117
Steven Brust
Mal didn't say anything. "You made a hell of a fight," said Kit. After a moment, Mal said, "All the Alliance has to do is tap into the Locals' comm, which is about the first thing they'd do, yes?" "Yes." "After that Jayne could put it all together. I'm not getting next to an Alliance ship, whatever guarantees you give me. If they need to, they'll lie to you to get to the Tams. Won't they?" Kit hesitated, then nodded. "So," continued Reynolds, "what's your next idea? We can set you down somewhere, either on Hera, or somewhere else, and then let them know where you are." "I guess that's what we'll do, then." "You hungry?" "Starving." "Me, too. We have protein in nine different flavors and some dried apricots. I'll show you where the kitchen is, then I'm going to go check on my mechanic, see how she's doing." Something went off in Kit's head, then—that feeling that, all of a sudden, he had all the pieces if he just put them together. He nodded to Reynolds, and followed him to the kitchen, his mind racing. Captain Reynolds knew; there was no other explanation. And that put an entirely different light on things. The captain headed down toward engineering. Kit followed him absently, but his mind wasn't on it. He needed to think this through. Serenity: Engine room The airtight door opened, and Kaylee was standing there, still in her pressure suit, but helmet off. "Fixed?" he asked. "Sort of," she said. "Still needs some work, and she isn't going to take to being put on the solid with half the starboard extender missing, but—" "Get some rest, Kaylee. Rest, eat something, relax." Kaylee leaned against the bulkhead, closed her eyes, and nodded. "Okay, Cap'n. What are you going to do?" "Try to come up with the right questions, so I know where to put all these answers I got." Kaylee shook her head. "That almost made sense." "Yeah," said Mal. "That's about how I've been feeling for some time." Kaylee stepped up and kissed him on the cheek, her pressure suit bumping his collar bone. "It'll work out, Cap'n."