“Down the hatch!” Simon exclaimed, grabbing Inara by the arm. He pushed her toward the nearest crew quarters, which happened to be Mal’s. Without argument, Inara slammed the hatch open with her foot and descended the ladder. It was actually more of a fall than a descent, and Simon followed with a similar, reckless haste. Inara slammed two buttons on the wall at once with her palm, one to close the hatch above and the other to seal it. Adrenaline rushing through her veins, it took her a moment to find her voice. “What...” she panted. “What do we do now?” Simon began tearing through drawers, bed sheets, and pretty much anything else he could find in the room through which he could tear. “Weapons,” he explained. “If those... people up there are determined enough to get to us, that lock isn’t going to hold them out for long.” Quickly gathering herself, Inara began assisting in the search. “Why couldn’t we have picked Jayne’s room to mole up in?” she joked. “Because Jayne’s room was on the opposite side of the hall, and to get to it, we would have had to cross their line of fire,” Simon informed her. Inara caught his gaze for a moment. “That was rhetorical,” she told him. Simon held her gaze. “Right.” He continued his search. “Sorry, I’m just a little... Yes!” He pulled open a trunk to reveal an assortment of pistols, repeaters, and shotguns. “He’s no Jayne, but if the captain didn’t have a decently-sizable collection of weapons somewhere in the vicinity of his sleeping quarters, I would fear for his current mental faculties.” Inara’s brief smile was interrupted by the sound of banging on the hatch above. After three hard pounds, there was silence again. “Gave up so quickly?” Inara wondered aloud in her wishful thinking. “If I were you,” called a male voice from above, “I wouldn’t feel so safe in there with her.” Simon frowned at Inara, then glanced toward the ceiling. “*Now* what game are you playing?” he called back loudly. “The Companion, you moron!” Clarice, or whatever her name was, responded. “You do *not* want to trust her!” “Do you honestly think I’m so stupid as to fall for this?!” Simon provoked. “Suit yourself,” William returned. “We’ll be up here waiting.” Simon shot Inara a confused look. “Inara, what are they talking about?” Inara was as shocked as Simon was. “I... I don’t know,” she replied. Simon continued looking at her, so she added, “Simon, I swear I have no idea what they’re talking about.” Holding her gaze a moment longer, Simon nodded. “I know. We’ve been through enough, and known each other long enough, for me to trust you.” He glanced down at the repeater in his hands and opened the lever. “How do you...” Inara gently took the rifle from him, turning it on its side. “I’ll show you how to load it,” she offered. “Could you hand me that box behind you? The thirty thirties.” *************************************************************

“Is it a big ship?” Darcy asked her son, who swerved her battered pickup around a cart that was stopped in the middle of the road. “Tah mah de!” Jayne exclaimed, and his mother swatted him on the arm. “Sorry, Ma,” he apologized. “Um... Yeah, she’s a decent-size hunka junk. Crew of three could run ‘er, though not very comfy-like. Four’s the standard.” “That’s all- oh, Jayne, Dear, watch out for that goat! What’s a goat doin’ this close to downtown? All it would need is three? Doesn’t sound like a terribly large vessel to me. Don’t turn here, it’s... Oh, well.” “Ma, I know what I’m doin’,” Jayne growled. “Been drivin’ for a year or thirty.” *How the ruttin’ hell did I let her talk me into a tour of the ship?* “You’ll hafta see it, Ma. She ain’t no skiff.” After promising to let Jayne scalp him if he wasn’t responsible, Matt had been endowed with the tremendous task of babysitting little Janie. *If he gets into any trouble with her around, I really might scalp ‘im.* “I doubt we’ll be able to stay more than another day; we need coin powerful bad, an’ ain’t no work to be had in this sector, so we’ll need to be movin’.” “Well, you haven’t talked to Malcolm since early yesterday,” Darcy pointed out. “Maybe somethin’s changed since then.” Jayne sighed. “Maybe. I dunno, but we’re about to find out.” *************************************************************

“This has to be it, Sir,” Zoe stated, eyeing the small opening between two boulders at the base of a rocky hillside. “Smallish,” Mal murmured. “I’d hate to get stuck ‘n’ you havin’ to stoop to rescuin’ me.” “I’ll go,” River offered. “I’m smallest.” “You’re not goin’ first,” Mal asserted, crouching before the opening. He drew his pistol. “I can make this if I go in at an angle.” He glanced over his shoulder. “If there’s somethin’ fuzzy, toothy, an’ mean, an’ it gets past me after it bites me...” “Got it,” Zoe finished for him. “I’ll exact your revenge on the poor, scared little creature.” “There are no undomesticated mammalian organisms on this planet that live underground,” River educated, “although you may wish to watch for small reptiles.” Mal arched an eyebrow. “Thanks for the native critters lesson,” he muttered sarcastically, moving into the space between the boulders. “Technically, no life is native,” River corrected. “All living organisms currently discovered originated on Earth-That-Was.” Mal didn’t even bother with a response, squeezing his arms, head, and shoulders into the hole. Zoe shot a look of curiosity toward River. “‘Currently discovered’?” she repeated. “Honey, you make it sound as if you expect us to find aliens on some planet someday.” River stared blankly at Zoe. “There is no logical alternative.” Zoe chuckled as she stepped up to the boulders behind her captain. “Mei mei, I don’t know what you’ve been readin’, but this is it.” “Yes,” River agreed from behind her. “This *is* it... in this tiny sliver of the galaxy.” Following Mal’s suit on the ignoring River thing, Zoe pushed herself into the hole behind him. ************************************************************

“Darker’n a gorram kettle in here,” Mal announced upon hearing his first mate’s boots hit the rocky dirt at the entrance. “We need a spot.” “Got it,” Zoe agreed, unslinging her rifle from her back and moving to step in front of him. Mal put a hand out to stop her. “I meant the spotlight,” he reiterated, and grunting an apology, Zoe repositioned the repeater at her right shoulder blade and replaced it with the light from her belt as River moved between them to stare into the darkness. The bright beam of light illuminated the tunnel for a good twenty meters until it disappeared at a curve. It also illuminated a dirty, sweaty couple with hands blocking their faces. “The light!” Kaylee shouted. “Get rid of the gou tsao de light!” As darkness once again swallowed the tunnel ahead, Gabriel led Kaylee into the light from the entrance. “Nice of y’all to finally drop in,” he greeted, flashing a sarcastic smile. “We had to stop at a gas station and ask for directions,” Mal returned. “Zoe’s insistence, an’ River had to pee.” For the second time in a month, River rushed into Gabriel’s arms. He held her for a moment, then kissed her forehead. “Hey, watch, the ribs, Hon,” he suggested. “No dance lessons for awhile.” “Woah, wait,” Mal interjected. “Hon?” “Welcome to our lair, Zoe,” Kaylee joked, grinning. She placed a hand around Mal’s waist while holding the other arm as if it were injured. “Nice fixer-upper,” Zoe ventured jokingly. “How’s the arm?” “Did you just call her, ‘Hon’?” Mal wondered aloud. Gabriel stepped away from River. “Mind if we head back to the ship anytime soon?” he requested. “I have a bit of a headache comin’ on.” Mal grinned, clasping the young man’s hand. “Absolutely,” he agreed, turning his back on the gloom and moving toward the hole. “Thanks for savin’ us a bunch of cave wanderin’, by the way.” “Not a problem,” Gabriel assured him. “We just stuck to the main artery. Elsewise weren’t really an option.” “Right,” Mal agreed. “So what’s the story behind this whole ‘Hon’ thing?” ************************************************************

Gabriel leaned against a wall of the shuttle, sliding down to the floor and closing his eyes. He sensed River next to him before she crouched at his side. She slid her hand into his. “Does it hurt badly?” River inquired. Releasing a hoarse chuckle, Gabriel turned his head slightly and opened his eyes. “Now, why would *you* hafta ask me a question like that?” River pressed her lips together in a small smile. “Because I wanted to see if you were going to lie about it.” Gabriel arched an eyebrow. “You wouldn’t know before I lied whether or not I would?” River shrugged. “Sometimes, people think one thing in their head, and when they open their mouth to say it, something completely different comes out. It’s less common when telling the truth, but it still happens.” “Right,” Gabriel intoned *Yeah, head definitely hurts.* “Why ain’tcha flyin’ the shuttle?” “Captain’s flying right now,” River answered. “He wanted me to see to you to make sure you were all right.” Gabriel sighed, then felt River’s grip tighten on his hand and followed suit. ”You sure ya wanna do this?” he confirmed. River drew the back of one finger down his cheek. “Absolutely.” Gabriel drew a breath. “You really gonna put that much trust in me? When Mal finds out, an’ he will soon, I really don’t wanna...” River grabbed him by his hair and pressed her forehead to his cheek. “Just with whom do you think you’re dealing, ya big dummy?” Gabriel had to try to ignore her soft breath on his neck. “If I couldn’t trust you implicitly, believe me, I would know about it.” “That’s good,” Gabriel replied, closing his eyes against the swimming that still threatened his consciousness. *She’s breathin’ on my neck on purpose...* “Think they’ll be there yet?” River grinned at his first thought, then she leaned back, staring into the figurative void. “They are,” she confirmed. Gabriel nodded. He made sure they were staring directly into each others’ eyes, and gave her hand another small squeeze for emphasis. “This will only be the beginning,” he warned. “You back out now, go do your regular Serenity thing, an’ all is shiny. You start down this path with me today, though, an’ there ain’t no turnin’ back.” River brought her face so close to Gabriel’s that their noses were almost touching. Gabriel didn’t know if she were about to kiss him or not. He waited, either for the kiss or the answer, not knowing which to expect. “*I’m with you,*” River whispered. “*I’m yours. Tell me what to do.*” ***********************************************************

There was no answer from Serenity, which concerned Mal. “All right, Kaylee,” he began after powering down the shuttle and moving from his seat. “Let’s get you to the doc so that arm can get set.” “Gabriel set it,” Kaylee explained, “an’ I’m sure he did a fantastic job.” “Really?” Mal shot a glance in Gabriel’s direction. “I take it that ain’t the only hidden talent you possess that you neglected to share with us?” “No,” Gabriel admitted. “You should see how well I balance a ball on my nose.” Mal sensed that, although Gabriel’s mouth joked, his brain was on a completely different subject, and his expression gave Mal an uneasy feeling. “Wait,” River cut in, putting her arm out to stop Mal from opening the door. Mal tensed. “What is it?” River frowned at the door, then looked over at a calm Gabriel. They exchanged knowing glances. “Okay,” Mal warned, “what’s goin’ on here?” “Just let me go first, Sarge,” Gabriel muttered, sidling cautiously to the door. “I mean Captain,” he corrected. Ramming the door forcefully open, he sprinted down the catwalk, grabbed hold of a railing, and swung himself over and out of sight. A barrage of bullets from the stairwell above sprayed the area where the young man had just been standing, and Mal immediately dove away from the doorway, pulling his pistol as me moved. “Ma, get outta sight!” Jayne’s distant voice called from the cargo hold’s entrance ramp below, and several rounds were fired back from that direction. *Great, now we’re caught in a firefight.* “Zoe-” Mal began, but Zoe was already positioned on the other side of the door, scanning what she could see with her rifle. “We’re pinned in here,” River stated. “If we just stay where we are, it will all be over in a minute.” “*What* will be over?!” Mal exclaimed. “What the ruttin' liou coe shway duh biao-tze huh hoe-tze fuh ur-tze is goin’ on here?!?” There was a sudden burst of erratic gunfire from the upper deck, accompanied by a cacophony of crashes and thuds. A bloody body flew, rather than rolled, down the stairs, bouncing off the catwalk and rolling to a stop near the shuttle stairs. It was a man about Mal’s age, wearing ragged clothing. “It’s safe,” River announced, moving into the cargo hold. “Gorrammit...” Mal muttered. “Jayne!” he called, “don’t fire!” He followed River onto the catwalk as Gabriel descended the stairs, dragging a beaten, bloody woman by the collar of her shirt. Mal’s adrenaline continued pouring through his body in waves. Gabriel slammed the woman against the railing, bringing his face right up to hers. “You’re going to die,” he growled dangerously, shaking with rage. “This is your one and only chance to tell me anything.” Spitting blood in Gabriel’s face, the woman glowered at him through swelling eyes. “This is just the start,” she spat, slurring her speech badly. “I don’t know if it was you or the psychic, but they will know how easily you overcame us, and there will be no chances taken the next time.” She squeezed her eyes shut in agony, and it was then that Mal noticed that her jaw was broken. “Your friends are all going to die.” Gabriel slammed his palm into the side of her neck, snapping it instantly. The woman’s body collapsed to the deck next to her partner. Jayne scrambled up the stairs to the catwalk, his mother close behind. She gasped when she saw the carnage. “Ya don’t hafta see this, Ma,” Jayne muttered. After a long moment of silence, Mal turned to Jayne and Zoe. “Get these bodies off my ship,” he demanded. He turned back to Gabriel. “River,” he ordered, watching Gabriel, “you an’ yer boyfriend here are comin’ with me to the bridge.” His grip tightened on the pistol that he held at his side, barrel pointing downward. “I wanna know what the hell just happened.” **********************************************************

As they entered the bridge, stopping in the center of the room, River pushed some of Gabriel’s long hair behind his ear so she could wipe at the blood on his face, but Mal shouted, “Step away!” and she complied. Gabriel turned to face the captain. River thought he was about to speak, but he kept his mouth shut. *How is it that he always tricks me into thinking he’s going to do what he isn’t?* “I have some very simple questions,” Mal began, pistol still drawn at his side, “and I do expect them to be answered promptly and truthsomely.” He glared at Gabriel, and River suddenly wished more than anything that she could take that soul-piercing glower off of Gabriel and onto herself. “Who was on our ship?” Mal rasped. “Agents,” Gabriel replied. “From what agency?” Gabriel chanced a quick glance River’s direction, but Mal suddenly cut in with, “Don’t look at her; look at me!! *From what agency?!*” Gabriel took a breath. “I don’t know.” “Fei hua!” Mal exclaimed. “*What agency?!??*” “Not Alliance,” Gabriel responded. “An external agency. Privately owned. I don’t know their name, or who owns them, or anything about them, really.” “I see.” Mal nodded, his jaw clenched tightly. “And so, to escape them, or to fight them, I ain’t yet sure which.... you boarded my ship and seduced my young, impressionable, mentally ill crewmate.” “Malcolm,” River began, “you don’t know-” “You have not been asked to speak!!!” Mal thundered, pointing a finger in River’s direction without taking his gaze from Gabriel. “Now,” he redirected, “I wonder what I should do with you.” “You should kill me,” Gabriel replied without hesitation. “Right here, and right now. You shoot me, an’ your troubles disappear.” He squared his shoulders and jutted his jaw at the captain, and River suddenly felt an onset of panic creeping into her being. “With me out of the picture entirely, they’ll stop bothering you, River will stop contradicting your authority, and you’ll be able to find work again.” Mal’s demeanor suddenly became more dangerous, as impossible as that seemed. “I’ll be able to find work again,” he repeated questioningly. “Sarge,” Gabriel explained, “I’ve lied to you, an’ I’ve kept secrets, an’ I’ve put your entire crew in danger, but I swear to *God,* I never would have boarded your ship in the first place had I known River wasn’t bein’ looked for herself.” Mal grumbled something unintelligible. “Anything righteous you may have held in your heart don’t matter," he spoke up once again. "She’s *sick*.” He bared his teeth for a moment in barely restrained rage. “She ain’t capable of controlling her emotions, an’ you took *advantage* of-” “I LOVE HIM!!!” River screamed, clenching her fists at her sides, and both Mal and Gabriel turned in surprise. “Everything I’ve done to this point was in *my best judgement,* and I entirely place my trust in Gabriel Davin.” She began to tremble, and the fact that she couldn’t control her hysteria made her all the more upset. Mal stepped forward, staring deeply into River’s watery eyes. “Yer brother may have you on shiny meds, an’ you may be controlling your ‘episodes’ better’n before, but yer still fruity as a fruit bat in a Fruity Oaty Bar, an’ I don’t believe you truly know *what* the hell you want.” He then whirled back to confront Gabriel. “Not rightly sure what I’m gonna do with you yet, but one thing’s a fact an’ for certain.” He stepped forward once more to bring himself into Gabriel’s personal bubble. “You keep pullin’ this fey-oo, yer days in this ‘Verse may be numbered, my old friend.”