Chapter 2: A Fool’s Errand

Mal and Zoe entered what looked like a cross between a tea house and a junk shop. Shelves full of kettles and cups and all kinds of junk, most of which Mal thought with a smile Kaylee’d be wild for.

A small bell rang them inside.

“Hello,” said a thin, balding man, half there size. “Interested in a purchase?”

“No thanks,” Mal said still looking about him thinking this had to be the oddest meeting place he’d been too yet. “We’re just looking.”

The man nodded once and began dusting the shelves behind him.

“Are you sure this it?” Zoe asked, saying exactly what Mal had been thinking.

“This is where the wave said.”

Zoe picked up a cup, imitation porcelain, shaped to resemble a lettuce leaf and raised an eyebrow at him.

“We need this job,” was all Mal said as he too began to look around.

“Miss,” the man said coming up to Zoe, “you look like you need a cozy.”

”Excuse me?” Zoe asked, somewhat taken back.

“A cozy,” he said again, smiling holding what looked like a knitted green and purple rag. “For your kettle at home. It’ll help you keep the tea warm for your husband.” He had indicated Mal at the end, causing the captain to smile and fight down a laugh.

“No,” she answered with as much good humor as she could, “I don’t have a kettle. Or a husband.”

“Oh,” the man said, “Oh. I see. Are you sure there isn’t anything I could do for either of you?”

”Well,” Mal said, the amusement gone from his face, “don’t suppose anyone was here earlier looking for us, where they?”

”And you are?”

“Malcolm Reynolds. Maybe they left a note or directions?”

“Captain Reynolds?” he asked and then smiled broadly, “Why didn’t you say so. I’m Edmund. You answered my wave two weeks back.”

”Your wave?” Mal said in disbelief.

“Yes, yes,” he continued, growing more excited, “Come into the back. We have lots to talk about.”

****

It wasn’t more then two hours before Mal and Zoe had returned and gathered everyone into the common area.

Edmund was a tradesman. About three months ago a freighter ship carrying some of his latest finds had crashed. Unable to find anyone locally willing to retrieve his goods, Edmund had chanced onto a man who had recommended Mal to him.

All Edmund wanted from them was his cargo, everything else was up for grabs. On top of that, he was willing to pay 5000 credits for the retrieval.

“Sounds fishy,” Jayne said upon hearing it all, “Five thousand credits for what, a tea kettle and some cups?”

“That’s what I said,” Mal admitted, “until he mentioned that they were real.”

”Real what?” Jayne asked not following.

“Real, real?” Wash asked, growing more interested, “Like Earth real?”

”That’s what he says,” Mal nodded.

“So it would be worth, what?” Jayne asked with a glint in his eyes.

“What do you think?” Mal asked Wash. One thing Mal knew he knew, aside from flying, was artifacts from Earth that was. It was one of his quirks, like the dinosaur thing.

“Depends on what it is,” Wash said thinking out loud, “If it’s real china there’s no telling how much it could get. Even plastic, if you could prove it, would be worth more the five thousand.”

“So we go get this stuff and sell it, right?” Jayne asked smiling.

“No,” Mal said, “we go get this stuff and return it. Anything else we happen on, we sell.”

”Come on,” Jayne said in a near whine.

Mal let his silence on the subject be his answer.

“So, where is it?” Kaylee asked after a moment’s pause.

“That’s the problem,” Zoe put in, “it’s on Perseis.”

Wash actually laughed, surprising them all.

“Where it will probably stay for till the end of time.”

”You don’t think you could fly there?” Mal asked somewhat challengingly.

“No I don’t,” Wash said shaking his head and treating it like the joke he knew it was, “because I’m not suicidal.”

”What’s wrong with Perseis?” Kaylee asked not understanding what was going on.

“It’s Circe’s moon,” Zoe answered.

“That’s falling apart,” Wash continued.

“Not all of it,” Mal put in.

“Enough of it. Besides which, it’s nearly a part of the asteroid field. You’d have to be insane to try it.”

“It’s good money,” Zoe added.

“Not good enough,” Wash countered. “It’s crazy.”

”We’ve done crazy before,” Mal said still trying to convince him. Wash would have to be on board for this if they were to do it. There was no doubt he’d have to pilot them in.

“But never on this grand of a scale.”

Kaylee was growing nervous. Wash obviously felt strongly that this wasn’t safe.

“Mal,” Wash continued, “Did you really think this through? Let’s forget for a moment that at this very moment Perseis could be joining the asteroid belt permanently, let’s even forget the asteroid belt. The sun in this system isn’t stable. We could get there and it could flair and we’d be stuck. And you know what’s on the other side of that belt, right?”

The room grew silent for a moment. They all knew what was on the other side of that belt. Reavers.

“So, what are you saying Wash, that you’re not going to fly?”

Mal’s voice had been stone cold and the whole room was waiting for his answer.

“No Mal,” he said firmly, “I’m not.”

Mal nodded once, his lips tightly pressed and left the room. Zoe followed soon after, leaving Kaylee, Jayne and Wash alone in silence.

“Man,” Jayne said with a chuckle as he got up, “I sure hope you like it here.”

****

“What in the hell is wrong with you?” was the question he got from Zoe half an hour later as she burst in on him in his bunk.

“Come on in,” was all he replied.

“Really, what’s was that?”

”That was me being the only one thinking straight,” he snapped back.

“Wash, we all need this job. If you haven’t noticed we’re almost out of food, we’re almost out of ammo and Kaylee’s got a list of parts needed just to keep us afloat that’s a page an a half long. We don’t have a choice here.”

“There’s always a choice.”

Something about the way he said it made her suspect he wasn’t talking about the same thing she was.

“What’s that suppose to mean?”

”Nothing. It means nothing.”

“No. I know we’ve been needing to talk for some time now, but really, is this necessary.”

“Oh, now you want to talk.” he said sarcastically.

”Why are you acting like this? Is it just this job, because you’ve flown in worse conditions then this.”

”I don’t think I’ve ever flown in conditions quite like this.”

Now she knew he wasn’t just talking about this job.

“I thought that you were better then this,” she said in a lower voice, sounding disappointed as she left.

Wash stood still for a moment or two after she left, just staring at the exit, feeling she was right.

“Damn it,” he muttered as he made his way up after her.

****

Mal was alone in the shuttle when Wash found him going over star charts.

“Not now Wash,” was all he said.

“Alright, but when are we going to talk about how to get this cargo?”

Mal looked up at him somewhat surprised.

“I’ve been thinking it over,” Wash said sitting down beside him. “Serenity’s too big to make it, but we shouldn’t leave her here. There’s been some ships jacked in this area and it’s not worth the risk.”

Mal nodded in agreement.

“So,” Wash continued, “I was thinking we fly her to the far side, closest to the moon, and take the shuttle up. Shuttle’s easier to maneuver and has enough space to hold whatever we take back.”

“So you, me and Zoe head up…”

”I was actually thinking you, me and Jayne,” Wash interrupted.

“How’s that?”

“Well,” Wash said with as much forced ease as he could manage, “in case that sun does flare, we’re going to need someone to get in touch with Inara and fly her shuttle up after us. I figured Zoe’s the only one who could handle that.”

Mal nodded, not so much in agreement, but in understanding. The problem he didn’t think he had onboard, he still obviously did. Wash and Zoe couldn’t work together like before, no matter how much he wished it otherwise.

“I’ll work out the details,” Mal said simply, “you just worry about getting us there and back.”

”When do we leave?”

“A few hours.”

Wash nodded but didn’t leave.

“Is there something else?” Mal asked, knowing he probably shouldn’t have.

“Yeah there is,” Wash started but abruptly stopped.

“Are you going to tell me?”

Wash took in a deep breath.

“After this job I’m leaving Mal. I’ll stay on as long as you need me, but I can’t…”

Mal nodded. He’d hadn’t really expected it, but wasn’t really surprised. He hated to lose him. Wash was a damn good pilot and a good person. Mal considered him a friend. He wanted to tell him this, but it just didn’t seem like the time. And it wasn’t his way.

“If that’s what you have to do,” is what he said instead.