Roads
XXX
…Ohh, can't anybody see
We've got a war to fight
Never found our way
Regardless of what they say…
He finds here there...curled on the floor, numb to all the emotions swirling around the ship. She doesn't feel anything but her own pain…He doesn't ask her what's wrong. He merely picks her up and puts her on the bed…among the shreds of everything in the room.
…How can it feel, this wrong
From this moment
How can it feel, this wrong…
She doesn't say anything when he climbs in behind her and wraps an arm around her and pulls her close… she merely listens to the beating of his heart as her eyes become heavy and she begins to slip off into sleep.
…Storm...in the morning light
I feel
No more can I say
Frozen to myself…
XXX
River's POV
Several hours later…
She doesn't know when, but sometime in the night she got up…left the warmth of their bed and climbed the ladder out of their bunk. She isn't fully awake until the motion sensor in the mess hall picks up her movement and turns the lights on.
She's startled at first…but when her mind begins to process again she settles down.
She goes to the dining table and sits down…running her fingers along the knots in the wood idly. Her fingers come to rest upon a knife that someone forgot to put away and begins to twirl it between her fingers.
That's when she picks up on the faint footsteps behind her and her mind registers the thoughts floating towards her.
"River?" Book asks softly behind her. "What are you doing up?"
"Couldn't sleep…too many questions…"
He sighs and moves to sit at the table with her. "Would you like some tea?" He asks.
"No, thank you." She says as she continues to twirl the knife in her hand.
"You know you can talk to me about anything you need to child." He says with sincerity.
She stops twirling the knife but doesn't put it down. They sit in silence for a minute before she can vocalize anything
She feels the trickle of a solitary tear down her cheek. "She doesn't understand…she doesn't comprehend…too many questions…too many lies."
He moves to take one of her hands in his. "I'm not sure what to say River."
The sit in silence again…all he can do is try and offer her comfort.
Several minutes go by before she speaks again. "How do I find the answers?" She asks.
"I don't think you can River…but I think you can be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves. It's unfair, but maybe if you do not seek the answers, which cannot be given you, you can live them. If you do this, maybe you can find some peace."
He gets up from the table and she watches as he moves to leave. He places a hand on her shoulder in reassurance before he retreats back to his room.
She just continues to sit in silence.
XXX
Elsewhere in the Verse…
He stands at the window looking out at the stars. His back is turned to the door and he doesn't acknowledge the young officer when he walks in and deposits the requested file on his desk. The officer waits for a moment, unsure of whether he should leave.
The operative merely raises his hand and dismisses the officer without a second thought.
Once he hears the door close, he turns around and walks to his desk. He opens the file and briefly glances at the name and photograph attached.
"Richard B. Riddick." He says with mild amusement.
"Oh what an interesting pair you two make."
XXX
…A few hours later on Serenity…
River's POV
She hears them…buzzing about the mess hall…their thoughts and words permeate the air around her. They feel sorry… They don't understand… Well, all but two.
She can feel the daggers and scalpels from their minds…but they aren't pointed at her…they would much rather slice and dice the other.
Her eyes narrow…their male posturing is irksome. Orpheus should know better than to taunt the weaker…and Simon should know better than to stare down a wolf.
She walks away from the common area, back towards the infirmary…she shivers slightly, she doesn't want to be there, but there is something she needs, something Simon needs to see…to understand.
She collects what she needs and walks back towards the common area. She feels Inara, Kaylee, and Book's eyes look at her as she enters…Jayne just averts his eyes. She feels their concern…she even feels sorrow from Jayne behind his indifferent demeanor.
"River." Inara says.
The girl doesn't pay her any attention though; she isn't ready to address that issue.
She walks up to Simon and glares. "Here." The girl says as she shoves stacks of files towards him.
"What's this?" He asks skeptically.
"In rivers, the water that you touch is the last of what has passed and the first of that which comes; so with present time." She says as she shoves the files at him again.
"Meaning?"
"She means that it's her files Doc…The ones from the Academy." Riddick says from across the table.
Simon takes the files now. "How did you get these?"
"A friend." She merely replies. She then walks out of the common area without another word to anyone.
XXX
Riddick quickly gets up from the table and follows River out of the room .
"Are they always like this?" Simon asks the room as he opens the first file.
"Kinda feng-le, talks in riddles, and the big guy chasing after her? Yeah you get used to it." Jayne says as he hocks some spit to help sharpen his knife.
"Could you not do that while we're…ever?" Simon says with disgust.
Jayne spits again and Simon grimaces.
XXX
Riddick's POV
"River." I say as I stalk after her. She doesn't pay any attention though and just keep walking towards the bridge.
"River." I say again.
"Business first…pleasure later." She says as she walks through the door to the bridge.
"Captain Daddy." She says with mock sincerity.
"How many gorram times do I have to tell you NOT to call me that!" Mal asks with mild indignation.
I chuckle slightly…never get's old.
"Apparently a few more sir." Zoe says from her seat on Wash's lap.
"It is rather amusing though." Wash says with a small chuckle.
Mal turns to glare at the two slightly. "When I want the opinion of the peanut gallery, I'll ask for it." He then turns his attention back to River. "Was there something you needed or are you just trying to annoy me today?"
"She would like to inquire if Mr. Universe has provided a suitable buyer for the meds from Ariel."
"Matter of fact he has…came through this morning." Mal says as he hands her a piece of paper.
She studies the name and then hands the paper back to Mal. "That is an adequate figure." She says.
"Could've made more." Wash says in a low voice.
"That wasn't a bad idea, Wash, but eliminating the middle man is never simple as it sounds."
Wash is surprised by this admission from Mal. "You heard about...?" He says as he looks towards Zoe who now seems a might twitchy.
"About fifty percent of the human race is middle men and they don't take kindly to being eliminated. This quadrant, we play nice. We got enemies enough as it is…Besides, we couldn't go directly through Mr. Universe without there being a risk of his source getting into hot water, and the guy he sent us to didn't take much more than we expected."
There is an awkward moment of silence before River breaks it. "So where is the drop?"
"Circe." Mal says.
XXX
…Elsewhere in the Verse…
"I want a four point bulletin…all the major merc squads and players are to be informed." He said to the officer trailing behind him as he walked toward the bridge.
"What should we list as the bounty, sir?"
"Three hundred thousand platinum."
The officer falters in his step slightly as he hears the figure.
"…And four hundred thousand for her."
XXX
…A few hours later on the bridge of Serenity…
Mal, River, and Riddick have left Wash to pilot Serenity towards Circe. Zoe remains sitting near him. The tension is the room is palpable.
Wash finally breaks the silence. "So... when you said that you didn't get a chance to tell the Captain my idea..."
"Mm-hmm?" Zoe says bracing for the argument.
"What you actually meant was... you told him my idea, he rejected it out of hand, and you didn't argue the point or even give it another thought."
"I gave, honey, I-I –"
But she's cut off by Wash's continuing rant.
"And then came the lying to me about it, which for me is sort of the highlight of this little adventure.
Zoe pauses. She knows she's in deep. "Is there any way I'm gonna get out of this with honor and dignity?"
"You're pretty much down to ritual suicide, lambie-toes."
She sighs. "I didn't want to upset you."
"What did you think of it?" He asks.
"Of what?"
"My idea…Call the local MDs. Forget the fence, go straight to the source. Better prices, and we know the drugs get to the right people."
She shakes her head in the negative "The Captain thinks it'll get back to someone. Just cause trouble."
This is what sets Wash off more though. "Tai-kong suo-yo duh shing-chiouh doh sai-jin wuh dhu pee-goo! Was I ever not asking what the Captain thought!"
"Well, I tend to agree with him." Zoe says as she crosses her arms. She really doesn't want to have this argument again.
"Tend to, or have to?" Wash asks skeptically
"I thought your plan was too risky…I thought."
"Then tell me. I am a large, semi-muscular man. I can take it. Don't hide behind Mal 'cause you know he'll shoot it down for you. Tell me."
Zoe rolls her eyes now. "Right. Because what this marriage needs is one more shouting match."
"No, what this marriage needs is one less husband…Right now it's kind of crowded." Wash says as he leaves the bridge.
For the first time in awhile Zoe doesn't know what she should do.
XXX
…Elsewhere in the verse…
"Hold please." He says to his henchman. The man stops.
He approaches the man that is bound and chained before him. "So now we are past the preliminaries - the little questions: why you skim from protection fund? How you could betray
my trust. This we are past. Now we get to the real questions about who you truly are."
And now he produces a knife.
However, before he can proceed a man enters the room.
"I'm sorry, sir."
He turns around annoyed now. "I get to heart of matter and always interruptions!"
"One of our long-ranges picked up a read on the other side of the world. It might be Serenity. Malcolm Reynolds' ship.
Now the man smiles in excitement. "Oh. Oh, this is exciting news. Send a team. Bring him here to me.
The underling leaves the room and the man turns back to the issue at hand. "Now, we get to spend some time finding out about your true self. Tell me..." he says as he stabs the man. "...are you familiar with the works of Shan Yu?"
XXX
Author's Note:
Okay I am so sorry for the extremely long delay in updating this story. Law School is kind of a bitch that has me in a creative lockdown at the moment. However, I want to reassure all the people still reading this story that I do intend to continue, it just may take a little longer than I 1) originally hoped 2) the updates will probably be shorter in length to make sure that I update more frequently.
As always thanks for caring and the review =) they mean a lot. Till next time…