This is What Crazy Feels Like (Part Two), Firefly, PG-13
Title: This Is What Crazy Feels Like - Part Two
Fandom: Firefly
Pairing/Characters: Simon, Jayne, River, Mal, Zoe, Inara and Kaylee
Genre: Gen (with a tiny smidge of pre-slash if you squint)
Rating: PG-13 (for torture)
Word Count: 19,929
Summary: Set post-Serenity, Simon is having strange dreams, and when a message from his estranged mother seems to indicate his dreams are real, he and River head home to see his dying father. What they find there changes everything.
A/Ns & Warnings: For Jess, who won me in the last Sweet Charity auction to benefit the Writer’s Guild Foundation. There is major Simon whumpage, Simon / Jayne bonding.
Something didn’t feel right. Jayne didn’t like the idea that he was stealing gorram books, or that he was taking orders from the pipsqueak doctor or that the freaky sister of his had disappeared. He didn’t like being on a core planet without a good number of guns, though the weight of the hand gun in the pocket of the ridiculous uniform jacket was comforting.
“Not that kind of mission, my ass.” Jayne muttered as he got the last of the boxes strapped in for take off and stepped out of the shuttle looking for a sign of either the doctor or the girl.
He considered contacting Mal, but he had no proof that anything was wrong, exactly. River wandered off more times than not, and nothing was wrong ‘cept for the wiring in her head.
He growled and paced the grass in front of the shuttle. They had twenty minutes though to make it back to the shuttle, or he was leaving without them. The music pouring out of the house seemed to quiet, then end. People were leaving. Jayne frown and checked the time. It was still pretty early.
The roar of engines made him look up. Feds. Two hover-craft worth of Feds. Jayne dashed into the shuttle and started to bring it to life, stopping when two more hovercraft showed up. There was no way he’d be getting away undetected. He was better off hiding.
Only hiding wasn’t exactly his strong suit.
***
The flat metallic taste on his tongue told him there were still drugs in his system…which made a little more sense of the fact that he couldn’t move his arms. His own father had drugged him.
Simon’s brain was a little like the molded protein they made most meals from, mushy. Probably more of the drug.
Thankfully though, it blocked out the odd voices and random bits of passing thoughts.
River.
Simon tried to sit up, only to find himself strapped down. He opened his eyes. Lab. He was in a lab. Strapped to a table. Above him a holographic projection of his body was hovering. It slowly focused in on his brain. “That’s not right.”
Even from his position he could see the rapidly firing areas of activity, the flood of red that indicated readings outside of normal. “Do you see what I’m seeing, Jefferson?”
Simon turned his head. His father was at the controls of the machine. “Over 80% active. Sixty of that is over active. It’s a wonder he can function.” Simon didn’t know the speaker…presumably Jefferson.
“Here…there’s bruising all around the amygdala. Narrow the focus, let’s see how much damage there is.”
“Looks like he took a blow to the head. No surgical scars.”
“What’s that, there?” There was a hand poking at the image. “The swelling seems to have dislodged the node.” The image turned, shifted. Simon felt like he was going to be sick again. “That would certainly disengage the functionality.”
“Not much we can do without surgery, and we can’t risk that now.” His father came into view. “Find out if Sheriton’s had any luck with finding his sister. It won’t take them long to search the house and realize we’re running.”
“Running?” Simon’s voice was thick, slurred with the drugs his father had injected into him.
“Would you rather I turned you over to the Alliance? I promise you that they will be far less gentle with you.” His father turned away to the other person in the room. “Let’s keep him sedated for now. I don’t want to risk any rebellious behavior while we make our getaway. Get him secured while I make sure that the file transfer is complete.”
***
Jayne told himself he was crazy, but he still crept through the grounds. There were very few people around for there having been a party here only a while before. He checked his small gun and wished, not for the first time, that he’d brought more firepower.
And why, exactly, he was sticking his neck out for the damn doctor and his crazy sister escaped him. Nothing but trouble, the both of them. The door he’d gone in before was locked tight. He turned his back, looked around him, then there was a wooshing sound, and a hand on the back of his jacket, yanking him back and into the house.
A small hand closed over his mouth and he was pushed into the wall. “Just me.” River said, letting him go when he nodded. “Feds.”
“No shit, bunches of them. Where’s Simon?”
“The bugs took him. Took Mother too.”
“Bugs?”
She made a face, her eyes wide, her fingers circling her eyes. “Bugs. They scurry, scurry, always in a hurry.”
Jayne took a deep breath. “Don’t have time for your kind of crazy, girl, we need to get out of here.” He grabbed her arm and headed for the door, but she pulled back.
“Simon. Need you to stay with Simon. I’ll take care of everything else.”
“Like hell.” She was pushing him though, down the hallway, stopping at a door.
“Down there. Bugs live under ground. Simon isn’t a bug.”
She opened the door and Jayne dug his feet into the floor, stopping himself from hurtling through the door with a hand on the jamb. “I ain’t going down in the gorram dark.”
“Are you scared of the bugs?” She cocked her head to the side. “They won’t hurt you. They don’t eat much.”
“You are just begging me to hurt you little girl.” Jayne said through clenched teeth. He reached for her, but gunshots rang out and they both ducked. “Gorram Feds.”
“Make Simon feel…make him feel not think.” She shoved him into the dark and slammed the door closed. Behind the door he heard shouting and gunfire and running. Heavy booted feet ran past the door and then there was silence.
He took a step forward and then stumbled down several stairs. When he got his feet back under him, he felt his way down. At the bottom there was a rounded corner, then faint lights showing a long corridor. Jayne hefted his gun and set off down the hall. It was better than going back to the Feds and the crazy girl.
It looked like a bolthole, a tunnel made for getting out unseen, and if that were the case, there would be an exit. He hoped. Not something he expected in a place like this. Made him wonder if the doc wasn’t holding out on them.
Only folks what had boltholes were the kind of folk what needed them, in his experience. That didn’t usually include the upright and proper.
Voices ahead made him stop, standing up against the wall.
“Prep the ship, we’ll be collapsing the tunnel shortly.”
“What about the girl?”
“We’ll have to leave without her. I don’t want to compromise what we do have. The last of the data has been transferred.”
Collapsing the tunnel didn’t sound good. Jayne inched forward, peeking around the corner. The cavern beyond was large enough to hold a small ship, where two men were carrying a stretcher…a stretcher with Simon asleep on top of it.
Mal was really going to kill him this time. And it wasn’t even his fault.
Jayne let his eyes sweep over the space, mapping out the movements it would take to get onto the ship. He’d find a place to hide until they left atmo and then find Simon. Together, they could take the ship and circle back to collect River, provided she didn’t get pinched in the mean time.
***
Simon was vaguely aware that he was on a ship. He could feel the hum of her engines in his skin. State of the art, fine tuned. He had been left in a room, alone.
His skin crawled, felt the lurch and climb as the ship lifted off. River was alone. She wouldn’t know how to find him. He opened his eyes. The room was small. The walls smooth metal with no indication where the door was. He lay on a shelf that emerged from the wall.
His shoes were gone. His clothes too. In their place he was clad in plain white hospital scrubs. Plain but for the number one stitched into the left chest.
He sat up slowly. The drugs were still in his system, making him sluggish. His father had drugged him, tested him. If he was even his father. Simon was beginning to doubt that. At least in a strictly physical sense. Metaphorically speaking, he supposed, he could still hold the title…but Simon was beginning to realize he hadn’t been conceived in any natural manner.
If he wasn’t so heavily sedated, it might occur to him to be afraid. Instead, he was angry. He stood, pacing to the wall and back to the shelf. No one knew where he was, so this time, it was up to him.
Before he could start to think beyond the heavy block of the drugs, the wall slid open. The man his father had called Sheriton smiled at him. It wasn’t a comforting smile.
“We haven’t been properly introduced.” He stepped into the room and the door closed seamlessly behind him. “My name is Daglin Sheriton. You are Simon Tam, fugitive from justice, genetic aberration, and now, my prisoner.”
“My father-“
Sheriton’s smile widened. “Your father is a fool. Blinded by science. No ambition. He wouldn’t have started over without me. Trust me when I tell you that you belong to me. Just as he does. Just as your sister will soon.”
He moved closer and Simon backed away. “In just a little while, we will fit you with a device that will prevent you from…well, from doing anything that isn’t a direct order from me. Once we’ve curbed your rebellious nature, we will be exploring your mutations extensively. I’m afraid it will be rather painful.”
Simon’s back was against the wall. “Who…who are you?”
“I am not Alliance, if that is your fear, my dear Simon. I am…a far sighted individual who sees that the time of the Alliance is nearing its end.” He ran a hand over Simon’s face. “I aim to be positioned to benefit when that happens.”
Simon shuddered. “You’re insane.”
Sheriton slapped him, hard. “I am your master…your king. You will obey me “ He moved away and touched a control panel on the wrist of his jacket. “Rest, we need the last of those meds out of your system before we get started. They interfere with the mechanism.”
***
Jayne had never been so glad to shed a garment as he was that ridiculous butler’s uniform. It was unfortunate that the first bad guy he grabbed was so gorram short though. The damn pants only came to the top of his ankles and were too tight for comfort. He’d have to knock out someone bigger next.
At least the gun was of a decent size. It was only a stunner, but it was better than wandering around empty handed.
It was a nice ship. Fetch a price on the market that would make Jayne a very rich man. Maybe get him his own crew. All he had to do was find the doc and take over the ship. No problem. Him against a bunch of science guys.
Except, they weren’t all science guys, which he discovered when he stepped back into the hallway and got cold cocked. He went flying to the floor, skidding over the smooth surface. Someone pressed his hand against something cold.
“Jayne Cobb.” The voice was cold, but amused. “I figured one of your little rag tag team must be around. Are you here to find your little doctor?”
Jayne looked up, squinting. “I know you?”
“Daglin Sheriton. You may not know me now…but very soon, the entire ‘verse is going to know me. Get him up.” Two men dragged Jayne to his feet. “I’m afraid we’re a running a little low on accommodations, you’ll have to share. Put him in with Tam.”
Jayne stumbled as they dragged him and the wall slid open. The two men shoved Jayne into the room. It was barely that, a holding cell of some sort, and as promised, already occupied. Jayne rubbed at his jaw, looking over the room’s other occupant. “You ain’t Simon.”
“Very astute.” The man sat on the shelf that slid from the wall. He sighed and rolled his eyes. “I am Gabriel Tam.”
“Doc’s father?” Jayne nodded. Obviously this guy wasn’t running this show. “Let me guess, the monkey in the suit outside was your…assistant?”
“Partner.”
“Money?”
The older Tam rolled his eyes, but nodded. “He was funding my research.”
Jayne grunted. It was always the money. “Jayne Cobb. Simon’s on my crew.” He surveyed the wall where the door had been, but he couldn’t find any sign of the door.
“State of the art, can’t be broken out of.”
“Don’t mean we shouldn’t try.”
“Means it’s a waste of time.” The older man shook his head and laid down on the shelf. “Jayne’s a girl’s name.”
“Time we have.” At least until the ship made whatever destination Sheriton had in mind. “And I ain’t no girl.”
***
She needed more time. Wrap her mind around the information. Footsteps were taking her time away. Boots. Three pair.
River slipped into the shadows. Alliance. Looking for her and Simon. Looking for Father-not-father. But they were gone. There was only River…and she was slipping away too.
Couldn’t be caught. Needed to slip away into the dark. Become the dream.
She needed to get to the shuttle and find Serenity so they could go after Simon. He had come for her. Rescued her.
Now it was her turn.
***
Simon wasn’t drugged, but he almost wished he was. Without the sedatives, everything was too much, as if someone had turned up every sense to it’s most sensitive. He could taste his own mouth…the air…He could smell the antiseptic used to clean the room, his own sweat…He could hear every nuance of the engine, of the footsteps outside his door, the breathing of the people nearby.
His head ached with the strain, with the excess input and the attempt to keep it from making him crazy.
You fight them too much. River had said. You should relax, let them come.
Simon shook his head. He wasn’t ready He didn’t want this. Whatever this was becoming. Whatever he was becoming.
The door opened and two big men stepped into the room. “I have no qualms about causing you pain, Doctor Tam.”
Simon swallowed and stepped easily into the hall. No point asking for more pain. “You do know that my captain will come looking for me.”
“I imagine he will. By the time he finds us, however, you won’t really be yourself, so don’t worry that pretty little head over it. In here please.”
Sheriton gestured into a med-bay. Simon dragged his feet a little, seeing the equipment at hand. “Not to worry Doctor, my medical people are the best in the business. Onto the table, please.”
When he hesitated, Simon was dragged, forced onto his back and strapped down. Straps covered his forehead and chin, pinning his head so that his neck was over the opening in the table. The table lifted and turned until Simon’s head was in a position that exposed the back of his neck. He couldn’t see, but he could hear the new people entering the room, soft feet on hard floors, murmurs as they prepared.
Cold. He shivered. Buzzing. They shaved the back of his neck. More cold. Metal against his skin. Cleaning solutions, rubbing alcohol.
Fear leached into his stomach. It percolated inside him like coffee. He pulled at the straps, even as he felt the circle of metal on his neck. “No.” He struggled, tried to shake his head, but he was secure. The fear was growing faster than he could control it.
A nearby cart of equipment started to shake. “Get him collared.” Sheriton said.
There was a sharp prick, a cold rush, then pain…excruciating pain. The device worked into him, like glass digging into his skin, into his veins…into his brain. Everything stopped. Everything went cold and dark. He couldn’t feel or hear or see or taste.
Slowly his hearing came back first, then his other senses, muted…distant.
“We have full control, Mr. Sheriton. Total domination over autonomous responses.”
“Excellent. Release him.”
“I do recommend you let the device acclimate for a few hours before you test it.”
“Get him up.”
Simon watched the smallish man at the controls of a large machine hand a small controller to Sheriton. The table was righted, the straps released. “Get up please, Dr. Tam.”
Before Simon had even processed the command, his body was moving, obeying.
“Follow me.”
To his dismay, his body did exactly that, no matter how much his brain was telling it to stop. When they stopped in front of a blank spot of wall, Simon figured he’d be put back in his cell while the device acclimated.
Instead, the wall opened to a different cell. To his father and Jayne. Simon blinked, his eyes flashing to Jayne’s. He fought to speak, to say something, anything.
His father stood, smoothing his jacket. “Sheriton, this is ridiculous. I demand that you let me go this instant.”
“I’m afraid, Gabriel, that our time together has come to and end. I no longer need you. I have your prototype.” His hand was on Simon’s shoulder and he couldn’t even move to shake it off.
“Simon is not enough, you’ve seen the documentation, you know this.”
Sheriton smiled. “Trust me when I tell you that Simon is perfect. Exactly what I need.”
Simon felt something in his hand and looked down. Sheriton pressed a button on the control. “Kill them.”
“No.” His body betrayed his protest though, stepping into the room, holding the knife. His father cowered away. “No.” Simon almost couldn’t hear his own voice. There was a white roar in his head. He fought the movement, but his hand shoved the blade into his father’s stomach and pulled back, landing a second blow.
He turned to Jayne.
“Hey, Doc. Come on now. I know you got reason more than most but…what about you saying you wouldn’t ever hurt me.”
Simon managed to shake his head. He didn’t want to kill Jayne. Obviously that wasn’t going to matter. He’d just killed his father. He fought the compulsion even as he stepped closer and Jayne crowded against the wall. He met the big guy’s eyes, tried to relay what he needed, what he was fighting against.
He had no idea if Jayne understood. He plunged his hand forward and Jayne grabbed at the hand, at the knife, then sagged against the wall, and fell forward, face first onto the floor, his head inches from Sheriton’s boots.
“Very good Simon. Let’s get you back to your room so you can rest.”
***
Jayne waited until the door was nearly closed before he slid the blade out from under him and stuck it in the track of the door. It was just enough to keep it from fully closing. He rolled onto his back and lifted his shirt. The bastard had cut him, but not deep.
He wasn’t sure what to make of it.
Or of the fact that he’d heard Simon’s voice, as clear as day in his head.
“Help me.”
Jayne rolled back to look into the hallway through the crack. It was empty. He needed to figure out what was going on. Fast.
***
Simon shook as he huddled in the corner of his “room”. His hands were covered in blood. His father was dead. Dead.
And Simon had done it. Simon had killed him because Sheriton ordered it.
Slowly he lifted shaking hands to the back of his neck, fingering over the device. He’d heard rumors about such things, but hadn’t ever actually believed they existed.
Think Simon.
Obviously, when Sheriton was not around, he could still control himself. And, he was fairly certain he’d managed to not kill Jayne, but he wasn’t sure. Maybe it was better to assume he was on his own..
Not that it made him feel better.
He didn’t have much to work with. He knew more than he had twenty-four hours before…but wasn’t sure how that would help him.
He knew that he and River weren’t actually the children of Gabriel Tam, they were more his creation that he put inside their mother. He knew that his father considered Simon a failed experiment.
Simon shook his head. Now wasn’t the time for feeling sorry for himself. He knew that something had knocked the control node loose to activate his extra senses and gifts. Things his father had controlled and hidden away because he didn’t think Simon had what it took to fully realize the potential coded in his DNA.
That meant that maybe there was a whole lot more to it than Simon realized. And if he could just access it, maybe…just maybe, he could survive this.
***
“What do you mean they ain’t here?”
“Just what I said, sir. We’re at the rendezvous, but there’s no sign of the other shuttle.” Zoe turned in the chair and looked at him. “There’s nothing on the cortex about them getting grabbed.”
“Inara?”
A smile cut across her face and she nodded. “On approach.”
“I knew this was a bad idea from the get-go.”
There was a beeping sound and Zoe turned. “We have a wave. Local.”
“Put it through.” Mal leaned over the console. River’s face filled up the screen.
“Captain?”
“Yeah, River. What’s the trouble?”
“Bugs. Bugs snatched up Simon and Jayne. Long story, don’t have time. Alliance is chasing the bugs, but they won’t find them. We have to save them before the bugs eat Simon’s brains.”
“Where are you?” Mal asked, even as Zoe scanned the area.
“Almost to you.”
“I don’t see you on-oh.” Zoe pointed as the shuttle popped up, just behind Inara’s inbound shuttle. River pulled up, rolling around Inara to settle almost gently into the docking port.
“I’m going to strangle her.” Mal flew off the bridge and down the corridor toward the cargo bay. River was off the shuttle, her fancy party dress torn. She threw something at Mal. “Bugs.” He understood, sort of. The scrap of metal bore the logo of Daglin Interplanetary Corporation, which looked more like a squished green spider than much of anything else.
“We have to go. Now. Alliance is coming.” River was running past him, headed for the bridge.
“Wanna tell me where it is you think we’re going?”
She threw herself into the co-pilot’s chair and started fiddling with things. “Bugs. Gotta find the bugs.”
“We’re not going to just go running-“
He grabbed at the console as she headed them out of atmo. “Know where they’re going Captain.” She turned and looked at him. “Course laid in. They’ve got a good head start on us though. It took me most of the night to shake the Alliance patrols.”
“And where is it they’re going?”
She slid to the screen and her fingers slid over it, pulling up a profile on the cortex. “Daglin Sheriton, owner of the bugs.” Her fingers flew over the interface. “Daglia, moon of Diana. Named for his great-grandmother. Ancestral home. High-Tech settlement with a resident population of one…plus service staff.”
“Okay, slow down.” Mal ran a hand over his face as Kaylee and Inara joined them. “Why would this Sheriton guy want them, and why take them there?”
“Daglin Sheriton?” Inara asked and River nodded. Inara shivered. “Creepy guy. Megalomaniac. Thinks he can take over the verse once the Alliance crumbles.”
Mal turned to her, frowning. “How is it you know this guy?”
“He requested my services once. Nice looking, seemed okay. Until we were alone.” She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. The man’s insane. Why are we talking about him?”
“Looks to be the guy who pinched Simon and Jayne.”
“Why would anyone want Simon and Jayne?”
“Didn’t want Jayne at all. Wanted Simon. Me and Simon. Simon and me. The beginning.” She shook her head. ‘Went back to the beginning and found out where it all started.”
Mal was starting to lose his patience with the girl. “Where what started?”
“Simon was the first…he came first. Put up inside her to grow and then it was my turn…only I was broken and he sent me away. Simon’s not broken.”
“River, you gotta tell me straight.” Mal grabbed her arm and she met his eyes. “What’s this about?”
She tapped at her head. “He wants Simon’s brains and gooey inner bits, the stuff Father made us out of. He wants to make more.”
“More…of Simon?”
She nodded. “Not broken. He will be though…before the bugs are done. He’ll be broken too. They’ll cut, cut, cut…just like me…and then he’ll be all gooey inside and out.”
***
Simon screamed. He knew he was screaming, even though he couldn’t hear it.
He was strapped onto a bed, deprived of his hearing or sight as they cut into him.
No anesthetic. Just the straps and metal arms and the sharp, excruciating pain.
He was panting when it finally stopped and the voice filled his head. “Come now Dr. Tam. Certainly you can do better. You’re not even trying.”
Trying. Simon couldn’t even remember what he was supposed to be trying. He remembered being taken off the ship…he remembered it was hot. Dry.
The voice in his ears was cold. “You need to focus, Simon.”
Focus. River told him to focus. He could focus. He’d always been focused. Could concentrate on microsurgery while senior doctors barked orders around him. Could study through parties. He could focus.
“We’ll go again. This time, pay attention.”
He started to say that he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to pay attention to, but then the pain was back…biting into him. His fists clenched involuntarily and he screamed…at least he was pretty sure he was screaming. He couldn’t tell.
***
River sat up screaming, her hands flailing until Inara caught them. “Shh…It’s okay River.” Inara gathered her up into her arms and held her as River opened her eyes and swallowed.
“Simon. I screamed for Simon. He can’t hear.”
Inara brushed a hand over River’s sweaty face. Kaylee appeared at the door. “I heard screaming.”
“River had a nightmare. It’s okay.”
“My mother’s dead.” River said suddenly, pulling away from Inara. “Found her where they left her. She was afraid she’d be alone. Now she is.”
She shivered and pulled the blanket up over her. “Squish. Squish. Squish. Simon’s getting squished.”
***
The dark that surrounded him was nearly palpable. It held him, cradled him. There was no up or down, no right or wrong. There was just this existence. It was like being suspended in liquid.
Maybe if he breathed in deep enough he could drown in it.
“Stop being petulant Simon, and sit up straight.”
He looked, turned to a posture that sort of suggested sitting. He was still floating in the black, but his father was standing, irritated. There was no sign of the massive trauma from the knife wounds. There should be blood at least.
His hands were sticky and wet. He looked down. There was the blood. “I killed you.”
“Yes, you did.” He seemed to shrug. “I was dying anyway.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.” He held up his hands, watching the red ooze over his skin. He should have been wearing gloves. “He looks better in red.”
River had said that once. He looked at his father again. “I used to wonder what it felt like to go crazy.”
“How does it feel?”
“Strange. Sticky. Hurts. I didn’t expect it to hurt so much.”
“There is only so much pain the human mind can withstand before it breaks, Simon. Are you paying attention?”
Simon shook his head. He could feel the device on the back of his neck. He reached for it, running one finger over and around it. It was metal, protruding from his skin a fraction of an inch, maybe an inch in diameter.
“Are you paying attention?”
“What’s that noise?” Simon turned in the hold of the dark. The buzzing got louder, like…bees.
“You need to pay attention.”
Attention. Off in the distance the noise was joined by light. It bit into the dark, chased it away. Simon crashed to the cold ground, covering his face and head as the light cut into him.
“You aren’t paying attention Dr. Tam.”
For just a moment, Simon wondered what sort of currency he needed to pay attention, then there were hands dragging him to his feet. Sheriton was there, in his face. “Perhaps we should try a more practical approach. Clearly the mental anguish isn’t enough to draw the gifts to the surface.” His gaze flicked to one of the men holding Simon. “Strap him down and prepare the saw.”
Simon fought weakly as the dragged him to the med-bed, but he was disoriented and hurting. He didn’t know where his father had gone. Maybe the light burned him away with the black.
“According to your father’s documentation, you were genetically altered to exhibit extraordinary intelligence, strength and agility, as well as rudimentary telekinesis and an un-quantified ability with telepathy. I want you to show me.“
“You really are insane.” Simon whispered. “I’m just a doctor.”
“I suspected you might not be aware of how these things work. Thus the pain. It should produce a natural response.” He hefted a surgical saw. “Where should we begin?”
Simon tried to pull away, but the straps held. The saw bit into flesh and Simon screamed again. He screamed and pushed at Sheriton, wishing he actually could move things with his mind as the crazy bastard suggested.
He could feel blood splattered over his face just before he passed out again.
***
Daglin Sheriton was not a man who accepted defeat.
This entire situation was vexing though. He was fairly convinced he could break the boy, break through the conditioning and coding without completely destroying the amygala as the Feds had done to the girl, but thus far his attempts had been met with a stubborn resistance he was unaccustomed to.
For a doctor, Simon Tam had an incredibly low threshold for pain. Which was proving to be a detriment to the entire torture angle of his plan. He restarted the capture. River Tam hadn’t needed physical torture. The first surgery had opened up her telepathic gifts and what she read in the minds of those who had charge of her was terrifying enough, apparently, to start her on the path of unlocking and utilizing the rest.
He’d seen first hand that the doctors and Alliance brass hadn’t a clue what the girl was capable of, and each new ability that presented sent them scurrying to develop a plan to utilize her.
Sheriton had been dismissed from the project, from his service to the Alliance when he tried to liberate the girl. He did a year on a penal colony, and when he’d been released he knew exactly what he wanted to do.
Gabriel Tam was a brilliant man, but not overly inspired. He considered River and Simon failures and was not interested in starting over. Not until Sheriton dangled a lot of money and spent hours cajoling him with broad ideas of scientific exploration, science for the sake of science and the like. Not that Sheriton had any interest in scientific exploration or science for any other sake than his own.
His dreams were simple. He wanted to control the universe. He wanted to use Gabriel Tam’s breakthrough to breed brilliant doctors and elite soldiers, a squad of the best in everything…all genetically altered and dependent on him.
The device controlling Simon’s physical actions was a prototype. It could only control physical movement, not thought or emotion. The look of horror on his face as he killed his father was priceless.
Which reminded him of the dead bodies in the cell on his ship. He turned away from Simon’s unconscious body and beckoned one of his men. “The good doctor left a mess in the holding cell on the ship. See that it gets cleaned up.”
The man nodded and left and Sheriton went back to appraising the good doctor. His white scrubs were bloody now, his left arm bandaged. Sheriton touched a button on the control at his wrist. “Wake up Simon. We have work to do.”
His eyes opened, filled with fear as they scanned the room and found Sheriton. “Now, that last little bit worked quite nicely. You nearly killed Dr. Alin when you knocked the saw out of my hand. I think that means that we’ve found an appropriate trigger.”
“I-I…what?”
Sheriton smiled and leaned over him. “You pushed me, Simon. Pulled the saw out of my hand. Don’t worry though, you only took two of his toes before we cut the power.” He brushed a strand of hair off Simon’s head. “How do you feel now? Do you think you could try again? I’ve set up a tray of things for you to try.”
Confusion overtook the fear for a moment. “Levitate something.” He gestured to the tray filled with random implements and tools. “Now, before I start cutting into your other arm.”
“Sir?”
Sheriton turned to his aide. “Sorry to interrupt, sir. There’s a ship on long range sensors. Firefly class.”
Sheriton looked to Simon. “Friends of yours?” Hope flared in his eyes. Sheriton didn’t look away. “Shoot them down. Bring me the bodies. I want them fresh. We’re going to need the DNA.”
***
Jayne ducked into a side corridor as men in uniform went scurrying past. “Worse than a gorram core planet.” He peered around the corner and adjusted his uniform. It fit better than the last one, other than the tightness in the crotch.
It was obvious they were on some moon or planet. His brief glimpse outside said it as a small settlement, largely industrial compound. Judging from the security whoever ran the place had a persecution complex…or was up to no good.
Good folk didn’t need armed guards in their own homes.
They were also going to need a ride off the rock when he finally found Simon and kicked his ass for sticking him the way he had. The wound in his stomach had stopped bleeding and it wasn’t deep, but he was right sore over it just the same.
As far as Jayne was concerned, him and the doc were even on the whole trying to kill each other scheme of things.
Right now what he needed was to figure out where they were and how to get them gone. Provided he could even find the doc.
He ducked into an alcove to avoid yet another group of guards. Whoever this guy was, he had a lot of manpower. Money too, judging from the ship and what Jayne had seen so far of the facility.
Might mean stuff worth lifting. Maybe make this whole mess worth something after all. He slipped back into the hallway and picked a direction. It didn’t help that he didn’t know where he was or where to start looking for anything other than the ship they’d come on…which might not be all that simple either now that he thought about it.
He stopped and stared at a sign on the wall. He was fairly certain he’d already passed it at least once. He was going in circles.
Jayne growled and shook his head. He needed to get the lay of the land.
***
River threw herself into the co-pilot’s chair and wrenched the controls, swerving them off course. Mal cussed at her and grabbed the controls back, just as a blast sizzled past them.
He chewed on his words for a second, but let go of the controls as she wrenched them again. “Warn me-“
“No time.” She bit her lip and sent them into a steep dive, then threw a switch that would leave a long smoke trail behind them. “Kaylee, be ready.”
“Ready.” Kaylee’s reply was tinny over the comm..
“Ready?” Mal asked, crossing his arms. “Do I want to know-“
“Now.” River pulled up on the controls, leveling them off. The ship shuddered and rocked as something exploded behind them.
“River. What are you blowing up?”
She guided the ship up over a ridge and landed it soft as you please before she turned to him. “Needed to make it look like Serenity blew up. Kaylee helped me.”
Mal took a deep breath. “Yes, but what did you actually blow up?”
“Weren’t nothing but a bunch of broken old engine bits and a whole bunch of oil and a bunch of grenades, Cap’n.” Kaylee said as she came onto the bridge.
“Oh.” Mal had to admit it was a good idea. “Still, you need to warn me when you’re going to-“
“I’ve got the mule prepped and ready to go.” Kaylee interrupted.
Zoe joined them, tucking guns into the holsters at her hips. “Ready.”
“I am still captain of this ship, am I not?” Mal stood. The sooner he got his men back the better. This being the only male on the boat was getting difficult.
Zoe shrugged. “Figured we’re going in after our men.”
Mal nodded. “We are. But I haven’t said that yet.”
“Sorry sir.”
“We need a plan.” Mal looked at River.
River looked back at him. “I got you this far.”
“We need a plan.”
Fandom: Firefly
Pairing/Characters: Simon, Jayne, River, Mal, Zoe, Inara and Kaylee
Genre: Gen (with a tiny smidge of pre-slash if you squint)
Rating: PG-13 (for torture)
Word Count: 19,929
Summary: Set post-Serenity, Simon is having strange dreams, and when a message from his estranged mother seems to indicate his dreams are real, he and River head home to see his dying father. What they find there changes everything.
A/Ns & Warnings: For Jess, who won me in the last Sweet Charity auction to benefit the Writer’s Guild Foundation. There is major Simon whumpage, Simon / Jayne bonding.
Something didn’t feel right. Jayne didn’t like the idea that he was stealing gorram books, or that he was taking orders from the pipsqueak doctor or that the freaky sister of his had disappeared. He didn’t like being on a core planet without a good number of guns, though the weight of the hand gun in the pocket of the ridiculous uniform jacket was comforting.
“Not that kind of mission, my ass.” Jayne muttered as he got the last of the boxes strapped in for take off and stepped out of the shuttle looking for a sign of either the doctor or the girl.
He considered contacting Mal, but he had no proof that anything was wrong, exactly. River wandered off more times than not, and nothing was wrong ‘cept for the wiring in her head.
He growled and paced the grass in front of the shuttle. They had twenty minutes though to make it back to the shuttle, or he was leaving without them. The music pouring out of the house seemed to quiet, then end. People were leaving. Jayne frown and checked the time. It was still pretty early.
The roar of engines made him look up. Feds. Two hover-craft worth of Feds. Jayne dashed into the shuttle and started to bring it to life, stopping when two more hovercraft showed up. There was no way he’d be getting away undetected. He was better off hiding.
Only hiding wasn’t exactly his strong suit.
***
The flat metallic taste on his tongue told him there were still drugs in his system…which made a little more sense of the fact that he couldn’t move his arms. His own father had drugged him.
Simon’s brain was a little like the molded protein they made most meals from, mushy. Probably more of the drug.
Thankfully though, it blocked out the odd voices and random bits of passing thoughts.
River.
Simon tried to sit up, only to find himself strapped down. He opened his eyes. Lab. He was in a lab. Strapped to a table. Above him a holographic projection of his body was hovering. It slowly focused in on his brain. “That’s not right.”
Even from his position he could see the rapidly firing areas of activity, the flood of red that indicated readings outside of normal. “Do you see what I’m seeing, Jefferson?”
Simon turned his head. His father was at the controls of the machine. “Over 80% active. Sixty of that is over active. It’s a wonder he can function.” Simon didn’t know the speaker…presumably Jefferson.
“Here…there’s bruising all around the amygdala. Narrow the focus, let’s see how much damage there is.”
“Looks like he took a blow to the head. No surgical scars.”
“What’s that, there?” There was a hand poking at the image. “The swelling seems to have dislodged the node.” The image turned, shifted. Simon felt like he was going to be sick again. “That would certainly disengage the functionality.”
“Not much we can do without surgery, and we can’t risk that now.” His father came into view. “Find out if Sheriton’s had any luck with finding his sister. It won’t take them long to search the house and realize we’re running.”
“Running?” Simon’s voice was thick, slurred with the drugs his father had injected into him.
“Would you rather I turned you over to the Alliance? I promise you that they will be far less gentle with you.” His father turned away to the other person in the room. “Let’s keep him sedated for now. I don’t want to risk any rebellious behavior while we make our getaway. Get him secured while I make sure that the file transfer is complete.”
***
Jayne told himself he was crazy, but he still crept through the grounds. There were very few people around for there having been a party here only a while before. He checked his small gun and wished, not for the first time, that he’d brought more firepower.
And why, exactly, he was sticking his neck out for the damn doctor and his crazy sister escaped him. Nothing but trouble, the both of them. The door he’d gone in before was locked tight. He turned his back, looked around him, then there was a wooshing sound, and a hand on the back of his jacket, yanking him back and into the house.
A small hand closed over his mouth and he was pushed into the wall. “Just me.” River said, letting him go when he nodded. “Feds.”
“No shit, bunches of them. Where’s Simon?”
“The bugs took him. Took Mother too.”
“Bugs?”
She made a face, her eyes wide, her fingers circling her eyes. “Bugs. They scurry, scurry, always in a hurry.”
Jayne took a deep breath. “Don’t have time for your kind of crazy, girl, we need to get out of here.” He grabbed her arm and headed for the door, but she pulled back.
“Simon. Need you to stay with Simon. I’ll take care of everything else.”
“Like hell.” She was pushing him though, down the hallway, stopping at a door.
“Down there. Bugs live under ground. Simon isn’t a bug.”
She opened the door and Jayne dug his feet into the floor, stopping himself from hurtling through the door with a hand on the jamb. “I ain’t going down in the gorram dark.”
“Are you scared of the bugs?” She cocked her head to the side. “They won’t hurt you. They don’t eat much.”
“You are just begging me to hurt you little girl.” Jayne said through clenched teeth. He reached for her, but gunshots rang out and they both ducked. “Gorram Feds.”
“Make Simon feel…make him feel not think.” She shoved him into the dark and slammed the door closed. Behind the door he heard shouting and gunfire and running. Heavy booted feet ran past the door and then there was silence.
He took a step forward and then stumbled down several stairs. When he got his feet back under him, he felt his way down. At the bottom there was a rounded corner, then faint lights showing a long corridor. Jayne hefted his gun and set off down the hall. It was better than going back to the Feds and the crazy girl.
It looked like a bolthole, a tunnel made for getting out unseen, and if that were the case, there would be an exit. He hoped. Not something he expected in a place like this. Made him wonder if the doc wasn’t holding out on them.
Only folks what had boltholes were the kind of folk what needed them, in his experience. That didn’t usually include the upright and proper.
Voices ahead made him stop, standing up against the wall.
“Prep the ship, we’ll be collapsing the tunnel shortly.”
“What about the girl?”
“We’ll have to leave without her. I don’t want to compromise what we do have. The last of the data has been transferred.”
Collapsing the tunnel didn’t sound good. Jayne inched forward, peeking around the corner. The cavern beyond was large enough to hold a small ship, where two men were carrying a stretcher…a stretcher with Simon asleep on top of it.
Mal was really going to kill him this time. And it wasn’t even his fault.
Jayne let his eyes sweep over the space, mapping out the movements it would take to get onto the ship. He’d find a place to hide until they left atmo and then find Simon. Together, they could take the ship and circle back to collect River, provided she didn’t get pinched in the mean time.
***
Simon was vaguely aware that he was on a ship. He could feel the hum of her engines in his skin. State of the art, fine tuned. He had been left in a room, alone.
His skin crawled, felt the lurch and climb as the ship lifted off. River was alone. She wouldn’t know how to find him. He opened his eyes. The room was small. The walls smooth metal with no indication where the door was. He lay on a shelf that emerged from the wall.
His shoes were gone. His clothes too. In their place he was clad in plain white hospital scrubs. Plain but for the number one stitched into the left chest.
He sat up slowly. The drugs were still in his system, making him sluggish. His father had drugged him, tested him. If he was even his father. Simon was beginning to doubt that. At least in a strictly physical sense. Metaphorically speaking, he supposed, he could still hold the title…but Simon was beginning to realize he hadn’t been conceived in any natural manner.
If he wasn’t so heavily sedated, it might occur to him to be afraid. Instead, he was angry. He stood, pacing to the wall and back to the shelf. No one knew where he was, so this time, it was up to him.
Before he could start to think beyond the heavy block of the drugs, the wall slid open. The man his father had called Sheriton smiled at him. It wasn’t a comforting smile.
“We haven’t been properly introduced.” He stepped into the room and the door closed seamlessly behind him. “My name is Daglin Sheriton. You are Simon Tam, fugitive from justice, genetic aberration, and now, my prisoner.”
“My father-“
Sheriton’s smile widened. “Your father is a fool. Blinded by science. No ambition. He wouldn’t have started over without me. Trust me when I tell you that you belong to me. Just as he does. Just as your sister will soon.”
He moved closer and Simon backed away. “In just a little while, we will fit you with a device that will prevent you from…well, from doing anything that isn’t a direct order from me. Once we’ve curbed your rebellious nature, we will be exploring your mutations extensively. I’m afraid it will be rather painful.”
Simon’s back was against the wall. “Who…who are you?”
“I am not Alliance, if that is your fear, my dear Simon. I am…a far sighted individual who sees that the time of the Alliance is nearing its end.” He ran a hand over Simon’s face. “I aim to be positioned to benefit when that happens.”
Simon shuddered. “You’re insane.”
Sheriton slapped him, hard. “I am your master…your king. You will obey me “ He moved away and touched a control panel on the wrist of his jacket. “Rest, we need the last of those meds out of your system before we get started. They interfere with the mechanism.”
***
Jayne had never been so glad to shed a garment as he was that ridiculous butler’s uniform. It was unfortunate that the first bad guy he grabbed was so gorram short though. The damn pants only came to the top of his ankles and were too tight for comfort. He’d have to knock out someone bigger next.
At least the gun was of a decent size. It was only a stunner, but it was better than wandering around empty handed.
It was a nice ship. Fetch a price on the market that would make Jayne a very rich man. Maybe get him his own crew. All he had to do was find the doc and take over the ship. No problem. Him against a bunch of science guys.
Except, they weren’t all science guys, which he discovered when he stepped back into the hallway and got cold cocked. He went flying to the floor, skidding over the smooth surface. Someone pressed his hand against something cold.
“Jayne Cobb.” The voice was cold, but amused. “I figured one of your little rag tag team must be around. Are you here to find your little doctor?”
Jayne looked up, squinting. “I know you?”
“Daglin Sheriton. You may not know me now…but very soon, the entire ‘verse is going to know me. Get him up.” Two men dragged Jayne to his feet. “I’m afraid we’re a running a little low on accommodations, you’ll have to share. Put him in with Tam.”
Jayne stumbled as they dragged him and the wall slid open. The two men shoved Jayne into the room. It was barely that, a holding cell of some sort, and as promised, already occupied. Jayne rubbed at his jaw, looking over the room’s other occupant. “You ain’t Simon.”
“Very astute.” The man sat on the shelf that slid from the wall. He sighed and rolled his eyes. “I am Gabriel Tam.”
“Doc’s father?” Jayne nodded. Obviously this guy wasn’t running this show. “Let me guess, the monkey in the suit outside was your…assistant?”
“Partner.”
“Money?”
The older Tam rolled his eyes, but nodded. “He was funding my research.”
Jayne grunted. It was always the money. “Jayne Cobb. Simon’s on my crew.” He surveyed the wall where the door had been, but he couldn’t find any sign of the door.
“State of the art, can’t be broken out of.”
“Don’t mean we shouldn’t try.”
“Means it’s a waste of time.” The older man shook his head and laid down on the shelf. “Jayne’s a girl’s name.”
“Time we have.” At least until the ship made whatever destination Sheriton had in mind. “And I ain’t no girl.”
***
She needed more time. Wrap her mind around the information. Footsteps were taking her time away. Boots. Three pair.
River slipped into the shadows. Alliance. Looking for her and Simon. Looking for Father-not-father. But they were gone. There was only River…and she was slipping away too.
Couldn’t be caught. Needed to slip away into the dark. Become the dream.
She needed to get to the shuttle and find Serenity so they could go after Simon. He had come for her. Rescued her.
Now it was her turn.
***
Simon wasn’t drugged, but he almost wished he was. Without the sedatives, everything was too much, as if someone had turned up every sense to it’s most sensitive. He could taste his own mouth…the air…He could smell the antiseptic used to clean the room, his own sweat…He could hear every nuance of the engine, of the footsteps outside his door, the breathing of the people nearby.
His head ached with the strain, with the excess input and the attempt to keep it from making him crazy.
You fight them too much. River had said. You should relax, let them come.
Simon shook his head. He wasn’t ready He didn’t want this. Whatever this was becoming. Whatever he was becoming.
The door opened and two big men stepped into the room. “I have no qualms about causing you pain, Doctor Tam.”
Simon swallowed and stepped easily into the hall. No point asking for more pain. “You do know that my captain will come looking for me.”
“I imagine he will. By the time he finds us, however, you won’t really be yourself, so don’t worry that pretty little head over it. In here please.”
Sheriton gestured into a med-bay. Simon dragged his feet a little, seeing the equipment at hand. “Not to worry Doctor, my medical people are the best in the business. Onto the table, please.”
When he hesitated, Simon was dragged, forced onto his back and strapped down. Straps covered his forehead and chin, pinning his head so that his neck was over the opening in the table. The table lifted and turned until Simon’s head was in a position that exposed the back of his neck. He couldn’t see, but he could hear the new people entering the room, soft feet on hard floors, murmurs as they prepared.
Cold. He shivered. Buzzing. They shaved the back of his neck. More cold. Metal against his skin. Cleaning solutions, rubbing alcohol.
Fear leached into his stomach. It percolated inside him like coffee. He pulled at the straps, even as he felt the circle of metal on his neck. “No.” He struggled, tried to shake his head, but he was secure. The fear was growing faster than he could control it.
A nearby cart of equipment started to shake. “Get him collared.” Sheriton said.
There was a sharp prick, a cold rush, then pain…excruciating pain. The device worked into him, like glass digging into his skin, into his veins…into his brain. Everything stopped. Everything went cold and dark. He couldn’t feel or hear or see or taste.
Slowly his hearing came back first, then his other senses, muted…distant.
“We have full control, Mr. Sheriton. Total domination over autonomous responses.”
“Excellent. Release him.”
“I do recommend you let the device acclimate for a few hours before you test it.”
“Get him up.”
Simon watched the smallish man at the controls of a large machine hand a small controller to Sheriton. The table was righted, the straps released. “Get up please, Dr. Tam.”
Before Simon had even processed the command, his body was moving, obeying.
“Follow me.”
To his dismay, his body did exactly that, no matter how much his brain was telling it to stop. When they stopped in front of a blank spot of wall, Simon figured he’d be put back in his cell while the device acclimated.
Instead, the wall opened to a different cell. To his father and Jayne. Simon blinked, his eyes flashing to Jayne’s. He fought to speak, to say something, anything.
His father stood, smoothing his jacket. “Sheriton, this is ridiculous. I demand that you let me go this instant.”
“I’m afraid, Gabriel, that our time together has come to and end. I no longer need you. I have your prototype.” His hand was on Simon’s shoulder and he couldn’t even move to shake it off.
“Simon is not enough, you’ve seen the documentation, you know this.”
Sheriton smiled. “Trust me when I tell you that Simon is perfect. Exactly what I need.”
Simon felt something in his hand and looked down. Sheriton pressed a button on the control. “Kill them.”
“No.” His body betrayed his protest though, stepping into the room, holding the knife. His father cowered away. “No.” Simon almost couldn’t hear his own voice. There was a white roar in his head. He fought the movement, but his hand shoved the blade into his father’s stomach and pulled back, landing a second blow.
He turned to Jayne.
“Hey, Doc. Come on now. I know you got reason more than most but…what about you saying you wouldn’t ever hurt me.”
Simon managed to shake his head. He didn’t want to kill Jayne. Obviously that wasn’t going to matter. He’d just killed his father. He fought the compulsion even as he stepped closer and Jayne crowded against the wall. He met the big guy’s eyes, tried to relay what he needed, what he was fighting against.
He had no idea if Jayne understood. He plunged his hand forward and Jayne grabbed at the hand, at the knife, then sagged against the wall, and fell forward, face first onto the floor, his head inches from Sheriton’s boots.
“Very good Simon. Let’s get you back to your room so you can rest.”
***
Jayne waited until the door was nearly closed before he slid the blade out from under him and stuck it in the track of the door. It was just enough to keep it from fully closing. He rolled onto his back and lifted his shirt. The bastard had cut him, but not deep.
He wasn’t sure what to make of it.
Or of the fact that he’d heard Simon’s voice, as clear as day in his head.
“Help me.”
Jayne rolled back to look into the hallway through the crack. It was empty. He needed to figure out what was going on. Fast.
***
Simon shook as he huddled in the corner of his “room”. His hands were covered in blood. His father was dead. Dead.
And Simon had done it. Simon had killed him because Sheriton ordered it.
Slowly he lifted shaking hands to the back of his neck, fingering over the device. He’d heard rumors about such things, but hadn’t ever actually believed they existed.
Think Simon.
Obviously, when Sheriton was not around, he could still control himself. And, he was fairly certain he’d managed to not kill Jayne, but he wasn’t sure. Maybe it was better to assume he was on his own..
Not that it made him feel better.
He didn’t have much to work with. He knew more than he had twenty-four hours before…but wasn’t sure how that would help him.
He knew that he and River weren’t actually the children of Gabriel Tam, they were more his creation that he put inside their mother. He knew that his father considered Simon a failed experiment.
Simon shook his head. Now wasn’t the time for feeling sorry for himself. He knew that something had knocked the control node loose to activate his extra senses and gifts. Things his father had controlled and hidden away because he didn’t think Simon had what it took to fully realize the potential coded in his DNA.
That meant that maybe there was a whole lot more to it than Simon realized. And if he could just access it, maybe…just maybe, he could survive this.
***
“What do you mean they ain’t here?”
“Just what I said, sir. We’re at the rendezvous, but there’s no sign of the other shuttle.” Zoe turned in the chair and looked at him. “There’s nothing on the cortex about them getting grabbed.”
“Inara?”
A smile cut across her face and she nodded. “On approach.”
“I knew this was a bad idea from the get-go.”
There was a beeping sound and Zoe turned. “We have a wave. Local.”
“Put it through.” Mal leaned over the console. River’s face filled up the screen.
“Captain?”
“Yeah, River. What’s the trouble?”
“Bugs. Bugs snatched up Simon and Jayne. Long story, don’t have time. Alliance is chasing the bugs, but they won’t find them. We have to save them before the bugs eat Simon’s brains.”
“Where are you?” Mal asked, even as Zoe scanned the area.
“Almost to you.”
“I don’t see you on-oh.” Zoe pointed as the shuttle popped up, just behind Inara’s inbound shuttle. River pulled up, rolling around Inara to settle almost gently into the docking port.
“I’m going to strangle her.” Mal flew off the bridge and down the corridor toward the cargo bay. River was off the shuttle, her fancy party dress torn. She threw something at Mal. “Bugs.” He understood, sort of. The scrap of metal bore the logo of Daglin Interplanetary Corporation, which looked more like a squished green spider than much of anything else.
“We have to go. Now. Alliance is coming.” River was running past him, headed for the bridge.
“Wanna tell me where it is you think we’re going?”
She threw herself into the co-pilot’s chair and started fiddling with things. “Bugs. Gotta find the bugs.”
“We’re not going to just go running-“
He grabbed at the console as she headed them out of atmo. “Know where they’re going Captain.” She turned and looked at him. “Course laid in. They’ve got a good head start on us though. It took me most of the night to shake the Alliance patrols.”
“And where is it they’re going?”
She slid to the screen and her fingers slid over it, pulling up a profile on the cortex. “Daglin Sheriton, owner of the bugs.” Her fingers flew over the interface. “Daglia, moon of Diana. Named for his great-grandmother. Ancestral home. High-Tech settlement with a resident population of one…plus service staff.”
“Okay, slow down.” Mal ran a hand over his face as Kaylee and Inara joined them. “Why would this Sheriton guy want them, and why take them there?”
“Daglin Sheriton?” Inara asked and River nodded. Inara shivered. “Creepy guy. Megalomaniac. Thinks he can take over the verse once the Alliance crumbles.”
Mal turned to her, frowning. “How is it you know this guy?”
“He requested my services once. Nice looking, seemed okay. Until we were alone.” She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. The man’s insane. Why are we talking about him?”
“Looks to be the guy who pinched Simon and Jayne.”
“Why would anyone want Simon and Jayne?”
“Didn’t want Jayne at all. Wanted Simon. Me and Simon. Simon and me. The beginning.” She shook her head. ‘Went back to the beginning and found out where it all started.”
Mal was starting to lose his patience with the girl. “Where what started?”
“Simon was the first…he came first. Put up inside her to grow and then it was my turn…only I was broken and he sent me away. Simon’s not broken.”
“River, you gotta tell me straight.” Mal grabbed her arm and she met his eyes. “What’s this about?”
She tapped at her head. “He wants Simon’s brains and gooey inner bits, the stuff Father made us out of. He wants to make more.”
“More…of Simon?”
She nodded. “Not broken. He will be though…before the bugs are done. He’ll be broken too. They’ll cut, cut, cut…just like me…and then he’ll be all gooey inside and out.”
***
Simon screamed. He knew he was screaming, even though he couldn’t hear it.
He was strapped onto a bed, deprived of his hearing or sight as they cut into him.
No anesthetic. Just the straps and metal arms and the sharp, excruciating pain.
He was panting when it finally stopped and the voice filled his head. “Come now Dr. Tam. Certainly you can do better. You’re not even trying.”
Trying. Simon couldn’t even remember what he was supposed to be trying. He remembered being taken off the ship…he remembered it was hot. Dry.
The voice in his ears was cold. “You need to focus, Simon.”
Focus. River told him to focus. He could focus. He’d always been focused. Could concentrate on microsurgery while senior doctors barked orders around him. Could study through parties. He could focus.
“We’ll go again. This time, pay attention.”
He started to say that he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to pay attention to, but then the pain was back…biting into him. His fists clenched involuntarily and he screamed…at least he was pretty sure he was screaming. He couldn’t tell.
***
River sat up screaming, her hands flailing until Inara caught them. “Shh…It’s okay River.” Inara gathered her up into her arms and held her as River opened her eyes and swallowed.
“Simon. I screamed for Simon. He can’t hear.”
Inara brushed a hand over River’s sweaty face. Kaylee appeared at the door. “I heard screaming.”
“River had a nightmare. It’s okay.”
“My mother’s dead.” River said suddenly, pulling away from Inara. “Found her where they left her. She was afraid she’d be alone. Now she is.”
She shivered and pulled the blanket up over her. “Squish. Squish. Squish. Simon’s getting squished.”
***
The dark that surrounded him was nearly palpable. It held him, cradled him. There was no up or down, no right or wrong. There was just this existence. It was like being suspended in liquid.
Maybe if he breathed in deep enough he could drown in it.
“Stop being petulant Simon, and sit up straight.”
He looked, turned to a posture that sort of suggested sitting. He was still floating in the black, but his father was standing, irritated. There was no sign of the massive trauma from the knife wounds. There should be blood at least.
His hands were sticky and wet. He looked down. There was the blood. “I killed you.”
“Yes, you did.” He seemed to shrug. “I was dying anyway.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.” He held up his hands, watching the red ooze over his skin. He should have been wearing gloves. “He looks better in red.”
River had said that once. He looked at his father again. “I used to wonder what it felt like to go crazy.”
“How does it feel?”
“Strange. Sticky. Hurts. I didn’t expect it to hurt so much.”
“There is only so much pain the human mind can withstand before it breaks, Simon. Are you paying attention?”
Simon shook his head. He could feel the device on the back of his neck. He reached for it, running one finger over and around it. It was metal, protruding from his skin a fraction of an inch, maybe an inch in diameter.
“Are you paying attention?”
“What’s that noise?” Simon turned in the hold of the dark. The buzzing got louder, like…bees.
“You need to pay attention.”
Attention. Off in the distance the noise was joined by light. It bit into the dark, chased it away. Simon crashed to the cold ground, covering his face and head as the light cut into him.
“You aren’t paying attention Dr. Tam.”
For just a moment, Simon wondered what sort of currency he needed to pay attention, then there were hands dragging him to his feet. Sheriton was there, in his face. “Perhaps we should try a more practical approach. Clearly the mental anguish isn’t enough to draw the gifts to the surface.” His gaze flicked to one of the men holding Simon. “Strap him down and prepare the saw.”
Simon fought weakly as the dragged him to the med-bed, but he was disoriented and hurting. He didn’t know where his father had gone. Maybe the light burned him away with the black.
“According to your father’s documentation, you were genetically altered to exhibit extraordinary intelligence, strength and agility, as well as rudimentary telekinesis and an un-quantified ability with telepathy. I want you to show me.“
“You really are insane.” Simon whispered. “I’m just a doctor.”
“I suspected you might not be aware of how these things work. Thus the pain. It should produce a natural response.” He hefted a surgical saw. “Where should we begin?”
Simon tried to pull away, but the straps held. The saw bit into flesh and Simon screamed again. He screamed and pushed at Sheriton, wishing he actually could move things with his mind as the crazy bastard suggested.
He could feel blood splattered over his face just before he passed out again.
***
Daglin Sheriton was not a man who accepted defeat.
This entire situation was vexing though. He was fairly convinced he could break the boy, break through the conditioning and coding without completely destroying the amygala as the Feds had done to the girl, but thus far his attempts had been met with a stubborn resistance he was unaccustomed to.
For a doctor, Simon Tam had an incredibly low threshold for pain. Which was proving to be a detriment to the entire torture angle of his plan. He restarted the capture. River Tam hadn’t needed physical torture. The first surgery had opened up her telepathic gifts and what she read in the minds of those who had charge of her was terrifying enough, apparently, to start her on the path of unlocking and utilizing the rest.
He’d seen first hand that the doctors and Alliance brass hadn’t a clue what the girl was capable of, and each new ability that presented sent them scurrying to develop a plan to utilize her.
Sheriton had been dismissed from the project, from his service to the Alliance when he tried to liberate the girl. He did a year on a penal colony, and when he’d been released he knew exactly what he wanted to do.
Gabriel Tam was a brilliant man, but not overly inspired. He considered River and Simon failures and was not interested in starting over. Not until Sheriton dangled a lot of money and spent hours cajoling him with broad ideas of scientific exploration, science for the sake of science and the like. Not that Sheriton had any interest in scientific exploration or science for any other sake than his own.
His dreams were simple. He wanted to control the universe. He wanted to use Gabriel Tam’s breakthrough to breed brilliant doctors and elite soldiers, a squad of the best in everything…all genetically altered and dependent on him.
The device controlling Simon’s physical actions was a prototype. It could only control physical movement, not thought or emotion. The look of horror on his face as he killed his father was priceless.
Which reminded him of the dead bodies in the cell on his ship. He turned away from Simon’s unconscious body and beckoned one of his men. “The good doctor left a mess in the holding cell on the ship. See that it gets cleaned up.”
The man nodded and left and Sheriton went back to appraising the good doctor. His white scrubs were bloody now, his left arm bandaged. Sheriton touched a button on the control at his wrist. “Wake up Simon. We have work to do.”
His eyes opened, filled with fear as they scanned the room and found Sheriton. “Now, that last little bit worked quite nicely. You nearly killed Dr. Alin when you knocked the saw out of my hand. I think that means that we’ve found an appropriate trigger.”
“I-I…what?”
Sheriton smiled and leaned over him. “You pushed me, Simon. Pulled the saw out of my hand. Don’t worry though, you only took two of his toes before we cut the power.” He brushed a strand of hair off Simon’s head. “How do you feel now? Do you think you could try again? I’ve set up a tray of things for you to try.”
Confusion overtook the fear for a moment. “Levitate something.” He gestured to the tray filled with random implements and tools. “Now, before I start cutting into your other arm.”
“Sir?”
Sheriton turned to his aide. “Sorry to interrupt, sir. There’s a ship on long range sensors. Firefly class.”
Sheriton looked to Simon. “Friends of yours?” Hope flared in his eyes. Sheriton didn’t look away. “Shoot them down. Bring me the bodies. I want them fresh. We’re going to need the DNA.”
***
Jayne ducked into a side corridor as men in uniform went scurrying past. “Worse than a gorram core planet.” He peered around the corner and adjusted his uniform. It fit better than the last one, other than the tightness in the crotch.
It was obvious they were on some moon or planet. His brief glimpse outside said it as a small settlement, largely industrial compound. Judging from the security whoever ran the place had a persecution complex…or was up to no good.
Good folk didn’t need armed guards in their own homes.
They were also going to need a ride off the rock when he finally found Simon and kicked his ass for sticking him the way he had. The wound in his stomach had stopped bleeding and it wasn’t deep, but he was right sore over it just the same.
As far as Jayne was concerned, him and the doc were even on the whole trying to kill each other scheme of things.
Right now what he needed was to figure out where they were and how to get them gone. Provided he could even find the doc.
He ducked into an alcove to avoid yet another group of guards. Whoever this guy was, he had a lot of manpower. Money too, judging from the ship and what Jayne had seen so far of the facility.
Might mean stuff worth lifting. Maybe make this whole mess worth something after all. He slipped back into the hallway and picked a direction. It didn’t help that he didn’t know where he was or where to start looking for anything other than the ship they’d come on…which might not be all that simple either now that he thought about it.
He stopped and stared at a sign on the wall. He was fairly certain he’d already passed it at least once. He was going in circles.
Jayne growled and shook his head. He needed to get the lay of the land.
***
River threw herself into the co-pilot’s chair and wrenched the controls, swerving them off course. Mal cussed at her and grabbed the controls back, just as a blast sizzled past them.
He chewed on his words for a second, but let go of the controls as she wrenched them again. “Warn me-“
“No time.” She bit her lip and sent them into a steep dive, then threw a switch that would leave a long smoke trail behind them. “Kaylee, be ready.”
“Ready.” Kaylee’s reply was tinny over the comm..
“Ready?” Mal asked, crossing his arms. “Do I want to know-“
“Now.” River pulled up on the controls, leveling them off. The ship shuddered and rocked as something exploded behind them.
“River. What are you blowing up?”
She guided the ship up over a ridge and landed it soft as you please before she turned to him. “Needed to make it look like Serenity blew up. Kaylee helped me.”
Mal took a deep breath. “Yes, but what did you actually blow up?”
“Weren’t nothing but a bunch of broken old engine bits and a whole bunch of oil and a bunch of grenades, Cap’n.” Kaylee said as she came onto the bridge.
“Oh.” Mal had to admit it was a good idea. “Still, you need to warn me when you’re going to-“
“I’ve got the mule prepped and ready to go.” Kaylee interrupted.
Zoe joined them, tucking guns into the holsters at her hips. “Ready.”
“I am still captain of this ship, am I not?” Mal stood. The sooner he got his men back the better. This being the only male on the boat was getting difficult.
Zoe shrugged. “Figured we’re going in after our men.”
Mal nodded. “We are. But I haven’t said that yet.”
“Sorry sir.”
“We need a plan.” Mal looked at River.
River looked back at him. “I got you this far.”
“We need a plan.”