This piece was written in an attempt to see if I could writeplausiblecharacter voices and interaction, feedback would be heavenly.
"I don't trust him." Zoe said first breaking into a conversation no one had the nerve to start. Simon, Kaylee, Jayne and Wash all knew who she meant. "Something about him bugs me."
"You said the same thing about Wash and you married him." Kaylee started irritated and in her element defending people. Zoe just stood there solid and impassive. "He ain't done nothing wrong to none of you."
"Yet." Simon chimed in from his post in the doorway, missing the gentle look of hurt that passed over Kaylee's face.
"He's bound to be stirring up problems." Jayne muttered over his protein soup.
"Doesn't mean you need go out of your way and help him, Jayne." Zoe warned, knowing how much the mercenary enjoyed hassling newcomers.
"I don't even like the caveman." He replied defensively.
"A cave man and an ape man, now that's the greatest love story ever told." Wash broke in as usual with no opinion. "No matter what anyone tells you I'm sure your children will be pretty."
"Keep it up, little man and your kids won't even have a fair shot at bein' pretty." Jayne growled menacingly. Zoe silenced them both with look that meant business or homicide, sometimes both depending on the way Mal did business.
"Now ya'll are just bein' bullies pickin' on the runt in the playground." Kaylee pointed out. "I don't know why you just can't be fair."
"It's not about fair, Kaylee. We just feel he needs to be watched." Zoe chided.
"And if the caveman had him in their playground, man were the astronauts screwed." Wash interjected, laughing at his own joke.
"Honestly I don't know why you defending him." Simon blurted out.
"I did the same thing for you, Simon Tam, when you didn't have a friend on this boat. It's only right to treat everyone the same." The mechanic fired at him, unbelieving at everyone's attitude.
"Something just ain't right about him. He's all silent and quiet like." Jayne explained sneering at the mixed looks he received.
"Capt' trusts him, that's all that should matter." She said a little injure no one had thought about Mal's opinion in all of this.
"Mal don't always trust the right people." Zoe added, knowing from experience how far Mal could go on simple blind trust.
"Than you should trust him. He knew what he was doing when he opened up 'Nara's shuttle. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to tend to Serenity or she won't know how to treat people either." She finished and left the table, refusing to listen anymore.
"Maybe she's right." Wash said, at last getting to his own thoughts.
"Honey, no one has that clean of a record." Zoe reasoned, blindsided by her husband's sudden outspoken empathy.
"Maybe we've all been out in the black too long because not everyone that steps on Serenity is a criminal. We had ourselves a shiny shepherd for awhile and a flawless Companion. Anyone remember them?" It was probably the longest sentence the pilot had said in a long time.
"Well than you can go keep him company while he's all holed up in that shuttle, doing lord knows what. I for one will the first one shootin' him when it comes to draggin' down this whole ship."
"No wait a gorram minute here, folks. I hope this isn't the mutiny it looks to be." Mal's deceptively level voice catching everyone off guard.
"Just airing out some issues, sir." The first mate gritted out, hoping he would just let it go.
"Issues on a boat tend to get aired out with the captain and that would be me so.." He trailed off, lending someone the ability else fill him in.
"Right," he started breaking the tense silence he expected. "I don't want to walk in on something like this again, dong ma?"
He waited until he had everyone's sullen nod.
"Serenity don't run herself, ya'll got jobs get 'em done."
