The Alliance Spins, Part 5
Title: The Alliance Spins, Part 5
Author: CharlieBZ
Summary: Simon and River take a walk. An Alliance official provides some information to the universe.
Rating: PG for language
Characters: Crew, but this part mostly features Simon, River and a little Kaylee
Pairing: Canon, if any
Spoilers/Timeline: post BDM
Disclaimer: No money is being made from by me and I certainly don’t own Firefly/Serenity.
Author's Note: This fic takes place within my little version of the post BDM 'Verse. If you’re a little lost see my blog entry here.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
The Alliance Spins, Part 5
In addition to housing ships, Harvey’s Shiny Shipyards was also a vendor of scrap metal. Scrap metal sales was really a charitable term to describe the mounds and mounds of junk that littered the Yard. Looking over the landscape, one with an artistic eye may appreciate the trichotomy of gray metal against the brown of mud puddles and the green of the mass of wild shrubbery surrounding the compound. Of course, anyone with an appreciation for the gray-brown-green look would be hard pressed to find beauty in what passed for a workshop. Situated in the middle of the compound, the shop was a few slats of flat tin propped up on four metal poles. The biggest eyesore in the place had to be Harvey’s living quarters. Parked to the side of the workshop was the remains of a ’52 Winnie Huxter that he had hack sawed up but never quite welded together to form an actual domicile. He was lucky this part of Persephone was of a temperate climate but on rainy days it was necessary to throw an old tarp over the top to keep dry.
Today, however, Simon didn’t notice the less than picturesque scene of his and River’s walk. The sun was shining. The air was warm. Jayne was in jail. The day was looking very bright indeed.
“You’re not still mad at me?” River asked as they walked about picking their way around the piles of junk.
He put an arm around her and pulled her close. “A little.”
“It was interesting. You were enjoying yourself.”
Simon looked up at the clear blue sky not knowing what to say to her correct observation.
“Kaylee was mad,” River continued. “Said her sex life was ruined because of me.”
“Well, it would have been nice to…”
“Have good sex?”
Simon nodded, flashing her a self-conscious grin. He wanted to act exasperated and mad but he felt like he was talking to his pre-academy thirteen-year old bratty sister. Glimpses of his “other” sister were rare and he relished any moments of revisiting with her.
They didn’t speak for awhile as they walked away from Serenity. In companionable silence, they headed to the fence where they would walk around the perimeter of the compound.
“Zoe and Wash had a lot of good sex,” River said unexpectedly.
Okay, walking down memory lane with his bratty sister was over. Hello, life on the edge.
“Inara hasn’t had sex in months. Almost as long as the Captain. Or is it longer?” She stopped, thinking over the question.
“Really? When did the Captain…?”
“I am not a propagator of gossip, Simon. I will use my powers for good!” River told him sternly yet there was a teasing gleam in her eyes.
“Fair enough.”
“Jayne had sex three days before the robbery on Lilac.”
Too much information.
“Kaylee-“
Simon raised his hand for her to stop. Way too much information.
She grinned and pushed him lightly. “Kaylee and Simon! Simon and Kaylee! Doctor and mechanic making with the whoopee!”
“You brat!” He playfully swatted at her but she hopped off running away from him.
“Kissy, smoochy, lippy…tonguey!” She stuck her tongue at him and skipped ahead wanting him to give chase.
Happy to see her carefree, Simon laughed lightheartedly. He jogged behind giving chase until she stopped to examine one of the junk piles. Her interest in the chasing game vanished as she leaned over and began sifting through the pieces of scrap metal.
“River, don’t.” Simon’s admonishment was half-hearted at best. He really just said the words out of habit.
She found a small, jagged piece of blue metal. Murmuring something Simon couldn’t understand, River stared fixedly at the scrap turning it over in her hands lightly rubbing the rough edges with her thumbs. She turned around lifting the object up in front of her face so that it was placed directly between her eyes and sun.
“I’m taking this,” she said matter-of-factly.
Simon didn’t ask why. He doubted even she understood the reason she wanted that useless piece of colored metal. Still looking at her new possession, she hummed a tune that Simon recognized but couldn’t name. He followed her as she listlessly wandered to the fence still gazing at the piece of metal. She looked up and gazed at the fence with interest while absently scratching her arm with the metal piece.
“Hold this!” River said suddenly. Thrusting the piece into his hands, she hurried over to the fence peering into the heavy shrubbery. This time, Simon wasn’t surprised by her action; it was exactly what she had done on their morning walk. Half a day earlier, she had spent at least ten minutes rooting about in the tangled mass of greenery that Simon couldn’t even begin to identify.
Repeating the same process that she had performed earlier, she hunkered down reaching inside the leaves.
“Ouch!”
She quickly withdrew her hand. “Thorny,” she told Simon but she continued gazing into the greenery. “What’s in here?” River asked tilting her head to the side. Unmindful of the rough dirt on her bare knees, she leaned forward trying to see within the thick underbrush.
Simon knelt down lightly rubbing his forehead as he watched her investigate the intricacies of Persephone shrubbery. While he had enjoyed their brief foray into relative normalcy, River’s abrupt transition back into her own world was not wholly unexpected. Yes, she seemed to be more lucid than she had been since the escape but, since Miranda, she was also more withdrawn. Her remoteness was making it difficult for Simon to assess her mental state. After first viewing Dr. Caron’s report, she had told him that she was alright. The clarity in her eyes made him want to believe her but the physician in him knew better.
A loud meow drew his attention.
“Aha!” River jumped up looking behind her. “There you are. I thought you were over here.”
Simon eyed the cat with no small amount of disgust. The filthiness of the animal would lead one to believe it was a stray but its girth proved otherwise.
“That is the fattest cat I have ever seen.”
“Fat and dirty.” River leaned over to pick it up.
“River --“
She brought the cat up to her face and looked into its eyes. “Smelly, too. Do you think the Captain will like him?”
“Not at all. Don’t get attached.”
“Captain has enough strays.”
Sighing, Simon said, “Yes, I suppose so.”
River looked up at Simon. “He’s not ready to abandon us.” She turned her attention back to the cat. “Is he, fat smelly cat?”
“Zoe and Jayne?” Simon couldn’t resist asking.
River gave him a look and a slight shrug. “They’ll do what the Captain says.”
“Yes, that’s why Jayne is in jail.”
“Gives him peace of mind. All is well with the universe if he gets…pinched?” Her expression was curious and frustrated as she thought over the word. The cat meowed again distracting her from her contemplation.
Looking down at the cat, she said, “I could be a veterinarian. Animals like me. Simple minds.”
Simon couldn’t comment on this. Thinking too much about the future depressed him. What would River be? Five years from now? Ten years? What would he be?
“Or a dancer. Ballet.”
“You’re a beautiful dancer, mei mei.”
River sighed. “Ballet schools don’t accept killers.”
“Would you stop saying that? You aren’t a killer.”
“Tell that to the room of dead Mirandans.”
“Reavers. River, you saved us all.”
She didn’t seem to be listening. Slowly shaking her head, she focused intently at the cat.
“They made me into a machine. River the Reaver reaper. Sowing death. Push the right buttons. Enter the code. Set her off and see her explode.” She tightened her hold on the cat causing it to loudly protest. It tried to squirm out of her too firm grip but, unable to get away, it hissed and scratched her.
River, coming out of her haze, looked at the cat in dismay. She loosened her grip but kept the cat in her arms.
Placing a light kiss on its filthy head, she said, “I don’t know what’s in my mind. Can’t form the thoughts to get it out. I don’t understand…anything.”
Simon put his arms around her. “We’ll figure you out. I promise.” He put his head next to hers but the odor of the cat made him cringe.
“How about we give smelly cat here a bath?” Simon asked.
Simon’s heart warmed at her pleased smile. River had been successfully diverted.
They walked over the workshop where Harvey was dozing on a battered recliner. Simon stopped, reluctant to disturb the man.
“He’s awake,” River whispered.
“Excuse me, Mr. Gunderson? Is there somewhere we could give this cat a bath?”
Still appearing to nap, Harvey asked, “Why would you want to do that?”
“My sister…”
The man opened his eyes and looked over at River. “Girls and their kitties. Reason I let that thing live this long is I got a granddaughter who’d stop speakin’ to me if something happened to gato feo there.”
He indicated where they could find a washtub and a faucet. Getting up from his recliner, he walked over to his crowded workbench and tossed Simon some industrial strength soap. “You’re gonna need it.”
Simon filled the tub with water squirting in a generous quantity of the liquid soap. After an adequate amount of bubbles appeared in the tub, Simon reached over to take the cat but River pulled back.
“No, let me.”
Simon leaned against the metal pole and watched her struggle to get the cat in the tub.
“I don’t know the last time this cat had sex.”
“Well, considering his size I would say it’s been a long time.”
Pulling the fidgeting cat out of the water, River took a quick look at its underbelly.
“A boy it is!” She put him back in and began the tricky task of washing a very unwilling cat. The fat cat was no match for River. Simon watched amused at his mei mei’s fierce concentration. Methodically, she cleaned the cat. Every square inch of him. He was fairly positive that no cat on a border planet or beyond had ever been so thoroughly cleaned.
Someone nudged his arm.
“Hi,” Kaylee said giving him a slight grin.
“Hi.”
“Whatcha doin’?”
“River’s giving that cat a bath.”
“That big ole tom I seen skulkin’ about?” She went over to River to inspect her work. “I can’t believe it! He’s orange! Look at that, River, you found his color!”
Kaylee’s interest in his sister endeared her to him more than she would ever know. Not that her consideration of River was the reason for the change in their relationship. Well, almost change. Simon couldn’t remember a time when he had lost control and just simply wanted a woman. Kaylee. Her honesty and views on sex were so very different from his past girlfriends on Osirus. Educated, accomplished, sophisticated, they all shared those traits but none of the women had elicited such a passionate response in him. He also doubted any of them would show a genuine interest in his troubled sister and Kaylee genuinely liked River. Was concerned for her. And him.
“Let me find a towel to dry him off. He oughtta thank you, River. You’ve done his love life wonders!”
The cat, sensing a diversion, jumped out of River’s arms and ran off into the greenery splashing into a puddle of thick mud on his way. River stared in shock. Giving Kaylee a helpless look, she silently pointed to the mud that splattered on the cat that hovered defiantly under the bushes.
“Ah, it’s okay, sweetie. Cat surely did appreciate your hard work. Guess he just feels happier with a little dirt.”
Simon and Kaylee watched as River went off to try and befriend the cat again. The cat hissed at River but didn’t run off.
“Maybe he ain’t mad after all,” Kaylee said walking over to Simon. She shyly looked up at him. “Inara and River have plans in the common area - just the two of ‘em. Jayne’s gone. Captain’s gone…” She trailed off giving him an inviting look.
“Are you asking me on a date?”
“I believe I am.”
With a slight bow, Simon said, “Then I accept.”
They looked at each other for a moment drawing closer. Unmindful of who was watching, Simon leaned in to kiss her.
“Where’s my metal?” River interrupted.
“What?” Bratty sister had returned.
“My metal! I gave it to you. Where is it?”
He had dropped it somewhere when they found the cat. “Uh, mei mei-“
“Simon! I need that!” River’s tone was demanding. She looked at him angrily.
“Okay, River, we’ll find it,” Kaylee soothed. “What’s it look like?”
“Blue. Blue metal. Lán sè. Azul. Jaggedy blue. Bleu. Blau. Blu. Blauw--”
“Okay, honey, I get it. We’ll find it.” Kaylee tried to calm the increasingly agitated River.
“Mei mei, it’s just over there.”
River didn’t respond. She began scratching her arms and face.
“Where is it? It’s mine!” She shrieked. Her scratching had intensified.
Simon quickly found the discarded treasure. “Here, River! Here it is.”
She rushed forward but she didn’t take the object from him. Instead, she turned about looking for something else all the while fiercely scratching her face.
“The cat! There’s something in the cat!” Her fingers flew about her arms, face and legs. She was rapidly approaching full panic mode. “How do they do that? I’m found again! The cat!!”
“Is she allergic to cats?” Kaylee asked.
“No. I don’t know what’s wrong.” Simon hurried to her pulling her hands down. Holding them to keep her from scratching herself more, he said, “It’s alright, River. Look at me.”
River pulled a hand free to scratch more. Simon saw that red welts had broken out on her face and arms.
Harvey came out of the workshop to see about the uproar. “She alright?”
“Ain’t nothin’ for you to be concerned on, Harv,” Kaylee said stroking River’s hair trying to calm her while Simon struggled to keep hold of her hands.
“River. We’re going back to the ship.” Simon’s voice was calm and patient. “Let’s get you to the infirmary where I can find out-“
“Thought you was a doctor?” Harvey asked.
“I am,” Simon snapped. His concern for his sister prompting him to be rude.
“Gal’s got poison ivy, doctor. Even I know that.”
“What?”
“Them bushes are filled with the stuff. Should’ve told ya’ll ‘bout my low-tech security system.”
“That would have been helpful,” Simon said.
“Got somethin’ inside for it. Chicas gets it at least once a year.” He went back into his workshop and quickly emerged with a pink bottle.
Simon took it looking it over. The bottle, heavily smudged with black oil, looked like it had been purchased years ago in a two-bit pharmacy. Simon tried to decipher the faded print indicating the ingredients. Poison ivy! He’d heard of it but never knew anyone who ever suffered from the effects of it. He cast a glare at the greenery surrounding the yards. Were all these people insane?
River had calmed down enough to be led to back to the ship.
“Guess tonight ain’t the best night for date,” Kaylee said meeting his eyes over River’s head.
“Kaylee..” Simon called out to her but she and River walked ahead eager to get back to Serenity.
***
That evening proved to not be a good night for a date for several reasons. Simon, Kaylee, and Inara had tried with little success convincing River that the cat was not an Alliance plant sent to torture her. Finally, Simon gave her a soother. She fell asleep with pink gunk slathered about her face, arms and legs and with fluffy green socks on her hands.
Soon after she fell asleep, the Captain appeared unexpectedly. Mal burst into the common area telling Kaylee to switch on the vid screen recently installed on the bulkhead next to the steps leading to the cargo bay.
“Something official’s happening,” he said. “Gorramn Alliance! Takes them near a month to comment on killing millions.”
<<<>>>
“This is Conye Gonzales with Universal News Organization reporting from Parliamentary Headquarters. Senior Parliamentary Representative, Deepak Chin, has gracefully agreed to meet with us today. Greetings, Representative Chin.”
“Thank you, Ms. Gonzales.”
“Mr. Chin, first off, why has Parliament been silent regarding the Miranda issue?”
“Well, Ms. Gonzales, as you know, when the broadwave first surfaced, Parliament was as utterly shocked and appalled as every other citizen. It was, quite frankly, impossible to imagine that such a travesty could actually occur in this day and age. We convened an emergency session and immediately launched a full scale investigation. We did not feel it prudent to publicly comment on the transmission until we had all the facts.”
“Some members of Parliament did comment that the transmission was a fraud designed to embarrass the Alliance.”
“Well, of course, those comments were premature. Naturally, our first reaction was that this transmission was a fraud. Really, who could believe the extent of these horrors? In our enlightened time, it is simply inconceivable that such an atrocity could occur. It is even more inconceivable that the Alliance could be responsible for genocide.”
“Parliament now retracts the implication of fraud?”
“Yes.”
“Do you have evidence that supports this transmission?”
“Yes, Ms. Gonzales, we do.” Chin looked directly into the camera. “Members of Parliament will not rest until we discover who is to blame for the Miranda Tragedy.”
“Do you have any indication of those responsible?”
“We do, but, it is still under investigation and I am not at liberty to divulge any details. The President will hold a press conference on this subject when we have all the facts.”
“When will that be?”
“The President is proceeding cautiously but I expect she will present the conclusions of our very thorough investigation in a week. We don’t want to rush to judgment. It is important that every citizen understand that this administration is doing everything within our power to find those responsible for this tragedy.”
“How about the source of the transmission? Several different groups have claimed responsibility. Among them are the Universal Liberation Organization, Need Independence Now, and the Anti-Alliance Association.”
“Of course everyone with a grudge against the Alliance wishes to take credit for the broadwave. These groups feel that being responsible for such a blow to the Alliance legitimizes their cause. The sad truth is that when the entire story is told, the Anti-Alliance groups will disclaim their involvement in this situation.”
“Do you know who is responsible for the transmission?”
“We have had an Operative of the Parliament investigating a rash of barbaric crimes committed on settlements on the Outer Planets. His investigation led him to Miranda.”
“But why transmit the wave in the manner it was transmitted? The source signal appeared to originate from a deserted Rim moon.”
“Our Operative and his team were engaged in an unfortunate battle with the Miranda survivors who, as you know, have been rendered homicidally insane. Our team intercepted a group of these survivors attempting to attack a civilian transport ship on that moon. Our Unit discovered an abandoned wave station which had been recently destroyed by the …unfortunate victims. They engaged in combat with the…them. After an intense battle at the complex, our Operative managed to transmit the vid. He was under extreme duress and, knowing the importance of the transmission, was only able to send the signal en masse. Many brave Alliance soldiers died bringing us this information…” He paused, indulging in a moment of silence.
“You refer to the Miranda survivors as ‘unfortunate victims?’ Yet, we have reports that these people are savages whose crimes include rape, mutilation, torture, cannibalism--”
“Yes, the survivors are psychologically damaged but you must remember that ours is an enlightened society. We don’t just lock people in insane asylums. The Alliance is dedicated to helping these unfortunate souls in any way we can. But, in the interest of public safety, we are working diligently to find and restrain the Miranda survivors.”
“What can be done? Can these people be cured?”
Chin sighed deeply. Removing his spectacles, he rubbed his eyes wearily. “We have our brightest team of mental health experts devoting their time to helping these people. At this point, we have no cure.”
The camera returned to Ms. Gonzales. She made no attempt to mask her sadness. “It is a great tragedy. Thank you for speaking with us, Mr. Chin. This is Conye Gonzales from Parliamentary Headquarters.”
<<<>>>
After viewing the broadcast, Simon, Inara, Kaylee and Mal sat stunned.
“What was that all about? Kaylee asked.
Inara and Simon exchanged a quick glance.
“They’re wrong about who sent out the Wave,” Kaylee fretted. “I don’t understand how they could get that wrong.”
“They didn’t get it wrong, Kaylee. They’re anglin’ for something,” Mal said. “Besides, better for us to stay unknown.”
“But-”
“We got the word out,” he said gruffly, not wanting to let on he was worried about the newswave. “That’s enough.” It’s gotta be.