Not for the first time since he set foot on the ship, Simon finds himself thinking that the name Serenity has to be one of the greatest misnomers of all time. In the early days, he thought that this might be his fault; after all, he booked passage knowing full well that he was a wanted man. It didn't take him long to realize that barely-controlled chaos was standard operating procedure, at least while a job was in progress.
Barely thirty minutes ago Mal commed the ship to say they had a new job. As Simon enters the cargo bay, he wonders just how chaotic things will get. Kaylee stands at the hoist controls, watching as the mule rises towards the ceiling. Zoe and Jayne hover nearby, shifting some of the ubiquitous crates and keeping an eye on the conversation happening out on the ramp. A clatter above him draws Simon's attention; he looks up in time to see Inara and Helena descending the stairs. The latter moves quickly towards the ramp. "Any idea what's going on?" Simon asks the Companion, nodding toward the ramp.
"I don't think our new employer's subordinates are too happy with the situation," Inara replies. She starts drifting that direction, and Simon follows along.
On the ramp, Mal stands next to a shorter, dark-haired woman. Across from them stand two men dressed identically in dark suits and ties. While not quite as tall as the Mal, they still have several inches on the woman. Yet as Simon approaches he can feel the authority radiating from the small figure, a feeling that the suited men clearly share. "…so just unload the crates and get back to the Warehouse," the stranger tells them. "Agent Carter is expecting you." Clearly unhappy, the men turn and head for a hovercraft parked just beyond the ramp's end. At a wave from Mal, Jayne follows. "Hey," Kaylee's voice interrupts his thoughts.
Belatedly, Simon realizes he's drawn level with her. "Hey," he replies. "Need help with anything?"
"Nope. Just gotta get the crates stowed when Jeff and Dennis bring 'em aboard, and then we're good to go."
"Jeff and Dennis?"
Kaylee nods to where the two strangers are working with Helena and Jayne to unload a rather large crate from the hovercraft. "The Purple Hands. I guess they wanted to come with us, but Miss Donovan's told 'em it ain't happenin'."
There are times when Kaylee sounds like River, and it worries Simon ever so slightly. He pushes it aside for the moment. His next question dies unspoken as Mal approaches. "Doc, Kaylee, this here is Miss Donovan. Miss Donovan, Doc and Kaylee."
Up close, Simon estimates Donovan to be the same height as River. While not as slender as his sister's dancer build, Donovan carries herself with a similar ease. She also radiates power, and age. In fact, Simon recently felt something similar from Helena; in a distant part of his mind, Simon wonders if this woman will also claim to be a time-traveller. "It's nice to meet you," he offers.
"Likewise," Donovan replies. "I-" Her next words are cut off by the sound of Jayne's boots clomping up the ramp. A moment later the mercenary, carrying a large crate over his shoulder, barges past the group without so much as a shuh muh. Mal ducks out of the way, pushing Donovan aside in the process. Behind Jayne, Jeff and Dennis maneuver another crate on a power dolly. The size and shape of the container remind Simon of the time Mal received the "corpse" of a fellow Browncoat. Bringing up the rear of the odd little parade, Helena carries a medium duffel and a large leather satchel. She drops the satchel at Donovan's feet before going to supervise Jeff and Dennis as they unload the crate. That task is barely begun before a loud crash sends everyone's eyes towards Jayne. The crate the big mercenary carried in lies on its side at his feet. "Woops," he says. It doesn't sound like he means it at first. Then Helena rises from her crouch next to the larger box and moves at a brisk walk towards him. Simon can't see her expression from where he stands, but Jayne's care-free features rearrange themselves in to something resembling contrition as the woman kneels to check the crate and its contents. As she rights the crate, Simon can make out the sound of her voice, but not the words. Whatever she says has the peculiar effect of making Jayne squirm like a little boy caught doing something wrong. A soft noise draws his attention back to Donovan, who watches the scene with something like a smirk playing at the corner of her mouth. "Some things never change," she murmurs.
Yep, Simon thinks as he sighs, no serenity to be found here.
Darkness surrounds her.
Most of the time, Myka Ophelia Bering can ignore the ever-present, unchanging blackness. It doesn't take much effort to imagine that she is back in her bed at Leena's, drifting in that half-awake, half-asleep state that sometimes happens before the alarm goes off.
Here, though, there's no steady beep beep beep to wake her fully. No light greets her when she opens her eyes. Actually, she's never been entirely certain that she can open her eyes. She closed them before Bronzing, and while it feels like her eyelids are moving, she's reasonably certain that they too are frozen in place while her mind supplies some sort of phantom sensations.
It's not so bad, for the most part. She can get lost in her own thoughts, her mind journeying to other places and other times. Memories or imagination supply sensation, and hours pass without her remembering what she has become. Inevitably, though, something will trigger her awareness, and she suddenly becomes conscious of the fact that all she can see is black, and that she can't actually move. And it's a little scary, too, because she's never quite sure when her musings give way to dreams. Maybe she has been asleep all this time….
She remembers once, a long time ago, working up the nerve to ask Helena what the experience of being Bronzed was like. The older woman had studied her for a long moment before replying, "Frustrating," and changing the subject. That was before Yellowstone.
Not today. With an effort, Myka steers herself away from that particular thought. That section of Memory Lane is an emotional rollercoaster, and Myka doesn't feel like dealing with it right now. Instead, she begins wondering what's going on outside. The one real bright spot in this existence right now, the thing that lets her know that this isn't just some insane dream, are the times when Claudia's voice rings through her head, relaying news, asking advice, or just visiting after another long day. It's thanks to Claud that Myka knows exactly how much time has passed, and all that has happened.
Of course, there are also times when Myka worries that those conversations are nothing more than dreams. After all, there hasn't been a lot of research done on what happens to the human mind when it's isolated in this manner for such a long span of time. It's entirely possible that she has crossed the line from imagining to hallucination. Today's conversation with Helena certainly seems to support that theory. After all, Helena was re-Bronzed following Yellowstone, two whole years before Myka herself became a statue. Given what almost happened, Myka just can't imagine a situation where the Regents would allow Helena to once more walk among the general population, no matter how many centuries have passed. And even if the inventor has been returned to the land of the living, why hasn't she, Myka, been given the same opportunity? Something to ask Claudia, the next time they talk.
"Myka?"
Speak of the devil. "Claudia." She thinks she hears the other sigh, but has too much on her mind to acknowledge it. "Guess who I talked to today."
"A beautiful time-traveller slash inventor," the other replies easily. Claudia never sounds like the Caretaker during these conversations; as she once explained to Myka, it felt good to have one person with whom she could speak normally. She's also clearly not surprised by Myka's declaration.
"You knew Helena was awake?" Myka half asks, half demands, trying to ignore the whining tone in her voice. "How long have you known? Why didn't you tell me? Why am I-"
"Slow down, Myka," Claudia interrupts. "Give me a chance here. First, I didn't know until today that Helena was awake."
"But you suspected," Myka accuses.
Another sigh. "Remember when I told you a few months ago that Jeff and Dennis reported several run-ins with a new player? Apparently, Michael got sick of losing artifacts to Sixteen, so he de-Bronzed Helena to track down and retrieve the artifacts they'd supposedly stolen." She pauses for a breath. "I admit I started to suspect who we were dealing with when we found the first tracker on an artifact, but I didn't know any way to confirm it. Half of the Regents still won't speak to me, and I don't know that Michael is even in touch with the half that do. So yes, I suspected that HG was back, but I didn't know until this afternoon."
"But why didn't you tell me about your suspicions?"
"Get your hopes up when it might just be my overactive imagination? What kind of a friend would I be if I did that?"
Okay, so she has a point, but Myka isn't ready to give up on her rant just yet. "It still would've been nice to know about the possibility before I start hearing the voice of a woman I thought was a bronze statue!"
"Things moved a little faster than I thought they would. I'm sorry, okay?"
And just like that, the balloon of Myka's anger deflates. "It's okay, Claud. It's just… I thought that maybe I'd finally gone crazy. That maybe I've been asleep and dreaming all this time."
There's another pause. "Geez, Myka, I'm sorry." Claudia's tone conjures an image of the girl standing with her head down, hands in her pockets, scuffing a toe on the floor. Myka wishes that she could hug the girl to show her that she, Myka, isn't mad anymore. However, there's still the matter of her being encased in metal.
"Claud, if Helena's out, why am I still Bronzed? I thought I said…"
"I know Myka, and I'm saying sorry again. But the fact of the matter is that I don't have access to the Bronzer anymore." Even as Claudia says it, Myka begins mentally kicking herself. She should have known that! "As soon as I'm back in control of Fifteen, your de-Bronzing will be the first thing I take care of. Well, one of the first-"
Her choice of words catches Myka's attention. "What do you mean, as soon as you're back in control?"
"Didn't I tell you where we are? I guess not. You and I are currently in the hold of a ship named Serenity, headed for Osiris. HG agreed to help me take back the Warehouse."