CHAPTER 3 “They don’t seem to keen on chasing us,” Mal said. “We got lucky, sir,” Zoë answered by way of explanation. “Lucky?!” Jayne balked. “Did you miss the part were they made off with Vera? And the food?” He added the last as an afterthought. The crew was sitting around an empty kitchen table. The last of their food had been stolen. “He’s right, sir,” Zoë said gravely. Jayne grunted at the affirmation. “Without the cargo, we’re not going to be welcome at Newhall.” “What are options?” he looked around the table. Wash brushed his hands through his thick blonde hair making it stand on end. “Newhall,” he said, frustration lacing his voice. “Didn’t she just say we weren’t welcome there?” Simon asked, casting an uncertain glance about the table. “Newhall is the nearest civilized world,” Wash persisted. “So I guess the question is how hungry are you guys?” Kaylee cringed, her stomach already growling. “Newhall, then” Mal said. Wash nodded and headed to the bridge to set the course. “Shepherd, what do you know about this Caddock fella?” Mal asked. “Rumors mostly,” Book answered. “He’s a shrewd soldier. Loyal—“ “Except for that whole mutiny bit,” Mal interrupted. “Loyal to the Alliance, I should say. The alleged mutiny occurred because the former Captain was going to violate orders from the Alliance.” “So he mutinied in the name of the Alliance,” Zoe clarified. “He did.” “Must’ve been crushed to hear about the court-martial, then,” Mal mused. “So he turns to piracy?” Kaylee interjected. “I don’t like him,” Mal said gravely. “Turncoat like that ain’t showing loyalty. He wants glory.” Zoë nodded, understanding. “If he can’t make a name for himself in battle, he’ll do it as a pirate.” “Well if he’s so famous, how come none of us ever heard of him?” Kaylee asked. “Book heard of him,” Zoe said. “Book’s heard of everybody,” Jayne retorted. “You knew him, Jayne,” Mal said. “Tried to kill him once,” Jayne deflected. “Don’t make him famous.” Mal nodded letting it drop. “Well, we’re bound for Newhall. Let’s hope we can talk our way into a handout. If not, start gathering anything that will fetch a price. Colony just starting out surely needs something.” As the others filed out of the kitchen, Kaylee held back. Mal’s heart broke seeing the fear and hunger in her eyes. She buried her face in her hands, letting a tear of frustration fall. Mal placed a hand on her shoulder and her hazel eyes met his. “They took everything, Cap’n.” “Not everything. We’re still alive. Still flying.” “Still hungry.” “We’ll make it, little Kaylee,” he said reassuringly. Kaylee forced a brave smile. “I know… Just wish I knew how.” As she left the kitchen, Mal was left alone with his doubt. “Wishin’ I knew myself,” he mumbled.

*~*

Jayne retreated to the cargo bay and lacking the energy to work out, started spinning the disc weights on the bar. Apparently, his weight set held little value in the black market. Overall, the pirates had taken only three of his guns; the rest had apparently been locked down too securely. For the first time, he was glad that River had broken in and stolen the Rutger that day. Else, all of them may have been taken. The disc weight made a whirring sound as it spun on the bar. It was hardly loud enough to mask the ringing in his ears from Zoë’s little stunt. Jayne replayed the fight in his head, starting from the moment Caddock first pulled his weapon. He knew he’d made the right move by waiting to fire. Simon and River being present and unarmed had complicated the situation and Mal would not have forgiven him for getting them killed. Jayne grunted at that thought. Mal hated Simon as much as he did; protecting those two made no sense. Caddock was right—those two had the kiss of death on them. Not that they would kill, but the people after them would kill…and Mal would kill to avenge them. Jayne stopped spinning the disc weight a moment and looked at the back window. It was cold on the other side of that airlock. He had once tried to turn Simon and River in for the reward, but had found it a fool’s errand. When Mal figured it out, he had left Jayne on the wrong side of that airlock as Serenity headed off world. Jayne had faced death a thousand times before, but never so helplessly. What was worse was that Simon and River knew too. It still didn’t make sense to him why Mal was so angry—why Mal felt betrayed. He couldn’t fathom why Simon played like it didn’t happen. He couldn’t understand how he had made it to the wrong side of that airlock; but he would do everything in his power not to wind up there again. Jayne started spinning the disc weight again, his eyes tracing the trajectory of gunfire, as if watching the battle in slow motion. Caddock had fired twice, both shots hitting the beam that Jayne had hidden behind. A man like that should be a faster shot. Either his weapon was misaligned or he intentionally missed. Jie-rui was all over the place. A few shots at Zoë, three at Mal. No hits. Something wasn’t adding up. Jie-rui’s weapon was military issue. Old, but should be functional if well maintained. So why no hits? Even being disoriented from Zoë’s grenade, he, Zoë, and Mal had managed to get a few good shots in. A hollow clang sounded, temporarily overpowering the whirring of the disc weight. Jayne looked up; Mal was coming down the stairs. Jayne mulled over the fight, trying to figure Caddock’s strategy. “Jayne?” Mal interrupted his thoughts. Jayne grunted in response, not bothering to search for a word to show that he was listening. “You know, most people lift the barbell for exercise. That’s really how it works. You lift.” Mal motioned with his hands to demonstrate. Jayne ignored the sarcasm, but stopped spinning the disc weight. “Mal, I don’t think we were just lucky.” “What do you mean?” “Those men were ready to leave. They got off a half dozen shots, not one connected. They weren’t looking to kill, they were looking to leave.” “Been in a lot of gunfights, Jayne. Sometimes none of your shots make it. Don’t mean you weren’t lookin’ to kill.” “Not to put down your heroism, Mal, but you were right there in the middle of the floor. That’s a clear shot for any man wanting to take it, but none of ‘em did. Don’t make no ruttin’ sense. Question is did they leave ‘cuz the got what they wanted or ‘cuz they was spooked.” “Or because Zoë knocked ‘em with a grenade,” Mal interrupted. “If Caddock spooks easy, how’d he ever get through a war?” “You do what you gotta do,” Mal answered distantly. “Jayne, how’d you know those men?” “Remember how I said six men came to assassinate me a few years back? Only two of them got killed.” “You saying those are the men that tried to kill you?” “Captain and the first mate looked familiar. They don’t make guns like that Caddock carries, except by special request. That kind of revolver died before Earth That Was. I’d never forget a gun like that.” Mal pondered that for a moment. “So if they tried to kill you, how come they didn’t recognize you?” “Men like us have no memory for faces. Only for the piece a man carries. Those two are Cofer and Remi. That’s how I know ‘em. Back in the day, I carried a Mauser Pistol. Changed it to protect my identity.” “Huh,” Mal nodded. “Seems to have worked.” “Yeah, but now I lost Vera.”

*~*

Two days later, Serenity landed on Newhall. Not a minute too soon, Mal thought as the hatch opened and the warm sun fell on his face. Jayne had threatened to go Reaver on him and spoke of intricate plans to kill and eat Simon. Simon for his part had converted the Infirmary into a chemistry lab and attempted to make something edible out of their precious meds. Although he’d failed to produce anything of substance, he had managed to alternately send scents of bananas, peppermint, and acetone through the ships halls. The planet breeze carried the familiar stench of cow pies, which hopefully meant steak for dinner. Wash had landed them about three miles outside of town, exactly where their papers had told them to land. Despite the scarcity of food from the farms, the paperwork from the bureaucrats had a bountiful harvest and multiple papers had dictated that Serenity land at a location far enough from town so as not to disturb the cattle. The cattle continued to graze undisturbed. In fact, the town seemed undisturbed by Serenity’s presence. Port control, which had been sending them waves every 36 hours for the past two weeks, had not even acknowledged their arrival. Mal couldn’t rightly understand why a planet with no airport or space port would require a port control center, but he imagined it was peopled entirely with bureaucrats. “Town’s a bit quiet,” Zoë said, breaking his reverie. Neither had stepped off the boat just yet, preferring to get their bearings from a safe vantage point. “Hm,” Mal agreed. “You’d think the food truck would be cause for parade. Did you tell them we weren’t bringing the food?” “They didn’t hear it from me, sir,” Zoë answered. “Isn’t it better to NOT have a parade,” Wash asked from behind the two. “Seeing as we don’t have food…” Zoë didn’t respond. She reached for a sawed-off shotgun which was sitting near the airlock. Wash took this as his cue to back off. Jayne didn’t. In a loud clatter, he strutted past them all being the first to set foot on the world. “Let’s find some chow,” he said, nose pointed toward town with a singular focus. His knife was ready in his right hand, as if he were willing to slaughter the first steer to cross his path. Realizing that no one had followed, Jayne finally turned and waved them forward. “Come on,” he motioned impatiently with the knife hand. Cautiously, Zoë lowered her weapon and crept off the ship.

*~*

Kaylee enjoyed the three mile walk to town. They weren’t exactly following a road, just a barbed wire fence at the edge of a pasture. The smells of livestock, fresh grass, and sweet flowers filled her senses with hope. Her stomach knotted in anticipation of food. Only the pasture inside the fence had green grass, and it was trampled at that. The rest of the ground was covered with dusty clay. At the edge of town, at least thirty farmhouses fanned out, each with their own little green pasture. A city wall had been raised about three and a half feet around a quarter of the city, but the project was abandoned when the government realized that they didn’t have enemies outside of town. Everyone on the planet as yet lived in town and fell under government protection. The only tall building of the city was the air traffic control tower, which rose about 15 stories. The clear blue sky reflected in its giant windows. As they came over the last ridge toward town, the peaceful countryside gave way to the loud shouts of civilization. “Ai ya, hwai luh,” Mal swore. “I think we found the parade.” He ducked instinctively, motioning the others to do the same. Before them, about a hundred folk formed an impromptu marketplace, handing out rations. Uniformed guards herded people into lines bordered by rope. The line brought the pedestrians to a table where two men collected a yellow ticket and then gave a blue one. Once they received the blue ticket, they were herded through another line and traded the blue ticket for rations from a bright orange crate. Mal recognized the crates as the same standard Alliance issue ones he had been transporting. “Was someone else on this run?” Zoë asked. “That doesn’t make sense,” Mal muttered. “Unless—“ “Mal!” Jayne yelled, darting over a small ridge. Mal rolled his eyes and shushed Jayne. He hadn’t noticed Jayne fall behind, but wouldn’t be surprised if he’d been distracted by a tasty heard of cattle. “Mal,” Jayne whispered loudly, pointing over the ridge. “It’s them, they’re here.” Mal crept a little closer to the ridge to see what Jayne was pointing at. He swore again. The familiar blue fish-man gloated from the bow of the Neptune. “Son of a bitch stole our cargo and sold it as his own,” Mal griped. “Captain?” Zoë asked, anticipating an order. Mal said nothing for a moment. Zoë could see the wheels in his head turning as he tried to come up with a plan. “Back to Serenity,” he said finally. “But Captain,” Kaylee protested. She cut herself off, embarrassed at her outburst. “To Serenity,” Mal repeated, a little more firmly. “We’ll leave this world with what’s ours, but we may have to do it quickly. Jayne, Zoë, you’re with me. The rest of you back to the boat.”

*~*

******************* LINK TO CHAPTER 4