Spartan's Quest – Chapter Two
I do not, I regret to inform you, own any rights to Firefly or the verse it resides in. I write solely for entertainment, and receive no recompense for my efforts. (In Captain Dummy talk, that means it ain't mine, and I ain't gettin' paid:)
--
"You wanted to see me, sir?" Julio Givens asked from the door of Prim's office. Prim looked up, and nodded.
"I did. Come in Julio, and close the door." The 'young' man walked inside, and sat down.
Julio Givens was one of 'them'. He had, in the later part of the twentieth century on Earth-that-was, been the most sought after 'hacker' in history. Considered a threat to national security by the United States, Great Britain, and most of the U.N., Givens had managed to get himself shot by simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
He had walked into a convenience store to get a drink, and found himself in the middle of an armed robbery. The crook, panicking, had shot Givens, and left him for dead. Fortunately for the hacker, a very strange man had offered him the gift of life, in exchange for his services.
Givens had never had cause to regret that night.
"You know that we've been trying to locate the eight students missing from the second lock up," Prim stated, and Givens nodded.
"I may have found something that will help with that, by the way," Givens offered. Prim perked up at that.
"Oh?"
"I. . .well, I basically did a complete data dump from The Facility." That was the only way they referred to it, The Facility. "The files were all encrypted, of course, and whoever did it was pretty good. There are safe walls and blocks everywhere in the files that, if triggered, would basically eat the files up."
"I assume you have found a way around that?" Prim asked.
"Oh, yeah," Givens waved a hand. "Easy peasy. But, it's a lotta data. And the file names are all code named. For instance, you open a file that says 'janitorial service', and there's a list of names. Three of those names are known assassins. Janitorial? Clean-up?"
"I see the symbolism," Prim remarked drily.
"Well, because of that," Givens went on, "it's took a good long time for me to sort through all the information. Truth is, I ain't but bounced through about half of it, even now. But," he leaned forward, "this morning, right before you called, I may have hit a good one." He removed a sheet of paper from his pocket.
"This is a list of names, Prim," he said quietly. "A list of very well-known names. Hidden in a file called 'friends', of all things. Lists of people who have given support, whether financial or otherwise, to what's referred to as 'The Project'."
Prim took the list, and read over it. His eyebrows had risen several notches by the time he was finished.
"I know many of these names," Prim said quietly. "And even those I don't know personally, I recognize."
"Yeah," Givens sighed, sitting back. "They may or may not have known what was going on in there," Givens shrugged, "but I'd say it's a good bet they did. Which means. . ."
"Which means we now have a list of names we might put pressure on to assist us in finding these children."
"Exactly," Givens' nod was firm.
"This is excellent work, Julio," Prim said, very pleased. "Lady River will be most happy." Givens beamed at that.
"This is part of why I called you," Prim went on, laying the list aside. "Malcolm Reynolds will be here in four days or so. He has agreed to help with the search. I want you to take whatever equipment you think you may need, and go with him. You can continue your work while on board, and be of assistance to him, should he need someone with your. . .expertise."
"Cool!" Givens was enthusiastic. He had been with Reynolds aboard Athena during the mission against the Facility. He had come to like the plucky mortal, and respected his tenacity.
"I thought you'd be pleased," Prim almost smirked. "Have everything ready when he arrives. He will likely not want to dally. Nor will Neera. She is with him."
"Ahh," Givens smiled. "I thought as much. I think she. . ."
"Yes, I'm sure you're correct in that," Prim hurried on. "I will have sufficient funds available for you to acquire any extra support you may need."
"Well, I better get started then," Givens rose. "Will that be all, sir?"
"Yes," Prim nodded. "I'll keep this list, if you don't mind. You have another, I assume? And back-up disks for the files you. . .'dumped'?"
"Yes. All the work I've done has been on the copies. The originals are in the Vault."
"Well done," Prim nodded. "Off you go, then. And remember, this is of great interest to Lady River."
--
"Jayne," River said quietly as the two lay in bed, her curled atop him. "I know you may not want to talk about this, and if you don't, I understand. But I am curious as to how you escaped the complex. Everyone was sure you were. . ."
"Dead?" he finished for her, smiling.
"It's not funny," River told him. "I. . .until I saw you, with my own eyes, at Florico's, I believed it as well. I felt as though my heart was broken, Jayne." His smile faded at that, and his face softened.
"I'm sorry I hurt you, ai ren," he almost whispered, stroking her face softly. "I didn't know what would happen, exactly. I had a feeling, but nothing I could be certain enough of to say." He sighed, closing his eyes, and lay his head back, his arms circling her.
"Neethos was the man behind all this, River. I found him trying to. . ."
--
"A fitting end, I admit," Janos repeated, looking over at the body of the man he had once called Father. The man who had befriended him so long ago.
Janos knew his wound was serious, even though he could feel the parasite within him struggling to repair the damage. Without blood, however, the going would be slow. Too slow, for the time he had left.
He had only one option, he realized, and it was one he would not avail himself off. Could not. As he leaned back against the wall, he reflected on the life he had led.
For centuries he had fought evil all over the planet known now as Earth-that-was. Then he had helped pilot starships across the galaxy, seeking a new home to replace the one that mortals had destroyed.
He had established his estate on Londinium, and then worked to help others across the various early settlements. He had watched in dread, then in fear, as the Alliance had taken shape over the decades. And then helplessly as the new worlds were once more plunged into war.
He and his followers had worked to help those left in dire straits by the war, opting this time for doing relief work rather than fighting. They had made a difference, he knew, but it paled next to the damage caused by the war.
In all those years, Janos had never known any real happiness. His life was empty, save for a few faithful friends. Until he had met River Tam.
At that thought, his eyes had flown open. River. He could not lie here and wait to die. He had to return to her. He had promised. And he would never break his word to her. Ever.
Janos crawled over to the body of his old teacher, his mind intent on survival. If he were to live, he must have blood. And there was only one place he could get it.
"Neethos, my old father," he whispered. "Once more, you will save me on the field of battle."
With that, he had sank his fangs deep into the body of his former teacher, taking what he needed to live, from the man he had killed only two, or three, moments ago. His parasite, infused with what blood remained in the body beneath him, had stimulated his own. A brief strength flowed through him, and he found himself on his feet, running to escape the hell that Neethos had unleashed. He arrived outside in time to see the Athena lifting off into the night sky, and smiled.
Then he ran. Ran to the woods, racing against time to reach a safe distance from the coming blast. Knowing Neethos, it would be more than. . .
The force of the explosion lifted him from the ground, and hurled him outward. He rolled with the blow, landing several yards further away, and then lay still. He was suddenly very tired. Knowing that others would soon come to investigate, he forced himself to his feet, and struggled to make the cover of the woods.
There he would hide, avoiding those who would come to investigate, and giving his parasite time to heal him with blood manufactured by his own body. The process was a slow one, but steady. After five days, he was able to move.
--
"You. . ." River tried, but could not speak.
"Yes," he nodded. "Had it not been for you, I would likely have just sat there, and perished with him. In fear, mostly. Fear of. . .of what he had become. Of what I might become. But," he smiled softly at her, "I have something Neethos, for all his years, his strength, or his wisdom, did not have."
"What?" River asked, curious.
"You." Jayne looked at her, gently pulling her hair away from her face. "I have you, River. To keep me strong. To keep me true. And that will make the difference."
"As to why so long," he shrugged. "I do not know of another instance where one so old as I have tasted the blood of one so old as Neethos. In truth, I did not know what would become of me. That's why I went ahead with the plan, rather than come home and tell you, tell everyone, what had happened. I wanted to be sure that Janos, and not some new, untrustworthy creature, had lived."
"I'm glad you decided you were still you," she smiled weakly. "But don't ever do that to me again, Jayne," she warned. "It's too hard."
"Hopefully such a thing will never be necessary, my love," he kissed her forehead. "In the meantime, this is for the best, I think. No one knows I live, yet few believe I am dead, merely taking another walk-about, as I am prone to do."
"We can use this time to train you, and make sure that you are completely adjusted to your new abilities."
"And have some quiet time," River breathed huskily, kissing his neck.
"Oh, yes," he murmured.
--
Serenity touched down on the landing pad at Flumenea Somnium without a bobble, the type of landing that Mal had come to expect of his new pilot.
"Nice work, Willie," he called from the bay, hitting the ramp release. As the ramp descended, Mal spied Prim waiting for him, Julio Givens by his side. Simon and Kaylee were also there.
"Hi Cap'n!" Kaylee squealed, running up the ramp to give Mal a peck on the cheek and hug her former boss.
"Hi mei mei," Mal hugged back, smiling. "Miss me?"
"You know I did, Cap'n," Kaylee smiled. "How's my girl?"
"Lucas is takin' fine care of her, lil' Kaylee," Mal assured her.
"I'll just go see about that," Kaylee replied, starting for the engine room. "Hi, Neera!"
"Hello, Kaylee," Neera smiled. The Amazon couldn't help but like Kaylee. Her cheerful attitude and megawatt smile were infectious.
"You made good time, Malcolm," Prim said to Mal, extending his hand.
"Got me a pretty fair pilot," Mal nodded, shaking hands with Prim. "How you making it, Julio?" he asked, offering his hand to the hacker.
"I'm good, Captain," Julio smiled, shaking hands. Givens had come to have a great deal of respect for this mortal during the op against the Facility.
"Be glad to have you aboard," Mal smiled. The feeling was mutual.
"I've had a lunch prepared for us, Mal," Prim told him. "What say we head up to the house, and eat?"
"Never one to turn down real food," Mal nodded. "Lead on."
"Looking good, Neera," Julio smiled as the woman slipped her arm inside Mal's.
"Life in space seems to be good for you."
"Very good," Neera purred sexily, and Mal's ears pinked at that. Zoe chuckled softly, falling behind. Julio glanced at her.
"How are you, Zoe?" he asked.
"Doing well, thanks," she smiled. "You?"
"Fit as can be," he smiled back. "So, gonna let me bunk with you while I'm on board?" Zoe was startled by the question, and was a second away from exploding when she saw the devilry dancing in his eyes.
"We'll see what we can work out," she replied instead, causing Givens to choke out;
"Really?"
"No, not really," Zoe smiled, and the rest erupted into laughter at Givens' spluttering.
"That was just wrong, Zoe," he laughed finally.
"Nah."
--
"So, that's where we are," Prim said, as he finished laying out the progress they had made so far. "The list is something we've developed since I was in contact with you, Mal. Julio uncovered it in the mass of data he 'liberated' from the complex."
"Well, it's a place to start," Mal nodded. "Maybehaps we can apply some pressure to these folk, and get some answers. What bothers me," he frowned, "is that the missing students could mean that there's another place like that somewhere."
"Or they could simply be dead," Prim sighed, nodding. "There's almost nothing to go on. We've included data on the children we have here, as well. Photos and what-have-you. Birthmarks, apparent age, blood types, even DNA. We're trying to match all that to missing persons' reports, but so far, nothing."
"We'll let you handle that," Mal nodded. "Be good to have the information, though, we happen to come across any family of the young ones. Have you thought about just posting their pictures on the cortex? Asking for information?"
"We have," Inara nodded as she walked into the room. Mal turned to her.
"Hi 'Nara'," he smiled.
"Mal," she smiled back, and noticed the look of warning from Neera, which she ignored. "But, if we did that, we'd have to explain how we came to have the children," she explained. "We really don't want to do that."
"No," Mal nodded in agreement. "That would be problematical. Well, we can follow whatever trails you can find, see where they lead. And," he added, "we can start on some of the smaller fry on this list," he pointed to the paper. "Folks that ain't quite as untouchable as the bigger ones. A little intimidation goes a long way, sometimes," he grinned, and Neera snorted.
"Well, we have something that might help you, there," Inara smiled, looking at Neera. "A friend of yours, Neera." She nodded to the doorway. Everyone turned to see a tall, brown-haired young woman in the doorway.
"Hey, sweetie," Neera got to her feet and crossed to the young woman she'd carried from the facility. "How are you?"
"I'm better, thanks to you," she whispered.
"Everyone, this is Amanda Paine. Amanda is a reader of remarkable skill," Inara told them. "She was also in special holding," Inara added for emphasis. "She has offered to help in the search to find her missing friends."
"Shouldn't she be going back to her folks?" Mal asked.
"I have no family, Captain," Amanda told him quietly. "I was raised in an Alliance orphanage, where I made the mistake of telling one of the teachers that I could often tell what others were thinking."
"I'm sorry," Mal said sincerely.
"Don't be," Amanda replied. "It wasn't your fault. I. . .I suffered a great deal at their hands, Captain. Any chance I have to pay them back, I'll gladly take." Mal nodded. That was something he could understand.
"That's another reason I want you to take an element from the team along," Prim said quietly. "I want you to have plenty of security. Not just for yourselves, but for Amanda."
"Works for me," Mal nodded. Once he would have balked at the idea of one of Jayne's 'people' aboard his ship. Not anymore.
"Well, then, let's see about getting you provisioned, and get the gear loaded."
--