Riddick: Unbound 2

"Bullvine"

Author's note: Bullvine is a planet new to the system, well in cosmic terms. It was a planet bought by a wealthy tycoon three hundred years ago and is now owned and operated by his great, great grandchildren.

Deficient in an oxygen atmo the world maintains an operating atmospheric facility to produce breathable air. And to produce commerce it entertains a wealth of small farms and livestock companies. Too, it has little else that would make it interesting or noteworthy of being on the map of any tourist's vacation stops, which brings into question…..why is Riddick here? People native to this world are curious as to why any stranger, who could go anywhere, would venture to their planet, for what reason?

Riddick has stopped in a bar here, he is looking to contemplate his next move (after making a quick exit to get away from the last bit of trouble he'd found himself in). However there were four individuals stalking him, three that he presumes are locale riffraff from this town (folk who frequent this bar and are looking to make victims of strangers), and a fourth. However the fourth person speaks something of a puzzle to the man with the eye-shine. This individual had been following him around for a while now, and would have been someone he would have confronted sooner had they shown aggression or a desire to expose their intention. However, their present's has remained a mystery. He is a bit curious as to what they want (?) still, Riddick does not play his hand. He is no fool, and there are certain moments when he likes to toy with curiosities, individuals in his pursuit, and have them imagine that they are in control, when in actually he is in position.

Riddick, in his element, is not only a master of his environment, but also could be considered a master of games (which he enjoyed playing).

Still, there comes a time when everyone is shocked in their life, and this may be one of those moments for he, Riddick himself?

OC players- Ferris Marco (barkeep)…..(and the three thugs), Harvey Vickers, Grim & Harris.

***** Trouble Comes To Cowtown *****

Richard B. Riddick sat at a counter in a bar where he'd been minding his own business, and seemingly too, thinking about things. Things he'd experienced and lived through in the past, and also about the people. Folk he'd shared acquaintance with, some on a more personal level than others, and some he'd actually grown to like. Reminiscing, that may have been a better description of what he was doing, reminiscing…..and with the lights above the counter being so bright he was also wearing his light-filtering goggles to protect his eyes.

Riddick was thinking about what had befallen him over the years…reflecting on what was behind him, but too, he was considering what may lay ahead in his future. Also, with his keen sense of detection he was able to see trouble coming soon. He was able to ascertain that the three men sitting in the corner, at a table in this bar, may be looking for a little entertainment for the evening, and since there were three of them, compared to him being alone, his size meant little.

Trouble in an establishment such as this usually meant a barroom brawl, and the big man could sense the conflict approaching. However, beyond that, and all of the other things and people on his mind, Riddick was thinking of one person in particular….

"Kyra….."

He didn't know why he was thinking of Kyra at this moment, only that he was. Something had triggered in his brain and put her utmost in his mind.

"Jack B. Badd, Kyra, you sold your soul to mercs. You thought somehow that it would make you more like me. That they would teach you the trade of "Hide & Search", and also introduce you to the rush of the kill….what it feels like to end a person's life, give you the sense that you'd accomplished something. Well, our time on Cermitoria was too short, I didn't have time to express to you that life isn't about killing, it's about living. Killing doesn't make someone a bad-ass, it doesn't make someone worthy of anything. Killing is just killing, and the more someone does it, the easier it becomes. Not to say that a person doesn't have to kill at some point, sometimes you must just to survive. But ending another's soul's life shouldn't boost someone's ego, it isn't necessary. No, killing creates its own reputation, and that isn't always a good thing. Sometimes it gives mercs the desire to hunt someone down, the guilty and sometimes the innocent, and turn them in for blood-money. At moments like that their's is the duty to fulfill the contract, right or wrong a person's individual code becomes void. It's why I began to find the occupation increasingly tasteless and why I got out of the business…."

Riddick was reminiscing about his past, and also, thinking of his future, however, in a moment he knew that he would have to stop thinking and reminiscing and become ready to leap into action.

*****Ferris Marco, Harvey Vickers, Harris & Grim *****

There was a drink sitting on the counter in front of the ousted Lord Marshal at this time, a drink of which Riddick had ordered but was mindful not to indulge. He needed nothing to dull his senses, nothing to delay his actions. Three men had come up behind him, and he could feel that they weren't intent on making friends.

"Well, what have we got here Marco?"

Riddick heard one of them introduce their presents. The bartender looked up from scrubbing one of his glass and looked into the faces of four individuals inside his bar, three standing, and one sitting.

"Look guys, I don't want any trouble in here this time," the barkeep paused, "the fellow seems to have come in just to relax. Maybe swallow the dust of this planet down his throat with a little help of a brew and then be on his merry path, ain't no cause for disruption," he spoke.

The barkeep looked over at Riddick, hoping the stranger would help him out. The goggled man smiled and seemed calm even though there were three individuals at his back; he seemed worried not the least.

"Well, that's where we see things differently Ferris," Harvey spoke. "He may have come into your establishment not looking for trouble, but he certainly found it…..

Riddick could see the reflections of three men standing behind him in a mirror opposite the counter. Harvey, the one directly to his rear, and smallest of the trio, had been the one who'd spoken and seemed to be the leader of the bunch. The other two were named Harris and Grim.

Riddick knew this, not because he had the proficiency of an Elemental or anything, but because the three had nametags sewn directly into the shirts they were wearing. Riddick picked-up on the observation that they must be buddies and workers of the atmospheric company on this dirt hill of a planet.

Harvey continued with his intrusion…

"See, there may not be much to Bullvine, this cow-herder of a planet, but what is here is ours, folk native to the soil, and we don't appreciate intruders. The women here are ours, and the land, and the beasts that walk the ground…all ours. So what say you of that intruder?"

Riddick's smile grew wider but he never turned around…

"Well I'm not here for your women, or your cattle," he spoke in a monotone voice, "…fact is that I don't care which of them you snuggle up against at night, that's your business. I'm only here….like the man said, to have a peaceful drink. I owe you nothing and all you owe me is to mind your own business. I just want a sip from my glass and then I'll move on to another purpose," he said, which actually was an indication that there was a reason for his entering this bar, they just didn't know the reason for it.

The three men drew into him closer, his taunting insult seemingly giving them cause to start a fight.

"You owe us nothing (?), well that's where you're wrong," Harris said. "You owe us for the air you're breathing. We work at the Bullvine Atmospheric Processing Unit just down the road, so the air you're breathing is something we created, you owe us for that."

Riddick continued to face forward, his smile increasing so that his teeth showed

"You call that air? Smells like cow shit to me and if you guys are in charge of the atmo I'm breathing around here, well then, I'd say that you're doing a pretty crappie job," he chuckled.

The three men became infuriated with this, and the man Harris, to Riddick's left, was the quickest to respond…..and also, the quickest to receive the fury of Richard's rebuttal. The man advanced and Riddick punched him squarely in the nose. He fell flat before he even knew what hit him, and there was a pool of blood already gathering onto the tavern floor. Grim, seeing the opportunity of blindsiding Riddick rushed in and was delivered the stiff backwards kick of a boot to his face. This sent him flying in reverse, taking out a table where several onlookers sat observing the ordeal. Riddick turned to the last man that had encroached his privacy. His opponent, Harvey Vickers, although leader of this group, was also seen to be least likely to become victor over the trouble he caused. Riddick looked at him directly in the eyes…..

"Your move…."

Harvey, feeling the pressure, did not want to become like one of his friends, he quickly made an exit out of the front door (he would deal with the repercussions of his cowardice later), still, all the while the barkeep had been uttering curses and claims of how this ordeal was ruining his bar. After which Riddick turned to the man, and then lifted his cup of stained liquor glass from the counter; the glass had not spilled a single drop, still beneath its bottom there lay a golden shilling. A shilling Riddick had put there just for this occasion.

"That should well exceed payment for the damages," he spoke.

Marco picked up the shilling…..

"Holy shit, Platinum-magnetite…..!" he said, his eye grew as big around as saucers, "This could almost buy me a whole-nother bar." He looked over at Riddick…..

"You Mister, my friend, can come in here any time and kick the asses of those three fellows whenever you wish," he spoke gleefully.

Riddick did not reply, he only turned and directly marched over to a table where a certain individual was sitting. Said person wore the attire of a monk, with a long flowing brown robe and a hood that covered the head and shielded the face. This had been a person whom had been following him since he'd arrived, and now it was his desire to find out what they wanted. Riddick approached their table.

"Now it's time for you to own-up. What's your business, why have you been following me?"

Without a word the individual reached up and removed the hooded covering from over their head.

"KYRA…..!" Riddick pronounced...totally in shock.

End Part 2