Of What Measure is a Non-Human (Invite Only)

[Jilak]

Simon felt Yi-Min release his arm, and the second, the very second he could move it again, he ran. As he had done most of his life. Even though he'd done it to save River, he'd ran from the hospital. He'd ran from the staff at the academy when freeing River. After joining Malcolm Reynolds' crew, he just never stopped running from things. But now, for perhaps one of the first times in Simon's life, he ran to something. Or more specifically, someone. He ran to River, his genius little sister whom had been through so much in her life, and he embraced her. He embraced her as if he felt that if he let go, her being there, being okay, would stop being real. Which he did.

"River! I'm just... I'm just glad that you're okay." Simon got out, choking back tears of joy. She was okay. They... they were all okay, they were going to make it out!

"Pretty heartwarming, wouldn't ya say, Jayne?" Mal asked of his PR guy, smiling a bit. He had to admit, after everything he'd been through during that past day, it was good to see someone happy again.

"What, you mean like... heartburn?" Jayne questioned, tossing the captain a confused stare. This was met with a facepalm.

"Jayne, just... just stop talkin'." Mal sighed.

[mugenginga]

"Simon, if you pull me 2.342 millimeters closer I will be unable to breath due to our proximity," River said, her voice muffled due to the "2.342" centimeters of space she had to speak in.

"What the hell is going on here!?"

And that started the moment killer. A disheveled looking doctor had shouted as he came onto the scene. Yi-Min lay unconscious on the floor, a bit of blood was showing from under River's bandage, and Makoto's hand had a gorram whole in it. That wasn't even beginning to cover the oddly shaped gun on the floor or the rather nasty looking one about two feet from Jayne.

Makoto cringed at the shout as a nurse ran past the doctor, coming into a crouching position next to Yi-Min. Her eyes glanced to the syringe on the ground, but she managed to miss the syringe still in River's right hand. She felt for Yi-Min's pulse and let out a sigh of relief. She turned towards the five people still conscious and gave a rather displeased frown. Zero came up behind them and looked at the situation with an expression of disbelief. If this was how much trouble the group got into in five minutes, he didn't much enjoy the idea of seeing them left alone for a full day.

River had tensed up as Zero came into site. She pulled back from Simon and looked over at Zero. Her voice was fairly flat as she spoke. Not so much aggressive as just... kind of there. It was clearly addressed to Zero.

"You're not human."

[Jilak]

Captain Reynolds jerked his head towards the voice as the doctor came onto the scene. Dammit, and it was going so smooth, too. They were having a nice moment, everyone was happy, sans the woman that had just tried to kill them... and then it hit him. They sort of looked like the bad guys here. Yi-Min was more or less gorram unconscious on the ground, there was an odd looking gun next to her, Vera laying next to Jayne, a syringe next to Yi-Min... and with her being down, it was impossible to tell that just minutes ago she'd been threatening Jayne for Makoto. Gorrammit.

What made matters worse, though, was something Malcolm hadn't considered. How River would respond to Zero. It was true, he wasn't human, and up until this point Mal was more or less the only person to know, of the group. Jayne knew, but he didn't exactly take it well, whereas Mal was more "okay, cool", and no one had yet gotten around to telling Simon.

As such, Simon was quite surprised by River's deadpan statement.

"No, mei-mei, see... this is a friend of the captain's. I operated on him earlier, he's completely human." Simon responded, having loosened his embrace on River at the sound of voices. He didn't have a respond to the doctor and nurse, opting to just sort of... block them out. This left it to Mal to explain things, as Jayne was busy trying to pick up Vera without tossing Makoto off.

"Listen, there's a very good explanation for all of this... which I'll let my best man Zero explain." Malcolm stated, pointing to the man.

[mugenginga]

Zero raised an eyebrow at River's flat statement. He smirked as Simon tried to tell River otherwise, but he was still a bit taken aback by that. Just out of nowhere, she'd come right to the point. The issue was how she had come to the point. He opened his mouth to confirm River's statement and debunk Simon's when Mal seemed to think it was a good chance to take the opening to have him explain everything. The smirk widened and he shrugged.

"We're just on the run from some government 'Alliance' or another from another Dimension that seems rather set on the heads or subjigation of of everyone here," Zero glanced at Yi-Min, "And as far as I can figure, seomone here knocked her out trying to get away."

Before there could be much in the way of reactions, quite possibly because no member of Serenity's crew quite knew what to do with such blunt honesty, there was the sound of running and shouting from the other end of the hospital. It wasn't long before a man with dark grey hair, baggy pants, no shirt, and a bandage wrapped over his right shoulder was standing. He had a dagger in each hand.

"Stand away from that girl!" he shouted, "She's wanted for the assault of Global Alliance member Yi-Min Song!"

Zero glanced at Yi-Min at the same moment Kiyoshi did before glancing back at the doctor he'd been informed to give the information to, "And then there's that."

[Jilak]

The nurse and doctor just sort of stood there, mouths gaping, as Zero gave his explanation. They didn't really have time to respond, because soon afterwards, there was the sound of running and shouting, followed by an injured man appearing. The situation had already been going to hell, Mall surmised, but this just gave it the last push it needed. The situation was now officially bad. And it had been going so well...

Then Kiyoshi mentioned River being wanted for assault of the woman that had nearly broken Simon's arm, and something just... snapped in the doctor. He hadn't come this far for that. He hadn't been dragged to another GORRAM DIMENSION for some random MOOK to take his sister to jail. It sent him so far over the edge, Simon didn't even take time to note the use of the word 'Global', but Malcolm and Jayne did. Global Alliance... it almost seemed redundant, honestly. Almost.

In any case, Simon snapped. He leaped, grabbing Yi-Min's dropped firearm. It took him only a second or so to find the trigger, putting his finger on it before pointing the laser in the direction of the man who had just appeared, effectively shocking the hell out of Jayne and Mal.

"NO! YOU'RE NOT TAKING HER!" Simon exclaimed, fingering the trigger, hand shaking.

"Doctor..." Mal began, inching towards Simon before the man turned the laser in his direction.

"NO, CAPTAIN! I HAVEN'T COME THIS FAR TO ALLOW RIVER TO BE TAKEN!" Simon continued, rapidly pointing between Mal and Kiyoshi, panic evident in his eyes.

"Man's a hardened mercenary far as I can tell. You really think pointin' a gun at him's gonna stop him?" Mal asked, remaining still. Simon paused, realization seeming to dawn on him. Yes, the captain... the captain was right. That wouldn't. But something else would.

Simon quickly pointed the firearm in his hand towards Yi-Min's position, aiming for her head.

[mugenginga]

"Everyone really needs to just calm down..."

The doctor in the situation had lifted his hands. He didn't know anything about criminals on the run, Global Alliances, or any of this other nonsense that was going on. What he did know was that someone was going to get killed if this went on. The nurse was still kneeling next to Yi-Min when Simon crouched down and grabbed the gun. In that short instant, Kiyoshi had halved the distance between them. The man was fast.

Makoto had begun whimpering due to everything going on. He buried his head in Jayne's shoulder and covered the top of it with his uninjured hand. All the negative emotions swirling around, he was having trouble sealing all of them from invading his mind. The one that was leaking in the greatest was the fear, which was simply amplifying his existing fear.

As for Simon's initial threat, Kiyoshi had merely scowled. The reports from the men that had indirectly caused the injuries to befall him and Yi-Min indicated these two were siblings. They'd have to both be killed, then. The older one was clearly to blindly attached to the monster to deal with without bloodshed. He'd taken several more steps and now was just over an arm and a half's reach from Simon. That was when Simon turned the gun towards Yi-Min's head. The nurse's eyes had widened, but she didn't dare step between. The man looked like his finger could slip at this point.

_"Simon..." River said. The distance and the speed in which she'd seen Kiyoshi move. She didn't have full movement here, if she tried to stop this someone she actually cared about could get hurt. This wasn't like the Reavers in the least.

"You crossed the line..." Kiyoshi said in a low voice. The way Simon was shaking, he was confident his speed would serve as an advantage. In the split second it took him to lift his arm...

A sound similar to an explosion could be heard and a bullet hole appeared in the wall to Kiyoshi's side. It was only an inch above his head, if that much. He narrowed his eyes and jerked towards the side. A female sillhoutte could be seen in the doorway out of the hospital. It lifted up a short rifle of sorts and with a jerk of an arm a single shell clattered to the floor, rolling towards Mal, who happened to be closest to the exit with the layout.

"Now I'm not seeing any need for anyone to get themselves killed over this. I'd hate to be proven wrong," the woman lowered her arm and took a single step in, revealing her identity as one Zoe Washburne, "I just can't leave you alone, can I, sir?"

[Jilak]

Well, this was the definition of things not going smooth, Malcolm Reynolds decided. Simon had completely lost it by this point, it seemed. Though, honestly, he didn't expect the doctor really had the strength to take another life. It just wasn't like him. But that also meant that he was going to get himself killed, and there was nothing anyone present could do about it... until one of the remaining members of his crew decided to outdo River's earlier Big Damn Heroes moment. Good thing it was Zoe and not Kaylee, mind you. Kaylee would've just killed the man before them with no warning, with no remorse, with n-wait no that was Jayne.

"And... there she is! Exactly according to plan! Nice job showin' up when ya did, Zoe. The doctor was just about to revert to plan b." Malcolm stated, walking next to Zoe. Right, no need to come off any less captain-y than he needed to...

The sound had caused Simon to jump, dropping the laser pistol, believing himself to have been shot. Before he realized, he didn't feel any pain. He found out why as Zoe took a step in. Phew. He'd not have been able to bring himself to bring Yi-Min, so her timely arrival had just saved his life. Maybe even River's.

Jayne, however, was less happy. Having managed to retrieve Vera, he noticed that she was... in pretty bad shape. She'd need some serious repairs before bein g able to shoot again, and gorrammit, that was his favorite gun. The man wasn't entirely sure how much Zoe's timely interference had destabilized the current confrontation, so he inched over in the captain's direction.

"You owe me another gun..." Jayne growled as he approached.

[mugenginga]

Kiyoshi's eyes made it clear he was analyzing the way the situation could go. He was outnumbered and in plain sight, and not dressed in a way that made it easy to conceal himself. Not to mention that the earth tones and whites used in this hospital were not all that condusive to hiding. He didn't know what the psychic girl's powers were, but... getting himself killed wasn't something he was willing to risk. Not yet, not with this much chance of failure.

"Simon, we should go," River said, giving a glare to Kiyoshi.

"Seems good to be," Zoe said, pointing her gun at Kiyoshi again, "Can't claim to know exactly what happened here, but seems in everyone's best interest to just back off."

Kiyoshi took a few quick steps towards Yi-Min, "I don't know about those other men, but consider yourselves criminals to the Global Alliance."

_{"We really need to go..."} Makoto croaked out. Kiyoshi would kill them all, or at least die trying. And he didn't want to lose Simon.

River had pulled Simon back one step. Zero had taken a sidestep closer to where Mal stood. Zoe was looking towards Mal to see what he was going to do, but her gun remained trained on Kiyoshi.

[Jilak]

Jayne edged towards the doorway, Simon following at River's urging. Mal stayed put a moment longer. He had one last thing to say. One more Badass Boast to make. Because it was what he did. He was captain Malcolm Reynolds.

"Go right on ahead, then. We've been enemies of OUR Alliance for years now, hell, fought against them in the war myself. Went against cannibalistic men stripped of all conscience, scientific minded folk with no interest in nothin' but their work, and more. Fought through two armies on a ship with no guns and I'm still walkin'. So you send your 'Global Alliance' our way. But lemme tell you. When we start fightin' a war, you'll see somethin' new." Malcolm finished, backing out of the room. He turned to face the rest of his crew so far. Yes... they were doing okay. They'd still need a mechanic, and they needed to find Serenity, but... he had a crew. He had somethin' to work with. He couldn't dwell on this moment, however, as something occurred to him.

He didn't trust Kiyoshi one bit.

"Run!" He said, his smile breaking.

[mugenginga]

Kiyoshi almost snarled at Mal's extended boast. He didn't know about Mal's alliance, but he knew how efficient his was. He knew how efficent he and Yi-Min were, and they wouldn't be making the same mistake they had before with the girl. He also had no intentions of helping the men from before. He would see River dead.

Mal hadn't had to worry, but everyone had taken his word. That included Zero, even though he had to hold his chest as he ran. Cracked ribs for the fail and all. Zoe had held back the longest, making sure Mal was actually going before she joined the group. But Mal hadn't had to worry, because Kiyoshi had fallen to his knees once Mal ran, saying something no one would hear to the nurse with a concerned glance towards Yi-Min.

"Not that I'm complaining about your willingness to run from a scene, sir, but where exactly are we going?" Zoe asked.

Makoto was holding on for dear life onto Jayne's back. With both hands, although it hurt a lot to grab with his injured hand. Jayne's shirt was pulled tight across his chest because of how much fabric Makoto had in his hands. Zero had almost tripped at one point, to which he responded by grabbing sweeping his three ponytails into one hand and holding it so he wouldn't trip on it. Zoe was keeping pace with Mal.

[Jilak]

Zoe may or may not have known it, but she'd raised a very important point. They had nowhere left to run. Couldn't run back to the hotel, the two agents had attacked them there, it was no longer safe. The makeshift hospital was obviously not an option. There was literally no longer any place safe for the crew. Or... was there? After all, most of the crew was here, so logically, Serenity was somewhere in the area. Once they found an ample place to stop, well away from the little hospital, Mal posed his question.

"Depends. Where'd you leave Serenity? Guessin' she's gotta be close by, with most of the crew here and all." Mal stated, leaning on a tree, catching his breath. Jayne's blood ran cold. They were going to tell him. He was going to get thrown into a ship so he could be thrown out or something. Unless... Mal had no weapon, if he could catch him by surprise...

"You're not suggesting we flee this planet, are you? What about Kaylee?" Simon questioned, stopping Jayne's train of thought. Simon didn't know it, but he'd just saved Jayne's life.

"Why wouldn't she still be on the ship?" Mal asked, raising a brow and turning to Simon.

"Because-" Simon was about to pose his response, when Jayne subtly elbowed him in the abdomen. The doctor went down, Jayne continuing where he'd left off.

"Because she went out to look for uh, parts, for Serenity. We think, uh, she might've been caught by those two rutters with the blue gloves. Besides, what about Frosty the Snowman over there? He's been here longer than us, he's got to have some kinda contacts. What with his fantastic personality and all, he's probably got loads of friends." Jayne responded, nervously. If Mal suggested they still return to Serenity, he'd be in trouble. But luck shined on him today.

"You're right. Somethin' I never thought I'd say, but you're right, Jayne. We return to Serenity we could be bringin' the whole of this 'Global Alliance' right back to it. I don't want to get my boat impounded or something. Zero, what do you think?" Mal asked, turning back to the sentient virus.

Jayne breathed a sigh of relief noticeable to only the most attentive folk.

[mugenginga]

Zoe opened her mouth to answer Mal. While she was aware his reaction would be poor, she had dealt with the other man for many years and knew he needed to be told. Sooner was better than later and all. River had frowned at the question and shot a glare towards Jayne, but it had gone unnoticed by the man. Zero was leaning with his back against a tree and holding his chest in pain as he gasped for breath. And Simon responded before Zoe could finish.

Zero opened his mouth to respond to Mal when Zoe lifted a hand and stepped right over any further responses. She'd given Jayne a questioning and then extremely critical look as he'd spoken. Of course he wouldn't know about Kaylee, but he would know about Serenity. He'd not only neglected to mention it, but he'd even lied about it. She'd wondered just why things had gone so badly... she turned to Mal.

Meanwhile, Makoto had stirred awake as Jayne contemplated sneaking up on Mal. He looked worried. River had looked ready to respond to something when she looked over to Makoto with something that rarely crossed her face. A truly puzzled look. Makoto blinked and looked back at her with a frightened version of her own gaze.

"The last time I saw Kaylee, I was shoving her out of the door of an Alliance compound, sir. I told her to find a safe location, but I think she'll realize something is up. She's got a good enough head on her shoulders to manage for the time being, but we have a larger issue," Zoe looked straight at Jayne and gave a glare, "What Jayne has neglected to mention is that the Alliance has Serenity, sir."

[Jilak]

Mal seemed to take the news better than expected. He didn't yell, he didn't show any visible reaction. He just grew extremely quiet. His eyes showed it all, though. Everything he was feeling but not saying. Anger, there was lots of anger. Wrath. But another prominent emotion... was pain. He was hurt, really. He'd stuck up for Jayne. When Jayne had gotten River and Simon captured, he'd given him a second chance. And slowly, through fighting the Alliance and fighting reavers, he'd trusted the other man again, as a part of his crew. But it was obvious at this point. There was only one way for things to have gone as bad as they did. Jayne had sold them out. Again. Mal's breathing grew ever so heavier.

"Simon. Take Makoto from Jayne, I want all of you out of this clearing for a moment. He and I need to have a word." Mal told the other, visibly seething.

"Captain-" Simon was about to argue that they didn't have time to pick petty fights. No matter how much he disliked Jayne, the longer they stayed here, the longer they were in danger.

"OUT OF THE CLEARING." Mal exclaimed, causing the doctor to flinch. He paused for a moment, remaining tense.

"Just... give us a moment." Mal finished, not taking his eyes from Jayne. Simon gingerly lifted the boy, carrying him in his arms.

[mugenginga]

Whatever was passing between Makoto and River was lost as soon as Zoe delivered her message. River turned towards Mal and gave a sympathetic frown, and Makoto looked worried. He was fidgeting a lot more. Jayne was probably having some mild trouble keeping a hold of him. Zoe had stepped forward and was approaching Simon. Zero gave a smirk and he looked like he would have been chuckling had the first spasm not hurt so much. Stupid human sentimentality, and Jayne was in massive trouble over it. He pushed himself up and was walking away before anyone else.

When Simon grabbed Makoto, he tensed up. A quick jerk of his head, and he relaxed some when he saw who it was. He looked over towards Mal and then towards Jayne and then back towards Mal. They couldn't go, if they went Jayne could be hurt. There was an assault of emotions coming from Mal, and the fact that Jayne read as scared just made him more worried.

_{"Shouldn't go..."} Makoto mumbled, but he wasn't fighting Simon's hold.

Zoe looked at him, "Captain says we go, we go."

Makoto looked down, avoiding eye contact with Zoe. He really didn't think they should go, but he wasn't gonna argue with the intimidating woman.

[Jilak]

Mal waited until everyone was clear before addressing the other man, staring him down. Jayne looked fidgety, flighty. He was looking around for an escape route, feeling at Vera. He was terrified. But he still wasn't getting it. Even now, he still wasn't getting it.

"Jayne." Mal began, his eyes not leaving the other man. Jayne spoke up before he could continue.

"You were gone, Mal! You were gone, and we needed money, so yeah, I sold out the crew! You'd'a done the same if the roles was reversed! 'sides, it's not like I was doin' it to you personally!" Jayne exclaimed, unable to look Mal in the eye. Mal paused before responding, continuing to stare Jayne down. He noted how the man averted his eyes.

"That what you think, Jayne? You think if you were captain and I thought you were dead I'd sell out everything you had?" Mal asked, taking a step towards Jayne. The other man backed away.

"C'mon, Mal, you got more'n that boat. You can find another one like it anywhere." Jayne responded, continuing to avert his eyes.

"Not talking about Serenity, Jayne. But if I was, let me tell you somethin'. You're wrong. Can't find another boat like her anywhere in the 'verse. She's more than transport. She's home. Love keeps her afloat, keeps her running. She's the best ship anyone could hope for, and there ain't another like her. But you didn't just sell my boat, Jayne." Mal continued, glare intensifying.

"Yeah, the stuff inside went with it, but-" Mal cut Jayne off here, taking another step forward.

"You sold out my crew. And what you can't seem to understand is that, that crew? It's family. Anything you do to them, you do it to me personally. I gave you another chance after your last screw-up, Jayne. I let you back into my crew, I trusted you. Not this time." Mal stated, taking more steps forward. Jayne's back was now against a tree, Mal growing ever closer.

"You gonna kill me?" Jayne asked. Mal didn't respond until he was within one foot of the man.

"No, Jayne. You're not worth it. But you're off my crew. I see you again, I kill you." Mal responded.

"Mal, you can't-"

"Don't let me see you again." This was the last thing Mal said to Jayne, walking out in the direction the others had gone, leaving Jayne alone. He could only stare out in the direction his former captain had went.

Simon was one of the first to notice Mal. He had no more malice left. No more joy, no more depression, none of it. He was, right now, dead inside. It was like losing the battle of Serenity Valley all over again...

"Captain-" Simon began to address him. But then he noticed Mal's face. The man looked as if he'd aged years, his features merely a ghastly remnant of what they had once been. And his eyes... his eyes were cold, dark. Mal turned to Zero.

"So. You were saying about a place we could rest."