For some reason the pain that surged through her body as the men beat her was not as unbearable as she thought it would have been. Fear shook her harder than the impact of fists and whatever else they decided to hit her with. She closed her eyes, unable to watch, still keeping to her promise to herself to be stubborn and not talk. If there was one thing Riddick had taught her when they were together it was loyalty, and it was coming in handy now. She did not want to let anyone down. Hell she was First Lieutenant for crying out loud so there was no way she was going to prove that she was not worthy of that position! A groan escaped her when one of the men punched her hard in the stomach, her throat burning as she coughed up some blood. Her body may be fragile but her mind was made of steel and it would take more than a few punches to break her.<br/><br/>The men continued their assault, threatening her, hitting her, calling her names. She gripped the arms of the chair tightly so they wouldnâ€™t see that she was shaking with fear, if her somewhat rapid breathing was not a dead giveaway. It hurt to breathe and she had a horrible headache; coughing up blood was not helping out very much either and only added to her pain. She probably had a few cracked ribs and it wouldnâ€™t surprise her if they did decide to break some bones. That was just how these men operated. They really had done a number on her and honestly she was not sure how much she could take of this. She wanted to badly to get out of there, and as much as she hated to admit it she was almost willing to tell them anything they wanted to know so she could get out of there. She could go back and warn Ericâ€¦<br/><br/>Suddenly the men stopped. The peace, though short lived, was wonderful and gave her enough time to collect herself. Silently, a tear streamed down her cheek and she was shaking. Kat closed her eyes and kept telling herself to take deep breaths to calm herself. Her attention was, however, drawn back to the door when it was opened again. She could almost feel the color wash from her face when she saw Riddick enter the room covered in blood.<br/><br/>Kat glared at the man, snorting in disgust when he said he was here to talk to her. What made it worse was the fact he had brought up her partner. She felt her heartbeat accelerate again as anger filled her but since she was unable to throw a punch more tears came instead. There was an almost silent mutter under her breath cursing how weak she was, how stupid she was for allowing herself to get caught. But then the weirdest thing happened. She looked back to the man and just smiled as she had all those years ago as a plan came into her head. Maybe she could by Eric a bit of time though the risk was great given the nature of the man before her and she doubted it would work ver well.<br/><br/>This was her last resortâ€¦ whatever happened to her, she prayed that Eric would return back to their own fleet safely. Her voice came out hoarse, shaky, â€œAt least I got to see you again before I died. It makes me sad this wasnâ€™t a pleasant reunion but I guess that couldnâ€™t be helped.â€<br/><br/>---------<br/><br/>The moment Ericâ€™s lips touched his, it was like everything that worried him had gone away. The man had uttered an apology, but Ryan only shook his head and stared deeply into those gorgeous eyes of his again. He wanted more. Unable to hold himself back any longer, he grabbed Eric again, locking lips with the man once more in a gentle way. It was a passionate kiss, the kind where once could block out reality and focus on the moment. He wanted this man now more than ever, he eased all the panic he was trying to hold back, all the worry that made his head spin at this moment. However, deep down Ryan knew this could not last and with sadness he pulled himself away before he got too lost in the kiss and unable to focus.<br/><br/>There was a task that needed to be done, and come hell or high water he was going to drive the Gendahl fleet back down into whatever hole they decided to crawl out of this time.<br/><br/>Ryan took a deep breath, somewhat embarrassed that he had lost control like that, looking away for a moment. He buried his face in his hands for a second before he looked to Eric again, speaking as though the kiss never happened he said, â€œYour friend is being held by members of Gendahl fleet, this wonâ€™t exactly be easy.â€ He stood from the couch again as he paced the room some more, trying to come up with a plan. â€œIf you have a plan it had better be a damn good one.â€ The two other men in the room were looking away from him, he snapped to get their attention, â€œListen, I want you two to gather some people and warn the other gangs about this if they donâ€™t know already. I know what they think of me, but tell them itâ€™s their funeral if they donâ€™t heed my warning.â€ The men nodded and left the room in a somewhat hasty manner. He had enemies, but he was sure that even his enemies would not like some high and mighty pricks stomping around.<br/><br/>Especially from Gendahl fleetâ€¦ they were a bit moreâ€¦ wild than Shalona, for the lack of better word. If they were going to rescue the woman they had to act fast. Especially if someone recognized himâ€¦ he was taking a hell of a lot of risks. And it was strange because he almost didnâ€™t care.