UNTITLED FICTION STORY
OPENING SETTING COLONY WORLD 'HAVEN'
CHARACTERS THAT I DON'T OWN THAT MAY BE FEATURED – THOSE FROM FIREFLY/ SERENITY (SURVIVING SERENITY CHARACTERS: RIVER AND SIMON TAM, ZOE WASHBURNE, MALCOLM 'MAL' REYNOLDS, INARA SERRA, JAYNE COBB, KAYWINNET LEE 'KAYE' FRYE)
Amber was nursing her glass of water at her table in the bar she worked at on Haven. She was a woman of average height and build, but if someone looked into her eyes. Well those eyes were almost always a bit haunted these days. She used to have a smile for everyone, but since 'that battle', she hardly smiled anymore. Her honey brown hair was cut short, and her glasses were balanced on her nose. Currently she wore a brown leather jacket, khaki pants and matching khaki colored shirt. Her attire however wasn't always this casual…
Once she had been the leader of the Crimson Needle Fighter Squadron. The Needle was a fighter ship named for its slender design, similar to that of a sewing needle. But the Crimson Needles were the best of the best. Their pilots were the top of their class, or very near it. Amber had been chosen as the squadron leader due to her intuitive tactical skills. Coupled with Amber's piloting and combat skills she had been very formidable.
During that last battle, it was their first encounter with the Yami race. An alien race which could only be seen as a dark form or outline, they had attacked without provocation. The Council had tried to approach them diplomatically, but their representatives never returned. Nothing was known about what had happened to them. At the current time, common speculation was that if there was no diplomatic resolution, the worlds of the Expanse would be flying the flags of the Yami within ten years. Their weapons capabilities far outstripped anything the Council and what remained of the military could create currently. Optimists said there had to be a weakness in their weapons and defense capability, but as yet it hadn't been found.
The Crimson Needles had been one of the first squadrons deployed. It ended up being a blood bath. While their squadron had held out longer than most, eventually they fell against the fighters that the Yami deployed. One by one Amber had watched her teammates fall. One by one, until she was the only one left alive, and that was just barely. It was sheer luck that she'd managed to escape and survive that battle. She left the military after the battle, too shaken by what she'd seen to fly again. The Command officers tried to get her to stay, offering her any posting that she wanted. She declined and walked out of that meeting with no regrets.
Wandering for a bit, she finally settled on Haven. She was very fortunate that the owner of the bar she worked at was in need of a bouncer. Though after the first time someone had comment about her service record, he also understood enough to let her handle such comments her own way. This way usually involved broken bones to the offending party. In fact patrons often bet these days on how she would make her point. She knew it went on, but the owner was letting her handle such things. The least she could do is pretend she didn't know the betting was going on.
Things had been quiet today, but she looked up at the sound of voices rising at a nearby table. Cale and Syn, two of the regulars were starting one of their heated 'debates' again. A lot of the patrons were starting to take sides. It was time for her to intervene before things got damaging. She walked over to the table and cleared her throat. "Gentlemen, you know the rules, keep it down, or take it outside."
"This is none of your concern; go poke your nose somewhere else." Cale said, being the taller of the two.
"You made it my concern by starting to get too loud over here." Amber reminded him. "I suggest you keep it down or take it outside." She said not moving, meeting his gaze squarely.
"I don't have to take orders from a Deserter like you." Cale said holding his ground. Syn's eyes widened and he and the rest of the crowd backed up. They knew what was coming and Cale realized too late what he'd said.
Grabbing Cale's shirt by the collar, she dragged him outside. The bets started exchanging hands in the bar and everyone watched as she 'addressed' Cale's comment. By the time she was finished with him, he had a dislocated shoulder, and two cracked ribs. She was polite enough to put his dislocated shoulder back into its socket, and he was smart enough to get up at that point and limp over to the clinic for the remaining medical attention he needed. Syn followed Cale out helping him over to the clinic.
By the time she returned to the table, everyone was back in their seats as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. She sipped her glass of water, knowing the remaining shift would be uneventful. One exhibition like that a day was usually enough to deter any further disagreement in the establishment. She didn't know, however, that she was currently being watched.
Captain Malcolm Reynolds sat in a corner of the bar with her first mate Zoe Washburne and was still trying to absorb what he'd just seen occur. "We just saw that happen right?" he asked his first officer.
"Yes we did, she was very precise with her hits, and only did enough damage to teach that guy a lesson. She even set his arm back into his socket before he headed off to the clinic. I don't think that gentleman will be making any remarks about her former service after such a lesson." Zoe remarked as they watched the woman back to sipping her water. "The owner spoke highly of her, and so have a lot of the other patrons."
"Our informant said she would be the best pilot we could find, even though her background is more of a fighter based than a ship like ours. The problem he said we'd have is convincing her to take the job. She took it pretty hard when she saw her entire squadron destroyed at the hands of that Yami Race that appeared recently." Mal observed. "I think the owner allows her to handle things her way like that because it allows her to blow off steam after being reminded about what happened."
"River has been a very good co pilot though, she's picked up quickly. Why do you feel we need another pilot?" Zoe asked.
"River and Simon can't be guaranteed to be around all the time. You heard what the Operative said. They are still considered fugitives until he can convince the others that they are no longer a threat. In case they are forced to make a decision to leave to save us, I would like to have someone familiar with the Serenity to pilot her if need be." Mal paused. "The informant also said as a bonus, if we could get her on board, he would obtain a Needle for her to use if she chose."
"That would be a good thing to have if we couldn't go into an area ourselves but needed the information." Zoe agreed. "And as they are relatively recent tech, they are really expensive to come by."
"It's a one person fighter, but I agree. If we needed to get a package to someone, or retrieve one, we could have someone to fly the Needle to get in and out quickly."
As the conversation between Mal and Zoe continued at their table, Amber didn't miss them as they tried not to be looking in her direction. She knew who they were of course, since the military was primarily funded by the Alliance. Things changed though when the Yami showed up. Any warrants they had on their head had been put to the side due to the need to find a way to stop the Yami. She wondered if they'd found that out. She'd always had respect for those that served on the Firefly Class ship Serenity, although that didn't mean she'd agree to any pitch they'd offer her. She finally decided to take matters into her own hands as they still had not approached her. She got up and went over to their table and sat down. "It's not polite to stare…" She said to them, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose.
"Captain Amber Domi, I'm…" Mal started to say before Amber cut him off.
"I know who you both are, and my last name is Domino, not Domi. People tended to enjoy shortening my last name for some reason." She paused. "Now what do you want with me?"
"We need a new full time pilot. Our informant said that you would be our best choice, if we could get you to accept the post." Mal said getting right to the point.
"I thought I'd gone low enough that anyone wouldn't be able to inform anyone about my whereabouts. Ok I'll bite, who was your informant?" Amber asked.
"It was the Diamond Needle squadron commander, Captain Muffy Raven." Zoe answered.
"She survived too? May I ask where you found her?" Amber asked, remembering her old friend.
"She found us actually. We were just finishing a job and her Needle ever so casually slid up next to our ship. She apparently had heard we were looking for a new pilot and pointed us in your direction. Apparently she said you'd been keeping contact with her once a year, some kind of promise you made as she saw you resign your post." Mal added.
"Yeah, she forced me to promise her that, and like an idiot I couldn't say no." Amber confirmed. "She was always good at sneaking up on people, that's why her squadron was deployed on intelligence missions in most cases."
"She said if we got you to sign on, she'd provide a Needle for your personal use." Mal added.
"So she's playing that card. And why would I want to sign on with you?" Amber asked as her head turned to the doorway. "Something's wrong." Cale was at the door, bandaged up but there.
Amber got up, the current conversation forgotten. She ran over to Cale. "What happened?" she asked him, as she saw Syn come running up as well.
"The Yami…" he gasped out. "The Yami have been picked up on radar. They are coming to Haven." Cale said.
"How soon will they be here?" Amber asked.
"Twenty minutes at the most if we're lucky." Cale gasped.
"Captain Reynolds, where is your ship?" Amber said looking quickly at him. "How close is it?"
"Close enough, what do you have in mind?" Mal asked.
"A wing and a prayer," Amber said. "If you can still contact Muffy, warn her about what is about to go down here." She turned to the patrons. "Anyone with a ship, help evacuate those that don't. Try to head for the safe worlds, or rather what's left of them if you can."
Everyone got up from their tables and went about their tasks, gathering crews and civilians as they went. Everyone knew how big each of their ships was, and how much it could hold. Amber was surprised when Syn and Cale had stayed behind. "You two have your own ship don't you?" Amber asked.
"It is under repair and not likely to be finished before the Yami arrive. If it's all the same we'll stick with you." Cale said with a pained grin.
"That's his way of saying he's sorry for insulting you." Syn added.
"Up to those two whether or not you can come along." Amber said nodding to Mal and Zoe.
"At this point we're not going to argue about a little free help. Welcome aboard the Serenity." Mal said. "Now get your butts over to her and get on board. You, the taller one…" Mal started to say before Cale interrupted.
"Cale, sir... My name is Cale Morgan. This is my partner Syn Drake." Cale said.
"Fine then…Cale, make sure you have Simon look at your bindings and make sure they don't need to be redone once you're on board. Amber, you're coming as well correct?" Mal asked.
"The Yami don't give me much choice in the matter." Amber said sadly. She looked towards the owner who motioned her over to the bar.
"I can't give you everything I owe you for all the work you've done, but I can give you this much." He handed her a bag of part of her wages. He also handed her a duffel bag that had been stashed behind the bar. "Your things, the ones you told me to hold for you until you needed them."
"How will you get off Haven?" Amber asked him.
"My family and I are staying, for better or for worse. We were born here, and we will die here. There will be no regrets Captain Domino; we have all lived a full life." The owner said.
"Thank you, for everything." Amber said before turning and walking over to where Mal and Zoe were. "Let's get off this rock before it starts to burn."
"Agreed, come on." Mal said as he led them at a running pace towards where the Serenity was. If Kaylee had done everything the as efficiently as she normally did, the ship would be refueled and ready to go. Mal looked behind him at Amber. He had to admit, she was no slouch. He had a feeling if the warning of the attack hadn't come, she would have turned him down flat out. Kaylee had already attached the clamps that Muffy said they would need so that the Needle she had provided could dock with Serenity.
True to form the engines were already started by the time the three of them arrived. "Status?" Mal asked quickly.
"A small group of Yami ships are moving this way, they have already taken out some of the nearby scanning posts." Jayne replied as he shut the hatch behind them. "The two men arrived ahead of you three; Simon's got the one named Cale in medical right now. Syn is helping Kaylee in engineering."
"What about the Needle?" Zoe asked.
"On autopilot in orbit, it will automatically dock when River sends the signal Muffy provided." Jayne answered.
"Tell River to spin the engines and get us going then." Mal said. Jayne went off to let River know, and moments later they were in the air.
By the time the Serenity was back in space, Mal had made it up to the bridge with Zoe and Amber behind him. "We should be in sight of the Needle now Mal." River said from the copilot's seat.
"You are…But the signal you will be sending won't be the one from Muffy." Amber said in a soft voice coming up from behind River. "It will be my signal. May I borrow your communications console?" River nodded and moved over so Amber could access it.
"Why does it have to be your signal Amber?" Mal asked.
"Muffy plans for everything, in this case, she would have planned for scenarios in which I did or did not agree to your job offer. If I had not agreed, I believe she would have still let you have the Needle by transmitting her authorization signal. It would have authorized you to own the Needle, and be exempt from any charges of theft. But if I came on board for any reason, I believe she would have keyed the Needle to my old authorization code as well." Amber entered her code and sent it to the Needle's communication system. Moments later she was rewarded with the lights coming on in the cockpit and the autopilot taking over maneuvering it to the beacons on the docking clamps attached to the Serenity. The clamps automatically activated as they should have once she used her code to initiate the docking sequence.
"Looks like you were right Amber, Muffy does plan for everything." Mal agreed as the Needle clicked into place locked into the docking clamps. "Now I think it's time we burn the engines and get out of here before the Yami get here."
"That would be a good idea Mal, because they're getting closer." Zoe called from the tactical station. "They'll be here in five minutes."
"Everyone that's able to get off Haven hasn't left yet. They won't have enough time at that range." Amber pointed out. "How big is that Yami strike group?" She asked turning towards Zoe.
"From what everyone's picking up one large cruiser type, and five medium sized strike vessels." Zoe replied. "Though there may be more that no one has been able to scan yet."
"That's too many even for a Needle squadron." Amber said grimly, turning at a noise at the entry to the bridge.
"What if you confused the Yami fleet's sensors?" Cale asked as Simon came up behind him.
"Sorry Captain, he heard what was going on and wouldn't lay still." Simon apologized.
"Confuse them? How would we do that? We have no way to hack into them." Mal asked. "Though if it were possible, it may buy us enough time to get everyone out who is running."
River looked at Cale as if sensing something. "Captain, he could do it himself if his shoulder wasn't still recovering from an earlier incident, but as it is now he could only code with one hand."
"You're a hacker?" Mal asked looking at him.
"A hacker that specializes in hacking into Yami systems…I should probably formerly introduce myself. Operative Cale Morgan assigned to gather intelligence information on the Yami and report it back to the Council. My partner Syn Drake is also an Operative. We were sent as a team, though we didn't realize they were coming to Haven until our private scanner picked them up. By then it was too late." Cale said apologetically.
"What about Syn, could he do it?" Mal asked.
"I specialize in the computer stuff; he specializes in the communications side of it. His job was to monitor the scanner we had and notify the locals if the Yami were coming. We were lucky we found out about it when we did. It was almost too late." Cale explained.
"River, can you use your gift to see what he'd have done and break into the Yami systems?" Mal asked.
"I can try to. He would be able to watch to ensure I was doing it correctly." River replied.
"I think River should try as well." Amber agreed.
"I hope she can keep up, I'll be thinking codes pretty quickly. I have to code based on the replies I see on the screen." Cale said.
"But there are six ships you have to confuse AT LEAST." Amber pointed out.
"Don't worry, I can handle it." Cale said. "Now let me get to work, we don't have much time…"
They anxiously watched as the seconds ticked away. The seconds became minutes, and the minutes ticked down until the Yami vessels were visible outside. River hit a final set of codes under Cale's instruction and sent them. This resulted in the Yami vessels stopping where they were, and they couldn't move from their current position.
"Tell everyone to move it; I can only keep this code activated for fifteen minutes." Cale said.
"You heard the man, have all the ships evacuated within fifteen minutes." Mal said.
River sent the transmission. "Could the Yami ships have heard that?"
"One of the codes you sent jammed their communications for five minutes. Just long enough for you to transmit the information." Cale said. "If that will be all Captain, I believe I will follow the doctor's orders and go lie down."
"He's in great pain Mal, he's been ignoring it so I could have a clear image of the codes I needed to send from his mind." River observed.
"Forcing myself not to give into it you mean." Cale corrected.
"Get some rest Mr. Morgan, and thank you for your help." Mal said.
"Thank you sir…" Cale said trying to make a semi dignified exit, but only ending up passing out on the bridge from exhaustion.
"I'll get him back to Medical sir." Simon said.
"Not without help you won't." Mal said grabbing Cale's legs and lifting them as Simon lifted his arms. "Zoe you have the bridge. Amber, you and River get us out of here once everyone's clear. Keep an eye on those Yami vessels. If they so much as start to twitch, I don't want to be anywhere near them…" Mal said.
"Understood, and frankly Sir, neither do I." Amber agreed sitting down in the Pilot's chair. She started to plot a course out of the area, verifying her trajectory based on the star maps available. She wasn't about to die here, she had a score to settle one day with the Yami. First her Squadron, and now Haven…One day she would make them pay for all that they'd taken from her. One day the Expanse would be Free.
END CHAPTER 1