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)
CHAPTER TWO
Captain Dai LaFar was furious. How had someone completely overridden their security protocols and disabled all six ships in the strike fleet. He watched as ships escaped from Haven and cursed under his breath. Dai was human, but a human that also willingly served the Yami. These fools didn't know how much better, how much more structured and organized life was under the Yami. They insisted on fighting and rebelling against what the Yami offered. Soon they would have no choice in the matter. Within ten years, everything in the Expanse would be controlled by the Yami. The Alliance and the Council could do nothing to stop the wave of Yami forces continuing to eat away at their borders.
Dai turned to his tactical officer. "How soon can we get free of whatever stopped us cold?"
"Ten minutes more at least. The coding is rather specific, the science teams report they are making progress, and will expedite their efforts as quickly as possible." The officer replied.
Dai sighed; in this case he couldn't rush the issue, although his superiors will not be very happy at this turn of events. As if that train of thought had called him, the Yami Overseer stepped onto the bridge and glided over to stand next to the captain.
"What is the delay? We should have commenced the attack by now. Why are we not moving?" The whispered voice of the Overseer asked.
"Our systems were compromised, on all of the ships. It looks as if it was a tactic to buy time for refugees from Haven to escape. Our teams are working to resolve the issue, but it will take at least another ten minutes." Dai replied.
"No matter…Those that leave are only delaying the inevitable. Once we are able to move again, dispatch the ground forces to secure those that still reside on Haven. Follow the normal procedures." The Overseer started to turn away before pausing. "Oh…And Captain…"
"Yes Overseer?" Dai asked.
"You will find out who was capable of doing this to our forces, and enact measures to see that it doesn't happen again…Am I making myself clear?" The Overseer asked without turning around.
"Crystal clear, Overseer. It may take some time, but I am sure efforts are already underway." Dai said remaining calm.
"Good, keep me advised of any new developments." And the Overseer left the bridge.
Dai released the breath that he had been holding. "Well, that went better than I expected. Tactical, alert the Science teams of the Overseer's assignment to them. Then alert the ground teams to prepare to depart once we are able to move again."
"Understood, Captain, orders are being relayed now." The tactical officer replied.
Dai acknowledged the reply with a nod and sat in his chair looking at the fleeing ships on the forward view screen. It was only a matter of time, soon there would be nowhere for them to hide. It was a lesson that he'd learned a long time ago. You cannot hide from shadows because they are always around, and for that reason, you can't hide from the Yami.
MEANWHILE, ON SERENITY…
"Mal, you just can't have two Gorram Operatives on this ship. What if they decide to turn us in? We'll be in jail faster than you can blink." Jayne heatedly pointed out to Mal in the dining area.
"Cale's knowledge was the one that enabled us to buy time for the others to escape. His mind was open to River. Do you think if he'd had any intentions that would have brought us harm; she would have let him survive after she'd gotten the knowledge from his mind?" Mal reminded him. "I think in this case they should be given a chance to show their true colors."
"Also, who is this Amber person that you brought aboard? You didn't tell any of the rest of us about your plans. All you told us is that we were making a little excursion to Haven. We know nothing about her, for all we know she could be another Alliance operative." Jayne continued to rant but was stopped cold at the calm and perfectly clear voice that spoke directly behind him.
"I assure you, that if I was an Alliance Operative with designs to hurt or harm this crew, that you would all be incapacitated or otherwise indisposed." Amber said walking into the dining area and sitting down in a nearby chair. "And as to the reason why you recently acquired a very expensive piece of military equipment, namely the Needle, was due to the person who sent Mal to Haven betting that I would find myself on Serenity. Nine times out of ten, that person is normally correct when making bets.
"Why weren't we informed?" Jayne persisted.
"I suspect if I know Captain Muffy Raven as well as I think I do, the less that knew about this little excursion the better. I am not the same person that I was before the loss of my Needle Squadron. One by one they were shot down in one of the earliest Yami attacks. The only reason I survived is the fact that I 'played dead' after the impact of one of their fighters on my Needle. Then I had to limp back to our nearby carrier under what was left of my power, before we were forced to retreat. The Military command offered me any posting I wanted to try to keep me serving. I declined, and left as soon as I could get my things together. Muffy wouldn't stop hounding me until I had promised I would contact her at least once a year on a private frequency that she would set up. It's been five years since I left. I thought I'd finally be able to settle down until the Yami came to Haven." Amber said, looking directly into Jayne's eyes as she told the story. "I don't know how Muffy came to find out about the fact that you needed a new full time Pilot on the Serenity, but she knew that given the current state of affairs..." Amber paused. "I guess she thought you could use one of the best pilots that had ever flown a Needle."
"Your whole squadron was shot down?" Mal asked still trying to absorb that information.
"Every single one of the Crimson Needle Squadron pilots, Captain Reynolds. Twenty nine souls lost in a single battle. As I said, I was lucky. It could have been all thirty of us." Amber confirmed.
"The infamous Crimson Needle Squadron?" Jayne asked abruptly. "You can't be that Captain Amber Domino. That Squadron was legendary, even when we were learning of their initial missions, prior to the Yami. We were still running primarily from the Alliance at the time, but that squadron contained the best pilots to ever come out of their Academy. They had a perfect record, and never failed a mission."
"And that is why my squadron was one of the first sent to the front lines, in that early battle. Muffy's squadron was deployed elsewhere in the Expanse, and by the time the carrier that had the Diamond Squadron arrived to the scene, it was too late. All they could do is try to help recover any who survived. Unfortunately that was a relatively easy task, as there weren't many of us that lived. Five carriers and twenty smaller ships were destroyed. Almost every squadron deployed that day had either completely fallen, or had one or two survivors. It has been said by those of us that survived that is the worst battle since Serenity, for which this ship was named." Amber said without directly confirming who she was.
"I'm sorry." Jayne said gruffly and turned to Mal. "I'll be in my bunk." Jayne said leaving the dining area.
Mal looked to be about to say something as well, when someone cleared their throat at the entrance to the dining area. "I'm sorry to interrupt Captain Reynolds, but Cale has given me leave to come and clarify why we were in this area to begin with. He is still unable to do it himself, and truth be told, Simon had to force him to stay put." The shorter of the two men who had recently come aboard said. His short black hair and violet eyes would mark him as one of the best Operatives the Alliance had if anyone who knew of him had seen him. "Syn Drake, Alliance Operative assigned to monitor Yami communications."
"Have a seat, Mr. Drake." Mal said. Syn took another empty seat, and once Mal saw he'd settled in, finally asked. "What do you know about me and my crew?"
"The same information given to any alliance operative; you are wanted for running illegal smuggling operations throughout the Expanse. This includes the harboring of the fugitives Doctor Simon Tam and his sister River Tam. However, what Captain Domino may have not informed you of, is that given the current situation with the Yami. Well let's just say that your record for the moment is not our primary concern. All Operatives have been reassigned to collect as much information about the Yami as possible and to find a way to stop them."
"And after the Yami situation is resolved?" Mal asked.
"If we survive this, we will cross that bridge when we come to it. Right now, I believe you will agree our primary concern is to assist in finding a way to halt the advance of the Yami. I can tell you this much. Most of the ships in the Yami fleet are crewed and staffed by humans." Syn paused as he saw Mal take that in. "They have a Yami Overseer to keep them in line, but the crews are otherwise completely human."
"Why would they willingly serve the Yami?" Amber asked the obvious question.
"From what other Operatives have gathered, they feel that the structured way that the Yami live is a good thing. They believe if everyone were united under one way of thinking, the thinking that the Yami provide, that the Expanse will be at peace." Syn said.
"But they'll lose their individuality. Don't they understand what that means?" Amber asked with a grim expression on her face.
"It doesn't matter to them anymore, or not enough for them to try to rise up against them." Syn said shaking his head sadly. "For all the times we chased after Captain Reynolds and his crew, a lot of the Operatives respected they were standing up for their individuality. Granted we had our duties to perform, but still…" Syn shrugged.
"They need something to make them believe that it's worth fighting for their individuality." Mal said.
"Yes, they do. Captain Reynolds, Cale and I are not here to tell you how to run your ship, nor are we here to take away the Tams. We're here because we made a choice to stick with Amber. Granted she had no idea who we were, and it was Cale's fault that he ended up learning a lesson at her hand, but at the time we felt it was our best option. Also, Sir, your ship has a great track record of beating the odds. Of all the ships that departed Haven, we also felt our best chance of survival was with you." Syn explained.
"Yes we have beaten the odds quite a bit. Alright you two can stay, and while I doubt Jayne will feel the same way about this, welcome aboard. What I want from the two of you is any information you may have already. If there's a way to do what you were doing on Haven from this ship, let me know what you need. We'll try to get the items you need. After this is all over, if things go back to the status quo we want a decent head start before you send the hounds after us. Do we have an agreement?" Mal said offering Syn his hand.
"A more than acceptable agreement, I will explain the terms to Cale, but I don't think he'd see anything wrong with them. We will ensure a more than adequate lead time, and personally tell you how long you have before the chase will begin again." Syn said shaking Mal's hand.
"Amber, you'll take Book's old bunk. It's been cleaned up since he passed, but it's yours. Syn, until Cale is better we're going to give you one of the Guest bunks that the passengers we transport use. After that we may make other arrangements so you can have a bit more room to yourselves." Mal said.
"Thank you Captain, we're used to living in cramped quarters. We didn't expect you to be so generous actually, given that we normally chase you around the Expanse." Syn nodded. "Cale was actually concerned you'd kick us both off your ship at the next moon."
"Jayne may actually still want to do that, but I'm the Captain of this ship. He may not like that you are here, but he'll grudgingly deal with it." Mal said. "Just live up to your end of the bargain if we survive all of this."
"We will, you can count on it. We won't be idle either. We'll either be finding some way to continue our work onboard, or helping out where you are shorthanded." Syn added. "Just have someone show me to the quarters when they're available. I'm going to report back to Cale." Syn got up and left the room without another word.
"I'll be excusing myself as well Captain, I need to get settled in. I'm sure someone can give me directions to the quarters you spoke of." Amber also got up and exited the room.
Mal watched both of them leave. He now had two Alliance operatives, as well as a Needle Squadron Commander serving aboard his ship. War makes strange bedfellows, and even those who were normally enemies, joined to serve a common cause. Mal also liked the challenge of finding a way to stop the advance of the Yami. He still made his runs through all of this since the Yami arrived, but it was getting harder to do so. Many of his normal clients didn't want to pay the higher fees that came with the increasing difficulties. He would rather be running from the Alliance than dealing with trying to get around the blockades. He was always a decent judge of character, and he knew that Syn would stand by his bargain, as would Cale. Cale who could just as easily have let all the refugees die. Instead he forced himself past his pain to come up and have River use his knowledge to give them extra time.
They had a chance, there was always a chance. But now, with the three new additions to the Serenity, the odds were looking better. Now all they had to do was convince those that had willingly chosen to serve the Yami, to rise up and take back what they lost.
END CHAPTER 2
