CHAPTER 5 “Wo de ma,” Wash murmured, all debate about the intruder muted. “Secure the ship?” Book prompted as the three remained frozen. Just out the fore window, the rain let up, revealing dozens of people circling the ship as though gathering for Sunday masse. A few of them cringed and shrank away as the sun put in a brief appearance. Their clothing was worn and tattered in the manner of the homeless, their eyes eerily reflecting the glow of Serenity’s tracking lights. Simon’s mouth hung open, hand on his cheek in startled surprise. “Secure the ship,” Book repeated, his face going tight, his eyes meeting Wash’s. “Find Kaylee. We need power ASAP!” Wash ordered. “Can’t you just broadwave?” Simon mentioned, pointing at the comm. “Aft has lost power,” Wash said slowly, the reality hitting home. “We can’t even control the door locks.” Book paused on the stair as the severity of the situation hit him as well. Running back to the bridge, he grabbed a flashlight. “I’ll do a manual check of the external doors!” Wash grabbed the comm, shouting, “Jayne, secure the ship! Kaylee, we need power!” “I thought you said…” Simon began. “Just in case.” Quickly, Wash ran a diagnostic of the navigation system, testing the thrusters. As each one fired, the shadow people backed off a little more. Although he seemed to have control of the thrusters, Wash dared not try any fancy flying until he was sure the back half of the ship had power. Loss of air pressure, differential gravity, not to mention the myriad of navigational systems running through that section … any of those problems could send them crashing into the island, or worse, the sea. The shadow people moved like zombies… or like very curious, cautious, and hungry vagrants. Finally, one of them broke rank and charged Serenity full speed. Others followed suit and within seconds, he could hear their feet pounding on the hull, yanking at the ship’s paneling. “Now what?” he muttered. Simon was still slowly processing the situation. Suddenly his wide eyes changed from surprise to fear. “River!” he cried, and darted out of the bridge.

*~*

Simon found River in the dining room standing on a chair so she could reach the top shelf of the food cabinet. “River,” Simon sighed in relief. “What are you doing? “Is there food?” River asked. Simon scrunched his nose in confusion, then reached out his hand to try and coax her down. “Is there more?” “Why do we need more?” “This is not enough.” Both jumped at the sound of boots stomping on the hull. Simon saw a dirty weather-worn face looking through the window shouting. River screamed, pulling away from Simon and hiding under the table. Simon joined her as she huddled fearfully, arms around her head, peaking out either side of the table. “Go! Go now!” River cried and ran to the aft deck, fading into the darkness. A moment later, Simon charged after her and nearly plowed right into Jayne. “Doc!” Jayne called, as Simon bounced off his chest and fell over backwards. For his part, Jayne stayed solidly on his feet, hardly noticing the bump. “Are we under attack?” Simon held his chest catching his breath, then took Jayne’s outstretched hand. Saskia entered just behind him, her eyes fierce, her body tense. “What’s she doing up?” Simon asked. “Going for tapas.” Simon felt his head, wondering if he’d suffered a concussion as well. Then he felt the ship lift unsteadily into the air and start to roll.

*~*

A burst of exhaust blasted against Kaylee’s body when the ship lifted off. She was wedged into a service duct and she could feel the walls heating up around her. Her throat constricted and she worried she would be burned again. “Kaylee!” River cried, reaching in and pulling Kaylee out by the shoulders. Desperately, Kaylee flailed her legs, trying to help propel herself out of the duct. Once free, she looked fearfully at River. “It can’t be fixed from here,” she panted, feeling around for her flashlight. “Why are we taking off.” “Stop, drop, and roll,” River revealed. “They come out of the shadows to consume all we have.” “We can’t,” Kaylee shook her head, responding more to the rationalizations in her own head than River’s words. “We need to set down before we break the ship.” “We must alter our gravitational constant.” “We can’t control gravity in the aft section.” “We must normalize it. Cannot divide by zero.” “Of course!” Kaylee cried. “We kill the gravity!”

*~*

“All doors are sealed,” Book panted, running onto the bridge. “I see we’re already taking off.” “No choice,” Wash muttered, struggling to keep the ship steady as he rolled right and left. Despite the little jerks he gave to the ship, the shadow people held on. “Have you heard from Jayne?” “I sent him with a radio to find Kaylee.” “Radio,” Book repeated, sitting down to catch his breath. “I should have done that.” The ship bucked on its own, and Wash fought to keep it from crashing. He couldn’t stay hovering forever. “It’s not right,” Book murmured. “Shaking these people off like they’re nothing. Letting them fall to their deaths.” “Maybe next time they should send an ambassador, not a mob.” The comm crackled and Wash grabbed it. “Kaylee!” “Wash, what the hell is going on with my ship!” Mal! Finally! “Everything’s shiny here, Captain. I have no idea what you’re talking about.” “It looks like my whole gorram ship is covered with ants!” “Oh, that. Yeah, well that’s not really our biggest problem.” “Take the ship into high atmo and shake them off so we can dock.” “We are working on this, Captain. Now if you don’t mind, I need to keep this channel open.” “Wash, don’t you hang up on me!” Mal warned. Wash dropped the comm as the ship shifted again. This time he felt more response from the controls and he hoped Kaylee was up to something. He looked skyward and saw the shuttle circling the island. The shadow people had noticed too, as some were looking at the sky. Wash tipped forward the nose of Serenity, sending a few of their attackers rolling off the front of the ship. “Wash, is Shepherd Book with you?” Finally, his angel had arrived. “Kaylee, he’s here. What’s your status?” “Strap yourselves in and break atmo at will!” Wash didn’t need to be told twice. A self-sustaining low orbit was the next best thing to being on land, and since land was covered with a mob of hungry shadow people… He pulled the comm again. “Mal, meet us in the air. We are out.”

*~*

Kaylee felt the unfamiliar strong g-force as Serenity rocketed into orbit around Three Hills. She heard a few strange noises eeping out of Jayne as the motion buried him in the seat. Being so tall, he had to support his head on his own. As soon as the ship stabilized, Kaylee felt herself go weightless, held to her seat by the harness alone. She had no intention of staying there. “Come on,” she urged Jayne and Saskia, unbuckling her harness and jetting herself to the shuttle airlocks. Aside from the nausea, she was grateful for the lack of gravity, as it meant the portable battery she had weighed nothing. “What’s goin’?” Jayne asked, strong-arming his way through the cargo bay like a champion swimmer. “Just want to make sure the airlock has power.” Simon floated in, carrying a flashlight, while River danced through the air having no destination in mind. The whole cargo bay was pitch dark outside the reach of Simon’s light and that worried Kaylee to no end. “Wash, put the Captain on this channel,” she said into the two-way radio as Saskia helped her open an access panel and hook the battery into the power supply lines. “Little Kaylee, what’s wrong with my boat?” Mal’s voice came through a few moments later. Kaylee’s heart ached for Serenity, unable to bear the disappointment of her Captain. “All’s shiny. We got a plan,” she replied, with more confidence than she felt. “We’ll have you on board as quick as a cricket.” “Take your time, darlin’. Ain’t no sense rushin’ if it’s to our deaths.” With a deep breath, Kaylee made a final check to be sure the docking clamps had power and said a quick prayer hoping the seal would hold. No reason it shouldn’t. It’s not like they’d been hit by lightning. They were just having power problems. The radio felt cold and harsh in her hands, ready to betray her at any moment. With a click of a button, she spoke to her Captain again. “We’re ready here. Make your approach.” Through the window, she could see the shuttle lining up beside them. Zoë’s voice cut calmly through the silence. “Docking in three-two-one.” Clang! The whole ship rang as the shuttle locked into place, the docking clamps held and the seal extended. A moment later, they heard a familiar hiss as the airlock sealed and the space between the two vessels pressurized. The door on Serenity’s side shifted a little. Was it supposed to do that? Kaylee had never been so close to the airlock during a docking procedure. Quizzically, she unlocked the door and within seconds it nearly flew out of her hand. Air rushed around her, pulling her into the airlock right up against the pressure seal that wasn’t holding. “Kaylee!” Simon cried out, dropping the flashlight to grab her hand. She felt her body go numb, her left leg now the only thing between herself and the open space outside. The flashlight that Simon had been holding was spinning crazily about. Within moments, Jayne produced a temporary seal, but they would have to move Kaylee to apply it. Simon kept trying to pull her out, but to no avail. Finally, Saskia wedged herself between the top of the airlock door and the ceiling, locked her elbows under Kaylee’s armpits and pulled upwards, perpendicular to the force. Kaylee couldn’t help but cry out as different parts or her leg were exposed to the extreme force of the broken seal, but she was grateful to be moving just the same. As soon as her boot was free, air rushed out through the tiny hole, threatening to blow out the entire side of the ship. Quickly, Jayne approached the leak from below and applied a temporary seal. The calm that followed felt like the aftermath of a tornado. Kaylee curled up in Saskia’s arms, her leg bleeding, the blood floating about, looking for a place to pool. She felt Simon applying a bit of gauze while River retrieved the flashlight and restored the steadiness of the room. Jayne panted in exertion, a black eye already forming where the two-way had flown at his face on its way out of the ship. With no other way to communicate, Jayne finally knocked on the door of the shuttle, letting them know it was safe to come out. As soon as the door open, the air filled with the sent of wet dogs and stale urine. Mal and Zoë emerged into the zero-gravity cargo bay, looking surprised, and followed by a chorus of yelps and barks. “You bring us something fun?” Jayne asked, pushing himself off the floor so as not to appear weak. “I thought you said we weren’t taking on livestock anymore,” Kaylee chirped, forcing a smile through the pain. “I said no more cows,” Mal pointed out, agitated. “Where’s my gravity?” “I’ll get right on it.” “No, you’ll get to the Infirmary,” Simon corrected. “Dogs?” Jayne cried out, peering into the shuttle. “What’s she doing up?” Mal asked, pointing at Saskia. “Saving my life,” Kaylee defended. “Again.” *~* Go to Chapter 6