Disclaimer: I do not own Firefly, Joss Whedon does.
Chapter One-
Malcolm Reynolds crouched beside the large storage container and rummaged through, squinting to see in the dimly lit cargo hold. Picking up a package, he bit the side and tore it, examining the contents.
"Nope. Nothing. Just some spices or somethin'." He threw the package aside onto the floor and stood, his hands on his hips.
"Well we need to eat somehow. What do you advise we do?" Shepard Book walked to the storage box and glanced at it. "Don't we even have any of those protein packets?"
"No, we don't." Mal uttered, annoyed. "That was the point of me rummaging around down here for the last hour, and I didn't find nothing." He turned to the Shepard, who shrugged.
"Are we near any planets that could offer us some assistance?" he suggested.
"I don't know." Mal walked to a panel on the grey wall and pressed a button. "Wash? You there?"
"Yessiree, Cap'n." Said the pilot's voice over a speaker. "What's cooking?" Mal frowned.
"Absolutely nothing."
"Oh right, sorry. What do you need?"
"I need to know if we're near any terraformed planets? We got to get some food quick, or all that muscle of yours may start to look like a tasty entrée…"
"Haha, Mal. That's not necessary. I'd rather not resort to Reaver behavior… but uh…we are about a day from a planet if I can keep up this speed."
"Ok, I'll get Kaylee on that." Mal started to walk from the panel.
"Hey Mal?" Jayne's voice over the speaker stopped him. "If it comes down to it and we don't have any luck with this here planet, I volunteer Simon to be ate first!"
"Hey!" Mal heard Simon's faint protest.
"Hopefully, Jayne, that won't be necessary."
--
"Captain, you said there was food on this rock?" Jayne wiped his damp forehead and looked around, squinting under the glaring sun.
"I said it was terraformed, Jayne, I didn't say it was a buffet." Mal said as he stepped off the ramp of the ship holding a box of money from their last job, from and stood beside Jayne. He figured it would be enough to cover any food they would need. "I think I can make out some buildings over there among the trees, do you see them?"
"I see 'em," Zoe said, tying her long hair back. "But hot damn, this planet is sweltering."
Simon lifted his hand to visor his eyes and squinted into the distance. "Looks like a forest to me." he shrugged and blinked.
"All the more reason for us to move on, don't you think?" Mal said with a dry grin, and then took off walking toward the lumps on he horizon, hoping it was a settlement.
A half hour later, the four sat to take a rest by a group of boulders, and had not gotten any closer to the possible town.
Mal took a swig of water from his canteen. "Zoe, is that town gettin' any closer to you?"
"Nope," she muttered at him and drank from her water. "I'm gettin' hungry, how about you?"
"I've been hungry." Simon sighed, getting the last drop from his canteen.
"Well that's because you've been giving all your food to your wacko sister, it's your own damn fault." Jayne growled, taking a swig from his own bottle, which was covered by a paper bag, before stuffing it into his belt.
"River needs her strength, she's still recovering. I don't." He glared at Jayne, who stood.
"Right, well it's still your own damn fault. You'll be the first of us to drop if that there town don't turn out to be welcoming to strangers—" he cut off, turning to face the barrel of a gun pointed at his chest.
"'That there town' ain't welcoming to strangers. You'll do well to remember that."
-
Holding the gun to Jayne's chest was a woman with two red braids hanging at her shoulders. She was dressed in slim black pants with a belt across them loaded with two more guns on each hip, an old fashioned grenade dangling by the ring, and a knife sticking out of the pocket. Her skin was dark olive under a loose white tank top but her light greenish eyes suggested it was only from the sun. There was a knotted band tattoo around her left forearm.
"Who are you?" she demanded, holding the gun in place. Jayne's eyes darted from her body to his belt, and the gun sticking out of it. Stunned, no one answered, but Mal and Zoe jumped to their feet, hands going for their own belts.
"Oh no, I don't think so. Boys?" At her word, twelve men pointing guns appeared from behind the boulders Mal, Zoe and Simon had just been sitting against.
"What is this?" Mal asked, looking around but holding his position. When he stood he could see thirteen horses tied up to a boulder about fifty feet away from them.
"My question first." The woman said. Mal hesitated and glanced at Zoe. If these were Feds in disguise they could be in major trouble—their weapons looked pretty top-notch for some roaming bandits.
"Ok, how bout this then?" the woman continued. "What's in that fancy container there?" she motioned to the box of money that Mal had thrust under his arm when he stood.
"Not much. We were just lookin to barter with whosoever we should find here." Mal said, suddenly aware that he had brought all the money they had earned. If she got it they would have nothing left until the next job.
"Barter for what?" she asked.
"Just food and drink. My crew and I aren't lookin for trouble." He cursed himself for not leaving some on board.
"Well you started trouble by stepping on this rock. Now tell me, what's in that box?" she wasn't giving up.
"Just some money. To barter, I told you."
"How much money?"
"Not a lot."
"I don't believe you." She said. "G, snatch that box and tell me how much is in it." She spoke to a man on Mal's right with light curly hair and a long nose. The man came toward him, gun pointed at Mal's head, and extended his arm in a grab. However, he wasn't quick enough, and with a glance, Mal tossed the box to his left, where Simon caught it in the air.
"Hey, no funny business!" moving her gun from Jayne's chest, she quickly pointed it at Simon and shot his right calf and his left ankle, making him crumple to the ground in pain. As soon as he hit the ground, Mal and Zoe had both their guns pointed at her, but she just shook her head at them.
"I don't think so. My boys outnumber you twelve to three. I wouldn't try it."
"What did you do that for?" Zoe demanded, eyes darting to Simon, who's socks were drenched in red from what she could see at the bottom of his pant-legs.
"I don't barter." She shrugged with a pleasant smile.
"Crazy bitch…" Jayne mumbled, looking down at her face.
"Watch your mouth," she pointed her gun back at him and he jerked backwards. "Now, I suggest you get on your way now, before I feel like shootin someone else. Take the bleeding one, boys. We're outta here."
"You can't do that!" Mal cried in desperation. "Do you have any food at all? You can keep all the money, but all we ask is for some food that can travel well."
She looked him in the face for a moment and then glared up at Jayne. "Why are you still standin here?" Quickly, she launched her knee into his crotch and turned when he hit the ground. "Let's go." One of the men had led a horse over the where she stood. Mounting, she called for the others to follow.