Disclaimer: Pitch Black is owned by other people. I don't make no
money off of it. And I don't have any anyway. So NYA.
The Life of Death By Shaianne K. PeriHawk
Part Two
Aislin hated the hollow clomping sounds her footsteps made in the passage from the space station to the ship. They always made her feel fat. Having big and ugly stepping silently behind her really didn't help either. He was graceful and beautiful, it just wasn't fair. Aislin clamped down on the second half of that thought and tucked it far into the recess of her mind. The scowl marring her otherwise unremarkable face deepened the lines around her eyes and mouth. Unfortunately, so many years of smiling made her look cheerful, even when she was pissed off.
Her parents defined her Scandinavian heritage. Her father was tall and golden, like the Viking legends. Her mother was the short dark pixie throwback that popped up every few generations to throw the whole system off kilter. Aislin got her father's coloring, and her mother's build. Her brother called her the War Pixie. If he calls me that in front of these people, he's not going to live through this mission. He was her opposite, at nearly two meters with long dark hair and eyes. She punched the code on the ship's airlock and the door slid open.
"War Pixie!" The man on the other side, now a dead man, cried out as he saw her. He rushed forward to embrace her, armor and all.
Aislin returned the embrace briefly then pushed her brother away. "Joss, I am going to kill you," she said with a grim smile.
She turned around. "Joss, this is Jack and Riddick. Your guests." She turned just in time to see Jack mouth the words "War pixie?" and see Riddick shrug in return. "Hey!" She shouted to get their attention. Both sets of eyes shot to her. "A word, a single word, and whoever said it gets the plasma blaster where it don't belong."
Riddick opened his mouth, with a slight grin on his lips. Jack spoke up before he could. "Will we be in cryo?"
Aislin glared at Riddick as she answered Jack. "Yeah. As much as I hate it, that's the best way to travel."
She missed Riddick's raised eyebrow as she turned away. She walked beside her brother as they walked down the cramped hall of the ship. "Did my cryo tube arrive all right?"
Joss grimaced and rubbed his hand through his long hair. "About that, Ais, um, the Company decided that it was too expensive. They stuck your locker in storage." He didn't look at her.
Aislin grabbed her brother's collar and pulled him down from his nearly two meters of height to her 160 centimeters. "Tell me you're joking."
He spread his hands. "I tried, Ais. I really did. They said no dice."
Aislin huffed in frustration and let her brother go. "Just show me where we're going. And when do we leave for this hell-turned-paradise?"
Behind them, Jack turned her wide eyes to Riddick. She whispered to him. "What kind of crazy fucks are we traveling with?"
"Just remember you've got the craziest fuck of all at your back, Jack." Riddick shouldered his bag of clothes and equipment, and then followed the pair of siblings down the hall.
Riddick heard the little click, right before the door swished open. Jack stepped into the cramped galley, and took a seat beside him. "The captain says we're leaving in an hour. He wants everyone in cryo before that."
Riddick nodded. "I'll be there in fifty-five minutes." He started packing his arsenal into a bag. It would be stored right next to his cryo locker.
It seemed too far away, but he was reasonably sure he could take any of the people traveling with them without a weapon.
There was that doctor. Joss something or the other, he hadn't heard.
The pilots. Both of them were tiny little men, Asian ancestry with a European outlook. Soft.
The captain was a no nonsense old spacer. He was tough, but not a fighter.
Jack, whom he trusted, as far as he trusted anybody. He saw how she'd changed over the years. No longer the skinny, big-eyed kid she'd been. He liked how she'd matured. He could even be called proud.
The only possible chink in his armor was Aislin. She'd taken him down once before. She was fast, very fast. That armor she always wore made his blades and most projectile weapons a little less than useless. Her only weakness was that she'd never be half as strong as he was.
Strength got you nowhere when you faced a plasma gun. Or when you were caught from behind with a tranq gun. Riddick grimaced, remembering his most recent capture.
Aislin was good at her job. Too good.
He sat, sharpening a long, thin knife to a fine edge. This one was a slicing weapon, more suited to making an opponent bleed than killing. It was small, easy to conceal. Not that he needed to, since the Company bigwigs had authorized him to carry weapons on this mission.
Someone had apparently lost his or her mind in the Company.
He put the knife down and picked up the pistol lying next to it. He checked the functions, and added a bit of lubricant before putting it down and moving to the 12-gauge that was next in line.
Knives were his favorite way to kill, not his only.
He stood, re-shouldered his bag, and left the galley. He made his way unerringly to the hall lined with cryo chambers. He paused in surprise. A woman stood, staring at him, in the middle of the hall. She was a tiny little pixie of muscle, with only black spandex to cover up her curves. Then Riddick noticed the packaged armor beside her, next to an empty cryo chamber.
It was Aislin. Damn, she was a lot smaller than he'd thought.
"It's about damn time you showed up. The captain is getting impatient." She crossed her arms over her breasts and glared at him. "Hurry up."
"Keep your pants on, girl." He grinned, knowing it would irritate her.
As she wasn't wearing any pants, Aislin just glared harder. Maybe she'd burn a hole in him. She couldn't beat him without her armor, and Joss would get upset with her if she damaged the merchandise.
Riddick really hated cryo sleep. People were supposed to experience a big blank in cryo. He didn't. His senses were rather fuzzed for the first few months, but they sharpened again, and he started taking in his surroundings.
His mind flashed back to the last few days on the Hunter-Gratzner. Then he pushed the memories aside. Now was no time to remember that.
He stepped into the cryo chamber and closed his eyes as the door closed in front of him. For a split second, everything went blank.
She really didn't like that he'd seen her out of her armor. It made her uncomfortable. He was dangerous, she liked dangerous. Aislin, you are one sick and twisted little bitch. She checked the readings, and then double- checked them. All was as it was supposed to be. Satisfied that Riddick was in deep cryo sleep, Aislin stepped into her own chamber, and hit the button to send herself into months of dreams.
End Chapter Two
The Life of Death By Shaianne K. PeriHawk
Part Two
Aislin hated the hollow clomping sounds her footsteps made in the passage from the space station to the ship. They always made her feel fat. Having big and ugly stepping silently behind her really didn't help either. He was graceful and beautiful, it just wasn't fair. Aislin clamped down on the second half of that thought and tucked it far into the recess of her mind. The scowl marring her otherwise unremarkable face deepened the lines around her eyes and mouth. Unfortunately, so many years of smiling made her look cheerful, even when she was pissed off.
Her parents defined her Scandinavian heritage. Her father was tall and golden, like the Viking legends. Her mother was the short dark pixie throwback that popped up every few generations to throw the whole system off kilter. Aislin got her father's coloring, and her mother's build. Her brother called her the War Pixie. If he calls me that in front of these people, he's not going to live through this mission. He was her opposite, at nearly two meters with long dark hair and eyes. She punched the code on the ship's airlock and the door slid open.
"War Pixie!" The man on the other side, now a dead man, cried out as he saw her. He rushed forward to embrace her, armor and all.
Aislin returned the embrace briefly then pushed her brother away. "Joss, I am going to kill you," she said with a grim smile.
She turned around. "Joss, this is Jack and Riddick. Your guests." She turned just in time to see Jack mouth the words "War pixie?" and see Riddick shrug in return. "Hey!" She shouted to get their attention. Both sets of eyes shot to her. "A word, a single word, and whoever said it gets the plasma blaster where it don't belong."
Riddick opened his mouth, with a slight grin on his lips. Jack spoke up before he could. "Will we be in cryo?"
Aislin glared at Riddick as she answered Jack. "Yeah. As much as I hate it, that's the best way to travel."
She missed Riddick's raised eyebrow as she turned away. She walked beside her brother as they walked down the cramped hall of the ship. "Did my cryo tube arrive all right?"
Joss grimaced and rubbed his hand through his long hair. "About that, Ais, um, the Company decided that it was too expensive. They stuck your locker in storage." He didn't look at her.
Aislin grabbed her brother's collar and pulled him down from his nearly two meters of height to her 160 centimeters. "Tell me you're joking."
He spread his hands. "I tried, Ais. I really did. They said no dice."
Aislin huffed in frustration and let her brother go. "Just show me where we're going. And when do we leave for this hell-turned-paradise?"
Behind them, Jack turned her wide eyes to Riddick. She whispered to him. "What kind of crazy fucks are we traveling with?"
"Just remember you've got the craziest fuck of all at your back, Jack." Riddick shouldered his bag of clothes and equipment, and then followed the pair of siblings down the hall.
Riddick heard the little click, right before the door swished open. Jack stepped into the cramped galley, and took a seat beside him. "The captain says we're leaving in an hour. He wants everyone in cryo before that."
Riddick nodded. "I'll be there in fifty-five minutes." He started packing his arsenal into a bag. It would be stored right next to his cryo locker.
It seemed too far away, but he was reasonably sure he could take any of the people traveling with them without a weapon.
There was that doctor. Joss something or the other, he hadn't heard.
The pilots. Both of them were tiny little men, Asian ancestry with a European outlook. Soft.
The captain was a no nonsense old spacer. He was tough, but not a fighter.
Jack, whom he trusted, as far as he trusted anybody. He saw how she'd changed over the years. No longer the skinny, big-eyed kid she'd been. He liked how she'd matured. He could even be called proud.
The only possible chink in his armor was Aislin. She'd taken him down once before. She was fast, very fast. That armor she always wore made his blades and most projectile weapons a little less than useless. Her only weakness was that she'd never be half as strong as he was.
Strength got you nowhere when you faced a plasma gun. Or when you were caught from behind with a tranq gun. Riddick grimaced, remembering his most recent capture.
Aislin was good at her job. Too good.
He sat, sharpening a long, thin knife to a fine edge. This one was a slicing weapon, more suited to making an opponent bleed than killing. It was small, easy to conceal. Not that he needed to, since the Company bigwigs had authorized him to carry weapons on this mission.
Someone had apparently lost his or her mind in the Company.
He put the knife down and picked up the pistol lying next to it. He checked the functions, and added a bit of lubricant before putting it down and moving to the 12-gauge that was next in line.
Knives were his favorite way to kill, not his only.
He stood, re-shouldered his bag, and left the galley. He made his way unerringly to the hall lined with cryo chambers. He paused in surprise. A woman stood, staring at him, in the middle of the hall. She was a tiny little pixie of muscle, with only black spandex to cover up her curves. Then Riddick noticed the packaged armor beside her, next to an empty cryo chamber.
It was Aislin. Damn, she was a lot smaller than he'd thought.
"It's about damn time you showed up. The captain is getting impatient." She crossed her arms over her breasts and glared at him. "Hurry up."
"Keep your pants on, girl." He grinned, knowing it would irritate her.
As she wasn't wearing any pants, Aislin just glared harder. Maybe she'd burn a hole in him. She couldn't beat him without her armor, and Joss would get upset with her if she damaged the merchandise.
Riddick really hated cryo sleep. People were supposed to experience a big blank in cryo. He didn't. His senses were rather fuzzed for the first few months, but they sharpened again, and he started taking in his surroundings.
His mind flashed back to the last few days on the Hunter-Gratzner. Then he pushed the memories aside. Now was no time to remember that.
He stepped into the cryo chamber and closed his eyes as the door closed in front of him. For a split second, everything went blank.
She really didn't like that he'd seen her out of her armor. It made her uncomfortable. He was dangerous, she liked dangerous. Aislin, you are one sick and twisted little bitch. She checked the readings, and then double- checked them. All was as it was supposed to be. Satisfied that Riddick was in deep cryo sleep, Aislin stepped into her own chamber, and hit the button to send herself into months of dreams.
End Chapter Two