World Falls Away - Part Two, Chapter Two
Title: World Falls Away - Part Two, Chapter Two
Author: Nari
Pairing: Mal/Wash
Characters: Mal, Wash, OC's in the form of Wash's dad and workers
Rating: this part, PG, overall R
Summary: The destruction of Shadow.
Notes: The age timeline in this fic is very AU. We're starting off with the boys being around 18 for Wash and 20 for Mal. Translations are in mouseover.
Thanks: To lvs2read for the beta! And to wildannuette for the beta and the encouragement.
Part One: Chapter One, Chapter Two, Chapter Three, Chapter Four, Chapter Five, Chapter Six
Part Two: Chapter One
Chapter Two
They're taking off in twenty minutes and Wash is locked in his bunk. His back is on fire, but all it does is drive his anger on. It's all it ever did.
He tried reasoning:
"There's got to be another way, you can't do this. Please, dad."
"I have orders, son."
"Then don't listen to them!"
But Wash can see it, the Major isn't even hearing him. Blindly thinking that this is the thing to do, that whatever is going on, it's worth the life of a planet. The Major doesn't apologize, not even for a second does Wash see regret cross his face, he doesn't even try to deny what he's doing and save face in front of his son.
"You'll understand, some day. Might be that you'll even come to agree with me. These people...they're not a part of our society and this is what happens to criminals. That's essentially all they are, Wash. Smugglers and thieves. Outcasts that chose to be that way. We gave them the choice, son, and this is what they chose."
What have these people done that's so bad? What could Mal's mother have done that's so bad?
"They started a war,” the Major answers that question, a harsher blow than the ones from the belt.
A war. That's what Wash is thinking over now.
Wash pays attention to what's going on with the outer planets, he's always been interested. Been curious. Wanting to know what it's like outside of Londinium, wanting to go there to see for himself. It's the one thing he thinks he's ever done that's made the Major proud, the decision that he wanted to be a pilot. He wanted to fly and see the 'verse. It wasn't until the Major had found out that Wash had no intention of joining the Alliance military, becoming a captain or maybe a Major himself, that his dad changed his mind.
Wash doesn't want to fight. He wants to be free to explore. With his Alliance pilot's license he'd have been able to travel wherever he wanted, his access never restricted.
Through all the hours on the Cortex, he's never heard stirrings of a war. Of any type of uprising. He thinks that if this plan is allowed to go ahead there will be. That the Rim planets will balk, that they won't be cowed like the Major seems to think. Like the Alliance seems to think but Wash doesn't go for that. Not if even a quarter of them are like his Mal.
His Mal, who isn't going to be around for long if Wash doesn't get out of here.
Wash pries off the panel for the bunk's locking system. It may be locked from the outside but Wash knows how to override that. He's picked up more than a few tricks, stuck down here or in a ship like it, or in his room with nothing to do but play with wires. He's just never actually crossed the line into leaving before. He only ever overrides the locks, then locks them up tight again. His father never knows and all it ever was was something to pass the time. Not today, though. This time, Wash overrides the lock and the indicator light flashes green. He can push the hatch open and step out of his bunk.
He looks around to make sure he hasn't been noticed, then pulls the bunk hatch closed carefully behind him. With everyone supposedly on the ship, Rudy shouldn't be on guard anymore. What's lucky is just as equally unlucky, though. The ship is going to be full, Wash isn't sure how he's going to sneak off.
He heads down the hall towards the cargo bay. He thinks he's got fifteen minutes. There's no one to greet him or call the alarm on him until he gets to the hall entrance of the cargo bay.
It's one of the workers. There's a second where Wash stares at the man, breath caught, waiting for him to raise the alarm. But the man just grins.
"Hoban. You seen the Major? We're looking to get this heap off the ground."
Wash nods his head. Here's a stroke of luck and he seizes it. "He's just back there. Give me five and I'll send him up to the bridge."
"Thanks, kid."
Wash nods and forces himself to return the smile. He doesn't even remember the man's name now but it doesn't matter. He waits for the man to turn back to the bridge and then jogs through the cargo bay. The ramp is up but the small door is still open and Wash steps outside, casual as he can. No one stops him. Now his luck just has to hold, the Major can't notice he's gone or he won't take off. He can already hear the whine of the engines warming up.
Wash feels like he's on a suicide mission as he bolts from the ship, towards the irrigation ditches. The longest one is maybe a hundred yards from the ship and it's the only place he can see to hide in the otherwise flat fields. Useless ditches that won't ever fill with water, ditches that were only ever there to deceive, but they might turn out to be his only chance now.
On second thought, as he skids into the ditch, down the steep slope to the bottom, rocks and dirt sliding down along with him, he thinks a suicide mission is exactly what this is. He catches sight of the terraformers as he dives into the ditch. They're huge, off in the distance, seen as clearly as the mountains that are off in the other direction. If they explode, the backlash from it will take out this town. And Wash plans on heading straight towards it. Without even knowing how much time he has left or if he can diffuse whatever the Major did to it.
First, he's got to try and warn Mal. Tell him to get as far away as possible. Take his mom and everyone, and get over to that city, Blackie. The city should be fine in the immediate explosion. An explosion from the terraformers takes out one small farming town. The planet dies over the course of a few days. Maybe a week. However long it takes, the end results won't change.
He hunkers down in the ditch, hidden from view. He can't see the ship but he can hear the big engines cycle through their final start up. They blow up air and dirt, send rocks tumbling down the edges and over Wash. He still doesn't move, closing his eyes to the dust.
The ship has to leave, he repeats to himself, a silent mantra or prayer. The engines roar, the first upthrust. The air bursts outwards as the engines burn and Wash can see the ship, rising up, a slow hulk. It's not until it reaches a few hundred feet altitude that it looks as graceful as it is. It does a turn and, moments later, another shock wave of air from the engine hits the dirt and the ship is off.
Wash closes his eyes and lets out a long breath that turns into laughter. The Major thinks he's still locked in his bunk, the last time his dad had checked on him was twenty minutes ago. By the time he figures out that twenty minutes was more than long enough for Wash to escape, it'll be too late. Wash will have either revealed the truth or been killed in the explosion.
The thought sobers him. He needs to act fast. He scrambles up the incline of the ditch, slipping when dirt and rocks come loose. He scrapes a hole into the knee of his cargos and curses the rest of the way up at the sting to his knees and hands as he pulls himself out and the sharp rocks dig in.
"What the hell are you doing, Wash?"
Wash loses his handhold and almost tumbles back down at the voice right in front of him. His wrist is caught before it can happen, though, and he looks up to catch sight of Mal. He feels like laughing again, and he knows he's grinning.
"Mal. Oh, thank god."
Mal grabs hold of his other wrist and gives a heave to pull Wash the rest of the way over the bank. Wash's feet dig into the loose dirt to help push himself up and he ends up sprawled over Mal's lap, both of them laid out over the ground. The laughter bubbles up and Wash can't stop it.
"You lost your gorramn mind?"
"Near enough."
Mal is looking at him, bemused but not angry. Wash sees his chance. Sees it and lets it pass one more time.
He pushes himself up off Mal and Mal follows him. "What are you doing here, Mal?"
Mal looks uncomfortable, running a hand up through his hair and giving a shrug. He won't quite look at Wash. "Wanted to apologize. Thought I'd catch you before y' left, didn't wanna just...let y' go without saying something. Guess I didn't need to worry." Mal finally eyes him. "Wash, what the hell is going on?"
"I overheard my dad talking to another officer, one back home. They said they were going to blow the terraforming equipment."
He tries not to be impatient as Mal studies him. The sound of the ship has long since faded and there's an eerie calm that settles everywhere. Wash isn't used to it, not even here. There's always people about or animals. Back home, there's machines. Here, there's wind but he can't hear that, can only see the effects of it rippling through the tall dead grass. He looks back to Mal when the man starts to speak, voice slow and heartbreakingly unsure.
"They can't."
"They can,” Wash insists. He's not going to get another chance at making Mal listen and fights to keep his words from launching into a hysterical rant. “And we need to tell everyone. Those terraformers are too close, they need to get out of the blast range."
Mal shakes his head and Wash has to grab him by the shoulders to get Mal to actually focus on him. The truth of it is sinking in too fast and he can see Mal wanting to push him away and call him a liar.
"Get back to the town, ride Sandy out of here." Wash shoves him and Mal stumbles back a step. Wash turns, ready to run for the terraformer when Mal grabs hold of his arm.
"You too. Whatever the hell is going on, no way I'm lettin' you run towards it."
"We don't stop those things going, then this planet dies, Mal."
The pause is heavy. Mal stares at him and Wash can't tell what's going through his mind. The only times he can read Mal is when the man wants him to. One thing Wash does know is that they don't have the time to be wasting and he can feel the panic edging in, high and fast.
It's minutes that drag by before Mal snaps out of it, his hand still hard on Wash's arm as he drags Wash with him. "Let it. Ain't loosin' you."
Now isn't the time to feel a rush of pleasure. Not the time to want to smile and pull Mal to him and kiss him like he's been wanting to do the last two weeks. To call Mal an idiot and confess how much he loves him.
He keeps it to himself, lets the fact he follows Mal talk enough for him. Mal swings up on to Sandy and Wash hauls himself up behind Mal. A sharp kick and Mal is yelling at Sandy to move. Wash has to grip his arms around Mal's middle to keep from being tossed as Sandy bolts forward, fast as Mal can make her, back towards the house.
They don't get even a quarter of the way.
The shock wave hits them before the sound does. It slams into Wash's back, shoves him against Mal and a second later Sandy is taken from under them. Wash can feel as she stumbles and falls. He can hear something break and a second later is when the sound of the explosion reaches them. Wash expects to feel the heat scorching him next, but the force of the wave hurls them over the edge of the ditch they'd been running next to.
He's lost hold of Mal. He hits the ground hard enough it drives all the air from his lungs.
***
Part Two - Chapter Three
Author: Nari
Pairing: Mal/Wash
Characters: Mal, Wash, OC's in the form of Wash's dad and workers
Rating: this part, PG, overall R
Summary: The destruction of Shadow.
Notes: The age timeline in this fic is very AU. We're starting off with the boys being around 18 for Wash and 20 for Mal. Translations are in mouseover.
Thanks: To lvs2read for the beta! And to wildannuette for the beta and the encouragement.
Part One: Chapter One, Chapter Two, Chapter Three, Chapter Four, Chapter Five, Chapter Six
Part Two: Chapter One
Chapter Two
They're taking off in twenty minutes and Wash is locked in his bunk. His back is on fire, but all it does is drive his anger on. It's all it ever did.
He tried reasoning:
"There's got to be another way, you can't do this. Please, dad."
"I have orders, son."
"Then don't listen to them!"
But Wash can see it, the Major isn't even hearing him. Blindly thinking that this is the thing to do, that whatever is going on, it's worth the life of a planet. The Major doesn't apologize, not even for a second does Wash see regret cross his face, he doesn't even try to deny what he's doing and save face in front of his son.
"You'll understand, some day. Might be that you'll even come to agree with me. These people...they're not a part of our society and this is what happens to criminals. That's essentially all they are, Wash. Smugglers and thieves. Outcasts that chose to be that way. We gave them the choice, son, and this is what they chose."
What have these people done that's so bad? What could Mal's mother have done that's so bad?
"They started a war,” the Major answers that question, a harsher blow than the ones from the belt.
A war. That's what Wash is thinking over now.
Wash pays attention to what's going on with the outer planets, he's always been interested. Been curious. Wanting to know what it's like outside of Londinium, wanting to go there to see for himself. It's the one thing he thinks he's ever done that's made the Major proud, the decision that he wanted to be a pilot. He wanted to fly and see the 'verse. It wasn't until the Major had found out that Wash had no intention of joining the Alliance military, becoming a captain or maybe a Major himself, that his dad changed his mind.
Wash doesn't want to fight. He wants to be free to explore. With his Alliance pilot's license he'd have been able to travel wherever he wanted, his access never restricted.
Through all the hours on the Cortex, he's never heard stirrings of a war. Of any type of uprising. He thinks that if this plan is allowed to go ahead there will be. That the Rim planets will balk, that they won't be cowed like the Major seems to think. Like the Alliance seems to think but Wash doesn't go for that. Not if even a quarter of them are like his Mal.
His Mal, who isn't going to be around for long if Wash doesn't get out of here.
Wash pries off the panel for the bunk's locking system. It may be locked from the outside but Wash knows how to override that. He's picked up more than a few tricks, stuck down here or in a ship like it, or in his room with nothing to do but play with wires. He's just never actually crossed the line into leaving before. He only ever overrides the locks, then locks them up tight again. His father never knows and all it ever was was something to pass the time. Not today, though. This time, Wash overrides the lock and the indicator light flashes green. He can push the hatch open and step out of his bunk.
He looks around to make sure he hasn't been noticed, then pulls the bunk hatch closed carefully behind him. With everyone supposedly on the ship, Rudy shouldn't be on guard anymore. What's lucky is just as equally unlucky, though. The ship is going to be full, Wash isn't sure how he's going to sneak off.
He heads down the hall towards the cargo bay. He thinks he's got fifteen minutes. There's no one to greet him or call the alarm on him until he gets to the hall entrance of the cargo bay.
It's one of the workers. There's a second where Wash stares at the man, breath caught, waiting for him to raise the alarm. But the man just grins.
"Hoban. You seen the Major? We're looking to get this heap off the ground."
Wash nods his head. Here's a stroke of luck and he seizes it. "He's just back there. Give me five and I'll send him up to the bridge."
"Thanks, kid."
Wash nods and forces himself to return the smile. He doesn't even remember the man's name now but it doesn't matter. He waits for the man to turn back to the bridge and then jogs through the cargo bay. The ramp is up but the small door is still open and Wash steps outside, casual as he can. No one stops him. Now his luck just has to hold, the Major can't notice he's gone or he won't take off. He can already hear the whine of the engines warming up.
Wash feels like he's on a suicide mission as he bolts from the ship, towards the irrigation ditches. The longest one is maybe a hundred yards from the ship and it's the only place he can see to hide in the otherwise flat fields. Useless ditches that won't ever fill with water, ditches that were only ever there to deceive, but they might turn out to be his only chance now.
On second thought, as he skids into the ditch, down the steep slope to the bottom, rocks and dirt sliding down along with him, he thinks a suicide mission is exactly what this is. He catches sight of the terraformers as he dives into the ditch. They're huge, off in the distance, seen as clearly as the mountains that are off in the other direction. If they explode, the backlash from it will take out this town. And Wash plans on heading straight towards it. Without even knowing how much time he has left or if he can diffuse whatever the Major did to it.
First, he's got to try and warn Mal. Tell him to get as far away as possible. Take his mom and everyone, and get over to that city, Blackie. The city should be fine in the immediate explosion. An explosion from the terraformers takes out one small farming town. The planet dies over the course of a few days. Maybe a week. However long it takes, the end results won't change.
He hunkers down in the ditch, hidden from view. He can't see the ship but he can hear the big engines cycle through their final start up. They blow up air and dirt, send rocks tumbling down the edges and over Wash. He still doesn't move, closing his eyes to the dust.
The ship has to leave, he repeats to himself, a silent mantra or prayer. The engines roar, the first upthrust. The air bursts outwards as the engines burn and Wash can see the ship, rising up, a slow hulk. It's not until it reaches a few hundred feet altitude that it looks as graceful as it is. It does a turn and, moments later, another shock wave of air from the engine hits the dirt and the ship is off.
Wash closes his eyes and lets out a long breath that turns into laughter. The Major thinks he's still locked in his bunk, the last time his dad had checked on him was twenty minutes ago. By the time he figures out that twenty minutes was more than long enough for Wash to escape, it'll be too late. Wash will have either revealed the truth or been killed in the explosion.
The thought sobers him. He needs to act fast. He scrambles up the incline of the ditch, slipping when dirt and rocks come loose. He scrapes a hole into the knee of his cargos and curses the rest of the way up at the sting to his knees and hands as he pulls himself out and the sharp rocks dig in.
"What the hell are you doing, Wash?"
Wash loses his handhold and almost tumbles back down at the voice right in front of him. His wrist is caught before it can happen, though, and he looks up to catch sight of Mal. He feels like laughing again, and he knows he's grinning.
"Mal. Oh, thank god."
Mal grabs hold of his other wrist and gives a heave to pull Wash the rest of the way over the bank. Wash's feet dig into the loose dirt to help push himself up and he ends up sprawled over Mal's lap, both of them laid out over the ground. The laughter bubbles up and Wash can't stop it.
"You lost your gorramn mind?"
"Near enough."
Mal is looking at him, bemused but not angry. Wash sees his chance. Sees it and lets it pass one more time.
He pushes himself up off Mal and Mal follows him. "What are you doing here, Mal?"
Mal looks uncomfortable, running a hand up through his hair and giving a shrug. He won't quite look at Wash. "Wanted to apologize. Thought I'd catch you before y' left, didn't wanna just...let y' go without saying something. Guess I didn't need to worry." Mal finally eyes him. "Wash, what the hell is going on?"
"I overheard my dad talking to another officer, one back home. They said they were going to blow the terraforming equipment."
He tries not to be impatient as Mal studies him. The sound of the ship has long since faded and there's an eerie calm that settles everywhere. Wash isn't used to it, not even here. There's always people about or animals. Back home, there's machines. Here, there's wind but he can't hear that, can only see the effects of it rippling through the tall dead grass. He looks back to Mal when the man starts to speak, voice slow and heartbreakingly unsure.
"They can't."
"They can,” Wash insists. He's not going to get another chance at making Mal listen and fights to keep his words from launching into a hysterical rant. “And we need to tell everyone. Those terraformers are too close, they need to get out of the blast range."
Mal shakes his head and Wash has to grab him by the shoulders to get Mal to actually focus on him. The truth of it is sinking in too fast and he can see Mal wanting to push him away and call him a liar.
"Get back to the town, ride Sandy out of here." Wash shoves him and Mal stumbles back a step. Wash turns, ready to run for the terraformer when Mal grabs hold of his arm.
"You too. Whatever the hell is going on, no way I'm lettin' you run towards it."
"We don't stop those things going, then this planet dies, Mal."
The pause is heavy. Mal stares at him and Wash can't tell what's going through his mind. The only times he can read Mal is when the man wants him to. One thing Wash does know is that they don't have the time to be wasting and he can feel the panic edging in, high and fast.
It's minutes that drag by before Mal snaps out of it, his hand still hard on Wash's arm as he drags Wash with him. "Let it. Ain't loosin' you."
Now isn't the time to feel a rush of pleasure. Not the time to want to smile and pull Mal to him and kiss him like he's been wanting to do the last two weeks. To call Mal an idiot and confess how much he loves him.
He keeps it to himself, lets the fact he follows Mal talk enough for him. Mal swings up on to Sandy and Wash hauls himself up behind Mal. A sharp kick and Mal is yelling at Sandy to move. Wash has to grip his arms around Mal's middle to keep from being tossed as Sandy bolts forward, fast as Mal can make her, back towards the house.
They don't get even a quarter of the way.
The shock wave hits them before the sound does. It slams into Wash's back, shoves him against Mal and a second later Sandy is taken from under them. Wash can feel as she stumbles and falls. He can hear something break and a second later is when the sound of the explosion reaches them. Wash expects to feel the heat scorching him next, but the force of the wave hurls them over the edge of the ditch they'd been running next to.
He's lost hold of Mal. He hits the ground hard enough it drives all the air from his lungs.
***
Part Two - Chapter Three