Author's Note: Hey there fellow Browncoats, it's nice to see that I'm not the only person out there that would like to burn Fox to the ground for getting rid of what I like to think of as the greatest TV Show ever thought up. This story takes place after the film that Universal Studios was kind enough to bless us with.

Unfortunately, this also means we will be forced to withstand a story without Wash. I know, this was one of the very few things that I might actually argue with Joss Whedon about. Whom, in case you didn't know, owns these characters, so please don't sue this poor college student that just wants to share his story and Serenity Sequel idea with his fellow Browncoats.

For the record, our new main character, Major Jonathan Hayes, has always and will always be envisioned as Ryan Reynolds for me. I don't know, he just fits the bill for me, so, if you find yourself asking, "What does Hayes look like?", thats who he looks like. With every new character, I will try and throw out an actor that I envision the character as, I find that when you have that sort of reference point for a character, you can envision him along side guys like Nathan Fillion and Summer Glau and Adam Baldwin just a little bit better. So, thats the main reason I'll throw that out there for you guys.

Plot Summary: We rejoin the crew of Serenity just a few days after leaving the former Operative of the Alliance. True to his words, the Alliance is not forgiving, and have decided to launch a full on assault against Malcolm Reynolds and his crew. With the 'verse in a state of shock, they couldn't do this in the public's eye, so they have hired several bounty hunters and high ranking members of the government itself to bring Reynolds and the rest of Serenity's crew in for punishment.

Chapter 1 - Back in the Black

Cold.

Thats what it felt like in a room surrounded by the filth who called themselves bounty hunters.

They didn't feel for anybody. All they cared about was the paycheck. It didn't matter who they killed or kidnapped, just that they got paid for it. Not like Jonathan Hayes.

Hayes has long been one of the brighter aspects of the Alliance. Trained from a young age, he was just under the level of an Operative, and the only reason the Alliance hadn't promoted him to that status was in order to continue his position of poster boy for most of the 'verse to look at as the perfect soldier for the Alliance.

But now, he was being asked to be no different than the common thug.

"As I'm sure you've seen," started General Gregory Kontos, "Not only has the information regarding the use of the PAX on Miranda been broadcasted throughout the 'verse, but the Alliance has taken a deep blow from the public over it."

Everybody had heard the tale. The true reason the Reavers roamed the black, looking for their next raiding grounds. The fact that the Alliance had been behind the whole thing? That just didn't sit well with folk, even in an age where people are more and more pro-Alliance.

"What you don't know, is that the message was broadcasted by one crew on a certain ship" continued Kontos.

Behind him, the images of eight people showed up on the large display.

Reynolds, Malcolm.

Washburne, Zoe.

Wasburne, Hoban. (Deceased)

Serra, Inara.

Cobb, Jayne.

Frye, Kaywinnit Lee.

Tam, Simon.

Tam, River.

"Hoban Washburne was killed during a battle prior to the broadcast. But the remaining seven are your targets. River Tam is your top priority. Both she and her brother Simon Tam have had previous warrants out for their arrest, but if you expect to be paid in full, you best bring in all seven for their immediate sentencing" said Kontos.

Hayes watched the bounty hunters mutter about the money. Hayes was here because he was the best, and Kontos didn't want another situation like what happened with the last man on their tail. He gave up. He let them walk away. Hayes had to remedy that mistake. He had to bring these criminals in, every last one of them.

According to Kontos and the rest of the board, these seven outlaws were monsters. Especially the Tam girl. They said she was the kind of terrorist that we only imagine in our nightmares. Could do things that could destroy the civilization that the Alliance had worked so hard to preserve.

Hayes had no idea who these people were and why they were such a threat outside their obvious ability to broadcast waves that didn't make the Alliance look so shiny, but if his superiors said they were high level threats, then that is exactly what they must be. Why would the Alliance lie about something like that?

Across the 'Verse, Mal Reynolds was just trying to get his little pilot to set a course.

"Look, just set the course!" shouted Mal.

River simply rolled her eyes.

"You still haven't told me wether to set the fastest course or the safest course. I set the fastest course, and you became angry because of our proximity to the Alliance. I set the safest course, and you became livid because of the estimated time for arrival" replied River in her usual River-ous tone.

For a second, Mal wasn't sure what to say. She had a point.

"I know I do, you are the one behaving irrational, Captain" quipped River.

"Hey there Albatross, you don't need to be having talks with my mind. My mind has no place in this conversation!"

River tilted her head.

"Thats not what I, you know, mean. Just set the course, Albatross!" shouted Mal over his shoulder as he left the bridge.

Rivera shook her head and giggled. Getting the Captain into a frenzy was her new favorite game.

Mal made his way way past the engine room, not stopping, but still managing to shout at Simon and Kaylee whom he didn't even have to look at to know they were fooling around yet again.

"She can't do her job if you have her on her back, Doc!"

The Captain wasn't necessarily okay with the relationship between his mechanic and medic, after all, we all know about the on-ship relationship rule. You know, the one that nobody pays attention to? But he sure liked seeing Kaylee happy. And if she was happy, Simon was happy. Which when Simon was happy, that meant the crew had to suffer through less and less of his, well, lets call it 'Simon-like Behavior'.

As he stepped into the cargo bay, he noticed Jayne doing his usual workout.

The Captain and the Merc weren't the best of friends, but since the untimely departures of Sheppard Book and Wash, the two had a solid unspoken agreement to have each other's back. Especially with Zoe still on the mend from the loss of her husband. She was a fine actor, putting on a show that she was ok, but the Crew knew better.

"You find us a job yet? I'm itching for a little gunplay, Mal" asked the Man-Ape-Gone-Wrong-Thing.

Mal winced at the topic. It had only been a week or so since the whole Miranda incident, but word travelled fast. Almost every person they could have worked for had heard about their little stunt. And as smugglers, that took almost every illegal job out of the picture because everybody knew that Serenity would be on the Purple-Belly Radar from now on. And the honest jobs? Well, it doesn't look like they want to deal with the former Browncoat or his crew either.

"No, things are looking mighty scarce. Badger hung up on me right after getting my wave" said Mal as he sat down.

Jayne sat up. He knew that they did the right thing about Miranda, but it was sure putting a hurt on them job wise.

"We could always trade the Moonbrain and the Doctor in, they'd fetch us a pretty penny" said Jayne.

The Captain shot the Hero of Canton a look.

"Or, you know, not. I don't see why we gotta be so gorram loyal to them. It'd be mighty shiny if we could eat you know, it ain't like we're rolling in the money here, Mal" said Jayne.

"You've been fixed up a time or two by Simon. Thats enough to be loyal in my book. Besides, we turn them in, and there ain't no reason why they'd let us walk away with coin in our pockets, Jayne. Even you know better than that. We're all in the same boat now" said Mal, knowing the road was dark up ahead.

Jayne grunted. "Thats what I was worried about, gorram feds are going to be gunning for us now!"

The Captain got up, seeing the shuttle door to the Companion's shuttle open.

"Well, no good deed goes unpunished. You weren't real sanguine that we'd walk away unscathed did you? You put the hurt on them, and they're sure to put it back on you tenfold" said Mal, leaving Jayne to his workout.

Making his way of the stairs, Mal couldn't help but wonder when Inara would finally snap and put her foot down. His lack of planet-side ventures since Miranda had certainly hurt her ability to meet with customers. In fact, he was pretty sure it had brought her trade to a halt, and even though the two had made an unspoken agreement to be more agreeable, he was a mite worried that she'd explode at any given moment.

She came out, robes dragging behind her. He could help but think how that was a mighty fast way to get her fancy get-up nice and dirty, the ship wasn't the cleanest place in the 'verse after all.

"Something funny, Captain?" asked the Companion as Mal chuckled a little bit.

Captain Tightpants was caught a bit off guard. "Funny? No. Umm, just, yeah, no."

Inara raised her eyebrows, "Do we have a course set? Or should I continue to put my clients on hold?"

"Well, we are heading towards Ferras. I don't know how many, umm, clients you can muster up, and I can't exactly tell you that we'll stay there longer than we need to, given we're really only stopping to replenish the food stores our resident Merc is complaining about-"

"Hey! A man has to eat!" shouted Jayne from below.

"- and our fuel is a little lower than we would like. Right now, it just isn't safe for us to stay in one spot too long. Alliance likely has us pegged as terrorists or something along those lines, and they're probably just aching to board this boat and give us a heap of trouble for filling the rest of the 'verse in on their dirty little secret" finished the Captain.

For a second, Inara opened her mouth with a look in her eye that reminded Mal of when she accused him of purposely keeping her off the job not long ago. But Inara quickly closed her mouth, and gave him a small nod.

"It's all to be expected after Miranda" she said.

Mal was once again caught off guard. But Zoe abruptly showed up to end this conversation before it could go south.

"Sir, River is calling you. Sounds like the com system is down again. We might have to get the hose and spray down the Doctor so Kaylee can get to work on it before too much longer" quipped Zoe.

The Captain just sighed, and ran his hand through his hair. He made the march towards the bridge, intending to stop by the engine room and tell Kaylee about the com system before he had to deal with the little Albatross again.

"Doc? Kaylee? Can I come in without being blinded for life?" he asked cautiously

Kaylee rolled her eyes, "Cap, you know me better than that."

It was Mal's turn to roll his eyes, muttering under his breath, "Tell that to the day I met you."

"I need you to take a look at the com system, 'parently it's down again. Doc's sister been squawking for me, and I didn't hear her yet again. On second thought, nevermind. Just leave it. Wait, no, yeah, fix it" said the Captain as he debated with himself.

"I don't know wether to be offended or to agree with him" said Simon, earning a smack from Kaylee.

Not wanting to watch their fluffy banter, Mal made his way to his pilot to see what her problem was.

"You need something, Little One?"

River turned her head with a serious look. "We've got trouble..."

Author's Note: I worry about the characters sounding as they should. So, if anybody has some advice like 'so and so should say things like this more often' or anything, I'd be more than happy to adjust accordingly. I'm used to writing for an entirely different brand of dialogue, so it should be a transition for me.

Bring on the flaming if thats what you feel about my story thus far, constructive criticism is always welcome. And if you want to praise me, well, ok! I will put up with that! Yeah, I'm going to go ahead and assume that's just not going to happen anytime soon. Just hit me up with what you liked, what you didn't like, suggestions. I'm used to working on a team of writers and idea-men, so bring it on. I love that sort of thing.

BTW, General Kontos would ideally be played by John Turturro.