DR: Another weekend, another update for you lucky people.
Zeke: Good! Let's all sit down with our... say, where are O'Neill and Carter?
Shadow: Who cares? (chews his food)
(O'Neill & Carter enter the room, clothing disheveled)
O'Neill: Ah, just in time!
DR: And where were you two, hmmm?
Carter: (blushing) We were... just discussing what would happen for this years Christmas episode...
DR: Liar.
Chapter 28: First Impressions
Everybody on both sides was tense as the ramp of the transport lowered to the ground. Within the ship Mal kept his pose relaxed but mentally got ready to draw if need be. Zoe's hand brushed her favoured gun, making sure it was loose in the holster. Outside Apollo also checked that his blaster was free, while the Blitz and Cassie made doubly sure they were far enough to the sides to be able to dive out of the way if trouble started.
At last both sides could see each other, and for a long moment no-one spoke as they all regarded each other.
Mal straight away saw the two separate groups. To his left were a trio in tans, with the man and one woman wearing dark leather jackets and thigh holsters. The other set were young, wore bright clothing and had no visible weapons.
Assuming those three were no threat for the moment, he turned his attention back to the others. His eyes, hardened by experience, quickly noted the way the two with guns stood. These were soldiers, no doubt about it. The man was about his age, tall with dark hair and a surprisingly deep set of eyes. Other than the bright golden buckles on the jacket he wore, he wouldn't look too out of place back home. His posture was not one threat or violence, but more open than anything.
The warrior woman also had a presence about her, sharp eyes saying that this was someone you didn't want to mess with. She was certainly feminine, no question about that, but there was a predatory glint in her eyes. Just like the man, she too was not standing in a threatening manner.
The third in their group didn't look too dangerous at all. Wearing a simple, knee length tan dress that looked less for fancy parties and more like a 'working' dress, she held only a simple white case in her hands. While the other two had straight hair, hers curled about a lot.
Keeping his eye on the two warriors, he regarded the other three. They stood close together, the woman between the two men. The taller one with dark hair looked close to Mal's age, and there was enough similarity between him and the bright red haired woman, who looked about Kaylee's age, for him to suspect they were related. That man stood with an easy confidence, but with none of the arrogance that Mal often saw with people who stood that way had. This man appeared to know what he could do, but didn't boast about it.
The woman had an aggressive stance, but there was something holding her back a bit. She was pretty, though her choice of clothing was a little odd: a sky blue short skirt and bright yellow sleeveless tank top didn't really go together in Mal's opinion. He made a mental note to keep an eye on Jayne around her, for she had the full frame that he suspected dominated the merc's one-track mind.
The other man in that group had an air about him of supreme confidence. His hands on hips, he looked Mal in the eye, giving the ship captain a good look at his bright emerald eyes topped by a rough mop of straw coloured hair. The rest of his clothing was all bright colours too. Red and white jacket, green pants and dark blue shirt. Yet despite the almost arrogant stance, Mal found something in this man that he kind of liked.
While Mal was running his eyes over them, both the Colonials and Blitz were doing the same to him and his crew. The first thing that leapt out to Apollo was the stance of the various seven people before him. The man standing front and centre, clearly the captain simply by his pose, had a hard edge to him that matched his strong nose. He had a holstered gun on his right hip, and while his arms were folded across his chest it was clear to Apollo's warrior instincts that he was ready to fight if need be.
Leon, looking into the man's eyes, saw the tense, weather-beaten face of a man who had gone through a lot, but was determined to continue. His dark red shirt was patched, and the tan pants held up by canvas suspenders suggested a simple, rougher existence. There was a haunted look in his eyes too.
Standing just to the left and behind 'the captain' was a dark skinned woman, her face hard. Sheba instantly recognised another kindred spirit, a lethal warrior wrapped up in a woman's skin. She stood tall and imposing, her face a blank mask, one hand hovering just above the large gun at her hip.
At the left end of the line stood an imposing man, the thin t-shirt he wore barely hiding the muscles he had developed. A trace of a beard and monstrance adorned his face, and his whole pose suggested a thug. He was the most open about keeping his hand on his gun, which matched the impression that Apollo got from him.
Both Leena and Sheba narrowed their eyes when the big guy's eyes wandered across them, at which a grin began to form on his face. It was pretty clear to both women what this man was thinking about.
On the other side of the captain the remaining four didn't look like hardened space pirates at all. Slightly back from the others was a stunningly beautiful woman with pale skin and dark hair, wearing an expensively cut red dress. Apollo struggled to place her age, something he was normally good at. Her eyes revealed nothing, except the projection she was putting forward of a high class lady. Apollo had had enough experience to know when someone was doing that.
Before her a young woman, barely older than Leena, was the almost complete opposite. Her sleeveless jumpsuit might once have been green but it had faded and been stained until the colour was a little less clear. The tight top she wore underneath made up for the lack of colour though with its bright pink floral patterns. Her face was rounded and open, her eyes sparkling with cheer and wonder. There was nothing hidden about this one, Leon realised. She was open and honest with everyone, wielding a bright, cheerful smile.
The last two were just to the right of the young woman. A man in his late twenties stood cool and aloof, dressed sharply in a white shirt, expensive waist coat and black pants, while besides him stood a teenaged girl with a slightly vacant expression. Despite her hair going slightly wild, Apollo got a gut feeling these two were closely related. She was very pale, and her bare arms looked frail. But there was a sense that there was a lot more to this girl than meets the eye. He on the other hand not only had a sophisticated air about him, he had that general sense that always accompanied doctors.
Unseen by all but River, Wash was standing between the two sides, leaning against the side of the airlock. He kept looking between Mal and these new people, a slight look of worry on his face. "Please Mal, don't mess this up…" He breathed quietly.
As the silence dragged on, everyone began to fidget. Seeing how the captain wasn't about to make the first move, Apollo decided someone had to. Taking a deep breath, and making sure to keep his hand well away from his blaster, he took a step forwards.
"Hello. I'm Major Apollo."
"Captain Malcolm Reynolds." Mal answered back, his head barely moving. So far these folk were not acting all threatening like, so for now he was going to talk. Course, he was going to let them try and start things.
Apollo waited, expecting more. When nothing came, he began to flounder around inside, trying to find an angle to approach this. He looked up for a second at the ships neck arcing overhead. "Nice ship you have here."
Mal was about to say something concerning the warriors own craft, keep him in the lurch so to speak, but then Kaylee ruined it. "Really? You think so?" Her eyes were wide as she took a step forward to meet this 'Apollo'.
Apollo took a closer look at her now. The stains on the coveralls were in dark patches, and there was a trace of grease on her face and under her fingernails. "Indeed I do. You're the engineer?"
Kaylee blushed. "Well, I've never been called an 'engineer' before, but yea I keep Serenity going."
"You must have great skill." Apollo said, then he frowned slightly. "I mean… to keep a ship this size going by yourself."
Kaylee smiled, a smile that lit up her face and warmed everyone's heart. After being around Simon and his repeated 'foot in mouth' moments, she knew what this tall, handsome man was trying to say. "She'll fool ya. And yea, I've got 'natural talent' according to ma folks."
"That's a rare gift indeed." Apollo smiled in return.
"Kaylee…" Mal groaned. Trust her to warm to a handsome man on first looks. Especially if he complemented the ship, of which she was very fond off.
"Capt'n, have a little faith." She told him before facing Apollo again. "So… who're your friends?" She asked pleasantly.
Taking a half step back, Apollo gestured for Sheba and Cassie to step over. "Allow me to introduce Captain Sheba and Cassiopeia."
"Hi." Kaylee smiled brightly, holding out her hand freely. Sheba found herself smiling in response as she gripped the young woman's forearm in the Colonial fashion. Kaylee was a bit surprised at that but she didn't mind. Guessing that it was Sheba who had shaken hands, she turned to the other woman. "Cassiopeia… that's a lovely name."
Cassie smiled warmly. "I know. I get that line a lot. Mean's 'fairy queen' in one of our older dialects."
"I can believe it." Kaylee chirped. Behind her the man she had been standing besides was looking put out and restless.
"Your friend seems a little unsettled." Apollo told her.
"Huh?" Kaylee turned her head to look behind her before smiling. "Oh don't mind Simon. He's just feeling a little jealous, aren't you sweetie?" She addressed the last to Simon himself, stepping back up to him to wrap her arms round his shoulders.
"Kaylee… it's not just that… I'm thinking about all the possible contagions you could have just picked up."
"And are now spreading to all of us." Mal chipped in.
"Not to worry, that's why we brought Cassie." Apollo told him. "She's a medtech, a junior doctor if you will."
At that remark Simon looked up in interest. "You're a doctor yourself?"
Cassie smirked. "Well, I suppose the local term would be medic I think…" She glanced at the Blitz for confirmation.
"That's correct." Leon told her. As everything was going well, the three of them had relaxed a bit and taken a half step forwards them selves.
"Well, ain't that gorram convenient…" Jayne muttered from his place on the other end of the line. "Hope your better than pretty boy doc here. Though…" And now his eyes wandered up Cassie's body. "…I wouldn't mind being examined by you."
"Jayne, you will keep a civil tongue in that mouth, dong ma?" Mal snapped, deciding that things were going well for once and didn't want the foul mouthed merc ruining everything by insulting the locals.
Jayne was about to respond, but Bit couldn't help but burst out. "You're names Jane? Isn't that a girl's name?"
As Jayne glared at the blond haired man, River smiled as she remembered the last time she had teased him about that very subject. "Well Jayne here ain't a girl little man!" He ground out, hand itching for a gun. "And who the rutting hell are you?"
"Bit, Bit Cloud." Bit responded instantly, even though he knew the name would mean nothing to them.
Jayne found himself wavering between amusement and anger. "What kinda dumbass would name their kid bit?" He ground out.
Mal now turned to the big merc. "Bee gway, Jayne." He could see the annoyance that was forming on the faces of 'Bit' and his pals, and he could see both Apollo and Sheba were looking disgusted. Cassie looked a little indifferent, while the rest of the crew were looking exasperated. Except River, who was chuckling.
"You had better just watch it mister!" Leena was now walking up to the larger merc, who found himself sliding back slightly. "This 'pretty boy' just happens to be the best pilot on the planet!" She snapped in his face.
Jayne looked down at her, and couldn't help but grin lecherously. Man this woman was a fine piece of ass! Bit pale for his tastes, but the rest more than made up for that.
"I'd sure like to know you better…" he began.
He didn't finish as Leena, hearing enough, decided to teach him a lesson. The impact of her fist spun Jayne around before he crashed to the deck, out cold.
All throughout the cargo bay everyone froze, stunned at the sudden display, as Leena calmly stepped to Bit's side. Eye's flickered to Mal, wondering which way he was going to react. One of his crew had just been assaulted. Zoe's hand drifted to her gun, while Sheba and Apollo mirrored the actions. Everyone else got ready to dive for cover…
Mal looked at the unconscious Jayne for several seconds. Then he smiled. "Well, that was refreshing." He turned to look at Leena. "You're a lot stronger than you look Miss."
"It's Mrs actually." Leena straightened up, while keeping a Bit's hand possessively in her own. "Mrs Leena Cloud."
As everyone relaxed and trigger fingers eased, smiles broke out on several faces. Inara stepped forwards with a regal air. "Thank you for that." She told Leena. "The number of times I've wanted to do that to that hwoon dahn…"
"Well, since we've now all shown our mutual dislike of Jayne's attitude…" Mal spoke up, uncrossing his arms and hooking them into his braces, a clear sign of ease to those who knew him. "Why don't we all sit down and discuss things."
"That sounds like a good idea." Bit put in, his hand sliding around Leena's waist. "Why don't we go inside the base? We've got drink, fresh food…"
"Did you say 'fresh' food?" Kaylee asked eyes wide. It was almost possible to see the saliva running from the corners of her mouth.
"Sure he did." Leon spoke up, figuring that would be the real ticket for these people. "We got a batch of fresh fruit this morning, though with all that happened the other day no one's been feeling up enough to eat it."
"Fruit?" Kaylee echoed in awe, before she turned to Mal, eyes pleading.
Mal sighed. "Fine. Go make yourself sick."
"First things first. We had better make sure no one is going to keel over if we all start to inter mingle." Cassiopeia stated, pulling a scanner and other medical supplies from her case. She turned to regard Simon. "Do you have a sick bay onboard?"
"Yes, right this way…" Simon gestured to the depths of the ship, under the catwalks that crisscrossed the space above. As the two of them stepped through the hatch into the common area of the ship, Mal turned to regard Apollo.
"Mind if I ask what a ship with guns like that was doing waiting for me and my ship?"
Apollo shrugged. "Our sensors detected the formation of something. Since we were recently attacked, a Tiger was sent out to investigate. Had you come through two days ago, well…" Apollo shrugged.
Mal nodded, his concerns mollified. They were on a heightened state of alert, and were jumpy. He'd seen the damaged ships, so he knew they weren't lying on that score.
X-X-X-X-X-X
"You weren't kidding!"
Sarah smiled at the dark skinned women's comment. Bit, Leena and the others had entered a few minutes ago, with six new arrivals behind them. They had mentioned that a seventh was still out there, knocked unconscious after he was less then polite to Bit and Leena. Sarah easily figured out what had happened next.
They had been led into the main room, where the large dinner table was laid out for lunch. After the battle early that morning the team had returned home intending to have a lazy afternoon, with maybe a snack mid-afternoon since they had had a large breakfast straight after the battle, but with Apollo, Sheba, Cassiopeia and a half dozen more arrivals to come, Sarah had decided to lay a full spread out.
Bit smiled as he sat down besides Leena at the table, the rest of the Blitz following suit. The looks on the faces of Captain Reynolds and his people were priceless, like those of drowning men who just stumbled into an oasis.
Kaylee stepped forwards slowly, her eyes fixed on the small bowl of strawberries in the middle of the table. Part of the standard fruit package, they normally went uneaten since only Naomi had a taste for them. Almost tentively she reached out with her hand to pick one up. Bringing it up under her nose she sniffed it before taking a bite. Everyone watched in awe as her eyes rolled back and a low moan escaped from her throat.
"Man… I'll never look at a strawberry the same again." Brad commented in response to Kaylee's obvious pleasure.
Mal looked uncomfortable, disturbed by his mechanic's almost sensual look. Pulling out a chair for Inara, he settled down at the end of the massive table that was covered in plates and dishes, all of which had real, fresh food on them.
"Go ahead and dig in." Bit grinned. "We won't mind."
As if waiting for those words the crew of Serenity began to reach out, snagging anything in reach. Some of the Blitz chuckled at the display.
"Been long without fresh food?" Leon asked in good humour.
"Back on Serenity, we so rarely have real food that getting fresh, real food is a real luxury." Mal answered him around the apple he was slicing up.
Soon the table dissolved into a string of conversations as everyone began to talk at once. Names were traded back and forth as the crew of Serenity began to ease up. Not all the Blitz was there. Stoller, having heard about the forthcoming house party, had retired to his room.
Quickly things began to be cleared away as everyone talked. Kaylee was almost constantly laughing and smiling, and her joy and happiness infected everyone around them. Leena found in the young mechanic someone who she could talk to with ease, while Kaylee found another strong woman. Both Sheba and Zoe began to bond, though it was slow going with Zoe.
Sitting between Simon and Inara, Cassiopeia wasn't sure who she should talk to. After the scans of the contents of the doctor's medical supplies had shown no serious contagions to worry about, she had taken a blood scan of the whole crew before allowing everyone to go in and eat. She was curious however as to why the doctor had so many drugs and sedatives. The storage units were overflowing with them.
On the other hand, this Inara Serra had a number of qualities that Cassie found familiar. The way she acted and spoke, the way held herself and moved, even the way she was dressed made Cassie wonder about this woman. Realising the doctor could wait for a bit, she turned to Inara.
"So, Inara was it? I was wondering what it is you do on the ship." She gestured to the others. "I mean, Captain Reynolds pretty much stated everyone's roles, except you."
Inara smiled. "It's a business arrangement between me and Captain Reynolds, or at least it was until seven months ago. I used to rent a shuttle from him. A mutually beneficially deal really. He provided me with an expanded client base, and I brought him a certain respectability that opened doors that otherwise would have been closed."
Cassie nodded. "So what happened seven months ago?" She kept the smile off her lips. She had noted the look that they had each sent at each other, when the other one wasn't looking.
Inara cleared her throat, unsure how these people would react to the description of her life. "It became untenable between us. We both have complete disregard for the other's jobs and I'm afraid it got to me."
"I see. I can see he's clearly a cargo hauler, sometime smuggler. And what about you?"
Inara sighed, seeing no way out of it. "I'm a Companion. Mal would describe it as whoring, but it's much more than sexual gratification. It's also about spiritual and psychological well being. And some clients don't contract a Companion for the sex, but more for the social status and the image."
Cassiopeia sat there, mouth open a little, before she chuckled. At Inara's look, she managed to speak.
"On don't worry I'm not laughing at you. I'm just struck by how small the galaxy really is."
"Shuh muh?" Inara queried.
Cassie just kept smiling, guessing what Inara had said even if she couldn't understand. "Before I became a Medtech, my job, 'designation' we used to use, was a Socialator. Basically, the same thing as what you've just described." Inara was smiling now.
As she allowed the dozens of thoughts to just flow on by, River was able to relax. She still could hear people's thoughts and feelings, but with so many people around her it became a constant chatter, a wall of sound. With so many voices focusing on one was impossible. It was the second closest she had ever come to feeling secure and not intruding on others.
The closest had been when that evil force had drawn her into its world for a few seconds. That she didn't like thinking about.
Realising that she had to focus on something else before the emotions from that episode came to the fore, she focused on the wall across the room. Leaning there was Wash, looking slightly bewildered but happy.
Wash was certainly confused. After he had found it impossible to leave the ship on Persephone, he had come to terms with the fact that he couldn't leave Serenity. He was bound to that ship. So when they landed the fact that he was able to move freely off the ship had been a pleasant surprise, to say the least. It made him wonder if this was where John had said the chance for him to be reborn again was going to happen.
But for now he was happy enough watching the rest of the crew tuck into the first real food they had had for god knows how long. He saw how Mal was lightening up, how Kaylee was…
He frowned, watching her. Kaylee had stopping smiling and was sitting back, her eyes on her plate. Leena, sitting next to her, was the first to notice her suddenly quiet.
"Hey, you okay?" She asked, the question drawing attention from the others around the table.
"Mei-mei?" Mal asked, his voice full of concern.
"I just… feel a little queasy that's all." Kaylee answered.
"Huh. I warned you in the past about eating too much." Mal grunted.
"I've barely eaten anything…" Kaylee moaned, her eyes wandering over the plates of food before her.
"Well, I expect your stomach is just not used to real food." Cassiopeia smiled. "Besides, queasiness is to be expected."
"What do you mean?" Kaylee asked, her eyes snapping up to the blond haired woman.
"You don't know?" Cassie asked, seeing how Kaylee reacted.
"Don't know what?" Mal asked, stress creeping into his voice.
Cassie sighed before setting down her fork. "Miss Kaylee, Miss Serra, could I speak to you both in private for a moment?"
Everyone looked at each other as the three women got up. Sensing a medical matter Sarah stood and followed them into the sick bay, Simon right behind her.
Once inside Cassie pulled one of the blood samples from her scanner and passed them to Sarah. "Could you run this one for me please?" Sarah nodded, pulling the tiny vial into the blood analyser.
"What's this all about?" Inara asked, concern colouring her tone.
"Let's just wait for the test to be completed." Cassie asked, sitting down to wait.
They all sat down, tension gathering once more. What could be the matter?
At last the analyser finished, and Sarah pulled up the display. After looking at it, she motioned for Cassie to take a look. She sighed as she did so.
"As I thought…"
"And that was?" Kaylee asked in worry.
Cassie turned back. "You're pregnant."
DR: Yes, I know I ended a chapter the same way in 'Ancient Legacies', but if it ain't broke...
Shadow: You really think people will fall for that?
DR: Oh shut you cyinc.
Translations:
dong ma - understand
Bee gway - be quiet
hwoon dahn - bastard
shuh muh - I'm sorry
Mei-mei - little sister
