Apart

[Kinsey Calhoun]

Kinsey looked them over and shrugged she was too tired to really care. She gestured for them to lead the way then followed them to her quarters. Neither said a word as they walked through the corridors of the ship. She was tempted to reach out and slip into their minds. Toy with a though here in one and a thought there in the other. Turn them against each other and watch them tear each other apart.

She was still coming down off the high from earlier and starting to sound like K’n’zy. She remembered what that felt like. To twist a person’s thoughts and watch them destroy each other. The difference was these people deserved it. They weren’t the so called innocent.

“Your quarters.” A male voice finally said as he opened the door and stepped inside.

It was modestly appointed but she didn’t need much just the bed and hopefully an actual shower.

“Leave.” Kinsey commanded as she dropped the cloak to the floor and walked towards the bathroom. There was nothing in her tone that left room for argument. She didn’t even look back to see if they had listened to her.

The bathroom had a bit more luxury then the room had complete with running water. Silently thanking the gods, Kinsey turned it on and heated it to a hot as she could stand. Steam filling the room as she slipped in under the stream.

It felt divine as the water cascade down her body washing away what felt like months worth of dirt and grim from her skin and hair.
“You killed those people.” Jack’s voice said from behind her in disgust. “You murdered them.”

“They deserved it.” Kinsey said as she turned to face him as she wiped the water from her eyes.

“You destroyed a whole planet K’n’zy.”

“Oh, piss off Jack you’re dead.” Kinsey said coldly as she turned back into the stream of water.

[Jack Ryder]

Jack's time pod arrived outside of Dominus' massive warship that was almost as big as Starbase Byron, dozens of smaller ships patrolled around it. He could sense the darkness and pain coming from it, clearly this was more than he could handle on his own, and yet... if he called his sister, the Alliance Fleet would come and they'd be wiped out. This was something he had to investigate on his own, one man would be much harder to track. Or so he thought.

"Hello." Ophelia said over the comm that forced itself onto his screens. "I've been waiting for you." she cooed and snapped her fingers. "Don't try to block the transport... it's locked onto your unique genetic and temporal code. I wish I could take your ship, but that's a bit more than I care to program in right now." she said as he de-materialized.

"JR! INITIATE CODE 2837!" Jack shouted as he was beamed out of his pod. Leaving behind his communicator and weapons on the floor.

"Bloody hell." JR muttered as he activated and picked up the comms. "You wankers." he glared at the ship and set a course for a different temporal phase and locked pod down. "You better know what you're doing meat bag me." he said and tapped a few controls on the panel in front of him.

-- Ophelia's Lair -

Jack was immediately secured into a psionic blocking wheel chair that kept him bound, numb and secured. Ophelia traced her finger across his bare back and smiled. "Sorry about that lovely outfit you were wearing." she shrugged her shoulders. "But one cannot be too careful when it comes to Ryders."

"Ophelia... murderous bi..." Jack started to say before a clamp appeared over his mouth.

"I am really starting to get tired of being called a bitch, as if that's the only word you can think of." Ophelia said with a dramatic eyeroll. "So... boring and predictable. Especially with one of such knowledge and genius and intelligence. You're wasting yourself and you don't even know it. You are so blinded by petty morals and hangups and 'that's not right'... that you lock down your true power." she sat on his lap and looked him in the eyes. "Your wife is capable of a lot... you're capable of a lot. And yet... you both lacked... the proper motivation and vision." she got up and snapped her fingers. "I've been working on this for a while now... but you'll be my first test subject. Of course, if you die... well... wouldn't be the first Jack Ryder I've had to dump out an airlock."

Jack couldn't sense anything, he thought for a brief moment he could sense his Kinsey on the ship and then the blocker made that go away. Was this a trick? His mind felt like someone had swung him around and he was dizzy yet it was a mental dizziness. The blockers were strong... and then... he saw blackness.

Ophelia's voice came over the speaker as the bonds released him and he saw a glowing light. "Physically, you won't age a day, mentally... you'll live lifetimes. Focused time dilation and reconditioning... enjoy!"

"Oh this is going to suck..." Jack muttered as his world literally exploded.