BLUE SUN ROOM FAN FICTION - GENERAL

BALLAD

Rare Old Times: Ch. 2
Friday, May 12, 2006

In Which there are Introductions, Flashbacks and Mal’s Cooking


CATEGORY: FICTION    TIMES READ: 1746    RATING: 9    SERIES: FIREFLY

Chapter 2: Saoirse

In Which there are Introductions, Flashbacks and Mal’s Cooking

**

Bayboro Alliance Supply Depot Greenleaf Nine years earlier

“Saoirse, this has got to be your dumbest idea yet!” Private First Class Saoirse O’Malley just grinned at the sergeant’s whispered rebuke as she chucked another MRE packet into her duffle. Mal didn’t like playing lookout, even when the take was this good.

“C’mon, Sarge, you know what they say. ‘An army marches on its stomach.’ And pretty soon we’ll be down to throwin’ rocks without proper ordinance, so.” Mal glanced back at her from his post by the cracked door and gave her the patented ‘You’re an idiot’ glare that any non-com perfected eventually. He went back to watching the purplebellies by the front door in the next room as Zoë and Saoirse silently passed full bags of rations, ammo and a few explosives out the back to the three men waiting outside. As Zoë was strapping one of the last loads to her back, Saoirse tossed another at the private closest to the door. She turned away as she let it fly, grabbing up the last two bags in her left hand. She froze as she heard the unmistakable thud and clatter of fifteen boxes of .45 ammunition hitting the concrete floor.

“Cao!” The Hibernian lilt in her voice made the Chinese vulgarity sound nearly pretty as she whipped around to see the private scooping up ammo and shoving it back in the bag with both hands. “You gou cao de idiot!” The deafening rattle of Mal’s submachine gun drowned out any further insults as he kept the purplebellies who had jumped to their feet at the ruckus bottlenecked in the doorway.

“All right, O’Malley time to cut and run!” Zoë herded the others away as the sergeant covered their escape.

“Aye, Corporal, three seconds,” Saoirse’s short red curls flashed as she climbed on a crate to reach the package she had hastily taped to the gas line near the ceiling before they had started loading up. At five feet, two inches tall she was nearly too short to tap the three buttons that started the timer. “Let’s scat!”

She found herself pounding the pavement outside the building with the sergeant right on her heels. She threw herself to the ground and scurried through the hole Zoë had cut in the perimeter fence with Mal pushing on her boots and yelling “Go, go, go!”. They had barely made it three feet outside the enclosure before the gas in the line ignited and the main storage building exploded. The two of them whirled and watched the flames, smiling.

“Good work, Irish.”

“I love me a good explosion, Sarge.”

**

“So this is Serenity, eh Sarge?” A proud smile flashed across Mal’s face as he nodded and watched Saoirse drop her duffle and something that looked suspiciously like a guitar case onto the cargo bay deck. “Quite the looker. And speaking of…” That toothy grin reemerged as the first mate came down the stairs from the bridge.

“Leaving atmo now, sir.” She stopped short at the sight of the shorter woman standing at the foot of the stairs. She looked her up and down, taking in the worn olive trousers, the heavy boots and the battered brown bomber-style jacket topped by a pale, heart-shaped face with warm brown eyes and all that long, long red hair.

“Zoë Allyne. Been too long, eh?” It was that musical lilt in her voice that confirmed it. Equatorial region of Hibernia, a little muddled from travel and a few years living in New Dublin.

“Saoirse?” Zoe stepped down to grasp the smaller woman’s shoulders and pulled her into a hug. “It certainly has.”

“Let me guess,” The rich tones of Shepherd Book’s voice were lowered as he came up from the lounge door. “Another army buddy.”

“Yep,” Mal tried, but failed to keep the twinkle from his eye as the two women embraced.

“Well,” Book joked, “At least this one didn’t show up in a casket.”

Zoë broke from Saoirse’s arms to jog over and pick up the mic to the comm.

“All hands to the cargo bay!” She swung the heavy surplus duffel onto her shoulder as she said “We gotta introduce her around, might as well do it all at once, sir.”

“True enough.” Mal turned to the crowd that was coalescing, and looked each crewman in the eye. Kaylee was looking confused, but her habitual welcoming attitude was taking over, making her smile. Jayne’s concern over anything new was slowly (probably as quickly as he was thinking) changing to a lewd grin. Wash, clattering down the steps his wife had so recently descended looked wary. Inara’s face was inscrutable, as it often was. But Simon’s chin was set, his brow furrowed and his eyes held barely-hidden panic. Mal pointed out each of them to the tiny woman at his side and briefly describe their role on the ship. “Well, you know Zoë and me. That there’s Kaylee Frye, the best mechanic floating. The fella over by the door looking like he sucked on a lemon, that’s the doctor, Simon. That oversized chunk of manflesh is Jayne Cobb. He’s-well, he’s not good for much. The guy in the blinding green shirt is Wash, Hoban Washburne, but Wash, pilot. I mostly keep him around because Zoe would kill me if I pushed him out the airlock. They’re married. Over there you got the Shepherd, Shepherd Book, and our Ambassador, Inara Serra. She’s a Companion. There’s one more, but I don’t see-”

“River’s sleeping, Captain,” Simon interjected. “Bad night.”

The ebullient smile on Saoirse’s face shifted only once, to pleased surprise, when Mal introduced Wash as Zoë’s husband. “So, folks, this is Miss Saoirse O’Malley of Dun Laoghaire, Hibernia. She fought with Zoë and me until Du-Khang. And-” he looked sharply at the doctor, “I would trust her with my life. In fact, I have.” The redhead smiled modestly.

“More the other way ‘round, really Sarge. Anyway, it’s awful nice to meet you all. And I won’t be staying long, just the ten days or so to Hibernia. Although I am hoping to talk Mal here into doing another little job for me once we get there.”

“First I heard of it.” The smile disappeared, leaving those wide eyes squinted and her generous mouth hard.

“Well, I just found out it needed doin’ today, Mal. Got the wave this mornin’.” Zoe could see the pair gearing up for a spat and nudged Saoirse’s foot with her own.

“We’ll settle all that later. Let’s get you squared away. We’ll put you next to the Shepherd.”

**

Shepherd Book smiled at the sound of feminine laughter coming from the room next door. He had been planning to read for a bit and perhaps pray, but the chorus of giggles was tempting. He peered around the open doorjamb and found the new passenger sitting on the tiny bed, crowded up with Kaylee and Zoe.

“So the Sarge looks this lieutenant straight in the eye and says ‘Only if you let me wear your hat.’”

“Horrible, AWFUL thing. Big, wide brim all curled up, with a big old orange feather stickin’ out of the band.”

“But he hands it over, and Mal pops it right on his head, dead drunk he was, with his pistol in this purplebelly’s face, starin’ him down, boy. And he turns to me and he says, ‘What do you think, Irish, does it suit me?’” “Hope I’m not intruding,” Book cut in, smiling indulgently.

“Shepherd!” Kaylee beamed at him. “Nope, Zoe and Saoirse, here was just giving me a little dirt on the captain.”

“Dirt?”

“Oh, yeah.” Saoirse slid from the bed to pop open the snaps on her guitar case. “Nobody better than old war buddies for blackmail material.” Book chuckled at that as the slight girl sat on the floor cross-legged and began carefully tuning the battered instrument. He cast an eye around the previously empty room that had quickly filled with possessions. There were a few clothes piled on the bed, a nondescript bag of something slouched in the corner and a few books on the floor. A string of beads hanging from a hook by the bed caught his eye. He filed away the information for later. The girl might only be with them for a few days, but a good pastor was always prepared for any spiritual eventuality.

“Well, if this is going to turn into a…guitar pull, perhaps you should move it out to the lounge. It’s a little more comfortable. And if River’s still asleep…”

“Oh!” Kaylee’s eyes went wide at the thought of disturbing the peaceful sleep that her friend so rarely got. “Yeah, c’mon let’s go out there and you can play us a little somethin’, Saoirse.”

They trooped out to the lounge, Saoirse settling back on the deck and the others taking seats. As she finished tuning, Wash wandered in and sat next to his wife. When the redhead looked up, her audience was looking at her expectantly.

“Well, alright,” she laughed, “a concert is it, then?” And with that, she softly began to sing.

She made it through “The Rose of Tralee” and half of a sweet composition by Tritep from 2493 before the doctor peeked out of the infirmary and smiled at Kaylee’s insistent, beckoning waves. He glance behind him at the CV screen displaying research half-finished, shrugged and joined Kaylee on the battered couch. They were just sagging into each other with Wash and Zoe casting knowing glances at each other and smiling indulgently, when they were interrupted.

“All right.” The captain’s voice cut over the guitar’s from the doorway to the hold. “Time for supper, ladies. And Shepherd.” Both Wash and Simon rolled their eyes at the Captain. He just smirked. “And it was my turn to cook, so make sure you eat up every bit. I’d hate to have to assign extra watches for gripin’.”

“Yep. Still the martinet, eh Sarge?”

“I’ll wake River.”

“I’m going to go check on the autopilot.”

“I wanna see if that transformer is still runnin’ hot real quick.”

“And I want to talk to you, after dinner, Irish. ‘Bout that job.”

**

Inara had heard the graceful chords of a guitar (much more enjoyable than Jayne’s occasional “pickin’”) and nearly gone down to join the party when she’d heard the captain call them to dinner. So she had merely slid into a pair of black embroidered slippers and padded quietly down to the galley. Most of the crew were still about their duties or washing up, but Zoe and Serenity’s newest face were setting the table.

“Hello,” the Companion greeted them quietly before picking up a handful of flatware and chopsticks and distributing them about the table. “Ah, I see we’re being treated to Mal’s specialty tonight. Grey paste au jus.”

“It is a bit watery, innit?” Saoirse smiled shyly as she filled the glasses with recycled water.

“My name is Inara.” She extended her hand, and the shorter woman took it.

“Saoirse. Pleased to meet you, Miss.”

“Just Inara if you please. We don’t stand on ceremony on Serenity.”

“Yes, Miss.” She chuckled, low in her throat. “Sorry, Inara. Just, I’ve never met a Companion before. Never even seen one.”

“Well, I promise not to bite.”

“Yeah,” Jayne growled as he strode in. “That costs you extra.” Inara artfully ignored him as she took a seat and Saoirse followed her lead.

“Was that you on the guitar earlier, Saoirse?”

“Aye. You know what they say, Miss, Hibernians will sing at the drop of a hat.”

“Inara. And it was lovely. “Yellow Daffodils for Guitar”, wasn’t it?”

The others started to trickle in and take their seats. The table was a bit crowded with one more than usual, but they managed without too much bumping of elbows, and Kaylee didn’t complain about being crowded closer to Simon. He didn’t seem to mind much either.

“So, Miss O’Malley,” Book began, “why don’t you tell us a bit about your home? I haven’t been to Hibernia in a dog’s age.”

“Oh, wo de ma, Shepherd, you just opened up a can o’ worms.” Mal sighed good-naturedly. “Ain’t nothin’ Irish there likes better’n talkin’ about the ‘ould sod’.”

Saoirse glared at him and grinned. “He’s not wrong. Oh, home’s as fair as she ever was, Shepherd. Green fields, soft rain. Not that I see much of the fields these days, livin’ in New Dublin. It’s probably changed a fair bit since you last saw it. Few more people living there now, and more built up. But it’s still a small town compared to anything in the Core. No more’n 30,000 souls for sure. Not likely to be too many more, now.”

“Why’s that?” Simon asked, keeping one eye on his sister who was stirring her paste disinterestedly.

“Oh, population restrictions.”

Inara looked up sharply. “Isn’t Hibernia a largely Catholic colony?”

“Yes, Mi-Inara. Some Church of Ireland, Anglican, but in the main, we’re Catholic. After all, most of the original settlers were ethnic Irish who felt they were being mistreated by the government of Londinium.”

“Population restrictions on Catholic communities are illegal.” Book interjected.

Both Mal and Zoe were intently studying their half-eaten paste, anticipating the good, long tirade on the Alliance’s and Londinium’s outrages against Hibernia that they knew was coming. They were slightly disappointed. Saoirse spoke calmly, yet animatedly.

“Oh, they are. For most Catholic populations. You see, after the war, Londinium imposed quite a few reparations on its colony.”

“I thought the Rim Reconstruction Act prohibited punitive reparations.” Simon interrupted.

“Oh, I know this one!” Wash cut in. “Most of the planets that rebelled against Alliance authority never signed the Alliance Charter.”

“Exactly so, Mr. Washburne. Hibernia, as a colony, and administrative district, of Londinium is bound by all of that planet’s laws and agreement. Despite the fact that Hibernia was terraformed and settled nearly a century before the Alliance Charter was even a gleam in King Marcus’ eye. When the Charter was signed, it was approved unanimously in Londinium’s parliament: a body which only had two representatives from Hibernia at the time. The majority of the population never approved of the measure, but then most Hibernians don’t much approve of anything the government does.” Everyone laughed at that.

“Anyway, as de facto signatories of the Alliance Charter, the Hibernian Planetary Parliament that approved the rejection of Alliance control and joining the Independent faction was doing far more than rebelling against some authority that had no legal claim over their government, like much of the Rim. They were actually, legally committing treason. Add to that the fact that Londinium has the final say over the administration of its colony and the protections the Rim Reconstruction Act offer former Indy planets mean absolutely nothing on Hibernia. We have emigration restrictions, and with the population confined to the soil, we suffer under population restrictions too. That means that every woman of child-bearing age is issued birth control, whether they’re Protestant or Catholic. Whether it violates their religious convictions or not. And many Catholic women don’t use it. And of course, since abortion is also frowned on by the church, a black market in children being moved off-planet illegally is huge. They’re sent to friends, family, even sold into slavery. Babbies, eight, nine years old, younger if they’re from one of the cities. You can hide a child in the country a lot longer than if you’re livin’ in a slum.” Saoirse’s accent was getting thicker, a sign of her agitation, so Mal broke in.

“Tzao gao, Saoirse, what happened to the fiery temper and table-thumping? You’re sounding…dare I say it? Schooled!”

“I’ve been readin’.” She flashed a quick smile of apology. “Sorry, folks, didn’t mean to bore you. I just get a bit…fired up.”

“Well,” Inara said soothingly, “I thought it was fascinating.” She looked down at her empty paste bowl and laughed “I didn’t even taste this dong xi.”

COMMENTS

Friday, May 12, 2006 6:28 PM

BALLAD


Chapter 2! Yay! That's already way further than I've ever made it on any other fic.

Saturday, May 13, 2006 1:08 AM

AMDOBELL


I can't help wondering what Job Saoirse has in store for Mal and his crew. Just hope she doesn't drop them in a pile of *goushi* they have to shoot their way out of. Lovely homely scenes with a nice relaxed pace, and I loved Saoirse dishing the dirt on her Sarge for a few laughs. Ali D :~)
You can't take the sky from me

Friday, May 26, 2006 4:32 AM

TAYEATRA


Nice pacing and again, a good measure of exposition without overdoing it.

Thursday, November 10, 2011 7:18 AM

SHINYZOEKAYLEE


Oooo I love your new Irish character!!!! She's shiny!!!! And the part with Simon and Kaylee on the couch was just adorable!!!


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