Captured by the mercenaries, the trio of survivors rapidly discover that their captors have unusual plans for them. The ship's owner, Antonia Chillingsworth (Tress MacNeille), is a collector of criminals, whom she freezes and keeps as statues that are, in her view, art. Although the criminals are frozen, they are still alive and conscious. To her Riddick is the ultimate "masterpiece" for her collection. Riddick, Jack, and Imam must face down and fight their way through the enormous army of human and nonhuman creatures at her disposal, or they will meet a fate far more cruel than death.
Riddick is pursued much of the story by Toombs and his Mercs. Mercs, short for mercenaries, are mercenarys/bounty hunters, such as shown in Pitch Black with the bounty hunter William J. Johns (Cole Hauser). Toombs is a character that Riddick will meet again in the Chronicles of Riddick movie. Mercs here are represented as mercenary soldiers that are kept in suspended animation until they are needed. They are released to confront Riddick and company aboard the ship. This foreshadows events when a group of mercenaries try to capture Riddick on the Planet UV as seen in the movie The Chronicles of Riddick.
This film carries important character development elements for Jack (who becomes Kyra in The Chronicles of Riddick), as at the end she discovers her violent side by shooting the ship's owner just before she can kill Riddick. This discovery is clearly a source of worry for Riddick and Imam as the three escape from the mercenary ship. This manifests itself in Riddick's decision to deliver both Jack and Imam at New Mecca at the conclusion of the animation.