Dark Matter

Chapter 6

"What?" Emmanuelle spluttered out after a few seconds of shocked silence.
"My sister," she pulled Em into a hug, Willie wrapped her arms around Em's biceps and squeezed like a boa constrictor.
"Okay, Will, that's enough," Mal muttered, putting a hand on her
shoulder. She didn't move.
"Willie, let go of her," Rizza said quietly, and Willie did so,
pulling away. She then planted a kiss on each of Emmanuelle's cheeks, making her groan quietly.
"Your breath stinks," she huffed, prying Willie's arms off of her.
"And who is this?" Ebon asked, smiling a little.
"This is Willie," Rizza said, glancing at Emmanuelle.
"Oh. I'm Ebon," he grinned, extending his hand. She didnt take it.
"Hi," Ezra muttered, he was crouched next to Pancake, scratching behind his ears.
"Traitor," Willie hissed at the dog and the dog woofed.
"Uh, anyway. Em, she seems to like you. Please show her to her room,"
Rizza nodded and walked off. He was exhausted and smelled horrible, all he wanted to do was take a long shower and go to bed.
The door swished open and he walked into his room, peeling off his sticky and disgusting clothes, leaving them on the dark granite floor.
He walked into the bathroom, taking a moment to look in the mirror.
Rizza wasnt necassarily buff, but he was toned. The only tattoo he'd ever gotten was the cat head on his pec, and that was when he was a teenager. It didnt really resemble a cat anymore, the ink was faded and had sort of bled together, but he knew what it was. He didnt really like that tattoo very much, but Mal sure did. Malakai always took special care in leaving a few hickies over the top of it. His
pale skin was a bright contrast against the greenish yellow slime sticking to his arms legs and head. It was almost as though he'd
gotten some sort of puke green tan. He turned on the water and climed into the shower, washing the stuff off his face first. The bathroom door swished open, and he assumed it was Mal, so he didnt say anything. There was the sound of someone getting undressed and a few seconds later, the shower door opened.
"WILLIE, GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY BATHROOM," Rizza roared, not knowing whether to cover his eyes or his body. He snatched the handle out of her hand and slammed the door shut.
-----
"Captain, we're getting an incoming transmission," Ezra's voice interrupted Rizza's morning routine. They were back on track, back on whatever course they were on. He spit the toothpaste out of his mouth.
He hurried out of his room and went to the control room. He was half
dressed, and his hair was still a little messy. Malakai noticed and tossed a sweatshirt at him, which Rizza gratefully put on.
"Who is it?" he asked Ezra, who shrugged.
"Doesn't say. Should we--"
He was cut off by the ship automatically answering it.
The screen showed a man, he was probably in his late 30s. Scars decorated his face, cutting through stubble and weathered skin. He had a condescending smirk on his face, and something about him pissed Rizza off.
"Hello, Captain Rizza," the man hummed. He had light hazel eyes; he was from Hermes. Hermes was the artificial planet made to support the population of Earth after global warming and nuclear bombings made it inhabitable. Strangely, every baby born on Hermes had light hazel eyes. No one knew why.
"Hello. May I ask who you are?" Rizza stared at the screen, shoving his hands into the pocket of the sweatshirt.
"I'm a bounty hunter. You may have heard of me. My name is Ignatius Chase," the man's smirk grew into a grin. Ignatius Chase was a legend you told kids to scare them into being good. No one actually thought he was real. Rizza had known he was real since he was 19. Ignatius had killed his father.
Rizza had never been close to his dad. He'd taken off when Rizza was young, and from what he'd heard about the man, he was glad. Rizza's father was a drunken space pirate who liked to hit people. Specifically women. Rizza was probably lucky that his father hadn't been around. Joseph, his father, would've continued to abuse his mother, and eventually turned to hurting Rizza. As much as he'd had liked to have a good and fuzzy relationship with his father, Joseph was hunted down by a bounty hunter and was murdered before they got the chance.
Not just any bounty hunter, but Ignatius Chase. The very bounty hunter that Rizza was staring at.
"You killed my father!" Rizza spat.
"Ah, yes. Captain Joe Dewitt. What a son of a bitch. He put up quite
the fight. Gave me this," Ignatius pulled down the collar of his shirt
to reveal a nasty scar below his collar bone, no doubt from a bullet or a knife.
"What the hell do you want?" Malakai asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Right," Ignatius let go of his shirt and sat up straight. "Looking for a girl. Wilhelmina Marcus. She's an escapee from Serenity Smith Prison."
Serenity Smith Prison was a maximum security space prison. It was filled with the worst felons in the galaxy, and they had one on their ship.
"What?" Malakai huffed, a breath of a laugh attaching itself to his words. "That's ridiculous."
"She's murdered 16 people and was charged with identity theft and multiple other crimes before being admitted to Serenity. She killed 6
people in her escape," Ignatius smiled easily, and the hairs on the back of Rizza's neck stood up. "This is merely a warning. My crew and I are coming to take Wilhelmina and you can give her to me or we will kill you all," he grinned at the two of them and hung up.