Another Capt' By the Name of the Ship
Book 1
The Beginning of the End
"All that glitters is not gold." - English Proverb
Chapter 1- Firefly
"A friend in need is a friend indeed." - English Proverb
2517
"Capt'n, please remind me why we are at Eavesdown Docks... again?" Zoe Washburn asked Captain Malcolm Reynolds, as the two plus Jayne Cobb were walking through the crowd traveling this way and that.
"Yeah Mal. Last time we were here we backed down. What're we doing back?" Jayne demanded, taking a moment from scanning the crowd to glance at the captain. He was not looking forward to having to deal with a man that they'd left standing when he wanted to kill him.
"We're visitin' Badger again. Rumor has it he needs someone to ship something, an' we've been needin' work for while now. Seems to me like we could make a deal with him, or try aleast." Mal said, looking at both his first mate and mercenary. "We go in, offer our services. No harm in that right?"
"Sir he almost shot us last time. He threatened us. We can find other work. We don't have to deal with Badger." Zoe said, attempting to appeal to reason with her captain. She, however, knew his nature well enough to know that it would not work. Not with a man like Mal. She stopped him, and looked into his eyes, "There are other jobs."
"What jobs?" Mal asked, a serious face plastered on. "We ain't got work for weeks now. We ain't got much stocked up. We need work, and we need it soon. We're here, might as well check in on the local market, see if we can get our foot in the door, as it were." He grinned, " 'Sides, can't do much worse than Patience. Woman would kill me. Badger's just threatened to." Zoe took no notice of the attempt to cheer her up.
"I just don't trust this place. There's something coming sir. Something big. Don't got to be special to see it." Zoe sighed.
"You're feminly wiles say this is bad. My pocket says that we could do worse. We need this Zoe." Mal spoke, looking away. He began walking again.
"I understand sir." Zoe said. She took one last glance around the area before following her captain. Jayne was leading the way, mainly for tactical advantage. He had armor on underneath his clothes, as normal. She had her normal armor on, but Jayne's was best for close shooting.
The man-ape opened the door to Badger's 'offices' and the three walked through. They passed three men with very large guns on their hips, each looking to shoot something. Walking into the office, they came face to face with Badger, sitting at his desk. Fortunately, he did not have an apple, Mal noted. Watching him peel it of all things had been the worst last time they were there. Apples held too many memories.
Glancing over his possible employer, he noted that nothing had changed about Badger. He still wore the same bowler hat as before.
"Malcolm Reynolds. Was wonderin' when I'd see you again." Badger grinned, making his face seem distorted. "Last time I saw you, you were running outta my shop with your tail 'tween your legs. What can I do for you?" Mal wished he could riddle the man with holes at that moment. He understood the business aspect of everything like every other crook, but Badger, when he brought up the last time they met (it wasn't his proudest moment), made everything personal.
Concentrating on the mental image of him riddling the 'puddle of piss' as Jayne had called him last time with holes, Mal grinned, feeling fake. "Well, just in your area, and thought we might drop by, see if you had any jobs you needed doing."
"This wouldn't be about the rumor that was started that I need someone to run something to a buyer, would it?" Badger said, rising. He walked up to Mal, still almost a head shorter than him, and looked him in the eye. "Tell the truth, precious."
Mal looked straight ahead. "We mighta heard something or other on the cortex about someone needing a transporter. Didn't figure it was you though." Badger looked at him a moment longer, and turned on the spot. He walked back to his chair, and put his feet up on the desk.
"We might be able to try this again." Mal resisted the urge to jump for joy for two reasons, one that it was unmanly and would ruin his reputation, the other was that it was something that... He didn't want to think of it. Badger jolted Mal back into the conscious world when he spoke again.
"I got somethin', large box, headed for Xenon, one of the Central Planets. Don't look in it an' deliver it straight to Johnathan Weasley. He's got a big place planetside, and needs it within the week." Badger said. Mal nodded.
"And pay?"
"Half now, half later. The buyer wants to meet you too. Interested in doing some more business with you. Does this mean your in?" Badger asked.
"Anything might need to hide from the feds?" Mal asked, wary since the time with Niska had happened.
"Nothing major. Looks like junk, the lot of it."
"Looks like we can deal then."
As Badger promised the goods were delivered with half the agreed upon price. The ship ride to Xenon was fairly uneventful. The only major thing, only noted by Simon, was that River began mumbling about another Captain arriving. He didn't understand, and assumed it was the psychosis surfacing on her brain. He attempted to ask her about it, only to get the look that said either he should know, or he would know soon enough.
Landing on the the planet was fairly simple. As a promise to Inara, they would stay for two days, allowing her to get a few clients in. As it was one of the central planets, Mal gave the orders to Simon and River to stay on the ship at all times. Jayne went out to scout where they would drop off the cargo, leaving everyone else to lay in wait. Kaylee and Zoe decided to look around the shopping centres, so they were off doing something. Mal and Wash were in the kitchen area of the living quarters. Wash was attempting to cook something, Mal wasn't paying close attention. He was lost in thought, remembering Shadow, his home 'fore the war. He remembered Serenity, the original one, the human one. He sighed.
The captain was so lost in memories that he didn't notice Wash come over and place his hand on Mal's shoulder. Startled, Mal glared up at the pilot. Looking into his eyes, he was surprised at the sympathy and kindness in them. "Was it the war?" Wash asked, sitting beside the captain, dropping a bottle in front of him.
"Why d'you wanna know?" The captain said, glaring at the younger man. Was he younger, or was it the war that made Mal feel so much older. Shaking his head, attempting to clear the thoughts that were rattling about, he looked back at the pilot.
"Zoe has nightmares some times. She talks about them, she says it makes her feel better." Wash said. Mal grabbed the bottle and looked at the pilot again.
"Get back to cooking Wash, ain't got a sob story for you to hear today." He spoke, the glare accenting the words. Wash looked at him with, Mal took a guess, pity. He took a swing, nodding at the pilot for the alcohol, before getting up.
Normally alcohol didn't affect him or his step, however the small swing seemed to make him stager on his way back to his bunk. Every few steps he took a swing, which he supposed didn't help his walk any. He stumbled to his bed, put the almost empty bottle down and collapsed face first into it, immediately drifting away to dreamland, far away from his thoughts.
Unfortunately for Mal, when he was woken up by Wash calling, he had a large headache, big enough to take up all the room on the planet they had landed on. Wash spoke quickly, or maybe it was just his headache, but either way it took four tries before he understood everything that Wash was saying. Jayne was back, and ready to bring the cargo to the buyer's place. He'd scouted it to find nothing. Wash said something about Jayne saying that this was a "Damn easy job that even Mal's planning couldn't screw up." Glaring at the cheerful pilot, Mal turned off the comlink and got changed into something that didn't reek of alcohol. He didn't need someone, possibly a new, legal, client seeing him like a slob. He was ex-military. He liked making a good first impression. Tempted to take the browncoat to gage the buyer's reaction, Mal hesitated. Nodding, he took it and slipped it on before arming himself with his usual pistol set and knives. Rule Nine of the military, never go anywhere without a knife. Exiting his bunk, he made the quick walk to the cargo bay where Jayne and Zoe were already loading up the mule with the cargo.
A few minutes later, the cargo bay doors opened and Zoe drove the group out to the buyer's place, following Jayne's directions. Mal sat in the front seat, watching the mule pass by various shops.
"Capt'n, something feels about to change." Zoe said, glancing up briefly from the road. Jayne yelled another direction, and the car turned.
"Nonsense Zoe." Mal said, forcing a grin. They arrived in front of a Western Styled Mansion and rang the bell beside the exterior gate.
A voice sounded, giving various reasons for wanting access to the mansion. Mal picked the 'Delivering' option, which brought another set of options. He selected the one that voiced Badger's name and waited for another set of options. One didn't come. The doors opened and the voice said to ride to the front door. Zoe drove them to the front and pulled up beside it. A tall man exited the house, smiling widely.
"You must be Malcolm Reynolds." The man said, holding his hand out. Mal shook it quickly. Studying the man, Mal was not opposed to what he saw. The man had red hair, with some pieces of gray (not that he could judge him based on that. He found a gray hair last week which freaked him out to no end), and bright blue eyes. He had crows feet in the corners of his eyes, but other than that, few wrinkles. "My name is Johnathan Weasley. Thank you for bringing this to me. I've been waiting for some time to complete the set. He snapped his fingers and two small people came out of the house and grabbed the box, bringing it in. Mal didn't get a good glimpse at them, but he could have sworn that both had large pointed ears.
"I'm Malcolm Reynolds." He said.
"I hope that I've been successful in convincing you to work with me at a later date?" Johnathan spoke.
"I'm sure we'd been open to discussion in the future. So far your the first job that hasn't got one of us shot."
"If I'd have known that you were expecting that, I would have attempted to shot you." Johnathan said, laughing merely. That threw Mal for a loop. Even though the buyer laughed as if it were a joke, he could tell he was being slightly serious. That or he had one odd sense of humour. "Well, I don't want to keep you. I've got to go add her to the collection. Badger gave me specifics to contact you, so I'll send you a wave when I need your services." He said before walking into the house again.
Zoe looked at the Captain and raised an eyebrow.
"Do they always have to be so Gorram weird?"
After returning to the ship Mal was about to walk back to his bunk when he was stopped by Jayne and Wash.
"Captain, why don't we go drinking to celebrate this accomplishment." Wash grinned. Jayne nodded, if only supporting the pilot because he would get a free drink out of it. Sighing, Mal nodded, agreeing that they should celebrate the accomplishment. Inara wouldn't be back for another few hours, and then they would take off.
"Wash it might not be a good idea for you to be drinking. We'll be leaving soon." Mal said, looking at the smaller man warily.
"It's just a drink. It'll be out of my system before Inara comes back. If it isn't, Zoe knows enough to double check everything that I do. I've got the course already set, and all I have to do is get us out of orbit, which will be quick." Wash said. He looked hopeful. Noting that Wash was trying to hang around with him and the war stories more often, he sighed before agreeing to the scatterbrained idea. He would blame the pilot if he got shot tonight. "Shinny Captain." He said, before leading the two men towards a local bar.
Entering the smoky room, Mal noted that there was a small girl on stage. She looked to be no older than River. She sat strumming a guitar and singing softly. Wash lead them to a table close to the entertainment, and went to go get a drink.
Three drinks and an hour later, Jayne was leering at the young woman who was still singing. She concluded a song before starting another. The new one was a cross between a country song and a traditional Chinese song.
"Take my love, take my land, take me where I cannot stand. I don't care, I'm still free, you can't take the sky from me." The girl continued the song until the end, repeating the final line, strumming her guitar a few more times and then stopped completely. She got up and another group took her place, the lead singer straining his vocal cords. He went to go get another drink, walking towards the bar. After he ordered it, he leaned against the bar taking in the bar again. To his right he heard the strains of a fight beginning. He glanced over and was shocked to see the girl that had sung.
"Stop it." She cried out, hissing at the taller man who had a grip on her arm.
"Your coming with me Rene." He spoke, his voice slurring. The man was obviously drunk.
"No, go away. Leave me ALONE!"
"I don't think I will."
"I don't owe you anything, leave me be." She hissed, glaring at the man. The alcohol seemed to make the choice for him, and Mal walked over to the fighting couple, seen enough.
"Excuse me, Rene." Mal said, a fake smile on his face. Or was it real? He didn't care. He addressed the small woman, making the two pause in their struggles. "Hi, your needed down near those two over there." Mal said pointing towards Jayne and Wash. The man who was trying to take the girl tightened his grip.
"This doesn't concern you buddy. Go away." The man said, sliding his attention to the ex-platoon sergeant, the seemingly larger threat.
"I hate to do this but-" Rene said before slicing her arm downward, breaking free of his grip. With her other hand, she used her momentum to punch the other man hard enough to knock him out.
"Why do guys always do that?" She whispered mostly to herself. Her necklace had come out of her blouse and Mal noted that it was a skull and crossbones. Turning her attention away from the unconscious drunkard, she looked at her sort of savior.
"Hi, thanks for distracting him. I'm Rene." She said to Mal.
Mal was extremely shocked. The man that this girl, Rene, had knocked out was the size of Jayne. She looked completely innocent. Her long brown hair was braided and her pale grey eyes were quiet and sincere. The girl reminded him of someone, but she was too young. "Hello, I'm Mal." He said finally finding his voice again. By this point, Jayne and Wash had come over to him, wondering what had taken him so long. "What's his problem?"
"Bob? Oh, he should wake up in about twenty minutes, and he's not going to be happy." She said.
"Well, if you need a ride off planet, my ship's gonna be leaving in a couple hours, going to Persephone. We should have room. Your welcome to travel with us." He said, unsure of where the kindness was coming from. Apparently both men behind him were also wondering about that too.
"Thanks for your offer, but-" She was cut off by the bartender.
"Rene, girl, go for it. Plus you got a bunch a guys afta ya."
"Thanks for reminding me Stan." She turned back to the captain. "Thank you, I'd love to." She said, bowing slightly. She smiled and picked up a small bag and her guitar case.
"Hi, apparently you'll be joining us. I'm Wash, this man-ape is Jayne." Jayne would have continued to leer at her, only he was the one who noticed the small girl punching the lights out of the guy on the floor, who probably could have beaten him in a fight. He stood cautiously behind the captain. Wash looked at the small girl and found nothing to be afraid of. He offered his hand.
"Rene." She said, shaking his hand. They walked out of the bar, stepping over the body of Bob. Rene 'accidentally' kicked him three times in the chest before following the trio out of the bar towards the docks.
"So what kind of ship is it?" Rene asked, keeping up with them.
"Firefly." Jayne bit out.
"Wow, I've always wanted to fly in a firefly." She giggled slightly at the rhyme. "What's her name?"
"Serenity." Wash answered.
"Almost there." Mal grumbled out. "Wash, contact Inara. Get her back as soon as she can come. Jayne, spread the word about Rene. Get everyone ready to leave in a few hours." They arrived at the ship and walked into her. "I'll show Rene to her room." He said before leading the small girl away to the guest quarters. He spoke, giving his typical introduction speech. Arriving at the rooms, Rene picked one and was left there with basic instructions to the living quarters when she was set.
Nodding, she closed the thin screen door, before a bright flash of light shone in the room. No one noticed it.
"So everyone, this is Rene. Rene this is Zoe." The Captain said introducing the woman to the Amazon woman. He motioned to Jayne "This is Jayne, who you've met." He turned to a girl about Rene's age.
"Can't hear much, only fuzz. Another Captain. Double images. Mudblood. Teaspoon. Chosen One. Bat-Bogey. Coming home." River muttered, "Alive." She looked to Simon. "What am I saying?" She asked, a broken look on her face. Everyone was paying attention to River, so no one noticed the look of recognition pass across Rene's face.
"Right," Mal said, "She's not all there. That's River. Don't worry, she normally doesn't make much sense." He turned to Wash. "Our pilot Wash, who you met." Wash offered a small smile. "Married to Zoe. Our mechanic Kaylee."
"Hey." She spoke, a warm smile on her face.
"Next is our ambassador, Inara."
"Don't mind him. I'm a companion." The glamorous woman said, smiling slightly.
"Maybe I could come by for some tea." Inara nodded.
"We've got our Doctor, Simon, brother to our crazy person." Simon glared at the captain over the 'crazy person' comment. He regarded the woman, but said nothing.
"And finally, Shepard Book."
"Welcome." Book said, smiling.
"That's everyone. Who's turn is it to cook?" Mal said looking around at the crew. No one voiced their name.
"Actually, would you mind if I cook? To thank you, I mean." Rene said, blushing slightly.
"'F you want." She nodded before running off.
"Kitchen's in here." Someone yelled at her retreating figure.
"I've got a few things to cook with." She said, looking back at the assembled crew.
"Wow. This is great." Mal said. He took another bite of dinner.
"S'nothing. Just a couple spices. A couple tricks a friend taught me." She smiled forlornly. "Keep your forks after this. I've got desert too."
"Wow."
"I'm considering hiring you to cook for us." Mal said.
"Maybe." Rene said with a small smile.
AN: Hehe... Don't kill me for not updating for the past three or so years. I've been busy, and I just found the copy of this chapter. A bit of re-writing happened, and a turn of the plot completely, however, I have no idea if this will be continued. I've got another chapter possibly, I'm unsure. I make no promises for constant updates. I've found this with so many other beginnings of fanfictions, I've got plans for a drop point, in case anyone wants a story to adopt. However these require me to type everything. That is my plan for the next little bit. On top of that, I'm going to university in a few weeks so that plan is not even certain.