Title: Boundless, Chapter 6
Characters: gen, all crew
Rating: PG-13
Timeline: post-BDM
Notes: Thank you for the beta Erin *hugs*
“Tiny life beats, tiny souls, not yet ready, may never come to be.” River sounded almost melancholy as she stared at the tiny embryos, cocooned within their stasis chamber.
“What do you think’s gonna happen to them?” There was a frown on Kaylee’s face that seemed out of place, her intrigue over the mechanics of the stasis chamber lost in the knowledge of what it housed. Her eyes flicked to Simon as he gingerly picked up the chamber, his brief analysis of embryos over, and snapped it shut--hiding an image that was making the situation more than uncomfortable.
“Not that many people wantin’ babies and unable to have them right?” Kaylee might not have liked the truth though she was persistent in wanting an answer; but River was being less than forthcoming, just tracing her finger around each ruby-glow shape that was barely visible through the box.
“I mean there’s loadsa kids out on the Rim needin’ good homes, planets where accident’s happened an’ the like.”
Inara shook her head, stepping in as Simon shot her a grateful glance, having the answer but not wanting to do as he usually did and compound the situation by saying the wrong thing. Their relationship was too new and fragile for him to be truly comfortable with himself yet, for him to accept he wouldn’t wreck things by saying something casually that could be taken wrong. He did have more common sense than smarts at times.
“No mei-mei, usually those who have the money to pay for what they can’t naturally chose to do so legally. The only illicit activities I could see where someone would want a baby and be willing to go to such lengths would be to ensure a perfect child. Design a perfect child. Perfect genes and perfect health; with both intelligence and attractiveness too.”
Her eyes drifted to River whose hands were still ghosting over the box even as Simon held it; her gaze was unfocussed and distracted, listening to an inner voice the others couldn’t hear and not noticing the Companion’s glance. But Simon noticed.
“Generally they don’t tend to mass transport them, only so many perfect children allowed at one time.” Simon was holding himself more than a little stiff now, offended by what he believed is a backhanded accusation.
“Simon, that’s not what I meant,” Inara held up her hands as Kaylee looked from one to the other bemused for a moment, her hand coming to her mouth moments later as she realized where the tension had come from.
Simon turned away from them, carefully taking the box from River. His back to them as he spoke, his words having more of a sarcastic edge than a bitter one. “Somehow I doubt the Alliance would have needed to experiment on a perfect child, unless of course things didn’t go as smoothly as they’d planned and they had to try remoulding her to the original specifications. Di yu-” He turned back a slight smile on his face although there was two spots of anger on his cheeks as he’s talked, voice still holding an edge that was closer to bitterness than humour. “Maybe I was the trial run, discarded at the beginning. Do you suppose that could be why they took River? Perhaps it was easier than creating another from scratch or thinking third times the charm.”
“My sister, the Alliance’s plaything, much like these could be.” Simon set the box down, “Somehow I doubt it, they’re more likely to be clones for tissue samples and extra organs for harvesting. Given there are so many of them.”
“That ain’t what she meant Simon and you know it, stop getting all stiff and snarky over nothing.” Kaylee was speaking firmly but her hand was on Simon’s, the thumb caressing his palm, “There’s no calling for it.”
It took a minute for Simon to answer, eyes moving from their entwined hands to her, flicking to Inara and taking in her apologetic look. “No I suppose not. I‘m sorry, I guess I‘m just a little sensitive where this sort of thing is concerned.”
“And you have reason to be,” Inara was smiling softly now, “I meant no offence, I just wondered if perhaps we could be in over our heads here. If perhaps this is bigger than smuggling for donor tissue or if the Alliance are being completely foolish and trying to combat the nature and nurture problems they had controlling River and others like her.”
The appalled expression on Kaylee’s face spoke volumes, her head turning to look at the innocent looking chamber, “You think they’re tryin’ to mess with things again, creating Tien knows what?”
“Got to stop.” Edgy would have been the mildest word to describe River’s posture as her eyes snapped back into focus, not responding to Kaylee’s question nor expressing a moral desire to change things. Her thoughts were diverted somewhere else, as she whirled away from Simon who moved to touch her shoulder, her hands reaching for the small box. “We’ve got to save, breathing sleeping, all real not just to be discarded and used- not just evidence to be sold to the highest bidder!”
“We know that River,” Simon placed his hands on the box, not wrestling for it in case something went awry but keeping her from doing whatever he could see she was thinking on doing. “The Captain knows that River and once he-”
“Is shot.” She interrupted him, making Simon frown, opening his mouth to contradict her but yet again talked over as she continued. Her words no longer cryptic or fragmented, but odd nethertheless. “Take more than an ear this time, take all three and come for more.” She sighed reading confusion in all three faces, “Things never go smoothly, Captain needs our help now.”
“They’re in trouble?” Kaylee’s eyes widened, even as Inara questioned River with, “Are you sure?”
“Captain’s thinking loud enough and wanting me to hear, not joking with it.” River looked to each of them steadily, hearing emotion and thought welling up in each. Turbulent emotion weighed down with worry and uncertainty but emotion River couldn’t help but enjoy; protectiveness, security, passion, emotions of a family-one which was willing to fight for its own.
“Fools rush in Simon, they have guns and only I can shoot straight,“ River eyed him, watching the blush that suffused on Simon’s face. “Nethertheless, good thinking, need the diversion and distraction.” She paused her eyes moving to Kaylee, “And distance. Need to get Serenity away from here.”
“You want us to leave the Captain and the others?” Incredulity in Kaylee’s voice is plain to hear, but River shook her head quickly,
“Not leave, kidnap all and make a diversion. Fly Serenity out with all aboard.”
“Wouldn’t the hold still be open, it would be suicide for us all to fly the ship-” Inara’s comment was cut off by Kaylee’s eager one, the mechanic’s mind picking up and working over River’s idea faster than anyone else.
“I can rig it to shut from up top and River can fly us away from here. They’ll notice the hold closin’ and the ship taking off but they ain’t likely to kill anyone when someone else’s got them hostage.”
“They’ll want hostages of their own.” Simon’s voice was a murmur, His fingers were working through the cabinets, loading up a syringe and pushing it up under his sleeve, as he added, “Not likely isn’t very reassuring though.”
River tossed him a sunny smile as they parted ways, the women heading up to the control room, Simon moving to the hold to sneak a look at what was going on there. “Better odds than other things.”
******
“Well now, that’s a whole other kettle of fish.” Mal smiled pleasantly at the undercover agent, though his fingers tightened into fists, not liking the powerlessness he felt. “Looks to me like the people on this planet ain’t doin’ too badly, some of them anyhow.”
The man eyed him for a moment, keeping up the pretence of tightening their bindings. He still hadn’t released them yet and wasn’t likely to even knowing what side Mal’s thoughts lay on. Mal had to admire the man’s cunning, though he’d cheerfully put a bullet in him for keeping his crew at risk.
“Tarring them all with the same brush Captain? You really have no idea what you’ve stumbled across do you?” The Lieutenant's voice was just about soft enough for Mal to hear, both Zoe and Jayne straining to get slightly closer. Though with Jayne it was more than obvious, Zoe maintained her air of nonchalance, eyes only flicking to Mal briefly.
“The ‘verse really must not like you.”
Jayne’s grunt was audible and Mal could picture the sneer the merc was throwing the Fed’s way.
“So what’s your plan then? Your great idea for getting’ us out these…” Mal’s eyes flicked to where the Toady looking man was reveling in his cargo haul, being all manner of slimy and overly satisfied though his boys keenly took note of what was there. “Portly folks clutches?”
He was on his knees now, faking at finishing off the binding, glancing up only to ask with a voice far too soft and silky satisfied, “I take it that’s a yes, we’re in business Captain Reynolds?”
Mal paused, noticing the slimy folks attention turning their way, hating the words he was forced to admit. “Ain’t a no, that’s for certain.”
“There’s a lot of money in this business, lot of call for a ship even one as go-se as this, that’s regular and could be on the payroll.” The Rep’s sounding almost conversational, striding back over to them Ripley backed away to a respectful distance.
Hun dahn just gonna stand there, an‘ do nothing? Mal wondered, thinking on whether officer-boy needed an engraved and crafted invitation to help them out. The man was no less than a foot from the Rep and was armed where he wasn’t, any one of them would have had him by the throat but Ripley still kept being less than useful.
“And what a sweet venture I’m thinking that could be,” Mal was smiling at the Toad, “’Least on the side of coin, just ain’t for me or mine nor my ship whom you’re so rudely talkin’ on.”
The Rep’s eyes flicked from Mal, an expression of distaste crossing his face, before his gaze took in Zoe. Stoic and looking more than a touch scary in Mal’s opinion, Zoe stared him down making the Toad stammer muttered curses before his eyes flicked to Jayne, seeing something in the man that at Mal’s angle with Jayne in profile, the Captain couldn’t.
Perhaps didn't want to see. Wonder if this will be that interestin’ day, Jayne spoke of.
Only the Rep and Ripley can see Jayne’s mouth opening, the satisfied look only on the Rep’s face increasing as he waited patiently for the acceptance and betrayal he expected. Eyes on the Rep’s face, mouth closing a moment later, Jayne leaned forward as far as the binding would allow and very slowly and deliberately spat on the man’s shoe.
“Ain’t enough of a wrong ‘un to be ferryin’ babes as cattle.”
Mal grinned at that, liking Jayne’s response even more than he liked the purple-red colour filling the Rep’s face, though the calm, sneered words the man uttered were enough to put Mal in a very worrying mood.
“Then we have a problem; one of the pods is missing and I’m thinking we collect in kind. You and your crew won’t fetch that great a price but chances are if we search this wreck, I’ll find more than I bargained for as well as my missing property.”