5) I'm A Man You Don't Meet Every Day
Carolyn had gone to the docks every day to check the ships going out. She felt better about doing it herself, keeping Riddick from being out in the open for too long. Regular folk might not recognize him as an escaped convict but they'd remember a huge man with goggles. Maybe she was being overly fussy, maybe it was paranoia. She didn't trust the slick transports without any scratches in the paint. The freighters with cargo being off loaded and on loaded had no passengers she could see. When she found a likely one she'd get Riddick to look it over. Between the two of them they'd knocked off every ship she'd found. They had a pretty singular set of requirements that didn't leave much leeway. She wasn't surprised it was taking a while.
They wanted a ship that would take passengers or needed crew, one that didn't look at papers too closely. And if she could swing it, they needed a ship that had a less than legitimate side. Anyone involved in crime would be much less likely to report Riddick (if they recognized him) to the Feds, Jack to the foster system and her to Blue Sun. New Oslo Shipping Corporation, Hunter Gratzner Industries Inc., seemed like an independent company but New Oslo was under Blue Sun's umbrella. Carolyn Fry had died along with Riddick and Jack (whatever her actual name was) on that hell planet and she wanted to keep it that way. She had no doubt that the Company would be happy to pin any blame for the wreck on her. Better to be dead than go through that kind of shitstorm.
Maybe once she would have trusted that the Company would understand what had happened. A rogue meteor shower wasn't unheard of and the wreckage would support her story. But after the Miranda Wave? She wouldn't be a bit surprised if those sky shark things were a result of experimentation and top secret, quarantined on that rock M6-117. Better the Hunter Gratzner go down as wrecked with all souls lost.
She felt pretty certain that Riddick would do just fine on his own. But the way Jack looked at him, like she still half wanted to be him, he seemed to feel responsible for her. At least that was how Carolyn saw it. Jack still had her secrets, her age and origins among them, and Carolyn had no intention of pushing for them. She got the impression that Jack was a little jealous of Riddick's attention, but not so much that she was actively hostile towards Carolyn.
Despite the fact that Riddick had done his best to destroy Jack's hero worship, the girl still didn't look to Carolyn with the same kind of awe she did Riddick. That was fine. Carolyn didn't need hero worship, especially not when she saw how uncomfortable it made Riddick. Jack did count on her to be sensible. To temper Riddick's violent side. And how she would do that Carolyn had no tā mā de clue. But it all came down to one inescapable fact. They needed a ship that could take all three of them. All or nothing.
The Firefly, an ought three from the look of her, was new to the docks. Must've landed in the last day or so. It had a half battered half shiny look about it. Some parts were obviously newer than others, though the ship name was blazoned clear and true. A man in a long brown coat descended the ramp, a woman nearly as tall but with a subtly swelling belly (she wouldn't have noticed except every other part of the tall woman was hardened muscle, not unlike Riddick) matched his stride, and a girl in overalls and a cheerful turquoise jacket walked on his opposite side with a parasol and folding chair. The man gave the girl a wave as he strode off and she set up her chair in front of the lowered ramp and open cargo bay doors.
"She watches," Kaylee just barely kept herself from jumping at the sound of River's voice behind her. The slender girl was standing in the shadows beside the open cargo bay doors, out of sight to anyone who might be outside the ship. Between the bright sun and River's slender build Kaylee could barely see her and she knew where to look.
"Who?" Kaylee twirled her parasol as if nothing was wrong.
"A songbird flew the cage, turned into a hawk. Travels with a tiger and a cat," River told her. "Seeks a place for all of them. Difficult to find."
"Maybe they'll come with us," Kaylee offered that hopeful phrase. Tigers were cats weren't they? The ship seemed more empty than usual. Wash dead, Zoë mourning even as her belly grew bigger (not that it was too big at the moment but anyone who knew Zoë would figure it out), Jayne off to Captain his own boat (however unwell that was likely to turn out), and Inara… she seemed only half on Serenity. She'd been like that before she'd left them for the training house. It made Serenity feel empty even though she was still there.
"Perhaps," River had a shrug in her voice and when Kaylee looked over again she was gone.
Maybe that was a good thing, because a blonde woman with short hair was walking towards Serenity and River could be…scary. Not always and rarely on purpose but she did have the tendency to unnerve folks. At least until they got used to her. And (if Kaylee were to be honest with herself) sometimes even then.
"Zǎo shang hǎo," The blonde greeted Kaylee cautiously.
"Mornin'," Kaylee smiled. "Fine day."
The woman nodded, still looking over the ship and Kaylee felt a surge of sorrow rush through her as she recalled Book doing the same thing. "You wouldn't be takin' on passengers, would you?"
"Well, we are, if folks can pay, headed out to Harvest, New Melbourne, an' Silverhold after," Kaylee nodded. "We've got the smoothest ride from here to Harvest."
The woman nodded thoughtfully, "Got room for three?"
Kaylee's mind flew over the available dorms (that the crew could still bear to put into use) and nodded, "We do, if someone don't mind climbin' a ladder."
"And crew," Blue eyes were eyeing her thoughtfully. "Hiring at all?"
"As to that…I cain't strictly say," Kaylee hedged. "Have to talk to the Cap'n 'bout that."
"An' when'd I be able to do that?"
"Well, he's off gettin' us some more work so… maybe a couple hours," Kaylee really wished Zoë had stayed behind. Simon wouldn't have any more idea of what to say than she did. Inara didn't concern herself with the running of the ship so much and River…well she might know what the Captain wanted, question was would she actually repeat what she knew. River was what Simon called an acquired taste. He loved his sister to death, but she was still finding her equilibrium after all the 'upheaval' which was how Kaylee's boyfriend referred to Miranda and everything that went along with it. Mal called it a mess, tiānfāndìfù and a brouhaha (among other things).
"Tell you what," The blonde appeared to be coming to a decision. "I'll go and get my people. If they like the look of the boat we'll book passage. And we can talk to the Captain about hiring on when he gets back."
"Sounds shiny to me," The mechanic smiled.
Carolyn had found a ship he liked this time. Fireflies were gorgeous old workhorses that'd run forever if the mechanic didn't have his/her head entirely up his/her pì gu. This one had been through the wringer but plain to see the ship was loved. New paint, meticulous patch work, everything clean and shined as much as possible.
"Think you found a good one," He slanted a half smile at her, well aware it looked more like a smirk.
"Fireflies are known for having little nooks suited for smuggling," Carolyn agreed. "Rare as hens' teeth to find one running completely honest and above board."
"Suits us pretty well if they aren't," Jack was looking over the ship and the pretty barker with a jaded eye.
"That it does," Riddick nodded. "You said passage and then talk with the Captain about maybe hiring on if they need crew," He confirmed with the pilot.
"Yep. Figured we could at least get off Paquin," She nodded. "Keep moving you know?"
"Best way to avoid getting caught," He nodded, still studying the ship. Someone moving in the shadows of the cargo bay, damn near invisible even to him. Interesting. "Let's give her a try."
He kept slightly behind Carolyn, Jack beside him and reminded himself of the aliases. Jack kept her first name (which he had no doubt resembled her birth name not at all) and chose Owens as her last name, in honor of the man who'd died trying to save the passengers. Carolyn had pressed her lips together against some excess of emotion but nodded and told the kid that Owens would have been pleased.
Carolyn had chosen to keep her first name, spelling it differently and responded to Caro more often than not. Though if tensions eased and they felt the crew of the ship could be trusted, she'd likely just use Carolyn. They'd have to see how things went. Last name hadn't been easy, it couldn't have any connection to her old life. Maybe in the spirit of 'fuck you' to the Company of Blue Sun Corp she'd chosen Miranda. Caroline Miranda, a pilot without credentials.
He'd been tempted to take Caliban as his last name but that was pushing coincidence a little too far. He could use Rick as his first, Richard was a very common name after all. For a surname, he'd pulled out the name of an old mining town on Deadwood, something to explain his eyes. Swearengen. It wasn't uncommon for people to take the name of the town or mine they worked if someone was born on the wrong side of the blanket. And miners were also known to have shine jobs, or eyes so sensitive they had to wear goggles in the sun.
He might have gone by another town, Bullock, strong name, had a good ring to it (same sort of sound as Riddick), but he'd read the Bullock the town was named for had been a lawman and that felt like pushing his luck. The original Swearengen had apparently been a man of the not nice variety, which suited him down to the ground.
The barker had smiled brightly upon seeing Carolyn and stood from her chair, "These your people?"
"They are. I'm Carolyn," Carolyn nodded. "This's Rick and that's Jack."
"Nice ta meetcha," The girl's smile could outshine the sun. "I'm Kaylee. An' this here's Serenity." She patted the hull of the ship with obvious affection and Riddick half smiled. He'd been right. This ship was loved. "I can show you the bunks, an' if you've got luggage any heavier, I can fetch the mule?"
"This's all we've got," Riddick shook his head. From her expression she considered a duffle bag apiece to be a pretty poor showing when it came to belongings, but she didn't say a word.
"Well, if you find yourself runnin' short of anythin' you can always ask one of us," She gestured for them to enter the ship and closed the cargo bay doors behind them. He guessed she didn't like to leave the ship open unless she was right there.
"That's very kind of you," Carolyn replied. "We're hoping to hit some second-hand shops at our next stop, see if we can pick up a few things, you know?"
"Depends on whether or not your boss is interested in taking on new crew," Riddick added. The hold was semi-organized, crates and barrels strapped down a mule hoisted overhead. Catwalks ran the perimeter of the hold on the mid deck with stairways leading down to the cargo deck. He could see doors on the port and starboard sides of the ship, likely leading to the shuttle bay airlocks, and two sets of doors on the aft wall of the hold.
A short wide set of stairs led up to a small area furnished with battered chairs and a sofa and, surprisingly, a brightly lit infirmary complete with medical personnel.
"This's our passenger lounge," Kaylee told them. "Most folks like to sit here and visit or read if they don't wanna stay in their dorm. We got our Doctor, Simon, he's the best doc anywhere an' if you're feelin' poorly he can fix you right up." The dark-haired man in the infirmary gave them a friendly wave, Kaylee an affectionate smile, and continued to stock his shelves. "We just took in some supplies so he's getting organized in case there's an emergency."
"Very…elegant looking fellow for a Rim doctor," Carolyn commented in a neutral tone.
"Oh, Simon's from the Core, Osiris, he just likes it better on Serenity," Kaylee led them to the dorms. "We got one open dorm in midship, and one on the starboard side, and then of the three overhead you can have your pick."
"Got other passengers then?" Jack asked her first question as she took in the configuration of doors and matched them to the number of bunks.
"Well, Simon, he stays down here, handy to the infirmary," Kaylee explained. "We took down a wall betwixt two of the bunks so he'd have room for a desk where he can do some work. An' his sister's in that dorm over there." She pointed at the rear dorm on the left.
"And those?" Jack jerked her head towards what looked like two rooms off of the right-side hallway.
For the first time Kaylee's smile slid right off her face, "That's… we don't use 'em much right now." She shook her head.
Riddick considered their options and looked at Jack, "Think you'll feel better up a ladder anyway."
"Yeah, I can take one of the upper bunks," Jack nodded.
"Don't go scattering your stuff everywhere," He reminded her.
"I gotcha." She nodded again. Carolyn had pulled out their cashy money and handed over the fare for the three of them. So at least they wouldn't have to dip into savings. Although if they didn't get taken on as crew the savings wouldn't last long. Riddick leaned against the wall, watching thoughtfully. Kaylee's clothing held the smell of oil and engine grease, an engineer or mechanic. If she could keep a Firefly going she was a good one. Time would tell if she was great.
Author's Note: So they've finally gotten to Serenity. Just as an FYI we'll have multiple viewpoints in this story. I don't like to put a name designating each viewpoint, I'm hoping to make the POV obvious in how the section is written. If too many people get confused I'll have to revisit that. So please let me know if you can't tell.
Chinese Translations:
tā mā de (damn it! / fucking) (taboo curse)
Zǎo shang hǎo (Good morning)
tiānfāndìfù (Complete disarray or sheer pandemonium / sky and the earth turning upside down (idiom); fig. complete confusion / everything turned on its head)
pì gu (butt)
