"An Alliance spy?!"
"Right there in black and white, sir. Official payroll and everything."
Mal sat down, hand on his forehead. "That just don't make sense! 'Sides from this last mess, he's kept things.... well, not all legal an' aboveboard, but at least kinda profitable for us!"
"Saw what I saw, sir." She sat down across from him. "Question is, what do we do about it?"
"Well, it would be good blackmail," said Book in a dry tone, striding into the room. "That's what you were looking for, isn't it?"
"Ain't you got some helpin' to be doing somewhere else, Shepherd?" said Mal.
"It seemed to me that this would be just that," said Book. "Trying to head off any violence."
"Well, the man ain't on this moon," said Mal, "so you ain't gotta worry in that regard. Might make our stay here a sight shorter, though."
"Shorter?" said Kaylee, walking in. "We're still going to get that other job, though, right?" She wiped some engine grease off her hand before brushing her hair back. "A couple of the power couplings are pretty fried, and the third starboard maneuvering thruster housing is all but tin foil. Some of the structure in the rear fuel array needs shorin' up, too."
Mal's eyebrows went up. "Thought you an' the Doctor had that under control."
"Well, we did, kinda... but with all we've been through lately, there's a lot more damage down there. Those are just the most urgent ones."
Mal sighed. "I'll see what we can get."
Kaylee smiled and gave him a pat on the cheek. "I'm sure my captain will provide." She turned and walked back out.
The Doctor walked in, a data pad in his had and an irritated expression on his face. "Zoe, if you could have waited a couple more minutes instead of rushing off-"
"She was followin' my orders, Doctor," said Mal. "Those take precedence here."
"Obviously," said the Doctor. He turned to Zoe.
"Did Mr. Kathan ever tell you what rank he held in the Independent military?"
Zoe glanced at Mal, who nodded. She turned back to the Doctor. "He was a Lieutenant Commander."
"We don't hold that against him none... or at least we didn't until-" He was interrupted by a pointed cough by the Doctor.
"Shepherd, could you check these symbols for me?" he said, handing the pad to Book. "I'm no expert in military payrolls, but that amount seems far too low for an intelligence expert."
Book took the pad and studied it, then once again looked surprised. He gave the Doctor a suspicious glance, then turned to Mal. "He's right. These symbols next to his payroll indicate a mid-level noncom, of unremarkable stature..." He blinked. "Stationed at the largest Alliance command base on Osiris!"
"So he was a-" Mal began, but Zoe raised a hand. She didn't like being wrong, but this was starting to sound interesting.
Book studied the pad for a while, then looked up. "It looks like he had a spy's dream position," he said. "Not enough rank to be watched carefully, but enough to be on office staff, an officer's adjutant... just about anything on an information point." He looked at the Doctor, then back over to Zoe. "Of course, no one of that rating would be trusted with deep-cover intelligence work."
"Jehosephat!" said the Doctor. "How in blazes did you work all that out from a few symbols?"
Book opened his mouth, but Mal beat him to the punch.
"He wasn't born a Shepherd, Doctor," he said, half-smiling.
He didn't seem to be paying attention. "Then... if he was a spy for... oh, dear." The Doctor sat down at the table.
"If word got back to the Alliance, he'd be executed as a war criminal," said Zoe.
The Doctor stood back up. "Yes, well, you have your information," he said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some repairs to do."
"See if you can get a list from Kaylee of-"
The Doctor stopped. "Sorry, I wasn't clear. I am sure Kaylee can handle whatever is presently needed."
"Then what are you talking about?" said Mal.
"I'll be performing some long-overdue repairs on my own ship."
"Your ship... you mean that crate you brought on?"
"I beg your pardon!" said the Doctor. "The TARDIS is no 'crate.' She is a highly advanced technological vehicle!"
"And she looks like a crate," said Mal. "Broke, too, by what you said."
The Doctor seemed to be about to reply in a harsh manner, then checked himself. Taking a breath, he then said, "Very well, Captain. I may give you a tour later, after my repairs are done."
He smiled. "I think you'll find her quite unlike a packing container."
Before Mal could reply, he turned and left.
Jayne ambled up the gangway of Serenity, a bag slung over his shoulder and grinning from ear to ear.
Mal was there, looking over the burly mercenary's shoulder, then at his face and bag.
He noted the distinct lack of a child anywhere near him.
"Jayne."
"Hm? Oh hey, Mal. Got the kid off, just like you said."
Mal kept looking stonily at him. "So, was the money good enough?"
"What are you..." Jayne suddenly scowled, and set the bag down. "You have got a lot of gorram nerve. Accusin' me to my face of bein' a飞鱼 child-trader."
"Just makin' an observation," said Mal. "Where'd all the new kit come from?"
"Don't know if I wanna talk about it now," snarled Jayne.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" said Wash, just arriving up the 'plank himself. "Whole lotta tenseness, I can see that. We've all been under unreal pressure. But could you do me a favor?" He wiped his forehead. "Let's just spare ourselves the whole 'macho posturing' 胡说 and just work together? Please?" He paused there a moment, then walked on into the ship, muttering, " 原形毕露, what a month..."
Mal turned back to Jayne. "Later."
Jayne just grunted, picked up his bag and stormed off. Mal saw him stop beside Kaylee and reach into his bag. He pulled out a wide, flat box and handed it to her, saying something he couldn't quite catch. You'd have to have been deaf to miss little Kaylee's giggles when she opened it, though - he caught sight of some frilly pink material peeking from the box just before Jayne slapped the box shut in her hands and shushed her. She nodded at him, an impish grin on her face, then left in the direction of her room.
He narrowed his eyes. Might be something to follow up on later. Meantime, he had to roust Jayne back out and see if they could offset the cost of this little pit-stop, or at least minimize it.
As he was walking by the Doctor's crate... sorry, 'ship', that worthy popped out, shutting the door behind hm.
"Ah, captain! I was hoping to ask a favor..."
"Depends," said Mal.
"Nothing drastic, nothing like that," said the Doctor. "I was wondering if someone could set aside something for me at supper? I may be a bit late - some of these repairs can't just be left halfway, I'm afraid."
"I'll see what I can do," said Mal.
He strode past the Doctor and into the hallway . "Jayne!" he yelled. "Quit sulkin' and get down here! We got money goin' idle!"