Chapter 6
May 2517, The Black
A/N Timeline is from the The Signal's website.
The job from Badger was simple. Go there, grab the loot, bring it back, get paid.
Simple in this case meant Mal, Zoe and Jayne were currently EVA over a derelict transport while Serenity waited among the wreckage. Illegal salvage was the game today. Jayne didn't mind be out in the actual Black in a spacesuit, it was all kinds of liberatin'.
"Jayne, give me the sticky." Mal ordered. Jayne used the small thrusters on his suit to move towards Mal. It only took a little bit of motion and he was there, passin' the sticky gun.
Sticky was great stuff. A gel like substance, just apply it where ya need ta, add a little heat, and it et right through the metal, quick like.
"OK, we get the goods, we're off this wreck and back on the ship," Mal continued, "no worries."
Meanwhile, back on Serenity, Wash was interrupted in his dinosaur playin' by the proximity alert. "Motherless son of a…" Something big was headin' in.
The sticky had done it's job, as it always did, and the remainin' atmo inside the derelict did it's job too, that a blowin' the hatch open into the vacuum a space.
As Mal and Jayne went to grab the loot, an urgent comm. came from Wash.
"Captain we got an Alliance Cruiser bearing right down on us".
"Go se" thought Jayne.
The Captain was even less polite.
"Ta me dah, have they spotted us?" he asked. Wash wasn't sure, and Mal wasn't wastin' any more time. "Have they hailed us?"
Jayne was worried his ownself. "If they's hear for the salvage, we're humped."
"If they find us at all we're humped!" Zoe chimed in.
Mal ordered Wash to shut Serenity down, everything but the air. Hopefully by goin' dark the Alliance Cruiser would not spot them amongst all the wreckage.
Wash in the bridge and Kaylee in the engine room rushed to shut down Serenity as the Alliance Cruiser closed.
The massive Cruiser was not there for them. On a routine patrol it had come across the derelict and investigated as per standing orders.
The entire crew held their breath as the city sized Cruiser swept slowly past, scanning the wreckage for survivors. Just as the Cruiser was about to move on it's powerful active scanners swept energy over the area. They had detected a residual heat source – Serenity.
Now spotted, Serenity and her crew were humped.
"Prep the ship!" Mal commanded. "We move these in double time!" as Mal, Zoe and Jayne grabbed a crate of loot each and headed back to Serenity as fast as the small thrusters on their spacesuits would carry them., while Wash and Kaylee brought the ship back to full power.
The Captain of the Cruiser was well aware of what was going on. Illegal salvage. He ordered gunships to launch and capture the trespassing Firefly class transport.
It was a race. Could the crew get back on board before the gunships launched and captured them? Not a chance. It seemed all hope was lost, but the crew of Serenity were nothin' if not resourceful.
"Cry baby, cry.." Mal started.
"Make your mother sigh!" Wash finished as he pushed the button to launch a cry baby.
There was a woosh! of compressed air as the cry baby left the decoy launcher and sped away into The Black. It wouldn't be long before the electronic decoy would be far away from Serenity.
At a range of 13,000 kilometers the cry baby started transmitting. The signal mimicked a distress call from a large personnel carrier, drifting with a total loss of power.
The Alliance Colonel had no choice. Rescue took precedence over capture of some petty thieves. He ordered the gunships to return as the mighty cruiser turned and rushed, as best it could, to rescue the "survivors" of the fake personnel carrier.
This allowed the intrepid trio to get back aboard safely, and once the cargo bay was pressurized and artificial gravity restored, Mal ordered Serenity to full burn to make good their escape.
"Let's moon 'em!" Jayne smirked, it felt awful good to stick it in the eye of the Alliance.
It wasn't a total loss for the Alliance men this day however, as they put out an all points bulletin on the Cortex to be aware of a Firefly with stolen goods. Not much, but better than nothing. And this small act put a range of events in motion that would change the crew of the small Firefly forever.
Persephone, Lux System, Three Hours Later
Eavesdown Docks
As usual, Mal, Zoe and Jayne were to make the drop. This was an easier drop than most, the job was setup by Badger and the drop would take place at his "Office". Often a meet would be out in the middle of nowhere, no witnesses for any double crossin' that might go down.
Jayne still didn't like it. Sure, it might lessen the chance of violence, but if violence was necessary Jayne didn't want no lawman gettin' in the way of his own brand a public relations. After strappin' his LeMat Boo and its holster on, Jayne pulled on his large coat and mosied on over to the Cap'n.
Mal called to little Kaylee to find some potential passengers, just in case, as they may need the money. Jayne smiled, little Kaylee was like a mei mei to him, he'd be surprised if she didn't have a full load a passengers by the time they got back!Even though Jayne thought passengers were a pain in the pi gu.
The three then set of for Badger's office, Jayne and Mal cuttin' a path through the crowds of the Eavesdown Docks with measured ease.
Badgers Office, Short Time Later
Badger, once proud member of the Dyton Colony, had delusions of grandeur. Would he be the King of all Londinium? No, just a fence, bigger than small time but smaller than big time. A middle man for a middle kingdom.
Serenity's Captain, First Mate and Mercenary entered Badger's den, a dark dank place that smelled of too many men having too few baths. Still, the men mayhaps stank, but they was all armed, and Jayne took note of how many and where they stood, ready for action if need be.
The Captain, as he always did, strode confidently into Badger's inner sanctum, and Jayne smiled to hisself. He approved of the way the Cap'n carried hisself, like a man should. He worked with many other Captains in the past, and they mostly was small men with small minds and a similar amount a courage. 'Twas nice to be answerin' to a man instead of a rodent for a change.
Speakin' on rodents, there was Badger hisself, another one a these sad little men. Jayne face scrunched up all on its ownself, he'd always wanted to pound on the miniature man somewhat for always disrespectin' the Cap'n.
"You're late." Badger simply stated as they entered the room.
The Cap'n's relpy was also simple. "You're lyin."
The little rodent was put out by this simple statement of fact. "What did you just say to me?"
"You're well aware we landed two hours before we planned to, with all the goods ya sent us after intact…"
The banter went on for a few minutes and Jayne zoned out on the details. The Cap'n could handle hisself, Jayne's job was ta make sure none a Badger's hun dun's thought themselves man enough to interrupt. He scanned the room carefully notin' the position of each a Badger's men. There was gunhands, a course, as well as the rodents money man. Jayne added the tactical picture to that he had obtained on the way into the inner sanctum.
Tactical picture. There it was again. Military go se that only came stronger and more natural like to Jayne's thinkin' as time went on.
Anyways he was pretty sure he could take the one on his left and the big fella behind him. Zoe and the Cap'n would have to take care a the other gun hand, the money man and Badger hisself. Then they'd regroup and assault through, Jayne mentally shook his head, Badger's men outside the inner office, then they'd be home free. That's if it all went to go se.
And that was about normal, Jayne mused as he concentrated on Badger as the tome of the conversation had turned tetchy some.
"…and you were gonna hand over imprinted goods and just let me twist was that the case?"
Jayne scanned the room again. Looks like everyone's trigger fingers were gettin' itchy.
"We didn't pick the cargo." Mal was sayin'
That riled Badger up some. "And I didn't flash my arse at the gorram law!"
Jayne moved his hand towards Boo as he heard Badger say "there's no deal. The situation, as they say, is fluid."
With his hand hoverin' near Boo it was Jayne's time to get involved, to throw Badger and his men off some.
"The only fluid I see here is the puddle of piss refusin' to pay us our wage!" Jayne sneered, waitin' for Mal to give the signal to act.
Mal, as it happened, was too slow, and as Jayne finally went to draw his LeMat he found Badger's men had already trained their guns on Serenity's trio. Mal silently ordered Jayne to stand down.
Well, it weren't an unusual situation to be in with this crew, truth be told, Jayne mused as the banter between Mal and the rodent continued.
Mal refused to back down, as did Badger. Mal towered over Badger, and the little man was utterly unconcerned. Clearly the rodent knew somethin' Mal didn't.
Rejectin' Mal's argument that "he was here to do business", Badger pointed out Mal's only remainin' option.
"Try one a tha border planets. They're a lot more desperate there. A course, they might kill ya…but you stay here, and I just know The Alliance will track you down. I have that feelin'…."
Dismissed, and with no cashy money from the no deal, the trio head back to Serenity's allocated dock.
Once outside Jayne was livid. Not so much at the Capn's lack of action, although there was some a that, but mainly at that little ung jeong jia ching jien soh Badger.
"I don't understand why we didn't leave that summbitch in a pool a his own blood!" Jayne sneered.
"We'd be dead." Mal reasonably replied. "Can't get paid if you're dead."
Jayne was unconvinced. "And ya can't get paid if ya crawl away like a bitty little bug neither. I got a share a this job. Ten percent a nuthin' is, let me do the math here.." Jayne said as he traced imaginary figures in the air, "nuthin, then nuthin', carry the nuthin'…"
The Captain needed an alternate plan. They had planned to go to Boros after getting' paid, but with that bein' a large Alliance friendly place there was no way they could go there now.
Zoe was all for droppin' the newly acquired cargo and lookin' for another job. Jayne was unimpressed.
"No ruttin' way! We ain't had a job in weeks, I say we stage a raid on that feh feh pi goh Badger. If lil Kaylee cuts the power to his den, we use night vision gear, a few flash bangs, an a few silenced rounds later we gots all the cashy money we want. We need the coin!"
Mal and Zoe looked at Jayne like he had two heads, Mal, confused at Jayne's military like plan, said the first thing that popped inta his mind. "Jayne, ya mouth is talkin', ya might wanna look to that.."
"Like I said Cap, I'm ready to stop talkin'. We should…"
"You're right though." Mal smiled as he cut Jayne off.
Jayne also smiled, he was a man a action. And gorram it, they'd been stiffed by that weasel. Time for payback.
The smile faded from Jayne's face at the Captain and First Mate discussed options, none a which included assaultin' Badger's den.
The rest of the journey back to Serenity was taken up by the two arguing as to tha course a action, Jayne knew it wasn't his job to work that out, so he concentrated on what was his job. Makin' sure they weren't followed, and makin' sure they made it back to the ship in one piece.
As they neared the ship it was decided. They would head towards Boros in the Georgia system, but go to Whitefall instead, which was a moon of Athens on the other side of the system. And hopefully make a deal with the cranky old lady who ran Whitefall, who went by the name a Patience.
At least there was some good news. Kaylee had indeed managed to get a few passengers for the trip to the Georgia system.
Grumblin' as he didn't really like passengers none, Jayne stripped off his coat as he spotted his shipboard mei mei. "I'll be in my bunk." he smiled weakly as he walked past lil' Kaylee, who's attention though was fully locked onta one of the passengers. Jayne especially didn't like that none, but he was too tired and grumpy to worry any on that right now.
All they was waitin' on was for The Ambassador to arrive in her shuttle, then Serenity could blast off for The Black.
Later – The Black – Enroute to Whitefall
Thinkin' back on the days events made Jayne a mite uneasy. He'd come to care for this crew in the almost two and half years he'd been onboard.
Lil' Kaylee was a no brainer, a finer person you could not find in the 'Verse. A ruttin' good mechanic to boot, there'd been a time or two out here he thought they was done for, until his adopted mei mei had had an inspiration and saved 'em all. For those times if no other he was mighty grateful to have her onboard, and he'd stop a bullet for her if that was needed.
Wash, husband of Zoe, and the ships resident funny little man, was still a pain in the pi gu. But he was a good pilot, and that more than made up for it. Well, mostly made up for it. 'Cause he's still a pain in the pi gu.
Zoe herself, now they weren't friends, but they weren't enemies neither. Two years plus of fightin' side by side does that. He trusted her to watch his back as he surely would do for her.
The Ambassador weren't really crew, and she weren't no ambassador neither. Inara Serra, Registered Companion. Basically a fancy whore, but Jayne could respect that. It was, he thought, actually an important job. She'd been rentin' the spare shuttle since August last or so, about eight months he figured, but she didn't come on jobs or nothin' so she and Jayne really didn't interact so much. But it were obvious Cap'n had it bad for her. Less obvious to most, but not to Jayne, she seemed to like the Cap'n as well.
The Cap'n hisself he was still trying' to figure out, even now. He was the biggest dumbass who ever walked the 'Verse at times, and yet they always came out in front, even if that was often just less worse off than the others they dealt with. He was an honorable man, that's for sure. Made it hard to do crime, but crime they did. Jayne respected Mal an awful lot, and although true he would admit to no one out loud that he actually liked his Captain at times.
And that was the rub. Overall, he thought this was the best crew he had taken up with. They worked well together, mostly got on well together when they weren't on a job, had fun even, but except for Kaylee he got the feelin', no he knew, they didn't really like him much and although they respected his skills they didn't quite respect him as a man.
Shouldn't bother him none, but it did.
This crew weren't like the others all these past years. Mostly, ya watched ya own back, even from ya own side. Ya couldn't trust nobody, and he'd proved that his ownself when he joined Mal.
No, on past form they was right to be wary on 'im, even after two and a half years, and even with 'im not doin' a thing to show he was gonna betray 'em.
And he wasn't gonna. Not ever. He was getting' old for a Merc, most don't live past 40 or so unless they had solid back up. He'd be 37 his ownself later this year. Truth be told this crew was the most like a family he'd ever rememberin' havin', and he liked it here and didn't wanna leave.
Decision time. In fact, he'd already made it. Time he tried harder to fit it this family on Serenity. He used his gruff and crude demeanor as a shield to keep folk at arms length, so's he wouldn't care too much. Didn't want no responsibility.
Well, he already cared, and he already took on the responsibility, now to show the others that he don't do it just cause they paid 'im.
Dinner That Night
"I'm starved!" Jayne said as he piled his plate high with the food, real food! Thanks to The Shepherd, Book, one a the new passengers.
"It's not much, I had a garden at The Abbey." Book replied with a smile. "I thought I should bring what I could."
Jayne thought on The Shepherd as he took his first mouthful of food. Not overly religious his ownself, Jayne still believed in a higher power or somesuch. Might not be no Yeh-soo as The Shepherd believed, but then again mayhaps there was.
"It's very kind to share with all of us." piped in one of the other passengers – Doctor Simon Tam. Now there was a fish outta water if ever did Jayne see one. A Core bred pansy ass, out here. Why? Don't make no sense. Somethin' smells, Jayne decided, he'd be keepin' a sharp eye on the young Doc.
As the food was passed around the large table, The Shepherd looked up smilin' to the head of the table and asked "Captain, do you mind if I say Grace?"
"Only if you say it out loud." Mal tersely responded.
The smile dropped from Book's face. Jayne thought the Cap'n was bein' a mite unfair. The man had done brought his own real food and cooked up a treat, least he coulda done was humored the man. Was his ship, but still..
The Shepherd lowered his head to say a silent Grace, Jayne figured he'd join in, didn't hurt none and it was a gesture a kindness. A good way to start his new family orientation.
All the others except the Cap'n joined in. He continued to eat the man's food while Book prayed silently.
Once the prayin' was over, it was time to eat, and to talk it seemed.
"So does it happen a lot?" asked the Core bred Doc. "The Government commandeering your ship, telling you where to go?"
That brought the Capn's head up and he fixed The Doc with a hard glare.
"That's what Government's are for, to get in a man's way."
"Well that's good if the supplies are needed." chimed in the third and final passenger, Dobson.
Jayne didn't like the look a him neither, looked like some kinda weasel or somesuch. He'd be watchin' him close like too.
"We're just happy to be doin' good works." he said, and if'n it hada been true he woulda meant it.
The banter continued on for a spell, then Jayne saw Kaylee turn to the young Doctor with a gleam in her eyes.
"You're a Doctor, right?"
The Doc was surprised at her attention.
"Oh..ah…yes, I was a Trauma Surgeon on Osiris in Capital City."
Now Jayne's interested was really peaked. Simon Tam was young for a Doc, real young for a surgeon, and why is it out here? Jayne asked himself again. Yep, something ruttin' stinks about the man.
"Long way from here." Looks like the Cap'n had the same feelin' as Jayne.
The Doctor didn't answer, and before the pause got too long a clearly enamored Kaylee continued to ask questions on the Doc, smiling that smile a hers at 'im. Clearly she was taken with the Cored bred pansy ass and had missed completely the signs Jayne and the Cap'n had seen in the man.
His adopted mei mei surely couldn'ta thought this fish outta water was swai, but apparently she did. Time to derail this idea before she gots her feelin's hurt by that feh feh pi goh.
"Lil Kaylee here just wishes you was a gynecologist."
The table went silent, as he'd planned it too. Lil Kaylee looked a bit hurt. Jayne felt bad, and it didn't really go with his bein'' a good family type, but Kaylee had to stay well away from that man until the Cap'n could figure out what the man was hidin'. So sometimes ya had to be cruel to be kind.
The Cap'n was a great actor or he hadn't caught onta Jayne's plan. "Jayne, you will keep a civil tongue in your mouth at this table, do we have an understandin' between us?"'
Jayne woulda usually pushed the point, but he'd managed to derail Kaylee's ill advised affections, and for now that was enough. Besides, he was gonna show 'em he could be part a this family.
"Sure, Cap'n. he said, but he wasn't 100% successful at keepin' the smirk off his face.
The Cap'n was a little surprised at the ease of Jayne's surrender, and started to wonder on that his ownself. He mused on it for a bit whilst the banter, sans interaction between Kaylee and Simon, slowly returned. It finally clicked why Jayne had said what he did. Kaylee sure liked the Doc, but his story was full a holes - bigguns. Best she stays away from the man until he comes clean like. Mal's brow furrowed as he realized Jayne had put it together before his ownself, and had acted, crudely, to protect Kaylee. Interestin'.
Later That Night
Lil Kaylee was in the common room and Jayne had come to apologize. Before he could say his piece, the sounds of a commotion below drew the two crew members to the cargo bay.
Kaylee walked first through the hatch and into the cargo bay, her usual smile in place. She was confused at the hullabaloo and began to ask "What's is it…"
But before she could finish it a loud BANG! rang out and Kaylee collapsed.
Jayne was livid. Dobson, the little weasel, had shot his mei mei.
"KAYLEE!" Inara cried from above as Jayne reached for Boo and advanced on that yi da dwei bun chou go se, ready to do his job while the others looked on Kaylee.
Before he could get to him The Shepherd – The Shepherd! – easily disarmed the weasel and took him to the ground.
"Outta the way!" he ordered The Shepherd.
Book, surprisingly, or not so after what Jayne had just seen, stood his ground.
"You're not killing this man." he simply stated.
"Not right away." Jayne replied.
"He's no threat." Book pleaded.
"MOVE!"
"NOT gonna happen."
Shepherd or no, this hun dun had hurt Kaylee, bad, and was gonna pay. Jayne drew Boo.
"I ain't jokin' with you preacher." he sneered as he aimed his LeMat at Book.
"JAYNE!" The call above had come from the late arrivin' Zoe. "Just tie him up."
He did as he was ordered, but he didn't like it none. There was some reckonin' to be had, and Jayne would supply it at the right time. Draggin' the unconscious … Lawman?...to one of the more secure passenger dorms, he expertly tied him up and stood watch, waiting for him to regain his consciousness.
All the while wonderin' what was goin' on with Lil Kaylee. Oh yeah, the weasel, he was gonna die, but if Kaylee didn't make it, the ching-wah tao doh liou mahng was gonna die real slow.
After a short while, Dobson woke from his forced slumber. Jayne watched from behind with growin' anger as the man struggled against his bonds. Well, he's woke, and he can't get outta his bonds, so…
Jayne walked around to face Dobson, who's eyes went wide with fear. Jayne had let him struggle with the rope just to make sure he didn't have no special escapin' trick or somesuch. The weasel appeared to have no clue, and Jayne had a real powerful urge to check on Kaylee. He also had a real powerful urge to pound on Dobson some, so he did, knocking the weasel out again.
There was a small access port to the Infirmary on the upper catwalk, and knowin' he wouldn't be able ta get inta the actual Infirmary, he watched the Doctor work on his shipboard mei mei from there. It took a long time, but he wasn't gonna go nowhere.
One Hour Later
The Doctor seemed to know his stuff, Jayne'd give him that. He saved Lil Kaylee, and even though he didn't like the Doc none, he would owe him one for that - not knowin' the Doc was the reason Kaylee'd been shot.
He saw, but couldn't hear, the Cap'n and the Doc have words. Mal wheeled out of the Infirmary towards the cargo bay with purpose.
"No, NO!" Simon yelled as he followed him. "Stay away from that!"
Jayne had had enough. He came down from his observin' place and grabbed the Doc in a powerful choke hold, draggin' him behind the Cap'n. Somethin' was goin' on, that much was clear, Jayne didn't know what, but the Cap'n was gonna reveal all, soon he hoped.
"Where's the Fed?" Mal asked, slightly surprised at Jayne's sudden appearance.
"Secured. Shepherd's with im." Jayne replied. "He seems to think he''s not safe alone with me." he continued as the Cap'n approached Simon's belongings, especially interested in a hermetic crate the Doctor had brought onboard.
As Simon struggled uselessly in Jayne's grasp, Mal wheeled out the crate and opened the locks. There was a WHOOSH of condensed air from the crate as the inbuilt alarm began to blare.
Wash and Zoe, alert to the ruckus, had by now joined the three men and Inara in the cargo bay and watched the Cap'n with rapt attention.
Mal looked up at the Doctor and simply stated "Well, let's see what a man like you would kill for." as he kicked the cover off the crate. Mal walked over and peered in. What he saw, shocked him. A girl, in cryogenic sleep. Mal had prepared himself for a shock – he was expectin' body parts or somesuch, not a whole girl.
At looked at the Doctor and back at the sleepin' girl in utter confusion, a small "Huh?" was the best he could manage.
Jayne's grip on Simon tightened as Mal and The Doc spoke back and forth. He wasn't really listenin', he was disgusted with what he saw. A slaver? The Core bred pansy ass Doctor Trauma Surgeon was a slaver?! Jayne didn't see that one, he thought the Doc stank, but this…..Jayne had never forced himself on a woman, never would, it was one of his core ideals. A woman was a person, same as 'im, who could make the decision on what course her life took. Not a piece a meat to be sold at some joo bah jeh's pleasure.
His musin's, and the other two men's discussion, was interrupted by a female scream as the formerly sleepin' object of the discussion literally jumped outta the box, nekkid, and fell to the floor. Clearly shocked and disoriented, the whimperin' girl slumped against the crate as her eyes darted around the cargo bay.
Her eyes at first settled on Inara, then quickly moved to Mal. After a second or two they moved to Simon, this seemed to slow her whimperin' mostly. Then, she looked at Jayne, and after a few seconds seemed to completely calm. The whimperin' began again as she looked back to Simon, who had some how freed himself from Jayne's usually iron grip.
Said holder of a previously iron grip was shocked his ownself. The girl had popped, straight outta the box, and Jayne immediately noted the obvious that she was plumb nekkid, and that she was frantic, But that wasn't what shocked him.
He watched her look at Mal, then Simon, then his ownself. Despite bein' nekkid, havin' wet hair, throwin' a fit and makin' a damn wail like a banshee, when he looked into her eyes a jolt of electricity went through his body and he thought he had never seen a more beautiful girl. "Claire…." A long dormant part of his mind whispered. Jayne shook that off as the now calm girl watched 'im watchin' 'er! It was kinda creepafyin', her getting' calm like that as she looked at 'im, but Jayne didn't mind none. Why, he didn't know, and that was what shocked 'im.
Simon took the opportunity of his sudden freedom to run over to the girl…
"River! River, it's ok., it's ok, I'm here." he whispered to her.
The girl calmed again and spoke clearly for the first time.
"Simon? Simon, they talk to me, they want me too.." she shrieked as she fell back into panic.
The Doctor clasped her face with his hands and tried to calm her down once more.
"They're gone, they're gone..we're safe now…we're safe.."
Simon hugged the girl fiercely and Jayne felt a sudden rush of irrational jealousy. Jealously, over some girl he didn't know who just jumped outta a gorram box? He felt himself shake his head, this was a hell of a day, fer sure.
Everyone was shocked, Jayne felt a powerful need to cover the nekkid girl, so he went to the closest emergency locker, grabbed a thermal blanket and threw it at the Doctor who had the good sense to cover the girl.
The Cap'n had recovered, somewhat, his ownself, and needed answers.
"What the hell is this?"
Simon looked up from the floor and replied in a somber tone, "This is my sister, River."
Jayne could help the flood of illogical relief that ran through his body at the word "sister". The fact that they were siblings had made sense, somewhat, of the situation, and as the whole crew was fussin' over the pair, Jayne retired to his bunk to figure on just why his reaction to the entire episode had been as strange as it had been.
Five Minutes Earlier
River was dreaming - she must be. She was happy. Dancing intricate steps around her ge ge Simon while her bao hu zhe stood watch. Perfect peace and harmony, she could not be harmed here. Her men, her big brother and her protector would see to that.
Suddenly, she was yanked out of her pleasant dreaming by the loud thoughts of many that assaulted her fragile brain. It felt cold, and wet, and a bright light stung her eyes. Thinking she was drowning she screamed and leapt out from the box she was in, finally collapsing in utter exhaustion and confusion against that same box.
The now whimpering girl turned her head to the sounds of voices, both aural and in her brain, and it was at that moment The Academy training took over.
Scanning her environment looking for threats, she needed to evaluate the situation before it would be decided if she would fight or flee.
Looking at the four people arrayed in front of her in turn, she first settled on the woman. Beautiful, petite, no obvious weapons, threat assigned as minimal.
The tall man in front was armed, one revolver, Taurus Model 85. He looked confused. He was not reaching for the weapon. Threat assigned as medium pending further input.
There was a smaller man slightly behind the tall one, behind restrained by a giant, or so it seemed. Small man, currently restrained, no obvious weapons, threat level minimum…..River's Academy programming hesitated…he looked like ge ge…further information required after threat evaluation of final potential adversary.
She evaluated the man from his combat boots up. Very tall, powerfully built, armed with several knives and a LeMat Custom, she moved up to scan his face and was shocked – and immediately calmed.
There, stood her bao hu zhe. Impossible!And yet, there he was. After a few seconds Rivers Academy program terminated. No threats, bao hu zhe is here, nothing could harm her now.
River had used the image of her bao hu zhe to place a fail safe in the Academy's programming. All she had to do was concentrate on his image, and if she was successful her own still powerful mind could circumvent the evil programming. She had never used it, however. If she had, the Blue Hands would want to know how she had done it, and that was worse than the alternative – continuing to main and kill and their bequest. And she had, awaiting the right opportunity.
Unfortunately all that remained once the program terminated was a totally confused, cold, wet and naked girl, and as her mind once again clouded with the many thoughts of others she slipped back to whimpering and babbling.
She thought, and then she knew, her ge ge was here also, and she collapsed in his arms. Eventually she felt the cold lessen somewhat from the warmth of her brothers body…and from a thermal blanket than she knew her bao hu zhe had provided.
River leaned into her brother's embrace, content as her mind was able to be in this situation, and let herself be swamped by his love.
A/N Next mega Chapter will conclude the events of the Serenity pilot, plus a little extra Rayney goodness.
Chinese:
Go se-Crap
Ta me dah-Damn it
Pi gu-Butt
Hun dun-Jerk
Ung jeong jia ching jien soh-Filthy fornicators of livestock
Feh feh pi goh-Baboon's butt crack
Yeh-soo-Jesus
Swai-Handsome
Yi da dwei bun chou go se-Big stupid pile of crap
Ching-wah tao doh liou mahng-Frog humping SOB
Joo bah jeh-Perverted person
Ge Ge-Big brother
Bao hu zhe-Protector