Deep Space; Into the Black » Places

         

Holing up in a place like Persephone might seem like a peaceful respite from tumbling through the endless black on a derelict 03-K64 Firefly-class transport to most anyone else, something some pastoral-dwelling scholar might have even written municipal poetry about--the pleasures of city life after so long adrift in space, a metropolitan scene right out of some over-priced painting...but then, Malcolm Reynolds never really did have much taste for art. His skin itched and crawled in anticipation as he made his way through Serenity, he could hardly wait to get off of this rock and back into the sky. The black called to him like a siren with her song. Men like Malcolm Reynolds needed freedom, freedom from under The Alliance's ever watchful eye, freedom only found in the howling abyss of the universe...So he did his rounds, checking that everyone on board and settled in, not still lingering outside on Persephone. They needed to take off now that they had supplies and be on their way before the Alliance had caught onto their whereabouts. The sooner the better, seeing as certain members of this crew seemed incapable of not drawing immediate attentions to themselves, specifically Jane. He climbed the scaffolding stairs to the bridge and entered without knocking, expecting to find Serenity's loveable and somewhat manic pilot resting comfortably in his flight chair. Find him he did...playing with toys on the dash of the pilot’s console....again.

"I fought in the war and am very mean and dangerous, but very cuddly and adorable underneath," Wash said in a high voice, bobbing a plastic tyrannosaurus up and down to indicate it was talking. He raised the brontosaurus in his other hand up and changed his pitch. "And I am a happy wanderer-type who makes everyone laugh while I fly the ship brilliantly away from danger. Oh, but what is this? I can hardly resist the seductive charms of this tyrannosaur with whom I travel!" His voice changed with the tyrannosaur again. "Although I am capable of biting your head off with my fearsome teeth, I find you manly and attractive! Let us enjoy each other's company in a very non-chaste manner my beloved who, though I argue with often, I always enjoy spending a night by the watering hole with." Wash laughed. "Of course my fantastic warrior-woman!" He then followed by smashing the figures together whilst making kissing sounds.

Mal opened his mouth to say something and closed it. He spent almost a minute nearly starting sentences until he just gave up and walked off of the bridge. He'd come back later when it was time to take off. Jane had insisted upon melting those Jurassic toys when he joined the crew, but Kaylee was insistent that they leave Wash alone to his devices...no matter how odd and vaguely off putting they were. As far as Mal was concerned, if a grown man wanted to play with brightly colored plastic dinosaurs, so be it, as long as he could pilot the hell out of a ship and didn't pay much attention to the legality of the jobs they worked. It helped that Zoe loved him dearly and would kill anyone who so much as hurt his feelings, but Wash wasn't so bad, weird as he was, he was one of Mal's best friends and a damn good man. Among Serenity's crew, he seemed to be the ships soul. He had piloted her through many battles, and remained relaxed throughout it. This was a man who could stay in a zen-like state while facing down Reavers or Alliance ships. Wash was the one who was always behind the scenes, making sure the crew made it to safety. Basically, he was the guy in charge of the get away vehicle after a heist.

Mal went through the front hall and climbed back down the stairs into the cargo bay just as the air lock hatch lowered open, the light choked with dust from outside nearly blinding him. He rose a hand to shield his face from the onslaught of day, dissolving into a coughing fit.