A first of my version of Season 2... Feedback Welcome!

“Now get.” Said the man in the formidable beard.

“Now folks lets be reasonable. We brought you the merch, wheres our pay-” Mal said looking down at the mans's hands one of which was holding a gun.

Several rifles were cocked and aimed and Jayne cursed who under his breath.

“This ain’t what I meant by reason…” Mal said shaking head

To the right of them all was a small girl who snuck up and crawled closer; she could have been no more then 11. She had an old rope around her neck, which had been gnawed clean through.

“Listen my uniquely bearded friend, we’ve come a long way and are a might tired of running into double crosses. How about we just make the switch and be on our way.” Mal said with a tired voice.

The bearded man snorted. “I’ve got 20 men with weapons trained on you, and you’ve got the gorram guts to threaten me for your money?”

“Jayne…signal them.” Mal said with a serious look on his face.

“What?…Oh right.” Jayne said and then whistled, suddenly red tracers dotted the faces of the men who stood to the left and right of the big bearded fellow.

“That’s...count’em...twelve men who are all trained sharpshooters, at my word you’ll all hit the ground…or we can negotiate nice like.”

The bearded man threw a pouch and reached for the sky. Suddenly, the little girl ambled forwards snatched the bounty and ran towards the tree line.

“Mal!” Jayne yelled.

“I saw her, stay here!” Mal yelled back as he headed after the girl.

“Alright…” Jayne said a little nervous at being alone and outnumbered. “Just keep your hands up and they’ll be no-”

Suddenly the red tracers dimmed. The thugs began to realize they were being had.

"-problem" Jayne finished his sentence with a gulp as two of the men looked at each other.

Jayne shot one of them before the rest raised their guns. A burst of gunfire erupted as Jayne narrowly escaped in the same direction as Mal. He ran right passed the bank of fake tracers hanging in the trees.

Mal looked for the small girl, wondering just how the hell she moved so fast. He moved through the tall poplar trees and around a small shrub and there on the ground crying in pain was the little girl. She looked at him grimaced and cried again looking down at her legs. There a small rabbit trap had grabbed the little girl’s ankle. She reminded him of a small woodland creature not understanding why she was trapped. As he came closer the girl tried to scurry away only to yell in pain again.

She cried. Mal felt he had to say something “It‘ll be alright girlie, I’m a friend, I wont hurt you.”, He knelt and approached the little girl she seemed to understand and began quietly sobbing. The trap was tight on her ankle and Mal could see the slightly off red color of blood dripping onto some leaves on the ground.

“Mal where the ruttin’ hell are you?” said a angry voice through the comm on his shoulder. Reaching up he clicked the device on. “A second more, and since when does a captain have to answer to a pilot?”

“Since the pilot is watching an army of villagers getting closer then he likes.” Came Wash’s quick reply.

“Get the engines hummin, I might need that escape plan, you know the one we uh...didn’t plan.” Mal said as he turned back to his task of helping the girl.

The girl quieted, studying his face and with a quizzical pained look. “Jayne!” he called and the big man ambled over. “Mal, this wasn’t part of the plan…” Surmising that the captain needed his help, he withdrew a knife and tossed it Mal. The girl shrunk back… “Its ok, I wont hurt you, just gotta get you free…” He jammed the knife into the small gears locking the claws of the trap…after a moment of twisting bout claws broke off and released the small girl with a hiss. “Now where did you come from?” he said aloud. She only smiled at his question holding up the money pouch. Jayne snatched it and ran off to get cover.

Mal looked down at this small child in the middle of no where…if he left her here, on a moon where only smugglers, wolves and criminals made their home, she’d be dead before sundown whenever that was on Ginmoor. Suddenly two bullets entered the tree nearest Jayne’s position. “Wash, ship…now!” He fired back, letting a short spray of bullets fly.

Her hair was like none he’d had ever seen before. An extremely light blond and when the sun shown through the trees her hair almost seemed to be made of gold. Her eyes were large but no larger then any normal girl accept the slight curve in the middle of her eyebrow. Their deep green seemed to mimic the leaves and grass all around. He looked deep in her eyes and found his mind wandering…

“Boss there right on top of us, drop the kid!!” came the cry from his shoulder, as a rung hit him on the head. A man came from around a tree, and Mal, quick on the trigger, dropped the man with one shot. Above, the heavy whine of engines drowned out the forests creatures. “Just go!” Mal said to Jayne with a stern loud voice. As Serenity came over ahead Jayne was first up the ladder.

After grabbing the girl with an arm and the wrung with the other, Mal was pulled upwards as the ship pulled away. His coat blew over the small girl, and an instant more they were in the hold of the Firefly Class Vessel.

“Well sir, how’d it go?” said Zoe`, she folded her arms as the ship lifted out of the planet’s atmo. Jayne tossed the bag to Zoe` who promptly opened the bag. The money while good was less then she predicted. She gave Mal an 'I told you so look' before he responded.

“Ok, so I almost got humped over a few ‘misplaced’ items Zoe`, seems like every criminal in this gorram verse is…” Mal began to say.

“Disreputable?”, Said Zoe with a concerned but stoic face.

“I should have been there sir,” Zoe said, "what if those fake tracers failed?"

"To late..." Jayne said as took a look at Zoe with a sort of accusatory tone. "Where's Kaylee she said those things would last a spell longer!" He said with a rough voice.

“Wash get set a course for Tai Chi Station, and stop eavesdropping.” He said as he clicked the comm off.

"I wasn't dropping eaves...and Kaylee's in the engine room Jayne." Wash said cutting the comm off.

“Zoe, contact our friends on Tai Chi, let them know we got the payment. We also have…other complications. ”

The girl parted the captain’s coat, and looked around in amazement at the half full cargo hold. She ran out in tattered clothing towards a cluster of crates.

“What the…!?” Said Jayne as he noticed the same girl a few seconds earlier.

“Oh yeah, did I mention I found a girl?” Mal said with a somewhat resolute look upon his face.