Jack stopped at the end of the docking bays, and Richardson almost ran into her.
He said nothing, just grinned wolfishly. She would have to play it safe with this one.
"Watch it next time," she said, clearly annoyed. Jack eyed him. "And I don't mean me."
She'd have to keep her own hormones under control because he hadn't been the only one checking out some of the nice sights back there at the ship. She just hadn't made the mistake of moving her head like he had.
'Men. They really have to stop making these stupid mistakes.'
She smiled at her personal joke before opening the door she had stopped at.
"Welcome home," she said, stepping outside with Richardson following. They found themselves in an alley between the bays and another building. "I don't know how much you know," she glanced at him and was relieved to see, by his facial expression, that he didn't know much. "Good. That makes it easier to explain to you then.
"Explain away," Richardson said. Jack suddenly felt that he knew full well what was going on. He just wanted her version of it.
"Planet 565, about five years ago, was an ACF. Absolute Containment Facility, that is. It was then taken over by ex-cons who were pissed at the Company. Still are pissed. The beginners expanded this city and eventually, one by one, turned every single prison section on this planet into piles of rubble. Just venting their anger I guess. It was a long process. It took almost three whole years to get Slam."
Jack heard Richardson growl.
"Oh, believe me, I understand completely. Did a year there. I feel sorry for the poor bastards that got sent there for life. How long were you in for?"
Richardson smirked. "Life."
She smiled uncomfortably. "Anyway, the rebels took down all the existing towns between prisons. They didn't want the Company sneaking up their asses in the middle of the night, using the towns as cover. It was a smart move. So," Jack spread her arms wide motioning to all the buildings around her, "they lived and prospered here for a little while, and now we have this lovely metropolis. The city of Kalpic.
Everyone in Kalpic works toward the advancement of the resistance against the Company. We have just received sufficient proof that the Company and the military are pretty much one whole entity. It's not the best news in the world, but at least it prepares us for what we're going up against. All us ex-cons here want 565 for ourselves. Just a place to go and not bother anybody. We tried getting it the legal way, but the Company decided that they wanted to play hardball." Jack smirked at Riddick. "I don't think they realized how competitive we all are. To update you quickly on our situation, we're just now gathering troops, weaponry and information. When we have enough, we're planning an attack on some surrounding planets where military battalions are stationed. When we overtake this system, it's just a hop skip and a jump to Company HQ where we take out anyone we need to take out, use what we need to use, and fuck all the rest."
Richardson smiled at Jack's little speech. Quite the vernacular this little woman had.
Jack began walking forward, out of the alleyway behind the docking bays. She needed to find this Richardson somewhere to live. The barracks were a few blocks down, but Jack needed somewhere better for him to go. He looked like he might be important to both her and Dio later on.
Bodyguard? her mind questioned, running through the list of 'special' occupations. She mentally ticked off the things he was probably good at. Physical work was a given. Richardson must have been twice as wide as Jack due to his muscle mass. He looked like a badass motherfucker and had been sentenced to life in Slam, so death was probably one of his old friends.
He seemed to pilot well. Jack had hardly heard his skiff hit the ground, he set it down so gently. Of course, that didn't mean that he could dodge stars or maneuver any of the bigger ships, but she had a feeling that he could when the need called for it.
Well, what does that add up to?
Jack still didn't know. They had enough docking pilots and physical workers. He might be good at fighting, but then again, she didn't want him to die. He could be useful in other walks of the war. Maybe special operations. She hadn't really come up against this problem before. Her military instincts told her that he would be best working like the rest of the newbies. Either doing grunt work, or some blue-collar job. Something where if he screwed up, the whole rebellion wouldn't go down the hopper.
But she felt as if that assumption were wrong. He didn't look like the kind to screw up. And if he did, he fixed things right quick. For a stranger Jack trusted him almost too much for her own good, especially this early in the game.
Plus, she had a strange feeling that she had met him before. It hadn't been a bad meeting. He had done something for her, but she couldn't remember what it was. She couldn't remember if she had even met him before. It was just a hunch, and as much as Jack had learned to trust her hunches, they didn't always work out as planned.
He said nothing, just grinned wolfishly. She would have to play it safe with this one.
"Watch it next time," she said, clearly annoyed. Jack eyed him. "And I don't mean me."
She'd have to keep her own hormones under control because he hadn't been the only one checking out some of the nice sights back there at the ship. She just hadn't made the mistake of moving her head like he had.
'Men. They really have to stop making these stupid mistakes.'
She smiled at her personal joke before opening the door she had stopped at.
"Welcome home," she said, stepping outside with Richardson following. They found themselves in an alley between the bays and another building. "I don't know how much you know," she glanced at him and was relieved to see, by his facial expression, that he didn't know much. "Good. That makes it easier to explain to you then.
"Explain away," Richardson said. Jack suddenly felt that he knew full well what was going on. He just wanted her version of it.
"Planet 565, about five years ago, was an ACF. Absolute Containment Facility, that is. It was then taken over by ex-cons who were pissed at the Company. Still are pissed. The beginners expanded this city and eventually, one by one, turned every single prison section on this planet into piles of rubble. Just venting their anger I guess. It was a long process. It took almost three whole years to get Slam."
Jack heard Richardson growl.
"Oh, believe me, I understand completely. Did a year there. I feel sorry for the poor bastards that got sent there for life. How long were you in for?"
Richardson smirked. "Life."
She smiled uncomfortably. "Anyway, the rebels took down all the existing towns between prisons. They didn't want the Company sneaking up their asses in the middle of the night, using the towns as cover. It was a smart move. So," Jack spread her arms wide motioning to all the buildings around her, "they lived and prospered here for a little while, and now we have this lovely metropolis. The city of Kalpic.
Everyone in Kalpic works toward the advancement of the resistance against the Company. We have just received sufficient proof that the Company and the military are pretty much one whole entity. It's not the best news in the world, but at least it prepares us for what we're going up against. All us ex-cons here want 565 for ourselves. Just a place to go and not bother anybody. We tried getting it the legal way, but the Company decided that they wanted to play hardball." Jack smirked at Riddick. "I don't think they realized how competitive we all are. To update you quickly on our situation, we're just now gathering troops, weaponry and information. When we have enough, we're planning an attack on some surrounding planets where military battalions are stationed. When we overtake this system, it's just a hop skip and a jump to Company HQ where we take out anyone we need to take out, use what we need to use, and fuck all the rest."
Richardson smiled at Jack's little speech. Quite the vernacular this little woman had.
Jack began walking forward, out of the alleyway behind the docking bays. She needed to find this Richardson somewhere to live. The barracks were a few blocks down, but Jack needed somewhere better for him to go. He looked like he might be important to both her and Dio later on.
Bodyguard? her mind questioned, running through the list of 'special' occupations. She mentally ticked off the things he was probably good at. Physical work was a given. Richardson must have been twice as wide as Jack due to his muscle mass. He looked like a badass motherfucker and had been sentenced to life in Slam, so death was probably one of his old friends.
He seemed to pilot well. Jack had hardly heard his skiff hit the ground, he set it down so gently. Of course, that didn't mean that he could dodge stars or maneuver any of the bigger ships, but she had a feeling that he could when the need called for it.
Well, what does that add up to?
Jack still didn't know. They had enough docking pilots and physical workers. He might be good at fighting, but then again, she didn't want him to die. He could be useful in other walks of the war. Maybe special operations. She hadn't really come up against this problem before. Her military instincts told her that he would be best working like the rest of the newbies. Either doing grunt work, or some blue-collar job. Something where if he screwed up, the whole rebellion wouldn't go down the hopper.
But she felt as if that assumption were wrong. He didn't look like the kind to screw up. And if he did, he fixed things right quick. For a stranger Jack trusted him almost too much for her own good, especially this early in the game.
Plus, she had a strange feeling that she had met him before. It hadn't been a bad meeting. He had done something for her, but she couldn't remember what it was. She couldn't remember if she had even met him before. It was just a hunch, and as much as Jack had learned to trust her hunches, they didn't always work out as planned.