GR RP "Adventures in Gunrunning" ACT 24
POSTED BY: CapnRahn
UPDATED: Thursday, December 23, 2004 18:03
VIEWED: 21598
PAGE 4 of 10
Inara's move
LOCATION - GALLEY
If one did not know their history, the levels of tension, emotion and constant change aboard this little ship, the name of 'Serenity' would seem hugely ironic and something of a misnomer. But there had been a battle once that had tainted the word, left Mal bruised. Ghost of that battle always hung over the ship a little, an unwelcome shadow. So, instead of 'Serenity' meaning peace, they lived in a 'verse in which Serenity meant struggle, conflict against oppression, a continual fight for freedom, autonomy and a place in the verse to call home. Conflict bred conflict, so the wisdom went, so it was no wonder that tempers and tensions ran high within the firefly.
Knowing that intellectually, however, rarely helped with the emotions of dealing with the reality. It had been a large part of why Inara had once held herself apart from the crew, kept to herself. Tianna, that felt like lifetimes ago... She'd fallen in love with the ship upon first sight, and her rag-tag crew had slowly crept into Inara's heart, too, like family. And some... even closer. Mal had slipped under her radar; he'd been so easy to dismiss at first, with his cruel wit and coarse manners. He had had his moments of kindness, intellect, even nobility, but then no one was irredeemable. By the time Inara had realised what sort of a person Mal really was...
She really needs to get her mind off the men in her life. Really.
"Rowan, baobei, is there anything I can assist with?"
Rowan turns to the companion, "If you don't mind getting your hands a little dirty, we'll need help putting the bao together once the glazing's done."
Although the teasing edge in Rowan's voice is plain, it is still an effort for Inara not to flinch. She's too emotional right now. Her reply is equally droll, "I think I can survive it, though my manicure might not."
Inara crosses to the kitchenette and washes her hands carefully, removing her slave bracelet and pocketing it.
"All right ladies. Inara, if you'll fill these, then Merz, you watch her and copy what she does - same pressure level used for blending. I'll see if there's something here that will work as a steamer."
Acknowledging the instructions, Inara begins putting the bao together, standing at a slight angle to allow Merz to observe her actions. "There should be something around. Shepherd Book made us some delicious steamed tomatoes when he first came on board." Again, lifetimes ago. Why is she suddenly nostalgic? Her hands move automatically, her mind wandering in spite of herself; she hopes Merz is getting the general idea, at least.
Inara only notices Kaylee just as the girl is about to leave the room. She seems as small and alone as Inara herself is feeling, and Kaylee actually has a reason for it, with Simon being gone. "Kaylee, mei-mei," Inara calls out, more an acknowledgement than anything else, a way to get the girl to turn around so Inara can try to ascertain how she's really feeling. "I found some ribbons earlier," she offers -- a lie, but nonetheless -- "And I thought they might look pretty braided in your hair. Perhaps when things have quietened down...?"
She realises her error upon receiving curious looks. "Mr. Thorne has left the ship," is all the explanation she offers.
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Xiang's Move:
LOCATION - ORBOROS: Tantalus Shipping Nexus
It enters his mind unbidden. Something she used to sing to herself while she was working on the Revolution. An ancient tune with no historical significance. She said she liked it for its obtuse symmetry. Odd that it should emerge from his memory now.
Like a circle in a spiral
Like a wheel within a wheel
Never ending or beginning,
On an ever spinning wheel
As the images unwind
Like the circles that you find
In the windmills of your mind
XIANG (softly in Chinese): "And when the windmill stops...what then?"
As quickly as it had arrived, he forces the memory back into that part of his mind where he keeps her locked away. Safe.
He cannot think of her. Not now, not ever.
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
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Xiang's Move - Supplemental:
LOCATION - ORBOROS: Tantalus Shipping Nexus
"I can't do this anymore."
A memory more recent, the barest whisper, emerges as if in response to his self-denial.
Quote:XIANG (softly in Chinese): "It is not much longer."
FLASHBACK
The boy is bleeding again, as always when he is returned to the washing room. How long, he wonders, will the master… no, Trihn. The devil's name is Trihn. How long will Trihn continue to torture the boy before he finally rends his plaything useless?
In the weeks since he was first brought to the room, Damon has been able to gather himself to his feet and make his way to the chair under his own power. It is supposed to be the task of his caretaker, to take him in hand, clean him up and tend to his wounds. Damon resisted as well as he could before giving in, but only the first time. He only had to have it explained to him once that if he returned to the mines without being tended to that his wounds could fester and bring his untimely death. As that would ultimately be caused by Trihn's hand, Damon saw it as a matter of continued defiance to comply. He's strong, stubborn, and there is no doubt that he will persevere until the rescue arrives.
Until today. Seeing him there, lying so uncharacteristically still except for his breathing, Xiang can almost see the cracks forming in the bedrock of his defiance. Ten weeks had seemed like nothing at first, after so many years as a slave. Alarmed, Xiang kneels down next to him, mindless of the blood staining his white trousers. He always has to change after tending to Damon.
"You must." Xiang tells him. Taking a chance, he rests a hand gently on the back of Damon's head, sending a violent shudder through the boy's body. The thick hair is still soft from the morning's washing. "Shortly after you went in, I received confirmation. Our rescue is secured."
He has to hold himself back from the exhilaration of it. To obtain release from under Trihn's nose would be a great victory indeed.
Breathing a sigh, Xiang takes his hand back. "I will tell him that you need more time to heal. He has damaged you too well this time. He may be able to call for you only once more before we leave this place. I promise you, it is not much longer."
END FLASHBACK
EOM
Fans come and fans go...but zealots are with you until the bitter black end.
I draw...therefore I am.
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Damon's turn:
LOCATION - SPARE DORM
Quote:
"You must."
Damon feels his body go ridged in response to the hand on his head. He has to remind himself that it’s only Xiang. Still, Damon wishes he wouldn’t- he’s had all he can take for one day.
"Shortly after you went in, I received confirmation. Our rescue is secured."
Rescue? Yes, rescue… secured, but not guaranteed.
"I will tell him that you need more time to heal. He has damaged you too well this time. He may be able to call for you only once more before we leave this place. I promise you, it is not much longer."
Once more? How many times has he promised himself that? ‘Just once more and tomorrow I’ll end it.’ He’s put up with Crofton’s go se for too many years now, and the last couple months have only gotten worse, as if the hwoon dahn had nothing better to do with his time. Week in and week out Damon’s tried escape after escape, convinced he could always do better the next time. And every time it ended in the same way. Tomorrow? There is no tomorrow. There’s only an eternity of today. There won’t be any escape this eternity.
Still, Xiang’s promise is comforting. Maybe rescue will be different from escape… Damon sighs knowing continued hope will only mean more pain, starting with having to move. He tries to get a leg to push him onto his side but it doesn’t move far before sending a wave of pain though his body, blurring his vision. He stops with a groan, trying to catch his breath.
“How much longer?”
I'm not broken, in my dream I win...
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Xiang's Move:
LOCATION - ORBOROS: Tantalus Shipping Nexus
“How much longer?”
There was a time when he thought there was decency in the human race. A time when he believed that change would happen to make the 'verse a better place. During that brief time with Damon, he remembered that sense of hope, tenuous as it was.
Quote:Xiang takes another long drag and holds onto the smoke before letting it go. The greenish-gray cloud obscures the star field before him at first, slowly dissipating. Words from an ancient Chinese poem accompany his persistent sense of impending doom.
FLASHBACK
Despair. That is what Damon has become. He has no hope, no memory of what it was to live without pain. Trihn seems determined to put any spark of that kind of pleasantness out of the boy's mind. It was Damon's defiance more than his physical appearance that attracted Trihn's attention, of that Xiang is certain. Recalling what the fire of defiance felt like, Xiang has come to the conclusion that Trihn has a special affinity for it. Or more to the point, for breaking it.
When Damon moves, Xiang nearly reaches to help him. He'll have to this time, but there is no hurry. The floor is spotless - he's seen to that - and the sheet Damon is laying on is sterile. He won't be in danger of infection yet.
"Two weeks," Xiang says in a whisper. "Possibly three, but no more. I am guaranteed of it.
And yet, even to him, it seems an eternity.
END FLASHBACK
XIANG (in Chinese): "Those who speak know nothing. Those who know are silent."
EOM
OOC: The poem is a bit from "Lao-tzü" by Po Chü-i (772-846)
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
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Rowan's Move
LOCATION - Galley
Inara: "There should be something around."
The companion's voice pulls Rowan back. She had been thinking about the good old days, when she spent hours staring at source box screens, plotting the end of the Alliance. Good times. And for once she's able to do it without mind-bending pain. Maybe things are improving. Then again, she wasn't thinking of anyone in particular either. That could be the key. Used to be she didn't think of HIM because it caused too much heartache so she got in the habit, almost to the point where she nearly forgot him.
Hearing Merz hum in key with her, Rowan turns to give her a smile and a quick wink. Resting her hand on Inara's shoulder, she shares a look with her as well as she pulls a plate of completed bao from the counter.
INARA: "Mr. Thorne has left the ship."
At first Rowan isn't sure she heard right. She stops to stare at Inara, waiting for the punch line. It has to be a joke. There hadn't been any alarms to signal one of the shuttles leaving without clearance, and there isn't any other way to get off the ship. Is there?
ROWAN: "Left the ship? How do mean - left? As in…Left? Did we get planet-side and nobody said anything?
Then she turns to Jayne and lifts an eyebrow.
ROWAN: "Or did you figure he was plotting against the ship and crew too and just toss him out into the black?"
Rowan puts the plate down and gently places the expertly prepared bao into the steamer. Covering the dozen or so, she folds her arms and meets Jayne's eyes again.
EOM
OOC: Somebody else needs to post for awhile... I'm starting to feel like I'm abusing the privilege.
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
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Book's Move
Location: His room
-----
MAL - "Gotta let loose some pressure or another fracas like ole Demon ... uh mean ... Damon ... did ... an sumbody, most likely the boy, is gonna have ta be shoved inta a bodybag."
...Mal suddenly looks very haggard and drawn...and in a near whisper...
"An' 'm tir'd of alwaz havin' ta do up the zip"
-----
A concern for every human being. The love for his fellow man. Doing good in the world. These were the things that his life was based upon now, and had been for a long time. "There'll be no zipping up of body bags on my watch, Captain."
Book sets down his glass, with the contents still undrunk and goes quickly to Mal's side, supporting him with an arm and trying to lead him back into his chair. "There's much you and I have to discuss, but may I have your permission to go speak with Damon when we're done? I assume you've put him somewhere... safe."
EM
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Damon's turn:
LOCATION - SPARE DORM
Quote:
"Two weeks," Xiang says in a whisper. "Possibly three, but no more. I am guaranteed of it.”
Two to three weeks… definitely longer than he had been hoping for. He lies still for a long while, thinking, debating. He tries telling himself that he can survive one more day, but he knows it’ll take longer than that. He tries telling himself he just needs to keep going but his desire to end it all has grown passed the point of being able to ignore it. On the other hand… freedom could be just a couple weeks away.
Three weeks. He said three weeks guaranteed. In three weeks, I’ll either be free or I’ll end it. Finished.
Decision made, he tries again. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he gets his legs under him and manages to get up to his knees. Staying up is almost harder than getting up was and he looks ready to fall over again, but he doesn’t. He looks up at Xiang, a spark of light returning to his dark eyes from God knows where.
I'm not broken, in my dream I win...
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Jayne's Move
"Mr. Thorne has left the ship."
That didn't make a whole heluva lot of sense. "She me1?" he grunts behind Inara.
"Left the ship? How do mean - left? As in...Left?"
"You mean he's havin' an outta body?" Jayne holds one hand to his temple and flits it away - crazy.
"Did we get planet-side and nobody said anything?"
"Don't care fer havin' his likes around, pokin' into my thoughts."
Then she turns to Jayne and lifts an eyebrow. "Or did you figure he was plotting against the ship and crew too and just toss him out into the black?"
As much as Jayne tried to think in those directions, Rosie always came up smelling like Geraniums. Jayne scoffs. Rowan is directing the conversation his way now. Could be she's trying to distract him.
Rowan puts the plate down and gently places the expertly prepared bao into the steamer. Covering the dozen or so, She folds her arms and meets Jayne's eyes again.
"I try not to kill the passengers", Jayne says slowly as he and Rowan stare each other down. "Ain't that right, 'Nara?"
1 Huh?
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Rowan's Move
LOCATION - Galley
JAYNE: "I try not to kill the passengers", Jayne says slowly as he and Rowan stare each other down. "Ain't that right, 'Nara?"
Rowan scoffs back at him, finding the statement entirely too erroneous for words.
ROWAN: "Wouldn't be the first time I've seen it done. I've seen hired men toss passengers into the black just for their shoes. Granted, there was about three million in diamonds in the heels of those shoes, but that doesn't make it any less the case."
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
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