"The long Journey" (a Shadowrun crossover with everything)

[Praeothmin]

Oh, how I know...

Although writing exciting fight scenes one on one isn't that easy either when you're doing it for characters who can do things the writer has no hope in hell of ever doing, and you want to try to keep it "realistic" within the world you've created... :)

[Admiral Breetai]

I like that about your story

I go for silmarillion type insanity when I do the one on one fights- no realism just try and tell a story..and I realize while that's been fun to read it lacks a certain..I guess empathetic flair to it

[Praeothmin]

Update...

Chapter 51

“Well, lucky for you we were just in the neighbourhood, right Major?” Asked Hudson with a smile.
“Looks like we saved your butt this time.” He added.

“Indeed you did.” James answered soberly, the seriousness in his eyes robbing Hudson of his smile.
The man understood the truth of his statement then, and didn’t like the implications that were forming in his mind.
None of them did, except for one very smiling Riddick.

Captain Kirkinger came in the Shuttle Bay, his face a mask of fury and rage.

“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t beam you out into space right now.” He told Riddick.

What scared James was how serious and how willing to act on his threat the Captain seemed.

“I could have killed the Major, but I didn’t.” Riddick said calmly.
“In fact, I could have killed many of your crewmembers, but I didn’t.
As soon as I came aboard, you locked me up in a brig when I only defended myself against unknown people who had come looking for me, sporting weapons and equipped with battle gear.
You wilfully deprived me of my freedom because of your actions.
And you’re surprised by my reaction?”

He let the words sink in, but saw they had an effect.

“You know nothing of me, yet you presume much.
You think because I am a dangerous man, I deserve to be locked up.
What of your Major?
Why isn’t he locked up?
You’ve seen him in combat.
He’s as dangerous, if not more so, than I am.
And from what I heard, your first meeting with him went pretty much the same way it did with mine, yet here he stands, a member of your crew, while I am destined for the brig once more.”

The words rang true to James, and he didn’t like it, for Riddick was right.
There were more similarities than differences between the two of them, yet Riddick had been branded a villain, while James was a hero on the Musashi.
He saw the words had their effect on the Captain as well, for his expression had changed.
Fury had been replaced by frustration, and anger, but the anger seemed to be aimed inward, judging by the Captain’s body language.

“You may be right, our initial actions may not have been the best, but your reaction has shown us you are an extremely dangerous man, who cares about no one but himself.
As soon as our ship is repaired, we will bring you back to the planet where we found you, and you’ll never see us again.
In the meantime, however, you will remain in the brig, whether you like it or not, and from now on you will be monitored around the clock, your food will be beamed to you directly, and if you escape again, we will beam you directly in space, and I will not lose one second of sleep over it.
Am I clear?” the Captain asked, daring Riddick to argue.

“You are quite clear.” Riddick answered.

As he was pulled to his feet and the MACOs began taking him away, Boomer shooting worried glances towards James, who thought threatening such a man wasn’t the wisest course Captain Kirkinger could have taken, Riddick stopped, making everyone tense, the MACOs all taking a step back, weapons aiming at the dangerous man.

“Before I go, I just have one question for the Major, if you’ll allow it.” He said with a half-smile.
He continued without waiting for the Captain’s answer.
“Now that I have your attention, Major, I would like to know where is the young girl that should have been with Imam on Helion Prime?
Her name was Jack.”

“Why do you want to know?” James asked his attacker.
“Do you want to kill her too?”

Riddick didn’t answer right away, and then slowly turned to face James.

“What I want with her is none of your business, Major.” The man almost spat James’s rank.
“But because I want an answer I’m sure you possess, I’ll tell you.
Five years ago, I rescued to people from a planet filled with monsters, a preacher and a girl, whom everyone else thought was a boy.
I left them on New Mecca so they could make a new life for themselves, one without my shadow hanging over them.
A couple of hours ago, I learned about one of them, Imam, and how you helped him and a family I did not about, escape from the Necromongers.”

James noticed the faint indication of relief that went over the dangerous killer at the mention of Imam’s survival, as if he had truly cared about the man, but he knew the sign had been so faint that no one else but him had picked up on it.

“The second one, you never mentioned in your report.
I want to know where she is.” Riddick finished.

James wasn’t sure he was doing the right thing, but he knew that, deep down, Riddick cared about the girl, as he had the same faint body signals when talking about the girl as he had had talking about Imam.
So he told the man what Imam had told him.
And regretted it instantly, for Riddick was overcome with anger so pure and powerful, James feared for the MACOs’ lives.
He was ready to act, as were the others who had not missed the man’s attitude change, but then Riddick calmed down, took a few deep breaths, and simply shook his head.

“Captain,” He said, his head lowered, “I know I’m in no position to make requests, but you will like this one.
Instead of bringing me back to my icy planet, once your ship is repaired, can you get me to a prison?”

Captain Kirkinger was taken aback, and so was James.
The man was willing to be imprisoned in order to find this girl, Jack, while his actions had clearly made it known to the crew of the Musashi that he hated being locked up.
He is a tough one to read, this Riddick, James thought.
Definitely not the psychopath I was led to believe in.

“What is this prison’s name, and where is it located?” Kirkinger asked, letting Riddick know with that question that he had agreed to the request.

“The prison’s name is Crematoria, and it is located on a desolate world the surface of which, during the day, burns anything on it, and during the night, is too cold for anything to survive.
It is located about two Light-Years away from Helion Prime.”

***********************************************************************

The vessel’s plating gleamed in the sun’s light, blackened marks, like so many battle scars, marring its sleek hull, letting all who could see it know that the vessel had been in a furious fight.
As it approached the planet known as Crematoria, the vessel changed its approach angle to place itself in orbit over the side of the planet bathed in the sun’s radiations.
Then most of its systems shut down so the repair crews could affect the appropriate repairs.
Its hull was rapidly heated close to three thousand degrees Celcius, preventing any work done on the outer shell unless it was performed by remotely controlled worker drones.
Slowly, but surely, the extenuated work forces began the Musashi’s much needed repairs, a dance of rejuvenation performed many times over on the ship in these last few weeks.

************************************************************************

The meeting was being held in the Captain’s Ready Room, a collection of grim faces discussing the recent events surrounding the mahogany table.

“I say throw his ass in the slammer and be done with that fucker… Pardon my French.” Hudson said.

“I agree with Private Hudson, sir.” Hicks said.
“The sooner we get rid of him, the better.
He’s been nothing but trouble since day one, and we don’t owe him anything.”

“I agree as well, Captain.” Doc piped in.

“There seems to be a general consensus up to now.” Cmdr Tremblay said with a smile.
“Does our Chief of Security agree?”

“We should throw him out an airlock.” Teramak said plainly, and everyone clearly saw he was dead serious.

“I remember you telling me the same thing about Major Reynolds, Cmdr.” The Captain told the Andorian.

An aching James, his knife wounds treated in sickbay, already healing, threw a sideway glance at Teramak, who looked him in the eyes as he responded to the Captain.

“Indeed I did, as our initial contact with him had been as… intense as the one with Riddick.” He said, making no apologies for his previous words.
“Except that after that initial contact, the Major showed himself to be a good man, was sorry for his actions, and has proven an incredible addition to this crew.
Which Riddick has not.
Worse,” Teramak added, “He came very close to killing a man we’ve all begun to think of as a friend, a member of the family.
We Andorians take family very seriously, as you know.”

The words struck James profoundly, for though he had begun to think of the Musashi and her crew as friends, something he didn’t have many of back home, and though he had believed the feelings were reciprocal, hearing it said out loud felt good.
He smiled and nodded to the Cmdr in appreciation, a nod Teramak returned.

“I don’t agree.” Boomer said almost silently.

They all turned to her in surprise, for Boomer’s first encounter with the dangerous man had resulted in a concussion and a lacerated scalp for the Cylon.
They had all expected her to agree with the others.
No one spoke, though, waiting for her to continue, to explain her thoughts.
They tried not to judge, Boomer saw, but she understood it was hard for them to remain neutral after all that had happened.

“Riddick was right, as Cmdr Teramak so clearly recalled.
From what I was told of James’s first appearance on the Musashi, he broke the Cmdr’s ribs, sent four security guards in Sickbay, and knocked out the Doctor.
If I remember the story correctly, he also threatened to kill her while he was strapped to his Bio-bed in Sickbay.”

Hicks and Hudson, not having been part of the crew at that time, clearly had not heard of their commander’s arrival on the Federation ship in such details.
They had heard of his violent arrival, James knew, but it was clear all the meanest details had been left out by the tale teller.
He shot them a sheepish smile, to this day still ashamed of his first contact with Starfleet, but especially with Doctor Numor.

“Perhaps, but he was outside his element, surprised, in an unknown environment, in a world with morals far removed from his own.” Doc said in James’s defence.

“So was Riddick.” Boomer replied quickly.
“His entire life, he has been pursued by people who only saw two things in him: a killer or a paycheck.
Nowhere he went could he allow himself to relax, to make friends, all because someone said he was dangerous, and a criminal.
On our first encounter, what did he see but four armed people, actively looking for something, in a place where there was nothing of interest, except for a man, one who had previous bounties placed on his head?
He did what any of us would have done, he acted as James acted when first coming aboard.
He assumed these new people operated from the same set of morals as everyone else in his universe, and so he believed himself hunted.
He did what any cornered predator does in these instances: he attacked before he could be attacked.
Then, as soon as he had been on board, he was locked up in the brig, instead of in some random quarters.
He was robbed of his freedom arbitrarily, without anyone ever giving him a chance to explain himself, against his will.
So he again did what any threatened predator does, he tried to escape.
Without killing anyone, I might add.
Even the last time he escaped, he didn’t kill, or even wound anyone, except for James, and he relented his attack when he knew the fight was over, when he knew he had James at his mercy.
And because of that, everyone is willing to get rid of him, some even to kill him.
But why?
Is he dangerous?
Of course he is.
Is he a predator, capable of killing?
Definitely.
Has he proven to be a danger to this ship?
No, he has not, not even when he tried to escape.
I know why he doesn’t get the same treatment James did, the same second chances: he looks like a killer, he’s not hiding his nature as a predator, just like James.
The only difference between the two is that James can control his animal instincts more easily than Riddick, but don’t let James’s clean-looking façade fool you: when fighting to defend himself or people close to him, James is as savage as one gets.
I know, I’ve been there in a couple of fights with him.
I know what he can do, how dangerous he can be.
I also know what it’s like to be judged for what you are, instead of simply who you are.
I’ve been on that end of the looking glass a couple of times too.
Being called a killing machine, being judged because you’re a Cylon living in a universe where all machines are reviled isn’t pleasant.
So if you must judge him, please judge him on who he is and what reality he’s lived in all his life, and not just based on your morals.
He’s never attacked anyone here without any provocation, perceived or real, and as not killed anyone on this ship even when feeling threatened.
He deserves better than what I feel we’ve given him.” She finished soberly, lowering her gaze as if fearing the other’s reactions.

There was a long moment of silence, where everyone reflected on what Boomer had just said.

“You’re right, Boomer,” James said, breaking the silence, “Which is why I’ll go help him get his friend, if the Captain allows.
Once she’s free, we send them on their way, free to do what they want.”

Captain Kirkinger looked at James, and the big Shadowrunner knew his sentiments were shared by the man.

“Make it so!” Was all he said.

[sonofccn]

Well while I disagree with Boomer, James is a good guy who did shady things Riddick is a bad guy who has done good things, still well done chapter and I am glad their setting course for Crematoria. Can't wait to have James and Riddick, maybe Boomer if she's back up to strenght, kicking arse across the planet.

[Admiral Breetai]

James makes a very valid point but he needs to realize..Augments are not welcome or wanted in the STU

Riddik is basically to them little more then a psychotic Khan expy..

Son of is right riddick is also a lunatic

[Praeothmin]

Really?
Riddick did not kill Toombs when he could have easily, twice, in COR...
He did not kill the guards attacking him in Imam's house, or the guard who held a knife to Imam's throat...
He only killed the one guard who attacked him, out of the three who tried to rape Kira, when he could have easily killed them all...

Is he really that much of a loon?
Is he really the Psycho killer people seem to take him for?


:)

[sonofccn]

Riddick did not kill Toombs when he could have easily, twice, in COR...

To be absolutely fair both times he was stranded on fairly inhospitable worlds.

But yes I will admit Riddick post Pitch Black is a different man than pre Pitch Black, at least in my opinion, but he is a singularly inwardly motivated with only one or two connections with the greater humanity. Or to try and be more succient James has time and again risked his life for people he's never met, Riddick has chosen merely not to kill you. ;)

[Praeothmin]

Riddick has chosen merely not to kill you. ;)

And I find that rather nice of him... :)

[Admiral Breetai]

Really?
Riddick did not kill Toombs when he could have easily, twice, in COR...
He did not kill the guards attacking him in Imam's house, or the guard who held a knife to Imam's throat...
He only killed the one guard who attacked him, out of the three who tried to rape Kira, when he could have easily killed them all...

Is he really that much of a loon?
Is he really the Psycho killer people seem to take him for?


:)

he's a pragmatic loon but Fyrians are kinda like Saiyans and Viltrumites blood lust and murder are instinctual to them

at least according to the fluff material

[Praeothmin]

Chapter 52

In a remote corner of level five of the prison complex called Crematoria, the hot, humid and stale air was disturbed by two energy vortices, the golden light creating dancing shadows on the walls.
Within the beams, two massive forms coalesced into existence.
As soon as they were free of their energy cocoons, they went down into crouching, and carefully scanned the surrounding area.
Seeing no immediate threats, they advanced into the prison area, intent on finding their target.
Crematoria was a cylindrical prison, spread out over ten levels, with walkways and landings interspaced unevenly along the walls of the cylinder, and an open shaft in the middle.
Cells had been carved in the walls of the cylinder on every level, with doors made of bars that were apparently never locked.
The more massive of the two men stepped aside and let the smaller one pass in front, recognizing how limited his knowledge of such places and of their target was compared to the other one.
It wasn’t long before they were spotted and recognized as new arrivals, yet due to their sheer size and the intensity of their gazes, no one dared challenge them as they made their way through.
Prisons were like any other ecosystem, as in there were predators and preys, and it was usually easy for the hordes to know which were which.
Just as in this case, all the prisoners who saw them immediately knew these two were definitely predators, very dangerous ones at that.
But just as in any other ecosystem, new predators arriving on the hunting grounds of established predators usually drew them out, the established predators challenging the new ones for the domination of the territory.
So while their initial progress went swiftly, the two new arrivals soon faced the local predators.
They arrived at a small landing at level four, barely two meters wide, and four meters long, with the open shaft to their right, with a small guard rail separating them from a long drop, while to the left was an opened cell in the middle of a wall.
Three men came out of the cell, with two coming from the front and three others coming at their back, blocking all possible escape routes, except one.

“Looks like we’ve got us some new guys, boys.” Said the biggest of the men, obviously the leader of this group from what the two cornered men saw.
He was slightly taller than the first man, though not as large, but he was completely dwarfed by the second one.
He looked at his men, their presence bolstering his nerves, and he addressed the new arrivals.
“Now, my friends,” He began, “The rules here are quite simple: you hand over everything of any value to me, and we don’t throw you over the railing.
And make no mistake, the guards don’t mind us killing each other in here, as long as we don’t cause too much trouble for them.
The less of us there are, the easier their job of guarding us is.”

The man smiled, and held out his hand towards the smaller of the two new arrivals.

“If you say so.” Riddick said.

And then he stuck a knife in the man’s hand.
The man yelled in pain and took a step back, clutching his wounded hand.

Then all hell broke loose.
The three men at James’s back came at him in unison, so the big MACO leader pivoted to his left and launched a straight right-kick at the man on his right, which lifted him off his feet to sail in the air, while his left forearm blocked a knife attack form the man on his left, while his right arm delivered a punch straight in the man’s face.
As the kicked man landed six feet behind, clipping the third man on the way, the knife wielding attacker’s head rocked back, his nose splattered across his cheek, and his legs gained the consistency of cotton, dropping out from under him.
As he turned slightly to his right, his back at the railing, he saw Riddick move.
While the killer wasn’t as fast as James, he was still much faster than his opponents, and he caught them off guard.
As their leader was still backing up from the dangerous man in front of him, the two men coming out from the cell rushed Riddick, trying to push him back against the railing, and possibly over it.
Riddick bent towards them while putting one knee on the ground, and both his arms shot forward, each grabbing an oncoming man by the crotch.
He then heaved with all his might as he got back up, lifting the men above him and throwing them over his shoulders to fly above the railing and drop, screaming at the top of their lungs to their death, more than twenty-five meters down.
He continued towards the group’s leader, who had removed the knife from his hand, and tried to stab Riddick with it.
The Furyan sidestepped to his left, his right hand grabbing the leader’s wrist, his left hand coming in from the side to impact against the leader’s right elbow, snapping it.
As the knife began falling to the floor, James ran towards the two prisoners that had been at the other end of the landing.
He reached them as the knife clattered on the floor and Riddick connected a descending right punch in the leader’s gut, throwing him to the floor, puking and in pain.
Before either of his opponents could react, James had grabbed their heads, pulled them down and jumped, delivering two knee strikes to the men’s faces.
They dropped to the floor spitting teeth and quickly lost consciousness.
The last man, one of the three who had originally blocked the path at James’s back, turned on his heels and ran away.
Or he tried to, until a knife flew in and planted itself up to the hilt in his back.
He fell face first at the feet of a new man, one who, though unimpressive physically, held himself with an air of command.
He had a scraggly beard and unkempt short, curly brown hair.
It was quite apparent that he had been in Crematoria for a long time.
He had many followers, this man, just as many as the thug’s leader had.

“There are inmates,” He began with a strong voice, “and there are convicts.
A convict has a certain code.
And he knows to show a certain respect.
An inmate, on the other hand, pulls the pin on his fellow man, does the guards' work for them, and brings shame to the game.”
He paused for effect, and Riddick and James both knew the message wasn’t just intended for them, but for all around.
He looked straight at them.

“So, which are you gonna be?”

“Us?” Riddick asked, amused.
“We’re just passing through.”

“Welcome to Crematoria!” The man said to the departing warriors.

*******************************************************************

She watched from afar, fascinated with the ease through which the two men disposed of their attackers.
The big man fascinated her most, because she was familiar with the smaller of the two, and knew well his abilities in combat, and for all her life, she had never thought she’d meet his equal in battle.
Yet there he was, standing tall, with broad, powerful shoulders, and a square jaw that did nothing to diminish his looks, going so far as to enhance them.
And he was a pure delight to watch in battle, displaying almost as much savagery as Riddick, barely controlling his animal instincts, moving with a speed she had never seen in anyone before, especially one so big, like a Tiger in human form.
She followed them using all the stealth she had acquired over the years while travelling with Mercenaries.
For one who could use them, the steel walkways held many hiding places, and made following unsuspecting prey easier.
Many a man had discovered this to his ultimate demise after trying to take advantage of her in the years she’d been there.
And so she stalked the newcomers, hoping to learn why they were here.
Hoping to learn it was for her.
Ah, Riddick, she thought, finally remembered about poor little Jack?

***********************************************************************

They were being stalked, James realized quickly.
He kept hearing small noises, movements from under the walkway above, shadowing their every move.
The person shadowing them was good, because even with James’s enhanced senses, he had trouble following their stalker’s progress.
But the stalker was no Riddick.
Once in a while, James succeeded in catching a glimpse of their follower with the help of his Low-Light vision, although never a clear view.
Their stalker was a small man, and was very adept at moving through the rafters under the prison’s walkways, easily keeping pace with them while remaining hidden.
Riddick had sensed their stalker too, James saw by the subtle change in the killer’s posture.
They were slowly making their way up, looking everywhere, and a tone point Riddick let James pass him by as they came into an alcove with two openings, looking intently at one dark area after taking off his goggles, as if he suspected someone of hiding there.
They were starting to move again when James heard the slight noise of a light person landing on the ground behind them.

“Should I go for the sweet spot?” A light, feminine voice asked.

James turned around to see Riddick, standing straight up, a small hand on his left shoulder, and a curly haired head barely coming out from behind the killer’s back.

“Left of the spine, fourth lumbar down, the abdominal aorta.
What a gusher.” The female said.

Riddick turned around very calmly, and looked straight into the eyes of the small female, clearly unconcerned about the small blade she held in her hands.
James thought about intervening, but decided against it, believing that the small women was Jack, the one they were looking for, understanding the tension there as one both should resolve by themselves without his interference.

“How do I get eyes like that?” She asked him, looking in his eyes, her face close to his.

“You gotta kill a few people.” Riddick told her.

The girl chuckled.

“Did that!” She said.
“Did a lot of that.” She added, walking around Riddick as a predator would around a prey.

James thought it was a very dangerous thing for her to do, as he could not help but notice the amount of efforts Riddick was putting on not lashing out at her.

“And then you gotta get sent to a slam…” He started to explain, but she continued for him.

“One where they tell you you'll never see daylight again?”

She was back at her original spot, at Riddick’s back, her knife hovering over the aforementioned spot.

“Only there wasn't any doctor here who could shine my eyes, not even for twenty menthol Kools.
Was there anything you said that was true?” She spat venomously at the man, her tone displaying all the frustrations she had accumulated over the years while looking for, and failing, to find the one she considered her big brother.

“What are you gonna do, huh?” Asked Riddick, beginning to show signs of impatience.
“Go for the sweet spot?”

James saw the girl move, as if she was pressing on the knife.
Riddick’s response was direct and brutal.
His left hand shot out behind him, grabbing the girl’s right wrist, and he pulled her in front of him.
Lifting her arm over her head while pushing her towards a metal gate, his right arm shot through between her legs, grabbing one of the gate’s bars, and, lifting her up, he pinned her body against the gate, her eyes level with his.

“Remember who you're talkin' to, Jack.”

The line was delivered in a low voice, almost a growl, full of menace, full of dangerous promises only a man like Riddick would keep.
The girl’s head dropped down and to the side, a sign of submission, of understanding.
James had no intention of letting Riddick hurt her, so he readied himself in case he was needed.

“Jack's dead.” The girls said weakly.
“She was weak.
She couldn't cut it.”

James saw a flash of steel, the girl turning her head from right to left, a small blade protruding from her mouth.
Riddick saw it at the last instant, and barely moved his head in time to avoid the attack, but he was forced to let go of the girl, which was exactly what she had wanted.
She used the moment to take a few steps back, and when James started moving towards her, Riddick held him off with a raised hand.

“The name's Kyra now.” The girl said.
“And I'm a new animal.”

She turned around and jumped over the railing, grabbing onto a hanging chain before she could plummet to her death, letting the chain bring her to another level safely.
James looked at Riddick, who stood pensively, one hand absently caressing the cut on his cheek.

[Admiral Breetai]

holy shit. Kyra is as lethal as I remember her but still a girl playing pretend compared to the other two,

[sonofccn]

I'd forgotten just how much Jack pushed Riddick, she should just be glad he actually cares for her.

Out of curosity is Toombs going to show up once more to fail, replicating the prison shootout,? Because I do like seeing Toombs fail. :)

[Praeothmin]

So I take it you both liked the chapter? ;)

Well, unless the story takes me elsewhere, James's team of badasses just got a new recruit... :)

Out of curosity is Toombs going to show up once more to fail, replicating the prison shootout,? Because I do like seeing Toombs fail. :)

But of course he will, have you ever known Toombs to be a quitter?
Or even half bright? :)

[Admiral Breetai]

Toombs revived as a Necron or Borg would be scary

honestly excellent chapter better then the dreg I put out

[Khas]

Especially as a Necron. Which is why the Necrons are going to be in FPE.