Author's Notes: Um, okay for CairuLunari, this one has paragraph breaks in it!! Sorry about the last chapter, but I was writing on that little inspiration bunny and I didn't go back and edit before I put the chapter up. This one is longer as well. Hope you guys like. GIVE ME FEEDBACK PLEASE!!!
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Despite her efforts, she fell asleep. But only a few minutes before the ship came under fire. She was thrown to her side when the ship lurched from the laser impacts. The ship shook violently. She tried to steady herself, but she was thrown sideways and into the wall. Her head banged against the wall hard enough to make her dizzy. Her vision went blurry and she lost her balance again. As she hit the floor, she heard footsteps over the rattle of the ship. They were headed toward her. Her last thought was that it was probably one of the mercs.
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She woke up slowly. Her vision was blurry when she opened her eyes. After she blinked a few times, the room she was in came into focus. It was small, but it was a room. She had expected to wake up in a prison cell... if she woke up again. The bed was soft, small, and comfortable. There was a dresser and a mirror above it. Then there was one door opening into a bathroom and another door that was shut. A set of fresh clothes were laid out on the dresser.
She sat up and her head swam a little. She took a deep breath before standing up. She wondered how long she had been out. There was no way of telling where she was or who had rescued her.
"You know we're in a ghost lane... Lotta pirates out here these days. Maybe somebody will come and jack the ship..."
The words hit her like a train wreck. Pirates? Oh yes... that was certainly an improvement. Out of the frying pan and into the fire. Slam was bad, but here, there were no guards to pull someone off of you. There was no law. She had thought that her situation couldn't get any worse.
Maybe it wasn't as bad as it seemed. She'd heard the phrase "Safe among thieves" before and maybe these people had no intention of harming her. She decided to wait before taking her shower. She didn't want anyone sneaking up on her. She entertained the idea of going exploring on her own, but figured if she wanted to stay at least semi-safe, she'd better stay put.
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She waited a long time before her door opened. The person standing in the doorway was the last person she expected. The guy with the shined eyes. She hadn't noticed until now but the lights were dimmed. Was she on his personal ship? He stood in the doorway for a moment, just studying her.
"Didn't take a shower yet, I see..." he said, then added,"And smell..." She shrugged off the last comment.
"Wanted to see who my rescuer was... Didn't want someone sneaking up behind me in the shower..." she said. He nodded. It was not an unintelligent move on her part. At least she had some instincts, some street smarts.
"Well, now you've seen me... Take a shower and get dressed. I'll wait...", he said, expecting her to get up and go right into the bathroom.
"I'll pass until I get some answers as to why you took me off the freighter" she said completely dead pan. If he'd been one to show surprise, his jaw would have dropped.
"What does it matter? You're off. You're free" She shook her head.
"I'm not free if you want something in return"
Clever girl. Not only was she smart, but she didn't bullshit about anything. Not bad for what? Eighteen, maybe nineteen year old. She'd been all over the newscom. TEEN MURDERS COP; BODY MUTILATED BEYOND RECOGNITION. That was the headline that stuck out the most. No mention of the sister though. That's why he'd asked why she killed him. He hadn't expected such a jaded response from her. He stood there studying her for a few moments. She spoke before he had a chance to.
"Okay, this is the way it is. I'll work for you. I'll be a mechanic. I'll cook. I'll clean. I'll even do your goddamned laundry. But if it's sex you're looking for, you picked up the wrong damsel in distress. If that's what you want, you take me to the nearest GOV planet and turn my ass back in", she said.
"You think your fucking virtue is safe in Slam? Or on the way there, for that matter? I'm surprised the mercs didn't already have you on your fucking back by the time I got to you", he bit out harshly. She stood up from the bed and faced him dead on. This surprised him... again. Usually men cowered when he stared them down. And women? They were scared of him when he smiled. But she was facing him, not wavering.
"I know I got out lucky on that. I'm not fucking naive. I'm not safe anywhere now. I know that. But I'm not gonna compromise myself just because I got picked up by some freak that has a soft spot for young girls", she yelled. He just chuckled. Damn, fiesty and stubborn. He might actually keep her around for a while before dropping her off where she'd be safe. She had some definant potential.
"What's so fucking funny?" He smirked at her.
"Listen kid, I had no intention of fucking you. I just got an urge to be a good fucking samaritin, that a problem?" She looked at him, her eyes narrowing a little.
"So what's your name?" She asked. No big deal in telling her, he thought. She probably wouldn't believe him.
"Richard B. Riddick" Her eyes lit up when he said that.
"I knew it!!! Goddamn, I knew I'd seen you somewhere before!! It just didn't register. The Riddick? Wow, that's cool... I thought you died like 4 years ago in some freak crash..." Riddick just shook his head. Another fucking groupie.
"What's your name? Or do you want me to just call you kid?" He asked. She gave him a look of a thousand deaths.
"Fuck you... And my name, Mr. Riddick, is Alisha. Call me Lish though, I'm not big on 'a's...", she answered. Riddick nodded.
"Now will you take a shower please?" He asked.
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Despite her efforts, she fell asleep. But only a few minutes before the ship came under fire. She was thrown to her side when the ship lurched from the laser impacts. The ship shook violently. She tried to steady herself, but she was thrown sideways and into the wall. Her head banged against the wall hard enough to make her dizzy. Her vision went blurry and she lost her balance again. As she hit the floor, she heard footsteps over the rattle of the ship. They were headed toward her. Her last thought was that it was probably one of the mercs.
***************************************************************
She woke up slowly. Her vision was blurry when she opened her eyes. After she blinked a few times, the room she was in came into focus. It was small, but it was a room. She had expected to wake up in a prison cell... if she woke up again. The bed was soft, small, and comfortable. There was a dresser and a mirror above it. Then there was one door opening into a bathroom and another door that was shut. A set of fresh clothes were laid out on the dresser.
She sat up and her head swam a little. She took a deep breath before standing up. She wondered how long she had been out. There was no way of telling where she was or who had rescued her.
"You know we're in a ghost lane... Lotta pirates out here these days. Maybe somebody will come and jack the ship..."
The words hit her like a train wreck. Pirates? Oh yes... that was certainly an improvement. Out of the frying pan and into the fire. Slam was bad, but here, there were no guards to pull someone off of you. There was no law. She had thought that her situation couldn't get any worse.
Maybe it wasn't as bad as it seemed. She'd heard the phrase "Safe among thieves" before and maybe these people had no intention of harming her. She decided to wait before taking her shower. She didn't want anyone sneaking up on her. She entertained the idea of going exploring on her own, but figured if she wanted to stay at least semi-safe, she'd better stay put.
***************************************************************
She waited a long time before her door opened. The person standing in the doorway was the last person she expected. The guy with the shined eyes. She hadn't noticed until now but the lights were dimmed. Was she on his personal ship? He stood in the doorway for a moment, just studying her.
"Didn't take a shower yet, I see..." he said, then added,"And smell..." She shrugged off the last comment.
"Wanted to see who my rescuer was... Didn't want someone sneaking up behind me in the shower..." she said. He nodded. It was not an unintelligent move on her part. At least she had some instincts, some street smarts.
"Well, now you've seen me... Take a shower and get dressed. I'll wait...", he said, expecting her to get up and go right into the bathroom.
"I'll pass until I get some answers as to why you took me off the freighter" she said completely dead pan. If he'd been one to show surprise, his jaw would have dropped.
"What does it matter? You're off. You're free" She shook her head.
"I'm not free if you want something in return"
Clever girl. Not only was she smart, but she didn't bullshit about anything. Not bad for what? Eighteen, maybe nineteen year old. She'd been all over the newscom. TEEN MURDERS COP; BODY MUTILATED BEYOND RECOGNITION. That was the headline that stuck out the most. No mention of the sister though. That's why he'd asked why she killed him. He hadn't expected such a jaded response from her. He stood there studying her for a few moments. She spoke before he had a chance to.
"Okay, this is the way it is. I'll work for you. I'll be a mechanic. I'll cook. I'll clean. I'll even do your goddamned laundry. But if it's sex you're looking for, you picked up the wrong damsel in distress. If that's what you want, you take me to the nearest GOV planet and turn my ass back in", she said.
"You think your fucking virtue is safe in Slam? Or on the way there, for that matter? I'm surprised the mercs didn't already have you on your fucking back by the time I got to you", he bit out harshly. She stood up from the bed and faced him dead on. This surprised him... again. Usually men cowered when he stared them down. And women? They were scared of him when he smiled. But she was facing him, not wavering.
"I know I got out lucky on that. I'm not fucking naive. I'm not safe anywhere now. I know that. But I'm not gonna compromise myself just because I got picked up by some freak that has a soft spot for young girls", she yelled. He just chuckled. Damn, fiesty and stubborn. He might actually keep her around for a while before dropping her off where she'd be safe. She had some definant potential.
"What's so fucking funny?" He smirked at her.
"Listen kid, I had no intention of fucking you. I just got an urge to be a good fucking samaritin, that a problem?" She looked at him, her eyes narrowing a little.
"So what's your name?" She asked. No big deal in telling her, he thought. She probably wouldn't believe him.
"Richard B. Riddick" Her eyes lit up when he said that.
"I knew it!!! Goddamn, I knew I'd seen you somewhere before!! It just didn't register. The Riddick? Wow, that's cool... I thought you died like 4 years ago in some freak crash..." Riddick just shook his head. Another fucking groupie.
"What's your name? Or do you want me to just call you kid?" He asked. She gave him a look of a thousand deaths.
"Fuck you... And my name, Mr. Riddick, is Alisha. Call me Lish though, I'm not big on 'a's...", she answered. Riddick nodded.
"Now will you take a shower please?" He asked.