All characters are owned by Joss Whedon, except my OC
Enjoy!
XxXxXxX
"If you'll follow me, guys, I'll show you to your rooms," Kaylee said walking towards the back hatch that Audrena had been through before. After a quick tour of the dormitory for those who hadn't seen it, Kaylee brought them all up to the dining area. Captain Reynolds and the dark skinned woman were standing against the kitchen counter, apparently waiting for the group to arrive. He began by formally introducing himself as Captain Malcolm Reynolds. He also introduced his first mate, Zoe Washburne.
"Meals are taken here in the dining area. Kitchen's pretty much self-explanatory. You're welcome to eat what there is anytime. What there is is pretty standard fare: protein in all the colors of the rainbow. We do have sit-down meals, the next one being at 1800 hours." The captain paused, allowing Kaylee to chime in. "I believe Shepherd Book and Audrena have offered to help me prepare something," smiling at both of them. Captain Reynolds looked at Shepherd Book in surprise.
"You're a Shepherd?"
"I thought the outfit gave it away," Book replied, humor in his voice. He looked more serious when he didn't really get the reaction he was going for. "Is it a problem?"
"Of course not," Kaylee spoke up again. "It's not a problem 'cause it's not…"
"No," the captain said, turning his focus back on the rest of them. "As I said, you're welcome to visit the dining area anytime. Apart from that, I have to ask you to stay in the passenger dorm while we're in the air. The bridge, engine room, cargo bay, they're all off-limits without an escort." Simon spoke up at this point. "Some of my personal effects are in the cargo bay."
"I figure you all got luggage you're gonna need," Captain Reynolds replied. "Soon as we're done here, we'll be happy to fetch 'em with you." He then, moved off his position on the counter and made his way towards the group. Also, the pilot had just made his way from the cockpit and leaned back on the table next to him. "Now I have to tell you all one other thing and I apologize in advance for the inconvenience. Unfortunately, we've been ordered by the Alliance to drop some medical supplies off on Whitefall. It's the fourth moon on Athens. It's out of our way, but we should have you on Boros no more than a day off schedule."
Simon looked a bit interested at this. "What medical supplies?"
Captain Reynolds looked squarely at him and said, "I honestly didn't ask."
At this point, Zoe cut in. "Probably plasma, insulin, whatever they ain't got enough of on the border moons." The captain jumped back in and said, "Alliance says jump—"
"All right," Simon replied, seemingly done with the topic. Captain Reynolds asked Zoe to take the passengers down to the hold. They made their way down and began to grab their things. Audrena unpacked her food and supplies that she had promised Kaylee. She made her way up the stairs to where she and the captain were standing. She handed over the goods, getting a wide, beaming smile from the young mechanic. "Look, Cap, she brought flour and sugar. Maybe we can finally bake something for after dinner," saying excitedly as she looked through the container holding the supplies. The captain smirked at the bubbly woman.
He then turned to Audrena. "We haven't seen supplies like that in nearly half a year. I bet you won't find that outside of a central Alliance planet. Where did you say you were from?"
"New Melbourne," Audrena replied quickly.
"Really?" the captain replied, somewhat surprised. He seemed like he was about to continue when Shepherd Book walked up the stairs and stopped in front of them. "Here you go, child," he said, handing over his supplies to Kaylee.
"Ah, the ambassador graces us with her presence," Captain Reynolds says, causing Audrena to follow his gaze. Her eyes met an elegant looking woman who was descending the stairs. She wore a simple but still very beautiful red dress. "Hello, Mal. I see we have some new faces," She responded, stopping at the landing where the group was currently standing.
"Ambassador, this is Audrena," Mal said, motioning to the young girl. They shook hands and the Ambassador gave Audrena a warm smile. "Charmed," Audrena said, returning the smile. She knew this woman was not an ambassador. She almost looks like… "And this is Shepherd Book," the captain continued. The ambassador looked shocked. "I'd have to say this the first time we've had a preacher on board."
"Well I wasn't expecting to see a state official, either. Ambassador," Book responded, taking her hand and bowing slightly. Captain Reynolds let out a tiny snigger. The ambassador shot him a look. So did Kaylee. "I'm missing something funny," Book said, quite unsure of what's going on. "Not so funny," Kaylee said in a low voice, trying to keep the mood calm. Audrena was trying to hide the smile that was trying to appear across her face. The woman turned back to Shepherd.
"'Ambassador' is Mal's way of –"
"She's a whore, Shepherd," the captain cut in.
Shepherd Book was now completely shocked. The woman looked completely annoyed. I knew it, Audrena thought, letting a slight smile go, despite this embarrassing moment. Kaylee jumped in again. "The term is 'Companion'." Obviously this was an old argument.
"Yeah, I always get those mixed up," Captain Reynolds said, faking an absent minded tone. He looked the Companion. "How's business?"
"None of yours," she retorted with a smile on her face.
Captain Reynolds turned back to Shepherd Book. "She is pretty much our ambassador. There're plenty of planets that won't even let you dock without a decent Companion on board." He paused, looking in between the two. "This…this isn't a problem for you, is it, Shepherd?" he finished with a smile. I wonder how long he's waited for a moment like this. The man seemed nonreligious if his attitude towards the Shepherd was any evidence.
"Well I…I certainly…" Shepherd Boom stammered.
The Companion turned to leave. "It's all right. I mostly keep to myself." When she passed Captain Reynolds, she added one more thing. "When I'm not busy whoring." She made her way up the stairs, Kaylee following her with the bags of supplies in her hands.
"Wait, I didn't catch your name," Audrena called out. The Companion turned to look at her. "It's Inara. Inara Serra." She turned back and continued to ascend the stairs.
"Don't you want to meet the rest of the bunch?" Captain Reynolds called out.
"Why don't you make sure they want to meet me first?" Inara called back, already heading back to her shuttle.
Audrena took that as a cue to leave. She descended the stairs to the base of the cargo hold. Picking up her packs, she walked to her assigned room. She was trying to decide how much she should unpack. She was likely only to be here for at most five days while they traveled to Boros. She supposed she could live out of her bags for the time being. She did however pull out her sword to make sure it had made the journey safely. Audrena pulled the blade out of its sheath, inspecting the edge of the blade as it slowly grew longer. Satisfied that there were no imperfections, she put the blade back in the sheath and placed it back in her bag.
She then brought out her shield, currently painted black and having nearly no reflection. She hefted it and strapped it to her left arm, making sure the grip was still correct. After fiddling with the band for a minute she got it the way she wanted. She also placed the shield back in her bag, not wanting anybody to see her weapons. She decided to go see in Kaylee was in the kitchen area yet.
She made her way through the ship and up towards the galley. She found Kaylee standing over a box, the same box that Shepherd Book offered her when they first met. "So, what's the mystery in that mystery box?" Audrena asked, walking up beside Kaylee. "Oh, you didn't see before? They're fresh strawberries!" Kaylee exclaimed, picking one up out of the box and holding it up to show Audrena. She then bit into it, her face melting into pleasure as she savored the bite. She covered the box with the lid and put it in a cabinet for safe keeping.
At that point, Shepherd Book walked into the dining hall. Kaylee noticed his arrival and beamed. "Shepherd, good, you're here. We were just about to start." She turned to Audrena. "Since you said you enjoyed cooking, did you want to lead?" Audrena was surprised at this. She really wasn't expecting it. "Um, sure," she replied, "but you'll have to help me out with this kitchen. I'm not exactly familiar with it." "Of course," Kaylee said with a smile, "just tell me what you need." "I'll try to help you as best I can," Book added, removing his coat. Audrena did the same thing with her own. "So first we need…"
XxXxXxX
"You guys, this food looks amazing," Zoe complimented, filling up a plate. "Thank Audrena, she was the one who did most of the work," Kaylee said, gesturing to the now blushing Audrena. "You and Shepherd Book did your fair share," she commented. "Oh please. I think, and I'm sure Shepherd Book would agree, either of us would be completely lost," Kaylee countered, looking to Book for confirmation. Shepherd nodded in agreement. Audrena glanced back to the spot Zoe was standing to thank her, only to find her missing. "Where did Zoe—"
"Oh, she went up to the cockpit to bring a plate for Wash," the captain said, interrupting her before she could finish. "No reason for him to miss out on this fine looking meal." Sure enough, Zoe returned, her hands empty. She took her place at the table, left of the captain, who was sitting at the head of the table.
They were about to dig in when Shepherd Book spoke up. "Captain, do you mind if I say grace?" Audrena glanced at Captain Reynolds, who had paused, his chopsticks full of mashed potatoes halfway to his mouth.
"Only if you say it out loud," he replied. Audrena glanced at the Shepherd this time, looking thoroughly uncomfortable. Well, that ruined the mood a bit, Audrena thought to herself. She closed her eyes and said a silent prayer, praying for good fortune. She tried to ignore the captain's chewing. She opened her eyes and picked up her chopsticks.
"So does this happen a lot?" Simon asked. "Government commandeering your ship, telling you where to go?"
"That's what governments are for: get in a man's way." Captain Reynolds replied. Or send her to commit atrocities in the name of peace, Audrena thought bitterly, spearing a tomato slice.
"Well, it's good, if the supplies are needed," Dobson put in. "We're just happy to be doing good works," Jayne commented. Audrena had met him during the cooking. He had tried to sneak an early bite and Kaylee had whacked his hand with a wooden spoon.
"I hear a lot of the border moons are in bad shape. Plagues, and famine…" Dobson said again. This time, Zoe spoke up. "Well, some of that's exaggerated and some of it ain't. All of those moons, just like the central planets, they're as close to Earth-That-Was as we could make 'em: gravity, atmosphere, and such, but…"
"Once they're terraformed, they'll dump settlers on there with nothing with blankets, hatchets, maybe a herd. Some of them make it, some of them…" Captain Reynolds trailed off, completing Zoe's statement.
"Then I guess it's good we're helping." Simon commented.
"So, you're a doctor, right?" Kaylee asked, looking at Simon.
"Oh, uh, yes. Yes, I was a trauma surgeon on Osiris. In Capital City." Simon responded, looking a bit uncomfortable.
"Long way from here." Mal said. This made Simon look more uncomfortable.
"You seem so young. To be a doctor." Kaylee continued, obviously impressed.
"Yeah," the young doctor paused. Changing the subject, he said, "You're pretty young to be a ship's mechanic."
"Know how. Machines just got workings, and they just talk to me." Kaylee said, downplaying the compliment from Simon.
"Kaylee, from the way you talk about engines, it's obvious your skill is highly extraordinary," Audrena commented, Shepherd Book humming in agreement. The three of them had a fifteen minute conversation during the preparation of the meal on the topic of ship and ship engines. Audrena learned a lot in that short while.
"Oh, not like being a doctor. Helping fix people, that's important." Kaylee said.
"Little Kaylee here just wishes you was a gynecologist," Jayne said, finishing with a cackle.
"Jayne. You will keep a civil tongue in that mouth or I will sew it shut. Is there an understanding between us?" Captain Reynolds barked, Jayne looked a bit surprised but recovered quickly. "You don't pay me to talk pretty. Just because Kaylee gets lubed-up from some big city dandy—"
"Walk away from this table," the captain said, still in a hard tone. "Right now."
The table was quiet as Jayne stuck some more food on his plate and left, stomping off the crew dormitory. Audrena noticed that Kaylee was trying not to look up from her plate. Finally, Simon asked, "What do you pay him for?" Captain Reynolds froze again this time with a tomato slice halfway to his mouth. "What?" he answered intelligently. "I was just wondering what his job was. On the ship, I mean."
"Public relations," answered Captain Reynolds. He returned to his food. The rest of dinner was relatively quiet, with people finishing what was on their plates. As dinner finished up, people brought their plates to the sink to be washed. Simon and Dobson excused themselves and headed back to their rooms. Zoe thanked Audrena, Kaylee and Shepherd Book for a wonderful meal. She then made her way up to the front of the ship, towards the cockpit. Kaylee and Shepherd Book were still clearing the serving dishes and left over cutlery from the table and Audrena was washing the plates. The captain was still sitting at the table, picking at a piece of his dinner that was stuck in his teeth.
"Well, that was a fine meal. Haven't eaten that well in a long time. Audrena." She stopped what she was doing at the sink and looked at him. "Thank you kindly for preparing the meal for us." Captain Reynolds said, smiling as he finished. "Well, I can't take all the credit, captain. Kaylee and the shepherd helped out as well," she said, gesturing to the two.
"Oh, no you don't," Kaylee said, turning her head to look at Captain Reynolds. "Mal, you shoulda' seen her. She was a pro, telling us what needed to be done, how long to cook everything. It was like learning from the best chefs on Londinium." Audrena blushed at this. She really wasn't used to hearing compliments. "It was nothing," she said, continuing to clean the plates in the sink. "You know," the captain said slowly, "Someone ought to take a plate up to Inara's shuttle. She might enjoy a meal like this as well. Shepherd, could you take it up for her?" Audrena glanced at the captain again as he said this. He had a smirk on his face. Shepherd Book looked a little uncomfortable, but nodded.
He filled a plate with food and took it away on a tray. Audrena finished cleaning up the plates while Kaylee had a quiet conversation with Captain Reynolds. Audrena didn't catch the whole thing but heard snippets like "Inara" and "embarrass him". She finished drying the dishes, and was just beginning to put them away when the captain stepped out of the dining area, making his way towards the front of the ship. Kaylee shook her head and headed back to the kitchen area to help finish cleaning up. They put away the last of the dishes.
"That should be all," Kaylee announced. "Thanks again, Audrena. You were amazing."
"Like I said before," Audrena replied, "it's nothing."
"Well, I'd love to see what something is," Kaylee said. "I need to get back to the engine room, check in on the old girl. Do you need anything else?" Audrena shook her head no. "I think I'm just going to go back to the passenger dorm and read for a little bit." Kaylee nodded and walked off towards the aft, making her way to the engine room. Audrena descended the stairs that led down to the dormitory. She walked to her room and pulled her tablet device out of her bag. She returned to the lounge and took a seat on the couch. She turned it on and checked her messages. After that she browsed through her list of books. She selected an old novel from Earth-That-Was, one of her favorites, Cloud Atlas.
About ten minutes in, while she was trying to load a page when she noticed the device had disconnected from the cortex. She let out a sigh and stared at the tablet in frustration. She kept hitting the reconnect button, hoping for a new connection. She even switched off her device and turned it back on, but to no avail. She heard footsteps and looked up to see Simon walking by her, heading towards the cargo bay. He seemed to be in a rush, not even sparing a glance at her. About a minute later, Dobson exited his room, heading up the stairs towards the dining area. He hadn't noticed her either. Audrena thought nothing of it, until she spotted the handle of a handgun peeking above the waistline of his pants.
That caught her attention.
She quickly stood up and went to Dobson's room. She looked inside to find a device on his bed. She picked it up off the bed. The screen was flashing displaying a message.
INTERFERENCE:
UNABLE TO CONNECT
TO CENTRAL CORTEX
The Central Cortex? But that's only for… Audrena's eyes widened and she dropped the device. The central cortex was only Alliance officials. She left the room and quietly made her way upstairs, following Dobson. He's an Alliance agent. But who is he here for, she thought, her mind racing. She turned the corner and stared down the hallway, just catching sight of Dobson turning down the passage towards the walkways in the cargo bay.
He's not looking to commandeer the ship otherwise he would have headed straight for the bridge. Audrena continued to race through possibilities in her mind. She made her way down the hallway, silently crossing the dining area and looked to her right. The passage was clear. She quickly made her way to the stairs that would make her way to the cargo bay. She thought about warning someone on the crew, but that would take too much time. She made her way down the stairs. She saw Dobson slowly make his way to the back of the gangway, stopping at the stairs and looking down at someone. Audrena followed his gaze and found Simon. He was currently squatting in front of the box he brought on board.
He's the target? What possible reason would an Alliance fed target a doctor? She then noticed the captain make his way into the cargo bay. He went unnoticed by Simon, but Dobson crouched from his position and watched him carefully. Simon stood up and turned to go back to the dormitory area. It was then that he spotted the captain. Captain Reynolds said something to Simon that Audrena couldn't quite catch. Then he suddenly slugged the doctor in the face, sending him to the ground sprawling.
"Are you out of your mind?" Simon shouted, standing up and clutching his face. Captain Reynolds responded, but again, Audrena couldn't quite hear. She saw that Dobson was making his way down the stairs as slowly as he could. When he reached the middle landing, Audrena decided to move up her position as well. She could hear a little better when she reached the top of the stairs. Captain Reynolds now had a gun to Simon's face.
"I have exactly no time for games. What do they know?" Captain Reynolds demanded.
"You're a lunatic!" Simon cried out.
"And you're a gorram fed!" Captain Reynolds responded.
"Hate to say it, Captain, but you've got the wrong man," another voice said. Audrena peered over the edge of the walkway to see Shepherd Book standing there near the front staircase. She hadn't even seen or heard him. Shepherd Book was looking at the stairs in front of him and next to Captain Reynolds and Simon. They noticed the shepherd's gaze and turned to see Dobson standing there with his handgun pointing at all three of them.
"Son of a bitch." Captain Reynolds groaned.
"Drop that firearm, Captain Reynolds," Dobson declared. Captain Reynolds does as he says.
"This is not my best day ever," the captain muttered to himself. Dobson moved his gun and pointed it at the doctor.
"Simon Tam, you are bound by law to stand down." Simon put his hands up.
"What? The doctor?" Captain Reynolds asked when he realized the gun wasn't on him anymore. "Oh," he proceeded to put his hands down. "Hey! Is there - is there a reward?"
Dobson was now ignoring him, still training his gun on Simon. "Get on the ground." Simon made no move. "Get on the ground!" Dobson repeated, a little louder this time.
"Lawman, you are making a mistake," Simon said, trying to reason with the man.
"I think you best get on the ground, son," Captain Reynolds put in. "The man seems a mite twitchy."
"I think everyone could stand to calm down a bit," Shepherd Book calmly said, slowly moving towards Dobson.
Audrena was trying to think of what to do. Normally, she would have her equipment with her to help in a situation like this. She contemplated rushing back to her room to grab her knife that she left in her bag. The conversation kept going.
"This isn't your business, Shepherd," Dobson said sternly.
"The boy's not going anywhere, lawman," Shepherd Book replied, his voice even. "As I understand it, it's pretty cold outside." He motioned towards the cargo bay door.
"Not to worry," Captain Reynolds said casually, crouching for his dropped gun. "Put Lord Fauntleroy here in a passenger cell. Won't make a peep 'til you hand him over—" He almost reached his gun, when Dobson turned the pistol back on Captain Reynolds.
"Get the hell away from that weapon!" Dobson spat. "You think I'm a complete backbirth? You're carrying a fugitive across interplanetary borders, and you think I actually believe that you're bringing medical supplies to Whitefall? As far as I care, everyone on this ship is culpable.
Silence, then, "Well, now. That has an effect on the landscape," Captain Reynolds said very quietly, standing back up to an upright position.
"Please, we're very close to true stupidity here," Shepherd Book commented, trying to keep everyone calm.
"I've got a cruiser en route for intercept, so talk all you want. You got about twenty minutes," Dobson said, shifting his position.
"Might have less than that."
"Yeah, threaten me," Dobson said snidely. Shepherd Book kept moving towards Dobson. "For God's sake—"
"You don't think I'll shoot a Shepherd? Back off!" Dobson threatened, pulling back the hammer of his weapon. Captain Reynolds grabbed the doctor.
"Just take the kid."
"Get your hands off me," Simon demanded, struggling in the captain's grip.
"Stand the hell down!" ordered Dobson. Audrena could hear loud footsteps coming from behind her, from the stairwell that led to the infirmary. That had to be Kaylee. She must have heard the shouting from the engine room. She had to warn her. Audrena proceeded to sprint down the stairs and jump off the landing. Kaylee appeared in the doorway. "Why's everybody –"
A shot rang out. Audrena felt a pain rip through her body. She fell to her knees and clutched her side. She pulled her hand away to find it covered in blood. She heard a fist making impact and a loud clattering sound. Someone knelt at her side.
"How do you feel?" It was Simon.
"Like I've been shot." She responded. She heard Jayne and Shepherd Book arguing, but couldn't really pay attention to what was going on.
"How are your legs?" the doctor asked.
"I think I can walk, if that's what you're asking." She shut her eyes and grit her teeth as the pain kept climbing. The shouting in the background was getting fainter and fainter as her heart pounded in her ears. This is not good. I'm losing a lot of blood.
"Good, we need to get you moving," said Simon. "I saw that there was an infirmary. Is it working?"
"Yeah, it's stocked but—" Captain Reynolds informed, but was cut off from saying anything more when the intercom came to life. "Captain, we've been hailed by a cruiser. Ordered to stay on course and dock for prisoner transfer."
Audrena's eyes shot open. She almost forgot in all the commotion that Simon was still a wanted fugitive. She looked at him. He looked scared and unsure of what to do. He stood up, and stepped away from Audrena. "Change course. Run."
"Hell with you," said an incredulous voice from next her. It was the captain. "You brought this down on us. I'm dumping you with the law."
"She's dying," Simon said desperately.
"You're not gonna let her."
"Yes, I am."
"No, you can't."
Audrena's head was starting to feel extremely heavy and her vision was starting to lose focus.
"No way the feds'll let us walk," She heard Zoe say.
"Then we dump him in a shuttle and leave him," Captain Reynolds said.
She felt herself swaying gently back and forth, her body struggling to keep her up.
"Guys, we have to do something. She's fading real fast," a feminine voice Audrena recognized as Kaylee's. She must be close by. Audrena's body gave out and she slid to the left. She felt her body fall in slow motion. Her head slammed against the cargo room floor. She heard Kaylee scream her name. The conversation was starting to drift in and out.
"…you…any idea…stomach…in the next…utes?"
Flashes of memories danced before her eyes.
A young girl staring up at her.
"…you let her…make it…feds."
Her first kill, watching the life slowly leave the man's eyes as tears filled her own.
"…still be dead."
Training with her instructor as she blocked and countered his practice blade.
"…think…lives are… only thing…matters."
Practicing for 24 hours straight with twenty other recruits.
"…you do…your folks…ily fortune?"
She was being dropped off with tears in her eyes, crying for her parents.
"…don't kill people!"
"…do your job!"
Audrena was staring out the window towards the stars. She'd never seen so many in her life.
"Help me…please," She whispered out. Then she knew no more.