TITLE: "All That Was" AUTHOR: JFCarey2004 FANDOM: "FIREFLY" RATING: PG - 13 STATUS: New. Spoiler. FEEDBACK: Welcomed. Very much so. EMAIL: JFCarey2004@yahoo.com IM: JFCarey2004

CHINESE DICTIONARY:

Gwon nee ju jee du shu: Mind your own business.

fong luh: Crazy.

Huh choo-shang tza-jiao duh tzang-huo: Animal-fucking Bastard.

Dong ma: Understand

Dang-ram: Of course.

Chu ni duh: Screw you.

Liou coe shway duh biao-tze huh hoe-tze fuh ur-tze: Son of a drooling whore and monkey.

SUMMARY:

This is a spoiler of a much larger piece that my friend and I are writing and would like to get some feedback on it.

DISCLAIMER:

The usual disclaimers apply. The characters and 'Firefly' are the property and gift of Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. No infringement of copyright is intended.

"All That Was" Written by JFCarey2004

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Captain Malcolm Reynolds sat alone at the little bar that sat at the edge of the town. He had needed to get away from all the craziness of the day passed. Coming home so Kaylee could see her parents wasn’t as big a deal as she had made it out to be. Luckily Inara was able to find some respectable clients for herself here as well. Everyone was making out pretty damn lucky, that was until the heart attack. Kaylee’s father wasn’t the healthiest man Mal had ever seen and his little scare sure showed that to everyone. Thankfully Simon was able to go to work quickly and save the man, which would only increase that crush Kaylee had for him. It was a nice thing though, Mal thought to himself, to be able to bring Kaylee back home for a spell. Mal remembered back to when she came on board, by coincidence really, but still she had earned more than his respect. What good was a ship without someone to make it run? Mal took another sip from his drink as he noticed someone sit next to him. He didn’t really give it any thought nor any look, as the case was. Unfortunately, being alone wasn’t something Mal was going to be lucky enough to receive, at least not today anyway. “Captain Malcolm Reynolds of the Firefly-class ship Serenity, what a pleasure it is to meet you.” Mal didn’t bother looking over at the man talking to him. Not in no way did he have a clue as to how this person, whom he had never met before, knew who the hell he was and he really didn’t much care to find out. “Gwon nee ju jee du shu.” All Mal had wanted to do was come for a drink and have some time to think. Work hadn’t been coming as easy as before and Mal wanted to sit a bit and think about where he wanted to take the crew next. They were very loyal. Some of the most loyal people he had ever met, but he knew that soon enough they’d all turn into some form of Jayne, just interested in making a profit. “I won’t mind my own business. Not when standing next to the legend that is.” The word caught Mal a little off guard. He didn’t consider himself to be a legend by any respect. The first that that went through Mal’s mind was that this must be some poor solider from the war that maybe heard some silly stories. “I ain’t sure in who you been talkin’ too, but I ain’t no fong luh legend.” Mal still hadn’t looked at the man who was sitting next to him, but he could see out of his peripheral vision that what he said has just brought a smile to the man’s face. “Adelei Niska.” Nothing sent chills down Mal’s spine like the name of that man. Niska had been lucky to escape from Mal after what he did to Wash and he, but Mal knew for certain that if those two ever ran into each other again, which he was sure he would, Niska wouldn’t be so lucky. “Huh choo-shang tza-jiao duh tzang-huo.” Mal glared over at the man with a look that could kill, but since looks weren’t able to, Mal had quickly grabbed his gun and had gotten ready to use it in a moments notice. “What about Niska?” “You can put your gun back in your holster Malcolm. I don’t work for him. I’ve only heard the tall tale though, about your escaping him after you double crossed him. Niska’s got himself a helluva kind of reputation. I must admit, that’s a pretty impressive resume you’ve acquired for yourself. Kind of resume that gets a man work when he least expects it.” Mal did as the man said, not because he said it, but because he felt a certain level of easiness coming over the two. He slipped his gun back in and listened a little closer – especially after hear that magic little word – job. “What do you got and where does it need going to?” Mal made eye contact with the man that had mysteriously showed up next to him for the first time. “Meet me here at midnight and I’ll give you all you need to know. We can work out the details there. Dong ma?” Mal took the piece of paper from the man’s hand and nodded. “Dang-ran.”

Mal found himself at the meeting place at the appropriate time. Even went to extra precaution and had even gone to the trouble of bring Jayne and Zoë just in case, had them stacked in the bushes. Wash and Serenity were a mere call away as well. After what seemed to be hours, but was in reality only a few extra minutes, Mal heard footsteps and out of the shadows walked the man that had been in the bar before. Mal was a bit confused though, for the man didn’t have anything with him, at least nothing more than he did earlier in the day. “Maybe I was a bit confused earlier today. Didn’t you say you had some cargo for me?” Mal’s question was met with a smile. The confusion didn’t seem to be going away any time soon. “Indeed I did Captain. I am your cargo.” Mal looked at the man again and didn’t say a word at first, but finally pulled himself together. Mal stood tall and looked the man square in the eyes. “Chu ni duh. I not knowing where you’ve got you info from, but I ain’t takin’ on human cargo.” Mal turned and started walking away, but this didn’t seem to sit too well with the man he was walking away from. Before Mal could get ten paces he heard an all to familiar sound – the cocking of a gun. Mal raised his hands, but didn’t turn around. “You can shoot be down ‘fore I take you on my boat. And if you know anything about this so-called legend, you’ll know I already got my men fixed on your position. Just takes a word.” Jayne itched from the bushes for that word, but Mal knew he could talk his way out of this. Slowly Mal turned around to face the man holding the gun that seemed to be pointed directly at his head. “Least you could do fore you kill me is tell me who is doin’ it.” “For now my name isn’t important, but my price is. Five hundred thousand credits for each of your crew members and seven hundred thousand for yourself.” The man before Mal quietly put away his gun and Mal took out his radio so he could communicate with Wash and Serenity. Mal clicked the radio on and spoke as calmly as he ever had. “Wash, anytime you liken’ to show up.” Mal placed the radio back into his jacket as Wash’s reply came over saying he’d be there in a few minutes. “Well, where in is it we’re takin’ you?” The man before him paused for a moment before taking a small step forward. The man seemed to hesitate for a moment before saying the only three words Mal never thought he ever heard. “Earth That Was.” Mal stood, shocked and almost speechless. “Liou coe shway duh biao-tze huh hoe-tze fuh ur-tze.”