Blue Sun Room FICTION - GENERAL
ONE MAN’S TRASH (08) Part (02)
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Mal scopes out the bank, and Jayne meets an old friend
CATEGORY: FICTION TIMES READ: 3749 RATING: 9.0 (G) SERIES: FIREFLY
ONE MAN’S TRASH (08)
Part (02)
Follows . Precedes . The series so far: Mal scopes out the bank, and Jayne meets an old friend | * * * Mal detested banking machines. He detested banks as well. He actually did have a credit account, but he much preferred cash transactions. Kinda business he was in, would have preferred cash only, but there were times when credit was the only way. Credit transactions were risky. Credit transactions could be traced. The source of the funds could be tracked, time and place of withdrawal was recorded, and government-issued ID had to be presented to access the funds. It was like advertising to the Feds exactly where he was, exactly when he was there, and exactly what he was doing, and that sat all manner of uneasy on him. Mal always felt he might just as well jump up and down, wave his arms and yell, “Arrest me!” every time he accessed
Comments
Saturday, 01 October 2011 13:16
Here's the next installment. Long ago, when I blew Jayne up (in story number three) (don't worry, he wasn't seriously hurt, we used a stunt double), someone demanded that I give Jayne a chance with the *other* kind of bomb shell. So here it is!
Saturday, 01 October 2011 15:09
Nice continuation of the trails and tribulations of "Mal's marauders"... Now for Jayne's reunion with ...............Vera's ghost?
Keep flyin',
K
Keep flyin',
K
Saturday, 01 October 2011 18:39
I enjoyed Mal in the bank. I can just see him sitting there uncomfortable as hell.
ZOESMOM
Saturday, 01 October 2011 19:29
Good thing Jayne does not manage the ship's accounts!
Sunday, 02 October 2011 02:38
Hmm ok wonder who the woman is at the end and just what River was trying to tell Mal. Also where's the next one? It's already been hours.
Sunday, 02 October 2011 13:22
Well at least it looks like Jayne will get something out of this. I don't know why Mal doesn't wave Lord Harrow to tell him the problem unless he has been instrumental in setting up the block on his account, which would hardly seem likely. I also don't know why when the job was being taken he didn't ask for cashy money. It all seems to have been more hassle than should have been which leaves a person a mite suspicious. Hope something goes right soon, Ali D :~)
"You can't take the sky from me!"
"You can't take the sky from me!"
Sunday, 02 October 2011 22:35
The Operative put the hold on the account, judging by River's cryptic comments. Why is a very good question. The Operative clearly doesn't want them to leave Beylix right away.
Credit issues are also worrisome.
Oh! Bombshell. Yay!
I wonder if Inara might end up helping out in some way? When you had her looking at fabric and dresses, it had me thinking, she could buy luxury goods, and hire Mal to send them where they could get a good price.
Be complicated though, considering there relationship.
Credit issues are also worrisome.
Oh! Bombshell. Yay!
I wonder if Inara might end up helping out in some way? When you had her looking at fabric and dresses, it had me thinking, she could buy luxury goods, and hire Mal to send them where they could get a good price.
Be complicated though, considering there relationship.
Monday, 03 October 2011 13:37
First of all, let me mention that this part includes a shout-out to the excellent fanfic of Slumming. Slumming's fic "Crash Course" is where I got the idea of the difficulties of having a spaceship with no fixed route as your permanent address.
Kenan82—welcome, thanks for your comments. I have always been of the opinion that Vera was more than just the name of Jayne’s gun. ;-)
M52—Glad you liked the bank scene. Somehow I think even something as mundane as going to the bank would somehow turn out to be more than routine for our BDHs. Nathan Fillion has described Mal as “tortured” and I’ve made that part of the way I characterize Mal. Yes, he does illegal work, frequently, but he also thinks he is a “bad man”—and I think he also feels, in some way, that he deserves some of the bad things that come his way. (His attitude when bad things happen is not “Why me?” but more on the order of “I was expecting this.”) In any case, I hope this also explains Mal’s jumpy feelings in the bank. The people in the bank see only a frustrated customer. Mal feels like they have good reason to arrest him.
Zoesmom—If Jayne managed the ship’s accounts, they’d have one helluva party—then probably starve.
Nutluck—we’ll find out more soon about what River was trying to tell Mal.
Ali D—Zoe certainly thinks Mal should just talk to Harrow. When the job first came up, she told him to talk to Harrow and re-negotiate the deal. But Mal felt he couldn’t. Zoe didn’t argue because she trusts Mal’s instincts—they’ve served them well in the past. Mal is not quite sure of Harrow’s real intentions, and although they might be what they are on the surface (Harrow seizes the opportunity to hire Mal for a smuggling job), Mal suspects there might be more to it (Harrow may be requiring that he do this job on his terms as the price of his freedom).
Bytemite—The Operative is definitely involved, though perhaps not in the way you might think. You will find out more, both soon and in the long term. And the bombshell—I hope you like what I have in store for Jayne this time ;-) Inara: she’d consider such a plan, but right now Mal would not accept it. He already owes her money, because he took a loan from her on Persephone to get the ship off the ground. He won’t be comfortable until he repays her, and pays the whole crew what he owes them.
Kenan82—welcome, thanks for your comments. I have always been of the opinion that Vera was more than just the name of Jayne’s gun. ;-)
M52—Glad you liked the bank scene. Somehow I think even something as mundane as going to the bank would somehow turn out to be more than routine for our BDHs. Nathan Fillion has described Mal as “tortured” and I’ve made that part of the way I characterize Mal. Yes, he does illegal work, frequently, but he also thinks he is a “bad man”—and I think he also feels, in some way, that he deserves some of the bad things that come his way. (His attitude when bad things happen is not “Why me?” but more on the order of “I was expecting this.”) In any case, I hope this also explains Mal’s jumpy feelings in the bank. The people in the bank see only a frustrated customer. Mal feels like they have good reason to arrest him.
Zoesmom—If Jayne managed the ship’s accounts, they’d have one helluva party—then probably starve.
Nutluck—we’ll find out more soon about what River was trying to tell Mal.
Ali D—Zoe certainly thinks Mal should just talk to Harrow. When the job first came up, she told him to talk to Harrow and re-negotiate the deal. But Mal felt he couldn’t. Zoe didn’t argue because she trusts Mal’s instincts—they’ve served them well in the past. Mal is not quite sure of Harrow’s real intentions, and although they might be what they are on the surface (Harrow seizes the opportunity to hire Mal for a smuggling job), Mal suspects there might be more to it (Harrow may be requiring that he do this job on his terms as the price of his freedom).
Bytemite—The Operative is definitely involved, though perhaps not in the way you might think. You will find out more, both soon and in the long term. And the bombshell—I hope you like what I have in store for Jayne this time ;-) Inara: she’d consider such a plan, but right now Mal would not accept it. He already owes her money, because he took a loan from her on Persephone to get the ship off the ground. He won’t be comfortable until he repays her, and pays the whole crew what he owes them.
Monday, 03 October 2011 19:07
My apologies for being late to the party, again:(
This whole episode has that "nothing ever goes right for Mal" feel.
Love how Inara is out shopping for adorable baby clothes for Zoe, and Mal can't keep the ship flying or the crew fed because there’s a hold on his account. There’s something poetically male/female about it, just can’t put my finger on it to express with words.
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This whole episode has that "nothing ever goes right for Mal" feel.
Love how Inara is out shopping for adorable baby clothes for Zoe, and Mal can't keep the ship flying or the crew fed because there’s a hold on his account. There’s something poetically male/female about it, just can’t put my finger on it to express with words.
Post more
Monday, 03 October 2011 19:26
"Nathan Fillion has described Mal as “tortured” and I’ve made that part of the way I characterize Mal. Yes, he does illegal work, frequently, but he also thinks he is a “bad man”—and I think he also feels, in some way, that he deserves some of the bad things that come his way."
This is another reason I like your stories so much. You really get the characters.
Mal is just hard-luck all the time, best summed up by something you wrote a while back: "Lost a war, lost a cause, lost my home, lost my family and friends, lost faith, lost everyone and everything what ever meant anything to me." He's the universe's chew toy, and as much as he rails against God for his lot in life, I get the feeling like part of Mal thinks that God is right to punish him. Very sad.
Every now and then he finds some enjoyment in being the rebel, the loveable rogue, but more often he's hit by the negative side of it - the killing, the theft, having to act less moral than his conscience demands - so it's less so much that he likes being an outlaw and a bad man, and more that there's no where else for him to go and nothing else he can be.
Good point about Inara. Mal does try to have some pride, and at this point he'd see it as too much like a handout. But maybe this is a good opportunity for Inara to find out just how hard it is for Mal to scramble for work and how often he has money trouble. It'd be good to see her start thinking of ways to help out, and you know Inara, she's clever enough that Mal might not ever find out.
This is another reason I like your stories so much. You really get the characters.
Mal is just hard-luck all the time, best summed up by something you wrote a while back: "Lost a war, lost a cause, lost my home, lost my family and friends, lost faith, lost everyone and everything what ever meant anything to me." He's the universe's chew toy, and as much as he rails against God for his lot in life, I get the feeling like part of Mal thinks that God is right to punish him. Very sad.
Every now and then he finds some enjoyment in being the rebel, the loveable rogue, but more often he's hit by the negative side of it - the killing, the theft, having to act less moral than his conscience demands - so it's less so much that he likes being an outlaw and a bad man, and more that there's no where else for him to go and nothing else he can be.
Good point about Inara. Mal does try to have some pride, and at this point he'd see it as too much like a handout. But maybe this is a good opportunity for Inara to find out just how hard it is for Mal to scramble for work and how often he has money trouble. It'd be good to see her start thinking of ways to help out, and you know Inara, she's clever enough that Mal might not ever find out.
Monday, 03 October 2011 21:06
Thank you for writing in, Platonist, late to the party or not. I always enjoy your comments. It just seemed to me that Inara would definitely buy baby clothes for Zoe's baby at the first opportunity. Mal's financial troubles will take a while to resolve. He still owes Inara money. :-)
ZOESMOM
Tuesday, 04 October 2011 00:36
I like Bytemite's idea. I wonder if Inara might be better at managing the accounts than Mal. After all, she has been running a successful small business for years, now. We already saw in one of your previous episodes how she is better at negotiating a favorable deal than Mal is. Maybe, with her creativity, she can think of new jobs the crew can take on as well.
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