trans_9 | A Reason to be Hopeful Again

In the short time since Mal's arrival, the ship captain had experienced pretty much the full range of emotions; he'd been at the lowest point possible, only to rebound and hit the highest point once he learned that his ship Serenity was on board with him. It wasn't enough to make him forget to worry about his crew, but it was more than enough to get him out of the funk he'd previously been in.

So, being true to his word, Mal showed up at the vehicle bays with Jo, ready to show off his ship. Except she was the real thing, not an imitation projected by the Sensoriums.

Whether he was able to actually let her fly his ship was another matter. Somehow, he thought that Stacy might not like that idea. Either way, Mal was in a very good mood. Having his ship with him was like having part of his crew around. With a large smile, Mal pointed Serenity out to Jo, unable to keep a note of pride from his voice. "There she is. That's Serenity. She don't look like much, but don't be underestimatin' her. She's a good ship, and she's served me and my crew well."

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Mal couldn't help but throw his head back and laugh. "Huh, didn't know I was that great of an actor," he said with a hint of smugness in his voice.

"And, you know, you keep sayin' you're gonna wipe the floor with me, but I ain't seen you in action, so how do I know that ain't just a bluff? For all I know, it could be. Might be you I wipe the floor with, instead." Mal leaned back in his chair, still looking smug. Poking fun at Jo was too easy, but he enjoyed it too much to stop.

"That's 'cause I don't see a reason to get tough with you. Way I see it, you're not part of my crew so I don't have any right to be givin' you orders."

She just shook her head again and chuckled. "I guess we'll just have to fix that, won't we? You just name a time and a place and we'll see just who wipes the floor with who." Oh yes, Jo's totally looking forward to ~~kicking his ass~~ sparring with him.

"Well ya know, you might have to pick a new crew for your ship one day...."

Still laughing, Mal retorted, "You won't be actin' that way when you come back limping. And I imagine a lot of people will be askin' you what you did. You'll have to tell them you got too ahead of yourself and got your words handed to you sparring with me." A decidedly smug smile came onto the captain's face as he thought about how that might go over.

Of course, that smile didn't last long as he heard Jo's next comment. That had never occurred to him. It was not an option, as far as Mal was concerned. Obviously he couldn't crew Serenity himself, but finding replacements? That was unthinkable. "What do you mean, find a new crew? The rest of them might not be here now but isn't there a chance they can show up?" Mal was inwardly beginning to panic just a little, though he gave no sign of it. "Although..." The captain forced himself to take a breath before continuing. "If I did... Don't think havin' you on my crew would be such a bad thing."

"Oh please," Jo said waving her hand dismissively toward him. "You're the one who's gonna have to explain getting your ass handed to you by a woman," Jo grinned finding their banter amusing.

Her smile died and she looked away, feeling a little bad for even bringing it up. "Yeah, you're right - they might be... So, uh. Maybe try to get together a temp crew? I mean, that wouldn't be bad, right?"

A Reason to be Hopeful Again

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