I'm Sorry, Owens...
Shan'ica SilverPheniox
Carolyn sat in the pilot's chair of the skiff. The computer worked away, testing each of the ship's systems. She sat there, staring at the screens, her fingers typing commands. To anyone passing by it appeared as if she were engrossed in her work. But it wasn't her work that Carolyn was engrossed it. It was her memories.
_Owens. Sweet, caring, gentle, funny, devoted Owens. Owens. The man I loved. Now dead. Lying in the desert, buried under the sand of some stupid backwater dustball. Owens..._
"BEEP." The computer broke into her thoughts with the annoying tone telling her that it had finished its last task. She sighed and typed in another command, one that would prepare the system for a hull integrity test. The crucial test.
_The crucial test. A test I failed miserably. A test Owens came through with flying colours. Just like always._
"When things were at their worst, Owens was at his best..." Carolyn's words to Johns came back to her, threating to overtake her with emotion.
The computer screen showed ready for the hull integrity test. Carolyn forced the lump that had formed in her throat down and focused on the screen. Work, she had to work.
_Owens died for them. I have to get them out of here. For him._
"Thinking..." Carolyn muttered under her breath as the test began. The skiff was sealed. She slid her chair back and pulled herself up and out of it. Just as she turned to head into the rear of the cabin to check the air pressure, Carolyn found herself face to face with Riddick.
"Looks like we're a few shy...power cells." Riddick's voice rumbled deeply, sexily. He moved towards her and suddenly the skiff felt far too small.
"They're coming." Her voice was barely louder than a whisper. She didn't trust herself to speak louder.
_He's so close...too close. And so big. Bigger than Owens. Owens. My lover, my life. Owens..._
"Strange...not doing a run-up on the main drive yet. Unless...unless he told you the particulars of my escape." He stretched a little, just enough to send a surge of arousal through Carolyn.
She tried to suppress the sudden shudders that ran down her spine.
"I got the quick and ugly version."
"Now you're worried about a repeat of history."
"It entered our minds."
Carolyn tried to regain control of herself.
_Owens...think of Owens...what would he do? Damn it, I wish Owens was here..._
"I asked what you thought."
Carolyn met Riddick's gaze, a renewed sense of defiance and strength had formed in her.
"You scare me Riddick. That's what you want to hear isn't it? Now, can I just get back to work?"
Carolyn pushed past Riddick and turned her back to him. She tried to focus on the screen in front of her.
"I've been meaning to catch up with you alone...Unrestrained. You think – you think Johns is a do-right man? You think I can trust him to cut me loose?" Riddick's question seemed almost casual in tone. It sent a new surge of fear up her spine.
"Why, what did you hear?" She tried to keep her voice as nonchalant as possible.
"Well, I guess if it were trickeration, he'd just X me out, huh? He'd kill me. Then again...I am worth twice as much alive...Oh you didn't know that? Your Johns ain't a cop. He's got that nickel slick badge...and that blue uniform...but he's just a merc...and I'm just a payday. That's why he won't kill me, see? The creed is greed--"
"Don't...waste...my time. We're not going to turn on each other no matter how hard you try."
Her tone was hard. It had to be. It was the only way for her to mask her arousal.
_No, I shouldn't feel this way. He's a killer, nothing like Owens. Owens was always so gentle, so sweet...Owens, I'm sorry..._
"I don't truly know what's going to happen when the lights go out, Carolyn, but I do know that once the dying starts, this little psyco fuck family of ours is gonna rip itself apart."
Carolyn forced herself to stay calm, to not look at him. The hull integrity test had finished. The hull was fine. Air pressure steady. She heard the hatch lower.
"Ever wonder why Johns shakes like that?" Riddick turned back slightly. "Ask him...and ask why your crew pal had to scream so painfully before he died."
She looked back at Riddick then, and watched as he stepped out into the sunlight, her legs threatening to fold beneath her.
_Owens..._
Shan'ica SilverPheniox
Carolyn sat in the pilot's chair of the skiff. The computer worked away, testing each of the ship's systems. She sat there, staring at the screens, her fingers typing commands. To anyone passing by it appeared as if she were engrossed in her work. But it wasn't her work that Carolyn was engrossed it. It was her memories.
_Owens. Sweet, caring, gentle, funny, devoted Owens. Owens. The man I loved. Now dead. Lying in the desert, buried under the sand of some stupid backwater dustball. Owens..._
"BEEP." The computer broke into her thoughts with the annoying tone telling her that it had finished its last task. She sighed and typed in another command, one that would prepare the system for a hull integrity test. The crucial test.
_The crucial test. A test I failed miserably. A test Owens came through with flying colours. Just like always._
"When things were at their worst, Owens was at his best..." Carolyn's words to Johns came back to her, threating to overtake her with emotion.
The computer screen showed ready for the hull integrity test. Carolyn forced the lump that had formed in her throat down and focused on the screen. Work, she had to work.
_Owens died for them. I have to get them out of here. For him._
"Thinking..." Carolyn muttered under her breath as the test began. The skiff was sealed. She slid her chair back and pulled herself up and out of it. Just as she turned to head into the rear of the cabin to check the air pressure, Carolyn found herself face to face with Riddick.
"Looks like we're a few shy...power cells." Riddick's voice rumbled deeply, sexily. He moved towards her and suddenly the skiff felt far too small.
"They're coming." Her voice was barely louder than a whisper. She didn't trust herself to speak louder.
_He's so close...too close. And so big. Bigger than Owens. Owens. My lover, my life. Owens..._
"Strange...not doing a run-up on the main drive yet. Unless...unless he told you the particulars of my escape." He stretched a little, just enough to send a surge of arousal through Carolyn.
She tried to suppress the sudden shudders that ran down her spine.
"I got the quick and ugly version."
"Now you're worried about a repeat of history."
"It entered our minds."
Carolyn tried to regain control of herself.
_Owens...think of Owens...what would he do? Damn it, I wish Owens was here..._
"I asked what you thought."
Carolyn met Riddick's gaze, a renewed sense of defiance and strength had formed in her.
"You scare me Riddick. That's what you want to hear isn't it? Now, can I just get back to work?"
Carolyn pushed past Riddick and turned her back to him. She tried to focus on the screen in front of her.
"I've been meaning to catch up with you alone...Unrestrained. You think – you think Johns is a do-right man? You think I can trust him to cut me loose?" Riddick's question seemed almost casual in tone. It sent a new surge of fear up her spine.
"Why, what did you hear?" She tried to keep her voice as nonchalant as possible.
"Well, I guess if it were trickeration, he'd just X me out, huh? He'd kill me. Then again...I am worth twice as much alive...Oh you didn't know that? Your Johns ain't a cop. He's got that nickel slick badge...and that blue uniform...but he's just a merc...and I'm just a payday. That's why he won't kill me, see? The creed is greed--"
"Don't...waste...my time. We're not going to turn on each other no matter how hard you try."
Her tone was hard. It had to be. It was the only way for her to mask her arousal.
_No, I shouldn't feel this way. He's a killer, nothing like Owens. Owens was always so gentle, so sweet...Owens, I'm sorry..._
"I don't truly know what's going to happen when the lights go out, Carolyn, but I do know that once the dying starts, this little psyco fuck family of ours is gonna rip itself apart."
Carolyn forced herself to stay calm, to not look at him. The hull integrity test had finished. The hull was fine. Air pressure steady. She heard the hatch lower.
"Ever wonder why Johns shakes like that?" Riddick turned back slightly. "Ask him...and ask why your crew pal had to scream so painfully before he died."
She looked back at Riddick then, and watched as he stepped out into the sunlight, her legs threatening to fold beneath her.
_Owens..._