Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/3760000.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Rape/Non-Con, Underage
  Category:
      M/M
  Fandom:
      Riddick_(2013), The_Chronicles_of_Riddick_Series
  Relationship:
      Boss_Johns/Luna
  Character:
      Luna_(Riddick), Boss_Johns, Dahl_(Riddick)
  Additional Tags:
      Past_Rape/Non-con, Slow_Burn, Action/Adventure
  Stats:
      Published: 2015-04-16 Updated: 2017-02-27 Chapters: 7/? Words: 7490
****** A New Son, A Better Son ******
by FaxModem1
Summary
     After the events of Riddick(2013), Boss Johns has to deal with his
     new crew member, who has had a dark past in his rather short life as
     a mercenary, and needs to figure out how to raise him.
Notes
See the end of the work for notes
***** Chapter 1 *****
Boss Johns checked the manifest. Rations would be okay, as they were down three
men. Fuel was good, but spare fuel cells were needed. Dahl was checking the
engine room and med bay. That left the newest addition to their crew, the
barely old enough to shave Luna. He had given the boy quarters on the ship,
knowing he was way too green to be in this business, but he had a solid
conscience, something all too rare and beautiful in this universe. Beautiful,
which seemed to sum up the boy completely. It helped him take his mind off his
dead son. He was starting to accept that what Riddick was saying was true, that
his boy William was a disappointment, a murderous junkie who fell from the
path.
He sighed at that, and set the autopilot for Nemesis station. Short enough that
cryosleep wasn’t needed for the journey.
Dahl reported that everything was ship shape, except for the modules, they
needed to have spares, so something like that never happened again. He agreed.
His was going to check in on the boy, but was too tired, he’d check on him in
the morning, after a good night’s rest. He went into his cabin, ready to sleep
for the next few hours, when he found someone waiting for him.
On the bed was Luna, his clothes to the side on the floor, under the blanket,
trembling and looking at him expectantly. Johns was surprised to see the boy,
probably naked, in his bed. Probably an innocent mistake. The kid was a
greenhorn, after all.
“Kid, this is my cabin.”
“I know, sir. That’s why I’m here. Santana, when he didn’t have a woman to
share with the crew, I was there. Called me his ‘good luck charm’.”
Johns was immediately disgusted at what his once honored profession had become.
He had known Santana was scum the moment he laid eyes on him, but to use a kid
like this, to force himself onto one so young and innocent…
The boy seemed to notice the response, “I’m sorry sir. I should have known you
wouldn’t have wanted me. But this is the only way I’ve ever been able to pay
for passage aboard ships.”
“It’s not that.”
Johns knew that in the darkest parts of himself, he would take Luna’s offer,
and take the boy for the whole night, every night, making the kid worship his
cock, then bend him over his bed and open the boy’s ass until he screamed. But
as Riddick said, his spine was strong. He wasn’t going to do that to the kid.
Luna looked at him, confused.
Johns sighed, he apparently had a puppy to take care of. He leaned on the wall.
“You’re on my boat, and I am your captain. But I’m not going to hurt you, or
force you into anything just for the sake of passage. If you want to be a part
of my crew, that’s fine.
You’ll earn your way, but by doing the work Dahl or I would tell you to do.
You’re not required to do anything sexually for anyone.”
Luna’s expression changed from one of submission and confusion to one of utter
gratitude. “Thank you, Captain. Thank you.”
“Now get the hell out of my cabin.”
“Yes sir.”
Luna quickly got out of the bed, grabbing his clothing. Johns noticed the boy’s
body was lean and muscular. And he was right about the boy not needing to
shave. He only had some hair on his crotch, the rest of him was smooth and
beautiful. When the young man bent over to collect his boots, Johns made sure
to avert his eyes. He was going to become a pervert if he wasn’t careful.
When he the rustling of clothes being fastened, Johns turned around again, the
boy was staring at him, blushing.
“I’m sorry, Captain. I didn’t mean to embarrass you. The Lord bless you for
your kindness and goodness.”
Johns resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “Don’t mention it. Just know not to
do this unless both you and whoever you’re sharing a bed with wants it, got
it?”
Luna nodded his head eagerly, “Got it, uh, Captain.”
“Call me Boss, everyone else does.”
“Yes, sir, er, Boss.”
And with that, the boy left the room. Boss Johns waited until he could no
longer hear the footprints of the young merc, than he locked his cabin and
stripped down. Seeing that had made him hard as a rock, and while he had the
moral restraint not to indulge, it didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy the mental
image of that’s young man’s ass as it had wiggled in front of him and out of
the cabin.
The next hour or so was him imagining the things he could do to that boy,
showing how he was in charge, and making the boy's screams reverberate
throughout the entire ship. The boy would whimper, cry out and call him 'Boss',
and do whatever he wanted. Boss Johns furiously masturbated to that image in
his head, until finally, he blew. White liquid covered his abs, and he relaxed.
Then he felt guilt.
He was fantasizing about a boy who had been raped, and taken advantage of
several times by several people, and hadn't been shown any decency in the
Verse. He was going to change that. His biological son was a screw up, and went
down the wrong path, but with this kid, he was going to get it right, he was
going to do things better, and be the father this kid needed.
***** Chapter 2 *****
Chapter Summary
     Luna's recollections of his time aboard Santana's ship.
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
Luna was confused, but grateful. Boss Johns was one of those good men, the kind
that had made him become a mercenary in the first place. He had joined up for
the money, and to stop bad guys from hurting people.
His mother had raised him Universalist. It was why he knew God loved him, even
if he was different than most men. Joshua Luna had always found girls and women
pretty, but never attractive. When his mother had found out, she had just
kissed him on the forehead and said, ‘Enjoy all of God’s creations, for they
are proof of his miracles’, she had once said. She had inscribed that on the
bible that he always carried with him. He had gone into mercenary work to
support her, as her medical bills were increasing, and there wasn’t any work on
Lambda 3. That’s when he had gone into the only field available in this area of
civilized space, mercenary work.
He had taken what equipment he could scrounge up from his passed father’s old
footlocker, and went into the business. He applied for all the guilds, ready to
go into space and make the world better for both his mother and for the galaxy
at large.
Unfortunately, Santana was the only one who would take him. At the time, he
thought it was a blessing, a sign that God was giving him a path to pursue.
Then, he had been told the price of being the newest crewmember on board. He
had to serve anyone who wanted him, however they wanted him. Santana’s crew had
passed him around like a party favor whenever they were bored. Diaz especially
liked to force him by holding his hair and forcing the man’s dirty cock into
his mouth, banging him into the wall, Luna barely able to breathe the whole
time and getting a headache from the amount of times he hit the wall.
Santana was unique, he would switch back and forth, from charming and gently,
to rough and vicious, depending on the hour, making Luna never sure what to do.
Often, he would cry when his bunk was empty, the only thing keeping him going
was his faith. He wondered if it were only the lambs of God who were good, and
the wolves were the only ones out here. Other times, Diaz would sometimes get
him, and the man had been huge, in all ways. He would be forced to strip down
while Diaz would only unzip his fly, and Luna would have to ride the mammoth
cock without lube in the cargo bay. If he screamed, that only brought other
crew members into the room, who would want a turn with him, so he learned to be
quiet.
The time he had cried out, because of the pain and lack of lubrication, Vargas
had seen Diaz banging him into the wall, and demanded a turn. Because Diaz had
said no, ‘his ass was taken’, they had decided to share.
Next thing he knew he was being split open by Diaz’s cock, while Vargas had put
his in Luna’s mouth, making him gag and cry. They didn’t care, and just spanked
his ass and pulled on his hair as they continued. Eventually, they both came,
he felt the cum spray; first into his mouth, and he was forced to swallow, and
then into his ass, filling him up. He cried as they dropped him and left him on
the floor.
They had so utterly used him that he was bleeding out, and could barely walk
for the next two days.
Santana had been pissed about that, due to their needing him as bait for a
mission. After that, only Santana was allowed to use him, and only in his
cabin.
Luna had been so happy when they had captured that murderer, the woman Felicia.
While it was wrong, he was glad the crew had someone else to play with. For a
time, they left him alone.
Santana must have noticed the way he reacted to it. So according to Santana,
“While your ass may be the sweetest in the sector, sometimes you just gotta
have pussy.”
He’d said that while spanking his ass on the cargo bay, getting a laugh from
everyone else.
Luna’s bible had been his only comfort, giving him something to read, and
someone to talk to, while the rest of the crew used the woman.
When they had arrived on the desert moon, and Santana ordered Felicia be let
go, there was a moment of panic in Luna. Was he going to be back on the menu
for everyone else?
But he knew it was the right thing to do, at least she would be spared this
hell.
He hadn’t known how evil Santana was, and that the man was just using her for
target practice. Luna had wanted to cry.
 
But that was back then, Santana, Vargas, and Diaz were all dead. He was safe
now. Dahl had no interest in him, as she was also a K5 on the Kinsey scale, and
Boss Johns seemed to be a much better man. They were very different people than
he was used to.
He got onto his bunk, and looked at the inscription that his mother had written
on it.
‘Enjoy all of God’s creations, for they are proof of his miracles’
Maybe that’s what she had meant, for he had met Johns and Dahl, and he was, for
the first time in a long time, safe with them.
Chapter End Notes
     I know this may seem cruel to poor Luna, but this is the Riddick
     verse, cruelty is really part of it, it's why our new crew is
     different. Johns, Dahl, and Luna are a gathering of exceptions to the
     rule.
***** Chapter 3 *****
Johns woke up when the computer notified them that they were entering solar
system space. Nemesis station would not be far. It was time to submit reports,
resupply, get new mercs, and new jobs. A flash of remembrance, the kid. And he
needed to do something about the new crewmember.
“If he is a crew member” Johns thought as he got out of his bed. He did his
morning stretches. He might have been getting old, but he was going to fight it
with every fiber of his being to make sure he could still take down fugitives
and bounties. Johns wasn’t planning on retiring anytime soon.
He used the sonic shower unit, cleaning himself off of last night’s dreaming.
He needed to ask the kid if he even still wanted to be a mercenary. Riddick was
also on his mind. The man saved him, and he had saved Riddick. What was the
Verse coming to? Maybe he was getting soft in his old age. The shower had a
momentary hiccup, he banged the wall with his fist, getting it to work again.
Nope, not soft, just did what was right.
After he was dressed, minus the armor, he went to the ship’s common area, and
grabbed two protein waffles. Not much to look at, but they kept the body going
on long hauls. When he was back in the cockpit, munching on the waffle, he
examined the ship’s logs. He updated the planet’s wildlife index, noting it for
the hazardous creatures there. Didn’t want anyone else to get killed because of
some lazy colonist or mercenary being unwilling to update the logs about a
planet. Losing Lockspur and Moss due to that kind of colossal error pissed him
off. If he ever found the jackasses who left it blank, he would give them a
piece of his mind, then probably a piece of his rifle's mind as well. He would
have to notify the next of kin for Moss. He knew the guy had a couple of
brothers somewhere near Helion Prime, would have to ship his belongings there.
Lockspur was a loner, so his estate was up for grabs, which mostly consisted of
his gear and a few personal items.
When it came to writing about Riddick’s involvement, he decided to stick mostly
to the truth. Riddick killed Santana’s crew, minus Luna, and took their ship.
He decided to leave out the part where Riddick probably did a favor to the
universe by killing them all. He wouldn’t pursue Riddick, he wasn’t what killed
his son, and the man was too much trouble to try and bring down for mere money,
either.
Dahl entered into the cabin as he saved the report, ready for broadcast as soon
as they docked.
“Engines are good. Supplies are mostly untouched, except for the bikes, which
we left on-world.”
“Bunks?”
“Lockspur’s and Moss’s stuff are still there. You’re the Boss, how do you want
to handle it?”
Johns groaned at that comment. Dahl was a good merc, a good second, and a good
sniper, but she could be a pain in the ass when she wanted to be.
“Pack their things, take anything of Lockspur’s you want, all of Moss’s gear
goes to his family on Helion Prime. Make it quick, we arrive at Nemesis station
in two hours.”
Dahl nodded, and was about to leave the cockpit, before she stated something
“I talked to the kid.” She said.
“Yeah?” Boss Johns said, trying to sound uninterested as he checked the
autopilot’s course and progress to the station.
“He wants to join our guild, and our ship.”
“You see the kid shoot anything”
“No, I don’t think he has ever shot anything in his life.” Dahl cracked a small
smile as she said that.
“God, we have us a fresh one on our hands, don’t we? Okay, you train him in
marksmanship at the Nemesis shooting gallery, see what he can do, I’ll get his
paperwork done.”
“Got it, Boss. He’s kind of pretty, isn’t he Boss?” Dahl smiled with a cat in
the canary grin.
“Hadn’t noticed. Thought you didn’t do men.” Boss Johns said as he turned away
from the display HUD to her, trying not to take her obvious bait.
“Who said I was looking. I just noticed it’s been a year or so since you hooked
up with anybody, and he’s about your type.”
“Dahl, do you want to clean the engine for the next week?”
“Just saying, Boss. It can get mighty lonely out here in the frontier.”
Johns hmphed, and returned to the console as Dahl left the cockpit, with her
trying not to laugh.
 
Luna helped Dahl pack up the footlocker in the cabin, treating Moss’s keepsakes
with as much reverence as possible. There wasn’t much, most of his earnings
went to support his family. Dahl had told him how Moss had been planning on
making his own ship and crew one day, but found Johns to be good a boss to
leave, and wanted to stick around.
“Funny too, as that’s what got him killed.” She said, a slight bitterness in
her voice.
“Do people die a lot in your crew?”
“No, that’s what made this job different. We pride ourselves on being
professional. It’s what keeps us alive. But this job was personal for the Boss,
so we tooks risks we shouldn’t have, and did things we shouldn’t have.”
Josh knew she was referring to how Johns had lost his temper, and had beat
Riddick while the man was chained to a wall.
“Does he do that often?”
“No, like I said, it was personal. Now that he has closure on his boy, he’s
probably not going to have that ghost hanging over him any longer.”
They stopped talking for a while, aside from finishing putting things in
parcels, to be shipped out.
Once they were finished with Moss’s gear, they went to Lockspur’s. Opening up
the footlocker, they found a few board games, minus the domino set that was
lost on the planet, his personal computer log, a random assortment of tracking
and hunting tools, and a bit of spare ammunition and one last oddity, an old
P4-399 pistol.
“A P4-399. I haven’t seen a Sunbird aside from museum collections.” Dahl picked
it up, examining it. “Now, this is a treasure, he never showed this to us. Damn
things never run out of energy, supposedly.”
Luna looked at it, it was old, older than he was, at least by a century. It
shined with brass parts and a wood grip. It was the most beautiful weapon he
had ever seen.
“This is probably worth more than the whole boat.” Dahl remarked, she opened
the chamber. “Strike that, it would be worth more than the whole boat, if it
was complete. It’s missing a few pieces.”
Dahl showed him the interior of the pistol, there seemed to be gaps in the
machinery of the weapon. “Why did he have it?”
“Probably restoring it. Everyone has a hobby. Who knows how long this much took
him.”
“Can we use it?” Luna asked, curious if it could be his. Luna always felt
comfortable with pistols, they were small, and if he had had a pistol like
that, maybe Santana and his goons wouldn’t have been on him so many times.
“Not until we get the spring, the firing pin, and a energy cell magazine for
it. Until then, it’s just a pretty paperweight.”
“Can I have it?”
Dahl gave him an appraising look. “Sure, not like it’s worth anything right
now.”
Luna handled the weapon close to his body. He’d treasure it, spend his extra
merc money on it, and make it worth using. Whatever wasn’t going to his mom,
would go to this.
“Kid, it’s old, but it’s not fragile, you don’t have to worry about breaking
it. Sunbirds were some of the best pistols back in the day. They were renowned
for being the best weapons in the Gildran campaign.”
Luna looked blankly at her. She brushed him off, “Before your time, it was a
century ago. My grandfather served in it, got his head blown off by one of
these, supposedly.”
“You should have it then.”
“No, I’d just get mad at it and probably throw it at a wall, I'm a sniper, not
a gunslinger. Besides, that’s what Grandmother claimed, other days she’d say it
he died in his bed after she found him with another woman. She was creative
like that.”
Luna stared wide eyed. He was going to have to learn some history if he was
going to be on this boat.
“So, you’ve heard my opinion of the Boss. What do you think of him?” she asked,
taking some of the board games and placing them to the side.
“He seems like a good man. It’s good to see one of those again.”
“He is. That’s why I stay with him. That’s why we all stay with him. Don’t see
that often in this business.”
“I like him.” Dahl gave another appraising look, wondering what he meant.
Luna noticed, and clarified, his face turning red, “I mean, he seems like
somebody I wouldn’t mind serving under.”
“He is, just pull your weight. Speaking of which. How good can you shoot?”
Luna nearly dropped the Sunbird when she said that. “Shoot? I..uh, I’ve never
fired a weapon before.”
Dahl arched an eyebrow, then laughed, “Oh god, do we have our work cut out for
us. Okay, pup, you’re coming to the shooting gallery with me, and we’ll see how
well you do. And
if you’re as bad as I think you are, we’ll have a long day of training ahead of
us.”
The PA cracked in, Boss Johns voice coming through, “We’ll be docking in ten
minutes, strap in everybody.”
***** Chapter 4 *****
Docking was something of a chore for anyone with the slightest bit of space
pilot training, and the even a hint of professionalism. There were plenty of
mercs who liked to hot rod their way in, using their booster engines to rocket
into a hangar bay, and then killing their velocity with retro engines at full
blast. There had even been rumors of mercs who strapped rockets to their ships
to engage during landing as a way to land dangerously. To Boss Johns, it was
all insanity. He plugged in the proper coordinates, guided the ship until they
were locked in to Nemesis station's navigation computer, and let the station's
autopilot do the rest while he caught up on paperwork or read the wanted
posters. His foolish quest had cost them two men, their hovercycles, and a bit
of his self respect. At least they had Luna with them, and he was away from
that monster Santana.
Speaking of which, he drafted a file for a transfer order for Luna to join
their guild, as well as starting a personnel file for Luna, including the
health packages and percentages of jobs. Kid was going to have to lose about
twenty five percent of his first five jobs to training fees, but they needed to
spend the money on making sure he could shoot. Unless they scored a big job,
then he'd only have to be deducted for the first one. Johns knew that a lot of
merc outfits would keep those fees going to make up for bad quarters, but Johns
only didn't it for necessary fees that would keep his crew alive. Anything else
was graft and theft, and that would make him no better than the scum he brought
to justice.
It took twenty minutes, in which he got most of the info he had on Luna filled
out. After that, they were seconds from being deposited in a berth in the
station's garage. When the docking lights inside the station turned green, they
were clear. Johns unfastened his belt and informed the ship that they were free
to leave the ship. He left the cockpit and walked to the armory, putting on his
armor and grabbing some rifles. Dahl was already there with Luna, fitting him
into one of Moss's spare uniforms. It was too small on the kid in the sleeves
and the pants, and too big for him on the waist. He looked like a kid whose
mother couldn't afford new clothes for him at the beginning of the school year.
"Dahl?"
"Yeah, Boss?" She turned at him with a mischievous grin.
"You do realize he looks ridiculous, right?"
"Yeah, but if he's joining us, he has to look the part." Dahl somehow sounded
serious when saying this.
"He looks like he should be asking for candy or singing for choir with the way
that fits him, not hunting down criminals." Johns did enjoy being able to see
Luna's exposed legs, he hadn't really been paying attention to them before, but
he could tell the boy barely grew hair down there. It made his cock twitch a
little. Deciding on not being a pervert, he looked back at Dahl's face, who
seemed to be enjoying the show of making her Boss uncomfortable.
"Take him to Supply, get at least three uniforms for him that fit, and some
armor as well. Then take him to the gun-range, and find out what weapon he's
best at."
Luna, who was already blushing from the attention he was receiving, raised a
hand.
Johns resisted the impulse to roll his eyes. "Yes, Luna?"
Dahl leaned into Luna's ear, "You don't have to raise your hand. We're not in
class."
"Um, what if I'm not good at any of them? The guns, I mean."
Johns was split between finding this adorable, as the kid had that earnest
quality to him, and the sudden urge to punch the nearest wall for having agreed
to have someone so green on his team. He counted to five mentally, then
answered.
"Then we'll have you practicing until you're good at something. Everyone has a
talent, and I'm sure you have one as well."
Luna nodded, "Yes, Boss"
Johns was pleased that the kid was at least getting that part of it right. It
really was going to be an uphill battle teaching this kid how to survive. The
three of them left the ship, taking the elevator to the station's promenade.
Nemesis station was almost always populated with traffic from freighters and
mercenary transports. It was easy to get lost in if you didn't know your way,
which reminded Johns.
"Dahl" She turned, facing him with a neutral expression.
"Keep an eye out on him. He's one of us now, you know what that means."
Dahl nodded, all business, any sense of mirth on her gone. She tapped a knife
on her belt. "Got it, Boss. Anyone lays a hair on the kid's head, they'll be
losing something they'll miss."
Boss grinned at that, making a motion with his hands for her to go onward. She
quickly followed Luna as he wandered past several shops selling different
pieces of junk. Boss headed towards the Guild's HQ, he had reports to file,
paperwork to process, next of kin to inform, and bounties to take up. It was
not going to be a fun day.
***** Chapter 5 *****
Chapter Summary
     Luna receives a much needed education in weapons from Dahl.
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
Luna thought he might actually be enjoying this day. It was an alien feeling,
but one he was welcoming with open arms.
He was with people he trusted, and this place seemed rather different than the
places he had visited before. People didn't look at him, they mostly seemed to
look at Dahl, and either gave a small nod to her, or paid no blatant attention
at all and made sure to stay out of reach of both of them. He felt safe with
Dahl. This was the first time since he started being a mercenary that he felt
safe in public. Luna wondered if Dahl would object to him doing cartwheels from
the happiness he was feeling. She probably would, he thought.
Their first stop was a small warehouse with racks of uniforms hanging on walls.
A middleaged female clerk was sitting there, behind a desk, doing some
paperwork. Luna tried to make small talk, and the woman only pointed at a stack
of fresh forms on the next desk. Dahl showed him the paperwork he needed to
sign on the desk, which he did so. After that, it was having the rather bored
clerk working there measuring Joshua Luna, and then giving him several
uniforms. The clerk then seemed to return to her desk, filing the paperwork,
and then giving both Luna and Dahl a receipt.
"You got your copy, and this one is for the Boss. Remember, the first five jobs
are going to be smaller pay, because you're paying for this, and all the other
crap we're picking up today. Every merc pays their way, no matter the crew.
Guild law."
Luna nodded, Santana had said something similar, but he had said for the first
year, due to Guild expenses. When he asked Dahl about the differences between
guilds, she rolled her eyes.
"You're a greenhorn, some people like to take advantage of that. They see you
as a nice meal ticket who can either pay for their own expenses, or as extra
income to make up for lean profit margins. They figure that the mercs will die
within the first year anyway, so it's not their problem."
Luna nodded, reminding himself that there were people like that.
"But you aren't like that? Boss isn't like that?"
Dahl shook her head, "Worst I'll do is cheat at cards. Johns runs on making the
verse more orderly and just, so he acts himself."
Luna seemed to understand. "Where to next?"
"First, you're going to change and get into a proper uniform, there's a free
stall right there."
Luna saw, and went in there, pulling the curtain closed as he changed. "And
what do we do after this?"
"The gun range. We gotta see if you can hit anything."
===
The gun range was another warehouse, with holographic, plastic and metal
targets dotting the line, with a weapon selection area in an adjacent
warehouse. All the ammunition and functional weapons were behind a steel barred
cage behind the counter, guarded by two armored individuals who watched every
person inside the warehouse carefully. The weapons arrayed along the aisles
were all non-functioning mock ups, designed to give customers an idea of what
they would be handling. Dahl led Luna to an aisle with rifles. She picked one
up checked the sights along it, checked its safety, magazine slot and its
chamber before handing it to Luna, rifle grip facing him, with the gun muzzle
pointed at an angle upward.
"This is the same weapon you carried with your previous crew. We're going over
basic safety first. Never hand over a weapon to someone else unless you're sure
its safe, as well as unloaded. Also, never point it at anyone or anything
unless you plan on blowing them away."
Luna took the advice to heart, and made sure that the weapon was never pointed
towards her or himself. Nunez had just tossed him a rifle when he had first
come onboard their ship. He only found out through trial and error how to load
the magazine. He had never fired it.
"Okay, got it."
"I'm serious, you point that at yourself, Boss, myself, or an innocent, and
we'll be very unhappy." Dahl instructed, "Or dead, depending on what you do."
Luna nodded. Dahl eyed him, seeing that he understood, and then moved on.
"Okay, now, is this a weapon you feel comfortable with?"
"I guess, I used it on the planet."
"That's good, you're used to slinging it around you. Imagine having to carry
that with you at all times, as well as its ammunition." Luna nodded.
"Rifles are good for medium to long range, firefights, and for improved
accuracy. This is usually the primary weapon of almost any situation. Standard
gear. You don't have to be perfect at it, but we do need you to be able to
shoot a target with it."
Dahl left and brought back a steel cart. In another setting, it would almost
look like Dahl was shopping for groceries. Luna placed the weapon on the cart.
Dahl picked up the weapon and placed it back on the display case. She took a
metal card that was under the case and placed it in the cart.
"These are just display weapons, if you want to rent or buy one, you have to
give one of these to the people guarding the ammunition. Now, pistols,
shotguns, or sniper rifles?" Dahl asked like a person choosing where next to
eat. Luna looked at the weapon aisles, unsure. They went to the shotguns.
"Most models have kickback, due to the recoil involved. You stand improperly
while shooting one, you could fall on your ass or hit yourself with the weapon.
Also, reloading time can be a bitch, so don't treat the ammo you have in it
like something to throw away. The expensive models have recoil-compensators and
auto-target, but those can break in the field. Most importantly, shotguns are
close range weapons. Depending on what ammo you're using, you could spray death
all over a small room, or just blow a hole in someone less than two feet away
from you. I don't see you as the shotgun type, anyway."
Luna felt the shotgun, it didn't feel right in his hands. He promptly put it
back on the display case. "What type do you think I am?"
Dahl sized him up. "You move well. You have that look of innocence, which is
part of you. You're relatively small, which can be an advantage if you know how
to use it. Follow me."
They went past the pistols, and into an area labeled specialty weapons. Dahl
picked up a small derringer, a few other small items, and a model of the
Sunbird.
"You seem like a gunslinger to me. I want to test that out. She loaded the cart
full of pistol and exotic weapon cards. They then went to the range, turning in
a card. It was the auto-rifle, the same model as he had on the ship. She also
borrowed a rubber ball from the desk. Luna picked it up and pointed it down
range.
"Luna catch."
Luna quickly did, catching it with his right hand. She nodded at that, then
made sure he used his right hand as the trigger hand for the rifle.
Dahl showed him how to load his rifle, helped him point it at the target down
range. She emphasized the importance of focusing on the forward sight, as well
as controlling his breathing while firing. She turned off the laser and auto-
target features on the rifle, calling it 'cheating and a crutch'.
Joshua Luna loaded the weapon, aimed at the target, and missed completely. Dahl
patted him on the back, told him to aim again, but she corrected his posture,
stance, and told him to again, let out his breath while firing. He fired again,
hitting the target.
They did this until they emptied the magazine. He gave her a big grin. He had
done it. He could shoot a target if needed. Dahl gave him a small pat on the
back and a very small grin.
"Good, you're going to need some more practice, but we know you can shoot a
stationary target. Let's try some others."
They picked up a few shotgun cards from their cart, and one by one, Luna tried
them out. While effective, he saw Dahl's point about them being cumbersome to
reload. It was when they got to the pistols that Luna found his element.
Picking up a standard pistol, Luna was a natural shot, shooting the target, and
hitting it dead center every time. Dahl shot up her eyebrows.
"I may not be a gunslinger, but you certainly are. After we clean all these,
let's get you some weapons."
They took the cart full of used weapons to the cleaning station, in which Dahl
showed him how to take apart the weapons, and how to clean them, both the old
ways using chemicals and brushes, which Luna was already somewhat familiar with
as the unofficial maid on Santana's ship, and the new way of sticking them into
the weapon cleaner machine, in which the robotic attendant would take apart and
clean the weapon.
"No one likes this part" Dahl remarked, "but it's necessary, otherwise your
weapon will fail you. Treat it like a pet, keep it clean, keep it fed, and it
will be with you for life."
Once all the weapons were turned back in, went to the register official, and
placed orders for the rifle, twin pistols, and variations of ammunition. It
would be delivered to the hangar their ship was in, as firearms were not
permitted outside of the gun range on Nemesis station.
Their last stop was the equipment warehouse, in which they bought three
replacement hovercycles, as well as two extra fusion cores for their ship. Boss
Johns was adamant about not getting stuck in that situation again. The rest of
the day could be spent wandering around, exploring the station.
This day, while hard and educational, had been fun for Luna.
Chapter End Notes
     Luna had that day where he receives training in weapons, and finding
     his comfort area. Slowly, he is becoming someone Dahl and Johns won't
     have to constantly look out for. Slowly, though. Just because someone
     can shoot doesn't mean they can face off against a bounty.
***** Chapter 6 *****
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
Johns looked at the on-base Guild Representative. He was sitting in a chair,
she was behind her desk, going over his report that he had just submitted. She
slowly went over the pages, going back and forth. Johns kept his cool, as
always. Finally, she put the pages down, grabbed her stamp, and pushed down on
the square requiring an approval stamp by the supervisor.
She looked up at him, "Okay Johns, everyone loses one occasionally, and we all
know that Riddick is a slippery bastard. There are open cases in the lobby. See
if any interest you."
"Thanks Amata."
She nodded at him. That was Johns cue to go. As he rose up, she handed him the
Transfer form for Luna. It was also approved. It was official, the kid was part
of his crew now.
He walked to the big board, a holographic sphere showing jobs for Mercs
throughout the Cluster. Law enforcement posts for small colonies. Johns knew to
pass on those. You only took those if you were looking to never be in space
again, and wanted to retire to a cushy farm or mining colony. Money was never
good enough, so it was mostly dominated by Mercs who were getting too up there
in years.
There were several open spots to fight the Necromongers in the Defense Forces
quite a few independent planets. It appears that since Riddick was ousted from
power, the Necromongers were back to waging war on vulnerable planets who
weren't protected by a major corporation or government. Johns had heard enough
stories, and read enough reports, to know to pass on those. He rather liked his
soul remaining where it was, thank you. More importantly, he didn't want Dahl
or Luna anywhere near those freaks.
Then there were the bounties. He plugged in his datapad, and started
downloading all the open ones. It was better to have a target to seek before
you left, but all the better to have a database of potential bounties in case
you got lucky. Besides, Johns knew Luna was going to need some training and
soft targets before they took anything really dangerous.
He browsed through them while waiting for the download to finish. There was a
string of bank robberies on Valdos IV, that was only a few systems away. Price
was decent. It would be good tracking and detective work practice for Luna. He
put in his claim for his crew to handle it. The computer approved the job. Time
for them to go hunt some bad guys.
After leaving the Guild HQ, he passed a food stand. He looked at what was being
served. It wasn't often you had the chance to have Cajun-Italian food. He
ordered three things of 'calamari' pasta alfredo, which was probably Catucean
squid beast rather than anything from Homeworld, a container of gumbo, and some
beignets. It was a tradition for Johns to always buy fresh food for his crew
before they left station. It hurt that he had ordered portions for three
instead of five. He would make sure nothing like that happened again.
He also saw the trinkets that the cook was offering. The old man had crucifixes
and candles to sell. Johns saw some non-denominational ones. He added it to his
bill. The old man gave him a wink as he did so, and gift wrapped it after Johns
paid his bill.
"Thanks," John remarked as he put everything in a cart.
"I hope they like the gift." The man said, a wry smile on his lips.
"How do you know it's not for me?"
"You're a Merc leaving a Guild HQ, and you're buying a cross. Mercs who got
religion hold a cross with more reverence. So, it's not for you, it's for
someone you're sweet on. Pay me another five and I'll give you a love spell."
"I'm not that easy a mark."
"Four, and I'll include a blessing for safe passage."
Johns rolled his eyes. "I don't force love. If I want to love someone, I want
it to be real."
"Right, I get you. How about just the blessing then? 3 credits?"
Johns held up a credit, "I'll give you one if you bless the cross, and add
another two credits for beignets."
The man nodded, and began chanting in a language. Once done, he re-wrapped the
gift. And gave another bag for new beignets. John put four credits in the tip
jar, and left with his purchases. He was looking forward to eating with his
crew tonight.
Chapter End Notes
     Sorry for the long delay. Writers block and life got in the way, but
     I am back. More chapters to come.
***** Chapter 7 *****
Boss Johns set the food at the table. Dahl and Luna were finished loading stuff
onto the ship, and the update for the planet had been broadcast and approved,
so all that was left for him and his crew was dinner, a briefing, and then
their ship's flight to the Valdos system.
 
Dahl's voice came through the ship's intercom, "Boss, we're all aboard and
everything is ready."
 
Boss walked to the ship intercom and pushed the button, "Any outstanding
business left?"
 
There was a slight pause, "Nothing. We're ready to go."
 
"Got it." Boss replied. And he quickly went to the cockpit to set a course to
the Valdos system. Docking fees could kill you if you weren't careful, so it
was better to be off-station as opposed to not. He sent out the transmission to
the station's docking tower, asking for clearance, receiving it, and set the
ship's auto navigation for leaving the station. While the computer worked on
guiding them out of the station's bays and into the vacuum of space, Johns
worked on plotting a course to Valdos IV. Two weeks ship time. They could burn
the rations for the duration, or they could remain in cryo for the stock of the
trip.
Getting Luna up to speed and capable of with weapons was worth a couple weeks
of food. They'd go without the cryo for this journey.
 
Dahl entered the cockpit and sat beside him in the co-pilot's seat. "Kid's
securing the cargo. He may not know much, but he's eager and tries hard."
 
Johns nodded in reply.
 
There was a ping from the station computer, they were now free from the
station's auto-navigation. Johns entered in the programmed flight path, and
allowed the computer to do the rest of the work. Once there was enough distance
from the station, the engines hummed to life and there was acceleration. The
ship's gravity systems quickly adjusted to the thrust, and aside from the
slight vibration from the engines, it felt as if they were standing still.
 
Boss Johns looked at Dahl, "You make sure Luna hasn't messed up anything in the
cargo bay, then come back and have dinner."
 
Dahl made a face as she got up from her seat, "You didn't grab something from a
street vendor, did you?"
 
Johns smirked, "So what if I did?"
 
Dahl, "I'm calling it now, we're all going to be as soon as we get out of
cryo."
 
Johns smirk grew, "We're not going into cryo, kid needs to be trained, and it's
only two weeks."
 
Dahl put her hands together and popped her knuckles, "Got it. I'll go check on
the kid. I hope whatever you got doesn't have parasites."
 
"That only happened one time" Johns held up a finger to emphasize the fact.
 
Dahl rolled her eyes, leaving the cockpit. "One's enough."
 
The cockpit was silent as the door closed behind her. Johns made sure there
wasn't any known hazards on their flight plan, then left the cockpit to finish
setting up dinner.
--------
 
Luna finished checking the straps on the last crate. Nothing seemed loose. So,
just in case of turbulence or gravity system failure, there wouldn't be any
mess or destruction of resources.
 
Dahl came in just as he was grabbing his items to put in his footlocker in his
room. "Everything ready?"
 
Luna nodded.
 
"Okay, go put your shit away and meet us in the common room. We're about to
have dinner."
 
"With everyone?"
 
Dahl gave him a look, analyzing him. "Yes, it's a pre-mission tradition. So,
drop your shit and hurry up, food will be getting cold. And knowing Johns,
it'll be horrible, but it's usually better warm."
 
She left the room, and Luna felt a small surge of warmth. He couldn't remember
the last time someone had invited him to dinner. This crew wasn't his family,
but they were definitely shaping up to be his friends.
End Notes
     I figured that there was a whole story here in Luna being raised by
     Boss Johns and Dahl in how to be a merc, with some slashiness thrown
     in.
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