ALONG CAME A ZHI ZHU -Chapter FIVE

By BlueHandTwoByTwo (LarryL)

The face that peered through a sea of flickering pixels on Serenity’s vid-screen belonged to that of a young man: tightly-cropped blonde hair; steely blue eyes; smooth, clean-shaven face; all squarely framed beneath an Officer’s regulation gray hat with black brim. Barely out of high-school, if one were to guess. Not much more than a kid. But then again, most soldiers aren’t.

“This is Alliance Cruiser “Dortmunder” hailing transport ship “Serenity”, class code 03-K64. Firefly. Is anybody there?” A short pause. “Serenity, we have received your distress signal and can make your coordinates within four hours. Are you still in need of assistance?” By the sound of his voice, the Officer’s interest was quickly waning. He squinted, visually scanning the ship’s bridge as best he could through the static of the transmission signal, saw nothing and frowned. “Is anyone there?”

Book and Simon were pressed up against the wall on either side of the monitor, hiding from the two-way camera. Their breathing was fast and shallow. Both of their foreheads glistened with perspiration but neither dared to reach up and wipe it away for fear of betraying his position. Movement had to be kept to a bare minimum if they were to avoid detection.

“Nobody’s here. We’re all dead,” Simon whispered, trying to send a mental message to the young man on the monitor. “You’re too late. Go away now.”

“Shhh…” Book cautioned with a finger across his lips. Not that keeping quiet was any real guarantee of their safety. All the Dortmunder had to do was scan Serenity for heat signatures and all nine of their bodies would show up on its screens as clearly as if everyone had stupidly decided to don flashing neon jumpsuits.

Simon closed his eyes and waited. Time slowed to a crawl. That bastard, he scowled. All of them, Alliance bastards! Damn them for what they did to River. She was just a child! They tricked Mother and Father into thinking that they