Blue Sun Room FICTION - GENERAL

SPARKS FLY (03) Part (03)

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Kaylee tells the Captain and Jayne where to go. Something goes boom! River and Mal try to navigate their way out of trouble.

CATEGORY: FICTION    TIMES READ: 4324    RATING: 9.0 (PG)    SERIES: FIREFLY

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(03) SPARKS FLY

Part (03)

Follows . Precedes .

Start at the beginning with

Kaylee tells the Captain and Jayne where to go. Something goes boom! River and Mal try to navigate their way out of trouble.

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Now suited up, Jayne, Kaylee, and Mal exited Serenity through the topside airlock. Jayne carried Kaylee’s zero-g toolbox, which differed from her standard toolbox in that all the tools were velcroed securely in place. He moved with the confidence of a seasoned spacewalker. Mal, too, moved with the assurance born of experience, and easily accepted the toolbox when Jayne handed it off in order to secure his tether to Kaylee. Kaylee, though already tethered to Mal, was nearly paralytic, and clung to the grommets and holdbars of Serenity’s topside with death-grip hands and feet. She was barely able to move, a panicky bowl of jelly, almost whimpering.

“Tether’s secured,” Jayne reported.

Mal spoke. “Kaylee, look at me.”

She did, with a terrified look. Mal had seen just that sort of look many a time during the war, usually on unseasoned recruits who were getting their first dose of fire and were like to do something might get themselves killed. But it wasn’t for nothing that he’d been a sergeant.

“I know you don’t like being out here. But we got you securely tethered between Jayne and me. We’re right beside you. Don’t look into the Black, keep your eyes on the boat. You’re gonna do it fine. You just ask for your tools and hand us the parts, same as if you was in the engine room. Boss us around, even. You tell me where to go. Hell, I bet you can’t wait to tell

Comments
Saturday, 18 June 2011 15:19
Jayne sure is getting blown up a lot in recent stories. I think he has some angry words for us authors... Claims his contract is being misread. Something about the wrong sort of bombshell, but the curvy kind with the good smelling hair as can play a flute with their tongue instead.

Feel free to ignore him, there's actually a fairly robust section on stunt work.

Still like how well you're giving all the crew their moments.
Saturday, 18 June 2011 17:52
*Ha, ha!* Jayne's agent gave me a call to complain about this getting-blown-up stuff. So I wrote him an extended piece in Story #8 where he gets to deal with the other kind of bombshell. And I promised that sooner or later, I'd let *him* blow something up.
Saturday, 18 June 2011 20:00
Loved this and finally you got to give us a punchline to go with the implied sex-tent joke. I really liked how well Mal and River worked together and so nice for a positive skill to be shown in the Captain's repertoire and one even Zoe didn't know he had! Poor Jayne, still at least he's alive and kicking. "Any one you walk away from!" Ali D :~)
"You can't take the sky from me!"
Saturday, 18 June 2011 20:03
Nice story and nice the crew is all rising to the occasion.
Saturday, 18 June 2011 20:19
Shiny writing!

Love Mal getting River focused on navigation, somewhere to plug all those numbers she has floating around in her head. I think one of Mal’s strengths is recognizing other’s potential; a sign of strong leadership, so what you’ve written here works for me:)

Especially like that Mal is accepting what Inara has to offer in terms of intimacy and support, somewhere to take his ease from his stressful role, as Captain.

It sounds like you have more planned, can’t wait.
Tuesday, 21 June 2011 17:23
Thank you, readers and commenters. It makes my day to see that people have read and enjoyed these stories. :-)

Stay tuned--hope to begin posting the next story, Expectations, within the week. Look for Wash to make a re-appearance (How? you ask--read it and find out!), more Mal/Inara, exciting action, and--(ominous music) an old...uh, "friend" comes back!

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