A Kid Like Her (A Riddick - Jack Romance/Adventure Story)

Happy Birthday Jack! Part 1

Riddick laughed to himself. His "thing" he was preparing for her wasn't huge, but he thought she would like it. Hoped she would like it. If she didn't like it - no, he wasn't going to start thinking about that. She had to like it.

"Two weeks. Two weeks to get any thought of hightailing it outta her head. Have no clue if she was asking about us landing because she was pissed or because she's sick of this shit. Not like I can force her to stay. Fuck that. I'll do what it takes, even if it means workin' behind her back to make sure she doesn't leave. Thanks to her, I've got two things in my pocket I can use against her:  Eron and Vaako. Sorry, Jack. You belong to me, with me, and if I have to fight dirty, I'll do it."

Jack hated waiting. What made it even worse was having nothing to do while she waited. She hadn't written in her journal in a week, and thanks to him couldn't even retrieve it from her own room to pass the time.

She chewed her bottom lip, thinking, then an idea came to mind. "Wait a minute. I know what I can do. I just can't spend much time doing it."

One of the few places Jack had never gone was to the landing bay and docking station where people traveled in and out of the Basilica to visit Necropolis. She was hoping she might find a way to get inside one of the ships for a look around. Eron had thought it best she stay in his room during the trip here to avoid unwanted questions, so she never got a good look at the controls.

The processing area of the landing bay and dock was enormous. The landing dock itself was partitioned into three hangers; there was one for passenger travel, a second for supplies, and a third for military craft, which appeared to be seldom used. Surveying the entire place amazed her. She knew the Basilica was a large vessel but seeing this made her realize the sheer enormity of this armada. It also sent a cold chill down her spine realizing that so many planets had been destroyed and so many lives lost from people leaving this very ship.

Seeing the power the Necros could yield made her realize how selfish she had been in the beginning, wanting Riddick to come with her and everyone else be damned. She still didn't like that they were in the situation. Nothing would change that. However, understanding that what he had chosen to do was saving countless worlds and people was truly humbling. She needed to tell him that, too. He deserved to hear it. He was the one in the middle of them all on a daily basis, while she only had to be around those she liked, namely Eron and Vaako.

"Hello Kyra, dear." Or at least almost only those she actually liked.

"Aereon? I haven't seen you floating about in quite some time. What are you doing here?"

"A little traveling between ships. I find the newest converts on the lower class ships to be more desirable company than those in Necropolis."

Jack had to smile. Well, well. She just insulted me. The old wind bag does have a backbone after all. "Point duly noted. Really, I can hardly blame you though. We all have had to do what we must to make life here tolerable and to pass the time."

"Such as what you are doing now?"

"Something like that. I haven't been down here before. Not quite sure why. I know how to fly and their ships are remarkable from just the few I've seen. Despite the horror these people have inflicted on others, I can't help but be impressed."

Aereon's mind began to calculate at the mention that Jack could pilot. This was information she tucked away, perhaps for future use. "I wasn't aware that you knew how to fly."

"Riddick taught me when I was younger."

"Ah, yes. Iman told me you lived with him when he was on the run."