Title: Taking Up Arms – Part 1 of 3 Author: hisgoodgirl

Rating: PG-15 for adult language, violence Characters/Pairings: Crew, ofc, omc. Jayne/Kaylee, minor references to Mal/Simon. Timeline: One year post BDM; seven years later. Disclaimer: All belong to Joss. I got nada. Word Count, Part One: 3,450

A/N; During the American Civil War, a group of soldiers-turned-outlaws called Quantrell’s Raiders terrorized the Kansas-Missouri area. This story was inspired in part by their impact on the settlers of that region. Originally written for the Summer_of_Jaylee community at LiveJournal with the prompts ‘sun’ and ‘water’. If you read and enjoy this story, please take just a minute to let me know. Hover for translation.

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Taking Up Arms

Part One

Mal stood at the end of the old wooden dining table, his hands clasped around his suspenders in that no-nonsense way of his. His face was grave and shadowed by the difficult events of the past year. There’d been times in the weeks after Miranda when he thought things couldn’t get any harder for him and his folk, but as it had turned out, that wasn’t so.

He studied the faces of his crew. All had been irrevocably changed by what they had been through together. At the far end of the table sat Zoe, grave and solemn, quieter that ever before but filled with fierce determination. Next to Mal, Kaylee leaned against Jayne. Her once heart-shaped face was now more angular and her coveralls hung loosely. The big man behind her was quieter, too, and somehow gentler since they had paired up after she and Simon parted. Mal would never have expected it, but they made a good couple and it looked like their relationship might stick.

Across the table from Jayne sat the elder Tam, his slender surgeon’s hands resting quietly in his lap. Now that his sister’s mind was increasingly integrated, the young doctor seemed filled with a new sense of strength. Beside him and at Mal’s right hand sat River, her dark eyes lucid and knowing. As pilot, Reader and in combat, the girl was proving herself a tremendous asset.

The broadwave about the Alliance’s plan to create a perfect world had resulted in a shock wave of rebellion spreading out across the galaxy. Legitimate jobs became almost impossible to find. What began as civil protests and general unrest was fast progressing to a full-fledged war. This time it wasn’t just the rim worlds who were caught up in the fighting, but also those shining jewels of the Core: Ariel, Londinium, Persephone… It hadn’t taken much for Mal to decide he would return to active service with the reforming Independent army.

As much as Mal loved Serenity, he also loved these people seated before him, the folk who comprised his family of choice. His respect for all of them had grown tremendously and he knew his decision was going to affect them all. The time had come to tell them.

He took a deep breath and began.

*

There was a long, thoughtful silence as the stunned folk around the table considered what their captain had just said. Mal had accepted a commission as a Colonel with the Independent forces and Serenity would be up-fitted to function as a light fighter. He had asked them all to continue on as his crew.

Quiet Zoe spoke first. “I’m in, sir.”

“Pretty much figured that was a given, Zo, but I thank you.” He nodded at her, his respect apparent.

Sensing Simon’s concern, River’s eyes slipped first to her brother and then she raised her hand. “I’ll come. You won’t find a better pilot.”

Mal smiled. “That’s for real and true, li’l Albatross.” His eyes shifted to Simon. “What about you, Doctor? Gonna need a good medic more than ever, I ‘magine.”

Simon studied River thoughtfully, then looked up at Mal. “I’ll remain.”

Both Jayne and Kaylee were notably silent. The others turned to look at the couple questioningly. Kaylee glanced over her shoulder at Jayne, who enfolded Kaylee’s hand in his. The mercenary stared down at the table for a long moment before speaking. “Cap'n… I uh, that is we, uh, got somethin’ we need to tell ya… We done already decided this, before what all you just said. Just was waiting for the right time to tell you.” His voice came to a halt.

After a moment, Kaylee spoke up. “What Jayne’s tryin’ to say is, we got a baby comin’, and we’ve decided it’s time for us to settle down dirtside.” Tears welled up in her eyes to spill over onto her cheeks. “We really didn’t wanna leave Serenity but it’s just gettin’ too hard to make a life the way we been doin’. Gotta think about somebody else for a change, now.” She lay her hand protectively over her still-flat belly.

Mal gaped, stunned by this announcement. He glanced at Simon as if the doctor had somehow deliberately withheld this important information.

“I didn’t test her,” Simon protested, shrugging. “How could I know?”

River interjected in a voice that made quite clear how proud of herself she was, “I knew. She’ll have a girl next April!”

Kaylee glanced hesitantly at Zoe, who gave her a heartfelt smile of affirmation and encouragement and stretched across the table to squeeze Kaylee’s hand. “I’m happy for you both,” she said.

Mal looked down the table at Jayne. The big man appeared proud and a bit overwhelmed. Gun battles were one thing but baby diapers? “I guess I ain't so surprised at your decision. Given your news, I can’t rightly blame you, ‘though I have to say, you’ll both be missed mightily.” He asked Jayne, “So you gonna keep workin’ as a merc?”

Jayne shook his head vehemently. “Nope. I’m hangin’ up my guns.” He glanced at Kaylee with eyes filled with love. “Got better things to be doin’.”

Mal shook his head, still trying to absorb the announcement. “And I thought I was givin’ you folks a curve ball.” He sat down and pulled a flask from his pocket. “Looks like cheers are in order all ‘round. To new beginnings!” He uncapped the flask and took a swig before passing it to River.

”Go easy, Li’l Bit, that’s the strong stuff – “

She sniffed the flask. “Paint remover,” she pronounced, passing the liquor on to Simon. Her brother eyed it warily, then took a sip.

“To new beginnings,” he toasted and handed the flask on to Zoe.

As the whisky made the rounds, Mal asked Jayne, “You decided where you plan on settling? Might be we can drop you off before heading on to Beaumonde for up-fitting.”

Jayne looked at Mal solemnly. “We made an offer on a cabin an’ livery stable on Ezra, near Doughton. I used to work for a farrier ran a stable when I was comin’ up. Always liked horses. Figured I’d take up blacksmithin’ and weldin’ for folks and Kaylee can do her mechanicin’ if she wants to.” Kaylee smiled up at him and waved away the whisky.

Mal rose and reached out to accept the flask from Jayne. “There’s a right good sized space port on Ezra as I recall. Guess I can hire on a decent mechanic there…” Kaylee interrupted, palms up to halt Mal’s haste. “Now Cap'n, I ain't lettin’ you go takin my girl off into the Black to go fightin’ in no battles without a decent mechanic. You let me screen ‘em and I can guarantee you get a good mechanic knows what he’s doin’.”

Mal laughed. Kaylee’d come through for him once more. “Fair enough,” he agreed.

*

Seven years later, on Ezra:

*

“Papa, Papa, I wanna go too!” The small girl jumped and tugged at her father’s shirt as he harnessed up the team of horses he was hitching to a buckboard. She was already lanky for a girl child, practically dressed in pants and a shirt rather than more feminine attire, her tawny hair blunt-cut at jaw level.

The small, sturdy woman by the wagon held out her hand. “Maddie, honey, you stay here with me. Your Pa’s got a bunch a errands to do and ‘sides, I need you to hand my tools to me while I’m rebuildin’ that tiller.” Kaylee caught Jayne’s eye and winked. He’d have enough to look after without trying to keep up with his energetic six-year-old daughter.

“But Papa, I wanna go with you.” Maddie’s blue-green eyes stared up guilelessly but Jayne knew better. Women – they was born usin’ wiles. “Not this time, sugar. Your mama’s right. I got way too much to do this trip, but I’ll bring you back somethin’ if you help your ma and be good, hear?”

Jayne lifted his daughter up and blew a raspberry against her neck, making her squirm and giggle, then hoisted her high into the air as she shrieked, “Put me down, Papa! Put me down!” A shaggy brown and white shepherd dog danced around them with excitement, eager to participate in their play.

“Come here, Book,” Kaylee called, snapping her fingers. “You can go some other time.” With a disappointed glance at the wagon, the big dog obeyed and came to sit by his mistress.

“Down you go, then.” The big man gently lowered the child and gave her a firm nudge toward her mother.

Kaylee handed him a handwritten list. “Now remember, don’t let McPhearson sell you that weavilly flour. You check it before he measures it out. Oh, and we need coffee. I forgot to write that down.”

“Coffee…” Jayne fished a pencil stub from a pocket and scrawled the word at the bottom of the list. “Gotcha.” The near side horse stamped and twitched, ready to be moving, and he patted his flank. “I oughtta be back by late afternoon. Anybody comes needin smithin’ or weldin’ done, they’ll have to wait on it until tomorrow.” He glanced toward the paddock beside the barn. “Oh, an’ Kay? Don’t rent out that roan. I gotta re-shoe him – he’s favorin’ his off rear foot.”

“We’ll be fine, ai ren.” Kaylee leaned close and kissed her husband. He crouched down and held open his arms.

“Now come an’ gimme some sugar, Maddie.”

*

It wasn’t particularly unusual to encounter a couple of men walking into town, so farmer Justus Haynes had no cause to be suspicious when they flagged him down. He reined in his horse and tipped his weather stained hat back from his face. “What can I do for you fellas?” he asked. The taller of the two, a craggy man of late middle age, spoke up. “We’ve got a ship that’s broken down north of town and need to find someone to take a look at her. Seems to be a problem with the main transmitter array. You know of anyone around that might be able to help us out?”

Haynes eased his back and smiled. “Gotta say you men are in luck.” He pointed up the road. “Back track to that fork you passed a ways ago and go left. In about a mile you’ll come to Cobb Livery and Repairs. Mrs. Cobb’s as good a mechanic as you’re likely to find in the district. Knows ships as well as farm equipment.”

“Thanks, mister.” Hal Briggs smiled and then calmly shot Justus Haynes between the eyes.

The farmer’s body slumped to the ground and Briggs stepped forward to grab his shying mount’s reins. He drew the horse aside and mounted, then gave his buddy a hand up behind him. “Come on, Lonnie,” he said. “We got us a mechanic to go find.”

*

“Can you hand me the adjustable wrench, baby? The medium one.” Kaylee studied the engine she was disassembling, hoping to figure out why it continued to stall.

Maddie ran to her mother’s toolbox and retrieved the asked-for wrench. “Can I help, Mama?” she pleaded. “Please?”

Kaylee smiled, remembering how she’d hounded her Pa the same way until he began to teach her. She looked down at her daughter’s eager face. “I don’t see why not.” She lifted Maddy up to sit on the workbench and helped her to adjust the gap of the wrench and then tighten it around a bolt. “Feel how it’s nice an’ snug?” she prompted.

“Yep.” Maddie focused intently on the process, a pink tongue-tip captured between her lips. Kaylee smiled again, seeing so much of Jayne in their daughter.

Covering Maddie’s grubby hand with her own, Kaylee told the child, “Now we’re gonna loosen up this ol’ bolt so we can take that housing off…” At the sound of Book’s vigilant barking, Kaylee looked up. “Guess we got company. I best go see what they need.” She put the wrench on her workbench and lifted her daughter down.

Emerging from the shop, she saw two men riding double come to a stop in front of the barn. Book continued to bark and position himself between them and his ‘flock’ until Kaylee called him off. Maddie stood behind Kaylee, peeking around her mama, still a little shy with strangers.

“Sorry about the dog,” Kaylee apologized, smiling. “He takes his job a bit too serious sometimes.” She brushed her hair back out of her face. The men were unfamiliar, but that of itself wasn’t so unusual. “What can I do for you?”

The older man tipped his hat. “Ma’am. You Mrs. Cobb?”

“I am.”

“We understand you do repairs, even work on ships some.”

Kaylee nodded. “I can handle most things don’t require a shipyard. You got a problem?” She eyed the men curiously.

“My name’s Hal Briggs and I captain a Norton Helix. We started having problems with our external transmitter and sensor array. Had to put her down a ways north of here. I was told you were the best person to help us out.”

Kaylee seemed a little surprised. “Don’t see Norton’s much out here. Used a lot by the Alliance as fast gunboats. Most of ‘em got shot up in the Rebellion. If you can wait ‘til my husband gets home from town later this afternoon, I can come an’ take a look at her, see what your problem might be.”

The two men glanced at one another and Briggs continued. “We’re on a tight schedule, Ma’am, and already falling behind.”

Kaylee shrugged apologetically. “I’m glad to help, but I can’t leave my child here alone and my husband’s got the wagon. I’ll likely need his help and a way to carry my tools.”

Briggs looked from Kaylee to the roan gelding placidly grazing in the nearby paddock and then he drew his gun. “Lonnie, see if they’ve got tack for that horse and saddle him up if they do.”

Book growled low in his throat and Kaylee drew Maddie closer to her. Her green eyes were wide with fear. “Ain't no cause for guns, mister.” Her lower lip trembled. “I said I’d come. ‘Sides, that roan needs re-shoeing and shouldn’t oughtta be rode.”

Both men dismounted and Briggs tied up their horse. “I told you – we’re in a hurry. Now you get busy gathering up whatever small stuff you think you might need for some electrical type work and put it into something we can carry on horseback.”

Kaylee glared back at the invader, her forearm pressing Maddie’s trembling body against hers. “I ain't leavin’ my daughter.” Beside her, Book growled more threateningly.

Briggs cocked his revolver. “You best shut that mutt up somewhere or I’ll surely shoot him. And that goes for your kid if you don’t cooperate, so don’t fuck around, girl.”

*

Although the afternoon sun was hot, there was a cool breeze blowing down off the hills as Jayne made his way home. He’d been able to acquire all the supplies and staples on his list, including several bags of feed for the horses, iron stock for forging horseshoes, and the household staples Kaylee’d asked for. On the wagon bench beside him, a paper sack held the treat he’d promised Maddie, sticks of peppermint candy. There had originally been more, but his sweet tooth had gotten the better of him and he’d consumed a few.

He found himself reflecting on how different his present life was from that which he’d led before settling on Ezra with Kaylee. While he still occasionally took down one of his rifles and went up into the hills to hunt game, he’d ceased wearing a side arm not long after they left Serenity. The way he figured, he’d shot men aplenty in the twenty-five years he’d spent as a gunhand, and if he never took up a pistol again, it would be just fine with him.

Jayne knew the Bible taught that killing was surely a sin. He also knew that the convoluted life he’d led had been shaped by the necessity of making his way as best he knew how, and that had been first as an outlaw and then as a mercenary. And as the Rebellion spread out across the known worlds, there were times when he’d called himself a coward for not staying on with Mal.

Still, on the day his daughter was born, he’d sworn a vow to hang up the revolver he’d worn for so long. “I don’t want my child growin’ up, thinkin’ of her pa as a killer,” he’d said to Kaylee. “We’re startin’ over here an’ I’m startin’ over, too. No more heavy drinkin’ or brawlin’. I’m gonna do my best to be a law-abidin’ man.”

He’d kept his promise, although there were times it hadn’t been easy. Tending the livery stable and working as a farrier and blacksmith was backbreaking work, no doubt about it. But on the nights when his shoulders and hands ached and his eyes smarted from the smoke, Jayne Cobb enjoyed the deep sleep of a man at peace with himself.

His team had long ago learned their way home from town and ambled on along the old road toward their familiar stalls and measures of sweetfeed. Jayne drowsed in the dappled light, half-asleep at the reins, his hat pulled down to shade his eyes, so when the team shied sharply, he nearly tumbled from the wagon bench.

“Ho up there!” he called, reining in the anxious horses. He set the wagon brake and tied off the reins before jumping down to see what lay in the ditch. Jayne parted the thick grass to find Justus Haynes’ lifeless body staring up at him, already crawling with flies. “Sonuvabitch!” he blurted and reeled back.

He studied the signs on the ground; both foot and hoof prints. It was immediately obvious that there had been two other men and that they had apparently taken Haynes’s horse. From the new and deeper hoof prints, Jayne concluded the killers were riding double and headed out from town. That meant they had either taken the fork up into the hills or the road that would lead them to Kaylee and Maddie.

He lunged back into the wagon and headed for home as fast as he could safely drive his team.

*

Mal bent forward over the Cortex screen on Serenity’s bridge, one arm braced against the console, the other against the back of the co-pilot’s chair where Zoe sat. The image of a smoldering settlement filled the screen, to be quickly replaced by that of a man dressed in the uniform of the Federation of Independent Worlds.

“This is the fifth attack we’ve been able to tie to these thugs, Mal. The bastards look to be set on plundering their way across the quadrant. We know that an ex-Alliance officer named Hal Briggs heads them up and we have reason to think they all served together during the Rebellion. Briggs is flying a salvaged Norton Helix – I’ll forward you their nav sat codes. Word has it he’s having mechanical problems. You and your team are the closest, so I’m directing you to take them into custody. Our latest info has them headed for Ezra.”

Mal glanced at Zoe, who nodded. “We’ll get 'em, one way or t’other, sir,” he replied. “I’ll keep you posted.”

“Be careful, Mal. These fellas are bad news.”

Mal nodded. “I’m gettin’ that, sir. Serenity out.”

Turning to give flight orders to his pilot, he was not particularly surprised when she announced, “We have the nav code and I’ve already set course for Ezra.”

“I appreciate your sense of efficiency, Albatross, but I’d just as soon be doing a bit of the orderin’ around, if for no other reason as so I can figure I’m earnin’ my pay.”

River Tam grinned at him. “I understand, Captain.”

“Sir?” Zoe’s concern was apparent in her voice. Although her hair was cropped shorter and shaded with gray, she was still lean and fit. “Ain't Jayne and Kaylee on Ezra?”

Mal tensed and nodded, immediately comprehending Zoe’s concern. The fourth moon of Athens, Ezra was not an especially big place. Folks in a place like that would likely know if someone was an especially skilled mechanic with a knack for working miracles on old spacecraft. That scenario had the potential to lead to all measure of unpleasantness.

He rested a hand on his first mate’s shoulder. “See if you can get a wave through to 'em, Zo. Maybe give 'em a heads up to be on the look out for these húndàns.”

“Will do, sir.”

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To be continued – Part 1 of 3