CHAPTER 2 “Wash? Are we hit?” Mal demanded. “Gou shi,” Wash muttered, his hands flying across the controls. “Let’s see… we are… blind. Yes, definitely blind.” “Start up the engine,” Mal said quickly. “Let’s come about, figure out what hit us, and get out of the way.” Wash initiated the engine. It gave a half turn and died. “Must have tripped the drive,” Kaylee said woozily, holding gauze to the gash on her forehead. “Well can you fix it?” Mal asked when she didn’t move. Recognition lit her eyes. “Oh, right.” She scrunched her face with concentration and made her way to the engine room. “Captain,” Zoë shouted, running up the stairs to the bridge nearly plowing over Kaylee. “Sir, we’ve got an Alliance scout aft port.” “Jen dao me,” Mal muttered. “Captain, we’re receiving a wave,” Wash said. Mal reached over and turned on the com, then patiently waited for them to speak first. “Firefly vessel. Prepare to be boarded for inspection of your cargo.” Mal sighed. He’d hoped this day would be good. “Zoë, you and Jayne get to the cargo hold, put all our freight in plain view. We’ve got legitimate papers on this one. Nothing to hide.” “Nothing, sir?” “Well, nothing that don’t know how to hide themselves.” Book entered the bridge. “Trouble?” he asked in his deep, soothing voice. “Alliance scout,” Zoë answered. “Wants to inspect the cargo.” “Are you sure?” Book asked, sounding surprised. “I’ve seen hundreds,” Zoë answered, offended but keeping her voice level. “I’d know an Alliance scout a world away.” “It’s just that this isn’t a typical Alliance greeting,” Book answered appeasingly. “Did they identify themselves?” Mal and Zoë exchanged a glance. “I didn’t ask,” Mal answered. “Hold on,” Wash said. Firing the starboard thrusters, he rolled Serenity and the offending vessel came into view. Mal recognized it immediately as an Alliance scout. With a single look, he dismissed Zoë to the task of moving the cargo. As Serenity continued to roll, the ship’s ID came into view- a bluish hybrid of a man and a fish. “Didn’t I see one of those in a jar on Persephone?” Wash asked, trying to keep the mood light. Book had already taken a seat at the computer and was consulting his resources. “The Neptune,” Mal read as the name of the ship rolled into view. “Does that mean something to you, Shepherd?” Book looked up gravely from the screen. “It means they aren’t Alliance.” “The sure act Alliance,” Wash said. “And they sure look it,” Mal agreed. “The Neptune fought in the Unification War. Pretty early on, the crew mutinied. Rather than face a court martial, they turned to piracy.” “What a great story!” Wash said. “Why haven’t I heard it?” “The Alliance writes history now. It’s not in their version.” “I’ll buy that,” Mal mused, then grabbed the com. “Zoë,” he called, “I want you and Jayne to HIDE all the cargo. Hide EVERYTHING of value.” “Thought we had nothing to hide, sir.” Zoë’s voice spoke to her confusion. “We do from these folks,” Mal answered. “They ain’t Alliance.” Switching to broad announcement, he continued, “Everybody, this is the Captain. Hide! Go to your favorite secret place. Lock the door. We have unfriendly company coming on board.” He hung up the PA. “Wash, keep the ship rolling. We gotta keep them from hitching onto us as long as possible.” “Think they’ll take kindly to that?” Wash asked. “Tell ‘em we’re having engine trouble. T’ain’t far from the truth. I know this is difficult, but you’re going to have to make like you’re a bad pilot and can’t get attitude control. Be convincing. We can’t have them fire on us again or we surely will be in trouble. Far as they know, we think they’re Alliance and this is a regular inspection. It’s okay to ask for help.” Abruptly, Mal made for the cargo bay, leaving Wash to deal with public relations. Again.

*~*

Jayne ripped open the grating of the storage compartment and started stowing the food. Unfriendly company and all he had on him was Lux. He’d have to make every shot count. His arms were sore from weight-lifting earlier, but he pressed through the pain, hoping that the payoff would be good when they arrived in Newhall. Zoë kept shoving crates toward him faster than he could stow, scraping them loudly against the cargo bay floor. Light shone through the back window; the enemy vessel was attempting to dock. “We’re full here,” Jayne hollered, coming away from the compartment and replacing the concealing grating. Zoë immediately hopped to the other side of the bay and pulled the grating off of another hatch. Jayne started pushing crates her way. They had barely stowed the first two when Mal came charging down the stairs. “Close up! There’s no time!” he yelled, tossing each of them a shotgun from the armory. Jayne caught the weapon easily and began pushing the un-stored crates together to make cover. Zoë took position on the catwalk to provide aerial coverage. “You just gonna let them in, Mal?” he asked incredulously. Mal stood by the door controls. “I sure as hell ain’t gonna let them blow a hole in my door,” Mal answered. “And don’t shoot unless you’re shot at.” “But Mal-" Jayne protested. “Don’t shoot,” Mal began again, this time finishing the sentence with a warning look. Grudgingly, Jayne pondered his options. He removed Lux from his holster and concealed it behind his back. Then he moved to the opposite side of the cargo bay from Mal, laid the shotgun on the high shelf, and stood in plain sight. Mal wanted to play innocent and lose the cargo quickly—a common plan of his that never quite seemed to work. Jayne was quick enough on the draw, so he would play nonchalant bystander for now. The ship rocked as the enemy vessel latched on. After a brief hiss of the airlocks, Mal opened the door to the cargo bay. A hefty Asian man stood front and center, flanked by six men. The Asian man wore an old purple Alliance uniform. If he had a weapon, it was concealed. His hands were clasped behind his back as if her were a rich investor surveying his property. The men that accompanied him wore a mixture of Alliance guard uniforms and civilian clothing. If Book was right and they weren’t Alliance, Jayne could tell that they once were. “Who captains this boat?” the man asked in Chinese. “I do,” Mal answered. “You seem to be missing some cargo, Captain.” “That’s the trouble with food stock. It’s consumable. We’ve been a bit hungry of late.” Mal forced a laugh at his own joke. “Jianchu, qiang duo!” the man ordered his men. Those with purple uniforms, stayed in the cargo bay, collecting the crates in view and pulling them over to their ship, then prodding every panel looking for the hidden compartments. Those in civilian clothes ran into the halls of the ship. Jayne wasn’t liking this situation at all. He had a feeling he would be disarmed and tied up before anyone tried to shoot him. But he couldn’t take twenty men (or even ten) with the pitiful selection of weaponry before him. He glanced up at Zoë, who seemed to have disappeared. “Qiang duo?” Mal repeated, acting surprised. “I thought this was an inspection.” “The inspection is complete,” the man answered condescendingly. “I have found you a fool, unable to protect your own cargo.” “Sir, look what I found!” One of the intruders dashed through the cargo bay with an armful of swag, including a very frilly pink and white dress. Kaylee had worn that dress to a Shindig on Persephone—the same Shindig that resulted in Mal being stabbed by Atherton. Jayne saw Mal bite his lip, anticipating the outcry from Kaylee. Most of the other dresses appeared to be Inara’s. The man was dripping blood onto the swag from a head-wound. Jayne smirked, imagining Inara hitting him over the head with one of her pointy shoes. Others ran out after him, carrying pots, pans, and linens. One had even grabbed a few plastic dinosaurs from the cockpit. Those still in the cargo bay had found one of the storage compartments and were busy emptying it out. “Jie-rui, what is taking so long?” a gruff voice called, entering the cargo bay. The large voice had a stench to match and Jayne smelled the man before he saw him. “Captain Caddock,” Jie-rui replied, “the cargo was hidden, sir.” Caddock surveyed Serenity’s cargo bay, his eyes squinted, his face wrinkled with battle-weariness. The man seemed familiar, though Jayne couldn’t place it. He wore his holster on the left, putting his weapon out of Jayne’s sight-line. Caddock’s purple blazer had been torn and patched with so many colors it looked like a quilt. Jayne wondered briefly if the patches were stolen from men he’d killed because there was a fair amount of brown mixed in. “Captain, look at this collection!” A fat man ran through the cargo bay holding three guns from Jayne’s collection, including Vera. “Braddox, Wait!” Caddock called before the fat man crossed the airlock. Braddox nearly tripped over himself as he stopped and switched directions. “What is it Captain?” Braddox asked, shifting the guns in his hand to maintain balance. Caddock pulled Vera from the stack and squinted at it. If at all possible, the number of lines on his face doubled with concentration. Jayne’s heart flipped with anger. As quietly as possible, he rested his hand on the shotgun. “I wouldn’t be doin’ that if I were you,” Caddock said, drawing his gun and pointing it at Jayne. Jayne instantly recognized the Cofer. Though Jayne’s shotgun was immediately at ready, he was surprised that Caddock had even noticed him. “Is this yours?” Caddock asked, his voice raspy. Jayne kept his shotgun trained on Caddock and didn’t answer. Jie-rui drew his weapon as well and pointed it at Jayne. The few still in the cargo bay quickly formed rank and trained their weapons alternately on Mal and Jayne. Mal’s hands were in the air as if he were completely innocent. “Where did you get this?” Caddock asked, annoyed at Jayne’s silence. “I won it,” Jayne lied, his voice and gun steady. “In a poker game.” “That so?” Caddock said slowly. “Well, it belonged to a friend of mine. I’ll be wanting this back.” Caddock tossed the weapon back at Braddox who crossed the airlock into the Neptune. Jayne’s blood began to boil, but with the number of guns on him at the moment, he could not make a move.

*~*

Mal watched the interaction of Caddock and Jayne carefully. Jayne had lied and he couldn’t figure out why. Of the six men that had come aboard, one remained in the cargo bay with his gun trained on Mal and one was still pillaging the halls of Serenity. Jie-rui had a weapon pointed at Jayne, and Caddock milled about the cargo bay, probably trying to decide whether to gut the ship or just blow it up. Mal hadn’t seen Zoë since he’d opened the airlock and was getting impatient for her to come to his rescue. Finally the last straggling pillager came through the bay. “Cap’n, looky what I found!” A short, squeaky man pushed Simon and River into the cargo hold. Mal swore under his breath. The squeaky man continued “Ain’t these the fugis from the latest post?” Mal was so frustrated by this complication that he almost missed the alarm that flashed across Caddock’s face. “Are you crazy?!” Caddock rasped. “Put them back! Back where you found them.” “But, Cap’n,” the sailor protested. “There’s a mighty hefty reward for this pair.” Jayne nodded, knowingly. “Those have the kiss of death on them,” Caddock raved. “Only a fool would try to collect that reward!” Mal smirked and cast a side-long glance at Jayne who again nodded knowingly. “And only a fool would harbor them.” Caddock’s voice dropped three octaves as he turned a steely glare at Mal. “You’ve got a mighty strong death wish, Captain.” “Only for you,” Mal retorted with a defiant smile. At last, he’d seen movement in the catwalk. “Zoë?” “Certainly wishin’ he were dead, sir,” she answered, cocking her sawed-off shotgun. As one, the two sprang into action. Mal hurled himself at Simon and River, pushing them to the floor; Zoë launched a makeshift EMP grenade. Caddock, Jie-rui, and the remaining intruders, were stunned just long enough for Jayne and Mal to arm themselves. Jayne caught Caddock in the chest, but to no avail. He must have been wearing body armor. Jie-rui let off a few quick rounds in his direction, but Jayne took cover behind a bulkhead. Mal protected River and Simon with his own body and moved them to the rear of the bay. Zoë shot Jie-rui in the hand causing him to drop his weapon. She and Jayne managed to hit a few unprotected knee-caps and Mal caught the squeaky one in the neck. The pirates retreated into the airlock and Mal closed the door after them. “Mal, shouldn’t we be getting our goods back?” Jayne asked, adrenaline pumping. “Not now, Jayne!” “But Mal,” Jayne protested as the final seal closed and Serenity broke free. “They got Vera!” “They also have backup,” Zoe pointed out. “Kaylee!” Mal yelled into the com. “Tell me we have engines.” “Shiny!” Kaylee answered, her voice shaky. “Wash—“ “I’m on it!” Wash interrupted. Serenity kicked to life and started to run. “Think they’ll be after us?” Zoë asked. “Can’t see why,” Jayne brooded. “They already took everything worth takin’.” With that, he skulked off, shaking his head to get rid of the residual ringing from the EMP.

*~*

“Thought you’d hide a little better” Mal said, helping Simon to stand. River stayed on the floor seeming to count the rivets in the deck plate. Simon brushed himself off, not having an answer. “Are you hurt?” Simon asked, deflecting the recent trauma by acting doctorly. “Just a little ringing in the ears,” he answered. “Why don’t you and your sister go check on Kaylee and Inara. Zoë!” “Sir?” “Go check on that husband of yours. Book should be with him.” “Yes, sir.” Mal let out a long breath as the others went to their tasks. Every last crate was gone. They’d made off with a few other tools and machinery as well. It looked like his ship had been infested. Violated. But she’s still flying, he thought. He went to the command sent a broadcast to the ship. “Folks, this is your Captain. Clearly we’ve suffered some losses today. I’d like to have a full listing of all that’s missing by this evening. Not much chance of getting back what’s ours, but it’s possible we can make it a curse on those that took it.”

*~*

********************************* LINK TO CHAPTER 3