"Serenity Valley – bloodiest battle of the entire war. The independents held the valley for seven weeks, two of them after their high command had surrendered." - The Operative, Serenity

Mal looks up at the sky expecting angels and sees hellfire. It's a long moment before he can tear himself away, reassert control over mind and limbs. When he does, he sees Bendis in a bloody heap, and the sandbags of their shelter shuddering. "Sir," Zoe says. "Command says to lay down arms." She's crouched next to Baker's corpse, watching him closely, looking to see if he'll break. A bomb hits too close to their hideout and knocks the top layer of sandbags into the mud.

Mal watches them fall. "Tell the 82nd to hunker down until the bombs blow over, and get the 76th to cover our flank."

Zoe shifts. "Sir?"

"We're holding this Valley no matter what." He looks away from the bulges of canvass, stares at Zoe as hard as she's staring at him. The radio crackles, and far off someone shrieks with pain. The bombs keep falling, the brightest things on the planet.

"Yessir."

Zoe puts the earpiece back in, ignoring the blood and brain matter that's made it slick. Mal looks down at Bendis, thinks of Baker lying there with his own gun. Cowards, both of them. But there's no anger. Just a sort of numb pity. He fumbles underneath his collar, grabs the small chain around his neck and yanks. The chains bite into the back of his neck but hold fast. He tugs again, harder this time. It hurts, but the chain breaks. What use is God in Hell? He drops the small silver cross his Mama gave him on Bendis. He watches the blood inch over the cross's surface and lets the chain slither through his hands to fall next to it. No use at all, that's what.

"Sir."

Mal turns, sees Zoe watching him with something unreadable on her face. He looks down at Bendis, looks up at Zoe, and pulls himself together. "Rest of the men found that high ground?"

Zoe nods, and Mal leans forward, pulling his feet out of the mud. "Let's go. Once the bombing is over, we fight."

There's a moment of silence. Zoe follows him, but she says, "Sir –"

Mal interrupts before she gets the words out. "I ain't so far beat I can't keep crawling, Corporal. And I'll carry you myself if I have to."

Zoe's silent a few more steps. They pass a pile of bodies too scorched to tell their allegiance, and Mal breathes in through his mouth to avoid the stench. Zoe slips off the boarded walkway and steps on something in the mud that crunches. "No, sir, I figure I could keep crawling, too."

Mal turns back and smiles as one of the bomb flashes illuminates his face. "That's good, Zoe. Real good."