Ursa Major, Ursa Minor
folder
1 through F › Firefly
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
34
Views:
8,844
Reviews:
21
Recommended:
1
Currently Reading:
1
Category:
1 through F › Firefly
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
34
Views:
8,844
Reviews:
21
Recommended:
1
Currently Reading:
1
Disclaimer:
I do not own Firefly, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Rescue
Chapter Twenty-Seven:
Zoë had to fly as River collapsed against her brother. She wailed and hollered as Jayne’s agony coursed through her. “River?!”
“Dug deep… Found me. Simon, they found me!”
“River…”
“Needles in his head. Position eight. Broke through Jayne’s walls and found me hidden behind them. Simon! They can see me through him!”
Simon hugged her so hard that she whined in pain.
“River,” Zoë glanced behind the pilot’s chair at the siblings, “if they can see you, can you see him? Can you…”
River shoved Simon away and nodded. “Hurts. But I’ll do it. I’ll do it,” she whispered, more to herself, “because I love him.”
Simon swiped a hand across his eyes and watched helplessly as his mei mei closed her eyes and staggered to the nav sat. She keyed up navigational control and entered in a new destination on the furthest side of Bernadette.
“Deep underground,” she ground out. “Still hurting him.”
Zoë kicked the shuttle into hard burn.
*
Blue Hand number one, or ‘Mr. Stevens,’ reentered the lab with his colleague, Mr. Palmer.
“Progress,” Stevens demanded.
The first tech pulled his mask down and grinned. “Got a fix on her. We had to resuscitate him once during the procedure.”
Tech Two yanked the needle apparatus out of Jayne’s head without flourish.
Palmer nodded. “Did you learn anything about him?”
Tech One nodded excitedly. “Oh, yeah. He would have been a fantastic Academy candidate. He’s intelligent in ways you wouldn’t imagine. Strong as a bear… Hell, we only had to bring him back to life because he made his heart stop.”
Tech Two tightened the straps around Jayne’s wrists and elbows and joined his fellow technician. “Subject 2-359 is on her way. 3-750 has developed a mental link with her. Once we knocked down that last mental wall, 2-359 broke her silence.”
Behind all of them, Jayne relaxed all of his muscles. There was just enough room to pull his left hand free. He knew that, even drugged, he could snap the necks of those two technicians, but the Blue Hands… It didn’t really matter.
They just kept talking excitedly and didn’t notice him free his hands and elbows. He had a strap around his neck and two on his legs to get through, but the Academy hun dans made one mistake in constructing the restraints.
They didn’t use that noisy Velcro shit.
*
It wasn’t the same way Simon had gotten in last time, but he recognized the main layout once they dropped out of the ventilation ducts. He helped Zoë down from the ceiling and carefully hefted the belt of ammunition she’d handed him. The M60 was extremely heavy, but Zoë didn’t say a word of complaint.
River hopped soundlessly out of the duct and landed on her feet like a cat—Vera immediately at the ready.
“Which way?” Zoë whispered.
River’s eyes flickered through the halls. She winced and pointed Maggie at the stairwell.
“Three floors down, south hall, room at the end. Blue Hands discussing results of experimentation with two technicians. Jayne is…”
She gasped.
“Hands and neck free. Backs are turned. We must hurry.”
She bolted for the stairwell.
*
There was only a brief window of opportunity. He managed to free himself while the four men (well, two men and two gorram clones) had their backs turned. The IV was still stuck in his hand and he knew that would hurt like a bitch when he made his move.
I fuckin’ hate doin’ this shit naked…
He shot out of the chair and snapped Tech Two’s neck in a swift move. The pain in the back of his hand was nothing compared to the sudden throbbing in his skull.
Tech One put up more of a fight. He swung around with a closed fist and caught Jayne in the side of his head. Jayne pushed himself above the pain and slid back around behind the needle shoving bastard.
Said needle shoving bastard shouted wordlessly as Jayne punched him twice in the kidneys. He couldn’t get much more out when Jayne wrapped one thickly muscled arm around his neck in a chokehold. He kneed him in the lower spine and yanked back with his arm. The man’s adam’s apple popped into hundreds of pieces and Jayne pushed hard with his free hand against his ear.
CRACK.
*
River sprinted down the hall and ratcheted a round into Vera’s chamber. She popped off two shots through the last door and kicked it in with one booted foot. Behind her, Zoë established one of the two targets and let loose several bursts of ammunition from Bertha.
The machine gun kicked her hard in the shoulder and she had to back down and let Simon shoot.
He wasn’t nearly as good a shot as her, but good enough to drop that first guy.
River nearly emptied Vera into the one left standing.
Jayne was revealed when the Blue Hands fell.
He was covered in blood, had one eye closed, and was completely bare ass naked.
“Jayne…”
“Hey, River.”
She hopped over the dead bodies and hugged him as hard as she could. Simon ran to the wall as they embraced and grabbed the largest pair of scrub pants he could find out of one of the drawers.
“Felt you comin’,” Jayne whispered into River’s neck. Keeping watch by the door, Zoë took note of how hoarse he sounded and winced.
“Tried to block me out. Hid me behind stone and mortar,” she touched at the still bleeding wounds on his brow and the top of his head. “Drilled it out of you…”
Simon handed Jayne the pants. “Put these on and then we’ll head back the way we came.”
Jayne was halfway through pulling the pants up when a thought struck him. “Xuan ni, you bring any grenades?”
River pulled open the bag she had on her back that was filled with his collection of hand grenades. “And a landmine on the bottom.”
Jayne rubbed a hand through his hair and pointed at the two dead suits. “They’re clones. I figure we blow this shit-hole to hell and they won’t come botherin’ you none.”
River nodded. “An excellent idea, huan ren. Blow the main stability column and the whole facility will be brought down on top of them.”
Simon’s mouth popped open. “What about the other Academy students? They’ll all be killed, River.”
“Just about 78 percent of those chosen by the Academy are reprogrammed within days and sent out on missions. Most remain as agents to the Alliance. Others, like me, escape and are de-programmed through natural psychological means. The other 22 percent are destroyed.”
Jayne was already fixing the landmine so it would work as soon as the pressure of a few hand grenades exploding would set it off. “Where’s that column, River?”
She grabbed his hand and dragged him to the elevators.
Zoë watched Simon take the recordings and let him take the M60 from her and shoulder it. Damn thing was heavy. “We should head back up to the shuttle and get her ready to leave,” she advised.
Simon just nodded.
*
River set the timers on five of Jayne’s grenades and arranged them on top of the landmine—leaving Jayne to guard her while she worked.
“We will have four minutes to run upstairs. Ideally, this sort of explosive would be set in the center of the building, but—”
“Honey, just set ‘em off and let’s haul ass outta here.”
River nodded and pulled all five pins out. Jayne grabbed her hand and they ran full tilt up the stairwell.
One floor left. How the di yu are we gonna get to the shuttle?
“Main ventilation shaft, grid still missing.”
“Gotcha.”
They found the missing grid and Jayne immediately picked River up and shoved her through the hole. He doubted it would hold him up, but River shot that thought to hell with one of her looks.
At least he was tall enough that he didn’t have to jump too far. River led him through the tiny shaft (tiny for him) and out to the blessedly close ventilation chamber that led directly outside.
The earth rumbled below their feet.
River shoved at Jayne’s bare back (covered in bruises from the stun rifles) and they stumbled toward the shuttle. Simon couldn’t stop smiling as the pair jumped into the craft in a tangle. Zoë took off just in time to watch a hole erupt in the soil that rained dirt across the blank landscape.
“I do love leavin’ nothin’ behind me but a sinkhole,” she commented.
Jayne smiled and passed out in River’s lap.
TBC
Zoë had to fly as River collapsed against her brother. She wailed and hollered as Jayne’s agony coursed through her. “River?!”
“Dug deep… Found me. Simon, they found me!”
“River…”
“Needles in his head. Position eight. Broke through Jayne’s walls and found me hidden behind them. Simon! They can see me through him!”
Simon hugged her so hard that she whined in pain.
“River,” Zoë glanced behind the pilot’s chair at the siblings, “if they can see you, can you see him? Can you…”
River shoved Simon away and nodded. “Hurts. But I’ll do it. I’ll do it,” she whispered, more to herself, “because I love him.”
Simon swiped a hand across his eyes and watched helplessly as his mei mei closed her eyes and staggered to the nav sat. She keyed up navigational control and entered in a new destination on the furthest side of Bernadette.
“Deep underground,” she ground out. “Still hurting him.”
Zoë kicked the shuttle into hard burn.
*
Blue Hand number one, or ‘Mr. Stevens,’ reentered the lab with his colleague, Mr. Palmer.
“Progress,” Stevens demanded.
The first tech pulled his mask down and grinned. “Got a fix on her. We had to resuscitate him once during the procedure.”
Tech Two yanked the needle apparatus out of Jayne’s head without flourish.
Palmer nodded. “Did you learn anything about him?”
Tech One nodded excitedly. “Oh, yeah. He would have been a fantastic Academy candidate. He’s intelligent in ways you wouldn’t imagine. Strong as a bear… Hell, we only had to bring him back to life because he made his heart stop.”
Tech Two tightened the straps around Jayne’s wrists and elbows and joined his fellow technician. “Subject 2-359 is on her way. 3-750 has developed a mental link with her. Once we knocked down that last mental wall, 2-359 broke her silence.”
Behind all of them, Jayne relaxed all of his muscles. There was just enough room to pull his left hand free. He knew that, even drugged, he could snap the necks of those two technicians, but the Blue Hands… It didn’t really matter.
They just kept talking excitedly and didn’t notice him free his hands and elbows. He had a strap around his neck and two on his legs to get through, but the Academy hun dans made one mistake in constructing the restraints.
They didn’t use that noisy Velcro shit.
*
It wasn’t the same way Simon had gotten in last time, but he recognized the main layout once they dropped out of the ventilation ducts. He helped Zoë down from the ceiling and carefully hefted the belt of ammunition she’d handed him. The M60 was extremely heavy, but Zoë didn’t say a word of complaint.
River hopped soundlessly out of the duct and landed on her feet like a cat—Vera immediately at the ready.
“Which way?” Zoë whispered.
River’s eyes flickered through the halls. She winced and pointed Maggie at the stairwell.
“Three floors down, south hall, room at the end. Blue Hands discussing results of experimentation with two technicians. Jayne is…”
She gasped.
“Hands and neck free. Backs are turned. We must hurry.”
She bolted for the stairwell.
*
There was only a brief window of opportunity. He managed to free himself while the four men (well, two men and two gorram clones) had their backs turned. The IV was still stuck in his hand and he knew that would hurt like a bitch when he made his move.
I fuckin’ hate doin’ this shit naked…
He shot out of the chair and snapped Tech Two’s neck in a swift move. The pain in the back of his hand was nothing compared to the sudden throbbing in his skull.
Tech One put up more of a fight. He swung around with a closed fist and caught Jayne in the side of his head. Jayne pushed himself above the pain and slid back around behind the needle shoving bastard.
Said needle shoving bastard shouted wordlessly as Jayne punched him twice in the kidneys. He couldn’t get much more out when Jayne wrapped one thickly muscled arm around his neck in a chokehold. He kneed him in the lower spine and yanked back with his arm. The man’s adam’s apple popped into hundreds of pieces and Jayne pushed hard with his free hand against his ear.
CRACK.
*
River sprinted down the hall and ratcheted a round into Vera’s chamber. She popped off two shots through the last door and kicked it in with one booted foot. Behind her, Zoë established one of the two targets and let loose several bursts of ammunition from Bertha.
The machine gun kicked her hard in the shoulder and she had to back down and let Simon shoot.
He wasn’t nearly as good a shot as her, but good enough to drop that first guy.
River nearly emptied Vera into the one left standing.
Jayne was revealed when the Blue Hands fell.
He was covered in blood, had one eye closed, and was completely bare ass naked.
“Jayne…”
“Hey, River.”
She hopped over the dead bodies and hugged him as hard as she could. Simon ran to the wall as they embraced and grabbed the largest pair of scrub pants he could find out of one of the drawers.
“Felt you comin’,” Jayne whispered into River’s neck. Keeping watch by the door, Zoë took note of how hoarse he sounded and winced.
“Tried to block me out. Hid me behind stone and mortar,” she touched at the still bleeding wounds on his brow and the top of his head. “Drilled it out of you…”
Simon handed Jayne the pants. “Put these on and then we’ll head back the way we came.”
Jayne was halfway through pulling the pants up when a thought struck him. “Xuan ni, you bring any grenades?”
River pulled open the bag she had on her back that was filled with his collection of hand grenades. “And a landmine on the bottom.”
Jayne rubbed a hand through his hair and pointed at the two dead suits. “They’re clones. I figure we blow this shit-hole to hell and they won’t come botherin’ you none.”
River nodded. “An excellent idea, huan ren. Blow the main stability column and the whole facility will be brought down on top of them.”
Simon’s mouth popped open. “What about the other Academy students? They’ll all be killed, River.”
“Just about 78 percent of those chosen by the Academy are reprogrammed within days and sent out on missions. Most remain as agents to the Alliance. Others, like me, escape and are de-programmed through natural psychological means. The other 22 percent are destroyed.”
Jayne was already fixing the landmine so it would work as soon as the pressure of a few hand grenades exploding would set it off. “Where’s that column, River?”
She grabbed his hand and dragged him to the elevators.
Zoë watched Simon take the recordings and let him take the M60 from her and shoulder it. Damn thing was heavy. “We should head back up to the shuttle and get her ready to leave,” she advised.
Simon just nodded.
*
River set the timers on five of Jayne’s grenades and arranged them on top of the landmine—leaving Jayne to guard her while she worked.
“We will have four minutes to run upstairs. Ideally, this sort of explosive would be set in the center of the building, but—”
“Honey, just set ‘em off and let’s haul ass outta here.”
River nodded and pulled all five pins out. Jayne grabbed her hand and they ran full tilt up the stairwell.
One floor left. How the di yu are we gonna get to the shuttle?
“Main ventilation shaft, grid still missing.”
“Gotcha.”
They found the missing grid and Jayne immediately picked River up and shoved her through the hole. He doubted it would hold him up, but River shot that thought to hell with one of her looks.
At least he was tall enough that he didn’t have to jump too far. River led him through the tiny shaft (tiny for him) and out to the blessedly close ventilation chamber that led directly outside.
The earth rumbled below their feet.
River shoved at Jayne’s bare back (covered in bruises from the stun rifles) and they stumbled toward the shuttle. Simon couldn’t stop smiling as the pair jumped into the craft in a tangle. Zoë took off just in time to watch a hole erupt in the soil that rained dirt across the blank landscape.
“I do love leavin’ nothin’ behind me but a sinkhole,” she commented.
Jayne smiled and passed out in River’s lap.
TBC