Chapter Eight
- Stasis -
Serenity: Dining Area
The crew is once more gathered around the dining table. Simon is sat at the head of the table, staring at the bottom of his coffee mug, unable to make eye contact with anyone for risk of crying or a sudden outburst of anger which had suddenly become commonplace. The rest of the crew had begun to give him a very wide berth in case anything they said or did set him off on one.
"We use the medical uniforms we stole from Arial," he says slowly, his voice timid and quiet, "We still have River's stasis box…" he trails off and finally raises his head and looks watery eyed at the group around the table.
He sniffs and fights back a fresh wave of emotion.
"If we get one of you inside the box and into the medical transporters cargo hold. Once in we can locate River." he says.
"Then what?" Mal asks quickly.
"Then, we fight our way off the ship and then we… run."
"If that's the best plan then… I say we'd best go for it." Mal sighs.
Zoe up frowns at Mal, she really doesn't like the idea one single bit, God knows how many Alliance troops they'd have on a ship that big, but if there's no other way to get the kid back then so be it. There was going to be a lot of fighting.
"So who's gonna be in the box?" Mal asks, looking around the table.
"Any volunteers?" Simon adds, also looking around the table.
Jayne frowns and rubs his brow. The little niggling feeling of guilt is back. He shakes his head, unable to believe what he is about to do.
"I'll do it." he says loudly.
Everyone's eyes swivel towards him and stare at him in complete and utter bewilderment. It takes a few seconds for Simon to gather himself. He looks at Jayne in puzzlement and takes a deep breath.
"No offence Jayne, but I really doubt that you would fit in the box." he says, a slight flicker of amusement crossing his face.
Jayne nods and drops his eyes to the table top, embarrassed. The table falls quiet.
"I'll do it, I know I ain't no pixie but I ain't as… broad, as Jayne. I should be able to fit." Mal pipes up, shrugging.
"That would work. That would leave Jayne as our 'Alliance Guard' and Zoe as my assistant." Simon replies nodding.
"I'm sorry?" Zoe exclaims.
"Shun muh?"
"You're coming with us?"
"Of course. Why do you ask?"
"Kid you ain't exactly a crack shot with a gun, you'd just get in the way in a gunfight."
"You need me. I know all the medical terminology, and again, no offence, but you're going to be stepping into my world and there, my voice is obeyed." Simon adds in a hard voice, a deep angry frown on his face.
Zoe throws a sidelong look at Mal who looks just as surprised as she is. Both of them are wondering where this strong willed Simon has come from.
"I hate to be the bringer of bad news, but you are a wanted fugitive, son. Is it wise to be walking onto an Alliance ship as broad as brass?" Book says gently to Simon.
"Look I am not gonna let you talk me out of this, this is my sister we're talking about and she is in danger. I am not going to sit back and wait for the others to run off and save her while I'm twiddling my fingers waiting for information. And if they wanted me that bad then why didn't they take me when the took River?" Simon snaps.
Book raises his eyebrows and leans back in his seat. An awkward silence settles upon the table.
Transporter: Cargo Hold
Locus is stood curtly, his hands behind his back staring down into an open stasis box before him. Inside it is a naked River, curled in a tiny ball and sleeping peacefully. Medical supervisors move around the box, checking the box's settings, all of them are being observed by a young tall, skinny, bespectacled doctor with short wavy blonde hair, wearing the pale off white gown of an Alliance Doctor.
"I can't believe it," he says in a posh English accent, "You got her back to us, Mr…"
"It's just Locus. That's my designation and that is what you will address me as."
"Just how did you do it?" the doctor asks, pressing for more information on the retrieval of the girl.
Locus turns to him and fixes him with a steely gaze.
"Doctor," he looks at the I.D. card clipped to the doctors pocket, "…Kain. I don't discuss my process."
Doctor Kain nods curtly and flicks his eyes back to the stasis box. Having worked with the child closely, Kain knew quite a bit about her and her unique talents and abilities. How he'd managed to subdue her was beyond him. She was a force to be reckoned with. Whatever this Locus chap had done, it had truly stumped her amazing mind and he'd walked away with not a scratch on him.
Kain makes some last minute checks to the environmental support program and steps back from the stasis box satisfied that everything is set correctly. He nods to the medical supervisors, who lift the large lid to the box into place.
"Leave the box unlocked, I may need to check on her later." Kain says with a sigh.
"Wo bu hui zuo ruguo wo shi ni." Locus says softly.
"Why ever not?"
"Boxes have a habit of being opened before the big day."
"You make her sound like some sort of Christmas present."
"Oh trust me, Doctor. She is a gift to the Alliance." Locus replies coldly.
Kain shivers, the man was creepy, there was no other word to describe the Alliance Officer. He made the doctor very uncomfortable. Just the way he looked at you was enough to give you nightmares for a week.
Kain nods at his supervisors to do as the Alliance berk had said. The box locks with a single loud click. Locus smiles one of those chillingly serene smiles. The Doctor shifts away from him cautiously and checks the data pad in his hands. It shows a biometrical scan of River and shows her heart rate, oxygen levels and her brain waves. Everything seems to be in order so Kain turns to leave. Locus stays exactly where he is staring at the box. Kain looks round as he opens the door.
"You can stand down now, sir." Kain says nonchalantly.
"No, no Doctor, my job is not over until she is safely on that Medical Transporter."
"But that's hours away."
"And in a few hours I will stand down." Locus replies calmly.
Kain rolls his eyes and leaves him to it. All Kain wants to do is get a little sleep and maybe something to eat before his next shift change. Let the idiot stand there, Kain hoped that he'd get sciatica.
Transporter: Passenger Bunk
Kain enters his room and slides the large metal door closed, shutting out the sounds of the noisy mess hall that is just down the corridor from him. He puts the data pad on it's stand and a little battery symbol begins to fill in the top corner. Kain sighs and pulls his gown off throwing it onto a chair in the corner of the room. Underneath he is wearing a pale blue t-shirt and a pair of faded jeans. He collapses onto his bed and pulls his glasses off, rubbing his face with his hands.
He looks up at the rough steel gray ceiling and slips into his own little world of thoughts. Right now he could be with his daughter in Capital City, playing in the park, feeding the ducks. But instead he was stuck on some junker in the back-of-beyond. He could be relaxing at home with a cold beer on the first weekend in months where he's not been on call, having dinner with his beautiful wife, Solana.
The head of the operation had requested Kain personally, after all he had high recontaminations from The Academy after working with them for four years before heading back to the hospital where he had done his training to got back to being, as he put it 'a proper doctor'.
The money at the academy had been amazing, it had been enough to buy a large house in Capital City and there was more than enough to send his daughter to the best school in the 'Verse. But once River Tam had escaped he'd had second thoughts about his job. Was what they were doing to these people at all ethical? Yes the subjects were being treated to better understand how they were like they were. So soon after River's disappearance he made a decision to work for the good of the patient and actually stick to his Hippocratic Oath.
At first he flatly refused to return to the Academy, his days of field operations were over. However, once he heard that River Tam was the target of the operation, he jumped at the chance to be Lead Medical Official. The girl was amazing, he had seen her working first hand. She was graceful, clever, not just clever an absolute genius. No wonder the Alliance wanted her back. And truth be told he hadn't quite lost his fascination for the girl and her extraordinary powers of the mind and body. The data pad beeps several times and Kain snaps his eyes open and looks over at it curiously.
"Glasses." he mutters searching blindly around him for them.
He shoves them onto his face roughly and walks over to the data pad, a frown forming on his face. He picks it up and studies it carefully. This couldn't be right, in fact what he was seeing was damn near impossible. He slides his finger along the screen, the screen changes from a biometrical scan of the girl to a scan of just her brain. The brainwaves before him told him that she was awake. Wide awake. But… she'd been given tranquilizers to keep her immobile, and more importantly asleep during transit. His mind immediately jumps to that shady Locus character. He was up to something.
