Enjoy!

Chapter III

"Auto Pilot on." Kyra said as she leaned back in her chair. And automated voice repeated her commands and she unhooked the safety belt around her waist. Not only had she become a world class mercenary, but she was also a great pilot. It was part of the training.

Her ship was small and just enough for herself, her weapons, and whatever piece of shit convict she was taking back to slam. She had a single room with two cryo-tubes in the chance that wherever she had to go was a fucking long way; luckily she didn't have that far to go to find Riddick. The other two rooms where spilt between a bathroom and her own personal arsenal of weapons. It was a small ship, but it was fast and served her well.

Kyra stood and stared out before her. The great emptiness of space beckoning, begging for her. It was so lonely, so fucking solitary. Only a few planets to keep the glow alive, too keep it from being eternally black, eternally cold. But it was all the same, once you past those planets, once they burned away, you were left once again with nothing but darkness. Story of her fucking life.

Her own thoughts caused her throat to tightened and she quickly tried to busy herself. But it was only moments before a loud beeping filled the small spacecraft and Kyra jogged to the back where a large screen was set into the floor. The automated voice blared loudly. " Incoming message."

She accepted and stepped on the screen. Suddenly a hologram of a man she didn't know appeared before her. He was a pale pasty figure with stringy black hair and rat like features, the only thing that saved him form being completely pathetic was the large scar that ran down his cheek that forced him to look menacing. Yeah, he was definitely one of her kind.

" Kyra Black. It's a fucking honor." The man said. He spoke with an odd accent, something like Australian and even his voice seemed oily." I'm the Incinerator, but you can call me Vex." Kyra had heard of him before, he ranked second, right below her. He was one of the craziest mother fuckers she had ever had the displeasure of hearing about. He had been number one, but the scar on his eye caused him to be out of the game for a while, leaving Kyra to shoot almost immediately to his number once spot. But why the fuck was he talking to her.

She narrowed her eyes. She may have been a bounty hunter, but she never trusted any of her kind." What the fuck do you want?" she growled, raising her chin slightly. Vex chuckled and it was unnerving as fuck.

" I hear you got assigned to big bad Riddick." He said with a toothy grin. He desperately needed to brush his teeth.

Kyra raised an eyebrow. " Possibly, what's it to you?" Somehow, she wasn't surprised at his response, in fact, she was half expecting it.

" I want in." he said staring at her with a single beady black eye.

" No go." She immediately replied. There was no fucking way she was letting anybody in on her turf. Riddick was hers; these fucks already had their chance. Besides, this was personal.

" What do you mean, no go?" It was then that his entire demeanor changed. The grin dropped from his face and he snarled at her. "Do you even understand how fucked up this guy is. Look what he did to my fucking face!" Vex screamed, finger digging into the large scar that ran from the top of his eye down to the corner of his mouth, disfiguring his eye and pulling his lip at an odd angle.

This guy really was as out of his mind, but Kyra played with convicts and crazies all day. This fucking psycho merely amused her. She simply chuckled then shook her head. " I don't give a shit, Vex. Riddick is mine, but thanks for the offer."

Vex's face became a snarl and he tried to respond, but he was cut off as she stepped from the pad and the hologram disappeared.

She pursed her lips and a frown creased her brown. That was the first time she had ever heard of another Merc approaching his or her own kind, trying to get in on a mission. Bounty Hunters were highly unsocial creatures and unless they had their own personal team, they did not play well with others. Kyra was slightly unnerved by the entire situation but shook it off.

She was close to Barse, only a few hours away; she had other things to worry about. She'd done some quick research before she left, hacking into the main database of a mining company below the surface of Barse. She had heard the reputation the small planet had earned and knew almost instantly that's where she would find her prey.

She looked down at her watch. 158 hours left. She found herself in the bathroom, peering into the mirror, staring herself down. She pulled her long black curls back into a ponytail, smoothing them out of her face. She wore a pair of black pants that hugged her flesh and tucked into black combat boots. Her top half was covered by a simple black tank top, when she got off her ship she would add to that a vest and a few other gadgets to house her guns and knives.

But for the moment, she simply stared at herself, mentally prepping for what was about to come. She was vicious, she was a killer. Hate flowed through her veins and she knew that Riddick would be hers. His price went down a quarter if he was dead, but if it came to that, it wouldn't be a hard decision, Riddick would die.

She seemed so confident, she was .But she realized her hands where shaking. She cursed loudly, throwing her fist into the mirror, the glass shattering. " Your not fucking scared!" she screamed loudly, blood running down her hand. The glass showed down at her feet and she sank to her knees, her breath coming a little too fast. She couldn't let her nerves get the best of her. He would kill her if he sensed weakness. Wouldn't he? That hadn't really come up in her mind. Would he actually hurt her. He'd done it before, she thought bitterly

She swallowed and tried to calm her breathing, she had to get in the right mind set." Your not fucking scared." She whispered over and over again, " Your not fucking scared."

Not far from Kyra, Vex stood on his ship. "Thanks for the offer." Kyra replied before her hologram disappeared. Vex snarled and jumped off his own screen, his one black eye wide and raging. " Fucking little bitch." He had produced a knife from somewhere and was now repeatedly stabbing the screen where her figure had stood only moments ago. " Stupid, fucking, whore." He cried wildly as sparks flew around him.

"Vex!" a voice thundered and Vex tensed immediately, the knife falling from his hand in a small clatter. He peered up timidly from a veil of stingy black hair. The figure that housed the voice stared down at the rat like man before him.

Vex swallowed and cleared his throat. His body trembling, his voice quivering. He tried to speak once, but the fear seemed to catch his tongue. His tried once more, but his voice came out nothing more than a squeak. " She said no master. What are we to do now?" The figure took a step towards Vex and he sunk lower into himself, like a frightened animal. The figure reached out and ran a hand across Vex's head, petting him.

" Do not worry, Vex. She will lead us right to Riddick. You see, Kyra Black will attract our Riddick out into the open, and they will have their little reunion. For Riddick does not know his little pet had become the one thing he hates more than life itself. And as the element of surprise takes hold, my child, we will strike." The figure purred, his voice like poison, sweet and thick, deadly. "Riddick will be ours."

Vex looked up at his master, eye wide. " Do you think they know why we want him? 'The Company', I mean." he stumbled. The figure seemed to think for a moment before he spoke. " It does not matter, these things. If they do find out, it is only a small price to pay for something much greater."

Whats this, a twist in the plot? Possibly! Probably not, but possibly.