Author's Note: I'm trying to keep everything as cannon as possible, please let me know if anyone is OOC. Rated T because I'm paranoid; it's probably not that bad. As always, feedback is loved.

Chapter 1

There was something about a ship hanging useless against a black backdrop that made the silence in space seem even more silent. But, then again, looks can be deceiving. The ship wasn't useless, unlike the pitiful craft it had just slunk away from a few hours before, taking all valuables and leaving barely anything more than the steel frame. The usual shindig.

The silence inside Serenity was broken by a clanging of metal against metal sound from the engine room. It was far from unusual for Kaylee to be awake, working on fixing one of her ship's many broken parts while everyone else was asleep. What made this particular instance unusual was that River, with a far-away look in her eyes, was slowly making her way down the hallways, as quiet as the space just outside Serenity's frame.

That was, until she stopped outside the engine room and whispered, "She's bleeding."

Kaylee jumped at the sound of a voice behind her, letting her wrench she was working with fall to the ground.

"River!" Kaylee stood up and looked out into the hallway to see if anyone else had noticed River's insomnia, "What are you doin' out and about Serenity at this ungodly hour?" As if she expected a response that made sense to a human with a brain that hadn't been tempered with.

"The smallest slit left unattended... she'll bleed to death." River tilted her head as she continued talking to Kaylee, even with her back turned.

"Kaylee, everything okay in there?" The Captain had emerged from his cabin, having been woken when Kaylee dropped her wrench. Malcom was already blinking in the light, but had to blink a few more times when he saw River, "What's goin' on?"

"You'll drown her," River said in response before Kaylee could reply.

"She just came saunterin' down here, Cap'n," Kaylee explained, "She's been spoutin' this nonsense about someone bleedin' to death..."

Kaylee was cut off when the ship shook underneath them and threw her off balance. She and the Captain exchanged a glance, while River walked into the engine room and stopped in front of the steadily turning engine.

"She'll take us down with her."

The one thing about having crew quarters right next to each other in one hallway, was that it doesn't take long for news to travel. It didn't take long for the entire crew (excluding Wash, who was busy landing Serenity) to gather in the dining room and they wasted no time on voicing their opinions.

"A Central Planet? Didn't we have some intricate plan about how we was going to avoid those after playin' vulture?" Jayne said, spinning his knife casually on the table.

"Cheyenne is on the very edge of the Alliance's control," Zoe explained in her monotone voice, "If we lay low, we should be able to refuel and make a clean getaway."

"Do we know what started the fuel leak?" Simon was smart to keep his eyes flitting around the table, although everyone (save Kaylee) knew he was looking for Kaylee's answer.

"Apparently the ship we salvaged had a security system that alerted the Alliance after the Cap'n and Zoe melted the door," Kaylee answered in a low voice, her eyes cast downward at the table, "We went to full burn. I knew it would be too much for her..." Kaylee trailed off, becoming emotional, as usual, when something happened to her ship.

"Well, all that don't matter now," Mal decided to stop the conversation before it turned into a debate, "We need to refuel, there's no question about that. Plus, Cheyenne's a pretty famous mining planet. We might be able to pick up somethin' extra on our way out. And, as Inara has pointed out many times, there are many more potential, wealthy clients on the Central Planets." While Mal's plan was originally to prevent an argument, he couldn't resist singling Inara out.

Before Inara could bite back a retort, Wash's voice came over the intercom, "Inara, we've hit atmo, ready for shuttle departure."

"Try not to kill each other while I'm gone." Inara turned away from the Captain and strode down the hall to her shuttle.

"No promises." Came Jayne's muffled reply, as he used the tip of his knife to floss his teeth.