Inferno – Chapter Twenty-three

Author doesn’t own Firefly, doesn’t make money for this, desperately doesn’t want to be sued.

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The pirate ship had waited, systems down, until the Firefly had left the station. Once their intended target had set a course, they had followed, at a distance. The captain and mate had decided, after much discussion, to wait at least twenty-four hours before hitting the ship, allowing it to get as far away as possible from any help.

Now, they were closing steadily on the target, gaining with each passing minute.

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“We may have a problem,” River said quietly, and Jayne looked up from the magazine he was reading.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, moving across to where River sat.

“We’ve picked up a shadow,” River told him. “Pirates,” she added after a minute of concentration. “They are getting ready to hit us.”

“Will this never end?” Jayne complained. “I mean for the love o’. . .”

“Problems, kid?” Goldie asked, as he and Liam arrived to take the watch. Goldie moved over to the cortex, and attached a small black box to the receiver.

“What’s that?” Jayne demanded. “Dammit, Goldie, we got pirates on our rear. I ain’t got time for. . .”

“Easy, kid,” Goldie held up a placating hand. “It’s like this. Liam was out, mindin’ his own business, when he happened to overhear some. . .gossip, let’s call it. So he came and told me about it, and then, he and I. . .”

“You did this without bothering to tell me?” Jayne demanded, once Goldie finished his ‘narrative’. Goldie nodded.

“You got a lot on you, kid,” Goldie said defensively. “We were just trying to help. That’s all.”

“Jayne,” River stood on her toes and whispered in his ear. He flushed red at whatever she told him, but nodded.

“Well, if it works, it’ll save us a pack o’ trouble, that’s for sure,” Jayne told them, anger suddenly abated. “We’ll wait and see if they open a channel to us.”

As he said that, a burst of cannon fire erupted near the bridge window, shaking the ship, and the incoming