Jubal's New Bounty
Sunday, November 6, 2005
After the end of "Objects in Space," River decides that a good bounty hunter is a terrible thing to waste.
CATEGORY: FICTION TIMES READ: 4261 RATING: 9.0 (G) SERIES: FIREFLY
"Well, here I am."
Jubal Early floated in a sea of black, spinning slowly end over end. He didn't need to check the displays in his helmet to know his air was running out. That last job did not go as well as he had hoped. It seemed like his retirement was going to be postponed indefinitely. Or replaced by an early grave in his skin suit. He sighed.
Not one of his better days.
"Hello, Jubal Early."
A voice in his headset. That girl, River. Troublesome, he thought. So small and frail, and yet she's going to live, and I'm going to die. Does that seem right to you?
"You're not going to die, Jubal. I sent your ship to find you."
Did she now? He thought about that for a moment.
"That's mighty nice of you," he said, "considering what happened and all."
"I'm not doing this to be nice."
Figures.
"You're a bad man, Jubal Early. You like to inflict pain, and you don't much care about things like love, and family, and trust."
True enough.
"But you are good at what you do. And you do have a code, of sorts."
"I do."
"And part of that code is being quite … persistent … if you feel someone has done you wrong."
He nodded, even though she couldn't see.
"I can't see you, Jubal," the voice continued. "In fact, I'm not even talking to you. This is a recording I sent along in your ship."
Damn. Then how did she know --?
"It's part of why they sent you to find me. I … know things."
That's … unsettling, he thought.
"I'm counting on you being true to your code, because there's something you don't know. Something you should know."
Jubal could just make out the shape of his ship, growing in the distance as it approached him. He used his suit thrusters to stop flying head o
very cool. you are a great writer. i really like the similies. i'm looking forward to hearing more fanfic from you!!! great job!!!keep flyin'
EngineAngel
::bows:: I especially like that fact that River uses Jubal to her use. Never thought of it that way.
I pity the Hands of Blue.
Excellent story! Ali D :~)
You can't take the sky from me
I had the idea for the story before I noticed this, but when I was rewatching the end to get Early's words exactly and saw the ship fly away under its own power, I knew exactly where it was heading and who sent it there.
It's shiny when a plan goes smooth, isn't it?
***
Mal: Cut her down!
Patron: The girl is a witch.
Mal: Yeah, but she's our witch. (he cocks his gun and points it) So cut her the hell down.
:)
Agreed with everything others said here, and more. Nice job on all the voices, lovely bits of humor and stark reasoning building the plot to a hard hitting peak. Got more? I need more.
I think you wrote River and Jubal's performances very realistically and true to character.
You even resolved handling Bobba Fett's, I mean Jubal Early's ship in a believable manner. I know Joss likes to reuse classic villians and the way they just left the ship just floating there in a believable manner really impressed me. I always did think that not salvaging his ship for valuable parts was a waste on the firefly's crew. Then again perhaps Jubal left lots of bobby traps in case something like this might ever happen.
C'mon give more.
Regards,
BB
On to the fic......
A voice in his headset. That girl, River. Troublesome, he thought. So small and frail, and yet she's going to live, and I'm going to die. Does that seem right to you? *For a guy who has a one shot in the BDS, I'm proud of you for writing him this way, awesome, and you got the voice spot on!
"I can't see you, Jubal," the voice continued. "In fact, I'm not even talking to you. This is a recording I sent along in your ship." *Recording....uh, yea right, but hey it River and she can do darn near anything right? Good voice here also BTW.
How does she DO that? *ROLFLMF(rackin')A(rse)O....Dude!!!! the voice, that Jubal Early voice perfection in 5 words!
She hadn't lied. Ariel had happened. They would have killed him without a second thought. *Good tie back here.
But for the first time in his career, Jubal Early was going to be his own client. *Okay now....where's the rest.
You need to write more, I know this is probably simple stuff, but man I sure enjoyed it, and the voices? you do them so well. Been since, uh...2005 since you wrote....man, you've got to give a little more for us, at least those of us who are trying to aspire to write with the quality you do.
Truth be told, I'm not sure Jubal's story should be continued, since it would be more about him and his working his way through the Alliance hierarchy than it would be about the Big Damn Heroes. But if I come up with something interesting after I finish the Wash story, this is where I'll post it. *smile*
AINTWEJUST
###
ROSE <i>(blocking the exit to the TARDIS)</i>: Doctor, they have guns!
DOCTOR: And i haven't, which makes me the better person, don't you think? <i>(gently moving ROSE out of his way and opening the door with a triumphant flourish)</i> They can shoot me dead, but the moral high ground is mine!
-- Doctor Who, "Army of Ghosts"
Post Your Comments
You must log in to post comments.