The Firefly and the Rose

Writer's notes: This story is still a work in progress. If my translation of the Mandarin phrases is wrong don't blame me. I got them from other web sites. The first two chapters are basically just exposition so if you're just looking for PWP skip to (the currently non-existent) chapter 3. Thanks for reading!

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The Doctor worked frantically, running to and fro in a frenzy of activity. The whooshing of the Tardis was smooth and calming for Rose Tyler. She had always loved the sound of it. “So where are we going today, Doctor?” He grinned at her and turned a crank enthusiastically.

“It's a surprise. One of my favorite time periods. Not too far off from your own time, relatively speaking.” And with a flourish he threw a lever and the Tardis shuddered to a stop. The doctor gestured to the door. It was time. Time to open the door and see what the Doctor had in store for her this time. She rushed to the door and threw it open, stepping out into what appeared to be a cargo bay based on the large number of shipping containers anchored in the room. The Doctor stepped out after her. “2517 A.D. A few years after the Unification war. Feels like we're on a ship. And it doesn't have very good stabilization. That would suggest a private ship. Good news, too. I'm not on very good terms with the Alliance.”

Rose was just about to ask who the Alliance was and how the Doctor had gotten on their bad side when she heard the click of a gun being cocked to her right. Both of the travelers turned to see a rather scruffy looking man holding a revolver. The man trained the weapon on the doctor and spoke, his voice full of authority and mistrust. “You two wanna tell me what you're doing on my gorram ship?”

The doctor stepped forward to address the man, casually putting himself between Rose and the gun. “Sorry for just dropping in. I'm the Doctor and this is Rose Tyler.”

“Forgive me, Doc. Where are my manners?” The man said without lowering his weapon and with an obvious tinge of annoyance in his voice. “Name's Malcolm Reynolds. Captain of this here ship you invited yourself onto. Now if you're satisfied that the pleasantries have been properly taken care of, your name don't tell me why you're here or what you want.”

“Oh, yes. Sorry. We just popped in to visit. I can assure you we don't mean any harm Mr....”

“CAPTAIN.” Mal interrupted him.

“Quite right. Sorry. CAPTAIN Reynolds.”

Mal eyed the two suspiciously. “Well. That raises some questions, doc. Foremost in my mind is that we're in the black about 5 months and sweeps didn't pick you up on approach. That makes me ask how you disabled our sensors without us noticing and just what else may have sneaked by our notice when you did. And visitors don't traditionally disable sensors so there's that to discuss as well. Plus the fact that I already got a doctor on this ship and I'm not too keen him so you'll understand that I don't much trust doctors.”

The Doctor nodded. “Well that is a lot of questions. But I think the first thing to address is that I didn't approach. Well. Not in the traditional sense. My ship...” He gestured towards the Tardis. “Teleports. That's why you didn't see us come in. If you'd like to sit down for a moment we can discuss everything to your satisfaction, captain. If you'd like you can keep the gun on me but I do have a very large problem with people who aim weapons at my companion. I think you'd understand.”

“I understand that she's on my ship without my permission. I think that entitles me to aim whatever I gorram like at her. However you'll find me a reasonable and accommodating man. I'll hear you out. Follow me to the mess and we'll see if we can't get this whole thing hammered out. Meanwhile, I'll be keeping my gun on the both of you for insurance. you find that agreeable, doc?” The Doctor nodded weakly and Mal called out without looking away from the intruders. “Jayne! Get out here!”

A rather intimidating man appeared on the catwalk above the captain. “What is it, Mal? And who th' hell are they?”

“That's what I aim to find out. I want you to stick to the woman and see to it that she gets to the mess without getting into any trouble. You think you can handle that?”

Jayne nodded happily. “Yes, sir! I think I can. Just let me get Vera.”

“Bare handed, Jayne. These people are officially my guests and I don't want your itchy trigger finger blowing a whole in my guests and my hull. I think you can handle the little lady without a firearm?”

Jayne nodded glumly and came down off the catwalk. “Fine. But it's more fun with Vera than without her.” The two men escorted the travelers to the mess hall where the doctor explained that Rose wasn't from this time and he had brought her here to show her the valiant fight that the rebels continued to put up against the oppression of the alliance. Malcolm was just about to but in and tell the Doctor that he thought the story was a load of gǒushí when an alarm went off.

“Captain. We've got company. An alliance ship is on approach.” a voice blared over the intercom. Malcolm glared at the two strangers, implying that he suspected their involvement. However, when the Doctor rose to follow and Jayne made a threatening movement, Mal stopped him.

“Let him come, Jayne. I'd rather he be where I can keep an eye on him. C'mon, you two. Up to the cockpit.” Rose and the Doctor stood and followed Mal and were closely followed by the menacing man called Jayne in turn. Mal walked onto the flight deck and addressed the man behind the controls. “What have we got, Wash?”

The pilot looked up at him. “Capitol ship. No idea what they're doing this far in the black but I don't think they were looking for us. They just seemed to stumble upon us. Rotten luck.”

“I'm not so sure it was luck what turned 'em on us.” Mal growled with a sideways glance to the Doctor. “Can we go dark? Let them just drift by?”

“No such luck. They already spotted us. If we go dark now all it will do is make sure we don't have any defenses when they show up.”

The doctor cleared his throat and Mal looked him over, trying to decide if he should shoot him or let him speak. But in the end he nodded.

“Am I right in saying that this is a firefly class ship?” the Doctor asked. Mal nodded again and the doctor went on. “So you'd have to be using a trace compression block engine then. You may be able to outrun them if you went to full burn but I'd highly doubt it. In my opinion your safest bet would be to hide.”

Mal stood and faced the Doctor, getting right in his face to communicate his displeasure. “Well that sounds like a wonderful idea, doc. Only problem is I don't see any nearby moons to cower behind and even if I did their scanners would still pick us out so unless you have some hiding place for this ship in your hip pocket I suggest you keep your gorram mouth shut and let me think.”

“Actually I do.”

Mal was slightly taken aback. “You do?”

“You do?” added Wash in surprise.

“Well.” Said the doctor. “Not exactly in my hip pocket but if you allowed me to hook my ship up to yours I could give them the slip.”

Mal thought for a few seconds, screwing up his face as he contemplated the offer. “Fine. Do it.”

Jayne stepped up to protest. “You can't be serious, Mal. You're going to let this ruttin' pencil-neck loose to do as he pleases with the ship?”

Mal turned to face Jayne. “Doc's right. We can't outrun them. If he's with them we're humped either way. Even if we escaped he'd just tell them where we got off to. At least if we let him do as he will we have a shot.”

“Fantastic. I'll just be down in the cargo bay. Can you send your engineer down to help me out? Rose, you're with me.” And with that, the Doctor shot off down the halls towards the Tardis as Mal's voice cracked out over the intercom.

“Kaylee. Get down to the cargo bay and help out our guests.”

As Kaylee entered the cargo bay she saw a strange man wearing smart-looking glasses and a blonde woman, both of whom seemed to be pulling bundles of cable out of a large blue wooden box. “What is that thing?” She asked.

The Doctor looked over at the engineer. “It's my ship. Now if you could open up that panel over there and hook these cables into the sensor system?”

Kaylee ran over to the panel and opened it up, always to the side of the Tardis so she never had a chance to glimpse inside. “Must be cramped in there for two people what with all these cables.”

The Doctor handed her several cables which she started to hook into the ship's sensor grid. “It's a lot roomier than it looks from the outside.” he quipped and then went back to untangle a few more cables.

The captain appeared on the catwalk as the trio finished tying in the systems and called out to the doctor. “Mind telling me what you're doing?”

The Doctor shouted out his response as he ran in and began activating the Tardis systems. “The Tardis has a perception filtering system. By activating it and sending the signal out through your sensors, it sort of disguises your ship. They'll still see us but they won't WANT to see us. Their minds will just pass us off as a harmless piece of junk floating through space.”

With that, the Tardis began making it's trademark whooshing sound and the light on top throbbed with the rhythm of the sound. Mal's hand reached to his holster on instinct but he just let it rest there. Wash's voice sounded through the intercom once more. “They're within close-range scanner distance, Mal. They're scanning us.”

Mal walked over to the comms panel and held down the talk button. “Keep me informed, Wash. Tell me what they do. And just let us drift. We don't want to call attention to ourselves.” After a few seconds which seemed like an eternity as the tension mounted, Wash came back over the speakers.

“You won't believe this, Mal. Hell, I don't even believe it and I'm staring right at it. The capitol ship has stopped scanning us and it's moving away.”

Mal grinned at the Doctor who was beaming with pride. “Good work, doc. Looks like I was right not to add a new hole to your head.”