Life on this boat. A Firefly story. #fanfic

The plan.

"Well," Lou started. "It will take some travelling and demand a bit of preparation, but if it works you won't need to do another smuggling job for a couple of years and you'll be set for a while with a decent reputation among the wealthier buyers."
"I'm listening," Mal said.
"We go to earth-that-was," Lou said.
Mal leaned back scratching his jaw.
"Earth?" He asked.
"Yep. Lots of loot left. Antiques are in fashion on Osiris and Ariel, so selling those kind of things should be a breeze, but there are other things to take," Lou said.
"And the people still living there?" Mal asked.
"....are severely hostile, I know. But most of them live on the moon or Mars. There are risks, both concerning the long journey and getting hold of valuable haul. But if we do it... And if we do it right, we could get enough to set us all up for life!" Lou enthused.
"What kind of loot do you have in mind?" Mal asked.
"Now, the obvious, such as most of the art and tech was taken as people left and the riots started. There are still things to get hold of that we need out here on the new planets," Lou said.
"Like what?" Mal asked looking sceptical.
"This sounds crazy, but hear me out. In the early 2000's, world governments got together and set up these global seedbanks to preserve the species of plants in case of global catastrophe. The one in Chile and the one in China were opened and emptied in the first round of evacuation and used to terraform the central Alliance planets. There is however one near the arctic, on Longyearbyen that is by all reports still intact. This one contains more seeds than any of the others and have a whole section devoted to food. Getting hold of these food-seeds and bringing them to life out here could revolutionise food crops on the rim while also securing food supply all the way up to government level. These seeds would be worth so much platinum, you could swim in it. Also: Growing "rare earth plants" is high fashion among rich toffs on inner planets and these seeds would bring top dollar if handled by the right trader," Lou told him.
Mal looked at her doubtfully.
"Seeds?" He asked.
"Seeds!" Lou replied.
"And the other kind of loot?" He asked.
Lou drew a deep breath. She knew the seeds were the crazy bit of the plan.
"Furniture!" She said.
"Furniture?" Mal asked.
"And clothes," Lou said.
Mal looked doubtful.
"Not flat-pack mass-produced stuff, although that would fetch a decent price as well. I am talking antique furniture from tech era and up to evacuation. There were a few artisan, speciality furniture shops at the beginning of the tech age and these pieces were not taken off planet with the settlements being as they were seen as too bulky and not antique at the time. These design pieces will catch collectors. The same goes for so-called haute-couture clothing, made by fashion designers. Imagine the craze in Sihnon of rich, bored wives and daughters buying one-off vintage earth-wear. The few items alleady out here on the new worlds are insured for millions," Lou told him enthusiastically.
Mal brightened considerably.
"Now, this idea I like," he pondered.
"If we can ask Inara to model the clothes, she could act as agent on the central planets," Lou said.
"How much of this idea have you told Badger?" Mal asked.
"None! I just said i had a plan that might get me some trading goods..." Lou shrugged.
Mal scratched his head thinking.
"Plus... we can leave Jayne there..." Lou grinned jokingly.
Mal smiled.
"Unfortunately we kinda need Jayne on occasion to provide his good manners and people skills in negotiations. Otherwise I might have considered it," he laughed. "Besides, his mother would kill me."
Lou nodded.
Mal sat there thinking for a while.
"I'll think about your earth-idea though. Sounds like a lot of trouble for furniture and seeds," Mal told her.
"Sure," Lou said aware of the risks involved.
Mal nodded.
"Then there is always the stores of gold and metals in Swiss banks," she said casually, picking lint from her sleeve.
"The what.... from where?" Mal asked.
"Gold? You know, shiny yellowy metal... stored in vaults in the mountains? Rumor has it it's still there," Lou grinned.
"May I ask where you have your information from?" Mal asked.
"A lot of it from Danny. Apparently Duggar has been wanting to go on a loot-raid to earth for years but never got around to it," Lou told him.
"Yeah... the ships he tend to command are shabby. He commandeers freighters and then run them untill something breaks. They make Serenity look like a cruise-ship after his gang have lived there for a while. He would never make a round trip on a bucket like that," Mal thought out loud.
Lou nodded.
"I will have to think about it," Mal said.
"I know it sounds like a totally insane plan, but I think it's possible.," Lou replied.
"Possible, yes. Profitable? Not so sure," Mal smiled.