War and Serenity
By Michael Weyer
Old Haunts, New Friends
The smell was still something Mal wasn't getting used to. He'd never been fond of swamps to begin with, much preferring the open air of more desert planets. At least it was better than valleys. For obvious reasons, he never enjoyed those, the memories of that horrible last battle in his mind constantly.
He was trying to block them out as he stood in the rampway of the ship, staring at the rainy bog before him. It had been a day since they had landed on Dagobah and settled down as best they could. Kaylee, of course, had spent the last few hours fretting constantly over the shape of the engines in such a setting and Wash wasn't much better. It was an excuse to hide here, Mal knew that, but he was willing to embrace that for the moment.
He glanced up as Book came toward him, the elder man looking serene as ever despite the weather. Mal noted the lightsaber now attached to his belt and how oddly fitting it was to see the man formerly of peace so armed. "Preacher," he said in greeting.
"Captain," Book (Mal couldn't think of him by another name) replied. "A credit for your thoughts?"
"Ain't sure they're worth the cash, Preacher," Mal said. "And might have to pay extra for how nasty they are." He shrugged. "Just lost in thought."
"Unfamiliar territory for you according to Inara." Book leaned against the bulk of the ship, looking out at the swamp. "Do you have a plan?"
"Running ain't a plan?"
Book looked at him. "We can't stay here forever."
"I reckon on stretching it long as I can," Mal replied.
Book looked at him carefully. "What happened, Mal?"
The other man turned to him with a frown as Book studied him. "What made you this way? A man just doesn't let his soul die out the way you do without some hardship. You keep putting on the air of a ruthless mercenary but I've seen your real heart beneath the surface."
"Trouble with scratching at the surface all the time, Preacher, is that it ruins the picture."
Book narrowed his eyes. "Don't try to bluff me, boy. Even without being a Jedi, I know someone hiding a secret. So come on. Always feel good to unload."
"Ain't sure about that," Mal said as he looked away. He could feel Book's eyes on him and sighed. "Damn, no way talking outta this, am I?"
Book smiled. "Not from where I'm standing. Come on, Mal, always good to have a clear conscience."
"Daddy said to me that a clear conscience is a sign of a bad memory." Mal was silent for a long moment before turning to walk away. "Sorry, Preacher. But I'm not gonna be bringing up the old wounds today." He turned and made his way back into the ship. Book watched him go with a sad look in his eyes.
"Serenity Valley."
Book turned to see Zoe making her way up the ramp, her expression harder than usual. "Ain't sure who came up with the name," she continued as she walked to the spot Mal had vacated. "Whoever did, he had one twisted sense of humor. It was on a planet called Hera. Mal and I were part of the Imperial garrison sent to put down what was supposed to be a small worker's strike. Two of us were still a bit fresh, first major assignment, all full of vim and vigor." She looked down before speaking. "So it takes little time flat before this 'easy' assignment goes straight to hell as we find out the whole damn planet's in open rebellion against the Empire. Our unit ends up being holed up in a valley that gets surrounded on both sides, working with the rest of what's left of the Imperial forces. We started out with 750 men. Twenty-seven days later, we got down to eighty-nine. Commander got shot and Mal took over, did the job so much better that it got the story started he killed the man."
"Did he?"
"Wouldn't have blamed him if he did, man was a damn fool leading us into that in the first place." Zoe leaned on the wall as she continued. "Back then, Mal believed in the Empire. He believed they were doing good for the galaxy, bringing order to chaos and all that. I didn't buy the party line but I wanted to be a soldier so I followed my orders." She was quiet before speaking. "It was on day twenty-eight that we finally got our backup. A full-on ariel bombardment against everyone on the planet."
"So you were rescued?" Book frowned. "Why did that…"
"I don't mean the opposing forces, Preacher," Zoe said, her face hard. "I mean they bombed the whole planet. Every village, every settlement, every place they could find. Every man, woman and child on the planet, wiped out. They called it 'retributional judgment."" She stepped forward, glaring at Book. "Takes a while for something like that to get pulled off. You know how time-consuming global genocide can be. So for a week, we're still in that valley. Still surrounded by the dead and the dying while the Empire goes about exterminating every living person they can find. And we knew it was happening. You could hear the explosions day and night, unrelenting even without our comm system giving details of the death toll."
She looked to the direction her captain had left in. "Man builds up faith in himself, it can be good, Preacher. He believes he's doing the right thing and assumes the folks above him feel the same. So you can imagine how it was, Book. Imagine how it felt for a man like that to watch that slaughter, to be left behind because his superiors think murdering families is more important than getting care to their soldiers. How it must have felt for him to realize that he'd been dedicating himself to fighting for a government that just wants to rule and doesn't care how many folks have to die because of it."
"It broke him," Book softly said.
Zoe nodded. "Light's been gone from his eyes for six years now. It flashes now and then but…for all purposes, the Mal Reynolds I knew then died in that valley. He left as soon as he could, decided it was better to just handle his own affairs, although sticking it to the Empire now and then is fine. I went with him, figured he'd need someone to keep him on an even keel. He got the boat here and we got the crew and here we all are."
Book was quiet for a moment, taking it all in. "Why name the ship Serenity?"
Zoe shrugged. "Imperials wiped pretty much every record of the planet they could when it was done. Mal thought someone should remember it." She gave him a steady look. "Man carries a lot of memories, Book. That's one of his key problems. He hides it but part of him still cares." She narrowed his eyes. "And I care about him. Not like with Wash by any means but still care. So while you may have the best intentions, you get him in a position to get himself hurt again…And I may have to take it out on you."
She walked into the ship leaving Book to process her words.
"Easy the right path never is."
Book looked over to where Yoda was carefully pacing up the rampway. Despite his small size, the Jedi master dominated the air around him, his cane tapping on the metal ramp as he headed up, fixing his gaze on Book. "Push this man hard, you cannot."
"He's a good man, Master Yoda," Book said. "I know he is."
"Perhaps," Yoda allowed. "But difficult his path is. Sense that I do. Push too hard and into wrong direction, you could send." His eyes seemed to darken. "Know that too well, do I."
Book was silent for a long moment. "It's harder out there, Master. It was harder than I expected when the Order fell. I had to do some things I'm not proud of in order to keep myself safe."
"A hard edge you always had, Derrial," Yoda noted. "Passion guided you too often." A soft smile came to his lips. "Yet survived, it helped you did. Sacrifices made, we all have had." He paused before looking away toward his hut. "The girl…You know what she is."
Book nodded somberly. "I felt it when I met her. I can't understand it…"
"I can," Yoda said, his face turning toward Book. "Dark measures the Empire has taken. Darker than I had suspected." He tapped his cane on the rampway. "Hunted, they are. Ready we must be for when they come."
Book studied him. "Will you fight, Master?"
The elder Jedi was silent for a moment. "The Force flows differently than foreseen," he finally spoke. "Time to leave, perhaps it is." He looked back to Book. "For now, prepare we must. For the storm comes to break and ready we must be."
Book nodded with a light smile on his face. "You may find, Master, that once you get back into the swing of things, it rather feels good being back in the fight."
As ever, the Jedi master was impassive but Book sensed a lightness in his spirit as he moved back to his hut. "Rarely good have I ever felt a fight being."
Even in Nar Shadda, there were some areas no one wanted to go to. Areas so dirty and dangerous that even the most hardened killers gave them a wide berth. This, of course, made them the perfect places to meet with someone when you didn't want to be observed in any way. Even if you didn't like it.
"Are you sure this is the right spot?" Han was asking for the tenth time.
"It's where Mothma said to meet our connection," Leia responded. For once, she could understand Han's feelings. The hallway they were in was cramped with the smell of something she knew she was better off not being identified. She glanced to where Luke was leaning against a wall, his eyes focused on Saffron and told herself he was just keeping an eye if she tried to run.
"Five more minutes and we're out of here," Han declared. "I'll take my chances getting another ride rather than stay here." Chewbacca let out a roar of approval, his heightened senses effected much more by the odor around them.
"We have to stay, Han," Leia stressed. "It's important. Mothma made it clear our contact isn't just a ride, he's got something the Alliance needs."
"Listen, I don't care too much for this alliance," Saffron spoke up. "I just want to get a ride, drop this info off and then I'll go on my way."
"I'm all for that," Han stated, still not trusting the redhead. "But this isn't the place you want to be…"
He was reacting just as he heard the sound of footsteps behind him, his hand going to his holster and pulling out his blaster even as he turned. He found himself staring down the barrel of a larger blaster, held by a man roughly his own age. He was dressed in a long black coat with leather pants and a short-sleeved red shirt. His hair was a short dark brown, his face handsome but intense as he held the gun confidently. "Han Solo," he said.
"John Crichton," Solo responded in the same even tone.
Leia threw up her hands. "Is it possible that just once we can meet someone from your past who doesn't want to shoot you on sight?"
The two men ignored her, staring at one another with the held blasters. "So…" Crichton began. "How you been?"
"Can't complain," Han responded, his gun not wavering an inch. "How's your dad?"
"Pretty good. Haven't actually seen him in a bit but heard through the grapevine."
"Good to know." Han paused. "Let's cut the crap, John. You're dead."
"Been getting that a lot," Crichton shrugged.
"I mean it," Han pressed. "Word was your ship got blown to pieces on a smuggling run."
"It's a bit more complicated than that," Crichton said. He glanced to where Chewbacca was hefting his crossbow, ready to aim it at the man. A whining sound got their attention and everyone looked to the hall behind Crichton as a woman stepped forward. She was clad in a similar black leather outfit and long coat, her face beautiful but serious, long black hair pulled in a ponytail. Her hands held a rather large rifle with a demeanor that showed she knew how to use it. Leia couldn't help but tense as the woman might as well worn a sign saying "Imperial Trained."
It took a moment to realize the large shape behind her was a being and not a piece of the wall. He was a Luxan, if Leia remembered the species right, almost as tall as Chewbacca, with protruding brow ridges that extended around the sides of his head, his nose covered with a plate, his long chin coming to a point and a set of tentacles hanging from his head. His face had a long beard that was partly braided and tattoos were on his face. He held a long rifle of his own, his face serious as he took them in.
"Oh, why must we suffer with such things?" Threepio moaned out as Artoo whistled an agreement.
Saffron was frowning at the other woman. "Don't I know you?"
"I hardly think so," the brunette replied coldly.
"Are you certain? You look very familiar. Did we run a deal together on Felucia?" The brunette just narrowed her eyes and tightened the grip on her rifle.
Realizing things were about to get tense, Luke stepped forward, holding up his hands. "Easy, easy. Are you the one Mothma said would meet us?"
"We are," Crichton said, slowly raising his gun. "John Crichton, formerly of the Dantooine space force. Han and I go back a ways."
"Apparently, not pleasant ones," the woman behind him said in a cool accent.
"Easy, Aeryn" Crichton said. "D'argo, put it down." The Luxan seemed uncertain but complied, his eyes never leaving Chewbacca's. Crichton turned to Leia. "I assume you're Leia?"
"I am," she confirmed. "Is your ship nearby?"
"It is," Crichton said. "Come on, we'd better get there fast." He pocketed his gun as he turned to lead down the hallway. Aeryn and D'Argo backed up to let the others go past before coming behind them, making it clear they were keeping a close watch. Aeryn was especially watching Saffron, as if sensing something wrong about the woman. Han was moving up so he could walk right by Crichton's side, a hand at his blaster. "So what's the story, John?" he asked. "What happened to you?"
"Let's just say I got blasted all right," Crichton replied. "But it wasn't apart, it was through some spatial portal, to the edges of the Outer Rim. Found myself in the middle of a rebellion of their own there. And that's also where we found Moya."
"Who?"
"You'll see," Crichton stated as he led the way to another hallway where a large doorway stood before them. "You should get ready. This can be a bit disconcerting."
"What are you…" Han stopped as they entered a large hanger bay that housed the strangest looking ship he'd ever laid eyes on. It was pointed with what appeared to be a pair of long appendages sweeping behind it. It was larger than Serenity but its hull appeared more like skin than metal, smooth and shimmering in the dim light. As they walked in, a young female stepped down the rampway, her skin and hair grey with black markings around her eyes, her furry outfit fitting her well. "I didn't know we had an entourage coming," she purred in a silky voice.
"Make sure Pilot is set, Chianna," Crichton stated as he led the way into the ship. "We want to get out of here quick."
"What the frell is this?" The passengers saw a figure on a small hover-chair moving toward them. He was quite short, barely two feet tall, an aquatic being wearing regal robes. "Why was I not consulted on taking on new passengers?"
"Because we prefer to imagine you don't exist," D'argo growled at him.
"Hello," Threepio stated as he stepped forward. "I am See-Threepio, human-cyborg relations."
"Dominar Rygel XVI," the creature returned. "Former ruler of the Hynerian Empire with its 600 billion subjects until my bastard of a cousin overthrew me!"
Han, Luke and Leia couldn't help but notice how Crichton, Aeryn and D'argo were mouthing the last few words to themselves, indicating this wasn't the first time Rygel had made this speech. They made their way down the hallways, Luke reaching out a hand to rub the walls around them. "This…isn't right," he whispered. He was so enthralled he failed to notice Saffron looking about with her own uneasy gaze. He looked over to Crichton. "This ship….it wasn't built…It was grown."
Han looked at him in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
"He's right," Crichton said. "Moya is alive."
Han stared at him in disbelief. "You're kidding me, right? A living ship?"
Crichton nodded. "It's what happened." His face became somber. "There's some races out there, beyond the Rim. They have tech so advanced, you can't imagine it." He motioned around. "Moya belonged to a race who, frankly, make the Empire look like a batch of kid scouts. "D'argo, Rygel, Chianna and a couple others were prisoners who broke out and stole it, used the drive to bring themselves back to the main systems."
"And her?" Leia nodded toward Aeryn.
"It's not important now," Aeryn snapped. "If we're going to leave, it should be now."
There was a crackle as a voice echoed over the loudspeakers. "Crichton, do you hear me?" the voice was soft yet also a bit of command to it, female but also powerful.
Crichton moved to a comlink and pressed on it. "What is it, Zhaan?"
"Stark is coming."
"Good, we can finally take off." Crichton paused and frowned. "Wait a minute, when did he leave the ship?"
"I believe there is a more pressing issue than that," the woman named Zaahn replied. Crichton and Aeryn exchanged looks before running to the rear of the ship. Han and Chewie exchanged their own looks before racing to follow them, Leia right behind, ignoring Luke's calls to her.
Coming to the rampway, their weapons out, Crichton and Aeryn stopped in place. Before them was a man in a ragged outfit with a metal plate over one side of his face, giving a wave at them as he knelt on the ground. He was surrounded by a squad of stormtroopers, who all had their rifles aimed at the ship. Beside the kneeling figure was a tall man with an intense expression on his handsome face, his hair and beard black as his uniform. "Crichton," he intoned. "And Officer Sun."
"Crais." Crichton looked more annoyed than worried about this. His eyes fell on the kneeling man. "Stark, what have we told you about going off on your own?"
"It's fun?" the man shrugged.
Crichton looked to Crais, his expression softer than one might expect. "Seriously, Crais, you've got to get a hobby. Stamp collecting, maybe. You need something besides just hunting us."
Crais was not amused. "You have no idea how many credits it took to bribe the right contacts and find out where you were going. But it's worth it." His eyes flickered over their shoulders at the newcomers and he stiffened in surprise. "Well, well. The Princess Leia Organa." His lips turned upward slightly. "It appears my superiors will be far more forgiving of my lack of success so far."
Han glanced at Chewbacca. "So this is how it feels to be an innocent bystander." His co-pilot grunted in agreement.
The Imperial officer was returning his gaze to Crichton. "I would prefer taking you in alive, Crichton. But believe me, seeing you dead would more than balance the scales."
Crichton rolled his eyes upward. "For crying out loud, Crais, how many times do I have to explain this? What happened to your brother was an accident!"
"And as I've told you numerous times, it does not matter," Crais snapped. "What matters is that he is dead and at your hands, which is one more reason I'm going to take a great deal of satisfaction in this moment." He placed his arms behind his back. "Now, are you going to come quietly or meet my expectations and make this difficult?"
"Difficult is your way, Crais," Aeryn snapped. "You always found it easier to burn a village rather than work to find the one person you were searching for."
"You wound me, Officer Sun."
"Not yet," she growled in a way that would make D'argo proud.
The flash of ozone crackled, causing Crais to whip his head around in time to see a blur erupt from the rampway. Luke leapt forward, his lightsaber flashing to cut two troopers down. The others were startled before firing, Luke ducking the blast bolts while raising his blade to deflect two others. While startled by the young man's sudden attack, Crichton and Aeryn were quick to take advantage, raising their guns to fire away. Crais instantly ducked behind some crates as blaster bolts singed around him. Stark was busy crawling over to get up the rampway as Chewbacca and Han pulled out their weapons to fire at the troopers.
Crichton was backing into the ship as he fired. "Pilot!" he yelled out. "Fire it up and get us out of here!" On his command, the ship began rumbling as the group moved back into the ship, Luke leaping onto the closing ramp as it began to take off. Crichton and Aeryn were running down the hallways, Han following. "Luke, make sure Leia and Saffron are okay!" he called over his shoulder. The young man nodded as he moved to a side corridor. Han sped up to catch up to Crichton. "Still making friends everywhere, John."
"It was an accident!" Crichton snapped. "My ship got out of control, crashed into someone else, no idea Crais was his brother but he blames me still."
"He always was full of himself," Aeryn noted as they made their way down the halls and into a large chamber. Even after all the odd things he'd seen in his travels, Han had to stare in disbelief at the center of the room. It housed what looked like a massive console that surrounded a scaly creature, its tentacles dancing over the buttons and switches. Han saw no legs visible and it even looked like the creature was bonded to the walls of the ship. "You have got to be kidding me."
"I couldn't make it up if I tried," Crichton said as he looked at the creature. "Pilot, status."
The creature was staring intently at his screens as his tentacles moved across the console. "A Star Destroyer in orbit, TIE fighters en route," it intoned in a surprisingly high voice. "Taking evasive maneuvers already." Crichton nodded as he and Aeryn bolted toward the door. Giving one more look at the creature, Han began to follow them. He saw Luke coming down the hallway but pausing as the two figures raced past him. "Leia and Saffron are in quarters," he told Han. "What's going on?"
"I'll give you notes as soon as I figure it out," the smuggler snapped as he chased Crichton and Aeryn down the wide and smooth halls of the ship. They finally ended in what appeared to be the bridge, a wide viewport showing the stars as Moya exited the planet's atmosphere. At a console stood a tall and beautiful woman, her skin bald and seeming to glisten, light playing off her bald head. "We have forty seconds until interception," she said in a calm voice.
"Weapons still off-line?" Crichton asked as he moved to the console with her.
The blue woman nodded solemnly. "Moya had to recharge after our last conflict."
"And the hits just keep on coming," Crichton sighed.
The blue woman looked over to Luke and smiled. "A pleasure to meet you, Luke Skywalker."
He stared in surprise. "Who…How did you…"
"I am Zhaan," she bowed her head. "We shall have much to talk about soon."
Crichton pressed a button. "Pilot…"
"Initiating starbust now," the alien creature intoned.
Crichton and Aeryn gripped the consoles before them, glancing at Han, Luke and Chewbacca. "You might want to hang on," Crichton warned. "This…is gonna be a bumpy ride."
Han snorted. "I was doing hyperspace jumps before you could-"
What he would have said was cut off as the pointed ends of the exterior of the ship began to glow and flowed together. In a blazing flash of light, Moya shot forward with a speed far greater than any mere hyperspace jump. Luke, Han and Chewbacca were sent flying back against the wall as the ship rocketed away. In the private room they had hastily been led to, Leia and Saffron both yelled in surprise as they fell onto the floor, slamming into one another. In the mechanical bay, Artoo's whistle echoed across the halls as he and Threepio crashed onto the walls. The crew of Moya simply hung on as the initial push faded.
Han just lay there, eyes shut and a hand over his face. "I'm not even gonna say it," he muttered to Chewbacca. "You know exactly how I feel about this."
Farscape owned by Hallmark Entertainment. All comments welcomed.