Dedication: To all the folk who endure traumatic events and somehow find the courage to rebuild their lives.

Disclaimer: Not mine, no coin changed hands. This story has not been beta-ed. Please accept my apologies for any errors or correct me.

Rating: NC17, Definite adult content, violence. Sensitive readers may find this chapter too intense. You have been advised.

Remarks: The next section in my long story arc following Jayne and Kaylee as they define and strengthen their relationship. Takes place between the series and the BDM, three weeks after my previous story, “Leaps of Faith”. Click on my name to read the backstories.

Italics represent internal thoughts and/or dream sequences.

Feedback: Sincerely appreciated when civilly offered; that’s what it’s all about. Some of you have expressed distress over this story’s title. Please consider the following:

Definitions: Source: The Random House Dictionary of the English Language Raping – (3) The act of seizing and carrying off by force (7) Plundering. Serenity – (1)The state or quality of being serene, calm, or tranquil.

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Raping Serenity

Chapter Nine – Taken and Loaded

Through the large open area of Serenity’s galley, past the big oak table, up the short steps and into the corridor, Evert Lazley moves silently on rubber-soled boots, his pistol gripped in both hands and held at the ready. The egg-shaped doorway ahead reveals a portion of the Firefly’s engine room. The low hum made by the idling engine, pumps and servos covers any accidental soft sounds he makes.

With great stealth, he works himself up to the big engine in the center of the compartment, craning his long neck to make sure the space is clear. To his surprise, a pair of slim legs and a cute little rump in green coveralls protrude from under the engine casing and he hears a woman’s voice singing softly, punctuated by the clank of a wrench. He tucks his pistol in his waistband and then leans down and grabs the seat of Kaylee’s coveralls and yanks her out from under the casing.

“Hey! Woah!” The little mechanic yelps. “Ow, that hurt, Jayne.”

Kaylee quickly flips over and sees it’s not the merc playin’ tricks on her but some lanky stranger who’s now pointing a gun at her.

“Well, who the hell are you an’ what’d’ja do that for?” The girl’s face flushes first with anger then goes pale as the man gestures with his pistol for her to stand.

“I’d shut up, if I’z you, li’l gal. Jest behave yerself an’ don’t make no trouble.”

Kaylee warily pushes herself up into a standing position, her back against Serenity’s engine cowling, wrench still in hand, wondering how she can use it to defend herself.

“An’ drop that spanner. Now!” His voice is deadly serious and she lets the wrench slip from her fingers to the deck with a loud clatter.

Kaylee’s voice trembles but she does her best to put up a brave front. “There are other people on the ship. You better leave before they realize you’re here an’ shoot you or somethin’.” Her hands are clinching and unclinching, eyes wide and anxious.

The lanky, stork-like man smirks. “Yeah, they’re here, but I got ‘em all locked up where they ain’t gonna be of no help to ya, so let’s you an’ me just head back up toward the bridge nice an’ easy, you hear?”

Lasley waves the gun barrel toward the door and Kaylee reluctantly turns and does as he orders.

“Whaddaya want?” She asks him over her shoulder. “We ain’t got no money or fancy goods here, nothin’ worth stealin’. Besides, the Cap’n an’ the rest of the crew’ll be back any minute. Cap’n don’t take kindly to strange folk breakin’ into his ship. He’s a man you don’t wanna mess with.”

“Best you just shut yer chatterin’, girl and keep movin’.” The scarper snaps at her and pokes her between her shoulder blades with his pistol.

As they pass through the galley area, Kaylee is all eyes, looking for anything she might use to her advantage. Too far from the knives in the food prep area. Wonder if I could manage ta hit him with a chair? Wonder where he’s got Simon an River and the Shepherd locked up?

The warm familiarity of the space offers her little comfort.

++++

Bert Portman’s rummaged through the rest of Serenity’s upper level and heads back to the bridge where his boss has already begun unscrewing access panels and removing the plates and mountings that secure the Firefly’s computers, cortex link, sensors and other electronic gear.

“Didn’t find nobody on this level, but it looks like they must have a crew of six or seven for this bird.” He notices Wash’s dinosaurs, gathered on the console. “What th’ fuck are they doin’ with toys up here?” and he sweeps the creatures to the deck with the back of his hand.

Kurtz leans out from under one of the control banks and notes, “If there’s anybody still on board, ol’ Laz’ll find ‘em. Man’s got a nose like a bloodhound.” He grabs wire cutters and starts severing cable and connections, then unscrews one of the bridge monitors and wiggles it free of the console.

“Here. Set that off to the left there…”

++++

Passing through the foredeck corridor, Kaylee can see that all the bunk doors are closed. He’s autolocked ‘em down in sombody’s bunk, she thinks. That’s good. At least he didn’t just kill’em outright, so maybe they’re okay... Lazley gives Kaylee another push as she’s entering the bridge and she stumbles slightly crossing the threshold, catching herself on one of the lockers.

“Look’ee what I found, Boss,” he drawls. “You ain’t never gonna guess where I found this li’l gal. She was up under the engine, workin’." He eyes Kaylee curiously. "Ain’t never seen no female mechanic afore.”

“There’s two more crew members locked in down in one of the cabins, but no sign of anyone else on board,” he advises his boss.

Kaylee notices the partially disassembled equipment scattered and stacked to one side and her mouth falls agape. “Wu de tyen ah!” The exclamation tears out of her throat like a sob. “What in Buddha’s name are you doin’ to Serenity, you liou mahng!” She lunges at Kurtz in fury, only to be grabbed up, kicking and thrashing, by Portman.

“Feisty li’l thing, ain’t she?” observes the scarper boss, his mouth twisted in a bemused, cruel smile. “Oughta be real entertainin’ once we get all this gear pulled.”

“Laz, use a piece a that cord to tie her up so she don’t make no trouble.”

Kaylee’s mind’s going ninety miles an hour as she tries to remember some of the self-defense skills Jayne has taught her. “You puddle of shu ma nyaow, get your gorram hands off my ship!” she rails and kicks out at Kurtz. Lazley yanks her off her feet and onto the deck, knocking the wind out of her. Pinning her with his knee, he yanks her hands roughly behind her and uses a length of Serenity’s wiring to tie them together, then ties her feet the same way.

“Your ship?” Kurtz asks, sarcastically, leaning over Kaylee. “This is your ship, li’l gal? Well, iffn that’s so, you’re gonna really enjoy watching us gut her.”

Kaylee spits squarely in his face and immediately regrets her bravado, as Jed Kurtz’ face goes icy cold. He takes a filthy bandanna from his pocket and calmly wipes the spittle from his cheek, then stuffs the foul cloth into the girl’s mouth.

“Drag the li’l bitch over there outta the way. We got work ta do.”

The men prop Serenity’s bound mechanic against the far bulkhead beside a stack of components they’ve already yanked from the Firefly and turn back to systematically gutting the consoles.

It takes all of Kaylee’s will to calm herself, to hold back the tears that flow at the desecration of her beloved ship. She knows that she must think clearly, repress the panic that rises like bile within her. “Keep yer wits about ya.” That’s what Jayne’s always told her. Jayne, oh god, Jayne…

Her furious, terrified mind chatters on: You lousy hundan, get your filthy paws off ‘Renity… No, don’t cut that! Oh god, girl, I’m so sorry, ‘Renity, I’m so sorry… Hey, be careful with those boards! … Blessed Buddha, oh no, not the sensor array. Me an Wash just got that all installed and synced up…

The gaping holes and voids in the Firefly’s control consoles and the sprawling tangle of cable and wiring pulled out and lying every which way make Kaylee nauseous. Her hands are numb from the pressure of being tied behind her and she’s shaking.

How long did the Cap’n say it would take ‘em to make this first run? Maybe an hour and a half, two at the most ‘til they get back to the ship. I wonder how long they’ve been gone? Lord, these guys work fast… I gotta find some way to stall ‘em…

They said two of ‘em’s locked up – I wonder who? River, River, can you hear me thinkin? Please stay safe. River? I hope you’re hidden and can let us all loose when these monsters leave.

Wonder if I could manage to get my hands loose. Maybe I can saw through this wire on the edge of a panel.

She slowly squirms closer to the stack of components and subtly attempts to rub the wire binding her wrists against the sharp metal frame. After a minute or two, she realizes that she’s making no headway on the wire core and mostly managing to scrape her wrists raw.

“Hey, there, none a that!”

Portman notices what she’s doing and yanks her away by the neck of her coveralls, dumping her hard onto her side. At least now she can straighten out her legs a little.

Jed Kurtz looks around the decimated bridge and takes stock of what remains to be stripped from the ship’s control room, then tells Lazley and Portman to start hauling their loot down to the trailer. “When you get all that gear packed, check though the medical bay an’ that spare shuttle. There should be at least one more cortex link on here an’ maybe some medical sensors we can sell.”

++++

In the badlands south of Newberg, Wash has landed Serenity’s shuttle in front of a rustic building crammed into the back end of a box canyon, well out of the way of anyone without a specific reason to be there. Overhead, Newhall’s sun turns the early morning sky a pale silver-blue, but the rusty canyon walls cast dark shadows down below.

Mal makes small talk with Chester Benning as Zoë and Wash and a couple of Benning’s men shift flat, heavy containers of tantalum ore pellets from Benning’s cache into the shuttle.

Apart from the others and standin’ up on a slight rise, Jayne gnaws his unlit cigar and cradles the Deckler, his eyes and ears vigilant for anything out of the ordinary. The confining feel of the place makes him nervous and seems a sure set up for an ambush. He shifts his weight from foot to foot to ease the ache that still throbs in his slowly healing left leg.

Climbin’ that hill last night with Kaylee didn’t help, but damn, it sure was sweet to be lovin’ on her again, he thinks. That’s one helluva load off my mind – now we just gotta figure how to tell Mal an’ not get our gorram selves fired or shot or spaced.

Benning reaches into the breast pocket of his coat and hands Mal a small folded paper. “Here’s the contact information for my man on Boros. You should have no trouble on that end. I’ve dealt with him several times and he’s dependable. He’ll be expecting your wave.”

Wiping the sweat from her face with her forearm, Zoe reports to Mal, “That’s the last of this batch, Sir. Ought to be able to off-load at Serenity and be back for the next pick-up in just under two hours.”

Mal glances over at his mercenary and grins. “Don’t Jayne look right proud a himself, standin’ there looking scary an’ impressive again? Never known a man to get so much pleasure from cuddlin’ a gun.”

His first mate smiles. “Guess he’s just happy to be up and workin’, Sir, and I can’t rightly blame him.” She suspects Jayne’s thinkin’ about cuddlin’ Kaylee and not the Deckler and heads over to the let the merc know they’re ready for takeoff.

Serenity’s Captain shakes Chester Benning’s proffered hand. “It’s a pleasure doin’ business with you, sir. We should be back no later than noon, all goes smoothly. I’ll be in touch.”

++++

Years of functioning in unpredictable circumstances have taught the big merc to snag some rest whenever he can. They’re not off the ground five minutes and Jayne’s already asleep again, his soft snoring lost under the shuttle’s engine noise and conversation between Mal, Wash and Zoë. Again, dreams of last night’s play with Kaylee flood his mind…

His gunbelt hangs from the rack behind his bunk and cast-off clothing litters the floor and assorted horizontal surfaces. He lies sprawled on his back, his callused hands lightly spanning Kaylee’s hips, guiding her as she rises and falls on his cock. Her eyes are closed and her head flung back, full mouth open in utter ecstasy.

All the women I been with through the years an’ I ain’t never seen anything so beautiful, he thinks in wonder.

He slides his work-roughened hands up her ribs to cup her breasts, molding and teasing the sensitive flesh and feels her tighten rhythmically on him, the hot, sweet ripples within her a response to his caress.

Kaylee braces her hands on his shoulders and dips each breast in turn toward his hungry mouth, moaning with the pleasure she feels from his teeth and lips and tongue, the chill of air upon her moistened nipples hardening them still more.

He turns with her, shifting the girl onto her back and pinning her hands firmly above her head, burying his face in her hair. He nuzzles his way around her ear, along her jaw and to her mouth, which parts beneath his own. Tongues entwined, they kiss deeply, sucking wetly at one another, mouths like ripe fruit.

Her hands released, she arches to meet him, wraps her legs about his hips to pull him even more deeply into herself, her nails scoring his back. His thrusts grow more forceful and she cries out involuntarily with each one as he drives himself into her. His breath comes in harsh, gutteral gasps as he nears his release…

++++

Wash looks up from the shuttle’s controls and glances back over his shoulder. “Is that Jayne? My God, it sounds like he’s dying or something.”

Zoë turns to look at the sleeping mercenary and pronounces, “I got no idea what’s goin’ on with that man.” She looks across to Mal. “What do you think, Sir?”

Mal shrugs. “Don’t know why he’s makin’ that racket and don’t rightly care. We’re almost back to Serenity and he can wake up and stop the whatever-it-is that he’s doin’.”

Mal walks over and pokes his slumberin’ merc in the chest. “Jayne! Wake up! What in the hell are you moanin’ about? You okay?”

The drowsy merc looks sheepish. “Uh… yeah Mal? I’m, uh, fine. No problem. Just dreamin’s all.”

Oh god, was I ever…

++++

River remains curled tightly inside the blanket she dragged over herself as she took shelter in an empty storage cabinet of the medbay. The sedative her brother administered is gradually wearing off and the chaotic swirl of thoughts and feelings begin to sort themselves. Some she knows as her own. Other threads she recognizes as coming from Simon and the preacher. Kaylee’s thread is clearest and filled with fear, anger and distress.

Then, there are the others, the strangers, men harming Serenity. Their badness taints everything else she can sense, a pall of cruelty and ill-intent. She knows she must stay hidden, stay safe until they leave.

One draws closer, his steps resonating down the corridor and into the medlab. River’s dark eyes dart to and fro, then close as she curls even more tightly into her own core. She can hear the random sounds of drawers being yanked open and searched, then scratchy mechanical sounds and metallic clanks. The bad man gives off threads of greed and excitement, anticipating what he will do with his share of the take.

His mission accomplished, he picks up something and leaves the medlab. River shakes her head to clear the inner tangle of voices and continues to wait inside of her hideout until she knows it is safe to emerge.

++++

The scarpers have manages to strip the Firefly of most of her usable electronic and communications equipment in a remarkably short time and have loaded it onto the trailer and covered the equipment with a protective tarp. Lazley and Portman finish lashing the canvas over the stolen goods while their boss does a final walk-through to see whether there’s anything else of value worth grabbing.

“Whattcha figure Kurtz is gonna do with that gal up there?” Portman asks his buddy as he knots the rope and tosses it back over the trailer to him.

Evert Lazley shakes his head and gives a low, sardonic chuckle. ”Betcha a bottle a rye he takes her back up to the cabin for a little fun and send us back to the cave to unload the take. I don’t envy her, Bert. I seen how Kurtz treats women and it ain’t purty.”

++++

Throughout Serenity there are gaping holes and empty housings where the ship’s sensors, electronics and communications equipment used to be. Panels are pulled loose and tossed randomly onto the deck and lengths of wire and cable too short to be of value lie scattered through the gutted Firefly.

Kaylee lies curled into a fetal position with her hands bound behind her and her feet tied together, her mouth gagged with a wadded up bandanna. Each new assault on this ship she loves so dearly leaves the consciousness of this great machine more and more fragmented. Every trauma to Serenity has been a blow to her, and she lies silently struggling to hold back the tears that burn behind her eyelids.

Oh ‘Renity, my poor girl, I’m so sorry these monsters have done this to you. They have to come soon – Mal and Jayne and the others. They have to come and help me put you back together. It’ll be okay, Girl, we’ll make it all okay…

The mechanic’s frantic, anguished thoughts are interrupted by footsteps echoing up the corridor as Jed Kurtz returns to the decimated bridge. He takes a last satisfied look around and remarks, “Got us quite a haul from your ship here, missy. I figured on that fancy sensor array an’ some a that other stuff, but I sure wasn’t countin’ on findin’ a purty li’l gal.”

The scarper boss grabs a pair of wire cutters from his pocket and clips the cord lashing her ankles together. Kaylee’s eyes flash wide with horror as she finally realizes that this foul man intends to take her along, too.

Kurtz pulls the girl to her feet. “Now listen up, missy. I got no qualms about usin’ this pistol I’m wearin’ so you’d best do exactly as I tell you, understand?” He grabs her by the upper arm and shoves her ahead of himself. “Now git on down to the ramp, so’s we can clear outta here before the rest a yer crew come back an’ find this carcass of a ship.”

Kaylee feels for a response from the Firefly. The consciousness she’s befriended and loved is silent, just components now loaded onto the scarper’s trailer. Oh god, she thinks, please let ‘em hurry up. Cap’n? Jayne? Somebody, please help me!

The sickened little mechanic stumbles along on half-numb feet, her shoulders aching from the strain of being tied up and her mouth still gagged. As much as she tried to think of some way to break free and run or defend herself, the scarper boss gives her no lee-way and she has no doubt he would shoot her without hesitation. She thinks back to that night not long before, when Jubal Early stood over her in Serenity’s engine room, and she is every bit as terrified now.

(To be continued… )