BLUE SUN ROOM FAN FICTION - GENERAL

LFABRY

Out of Gas - Shuttle Two
Thursday, June 29, 2006

Zoe, Wash, Simon, and River are running out of air, the temperature is dropping rapidly, and that's the least of their problems.


CATEGORY: FICTION    TIMES READ: 2524    RATING: 8    SERIES: FIREFLY

Disclaimer: the characters, scenario, whole 'verse is not mine.

To the big Tim and all my fellow BC's: You've played with this particularly wonderful toy before and I have only one thing to say: My turn!

****************************************************************

Damn, it’s small in here. Like being inside a closed eye. Dark outside. Not much better inside. I’d do a cartwheel, but I’d probably bounce off one thing or another. I’d laugh at that joke I heard a minute ago--did I hear it or think it? Why was it funny? I don’t remember. It was just funny and if I laughed there wouldn’t be anything else. I can’t go backwards. Mal can go backwards. In fact, that’s just what he’s doing now. I know I can’t, but I can go forward. For example, I know that soon I will have a memory. A picture. There’s a man with grey hair in the corner smiling at something shiny he’s trying to sell me, but the picture is centered on something rusting in the center. I don’t know how I can remember something that hasn’t happened yet, but I do anyway. That’s how small it is in here.

And the shuttle’s tiny, too.

“How long has it been?” Wash again breaks the silence.

“How long since we left or how long since you asked me last?” Simon makes no effort to hide his annoyance.

Wash’s ass had made an impressive print in his wife’s bedside. As soon as we got on board he put that orange call-back button on the panel and went straight to her. I remember that because I’d forgotten all about orange until now. Won’t be long till I forget again.

Wash shifts uncomfortably. I could tell he had to go, but didn’t want to miss anything. Zoe’s breathing was getting faster, bit by bit. She would wake up soon. Wash would go soon. Interesting to see who went first. Ultimately interesting to see which of the four of us would freeze first. Gonna have to go with me. Smaller than them.

“How ‘bout how long till we all die?”

Wash had left Mal on Serenity all by himself with little to no hope, the others were in Inara’s shuttle, his wife had come close to death, as we all are right now, and he needed to talk. Always did. Why Simon expected it to get better now instead of worse was beyond me. The only two people who could talk back to him were Simon or me. Can’t say I don’t understand his decision.

“Well, we’ll last a lot longer if we cut out stupid questions.”

“And how long is that?”

“What did I just say?” Simon seemed more angry at the interruption than at the waste of air.

Wash looks to me as if I could answer. ‘If no one says a word, four hours and thirty-six minutes,’ is what I want to say. I think I say something like, “Not enough room.” Why did I say that? I was thinking about something like that, but I can’t remember. It’ll come back to me.

Simon makes a point to jab the paper he’s writing on with his pen. Wash makes a face that could have been either annoyance at us or stiffening his resolve not to go. Simon had made it very clear that he didn’t want anyone to see what he was writing and after a fairly pointless argument, Wash had relented. If he had been paying attention like me, he would have seen that Simon was writing biographies of all of us. Eulogies was more like it, but he had clearly used the word “biography.” He was saving mine for last. Wanted to do it right. Simon was planning on leaving his writing out in hopes that whoever found us would be decent enough to pass them along. He had no idea that someone else was out there and very nearby. At least someone else did.

“< Holy shit! > [Pi hua sheng]!” The bed made a tearing sound as it parted ways with Wash’s ass and he leapt to the controls. “There’s someone out there.”

“Seriously?” Simon instantly puts down his writing and joins Wash.

“Looks like a salvage ship.” Wash replies as he makes out a signal.

“Wave it!”

“Gee, what a great idea. Wait a minute...I already did.”

“And?”

“Hear that sound? That buzzing sound of empty air? That’s the sound of them not caring.”

“But if we just tell them our situation...”

“What? What do you think will happen? Think a salvage ship that makes a minimal living picking the bones off pieces of < crap > [go se] that make Serenity look shiny will drop everything to blow their measly profits on us?”

“We’ll die if they don’t.”

“They don’t care!” Wash steps away from the controls and moves back to Zoe. “Kind of a reoccurring theme with them.”

“I hope you don’t give up on your wife as easily.”

Wish I could say I was surprised that Simon said that, or that I was surprised when Wash lunged at him, but all I could think of was the irony that there wasn’t enough room in this shuttle for them to fight. But they did.

Wash has Simon by the waist and forces him to the ground where he drives his fist into Simon’s side repeatedly. Simon had bent Wash’s head forward and was slowly pushing him away. He was all set to knee Wash in his stomach and with the full bladder, I would have been highly amused at the results, but I knew what was coming.

“HEY!”

Both men instantly stop to look at Zoe, who is looking right back at them and none too happy about what she sees. “Whose idea was this?”

Simon and Wash quickly part, stand, and point a finger at the other.

“Before I hear about who started it,” Zoe was in soldier-mode and in no mood for long explanations, my ramblings, or to even ask about herself. “I’d like simple answers to the following questions: Where are we? Where is everyone else? How soon till we get to them?” Turning to Simon, she says, “You first.”

He puts up his hands they way he always does with a patient. I want to say, ‘don’t do that. It’s like you’re going overboard on the “this won’t hurt a bit” thing.’ What I say comes out like, “Three is bigger than one.” Dammit, I need to say that five minutes from now. Hope I remember. Everyone looks at me as if it were the first time I had said something crazy. And then they continue.

“You’ve been injured,” Simon speaks very slowly. “You need to re--“

“Okay,” Zoe has no problem interrupting him and turning to Wash. “You answer.”

Wash approaches his wife with a smile. “Can I do this first?” He kisses her forehead tenderly. She softens and strokes his hair for a second.

And then she’s back to Zoe. And he knows it. “We’re on Shuttle Two. Serenity was damaged, Mal stayed, the others are with Inara, Simon and River are with us. We’re headed for the nearest help and we’ll be back before you know it.”

“The nearest help being...?” Zoe already knows the answer. Wash doesn’t speak. So Simon does.

“Days away. And we have hours.”

“How far away is Serenity?”

“Two-three hours,” Wash was happy just to have something to say to Zoe.

“Then let’s head back.”

“Back?” Simon sounds as if he doesn’t understand the meaning of the word.

“Did I stutter? We’re heading back.”

“You’re severely injured. Serenity is worse off--“

“We can’t leave the captain.”

“If he’s not dead now, he will be when we get there.”

“Then we’ll bury him at space. You don’t seem to understand. We’re going back. And that’s not a topic of discussion. That’s an order.”

“Oh, an order!” Simon doesn’t like that. They are going to gang up on him and he knows it. And I can’t do anything to stop it. “Well, excuse me, ma’am.” He spits out that last word as if it were a swear. “But I don’t recall enlisting.”

“Then consider yourself drafted. Don’t you dare think I’m going to abandon the man who stood by me when no one else would.”

“Why do I get the feeling you’re not talking about me?” Wash jokes to break the tension. If only that could work.

“Baby, you’ll always be the man I love, but I wouldn’t be the woman you love if it wasn’t for him. You owe him as much as I do.”

“I don’t care about where I am or how I die. I just want to be with you when it happens.”

Another future memory jumps to the front of my mind. Except it’s not a picture this time. Something about trees or leaves or air or the wind. Can’t focus on that. Real danger here.

Simon doesn’t wait for them to finish their moment. “That would be great. If you were the only two on the ship, but in case you can’t count: it’s four. Now don’t rush to thank me for saving your life, or rush to think about your husband, but there is a young girl on this shuttle to whom you’re condemning to die right along with you. She does not deserve this. She deserves the best chance at life and this is it.”

They’re all looking at me now. I should say something, but I forgot what I was supposed to say five minutes ago. The irony makes me chuckle as I realize I don’t remember what I wanted to say, but I remember when I was supposed to say it and when I forgot. Maybe if I look around, they’ll stop staring at me. I’m sitting in the aft section. I remember I like it here because I can see everything without getting in the way. Until now.

“River,” Simon walks over, kneels in front of me, and puts his face in mine. My first impulse is to honk his nose the way I used to when I was little. But I know better than to even try. With my aim, I’d probably end up grabbing something else and that’s a memory I don’t want to have. But Simon’s talking and I should try to listen.

“--need to tell these people that they’re being stupid. It’ll just mean we all die if we go back.”

“Can’t go back.” Did I say that? What did I mean by that?

“See.” Simon turns to Zoe and Wash. “It’s two against two, and as I’m the only one thinking straight--“

Even with my mind, I can’t mistake the sound of the hammer of a gun being pulled back.

“It can be two against one in no time,” Zoe’s tone doesn’t change a bit as she aims at Simon. “Wash turn this shuttle around.”

“I wouldn’t do that.” Simon puts himself in front of the controls.

“Apparently, you’ve never disobeyed my wife before.”

“Doc, I might be injured,” Zoe does not sound like it. “But I can drop you in one shot.”

“Oh, that’s a great idea. Kill the only guy who can save your life.”

Wash also takes the sarcastic route. “Honey, remember how we always talk about consulting each other on the big issues?”

“I’m not going to ask you twice.” Zoe sounds like she’s ordering a glass of water. I’ll have to ask her how she does it when she’s not about to kill my brother. “Turn this shuttle around now.”

“Without my help, you’ll die.” Simon’s face has truth written all over it.

“Betcha I make it to Serenity before then.” As does Zoe’s.

Simon looks over to me. And I’m standing. When did that happen? Maybe I should concentrate on what’s happening now.

“River, should we stay or go?” Simon’s talking to me. He doesn’t see. The massive black in front of us. The captain bleeding all over the infirmary. The salvage ship vowing revenge. The other shuttle doing far worse than we are. The right decision will save us and the wrong decision will kill us all. And the only person who knows this is me. And if I had just warned them about the fire on Serenity a few minutes sooner, they all would have listened. Now, even if I could clearly tell them what I wanted, they wouldn’t.

Simon pulls me over, shows me the controls, and asks, “Yes or no?”

Why did he ask me that? If I could say “yes” or “no” I would have said it by now. I know we need to get back to Serenity. I know everyone will die if we don’t. I could even tell him the precise time. But I can’t do “yes” or “no.” Hell, I don’t even remember which one I’m supposed to say at this point. It’s so increasingly frustrating I could pull my tongue out with my bare hands, but knowing me, I’d probably come up with one of my feet.

“River? River!”

“Not enough room,” I hear myself say. I can feel the tears coming. Zoe’s going to kill Simon because I can’t say one simple word.

“You’ve got three seconds, Doc.” There is no mistaking the seriousness of her tone.

Simon yells, “What does that mean?”

“Three...”

“Will you let her answer?!?”

I say to him, “It’s right there.”

“Two...”

“This is stupid. I’ll just turn us around.” Wash heads for the controls.

“Stay the hell away from here!” Simon pushes him away. He pushes back, and I get knocked over.

“You lay a finger on my husband and I’ll drop you in more than one shot.”

She’s going to shoot him. Once in the stomach, she’s going to let him suffer for a moment, and then she’ll kill him. And without Simon...

He’s yelling at her, she’s yelling back, Wash is yelling at everyone, and I hear myself scream “It’s right there!”

It fills the tiny shuttle, bounces off the walls, and drowns out everyone and everything else. Everyone looks as if I were talking to them. But I wasn’t. And I realize it’s right there. I hit the orange button and we feel the shuttle swerve as it turns itself around.

It doesn’t take long for the silence to sink in. With nothing to say, Wash rejoins his wife. Simon shakes his head in disapproval, but doesn’t move to change anything. Zoe lowers her gun in a relief she thinks only she feels. But it soon passes. The anger over what has just happened is starting to grow. It’s only a matter of time before a permanent rift settles over all of them, if I don’t act. My first impulse is to go to Simon, but I need to...

And suddenly I’m next to Zoe. I put my head in her lap. And I’m not moving until they get it. I feel her hand in my hair and her quiet gratitude. Simon stays back until I reach my hand out. He takes it. We stay that way for a moment.

I look up and see Wash smiling at me. “Not enough room.” I tell him.

“There’s always room for you,” he answers.

“Nine is too many. Eight is too many. Six is too few.”

“So we’re going with seven?” he says jokingly.

He doesn’t get it. “You’ll get what you want,” is all I can tell him. When it’s time, I won’t remember. I’m already starting to forget what I want to tell him now.

Simon pulls me aside. He wants me to himself. He thinks this is the end. I wish I could tell him it wasn’t and how far we still had to go.

**************************************************************** If you liked, stop on by and read my first fic here

Next up: Shuttle One. Now taking suggestions and don't forget to comment below on this 'un.

COMMENTS

Thursday, June 29, 2006 1:52 PM

AMDOBELL


I really liked this a lot though I couldn't really see Simon trying to stop Wash turning round to go back though it did make for a more dramatic scene. Ali D :~)
You can't take the sky from me

Thursday, June 29, 2006 7:15 PM

AGENTRUSCO


This is great. Great Riverness. I wrote a similar, but I must say yers is much more angsty and brilliant.

Thursday, June 29, 2006 7:25 PM

LEIASKY


Just echoing everyone elses comments. It was more dramatic, but Simon did seem quite out of character.

Loved your Zoe though.

Thursday, June 29, 2006 7:34 PM

DRACONUS


Interesting take on how things might have played out. I don't think I've seen anyone write River the way you did. Very shiny. Can't wait for the next one.

Friday, June 30, 2006 3:29 AM

LFABRY


Oh, that rascally Simon!

Hooray for all the wonderful comments. Also taking suggestions for the nuttiness going on in Shuttle One!

Saturday, July 1, 2006 7:42 AM

ELOISA


Great River internal perspective. Well done.


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Out of Gas - Shuttle One
While Mal is on Serenity and the others are on Shuttle Two, Inara, Book, Jayne, and Kaylee head for rescue on Shuttle One. The air is running out, time is scarce, and three of the passengers have found an alternative...Plus, Jayne does something very Jayne-like.

Out of Gas - Shuttle Two
Zoe, Wash, Simon, and River are running out of air, the temperature is dropping rapidly, and that's the least of their problems.

Brain for a Day - part 3 of 5 (teleplay format)
After a rather bloody and painful incident involving the entire crew, Mal was forced to shoot River. She awakens in the infirmary to find something has changed...

Brain for a Day - part 5 of 5 (teleplay format)
River's newfound sanity is in jeopardy. Will Simon and the crew be able to save her or is she doomed to be locked inside her own head?

Brain for a Day - part 4 of 5 (teleplay format)
Through a bizarre turn of events (involving some wonderful inter-crew violence) River has her sanity back, or so it seems. A recent memory has just caused her to let out a horrifying scream...

Brain for a Day - part 2 of 5 (teleplay format)
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All characters, etc. property of not me. My most sincere apologies/props for the great run!