Jump 105: Riddick

Jump 105: Riddick
>Six of Wands (A sense of honor and satisfaction at the resolution of an important matter. Triumph after great struggle.)
>Age: 26
>Location: M6-117
>Identity: Drop-In
"Hey, wait. You're not on the passenger manifest... who the hell are you?"
"Would you believe stowaway?"
"/.../"
>Drawbacks: Too Bright (0, Mandatory), Fury of the Lord Marshall (+300)
You know, I love that I draw those tarot cards after I get everything done. Drawing a card whose meaning is flat-out Victory with that drawback means this is the best possible timeline.
>Between the Fourth and the Fifth (Free, Drop-In)
...not really learning anything new, but hey, it never hurts to review.
>Beautiful Eyes (1200, Drop-In)
"You wanna know how I got these scars?"
"You mean eyes."
"...Maybe."
>It's An Animal Thing (1000, Drop-In)
Well, I could communicate with animals before. But now? If I go back to Harry Potter, I don't have to worry about Buckbeak giving me any crap, he'll know who's in charge.
>Furyan (700, Drop-In)
"Furyan energy but not Furyan... kill the jumper! Kill the jumper!"
>Necromonger Technology (300)
Well, I seldom pass up an opportunity to add to my tech base. I wonder what sort of magitech abominations I can come up with using this sort of thing?
>Goggles (Free, Beautiful Eyes)
"Look. Look with your special eyes." "MY BRAND!"
>A Bone Knife (Free, Drop-In)
Ooh, shiny.
>Shining Kit (100, Drop-In)
Well, Jack DID say she wanted eyes like this. I'm probably the only person who can actually give these eyes away.
I'll still hold out for a pack of menthol Kools, though.
>Necromonger Weapons (0)
These may be useful, considering what I'm going up against. I don't mean the Necromongers, I'd be an idiot to engage them directly, I mean the critters that are going to come out when the lights go out.

Wait, that's a stupid idea. Why should I let the lights go out? I'm a fücking jumper.

I'm crashing this plot. WITH ALL SURVIVORS.

So. First thing I do? Get Johns alone and punch him in his smug face. Then tell him I've got a better deal for him than that price on Riddick's head: everyone on this planet except for three people are fated to die, and he's among them. So no ghost stories about him, or any of that nonsense, because I'm going to make sure everyone gets off of this planet alive. Riddick's a killer, sure, but he's never killed a soul that didn't deserve it. He talks a mean game... but it serves a purpose, disturbing as that may be.

Then I'm going to cure Johns' morphine addiction, magic out that shrapnel, and tell him to go home to his father once he gets offworld, or at least rethink his life, but no more merc work for him. Mind tricks. Because if it works on idiots selling deathsticks, it'll work on this asshole too. At least, temporarily.

For the most part, I'm not going to mess with the rest - my goal is to keep people from getting jumpy, to go 'oh hey look I found multiple five-gallon containers of water' so nobody dies to the critters early on, and then work toward getting everyone the hell off that rock. Escape is priority number one, and nobody's going to run around killing anyone else because there is simply not time for that. Even if Riddick accuses me of being a bleeding heart, because he's way more observant than anyone else. I shrug it off and tell him that old men are entitled to eccentricity, and I'm older than everyone else on this planet put together.

Things get complicated when everyone realizes that there are many survivors ("And you make lucky number thirteen." "Thanks, Riddick. You're such a ray of sunshine.") and the only ship that could get offworld is designed for ten. Of course, a little creative rigging and you've got twelve safe seats - Riddick and Fry took the pilot and copilot seats, the rest strapped into their seats, and thanks to getting people to not waste time in a survival situation, we're off-world as dusk starts fading to dark.

As far as Dark Fury ... well, most of the survivors left on the skiff and politely declined her invitation on Johns' advice - the Imam, Riddick, Jack and myself stayed behind on the Kublai Khan, ostensibly accepting Chillingsworth's invitation and touring the ship. Of course, I asked whether she had heard of the Necromongers, whether she had any of their artifacts in her collection. And then I showed her my Necromonger pistol.

Tragically, she didn't collect weapons, but for such a thing she was willing to make an exception. I told the other three to start heading toward the hangar, told her that I knew absolutely everything about what idiocy she thought she was going to get away with and that I found it quite hilarious, and again offered to let her take said pistol barrel-first. I didn't hear an objection from her, but then again, I didn't really give her much of a chance to object. Coincidentally, Toombs caught the second shot. After that point, since I was pretty much out of view of anyone who was not going to die, I elected to cast the standard counter-charm for people who annoy me.

The standard counter-charm for most everything is, of course, Fiendfyre. Well, except Necromongers, anyway.

So, Imam, Riddick, and Jack all headed to New Mecca. I parted ways with them after reaching it, telling him that in four years, the Necromongers would be coming unless someone did something about it.

And I mean... honestly? The rest isn't very interesting. By the time the Necromongers became aware of me, it was painfully obvious that their weapons weren't designed for warfare in open space. Mine were. No matter how deadly these pseudo-zombies were in personal combat, well... it turns out I could take the sky from them.

Bring Sajuuk to bear. Bring Sajuuk to bear. BRING SAJUUK TO BEAR. https://youtu.be/lW2tUjB-amo

I like to think that, without certain mercs constantly on his ass, Riddick managed a few years of peace and quiet without having to dodge them and Jack learned the better aspects of him to emulate, even though I know that life didn't work out that way. At least she dodged merc work - that would have been a mistake. Riddick... well, he was busy dodging mercs, so that could have ended badly.

In the end, I offered to take him to a universe where he didn't have to run, but it was the only life he knew. I felt pretty badly for him. Before I left, I not only ended up giving Kira a surgical shine job, but I also used Sacrificial Bestowment to make her a Furyan. By that point, well... she'd grown up to be a woman, she could make her own decisions, and her hero-worship of Riddick had long since transitioned into something else.

Whether he returned it, I'll never know, but that doesn't matter. Alpha male, alpha female. They fit together. And without any Necromonger cult to tear them apart, well...

That's not my story to tell anymore, is it?