Grasshopper And Gadfly

Grasshopper and Gadfly, part 3
D'Alaire — 16 Sep 1998, 10:00 PM

(the day before Mme. D'A arrives for the festival)

He shall feed off those who have taken him

Qwai-chang looked out onto the serene Big Coffee, watching the lazy river roll southward, meandering into the canyons there. Pulling his rollbag higher onto his shoulder, Qwai-chang stepped fowards onto the rocks, unbothered by the crackling beneath his feet as he descended into the basin.

At the side of the river, he bent to fill his canteen, hearing in the distance the echoes of whooping and hollering, an occasional gunblast. Qwai-chang paused.

Gadfly, he thought, I have travelled far to find you.

He stretched to his feet and continued towards the sound. Around the bend in the hollow of the rockface, a camp appeared, some fifteen men in dusky clothes and crudely matted hair, around a fire. They had no horses there, but their guns laid by. They were eating.

Qwai-chang examined this only briefly before approaching. When he was somewhat closer, he saw a dark, huddled form rise -- his hair was different from the rest, though just as dirty. He carried his bowl across to one well-armed man, holding it out.

"Please, sir, may I have another?" he asked quietly.

"Shut yer trap, ye little maggot," the Kazon snapped, pushing the younger man backwards. "You've already had three bowls. You'll eat out of camp and coals!"

The young man slumped and crept back to his place near the wall of rocks.

Grasshopper and Gadfly, part 3.5
D'Alaire — 16 Sep 1998, 10:02 PM

A tiny smile crossed Qwai-chang's lips, and he stepped forward again. Suddenly, some of the Kazon saw him, and rose their rifles. Seeing this, the others jumped up, spinning around, weapons cocking. But Qwai-chang only rose his hand to them.

"I mean not to trespass. I am only walking through."

"Walk through somehwhere else!" said one of the men. Your kind ain't welcome here.

Kwai-chang accepted this with a nod, then looked upon the younger man. "This man does not belong to you."

The older Kazon laughed. "What about it, Chinaman?"

Kwai-chang paused. "He is injured, and hungry. May I assist him? He will not bother you. I will not bother you, either. He will be at peace if he is fed."

The Kazon took a minute to consider this, then another. Finally, the elder Kazon waved at the young man with the end of his rifle. "Yeah, go ahead. But no funny stuff, Chinaman -- we're watching you!"

He nodded serenely and moved to the young man. Inside his jacket pockets, he found some cloths, which he wet with water, handing it across, then some of the food Madame D'Alaireux supplied for him.

Harry Janeway gladly took the cloth and wiped off his face. "Thanks so much, Mister. Those guy are real jerks."

"Be silent," Qwai-chang whispered, "they will be listening." Then, with a look. "It is good, to see you again."

Harry squinted at the quiet man, whispered back, "What? Have we met before?"

Qwai-chang smiled slightly. "Yes, you were very young, and...excitable. You may not remember."

"Remember?"

The wiser man met his half-brother's eyes. "Did you not know? You're adopted."

Harry paled. "What? My Momma and Daddy are Kathryn and Mark Janeway, they own the Delta Q Ranch near Voyager City. My name's Harry Janeway."

Qwai-chang gave a single nod. "Harry." He handed the younger man the morsel of food. "I am sorry."

"Thanks kindly, Mister, but I think there's been a mistake." Nevertheless, Harry gobbled down the food. When the man handed him the canteen, he drank eagerly. "Maybe you've got me mixed up with someone else."

"No," Qwai-chang said softly. "But your family is here now. I meant only to find you, to see you. But you do not remember me, Gadfly. I am at peace only to know you are well."

Harry's eyes widened, and he felt a thinp in his chest. "Gadfly?" His jaw had dropped, his breath almost stopped. Finally, the etchings of a dream, a dream, dreamt long ago but never forgotten, crawled back into his consciousness. But it was just a dream, wasn't it? It couldn't be real, he'd always thought it was.... "Grasshopper?"

Qwai-chang's mouth turned up, but he was still quiet. "Be still, Gadfly, or else you will distur--"

"Grasshopper!!!" Harry cried out and threw his arms around the man. But at the clicks of about fourteen guns, he stopped. "Uh oh. Did I do something wrong?"

Qwai-chang sighed. "Grasshopper, you have disturbed things again."

"What are we going to do now?" Harry sighed.

"We must beat the crap out of them, then escape," Qwai-chang said serenely.

"Oh."

With a nod, the Kim brothers jumped to their feet and whipped around to take on their attackers.

***

CUT TO ACTION SCENE -- lots of YAM-lovin' violence and death

(please somebody else write the action for this scene. I'm lousy at it. Kim gets the snot kicked out him nevertheless, and Qwai-chang helps him out of the basin)