Life’s Too Short- Part Eight

Disclaimer: these characters, as you all know perfectly well, aren’t mine. Good thing Joss lets us share them!

Author’s Note: so here it is, the big space thingy. And reunions. Comment, and enjoy! (Words inside asterisks are in italics)

“It’s been nearly an hour since you dispatched the units to planetside. Why aren’t they back?” The question was calm, almost flat, and it didn’t sound as if the voice wanted an answer. Dawson Boroughs gave it a shot anyway.

“Well, sir, they may have run into several-” The voice interrupted him, smoothly coming out of the black screen mounted just above the pilot’s consol.

“I’ve put too much money and effort into hiring you people,” it said calmly, “to waste my time speaking to one such as yourself. Captain Jennings, I’m sure, is off trying to find out just what went wrong, and he placed you here to try and distract me. I’d had such high hopes for him. What a pity.” Dawson swallowed, trying to straighten.

“What do you mean? I can assure you, I-”

“I need no assurances, Private Boroughs. Run and fetch Captain Jennings. Now.” Dawson dipped his head and left. Captain had said not to get him unless it was an emergency, and that last line about pity had sounded pretty serious. It was time to let the Captain deal with the flat, sexless, disembodied voice that had arranged for so much money to be transferred into the honorable Alliance starship Captain Albert Jennings’s private account, just so that he would use his technology and utter discretion to find River Tam. Dawson remembered standing in the doorway as the request was made, feeling the chills run down his spine at the memory.

* “River Tam. Serenity. Captain Malcolm Reynolds.”

“I’m familiar with the name of the ship. It’s been on and off our radar for some time.”

“I don’t care about the Firefly, Captain Jennings. Capture them, kill them, do whatever it is you Alliance do with them. I want River Tam.”

“I’m afraid there’s a high-priority warrant on her head.”

“I’m will