Firefly and the Raven
A Firefly/Highlander: The Raven Crossover Fanfiction
written by Mel Walker
I do not own any of the characters or situations from either Firefly or Highlander: the Raven.
Mal picked up both drinks, and walked through the crowd back to his table to wait for his contact. He set his glass down, then made a show of wiping the table before depositing the other in front of his friend.
"Thank you, captain," she said, picking up the glass. "It's always nice to see a man show proper concern for the woman he's escorting to such a fine establishment."
"Hey, Inara, you asked to come along," said Mal. "Frankly speakin', after the last place I took you to, I'm surprised you asked."
Inara smiled at the memory. "Promise me you won't ruin such a beautiful day by trying to teach some slavers a lesson. You don't need to show off for me."
Mal sputtered. "Show off for you? Inara..."
She toasted him with her glass, winked, and sipped the contents gingerly. As much as she was enjoying teasing the captain, she wasn't entirely sure how the drinks were fermented on this moon. To her surprise, the wine tasted good.
"What is this? It's actually quite palatable," she said.
Mal took a drink before answering. "I'm not exactly sure you'd like to know."
"How bad could it be? It's not like it's made out of..."
He cut her off. "Grapes."
She stared at him. "Just grapes?"
Mal swirled his glass. "Well, yes, and no," he said, clearly enjoying the suspense. "Grapes, and a fungus, of sorts."
She gulped down her last sip. "Fungus?" she asked, hesitantly.
"Sort of," he answered, smiling widely. "You see, they let the grapes stay on the vine for a long time, and then a growth that's local to this moon starts attacking the fruit. They pick them when they're nice and furry, and then..."
"Stop!" she said, putting her drink down. "I don't want to know any more."
He grinned, and took a swallow of his. "I'm surprised at you, Inara," he chastised her. "I would never of thought that a sophisticated and, need I say, 'high-priced'..."
"No," said Inara.
Mal continued, "...lady like yourself, who moves in such exclusive circles, would turn down such a rare culinary experience." He drained his glass, just for good measure. Putting his empty glass down, he twisted the knife. "Besides, you said it was good."
Inara put a wicked smile on her face. She drained her glass in one long swallow, and gently set it back down on the table.
"'Palatable'," she told him, "is what I actually said."
He laughed. "We'll make a petty thief of you yet."
Inara's smile faded. "I haven't decided yet, Mal."
His face had grown serious, as well. "I know, Inara." He looked away.
"Mal, I'm sorry, I just..."
"Are you Malcolm Reynolds?" A voice interrupted her. She looked up and saw the voice was attached to a rough-looking man.
"Could be," said Mal. "Depends on who's asking."
"Badger wants to talk to you," was the response.
"Badger's on Persephone," said Mal. "You ain't him. I don't want to call him, and I'm certainly not going to visit him any time soon."
"There's 30 platinum in it if you go to Persephone to speak with him."
Mal blinked. "Why does he want to see me that bad?"
The man said nothing.
Inara whispered urgently. "Mal, don't do it," she said. "What if it's another trap, like with Atherton?"
The man dropped a bag on the table. It clinked.
"What's that?" asked Mal.
"Half up front," said the man, "if you go to Persephone to talk with Badger, and leave within the hour."
Mal stood up, grabbing the bag. "Lucky for us, we were just finishing our drinks," he said. "Inara?"
Inara stood, and followed him. She caught up to him as he walked out the door. She grabbed his arm.
"Mal..." she began.
He leaned close and spoke to her in a low, urgent, tone. "Inara," he said, "we need this. If it's a trap, we'll do our level best to see it coming. If it's not, talking to Badger won't do any harm that a good bath won't cure. We need the coin. This is what we do, Inara, and you know that."
"Mal," she began, and stopped. She started again. "Mal..."
"I know my name, Inara," he said.
She gave him a dirty look while she tried to think of something to say. The only thing she could come up with was, "just don't do anything stupid."
Mal smiled at her, and she couldn't help but smile back. "I never try to," he said, and started walking again.
"I know," she said, walking beside him. She smiled her wicked smile again. "Maybe you should let Zoe plan this one, just this one time."
"You wound me," he said. "And to think, I was gonna buy you a bottle of that excellent liquor for your birthday." He strode off.
"I can't wait," she muttered, and followed.
"Kaylee!" yelled Mal, as he and Inara marched up the boarding ramp and on to the ship.
"Yes, Captain?" she said, poking her heard out of the engine room. He saw one bare shoulder, and quickly averted his eyes.
"You and Simon stop… whatever it is… you're doing, and get the ship ready for launch," he ordered, as Inara softly laughed at his discomfort. Mal decided to attack the problem head-on, maybe tweaking Inara in the processes.
"You know, Kaylee, sex is all well and good, I suppose, although, admittedly, that's more Inara's specialty than mine..." He felt Inara's scowl more than he actually saw it. Serves her right for laughing, he thought.
"...But when you're supposed to be watching the ship, you WATCH THE SHIP!"
"I'm sorry, Captain," said Simon, pulling his shirt down over his chest. He walked out into the cargo bay. "You're right; it was inappropriate."
"When is anything appropriate?" muttered Kaylee from behind the door.
Simon glanced at her, looking apologetic, but continued, "It won't happen again."
"Better not," said Mal.
"I would have heard anyone coming," said River's voice, from the catwalk above.
Mal looked up at her. "I know, little albatross, but tain't your job to watch the ship when I give the job to someone else. You go and..."
River interrupted him. "Doing the preflight, yes, Captain!" She ran off to the bow.
Mal looked over at Inara, a little taken aback. "I know that saves time, but it's still more than a little strange."
"I think you're stuck with it," said Inara, gently laying a hand on his arm.
"She a good co-pilot, you know," he told her. "Not in Wash's league, of course..." He trailed off, and looked away.
"No one is," said Inara, squeezing his arm, then pulling her hand away.
"Doc, not that you'd probably know, but are Zoe and Jayne back yet?" asked Mal.
"No," said Simon. "I'm pretty sure we would've heard Jayne bellowing." They all heard engine noise coming down the row of ships. "Maybe that's them now."
It was. Zoe was driving the flying mule while Jayne rode shotgun. They pulled into the cargo bay, loaded down with supplies. Mal walked over to Zoe's side.
"How did it go?" he asked.
"We had to spend a bit more than we would've liked for the vitamins the Doc says we need," said Zoe. "Other than that, it went okay."
Mal looked accusingly at Simon, who shrugged and said, "Next time, buy a ship with a modern protein processor. We need these for those longer, more round-about trips you insist on taking."
Mal shrugged back at him. The Doc fixed them up, and he'd brought them one big score, that was true. "You're the doc, Doc," he said. "Now, let's get this ship off the ground!"
Zoe smiled. "Did we get a job, sir?" she asked. Mal tossed the bag of coins at her. "Who paid us in advance?"
"Badger," said Mal.
Zoe narrowed her eyes. "Must be a trap, then," she said.
"Thank you!" said Inara, finally getting the support she thought she deserved.
"It may be, later on," said Mal, "but I think this first part is on the up-and-up. 'Sides, it won't take long to get to Persephone, and earn the other half to that." He pointed at the money bag.
"I don't like it, sir," said Zoe. She turned and walked away.
"But, you got a plan, right, captain?" asked Kaylee.
"I hope not," muttered Inara. Mal looked at her. She smiled sweetly back at him.
"We'll go in with our eyes open," said Mal. "That's about all we can do."
"There's no way in hell it's Badger that wantin' us for the job," said Jayne. "He'd never pay us that much just for showin' up."
"It is a conundrum, as Badger his-self might say," said Mal. "The sooner we leave, the sooner we unravel this little mystery."
He walked to the bridge, to find River sitting in the co-pilot seat.
"Ready for space, Captain, sir," she said.
Mal smiled, and sat down. "At least one my crew is showing a bit of respect for this trip," he said.
"I already know you know it's a trap," said River.
"Oh, not you, too!" he cried, as the ship rose from the ground.
"I'll see it coming," she said. "I'll protect my captain." She smiled at him.
Mal smiled back. "Do you think Simon would agree to you coming with me to see Badger?"
She smiled at him. "No," she said. "But he might surprise us both."
"Even you?" he asked.
"It's possible," she said. She turned to smile at him. "I do sleep occasionally."
Mal laughed. They sat in silence as Serenity rose into the black. He let River plot a course, approved it, and they boosted for Persephone.
"I'll take the bridge, captain, if you want," said River.
"You have it," he said. With a last look at Wash's plastic dinosaurs, he walked down the corridor to his cabin.
The flight to Persephone went as quickly as it usually did, although Serenity's captain had occasion to wish it would've gone quicker. Between Inara's hints that it was likely a trap, and his stumbling over Kaylee and Simon in yet another embarrassing position, he was feeling more than a bit anxious to see Badger.
After he realized he was anticipating that, he began retreating to his cabin as often as possible. At least it would all be over soon.
"Coming up on Persephone, Captain!" sang out River over the intercom.
He walked over and hit the talk button. "I'll be right up. Take us down."
"Aye, aye, captain!" came the response.
Mal got himself properly dressed as he imagined a free-lance trading captain should be, and climbed up the ladder. He found Zoe and River on the bridge.
"How's the re-entry?" he asked.
"Smooth as silk," said Zoe. "Almost like..." she trailed off.
Mal hesitated. He knew that offering comfort wasn't his strong suit, so he took at different direction.
"Zoe," he said, "I want you to come to Badger's with me."
"Yes, sir," she said, pulling herself into her almost-attention pose. "You want me to get Jayne, too?"
"No," said Mal, "I'm leaving him in charge. Odds are we won't be needing him."
"You should take River," said Simon, coming on to the bridge.
"Wha-huh?" said Mal, taken off guard. He shook his head to clear it, and started again. "Doctor, to be perfectly honest, I'd anticipated more of an argument, and less of you suggesting this off the bat."
"Jayne told me how she helped with that job before Miranda," he said, "before we left. Since this is undoubtedly a trap, she could spot it for you before you see it."
"I'll spot it, and Zoe can shoot it!" said River, with a quick glance over her shoulder.
"And what am I doing, during all this spotting and shooting? Don't I have a part to play?" asked Mal.
"Of course you do, sir," said Zoe.
Simon smirked. "Without you, there'd be no trap to fall into."
"You're our inspiration, sir," said Zoe with a wide smile.
At least she's in a good mood, thought Mal. "We all have our talents," he said. "River, when we land, get whatever you want to bring and meet us in the cargo bay."
"Aye, aye, captain, sir!" floated after him on the recirculated air.
Persephone was having one of its hot and muggy afternoons. It made the warren of shipping containers that was Badger's den particularly uninviting.
"Captain Reynolds!" said Badger, as they were shown into his office. "How are you on this fine day?"
"Anxious to get the other half of my money," said Mal, in no mood for small talk.
"My agent tells me you left Sonoma quickly enough," said Badger, setting a bag full of coins on his desk. "Still, I believe the agreement was you listen to what I have to say first."
"Is there enough money in the 'Verse for that?" asked River, in a cockney accent. She smiled at Badger.
"Yeah, now I remember you," said Badger. "I thought you was a passenger, love."
"She was; she's on the crew, now," said Mal.
"And what does a pretty thing like you do on the crew?" asked Badger, and laughed. His sycophantic henchmen quickly laughed, too.
"I kill things that Jayne can't," said River, quite seriously. Badger stopped laughing. "Oh, and I'm the co-pilot, too," she said, smiling.
"Heh," said Badger, unsure of what to make of her. "Nice girl you got there, Captain Reynolds. Should fit right in with that motley crew of yours."
"Small talk doesn't pay the bills," Mal reminded him.
"Right, right, to business, then," said Badger. "Got a job for you. The client requested you personally." He waggled his eyebrows at them.
"Who is it?" asked Zoe.
"Wouldn't tell me his name. At what he's paying me to find and hire you, I didn't ask." Badger turned around to get a sheet of paper of his desk. He handed it to Mal. "There's what you need."
Mal started reading. "Bellerophon?" asked Mal.
"That's what it says," said Badger. "Some rich idiot wants you to ferry some stuff for them. Pick it up on one of them anti-gravity islands of theirs, and take it to wherever they tell you. They provide the fuel for the trip. Payment on delivery."
"That's it?" asked Mal, reading the sheet.
"Nothing but," said Badger, picking up the coin purse. He tossed to River. "There ya go, love, nice bit of payday."
"And you don't know anything else," said Mal. "And, why would you? Upstanding citizen pillar-of-the-community type like you."
Badger smirked. "That stick up your pîgu; still in place, is it?" He went behind the desk. "As soon as you leave, I'll place a call. I'll say whether or not you took the job. Then I get paid, a bit more than you just did, I might add. That's the going rate for us pillar-of-the-community types, isn't it? My job is over, as soon as you say you'll take the job." He sat down, and smiled at them. "You'll take it, won't you?"
Mal showed the paper to Zoe. She stared. "That's the payment?"
"Yep," said Badger, smiling.
"This is a trap," said Mal.
"I wouldn't know," said Badger. "Someone wants to trap you, I suppose that's his business." He paused. "You've picked up more than a few enemies, Captain Reynolds, and those of us who escaped the little 'cleansing' of your contacts are more than hesitant to do business with you. Or, so I'm told." He smiled. "With the Core Worlds Parliament yelling about that Miranda flap, everything's in a royal mess. Nobody wants to touch a ship like yours, and I don't blame them. So, my advice to you is, if it is a trap, try to get their money before they trap you." He stared at each of them, looking just a bit angry. "Now, are you taking the job, or not?"
"We'll take it," said Mal. As there seemed to be nothing more to say, he turned on his heel and left. The two women followed.
"Good luck," said Badger, after they passed out of sight. He almost sounded like he meant it.