Episode 4: Captured
Here's how it is. Earth got used up, so we terraformed a whole new galaxy of Earths, some rich and flush with the new technologies, some not so much. Central Planets, them was formed the Alliance, waged war to bring everyone under their rule; a few idiots tried to fight it, among them myself. I'm Malcolm Reynolds, captain of Serenity. She's a transport ship. Firefly class. Got a good crew: fighters, pilot, mechanic. We even picked up a mercenary, and a bona fide companion. There's a doctor, too, took his genius sister out of some Alliance camp, so they're keeping a low profile. You understand. You got a job, we can do it, don't much care what it is.
Normally, it would be a pretty quiet day in space at this time. However, there were a few instances when shouting could be heard. This was one of those times. River was adamantly trying to stay clear of the med lab which was the opposite of what her brother was trying to do.
"No! No, I don't wanna go in there!" River panicked as she collapsed onto the couch.
"It's okay," Simon tried, "It-"
"It's not okay!" River shouted. "You can't just dig into me, shove pointed needles in my eyes and ask me what I see!"
"Alright, we won't go in. Look," Simon said as he shut the infirmary doors. "No test today."
"No rutting tests? Stupid son of a bitch, dress me up like a gorramn doll!" River said angrily.
"No tests, no shots…" Simon said, attempting to calm River. "I'm, uh, I'm just gonna give you a smoother that'll-"
As Simon reached for his case of medical supplies, River stood and snatched them away. Simon watched as River threw the medkit to the side, just missing Mal who had just entered the room.
"River!" Simon chastised.
Mal came to a stop as the medkit clattered against the wall nearby. Suffice it to say, he was none too pleased.
"Not him!" River said as she turned to look at Mal. "Liou coe shway duh biao-tze huh hoe-tze duh ur-tze."
After that, River wilted and sat back on the couch.
"So, she's added cussing and hurling about things to her repertoire, "Mal said displeased as he continued down the stairs. "She really is a prodigy."
"It's just a bad day," Simon said defensively.
"No, a bad day is when someone's yellin' spooks the cattle. Understand?" Mal said sternly as Simon went to pick up the medical items.
"You ever see cattle stampede when they got no place to run?" Mal finished. "It's kind of like a… a meat grinder. And it'll lose us half the herd."
"She hasn't gone anywhere near the cattle," Simon said after he stood up.
"No, but in case you hadn't noticed, her voice kinda carries," Mal reasoned. "We're two miles above ground and they can probably hear her down there. Soon as we unload, she can holler until our ears bleed."
"Although I would take it as a kindness if she didn't," Mal added as he looked toward River.
"The human body can be drained of blood in 8.6 seconds given adequate vacuuming systems," River said, much calmer.
"See, morbid and creepifying," Mal said to Simon. "I got no problem with, long as she does it quiet-like."
"This is paranoid schizophrenia, Captain," Simon explained. "Hand-crafted by government scientists who thought my sister's brain was a rutting playground. I have no idea what'll set her off. If you have some expertise-"
"I'm not a doctor," Mal said firmly as he gently grabbed Simon's upper arms. "And I'm not your gorramn babysitter, either. Gag her, if you have to. Got trade to be done."
As Mal headed back up the stairs, Simon sighed heavily.
*intro begins*
Firefly
Take my love, take my land
Take me where I cannot stand
I don't care, I'm still free
You can't take the sky from me.
Take me out to the black
Tell them I ain't comin' back
Burn the land and boil the sea
You can't take the sky from me.
Leave the men where they lay
They'll never see another day
Lost my soul, lost my dream
You can't take the sky from me.
I feel the black reaching out
I hear its song without a doubt
I still hear and I still see
That you can't take the sky from me.
Lost my love, lost my land
Lost the last place I could stand
There's no place I can be
Since I've found Serenity
And you can't take the sky from me.
*intro ends*
A young blonde fifteen-year-old girl walked along the hallways of a mansion in the "cloud district" as some of the citizens call it. This mansion happened to belong to the Morissy family, who was one of the richest families in the 'verse thanks to their successful spaceship production company.
True they don't get much money now, except for the alliance for helping design their ships. However, in the beginning, they had gotten loads from creating the firefly class cargo ships. A lot of people bought them, but the early versions required a lot of maintenance. Greedy as they are, the company used that to their advantage. They made it possible to only acquire parts from them and at a high price. Eventually, the Fireflies ceased getting sold. So, they had to change tactics and upgrade the ships to last long if the crew had a decent mechanic. They even reduced the prices for the replacement parts.
Eventually, they gave up on selling replacement parts as they had started working with other ship production companies. In the end, the vessels were compatible with every purchasable or salvageable spare part. Now, the Morissy family doesn't have a physical presence in the company as the family had more or less lost the intelligent gene down the line. The family was more of a figurehead nowadays.
So, it came as a bit of a welcome surprise when Sara, or Katherine "Kathy" Morissy, which was her original name, constantly achieved high marks in class. Unfortunately, she let them down when she was unable to pass a test sent by an Alliance academy. That test was designed to, well, test her IQ.
So, to make her relevant to the family, they pulled her out of school and placed her into one of the Alliance training camps. It was more of a boot camp, and she was the youngest trainee ever accepted. Kathy hated every second of it, but as the new face of the family… She had no choice. Fortunately, today she was sent home for the summer as they had to install new technology.
"Kathy!" shouted a younger feminine voice. "You're home!"
Katherine Morissy turned around to see her fourteen-year-old sister running toward her. Suddenly, the girl launched herself toward Kathy and gave her a bear hug.
"Hey, sis," Kathy smiled, happily, as she embraced her sister. "I've missed you."
"Not as much as I missed you!" Kathy's sister insisted, without letting go. "It's no fun here. Mommy and Daddy don't spend time with me, and neither do the maids or slaves. You're my only friend."
"Listen to me, Sara," Kathy said as she pushed her sister off her and held her face. "I won't always be here for you, so you can't rely on my company. You need to find a way to thrive on your own, even if you're not physically alone."
"I don't want to," Sara pouted.
"And I'd much rather leave this planet and take you with me," Kathy said. "However, I can't. I have to stomach the hand that's been dealt to me, and so do you."
Before anything more could be said, they heard the one thing they both disliked immensely.
"Katherine," said an authoritative male voice from one of the rooms nearby. "Come here."
With a sigh, she immediately turned to her right and headed toward her father. That is who it was, as he's the only male in the mansion. They don't even have a butler as that role was filled by artificial intelligence that they were given by the Alliance. The entire staff consisted of slaves and maids. The former did the worst manual labor, and if they did well… They get to sleep in one of the garages. If they did poorly, then they had to sleep in the kennel without food or water. However, they were allowed enough to keep them alive and useful. The ones that did the best were "rewarded" by being the sexual slaves of Kathy's father and mother. Her father wasn't very imaginative so he just stuck with vanilla and oral. Her mother, on the other hand, was a writer. So, she had enough imagination to come up with humiliating ways to use sex slaves. Her mother wasn't above incest slavery either as she had threatened Kathy with that should she fail them again.
"Yes, sir?" Kathy said as she entered the room.
At the Alliance Boot Camp, she had been trained to say "sir" after every sentence when addressing men of higher rank. Same for women, but instead of "sir" she was to use "ma'am".
Her father looked at her briefly before looking back at the man he had been talking to as she entered. Once again, her training kicked in and she stayed silently still while she waited to hear what her father wanted.
"This man is from another Alliance camp," her father said sternly after he looked back down at her. "He has made an offer that you're going to accept."
Katherine bristled internally but didn't say anything thanks to her training. Her father had shit empathic abilities, so he missed the enraged look her eyes had. However, their visitor did notice it and smirked. Before he spoke, he pointed to a chair that Kathy immediately sat on.
"The current camp you're enrolled in," the man said, as he sat down across from her. "Is insufficient for your talents. So, I was told to offer you a place at a better camp. A camp where you will become the best the Alliance armed forces have to offer."
"I thought only men were allowed to be soldiers, sir," Kathy asked, hoping to stay away from the camp.
"That is normally true," the man concurred. "However, you're the exception. Your physical skills will have to progress before graduation, but I have faith in your ability to learn. Also, from what I'm told, you have a brilliant mind. We need someone smart enough to lead this specific brand of soldier. Unfortunately, none of the male applicants have met the criteria."
"I understand, sir," Kathy said, emotionlessly. Truthfully, she was disappointed because now her parents will ensure that the metaphorical leash on her gets tightened.
Even though she knew the real reason why the man was here, she didn't say that it was an act of desperation. If she did, the Alliance would keep a closer eye on her than if she didn't state how much she understood.
"Good, that's settled," her father spoke up, pleased. "You may take her with you when you leave, officer. She's nothing more than a distraction to the maids, and my wife and I hate that."
Kathy was numb to that. Her parents have said similar stuff about her to Alliance officials. Of course, they didn't know that she knew. They thought she had stayed locked in her room with nothing to do whenever Alliance parties were hosted by the Morissies. In truth, she had crawled through the vents from her room to the monitor room. Normally, the monitor room had guards stationed all day or night. However, during parties, the cameras are shut off as per the request of the Alliance.
That enabled Kathy to watch the guests eavesdrop on their conversations. Occasionally, she came across footage of her mother dominating or being dominated by male and female guests. She never cared enough to linger once she saw her mother's face, which fortunately was the first thing to render. The only footage she ever watched was of secret meetings between Alliance officials. It was on a security camera that she heard her father and mother speak about her with such disdain. Well, she really just slept through that meeting but was able to wake up in time to hear that contemptuous remark from her parents.
Now, instead of crying, Kathy was completely calm because she didn't care about her parents. They didn't care about her, after all. So, why waste her feelings on such assholes? As the man left the room, he gestured for her to follow. As she walked behind him, she began thinking of ways she could get free of her obligations.
The present…
As Sara headed down the cargo bay ramp carefully avoiding the cow pies as she did with land mines, she noticed Simon trying to do the same. Albeit, less gracefully. Jayne also noticed that, and purposefully herded some cattle right past him, and Simon ended up stumbling onto some cow shit.
"'Bout time you broke in them pretty shoes," Jayne smirked.
"Yah!" Jayne said as he swung the coiled rope at them even though they were too far to be hit. "Get along!"
Simon ignored Jayne and walked off the ramp to clean his shoes.
"You know, they walk just as easy if you lead 'em," Mal reasoned to Jayne as he walked up to him.
"I like smackin' 'em," Jayne returned.
Thankfully they had already set up a corral of metal fences. However, it's always a good idea to check the fastenings. That's exactly what Sara was doing as the cows rushed past.
"Hope this corral's strong enough to hold them," Sara said to Zoe and Wash. "I'm a mercenary. Not a cow herder."
Sara proceeded to head further down the corral. Zoe and Wash were seated on some crates right next to the corral.
"Next time we smuggle stock," Zoe chuckled. "Let's make it something smaller."
"Yeah, we should start dealing in those black-market beagles," joked Wash.
Sara looked over to River who had sat on the ground outside the corral as she stared at a calf. The calf occasionally stared at her in return as it surveyed its new locale.
"Little soul, big world. Eat, sleep, and eat… many souls," River said calmly.
"Cattle on the ship three weeks, she don't go near 'em," Mal said, perplexed as River stood up. "Suddenly we're on Jiangyin and she's got a driving need to commune with the beast?"
"They weren't cows inside," River explained. "They were waiting to be, but they forgot. Now they see the sky and they remember what they are."
"Is it bad that what she said made perfect sense to me?" Mal asked Jayne.
"C'mon, now. Let's get you clear of the work," Mal added to River.
"What's going on?" Simon called as he approached the corral where Mal, Jayne, and River stood.
"What are you doing?" Simon asked.
"I'm fixing to do some business," Mal replied. "Can't be herding these steers and your sister, too."
"She didn't mean any harm," Simon said defensively.
"I never figured she did," Mal explained. "But when a man engages in clandestine dealings, he has his preference for things being smooth."
The bushes shook even though there wasn't any wind blowing caught Mal's attention. However, he figured it was an animal moving at a fast pace.
"She makes things not be smooth," Mal finished.
"Right," Simon said in a snippy tone. "I'm very sorry if she tipped off anyone about your cunningly concealed herd of cows.
"I'm starting to think you got a little too much time on your hands, doctor," Mal said as he guided Simon away from the corral. "I think now I got a notion regarding that. Why don't you take your sister for a little walk."
"A walk?" Simon asked as they stopped moving.
"Yeah," Mal replied. "Someplace… away."
"Uh, probably best we stay close," Simon said nervously. "Alliance has us marked as fugitives."
"Closest Alliance is the Cruiser Magellan," Mal assured. "Hours out from here. And I promise you, they ain't coming to a backwater like Jiang."
"Still, I'm not sure it's such a wise suggestion," Simon said in uncertainty.
"Might not wanna mistake it for a suggestion," Mal said sternly.
"Don't worry, we won't leave without ya," Mal said in a lighter tone.
"I'll go with ya," Sara said to Simon. Simon looked a little relieved, but he still wasn't thrilled at the prospect of leaving the vicinity of the ship.
Later, with Kaylee and Inara…
Inara and Kaylee looked around until they found themselves in a store of some kind. They immediately began to browse, and even though the yellow-colored lighting was dim, they could see. All they saw were shelves cluttered with cheap knick-knacks.
"Does it seem every supply store on every water planet has the same five rag dolls and the same wood carvings of… what is this? A duck?" Inara asked confusedly.
"That's a swan," Kaylee corrected. "I like it.
"You do?" Inara asked.
"Looks like it was made with, you know," Kaylee said as she stroked its beak for a few seconds. "longing. Made by a person really longed to see a swan."
"Perhaps they'd only heard of them by rough description," Inara shrugged as they resumed looking around.
"You think this would make a nice gift?" Kaylee asked as she held up a painted plate.
"A gift? For whom?" Inara asked.
"I just kinda like it," Kaylee said vaguely. "It's rich, you know?"
"Ooh. For Simon," Inara smiled.
"I didn't say that," Kaylee said defensively.
"You don't do a very good job of hiding your interest," Inara chuckled.
"He's just so shuai," Kaylee smiled, "You just wanna take a bite out of him all over, you know?"
"Careful," Inara warned softly as Simon, River, and Sara entered the store. When Kaylee looked confused, Inara slightly gestured behind Kaylee and she turned to see them.
"Morning, you two," Kaylee said quickly.
"Don't usually see you two out and about planet-side," Inara said as Sara walked over to the swan carving.
"Yeah, we're… we're trying something different today," Simon said distractedly as he kept his eye on River.
"River, be careful with that… that's, um…" Simon said as River grabbed a tool of some kind.
"What is that?" Simon asked, confusedly.
"It's a post-holer. You dig holes. For posts," Kaylee explained.
"It's, uh, it's dirty. And sharp," Simon said as he separated River from the post-holer."
"Let's come over here," Simon added as he headed toward Kaylee, Sara, and Inara.
"Jiangyin prairie paradise," Simon said as he picked up the plate Kaylee was looking at earlier. "Good god. They're asking money for this crap?"
"Hard to believe ain't it?" Kaylee said a little crestfallen. "Glad you're out."
"Mm," Simon grunted.
"Give you a chance to have a little fun," Kaylee continued brightly.
"Fun. Right, yeah," Simon said sarcastically as he moved to stop River from just grabbing things. "I, uh, I consider this fun. It's fun being forced to the ass-end of the galaxy. To get to live on a piece of luh-suh wreck. And to eat molded protein. And to be bullied around by our boo-tai jung tzhang-duh of a captain. It's fun."
"Luh-suh?" Kaylee said hurt.
"Sorry?" Simon said guiltily.
"Serenity ain't luh-suh," Kaylee said offendedly
"No, I… I didn't mean-" Simon tried.
"Yeah you did," Kaylee said even more unhappily. "You meant everything you just said."
"Well, no," Simon said quickly "Uh, actually I was being ironic, so in-in-in the strictest sense-"
"You were being mean, is what," Kaylee said angrily. "And if that's what you think of this life, then you can't think much of them that choose it, can you."
Kaylee and Inara exited the store. The latter gave Simon a significant "You screwed up" look as she did so. Simon sighed heavily and turned back toward River.
"How dumb are you, core boy?" Sara asked less than pleased. "I'm going to find a toilet. See you later."
At that, Sara left Simon and River to their own devices.
Back with Mal…
Mal once again walked down the cow-pie-riddled cargo bay ramp.
"This is the last time," Mal said irritatedly as he narrowly avoided some cow pie. "Last time with cows. Hear there was an idea regarding beagles? They have smallish droppings?"
"I believe so, sir," Zoe said as she walked over from the corral. "Also, your disreputable men are here."
"Better go take their money," Mal said as he and Zoe walked past each other.
Mal approached the corral, where Jayne kept watch on the cattle. Their two business partners were also there. They had very unimpressed expressions as they stood outside the corral.
"Morning, gentlemen," Mal greeted, as he stopped in front of them. "You must be the Grange brothers. Hope you're in the mood for beefsteak."
"Attractive animals, ain't they?" Jayne asked.
"T'ain't well fed. Scrawny." said the one with the hat.
"Fei hua," Mal frowned. "Milk and hay, three times a day. Fed to 'em by beautiful women."
"That was somethin' to see," Jayne said gleefully.
"They's branded," said the younger Grange brother.
"Oh, you boys are hittin' all the sellin' points," Mal said. "A fresh brand's a dead giveaway. Claim 'em as your own."
"Twenty a head," the older grange decided.
"That's an amusing figure, in light of we already agreed on thirty with Badger," Mal said irritatedly.
"That's afore we seen 'em," the older Grange reasoned. "They're atrophied, standin' around on a ship for near a month."
"My comprehension is less muscle, more tender the meat. Thirty." Mal countered.
The Grange brothers jumped at the sound of a twig snapping and their hands immediately went for their sidearms as they looked around.
What's got you two so twitchy? Mal thought as he regarded the Grange brothers.
With Sara…
Sara wandered the streets looking for an outhouse, at least. However, she wasn't having any luck. As she did so, she noticed a posse of lawmen walking down the steps of a building across the street. They crossed the street and headed right past her.
Back with Mal…
Grange brothers were being stubborn and so the negotiation was taking forever, much to everyone's chagrin.
"I'm thinking… maybe we walk away entirely," the older grange said grumpily.
"I'm thinking, you do that, and we got ourselves trouble," Mal warned.
"Mornin', ladies," Mal added to Inara and Kaylee as they returned to the ship.
"Serious trouble. Of the you-owe-us variety," Mal said as he returned his attention to the grange brothers.
"I can go to twenty-five," the older grange sighed.
"Well… we'll be takin' a loss," Mal said relieved. "but you seem like clean and virtuous boys. Done."
Older Grange brother pulled out his bag of cash when suddenly, a posse of lawmen burst out of the brush with their guns drawn. That caused the bag of cash to drop sprinkling coins on the ground below them.
"Marcus and Nathaniel Grange!" shouted the head cop. "You are wanted in connection to the illegal killing of Rance Durbin. You are bound by law to stand down!"
"You know, I'm starting to find this whole planet very uninviting," Mal said to Jayne unhappily as he raised his arms.
"Yeah," Jayne agreed.
Meanwhile, in town…
Sara stopped at a posting board and saw several wanted posters. Fortunately, none of them were her or the Tams which meant they didn't have anything to worry about here. Relieved, she resumed her path. Unknown to her, a man with a fedora, dark sunglasses, and leather duster looked up from across the street as he read a newspaper. Immediately, he placed it down and began to follow her.
Return to Mal…
The lawmen began disarming all of them as soon as they were certain nobody was going to make a fuss.
"Aww, careful with that!" Jayne said as his gun belt was removed and dropped unceremoniously to the ground.
"Seems we have ourselves a situation," Mal said.
"Who are you?" the head cop asked.
"Just a bystander," Mal replied half-truthfully.
"This your beef?" the head cop asked.
"No, sir," Mal replied truthfully as he gestured toward the Grange brothers. "You're lookin' at the proper owners right there."
"Mm-hmm," the head cop said skeptically.
"I'd like to see some papers on that cattle," the head cop said as he turned to the grange brothers.
The Younger Grange brother immediately punched one of the lawmen and stole his pistol. Before he could fire, it got shot out of his hand by Zoe, positioned high up on the hill overlooking the corral. At that, everyone armed began firing their weapons.
"Come on, hurry up!" the older grange brother yelled to his younger brother.
The older Grange brother had acquired a pistol by now and began shooting off covering fire so he and his brother could escape. As a bullet flew by, Mal and Jayne dropped to the ground. They immediately crawled forward toward their gun belts and the sack of money.
"Here we go," Jayne said.
"Never goes smooth," Mal asked incredulously. "How come it never goes smooth?!"
They immediately pulled out their firearms.
Meanwhile, with Sara…
Sara nodded to a couple that was busy with some public displays of affection. They were two embarrassed women, and so Sara felt she had to assure them that she didn't judge. The man with the duster still tailed her as she moved along.
Once again, with Mal…
As bullets flew overhead, Mal reached for the money. Unfortunately, he nearly got his hand shot off for his trouble. He reached again, grabbed it, and rolled back toward Jayne, narrowly avoiding a shot to the head.
Outside a saloon, with Sara…
Sara had found a place with a toilet much to her relief, and hurried inside. The man in the duster quickly followed and found a seat to wait for her.
In the firefight, with Mal…
As the firefight resumed, the cattle mooed and stirred restlessly due to the fear and loud noises. Mostly the loud noises. The lawmen were managing to not get hit and so were the Grange brothers, unfortunately. While both sides were distracted with the other, Mal and Jayne crawled along the edge of a corral.
Once they were close enough Mal tackled the only Grange brother still standing. After he did that, the lawmen came out from behind their covers and walked forward to arrest the brothers. As they did that, Mal and Jayne walked past them with a stunned expression as he looked around.
Back at the saloon…
As Sara exited the ladies' restroom, she noticed that a man in a duster sat in a corner with a drink. In fact, she thought she recognized him… even though she had never met the guy. That could only mean one thing. He was tailing her!
Tail me, will you? I don't think so you hundan, Sara thought as she exited through the front of the saloon. As expected, the guy followed her. Sara immediately picked up a banana from a grocer's stand as she walked by. She immediately began eating it. Once she reached the town stables, she rented a horse and galloped off. She rode as fast and as hard as she could, but she couldn't seem to shake her tail. She looked back and saw that he was on a bigger and stronger horse. The kind of horse that was used for battles back on Earth-that-was during the medieval era.
Sara ducked into the forest and once again, the guy stayed right behind her. She threw the banana peel at his face. The guy was so shocked that he was unable to duck and ended up blinded by the banana peel. Once he removed the peel from his face, he let out a short scream right before a branch thwacked him in the face. The force of the impact knocked him off his horse and sent him sprawling on the forest floor.
Shakily, the man stood up and watched as Sara rode off with a smirk. Angrily, he pulled out a device of some sort and pressed a button. Suddenly, an explosion knocked Sara off her horse and onto the ground face first.
When Sara woke up, she found herself slung on the back of the warhorse like a saddlebag. She was bound tightly enough she couldn't struggle without causing herself massive pain. She was also disarmed.
"Do you know how long I've been looking for you, Lady Morrissy," the one steering the horse said.
Sara elected to stay quiet. Of course, if she had spoken it'd be pointless. She was gagged, after all.
"Several months which is the longest I've ever had to track down a bounty," the man continued. "And my reward for all that was to get a banana peel thrown in my face and then rammed into a sturdy tree branch? Fuck that. It's a good thing I always research my targets. I knew which paths you'd take. That's how I know where to place that C4."
"The banana peel tactic was a surprise, I'll admit," the guy added reluctantly. "However, I won't fall for that again. I'll be sure to expect such childish tactics in the future."
After that, the guy stayed quiet as he hurried them to wherever he was taking her. The only thing Sara could do was think of ways to escape, and fantasize about viciously killing him in the process.
Meanwhile, at Serenity…
Mal and Jayne had finally finished getting rid of the cow manure by the time River and Simon returned. Mal was not in a great mood. Both having to deal with a firefight and cow manure really soured his previously chipper state. He and Jayne both headed toward a nearby pump to clean their hands.
"What took you so long, Doc?" Mal asked.
"River was chasing birds," Simon explained.
"Right, well we should get a move on before long," Mal said as he dried his hands. "Don't wanna stay on this dirtball any longer than we have to."
He started to head inside until he realized something odd. Sara wasn't with Simon or River.
"Where's Sara?" Mal asked.
"I don't know," Simon replied. "Hasn't she come back already?"
"If she did, I wouldn't be askin'," Mal said.
"She said she was going to find a toilet," Simon said slowly.
"Wángbā dàn," Mal cursed under his breath. With a town that small, it shouldn't take this long to find a restroom.
"Jayne," Mal called to his hired gun as he headed into the cargo bay of Serenity. "You're with me."
"What for?" Jayne asked, confused.
"We're gonna go look for Sara," Mal replied as he put his coat on.
"Simon," Mal said as Simon headed up the ramp. "Have Inara ask the officials if anyone had seen Sara, and tell Zoe that she's in command until we get back."
At that, Mal and Jayne walked off toward town.
Later, in town…
Jayne and Mal split up to search for Sara and ask around, but she was nowhere in town. Everyone they talked to didn't have any answers except for two women. They pointed Mal down the direction Sara had gone, and eventually he ended up at a saloon. The trail led him to a stable where a blonde woman was confirmed to have rented a horse. Just as Mal was about to rent a horse, Jayne showed up. Together they followed the fairly recent yet fading two sets of horse tracks. The trail led them into a forest.
"Kěwù," Mal cursed when they came upon the explosion site. Nearby was a dead horse and charred pieces of Sara's black leather jacket. After marking down the location, they rode for Serenity. Before they could leave the planet, they had to figure out exactly what happened.
Sixteen years ago, with Kathy…
Kathy was now sixteen years old and she had been at the special ops version of an Alliance Boot Camp for about several months. Her first year at the boot camp was almost over as well. Next year, she'd be placed into one of the many agencies. Agencies that she would be her enemies later in life. Right now, she was in the middle of a parkour test. The test was designed to test her agility, balance, and speed. Of course, not everyone can pass the test. It's not even a requirement for most of them, but Kathy was in the leadership program so her training was more demanding and required her to pass literally every test. So, she had to resolve herself to complete every test no matter the cost.
"One side, bitch!" shouted a male trainee as he brushed past her.
He purposely knocked her over, and she was sent over the ledge. However, she was able to pull herself back on top. As another trainee got close, she dropped and swept his legs from under him. She didn't even watch as he fell to the churning water below, and hurried to catch up to the asshole who had rammed into her.
She jumped across several bamboo posts one foot at a time. Sort of like Legolas in The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug. She purposefully jumped into the trainee in front of her and used him as a springboard to make it to a post placed further than she could jump. As he fell to the hard earthy ground below, she jumped toward a vine and swung to the other side.
When she arrived, she pulled off her belt and wrapped it around a zipline which she slid down to the finishing bell on a cliff opposite this one. As soon as she hit the ground, she grabbed a rock as she rolled and threw it at the head of a trainee that was just about to ring the bell. As the trainee fell to the ground, Kathy bolted toward the bell and rang it three times.
Exhausted, she headed toward a nearby tree and sat against it. Now that she had completed the parkour test, she could relax and catch her breath. Of course, she didn't know if she passed as there are random factors that could fail or pass her. None of the trainees knew them, because the trainers believed ignorance was their greatest ally in these tests. So, she just had to wait until next week when they're assembled to be informed of their successes and failures.
"So," said a voice nearby.
Sara looked to her left and saw an older male trainee with a smirk on his face. He wore the trainee uniform everyone wore. A black tactical kevlar suit with padding in certain points when having to fight with hand-to-hand. Useful for the parkour course as well. Of course, whenever they graduate… they will be issued even better tactical gear. However, they doubted they'd ever really get to wear them since the Special Ops would hardly ever be put onto the field.
"You got first place again, Kathy," the male said as he sat next to her. "Nice work."
"The other trainees won't be happy," Kathy replied, emotionlessly. "But they won't complain. They won't suffer for failure on this test like I would."
"Even so," the man said, seriously. "You should be careful. A lot of these guys were raised by strict patriarchal rules. They didn't like that you were brought here, and they hate that you managed to complete every test first. Some of them were even talking about taking matters into their own hands."
"Thanks for the warning," Kathy nodded her head. "Keep a lookout, will ya? I need to rest my eyes."
Sleep, Kathy, the guy thought as she fell asleep. Nobody will harm you on my watch.
In the present, with Sara…
Sara slowly opened her eyes again after falling asleep due to the repetitive rhythm of the horse galloping. As she looked around, she found that they were in a canyon. In fact, the canyon reminded her of one of the places she had fought during the War for Independence. Just like then, it was becoming night. Unlike then, this canyon was surprisingly clean for a… well… canyon.
"Oh, you're awake," said Sara's captor as he looked at her from across a fire.
Sara didn't reply as she pushed herself into a sitting position, which was very difficult due to both her ankles and hands being bound. Once she was comfortable enough, she settled with glaring at the man.
"The silent treatment?" her captor said, raising an eyebrow.
"Suit yourself," her captor shrugged before biting into a rabbit leg. "Makes no nevermind to me whether or not you're conversational."
"How much are my parents offering?" Sara asked, eventually. Her captor looked up at her quickly but didn't respond immediately as he looked into her eyes.
"Around four million platinum," he eventually said.
As soon as her eyes widened, he frowned. She seemed shocked that her parents would put a price that high on her head. He didn't understand why she would be surprised. Parents always care about their children more than life itself, so of course, the price would be this high.
"I suggest you get some shut-eye," the bounty hunter said after he finished his rabbit. "We're ridin' out first light. Several miles to go until we get to my ship."
Sara didn't say anything as the hunter moved toward his bedroll and laid down with his hat positioned so it'd cover his face. Sara looked up at the night sky and watched as the stars twinkled.
Hurry up, Mal, Sara thought worriedly. If you don't find me before we get to his ship…
She didn't finish the thought as a twig snapping caught her attention. However, she relaxed when a single coyote walked into the light. It looked down at the portion of rabbit the hunter didn't eat, and then at Sara. Very cautiously, it stepped forward without losing sight of her. It lowered its head and scarfed down the food before it ran off into the night. However, it did stop once and look back at Sara before vanishing.
With a sigh, Sara laid back down and closed her eyes. As sleep took her, she berated herself for being so stupid as to think there was no danger of being caught by a bounty hunter.
Back at Serenity, with Mal…
Mal paced impatiently and worriedly in the cargo hold as he waited for Inara to return with any useful information. He and Jayne had tried to follow the horse tracks with some rented horses, but the tracks had ended upon reaching the desert. Any tracks that might've led them through it had already been covered by the wind pushing sand around.
"Mal," said Wash's voice from the intercom. "I think I have a lead."
Mal quickly hurried up to the bridge where he found Wash in the pilot's seat, which was normal. However, this time there was a person on the screen Mal had never really met before.
"What's the lead?" Mal asked as he came to a stop next to his pilot.
"Mal, say hi to Mr. Universe," Wash introduced the man on the screen. "He's the guy who found this lead for me."
A bit of an egotistical name, Mal thought. However, he couldn't focus on that as he absolutely had to find Sara. She was a member of his crew, after all.
"Nice to actually see the man behind the myth," Mr. Universe smirked. "I've heard about you through the cortex, Mal. Very interesting stuff. However, what's important right now is where your old Browncoat buddy is."
Mal didn't reply, but he did look intensely at the guy. The guy clearly took that as his cue and began typing.
"I may not know her specific location," Mr. Universe said. "However, I do happen to know that a bounty hunter is on Jiangyin, and there are several security camera recordings of that same hunter looking for your girl. Each on a different planet. However, the most recent planet was on Persephone where she castrated some spoiled hundan called Atherton Wing."
Mal and Wash both subconsciously moved their hands to their groins upon hearing that. This was one thing Mal wished he had never found out about Sara because it was honestly unnerving.
"So," Mr. Universe finished as several images popped up on the screens in the bridge. "There's a 99.7% likelihood of her having been grabbed by this guy."
"Can you locate his ship?" Mal asked, hopefully.
"No," Mr. Universe shook his head. "His ship is like yours. Untraceable with tracking software. However, I can give you the approximate location of the direction he could have taken Sara. There's only one safe out of the way location, which happens to be in the desert. To get there by land, you need to go through a maze-like canyon full of coyotes, rabbits, lizards, and other desert animals."
"Thank you," Mal said, genuinely.
"Don't mention it," Mr. Universe said, dismissively. "Sara's an old client of mine. I owe her a debt for finding my new digs."
At that, Mr. Universe ended the wave and all that was left on the screens were the files he sent over. Mal immediately sat down in the co-pilot's seat as he and Wash began poring over the files. They had to find any weaknesses in the ship's design, blindspots, anything to help them during the rescue.
At the Alliance Boot Camp, sixteen years ago…
Kathy slowly opened her eyes and looked around her barrack. Unlike the rest of her fellow trainees, she had a barrack all to herself for privacy and protection from her rivals.
It had been a few months since she had completed her parkour test. However, it felt more like years at times. Especially, since training became repetitive. For some reason, they had switched from physical training to just normal school gou shi. As in, being stuck in a classroom for about eight hours a day.
Fortunately, that was going to change today. Today was the beginning of her last physical training. It seemed that any trainee of rich and noble descent that goes to this boot camp had to learn one extra skill. Swordsmanship. Kathy was both worried and excited. Her training had always been with firearms, and she was a klutz in the kitchen. Maybe this will teach her better control with blades. That's what she hoped for, at least. Her excitement came entirely from the fact that this was new and would break the monotony she had been subjected to.
Kathy got out of her bed and dressed in the usual outfit. Once she was ready for the day's events, she exited her barrack and walked straight for the dojo.
As she entered the building, she looked around. It was pretty bare excluding the padded mats on the floor and weapon racks along the walls. They had various training weapons. Kendo sticks, quarterstaves, tonfas, etc.
"Strip," barked an authoritative voice.
As she followed the order, she looked toward where the voice had come. It was the trainer she liked the least. He had always stared contemptuously because he hated that a girl was getting into the military even more than the male trainees. Today was no different. Kathy's expression was blank, but she internally imagined kicking him in the balls for the way he regarded her now lingerie clag form. He completely ignored her breasts as he headed toward her with a duffle bag. At least, he wasn't a pedophiliac asshole.
"Put this on," the trainer commanded, angrily. "And don't take long. You still have paperwork to complete before the last day of boot camp."
She opened the bag and incredulously picked up a pink sunflower dress. The trainer had clearly decided that she was not going to be allowed to wear the actual fencing gear.
I can't wait until graduation, Kathy thought, sourly, as she put on the dress. The sooner I'm away from this hundan, the better. I'd much rather beat him, but he's higher in rank than me. There's no way I would get away with assault and battery.
"Choose a training sword," he ordered. "Then meet me on the center mat."
Once she had done so, he began showing her all the stances for the various forms. After that, were the forms themselves. Each time she messed up, he spanked her. He did so because she was younger and he wanted her to be certain of her station. To him, she was nothing more than a disobedient little girl. Each spanking consisted of the same amount as her screw-ups.
At the end of the training session, she was extremely exhausted and her ass had become so sore it hurt to walk. Once again, she had to change in front of him before heading off into the "school" portion of today's training. She didn't know it, but she would end up having to do the same stuff throughout the course of the last few months. The only change would be how far she progresses with her swordsmanship.
Back in the present, with Sara…
Sara woke up and found herself completely naked except for the restraints. She could feel a damp cloth scrubbing her back, and looked over her shoulder to see the bounty hunter.
"Figured this would wake you," the hunter remarked, as he glanced at her face. "You had some dirt on your person, so I figured I may as well clean you up."
"I can clean myself," Sara said, narrowing her eyes.
"True," the hunter replied. "However, I'm not certain you won't attack me or try to escape."
Sara only grunted as she looked away from him because she knew she would've done one or both of those things. As he refreshed the cloth, Sara looked up at the sky to see that it was nearing morning.
She widened her eyes and whipped her head around as soon as she felt a wet cloth between her ass cheeks. The hunter was actually cleaning her butt! She growled which only made the hunter chuckle before slapping her left ass cheek.
"Just accept it, Ms. Morissy," the hunter smirked. "You're not getting out of this. At least, not until you're back with your family and I get my payment."
Sara didn't say anything but glared at him defiantly. The hunter frowned before he crammed something thick and hard right into her ass, which made her cry out.
"Be respectful," the hunter ordered, warningly. "And follow my commands. Otherwise, I press a button and you'll feel an intense shock inside your ass."
Sara widened her eyes as he pressed a remote to show her what she should strive to avoid. It felt like a red hot poker had been crammed into her anus, and she screamed painfully. She screamed so loud, it echoed all around them.
"That was just a demonstration of your punishment," the hunter said, as he stopped pressing the button and put the remote away. "You will do everything I say, correct?"
Sara couldn't speak, but she nodded an affirmative. Seemingly pleased, the hunter resumed cleaning her.
Once he was finished, he put her clothes back on her person. The anal-shocking device had affected Sara so much that she couldn't fight back. She couldn't even move a muscle to struggle as he undid and redid the restraints.
"On your feet," the hunter barked.
She complied and allowed him to drag her to his horse. After he tied her down like a sack of potatoes, he mounted. Not long later, they were once again on the way toward his ship.
Meanwhile, with Inara…
Inara sat in her shuttle's cockpit and flew back toward Serenity. Her meeting with the planet's governmental officials didn't go well. Not only did she have to trade sexual service for information, but the information she received was also useless. They literally knew nothing about Sara's abduction. So, Inara was both pissed at them using her and worried for her friend.
"Inara," said Wash's voice through the communications panel. "Nice to hear from you. Any news?"
"Unfortunately not," Inara replied as she turned left. "The local authorities seem to only care about local trouble instead of offworlders."
"Well, don't worry," Wash said. "We have a very good lead, and we're following it."
"What's the lead?" Inara asked.
"I'll tell you when you get back," Wash replied. "Mal's already informing the rest, so they should be getting ready to head out by the time you return."
With a sigh, Inara ended the call and focused on piloting her shuttle. She wanted to help in Sara's rescue, but her archery skills were admittedly rusty due to being stuck inside a ship for the majority of the time. So, she'd be more of a hindrance than anything else.
Sixteen years ago, at the dojo…
Kathy once again found herself at the dojo. However, this time she had no room for failures. Today was the test day, and she was surrounded by her trainers. Right across from her was someone she hadn't met before. He was african American and wore blue fencing gear while she was stuck in her humiliatingly pink dress.
"Remember," said one of the trainers as they received their weapons. "The only rule is that you are not allowed to fatally wound or kill your opponent."
Kathy flicked her rapier up and down to test the weight before she raised the blade. Her opponent had a katana in both hands.
"Fight!" shouted the trainer.
Kathy's opponent charged and slashed down, but she parried the blow and rammed her elbow into his facemask. As he stumbled back, Kathy swiped up scratching his left hand. Her opponent retaliated with a horizontal slash, but Kathy realized too late as it was a feint. Kathy could barely get out of the way in time and had to watch as the katana cut a portion of her sunflower dress off. Fortunately, she still had enough on to be considered clothed.
Kathy and her opponent slashed at each other, which caused their swords to clang and spark upon impact.
"You're very good," said her opponent, impressed. "But I've spent my entire life training to use a katana. While you've only had three months to train for a rapier."
"Yeah, well," Kathy said as she deflected a strike. "I'm the best trainee here, so don't expect me to go down easy. I have a reputation to maintain."
"Likewise," her opponent smirked as he slapped her blade to the side when she lunged. Kathy was unable to do anything as he karate chopped her throat.
He slashed down at her sword hand, but she dropped and slid his leg out from under him. The next second later, he was disarmed and she had the blade of her rapier against the back of his neck.
"The winner is Lady Katherine Morissy," shouted one of the trainers.
There was reluctant applause from many of the men, but there were some who were secretly pleased. Entirely, because they had just won some money from a bet they had.
"Guess I have more to learn," her opponent said as Kathy helped him up.
"Look me up in a few years," Kathy smirked. "We'll have a second duel."
"Count on it," smirked her opponent. "My name is Chiwetel Ejiofor."
At that, both contestants left the dojo. One to go back to his boot camp, and one to go back to her barrack for the day.
Back in the present, with Mal…
Mal picked up the rifle he hadn't used since the Independents had lost the war. He got rid of most of his weapons except for his sidearm, but he wanted to keep at least one rifle for a rainy day. Even though Mal didn't consider this to be a rainy day, he had to do whatever it took to rescue Sara. He was NOT gonna lose another Browncoat under his command.
With his rifle slung over his back, he met Zoe and Jayne by the spare shuttle. Zoe only had her Mare's leg, but Jayne had a lot of his weapons strapped to him.
"Remember the plan?" Mal asked as he turned at the shuttle's entrance.
"Yes, sir," Zoe replied.
"Why's Zoe goin' and not me?" Jayne asked, confusedly.
"Because I said so," Mal said, bluntly.
"Why?" Jayne pressed. "You don't trust me or somethin'?"
"Nah," Mal said, half-truthfully. "I need you on Serenity because you have the big guns. Big guns stay up top. Zoe and I will be ground side."
Jayne's brain didn't know what to make of that, so he settled with a placated grunt.
Without another word, Zoe and Mal entered the shuttle while Jayne headed down to the cargo bay to wait patiently.
With Sara…
Sara had been bound to the horse like a bedroll for several hours, but as they reached a river they finally came to a stop. Sara waited impatiently as the hunter dismounted because she had to pee really bad.
"I reckon your bodily functions are beggin' to release the stream," the hunter said as he removed her from the horse. "I'll untie you so you can squat over the river on one condition. Don't try anything. You do, and I'll make you regret it. Dong ma?"
"Yes," Sara gritted her teeth.
The hunter proceeded to untie her but kept a hand on her as he escorted her to the river. Sara waited for him to turn his back, but he didn't. With a sigh, she took off her pants and squatted.
"Once you're done there," the hunter said, as he looked away. "I'll help you wash your body."
No thanks, Sara thought as she finished emptying her bladder, dryly. I can manage that myself.
Reluctantly, Sara took off the rest of her clothes and he began washing her immediately. He dunked her head into the river to soak her hair before he combed it. As he moved to soak a cloth, she kicked him in the balls. As he instinctively crouched over to protect his family jewels, Sara kneed him in the face. As he fell into the river, Sara held his head under until she could no longer feel him moving. She quickly ran toward his horse and swatted it. While the horse ran off, Sara also bolted. She didn't even stop to grab her clothes. However, she managed to press into her wrist. She had installed a tracking chip a while ago. That way, Serenity could find her whenever she was in trouble. The good thing about this chip is that it had a signal only Kaylee would be able to recognize and follow… with Wash's aid, of course.
Sara didn't make it far before the anal-shocker went off and she fell. She writhed uncontrollably on the ground as the bounty hunter walked up, furiously holding down the remote's button.
"I warned you, bitch," the hunter snarled as he grabbed her hair.
"You didn't listen," the hunter continued as he yanked hard on her hair. "Now, you're going to wish you were dead."
He immediately tied her wrists together and whistled for his horse. Once it returned, he tied the other end of the rope to the horse's saddle.
Once he mounted, the horse took off at a gallop immediately. It was all Sara could do to keep up. Especially, with the intense electric shock zapping her asshole.
The Morissy Residence, fourteen years ago…
It had been about a year since Kathy graduated from the Alliance Boot Camp, and now she was the leader of a black-ops squad. However, as nothing was going on that required them they didn't get much to do except act as over-qualified cops. However, right now Kathy had arrived home due to a horrible message she was sent by her superiors. She was duty-bound by her familial ties to return home instead of getting answers from her superiors. She'd much rather get a drink, in all honesty. However, she couldn't.
"So, you're back," said a familiar, cold voice.
Kathy turned around to see her asshole of a father. Kathy wasn't even intimidated by him anymore. Now, she saw him as a pathetic excuse for a human being.
"Hello, Chuck," Kathy said, emotionlessly. "I'm here only because of Sara. I'll leave after, and you'll never have to see me again… for both our sakes."
Her father, now called Chuck, narrowed his eyes at his disrespectful daughter. However, he didn't say anything because he could see she was not to be intimidated or dominated. At least, not by him.
Eventually, two of the alliance investigators arrived and gathered them all in one place.
"As you know," the investigators regarded the parents. "Lord and Lady Morissy. You're daughter, Sara Morissy, went to the local all-girls school each year."
Kathy narrowed her eyes but didn't say anything.
"However," the investigators paused. "Today she was found dead on the ground thousands of stories down from the front of her school."
Lady Morissy gasped as she slapped a hand to her mouth while Lord Morissy clenched his fists. He seemed genuinely distraught.
"According to the CSI experts," continued the investigators. "It wasn't the landing that killed her. They had found evidence of several hover cars ramming into her body as she fell down the airways."
Kathy clenched her fists as well, but not from what the investigators were saying. Her instincts were on full alert. She knew they were lying. They had to be. Sara was alive, Kathy knew it. She couldn't allow herself to believe anything else.
So, Kathy left her family home at that point and tossed away her badge, communicator, and anything the Alliance could track her with. She didn't even keep the cool hi-tech weapon. She had to go under the radar and find her sister by any means necessary.
Now, with Sara…
Sara's feet and legs were aching extremely bad by the time they reached the hunter's ship. So, she promptly collapsed as soon as the horse slowed to a stop. She just lay on the desert ground as the hunter untied her from the horse and picked her up.
While he carried her, she looked around. The ship's cargo bay had cages on one side and what looked like a stable on the other side. It seemed like his intention was to place her in a cage. She couldn't even resist as he dropped her in one and locked the door.
"You'll get some food later," the hunter said, bluntly as he brought his horse to the stable. "In the meantime, rest your legs. If you're good, I'll let you out to clean my ship. Under supervision, naturally."
Sara grunted as she massaged her legs while he closed the boarding ramp.
Suddenly, the ship lurched and Sara banged her head on a cage door while the hunter fell to the floor.
"Zhè shì shénme dōngxī?!" exclaimed the hunter as he pulled out a revolver and began opening the door again.
Once the boarding ramp was down again, he got out to look around. He saw the remains of a couple of grenades near his ship.
"Show yourself!" shouted the hunter as he cocked his revolver.
Suddenly, Serenity appeared over the ship. The cargo bay doors opened to reveal Jayne in a harness. The brute cocked one of his many rifles and aimed it directly at the hunter. The bounty hunter looked up and stepped a couple of steps backward so he could determine if he could outfly the ship.
"Well, look at this!" shouted a voice from behind the hunter. "Appears we got here just in the nick of time. What does that make us?"
The hunter whirled around to see a man in a long brown coat with an automatic rifle in hand. Next to the man was an African American woman with a sawed-off Winchester in her hands. They had relaxed holds, but the hunter knew he wouldn't stand a chance in a firefight against them.
"Big damn heroes, sir," the woman replied, blankly.
"Ain't we just?" the man said. "You have someone very important to me. So, why don't you hand her over and we can call it a day?"
"I'm a hunter, Browncoat," the hunter said, bluntly. "I get hired for a job, and I do it."
"I thought you hunters cared more for money than integrity?" Mal asked, genuinely shocked.
"While I do recognize that there aren't many honorable hunters," the hunter replied. "I'm not one of them."
"Really?" Mal asked, disappointedly. "There's nothing you care more about than completing a job?"
"Not at all," the hunter replied. "However, I'm not an idiot. I am both outnumbered and outgunned. No matter who fires first, my life is forfeit."
"So, how we gonna resolve this?" Mal asked. "Ya know, without havin' to resort to killin'."
Instead of replying, the hunter decocked his revolver and threw it to the ground, and kicked it away.
"Is this a trick?" Zoe asked as the hunter stepped aside.
"Can't say," Mal said, slowly, as he regarded the hunter. "Go get Sara. I'll deal with him."
As Zoe ran inside the ship, Mal walked toward the hunter and bashed him on the head with the butt of his rifle.
"Hundan!" spat Zoe, as soon as she found Sara completely naked with bleeding feet.
"Zoe?" Sara asked, uncertainly. "Is that you?"
"It's me," Zoe said as she aimed her mare's leg at the lock. "Back away."
"How is she?" Mal asked, worriedly as Zoe helped Sara out.
"Throw me your coat," Zoe ordered.
Mal frowned at being told what to do by his first officer but complied when he saw her look. As Zoe wrapped Sara in Mal's coat, the captain looked around the ship.
"Nice horse," Mal said in awe. "Not many breed warhorses anymore."
"Really, sir?" Zoe asked, incredulously. "Is complimenting the kidnapper really the thing to be doing at the moment?"
"Probably not," Mal acquiesced as they headed for the ship's exit. "Let's get back to Serenity before this guy comes to."
Nothing more was said as they hurried in the direction Mal and Zoe had left the shuttle. A little later, the shuttle took off just as the hunter woke up. He found a note on his chest that was written in Chinese. He read, "Sorry about your ship. However, got no choice. You understand."
Suddenly, his ship exploded and a red hot piece of metal flew at the right side of his face. He screamed as he tried to pull it off, but only managed to succeed when part of his upper lip and lower lip had fused. He quickly poured cold water from a canteen onto his face and winced as steam wafted off.
"Gorramit!" the hunter shouted as he pulled into the reflective surface of a nearby piece of metal debris. "This ain't the last you'll hear of Jasper Hayes! Mark my words Katherine Morissy! I will find you! I'll find you all!"
Later, on Serenity…
Sara now sat in Inara's shuttle as the companion held her in an embrace. She was now back in her clothes, fortunately, because Mal and Zoe had found them before they found her. However, Sara still hadn't recovered from her ordeal as a captive.
"I'm not going to lie to you and say you're going to be okay Sara," Inara said, calmingly. "However, it will get better with time. You will never forget what transpired today, but you'll be stronger for it."
"He won't stop coming after me," Sara said after a few minutes of silence.
"For all of his faults, Mal won't let him get you," Inara assured. "Just as he protects the twins, he'll protect you."
"I'm a warrior, Inara," Sara said, dryly. "I don't need a man to protect me. I can handle myself."
"Even so," Inara countered. "It's good to just lay back and relax while the guys do all the heavy lifting. Both literally and metaphorically."
Sara couldn't argue with that, so she elected to just lay down as Inara began massaging her legs.
Thirteen years ago…
Sara walked along the dirt streets of Whitefall with dirty patched clothing until she heard a scream. Unfortunately, at this point, crime was rampant. So, nobody ever came to the rescue. That would change, this time.
Sara bolted toward where the scream had come from and halted as she saw five men ripping the clothes off of a teen girl. They had evil, lustful expressions, and to make it worse… they all had tents in their pants.
"Hey!" shouted Kathy, angrily, as she walked toward them. "Let the girl go!"
"Oh, look," sneered one of the men. "This cunt is trying to be a hero."
"Let's show her what happens to heroic sluts," sneered another man.
Momentarily forgotten, the girl was released. Sara glanced at her as she ran off before returning her attention to the five would-be rapists.
As soon as a man reached toward her, she grabbed his wrist and twisted it around until she hurt a sickening snap. The man screamed and retracted his hand to stare at it as it flopped around.
"That bitch!" shouted the man, furiously. "Kill her!"
He pulled out a revolver, but Sara was quicker. She tackled the man and used the gun to break his fingers. She expertly removed the cartridges as she stood.
"Anyone else?" she asked, coldly, as she regarded the remaining four men.
They all pulled out their hunting knives and charged her. With a sigh, she ran toward them. As one man stabbed at her, she ducked and used the momentum to redirect his aim right into his thigh. A second man slashed at her, but she parried the blow and punched him in the throat. As he gagged, a third man charged at her. She simply dodged out of the way which allowed the second man to get impaled by the knife. Sara kicked the back of the third man's knee. As he fell to one knee, she grabbed the dagger out of the second knifeman's grasp and slit his throat before throwing it at the fourth man. The fourth man promptly collapsed with the knife embedded between his eyes.
"Whore!" shouted the first knife-man.
Sara slowly toward him and saw a revolver in his free hand while his other pressed against his thigh. She lurched as she heard a gunshot, but as blood leaked from his mouth she realized that she was fine. She looked around until she saw a man in a brown leather jacket holding a firearm with a smoking barrel.
"Not bad, kid," said the man as he blew out the barrel. "Your skills look almost identical to the Alliance special ops."
Sara didn't respond, but she did narrow her eyes at the man. For all she knew, he worked for the Alliance.
"You a mute?" the man asked, raising an eyebrow at her silence.
Sara didn't respond immediately, but as she took in his appearance… she could tell he wasn't a Fed.
"I just wasn't sure if you were a Fed or not," Sara admitted, still unsure of him. "Now that I'm sure you're not, who the fuck are you?"
"Name's Wilkins," the man replied. "I'm a Sergeant with the Independents."
Sara relaxed a little bit after hearing that, but she didn't think Browncoats would waste their time on a crime-filled shithole like Whitefall.
"Considering your skills," Wilkins continued, thoughtfully. "And the fact you did just kill three hundans… how do you feel about joining up?"
"All I'm interested in is finding my sister," Sara replied, bluntly.
"Well, if she was taken by the alliance," the man said, extending a hand. "Then you'd have better luck finding her with the help of the Independents."
Sara thought about that for about a minute until she walked up to him and shook his outstretched hand.
The present, in Serenity's dining room…
Sara sat on her bed with her personal communicator in hand. She had tried to call her parents, but there was no response. So, either the range was too vast between them, or they refuse to speak to her until she returns home in person. With a sigh, she knew what she had to do. However, she didn't want to go alone. Maybe she could convince Inara to come along, but she didn't want to put her friend in danger.
Eventually, she headed toward the dining area where she found everyone already eating. They all looked up at her but didn't say anything. Quite frankly, Sara wasn't in the mood to chat anyway. She just wanted to put what happened to her in the rearview mirror, so to speak, and focus on the future.
"How're your feet?" Simon asked, eventually.
"They're fine," Sara replied, slowly. "Still hurts to walk, though."
"Maybe Simon and I can come up with somethin' to make walkin' easier for ya," Kaylee suggested.
"Is that even possible?" Mal asked, curiously.
"Oh sure," Kaylee replied. "I mean, I'm able to keep Serenity flyin'. So, creatin' medical footwear should be easy as pie."
"No more," River said, quietly. "Recent past must be forgotten until future demands remembrance. For now, all remindings should be kept in the mind."
"I can actually understand that," Zoe spoke up.
"I think I can safely say that I speak for everyone here," Mal said, regarding River. "And say that you took the words out of our mouths."
"Huh?" Jayne said, confusedly. "What she babblin' about now, and how do you understand that gibberish?"
"Correction," Mal said, raising an eyebrow. "Everyone except Jayne."
"Of course," Wash said, sarcastically. "Jayne's so intelligent that everything around him must be confusing. Life must be very difficult for him with his high IQ."
Everyone snorted out of amusement because it was the complete opposite of reality.
"So, we have another client?" Sara asked, sobering them up.
"Not as of yet," Mal replied as he scooped some mashed potatoes. "But we will. There's always work out there. However, until you're fully recovered, you won't be participatin'. Dong ma."
Sara nodded as she had to agree. Right now, she was a liability. As Sara brought her water glass to her mouth, River handed her the basket of rolls.
"Thank you," Sara said as she took one before passing the basket. As the basket passed around the table, River stole one from Jayne's plate.
"Hey!" Jayne exclaimed. "Wait, wait, wait…"
River just smiled while everyone laughed. Everyone except for Jayne who grumbled as he grabbed another roll from the basket.
I reckon a lot of the DC fans will recognize who I based this episode's bounty hunter on. I have no clue when he'll show up again. All I know is that it'll have to make sense and his return has to be natural. Frankly, I see the only possibility for his return being Heart of Gold. Don't hold me on that as nothing is set in stone at this point. oh, head over to AO3 from now on for this story. It's frankly quite tiresome having to upload the same story on two sites. So, I'm going to stop doing that for this story from now on.