Serenity for a Marked Mind
Chapter 1: Mark-wacked Part 1
AN: Isaac is not in his 40s, like he looks in the games. He is going to be in his 20s. Also, we're going with this Isaac being a survivor of the Hardcore difficulty; so he is a bad-ass in kick-ass armor. I'm thinking of making this Isaac/Kaylee, as any good story needs the backdrop of romance in there.
I'm going to try and make this follow the episodes, but there may be splits and such.
Serenity
The game was played for the games sake. The crew of the Serenity were enjoying themselves as they played their strange game without a care, reveling in the free time that came with a journey in the black. River watched in eager fascination as they played, jumping and throwing the ball.
Their minds were a cacophony of bliss and contentment. The captain seemed to be playing the hardest, his mind the most at rest with the chaos. He jumped and leapt and ran and laughed the hardest of them all, trying to dispel the ever-present anguish that he felt. Kaylee was simply in her element, enjoying the game and the laughs that it brought her new family. Jayne was even having fun, though his mind still held the edge that was its usual, but it was muted now. The Sheppard was interesting, thoughts half blocked and half wide, as though he had separated them at one point and made two distinct people.
Then there were the civilized folk, as her brother and Inara could be called. The boob was trying to find meaning in the game that was played for the games sake. He was failing and could not figure out, so Inara had to explain it to him. Then the talk between them returned to her and she returned her focus to the game.
Then she felt it
It was a monster, born of death, and dealer of destruction. She did not know what it was and it terrified her, it was churning and growling and the thoughts it had were of hunger and killing and terror. Then it was fading, the monster was being culled and another mind was present, doing the culling that needed to be done. A strong mind, filled with a resolve to survive, a need to press on, as well as a deep regret and guilt.
The mind was tired, oh so tired and it began to drift. The thoughts became disconnected and lonely. It was giving up. Then the alarms of the ship began blaring at the crew. Wash looked up and the game ended, he made jokes and left to look at the bridge. Kaylee wanted to begin again and asked Simon to play, he agreed and began to descend the steps.
The ship gave a lurch and everybody rushed to the bridge after Wash, River drifting after them. Malcolm was the first to reach the bridge and asked, "Wash, you have a stroke or something?"
Wash looked back at the captain and said, "Near enough!"
Zoe, ever the concerned wife went to her husband's side and asked what had happened. As she asked the remainder of the crew reached the bridge and took note of a drifting shuttle in front of the Serenity. It was floating through the black, lights flickering. It looked like a small personnel carrier, one used to ferry people from planet to dreadnaught. It was damaged, with one of the thrusters completely dislodged and the other hanging from the ship by wiring. The shuttle was dead in the black and that left the crew unsure of what to do.
"Anybody home?" The captain asked.
Wash barely gave the captain a glance while responding, "Been hailing her. Whoever's there is a healthy as the guy we just ran over… Can't imagine anybody's gonna be picking up."
Mal approached the window saying, "Bring us in a little closer."
"Get you close enough to ring the door bell."
"What is it?" Simon asked as he approached the rest.
River, staying back behind the doorway was playing with her hair and answered Simon's question, "it's fear."
Serenity
"So, what do we figure? Transport ship?"
The crew was discussing what the ship could be and why it was floating the black. Many theories had gone around already and an agreement had been reached. Mal had voiced the opinion on all their minds and Wash began to theorize, "Could be converted to a long distance transport to cut down travel cost, and may be a family on that ship. Possibly prospectors hoping to get a new life."
"She definitely don' want to be drifting like that," Kaylee supplied, "The port thrust is in shambles, probably what's causing her to spin like that."
"A short range vessel? This far out in space?" Simon was confused and did not hesitate to get clarification.
"Retrofitted to carry passengers," Wash informed the young doctor and his wife filled in the rest, "Travelers pick them up cheap at government auctions. Few modifications and they serve well enough for a one way push for the outer planets."
"Settlers," the Book stated.
"Cram five to ten families on a boat that size, pack them in tight enough" Wash told the Sheppard.
"Not families!" All eyes turned to River as she sat shaking like a leaf and she held her eyes to the shuttle they were approaching, "Man! One man, strong and alive! But weak and broken, seen to much and not enough strength to move on. Like his namesake he traveled to unknown places, but found only horror there!"
Mal looked at the crazy little girl and shook his head before returning his attention to the shuttle. His gaze was level and for a long moment his eyes did not move. Sighing he looked to Wash and said, "Bring us close enough to dock. We're gonna say hello. Could be the man the little Fong Luh talked about is still kicking. And if not, it'll be a nice piece o' salvage."
Jayne hopped out of the co-pilots chair that he had seated himself in and said, "Yeah, no…uh… someone could be hurt!"
Wash nodded his head and began to bring Serenity close to the shuttle. Mal, Zoe, and Jayne descended the levels of the ship towards the docking bay to suit up. They dressed quickly and entered the Airlock, waiting for Wash to pump the air and let them out.
The ship gave a lurch as it docked and the sound of hissing air could be heard as the air was sucked from the lock. The door that led out opened slowly and the triplet made their way cautiously into the ship. What they saw stopped them cold.
CEC Shuttle
Isaac stared at the corpse of Nicole, despair eating at his heart. He had fought through so much, survived the Ishimura all in the hopes of seeing his love once more. And he had her, for a brief time he had her with him! But she was a figment of his mind, created so that he could survive the horrors on the Ishimura, that damn ship had taken everything from him! And now he was alone in the black, waiting for the death that was meant to take him back on Aegis VII.
But death did not come; it would not take Isaac Clarke on this day. The shuttle lurched violently and Isaac was throne to the floor, Nicole's corpse landing on top of him, one of her spike coming dangerously close to spearing his crotch. But luck was again on his side.
Isaac looked back to the doors of the shuttle, coated in the blood of a dozen Necromorphs that had managed to get into the shuttle before he could escape. Their assorted corpses were strewn across the floor. At the sound of an airlock cycling penetrated the door, Isaac quickly reapplied his helmet, the material sliding over his face from the compartment on his RIG. As the final piece slid into place and his face once more became the featureless three horizontal lines, he raised the Plasma Cutter in his hand and aimed at the door.
CEC shuttle
The three crewmates stared in horror at the massacre in front of them. Bodies were lying on the floor and blood coated all of the walls in a second layer of paint. The bodies looked as though they were discontorted and the blood was congealing, it looked as though the massacre had happened weeks ago, but a moment later it looked like months. They watched in fascination for several moments before seeming to pull themselves together and looking about themselves.
That was when they saw the man in a CEC RIG and suit. The suit looked badly damaged and was caked in blood, one of the horizontal eyes glowing red due to the degree to which blood had fallen on it. The man had a Plasma Cutter aimed at Jayne, his arm steady. The three stared at him; Jayne wishing he had Vera with him, Mal that he had prepared better, and Zoe thinking of any way that the tables could be turned on the stranger in the bloody suit.
"Human?" The man asked, his voice cracking and sounding exhausted. Mal looked at Zoe for some sort of confirmation or clearance. Zoe simply shrugged, her eyes returning to the man almost immediately. Mal turned back to see the Cutter aimed at him now, with the three eyes looking steadily gazing at him. The man spoke again, "Are you Human!"
Mal blinked several times and asked, "What in the hell are you talking about?"
The man visibly relaxed and lowered his weapon. Slowly, he begins to shake, shivering like he is being frozen. Mal approaches him in concern, hoping to help if anything was wrong with him. As he approached the man the sound of laughter began to break into the shuttle. It originated from the man, he slowly fell to his knees and continue to laugh.
Mal finally reached him, but a second before he could get a grip on the man; he collapses and falls onto his stomach. Mal quickly crouches down and looks him over for injuries, and shudders at the increasingly large number of cuts and stab wounds there seemed to be on the survivor's body. He turns quickly and practically screams, "We need to get this guy to the Doc!"
Serenity
Simon was doing his daily checkup on River when he heard a commotion in the dock. Looking up he saw the captain and Jayne dragging a human figure towards the infirmary. Leaping up, Simon opened the door and cleared off the table as fast as he could. He had just managed to clear the last of the inventory before the captain and Jayne reached the room and pulled the injured man onto the bed in the center.
Simon quickly looked at the man and tried to find the seams to take the suit off, but there did not appear to be any that were noticeable. Growing more frantic in his search he found what appeared to be a release button on the left wrist near a glowing blue cube. Depressing the button, a feint blue beam shot from the figures wrist and attached itself to the couch on the outer side of the infirmary; the beam then lifted the couch until it was level with the unconscious man's wrist. Letting go of the button, they all watched as the couch was dropped back to the floor.
Simon stepped away from the body and asked, "What was that?"
"Hell if I know, but lets not be pressing any more shiny buttons," was the captain's answer as he glared at the offending object.
River sighed and looked from the warrior, to the captain, to the boob, not really taking the man with a girls name into account, and stepped up to the warriors head and pressed down upon an indentation in the back. There was a hissing noise and the suit began to retract into segments. The segments then slid along plating until the entire package was connected to the back plate and left the man exposed to the elements.
He wore nothing but a pair of simple boxers, allowing the gathered individuals to see the myriad of cuts, stab wounds, lacerations, bruises, and blood that covered his body from head to toe. Simon took a single look before leaping into action, shoeing Mal and Jayne from the room and asking them to take River.
Serenity
"So how's our guest?" Mal asked as the doc entered the common room looking exhausted.
Simon took a deep breath in an effort to calm himself before collapsing into the nearest chair. He took another breath and looked at the captain saying, "I have no idea how he is even still alive! The amount of damage, dehydration, and blood loss that he suffered should have killed him at least an hour before we even saw the shuttle. Whatever the hell happened to him was horrific, and those things that are in the shuttle are the most likely culprits to most of the injuries he suffers from."
Mal nodded, sat as well before bringing his hands together and saying, "Then we best be getting his story before we go in that boat again. Those beasts did not look natural. Wash has the shuttle sealed, so there'll be no unexpected visitors, but I don' feel a bit o' comfort knowing that that hunk o' junk is just floating so close."
"I was able to pull an ID though, seems he is a CEC engineer by the name of Isaac Clarke. How an engineer gets those kinds of injuries is a mystery," Simon told the assembled crew.
It was at that point that River strode into the commons, staring at the floor in the direction of the injured engineer. She smile as she looked at the place she knew him to be and said, "Good man's been broke. Warrior lost his will to fight. Tried to fix his love, only made it worse. She won't be back Mr. Clarke, but she won't suffer any more." She turned to face the crew and walked to the chair next to Kaylee, sitting before speaking again, "He fought through the cracker and its nut, hoping to find the woman he loved. He did not know she was already dead before he left, but he found her eventually. He has been Marked in red, sees what can't be seen and hears what can't be heard. But he is strong, and he is waking up now."
With that she got up once more and left the room. It took the crew a few minutes to organize what she had said, before the last sentence she said entered their minds and they rushed to the infirmary.
Serenity
Isaac felt consciousness return, as well as several aches and pains he did not expect. His chest felt like a chef had taken his butcher's knife to it and the rest of him felt almost as bad. Looking about himself he saw a well-stocked infirmary, and the inside of a commons area just outside the door.
Sliding himself off of the operating table he looked around for his plasma cutter, needing the reassurance of the tool. He saw it on the other side of the door, almost ten feet away. Taking a breath he took the first step towards his weapon before his legs gave out, forcing him to the floor. As he slid to his knees he heard the sound of running feet, human feet.
Isaac gave a relieved sigh and sat himself against one of the cabinets to wait for the people coming. The first to arrive was a man in incredibly tight pants, with a pistol at his hip and a red button up shirt on. The man looked at the bed, clearly looking for him; so Isaac gave a small grunt to attract his attention.
As the man looked down at him, the other people arrived. One was a dark skinned woman with a similar bearing to Hammond, god rest his soul. Another was a blond man, looked like a jokester. There was also a pair of dark haired folk who looked to be brother and sister, as well as a pretty girl with a wide smile on her face and grease stains on her shirt. The last was a preacher, no real indication of denomination, but Isaac could see it in the way he held himself.
His eyes stayed on the preacher and he asked, "Unitologist?"
A lot of eyebrows furrowed in confusion to the question, looking from the preacher to Isaac. Isaac gave no answer as he only locked eyes with the Sheppard. After a moment the preacher took out his bible and showed it to Isaac, "Anglican."
Isaac gave an audible sigh of relief. This made the crew wonder what had happened to him to make him fear a specific religion. They did not have long to wonder though, as Isaac pulled himself together and asked, "Could you find it in your heart to give last rights to a few damned souls?"
Serenity
Simon watched in horror as the bodies were dragged into the cargo bay. They were monstrous, with twisted faces, deformed bodies, and spikes in their hands. He had naturally heard of Reavers, and he had always thought of them as the worst monsters in the 'Verse, but these creatures were worse than anything he could have ever imagined.
Stealing a glance to the left, he saw his patient sitting on a small crate, no sign of the crutch he had been given. Simon had handed the man a crutch so he could walk about the ship when it was clear that the young engineer would not sit still. The fact that not twenty minutes ago the man had been unconscious due to blood loss and still managed to move was an indication as to how incredible his force of will was.
Simon watched as Isaac's expression shifted into one of pure agony, his eyes glued to something. Turning, Simon saw Mal and Jayne carrying the body of a woman; only this one was different. The body was not as horribly disfigured as the others; only the hands indicated that it had been another of the monsters. Isaac must have known this particular girl, possibly his wife.
Simon watched as the body was moved next to the others, then he could watch no more and turned his head. As he turned there seemed to be a shuffle from the bodies. Mal and Jayne took startled steps backwards, the only thing that saved their lives.
With a vicious roar, one of the more intact corpses leapt up with its left spear swinging, its right having been removed. The monsters swing nearly decapitated both men as they scrambled back as fast as they could. The thing stopped for a moment before roaring again. Its roar was halted with a sudden bang and a line of plasma burning through its neck. The creature fell and lay still.
Serenity
The beast came towards him and all he could think to do was scramble back faster. It stopped for a moment and it seemed to be staring right down his soul, and for once in a very long time, Malcolm Reynolds knew true fear. The creature began to roar once more, readying itself for a charge that would end his life.
Mal couldn't look away from the thing, and it was lucky he didn't; otherwise he would have missed the sight of the things head falling of as a blue line passed through it. He could not help but stare at the once again lifeless corpse, he was so engrossed he did not notice the approaching footsteps. Once he did notice, he saw Isaac Clarke, dressed in the armor that they had found him in staring at the corpse with the same plasma cutter in his hand aimed at the body.
Then Isaac shot the corpse again, breaking of its legs with a single blast. Mal watched in fascinated horror as the engineer systematically relieved the corpses of their limbs. He went from boys to body and shot thrice, before moving onto the next one. It was a show of experience and resignation as the exhausted man finished what he had started. By the time he had finished Mal was back in control of himself; standing, the captain walked over to the engineer and saw that he was focused on the last body they had brought in, the last one on the ship. The girl woulds have been pretty in life.
"She was there because I said she should go… because I thought it was a good idea. Now she's dead, just like Hammond, just like Kendra, just like everybody but me."
Mal didn't know the names he was saying but he knew the feeling of living when others didn't get the chance. Taking the nearest shoulder in his hand he said, "Don' feel bad for the dead, it's the living that suffer. So let them rest in peace and live your life."
He knew he was being hypocritical, but there were some days that called for being a bit more liberal than others. Isaac nodded at the captain's words and deactivated his helmet. He smiled in thanks and began to limp back to the commons area.