Out to the black Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Joss, Fox, Universal Own em’. I’m just playing. No money being made.

This is my first Fan Fic ever. Constructive reviews are shiny.

This fic takes place two years after Serenity (BDM) and has the established couples of Simon/Kaylee and Mal/Inara along with a Jayne/River friendship.

Out to the black

Chapter Two – Waking up

River sat bolt upright in her seat on Serenity’s bridge. Through the windows she could see Kaylee scrambling away from something and felt the sudden terror in her mind.

“Kaylee!” River screamed into the com.

Mal and Jayne were on the bridge in seconds, Mal ran to Kaylee and grabbed her shoulders. “Mei Mei, what is it?”

Wide eyed, Kaylee could only point to the figure prone on the deck, as she tried to catch her breath.

Jayne bent down to examine the man laying on the floor and nearly jumped out of his skin when the figure in question drew in a ragged breath and began to cough.

“Wuo de ma!” Mal and Jayne exclaimed at the same time

“Captain, what’s happening, I can feel another mind there” River’s voice came through the com, her worry obvious through the static

“Sorry Albatross, got a bit startled here, some feller just fell outta’ a closet or somthin’ scared the go-se outta us. Looks like he’s breathing though”.

Kaylee coming out of her shock, looked at where the body had emerged. Blinking her eyes she stepped past Mal and Jayne to the aft bulkhead. Her Breath caught again as the figure on the floor moaned.

“Breathing?” Simon asked to no one in particular on the bridge of Serenity.

“Capn’” Kaylee called out, looks like some kinda’ cryo unit”

“Damn” Mal thought. Keying his com he called Serenity. “Doc you there?”

“Right here Captain, what’s happening?” Simon said into the microphone.

“Some feller just fell outta’ what Kaylee thinks is some kinda’ cryo unit, he’s breathing and coughin some, what should I do?” Mal asked.

“Roll him on his left side in case he vomits Captain. It will keep his airway open. Please describe he looks like physically,” Simon said, fully in his trauma surgeon persona.

“Jayne, roll im’ on his side” mal said quietly.

Jayne did as he was told. although a bit reluctantly. Kaylee in the meantime had found a blanket in a storage cabinet and draped it over the mans body. “He looks cold Capn’”

“Bein’ in cryo will do that lil’ Kaylee” Mal said with a little levity in his voice.

Mal keyed up the com again. ”Doc, he looks ‘bout forty or fifty years old, he’s breathin’ better at the moment, his skin is a bit gray but he seems to be pinking up a bit now.”

“Good Mal,” Simon replied, “is he conscious yet?”

“Not as yet but he’s moanin’ some” was the reply

“Is there anyway we can dock with that ship so I can get over there to examine him?” Simon asked, hoping he didn’t have to don a space suit. His two previous experiences with space suits still didn’t sit all that entirely well with him.

“Probly’ not Sweetie” Kaylee replied, “Least not till I gets back to Serenity and rig up a pressure tunnel tween’ the airlocks”.

“Jayne, Kaylee, get back to Serenity and start rigging the tunnel,” Mal said. Keying up his suit radio he called Serenity. “River, move Serenity close to the airlock on topa’ this here ship so’s Kaylee and Jayne can rig a pressure tunnel and your brother can get over here to check this feller out.”

“Aye aye Captain Daddy” River said back as she slowly maneuvered Serenity around the other ship.

Zoë got up from the co-pilots chair and started out of the bridge. Turning she said, Doc, get your stuff. Inara can you put on a coupla’ pots of coffee, looks to be a long night. I’m gonna’ go help with the tunnel. You have the ship River”

River smiled a reply as Simon followed Inara and Zoë off the bridge. Allan’s awareness returned slowly. First he noticed he seemed to be lying on his stomach. “That’s weird,” he thought. Next his hearing seemed to turn itself on and he could hear a woman scream. “Okay, that’s really strange, I think I was alone when I went to sleep, at least I seem to remember being the only one on the ship”. As his muddled brain tried to focus he heard a male voice say something like Kaylee and some other words he couldn’t quite make out. As he pondered these things Allan realized he hadn’t taken a breath in a while. As he drew in a deep breath he suddenly coughed and his head seemed to explode and a moan escaped his dry lips.

“Okay, that didn’t work out so well” he thought, “think I’ll just lay here a bit and see what else happens. He felt himself be rolled on his side and what felt like a blanket placed over him. He heard some voices again but still couldn’t quite comprehend what was being said. It was quiet for a while but it sounded like someone was with him as Allan’s brain began to function normally again. He tried another deep breath. No coughing… that’s a good start, next he tried to open his eyes.

Big mistake. It felt like lightning shot from his eyes to the center of his brain. He moaned again. Next he felt the nausea rise and found himself dry heaving for what felt like a year but was probably only a minute or so. As Allan caught his breath. He tried his eyes again. Slowly cracking one eye open, his head pounded but the pain was manageable. He blinked a few times to try to get the gritty feeling from his eyes. As his vision cleared he saw a brown haired man with piercing blue eyes staring back at him. The man seemed to be wearing some kind of space suit without the helmet or gloves.

The man smiled a bit and spoke,” Hey there, looks like you’re awake”.

“Who are you” Allan croaked out

“ I’m Malcolm Reynolds, I’m Captain o’ the transport ship Serenity. We found your ship adrift and came aboard to investigate. Turned on the power and you popped outta your cryo chamber. What might your name be?”

“Allan, Allan Bryant”

“How you feelin’ there Mr. Bryant?”

“Like Shit” was the reply

Mal laughed a bit at that,” I can imagine, can you sit up?”

“Think I’ll just lay here a bit longer”

“Good idea. Soon’s we get a tunnel rigged from my ship to yours, my Doc’s gonna’ come over and look at you.

“Okay, sounds like a plan. Can you maybe get me some water?” Allan gasped out. “Sure, where bouts?” Mal replied

“Galley, aft of the bridge, left side, should be some cups there, sink should work since life support’s working.

Mal went to the galley, blindly opened a couple of cabinets until he found a coffee mug. Turning to the sink he turned the tap on. Nothing happened for a moment then it spit out some air followed by dirty water. After a moment it ran clear, giving it another half a minute Mal filled the cup and made his way back to the bridge.

“Wanna’ try sitin’ up?” Mal asked

“Yeah, I think my head can take it now. Feels like the hangover from hell”

“I’ve had a mornin’ or three like that m’self”

Mal helped Allan to a sitting position and handed him the mug.

After a few sips Allan felt immeasurably better and suddenly noticed he was quite naked underneath the blanket. “Uh, Captain Reynolds? I just noticed I’m kinda’ naked here. Would you mind grabbing me some clothes??

“Call Me Mal, where can I find some?”

“In my cabin, across from the galley, there’s some drawers under the bunk, one should have some sweatpants and the other some t-shirts”

“Back in a jif”

Allan took another drink of water and began to think. His brain still felt like mush and his headache didn’t help things. Something felt wrong, he should have been the first ship to the system, but here he was being cared for by another ships captain and that ship couldn’t directly dock with Free Bird, He had purposely designed the airlock on his ship to match any airlock on the exodus ships. Something wasn’t adding up.

A moment later Mal returned to the bridge carrying a pair of gray sweats and a blue t-shirt.

Mal turned his back for a moment, as Allan, still on the floor pulled on the sweats and t-shirt. The nagging feeling in the back of his mind forced the next question out of Allen’s mouth.

“Captain…uh, Mal, what year is it?” Allan asked, feeling a knot in his chest praying for the right answer.

Mal kneeled down next to Allan and looked him in the eye, seeing some fear there.

“2520” was the simple answer.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

River had positioned Serenity over the other ship with the cargo door airlock aligned with the airlock on top of Free Bird.

Zoë and Simon had moved the collapsed tunnel from the storage bin into the airlock and then cycled it through. Outside in their suits, Jayne and Kaylee first attached it over Free Birds airlock and then slowly extended it to Serenity. After some choice cursing from Jayne they moved inside Serenity’s airlock and sealed the tunnel around the door.

“Okay Zoë, you can pressurize the lock” Called Kaylee over the radio.

Zoë hit the buttons on the airlock control panel to pressurize the airlock and tunnel. After two minutes of checking, no leaks were found and she opened the inner door.

Kaylee and Jayne entered the cargo bay and removed their helmets and Simon and Zoë assisted them. Once the suits were removed, Zoë spoke up.” You two go take a break, ‘Nara made coffee in the galley, I’ll take the Doc over”

Simon, clutching his bag looked nervous, Kaylee noticed this and flashed her fifty-megawatt smile and kissed Simon soundly.

“Don’t you go bein’ nervous there Sweetie, just float on down the tunnel and go take care of that feller.

“It’s the floating part that bothers me”, Simon Gulped.

“Not to fret there Doc, I’ll be with you”. Zoë said with a slight smile, “Just don’t puke on me.”

Allan was stunned for a moment, trying to get his brain around what he just heard.

“Four hundred years” Allan whispered as he felt the knot in his chest tighten.

Mal suddenly became concerned. Allan’s brown eyes had suddenly glazed over and seemed to lose focus.

“Four hundred years” he said again as his hands began to shake and his breath started to come in ragged gasps.

Mal grabbed Allan by the shoulders and shook him “Hey, you need to focus here!”

Allan blinked, turned his head to look at Mal and took a deep breath. “Focus… Yeah”, after moment Allan’s breathing had calmed down but his hands were still shaking a bit. Allan then heard a pop of static and a woman’s voice coming from the radio on Mal’s belt. “Capn’, Tunnels all set, Doc n’ me’ll be there directly”

“Okay Zoë, He’s awake and talkin’, but a bit confused” said Mal back into the small com unit.

“Who’s… Who’s that?” Allan asked, still a bit out of breath.

“Zoë Washburn, my First Mate. She’s bringing the Doc down. Now what’s this about four hundred years?

Allan licked his lips and took another sip of water to calm his nerves before speaking.

“The trip was supposed to take about ninety nine years, give or take a couple of months. I left six months after the exodus ships. My ship’s faster. I was supposed to get… Here, I guess, ahead of them. But somehow I’m kinda late” Allan snorted at the last.

“Looks like your ship took some damage. What I’m figurin’ is the main fuel tank here on your ship has a coupla’ holes in it.” Mal said with sympathy in his voice. Feeling a kindred spirit with the man sitting on the floor in front of him. “Looks like you might a’ taken a meteor hit or some such and dumped your fuel before you got up to speed”.

“How fast was I going?”

“Not fast enough, I reckon to make a twenty light year trip in only a hundred years”

“I think you’re right there. Think you can help me get up? My ass is going to sleep here on the floor”

“I think he should stay sitting for a moment more,” said Simon as he and Zoë, entered the bridge.

Mal started the introductions, “Allan Bryant, this is Dr. Simon Tam and my right hand, Zoë Washburn.”

Allan looked at the two new people on his ship, seeing a dark haired young man who’s bearing exuded Doctor and a tall dark skinned woman who looked every inch a soldier even though she was wearing a very loud Hawaiian shirt.

Allan extended his hand to the young Doctor and Simon shook it once with a firm grip. “Pleased to met you Doc, Ma’am”, as he nodded to Zoë.

“How do you feel right now Mr. Bryant” Simon asked in his friendly doctors voice.

“Other than having the mother of all hangovers, I think I’ll live”

“Well let me be the judge of that, shall we… “ Simon began to say

“No offence… Simon is it? But I may not be a doctor of medicine like you but I did spend some time in my youth as a paramedic before I got my doctorate in engineering. I think I can do a pretty good self-assessment. And right now I assess that I want to get up off the damn floor.”

Mal and Zoë traded a smile as they both reached down to help Allan to his feet. Simon looked a bit taken aback but kept his silence for once. Mal noticed this at once.

“I’m startin’ to like this guy more by the moment. Think he put you in your place there Doc.”

Once on his feet Allan swayed for a moment but regained his balance quickly. The three Serenity crewmembers realized that Allan wasn’t a small man. While not a large as Jayne, he had the look of someone who took care of himself and wasn’t above pounding someone’s head in if needed.

“Sorry Doc”, Allan chuckled, “you know how it goes, medics, nurses and doc’s all make the worst patients”.

“Yes, you’re quite right”, Simon said with a slight smile. “We can be”.

“Sir, what about the job in the morning?” Zoë spoke up.

“Kwin-gwe-je deh!” Mal, cursed, “I near forgot”

“Job?” Allan asked

“We’re a freelance cargo ship, we haul whatever we can to whoever needs it.” Zoë said in reply looking at Allan for a reaction.

“Right” Mal said, “We have a cargo waiting for us on Boros. Then’s we have to take it on over to Aberdeen for the drop off.”

“Boros? Aberdeen?” Allan asked in obvious confusion.

“They’re a coupe a planets, well a planet and a Moon that we have a job haulin’ cargo b’tween. That’s the sticker here, you’ve got no idea what’s what in this part of the ‘verse, and no real way of tellin’ friend from foe. And since your ship here is damaged, and I’m sure the Doc there would like to keep an eye on you for a spell. I can’t really in good conscience leave you out here in the black by’s your lonesome in a ship that just might keen half an hour after we leave”

“I appreciate that Captain I really do, but I can’t really bring myself to abandon Free Bird here”

Mal put his hand on the older man’s shoulder,” I know how it is and I’m talking Captain to Captain here. I’m not saying to have you abandon your ship, just… park it in space for a spell. We’ll be back in about a week and then maybehaps we can get her up to battery and you can be on your way.”

Allan thought to himself for a moment. The engineer in him knew that Free Bird was going to need a lot of work to function normally even after jettisoning the damaged main drive section after so long in space. And also he didn’t have anyway to communicate to other ships or the planets themselves either. One more week after four hundred years probably wouldn’t make a difference. Allan also knew that he needed to learn a great deal about what was happening on the worlds around him. He couldn’t catch up with four hundred years of history overnight.

Allan’s gut told him that he could trust Captain Reynolds. He wasn’t like most of the people he knew that had been in command of ships making the orbital runs back on Earth or the commanders of the exodus ships who were picked for their political ties rather than for their skills in ship handling. Malcomb Reynolds was just a regular guy trying to make a living doing what he loved. Allan could respect that.

Simon, Zoë and Mal glanced at each other watching the play of emotions on Allan’s face as he came to his decision.

“Okay Captain, I think you’re right, I’ve got a lot to learn about things and Free Bird here probably needs a complete overhaul. Let me start shutting systems down and then I can grab my gear. Would it be possible to bring some of the crates in the cargo bay? I’m assuming that once we land I’ll need some kind of money. Perhaps I can barter or sell some things in exchange for cash… That. Is. If. people still use cash…”

“Oh yes we still use cash” Mal replied

“Good”, Allan said with a smile” Everything I own should be an antique by now”

Mal laughed at that. “I imagine so. Let’s get you packed”