Chapter 3
Chinese Translations:
wei nan- little man
dong ma- understand
wo ai ni- I love you
gorram- goddamn
mei mei- little sister
ge ge- big brother
XXXXXXXXXX
A week later they were ready to leave again. Serenity's engine had been checked out and fixed. They had all listened to advice from Mal, Zoë, and Jayne about strategy and such. Kaylee had lectured Hobie about keeping up the engine as they went, not relying on the chance they might be able to set down somewhere.
Conor and Amir were loading the last of the supplies onto the mule when Mal came up to them. "Hey wei nan, you got a minute?"
Conor rolled his eyes and nodded for Amir to take the mule to the ship. "When am I gonna be old enough for you to quit calling me that?" he asked, turning towards Mal.
"Two minutes after never," Mal replied.
Conor sighed, but he was smiling.
"I have something for you," Mal continued. Pulling his hand from behind his back he threw something at Conor. Conor caught the object and his eyes widened when he realized what it was.
"This is your coat," he said. And it was indeed Mal's brown coat. Left from the first war. Worn and slightly tattered at the edges but still tough.
"Take it," Mal said, his voice serious. "Mia got my gun, Janey got Vera, and Hobie got some of Kaylee's old tools. So take it and get out of here. And watch out for my kid dong ma?" He held out his hand. Conor grasped it in his own.
"If something happens here," Conor said, "send us a wave and we'll come back. No matter what."
Mal nodded and they stood for a moment before Conor let go, pull on the coat and headed off towards Serenity.
"Conor!"
Conor turned to see his mother running after him. They'd already said goodbye so he gave her a curious look as she came to stand before him. "What is it?" he asked.
Zoë reached down and slipped something into her son's hand, closing his fist around it. "Maybe it'll bring you luck. Don't open your hand until you get on the ship. Wo ai ni." Then she leaned up, kissed his cheek and walked back to the village.
As soon as he was up the ramp, Conor closed the loading door and made his way to the bridge. Sitting down in the pilot's chair he opened his hand and felt his chest tighten ever so slightly. Laying in his hand was the leather cord his mother had worn around her neck his entire life. The cord that represented her marriage to his father. Fighting back tears he tied it around his own neck.
"We ready to go?" Mia asked, coming up behind him.
"All set Captain," he replied.
"Take us out then," she told him before walking off the bridge.
Conor brought the ship out of the planet's atmosphere and set a course for Dionysius, a small moon on the outer rim that was serving as the headquarters for the Independents Army. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Janey standing behind him. He smiled at the "baby" of their little family, seeing the fear in her eyes.
"Think we'll see it again?" she asked him.
Conor followed her gaze out the front of the ship towards the quickly disappearing planet. " 'Course." He patted her hand. "If I was the Alliance Commander I'd run for cover soon as you start shooting. You're a gorram good shot mei mei. You'll cover our asses."
"What if I can't?"
"Well that's why you got me. You cover us and I'll use Serenity to cover you."
"You know this ship doesn't have weapons right ge ge?"
"It doesn't? Are you kidding me? Hell in that case you're on your own."
Janey slugged his shoulder. "Jerk."
It took them three days to reach Dionysius. A smog ridden planet whose atmosphere burned throats and the sky was dim even at midday. Serenity's crew made their way to the army headquarters. The process took less than an hour and then they were volunteer members of the Independents Army.
Back on the ship Conor adjusted his Sergeant's bars. Both he and Amir had received that rank. Janey and Hobie had been made Lieutenants. Mia had retained her rank as Captain.
The recruiter had raised his eyebrow at the ages of some of the new crew but when their names ran through the system the look turned to surprise and respect. They were used to odd reactions from people who recognized their parents' names but the respect was relatively new.
Their orders had been to join up with several other cargo ships and create a fleet of transports that would be flanked by several ships with weapons capabilities. It was good because it meant they wouldn't be split up or be a part of the ground troops but it also meant that they would be going into heavy fighting areas. The first job was to bring battalions to Aurora. They were reinforcements for the troops already there.
The most of the rim had already been taken by the Independents, due in large part to the number of Independent sympathizers on them. What had been the first victory for the Independents was that the allying of the outer rim had happened silently, the Alliance knew almost nothing of the plans for war. So when an army landed on Aurora and began pushing Alliance soldiers out, it had been a surprise. The Alliance army, though bigger and better equipped was confused, wondering how they'd missed it coming.
It also helped that support for the Alliance had waned in the last ten years to the point where most who were still loyal move to the core planets. The strategy the Independents were taking meant getting to the Core as quickly as possible.
XXXXXXXX
Please review. New long chapter up in a couple days.
