Increscunt Animi by Proxii Bleu
(Note: Sorry this took so long, I've been busy. I promise the next chapter will be longer :)
VIII
"See anything?"
"For the thousandth time - no." Wash bit back an urge to say something more unpleasant to Jayne who was currently breathing down his neck, but decided to hold his tongue mainly because of the fact that Zoe wasn't there to back him up. Yes, he knew how it sounded even to him, but there were just some things a man didn't do unless his wife was there with him. Especially if said wife could drop a man at two hundred yards while riding a horse at full gallop.
With the sun in her eyes.
Jayne scoffed under his breath, and walked over to lean against the wall. It had been a good thirty minutes since Mal had gone to settle things between Zoe and River, the rest of the crew making sure everything was buttoned up tight in case Simon's sister wasn't imagining things. Personally, Jayne wouldn't have given River's words a second thought, but given what had happened between her and Niska he wasn't to inclined to brush her off as just being crazy.
"You sure you don't see anything?" Wash turned away from his console, and glared at the mercenary.
"Okay when you're flying a big powerful starship, it needs to be able to see things such as asteroids, and murderous cannibals. For it to do that it needs sensors which tell the genius pilot whether or not there's something out there. Now, since this little blue screen here hasn't so much as twitched in the past couple of mnutes, it's safe to say that I haven't seen shit." Jayne hefted himself off of the wall, and strode over to where the smaller man sat.
"You know, I'm startin' to get a little tired of you." Wash opened his mouth to say something back when the console behind him beeped audibly. Ignoring Jayne, he turned to examine the readout, his face paling as the ship's computer sent back information describing the form of craft that was now running it's own sensor sweep of the area.
"Shit."
"What?"
"River was right," Wash bought the engines up to full power, and started steering Serenity towards a nearby asteroid belt. "There's a Reaver ship just five lightyears out, at the exact coordintates-"
"That ya drew on the wall?" The silence that followed let Jayne know that he was right. Carefully, Wash took them into the rocky explanse, his hope was that by doing so he would buy the crew some time, and avoid further detection by the Reavers. At the distance they were at, and the level of debris it was safe to assume that for now they would think their sensors had returned a scan of a rock with a high metal content.
"Get Mal up here fast, let him know what's going on." Jayne ran out into the corridors, his heavy footsteps thudding into the distance as he headed for the cargo bay. Rubbing his head which was still aching slightly, Wash hoped against hope that the Reavers didn't find them.
***
"So Zoe, are ya going to shoot her or what?" Zoe stood in the shadows staring at River who was still hunched up into a ball in the corner. The girl hadn't moved in the past half hour, neither had the older woman. The two still at a draw as Mal casually leaned against the nearby bulkhead.
"I don't know."
"Well come on, ya came down here all ready to do her, what's stopping you now?"
"Never shot someone who didn't deserve it outright." Mal gasped theatrically.
"Ya mean to tell me ya never murdered someone?" Zoe shot Mal a poisonous look. She knew what he was referring to, an incident that she didn't particularly care to think about, but one that left her with an inability to sleep at night.
"That was an accident."
"No it wasn't." muttered River quietly.
"Shut up!"
"Girl's got a point." said Mal idly. "Wasn't no accident, and neither was why you did it. You shot a woman in the back after you killed her husband who tried to kill me. Now, I ain't got problems with what you did to him, but you shot her 'cause you were afraid she saw your face. Something that I'm sure those three kids of hers really don't appreciate."
"That was different."
"How? You're going to shoot River here 'cause she's a Seer. What, you're going to tell me that its mercy or something?"
"She's reading our minds."
"And you heard what Ennes said, she ain't the only one. Thinking like that you should shoot everyone coming."
"I got a baby to worry about."
"The baby can see even though it's in the dark." Both crewmen turned to look at River who was now leaning against the wall. There was something in her eyes that unsettled Zoe, almost as if she knew something, but wasn't saying.
"Mal-"
"Well If you're going to shoot her, I guess I don't have much to say to change your mind..." Zoe glanced at River, but turned her attention back to her captain.
"What are you suggesting?"
"Well River here has said that there aren't any real rules to this Seer thing, and I was just thinking that if there were some we might not have incidents like this one here."
"Oh? What kind of rules?" Mal pulled a flexi out of his pocket.
"Well like these ones here I found in Selma's room after she left. Now some might say that was a coincidence, maybe she knew something like this would happen. But, it's your decision." Zoe's eyes danced between Mal and River before she holstered her gun.
"Fine."
"Well now didn't that work out nice?" River crept out of her hiding spot, and immediately took refuge behind Mal. Her pale fingers curled around the flexi, as she took it from the captain. Zoe stood glaring at Reynolds, he mouth still turned down at the corners.
"Mal-"
"Later Zoe, right now-" At that moment Jayne came bounding down the stairs into the cargo bay. Given the way his face was flushed it was obvious that he had been running hard.
"Jayne what is it?"
"That gorram girl was right."
"About what?"
"We've got Reavers."
(Note: Sorry this took so long, I've been busy. I promise the next chapter will be longer :)
VIII
"See anything?"
"For the thousandth time - no." Wash bit back an urge to say something more unpleasant to Jayne who was currently breathing down his neck, but decided to hold his tongue mainly because of the fact that Zoe wasn't there to back him up. Yes, he knew how it sounded even to him, but there were just some things a man didn't do unless his wife was there with him. Especially if said wife could drop a man at two hundred yards while riding a horse at full gallop.
With the sun in her eyes.
Jayne scoffed under his breath, and walked over to lean against the wall. It had been a good thirty minutes since Mal had gone to settle things between Zoe and River, the rest of the crew making sure everything was buttoned up tight in case Simon's sister wasn't imagining things. Personally, Jayne wouldn't have given River's words a second thought, but given what had happened between her and Niska he wasn't to inclined to brush her off as just being crazy.
"You sure you don't see anything?" Wash turned away from his console, and glared at the mercenary.
"Okay when you're flying a big powerful starship, it needs to be able to see things such as asteroids, and murderous cannibals. For it to do that it needs sensors which tell the genius pilot whether or not there's something out there. Now, since this little blue screen here hasn't so much as twitched in the past couple of mnutes, it's safe to say that I haven't seen shit." Jayne hefted himself off of the wall, and strode over to where the smaller man sat.
"You know, I'm startin' to get a little tired of you." Wash opened his mouth to say something back when the console behind him beeped audibly. Ignoring Jayne, he turned to examine the readout, his face paling as the ship's computer sent back information describing the form of craft that was now running it's own sensor sweep of the area.
"Shit."
"What?"
"River was right," Wash bought the engines up to full power, and started steering Serenity towards a nearby asteroid belt. "There's a Reaver ship just five lightyears out, at the exact coordintates-"
"That ya drew on the wall?" The silence that followed let Jayne know that he was right. Carefully, Wash took them into the rocky explanse, his hope was that by doing so he would buy the crew some time, and avoid further detection by the Reavers. At the distance they were at, and the level of debris it was safe to assume that for now they would think their sensors had returned a scan of a rock with a high metal content.
"Get Mal up here fast, let him know what's going on." Jayne ran out into the corridors, his heavy footsteps thudding into the distance as he headed for the cargo bay. Rubbing his head which was still aching slightly, Wash hoped against hope that the Reavers didn't find them.
***
"So Zoe, are ya going to shoot her or what?" Zoe stood in the shadows staring at River who was still hunched up into a ball in the corner. The girl hadn't moved in the past half hour, neither had the older woman. The two still at a draw as Mal casually leaned against the nearby bulkhead.
"I don't know."
"Well come on, ya came down here all ready to do her, what's stopping you now?"
"Never shot someone who didn't deserve it outright." Mal gasped theatrically.
"Ya mean to tell me ya never murdered someone?" Zoe shot Mal a poisonous look. She knew what he was referring to, an incident that she didn't particularly care to think about, but one that left her with an inability to sleep at night.
"That was an accident."
"No it wasn't." muttered River quietly.
"Shut up!"
"Girl's got a point." said Mal idly. "Wasn't no accident, and neither was why you did it. You shot a woman in the back after you killed her husband who tried to kill me. Now, I ain't got problems with what you did to him, but you shot her 'cause you were afraid she saw your face. Something that I'm sure those three kids of hers really don't appreciate."
"That was different."
"How? You're going to shoot River here 'cause she's a Seer. What, you're going to tell me that its mercy or something?"
"She's reading our minds."
"And you heard what Ennes said, she ain't the only one. Thinking like that you should shoot everyone coming."
"I got a baby to worry about."
"The baby can see even though it's in the dark." Both crewmen turned to look at River who was now leaning against the wall. There was something in her eyes that unsettled Zoe, almost as if she knew something, but wasn't saying.
"Mal-"
"Well If you're going to shoot her, I guess I don't have much to say to change your mind..." Zoe glanced at River, but turned her attention back to her captain.
"What are you suggesting?"
"Well River here has said that there aren't any real rules to this Seer thing, and I was just thinking that if there were some we might not have incidents like this one here."
"Oh? What kind of rules?" Mal pulled a flexi out of his pocket.
"Well like these ones here I found in Selma's room after she left. Now some might say that was a coincidence, maybe she knew something like this would happen. But, it's your decision." Zoe's eyes danced between Mal and River before she holstered her gun.
"Fine."
"Well now didn't that work out nice?" River crept out of her hiding spot, and immediately took refuge behind Mal. Her pale fingers curled around the flexi, as she took it from the captain. Zoe stood glaring at Reynolds, he mouth still turned down at the corners.
"Mal-"
"Later Zoe, right now-" At that moment Jayne came bounding down the stairs into the cargo bay. Given the way his face was flushed it was obvious that he had been running hard.
"Jayne what is it?"
"That gorram girl was right."
"About what?"
"We've got Reavers."