Chapter 5
The horseshoe shuttle hovered over Serenity. A hatch on the underside of the shuttle opened. A man in an unarmored silver spacesuit dropped out of the hatch and landed on the top of the ship. The man bent down on his hands and knees and placed his head on Serenity's hull.
Mike smoked a cigarette as he monitored Serenity's stats. There was still a weird heat bounce. Kaylee suggested that the sensors probably got turned around but, it still bothered him. River hadn't said anything in awhile. Mike looked in River's direction. She was asleep on the console. He thought she should go to sleep in her own room.
"River," Mike called. River mumbled something incoherent, but did not stir. "River!" he called louder. River awoke suddenly.
"No!" she yelled. She seemed slightly disoriented.
"You okay, River?" Mike asked concerned.
"Yeah, yeah," River stated slightly disturbed. "I'm okay, now." She smiled.
"Maybe you should go to bed," Mike suggested.
"Alright," River agreed. She got up and walked down the hall. Mike watched her as she left. Even though she inspired utter fear in him, he did find her….interesting. Either way, Mike turned back to his console and continued monitoring Serenity's stats.
River eventually made it to the end of the front hall and descended the staircase that eventually led to her and Simon's room. After she had left, the hatch above the end of the front hall opened. Mike heard it and glanced towards the end of the hall. The man in the spacesuit descended the ladder below it. The man took off his helmet. He was unnaturally pale, was completely bald, and had blood-red eyes. The red-eyed man glanced secretly into the dining area. Mal sat at the table, polishing his guns. Zoë stood across from him just watching. The red-eyed man turned to the staircase and followed River's path.
Mike quickly set Serenity on auto pilot. He rose from his chair and quietly but quickly ran into his bunk. He was filled with fear.
River was approaching her room. The door to Simon's room was closed and she heard odd noises emanating from it. Then she sensed something odd. She felt a presence behind her. She turned around. The red-eyed man stood behind her. He scanned her with his digitally-enhanced eyes. The scans identified her as River Tam, his target. River screamed.
"Do not speak," the red-eyed man said in a monotone voice. "River Tam, come with me." River kicked him in the chest and he reeled back slightly. A gun cocked. The red-eyed man turned around. Jayne stood at the end of the hall with Vera.
"Take this you son of a saam-baat!" Jayne yelled as he shot half a clip into the red-eyed man's chest.
Mal and Zoë were still in the dining area. They heard the sounds of the gunfire.
"What was that?" Mal asked as he picked up his Colt Army 1860 revolver-thing.
"It sounded like it came from the cargo hold," Zoë answered as she pulled out her Mare's leg, that sawed-off Winchester. They quickly ran out of the dining area and descended the staircase.
Despite being shot with Vera, the red-eyed man was completely unharmed. Then, two foot-long blades emerged from the red-eyed man's wrists. "Now that ain't right," Jayne added. The red-eyed man took one blade and slashed Jayne's ankles. Jayne fell down and yelled in pain. River did a back flip over the red-eyed man and landed by Jayne. She grabbed Vera and fired the remainder of the clip. Still, it had no affect. The red-eyed man attempted to karate chop River with his blade but she blocked it with Vera. The blades re-entered the red-eyed man's wrists, and he grabbed Vera and tossed it behind him. He grabbed River's arm. He was unnaturally strong. The door to Simon's room slid open quickly. Simon looked into the hall. His pants were unzipped.
"What's going on here?" he asked. Simon looked at River and the red-eyed man. A blade re-emerged from the red-eyed man's free arm and he stabbed Simon in the stomach. Simon groaned and collapsed onto the floor.
"Simon!" River cried. The red-eyed man forcibly dragged River into the cargo hold. Kaylee popped her head out of Simon's room. She gasped in shock.
"Simon!" she cried. Jayne looked at her from the floor.
"What were you doing in there?" Jayne asked obviously. Kaylee gave him a knowing look. "Oh," he remarked.
The red-eyed man dragged River up the staircase to the catwalk. Kaylee was in hot pursuit. The red-eyed man reached the catwalk and looked at the shuttles at each end. He scanned each of them with his eyes. Despite the fact that there was an empty shuttle, he dragged River to Inara's shuttle. He forcibly opened the locked door with his free hand and entered the shuttle.
Inara's shuttle had been redecorated back to the way she had known it. Even if she was going to be on Serenity "temporarily", her clients had to be comfortable. It was an important part of the Companion experience. Inside her chamber in the shuttle, Inara was kneeling on the floor with a robe pooled at her waist. There was a bowl of water before her. She was giving herself a sponge bath. She heard the noise of the shuttle door opening. She pulls her robe up to cover herself. The red-eyed man appeared in her chamber clutching River's arm. Inara was visibly shaken.
"Who are you?" Inara demanded with what might have been fear in her voice. The red-eyed man did not answer. He pushed River onto the floor and approached Inara. He grabbed her arm and dragged her to the shuttle's door.
The red-eyed man exited the shuttle with Inara and pushed her onto the floor. Suddenly, there was the sound of guns cocking. The red-eyed man looked where the sounds came from. Inara also looked from the floor. Mal and Zoë were standing not too far from the shuttle with their respective guns aimed at the red-eyed man. The red-eyed man stared icily at them.
"Okay, time for questions," Mal began. "Who are you?" The red-eyed man stared at him.
"I am a drone," the red-eyed man spoke in a monotone and almost mechanical voice.
"I'm not mighty partial to people coming aboard my boat and taking people," Mal stated. "So I say you leave River and Inara alone and leave my gorram boat." The drone just stared at him.
"You can not stop me," the drone proclaimed. The blades emerged from his wrists.
"Sheng go-se," Mal cried shocked. Mal and Zoë began to fire their guns into the drone's chest. It still had no affect. The drone turned around and was about to re-enter the shuttle when a gunshot was fired into his back. The drone faced Mal and Zoë. They looked at each other in wonder. Neither of them had shot him. They and Inara looked back. At the other end of the catwalk, Mike stood holding a HK MP5 and wearing a black military vest. Mal, Zoë, and Inara appeared surprised. The drone marched towards Mike. Mike unleashed an entire clip into the drone, but it continued to have no affect. Once it was empty, Mike searched his vest for another clip. He couldn't find one. So, he dropped the submachine gun and pulled two Walther PPK pistols from his vest and fired them into the drone. Still, it had no affect. After realizing this, Mike lowered one gun and fired the other straight into the drone's face. Sparks flew from the wound. The drone reeled back and collapsed. He was finally dead. Mal looked at the dead drone shocked. Instead of blood, a black fluid bled from the drone's wound.
"That's it," Mal cried. River looked out of the shuttle.
"Is it dead?" River pleaded.
"Yeah," Mike responded as he replaced his guns in his vest. River ran towards Mike and hugged him. "Its okay, it's okay." Mike uttered as he patted her back comfortingly. Kaylee appeared on the catwalk. She saw the dead drone.
"What is that?" Kaylee pleaded.
"We don't know," Inara answered as she stood up.
"Mike killed it," Mal added as he holstered his gun. Kaylee looked shocked at the vested Mike, still hugging River.
"It cut up Jayne and Simon," Kaylee reported. Mal looked angry.
"Let's all get them to the infirmary," Mal ordered. Everyone, except River and Mike, ran down the staircase towards the passenger dorms. River finally released Mike.
"We better get going," Mike conveyed quietly. River nodded and, they followed everyone else down the staircase.
Saam-baat: Chinese "B!tch"
Sheng go-se: Chinese "Holy cr9p"