CHAPTER 8 As soon as they hit the Black, Mal ordered Elle to the bridge. Simon complained that she needed rest, but Mal argued that they needed a course more. For Kaylee’s sake, Simon relented and Jayne escorted Elle to the bridge. The bridge was full—Wash at the helm, Zoë at his side, Simon at ready with his med-kit, Jayne helping Elle into the co-pilot’s chair. Inara had outfitted Elle a blue and gold robe which covered her hospital gown. At some point, Jayne had washed the dried blood out of her hair. She easily adopted the appearance of a well-bred individual, despite the bandage on her neck. “You said you had a few contacts,” Mal opened, waving his hand at the console. She nodded and held out a piece of paper. Mal took the paper and read it, then handed it to Wash. Wash issued a few commands and opened hail. “That’s it?” Mal asked, a little put out. “You have one contact.” “One very good contact. Whenever you’re flying blind, he’s the one who can direct you.” Mal raised his eyebrows in disbelief. “Mr. Universe?” “I’m surprised you haven’t heard of him. It would explain your oft disorientation.” At that moment, the screen buzzed. A tanned man with dark, curly hair appeared on the screen. Wash completed the vid connection. “Misty!” he greeted. Then on seeing Wash, he furrowed his bushy brow and said “You’re not Misty.” “I’m over here,” Elle said, redirecting the vid stream to her terminal. “Misty?” Mal mouthed at her, doubt still on his face. “I go by many names,” she told him, then directed her attention to the screen. “Misty, there you are!” Mr. Universe said. “I heard you were dead!” “I expect a man in your position hears that often.” “As a matter of fact, I got word that you died on at least three separate worlds since Monday.” “It’s been a busy week.” “You always do manage to have a knight in shining armor waiting to rescue you.” “I do,” Elle said, with a relaxed smile. “Hey, check out my damsel in distress!” he said excitedly, panning the screen to a blonde robot. Elle laughed at the sight. Mal grew impatient. Mr. Universe bubbled, “She was just so beautiful I couldn’t pass her up. We’re engaged!” “She is beautiful,” Elle said patiently. “My own Lenore!” “Lenore?” Elle repeated. “Very poetic.” Mal began gesturing for Elle to speed along the conversation. Mr. Universe had run over to his Lenore and was arranging her on the couch. “Speaking of damsels in distress, my latest knights are looking for one of their own. I was hoping you could help them out.” “Any friend of Misty’s is a friend of mine. What can I do?” “We’re looking for a ship called the Neptune.” “Ah, Caddock’s little bucket of bolts. I hear he’s been black marked.” “Not by me. Do you have any idea where he is?” “Last trace of him is leaving Newhall. But you just left there, so that’s not what you’re looking for is it?” “No, it’s not.” Elle looked momentarily disappointed. Her voice cracked and she instinctively touched her throat. “He’s been running a lot quieter than usual since his wife left him. When you see him, don’t bring it up. I’ve caught quite a few waves of him shouting “No women!” It’s hilarious. I’m making a little song and video. I’m surprised he took on a damsel at all.” “She’s a mechanic,” Jayne interrupted. He’d been considering Caddock’s motives for awhile now and had come to a conclusion. “She’s sharp, too. Probably convinced him that he’s in want of some mechanical parts.” “Why didn’t you say so?” Mr. Universe said, brightening up again. “Now that is easy to trace. There are only a few rim worlds where you can get parts for a 10-year-old Alliance scout ship.” Mr. Universe paused, consulting his various computer screens. “Are you going to tell me where those are or do I have to guess?” Elle asked. Despite the lightness of her tone, her voice was getting weaker. Mr. Universe hummed thoughtfully. “I wish you would guess. It’s always more fun when you do.” Elle waited. She took her breaths carefully and more intentionally as though trying not to cough. “And the winners are…” Mr. Universe issued a drum roll on his console. “Boros and… Greenleaf! Both have junkyards of stocked with Alliance ships.” Elle turned to Mal, triumphant. Mal considered the choices, unhappily. “Greenleaf is closest,” Wash said quickly. “But both have very strong Alliance presence,” Zoë countered. “I don’t think he’d go to either if he had a choice.” “You know, I did intercept a signal a few days ago,” Mr. Universe continued, his hands flying across various interfaces. “Here it is! Three Hills is auctioning off a few repossessed ships. There are one or two Alliance scouts in the line up.” “Three Hills,” Mal repeated, liking the sound of that. “I can send you the feed,” Mr. Universe volunteered. As the feed came through vid, the crew crowded around to watch. It was a standard advertisement, though clearly not Alliance authorized. Mal got the sense that this signal was not meant for a shadier crowd. “Where did you get this?” Mal insisted. Mr. Universe only smiled. “Can’t stop the signal, friend of Misty.” Despite the cryptic reply of this stranger, Mal suddenly felt like he had a few options. If Jayne was right and Caddock was trying to fix his ship, then Three Hills made the most sense. Alliance presence was weak; a reliable source of goods was available. Serenity could make it there by tomorrow evening, if nothing broke. Mal ordered Wash to change course. Simon ordered Elle back to the Infirmary so that he could find the source of that persistent cough that seemed to bust the stitches. Elle, still short a few pints of blood, leaned heavily on Jayne for support. As they departed, Mal called after them, “Nice thinkin’, Jayne. Figurin’ out what Caddock was up to.” “That’s what you pay me for,” Jayne said with a smile.

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“Saskia!” Caddock bellowed, charging into the engine room smelling of rotted fish. Kaylee jumped away from the engine, dropping a canister of compressed air. She wanted to hide behind Saskia, or go to the far side of the engine, or place an extremely large object between herself and Caddock. The man frightened her to the point where she couldn’t move or speak. Saskia didn’t seem nearly so frightened; she stood lazily (or perhaps defiantly). When she pulled herself to her full height, Saskia was nearly an inch taller than Caddock and stood with Amazonian confidence. If Kaylee hadn’t known better, she’d have thought that Saskia was in charge and that Caddock was nothing more than an annoying flea. Saskia waited patiently for Caddock to speak again. “What’s this about… what IS this about?” Caddock sputtered. Saskia kept her voice level and almost threatening. “I told you. Now that we know what’s wrong, we have to fix it. Three Hills was part of the plan from the beginning.” “You’re telling me we’re running slow and it can’t be fixed!” “Ask her,” Saskia answered, motioning to Kaylee. If it were possible, Kaylee froze even more than she already was. Caddock shot her an evil glare and circled her like a lion. Kaylee couldn’t speak, fearing that one wrong word could get a bullet to the brainpan. Caddock stopped his circle an inch from her face. “You say it can’t be fixed…” Kaylee closed her eyes, trying to convince herself that she was just smelling an unbathed man, not a dead one. “CAN be fixed,” Kaylee corrected. “Just not with the parts we have here.” “Show me.” “If I show you while the engine’s runnin’ it’ll burn your face right off,” Kaylee retorted, wishing she had the courage to demonstrate. Caddock didn’t seem impressed. “You can hear it,” Kaylee added quickly. “That whirring sound.” Kaylee began rapidly explaining it as though she’d already talked herself into a hole. Using various hand motions and props, she demonstrated how the belt worked and why they needed a new one. She worried that Caddock might not be able to hear through the thick tangle of matted hair that covered his ears. He did seem to be listening, though, and Kaylee took that as a plus. When she finished, Caddock was silent, looking like he was still trying to catch up with those last few words. “So that’s it, is it?” he growled. “We need a few parts.” Kaylee nodded. “For this particular problem, yes. I don’t know about the rest of the ship.” Caddock nodded thoughtfully and Kaylee nearly sighed in relief. Suddenly Caddock was in her face, forcing her backwards, his gun drawn. “If this is a trick, girl… all’s I need is a reason.” With that, Caddock holstered his weapon and left the room, leaving the smell of decay behind. Kaylee was frozen again by that last threat. Saskia slouched into the corner, not noticing Kaylee’s apparent inability to move. “It’s nothing personal,” Saskia said. “He just hates women right now. Because of his wife. He won’t kill you ‘less you give him a reason.” Kaylee reconsidered her plans to slowly sabotage the Neptune’s engines. She didn’t want to die before Mal had a chance to rescue her! But still, the thought of the Captain stirred a memory. She’d once overheard Mal say “If someone tries to kill you, you try to kill them right back.” Mal hadn’t known she was listening, but the words gave her strength. She decided she would not only sabotage the engine, but make sure that if someone tried to kill her, she wouldn’t be caught helpless. Kaylee felt her hands begin to shake and knew she wasn’t cut out for bravery. But she mustered her strength and rested surely on the knowledge that the others would come for her… eventually.

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********************************* LINK TO CHAPTER 9