You can read Part 1 by clicking here: Yeppers, right here. Or Part 2 by clicking here: Yes, me.

Got a little longer in this one, yay. Lemme know what you think please!

Also, thank you to KornKobRob for beta reading on most a this one.

*Joss is the greatest, I only borrow his awesomeness of Firefly/Serenity. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ “Yeah. This is all very do-able. Shouldn‘t be a problem at all.”

His gaudy Hawaiian shirt lit up the ship as he walked through the cargo bay doors. And aside from his soup catcher, Wash looked like a pretty interesting’ fellow. She’d learned that he was to be her new pilot. She’d learned quite a bit throughout the past few days, the man’s name was Mal. And the woman’s name was Zoë. She thought that Zoë’s name fit her to a T. It was short and to-the-point like Zoë, yet exotic and beautiful too. She wondered when she would get to know her new name and only Mal could tell. As Mal and Zoë walked from the cockpit, she heard Zoë state,

“I don’t like him.”

“What?” Mal asked, just more ‘n a little confused. “Just somethin’ about him bothers me.”

“Well, your something comes against a list of recommendations as long as my leg,” Mal retorted, partially annoyed at Zoë for her not liking anything he seemed to be doing lately. “I understand sir, he bothers me.”

“Look, we finally got ourselves a genius mechanic. It’s about time we hired someone to fly this damn thing.”

Bester, the “genius mechanic.” Now there was a man that no ship could ever take a liking to. Bester reminded her of her last mechanic, mixed with a clueless tornado. And instead of sloth as a sin, this one’s sin was stupidity, which as far as she was concerned was an unfortunate one. Later that day, Wash had finished replacing many of the rotten wires and had fixed much of the flight control panel, when he realized he hadn’t eaten in more than a few hours. He walked into the kitchen to find some of that much loved protein. As he bit into it, his face contorted as the metallic taste of it danced in cleats on his tongue. He wasn’t much used to it, but then again, who ever really gets used to protein bars. But, that was basically what was available in the black, and she rather hoped Wash wouldn’t get real used to it, as she enjoyed the faces he made. She’d also been seeing the looks he’d been giving Zoë. She didn’t quite understand them, but when he would look at Zoë, careful to avoid her direct attention, a feeling of budding affection was there. Zoë didn’t really notice, and if she did, she tried to forget. Her bitter disposition towards him, and his lip-ferret, was the only feeling she‘d share openly. Zoë walked across the dining room quickly, as she wished Wash’s face (still twisted in disgust) would keep his eyes from re-opening. Luckily, the protein acquiesced to her wishes, and she passed him without detection. But Zoë couldn’t help but find his current facial expression just a little amusing, although she‘d never admit it to anyone. The ship watched as Zoë literally ran into Mal, who was carrying a box of dishes. He was accompanied by Bester, who was carrying a smaller box.

“Whoa, there.” Mal said, trying to get a good grip on the box again.

“Sorry, sir. Bester. ” Zoe started walking towards the cargo bay again.

“Where’s she goin’ in such a hurry?” Bester asked.

“Prolly tryin’ to hide from our dreaded pilot,” Mal replied with a grin.

As they reached the kitchen, Mal and Bester set the boxes on the table next to Wash, who had finally recovered from his encounter with protein…for the most part. “Ok. Bester, put all this stuff in the cupboards. And be careful, we can’t afford to lose any more dishes, dong ma?”

“Breaking things is not one of those qualities that is especially flattering in a mechanic.” Wash added. This comment earned him a glare from Mal. But the glare wasn’t too harsh since Mal pretty much agreed with him.

Mal had almost made it into his bunk when he heard someone call his name.

“Sir, I just wondered if you have anything against dinosaurs?”

“Shuh-muh? Why would I have anything against dinosaurs? Never did meet one myself.”

“Just wondering.” Wash turned, walked away, and left Mal to ponder what was going to happen involving dinosaurs. Shaking the thought from his head, he turned, and headed into his bunk, relieved to be free to relax for at least five minutes. She was a ship that was unfamiliar with a friendly crew. She only really remembered the last one and they weren’t so worth remembering. If only this fine bunch had known her years ago, when she was new. Perhaps then Zoë would have more faith in her, and Wash wouldn’t ‘a had to spend most of the day only half way finishing her controls. She’d hardly known them for a couple of weeks, and she already felt happiness growin’. Some would say it was the sun that was making her glow that day, others would have to disagree. That night, the small crew all joined in the dining room. It was to be the first dinner shared together. Normally, everyone ended up eating at different intervals during the day, since they’d spent most of the time fixin’ her.

“So, we all set to go tomorrow?” Mal asked, aiming his question towards Bester.

“Yeah, everything’s shiny.”

“Good.”

“And I’m going to go out on a line here and assume that we are all kinds of set to get the guay off ‘a this rock,” Wash added.

Everyone nodded in agreement, even Zoë. “Wash and I ran her engines for a short while today. Everything seems to be in working order.” Zoë said. “Well, better than the condition she was in...which in fact couldn’t really be considered a great one, but she’ll fly true. Else we’ll all crash and die a horrible death.”

“That’s a comforting thought,” Mal said, while flashing an uneasy smile at Wash, “but I think Serenity here is a mite stronger than that.”

“Serenity, huh?” Bester asked. Then he added, “It’s got a nice ring to it, real peaceful.” Mal had to break the stare that Zoë threw at Bester, “Yep, it’s the perfect name for her.”

“Couldn’t imagine a better one, sir,” Zoë managed to say through her teeth. She liked the idea of the name, just didn’t so much like the reason behind it.

Serenity, her new name. She thought about the meaning of her name. It was clear that it was a mite on the controversial side, but it was a name none the less. She thought about the time that Mal had called her “freedom.” Her name must have something to do with her being a means of freedom. And that was enough. It was early in the morning when everyone gathered in the cockpit…except for Bester, who was in the engine room.

“Here goes nothing‘,” Wash said as he flipped 3 switches. “I’ve always wanted to say that,” he added. “Well, I’m hoping that nothing’ goes nothing’, don’t think I can stand the possibility of being stuck on this rock much longer.” Mal replied.

“Have a little faith Capt’n.”

Mal didn’t dignify Wash’s statement with a response, since Wash didn’t know him that well yet. He only stared out into the sky, eager to be back in it. As Serenity’s engine whirled around with confidence, the dust outside made higher and higher spirals. Now that beautiful sapphire impossibility was so close, she couldn’t help but tremble with excitement. Soon she was several feet off the ground, and still rising. This time, her crew hadn’t failed her, they’d come through. She rose into the sky, her landing gear was brought up, and she was suddenly filled with disbelief. She was almost above the clouds and could see the desolate land below her getting smaller. That valley was only full of shattered hopes and forlorn carcasses of boats. Too many betrayed by the people they thought were only tryin’ to be helpful and make things better. But she got lucky; she’d been found and turned into a symbol of freedom. But she didn’t think she’d ever forget that valley.