First: I'm a little sorry, as I began writing, I didn't remembered that the rooms of the Tams are separated from the rooms of the crew. Second: It's my first FF in English, so be kind to me :) If you wish to read the German original, I wrote for NCIS fans, don't be shy to follow this link, but please don't post no spoiler. http://www.forum.navy-cis.de/thread.php?threadid=1361

500 years from now:

The space, endless deeps, a sea of stars and uncounted worlds. This are the colonial slums, where human being settled nowhere but on moons, in most cases. And what kind of human being: farmers, cowboys and other scum, as the alliance says. Although we're in a far, far away future, the worlds in this area presenting a primitive culture, which is still proud of handwork and the use of beasts of burden for work. It's where people living like their grand parents in founders time on the long dead, old earth. It's where weak are slaves and the right of the strongest still count. First settlers here weren't sorry when they found out, that there are no intelligent aliens, so they didn't had to share their space with other beings.

Trough this space there flight a ship, just an optimistic viewer had call a wrack, pessimists would call it a live hostile surrounding. In particular, it looked like an insect and not just its form, but also the glowing of its hyper light turbine gave this classification of ships the name "Firefly"- great trading and transport ships once, today an abandoned class with a lot of holes and spaces. Ideal for smugglers. On its side printed in tall Chinese letters, the name of this ship and a little under it, as the alliance dictate, the English translation: "Serenity".

River sat in her room on her bed, the cheek on her knees, listening to an imaginary knocking, she hoped it was just imagination, and rephrasing: "Bloody hands, dark light, no escape!" and was whipping softly fore- and backwards. Jayne in the neighbour room was relaxing by smashing a ball on the wall. All of a sudden Dr. Tam opened his room entrance an said "Could you please stop doing this, you make my sister running insane." Janye thought a short moment about this, than answered "Bah, as if that gal could even be much crazier!" than he continued smashing the ball. Tam was perplex and tried to ignore his anger, just walked on to Rivers room. How much did he invest to heal her, to stop her pain, how much dangers he was taking for her. One time he risked his and hers own life to find a surgery to repair what the alliance did to her. Times pass by and the drugs ran well, but now they are losing effect. He was just one step away form designating.

And Rivers fears weren't irrational, she was able to feel the evil and got visions, sometimes she was able to read minds and soon the Serenity would reach the realm of the Reavers. A kind of collective thought, ruling this realm, was the wish to mangle all beings and eat their flesh.

What's to say about its captain is that Mal loved his ship, more than he could ever bear. No other ship ever made his live this way interesting. And his actual task, to steal a new invented weapon, he felt, would be a real quest. By the way, he took every chance to kill F.A.T's. Of course, he didn't know what this weapon really was, but he didn't care. The only thing matters was, that he would gain a lot of money with it. This was the point for himself and his crew, except Inara, who's always fulfilling her own "business". "Wash, what's our position?", he spoke through the com. "Nearly about half an hour, boss. Sure you will do it?" was the answer. "We go fast in, fast out, and in the meanwhile we're fast." "That's shiny boss, but F.A.T's are my last sorrow.", answered Wash. "My too." he thought, "This area isn't secure, why do mad inventors always have to live in those dangerous places?" ----

Slowly they closed up to the planet. There was no satellite protection and it disturbed Mal, because this could mean, the building would be much better protected than he hoped. He called Zoë and Jayne for a briefing, which contained a lot of fastness. "Well, long story short:", said Mal, "We enter, kill all the guards in the entrance area, blast the entrance of the lab, kill all guards in it, catch the stuff and run." "Why can we never complete a task without running wild?" asked Zoë. "That would be a bore, don't ya think?" said Jayne. "Right!" she answered.

They took the shuttle to the surface and landed some hundreds yards away from the labour. They exited and where able to get nearer to the labour without any trouble. But they missed the obligatory welcome committee. "Its too silent." noticed Mal. The other ones nodded. As they come even closer, they saw, that the door was out of the hinges and the air contained a rotten smell. "Seems we are not the first ones." remarked Zoë. "What makes you think of that?", asked Jayne.

It looked like a typical Reaver attack, everywhere in the building were body parts and half gnawed bones laying around. The smell was detestable. but fortunately, the Reavers were away. As they reached the weapon's room, they saw, that the object they longing for was still in it. However the Reavers were just interested in meat. So they took what they got, and returned to Serenity.

River danced cheerfully through the ship and played catch me with herself. As she came into the shipment room she was surprised about that thing she saw. At the moment she was enchanted by the blinking lights on it.

The Captain was back on the bridge. "Wash, do whatever to bring us away from here." "I would do so, but the cooler has burn out. Kaylee's going to fix it." "Marvellous, that's exactly what makes my day today. Could it be a little worse please?", said Mal. "Ah, I've a nearing alarm here. An old cargo ship of the Z-Class. Reaver!" they looked to each other, then Mal yelled trough the com: "Dam it! Kaylee, go on we need instant high-speed." "I need to change the cooler." moaned a voice through the com. "No time, do something, instantly." "OK, I'm going to spill it with water."

The Acceleration was that way strong, that River fell off her feet and impacted the weapon with her head. Just in time a hole opened before the Serenity, an enormous suction, and it was away.

Back again. The panorama showed a blue Planet with one moon. "Where're we?" shouted Mal. But for him it didn't matter, they surely took the Reavers with them, but they changed direction and faced the planet now.

Today: "A whole base?", asked Tony, to get sure of it. "How?" "We don't know." answered Gibbs. "But most of them seem to be dismembered. With a machete, or something else, like in that movie 'Thursday 14th'?" "Friday 13th." "Never mind, They got slaughtered and sloughed and some of them even flamed, that’s what it looks like." "Who does that? Terrorists?" "When so, they were unknown 'till today. We found some attackers too, all dead. They look detestable. Ducky asked if it's a gag, when he's got one of the bodies. He never saw a man with that much scars and cut off parts alive." "Isn't it a job for the military?" asked McGee. "Sure, but before revenge, they need to know who's responsible, Bambino." said Tony.

They drove immediately to the place of massacre. Although most bodies were carried away earlier, this place got the charm of a graveyard now. "Even the plants had been tear out." remarked Kate. "Seems they weren't very protective." answered Tony. Instantly he got a slap to his head. "More respect! Tony." said Gibbs. Meanwhile Ducky called Abby to his place. When she saw the body she was fascinated, it looked like right out of a scary movie. "Ah, Abby, fine you came so quick, look at this. The face per example, it's cut and around the mouth all skin has been displaced." "Wow!", said Abby, "Who's done it to him?" "I think himself. It's no victim but one of the assassins." "And why do you think, he did it?" "Well, I think he wanted to be a kill machine, and displaced all that might disturbing. Same to his hands. He cut off the skin of his fingertips and sharpened them, looks like claws." "Awesome!" "Right, and he did equal things to his teeth. And his friend over here, he fastened some sword blades to his arms. And when I said fastened, I mean he screwed them to his bones." "Looks like a monster of Resident Evil." said Abby. "Hmm, perhaps we should keep that in mind." "Wow, Ducky, your surprising me." "I must confess, sometimes those films got something fascinating, perhaps the precision wounds are presented like. But in case, this man was alive, and when I look at his scars, I think he lived several years like that. Well, the reason I wanted you to see it, is his outfit. Sure It's leather, but it looks strange, and has been made of several parts. I saw this somewhere before, but can't remember. Could you take some probation to check it?" "Yep, I'm going to check every part." Then she was going upstairs to analysis.

The Serenity was situated in a stable circulation around the earth now. The whole crew was gathered in the community room, which was also used as a kitchen and for cleaning guns. most of them were sitting round the table, River a little out in a corner, Shepherd Book, priest and adviser, right at her side. It was a small crew, containing almost nine extremely different members. "I received no signal for the surface.", said Inara. "I thought that some clients would be waiting for me on such a nice planet." As a companion, even if she always fight against this classification, her job description is that of a high quality whore. But in her time the companions were equal to lords. Book was a mysterious man. Surely he was no shepherd, but no one knew who he really was, where he came from or will got to, but no one's in doubt to his belief. Jayne used the time to clean his weapon. He was hired while another task, and belonged to a band that was used to steal guts from the Serenity. Mal made him a better offer that day. Kaylee was a cute, young, perhaps too open hearted girl and the only mechanist on board. Although she never made an apprentice, she's better with machines than anyone else Mal ever met. She always said, that machines talked to her. Wash, the pilot, the only one who's able to fly the ship. And he was the first in Mals crew, he was overwhelmed to fly a piece museums interior. Now he's married with Zoë, who did already fight (and lost) as a wing of Mal in the Battle of Serenity against the Alliance. Simon and River were stranded as refugees on the Serenity, after he freed her from an alliances, so called, private school, where they did uncountable experiments to her. River surely was the most intelligent person on board, even if she's not able to show it, but in moments of clearness, when she rises up from the darkness, she was able to do superhuman actions. Although both were wanted with an enormous reward of money, Mal protected them, he thought that one of the best doctors in this galaxy is worthier than all the money he could get. Mal himself was a former lieutenant, and squad leader of a little troop of the forces of the independent faction. When the war was lost, he was unemployed and needed look after a new occupation.

"OK Inara, there are no signals, especially no wave. Does someone else has something to say about it?" asked Mal. "By the way.", answered Wash. "When I read the energy control, I found something corresponding to nuclear energy. I thought it's illegal on most worlds. But we haven't the scanners for better information." "I think the question is, what's the best we can do?" announced Book. -----