Author's Note: I've been debating on whether or not if I should write a Riddick fanfiction. I've never imagine that I would get into it, but after reading some really good fics I've been getting a bunch of ideas. I figured, I might as well give it a try, have fun with it and experiment.

My first step was to research. I like to be canonically correct and knowledgeable on the subjects that I write. Unfortunately, some of the information I found has contradicted each other (such as the novel differs greatly from the film) or it's seriously lacking in-depth details of the universe (like a map that contains all the solar systems and planets within them). Because of that you may or may not noticed that I made a couple of changes to better fit the story that I want to tell.

I've always wanted to write something in science fiction too, so this is going to be different from what I usually write. I get to play around with a universe set in the 26th century (Pitch Black is set in the year 2578, and its sequel The Chronicles of Riddick takes place in 2583). There's a lot of technology, medicine, culture and so on to explore. I'm also writing in first person perspective. I've always been hesitant to use it, but I am curious and want to see if I can pull it off.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Riddick franchise - Pitch Black, The Chronicles of Riddick and so on. So all publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are mine though. I'm also in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No copyright infringement is intended.

Chapter 1
Don't Lose Control

Cryosleep, cryostatis, suspended animation or whatever you want to call it, is something that I hate about traveling in space. It's a common thing to deal with and most consider it as a small price to pay, in order to make a long trip seem short. But its main purpose is to reduce consumables such as food, water, air and whatever else on the ship. After all, with an inactive crew and passengers you won't have to worry about running out of food in some random system in a dead quadrant of space.

Unfortunately, the ship I'm on isn't a pleasure cruise. Instead, I'm stuck with the Hunter-Gratzner, because it's the only ship in the station that I could afford. It's a long-range transport, basically a merchant vessel combined with a freighter and it's owned by, no surprise, the Hunter-Gratzner Industries Incorporation. Its destination is the Tangier System which, if I remember correctly contains three habitable planets. Tangier 3 is a predominantly Muslim planet. Tangier 5 is one of the locations that those on Hajj visit. Tangier 6 is, well, I don't actually remember what it's known for, besides there being a Shipyard there. There's also Tangiers Penal Colony, a prison, which is my guess as to where the Marshal and his prisoner will be heading to.

They certainly stand out like a sore thumb from the rest of the passengers, which consist mostly of nomadic settlers that are relocating to other planets. There's also some Chrislams that went on a religious pilgrimage to Tangier 5 and are returning home to Tangier 3. Though I suspect a few of them will be heading to New Mecca on Helion Prime if they haven't already. In all, there's about forty people in here. There could be more or less, but I didn't bother actually counting to make sure. I was more focus on being the first one in line to board the ship.

Usually I like to stay in the back, away from curious eyes, but I had a bad feeling about doing that. So I came earlier in order to have a cryopod closer to the cockpit. I've learned to trust my sixth sense, or as some call it my intuition at this point. I always found it weird how I've managed to avoid and survive plenty of dangerous situations by what seemed like sheer dumb luck.

Anyway, before any of the passengers were even allowed to board the ship, the Marshal had been the first one to be ushered in. He was quick to place his prisoner in cryosleep. It looked like he already made prior arrangements, since there was only one cryopod with warnings labels of no early release. I'm not surprise that his prisoner ended up in that cryopod. As for the Marshal, he decided that the best placement for himself was near the cockpit. Once he was set, the ship's crew let the rest of us in.

The both of them stood out from the crowd, especially the prisoner. My eyes kept drawing towards him and it's not because he's easy on the eyes. His presence is difficult to ignore. He radiates raw power and danger, even with the restraints on him. There's something about him that is oddly appealing. Maybe it's the thrill of being close to a man that looks so menacing without even trying?

He's tanned, wearing black cargo pants and a black A-shirt. He's probably six feet tall, but most of the guys on board seem to be taller. Even though he may not be the tallest of the bunch, his muscular form and wide shoulders sure do make up for it. He also got on a blind fold wrapped around his head, a horse bit in his mouth and shackles on. The precautions to make sure he's secure seem a bit overkill. Does that means he's not your run-of-the-mill criminal? That's pretty suspicious, now that I think about it. Wouldn't there be more officers escorting him if he's that dangerous? Hell, why even risk civilian lives by transporting him with us? Unless the extra restraints is just to make up for the fact that there's only one guy handling him?

Speaking of which, there's something about the Marshal guy that's off. Whenever I look at him, I get a bad feeling, which is typically a warning sign from my intuition. He's blonde, blue-eyed and has a southern drawl from what I overheard earlier. He's got on a long white selves shirt, over it is a black vest with a badge pinned on it, a gun on his belt and black pants. He's a pretty boy, like one of those that look like they can do no wrong. With my luck, his pretty face probably doesn't match the inside. Being a lawman means that he's most likely one of those type that take advantage of his position. The ones that people tend to look the other way when they commit a crime. Or if they're caught, they're not justly punished.

It's interesting that I'm getting bad vibes from him. I should be sensing warning signs from the criminal, not the lawman. It's a weird feeling, like something is festering under the surface. I'll have to keep an eye on him and keep any interactions with him short. That's difficult to do when I've picked a spot near him. It also doesn't help that he keeps staring at me lecherously whenever he thinks I'm not looking.

I found my cryopod, but everyone else was still picking out theirs. Thankfully, we're allowed to have one small carry-on bag at no extra charge with us. Most people don't take advantage of that because of how tiny the storage underneath the pod is. It's only has enough room for items that don't take a lot of space like medication, documents, toiletries and small electronics. Everything else gets crammed into the cargo section. I like to travel light, but at the same time it's not like I have much of choice on that matter considering my situation. Sadly, as I bent down to cram my bag into the bottom of the pod, that's when the Marshal decided to introduce himself.

"Do you need a hand?" he asked, standing behind me and as an afterthought he leaned over slightly to see what I was doing. I'm not stupid. I know the delay was because he was checking out my ass.

"No, thanks. I'm good," I answered, rolling my eyes and slamming the compartment shut. I stood up straight, giving him a pointed look for standing too close to me.

He backed up a little, leaning against an empty pod with his arms crossed.

"William J. Johns. You?"

"Natasha," I said, trying to squelch the irritated expression from my face. He waited for a few seconds to see if I would continue. When I didn't he quipped, "Just Natasha?"

"Tasha works too. Or Nat, but I prefer Tasha more."

"Then just called me Johns," he smirked in amusement, "So where are you headed to?"

"Tangier 3," I said, shrugging. It's not like it's a secret that I and a majority of the passengers are heading that way. I rather not tell him my real destination is Helion Prime. That's just asking for trouble and I don't need to gain a stalker. As much as I would like to ignore his poor attempt at small talk, it's best that I stay civil as possible. I don't want to encourage him, but I also don't need to make any enemies either, especially one with a badge.

"What about you?" I asked, moving over to make enough room for a passenger to walk by.

"Business first," he said, titling his head to the criminal's cryopod. His eyes darken with indiscernible emotion in thought before he continued, "Then if it all goes well, how about you and I celebrate?"

"I doubt I'll still around by the time you're done," I hummed, raising an eyebrow in amusement.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is Greg Owens and I'm your navigator. On behalf of Captain Tom Mitchell and the entire crew, welcome aboard the Hunter-Gratzner. If you haven't already done so, please stow your luggage in the cargo bay and any carry-ons underneath the slot of your cryopod. Please strap in and prepare for cryosleep. If you have any questions or require assistance, my crew members will be making a final round to ensure everyone is secure and ready to go."

"Well, see you at the end of the flight," I said, opening my pod and getting inside it. He nodded, heading to his own and started strapping himself in.

I wasn't as quick about it as he was. I took my time putting on the straps that kept a person secured in the cryopod during bumpy flights. I watched as the other passengers do the same and the crew members looking over each pod to see if there were any issues. The speakers, crackled a few times, before a second announcement was made.

"Our flight time will be 175 days until we reach our first stop. At this time, all passengers should already be in their pods. Make sure that you're correctly fastened in. Any electronic devices must also be turned off and put away in storage. Thank you."

I hate cryosleep and most people might ask me why I'm so hanged up on it. It's not just the fact that it makes me vulnerable in the middle of space. It's mostly because it doesn't work that well on me. I'm not normal. I've heard that there are those that are more in touch with their primitive side that are still aware when they go to sleep. But for me, it's not like that. It took me a few years to master control of what I can do, but even then it not always enough. The drugs they pump into a person's body when it's time to go to sleep makes my control weak.

The main problem is that there isn't an off switch to me. I'm essentially a renewable energy source, like the sun. I don't understand where all this power came from. It wasn't always like this, but nothing has ever been right when I died. Or maybe there was always something wrong with me and I didn't realize it until that explosion happen. Either way, that's another nightmare of a story that I don't want to get into right now. But it ends with me waking up in the morgue with the medical examiner about to cut me open. The old guy was scared so bad that he died right there clutching his chest.

As far as anyone is concerned Anastasia "Tazia" Valerio was gone. Cremated and her ashes scattered on Agrius. After all, it's hard to explain how the hell I'm alive after what happened to me. But I take the difficulty of living a life without legit documentation than being someone's science project. And now, I'm Natasha "Tasha" Brennan. It's a normal enough name. I like it for the nickname because it's similar to my original one. It's easier for me to remember. If I went with anything else, it'll be obvious that I'm not who I say I am. I know that I'm a terrible liar and the best I can do is half truths. But I rather avoid situations that require me to talk to people altogether. I'm less likely to draw attention that way. And if it can't be avoided than I stick close to a story that can explain my knowledge and skills if they come into question.

I'm still annoyed that this had happened to me. I poured my blood, sweat, and tears to get to where I was. I sacrifice my social life for it because I never had time. I spent nearly each night either studying, working on coursework or building my own projects. Not a day went by that I wasn't living off on caffeine to function. It was only when I graduated and got my dream job that everything felt worth it. I was three years into my career, establishing myself as a very bright young woman making contributions to the engineering world. It was only a week after I had received a prestigious award of recognition, and another for my newest invention that it all went to shit.

I'm snapped out of my musing when I heard another announcement. "Crew, all passengers should be in cryosleep. Cross-check, report and return to your stations once you're done."

I stopped delaying and actually began the cyro process. I pushed the button to closed the glass door on the pod. It locked into place and then the injections started. I winced as I received the first injection from the machine. The liquid contained all the essential elements, such as cryoprotectants for a human body to function without suffering any damage from the state of being frozen. The monitored on the pod scanned me, turning green when my body accepted the shot without any problems. It started the next and final set, which was the anesthesia that would put me to sleep. After that, the temperature dropped, putting me into the cryostate.

I close my eyes, feeling the drowsiness set in. I'm not completely asleep, because I can still sense my surroundings even though I'm disconnection from my body. Now that I think of it, the closest way I can describe this to is sleep paralysis. Thankfully, there's no crushing weight or feeling like you're suffocating by invisible hands. It's one less thing for me to worry about. There's movement outside my cryopod or at least I think there is. No, it's not movement that I feel, it's body heat. Possibly from one of the crew members walking down the aisle and checking my cryopod. I can sense other sources of heat too, but they're weak and further away.

I just hope that I don't lose control. It's a long trip and I don't know if I am able to handle staying in this state for months. A few weeks I can do, a month or two possibly, but years? Just no. I'm freaking myself out at the thought of years. Some trips do take that long, but this one is about five months. Five months is not that bad. I can do it. The more expensive ships would be faster, cutting the time shorter, but again I can't afford that. I can feel myself regaining more awareness. As a result my body is heating up, wanting to fight off the state I'm currently in. My eyes and hands is twitching despite the numbness and the frost coating them. I can't lose control. I need to stop thinking about it. Focus on something else, something that can keep my mind busy for a while.

It's quiet and dark. I'm on a ship and in a cryopod. It's probably made of aluminum and aluminium composite materials, the same things that nearly all spaceships are made of. Aluminum is light but also very sturdy. Using titanium alloys can also strengthen the body of the ship. There's thermal protection tiles too. That helps ships to survive the heat of leaving the planet's atmosphere and the re-entry. What else?

Spaceship windows are composed of three panes, each one is made of high-temperature quartz glass that can withstand heating and cooling without cracking. Cryopods contains two panes of a hybrid of two strong types of glass. One of which is capable of withstanding the freezing temperature of cryo and the other is harder and more durable than common glass.

It won't be so easy to break if something was to smack into it with a lot of force. That's a good thing in case the ship's gravity system was to malfunction or be disable. Whatever isn't bolted down won't pose much of a problem for those inside the cryopods. However, the glass would not stand a chance against me if I needed to get out. I can probably melt it or blast the door off if I can get enough room to kick. It's unlikely that I would ever need to do that, but the option is always there, especially if the emergency release was to ever stopped working.

I'm distracted by the enormous amount of heat at the back of the ship. I could feel the energy building up in the engines in order to blast off into space. I can also feel the body heat of the ship's crew at the cockpit. It doesn't take long for the ship to reach maximum power to lift off. The sheer force of the blasts from the rockets has the crew pressing into their seats. There's a lot of turbulence as the ship rips through the planet's atmosphere. The ship heats up, but the heat shields does its job of enduring the heat from the force.

Soon enough, the pressure eases as the ship reaches the vacuum of space. One of the crew members takes control, maneuvering the ship with the help of the rocket propulsion in the right direction. The ship continues to travel, going farther away from the planet, the sun and it's moons. The autopilot must have taken over, because the crew members unstrap themselves from their seats. Each one goes over to their own cryopod and start securing themselves in it. The last one takes the longest. They are most likely monitoring the others to make sure that they go to cryosleep successfully, before undergoing it themselves.

All that's left is the constant heat of the engines, power cells and the rockets as they continue to power the ship to its destination. I'm once again left alone with my thoughts. Hopefully, at some point my mind will get tired enough that I'll fall into a dreamless slumber. I could have increase the dosage of the anesthesia shot, but that's not really recommended. But considering that I'm not normal anymore I'm not even sure that would have worked anyway. It's barely working now, and that's only because I'm suppressing the energy inside me.

Medicine doesn't have much effect on me and that's not a good thing if I was ever to get seriously hurt. Can I even be injured? Or even die? It would be good to know my limitation, but I'm not going to be that idiot that cuts themselves or jumps from a building just to find out. For all I know, coming back from the dead could have been a one time thing.

At least I know I'm durable because I haven't bruised or broken anything yet. It took a lot of experimenting to figure out what I could do. I lost count of how many times I've gotten flung towards the rocky walls trying to master control over my power. Once I got a better understanding of it I utilized my knowledge to help me further. I build a wristband that monitor my energy levels and the radiation that leaked from me. The radiation concerned me at first, but after a bit of testing I realize it has no effect on me. But I couldn't say the same about my surroundings.

No matter what I did I was constantly emitting radiation, but as long as I was suppressing the bulk of my energy it was harmless to those around me. However, if I started to lose control or kept using my power, the radiation would build up to hazardous levels. I discovered that when I let go of my control just to see what would happen. Plant life decay rapidly, turning to ash beneath my feet and the nearby animals got sick if they were within the non-lethal range. Those closest to me suffer the worst before they died.

I couldn't risk being around people until I came up with a contingency plan for when I lose control. Not if, when. As much as I liked to think I've got good control, I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I accidentally hurt someone. I hope that it will never happen, but there's always a possibility that something could occur.

I could lose control in my sleep because of a nightmare. I could also get so stressed out, furious or in a lot of pain that it might trigger a meltdown. Whatever the reason, I needed to build something that could handle me in that state. So, I thought of a portable radiation shield to place myself in. The problem was that such a thing was nearly unheard of. No one has managed to make it into a compact device, but that didn't stop me from trying.

At first, I was focused on building the radiation shield, but it kept short-circuiting every time I tested it. I eventually got it to work, but it could only handle my radiation at certain level. It wasn't strong enough. Even using myself as the energy source to power the device resulted in it frying. It couldn't handle both my radiation and the energy in me. I needed something that could absorbed most of my energy without overloading it to be the power source. A rechargeable power cell could work, despite its bulkiness. But that alone wasn't enough.

Then, I thought about a radiation suit. The problem with that, however, was that they don't ensure complete protection from all radiation. When expose to radiation, particles end up in your clothes, on your skin and even in your lungs after you breathe them in. With enough exposure time or radioactive levels, a person could still fall ill to radiation sickness.

Besides, I wasn't trying to protect myself from external radiation. Instead, I wanted to keep it contained within me. That was why I didn't bother wearing one because I knew it wouldn't work. At least, not with the usual material those radiation suits are built with. I needed something stronger and that's why I'm headed to Helion Prime. It's the perfect location in the system that offers many opportunities and access to materials. I can definitely get what I need there.

I started building my special tactical radiation armor with shielding when I was still on my home planet. I called the project STRAWS because it was easier to keep track of my notes with a label on them. It's still a work-in-progress and it will take a while to finish, but it's the only thing I can think of that has a high possibility of being successful. I couldn't transport it with me, so I had it shipped off ahead of me.

In the mean time I have to be very careful. I don't have my wristband on to warn me when I start to lose control. I try not to rely on it too much, because I can't always wear it. It's not waterproof, so I have to take it off when I need to bathe or I'm around water. I also can't wear it in a cryopod because it's unsafe. It's currently stored away underneath the pod, along with some radiation tablets in case people start getting sick around me. I even have a basic radiation suit, but that's somewhere in the cargo with the rest of my clothes.

I won't have to worry so much once my special suit is built. The only issue I can expect to pop up of is what other people will think of me. I plan to wear it all the time, but that would be strange and highly concerning. I guess I can always design it in a way that it doesn't attract attention. That will be difficult to do because it will have armor on it and that's going to be pretty thick and heavy. It has to be in order to prevent the worst of my radiation from leaking out; especially the kind that ends in death.

Unless, I make the suit in two parts. The first part will be the under layer, and it'll probably be a form-fitting suit made from non-metallic protective materials. It'll be flexibility and easy to wear clothing over it. That layer alone can prevent people around me from getting sick if I lose control or build up to the first few levels of radiation. But once I go past that I would need the second part, which will be the heavy duty armor suit. That would keep the strongest radiation exposure contained. I suppose if I was to go beyond that, the suit would be useless, melting into nothingness and everything around me would turn into an inferno. The shielding would help to reinforce the armor suit to last a bit longer, but there's only so much it can take too.

That total meltdown is something I can't do anything about. Once it happens the damage would have already been done. That's why my next goal after the suit is built is to find someplace to settle down. A planet with a low population so that if something does happen, not many would die. I'll probably live in the wildness alone, on the other side of the planet so that the people would have more time and warning to escape. It'll be a lonely existence, but I'll make the best of this second chance at life. After all, it could have been worst...

Soon enough, my musings and the constant heat of the engines lulled me into an odd state of sleep and awareness.