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salzara_tirwen
Prompt: A particularly horrid Sue joins the Serenity crew.
Fandom: Firefly
Length: 1373 words
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Serenity, bridge; night.
"It's the simplest of jobs-"
"-and a job's a job-"
"-and it seems to us you could use one right about now," said Fanty and Mingo, staring out from the little screen on the console.
Mal wasn't entirely convinced that they had Serenity's best interests in mind, especially since River killed the clientele of the bar they did business in. Still, business was business - and how much trouble could one little passenger possibly be?
"We'll take it. When and where do we meet?" he asked, with a decisiveness he didn't feel.
Beaumonde, spaceport; morning.
Fanty and Mingo were unusually keen to have the deal done. It left Mal feeling uneasy, especially since the law wasn't going to be a problem - just a simple passenger run.
With one passenger. At an absurd price.
The typical fare for a passenger on a boat like Serenity was 20 credits a day, which covered their share of fuel and food and all things else the ship needs to run. Fanty and Mingo had offered a thousand, up-front, for a one-way trip to wherever this client wanted to go.
Mal accepted the deal, and took the case from Fanty (or was it Mingo?). An hour later, Ravyn Sparkleshadow boarded the ship.
Serenity, passenger dorms; midday.
"...and so that's where everything is. Feel free to help yourself to the kitchen, and don't kiss Inara with narcotic lipstick," Mal said, pausing a moment to reflect. "Um... don't ask. So, where is it we're taking you to, miss..."
Ravyn looked at Mal with her big, lilac eyes - the kind that smile at people regardless of what the rest of her face is doing - and smiled. "Oh, anywhere's good. And I'm Ravyn Sparkleshadow, princess of Londinium."
One crazy girl was bad enough, Mal thought. "That's an odd notion you got there, miss... Sparkleshadow? What the hell kind of name's that? Anyway, just... uh... call Jayne if you're needin' anythin'." Mal turned to leave, then stopped a moment. "If you're all settled in, I've... uh... got captainy things to do."
He left without waiting for an answer.
Serenity, bridge.
"So, little albatross, got our course set?" It hadn't taken long for River to settle in with flying the ship. Her skills were nearly as good as Wash's, and improving by the day.
"I do," answered River. She thought for a moment, then offhandedly added, "I don't like her either."
"Ain't a matter of like. Food and fuel and parts all cost money, and that's why she's here." A thousand credits for a few days' worth of uneventful flying was all kinds of insane, though. If something should happen, Fanty had whispered, we wouldn't hold it against you. Accidents have a terrible way of happening. "Anyway, looks to be you've got things all under control. Call me if interesting things happen."
Serenity, engine room; early afternoon.
Kaylee sat cross-legged in the corner, carefully cleaning the compression stabiliser. It'd been acting up some earlier, which tended to cause problems for the hydraulic lines if it wasn't caught and fixed early. She held it up to the light, inspecting it, and looked through, into the lilac eyes of Ravyn. Kaylee jumped, a little surprised.
"Oh! Hi! I'm Kaylee," she said, setting the part aside and holding her hand out.
Ravyn shook it enthusiastically, her silver hair blowing around some as she did. "Hi! I'm Ravyn Sparkleshadow, princess of Londinium."
"Well, ain't that somethin'," said Kaylee, diplomatically. "First time we've ever had a princess on board."
"I haven't been on many spaceships. Oh! Did I interrupt you?"
"No, no. Just a little bit of routine-" Kaylee started, only to be interrupted.
"No, no. It's no trouble. It's a compression stabiliser, isn't it," she said, picking it up.
"Um... yes, you ca-"
"It's ok. I'll just put it in for you. Let me see... it goes... here!" Ravyn bounced some and smiled as the part went smoothly into place. "Anyway! Nice to meet you, Kaylee," said Ravyn, bouncing out of the engine room.
"Yeah. Real nice," said Kaylee, pulling a face.
Serenity, cargo bay; mid afternoon.
Jayne walked down the steps, keen to get to his weight bench. While it was weird to be working out without the shepherd, he knew he'd have to get used to it.
Reaching the foot of the stairs, he looked over toward his weight bench where-
"Gwai me jeow!" shouted Jayne.
Ravyn put the weights down; she must've put damned near every ounce available on that bar. "Oh! Sorry. I thought it'd be ok."
Jayne just stared. She wasn't even breathing heavy, didn't have any sweat at all. That ain't natural, he thought.
Up until then, he'd thought she was quite fetching, but now...
"Um... sorry. I'm Ravyn, by the way. Princess of Londinium." She smiled at Jayne.
Jayne, for his part, backed up some. After what River could do to him... "Um... hi, new-crazy-person. Um... I'll... uh... be in my bunk. I won't make no trouble for you, and you don't have to do nothin' to me. Ok? Ok."
Ravyn blinked, confused; Jayne used the distraction to turn and run.
Serenity, infirmary; late afternoon.
Simon walked into the infirmary to see Ravyn reorganising everything. Literally everything.
And was she... decorating?
In an infirmary?
"Wh... what are you doing?" Simon was... confused, and he was a little irritated, and... decorations?!
"Hi! I'm Ravyn," she said, smiling at him.
"I'm Simon, and this... This is my infirmary. Which I had organised the way I like."
"But this way will be so much better! And prettier. It was so lifeless and streile bef-"
"It's an infirmary. It's supposed to be sterile." Simon had never seen anything like this before. Even the most naive med students were smarter than this. This, this was a monumental train wreck.
"But it can be pretty!"
Simon stared, mouth open, then skulked off wordlessly. River padded in soon after, and had a quick look around the room. "Ugly. Backwards. Broken."
Ravyn looked at River. "I'm fixing the room."
"Not talking about the room."
Ravyn smiled, and bounced happily. "Oooh! You read minds too? Yay! Can we be friends?"
River stared for a moment, then took a couple of steps toward Ravyn and kicked her in the head. Ravyn crumpled to the floor, unconscious. River poked her tongue out, then locked the door. It'd be dinnertime soon, and River didn't want Ravyn popping up.
Serenity, galley; evening.
"Don't like her. She should go," said River. As one, the crew nodded; even Zoe and Inara had had visits from Ravyn, and were less than impressed - especially Zoe. Ravyn had said things about Wash, and about his dinosaurs.
Mal was, frankly, surprised by this. The ship had a history of liking its passengers alive. "She's off the ship
moment we get to Persephone. It's all good."
"She stays here another day," said Inara, "and I leave for good."
"Well, then. This is an odd kind of a landscape. Kaylee? You've been awful quiet."
Kaylee looked over at the captain. "Serenity doesn't like her."
"Wasn't askin' after Serenity's likes, little Kaylee."
"I don't like her either," said Kaylee, almost as though the words wanted to hurt her. She liked everyone... except Jubal Early. She especially liked Simon, and Ravyn had upset him.
Jayne smiled. "Looks like we've got us a simple solution, then. We doin' it?"
Serenity, infirmary.
"Ravyn?" Mal opened the door, and waited to see if she was awake yet. She was.
"Mr Reynolds? The door accidentally locked. I was trying to make the infirmary all pretty and-"
Mal smiled at Ravyn. "That's ok. Actually, we're needin' you to do some work for us."
Ravyn bounced happily. "Anything! I'd love to help!"
Serenity, cargo bay.
"Ravyn, remember what we talked about?"
"You close the door, then I do the very best decorating job I can on them?" she said, still happy and bouncy.
Mal smiled. "Exactly," he said, as he pressed the button to close the doors. Jayne grinned as they finally closed.
It was a simple matter from there. He pressed the big red button, and decided he was never taking passengers ever again.
salzara_tirwenPrompt: A particularly horrid Sue joins the Serenity crew.
Fandom: Firefly
Length: 1373 words
Make a request
Serenity, bridge; night.
"It's the simplest of jobs-"
"-and a job's a job-"
"-and it seems to us you could use one right about now," said Fanty and Mingo, staring out from the little screen on the console.
Mal wasn't entirely convinced that they had Serenity's best interests in mind, especially since River killed the clientele of the bar they did business in. Still, business was business - and how much trouble could one little passenger possibly be?
"We'll take it. When and where do we meet?" he asked, with a decisiveness he didn't feel.
Beaumonde, spaceport; morning.
Fanty and Mingo were unusually keen to have the deal done. It left Mal feeling uneasy, especially since the law wasn't going to be a problem - just a simple passenger run.
With one passenger. At an absurd price.
The typical fare for a passenger on a boat like Serenity was 20 credits a day, which covered their share of fuel and food and all things else the ship needs to run. Fanty and Mingo had offered a thousand, up-front, for a one-way trip to wherever this client wanted to go.
Mal accepted the deal, and took the case from Fanty (or was it Mingo?). An hour later, Ravyn Sparkleshadow boarded the ship.
Serenity, passenger dorms; midday.
"...and so that's where everything is. Feel free to help yourself to the kitchen, and don't kiss Inara with narcotic lipstick," Mal said, pausing a moment to reflect. "Um... don't ask. So, where is it we're taking you to, miss..."
Ravyn looked at Mal with her big, lilac eyes - the kind that smile at people regardless of what the rest of her face is doing - and smiled. "Oh, anywhere's good. And I'm Ravyn Sparkleshadow, princess of Londinium."
One crazy girl was bad enough, Mal thought. "That's an odd notion you got there, miss... Sparkleshadow? What the hell kind of name's that? Anyway, just... uh... call Jayne if you're needin' anythin'." Mal turned to leave, then stopped a moment. "If you're all settled in, I've... uh... got captainy things to do."
He left without waiting for an answer.
Serenity, bridge.
"So, little albatross, got our course set?" It hadn't taken long for River to settle in with flying the ship. Her skills were nearly as good as Wash's, and improving by the day.
"I do," answered River. She thought for a moment, then offhandedly added, "I don't like her either."
"Ain't a matter of like. Food and fuel and parts all cost money, and that's why she's here." A thousand credits for a few days' worth of uneventful flying was all kinds of insane, though. If something should happen, Fanty had whispered, we wouldn't hold it against you. Accidents have a terrible way of happening. "Anyway, looks to be you've got things all under control. Call me if interesting things happen."
Serenity, engine room; early afternoon.
Kaylee sat cross-legged in the corner, carefully cleaning the compression stabiliser. It'd been acting up some earlier, which tended to cause problems for the hydraulic lines if it wasn't caught and fixed early. She held it up to the light, inspecting it, and looked through, into the lilac eyes of Ravyn. Kaylee jumped, a little surprised.
"Oh! Hi! I'm Kaylee," she said, setting the part aside and holding her hand out.
Ravyn shook it enthusiastically, her silver hair blowing around some as she did. "Hi! I'm Ravyn Sparkleshadow, princess of Londinium."
"Well, ain't that somethin'," said Kaylee, diplomatically. "First time we've ever had a princess on board."
"I haven't been on many spaceships. Oh! Did I interrupt you?"
"No, no. Just a little bit of routine-" Kaylee started, only to be interrupted.
"No, no. It's no trouble. It's a compression stabiliser, isn't it," she said, picking it up.
"Um... yes, you ca-"
"It's ok. I'll just put it in for you. Let me see... it goes... here!" Ravyn bounced some and smiled as the part went smoothly into place. "Anyway! Nice to meet you, Kaylee," said Ravyn, bouncing out of the engine room.
"Yeah. Real nice," said Kaylee, pulling a face.
Serenity, cargo bay; mid afternoon.
Jayne walked down the steps, keen to get to his weight bench. While it was weird to be working out without the shepherd, he knew he'd have to get used to it.
Reaching the foot of the stairs, he looked over toward his weight bench where-
"Gwai me jeow!" shouted Jayne.
Ravyn put the weights down; she must've put damned near every ounce available on that bar. "Oh! Sorry. I thought it'd be ok."
Jayne just stared. She wasn't even breathing heavy, didn't have any sweat at all. That ain't natural, he thought.
Up until then, he'd thought she was quite fetching, but now...
"Um... sorry. I'm Ravyn, by the way. Princess of Londinium." She smiled at Jayne.
Jayne, for his part, backed up some. After what River could do to him... "Um... hi, new-crazy-person. Um... I'll... uh... be in my bunk. I won't make no trouble for you, and you don't have to do nothin' to me. Ok? Ok."
Ravyn blinked, confused; Jayne used the distraction to turn and run.
Serenity, infirmary; late afternoon.
Simon walked into the infirmary to see Ravyn reorganising everything. Literally everything.
And was she... decorating?
In an infirmary?
"Wh... what are you doing?" Simon was... confused, and he was a little irritated, and... decorations?!
"Hi! I'm Ravyn," she said, smiling at him.
"I'm Simon, and this... This is my infirmary. Which I had organised the way I like."
"But this way will be so much better! And prettier. It was so lifeless and streile bef-"
"It's an infirmary. It's supposed to be sterile." Simon had never seen anything like this before. Even the most naive med students were smarter than this. This, this was a monumental train wreck.
"But it can be pretty!"
Simon stared, mouth open, then skulked off wordlessly. River padded in soon after, and had a quick look around the room. "Ugly. Backwards. Broken."
Ravyn looked at River. "I'm fixing the room."
"Not talking about the room."
Ravyn smiled, and bounced happily. "Oooh! You read minds too? Yay! Can we be friends?"
River stared for a moment, then took a couple of steps toward Ravyn and kicked her in the head. Ravyn crumpled to the floor, unconscious. River poked her tongue out, then locked the door. It'd be dinnertime soon, and River didn't want Ravyn popping up.
Serenity, galley; evening.
"Don't like her. She should go," said River. As one, the crew nodded; even Zoe and Inara had had visits from Ravyn, and were less than impressed - especially Zoe. Ravyn had said things about Wash, and about his dinosaurs.
Mal was, frankly, surprised by this. The ship had a history of liking its passengers alive. "She's off the ship
moment we get to Persephone. It's all good."
"She stays here another day," said Inara, "and I leave for good."
"Well, then. This is an odd kind of a landscape. Kaylee? You've been awful quiet."
Kaylee looked over at the captain. "Serenity doesn't like her."
"Wasn't askin' after Serenity's likes, little Kaylee."
"I don't like her either," said Kaylee, almost as though the words wanted to hurt her. She liked everyone... except Jubal Early. She especially liked Simon, and Ravyn had upset him.
Jayne smiled. "Looks like we've got us a simple solution, then. We doin' it?"
Serenity, infirmary.
"Ravyn?" Mal opened the door, and waited to see if she was awake yet. She was.
"Mr Reynolds? The door accidentally locked. I was trying to make the infirmary all pretty and-"
Mal smiled at Ravyn. "That's ok. Actually, we're needin' you to do some work for us."
Ravyn bounced happily. "Anything! I'd love to help!"
Serenity, cargo bay.
"Ravyn, remember what we talked about?"
"You close the door, then I do the very best decorating job I can on them?" she said, still happy and bouncy.
Mal smiled. "Exactly," he said, as he pressed the button to close the doors. Jayne grinned as they finally closed.
It was a simple matter from there. He pressed the big red button, and decided he was never taking passengers ever again.
