Title:

Finding Serenity

Summary:

After the events of Pitch Black, Riddick tries to return to the human race for the sake of Jack. They end up on Persephone, after parting from Imam, & boards a discrete ship to the outter rim where they can disappear, but they end up staying on the ship.

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● Chapter One

Jack looked around the shipping yard as she walked beside Riddick. She was actually dressed in girl clothes as the holy man, Imam, insisted she'd look nice in them. She didn't really like these kinds of clothes but she wasn't about to refuse free stuff.

They were nice, rich people, clothes. A shoulder-less black blouses that had a tight torso but baggy sleeves, all with a rose peddles print. Then complemented with a slightly above the knee frilly red skirt. It looked like something girls would wear on the central planets. They were extremely girly girl. Well except for her pair of black goggles Riddick got her which matched his own. Point is she had a lot of clothes like this now.

Imam even set her up with a trust fund. It wasn't a lot of money but it was a nice monthly payment, enough for her and Riddick to live comfortably on the border.

Imam came from a wealthy family, old money and all that. He was actually a Lord on the planet of Helion Prime, heavily involved in politics well being more a figure head / adviser since the Unification War. Still he was very devoted to his religious beliefs but tolerant of other religions... well unless you believed what Riddick believed that god was a kid on an ant hill torturing all the tiny creatures for his own amusement.

Anyway, Jack didn't have access to the college fund until she actually attended college and the trust fund was on the condition that she enroll in online schooling. The holy man didn't really leave that up for chance as he bought her a Dedicated Source Box and had her take a test online to judge not only what she knew but how she learned. Because of how the online classes worked she could learn at her own pace from anywhere in the Verse.

It wasn't that hard for Imam to claim that she was an illegitimate daughter from a primitive village on one of the border worlds. A secret love child he had out of an affair well working as a missionary to a backwater moon. He claimed he didn't know about her until recently when her mother had passed.

Jack was a little shocked the holy man was willing to lie to the government to get her a new identity. Not to mention taint his own reputation like that. She was a little worried he was going to try to send her back to her parents... there was a reason she ran away after all. She was relieved the holy man stuck to what is actually right instead of what society demanded.

Then he set her up with not only a trust fund, to cover her daily expenses, but a college fund. Seeing as his kids all died on their little trip her they didn't exactly need that money. It was all legitimate though. The story itself might be made up but they went through legitimate channels with a believable story as to why she didn't have documentation until now. She even had a new name, 13 year old Kyra Jaclyn Badd, Jack to her friends... cool name. Her made up mother was Agatha Badd, fifth generation hill billy who didn't have paperwork either.

Riddick Badd was Riddick's new name, the half brother to Jack on their mother's side. It wasn't like Riddick wasn't a common name on backwater moons and it's not like the same planet they collected Riddick's bounty was the same place they got the ID.

Imam even named Riddick her acting guardian and was paying him a nice salary to take care of Jack, trying to give him reason to stay on the path he chose.

This was all a pretty common set up for illegitimate children born to rich families. The father retained all the rights but they hired a nanny to keep their wife from finding out about the kid. Although Riddick didn't really seem to care about the money. He was used to just taking what he wanted and people were too scared to stop him.

That wouldn't work anymore if the man wanted to stay hidden. They claimed Richard Riddick died along with everyone else when they crashed on a Quarantined planet. Imam tweaked his story about to say the reason he was on the ship was to get Jack taken care of "after her mother died", that the story about going to New Mecca was just something he told his wife. The alliance was pretty discreet in situations like this.

Riddick went to some length's to create his own new legitimate ID card. He had his fingerprints and irises surgically altered to fool even the best identity scans. It's not like the Alliance even looks at people's faces. It's all about scans with them and Riddick's could fool anyone.

Not like it was the first time he had body mods done. His shined eyes were the most famous, which let him not only see 300 degrees around him but see in the dark, but they were hardly the only ones. His bones were strengthened with a carbon fiber weave grafted to them. His muscles were replaced with a denser organic material which was far lighter and more flexible in addition to being stronger. He even had enhancements to his nose and ears. Most recently, just before all this happened, he had extra joints added all over his body.

Riddick said he had been having these mods done to him since he was Jack's age, when he first went to prison. He even humored Jack by letting her get her first mod, a surgical shine job on her eyes to let her see in the dark like he could.

The whole reason they even came to this planet was because Riddick knew a shady doc here who gave him his mods. It was easy to make himself disappear here.

The shadier Doctors were easy to find on any planet if you knew where to look but Riddick trusted this one. He protected Riddick in the slam back when the boy needed it and molded the child into a living weapon to survive there. The doc even seemed pleased when he heard Riddick wanted to "rejoin the human race" (as Riddick put it) and gave him a shined eyeball which was altered to look like Riddick's old iris in order to collect his own bounty. The thing even had his DNA.

Riddick was planning on using his own bounty to build themselves a nice house on a bordered world. It get them a well fortified little mansion.

Jack was trying to convince Riddick to use it to buy a ship of their own that way they could live as Spacers but all Riddick said was he'd think about it (in the most dismissive way possible). Jack rolled her eyes at the thought. She followed Riddick as they each dragged behind them a large trunk full of new stuff.

However nice Jack's clothes were Riddick bought his own stuff with a small portion of the bounty money. He bought cheap stuff too not dip into it too much and besides he really wasn't one for fashion. He got clothes much in the style of his old ones and was wearing an added black cloak.

"What about that one?" Jack pointed at a large cool looking ship, "It's headed to the border,"

"We need something less flashy," Riddick explained, "With a crew that wants to fly under Alliance radar... like them,"

Jack scrunched up her nose. Sure it had a cool design but it looked like it was falling apart, "What is that thing?"

"A Firefly, they are often used by smugglers and pirates but this one doesn't have any weapons added on so best bet is smugglers. Safer lot to travel with as long as you are willing to pay for their discretion,"

"Are you sure they are smugglers?" Jack eyed the distant ship.

"Even if they aren't, a small boat like that, in that conditions, is likely to have a certain kinda person willing to serve as her crew. If not smugglers then adventurers at the very least. Thought process is the same, people who don't like the government interfering with them. The kinda people who will respect our coin with not too many questions and not report where we get off,"

Jack nodded her head as they approached the firefly, pleased Riddick was taking the time to explain all this to her.

"Ain't ya a doll," smiled an overly cheerful young woman as she spied the two headed her way.

Jack groaned, getting the immediate feeling she was going to hate her new clothes if that was the first word out of everyone's mouth.

Riddick smiled his normal predatorial grin. He didn't know how to smile any other way. After introducing themselves to the woman in front of the ship, Kaylee apparently, they got to talking business, "Is it possible to drop us off before you get to Boros? Maybe on Kerry or Athens? I'll compensate you for the fuel you use, as well as pay a little extra,"

The girl smiled brightly at the words "pay extra,"

"Gotta clear it by the Captain but I don't see why not. Neither of those rocks are too far out of our way," The woman smiled, "There a reason you don't care which?"

"Just looking for somewhere quiet to settle in. Big cities like this and Boros tend to rub me the wrong way, but none of these ships are heading anywhere that fits my needs of an ideal home,"

"Are you a settler?" Kaylee smiled, "Looking for the romance of a life on the Frontier,"

Jack shrugged, and tossed out their cover story. Riddick might not be much of a Liar but she had been lying about her very gender for years. She had quite the bit of experience and talent for the skill, "That sounds about right. Our mother just... passed. Came up here to get the help of my birth father. He gave us some money, and got me some new clothes, but that's about it. We grew up on a backwater moon so that's what we're used to. Figured we need something a bit more stable but still quiet,"

Kaylee sighed, "Ain't that the way of it. Sorry for prying. I'm told I'm too curious for my own good,"

"That's all right," Jack smiled with false forgiveness.

"All he gave you was money?" Kaylee asked.

Jack shrugged and continued to lie with remarkable ease. Being a runaway she knew how to stick to a story, "At least he set me up with a trust fund and some money for college but he made it clear he didn't want his wife finding out about me,"

"You poor doll," Kaylee reached out and hugged the girl before ranting something in Chinese, followed quickly by, "Come inside, we'll take care of you,"

###

"The Alliance has us delivering some medical supplies to Whitefall so we can drop you off on Athens later that day," Said Captain Reynolds as he looked at all their passengers, looking mostly at Riddick, as they stood in the Kitchen.

Riddick nodded. Whitefall itself wasn't the stablest of moons. Although it was a good place for a gun fight it was no place to raise a child. Athens would be exciting enough with clear Frontier style living but Whitefall was pretty much run by Outlaws. Sure it was his kinda place but he needed to think of what was best for Jack.

"What medical supplies?" An overly wealthy looking brat asked, looking worried at the Captain.

"I honestly didn't ask," Said the Captain.

His first mate, a dark skinned woman by the name of Zoey, pounced with, "Probably insulin, whatever they don't got enough of on the boarder planets,"

"When the Alliance says jump," The Captain shrugged.

"Alright," The boy smelled nervous, probably got himself some local trouble and wanted off world. Going to Boros was probably the stupidest thing he could do. It had the largest Alliance presence in the System. Hopefully the boy didn't bring any heat on them.

Riddick's eyes wandered to another passenger... great, a cop. At least it wasn't a bounty hunter. Those mercs would likely burn the whole ship down to get the kid. If the cop was smart he'd wait until they landed to arrest the boy and leave the rest of them alone.

Finally there was... an operative, looked retired. It wasn't that uncommon for such people to become holy men in their retirement. They all tended to beg for God's forgiveness towards the end. Great Riddick got on a ship with a far too interesting assortment of persons on it. They were probably all thinking the same thing when they saw this shady ship. It was a good vessel to disappear on.

"All that being said," continued the Captain, "I'd like ya'll to remain in the passenger dorms well we're in the air. Cockpit, engine room, cargo bay, all off limits without an escort,"

The rich fugitive said, "Some of my personal effects are in the cargo bay," wow the kid really was an idiot.

The Captain said, "We know you all got things you need to get squared away so we'll accompany you now but don't go in there without asking one of us first. Be sure to get everything you need for the trip,"

Riddick shrugged, "All we got with us is our trunks and those are already in our rooms. We'll just get outta your hair Captain," he faked smiled and steered Jack away from them all.

"What are we supposed to do for 2 days?" She whined, not understanding their situation at all.

Riddick sighed, he really needed to find something to occupy her, "Get started on your school work and when you're done, if you do a good job, I'll teach you how to fight," it was a useful skill she'd desperately need if they were on the border.

"Really!?" Jack squealed excitedly, obviously thinking such survival skills were a game... well so did Riddick when he first learned.

###

"RIDDICK!" The little girl screamed as they practiced just outside the infirmary. "I don't bend that way!"

Riddick rolled his eyes, "Pay attention. I already showed you how to get out of this, so do it. Don't panic, just take it slow for now,"

She struggled fruitlessly and Riddick groaned in irritation before talking her through it, again.

He ignored the growing audience as a mercenary appeared at the door, watching with clear nostalgia in his eyes. No doubt thinking about when he had been taught to fight at a young age. People don't often go into his line of work and survive for very long, not unless they are born into the trade. Riddick had got to talking a little with this mercenary, mostly because Jack kept asking him questions like "How many men have you killed," to which the man was all to happy to share. His name was Jayne, and in all honesty he was Riddick's kinda people.

It had been a over full day of travel, Riddick had skipped the offer of dinner yesterday and tried to maintain a distance from the other passenger and crew, well not appearing rude. Unfortunately he had to start teaching the girl now and the only space big enough was where the crew gathered.

Riddick spent the day teaching Jack various techniques and exercises. he'd buy the proper equipment to get her more flexible later on. He was going to have her focus on speed and precise strikes rather then strength. That help her out more with the build she already had. It also insure that she look unassuming to her enemies.

The "preacher", First Mate, and eventually even the Captain wandered by to watch.

"You know your stuff," The 'Preacher' observed, "Ever get a formal martial arts education,"

"Couldn't afford it," Riddick shrugged, "Just picked up things from vids and books, mostly self taught," he said truthfully. Regardless of all his other character flaws, lying didn't come easy to Riddick. He could lie, but he wasn't comfortable doing it and a skilled enough eye could tell.

"Impressive," The Preacher nodded, "Book," he extended his hand, "I'm called Book,"

"Riddick Badd," In order to avoid shaking hands Riddick got Jack in another hold, keeping his back to the Preacher so the man thought he didn't see the gesture. Riddick couldn't afford to shake this man's hand, not to be rude but a man like this would notice his artificial muscles if he touched him.

The 'Preacher' smiled as he put his hand down.

"Mal," The pilot called from over the intercom, "We need you up here a moment," his voice was trying to remain calm, as to not scare the passengers, but their was an edge of panic too it.

The Captain clearly noticed it as well as he hurried up the nearby stairs.

Riddick pretended not to notice as he once again walked Jack through the hold. He would make this muscle memory if she had such a hard time remembering the conscious movements.

The crew seemed to disband and Riddick's more animal like instincts were warning him something was wrong.

He paused in his lesson, hushing Jack and peering out at the lounge into the cargo bay. Everyone was gathering, to see the Fed point a gun at the Fugitive.

"Get on the Ground," The Fed demanded and the boy stupidly didn't obey. He actually attempted to negotiate with a member of the Alliance Military Police Force.

"Lawman you are making a mistake," The boy prooved himself to be a complete idiot.

"You best get on the ground, son," The Captain tried to talk some sense into the boy, "Man seems a mite Twitchy," Unfortunately the boy didn't listen.

"Riddick!" Jack's yell caught the attention of the Lawman...who jerked his gun towards the loud noise and pulled the trigger by reflex.

It was a High caliber round for a pistol, not typical alliance issue for simple Ops, like catching someone for local trouble. There was definitely more to this. What Riddick couldn't imagine, as frankly he didn't have time. Jack was too far behind him to push her out of the way. That left one option... Riddick held up his arm, just in time for the bullet to crash into his forearm. The density of his muscles making it so the high caliber bullet might have fucked up the arm but it didn't go all the way through. He felt it hit his bone, as intended to prevent it from going through and hitting Jack. The metal shattered and tore up more of his flesh.

Then Riddick saw red. Before anyone could stop him, he lept forward and slammed his still good arm through the man's skull. Riddick could feel brain.

Jerking his hand back and letting the dead man fall, Riddick quickly looked at the Captain, "Any minute now, this fed's friends are going to be calling. You can either let them board, take me and the dumbass rich boy, or you could run. And earn yourself a lot more coin."

"Cover up the murder of a fed." Zoey spoke up, "Can you think of a stupider thing to do?"

Riddick smiled, and he didn't even try to hide it was a animalistic grin. Taking his goggles off, so they could see the bloodlust in his shiny eyes, "It's a lot of coin. Besides, you all saw how fast I took the cop down. You think it be all that hard for me to kill all of you and take this ship."

Zoey and Jayne raised their guns at him. While Mal walked right up into his face. He looked Riddick in his glowing demonic eyes, and said, without a trace of fear, "I don't take kindly to threats."

... Riddick could respect a man like this. He deserved to live.

"Captain," a voice came over the intercom, "We are being hailed by an alliance cruiser ordering us to maintain course and prepare for prisoner transfer."

Mal stared down Riddick a moment, as if to say, "Got anything else?" while not actually verbalizing anything.

Riddick lost his smile and slowly held up his shot arm. It was ugly and disfigured, hurting like hell but hardly something he couldn't handle, "We both saw the trajectory of this. It would have gone right through my little sister's head. You really going to hold it against me for losing my temper?"

Mal continued to look him in the eye then called to his first mate, while still looking at Riddick, "Zoey... change course. We're running."

The dark skinned woman immediately got on the com while Mal cockily told Riddick, "You make that coin high enough and we'll forget all about this."

There goes his bounty. "Still need to handle the source of the issue, Captain." Riddick reminded.

"That we do." Mal nodded, looking over at the Rich boy. "Mind telling me what all this is about. 'Cause I got a sneaky suspicion, what with him trying to arrest you and all, that fed could have cared less about the man he ended up shootin'. I even find it a might curious he was carrying lethal weaponry, which, I don't have to tell you, Alliance just don't do. Not unless they got a reason." The man was clever as well as brave, "Which leads me to believe, you must be pretty dangerous. Or at least, he not all too deeply carin' about bringing you in alive. What is it you got in that case son?"

"Looks like a stasis crate." The preacher walked over, eying the dead man a moment before continuing, "Often used to transport live stock during long cruises... sometimes adapted by slavers to smuggle- well, you get the idea."

"Slavers!" Simon yelped, "You think- that is not what is going on!"

Mal pushed, "Then you might want to enlighten us as to what that might be."

The boy said nothing.

"Fine then." The Captain started to approach the crate but the boy tried to run for towards it.

Suddenly the Mercenary appeared and grapped hold of the boy. Riddick hadn't even noticed him sneak over. Looks like the Captain wasn't the only exceptional member of this crew.

The Captain opened the crate, all the while the rich boy protesting, before kicking off the lid...