RSTC/ Firefly:: Lost
Chapter 2: Welcome to Serenity
Ashley Anderson was the last one in the dining area. She placed her pack, now considerably lighter because they left the weapons on the cargo hold, on the dinner table watching the rest of the Roughnecks make themselves comfortable leaning on counters and posts beside the table and the ship's crew members sat down on their chairs. Quickly, she tried to make her way to hang out beside Bobby Higgins before anybody could notice.
To no avail.
The captain had spotted her make her get away. "Hey, hold on this gorram minute." He pointed at her. "You think you can explain all this mess to us, go ahead girl. We're waiting." He placed both his legs up on the table.
"Andy." Rico tilted his head to the empty space at the head of the table.
She took a deep breath and returned to her place putting both her hands behind her. "Hi, I'm Private Ashley Anderson. Andy." She nodded meeting the gaze of each judging crew member except one. She could swear that one girl was staring intently at the door behind her. "So, who wants me to explain what first?" She looked expectantly at the silent crowd. "You know, this is so much easier without a power suit on." She added when nobody said anything.
"Why don't you start from the beginning child." The striking military lady of the ship's crew suggested.
"What an existential answer." She joked in vain. Nobody laughed. But she had expected that. This really wasn't a laughing matter. Andy bobbed her head mulling where exactly she should. "See, a long time ago, there was this time that we're depleting the Earth's resources at the rate faster than what was thought to be the rate that the Earth could recover. Human beings were basically taking more than we're giving back. Kind of like the story of the Giving Tree." She took another deep breath. "Well, the countries of the United States of America and China-- they got together and did the math and said there would only be so much time that humans could live on Earth. So, they formed the Anglo Sino Alliance and pulled their brains and the places in space they've discovered together and went through with their plan. They terraformed these moons and planets and what not so that they'd be Earth like and humans can go on living in them." She eyed the confused troopers. "Kind of like Tesca Nemorosa. Only think that a machine gave it all that greenery by passing millions of years of evolution." There were more blank stares from the troopers. "It's like magic." She finally said.
"Anyway, so when these places were ready to be inhabited, the ASA took a majority of their population, left Earth, and relocated them there where they did their own thing." She revealed to the troopers. "These are those ASA people. Descendants, relatives and what not. Grew up in some weird mix of Western and Eastern culture. They actually speak Chinese besides from English."
"Wait." A smartly dressed man raised his hand slowly with a finger pressed on his lip. "Are you telling us that Earth- that- was is still, for lack of a better word, alive?" He asked slowly.
"We're all born and raised there." Andy answered carefully.
She watched the man lean back on his chair as if he was dealt a heavy blow. "Lies." He muttered to himself. "The Alliance taught us all lies." He looked to the ceiling in disbelief.
"If it makes you feel better, man, we're in the same squad as her and we didn't know anything about this." Dizzy Flores gave the man a pat on the shoulder.
"Actually, it was in the school curriculum. It's just that the most of the teachers skip that part and some books just have a page on it or skip it altogether. They just make it a passing example on the time humans were able to turn the tide and make a more sustainable future. This took a lot of digging in the archives." Andy cringed. "A lot of digging and I didn't even win that game that time."
"Andy, this Anglo Sino Alliance... are they still under SICON?" Higgins, ever the reporter, inquired.
"Autonomously, yeah." She replied. "There was some fuss about it because the ASA wanted none of SICON. But the second the bugs were confirmed in Pluto, ASA changed their minds. This place is under SICON but they get their own government, and do their own thing. All the ASA has to do is pay a certain percentage of their economy to SICON every year... the structure is like a colony or commonwealth of some sort. See, SICON actually has sensors on the fringe of this place just to detect bugs. We don't fly through here, ASA doesn't like it and we have bugs to worry about. So SICON doesn't meddle with the day to day much. But if bugs come, that's a whole different game." She ran her fingers through her hair at the dire thought.
"Let's pretend all this is true." The captain broke through the quiet. "Bugs. You keep yapping about them bugs of yours. What are they? They like Reavers?" He inquired.
"No sir." Andy shook her head. "Not like Reavers..." She trailed off shaking her head again. "No, sir. Bugs aren't even human." She said gravely. "Bobby can I borrow your camcorder?" She reached into her pack for a small computer and some wires. She quickly plugged the camcorder in to her computer. A few seconds of typing later, she swiveled the small screen to give them a better view of the reporter's latest videos of their last deployment. "Sir, those are bugs." She turned the volume up so they could hear the angry screams of the bug horde, the sound of plasma exploding in the air, the constant machine fire and the battle that ensued.
The ship's crew leaned in and crowded on the the small screen. They grew wide eyed in shock. "Shangdi you shenjingbing." The well dressed lady cursed much to the trooper's surprise.
"Well, what do they want?" The captain lifted his gaze to inquirer.
"The extinction of the human race." Rico replied.
-- -- - -
Captain Mal Reynolds wasn't an unreasonable man. He had taken in people of lesser quality in his day. People who say they're something but ended up to be something else entirely. Trouble tends to stick to him more than he would like. But carrying nine 'troopers', as they called themselves, to Ariel was more than an inconvenience. It was downright insane. Not only were they thinly connected to the Alliance, these people were entirely new to the system and it's customs, sticking out like a sore thumb. And Ariel was a core planet-- a place they would normally avoid traveling to at all cost .
They also couldn't pay cash.
Their lieutenant had offered him anything he wanted-- their 'power suits', weapons, rations, and whatever else they had in that derelict ship that left them floating in space. His main priority was to get his people back home safely. And that was something even the captain could relate to.
In the end, there was really only one clear choice. The captain led the Lt. Rico back down to the cargo bay where both their crews were waiting for their decision. "A little young to be a lieutenant aren't you?" He commented just as they passed the infirmary area.
The boy just shrugged. "Things tend to happen with the bugs." He answered sadly.
The captain decided not to pry. "Well I'm sure your crew---" He started to say but paused when a trooper started running right for him.
"Mal, Mal Mal Mal Mal." He heard Jayne call out underneath a helmet that said Goss.
"Jayne? What in the verse--"
Jayne took the helmet off grinning. "It's so light. You can go in the black in it and move proper." Mal could see his friend was extremely excited about the find. "And you don't get electrocuted and fried or anything wearing this." He pounded a fist on his chest. "Don't feel a thing. Zhende!" He marveled.
"Settle down Jayne." He reprimanded.
"But that ain't the best thing yet." Jayne continued on as they entered the cargo bay. "Mal, you ain't seen guns like this ever. It's got settings and things... and grenade launchers, and-- " He enumerated one by one checking his fingers with each weapon he can name.
Mal took a deep breath at what he saw in the cargo hold. Kaylee was talking to one man who probably lent Jayne his power suit. "Goss." One man had a camcorder pointing it at everything. Simon and a large dark man, the squad's medic he guessed, were taking a look at their lady pilot's leg. A pale soldier was right beside her holding his head while a red head looked after him. Inara was talking to a blushing boy. And the girl, Andy, had something in her ears sitting quietly on top of a crate like a child while looking at her small computer.
"Well, looks like they're getting along mighty fine." Mal gave Rico a small smile. "Good sign."
"And flame throwers." Jayne finished placing his hands on both his shoulders and turning him so that they could face each other. "Mal," He started looking a bit teary eyed. "I ain't ever asked you for nothing."
"Now that ain't true." Mal pointed out.
"And I ain't ever gonna ask for anything again." He continued ignoring the previous statement. "Can I keep one?" He begged.
"Hey! You in Goss' suit." The red head called out. "You know, if you like that kind of stuff, you should see the marauders."
The Captain watched Jayne's face change like he just received the verse's biggest paycheck. "You tellin' me there's more little girl?"
The girl just nodded. "Yeah, it's in the ship though." She pointed at the airlock.
Jayne released the captain and quickly moved towards the trooper. "Hold that thought Mal. Just hold that gorram thought." He grinned.
"Is he always like that when it comes to ammo?" Rico asked carefully.
"I've... never seen him so happy." Mal admitted. "It's kinda creepy looking."
"Maybe he shouldn't hang out with Dizzy." The lieutenant said.
"I'll take a note of that." The captain nodded. "Which one's Dizzy?"
"The one he's with right now." Rico managed to wince.
"We're humped." The captain watched as the two started talking animatedly about weapons.
"Captain." Zoe walked towards them. "What Jayne said about the flame throwers and rifles and what not-- they all have one a piece. Except for the pilot. She's just got the rifle. But that rifle ain't anything like we've seen here. Several settings with different ammo... " She pressed her lips together. "It's a wonder you kids don't topple backwards with all you're carrying."
"The power suits help." Rico smiled.
"Captain!" Kaylee skipped towards them. "See him? Gossard. He's an engineer. So I was thinking, if they stay, I could really use a hand fixing Serenity up. And maybe some of them parts in their ship could be fitted to Serenity and make her better." She smiled sweetly at him.
"Aren't you spoken for?" Mal questioned earning a look of reproach from the girl.
"Captain. It's for Serenity." She pleaded.
"L.T." The medic sighed. "Had to give Jenkins a sedative. His head was ready to explode. Ibanez has to lay off the leg and she's got whiplash. Brutto's got a dislocated shoulder and a mild concussion. He's not going anywhere. I have, what feels to be, a few fractured rib. Higgins is concussed too. See how he's not walking straight? Well, more unsteady than usual for Higgins. Andy asked for a painkiller because she's bruised all over. Gave Goss and Diz one too. Have to check you out " He shook his head lowering his hand held report. "Those restraints have no give. I'm surprised it isn't worse." He said.
"I'm surprised we haven't bought the farm." Rico replied.
"They're staying aren't they?" A small whisper from above asked.
Captain Reynolds nodded. "Guess they are kid." He replied. "Okay folks, your Lieutenant Rico and me-- we reached a deal." He announced putting everything to a standstill. "We're taking you to Ariel. In exchange, we're taking your suits, your rations, your guns, and everything else that we can salvage in that ship of yours. Now, our kind don't take too kindly to Alliance folk and it'll be best to remember that ." He eyed everyone of them carefully. "Now, my crew and I have a job to do in Canton. Be best if you all just stay put here. You don't exactly blend in much. There ain't enough beds for the lot of you so however you decide who's getting bed, some of you would just have to find a corner you're comfortable with. You're not allowed to be armed-- ever. If you so much blink the wrong way on the way to Ariel, gorram it, I will shoot you." He nodded.
"That's the deal Roughnecks." Rico continued on. "Did you get it?"
"Sir, we got it, sir!" The nine replied in unison making most of Serenity's crew jump.
"Zoe, we were never like that back in the day right?" He whispered to his second in command beside him.
"No captain. Never." Zoe replied.
"Good." He grinned. "Jayne, good news. You're salvaging that ship. Kaylee, take what you think you can use for Serenity. Do it fast. I want to get out of here before we get spotted."
"Gossard, Andy, Dizzy, gear up. We're helping them get out of here." Rico ordered grabbing his helmet from the top of a crate.
"Zoe, keep an eye out. If there's a sign of trouble, shoot first, ask questions later." Was the captain's cheeky order.
-- -- -
Brutto sat on the couch infront of the small clinic waiting for his turn to get bandaged up. "She's like, hot." He grinned dreamily at the ceiling.
"She's like, way out of your league." Carl Jenkins mimicked his squadmate's tone.
"She was talking to me the whole time Jenkins." He argued.
"Brutto, maybe I should start with that concussion first. There might be brain damage." Doc smirked placing another layer of bandage on Carmen's leg while the crew's medic, Simon, checked on her neck.
Simon shrugged. "I'm not surprised he's infatuated already. Inara has that effect on people." He informed the troopers. He paused what he was doing. "It's interesting isn't it? You live so far away with no knowledge of what it's like here and yet, you have the same reactions as everyone here." He mused.
"Well, we're only human." Doc replied dryly.
"No. I'm telling you she likes me." Brutto continued on his day dream.
"Brutto, you're crazy. Can't you see that girl's taken?" Carmen winced. "Bit too tight, Doc." She said feeling the medic readjust the bandages.
The youngest trooper snorted. "Sure. You're psychic, Ibanez? Here I thought Jenkins is the only mind freak around here."
Brutto watched the other doctor walk out of the tiny clinic to stare at the psychic beside him on the couch. "You're psychic?" He inquired carefully.
"Yeah, I think that's why he's got a splitting headache." Doc answered for his friend.
"Normally, I can shut everyone off to some low backround buzz." Carl winced massaging his temples once more. "But someone's been screaming random nonsense since we got here. It's kind of hard to ignore the calculation of pi when it's done through a loud speaker." He complained. "Doc, can I have another pain killer." He requested.
"I apologize." Simon frowned. "That's my sister. She can't really help it. The government did something to her and... I haven't found a way to help her control it." He returned back to Carmen's condition.
"I'll figure it out. I just need to get a handle on things." Carl sighed.
"You said the government did something to her?" Brutto asked curiously. "Like what? Cut open her brain?"
The doctor paused. "Among other things. Lobotomy. Incisions. They removed her amygdala." He answered grimly.
There was a small pause among the troopers in the infirmary. "That's..." Carl Jenkins trailed on thinking for a word.
"Not good." Doc supplied.
"Definitely." Ibanez added.
"Bummer." Brutto finished not exactly understanding what happened to the doctor's sister.
- -- - - -
Cheers rang from each corner of the cargo bay as the small girl placed her foot on top of the chest of a much larger fallen man. She raised her hands in victory grinning before catching a towel from her squad leader in mid air. "Sweep the leg." She exchanged high fives with the reporter. "Works every time." She smiled at the camera.
Jayne Cobbs breathed heavily as he slowly raised himself to his feet. "You don't play nice, little girl." He huffed unaccustomed to losing.
"Hey, like I always say," She shrugged proudly. "All is fair in love and hand- to- hand."
"C'mon girlie, zailaiyibian." Jayne folded his arms expectantly.
"What?" Both Rico and Dizzy asked at the same time.
Bobby Higgins looked up at Zoe Washburne equally confused. "Only Andy speaks chinese..." He explained with a shrug.
"He's asking for another go." Zoe groaned with dismay. "Jayne, she's all beat up from that ship of theirs and you still lost. Just take it in like a man." She suggested.
But the girl just stepped forward throwing the towel back to Rico before grinning at the camera. "Make sure you get this Higgins." She said much to older woman's surprise.
"Shouldn't you stop this?" Serenity's first mate demanded off the Roughnecks' lieutenant just as Jayne caught his opponent on a hold.
Rico simply shook his head with a knowing smile. "Believe me, it'll be useless. There's a reason why she's nicknamed Dizzy." He stated watching the girl loose herself from the man's grasp.
"Dizzy's not her real name?" Zoe eyed the younger man.
"Nope."
-- -- - -
"See there?" Kaylee asked the SICON engineer as they both looked the main engine of Serenity. "Well, that's where it used to sit. I took it away because, really, this ship don't need it." She chuckled. "So the captain gave him the boot and took me in instead." She smiled proudly as they both got on their feet. "How about you?" She asked.
"I think... " He got on his knees again to take a second look. "You need a new compressor." He stated . "Among other things." He added when a puff of steam streamed out above them.
Kaylee just looked up without much worry. "Yeah, she does that sometimes." She reached for a wrench. "But that's nothing. Just a few loose bolts that's all. Serenity always tells me when something big's about to happen." She said wistfully.
"Here, let me get that." He offered taking the wrench from her. "It'll help to get a feel of things. In fact, just sit there and order me around." He grinned. "I am your slave."
The girl giggled and but sat on the hammock in the corner of the room. "You'll get a hang of it you know." She nodded as she watched the other mechanic tighten some of the screws carefully. "Simon did. You'd never believe it but he came all proper, in a suit and rose coloured glasses." She giggled again at the memory.
"I have to tell you. I would never have figured your medic to be an optimist. He looks pretty serious to me." Gossard replied.
"No, no." She laughed. "Literally. He was wearing rose- coloured glasses."
-- -- - -
River Tam sat up on Inara's bed looking around as if she had never seen the inside of the companion's shuttle before. She slowly gazed upon the decadent decorations that lined the tiny living quarters searching for something that was not there. She was vaguely aware when the companion herself sat down beside her. "River?" She heard Inara's muddled voice call her.
"Music." She said leaving the bed tilting her head a little like she was looking for the sound.
"There's no music, River." The companion answered as she slowly followed the younger girl out the shuttle.
They made their way through the ship passing the cheers in the cargo bay, the stillness of the metal stair case and the laughter inside the engine room. River didn't pause to check what was happening around her. She hardly noticed that Inara was following her. The music was getting louder.
"Is that food?" The companion asked as they went through the hall leading to the dining area.
"The music is here." River told her although she could hear nothing of the sort.
When they stepped inside, they found one of the troopers tapping a bobbing her head to an invisible beat while fanning a pan with her hand. River smiled quietly taking a seat at the small sitting area at the far end of the room. She watched the girl lift a hand playing and invisible keyboard on the counter for a second.
"Whatcha all looking at?" Mal suddenly appeared by the entrance that lead to the cockpit. "What's that I smell?" He asked.
River's face fell. The music stopped.
"River said she heard music here." Inara answered motioning to the young girl sitting down in the shadows.
"I ain't hear nothing." The captain eyed all three of them.
Inara saw the girl tilt her head ever so slightly like she did awhile ago in the hold. "She's psychic, isn't she." She stated putting one hand up. "Sorry, I didn't know she was. CJ,--I mean Carl-- sometimes tells me when I'm ... humming... too loud... in my head." She phrased her answer carefully. "Sorry, my fault." She apologized again.
"Are these your fault too?" He grabbed a cookie from the cooling pan.
"Yeah-- i found some protein packs and cartons of what I think translates to egg substitutes starting to go bad in there so I figured you guys wouldn't mind a little reincarnation of cookies and egg pudding." She smiled optimistically.
"You should do more faults." He replied grabbing another cookie.
"Thanks... I think." She leaned against the counter top breathing a sigh of relief.
"I have a question for you Andy." Inara took two cookies off the pan and gave one to River. "If you don't mind me asking that is."
"Shoot."
"You didn't flinch when Mal talked about Reavers. How do you know all these things about our system when your friends don't seem to?" She asked curiously.
The girl shrugged. "I read a lot. It was in the archives-- just hard to find" She answered. "Oh! And a bunch of us found this guy hacking into Intel. " She recounted more animated now. "It was so weird. He was using such a low bandwidth that we couldn't finish any trace. He's that good but he was just browsing wasn't doing any harm so whenever we see him around, we get to talking. He tells the weirdest stories about those reavers and space pirates and fembots." Then she sighed sadly. "Haven't seen him around lately though, that cracker." She mused.
"What's his name?" Mal inquired suspiciously.
"He calls himself Mr. Universe." She chuckled shaking her head. "Cheezy name right?"
"Ta si le." The captain replied bluntly. "Alliance killed him."
"Oh." She took a cookie sadly. "That sucks. I... I guess he is everywhere now."
-- -- --
translations :)
Shangdi you shenjingbing= God's crazy! [ the long version= God has a mental illness]
Zhende!= Really! or It's true!
zailaiyibian = one more time/ again
Ta si le= he's dead.