Episode 2: Bushwhacked

It had been a few days since Sara joined Mal and his crew, and during that time she had actually grown to like all of them. She had left the ship temporarily when they had taken a job for a man named Adelai Niska which went sour as they always do for Mal's crew. She had also grown to like Jayne who was a colossal hundan. Currently, she was playing a game that looked similar to basketball which existed on Earth-that-was with some of the crew. She was currently just wearing a tank top and some jogging shorts along with running shoes. Her hair was also tied up into a ponytail. Jayne wore a sleeveless shirt, Wash wore a white or light grey tank top with striped white pants. Mal wore a maroon t-shirt alongside his usual pants and had the suspenders hanging off of his pants. Jayne had cargo shorts on. Kaylee had a v-neck t-shirt with patterns at the breast area that involved a couple of strings at the top on alongside her cargo pants. Kaylee had the strings untied, and had her hair up in a ponytail. Zoe wore a salmon colored tank top and a purple-ish pair of pants.

"Wah!" Jayne said as he threw the silver or steel colored ball through a steel hoop. He then laughed as Mal fumbled the ball which caused it to fall down on the ground. Both Jayne and Mal tried to get it, but Sara got to it first. She quickly picked it up and then threw it, but Jayne blocked it with his hand.

"Yes!" Jayne shouted in victory as he hurried after the ball, "Too tall! Too tall!"

"Jayne!" Wash shouted when Jayne had the ball.

"Little man!" Jayned shouted back as he threw the ball to Wash.

All the players try to get the ball while River and Simon watch from a catwalk above them. Zoe managed to get the ball, and shot it to the hoop. Apparently, the ball went through. Jayne had to jump in order to knock the ball out of the hoop.

"Yes!" shouted one of them.

"Come on, little girl!" Jayne shouted towards Sara, "Ha ha!"

As they were playing the game, Inara walked onto the walkway as Kaylee climbed onto Jayne's shoulders. Jayne ran towards the hoop, so Kaylee could put the ball in while Inara walked over to Simon. Inara wore a blue-like dress and Simon wore his usual white long-sleeved button down shirt under his vest, and had dress pants on.

"Hello," Simon said to Inara.

"Who's winning?" Inara asked.

"I can't really tell," Simon said as he looked down at the game, "They don't seem to be playing by any civilized rules I know."

"Well," Inara reasoned, "We're pretty far from civilization."

Inara then looked over at River who was watching the game intensely. River was wearing a dark pink-ish patterned dress currently

"How's your sister?" Inara asked.

"She's good," Simon said, "Better."

Inara nodded.

"She has her days," Simon continued, "and she still won't talk about what it was that they did to her at the academy."

"Perhaps she's not sure herself," suggested Inara.

"She dreams about it," Simon said, "I know that much. Nightmares. And now, on the run, on this ship, I don't know if I'll be able to help her here, and I need to help her."

"Simon, you are," Inara assured him, "Leaving your whole world behind. It's incredibly selfless."

"Yeah," Simon agreed bitterly, "I selflessly turned us both into wanted fugitives."

"Well," Inara reasoned, "we're all running from something, I suppose."

Suddenly, an alarm started blaring making all of the players stop what they were doing.

"Proximity alert," Zoe said as she looked up, "Must be coming up on something."

"Oh my god," Wash said alarmed, "What can it be? We're all doomed! Who's flying this thing!?"

Everyone then looked at him, and Kaylee was the only one that laughed. Sara just allowed herself a small smile.

"Oh right," Wash deadpanned in realization, "that would be me. Back to work."

"So I guess that makes us one man short," Kaylee said.

"Little Kaylee's always one man short," Jayne teased as he practically jumped down the short flight of stairs. That resulted in Kaylee punching him good-naturedly.

"Ow," Jayne reacted, "Hey."

"Say Doc," Kaylee called up to Simon as she caught the ball, "why don't you come on down, play for our side? Inara won't mind."

On the bridge…

Wash walked into the bridge and straight to the pilot seat and messed with some controls. After a few beeps and then a ding, he looked up and gaped as he saw a ship dead in space floating about. He looked forward to try and get a better look, but that was when a dead body slammed onto the windshield startling him. He cried out as he jumped backwards into his seat. The impact caused the ship to shudder a bit. Not long afterwards, Mal and Zoe climbed up into the bridge.

"Wash, you have a stroke or something?" Mal asked as he walked into the bridge.

"Near enough," Wash responded.

"What happened?" Zoe asked as she bent over to look at the readings.

Mal just stood there as he watched the dead ship slowly spinning around and around as the rest of the crew walked into the bridge to do the same.

"Wo de ma," Jayne said.

"Anybody home?" Mal asked.

"Been hailing her," Wash replied, "but if whoever's there is as healthy as the guy we just ran over, can't imagine anyone's going to be picking up."

"Bring us in a little closer," Mal said.

"Get you close enough to ring the doorbell," Wash said as he piloted the ship slowly.

"What is it?" Simon asked.

"It's ghosts," River whispered from her place in the doorway.

*intro begins*

Firefly

Take my love, take my land
Take me where I cannot stand
I don't care, I'm still free
You can't take the sky from me.

Take me out to the black
Tell them I ain't comin' back
Burn the land and boil the sea
You can't take the sky from me.

Leave the men where they lay
They'll never see another day
Lost my soul, lost my dream
You can't take the sky from me.

I feel the black reaching out
I hear its song without a doubt
I still hear and I still see
That you can't take the sky from me.

Lost my love, lost my land
Lost the last place I could stand
There's no place I can be
Since I've found Serenity

And you can't take the sky from me.

*intro ends*

The crew of the Serenity stared at the dead ship as they tried to determine what kind of ship it is.

"So," Mal asked, "what do we figure? Transport ship?"

"Converted cargo hauler," Wash replied, "maybe a short-range scow."

"You can see she don't want to be parked like that," Kaylee put in, "The port thrust's gone, that's what's making her spin the way she is."

"A short range vessel, this far out in space?" Simon asked confused.

"Retrofitted to carry passengers," Wash explained.

"Travelers pick them up cheap at government auction," Zoe continued explaining, "A few modifications and they serve well enough for a one-way push to the outer planets."

"Settlers," Sara said in realization.

"Cram fifteen, maybe twenty families on a boat that size, you pack 'em in tight enough," Wash said.

"Families?" Inara asked.

"Tell you what I think," Jayne spoke up, "I think that fellow we ran into did everyone on board, killed them all, then decided to take a swim through space, see how fast his blood would boil out of his ears."

"Possible," Sara said, "Especially if he went mad. If he was sane… I highly doubt that Jayne's right."

"He's a very 'up' person," Wash remarked.

"Shouldn't we report this?" Simon asked.

"To who?" Mal said sarcastically, "Alliance? Right. They're going to run out here lickety-split and make sure these taxpayers are okay."

"Then we'll have to," Sara groaned.

"If there's folks on board in need of help," Jayne asked, "why ain't they beaming no distress call?"

"It's true, there's no beacon," Zoe confirmed.

"Which means it's likely no one's looking to find her," Mal reasoned.

"All the ripe for the picking," Sara grinned.

"If there aren't any survivors," Mal reminded her.

"Right," Sara sighed.

Later, in the cargo hold…

Simon walked into the cargo bay with his medkit, but slowed down when he saw Mal and Zoe getting suited up in the spacesuits. He didn't even notice as Jayne walked up behind him.

"Where do you think you're headed?" Jayne demanded as he walked to stand in front of Simon.

"Thought I'd offer my services," Simon said, "in case anyone on board required medical attention."

"Well," Jayne said as he rested a weapon on his shoulder, "Cap and Zoe are going in first. We'll holler if we need you."

"Something wrong?" Jayne asked when he noticed Simon's worried expression.

"Hmmm?" simon said distracted for a second as he watched Zoe help Mal put on the helmet, "Oh, no. I suppose it's just the thought of a little Mylar and glass separating a person from… nothing."

"It's impressive what "nothing" can do to a man," Jayne agreed, "Like that fella we bumped into. He's likely stuck up under our belly about now. That's what space trash does, you know. Kind of latches onto the first big something that stops long enough."

"Hey now," Jayne then added rudely, "that'd be a bit like you and your sister now, wouldn't it?"

Jayne then cocked his gun before walking towards Mal and Zoe. Simon gulped nervously.

"Oh, don't pay attention to him," Sara said as she entered the cargo bay now wearing her bowncoat outfit, but borrowing Zoe's brown jacket this time. She also had her Taurus-38 strapped to her thigh. Her hair was still in a ponytail, but it looked like she had taken a shower… even though that was impossible on a ship.

"Kinda hard not to," Simon said.

"Yeah," Sara agreed as she stood next to him, "He has quite the mouth on him."

"You going with them?" Simon asked.

"Nah," Sara said, "somebody has to keep Jayne from killing you and your sister."

Simon looked at her with a fearful expression.

"I was joking," Sara said rolling her eyes, "sheesh. In any case, I'm going to wait until they call for me to join them."

With Mal and Zoe…

Mal and Zoe waited until the interior airlock door had fully opened before they walked through. As soon as they had, the door began closing itself. Mal then walked forward and opened the exterior airlock door.

"Entering adjoining airlock now," Mal said into the com. He and Zoe then proceed to walk into the other airlock.

"Okay," Mal said, "Wash, ask Serenity to knock for us."

They waited for a few seconds till the door in front of them buzzed open, and then they entered the ship. The lights were out and the corridor was fairly messy. They started forward with a flashlight and a sidearm out as they surveyed the ship's appearance. Mal turned down a corridor and continued walking.

"Emergency power's up," Mal remarked, "Dashboard lights."

Everything was neat and orderly, and so was the food that was on several tables in the ship's dining area.

"Whatever happened here, happened quick," Mal said as he looked around the dining area. They then resumed walking throughout the ship till they reached what is presumed to be the bridge.

"Everything was left on," Zoe said as they turned around, "Ship powered down on its own. No sign of a struggle. They're just…"

"Gone," Mal finished as he looked at her. They spun around as they moved their flashlights across everything till Zoe found something.

"Sir," Zoe said attracting Mal's attention to the computer terminal she was at, "Personal log. Someone was in the middle of an entry."

Meanwhile, with River…

River bolted up awake in her room and sobbed. Simon heard her and immediately came running to her room. He then hurried over to her.

"Shh, shh, it's okay," Simon said calmly and kindly as he placed his hands on her arms, "it's okay, I'm here. Bad dreams again?"

"No, I can't sleep," River said shaking her head, "There's too much screaming."

"River, there is…" Simon reassured her, "there is no screaming."

"There was," River corrected him quietly.

That was when Sara appeared as she inspected her sidearm.

"Hey! Grab your med kit," Sara said, "Mal wants us both over there on the double."

"Jayne too?" Simon asked already knowing the answer.

"Jayne too," Sara confirmed, "He's already going over there."

Simon then stood up and away from River and headed to the doorway.

"They found survivors?" Simon asked.

"No," Sara said, "But who knows. We may find some yet."

"Right," Simon said, "I'll ask Inara to look in on River."

"Okay," Sara said as she holstered her sidearm, "I'll meet you over there."

Sara then began heading to the cargo bay.

"Do we need to put on a suit?" Simon called after Sara.

"No," Sara called back.

Simon then returned into River's room one last time to see if she was alright.

"Nightmares are back," River muttered.

"It's okay River," Simon said with a smile, "You'll get past them. You're smart and strong girl."

"Not mine," River said looking at Simon as if he was dumb, "Her's."

Later, on the other ship…

Simon slowly entered the ship, alone, looking nervous. He moved as cautiously he could through the dark corridor, his breathing loud and irregular. Eventually, he entered the small room that Mal and Zoe had found. Currently, Jayne, Mal, and Zoe were on their feet while Kaylee and Sara were sitting down on chairs. Zoe was messing with a computer terminal, but that's as much activity they were doing. Everyone turned to look at him.

"Hi," Mal said surprised to see Simon, "Um, what are you doing here?"

"Sara said you wanted us over here," Simon said as he gestured to Sara.

"I requested Sara and Jayne to come, yes," Mal said, "but I didn't say anythin' about my need for you to be here."

"Oh," Simon said before he looked at Sara and asked, "Why?"

"Thought it'd be funny," Sara shrugged. Jayne just snorted.

"All right, enough," Mal said coming to a decision as he handed a bag to Simon, "Ain't got time for games. As long as you're here, you may as well lend a hand. You can run with Kaylee. Let's be quick about this people, all right? A few loads each, no need to be greedy."

"Where are all the people?" Simon asked.

"Ship says lifeboat launched more than a week ago," Mal replied, "We're going to assume everyone got off okay. Anyway, we're just here to pick the bones. You two start in the engine room."

"Jayne, Sara," Mal said as he turned to Jayne and Sara, "you take the galley."

Sara and Jayne then followed Simon and Kaylee out of the room and into the galley which was the end of the line for them.

"Sir," Zoe said worried as she picked up two bags and turned to Mal, "I count sixteen families signed on. Lifeboat wouldn't hold a third of that."

"I know," Mal said as he held up a walkie talkie of some sort, "Wash any luck?"

"I think I found something that pretty well matches that class," Wash replied, "Layout looks about right. Seems to me any valuables, if there are any, likely be stored somewhere C-deck, aft."

"Good work," Mal said as he smiled at Zoe, "Keep the engine running, shouldn't be long."

Meanwhile, with Inara…

Inara slowly walked down the stairs as she headed towards River's room in order to check on her as she promised Simon she would. She also carried a tray of food with her in order to give it to River. When she arrived at the door she knocked.

"River? It's Inara. Are you hungry sweetie?" Inara asked before opening it to see an empty room, "River?"

With Simon…

"Aren't you the least bit curious?" Simon asked as he watched Kaylee mess with stuff in the engine room.

"About what?" Kaylee asked as she glanced at Simon.

"Well…" Simon said as Kaylee went back to work and he looked around, "what happened here. Why would anyone abandon their ship in the middle of nowhere like this?"

"All sorts of reasons," Kaylee said as she looked at the machinery, "Just not the mechanical."

"What?" Simon asked confused.

"There ain't nothing wrong with this," Kaylee said as she began pulling on a piece of equipment, "Not that I can see, anyhow."

As soon as she finished her statement, the piece of equipment sparked as she tore it from the engine.

"Whoo," Kaylee said smiling as she held it up to show it to Simon, "Well there's a good one. Hold the bag open."

She then dropped it into the bag which forced Simon down as well due to the weight that he wasn't expecting. Especially, since Kaylee made it look so light when she picked it up. Kaylee was clearly stronger than she looks.

Meanwhile, with Mal and Zoe…

"This looks to be it." Mal said as they arrived at a section of the ship that had blinking red lights on the walls. Zoe turned a dial next to the vault, but when it made a beeping sound she turned to look at Mal.

"Locked," Zoe said.

"Well now," Mal smiled, "I'd say that's like to be a very good sign."

He then got down onto the floor and began assembling a device, and when he stood he held a portable plasma cutter in his hands. He also had welding goggles on his face, so he wouldn't be blinded when he started welding. After he activated the cutter he moved towards the vault and began slowly cutting the vault door out of the wall.

A minute or so later…

The door fell inward with a resounding clank. Zoe entered first as Mal began putting the plasma cutter away. When they had both entered the vault, they began moving about the room inspecting all of the trunks and boxes it was stacked with. Zoe headed to a portion of the vault and flicked back a cloth of some sort revealing a case. She then opened it revealing a child's doll, along with everyday things that would be found in a suitcase. Mal on the other hand inspected a stack of plastic crates.

"Here," Mal said attracting Zoe's attention prompting her to walk over to him, "Genseed, protein, crop supplements. Everything a growing family needs to make a fresh start on a new world."

"Hard subsidies for fourteen-plus families," Zoe said amazed, "That's…"

"About a fortune," Mal finished coming to a decision, "Forget the rest, we just take this stuff. We're going to need a hand hauling it out of here."

Zoe headed to a crate, but stopped as a thought crossed her mind. She then turned to look at the captain.

"Sir," Zoe said, "Even on a lifeboat, you'd think those who escaped would have found room for some of this."

Mal stayed silent as he moved his flashlight to see River standing there looking upwards.

"Nobody escaped," Mal guessed hoping to high heaven that he was wrong.

"Sir?" Zoe asked confused.

He and Zoe then followed her line of sight and came to a sudden, and horrible conclusion to the mystery of "what the gorram hell happened to the crew."

"Nobody," Mal repeated as he looked at what remained of the crew. The entire ship's crew were chained up to the ceiling and gutted. They were dead.

"Oh my god," Zoe said as she and Mal came to the same realization.

"Zhen da omei," Mal said horrified, "I know what did this."

He then glanced to Zoe as he said, "Get her out of here."

He brought up his walkie talkie thing and spoke into it with his captain voice, "Jayne, Sara. Drop whatever you are doing, and get to the engine room. I want you to take Kaylee and the doctor off this boat."

Up in the galley…

Jayne and Sara listened to Mal's orders in the dark galley. Suddenly, the lights flashed on to reveal a man attacking Jayne from behind. Jayne gets knocked into a table; pots and pans clattered to the floor. From the dropped walkie-talkie we hear Mal's voice.

"Jayne?" Mal said.

Sara suddenly panicked as her eyes grew wide and pulled out her Taurus-38. She shot at the man over and over again till it clicked. However, she didn't even notice that it was empty and continued clicking as she flashed back to the last time she crewed on a ship.

Several years ago…

Sara had shorter hair back then as she had just escaped from the prison, and she served as the gunhand for a cargo ship that was neutral to the alliance and the independants. However, she was wearing her black leather jacket over a white shirt, tight blue jeans, and combat boots. She also had her Taurus-38 strapped to her thigh. She was currently tossing her combat knife into the air out of boredom as she watched the crew inspecting the cargo to see if it was alright. Suddenly, the ship lurched and an alarm blared.

"This is the captain speaking," said a British voice, "We are currently under attack by an unknown vessel."

Sara quickly sheathed her knife and ran up into the bridge to the captain's chagrin. The captain wore a suit and tie while the pilot wore a white t-shirt, and blue jeans. The pilot also had a bit of a beard growing while the captain was beardless and had glasses on.

"Wángbā dàn," Sara cursed.

"Language!" the captain said hotly, "Now go back to your post!"

"Don't you know what kind of ship that is?!" demanded Sara as she pointed at it.

"An unknown vessel," the captain said with a sense of superiority.

"That ship is leaking radiation!" Sara nearly shouted, "Only ones crazy enough to fly a ship like that are gorram Reavers!"

"Come on Sara," the captain said weakly, "reavers are just ghost stories told to…"

"Ah hell with this," Sara said before she punched the captain in the face knocking him out.

"What the hell did you just do?!" the pilot exclaimed.

"Saved our lives," Sara said as she leaned over the pilot, "Now, tell me you can get us away from that ship."

"Uhhh…" stammered the pilot as he fiddled with the ship, "N-n-n-no. W-w-w-w-we're going t-t-t-t-t-too slow."

"What if we lose the cargo?" Sara asked.

"W-w-w-we might be f-f-f-f-fast enough," the pilot replied.

Sara then activated the intercom to speak into it.

"This is Sara MacLeod," Sara said, "Our coward of a captain is currently taking a nap on the floor, so I'm declaring myself acting captain. That 'unknown vessel' that attacked us? It was a Reaver ship. We're currently going too slow to outrun the ship, so here's what I want you to do. Get out of the cargo bay. I'm going to vent it and the cargo out."

Sara then deactivated the intercom and turned to the bridge's exit.

"We don't have any spacesuits!" the pilot exclaimed, "What you're planning is suicide!"

"Maybe," Sara said as she stopped by the door, "but at least, most of you will survive. If the idiotic captain had his way, we'd just talk to the Reavers. Reavers NEVER negotiate."

She then walked down to the cargo bay, but it was too late. The Reavers were already in and the lights were flickering. Sara fired shot after shot at the Reavers that were in the process of raping one of the crewmembers. She was barely 18 and still had her virginity too. She was the last of the crewmembers that had survived this long, other than the pilot, captain, and Sara. Once she realized it was too late for the girl, Sara fired a shot into the girl's head to give her mercy from their assault before running back through the ship while being chased by a Reaver. She quickly found an escape pod, but stopped so she could speak into the com system.

"We're too late," Sara said grimly, "the Reavers are in. There's no way you can get to the escape pods in time. I advise you to set the ship to self-destruct in five minutes. At least that way, you can die in an explosion instead of by a Reaver's hand. Good bye."

She then jumped into the escape pod and closed the door right before a Reaver reached her. She quickly hurried into the pilot's seat and ejected the pod just as the Reaver forced the door open. That resulted in any Reavers having been near the escape pod getting sucked out into the vacuum of space before the blast shields automatically shut.

The present…

Zoe, Mal, and River were walking through the ship quickly with the intend to leave as they listened to the gunshots go off before they stopped abruptly.

"Captain?" Wash yelled through the com with concern, "Captain. Zoe!"

"It came from above, Sir," Zoe said.

"Galley," Mal said with his sidearm out. He then walked forward quickly and aimed his gun down a corridor as he turned it. However, he quickly lowered it when he saw Kaylee and Simon.

"We heard shootin'," Kaylee said concerned.

"River!" Simon said shocked as he walked to her when he saw his sister, "What are you…?"

"I followed the voices," River explained.

"Don't ever leave the ship," Simon reprimanded her while Zoe walked past him, "Not ever."

"Handle her, will you son?" Mal said as he and Zoe walked off.

"What the tyen shiao duh is going on in there?" Wash demanded.

"Not now, dear," Zoe said meaning for Wash to shut up.

Zoe and Mal slowly walked into the galley as they looked for Jayne and Sara and noticed that trays, food, and whatnot were on the floor. A table was also overturned. Mal held his sidearm up, and when he heard something he quickly aimed at it. However, he lowered it when he saw that Sara was squeezing the trigger on her own Taurus-38 repeatedly as it clicked. Jayne was also unconscious on the ground. Simon hurried over to Jayne to do his duty as the ship's medic while Mal walked over to Sara. Sara didn't even see them as she had an expression of fear on her face. Her face was pale, and her eyes widened.

"Sara," Mal said calmly as he slowly walked towards her, "Sara. Can you hear me?"

However, Sara didn't respond. That made Mal frown, but nonetheless he continued walking till he was right in front of her. He waved his hand in front of her eyes, but when she didn't respond he looked at Simon.

"How's Jayne?" Mal asked as he slowly pulled the sidearm out of Sara's hands.

"He's fine," Simon said in doctor mode, "He's just unconscious. He'll wake up with a bruise to his head, but that'll be it."

"Good," Mal said as he stepped back from Sara, "now diagnose her."

Simon walked up to Sara and pulled out a penlight to flash it into her eyes. When her pupil's widened he sighed.

"She's fine physically," Simon said, "But I honestly can't say what's wrong with her."

"Are you thinking its psychological?" Zoe asked.

"More than likely," Simon said.

"She thought she saw her nightmare," River spoke up, "Made her remember."

"Reavers," Mal said somehow understanding, "She's survived Reavers."

"Shèngjié de gǒu shǐ," Zoe cursed.

"Okay people," Mal said, "find whoever attacked Jayne, but stay as far from him, her, or it as you can."

"Look for blood as well," Zoe said, "Sara emptied her sidearm at the attacker, so there's a high chance she hit him with at least one bullet."

"She did," Simon said looking at a blood spot.

"Doc," Mal said, "You look after Sara and Jayne. We'll come back for you."

"Sure thing," Doc said as he sat down on an empty seat.

Mal followed the blood trail to a circular screen that covered up a cubbyhole. Gasping came from inside as Mal removed the screen. They found a young, terrified man hiding in the small space.

"No," the guy said, "no, no."

"Shh," Mal lied to the man, "easy now. No one's going to hurt you."

"No," the guy continued, "no mercy, no."

"I mean," Mal continued as he reached for the guy, "more than we already did. We got lots and lots of…"

Mal then punched the guy rendering him unconscious before he picked him up and dropped him onto the floor.

Back on the ship…

Sara had been lain on her bed so that she could be comfortable till she recovered from her spat of PTSD. That's where she found herself when she "woke up." She jerked upwards into a sitting position as she looked around herself, but she calmed down when she recognized her surroundings. She slowly got up from her bed and walked to the door. She walked around for a bit till she found the others, and when she had they were outside the infirmary.

"So," Kaylee asked as she walked away from some stairs, "How's our patient?"

"Aside from borderline malnutrition," Simon replied, "he's in remarkably good health."

"So he'll live then," Inara sighed.

"Which to my mind is unfortunate," Mal said.

"Really Mal?!" Inara exclaimed, "How can you be so callous? This man deserves our mercy!"

"Mercy would be putting a bullet in his brainpan," Mal countered.

"Mal!" Inara exclaimed again.

"Only save him the suffering," Mal said as he turned around to close the infirmary doors.

"Alright," Mal said as he locked the infirmary doors and turned around, "no one goes in here. Nothing more we can do for him now, not after what he's seen."

"What do you mean?" Simon asked confused.

"That ship was hit by Reavers," Mal said bluntly as he walked off.

"Reavers?" Jayne asked in a scared tone as he jumped to his feet.

"Zao gao," Wash said.

Jayne and Wash then turned to look through the infirmary to their unexpected passenger.

In the kitchen…

Mal was currently getting himself something to drink as Inara walked into the room.

"Mal," Inara asked, "How can you know?"

"He don't," Jayne replied for him as he and everyone else walked into the kitchen, "that's how. No way. It was that other fella, the one we ran into, like I said before, he went stir-crazy, killed the rest, then took a walk in space."

"Just a second ago you said that…" Kaylee began.

"It doesn't matter what Jayne said," Sara said quietly as she slowly walked into the room, her face still pale as snow, "Reavers don't leave survivors."

"That brings me to you," Mal said as he looked at her with a stern expression, "How did you survive being attacked by Reavers?"

"I didn't," Sara said as she put a hand on the wall to keep herself steady.

"The hell you didn't!" Mal yelled, "I found you spaced out with your finger squeezin' nonstop on your sidearm! After that, we found the guy you unknowingly shot. The guy that attacked Jayne! Nobody ever reacts the way you did 'less they encountered reavers before! So, tell me the damn truth!"

"Enough!" Inara shouted at Mal, "Can't you see, she's barely keeping herself up?! This is a conversation that you should keep until after she has had a chance to recover!"

"I would if we had the time," Mal said, "but we don't. Especially, not while we have that guy on this ship."

"Well," Inara said as she walked to Sara, "Make time. I am going to take her to my shuttle, so she can recover without having to listen to anything involving Reavers and away from you."

Inara then placed her hand on Sara's back and gently escorted Sara out of the room and to her shuttle. That's when Wash decided to speak up.

"Why did they leave a survivor?" Wash asked.

"Strictly speaking," Mal replied as he took a sip of his drink, "wouldn't say they did."

"What are you suggesting?" Simon asked.

"Doesn't matter that we took him off that boat, Doctor," Mal replied as he sat down at the table, "it's the place he's going to live from now on."

"Why're we still sitting here?" Jayne asked abruptly, "If it was Reavers, shouldn't we be gone?"

"Work ain't done," Mal said half-truthfully, "Still substantial money value sitting over there."

"Whoa," Jayne objected, "I ain't going over there with them bodies, no ruttin' way. Not if Reavers messed with them."

"Jayne," Zoe said with her usual blank expression, "you'll scare the women."

At that, Jayne shut his mouth. However, Simon took that as his cue.

"I'll go," Simon offered, "I've dealt with bodies, they don't worry me."

"I'd like to go with him," Kaylee said, "Maybe see what I can do about putting those folks to rest. You may have abandoned religion, cap'n, but I still like to believe. Especially, in these instances."

"Those folks already resting pretty good, Kaylee," Mal said, "Reavers saw to that. 'Sides, I need you here."

"What if it was me?" Kaylee asked, "Would you be like this, or would you do some buryin'?"

"Alright," Mal sighed, "you go say your words."

"Jayne," Mal said turning his attention to Jayne, "you'll help the doc and Kaylee cut down those people, then you'll load up the cargo."

"I don't believe this," Jayne said unhappily, "We're sitting put for a funeral?"

"Yes, Jayne," Mal said as he stood up to walk a bit towards Jayne, "that is exactly what we're going to do. Not going to have these people looking over my shoulder once we're gone. I'm not saying there's any peace to be had, but on the off chance there is, those folks deserve a little of it."

Jayne grumbled as he and Simon left the room, but Kaylee stopped at the door to smile at Mal.

"That was real pretty Captain," Kaylee said, "what you just said."

She then hurried up to Jayne and Simon to walk with them.

"I didn't think you were one for rituals and such," Wash said surprised as he walked up to Mal.

"I'm not," Mal admitted before he took a sip of his drink, "but it'll keep the others busy for a while. No reason to concern them with what's to be done."

"Sir?" Zoe asked confused from her chair.

In Inara's shuttle…

Inara had Sara strip down so she could give Sara a massage once again. Sara was currently just laying down on her front as Inara massaged her back, shoulders, neck, and other areas. As Inara massaged her, Sara began relaxing. The more relaxed she got, the more she recovered from her PTSD concerning Reavers. Especially, since she forgot all about Reavers due to how lovely the massage felt.

"I'm sorry about Mal," Inara said after a few minutes of silence, "He's not always like that. There are times when he is a very nice man, but other times… not so much."

"It's okay," Sara said honestly, "I can understand where he's coming from. He's afraid that I'm a danger to him and his crew."

"Still," Inara said, "It's no excuse for him to yell at you like he did."

"I suppose," Sara sighed, "Mmmm you're good."

"I know," Inara smiled, "Massages are one of the requests companions get from our clients."

"I can see why," Sara smiled, "The more you do this, the more I'm tempted to hire you on the spot."

"Oh," Inara said as she stopped, "you do remember that I don't sleep with the crew right?"

"Yes," Sara said with her smile fading, "I said I was tempted, not that I was going to. Why are you massaging my back this time anyway?"

"You needed it," Inara said as she continued massaging Sara's back, "I think a day like today requires me to throw price out the window for those suffering PTSD."

"I don't-" Sara began.

"Yes you do," Inara said, "I may not have seen them in person, but I do know the signs."

After that conversation, silence took over the duration of the massage.

With Mal…

Wash, Mal and Zoe stayed still in the bridge as they looked at a camera feed of some snaky cables that had latched onto Serenity who knows how long ago. Probably as soon as they docked onto the ship.

"It's a real burden being right so often," Mal said unhappily.

"What is that?" Wash asked nervously.

"Booby trap," Mal explained, "Reavers sometimes leave them for the rescue ships. Triggered it when we latched on."

"And when we detach?" Wash asked.

"It blows," Mal said grimly.

"Okay," Wash said nervously, "so we don't detach, we just, I don't know, sit tight until…"

"What," Zoe asked, "Reavers come back?"

"This is why I wanted Kaylee on board," Mal said unhappily.

"Want me to go get her?" Zoe asked.

"No," Mal replied, " Don't want to worry anyone on the other ship. Just com down to her. Tell her what's going on, and ask her what we should do."

"Sir," Zoe said, "If they overhear her, they'll start to panic."

"Then have her say it quietly," Mal said as he headed to the bridge's exit, "I don't care how she says it as long as she does. I'm going to go have a chat with Sara. Com me when we have what we need."

Back with Sara…

Sara had been getting a massage for who knows how long, but now she felt ready to stop. However, she didn't really want to as it felt really nice. So, she just laid there continuing to allow Inara to massage her back.

"So," Inara said, "What exactly happened when you first encountered Reavers?"

"I really don't feel-" Sara began.

"You can't keep stuff like this in," Inara said, "You need to tell someone."

"Fine," sighed Sara, "I was a gunhand on a cargo ship not long after I had escaped prison. There was a thud on the hull of the ship, and when the captain said that we were being attacked by an unknown vessel I hurried up into the bridge. I immediately recognized what they were from stories I heard. The captain was a core boy, so he couldn't accept that they were real. I ended up knocking him out and declaring myself acting captain. I had planned to vent the cargo bay so the ship could outrun the Reavers, but the Reavers had already made it inside. I saw almost the whole crew getting attacked by Reavers. I tried to save one of them that was still alive, but it had already gone too far. So, I shot her in the head. After that, I ran to the escape pods. The pilot and the captain were too far away to make it, so I commed the bridge and told the pilot to set the self-destruct before I myself got into a pod and jettisoned away just before Reavers could catch me."

"So," said a familiar male voice suddenly, "That's what you meant by you didn't survive the Reavers. You ran away and saved yourself."

Sara suddenly opened her eyes and looked at the door. In the doorway stood Mal with his arms crossed. Fortunately, her rear end was being covered by a towel, but that didn't make her any less embarrassed.

"I thought I told you not to enter my shuttle without knocking first," Inara said unhappily, "Now get out."

"Sure thing," Mal said, "I got the info I needed anyway. I have some pressing matters to attend to."

"What kind of matters?" Sara asked as she slowly rolled over till she was sitting up. She covered herself in Inara's blanket in the process.

"If you must know," Mal said reluctantly, "The Reavers booby trapped the ship we docked into. If we leave, we'll become drifting in space till the Reavers return. Same conclusion if we stay more or less, so Zoe and I are going to do what we can to detach the cables. If we fail, we'll explode."

"Maybe I can help," Sara offered.

"What are you going to do?" Mal asked sarcastically, "show the cables your nudity?"

"No," Sara said with a frown, "My family invented the firefly ships. I know how to fix them, and what to do for scenarios where the ship is tethered by an explosive cable or more."

"Well then," Mal said, "More you learn about a person. Alright then. You want to prove you can be trusted again, then don't blow us up."

He then left Inara's shuttle, but wasn't gone long cause he popped his head back in.

"Don't bother getting dressed," Mal said, "Consider it as punishment for not telling us that you have been in the presence of Reavers before. If you do get dressed, I'll come up with a worse punishment."

"Mal!" Inara exclaimed angrily.

Mal just ignored her as he left the shuttle again. Sara frowned as she stood up allowing the blanket to fall down onto the floor.

"I'll talk to him," Inara said, "You don't have to do this in the nude."

"Yes I do," Sara grunted, "As a way to show that I can be trusted. I'll just imagine that I'm dreaming. Always nude in public during my dreams anyway… even the ones involving Reavers."

Later, in the cargo bay…

Sara walked down the stairs completely in the nude with a blank expression and to the hole that Zoe and Mal had revealed for Sara to climb into. Zoe widened her eyes at Sara's nudity while covering Wash's, but Mal remained stonefaced as Sara climbed down into the chamber.

"They jerry-rigged the ship with a pressure catch," Mal informed Sara, "Kaylee said that it could be bypassed easy iffin' you get to the DC line."

Sara nodded as she picked up a tool and then wormed her way into a crawl space. She spent a few minutes looking for the right line, and when she found it she clipped it. The line oozed a dark viscous liquid. She then wormed out of the crawlspace and proceeded to climb out of the chamber. She had gotten out of the chamber just as Jayne walked in.

She heard Jayne wolf whistle which prompted her to cover herself since she couldn't get back into the chamber and hide inside the crawlspace as Mal and closed it.

"What's going on?" Jayne asked, "and why she all nekked?"

"Well," Mal responded, "I'd have to say, right at this particular moment, not a thing. Right?"

"Not a gorram thing," Sara confirmed as her face grew red.

"Why she nekked though?" Jayne asked again.

"Uhhhh," Mal said as he scratched his head, "I said I'd give her a bonus if she spent the day without clothes."

At that, Sara looked at him with a panicked expression as well as with a glare. Zoe too narrowed her eyes a little bit at that.

"Awesome," Jayne said with a lecherous smile as both Kaylee and Simon walked into the cargo bay.

"Just get that merchandise put away," Mal said not liking the smile as Wash headed up to the bridge.

"Uh," Simon said noticing Sara's appearance as he grew red in the face, "Why is-"

"Never you mind that," Zoe said before looking pointedly to Mal, "she's going to go put on some clothes now."

"Right," Mal said as Jayne began putting the crates into one of the many nook and crannies in the ship, "Sara, I'll give you your bonus early. Go ahead and get dressed."

With that Sara bolted back up the stairs as she headed to Inara's shuttle to retrieve her clothes. Jayne couldn't keep his eyes off of her as he watched how Sara's buttcheeks jiggled and how her tits bounced. Mal on the other hand hurried over to the interior airlock door.

"Jayne!" Zoe barked getting his attention when he noticed what he was doing. Mal looked back from the interior airlock door when he heard Zoe, but then returned his attention as he closed it.

"Everyone's home Wash," Mal said into the shipboard com, "let's go."

With that, Serenity detached from the dead ship and floated away from it. Just as Mal began heading back to where Zoe, Jayne, Simon, and Kaylee were the proximity alarm began blaring.

"Oh no, nonono," Jayne panicked stopping what he was doing, "don't you say that. It's the Reavers. It's the gorram Reavers come back!"

"Get that stuff stored," Mal ordered as he headed towards the bridge instead.

"Like it's gonna matter!" Jayne exclaimed.

"Just do it!" Mal ordered as he climbed up the stairs with Zoe following.

On the bridge…

"Reavers?!" Mal asked in concern as he hurried onto the bridge, but slowed down when he saw what was out of the viewport. It was an Alliance Cruiser.

"Firefly class transport, you are ordered to release control of your helm," an alliance goon said as Mal walked till he was standing next to Wash.

"Looks like civilization finally caught up with us," Mal remarked as he began heading to the exit of the bridge.

With Sara…

Sara had just finished putting on her clothes when she heard the proximity alert, but when she turned to leave Inara stopped her.

"Stay," Inara said, "take a break from being Mal's gun hand. Especially, after what he just had you do."

"If it's Reavers I have to face my fear," Sara said, "I won't run this time. Not when I have something to fight for."

Sara then exited the shuttle and hurried down to the cargo bay and met up with Mal on the way there.

"Reavers?" Sara asked.

"No," Mal said, "Alliance."

"Mal," Sara said as she slowed down a second, "There's one more secret I have to tell you."

"Then spit it out," Mal said without breaking stride.

"My family put a bounty on my head," Sara confessed, "That makes me the second person most wanted by the alliance. Between River and Simon."

"Well," Mal frowned, "That's just dandy. At least you said it to me now before some alliance stooge mentioned it."

Later, in the cargo bay…

Jayne had just put the cover back on the hiding place when Sara and Mal walked into the cargo bay on the catwalks.

"So," Jayne asked as he turned to look at Mal, "What was it?"

"Open the stash," Mal ordered, "pull out the goods."

"What?" Jayne said confused, "Just got done putting it in."

"Yeah," Mal said as he hurried down some stairs, "and I'm telling you to take it all out again."

"Why for?" Jayne asked confused.

"I got no notion to argue this," Mal said as he continued down the stairs, "In about two minutes time this boat's going to be crawling with Alliance."

That gave Simon a scared look.

"No," Simon said horrified as both Zoe and Wash helped with stacking the crates in the center, "We've got to run."

"Can't run," Mal countered, "They're pulling us in."

"If they find us," Simon stammered in fear, "they'll send River back to that place. To be tortured. I'd never see her again."

"Stack everything here," Mal said as he handed a crate to Wash, "in plain sight. Wouldn't want it to seem like we got anything to hide. It might give them Alliance boys the wrong impression."

"Or the right one," Wash added.

"That too," Mal agreed.

"Now go run and fetch your sister," Mal said to Simon.

"What?" Simon asked shocked attracting Mal's attention.

"Why," Simon demanded, "are you going to put her in plain sight, too?"

"Simon," Sara said before Mal could speak, "Mal won't surrender you or your sister to the feds."

"Of course you side with him," Simon said angrily, "You two went to the war together, hell you're probably screwing every night now that you're together again!"

"Don't get tetchy," Mal said annoyed, "Just do as I say."

"Is that why you let us stay?" Simon demanded, "So you could use us as bargaining chips?"

"I knew there was a reason," Jayne grinned as he leaned on some stacked crates.

"They are not taking her and you are not giving her to them!" Simon yelled.

"Simon!" Sara yelled getting his attention before he calmed down, "Don't be a fool. You are a part of his crew, and he never leaves a man, or woman, behind. Now go get your sister."

Later, with Mal…

Mal, Zoe, Kaylee, Jayne, Inara, and Wash all stood next to the crates as the Alliance pigs walked into cargo bay as if they owned the place. Jayne was the only one sitting down on a crate and Wash had his hands held up.

"Well, quite a lot of fuss," Mal remarked as he looked at the amount of alliance soldiers while they disarmed them and searched around, "If I didn't know better, I'd think we were dangerous."

"Is this your vessel?" the alliance commander demanded.

"It is, bought and paid for," Mal replied honestly, "I'm Captain Malcolm Reynolds."

"And is this everyone, Captain?" the commander asked.

"By way of crew it is," Mal said half-truthfully, "though in our infirmary you're going to find a fellow that we rescued off that derelict. Saved him, guess you could say."

"Hmm," the commander said skeptically before he gestured to his soldiers to check it out.

"Straight through the back," Mal hollered helpfully, "next to the common area."

"And these items," the commander said referring to the crates, "I take it you rescued them as well."

"Truth be told," Mal said, "We were hoping to keep them for ourselves. Don't have all that much aboard ship food or medicine-wise, but if the alliance requested that we surrender the crates we would comply with their wishes."

"Somehow I find that hard to believe," the commander said, "Why do you think that is, captain?"

"Cause you're an alliance soldier," Mal said, "people dressed like me and mine tend to give the impression that we're lying sacks of gou shi."

"Can't argue with that," the commander agreed.

"Here's what I think is going on," the commander said, "It looks to me like an illegal salvage operation."

"It does?" Mal said, "Well that's discouraging."

"Yeah," the commander said, "and Alliance property. You could lose your ship, Captain. But that is a wrist slap compared to the penalty for harboring fugitives. A brother a sister, and a blonde woman by the name of Katherine Morrissey. When I search this vessel, I won't find them, will I?"

"No children or blondes on this boat," Mal said truthfully.

"Hmm," the commander said, "I didn't say 'children'. Siblings, adult siblings."

"I misunderstood," Mal said.

"Hmmm," the commander said before he turned around and walked a few steps away.

"No chance they could have stowed away?" the commander said as he turned back around, "No one would blame you for that Captain. I know how these older model Fireflies tend to have those troublesome little nooks."

"Do they?" Mal asked.

"Smugglers and the like tend to prefer them just for that reason," the commander said as he began walking towards Mal again.

The commander then looked towards his returning soldier and turned his ear to the soldier in order to hear what he found.

"We will continue this conversation in a more official capacity," the commander shouted to everyone. The soldiers proceeded to grab Mal and his crew by their arms and pull them towards the airlock. Mal rolled his eyes at this.

"I want every inch of this junker tossed," the commander said to the soldiers that were remaining on Serenity.

"Junker?" Kaylee said offended as she was escorted.

"Settle down," Mal said, "Kaylee."

"But Captain," Kaylee objected, "did you hear what that purple-belly called Serenity?"

"Shut up," Mal said.

Outside Serenity…

Sara, Simon, and River were currently floating in space wearing spacesuits as they watched through one of the view ports as the alliance soldiers ransacked the ship looking for them.

"Man I hate these things," Sara grumbled to the other two, "so uncomfortable with clothes on."

"I really did not need to hear that," Simon said going red in the face when he thought of what she could be implying.

"I agree with Sara," River smiled, "much more comfortable without clothes. Just as nature intended, but was prevented when Adam and Eve bit from the forbidden apple in the Garden of Eden."

"I really did NOT need to hear that," Simon repeated getting even redder as he couldn't get the image of River nude out of his mind.

On the Alliance Cruiser…

Inara was the commander's first choice to interrogate because she was easy on the eyes. So, he had her brought to an interrogation room that was actually quite spacious.

"You are a Companion," the commander stated.

"Yes," Inara confirmed.

"And you were based for years on Sihnon," continued the commander as he read her file, "It's only in the last year that you've been shipping out with the crew of
The Serenity?"

"It's just Serenity," Inara confirmed, "and that's correct. In a few weeks, it will be a year."

"Oh," the commander said.

"Why is this important?" Inara asked curious.

"I'm just trying to put the pieces together," the commander replied, "It's a curiosity, a woman of stature such as yourself falling in with…"

He then paused for a few seconds.

"… these types," finished the commander as he glanced down at the file.

"Not in the least," Inara said displeased with his insinuation, "It's a mutually beneficial business arrangement. I rent the shuttle from Captain Reynolds, which allows me to expand my client base. And the Captain finds that having a Companion on board opens certain doors to him that might otherwise be closed to him."

The commander then switched to Zoe who was fairly easy on the eyes as well, but had a hard face. A face that indicated she didn't like him at all. They had been at the interrogation for quite a while cause she wasn't being very helpful.

"And do you love him?" the commander asked Zoe.

"I don't see how that's relevant," Zoe said bluntly.

"Well," the commander said, "he is your husband."

"Yes," Zoe confirmed.

"You two met through Captain Reynolds?" the commander asked.

"Captain was looking for a pilot," Zoe said, "I found a husband. Seemed to work out."

"You fought with Captain Reynolds in the war?" the commander asked.

"Fought with a lot of people in the war," Zoe said.

"And your husband?" the commander pressed.

"Fight with him sometimes, too," Zoe said.

"Is there any particular reason you don't wish to discuss your marriage?" the commander asked exasperated.

"Don't see that it's any of your business, is all," Zoe said truthfully, "We're very private people."

As the commander interrogated all of Mal's crew it became evident that they were all loyal to him. The only one that actually gave useful answers was Inara, but there was nothing to indicate that Mal was a psychotic terrorist that would slice tongues down the middle.

At Mal's interrogation…

The commander felt that Mal was the most dangerous since he inspires such loyalty. With that in mind, he had an armed guard placed by the wall with them for security. This interrogation room was actually fairly small. The commander stood there for a while as he looked over Mal's file.

"So, by now," Mal spoke up, "I figure you've been over to the derelict. Seen it for yourself."

"Yes," the commander said, "Terrible thing."

"You want my advice," Mal said knowing the commander didn't, "you won't tow it back. Just fire the whole gorram thing from space. Be done with it."

"That ship is evidence," the commander said as he turned a page in the file, "I'm not in the habit of destroying evidence."

"Course not," Mal said as he leaned forward onto the table, "Be against the rules. I'm going to make a leap here and figure this is your first tour here, out on the border?"

At that, the commander closed the file and threw it onto the table before placing his arms behind his back.

"That's a very loyal crew you have there," the commander said, "But then I can tell by your record you have a tendency to inspire that quality in people."

He then paused for a few seconds.

"Sergeant," he added.

"It's not 'Sergeant'," Mal said as he sat straight in his chair, "Not no more. War's over."

"For some the war will never be over," the commander said, "I notice your ship's called Serenity. You were stationed on Hera at the end of the war; Battle of Serenity Valley took place there if I recall."

"You know," Mal said, "I believe you might be right."

"The Independents suffered a pretty crushing defeat there," the commander continued as if Mal hadn't spoken at all, "Some say that after Serenity the brown coats were through. That the war ended in that valley."

"Hmm," was Mal's only response.

"Seems odd that you would name your ship after a battle you were on the wrong side of," the commander said.

"May have been the losing side," Mal said honestly, "Still not convinced it was the wrong one."

"Is that why you attacked that transport?" the commander asked as he walked around the table to Mal.

"What?" Mal asked confused.

"You're still fighting the same battle, Sergeant," the commander said not believing Mal's confusion, "Only those weren't soldiers you murdered. Those were civilians, families. Citizens loyal to the Alliance, trying to make a new life for themselves and you just can't stand that, can you?"

"So we attacked that ship," Mal said leaning forward trying to make sense of the commander's assumption without finding any, "then brought the only living survivor to our infirmary. That's what we did?"

"I'd ask him," the commander said, "Only I'm not sure he'll be able to speak with his tongue split down the middle."

"Wǒ de tiān a," Mal said in realization.

"I haven't seen that kind of torture since…" the commander said as he walked away from Mal, "well, since the war."

"Oh I should have known," Mal said to himself quietly.

"You and your crew are bound by law," the commander said with finality, "Formal charges will be transmitted to Central Authority."

"Commander," Mal said quickly, "I'm not what you need to be concerned with right now. Things go the way they are, there's going to be blood."

A few minutes later…

Mal had told the commander everything about his "salvage" mission on the ship and what he found excluding the fact that Sara, Simon, and River were present.

"Reavers?" the commander asked skeptically as he sat down.

"That is what i said," Mal confirmed.

"You can't imagine how many times men in my position hear that excuse," the commander said amused at Mal's attempt to stay free, "'Reavers did it.'"

"It's the truth," Mal said.

"You saw them, did you?" the commander asked curious.

"Wouldn't be sitting here talking to you if I had," Mal said.

"No, of course not," the commander said still not believing Mal.

"But I'll tell you who did," Mal continued as he leaned forward, "That poor bastard you took off my ship. He looked right into the face of it. Was made to stare."

"It?" the commander asked confused.

"The darkness," Mal explained, "Kind of darkness you can't even imagine. Blacker than the space it moves through."

"Very poetic," the commander said trying not to laugh.

"They made him watch," Mal said, "He probably tried to turn away, and they wouldn't let him. You call him a survivor? He's not. A man comes up against that kind of will, the only way to deal with it, I suspect, is to become it. He's following the only course left to him. First, he'll try to make himself look like one. Cut on himself, desecrate his flesh and then, he'll start acting like one."

The commander sniffed once before he pressed a buzzer summoning the guard that was waiting outside the door.

"Let's have two MPs up here to escort Sergeant Reynolds to the brig," the commander said no longer amused by Mal's attempts at freedom.

Back on Serenity…

Simon, Sara, and River were now inside the ship again and Sara couldn't wait to get out of the space suit. However, she had to go about it slowly so she started with taking off her helmet. She turned to help Simon and River take theirs off, but Simon gestured a "not yet." In which case, she just settled with Simon helping her take her's off.

"Let's go again," River said excited.

"Not unless I go nude under the suit," Sara said which made Simon go red again.

"Later, maybe," Simon said trying to forget what Sara said, "Captain said once the coast is clear, we should lay low in the shuttle. Come on."

Simon then began walking off till River spoke again.

"He's coming back," River said with a little bit of fear.

"Yes, yes of course he is," Simon said misunderstanding, "They all are."

"No," River shook her head, "Not them. Him."

She then looked up at Sara who looked at her in return.

"Your nightmare," River said. Sara widened her eyes as she realized what River meant and pulled out a small knife as a way to defend them since she had to leave her Taurus-38 back in her quarters.

Back on the Alliance Cruiser…

Mal was pulled out of the chair by two MPs who had very strong grips as he couldn't get free even though he struggled with all his might.

"Your ship and its contents will be auctioned," the commander said while an alliance soldier walked up to him, "the proceeds of the sale will be applied to the cost of your defense."

"Get him out of here!" the commander ordered the MPs.

"Go to full lock-down," the commander said to the 3rd soldier, "I want guards on the nursery."

"It won't matter!" Mal said as he being escorted away while the commander headed to the room's exit stopping him from leaving, "You won't find him. But I know where he'll go."

Back with Sara…

Sara slowly but surely led them through the ship, but Simon was completely confused and wasn't afraid to admit it.

"What the heck is going on?" Simon asked, "What did she mean, by your nightmare?"

"Reavers," Sara whispered, "Reavers are my nightmare."

"Oh," Simon said, "but we didn't come across any thankfully, and why are you whispering?"

"The survivor?" Sara explained, "There's a high possibility he is on his way to becoming a Reaver, and Serenity is familiar ground to him. He'll be on the hunt."

"Oh. My. God," Simon said as his face went white, "If that's the case, we need to get back in space where he won't follow."

"You go then," Sara said, "It's high time I start facin' my fears and fightin' them."

Sara then continued onward with River right behind her. Simon wasn't about to leave River so he reluctantly came with. Sara then led them into the ransacked dining room, but River tried to hold them back. This time Simon decided to play along.

"Wait, no!" River panicked, "Don't, don't."

"Let's just get out of here," Simon said.

"It's okay mei mei," Sara said reassuringly, "I'll be perfectly fine."

With Mal…

The commander and Mal arrived at the corridor that led to Serenity and found a soldier bloody and quite dead laying on the floor. The commander held up a fist indicating them to stop walking.

"Why would he come back here?" the commander asked.

"Looking for familiar ground," Mal replied, "He's on the hunt."

"Alright," the commander said to his men referring to Mal, "let's get him to the brig."

"No, no, no…" Mal objected, "whoa, I should go with you."

"That's out of the question," the commander said.

"How many more men do you feel like losing today, Commander?" Mal reasoned prompting the commander to lower his sidearm and look at him, "Nobody knows Serenity like I do. I can help you."

The commander considered it for a few seconds before he decided that Mal's offer was a good one to accept.

"We let him go first," the commander nodded to the guards.

"Right," Mal said as he turned his back to the commander revealing cuffed hands, "you want to, uh?"

The commander then uncuffed Mal's hands right before cuffing them in front to Mal's dissatisfaction.

"Thanks," Mal said sarcastically as he gestured with his hands, "Now I really have the advantage."

The commander then gestured with his head for Mal to go first, which Mal immediately complied with. Mal then led them down the corridor and to Serenity where the newly reborn Reaver was waiting.

With Sara…

Sara looked around as stealthily as possible, and then stopped when she felt like she was being watched. Suddenly, something leapt at her from behind. She only had time to turn around before she was tackled to the ground. Immediately her attacker began ripping and cutting her clothes off. However, she thwacked him on the head knocking him onto the floor. She stood back up with sliced and torn clothes, but when she looked to where he was… he had gone.

"Gou shi," Sara cussed under her breath as she continued looking for her attacker. Suddenly, she heard footsteps which attracted her attention. She looked in the direction the sound was coming before hurrying back to River and Simon forgetting about the Reaver temporarily. She hid them just on the side of the door way.

With Mal…

Mal slowly led them through the ship as they looked for the Reaver, but so far they haven't found him. Eventually, they arrived at the dining area which Sara had just vacated. He led them down into the dining area as he kept his head on a swivel. He noticed one of Sara's knives on the floor and subtly walked toward it. He used the guise of kneeling down to look under the table so he could pick it up, and when he stood up he had it hidden in his boot.

Suddenly, one of the soldiers was attacked as the Reaver came in for the kill. As the Reaver killed the soldier, blood sprayed on the commander's face forcing him to close his eyes a bit. The Reaver then grabbed him and tossed him to the ground before kneeling over him and shaking his face from side to side while uttering animalistic sounds. Mal was able to use that to his advantage and wrap the handcuff's chain under the Reaver's neck and pull back. He kept pulling back till the Reaver was no longer over the commander and then snapped his neck before laying him onto the ground.

"I'd hate to say I told you so," said Mal, "but I kinda did."

Later…

Serenity detached from the Alliance Cruiser with the entire crew on board.

"You saved his gorram life he still takes the cargo," Jayne said grumpily, "Hwoon dahn."

"He had to," Mal said as he turned around, "Couldn't let us profit."

"Wouldn't be civilized," Mal said as he walked off.

Jayne, Zoe, and Wash just stayed in the bridge as they watched the Alliance Cruiser blast the dead ship into smithereens.

At night…

Sara tossed and turned in bed completely nude as she had nightmares of Reavers. Even though she was able to fight that newly reborn one off, she still couldn't shake the nightmares of Reavers. They had only gotten worse since this whole ordeal. Her nightmares were so horrid, that River couldn't sleep. River decided to head over to Sara's room. When she arrived at Sara's room she opened the door quietly and laid down right next to Sara under the covers and swung her arms over Sara onto Sara's left tit. Now that Sara's dreams were beginning to calm down River drifted off to sleep.

In the morning…

Sara woke up slowly and found River asleep in her bed right next to her. She immediately went red in the face and began putting on clothes. As soon as she was dressed she exited her room and walked to the dining area. It was only five minutes later that Simon walked into the dining area and punched Sara hard.

"Leave river alone!" Simon demanded, "She's just a 17 year old girl, and she has mental issues! She doesn't need any sexual relationships yet!"

"I didn't do anything!" Sara countered as she massaged where she was hit, "Unless you count waking up as doing something. I woke up and she was there. That's it."

"Not Sara's fault," said River's voice from the doorway, "Sara's nightmares kept me awake, I had to go silence them. Physical contact was the only sure way to do so."

Simon only grunted in response before he sat down and grouched without taking his eyes off of Sara, because he didn't believe River was the one at fault or that Sara was in any way innocent.


yes, i'm back people. i had gotten extremely irritated by something which caused me to discontinue this story, but as is evident i decided to recontinue it. i'll do the entire season excluding The Train Job and Safe, and i'll add one or two of my own as well.