As always thank you to all those who read and review my story. It means so much to me that so many people are still following it. I own nothing, I'm just borrowing the characters for my own amusement, so please don't sue.
Chapter 21: The best laid plans…
XXX
The next day Mal announced to the crew of Serenity that River and Riddick would be staying on as hired guns. No one seemed too surprised given the success of the last job, but there had been questions regarding River's…episode, but the same excuse had been given and it was easily dismissed.
When Mal asked if Shepherd Book would like to be dropped off at another destination, he was more than a little surprised when he simply declined and offered his services as cook as a way to stay on as well. Mal had sarcastically questioned him about 'needin' to spread the word', but the Shepherd had merely said he had heathens a plenty right here on Serenity. The Captain hadn't been too happy about this, but he eventually settled down after he had the first meal Shepherd had prepared. Book was right… spices make anything tolerable.
River had spoken to Book about getting a hold of a few of his contacts from the old days to see if they could dig up any files on her from the Academy. He seemed hesitant at first, not wanting to risk letting anyone know about her and her history with the Alliance, but when River told him they may help her understand if things could be…improved… with regard to handling her abilities and…'episodes', he became more willing to think about her request.
XXX
…A day or two later…
River's POV
Captain Daddy, the ape man, and the girl were all seated in a border moon bar, waiting to make contact with a friend of a friend of Mal's that had a some information about a job. Zoe and Riddick had left the unlikely trio about an hour ago to procure ammunitions and would be meeting them back at the ship.
The bar is an entirely new experience for the girl, not having had much opportunity to socialize with people, and all the dancers, the card games, and music was causing her to be a little distracted.
"Your move Moony." Jayne said drawing her back to the game of Chinese checkers that she, the ape man, and Captain Daddy were currently playing. She moves a piece and then returns to looking at all the people in the bar.
"You'd think she'd never been to a bar before." Jayne says as he makes his move.
She doesn't bother to turn around to answer him. "Not one like this…it's fascinating."
"What's so fascinating about some shitty little bar and a bunch of drunks?" Mal says as he studies the board finally settling on a piece to move.
"You try being locked up for several years without much human interaction and then we shall talk Captain." She says as she turns and looks at the board.
She looks at the board and smiles. "That's a bold move."
"I live on the edge."
Even without her…talents…Mal was just making it too easy for her. She proceeds to jump over his now perfectly aligned pieces from one side of the board to the other.
"Nice work, dumbass." Jayne grunts.
Mal looks a little defeated and she offers him a sympathetic smile. "I'd given some thought to movin' off the edge… not an ideal location…thinkin' a place in the middle."
And that's when the girl realizes he is not paying attention to the game, but the drunks at the bar. She catches a few of their thoughts and rolls her eyes.
"Toast! Toast!" But no one quiets down he yells. "QUIET! SHUT UP!"
She catches a stray thought from Mal. "…Bout time someone decided to say something…" She laughs at herself, she should have known why he was so keen to be in the bar...oh well, she could cross off being in a bar brawl from her list of things to do.
"I'm, uh, I got words... I'm sayin' this is an…a'spicious day."
Now Mal is just looking uncomfortable and serious, and she can hear the trumpets sounding the charge.
"We all know what day it is." The drunk, whose name is Lund, yells.
"Suspicious... what day is it?" Jayne asks. She gives him a look that says you are such a boob.
"A glorious day, for all the proud members of the allied planets. Unification day!" Lund yells as he punches his fist in the air.
"…Chùsheng xai-jiao de xiang huo, bastards like him wouldn't know what it was like…"
"The end of the scumbag independents, the dawn of a new galaxy!"
And as the crowd begins to cheer Mal gets up from his seat.
"Captain?" She says.
"I just feel the need for another drink."
She watches him walk towards the bar and then leaves a still confused Jayne mumbling to himself. "What month is it?"
XXX
Mal walks over to the bar, and stands next to the drunk who had been giving the toast. He leans forward to get the bartender's attention.
When he gets the bartenders attention he places his order. "Ching zie lie ee bay Ng-Ka-Pei?"
That's when the drunk decides it's time for another toast and turns towards Mal. "Hey, you gonna drink t'the Alliance wi' me? Six years today, the Alliance sent the browncoats running, pissing their pants."
He looks at Mal a little more now. "Y'know, your coat is kinda a brownish color."
"It was on sale." Mal deadpans and then downs his drink.
"You didn't toast...Y'know, I'm thinkin' you one of them independents."
"And I'm thinkin' you weren't burdened with an overabundance of schooling. So why don't we
just ignore each other, til we go away?"
Mal turns away from the man and faces the bar again; he looks into the mirror behind the bar and notices River sidle up next to the drunk, who is far too busy glaring at Mal to notice.
"The Independents were a bunch of cowardly inbred pisspots. Shoulda been killed off of every world spinnin'." He says to mal, trying to provoke a reaction.
And that does it for Mal, he sets down his drink and turns towards the man, stone faced.
"Say that to my face." He says with an edge of anger. The drunk and he both then proceed to stand and face each other.
"I said, you're a coward, and a pisspot. Now what are you gonna do about it?"
And Mal smiles as he sees the girl move behind the man. "Nothin'. I just wanted you to face me so she could get behind ya."
The drunk turns and his face meets River's well placed fist.
"Drunks are so cute." Mal says with a smile to her. However, he realizes she isn't looking at him, but at the local color getting up from their seats now.
"Oh juh jen sh guh kwai luh duh jean jan."
"You started it." River deadpans.
Mal looks over to his other hired gun. "Jayne..."
"Hey, I didn't fight in no war. Best of luck, though." He says as he raises a glass to Mal.
"Then what am I paying you for?" Mal says with irritation as the first drunk proceeds to swing at him.
XXX
…Bridge of Serenity…
"Everything looks good from here...Yes. Yes, this is a fertile land, and we will thrive." Wash says trough a stegosaurus toy.
"We will rule over all this land, and we will call it... "This Land." He says through again through the same toy.
But then he holds up a T-Rex in a menacing fashion, as if to convey a sense of impending doom. "I think we should call it "your grave!"
"Ah, curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!" The stegosaurus cowers.
"Ha ha HA! Mine is an evil laugh! Now die!" And with that the T-Rex begins to devour the other.
That's when he hears Mal come on over the comm.. "Wash, we've got some local color happening. Your grand entrance would not go amiss."
"Got to love U-Day." Wash says as sets down the toys and preps Serenity for a 'grand entrance.'
XXX
…After the 'grand' entrance…
River's POV
"Damn yokels can't even tell a transport ship ain't got no guns on it." Jayne says as he hops onto Serenity. "Blow a new crater in this moon. Ha! Idiots."
"That was fun… let's do that again!" The girl asks Mal as they hop onto Serenity.
"I'll have to remember you thought so when my head stops hurting so much." Mal says as they pass Riddick and Zoe in the hall.
"I take it there was a brawl." Zoe says with a laugh.
"He started it." The girl says to the Warrior woman.
"Wha? I didn't start it! Just wanted a quiet drink." Mal says defensively.
"Funny, sir." Zoe deadpans. "You always seem to find yourself in an Alliance-friendly bar come U-day, looking for a "quiet drink."
"See, this is another sign of your tragic space dementia, all paranoid and crotchety."
XXX
Riddick's POV
I hope the Captain at least got the job before he decided to trash the place. "Did we at least make a contact?" I ask. River just gives me her signature eye roll.
Mal pulls a piece of paper from his pocket for everyone to see. "Ladies and menfolk, we have ourselves a job."
Zoe grabs the paper with a smile and walks towards the bridge to give the coordinates to Wash.
"You might want to bandage your hand Captain Daddy." River says as she walks towards the cargo bay again.
Now I wasn't happy with River's nickname for Mal at first. The rest of the crew was more than a little shocked as well, although I think Jayne was just confused. But the reaction that it gets out of Mal makes it funnier by the day to everyone.
"I ain't your DADDY!" He yells after her as he turns and walks towards the infirmary.
Yup, never gets old.
XXX
…Outside Serenity's Infirmary…
"Evil…the girl is pure evil." Mal says as he walks towards the infirmary to bandage his hand.
"I take it she hasn't stopped calling you..." Shepherd Book says as Mal passes him.
"DON"T SAY IT! And no, she hasn't." Mal says gruffly as he enters the infirmary.
Book chuckles and leans against the door to the infirmary. "I'm curious Captain…why a man so anxious to fly under Alliance radar would house known fugitives. The Alliance had her in that institution to make her a weapon, by all accounts they succeeded, and they will want her back. Riddick is just if not more of a psychopath than she is and you're not overly fond of him, so why offer them jobs?"
"Well...with skills like that, makes you wonder what they would have done if I hadn't." He says as he bandages his hand.
XXX
River's POV
She began stretching in the cargo bay over the last few days as a cover, hoping to establish enough of a routine that it would go unquestioned by the two women she knew would be passing by her shortly. Since the other night, when she heard the music of Inara's dreams, she had been trying to observe her further. Unfortunately Captain Daddy had either had miscellaneous chores for her or had proceeded to anger the painted flower so that she retreated to her shuttle, where further observation had proved difficult.
"You have such lovely hair Kaylee, I just wish you would let me put it up for once." Inara says as she and Kaylee walk in to the cargo bay from the upper deck.
"Ah ain't no need to, not like there's anyone around here to fancy up for." The Sunshine replies.
And just as the girl is about to go unnoticed, Kaylee looks down briefly and catches sight of her. "Oh, hi River." She says with a warm smile.
The girl mentally curses her bad luck. "Hello." She calls up to them.
"We were just about to have some tea in my shuttle, would you like to join us?" Inara asks, trying to be as warm as the sunshine, but the girl can tell she is still apprehensive. Unlike Kaylee, Inara is not one to let down her defenses, but her train has also taught her it would be poor manners on her part if she did not at least offer to include the girl.
She cannot help but smile a little at this, hoping that her smile comes off as hopeful and not devious. "They would not mind if the girl joined them?" She asks.
"Not at all." Inara says.
Wise words play through her mind…At first, be like a maiden; when the enemy opens the door, be swift like a hare; your enemy will not withstand you…
She rises from the floor. "Then the girl gladly accepts your invitation."
She walks up the stairs to where Inara and Kaylee are waiting for her and follow them into Inara's shuttle.
Inara and Kaylee both walk in and take a seat by the tea table Inara has near some floor cushions. The girl merely looks around the room, trying to take in everything as if there is a clue hidden in the tapestries and pillows.
"Please have a seat, would you like some tea?"
River seats herself on one of the floor cushions and delicately picks up one of the tea cups. "Thank you."
"Alright Mei-mei, let's see if we can brush out your hair today." Inara says as she picks up a hair brush and Kaylee moves to sit in front of her.
The shuttle is not what the girl expected. There are no gaudy colors, no pinks, purples, golds, or other flashy colors; instead the linens and drapery is a deep shade of burgundy. A small shrine to Buddha sits near the draped area that serves as Inara's sleeping quarters.
But what are most intriguing are the somewhat poorly concealed weapons around the room. The hilt of a dagger that barely peaks out from under Inara's pillow; the advanced archery bow somewhat poorly disguised to look ceremonial. Interesting…
After a few minutes, Kaylee breaks the silence that has briefly fallen on the room. "Do you ever do this for your clients?"
"Very occasionally. Not all of them have enough hair to get a brush through." Inara says as she continues.
Kaylee turns a little towards Inara now, hoping to hear more details about the Companion's life, clearly fascinated by the stories the flower could tell her. "Have you ever had to service a really hideous client? With boils and the like?"
"Guild law stipulates a Companion chooses her own clients." The girl interrupts. She then mentally kicks herself for interrupting and reminding them that she is also in the room.
"That's right River." Inara says as she glances at the girl and then turns her attention back towards Kaylee. "But physical appearance doesn't matter so terribly. You look for a compatibility of spirit. There's an energy about a person that's difficult to hide, you try to feel that…"
"And then you try to feel the energy of their credit account. It has a sort of aura." Mal says as he walks in. It would be just her luck that the first time she is invited to be around the painted flower, he interrupts!
She scowls at him, not that he notices any. He's too busy focusing on Inara. That was one of the more obvious things that the girl had picked up on in the few days aboard Serenity. The Captain was irrefutably in love with Inara…and too damn stubborn to admit it to anyone, even himself. Men are such boobs.
"What did I say to you about barging into my shuttle?"
He smirks at her now. Like a schoolboy with a crush. "That it was manly and impulsive?"
The girl just rolls her eyes. Silly Captain, that's no way to win her favor.
"Yes, precisely. Only the exact phrase I used was "don't"."
"Well, you're holding my mechanic and government assassin in thrall. And Kaylee, what the hell's goin' on in the engine room? Were there monkeys? Some terrifying space monkeys maybe got loose?"
"That's fallacious Captain Daddy, no such creatures exist." She corrects him. He grimaces at the nickname and she smiles at his discomfort.
"Girl, how many times do I have to tell you I ain't your daddy."
Kaylee just lets out an exasperated huff. "I had to rewire the grav thrust because somebody
won't replace that crappy compression coil."
"Well get the place squared away. It's dangerous in there, and I ain't paying you to get your hair played at. And you can help her you know it all genius."
Both the girl and the sunshine get up to do as they are told. "Kuh ooh duh lao bao jurn." The sunshine mumbles as they walk out the door.
The girl merely glances back at him and glares before following Kaylee. Her retaliation will be swift for Malcolm Reynolds.
XXX
"So what's the job?" Jayne asks Zoe and Wash as he pops his head into the bridge.
"We haven't gotten a location yet. We'll be landing on the Skyplex in a bit. Run by a fellow called Niska." She says as she reviews some star charts.
"Shiny, I'll be in my bunk then." He says as he walks out. Both Wash and Zoe merely roll their eyes at the merc.
XXX
…A few hours later…
River's POV
"So…if you can hear peoples' thoughts, does that mean you can hear what the Captain's thinking now?" Wash asks her.
Mal, Zoe, and Jayne went aboard the Skyplex an hour ago to speak to Niska about the job he has for them. Mal thought it was better for the girl and Riddick to sit this meet out. Riddick had no problem since it was just the first meet, but the girl had protested, citing her abilities as a reason to go. However, Mal didn't trust Niska given his reputation and had insisted she sit this one out. So the girl was currently occupying herself on the bridge with Wash.
"If she tried she might be able to, she has never attempted without being in close proximity to a person. The Skyplex is three square kilometers; it would prove to be difficult to pinpoint the Captain's thoughts among the many minds that she would have to scan." She says as she plays with one of Wash's dinosaurs. "Following a trail of memories is a little easier; it's like a thread that she can trace. It lingers long after a person has left. But it would still take a reasonable amount of time to accomplish."
"So you can feel what happened somewhere?" He asks somewhat concerned. The girl knows all about his little trysts with the Warrior woman in the bridge, but will not say anything to embarrass him.
"Affirmative. But don't worry…the girl will not divulge secrets." She says with a knowing smile.
"See that smile is just all sorts of creepy when you say things like that." He says as he turns back to monitor the comm.
The girl chuckles at this. "It is not the first time she has heard this..."
XXX
…Later that night…
Riddick's POV
Zoe, Jayne, Mal, River, and I are seated around the table discussing Niska's job, going over the schematics and maps that we were given.
"A Train Job? That's it? I'm a little disappointed. Man like him should at least be hiring for kidnapping and torture jobs."
"The things that come out of your mouth are just as bad as her sometimes." Mal says to me.
"Subjective." River says as she shifts through the schematics.
"So what's the plan?" I ask.
"In the fifth car of a train bound for Paradiso from Hancock are two boxes. Alliance goods. We get on train at Hancock, and take the boxes off before reaching Paradiso, and deliver 'em to Niska's man here." Mal says as he points at the map laid out in front of them. "We get the other half of the money at the rendezvous point."
River looks puzzled when she pulls the schematics for the train. "What's in the crates?" She inquires.
Jayne pipes in now "Don't you know anything girly, you don't ask what's in the crates you're gonna pilfer. Not good business."
"He's right bit, it's not."
"But it is an important variable for calculations. The contents of the crates would influence many other factors."
"Well we didn't ask and we ain't gonna now." The ape man says.
"Don't blame me if calculations cannot be completed accurately then." She says as she throws up her hands. Girl's gonna have to learn to not get so irritated at not having all variables available to her. Looks like a child throwing a temper tantrum when she does that.
"Anyways…" He says with a pointed look to River. "The big question is how do we get the crates and whoever we put on the train off without stopping it?" Mal says.
"Could we throw the crates into the mule and hop onto it?" Jayne asks.
"No, the mule tops out at 85 kilometers an hour, the train does at least 200." Zoe says as she pulls the train blueprints.
"Why don't we just lift them off." I ask.
There is a silence around the table before it starts to sink in. "Hey that ain't a half bad idea. Is there an overhead hatch in that train compartment?" He asks as he begins studying the schematics more seriously.
"Affirmative." River says. I can see the wheels start to spin in her head now, picking up speed like a freight train. "Do we have electrical schematics for Serenity?"
"There here…somewhere." Zoe says as she begins shuffling papers around the table. "Here," she says as she unfolds them.
River takes a moment to study them before she speaks. "If Kaylee can rewire the controls for the trash compartment in the cargo bay we could open both sets of doors at the same time and attach the wench above there." She says as she hovers over the blueprints.
"Would the support beams above there hold the extra weight of a wench?" Zoe asks.
"Hypothetically yes, but if the girl knew what was in the crates…"
"SHUT UP ABOUT THE GORRAM CRATES!" Both Jayne and I yell at her. Girl can really get on our nerves.
XXX
…Serenity's Bridge…
"Excuse me Wash?" Book says as he enters the bridge.
"What's up Shepherd?" The pilot says as he turns towards him.
"I was wondering if I could wave someone on the cortex. I wanted to check in with the abbey and let them know that I am planning on traveling a little while longer."
"Sure, that shouldn't be a problem. Do you want me to set it up for you?"
"I think I can manage that son, but thank you."
"Well if you're gonna be in here for a few minutes would you mind watching things while I ran to the head and grabbed some more coffee?" Wash asks.
"No problem at all, I'll let you know if anything comes up on the scanners." Book says as he takes a seat, thankful that he did not have to think up some sorry excuse for privacy.
"Thanks Shepherd." Wash says as he grabs his cup and walks out the door.
Book sits down and quickly punches in an old moderator code to firewall the wave and connects into the cortex. He is close enough for a vid to go through so he dials in the old IP address. His contact should be willing to help; after all he always did like a challenge.
It takes a minute to go through but it finally connects. "Well there is a face I have not seen in a very long time. Last I heard you were out of the business old man. Do what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?"
"Technically I am, but a friend of mine asked for a rather challenging favor, dealing with some rather…sensitive material, and naturally, I thought that you might be the man for the job, since you did always love a challenge."
"Derrial, you flatter me, which will get you everywhere. Bring it on, bring it on, bring it on. From here to the eyes and the ears of the 'verse, that's my motto. Or at least it would be, if I start having a motto."
"I'll upload the specifics to you shortly. With regard to your usual fee…" He begins to ask as he uploads the information River had given him to use in the search, but is quickly cut off by the man on the other side of the screen.
"For you old friend, I'll do it free of charge…You always did bring me the very best violence, it's the least I can do."
"I appreciate that. I look forward to hearing from you Mr. Universe." And with that he closes the link and leaves the bridge.
XXX
AN: Okay, so I will admit I am a HUGE David Krumholtz fan. So I couldn't resist putting him in my fanfic. They never really explained how it was Mal and Co. knew him. So for my story, I thought that out of Riddick or Book, Book would most likely know Mr. U. Hope you guys enjoyed this update =) Till next time.