Battle Scars

Chapter 4.4- Face-Off

The Setup

Mal Reynolds and the crew of Serenity had just dodged a bullet, literally. With Captain Baggard and his crew of the Stephen J. Hawking secure and bound, Mal felt that he, and his team of Serenity were in a pretty good position. Still, there was the issue of the SJHs’ sister ship. They still had to deal with the brigands on that vessel.

Knowing how Baggard was likely to be, Mal was sure that , that pirate vessel would also be armed with weapons that could be used against Serenity.

He needed a plan……

Chapter 4.4- Face-Off

Mal, Zoe, Jayne and Shepherd Book took stock of their position. With commander Baggard’s team being bound and tied they needed a plan to deal with the remaining pirate vessel that was blocking their path.

Jayne looked over to the captain of Serenity. Blood dripping down his chin where the whiskey keg had cut him when it fell. Jayne was behind one of the pirates making the final knot as he looked over at the captain.

Mal and Zoe were discussing what to do next.

“ I’ll give ya a solution!” Jayne paused as the two looked over at him, “ We use the Alliance vessel over there! She’s got guns on her don’t she? We blast their hides right into the next universe!” He voiced.

It was a suggestion that Mal had no intention of thinking twice about.

“ That would be murder……” Book stated, “………and would make us no better than they are!”

“ So!!” Jayne noted , “ Do unto others before they do unto you…….ain’t that what the Good Book recommends? I say we blast the living Fen Fei outta them!”

Mal resigned to think that Jayne might have made a good addition to the Stephen J. Hawking crew.

“ No Jayne! That ain’t our way!” Mal began applying the finishing touches to the bonds on Baggard’s wrists. The opposing pirate commander spoke up.

“ I don’t know what your plans are Captain Reynolds but I would like to explain that my men and I served in the browncoat army. Served with the volunteers coming from Shadow.” He stopped, then continued, “Any harm or transgression against us would be like a slap in the face of your own troops now wouldn’t it?”

Mal Reynolds, a little aggravated with this last comment by the SJH captain tugged on his bonds a little tighter. Baggard felt the irritation his words had caused. That was a gorram lie! Mal knew it!

Without Baggard knowing, he had picked the very world where the captain of Serenity had been born and raised. Mal looked over at Zoë. Baggard was a ruttin asshole. Mal knew almost every volunteer that came from his home world, with the exception of a few.

Zoe eyeballed the captain waiting for his next move.

“ Well, you’re correct Mr. Baggard! It‘s wouldn‘t seem right for us to harm any brother freedom fighters, ” Mal started, “ So what detachment were you with?”

“ The 507th out of Carrington.” Baggard lied.

There was a brief moment of quiet.

“ The 507, wasn’t that unit from Weightfield?” Zoe asked.

“ Give that lady a plastic rocket!” Mal said.

There was silence again.

“ I was with the 39th!” The pirate Jayne was tying up announced.

“ Oh?” Mal exclaimed.

“ Yeah…..fought alongside Colonel Prichard during the battle of Bull hills.” He continued.

Mal Reynolds didn’t know much about the battle of Bull Hills, but he knew that Zoe did. She had an uncle that received the Metal of Valor commendation from that action. Mal looked over at Zoe to verify the man’s story.

“ What unit were you with?” She asked.

“ Detachment B- troop13, under Captain Fenton Bodrey.”

Mal viewed his second in command. The gaze from Zoë’s eyes told him that this man may be telling the truth.

“ Ok, so what’s next?” Mal asked.

“ I don’t know! I was only telling, cause you were askin!” The trooper said.

Mal liked this kid. He couldn’t help it.

With this new information a plan began to formulate in Mal’s mind.

“ Ok, let’s haul these brigands back onto they’re own ship.” Mal pressed the com button by the bulkhead.

“ Kaylee, you and Wash meet me at shuttle #2 in 10, Bring the *capture (*image recording device as seen in the BDM).

“ Shi de Capt’n” (yes)” Came back the answer from the engine room.

Mal looked at his second mate.

“ Zoë…head up to the controls on Serenity’s bridge, take over the throttle!”

“Yes Sir.” Came her answer.

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Moments later Serenity had sealed and disconnected the link-up from the Stephen J. Hawking, and Mal had retained the trooper from Baggard’s sister ship. The fellow named Bentley.

Mal disappeared for a short period of time leaving Jayne in charge of the prisoner. He returned a little later, then escorted the pirate up to Serenity’s bridge which was, surprisingly obvious to Jayne and Shepherd Book, absent of Wash, the pilot. Zoe sat in the seat that was usually occupied by her husband.

“ Ok Bentley, here’s the deal…..” Malcolm Reynolds started as he viewed the ex-independent fighter.

“ I don’t know whether what you’ve told us about your action at Bull Hills is the true or not….” He paused a second before continuing, “ But I’m inclined to believe you.”

The trooper studied Mal’s expression for what was coming next.

“ I’m in a bit of a fix here.” The captain of Serenity stopped to rub his chin between his right forefinger and thumb, “ I’m going to get you on the com and you’re going to notify Baggard’s sister ship…….”

“ The Sea Spray.” Bentley told the captain.

“ What?”

“ Vessel’s name is the Sea Spray….” The bound trooper continued, “ ….and she’s not capt’n Baggard’s ship. She’s mine.”

Mal made note of his mistake, but he also made note of Bentley’s.

Since the fellow seemed to be telling the truth about everything, Malcolm Reynolds knew that Bentley had just made a rookie mistake. You don’t tell the truth about yourself unless you’re positive your opposition won’t believe you.

“ Ok, the Sea Spray.” Mal corrected himself, “ She’s yours and she’s out in front of us blocking our path. Now, you’re gonna do something for me…..and yourself. We’re gonna send a message wave over to that ship, and you’re gonna tell them that we are going to slip alongside and link-up for a hostage transfer…… and, no hanky-panky is to be preformed by Baggard’s crew….”

“ They aren’t Baggard’s crew, they’re mine.” Bentley again corrected Mal, “…and there’s only three of us.”

Another rookie mistake made by Bentley.

Now, normally Mal would take this kind of information and use it to his peak advantage, but for some reason he felt a bit sorry for the fellow.

“ Ok Bentley,” Mal studied the tell-all pirate, “ First of all you don’t go round telling someone like me, and my crew here all your business…..”

“ Oh Mal!? What’s wrong with that!? Let him tell his tale….” Jayne spoke up. Mal looked over at the big mercenary.

“ No Jayne. Mr. Bentley here seems to be new to this kinda business……and I’m looking to educate him a bit. See Bentley, you may not be aware ..…..but Baggard made an offer to us before you came aboard our ship. He claimed that he may have some personnel vacancies post robbery in the immediate future. I’m thinking that he may have meant yours. He offered a job to the four of us on the bridge here. I believe, that if we had made that deal he woulda blasted you clear out of to Whitefall. This way he coulda kept all the loot for himself and his crew, and still had time to think of ways of disposing of us later. That’s obviously not the way things went, lucky for you.”

Mal looked over at the woman piloting Serenity.

“ Zoë, get the crew of the Sea Spray on channel.”

“ Yes sir!”

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In fifteen minutes time Serenity had pulled alongside and made link-up to the Sea Spray.

Mal motion Bentley over to the bridge controls before the link-up hatch was opened.

“ Ok Bentley, just so you know…..” The captain of Serenity flipped a switch on the bridge consol.

“ Capt’n to the Alliance ship, Wash ….you there?”

On the consol screen an image of the Serenity pilot appeared.

“ Yeah Mal, receiving loud and clear.” Wash seemed to be fiddling with controls on the Alliance vessel.

“ Kaylee in position?” Mal questioned.

“ Roger! Prepared and ready to go!”

Mal could feel the eye daggers of his second mate.

“ You left my husband aboard the Alliance ship!!?” Zoë asked.

“ Just for a while……he’ll be okay!” Mal said before returning his attention to Bentley.

“ This is the way it’s gonna go. My crew over there, has the Alliance rockets aimed right down your throat. When we returned you to the Sea Spray, we get a half hour head start. My pilot and mechanic will join us later in a shuttle. You can then go aboard and untie Baggard and his men and be on your merry.” He gave Bentley a stern look.

“ My suggestion though is that you take the ten kegs of raisin whiskey we’ve left aboard and leave Baggard for the feds which will be contacted by our crew once they leave in the shuttle.”

“ Ten kegs…..Hey!!”

“ Not now Jayne.” Mal told the big merc. “Leave Baggard to his fate and exit with your own little payday…..seems fair to me. Also, should our paths ever cross again in the future I hope you remember the kindness.” Mal looked directly into Bentley’s bewildered gaze, “ dong ma?”

The pirate shook his head that he did.

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In seven minutes Serenity was speeding through space, hoping to put as much distance between herself and the other two spacecraft.

Jayne looked across Serenity’s bridge over to the captain.

“ Ok Mal, whats say Bentley doesn’t go for all you plannin, and decides to shoot our pilot and engine mechanic’s shuttle right outta the vacuum?” He questioned.

“ Gees, I’d hate that to happen!”

Zoe, Mal, Jayne and Shepherd Book all turned to see the Firefly pilot emerging through the bridge portal opening.

“ Who would take care of my dinos?” Wash looked at Zoe, who’s mouth was almost hanging down to the floor, as were Jayne’s and the Shepherd’s.

“ I love ya dear, but for some reason I get feeling that should I depart all my little plastic critters would go hungry.” He finished with a smile.

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Mal’s plan had been to use the capture and place it in front of the Alliance wave image receiver. Then trigger it by remote control to play the prerecorded message posted by Wash and Kaylee. This would give the impression that Wash had remained aboard the Alliance craft. Serenity’s engine mechanic had gone aboard the Alliance vessel also and disarmed all the weapons systems. It was a gamble made by the captain of Serenity and in actuality Wash and Kaylee had returned to Serenity just before the little transport disconnected from the Alliance craft.

“ Bentley might have become a browncoat pirate, but he’s still green to the gills. I felt my gamble was worth the risk.” Mal looked over to the big merc and the blood still dripping from his chin. “ Might need the doc to take a look Jayne!”

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Battle Scars epilogue:

Mal Reynolds entered the ships med lab to check on the big mercenary being attended to by the ships doc. Jayne was fussing like a little girl.

“ River was right, you don’t look half bad in red.” The captain said referring to Jayne’s blood stained shirt. The big merc glared at the captain as Simon applied his seventh stitch to his chin.

“ Ha…ha …!” He laughed sarcastically, “ Well, this adds to my list of battle scars…..I think I may be one up on you now Mal!”

The captain just looked at him.

“ Hardly!” He smiled, “ Chows in ten so just sit and let the good doc do his job. “ Mal spoke as he began to exit the med lab.

“ Good! He’s a horrible doctor!” Jayne whined.

“ Doc Horrible?” Mal said, then exited the room.

END