Firefly Universe

GR RP "Adventures in GunRunning" ACT 22

POSTED BY: CapnRahn
UPDATED: Thursday, October 28, 2004 03:16
VIEWED: 19308
PAGE 10 of 10

CHANNAIN

Wednesday, October 27, 2004 10:04 PM

Rowan's Move
LOCATION: BRIDGE

Damon's gaze flicks over to Mal and Zoe before returning to Rowan.

DAMON "Not sure yet. How'd the diagnostic go? Cannon functioning okay again?"

ROWAN: "Serenity says it is. She should know, right?

He seems nervous about something, the way he's watching the bridge. Choosing to stand outside the crew quarters might be coincidental. Then again, considering Reynolds' recent conversation with Merz, it could be the captain's finally getting around to interviewing all the hitch hikers he managed to pick up on Hera.

ROWAN (quietly): "Your turn in the principals' office?"

EOM

Fans come and fans go...but zealots are with you until the bitter black end.
I draw...therefore I am.
http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=7922

INARAESQUE

Wednesday, October 27, 2004 10:24 PM

Inara's move.

LOCATION - BRIDGE

Inara pours tea for all takers -- more than she expected, making her feel somewhat less foolish -- and watches Mal from under inky lashes. He's obviously hurt himself a fair amount and refusing to admit it, the wángzù bèn dàn. She watches him play with Kaylee, though, and smile and she relaxes a little, feeling the tension dissipate...

Looking to Inara, his grin falters only for a split-second as Mal over-quickly turns to Kaylee...

... only to twist painfully in her gut again mere seconds later. It's almost dizzying how easily that man can turn her inside out and leave her raw with the least effort. She knows better -- she knows far, far better -- so how is it that he can leave her on the brink of tears time and time again?

'You know the answer to that, nuòfu.' The thought comes unbidden, but it's not wrong.

Inara refocuses as she realises Rowan is talking to her, at least in part. "I don't suppose either of you have experience in putting bao dough together?"

Inara takes the remaining cup of tea and presses it defiantly into Mal's hands, looking up into his scowling face for a long moment.

"I wish I could help, dear." A smile for Rowan, and Inara turns for the door. "However, I have... things I need to attend to."

She leaves the Bridge with a whisper of silk, and heads to the Galley to refill the teapot.

EOM

CAPNRAHN

Wednesday, October 27, 2004 11:22 PM

LOCATION - BRIDGE
As...

Inara presses a teacup into Mal's left hand, saucer and all. She gazes into his eyes for an eternity. Before he can react...

INARA
... turning towards Rowan, words haloed with slight tinge of tight anger...
"I wish I could help, dear." ...smiles at Rowan... ""However, I have... things I need to attend to."

Mal involuntarily stiffens at the mention of Inara's session with Thorne. Unbidden, fantastical visions of Inara and Thorne intertwined in a slippery embrace skip and swim in his vision. His back hardens with anger and regret. This muscle flex tears at his damaged shoulder, causing him to clench his hand violently. The saucer shatters and the tea cup spins in a lazy arc to the deck, tea spiraling out in a morbid slow motion parody of his pent up emotion.

As swiftly as it had slowed, time resumes its full on march and the crash of the cup is absorbed into the white noise of the Bridge.

EOM

SQUEE

Wednesday, October 27, 2004 11:26 PM

Damon's turn:
LOCATION - FRONT HALL

ROWAN (quietly): "Your turn in the principals' office?"

Quote:
Damon sits slouched in the big chair across from the even bigger desk, looking somewhere between bored and pissed off. Principal Hall sits straight, hands folded on his desk, looking down at the eight-year old with a stern frown as he continues his spiel…

"...completely inappropriate language in this school, especially to your teacher. Now this is your last warning young man, the next time you..."

Damon suppresses a sigh. How many times has he heard this go se from this guy? So he nearly made Mrs. Klein pass out- so what? He wishes he could tell this guy exactly how much he doesn't care but that would only result in getting his parents involved- a disaster waiting to happen. So he sits quietly and holds his tongue.

"...is that understood?"

"Yes, Mr. Hall, never again."

Damon can't help but chuckle as he looks down at Rowan, mischief dancing in his eyes, accompanied by the slightest hint of pride. "Yeah, I think I went and got myself in trouble." The word 'again' floats by, unspoken but noticeably there.

He knows it’s not really very funny- he could be in a serious mess. This isn’t about getting detention for cussing, or loosing dinner for stealing from cellmates, or even dealing with broken bones from fighting one too many guards. This is about possibly getting caught or killed, about survival. No time to be goofing around when so much is at stake.

Sobered by his situation, his smile has faded, along with the good-natured sparkle in his eye. Time to try to change the subject again. “I heard bao is on the menu.”

From down the hall, a crashing tea cup draws his attention. A second later, Inara passes him and Rowan, not looking back.

I'm not broken, in my dream I win...

MERCEDESTROY

Thursday, October 28, 2004 12:32 AM

KAYLEE’s move

LOCATION - BRIDGE As...

MALs got his hands full, or at least one. But when KAYLEE bounces up and gives him a smack, he turns to ROWAN and dumps off the gun he is carryin’ around for no apparent reason. Then he whirls around and growling playfully, tickles her ribs.

KAYLEE giggles madly and a bit breathlessly, pushin’ (none to hard or effectively) at MALs hands. She hardly catches what he is sayin’ between growls.

MAL
"rrrgh, whatchoo doin' havin' yer minions fark up my cargo bay with all sorts of rubbery devices, me pretty! snaaaarl...”

He breaks off his attack, and goes back to discussin’ matters with the other people on the bridge. ~good thing too,~ Kaylee thinks. ~girls gotta breathe sometime.~

She leans up against the doorframe, recovering and waiting for his attention to turn to her again. Whole lotta stuff goin’ on just now. She looks from face to face. WASH and ZOË are sharing something between ‘em, but Kaylee’d be blessed if she can snatch an idea of what. Now MAL and ROWAN talking to each other and she can just tell there’s a lot going there that they are sayin’ without words … MAL lapses into some strangeness ‘lamby-toes’ indeed … he must be lookin to get damaged er somthin’.… INARA pourin’ tea for all and sundry.

Suddenly between all the false smiles and polite words, KAYLEE just knows nothing is happy right now. She wants to just stand in the middle of the bridge and shout something, anything, so’s to make everything OK again. Isn’t hardly anyone sayin’ what they’re thinkin’. She feels a twinge in her stomach muscles, feels a bullet pass into her again, and her face falls. So mad at one another.

ROWAN leaves the bridge. INARA leaves. ZOË and WASH are tied up mostly in each other as usual, although ZOË has one eye on MAL and a tense look about her mouth.

As INARA sweeps from the room, MAL tenses suddenly and the tea saucer fractures in his hand. The cup spins to the deck, shattering before KAYLEE could hope to catch it.

On the verge of tears, KAYLEE speaks. She is answering MALs question, whether he is listening or no. Just sumthin’ to change to mood. To catch his attention. Anything but this painful silence.

KAYLEE
"I was thinkn' about what Mr. Thorne said. Bout the conex-thingie not being able to take a beatin'. All-o-sudden-like I remembered a game me an my pals used ta play we called 'jump-n-cut."

Mal looks at her quizzically, like she has suddenly gone quite mad.

KAYLEE …ignoring Mal’s silly look…
"There was a rail bridge 'round 300 meters above the Whitewash River near the homestead. Me an a buncha others used to use bungee cords and qik-releases and jump offa the bridge. Jes before the cords snapped back – at that moment of ..pauses, searching for a word... of antigravity, we'd pull the releases and drop – nice as you please, in'ta the river – no fuss, no muss. ...at Mal's disbelieving scowl..."It was only a coupl a' meters drop at the end of the cords – we measured 'em real precise after Teddy fell nearly 60 meters and durn near broke his back."

“Ya see. We anchor one end of that cord to a structurally sound point in the Bay, and the other end is secured to the conex. That conex is poised to fling out the door. WASH brings Serenity into place; I checked out the map and I know just where, if the cargo bay doors are open and he does a fast stop, that box is gonna go flyin’. Put a quick release on the end fastened to the bay – as soon as it reaches full extension there’s gonna be one instant where it’s got no relative motion. One of the landing party pulls the quick release, the cord heads out of the bay follerin’ the box which is already gone. Away team goes out the bay, drops about 5 feet to the dirt, and WASH takes the rest of us for a ni

INARAESQUE

Thursday, October 28, 2004 2:22 AM

Inara's move

LOCATION - GALLEY

The crashing of a teacup sounds, and Inara ducks instinctively, more than half-expecting to feel the droplets of tea fly over her head and into her hair.

Pause.

No, apparently Mal vented his temper without throwing things at her.

She continues into the galley, offers Rowan, Damon, Jayne and Merz a tight smile, and sets to refilling the teapot. She doesn't want to return to Rosie and River empty-handed.

EOM

CHANNAIN

Thursday, October 28, 2004 2:27 AM

Rowan's Move:
LOCATION - FRONT HALL

DAMON: "Yeah, I think I went and got myself in trouble."

Rowan lifts an eyebrow both at his grin and the gleam of mischief that sparkles there ever so briefly. He's a bad boy all right. No wonder she likes him so much.

All too soon that sparkle dims and the dazzlng smile fades, much to Rowan's disappointment.

ROWAN: "You should smile more often, you know that?"

He shruges, then deftly changes the subject.

DAMON “I heard bao is on the menu.”

The sound of china crashing on the deck causes them both to turn to the bridge. Inara descends with her usual ethereal grace, movng smoothly but swiftly down the hall. She offers the bare modicum of acknowledgement, straining the usual companion courtesy protecol. She doesn't turn back.

Rowan breathes a sigh, wondering how the tensions arched so sharply within fifteen seconds.

ROWAN: "If I can find at least one scallion, it will be. When he's done and you smell bread when you come up, you'll know.

Turning to see Damon looking back up toward the bridge again, Rowan lifts a hand to touch his shoulder, only to think better of it at the last second. Still, she leaves it there, hovering in the air between them.

ROWAN: "And if it makes you feel any better, I'll get my talking-to tomorrow. I happen to know he talked to Merz too, so I think he's just making sure he didn't hire any mass murdering lunatics. Do me a favor and behave yourself, huh? you don't want to go for a vacuum swim, dong ma?"

Giving him a teasing look and a quick crook of her eyebrow--since winking still feels more like agonized twitching-- she turns to follow Inara's path into the galley and finds a contrasting scene. First there's Jayne eating something out of a Blue Sun package with the relish of a man who had been fasting for days. Then there's Merz, sitting at rest in a chair like someone had told her to stay there.

ROWAN: "Hey, Merz. I was just going to send out a call for you. Did you get those test results?"

EOM

Fans come and fans go...but zealots are with you until the bitter black end.
I draw...therefore I am.
http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=7922

MERCEDESTROY

Thursday, October 28, 2004 2:42 AM

LOCATION - DINING ROOM

She can hear ROWAN and DAMON quietly talking in the hallway. She can hear Inara approaching, the sound of her clothing as unmistakable as a voice print. Jayne is still in the room, eating with great gusto, like some kind of savage.

There is a lot of tension in the air; it rings in the voices she is hearing, it wafts through the air currents in mingled pheromone trails. There is almost a pre-drop feel - tomorrow’s run causing anxiety among these civilians. MERZ does not know if that is the case. And she is not easy with the pre-battle feeling. Danger is her forte, not theirs.

Once again they speak to her, the inhabitants of her mindscape, bringing to the forefront of her thoughts those things she is trying so very hard to push aside. Even here, her family is forever present.

~ your presence is a danger to them ~ Corvair snarls.

~ i know … ~ she responds.

~ they will bleed for you ~

~ I am aware of that …

Bem-Wa whispers, ~ friendship is … interesting. it should be studied further. ~

~ at the risk of their lives?

~ who are you to choose their path for them…? ~ Or’Sha counters. ~ would you make of them what we are? ~

The mind MERZ shakes her head. The meat MERZ mirrors the gesture. ~ NO! ~

~ take what they have offered you. learn from them, this new form of relationship. all data is useful ~ Bem-Wa’s voice is tainted with the smile she never saw him use. ~ they are less helpless than we are taught. you have learned that for yourself. as did I …~

~ yes. but … i have decided, i will leave at the next stop.~

Corvair sneers ~ coward … ~

The mind MERZ straightens and raises her head in defiance. ~ No! civilian … it is what one of them would do. I learn my lessons well, daaju … ~

~ don’t learn it too well, bahini. retain your identity, you are worthy too … ~ Bem-Wa’s voice trails off into distance.

MERZ takes a deep breath. Yes the decision is made. As soon as it is possible for her to leave she is gone. Right after Rowan’s tournament. After.

She is aware then, that ROWAN has entered the room and spoken to her. Playback reveals her words.

ROWAN
"Hey, Merz. I was just going to send out a call for you. Did you get those test results?"

MERZ looks up at her, reaching into the breast pocket she had slipped the test results into. Fingering out the small slip of paper, she wordlessly hands it to ROWAN.

EOM

daaju = elder brother (Nepali)
bahini = younger sister (Nepali)

If Justice is the dish, then I am your waitress

CAPNRAHN

Thursday, October 28, 2004 3:16 AM

OOC
NEW ACT THREAD!!!

http://fireflyfans.net/thread.asp?b=17&t=7712

anybody up fer a commercial?

"Remember, there is only ONE absolute - There ARE NO absolutes!!!"