CHAPTER 5 Wash waved port control on Newhall yet again, no longer expecting an answer. For a world with such strict policies and demands for having papers and ground clearance, it surprised him that no one had noticed them land. They were probably rejoicing over the food delivery. He wondered if anyone at Newhall would notice them take off. He’d seen the anti-aircraft satellites coming in, but they seemed unconcerned with his landing. He sent the wave again and reclined in his chair. His dinosaurs had been stolen and all that remained on the console was one forlorn looking palm tree. Finally, the comm crackled in response. “Firefly vessel, what is your purpose?” a woman with a thick Chinese accent cackled. Wash briefly wondered if the comm had been damaged and made a note to tell Kaylee. “We’re seeking clearance for takeoff,” Wash answered. “You are not cleared for landing.” Could they not understand him? Was the transmitter failing as well? “I’ve already landed; I’m looking to take off.” He spoke slowly and clearly. When there was no response, he tried again in Chinese. “What is your business here?” the comm crackled. “We’re looking for food.” It sounded more like a question when he said it, but seeing as they had decided against the charity handout and opted for thievery, he wasn’t sure how to respond. “You are not permitted to land.” Wash picked up the palm tree and threw it at the com. “I just want to take off!” he yelled. This was hopeless. He clicked on the sensors and began low-level scans for anti-aircraft, now assured that take-off would not be as smooth as landing. At that moment, Zoë came bounding onto the bridge. “Problem, baby?” Wash sighed loudly. “Of course not. Just trying to get a beat on the anti-aircraft so we can make a smooth getaway.” “I thought we were gonna make a smooth getaway by getting clearance.” “Should be easy right?” Wash answered, annoyance lacing his voice. Zoë put a hand on his shoulder, a move that always made the world’s problems fade. With a single elegant move, she placed a recovered dinosaur on the console. Of all the things to bring back from the Neptune, she’d chosen this. Wash sighed again resuming a gentle composure. “Won’t be a minute, sweetie,” he said softly. Then the comm sputtered to life again. “Firefly vessel, please maintain position for inspection.” Wash’s eyes widened. “No, no, tzao gao! Why do I have to be so obedient to the law?!” A thousand scenarios played through his head simultaneously, all ending badly. Slowly he turned to Zoë and asked “All aboard?”

*~*

“Jayne?!” Mal yelled as he ran, heart pounding, to the Infirmary. “Jayne!” Much as he wanted to kill Jayne most days, he didn’t want someone else killing him. Not while Jayne was on his crew. Clutching Vera, he rounded the last corner and saw a group crowded in the hallway, anxiously looking through the Infirmary windows. “He’s here, Captain,” Book assured, trying to slow Mal down before he plowed them all over. “He’s fine.” Pushing past the group, Mal saw a form laying on the table, the doctor hunched over, carefully sewing. But the person on the table was not Jayne. “Huh,” Mal said, surprised, pushing his way into the Infirmary. A frail woman lay on the table, pail as ice, dark brown hair matted with blood. Her neck was slit but the doctor was seeing to that. Jayne sat in a chair beside the bed; a tube snaked from his arm, giving blood to the woman. Jayne’s attention was singularly on her, his free hand grasping hers. Mal realized that the trail of blood he’d followed back to Serenity was not Jayne’s but hers. “Jayne,” Mal said, his voice a question, seeking explanation. Jayne’s eyes rose slowly. Recognition spread across his face. He shook his head, dropped the girl’s hand, and started fiddling with the needle in his arm. When Simon swatted his hand for that, Jayne started fiddling with the tube instead. “Uh, yeah?” he stammered. “What happened back there?” Mal prompted. Jayne was quiet for a moment, looking like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “Pirates,” he finally offered. Mal waited, but Jayne didn’t volunteer any more information. “You dropped your gun,” Mal said, holding Vera out to him. Jayne looked uneasy. “Oh, uh, thanks,” he said. Jayne stood and reached for the gun—a move that both Mal and Simon recognized immediately as a mistake. “Jayne, no!” Simon warned, but it was too late. Mal rushed forward to catch Jayne as he passed out. “Brace his arm,” Simon instructed. Falling to his knees under the weight, Mal struggled to keep Jayne’s arm from curling and the needle from snapping off. Simon rushed around the table to remove the IV from Jayne’s arm and working together, the two lowered him to the floor. “Who is she?” Mal demanded as Simon resumed sewing. Simon shook his head. “I’m not sure.” At that moment, the girl sputtered to life. Arms flailing, she tried to sit, gasped in air, and sent spurts of blood from her neck wound. Mal jumped back in surprise, but Simon remained completely composed, easing her back down to the table. “Calm down,” Simon soothed. “Calm down, you’re safe.” She stopped struggling, but her eyes darted about distrustfully. “Safe,” Mal mocked with a chuckle, angry at the lack of answers. “Captain, we all aboard?” Zoë’s voice sounded over the com. “Newhall got word of our illegal landing and wants to question us.” Who the girl was ceased to matter; Mal turned to her. “You okay with leaving this world?” he asked. All he got was a confused look. “I’m not trying to kidnap you, but I got the evil bureaucrats dropping by and I need to leave world in a bit of a hurry. If you don’t want to go, I can drop you off the back of the boat—“ “Captain, no!” Simon protested. “I’ll pay her fare,” Jayne volunteered from the floor, pushing himself to sitting. Mal was so stunned, he couldn’t speak. “No kidnapping. Just go,” Jayne assured. “I’ll cover her.” Still taken aback, Mal considered the girl again. Her eyes were wide with fear; her breathing was heavy. Finally, he walked to the com. “Wash, let’s leave the world.” There was no response. Serenity remained silent and still. Finally, Wash answered. “Yeah, Captain, about that.” His voice held that light-hearted, but doomed tone. “What’s the problem, Wash?” “We can’t find Kaylee. She’s not answering her walkie talkie. Zoë’s gone to look for her, but no word yet.” Mal scanned the group outside the Infirmary. Book, Inara, River, no Kaylee. He darted out the door. “Any of you seen Kaylee?” “She was working topside,” Book volunteered, concern clouding his eyes. “Go see if she’s there. Inara, you go check the engine room. River, check her bunk.” The three ran to their assignments; Mal returned to the Infirmary. “Doc, you done here?” Simon was taping a bandage over the wound, but was otherwise finished. “Start at the back of the ship and work forward. Check every crawl space Kaylee might be in.” Simon ran off. “Jayne, I want you to start at the front.” Jayne looked a little startled at being addressed. Mal was annoyed. This girl was like a drug to him. “What?” Jayne stammered. “We’re looking for Kaylee!” Mal exploded. “Big smile, greasy face, green jump suit. Start at the front of the ship and work backward.” Jayne stood up slowly, cautiously, perhaps remembering his last attempt to stand. This time he didn’t pass out. He relaxed his grip to release the girl’s hand, but instead of letting go, she jerked him closer to her. “Neptune!” the girl whispered, hoarsely. Jayne furrowed his brow, not understanding. He squatted so that he could be at eyelevel with the girl, subtly peeling her fingers from his hand. The two seemed to have a conversation with their eyes, Jayne soothing, the girl intense. The name caught Mal’s attention. He considered her again, wondering how much of what she said he should take seriously. With only the one data point, statistics were spotty at best. “What about the Neptune?” Mal asked. “Caddock has her,” the girl said. “On the Neptune.” “Just what make’s you say that?” “Grease on the face,” the girl said, brushing her cheek with her hand to demonstrate. “No smile. Teddy bear on…” The girl touched her thigh, unable to complete the sentence. “Hwun dan stole my mechanic,” Mal seethed angrily as the realization set in. “Jayne, get a head count, make sure everyone’s on board!” he yelled, running to the cockpit. Zoë caught up with him on the way. “It’s Caddock, sir,” she said. “I know!” He stopped short when he saw her carrying a bloody screwdriver. His voice caught in his throat, afraid to speak. Finally he choked, “Kaylee?” “No, sir,” Zoë said, looking at the screwdriver. “Seems she got one of the assailants, though. Book is saying last rights over him now.” “Tell him we’re out of time. Neptune’s got a half hour head start and we got bureaucrats on the way. This is no time for a funeral.”

*~*

Wash hated fast departures, missing crewmembers, high speed chases, and anti-aircraft weaponry. Job stress. He hoped that Kaylee was buried in some crawl space unable to hear him, but feared something worse. He could already see the Port Authorities riding over the horizon in a hover mule. The bright yellow vehicle lumbered along slowly, probably bound by a perversely slow speed limit intended for city driving. He could see the four men inside, two with dark navy law enforcement uniforms, one in a dark suit, and the driver in a bright red uniform that matched the company logo on the side of the mule. Less than a mile away and in plain sight. So much for a covert getaway. Sensors showed two anti-aircraft satellites overhead with no noticeable gap. Since he’d been watching, the two had shot across the sky. The one that had started overhead was nearly setting, but essentially had the western sky covered. The second had come over the horizon and now had the entire town of Newhall in safe range. He imagined a new one would appear on the horizon within the next half hour to complete the circle. Wash would have to come up with some fancy flying in atmo to avoid them without clearance. He needed to talk to Kaylee. “Wash,” Mal shouted running onto the bridge followed shortly by Zoë, “we’re leaving.” Wash didn’t move at first, still considering alternate escape plans. Then he saw Zoë holding a bloody screw driver and jumped to his feet. “Whoa!” “It’s not Kaylee’s,” Zoë assured him, though he didn’t feel particularly assured. Mal circled the room once like a caged tiger. “Wash, why are we still here?” “Oh, right,” Wash sat down, then pointed out the window. The mule had arrived and the man in the dark suit was speaking to the two law enforcement officers about something. They were examining Serenity’s markings while the dark-suited man checked against papers he held on a clipboard. “I was thinking maybe we could survive the bureaucrats, and leave without being shot down,” Wash explained, indicating his tracking of the anti-aircraft satellites. “I got no time for bureaucrats,” Mal seethed. “That hwun dan Caddock kidnapped Kaylee and we need to track him before he disappears in the Black.” “Do you think that’s likely?” Wash asked, immediately regretting his pessimistic words. His eyes wandered over the console, trying to figure out what he could do with Serenity in her current state of disrepair. The Port Authorities knocked on the hull of Serenity. He received a wave from the control tower, informing him that he should open the door. “Time to leave, baby,” Zoë said softly, putting an encouraging hand on his shoulder. He placed his hand on hers and then engaged Serenity’s engine. The deck rattled with exertion; Serenity lifted off the ground. Out the window, he could see the driver of the mule back off and the three law men running after it. Serenity shot northward as it took to the sky. Wash was hoping to stay low in atmo long enough to make a polar exit. He didn’t make it very far. Ground fire rocked the vessel forcing him higher into the sky. An alarm sounded; the engine was overheating. He throttled back, just long enough for the anti-aircraft satellite to take aim and fire off a round. The right engine choked and the ship rolled twice before Wash could right it again. His shoulders protested at the bruising as the world’s gravity fought the ship’s. He dropped a few thousand feet trying to orient himself with relation to the town, probable location of ground fire, and the one satellite that he could still see. For all of Kaylee’s miracles, she couldn’t make the ship invisible, but she could at least have kept the engines cool. Another shot exploded off the side of the ship, rocking the walls. He pressed northward, eyes peeled for new antagonists. The world was becoming inescapably small. “Captain,” Book’s voice crackled over the com, breaking Wash’s concentration. He looked over, noticing that Zoë had strapped herself into the co-pilot seat. He hoped she had managed to do that before the roll. Mal reached around him grabbing the com. “Sorry about the bumpy ride, Shepherd, but we’re in the middle of a situation here.” “I know, Captain. Fly west and stay low.” Mal looked at Wash. “West is covered by a second satellite.” “I know you’re trying to be helpful, Shepherd, but there’s just more unfriendly fire over there,” Mal pointed out. “There’s a hatch there,” Book insisted. “Like White Hall. We can hide until sunset.” “We leave the world at sunset, Shepherd, we leave a blazing trail in atmo. That don’t strike me as safe.” Wash wasn’t listening. The White Hall hatch was a familiar hiding spot to him. He rocked Serenity sideways, shifting from northward to westward. He’d have to cross under guard of both satellites and the ground patrol. He dropped until Serenity nearly skimmed the grass of the cow pastures, trying to stay below radar. “Wash, where we goin’?” Mal asked him. “The hatch. Do you know how far it is?” Mal looked confused for a moment, but relayed the question. “It hits the terminator at 4:15 Newhall time,” Book’s voice cracked over the speakers. Wash did a quick calculation and increased speed again. The engine protested. “I never heard of a hatch on White Hall,” Mal said, hoping for an explanation, but Wash wasn’t listening anymore. Jaw set, he dodged houses, barns, and animals, staying low and heading west. The northward push had helped him out as far as getting there faster, but the engine was running hot. The fact that the world was traveling west beneath him was not helping. Another fifteen minutes, he estimated. Having a land-based destination certainly helped avoid enemy fire, but he’d have to pull up soon or risk leaving a blazing trail in the earth right to their hiding spot. At the far reaches of his mind, he could hear Mal speaking. “Wash, what is this place?” A herd of cattle appeared as if from nowhere. Wash took it as good a time as any to break higher into the sky. The move caused Mal to stumble backwards, catching himself on the door. Wash steadied the ship again. “You know what, I’ll ask at dinner.” With that, Mal headed out of the cockpit maintaining a grip on the stairs with both hands as he went. Zoë stayed strapped in to her seat, smiling in admiration. Wash kept flying toward the hatch.

*~*

************************************* LINK TO CHAPTER 6