Ma’at

Spoilers- just the series, there be no movie spoilers here. Disclaimer- the characters and settings used do not belong to be nor do I earn money for them, I am a simple writer who finds inspiration in the works of the Joss god. Note- I always thought that Joss would have brought the Tam’s back had the series gone on longer. Note2- In Egyptian mythology Ma’at was the goddess of truth, it was also the term for universal order. Translations: mei mei- little sister yu ben de- stupid, foolish, silly Liou coe shway duh biao-tze huh hoe-tze duh bun ur-tze- stupid son of a drooling whore and a monkey Jien tah du guai- like hell xxx

Mal crossed his arms over his chest and stared down at his little mechanic. “Now, Kaylee, I know you’ve been a mite stressed lately-“

Kaylee glanced pleadingly up at him. “A mite, Captain? We’ve all been jumpier than a bunch of polecats on a hot tin roof. There ain’t no Alliance nearby.”

Mal looked into Kaylee’s hopeful eyes. “I don’t know, mei mei. What about the Doctor and River?”

Kaylee grinned. “None of the folks on Ma’at know about the warrant, Alliance must not think they’ll head for border planets. And we’ve been on plenty of planets like Ma’at afore, you never stopped ‘em going planetside then. Anyways, Inara checked the local cortex, just to be sure,” Kaylee added, seeing Mal’s eyebrow rise at her swift assurance.

Kaylee could see he was wavering. “We’re getting cabin fever, Cap’n. You can’t tell me you ain’t been feelin’ it.”

“Well, I might be a bit tightly wound-“

Inara and Wash snorted.

Kaylee hit him with the puppy dog eyes. “Please?”

Mal sighed. “Okay, but don’t come crying to me if it gets you dead.”

xxxxx

Kaylee put her hands on her hips and grinned down at the bustling dock. Ma’at was much like Persephone. It weren’t exactly the average border planet. Ma’at had cities, not nearly as shiny as the core but the buildings all had at least another story on them. Ma’at had homes, ranches too. But the docks were the territory of the others. The so-called dregs of society: the homeless, the smugglers and petty crooks, the whores and the cheap drinking places.

Kaylee took a deep breath. Yep, sure was good to be planetside again. Kaylee’s grin widened as Simon stopped beside her. She linked her arm through his.

She gestured down to the dock. “So, what do ya think?”

“I think,” Simon smiled, “I think it’s great to finally breathe air that hasn’t been recycled and to be able to get far away from Jayne.”

Kaylee giggled. She nudged Simon. “Looks like we ain’t the only ones glad to be here.”

Wash tugged Zoë down the ramp, his quirky grin widening as the sun hit his face. He waved back to Kaylee and Simon as Zoë laughed. “Don’t wait up!”

River padded silently down the ramp on bare feet. She stood and watched the people bustling about.

"River, ain't ya glad to see the sun again?" Kaylee asked cheerfully.

"So small, in such a hurry. They're like ants." With that River turned on her heel and walked back into the ship.

Kaylee bit her lip and glanced at Simon. "I guess not."

xxxxx

River frowned in concentration as she drew in her notebook. Her pencil skimmed over the page, creating straight lines and perfect circles.

"Two days. Been here two days. Important number two. Can count to anything. Two times two equals four; four times four equals sixteen; sixteen times sixteen equals two hundred and fifty-six."

Suddenly River tensed. She looked up, staring into space. "They're here."

The pencil dropped from her numb fingers.

River scrambled upright, pausing momentarily to slip combat boots over her bare feet. She pulled back the door to her room and strode out.

“They’re here.”

xxxxx

Simon peered into the engine room, unsurprised to see Kaylee’s feet poking out from underneath Serenity’s heart, even though it was she who had fought so hard for this stop. Undoubtedly, Kaylee had gotten some new parts and couldn’t wait to install them.

“Hey, Simon.”

Simon started; he hadn’t realized she could see him from there. “Hi, Kaylee Um, have you seen River?”

Kaylee pushed herself out and sat up. She drew her bottom lip between her teeth and wrinkled her brow. “Should I of?”

Simon tersely shook his head. “I left her sketching in her room just a few minutes ago. Shepard Book hurt his hand and when I got back she was gone. I’ve looked everywhere. Everywhere I know anyway.”

Kaylee wiped her hands on a greasy rag. “She wouldn’ta went planet side, would she? We’ve been docked for a few days now.”

Simon frowned. “The Captain never told her not to. Neither did I for that matter. She didn’t seem interested in Ma’at after all.”

“But you think-?”

Simon looked sick. “Oh, god.”

He turned on his heel and ran out, Kaylee close on his heels. Simon’s boots, his shiny shoes having been lost to a recent caper, clanged loudly on the grating as he raced through the ship and down into the cargo bay. Simon ran down the ramp and searched the people milling around the docks.

He pushed a hand through his hair. “Where is she? I can’t see her! River! River!”

Kaylee grabbed Simon’s arm and pointed to a far off alley, somewhat obscured by the buildings that encased it. “There she is!”

“River!” Simon sprinted off in that direction, pushing through the crowds.

He knocked against a well-dressed couple, pushing them into a cart loaded with fertilizer. Kaylee followed closely, throwing a quick apology behind her.

“Simon, wait.” Kaylee kept as close behind him as she could, but Simon was rapidly pulling ahead. “Simon!”

The well-dressed woman turned at Kaylee’s cries, her hand frozen in the act of brushing down her immaculate clothing. The woman’s face was pale. “Simon?”

Kaylee glanced back at the woman, but her concern for River and Simon had her picking up speed to catch up with the doctor.

Panic seized Simon’s chest as he ducked and weaved through the crowd, shoulder barging people when he had to. He kept craning his neck, trying to catch glimpses of dark hair and pale skin.

The crowd cleared enough for Simon to completely see River, rather than just catch glimpses of her. She was being lead into the alley Kaylee had pointed out by a boy who would only have been a few years older than River. For a second her eyes met Simon’s. A smile lit up her face and she moved towards him. The boy leading her away tightened his grip on River’s arm and dragged the now struggling River into the alley.

A red haze descended over Simon and before he knew what was happening he had reached the mouth of the alley. The boy had pulled River to the back of the alley. And he wasn’t alone. Five other men surrounded River, their ages ranging from teenage to possibly late 60’s.

A sharp hiss and the scuff of Simon's boots announced his presence. The men all turned to look at him. Unconsciously, Simon studied River's captors. They weren't Alliance, like he feared. The dirty, scruffy clothes they wore and the one gun between the six of them didn't speak of a crack military team.

One of the older men, his hair and beard streaked with grey, took a warning step towards him. "Whatta looking at, boy? Go on, get."

The oldest man, who was also the smallest and the one with the gun strapped to his hip, leered at Simon. "Maybe he wants a turn too." He cackled shrilly.

Simon's hands clenched. River staring at him calmly from within the men's grasp only seemed to make things worse.

"Let. Her. Go."

"Don't be yu ben de, boy. Just walk away," Greybeard warned him.

"Simon?" Kaylee stopped behind Simon, slightly out of breath.

The men eyed Kaylee lustfully, making her squirm and step closer to Simon. "Ya got one o' yer own and leave use with ours."

The boy that had lured River away pulled on River's arm. River stumbled and cried out, a bruise already forming on her pale skin.

"Let my sister go."

Simon's tone was low and filled with such menace that Kaylee couldn't help the shiver that ran down her spine.

The men looked to one another. "Well now, this changes things a mite."

Simon nodded. "Yes, I believe it does. Now let her go."

One of the younger men, he would have been in his late 20's to early 30's stepped forward. There was a disturbing grin on his face. "Fightin' and sexin' in the same afternoon. I knew today was my lucky day. And lookit, there's another pretty too."

Simon refused to let his stance waver. Early had been more menacing than this bunch, of course there was only one Early and there were six of them. For a second he locked eyes with River and was relieved to see them go hard like obsidian. Gently he nudged Kaylee towards what looked to be a promising stack of heavy timber.

“Get ready,” he whispered to Kaylee out of the side of his mouth.

Kaylee squeezed his wrist, showing she understood. Now all they had to do was wait for a signal.

River went limp in her captors’ arms. She then used the distraction to kick one in the head, pulling her arm free and punching the other in the face as she rose to her feet. Simon lunged forward, punching Greybeard in the face as Kaylee scrambled to find a weapon in the timber stack.

Greybeard stumbled back, holding his bleeding nose. “Liou coe shway duh biao-tze huh hoe-tze duh bun ur-tze. You’re gonna regret that.”

River moved in a whirl, kicking one man under the chin then dancing out the way and backhanding another. Kaylee hefted a piece of 4 by 4.

“Jien tah du guai.”

xxxxx

Simon had rarely felt like this before. His heart was pounding, echoing loudly in his ears. Adrenaline was rushing through his body, making him feel strong and invincible. The fight around him was a blur. Kaylee was behind him, her back to his as she nervously swung her lump of wood to keep the men away. River was moving around the alley, her movements so swift and graceful that she looked as though she was dancing.

River spun, her fist lashing out and stopping barely a centimeter from the nose of the boy who lured her off her course. The boy stared cross-eyed at River’s fist.

“Run away,” River whispered.

The boy whimpered and finally blinked. He moaned lowly. “I’m sorry. Please, don’t hurt me!”

“Run away,” River repeated. “Bad little boys get no sweets.”

The boy whimpered again. He turned on his heel and ran out of the alley, ignoring the derisive cries of his friends.

River kicked the man on her left in the leg, angling her foot to break the bone. He fell to the ground, screaming and clutching his leg. River spin kicked the next man, sending him soaring head first into the wall. He fell to the ground unconscious.

Kaylee shrieked as the lump of wood in her hands was tugged on, pulling her away from Simon. A grizzled man leered at her, bearing his bare gums as he pulled Kaylee toward him. With a sharp twist the piece of wood was yanked from her hands, making large splinters dig into her palms and calloused fingers. He threw the wood to the side and grabbed Kaylee, using his forearm to cut off her oxygen supply.

“I’d stop iffin you like this one to live.”

Simon’s eyes flickered from Kaylee’s face to the man who held her. As quick as a rattlesnake strike he cold-cocked the man nearest to him, the old man with the gun. Simon pulled the gun from its holster and tossed it to River.

“Wound, not kill!”

River held the gun confidently. She glanced at the two remaining men. “Can’t look.”

River’s eyes closed, but like before her aim was unerring. One staggered back holding his arm and Kaylee’s captor had let her go, preferring to stem the blood leaking from his thigh.

“Are you hurt?” Simon gripped Kaylee by the forearms.

Kaylee shook her head. “Just some splinters.”

Simon gently opened Kaylee’s hands and winced. He ran a light finger over them. “I’ve got something for that back on Serenity. River? Are you okay?”

“Two by two. Just like the ark. Just like the blue. I’m fine, Simon. Played fairytale princess and you saved me again.”

Simon kissed her on the forehead. “You did a good job of saving yourself. But what were you doing wandering the docks?”

“Simon, they’re here.”

“Who’s here?”

River nodded towards the mouth of the alley. Simon followed her nod and stiffened when he saw two figures standing there. It was the well-dressed couple that he had so forcefully bumped into earlier. Their faces were pale and slack with shock.

“Ah. Hello, Mother, Father. So nice to see you.”

xxx

end part one.