Okay, okay. One more thing. Then I'm done. Swear. Fully catharsis-ize... fully cathat... fully vented.
(someday #314)
There are very few warriors left. Most that make the claim are merely exceedingly violent. I brought calm. Reason. Order. Order, in a universe where the darkness expands at ever increasing speeds while the light falls ever back. Order.
Then came the eyes of a child. A child whom I had just murdered for the family. A child who asked me not to cry.
Non foras ire, in interiore homine habitat veritas.
I dropped my weapon. It was then it happened. The voice, something in the sky. A general whose son-in-law I had had castrated informed me that I'd been staring at a circling hawk for hours and hours, smiling like an idiot all the while. It seemed a short breath to me.
Horridas nostrae mentis purga tenebras.
The voice. It spoke to me as plainly as I tell this. "Even here, I am." That's what it said. And the comedy? The thing that had me grinning like a simpleton? Somehow, deep in my gut, I knew the voice wasn't speaking to me. It was speaking to the child, but I was the only one who could hear it. Now.
That circling, circling, circling hawk.
I was at the Battle of Serenity Valley. As close as I can figure, I murdered 121 Browncoats there. Came straight out of that wicked sun, swooped down low on 'em while they were waiting for evac. Was doin' most of them a favor, that's what I told myself. They'd been down there for days. Anyway, hardly any ran.
I felt the Operative coming. I smelled him on the air. I forgave him, as I forgave all. He doesn't know it yet but I murdered him too. God forgive me. It was pride. Six months, a year at most, and he will die writhing. Seemed the least I could do. One last long slug of wine before the darkness comes on all gravel and funk.
Mal must never know. Mal must run. Run.
Men like me were not born, we were born ready. That's what I used to tell myself. Like a mad king's letter-sealing wax. Merely something melted and pressed by a ring either familial or stolen, legendary or terrifying, into its final shape. Its purpose. Its authority. We were wax. But that was a cowardice, an ignoble detachment. One must choose. One must.
All glory to God, even here in the last flickering shadows.
I choose life.
Even here. Love. Love. Love.
Peace be unto you all. Don't cry.
"The monosyllable of the clock is Loss, Loss, Loss, unless you devote your heart to its opposition." - Tennessee Williams
Yeah, yeah. I know. But I had a great idea for Jayne and, to quote the poet (R. Bradbury), one should treat a good idea like a dog. This story involves Jayne's idea of a jailbreak wherein he, in fact, breaks the jail. Enjoy. Someone. Eventually.
(someday #212)
The Book says, "For our contention is not with flesh and blood but with dominion and authority, with the world-ruling powers of this dark age, with the spirit of evil in things Heavenly." Yeah. Huh. I like the sound of that.
Mal's in the sling and the thinkin's up to me. Three stories up and third cell from the right. Not good. I've been watching him through a scope, rotting in that hole. Don't think he's sat much in the last few hours. Gettin' hanged at dawn 'll have that effect. He wrote a letter and cried some, I think, though I'll never tell.
Can't hardly see him through all that red scrub. It's just so gorram frustrating. Give me a three foot machete and half a day and I'd clear out that scrub for ya pretty as you please. Maybe get him a message or something. I don't know. Wait. Scrub. Red Scrub. Huh.
I found a mining pan and some stout rope. I flattened the pan and scratched a message into the soft tin. No folks were around. No guards patrolling. Nuthin'. Too confident, I guess. I threw the rope up and he laced it around the bars and threw it back. I dog-paddled across the ditch and climbed a scrub tree. I tied one end to the top and started pulling on the other. Just like I thought she started to bend and bend until my feet were spittin' distance from his window. Still not so much as a howlin' dog. Pretty moon though.
"Cap'n. Hey. You sleepin'?"
"Jayne? What are you doing?"
"Bustin' you out, Cap'n."
"Jaaaaayyynne..."
"Shh. Trust me, sir. This is what I do."
"What's your plan?"
"Through the front door. Just, you know, a slightly more vertical approach."
"Jayne."
"What? I got three whole bandoliers and a sack of thermals, Mal. I'm good to go."
"Okay. A- there's a baker's dozen out there if there's a soul, and B- none of them deserve your kind of Christmas visit. Well, maybe one."
"Deserves an awful funny..."
"They're good folk, Jayne. Present circumstances notwithstanding."
"So you'd rather swing than..."
"I'd rather a lot of things. I'd rather not have shot that kid. I'd rather..."
"What?"
"Get back to the ship. You got a woman to look after now."
"That's low, Mal."
"I mean it Jayne. The ship is yours and River's. Zoe won't want her. Figure she'll head to high ground once I'm gone. Besides, you earned her. Just one condition."
"I ain't..."
"Inara...track her down. Ask her...tell her she rides for free as long as she likes... And could you tell her, for me, that I would take it as a kindness if she stuck around awhile... kept meSerenity company... for awhile... Yes. A real kindness... And Jayne?"
"Yeah, Mal?"
"Don't let her die inside. Promise me."
That's when the rope slipped.
"You really are unstoppable, aren't you?"
"Nice to see you too."
"How far'd you fly?"
"Coupla hundred meters, I guess. But it's okay. A horse broke my fall."
"A horse?"
"Yup. I know. I figure if that's not a sign I'm fighting now for the Big Man upstairs I don't know what is."
"Comin' back here could give it a run."
"Think nuthin' of it. Listen, I been spying the foundation. Think we gave it a pretty good shake and if we pull out these bars this whole wall might come away. Here though, you're going to have to tie off this knot here. Lost most of the skin on my hands."
Here I showed him my hands wrapped up in a fat kid's shirt I found. Something awful like clowns or unicorns on it. When I twiddled my fingers it seemed a gorram stampede.
"Don't sweat it. Got the emergency vest Simon made for me. Got the wrap on and the painkillers should cut the edge some for another... four hours, I guess. C'mon we gotta go. Folks be stirring soon."
Mal tied the bars off. I tied the other end to the saddle's pommel. (continued...)
( continues...) "Yah!" I said between my teeth and took off. What I forgot to consider though was what would happen to the horse when we ran out of rope goin' full steam. Guess that's what Mal musta been trying to tell me. That dang horse snapped back so hard we purt near did a backflip. I got lucky, like I do, rolled and came up none the worse.
Through the dust and the moonlight I could see Mal just standing there in shock, the whole dang east wall gone, gone, gone. "C'mon," I yelled and he started to say something when the whole quartersection cracked and came raining down. Happened fast. Alarms went up, natch, but it was the early kick of it. Broken dishes and hollering. When you hear boots running together, that's when it's time to go. Cleared Mal out, no sweat. Out cold. Broken wrist. I can brace that on the fly. Legs, Okay. Pat the torso. No bloating or wet gravel. Good good. Have to carry him. Uhuuuufff. Never thought I'd be happy he ain't been eating. Ain't nuthin' but a sack of hay. Time to run.
Let's see. Got four hours of meds left. It's six to Serenity on foot and the ground is broken, tough. Gullies and bogs. Ah well. What was it that pop used to say? Oh yeah.
"All you need is love."
So, I told my friend we're going to start him watching an ep or two a week until the movie comes out, and we're starting this week. I am going to try to watch it with the very straightest of faces so as to not spoil anything, but I'm afraid I may cry like a little girl at first sight of Wash.
We have a fanfic thread. IJS.
I think he's posting here because his fics have Serenity spoilers. What is the policy for spoilery fic posting?
exaxtly as d. griswold sez. my apologies if i'm faux paxing up the place. really didn't know where else to go since all of these are set after the movie. welcome any and all suggestions.
You could post them offboard and post links to them in the fanfic thread (with spoiler warnings).
OK. I posted a notice over in the fanfic section. Won't bother you folks anymore. Know very little about computers and/or "posting offboard" or "links". email gives me trouble, truth be told. Peace.
