Better Left Unsaid

Author's Note: special thanks to the BrownCoats website for its excellent transcription of the various Chinese curses used in Firefly. If you like, check there for the meanings of the phrases I've borrowed.

Part Two - Boom Boom

"We are here today to acknowledge the man who made it all possible, the lone pilot who braved Reaver space to bring back this… this strange substance which doesn't have a name yet but is sure to change history… in some way--"

Wash's abstract fantasy was pierced by a familiar beep. Proximity alarm. Proximity alarm!?!

"Oh! Ta me de!" He swatted the intercom switch to ship-wide mode, "Brace for impact!"

The words were barely out before the ship was rocked by the blast. Wash was dumped from his seat, sent sprawling along with the plasticine audience for his award acceptance speech.

He hauled himself up on the console and back into his chair as Mal came staggering into the cockpit.

"What sorta low-down filthy hwun dan fires on folk with no kind of parley?" Mal growled furiously.

"Well, they may have fired first, but they do want to parley, captain. Look."

Wash gestured to an intermittent light on his console. Mal stood behind Wash's shoulder, scowling darkly at the screen, nodding the go-ahead.

The face that appeared before them was an ugly one, but unfortunately not familiar. Mal cursed silently - he would have preferred to be hit up by one of his many old enemies, someone he had a handle on. Better the devil you know. He took a deep breath and set his flinty expression.

"Well, now. Whaddy'a go and do a thing like that fer? Seems a mite unfriendly to singe my wings without so much as a howdy."

"I do apologise," the other man replied with a nasty grin and an accent to match Mal's, "Howdy. My name is Kingston Kennedy and I'll be your middle-man for this transaction."

"What transaction would this be?"

"Why, the sale of everything on your vessel to the good people of New Judea."

A disdainful snort issued from the doorway. Mal turned to see Book stepping in with an unusually grim look about him. To his surprise the preacher ignored Mal's questioning grunt and stepped right up to the screen.

"The people of New Judea are nothing more than thieves and hypocrites!" Book hissed at the man.

"Jealousy don't become you, preacher. You've lost your flock to a better faith, and now it looks like you're about to lose your ship too. But don't be a sore loser, huh. Remember the Good Word: forgiveness is Divine."

The screen went black and the Proximity Alarm began to whine again. Wash reached for in the intercom to issue a warning but the blast hit first, sending him reeling. He felt a sickening thud as his head hit the console, and then nothing.

- - - - - - - - - -

Another thud woke him.

"OW!" he shrieked and brought his hands up to defend his head, which was being repeatedly clobbered by what seemed to be a ventilation duct.

"What the hell--?" He pushed at the duct and drifted backwards himself. Looking down he saw the console below him, and his own feet dangling uselessly. He banged his elbow painfully on another section of pipe before he realised he was on the ceiling.

"Gorram gravity's out!" he exclaimed, fending off a floating piece of sheet-metal from the inner-hull, "Captain? Preacher?"

A groan issued from just through the hatch. Wash manoeuvred round with difficulty to see the preacher's legs sticking through the top of the hatch, the rest of him pinned by the half-closed door. Cursing, Wash grabbed a line of cable which ran from floor to ceiling and pulled himself down to reach the door-release. The button did nothing. Instead he braced his back and feet in the gap below Book's body and pushed hard. The door inched open and the preacher floated freely.

"Da-shiang bao-tza shr duh lah doo-tze!" Mal cried from the other side of the cockpit as he was jolted awake by a whack in the face. He focused his blurry vision on the object and seized it: Book's leather-bound bible. "I've heard o' Bible-bashin' but this is goin' too far!"

Mal righted himself against the co-pilot's console and looked up at Wash and Book drifting above him.

"Wash, get down here and see if this intercom's still working. Find out where Kaylie's at and take stock of the damage. Who knows what other systems are out… maybe life-support. I'll get the preacher to the Infirmary." He pushed off lightly and was soon floating next to Book, taking hold of him by the back of the shirt.

"Hope our friends out there don't decide to make a second pass just now," Wash grumbled, "We're in no position to mount a defence. At least Book knows 'em though."

"Knows how to aggravate 'em is what he does! Be having some choice words with our spiritual friend when he wakes up, but fer now let's just get ourselves on the floor again and seein' to the injured."

- - - - - - - - - -

End of Part Two