Chapter 4

Fight to Flight

Serenity's engine room fired to life, and the familiar roar of lift off filled the ears of all the crew aboard. A quick shunt told them the powerful turbines were rotating to provide the boost needed for a strong, quick lift off. The legs of the ship withdrew from the ground, and Serenity set off in a flurry of swirling dust clouds.

Mal looked across to River, who was concentrating on the pitch black view beyond the bridge windows. A small figurine of a triceratops sat in her lap. A ritual she had incorporated as part of her agenda for lift off. River had adapted so fittingly into her new position as the pilot, that the difference between her flying skills and Wash's were virtually indistinguishable. River looked across to Mal, and fixed him with a soul searching gaze. Her chocolate brown eyes locking on to his dull sapphire eyes.

"You miss him too." she stated.

Mal's eyebrows lifted in surprise as a smirk crossed his face.

"It goes without saying', but I miss him more so for Zoe's sake than my own. I need a clear headed second, not someone who could boil over at any moment." said Mal.

"Like me." nodded River, with a deadpan tone to her voice.

She thrusted the booster control forward forcibly, making the turbines rotate 90 degrees, so Serenity would cease lifting and continue forward. She still hadn't torn her gaze from the captain.

"Now wait a tick, I wasn't meaning… you… you know you're a shoe in for this job." exasperated Mal.

River smiled innocently, and Mal let out a horse gasp.

"Got you!" she laughed.

Mal looked off at a radar screen before staring off into the night sky. His eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Lets put this rock to our tail well and truly." he said, inclining his head. "I see you had already preset our coordinates."

River reached for the gear shift, and eased it forward. Serenity shuddered, before the noise of her engine picked up with ferocity. A brilliant pulse of yellow haze lit up the sky around them momentarily. Suddenly it was as though an invisible set of hands were pushing Serenity from behind. She lurched forward with a spurt of speed and began slicing through a multitude of misty clouds, towards the infinite stretch of darkness beyond.

"Yup. I played a game with Simon. I saw Red do it to cattle. Wrangling they called it. Then I came and set course while he was being pathetic upon the floor." River's face was expressionless, and she spoke in a nonchalant tone.

"You're still calling Jayne Red then?" said the captain.

"I think he still looks better in red." muttered River.

Meanwhile, Zoe sat motionless on her bed, staring at a single brightly coloured shirt that was hanging from a railing. She hadn't fully realized she was staring at it until she began to follow the repeated pattern of palm trees with her eyes. She reached across and yanked the shirt from the railing, in one swift movement. She held the shirt up to her face and fought off the desire to bury her face amongst the bright blue fabric. A musky faint odour wafted about her nostrils. It was the type of smell that was entrancing. It was threatening to ensnare Zoe in a plethora of memories. She gripped the shirt with every ounce of strength she could muster, and roughly threw it aside, not bothering to watch where it fell. The anger that was threatening to spill over ebbed away, instantaneously.

She wasn't sure why she hadn't disposed of this particular shirt. She disliked it even when Wash was alive, as it was impossible for him to blend in, if a situation called for camouflage and concealment. However, given Wash's untimely, and surprising death the shirt served nothing more than being a reminding nuisance. It made Zoe feel as though Wash was going to walk through the door into their quarters at any moment.

There was a sudden raucous of thumps at the door, that made Zoe jump with surprise. She got up and tore the door open. She found herself face to face with Jayne. He had a hungry look upon his face, and his eyes bore intensely into Zoe's. There was a glint of longing in his grey, blue eyes.

"Saddle up baby, papa's come to town!" he barked gruffly. He proceeded to bite down on his bottom lip.

Zoe nodded and stepped closer towards him.

"Meet you in two." she replied.

Jayne slapped hard at the gun he held lovingly to his chest.

"Vera here's been dying for a bit of action lately!" he replied. "I can't wait to grease her up nice and good." He smirked, and turned to head towards the cargo bay. There was a spring in his step, and he couldn't help but beam toothily through the corridors. Inara stepped into the corridor from her shuttle, tugging an elegant red shawl about her shoulders. She took one look at Jayne's smile, and returned one of her own glossy magenta smiles.

"Well, well… aren't we a box of kittens?" she said, as she blinked up at Jayne.

He stopped mid pace, slammed his foot down on the hard metal surface and stood up tall, fixing Inara with a boyish look.

"Kittens? I dunno about kittens Inara, but Vera's in need of some TLC." he said gruffly.

Inara folded her arms, the grin on her face remaining in place.

"Y'know… TLC. That's your domain aint it?" said Jayne, as he tilted his head.

Inara laughed, her dark curls cascading down her front.

"I doubt my kind of TLC… or tender loving care… and your kind of TLC are the same. I'm sure your definition of TLC is all about bar fights, and drunken escapades." she laughed.

"Yep… TLC, butt kicking. Same thing in my book." nodded Jayne. He gave Vera another hearty slap, bowed his head, and continued on past Inara.

"Eloquent of you." she grinned, before moving off in the opposite direction.

Jayne began booming the lyrics to a rather crude song, about pub brawls and long lost love. His voice bounced off every surface he passed, the ear covers of his orange and yellow hat from his mother bobbing about in time with his swaying.

He reached the stairwell leading into the cargo bay, and leapt down two steps at a time. He made his way towards an empty upturned crate. Evidently it was used as a chair instead of a crate, as another crate sat beside it, with a square piece of wood sitting on top of it. Jayne threw himself down upon the crate, and placed Vera down on the make shift table. He yanked a satchel out from the back of his waist band, and threw it down on the table with a loud thump.

Footsteps sounded out, and Jayne looked to Zoe who was approaching the cargo bay from the cat walk. She had her lever action rifle, and was laden with ammunition and grenades.

"Grenades! We always need grenades!" shouted Jayne.

"For once, we got 'em!" replied Zoe.

More footsteps rang out, and both Jayne and Zoe looked for the cause of the noise. Kaylee was coming down the stairwell leading from the back hall. No doubt she had just been in the engine room. Her green overalls were covered in a greasy substance, which smattered the bridge of her nose also. Simon was following her, his pristinely white top looked out of place, next to Kaylee's well worn overalls. His hands were covered in the greasy substance, and he looked appalled.

"Geeze, River sure knows how to suck the juice from Serenity." she muttered. "I don't think she's worked this hard in a good long while." Kaylee looked frustrated, but it didn't stop the familiar smile from spreading across her lips.

"Nothing you can't handle though right Kaylee?" Zoe said flashing a bright smile.

Some how Kaylee's smile broadened even more so, and she clasped her hands together in appreciation. Simon placed a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up into his beaming face. Zoe looked from Kaylee, to Simon. Her eyes lingered on Simon's hand momentarily, before she dropped her attention back to Jayne.

"Got the rag?" Zoe asked, as she dropped herself down into the upturned crate across from Jayne's and began dismantling her rifle for cleaning and maintenance. Jayne tossed her a black oily old rag, that had been white in another life.

Kaylee and Simon pulled up another couple of crates, and sat around Jayne and Zoe. Their eyes racking over the scene of countless bullets, grenades, and other dangerous looking paraphernalia.

"I never quite get used to this." said the doctor.

Jayne let out a grunt, as he dismantled Vera.

"I'd rather be the one doin' the pointin' doc, than the one bein' pointed at." Jayne said, he didn't look up from what he was doing.

A loud slap gave Simon and Kaylee a shock. They looked around to Zoe, who had evidently finished cleaning her weapon. She had reassembled her rifle, and was checking that the weapon was not loaded. She squeezed the trigger, and a hollow sounding click went off.

"Sounds perfect." she quipped. She proceeded to feed rounds into the chamber.

Suddenly a loud static sound exploded in the air around everyone, and the captain's voice filled every corner of Serenity.

"We've got company. An Alliance Cruiser has hailed us, and are requesting that we dock. We have a matter of minutes, so all of you get to the bridge now!" Mal's voice was full of an urgency, that inspired nerves and unease.

Zoe and Jayne looked directly into each other's eyes, and an understanding passed between them. They looked to Simon, who in turn looked stunned. His eyes wide with uncertainty. In a snatching fury, all the ammunition, grenades and weapons were gathered up and bundled into any pair of hands that would take them. Jayne still managing to hold Vera affectionately, amidst handfuls of ammo belts, magazines and grenades.

A raucous of footsteps echoed about, as four pairs of feet rang out urgently against a cold hard metal surface. Each pair of lungs were fit to burst, as Zoe, Jayne, Simon and Kaylee sucked in deep rasping breaths.

"What the… ruttin' hell… is an Alliance Cruiser doing… on the edge of space!" exclaimed Jayne between heavy breaths.

"I dunno, but… it can't be good news!" huffed Zoe in reply.

Within a minute they all ground to a halt in the bridge. Kaylee and Simon huddled closely together, panic stricken and nervous. Zoe and Jayne were both stoic, clutching at their weapons with enthusiasm.

"What's the plan?" said Zoe.

Mal was standing, bent over the small communicator screen. His hands were white and tense, and his brow furrowed in contemplation.

He looked down at River, who fixed him with a searching look. He looked to Zoe, his nostrils flaring from his obvious nerves.

"We hide Simon and River. The job card stays on me. All the ammunition gets stowed out of sight." Mal eyeballed them all, with a look of finality.

"But…." Simon looked apprehensively around, before his large blue eyes fixed on River. "We've been pardoned haven't we?" He looked lamely at the captain.

"So the Alliance says. But the treatment they gave Mr Universe's dwelling, and the fact that it seems like they were waiting for us has me thinkin' twice about a pardon." Mal wiped his brow, which had started to glisten with sweat.

"It's more likely the pardon was politically motivated." nodded Inara. She placed a tender hand on the back of River's chair.

Mal gave an exasperated sigh.

"They got a lot of grief over the Miranda incident, and they've got a score to settle. This aint the time or place, to be chatting about what's what. Now I've given you orders."

He threw a menacing look at each of them.

"I don't want to give them again, once those orders have been carried out get down to the cargo bay. We don't got time to spare, the cruiser will be over us any second."

Inara took River's hand, and rushed to Simon's side. Kaylee's eyes were shining, and Inara suspected she was close to tears.

"Come Kaylee, help me get them into my shuttle."

The four of them rushed to Inara's quarters. Elegant drapes hung from every inch of her shuttle, and the air was thick with sweetly scented incense. She pulled aside a large orange drape, and ushered River and Simon in behind it.

Inara gave an odd push against a metal panel in the wall. It came away, and she motioned for River and Simon to get inside.

"There's enough room for the two of you in there." said Inara.

Kaylee looked at her with a shocked expression.

"Inara, I never realised this existed. Do you assist the captain? I thought you were against his… acquiring." she smiled nervously.

"I don't use it personally, but just like Serenity, her shuttles are riddled with these panels that smugglers use. Unfortunately they won't help with reavers…" A chill ran up everybody's spines, and a shiver seemed to pass through each of them.

"It should be fine if the Alliance don't look too closely." said Inara, with a hint of anxiety. She was holding River's hand, as the younger woman was stepping into the dark enclosed space. River sank down onto the floor, pulled her knees up to her chest and looked upward.

"Oh sorry." exclaimed Inara. She reached up, and hit a small touch sensitive light. A dull shaft of light illuminated the space, and River smiled comfortably as she slumped back against the wall.

"Are you okay River?" murmured Inara, her eyes wide with concern.

"I'm fine." replied River. Her eyes were closed, and she appeared to be in a meditative state.

Simon's mouth hung open in surprise, as he had expected River to protest being stuck in an enclosed space.

"The man who loves the dinosaurs needs this." she nodded conclusively. "We'll be okay, it's just a game, like wrangling. Only it's hide and seek instead." she said.

"Doctor… it's time." said Inara quietly. His blue eyes met her dark eyes, and he nodded. The dark haired woman stepped back, to give Kaylee and Simon a moment alone.

Kaylee bent down and clutched at River's hand appreciatively. River took Kaylee's hand and squeezed it, but didn't open her eyes. Simon ran a tender hand down the side of Kaylee's face, and reached across to cup her chin with his thumb and forefinger.

"Kaylee… we'll be fine." His eyes searched Kaylee's for what felt like a lifetime, and the confidence of his words were betrayed by his uncertain gaze. Kaylee's eyes sparkled with tears, and she let out a faint groan. She placed her hands forcibly upon Simon's white collared shirt, and pulled him into a fierce kiss. Momentarily the severeness of their situation lifted, as their kiss turned into a longing embrace. Kaylee disengaged herself, and looked up into Simon's face once more.

"We'll be okay." he nodded, placing his hands upon her arms, and giving them a reassuring squeeze. He ran a gentle hand through Kaylee's straw colored hair, before he bent down, and crouched into the small space - facing his sister, who was still keeping her eyes shut tight. He placed a hand upon River's, and surveyed her briefly before looking again into Kaylee's woe-struck face. She didn't like the idea of being parted, but she understood it was for their safety. She lifted a hand in parting, and gave a half hearted smile.

"Bye…" she worded silently, faltering before she was able to finish what she truly wanted to express.

Inara stepped in beside Kaylee, and lifted the panel from the ground. Her eyes were full of concern, but she held herself tall with confidence.

"We'll come for you, as soon as we're able to. Don't leave this space until then, do you understand?" she said rather breathlessly. Both Simon and River nodded wordlessly.

Kaylee turned away quickly, though she made no effort to leave. Her face was buried in the palms of her hands. The last thing Inara saw, was Simon's pale face looking on in bewilderment to where Kaylee had been standing. She aligned the panel, and gave it a hard push, and then a jerking pull. A series of noises indicated that the panel had locked into place. It blended seamlessly with the surrounding panels, and the shard of light illuminating the run away siblings remained concealed. The orange drape fell back into place, shielding the metal wall completely from view. Anybody unfamiliar with the haven riddled walls of a Firefly, would have been none the wiser that two people were stowed away.

Inara flicked her raven curls over her shoulder impatiently, and grasped Kaylee's hand tightly.

"Come Kaylee." she murmured softly.

She began to jog, her deep red robes rippling about making soft swishing noises. A chorus of clanks and jingles vibrated out from the delicate strings of bracelets and necklaces that adorned her neck and wrists. Inara tugged Kaylee along, with a pang of guilt that she didn't have the time to console her.

There was a bone rattling shudder, and a loud metallic clicking noise as Serenity's landing gear unfurled. They were clearly docking on board of the Alliance Cruiser. A final lurch forward, and a heavy downward thrust meant Serenity had touched down. Inara placed a comforting hand on Kaylee's back, as they found themselves arriving in the cargo bay. Their eyes met, chests heaving as they struggled to dull their racing hearts. A chorus of footsteps signaled the impending arrival of the rest of the crew. Jayne came hurtling down the stairwell, followed closely by Zoe, her bushy dark hair whipping about wildly. The captain was taking up the rear, looking surly but focussed.

Jayne and Zoe came to a halt at Inara and Kaylee's sides, while Mal swept past them. He punched out at the control panel, and Serenity's ramp began lowering as her rear doors began to open ominously. He made a final mad dash to the crew, and met them all with a concerned look.

"We got one chance at this, gotta make this first impression count as a friendly one. Don't give them a reason to look any closer than they have to." His gaze lingered on Jayne momentarily, before Kaylee reached out, and put a hand on Mal's forearm. He nodded at her, and turned to face the lowering ramp. The crew raised their hands into the air. Mal chanced a glance in Jayne's direction, and Jayne put his hands in the air begrudgingly with a scowl. The captain reached into the back of the waistband of his trousers, and removed a leather satchel, containing their legal trading documents.

Serenity's crew quickly found themselves staring down the barrels of numerous weapons. A severe looking man in a perfectly pressed uniform marched dutifully up the ramp into the cargo bay. He had cold blue eyes, a bulbous nose, and at least three chins. He was quite young, and no doubt had to prove himself a worthy Alliance Officer. Jayne threw him a contemptuous look.

"Where is the Captain of this vessel!" he demanded authoritatively.

"That'd be me." replied Mal, waving the satchel of trading documents in an obvious manner.

"Him!" yelled Jayne unnecessarily, pointing a gloved hand in Mal's direction.

The captain rolled his eyes, and his lips tightened into a lopsided sneer.

The inspecting officer took one step towards Mal, his cohorts imposing their weapons menacingly upon the crew.

Suddenly many things happened at once. There was a loud BANG, and a high pitched grinding noise. The inspecting officer was thrown violently off his feet. There was a loud clatter, as all manner of weapons, equipment, and cargo hit the floor. Bodies flew uncontrollably in every direction, and hit the cold metal walls and floor with dull thuds. A high pitched siren wailed through the air, and an ear splitting voice rang out.

"We have an unregistered ship approaching fast! All personnel are required on the main deck immediately. Gunners to your stations."

Everybody had clambered to their feet, dazed, and shocked at the occurrences. The atmosphere was utter chaos, and all the noises combined to form a discordant web of confusion.

Inara clapped a hand to her mouth, her eyes were wide with fear. She locked eyes with Mal, and he rushed immediately to her side.

"Don't move! Hands where I can see them!" barked the inspecting officer.

Some of the grey clad Alliance Soldiers had already turned about, and were rushing from the cargo bay, back to the Alliance Cruiser without a backwards glance.

"Detain these people! We'll deal with them later!" he boomed, at a group of soldiers who seemed to be unsure of what they should do.

"Zoe get the ramp up!" yelled Mal, as he picked up an Alliance weapon, and pointed it at the inspecting officer.

"Get off my ship!" He boomed, hatred etched upon his face.

Another sudden jolt, even stronger than the first one shook the ship violently, and clouds of dust began unfurling from every corner of the cargo bay. Again, everybody was lifted off the ground, and thrown about like rag dolls. Serenity's lights flickered, and gave out. Yet another siren added to the din, and this time it was Serenity's warning system. The red lights, of the back up lighting system blazed into life, and illuminated the cargo bay ominously.

Zoe had plowed shoulder first into the hard surface of the floor. Warm blood oozed slowly down the side of her face. Her vision was blurry, but she pushed herself up quickly, and stumbled towards the control panel. She jabbed at the large button, and Serenity's ramp began lifting. She looked out into the hull of the Alliance Cruiser and noticed the lights had gone out on their fortress of a ship also. She understood that it was imperative that the ramp closed to prevent any access to outsiders. Zoe ran at one of the Alliance Soldiers, and kicked out at his hand, preventing him from picking up his weapon. The soldier stood up and made to strike her in the face with a fist, but she caught it and placed a well aimed kick into the side of his right knee. If it weren't for the cacophony of noise, a sickening crunch of disjointed bones would have been heard. The man folded in agony, screaming at the top of his lungs, and clutching at his mangled knee.

Another soldier read Zoe's lapse in concentration, and kicked forcefully out at her stomach. His heavy boot connected and she folded, thrown backwards off her feet, a rasping exhale of breath escaping her lungs. The man rushed at Zoe and caught her in a grapple. She was gasping for air, as she racked her fingernails at his eyes desperately. He growled in pain, but didn't relinquish his hold on her. She fingered at his pistol holster, and tore a small handgun from it, and managed to squeeze a round off into his thigh. He shuddered with shock, and abated his ferocious attacks upon her. She struck out quickly, and the butt of the handgun connected hard with his face. He toppled backwards, blood streaming from his thigh and face. He hit the ground and floundered about uselessly.

Jayne let out a war cry, as an Alliance soldier set upon him, throwing thick arms around his neck, a dagger tightly gripped in one of his fists. It looked like a particularly rowdy scuffle, as Jayne spun about trying to dislodge the soldier. Jayne threw his head back, and hit the soldier hard on the noise with the back of his head. Blood spurted from the soldier's nostrils, but he managed to press the tip of his dagger into the side of Jayne's neck. Jayne grit his teeth in pain, his eyes shut tightly as blood trickled from the wound.

"Just a ruttin' mosquito bite!" he snarled.

Jayne crouched low, and seemed to be gathering energy like a spring preparing to unfurl powerfully. The dagger clattered to the ground, and the soldier tightened his grip around Jayne's neck. It seemed as though the muscle of Serenity was momentarily overcome. Kaylee who had been crouching low to avoid the tussle, charged at the soldier, a toolbox in hand, and swung it vicously into the side of the soldier's head. Jayne seized the opportunity and charged backwards, with haste. The soldier on his back stood no chance, as Jayne collided heavily with the wall. Both men fell in a heap on the floor, Jayne grinning maliciously as he sat back up, having just sandwiched the soldier between himself and the wall.

Kaylee was staring, her mouth hanging wide open. There was another slight shudder, and she stumbled a few steps. It seemed to snap her back to reality, and she dropped the toolbox. She reached down for the dagger, and lifted it, observing the blood dripping from the tip of it's blade. There was an outbreak of footsteps, and Jayne suddenly let out a growl. He charged directly at Kaylee, she screamed in horror and took a step backwards. She bumped into something immovable behind her. Jayne towered over her, and pressed his hand in against hers, he was manipulating her hand with the dagger in it. There was an odd cushioning feel, punctuated by a sudden smooth movement that felt effortless like a hot knife cutting through butter.

Jayne was staring off over Kaylee's head, his eyes ablaze with fury, and his teeth bared in a vicious snarl. Kaylee came to her senses completely, and realized there was a person behind her. She turned her head slightly, and noticed a patch of grey colour in her periphery vision. She gasped, and released her grip on the handle of the dagger, but found that it was pointless because Jayne still had her hand enclosed in his. She made to turn around, but Jayne shook her slightly staring directly into her panic stricken eyes.

He released his hand from around hers , and the dagger fell to the floor. Jayne put a rough hand on her shoulder, and dragged her forward - preventing her from looking back. There was a heavy thump as a heavy object fell to the floor. Kaylee lifted the hand that had held the dagger to her face. It was streaked in deep crimson, that shone black beneath the red emergency lights.

Jayne stooped to Kaylee's eye level, and fixed her with a look of solidarity. He placed both hands on her shoulders, nodded, and stepped off to find Mal. The Alliance soldiers had been worked down to a considerable number, there were four men left standing, weaponless. One of whom was the inspecting officer. The three remaining men had their hands in the air, and looked resigned to their defeat. The inspecting officer was barking orders at them, but not a single man budged. Inevitably, he gave up and fixed the captain with a stubborn look.

Mal looked to Zoe, then to Jayne. Zoe and Mal had acquired Alliance guns, and were holding them at the soldiers. Jayne spotted the sling of a weapon partially concealed by debris, and tugged it up. He held it at waist height, and trained it in on the inspecting officer.

Mal, Jayne and Zoe closed ranks. Mal staring down the inspecting officer with a cold glare.

"Get out of my sight, you'll be off my ship soon enough." Mal spoke with a scintillating coldness. The sirens had long since died down, and his voice cut through the air.

"Inara, open the doors but keep the ramp up." He kept his eyes trained on their would be captors, as Inara shifted quickly towards the control panel. She looked a little worse for wear, due to her messy hair, a trickle of blood from the corner of her lips, and her torn robes.

The Alliance soldiers stumped into the small compartment, and turned to face the crew. An odd series of tapping, and scraping could be heard beyond Serenity's doors. The sound of metal on metal was unnerving, and the Alliance soldiers looked panic stricken. The doors of Serenity closed for the umpteenth time, with a loud slam.

"We gotta get the hell off this cruiser." said Mal, as he tossed the Alliance weapon aside. His eyes were down cast, and he seemed to be straining his ears for the noises beyond Serenity.

"Go and get our doc, and pilot. We'll sort this mess out later." he murmured indicating to the bodies, and debris strewn everywhere. Inara ran to Mal's side, and placed a hand upon his shoulder. She looked into his face, and noticed that Mal was determined not to meet her eye.

"What's going on Mal!" she urged, trying to pull at his shoulder to get him to face her. He was determined to get to the bridge, and strode off towards the stair well, held up only by the necessity of having to work over the top of scattered debris.