Joss is Boss
"That really wasn't very nice."
Another tense silence followed, thick with shock both at River's action and at Nova's response. The two girls in question stared eye to eye, neither blinking. As the silence stretched and stretched like hot mozzarella, everyone wondering who would speak or act first, a loud, raucous buzzing noise blasted through the ship, causing everyone to leap half out of their skins. Wash was the first to move, heading for the bridge, Mal close behind him. As Zoë turned to follow them, Taban leaned across the table and caught her arm.
"What is that?" she half shouted, trying to be heard above the awful noise.
"Proximity alarm," Zoë yelled back, before heading off to the bridge.
"What do we got?" she asked, all business as she arrived, just in time to see Wash kill the racket. He glanced at her reflection in the big window before him.
"Alliance," he replied evenly, causing Mal to curse. "Gonna be waving us anytime soon. Full fed patrol by the looks of things. Wonder why they're so far out…" he trailed off, inspecting the monitors closely to find out all the stats he could about their imminent visitors. Mal turned to Zoë.
"Go get them hid, I'll take the wave."
She nodded once and left the bridge, hurrying back to the kitchen area. As she strode into the tiny room, everyone who'd remained there looked at her expectantly, excluding River, who excitedly murmured about playing hide and seek and gripped Kaylee's hand.
"Alliance." Zoë informed them abruptly, eliciting panicked reactions not only from the members of Serenity's crew, but the five newcomers as well. Cursing, they drew into a huddle, conversing quickly and urgently in low tones. After a moment, they seemed to agree on something, and pulled out of the huddle, striding from the tiny room and marching – all five of them – onto the bridge, where Wash and Mal were occupied by the huge Alliance craft hovering just outside their windows, dwarfing the firefly. Nova reached out and tapped Mal on the shoulder, taking a deep breath as he turned to face her.
"Captain Reynolds," she said. "We need to ask a favour."
They gathered around the engine, peering at the floor underneath it as Kaylee pulled or pushed some obscure part that no one would have otherwise noticed. A panel, directly under the main part of the engine, slid back, revealing a smallish hole in the panelling.
"Ain't no one gonna fit in there!" she cried in dismay as she, too bent to the floor to inspect it. "I thought it were bigger than that!"
"River might," Zoë observed. "You happy to hide in there, little one?" she asked, turning to face the teen, who nodded happily and began to kneel.
"I really think…." Simon began, but was cut off by his sibling, who was already on her back, starting to slide under the engine.
"She'll be fine, silly."
"But isn't it dangerous?" he protested, choosing to ignore the clear two feet between the underside of the engine and his sister. She gave him her patented "brat look" as he called it.
"Go and hide Simon." She ordered him, just before dropping out of sight into the hole.
"You OK in there, mei-mei?" Mal called in. the disembodied reply floated back to him.
"She's perfectly comfortable. The engine will talk to her and keep her company."
Mal nodded, as though trying to prove to himself he understood.
"That's…good. We're gonna close it up now, darlin'" he informed her, and nodded to Kaylee, who once more fiddled with the half hidden engine part, making the panel close flush to the floor and unseen.
Wash's voice made them all jump once more, calling through the intercom for Mal to come and answer the alliance's wave. Leaving his crew to hide Simon and the other girls, he left the engine room. Inara offered the first suggestion.
"There's room for one in my shuttle," she offered. "But not if they're very tall, and it's quite hard to stay there."
"I'm the shortest," Taariq offered. "I guess it'll be me hiding there." She followed the companion, glancing once back at her friends.
"Room in my bunk for one maybe, though you'd have to squidge up real small." Jayne volunteered, surprising most of those present.
"Kaige, you can fit in freakishly small spaces, you better go," Nova decided, ignoring Kaige's look of protest at having to accompany Jayne.
"What about the rest of us?" Ebony asked, looking primarily to Zoë for an answer. "This is a smuggling ship, right?"
"What about the new mule?" Book offered. "Two people could fit under the tarpaulin easily, and it's unlikely that the feds will take the trouble to have it lowered back in to the cargo bay."
Zoë nodded.
"Could be that's true. You and Kaylee, lower it down, and Kaylee, make sure those bags and coats are in that compartment. The one by the stairs, dong ma?"
Kaylee nodded and ran off to the cargo bay, Book hard on her heels. "Doc," Zoë continued, "reckon the mule's the best place for you. We're fast runnin' out of places where people can breathe, and the mule'll be easiest for you to get out of, if anythin' should happen."
Simon nodded, a little less than thrilled at spending time suspended thirty feet above the cargo bay. Zoë turned to the remaining three girls.
"We can fit one more under the tarp."
"Me please," Taban offered immediately. "Hiding in walls makes me not happy. Tarpaulins are cool 'coz they move easily."
Zoë nodded again.
"Go," she told them. "Now." She then took a very deep breath and turned to Nova and Ebony. "We got room for one more."
Nova didn't hesitate.
"Go hide," she told her friend. "I'll be fine."
"Are you sure?" the younger girl asked.
"Sure." Nova replied, and then grinned wickedly. "Trust me, I'm pretty." Ebony smiled back and the two hugged. Nova pushed her away again. "Get gone. Umm, Zoë? Where are the crew bunks?"
A/N: thanks to the dude who reviewed me. hope you enjoy the rest.