"Drink?" Mal asked Bester.
"Naw, I'm shiny." Bester winked at Zoë.
Zoë gave Mal a "are you serious" look. Mal looked right back with, "a yeah what's wrong with him" look.
"Well let's get to business then. I'm offering you a good opportunity to fly with us. A chance to be free." Bester didn't seem interested in what Mal had to say. A beautiful red head walked into the bar and held all of Bester's attention. Mal spoke a bit louder, "A chance to be free. I have a firefly, name Serenity, she ain't much to look at but, she's solid. You'll get your own bunk, full run of the kitchen, and your fare share of our profits from jobs. All you have to do is keep her flying…" Mal has lost Bester to a beautiful woman, there was no hope.
"So." Mal stood up. "You want to check her out?"
"Huh? Yeah? Check her out." Bester said with a grin as he eyed at the girl.
"Serenity, check HER, out." Mal placed his money on the table and walked to the door. Zoë close behind him. Bester stood up not breaking eye contact with the girl. The girl winked at Bester and smiled. He headed towards her direction when Zoë grabbed the back of his shirt jerking him back. "Serenity, lover boy."
"Rough I like that." Bester said smiling at Zoë.
"Not if you were the last man in this verse. Let's go." She said as she walked out the door in front of Mal and Bester.
"Shiny" Bester said as he stares at Zoë's butt as she walks away.
"That's not part of the deal, son. Besides you don't want that, she'll kill you. Really, kill you dead." Mal looked at Bester who still isn't listening to a word. His focus was on Zoë. "Shiny."
Bester followed them along.
They went to the ship yard where Serenity is parked. "That's her?" Bester said as he walked over to the ship.
"Yep, that's Serenity." Mal said loving as he pointed her to him. Bester mumbled something under his breath. Mal showed him around the engine room. "So, what do you think? What the job?" Mal asked him.
"Sure, sounds fun enough, I got one request." Bester tried to sound as serious as possible.
"If it's Zoë. I can't give her to you. She'll kill me and then you. Anything else we can talk."
Bester cleared his throat. "I just need a couple of days a month, land leave, with no questions asked."
Mal smiled slightly. "I think I can handle that."
"Shiny, then I can handle this." Bester said with a grin.
"Splendid." They shook on their deal.
"Zoë!" No answer "Hey Zo!" Mal stood at the engine room door. "Zo" He was cut off by her coming around the corner. Mal jumped back. "Zoë, why don't you give Bester the grand tour here, and show him his bunk. I gotta go see about getting us a pilot." Mal patted her on the back and walked away. "Play nice, I don't want to see our engineer on the floor when I get back."
"I always play nice, Sir." Zoë replied with a sarcastic grin as gave him the grand tour of Serenity. The last stop on there tour is the bunks.
"So, which one is yours?" Bester asked with a grin. He wrapped his arm around Zoë.
She politely brushed the offensive arm off her shoulder.
"That one… and that one's the captains…this one's yours" She pointed to the bunk next to the bridge. Zoë had very serious look on her face, which turned Bester's grin to a not so happy grin. "I'll be in the cargo bay." Zoë walked off but not too far.
"Oh, wuh da ma what is that smell!" Bester climbed out of the bunk covering his nose. "I think I'm going to be sick."
Zoë stood laughing. "Yeah you may not want that one. I think something die in there."
"That's not funny, wuh da ma." Bester ran down the steps to the cargo bay and tried to smell up all the fresh air through the open door. Zoë doubled over in laughter. There wasn't too much in this verse that made Zoë laugh.
"I don't get it Sir."
"What don't you get, the dog said quack!" Mal laughed. They had been walking for what seem like weeks, through all types of rain. They were station on Peerist a small planet where it seems like it was always raining.
"Ok tell me again why did the dog, quack?"
"Zo, you have no since of humor."
"I laugh when it's funny, Sir."
Mal stopped in his tracks and looked back at his regiment. They all looked tried and beaten.
"Camp here and we can continue in the morning."
"Here? Sir do you really think that this is a good spot?" Zoë surveyed her surroundings.
"Yeah its good enough, the men are tired and so am I."
"There's no cover, Sir."
"There's nothing around here. We're the only people here in this gorram rain!" Mal gave his attention to his tired men. "We camp here." Zoë began unpacking her bag. "Ok I got another one." Zoë gave him a look. "Where do you find a dog with no legs?"
Zoë took a deep breathe. "Where, Sir?"
Cracked up, "Right where, right where you left him." Mal had tears in his eyes. Zoë wasn't amused. For a second time she took a mental picture of their surroundings.
"Hey, Keri, Zoë didn't get your joke about the dog, quacking." Keri was a large man, but he had the small head for a guy his size. Mal always found that funny about him. "Did you tell it right Sarg?"
"Yeah….Zoë just don't have no sense of humor."
"No, no she doesn't Sarg." Keri sat his bag next to Mal. The men made camp. There was no fire, because it never stopped raining. They were all huddled up, eating and telling dirty jokes.
"Hey Zo, you tell a joke." Melton was a wisp of a man, but strong for a guy his size.
"Awe, Melt Zoë don't know any jokes, she too much of a shiong-tsan sha-sho for jokes and such." Chen sat by her and handed her some beans. She shook her head no. Chen had a crush on Zoë and she knew it. Any man with a pulse had a crush on Zoë, but she always made herself clear, no fraternizing with the regiment while they were enlisted. Made things complicated, split loyalties. And there was nothing Zoë hated more was complications.