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BADKARMA00

Inferno – Chapter Six
Saturday, December 22, 2007

Companion arrives at Aberdeen, things look bad


CATEGORY: FICTION    TIMES READ: 2259    RATING: 9    SERIES: FIREFLY

Inferno – Chapter Six No ownership stated, inferred, nor implied. I’m just writing for the sheer joy of it. -------------------- River’s face was a mask of blankness as she stared out the window at Aberdeen. She reached up for the microphone. “Captain, you’re going to want to see this,” she said evenly. “We’re approaching the planet.” Seconds later Zoe, Jayne and the rest of the crew were on the bridge, looking at the approaching planet. “Oh!” Kaylee cried, and buried her head in Simon’s shoulder. He held her tightly while her body was wracked by sobs of despair. “Renzi de Shang Di, qing dai wa zhou” Zoe muttered, taking in the sight before her. Aberdeen was surrounded by a halo of thick, black smoke. Even from space, large fires could be seen in some areas. The devastation was hard to grasp, even from their high eye perspective. “River, can we make it down through that?” Zoe asked, worry in her voice. “Unknown,” River admitted. “We’ll have to get closer in order to gauge the thickness of the smoke. It doesn’t seem to be everywhere, though,” River added, looking at her monitors. “We can likely find a thin area, penetrate the smoke, and then fly to the Frye homestead.” “Let’s work it that way, then,” Zoe ordered. “Just to be safe.” She turned to the rest of the crew. “Goldie, you and Kaylee to the engine room,” she ordered, nodding at Simon to go with Kaylee. “Jayne, you and Liam make sure we’re strapped down tight. This ride could get rough in a hurry.” As the crew departed, Zoe looked at River. The little pilot’s face was drawn in concentration. “River, can we do this?” she asked quietly. “Yes,” River answered at once. “Likely be rough, though.” “Take us in, then,” Zoe nodded, looking back out at the devastation. Companion started bucking as soon as she hit atmo. River guided the ship through the worst of the smoke, emerging into a relatively clear patch of sky. Even in the clearer areas, the turbulence from the fire generated winds was rough. Zoe reached out for the co-pilot’s chair, steadying herself as the ship lurched. River glanced at the gauges briefly, then turned immediately back to the screen. She couldn’t spare more than a second away from her visual scanning. As they neared the surface, the winds became stronger, and the ship lifted dangerously, bordering on a stall. River applied more power, and forced the ship back down. Zoe had to admit that the girl was good. Very good. She looked out as they came into visual range of the ground beneath them. Other ships were visible on the ground, sitting in odd places. Figures were running to and fro around the other vessels, and Zoe recalled Jayne’s warnings of the kind of people this disaster would attract. Unconsciously, her hand dropped to her carbine, fingering the gun. It’s weight was reassuring. ----------------- In the back, Jayne looked at Liam Greggs, his face grim. “Look, kid,” the former mercenary said. “This is gonna be rough, Dong ma? People of the worst sort will be on this planet, taking anything they can get their hands on. Keep your gun to hand, all the time. And don’t hesitate to shoot anyone you think may be a threat. You may not get a second chance.” Greggs nodded. “Keep an eye out for reavers,” Jayne warned, and Greggs paled at that. “Probably won’t be any, but they hit this place not long ago. Some of the victims may have turned, some of the attackers may have been left behind. You see a reaver, you shoot him, and you keep shootin’ him until you see his ass on the ground. Get me?” “I get you,” Greggs nodded. “I won’t let you down.” “I never thought you would,” Jayne slapped the younger man’s shoulder. “Just wanted to make sure you knew what we were walking into here.” “I. . .I knew it would be rough,” he admitted. “But I hadn’t thought all of that out. Thanks.” “Just watch out,” Jayne nodded. “We’ll be off the ground and headed home in no time.” --------------- “We seem to be through the worst,” River finally said, and Zoe breathed a sigh of relief. “Good work, mei mei,” Zoe praised, and River nodded. “Not through yet,” she replied. “Still about an hour to the Frye house.” “We’ll make it,” Zoe told her confidently. “I’d fly with you, anywhere, River,” she added softly, and River smiled. “I will miss it,” she said sadly, and Zoe felt her heart lurch. It was as close as River had come to talking to her about Jayne. “You’re leaving, too?” she asked. River nodded sadly. “Probably,” she admitted. “I don’t think I will be able to fly without Jayne. Won’t be the same.” “I’m sorry it came to that, River,” Zoe told her. “Me too,” River sighed. “He wants to be trusted. Wanted, I should say. He is resolved, now, that he isn’t, and has put it from his mind. He no longer cares. Now he simply wants to build a home. With me,” she added with a small smile. “I didn’t mean for it to be that way,” Zoe said, looking out the window. “I know,” River’s tone was sympathetic. “He didn’t either. Just tired, Zoe. Tired of trying for something he knows he’ll never have.” Zoe didn’t know what to say to that, so remained silent, and allowed River to concentrate on her flying. She had pulled one of Mal’s stunts, she realized suddenly. Taken a perfectly good crew, and turned it inside out. Sighing, she resigned herself to waiting while River carried them to their destination. ------------------ “Where are we on the ‘Tito’ killing?” Mal asked Toby Bontrager. “Same place we were yesterday, boss,” the new investigator admitted. “Probably can narrow it down to a few of his competitors, but figuring out which one will be a job. How much effort do you want expended on this?” “What do you mean?” Mal asked. “Well,” Bontrager shrugged, “Tito was a thug, sir. Worthless, wasted skin. No one’s crying over him, except maybe a few druggies. There’s little hope, in all honesty, of finding the person or persons responsible. I can go through the motions, but the end result will be the same. Meanwhile, that’s time I can be devoting to these,” he indicated a huge stack of files. “All open cases, with at least some hope of being solved.” Mal pondered that for a moment. The man had a point, he realized. The department was short of manpower, even with the new people he’d hired. And those new hires would soon need to be sent off to training. “Do what you think best, Toby,” Mal finally answered. “I want as many results as we can get, as quickly as we can get them. Use that to make your decisions about which cases to work.” “Fair enough,” Bontrager nodded, and went back to work. “Sheriff, there are three people waiting to see you,” Evelyn smiled when Mal walked in. “Prospective hires.” “Okay, send me the first one in five minutes. I need a minute to get some coffee.” “Already poured, on your desk,” she smiled, and Mal nodded his thanks. “You’re a blessin’, woman.” ------------- “We’re fine, Miss Inara,” Holly called, as Serenity set course for Argo. “Okay, Holly,” she replied. “Thank you.” “We’re secure, ma’am,” John told her a minute later. “Pete and Willie are doing clean-up, and I’m about to clean the galley. Anything you need done before I start?” “No, John, that’s fine,” Inara smiled. “You three have been a real help to us, you know that?” John looked at her seriously. “You folks sent your other ship, your people, to get Mister Harwell’s sister. Least we can do is cover for them till they get back.” Inara nodded in understanding. “We appreciate it,” she said, and he smiled. “Just folks helping other folks ma’am,” he told her. “Besides,” he added with a chuckle, “been a good, long time since I had a night on the town on Astra. Enjoyed myself.” “I’m glad to hear that,” Inara laughed. “Let me know, you need anything ma’am.” ------------------ “We’re approaching the Frye homestead, Captain,” River called out. Zoe stepped back onto the bridge. “Lotta smoke here,” she commented. “Yes, worse than the last several miles,” River’s voice was worried. Companion slowed as River watched the co-ordinates for the Frye home clicking nearer. Kaylee and Simon walked onto the bridge, silent. Jayne and Liam were in the cargo bay. 'Almost there, ai ren', River pushed her mind to Jayne’s. 'We’re set', she felt his calm and reassuring answer. 'Don’t worry, xin-gan', he added. 'We’ll be fine'. She smiled softly. Sometime, she wondered if Jayne was the reader, rather than her. He always seemed to know, instinctively, what she needed to hear. As they came upon the Frye home, those thoughts vanished. Kaylee wailed suddenly, seeing three still forms in the yard of her parent’s house. Smoke was still heavy in the air from where the house had burned. River eased the ship into a hover, and looked at Zoe. “Set us down,” Zoe ordered grimly. --------------- Ten minutes later the crew was assembled in the bay. “Jayne, Liam, and I will scout around,” Zoe told them. “See what we can find. Kaylee’s folks had a safe room, they may have retreated there.” “No,” Jayne’s voice cut through the discussion, and Zoe looked at him, startled. “You stay here,” he told her. “We can’t risk losing the ship, no matter what, Zoe,” he explained calmly. “Liam and I can check the place out just fine. Between you, Goldie, and River, the ship should be safe. It’s our only way off-world. We can’t risk it, no matter what else happens.” Zoe drew in the retort she’d had on her lips, considering that. Jayne had a point. “You’re right,” she nodded, and the shock on everyone’s face was evident. “You two go, and be careful.” Jayne nodded, and looked to Liam. “Let’s go kid.” ------------------ “Wo de mah,” Liam Greggs muttered, looking at the ruin around them. “Yeah,” Jayne agreed grimly, surveying the scene. He could see tracks of at least fifteen attackers. Judging from their boots, the three men lying in the yard were probably part of the attackers. He keyed his comm. “Zoe, keep a good watch. Looks like about fifteen in the raider party. I think these three are part of them. We’re gonna check the house, what’s left of it. That’s where Kaylee said the door was to the safe-hold.” “Be caeful Jayne,” she replied, and he snorted. “Watch our backs, kid,” Jayne warned Liam, easing into the charred remains of the house. “Mister Frye!” Jayne called out. “Mister Frye, it’s Jayne Cobb, from Serenity. If you can hear me, holler out!” Nothing. As Jayne surveyed the ruins of the home, he spotted a burned body, still clutching a partially deformed rifle. Jayne paused a moment. Whoever it was, they had gone hard. He nodded in admiration. Working his way to the near center of the house, Jayne found what he was looking for. Clearing away the debris, he spied the outline of a door, set well into the floor. He leaned down, and hammered on the door with the hilt of his knife. “Mister and Mrs. Frye? It’s Jayne Cobb, from Serenity. I work with Kaylee. Can you hear me?” Jayne leaned down as he thought he heard a muffled noise through the door. “You still work for that Deerbald fella?” a male voice asked, and Jayne smiled. “I never worked for nobody by that name, sir,” he replied. “Me and Kaylee, we work for Malcolm Reynolds. He sent us to get you off the planet.” Jayne heard several excited squeals, accompanied by the sound of a heavy bolt being moved. Jayne stepped back as the door began to rise. An older man, face grimy with soot, crawled carefully out of the hole, standing up in front of Jayne. “Son, I don’t mind saying,” Caleb Frye said quietly. “I’m right pleased to see you.”

------------------ Fifteen minutes later, the Frye family was onboard Serenity, enjoying a tearful re-union with an elated Kaylee. Simon stood slightly behind her, a wistful look on his face. Jayne wondered what was going through his brother-in-law’s mind. The only time Kaylee had met his parents, hadn’t worked out very well. “Momma, Daddy, this is Simon Tam, my fiancé,” Kaylee told them proudly, pulling Simon over to meet her parents. “It’s a pleasure to meet you folks,” Simon said quietly, and Jayne nodded. Just right. “He’s pretty smart, you know,” River whispered in his ear, and Jayne snorted softly. “Top three percent,” he nodded, and River giggled in his ear. “Where’s Charlie?” Kaylee asked suddenly, looking around. “And Samantha?” The engineer had just noted, in the rush of family and possessions, that her oldest brother and sister were missing. “They went over to check on their houses, just before the raid,” Caleb Frye told her, his face a frown. “I tried to talk them out of it, but you know how they are.” “How long they been gone?” Jayne asked, suddenly all attention. “Two, maybe three hours,” Winnie Frye said worriedly. “How far is it to their places?” Zoe asked, glancing at Jayne. “‘Bout twenty minutes, when things is normal,” Caleb admitted. “Ain’t heard from them since.” “Jayne, you and River, take a shuttle, and get someone to guide you over there. Bring’em back.” Jayne nodded, and he and River went to prep the shuttle. “I’ll go,” Ethan Frye volunteered. He was Kaylee’s youngest brother. “Ethan,” Winnie started, but Caleb silenced her with a hand to her arm, and nodded. “Watch yourself, son,” was all the older man said. Ethan nodded, and hurried after the newlyweds. “Were you able to contact Mrs. Mann, sir?” Zoe asked Caleb. The old man shook his head. “No. I’m sorry, Zoe, but the land lines haven’t worked in a few days. And the wave hasn’t been able to get through the smoke in the last three days or so. There’s just no way to contact folk, anymore.” “We’ll see to them, after we’ve got your family back together.” “Sir,” Greggs said softly. “There was a body, in the house. . .” “My brother,” Caleb told him softly. “Wouldn’t give up the house. I begged him to come down with us, but he was afraid if someone wasn’t fighting, then the raiders would find the safe-hold.” “He went hard, sir,” Greggs assured him. “Killed at least three. I covered him, sir,” he added. “Wolf always was stubborn,” Caleb nodded, pride glinting in his eyes. “Thanks, son.” “Okay,” Zoe said loudly, killing the talk. “Let’s see to getting folks settled in, and maybe getting some kind of meal put together. We need to be ready to lift off at a moments notice. We aren’t out of the woods, yet.”

COMMENTS

Saturday, December 22, 2007 11:49 PM

AMDOBELL


So glad Kaylee's family are okay, I won't say safe until they are off that damned planet. Feeling worried though about that raiding party, at least fifteen of 'em and probably hungry as well as crazy mad. Glad that Zoe finally backed off when Jayne made a good suggestion, probably too little too late but at least it is finally sinking in that she has been stupid and just plain wrong. Merry Christmas! Ali D :~)
You can't take the sky from me


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