The shipyard on Greenleaf was full of activity. Ships were being repaired while some were looking their best to attract passengers. Amongst the hustle and bustle wandered three weary travelers; two women and a man. The older of the women, Ren, scoured the ships with her bright green eyes, searching for one in particular. The man, Willem, held on tightly to the younger girl's hand. She wasn't much younger, him being 23, a year younger than Ren, and her 18. The girl was his half sister, Shyla. He promised their mother he'd look after her. It was his stepfather who had asked, but he never cared much for him and even refused to use his surname when his mother and he married He'd taken her out into the black three years ago. It was supposed to be just him and Ren, but his parents insisted he take her too so she could experience the 'verse.
"Any sign of it, Ren?" Willem called to his friend who had rushed ahead of them a bit.
"Not yet.. But we will find it," she replied, turning around to face them for a moment while still walking.
"We've been looking for it for three years. Have you noticed that we're back on Greenleaf?… where we started!"
Willem was exhausted from their travels. He didn't particularly want to leave in the first place, but Ren was determined to go - alone or not. Their reason for leaving everything behind was to dig up the past. Ren wanted to find her father. She'd never seen him since her mother had met him while onboard the ship they were searching for. She'd left soon after.
"Is that… Is that the ship!?" Ren hollered back to them.
Before either could answer her she dashed off towards it.
Standing in front of the boat were two young women. One was tall and tanned with her hands on her hips, pushing back her brown coat to reveal a piece on either side. Her dark hair, which fell to below her shoulders, was tied up but her fringe was in her eyes a little. She was young but looked like she was in charge. Next to her was a shorter woman with much paler skin. She wore a short, soft grey dress which showed her slender legs. Her wavy, black hair was gently tousled and stretched almost halfway down her back. She looked startled when Ren appeared in front of them.
"Is this a Firefly class?" She said, panting after running almost the length of the shipyard.
"Sure is," the taller smiled proudly. "You lookin' to come aboard?"
"Might be.." Ren had caught her breath. "You got room for three?" She nodded to Willem and Shyla who were walking over to them.
"Long as you can pay your way, Serenity'll take you."
Ren's eyes lit up at the mention of the ship's name, Serenity. She collected herself, not wanting to scare them.
"Yes, we can pay." She extended her hand. "I'm Ren Émile. This is Willem Addison and Shyla North."
The tall woman shook her hand. "Great. Name's Hoban Washburne. I'm the Captain of this ship. This here's Alice. Best pilot in the skies."
The shorter brunette, Alice, smiled and welcomed them. "I'd offer to help with your bags but you don't appear to have much. Light travelers?" She eyed them cautiously.
Willem looked at the little bags they each carried. "Well, we had more... Been off world for 'bout three years now. A lot of what we had was traded so we can be standing here today."
"Oh." Alice opened her mouth as if to say something further but rushed back onto the ship, hearing someone call her.
"Well, folks. C'mon board." Hoban gestured for them to enter the cargo bay. "Some of ours are leaving the ship so there'll be a few rooms freed up." She glanced around and called over a girl when she spotted her. "Skye, could you come here a minute?"
Skye came bouncing over, her light brown hair fluttering. "Yep, Cap'n?"
"Could you show our new passengers the way to their rooms?"
"No problem!" She chirped. "This way."
She led them through the cargo bay to the common area.
"The rooms are just around there. They're being cleared out a bit at the moment, folks packin' up to leave." She went quiet, looking a bit sad before perking back up. "Oh, silly me! I'm Skye Tam." She grinned widely.
The four turned their heads when they heard a loud clang fall down the stairs beside the infirmary.
"Sorry!" A female voice called, followed by the thudding of heavy boots. Another young woman, bearing some resemblance to Skye, appeared at the bottom of the stairs. She ducked down to pick up the tool she'd dropped, her rich brown hair falling across her face. She wore blue overalls, the top part down and tied around her waist, and a pink vest. Both were smudged with grease.
"Sorry, it got away from me" she waved the metal tool in her hand. "See we got some new passengers." She wiped her left palm across her clothes before holding it out to greet them. "Lee Tam".
The Tam sisters were a bit peculiar. Skye seemed to have inherited her mother Kaylee's spirit but wished to follow in her father's footsteps and be a great doctor. Whereas Lee, the mechanic, was a bit more reserved.
Ren and Shyla introduced themselves, but Willem remained silent.
"Hi…" Willem managed after some time. He took her hand gently. "I'm Willem.. Addison."
Lee smiled back shyly, "Nice to meet you."
Skye stood next to the two, rolling her eyes and sighing dramatically. "If you're quite done Sissy, you gotta get the engine back in a good state. 'Spose to be pickin' up a new doc on Paquin."
"I'm on it, I'm on it..." She muttered as she headed back up the stairs.
When Lee was out of sight, Skye stuck out her tongue at her. She was the most child-like on board, even at age 19. She definitely took after her mother. "Sorry, but I gotta go take care a somethin'. Ya'll be alright by yourselves. Rooms'll be free for you soon." She gave a little wave as she headed back out to the cargohold, leaving them to relax in the common area.