Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, except from the one that's
obviously mine, they are the property of Joss Whedon and Fox.
A/N: Hi! My name's Rainne and I'll be your Firefly-based fanfiction provider for the duration of this story. Is this anybody's first time reading a Rainne fanfic? Good, nice to see some new faces, and hopefully hear some new voices (hint, hint). Though I hope to hear from my regulars as well. Also, this is my first ever fanfic who's characters and setting and backstory (as far as I know) are completely the work of somebody else, so just bear with me, okay? If you feel I've done a horrible job interpreting these complex fictional beings, suggest a way to make them better, for both our sakes. I'll try to comply as best I can. Alrighty then, here we go.
She wouldn't go back after this. They couldn't make her if they couldn't find her. She'd make her home her, among these people, whoever they were. She watched the red-brown, barren landscape of the Almian moon slip past her transport car's window. The surreal purple surfaces of the planet itself as it rose from the horizon made her shudder. She turned away from the window, suddenly uneasy. She hugged the gray pack's hefty weight closer to her chest and closed her eyes, taking a few deep breaths. "Approaching transport car station 112," said the feminine though electronic voice over the car's intercom, "Prepare for departure." She couldn't help the shaky nausea from grabbing hold of her stomach as she listened to the clanking sound the car made as it linked with the station's airlock. The primitive feel of her surroundings was weighing on her heavily.
"Kaylee!" Wash cried out, stumbling over the large, metal container's many corners, "Watch out!" The petite, round-faced redhead winced and tried to get a better grip on her end of the container.
"Sorry, Wash," she said, her voice betraying her frustration, "This thing's so darn heavy!"
"C'mon, you two," said Mal, coolly marching down the loading deck's incline and out of Serenity, "We can't keep Mr. Sider waiting any longer on his shipment, can we?" The only response he got from his mechanic and pilot were flesh-searing glares as they attempted once more to load the container onto the waiting dolly. This time it worked, though not without a reverberating scrape of metal on metal as it slid into position. Both crewmates cringed as the sound greeted their ears, and stared at each other with simultaneous accusing looks.
"Hey," Kaylee said, out of her usual warm and friendly character from the recent epic struggle, "Don't you look at me like that, mister! That scrape was YOUR fault!"
Wash looked offended, "Me?! You're one to talk! You know, for a mechanic you're awful weak-"
"Sweetie," came a commanding but soft voice from the dolly's driver's seat, "That's enough." Zoe'd had fun watching the two bicker, but she knew she had to stop her dear husband from saying something he'd regret. Besides, Mal was right, they'd wasted enough time dealing with this particularly unwieldy job, referring to both the package itself and their customer. Mr. Sider was not the most patient of men, it had taken some delicate diplomacy on Mal's part to keep the gentleman from sending his thugs out to get them. Their instructions were to simply leave the container in the station, then get the hell out of there, but it seemed apparently easier said then done.
Kaylee and Wash, still glaring at each other, hopped onto the dolly after securing the container, and Zoe started the engine. Serenity was parked in a large, airtight building set up on the moon for deliveries. It was primarily what the moon itself was for, kind of like a planet-sized post office. They had stations all over its surface, and a lot of shady deals were done under the reflected purple glow of the planet Alma, which it orbited. Neither Zoe nor Mal liked that planet, it made them jittery, which made being courteous to the baboon who gave them the job all the more difficult. Zoe tried to concentrate on not hitting any of the other people unloading their respective spacecraft and not on the lavender tinge of the thin ceiling of the building.
A tight smile appeared on Captain Reynolds's face as the dolly pulled up to the somewhat secluded checkpoint. No such thing made itself known on the butcher's block face of the thug who Mal had met upon arrival. The checkpoint was located near the transport car station, where human cargo would be unloaded, as well as locals and merchants trying to make a buck. You could always tell the planet's inhabitants; they were strangely pale, almost incandescent, from living in the lavender atmosphere. Strange, Mal thought, what living on a certain planet does to ya', after a while. He blinked away from his thoughts at the sound of Kaylee grunting. He looked down, seeing the young woman wrestle with a stubborn bolt.
"C'mon," she grumbled, pushing with all her might on an impressively sized wrench, "Mah dai jong." (A/N: I don't know Chinese, and have never paid much attention to what they say when they use it, so I just sorta winged it there. Anybody can give me any helpful hints, I'd much appreciate it.)
Wash approached her, "Here, I'll do it." Kaylee looked as if she might not let him, but took another glance at the bolt. Apparently deciding that he could knock himself out on that thing for a while, she stepped back from it with a falsely gracious air, "Thank you," he said with equal false graciousness, taking the heavy wrench from her limp hand. He took a new approach to the bolt, pulling up on the wrench, his face turning red with the effort. Kaylee watched, a satisfied smirk emerging on her usually cheerful face. Zoe cracked a smile in the driver's seat, watching her husband. "Transport car 13 arriving from station 111," announced the electronic voice over the intercom.
"Not so easy, is it?" Kaylee grinned, her arms crossed over her chest and her hip jutting out in a triumphant pose. Mal couldn't help but chuckle slightly over the events, but not a sound was heard from the thug and it was making him even more nervous without the eerie glow from the planet. Wash only glared at her and continued pulling on the wrench, attempting to free the stubborn bolt. The doors on the airlock leading to the transport cars slide open with a hiss, briefly distracting Wash. He glanced up, and the wrench flew from his hands, into the air, soundly striking a young girl carrying a large, gray bag in the back of the head. Her thin frame crumpled to the floor as Wash fell back on his rear, a look of absolute horror washing, for lack of a better word, over his face. Even the thug's expression flashed to a barely perceptible shade of surprise as all four of Serenity's crew ran toward the lump on the station's floor.
"Oh, man," Wash said, his voice shaky, "She's bleedin'." He stood over her as Kaylee and Mal crouched. He twined his fingers at the back of his head, and looked as if he was about to be sick. Zoe wrapped her arms around him and leaned his head on her shoulder for comfort. He let his stiff arms fall around her waist as well.
"How bad is she, cap'n?" Kaylee asked anxiously as Mal glanced at the wound. He didn't dare move her, he knew head wounds were very dangerous and unpredictable. One minute the victim would be fine, the next an excruciating hemorrhage and they were dead. But he knew he had to stop the bleeding, the girl was turning paler and colder by the minute, so he swiftly scooped the girl into his arms.
"All of you," he said, addressing his crew, "Into the dolly, we'll get back to Serenity and patch her up." He turned to the thug, "I'm sure you're fine takin' care uh' this." He didn't wait for an answer, just swung into the backseat of the dolly and pressed the emergency blanket to the back of the girl's head. He leaned his head down to hers, and relished a small bit of relief that came from the feeling of shallow breathing on his cheek. Maybe she would be alright, if they got her to the med lab in time, which didn't seem all that likely for all the deep red blood that stained the pale blue blanket.
A/N: Okay, sorry so short, but this is just the beginning. I like it, I think, and I hope to get more out soon. I just know my Spell Check's gonna have a doozy of a time with all the names of planets, etc. I'm gonna have to make up. Review, please, I wanna know what you think! K, c ya' next chapter!
A/N: Hi! My name's Rainne and I'll be your Firefly-based fanfiction provider for the duration of this story. Is this anybody's first time reading a Rainne fanfic? Good, nice to see some new faces, and hopefully hear some new voices (hint, hint). Though I hope to hear from my regulars as well. Also, this is my first ever fanfic who's characters and setting and backstory (as far as I know) are completely the work of somebody else, so just bear with me, okay? If you feel I've done a horrible job interpreting these complex fictional beings, suggest a way to make them better, for both our sakes. I'll try to comply as best I can. Alrighty then, here we go.
She wouldn't go back after this. They couldn't make her if they couldn't find her. She'd make her home her, among these people, whoever they were. She watched the red-brown, barren landscape of the Almian moon slip past her transport car's window. The surreal purple surfaces of the planet itself as it rose from the horizon made her shudder. She turned away from the window, suddenly uneasy. She hugged the gray pack's hefty weight closer to her chest and closed her eyes, taking a few deep breaths. "Approaching transport car station 112," said the feminine though electronic voice over the car's intercom, "Prepare for departure." She couldn't help the shaky nausea from grabbing hold of her stomach as she listened to the clanking sound the car made as it linked with the station's airlock. The primitive feel of her surroundings was weighing on her heavily.
"Kaylee!" Wash cried out, stumbling over the large, metal container's many corners, "Watch out!" The petite, round-faced redhead winced and tried to get a better grip on her end of the container.
"Sorry, Wash," she said, her voice betraying her frustration, "This thing's so darn heavy!"
"C'mon, you two," said Mal, coolly marching down the loading deck's incline and out of Serenity, "We can't keep Mr. Sider waiting any longer on his shipment, can we?" The only response he got from his mechanic and pilot were flesh-searing glares as they attempted once more to load the container onto the waiting dolly. This time it worked, though not without a reverberating scrape of metal on metal as it slid into position. Both crewmates cringed as the sound greeted their ears, and stared at each other with simultaneous accusing looks.
"Hey," Kaylee said, out of her usual warm and friendly character from the recent epic struggle, "Don't you look at me like that, mister! That scrape was YOUR fault!"
Wash looked offended, "Me?! You're one to talk! You know, for a mechanic you're awful weak-"
"Sweetie," came a commanding but soft voice from the dolly's driver's seat, "That's enough." Zoe'd had fun watching the two bicker, but she knew she had to stop her dear husband from saying something he'd regret. Besides, Mal was right, they'd wasted enough time dealing with this particularly unwieldy job, referring to both the package itself and their customer. Mr. Sider was not the most patient of men, it had taken some delicate diplomacy on Mal's part to keep the gentleman from sending his thugs out to get them. Their instructions were to simply leave the container in the station, then get the hell out of there, but it seemed apparently easier said then done.
Kaylee and Wash, still glaring at each other, hopped onto the dolly after securing the container, and Zoe started the engine. Serenity was parked in a large, airtight building set up on the moon for deliveries. It was primarily what the moon itself was for, kind of like a planet-sized post office. They had stations all over its surface, and a lot of shady deals were done under the reflected purple glow of the planet Alma, which it orbited. Neither Zoe nor Mal liked that planet, it made them jittery, which made being courteous to the baboon who gave them the job all the more difficult. Zoe tried to concentrate on not hitting any of the other people unloading their respective spacecraft and not on the lavender tinge of the thin ceiling of the building.
A tight smile appeared on Captain Reynolds's face as the dolly pulled up to the somewhat secluded checkpoint. No such thing made itself known on the butcher's block face of the thug who Mal had met upon arrival. The checkpoint was located near the transport car station, where human cargo would be unloaded, as well as locals and merchants trying to make a buck. You could always tell the planet's inhabitants; they were strangely pale, almost incandescent, from living in the lavender atmosphere. Strange, Mal thought, what living on a certain planet does to ya', after a while. He blinked away from his thoughts at the sound of Kaylee grunting. He looked down, seeing the young woman wrestle with a stubborn bolt.
"C'mon," she grumbled, pushing with all her might on an impressively sized wrench, "Mah dai jong." (A/N: I don't know Chinese, and have never paid much attention to what they say when they use it, so I just sorta winged it there. Anybody can give me any helpful hints, I'd much appreciate it.)
Wash approached her, "Here, I'll do it." Kaylee looked as if she might not let him, but took another glance at the bolt. Apparently deciding that he could knock himself out on that thing for a while, she stepped back from it with a falsely gracious air, "Thank you," he said with equal false graciousness, taking the heavy wrench from her limp hand. He took a new approach to the bolt, pulling up on the wrench, his face turning red with the effort. Kaylee watched, a satisfied smirk emerging on her usually cheerful face. Zoe cracked a smile in the driver's seat, watching her husband. "Transport car 13 arriving from station 111," announced the electronic voice over the intercom.
"Not so easy, is it?" Kaylee grinned, her arms crossed over her chest and her hip jutting out in a triumphant pose. Mal couldn't help but chuckle slightly over the events, but not a sound was heard from the thug and it was making him even more nervous without the eerie glow from the planet. Wash only glared at her and continued pulling on the wrench, attempting to free the stubborn bolt. The doors on the airlock leading to the transport cars slide open with a hiss, briefly distracting Wash. He glanced up, and the wrench flew from his hands, into the air, soundly striking a young girl carrying a large, gray bag in the back of the head. Her thin frame crumpled to the floor as Wash fell back on his rear, a look of absolute horror washing, for lack of a better word, over his face. Even the thug's expression flashed to a barely perceptible shade of surprise as all four of Serenity's crew ran toward the lump on the station's floor.
"Oh, man," Wash said, his voice shaky, "She's bleedin'." He stood over her as Kaylee and Mal crouched. He twined his fingers at the back of his head, and looked as if he was about to be sick. Zoe wrapped her arms around him and leaned his head on her shoulder for comfort. He let his stiff arms fall around her waist as well.
"How bad is she, cap'n?" Kaylee asked anxiously as Mal glanced at the wound. He didn't dare move her, he knew head wounds were very dangerous and unpredictable. One minute the victim would be fine, the next an excruciating hemorrhage and they were dead. But he knew he had to stop the bleeding, the girl was turning paler and colder by the minute, so he swiftly scooped the girl into his arms.
"All of you," he said, addressing his crew, "Into the dolly, we'll get back to Serenity and patch her up." He turned to the thug, "I'm sure you're fine takin' care uh' this." He didn't wait for an answer, just swung into the backseat of the dolly and pressed the emergency blanket to the back of the girl's head. He leaned his head down to hers, and relished a small bit of relief that came from the feeling of shallow breathing on his cheek. Maybe she would be alright, if they got her to the med lab in time, which didn't seem all that likely for all the deep red blood that stained the pale blue blanket.
A/N: Okay, sorry so short, but this is just the beginning. I like it, I think, and I hope to get more out soon. I just know my Spell Check's gonna have a doozy of a time with all the names of planets, etc. I'm gonna have to make up. Review, please, I wanna know what you think! K, c ya' next chapter!
