56) They Died In Their Hundreds With No Sign To Mark Where
Carolyn had headed back to the bridge and got there just in time to see River hitting the keys that would finalize their course. "So, I didn't miscalculate anything? No falling into the gravity well of this rock?"
"Nope, all shiny and good to go once we drop them off," River gave her a smile.
"Always a good thing," The blonde smiled back. "I am a little worried about the mood Mal'll be in after that conversation." She nodded towards the galley. "I'm on dinner duty and I dunno how comfortable it'll be if they're still on board."
"Rick should be here to relieve you in a moment," River nodded. "Act as if everything is fine, even if it isn't." She tilted her head as if considering something, "Jayne is lecherous and crude, but he knows better than to disrespect any of Serenity's crew."
Carolyn nodded and stood when Riddick came onto the bridge. Much as she hated to admit it, when it came to sheer seat of the pants flying, the huge man was head and shoulders over her. He and River seemed to have a running contest about flying without regard for instrumentation. It could be some unnerving to be on the bridge at those times. "Should be comin' up on their boat soon," She told him (probably unnecessarily) as she headed for the hallway.
"Yeah, figured to circle and be sure things are all right before we land," He took her place before the console and Carolyn started down the hall.
She had decided to take the relatively short walk at a slightly slower pace. No harm in it and she could get an idea of what she was walking into. Mal's tone skewed towards testy and that wasn't ever great.
The pungent curse of "Shén me zài tiān mì de xié'è de cào" from the bridge took her by surprise as much as the sudden jolt of Serenity as Riddick made some sort of shift in course. Turning around and heading back to the bridge was as much instinct as it was a conscious decision.
"What'n the hell—" She braced herself against the lockers as Serenity shifted again and she saw why. The burning wreckage of what had been Bea's boat was putting off a powerful updraft thanks to the heat of the flames. "—happened…" Carolyn finished weakly.
"Damned if I know," Riddick was backing them off quick. "We gotta wait for those flames to die down before we can land anywhere near the wreck."
"Jiàn tā de guǐ," Mal cursed as he came onto the bridge behind her, the other two from the galley right behind him.
"Mal, it's gettin' a little crowded in here," Riddick commented and the Captain realized he'd been followed.
"Go on back to the galley," He ordered. "Rick, find some place to set us down that ain't gonna catch us on fire. When it's safe we can look for survivors."
"You got it," Riddick nodded, and River began to bring up topography maps of the area.
Carolyn patted Mal's shoulder, "I'm gonna start dinner, get some formula goin' too."
"Good notion," The Captain gave her a quick smile that sent a little tingle through her. Even half distracted as he was, those smiles were potent.
She hadn't paid much attention to what the piece of zá wù boat had been called. Mostly she'd been annoyed with the way it had careened straight towards Serenity without so much as an 'excuse me, passing through' over the comms.
Mal's anger had been almost as chilling as Riddick's and that was saying something. And of the two men that hadn't ever been something Carolyn thought she'd see. If anything, his temper had grown worse when he heard a voice he recognized as belonging to one Jayne Cobb. They'd wanted to hook up a gantry to Serenity and come aboard immediately but Mal hadn't been having any of that.
River had provided a location for the rendezvous, Mal had grimly instructed Carolyn to set down there, and after what felt like less than a minute, they were taking off again. In retrospect (with the other ship still burning) it had been a wise (if paranoid) idea to orbit the planet rather than stay motionless on the ground.
If there was one thing she disliked above all others (not including crash situations and imminent death) it was being stuck in a situation where she didn't have a clue what was going on. Mal was supremely pissed. But apart from being tracked down she couldn't see why. They'd known someone was after them, what made this so much worse?
She'd learned to exercise patience though. Mal would (to his credit) explain his reasoning eventually. He hated being pressed and backed into a corner (which could also explain some of his current mood) so question after question would just get his back up. He'd learned that if she didn't have at least some idea of what was going on so she could (at least) mentally prepare herself, she got extremely tetchy. She didn't like to call it an anxiety attack when it technically wasn't, but the nightmares always got worse, and she couldn't seem to relax enough to sleep or eat well (okay and sometimes it got hard to catch her breath and big gulps of air didn't seem to help).
Funny, it had been Riddick who'd clued Mal into it. River had poked the Captain and made him listen but Riddick had told Mal flat out that Carolyn needed to at least know when things were likely to go sideways. Otherwise, the aforementioned nightmares, tension and general problems would ride her damn near close to collapse, and that made life difficult for everyone. Including Mal.
After that Mal had gotten a lot better about letting her know about problems. He couldn't always tell her everything. Couldn't even always say what the issue might be. But he would at least say something so she could mentally prepare herself for things to go sideways. Even something so small as saying he had a bad feeling helped her get her mind in gear for difficulties. To know he wasn't ignoring her need to be prepared helped like nothing else.
Bombs were something new though. (And wasn't that an unwelcome bit of information Riddick had dropped like it was obvious.) Carolyn honestly couldn't say she was enjoying the escalation of Serenity's troubles. And she wasn't exactly thrilled with their two guests (though she could think of a few other descriptors, qīngwā cāo de liúmáng not the least of them) bringing those troubles upon them.
Riddick hadn't figured to find anyone alive. Between the concussion blast of the explosion (because nothing else really would burn metal), the fire and the smoke, the crew's brains would be jelly, their skin crispy and their lungs black. Any one of those things was sufficient to kill a normal person. And this crew got all three.
The situation stunk to high heaven, and he did not like the itchy feeling he got on the back of his neck. The girl, Bea, had fallen to her knees and simply stared at the wreckage. The idiot in the toboggan cap shook his head and muttered something about being glad he was used to traveling light.
Mal had given River a look that Riddick couldn't quite read, and she'd nodded slowly. A tilt of her head and a wink at Riddick when Mal couldn't see her. Riddick nearly spoiled whatever she had planned with a chuckle. Damn he enjoyed this woman's sense of humor. Dry and bloody. And a little twisted, just like him.
That itch on the back of his neck got worse and he stiffened, "Mal…"
The Captain was looking around with more than a little unease, "Yeah, Jayne, get her back on the boat."
Riddick had to give the man credit, he didn't wait for anything else, just scooped Bea up from around her waist and hauled her back up Serenity's ramp like she was a bundle of firewood under his arm. Whatever else he might be, the man still knew to drop everything and follow Mal's orders at least.
River, in contrast, moved farther out from Serenity's ramp and Riddick frowned, moving towards her back. Her smile, sweetly affectionate, also contained a warning. And then…
She always wore her sword and axe when she left the ship, and this was no exception. He got the impression that without them she didn't feel entirely comfortable, and she'd rather have them than guns (which was handy on Core planets). He hadn't ever gotten the opportunity to see her use either of them. Mal tried to avoid hand to hand combat whenever possible, so guns were typically the weapons of choice.
"River," Mal's voice had gone worried as she drew her sword.
"What stronger breastplate than a heart untainted? Thrice is he armed that hath his quarrel just; and he but naked, though locked up in steel, whose conscience with injustice is corrupted," River remarked and pulled her axe from its harness.
"'Tross I didn't mean—" The Captain clearly hadn't completely anticipated how River would interpret that silent order.
"Misunderstood the nature of his opponent," River shook her head.
Riddick held an arm in front of the Captain's chest, "Mal, stay on the ramp." He still had that itch on the back of his neck. Skin prickling with awareness, not unlike being on that godforsaken rock with the sky sharks, being hunted.
"You ain't worried," He couldn't see Mal's face but his tone of voice…well…incredulous was a good term for it.
"Worry isn't the word," Riddick had the feeling he was about to see more of what River could really do than he ever had before. Sparring hand to hand, that was… well, some of the best times he'd had in his life that didn't involve sex. But this… this was combat. Not a duel or a spar or anything remotely civilized. River was gearing up for a fight. He could smell it on her. Beautiful.
He couldn't mā lege bā zi wait.
"Find them?" River was still speaking in that weirdly clear accent. Like someone who'd learned proper English as an adult and pronounced everything so correctly it wasn't even Core. "I'm a bounty hunter. I'm going to hunt them." She smirked over her shoulder at Riddick and Mal before she stared straight ahead. "I'll let someone else find them."
That itchy feeling grew more pronounced…and then it faded, easing into the normal tension of his muscles and skin when the threat he'd been feeling finally revealed itself.
The man who dropped from Serenity's 'shoulder' was nearly as tall as Riddick, but more angular, not quite slender but without the bulk of muscle. That didn't mean he wasn't strong or dangerous. And he very narrowly missed Mal with the gun he shot as he dropped to the ground.
Riddick growled his irritation. The bullet wouldn't have missed the Captain if it hadn't sheared a furrow in Riddick's scalp and glanced off his skull. River slanted a concerned glance at him, and he shrugged with the shoulder that wasn't attached to the arm holding Mal back still. "It's fine."
River (and he adored this about her) took him at his word and redirected all of her attention to the man in the burgundy (obviously custom) EVA suit, "Foolish to continue this pursuit." She shook her head and advanced on the man.
What followed was a thing of wúyǔlúnbǐ dì měilì. River Tam with blades.
The bounty hunter pulled a knife after she kicked the gun out of his hand. And then another knife. And then… well… if the Captain hadn't been in front of him… Riddick really (Really, REALLY) wanted River Tam's legs wrapped around his waist and he would've had exactly that if it weren't for his cock-blocking (blissfully oblivious of his peril from the aforementioned cock-block-ee) Captain trying to get past Riddick.
As it was, holding Mal back was a sufficient distraction that Riddick could only briefly entertain the idea. He could definitely enjoy the deadly beauty of the woman fighting in front of him, and he could certainly appreciate the level of skill demonstrated. Part of him wished Jack could see this, could understand just how amazing River was, the sheer talent and beauty of her fighting.
Even so, the bounty hunter wasn't exactly a slouch and the fight lasted a full three and a half minutes. The EVA suit gave him some protection from the blades but not much and when he left himself open the sword slid through the suit and between his ribs like butter.
"Didn't kill him once," River remarked as she removed her sword and watched the man fall to his knees and then sideways. "Not willing to be merciful the second time."
"The second time," Riddick repeated.
"Jubal Early," Mal struggled against Riddick's grip and the convict absently let him go. "Obviously had a problem with his brain bein' missin'."
River turned and looked the two of them and then past them to the top of the ramp. Riddick turned and saw Kaylee's furiously frightened face as she charged down the ramp to kick the dying man firmly in the ribs. Several times. And then once between the legs for good measure. "I take it Kaylee doesn't like him much."
"Snuck aboard," River said absently as she patted Kaylee's shoulder. "Tied her up, threatened her with grievous bodily harm. 'You throw a monkey wrench into my dealings in anyway, your body is forfeit. Ain't nothin' but a body to me and I can find all unseemly manner of use for it'."
Early struggled to speak, more of a gurgle really, blood on his lips and River shook her head, "You're missing the point. The design of the thing is functional." She gave Kaylee a gentle push towards the ramp and Simon came forward to wrap his arm around her waist and escort her back onto the ship. Riddick watched as River crouched down and smiled, cold and just a little cruel, cleaning her blades on his suit. "I take no pleasure in the thought, but she will die weeping if you cross me."
Riddick got the feeling that Jubal Early was more of a monster than folks thought Riddick was. Weren't many people who weren't sociopaths that could talk about torturing someone without any concern for anything but the logistics of it. River watched as the man struggled for his last breath and lost the fight, the body going still in the way only the dead could manage.
She stood and Riddick smiled as he saw the little smear of blood on her cheek. So fucking sexy. A pretty little blush, she'd obviously caught that thought. "We about ready to go?"
"Mal?" River looked at the Captain who was looking over the still smoldering wreckage of Bea's ship. "There's no way we'll be able to put the fire out."
"No, I know," Mal nodded. "We'd best be gettin' on. No point stayin'."
Author's Note: So I knew even before I read the comic that Jubal Early being alive was something that had been kept in mind for future scripts. I tend to really research the hell out of the stuff I get interested in. But now Mal is stuck with both Jayne and Bea aboard the ship because he's too tenderhearted to just dump them with the burning boat. How do we think that's going to go?
Chinese Translations:
Shén me zài tiān mì de xié'è de cào (what in the sweet unholy fuck)
Jiàn tā de guǐ (damnit/ bloody hell)
zá wù (junk / items of no value / various bits and bobs)
qīngwā cāo de liúmáng (frog fucking hooligans)
mā lege bā zi (fuck! / motherfucker! / fucking)
wúyǔlúnbǐ dì měilì (unparalled beauty)
Quote Sources:
What stronger breastplate than a heart untainted? Thrice is he armed that hath his quarrel just; and he but naked, though locked up in steel, whose conscience with injustice is corrupted. – Henry VI – William Shakespeare
