Mal moved towards the new arrival quickly, looking stern and a bit confused. “Excuse me, miss,” he said. “How exactly--,” “You left the main hatch open,” Krys interrupted him. This pulled Mal up short for a moment, and as he hesitated, she leaned around him to see River. “Hey there, Riv,” she said shyly. Seeming oblivious to the tension in the room, River beamed and waved happily. Then, after a pause and a moment to ready herself, she turned once more to the dark haired man still staring at her. “Hello, Simon.” She seemed nervous now, as if wondering if it had been a lapse of judgment to board the ship. Hearing himself be addressed seemed to bring Simon around. “Krys,” he acknowledged, inclining his head in her direction. “So what’s the best part, then?” Jayne asked with his usual overabundance of tact. When Simon remained silent, River added to the story for the first time. “Simon and Krys were to be married.” “It was arranged, of course,” Krys added. “We’ve been engaged for, what? Twenty years now?” “Eighteen,” Simon corrected at the same time that Kaylee exclaimed, “Engaged?” “I… no!” Simon immediately began backtracking as Kaylee rose from her seat. Krys looked on curiously as everyone else either shook their heads or rolled their eyes. River’s smile finally began to fade as she looked from her brother to Kaylee. “Not anymore,” Simon finally managed to force out a legible statement. “Of course not, Kaylee. I… I wouldn’t…” He looked to Krys for help. “Obviously, we’ve called it off,” she supplied smoothly after a moments hesitation. “It would appear that neither of us are under our parents’ rule anymore, so there isn’t any reason.” There was a catch at the end of her statement, but it appeared to go unnoticed. Only Inara caught anything off, but she remained impassive. Kaylee’s expression was no longer hostile, but she still seemed upset. “I’ll be in my bunk, Cap’n,” she said to Mal before retreating down the hall. The silence lay thick after her departure, but only for a moment. Mal was the one to break it. “Well, now that that’s out, it would seem you’ve got some information for us?” Krys was careful as she turned to the captain. “Yes. On Osiris there’s a group in need of supplies. Rations, medicines, the general necessities that a smuggling ship has. They can pay, of course.” “Aren’t there easier ways to get a hold of these things than to flag down a smuggler on an outer rim moon?” Inara asked. “Well, yes,” Krys admitted. “But these aren’t exactly the kind of people who can walk into a merchant store and ask for supplies. There’s enough Alliance there to keep them away from the cities.” Mal nodded a bit, but then stopped and said, “All right, two questions. First, why are you the one out here talking to us? And two, why are you on the rim to begin with when the sect is in the core?” Krys shrugged. “Same answer to both. I’m the people person, almost like the PR. I was working on starting a sect out here when they sent me a wave saying a Firefly class ship was coming my way that could help us. I was to abandon my position here to lead you to the sect on a supply run, if you were amiable.” Mal’s eyes narrowed, but Zoe jumped in before he could comment. “Why is this sect even still hiding? We were under the impression that after Miranda, you wouldn’t have to anymore.” Krys’s eyes darkened. “So were we. The feds on Osiris were of a different opinion, though. We may be more accepted among the people, but the Alliance is still in power. And their guns hurt.” Finally, it seemed that only one question remained, and Jayne was the one to ask it. “If you’re supposed to be a rebel PR, why the ruttin’ hell are you dressed as a wench?” “Hey,” Krys defended. “Even rebels need day jobs.” After a silent pause, she added, “I’m supposed to be recruiting. I’m not exactly going to be using a fliers campaign tactic.” Mal nodded slowly as relative silence settled once more on the crew. Simon ducked out with a quiet, “Excuse me.” Krys watched him go, but Mal intercepted her attention. “It would seem that we’re pushing for Osiris, then,” he said. He looked to River for his next words. “I’ll take her out of the world. You go, be with your friend.” River lit up at this last statement. It was as if she was glowing, a brightness that was cast around to her friends. Even Jayne smiled, and the captain looked a bit less stoic than usual. “Wait,” Krys said as the last words caught up with her and clicked inside her mind. “You’re the pilot?” “Sometimes,” River said as the crowd began to disperse. Inara, however, drew closer to the two girls. River noticed her approaching and said, “This is Inara. She’s our Companion.” If Krys was surprised, she hid it well. Long impressed decorum took over as she extended her hand and said, “How do you do?” Inara took it gently. “You’ll have to meet everyone else at dinner,” River continued. “There’s Mal, he’s the captain. Zoe’s first mate. Jayne is…” There was a moment of hesitation before River shrugged and said, “Jayne. Kaylee’s our mechanic; oh, you’re going to love her!” River clasped her hands in front of her and bounced a little. “And, of course, Simon’s the medic.” “It will take some time to get into deep space,” Inara said. “And we won’t have dinner for another couple of hours. If you would like, you could come clean up in my shuttle.” It only took a moment for Krys to respond. “That would be lovely. Thank you.”