o Alliance Prison o
Soft whispering, distant footsteps and clattering of utensils, soft murmuring close by ... it sounded so familiar and yet so foreign. She was lying flat on something hard, something that wasn't anything like her familiar bed in her bunk on Serenity. And there was pain, sore muscles and definitely bruising. Slowly she opened her eyes, getting a first look at her surroundings. She was lying in someone else's bed as she noticed a name carved in the wooden planks of the top bunk. Freedom... that one rang a bell. Next in her line of sight was a blond head resting against the wooden post of the bed, which turned as soon as she moved and hissed in pain.
"Hey, you're awake?" A pair of crystal blue eyes looked at her intriguingly, a smile playing around the girl's lips. "I'm Teaser." A hand came flying her way for a good shake, which only caused more pain. "Freedom will be back soon."
"Morning Teaser!" The blonde girl turned to the door of their room and produced a large grin.
"Well, speak of the devil!"
"Morning!" Freedom settled herself on the floor and picked two protein/vitamin-bars out of her pocket. "Here you go, you two." She handed each a bar and started nibbling on her own. "Where are the others?"
"Shorty and Flash have gone for a walk. I think they're spying on BG's gang again. Viper went looking for Firefly. The kid had some information to share about you-know-what." Teaser ended her breakfast and then glanced longingly at the door. "Can I go now?"
"Go find Shorty and Flash!" Teaser quickly made her way out. "And don't go gettin' into any trouble!" It was more an after thought as the youngster had long disappeared out of sight and hearing range for that matter. "So, it's just you and me then... Oh well, it gives me a chance to explain the ropes around here." Freedom took a deep breath ready to start her monologue. "As you've already guessed you're in an Alliance prison. You're on a ship which cannot be traced by outsiders so don't go getting' your hopes up too much of being found or rescued any time soon. If you want to get out of here, you'll have to do it yourself but I'll get back to that later on. Okay, then... Next up, your name... You see no one in this prison knows each other's real name nor what they are in for. I don't need to know why you are in for, nor will I reveal what I have done to deserve a bunk in this place. If we ever regain our freedom, whether that be dead or alive, we will be allowed to reveal our true names. And as you need one as well, I have the perfect name sought out for you... From this day forth until the day you regain your freedom, you will be known as Spirit." Freedom smiled, while continuing her speech. "Okay, what else? ... Oh yeah, you are a part of my gang now, which means you have my protection whenever you might get into some sort of trouble. You've already met BG so I don't have to tell you to keep out of her way. There are four other members in this gang. You have already met Teaser, the youngest of our bunch. I don't know if you remember but yesterday you briefly met Viper ... before passing out that is. She's the oldest of the gang, yet not the leader. Last but not least there's the twin, Shorty and Flash. They're in their early twenties and sometimes living a bit on the dangerous side of life. But then again, we are in jail... There's one more, who isn't yet a member but might soon be one... Firefly." Freedom noticed when mentioning Firefly a strange twinkle appeared in Spirit's eyes, although disappearing as fast as it had appeared. "She can be trusted but I think it's best to be cautious around her. Since she doesn't really belong to anyone she can still betray you."
"Ni hao Freedom!" They turned to the door, to find two identical-looking young women grinning from ear to ear. "How's business?"
"What have you two been up to?" Freedom shot the two a very curious look. "And where's Teaser?"
"I'm right here." The blonde head of the young girl popped from behind the doorframe, an even larger grin plastered on her face. She immediately entered the room, with a small bag folded under her arm, which she dropped into Freedom's lap.
"What's this?" She curiously opened the bag to find a small memory-device inside, a large grin started to spread over her features, mimicking the faces of her three gang-members. "Where did you get this?"
"We borrowed it." Shorty's grin became even bigger. "BG wants it back as soon as possible, I reckon."
"She's planning on leaving this dump, we think. Maybe we can use her as a decoy while we make our escape."
"Flash!" Freedom hissed, while Flash shrunk under her stare. "Don't need nobody to know what we're up to. Dong-ma?" The rest of the gang nodded quickly, not wanting Freedom to be mad with them.
xxxxx
o TBC o
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