Title: Decision Theory
Author: Beneficia
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I'm just borrowing them.
Spoilers: Everything that's aired so far is fair game
Summary: Prompt 089. Exclamation
"What?" said Jayne, when Mal, Zoe, and Kaylee kept starin' at him at him.
"How could you figure gold?" Kaylee asked, turning from him to look at the box.
"Well," he answered sweeping his hand to gesture at the crowded cargo bay, "they already done give us half of all they probably owned." He pushed himself off of where he had been leaning against the rails, and walked over to the box, " 'Sides, I heard it when it landed." He kicked the box a few inches across the grating.
"Jayne!" Mal and Zoe both yelled. He ignored them, "sounds like a heap a' some kind of metal bangin' around in there." He grinned up at them as he crouched down in front of the box, "wanna give me a hand openin' it?"
"We are not opening that thing Jayne," Mal said forcibly, "It's goin' out the airlock right now." He went on as he walked over to the door controls and opened the inner airlock, "Zoe, you help Jayne get that thing over here."
"What!" Jayne said jumping up. "What do you wanna go and do that for?"
"It's not gold, Jayne." Zoe responded patiently, going over to one side of the box and looking for a descent grip. The thing had no handles; the townsfolk had held the bottom four corners, and it had landed on one side when they threw it.
"It might," Jayne asserted, "What else would they 'a' given us?" Mal just turned to glare at him while rolling up his sleeves. Jayne then got that greedy light in his eyes, "Maybe it's better than gold. Maybe they…"
Mal cut him off, "And maybe you ought to stop tryin' to think so hard afore ya hurt yourself. I aint payin' you to stand around and gab." Mal moved over to Zoe and bent down beside her, "Now get over here and help get this gorram thing off my boat."
Jayne started to walk toward them with a sour, disgruntled look on his face.
Then the box, or rather whatever was inside the box, moved. Mal and Zoe were just getting grips on it, when clear as day, the sound of metal hitting metal came from inside it.
Kaylee let out a short shriek and jumped back. Before she had seen them move, Mal and Zoe had jumped several feet back, and they and Jayne had their guns trained on the box.
"What was that?" Kaylee asked wide-eyed.
"Probably nothing," Zoe replied steadily, "We probably just jostled something that was loose." She didn't relax her stance or lower her gun, but she looked questioningly at Mal.
Then the box banged again.
And again.
The four of them stood there in tense silence as something metal hit a side of the box every five or so seconds.
"Alright," swallowing thickly, Jayne spoke up after the fifth thud, "I say we get some rope, loop it around that thing, and move it into the airlock from a safe distance."
Thud.
"Just what I was about to say," Mal answered, "Zoe…"
"Somethin's alive in there," Kaylee interrupted worriedly. "Shouldn't we help it?"
Thud. This one seemed louder.
"Anything alive that would have a whole town just hit by Reavers scared out of their wits is not something I wanna meet," Mal responded quickly.
Thud.
"Zoe, see if we still got them harpoon things from the Baxly job." She nodded sharply and turned to leave.
Thud.
"But what if it's a person?" Kaylee spoke up loudly.
Jayne answered just as loudly, "Box is too damn small for…"
Thud. Thud. Two loud ones in a row quckly sounded out. They all stopped to stare at it.
A thought occurred to Zoe, "Sir," she said, turning to Mal, "It's too small for an adult, but…"
THUD. THUD. THUD.
Talk and movement stopped. Silence reigned in the cargo bay as everyone tensed and waited.
But whatever was banging inside had stopped.
"Take care of her." Mal whispered remembering. Zoe, having heard several of the townsfolk addressing Mal said, "You think this is what they were talking about?"
"Seems to fit," he replied, "still doesn't explain why most of them were actin' so gorram scared," he said to himself as he slowly approached the box, but still keeping his gun trained on it.
"They weren't exactly what I would call rational people sir." Zoe said moving around the box. "That magistrate was going on about God deciding some sort of fate. Maybe this is their alternative to burning at the stake."
"Well whatever it is, it ain't our problem." Jayne declared. "I say we still throw it out, just to be sure."
"Jayne!" Kaylee admonished, "There could be a child in there, sick or injured."
"Or maybe it's a bomb, or a reaver, or some person or thing ridden with a plague, or somethingelse that'll get us killed right quick," Jayne growled at her, before turning to Mal hefting his gun, "We still don't know how those crazies survived that Reaver attack, or how they took out the entire raiding party. Whatever's in that box, it came from them, and they certainly weren't too keen on tellin' us what it was."
Mal listened to him silently before turning to look at Zoe across the box. "He does have a point sir," she admitted quietly after a moment.
"Cap'n!" Kaylee pleaded. "Ain't you been listening girl," Jayne said turning to her, "we ain't…"
"Bee jway!" Mal shouted.
They quieted; the three of them stood there looking at him, waiting for his decision. He watched the box.
"So I hear we got some nice presents," Wash announced his presence walking down the stairs from the cockpit. Everyone but Mal turned to look at him, wearing serious expressions on their faces. He slowed when he saw the four of them standing about the box in a circle with three guns drawn. "Or maybe not so nice presents," he amended, "What's in the box guys?"
They all turned back to Mal. He looked up, decision made. "We're about to find out. Zoe…"
AN: The title references the weightiness of Mal's decision. Merrimam Webster defines defines Decision Theory as "A branch of statistical theory concerned with quantifying the process of making choices between alternatives." Anyway, I thought it was cool and apropos.
You guys also might wanna know that I write these things in one sitting, and I post them as soon as they're done, so they're not beta'd or anything.
Reviews and constructive criticism are welcome as always.
