BLUE SUN ROOM FAN FICTION - GENERAL

KIRIKA

Sad Eyes Chapter 3
Sunday, February 12, 2006

Post Serenity. The past year has been hard for Zoe. Life without Wash seems empty, and just when she is ready to leave the ship. A man from her past comissions the crew to be his transport, but can they trust him?


CATEGORY: FICTION    TIMES READ: 1614    RATING:     SERIES: FIREFLY

Chapter 3: In Memory of Rain

Kyan rubbed his temples furiously trying to banish his raging headache. In all honesty, things had gone exactly as he had thought they would. Surprises were never a good thing in his line of work. That was why he had spent months piecing together every shred of information he could get his hands on about the crew of Serenity. Thalia had slipped in and out of several Alliance programs to get the real dirt on them. There wasn’t much about the six remaining members that he didn’t know. He’d thought long and hard about the wisdom of his decision to commission Serenity for his transportation. In the end, he’d mixed his personal life with his business life. It all came down to one word: Zoë.

Zoë was one of the few people in this life that he truly did trust. She had more honor than anyone he’d ever known. No one could deny that Malcolm lived by his own code, but Zoë was the one who had that near infallible inner compass. With any other woman he might doubt her loyalty to an employer who had once been her lover. Kyan couldn’t blame her for hating him. In fact, it was one of the few things he truly understood about the woman.

The sound of booted steps interrupted his thoughts. He heard Sly clear his throat. “Boss?”

“Yes?” Kyan prompted.

“The others have come from the ship. Both of ‘em are real pretty. I tol’ the boys to be keepin’ their distance. Seems one o’ ‘em’s the doc’s wife and t’other is his sister,” Sly told him. The rancher was honestly trying to be helpful, and that was the only reason he let the man think that he didn’t already know all of that.

Kyan nodded. “Well done, Sly. You do realize that I will be gone for some time if all goes well?”

“That I do, sir.”

“Good. I do trust that you will take good care of the place for me. In the event that anything unfortunate should happen, the ranch is yours,” he told the older man. Sly had been exceedingly loyal to him over the years, and he always rewarded loyalty.

“Doubt the little girl would let an’thin’ happen to ya,” Sly said with a laugh.

“Very true,” Kyan agreed with a smile. The smile faded a bit when he thought of the task at hand. “Take them to the dining room, and tell Mara Lee to serve them. I shall take dinner in my private study.”

Eight Years Earlier

Kyan leaned casually against a crate of heavy munitions. They had just unloaded the ship onto the makeshift Independent base on Athens. Looking around, he couldn’t help but wonder how the Independents hadn’t been crushed yet. The masses he saw moving through the encampment were looking haggard at best. This wasn’t his first deal with them, though. He knew that there were men and women with a lot of heart wearing the brown uniform, but even heart wasn’t enough to stand against the Alliance. They would fall soon.

A man with light, brown hair, and straight face came walking up toward the ship with a beautiful woman trailing just behind. Kyan nodded at the pair. “Sergeant Reynolds.”

The officer returned the gesture. “Zol. Looks like you got all kinds of fun stuff for us there.”

Kyan frowned. “Not nearly as much as I had hoped. There were complications before I started this run.”

“I did hear about your father, and I am mighty sorry for your loss. He was a good man,” Reynolds said somberly.

Garek Zol was the last thing Kyan wanted to think about at the moment, and he turned to the crates. “Finding trustworthy suppliers is getting harder. It took us time to come up with all of this, so I hope you can make it last. I can’t say how long it will take Jean and the rest of the crew to get back again.”

“You’re not coming back?” the warrior woman asked. Normally, Zoe said next to nothing to him, and the slight edge on her words surprised him.

Kyan shook his head. “I have other business to take care of before I can start making runs again,” he explained. They probably thought that it was his father’s death that made him want out. There was no way they could know what he had coming up.

“How long you planning on sticking around this time? Looks like your boat needs some repairs.” Reynolds gestured to the dilapidated vessel behind them.

“A day or two. Is that a problem?”

“No problem. Command gave the standing order that you were alright to stay if you needed, and I don’t see that changing. I would offer to help out with some parts, but…”

“I understand. Thank you.”

The officer barked an order and several young men began hauling the crates to their proper places. Most of the base was made up of simple brown tents that nearly blended into the landscape from above. There weren’t many men here. Kyan hadn’t asked for an exact number, but he figured that there was at most six hundred soldiers. Unlike the Alliance, the Independents didn’t have near infinite numbers at their disposal. Most of the men here had seen battle before, and would again soon.

Kyan watched the Corporal from the corner of his eye. There was just something about that one that he liked. She was beautiful in her own way, not like all of the cookie-cutter women in the Core. He wondered why a woman would choose such a life for herself. Zoe was certainly an interesting creature. If things were different…

The sky about threatened a storm. He ducked back into “his” ship, and found the mechanic-cum-captain fiddling with a part. Jean had been reluctant to take on the responsibility of captain. The older man felt that it was Kyan’s place as Garek’s “son,’ but Kyan wouldn’t budge on his decision, and Jean had taken over some of the duties. Anyone on the crew could tell you that Kyan was the unofficial leader. Jean looked up from his part. “They lettin’ us stay a spell?”

Kyan nodded. “Yes, Captain, but I don’t think it’s wise to stay for too long. They have dodged Alliance notice so far, but it isn’t wise to tempt fate.”

“Exactly what your old man woulda said,” Jean muttered.

A muscle in Kyan’s jaw twitched. The “Captain” knew better than to bring up things like that. In light of the argument brewing, Kyan was ready to brave the rain. “I’ll see if they have everything stored properly.”

Jean’s voice followed him: “You can’t run forever, boy.”

Athens was generally a dry planet. Rain came mostly in the fall there, and Kyan had to admit that the cold water felt nice on his skin. His mother had been furious at him as a boy, when he would sneak out to stand in a downpour. Yet, she would always tuck him in when the inevitable sniffles set in. One the rare times his father was home—his real father—he could remember a rough hand on his forehead, and an amused chuckle. He pushed the memories to the back of his mind, as he spotted a figure struggling in the mud.

“Gorram, senseless bastards!” he heard her say.

“Need some help?” Kyan called out holding back his laughter. Zoe’s look would have turned a weaker man to stone. Her face was streaked with mud, and her boots were now a mess. Kyan didn’t wait for an answer. He took one end of the tarp covered crate, and lifted almost effortlessly. For as strong of a woman as Zoe was, Kyan still had quite a few pounds of muscle on her.

The two of them got the crate into the proper tent before she spoke. “Thanks.”

Kyan smiled. “Who was the hwoon dahn that left that out?”

“I don’t know, but when I find him…” the Corporal grumbled. “What were you doing in the rain anyway?”

“I was feeling a bit confined,” he said with a shrug. “I’m going back on board. We do have a washer and dryer on the ship, and you’re free to come use them.”

She raised an eyebrow to his offer. “Don’t think I am going to fall for any thing.”

He laughed, and took his pistol from his holster offering it to her. “Feel free to shoot me if I do anything you don’t like.”

Zoë took the gun with an unreadable expression. “Let’s go.”

Kyan barely tasted his meal as he chewed. All he could seem to think about was Zoe. He was sorry he missed her expressions during the brief meeting. Those dark eyes of hers had a way of speaking volumes even when she didn’t say a word. Thalia had uncovered the death record of her husband. Hoban Washburne had been a very lucky man while he was alive. He wondered if Washburne had made Zoe truly happy. Despite his jealousy, he hoped he had.

He didn’t hear the footsteps come down the hardwood of the floor. If the door hadn’t creaked slightly, he doubted he would have heard the person enter at all. Kyan frown. Other than Thalia, no one could sneak up on him. “Who’s there?” he asked damning his blindness. Having strangers under his roof was maddening.

Finally, the intruder spoke. “Listen, Zol,” Zoe said sternly, “I don’t know what you are up to, but don’t you dare play games with us…any of us.”

COMMENTS

Sunday, February 12, 2006 6:49 PM

ESO


links to the other parts? please? LOL


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