Passengers and Cargo
"Ladies and gentlemen we have left Persephone and are now in the Black. Will all personnel and passengers please report to the galley as soon as possible? Thank you and welcome aboard Serenity." Wash's voice crackled over the comm and Riddick shook his head in amusement. The Med Bay was as stocked as he could make it and they were thankfully not running short on anything…yet. They would soon though. They nearly always did and Mal had a queer predilection to getting himself or Jayne shot on a regular basis.
Taking a deep breath as he left the Med Bay Riddick prepared himself to face the stench of lies in the galley. That stench was the only real problem with running with this particular crew. Mal was so steeped in emotional pain and lies that when Mal started thinking about certain things it was almost unbearable to be around him. Made his nose itch every gorram time. And every single member of the crew was hiding something from all the others.
Well, he corrected his own thoughts, except Kaylee. That girl couldn't hide anything to save her life and wouldn't understand why she should either. She could lie and cheat with the best of them if she wanted to, not that she ever really did, but she'd never do that to crew. It was something that was anathema to her. She was the most innocent and loyal person he'd ever met.
The crew's secrets weren't harmful or bad really except to themselves, he knew that. Still, sometimes it made it hard on him to be around them no matter how used to it he'd become. Especially when they all thought on their secrets at the same time. He'd retreat to his bunk on those evenings and bury his nose in the pillow he swore would smell of Her someday. He'd imagine she was there with him and he'd block out all the sounds and smells of the ship until he was steeped in his memories of Her.
He shook off those memories now and headed up the stairs. He couldn't be distracted from his job right now. She'd be there later when he wasn't tasked with sniffing out the trouble these three passengers were going to bring the ship.
The added stench of the three travelers with them on this trip was going to be nearly unbearable. He thought he probably could have handled the preacher but the other two set his teeth on edge. Whatever they were hiding it was big and most likely a danger to his crew. Something would have to be done about them. The only question was what? Mal would be really put out if he just killed the two men without any evidence aside from his sense of smell. Not that that would normally stop him from ghosting the two men but…he liked his crew and he didn't want any of them to have second thoughts about his place among them. River would need a safe place when they found her and this was the safest place in the 'Verse. He'd need to think how to convince Mal that at least those two needed to be shivved and needed it soon.
Once inside the galley with the rest Riddick stood with his back to the wall behind the rest of the crew as Mal addressed their passengers. He watched each of their passengers to note their reactions to Mal's overrehearsed speech. They'd need to either start picking up passengers more often so that Mal could get some practice at being genial or stop taking any altogether. Personally, Riddick voted for the second choice. Passengers brought trouble.
"So meals are taken up here, in the dining area," Mal told them with an aborted wave of his hand. Riddick hid his smile at Mal's uncomfortableness, the man wasn't hiding it very well. "Kitchen's pretty much self-explanatory." The doctor looked around him with a faint hint of distaste around his mouth and eyes. Boy had probably never even been in a kitchen. Rich Core boy like him probably didn't even know what a kitchen was. "You're welcome to eat what there is any time, long as it isn't marked with someone's name anyway," Mal caught Riddick's eye and nodded just a bit.
Riddick was grateful for the clarification. Since coming to this universe he'd found a few foodstuffs that just didn't sit right with his Furyan digestion. The last thing he wanted while they had passengers was to break out in red sores or become incoherent and see things because he'd eaten something that reacted badly with his DNA. It hadn't been a fun experience before and he wasn't anxious to try it again. There weren't many things that he was allergic to and most of them weren't even on the boat anymore. But with his luck one of the passengers would have brought some cumin or nasturtium on board and he'd need his emergency food supply.
"What there is, is pretty standard fare, I guess. Protein in all the colors of the rainbow." Mal continued. He either ignored, most likely, or didn't see, less likely, the moue of disgust both the doctor and the salesman made. Riddick held back a snort at their reactions. What'd they think they was signin' up for? Fancy core boy doctor he could almost understand but the other one? Yeah his reaction didn't fit with his story at all. Something smelled way wrong with that one. "We do have sit down meals—next one being at about 1800."
"I think Shepherd Book and Rick have offered to help me prepare something," Kaylee told everyone with a soft smile and a look in her eyes for Richard that told him he'd better help or they'd all starve. It wasn't the Kaylee couldn't cook it was that Richard was a better chef than anyone else on the boat.
Richard groaned loudly in object if only because he knew their passengers expected him too. "Do I have to?" He growled out in a tone that verged on whining. "I hate cookin'." His own lie tasted like paint on his tongue. He didn't like lying but he'd do it to keep the passengers in the dark. And they needed to be in the dark for a while longer. They couldn't be trusted and they needed to see what they wanted to see.
"You wanna eat then you help out, an' you know it," Mal rolled his eyes at Rick in exasperation and then turned to the Shepherd. "You're a shepherd?" His voice carried just a hint of wariness. Mal didn't like anything to do with God. The way he saw things God had betrayed him once and he wasn't going to give the Big Guy another chance. On that he and Riddick were in complete agreement. Riddick didn't care much for the Big Guy either.
"I thought the outfit gave it away," Book grinned amiably. The grin slowly faded at the look on Mal's face. "Is it a problem?" He asked the question half defiantly and half hesitantly.
"Of course not," Kaylee said before either of the two men who might object could say anything. "It's not a problem, cuz it's not." She threw Riddick and Mal a look daring them to disagree with her. Riddick wanted no part of Kaylee being mad at him so he just crossed his arms over his chest and slouched back against the bulkhead, his silence his only sign of acceptance. Mal shuffled his feet for a moment and then sighed in resignation; he didn't like Kaylee being angry with him either.
"No," Mal directed to the shepherd in a curt tone that said that it was a problem but he wasn't going to make an issue of it. "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 doctor stiffened at this news and Riddick turned most of his attention to the boy. His body language and scent spoke of nervousness and worry and fear. What the Hell was the boy hiding? "The bridge, engine room, cargo bay—they're all off limits without an escort." Mal had apparently missed the boy's reaction.
"Some of my personal effects are in the cargo bay," the doctor said with studied casualness. Riddick nearly sneezed at the pepper smell of his lie. The boy wasn't exactly lying, his personal effects were in the cargo bay but that wasn't what the kid was worried about. He was really starting to dislike this doctor and damned if he could remember the boy's name.
Mal finally noted the forced nonchalance and his eyes flicked to Riddick, a question in their brown depths. Riddick nodded slightly in answer. He'd keep a very close eye on the kid.
Mal pasted on a smile that didn't look as forced as Riddick knew it was. "I figure you all got luggage you're gonna need to get into," he informed the passengers in an apologetic kind of voice that was as assumed as his smile. "Soon as we're done here, we'll be happy to fetch 'em with you." Mal straightened with a sigh and took a step away from the counter he'd been leaning against. "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." Dobson stiffened a bit this time and Jayne nodded when Mal's eyes flicked to him. Looked like both gunhands had babysitting assignments this trip. Gorram ruttin' passengers, Riddick thought annoyed. "It's the fourth moon of Athens. It's a little out of our way, but we should have you on Boros no more than a day off schedule," Mal ignored the glowering of both his gun hands and finished his speech.
"What medical supplies?" The doctor asked curiously. Damn nosy bastard, Riddick sneered in his thoughts. Didn't he understand that out here in the Black and on the Rim people kept their secrets and others didn't pry? Most likely as the doctor was from the Core the kid probably didn't get that small fact of life, Riddick thought idly. People on the Core were notoriously gossipy. Not that the Rim was truly much better but people did tend to mind their own business.
Mal stared at the doctor for a long moment as if he couldn't quite understand the question or the reason it had been asked and then shrugged. "I honestly didn't ask," he said. His tone was hard and did not encourage further questioning. It wouldn't have stopped Riddick but then he wasn't a Core bred doctor either. There wasn't much that would stop him when he wanted information about something.
Zoe, figuring correctly the Captain's answer wasn't going to stop the kid's questions, took a step forward to stand beside Mal and gazed at the doctor with a blank face. "It's probably plasma, insulin—whatever they ain't got enough of on the border moons," she told him in a knowledgeable voice. She would know, Riddick acknowledged. Zoe was space born and most likely knew more about trading with Rim planets than anyone else in the 'Verse.
Mal shot the doctor a wry look like he thought the kid should know this stuff already. It was fairly common after all. "Alliance says jump…" Mal let the quote go unfinished. He hated the Alliance but he wasn't above using them for his own purposes or pretending to go along if it helped the boat out.
The doctor gazed at Mal with a half confused and half disbelieving expression but the kid must have decided to leave it alone because all he said was: "All right." Riddick's tense posture relaxed just a bit as the kid looked down again.
Mal turned to regard Zoe, one eyebrow cocked in exasperation for her explaining what shouldn't need it. "Zoe, Rick, you want to take them to the cargo bay?" He ordered more than asked. The smell of his irritation and uncomfortableness was burning in Riddick's nostrils.
"Yes sir," they both assented easily. Zoe shrugged lightly at Mal and her lips quirked just a bit. It was her job to watch his back after all. Even when he was being a Juéjiàng de shǎguā (stubborn idiot). Especially then actually.
"Anything else you need, just ask," Mal commented to the passengers as Zoe motioned for them to follow her. "We, uh, live to serve." Riddick nearly snorted in laughter. If any of them bought that line then they were a lot dumber than they looked. And as the clumsy salesman and the doctor already looked pretty dumb…well. Oh this was gonna be a fun trip…and with a lead to track down finally after it was looking to be a pretty tense few weeks.
RR/RT RR/RT RR/RT
Riddick watched the doctor closely if subtly as the kid gathered a few toiletries from his baggage. It wasn't hard to keep one eye on the kid; he was completely oblivious to his surroundings. He had this single minded focus that seemed to black out everything that wasn't concerned with him at that exact moment. The only suspicious thing the doc did was continue to keep his eyes locked on one of his boxes. That could bear some investigating. It was a rather large box and looked to be carrying some kind of furniture or equipment. What was in that box that was so very important? And did it have anything to do with the lies and danger the kid was carrying around with him?
The clumsy salesman whose name Riddick hadn't heard or bothered to ask after tripped over the doc and Riddick heard Jayne's soft snort behind him. Both men were taking their babysitting duties seriously as they always did when Mal set them a job. Though he knew Jayne didn't see the point of the activity. The salesman was a klutz and seemed a bit slow on the uptake. Jayne didn't think he was any kind of a threat but Riddick knew the biggest threat was the one you didn't recognize until it slit your throat. By then it was too late. And he had no intention of losing any of his new family to a threat that hid…or well any threat at all if he could help it.
Shepherd Book, the one passenger that none of them were watching warily, grabbed a few foodstuffs from his luggage and delivered them to Kaylee with a gentle smile. Kaylee grinned happily as she accepted them and led him towards the galley again chattering the whole way.
Riddick heard the quiet whine of the shuttle engines and the click of the docking hatch as Inara came on board. Moments later her shuttle door opened onto the gangway that connected the two shuttles and the cargo bay and Riddick studiously avoided looking in her direction. Mal was touchy about the companion. Really touchy. He was going to do something stupid and Riddick couldn't afford to burst into laughter while he was trying to do his job. Mal was an idiot when it came to Inara and he always found it spectacularly amusing. Nearly everyone on the boat did. And none of them had ever clued Mal in on his idiocy, it was too gorram funny letting him fumble his way through. He figured Inara knew how amusing everyone found the captain's reactions to her but she never stopped them so she must enjoy the humor as well.
Eventually everyone left the cargo bay and Riddick stood on the catwalk staring at the box that had been the focus of the doctor's attention. What was so important about that box? He wondered. It was giving him an itch on the back of his neck and he wasn't sure he liked the sensation. It was just a crate, he tried to tell himself. Except he couldn't force himself to believe it. The crate seemed innocuous but inside was something the doc thought was important. Extremely important. Riddick had a strange feeling it was more than important. Something in that box was precious and he aimed to find out what it was. He'd never been one to deny his own curiosity.
