DR: Welcome back everyone! I know you are all eager for more story, so I'm not going to keep you...
Chapter 8: Old & New Faces
Inara smiled as she slowly browsed through a selection of dresses. The years enforced stay on Zi had shown her a whole new world – several, in fact, when you factored in the Colonials – to dress and style. It had been quite an eye opener.
The fashions on Zi had tended towards bright, sometimes garish colours, bold lines and quite a bit of exposed skin. Understandable, given that the bulk of the world was a dry dusty plain. Even the greener, sub-polar regions had been warm, if not down right hot. It was also a product of ancient Japanese Pop culture, which had had a strong influence on the human colonists.
The Colonials had gone the other way, with more utilitarian clothing and relatively dull colours. Again understandable, given their recent history. But they also had flowing, loose clothing generally wore in robes on the men and long dresses for the ladies. Bare shoulders and arms had also been common, but everything below the collar bone was covered.
Now that she was back, Inara was actually slightly disappointed that things hadn't changed much, if at all, while she had been gone. The dresses on the rack before her were almost identical to those that had been here the last time she had visited. And that had been nearly fifteen months ago, a lifetime in fashion.
"Inara." Her hands froze, letting the dress she had been looking at slide back into its place. She had never expected to hear his voice again.
She took a deep breath to compose herself. "Hello Atherton."
"My my, so formal." He drawled as she turned to face him. He was still as attractive to look at as he had before... physically, anyway. Inara however knew the man underneath the finely cut Indian style suit. There was nothing attractive about him now.
"What are you doing here?" She asked, ignoring his words. She used her eyes to indicate the racks of woman's clothes that surrounded them. "Shopping for your latest mistress?"
"We both know that's not true, don't we Inara?" He said calmly, but there was an icy hint to his tone. "And we both know the cause..."
As he tilted his head, the light played across his cheek, and Inara could have swore she saw a faint depression, a line, running down his cheek from just below the eye nearly to his jaw. A small smile formed on her lips. "How's the shoulder Atherton? I know that that blade Mal threw had to have hurt."
A tightening of his jaw was all the reaction Atherton showed to her barbed question. After a few moments to compose himself, he spoke to her quite calmly. "My offer is still open Inara. You would be wise to take it, while you still can."
Inara felt a chill run down her spine, but refused to let it show on her face. "What are you talking about?"
"Have you forgotten so readily? You can still have a life, a true home, here on Persephone, by my side."
Inara couldn't help it; she rolled her eyes in exasperation. "No thanks Atherton. In case you didn't know, I've retired from being a Companion. You can't buy my company any more."
A slight smile appeared at the corner of Atherton's mouth. "Maybe not with money, but there are other ways..." He trailed off.
Inara was really worried now. "You wouldn't dare..."
"Dare... what, Inara?" Atherton looked at her smugly. "I'll be in touch." And with that he turned and walked away, leaving Inara with a chunk of ice in her gut.
X-X-X-X-X-X
Boomer watched impassively as Mal took a couple more steps forward, putting him self in the centre of the, room, for lack of a better word. This fellow Badger meanwhile was feeling his way into the chair behind his desk, his eyes never leaving Mal.
Having been filled on their last meeting with him by Zoe, Boomer found himself unmoved by the fences panicked look.
"Reynolds... how the... I mean, this a surprise! Er... where've you been?"
"Had a little unexpected side trip." Was Mal's simple, and short, answer. Boomer watched as Badger's eyes flickered to both himself and Starbuck, the question in his eyes clear.
"Of more concern to me..." Mal continued, drawing Badgers attention back to himself. "..Is the Alliance Cruiser that was waiting for us when we got back. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"
Badger nervously swallowed. "Malcolm... I didn't... I would never..."
"Set us up?" Mal cut him off harshly, taking another step forwards. Badger began to cower in his seat. Boomer frowned, but stayed silent. This was Mal's world, and he knew the place. Boomer just hoped he knew what he was doing.
"Look Malcolm... I was trapped! They nearly got me before you made that broadcast." Boomer noticed Zoe blanch at bit at mention of that. While he hadn't been told the full story, Boomer had picked enough to know that that period was full of dark days for the crew of Serenity.
"The Alliance wanted your head Reynolds, but they had trouble tracking you. So they needed you to go somewhere they had picked out. I was forced to direct you there! I had no choice!"
"Really? I find that hard to believe..." Mal commented.
"I'm serious Reynolds! They left a man behind after the second visit, to ensure that I sent you off. If I hadn't, I be dead! I tried to warn ya..."
"That's the only reason that you're still breathing, dong ma?" Badger seemed to wilt at Mal's words.
Out of the corner of his eye, Boomer caught Starbuck shifting uncomfortably, matching how he felt within. This was an altogether darker Mal than the one they knew.
For a long, uncomfortable moment nobody spoke. Mal stood there, staring down at Badger, who looked fearfully back. The air was rife with tension as the silence dragged on. Boomer found himself tensing up, his hand itching towards his laser, just in case...
At last Mal sighed, and a lot of the tension faded. His pose relaxed a little as he addressed Badger again. "Okay, now that that's been dealt with, mind telling what is up with things outside?"
Not everyone however was pleased that Mal had changed tracks.
"Er, Mal? What are you doing? Ain't we going to fill this gorram dirt bag full of holes for turning us in?" Jayne spoke up, half snarling.
Mal didn't bother answering. He just looked sharply at the big merc. Jayne visibly backed down.
Badger, in the meantime, clearly had realised that Mal wasn't going to kill him, and relaxed a bit. "Thins have gotten even worse while you were gone Mal." He spoke in a world-weary voice once Mal faced him once more. "The Government has been cracking down even harder on us, even my legit businesses. Trade between the planets is almost totally controlled by them now, and there are even more inspections than ever. You can barely move about these days without having to explain yourself. Only the rich can move freely, while those on the bottom just get squashed."
As Badger went on about how things had gone from bad to worse, Boomer exchanged another look with Starbuck. Things were worse than they had thought. From the expressions on Zoe and Mal's faces, even they were startled at how bad had gotten since they'd been here, though Mal didn't look surprised at the actual actions of the regime.
"So...I take it there's no work for us?" Mal asked when Badger stopped for a moment. The fence frowned.
"Not really, though I have heard that Warwick Harrow is looking to move some cargo off world again. Still won't deal with me..."
"Wonder why." Mal cut in, a ghost of a smile on his face. Badger blanched, but didn't rise to the bait as Jayne chuckled.
"...but he did comment if you were available, then he'd be willing to deal with you." Badger actually smirked. "I guess he realised your just like him, with one heck of a stick up your pee-goo."
'That required no translation.' Boomer thought to himself.
Mal however seemed to ignore the insult. "I assume you know how to set up a meet?"
Badger nodded. "His messenger left a contact number to let him know if you're around or not. Guess he'll take it from there." He passed a little slip of paper across to Mal, who pocketed the note with ease born of practice.
"Well then. I guess our business is done." Mal turned and began to work out. Just before he stepped out however, he paused, and looked back over his shoulder at Badger, smirking.
"I told you the wheel never stops turning Badger." He commented. Badger's reply was simply a scowl.
X-X-X-X-X-X
As they returned to Serenity, Miranda kept on glancing at Inara, wondering what was up. It was clear to her that, despite the facade that she was putting up, there was something deeply worrying the older woman. Something had happened in the last shop to put a big damper on her mood. She had tried to draw her out, but so far Inara hadn't even hinted at what was bothering her.
To tell the truth, Miranda herself was a little disturbed herself. The buildings here were built practically on top of one another, and they towered high into the air, giving the narrow streets a closed in feeling. On top of that, those same streets were densely packed with people, and personal space was practically non-existent. Several times she had nearly been lost in the crowd: It was only because Inara came back for her that they were able to stay together. For Miranda, having grown up on Zi, with its wide open spaces and broad streets, it was like being suffocated.
It wasn't that thought which was disturbing her though. Watching the locals, she'd seen small groups of people being ordered about by overweight, pompous men and self obsessed, vain women. Men in black uniforms had made their way through the masses, curses flying whenever someone was not quick enough to step aside. On the edges, in the nooks and tiny alleys, there had been bedraggled people cowering, clearly the homeless. Inara had seen them too, and an expression of sorrow had crossed her face each time.
There had also been those in those alleys that Miranda just knew were dangerous, and she had kept as much distance between them and herself as she could. The hungry look in their eyes as they watched people walk by could not be hidden. It only strengthened when they watched Inara, though it seems her past as a Companion – and she still dressed for the part, even if she had quit – kept them at bay.
The most scary group however had been a small knot of soldiers, dressed in dark purple uniforms and body armour, fully armed and glaring at everyone suspiciously.
Miranda got the distinct feeling that she was seeing just the tip of the iceberg that was the dark underbelly of this system's supposedly utopian society.
Returning to the docks, Miranda was able to breathe a little easier as the dense pack of humanity eased up. Approaching the ships, Miranda was surprised to see a finely dressed man speaking to Mal on the boarding ramp. Mal listened for a bit, before nodding slowly and saying a few words. The other man nodded, before handing across a pair of modest sized cards. He then turned and walked away, melting back into the thin crowds.
"Anything of interest Mal?" Inara asked once they were close enough. Mal turned to look at them, a small smile forming on his face as he looked at her.
"Depends. You remember Warwick Harrow?"
Inara stiffened slightly before replying. "Of course."
Mal nodded slowly. Clearly he'd also caught her initial reaction. "Well, he wants to meet. Another shindig tonight, and he's sent us invites."
"Really?" In response to Inara's surprised tone, Mal produced the cards he'd been given and handed them to Inara. As she looked at them, Miranda leaned a bit closer to see for herself.
The stout cards were written on in gold filigree, and there was a decorative boarder done in the same. One was addressed to Mal, the other blank. Of note however was the invites were for the named person 'plus one'.
"Who's going Mal?" Inara asked carefully.
Mal put on a show of thinking about it. "Well, me certainly... Kaylee can't this time, she's minding Kyle for Zoe. Besides, I doubt she'd go without Simon... Zoe and Wash are watching those two hotshots' backs...hmmm..." He smirked at Inara. "Care to grace my arm Inara?"
Inara smiled warmly. "Will you wash it first?" Mal just smiled in reply, clearly sharing with her some private joke.
Miranda gave them a moment, but then couldn't contain herself anymore. "What about the other one?" he asked, trying to hide her excitement.
Mal faced her, a playful light in his eye. "Well, I suppose Jayne and River could use it... though I can't see either of them fitting in..."
"You don't fit into that world either Mal." Inara reminded him gently. "But I agree with you. River is better, but she still needs some time. And as for Jayne..." Inara concluded her sentence with an eye-roll.
"My thoughts exactly. And apart from them... oh! I'm sorry, did you want to go?" Mal directed the last to Miranda, who just glared at him in reply.
"She'll still need an escort Mal." Inara threw in, drawn into the light teasing of the young woman. From the look in her eyes, Miranda could see that Inara had already picked out the right person, and that realisation swept away any anger she had.
X-X-X-X-X-X
A short time later, a second Colonial shuttle settled down besides Serenity, this time on her other side. It was there only briefly, just long enough for a young man to step clear, before it lifted off and headed back into the sky.
Mal met the raven haired youth at Serenity's airlock. "Nice of you to drop in Vega." He smirked.
Vega flushed a little. "Well, Miranda said it was important."
Mal chuckled. "Oh it is. Very important." They both walked under the gantries and stepped into the lower living area. "She did say what was so important, right?"
"No, actually." Vega frowned. "What's going on captain?"
Mal chuckled again at the rising note of suspicion in the young mans voice. "Oh, nothing. Just that young Mir' needs an escort for a ball."
Vega froze at the base of the steps that led up around the back of the medical bay, and came out on the rear corridor of Serenity's upper deck. His face was a mask of astonishment. He didn't notice Mal continue to climb up the steps.
"A... ball?" He repeated quietly.
X-X-X-X-X-X
Miranda herself sat before the small dresser in Inara's shuttle, a bundle of nerves coiling in her gut. Was this going too far, too fast? Things as they were between herself and Vega were nice and comfortable, but she had found the separation over the last few days rather disturbing. Used to seeing him every day, his sudden absence ached within her. She was smart enough to know that she had leapt onto this ball as a way of seeing him again, but was it too much?
Across the main cabin, Inara was getting ready herself, covertly watching the nervous young woman as she did. She could sympathise with her; Inara recalled all too clearly those early days at the training house, expecting Mal to step around the corner at any moment with some jab at a Companion's lifestyle on his lips.
She smiled at the nervous way Miranda was playing with her hands, fiddling with the elbow length gloves she was wearing. They were part of the ensemble that was a new dress she had bought while they had been out earlier, just in case of an occasion like this. In truth Miranda had not been going to buy it, but when Inara learned that she had never owned a dress in her life, she had put her foot down and made her buy it.
The dress itself was a bit outside the norm for upper class Persephone, which tended to gravitate towards fashions from sixteenth to eighteenth century Earth-That-Was periods. However, Inara was impressed with the craftsmanship. Looking at it, one would think it was composed of multiple items layered on top of each other, but in reality it was just two, plus a belt.
The first was a double buttoned deep maroon dress shirt, made from a light, airy material and with a high neck. Over this went the dress itself, a complex layering of material. The lower section had a stepped hem, with three layers of separate cloth. The inner layers hem was angled in the opposite direction to the other two. The middle layer was woven of the coarsest, heaviest material, to give some weight to the skirt and prevent it flying up. The other two layers were fine, light and silky to the touch. All three were joined at the waist. From there, more of the outer layer ran up Miranda's sides to attach to the upper half of the dress under her arms. The 'jacket' section was sleeveless, with a deep russet band that ran along the edges, running over her shoulders to join at the back of her waist, and down her front to the clasp located at the bottom of her ribcage, before flaring out again down around her hips before meeting again at the back of her knees. Some small ruffles, a slightly darker shade of red than the regal red of the body of the dress, just covered her shoulders, while the sleeves of the dress shirt were brought back up her arms from the elbow to be attached to the underside of them. Finally, a broad black belt band ran around her waist, clasped at the front with a large bronze decorative cover.
This complex arrangement of cloth allowed for Miranda to wear the dress with or without the shirt, though it would be very daring if she did. The top half only came together with that single clasp. If she didn't wear the shirt her whole spine would be bare, thanks to that low cut back, while round the front a large V cleft of chest, plus a modest diamond of her stomach, would be exposed. Such an amount of exposed skin would fit in fine back on Zi, but here it would scandalous. On Persephone, at least.
Inara stepped over behind her, Miranda's action stopping as she looked up at her through the mirror. Her elbow length hair was now sculptured on top of her head, though a couple of curls had artfully 'escaped' to frame her face.
"You look stunning dear. I'm sure Vega will approve."
Miranda flushed bright red at the praise. She had never really experimented with the wide range of beauty products before; she had never seen a need to.
Inara however knew all about how to use such items. "Just one or two little touches more, and you'll be perfect."
DR: I wounder how many of the readers will notice the little nods I'm putting in...
Hermione: If they're observent, they will.
Kosh: The truth points to itself.
Harry: (looks at kosh strangely)...anyone understand what that means? (Turns to look at Hermione under his arm) Love?
Hermione: (confused look)went right by me...
DR: You'll have to excuse Kosh. He's never given a straight answer to anybody. Not even me, the owner of this place! (turns back to readers) Anyway... reviews are always welcome. The more I get, the more likely it is I'll upload the next chapter in a fortnights time!