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Daniel goes to find Arthur
Dec. 20th, 2007 10:16 pmDaniel is sitting with an older man, his silver hair glinting in the light from the lanterns scattered around the tent, drinking beers. They’ve been here for almost an hour, not really talking past the initial hellos and catching up. Daniel’s the quiet type; he’s not sure how he wants this conversation to go in any case.
Arthur leans back in his chair and gives the younger man a long look. “You look like somethin’ big crawled up your butt, Dan. You ready to tell me why you flew all the way from that shitheap you call a planet to see me? I know it ain’t the beer and I doubt it was just to see my pretty face.”
Daniel doesn’t really smile, staring down at the bottle in his hands, rolling it back and forth. After a couple of seconds, he sets the bottle down firmly and looks up, meeting Arthur’s eyes.
“Had a puffed up fella in a brown coat approach me in the bar couple days ago. Told me somethin’ about a law being passed, some Senator wanting to recruit former Independents to form militias on their planets. He also said somethin’ about having a trusted source with that info.” He gives Arthur a thin smile. “I thought about the only person I knew who might be able to confirm that story, and you are that lucky guy.”
Arthur sits up a bit straighter. He takes a swig from his bottle, then nods. “Yeah, I guess I am. And it’s true, Dan. I’ve got it from a good source that Tam, the Senator who wrote the law, has a lotta support. He figures the Alliance owes us.” He snorts and takes another drink.
“I keep hearing about this source,” Daniel says as he leans forward, his voice intense. “Who’s word is good enough to convince the Browncoats to believe the gŏu pì the Alliance is feeding ‘em?”
Arthur leans back again, looking at Daniel seriously. “You ever heard of a fella named Malcolm Reynolds?”
Daniel looks surprised. “Yeah, I have. Sergeant, his brigade was at Serenity Valley. So was mine.” He looks down. “We all knew each other after a while.” He takes his bottle and takes a long drink. When he looks back up, there is a hard, disbelieving look in his eyes. “Are you tellin’ me that Mal Reynolds is your trusted source?”
“Looks like,” Arthur replies. “That a problem?”
“Would be a problem for you too if a dead man was callin’ people to a fool’s mission,” Daniel retorts.
Arthur almost chokes on his beer, and coughs for a few seconds before sputtering, “Zhè shì shénme làn dōngxi? What do you mean, dead man? I spoke to Mal Reynolds at this very table about this 8 months back. Didn’t seem very dead to me.”
Daniel shakes his head stubbornly. “Mal Reynolds never left Serenity Valley. And besides, no one who fought there would ever trust the Alliance, never mind try to get people to join up with ‘em. He must have lied to you.”
Arthur shrugs uneasily. “Guess it’s possible. I haven’t known Reynolds long, and he was recommended to me by other, uh, disreputable men. Maybe they were fooled too.” He stares down at his bottle, suddenly looking much older, the lines in his face showing stark next to his white hair.
The bottle in Daniel’s hand thumps back down on the bar. He looks at Arthur, the hard look dominating his features. “You have any intel on where this Reynolds might be headed next?” He gives a harsh grin. “I think I need to hear about this from the man himself.”
Arthur leans back in his chair and gives the younger man a long look. “You look like somethin’ big crawled up your butt, Dan. You ready to tell me why you flew all the way from that shitheap you call a planet to see me? I know it ain’t the beer and I doubt it was just to see my pretty face.”
Daniel doesn’t really smile, staring down at the bottle in his hands, rolling it back and forth. After a couple of seconds, he sets the bottle down firmly and looks up, meeting Arthur’s eyes.
“Had a puffed up fella in a brown coat approach me in the bar couple days ago. Told me somethin’ about a law being passed, some Senator wanting to recruit former Independents to form militias on their planets. He also said somethin’ about having a trusted source with that info.” He gives Arthur a thin smile. “I thought about the only person I knew who might be able to confirm that story, and you are that lucky guy.”
Arthur sits up a bit straighter. He takes a swig from his bottle, then nods. “Yeah, I guess I am. And it’s true, Dan. I’ve got it from a good source that Tam, the Senator who wrote the law, has a lotta support. He figures the Alliance owes us.” He snorts and takes another drink.
“I keep hearing about this source,” Daniel says as he leans forward, his voice intense. “Who’s word is good enough to convince the Browncoats to believe the gŏu pì the Alliance is feeding ‘em?”
Arthur leans back again, looking at Daniel seriously. “You ever heard of a fella named Malcolm Reynolds?”
Daniel looks surprised. “Yeah, I have. Sergeant, his brigade was at Serenity Valley. So was mine.” He looks down. “We all knew each other after a while.” He takes his bottle and takes a long drink. When he looks back up, there is a hard, disbelieving look in his eyes. “Are you tellin’ me that Mal Reynolds is your trusted source?”
“Looks like,” Arthur replies. “That a problem?”
“Would be a problem for you too if a dead man was callin’ people to a fool’s mission,” Daniel retorts.
Arthur almost chokes on his beer, and coughs for a few seconds before sputtering, “Zhè shì shénme làn dōngxi? What do you mean, dead man? I spoke to Mal Reynolds at this very table about this 8 months back. Didn’t seem very dead to me.”
Daniel shakes his head stubbornly. “Mal Reynolds never left Serenity Valley. And besides, no one who fought there would ever trust the Alliance, never mind try to get people to join up with ‘em. He must have lied to you.”
Arthur shrugs uneasily. “Guess it’s possible. I haven’t known Reynolds long, and he was recommended to me by other, uh, disreputable men. Maybe they were fooled too.” He stares down at his bottle, suddenly looking much older, the lines in his face showing stark next to his white hair.
The bottle in Daniel’s hand thumps back down on the bar. He looks at Arthur, the hard look dominating his features. “You have any intel on where this Reynolds might be headed next?” He gives a harsh grin. “I think I need to hear about this from the man himself.”
