I don't own this, other people do, something about a sandbox...and all that other stuff.

Note: The micro-oven is not a microwave. This may sound weird because it doesn't even come up in this chapter, but it makes sense later.

This takes place after Miranda, I don't know how long after Miranda, but at least a month. Probably between one and three months. Inara left the ship again, tying up some business ends. Sounds weird when you say it about Companion...ing. (Guess Wash was right about using it as a verb)

River is still crazy, but a little bit less so. Simon and Kaylee are together, Jayne is NOT doing River, Mal is Mal, Zoe is sad. So it goes...

For those of you who are confused after the first part, there is a new character, that's not someone we already know or anything.

I tried to make each character have a part, but I don't touch on certain characters as much, though I really do try Kaylee doesn't show up as much as I would like her to at the beginning, but I'm working on fixing that. Zoe's grief does not take a big role here (but she is indeed grieving), I just didn't think I would be able to incorporate it that well. And who knows maybe we'll see Inara again. Or maybe not. Jayne is gonna get more important later on too.

This is a first for me. I would just like it to be known that I didn't lay anything out for this, this was written without any kind of plan except a basic idea. And a keyboard. Thoughts straight to finished product.

Chapter 1

Lines snapped in and out of focus, dull blobs floating around his vision. His vision slowly focused, the lines gradually sharpening. The ceiling was a dull white color; as far as he knew he was in a medical room, probably an infirmary on a ship or backwater moon judging by the lack of professional equipment. The room itself was small, with a counter that ran along three sides of the wall; the other side had a closed door. He could hear people talking outside the door, a dull murmur. He felt their emotions, a slew of colors. One seemed to have a lot of red about him mixed with confusion and other subtle emotions. The other was obviously a woman, his perceptions told him that much. She had different colors about her, much less red. He noticed an undercurrent of dark gray, sadness and sorrow.

The door exploded open, a tall man stepping through. The man who had a lot of red in him. He wore brown pants, a purple shirt, and suspenders. The man immediately started yelling at him. "Who the hell are you and why did you attack my crew?"



He was confused; he did not know the red man. "What are you talking about? Attack your crew?" He struggled to stand up, but realized that he was strapped into the bed. The movement sent waves of pain from his arm, which he realized was bandaged.

"You gao cao de little bastard. You came running up to my ship like a madman. Jayne had to shoot you in the arm. You mind tellin' me what was going on in your head little man?"

The woman had stepped into the room now, dark skinned with long curly hair. She was much calmer than the red man, a dull shade of blue. The dark gray in her was somewhat less than it was before, but was still there. "Sir, let's stick to some simple questions first. Like who he is?"

"Zoe, what a wonderful question. Let's start with that, shall we? Who are you?"

He answered, "I don't know."

"I'm not goin' to ask again, who are you?" The red in the man was darkening, roiling like river rapids.

"I…I don't know." He struggled to remember, some kind of name, a past, who the red man was.

"We could just get River, sir." The woman named Zoe said.

"Fine, can't hurt can it?" The red in him had diminished the current now smooth. He stepped to a black box just inside the door, pressing down a button with an audible click. "River? Can you come down to the infirmary for me?"

A man's voice replied after a quick second, "She's goin' Mal."

"Thanks Jayne."

A minute passed by, the unknown man struggling with his memory, trying to wrestle some sense out of it. He could only see static, flashes of... nothing. The unknown man exhaled long and slow, hoping to clear his thoughts. He looked through the room again, out the windows. He could tell that he was on a ship now by the metal walls in the room outside the infirmary. Probably an old transport ship, definitely not a newer model.

Zoe stayed directly to the right of the door, looking out the window, staring at nothing. The dark gray had resurged in her, sorrow welling up to overpower her other feelings. The unknown man stopped for a second and thought: What am I doing? How can I see their feelings? How do I know what kind of ship this is just by looking out the window?

The red man, "Mal," apparently saw whoever it was he had called down because he moved past the windows and started talking in a low voice. The unknown man couldn't feel them, see their colors. Probably just because I'm nervous, I did get shot…I guess. He settled back in the bed, not sure what he was going to do.



He looked up when he heard a noise. A small girl passes around the corner. He looked at her weirdly, past her long dark hair. He saw…a lot of things. He hadn't had this reaction with the others he had met so far.

The girl looked up from her bare feet as she rounded the corner and immediately started screaming. The unknown man could feel her screaming, something past just hearing her. He could see flashes from her, cold white rooms with deadly doctors. The screaming hurt more than just his ears, he could truly feel the fear coming from her.

Zoe turned immediately and started trying to console River, talking to her in a low, soothing voice that the unknown man couldn't hear, didn't want to hear. He was focused on River, the visions she was emanating. Almost like…memories. They were too quick to pick anything substantial up, but they were still better than nothing.

Mal turned and swore in a matter of fact manner. He quick stepped to the comm box, talking into it with a commanding voice. "Doc, infirmary now. River is doing it again."

Within fifteen seconds Mal heard feet clattering down the steps. Simon appeared around the corner, panting a little. His eyes widened as he heard River screaming, and he knelt at her side, looking at Zoe.

"Safe word Doc."

"Fine." He straightened a little, and pronounced very clearly, "Eta kuram na smekh."

River collapsed into Zoe's arms, Simon immediately picked her up and carried her back to her room.

Mal sighed audibly, "Well I'm glad that's over. Definitely brings some more questions to mind to ask our little unknown here. Oh…Qingwa cao de liumang! Doc get back here we have a big problem."

Simon sprinted back to the infirmary. "Captain you got me running all over the Serenity, what's wrong now?"

Mal turned to him, standing just outside the doorway. "See, when you went and said that little thing for River…" He jerked his thumb in the unknown man's direction.

Simon stopped. "Jian ta de gui!" The unknown man had passed out into the exact same state the River went into.

XXXXXXXXXX

"So what you're saying is that he's another River." Kaylee sounded more than a little confused.

"I don't know what he is, but he responded to River's safe word. He could be another reader; the Alliance wouldn't have just poured all of their funds into River. That was a big hospital that she was kept 

in, who knows who else was in there." Simon was frustrated. Things didn't make sense. "Why did the Alliance send another reader who was taken down that easily?"

"Maybe they weren't done messin' with his head." Jayne didn't like anything about this. First, another crazy. Second, too much thinkin'. He had actually gotten much closer to River since Miranda. She had calmed down a lot and hadn't done anything drastic since then. Like slice him with a knife.

"Not the best way of putting it, but it's probably true." Mal said. "He ran straight up into the cargo bay."

Mal had called everyone into the dining area except Zoe and River, who was still out cold.

"Okay does someone want to explain to people who weren't there what happened?" Kaylee had been in the engine room with Simon when Jayne shot the unknown man.

Jayne gruffly said, "Crazy guy came running up the cargo bay so I shot him."

"That's about it. Nothin' to tell us who this guy is or where he came from except River's reaction," Mal said.

"Where is River?" Kaylee asked.

"She's in her room. Zoe's right there to make sure nothing happens between her and our unknown soldier." Mal didn't sound happy about the unknown man in his infirmary.

The comm crackled to life, "Captain, River is talking to him. Or not. I don't know what they're doing." Zoe sounded thrown off kilter a little bit.

The whole crew relocated to the area right in front of the infirmary. River was standing over the infirmary bed with her eyes closed. Zoe stood just outside the door. "She's been like that for a minute now. She doesn't usually take this long to read someone, sir."

Mal nodded, "Well let's find out what it is they're doing." He walked through the doorway to the bed, opposite River.

River looked up and smiled, "He's like me!"

XXXXXXXXXX

"He's no trouble. He just doesn't have anything in head. His pages are blank." River sounded truly happy, something Simon didn't hear enough of.

Simon asked, "How can you be so sure?" The rest of the crew had spread out in the small commons area in front of the infirmary. They were all either looking at River or looking at the unknown man.



"He's like me! I can see him, the real him. He can't see as well as I can, just emotions." River was still happy, despite Simon's questions.

Jayne butted in before Simon could ask another question. "You know fer once I can understand what she's trying to say. I'm not knowin' who this guy is, but I believe River."

"Well what are we going to do, let him out? He could bring the Alliance back to us." Simon was doing most of the talking for the rest of the group. Mal was quiet.

"Why not keep him here? River can probably kick his pigu, and he can't go running off to the Alliance. River just said he's not a reader. We could do tests an' stuff to help River too." Jayne was, for once, not hazing a new arrival.

Mal finally spoke up, "You know, Jayne is making a whole helluva lotta sense. Not sure why. Why do you want him on board?"

Jayne took a moment before he replied, "If he's like River he can probably kick some mean tail. That can't hurt, unless he turns on us. Iffin he does, I already shot him once, why not just do it again? If the Alliance didn't finish his...surgery thing he can't be as bad as River. Plus I don't want him runnin' off and alertin' folks about us."

Kaylee spoke up now, "Can't hurt to have another member on the crew, 'specially since we don't got as many as before."

Zoe looked away. Kaylee looked down at her shoes, "Sorry Zoe, just sayin' is all."

Zoe looked back at Kaylee and managed a weak smile. "It's okay Kaylee, that's the truth, right?"

Mal looked back at the infirmary, then at River. "You sure?"

River smiled, "It'll be like having another me on board!"

Jayne groaned, "We already have too much of you on board."

River laughed and skipped up the stairs.

Mal turned to Zoe, "Go help her get the ship started, we'll get off the ground before the Alliance does something about this one." He pointed towards the prisoner. "In the mean time we'll get him up and around."

Jayne walked back to his quarters and lay down. He needed a nap after all of the thinking.

XXXXXXXXXX
The unknown man pulled himself up from the bed, catching a glimpse of the reflection in the glass windows surrounding the infirmary. Simon gave him a hand up to his feet. The unknown man walked over to the window, looking at his reflection. A young face with short, dark, almost spiky hair looked back. The eyes were extremely dark but flashed green when he turned his head from side to side. Old 

scars were barely visible on his temple, jutting out just passed his hairline. His body was small, and skinny, but with a solid layer of muscle that rolled slightly as he examined his appearance.
"That's me?" He looked up at Mal.
"Yeah kid, that's you."