A/N: Sorry for the delay folks! I'd make some kind of excuse, but I don't really have any. The inspiration fairy just didn't come to visit. It took a friggin long ass time to get this section written up. Funny, when I started this thing I didn't think it would get quite this involved...but I just couldn't help myself. I've always thought of PB as a character movie (as opposed to plot) and I just can't help from wanting to explore some of those characters a bit more. I hope you're all enjoying it so far. And guess who we get to hear a little from this time?
Disclosure: Much to my consternation, I do not own any of the rights to Pitch Black or anything in the Riddick universe. Nor do I get to make any profits from this little spinner. The only things I own are the deviations from the plot and my OC. (Though if anyone wanted to fork over Vin to me, I certainly wouldn't protest...just something to bare in mind.) And yes, there are quotes straight from the movie, PB...I figure if I mention that in here I won't have to actually mark them. They're there, you know which ones they are, deal with it.
Full Summery: We all know the story of Pitch Black and we've all wondered at the 'what ifs'. What would happen if a single variable was changed? One character didn't die, another did, things shift slightly one way or another, another person survived the crash...This is the tale of Pitch Black with the latter, an OFC by the name of Lera Chase. She's not your typical survivor. A mystery in and of herself, who is this woman? How does she know the things she does, why isn't she scared of Riddick but instead seems to understand him, and just how is it she can see in the dark without a shine? Look deeper into the story of Pitch Black through the characters' own eyes and see how this new element affects them. Just what will she mean for their survival, their destruction, and the future that awaits them all? (PB and maybe beyond...)
Pitch Black: A New Twist
One Step at a Time
Carolyn wrapped her arms around herself, a poor substitute for comfort, as she watched Johns pull out his weapons. And here she thought things were bad enough. Riddick escaping was news no one had needed to hear.
Things had been going so well...well, as good as could be expected. Paris had found his cargo and the hooch in it, while not helpful for hydration really, did get rid of that dusty feeling in the back of your throat. And frankly, the buzz was not unwelcome given the circumstances.
The hydration issue was solved by Lera, at least temporarily. Those hydro pills were a blessing and so were the dry rations she had. Still, it did make Carolyn wonder a moment why she'd have something like that. She'd said they were part of her emergency supplies she kept for eventualities...that she liked being prepared. Carolyn and the others decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth, and it wasn't like they couldn't credit her preparedness considering the situation they found themselves in. But still...
Just about then Johns had stormed back in under a thunder cloud, cursing up a blue streak that had Shazza slapping her hands over Jack's ears, and told them all that Riddick had escaped, he'd found the restraints some distance from the ship. He'd immediately started riffling through the hold looking for his weapons case, dragging what he had to the main ship, suggesting they all find some kind of weapon.
Carolyn had frozen, everything seeming to go still in her at the news. Zeke had cursed and Shazza had gone pale. Jack blustered but the fear was easy to see in the boy's eyes and he practically clung to the others. After a moment of terrified babbling Paris wrapped his dignity around him and muttered something about weapons in his things, heading to the cargo container to gather them. That had calmed the others somewhat. The only one that hadn't reacted poorly was Lera. She had just looked at Johns and raised a brow before leaning back against the wall and watching the rest of them. Carolyn found her own eyes kept drifting back to the strange woman, half in question and half in seeking. There was something very comforting about the woman's calmness in face of this new and terrifying development.
Still, Carolyn couldn't understand how the woman could seem so calm when faced with the news that the convict was on the loose. Maybe she was just a calm person, Carolyn mused. After all, she seemed to take everything that had happened to them so far with a kind of calm detachment that was both comforting and disconcerting. The others Carolyn could understand, but this woman was a mystery.
What were they going to do? What was she going to do? They had enough facing them at the moment; finding water, salvaging what they could, trying to find a way to get off this damn rock. And now they had to worry about some murdering bastard stalking them? It was starting to remind her of some horror movie plot. What next? Monsters from the deep dark coming out to eat them all? Her mind started running around in little circles as the thoughts crowded around themselves until…
Carolyn jumped as she heard the hatch slam open and was slightly relieved that she wasn't the only one. A moment later Paris lumbered in under the weight of his...load.
"And what the hell are these?" she asked staring at what looked like some kind of giant pick axe.
"Martho Crovian war picks from Northern India. Very rare," he started to say, almost preening over his prizes as the others moved a little closer to see.
"And this?" Zeke asked as he pulled out a strange, dark tube from the jumble in dignified man's arms.
"That's a hunting blow dart pipe from Papa New Guinea, and that's very, very rare as the tribe is now extinct."
Zeke snorted and damn near sneered at the man. "'Cause they couldn't hunt shit with these things would be my guess."
"Well, look, what's the point anyway?" Paris asked, seeming much more calm than he had been before. "I mean, the man is gone, he's gone. Why should he bother us?"
"Maybe to take what you got," a low, calm voice cut through the air in Johns' southern drawl. Carolyn's eyes jerked over to him, seeing him strap on an armored vest. "Maybe to work your nerves," he turned to the rest of them, a slight smirk on his face that had Carolyn shivering. "Or maybe he'll just come back and skull fuck you in your sleep."
There was a moment of silence after that before Johns headed out while everyone let it sink in. Shit, Carolyn cursed mentally, trying not to show just how unnerved she was. These people were looking to her now for comfort. Personally, she was just glad to have a cop on their side.
ooOoo
Lera's eyes narrowed as they followed Johns out of the hold. She didn't like him, and it went beyond her general prejudice against Mercs. She didn't like Mercs because they would work for the highest bidder, go after someone just for the paycheck. They didn't give a damn about the circumstances as long as the credits cleared. Their loyalty could be bought and sold and even then they were loyal to two things only…money and their own hides. Sure, she'd met a couple decent Mercs in her time, but they were very few and very far between…the exception, not the rule.
Johns was far from being an exception.
Besides his chosen profession, there was just something about him that rubbed her wrong. Perhaps it was the fact that he was masquerading as a cop in order to get respect and cooperation he was hardly due. Perhaps it was the arrogant smirk that always seemed to mar his lips. Perhaps it was the casual way he went about scaring the piss out of these people without even seeming to give a damn. Worse yet, from that little smile he'd had as he'd walked out, she'd say that he'd rather enjoyed it.
He was a Jonny, she decided, that's what rubbed her the wrong way. A Jonny B Cool. A guy that played the big and shining to get the attention he wanted. A guy who needed others fawning over him in order to function, who thought he deserved it. He reveled in the attention. Sure, he was probably able to take care of himself to an extent, he would have to be if he caught Riddick the first time. But the problem with a Jonny was that they would do almost anything to keep that attention, and if it was taken away…well, then they became dangerous.
She'd known a guy like that in Secondary School…her junior year. He'd been a squall-ball player—big star shooter-back. Donny Calabryan. Thought he was the big man on campus, loved all the attention he got, would do anything to keep it. She hadn't been impressed by his type even then. Of course, that had rubbed him wrong and he'd gone out of his way to make sure she knew just what a great, big man he was.
She believed he was up for parole next year and kind of wondered if that testicular retrieval surgery had been successful.
"Sounds like a charmer," Shazza muttered, breaking the silence and drawing Lera's eyes back from the exit Johns had strutted through. Lera's couldn't help but smirk at the woman's tone. Dry, sarcastic, not overly frightened. Lera had met a few free settlers in her day and Shazza certainly seemed to fit the mold. Tough, rough, and hard to get the best of.
Lera watched as she pushed off the table and went outside with Zeke in tow…not before grabbing their choice of Paris' stash, however. She couldn't fight the sardonic smirk. Did these people actually think that these 'weapons' were going to help them against a seasoned killer like Riddick? Perhaps if they actually knew how to use them they might, but not in the hands of novices. Though, she supposed as Jack grabbed a much smaller, boomerang like tool, perhaps they would provide a sense of comfort. People tended to feel better if they thought there was something they could do about their situations. Lera might not be the nicest of people at times, but she generally preferred not to be cruel. She wasn't about to take that small peace of mind away from them.
After a few moments only she and Paris were left in the hold, the older man huffing out a breath and slumping down slightly. He looked frightened…and on the edge of something hysterical. She had to admire his aplomb, though. The man held up well behind his veil of refinement, dignity, and economic aloofness.
"Ah, Ms. Chase," he said, turning and noticing that he wasn't as alone as he must have thought. Interesting that they all seemed to forget about her from time to time. Then again, she was always good at not being noticed. "Ah, would, would you like one?" he offered her the assortment in his arms.
She cocked an eyebrow at him. "No thanks, not sure I'd know how to use one of those."
"But still, you should have something…with a dangerous man like Riddick out there, a young lady such as yourself must have some sort of protection."
Lera fought an amused smile. He was trying so hard to be gallant and gentile even though it was clear his nerves were frayed.
"You're Terran born, aren't you?" she asked and Paris seemed to blink at the sudden change of subject.
"Why yes, yes I am. Suffix, England, actually."
"Hmm," she hummed, pushing away from the wall she'd been leaning against, "I would think one Terran born would know about the laws prohibiting the removal of such artifacts."
Paris blinked at her. "I…you must be mistaken, my dear. I am a legitimate arts and antiquities dealer…"
"You're a smuggler, Paris," she said evenly and saw the man pale slightly. "Funny, I would think a smuggler would know a con-job when he heard one."
The older, British man blinked at her. "What…what do you mean?"
"I mean that even legitimate dealers know how to couch a phrase to make their products seem more valuable." Paris blinked at her and Lera sighed. She stepped forward and placed a hand on the older man's shoulder leveling her gaze on him as he gulped.
"Johns isn't just after Riddick," she said softly, "he's after the glory. Surely you, of all people, can spot an up-sale when you hear one."
"You…you mean you don't believe the things he said?" Paris asked, a touch of hope lighting his previously forlorn eyes.
"Some are probably true. He doesn't have any supplies so he'll probably try to get some in order to stay alive. The rest, though, complete and total marketing. My best advice, if he comes looking for something, give it to him or step aside."
"But what if he…"
"Where would be the profit?" she asked and a light of understanding hit the man's eyes. If a smuggler, of art or anything else, could understand anything it was profit. She could feel his muscles ease under her hand, which still rested on his shoulder. He gave her a slight nod and she smiled at him before heading outside herself, slipping on her sunglasses on the way.
She may have no desire to lead these people, no desire to be followed, but she wouldn't just sit by and let Johns rip them to shreds. There was no good in ripping them up the way Johns had. It would only make them tense and jumpy and that would only spell trouble. Trouble they couldn't afford.
She stepped out into the sunlight with a sigh, thinking about what she had been doing. So far she had gone out of her way to comfort an only half-decent pilot who had almost let them die, a convicted criminal she basically helped escape, and a gentleman smuggler posing as a legitimate dealer. She spied the pilot standing off to the side with her arms wrapped around herself, chewing on her lip and sighed as she headed over in the smaller woman's direction.
Lera Chase, mother hen to the galacticly bent.
ooOoo
Carolyn sat perched on an outcropping of the ship, mulling over the last few hours. Six hours. Had it really only been six hours since they had crashed on this god forsaken piece of rock? It didn't seem possible, no matter what her chrono said. Just too much had happened. The crash, Owen, Riddick...
That was what worried her the most, the escaped convict. And the one thing she couldn't do a damn thing about. Who knew just what he had in mind for them, if he was even still in the area. Somehow she thought it was too much to hope that he had just left them all behind. No...she pushed the thought to the back of her head. One step at a time, that's what Lera had said...
Carolyn huddled against a piece of the hull away from the others, arms wrapped tight around herself while she tried to keep the panic at bay. Too much, it was all just too much. She hadn't asked for this, couldn't handle it...too much. Their food stores were minimal, they wouldn't last a fortnight, if that. No water, save the hydro pills Chase had provided, and those wouldn't last long. They didn't even have a working communications array to send out a distress signal. How were they to survive on this desert of a world? No food, no water, no real shelter or way off...
And everyone kept looking at her, looking at her like she was supposed to provide all the answers. She wasn't a leader, why did they expect that of her? How could they? She wouldn't be able to do it, she couldn't...too much...
A piece of shadow fell over her drawn in form and she glanced up, trying not to gasp. Tall, dark, silhouetted against the light all she could see was the strength, the danger, and the dark, dark clothing. For just a moment she thought that it might be Riddick and her heart threatened to beat out of her chest, a scream strangled to silence in her parched throat. The form crouched down in front of where she was huddled, making Carolyn blink. No, not Riddick, a woman. Chase, Lera Chase.
"Hey," the woman's husky voice greeted her quietly. "How you holdin' up?"
Carolyn snorted. "How do you think?"
She shook her head at herself. It wouldn't do any good to unload herself on this woman, she was one of the ones looking to her...but was she? No, Carolyn realized as she looked into the woman's sunglass hidden face, this woman looked to no one to lead her. There was a confidence in her calm strength that Carolyn envied, a strength that wouldn't crumble in the face of all this, a strength that wouldn't find all of it to be too much. Maybe they should be following her.
"I think," the woman started slowly, "that everything is really starting to hit you. You've got the look of someone about to bolt" Carolyn clenched her jaw against a smart retort and waited as the woman took off her sunglasses, her face shielded from the light at her back. Carolyn found herself staring into calm, warm, light green eyes. For a moment she seemed lost in them, the comfort, the acceptance, the calm.
Carolyn bit her lip, trying not to shake. "I don't think I can do this, Lera…they, they all want me to do something, but I…I can't!"
"You're going to have to," Lera said calmly and held up her hand when she started to protest. "You're the only crew member, that gives you an obvious authority. They're just as scared as you are and when people are scared they look to someone of authority to help them not be. You're the only one here."
"What about you?" she started desperately. "You could…"
But Lera shook her head. "Who am I? I'm just another crashed passenger. I've got no more authority than any of the others. They won't follow me, but they'll follow you."
Carolyn dropped her head, everything surging over her. How was she supposed to do this? They shouldn't look to her anyway, hell, she'd almost killed them all. On top of everything the guilt was gnawing at her, had been since they had landed.
"Talk to me Carolyn," Lera said softly, making Carolyn look up at her. "They may not follow me, but you don't have to do this totally alone. But I can't help if you don't talk to me."
"It's just...everything is...it's too much!" she hissed. Lera raised an auburn eyebrow at her in question. "There's so much that has to be done, so many things going on...I just..."
"You don't know where to start," Lera replied with an understanding nod. "Everything's swirling all around and you feel like your brain has been gridlocked."
Carolyn nodded, a strange sense of relief coming over her at how easily Lera seemed to understand. And yet, there was no judgment in her eyes, no condemnation. Just warm, non-judgmental support.
"When being confronted with a complex problem," Lera said calmly, coming to squat down next to where Carolyn was curled, slipping her sunglasses back on as she faced the suns, "I have found that it's always best to take things just one step at a time. Focus on one thing, one piece of the puzzle."
"But how?"
"Well, what's the most important one?"
"They all seem important."
"Okay," she said slowly, "so which one will most ensure our survival."
"Water," Carolyn said instantly. "We need water. Those pills won't last."
Lera smiled softly at her. "Agreed. Well, you've got a solution to that." She gestured over at where Emam had gathered with his boys. "From what I've heard they come from a desert region. If anyone here knows how to find water in the desert, it's them."
Carolyn nodded slowly, her mind slowing down and focusing on the water issue. "Yeah, Emam mentioned something like that."
"Well, then that's a first step," Lera said with a grin. "Once you start working on one problem, the rest don't seem so big."
"But what about Riddick?"
Lera raised an eyebrow at her. "What about him?" Carolyn's brow furrowed and Lera shook her head ever so slightly. "Don't worry over much about things you have no control over. Whatever he does, he'll do. There's no controlling that. Some things you just have to take as they come."
Carolyn just stared at her a moment, brow knit in a mixture of awe and confusion at how she could be so damn calm. "How do you do it, Chase?" she asked finally. "It's like you know just what everyone needs to hear, how to approach things, and you're so calm you're almost freakin' detached."
The corner of Lera's mouth lifted it what looked like wry amusement. "Combination of a whole hell of a lot of life experience leading me into shitty places and a psychology degree."
Carolyn snorted. Well, that would explain some things. She closed her eyes and took in what Lera had said. It made sense, but more importantly, it made it easier. Slowly she opened her eyes.
"One step at a time?" she repeated, a feeling a bit of hope as her mind started to come into focus.
Lera smiled easily at her, leaning back against the hull with a nod. "One step at a time."
Carolyn couldn't help but marvel slightly at the woman. Probably she could lead these people to safety a hell of a lot better than Carolyn, but for some reason she seemed to feel no desire to. Instead she seemed to be a hidden force, the support in the shadows, the council everyone needed. She knew something had passed between her and Paris back in the hold, the man had come out looking a lot more confident than he had moments ago. She might not be leading them, but she was making it possible.
Carolyn shoved up off the ship and out of her thoughts, headed to short distance to where they were putting the final touches on the respirators. It was time.
"El-Emam," she called out, "if we're going to look for water we should leave soon, while it's cool."
The man nodded and set to get his boys ready. Lera had been right when she'd said there was a solution to their problem within their own group. Carolyn had been so overwhelmed that she had forgotten. Emam and his boys were from a more desert colony of Al Feruqe, one of the older colonies closer to Old Earth that was favored by those of Arabic and Islamic decent. The planet was mostly desert, like this one seemed to be, and had been settled by desert people when it had first been founded. They knew how to find water, they had been doing it all their lives.
Once that had been settled, things seemed so much easier. They had set out and turned to the tasks necessary for the exploration to be made. Namely, the respirators. The whole group had started gathering the bits and pieces necessary to put the contraptions together and then once they were gathered Shazza and Zeke had gotten to work making them. Johns kept scanning the surrounding area looking for signs of Riddick, though Carolyn couldn't help but find it strange that he never seemed to wander too far from the group. Hell, the farthest he'd really gone was to the top of the ship. Shouldn't he be more concerned with tracking his prisoner down?
Carolyn was about to turn to the others to tell those that were going to put the final preps on when Paris ran up.
"Excuse me," he panted, slightly out of breath, "but I think you should see this."
ooOoo
Lera stood with her arms crossed and feet slightly apart, a slightly disgruntled look on her face as she stared at the most recent unwelcome turn of events. She'd been talking with Paris about various antiques, or rather he'd been talking and she'd been surveying the area, when their new visitor made an appearance. Paris had run off to inform the others and she had stayed to stare at it affronted.
Her head turned slightly to the side as she heard the rest of the group round the ship. Man, but they were noisy. No wonder they hadn't encountered anything else out here. If there was, in fact, anything alive on this rock it probably would have been scared off by the cacophony. She barely acknowledged them as she continued to glare towards the horizon.
"Three suns?" she heard Jack say in shocked amazement. Funny, there was something to his voice that caught her attention. Something that didn't quite mesh and niggled at her brain, but for the moment she shrugged it off.
"Bloody hell," Shazza drawled and Lera couldn't help but snort. No shit.
Lera was by nature a night person. Always had been. There was just something so soothing about the starry night sky. During her childhood the only time she had ever really found a smidgen of true peace was when she could sit on her window ledge and stare at the quiet stars. For some reason they had always made her feel better, like if there was something so beautiful out there as stars then life couldn't all be bad. She didn't mind the day, but night was where she had always thrived. Looked like she wasn't going to get her nightly reprieve stuck on this rock.
Other than her own, personal distaste for the endless day, three suns presented another problem. One of which she was keenly aware. Dehydration. It probably wouldn't have been most people's first thought, but Lera hadn't been 'most people' for a long time now. She knew what dehydration could do to a body, especially at the rate the dry, acrid air was sucking the moisture out of them. At first they would just have cotton mouth, but then it would get worse. Head aches, irritability, loss of impulse control. Then it would start to effect the brain. Delusions, dementia, loss of motor control. Finally, after a long and torturous process…death. She'd seen men die of dehydration before and it wasn't pretty. You didn't just die of thirst, oh no, you husked.
They needed to find another source of hydration, and soon. Her pills would last half the time if they were to maintain proper hydration. They could stretch them a little bit, but not much. Eventually they'd all dry up and blow away like so much dust.
"So much for your nightfall," Zeke said bitterly.
"So much for my cocktail hour." Lera had to smirk slightly at Paris' response. At least the man was keeping his humor.
"We take this as a good sign." Lera turned to see Emam walking up to them with an arm around one of his boys. Lera had stopped trying to sort them out about three hours ago. She quirked an eyebrow at the older Islamic priest wondering just how in the world he could be grinning at this.
"A path from Allah," the man continued. "Blue sun, blue water."
Zeke snorted. "Ever wonder why I'm an atheist?" Lera couldn't help it, she kind of liked the surly settler. He was cynical and rough, definitely not one to look on the bright side, but there was something vaguely endearing about him. Kind of like a mangy alley cat.
"It's a bit of a bad sign," Johns said, approaching from where he'd been perched on top of the ship, scanning the area fruitlessly for signs of Riddick. "That's Riddick's direction."
Carolyn's brow furrowed. "I thought you found his restraints over there, towards sunset."
"Right, which means he went towards sunrise."
Huh, Lera huffed mentally, so the straw head has a brain after all. And here I thought it was all pins and needles pretending to be sharp.
"Zeke," Johns went on, walking over to where the two free settlers were staring at the smaller, blue sun. He pulled out a gun from behind his pants and gave it to him. "Fully loaded clip. Safety's on. One shot if you spot him, okay?"
"Don't tell me you're going off too," Zeke nearly whined.
Paris, who never seemed to completely loose his nervous look no matter how hard he tried, licked his lips. "What happens if Mr. Riddick sports us first?"
Lera's eyes narrowed at the arrogant, slightly oily smirk that Johns directed at the older man. He seemed to take a delight in making the art dealer/smuggler shake. "There'll be no shots."
Her eyes narrowed further as he started to swagger away, seemingly proud of the unease he was leaving behind him. Damn it, they were all looking nervous again. The last thing they needed was for everyone to be spooked and jumpy, especially if they were going to be handing out weapons. It was painfully obvious that none of them knew the first thing about what to do with them, and that was a dangerous thing to combine with fear and nerves. That was how friends got shot and people lost their own toes.
"Well," she said in a purposely light tone, "at least we know what took us down now."
She saw everyone turn at her with confused and still slightly dazed expressions. Even Johns stopped in his swagger to look at her with a furrowed brow. That she could have done without. He had basically been ignoring her after the first leer right after the crash. She would have preferred to keep it that way, but right now they needed to be distracted before they went insane with depression and paranoia.
"What do you mean?" Carolyn asked.
"Binary systems are moderately rare," Lera explained, "but tri-solar ones…do you remember any mention of one along the flight path?"
Carolyn blinked at her for a moment before her brows shot up. "Yeah. You're right, it was odd. About twenty light years off the shipping track."
"Oh, great," Zeke sneered. "Not only are we off course but now we're so out of the lanes no one will ever find us."
"No," Carolyn said, excitement in her voice as she turned to him, "it's a good thing. It means it must have been a rouge comet."
"What do you mean?" Shazza asked, dark brows drawn almost together.
"The shipping tacks are set to compensate for gravitational forces of the surrounding systems," the pilot explained. "But if a comet was large enough and passed close enough it's own gravitational field would upset that, kind of making a furrow in the fields. If a ship were to pass close enough to that it would kind of 'fall in' to that furrow, being pulled off course. It's why the Company tracks comets so closely and why the shipping lanes are programmed not to intersect their paths."
"And interesting lesson in the astrophysics of space travel, to be sure," Paris interjected, "but I fail to see how this helps our situation."
"It means we'll be found easier," Lera said, making the others blink. "Any ship out looking for us will be running fully awake and nose open. They'll pick up on something like that, since the effects will be felt for some time. Felt, and traceable. They can follow the trail right to us."
"But we weren't even set to put down for another nineteen. No one will notice we're missing til then," Zeke pointed out.
"Not true," Carolyn shook her head, flashing Lera an excited and hopeful look. "Company ships are programmed to sent out a signal at designated times so that they can be tracked in case they get in trouble. Our communications array was ripped off on re-entry, so even if the system was still working the signal wouldn't send. It's programmed to send out twice a day. A ship doesn't send once, they try to contact it. Twice and they send a searcher out. Even if the comet most likely messed with the report of our position, as soon as they stop getting that signal and don't get a response they'll send people looking."
"So in eighteen weeks we might be rescued," Shazza concluded as the initial excitement began to wane.
Lera snorted. Did these people know nothing about ships? "A lot soon than that would be my guess," she said. "No offense, Carolyn, but the Hunter-Grazner is hardly the best or fastest ship the Company owns. It's meant for haul, not speed. If they're gonna send out a search they'll send out something much faster. Probably a Slider Class Star Skimmer, would be my guess."
"How the hell do you know all this, Chase?" Johns drawled out. Lera turned to find the merc looking at her through narrowed eyes. She gave him a bored expression, stifling the smirk at his annoyed gaze. He was obviously less than please that his carefully crafted fear had been lessened by 'good news'.
"Because I paid attention in my astrophysics and commerce classes in Secondary," she drawled back at him, more than a little satisfied with the way his mouth tightened at her allusions to his intelligence.
"And I'm sure we're all quite glad you did," Paris interjected. "This is most welcome news."
Johns snorted. "Won't mean nothin' if we're not alive when they get here."
"Agreed," Lera replied. "So perhaps you should finish getting ready to leave."
"I was talking about Riddick."
"And I was ignoring it."
"You shouldn't. He takes one look at your sweet ass and you'll be the first one he takes. Convict don't get a lot of chance to spend time with the ladies."
Her eyes narrowed behind her dark sunglasses but otherwise she didn't react to his implications. The others did, though. Carolyn's eyes went wide and Shazza and Jack started to look around nervously. Huh, why was Jack…
"Don't worry your pretty little self too much, though," Johns leered at her in what she supposed he thought a charming manner, interrupting her train of thought. "You just stick close to me."
Lera fought the combination lip curl and eye roll as he patted the gage strapped to his thigh. Yeesh, talk about extension.
"Knock it off," Carolyn interrupted the leering stare-down. "Everyone who's going get ready. We leave towards sunrise in twenty minutes."
Lera watched Johns give her one last sneer before heading off to order his things for the expedition. Her skin gave an involuntary crawl. She would have to keep a closer eye on him, especially now that she'd managed to catch his attention, it seemed. That was one merc she definitely did not trust.
ooOoo
Jack walked up to where Lera was quietly putting a few supplies into a smaller pack, obviously getting ready to head out and bit her lip. It looked like most of them were going. She had to admit, she was more than a little scared, even if she would never let the others see it. She hadn't been on her own for too long, but she had learned early on that you didn't show fear, not if you wanted to be left alone. If you were left alone you stayed safe. It was part of the reason for her whole masquerade as a boy. People tended to leave guys alone much more than girls.
Still, she wasn't comfortable with all of them leaving with just a few of them to remain. Jack had wanted to go too, but had been voted down, it deemed better that she stay at the ship where it was less dangerous. She wasn't entirely sure why, but Lera's decision to go with the expedition party made her even more nervous. There was something about the woman that drew Jack to her. Something that made her feel safe. Maybe it was the way she seemed to be looking out for everyone. Maybe it was the way she had stood up to Johns when he was being a bully. The others didn't seem to realize it, but Jack had known far to many bullies not to be able to spot them on site. Apparently Lera did too. It made her feel like maybe the woman was someone she could trust, which made her leaving make Jack that much more nervous.
"So," she started a little nervously, wincing at how high her voice sounded before instantly lowering, "you really goin' too?"
Lera looked up at her from where she was crouched down, her gaze friendly and open, uncovered from her sunglasses in the shade of the ship. They were interesting eyes, you didn't see much green where Jack was from. Especially not that light, new-leaf color. But there was something sharply intelligent in them, something she wasn't sure the rest of them had noticed. Jack got the sudden, but interestingly unsurprising, feeling that there wasn't much that Lera missed.
"Yep," Lera said lightly. "Figure it's best."
"Ain't you worried?" she asked nervously, shoving her hands into her back pockets.
"Not really," Lera said calmly, then looked at Jack thoughtfully. "What's eatin' you kiddo?"
Jack blinked. Usually she didn't like being called a kid, most times she took offense or bit back. But there was something in the way Lera said it that didn't seem bad. Almost like an endearment. Jack looked down at her feet.
"Almost everyone's goin' to look for water or something. What if…what if Riddick…"
Lera tipped her head to the side, her expression thoughtful but otherwise unreadable. "You're afraid Riddick's going to come back," said, making it a statement instead of a question. Jack nodded anyway and Lera smiled softly at her.
"Don't worry so much," Lera said softly, comfortingly. "And don't believe everything Johns says. I've heard of Riddick before and if there's one thing I've never heard of him doing it's hurting a child."
"I'm not a child," Jack responded instantly, puffing up a bit to try and look older. Lera grinned at her.
"No, perhaps not. But you're young enough that a man like him wouldn't see you as a threat. This case, that's no bad thing. Besides," she said off hand, "chances are he'll follow us. I've got most of the supplies he'd be interested in, and I'll bet you anything he's just as interested as we are in finding water. That's why it's best I go. Keep him away from our main shelter, keep him moving and busy. If he does have any intentions towards mischief I'd rather have his eyes somewhere else…but I doubt he'll do anything. He's too smart for that."
Jack nodded to herself as she thought about that. It made sense, she supposed, and actually made her feel a little better. She watched as Lera finished transferring the supplies to her smaller pack and strap it crossways on her back. She wondered briefly where Lera had gotten it. It was black, like the rest of her clothes, though she'd discarded the jacket, and conformed to her body so it didn't hinder movement, one strap snaking diagonally across her front. Huh, there were other straps and pockets on the main strap…wonder what those are for?
Jack bit her lip again, thinking about what Lera said. It really probably was best that she went along. If she was right, the Riddick would probably focus on her, which meant, as much as Jack disliked the notion, that she should probably stick close to Johns. He had the most weapons and would be the best person to protect her. But…Jack still didn't particularly want her to go. There was just something calming about her, something to the way she seemed to be handling all this that made Jack feel safer, more secure. Even though she didn't believe Johns' bull about the con being more…physically…interested, the thought that Riddick might hurt her…
"Here," Jack said, making Lera look back up at the weapon Jack held out. She'd noticed Lera hadn't taken anything from the stash, she should have something if she was going to put herself in so much danger.
Lera blinked at it for a moment and then smiled warmly at her. "I appreciate the offer but…"
"Take it. You should have something."
Lera looked around them for a moment and Jack followed her gaze. Everyone was getting ready to either depart or start working on their shelter. Those that weren't going were going to start repairing what they could of the ship. There was a chance they could be stuck here for some time and they wanted to make sure they at least had some place livable. No one was looking at them.
"I'll let you in on a little secret, Jack," Lera said in a conspiratorial tone that had Jack leaning in. Instead of saying anything, though, Lera reached back into her main bag and pulled out two knives. They were dangerous looking, one long and thin that she put in her almost knee-high boot, and the other wider, a strange matt-black, with a wicked looking curve that went into her belt and damn near disappeared. Jack's eyes widened as she reached into the bag again and came back out with a pulse-gun, checking it quickly before stashing it at her back underneath the bag but where she could get to it easily. She took out a couple of pulse cells next and slid them into the little pockets on the front strap of her bag.
So that's what those are for…
Jack looked back up at Lera with wide eyes. Lera flashed her a grin and winked before zipping up her bigger bag and handing it to Jack. "Keep an eye on this for me, would you?"
Jack took the bag numbly, still staring wide-eyed at the woman in front of her. "How…why…what are you?"
Lera cocked an eyebrow at her. "Unusual," she said with amusement tingeing her voice, chuckling slightly in her chest. "Life lesson for you, Jack. If you're going to travel alone it's best to expect trouble. Even if nothing happens then at least you're prepared. Because the moment you're not is when Murphy comes around to bite you in the butt."
Even Jack had to laugh at that. Lera winked at her before standing and slipping on a pair of dark wrap-around sunglasses. Jack looked up at the taller woman as she put a hand on her shoulder.
"Zeke's gonna be on grave duty," she said, "so stick close to Shazza. She may not look like much, and kind of girly with those pearls, but free settlers are tough. I have no doubt she can handle herself. And you can learn a few things, I'm sure. Never pass up an opportunity to learn something new, you never know when it'll come in handy. That's another lesson."
"You know," Jack quipped, as they turned to rejoin the others, "part of the reason I ran away was because of school."
Lera shot her a half-grin and bumped her with her shoulder as they walked before wrapping an arm around them. "Punk." She shook her head and chuckled. "Yeah, you'll do all right."
Jack grinned at the compliment, watching Lera move to join the others headed out. Unusual or not, Jack couldn't help but feel better with her around.
A/N: Well, that's the next chapter folks! Don't worry, Riddick will make a reappearence it the next one. I'm going via the movie here and I'm sure you'll all recall he doesn't have the biggest 'present' role in the beginning. No worries, though, he'll have a bigger one in mine. And please, don't for get to REVIEW. Reviews help to inspire me. And make me feel guilty. The more reviews I get the guiltier I feel for not being ready to update and the more inspired I am to do so. Ah, negitive reinforcement...or is it positive punishment...isn't pschology grand?
Reviewer Response:
bima: Lera definately has a brass set of her own, that's for sure. And frankly, who wouldn't want to lick those lips? Anyone else getting the feeling that Lera's a bit left of center? And yeah, I love that quote about sexually frustrating a killer too. It was just fun.
FitMama: I don't even know where the 'pill proff' notion came from. It just kind of appeared on the page. I love it too, and she is definately one to keep a guy like Riddick off balance. You'll learn more about her, but slowly...I've already given a lot of hints in the way she thinks and some of the things she says, but I'm not sure a lot of people are going to get it. We'll see in the end, I suppose...
Mordecay: I'm glad you're liking it. I agree with you about Riddick, he never seems to kill just for the heck of it. I like being able to examine that avenue a bit more. Though I've never heard the other theory...I'm thinking it's more that it's how he known to survive. And frankly, when the people coming after you are more than willing to ghost you...you better ghost them first.
bree3354: I love Lera. I wish I was her. I wish I got to lick those lips. And yes, they do have some similarities and while I don't particurally want to give a lot away, I will say this...Lera was never in Butcher Bay.
ListenNatalie: Thanks! Yeah, the smelling...god, when he does that to Carolyn in the movie in the skiff...I just have to bite my lip. I knew a guy who did that...still makes me shiver.
Pixievamp: I'm glad you like, I'm having fun with it. I don't think I'm going to be chaning a lot of plot points, and definately not the major ones. I am going to be adding a bit though, and going into the characters more. That's one of the big things for me, character development. I hope you like where it winds up!
KaneSexyMrJacobs: Thanks, I'm glad you're enjoying my little fic. And don't worry, there will deffinately be more Lera/Riddick interactions. (Grin)
DeerInTheHeadlights: Thank you for your compliments, it makes me feel much better about this. The whole 'cut and dry' thing is one of the reasons I wanted to do this. Pitch Black is just such a character movie to me...the plot seems more of a vehicle for exploring them. I just had to delve more into that. I hope you enjoy the rest of it as it unfolds.