18
A/N: It's my first Firefly, but I'm an old hand in other fandoms: CSI, House, L&O:CI. I got a thing for Jayne. Like his layers when the writers find them. He's dumb in some ways, a clever animal in others. Got a sense of right and wrong that needs exploring. I went nuts on grammar and such. Now I can't get Whedon-speak out of my head.
This is a hard fic and a long one. Rated for violence. Translations are at the end. Barely an ounce of sentimentality, but a few surprises. Jayne POV.
Dedicated to my friend, Michael who is ten tons of enthusiasm for Firefly.
I would love to hear from this fandom!
sheila
Reaver Hunter
Chapter 1
He paced back and forth in the tall grass before the bluff, mumbling under his breath. He stopped once more at the edge of the bluff and shook his head. There was only a gentle wind, warm and he almost took time to 'member back to his boy days when he'd sit in the grass and wait for rabbits with his slingshot. Mal was ignoring him now, but he didn't pay this no mind. Mal always did this to him. He'd get all wadded up with some kind of idea that he has to save the world and that were it. He don't care about what that means to anyone else, least of all the people he's beholding to. And he certainly wasn't going to listen to his dumb mercenary who was only ever sayin' what everyone else was thinking anyway.
Jayne was used to this, and it rankled deep. The captain didn't give a good gorram about anything but his own crazy sense of right and wrong. And he expected every last one of 'em to trot after him like a litter of dumb puppies. That was good enough for people like Zoe who lived from mission to mission especially now that Wash was nothing more than a memory. It'd only been two months and so Jayne was hoping that there would come a time sometime in the future when the beautiful amazon woman would again break a smile. It wasn't like he cared he had to remind himself, but her empty face had grown unnerving and he worried that she'd pull a stupid move on one of these jobs and get them all killed. 'Sides there was something more going on with her. He could smell it. She was scenting just like his two older sisters in the early months after they married. And even though she wasn't showing no weight, she was carrying her back in that way that women did when a seed was growing. Jayne was all animal instinct. He couldn't help sensing things before the others did. She didn't act like she knew it though, the prissy doc weren't any ruttin' paying attention, and Jayne certainly wasn't going to be the one to tell her she was in a family way.
Kaylee would go along, she always did. Girl was so sunny a man had to near squint just to look her in the face. It bothered him that the captain took her for granted so. She had no business doing this kind of work. The thieving and the killing just wasn't in her nature. It set his teeth on edge every time someone shoved a gun in her hand. He figured it was just a matter of time before she blowed a foot off, and he wasn't thinking it was necessarily going to be her own.
The doc and the moonbrain didn't have much choice in the matter. They was crew now, but it was still new. Plus they was still being hunted, and so it weren't like they could walk away from the ship whenever they had a notion. 'Nara was another matter, but Jayne didn't put much thought into her. She looked down on him mostly, treated him like a guttersnipe carrying her bags for the odd coin. It amazed him sometimes that a whore could take on airs like that, but that was a Core slut for ya'.
The captain was going to send them all down the bluff, Jayne could feel it. He was going to send them down to that poor village right into the middle of a Reaver attack all because it was itchin' at his craw. Jayne had enough of this kind of madness. He wasn't trying to be some kind of hero; never enough money in it and people didn't appreciate it none anyway. He was going to be like a stubborn ol' work mule, he'd decided already. Nobody was going to move him from this spot. He was going to stick with the ship under the cover of brush. Reavers didn't know nothing about them hiding 'hind the bluff. If they stuck tight like normal folks, the Reavers could swoop down, take the village, and be gone in a couple hours. He'd even go down with the doc and bury bodies. It was the Christian thing, sure as shit. His mama hadn't raised no heathen. It was only too bad that the Sheppard was cold in the ground. He always put on a good show. Jayne hated for people to know, but he looked forward to a good sermon from time to time. It made him feel all civilized and upstanding like.
Mal was arguing with 'Nara again. Those two were always fussin' at each other like a couple of old hens. He turned his head when 'Nara told him that going down the bluff was a fool's game. The whore was making sense, and Jayne was all about supporting common sense, even from uppity prostitutes.
"We're not sitting up here and watching a massacre. Not doing it. No way. No how."
Jayne rolled his eyes. Who was being the work mule now?
"Mal, River says we got no more than twenty minutes before the Reavers drop out of orbit. We're not enough people and we don't have enough time. We can't make a difference to those people even if we wanted to." She was in his face, smooth olive skin and chocolate brown eyes. The two of them always fought like this as if this was their only opportunity to breath on one another.
"We're not standing back," Mal didn't even try to meet her eyes. He was too intent on the village below. People were running left and right; grabbing kids, pushing livestock, doing what people do when they have only minutes to decide their lives.
"I'll go with you, Sir. We'll go, take Jayne. Everyone else stays back." Zoe couldn't even bring passion to this declaration.
Jayne walked into their midst, a big man, eyes blazing. "Not going. I don't fight Reavers. You know that. Only when my back is to the wall. Damn animals don't even know we're here. We're staying back here. Going to hide. I like hiding. Getting a real knack for it. Maybe play some cards or something. It'll take the edge off. We can go down later and do the proper thing by those folks. I'll dig ever' last grave."
"Shut up, Jayne," Mal growled. "Don't want to hear your cowardly thoughts."
Jayne should've bristled, but he knew the captain was only baitin' him, trying to push him into some fool plan. "You do what you want, Mal. I ain't stoppin' ya'."
"Just want to stand back, do ya? Think you're going watch us die and then take Serenity. Nothing crafty about you, Cobb."
Jayne chuckled and looked away. "Say what you want. I ain't dying today. Need a reason anyhow. Bunch of farmers who don't know how to protect themselves ain't no kind of reason."
A sigh sounded and they all turned to the thin girl whose sundress whipped about her legs. "The new woman will go. Killing Reavers is good, clean fun. Besides, the new woman needs some practice, she's getting rusty sittin' around the ship just pretending to be a healthy human being."
"No!" Simon was generally more articulate than this, but there was a feeling dawning on all of them that this day was going to lay forever like a heavy stone around their necks. He licked his lips as if working a plan. She'd just turned 18 and was playing pilot these days. Wouldn't let anyone call her girl no more. Sent Jayne sailing halfway across the cargo bay last week when he forgot. Left a footprint on his stomach from it too. Funny thing: the ape man didn't even get mad at her about it. "River, we just need a minute to think. There's gotta be a better plan than just running down the bluff. I'm sure the captain is thinking of something right now."
River turned her big eyes on the captain. "No such luck. Captain is afraid he can't live with himself iffn' he doesn't slide down the bluff in the next five minutes. I'm sliding with him."
Simon let out a heavy sigh and turned to Jayne. "I need to borrow a gun."
Jayne threw his head back and laughed. "You ain't going to be no good down there. I seen you with a gun. I give you less than ten minutes before Reavers bit a hole in your neck. 'Sides they's going to be needing you when this is over."
"I'll go." Kaylee was holding onto a landing support like it was the only thing keeping her upright. Probably was.
Mal shook his head. "No lil' sister. You got to stay back with the doc and 'Nara. Got to take care of the ship."
A dark cloud popped into the sky. Reavers were startin' to break atmosphere. They waited for the clouds to multiply, but there was only the one. A big ship emerged from the cloud, probably hold 40-50 of them, but it was the only one. It would be a few minutes before the cold sound of straining engines and radioactive clouds would reach them. Mal turned to Zoe with the question in his eyes.
She shrugged. "It's one small village. Probably wouldn't need more than a couple dozen. Maybe Reavers've gotten into resource management."
"Better for us." He turned and ran up the ramp. Zoe took one more worried look at the sky and jogged after him. Jayne kicked dirt into the ground and cursed Chinese into the wind.
When he turned around, he found them all staring at him. "What you looking at, you ruttin' group o' Hundans? Man's gotta make decisions about his life. Simple for ya', isn't it? If it's a sure to die kind of situation, send in the ape man. Granted, I specialize in this type of work, but I know what you're all thinking. Make Jayne go. Don't matter none if he don't come back." He spit hard at the ground and walked off.
"Man's gotta make decisions," River murmured as she watched him walk deeper into the brush. She could feel her brother literally radiate anxiety at her; his thoughts burned her forehead, and she shook her head, moving away from him. "New woman's gotta make decisions too. I got skills. It's no good to keep me trapped in your worry world. I'm tired of it, Simon." She frowned gently at him. It would be bad to leave him angry. It would eat at his gut. She would feel it. So she ran up and kissed his cheek; then jumped away before he could get a proper hold on her.
"Put your boots on, Mei-Mei," he called desperately after her as she disappeared up the ramp.
The earsplitting scowl of poor Reaver ship maintenance shook the sky by the time that Zoe and Mal emerged from the ship, loaded down with killing supplies. River trotted after them still in her slip of a dress, nothing more than a hunting knife strapped to her thigh, but dutifully wearing the heavy boots Kaylee gifted her with on Victory day when they stopped on Raisa world some months back. Mal looked up once hoping to catch Inara's eyes, but she was turned away from them, an elegant hand wiping furiously at her face. Mal turned back to the task at hand, going over the edge after Zoe. River waved at Simon and Kaylee as if she was off to a day shopping windows, and leaped over the edge after them. Behind them, Jayne went off on another imaginative curse rant, but no one paid him no mind.
Kaylee shivered when the wind picked up, and Simon came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her middle. He rocked her gently to and fro. Inara's face had turned to stone as she stood beside them watching the captain and crew scramble down to the bottom of the bluff. The ugly Reaver ship was dropping without preamble onto the village; its shadow blanketing the ground like evil itself. The ship hovered while ropes appeared out of portals and man-beasts shimmied down them, their weapons sticking out at angles. The screaming started almost immediately. Folks hadn't had time to gather much. Most were still in homes, stubborn as to giving up things they sweat so hard to get.
Kaylee turned and buried her face in Simon's chest. Protectively, he put his hands over her ears. A shadow fell alongside Inara, and she knew only one man capable of a shade that big. His breathing beside her was hot and tortured as if he himself had spent the last five minutes negotiating the scramble down the bluff. He made noises through his teeth, but she wouldn't look at him. She knew he was struggling and she was glad for it.
They were a distance, and Jayne produced binoculars from a pocket in his fatigues. He growled into the distance. Inara was tempted to ask for information, but she wasn't about to show him any sense of community. She could see Mal and Zoe plastered against a building. River was no where in sight. Zoe lobbed an object in the air, and it dropped in a group of Reavers. The explosion made Inara startle and she swallowed hard as a cloud of dust rose. When it cleared she could see a mass of bodies; some lying still and some struggling to pull themselves up again. She couldn't see Mal for a moment, but then he appeared as if by magic in the middle of the bodies, a glint of steel visible in his hands before he plunged it into Reavers still stunned by the blast.
Jayne growled and Inara could imagine the hint of a grin tugging at his mouth. Zoe was at the next house, setting up her big gun. She adjusted a couple times, and then shot repeatedly into the belly of the Reaver ship above. After a moment, smoke billowed out of the bottom of the ship, and it shuddered some before tilting and moving out of the valley, disappearing behind the hills beyond. Inara looked at Jayne, unable to contain her confusion. He looked down at her. "She burned through the heat shield. Probably got at the radiation coils some." He squinted in Kaylee's direction. "How long before that bird's in the air again?"
She blinked and pulled her head away from Simon's chest. "Gonna take at least twenty-thirty minutes before they can repair that heat shield."
"Bird's down," he muttered under his breath. Inara could sense his body tense next to hers. She waited for whatever eruption was brewing in the big man. Suddenly his calloused hand wrapped around her arm, and he took off for the ship, pulling her along behind. She squealed in surprise, and Simon and Kaylee ran after them. He dragged her up the ramp and pushed her against a bulkhead as he turned to face Simon and Kaylee, his trusty Vera nodding at them. "Don't go near that ramp, dong ma?"
"What are you doing, you fool?" Simon sputtered, his arms wide.
"Not taking the ship, Jayne." He nodded at the conviction in Kaylee's voice. She was starting to sound like more than just a flighty sparrow. It wore well on her.
"Not trying, lil Kaylee. You and doc need to stay off ship for a time. Got no time to explain." He hit the cargo door release and the doors slowly shut. He turned to Inara and took her arm again. "We're going to your shuttle."
She struggled against him, and he saw no other choice than to throw her over his shoulder and climb steps while she beat desperately at his back. In her shuttle, he dropped her on the rich velvet bed he'd dreamt about at times when they was weeks between whorehouses. She lay sprawled on the bed and glared up at him. "What could you be thinking? It's a federal crime to assault a companion. Alliance will lock you up for the rest of your sorry life if you so much as—"
He threw back his head and laughed. Then he shook his head at her. "Not interested in that fancy skin o' yours, 'Nara. Save it for those prissy officials you're so busy sexin' up ever' time you drop dirtside. Not interested in trim cold as a side of locker meat. I like a warm, willin' body for sexin'."
She screwed up her face.
He turned and headed for her cockpit. "Get this thing lit up."
"What is going on?" She scrambled off the bed.
He turned to her. "The Reaver bird's down. Got to get this shuttle in the air. Need you to drop me down there before the bird flies again."
"What!"
"Iffn' I jump the bluff like they did, I got no cover. I need strategic ground. They got a shuttle pad on the clinic center of town. Drop me there."
"You! You want to help?"
He growled at her. "You gonna do it or not. It's better for them if I got good ground. I can help 'em."
"I don't understand why."
He winced at her. "Well, don't bust a vein trying to sense it out. We got no time for puzzling on things. You gonna' do it?"
She nodded.
"I got to grab supplies." He turned without another word and headed out the door. She started throwing switches, cutting out half of her start up checklist. He appeared a scarce few minutes later loaded down with more armament than she knew existed on the ship.
He dropped down in the seat next to her and closed his eyes. He only had a couple of minutes before he was getting dropped into the sphincter of hell and it helped if he had time to organize his thoughts.
She eased the shuttle off and then up, giving one glance his direction. "I still don't understand—"
One eye popped open and he sneered at her. "'Cause I ain't a man like this. Didn't realize it would burn so."
"There's no profit in it, Jayne." She couldn't help herself. It was obvious, but she was still perplexed by his decision.
"Gorram it, Woman! I know that. Trying to turn me moonbrain crazy with all yer dumb questions, ain't ya?"
She quieted, but there was no more time to rest his eyes. He leaned forward, hard blue eyes intent on the village below. "Don't land. Don't want those Hundans gettin' shots off at your boat. Get me close and I'll throw a rope."
He glanced at her and she nodded.
"'Nother thing; you head off to the west and bank behind those hills. Skim the valley on the other side 'til you reach Serenity again. Don't need no one seeing where yer landing."
Her eyes widened slightly as she realized she never thought to be careful about exposing Serenity's position.
He caught the look on her face and chuckled. "You got your specialities and I got mine. Companions got no call for battle thinking."
A small smile curled the edges of her mouth. "You'd be surprised, Jayne."
He raised an eyebrow at her as he got up and headed for the back. "Don't even want to know what that means."
She settled over the clinic roof and tried to steady the craft. His rough voice sounded from the back. "Don't come down right away after they leave. Give it a couple of hours. They like to retreat and then see what folks start movin' around. Then they drop down again. Just need a couple of hours though. Reavers ain't patient long and folks is going to need the doc."
She wanted to respond, say something useful, maybe even wish him luck, but the sharp groan of metal told her that he'd already opened up her cargo hatch. "Keep it steady, 'Nara," she heard as the small craft rocked when he pushed off the edge, swinging down on a rope. She forced her eyes forward, ignoring the screams and chaos below. She had to stay steady over the clinic roof, get him close enough so that he didn't hurt himself when he jumped. She was hovering close, and sounds of screams sounded through the open hatch. Shivers ran down her spine and the metallic taste of blood seeped from the spot where her teeth gnawed on her lower lip. The next moment the little shuttle rocked again from the lost weight on its line, and Inara knew he was gone. She slammed her hand down on the hatch close and pointed the shuttle at the sky.
He sank to his knees when he dropped, careful to fold into the fall, and rolled across the flat roof. Weapons dug into his body as he rolled but he didn't worry. Jayne knew guns, and every safety on every piece was in place. For a moment, he just lay there and looked up as the shuttle shot upward and looped around to the west. He gave a grunt of satisfaction and scrambled to his feet. There was a door on the roof, but it was locked. Screams came from his left and he trotted over to peer over the edge. Waves rose up from his gut as he spied on Reavers preying on a woman. He hefted Vera to his shoulder and lit into their midst. He knew he was probably hitting the poor woman too, but he couldn't see a better outcome. Dust cleared and three Reavers lay sprawled over her still body. Recognizing the power of his new position, he ran along the edge of the roof looking for more Reavers to gun. They'd be on him quick as spit once they realized where he was gunning from, but he was going to take out a bushel of them in the process. He spotted Mal when he peered over the South end. He was holed up behind a wrecked mule holding off a group of Reavers trying to take a home. He was alone and Jayne's gut waves grew. A piece of Reaver spear stuck out of his leg at a bad angle, and he knew Mal was holed up 'cause he had no choice. Jayne got a bead on the group of baddies hassling Mal, and filled them with good ol' Rim lead. Behind him he could hear beating on the rooftop door, and he figured they'd be spilling onto the roof in seconds.
Mal caught sense of the fact that his Reavers were dying on him without his intervention, and he scanned the rooftops. His big merc loomed over a roof about 100 yards yonder, and Mal shook his head, a grin spreading across his face.
Jayne saw this but had no time for niceties. The roof door blew open and he lobbed a grenade into their midst. Explosion was loud, and Jayne ended up on his ass, Reaver parts hanging off him. He growled and swept burnt flesh off him, scrambling to his feet. He had only a few moments before the next wave would come. Looking over the edge of the roof, he spotted a balcony a couple of floors down. Jayne wasn't ever going to go bragging about the fact that he was afeared of heights. It was best left a secret, even better when it was a secret he kept from himself. He shook his head hard before he could let the fear take hold. Instead, he grabbed a pipe and swung himself over the edge. Hanging there, he was still about ten feet away from anything solid, but it couldn't be helped and so he dropped. His knee erupted sharply as he landed hard, and he set off a string of curses so new they'd never met breath before. He hauled himself up to the railing. He knew there was no resting here. Reavers would see him from the roof and spear him up good. The next drop was pure ground and no further than the last one. Ignoring his wailing knee, he swung himself over the side and landed in dirt. He rolled against the building so they couldn't get a good spear in him. Mal was a straight shot from where he was, and so he pulled himself to his feet. The knee was in agony, but it didn't fold up on him so he grunted hard and made a run for the next building. Sweat was pouring down his face, and he hadn't yet made fifty yards.
Mal swung his weapon in Jayne's direction, and started throwing fire at the Reavers chucking spears from the clinic rooftop. Jayne forgot careful, and made a beeline for Mal's position, his captain yelling curses at his thoughtlessness. To their surprise, Jayne made it to the wrecked mule in one piece.
"Dumb as a bowl of oatmeal you are! Yu bun duh! Yu bun dah! Yu bun dah!" Mal shouted as Jayne heaved himself down beside him against the mule. Jayne didn't more than grunt back at him. He pulled himself up to a sitting position and studied the spear sticking out of the captain's thigh.
Jayne ignored his rant; always the best thing to do around Mal. "I'm going to get that stick outa ya'."
"Fat lot of good it'll do me," Mal said, grabbing onto an exhaust pipe. He knew that when Jayne got an idea, he wasn't likely to ponder on it much.
Sure as shit, the man wrapped a big paw around the spear and pulled it out in one try. Mal stopped noticing before the tip hit air. He woke up a few moments later to find his merc tying up his thigh with a t-shirt.
Mal looked at his bare-chested merc and shook his head. "T-shirts got your germs. Bound to kill any Reaver poison might be oozing in."
Jayne smiled. He started pulling grenades out of various pockets in his fatigues. "How'd you lose the womenfolk so fast?"
Mal shrugged. "I got hit, and didn't call for them. Thought it was better. Now we're all separated, and that ain't good."
Jayne growled. "Separatin's not good. Reavers want that."
"I just said that."
"You're not going anywhere on that bad wheel."
"Another brilliant assessment, my dear Cobb."
"I ain't your dear nothing, Mal. Get them sly thoughts outa' your head."
Mal chuckled. "I thought you wasn't dyin' for no dirt farmers."
Jayne furrowed his brow. "I'm here for crew. I can't be scheming about the 'verse with lil' Kaylee and Prissy Pants. They don't know nothing about good thieving. Them farmers is incidentals."
Mal nodded. "My mistake. We're in a pickle, Jayne. No doubt about it."
"Yeah," Jayne leaned against the mule, his brows dark and brooding. "Let's skip to the 'this is what we're going to do about it' part of this conversation."
"I ain't moving right now. Leg's not working. I need you to find our females. Bring 'em back iffn' practical. We'll regroup."
"Not leavin' ya', Mal. Bad idea."
Mal pushed him. "Big ol' soft teddy bear you are. Ni men dou! Stop thinking like a schoolgirl and do the smart thing."
Jayne ignored his shove. "Book said to do the right thing."
Mal nodded. "Then get our womenfolk back. Ain't nothing righter than that."
Jayne sighed and counted out his grenades. "I'm leavin' three for ya'. Be sparin' with 'em. Usually, ya' act like we got nothing but. Be frugal this time."
Mal didn't mount any protests. Jayne was sentimental about weapons. Didn't truck no misuse of a good killin' tool.
"You got ammo?" He growled, pulling at Mal's weapon over to him to check for himself. He frowned into the barrel. Then he pulled a magazine off his shoulder and gave it to Mal. "Point me in a direction."
Mal did, and was surprised at the pain on Jayne's face when he stood. Jayne nodded and pointed at his knee. "Popped after the first drop off the roof."
"You can move around still?"
Jayne shrugged. "Holds my weight. Worry about it more later."
He didn't give Mal another look. Crouching for cover and 'cause of the pain, he headed around the corner of the building. Mal sighed and leaned back against the mule. He looked down at the grenades and started planning schemes for them.
Jayne got no resistance the first two buildings. By the third building, he knew why. Zoe and River were trapped in the town square, hiding behind some statue of an Alliance Hundun while Reavers tightened a circle around them.
Jayne found a perch on top of an old wagon and pointed Vera at the largest group of Reavers. He punched a hole through 'em, scattering the rest to the sides of buildings and under carts. Jayne smiled. This was Reaver hunting at its best. He'd just point at a dirty Reaver crouching somewhere and pick him off. Satisfaction never came sweeter than moments like this.
The 'new woman' girl spotted him and pointed. Zoe looked nine shades of relieved. She shouted at River, and then stood up to throw covering fire as little Crazy sprinted across the square and scrambled up to his position. Lil' Crazy wrapped her thin arms around his middle and squeezed. Jayne had no notion as to how to respond to such a gesture so he kept concentrating on target shooting.
"We got tired, we did. I liked killing 'em better in a small place. Here I got too much to figure out." She whispered into his skin. Still wrapped around his waist, he could feel a trembling running through her arms. She was overwhelmed; he could feel it. Happened to the best of fighters. They got too many sensations coming at them, and things just scrambled up in the head.
He closed his eyes for a moment and tried to pretend she was a little sister. Relying on those instincts, he wrapped a big arm around her back and pulled her in tighter. "Ya' just need a minute to breathe is all. Happens to all of us. Just close your eyes for a few moments. I got ya'. Ain't going to let nothing happen to ya'."
It was in that moment that he caught the whir of a spear out of the corner of his eye, and then it was in Zoe. She was staggering one direction and then another, the big long pole drilled into her upper chest. Jayne caught his breath, and turned his attention to the Reaver throwing. He cut him down in a heartbeat. Then he rubbed River's back. "Listen up, New Woman River Girl. Reaver just stuck Zoe. We got to move. We're working together now. Dong ma? You watch my back and I'll watch yours." She lifted her head and nodded, following him off the top of the wagon. The knee was growing like a fire out of control. He swallowed hard, trying to hide the agony from the girl.
She turned out a natural at this work. She was kickin' at Reavers he never saw while he was pickin' off others crouching in the shadows. It was short work getting to Zoe who was laying on the ground, breathing way too heavy for Jayne's comfort. He passed off Vera to River and told her to keep up a steady cover. Then he knelt next to Zoe. "I gotta pull it out."
She nodded. "You find the captain?"
"Yup. He's holdin' court about three buildings back."
"He hurt bad?"
"Right now, you got first dibs on the sick bay. Doc's gonna' have a fit when he sees you."
"I'm okay with this." She looked away from him. "Get back to the captain."
He placed a hand solid around her collarbone and held the spear tight with the other. Without a word of warning, he pulled it out. It came out easier than Mal's. It was clear that it hadn't come out the back. He'd take any good news he could get.
She wailed hard, but she didn't pass out as he ripped cloth off her pants and stuffed it in the hole. Finally she turned toward him with wet eyes. "I don't mind going, Jayne. Life ain't felt like much since Wash left."
He scowled at her. "Don't want to hear talk like that. Wash don't want to hear it neither. Especially now that's it more than just you for makin' decisions."
She frowned at him.
"Ya' really going to just ignore the signs, ain't ya? Going to just pretend you don't got seed growin' in you."
She looked at him, eyes wide. "You don't know."
"It ain't no secret. You're beginning to show the signs. Your hormones are scentin' up everywhere you go."
She didn't say anything, her breathe growing shallow in her chest.
"What says Wash ain't watching both of us right now? What would he think? He'd want to see this baby live."
"You never liked Wash."
"He never knew how to share those damn dinosaurs, was his problem. Acted like they was museum pieces or something."
Zoe found the hint of grin playing on her lips.
"Up and at 'em, Zoe. You don't want Mal finding out you're some kind of loafer, do ya?"
She groaned as he pulled her to a sitting position and propped her against the statue. He pressed her weapon back into her hands. She leaned into the bronze and attempted to steady herself.
Jayne stood up. "I gotta go talk to that new woman moonbrain of a ruttin' girl person."
He found her twenty yards away, poaching a group of Reavers huddled in a doorway. He yelled at her to pull back. She flashed him a look. Took one more shot and scurried back to him.
"Hear me, Girl ruttin' Woman! You don't go prancing around in the middle of a battle. They want to get us all separated so's they can corner us. Dong ma?"
She nodded. "Zoe's okay?"
"Zoe's hurt bad. This is turning out to be one helluva bad day. Ta ma duh!"
She looked down.
"Plus, I got no good plan. Just know that we're starting to weed 'em out pretty good. They ain't in big packs anymore."
She cocked her head at him.
"My only idea is this: I stay here with Zoe. Gonna get her up to that house against the bluff. It gives me good position. You go down and cover Mal. Maybe we can fight our way back 'til we're all joined again."
She frowned. "You said, 'no separating'."
He kicked at the dirt and scowled at her. "Don't question your elders, Girl Woman."
"What to call me is always a puzzle for you despite the fact that I have a name that rolls off the tongue. Rrrriverrrrrr."
He rolled his eyes. "Stop distractin' me from the debacle at hand. It's the only plan I got."
She narrowed her eyes for a moment. "There is logic here. We protect our assets. Reavers will get tired after awhile. Ain't no fun to rape and kill when you're getting picked off left and right."
"That's what I was telling you, ruttin' New Crazy Fei Fei of a Girl." He threw up his hands at the look on her face. "What! I got all these name choices. You can't narrow them down some?"
She placed hands on hips, eyes narrowed. "We will talk about this later."
She handed Vera back to him, but he stepped back a little as if it was hot to the touch. "Keep it. You need a weapon. Yer doin' good with her. I was watchin' ya'."
She frowned at him again. "I don't understand this new Jayne you have become."
"I ain't become no new nothing. It's in my best interest to keep you safe. You got good moves with them Reavers. 'Sides, I got other weapons."
She pulled Vera back into her chest and smiled. "Thanks New Jayne."
He pawed the air in frustration. "Aw, get outa here already."
She looked at him once more, but he frowned deeply at her so she didn't say anything. Just perched Vera over her shoulder and headed in the direction of Mal. He watched her for a moment, standing straight up like a crazy fool, lucky as all hell that Reaver activity was down for the moment. Then he liberated Ellie Mae from around his ankle and headed back to Zoe.
He got her to her feet and convinced her to wrap her arms around his neck even though he wasn't sure there was still part of her listening. He started walking backwards, Ellie Mae scanning the town square for prey. Zoe dragged more than walked so he had to hold her tight with one arm.
He was only yards from the house on the bluff when the spear hit low in his back. His cry was strangled by the pain shooting up his spine. He dropped Zoe and reached around, dragging it out of his kidney before he had a chance to think twice. He was on the ground now, pulling Zoe by the arm, inching his way to the door of the house, shouting painful curses into the air. Ellie Mae searched wildly for the perpetrator, and he finally saw a pack of four of them, bloody and drooling, heading at him with spears drawn. Ellie Mae erupted into their mix, and one fell backwards, spear bouncing as it hit the ground. The others scattered for cover.
He reached the door, and found a dead little girl lying across the stoop; skirt pulled over her head. "Wuh de tyen, ah," was all he could manage. He pushed her inside the door, pulling Zoe in with him. He shut the door hard and leaned against the wall, breathe chugging out of him hard and painful. He looked around the room and cursed hard at what he saw. Windows were small and the room dark. Best thing for a house on a hot planet; bad thing for a merc trying to see 'em before they were on top of 'em. He felt a line in the floor and his breath caught. Some folks put Reaver cellars in the house; trapdoors carved into the floor, almost seamless. Reavers wasn't careful demons. They didn't look for cracks and such.
He hauled back and searched for the pull. For a moment, nothing; then a piece of wood popped up and he pulled. The sound of wood wasn't what got him. It was the squeals of womenfolk below. Folks was alive down there. Someone pointed a gun up the hole and he grabbed the barrel testily and pulled. Gun flew out of the hold, and he placed it behind him. Then he leaned over and shouted, "Ain't anyone got any sense down there?"
The red eyes of a young woman appeared. "Yer not a Reaver."
"Starting to feel like one, ta ma duh! Ya' got room down there?"
"It's tight. There's six of us."
He took a deep breath. Cellar weren't going to save any of them from Reavers. They saw him go in the house. Wasn't going to stop 'til they found him. "Make room for one more."
Girl nodded reluctantly, and without another word, he began feeding Zoe into the hole. Then he peered in. "Don't come out for nothing. Dong ma? People's who made it to the woods will come for you in a few hours. Sit tight." He set the door back in place, and dragged the poor dead child over the seams.
The room was no good for fighting. He couldn't see one go se of a thing. He also hated the idea of Reavers trapping around in here on top of the womenfolk. Someone was bound to start noisin'. It was true they was a confusing lot, but he didn't hold nothing against 'em. 'Sides they was caring for Zoe now.
He crawled to the front door and pulled it open, and dragged himself out to the stoop. He pulled the door shut and leaned heavy against it. He was hoping to lure the Hundans away, but he could feel that he weren't up to getting on his feet again. It was a last stand; no doubt about it. Always thought he would feel more morose like about it, but he didn't feel nothing but tired. He cocked Ellie Mae and scanned in all directions. It was silent, but he knew they was hovering. Spears weren't coming at him though, and he knew what that meant. They wanted him alive and squirming when they took him. They loved good, fresh, screaming meat. He thought about putting Ellie Mae in his mouth, but he felt no urge for it. If they was going to take him, he was going to make it the sorriest experience they ever had.
A noise from his left had him jerking that direction. Then a big one hit him from the right. Ellie Mae was no good now, but instinct put his hand on a blade tied to his thigh. He stuck the Reaver hard just as the demon was sinking teeth into his shoulder.
The other two were there, and Jayne felt himself being dragged off the stoop. There was nothing but animal left in him now. He screamed and spit and kicked and pounded every surface he could find. It weren't going to be enough. He knew it, felt it in his gut, but he weren't going easy; not ol' Jayne Cobb.
TBC
Translations
Wah de tyen, ah - Dear God in heaven!
Hundan Bastard or Jerk
Fei Fei Baboon
Ta muh dah Fuck me blind!
Go se Crap or shit
Ni men dou idiot
Dong ma understand
Yu bun duh Stupid