His communicator was still flashing which was good it meant Kaylee was still alive

Chapter 4

After a few hurried minutes pushing and running through the crowded waking streets of the city. As he walked through the doorway to the docking bay. He immediately noticed that the Serenity was being prepped for take off. Her thrusters were pointed down and steam from the cooling fuel lines was pouring down. His eyes grew wide as he backpedaled out of the hangar. They grabbed Kaylee and they were going to highjack the Serenity. She was easy enough to fly but they would have never gotten around its homemade security measures without Kaylee’s help. And seeing she was a Mech it would only make sense. Kidnapping your mech is one thing but stealing a man’s ship. He really took offense to that. Wash peeked around the corner and it looked like Kaylee was tied to one of the ships footings with some big stranger standing over her with his back to Wash. Well it wasn’t right to hit a man from behind. But it was even wronger to kidnap a mans crewmate and steal his ship. “How come they’re never tiny?” he whispered to himself. He began to psyche himself up. He was going to lay this guy flat on his back with one punch because lord knows if he doesn’t this guy is going to dismantle him. He moved fast across the floor of the hangar. Kaylees bounty hunter didn’t hear him until the last two or three steps but it was too late. He started to turn to face Wash but Wash was already swinging. He was focusing all of his rage into his willowy right arm. Drawn back it swung straight and hard. His fingers wrapped tight around his thumb into a fist. Just before he connected he heard Kaylee.

“NO! WASH WAIT!” she shouted.

But it was too late for both the bounty hunter and Wash. His fist cracked hard against the bounty hunters jaw. Spilling him across the floor. His gun six shooter skidding over the cement and then falling through a venting grate in the floor. Then the screaming started…Wash’s screaming unfortunately he spent a lot of time watching Zoe without actually watching her throw a punch. If he had he would have learned you NEVER throw a punch with your thumb inside. The price of that lesson was a broken thumb. He wailed for a second before sticking the throbbing thumb into his mouth. Kaylee rolled her eyes…”Wash…”. “What do mean ““Wait””?” asked Wash said with his thumb stuck in his mouth.

“I meant…WASH, DUCK!” she hollered.

For the fighter he wasn’t wash did have exceptional pilot reflexes and he had turn and ducked just in time to avoid the bounty hunters punch slower but far more powerful punch. Kaylee now stepped forward and put herself between the 2 men. “Stop!”. They did. Wash was glad. “Lets get things straight before Wash breaks his other thumb.”

“I saw him standing over you tied to the footing. “ began Wash. “No, you saw him standing next tome while I was working on the footing” replied Kaylee. “Wash meet Josiah Lamb” She began to tell Wash the whole story of her abduction in the marketplace and their return to the repair bay. Where he finally did properly apologize and introduce himself. Lamb was a captain turned bounty hunter that found himself stuck here without a ship. Another victim to the “equation that had claimed many a good man. He was deeply indebted to a local crime boss. He had been tracking them for while and since a warrant for their arrest was issued shortly after the Train Job.

“We have warrants?” moaned Wash.

Yes indeed they did and these days with warrants came cash. That initially attracted his attention but their style and their courage is what gave him a new plan. He knew they would be headed back in this direction and he figured a group like this would be his best ticket out of here. His best chance at a new start. What he hadn’t planned on was that Wash and Kaylee would be here with out the rest of the crew. He figured we could talk to their captain man to man. Maybe strike a deal to work on his crew or at the very least make some kind of barter to take him off this planet. This god-forsaken rock. But now he had to hope this mech and her pilot people he had held a gun on and took a swing at. Not the best way to ask a favor. If it were his crew they would have tied him to a damper and dragged him out to space. But they weren’t like his crew. They were for lack of a better word…different. A better kind of…different.

“So Wash…” Kaylee went on. “You didn’t notice your communicator when I needed help. Why didn’t you hear it when I called to tell you I was ok?”.

Wash thought and reached for his communicator. A communicator that wasn’t there. “Well?” asked Kaylee. “I may…may have left it in a bar.” stuttered. “Dumbass...if the wrong person gets that…” Kaylee scolded. “…they can trace it back to your communicator here.” he finished. “Right, was there any ’wrong ‘people at this bar?”’ “It was a bar…THEY ARE ALL WRONG PEOPLE!” he exploded. “Right, did you happen to ‘wrong’ any of them?” she continued. Wash winced. “You mean aside from the bar owner that I took for roughly 100k in parts and credits in poker and screamed “”thief”” as I ran from the bar aside from him, no, no one at all.”. Kaylee grabbed her communicator…it started flashing. Too late. They were being traced. By now they already had a rough fix on them. Most likely it would be that Alliance Major who wanted to make a name for himself. The one she wanted to avoid before. “They are on to us. Once they run our faces and the ships real ID we’re screwed. Lets finish prepping and get out of here hopefully before they can form a welcome party” she said with knowing the odds weren’t in their favor. Wash knew it too. Lamb probably new it the most of all. “Mr. Lamb if you wouldn’t mind giving us a hand we all can be on our way.” Lamb cocked his eyebrow and said “Are you sure this is a mighty undertaking without your cap’n’s ok.”. “Look if by some miracle we get out of here how do you reckon either of us are gonna be able to sleep knowing you’re still here. And right now with the amount you owe people here if it gets back to anyone you were trying to skip payment yer as good as dead anyway. I’d rather have you in the cockpit with us in case we have to do any tricky maneuvering when we get out in space. Your knowledge of this system is our biggest asset.”

In the mean time you can go and unhook us from those fuel hoses. Lamb smirked and took off to the other side of the ship. Kaylee and Wash unlatching some of the diagnostic cables. “Mal is really not going to like and extra captain on board.”….Wash said thumbing a cable loose. “Yeah but think how more upset he’d be if he lost his ship…’sides Wash, you know it’s the right thing to do.”. “Yeah”.

Wash ran up the front cargo ramp and got to the cockpit and began warming up Serenitys engines…Kaylee was right behind him. Maybe this might work. And just as the luck of the luck of the ship and crew would have it. The Alliance showed up. Wash was the first to see them on one of the aft monitors. “Uhhhh., Kaylee bad new just showed...and its got and armed escort”. Kaylee ran to the monitor but the image seemed somewhat calm. Lamb was gesturing and pointing around the hangar. Wash started punching some buttons hard. “I knew it. He’s selling us out!!!.” protested the ships pilot. “No wait...he’s bluffing. Turn up the audio!” she retorted. It was true. Lamb was telling the major how he was a simpler freighter captain and he was alone in the hangar. A couple of kids had run through earlier but he was alone now. Just gassing up and heading out. The major started to buy into his story until he noticed the Captains papers were out of date by 4 years. Then it all went wrong. One of the deputies whispered into the majors’ ear and pointed to the cabin. “ They scanned us!” cursed Wash. And with that Lamb let loose with the fuel hose blasting a cloud of dry ice steam across the repair well and made a dive for the grate where his gun had tumbled. The clumsy deputies fired waywardly in every direction. All the monitors and the cockpit windows were covered in steam. Kaylee shouted...”I’m going after him...” as she flew down the main corridor. She met Lamb as she turned around. “Lamb!” she shouted. “I think the major has cleared us for take off...” he said through clenched teeth. They both tumbled into their chairs forced down by the acceleration as the Serenity shot straight up into the smoggy sky. “Before we get too excited...I’m sure they radioed ahead” said Lamb in a weak gasp.

“We might have an answer to that” gleefully chuckled Wash. As he tapped his vest pocket and pulled out the shiny, blue book of command frequency codes. “Did you happen to catch that Majors name?” “I did...Restin”. Wash clapped his hands together and then his fingers began rattling over the keys at the Comm station. Then he officiously spoke into the radio. This is Major Restin...I have captured Firefly and am escorting ship and crew to nearest Processing facility. Clearance code”, he breathed deeply, ”Tango, Tango, Zulu, Eight-four-niner”. “Niner?” asked Kaylee. “I know, that sounded pretty good, huh?” replied Wash. Kaylee rolled her eyes. But with a sharp crackle over the radio “Clearance code authorized...” Wash and Kaylee slapped hands and pumped their fist as Wash turned and opened up the engines. Kaylee turned “Well Mr. Lamb. I think we are out of danger. Oh no!”. Wash turned and recoiled in shock. Lamb laid slumped backward in his chair eyes fixed gazing infinitely out into space. His shirt soaked in blood and it was now dripping onto the deck. But he did have a sly smirk locked onto his face. Hours later they but him in cargo pod and released him into space. “Its the best place for a man like that” said Wash. “Out in the stars. That smile of his was weird though huh?” “I don’t think so.” Kaylee spoke from inside. “He was finally off that planet and for just a short while again he was riding a starship. He finally broke free and clear. Isn’t that what any of us want...is to be free and clear.” Wash nodded silently. They were quiet for a long while on the way home. They would tell Mal and Zoe the details but they didn’t think they would tell anyone else. They weren’t quite sure any of the others would understand. The good news, if there was any, was that with Wash’s winnings and parts receipts. They would be able to buy the parts the Serenity needed. She wouldn’t need to be held together with Kaylee’s hopes and promises. But when Kaylee thought about it she thought about that seemed to be the strongest weld of this crew. Hope and promise.

Epilogue

“An improper code was given but the general ordered that Firefly “Serenity” be allowed to go on their way.”. The radio man nervously concluded his report to the Alliance council.

“Care to explain yourself General?” asked a shadowed voice from the corner of the room. “Of course...When I grab the Serenity its not going to be a mech and a gambling pilot.. When I we take her it will be with her whole crew. Including its captain the insurgent Reynolds! And the only way we can do that is to trace the ship back to him.”

There were several nods from the darkened heads in the room. “Very well, General. Carry On.”

End ------------------------------------------------ Thanks everone for your patience. Please feel free to let me know what you though of it.