Giving an Ultimatum

Writers: Devin, Miriah
Date Posted: 11th May 2019

Characters: N'vanik, J'ackt, Jerinne
Description: N'vanik takes J'ackt to speak to Jerinne
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 10, day 18 of Turn 9
Notes: Mentioned: Sh'del, Cyradis, Grevan (NPC)

N'vanik

J'ackt

He was out of the sling, the stitches had been removed, and thank
Faranth, he didn't feel as though his mind was in a permanent fog. But
he had questions that needed answers. He knew from Sh'del that the man
who attacked him had lived and was being kept locked away, but that
wasn't enough. **Fecking wher-shit brained holder.** Coming to
N'vanik's office, he knocked on the door frame, still looking a bit
pale, but alert. "N'vanik, can I talk to you?"

"Sure. Come sit down." It was good to see him out of the infirmary,
walking around. "How are you feeling?"

"Weak sometimes, but getting better." He rolled his injured shoulder
carefully as he took a seat. "And I'm stiff and tired of sitting
still, to be honest. I can barely lift anything with this bloody arm,
so I'm trying to exercise it. The bag I've got helps, but I get tired
pretty quick. I'm just glad it wasn't my right side. I'd be shaffing
useless." He leaned back in his chair. "Where is he? What's going to
be done with him? Sh'del told me he was alive."

N'vanik nodded. "He's alive. We've got him locked in a storage closet
under constant guard. Much as I'd like to take care of him myself,
we're going to hold a trial."

"A trial. Do you think that'll finally end it?" J'ackt exhaled with a
frown. "What about Jerinne?" He remembered the confusion when N'vanik
had told him, then the realization of how close she had come to really
harming him. The shock of it was almost worse than the attack itself.
He understood now why his straps had had to be replaced so much. It
hadn't been his care of them, it had been her.

"If we can convince her to tell the truth we might use her as a
witness." N'vanik ran a hand through his hair. "Shards she _lives_
here. She should know better! And for such a stupid flaming reason."

J'ackt rubbed his face. "Well, I spoke to the Healers after all of
that happened with her. They weren't even certain she _was_ pregnant.
Faranth, N'vanik, even I can admit that I wasn't nice to her after,
but not enough to deserve what she tried." He frowned, then looked at
the Weyrleader. "I want to talk to them. Both of them. Can I?"

N'vanik let out a long sigh. It's not like he could say no to the boy.
If he were in J'ackt's shoes he'd want to face his attacker too. "I'm
coming with you. And if you really want to talk to that tunnelsnake
who tried to kill you, we're having a guard with us too." He wasn't
taking any chances. "And there will be _no_ physical contact."

He'd expected that N'vanik would want to go with him, but hadn't
expected the guard as well. J'ackt frowned, feeling a bit offended. "I
may be a bit weak, but I can still defend myself, especially since I
know he'll be there. He got my off-side, not my good one. We don't
need an extra." He rubbed his temple. He should have never allowed
himself to lower his own guard as much as he had. Lesson learned the
hard way. "I'm not going to touch him. "

"I'm not concerned about you fighting him off, I don't want him to
even _try_." And to be honest, the guard's presence would make N'vanik
less likely to lash out. "Do you want to talk to him first or the
girl?"

"Her first. " J'ackt rose. He didn't know what to say to Jerinne. He
didn't hold with hurting women, but seeing Grevan first might make
his temper poor enough to test that moral.

N'vanik nodded and led the way to the storage closet where she was
being held. There was a guard posted outside but N'vanik asked him to
stay in the hall while he and J'ackt stepped into the room, closing
the door behind them.

The huddled blonde girl looked up as J'ackt and N'vanik entered, eyes
full of sudden hope. Then she saw who entered first and scuttled back
towards the wall. Her eyes flicked to J'ackt and she rose, then flung
herself at him with a sob and flailing fists that swung at his chest.
"I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!"

N'vanik grabbed her before the first blow could land. In a practiced
move, he wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off her feet,
restraining Jerinne. "Thought you might try something."

J'ackt approached the dangling Jerinne, feeling a surge of anger
towards her that he hadn't even expected. He spoke softly, but there
was no comfort or sympathy in his eyes; instead there was a core of
cold steel in his voice that bit past Jerinne's frenetic response .
"You tried to kill me and Zith, Jerinne. Not once, but twice at least.
And for what? Because I didn't want you? I never made you promises."
He stared at her, his hand clenched as if struggling not to strike
her. "You tried to hurt my dragon. I've no sympathy for you. You want
to hear a promise from me now? You tell N'vanik and Cyradis the truth
about everything they want to know or I swear on Zith's hide and my
mother's grave that I'll drive my sword right through your guts, watch
you die slow, and not even blink. You're not a woman to me now; you're
a thing. Don't doubt for one moment that I wouldn't. do it."

Jerinne's eyes widened, she began to shake, and a small trickle
spattered to the floor from underneath her skirts, filling the small
area with the pungent scent of urine.

N'vanik set her down with a grunt of disgust before she could get any
on him. "You want any mercy from me, you better not try that again."
There was a dark anger in him, and there was no one here to temper it.
"That man you helped? He's holderfolk so we have to make nice show of
being fair. But you, Jerinne? You're all ours."

Jerinne scurried backwards, huddling in a corner, eyes flicking from
one man to the other. Her face crumpled as she realized that there was
absolutely no help coming, no hope of safety and mostly likely little
chance of mercy unless she told them everything. With snuffling
whimpers, she talked. "I tried cutting your straps. Three times. But
it didn't work. I didn't want you dead. I just wanted you to hurt a
little bit. But then my cousin Elanni said that her man needed help
getting into the Weyr and he was coming on the tithe train, and
thought I would help him because J'ackt hurt me and she knew I was
angry. She thought that Grevan just wanted to talk to him, maybe just
rough him up a little. Grevan sent a message through a flit that a
tithe guard had and he told me that he needed help getting in and
hiding and that he would take care of J'ackt for good. So, I told him
how to get in and gave him a map of the corridors and helped him hide.
I got him extra mad when I lied and told him J'ackt raped me...." Her
voice trailed off at the look of disgusted fury on J'ackt's face, but
then hurried on. "Then I wrote the note and said it was from the
Weyrwoman and sent it with another drudge and told Grevan to wait."

N'vanik's nails dug into his palms. He made himself take a long, slow
breath. "I want you to write all this down. I want you to sign it. And
I want you to testify at the trial." So there was her cousin, and
possibly a tithe guard and a drudge involved too. This was a whole
sharding plot.

Jerinne hurriedly nodded her acquiescence, her entire body trembling.
"Yes, Weyrleader. I will. What's going to happen to me?"

J'ackt stared down at Jerinne, hands clenching, then releasing in
spasms. "What you did was worse than what Grevan did. I can understand
why he did it and even why he thought it was right. I may have been
holdless, but even I know you don't betray your own. If I had my way,
you'd be dead the moment the trial ended. You're lucky it's N'vanik
and Cyradis who get to decide that and not me." He looked at N'vanik,
turned and walked out of the door, temper barely kept under control.

"I'll discuss things with the Weyrwoman," N'vanik told Jerinne. He'd
let the girl keep her life, but that didn't mean it was going to be a
pleasant one.

Then he left, locking the door behind him. "You okay?" N'vanik asked J'ackt.

Not answering at first, J'ackt took several deep breaths, visibly
struggling not to unleash the temper that surged within him. Finally,
he bit out his answer. "No, I'm not, N'vanik. " He stared at the wall
across from him for a moment longer before continuing. "I've kept
myself together and I've played off that I'm fine, but I'm not." His
nightmares had returned in force, after nearly six months of
cessation. He turned to face N'vanik, face grim. "The worst thing is,
I was starting to feel safe. I didn't feel like I had to watch my
back all the time. I could relax." He swallowed hard, jaw tense. "Now
I don't know that I can ever feel that way again. How long am I going
to have to watch my sharding back or worry that there's another dagger
aimed at me?"

"We'll find everyone responsible for this. And we'll make it clear
that anyone who tries to come after you will _pay_ for it." N'vanik
was furious that he couldn't keep J'ackt safe and that the poor man
felt like he was in danger in his own home. This was the one place he
_should_ have been safe. "You're a bronzerider of Pern and you're
_not_ alone."

"I want it to stop." He exhaled. "I'm tired, N'vanik. I don't want to
live like that anymore. I can't." He looked back at the storage room,
then shook his head. "I don't think I should see Grevan right now. I
don't know that I'd be able to stop myself."

N'vanik nodded. "I was going to suggest you take a break. You need to
be alone or do you want company?"

J'ackt looked down, his lip pursed. "I don't know." He rubbed his
face, resisting the urge to punch the wall across from him. Every
muscle seemed tense. "I guess I'll go punch the bag in my weyr for a
bit. Maybe I can see Grevan later. But right now, I don't know that I
wouldn't try to kill him."

"If you end up back in the infirmary from overexerting yourself I'm
gonna be pissed."

"It's either that or punch that wall." J'ackt gestured with his chin.
"Which would you rather I do? I'll use my good arm."

"Do you want to heal up and get back to the Wings or are you happy
being stuck on the ground? Keep that in mind while you're trying to
punch out your frustrations." _Someone_ had to care about his physical
well-being.

J'ackt rubbed his face and nodded. "I know. I know! I'm trying
N'vanik. I'll keep it in mind, I swear."

In a softer tone N'vanik said, "I'm worried about you, okay? I'll come
check on you later."

J'ackt nodded somberly. He began to walk away, then paused, looking
back over his shoulder. "She should be tossed out, N'vanik. In the
middle of no where. She can't be trusted one bit."

"I'm not going to let her live here. Don't worry about that." Exactly
where N'vanik was going to toss her depended on how honest she was at
the trial.

J'ackt nodded curtly. "Good. Thank you, N'vanik."

Last updated on the June 15th 2019

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Giving an Ultimatum