(While Serenity is occupied elsewhere Inara Serra lands her shuttle on an out-of-the-way run-down space station for needed repairs. Not finding any clients up to her standards the Companion is surprised and intrigued when a young crew member from another ship approaches her not for herself but on behalf of her Captain for a little "Rest & Recreation". Crossover story between "Serenity" and "Dark Matter". Inara/Portia Lin(Two).)
"Excuse me?"
Inara Serra was used to being approached by strangers. It happened all the time. What was extremely rare was for her to answer those approaches with anything more than a polite smile at the most. The beautiful woman preferred to arrange her meetings with prospective customers after thoroughly vetting them. After all, she was a Companion, not some common street walker. So generally when people tried to get her attention on a street or, as in this case a crowded passageway on a rather decrepit space station, she just kept walking.
And "decrepit" certainly fit this space station. However out here on the edges of space, far from the central civilized worlds, that description applied most of the time. But she needed some minor repairs to her shuttle and this station had a reputation for providing pretty much any service needed, no questions asked. When you traveled with the even more disreputable ship "Serenity" it made sense to keep a low profile occasionally.
But instead of continuing on her way Inara stopped and turned around, looking for the source of the voice. It was the voice that had caught her attention. It was unsure; almost a whisper in volume and it was female. More than that, it was that of a young female, probably a teenager.
There she was. An uncertain expression that matched her voice on a cute young face topped with a mop of green hair. She was dressed in flowery clothes and short boots with what looked like a sweater tied around her waist. Inara eyed her closely. The teen projected an air of vulnerability and innocence but as a Companion she was trained to look beneath the surface. She saw a mixture. There were hints of mischief and perhaps she wasn't as innocent as she appeared at first glance but at the same time in most ways she probably was exactly what she seemed to be. And she was troubled.
"Yes? Can I help you?"
But having spoken once the teen seemed to be tongue-tied now. She opened her mouth twice and swallowed whatever words she was thinking of saying.
Inara couldn't help but smile. On an impulse she reached out and touched the girl's arm, drawing her gently to a niche where they could have just a bit of privacy.
"What is it?"
The girl blushed. "You're a Companion aren't you? I heard one was stopping her for ship repairs. You help people relax and feel better right?"
"That's a nice description but I'm afraid you're much too young for me dear."
The girl's eyes opened wide. "Oh NO not ME!" Getting control of herself and her voice, which had grown remarkably in volume for a moment she went on. "Not me. It's my friend, the commander of our ship."
Inara studied her closely. Well that was a little different. "What's your name?"
"Five."
Inara's eyebrow raised in disbelief. The girl must have caught it for she hurried on. "It's Emily actually but I go by Five. It's how our crew named ourselves when we woke without memories. Two, her name is actually Portia, Portia Lin but she also prefers going by Two because it doesn't remind her of the time... before."
"A woman is your ship's commander?" Well that was different. Of course she supposed such a person could be a female counter-part of Mal. A female Malcolm Reynolds? A mental image of Mal popped into her mind with his face replaced by some non-descript feminine one. That was frightening.
"Oh yes," Emily's face, Inara found she had a little trouble thinking of the teen by a number, lightened up and her expression became almost dreamy. "She so capable and smart and she looks after me. And she's beautiful."
Something of a crush here, Inara noted. Then she looked again and changed her mind. That wasn't it. Well maybe a little but the green haired girl's feelings went much deeper than that and in a different direction although she suspected the teen had not acknowledged them yet even to herself.
Emily shook herself. "I have money." Young or not she had the sense to be very discreet in showing Inara the money that she was carrying. It really wasn't that much, it certainly wasn't near what she normally expected even without the generous tips she generally received after her services were complete. But something in the young woman's earnest appeal for her captain touched Inara and she decided to find out more.
In short order the pair was comfortably seated in the shuttle with Inara pouring teen for the teen. She watched as a wide-eyed Emily took in the furnishings. Twice she reached out to touch the silken walls hangings but pulled her hand back.
"Okay dear," Inara said after they had their tea. "Tell me about your captain."
It took a little prodding but once the young woman got started the words poured out. If Inara had still been the same woman she had been when first leaving the Companion training house she might have thought the story the green-haired girl was telling her was the wildest fabrication she had ever heard.
Really? A spaceship crew that emerged from their stasis tubes with no memories of who they were? Very convenient considering that it turned out five of the six crew members were some of the most highly wanted criminals in the 'verse and the sixth one, who was telling the tale, was a pickpocket/thief stowaway. That the loss of their memories had allowed the crew to change who they were, start over and slowly develop a new side completely different from their previous lives, although the teen loyally insisted that deep down that was who they really were? Preposterous. Except of course she flew the black with a crew that were just about as mixed up, badly thought of and yet at bottom had hidden depths and were worthy of the loyalty between them.
But most of all the teen talked about her commander. Irina listened carefully as Emily talked about nearly losing Two more than once and how much she had feared for the other woman and how she felt when she returned. She told of having shared a neural link with the other woman and discovering how she had been treated at a previous time in her life.
"I know what happened to her. They treated her like a slave. And when she escaped they hunted her like an animal. No one ever showed her anything but the worst we have to offer. They made her the way she was. But I had seen the other side of her and I wanted her back. And she came back. For me."
Inara was touched at the teen's story. The emotions she radiated were too strong, too raw to be anything but true. Again Inara wondered if Emily had processed what she felt towards Portia. Emily had mentioned being an orphan. Clearly she had begun to think of the crew of that ship, the Raza, as a surrogate family but she had not fitted the pieces together. Not yet. But she would. In the meantime Inara agreed to see Emily's commander. The teen broke into a broad smile and thrust all of the money she had been showing into Inara's hands. They settled on a time for Portia to come to the shuttle. How the teen was going to get her here Inara didn't know but she suspected the green haired girl would manage.
And she did. Inara was ready at the agreed upon hour. The massage table was prepared; the oils warm and the scented candles lit. Soft mood music was being piped through the speakers. Inara had donned a short silk robe held together only with a sash. When the chime sounded announcing someone was at the shuttle's door she was there to answer it.
Inara had certainly been curious about this Portia Lin; or rather Two as Emily had reminded her that the other woman usually preferred to be called. She couldn't possibly be as beautiful as the teen described her. And when she opened the door she decided she was right. The woman there was even lovelier.
Obviously of mixed Chinese and Caucasian ancestry the dark haired woman was several inches shorter than Inara, even in her knee high boots. Her hair fell around her shoulders, framing her face, a face Inara immediately had a desire to explore with her lips. She was dressed all in black; tights with a leather jacket over a form fitting top. And to Inara's surprise, and interest, the gun belt with the two heavy pistols firmly strapped to the woman's thighs only added to her sexuality. She was dangerous and she knew it without needing to brag about it. And finally the look of uncertainty on her face only added to her attraction.
