BLUE SUN ROOM FAN FICTION - GENERAL

EDDIEMCD

The Zero - Episode III: Stole --- Part 3
Monday, June 14, 2004

Original characters in the Firefly universe. The crew has a job. Now comes the preparation. Part 3 of 5.


CATEGORY: FICTION    TIMES READ: 1718    RATING: 0    SERIES: FIREFLY

Yeah, it's been a few months since I added to this series (I was doing robotics competitions). If you haven't read Liberty (6 parts) and/or Aquaphobe (5 parts), I'd suggest you find them and read them (they can be found in the fanfic section here) as it explains some of the things in this story. Disclaimer: anything recognizable is property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, etc. The story, however, is mine. Also, I had to take some creative liberties, but only on stuff not explained in the series. I also used my own translator for the Mandarin, so it may be off (although it's still comical). On to the story:

“You did what?!?” “I instigated a fight at a strip club.” I hopped out of the driver’s seat of the stormtank which had just been parked in Liberty’s cargo bay. Serra stormed closer to me. “Why in di yu de shen ku di zhi-zhen lan would you do a yu chun thing like that.” “Lao peng-you, you’re starting to sound like a mother.” I followed Libby and Tobias up the steps. “I think.” Bill was coming down from the dining room. “You guys got into a fight and didn’t invite me?” Tobias shouted back up to him. “Do you know the odds of you being in that fight with us and not getting hurt?” I gave them the answer. “About one in seven hundred and fifty-two, give or take depending on certain variables such as Bill deciding to hide under a table.” “Lad, that was a rhetorical question.” “Well you asked.” I bolted past Libby and Tobias. “So Bill, how’s work on the engines?” “Not much to speak of.” He turned around and started back up to the dining room. “Although I did manage to fix the targeting on one of the rim’s machine guns.” “Oh, thank you.” Libby followed Bill and me upstairs. “That thing’s been bugging me for weeks.” Tobias brought up the rear. “So, what’s the job?” “Let’s find out.” I plugged the datachip into a datapad and sat back. A hologram popped up of an older man. It spoke. “Mr. Eddie and his crew, forgive me for having to deliver this job offer in this manner. But let’s get down to the point. There is a shipment of Alliance arms coming into the spaceport where you are in the early morning. It’s on a standard light transport. Job’s simple: take the goods and deliver them to Mr. Geraldo by sundown. He’ll be waiting for you with your pay.” The hologram turned into a map of our target and its timetable. Nobody saw Serra come in to the dining room. “Interesting. Have you done this before?” “How do you think I’ve been able to keep this place fueled and armed?” I took the datachip out. “We’re going to have to take Liberty to haul all that. Won’t fit in the shuttle. May make it tough to be stealthy.” “We could ‘brute force’ it,” Tobias suggested. “Yeah, we could float up right next to the transport, force open the door, and quickly move the goods,” Serra added. “I don’t know,” I said skeptically, “it’d put a hell of a strain on the engines.” Bill spoke. “I can keep them going for you, boss. Sure, with a ship this old, it’ll only take so much, but if you make it quick, we won’t have any problems.” “Okay.” I turned toward Libby. “You cool with this?” Libby stared into the black for a few moments. “Yeah, ship says she’ll hold.” “Okay then. Bill, get to the engine room. Serra, Libby, Tobias, you guys move the goods. Guess I’m flying.” “You sure you can hold this?” Libby was concerned for the ship’s well being. “IQ in the upper two-hundreds. Bi-zui.” I started back toward the engine room. Bill followed. “I’m going to need to do a little configuring before we lift.” “Kinda figured.” I walked into the engine room. “Actually, if you do this right, we’ll have our first easy mission in a while.” “You know,” Bill said coming into the engine room behind me, “I could’ve taken that fight. I’ve taken both fights you’ve given me.” “Bill, you were behind at least six inches of armor each time.” I opened a panel on the left side of the room to reveal some wires. “Either way, you’re more valuable to us in the engine room than you are in a fight.” Libby walked in at that moment. “And you better take good care of me.” “Don’t you have anything better to do than bug me with your personal problems?” Bill was now on his knees pulling apart random things. “I’m connected to this ship, shou ji xiao chou.” Libby joined Bill. “Oh Eddie, I had to lock Tobias out of the bridge. He kept trying to push the big red button.” I started out the door. “I really should put a lock over that.” Bill interrupted me. “Say boss, what does that button do?” “It transforms Liberty into a giant robot.” “In other words, you’re never going to tell me.” Bill went back to work. I left the engine room just in time to watch Tobias and Serra talking and heading down toward the dorms. I myself went through the dining room, down the hallway, and through the lower bridge entrance to navigation. After about twenty minutes of tinkering with the electronics there, I went up to the bridge. Staring out the window, it was still pitch black, but it was a clear day. But before I went stargazing, I picked up the comm and switched on the P.A. “Attention all crew, this is the captain speaking. We lift off in four hours. It’d be wise to grab some sleep if you’re done with prepping for the job.” I put the comm down and stared up at the stars, gazing into nothingness, and eventually falling asleep in the pilot’s seat.

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