The Journey

Dawn rose the next morning, hazy and fogged by the smoke of the city. Kylie was up and working, as she had been since three hours previously, stopping only to drink something before returning to her work.



“You’re here.” She said as she felt the approach of someone.



“Yeah.” She didn’t bother turning around to see who it was, only one of them had that voice. “How long till we take off?”



“Three more hours. Making sure everything’s locked down and doing the preflight checks. No sleep chambers by the way, this trip is going to be done the old fashioned way. Don’t worry though, it’s only a month.”



She felt, rather then saw, him nod and knew he had gotten onboard.



a week later



“Stupid machine.” She muttered as she pounded the side of a drink dispenser, waiting for it to give her what she wanted.



“What are you doing up?” She was asked, and she turned, cup in hand.



“Piloting the ship, what did you expect me to be doing?” She made her way back to the flight cabin, followed by the man. “Could ask the question of you too Riddick, but then seeing as you sleep all day..”



“You don’t.”



“I sleep enough for me. You’re the killer they were looking for before we left.” She had figured it out long before, but it really hadn’t made a difference. She settled into the pilot’s chair, tucking a foot under her.



“Yeah.” He stood leaning against the doorway, his goggles on his face, as they always seemed to be. “I still wonder why you helped me though.”



“I had my reasons.” She tensed, turning to look at some sensors in front of her. “Doesn’t really matter, I did and here you are.”



“Maybe.”



He stood quiet, watching. His presence was both oddly comforting and disturbing to her. She tried to ignore it.



“You have anything to eat yet?” She got up again, heading for the door. He turned, letting her slip out past him. “I don’t know about you, but I am hungry.”



He followed her to the small kitchen area, where she made a couple sandwiches.



As she set them down on a table, she sat. “Not much, but I’m not much of a cook either.”



three weeks in



Yawning, Kylie stretched, punching a couple buttons overhead before sitting back in her seat. A few moments later her eyes slipped closed.



“Mommy?” The voice of a small child drifted in the darkness. “Mommy where are you?”



Silence met the child’s calls, and she pushed forward, and with each step she grew older. Now a girl of fifteen stood behind a window.



“I’m not him, I didn’t do anything.” A man said in the street as she watched.



Another man in a uniform crossed in front of her, going to the man and pistol whipping him with the end of a rifle. “Shut up criminal.”



Blood dripped from his forehead and he slumped to the ground. A woman cried out. “No!” And tried to run to him. As she got halfway to the street, the uniformed man pulled the trigger on the same weapon that he had beaten the man with, causing her body to jerk and slump to the ground.



“NO!” She screamed, eyes flying open. Tears streamed down her cheek as she sat straight in the chair, the move so sudden it caused her to fall out of it, unaware of the eyes upon her from the shadows beyond the cockpit door.



“Not again.” She muttered, wiping her eyes roughly, leaning forward, her forehead resting on her arms.



“Kylie?” She heard his voice, and she turned her back to the door.



“Yes?” She answered, making her voice steady and seating herself once more, looking over the panel before her, though there was really nothing to look at this far out.



“I heard something, we haven’t run into something have we?” He had been watching long enough to know why he had heard what he had and what he had seen, but chose not to speak of it.



“Hmm? Oh, no, I just knocked something over. I got it.”



“Good.” He stepped into the room, looking out through the forward window.



“Another week and we’ll see the planet through there.” She turned to look at him, back in control of herself. She was startled as she looked at him, his familiar goggles gone, his silver eyes reflected the blinking lights of the console. “Your eyes…”



“Long story. They’ve got their advantages, and bad side as well.” He stepped into the room, resting his hands on the back of the empty copilot’s chair.



“You just surprised me, usually you have those goggles on.” She shrugged and turned her seat towards him.



He nodded lightly. “The light bothers me, so I wear them.”



“Makes sense.” She watched as he walked away.



Two days after



Again the window was before the young woman. Another day, the street different and yet still the same. The man was standing in the middle of the street, surrounded by men in uniforms.



“You got my partner fired.” He boomed at the small man cowering before them.



“He shot her..” He stammered in reply.



“Daddy…no…” She whispered, a hand raising to the window, trying desperately to push it open. She knew what was about to happen.



“You got him fired.” The large man boomed again and as one the uniforms closed in on him, fists and feet flying. Screams of pain reached her ears and she covered them, not wanting to hear it.



“Run…child…run..” She could still hear his voice croak out. And screaming, she ran.



Kylie sat bolt straight in the chair, feeling a hand on her shoulder. As her eyes focused she saw Riddick’s face close to her.



“You were screaming.” His silver eyes glinted in the dim light coming from the screen beside her.



“I….Bad dreams…” She stuttered, trying to get control, feeling the moistness on her cheeks.



He nodded, looking at her. She was very uncomfortable under his gaze, and tried to turn her head. As he opened his mouth to speak again, a loud beeping interrupted.



“Shit!” She exclaimed, whirling and looking at the monitors. “Asteroids, sit down and buckle in.”



She switched on the microphone, barking orders into it at the people in the back cabins before focusing again on the console. She hurriedly punched some buttons and pulled a steering stick from its recess.



Riddick sat, waiting, watching as she started to manually control the ship. Loud bangs and thuds rang out through the machine as the smaller pieces of rock hit it and bounced off. Her eyes were fixed on the window before them, hand moving fast as she steered, making her way skillfully through the field of rocks and debris. She was in her element, at the control of this machine. It responded how she knew it would, did as she told it. She pushed the stick forward and the machine dove, going under a large asteroid, only to end up nose pointing at another, and she made it turn, barrel rolling off to the side. A soft clink told of the narrow miss that was made. Quickly she righted the ship once more, her eyes narrowed in determination.



“Riddick, I need you to hit that yellow button.” She motioned with her head to a button just over him, and he did as he was told, hitting it. A soft hum was barely heard, followed by the noises of the smaller rocks stopping. She dove the ship once more, again narrowly avoiding colliding with the asteroid, and it took another ten minutes before they had cleared the field completely.



Once she was sure they were clear she took a breath, slipping the manual control back into it’s spot, and let the other passengers know it was safe to move around.



“Oh, Sam, check to make sure none of the stuff in the storage bay was damaged to badly.” She sat back in her seat, rubbing her eyes, her heart finally slowing.



It took a few more moments, but the damages were minimal, a few dings, but the hull was in one piece as it should be. She settled back into her chair, a hand on her forehead.



“Something wrong?” She heard from the other seat.



“No, relieved we weren’t all killed.” She managed a thin smile, and pulled her feet under her.



“You have nightmares.”



"Sometimes. Who doesn’t.”



“Not that often.”



She looked at him. To know that, he had to have been watching her, and that made her nervous, in more way then one. “What does it matter if I have, or even how often, it’s my head.”



“If it effects your job, it affects all of us.”



“Well, if it affected my job, then we’d be more debris in that asteroid field. So it’s not affecting anything.” Her temper rose, and with it her voice. She rose with her last word and walked out.



A week after landing







The first things set up when they had landed were the water tower, the bathing rooms, and a central hall, a place for all of them to sleep while the other homes and buildings were built. It was late, and the sky was clear as Kylie made her way to the bathing rooms, a towel and a change of clothes in one arm. She knew that the others were sleeping in the central building, all but Riddick. He had taken to wandering at night, and as long as he helped when he was needed, none of them really cared. She was the only one who knew of his past, and she had no intention of changing that. It wasn’t something she wanted to hold over him, she just wanted to keep the peace.



She soaked in the hot water for a long time, letting it work out the tenseness of her sore overworked muscles, and she drifted in a pleasant haze. The progress was going well, they had the bases for three more buildings done today, and soon the others would all have their own homes. After that, the ship would be sheltered in the central building, and that was probably where she would live. She didn’t mind, she didn’t need much space and being close to her ship wasn’t a bad thing either.



With a reluctant sigh she got out, and dried, dressing quickly before the air got too cold. Her hair dripped down her neck as she walked the path back towards the building, to put her clothes back inside. She climbed up to the roof, and knew she wasn’t alone.



“Hello.” She said as she crossed to roof, taking up a seat on the edge opposite where he sat.



A grunt was the only reply he made, and for a long while they sat in silence, her shifting to sit on with her back to the waist high edge of the roof the only noise between them.



Footsteps pounding the stairs as she was followed. Her breathing heavy and heart pounding as she tried to get away. A turn, and she reached a dead end. Quickly she whirled around, but before she could move, the alley’s entrance was filled with the bulk of the men who had killed her father.



“No…no…let me go….I won’t tell….” She stammered, stepping backwards, her hands feeling cold stone.



“Please” she whimpered as they closed in on her. She watched with wide fearful eyes as the men laughed at her, cold hands grabbing her, ripping and tearing her clothes.



“Teach the bitch her place.” She heard one of them mutter to the other, as she heard zippers opening, feeling cold air on her skin.



Her body was roughly shaken, and her eyes flew open. Again she found Riddick over her, and she pulled herself out of his grasp. Her arms wrapped themselves around her knees as she sobbed. He didn’t react, his eyes upon her. When she finally looked up, her eyes red and cheeks damp, he was still watching her.



“Another nightmare.”



She nodded, not trusting her voice to speak.



“Who died?”



“In a lot of ways, I did.” She said softly before rising and leaving him alone with the night.