Our Co-Pilot Tam, Part 4
Monday, October 24, 2005
The next, and possibly the last, episode. Some things are resolved; others are not.
CATEGORY: FICTION TIMES READ: 3250 RATING: 8.0 (PG) SERIES: FIREFLY
Saffron staggered out of the cargo pod, hands raised in the air, and looked around at the gathered crew of Serenity. “Ohh,” she said, “I'd been on that pod for days.” She took in the sight of Mal and Jayne, each with a gun trained on her. “Don't be paranoid,” she added. “I'm helpless. At your mercy.”
“Not helpless. Never helpless.” River said. “That wouldn't be...you. If you were ever helpless, you'd stop being Saffron...and have to become Bridget. Or Alanya. Or Carrie.” She approached Saffron slowly. “I know your real name, but I won't say it. Yet. Do you understand, Saffron?” Saffron nodded, suddenly shaken by River's mentioning of the other names. “Don't touch my ship,” River said softly. “Don't touch my ship, and I won't touch your memories.”
Saffron looked at Mal, who slowly lowered his gun. “Where'd this one come from? I don't recall her being on board your crate.”
Mal shrugged. “I guess I'm just full of surprises, Yo-saf-bridge. Now how's about you start telling us where to find this treasure?”
Saffron shook her head. “No, once you know you'll just dump me overboard.”
“Well, I ain't letting you near the bridge, so you'll have to tell us at some point,” Mal said.
“Hey,” Zoe whispered to Mal, “Maybe your girlfriend can pluck the coordinates out of the jien hwo's brain.”
“No,” Mal said, “She has to tell us herself.”
“All right,” Saffron said, “I'll give it to you bit by bit. They were going to Baldur. When we get there, I'll tell you more.”
“Baldur...” Mal mused. “Do any of you know how to get to Baldur from here?”
“Mei-yong-de,” Saffron muttered. “Border rock, in the Georgia system.”
“I knew I'd heard of it,” said Zoe. “That's near where Niska lived.” She turned to Saffron. “Jien hwo, Niska's folk have a hand in this? Or whoever's in charge now?”
Saffron shook her head. “I don't know. We were planning to divide up the coin there. Things broke down at a fairly early stage of the process.”
“Alright, Jayne,” Mal said, “Take her to one of the empty p
angie b.
Which is about as succinct a definition of true love as I've found.
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In none of my fics will there ever be hot, smutty River/Mal sex. Nor will everything ever end well. They aren't Simon and Kaylee, they're the two most tortured, conflicted characters on the show.
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All my fics end when their central conflict is resolved (in this case, River and Mal's romance). They may have dozens of untied strings--too bad. In this case, my next fic takes up about 18 hours after this ends, so y'all will get to see them together, but the focus is on Simon and Kaylee, with a lesser focus on River.
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I have great sympathy for Inara. I did not intend to write her as greedy, selfish, or manipulative--she merely has come to realize that she brings less than River, less persuasively. Her giving her blessing to River and telling Mal there aren't two men like him in the 'verse is surrendering the main part of why she stayed on the ship so long--she's cutting her heart out, Companion-style.
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I also have sympathy for Saffron (although I tried and failed to write a fic about the time she and Mal met during the Battle of Boros in 2507). She's too far gone to change, but was used badly during her formative years--by the time she married Durran Haymer (her first husband), she was who she is now. And she knows it--River's taunting her about not being able to love hurt her deeply.
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Speaking of River...my interpretation of her rests heavily on the idea that she's crazy for 4 reasons: The Academy cut her brain, Telepathy/and seeing visions, the torture she underwent, and her being naturally really smart and socially awkward. A lot of her actions in this fic are explainable by the second and fourth reason. Imagine Carrie("Carrie"), Alison ("The Breakfast Club"), and Lainie ("She's All That"), as well as just River.
Love this line: " “Whatever way of escaping you're thinking of, I won't understand it enough to stop it 'cept by shooting you.” Good ol' Jayne. And great job writing him.
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