Sweet Serenity

The crew of Serenity had finally gotten over their losses. It took time, and Zoë tried to hide it well, but the sorrow was still there. It had never really left them; it was just locked in a chest and buried under the sand. But it would never go away: they just had to get used to it, they had to move on…which is why Captain Malcolm Reynolds docked on Persephone looking for more passengers. Passengers meant more money, and although the Alliance Operative and his crew had helped them repair the ship the best they could, they were still in need of new parts. Too bad they were too gorram broke to buy any. Mal opened the doors to the busy, dirty streets of Persephone. It was always a good place to get passengers, but at the same time he needed more work. Work that wasn’t of a legal nature. Gorram it, he was worried about his crew. Zoë hadn’t smiled in days, but she was still functional as the second in command. Wash and Book were…dead, and they needed a pilot. He and River were able to function pretty well, but for how long? They could never pull off the maneuvers Wash could. But then again, River was a genius. She was truly gifted, and the lil’ albatross showed a lot of promise. Speaking of River, she was doing much better. He was glad for her; most of her mental illness was gone, and she was becoming a real crewmember. Jayne was just Jayne, he was a lost cause. He never was too bright. Simon is happy because River is getting better. And now that he and Kaylee- He shivered. Thinking about that made Mal a might uncomfortable. The less said about the consummating of their relationship, the better. Oh, God! He said consummating! About Simon…and, and….Kaylee! Gorram it, Mal, he thought to himself, you’re gonna scare away your costumers. Think money! Ah, yes, money…nice money. He then tried to smile, to put on a happy face so that hopefully he would bag a real rich- “Cap’n!” yelled Kaylee from behind Mal. “Son of a-!” Mal exclaimed. “Ai ya, Kaylee! Don’t you know not to interrupt a man when he’s deep in his thoughts?! Zhou ma!” “Sorry Cap’n, but me and Simon were gonna…" she looked lovingly at the doctor who held onto her arm, "...spend some time together." Mal swallowed and nodded, he felt very uncomfortable around Kaylee and Simon. She was lil' Kaylee, and he was....Simon. "Well…then…you do that. You kids have fun.” Mal turned away to go deeper into the ship, “but I want her back before ten young man, or I swear to God, I’ll call your parents.” Simon smiled and Kaylee giggled as they both stepped onto the ground that was the Eavesdown Docks of Persephone…

*** As culturally and technologically advanced as the high town of Persephone was, the Eavesdown Docks was as low and middle aged. Eavesdown was the great slum of the central planet. It was where the less socially acceptable gathered and docked their ships; most of which were involved in smuggling activities and other such illegal activities. The bar had a musty smell to it, and was almost entirely made of wood. The bar-top itself was varnished in a dark brown color; and from the smell of it, the layer was applied fairly recently. They were about ten people in the bar. A young man dressed in green cargo pants and a simple grey “wife-beater” sat at the bar, simply staring at the brown liquid sitting on the bar-top. A blond man with a sleeveless, unbuttoned vest and no undershirt was downing whatever the foul-smelling liquid was as fast as it was poured into his glass. The boy was just trying to enjoy a quiet drink alone. Really, that’s all it was. At least, that’s what he had planned. But as a great wiseman once said, “What you plan and what takes place ain’t exactly ever been similar.” That quote seems appropriate considering the trouble that was about to be stirred up as the young engineer of Serenity and her lover, the doctor of the ship, stepped into that bar in the heart of hell that was the Eavesdown Docks. The first thing Kaylee did was order a round of drinks for Simon and her. The bartender, a large, bald man with a stained grey t-shirt, walked over and gave them two shot glasses and a bottle. Whatever the substance was, the couple didn’t ask, and Kaylee started to pour Simon a drink. “I must admit, I’m not much of a drinker,” Simon said sheepishly. “Oh, Simon,” Kaylee exclaimed, “don’t you fret, everything’s shiny. I'll slow down for you,” she said with a teasing smile. Simon returned her smile, and with that, they downed their first drink. The blond man peered over in the direction of the couple, and his eyes widened and burned with rage as he caught sight of Kaylee. With a start, he picked up his bottle and shakily walked toward them. Kaylee was in the middle of a laugh when she turned and saw the man standing beside their table. Her face fell and she stood up suddenly, pushing her chair back with the force. “Bester!” Kaylee gasped. It had been a long time since she had last seen the young man. She can remember how she replaced Bester as the mechanic on Serenity, when he failed to understand that the reg couple was bad. “Yeah, it’s me, you filthy whore!” He spat the words out and traced the tattoo on his right cheek with his finger. His other hand gripped the bottle by the neck as if it were a weapon. “You took my job, you stupid bitch-!” It was at this point that Simon stood up as if he were to defend his lady’s honor. Too bad it didn’t work out that way. Bester swung the bottle as if it were a bat and cracked Simon right in the head. Simon fell down and his world went black as he was thrown into unconsciousness. Bester threw the remainder of the bottle away, and with his other hand, he reached behind his back and pulled out a knife. He held it to her throat and she cried out, but no one came to her rescue. Oh God, how she prayed Jayne or Mal or even Zoë were there to help her. But no one was there, no one would help her. “You can forget about that pì huà. I’m going to make you sorry, Kaylee!” He said her name mockingly, as if it didn’t belong to her, as if she was a thing and didn’t have a name."Do you have any idea what it's like?! Do you?! I was the laughing stock of every port I went to! No captain wanted to hire me because I was replaced by a girl! A girl who was never even taught by a licensed mechanic! A girl who had never even been up in a ship before!" Bester looked up toward the ceiling and snarled in rage. "But don't worry pretty girl, you're gonna make up for it...you're gonna make up for all of it..." Kaylee shed a tear as he dragged her out of the bar and into a neighboring alley. *** The whole episode went by quickly. The bartender rushed over to the fallen Simon, who was out cold and blood was running down his face. “Hey, somebody get some-,” he didn’t finish his sentence. The bar patrons chose to ignore the whole thing. He glanced at the stool where the young boy sat. It was empty.

*** Outside, Bester had tied Kaylee’s hands above her head and was struggling with his pants. “You little biǎo zi,” he said to her, “you’re gonna pay for taking my job. You need to learn your place.” Even drunk, Serenity’s ex-mechanic was still very strong. However, none of that strength helped him to undo the button on his pants. Kaylee let the tears flow freely now. God, she was going to be raped! Raped! And who knows what would happen to Simon in that dirty bar. She was going to be raped and then her throat would be slit. She was going to miss Serenity and the crew. River was her best friend and how would she feel once Kaylee and Simon were gone…? Kaylee swallowed and sobbed as a tear fell from her face and splashed down on the ground. Suddenly, there was a shuffling noise from the darkness of the alley. Bester turned around and held his knife in front of him, to protect him from whatever was out there. He squinted and looked out into the black. Nothing. A soda can was kicked, and it rolled, coming to a stop at Bester’s feet. Then there was the sound of loud footsteps, coming closer and closer. And then he appeared: the young boy from the bar. Only now he had a really pissed off look on his face. “Hey, I’m warning you-!” the boy thrust his fingers into Bester’s throat, effectively ended his speech before he could get his words out. He then hit the knife out of his hands with an upward force. Bester’s drunken head tried to follow the motion of the knife as it spun in the air, reaching its pinnacle. The boy used this distraction to kick Bester in the balls. Then, in a horizontal sweep, he caught the blade with one hand. Continuing the circular motion, he turned around and kicked Bester in the head with a spinning kick, using the bottom of his heel to attack Bester’s temple. The drunk, attempted rapist fell into the wall before sliding down to the pavement. “I tell ya, you try to enjoy one gorram quiet evening…” the boy’s voice was full of anger, rage. He then looked at Kaylee and his features softened. Kaylee could now see him better. He was a handsome boy, with short brown hair that was buzzed on the sides and longer on top. As he drew closer to her, she noticed he had brilliant green eyes, and was starting to grow a beard, but not quite there yet. “Miss, are you alright?” His voice was soft now, comforting. Kaylee felt relief finally wash over her. She swallowed and nodded her head. “What’s your name?” he asked her. “Kaylee…” she responded, still dazed. “Well, then, Kaylee,” he said, placing the knife out of sight, “I need to free you, but in order to do that, I need to use the knife to cut the bonds…Do you understand that the knife is for the bonds and not for you, Kaylee?” Again, she nodded. He brought the knife back into view and sliced through the plastic in one quick stroke. Thank God, she thought to herself, I’m going to be alright. As he helped her to her feet, she glanced back to see a large gang had gathered, all armed with pool cues, chains, knives, and other weapons. She gasped and shrank back down. The young boy turned around and saw the gang. The leader, a large, muscular man with a scar that went from his eye down to his cheek stepped forward. “What the hell did you do to our buddy Bester over here, you little shuǎ zuǐ pí?” the leader asked. Sighing, the boy stepped forward to embrace the onslaught.

*** Jayne followed Mal and Zoë into the bar. Simon was awake, but he was not very aware. “Where’s Kaylee?!” Mal asked the confused doctor. “I don’t…A guy named Bester took her…I’m not sure where they went,” Simon responded groggily. “Zhou ma!” Mal swore. River arrived to take care of her brother. She helped him to his feet and walked him to the ship. “You always did need my help, Simon,” she told him, relieved he was okay, yet at the same time worried about her friend. Who was she going to play Jacks with if Kaylee was gone? Suddenly, River stopped and she stared into space. Mal looked at her funny. "What are you doing?" he asked with a furrowed brow. "Green eyes...there are green eyes looking at me from the darkness..." she said mysteriously and then began to walk off with her brother. Mal looked at Zoe who just shook her head as if to say 'I got no clue'. Mal nodded at her. "Right then, let's go," he said and lead the rest of the crew on the search for their mechanic.

***

“Well, I was thinking what we’d do is to gorram destroy you, then help our gorram buddy Bester, and then we’re all gonna have some fun with that gorram biǎo zi mechanic over there…” the large man finished his speech with a sneer and a few chuckles from his cohorts. “Is that a fact?” “Heh, yeah that’s a fact-” “Well, I hate to interrupt another of your monologues, but I was just wondering…are you literate?” “Am I what?” “Are you literate…? Can you read? Because you used a lot of the same words in that little speech and I was thinking if you read a book now and again it would help to expand your vocabulary. Dong ma?” The young man was completely calm. He didn’t look the least bit threatened. Kaylee thought he was going to die as she hid behind a dumpster. The large man stepped forward, his muscles bulging. “How about me and my buddies just tear you limb from limb?” Again, there was a chorus of chuckles from behind him. The young man was still calm as he shrugged and shook his head. “Well, see…the thing about that is-” Immediately he crouched down and thrust the heel of his palm into the kneecap of the leader. It broke with a sickening crunch and the leader feel down on his back. He then jumped upward in an uppercut that hit the first opponent to reach him. He spun from the uppercut, landed and continued the spinning momentum to throw a knife at one of the oncoming gang members. He counted roughly seven more of them as he ran to the wall, jumped on it, and pushed off to multiply the power behind his kick. It smacked into the next guy, effectively knocking him out with a severe concussion. Six more to go. He caught the arm of another enemy as he tried to throw a punch. Crouching down, he thrust up with all the force his legs could create, causing his shoulder to crash into the elbow of the gang member. The arm broke at the elbow joint with a wet snap. As the gang member fell, he turned around to face the next guy, only to receive a punch in the face, and he barely missed having his eyes slashed open by a knife. His forehead wasn’t so lucky, as the blade split the skin and blood flowed into his eyes. He didn’t need to see them anymore, though. They already lost. He moved his foot in a circular in-to-out motion, hitting the knife wielder with the side of his foot. He continued the motion, very gracefully dropping low and sweeping the knife wielder off his feet. The boy then did something amazing; he switched directions, his momentum traveling the exact opposite way and he created an arc with his shin, finally driving it into the stomach of the downed gang member. Standing up, the boy sidestepped the fist of the next gang member. Good thing, too, as the chain he wielded earlier was now wrapped around his fist. The boy followed up with a knee into his enemy’s gut, a downward elbow across the head, and finally an upward elbow to the chin. He grabbed onto the chain and unraveled it as he kicked the chain wielder into another oncoming gang member. The force knocked them both out cold. Wincing from the blood in his eyes, the young man struggled to remember how many were now left. He wiped his eyes, trying to get the blood out. It didn’t work so well, and he decided to keep them closed, wash them later. How many were left, gorram it!? Three! He shouted in his head, there’s three left, where the hell are they- KA-pow! The boy swallowed, and looked down at his stomach. Through blinking eyes, he saw a large red spot on the right side of his abdomen. He touched it gently and felt it sting.

*** Kaylee gasped as she saw the boy touch the gun wound. It started to seep blood down his shirt. She saw the shooter blow the smoke out of his gun and grin to his two buddies. “Bèn dàn…did he really think none of us had guns? Hahahaha!” he and his buddies started to laugh as they walked over to the boy. He fell down to his knees gasping. His head was hung low and the blood from his forehead dripped down to the pavement. The shooter placed the barrel of his pistol right against the young man’s head. He pulled back the trigger and Kaylee looked away. She heard the gunshot and shed one more tear. Then a body hit the floor with a thud. She looked back to see Zoë standing over the shooter’s body with her rifle smoking, and Mal had his pistol trained on the other two, who were now against the wall with their hands up.

*** “Now if any of you two try to harm this boy any further, you best make peace with your dear Lord…” Mal said. He was now protective Mal, the honorable and noble Mal who had fought at Serenity Valley. “…cause I swear to you, I will send you straight to him without a moment’s hesitation.” He was not to be trifled with when someone was messing with a member of his crew. “Dong ma?” The remaining two gang members nodded. “Kaylee, hun, you can come out now. No one’s going to hurt you anymore,” Zoë said to her dear friend. Sniffling, Kaylee complied. As she walked toward Zoë, she bent over to help her former rescuer up. “Are you okay?” she asked as she pulled him to his feet. “I’m fine,” he said, letting go of her and walking out of the alley on his own. Each step he took his legs shook and he felt like he had the weight of all of Persephone on his shoulders. Sweat from his brow started to get into his forehead wound and make it irritate and sting. But he couldn’t touch it. Couldn’t show weakness. “Hey, son! Hey!” Mal started after the boy. “You’ve had your fair share of wounds this night, and I’m grateful for the help you’ve given my lil’ Kaylee. At the very least you can let my doctor have a look at those-” Mal didn’t finish his sentence as Jayne popped out of from behind the dumpster and hit the boy across the face with the butt of his rifle. The young man hit the floor like a sack of potatoes and didn’t get up.

*** “Haha! Gotcha!” Jayne smiled proudly and slung his rifle over his shoulder. “Jayne!” Mal looked more irritated than Jayne had ever seen him. He started a whole string of Mandarin curse words. “What…?” Jayne looked around confused. Kaylee, Zoë, the two gang members, and Mal all looked at him like he was nuts. Which he probably was. “The bad guys are the ones against the wall with their hands up!” Mal spat the words out at him. Jayne scratched his head and then scuffed. “Well now I know that!” Jayne exclaimed. “Gorram it, Jayne! Just…just…pick him up! Gently! Take him back to the ship and put him in the infirmary.” After Mal finished his instructions, he stormed off to the ship. Jayne looked over the chaos of bodies before him. “Hey look!” He said to Zoë and Kaylee. “Isn’t that Bester?!” The girls rolled their eyes and followed Mal. Jayne watched them go and shrugged. “What?” he asked incredulously before picking up the boy, placing him on his shoulders, and following them back to Serenity.

***