When Kaylee awoke, the first thing that hit her was disorientation. Her bed had never felt this *hard* before. The second thing that hit her was a stabbing pain in her right forearm and side, and with the pain came the memories that flooded into her mind in a sudden rush. With a gasp, she sat straight. There was almost no light, save the morning sunlight that trickled from the hole twenty meters above her head, and that illumination was just enough to reveal a small, rock chamber. Glancing around the room, Kaylee’s gaze finally settled on Gabriel, sitting with his back propped against the wall. Having seen her awaken, he shot to his feet and rushed over to her. “Are you hurt?” Gabriel inquired, avoiding physical contact. “You look to be in pain.” Kaylee winced as she raised her right arm. “It’s broke,” she stated. She lifted her shirt with her left hand to see what the pain in her side had been. “Just a bruise from landing on the rock.” “Kaylee,” Gabriel began, his tone very cautious, “I need to set your arm.” Kaylee’s eyes widened. *Oh, God, no...* “Can’t we wait until we’re back on Serenity? I’m sure Simon-” “I’m sure they’re sendin’ a search party as soon as we turn up missin’,” Gabriel cut in, “but we have no idea how long we’ll be down here.” He tensely locked his gaze with hers. “It’ll be easier on ya if it’s set now.” Kaylee nodded, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. “We ain’t in the core, but we ain’t on a backwater, neither. That’s a big junkyard up there, an’ the chances of the captain findin’ our rabbit hole anytime soon is slim.” She opened her eyes and glanced around her. “Where are we?” “I waited here for you to wake up,” Gabriel explained, “an’ I wasn’t gonna leave ya behind, but I scouted the immediate area. Looks to be a network of caves. If we get movin’, maybe we can find a way out.” Kaylee nodded again. “Sounds like a better plan than sittin’ here waitin’...” She trailed off as she noticed the blood flowing down the side of his head. “Gabriel... your head! Is it-” “I’m fine. Hit it on the side as I came down. Concussion, but I’m shiny as long as I don’t go to sleep.” At her puzzled look, he shrugged and continued. “I’m no doctor, but I heard somewhere that, if you get a concussion, yer not s’posed to fall asleep. I do know how to set broken bones, though. Tell me when you’re ready, an’ hold onto my shirt.” *I’ll never be ready for this,* Kaylee thought to herself. She grabbed a handful of his black t-shirt with her left hand, took another deep breath, and nodded once. She tensed at the pain as Gabriel gripped her right arm with both hands, one above and one below the break. “Look at me, Kaylee,” Gabriel told her, and she stared into his eyes. “It will be over in just a moment. I need you to-” *Crack.* Darkness pressed into the corners of her mind, and Kaylee didn’t even hear her own high-pitched scream. *************************************************

River screamed, and Mal and Zoe both turned at the sound. “They’re alive,” she reported, seated behind them in the shuttle. She gripped the arms of her seat so tightly that her knuckles turned white. “In pain, hurt, in darkness... but they’re alive.” “That’s good news,” Mal returned, turning back to the windshield. He pointed at the ground for Zoe’s benefit. “There’s a clearing in the junk right there big enough for the shuttle. Set us down there,” he directed. ************************************************

Simon paced the dirt at the foot of Serenity’s cargo ramp. The others had been gone for three hours, and Mal had just called back to report that they’d found no sign of Kaylee or Gabriel thus far. *How long does it take to search a junkyard, anyway?* Simon thought irritably. *Unless... someone could have taken them.* According to Mal, River insisted both were alive, albeit injured. She couldn’t say how badly, or where, exactly, they were, but the word gave Simon hope. *When Kaylee gets back, I’m gonna kiss that girl so hard the back of her head pops off...* “Excuse me?” someone spoke, and Simon whirled at the voice. He found himself looking at a man and a woman wearing once-decent, but now old, worn, and threadbare clothing. “This is Serenity, correct?” Simon appraised the man. “Yes, I’m the ship’s doctor. May I help you?” “Allman,” the man introduced, extending his hand. “William Allman.” Simon shook his hand. “Simon Tam.” “This is my wife, Clarice,” the man explained, gesturing to the woman. “We... saw your ad requesting passengers? We owned a small business here that went under some months back, and we just haven’t been able to get ourselves back on our feet.” He shrugged at the explanation. “We were hoping to move on, try our luck someplace else. We have a little money...” “Oh, of course,” Simon replied. “Well, the captain isn’t here right now, but you’re more than welcome to come inside and wait.” He glanced up at the sun, which was getting quite high in the sky by this time. “It’s looking like a hot day.” “Oh, yessir,” Allman agreed, following Simon into the cargo bay. “This summer’s been hotter than usual. ‘Course, that’s what they said about last year, too... Um...” The man hesitated a moment. “Where... *is* your captain, if you don’t mind my asking?” Leading them up the stairs toward the common room, Simon sighed. “We’ve got a couple people missing, and he’s leading a search party to try and locate them. We know they’re alive...” He trailed off as he caught his slip. “We’re *hoping* they’re alive,” he reiterated, glancing over his shoulder. For a moment, he thought he saw a glimpse of recognition in Allman’s eyes at the last part of the explanation, but whatever it was had gone as quickly as it appeared. *Great, I’m so worried sick over Kaylee that now I’m getting paranoid and seeing things...* “So are you the only one onboard right now?” Allman inquired. Entering the common room and leaning against the table, Simon eyed the man warily. “No, and just to get this out in the open, if you two are anything like ship thieves or burglars...” Allman chuckled. “Oh, certainly not. We’re just a couple who’s down-on-their-luck. Besides, I’m sure you’ve got weapons and booby-traps all over this ship.” Simon suddenly felt very tense and edgy. If he did not have some of the insight and spontaneity that the captain and others had acquired from growing up on the Rim, he was highly intelligent and attentive of details, and something about this couple just wasn’t adding up. Little things caught his attention, such as William Allman’s uncharacteristically proper manner of speaking, and the condition of their clothing. *If they only lost their business a few months ago, then why do their garments appear to have been worn for years?* Then, there was also the body language between husband and wife, which seemed more like that between strangers than between spouses, and the intent questioning as to the whereabouts of the crew. *Wow, I *am* getting paranoid,* Simon thought. *I just need to calm down...* He slid into a seat and gestured to a couple of vacant chairs. “Please, have a seat. Would you like anything to drink?” “I’m fine, thank you,” Clarice Allman responded. “As am I, but thank you, Doctor.” *************************************************

Gabriel sat cross-legged on the rock floor, holding Kaylee’s hand until she regained consciousness. “Wh- what happened?” she inquired. “I set your broken arm,” Gabriel told her. “You remember?” Slowly sitting up and wincing in pain, Kaylee nodded. “I remember. Did I pass out?” Gabriel nodded. “Only for a few minutes. Can you stand?” “I think so,” Kaylee replied, and Gabriel placed a hand under her left arm to help her to her feet. “We should get movin’. Don’t see how we’re gonna find our way, dark as it is away from this hole.” “Don’t worry about that,” Gabriel assured her. “I can see just fine. I’m more concerned with wandering aimlessly in these tunnels.” Stretching her neck, Kaylee stated, “Cave’s gotta come out someplace, an’ like ya said, we can’t sit here. Could be days.” “Right.” Gabriel took her left hand and headed in a direction. “Long as you keep with me, you’ll be fine.” “Unless we starve, of course,” Kaylee joked. Gabriel glanced over his shoulder at her. “The human body can function for weeks on fat stores. I’d be more concerned with dyin’ of thirst in the near future.” He made his way slowly, not wanting Kaylee to trip on a loose rock that she couldn’t see. “You sure know a lot about stuff like that,” Kaylee stated. “Yer pretty smart for a guy who growed up on the Rim.” Gabriel chuckled inwardly. “Nah, I just know stuff. You wanna see smart, look at Simon.” “And River,” Kaylee added. Gabriel tensed unconsciously, and Kaylee noticed. “River ain’t smart,” he disagreed. “River is a genius.” *************************************************

There were several moments of silence between them as Gabriel led Kaylee up and down inclines and around curves that she couldn’t even see. Finally, she mustered the nerve to ask, “How come you’ll talk to River an’ the Captain an’ Zoe, but ya won’t talk to any of the rest of us?” “What do you mean?” came Gabriel’s voice from the darkness ahead of her. “I talked to Jayne just the other day with his little girl.” “Yeah, but did you give ‘em more’n just a few words?” There was no answer for a moment. Finally, Gabriel asked, “Why do you want to talk to me?” Kaylee frowned. “Cuz you’re here, an’ I’m here, an’ we know each other. That’s what people do when they know each other, yanno? They talk.” “What makes you think I’m a person?” Kaylee rolled her eyes. “What is it about yourself that you hate so damn much?” Gabriel came to a halt. “Do you even know?” Kaylee continued. “Cuz if you don’t have a damn good reason, then yer throwin’ yer life away for nothin’. With your skills, you could really be somethin’, like a boxer or... I dunno. That ain’t even mentionin’ the fact that there’s a young girl up there madly in love with ya, an’ ya won’t do a ruttin’ thing about it.” Gabriel continued walking again, pulling her along as before. He walked much more slowly, however. “Ya sound like yer talkin’ from experience with that one,” he suggested. “Maybe this is a bit more personal than my earlier estimation.” Kaylee had to bite back her first retort, instead taking a breath. “Yanno, you’re so quiet mosta the time, I never knew you could be such a jerk.” Gabriel laughed in the darkness. “Bao bei, find someone who can *really* piss me off, an’ you’ll see just how much of a jerk I can be.” He paused. “Oh, by the way... in case you’re wonderin’ why we’re goin’ slower, it’s cuz I can’t see anything at all.” Kaylee’s grip on Gabriel’s hand tightened. “Whaddaya mean?” she hissed in a panicky voice. “Well... that little bit of light from the hole ended aways back. This’s what we call ‘pitch black’. Ain’t *nothin’* in the ‘Verse can see in this.” “W... w...” Kaylee stammered. “What about infrared goggles, or... or body electrospectrals? Or those new sound wave emission detectors? Those can see in anything.” “Yeah, well unless you got anything like that you can pull outta yer pants, I guess I’m back to my current method.” Kaylee frowned incredulously. “Which is...?” Gabriel hesitated for a moment. “Well, um... Instincts. That an’... feelin’ along the wall.” Kaylee yanked the man to a halt. “You’re *feeling along the wall?!?*” “Yeah.” Kaylee could hear the sheepishness in his voice. “Um... Sorry.” *************************************************

“You’re *feeling along the wall?!?*” River suddenly exclaimed, interrupting Mal’s searching thought. He turned to stare at her in shock as Zoe, having heard, wove in between busted machines and vehicle husks to join them. “Um...” Mal began. “River? Uh... Care to clarify that statement for me?” River looked thoughtful for a moment, then dove to the ground. She pressed her face against the dirt and closed her eyes. “They’re below,” she spoke. “The planet swallowed them.” Zoe frowned at Mal. “They fell down a shaft, maybe?” “No, the planet swallowed them,” River repeated. “Hair, bones, and all.” She stood, dirt smudging her dress and the side of her head. “They’re in tunnels.” “Huh,” Mal replied. “Like mining tunnels, or sewer drainage tunnels? Or do you mean caves?” River went back to looking thoughtful. “I don’t know. Maybe caves.” Unable to stand it any longer, Mal moved to brush the dirt from River’s hair, face, and dress. “Zoe, we’re goin’ back to the shuttle. We need sonic reads on the entire area for underground cavities, depressions, sinkholes. If they’re movin’, we need to find a way in, an’ they need to find a way out.” As they moved in the direction of the shuttle, Mal had a thought. “River,” he wondered, “can you send... I dunno what you’d call it, ‘signals’? Send signals to Gabriel’s mind?” “No,” River replied without pause. “He is not psychic, therefore, he cannot hear any of my thoughts. He can send to me, and I can receive his thoughts. He’s actually been broadcasting non-stop for at least an hour.” Mal frowned, looking at her. “Has he now?” “I couldn’t find it before, but now it’s very clear in my head. I know where to look and what to look for now. Bees pollinating flowers.” Her random comment not even fazing him, Mal waited a moment for an explanation. “Ookay,” he urged, “and it says...?” River took a breath, listening to the voice in her head. “We’re injured. We fell through a sinkhole. We’re trapped in caves. We’re searching for an exit. We’re injured. We fell through a sinkhole. We’re trapped in caves. We’re-” “Okay,” Mal stopped her. “So it just repeats that, over and over?” River looked over at her captain. “Gabriel has a tactical mind. He repeats the message thrice every ten minutes. On the dot. He doesn’t even know if I’m listening, but I am now.” Her gaze returned to the path. “It’s his only distress beacon.” *************************************************

“How’s the pork?” Darcy inquired. “Hope it ain’t too done; the macrocooker fritzed again.” “It’s great, Ma,” Jayne assured her. “It’s just fine.” Darcy shook her head. “Knew I shoulda stuck with the stove, but that salesman made the cooker sound so... *easy.*” “The pork’s just fine, Ma,” Jayne reassured her, bringing his chopsticks back to his mouth. “Nothin’ wrong with it.” “Jayne, Dear, don’t talk with your mouth full,” his mother admonished. “C’mon, Ma,” Matt interjected. “You been around a year or two; you should know not to buy go se from door-to-door salesfolk.” “Hey,” Jayne warned. “No cussin’ ‘round little ears.” It had taken Jayne a bit of time to convince his brother to have lunch with the family. Apparently, previous reports had been understated, and Matt hadn’t seen his mother for more than a few minutes in months. They were all there, now, though, and Jayne tried to pretend everything felt normal again. The truth was, although he’d never admit it to anybody, as much as he loved seeing his family again, the only place he felt truly *normal* anymore was on Serenity. “Strangers who come to the door ain’t to be trusted,” Matt continued. “Ain’t that right, Janie?” Little Janie, eating her meal with a fork, looked up at her uncle. “Right, Unka Mattie.” Matt grinned, mussing her hair. “That’s a good girl.” Amazingly, Matt and Janie had hit it off right away. Not in his wildest dreams would Jayne ever have guessed that his brother was good with kids. “Not all strangers are bad, Mattie,” Darcy reiterated for her granddaughter’s benefit. “They just can’t be trusted until you know them, and know whether they are good or bad.” “Yeah,” Matt intoned sardonically. “Right, Ma. That’s what I meant.” Jayne clenched his teeth for a moment between bites. There was an obvious tension between his mother and her youngest son that was so thick, Vera probably couldn’t penetrate it. *Just how the hell bad did things get while I was away?* he thought. *************************************************

*“So we’re resuming the search as soon as the ground scans are done,”* Mal’s voice cackled over the Comm unit, finishing his story. “Understood,” Inara replied, sitting in the pilot’s seat of Serenity’s cockpit. “I hear Simon speaking back in the common room, so I think we have some potential passengers aboard.” *“Good,”* came the response. *“I’ll deal with them when we get back to the boat. Meanwhile, y’all know our drill when it comes to passengers. They don’t go into the restricted areas, an’ they don’t go nowhere alone."* “We know,” Inara assured him. “Keep us posted on the search.” *“Will do,”* the speaker cackled, and the line went silent. Rising from the chair, Inara strolled back to the common room. Simon was sitting, somewhat more rigidly than normal, across the table from a young man and woman. He rose when she entered. “Inara,” he greeted. He extended his hand toward the couple, who also rose. “This is William and Clarice Allman.” William extended his hand. “A pleasure,” he stated, taking her hand gently, but briefly. “You must be the Companion.” Simon’s eyes noticeably widened for just an instant, and Clarice’s eyes darted to him. His eyes still fixed on Inara, William twitched for a fraction of a second before regaining his composure. “Or possibly a dignitary? Your clothes and manner are so elegant.” “You were correct on your first presumption,” Inara confirmed. “I am a registered Guild Companion.” “To poor folk like us, that’s almost like being in the presence of royalty,” Clarice spoke behind her husband. “The Allmans here are looking for passage,” Simon informed her. Inara smiled graciously. “Ahh, passengers,” she spoke with mock enthusiasm. The couple was increasingly putting her on edge. “Haven’t had any of those in a good while.” “We’re just a couple who’s had a spell of bad luck, “ William explained. “We’re hoping to find a better life on a new world.” “Well, I do hope things work out for you.” Inara’s gaze settled intently on Simon. “Bad news from the captain on the search,” she told him. Simon looked crestfallen, then turned to the Allmans. “If you’ll please excuse me for just one moment, I’d like to discuss this in private. We’ll be right back.” William nodded once. “By all means.” Once they arrived in the side corridor branching from the crew quarters area, Inara pulled close to Simon to speak quietly. “Simon, these people are not who they say they are.” “I know,” Simon replied. Inara was a bit surprised. “You know?” Simon gave her a confused look. “Of course. The details don’t match up. Their speech, their clothes, their body language... It just doesn’t match their story at all. And they most *definitely* knew you were a Companion before ever they met you.” The last part was obvious, but nevertheless, Inara was impressed. “You’re a very observant man, Simon Tam. The only reason I noticed it was because of my Companion training. I saw right through their act, and they are, indeed, very good actors.” Simon said nothing. “What are we going to do?” Inara questioned. “Not a lot we can do, unless we want to sit around with them at gunpoint for the rest of the day,” Simon pointed out. “At any rate, they could be armed already. I suggest we play their game and wait for the captain to get back. In the meantime...” He clenched his jaw in unwanted anticipation. “...tell me about the search.”