Disclaimer: All I own is Mei-Lin and the plots that revolve around her.

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Chapter One

It was winter on Shadow when Serenity touched down, River barely looking as she guided the large ship to the ground. Mal couldn't help but feel that maybe the little albatross was just doing her best to show off. She had that talent for making what seemed difficult to others look so smooth-like and simple that normal folks tended to feel dumber than Jayne on his good days. Still, least ways they were landing in one piece. Even after the whole lovely make-over that Serenity had undergone, she was not running as smooth as Mal would like. Kaylee was complaining about various groans and creaks that the ship was making and the money was stighter than usual. The crew had done their best to keep their heads down after the whole Miranda incident, and that was fairly easy since no one knew who in the hell was responsible for getting the disturbing wave out. Still…now and then Mal wished they could have cashed in on their heroic act if only to shut up Kaylee and the ship both about the parts needed.

All that was almost forgotten as Mal stepped down the ramp leading from Serenity's cargo bay with a slight smile and pulling his coat tight around his body to keep himself from freezing. Same old Shadow, all right, he thought in satisfaction. A few of the buildings were gone or smaller than he remembered, but it was still mostly unchanged. That and he had only been knee-high to a horse when he left Shadow, so of course everything would look smaller. Behind him, Mal heard the rest of the crew getting the mule ready for the trip into town for supplies and fuel, but he didn't give them much notice. For once it was nice to just focus on the past before the war and all the complications that came after that.

"Cap'n," Kaylee called cheerfully, pulling on a home-spun sweater one of her many aunts had sent to her at their last stop. "Me an' River gonna head out an' get what we need. Any chance we got the money for a few new parts for Serenity?"

Mal didn't like saying no to his mechanic, but that was what he was forced to do. Shaking his head firmly, he said in what he hoped was a very Captain-y voice, "Sorry, Kaylee. We just fuel up and get what foodstuffs we can afford. Dong ma?"

The young mechanic's face fell at that, but she nodded her understanding before turning to engage in a lip-lock with the good doctor before hopping onto the mule behind River. Mal couldn't help but make a face at this show of affection. He was relieved to see that Kaylee and the doc had gotten rid of all the annoying tension between them, but did they have to make with the mating ritual in front of the entire crew? It didn't help none that Zoë and Wash was set on havin' a newborn now they'd survived Miranda, and Jayne looked ready to murder anytime he saw Simon and Kaylee interacting intimately. River, on the other hand, was completely nonchalant about it, almost as if it wasn't happening at all. Mal would never understand women-folk.

"Zoë, ship is yours," he called over his shoulder as Jayne joined him on the surface of the planet.

"She'll be ready for departure when you get back, sir," his right-hand-woman replied with a nod, closing up Serenity's cargo bay.

Turning to look at Jayne to give him some instructions, Mal had to pause as he saw that Jayne was once more wearing his "cunning hat". There were times when Mal couldn't take the big buhn dahn seriously, and this was one of the most prominent of those moments. Shaking his head with a roll of his eyes, Mal cleared his throat before speaking. "We're just here to see if anyone's got a job worth doin'," he said firmly. "I don't want no trouble from your side of things, Jayne. Almost all the women-folk here got husbands or fathers with guns ain't afraid of puttin' folk who mess with their wives and daughters in their place. You start somethin', don't expect me ta step in for ya."

Jayne looked surprisingly like a petulant child-the hat did help somewhat with that image-and sighed heavily. "I ain't been able ta come in contact with nothin' soft for weeks, Mal!" he complained. "Man can't live like this forever. It just ain't natural-like."

"Well you're gonna have ta continue bein' unnatural-like for a while longer," Mal said with a warning glare. "Folk here are mighty proud of their ability ta keep men like you from ruinin' the reputation of any self-respecting girl hereabouts. You keep yourself to yourself or someone will be spreadin' parts of yourself all over town. Now c'mon."

Growling under his breath as he followed Mal, Jayne jammed his hands into his pockets with a glare but said nothing else out loud. He'd seen what Mal looked like after the battle at Mr. Universe's complex, and if Mal could still be walking after a beating like that, then Jayne did not want to get on the captain's bad side anytime soon. That and Zoë would likely kill him if he were to break Mal's nose. 'Sides, Captain would know best 'bout this backwater world, as he grew up here. If Mal was an indication of anything, then the people on Shadow were not the sort a guy like Jayne wanted to deal with.

The town was small; no really important buildings outside of a schoolhouse, a tavern, and a stable. This only made Jayne all the more displeased. Not a decent whorehouse for the last three months. How was a man supposed to get himself sexed up if there weren't no willin' women-folk anywhere close by? Hell, this town didn't even have a proper bar from what he saw. Jayne officially hated this backwater town.

The one thing that passed as a bar was currently crowded because, from what Jayne and Mal could gather, there were new goods to be bought and sold. Glancing at one another, the two men decided to investigate and began shoving their way through the crowd. Whatever the goods were being sold, they were causing quite a riot in the town. Mal wondered what it could be that got his hometown in such a dither. He got his answer when he finally managed to get inside the bar.

In the middle of the room, standing on a small platform, was a girl. She looked about twenty or so with pretty Asiatic features and a look about her that said she hadn't always been a slave. She weren't too hard on the eyes, either, as Jayne was quick to point out with a crude chuckle. Her entire attitude, besides the look of better times, spoke of fear. She didn't meet anyone's eyes and she flinched anytime a man spoke too loud close to her. This girl had obviously been through something to get her so scared; Mal just couldn't begin to guess what it could be. It wasn't until later that he noticed the scars on her throat.

"So what'm I offered for this fine girl?" the man who was obviously the trader responsible for her shouted, his words slurring only somewhat, making it next to impossible to tell he'd been drinking.

"For that skinny kid?" someone in the back called. "She ain't worth fifty credits!"

"You ain't lookin' beyond the skinniness, friend!" the trader retorted. "This gal got the grace God only gave to the finest of women folk. She got herself one hell of a gift for hard work, and she cooks as only those gourmets from the Core do!"

Jayne tilted his head to one side behind Mal, taking in the girl better. Mal shot a dangerous look at the mercenary and shook his head firmly. There was no way in any hell that he was letting Jayne bring a sex slave on his ship. While the girl was very pretty in a quiet, frightened way, Mal had his limits to what he would allow to happen. Still…girl that young didn't deserve to be a slave.

"I'll give ya twenty credits!" one man in the back hollered. "Cook's always good to have around."

The poor girl looked over at the speaker and when she saw the way he was licking his lips as he looked at her, she shuddered violently and tried to back away. Her escape was prevented by the trader grabbing her roughly by the arm and forcing her back on the platform. Mal's throat grew dry with anger at this. He hadn't expected his home planet to sink so low in the time since he'd been here. Slavery wasn't something that most planets condoned, but apparently times had gotten very tough on Shadow.

"Twenty's too cheap, friend!" the trader barked, glaring dangerously at the girl. "Anybody gonna offer me a hundred?"

Mal tried to look away and find someone who looked promising for a job, but even though he couldn't see the girl, he could hear all that was being said about her purchase. One man in the back of the bar who looked about the age Mal's granddad would be if he were alive, shook his head sadly and glanced at Mal.

"T'ain't right," the old man said as Mal drew nearer, making his way towards the bartender. "Kid don't deserve that kinda treatment. If I was twenty years younger, I'd fight that ol' son of a bitch ta get that kid outta there."

"Well, nothin' I can do," Mal said quietly. "I'm just here lookin' for work, old timer."

The man gave Mal a measuring look and smirked to himself for a moment before he motioned for the younger man to draw closer. "What kinda work, son? I may know where you could find somethin'."

"Transportin' goods, mostly," Mal said simply, shrugging and giving the man a curious look. "You got livestock or goods need movin', we can handle it."

"So…you the one with the Firefly in need of repair?"

Mal nodded with a shrug. "She's taken worse beatin's 'fore and kept flyin'. So…you know anybody might want somethin' transported off world? Subtle-like and unnoticed, maybe?"

There was a moment of silence as the old man glanced at the bunch of drunks still arguing about who would purchase the quiet girl. After careful consideration, he nodded at Mal. "I got me some cargo needs ta get off world without Alliance eyes knowin' about it," he admitted. "I got 'nough money to pay for it an' more. But I also got me a condition for the job." Nodding at the crowd around the girl, he chuckled dryly. "You take that kid off world and drop her someplace nicer."

Jayne, who had been paying more attention to the girl than Mal's conversation, turned his head so sharply that Mal was amazed his "cunning hat" hadn't gone flying across the room. "No ruttin' way, Mal!" the mercenary snapped. "Bad 'nough we got three womenfolk on the ship, we don't need no fourth one, no way!"

"Jayne," Mal said calmly, fixing a warning look at the larger man. "Your mouth is talkin'. Go buy yourself a drink while I work on the business side of things. And keep your hands to yourself!"

Muttering under his breath in Chinese, Jayne decided that now was not the time when he wanted to be picking a fight with Mal. The captain hadn't had his daily dose of coffee in four days and he was getting a bit tetchy about their lack of work. Jayne could always complain later if Mal went along with this crazy-ass scheme of the old codger's.

Turning his attention to the potential customer once again, Mal pondered his options before answering. They hadn't had work in a long time. They were running along on fumes and bare essentials more often than ever before now, and the work would be greatly appreciated. Mal was even willing to transport more cattle if it meant that they got paid. But…Jayne was right. Didn't make sense to have another girl onboard. Still…the old man hadn't said they had to keep the girl onboard. Just take her off of Shadow. She could go to Persephone and find work there. Resting one hand on his gun thoughtfully, Mal glanced over at the girl again. Poor kid was starting to look very scared as the drunk patrons started crowding closer to have their bids heard. Didn't seem right to leave her in this sorta mess. Finally, Mal nodded and extended his hand.

"You got yourself a deal, old timer," he said with a firm shake of his new customer's hand.

Nodding his approval, the old man returned the handshake just as firmly and chuckled. "Name's Roy Taylor. Here," he added, pressing a bag heavy with money into Mal's hand. "Buy the kid first and then we can talk at my ranch just outside of town. There's over three hundred credits in there. I don't think anybody's gone over one hundred fifty yet."

Blinking at the weight of so much money in his hand, Mal felt the wild temptation to run off right then and there, but he forced himself to stay put. Wouldn't do to leave a customer with a bad impression. Clearing his throat and turning to the ruckus surrounding the girl, he waved the bag above his head and bellowed as loud as he could. "I'll give ya three hundred for the girl!"

Silence fell on the bar like a blanket, everyone turning to stare at the crazy man who was offering so much money. He didn't look like he had been drinking, but no one could think of any other reason why he would pay so much for such a skinny slip of a girl. From his perch on top of one of the many bar stools, Jayne stared slack jawed at Mal, his glass of whiskey forgotten in his shock. What in the gorram hell was Mal up to?

"You heard me," Mal said calmly. "Three hundred in cash for the girl."

There were murmurs of shock around the bar as the trader looked from his prize to the man offering to buy her. Finally, he managed to peel his jaw off the floor and cleared his throat. "Well…ta ma duh," he muttered before speaking in a louder voice. "Sold to the gent with three hundred."

Walking up with all the confidence of a man who knew what he wanted, Mal handed the money over to the trader before he took hold of the girl's arm-gently, of course-and led her away from the platform. The girl was shaking like a leaf from head to toe and as he got a better look at her, Mal had some idea of why. She wasn't dressed for the cold winters on Shadow, her tunic and pants barely thick enough to cover her without letting anything be seen through the fabric, so they sure as hell weren't doing a good job of keeping her warm. Also, she was scared stiff. That much was seen in how she was looking at Mal right now, her big dark eyes wide and staring.

"Don't look at me that way," Mal muttered in discomfort. "I ain't gonna hurt you none!"

Still the girl kept looking at him as though she expected him to strike her at any minute. She didn't even notice when Mal stopped in front of Roy Taylor until the old man cleared his throat. Starting and turning her gaze to Taylor, the girl hastily wrapped her arms around herself and tried to hold back more shivers.

"Well," Roy muttered under his breath as he pulled off his coat and wrapped it around the girl. "Let's head on to my ranch where we can talk business."

Motioning to Jayne to follow them, Mal led the girl out of the bar. She was a small thing, and Roy Taylor's large coat dwarfed her, making her look rather like a child playing dress-up instead of a grown woman. Jayne followed after Mal, the girl and Roy, his jaw still slack with confusion.

"Jayne, you go back to Serenity," Mal said firmly. "Tell 'em we got us a job and that I'm workin' out the details. Don't go to mentionin' the girl just yet," he added in a lower voice. "I gotta figure out the plan for her first."

The mercenary couldn't think of a response, so he simply nodded dumbly and turned towards the ship. Shaking his head and looking over at Taylor, Mal gave the old man a calculating look.

"So let's talk business."

Roy Taylor's ranch was a large establishment, with a rather luxurious ranch house at its center. This was where Mal and his silent charge found themselves as Roy began pouring out generous glasses of alcohol. The girl refused hers and started to shrug off the coat that had been given to her, but Roy stopped her.

"Nah, nien ching duh," he said with a smile. "That's for you to keep."

She didn't answer, except to shake her head firmly and hold out the coat to him. Finally Roy took it out of her hands, but he wasn't anywhere close to done with trying to keep the girl warm. Turning and shouting out in Chinese, the old ranch owner led the girl down the hall to where a large, middle-aged woman of Asian descent stood, her dark eyes glancing from her employer to his strange companions before she spoke.

"Yessir, what can I do?" she asked in a slight Core-ward accent.

"This young lady needs proper clothes, Mrs. Chang" Roy explained. "Take care of her and make sure she's got anything else she needs."

Nodding to Roy, Mrs. Chang motioned for the girl to follow her and led her out of the room. Mal watched all of this in a state of mild confusion. He could understand why the old man would want this girl out of the slave trade; no one deserved that fate. What he couldn't comprehend was why Mr. Taylor was going to such lengths for the kid. Oh, well, it wasn't any of Mal's business. What Mr. Taylor's cargo was, now that was Mal's business, and he was eager to get it discussed and over with.

"You said you had cargo?" he prodded in a mild tone.

"Yes I did," Roy replied, sitting down in a large armchair, groaning slightly as his stiff back decided to be unyielding until he was actually seated. "I got me some…rather contraband items that I don't want the Alliance knowin' about. I do some trading with the worse-off border planets now and then, and some of what I sell ain't exactly what you can get at any old general store. Mostly I sell things that are perfectly legitimate, but with times being what they are and that wave sent out about Miranda…" he trailed off with a shake of his head. "Things ain't so easy to trade these days. So what I need is someone willin' ta take a load of various medical and industrial supplies to Regina. They got themselves on the Alliance's hit list with how they're harborin' Browncoats who're tryin' ta start up some trouble, and they need the supplies."

Mal stiffened somewhat at the mention of Miranda and Browncoats, but Roy didn't seem to notice. When he saw that the old man didn't care one way or another about his political views, Mal relaxed visibly and sipped at the drink he had been offered. Medical and industrial…fairly common cargo these days, and he could easily use some of it as a cover if they got boarded. Nodding his understanding, Mal cleared his throat as the alcohol burned its way to his stomach.

"What's the pay?" he asked.

"Five thousand now, and another two thousand on delivery," Roy said calmly, his gaze on a spot on the wall above Mal's shoulder. "That seem good enough to you?"

Nodding his agreement, Mal shook hands with the ranch owner and sat back for a moment as he waited for the girl to get back. He wasn't going to just dump her on the hands of Mr. Roy Taylor now. True, she technically belonged to the old man since it had been his money and not Mal's that bought her, but Mal was an honest man and he had given his word to take the girl off-planet.

He didn't have long to wait, as Mrs. Chang bustled into the room with the girl in tow. Her tunic and pants were gone now, replaced by much a much warmer dress over long pants tucked into boots, a heavy coat similar to the one Mal was wearing and a rather beat-up old fedora covering her head. She looked every inch the immigrant worker, which would only help Mal in getting her sent off to wherever she wanted to go once this job was completed. Standing up and thanking his host for the drink, Mal took hold of the girl's arm again and guided her out into the cold.

Neither of them made a sound as they walked back to Serenity, their boots crunching down on the snow and their heads bowed against the wind. Mal kept his hand on her arm, because the girl had this lost look on her face that made him worry that she'd wander off if he let her go. She seemed to have realized that she was staying with Mal for the time being, though, so she didn't try to pull away from him or kick him and make a break for it. That much he was grateful for. Finally they found themselves at the ship and Mal guided the girl onboard, closing the cargo bay doors behind him with a shake of his arms to get the snow off his coat.

The sound of the doors shutting had brought the rest of the crew to the cargo bay and soon Mal was faced with six pairs of questioning eyes. "Got us a job," he said after a moment's pause.

"Jayne mentioned that, sir," Zoë said with a frown. "But he didn't mention you bringin' back a girl."

Simon had stepped forward instantly when the girl started shaking again at the sight of so many strangers, his facial expression that of the concerned doctor rather than a curious crew member. Kaylee remained where she was, though she was eyeing the girl in wonder while the others all stared pointedly at Mal.

"Part of the arrangement," Mal said with a shrug. "We gotta drop off some meds and industrial equipment on Regina and then take this girl someplace safe."

Zoë's eyebrow climbed up her forehead in disbelief at this as she glanced at the girl. The new passenger was flinching away slightly as Simon tried to introduce himself as the ship's doctor, and her hand had instinctively traveled to grip at the collar of her dress so that none of her throat could be seen. Frowning at this, Simon began asking her questions about her health, but there was still no answer.

"Pay's good, Zoë," Mal said firmly. "'Sides, it wouldn't be right to leave the girl to be sold as a slave."

That got Mal's second in command's attention. Zoë looked more closely at the girl, as if trying to find some sign of her previous enslavement before nodding stiffly. "Should I send Wash and Jayne to pick up the goods?" she asked after a moment's silence.

"Yeah, do that," Mal said. "And you go 'head and join 'em so you can get the first part of our payment." Moving towards the doctor as Zoë and her husband began readying the mule, Mal arched an eyebrow in confusion. "Trouble, Doc?" he asked.

"I'm not entirely sure," Simon mused. "She won't answer any of my questions. It may be possible that she doesn't speak English."

"She doesn't talk," River said firmly, appearing at her brother's elbow and looking fixedly at the strange girl. "Her voice was stolen. She can't make noises anymore."

Staring at River with wide eyes, the silent girl nodded that this was true before she made a writing motion with her hands. Simon was too busy looking at his sister in confusion to see this at first, but when he did, he hastily grabbed writing materials for the girl. In large, elegant letters, the girl wrote out her first message to the crew.

MY NAME IS MEI-LIN CHAO. THANK YOU FOR FREEING ME.