A light flashed on the far console, drawing Wash's eye.
He swiveled his chair over to inspect the readout, and sighed. A wave from Inara - was she finished with her business already?
His mouth went into a thinner line than it already was, and his glance flicked to the sealed bridge door. They couldn't get in, but until he knew they were gone, he was pretty much cut off from any escape route that didn't involve a cutting torch, climbing gear and lots of time.
He frowned in thought. Maybe she could get help... no, scratch that. Warn her off.
He took another look at the hold cameras, shook his head, then opened the channel.
"Hello, Wash," said Inara.
"Hey," said Wash."So, you, uh, finished your business already? Didn't think you'd be calling this soon."
"No, not yet. I was just calling to let you know that I've dropped Kaylee off at the best local hospital. Well, the best I could find on short notice."
"I'm sure they'd be happy to be the best they could be for you," saidWash."Thanks. Do you think she'll need to be there for a while?"
"I was able to schedule immediate consultations with several specialists, so she should be able to return soon."
"Yeah." Wash took another look at the monitors. "Might want to hold off on that."
Inara nodded. "I have to go," she said, "but I'll wait for your wave before returning."
"Thanks. You take care." She ended the call, and he disconnected. Hopefully they hadn't traced it to the source.
Not that it'd help them much, he thought. Companion business was considered pretty much inviolate in the Core and on most of the other moons; he was pretty sure that would apply to the military as well.
That is, if these guys really were Alliance troops, and not local thugs.
"We're resuming command over you, Doctor," said the officer standing between the machine gun wielding soldiers. "You and your... machine are being pressed back into service."
"Look, you're audacious, I'll give you that," said the Doctor. He glanced over the uniforms, the weapons, and back up to the grim expressions. "It would appear you've come across some source of information about me, as well. However, there is one problem with your claim."
"What's that?"
"There is no possible way I would ever agree to submit myself to an organization such as yours! Good grief, you're worse than UNIT - they at least had the courtesy to ask for my help!"
"Well, it's doesn't matter if you come peacefully or not. The result is the same."
"Balderdash! I-"
Shepherd Book stepped out of the TARDIS, between the Doctor and the guns.
"What are you doing?" said the Doctor.
"I do hope we can resolve this without violence," said Book, addressing the commander of the group.
"I hope so too, Shepherd," the officer said, "but if you're not out of the way in two seconds, I cannot be responsible for your safety."
"This is absurd," said Book. He stepped forward. "What unit is this? I've never seen uniforms like - "
"Neutralize."
ZAP
"Argh!"
The Doctor fell to his knees, clutching his chest.
"Cuff him. Let's go."
Two soldiers shouldered their guns and lifted the Doctor to his feet, securing his hands behind him with plastic ties.
"Stop this!" snapped Book. "What has he done?"
Two more soldiers seized him from behind, pinning his arms. One of them searched his pockets until he found Book's ident card, which he then handed to the commander. He stuck it into a slot on a pad he was holding, then looked over the screen.
"Hm," he said, tossing the card back to the man, who placed it back in Book's pocket. "All right, release him."
The men let go of his arms and stepped back, and the officer stepped up close. "You're damn lucky we're letting you go. Let me just tell you this - there were things you were cleared to know. Our existence isn't one of them."
"Tell me, do you always leave your flank unguarded?"
Both the officer and Book looked around, to see Mal and a man in black standing at the foot of the gangway - accompanied by a group of armed men, weapons leveled at them. Mal was looking stone faced, but Book could see his eyes scanning the area, searching for something to dive behind if things went south.
"Tell your men to drop their weapons!" barked the officer, as the line of soldiers nearest the hold door swiveled to point their guns back at the group.
The man in black shrugged, then pulled a small device from his belt, turning a dial on it as he did so. "You are completely outmatched. I suggest you surrender."
"That was your warning," said the officer. "Fire!"
Jayne stopped and ducked into a doorway, pulling a panting Jo behind him. "Thought I told you ta wear the moccasins," he said. "Those ain't made for runnin'. "
"I - just - I'll get my breath - "
Jayne looked around, then back out the door. Looks like this place might have a window facin' the square, he thought. He went over to the main stairs -
A voice, full of strained annoyance, cut in. "Excuse me, do you have a reservation?"
Jayne turned and saw a clerk he'd missed before, a look of distaste on his face.
He turned and stalked back to the main desk, pulling Jed's card out of a pocket. He handed it over. "I need a room facin' the main square."
The clerk eyed the card, then Jayne. "Certainly, sir," he said, opening a large book on the desk in front of him, "if you'll just wait a mom-"
Jayne slammed his hand down on the counter, making him jump, then glared at him. "Do I look like the waitin' type? Gimme the gorram key!"
"Okay, okay!" The man dug around under the counter as, with his other hand, he ran the card over a scanner. When his hand came up with a key, Jayne grabbed both it and the card from his hands.
"Room 33, sir. Enjoy your stay."
Jayne grunted, grabbing Jo's arm and half-dragging her up the stairs after him, despite her protests.
The clerk took a long look after them. Jed generally kept things quiet in town, but his boys could cause a ruckus when occasion arose. Didn't recall seeing that one before, but...
He shrugged and went back to reading his paper.
Jayne entered the room first, putting the bag on the bed. Jo followed, but stopped a few steps into the room. "Why are we in here?"
"Go look out the window," said Jayne, starting to take various boxes and pouches out of the bag. He opened a box of ammo and started loading a large pistol.
Jo walked over and pulled back the curtain. "There's a ship in the main square!"
"That's my ship" said Jayne. He finished loading the pistol, then went over and shut the door. "Here, take care of this."
He tossed a flat wooden box to Jo, who juggled it for a couple tense seconds before catching it just a couple inches off the floor. She put it on a desk next to the window and opened it. "Oh!" she said, eyes wide. She looked up at Jayne. "You can't expect me to... to..." She looked back down into the box.
Jayne looked up from the stock of the rifle he'd been assembling and frowned. "What's wrong now?"
"Oh, no, it's a... very nice looking gun," said Jo, gingerly lifting a slim, finely tooled nine millimeter pistol from the box. "It's just, it's been a long time since I used one."
"Sure it'll come back to ya," said Jayne. "Bein' under fire can do that." He snapped the last piece of the barrel into place, then walked over, setting the rifle and scope on the desk.
He took the pistol from her hands, then set about checking each part over with practiced ease, before taking a clip from the box and sliding it in.
He paused a moment to admire it anew; it really was a nice piece. He took her hand and placed it in it, wrapping his hand around hers to show her the proper grip. He grinned at her startled look. "Safety's right there," he said, pointing.
"Oh," said Jo. "It's in a different place than I remember."
Jayne released her hands and picked up the rifle, screwing on the scope as he walked over to the window. "You'll get the hang of it," he said, pulling the curtain aside. Now to see if they'd beaten Padrone -
"Aw, 在单元格中地狱!" He crouched down, positioning the rifle and looking through the scope. Who the 花式狗肝 were those people?
"What's wrong?" said Jo.
"Someone's already there, looks like military," said Jayne. He turned slightly, sighting off to the side. "Yeah, here's Padrone an' Jed's crew now - Mal's still with them." He turned back. "Doesn't look like the ones at the ship've noticed."
"What's happening? Can you see the Doctor?"
"Bad angle from up here, can't see into the ship..." He sprang to his feet, turned, took two long strides, and grabbed Jo's shoulder just as she was opening the door.
"Let go of me! I've got to - "
"Get shot full o' holes? Come on!" He yanked her back in and shut the door.
Jo glared at him. "So now what happens, we just sit here doing nothing while people die?"
Jayne scowled, then walked back to the window, repositioning with the rifle. "Mess like that, people're gonna die anyhow," he said. "Don't see why we gotta join in." He took another look through the scope, putting the crosshairs over Mal, Padrone, and various soldiers. "All it's gotta take is one good shot," he said.
"So why don't you just take one now?" said Jo, voice edged with sarcasm and not a little panic.
"Too many targets," said Jayne evenly. "One shot gives away our position. The wrong one tips 'em off, they come up an' make us all dead."
He heard her sit down on the bed with a sigh, then refocused on the scene down at the ship.
Hope one of ya on the ship has some kinda plan, he thought. If we gotta depend on another one o' Mal's, we could all end up dead.