Disclaimers: Everything belongs to Joss, except for one character of my creation ----------------------------- **Mousing over the Chinese should reveal the English translations on most browsers. If not, translations follow the story. ----------------------------- I know, I know - it's a short chapter! But there's more on the way, I promise! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The initial view of the prison was sobering. What they could see from the air as Serenity prepared to land was mostly smoking ruins behind the large fence that ran the border of the grounds. There were not many intact structures left. Rescue vehicles clogged the official docks. It appeared as though the rioting was over and what was left was mostly cleanup and residual searching for those unaccounted for. Wash found an open valley large enough to put down in, and got them on the ground. It was late afternoon there, with darkness only a few hours away. Time would be of the essence. The others studied Mal’s face carefully as they split up for the shuttle flyovers, looking for any sign he might reconsider the idea. Although he looked less than hopeful, he gave no sign of giving up. Jayne grumbled the entire time, but strapped on his weapons nonetheless. River, much to everyone’s relief, had been calm since leaving Paquin. She spent most of her time either in her room or in a corner of the common area, wrapped in a large blanket, and muttering about being “too cold”. After contacting Logan and letting him know they had parked, Wash got into the empty shuttle with Zoë and Book. Mal, Kaylee and Jayne went with Inara in her shuttle, and they took off in opposite directions. The air searches gave them an idea of the terrain they were dealing with, but nothing more. They spotted a few bodies from the air, but upon closer inspection they were male prisoners, not the woman they were looking for. They met back at the ship to arm themselves and begin the foot search. “I want some of you in pairs,” Mal told them, mindful of who was most useful with weapons and who might benefit from having a partner. “Wash, you go with the Shepherd. Zoë, take Kaylee with you. Jayne—you can handle yourself. I’ll go alone. That’s four groups, should be able to cover quite a bit of ground.” Mal pointed out the directions he wanted each to head in, and passed out radios and earpieces. “You don’t have to hold hands, but stay within sight, or at least earshot if you’re paired up with somebody.” “I’d like to go.” It was Inara, stepping into their midst. “Inara, no need for you to get involved, I already said—“ Mal began. “I want to help,” Inara replied firmly. “I’ll go with someone, but the more eyes the better.” She met Mal’s gaze and held it until he gave in. “All right,” he finally agreed. “You come with me.” He looked around at the group. “Keep in touch, stay aware of where you are. Any problems, radio me. Dong ma? ” They all nodded. “Okay, let’s go.” ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHINESE: Dong ma? = Understand? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Go to Chapter 12.

Back to Chapter 10.