Chapter 10

Mal walked stiffly off the train, Zoë in tow, eyes firmly on River. Her skin was pale and smeared with ash and sweat. Broken twigs clung to her hair and clothes and she didn’t have any shoes on her feet. Someone had thought to put those blue hospital footies on her, but the heel was spotted with blood, and her entire body trembled.

“Wo de tian, a,” Mal breathed. “What have they done to her?”

Despite looking sickly, she and half a dozen others were busy loading hard-shell, climate controlled cases onto the ship. The cases were marked as biohazards. The room was pristine white and hexagonal, with one entirely glass wall separating the inside from the railway tracks. On the opposite wall was the only other exit from the place. Along the left walls were shelves and refrigerators and along the right were computers. A small space ship stood dead-center, tipped upward so that the coned nose faced a closed hatch. A curved conveyer belt and ramp led to the entrance mid-ship, bypassing the standard fold-out stairs. The ship was a mid-range, small charter that wouldn’t seat more than nine people and wouldn’t carry them farther than a few moons away. It was painted and stenciled for use by the wealthy and elite, and Mal resented it as a senseless luxury item in a destitute ‘verse.

Zoë tapped Mal’s arm, and led him to a computer station that had read-out stats from the vessel’s various take-off controls and onboard refrigeration system. Standing squarely in front of the station, Zoë picked up a clipboard, and then leaned in to talk to Mal in a low voice.

“The others workers look fine,” Zoë whispered. “I don’t think Aunt River’s condition is an effect of the possession. She probably has smoke inhalation, moderate exposure to the elements, severe drug withdrawal… I suppose whoever is controlling her can choose not to feel those things.”

Mal glanced back at River, worried. “That choice aside, a body will keel on its own accord in that condition. Would we be able to tell if she were already …”

He trailed off, not wishing to think the thought. River was one of his own – one of his family. Since before he knew her name, from the moment he first saw her, she was under his protection. When he kicked open that box and saw her naked and vulnerable, he’d immediately assumed the worst of Simon, and he’d stood up to protect her.

Could he really count the years? Had she really spent half her life on his boat, under his protection? Would they be able to tell if she were already –

“Dead?” Zoë finished, her voice flat. How could she be so cold? “I don’t know. You’d think if that were an option, he’d have gone first with the zombies. Dead readers are more common than live ones.”

“And less feisty,” Mal agreed. “If you recognize any dead folk, you let me know.”

Zoë nodded and surveyed the people loading the ship, mostly being ignored.

“So we’ve found River,” Zoë said as they circled the room for the second time. “We’ve found the ship. Was there more to this plan?”

Mal laughed nervously as Jayne’s words floated through his mind. Can’t stop a ship by looking at it. He circled the ship once, then cut in line to go up the ramp.

“Let’s go in. I’ll take the cockpit; you take the engine room.”

“And do what?” Zoë hissed as she hurried to keep up with him. “Throw my shoe in the engine?”

“For the money I put into your shoe collection?” Mal teased.

“My collection ain’t even half the size of Mama ‘Nara’s,” Zoë retorted. “But you’re right. I like these boots too much.”

The interior of the ship couldn’t house more than four people like kings, ten like peasants. He reckoned his cargo bay had more volume than the whole thing, but Mal always credited Serenity with a spacious bay anyhow, and he’d never walked on a boat that held a candle to his own. This ship was narrow, all ladders, and designed for zero-g enthusiasts.

“I think the engine room is that way,” Mal said, pointing down the stairs, then climbing up to the next level, stopping at the top. This one was more spacious than the last, meant to be a common area. Mal jumped in surprise when Zoë came up the stairs immediately behind him.

“If you don’t mind, I’ll stick to you,” Zoë said. “In case something goes wrong.”

Mal smiled and surveyed the galley, looking for another stair case. There had to be some crew-restricted stairway to get to the cockpit from here.

“Nobody has even blinked at us, Zo. What could possibly go wrong?”

“Of all of life’s questions, that is one that will never go unanswered.”

Mal tensed, hearing the nervousness in her voice. When he turned, he saw River at the top of the stairs, pointing an energy weapon directly at them. Mal heaved a sigh and raised his hands in the air.

“O, zhe zhen shi ge kuai le de jin zhan.”

-----

Kaylee was exhausted, and her insides quivered with the strain it took to stay awake. Serenity was quivering a bit too, but that was probably just her hands on the yoke. As pilots went on this ship, Kaylee rated only slightly higher than Simon or the kids. She’d always admired Wash for his skill, and she’d helped him make most of the customizations that gave Serenity its maneuverability, but she was all mechanics and no skill. Especially now with her kidneys bruised and screaming about being upright for the twenty-somethingth straight hour. Were they up to thirty yet?

She kept picturing her kids and the way they’d both cuddled up to Simon and fallen asleep just a little while ago, exhausted but safe. Genny was a strong-willed girl and took adventure and hardship in stride. She’d flaunt her battle scars in the day, and when all the boys fell asleep, she’d take off that invincible mask, sneak into Little Zoë’s room, and confess her fears. Jamie was a sweeter, quieter soul. He was quaking inside, but he locked it away because his first duty right now was caring for Emily. Jamie was like Simon; he was biding his time, waiting until things settled down so he could go off by himself and sort things through. Kaylee hated having to wake them up; hated putting that syringe in Genny’s hand and telling her what to do if Michael started dying again; hated setting Emily in Jamie’s shaking arms and telling him to hold out just a few more hours.

She’d been looking forward to the end of this day. Looking forward to taking her husband into their bunk, tearing all his clothes off, and making love until she felt alive again. Pealing away the melted fabric from his charred skin wasn’t exactly what she’d had in mind. Would he ever be able to make love to her again? Kaylee’s breath quickened and a tear escaped, hot against her cheek.

“Don’t you start, girl,” Sky said softly, consulting a handheld as she paced the bridge. “Ten miles to the East.”

Kaylee didn’t know if Sky was standing because she was too injured to sit or because she had too many guns strapped to her legs. They’d been so long in hardship that Sky’s bruises were already fading to yellow and her swollen eye was opening again. Kaylee could see the water brimming in Sky’s eyes, but knew the other woman wouldn’t dare let one tear fall in the open. If they didn’t know each other so well, Kaylee wouldn’t have even noticed anything underneath that steel cold, threatening exterior.

Ian the prisoner, had been extremely helpful in readying the ship stunner, and also surprisingly calm given the number of guns Sky trained on him. Kaylee could understand, though. It didn’t matter how many guns were on her, she never worried about her life if all she needed to do was fix something to save herself. Now all they had to do was deliver the device to whatever site Mal and Zoë had transmitted, and they were done. It would be over.

Kaylee increased altitude as the smoke thickened. They were headed right over the flames.

“That’s a pretty dense forest,” Kaylee commented.

“Yeah. And?”

Kaylee furrowed her brow, wondering if there was some part of the plan that she missed or simply couldn’t process given her current level of exhaustion. “Where are we gonna set down? Serenity can’t be in the air when this goes off or we’ll get knocked out too.”

Sky blew air out her lips and leaned her head against the wall, trying to gather wisdom from the feel of the cool metal on her skin. Aside from being relieved that Sky hadn’t thought out this part of the plan either, Kaylee wasn’t comforted.

“Can we lower it to ground on a cable and set it off remotely?” Sky asked.

Kaylee bit her knuckles doubtfully. “In twenty minutes?”

“Yes, in 20 minutes,” Sky snapped irritably. “I’m not leaving you on this ship alone with those prisoners and I’m not leaving you on the ground in the middle of a burning forest.”

“Good point,” Kaylee said, starting to make a mental list of all the things she needed to do what Sky asked. “I guess that’s the plan now.”

“I guess it is.”

-----

Mal stepped between River and Zoë instinctively. The space was too small to discharge a weapon, but he didn’t put it above River to try. If he could call her River still. Up close, she looked even more like a ghost, with her skin gray and shriveled and her eyes twitching. Her lips were dry and cracked with crusted saliva at the corners. Mal wanted nothing more than to take her home, clean her up, and get that doctor-brother of hers to stop her limbs from trembling.

Zoë pressed forward, but Mal held out a hand to keep her back. River cocked her head, looking at them suspiciously, finger shaking over the trigger of her weapon so violently, Mal worried she’d discharge it by accident. He more hoped she’d drop it on accident.

“She knows you,” River said, sounding confused and surprised. Her voice was low and hoarse like she needed water.

“I’m sure she does,” Mal said evenly.

“Are you stewards of the Ward?” Her voice rose in concern and her hand tightened on the trigger. “What have you told them?”

Mal looked at his white coat, realizing she was confused by the poor disguise. The possessor didn’t know everything River did, and seemed not to remember them from this morning. That was good – for Michael. The possessor also feared the Ward, and that seemed useful.

“They know every damn thing,” Mal said. “You are finished. Let her go.”

River laughed eerily. “She knows when you lie.”

Mal didn’t make a move. He knew how to lie to River – she’d trained them all how to mask themselves and stay quiet in her mind. He hadn’t been ready, but he got himself there as fast as possible. There’d be no getting out of this if his intentions could be read clear off his own mind.

Zoë shifted her weight restlessly. “We’re just here for River.”

River growled. Perhaps she was clearing her throat. “You are very persistent.”

“Please,” Zoë pleaded. “You’re killing her.”

“I don’t need her much longer. She’ll last.”

It was so cold and cruel, that Mal would have shot her if the ‘her’ hadn’t been stealing River’s body. This possessor planned to work River to death! Zoë let out a deep-throated cry and dropped to her knees, realizing the same thing. It seemed a bit of an over-reaction, considering how much she’d been under-reacting to everything else that day. He reached down, placing a soothing hand on the back of her head, and she clasped his hands, squeezing that last two fingers. Good girl. It was an act.

“So what happens now?” Mal asked, capturing River’s attention by circling sideways around the room. “Do you kill us and take your chances with the Ward?”

River’s face tensed, both from the fact that Mal was moving and that she worried about the Ward. “What have they paid you to be protectorate of a reader?”

Mal smirked.

“What is it that you’ve done to her? It is fascinating in her head.”

Mal swallowed his anger. “She’s my reader and you can’t have her. Especially if you just mean to kill her.”

River laughed again, her voice rich and coated with evil. “I will find them all eventually. Their minds are open and easily unlocked. I grow stronger with everyone that I take, and soon I will control minds that aren’t even open.”

If it weren’t River staring him down, she’d be dead by now. As it was, he needed to find whoever it was possessing River and cut this thing at the root before it found Michael too. She looked him square in the eye, stepping forward like an evil seductress.

“Isn’t that the power you seek, steward?”

“No,” Mal answered simply, drawing his gun and pointing it, just to keep her from getting closer. “I’m here to protect the girl.”

“You can’t kill me,” River goaded. “Not without killing her.”

“I will hunt you down,” Mal vowed. “You’ll never hurt another reader again.”

“Your concern…” she began.

He’d faltered. She saw it in his eyes. He should’ve kept his mouth shut.

“You’re not protecting another are you?” she said interestedly.

Mal was saved from having to find an answer when Zoë launched across the room, tacking River sideways, knocking the gun from her hand. River twisted sharply, her knee connecting with Zoë’s chin, knocking her against the wall. Grabbing Zoë’s gun, River turned and shot Mal, and he felt the burn as the bullet grazed his side, ripping a fine chunk of flesh off his mid-section in the process. He swore, then crowded in, kicking River in the chest, then kicking away the gun.

“You surprised me!” River exclaimed, more intrigued than perturbed. River had told him once that he could be as predictable as he wanted in a fight, just so long as he wasn’t readable. Mal had her down now. His boot was on her neck. Now what?

The engine rumbled to life, and the lights flickered as the ship switched to internal power. Now he’d failed, and it was up to Kaylee to stop the ship. He needed to get Zoë and get out fast! Sure that stunner thing would only knock them out, but no matter how non-fatal it was supposed to be, it’d still hurt like hell.

-----

Inara’s heart pounded as the giant cruiser raced through the atmosphere on a collision course, as if it had not even noticed the little shuttle in the way. She didn’t know if that was good or bad. Jayne’s nose was pressed against the window and he craned his neck to get a view of the ship, and if Inara had had a hand free, she’d have smacked him out of the way. The shuttle rocked as the enemy swooped and Jayne fell into his seat as if that could get them clear of its path.

“Go down! Down!” he cried.

“I see it!” Inara said sharply, pushing down, then swinging starboard. They heard the cannon on the roof swing with the sudden shift in momentum and Jayne whimpered empathetically.

“Go that way!” he pointed right.

“Will you hush and let me fly!”

Inara broke above the clouds, out of the ship’s way. A few seconds later, the ship peeked above the clouds. She dipped below, and it followed.

“Looks like they’ve lost their qualms about flying in atmo,” she said gravely, turning tail and accelerating toward the foothills. A ship that size would not be able to navigate the terrain, and she needed to draw it away from Serenity.

Jayne jumped to his feet.

“Where are you going?”

He didn’t answer, and for a moment, Inara worried that he was possessed to. He fingered the gun on his belt, drawing and re-holstering it a couple of times. Inara hadn’t brought a gun, and she suddenly felt stupid.

Panicking, she rolled the shuttle and Jayne fell sideways, flat on his back, shoulders banging against the wall.

“Yesu, Inara!” he cried, glaring at her. “Hold her steady!”

“Jayne –”

Jayne crawled to the ladder he’d bolted under the hatch, then climbed up, keeping four point contact at all times. He wanted to use the gun. Inara checked the vid. Their pursuers were getting close. Hopefully not so close as to kill them.

Jayne yanked the hatch open and the air rushed out of the shuttle, pushing them downward, nearly sending them into a spin. Inara kept a firm grip on the yoke and prayed fervently. What was the recoil on that gun?

“Jayne, let me know –”

Too late. Jayne fired the cannon and the shuttle pitched into a forward roll, sending Inara flying into the console. Her vision turned red and she felt the floor smack her hard. She couldn’t tell if it was the ship spinning out of control, or if it was just her.

-----

Kaylee was a genius. Sky said it often enough, and she’d said it at least ten times in as many minutes, but they were out of time, and so she’d delayed the rest of her ravings until later. Serenity hovered above an opening in the trees, and between gusts of wind, Sky could easily make out the artificial hatch covering the forest floor. That was there target. If all went well, the thing wouldn’t even open, but Sky figured things wouldn’t go well. Mal was better at breaking noses than breaking space ships.

The wind billowed, filling the cargo bay with black smoke and Sky choked. It was too late to grab a mask. They were down to eight minutes, give or take. Probably take, seeing as Mal hadn’t set a timer on his conversation, and River hadn’t qualified her time frame exactly.

They’d bolted the stunner to the flatbed and attached the four corners to Serenity’s crane, so they could lower it through the hatch. It was a gamble in this wind, not only keeping Serenity steady, but keeping the load steady so that it didn’t get snagged on a tree or snap the cables. She took the hand controls and started lowering the load.

“Steady,” she murmured to herself, stepping away from the hatch as the ship pitched. She didn’t want to fall out. Taking a breath to calm herself, she glanced at the prisoners. If Ian had betrayed them, this was when she’d see it on his face. Only Ian wasn’t there.

Sky’s hands froze over the controls and she blinked fervently, trying to clear her head of the smoke. She counted again.

“Oh, gou shi.”

That little twerp could do too much damage in the four minutes it’d take her to finish lowering the damn stunner and Sky knew Kaylee wasn’t armed. Neither of them thought to lock the cockpit. Grunting in frustration and steeling herself for a fight, Sky set the control aside and turned to grab her radio so she could warn Kaylee.

Her breath caught in her throat and her heart stopped in horror when she heard the kids screaming for help.

-----

Chapter 11