taxonomites | 01 - [ Visual ]

Mal slowly opens his eyes, only to be greeted by a blurred mess of metallic colors. No exciting colors, no outstanding landmarks. His vision clears, and he sees that he’s in a circular chamber. Only problem is, he’s never seen this chamber before before. He sits up in a rush, and wildly looks around him, taking in the plain, undecorated room.

His hand instinctively goes to his waist, where he gropes around in a fruitless search for his gun. But it’s not there, and he shivers involuntarily, not liking being unarmed. He glances at his wrist, where there’s a bracelet that’s been fused to his arm. How did that get there? It wasn’t there before…

Something doesn’t feel right about this – his normal clothes are gone, his weapon is nowhere to be found, and he has no idea where in the ruttin’ universe he is. He thinks maybe a job went wrong, and he ended up stranded somewhere, but that doesn’t explain the foggy quality of his memories.

Suddenly, his confused train of thought is interrupted by the unexpected sound of voices coming from nowhere, which causes him to jump. He does a half turn, and reaches over in the direction the voices came from.

...

It’s some form of communication device. That’s the best that he can tell, just from looking at it. A string of jumbled Chinese curse words leaves his mouth as he pokes at some of the buttons and the screen on the object. He pulls his hand away slowly, deciding that the object is harmless enough. “Well, ain’t this a nice development,” he grumbles. “I’m gonna have to find out who put this bracelet on me and make them take them off. I don’t need jewelry, I need to find out where I am and how to get back to my ship.”

That being said, Mal stands up and looks around him for a few seconds. He sees nothing worth commenting on, except for the device and the occasional odd pillar. This place doesn’t look too out of the ordinary, though he’s definitely never seen it before. There might be a secret to it or something. He moves over to sit down with his back against the nearest wall, and waits for someone to come along and explain exactly what’s going on.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Oh, but if Serenity were with him on Taxon, whether there's no way to fly her or not, Mal would be a lot less grouchy. But as it stands, she's not here, so Kaylee's going to have to deal with Mal and all of his grouchiness. "Well, these hamsters sure have thought of it all. Even took the sky away from us flyin' types."

If she asked him, Mal wouldn't lie. It feels strange to be in this position, but Kaylee has the advantage of having been in Taxon longer than he has, and she knows the people and the situation better, so until he gets his bearings, he's going to be asking her a lot of questions. "Whatever you need, I'm more than happy to help. Did you say hatchin' supplies?" Not the strangest thing he's ever heard, but still...

"Place I grew up on... The ranch on Shadow." He looks away from the tablet, staring down at the floor while he scuffs his boot against it. "Don't think this is funny, but those hamsters are probably somewhere laughin' fit to burst."

In any case, she's use to grouchy Mal, and knows how to handle him pretty well. Half of it's just show, in any case. Got that reputation of his to keep up, or some such. "Ain't to say you can't fly at all," she adds, "just that there ain't really anyplace to be goin' when you do so."

Laughter follows, though. "Got little stations, like vendin' machines, and you punch in whatever you want, and out it pops. Can't be nothin' big, and most times you end up gettin' the components and makin' whatever yourself, but it's real handy in most cases." Gives her parts whenever she needs them, and that's good enough for her.

Kaylee shifts the tablet as Mal speaks, gaining a slightly better view of his face as she does so. "Want me to go with ya to see, or would you rather on your own?" Knowing Mal he'll want to go it alone, but that doesn't mean she can't offer a buddy if he needs one.

And that is why he's glad she's here and not someone like Simon who doesn't quite understand him in the same way Kaylee does. Not that he's going to be admitting anything like that, of course, because of that whole reputation thing he has. "Defeats the purpose of even tryin', then."

He listens carefully to her description of the hatches, figuring that they must be pretty important. "Sounds like a fascinatin' piece of work. So, you tell me the things you need and I'll get 'em for you." Got to stay active, as well as useful to people, especially in a situation like the one they're in.

Mal just shrugs in response to her offer. He's not sure if he wants the company, or if he even wants to see the place where he grew up. It's a complicated issue (or at least Mal thinks it is), and he hates complicated issues. "If you feel like comin' along, ain't gonna stop you," he says, finally, after deliberating over the matter. "I just figure you'd want to stay where you are, what with the business of the world comin' to an end."

"Not even," Kaylee replies, best smile face forward. "Got the city to roam, which ain't much, but it's better'n nothin' at all." Better than an itty bitty cell with no movement at all...

"I'll send ya a list, soon as I've got it all figured." The more people in on this, the better. "If it comes to it, I'll even loan you the credits for the parts. Really, it's just a matter of time. Some things got limited, other things ain't exactly right and need reworkin' or puttin' together."

Oh Mal, don't be like that. "Might not hurt to check it for anythin' we might be able to use for this world endin' thing," Kaylee replies, "but if you'd rather go it alone I ain't gonna stop ya."

Kaylee really has a gift: being able to stay optimistic when Mal's doing the best he can to be anything but that. Though he'll never admit it, part of him really does appreciate it. "Yeah, well, at least that's somethin'," he says finally, still not liking the idea of being land-locked, and having nowhere to go but through some city he doesn't really know. But it is better than nothing.

"Xie xie, mèimei. Soon as you can get that put together, I'll get goin' right away." But there is one thing that's worrying him. "Don't worry about rushin'. I'm thinkin' you must got a list a mile long of things you're tryin' to see to."

All of his protestations aside, he really doesn't want to go there alone. If Zoe were here, he'd just ask her, but since she isn't and Kaylee is... Well, he trusts her as much as he trusts Zoe, and so he says, "If you're gonna put it that way, then I suppose it couldn't hurt. Might be a few things that'll be useful to you."