Disclaimer: Don' own a thing. Joss is the Boss.

Chapter 1 - Promise in the morning

They were running, always running. They had the whole alliance on their tail. Always.

Not long ago, just after the Miranda broadcast, the crew of Serenity thought that they had a little victory against the big and scary machine called 'Alliance'. But it was just a thought, a little hope everyone harboured deep in their hearts. It was an illusion. The alliance never forgave its enemies. It was a game. Always a game of war, full of blood and death, torture and pain. The alliance was a machine created by humans to destroy them all. Humans killed humans and the alliance was the biggest and deadliest gun of all guns. It was really funny how just a thought of some scientist could grow and turn into destroyer of all humanity. The creation wasn't a Frankenstein. It wasn't a human being with thoughts of its own. It didn't live. It couldn't breath. It was dead. The death itself wasn't as scary as the alliance.

There were very few people who knew some of the alliance's secrets. For example who and why was financing some projects, where the unsuccessful projects disappeared to or who was the ultimate foe. The answer to the last question was the simplest one. The Alliance itself.

So much money was invested into creating the best technology to destroy, to eliminate, to kill. The factories and laboratories that got that money were having great time. They (or their owners) were getting richer and richer. They didn't care about any deaths on the Rim planets or any other casual deaths. All they cared about was money. The ongoing threats of the underground movements were scarring the ordinary rich people on the Core planets and they gave more money to kill the scary things.

The Alliance was never going to give up its pursue of its enemies. And Serenity's crew was topping the list of the biggest enemies. The answer to this problem was to kill them all. Exterminate the crew, or not. There were scarier and more efficient things than death - the Alliance itself - and becoming one part of the death machine.

Jayne sat at the breakfast table with the others. There was a discussion going on about their next job. It was more or less legal (the crew didn't really care about its legality). They had to get something from one place to another. Fair legal trade if you ask a businessman. It was just the content of the package that wasn't all that legal. Just some medical stuff to help people on the boarder planets.

Mal was planning like he always did. According to him everything was going to be just fine. Get the package, load it to Serenity, transport it, get paid. Logically it was a simple plan. With only one fault. It never went like Mal planned.

Inara and Kaylee were being optimistic about the plan. They wanted to help people who needed it.

Simon was silent. He knew Mal's plans never turned out alright. He, namely Mal, was going to be shot. Maybe his right leg or right arm. He hadn't been shot on his right side for a while, so it was time it happened. Simon didn't wish for it to happen. It was just a fact that Mal was like a moving target and all the bullets and sharp objects felt attracted to him (the most).

River was calculating the route in her head. Two planets not far from each other. One wanted to sell the other wanted to buy. Get in, take, get out, sell, get paid. Simple job. Simple life. Simple. No difficulties. Simple. The route had to be simple. Their cover-story for the package's content had to be simple, so no one would suspect its purpose. What could a planet at war need the most after the medical stuff - right weapons. But not just some weapons, the right kind of them.

The discussion in her head was interrupted by Jayne, who sat opposite in front of her.

'She has to die!'

Just a short sentence. Just some constellation of words. Just some random words. They made everyone stop in mid-sentence. Their eyes of different colours and histories looked at once at him. He wasn't looking anyone in the eyes. He watched the clock on the wall or was it in his head?

'What do you mean Jayne? Who has to die? Why? Are you going to kill someone? What are you talking about?' The captain was the first to respond to Jayne. He was as always a man of oh so many unnecessary words.

'She has to die. She cannot live any longer.' Jayne repeated the fist part of his thought and looking at the ship's pilot, added an explanation as an afterthought.

Simon, seeing what the merc meant, sprung to his feet ready to fight to death the uneducated big man.

'You come near her and I will kill you myself. You hear, I will kill you the most painful death …' He was going to continue his speech if not for Jayne who stood up, took a step back from the table and looked again at River.

'You have to die on that planet. Even if you don't want to. It is the best opportunity to get rid of YOU.' His cold eyes never blinked. 'If you don't die on your own, I will kill you. Take it or leave it, girl.' Jayne continued to stare at River. She didn't move. She couldn't move. She couldn't even open her mouth to reply to a death promise by Jayne.

End chapter one. Please review.