Summary: The crew of Serenity think they've stumbled on the ultimate payday when they find a massive derelict ship drifting through the edges of known space. What they end up with is a damaged andriod, an injured marine, an orphaned young girl, and an emotionally scarred, yet determined, woman willing to do anything to protect them.
Disclaimer: Archer83; All characters and settings are the property of their respective owners.
Vergil; So please don't sue us! It's not like you'd get much anyway.
Authors Notes: This is just another one of those crazy ideas that popped in my head one night. Enjoy!
Chapter One: Adrift
They say you can't dream while you're in cryo. Whoever originally said that obviously didn't anticipate someone being under for decades, let alone centuries. One woman in particular could tell you differently, having already survived a decades long sleep once before. Flashes of her old crew, the daughter she never got to see grow up, and the one child she'd been able to save came and went. Then there were the other memories, the ones where her crew died one by one, and later, those who thought they could protect her. All of them had been viciously hunted down by a very hostile organism, the likes of which no one had ever encountered before. The woman continued to dream as the vessel that sustained her, and her three fellow survivors, drifted through the endless void of time and space.
It turned out it wasn't so endless and empty after all, when the vessel's sensors picked up something approaching.
Unknown vessel approaching.
Deactivating cryo stasis in pods 8, 9 , 10 and 11.
Warning. Unable to initiate.
Aborting cryo pod deactivation sequence.
Whether it was a computer malfunction or a hardware fault, the pods didn't open regardless. Whatever the ships sensors detected most likely saved the survivors' lives. The ship's life support had seriously degraded over the centuries, completely unmaintained as it was. Besides that, the cryo pods had been sealed for so long, the sheer physiological shock of such an incredibly long hypersleep might have killed them if they had been allowed to wake normally. Even if there hadn't been a malfunction, the cryo pods themselves had frozen over, making it impossible to open by hand. They would have to be torched open if anyone wished to rescue the long forgotten survivors.
For the crew of the ship that had docked with the derelict vessel, it was potentially the biggest payday of their lives. "Where ya suppose somethin' this big came from Cap'n? I ain't seen an Alliance ship, or any other for that matter, that looked anythin' the likes of this!" Kaywinnit Lee Frye exclaimed as she stared in awe at the immensely impressive ship around her. She, and the rest of the boarding party, were in bulky EVA suits, but her captain didn't need to see her beaming smile to know it was there.
"I must say, this is as fine lookin' death trap as I ever seen. You stay close Kaylee, I'm in no mood to be searchin' for your overly curious pi gu." Malcolm Reynolds tapped his absent minded engineer's helmet with his gloved finger to get her attention.
Even Mal couldn't stay pessimistic when in the face of Kaylee's perpetual cheer. "Always worried about little ol' me, what if River tags along? I bet we could rig up a new compression coil for Serenity, ship this size." Malcolm grudgingly realized that the girl had a point. There was bound to be all kinds of spare parts they could strip off of the vessel, and even with his ship in better repair than it had been in ages, he knew how bad his luck was.
"He'll say yes, but let him say it anyway." River Tam turned her helmet enough so that Mal could clearly see her sticking her tongue out at him, and then smiled at the indignant look on his face.
"Just cause you ain't so moon brain don't mean Simon likes me lettin' ya wander. But I always did like annoyin' that pretty face brother of yours. Keep in radio contact, and you run into trouble, get back to Serenity on the double. Dong ma?"
"I love my Captain." Kaylee was half tempted to hug Mal, but thought it better not to hurt the man's massive ego more than she did on a regular basis. "Let's go on our own little treasure hunt River!"
River was half tempted to roll her eyes at the mechanic, but something stopped her as she 'felt' something almost as soon as they left Mal and the rest of the boarding party behind. "There's ghosts on this ship. It's been through the black longer than the colony ships from Earth-That-Was." The blank stare disappeared almost as quickly as it had crossed the young woman's face, but Kaylee hadn't had to see it to know it had been there. The strange tone of voice River adopted when she was 'feeling' something gave that away.
"Huh...well I hope they won't mind us borrowin' a few dozen things. I might even be able to replace that primary buffer panel. Sure would make Mal happy, what with the almost burning up every time we land and all."
"Ghosts have no need for the living, we should be fine." River smiled, having no fear of the dead on this ship, or those that had been left behind. It was a lot quieter than it had been on Miranda, but she could still detect faint echoes of the crew, despite how long the ship had remained in the black.
A loud shriek instantly had River by her frightened friend's side. Her hands flew to the katana and pistol she carried on her at all times when investigating ships like this, but she relaxed when she saw what had startled Kaylee. Mal's concerned voice was yelling over the comms a split second later. "What in the sphincter of Hell?! Kaylee, River?! You alright?!"
"We're fine Captain. We've found the rest of a headless ghost." River shined the beam of her flashlight on a pair of legs and a shredded section of torso that had long since frozen solid in the vacuum of space. It was situated by what they assumed had been an airlock, but that too was frozen over so it was hard to tell at the moment.
"Your creepifyin' nature is damagin' my calm little Albatross. You two got ten minutes, and no more, so make the best of it." Kaylee wanted to pout, but a look at River and she knew they wouldn't be able to wrangle anymore time out of him.
"That ain't blood, it looks...white. No way that came from no regular person." Kaylee warily took a closer look at the gruesome sight before quickly turning away and exploring the rest of what looked like a cargo and hangar bay.
The power armor looking suits that were scattered about the area were of a passing interest to River as she 'saw' the face of a woman at the controls when she touched the mostly yellow machine in front of her. "Where do you want it?" Jerking her hand back, River couldn't suppress the smile that formed on her face at the confidence on the woman's face.
"Just try not to give me a heart attack again you two. Nine minutes, thirty seconds by the way." Mal replied, he and the big man beside him having found their way to what looked like a mess hall. With the layer of ice crystals over everything they came across, some of the items and consoles around them were hard to distinguish for what they were. It gave everything an eerie quality to it, making Malcolm a little twitchy and not in a good way.
"We don't need you keeping track of time Captain. We won't be late, but you will be." River replied, making Mal reconsider his earlier statement. Considering that Mal and the rest of his team had taken the crew sections, she knew what they'd find before they did.
"What in the hell...I think...I think I found somethin' Mal. Looks like this ain't no ruttin' derelict after all." The familiar rumble of Jayne Cobb's voice was easy to distinguish even in the ghost ship.
River's soft voice was the first heard over the comms. "Have Simon help you get them out. They've been asleep for far longer than I have." That was the biggest understatement this side of the Verse, but it was also the truth.
Malcolm brushed his right glove over one of the still operational tubes that Jayne had discovered and found himself looking at the peaceful face of a small child. "Well hell, looks like we got ourselves a bona fide rescue mission. You never cease to confuse, surprise, and downright terrify me little Albatross. Get your brother on the comm an-"
"Already done." Mal could practically hear the smirk in River's voice as he and Jayne continued to clear off the frosted tubes.
"Ruttin' hell!" Jayne jumped back when he found the other half of Kaylee's white blooded ghost. "That just ain't kosher to freeze a man been ripped in half like that. What the gorram Hell did this anyway, think it's still around?" There was something seriously wrong with the man's innards, that he could see anyway through the glass and ice that separated the mercenary from the pod's occupant.
"Don't worry, it's probably still drifting to another galaxy right now. The woman made sure of that." The final fight in the cargo and hangar bay had been extensive and the echoes left behind were just as big. Emotions had ran high as had adrenaline. Considering the enemy they had been up against, it was amazing the woman had survived at all. "Get away from her you bitch!" Having to jerk her hand away from the loader's door when she touched it, River only confirmed her suspicion on how things had gone down.
"I think I found something here River. It looks...melted." Kneeling down by a section of the floor, River turned her gaze and saw what Kaylee was looking at. Whatever the woman had fought off, it had left its own mark on the derelict vessel. Pieces of the floor were corroded, melted, and charred. The ice had still taken hold, but the holes were still just as visible regardless.
"She wouldn't die without a fight. She needed to avenge her young, like any other mourning mother would." Even after all these centuries, her hatred and determination lingered in the air like a bitter perfume. River didn't find it surprising, but it was almost stifling to be anywhere near where their final battle had taken place. "She was too dangerous to be left alive, but I still feel for her. The woman made the right choice. Come on, we need to get what we came for Kaylee."
Mal had quickly looked in the other tubes, seeing Jayne's half man and another obviously wounded man, before looking at the last active pod. "I believe I just laid peepers on your 'woman', River. I'd bet my last shiny penny she's the one responsible for these folks all hybernatin' like. Best tell the Doc to bring his biggest bags of tricks with 'em while he's suitin' up. No telling what shape these three are in."
Jayne was still so morbidly fascinated with the odd remains he had found, that he nearly jumped through a bulkhead when River gently touched his shoulder. The reader peered at the strange man as she cocked her head to the side. "It's an artificial person, or so he likes to be called anyway. He can be repaired, but it will take some time."
"Ruttin' gorram moon brain! I hate it when ya do that! And there's no way you can fix that thing, he's done been torn in half." Jayne pointed to the 'artificial person' as if to make his point clearer.
"We're fixing him. He's stronger, smarter, and braver than some gou tsao de people I could name, or do I have to mention Ariel? He also doesn't smell as bad as you do." Jayne was mildly unnerved by the kind smile that spread over River's lips when she placed her hand on the transparent section of the tube.
"Well I ain't carrying...that." Jayne walked away in a huff as he continued to explore what had to be the crew area of the ship. Dozens of lockers lined the walls, but they would be a pain in the ass to open with the ice and time sealing them shut. His spirits instantly lifted the moment he spotted rows upon rows of neatly stacked weapons of various types and sizes. Considering they were safely tucked away meant they would most likely be in perfect or near perfect condition. "Well lookie here...this trip is startin' to pay off after all. Least we can get somethin' decent, besides more mouths to feed."
"Captain tells me one of those mouths is a kid, Jayne. You left your comms open again. Maybe I'll get some duct tape, help you fix that problem you have of running your mouth without thinkin' first." Even River grew nervous around Zoe at times. Considering she could easily match Malcolm shot for shot on a bad day, even Jayne didn't have it in him to talk back to the amazon woman, as she and Simon soon joined them in the crew area of the ship.
"Saving folk is all n' good, I guess, but you know how much coin we could get for those rifles alone?!" The merc was already salivating at the thought of getting his hands on the guns., and whatever else he could find.
"We'll need them before this is over." River wasn't talking about just the rifles either, or Zoe was a complete backbirth as she stopped and looked to the reader for a moment.
She was about to say something, but Mal got to it first. "I learned a long time ago to trust the gift you got River, even if it did get myself and my crew in all kinds of mischief with the Alliance. You say these folks are important? That's good enough for me."
Jayne wasn't the only one that was 'salivating at the mouth' as Doctor Simon Tam took a closer look at the cryo pods that were lined up against the back wall. "It seems these three have been kept in perfect stasis, for who knows how long. This is incredible! Medical science has been trying to perfect some form of long duration suspension, but the last I'd heard they weren't even close yet." A lot had been lost when they had originally left Earth-that-Was. Who was to say what they had left behind in their hurry to leave a dying world? "I was worried about her recovery when River was under for less than two weeks, let alone however long this thing has been out here."
"I'm glad you're ecstatic Doc, but we're a bit on the clock here." Mal said as he got the fascinated Simon's attention by grabbing the doctor's shoulder and forcing him to look the impatient smuggler in the eye. "You best start workin' on a way to get 'em out, 'stead of looking all awed and what not." Simon gave an understanding nod, as Mal quickly turned to River next. "How long have we got little Albatross?"
"We have three days until the next Alliance patrol arrives. We'll want to be out of here in two." At least that's what River believed, but she wasn't a hundred percent certain because of the thing that had torn Bishop, the artificial person, in half. The creature's rage, the same rage that had been stifling her senses down in the cargo bay, was making a mess of her precognition even here on the crew deck. She couldn't 'see' how things would play out with any certainty. The future was uncertain enough as it was, but add in so many echoes on such a large ship, and even River was blind. She was torn between being ecstatic about being 'blind' for the first time in years, and dreading the unknown.
The best she could do was give a rough estimate now, but she couldn't tell them that just yet. They'd panic, and things would turn to chaos far quicker. That she knew for sure without needing her powers, a curse as she considered them at times. Mal might even leave these people behind, if he thought his crew was in danger. "Okay...you all heard our own personal fortune teller. First things first, let's get the ship at least warmed up and the life support jacked up a few notches. Kaylee, River, I doubt the air in here could keep a mouse breathin'."
"Yes sir Cap'n Tightpants." Kaylee saluted and smiled brightly as she and their 'fortune teller' wandered off again.
"I hate it when she does that." Simon grumbled quietly as he turned back to the pods, trying to use his brilliant medical knowledge to figure out the best way to get the survivors out alive without killing them. Jayne and Mal weren't sure if he was talking about the love of his life or his sister.
Malcolm was quick to point a finger at the merc as he tried to slip away quietly. "Jayne, you ain't touchin' one of those pretty lookin' guns till we get these people safe." As much as Jayne wanted to grumble, the Captain could see the merc giving into his more human nature. That was becoming a less and less rare occasion as the big man produced a cutter and gave it a good whack before a blue flame sprouted from the tip.
"What are you doing?!" Simon was quick to stand up and face Jayne, outraged at the very idea of cutting their way into the pods.
"Huh? Best melt som' this ice build up I figure, before we get to cuttin'. Ain't gonna be gettin' them out otherwise Doc." To Jayne, it made perfect sense, and he didn't plan to wave his cutting tool around aimlessly.
"Would that be before or after you possibly damage a control panel or some other critical device?!" Simon wanted to run his hand through his hair in stress filled exasperation, then remembered he was still wearing a suit made of mylar and plexiglass. "Just back away...and let me think for a minute." If anything, the strange machine man would be a good test subject, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to allow Jayne to try it even then.
Jayne looked down at the small torch for a moment, and then moved to extinguish the flame. "Oh...hadn't thought of that. Good call there Doc."
Shaking his head as he finally looked away from the cryo pod, Simon looked over to the mercenary. "Actually Jayne...maybe you can try to free one of them. I can't make heads or tails of these machines, and River's busy helping Kaylee getting the ship at least partially operational. If you cut along the pod's seam, we might be able to free the android without any damage to his internal systems...what hasn't been damaged already." The sheer strength needed to tear a man in half was impressive, and Simon shivered at what his mind conjured up in regards to what could have possibly done it.
Malcolm waggled a cautious finger in the hired gun's direction. "Ah, ah, ah, hand that torch over Jayne. I reckon this job could use a hair more finesse than you're capable of." Mal quickly motioned for the riled man to pass him the cutting tool, as it was slapped roughly into his hand. "Thanks for makin' my point. O...kay, just say where Doc."
Simon rapidly brushed off as much of the frost as he could until he found the thin seam around the pod's edge. "Start right here, at the point where it starts to go across, two thirds of the way down." Simon quickly gestured to the area that would most likely hold the tube's locking mechanism.
The captain bent towards the tube to begin cutting, and waved an annoyed hand Jayne's way before focusing on his work. "Here goes nothin'...Jayne...please don't stand over my shoulder. You're makin' me nervous as it is. Keep yourself busy, and see if Zoe needs a hand or some such." Jayne turned to see, with great annoyance, that Zoe had already gotten into the large arsenal and was already stacking some of their new toys on a workbench.
Besides the standard ammo that came with the big guns, there were containers of some kind of nerve gas. Not even Jayne wanted to know what it could do, and left the gas be as he helped Zoe get the armory sorted out. "You ever see anythin' like these guns before?"
Hefting what she took to be a rifle, Zoe raised an eyebrow at Jayne who wisely stepped to the side. Looking underneath, they saw what appeared to be a grenade launcher. "Whoever these people were, they didn't do anything halfway. Let's get everything we can carry back to the ship."
"Now yer talkin' my language Zoe, can't wait to try these beauties out." Zoe mentally reminded herself to lock up every single piece of ammo they managed to salvage. Otherwise Jayne might do something stupid, like trying to get in some target practice in the cargo hold. She didn't need to read the fine print on the ammo boxes to see that they could tear the Serenity's hull apart. Having served in the Independent army during the war, Zoe recognized explosive rounds when she saw them, even if these particular shells weren't the same as the ones she was familiar with.
There was a good reason the Alliance had outlawed their use afterward, and it wasn't just because they hadn't wanted regular people having the means to decimate a squad with a single burst of rifle fire. On a civilian craft, the big luxury liners and similar ships that held hundreds if not thousands of people onboard, armor piercing and explosive rounds had a tendency to punch through the thickest hull like a hot knife through butter. It wasn't surprising that they had been outlawed, considering one shot in the wrong place could potentially destroy an entire vessel through explosive decompression and exposure to the cold vacuum of space.
"You so much as look at one of them for too long, 'Jane' will be a more proper name for you come morning." For once, the merc instantly took the former soldier's advice and stopped fondling their new ordinance. "Let's get a few crates squared away and then I'll go fetch the mule. Think I should be able to squeeze her in the cargo bay area." Jayne nodded and went to work, knowing by now that Zoe was never one to bluff. If she bothered to threaten you at all, which was a kindness in and of itself. Especially now with her husband, Wash, gone the crew noticed she had a harder edge about her most days.
Meanwhile, Mal had been gingerly working his way around the cryo pod, and was nearing the end of the machine's seam after what had felt like hours of work. He took his time so as not to screw something up royally along the way, and no doubt give his resident doctor a heart attack. And it wasn't nearly as easy as he had made it sound earlier. About three fourths of the way through, his hand had started to cramp up, and with the mylar gloves he was wearing, it wasn't easy to manipulate the cutting tool in the slightest. Still, he was nearing the end, and Mal was grinning as he finished cutting through. The pod's lid jerked open as he and Simon pried it loose, with relatively little difficulty. "Well, let's see what we got doc."
"Cap'n, I think I found the main emergency power override. Switchin' it on now, should give us heat, air and some lights, hopefully." The small group breathed a sigh of relief when dim lighting strips flooded the crew section with a decent amount of illumination. "Air quality should be good in about five minutes. The heating systems will take a little longer, we should be able to remove our suits in a good ten minutes or so." Everyone could imagine the giant satisfied grin on Kaylee's face as she checked the rest of the life support systems.
"Good job Kaylee, I promise not to yell at ya the next five...three times something falls off my boat again. Now, you and River best- Tzao gao!" Both men about jumped out of their suits when the android's eyes fluttered open. Mal held the doctor back when Simon made a move to get closer, not entirely sure he liked the torn open android just yet. It was something totally unfamiliar to the captain, and he wasn't about to take the chance with one of his own without knowing more about it.
It was even more surprising when the android flexed its jaw muscles several times, as if working the stiffness out of his face, and started to speak. Its voice was slightly distorted, but it was still very intelligible and even polite, as he introduced himself. "My name is Bishop, model 341-B of the Weyland Yutani Corporation. I am the Executive Officer aboard this vessel, the USS Sulaco. Who are you? Are you the rescue team?" Sweeping his eyes over the two, Bishop wasn't entirely sure if that was the case. Their suits were not of any material he was familiar with and he had heard the Chinese curse the older of the two men had used. "Also, I do not believe 'oh shit' is an appropriate response to my question." The fact the android had sounded almost sarcastic wasn't lost on either of the men, and it made Simon bite the inside of his cheek at the offended look on Mal's face.
"Well...we don't exactly have many answers right now, we were hoping you could help us actually." Simon told the puzzled looking machine, as his insatiable curiosity drove him to peer closer at it.
"Ah, I see. One moment please." Bishop immediately took a liking to the man that had spoken first. All the while, he had been accessing the ship's onboard computer network, downloading and cross referencing known data with what the sensors had picked up. It seemed that the Sulaco was currently located on the edge of the 34 Tauri star system, after drifting through space for approximately 338 years. His fellow survivors weren't going to be happy, to say the least. He would cross that bridge when he had to though, preferably when he had the use of his lower body again. "You wish to get into the cryostasis units without having to cut your way through. I can walk you through it from here, provided everything is still operational and the locking mechanisms haven't warped from the ice buildup. In that event, I would be happy to make the minimal cuts necessary to free my crewmates."
"Ah...howdy." Malcolm had finally gotten his brain to work again. It wasn't very day you met a talking upper torso. "You...need any help with that whole missin' your lower body thing? I know a couple of tech savvy people, could patch you up quick enough."
"It would be much appreciated, but saving the lives of my fellow crew members takes priority. Since your other crew members have already been kind enough to activate the emergency life support systems, it should be much easier to get them free of the pods." Not to mention safer, let alone warmer.
Mal wasn't able to stop a smirk from forming on his lips as Zoe, River, Kaylee, and lastly Jayne, ran back to the crew deck and stopped cold when they saw that Bishop was awake. "You're late."
"Why the Hell didn't you say you weren't actually being gutted or otherwise killed sir? Probably lost five years off my life when I heard you screamin'." Zoe couldn't keep her eyes off of the talking head even as she berated Malcolm.
"I didn't scream, just a manly yelp of terror is all." Mal quickly changed the subject as he pointed to the mildly amused looking android. "Meet the XO of this here fine ship, Bishop right?"
The android offered the best nod he was able to do from his horizontal position, only then catching sight of the small slip of a young woman that had pushed her way to the front of the group. "You screamed." River said simply, ignoring the attempt to keep her away from Bishop's pod as she knelt and got a closer look at the android. "It's a pleasure to meet you Bishop." Now that she had a closer look, River was assured that she could repair Bishop herself if push came to shove. Some of his more delicate components might not work as well, but as long as he was operational, he'd be happy she was sure.
"Likewise. If I may ask, who are you?" Bishop politely asked as River quickly pointed to herself before going around the small group one at a time.
"I'm River, that's Captain Malcolm Reynolds and his first mate, Zoe Washburne. The blushing man next to you is my brother, Simon Tam, and the man ape gone wrong is Jayne Cobb." Jayne offered an offended grumble but said nothing intelligible as River continued. "And behind Mal is Kaywinnit Lee Frye."
"Hello there." Kaylee managed to give the grinning 'man' a small, meek wave, which he returned immediately. "You're all a mess n' such, if ya don't mind me sayin'."
Simon had to stop himself from facepalming at the antics of the adorable and intelligent, if somewhat naive, engineer. "Let me just see what I can do for your friends, while you tell us exactly what happened here please." Bishop walked Simon through the deactivation sequence and it proved an easy enough task once the basics were down. The important thing was to allow his friends time to essentially thaw out more than anything. Per Bishop's recommendation, the doctor administered a mild sedative so they didn't wake when the pod hatches finally opened, and Simon was able to gain access to his three newest patients.
Turning to Kaylee who had spoken first about his current appearance, Bishop began. "That tends to happen when you go up against a hostile alien life form." Even in his present condition, Bishop gave them a wry smirk as he looked down at what remained of himself. "To cut a very long story short, this ship served as transport for a group of colonial marines, tasked to investigate the loss of communications with one of our old colonies. Despite their best efforts, the alien life form we encountered stranded us and picked us off one by one over the course of that day. If not for Corporal Dwayne Hicks and Lieutenant First Class Ellen Louise Ripley's actions, we would not have made it this far." Everyone onboard the Sulaco had had a hand in their eventual escape and successful destruction of the alien life form, but it was really Ripley that deserved the credit. Ripley had pulled them together, even when their former commanding officer had had a total nervous meltdown while his men died in the creatures' nest.
"Huh...those two sound like big damn heroes to me, at least they got the kid out alive." Mal gestured towards the youngest of the four survivors, a concerned frown on his face. "How did she get involved in this gorram rotten mess in the first place anyway?"
"Rebecca Jorden, age 11, she was a survivor from the colony on LV-426. She had survived by hiding in the colony's numerous air ducts and keeping out of sight until we came. 'Newt', as she's fond of being called, proved to be an advantage in her own right. She led the surviving members of our unit out of the danger zone until I was able to bring down our spare transport shuttle remotely." It had been a close shave near the end, with the colony's terraforming reactor preparing to blow and Ripley's insistence of going after her.
"You're telling me an eleven year old girl stayed alive, on her own, with whatever did that to you running around?" Zoe looked equal parts concerned and incredibly impressed as she realized the horrific things the young girl must have gone through to end up here.
"The Queen, the creature that did this to me as you put it, was not mobile until Ripley attacked its nest in an attempt to save her. The dozens of soldiers it had however, Rebecca evaded successfully as you can see for yourself." River instantly noticed the almost caring look Bishop gave the young girl, as Simon gently lifted her out of the pod.
"Damn...girl musta had a lot a ruttin' grit to live through somthin' like that." Even Jayne seemed to be taken back as he took a closer look at the young girl. She might not have looked like much, but she had apparently been better at surviving than full grown marines.
Simon gave the android, gave Bishop, a reassuring nod before he even thought about it. "I need to get her to the med bay, and I suggest we get the others moved quickly as well. I wasn't entirely sure of their present condition, so the sedative I gave them should only last for a couple hours at most."
The young doctor was already moving at a brisk pace as Mal looked at the other two non machine folk that needed saving. "Alright then, Zoe, you and Jayne got the big fella. River, help me get the Lt, and Kaylee, keep our interesting friend here company."
If a machine could look grateful, let alone honestly know the feeling, Bishop appeared to be able to do both as he looked to Mal before he got too far. "I thank you Captain for the help you're giving us. I have no idea why our navigation systems failed so utterly to get us back to Earth, but I do know my crewmates would have certainly died without your assistance."
"Hate to say it Bishop but they still might before this is all said and done. People have been known to cause trouble when it comes to me and my crew." It took Malcolm a moment to catch onto the fact that Bishop had mentioned the original homeworld of humanity. When he did, Malcolm's jaw nearly dropped before he managed to regain his composure. "Did you say Earth, as in Earth-That-Was?" The captain paused for a moment before moving to help River. "While my curious nature is awful piqued, that can wait a bit, till we get your people safe anyway."
"And I'm sure the fact that you've already started to strip parts off the Saluco for your use has nothing to do with it." Bishop grinned at the astonished look on Mal's face as he again paused in his current work. "The few sensors that are still operational have been kind enough to point out that fact to my wireless network computer. I'm sure Corporal Hicks and Lt Ripley would consider it more than a fair trade for your assistance. Take what you wish, but decisions will have to be made about what to do with the rest of the Saluco." He needed more information to make any rational decision, but Bishop was already leaning towards using the onboard self destruct system, just to be on the safe side. Who knew what the space faring civilization his limited sensors had already picked up, or even this very crew that helped them, would do with a heavily armed colonial marine transport.
As the Serenity crew members gently carried his two unconscious friends, Mal paused for a moment at the exit of the cryo pod bay. "Just my opinion and all, but I'd blow this ship to pieces if I was you. Lotta bad people love to get their hands on as deadly and advanced a vessel as this one must be." The captain shrugged before continuing to help carry Ripley towards the cargo bay and main airlock.
Bishop had already taken it upon himself to bounce his wireless signal through the Serenity's communications array, and found the information he was after only moments later. "Such as your Alliance, Captain Reynolds? I am certain they'd pay quite a bit just to get their hands on me, let alone the Saluco. I've already hacked into the Cortex, and found the ruling governmental body's main hub. I can see why you'd suggest such a course of action."
He wasn't going anywhere until someone picked him up out of his pod, so Bishop had already begun catching up on current affairs. The biggest news had been the Miranda Incident, even six months after the fact it still made headlines. That incident alone, not to mention the brutal civil war that had been fought in this system years earlier, instantly made his decision for him. Bishop was certain that Hicks and Ripley would have agreed with the need to prevent the technology and weapons aboard from falling into the wrong hands.
Oddly enough, this 'Alliance' reminds me of the Weyland Yutani Corporation. It looks as if the ideals they believed in have carried on to this day and age. They might have created him, but that didn't mean Bishop had ever agreed with them or their ideals. They had given him behavioral inhibitors in his core programming and hardware, but there were ways around it. And while Bishop would never harm another human being that had earned his trust, neither would he be subject to the WYC or any form it took ever again if he had anything to say about it.
Thirty-six hours later...
Close your eyes baby. Ripley had expected to die painfully in that place, facing the Queen with no hope of escape, no weapons, and a terrified eleven year old girl hanging onto her neck for dear life. Not only that, but the reactor they were standing in was falling apart around their ears, and it was only a matter of time before it went up. Bishop's arrival in the shuttle however had given her reason to hope again and before she knew it, they were off and escaping the nuclear blast that followed. She was finally able to relax as the last of the turbulence of the blast faded and the view outside the window quickly changed to the pitch black of space.
She had never been happier to see the military transport ship that was still in orbit above LV-426. The same planet that had killed her last crew, in a sense, had just taken close to three hundred more, and yet she had lived through it twice. No, not just her now as she looked to Newt and Bishop, an unconscious Hicks tucked away in the back. A ghost of a smile crossed her lips as the synthetic docked the shuttle in the Saluco's cargo bay. Just as she was getting ready to unstrap herself from the copilot's seat however, Ripley stopped cold when she heard the last thing she wanted to hear from the back of the ship. The loud, shrill scream of someone in agonizing pain.
It was too much for the utterly exhausted Ripley, as Newt started to convulse on the deck while grabbing at her chest. It was far too similar to what had happened to Kane from her original crew, only this was many times worse. All the broken woman could do was take the shaking child in her arms and wait for the inevitable horrific death that would soon come. Oh dear God no! NO!
Just as Newt's skin started to distort and rise as the xeno's face pushed its way to the surface, Ripley woke up swinging and sweating from head to toe. "Easy easy! You're safe, it was only a dream!" A pair of hands did their best to keep her still as they grabbed onto her wrists in an attempt to keep her from hurting herself. Of course, she didn't exactly see it that way running purely on instinct in those few seconds between waking and dreaming. "Just try to calm down, you're going to-"
"GET OFF OF ME GODDAMMIT!" Simon wisely backed off before the irate woman could strike at him directly. The wild look on the woman's face helped in that matter. He had no doubt whatsoever that she would have punched him, or worse, if he hadn't moved away immediately.
"Ripley?" The immense rage and terror on the older woman's face disappeared when she heard Newt's soft whisper. A heart wrenching sob of relief escaped her mouth when she saw that the girl was perfectly fine, not three feet away from her. Most people might have taken in their odd surroundings, or wondered how they had been rescued in the first place. Ellen Ripley wasn't most people, as she tried to stand only to fall to her face on the deck when her legs refused to support her weight.
"Can I touch you Lt. Ripley? I'm only going to help you get up, nothing more, I promise." Simon cautiously moved towards the fallen woman and frantically waved Mal and Zoe off as they burst into the room seconds later.
Now that she wasn't running on sheer adrenaline from her terrible nightmare, Ripley was much more aware of her surroundings and nodded for Simon to help her up. "Get me to her." It was the kindest she was likely to get for a while.
"Alright, just be careful when you stand up, you might get disoriented again. I don't want you getting hurt." The compassionate doctor would be lying if he had said he wasn't afraid of the clearly upset woman, but he slowly helped her to her feet despite his fear.
"I guess some things don't change with you Ripley." Hicks said as he rubbed at his sore face, three feet away from Newt's spot in the infirmary. He was smirking despite the fact he felt like the right side of his face was bound to explode at any second. Apparently, freezing yourself after suffering acid burns wasn't such a good idea. The brain remembered the hurt quite well, even with the medication and sauves Simon had used to help alleviate the man's pain. "Nice setup you have here doc. Never did get a chance to thank you."
Simon just nodded to the marine, more concerned about not letting Ripley hit the floor again as he helped her over to the quiet young girl. Once she was settled into one of the few chairs that were in his med bay, only then did Simon back away. Newt had watched the whole affair quietly, a small smile on her face despite how Ripley had woken up shouting and mad as hell.
"Hi Newt..." A glowing smile spread over Ripley's face as she took the young girl's hand in her own. Newt just returned the smile with an even more radiant one of her own and then tightly latched onto the woman, hard enough to take her breath away. "I missed you too..."
"I'll uh...I'll give all of you a moment-" Simon didn't get halfway to the door before he was stopped by Ripley's steel cold voice.
"Stay right where you are, I have a few questions." There was no reason to delay now that she knew her friends were alright. Ripley carefully lowered Newt back onto the bed and covered her with the blanket that had been provided before turning to the doctor. "Who are you and how long were we out this time? The ETA to Earth was under two months. I'm guessing that's shot to hell, since this doesn't look like a rescue vessel to me. Unless they allow scrap heaps to do rescue/salvage now?"
If Hicks could have, he would have facepalmed himself for the less than kind choice of words Ripley had chosen to use. Still, he did have to agree with her assessment from the little bit of the ship he had seen himself. "You'll have to excuse Ripley; the few days I've known her, she never beats around the bush much." She let you know exactly where you stood with her, but considering what they'd been through, Hicks couldn't blame her.
"I can tell, um...well it's a little complicated. From what Bishop was able-" Simon was getting that 'be very afraid' vibe once more as Ripley grabbed onto the front of his shirt, and then jerked him down to her eye level. "He's fine too, sort of. I mean, he's in slightly better shape than when you saw him last."
"Where's Bishop? Have one of those thugs hiding outside the door bring him to us, now." It was probably better that she didn't see the reaction that got from Mal, Zoe, and a curious Jayne.
"Already here Ripley." River said as she and Kaylee pushed a gurney into the med bay, with a much better looking Bishop through the door, surprising the woman considerably given what she had just said a moment ago. Ripley let go of the doubled over doctor as she saw that Bishop had indeed survived as well. "I've been called much worse things than a 'thug'. There's no need to apologize. Malcolm is irritated, but he'll get over it."
"I didn't say a word, how did she-" Simon took a preventive step back at the dark look in Ripley's eyes, just in case she tried to grab him again. As much as he worried about River, he knew she could handle herself if the older woman tried to grab her.
"That is a long story Ripley." Bishop replied before anyone else could, which was just as well as far as Simon was concerned. It quickly became apparent that seeing the last of her surviving allies was alive and in better shape than the last time she had saw him had made her relax. "Suffice it to say, things have changed, and most of it hasn't been for the better."
"How long Bishop, and where are we?" Ripley knew it was going to be incredibly bad news just from the frown on Bishop's face.
"We were drifting for 338 years, and as for where we are, the system is called 34 Tauri. It has been heavily terraformed in the decades since several multi-generational colonist ships arrived here from Earth. So finding a habitable world will not be a problem at all. Our destination, according to Captain Malcolm Reynolds, is a space station to refuel until we get back into 'civilization', and I use the term loosely."
The shock of finding out they were not only way out of their own time but also, for all intents and purposes, trapped in an unknown star system wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. It probably helped that she had already went through this once before. She mentally kicked herself when she realized the effect this would have on Newt and Hicks. It would no doubt be just as bad, or worse, for them to go through the same type of situation she had. At least they had each other, and a relatively safe place to call home, once she had a chance to ask Bishop about the habitable worlds in this system. All in all, they could have wound up in a much worse situation, or simply still been drifting amongst the stars. Considering everything she'd gone through, Ripley was actually feeling optimistic.
Should I be worried that I feel hopeful when I should be shellshocked? Ripley asked herself as she looked at Hicks who couldn't have been more slack jawed if he tried. Finding out everyone you had ever known was centuries dead, and who knew how many light years behind you, was a lot to take in for anybody. "I'm sorry Corporal Hicks, I wish I had better news." Bishop sighed but was a little reassured when he got a small nod from Hicks for his trouble.
To his credit, Hicks was able to push past his shock for the moment. He'd break down later. The marine looked towards the entryway after a moment, and began speaking to the room in general. "No need to wonder if Ripley is crazy, she is, but I promise she's more bark than bite." Hicks gave Newt a quick wink as the three quiet observers poked their heads out in a mix of curiosity and embarrassment. "Mostly." Newt let a small giggle escape her at the wink and what he had said. It was hard to forget, since she had said it once before.
"Thanks Hicks, I'll remember that." Ripley shook her head but smirked despite the insult, especially since it was true. "I at least still have most of my face." Sticking an old fashion shotgun into a xenomorph's mouth wasn't a good idea, even if it did end up saving their lives as the alien tried to force its way onto the elevator they had ran to at the time. Ripley decided not to share that slightly less than glorious tidbit of info about the brave marine, unaware that the younger Tam already knew about it.
"Just bein' a mite careful. We've had our share of trouble making passengers / folk we stuck our necks out to rescue before." The humorless grin on Ripley's face was doing nothing to help Mal regain his composure anytime soon.
"They have had run ins with the Federation of Allied Planets, their central government for far too long. The fact that River Tam is wanted for classified research in what they call the 'Academy' is the biggest reason they've been careful. Maybe I'll fill you in later." Bishop could have gone on a lot longer, but the scathing glare he received from Zoe silenced him. He was synthetic, but he wasn't stupid. Self preservation was hardwired in his core processes. "The short story being that these are good people Ripley. We are extremely fortunate to have been saved by them and not an Alliance patrol."
Zoe gave a nod of approval to the odd machine man, even if she was a bit wary of the thing. They did have bots running around in the verse but they weren't nearly as human as Bishop. He was a true A.I. from what she could see, and that made her nervous. "Now that we can safely agree on. You'd be in a bad situation the second purple belly boots hit the deck of your ship."
"I take it this Alliance ain't good news then? Starting to sound like Burke's outfit already." Hicks asked, earning a scowl from Ripley and Newt at the same time. "What was it you said Rip? 'At least you don't see them fucking each other over for a goddamn percentage?'" The older woman only rolled her eyes but nodded since those had been her exact words.
"See who?" Jayne had finally chosen to speak up, and not too surprisingly, had no idea what was going on, as per usual. "And what's this here about a percentage?" Money made him stupid, but he had been getting better about that particular itch.
River rolled her eyes at the hired gun, and unhinged the man further when she held her hands out like claws and snapped at him. "She means the children of a dangerous Queen, man ape. Scary monsters, to be sure. Someone on their crew tried to smuggle one back to Earth-That-Was by using them as cargo containers. All for money, even if his 'cargo' killed them in the process." Jayne was just happy he hadn't stumbled backwards when the moon brain girl leapt at him. Newt again giggled at the look on the merc's face, having a feeling she and River would get along quite well.
Ripley however wasn't so thrilled by the young woman's knowledge about the events that had led up to their arrival in this time and place, seemingly knowing everything about them with a simple stare. Luckily for the three and a half 'passengers', Hicks spoke up before the shit storm he knew was brewing in Ripley's mind could explode. Better to tell a smart lie now, and probably get a beating later, than let her anger the people who had just saved them. "I gave them most of the story Ripley. Didn't have a lot else to do at the time while we were waiting for you and Newt to wake up. Sides, they did save our asses, thought it only fair they knew what they were getting into."
Instead of a loud tirade, or possibly even violence on her part, Ripley was satisfied with glaring at the recovering marine for a moment, before turning her gaze elsewhere. Both Bishop and Hicks were glad to see that she instead opted for a far kinder way of dealing with the current situation. "Fine, what's done is done. We do appreciate your help Captain, but whether or not we stick around is still up for debate."
"I don't recall givin' you a choice in that matter...but I ain't one to toss folks been hit by hard times neither. Y'all are welcome to stay long enough for your man to heal up and...for Kaylee and River to do whatever they can for the white blooded fella."
"Thank you Captain Reynolds. And that's artificial person...nevermind." Bishop looked like he wanted to continue but decided against it when Ripley and Zoe both gave him a cold glare. "Just address as me Bishop, everyone does or did I should say."
"Alright then...Mr. Artificial Person, you already shown a knack for getting into where you shouldn't on the cortex without getting caught. I figure that might be a useful talent, seeing as I'd still appreciate you paying your ways and all." Bishop could accept the man's terms easily enough. When he was up and about, his full set of skills could be put to the test, but for now he was content to continue hacking his way around the cortex and talking the two women through his repairs. Newt was attached to Ripley at the hip, so there was little question as to where she'd go if Ripley decided to stay or not. Regardless, it was up to Hicks and Ripley.
"Before I agree to anything, I'd need to know more about what's going on Captain Reynolds." Ripley finally said after mulling over everything she had seen and heard for herself thus far. Hicks breathed a sigh of relief, glad that she was willing to give these people a chance if nothing else.
Before Mal could even open his mouth to respond, Bishop's suddenly concerned look stopped him in his tracks. "According to the Serenity's sensors, we have company headed our way. It looks like a rather large ship, definitely an Alliance signature. I give us twelve hours, at most, before they intercept Sulaco and your ship."
"Well ain't that just ruttin' fantastic! Bad 'nough we got these three and the creepifyin' fella here, but the Feds are gonna be up our pi gu six ways from Sunday." Jayne was less than ecstatic about getting pinched by the Alliance, thanks to their 'guests'.
"We can hear ya just fine there Jayne." Hicks butted in, but he agreed with the big man's discomfort in regards to the Feds. From what Bishop had shared and from his own observation of River Tam, he had a feeling that there was a lot more to this crew than they realized.
"As for the Saluco, that's an easy fix. We blow it out of the sky. Bishop? Is the self destruct still intact?" She didn't care if they scrapped every piece off of the ship they had been pulled from, but there was no way in Hell she'd let these people get their hands on the nukes onboard the Saluco. Not to mention the other various forms of WMDs the ship had carried. Better to blow the ship's engines and incinerate the whole deadly package in a millisecond.
"I can't access the self destruct remotely because it needs a manual override, but yes Ripley, as far as my diagnostic system can detect, it's still fully operational. The procedure to arm the device is simple but requires two people to activate it. Once armed, you'll have five minutes to get out of the blast radius." Bishop almost felt an odd sort of relief at the fact Ripley readily agreed with destroying the ship. He would have done so in any case, even if he hadn't checked the information hubs he could access.
"Great, all we need now is a deck of cards." Hicks was all for the plan of nuking the Saluco. There were enough problems to worry about without adding to it by leaving a mess behind them.
"Wait...what now? You want to vaporize that shiny, amazing ship?! Cap'n...we can't let 'em! Just think of all the wonderful tech we could use to help people, or bringin' in cashy money." Kaylee meant well, there was no doubt in that from the sad look on her face as she heard the news, but Ripley was glad Malcolm stepped in when he did. There was something about the cheery mechanic that made even the battle scarred older woman smile a little easier.
"Sad to say, but they got a point Kaylee. Ship like that, entire system would be bowing to the almighty Alliance in a heartbeat if they lay their power lovin' claws on it." Mal gave a surprisingly solemn look to Ripley and Hicks before he continued. "I know you had no say in the matter, but bringing a vessel chuck full of nukes and other dangerous goodies to this here verse was a recipe for disaster, one way or t'other.
"If it helps alleviate the loss Ms. Frye, I have full schematics of the Saluco downloaded in my memory core. I had to know every system to do my job appropriately." Bishop replied, making the young genius mechanic perk up a moment later. "It might be possible to upgrade this ship, if we get the parts necessary to do so of course. In the next ten hours, or less, that is."
Kaylee ran out of the med bay before anyone could stop her, with a fretting Simon desperate to catch up with the determined young engineer. "Kaylee? Kaylee?! Wait, let me at least help you!"
"He is such a boob." River shook her head but smiled up at Bishop as she gave chase moments later. Every pair of hands would make the work go faster. Besides that, she wanted a chance to explore the ship one last time before it went the way of the dinosaurs.
Ripley was going to make sure the salvagers didn't get a little too greedy, especially the bearded thug. "I'm going with you, and you two are staying here." Ripley just shoved Hicks back down onto the bed and gave Newt a stern look as the girl pouted. "Get some rest, I'll keep an eye on things for now."
"Whatever you say 'ma'am'." Hicks smirked despite having just been shoved back into bed. His face was still hurting anyway so any excuse to rest was a good one at the moment, even if he wanted to argue with Ripley on the fact that she should have been resting too.
"Not to rush you...but I think Ms. Fyre might do some real damage in her haste to save as much as possible from the Sulaco." Everyone just looked towards the damaged artificial person, before dashing out of the med bay, leaving him alone with Hicks and Newt. "There...it should be easier for the two of you to get some sleep now. Don't worry about her, I'll be the first to alert you if anything actually happens."
Nine hours forty-five minutes later...
The last several hours had been a frantic race to collect as many spare parts, armaments, and pieces of interesting/useful tech that they could lay their hands on. Simon had made it his personal mission to empty out the ship's sick bay, mostly in a hopeful bid that there might be some way of helping River located in it's contents. Despite some muscle fatigue from being on ice for so long, Ripley was able to keep up for most of the trip up and down the ship. She decided to let it slide for now, seeing Zoe and Jayne carrying yet another crate of weapons over to the hovering transport someone had called 'the mule'.
Anti grav lift was one of the few things her old universe hadn't managed in her lifetime. If she got the chance, she planned on talking the soldier type First Mate into letting her give it a go. Not that that was likely to happen. The entire time she had been up and about, Zoe had done her best to stay away from Ripley. The Lt had no idea what she had done to piss the woman off, but Ripley had no doubt that she had given the glares she threw her way anytime they were in the same room together.
"L T, you almost done helping the Captain with the last of those ration stores? Can't say I'm planning on tryin' them first." Jayne took a step back as the woman strapped herself into the oddest looking contraption he'd ever laid eyes on. "What in the gorram Hell..." The thing looked like a giant yellow exosuit / deathtrap.
Having gotten herself strapped into one of the remaining power loaders, Ripley was tempted to give the equivalent of the 'bird' with her right arm clamp but held off on that as she hefted the two ton sealed container as if it were a paper weight. Jayne wisely took another step back as she swung around, facing the merc a moment later. "What does it look like I'm doing? I doubt that 'mule' can carry this much weight, so I'm gonna have to carry this back to the ship on foot. You can either stand there and continue to waste time, or you can get out of the way."
Jayne wasn't able to ponder that choice as the woman immediately started clomping towards him in the massive rig. He had no doubt that if she decided to take a swing at him, box or no box, he'd be a red smear on the deck. "Should ah...should I walk ahead of ya or-"
Ripley didn't bother to wait for him. "I know the way. Your ship isn't exactly complicated to navigate." It helped that the cargo bay was attached to the Saluco's main airlock, giving her more than enough clearance for the loader and the massive box of rations she had in her 'arms' at that moment.
"Hey now! She might be a tad smaller and less sophisticated than this here vessel, but she's home. You can park that thing in the back port side corner for now, might come in handy. Might be more useful with armor on that rig but beggars can't be choosers." Mal at least she was able to tolerate and he seemed generally accepting of the strange guests he had taken on. The veritable treasure trove she was quick to point them towards hadn't hurt either.
"Sure will make loadin' cargo a snap right Cap'n?" Kaylee's smile widened considerably as Malcolm gave the mechanic a small grin on her way by, a heavy rucksack bouncing off of her back with every step. The sound of metal parts clunking against each other with every step didn't need to be heard to know it was full of spare parts that Kaylee had pulled off of the ship with River's help. It was far from the first trip she had made too. Zoe and Jayne had been drafted to help her with the heavier components, when they weren't busy crating up ammo and weapons.
"I don't think I've ever seen Kaylee quite so glowing, I take it this was a giant success? Besides the obvious act of saving the surviving crew, of course." It wasn't until she had gotten back into the cargo bay that Ripley saw the last of the crew. The beautiful and alluring Inara Serra was hard to miss, standing at the top of the catwalk.
Jumping out of the loader, Ripley was quick to glare at the registered Companion. "I see you waited until we were finished unloading to bother coming out of hiding. Thanks for all the help, whoever the hell you are."
"Whoa there Ripley, no need to get tetchy. Inara, Ripley, Ripley, Inara. Try not to get into a fight the first day on my boat." While the man secretly would have been highly interested in watching the two initate fistacuffs, it would more than likely wreck a sizable portion of his ship. Especially given how quickly the older woman could get into that walker thing. It might be slow and bulky, but he had seen how easily Ripley put it through its paces. Besides, he would be hard pressed to explain how she got knocked out with a poisoned dart, or worse, to a highly trained soldier, a machine that could probably shut the life support off in the blink of an eye, and a no doubt all manner of upset little girl. He was sure he could deal with the machine and the soldier. A crying little girl, not so much.
Author's Notes: Archer83; To be honest, I have absolutely no idea where this idea came from. Just sort of popped into my mind while Vergil and I were working on another story. I hope you enjoyed this happy little accident and be sure to leave a review, or send us a PM!
Vergil1989; I know how it happened. We stayed up too late and started talking far too much lol. All of our story ideas seem to come up that way. :P Sadly enough we're being completely serious since almost every story we have together has come out that way, by our sleep deprived brains hanging too close together for too long of a stretch of time. Still, we hope that you've enjoyed our craziness yet again and as Archer has already said, review, follow, favorite, and/or PM us as you like. Any feedback is good! And just to prove a point, we came up with a new idea while we were working on this. Archer?
Archer83; This is where it gets weird. Imagine a modern cast of GoT...trapped in the tale of Event Horizon. Title Pending. I said it was going to be weird didn't I? Join us won't you?
Vergil1989/Tyrion; "Or to put it another way, we get trapped on a ship of the damned and have all manner of horrors try to kill us off. To make matters worse, I get stuck with the stern faced Robb Stark, the mother of dragons Dany Targaryen, and let's not forget my prick of a nephew Joffrey Baratheon. There's a few others I shan't get mention here, but our chances are not good, needless to say. But don't worry, a Lannister always pays his debts, and even the Devil himself will fear the lion's roar before it's over."
Archer83; Three words. Joffery dies badly. (Need I say more?)
Vergil1989; I do a better Tyrion Lannister impression than you do? :P
Archer83: Note to self: Out do Vergil at any cost.
Vergil1989/Tyrion; "I wish you luck, you motherless toadie."