The Return – Part 6

Serenity was far from home, a wormhole sucking it clear across the galaxy to Earth, a wormhole Mal and Jayne had just learned had been created on purpose by Gregori Kovalev to make a bridge with the quadrant of space where the “travelers”, as he had called them, had gone five centuries earlier. Mal had been wary of these people, but had been willing to listen to them and offer some information as he could without telling too much before he knew their true intentions. Their true intentions were now very clear, as Commander Samuel Jackson had just tipped his hand and in Mal’s opinion he had tipped it a might too soon. Mal might have been willing to help them if they were friendly about it, especially if they could help Serenity get back home, but things had gone beyond that now.

They were underground in a base on the Earth’s single moon, which appeared to be the last outpost of any kind of civilization in this corner of the verse. Earth was devastated by a nuclear war that humanity had brought on itself, the few survivors clinging to a precarious existence in the southern hemisphere. The moon base was all that was left of the proud society that had sent Mal’s forefathers to the stars. And they didn’t even have so much as a spaceship anymore. So they decided to steal his.

“Commandeer my ship?” Mal said with a slight smirk. ‘Good luck with that.”

“Yeah,” Jayne said with venom. “You’re in for a world of hurt.”

“Even if you could get inside, how you gonna start it and how you gonna fly it?” Mal began. “Cause we sure as hell ain’t gonna help you and you all ain’t got a good track record with space craft from the looks of things above.’

Jackson didn’t even bat an eye. “Gentlemen, we are not fools. We have some of the brightest engineers and scientists in all humanity on this base. I’m sure entering and learning all about your ship will be a simply matter. As for the other spacecraft, that was,” and he paused for a brief moment and looked sideways at his head scientist as he spoke, “a