A Tricky Business: Chapter 1
Apr. 21st, 2007 02:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bending_sickleSummary: A simple stop-over on Persephone brings on a boat-load of trouble.
Spoilers/Timeline: Post-series, pre-film
Disclaimer: People, places and things belong to Joss Whedon, with the exception of the folks in the various bars in Persephone. Infringement for recreational purposes only.
Author's Note: This is a work in progress. Thankfully, my lovely beta![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
wildannuette is helping make this a completed work instead. (Wave your mouse over the Chinese for translations.)
All Dressed Up
Jayne was a man of few rules: shoot first, don’t ask questions, keep your guns loaded and your knives sharp, take what you can when you can.
This last was all-encompassing, to be applied in the case of food, drink, money or a willing piece of trim. He was the kind of man who’d tear down the door and drag in a surprised Opportunity just to rummage through her bag of tricks, keeping her at gunpoint.
Except that lately he’d been picky as to his meals (when it was Simon’s turn to cook) and more often than not slept off the drink at the local bar rather than the whorehouse.
As to the money, well… He’d had to add a new sub-clause: don’t double-cross the captain.
Tonight, however, he felt like taking full advantage of their time on Persephone. They’d actually managed to get paid on their last job and had another one lined up. Mal hadn’t been too pleased that the merchandise consisted of black-market Dogbots, though. Badger seemed to have a knack for finding them the strangest jobs and Jayne just knew that hat-toting hundan did it on purpose.
Jayne nudged his drawer closed as he buttoned his shirt and wandered about his bunk. He did the buttons on his sleeves too before turning back to his drawer. Taking out a small wooden box from behind his shirts, he sat down on the edge of his bed and peered inside. It did a body good to see that much cash all stacked up nicely in there.
The sound of footsteps out in the hall messed up his calculations. There’d be plenty of time for that later; it’d be a few weeks before they reached the post-station. He put the box back, making sure it was hidden under his ma’s knitted cap, and climbed out of his bunk.
He found Wash waiting in the cargo bay, all sly in his flowery shirt.
“Hey,” said Wash, glancing down at Jayne’s shirt. “All set up for a night of drinking?”
Jayne grunted and paced around the cargo. “Who’re we waitin’ for?”
“Mal and Zoë.” Wash grinned. “They both took some convincing.”
“Ain’t Kaylee comin’?”
Wash shook his head then glanced up at the catwalk as Mal and Zoë came into view. “Speak of the devils,” he mumbled as he walked over to the control panel by the door. “Nah,” he said, turning to Jayne as he punched a button, “said she wanted to patch Serentiy up. We got some new parts – and when I say new, I mean the opposite – while you guys were haggling with Badger.”
“Couldn’t wait, could she?” snickered Jayne.
Wash ignored him and reached a hand out to Zoë. “Ah, dear wife. Ready for a night with the boys?”
“I am,” said Zoë with a smile, “but I’ll have you know I won’t be responsible for any foolishness.”
Wash pretended to be hurt. “Foolishness? Drinking good honest jiû? What is the world coming to?”
Mal glanced at the small group and headed down the ramp, the other three in tow. “This the whole conglomeration?” he asked Wash.
Wash wrapped an arm around Zoë’s waist. “Yeah, Cap’.”
Once officially off-ship, Jayne glanced around at the mess of people that wandered the Eavesdown docks. Most of the merchants seemed to have closed shop for the night, except for the “good dogs” man. Jayne couldn’t remember there being a time when that man wasn’t at the docks. Still had that mangy dog, he noted. Maybe he was fattenin’ it up?
Over the crowd’s hubbub, Jayne heard Wash say, “Deng yimiao.”
“C’mon, little man, ain’t got all day,” said Jayne before turning around. Once he did turn around, however, he just scowled.
River had materialized beside the control panel. The feng le girl must’ve been hiding all that time, else Jayne would’ve heard her for sure. She was in that frilly pink number, holding onto the edges of it. Boots on and everything, he noticed.
“Girl,” said Mal, taking a step up the ramp, “get back in the ship.”
“Already in the ship,” she said, not looking at Mal as he finished walking up the ramp. Her eyes jerked erratically as she tried to take in the bustling docks.
“No, actually you’re halfway off the ship,” said Mal, gesturing to the set of inner doors behind her. “I can’t exactly close the doors with you between ‘em.”
“Done it once before,” she whispered, cocking her head to the side. She turned to look at him. “Outer doors stayed closed.” She turned her gaze back to the docks. “The wind whistled through them, though.”
That girl really had a knack for making folks uncomfortable, thought Mal as he gently moved her back.
River let him steer her off the ramp as she glanced down at the other three waiting below. Her smile faltered when she saw Jayne. She turned her head to Mal, her arms wrapped about her waist. “All dressed up,” she said.
“Now you stay put,” ordered Mal, “or go bother your ge ge.” He didn’t like the way she was all shod and ready to go with them either.
“He’s meeting Kaylee.”
At the foot of the ramp, Jayne’s ears perked up. What exaclty was that yīshēng doing?
“Meetin’?” River just gave him a look. “Ah. Meeting.” He sighed. “Roam about then.” He started down the ramp. “Just…don’t fiddle with anything.”
River didn’t move as Wash punched in the sequence to shut the double-doors. Over the whine of the shutting doors and the bustling crowd, Jayne thought he heard River call out, “ Chuáng huàile.”
Amazing, how utterly strange that girl could get. Jayne had no clue why she was going on about beds now, unless she’d decided to dismantle it or rearrange the pillows, like Book’d said she’d once insisted on doing.
It couldn’t be about Kaylee and that doc’, though. He was sure them two’d not had a chance to put their bunks through the spring test.
As the four made their way to town, Jayne bemoaned the fact that Serenity’s beds weren’t made of wood. Would serve that doctor right to have a few well-placed splinters.
hundan - bastard
sly (Firefly slang) – gay
deng yimiao - hold on a second
jiû - alcoholic drink
feng le – crazy
ge ge - big brother (familiar)
yīshēng - doctor
chuáng huàile – the bed is broken
Spoilers/Timeline: Post-series, pre-film
Disclaimer: People, places and things belong to Joss Whedon, with the exception of the folks in the various bars in Persephone. Infringement for recreational purposes only.
Author's Note: This is a work in progress. Thankfully, my lovely beta
wildannuette is helping make this a completed work instead. (Wave your mouse over the Chinese for translations.)Jayne was a man of few rules: shoot first, don’t ask questions, keep your guns loaded and your knives sharp, take what you can when you can.
This last was all-encompassing, to be applied in the case of food, drink, money or a willing piece of trim. He was the kind of man who’d tear down the door and drag in a surprised Opportunity just to rummage through her bag of tricks, keeping her at gunpoint.
Except that lately he’d been picky as to his meals (when it was Simon’s turn to cook) and more often than not slept off the drink at the local bar rather than the whorehouse.
As to the money, well… He’d had to add a new sub-clause: don’t double-cross the captain.
Tonight, however, he felt like taking full advantage of their time on Persephone. They’d actually managed to get paid on their last job and had another one lined up. Mal hadn’t been too pleased that the merchandise consisted of black-market Dogbots, though. Badger seemed to have a knack for finding them the strangest jobs and Jayne just knew that hat-toting hundan did it on purpose.
Jayne nudged his drawer closed as he buttoned his shirt and wandered about his bunk. He did the buttons on his sleeves too before turning back to his drawer. Taking out a small wooden box from behind his shirts, he sat down on the edge of his bed and peered inside. It did a body good to see that much cash all stacked up nicely in there.
The sound of footsteps out in the hall messed up his calculations. There’d be plenty of time for that later; it’d be a few weeks before they reached the post-station. He put the box back, making sure it was hidden under his ma’s knitted cap, and climbed out of his bunk.
He found Wash waiting in the cargo bay, all sly in his flowery shirt.
“Hey,” said Wash, glancing down at Jayne’s shirt. “All set up for a night of drinking?”
Jayne grunted and paced around the cargo. “Who’re we waitin’ for?”
“Mal and Zoë.” Wash grinned. “They both took some convincing.”
“Ain’t Kaylee comin’?”
Wash shook his head then glanced up at the catwalk as Mal and Zoë came into view. “Speak of the devils,” he mumbled as he walked over to the control panel by the door. “Nah,” he said, turning to Jayne as he punched a button, “said she wanted to patch Serentiy up. We got some new parts – and when I say new, I mean the opposite – while you guys were haggling with Badger.”
“Couldn’t wait, could she?” snickered Jayne.
Wash ignored him and reached a hand out to Zoë. “Ah, dear wife. Ready for a night with the boys?”
“I am,” said Zoë with a smile, “but I’ll have you know I won’t be responsible for any foolishness.”
Wash pretended to be hurt. “Foolishness? Drinking good honest jiû? What is the world coming to?”
Mal glanced at the small group and headed down the ramp, the other three in tow. “This the whole conglomeration?” he asked Wash.
Wash wrapped an arm around Zoë’s waist. “Yeah, Cap’.”
Once officially off-ship, Jayne glanced around at the mess of people that wandered the Eavesdown docks. Most of the merchants seemed to have closed shop for the night, except for the “good dogs” man. Jayne couldn’t remember there being a time when that man wasn’t at the docks. Still had that mangy dog, he noted. Maybe he was fattenin’ it up?
Over the crowd’s hubbub, Jayne heard Wash say, “Deng yimiao.”
“C’mon, little man, ain’t got all day,” said Jayne before turning around. Once he did turn around, however, he just scowled.
River had materialized beside the control panel. The feng le girl must’ve been hiding all that time, else Jayne would’ve heard her for sure. She was in that frilly pink number, holding onto the edges of it. Boots on and everything, he noticed.
“Girl,” said Mal, taking a step up the ramp, “get back in the ship.”
“Already in the ship,” she said, not looking at Mal as he finished walking up the ramp. Her eyes jerked erratically as she tried to take in the bustling docks.
“No, actually you’re halfway off the ship,” said Mal, gesturing to the set of inner doors behind her. “I can’t exactly close the doors with you between ‘em.”
“Done it once before,” she whispered, cocking her head to the side. She turned to look at him. “Outer doors stayed closed.” She turned her gaze back to the docks. “The wind whistled through them, though.”
That girl really had a knack for making folks uncomfortable, thought Mal as he gently moved her back.
River let him steer her off the ramp as she glanced down at the other three waiting below. Her smile faltered when she saw Jayne. She turned her head to Mal, her arms wrapped about her waist. “All dressed up,” she said.
“Now you stay put,” ordered Mal, “or go bother your ge ge.” He didn’t like the way she was all shod and ready to go with them either.
“He’s meeting Kaylee.”
At the foot of the ramp, Jayne’s ears perked up. What exaclty was that yīshēng doing?
“Meetin’?” River just gave him a look. “Ah. Meeting.” He sighed. “Roam about then.” He started down the ramp. “Just…don’t fiddle with anything.”
River didn’t move as Wash punched in the sequence to shut the double-doors. Over the whine of the shutting doors and the bustling crowd, Jayne thought he heard River call out, “ Chuáng huàile.”
Amazing, how utterly strange that girl could get. Jayne had no clue why she was going on about beds now, unless she’d decided to dismantle it or rearrange the pillows, like Book’d said she’d once insisted on doing.
It couldn’t be about Kaylee and that doc’, though. He was sure them two’d not had a chance to put their bunks through the spring test.
As the four made their way to town, Jayne bemoaned the fact that Serenity’s beds weren’t made of wood. Would serve that doctor right to have a few well-placed splinters.
hundan - bastard
sly (Firefly slang) – gay
deng yimiao - hold on a second
jiû - alcoholic drink
feng le – crazy
ge ge - big brother (familiar)
yīshēng - doctor
chuáng huàile – the bed is broken
