Riddick: Bloodhounds: 7
"Delayed"
Author's note: OC players-Bugsy Benjamin, Lee Davies, Miranda Goff, Slink Williams, and Foster Mead….
"Well, it comes to this…" Z
********** Delayed **********
Alexander Toombs viewed the new name splashed across the conical of his recently acquired vessel. He was happy with the way Bugsy and Lee had painted the name on the exterior of the cockpit; it brought a smile of satisfaction to his face….
"The Fairy Godmother, I like that." He chuckled, then his expression suddenly transformed into concentrated seriousness….
"Now, in earnest, our adventure begins," he spoke in a whisper, almost to himself. He then turned to address his crew….
"Everyone….proceed up the ramp and get aboard, it's time for us to get this crate into the air and begin the task we've been looking to achieve for so long now!" (*The capturing of one, Richard B. Riddick)
None of his crew spoke out, however, in truth, the thoughts invading their minds (Bugsy, Slink, Lee Davies, Foster, Miranda and even Eve Logan), was the idea that, this was his vendetta, a personal issue which had been on his mind for years….rather than any grievance of theirs. Still, Toombs was their boss, and as such, they would follow his lead.
The anxious bloodhound gazed over at his pilot….
"Miranda, I want a straight course set for LC-236 the minute we hit atmo, understood?"
"Aye Captain,"…. came the response from a woman who'd been locked-up inside a brimstone pit for more than a minute (until Toombs, and his accompaniment of pirates had come along).
Miranda had been an inmate on Crematoria for seven years, and in some regard, resembled Kyra, with the exception of the knife scar that ran from her left forehead all the way across to her right jawbone (not deep, but profound enough to show that she'd been marked). She was slight of stature, just as Kyra, but intense as a Hell Hound when provoked. She could rip-off a man's jewels in a Nano-second, and feed them to the Hell hounds (pets of Crematoria) before the individual really became aware that he'd just acquire the position of soprano in the prison's choir.
Of course that was only a post of humor, there had been no prison choir on that scorched world, and the only singing done, in that god-forsaken hell-hole, might be the singing heard from an inmate as he was being disciplined by the guards for his misconduct.
As far as guard duty goes….If one had been recruited as a guard on Crematoria, then by nature, said person's personality profile likely stated that questionable person had tendencies towards being a sadistic masochist…..which stated that that person was well qualified for the job, and implied that, any "singing" echoing out of the Grand Gallery, could likely be referred to as screams of torture, rather than actual singing.
There had been twelve women in lock-up on Crematoria at the time Riddick had been brought into the underbelly of that confused planet (a world that couldn't decide whether it's exterior surface should be a boiling mass of deep-fried rock, or a polar ice-cube with temperatures so cold as to freeze the wool of a Long-horn Mammoth in ten seconds).
Now, years later, Miranda was unsure if any of her cohorts remained. There had been another girl, Kyra, who had gotten out with Riddick, but as to what had befallen her, or any of the other women, Miranda remained unsure of their fate.
The female convict had joined Toombs' crew once Eve had freed him, and they together, with several others, had reached the surface of the docking port above. It was then, hours later, that Toombs had convinced a supply ship (falsely conning them into believing that the Triple-max prison was in need of water), to land. Toombs had commandeered the vessel and set out to regroup and lick-his-wounds, so to speak. His anger to exact revenge on the man who'd put him between two caged animals was something that Toombs didn't hide well, so Miranda, Bugsy, Slink, Lee Davies and Foster Mead, never brought up the escaped convict's name. Even Eve, the person who'd been with Toombs the longest was shy of saying the name "Riddick" in front of her boss. It would set him "a-frenzy" sometimes.
Toombs' pilot sat at the controls of the "Fairy Godmother", ready to start the engine and achieve orbit. The wires under the control panel (where Luna had been working when they'd first arrived with their hostage Dahl) were back in order, and as she hit the start switch to ignite the engine, she was happy to feel the vessel come to life….but her happiness was soon soured, the vessel's engines quickly bugged-out, shut-off as if starved for fuel.
Toombs was in the cock-pit with Miranda when this situation presented itself, he ordered her to attempt a restart….. She did, but the same thing appeared to happen. The ship shut itself-down mere seconds after it was drafted.
Toombs was furious. He pulled out his weapon and headed straight for the cargo bay where he knew Dahl and Luna were being guarded by Slink.
"What did you do to sabotage my ship," Toombs shouted when he confronted Luna sitting in the cargo hold peaceful as a kitten?
"I did nothing,"…. came the technician's answer, seemingly surprised at the accusations, "I was in the process of upgrades when you showed up with Dahl. It isn't my fault that this old tug isn't straight off the assembly line. You should be the first to understand that vessels, such as this, end up in the hands of mercenaries and bloodhounds because they are ready for the scrapheap. Rejects from other lines of business, and are rigged together with parts just to keep them flying. Parts that are, not always totally compatible. I'm sorry if the "Blue-Eyed Dev….., I mean, the Fairy Godmother, isn't up to your liking, but it's an older spacecraft, a work in progress," Luna paused a second before adding his final say, "…..besides, you chose us remember….we didn't chose you."
It was the first time Dahl had actually seen Santana's old crew-member show a bit of a backbone. A smile creased across her lips, she was impressed with the young man.
Luna's admission made sense to Toombs, but the mercenary wasn't happy that his mission had been delayed, not when he had been so close to lift-off.
"Well, what's wrong with it," Toombs questioned?
"I don't know, I wouldn't know that unless I'm allowed to complete a diagnostic," Luna replied.
Toombs thought about the idea of Luna running scans of the ship. The Tech Guy could either solve the problem or make things worse, still what choice did he have?
"Well, get to work then," Toombs spoke, "and remember… any funny business and I'll swim a bullet through your partner's head."
He again placed his weapon to Dahl's temple, she cringed; she was becoming a little frustrated being the bloodhound's leverage.
********** Ride **********
In forty-five minutes Toombs had his answer as to why the "Fairy Godmother" would not lift off. Luna had informed him that the transfer-modulator drive (a part about the size of a milk container), was likely the culprit, and from his assessment, looked to be the original part that had been installed within the ship upon its assembly.
The "transfer-mod" had likely seen better days, and was now ready for the junk-heap. From the outside it looked fine, yet what the inside of the modulator looked like was anybody's guess. The mechanism could possibly resembled a steaming bowl of spaghetti.
"So, what do we need to do to repair it," Toombs asked?
"Get a new part, or a re-worked one from a scrap-yard," Luna answered.
Toombs was a little skeptical as to if Luna was telling the truth, or if he were lying, but his new "specialist" WAS the Tech Guy, so the pirate was at his mercy. Toombs did contemplate the idea of what he could do if he allowed Luna to leave the ship. What incentive did he have to keep the Tech Guy from attempting an escape? He still had Dahl as hostage, and usually mercenary team-members didn't betray one another (The trust issue was a big factor among crew-teams, the glue that kept the integrity of the group afloat). It was a bit strange, expressing that pirates and bounty hunters had integrity, but it was true. If there was no trust among a crew, then there was no order of success.
"Boss, I noticed on the grid when you and Eve had gone to that bar to acquire Dahl... that there was an "reclamation yard" just down the road from the Starlight Mission. Possibly we could find an interchangeable mod there," Foster spoke up.
"Good idea Mead," Toombs expressed. "Bugsy, you and Foster take Luna to the junk-yard and get us a new part. I'll stay here with Dahl and see that she remains nice and comfy."
Toombs again applied pressure to Dahl's temple with his sidearm, seemingly to invite Luna as to not try any attempt to escape. The implication being, that should he not perform his task abrupt and diligently, there would be consequences.
The ramp went down and the three men marched off in unison towards the parts yard.
Once the three were gone from sight... Toombs dropped his weapon from Dahl's head. He was about to turn and say something to Miranda whenever Dahl took advantage of his slack in attention. She spun and delivered a punch directly to the nose of the astonished mercenary. Immediately there were four other guns drawn upon her, but not a single shot was fired.
Toombs stood there holding his nose, the red seeping through the spaces between his fingers.
"That's the last time you put a weapon to my head," Dahl informed him, "next time you'd better be ready to pull the trigger, or I won't hold my punches until you're lying on the ground a bloody mess. I'm sick of you threatening Luna with my head."
Toombs didn't become angry from Dahl's assault... he began to laugh.
"Well, well, well…. I WAS right about you. You do have more guts than sense. I enjoy the company of strong women. That's why I have Eve and Miranda as major players of my crew. They are more loyal then the guys, and more trustworthy. The thing is, if you're looking to flex your muscles girl, then that is where I do take issue," Toombs paused momentarily and looked around….
"Right now we have the time to address this new advent (power struggle) and the solution may be in the dallying of… fisticuffs. Outside the portal there is the perfect area for a brawlers match. We can see who deserves to give the orders on this boat, and who is just puffing smoke. You defeat me in a slug-fest, and I will not again put a gun to your head. However, if I win, then you'll agree to give me a ride…once we reach orbit, the best that you can deliver, and I don't mean a spaceship ride if you get my drift."
Toombs was so neanderthal, his desires spoke of a man's basic instincts. Dahl found it easy to anticipate his next move. She was in agreement to his proposition.
"So, you want me to screw your brains out should you win," she spoke, but gave nary the time for him to answer, " agreed."
Toombs had that nasty look upon his face, just like he'd had sitting across from her in the Starlight Mission, a few hours ago. Toombs was just the kind of guy that was repulsive to Dahl, just as Santana had been. Still she knew she could defeat him, knock his lights out. She looked over at the man that enjoyed playing with people's minds. Dahl kept her expression somber, Toombs had no idea who he was messing with.
END PART 7