Have Wings, Will Fly Chapter 2: Turbulence Hey all, here’s another chapter! I was thinking about this all day, I swear. This is definitely a bit of an addiction. I’m so honored by your comments! I’ve never been so excited. I just love to add little details about the minds of our big damn heroes, and plan on having more action/romance in chapters to come. I’ve already written a few paragraphs for the next chapter, so be on the lookout! ~*~*~ The next morning River woke before the rest of the crew and dressed in one of her favorite multi-blue patterned dresses. For saving their lives, the least Mal could do for River was buy her some clothes that actually fit her. She didn’t bother putting on her boots, though. She slipped into the pilot seat and began to ready the ship for landing on Londinium. Flipping three switches, she began a slow descent into the planet’s orbit. She then clicked the comm.:

“This is your pilot speaking. We will begin decent on Londinium in 32 minutes. Don’t wear that vest, Simon.”

She giggled to herself. And now, we wait. River picked up the small leather-bound book and opened to the page she had it on last night. Ever since Shepherd Book died on Haven, River had taken to reading his old Bible, occasionally writing in it, but never crossing anything out. She felt that she at least owed that to him. Every once in awhile, River would feel a chill run down her spine, and swear it was Book’s presence. But it was brief, and she soon had forgotten why she suddenly felt so old and wise. She missed him, but never mourned for him. He certainly was not in a special hell, and that brought comfort to her.

Simon, after hearing River’s wake-up call, groaned and rolled over. He placed his arm around Kaylee, gently stroking her shoulder as she continued to sleep soundly. They enjoyed being close to each other, being alive. Simon tried in vain to escape the covers without disturbing Kaylee. He blew gently into her ear, which gained a painful slap on the cheek as she startled awake.

“Dammit, Simon! You know I’m ticklish! Sorry for the slap.”

“Uh-huh,” Simon said, rubbing his cheek. “Better get you dressed, we’ll be landing soon.” Kaylee began putting on one of her cute florally dresses. It was Simon’s favorite, stopping mid-thigh. She paused, noticing his stare. He had on her favorite lopsided smirk, affectionate and mischievous. “You know, Kaylee, when we land, we’ll be checking in to the Willow Point Hotel. Hot tubs, spas….” She smiled as he pulled her in for a quick kiss. He turned to the chair with his clothes laid out for today and picked up his embroidered maroon vest. As he was about to put it on, he noticed that every other button was missing. He chuckled and showed it to Kaylee, who burst out laughing.

“Well, Doc, I never really liked that color on ya.” ~*~*~ Mal made his way to the deck and into the copilot seat next to River. He noticed she was piloting with one hand, while fiddling with a few coat buttons in the other, flipping them onto the viewscreen showing them the layout of the ground below and the possible landing spots. One button landed on the outline of a building, the other in the center of a bustling marketplace…

“Sure you know where to land, little one?” He asked tentatively.

“That crowded pavilion looks shiny to me.”

Mal jumped and gripped the armrests, turning to River with a look of pure horror. “Now hold on, there…!”

River emitted a devilish snicker. “Easy mark.”

The captain relaxed and strapped himself in. Just in case.

River had decided, that in order to keep a low profile, they’d land Serenity on the coast behind a large rock formation. That way, the crew could take the mule to the hotel and the hospital, and River would have her time on the beach. The descent was smooth and controlled, though there were brief moments of turbulence and Mal wondered if she knew exactly what she was doing, or just winging it. River “heard” this. She muttered, “Winging it.”

Mal turned slowly to his moonbrained little pilot and breathed heavily out his nose as they touched down. He often wondered how much longer he could stand her flying.

“Local time is 7:46 in the a.m. Sun’s just risen,” She pointed through the screen of the cockpit. The sun gave the gorgeous beach a shining glow as it slowly rose.

The crew took off in the mule, Wash strapped in lying down, his head in Zoe’s lap. Marina was true oceanfront view, quite similar to ones of the Mediterranean of the Earth That Was. The buildings were a soft white, mixed with warm tans, blues, greens, and yellows. They had that relaxed, airy feel to them, yet looked aged and perfect at the same time. They were magnificent. The city was definitely not the largest on Londinium, but bustling all the same. It was the most popular vacationing spot this side of the ‘verse. Culture was alive and everywhere. River had become overwhelmed with excitement and adventure when they passed over the city’s main pavilion. Stories, shops, history, warmth, action; she immediately fell in love with Marina just by gleaning from the tips of stranger’s minds.

Simon told River he’d be back in an hour so he, River, and Kaylee could enjoy the beach. Inara had left for her first appointment. It still pained Mal every time he watched that shuttle of hers take off. Detaching itself from Serenity, he felt had detached a piece of him with it. He always shook it off, though, thankful that he at least had an amygdal-whatty that allowed him to push emotions to the back of his brainpan. He parked the mule outside the Willow Point Hotel, and stepped back to admire its beauty. Elegant and spacious, it reminded him of a draping tree. A willow. Huh.

River took advantage of her time alone by walking along the seashore, picking up shells and letting the cold water seep around her bare feet as they sunk into the sand. For once, her mind was clear, and she wanted to keep it that way. The ocean was complicated, but compared to River it was a vision of tranquility. In her open state of mind, she let other feelings seep in unknowingly. Glances of passerbys miles away, thinking about breakfast, or showers. She enjoyed the simplicity of the thoughts. She stooped down to admire a starfish, and gently prodded it. Its mind is almost as clear as mine right now. She relished in the thought.

After almost an hour, Simon and Kaylee appeared and walked toward River, hand in hand.

“Enjoying yourself, mei mei?” Simon asked.

Immensely, she thought. “Yes,” she answered. For a moment, they just looked out at the sea, and watched the sun glitter off the surface.

Without so much as a warning, River was overcome by a massive tidal wave of emotion. Everywhere. A single voice, clear as day. Calling her name, asking for help. She saw him, the boy from last night. She could only see his face, and she almost wished she hadn’t, it had so much terror. He was calling to her. Her, directly, surrounded by words like “help…not supposed to…scared…need…Garcia.”

River reeled on the spot and collapsed to the sand. Kaylee yelled and Simon rushed to her side yet again.

“River…what did you see?” Simon intuitively knew this wasn’t a regular fit for River.

River stopped shaking. She needed to be coherent. She needed to get to the bottom of this before it was too late.

“Garcia. The boy…said his name, and mine. He needs me, Simon,” With the last statement River turned her eyes to Simon and Kaylee, pleading.

Garcia. Simon knew him, all right. He was the single most helpful man in helping bust River out of the Academy. The Academy’s exact location had remained a mystery as Simon was transported to it. He knew the planet, not the city. It was supposed to protect him and his sister in case he was to fail the mission and jeopardize the Underground movement formed to uncover Alliance injustices and experiments. At the time it had been a motley crew of old Browncoats, families with members in the academy, and mercs with nothing better to live for. Now, since the Miranda vids, the Underground had become a force to be reckoned with. Mr. Universe before his untimely death had insured them secret identities and made sure they would be able to slip around undetected by Alliance government men. Most of the time. No group is flawless, and many an optimistic soul had died trying to free family from the Academy. River had a vague sense of where she was when at the Academy. The letters said it was based on Londinium, the pinnacle of modern education and achievement. But the invasive surgery and behavioral conditioning made sure that the students knew only what they needed to know to keep the operation under wraps. The Alliance, however, had severely underestimated River’s psychic abilities. In that room, she was able to uncover enough secrets to topple the basis of the Alliance completely. Just like that. The psychosis assured she would never be able to find all the secrets even if she wanted to, yet some always seemed to seep into her consciousness.

River struggled to get up, and ran towards the mule Simon and Kaylee had driven back.

“Get in,” she commanded.

“River, I think maybe we should-” Kaylee began.

“Now.” She revved up the engine, and made the mule jerk as if it were about to speed away. Getting their attention, Simon and Kaylee clambered in. The trip back to the hotel was certainly no joyride. Simon uttered a quick prayer of thanks that he didn’t get himself blow up or squished along the way. River really needed lessons.

They were able to round the crew up in about 20 minutes. They all seemed very perturbed, but when they saw the look on River’s face -not the crazy-babbling-weirdo one, but the sane-concerned one- they knew. Inara was still doing her job, but they figured she could come to them with her shuttle.

The crew rushed aboard Serenity. Zoe ran to the cockpit and logged into the cortex, under Simon’s orders. Mr. Universe, it seems, had been running much more than just a universal truth finder, but he had been one of the founders of the underground movement. In explicit instructions he had left them enough information to get into contact with key figures of the Underground. She let Simon take over, and after several tense minutes at staring at a fuzzy viewscreen, a face came into view. Garcia.

“Well, hello there, Simon. Mighty fine day today, isn’t it? What brings you to me, again?”

Simon has got some major explaining to do when this here conversation is over. I was just about to take my nap. Mal thought bitterly. Jayne grunted in the corner. He was just about to get him some--

“I need your help. My sister is having visions about students at the Academy, and I think possibly this might be the lead you need to break out more.” Simon knew this was risky. But River had explained on the ride to the hotel that this vision was clearer, made sense. She explained that she could help him, and it was her duty. This was the old River talking. Chivalry, duty…she had always been reading too many medieval novels from Earth That Was. Garcia perked up, typing furiously at his keyboard next to him. Unlike Simon, Garcia knew the exact location of the Academy. He knew the system, and his band of close partners had helped him with the technicalities of a high-security breakout.

River was slowly gleaning more trickles of information as she sat curled in the copilot seat. Rooms came into focus, wires, ceilings. Tunnels. That boy.

“Well, then, let’s get started.”

End Chapter 2 ~*~*~

Cliffhanger! Next chapter tomorrow, hopefully. I’m excited. I wanted to write about the next scene so much tonight, but I have homework! Who is the boy? How will they free him? (What is his name? Suggestions?) ~Sara