Eidolon (Chapter 26)
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Finally, something going his way. He pushed himself away from the wall where he'd been leaning. "We're heading out then. River, keep your brother out of trouble. Rest of you meet me in the cargo bay, about ten minutes." (Motions)
CATEGORY: FICTION TIMES READ: 3777 RATING: 9.0 (G) SERIES: FIREFLY
The dream followed him on bare feet with a swirly dress. She was like a spirit of storm and wind. He surprised himself sometimes how he'd grown used to the girl's strange whimsy, but then she'd become something familiar too. In any case, wasn't much point yelling at her about what she had no control over, like little Kaylee when an engine or person broke and she took it too hard. He thought maybe they had some innocence left and he wasn't the monster who meant to take that away.
With some detached patience he climbed the stairs, her haunting him all the way like that last glimpse of flashing metal. He turned to her when he reached the top step, just in case their furniture wasn't intact and sword-free. "Go and get that lazy brother of yours up," he ordered. The Tam girl grinned at him, and off she went.
The galley was as it always was, an easy scene for taking their meals like around a campfire, rendered in wood panel and goldenrod with leafy vines stenciled along the walls. No weaponry or impalement waiting for him. He still wasn't sure if he was awake yet or not when Zoë appeared seeming out of nowhere and restless.
Reliable as ever, she took his state at a glance and left him the space to put a kettle of water on the stove. The ritual was almost routine; whenever he couldn't sleep for the gunfire in his mind or when he couldn't find calm in his bunk before he had to be up captaining, he'd wander the ship, then eventually end up in the galley and brew up some coffee. The task distracted him and put him more at ease.
Not to say the stove wasn't a damn aggravation. The burners were so uneven, an unwatched pot would tip over when it boiled, and they had to be constantly nudged upright. With just one threadbare oven mitt and a few ragged towels, there was always a ration of early cussing at breakfast. One time he'd joked that he didn't even need the coffee because he was already awake by the time he got it. Kaylee who loved a homecooked
Kind of a filler chapter, but next chapter is more exciting.
Kaylee and Simon should make up. I think they will in time even without the Captain’s help. Of course maybe he’s thinking of the success of the jobs they do. Both present and future. Can’t be having a whole bunch of drama going on around the ship if you’re doin crime. That ain’t healthy!
Enjoyed this chapter Byte…..ZBP
Zoe's trying to cope with everything, and stand up for what she needs. Mal the way he is, he may not like it, but she has to make her stance clear. Because it's Zoe, he'll have to consider her point.
"whenever he couldn't sleep for the gunfire in his mind"--I like how you describe Mal's insomnia.
"One time he'd joked that he didn't even need the coffee because he was already awake by the time he got it."--The description of Serenity's decrepit stove had me smiling, while the reason it never gets fixed made me sad.
"After that Zoë's silence kept getting louder, so he made a tactical retreat."--With a person as terse as Zoe is, what she *doesn't* say is every bit as important as what she *does* say, a fact that Mal appreciates fully.
"Not good enough! What kind of... I hear talk like that out of you again, you'll be wearing bows and ruffles for the foreseeable until your head gets full up."--I like Mal's recipe for building up Kaylee's confidence.
"How could he say that, when he thought he wasn't even worth the bullets shot at him?"--oh, so sad but true for your Mal. Especially poignant for Kaylee to think this directly after the above statement.
"Mal might think he was subject to some wrath still... Didn't much matter to him where he was smote."--biblical language makes this so much more effective.
"The title slipped out of her mouth like a bad habit. At this rate it would be the first word her baby said."--I can see that!
"The man never made anything easy, even being angry with him."--oh, LOL, yes! He sure doesn't. Zoe has him pegged.
Nice work, Bytemite. Hope we get the next chapter before long.
And I also wanted to show that there's some shades of grey in this fight. The slavers obviously are terrible, the alliance well-intentioned but often equally bad, but the resistance kind of fights dirty and engages in some questionable acts. Since they're on the anti-slavery side of the conflict, they're kind of the side to route for, but that doesn't mean that they shouldn't be called out on some of this. And they DO technically use child soldiers here... Child soldiers who are former slaves fighting for their freedom, yes, but it's still very grey.
Everyone always has their own motivation. Everyone is always the hero of their own story, even if they act like jerks or screw over someone else. In their mind they are justified, and sometimes those justifications might be sympathetic even WHEN they're behaving very badly.
Slavers are pretty much always bad though. They may have started off honest but they've been corrupted by some hard life. They've done bad so long that they no longer feel a twinge of conscience. A new slaver might take pity on a slave, and longer term slaver just feels contempt.
That nightmare will be with him for a while... The sword is and ISN'T what it seems. Sometimes new trauma is layered on top of very old trauma, that the mind doesn't even remember.
I like so many of your phrases, many that eb mentioned above, but especially how Mal's sympathy is annoying. It makes me laugh and also wonder how many times she's pointed that fact out to him.
Simon is confused why Mal is helping him get the girl, doesn't Mal disapprove? And it is just Too Early For Jayne.
I suddenly had a vision of Jayne as a morning talk show host. It... It's a glorious trainwreck. Most episodes end in a fist fight with a guest, on set security has to break it up. He drinks spiked coffee on set and is obvious about it, smokes cigara, he invites women he's hooked up with to be on camera, he offers domestic tips that... No. Oh no.
It's the longest running show on Fox.
Zoe is standing up for herself and for all the right reasons. As bad as this is for Mal, you have to be proud of her.
"Sir, you're making me question your hard-ass reputation."
"I could use a warm blanket, a glass of milk, and a teddy bear if you're asking."
*death glare*
And dare I hope that the threadbare towels and useless, curse-inducing oven mitt are little bitty shout outs?
Sad, sad stove. But it makes complete sense, the repairs that get prioritized are the ones that keep our girl in the air.
The stove scene was inspired after I read Lonesome Dove in August.
"You can't take the sky from me!"
I was actually rather moved by Mal's plain sympathy at the end. Did you make the little girl black in order to make a parallel with Zoe?
Going to do the washing up. Boo.
Actually, I while it looks like I plan everything out well in advance, I only have a vague idea of my plot, and certainly no idea of these little character moments until I write them. I didn't realize Zoe would have this reaction to the death of the child soldier, but it made sense when it did. Similarly, when I wrote the scene with Shoshenk and his abusing the little girl, I just saw her as this prettiest black color. Zoe is quite a bit lighter in coloration than the girl. But, when I wrote this, I did realize it was an opportunity to connect Zoe even more strongly with her own child and the moment.
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