Treacherous

Chapter 7

At the top of the steps two things assaulted her at once, one unfortunately familiar, one new and surprising.

The first was the heat. Hot dry wind blasted her and bright relentless sun blinded her after coming from the dark confines of the apartment. The new thing actually made her smile. At the bottom of the steps sat a puffy-wheeled ATV. Tracks beside it showed there’d been a second, and she looked to see that there were clear tracks in the dirt leading away toward the bigger buildings at the end of the settlement.

She walked down to it smiling at Riddick’s thoughtfulness. Either he pulled one behind or he’d trekked back on foot to bring her one. How sweet. SWEET? Had she just thought of sweet and Riddick in the same sentence? Damn! He’d cut out her tongue if he’d heard that.

Surprise number two: a pair of welding goggles sat neatly placed on the starter. She slipped them on carefully, setting the strap just above her ears like Riddick did. No mirror to check how it looked, but the instant relief from the glaring sun made it worth it.

The ATV was solar powered. A small sphere whirred to life when she flipped the start switch. Dirt and gravel crunched beneath the over-inflated tires as she moved into the lane and toward the large buildings at the ‘west’ end of the settlement.

SS1 had a lot in common with SS4, but there were some major differences as well. Housing appeared to be at the East end, the mess hall situated in the center beside a communal shower and bathroom. Behind the row of lodgings she saw the same type of hanging gardens or whatever the tunnel shaped outbuildings were. She figured the water supply was back there somewhere as well.

Next came storage, then the coring room and smaller testing facilities for the ore and rock samples. Following that was more storage, probably for the samples.

Finally she came to the end of the lane and the larger buildings that could only be hangars for something. While Riddick’s tracks went further down the lane she decided to check out the first one.

When pulled up on the door, it barely budged, opening a gap of no more than a foot. The tracks were probably filled with dirt or worse, bent. She was gearing to try again when something swept from beneath the door and knocked her feet out from under her.

Her head hit hard and she cried out. Then she was being dragged. Something had her feet and was pulling her into the dark crack beneath the door.

Bell had no intention of going without a fight. She grabbed hold of the door, managing to get the handle she’d just let go of. Then she bucked hard using the ground beneath her butt to force her legs up, hopefully in the opposite direction her attacker was expecting.

One foot became free and in the same instant made contact with something, causing a low grunt. She took the chance to kick again, landing another kick to her assailant’s body and gaining complete freedom. Fast as she could she pulled herself out and backed away from the door.

She braced herself for more as the door suddenly lifted high and she was left staring at Riddick. A VERY pissed off Riddick with blood dripping from his lip.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” he yelled, making her take another step back involuntarily.

“Me?! You fucking grabbed me! I didn’t know it was you!” she yelled just as loud, surprising herself while feeling damn good for matching his anger.

He didn’t move, and didn’t say more. Slowly he wiped the blood from his lip and then licked away the rest. She watched, transfixed by either the simple sensuality of it or the awe of knowing SHE’D drawn HIS blood.

The silence stretched out for so long that it started to unnerve her. Strange. Alone with him for days, but NOW it started to seem stupid. She thought of the reports of Riddick’s psychoanalysis results. How he understood the effects fear had on the body without actually having the learned knowledge of it. He probably won most of his fights and battles in the silent moments before any blows were exchanged. Very clever, and obviously very effectual.

Finally she ‘took balls in hand’. “You gonna stand there staring all day or ya gonna get the fuck outta my way?”

He smirked. That damn secretive smile of his like he knew how false her courage really was. “Was just getting used to you without the stink.”

Bell nearly gasped, “Yeah, well, I would have liked that chance too. Too bad you stink already again.”

“Nice glasses.”

She felt instantly contrite. He’d found the goggles and given them to her and she’d given him insults instead of thanks. Rolling her eyes at the necessity to change her tone she said, “Yeah, thanks. And for the four-runner.”

He just looked at her for a second longer before nodding slightly and turning back into the dark building. She quickly hurried after him.

“What’s in here? And why’s it so damn dark?”

He closed the door and pulled his goggles off before turning back and moving past her on the way deeper into the building.

Bell stared, even when all she could see was his back. The eyes. Damn, she loved those eyes. They’d been strange in a scary way at first, but now they were just plain fascinating. Not reflective, but seeming to glow from within, the brightness changing slightly with the light. She’d seen shined eyes before, years before, but somehow they were different. She didn’t remember that unsettling feeling at just seeing them.

She took off her own goggles so she could see. The building wasn’t as dark as it seemed, but too dark for the thick goggles. She doubted anywhere on this damn planet could ever reach full darkness. Like the other buildings here there were slats high in the walls that could never close perfectly. As she followed Riddick and her eyes adjusted she saw the muted reflection of light off of lusterless metal that could only be a ship.

“Riddick,” she breathed, stopping to look up at the dim silhouette of the ship she was nearly standing under.

“Good?”

She was simply standing and staring in wonder at their good fortune, “Do you know what this is?”

“Tell me.”

If she’d been paying more attention she would have noted his calculated tone, but all defensive measures had flown with the excitement of what sat before them.

“It would be considered old now, but will never lose its value. This model was built with a nuclear core. No batteries to ever go dead. Fuel may be a problem after so long, but if it was full then it should burn now. Central self-recognizing AI with control of the mechanical systems and even a free robot or two. Cryo for a dozen, dozen plus. Small enough for one person to pilot, but originally made for planet hopping and even long flight. A pilot isn’t even necessary with the AI in control.”

“So what the fuck’s it still doin’ here?”

She glanced at him in surprise. The fate of the last inhabitants had yet to be broached. It was there, the constant pressure to escape whatever misfortune had befallen them, and a curiosity to understand. At SS4 the group had agreed upon the consensus that the settlers had left, a ship taking them off planet. The theory had sounded false even as it was spoken. It just didn’t hold water that they’d left so much behind, and didn’t explain the damage done to some of the buildings, though she hadn’t seen any damage yet at SS1.

“I don’t know.”

They entered the craft through the pilot’s escape hatch, a ladder that dropped down beneath the ship. There was a larger cargo door, but they would have to take over the ship before it would open freely.

“Welcome to Tangier’s Capuan. State your ID and purpose.”

The computer system recognized their entry and showed its resilience as soon as Bell’s head broke the deck.

“Identification number 712-200303. Our ship landed here, but was damaged. We need transport.”

Silence. Then, “Your companion?”

Riddick opened his mouth to speak, but she quickly stepped closer and put her hand over his mouth, her gaze intent on him. She pointed to the AI’s speaker and then slid her finger across her neck. He got the message immediately, nodding curtly. They had to disable the AI before it knew his identity or it would perform as programmed and report his presence to every listening ship within four light-years!

“My companion was injured and cannot speak. His identification number is 113-799001.”

Another silence and then the computer was guiding them toward the cockpit and informing them of the condition of the ship. The meal synthesizer and water recycling unit were out of operation supposedly and was the reason the ship was stored, awaiting a necessary part that never came.

“What is your name?” Bell asked the system.

“You may address me as Capuan or Cap, as my previous owner did.”

“Previous owner?”

“His vital signs ceased many years ago. We have been without ownership since then. You may lay claim now.”

“I do, Cap, I do. Thank you.”

Riddick’s fingers dug into her arm painfully at this. His inability to speak left him unable to stop her and she had to smile at how pissed off he had to be. By law the ship was now hers and only death could separate it from her. Though that wasn’t much of an obstacle to a man of his profession.

“We, Cap?”

“My two service androids are still fully functional. They have not needed to do much for a long time. Would you like me to deploy them now?”

“No.”

They reached the cockpit and Bell took the captain’s chair. The controls surrounded her, banks of monitors and controls rising up automatically. Immediately she entered the system controls and started the power flash necessary to erase the Cap’s entity.

“You wish to erase me?”

Bell almost felt guilt. AI could mimic human tones and sound almost scared at times. “Yes, Cap. I have need of a more… biddable entity.”

“As you wish.”

Cap said no more and after a minute the system blinked out, the lights slowly faded to darkness and all the screens went down.

“Is—“

“Shh!” Bell hushed Riddick before he could say more. “Not yet.”

Set to restart, the ship’s computer systems slowly came back to life. Technology being as it was, it nearly programmed itself, registering information and making decisions on how to run in nanoseconds.

The prompts came up for the AI reset and she chose a female entity with an unobtrusive and acquiescent character. Before activating it she also went into the system setting and disabled the voice recognition software, any DNA sampling or testing, and cut off the communications as well. They could make that active again later, but for now it seemed safer to not be advertising their location.

“Greetings, Jezebella,” said the new female voice. “The ship is fully functional and at your command.” It continued, giving the condition of each system, the whereabouts of the robot and android, and other information. The differences between the new entity and ‘Cap’ were marked. Cap had seemingly been a domineering AI.

“Just Bell, please. My companion is Richard. Can you tell me why the ship is on this planet?”