Ch. 1
"Okay, next one."
"Verna Sansun." Zoe said officially as she read the file. The crew was gathered around the dining table, beginning to look weary as the stack of applicants had been long.
"Which one?" Jayne growled, having lost patience long ago.
"Brunette, kinda spindly, talked fast."
"I liked her." Simon announced with a sip of his tea. All eyes were suddenly trained on him, wanting elaboration. "She was one of a few that actually bothered to fill out my medical form, and listed herself as O negative."
"O-Wha?" The merc grunted.
"She's a universal blood donor, the only one in the stack that gave me the form." He explained. "Seeing as we all have a habit of losing large quantities of blood, she could come in handy."
"So Simon wants her for a blood bank." Mal leaned back in his chair and sighed. Democracy made him weary, it also gave him a splitting headache.
"Well, I mean she also seemed nice. However she comes with a pretty decent bonus feature."
"Besides havin' nice blood, she has good credentials." Kaylee supplied, plucking the file out of Zoe's hands. "She scored high on her flight test and we got to talkin' and she knows enough about Serenity's type'a innards to be of some help around here."
"She seemed nice." It was unfortunately all Inara could say, she didn't have the point of view of Kaylee, nor even Simon and his possible blood supply. "She was polite."
"Her brain was nice." River mumbled, face planted into the tabletop out of sheer boredom. "Was calm. And pretty. Many folds."
Mal gave River a look, as if he was not quite sure it was a compliment or something to be concerned about. "Kinda liked her myself. Didn't seem like the kind to give me guff."
"Was a little squirrely." Zoe said skeptically.
"You ever met a pilot that wasn't?"
"She was... Skinny." Jayne said disinterestedly. "Can't we just hire-"
"No." Welling up from the entire group the response was unanimous.
"Ain't a beauty pageant, Jayne." Zoe was losing her patience with the big man as she eyed the large stack of candidates they just gone through.
"Hell if we're hirin' a girl it might as well be one that's nice ta look at." He groused, pouring more whiskey into his cup.
"We're hiring on talent, Jayne." Inara admonished. "Male or female, it's who's best for the position."
"Who's best for the crew." Kaylee piped, patting Simon's arm affectionately.
Jayne looked at everyone as if they were as useless as a sack of tracked money. Getting up, throwing a sneer their way, he lumbered out.
"What about Veksham?" Zoe asked, ignoring the merc's temper tantrum as his large boots stomped off towards the crew bunks.
"Eh." Their mechanic shrugged. "He wasn't inta coding. I could use another who knows their way around the software."
"His brain wasn't as nice." The reader muttered from underneath her curtain of hair. "It's my chair." She reminded them, almost absently.
"Emerson Li, now she was good." Kaylee said. "It seemed all the ladyfolk had more technical aptitude, while the menfolk just kinda talked about their natural flyin' talent."
Mal rubbed his sinuses. "Tā mā de de yuángù. I liked this a whole lot better when I was on the one who made this decision and didn't have my crew harpin' on who they thought had good blood or was purty or had a snuggly braincase."
"It's called self-government-" Inara began.
"This ain't a government!" Slamming his hand in frustration down on the table, the others jumped slightly. "This is called my gorram boat. And we didn't have this problem till you 'roused the troops and made them think they had a say in this."
Her eyes were like daggers at him. However she only pursed her lips ever so slightly as she quietly got up, took her teacup and left. Heading to her shuttle, certainly not his bunk.
"Trouble." River whispered from her spot on the table.
"But we should have a say, Cap'n." His little mechanic scowled. "We're gonna be stuck with whoever gets picked."
"We don't like 'em, we kick 'em off at the nearest port!"
"Sir, we gotta job waiting for us on Highgate. We'd be stuck with them near a month." Zoe pointed out.
"I am sick of this hóuzi gǒu shǐ." Mal abruptly got up and knocked over his chair in the process. "Choose whoever you want! Whatever headstuffs or platelets amuse you so! Clearly this is the way things run around here." If a huff he stormed off towards the cargo bay, ignoring Kaylee's comments about his surliness along the way. Stopping at the shuttle, he pounded on the door.
Nothing.
"Inara." He intoned.
Silence.
Mal pulled his face back from the door and looked at it long and hard, knowing she wasn't going to talk. But still- "Nara open up."
Miraculously, the door opened. However what met him was as surly as a wet cat, and quite possibly twice as dangerous. "What, Malcolm."
His eyebrows shot up, because Malcolm was a new level.
"What?"
"Don't you just storm off 'cause I call your bluff." He finally got around to spitting out.
She rolled her eyes. "I left the table to avoid further conflict." Turning to leave, the door begins to shut but he catches it and follows her into the luxuriously decorated shuttle.
"Conflict you caused! I wouldn't be havin' this problem unless you wouldn't of have put it all in their stupid little heads that they have and opinion."
She turned on her heels and locked onto him. Becoming a force of nature draped in very expensive silks. "I'm sorry, I thought we did, seeing as we all survived this past year together out in the black. Scraping by, helping one another out, I thought we were a crew that worked together-"
"Yes, but workin' ain't decidin'." He raised his voice slightly as he looked down at her.
"You just can't not be in control-"
"Fèihuà!"
"Really?" she drew a brow, poised and confident.
"I'm with you, and that's a wind in my sails I can't steer!" He says in exasperation. "You just rush on in and turn things sideways! I said we'd find a gorram pilot! I didn't say we'd find the hùn zhàng together. You come back from your servicin'-"
"Don't do this." She warned.
"Been gone days, off by yourself, you and your gorram clients. And you come back in here singin' songs of togetherness and equality and how everyone should be apart of this! Cause we all work together! And you include yourself!"
There was a beat as the air was rife was tension. Inara's eyes welled with tears and she had to swallow the emotions welling up within. "Get out." Her voice crackled.
Mal stared at her, watching the hurt creep up her face. "Inara."
"Get. Out."
He hesitated slightly, but retreated. The door shut behind him and while he wanted to linger, it was easer to move back into the galley where the remaining crew was seated and watching him like they had caught their parents fighting. "WHAT?" He blustered.
Kaylee and Simon both found sudden interest in studying the lines on their own hands. Zoe's eyes didn't waver, and River was still communing with the table.
The Captain stood there, unsure of what to do or say. Finally he grabbed the bottle of sake off of the table. "You choose?"
"Verna." Zoe said cooly, acting as if the man before her was a calm and rational person.
"You and Jayne go fetch her." He said, pouring himself a glass and taking a swill. "Rest of you, go to your jobs. There's plenty of work to be done." Watching them all disperse throughout the ship, he sniffled and trampled back to the cargo bay. Descending the stairs, he opened the bay doors and wandered out onto the ramp.
The world was in winter and the street light hitting him was the warmest light. A yellow cutting through the grays and blues as snow floated down from the night sky and kissed his clothes, leaving just as quickly as they came. The air was fresh and clean, pine with just a hint of exhaust as the dock roared with life. There was a snowman just off to the side of Serenity, the doing of his mechanic, doctor and junior pilot. The snowman had some scrap washers for eyes and bits of metal for other facial features. He had Simon's vest on, the one with the bullet hole in it, and was adorned with some calligraphy going down his chest that welcomed visitors.
Mal took in the crisp night and shut his eyes. He was ready to leave the gorram rock they were docked on, but at the same time his idle crew and their need for democracy were driving him batty. He briefly entertained spacing one to straighten the others up. However, he unfortunately needed all of them. Probably. It could have been affection that was sparing them, but he would never admit to that.
"Sir?"
Opening his eyes he found the young man there, bundled up and hauling a bag. He couldn't have been much older than River, with that type of young sweet face that clearly had yet to see war or strife. "We don't take passengers right now." Mal told him, waving the boy away.
"No sir." He shouldered the bag and took a step onto the ramp. "I'm here looking for a Malcolm Reynolds."
The Captain looked the boy up and down suspiciously. He appeared vaguely familiar, but Mal knew he'd never seen him before. "Who's askin?"
"You him?"
"Depends on who's askin'."
"His son."
Tā mā de de yuángù: For fuck's sake
Hóuzi gǒu shǐ: monkey shit
Fèihuà: bullshit
Hùn zhàng: bastard
A/N: Reviews are alway appreciated.