A JOB

Wash was approaching the dock cautiously. He often did when it was an unfamiliar space dock. Acre Space Station was new to them all. It was a deep space facility that consisted mostly of research scientists and engineers. Acre specialized in propulsion systems and had made some of the greatest leaps in interstellar propulsion in the past 50 years. Kaylee was bouncing up and down on her toes, hardly able to conceal her excitement. The cockpit was crowded and it was easy to see Wash did not appreciate all the spectators. “What a nice lookin’ place,” Jayne said. “Isn’t it beautiful,” Kaylee said, almost to herself. “OHHHHHH, ohhhhh LOOK!” “AHHHH, WHAT,” Wash said loudly, “don’t do that, please, I am trying to drive here!” “Oh sorry,” Kaylee hunched her shoulders and bit her lip, then smiled, “Did you see that Sirius Class with the strange engines parked round back? Wasn’t that beautiful? That’s a fine ship.” Mal was still looking tense, “Yeah, a lotta fine ships here. Don’t go gettin’ friendly with strange ships Kaylee. We are here to do a job, not sight see.” “Where is our contact supposed to meet us captain,” Zoe asked softly. “Well if Inara’s man is who he claims to be,” Malcolm said plainly, “he is supposed to contact us when we dock. Any messages yet Wash?” “Nothing but our dock number. They sure are not asking a lot of questions for a secure corporate facility. Apparently this job is for real,” Wash said. Jayne frowned, “Whuddya mean. Course it’s for real. We got fifty-thousand in coin in our pockets already. This could be a big payoff Mal.” “Yeah,” Malcolm said looking ahead through the window, “or a big bust. Did anyone notice how many particle canons this place has? Make me nervous bein’ on the wrong end of any gun.” “We’re being hailed captain,” Wash stated. “Let’s hear it,” Mal said dryly. The com came on with its thin sound, “Serenity, this is Acre control. Please relinquish control and we will guide you in. Navigation sync in three, two, one, mark.” Wash tapped a series of buttons on the console, “Here we go.” “Zoe, Inara and Kaylee” Mal said as he turned, “could you come with me? We have people to meet.”

Malcolm Reynolds stood in the cargo bay of his ship. His hands were on his hips, yet the right one was positioned where his fingers could touch the handle of his pistol. He found it reassuring. Turning he looked at the smiling Kaylee who raised her eyebrows to her nervous captain. Malcolm then turned to the graceful Inara who appeared as calm as ever. Inara looked at him and said softly, “You are tense Mal. It’ll be ok.” Malcolm took a deep breath and moved his hand away from his pistol. Folding his arms across his chest, Captain Malcolm Reynolds heard the airlocks pressurize. Then footsteps and a soft knock. He nodded to Kaylee who bounded over to the controls and unlocked the door. There was a small hiss and the door swung inward to Serenity. A tall, thin man with slight oriental features walked into the ship. He stopped and bowed to the group. Inara bowed to him and Kaylee did likewise after watching her. Malcolm stood tall. “Captain Reynolds,” the man’s tone was almost hushed, “many great things have passed my ears about you and your very capable crew. I am Hanaka Okeida.” “Mr. Okeida,” the captian said politely, “it is a pleasure to meet you.” “Ohayoo gozaimasu,” Inara said softly and bowed again in her slow, poised manner. Mr. Okeida smiled broadly, “Arigatoo gozaimasu. O-hisashiburi desu ne.” “Ee, genki desu,” Inara said smiling. Mal was quickly irritated with the exchange, “I don’t men to be rude Mr. Okeida, but could we talk business? Frankly I’m uh, little surprised about the generosity of the offer. For, lack of a better way of sayn’ it.” Inara shot Malcolm a look and he cracked a half-smile to her. Kaylee walked to the other two and stood my Mal. “Inara, you seem to know,” Malcolm blurted out bluntly, “and this is Kaylee, our engineer, who you asked to join us. Now could we please discuss the nature of this deal? What’s this all about?” Mr. Okeida walked closer and smiled, “What it is all about indeed. I represent an organization who needs transport for one of its members. Of course you have guessed by the fact that we want to hire you Captain Malcolm, that we want to avoid any Alliance interference.” “Figured that one,” Mal shot back. “Yes, well,” Okeida waved his hand, “this is a deep space mission. We need…” “How deep is deep,” Mal asked. “Very deep. You will be going into some territory that has not been visited by any known human ships,” Mr Okeida spoke flatly now, like an engineer. “You will be asked to deliver your single passenger to coordinates he will give you.” Mal walked a step forward, “Wait a minute here. You mean you don’t know exactly where we are to go? Or you wont tell us?” Okeida was not fazed, “As I told you captain. I am only a middleman here. I have been contracted to give you certain information and provide certain services for your ship and crew. I am telling you all I know about where and why you are going.” Kaylee looked nervously at Mal before he spoke, “Chin wo de pigu. I knew there was something fei hua about this job. You want to drop a load of money on us, make upgrades to our ship and you will not tell us where we are goin’ or why.” “Now you grasp it,” Okeida smiled broadly, “Exciting, no?” “How romantic,’ Kaylee let out, then got an acidic look from the captain. Inara spoke next, “Mr. Okeida, no one here doubts your honesty. They are just nervous that so much would be offered for a simple transport mission. I am sure you can understand their apprehension.” “Indeed,” Okeida said, “Indeed I can. Captain Reynolds your reputation precedes you as a cautious man and one who can accomplish difficult tasks. This task will not be without its dangers to your crew and ship. My associates feel that compensation equitable to the task is a must. You will be entering space that no known human has been. Therefore, you are explorers in a way. There is always a chance that you will not return. That is why your ship is scheduled for major upgrades here. My associates wish this mission the utmost chance for success. Hence, substantial financial incentives for you and your crew and repairs for your ship.” Malcolm frowned, “You’re still dancin’ a jig around what exactly it is we are going to find out there. That makes me nervous. THAT, Mr. Okeida, makes me doubt your honesty.” Okeida pursed his lips, then smiled broadly, “Captain, I cannot tell you what I was not allowed to know. If you refuse to do this, I was instructed to tell you to take five-thousand of the platinum and leave. Free will abounds here captain.” Kaylee looked nervously between the two men. Malcolm stared at Okeida hard, as if looking to see some sign of a lie or deception the man would give away with his eyes. Almost like a gathering thunderstorm, those watching the scene could see the tension flowering in the air before them. It was Mal who broke it first. “I think we will take the job Mr Okeida,” Malcolm said firmly, “But tell your associates that this is and always will be MY ship. It goes where I say it does and leaves when I say. I want to make that crystal clear. If your ‘friends’ have a problem with that, then they can take their entire fifty thousand and forget we ever met.” Okeida laughed loudly and turned sideways, gesturing them to the airlock, “Come captain. I think we can do business just fine. There was not and will never be any question as to who is in control of Serenity. Now let’s get your ship fitted, shall we?” Jayne licked his lips as he watched the three walk into the airlock. Wash and Zoe looked at each other with questioning eyes. River stood silently with her mouth slightly open, staring into space. “We’re going to see the angles,” River said aloud, “wont they be pretty?” “Shingjingbing,” Jayne said to her.

HOT SHOWERS

Zoe let the hot water run on her body for nearly ten minutes after her husband left the shower. As a soldier, she had spent months in the field, under the worst conditions, without a bath or a shower. Their room on Serenity was comfortable, but only offered sponge baths. Four years of war and two years on a Firefly made Zoe appreciate hot showers. The soap and body wash was sensuous and intoxicating. Shampoo was exhilarating. Steam rolled out of the shower stall and into the bathroom. Wash was calmly lying on the spacious bed of the wide room. There was fruit on the table in a glass bowl…real fruit. This could be a four-star hotel on some core planet. Zoe wrapped the thick robe about her and put her hair up in a towel. She walked over to where Wash lay and kissed him on the forehead. He smiled without opening his eyes. “Isn’t this wonderful,” Zoe said putting her arms around her very comfortable husband. “Mmmmm, yes. I could definitely get used to this,”Wash chuckled, “tell me why we are not staying here again.” Zoe giggled, “Maybe when we are finished with this run we can buy a little place of our own and raise ten kids.” “Ten,” Wash exclaimed, “then we could start our own little army. Maybe we could get a farm and raise all those youngins’ to help us. We’d grow our own food and slaughter our own cattle for meat.” Zoe laughed as his voice trailed into a Mississippi accent, “I can see you behind a plow daddy.” “Sure maw, I can see yuh with and apron on too, cookin’ supper and ringin’ the bell to come on in and eat.” Zoe slapped him and they laughed together, “It is a nice thought though. Us settling down in one spot.” Wash pulled her closer, knowing she was being serious now, “Zoe, I think it will happen for us. Who knows, maybe after this trip. We would have enough money to go pretty much wherever we wanted.” “Are you serious,” Zoe suddenly propped up on one elbow. Wash placed his hand on her cheek and spoke softly, “Yes I am serious. I don’t know if we’ll make it back or if we’ll all be millionaires. But I know this Zoe. As long as I have my wife with me it doesn’t matter one way or the other.” Zoe stared at his face fro a moment, looking deeply into his eyes. She then kissed him deeply.

Kaylee was in utter bliss. The workshops of Acre were renowned among ship’s engineers and know she knew why. There were incredible engine and system designs that she had not even dreams of. Some were in the testing phase and others had not yet left the designer’s computer. Mr. Okeida brought her to a middle-aged man named Jessie Slocumbe, who was in charge of Serenity’s retrofit. He was a wide-shouldered man who reminded Kaylee of an uncle she had. Jessie loved to laugh and was genuinely enamored by starship propulsion. Now they were looking at a schematic of Serenity along with modifications that Kaylee had made during their years in space. “Well, my little firefly,” Jessie said with a smile, “those Firefly class were great little ships you know. They run forever and are so easy to repair. I see you have given her some special touches yourself.” Kaylee smiled broadly, “She’s m’girl. Although, I have to admit, some of the mods are out of necessity. We just had to make due with what we had most times.” Jessie rubbed his chin, “Yess, yes I can see. This little animal has seen a lot of action. I can also see her engineer gave her lots of love too.” “Yup,” Kaylee squeezed his thick arm, “once you are on her for a while you just can’t help falling in love. Sometimes I listen to that ole’ KX-24 purr, and I can tell know if her converters are off a little or if the field outflow is off, just by her sound.” “HAHA,” Jessie threw his head back and his laughter boomed off the walls of the design lab. “Well this little kitten is going to get something special. I’ve decided to give her a modified S-34 engine. It has had its field flow inductors modified for deep space. What kind of speed are you getting out of her now?” “Well, on a good day,” Kaylee was starring at the specs, “we get about 300c with an effective range of 20 light years. That’s only if everything works at max efficiency and our voyage is nice and shiny.” “And it never is,” Jessie said with a smile, “is it?” Kaylee ran her hand over the schematic board with its active display of the new drive array, “Nooooo sir. It never is.” “Well I think we could get near an order of magnitude out of your new engines and increase your fuel efficiency to boot. I’m thinking that we could extend Serenity’s speed to about 2500 to 3000c which would extend your range to about 650 to 980 light years.” Kaylee’s eyes widened, “WOW, that’s capital ship speeds there. Will our power supply be able to handle that. Our old Williams reactor is pretty jury-rigged.” “Yes I saw that,” Jessie said, “so we want to put in the latest Cenco A-55. Modified to fit your needs of course.” “Whoa! An A-55 on a Firefly?! We could power a small moon with that. Why so much power? I see that the efficiency ratings of the new engines only require about 250% more power than we currently generate.” Jessie winked, “I think about 157% more once we put in the new power conduits, wiring and management system. But you also have to have some power to run your new environmental systems, food systems and weapons array.” “Weapons,” Kaylee bit her lip, “I don’t know how the captain’s gonna feel about that one.” “I think he’ll be ok with it,” Jessie smiled. “I dunno,” said Kaylee reluctantly, “we never had no weapons before. Captain’s kinda touchy about things like that.” “Well, he chose the systems himself, so I am assuming that he’s ok with it,” Jessie said, matter-of-factly. Kaylee raised her eyebrows and stared at the schematics, “Well Jessie, this is all first-rate equipment. Serenity’s gonna be a new ship. How am I going to keep all this running? I really don’t know anything about all this new stuff other than what I’ve read on the cortex.” “Oh no worry about that Chief Engineer Kaylee,” Jessie smiled, “over the next four days we have you scheduled to work with the refitting and some classroom instruction too. We also have an interactive database to help you along with any problems that you may run up against out there.” Kaylee ran her hand over the schematics, “She sure is gettin’ a great makeover.” “No doubt about that,” Jessie gave back, “Let’s get started, shall we?” Kaylee nearly bounded out of the design room and into the brightly lit hallway of Acre. Her stomach tingled as they overlooked the drydock. Already, a team had begun to clean the outside of Serenity, and its hull took on a brighter, pearl-white luster. Technicians and automated robots hovered around the ship. “That’s my good girl,” Kaylee said softly, her eyes sparkling.

Malcolm sat on the edge of his bed. The soft sheets were so unused to as to make them nearly uncomfortable. Captain Reynolds closed his eyes and listened to the absolute quiet. No hum, no throbbing, no alarms. ‘And no voices’ Mal thought to himself. In the peace of Acre Space Station the dreams could come back. Malcolm knew that if he lay still long enough he’d hear the dying screams, the deep bass of the explosions and see the crimson flood of shattered bodies. It always happened. Although the crew, especially Zoe, thought they had figured out what made him tick, they put his 4 hours of sleep off to a hyperactive personality. Zoe had seen those things along with him, yet she seemed to find a peace with Wash that Malcolm envied. Pulling on his pants, Mal thought of Inara. Maybe it was her inner tranquility that caused him to lash out at her chosen profession on occasion. He’d come to her shuttle once and sat over her, watching her sleep for six hours. Watching her, Mal thought of his childhood on his mother’s farm and one smile after another came to his face. He’d never seen someone sleep that peacefully. So safely. A beep at the door startled him to attention. Malcolm finished buttoning his shirt and touched the door facing. The door slid open silently and revealed Inara’s shining countenance standing there. “Good morning Mal,” Inara said in her soft voice, “I can come back when you are dressed.” “Oh no,” Malcolm stammered, “what’s a little nakedness between friends?” Inara entered and sat on the chair with perfect posture, “Kaylee took the Serenity out for a trial run. She said that all systems were functioning better than normal.” “That’s great,” muttered Mal. “She said that Serenity didn’t need a captain anymore,” Inara teased. “That a fact,” Malcolm said dryly. He stood up and took a long drink of water from the glass on the dresser. Inara glided over to Mal and put her hand on his tall shoulder, noticing him recoil only slightly, “Mal, can you tell me what’s wrong?” “Nothing a little space wont cure,” Mal sighed. “Was it the dreams again,” Inara asked with a gentleness that surprised even Malcolm. He wheeled around to face her, “Dreams…what do you know…” “Shhhhh,” she put her finger to his lips, watching his eyes as Malcolm’s mind tried to comprehend how she knew, “I have watched you sleep several times. The first time was in the infirmary when you were severely wounded. You cried out and talked while you were sedated. I knew they were nightmares. I have watched you twice since, though you may not have known it.” Malcolm looked down, feeling bare to the beautiful woman standing in front of him, “You had no right to…they’re just dreams Inara. They don’t mean nothin’. Just echoes from the war is all.” Inara clasped his hand, “Malcolm, if you are hurting, you can always talk to me. You don’t have to always run away from it. I am here if you need me.” Mal’s eyebrows furrowed, “I don’t reckon I have enough money to afford your services Inara. After all, I wouldn’t rightly feel special after seein’ you work and all.” Inara staggered back a step at his words, “I was talking about friends Mal. All friends are special.” Malcolm took a deep breath and sighed as Inara quickly walked to the door and exited. He stood for a moment and felt ashamed that he’d slapped her friendship away like that. Then anger followed quickly and Malcolm knew he needed a task. He’d stayed on this gorram station too long. Holstering his weapon, Mal jetted through the door in search of Kaylee and Serenity.