Chapter Seven: Familiar Faces

Soundtrack suggestions: "Smiling Face" – M2M, "Nothing We Can't Face" – Joss Whedon

"Holy ruttin' hell!" Jayne exclaimed. "What in the hell was that?"

"Well, we gotta suit up t' go find out," Mal answered calmly. "It's cold out there, ya know. We're in Snozlund now, ever' body put on yer cold weather gear."

He moved to the large crate he'd brought on at Seven Skyes and opened it. Inside was all manner of cold weather gear in various sizes and colors. "Jayne, yer green."

"What the hell d' ya mean, I'm green?"

Mal gestured at the crate. "Yer outer wear is green. Everythin' green is yers."

"Oh," Jayne said, a little abashed. He began to grab green things out of the crate.

"Zoë, yer yellow," Mal continued. "Wash… blue."

"Whoo-hoo!" Wash exclaimed and darted over to stand by Jayne, looking for the blue outerwear.

"Wash, yer not goin' outside right yet," Mal said. The pilot frowned, but Mal continued, "Doc, when the time comes fer ya t' go outside, yer red and yer sister's pink."

"Aww," Kaylee said, disappointed. "I wanted t' be pink."

"Well, yer not," Mal replied tartly. "Yer orange."

"Orange!"

"Ya look good in orange," Mal said, trying to pacify the angry mechanic. "Like a right sunflower."

"Sir? Sunflowers are yellow," Zoë said.

"Or… some other orange flower. A tiger-lily!"

Kaylee frowned at him, but said nothing.

"'Nara, yer…"

"I have my own outerwear," the Companion said calmly, "thank you very much."

"What does that leave you, sir?" Zoë asked, staring into the crate in confusion.

"Me? I've got a right motley assortment of black and brown," Mal replied. He turned to the passengers. "Ya brought yer own outerwear, didn't ya?"

Kate nodded. "Yes, we did."

"Good," Mal said. "When we get back we'll escort ya t' th' housin' offices."

He began to suit up. The outerwear he had purchased on Seven Skyes was by no means fashionable, despite the handy color-coordinating system. Each person was outfitted with a parka, heavy snow-pants, boots, a hat, and a thick pair of gloves, all in the colors Mal had mentioned. Once he, Zoë, Wash, and Jayne were suited up, Mal opened the hatch. What they saw surprised them all.

Two women were standing before the open door. They were both wearing heavy outerwear as well, but the air flowing into Serenity's hold was warm. Or, if not warm, warmish. There was no snow or ice in sight. "Hello," one of the women said. She was obviously the older of the two, maybe thirty-five or forty. Her blond hair was straight and hung to her shoulders, peeking out from under her blue knitted hat, which had a cunning pom-pom on top. Her eyes were blue as well, but a lighter shade. Her gray parka was unzipped to show a cream-colored shirt dotted with flowers. Her voice was pleasant, but not overly polite, as though she hadn't decided yet if she was going to be friends with the people she was encountering. "Which one of you is Captain Malcolm Reynolds?"

"That's me," Mal answered. "Are ya th' ones shootin' us down?"

The woman gave an apologetic smile in their general direction. "Yes, that was our ship, I'm afraid." She stepped forward and took off one of her green-and-blue mittens to shake Mal's hand. "Charlotte DuBois, captain of The Outrigger," she said, pronouncing her last name "doo-bwah." "I'm terribly sorry for the mistake. We were under the impression that you were the ship we'd been looking for all week. Your ship certainly fit the profile."

"Ya couldn't have asked first?"

"First rule of the Snozlund Militia," the second woman said. "Shoot first, ask questions later."

"Ordinarily I'd be pleased t' hear that's yer slogan," Mal said crisply, "but since it was my ship bein' shot up, I'm a little discouraged."

"This is my co-pilot, Jillian McClain," Charlotte said by way of introduction. The younger woman was a good deal shorter than Charlotte, with short dark hair held back in a ponytail. She was pale, and dressed in black outerwear with sturdy-looking boots. She looked as though she ate nails for breakfast with a side of bolts and creamed drill bits on toast. "I'm terribly sorry for the mistake, Captain Reynolds," Charlotte apologized.

"The ship you were lookin' fer, what is it?" Mal asked, curious.

"We're looking for a Firefly-class ship that robbed the Snozlund Treasury last week," Charlotte answered promptly. "In our defense, we stopped shooting at you as soon as we saw the name on your ship. The ship we're after is Stoïque."

The walkie-talkie attached to Charlotte's belt beeped and she unclipped it, pressing the red button on the side. "Excuse me a moment," she said, and moved away from the group. "Stargazer here, go ahead, Home Base."

"Isn't that th' name o' th' ship that helped us when we got in ta the shootout with the PRFO?" Wash asked Mal quietly. Mal nodded. Wash continued, "Why would they rob the Snozlund Treasury? Ain't somethin' a Companion would do, now is it?"

Before Mal could reply with either a witty remark or a serious answer, Charlotte turned back around. "Good news. Stoïque has been located and has landed in the bay directly opposite this one. If you'd like to come with us, Captain Reynolds, we'd be glad to give you whatever assistance you need."

"Got some passengers here need t' go t' th' housin' offices," Mal answered, gesturing to Kate and her dependents.

Charlotte nodded. "Jillian can run you over there. I've got to go and speak with the captain of Stoïque for a bit."

"If ya wouldn't mind, we kin just go with ya," Mal said. "We're friend with the crew o' Stoïque."

"Oh, are you?" Charlotte asked, giving them a strange look. "Well, then you can come along, I suppose."

"Zoë, Jayne, come with me," Mal ordered. "The rest o' you, stay here."

"Sure thing, Cap'n my Cap'n," Wash answered with a mock salute. "We'll stay outa trouble 'til ya get back."

Mal, Zoë, and Jayne exited. Wash closed the hatch behind them. Mal realized the reason that the air was warm was because they were inside. A rubber-coated walkway led away from their ship, and at the end of the walkway was a large window. Outside the window, Mal could see a snow-covered paradise. The sun reflecting off the snow drifts was bright and pleasant. People dressed in heavy parkas were skating to and fro on icy canals that never melted, or walking on the sidewalks, which were clear and clean. The shop-fronts he could see were decked in bright red, green, and gold bunting and tinsel.

"Come along, right this way," Charlotte said, leading the three Serenity crew members through a glass door Mal hadn't noticed. The door led into another hallway similar to the one they had just exited with an identical rubber-coated walkway. As they rounded a bend in the hallway, an open hatch appeared. Standing at the bottom of the hatch's ramp were several people Mal could recognize and name.

The first was the captain of Stoïque, Companion Emilia Sage, a blond beauty. She was wearing beautiful clothes as usual, a heavy red and gold patterned shawl wrapped around her slim shoulders. Standing next to her was the pilot of Stoïque, Carole Trickey. Carole was shorter and stockier than Emilia, with extremely curly red hair and a bright grin. She looked as though she was suffocating in her blue-and-white parka, a snowflake-patterned fleecy scarf wrapped around her neck. Antony and Kolya, the two "emissaries" for the ship, stood next to Carole. Both were wearing emerald green parkas and looked remarkably similar in this light, even though Antony was a striking olive-skinned man and Kolya was paler, with curly red-brown hair. Completing the crew was Dr. Rupert Pawtucket, who had been responsible for saving River's life not too long ago. Rupert was an older gentleman with white-gold hair and a respectable look about him.

Rupert was the first to notice the newcomers. "Captain Reynolds!" he said broadly. "How wonderful to see you again!"

Mal nodded, receiving the greeting. "Howdy, Doc Rupert. It's good t' see ya 'gain."

"Why, Captain Reynolds," Emilia said, a little startled. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, apparently, takin' shots fer ya," Mal answered sarcastically. "You kin thank us later."

"Who are these people?" Emilia asked.

"Oh, allow me t' introduce Charlotte DuBois and Jillian McClain," Mal replied sharply. "They're the ones doin' the shootin'."

"You were shot at?" Emilia asked, obviously horrified.

"Like I said, we were takin' shots fer ya."

"Are you registered Companion Emilia Sage?" Charlotte asked briskly.

"Yes, I am."

"Then I'm going to have to take you into custody," Charlotte said, stepping forward, a pair of handcuffs in her hands.

"For what?" Emilia demanded. "This is an outrage!"

"Your ship, Stoïque, was seen leaving the Snozlund Treasury following a robbery last week," Charlotte informed her crisply.

"This is absurd!" Emilia cried. "Why would we come back to the scene of the crime? What possible logic is there in that?"

Jillian said, "Well, there really… isn't…any…? Why are we arresting them, Charlotte?"

"Just following orders," Charlotte responded.

"This doesn't make any sense!" Emilia exclaimed. "I demand to talk to your superior officer!"

Charlotte shrugged and looked at Jillian. "I suppose we can let you talk to her. Come with us. Captain Reynolds, will you be good enough to accompany us?"

"Whaddya need us fer?" Mal asked.

"Corroborating stories," Charlotte answered smoothly. "We'll need witnesses."

"Oh, now, I dunno," Mal said, a little confused. "We didn't witness th' crime… if in fact there was a crime."

"Oh, there was. The Treasury was robbed," Jillian assured him.

"What, pray tell, did they take?" Emilia asked.

"Books," Jillian replied.

"Books? I'm being arrested over books?"

"Miss Emilia," Carole said gently, "y' know books are important."

"These books were of the history of Snozlund. They were very old and of great value to us," Charlotte added. "Captain Reynolds, you mentioned a need to go to the housing offices? Our offices are just next door."

"Great," Mal grumbled. "Guess we can go get ever' body else."

It took about a half hour for the rest of Serenity's crew to don their outerwear and meet Mal, Zoë, Jayne, the two officers of the Snozlund Militia, and the entire crew of Stoïque at the exit of the landing port. Wash was smiling broadly. "Snow angels!" he yelled as he left the rubber walkway of the landing port behind. He dove, almost headfirst, into the snow.

"Wash! Honey!" Zoë said, horrified. To everyone else, she said, "He's usually not like this at all, I swear!"

Wash sprawled onto his back and began moving his arms and legs. "Snow, snow, snow angel!" he sang.

"Awesome!" Kaylee exclaimed, and threw herself down into the snow next to Wash, making a similar angel.

"Kin I shoot 'em?" Jayne demanded. "Obviously gone out of their nutter minds…"

"No shooting in Snozlund!" Jillian said angrily.

"What d' ya mean, no shooting in Snozlund! You were shootin' at us!"

"That was before you landed," Jillian answered smugly. "Your guns are now solely shiny things to look at, and not much more."

Jayne looked horrified, as though someone had told him… well, as though someone had told him he couldn't play the part of a thug with guns, which… someone had.

Mal clapped his stunned crew member on the shoulder. "It'll be all right, Jayne. We won't be here long enough fer ya t' need t' shoot nothin'."

"Where are you staying on Snozlund, Captain Reynolds?" Charlotte asked politely, as they were still gathered watching Wash and Kaylee writhe around on their respective plots of snow.

Mal turned to Zoë, who promptly answered, "We're stayin' in Parker's Playhouse on Colchester Street."

"A lovely choice," Charlotte said.

"Excuse me, Captain?" Kate asked. "Are we going now?"

"Wash! Kaylee! Get outa the snow, ya fools!" Mal yelled. Sheepishly, his crew members did as he had ordered. "Let's go," he said to Charlotte.