Technical Support- Katty Noir
AN: Wow, guys, I'm really sorry it's taken me so long to get this up. School has been incredibly difficult lately and there's been loads of drama going around, so I've been busy. But here is another chapter! I promise to start getting them up more regularly, hopefully one every three weeks or so. Anyway. Enjoy!
Chapter Six "Long Time No See"
'I've never been off world, but I seem to remember hearing something about cryo-sleep,' said Michael hesitantly. They had been in space for a few hours and, not surprisingly, she was bored out of her mind. Riddick hadn't said one word to her since he'd woken her up that morning, and she felt she might go crazy from the lack of communication.
'We won't be in space long enough,' he said quietly, his voice low and gravelly.
'How long will we be in space?'
He shrugged. 'No more than six hours.'
Michael
It is so darn frustrating when you're trying to have a conversation with somebody and they ignore you. Won't answer you, won't look at you even! I mean, did I say accidentally say something to personally OFFEND him? I don't think so; not on purpose, definitely. Something in my sleep, maybe? I can't have possibly; I didn't sleep till about six. Which means I only got four hours of sleep. So will someone please tell me how in the name of all that is good and right am I not tired? I think Riddick put something in my coffee this morning. I honestly and truly do. I don't now him that well, but it seems like something he might find amusing.
I sighed and faced the front. It was useless to try and communicate with someone when they were like this, so I would give him a taste of his own medicine. I would ignore him.
And so I did. We sat in silence for three long hours, watching the stars and planets go by. I slept off and on, and my dreams were fragmented things with more faceless men, and always with a familiar hulking figure in the background.
'We're almost there,' Riddick murmured after a while. I jolted out of my half doze and looked around blearily. There was dried drool on the corner of my mouth. I hastily ran my hand across my mouth, avoiding looking at Riddick's smirking face.
'Where're we goin' again?' I asked groggily. The stars were flying by at speeds that made my head spin.
'The Basilica.'
No sooner had his mouth finished forming the words did a hulking, yet streamlined craft come into my view. The first thing that stuck out about it was the shear size of it. While it was smaller than most planets, it would easily pass as a moon.
'Holy shit,' I murmured. We came along side the ship, and Riddick punched a few buttons into the keypad on the controls. A docking bay opened on the side of the ship and we glided it smoothly. I twisted around in my seat, trying to take in everything at once. There were no people- of course there weren't, there was no oxygen in the docking bay.
The door slammed shut behind us and we began to move forward. I squeaked and grabbed the arms of my chair. Riddick glanced at me, on eyebrow half raised, almost as if to say, 'what do you think?'
It scared me, how easy I could read him. Made me think that maybe I was too much like him.
Another door whooshed open in front of us and we passed under it, and it slammed down again. I laughed as a whitish looking gas began pouring in from the sides of the room, from various vents, and looked at Riddick.
'Fake oxygen?'
'Just in the docking bays.'
'How long do we have to wait for it to neutralize?'
'Five minutes.'
The gas spread to every corner of the room, enveloping our little ship entirely. And then it slowly began to dissipate, dissolving into air.
It was a clever set up. First, the ship lands in the docking bay, where there is never oxygen, because the doors are being opened so frequently. Then the ship moves to the re-oxygenizing chamber, where O2 is put into the empty space where air should be, and makes temporary, but breathable, oxygen. The life of this 'fake air' was about ten minutes after conception, so we'd have to move fast.
'Let's go,' said Riddick. I unbuckled my seatbelt and repacked my bag. The air was completely clear now.
Riddick lowered the ramp and I ran down it, grinning. The air was stale, somehow, but it wasn't too bad. Riddick emerged and I looked back at him. His face was a blank mask and I felt my smile begin to slip.
At that moment, several doors opened and about ten men rushed in, bowed to Riddick, completely ignored me, and began pushing the ship out. I looked at Riddick, perplexed.
'Who are they?'
He moved past me, to the doors through which the men had entered.
'Expendable.'
A shiver ran down my spine. I hoisted my bag higher on my shoulder and followed him.
I put my hand over my eyes as I stepped out of the chamber and into the heart of the basilica. After being in a ship for god knows how long, I was used to the light level of a ship. And while the Basilica was a ship, it was like no ship I'd ever seen before.
It seemed… endless. I craned my neck upwards, trying to see the ceiling, but all I saw was an endless sea of cold steel and floor after floor. The thrum of activity and voices filled my ears, along with some kind of nauseating smell.
'Michael.' I started and looked around. Riddick was standing a ways away, surrounded by people. I grabbed my bag and scampered after him, trying very hard not to trip.
I caught up with the group and slipped inside of the circle of people next to Riddick, hoping that no one would see me. I was very good at being invisible when I wanted.
Unfortunately, not quite invisible enough to escape her notice.
She was standing at the front of the ship, next to a tall man with an incredibly strange hair cut. The first thing I noticed about her was that she was gorgeous. Jaw dropping, stand in the middle of the street and stare gorgeous. She had smooth, mocha colored skin that looked like silk and a golden dress that was molded to her every curve. The second thing I noticed was that the moment Riddick saw her, he tensed like an animal. I tapped him lightly on the arm. He looked down at me and I nodded to the woman, eyes wide.
'Who's that?'
He chuckled. 'You too, huh?'
The man next to her was talking and moving, and there was something familiar about his movements. I froze and stared at him, not noticing when several Mongers ran into me. I heard Riddick calling my name, but didn't move until the man turned around, and when he did, a grin broke out across my face.
The woman in the golden dress, as if sensing my stares, turned and looked right at me. The absolute venom in her gaze shocked me. I heard Riddick laugh.
'That's Lord Vaako and his wife. Stay away from her.'
'Trust me, that won't be a problem,' I whispered and Riddick chuckled.
'Sir?' Lord Vaako had walked over, wife in tow. I tried to hide behind Riddick- unsuccessfully. A hand with very dangerous looking nails reached around him and clasped my bicep. I squeaked as the woman in the gold dress pulled me into view. She smiled at me in a way that promised pain. All of the other Mongers ignored us, except for a passing bow or salute to Riddick. Despite the cool temperature, I felt my face grow warm under the woman's scrutiny.
'What have we here?' she asked in a voice that dripped poisoned honey. I smiled at her and tried unsuccessfully to remove my arm from her grasp. Riddick put one of his hands- god, his hands were about as big as my head- on my shoulder, his eyes meeting the woman's.
'This is Michael Jones. She's here by my invitation and will be treated with the same respect that I am.' He cocked his head, message clear. You fuck with her, you fuck with me.
Wow. Deep. I was a little bit flattered. But Lord Vaako stepped forward, eyebrows furrowed, dark eyes intense.
'Michael? Little Mike Jones?'
I grinned at him nervously. 'Long time no see, huh, Vaako?'
He laughed delightedly and lifted me off the ground in a bone-splintering hug. I gasped for air and patted him on the back awkwardly.
'Nice to see you too,' I gasped and he set me down. Dame Vaako looked livid and Riddick was raising an eyebrow under his goggles (I could tell cause of the way the skin above his left eye was tensed up) but Vaako didn't seem to notice. He put his hands on my shoulders, looking for all the world like a brother who'd found his long lost little sister. That's how it was from my point of view, anyway. But Dame Vaako and Riddick seemed to be thinking something very different.
'Wow, Mike, you've changed. Last time I saw you, you were what, twelve? You haven't grown an inch! How old are you now?'
'I turn eighteen in a month,' I told him, grinning. He shook his head and put an arm around my shoulders, leading me away from the other two.
'C'mon. You and me need to talk.'
'Oh gosh, that doesn't sound good.'
He laughed and flicked me in the side; in the exact place he knew I was extremely ticklish. I shied away, poking him. Several people did a double take at us.
'Here, sit.' We reached a secluded corner and Vaako gestured to a couch that leant against the wall. He himself sat in a straight-backed chair and leant closer to me, hands clasped.
'Michael, if you're with Riddick, there're some things you need to know.'
'Whoa, whoa, wait a minute.' I held my hands up. 'What exactly do you mean by with him?'
Vaako stared at me for a minute. 'Please don't make me give you the sex talk-'
I turned bright red and clapped my hands over my ears, squeezing my eyes shut. 'Oh please god no! It's nothing like that! Oh my god ew! Vaako! He needed my assistance, that's all!'
Vaako laughed and patted me on the head. I opened my eyes and moved my hands, looking up at him.
'All the same… be careful.'
I smiled at him. 'No need to worry about that.'
We looked at each other for a minute, then his face broke out into another wide grin. 'I really am glad to see you, Michael. How's Patrick?'
'Dad's fine. A little overprotective, but it's understandable, given the circumstances.'
He nodded.
At that moment, I saw Riddick and Dame Vaako heading in our general direction, both looking severely pissed off. My heart began beating nervously.
'Shoot,' I said. Vaako's eyebrows furrowed.
'Ah.'
'Damage control,' I whispered and Vaako laughed.
'Well, here goes nothing.
TBC…
