Firefly: the Geshen Wars: Chapter 6: Infiltration
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I don't own the Firefly franchise, but I sure wish I did. The animated series would really rock.
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Chapter 6: Infiltration
"Everybody, strap in!" shouted Mal. "This could get rough!" All those assigned to the bridge jumped to get into their seats, and pulled the straps tightly. The seats themselves were designed with inertial control fields, but their ability was limited, and could not be guaranteed to dampen all the effects of sharp maneuvers. The others ran for their assigned seats…Mal knew that Wash and Kaylee, down in the Serenity, would also be strapping in as best and as fast as they could. "Wash, you may need to boost out. Be ready."
The Rrift ship was closing rapidly. John had told them that his ship, while it had a higher maximum velocity than the Rrift vessels, took longer to get up to that speed. But the Rrift ships were powered by a reaction drive. It made them faster in the short run. The Rrift ships, designed for war, were designed to reach top speed rapidly. Given time, he could outrun a Rrift ship…but the Rrift were unlikely to give him that time.
And his ship had no weapons.
"Wash? Are you and Kaylee secured?"
"Yeah. Do what you gotta do." And John punched several controls, pulling out a few extruding crystals, activating deeper elements of the ship's drive.
The Angel One jerked into motion, heading straight for the moon. Just before impact, it swerved, and only the compensators prevented the crew from being torn to shreds. As it was, they were flung about in their seats, straining against the straps. "Uh!" grunted Mal. Zoe grimaced, but made no sound.
John said nothing, though he, too, had been flung against the restraints. Privately, he hoped Kaylee was alright. She must be a very responsible individual, after all, to be selected to carry all of mankind's hopes and dreams about with her. He made a note to himself, the first chance he got, to 'comm her and make sure she and her precious cargo were still intact.
Another swerve, as he pulled up from a mountain range. The Rrift ship followed, not firing, but closing rapidly. It seemed to know its quarry had no weapons.
John thought furiously. He had to come up with something before the warship opened fire. There had to be something on his ship…
Okay. There was one thing, but it was extremely risky. The ship's space drive functioned off an electromagnetic traction field, that worked on the very fabric of space-time itself. For his plan to work, he'd have to let the Rrift ship get in very close…
He dodged over another mountain range. These lunar ranges were higher than those of planets; that would help.
The Rrift ship had made no broadcasts, no signals indicating an intruder. They clearly wanted this kill for themselves.
Closer, closer…the Rrift ship was no further than a few ship-length's behind them…and he pulled and twisted the emergency power spike.
Power from the engine flowed into the space drive. He directed it rearward, a tactic used in mining ships when they needed to move a large mass, an asteroid, that wouldn't fit into the cargo hold. The traction field gripped the Rrift ship…and pulled it along with the speeding Angel One.
Now the enemy vessel realized its danger, and his sensors showed it powering up its weapons. They hadn't done so before, evidently intending to come alongside and board…
But even with advanced Geshen technology, the laws of physics, particularly those of mass and momentum, held true. He drove the ship at top speed straight at the next mountain range.
Just before impact, he once again pulled up, the mountainside spinning in a dizzying view as the ship climbed upward, g-forces pressing them all into their seats despite the compensators, no more than a few meters from the surface of the mountain…dragging the Rrift ship with it, as if the enemy ship were on a long, invisible rope…then he shrank the drive field back to just enough to enclose his ship.
The Rrift warship slammed into the mountain at a speed even its shields couldn't protect it from. It exploded in an expanding cloud of fire and debris, some pieces even hitting the Geshen vessel's own shields. But those shields held against such undirected strikes, and the Angel One ascended into the starry sky.
John, however, held his breath…there could be more Rrift ships up here. But the sensors didn't indicate any…"Kaylee? Are you alright?"
"Y-yeah, John. I, er, we're alright. Uhm, Wash and me, I mean." She realized she was on a public 'comm channel. "Everything's fine." She held her breath, hoping he wouldn't say any more about why he was so worried. It would be…kinda awkward.
"It pleases me to hear that you are alright. My sensors do not show any other Rrift ship in the area. Do not unstrap yourselves just yet, though. Not until I am sure there is no danger." He cut the 'comm channel. "I would not want mankind's hopes and dreams to be damaged," he muttered.
"Huh?"
"Nothing, Mal." He breathed a slight sigh of relief. Mankind's hopes and dreams were safe. For now, at least. "I was merely…talking to myself, I guess."
There proved to be no more Rrift vessels in the area, which actually troubled John. Given their dedication to this invasion, there should be more. He hoped they weren't elsewhere in the 'verse.
But without any apparent danger, his original agenda of rescuing River came to the fore. "We can take the shuttle to the surface. But first…perhaps we should go over some plans."
…..
"You've. Gotta. Be. Freakin'. CRAZY!" said Jayne. "There is no way-*"
"Jayne, it is necessary. Surely you know that not all plans involve pleasant scenarios. And surely you see the necessity of this course of action."
The others were too shocked to say anything. What John was proposing…. "Mal? You are leader of this group. I can only advise. What say you?"
Mal shook his head. He knew Zoe would follow him to the grave and beyond, if she could. But the others? "Yeah, but you're talking about rescuing Reavers. In case you forgot, they're a bit of a problem for us."
"I do not suggest rescue as you mean it. But as long as the Rrift have these Reavers to experiment on, the more they will know about humanity in general. I know you, Jayne, do not believe Reavers to be human. But they are, in all essentials. What I am saying is, they must be rendered…unusable to the Rrift."
"Killed, you mean."
"I am sure they would not accept your offer of a ride. But their bodies must also be destroyed beyond recovery."
"That notion I can get behind," muttered Jayne. The entire crew knew of Jayne's feelings towards the savage Reavers.
"All right," said Mal. "You," he indicated Jayne, "are in charge of that part of the operation. Simon, you're with us. You may be needed, depending on what condition River is in. Kaylee-*"
"Kaylee must stay here." Oh, no, thought the petite engineer, nervously, he's about to spill the breasts…
"Too right. She and Wash must maintain a state of readiness. Inara…" He paused. "Can you, you think, operate the controls of John's ship?"
"She can, with help," said John, before Inara could reply.
"What sort of help?"
John went over to a small shelf with a protruding spike over it. He pulled the black crystal, twisted it, and replaced it in the slot. A drawer opened up to reveal a number of disks arrayed neatly in plastoid slots. He selected one, and handed it to Inara. "Here. Place this on your temple, on your skin."
"What is it?"
"It is…an optical adjuster. You will be able to see the spectrums of light as I perceive them. Do not be concerned; it will not harm you. Once you remove it, you will return to your original optical state."
Inara hesitated, looked at Mal, who nodded. With some reluctance, she placed the disk on her right temple.
Almost immediately, she saw the colors of the ship, that each and every one of the seemingly-black spikes were all of different colors, and the control panel had far more controls that she'd been able to see before. "Yesss…I see. But how will I know what does what?
He turned to the panel. "I will arrange the controls so that they convey a depiction of the action you wish to perform." And so saying, he pressed several previously invisible buttons, pulled and twisted some now-brightly colored spikes.
Now Inara could see, hovering in the air just above each control, the action depressing that control, pulling and twisting that spike, would produce. Here was one for locking the bay doors. Here was one for activating the drive, and another for regulating the speed. There were still some whose actions she had trouble perceiving, but she could now control and fly the ship. "Alright. I…guess I'm ready."
John equipped them with Geshen weapons, which resembled very large bore shotguns. "They produce a wave packet that is inconsistent with life," he explained. "And they are quiet. That will work to our advantage."
"Ain't satisfyin' if it don't go bang," grumbled Jayne, as he hefted the unfamiliar weapon.
"I'll try to find you an unpopped balloon."
….
John, Mal, and Simon kept to the shadows in the destroyed building. The Reavers hadn't been long on building, except for the half-constructed buildings where they designed and built their weapons, and maintained the ships they'd acquired. And the Rrift apparently hadn't taken to building very many of their own constructions yet. John peeked around a corner, sniffing the air. He tried to make a mental connection with River, but couldn't. He hoped that only meant she was beyond his detection range. Knowing the Rrift…
A party of drones came around the far corner, clacking and hissing amongst themselves. Every so often, one, of slightly higher standing, would cuff another, its sharp claws often leaving black-blooded scars. John knew the Rrift Elite frequently had the drones fight for their amusement, so he was not surprised to see that, even in what appeared to be their "off" time, they still maintained a level of viciousness. Of course. Rrift drones were virtually incapable of being anything else.
And, he saw, all of them were equipped with side arms, as well as bladed weapons of various savage-looking design. That, too, was an "of course." An unarmed Rrift? Not hardly. "Mal, Simon, get ready." And he dodged out into the hallway, throwing himself on the floor, his gun already zeroing in on the lead drone. Mal and Simon opened fire from behind the concealment of their corner.
Caught by surprise, the drones nonetheless drew their own weapons. The Geshen guns went chuff! Chuff! Chuff! As each invisible packet hit, a Rrift went down. But their own weapons—laser-sighted but also producing an invisible effect—rained among the attackers.
John, lying prone on the floor, presented a smaller target. The Rrift weapons did not throw up shrapnel when they hit, but he could feel the vibration in the air as several passed by him. He targeted the remaining drones, his gun chuffing out its deadly payload.
A numbness hit his left leg, and he threw himself to the other side, instinctively rolling out of the Rrift's zone of fire. The sole remaining Rrift drone went down underneath a flurry of shots from Mal and Simon.
Mal approached the fallen Geshen, who was sitting up, grasping his leg. "You alright?" There was no obvious sign of injury.
"Yes. I caught the edge of the weapon's packet." He rubbed the leg some more. "Unless the wavicle packets hit a major area, the damage is usually non-fatal." They both heard a slight emphasis on the word, "usually."
"Can I do anything?" asked Simon. "I mean, I don't know anything about your biology..."
"I will be fine. My kind are fast healers, anyway." He climbed to his shaky feet, using his tail to help him balance. Simon marveled at that; he hadn't suspected the tail could be used in such a manner. It usually hung suspended from the Geshen's lower back, curving before it reached the floor, but it was clearly prehensile. That's a useful feature evolution gifted them with. "But now, I have something to show you." And he limped over to one of the fallen Rrift drones.
He reached into a pouch suspended from his heatsuit, where the belt would be, had he been wearing one. Inside was a black goo. He reached his hand into it, and drew some of it forth. It formed itself into a wickedly-sharp looking blade made of some black substance. "Observe." He knelt down by the fallen drone, and, using the black-bladed knife, began to slice open its head.
The knife went in easily, far more easily than any human-designed blade would have, cleaving through the tough scales, flesh, and bone of the drone's head. He cut in an oblong around its head, then lifted the portion he'd cut off, the Rrift's black blood spilling onto the floor. "I would not let that touch you, were I you."
"Why? Is it toxic?"
"No. Just nasty."
He lifted the cap of skull completely off, and, with the blade of the knife, pointed to a small, wrinkled, dark colored mass. "That is a Rrift brain. These are only drones, so it is underdeveloped, and deliberately so. The Rrift Elite have genetically modified a portion of their population into virtually mindless killing machines." He looked up at the humans. "Those Rrift you saw in the transmission…those were the Elite. In them, the brain would be substantially larger. However…" And here he turned his attention back to fallen Rrift, "observe." And he reached in and lifted out the brain, snapping its neural connections easily. He held it up to them, turning it over, upside down.
On the underside was what appeared to be a small faceted crystal orb, less than an inch in diameter, made of some red semi-transparent substance. "This is why you cannot reason with the Rrift. This is a, a symbiote, perhaps is the best term, that all Rrift have. It functions very simply. As long as the Rrift obeys the dictates of the Elite, they receive a feeling of pleasure. Should they act in any manner the Elite would consider inconsistent with their orders, they receive a huge jolt of what I suppose you might call anxiety, perhaps depression. So you cannot reason with a Rrift; they are literally hardwired to obey."
Mal thought. "You know, if we could get some kinda handle on that…maybe we could turn it against them."
"You would not be the first to think that, Malcolm Reynolds. But unfortunately, the symbiote is semi-sentient. It knows when you are trying to control it. And it resists.
"But I felt you should know this." He got up, no longer limping. "Now…to find River. I doubt, however, that she is in this ruined building." He paused, and Mal recognized that as a sign of contemplation on the alien's part. Unpleasant contemplation. "I am almost certain she is in some far more recent and well-defended edifice. However…the Rrift presence here…may lead us to her."
…..
Light-years away: the Geshen commando squad had placed their nano-bombs precisely, just so. They wanted it to look like an accident with the programming of the nanos the Rrift were already manufacturing…that might not fool the ever-suspicious Rrift…but then again, it might.
Moving to the extraction point, they completely failed to see the faint glimmer of something neither organic nor natural watching them, steadily, from the concealment of a small, ragged bush.
Not that there was much they could have done about it if they had. But at least, they might have been warned…
To be continued…