Future Shock: Chapter Seven-Interlude #1: Steerpike (Date 8 Years-P.B.)

“Well, if it isn’t the cat with the canary feather on his lip,” Steerpike sneered, stepping out of the murky shadows of the darkened apartment. Riddick didn’t even flinch at the younger man’s sudden appearance, he’d heard him breathing, smelled the sweat on his perfect skin as he watched him, waiting for the right moment to confront him. As gaunt and pretty as Steerpike was, as tailored and elegant, his voice carried a surprising resonance and depth. He was far more than just another pouty pretty boy, he was dangerous. Riddick could tell from the wicked spark in his dark eyes and his contemptuous smirk, he was out for blood. “Leaving finally? Packed your bags? Didn’t bother to tell Hana, I suppose. Oh well, too bad. Off you go then.”

Riddick despised the tone of mocking that was constantly evident in the boy’s voice. Of all the people he didn’t care to run into as he was running, Steerpike was at the top of the list. “I don’t care what you tell her, say anything you like,” Riddick told him flatly. He shrugged, “Make up a story. You’ve always been good at that, I’m sure you could make up a whopper.”

“You wound me, Mr. Riddick,” scoffed Steerpike, placing his hand on his breast as if he’d been shot through the heart. “Still, I can’t say I’m not delighted to see you go. For me and for Hana.”

It was Riddick’s turn to scoff. “Since when did you start pretending to care about her welfare? You motherfucker, if I ever find out that you did anything to harm her, I will find you and I will make you hurt more than you ever imagined possible.”

Steerpike wasn’t laughing now as he recognized the challenge. Snarling, he moved to strike, drawing a pen knife from his pocket. But Riddick was too fast for him. Quickly and fluidly he caught the smaller man’s wrist, turning him and trapping his slender arm behind his back. In one movement, Riddick grabbed the knife from Steerpike’s fist and slashed it across his pretty face.

Steerpike cried out and wrenched himself free, falling to the floor in the process.
Blood tricked in a diagonal line from his finely shaped brow across the bridge of his nose to the corner of his full lips. Danger flashed in his eyes as he stared up at Riddick, guaranteeing he’d made an enemy for life. “You’ll regret that, “Steerpike spat out, narrowing his eyes to slits. “I’m make you learn to regret it!”


Future Shock
Chapter 7: Escape from Thelta
Date: 2 yrs. + P.B.


An explosion rocked the ground, sending dirt and sand swirling into the humid tropical air in great clouds and throwing Jackie onto her ass. She’d watched from the beach as the army of Company fighters had swooped down into Thelta Prime’s atmosphere shield and sped towards the colonies. The colonists stopped and looked up with fearful interest as the fighters roared overhead, making their first pass. But no one could have ever possibly expected what happened next as the numerous craft turned for a second pass and began releasing their bombs. The helpless civilians scattered in a panic and Jackie watched in horror from the shoreline as neighboring colony, J8-T2, was completely leveled in a matter of minutes.

With her heart in her throat she took off through the jungle, desperately trying to reach J8-T3, and Imam, in time. Another explosion, this time much closer, shattered the loose soil beneath her feet and almost knocked her off balance again. Mona was waiting anxiously at the edge of the colony and called out when she saw Jackie approaching fast, “Come, come quickly!” She grabbed the girl’s arm and led her through the confusion and chaos to where her old but capable ship, an Adventurer-class leisure vessel, was parked. Imam was already inside, waiting with as many refugees as the Adventurer would allow.

With bombs exploding all around them, Mona prepped for a quick take-off. The craft shuddered as it left the ground, straining against the weight of gravity and of its passengers. Many ships were in the air already, all filled to capacity with refugees. Many never left the planet’s atmosphere, the Company fighters fired on them, destroying them rapidly and efficiently. “I’ve never seen such outright aggression from Rangers before,” Mona observed as the Adventurer broke into black space. Then amended, “Not unprovoked.”

“They’re stepping up the war,” Imam said sadly. “Now, no one is safe. Where will this end?” The planet below them was now glowing red with the heat of the impact of the missiles against its surface, the green of the foliage had almost entirely disappeared. Thelta Prime was dying and with it hundreds of innocent colonists who could not have escaped in time. Tears rolled down the Muslim’s hard face though he did not weep openly. The world he loved was gone forever.

“There’s a blockade up ahead,” Mona said, turning her weary eyes towards Imam, looking for guidance. “They’re calling for our surrender. They are destroying the ships that do not. I have no fire power and I doubt I could outrun them. Elemo, I can see no other option.” Imam just nodded, for the first time in his life words would not come to him.

The Adventurer and a few other fleeing ships were taken aboard one of the larger cruisers, aptly called the Indestructible, and the colonists were taken prisoner and locked in the large storage hold. ‘I wish Riddick was here, I wish Riddick was here,’ Jackie thought to herself again and again, her stomach knotting with sickness. Mona put her arm around the girl’s shoulders protectively, trying to comfort her. She gave Jackie a brave smile but the girl shrugged away from her touch, hardening herself.

Mona’s heart was in turmoil as she glanced around the cavernous room at the
dissparing, fearful faces of the survivors. She wondered how many colonies had
suffered the same fate as J8-T3, how many would in the future, and how many
casualties the colonists would suffer before The Company satisfies their lust for power and blood.

The doors opened and two armed Company rangers stepped in, one a woman with braided silver white hair and different colored eyes, the left was darkly crimson, the right like iced violet. She was tall and strong and lean, and Imam guessed she was probably a human-Iyysh half-breed. The other was an attractive human male, a bit on the shortish side, of an ambiguous age but with a certain roguish roughness. The woman stepped forward and fired her gauge in the air just once to get everyone’s attention. The room went so deathly still even the survivors furthest away could hear the shell casing fall and hit the metal floor with a tiny ‘ting’ sound.

She stared out at the crowd of cowering colonists with her oddly colored eyes, sizing them up. There were so many of them, so many tear stained faces, so many eyes begging for mercy silently. She steeled herself against them, closing off her heart so none could reach her. She took a deep breath and spoke, her voice shaky at first, “I know you’re frightened, I know you’ve lost friends, family members. I’m here to tell you if you co-operate, no one else will get hurt.” The words sounded hollow, even to her. She looked to her male companion for support. He nodded to her and stepped forward with a confident swagger.

“All right, this is how it’s gonna work,” he said gruffly, able to command a room easily and efficiently without raising his volume. “We need the leaders from each of the colonies to come with us. As long as there are no heroics, no one will get hurt. You co-operate and everybody stays happy. You’ve found yourselves in the middle of a conflict that you, truthfully, have nothing to do with. I’m not asking you to like it, I’m just telling you this for your own good. Now, your leaders please.”

Imam took a deep breath and Jackie could see what he was preparing to do. Her head was swimming and she felt sick. She knew he was doing what he felt he had to to protect all these people but she didn’t want him to do it alone. Gathering all her courage she took his hand firmly, whispering, “I stand with you.” The Muslim nodded and looked to Mona who was now at his side. The colonists looked to Imam as the three stepped forward, proudly, unfalteringly, with a few other local leaders.

“Good, that’s good,” the male ranger grinned. “I can tell this is going to go very
smoothly for all involved. Now, if you’ll just come with us, we can get this show on the road.”

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