19) Take All The Courage You Have Left
After piloting for a large company, complete with regulated maintenance checks and star chart uploads on a consistent basis, the… relaxed (rather than lackadaisical) approach Mal had towards ship repairs was a little disconcerting.
Kaylee occasionally brought up a part she needed over dinner, or Mal would comment on something shorting out (usually on the bridge) and Kaylee would remind him of the part she needed in order to facilitate the repair. The mechanic would often spend her day developing a work around for when a part should (inevitably) fail.
Upon one hair raising occasion, and Carolyn thanked God, Buddha and Allah that Mal had been on the bridge with her at the time, the entire ship had gone dead as they were entering the atmosphere. If it hadn't been for the strength in Mal's arms and his calm aura, she had no doubt they'd be a splattered mess on Santo's surface. Mal's flippant announcement over the comm system did nothing to reassure her, "Ladies and menfolk, our landing has gotten a little more interesting than usual. We may experience some slight turbulence and explode. Buckle in and brace wherever you can."
She'd had to put her head between her knees and force herself to breathe once they got on the ground. Mal's hand on her back had helped, and Riddick had come running up to the bridge from the engine room as if the hounds of hell were after him. He'd forced her to look at him, "We're safe. Carolyn, we're safe, on the ground, broad daylight outside. Look." He'd turned her chair and she'd seen the sun streaming through the windshield. And even better, buildings and other ships beyond the thick glass.
She'd been able to breathe then, and Mal had told Riddick to get her some tea while he dealt with the port authority. When they got to the galley River was putting on water to boil and rubbing Zoë's back. The First Mate looked almost as bad as Carolyn felt.
"Interesting landing," River said solemnly and wrapped the fuzzy granny square blanket around Carolyn's shoulders.
Zoë looked at her and for all that Carolyn felt like they had nothing in common beyond the ship and liking Mal, in that moment, it seemed like Zoë understood exactly how hard that landing had been for her. "Take it you've had a few bad landings in your day," The dark-skinned woman commented quietly. Everything about Zoë was quiet, Carolyn had noticed. The day the woman raised her voice the 'verse might implode.
"A couple," Carolyn nodded and gratefully accepted the mug of tea River handed her. "The last one…before this… we didn't lose all power and Rick was able to reroute and help… but the one before that…" She shuddered. "We were in a freefall through the atmosphere, got caught in the planet's gravity well, we'd been knocked off course…"
"We've had one of those ourselves," Zoë nodded, and River pressed a kiss to her head.
"Warm milk with cinnamon and honey," She handed Zoë the mug. "Caffeine in tea is not good for you or the little Washling."
"Thank you little one," That wide mouth spread in a sad smile.
Carolyn heard Simon's step on the metal stairs closest to the engine room and his frantic call for Kaylee while Jack hurled herself up behind him in search of Carolyn and Riddick.
The moment of sympathy held for a second longer before it passed and the rest of the crew and Inara (minus Kaylee and Mal) converged on the galley.
Other than that, the senior members of Serenity's crew seemed to take 'interesting' landings in stride. Kaylee was almost insouciant about whatever repairs might be needed. "Just need to rewire a few things. Got a short or two and we get the power flickerin' s'all," She smiled at dinner a week later when the power stuttered.
"That reminds me," Riddick looked at the mechanic. "When I was up on the bridge the aft airlock started flashing. The inner door wasn't open obviously, but I wouldn't be surprised if the outer door has some issue."
Kaylee's face went white, and she nearly stumbled, only Mal's quick save kept dinner from falling to the floor. "But you didn't see nothin' on the inner door?"
"Nope, just the outer one," He shook his head. "Figured I'd mention it so the next time we're on the ground we can climb up and take a look."
"Cap'n," Kaylee's eyes looked huge in her face and Mal nodded. "I think we could get it done if I can borrow Carolyn an' Rick to help."
"We got a half a day before we're due to pick up the cargo. You need anything besides their help you say so," He reassured the shaken girl (though why she was shaken?). "Zoë, you'll be on the bridge. River, you and Jack are with me."
"And me," Simon asked quietly.
"You I figure I'll need in the infirmary on standby," Mal told him firmly. "For afterwards."
"I'll warm up some saké," Simon nodded.
"Now that is a damn good idea," The Captain nodded. He looked at River, "'Tross, bend that mighty brain of yours to how we can put alarms on the inner and outer doors. Start with the aft airlock. When we get parts enough, we'll put 'em on every airlock on the ship."
Carolyn exchanged a mystified look with Riddick but they'd both been on the boat long enough to know when they shouldn't argue or question. Mal only got that tone now and then and when he did… get out of the way. Thankfully that tone also meant he'd be dealing with whatever it was immediately which didn't give her brain a chance to get too twisted up and anxious about whatever it was.
They hadn't been on the boat that long, but his general impression of Kaylee had been that of a sweet natured, cheerful, bubbly woman with a healthy interest in sex, head over heels in love with Simon and with a great deal of affection for the rest of the crew.
He'd have bet four to one odds that the woman didn't know how to do grim.
Just goes to show.
When he worked with Kaylee he was used to a certain amount of bawdy humor, explanations as to why she was doing things one way instead of another, and cheerful talk about her love life, Simon, her belief of Mal and Inara being romantically suited, and Zoë's baby.
You'd have thought the exterior airlock door had live venomous snakes for the amount of caution and hard looks she gave the thing.
River had slipped up to them and deliberately scuffed her boots to make some noise, and she'd still startled the mechanic. "Brought you alarms," She wrapped an arm around Kaylee's waist and kissed her cheek. "One for the outer door, one for the inner. Connect to the controls and the bridge will be alerted. Will also flash the lights in the engine room and the crew bunks. SOS code repeated until the alarm is canceled."
Kaylee hugged River so tight the little pilot nearly squeaked, "Thank you River." She took a deep breath and let the girl go.
"She will be back soon. Make more alarms," River promised and gave Carolyn and Riddick an enigmatic look before she hurried away.
"All right," Kaylee's eyes narrowed at the hatch above them. "Let's get this done."
Something had been loosened their last exit from atmo and they were lucky Fireflies were built so sensibly or they could have lost the exterior airlock door.
Kaylee and Riddick had gone up on the hull to work on the door from the outside while Carolyn handed them tools from inside the airlock.
All in all, it took a good four hours and a lot of sweat and oil (you could have cooked bao if you had the dough handy it was so hot and humid) but they got it done. The alarms on the doors were barely noticeable, cleverly incorporated into the design of the locking mechanism. Riddick got the idea that River had made them that way on purpose. Alarms on air lock doors, especially ones on the top of the ship were not common.
The whole time Kaylee was damn near monosyllabic. Her usual cheerful rambling answers, full of explanations and how she'd learned her tricks were nowhere to be found. She didn't smile once and from her focus on the airlock door and alarms you'd have thought it was life or death that she got this work done as quickly possible.
And her normal scent, oil and grease and sex, something like strawberries and salt, had faded into that cold terror scent she got when he snuck up on her. By the time they got back in the (mostly) climate-controlled ship Kaylee was darn near shaking, Carolyn was mystified, and the stench of fear was so strong in his nostrils that he wanted to plug his nose.
Kaylee had gathered up her tools, given the airlock doors one more narrow-eyed look and bestowed a quiet thank you upon he and Carolyn. Then she'd retreated to the engine room. Riddick had no doubt that she'd need the relaxer of alcohol before she felt right again. He guessed that was what Simon meant by warming up the saké. He hoped the doc knew something about massage. No doubt Kaylee was wound tighter than a coiled spring.
Simon might have been listening for the sound of the door on the hull closing. Or he might just be good at estimating the length of a repair job. But he gave the airlock door a look that should have scalded metal and a satisfied nod before he headed back to the engine room. The look on his face hadn't been much happier than his girlfriend's. Grim looked more at home on Simon's face than Kaylee's but it still seemed odd.
Carolyn looked at Riddick with a 'what the hell' expression on her face and all he could do was shrug. He had no clue what would turn the normally cheerful mechanic into a bleak simulacrum of herself. He wasn't sure he wanted to know. It obviously wasn't anything good.
River came up the stairs and looked towards the engine room seeing the closed door, and then at the two of them, "All went well?"
"Kaylee's on edge," Riddick shrugged again. "But we got it fixed, and the alarms are installed."
"Good," River nodded and gave the airlock a disapproving look. "Kaylee will sleep better." Her lips curved in a cold smile that could have cut glass it was so sharp, but what she said didn't make sense, "Yúchǔn hé duǎn shì. The lion man will bite his own neck, he did not learn from his mother. Jiān xié, è guàn mǎn yíng."
She turned towards the galley and Riddick stared after her, "That was weird right?" He asked Carolyn, keeping his voice low. "I didn't miss something obvious?" He had to ask. While he had a plethora of experience none of it was anything people would call normal. People were just damn strange. And most of the people he could (loosely) call associates were definitely abnormal. Convicts and mercs weren't usually your run of the mill type citizen.
"Nope," Carolyn shook her head. "Definitely weird." She jerked her head towards the galley, "If River's back so are Jack and Mal. We've got cargo coming."
"Yep," He shook off the oddness of the past four hours and set his mind to simpler work. "Better get to it I guess."
Author's Note: So all of us, with our knowledge of the show, understand why Kaylee would find the possibility of the airlock being unsecured worrisome. That was how Early got on the boat. But Riddick and Carolyn have no clue so they're a little confounded. And nobody is in a hurry to enlighten them because then they'd have to explain why an infamous mercenary was interested in their ship/River. So our new crewmembers will be left to wonder for a while longer.
Chinese Translations:
Yúchǔn hé duǎn shì (foolish/stupid and short sighted)
Jiān xié (crafty and evil / a treacherous villain)
è guàn mǎn yíng (lit. strung through and filled with evil (idiom); filled with extreme evil / replete with vice / guilty of monstrous crimes)
