Chains to Command -----------------------------------------------

based on the World of Firefly by Joss Whedon

Serenity touched down near the village of Drayden, five miles away from the Academy compound, It was far enough away for them not to be spotted, but close enough for the group to make it on horseback by mid afternoon.

Mal, River, Jayne, Zoe, and 'Ski stood in the cargo bay, each decked with assorted weapons, plus the ones they had loaded on to the mule. Simon, Kaylee, and Inara stood close to them, the companion standing next to Mal.

“Are you sure I won't be needed?” Simon spoke as 'Ski checked his gun for the seventh time to make sure it was loaded completely. He was worried, one about Cat and the other about the visions he'd been having of the Reaver side he was trying to forget.

“Not today, Doc. The way I'm thinkin' you'd be better off here.” Jayne had come to terms with the fact Mal's new/old lover was in fact a monster set on one day killing him, but why they were charging in to stop another one from killing was beyond him. That was before he had found out there might be a child involved.

Jayne might have been a lot of things, greedy and distrusting at times, but he would not stand for a child being hurt. His own childhood had been good, his mom always made sure him and his siblings had food, no matter what the cost. All kids should have that kind of family, not some factory where they were conditioned into weapons before able to walk.

“Please be careful, Mal.” Inara whispered, the scent of the exotic woman filling the bay. She placed a hand on in his arm and Mal squeezed it. “You don't have to do this.”

“Yes, I do. I love her, 'Nara, more than you will ever know. Sometimes I think even more than I know.”He stared into her deep eyes before turning to see a Cat that no one had ever seen before. “Tyen shiao duh....”

Chains, the only word any one of them could think as she dropped down each step. Links lined her body like bones, tracing down her arms and legs, meeting at the metal belt at her waist and at the large metal collar 'round her neck.. Shackles decorated her ankles and her wrists, the rest of her covered by very little, a pair of short black shorts and a red half shirt. As she came closer, one could see and hear the long chains drag behind her and the metal ring that adorned her ear, its blue stone sparkling in the lights of the ship. This was Project Cat 1313 and all knew they were about to return her to her home.

“Damn Crazy if you ask me.” Jayne replied to 'Ski, who gave him a death look as he walked to stand near his wife, part of him wanting to tease, but the other disgusted at what he was seeing.

“Nice outfit, Babe.” He spoke out loud, but shot her a message to her mind she could not ignore. 'What the hell? Not that I'm complaining on your choice of dress, but I know you. What's the chains for?'

'I can't risk the security of the crew. If you all bring me in, we can gain entry easier.'

“But, the chains?'

'Look, Husband. Look close and see.' His eyes fell again to her chains as he noticed what she was referring to. The large ones dragging behind her were almost like the strings of a marionette puppet. Pulled hard, they would cause her legs and her arms to close around her body, virtually rendering her harmless. Whoever control those chains controlled her.

'One of those better belong to me.' He growled inwardly. 'I may trust you, but I still don't quite trust your captain.'

'As if you need to say it.' She smiled and then looked into his eyes as images of the two of them in the thralls of passion and metal entered her brain. Her partner winked and walked to secure the mule.

“Holy shit.” Jayne cussed as he also took in the chains that decorated Cat, but he noticed something 'Ski had not. Down the middle of her back, where her vertebrae lined were larger chain links, somehow attached so they stayed in place. It sent chills up his spine, and then when she stopped to talk with his captain, the big man swore one of the chains moved on its own, twitching like the tail of a feline.

“Do you have to wear those?” Mal asked, his eyes appreciating, but the tone in his voice spoke differently.

“It's the only way. Besides, just think of what you all can tell your children when this thing's over.”

“Not sure this is a story needs telling,” 'Ski spoke plainly.

“I'm with him on this one.” Her lover chimed in before reaching out to touch first her arm and then the chain. It was surprisingly warm.

“I will need to you hold the right two and 'Ski will take the left once we are near the complex. You all will have to treat me like the beast I am. No friendly gestures or smiles, all business. Security is not just human, but machine as well and without proper consent, even I am as good as dead.”

“So until we are clear of security, we act like them.” 'Ski grumbled, stepping over a chain that seem to slide out of his way, or was it just a trick of the light.

“Gentle people aboard the Firefly.” A voice, old and gravelly called to the crew. “I am looking for a Cat.”

Mal looked to Cat first, who nodded before speaking. “Come on up.”

With the clank of boots and a jingle of keys walked a man who was probably in his late sixties and in his hand, he held a large black bag. His gray hair caught the lights of the ship as his hazel eyes lit at the sight of Cat. First though, he turned to Mal. “You must be Sargent Reynolds. Heard a lot about you.”

Mal shook his had. “It's actually Captain and I haven't the pleasure of hearing 'bout you.”

“She calls me Tuck, my last name or you can call me Zane, which is my first. Either way I answer.” He smiled and then regarded Cat. “Haven't seen you in that get up since I designed it three years back. How are they responding?”

“They?” Mal and 'Ski said together as Tuck circled their woman.

“Not sure yet, Old Man. Just locked them in place. The right side seemed a bit deeper than the left. Needles felt a bit longer.”

“Shouldn't have been. Made sure they would entered the spinal column, but not enough to cause discomfort. Does it hurt any?”

As they talked, everyone else began to notice something very odd about the chains Cat was wearing. One of them had begun to twitch, its end resembling a cat's tail. “Umm... Cat? Care to explain.” Mal stated, “Cat?!”

She looked up from Tuck's explanation and turned toward her lover. Both 'Ski and he were standing with that 'clue us in' look on their face while the others gazed down at her chains, the one moving on its own accord. “Remember how I told all of you I had connections with great inventors. Well, here's the most brilliant. Dr. Zane Tuck, man who helped in the creation of Project Cat 1313 and the only one who helped set it free.”

Zane seemed to shrug off the intro and instead moved to show off his prouder creation. “They, we speak of are her chains. Needles in all of the shackles and in the large chain seemingly one with spine bore into the nerves of Cat, she begin able to handle something so intrusive. A normal human would die from the blood loss alone. With small movements, she can control them as if they were part of her body.”

Cat drew her wrist up and the long chain that was hanging from the collar around her neck began wrapping itself around her arm creating a barrier to protect her bare skin. The other one did the same and the two near her waist wrapped around her legs.

“Not bad, Doc.” 'Ski hissed, not quite sure he really trusted anyone that had anything to do with the Academy. “But, you forgot her middle.”

“No one will get close enough to that.” Cat reacted back, her green eyes glowing. Her chains snaking back out to lay near her feet.

“They are surprisingly lightweight as well.” Tuck smiled and handed Cat the bag he carried. “A few things you might need when you get there. Rumors are flying around town that Falcon has the run of the place instead of being locked down as you both were at night.”

“What about kids?” Mal stated echoing 'Ski's distrust.

“I haven't heard anything about children, but I wouldn't put it past them. I no longer have access since I helped release Cat. The people I work for heard of a man hunting her down to put her in a side show for an example of what us Alliance were doing. She should have stayed in the Academy where she was safe, but what they were letting that Creator do to her...”

“Yet, you created them both.” Inara chimed in, but the doctor shook his head.

“I never wanted anything to do with what they had done, but when I learned of how far they stooped to make the perfect weapon, my partner and I decided to stay on and protect her. We taught her how to be human after their battery of tests and my partner helped her learn what it was to have a conscience, well, until he was stripped of everything and disappeared into space. Last time we spoke he had decided to become a Shepherd at Southdown Abbey.”

Mal and the crew turned to each other knowing the name and wondering if it was the same man. He had known much of the inner workings of the Alliance so it could stand to reason. The captain, though, had something even more to add to the list as he stood staring at the fully chained Cat and her extraordinary power to effect the people around her. His whisper could be heard if one listened, but no one did. “Sideways.”

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