A Not-So-Shiny Christmas – Part I

By Kayleegirl

“Ta ma de.”

Malcolm Reynolds was not a happy captain and hadn’t been for quite some time. All he had left was eking a living on the raggedy edge of space. But if he could navigate the vasty black between worlds with halfway decent speed, haul cargo and keep his motley crew together, he would be content. All told, content was as happy as he ever expected he would be for the last lesser part of his life.

At this moment Serenity was at least hauling cargo -- of a sort he and the rest of the crew would breathe easier without, but so be it. However, due to some part or other Kaylee had been on him to replace having decided to give up the ghost at this most inopportune moment, it looked like the better-late-than-never timing in the delivery of the goods to Three Hills was much closer to the never part. Turn their speed up half a notch and they’d all be half a notch away from becoming permanent interstellar drift. But that was just half the problem. He was also one short on crew as of recent days.

Truth be told, in the while she’d been onboard he’d never really counted Inara as part of the crew. Maybe, he reflected darkly, that had been the reason – part of it anyway – that she’d left. Not that her being there would make any difference to what was currently going on in Serenity’s engine room.

Another nasty warning buzzer began caterwauling the very second he managed to silence the one previous.

“Jing-tzang mei yong-duh!” Mal brought his foot back for a kick, then aborted it when Kaylee tucked herself twixt him and the engine.

“Don’t you talk to Serenity that way. She ain’t useless. All she needs is a little tender care. Ain’t her fault she’s running less than shiny.”

“Case you hadn’t noticed, little Kaylee, the only thing seems to be working right is this gorramn array of warning lights that have set their collective selves on blinking like some short-circuiting parlor tree from Christmas past.”

“They are kinda festive – i