Firefly: The Geshen Wars: The Rrift
Chapter 12: Enemy Territory
…..
I could have sworn I posted some of this material before. If not, then so be it, but if I did, here it is, again!
I don't own any of the rights to any of these characters, with, of course, the exception of "John Smith." And I don't really own him. I suspect he owns me.
…
Chapter 12: Enemy Territory
It took a long time, with the Rrift drone looking on with its unreadable alien expression. John had to constantly vary his own theta levels, his own brainwave patterns, adjusting them to match the missing segment in River's own mental landscape. In a sense, he was functioning as a living, external prosthesis for her mental functions. But in this, he had no established guidelines. He was essentially "flying blind."
But finally, the person they'd come to know since her reunion with John, the person Simon remembered from before, swam back into her eyes. "You are back," said John, in his own hissing, alien version of English.
"Yes…thank you, John." He set her down on a wooden box, after making sure it would hold her weight. She looked up at the others. "It seems I stepped out, again."
"Mal," said John, "could I have…a word with you?" And Mal read the words he didn't say: "In private?"
"This," he glanced around, "looks like about as private as we got. We can step over here…" He indicated a corner in the shell of the building where they were.
They walked over, more of a psychological move than a truly physically effective one would be. "Mal, it's getting worse. What the Academy did to River...it's getting worse. I can only do so much."
Mal thought. He knew what the Geshen was saying. Right now, the only thing keeping River, well, River, was his mental buttressing. And that was beginning to lose its effectiveness. "So what do you think we oughtta do?"
"We have to get her to my people. I don't know if they can, can, help her or not, but it's the only thing I can think of to do. Either that, or she goes back to being...the way she was."
"You know…" Mal ventured, "You've never told us how you met River. How did you find out you could help her?"
John sighed, a peculiar hissing sound that had to be something he'd picked up from his human allies. He glanced at the others. There was really no keeping any secret here; they were too close, both physically and psychologically. He glanced at River, who nodded. Go ahead, John. Tell them. "Very well. I...as I told you, I was captured by the Alliance forces. They kept me prisoner at the same place as River, at the Academy. I'm not completely sure why; perhaps they planned a dissection at some point. It doesn't matter.
"Anyway...during my captivity, I became very hungry. They really had no idea as to what my dietary requirements were, and I could not tell them. I was starving. You may have noticed that I take my meals alone, from the rest of you."
"I'd noticed. Actually, it'd be kinda strange if you did eat the same as us. And I'm not gonna ask about what the difference is. I get the impression it's something I'd rather not know."
"Thank you, and yes, it is. Anyway," he glanced back at River, who again nodded supportingly. Simon moved over to her, sensing her strong emotions. "There I was, curled up on the floor, dying of malnutrition. Certain vitamins, nutrients... Anyway, the door opened and River was...escorted, shall we say...into my holding cell."
"They threw River into your cell? Why?"
"I have no idea. Surely they did not expect me eat her! But I don't know. But, anyway, she stood there a moment, then came over and lay down next to me. And went to sleep."
Mal's face registered shock, an expression mirrored by Simon, Jayne, and even stoic Zoe. "She...curled up next to...you…" And John see what he didn't say: an alien monster-"and just...went to sleep? Just like that?" He looked at River for confirmation. She nodded. "But how did…?"
"I...I don't know how, but I sensed her need. Her mind...very unstable, unbalanced. In trying to communicate with her—I did not yet know your language—I used my abilities. And I found I could...patch her mind together. Or perhaps, tie it together? I know of no other way to describe it. I shaped my mental patterns to match those that were missing in hers. The result…" He gestured to River, "The result you see.
"But that was not all. The Alliance scientists, needless to say, found out about these abilities of mine, and determined to exploit them. Considering the obvious advantage," and here, he nodded to River, who hadn't moved, "I suppose I can follow their logic. So...a small portion of what they took from River-a part of her brain-was implanted into me, in an attempt to better understand and control my powers."
More shock. Simon was the first to speak up. "You mean...you've got a part of River's brain in your skull?"
"Yes, Simon Tam. That furthers the bond between us, as I'm sure you can understand.
"There seem to be an awful lot of things in your brain, John."
"Yes, Mal. I only wish it included answers."
…
Not far away, a Rrift surgeon very carefully lifted off the top of the skull of the captive human. The human was, of course, still awake during this procedure; he had been immobilized while the incisions were being made. No anesthetic was employed in the procedure, as it had been determined that such might endanger the life of the subject due to their lack of understanding of the human physique, so therefore he had been injected with massive doses of steroids to prevent him from going into shock from the pain. The surgeon swung a magnifying lens over the area in question while the human twisted and writhed in agony.
There. Implant the nexus there, the relay next to it, and connect them both to the sequencer. Now for the uplink module…
….
On board the Angel One: Inara was spellbound by the lights of the console in front of which she was stationed. They were all so...fascinating. And to understand, to just know, what each one was for, was...well, it was amazing.
Ping! The detector, in passive mode, registered the hit of a Rrift active sensor. That wasn't unusual; the paranoid Rrift had filled nearby space with hyperdar signals. All of them were linked in an ever-changing formulaic pattern so as prevent false positives as registering.
But one ping! was followed by another, and yet another. "Signal Mal," she said, to Kaylee down in the Serenity.
"It looks like we may have to move, shortly."
Mal relayed Inara's message to the others. "We've gotta make it back to the Angel." He turned to the Rrift. "Don't suppose you have any bright ideas?" he asked sarcastically.
"Set off a number of explosions a distance of five of your kilometers away from where you wish to be picked up, with each one increasingly closer to your current location. Then have your shuttle come in from fifteen degrees to either side of the exact opposite direction." It paused a moment, while the others, including John, watched, mouths practically agape. "At least," it said, after a brief moment, "that is what my group did two quahrons ago, except we came in from the direction of the explosions. It was meant to be a clearing-out move."
"I still can't get over how you're just...well, just selling out your own species."
The drone looked at them uncomprehendingly. "I am neither accepting nor being offered any remuneration for my efforts."
"You know what I-on second thought," he thought, running a hand over his face, "let's just drop it. I'm getting one of those headaches, again."
…..
The sleek Ge'shen scouting craft entered the human star system with all sensors already on the alert, stealth mode fully active. The captain knew there'd been reliable reports of Rrift activity in this system, and he was taking no chances. If the Rrift were here at all, they were here in force. That was the Rrift mentality.
His ship and crew were considered expendable, but the information he accumulated was not, hence the live feed back to the Ge'shen High Command.
If there were Rrift here, he would find them.
But the Rrift were not the only reason they were here, nor the main one.
….
"We haven't got anywhere near that many explosives in the Serenity," said Mal, wearily. "It's not like we're a military vessel or anything. And I don't think we could jury-rig anything, not in the length of time we have."
"You must make do," said the drone. "It is the only way I know."
"John? Anything on the Angel we could switch around?"
But John was shaking his head. "I can't think of anything, Mal. It is as you say, mine is not a military vessel. What few devices I have that could prove of value in such a situation are not capable of making a full-scale assault."
The drone made a sound. It wasn't exactly a clearing of its throat, but it caused them to look around. "Logically, if you do not have and cannot make such explosive devices, then you must steal them."
John nodded. "That is logical." His gaze didn't leave the drone. "Though I must confess to extreme curiosity as to why you are doing this."
The drone made gesture they all had come to recognize as a shrug. "If I knew, I would tell you. I have held nothing back."
"Can and will you tell us of a place where there are such bombs as are portable," Mal had learned that the drone seemed to take everything literally. It was almost like passive-aggressive behavior in a human. But who could say with an alien psyche? After all, the Rrift hadn't had to say anything.
"I can and I will."
"Are they far away?"
"No. On any of the worlds we hold, no weapon is ever very far away from our reach."
"Very good." He turned to Zoe. "Untie it. But not the hands or tail."
"What?" said Jayne. "You've lost it, man!"
"You can't be serious, Mal," said John, almost in a state of shock, as were the rest of them. "This is a human joke, correct?"
"Incorrect. We can't keep on dragging it around wherever we go. Tied like that, it can't be of much danger to us, surely."
"Mal! You do not know what you are doing!"
Mal turned to the drone. "You've been straight with us so far. Will you stay so helpful if we untie you that far?"
"Yes."
"Mal-" John was clearly having to fight with himself. "Something is wrong with you." He stared, momentarily, into Mal's eyes. Mal felt something tickle the back of his mind. "But...it is not exerting its powers on you. I...do not understand why you are doing this."
Mal turned to John. "John...I don't mean this to sound harsh, but you are displaying signs of what we humans call prejudice. Now, maybe you're right," he said, just as John opened his mouth to respond, "and maybe I'm lettin' myself in for a ton of 'I told you so's' later on-providing we live-but this is simply a matter of a command decision. We can't keep on dragging Geronimo around like this. It keeps us down, weighs down on our own manpower. And I'm not willing to just kill it, not," he turned a cold gaze at the drone, who looked on, impassively, "at this time. But," and here he turned to the drone, who took no visible notice of understanding the implied threat. "Alright," said Mal. He got on his communicator. "Kaylee? You there?"
"Right here, Mal. What'cha needin'?" Mal couldn't help but smile. Even being trapped on an alien world full of killers couldn't dampen her spirits.
"We're gonna try something. Be ready with the Serenity. We'll have to use it as a shuttle. Our other one got...repo'd, I guess you'd say."
"Funny you should mention having to move. Inara says we've been gettin' too many pings on the hyperdar scans. I think we're made. Or close to it."
"All the more reason to hurry." He turned to the drone. "Where are these bombs of yours?"
….
Far out in space, the Ge'shen scout ship had also picked up the steady stream of pings from the Rrift hyperdar system. Hm, thought the captain. It seems they've located prey. He turned to his lieutenant, "Azwall, prepare the microdrones. Launch at your will."
"Aye, sire." There was a series of vibrations as the pods were ejected from the ship. A short range away, each pod would split into dozens of smaller pods, which would then follow the Rrift hyperdar signals back to the ships and ground and orbital stations where they originated. They would then attach themselves to whatever was emitting those signals, emit a brief location ping….
...and explode with the force of the tiny antimatter charge inside them. In the ensuing commotion, the Ge'shen scout would gather as much information as it could about Rrift strengths and concentrations, and…
...about one other thing, something that was on everyone's mind.
The Crystal.
There was good evidence that the Crystal, or a shard thereof, had been spotted within this system. If so, the system was ultimately doomed. However, if the Rrift could be weakened, and exposed, made vulnerable…
...then it was hoped the Crystal, being the apex predator it was, would fall upon them first, allowing the Ge'shen time to prepare.
Prepare for the evacuation of this entire solar system, as best as they could.
To be continued…