I'm not saying I'm review starved but a little encouragement here and there would not go unappreciated. If you took the time to read it I'd even take constructive criticism. If you hate it and took the time to read it you're kind of a masochist and if you're dead set on letting me know you hated it just leave your review in a code word; just one single word. Hate should be expressed curtly and with little embelishment as possible. This code word will be "Babakanushe."
But it goes without saying that if you loved it and want to let me know, use as many words and embellishments as you feel is necessary. I'd also accept praise in the forms of poems (preferably epic) and song and dance.
...
The poised man stands with his hands crossed behind his back. The peak of a firefly class starship pierces the cloud's barrier on his large window into space and he his Grimly delighted. Coating the ship is shockingly large number of neutralizers. Against his natural empathy and a dormant feeling of guilt he finds the image humorous. He calls their ship. Eventually a video screen unfolds before him and on it stands a man in a strikingly brown colored coat.
"Hello."
"H-" He tries to talk but his throat doesn't comply and it takes him another try to speak, "Hello." He coughs, "Sorry about that; it has been a long time since I've had visitors."
"No worries there." A pause, "Say, you weren't plannin' on killin' us and stealin' my ship were you?"
He chuckles; it feels good and weird and foreign, "No, I wasn't. But I am sorry to see you've ran into my mess. I have to say that I feel obliged to make it right."
"And how'd you plan on doin' that?"
"Well, as you can see by now this outpost isn't what it used to be so I severely doubt I'll be able to dock you; However, there are more primitive ways to anchor you to this outpost. Your ship isn't moving very fast so we could hook you, give you a place to rest while you remove your impediments."
"Sounds awfully shiny in theory but I can't help but notice that's an awfully nice blue coat your wearin'. I aint seen one of those so far out in the middle of nowhere since...well, I have a mighty big suspicion you know when."
"You are gravely right. And that isn't a Shakespearean pun."
"A what?"
"Nevermind. I don't have any intention of harming you. And unless I'm perverted enough to derive some enjoyment from deluding you before I kill you I must point out that killing you would not be hard."
"Now that you point it out I don't s'pose we really do have a choice do we? But I gotta mention that you aint farin' to well yourself pengyou."
"No, there is nothing fare about this situation. I'll drop the hooks, I admit that its your decision to use them or not but I implore you to accept my offer. Although, relative to your usual flight times the next planet might not be so far away when you can crawl no faster than a horseless wagon it will take you more than one life time to reach your destination."
"Right again. Glad to see those alliance educations aint total bull. I'm Captain Reynolds and this here's my starship, Serenity."
"Wonderful name. I'm Captain Grey, and this, I suppose, is my ship, though by this point in time it's through default. It's name has been through a lot of changes. It started out as Charlotte, which the crew affectionately referred to as the Temple. But me, I just call it the graveyard."
"I can't imagine why."
"I look forward to meeting with you Captain Reynolds."
"Likewise."
He turned the com off feeling apprehensive with anticipation.
Malcolm turned to his crew who were ducked out of the view from the screen in the cockpit. Jayne speaks first,
"We aint really trustin' this guy, are we?"
"He didn't give me the creeps, so yeah."
"That's your decision like process thingy? No like, special captain's sense or nuthin'?"
"Come on, we gotta grab those hooks before we clear. Zoe?"
"Roger."
"Ok, Wash, get everyone caught up to date and armed."
Wash responds with status quo incredulity, "Seriously?"
"What?"
"I mean, get 'up to date and armed?' Whatever happened to "Get everyone up to date and gett'em dressed up for a nice evening on the gigantic space station?"
"I don't trust this guy."
Jayne - "Wha, wait? You just sai-"
"Well I meant it."
"Which one?"
"Both of'em. Just do what I say. Better safe than sorry. I aint got you killed yet have I?"
Wash turns to Zoe, "You know, I find that kind of logic deeply unsettling."
"I know baby."
Mal - "Alright, good, everyone shiny? Let's go Jayne."
Mal leaves and Jayne follows with Zoe going last.
"Bye Honey," Wash speaks to the back of his wife as she walks away, "I just said something deeply sarcastic and funny, laugh and tell me you love me."
"I love you."
#---
Mal and Zoe and Jayne float outside of Serenity. When Mal turns and sees the golden words of Serenity on the side of his firefly peppered with tiny black circles he groans on the inside.
"Alright," He says, "Let's get this thing hooked before we float right on by."
Three large metal pipes waved from beneath the spacestation like the hybrid tentacles of an android jellyfish. The spacestation was large and ominous and half of its bulk had been replaced by the guts and wires of the ship searching for their destination.
"What do you think happened to it?"
"An explosion." Mal had seen plenty in the war.
"A fight?"
"It's too clean. See that section to the left, with the lights?" He points, "I'd say for some reason or another our captain had to self-destruct portions of his charge. He sealed it off, redirected the ships energy output to just encompass his living area. Insurance against whatever power drain the explosion cost him."
"What do you think happened?"
"Don't know. But you see that shadow over there, orbiting this station like a moon or a satellite? That to me looks like a Reaver ship."
"Shit. You think they're still in there, somewhere?"
"I doubt it or our man still wouldn't be alive."
Zoe speaks as stable wisdom, "I don't like this. Something feels off. One man survives a Reaver attack and it happens to be the captain? Large station, many people were on this boat."
"What're trying to say? Y'think we're bein' lured into a trap?" -Jayne.
"I don't know. I'm just saying I don't like it."
Mal - "There's also the chance he wasn't the original captain but he seemed convincing in the role."
By this time they had hooked the tentacles to the outside of Serenity. The cables' slack immediately tightened, slowing the ships progress towards nothing. After a few more feet it would stop altogether. Mal continues, "Zoe's got a good point but if this man's agenda aint straight it isn't because he plans on killin' us. He could've done that already."
"Maybe he's got some Reavers stashed away." Jayne speaks rapidly, paranoid, "And they only let'em live to lure in unsuspecting dopes like ya'll and feed off their corpses."
"First off, that's stupid. Second, there'd be more variety to the debris if that were the case."
"Maybe they eat that too."
This is answered with two very peculiar looks.
"Well, that's done." Mal says, glancing over the hooks one last time " Let's get back inside, it's freezin' out here."
