Why’d it have t’ be so gorram complicated? I mean, turnin’ down Badger like that might’a been a bad move money-wise, but I knew I couldn’ trust the lil’ weasel. Sure, Mal could be a *hoe-tze duh pee-goo, but he was always honest and fair with his crew, which, given our usual line o’ work, ain’t somethin’ you find very often and even I know that ( Read more... )

Jayne had figured out part of the problem, and I had as well, but the soft click wasn't leaving me yet, and the red was pulling fast fast fast, and she wasn't talking to me anymore ( Read more... )

Why was I here?

It was a question I had asked myself repeatedly the entire time I had been aboard Serenity, and although Kaylee had recently spoken to me and helped me change my mind about my previous desire to leave, I ( Read more... )

"Wŏ de mā*, we did it..."

The engine core started spinnin', and then it started glowin', and then it started hummin'. And then, of course, Kaylee and I started jumpin' up and down for joy and basically acting like a couple of fools. But that was just fine by us folks here on the ship, since that meant Serenity was up and running and ready to fly ( Read more... )

"Excuse me, Captain, but.. I've suddenly lost my appetite."

"Tā mā de," I whispered quietly, but quickly. Inara was gettin' up from the gorram table and walkin' away from what was, without a doubt, going to be the most interesting conversation we'd ever had.

Now, all right, I supposed that a genteel restaurant-- hell, a public place of any kind ( Read more... )

"They're not. They run in circles around it and it doesn't stop, but it will soon."

"She will fix it," I added my own thoughts, quite sure that River would know who I spoke of. After all, she knew when I didn't speak as well, so there was no real challange there. What I was not as sure of, was if anyone else had picked up on my hesitancy to call ( Read more... )

Book had been the last to leave Serenity, weaving his own path through the station toward it's center. He watched his surroundings carefully without seeming to; just a friendly Shepherd out for a stroll ( Read more... )

Isis Station. Nothin' special. Tiny little backwater at the arse end of the galaxy as far I was concerned. But it had its uses. The foremost being how it was a convenient transfer spot for trading in alliance weapons. The station was a tad too pro-Alliance for my tastes, but then that was the reason I came here. To deal with those what had ties ( Read more... )

I was tellin' Mal the truth about losin' my last deck of cards back on Sarafin, but it wasn't solitaire I was wantin' a new deck for; I was gonna teach River every card game I knew, so's when we got somelpace with real money, we'd be sure to clean house ( Read more... )

While Zoe knew that Wash very much appreciated her moral support, she also knew better than to stick around and distract him while he was working. They were now safely docked at Isis Station, and it was time for Wash and Kaylee to get to work on getting the ship sky-worthy again. She had remained on the bridge even after Mal and the others had left ( Read more... )