Disclaimer: Joss, Fox, Universal Own em’. I’m just playing. No money being made. The situations come from my own twisted mind as do my original characters.

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AN: Kinda short... but it was a good stopping point

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Quest-Chapter Six

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What's our ETA, 'Tross?” Mal asked as he stepped onto the bridge.

“One hour five minutes,” she replied.

“Good,” Mal replied as he glanced over at the co-pilot's seat. Unsurprised to find his daughter sitting there, “Another flying lesson?”

Emma smiled the same smile that her mother used on Mal when she wanted something, “Serenity's gonna be mine someday, Dad.”

Mal grimaced, “Don't be countin 'yer chickens just yet, daughter o' mine,” Mal admonished. Secretly he did smile inwardly. The thought that Emma wanted his old Firefly and work the black with her pleased Mal.

“It's not like Jeff needs Serenity. He's got Sara Jane...” Emma trailed off.

“Best you finish your schoolin first, Em.”

“Of course. I'm not going to run my business like you did,” Emma teased.

“What do you mean... like I did?”

“Haphazard and flung about. I intend to approach things with a sound business plan.”

River giggled slightly and Mal shot her a venomous glare, “You may be a momma yourself but you ain't so old I can't take you across my knee there, Albatross.”

Emma snickered from behind the controls as she flew the ship. River just grinned, “I can take you with both my hands behind my back and you know it... sir.”

“Probably right,” Mal grinned back.

A slight beep from the console captured the attention of both pilots and the Captain.

“What is it?” Mal asked.

“Ship following,” River replied, “Changed course a few seconds ago. It is following us.”

“Any ID?” Mal asked.

“None as yet.”

“Keep an eye...” Mal was cut off by the scream of the missile warning system.

“Inbound missiles!” River cried, “Emma I have the ship!”

River wrenched Serenity into a sharp turn as Emma's hands flew across the console, activating Serenity's defense systems while simultaneously keying the intercom, “Aunt Kaylee! We need full burn now!”

“Ten seconds!” Kaylee called back.

A light illuminated on the console and River slammed Serenity into full burn. In a flash of golden light, the old Firefly shot away from their attackers. The two missiles fired, still tracking.

“Emma! Raise Quest!” Mal ordered.

After a moment, the dark haired young woman looked at her father, “We're being jammed.”

“Missile impact in sixty seconds,” River said quietly.

“Can we...”

“We can't,” River replied, “Probable impact on the stern.”

Mal hit the overhead com, “Missiles inbound! Less than a minute till they hit. Everyone move forward ma-shong! Close all the internal doors as you go! Move people!”

“Standing by on the canister launchers,” Emma said with just a tremble of fear in her voice, “Chaff and flares on automatic.”

Jayne thundered up the stairs to the bridge, “All the doors are secure. Everyone is strapped in.”

“Firing cannisters!” Emma reported.

Behind serenity, small flashes announced the firing of the ships anti-missile system. Installed by Allan over twenty years previous. The system worked quite well... on the missiles manufactured twenty years ago.

These were the latest design and had the maneuverability and thrust to avoid the clouds of metal fired from the rear of Serenity. The missiles advanced targeting system wasn't spoofed by the flares and metal foil chaff spewing from the ship's stern either. River didn't maneuver. Any turns would simply shorten the distance. Their only hope was running the missiles out of fuel before impact with the ship.

They almost succeeded.

XXXXXXXXXX

Sara sat quietly in her chair on Quest's bridge. It was late to the crew as they were still on Londinium time. The only other person on duty at the moment was Virgil Ortega. Everyone else was relaxing before the arrival of Serenity with the supplies needed for their attempt to return to Earth-that-was.

Suddenly Rachel Cobb burst through the doors, “Serenity is under attack!”

“What?” Sara asked.

“Mom's scared!” the young reader cried, “Missiles inbound, can't dodge.”

“Cao!” Sara swore as she hit the alert klaxon, “All hands to your stations! Serenity is under attack! Alliance pilot's to your ships! Becca! I want to be able to jump in three minutes!”

Sara turned to Virgil, “Get us heading to intercept. Full burn!”

“On it, Sara,” the pilot replied.

Rachel brought her sensor systems on line and began scanning the nearby region of space as Quest began to pull away from the oversized asteroid that she had been parked behind.

Next through the door was Jeff followed closely by Meghan Riley.

“Jeff take the helm. Virgil, start plotting a jump as soon as Rachel has the location. Meg, get the weapons spun up.”

Becca and Clay stumbled into the bridge, still pulling on clothing and immediately went to the engineering console and began powering up the FTL.

Suddenly, Rachel screamed, “Momma!”

XXXXXXXXXX

“Brace for impact!” Mal yelled into the com.

Just before the missiles struck the ship, River tried one last desperate maneuver. Killing thrust, she pivoted serenity so the ships belly would take the impact rather than the stern and the fusion reactor. If the reactor was hit, Serenity would cease to exist in a flash of nuclear fire.

The gambit worked. The first missile struck Serenity just aft of the gravity ring. Penetrating the hull and detonating just outside the infirmary.

The second missile detonated on the port engine pod, blowing it off the ship.

Serenity's hull rang like a bell from the explosion. Lights went off as well as the gravity in just moments. The force of the blast devastated the passenger dorms, Infirmary and common areas. The engine was knocked from it's mounts and a fire broke out around it. The fire went out a moment later as the hull breach sucked all the air from the entire aft end of the ship.

The airtight door between the galley and the aft hallway held. But just barely. The unmistakable sound of air hissing into space could be heard.

Mal felt himself floating off the deck as the gravity died, “Emma... River... Jayne!”

“I'm okay, Daddy!” came Emma's shaky voice out of the darkness.

“Still breathin, Mal,” Jayne replied in a painful tone.

“I am functional as well,” River replied after a moment.

Mal felt his ears pop, “We're loosin atmo!”

A few of the bridge displays were working on battery power, “Hull breach aft,” River said after a moment, “Cargo bay is opened to vacuum as is the entire aft end of the ship. Air leak is in the galley!”

“Jayne, with me! Need to get everyone to the bridge!” Mal ordered

With effort, the two men pushed off down the forward hallway praying that they had enough time to get their family's to safety.

XXXXXXXXXX

“Fuck!” Allan swore as he saw what was happening on the sensor display.

Zoë stood by his side as they stood by the aft bulkhead of Quest's bridge.

“Commander Olsen and Lt. Commander Baxter report ready to launch on your command,” Meghan replied from the weapons console.

“Computer is chewing on the jump data,” Melissa reported.

“FTL is charging,” Clay reported next.

Sara turned in her seat, “Dad... can you give Rachel a hand on the sensors?”

Allan nodded and stepped across the bridge. He laid a gentle hand on the eighteen year old psychic's shoulder, “Rachel, why don't you go sit with your Aunt Zoë. I got this.”

Rachel sniffed once and nodded. Gracefully, she slid from her chair and was immediately wrapped up in a hug from Zoë.

“Have the co-ordinates from the computer,” Virgil reported.

“Stand by to jump,” Sara announced.

“Countdown in five, four, three, two, one... jumping!” Becca called out.

In a flash of light, Quest disappeared from the universe.

XXXXXXXXXX

“Is everyone all right?” Simon asked as he floated around Serenity's dark and cold bridge.

“Just bumps and bruises, Dad,” Jack replied as he assisted his father in checking everyone out.

Emma settled into Jacks arms, sharing body heat. Likewise, Inara was in Mal's arms and Kaylee snuggled into Simon's

River was in her husband's arms while Jessie floated next to his parents. Jayne reached over and pulled his son close.

“How long?”

“With nine people in here... two hours,” River said quietly., “Give or take.”

“No unnecessary talkin,” Mal ordered.

Outside, the vessel that had fired on Serenity moved in close. It's Captain noting the large hull breach in the ships belly and missing engine pod.

Easing around the wrecked Firefly, it shone bright lights all over the Serenity, assessing the damage that it had caused. As it neared the bridge, the survivors had to shield their eyes as they were nearly blinded by the spotlights.

The Alliance ship stopped. Slowly it reoriented itself, bridge windows to bridge windows. The lights cut off and figures could be seen inside the military ship. With a quick puff of the thrusters, the frigate began to back away from the slowly tumbling Firefly.

“No survivors,” River whispered and pulled her son tight to her.

The Alliance ship, A Heracles class frigate, not unlike Blue Sun's own armed ships, aimed a gun turret at Serenity's bridge.

“Been a good run,” Mal said as he kissed Inara, “Love you, Boa-bei.”

“Love you too...”

“OH HELL YEAH!” Jayne bellowed, interrupting Inara as the frigate exploded.

It's very cold in space. And while ships hulls are designed to keep the heat in and the cold out. The exterior plating can become a bit brittle.

Therefore when the two, one hundred and fifty pound stainless steel, mass driver rounds fired from Quest's pair of rail guns. Traveling at a combined ship and gun velocity, nearly a quarter of the speed of light struck the small frigate. Well, it was like hitting a crystal champagne flute with a sledge hammer.

Seconds later, two ASREV Gunships flashed by. Mal tensed again until he saw that they carried Blue Sun Civilian markings.

Two minutes later, the long shape of Quest came into view. The bigger ship's dorsal docking bay opening.

As soon as the doors opened fully, the welcome sight of the Firefly named, Sara Jane came into view.

XXXXXXXXXX

It took a combination of Jeff and Virgil's piloting skill in maneuvering Quest and even more deft piloting by Allan behind the controls of Sara Jane to maneuver what was left of Serenity into the larger ships dorsal docking bay.

Firing magnetic grapples, the space suited figures of Joe Park and Owen Son, slowly winched Serenity into the bay for the last few yards of her journey.

As soon as the battered Firefly touched the deck, the outer doors began to close.

Allan flipped Sara Jane around and quickly mated the ship to one of Quest's exterior airlocks.

Flying through the shutdown sequence, Allan rushed to see if his friends were okay.

Allan made it to the bay just as the bay became fully pressurized. Looking up at the dark bridge windows of Serenity, he nearly collapsed with relief when he saw River waving.

“Oh my god,” Zoë whispered as her eyes fell on the ship that had been her home for so many years.

“It's bad,” Allan agreed.

“She wasn't this bad after Mr. Universe's”

Allan's heart headed for his boots. This just might be the end of the old Firefly.

Quest's entire crew except for Virgil and Meghan gathered in the bay. Clay and Becca, assisted Owen and Joe in using plasma cutters to gain entry to the ship. The lower hull was so twisted that the cargo bay and even the smaller entry door were jammed shut.

As soon as the chunk of metal cut from the ramp clanged to the deck, Becca and Rachel nearly threw themselves through the opening, with Jeff at their heels.

A moment later, Allan, Zoë and Sara followed.

Allan looked around the ruined cargo bay. The cargo that Serenity had been carrying was strewn about. Most of it beyond salvage. The forward stairwell had been ripped from it's mounts and the aft stairs that led to the main catwalk were twisted. There were holes in the hull visible and the aft bulkhead was distorted from the force of the warheads detonation.

To say the ship was a mess was the understatement of the millennium. Sara just stood and stared. Anger building on her face.

Zoë's hand clasped Allan's as they stared at the devastation. Hearing a noise, the couple looked up. Single file, Mal led his crew down the stairs to the bay floor.

Almost no words were exchanged over the next few minutes but hugs and kisses were. Despite the near tragedy, the family that was Serenity's crew had survived.

XXXXXXXXXX

Mal didn't take the news well. However he couldn't dispute the findings of the four best engineers he knew.

Serenity would never fly again.

After two days worth of work, Allan, Kaylee, Becca and Sara had gone over the ship with a fine tooth comb.

The damage was just too extensive.

Serenity's back was broken. The bulbous aft end of the ship was designed to be removed to facilitate refueling the main reactor core. The problem was that the mounts were so horribly twisted thanks to the near direct hit on that part of the ship that seven hours after bringing Serenity aboard Quest, the old firefly nearly broke in two, just sitting in the bay.

Gravity had been reduced to one half G just to keep any more damage from occurring.

Also, the fact that Quest was a sitting duck, hanging in space. The Alliance pilots were flying a combat air patrol around the ship twenty four hours a day but even the ASREV's couldn't keep up that kind operational tempo for long.

Kaylee stood sobbing from the observation deck as what was left of serenity drifted out of the bay. After turning off the bay's gravity, Virgil gently thrusted Quest down and away from Serenity.

Becca, was crying along with her mother as the ship that she had been born on began to drift away.

As soon as Serenity was clear, Sara gently eased her namesake back into the bay. Simultaneously, Lt. Coletti docked his gunship in the port hangar.

Quest's bridge was crowded with the combined crews gazing out the windows.

There wasn't a dry eye on the bridge, including Jayne as Allan handed a small remote to Mal.

“She's your boat, Mal,” Allan said quietly.

“I know,” Mal said, swallowing the lump in his throat.

Allan and Clay were the only one's who could bring themselves to lay the demolition charges around Serenity's reactor.

Even then, Allan had been blinking back tears while he placed the plastic explosives around Serenity's heart.

Unable to fly. Too damaged to repair and a hazard to other ships, Mal did what any responsible Captain would do.

He pushed the button.

With a flash of light, The Firefly known as Serenity was no more.

Slowly, Quest spun in place, her main drive glowed and Quest began to accelerate away. A few minutes later. Light flashed and Quest jumped.

TBC

AN2: Much more to come. Mal will get his revenge and more adventures will be on the way.