Ghost Ship
Two
They watched as below them a transparent dome slid into view. River leant back in the chair and switched on Serenity's exterior spot-lights. With a small toggle switch she pointed them towards the dome. The beams of light penetrated the glass-like material and silver discs glided across tables and curtains and a dance-floor deep within the belly of the beast. A chandelier almost the size of Serenity's cargo-hold threw back a frozen glitter effect. Tiny shards of reflected light oozed across the ceiling of the cockpit and Mal was momentarily flecked in dancing sparks.
'Beautiful,' said River, 'It is saying hello.'
'There ain't no-one saying nothin' River,' said Mal, 'Just mirrors and light is all. Kaylee, what do you know of this ship?'
'Just talk is all Cap'n.'
'So share the talk engine-rat,' said Jayne.
Kaylee threw the rag on her belt at Jayne's face. He threw it back at her. Mal caught the rag in mid-air with his one good arm and nodded for her to keep talking.
'Way I had it tole t'me, that there was the private yacht of Yurgi Halbelbach's great-grandson Hal Junior the third,' said Kaylee.
Jayne let out a thin whistle and stood up. He grabbed one of the conduit housings that ran along the roof of the cock-pit and used it to lean forwards so he could get a better look at the Kestrel.
'Who we talkin' about here?' asked Mal.
'Yurgi 'Hal' Halbelbach, pioneer on one of the first ships to come from the earth-that-was. Owner of the first bank on Arial. Founder and patriarch of the Blue Sun Corporation,' said River.
Mal turned his chair to follow Jayne's gaze out the window.
'See Hal Junior was a terra-former and he liked to survey his planets being made,' said Kaylee, 'he toured the skies in the Kestrel with his family and all the aristocrats and fat-cats of the day havin' parties the likes of which we can only imagine. Mineral barons, ship-builders, politicians; all the money in the 'verse lookin' down on the rest of us getting' born into dirt.'
Mal felt his fist tighten its grip on the padding of the arm-rest.
'Sounds like Hal turned himself into an easy target,' he said.
'That's the way it goes,' continued Kaylee. 'All that planet buildin' 'd given Hal delusions of adequacy. Reckoned that the government of the day, whatever it was called 'fore it was the Alliance, didn't move quickly enough. Didn't understand his genius and the 'verse would be better off if he was runnin' things.'
'So the government offed Hal and his supporters and Blue Sun continued on under a different, more government friendly branch of the family.'
'No-one knows fer sure,' said Kaylee. 'The Silver Kestrel just went missin' in core space and was never heard off again. It was a mystery, greatest mystery of the day; never solved.'
''Til today,' said Jayne.
'Must 'a just floated out 'a the core, through the dust-belt planets and all the way out here.' Kaylee's voice sounded distant as she contemplated the Kestrel.
Jayne broke the silence.
'So let's get done talkin'. My britches are startin' to feel too small; all this chitter when there's liberatin' to be getting' on with.'
Mal gave his gang-master a disgusted look.
''Fore we do any liberatin' of what's not ours we're goin' to go see if there's anyone alive on that boat first,' he said.
'C'mon Mal, don't take fancy scanners t'see that there is nothing more than a big ol' coffin full'a rich folks. God bless their souls and all that, respectful like.'
'This is a Med-Express ship,' said Mal, 'Authorities are goin' to be scrutinisin' us when we get back to the barn and although I'm sure Simon will be glad of any additional legal coin we turn up I don't think he'll look so kindly on us bringin' disrepute on the business; such as wedding rings pulled off century old corpses and the like. Would be bad for our profit margin.'
'I think Jayne might be right,' said Kaylee, 'there's no way there's anyone left alive on that boat. Hasn't been in a hundred years I'll bet. Though…'
'Oh now do I not like the sound 'f that,' said Jayne. 'What you mean though…?'
'It's just another story about Hal and his family. Part of the reason why they always stayed on the ship and never came down to solid ground. You sure none 'f you is never heard 'bout the mutant kids?'
The three other occupants of Serenity stared at Kaylee.
'Tell us of the mutant children,' said River.
'Yes. Please do,' said Jayne.
'See the way it goes is that Hal had himself a beautiful wife but she couldn't give him a child to carry on his name. She got pregnant often enough and they all went to the full nine months but when they came out…' Kaylee contorted her body and made a loud breathing noise through a squinty, crumpled face.
'Stop that,' said Jayne.
Kaylee kept talking with her body in that twisted position. 'They were all kinds of freakish wrong. Something to do with all the radiation that had come from the early terra-forming processes had made Hal's wife's insides a sick place to grow babies.' She got up onto her feet in a series of jerking movements and began to shuffle towards Jayne. He backed off.
'Then what happened,' asked River.
'Well some say that to begin with they all came out dead but Hal sent his wife to the best doctors in the core but they couldn't do nothin' so he took her to some Hoodoo priestesses and then the babies started comin' out alive and stayin' that way until finally Hal's wife died while havin' one last kid; the worst of the lot. A mutant the like of which had never been seen before in the history 'f the 'verse.'
River laughed and clapped her hands with glee.
Mal looked out the window at the Kestrel.
'So Jayne,' he said, 'Your britches startin' to feel a little looser yet?'
