As far as Firefly is concerned, I'm no AU writer; I even flinch from doing BDM, because I think the movie and the series are irreconcilable. But sometimes an idea pops into my head and stays there, clogging it, until I get it down. Fallshirmjager commented that 'Man of Action' seemed AU because it didn't follow post-BDM canon, and as fast as you can say, 'Oh, yeah?' the floodgate opened. Some of these might be developed into real stories. If anyone wants to run with them, they're yours. Send me a message when you post, though; I'd like to see what someone else does with them.

Lawrence Dobson was a man suddenly faced with crisis and opportunity. And Lawrence, being rather high-strung, wasn't handling either well.

For the past three years, he'd been a municipal cop in Aster, a good-sized burg on Persephone. That whole time, he'd been attached to the Small Crimes Division, a dead-end job dealing with pickpockets, vandals, and shoplifters. It was frustratingly undemanding work; it took a truly stupid individual to try to work a crowd or mark up a wall with cameras watching your every move. The shoplifters were even stupider, trying to get ident-tagged items past the detectors at the stores' doors. Dobson's part in bringing such people to justice usually consisted of riding out to the store's security office to pick them up. He'd been known to take his frustrations out on such rejects on the way to the station from time to time, which might be one reason he couldn't get promoted here with any bribe he could afford. He'd been submitting applications to police forces all over, trying to find a better job.

Finally, one of his offworld applications had come back with an appointment for an interview. It was from the Boros Federated Police, a real move up and a golden opportunity just a step away from Federal service.

But the interview was scheduled for five days from now, and there were no liners scheduled to dock at Boros in time. A charter was way beyond his means. That left just one possibility: one of the small private ships that wandered among the worlds taking on passengers and cargo.

But the only place such tramps were allowed to land on Persephone was Eavesdown Dock, where Chinese gangs kept order, and cops, even Feds, traveled only in pairs. If he wanted to take ship to Boros from Eavesdown, it would have to be as a private citizen.

It had gone smoother than he'd expected. He'd been told that hardened criminals could smell cops, but no one questioned his identity as he'd asked around for a suitable ship, and he'd found one quickly.

As he stowed his gear in the cargo hold with the other passengers, his attention wandered to a well-dressed young man escorting a cryo box into the ship. He'd overheard the little redhead at the ramp introduce him to the captain as 'Simon.'

Then he remembered a bulletin that had come out a while back about a fugitive named Simon Tam. Kidnapping. Criminal trespass on Federal Property. Theft of Federal Property. Conspiracy. Aiding and abetting an escape from custody. Flight to avoid arrest. Several other charges he couldn't remember.

The name didn't mean anything, really; 'Simon' was a common enough name in the Core, and 'Tam' was common as dirt, like 'Smith' or 'Chan'. It might even be an alias. He'd need a closer look.

The boy bent over the box, intent on the telltales. Dobson drew close and pretended to stumble over him as he put away his gear, in order to get a better look. The young man's features seemed close to the picture he'd seen, but he couldn't be sure. He decided to call up the bulletin on the Cortex as soon as he got to his room.

Deep in thought, he stumbled over a hatch lip on his way to his room, nearly dropping his bag. He snapped out of his fog. Idiot. You get out of Shoplifter Central for a day, and you're a manhunter. What are the odds of stumbling on a dangerous Federal fugitive your first time offworld? He reviewed the list of charges. This guy doesn't look half desperate enough. He might steal from a pension fund, but he's not going to tweak the government's nose; everything about him screams 'Establishment.'

Shaking his head at his own credulity, he entered his room, resolving not to compound his folly by looking up the bulletin, and settled in for the trip to his interview.

III

Mal watched through the airlock window until the traitor stirred, then tapped on the window for attention, com in hand, and pointed to the matching unit on the floor.

His unit squawked. "Sir? Mal? What-"

"What did I tell you, Zoë?" He glared through the window at her wide-eyed face. "I told you I was the only one for you, back when we were humping in the mud between artillery barrages. You believed it then, but you forgot." He turned his back on her, as she'd turned her back on him. "Did you really think I was gonna let you go to rut with another man under my roof, eat together at my table? Huh?"

No answer. He looked through the window again, and saw why. The com was on the deck behind her while she held the body of her husband in her arms. Mal wasn't proud of that; Zoë had been the faithless one, Wash had just done what came natural, but there was no way he could have the pilot aboard after he'd settled with his traitorous mate. He'd smiled behind gritted teeth for months, watching them together, waiting for someone to board who could take over as pilot. Wash had foolishly agreed to train up Jayne for a backup.

He started up the catwalk steps. "Used to keelhaul traitors, back in the day, but I don't have a keel to haul you on, so…" He hit the button to drop the ramp, and the roaring of the wind drowned out her brief scream.

III

Jayne, dressed in a paramedic's uniform, opened the door to the courtyard and gestured impatiently. Simon rolled his sister's wheelchair towards the exit, making soothing sounds while she whimpered, "No, I don't wanna go back…"

The moment they cleared the door, uniformed officers appeared from all sides. Simon spun and tried to go back, only to be blocked by their big companion.

"Simon Tam," Jayne intoned, "by the authority vested in me by the Federated Alliance of Planets, you are bound by law."

An officer stepped up as Simon and his sister were cuffed. "Excellent work, Agent Cobb."

Jayne spat on the concrete. "Pure luck. I spend two years movin among the scum of the 'Verse, looking for signs the Independents don't know they're beat. I figure tramp ships would be a good way for rebels to move people and messages and such, so I latch onto one that looks especially promising. And come up completely dry after eighteen months. I'm about ready to give up when this dandy comes aboard with his little sister, and I find out we've been looking in all the wrong places for rebel activity."

"What do you want to do with them?"

He waved a hand. "Send the girl back where he got her from, I suppose. But you-" He looked with feral intensity at the shocked young doctor. "You are gonna tell me everything you know about the Resistance. Then you're gonna tell me everything you don't know you know. Gonna wring you out like a rag, Mister Top Three Percent. When I'm done, you won't be able to count to eleven with your shoes on."