Chapter 7
Buffy was halfway through her first set before she was aware of having an audience. Simon had helped her set up the heavy bag, then kept out of her way for the most part. Kaylee, however, was a much more attentive spectator.
"She sure moves fast, don't she?" the young mechanic observed, stepping in beside Simon.
"Yes," he said. He craned his neck over her head to get a better view. "She told me she has superior agility and reflexes. Didn't quite know what that meant until now."
"Do you think it was Mr. Giles who trained her to be that way?"
"If so, he did an excellent job. She...oh. Oh. Buffy, are you okay?"
Buffy had let herself get distracted, and the bag had hit her side on the rebound.
"Slayer healing," she winced, accepting the towel he offered. "Probably won't even bruise..."
He moved a hand toward her side, waiting for the nod of permission before he lifted up the corner of her top. Gently, he palpated the ribs and felt for injury.
"Looks okay," he said.
"Told you. Look, it's fine, really. Just let me finish my set, then I'll stop..."
From the infirmary, he heard a noise, then a loudly shouted "Simon!"
He winced. "I'd better check on River. Kaylee, can you keep an eye on her until she's done? The captain doesn't want her in here unsupervised."
"Oh yeah," Kaylee said. "I bet he wouldn't."
The sudden mood was lost on Simon, but it was not lost on Buffy, who abandoned the rest of her set, keeping pace with some light jogging as she eyed the young mechanic.
"Everything okay?" she asked when they were alone.
The girl blushed, looking down at her feet. "You two sure seem cozy."
"Who, me and Simon? Yeah, he's been really friendly, which is kinda nice what with the rest of you being all..." Suddenly, Buffy realized. "Oh. You mean friendly THAT way! Kaylee, no! It isn't like that!"
Kaylee met her gaze, features achingly hopeful. "It ain't?"
"No! Oh no, sweetie, no, not at all! Just that he kinda understands...you know, being in a place like this, not really belonging..."
"Oh yes," said Kaylee. "Simon is VERY understanding."
"Uh huh. But in a totally innocent platonic way."
"So...so you don't got designs on him, then?"
"Gosh, no. I mean, he's sweet, don't get me wrong. But it's MY world I need to be worrying about, not yours."
That answer seemed to satisfy the young mechanic. She moved to leave, then turned back. "Buffy?"
"Hmmm?"
"All that friendly time you've been having...he spend any of it saying anything about me?"
Buffy patted her arm with a friendly smile. "I'll see what I can do."
Then the klaxon sounded.
--
Buffy and Kaylee, on instinct, grabbed hands. "What do we do?" Buffy said.
"The mess," Kaylee said. "Cap'll probably want to brief us..."
They hurried down the corridor and up the little ladder to find the others gathering, as Kaylee had predicted. Giles was half-curled up on one of the chairs, head in his hands.
Buffy knelt down beside him. "You okay?"
"Bloody siren."
"Uh huh. Want Simon to get you that medicine now?"
"Yes."
Buffy looked up to find Inara already nodding and fleeing down-ship to pass along the message. The captain, Zoe and Wash arrived at that moment and assessed the gathered group.
"Inara and the doc?"
"On their way," Jayne said. He had his gun in his lap, as he always did, hand wrapped around it for comfort.
"Well, this can't wait. Wash?"
The pilot nodded. "Reavers."
Shepherd Book closed his eyes very briefly, then muttered something in Chinese. Zoe moved inward toward Kaylee, who liked like she was about to pass out.
"How close?" asked Jayne.
"Close enough they've marked us, I'd bet a tidy little sum on that."
"Can we outrun them?"
"They'll follow."
"So are we going to fight them?" Buffy asked.
"We're a transport ship, we don't got cannons, Miss."
"Didn't ask are we going to shoot them, Captain. Asked if we were going to fight them." She turned to Giles. "You said they're just like vampires, right?"
He looked suddenly thoughtful. "For the most part..."
"So we fight 'em," Buffy said.
"I don't think you understand," piped up Zoe. "This is a ship full of Reavers we're talking about."
"Yeah, I got that."
"Reavers," Zoe repeated.
"Uh huh. Look, Zoe, I appreciate that you guys are wigged, really, I do. But trust me, I can handle this. I actually HAVE handled it. Many, many times."
"Nobody 'handles' Reavers," said Jayne. "Don't know anyone I ever heard of fight 'em and live. Not sure even Vera'd make me feel safe in a fight that stacked."
"Vera? Oh, right, your gun, Simon told me. Well, of course THAT won't work. Don't you guys know anything about these things?"
"We know that Reavers are dangerous," said Wash.
"And scary," added Kaylee. "They been in space too long. Makes 'em crazy."
"You know, that's actually kind of a clever cover story," Buffy observed to Giles. To the others, she explained "They can't handle sunlight."
"Well, we ain't got none of that out here," the captain said.
"I know, which is exactly why they probably live where they do. What safer place would there be for them than cold, dark space? Besides sunlight, the only other way to kill a thing like that is fire, beheading and stake through the heart."
She eyed the assembled group, already formulating a battle plan. "So are you guys all guns or can any of you handle hand-to-hand?"
"Now wait just a second," the Captain Reynolds interrupted. "We can outrun 'em. Maybe. And..."
"And miss our rendez-vous with the shepherd's contact? I don't think so."
"Our lives are more important than your little meeting," snapped Jayne.
"I agree. That's why I won't let them kill you. So we run, and? They catch up to us---now, or later. They can't go forever without feeding. If they know you're out here, they'll come back for you."
"Feeding?" Kaylee whimpered.
"Look, it won't happen. How many va---Reavers you think we'd be dealing with here?"
Wash shrugged. "Ship our size could hold 20 or more. Don't think they're much bigger, or they would have shown up on our radar sooner."
"So, 20 of them. Giles?"
"You have handled worse. Not often, mind you. But..."
"But it's do-able? With you beside me?"
He shrugged.
She turned to the captain. "We can train your crew. Train them to fight---the right way. We don't go in until I say we're ALL ready to go in."
He looked doubtful.
"And I'll double our fare if you get us to our rendez-vous in time. We can do that, can't we, Giles?"
He shrugged again. "Double, triple...name your price. It can be arranged."
"Well," the captain said, breaking into a slow grin. "I got me some experience with swords..."
"No, you don't," said Zoe. She turned to Buffy. "Can you teach us?"
"Of course. You think you can get a schematic of their ship?"
"Sure," Wash said. "When they get close enough..."
"Do it." She gently put her hand on Kaylee's arm. "If we handle the beheading and staking part, you think if you got your hands on their engines you could make me some fire?"
Kaylee paled, swallowed, then nodded bravely. Buffy took her hand away, chest clenching with a weight of responsibility she had not felt since Sunnydale. Jayne, Zoe and the captain were probably trainable. But Kaylee...she flashed guiltily back to their chat that first night, to the teary confession of the girl's worst nightmare. A ship full of Reavers. And she had to go in there, and face them, and come out alive. It was happening now...
But Kaylee would not be the only one facing her greatest nightmare. For Buffy, there was nothing more terrifying than willfully conscripting innocents for a battle. Their lives were in her hands.
--
to be continued...
Buffy was halfway through her first set before she was aware of having an audience. Simon had helped her set up the heavy bag, then kept out of her way for the most part. Kaylee, however, was a much more attentive spectator.
"She sure moves fast, don't she?" the young mechanic observed, stepping in beside Simon.
"Yes," he said. He craned his neck over her head to get a better view. "She told me she has superior agility and reflexes. Didn't quite know what that meant until now."
"Do you think it was Mr. Giles who trained her to be that way?"
"If so, he did an excellent job. She...oh. Oh. Buffy, are you okay?"
Buffy had let herself get distracted, and the bag had hit her side on the rebound.
"Slayer healing," she winced, accepting the towel he offered. "Probably won't even bruise..."
He moved a hand toward her side, waiting for the nod of permission before he lifted up the corner of her top. Gently, he palpated the ribs and felt for injury.
"Looks okay," he said.
"Told you. Look, it's fine, really. Just let me finish my set, then I'll stop..."
From the infirmary, he heard a noise, then a loudly shouted "Simon!"
He winced. "I'd better check on River. Kaylee, can you keep an eye on her until she's done? The captain doesn't want her in here unsupervised."
"Oh yeah," Kaylee said. "I bet he wouldn't."
The sudden mood was lost on Simon, but it was not lost on Buffy, who abandoned the rest of her set, keeping pace with some light jogging as she eyed the young mechanic.
"Everything okay?" she asked when they were alone.
The girl blushed, looking down at her feet. "You two sure seem cozy."
"Who, me and Simon? Yeah, he's been really friendly, which is kinda nice what with the rest of you being all..." Suddenly, Buffy realized. "Oh. You mean friendly THAT way! Kaylee, no! It isn't like that!"
Kaylee met her gaze, features achingly hopeful. "It ain't?"
"No! Oh no, sweetie, no, not at all! Just that he kinda understands...you know, being in a place like this, not really belonging..."
"Oh yes," said Kaylee. "Simon is VERY understanding."
"Uh huh. But in a totally innocent platonic way."
"So...so you don't got designs on him, then?"
"Gosh, no. I mean, he's sweet, don't get me wrong. But it's MY world I need to be worrying about, not yours."
That answer seemed to satisfy the young mechanic. She moved to leave, then turned back. "Buffy?"
"Hmmm?"
"All that friendly time you've been having...he spend any of it saying anything about me?"
Buffy patted her arm with a friendly smile. "I'll see what I can do."
Then the klaxon sounded.
--
Buffy and Kaylee, on instinct, grabbed hands. "What do we do?" Buffy said.
"The mess," Kaylee said. "Cap'll probably want to brief us..."
They hurried down the corridor and up the little ladder to find the others gathering, as Kaylee had predicted. Giles was half-curled up on one of the chairs, head in his hands.
Buffy knelt down beside him. "You okay?"
"Bloody siren."
"Uh huh. Want Simon to get you that medicine now?"
"Yes."
Buffy looked up to find Inara already nodding and fleeing down-ship to pass along the message. The captain, Zoe and Wash arrived at that moment and assessed the gathered group.
"Inara and the doc?"
"On their way," Jayne said. He had his gun in his lap, as he always did, hand wrapped around it for comfort.
"Well, this can't wait. Wash?"
The pilot nodded. "Reavers."
Shepherd Book closed his eyes very briefly, then muttered something in Chinese. Zoe moved inward toward Kaylee, who liked like she was about to pass out.
"How close?" asked Jayne.
"Close enough they've marked us, I'd bet a tidy little sum on that."
"Can we outrun them?"
"They'll follow."
"So are we going to fight them?" Buffy asked.
"We're a transport ship, we don't got cannons, Miss."
"Didn't ask are we going to shoot them, Captain. Asked if we were going to fight them." She turned to Giles. "You said they're just like vampires, right?"
He looked suddenly thoughtful. "For the most part..."
"So we fight 'em," Buffy said.
"I don't think you understand," piped up Zoe. "This is a ship full of Reavers we're talking about."
"Yeah, I got that."
"Reavers," Zoe repeated.
"Uh huh. Look, Zoe, I appreciate that you guys are wigged, really, I do. But trust me, I can handle this. I actually HAVE handled it. Many, many times."
"Nobody 'handles' Reavers," said Jayne. "Don't know anyone I ever heard of fight 'em and live. Not sure even Vera'd make me feel safe in a fight that stacked."
"Vera? Oh, right, your gun, Simon told me. Well, of course THAT won't work. Don't you guys know anything about these things?"
"We know that Reavers are dangerous," said Wash.
"And scary," added Kaylee. "They been in space too long. Makes 'em crazy."
"You know, that's actually kind of a clever cover story," Buffy observed to Giles. To the others, she explained "They can't handle sunlight."
"Well, we ain't got none of that out here," the captain said.
"I know, which is exactly why they probably live where they do. What safer place would there be for them than cold, dark space? Besides sunlight, the only other way to kill a thing like that is fire, beheading and stake through the heart."
She eyed the assembled group, already formulating a battle plan. "So are you guys all guns or can any of you handle hand-to-hand?"
"Now wait just a second," the Captain Reynolds interrupted. "We can outrun 'em. Maybe. And..."
"And miss our rendez-vous with the shepherd's contact? I don't think so."
"Our lives are more important than your little meeting," snapped Jayne.
"I agree. That's why I won't let them kill you. So we run, and? They catch up to us---now, or later. They can't go forever without feeding. If they know you're out here, they'll come back for you."
"Feeding?" Kaylee whimpered.
"Look, it won't happen. How many va---Reavers you think we'd be dealing with here?"
Wash shrugged. "Ship our size could hold 20 or more. Don't think they're much bigger, or they would have shown up on our radar sooner."
"So, 20 of them. Giles?"
"You have handled worse. Not often, mind you. But..."
"But it's do-able? With you beside me?"
He shrugged.
She turned to the captain. "We can train your crew. Train them to fight---the right way. We don't go in until I say we're ALL ready to go in."
He looked doubtful.
"And I'll double our fare if you get us to our rendez-vous in time. We can do that, can't we, Giles?"
He shrugged again. "Double, triple...name your price. It can be arranged."
"Well," the captain said, breaking into a slow grin. "I got me some experience with swords..."
"No, you don't," said Zoe. She turned to Buffy. "Can you teach us?"
"Of course. You think you can get a schematic of their ship?"
"Sure," Wash said. "When they get close enough..."
"Do it." She gently put her hand on Kaylee's arm. "If we handle the beheading and staking part, you think if you got your hands on their engines you could make me some fire?"
Kaylee paled, swallowed, then nodded bravely. Buffy took her hand away, chest clenching with a weight of responsibility she had not felt since Sunnydale. Jayne, Zoe and the captain were probably trainable. But Kaylee...she flashed guiltily back to their chat that first night, to the teary confession of the girl's worst nightmare. A ship full of Reavers. And she had to go in there, and face them, and come out alive. It was happening now...
But Kaylee would not be the only one facing her greatest nightmare. For Buffy, there was nothing more terrifying than willfully conscripting innocents for a battle. Their lives were in her hands.
--
to be continued...