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bedlamsbardI went down to Newbury Comics in the Providence Place Mall to get season one of Bones, used, but it was already gone; someone had bought it. I had a very intense debate with a friend over whether to get Stargate SG-1 season three or the Star Wars original trilogy -- both used and thus cheap -- and ended up getting neither one. I know: I suck. On the other hand, we did get tickets to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix on Wednesday, so hurrah for that.
Mal pushed his plate away and motioned Wash down when he started to get up. "Simon," he said. "Aren't there a few things you've been meaning to tell us?"
"What?" Simon said gamely, but he couldn't quite look Mal in the eye.
"Didn't you know?" River said brightly. "Simon was a doctor in the war. Our parents weren't happy about it at all."
"You were with the Alliance?" Zoe spat. The words fell like poison into the silence of the kitchen. "You never thought you should have mentioned that?"
"I was young," Simon said. "The war broke out when I was still in school; I had to change my name and lie about my age in order to enlist with the Medical Corps. There weren't exactly a lot of doctors volunteering; they didn't look at my qualifications too closely."
"And you never thought this might be an important fact to mention?" Mal said dangerously.
Simon met his eyes. "Not until you made it clear that if I did, you'd throw me and River off this ship."
*
She thinks she can hear him begging for his life.
*
There's no visible change, only there is: something and everything she can't quite put her finger on.
*
She's nearly in tears, angry ones that run like little rivulets of fire down her cheeks and steam when they hit the floor. "I loved him, you sick bastard," she says, "You son of a bitch, I loved him."
"All day," Zsuzsi said sourly, scowling. "It's bad for business."
Nakin tapped his fingers across the counter, the expression of distaste on his face matching the way Zsuzsi felt. "Bet they don't tip, either."
"They don't even drink. Fucking inhuman monsters."
Something washed briefly over Nakin's face, then it was replaced by his usual blank mask, the same slightly inward expression he'd been wearing since Ben Hellsbane had come and gone and Sha're Yulalli had come and died. "I hadn't heard that Ixtapa was part of the Empire already," was all he said.
Zsuzsi snorted. "Yeah, you'd think Spaceforce would have kicked up a fuss, but they're too busy being scared out of their minds."
*
It's an endless flow of creamy white, down the hills and onto the green, breaking only slightly where each segment of the herd enters the water.
*
"I don't belong here!" Anakin yells, pacing back and forth with his hands buried in his hair like a wild man. "Don't you get it, Sharro? Everything I touch I destroy -- everything."
*
"Sir!" Standish snapped out, leaping up as Sherman came in, dressed in workout clothes rather than his usually impeccable uniform. "Sir, we've got a contact -- it's the North Carolina. Do you want to respond?"
Okay. Seriously have to work on the ten-page project for class now.
Mal pushed his plate away and motioned Wash down when he started to get up. "Simon," he said. "Aren't there a few things you've been meaning to tell us?"
"What?" Simon said gamely, but he couldn't quite look Mal in the eye.
"Didn't you know?" River said brightly. "Simon was a doctor in the war. Our parents weren't happy about it at all."
"You were with the Alliance?" Zoe spat. The words fell like poison into the silence of the kitchen. "You never thought you should have mentioned that?"
"I was young," Simon said. "The war broke out when I was still in school; I had to change my name and lie about my age in order to enlist with the Medical Corps. There weren't exactly a lot of doctors volunteering; they didn't look at my qualifications too closely."
"And you never thought this might be an important fact to mention?" Mal said dangerously.
Simon met his eyes. "Not until you made it clear that if I did, you'd throw me and River off this ship."
*
She thinks she can hear him begging for his life.
*
There's no visible change, only there is: something and everything she can't quite put her finger on.
*
She's nearly in tears, angry ones that run like little rivulets of fire down her cheeks and steam when they hit the floor. "I loved him, you sick bastard," she says, "You son of a bitch, I loved him."
"All day," Zsuzsi said sourly, scowling. "It's bad for business."
Nakin tapped his fingers across the counter, the expression of distaste on his face matching the way Zsuzsi felt. "Bet they don't tip, either."
"They don't even drink. Fucking inhuman monsters."
Something washed briefly over Nakin's face, then it was replaced by his usual blank mask, the same slightly inward expression he'd been wearing since Ben Hellsbane had come and gone and Sha're Yulalli had come and died. "I hadn't heard that Ixtapa was part of the Empire already," was all he said.
Zsuzsi snorted. "Yeah, you'd think Spaceforce would have kicked up a fuss, but they're too busy being scared out of their minds."
*
It's an endless flow of creamy white, down the hills and onto the green, breaking only slightly where each segment of the herd enters the water.
*
"I don't belong here!" Anakin yells, pacing back and forth with his hands buried in his hair like a wild man. "Don't you get it, Sharro? Everything I touch I destroy -- everything."
*
"Sir!" Standish snapped out, leaping up as Sherman came in, dressed in workout clothes rather than his usually impeccable uniform. "Sir, we've got a contact -- it's the North Carolina. Do you want to respond?"
Okay. Seriously have to work on the ten-page project for class now.