THE REFLECTION SERIES: 12. "Burdens"
Thursday, September 23, 2004
"Serenity's crew looks for a means of escape. Mal tries to come up with a plan to help his new friends while Inara is committed to trying to help some old ones."
CATEGORY: FICTION TIMES READ: 3967 RATING: 9.0 (G) SERIES: FIREFLY
TITLE: "BURDENS"
AUTHOR: Alison M. DOBELL
FANDOM: "FIREFLY"
PAIRING: No specific pairing.
RATING: PG-13.
STATUS: SEQUEL to "HEART OF THE MATTER"
ARCHIVE: Yes. Just let me know where.
FEEDBACK: Welcomed.
EMAIL: AlisonMDobell@aol.com
WEBSITE: http://carlajane.50megs.com/Ali00.html
SUMMARY: "Serenity's crew looks for a means of escape.
Mal tries to come up with a plan to help his new friends while
Inara is committed to trying to help some old ones."
The usual disclaimers apply. The characters and 'Firefly'
are the property and gift of Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.
No infringement of copyright is intended.
"BURDENS"
A "Firefly" story
Written by Alison M. DOBELL
* * * * *
There was metallic dust everywhere and it took conscious effort for Simon not to keep sneezing. His eyes were watering almost constantly now. The others were faring better but only just. Shepherd Book held a handkerchief over his nose and mouth to filter out the worst of it. They were on their hands and knees following River carefully through the narrow crawlspace in the ceiling between floors. It was dark, hot and stuffy. River was in front, Kaylee on all fours behind her with her hands on River's heels, then Simon, Wash, Zoe, the Preacher and Jayne all hanging on to the person in front in the same fashion so that they progressed like a slow moving crocodile. The air was getting warmer as if something was steadily sucking all the oxygen out of the atmosphere. Simon hated the feeling of claustrophia, his chest tightening as he fought to keep the edge of panic from closing in on him. Wash noticed the doctor's quiet distress but knew that drawing attention to it would only make matters worse.
Zoe sensed Wash was distracted and squeezed his heels gently as they shunted forward, knees aching from continued contact with the metal joists. "*Shenme shi, zhangfu*?"
Her words shook him out of his reverie. "Nothin', *bao
Aaaahh, Badger, me thinks he won't enjoy meeting River when he finally gets her.
I liked Inara's part, the insights and introspections. ("He was an Independent during the war?" *And still is* thought Inara.)
Again struck by Mal and his choice of vacation spots ;-) He really ought to never take a holiday again. Picks a sweet world that's like home, gets beat up, burned alive, and now he's quoting Sun Tzu and planning a war. *snicker* Don't think I fully understood how the baddie owned the ranch and cattle, but I suppose all will become clear.
Didn't seem like weeks had passed for Zoe & Co. Good sense of claustraphobia--I was feeling it too.
You can't take the sky from me
What I liked most about this chapter was the sense of the past weighing down on the characters - lightly on some, heavier on others. And the way the claustrophobia of the crew in the roof space was echoed by the sense of oppression on Rafe &Co.
Something else I liked was the fact that Mal hasn't magically got well again after his ordeal. The slow recovery - two steps forward, one step back - is so much more satisfying.
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