Hum. Hum. Hum. The gentle pulsating roar of serenity's engine may be a nuisance for many. Passengers, guests, even several crewmembers complained frequently that the noise made by the ship was like water torture, keeping them up all night, preventing them from eating, crawling its way into their minds to prevent them from hearing their own thoughts. Even the ship's very own captain occasionally wished that he could get one singular moment of quiet from the constant, unbreaking noise.

The hum really did bother everyone, but one. Kaylee Frye. Ship engineer. Many nights (if you would really even call it nights when in space), Kaylee would sit in her bunk, and slowly let the noise lull her to sleep. The pulses of the gravitational simulator gave a soothing beat. The turns of the proton thrusters made a sweet melody. She would lie down, close her eyes, and listen to the soft composition of serenity. Except for one night.

Kaylee sat up in her bed, her back as straight and stiff as a wooden plank. She counted the sections of the composition over and over. The beat of the simulator. The melody of the thrusters. But there was something else, something she knew that shouldn't be there. A chime. A small clinking from the engine that was so subtle, anyone could easily miss it. Something so loud yet so quiet, so sweet yet so dangerous.

Then, out of nowhere, she felt a hand rest on her arm.

"Kaylee, its late. Go to sleep," sleepily muttered a soft voice. Simon. She turned to look at him, lying in the same bed beside her.

"What are you doing up?" He pressed, slowly waking up.

"Something aint right," She gulped, "Something's wrong with her"

"I'm sure everythings okay. Go to sleep," He muttered, slowly trailing off. Kaylee paused and took a breath.

"No… No this is definitely bad. Bad bad bad." She said, slightly louder.

"Mmherrrhmmm," Simon replied slowly.

"I'm gonna go see the captain." She said, as she got up and started walking to the door.

"Kayleeee," He called after her groggily. She was already gone, closing the door behind her and walking away from the artfully decorated sign depicting "Kaylee and Simon's room" on it.

When everyone was asleep on serenity, it gave the ship an aura of disturbance. Everything seemed slightly different without the familiar sound of conversation and footsteps echoing throughout the passages.

Kailee made her way down the erie staircase to the captain's quarters. She walked up to the door and then paused-ready to open the handle. The captain had never welcomed anyone entering his bunk-especially when he was sleeping. Although, before she could open the door she heard fast paced footsteps behind her, nearing closer and closer.

Quickly, she reached for the gun at her holster and pointed it at whomever was nearing her.

"Whoah whoah Kaylee what the Dìyù are you doing up?" Wash looked at the gun, "And… apparently about to shoot me?" Kaylee put the gun back in her holster.

"Wash you shouldn't sneak up on me like that. I need to tell captain something...something important. Why are you here?" She asked, with sudden interest in what had brought him at such a late hour. Could it have been the noise as well?

"It's um… It's-uhhh… well to be honest I'm not entirely sure what it is," Wash said with a look of nervousness and suspicion. "But the captain needs to see it," he continued, "It's definitely… he needs to see it."

"Is it about the noise?" Kaylee asked.

"What noi-" Wash interrupted himself and shook off the question, "Doesn't matter. Not enough time."

Before Kaylee could stop him, Wash reached for the handle and pushed the thick iron door open. The two of them walked up to the captain, sleeping soundly in his bunk.

"Captain we have a situation," Wash said flatly. "Possibly two situations," Kaylee added.

Mal slowly woke up. Confused, he looked around his room and then looked at the two crewmembers with a puzzled look.

"Kaylee. Wash. What the Tā mā de are you doing here?! Do you know what time is is?!" He yelled at them angrily.

Walsh replied, "Look, I know you're mad-" Mal interrupted, "Damn straight I'm mad. You better have a rutting good reason for getting me up!"

"Trust me I do," Wash said.

"Then what is it?!"

"I- I just have to show you." Wash stumbled, "Just come to the bridge"

"Fine," Mal exhaled. Instead of getting up, he sat there for several moments, doing nothing. Kaylee and Wash glanced at each other, then back at their captain.

"Sir?" Wash hesitated.

"I'm waiting for you two to leave… I don't have any clothes on all right!" Mal said, not looking at them.

"Oh um- okay sir. Loud and clear," Wash said. As the two walked out the door, Wash leaned over to Kaylee and whispered, "Nothing we haven't seen before."

Kaylee and Wash waited outside the captain's quarters for a bit less than a minute. Eventually he came out, glanced at both of them, and then Wash began to lead them to the bridge. Even with the three of them marching through the ship, it was still incredible eerie. They reached the door the the bride. Wash looked at Kaylee and Mal with a look of worry, and then pushed open the door.

They couldn't move. What was seen outside of the ship was a sight so menacing. It was the one thing, the one thing in the entire galaxy that no ship would ever want to be mindly close to. A black hole.