“Busy?” Mal inquired, stepping into Inara’s shuttle. He pulled his hands from his pockets, crossed them before him, and leaned against the wall. Upon his entrance, Inara stood. “Um... No, not really. Please, come in.” Mal didn’t move. “Because if ya ain’t busy, I’m wonderin’ why you always send Kaylee to fetch me when you wanna talk.” Inara eyed him with a puzzled look. “I didn’t send Kaylee. I sent Gabriel. And that was almost an hour ago. Were *you* busy?” Mal shrugged nonchalantly. “Yeah, well, when he’s inactive, Gabriel has this tendency to... get ‘lost’.” He moved into the room and sat on the sofa across the short table from Inara. “You invited me in, so I take it this ain’t gonna be a friendly exchange.” *I hope it will be*, Inara thought. She shrugged. “I just have a few questions regarding... changing circumstances. Tea?” She poured herself a cup. Mal shook his head. “ ‘Changing circumstances’, huh? I take it yer touchy about the whorin’ block we got runnin’.” *Whorin’ block...* Inara thought in disgust. “No,” she replied, setting the pot back on the table. “I can’t expect to find clientele in an emergency situation, such as it is. But, that being said, I’m beginning to wonder if I might have to... temporarily disengage my career-oriented movements and adopt a more... useful position.” Mal rolled his eyes. “Always with the ‘talk dance’. Yer tryin’ to tell me you want to be useful, is that what this is about?” “I’m stuck on this ship,” Inara explained. “We have a fuel shortage, a Reaver ship trailing us, we’re headed for a backwater that we may be stuck on for awhile, and I have absolutely nothing to do but pretend like I’m still an active Companion.” Mal shrugged. “Ain’t exactly like Jayne, the doc, or Gabriel are putting themselves to use at the present, neither. I suspect Zoe an’ myself are...” He trailed off, acquiring a peculiar expression. “Wait... you tellin’ me yer fishin’ for a crew position?” Inara sighed. “Mal, you already have more crew members than you know what to do with-” “I lost a pilot,” Mal interrupted. “River filled the position. Gabriel is my one extra. How many crew would you consider ‘more than I know what to do with’?” Inara felt a flash of anger and annoyance, as she commonly did when speaking with Malcolm Reynolds. Biting her tongue, her gaze fell to the table. Mal sighed, his tone softening. “Yeah, I know. You just wanna help out.” Inara looked back up at him. She chuckled inwardly. *And I almost expected him to apologize.* “Tell you what,” Mal offered. “When we hit St. Albans, you can... ‘accompany’ me into town. We need a miracle to get us out of this mess, an’ I’m sure yer persuasion skills can help out a decent lot.” Inara gave a small smile. “Thanks, Mal.” “Don’t mention it,” Mal told her, standing. “I gotta go find Zoe.” With that explanation, he left the room. Inara watched him go, and for some odd reason, a distinct memory came to mind. ************************************************************************

It was the day Inara left Serenity. The crew was assembled outside the ramp to wish her goodbye, and Inara gave the nearby girls the nod to take care of her luggage. “Take care, you two,” Inara said with a smile after grasping arms with Zoe and then Wash. “We will,” Zoe assured her. “Yeah,” Wash agreed. “Mal’s always been good at taking care of us. After this, we’re going for ice cream, and then safe, legal activities... like dancing at the *Omaj* on Osirius. Inara laughed, already missing his quips. She turned to Sheppard Book. “Keep ‘em in line, will you, Derrial?” It was the first time she had addressed him by his first name, but it suddenly sounded so right in her mouth. Book smiled, hugging her as she kissed his cheek. “The battle is never over,” he told her. “Before you know it, I’ll have saved all of these souls before they knew what hit them.” They pulled away, and he grasped her hand. “You just make sure these girls here are well cared for.” Inara grinned. “I’ll make it my top priority.” Simon was next in line. “It’s truly been a pleasure spending the past months knowing you,” he complimented, shaking her hand. “I’m sure you’ll keep in touch.” Inara smiled. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d smiled this often without faking it. “You can count on it.” Kaylee, the newly-appropriated engine grime on her face streaked by tears, stepped forward and hugged her. “Promise me we’ll see each other again,” she choked. Inara squeezed the woman tightly. “Of course we will,” she soothed, rubbing Kaylee’s back. “You’re the best friend a gal out of place on the Rim could possibly ask for. You not only made this bearable for me, you made it a welcoming life.” Kaylee sniffled, pulling away at last. She forced a smile. “Just remember next time yer out with a cute, rich hunk, I’m here on Serenity feelin’ jealous.” Inara laughed. “Consider it done.” *Who’s next...* She turned in time to see Jayne step in front of her. *Oh, great...* Jayne held her gaze for a moment. Then, his stern face split in a grin. “C’mon, ‘Nara. Jus’ one li’l kiss... for old times’ sake.” Inara stared at him for a moment, then leaned tentatively forward and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. “Goodbye, Jayne,” she said. *Only two people left*, Inara thought. *And I already know who I’m saving for last.* She turned to River, who was wearing a long, sun-yellow dress. “It was nice knowing you,” she said with a smile. “Don’t let any more bounty hunters aboard the ship, or I might have to give you a scolding.” River smiled a little. “Jubal was a fluke. It won’t happen again.” Then, to Inara’s surprise, the girl rushed into her arms. “*I’m going to miss you*,” she admitted in a tearful whisper. Inara kissed the top of River’s head. “I’ll miss you, too, Mei mei.” After their separation, Inara turned toward Mal. The captain had been standing at the very edge of the plateau on which they’d parked during the entire farewell, sulking away from the rest of them. Inara sighed. “You’re it, Captain,” she called. Upon hearing this, Mal turned his head so that his left ear was facing her. He did not turn around. *He’s upset*, Inara mused somberly. She took a few steps forward. “I’ve said goodbye to all the others,” she informed him, “but I must admit, I’ve not found the words that do our... *arrangement* proper justice.” She pressed her lips together for a moment, deciding how to explain this. “Would you spare a lady the effort...?” Mal stood stock-still for a moment, unspeaking. Finally, he turned toward her, stuffing his hands into his pockets and standing rigidly. An entire ensemble of emotions moved behind his mask of calm. “Good luck,” he finally said. *That’s all you have*, Inara thought, feeling more sorrow than anything else. *After all we’ve been through... all you have for me is, ‘good luck’...* She didn’t even bother forcing a smile. “You, too,” she returned. *I’m glad*, she lied to herself. *It’s so much better this way.* *************************************************************************

The memory ended as sounds of shouting drifted to Inara’s ears from the cargo hold. Coming to her feet in curiosity, she slid the door open in time to see River flash up the stairs to the upper deck. “Reavers!” Mal exclaimed, rushing up from the right to grab her arm. “They’re movin’ in, and none-too-slow-like.” He gave her arm a slight tug to get her moving, then rushed ahead to the staircase. Inara ran after him, following the captain to the bridge. “*Everyone but the captain and the first mate into the common room*,” River’s voice called over the intercom. Inara felt a cold chill cut into her bones. “*They’re coming.*” ************************************************************************

“ETA five minutes,” River reported immediately upon Mal’s and Zoe’s entrance. “They’re no longer-” She halted her sentenced abruptly. “There’s going to be a signal.” Mal’s eyes widened. “From... from *them?*” The console beeped as, indeed, a transmission was being made. Mal stepped forward and hit the speaker switch. There was grunting and shouting from multiple voices, but no message. “What in the ‘Verse are they *doing?*” Zoe strained through gritted teeth. Mal switched the speaker off. “Don’t know, an’ don’t care. River, make sure we’re on a steady course an’ come with me. We may not be able to stop ‘em from boarding, but we ain’t gonna make it easy on ‘em by stoppin’.” “Mal,” Jayne called from the door, the guns hanging around his neck, shoulders, and arms probably weighing as much as he did. “We need ta get fixed up to deliver some hurtin’.” “Common room,” Mal stated simply, jerking his head toward the door for Zoe’s benefit. He moved hastily through the door and down the corridor in Jayne’s wake, with Zoe hot on his heels. “All right,” he announced upon his entrance, “this is the situation. We got only minutes to prepare for these bastards, so everyone who don’t own a gun grab one off Jayne. There’s only two places on the ship, and four entrances, they can get in without depressurizing the whole boat. Zoe, Jayne, and me cover the cargo doors. Gabriel an’ River stay in the crew area to cover the top hatches, bein’ as it’s close-quarters. Everyone else, find a place to cover us from.” “No time,” River announced. “No time left.” “*Move!*” Mal shouted in his sergeant voice, and everyone scrambled. For his part, Mal sprinted to his room, kicked the hatch open, slid down the ladder, and grabbed his shotgun and one of the rifles. He then flew back up the ladder and rounded the corner to the stairwell. He slowed down as he descended. *A fall down some stairs ain’t somethin’ we need right now.* *************************************************************************

“This isn’t going to be fun,” Doctor Tam voiced. *OhmyGod, ohmyGod, ohmyGod*, ran through Darcy’s mind. “I ain’t expectin’ different,” she replied instead. The woman glanced down at the foreign-feeling rifle in her hands. “This probably ain’t gonna come as a shocker, but I never been in no gunfight, an’ I have no idea what to do.” “I’ve been through a standoff with Reavers before,” the doctor told her, crouched on one knee at the common room’s doorway. “Just shoot anything and everything that comes down these ladders without hitting my sister or Gabriel.” Darcy felt a shock rocket through her core. “They’re... they won’t be taking cover?” *************************************************************************

Jayne charged Vera and moved into position at his end of the catwalk. He glanced to his right to see Mal pump his twelve-gauge shotgun at the center of the walkway. Past Mal, on the far side of the cargo bay, Zoe propped her thirty-thirty lever-action rifle on the catwalk’s railing and pressed her cheek to the stock. *Gorram girl’s tough as anythin’ I’ve ever stubbed my toe on,* Jayne thought in admiration. *Her jokin’s gettin’ weird, but when it comes down to the wire, she’s still a ruttin’ machine.* “Nobody gets past,” Mal announced loudly, looking down the sights of his gun. “Not one.” “Got it,” Jayne heard Kaylee call. He glanced in her direction, where the mechanic was standing in the doorway to the second shuttle with a semi-automatic pistol Jayne gave her. For Inara’s part, the Companion was crouched on the staircase near her shuttle with her bow. *Who the hell would bring a bow to a gunfight, anyhow?* Jayne mused, refocusing his gaze through Vera’s sights for an instant, then bringing his head back to watch the end of the bay. *Granted, that bow got her through the fight at Mr. Universe’s, but still...* The ship shuddered violently, and there were hissing and clanking sounds drifting through the hull to echo in every corner of the hold. “They latched on,” Mal commented, which was completely pointless. *‘Course they latched on...* *************************************************************************

“Wanna count kills?” Gabriel joked, examining the pistol that River knew he had no intention of using. “Competition promotes better results.” River didn’t think it so funny. “Just remember your dance lessons, and you won’t be so clumsy in the fight.” Gabriel grunted. “It was only *one* ‘lesson’, an’ I don’t remember a gorram thing about it.” He placed the gun in the crook of his arm so he could crack his knuckles. “I just aim to pound these rutters into sauce.” A loud *crack* came from the lower deck, accompanied by many metallic sounds and shouting. “They came in through the hold!” River shouted, spinning around Gabriel and heading for the stairs. She descended without touching a single step, flying by Inara’s head so quickly that the Companion didn’t even have enough time to turn. Her five birth senses were entirely occupied with the task at hand, but in her mind, she sensed Gabriel hot on her heels. River performed a flip to clear the catwalk’s railing, dropping down right in the middle of a crowd of Reavers. Gabriel landed several meters to her right. *This will make the gunfolk’s job harder*, she took the time to think as she began snapping necks. *Too bad.* *************************************************************************

“Tian xiz shou you de ren dou gai si!!” Mal exclaimed, jerking his gun at the last second to avoid hitting Gabriel with a round. The large shotgun pellets connected with the distant wall, creating a drama with sparks. “We got crew in the way!” he shouted, although he doubted Zoe or Jayne could hear him over the cacophony of gunfire. *Apparently, Gab and River forgot they ain’t the only ones in this fight...* Reavers were flooding through the main cargo doors en-mass, brutalized, disgusting faces depicting blind emotions of violence and insanity. *If I didn’t know better, I’d think they were zombies.* As rapidly as River and Gabriel were slaughtering the... things... there always seemed to be a fresh supply, some of them with guns. Two rounds whizzed past Mal’s head, and he ducked instinctively before returning fire. River, of course, was a fluid dance of motion, spinning, twisting, and leaping through the throngs of monsters as if she were performing a ballet before thousands in an audience. Death followed in her wake. Gabriel was a picture of complete opposition. His powerful, brutal assaults killed half of his opponents in one blow, and the rest were left either incapacitated, crippled, or temporarily stunned at best. *Don’t think either one would be much better off were they using firearms,* Mal observed, firing blindly into a mass of Reavers below him. *Ain’t much point in aiming at this juncture, neither. Not with a shotgun.* As the Reavers swarmed around the two openings that were River and Gabriel, they began fanning through the ship, some disappearing into the lounge below and others beginning to press up the staircases. *This is going badly,* Mal surmised with regret. *Just another classic example of my plans going south.* “Kaylee, Inara, Zoe!” he shouted, strafing down the catwalk toward Jayne. “Watch our backs!” He waved his hand toward the upper deck staircase in case they didn’t catch his order, then crouched beside Jayne. “Forget below; focus on the stairs!” he yelled. Jayne nodded in confirmation. With a sudden burst of speed, the several dozen Reavers attempting to scale the stairs broke through the bodies of their dead, stampeding up and onto the catwalk. On the upper deck stairs, Inara turned and ran up, with several Reavers hot on her tail. The Reaver in the lead hit the floor as Jayne’s brutal, powerful punch hit like a sledgehammer. “We gotta go!” He shouted, grabbing Mal’s arm. “Into the shuttle!!” Mal yelled as loudly as he could, circling his arm in the air several times. “Into the shuttle!!” He twisted to fire two more rounds into the Reavers in pursuit, but his second clicked dry. *Go se.* Kaylee met Zoe in the shuttle doorway, and Mal and Jayne tumbled head-first through the door. Zoe slammed it shut and sealed it just before the first few Reavers rammed it. Gasping for air, Jayne managed, “Hope it don’t... *pant*... come down to it, but... *gasp*... we can’t run. We gotta let ‘em board.” He glared at Mal, chest heaving. “Ingenious ruttin’ plan, Mal. Maybe... *grunt*... after we’re dead, the doc or the crazy girl can be captain, an’ they won’t make up death-wish plans.” “The hatch won’t hold but a few minutes,” Zoe voiced, both interrupting Jayne’s criticism of Mal’s character and, at the same time, refocusing the four on what was important. Mal nodded, his own chest heaving. “We gotta leave Serenity.” “Now wait just a gorram minute!” Jayne exclaimed. “My mother’s in there with Reavers!” “What do you want to do, Jayne?” Kaylee stepped in. “What could we *possibly* do besides run?” Simply walking away from the exchange, Mal stepped into the flight cabin and powered up the shuttle. “If this were a democracy,” he called over his shoulder, “my name wouldn’t have the title ‘captain’ in front of it.” He gritted his teeth at a throbbing pain in his leg that he hadn’t noticed before. “We’re doin’ this.” Zoe appeared next to him. “You hurt, Sir?” Mal nodded. “Feels like I took a round in my calf. Worry about it later.” “Think River and Gabriel can clean the ship out?” Mal swallowed thickly. “Hope so. We move away from Serenity an’ that Reaver ship, call back on a Wave. Hope somebody answers. Else, it means we’re all dead.” ************************************************************************

*I don’t like Reavers,* Gabriel decided as a large wrench-turned-club connected with his skull, bringing him to one knee. *Two concussions in two days.* He threw himself upward, throwing Reavers away from him. *Shiny jewels for me.* An open, gaping mouth flashed past Gabriel’s sight, broken teeth and sliced lips dripping blood from an earlier blow. The Reaver hissed, and Gabriel returned the hiss with a head-butt that dropped the creature instantly. He spun on his axis, slamming his foot down on the side of another Reaver’s knee. The knee snapped, and the Reaver fell. Through the fray of moving bodies, Gabriel caught a glimpse of River. River had turned killing into an art of perfection, moving akin to liquid. The bodies were piling up all around her. Gabriel suddenly felt very slow and clumsy. *Maybe those dance lessons ain’t such a bad idea,* he thought seriously, snapping two necks, taking out three more knees, and grabbing another Reaver by his shirt. He spun the Reaver upside down and slammed its head into the deck, spattering even more blood across his already-soaked body. The gunfire had stopped, which was a bad thing. Gabriel performed a back-flip, grabbing the edge of the platform in the center of the hold and spinning himself up and over it. For a brief instant before he was, once again, overwhelmed by raging Reavers, Gabriel scanned the catwalk above him. Mal and the others were gone, and there were a decent number of Reavers attempting to break into the second shuttle. Gabriel grinned. *How’d ya like to buy some time, Sarge?* He dropped to the platform’s grating, spinning his body and sweeping his right leg out to trip the Reavers in his immediate vicinity. *Cost ya a shiny penny.* He then sprinted to the edge and flung himself upward at the catwalk. His fingertips caught the edge of the catwalk before he could fall, and, straining the muscles of his arms and back, Gabriel raised his body backwards. He hit the horizontal mark and began to tremble, his muscles burning with fire. *Little further... Just like my exercises in this very room...* When he hit a forty-five-degree angle, Gabriel spun his body, flipping his legs over the railing and landing. Ignoring the Reavers behind him, he sprinted headlong into the enemies at the shuttle, screaming in a warcry of fury that could almost be mistaken for a Reaver’s. *Good luck, Malcolm Reynolds...*