Rival reverence

chapter 1

Strictly visceral.

Riddick stepped out of the transporter with caustion. It would be noticed on the outside but all of his senses were as sharp as ever.
The hallway confronting his prison pale skin and shined eyes empty.

Under his googols his eyes narrowed in suspicion. It might have been 14 years since he'd
been put under like mother fucking dog, but he still had his head as intact as it'd been before.

And his logic told him that something was wrong. His logic had kicked him in the head when he'd decided to take this job. Not like there was anything else he could take and this one
would preferably keep him out of trouble.

Though his opinion of this kind of living wasn't high, he thought of the creeps doing legal pirating as leeches, sucking the blood out of everything alive.

He just cut, straight to the point of pain and then ran.

Once again his logic kicked him in the head.

*It better be fucking worth it*

Despite now being a free man he was still reasonably paranoid.

Footsteps, rather rapid, running. Most probably a kid, a damn fast one.
Another pair of running shoes joined the previous ones. A little heavier, probably someone older.

A lighting of red stopped infront of him. A boy, maybe eight, looked quickly at Riddick eight great distress in the young eyes.

-Yo, dude, don't tell'im´bout me

Riddick didn't get a chance to respond. The kid did the oddest thing. He ripped a control panel open, throwing couple of commands around, closed the panel.
A hatch opened, most probably to the AC.
With a low roar the boy slammed the hatch shut.

The other boots stopped panting.
A man, probably twenty something stopped, resting his hands on his knees.
The blue eyes looked up at Riddick, showing no signs of fear as he eyes the huge demon infront of him.

Odd that, every single soul on the transporter had shook in his presence.

-You seen a boy, bout eight, running around?

Riddick´s dark voice replied without much thought, but with amusement hidden beneath the tone.

-You ain´t asking the right fellow

The young man looked oddly at Riddick, as if he wore the lie on his shoulders. The running man stood up, gave Riddick the last look.

-So you´re him.

Then ran off, calling out.

-I'M GONNA GET YOU YOU BRAT!

As soon as the footsteps were indetectable movement occurred by the hatch, it being pulled open by the hunted boy.

He was grinning.

-Man, thanks dude.

He jumped down, landing softly, like a cat. quickly he closed the hatch again, taking a deep breath.

-you just saved my ass from being corporeally maltreated by the fucker.

Riddick was a little stunned at the little one's vocabulary over a spanking.
The kid seemed to think for a moment, then shove his hand out towards Riddick.

-Sorry I'm late, I'm Paulie.

He couldn't believe what he was hearing or seeing. They'd sent a kid for him!
Odd, way to fucking odd.

-Name's Riddick.

he waved her hand casually.

-Yeah, I know, that's why I'm here , to get you, but not, nota bene NOT on the present mission.

The sigh from his lips obviously fake, but with sincerity in the kid's eyes.
Riddick wasn't all too sure how to act or what to say.
Not akward, but a little confused however.

-You the local tour guide?

he laughed. Started to walk, signaling Riddick to follow.

-Yah see, your psychological profile says that the last person you'd hurt would be a kid, or an early adolescent, so that's why they sent ME.

The boytalked about it with agility and carelessness. Made him wonder if such things were common in this fucked up family.

-Cuz it´s unlikely that you'd try to kill me and if you would go psycho on me i´d be able to take you out.

Now that made Riddick laugh outloud, and that made that talkative kid skin around with a familiar angry glow.

-Do you realize that on a sub contional level you don´t believe that i´m capable of injuring anything? How ever i can promise you that you wouldn´t be the
first monster I´ve killed or am responsible for killing.

The sharpness of his tone gave some astonishment to Riddick, and the shift of the boy´s moode almost worried him. Specially when the kid switched to a pleasant smile.

-Sorry ´bout that, i gotta temper problem. My doc´s issued me some new pills but i keep forgettin´em.

So the kid had mental problems. Riddick suspected that most of the inhabitants would most probably suffer from something of that like.
As much as Riddick hoped for silence it was almost obvious that the world would not oblidge to his wish.

-Yo, dude, i heard you´d been in cryo sleep for fourteen years.

Riddick only mumbled a reply, not in the mood to asnwer or scare the shitling away.

-But aren´t you like, supposta not be influenced by cryo?

-You familiar with a dead cat and too many questions?

Paulie gave Riddick´s sentance a rather peculiar look, then he smiled.

-Dude, i think i´m gonna like you.

That smile took a rather different glare, something almost wicked.

-But I doubt´ll be mutual.

The quickness of the kids moves not easily calculated. All Riddick knew was that he felt a needle prick his skin and then the surroundings decided to
return to a darkness not even he could see
******************

-I can´t believe you did this to me!

Jack´s voice roared through the office. A snow paper white woman, bald and black eyes looked calmly at her friend.

-Jack, he´s a good catch for the team.

Unable to remain still like a normal human being JAck begun to pace around.

-He´s a single person, this is my sanity you´re jeopardizing. He nearly killed me.

Wolf leaned forwards, to face her emotionally upset patient. Sympathy read out of the complete blackness of the incredible darkness that the alien woman contained.

-It wasn´t my decision, but you know that i´ll inactivate him if i find and evidence of uncontrolable and harmful behavior and you know that i won´t hesitate to do that.

The cool calm of her friend almost made Jack´s inner spirit scream.
Still some part of Riddick resting within her, some memory still cherished and not destructed.

A little calm now Jack sank down into a near by chair. Disbelief had surged her system when Wolf had told her that Riddick would be working on Zion.
Not only just on Zion but he was to be hired for the mission team.
That´s all she knew. Ops hadn´t still notified anyone on Zion what Riddick´s positin would be.

Leaning forwards Jack gave a restless sigh.

-Does he know?

The white woman shook her head.

-I don´t want to take the risk. If he´s a psychopath I´d rather not he´d come here for the sole purpose of completing his job.

If Jack hadn´t known Wolf as inteimatly perhaps pain would have burst through her system ending in a pair of fractured legs.

But Wolf, as everyone knew her as, was the only person Jack had ever spoken to about Riddick, about the nightmars.
Maybe that was because Wolf was also her psychiatrist.

-Jack, you know you can defend yourself, and you know who´s behind you.

At that spoken wold smiled one of those smiles. Smiles that sent shivers up most people´s spine.

A beeper by Wolf´s waist went crazy.
That smile brodened.

-We´re ready to go.

JAck rose up ready to face her doom.

- I don´t have a say.

Her voice crackled and broken, a sympethatic touch from her friend gave the slightest spark of courage.

*Fuck this is it*

Jack´s heart trembling from the tought.

*funny shit, i´m the most suicidal and self destructive member of the misson team and I´m afraid too meet a single man*

-What about the rest, does he know?

Her voice swollen with concern.

-No. He will not be briefed on that part of the mission.

Somberly JAck took another route away from the office, whispering words that spoke of her anxiety and fear.

-Fuck me.

*****************************

Riddick´s head spinning like crazy.

The fucking brat had drugged him, somehow. Slowly he tried to move his limps only to find them restricted with metal.

Her breath streching across the room as he opened his eyes.

Black eyes staring into his eyes.

*I can´t be fucking dead and in Hell, I must be if this is Skylar*

The face gained some distance. Nope, this wasn´t skylar. Some bitch, looked like she´d never seen the light of day, and thee was no white, bald too.

*Can´t be a goddamn wannabe*


-Why hello Mr Riddick......