The Treasure of Lei Fong Wu

Chapter Thirty Six

Serenity departed Tsang Chow station six days after it arrived, fully fueled and provisioned. The House of Lei came aboard again, along with the eleven soldiers who had arrived with them – plus five more hand-picked by the General – along with Colonel Campbell.

Despite the extra people, things were a little more comfortable now. The General had plenty of supplies loaded, temporary cots installed, and added some other amenities that made the trip bearable. The men quickly turned to and organized themselves with accustomed efficiency, joined, of course, by Johnny, whose Princely status had not kept his uncles from insisting that he remain a recruit private for all practical considerations. The army camp was back, and better than before.

One of the items on the deck was a factory sealed crate containing several kilos of high-grade transnuclear derivatives: a commodity that always had a market. It was where Mal had sank his mastodon-penis profits. Kaylee had likewise invested in some ansible-quality derivative, which she boldly labeled, along with a pretty sign that told Jayne, explicitly, not to eat it.

Wash and Zoe were arguing – not an uncommon occurrence on Serenity, but almost always uncomfortable. While they had technically “made up” there were still issues that forced them to retire to their bunk upon occasion – and not for the usual reasons. Jayne paid Kaylee five thousand for his gluttony, with a promise of two more soon. She was mollified, but continued to use his indiscretion to her advantage.

It had been decided that a return to Lincoln City might not be the smartest move, considering the way they had left it; it was Mal’s experience that local constables were unlikely to welcome back a ship that had left most recently in a hail of bullets. The General waved ahead and had an alternate landing site prepared, with plenty of fuel and supplies pre-positioned. After that, the itinerary went from Salisbury to Hamlet to Athens, where they w