Firefly - “RAINBOW TEARS”

Written by Sarahannah Hopwood

Chapter 11

Wash is sprawled against the crates at the back of Shuttle Two.  He slowly begins to stir and he takes a deep breath, letting it out as a groan.  He opens his eyes and blinks, looking around.  He groggily wipes his brow with the back of the hand, he peers down at it, unable to focus on it properly.  Its covered in blood.  He frowns and blinks again, unable to comprehend what he’s seeing.  He looks up to see Rem sat in the pilot seat of the shuttle, hunched over the controls.  
“Whats…whats going on?  I’m…bleeding…whats up with that?  Why’m I bleeding?” Wash asks, his speech slurred.
“I kicked you in the head.” Rem says coldly, not turning t face him.
“In the head,” Wash asks blinking stupidly “Wha…wha…d’you-why’d you kick me in the head?  Wha’d I do?”
“I’m trying to pilot, shudder.” Rem snaps.  Wash looks taken aback by her sharp tone.  He carefully props himself up, leaning back on the pile of crates behind him.  He looks around the shuttle dizzily.  
“Why we in the shuttle,” he pauses an he suddenly sobers up “Whats going on, Rem?”
“Bizui!  I need to make a call.” She replies irritated.  She flicks the comm online.  It crackles with static, then after a few second a loud voice booms out clearly.  Rem turns the volume down hastily.  
“This is the Alliance Cruiser Magellan.  State your business, citizen.” the voice says clearly.
“This is Ramona Lewis.  I think that you know what I’m talking about.  I’m requesting passage through to you.  I’m carrying one passenger, the one you allowed me.  I brought you the rest of the crew back on Greenleaf.” she replies in a tired voice.  Wash stares at her, wide eyed.  Rem has her eyes closed waiting for a reply.  
“You have been cleared.  An Alliance Gunship will escort you to us.  We advise you to hold position.  ETA is half and hour.” the man says stiffly.  Rem shakes her head angrily and grits her teeth.  
“Can’t you get here faster?  Kind of a sitting duck here.” Rem says coldly.
“You will stay put, Miss Lewis, or we are authorized to shoot you down…and kill your family.” the man replies with a stiff coldness.  Rem silently seethes, her knuckles white on the yolk.  “Shuttle Two awaiting your arrival.” Rem says, shutting the comm off.

     Rem finally turns to Wash, who is trying to edge further back from her, but has no where to go.  He looks horrified by what he’s just heard.  
“You ratted us out! You’re a…a…” he stumbles for a word.
“A bitch?” Rem says hollowly.
“Yeah…that.” he agrees, raising his eyebrows and kind of nods.
“I’m sorry, Wash-” Rem starts.
“Nu uh,” Wash yells over the top of her “You don’t go all sweet and like butter wouldn’t melt!  You screwed us over!”
“No,” Rem roars back “I screwed the crew over!  I got you a free pass outta here!”
“What,” Wash asks in a yell.  There is a tense, cold silence between them.  Wash looks gormless as he stares at Rem.  Rem doesn’t look back at him and she sniffs, beginning to get upset.  
“I said I’d pull this job, bag the crew for the Alliance, after they captured my family.  I had no choice.  The Horizons’ cloaking devise, ha…not so tyentsai after all,  I said I’d do it if they let my family go…and you…if they let you go.” Rem sighs and looks at her hands rubbing them together.  She doesn’t look at Wash.  Wash stares at her, open mouthed.  “You got me safe passage…why?” he asks, flabbergasted.
“Why do you think,” Rem says smiling “I still care about you, idiotic as you are.”
“And what about the people I care about?  What about Zoë?” he demands.  Rem grinds her teeth, irritated by his comment.  
“Sacrifices have to be made.” she replies coldly.  Wash stares at her in stone cold hatred.  
“If I had I gun, I’d shot you.” he mutters venomously.
“Wish granted!” yells a disembodied voice.

     Mal pops up from behind the massive pile of crates stacked up at the rear of the shuttle.  Rem launches herself to her feet in a flash.  Mal and Rem point their guns at each other in unison.  Wash gets to his feet and stands between them holding his hands out to Mal.  
“Whoa, whoa, whoa!  Didn’t mean that!” he says wide eyed.  Mal and Rem square off around Wash, each trying to get a clear shot of the other.  Wash is doing a good job of being prime target.  
“Did you think you could get away with stealin’ my shuttle and kidnappin’ my pilot?” Mal yells angrily.
“How the hell did you get on board?  How’d you know?” Rem retorts.
“River, our resident mind reading tyentsai!” Mal replies with a grim smile.
“Gorramn it…knew there was something off with that moon brained girl, all that talk about bad luck and the such.” Rem mutters to herself.
“Just, can we put the guns down?” Wash asks imploringly.  Not a chance.  Mal, tired of the talk, pushes Wash out of the way and fires.  Too late Wash pushes his arm, throwing his aim.  The bullet has already hit its target, who staggers backwards, clutching her stomach.  She slowly looks up at Mal, not dropping her aim and the crazy ass bitch smiles at him coolly.  Keeping her gun trained on Mal, she rips open her shirt to reveal a skin tight bullet proof vest.  Mal assesses the new situation, then in a lightning quick motion fires again and hits Rem in the kneecap.  There’d definitely no armour there.  Rem falls to the ground like a tonne of bricks.  She growls and wildly fires her gun.  The first shot catches Mal off guard and as he dodges it, he falls backwards gashing his arm open on a sharp strip of metal protruding from the corner of one of the crates.  The second grazes Wash.  He falls to the ground yelling in pain and clutching his thigh.

     Mal recovers himself quickly and strides over to Rem, ignoring the steady stream of blood running down his arm.  He kicks the gun out of her hand and it flies into an inaccessible corner.  
“You’re gonna pay for that.” Mal growls.  Rem isn’t listening to him.  She’s staring past him, horrified, at Wash, who is heaving himself onto a crate in immense pain.  She looks mortified by her error.  
“Wash-” she splutters.  Before she can say another word, Mal punches her, knocking her out.

     Wash pulls his hand away from his thigh to check the damage.  The bullet only grazed him, however it still left a very deep wound all the same and its bleeding heavily.  He looks like he’s bout to throw up.  Mal ignores him and throws himself into the pilot seat and begins to set the controls for re-entry to into Greenleaf’s atmo.  Wash looks over at him.  
“How the hell did you get on board, Mal.” he asks, breathing heavily and trying very hard to stay lucid.  Mal laughs.  
“I got me a clone.” he mutters, turning the shuttle around.