Jayne sat at the kitchen table and polished the small gun in his hands. The girl had not come back for it and he had wondered what sort of weapon his daughter would carry. Gorramit, thought Jayne, his daughter. He was still having trouble with the thought.

The weapon was not nearly adequate by his estimation. It only had two shots, and in a fairly small caliber. He considered giving her one of his guns, but then realized she probably wouldn't want any gifts from him. It was pretty though, with mother of pearl handle grips, inlaid with what looked like real silver from the tarnish, and there was intricate scrollwork etched into the two small barrels. It was something he could see Inara carrying. It needed a cleaning too.

Jayne heard the clank of a hatch from behind him. It was followed by footsteps as someone walked into the kitchen. Looking up he saw it was Kaylee.

“Hey there,” he greeted her hopefully.

“Ain’t talkin’ to you,” she replied without even looking at him as she walked around the corner and down into the cargo bay.

“Damn,” said Jayne to himself. It had been two days and that was still all she would say to him. Wasn’t like he didn’t deserve it though.

Mal stopped Kaylee as she walked through the cargo bay. You going over there again? Spent more time lookin to their ship than ours the last two days.” The two ships were still docked together as they both drifted through space on a coarse for New Shadow. It would be another two days still before they were arrived at the embattled planet, at which point Serenity would disengage and wait until the drop was made.

“Cuz they need it,” replied Kaylee. “You should see what they did. Shoved a firefly engine in that tiny ship. It’s a wonder the hull ain’t torn itself to shreds. They’ll need the thing running a damn sight better than it is now if they’re gonna keep flying.”

-------------------------------------

Kaylee found Sarah already in the engine room of the Shire waiting for her. The two women had spent most of the past two days in there together as Kaylee bestowed on Sarah various pearls of wisdom of both the technical and feminine sort. For Sarah, it was like finding an older sister she never had.

“Today we gotta get the compression coils and grav boot realigned to compensate for you ships lower mass,” said the mechanic.

“Jason said in theory it should be fine till he can get another Cappison 80-10,” replied Sarah.

“Yeah, well understanding theory is a long way from understanding a ship,” said Kaylee. “80-10’s fall right outa the sky almost as bad as their ’68 counterparts. Besides, regardless of what you drop in here, it will need to be massaged so that its output’s matched to the unique characteristics of the ship.”

“Can’t we just look up the specs on the cortex?” asked Sarah.

Kaylee sighed; the girl had so much to learn. “A ship’s not like a hover car that rolls off an assembly line. It’s built in a shipyard, each one welded and bolted together from the keel up. A design engineer will tell you all the ships of a certain class are supposed to be the same, but they aren’t. Each one has a different center of gravity, different mass, conduits maybe routed in a slightly different fashion or have parts from different manufacturers,” Kaylee ticked off the points on her fingers. “That’s just the physical stuff. Spend enough time working on a ship, and she’ll start to speak to you, share her soul with you.”

Kaylee regarded the oversized power plant that was bolted in the center of the room. “This’ll do you far better than an 80-10, it just needs a bit of loving. Now hand me that spanner and I’ll show you how to recalibrate her without the need fer any that fancy math yer boyfriend uses.”

“Jason ain’t my boyfriend,” grumbled Sarah.

“Just teasing you girl,” Kaylee pushed the other woman gently on the shoulder. “Now, pass me that spanner.” Then something occurred to her, something in Sarah’s voice. Kaylee turned to the younger woman; “You like him don’t you?”

-------------------------------------

Jason walked into the kitchen in need of a cup of tea. Mal had given him the contact information and he was still formulating exactly how he would pull this off. This was far more complicated than Reynolds had initially indicated. With the new engine, the Shire was a good deal faster, especially with the attention it had been receiving from Serenity’s expert mechanic. If his piloting skills were better, he could probably run in hot and make the drop. The trouble would then be trying to get away, and even if that succeeded, they would be flagged. No, the initial plan to go in as an Alliance supply ship was the best option. There was apparently already a small fleet of cargo ships that was delivering supplies to the besieged Alliance base on the surface and he had already registered his ship in the military contractor database. There was a pecking order, however, and despite the dangerous nature of the work, stiff competition for the lucrative government contract. He would need some way to get bumped to the head of the queue.

As he sat in quite contemplation, he heard a giggle from Sarah’s bunk, and he was reminded of the girls unique skill set. Jason knocked on the door, and called down to her. “Sarah, I need to speak to you a minute.”

“Hold your horses,” came the voice of Serenity’s mechanic. “We’ll be up in a minute.”

Jason sipped his tea and waited several minutes. Just as he was getting impatient, he heard footfalls climbing the ladder rungs. Looking up, Jason was surprised to see the knockout of a brunette that Captain Reynolds had had on his arm when they first met emerge from the cabin below. She was followed by the mechanic Kaylee. What was this, thought Jason as he rocked back on the rear two legs of his chair, a gorram slumber party.

“Com’on Sarah,” called Kaylee back down to the other girl as Inara gave Jason an appraising look that made him more than a little uncomfortable. Finally, the top of a third head emerged from the bunk, though this one Jason did not even recognize. He rocked back in his chair again impatiently. How many gorram women were down there? Then the unfamiliar head looked over at him.

“You wanted me,” asked Sarah. Jason flipped over backwards in his chair. Inara smiled as she watched Sarah and Kaylee rush over to help him back up. She had said that Sarah’s new look would knock him flat, though she had meant it a bit more figuratively. The desired effect achieved, she turned and headed back to her shuttle.

Jason looked up at the two women kneeling over him. Turning to Sarah, he looked at her now combed and silky hair that had been cut to frame her heart shaped face. It had been permed straight and now caught the light with more of a reddish hue than before. Jason’s eyes were then distracted by the low cut blouse that hung open slightly from her leaning over him. Jason quickly forced his eyes back to her face.

“You look, um, nice,” he said as she helped him to his feet. Sarah beamed at the compliment.

-------------------------------------

The day finally came for the two ships to disengage and for the Shire to make its final approach to New Shadow.

“This is where we part ways for the time being,” said Mal, regarding the other captain. He could tell the other man was sharp, but his inexperience worried him. “After you get that disc delivered, meet us on Beaumonde in two days and I’ll have your payment.”

“Actually, I have a request. It’s about the boy, Matt Hawkins. I spoke to his mother and considering the danger, she was wondering if you could look after him for the next few days.”

“I don’t run a damn day care Libby,” stated Mal. “Aw, come’on Cap?” said Kaylee. “The boy’s no trouble and he can cook better’n me.”

Mal fixed her with an annoyed stare. “Fine, but see that he stays out of the way.”

Kaylee beamed. “You’re a kind man,” she leaned up on her toes and gave him a peck on the cheek.” Mal sighed, turning back to Jason. He was about to speak some bit of captainy wisdom, but then Jayne stepped forward. The big man had been fidgeting nearby.

“Was wondering if you could give this back to the girl,” said Jayne, holding out Sarah’s small gun, which now looked shinier than Jason had ever remembered seeing it. “Try and look after her, if’n you wouldn’t mind.”

“Just like you’ve done all these years as her loving father?” asked Mal. Jayne shot his captain a murderous glance, but it only lasted a second before he dropped his eyes. He had no right to take offense and he knew it. For his part, Jason simply took the weapon and nodded before stepping through the airlock and sealing the hatches.

Minutes later, the two ships disengaged and the Shire fired its engines, heading in for its final approach to New Shadow. Mal stood for several moments watching the other ship grow smaller through the tiny window set into the inner door of the airlock.

“You look like a man with deamons,” said a familiar voice behind him. Mal turned, he had not heard Inara come up behind him.

“Got lots of demons. Thought you knew that,” replied Mal as he hit the button that closed the outer airlock door, finally blocking the view of the departing ship.

“That’s your home planet they are going off to.”

“Not no more,” said Mal coolly.

“It’s still the same celestial body,” replied Inara.

“Maybe the same rock,” Mal paused. “Different planet. Even the Alliance thinks so. Renamed it after having to reterraform. New Shadow ain’t old Shadow.”

“So that makes it not home anymore?” asked the Companion

“Serenity’s home.”

On the other ship, Jason entered the kitchen from the cockpit to find Sarah, Rick and Linda sitting at the kitchen table. Linda was looking at him. “Sir, was wondering if we could have a moment of your time.”

“Sure, what is it.”

“I was hoping you could clarify some roles and responsibilities that seem to be a mite fuzzy at the moment.”

“Exuse me?” asked Jason.

“No disrespect, but we are about to go into a situation that could turn ugly if it doesn’t go off perfectly.”

“And that pertains to this how?” asked Jason.

“It pertains to this because if anything happens to you, I want to know who is in charge. Hell, Sarah doesn’t even know if she is crew or a passenger. At the very lease you could settle that matter.”

Jason exhaled. Truth be told, he hadn’t considered the matter all that much. “Suppose you have a point,” he said, taking a moment to sit down. After a moment to think, he addressed the simple matter first.

“Rick, you are second in charge. If anything happens to me, this is your ship. Linda, you are next. Now, with that said, this is not a military ship. I don’t expect anyone to wait on an order to sneeze. If any of you sees something that needs doing, you do it. If we’re about to get searched, and there is something best not found, you do what needs be done to make sure that don’t happen. Finally, if either you see me about to do something stupid, you tell me. I’ll gladly nurse my pride over a bullet wound any day.” Jason looked at the two. Both seemed to accept this. Now he had a more complex issue to address.

“Sarah, seems you’ve been boning up on engine maintenance the last few days.” The girl nodded. Jason couldn’t help but notice how her shiny hair swayed as she moved her head. “I can’t ask you to risk your life with the rest of us idiots, but if you want the job you can consider yourself ships engineer, or mechanic, whichever title you prefer.”

“Are you sure,” asked Sarah. “Not like I’m an expert like Kaylee is. Hell, you probably know more bout the ship than I do.”

“Per-maybe-haps,” said Jason. “But the last few days I think you’ve actually touched more of her guts than I have in the last few months that I’ve owned her. Aside from that fact, I also seem to have an ever-expanding list of other responsibilities to focus on. I don’t exactly have time to relearn everything what needs relearning with the new engine and the all that goes with it. That’s a full time job by itself. I have a pile of manuals you can have, that should make the task a little more manageable. So long as you can keep this ship flying, the job is yours.”

“Besides,” he continued. “You also come with other skills that have done us well so far. If not for your skills with the Cortex, we wouldn’t have been bumped to the top of the queue in the Alliance contractor database. That by itself earns you your keep for this job.”

Sarah looked at him for a moment until she realized everyone was expecting a response from her.

“In that case,” said the girl. “I accept.”

“Good. Welcome aboard.”

-------------------------------------

The blue and purple uniformed officer greeted Jason with a firm handshake. “Captain Libby, I presume. I am Commander Winters.”

“My pleasure Commander.”

“From your record, it seems you’ve provided the civilian arm of the Alliance government good service. I can’t tell you how difficult it is to find reliable shipping contractors. Seems almost the whole lot are former Browncoat scum, and unreliable scum at that.”

Jason winced inwardly and suppressed an urge to look behind him at Linda. He was glad he had ordered her not to wear her coat. “Can’t say as I can speak for other captains sir,” he replied.

“I suppose not,” said the Commander. “Now, to business. We’ll be needing these crates brought down to our base on the surface. Best be careful, as the New Independents ” the officer slurred the term derisively, “seem to like shooting at supply ships from their position in the hills.”

Jason looked over the assortment of crates and pallets. It would be the first time the small hold of his ship was filled to capacity. “Mind my asking if there is anything goes boom in there?” he asked.

“Nothing to worry yourself with. Closest thing is the C14 oxidizer powder,” the commander indicated a large metal drum and lifted the lid for Jason to look inside. Jason’s eyes widened in surprise, it looked suspiciously familiar.

Seeing the expression on Jason’s face, the commander misinterpreted Jason’s concern. “It’s only an explosives component, totally harmless by itself. Mix it with any type of fuel oil however, and it gels into a military grade plastic explosive.”

“Most impressive,” said Jason. “With the advanced nature of Alliance technology, it’s a wonder that the rebels can hold out as well as they do.”

The commander sighed. “I wish I could say this was an exclusive product of ours, but it appears last month that the rebel scum managed to get a small quantity of it onto Londinium.”

“Terrorism,” asked Jason with a raised eyebrow.

“Not exactly, they used it to blast their way into a military facility. Stole some very… well, it’s classified, the information that was stolen. But we’ve wasted enough time talking. I assume I can trust your crew to get this down to our brave soldiers on the ground.”

“You can count on it Commander,” simpered Jason with as much fake sincerity as he could muster. That was not all he would be delivering.

-------------------------------------

The ship’s hull glowed red as it dropped through the atmosphere form orbit. Jason’s piloting skills had improved somewhat and the hull only shuddered a little under the stress. It was a rather big surprise, therefore, when the craft rocked violently, almost knocking Linda to the ground as Rick steadied her just in time. “The hell was that. Jay you trying to kill us,” the big man called to his friend through the cockpit door.

“Sorry,” Jason called back. “Seems someone’s shooting at us.” The ship rocked violently again as Jason tried to dodge another mortar.

“Tends to happen in a war, sir,” said Linda.

Just then there was another violent lurch and Linda was thrown into Rick as the ship spun violently before the artificial gravity compensated. This time Jason’s voice came over the intercom. “Sarah, we lost the starboard thruster.”

“I’m on it,” called the girl’s voice from the direction of the engine room.

TO BE CONTINUED

Authors Notes: Special thanks for the suggestion of a conversation about roles and responsibilities. It really helped with Sarah in particular, as I had unintentionally written her into a position where it was really vague what her role is.

As usual: It ain’t mine, I just like playing with it. (Does that sound right to you?)