All disclaimers apply
Ch. 13- The Pirates of Penzance
The airlock hissed open and large man in a long gray coat stalked into the bay followed by two others flanking him on either side.
"Well, Captain, took you long enough to stand down. Watcha hiding?" The man grinned widely as he extracted a cigar from his pocket, waved it in front of his nose with a flourish, then waved it at Mal. "I'm Lieutenant Trace. Nice little old cargo ship you got here. So what's on the menu for today?"
Mal stepped forward, flanked by Zoe. Jayne stood offsides, Inara near him. Mal had several hands to play here, and he had them all lined up.
"Transporting cargo today, same as usual. Mind telling what's the hurry with the pullover?"
"Oh, certainly, certainly," the man replied easily, a little too confident for Mal's taste. "We're just doing some routine checks for contraband. Oh, sorry about the 'across the bow' stuff, my pilot gets a little antsy sometimes, always thinks everyone's running for some reason." He laughed lightly and stepped forward, gesturing to the crates over to the side. Mal had had them pulled out in plain view.
"Don't mind if I take a look, now do you?" Without waiting for Mal's answer, he held his hand out for the crowbar one of his flunkies slapped into his outstretched palm. "So, where's the customs paperwork for this stuff?"
Inara stepped forward. "Right here Lieutenant." She held some official looking forms in her outstretched hands that Mal had never seen before.
Lieutenant Trace stepped up to Inara and bowed low. "A Companion." He glanced over at Mal. "I see you travel with fine company, although why she would deign to be on a cargo ship is a little beyond me." He stared back at Inara questioningly.
Inara never flinched. "I rent a shuttle from the good Captain in a business arrangement. In return, I get to broaden my client base." Mal did flinch at that, even though Inara hadn't taken clients since before the Miranda incident.
The lieutenant took the papers from Inara's proffered hand and barely glanced at them. "So am I to assume that the contents of these crates are yours?" His smile was ear to ear even as it did not reach his eyes.
"Yes, I'm transferring some older computers between training houses," she answered smoothly. "Would you care to take a look?" she challenged.
The officer handed the paperwork back to Inara and stepped back. "No, I'm sure everything is in order, and we wouldn't want to unnecessarily offend the Guild, now would we?"
He began to pace across the bay, turning suddenly on one heel to gaze back at Inara. "I wonder," he continued, "you wouldn't have happened to come across another Core citizen like yourself lately? A man of high regards in the technical community, a man who might have need of services such as yours, a Mr. Janek? David Janek?"
Inara shook her head unhesitatingly. "No, I'm sorry, that name doesn't ring a bell."
He looked over at Mal, who shrugged. "Never heard of 'im, sorry." Zoe shrugged noncommittally.
A third flunky entered the cargo bay from the cruiser and stepped up to the Lieutenant to hand him a small note. Lt. Trace scanned it and made a face. "Funny, you seem to be acquainted with more Core folk than one would normally expect for a simple Rim cargo transporter, Captain Reynolds." He glared at Mal. "Sure you've never heard of a David Janek? Maybe a company called Setec Astronomy?"
Mal had no need to fake his confusion now. "Sorry, Lt. Trace, never heard of any, what is it, See-tek Astronomy?"
The lieutenant grunted, not convinced. He glanced over at Jayne and nodded. "Hi there, how ya doin'?" Jayne grunted, stood up taller and shifted his cigar from one side of his mouth to the other.
"Yeah," said Trace. He looked back at Mal. "Well, seems like everything's in order here. You all be safe out here in the black, you never know where or when criminals could pop up and offend nice folk like yourselves." He tipped a fake, overdone salute at Mal and Zoe, turned on his heel, and sauntered out. As he passed by the deputy who had brought him the note he muttered under his breath.
"All set?"
"Yes, Sir, we got 'em."
A collective sigh was heard as Zoe walked over to the side console and punched the door shut. She placed a hand on her holster and turned to Mal.
"Want to have a little chat with our guest?"
Mal snorted. "You bet your ass I do. Jayne, go check on River and Simon, Zoe, please invite our guest down to the mess for a little chat."
A chorus of determined 'yes, Sirs' came from Jayne and Zoe as they left the cargo bay. Mal walked over to Inara.
"Thank you," he stated simply, looking her right in the eye. "I appreciate your help there." He smiled down at her.
Inara grinned saucily. "Oh, my, I do believe I won't know what to do with you with your newly acquired manners. Did you get them on sale back in that last marketplace we stopped in?" Her smile was making him dizzy. He laughed at her sarcasm.
"Listen, woman, I'm tryin'. Don't I at least get a cookie or something?"
But before he finished speaking, Inara leaned up and kissed his cheek. Mal grinned, grabbed her around the waist, and sauntered toward the mess.
"Well, that was alright for now, but I'm still gonna be wanting that cookie woman, so you better get busy in that there kitchen. Ow!" he exclaimed, her playful smack resounding off the cargo bay walls.
"You know, though," he stopped, suddenly thoughtful. "They didn't seem like legit cops."
Inara laughed. "Well, it's not like we're 'legit' cargo transporters either!"
&&&&&&&
Jayne was just about to turn the corner to where River and Simon were waiting below the roof hatch with their E.V.A. suits on when he heard his name mentioned. He hesitated, eavesdropping. He knew River wouldn't appreciate it, hell, she probably knew he was right there, but he wanted to get the lay of the land regarding Simon and just how much of a fuss he was going to put up over him and River's growing relationship.
"Look, all I'm saying is that he seems like a nice boy that you can have an intelligent conversation with, just give him a chance. There is nothing wrong with exploring your options."
"Simon, this is not a competition or a cotillion. David is a perfectly nice boy, yes. He's smart, and funny, and probably wealthy. But how can you think he's so much better than Jayne? David is a thief. Jayne works for thieves. What's the difference? Because you think Jayne's undereducated and crude?
"Jayne keeps me safe. He teaches me how to get along in the world I live in now, not a fairytale Core world that we'll never fit into again. He gives me cooking lessons, then buys me dinner. He tells me stories about his mother's garden when I'm not feeling well. He tells me silly jokes and makes me feel like a real girl, one who makes him nervous.
"David can write me an algorithm for a blinking smiley face. He can discuss large number theory and astrophysics. He is good at hiding and running. Do you really think he could handle who I can become? Jayne has seen me at my worst and yet today he wants me for himself.
"Most importantly- he listens to me. I need you to listen to me now, Simon. I want to pursue this thing, whatever it is, with Jayne. And I need you to let me." River stared into her big brother's eyes imploringly. He sighed.
"Mei-mei, I do want those things for you. To be safe and happy. And I know that you and Jayne are close. I just didn't want it to be because you didn't have the chance to meet anyone else and he was the only unattached man in your life."
"We didn't meet under the best of circumstances, Simon. But I think we have gone through enough that if we find happiness with each other, then I want you to be happy for me." She decided to soften this for her brother with a little humor. "Besides, you know I can kick his butt if he gets out of line." She smiled brilliantly at him, the smile she knew he couldn't resist. He looked serious for a moment more, then buckled.
"Such a brat. You always get whatever you want. Fine, I'll butt out, but please be careful."
"I will, but you need to remember that several times now Mal has gotten shot because Jayne was paying attention to me on a job and not him."
Simon smiled. "Hmm, I guess he has been proving himself, hasn't he?"