"Talks a lot, don't he?"
The Doctor stood there, still stunned. He was giving the Master's prone form an increasingly confused, curious look.
The man in black took off his hat and wiped his forehead. "Why so jumpy, Cobb? Aren't ya glad to see the cavalry?
Jayne stared hard at him. "What's with the Feds?"
"Called in a few favors," said Jed, pulling a cigar from a pouch at his belt. He snipped off the tip as the soldiers fanned out, a couple taking custody of the Master's unresistant men.
"Do me a favor, Kathan, " came a voice from behind him, "and get out of the way. This area is being secured by our forces now."
Jed took a step back and turned. "Now wait a sec, we agreed - "
He was suddenly nose-to-nose with Colonel Dyson, who was wearing heavy brown combat armor and a grim expression. "Stand down. I don't give a damn what problem you have with my prisoner. This is way beyond you - you're lucky you're not under arrest."
"Excuse me."
Both men looked over.
The Master struggled to sit up. "If I might speak?"
Jed whipped his gun up and pulled the trigger, right before Dyson brought his hand down on his wrist. There was a sizzle, the air around the Master flashed red, and the bullet dropped to the ground in a molten drop.
"Protectin' him already?"
Dyson pulled a bulky handgun from his holster and pointed toward the Master, while another soldier disarmed Jed. "Cute. Don't move, this will cut right through any energy shield you've got."
The Master glanced down at the bullet holes in his chest. "Superb marksmanship," he said, "but it's a good thing you're not familiar with my biology." He very slowly brought himself to his knees, one hand in the air.
"This stinks of one of your plans," remarked the Doctor.
"Hardly," said Dyson. "He's coming with us."
"Is that a fact? Have you even studied your own records, how well that works out?"
"We've learned from our mistakes, Doctor," said Dyson evenly. "As a matter of- put that down!"
The Master had produced a small cylinder and pressed a button.
A red beam lanced out and caught Jed in the stomach, lifting him off his feet and slamming him into the side of the hold door. He hit the ground in a heap.
He then dropped the device and raised his hands.
The device, as it fell past a certain point, glowed white-hot; by the time it reached the ground it was so much slag.
"Your cuffs, then?" said the Master. Though he was smiling, his face was strained with the effort of being upright.
"No."
"Then how do you propose -"
Dyson motioned to a nearby soldier, who produced a small sphere. He entered a code on it, then threw it at the Master's feet.
Nothing happened for a moment.
"Really?" He then took another look at the sphere, and frowned. "Oh."
There was a blue-green flash.
When the light cleared, there was a whitish statue where the Master had been, about a foot further out from where he had been standing in every dimension.
"Secure him."
As the Master-statue was manhandled away, Zoe and Book came out of the ship. Zoe looked over at the Doctor, then at Dyson."There some kind of reward for what you got here?"
"We know what you're doing here. That should be reward enough."
Zoe gave him an odd look, and Dyson stepped closer. "Just so I am crystal clear, Corporal Allyene, we know everyone on your ship. Every. One. I don't care one bit for the agencies responsible, so I'm looking the other way. This time."
Book looked over from where he had been moving Jed and checking his vitals. "Very generous of you."
"He still alive?"
"Barely."
"Good for him." He turned to the Doctor. "Like I said, we're taking no chances. You'd better be gone soon." He pressed a button on his wrist, and he, his men, and the Master shimmered, and vanished.
Zoe looked over at Mal, still lying in the mobile bed. The attending doctor had been taken away along with the rest of the men.
He turned to Jayne. "Help me get him to the medbay."
Book stood up. "If you could bring some things back- "
"You come too." She nodded at the Doctor. "Keep an eye on Jed over there. We'll be right back."
As they made their way toward the medbay with the bed in tow, Book studied Zoe. "Why didn't you want him along?"
"Don't trust Jed, damn well don't trust the Doctor after this."
"I don't understand. What has he done?"
"Just don't."
As they came to the door, Simon came dashing up to take over. He wheeled the bed over between the examining tables, linking the life support into the ship's supply.
River sat over on one of the tables, her heels beating out a rhythm on the side of a cabinet. Whapwhapwhapwhap whapwhapwhapwhap whapwhapwhapwhap.
She stopped and stared at the captain. "Needs a new hat."
Book cocked an eyebrow at this; everyone else ignored it.
"Everyone has new hats, very latest fashion."
Simon was already checking the readouts on all the equipment. "What was he doing all the way out here?" he said.
"Padrone kidnapped him, brought him out," said Jayne.
"Doctor they had with them said that he had to be sedated," said Zoe. At Simon's expression, she said, "Someone from the hospital. Not Smith."
"That's not what I'm concerned about," said Simon, cold anger on his face. "Anyone with any training would know what sedating someone in his state could do." He started going over Mal's head, studying it intently.
He turned to Jayne. "I need you to get to the hospital and get his charts. I don't care how. We need them right now."
Jayne frowned and opened his mouth, but then nodded. He took off out the door.
"We really need them that badly?"
"No," said Simon. "We need... I'm not sure what we need." He stepped back. "They should have left him. They..." He rubbed his face, beckoning Zoe closer.
Zoe looked at the screen where he was pointing. "What am I looking for?"
"Any activity at all."
The line on the screen was flat. Zoe looked back at him. Shook her head.
"It's gone too long," said Simon, leaning against the bed. "There should have been something."
He looked back up at her. "Life support is the only thing keeping him alive."
River had hopped off the table and padded over to the bed. She poked at Mal's forehead curiously. "Hello? We need to bring the hat man. New hats." She looked solemnly at Simon, and walked out.
Zoe's jaw tightened.
"He's... I'm sorry. Mal's clinically brain dead."