Generations

by Tim Lebbon

  Now, here, she is looking to the future.

  A man sleeps on this ship. He has brought her here to him. Even from billions of miles away, she knew that he was just like her. Mutilated. Tortured. Bettered.

  Precious Sun Tzu waits for them all, and like her, the ship is not as it seems. It is a relic not as hollow, and not wholly as old, as it appears. She’s been led here, maybe even lured by the sleeping man, and though in some ways she wishes herself anywhere else… there’s also a part of her that relishes what is to come.

  She wonders if this is what it feels like coming home.

  * * *

  Usually Kaylee preferred being back in the engine room, listening to the heart of Serenity as she powered through deep space. Sometimes if that heart fluttered or strained she would perform some form of mechanical surgery to make her well again. She was as bound to Serenity as the pulsing heart of her gravity drive. Out of them all, perhaps Wash might come the closest to understanding. If she was conjoined with the ship’s heart, then he was the manifestation of its senses.

  Now, though, she much preferred being on the bridge. Wash urged and lulled the ship to his wishes, expert hands guiding it close to the staggering spread of the planet’s rings and toward the shape gradually appearing in the distance. This was something none of them had ever seen before, and the silence on the bridge was heavy and filled with wonder.

  “Beautiful,” Kaylee said.

  “Will be when we get closer,” Jayne said.

  “I’m still worried about that Alliance destroyer,” Wash said. “You know what destroyers are for, right? The clue’s in the name.”

  “No sign of it now,” Zoë said. “It’s been and gone. Like any routine patrol. We might’ve just been lucky enough to arrive between sweeps.”

  “Probably just looks like it’s gone,” Wash said. “It saw us coming and has powered down until we wander into its killing zone. Whatever, we’re flying toward an ancient, legendary ship that supposedly ceased to be five centuries ago, and there’s signs of an Alliance ship having been here on the edge of space. I think— and I’m sure you’ll be stunned by my deductive powers, and I thank you all in advance—but I think the two might be linked.”

  “So I’ve said,” Mal said.

  “Right! So. Let’s go.”

  “We’ve come this far,” Mal said.

  Wash shook his head. “Seriously?”

  “We’ll move in closer, check it out.” Mal looked around at them, settling on Kaylee. Like he’s inviting an answer, she thought, but she wasn’t sure what her answer would be.

  “The Alliance knows it’s here!” Wash said.

  “But they’re not here right now, far as we can tell,” Mal said. “Which means they ain’t expectin’ anyone to find this ship, cos they hid it good and safe. Which in turn means there’s more of a reason for us to be here too.”

  He looked out at the distant ship again. They were approaching slowly, drive silent, skipping close to the rings to hopefully avoid detection from anyone scanning the local area.

  “And there’s River,” Kaylee said.

  “And there’s River,” Mal repeated. “She’s been somethin’ of a mystery since she came on board, and I’m startin’ to think some of that might be resolved here.”

  “She’s agitated,” Kaylee said. “I might even say scared.”

  “Simon reckons she’s excited. And she can surely read the map. There’s some sort of link I’m eager to uncover, and I know you are too.”

  “Me?”

  “You’re more pally with her than any of us.”

  “Guess I am,” Kaylee said. There was also the allure of the Sun Tzu and what it represented. She’d like nothing more than to get on board and check out all that old tech and equipment. The mere prospect sent a shiver down her spine; she was looking across miles of space at a piece of ancient history.

  As they closed on the ship it became clear that it was way beyond the rings, settled in an orbit nearer to the planet than the inner ring—and safe from any collision damage from any of the floating chunks—yet still close enough to be sheltered. It was obvious that its orbital positioning was a very deliberate act.

  “Kaylee, you seem to know a lot about these ships,” Mal asked.

  “From schooling and my own interest, but I’m guessin’ a lot of what’s known is flighty guesswork. The arrival in the ’verse was a time of confusion, and the last thing people had time for was recordin’ their actions for posterity.”

  “Not something I was too concerned about when I was getting my education,” Jayne said.

  “You were educated?” Mal asked.

  “Ha ha.”

  “Inara told me of the most popular stories, from Jordan Cluley and Jess Ray,” Kaylee said. “They give some quirky personal insights and plenty of sciency goings-on about the ships, but nothing too techy. It’s said Cluley was a food farmer on one of the ships, and she died before reachin’ the ’verse, so most of her writings concern soils and aquaponics. And Jess Ray was insane.”

  “Maybe you can write your own account now,” Wash said. “Kaylee’s Guide to Legendary Ships. Maybe we can make that our mission from now on, Mal? Going to the most dangerous an’ inhospitable places in the ’verse to find empty old wrecks.”

  “Take us closer, Wash,” the captain said.

  Kaylee felt a flutter of excitement in her chest as Wash guided them above the rings and closer to what they all assumed to be the Sun Tzu. River had stopped shouting, at least, and apart from the usual sounds on the bridge—the gentle, constant hum of the ship’s engine, a buzzing and creaking from Wash’s control panels and flight seat—all was silent. Even Jayne didn’t have any quips. The sight was stunning and humbling.

  “Keep your eye on that scope, Zoë,” Mal said. “Don’t want no surprises.”

  “That would be nice,” Wash said. “I’ll run a book on whether we get any nasty surprises here or not. Any takers?”

  No one replied.

  Kaylee could not tear her eyes away from the viewing windows. As they closed on the Sun Tzu more detail began to emerge. The first thing that became clear was that the ship was huge. Not just big, but massive, its scale difficult to discern with little to compare against. She had no doubt it was larger than any vessel she’d ever seen. She’d always known that the Generation ships had been big, but as details became clearer on this old vessel she saw just how expansive it was, more so than any of the Alliance cruisers she’d ever seen or heard of. Over a mile long, maybe a lot more, it was a long, blocky rectangle with equal-width sides, and built with no nod to aesthetics. Its rear end flared into a box shape to incorporate a heavy thrust structure on each of the four sides. Its front was flat and snub-nosed, and each long surface was ridged and speckled with structures, depressions, and protrusions whose purposes were unclear. Even though size was difficult to relate to in space, the ship dwarfed Serenity. It felt like they were closing on another planet rather than something built by people. Wash flew them closer and closer, and weak light from the distant Blue Sun caught each aspect of the Sun Tzu as it performed a gentle, slow revolution around its long axis.

  “It’s beautiful,” Kaylee said, and although the vessel was ugly and entirely functional, the word held true.

  “It’s a wreck,” Wash said.

  “I’m sure you won’t look so shiny when you’re five hundred years old,” Kaylee said.

  “No, I mean it’s a wreck. Can’t you see? Look along the side facin’ us now, a third of the way from the rear end.”

  “Is that a shadow?” Zoë asked.

  “Hull breach,” Jayne said. “Great.”

  “And it’s not the only place,” Mal said. “I see at least one other. Zoë, how are we looking?”

  “No signs of any vessel in the vicinity,” she said. “Whatever Alliance ship was here is definitely gone now.”

  “I still don’t like it,” Mal said. “But we’ve come this far. Take us in, Wash, nice and slow. And keep one han
d on overdrive. First glimmer of anything amiss and we get the hell out of here, and no looking back.”

  “I’m with you on that,” Wash said.

  “I’ll prep the suits,” Jayne said nervously. “How many?”

  “Four,” Kaylee said before Mal could answer. “River should be here, and Simon with her.”

  “I was thinkin’ the same,” Mal said. “And Wash needs to stay with the ship.”

  Wash glanced at Zoë, and she nodded. “Be ready to rescue me, baby,” she said, but Kaylee knew she was only trying to make Wash feel better. He always preferred remaining as Serenity’s pilot. They were lucky he was the best any of them had ever known.

  “Looks like it’s really been in the wars,” Zoë said as they drew closer. Wash took them slowly from bow to stern, keeping station a couple of miles out, and Kaylee couldn’t help but agree. The vast ship was long neglected, battered, apparently breached in several places, and visible on one side as it continued in its gentle roll was a large, open wound, a crater revealing the heavy structural elements of the interior, blackened like burnt bones. Around this ugly hole the metal hull was scorched black and deformed.

  “How did that not rip the ship in two?” Mal asked.

  Kaylee’s stomach was sinking. With damage like this visible from a couple of miles out, the chance of the ship being in any fit state to board was lessening. They had come all this way to find a hulk, and it wasn’t the time it had taken or the lack of reward for their journey that upset her. It was the loss of everything that might have been.

  “What the hell happened here?” Wash said.

  “I’m just hoping it was long ago,” Zoë said. “That’s a heavy impact from a serious weapon.”

  “We still investigate,” Mal said. “We’ve come this far and—” He’d glanced back at them and now he froze, looking past Kaylee and Jayne toward the entrance to the bridge.

  Kaylee turned but she knew what she would see. River stood braced in the doorway, one hand holding either jamb, and Kaylee didn’t think she had ever seen anyone looking so afraid.

  “It feels like coming home,” the girl said.

  * * *

  “You have to keep her out of the way,” Mal said. He’d already spoken to Wash about this, but Simon was a different matter. He was the only person Mal really thought could do it.

  “I always do. As much as she’ll let me.”

  Mal nodded. Shrugging on his overlayers to wear beneath the space suit, he glanced at the girl pacing the dining area. She was scared and excited, and projecting emotions that were difficult to pin down, for her as well as them. One moment she cried, the next she laughed. There was no doubt the proximity of the Sun Tzu was causing that, and pretty much everything about this situation, and everything out of her mouth, was making him wonder if they should turn tail and flee back the way they’d come.

  “Good,” he said. “I have the feelin’ you might have to keep us safe from her too.”

  “River wouldn’t do anything to harm the crew,” Simon said.

  “Most times I’m mainly confident of that being true,” Mal said, “though I’ve gone up and down on the issue since you came aboard. But right now ain’t most times.”

  “Maybe,” Simon said quietly. “I’m not at all sure what right now is.”

  “Then we’ll go and see,” Mal said. “River needs to stay here. The ship’s old and it’s seen some action, and there’s a fair to good chance all of it is vented to space.”

  “I’m not sure that would stop her from trying to come.”

  “So you prevent her from tryin’. You’re the one person she always listens to, and she needs to stay here. If there’s something dangerous on that ship, last person we want meddlin’ with it is your sister.”

  “I’ll watch her.” Simon paused, awkward, as if he had something else to say.

  “Spill,” Mal said.

  “Something about that ship has her wired,” Simon said.

  “Yeah, I’ve noticed. Even more so’n usual.”

  “I’d be grateful if you could find what that might be, Mal. I mean, I know your business and what’s probably forefront in your mind, but we found the ship because of River.”

  “Rest assured I’m not just lookin’ for treasure from Earth-That-Was,” Mal said.

  “Thanks. I can’t imagine what it could be.”

  “I’m tryin’ not to.”

  * * *

  When Mal reached the main airlock in the front cargo doors the others were already suited up, bulky helmets hanging by straps on their backs ready to be pulled on. Jayne was carrying the gun he called Boo in a clipped holster on his leg, and on the other side a heavier weapon, a shotgun Mal wasn’t aware he’d named but probably had. Zoë also wore her sidearm, and that was a comfort as well. Kaylee refused to carry a gun, but Mal noticed a tool belt around her waist.

  “Wash is taking us in,” Mal said. “For now he won’t dock, not until we’ve gone over and found somewhere suitable and safe. He’ll match the Sun Tzu’s pitch and yaw and get us in close. Once Serenity’s airlock’s open, I’ll go across with a line, and when I secure it, you can all clip on and follow me over. Questions?”

  There were none.

  Mal always felt a flutter of excitement and fear when he prepared for a space walk. On Serenity there was a sense of scale. Every view on board ship had a limit, a horizon to contain you even if your eyes were closed. Sometimes he sat in his small, sparse cabin with his eyes closed and tried to meditate, removing himself from the world he found himself in along with whatever troubles were bothering him at any particular moment. Even if he could not rein in his troubles, he always felt swaddled by the ship, hearing his breathing echoing from walls and feeling Serenity’s gentle, persistent rumble.

  Now he was about to drift free of that embrace.

  The airlock cycled, and as the outer door opened Mal moved to the edge and stared out. He paused there for a moment, and sensed no impatience from his three crewmates and friends. Of course not. They were all feeling the same thing.

  He pushed off gently. Mal was instantly alone, and all he could hear was his breathing. It was faster and shallower than usual, and he tried to settle it down. Ahead of him was the bulk of the Sun Tzu, and beyond it the pale gray curve of the planet it had been orbiting for who knew how long. Around him was infinity, that deep darkness that felt both endlessly light and staggeringly heavy. Everything that made him Malcom Reynolds had not existed before he was born and would cease when he died, and floating in this inhospitable place was the greatest reminder of his own impermanence.

  The Sun Tzu seemed even larger when not viewed from inside Serenity. It filled his field of vision, and with its strange protrusions and time-scarred fuselage turning from light to shadow and back again as the vessel spun, its deep age intimidated, its size filled him with awe. It was unlike any ship he’d ever seen, and the knowledge of its origins—the certainty of how far it had come—was humbling.

  “This is one ugly-ass chunk of battle-scarred metal,” Jayne said over the com.

  “Oh, Jayne,” Kaylee said.

  “What?”

  Mal chuckled. “Once we’re all down we’ll head for that sticky-outy thing at two o’clock. You all got it?”

  “Yeah, I see,” Zoë said. “You thinkin’ there might be a hatch there?”

  “No idea, but we need to find a way in.”

  “Why not go in through one of the damaged bits?” Kaylee asked.

  “It might come to that, but I’d rather find a hatch or external docking area.” Mal gripped the suit’s small control unit in both hands, and he gave a gentle tap that fired compressed air from its vents. His forward motion was altered to the right, he corrected slightly, then settled into the slow trip across to the Sun Tzu. It would take less than a minute, and he was already judging his relative speed to land safely against the structure.

  Wash had leveled them with the ship and matched its spin, and it was a strange sensation seeing the vi
ew beyond changing as they all rotated—the planet, the rings, open space, and then the planet again. It made Mal feel queasy, and he was glad when he closed on the hull. He slowed his approach a little, then searched for something to grab on to when he hit. The surface was surprisingly smooth, so he used one of the suit’s vacuum-seal units on a short leash. Attaching to the hull as soon as he hit, he lengthened the leash enough to be able to stand and use his boots’ magnetic soles. He connected the line that trailed from Serenity and the others clipped on and floated across. Soon the four of them were standing together on the great Sun Tzu, the ship from Earth-That-Was. No one said anything for a while as they took in their surroundings. Serenity hung above them, and beyond was the slowly turning vista of rings, space, planet.

  The view toward the bow of the Sun Tzu was obscured by the protuberance they’d aimed for, and Mal was disappointed that there was no evidence of a hatch or airlock anywhere close by. Back toward the stern they could see the first signs of the large damaged area, blackened structural components pointing out from the ship like cracked fingers or broken ribs. This one side of the ship was so vast that there had to be some sort of opening for them to try to negotiate.

  “We could split up, two forward, two back?” Zoë asked.

  “Let’s stay together for now,” Mal said. “We’ll head aft. Hopefully by the time we reach the explosion site we’ll find a way in. Wash, how’re things looking up there?”

  “Nice and warm and comfortable in my chair, thanks, Captain. I’ve just made a cup of coffee and am seriously considering some cake.”

  “Since when did we have cake?” Kaylee asked.

  “I only said I’m considering it,” Wash said. “It’s torture.”

  “Scopes clear?” Zoë asked.

  “Oh, whoops.”

  “Wash,” Mal said, voice low.

  “Of course they’re clear,” he said. “If they weren’t I’d have told you. Might even have waited for you to get back before getting the hell outta here.”