Ever wonder what happened in the 2 edits near the end of the BDM between the order to stand down and the funeral, and the funeral and the confrontation between Mal and the operative? INTERLUDE I

He completed his katas, resheathed his katana and smiled. His dislocated shoulders were healing, he was at about 80%, soon he would complete his mission. He knew she was there watching. "What are you doing, little girl?" "You can't beat me. You won't live to see those better worlds you're building." She dropped from the top of the reaver ship she used to watch him. The katas fascinated her, the motions, the effect they had on his mind, the way he got calm and focused. She felt that twice before, once in the bar on Beaumonde, and just recently on Mr.Universe's moon when she took on the reavers. He watched her as she danced away, her light dress barely covering her and swaying almost seductively to her movements. *Soon, little girl, soon. Nobody's leaving this moon for a while. not until a repair ship can get here.* He worked his shoulders through the range of motion still not believing that browncoat sergeant could actually best him. "I have always known that, Little Girl." River Tam, she was a prodigy, truely amazing. She managed to kill 50 armed reavers starting with nothing but her bare hands. Yes ... she could be a formidable opponent, too bad he would merely say the safe word and shut her down. Now how fair is that, taking her when she could not fight back. *I'm building a better world ... better worlds.* He just shrugged and walked away She was back the next morning ... and the next ... and the next... She brought her captured gladius on the second day and asked him to show her the moves. It seemed, after all, just a bit of choreography and how hard could dancing be for River Tam. And as they went through the katas she talked. Her boob of a brother, top 3% of the top 2% as he was, was too concerned with the physiological issues to even consider the emotional ones: PTSD as it was known on Earth-that-was and the best therapy was a support group of people who shard similar experiences. "Thats why I need to build a better world, one where faith can be doubted, beliefs challenged; where they don't take little boys and tell them their families abandonned them. A world where their brains are not being dissected and poisoned with drugs while their minds are being poisoned with hypnosis and neuro lingual programming; a world where little girls and their parents are not lied to, pieces of their brains cut out, drugged to induce psychosis; world based on choices, not blind obedience to a regime that uses torture and the murder of entire planets to promote its goals. What better world are you helping to build? A world where they take away your name, a world where you will not be allowed a place, how is that a better world? How fair is that?" She talked as they went through the katas, telling both their stories, healing herself one day at a time. *Soon, Little Girl, soon ... my ship will be ready to launch in a few days and I am back to 100%. Enjoy what's left of your freedom.* Hearing his story told back to him by that child was ...disturbing, confusing even, it dragged up memories he didn't even remember forgetting. Finally that day arrived. His ship was ready. All he had to go was collect his prize and be on his way, Mission Accomplished. He walked out to the open space they used for practice, worked through his katas as usual, sheathed his katana as usual and waited for her to finish... as usual. He smiled that very knowing smile of the hunter about to spring the trap on his very unsuspecting prey. " I will not be your bounty. You do not get to play Judas today. I read the preacher's book ... riddled with contradictions, errors, circular logic. But the Betrayer got to kiss the hero and collect 30 pieces of silver, you do not get to kiss me." He spoke the safe word and she dropped like a marionette with her strings cut. A sad smile crossed his lips. " No, Little Girl, I will not kiss you and my reward, even accounting for inflation, is much closer to 300 squares of platinum." He bent over to collect his prize. As soon as his hand closed around her forearm she twisted, grabbed his wrist with both hands, exploded her legs up and caught his chin forcing his head back. She used the momentum of his fall to pull her up and had his katana drawn from its scabbard before his limp body hit the ground. Only that split second of warning and his physical conditioning saved his life, whether or not River Tam would also do remained to be seen. For when he regained consciousness he saw a face staring intently into his, her face so close her dirty uncombed hair almost brushed against his face. The tip of his katana was touching the vee of the top of his sternum, any more pressure and it would pierce the skin. He heard her tinkling laughter in his head ... now wasn't that creepifyin'. She didn't move but her voice in his head seemed to drift away as she spoke:" ...And now it begins ..."