Full Summary: "In thee, O lord, is my trust, let me never be confounded: if God be for us, who can be against us?" - Mary Tudor, Queen of England (1553-1558).
Life is often tragic, whether in the forms of death or everyday woes. Marianne learned this the hard way when her parents were murdered by local thugs when she was thirteen. Since she could not inherit her parent's fortune til she was eighteen, her and her younger sister, Avery, were sent to live with their aunt. When she was old enough Mary took her sister and left her home planet to have a fresh start on life, until it's turn upside down again. Forced to kill in defense of her sister, Mary became a wanted woman. Well, not really since no one knows who she is. All they know is her name, "Mary." She gained the title "Bloody Mary" after systematically killing multiple mercs and convicts over the past seven years. Then of course, she boarded the Hunter Gratzner and her life changed forever.
Aguerra Prime was a peaceful planet, with beautiful shorelines and a relaxed atmosphere. The planet was a tourist's dream, with no noisy children and a great view. Violent crime was almost non-existent compared to other planets within nearby systems, including Helion Prime. Not that it didn't happen, but it was usually hush-hush and kept away from the public eye. In fact, Aguerra was more known for it's money scams than anything. Occasionally a person would go missing, but they were never found. Mostly likely dumped into the bottom the poisonous water in the ocean the planet was famous for. This was the planet I was born on over twenty-eight years ago.
Born into a upper-class family, I never thought that I would be the one thing my parents hated. A convict, murderer. Was it by choice? Not at all, for it was in defense of my younger sister by six years. Fifteen years ago, our parents were murdered by a local street gang when they refused to pay protection money, leaving me as the sole heir to my family's fortune. Considering I was thirteen at the time, I did not inherit the money at the time. Luckily no one other than me could touch the money, or our aunt would have spent it all on extravagant items. She was a greedy bitch who hated that her sister had everything she ever wanted. She often took her bitterness out on us, mainly me by verbally abusing us. She would say how it was our fault our parents were dead or how no one likes us. I never listened to it but my sister, Avery took it hard. She was only seven at the time and found it hard to know that there were bad people out there, even after our parent's murder.
After enduring that for five years, I got custody over Avery and moved us off-planet to Aquila Major in the Aquila System. We got a nice apartment in the main city of the capital and life went on normal for three years. During that time, I had myself trained to use the double-bladed daggers that my father had acquired, learned how to shoot a gun, as well as continued my martial arts training that I had started when I was seven. I wasn't going to lose my sister after everything we went through.
Walking towards Avery's school one day, I noticed she wasn't waiting for me in front of the school. I was suspicious as she never mentioned getting a ride from one of her friends at all today. At the time she was fifteen and I twenty-one, and usually a person would think a girl my sister's age could handle themselves, but I knew something was wrong. I put a hand over the gun I had tucked into the back of my pants before I heard male laughter coming from an alley nearby. Walking cautiously towards the entrance, I peeked over the corner to see my sister backed up against the wall with five mercs surrounding her. Mercs, I thought in disgust, no better than the convicts they hunt. I pulled out my gun clicking the safety off as my eyes zeroed in on the one in the middle who was walking closer to Avery. Before he could touch her, I brought up my gun and fired a single shot. The merc froze for a moment before toppling face first onto the ground, dead. The bullet hit him in the back of the head going right through the brain before exiting, imbedding into the wall.
The four remaining mercs turned towards me cautiously as I cocked my gun again. "No one hurts my sister." I told them with a glare as my sister darted around them and stood behind me. "Now be on your way, or else you'll end up like your friend there on the ground."
I saw three of the four men exchange a glance before the the other men went for his gun. Without looking at him I fired a shot in his direction. A few seconds of silence followed the roar of the shot before he crumpled to the ground on his back, dead. I turned the gun back on them as glare became colder, "Now I'm giving you one last chance, leave or you'll be joining them in hell sooner rather than later."
The man in front laughed mockingly at me, "Girly, there's three of us and one of you. I think the odds are in our favor." He leers at me causing me to scrunch my nose in disgust. "How about you put down the gun and let us show you and your sister a good time."
His answer came into the form of a bullet when it lodged itself into his head, propelling him a few feet back as he landed on his back, dead. Two more followed it when the the last two men went for their guns. Clicking the safety on, I tucked the gun back into my pants before bending down and picking up the the casings and tucking them into my pocket before turning to Avery, who was slightly shaking from shock. I walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to flinch as she came out of her thoughts. "Hey, you okay? They didn't hurt you, did they?"
She looks at me with tears in her eyes. "N-No. You got here in time before they…" She trails off as tears start falling from her eyes. I pulled her into a hug as she sobbed in relief before I lead her back home. We needed to leave before the cops got to the scene as someone was sure to have heard the shots.
From that day forward, I became a bit of a vigilante/convict. Killing both vicious convicts and dirty mercs, I came to be known as "Bloody Mary," since the only indication of my presence was a small piece of paper saying Mary with blood spatter on it. I became one of the most wanted people in the galaxy with a bounty of 900k and rising, yet to many I was a ghost. No one knew what I looked like, whether I was a male or female, or if I flew a ship or not.
It's been seven years since that day, and I honestly don't regret what I do. I wipe out the scum of the galaxy, and ensure that others are safe. The only ones that need fear me are criminals and mercs, especially mercs. My sister and I travelled to many planets over the years, making sure never to stay in one place too long. It was too risky, especially for her if on the off chance any of the mercs figured out who I was. Avery would instantly become a target, either using her to bait me or killing her out of spite.
Sometimes I wondered what would have happened if our parents weren't dead. Whether we would be like the typical rich heiresses, or if we would retain the attitudes we have now. Of course if it never happened, I never would have met him.
Aquila Major, Aquila System
6 months before Pitch Black
"Avery, come on!" I yelled over the bustling crowd as my sister was perusing the goods of a nearby stall. "The ship leaves soon!"
"Alright already!" She yells irritated as she stalks over to me, her backpack on her shoulders. "Just get that fucking stick out of your ass for once."
With a flat stare at my younger sister, I turn and lead us to the ramp of the ship where a woman, slightly older than us was checking tickets. She had blonde short hair and a fair complexion, wearing the standard blue flight uniform. After turning in the tickets we each find two empty cryo pods next to each other and store our belongings into them as quickly as possible. I noticed a pod with the words, 'Lockout Protocol. No Early Release.' They only use those for convicts, and sure enough, it was the infamous Richard B. Riddick chained, gagged and blindfolded. With someone as dangerous as he is its understandable, but the bit is going a little too far.
Turning away from the convict's pod, I made sure Avery got into her pod before getting in my own. Closing the pod, I relaxed as the ship soon got underway. A chance a quick glance at Riddick's pod and notice his head turned towards me. I could practically feel the weight of his gaze on me as if the blindfold didn't block his vision. Of course having heightened senses of hearing and smell, he could most likely hear my heartbeat and my scent. He was an interesting character, not the complete monster others make him out to be. Looking back over his record, I noticed that the only kills that could be tied to him are mercs and other convicts that he had killed. The innocents were actually victims of crossfire between him and the merc who was currently chasing him. Turning my thoughts away from him, cryo sleep soon enveloped me in darkness.