1:17 P.M.
Feburary 3rd, 2519
Utopia Planitia Shipyard, Persephone
“This is a total cluster-fuck,” Sarah muttered under her breath. Casey turned to look at her. “Well, it is!”
“Yeah, maybe you voice your opinions after we’re safely on the ground,” Casey grumped.
Not that it wasn’t a total cluster-fuck. Sarah was completely right on that account.
When Enterprise left Higgins’ Moon eleven days prior, it had been with an order from Sarah to crank the pulse drive up to maximum safe output so that they could reach Persephone in three or four days rather than eight or nine and hopefully catch Serenity before she left the Eavesdown Docks.
However, about a day out of Persephone, the pulse drive had had a partial failure, and so Enterprise was left at maybe a quarter capacity of normal drive ability. The final day to Persephone had ended up taking five days.
To make matters worse, atmospheric entry at Higgins’ Moon had done more damage than usual to the heat shield, and Major Lorenz and Captain Tweedum hadn’t been able to do all the repairs they would’ve liked. So now, after atmospheric entry on Persephone, the heat shield had been massively damaged, with superheated plasma doing a real number on the trailing edge of the wings and making steering difficult at best.
Major Lorenz had clearly overheard Sarah’s comment. “You’re lucky we aren’t dead, Agent Walker,” he growled out through gritted teeth. “Don’t you remember Columbia? Superheated plasma got into the wing and she broke up over Texas?”
”Yes, Major, I remember Columbia,” Sarah said. “I’m not saying this is your fault. I’m just saying that it’s the confluence of a bunch of fucked-up events! It’s a classic definition cluster-fuck!”
But Major Lorenz was no longer listening. “Shuttle Enterprise to Eavesdown Docks, do you copy?”
“Enterprise, this is Eavesdown Control. Go ahead?”
“Eavesdown Control, we have major structural damage and drive failure. We require a field with full overhaul capability and a runway at least three miles long.”
“Enterprise, this is Eavesdown Control. Please turn to a heading of one-four-seven and contact Utopia Planitia Shipyards on 219.7.”
“Eavesdown Control, Enterprise copies.”
While Captain Tweedum was changing the frequency on the tactical radio, Bryce was musing in the back of the cockpit. “Utopia Planitia? Either somebody liked Mars, or somebody was a Trekkie.”
“Angels and ministers of grace defend us,” Casey said, rolling his eyes. His spacesickness wasn’t nearly as bad as it had been at the beginning of the mission, but it still made him plenty irritable.
“Utopia Planitia Shipyards, this is shuttle Enterprise,” Major Lorenz said into his microphone. “Declaring an airborne emergency, requesting immediate clearance to land.”
“Enterprise, this is Utopia Planitia. Say your situation?”
“Space shuttle, five souls, major structural damage, drive failure. Require at least 15,000 foot strip.”
“Enterprise, this is Utopia Planitia. You are cleared for immediate landing on runway 7 left.”
“Enterprise copies.”
The Enterprise’s altitude had dropped to less than 10,000 feet. She was screaming in at just over Mach 1 when the pulse drive cut out completely. “Oh, shit,” uttered Major Lorenz. “Engines are gone.”
“Fire the retros,” Captain Tweedum said immediately. “That’ll give us enough thrust to keep altitude till we reach the airfield.”
“The retro rockets haven’t been fired since we took off from Earth,” Lorenz snapped. “We have no idea if the fuel is still stable, we have no idea if the engine nozzles were damaged on re-entry. We could blow the back end of the shuttle off. If the back end of the shuttle goes, the pulse drive goes, the jumper goes, and we’re totally screwed.”
“If we DON’T fire the retro rockets, we crash into a populated area and kill thousands of people,” Tweedum retorted. “I think it’s a pretty simple choice, don’t you?”
Lorenz was silent for a moment. “Fire the retros,” he ordered.
Tweedum flipped a few switches. “Here we go,” he said.
He flipped one more switch, there was a roar from the back of the shuttle, and the shuttle shot forward. Lorenz grabbed the control yoke and yanked Enterprise skyward. Tweedum thrust both fists into the air.
By this time, though, Enterprise’s altitude had dropped to under two thousand feet. As she shot forward at just under Mach 2, a gigantic sonic boom rippled across the Eavesdown Docks. Windows shattered and a tidal wave blasted across a lake by the docks.
Lorenz pulled power back as much as he could, but Enterprise still crossed the edge of the Utopia Planitia Shipyard at just over 300 miles per hour. With no flaps to deploy, the only braking method the shuttle had was its wheel brakes and parachutes. If Lorenz deployed the parachutes before touching down, Enterprise would flip out of control and crash in a ball of fire.
So, using his only remaining option, he cut the retros entirely. Enterprise dropped like a stone as she lost speed down to 220 miles per hour. “Brace for impact!” Lorenz bellowed to the crew.
Sarah, Casey, and Bryce all braced and closed their eyes as they prepared for Enterprise to hit the ground – but, instead of a wrenching impact, they were rewarded with the sweet sound of rubber tires on concrete.
Lorenz’s head snapped up. “Deploy the chutes!” he yelled. Tweedum grabbed the lever, and the parachutes shot out the back end of the shuttle. Enterprise decelerated rapidly, and there was another squeal as the nose gear touched down.
Lorenz and Tweedum both stood on the gear brakes. The drag was immediately felt as Enterprise slowed. As she slowed to a stop, Sarah looked out the window and saw a hovercraft. It was painted red, had flashing lights on top, and water cannons pointed at Enterprise. The water cannons fired at her back end as she stopped.
All five of them stayed in their seats for a moment. “Nobody’s ever gonna believe this one,” Tweedum said in a small voice. “Never.”
A motor was heard as a stairway was wheeled to the door. On shaky legs, Lorenz got out of his seat, went to the door, and opened it. The other four unbuckled and followed him to the door. As they exited, the emergency personnel surrounding the shuttle started clapping.
When they reached the bottom of the stairs, though, Lorenz turned and looked at the back end of the shuttle.
“Oh God.”
February 4th, 2519
transport Serenity
planet Bellerophon
When Serenity left Persephone, she had done so with a cargo bay full of brand new, albeit pirated, computer mainframes, phones and parts. She headed to Bellerophon, Chuck having been given the mission to install the computers in the main government offices.
On the way to Bellerephon, Chuck sat down with the entire crew one night and told them the whole story of how he came to be where he was. Kaylee already knew most of the story, but for the rest of the crew, he went all the way back to his first days at Stanford, when he met Bryce, up to getting expelled, to having the Intersect implanted in his brain, to falling for Sarah, to running into Fulcrum, and finally, to getting involuntarily sent to the 26th century.
“So you know one of Jayne’s ancestors?” Zoe asked in disbelief. “That’s madness!”
“Oh, I know it,” Chuck said. “And by the way, the National Security Agency – they weren’t a bunch of bad guys back in my time.”
“Yeah, well, they’re responsible for years of horrible, torturous experiments on my sister,” Simon said. “So you’ll forgive me if I’m not a real fan of them.”
“I understand,” Chuck replied. “But John Casey’s a good man. He’s a bit… primitive… sometimes, but he’s still a good man. He’s saved my life more than once.”
Of course, they had all wanted to know what Earth was like. He told them mostly stories about the Los Angeles area – about how in the winter, you could stand just south of downtown Los Angeles, look up, and see the skyline against the backdrop of the snow-capped San Gabriel Mountains. He told them about Hollywood, he told them about the traffic in the Sepulveda Pass.
Mal wanted to know more about LAX. Zoe wanted to know about the different museums. Simon wanted to know about Cedars-Sinai Hospital, River wanted to know about USC. Kaylee wanted to know about (of all things) South Coast Plaza.
Jayne wanted to know more about the Playboy Mansion and Hugh Hefner.
So now, two days after story night, Chuck was lying on his back in an office on Bellerophon, installing a brand new computer and telephone system. “Five hundred years, and computers STILL run an operating system called Windows,” he bitched. “If Apple was Blue Sun’s predecessor, why the hell is the operating system Windows and not Apple OS?”
“Huh?” Jayne asked. Chuck had asked for Kaylee to accompany him – for help physically install the computers, and Mal had acquiesced – but he’d also insisted that Jayne go along, for “security” purposes.
“Whatever,” Kaylee had scoffed. “You just don’t want us gettin’ it on on taxpayers’ time.”
Chuck and Jayne had both blown mouthfuls of coffee across the room at that.
“Never mind,” Chuck said to Jayne, returning to the present. “It’s just an IT thing.”
“Hey Chuck,” called Kaylee from across the room, “I need to run down to the lav.”
“That’s cool with me,” Chuck replied. “Perhaps more than I needed to know, but that’s okay.”
After Kaylee had left the room, Jayne crouched down by Chuck. “So… you two… you, uh, made the beast of two backs yet?”
Chuck tried to sit up, and smacked his head into the bottom of a shelf. “Ow!” he yelled. “Son of a bitch!”
He slid out from under the shelf and rubbed his forehead. “The beast of two backs? I haven’t heard that since I was in middle school,” he said. “Besides which, it’s none of your gorram business.”
Chuck stopped himself. “I just said gorram, didn’t I?”
“Yes you did!” Jayne laughed. “You’re becoming one of us! Also, you told me it was none of my business, which means you two ain’t done shit.”
“And how could you possibly know that?” Chuck replied, indignant.
“Because you’re a man,” Jayne said. “If you had tapped that, you’d be braggin’ about it to every man you came across.”
Chuck shook his head. “Right,” he muttered, sliding back under the shelf.
“You haven’t, have you?” Jayne asked.
“Shut up, Jayne.”
11:02 A.M.
February 5th, 2519
City of Utopia, Persephone
Sarah lay in the bed in her hotel room, the frustration fraying on her last nerve. “I can’t believe this,” she groaned.
Bryce looked at Casey. “That’s about the hundredth time you’ve said that in the twenty-four hours,” Casey snapped. “We get it!”
“I know you get it, Casey,” Sarah replied in an acid voice. “But given that Enterprise is out of commission for the next ten days, and there is a Fulcrum man in a jail the security of which is questionable – AT BEST – I think I’m entitled to be a little grumpy. Don’t you?”
And Enterprise was out of commission. Her pulse drive was totally wrecked. The heat shield had to be completely replaced, and the trailing edge of the wings had to be completely reconstructed. Fortunately, Bryce’s special warrant from the NSA had given him carte blanche at the Utopia Planitia shipyards. The shipyard director had assured him that the repairs would be billed directly to the Alliance, and that Enterprise would lift off from Persephone no later than February 13th.
Nonetheless, the waiting game had Sarah on the verge of craziness. They had been in this time for a month and a half now. They had been from Persephone to the Core Planets and back. Sarah had spent 39 days – and counting – around four men all the time.
And the dreams had continued. Dreams of Chuck walking away from her. Dreams of Chuck with that red-headed girl. And other dreams that had started lately – dreams of Casey, walking toward Chuck, a gun aimed at him.
“Look,” said Bryce. “Casey and I are going to go check on the prisoner. Why don’t you go do something you enjoy, Sarah. The hotel has a full spa, you might as well take advantage of it.”
With that, Bryce and Casey left Sarah’s room. She turned and stared at the comm system for several moments. Finally, she sighed and pressed the button for the spa.
“Utopia Spa and Therapy Center.”
“How much for a massage and a mani/pedi?”
11:58 A.M.
transport Serenity
planet Bellerephon
Chuck staggered out of bed just before noon. He made his way to the mess hall.
“Well good morning sunshine!” Mal said cheerily. “Hard night?”
“I was up till almost 4:00 getting the network up,” Chuck groaned. “You could say it was a hard night.”
Mal was visibly disappointed. “And here I thought you were up having fun,” he complained.
“Sadly, no,” Chuck replied. “That would’ve been nice. Coffee?”
“Over there,” Mal said, pointing. He looked at Chuck for a moment. “You and Kaylee… you two haven’t… well… you know.”
“Had sex?” Chuck finished for him, getting himself a cup of coffee and collapsing in a chair. “Not that it’s necessarily any of your business… but, well… no.”
“I really don’t get it,” Mal replied. “You two are all over each other when you’re together, but you haven’t sealed the deal?”
“It’s okay,” Chuck said. “I like her enough that it really isn’t that big a deal to me, although I will grant that I don’t understand it either.”
“It’s because she’s scared,” came Inara’s voice, as she came through the door. Inara followed her voice into the mess hall, and she took a seat at the table with Chuck and Mal.
“Kaylee really likes you, Chuck,” Inara said. “And I mean, REALLY likes you. She has fallen in love with you, no question. I’ve never seen her like this with anybody else, not even when she was totally infatuated with Simon.
“But she’s scared. She’s scared that if she has sex with you, you’ll stop looking at her as a girl who you like right back, and start looking at her as a sex object.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Chuck protested. “I’d never do that.”
“You know that, and I know that,” Inara said.
“I don’t necessarily know that,” Mal said. “No using my crew as sex objects, Mr. Bartowski.”
“The point is,” Inara continued, “Kaylee doesn’t know that either. She’s scared of going too far and losing the relationship she has with you now, which is quite frankly the most fulfilling relationship and even friendship I’ve seen her have since we’ve been on this ship.”
She paused. Chuck looked at her, and said, “That’s not all, though, is it?”
Inara looked him in the eye, then sighed. “No, it’s not.
“She knows that there’s a good chance you’re not going to stay. She knows that there’s a good chance that someday, your people from the 21st century are going to show up, and you’re going to leave. She’s afraid that if she gets in too deep, then when that happens, it’s going to break her heart.”
“They might not ever come,” Chuck replied. “I don’t know that they have the technology to do so.”
“But what if they do, Chuck?” Inara asked. “What are you going to do then?”
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