Damaged Goods- part 5; Mutiny without the Bounty

Prologue :

Under duress Captain Mal Reynolds agrees to a plan that wasn‘t of his making. It wasn’t easy for the Captain to deliver over his ship, but letting his entire crew have a say in the matter this time will win him greater influence in the future by way of his own plans. That is if they don‘t become corpses in the process.

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Mal Reynolds found himself in mutiny. Well, it wasn’t a real mutiny, only a half hearted one. Actually it was more of a rebellion.

The majority of the crew of the Serenity, excluding only himself, had reached an agreement. They were all ready to accompany the newest addition of the small transport to her home world of Velxar moon, and also maybe at the same time, procure a sustainable amount of riches that only she knew how to get to.

“ So what makes this different than harboring Simon and River?” Jayne asked the captain of Serenity.

“ Seems to me if having one genius aboard is to you’re liking, then having two is that much better,” the big mercenary said. Jayne was not beyond using the powers of manipulation himself when it came to getting his way.

“ Jayne, least you forget, we were lured to that Alliance vessel by a child with the mental capabilities and telepathic persuasion that would make a monastery shaman green with envy!” He looked towards the preacher, “ Sorry Shepherd, no offence intended.”

Book only nodded his head, showing his understanding of the captain’s decision of using a religious figure in the capacity of mind control. Mal continued.

“You, for one, ought to know the value of choice when it comes to such matters,” the captain informed the big mercenary.

“Yeah, like that time you and Zoe swayed me into becoming a member of this beloved boat!”

The look from Mal told Jayne that he again had crossed the limits of his vocalized opinions. Both men remained quiet in this regard. Still, the argument wasn’t settled.

“Capt.” Kaylee spoke aloud, “Don’t you think the least we could do is return the girl to her family? I mean, we’ve done the same for others that were less to your liking.”

The ship’s mechanic had a point. They could all see it. Mal remained silent. When he did decide to speak, it was as if he were dislodging himself from the decision making parts of any plan they may be harboring.

“Ok, seems I’m out numbered here.” He looked at Zoe, most loyal of his crew. Then he scanned the entire group.

“ I’m washing my hands of the deal. You can all make the plans, the forthwiths and regards, the timing and rendezvous, and everything else that goes along on this campaign. Bring it to my attention when the final details have been worked out. Till then, not another word to me about Velxar, or riches, or girl geniuses. I’ll be in my bunk.”

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Malcolm Reynolds, Captain of Serenity spent some time down in his bunk below. It sure seemed to be taking his crew an extra long time to map out a plan. This made the pouting captain feel a bit better about himself.

Can’t seem to formulate an idea without the chief, he thought.

After a while he busied himself reading a book from eons ago from the old “Earth That Was” era.

“ Richard Castle. I kinda like that guy.” Mal quietly said to himself.

Even with interesting literature to keep his mind occupied, Malcolm was still becoming itchy about what was going on with the crew of his vessel. Likely they had become unable to agree on a plan of attack and were embarrassed to come explain to him that he was right. Probably split up, went back to their regular comfort zones and were waiting for him to bring them together again to formulate a plan.

Two minutes later ,Malcolm Reynolds exited his sleeping quarters and went in search of his ship‘s crew.

I’ll start in the cargo bay, he thought.

The captain of Serenity found no one in the hold of the ship. There were a couple of odd looking crates that he hadn’t noticed before, but of his crewmembers, there were none.

Then it was to the engine room. Not a soul in sight.

He went to the infirmary next. There was no sign of Simon or River. Both shuttles were empty also. Had the entire crew gone mad without his influence? Mal was beginning to worry.

It wasn’t until he neared the galley that he became aware of hysterical laughter coming from the ship’s mess hall.

As he entered, he viewed the whole of Serenity’s crew, plus one, enjoying themselves inside the galley quarters. Zoe noticed the captain first.

“ Hello sir!” She spoke with a smile. All in turn acknowledged Mal‘s presence. Seems they hadn’t missed him at all.

He sat down at the table. Kaylee placed a steaming bowl of protein before him and he began to eat.

“So! We have a plan?” he questioned trying to find out what was going on. All the crew stopped their side conversations to look at him. Zoe was the first to speak.

“ We do sir.”

Mal was stunned, but at the same time curious as to what the plan might be.

“ So, how are we to accomplish this feat?”

“Amanda’s got it all figured out Mal.” Jayne spoke.

“Her dad’s a technician on Velxar. Gonna help us sneak into the complex. Should be as easy as prying open a can of tuna,” the big merc said.

Malcolm Reynolds was beside himself. He was flabbergasted that his crew was able to conceive of a plan without him. Of course, he thought, maybe it was Amanda he should be acquiring answers from.

He had to think of something that would take his mind off of the fact.

“ Boxes? Down below in the cargo hold……what are they?”

The big mercenary looked at the captain.

“ They’re from the Felix Ray,” he began, “ I don’t know what they are. Kaylee asked me to bring them aboard before we abandoned the vessel.”

They all looked to the ships mechanic. She, in turn, looked at the doctor.

“ Simon asked if I could get them into Serenity.” She spoke.

They turned to look at the older Tam. A puzzled look upon his face, he turned towards his sister.

“River….?”

The young Tam was already looking at her friend Amanda.

Now the entire crew cast their glances from person to another until they finally landed on the youngest individual aboard ship.

Amanda, again with a strawberry smear across her face, had the answers to all questions.

“ There’s Chloroform in those boxes. Bottles of it. We’ll need it to acquire the treasure,” she said with an innocent pause, then returned to eating her delicious toasted tart.

End Part 5