In Space, No One Knows You're an Alien
Chapter 1
Out in the Black, 2517
"This here's the Common Room," Kaylee Frye was giving the new hire a tour of Serenity before showing him his new quarters.
Drew Todd took in the Common Room with the sofas, chairs, and tables, nodded seemingly to himself.
Todd was tall, every bit as tall as Jayne Cobb had been; and that brought all the grief back in full force.
Jayne had died less than a month ago-deal with Patience gone bad, real bad-and the crew was still dealin' with the fallout from that.
But Mal had almost immediately gone out in search of another merc to take Jayne's place; and here Drew Todd was.
Although practically the exact same height as Jayne, Todd was of a rather more slender build; lean rather than burly.
Todd was also a man of few words, it seemed; not forthcoming about his origins, where he was born, that sort of thing.
"We all eat together, like family, too," Kaylee continued. "We all take turns cooking, and doin' chores too. You do any cookin'?"
"No," Todd shook his head. "That's not an area I have any…expertise in."
"Okay," Kaylee put that behind her. "Let's get you down to your quarters."
So, she led him down a series of short halls, and a ladder or two, and there they were.
The room was plain, the bed a single. But Todd didn't seem all that put out.
"You okay with this?" she looked up at him.
HR
Dru Zod looked down at Kaylee Frye. There was so much that he was not okay with. But this room? He had no problem with that at all.
What would Jor El think if he saw me now?
Wherever Jor El was, he was likely too busy trying to build New Krypton, or-if his luck was bad, still trying to find an acceptable planet for his fleet of refugees; if the escaping fleet hadn't met with some sort of unforeseen disaster…
He certainly won't have any time to look for me; if he's still alive, that is…
So, it was down to surviving around these people, keeping his not-human nature hidden, and making sure those infernal blue-gloved bastards never located him again.
Maybe I killed enough of them the last time…
So hiding was key. But it was also extremely difficult.
If Captain Malcolm Reynolds learned "Drew Todd" could fly, shoot lasers out of his eyes, was so much stronger that anyone else in the 'verse…
It wouldn't be good…
Zod liked the Captain; up to a point, at least.
On Krypton-that-was, Zod had both served under, and commanded men just like Reynolds; stern, prickly, but with a grave regard for the people who served under them.
It was the Second, however, who commanded Zod's respect. Zoe Washburne reminded him of Faora Ul in so many ways; stern, pragmatic, capable, and utterly loyal to her Commanding Officer.
And married to the pilot, Hobart Washburne…
"Wash", as everyone called him, was unlike anyone Zod had ever known; with his zany sense of humor, and his…dinosaurs.
"Um…" Kaylee commanded his attention. "I'll let you get settled in, Drew. We eat at 1800, so see you then?"
"Yes," Zod nodded. "Thank you…Kaylee."
When she was gone, Zod dropped his bag onto the bed, sat down with a sigh.
If I had known what my fate would be, I might not have had the courage Jor El when he asked me to help him steal those ships…
But he had, and because of that, even though Krypton was destroyed, his people still lived.
Somewhere out in this galaxy, or maybe the next galaxy over.
But, barring a miracle, Zod would never find them, and they would never find him.
So, this must be my home from henceforth.
If only he could convince his soul to accept this part of the 'verse as home…