you doing? You say I should watch myself. What was that shit, just stepping out in the open without checking the area first?"
He turned to her and answered, "Darlin', the only thing we need to worry about here is not tripping over all the dead bodies." He pointed around at the carnage sprayed across the walls. Riddick had come this way.
Eve stared around in disbelief. "Shit," she said, as if talking to herself. "These guys were heavily armed, battle-hardened troops, and he just walked through them like they were cardboard cutouts."
"They never had a chance." Toombs said, gazing around the room in disbelief. A moment later Eve's expression turned to one of bewildered terror, and he watched her turn away. He didn't know if he had the stomach to look.
"Oh my God!" she gasped in disgust, stepping back a few quick steps.
Toombs turned to the corridor leading out and saw a guard hanging a few feet from the floor, impaled through the shoulder by a gravity rifle. Riddick has left him hanging as a sign to the others. The soldier hung like a trophy suspended over a steaming pile of his own entrails. The stench of stomach acid and festering digestive tract was overwhelming. "Christ, I knew he was pissed, but I never thought he was capable of this." Toombs said, gagging as he walked over to inspect the man pinned to the wall.
Eve walked up behind him as if she didn't want to see, but he surprised her when he reeled around, grabbed her arm and spun her towards the man and demanded, "Look, you wanted to know if he'd make good on his threat; here's your answer. Tell me, do you really want to end up like this poor bastard?"
"Of course not," she answered, wrenching away from him angrily. She shoved him back and hissed.
Toombs walked over to the Guard hanging on the wall and said, "He ripped this guy's throat open with his fuckin' teeth." He gestured at his stomach and added, "And he tore his guts out with his bare hands. Look, claw marks."
Eve couldn't look at the guard, she just stood with her back to the body, shaking her head and said, "He's fucking losing it. I tell you, he's going to kill us all."
Toombs slipped in the blood, grabbed the guard's chest plate to steady himself, and watched wide-eyed as the corpse fell at Eve's feet. She shrieked and jumped to the side as the body folded in half. Riddick tore his spine out. "I've seen bio-raptor attacks that didn't look this gruesome."
"I think I'm gonna be sick."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone