Inara was attracted to details. It was one of the reasons she excelled at being a Companion. The little things that most people passed on by, demanded her attention, burning bright against all other scenery. She also had the gift of an exceptional memory. She could recall the details of people and places, helping her navigate through the sticky entanglements of human relations. This had been a natural gift since birth, and her Companion training had only enhanced it. During this whole ordeal there had been so many details that had burned bright and demanded her attention. It was one of the reasons she had taken it upon herself to do some research about their passengers. As she watched them gather outside of the infirmary, she couldn’t help but stare at the hard jaw line of the two Alliance men. There was a deep, hidden message within those jaws, and Inara knew that things were beginning to spin out of control, and yet with that chaos, information would flow. The whole deal had had details out of order from the beginning. The little, snide comments Asha had flung at Mal had been the kind from an acquaintance gone sour. Inara had got on quickly enough, but wrongly assumed that it had to do with the fact that Asha was Alliance and Mal was a browncoat. There had also been glances and moments were the air turned cold when they brushed up against each other. Inara knew, instinctively that there had been more to the picture than what Mal or Asha had let on. But now, those set jaw lines revealed that there were even deeper layers that spelled trouble for the whole crew of Serenity. “She is stable for now,” Simon wrung his hands through one of infirmary rags, his voice revealing his exhaustion. “Her vitals look strong, and I expect her to wake up very soon.” “What caused the machine ta go all haywire, doc?” Mal grumbled, his arms crossed, staring at Asha’s now peaceful face. Simon sighed. “For reasons to complicated to explain, it was simply that her heart went into a slight defib situation. I’m actually not surprised with all the stress her body has been through lately. I’ve up her sedation doses for the night, and then will taper them off first thing in the morning. The wound looks like it is healing quite well.” He threw the rag over to the counter and looked from Mal to Asha’s two men. “And with that gentlemen, I take my leave.” He quickly exited the room. Inara smiled gently at him. “I’m sure that you have done all that you can Simon. You deserve to rest. Sleep well.” He touched his arm lightly, putting just enough pressure to convey her sincerity. Simon gave her a weary nod of his head. “Thank you, Inara.” She watched him retreat, and then turned her attention back to the infirmary. No one really seemed to notice that she was there. Zoe had not come down, Inara assumed she was with Wash, Sheppard Book had left as soon as Mal had turned up, and Inara wasn’t quite sure was Kaylee or River were at the moment. But before she was ready to leave, her attention was caught by the sudden flourish of chatter. “If’n I’m ta do my job, I need to know what in the sphincter hell is goin’ on,” Mal suddenly said addressing the two men. Mac looked over at Phil and down at Asha. “Things certainly haven’t turned out as planned, eh Phil?” Phil took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “No, they have not.” “Do you suppose that it is time to explain what is going on? If she doesn’t awake, we are going to have to make sure that we make it on time, and safe.” Mac said, his eyes shining intensely. Phil turned towards Mal. “There is no going back.” Mal lifted his head a little, clenching his jaw. “There never was.” “We are not Alliance per say,” Phil started. “Mores the pity,” Mal muttered. Phil frowned but continued. “We were in the beginning. But things happened that made us realize the ideal we thought we were serving didn’t exist. There were too many violations, too many gross injustices down for us to ignore.” “We supported unification under the belief that it would make things better. Bring the quality of life from the core planets to the border ones. We truly thought it was the only course of action a decent human being could take,” Mac interjected. “As time went on, we couldn’t ignore what was happening. And as we began to let doubt creep into our minds we began to here the whispers of the doubts of others. One had to be careful where the whispers were said or listened to, but as time kept ticking on we figured out who we could trust and who not too.” Phil crossed his arms, his eyes darting to Asha’s face. “Then the purges began to happen. Too many whispers had taken place and the Alliance was getting nervous about the dissension within its ranks. Many members were suddenly gone, no information of their lives to be found. It was as if they hadn’t existed. Asha had fought her way to get to where she was within the Intelligence. But the more she climbed in the ranks, the more she found that unsettled her. But she was of the DelGurmova family. She couldn’t simply be made to dissapper, people knew who she was, expected to hear things about her. So the Alliance contrived an elaborate plot to remove Asha. It took some time, but Asha was resilient, and wasn’t about to let the injustices of the Alliance go. She began to gather to her all those who felt the same as she. Phil and I joined her not too long after she started to organize against the Alliance. We have grown to a sizeable number. The items that we are transporting are merely a ruse against the real purpose.” Mac paused glancing at Asha. Phil picked up when he stopped. “Information is the most precious commodity one can trade. Asha does not leave our base of operations often, she is too recognizable. It would be too risky for her to go out and a lot of the grunt work, so she usually takes care of things at the base. But this information was of the highest importance, and the trade could only be made upon the guarantee of Asha’s being alive. So it required a trip for her.” Mal nodded his head, not reflecting the calm of his facial features. What the two men were saying was not unwelcome, but certainly unexpected. The ease with which they explained themselves told Mal that it was the truth. Their words flowed together with a relief of not having to keep such information to themselves. He stared at Asha’s face, not quite sure if he truly understood the person underneath. He had thought he had at one point, but now things were becoming murky and dark. Mal wasn’t quite sure if he could keep his grip on reality for much longer before he collapsed under the weight of all that had happened. “Something has gone wrong, the Alliance was tipped off. That was why we had to change our course and deal. We can’t let Asha fall into the hands of the Alliance, we will do all that we must to prevent that.” Phil said suddenly, his eyes blazing with conviction. “Understood,” Mal gave a curt nod and a silent understanding passed between the three men that did not escape Inara who was still eavesdropping. She was just as shocked as Mal to learn the truth, but without any previous knowledge of Mal’s experiences she handled it much better. Quietly she slipped around the corner and contemplated how the pieces of the puzzle were beginning to fall together. Some began to make sense while others still had doubt lingering on them. She was curious to know what information would be so important that Asha would have to travel, risk her own life, to get it. Inara passed by the door to the cockpit as she walked back to her shuttle. She caught a glimpse of Zoe and Wash crouched together on the small pilot’s chair deep in conversation. A moment of cold fear passed through her as she realized how deadly it was to be caring Asha as a passenger at this moment. Inara fervently prayed that this was one deal in which things would finish out smoothly and all parties could be satisfied. But she knew that Mal had an unnerving ability to meddle and cause havoc. Inara just hoped that Mal wouldn’t go too far one of the times, and play dice with the lives of his crew.