Mal was up and walking by the time they reached orbit around Di Yu. Simon had saved his kidney, and much of the color had returned to his face. Except for the fact that he winced every time he took the stairs, he seemed pretty much back to normal. Book had returned to his usual routine as well, and was cracking jokes about his effectiveness in battle.

Zoë communicated with the embassy, and though she didn't speak with Li Jie's parents, she was assured that they'd be at the landing pad when Serenity touched down.

A couple orbits later, and Wash got the okay, breaking orbit and entering the atmosphere. Mal, Zoë, and the others were waiting in the cargo bay, along with a heavily sedated Li Jie, strapped to a stretcher. Inara had found a silk robe to dress him in, but it did little to civilize the disfigured man. His breathing was rapid and ragged, as if he suffered nightmares in his sleep.

Mal's eyes kept going to the harpoon tips still sticking through the wall, and the rough, misshapen line interrupting the door. Once they got paid, he was fixing those first.

When they landed on the diplomatic pad, and the bay doors opened, the crew was startled by the sound of trumpets and cheering. The crew shared a look, and Jayne's hand went to the gun tucked in his belt at the small of his back.

There were hundreds of people lined up on both sides, dressed in their Core-world finest. Confetti was flying from somewhere, and fireworks were going off. A brass band was playing joyous music, and there was a large greeting party waiting at the bottom of the ramp, looking very official. Mr. and Mrs. Tsu were front and center. Mal realized that if anything, the clothes they were wearing when he first saw them was 'dressing down'.

The crew of Serenity stood at the top of the ramp, looking around nervously at the crowd, the musicians, the fireworks, and the politicians. This was about as far from normal as they'd ever experienced.

The music came to a conclusion, and they waited for what was to come next. No one from the greeting party was making a move to come up the ramp or to begin a speech, despite the large microphone placed directly in front of them. After a long, uncomfortable silence, Mal looked back at Zoë and inclined his head towards the crowd, "Should we…?" he said.

"I think so, sir," she responded, and the group started down the ramp, Mal and Jayne carrying the front of the stretcher, and Book and Zoë carrying the back. Kaylee stayed on board with River, enjoying all the pageantry, and openly enjoying Mal's discomfort as well. Simon and Inara flanked the stretcher on each side, and greeted Mr. and Mrs. Tsu when the group came to a stop in front of them.

Inara bowed to Li Jie's mother, who returned the bow. "Mrs. Tsu," she said into the microphone, "we thank you for the honor of this greeting. We bring you peace and good tidings."

"Mr. Tsu," Simon greeted Li Jie's father with a bow, "We return your son to you, though I caution he is not as he was, and it may be some time before he remembers who he really is."

Mr. Tsu spoke next. "We, the parents of Tsu Li Jie, the government who serve him, and the people of this world who love him, greet you, and thank you. We can never repay what you have done this day."

Mrs. Tsu took over. "Our son will receive the best care available, and when he is ready, he will return to the service of these people. We invite you and your crew to join us, for a ball in your honor, as well as our son's."

Mal's face fell. "What? No —" he started. Simon was looking at him with such shock and embarrassment that he stopped and tried to cover it with a cough.

Inara stepped up to the microphone, but was staring down Mal as she spoke. "We are honored by your invitation, and of course, gratefully accept."

The rest of the ceremony passed in a blur, and in the end, the band played another tune. Six of the men flanking the Tsus came forward and took up position around the stretcher. Mal and the others stepped out of the way, and they carried it off toward the embassy at a slow parade march. The Tsus followed behind, then the band, and finally the crowd dispersed.

Once the procession had entered the embassy, Inara turned on Mal only to see him seething at her. "This is usually the part where we get paid."

"And you will, nǐ bù nàifán de shānyáng. Just maybe you can be thankful though, and instead of embarrassing them publicly, you can accept their hospitality and allow them this display of honor."

Mal was going to say something, but it was Simon's turn. "Their son was lost to them, and now he's back. You didn't expect them to be grateful?"

"They show me how grateful they are by paying me."

"To them, this isn't a business transaction, Mal. It's family." Simon looked around at the group of individuals that were Serenity's crew. "I don't know why I expected you to understand that." With that, he walked up the ramp and put his arms around River.

Mal looked around for a sympathetic face, and settled on Jayne, but was disappointed. Jayne shrugged. "All I heard was they's gonna pay us and feed us too."


A page from the embassy was sent to Serenity half an hour later to give them their formal invitations. Rooms had been prepared for the entire crew. They understood that there were some injuries involved in Li Jie's liberation, and doctors were standing by to see to their wounds. They would also restock the infirmary to recompense for any treatment already provided. Similarly, Serenity would be refueled at the government's expense.

"The ball is, of course, a formal affair. I'm afraid that the schedule between now and then is fairly packed, and I must ask you to move quickly. I've taken the liberty of setting up appointments for each of you at the spa, the barber and the tailor."

Mal was interrupted again, this time by Kaylee, who loudly let out a 'squee'. Jayne followed up with, "Spa? That's like, girls and massages and baths, right?"

"Yes, that's right," the page said. He looked Jayne up and down. "Especially the bath. Now, Captain Reynolds, if you'd gather your crew and follow me, transportation is waiting." He started down the ramp, just as a crew of workmen were coming up.

Mal looked nervously at the new arrivals. "Wait, who are they?"

"That's the work crew. They're going to see to some repairs. We noticed the damage to your cargo bay door and of course the harpoons protruding from the ship's belly were a dead give-away. That's when we gave the ship a full scan. You have several dozen bullet holes that need filling, a wing strut that's hanging on by a thread, the left injector is clogged nearly closed with tardigrade excrement, and your plasma manifold is barely functioning."

"Ah. No, see, that one we only made look like it wasn't functioning to lure in the Reavers," Mal said, feeling the need to defend his ship.

"No, it's really barely functional."

"I see. In that case can we get a spare as well?"

"I'll make a note. But please, we are in a hurry, if you'd just gather your crew…" The page continued walking backward down the ramp, waving them forward.

Jayne, Book and Kaylee hurried to join him. Mal gave up and walked to the intercom hanging beside the bay door. "All hands, seems we're to put up with some pampering before the big event. Come join us outside the cargo hold post-haste, transportation's leaving shortly."


Tsu Li Wei stood up when his son was wheeled out of the Operating Room. Tears filled his eyes when he looked at his son's reconstructed face. "My son," he said to the sleeping figure. More would need to be done, but he already looked more like Li Jie than that monster that Reavers had turned him into. His eyelid had been replaced, and there were skin grafts over much of his face and chest, healing nicely already. His lip was still a mess though, and if his nipples had been regrown, they were hidden under the thick straps securing him to the bed. His malfunctioning metal arm had been removed, and the shoulder was covered in new skin. Only the bio-mechanical mount sticking out of his shoulder marred his flesh.

The rolling bed pushed past Li Wei and through a second set of doors, toward Recovery. The lead surgeon stopped to talk to him, pulling down his surgical mask.

"Your son is recovering remarkably well. The skin grafts are taking perfectly, thanks to the tissue samples you brought us prior to his arrival. His blood pressure is high, as well as his heart rate, even under sedation, which concerns me. I'm going to prescribe Indapamide to bring that down. His chart didn't show a history of any heart issues, has he perhaps been taking any traditional medicine to bring it down?"

"No. He had no heart problems before — Tell me, will he be able to attend the ball tonight?"

The surgeon covered his shock well. "I'm sorry, Mr. Tsu. Under no circumstances can he leave the hospital wing tonight."

"It would be good for his people to see him back to his old self. He wouldn't even have to leave the building. The ball is being held right here in the Embassy," his father reasoned.

"I don't think you understand, sir. His physical appearance is no indication of his overall health. He's recovering well, but his condition is still critical. I don't think it's even safe to bring him out of sedation. We don't know what his mental condition is like."

"And I think, doctor, that you don't give my son enough credit. He is a Tsu!" With that, Li Wei left the room, following the path the bed had taken.


Li Jie's eyes fluttered open, and his father was there waiting. "My son," he said again, his voice dripping with love.

His son's breathing became quick and ragged again. On every exhalation, he made a little growling noise. His eyes focused on his father.

"I know, my son. Your reality has been changed, and now it is hard to accept the familiar. But I know it will come back to you. Truly you are safe now. Your torment is over, and you are with people who love you again."

Li Jie seemed to be listening. His eyes followed his father as he walked around the room, and he stopped growling while his father was speaking. His hand flexed, and the muscles of his arm strained as he tried to raise it.

"Yes, you want to be free, of course. But our doctors need to know that you are safe. Don't worry. I kicked out those other doctors. Only our family doctors are here now. I wonder, do you recognize them?"

Li Jie looked around the room, his eyes focusing on the two other men moving quickly from machine to machine, making sure his fluid levels were optimum, his dosages were correct, and that none of his stats were too far out of line. He turned his head and regarded the stump of his shoulder.

"Yes," his father said, and his eyes snapped back to regard him. "Your arm was too damaged to be kept." He watched the look in his son's eyes, a smile slowly spreading over the proud father's face. He burst out laughing. "I was going to save this for a surprise, but why not. Doctors?"

The doctors stopped what they were doing and moved to a cabinet against one wall. They pulled out a crane like is used on small engines, but hanging from it was a gleaming silvery arm.

"See how he looks at it? Tell me that's not a spark of recognition. We should try it on. Make sure it fits."

"I don't think that's -" one of the doctors started.

"You are not paid to think!" Li Wei yelled. He calmed himself. "Yes. I think we should try it. It might be just the thing to remind him who he is."

The doctors shared a wary look, but said nothing. They wheeled the crane over and attached the metal arm to the bio-mechanical mount. They quickly stepped back out of range of the arm, pulling the crane back with them.

Li Jie didn't lash out. He just looked at it and turned his arm over, wiggling his fingers.

"You see? And you were so worried. It's my son. He just needs reminders. He needs time with his family. With his father."

"Thhhhather," Li Jie said, unable to form a 'fff' sound with his disfigured lip.

Li Wei's eyes lit up and he laughed loudly. "He remembers me! Oh, son, how your mother and I worried. Music! I almost forgot!"

He ran to the chair he had been sitting in before his son woke up, and pulled a case out from below it, setting it on the chair. He spoke over his shoulder as he worked. "Whenever you had anything troubling you, a decision you had to make that troubled you, you would play the violin. The music and the routine would calm you, help you decide." He turned around, holding a violin in one hand, and a bow in the other.

Li Jie's eyes followed the violin as his father brought it close. He reached his metal arm out toward it, and his father reversed it, holding the neck out toward him. Slowly, gently, he placed it in his son's hand.

Li Jie held it, turning it in his hand, regarding it with curiosity, and something like wonder. His other arm started flexing again, and he looked back at it, distracted from his memories.

"Let me get that for you, my son," his father said. He hurried to his side.

"I don't —" the doctor started again.

Li Wei smiled. "He only wants to play."

Li Wei worked to remove the strap that held his son's wrist to the bed.

His son's eyes narrowed as he watched his father work.


Mal stepped out of his room a transformed man. His suit jacket and pants were still a deep brown, and the vest beneath it was red, but the quality and the cut were both fashionable and expensive.

He stood, looking in the mirror and turning this way and that, catching his reflection from various angles, admiring the low boot, or what the barber had done with his sideburns. Only then did he notice the rest of the group gathered there. He was momentarily embarrassed, then stunned as he turned and saw how they all looked.

River wore a diaphanous robe that incorporated bangles at the ankles and wrists, with long slits for both arm and leg. She had a pair of sandals to complete the ensemble. Shepherd Book had his hair braided in corn rows, then tied with a stately bow in back. He wore a waistcoat with tails, and a grey vest with a paisley motif. Beneath the vest his shirt was starched, bright white and with his typical high collar.

Jayne wore a well-fitted black suit with silver collar-tips and a bolo tie. He was chewing on an unlit cigar. Kaylee wore a lacy-shouldered aquamarine dress with a bustle in the back. Her hair was done up with ribbons throughout, and she was beaming with happiness.

Zoë's dress was a tight-fitting, rusty red number, with a knee-length skirt and Asian dragons flying across it. Wash's suit was a powder blue, and he had a matching pair of sunglasses and top hat. Simon… Well, Mal was so used to seeing Simon dressed to the nines that he didn't see much difference.

But Inara was a vision. Her outfit was reminiscent of Greek sculptures. It was a creamy white, shoulder-baring and low-cut dress that showed one leg up to the hip and covered the other leg entirely. She had a slender gold belt, dangling golden earrings, and a matching necklace with an ivory pendant. Her hair was done up, but left to curl around her temples, and her eyeshadow was a cobalt blue.

Mal covered his sudden speechlessness by nodding politely at each of them. Wash showed off his cuff links and Zoë rolled her eyes as he did so. They were coconut palm trees.

Mrs. Tsu arrived through double doors at the end of the room. "Splendid!" she said. "You all look simply splendid. Well, come along. I hope you all don't mind a bit of praise. People are dying to meet our big new heroes. There may even be a few reporters in the room." She turned and led them out of the room.

Mal took Inara by the arm. "Now it's reporters. Last thing I want to do is step on anyone's feelings, but you have got to find a way that we can get in there, press the necessary flesh, get paid and get out before our story hits the evening waves. I conjure there's more than one Alliance official would take a keen interest in our story and our ship."

Inara nodded her agreement, her face a mask of concern. "Mrs. Tsu, why didn't your husband come with you?" she asked.

"Oh, you know men. No head for planning parties. He used this as an excuse to sit by our son's bedside. He'll be along when the festivities start though. He's more than happy to enjoy the parties that other people plan for him."

The ball room was a short walk down the hall. The doors were opened for them, and when they entered, they were greeted with applause. They were soon surrounded and separated by admiring party goers who wanted to get their stories. Drinks and hors d'oeuvres were brought around on silver platters. A string quartet played quietly in one corner.

Several women asked Mal to dance, and while he begged off the first few, he found it increasingly hard to say no. The problem was, once he said yes to one of them, he couldn't say no very convincingly for several turns.

Eventually, one of the women who asked him to dance turned out to be a reporter. Rather than asking questions about their rescue of Li Jie, she wanted to know about his life before that. About his time in the service, and about how he came to be captain of a ship.

Mal became very uncomfortable, and gave her curt answers as they twirled around the dance floor, but that only caused her to dig deeper and ask more pointed questions. He looked around for any excuse to get away, and he noticed that Mrs. Tsu was still alone.

"Will you excuse me, please? I just remembered I need to talk with Mr. Tsu and I haven't seen him yet." Without waiting for an answer, he let go of the reporter's hip and hand and walked off the dance floor in Mrs. Tsu's direction.

"Mrs. Tsu, sorry to interrupt," he said, taking her away from her conversation. "Has your husband shown up yet?"

"No," she said with the air of someone who only just realized what time it was. She looked around the room. "I haven't seen him yet."

Mal gave her his most convincing smile. "I'm sure the time just got away from him. Maybe I should go look in on him. Where's the hospital wing?"

She pointed off toward another pair of doors, still craning her neck to find her husband.

"Excuse me," he said, bowing toward her, then toward the man whose conversation he'd interrupted. He headed toward the buffet table where Jayne and Kaylee were standing. "Jayne, Mr. Tsu's been visiting with Li Jie, and he ain't been seen yet. I want you to grab the tranq gun, just in case."

Jayne stuffed a couple more canapés in his mouth and said, "On it." He headed for the exit.

Mal scanned the room for Zoë, and quickly spotted her and Wash. Zoë was chatting with a group of gentlemen, and Wash was hovering nearby, laughing overly-loudly at their jokes. Mal picked a spot a short way away from them and caught Zoë's eye. She excused herself from the conversation and joined him.

"Mr. Tsu hasn't been seen since visiting Li Jie. Something don't smell right, and I'd feel better if we were armed," he said quietly.

Mal continued to scan the room as he spoke, and he caught Book's eye. Book raised an eyebrow questioningly, and Mal shook his head. He mouthed the words, "Stay. Mingle." Book nodded.

"Come on," Mal said, and Zoë followed him out of the room, back toward their apartments.

Just outside the door, River was sitting on the floor, holding her head in her hands.

Zoë looked at Mal and stopped by River's side. "Mei mei, are you alright?"

River looked up at her, on the verge of tears. "Too many voices in there. It's hard to hear me. But there's someone out here too, someone in pain."

"You'd better come with us," Zoë said, putting an arm around her.


They returned to their apartments and strapped on their gun belts and holsters. Mal checked one of his revolvers, then held it out toward River, pommel first. "Can I trust you with one of these?" he asked.

She nodded wordlessly and took the gun from him. She held it close to her chest, more like a doll than a weapon. Mal was no longer sure he should have given it to her, but left it alone.

They made their way to the hospital wing. There were only a few rooms for patients and two rooms for surgery, so finding his room shouldn't be difficult, but it wasn't a good sign that no one was at the duty desk.

Mal pointed to his eyes, then motioned with a curving palm, then two quick flicks of his palm forward. Zoë and River nodded. Mal pulled his gun, and crept around the corner. Zoë and River followed at a short distance. Mal pushed open the first door he came to.

The door swung wide on well-oiled hinges, and from where he was standing, Mal could see the legs of a man laying on the floor, surrounded by a pool of blood. He pointed, for Zoë's benefit, then put his back against the wall of the room and side-stepped in. There were two more bodies dressed in lab coats, and with their necks at odd angles. The room was otherwise empty.

Mal knelt by the man in the pool of blood. He was dressed in Chinese finery, and had a violin bow sticking out of his chest. The skin of his face had also been removed, but Mal checked for a pulse nonetheless.

Li Jie's father was dead.

Mal looked up at River. "Is he the one that was in pain?"

She shook her head.

"He's going for the ball room. Best chance to cause chaos," Zoë said.

Mal stood. "Then we'd better get there first."


They burst through the doors to the ball room, and immediately started sweeping all the angles for hostiles. The music screeched to a halt, the conversations ended with gasps around the room, and somewhere, someone dropped a glass. The party-goers closest to them backed away.

"Captain Reynolds, what are you doing?" Mrs. Tsu demanded, storming into the suddenly empty space in the center of the room.

Mal hurried over to join her, but initially didn't reply. "River, block that door. Zoë, cover those ones," he said, waving with his pistol toward the main entrance. He then turned to Mrs. Tsu. "Ma'am, your son's escaped. He's killed your husband, and at least two others."

"Oh, dear," she said.

"I'm sure. Look, he'll be coming this way, fit to make mayhem. We need to get everyone out of here, through those doors, now."

"Captain Reynolds," she said, a patronizing smile coming over her face. "My son is not well, but it can't be that bad. A mother and son share a certain bond, you see."

"I'm sure they do, ma'am, but a father and son just shared a certain violin, and it didn't turn out so good."

Zoë opened the door, and Jayne came running in carrying the tranq gun. "Ma'am," he said with a nod to Mrs. Tsu. Then he turned to Mal. "Where should I set up?"

"Right now we've got to get—"

The door to the kitchen burst open, causing another stir. Li Jie pushed one of the cooks into the room with his metal arm around the man's chest. Grasped in his hand was a large carving knife, stained red. Li Jie kept his own body and head behind that of the cook. In his other hand he held a severed head, still dripping blood.

Mal holstered his gun and held his arms up. He slowly stepped in front of Mrs. Tsu. He could just make out a glint of Li Jie's eye in the shadows behind the cook's neck, and he maintained eye contact as the two of them moved.

Zoë moved to join Mal, walking the last several steps. Her gun was holstered, and her hands up as well. Out of the corner of his eye, Mal saw Book edging his way around behind Li Jie to cut off his exit. Mal's eyes must have flickered in that direction, because Li Jie quickly turned his head and threw the severed head at Book.

Book deflected the head, then raised his own hands and started slowly moving away again. The head rolled across the floor, and came to a stop, staring up at the reporter who had been dancing with Mal so recently. She screamed and buried her face in the chest of the man she was standing nearest.

The crowd in the room was near to panic. As Mal and Li Jie slowly circled around, the entire room moved with them. Guests were huddled together, people were crying, and there was an over all din of nervous murmuring.

"Everybody stay calm," Mal said. "Nobody has to get hurt. We don't have any heroes here. Li, look around you. You're safe. Your mom is here."

Li Jie responded by drawing the carving knife across his hostage's chest. The man cried out, and blood began seeping through the sliced fabric of his white uniform shirt. Li Jie brought the knife up to the man's throat, and wrapped his other arm around his chest.

Mrs. Tsu laid a hand on Mal's shoulder and stepped around him. "Xiao Long," she said to him, "do you remember the first time we took you into the city for New Year's? How you were fearful of the crowds, but you loved the music, and the costumes and the bright red lanterns?"

Li Jie brought the knife up in a flash and sliced the cook across the mouth, carving a smile from ear to ear.

Mrs. Tsu stopped walking and began to cry. Mal reached carefully for her shoulder to pull her away from danger, but she kept talking.

"And you had bean cakes for the first time, and you couldn't get enough," she said through her tears. She raised her arms up and held them out wide. She was smiling sadly as she continued. "But at night the fireworks started, and they brought out the dragons, and you ran."

He slowly moved his head to the side, inclining his ear toward her.

She smiled as she spoke. "We searched for you, for hours. Long after the fireworks and the music ended. We were so scared. Finally, we found you, in the back of a vendor's stall with an empty tray of cakes, and sesame all over your face."

Her son brought his head fully around the hostage's. They could see he was wearing his father's face like a mask.

Mrs. Tsu gasped, unable to continue. Blood was pouring down the cook's face, and he gagged on it, spraying a fine mist of red across the carpet in front of him.

Simon was at her shoulder. "Keep talking," he whispered. "He's listening to you. I think it's working."

She stammered, and choked back tears, but couldn't come up with anything to say. Finally, she just started singing. "Shì shàng zhí," she sang through the tears, "yǒu mā ma hǎo." She broke down, crying openly.

Simon put a comforting hand on her shoulder and took up the familiar lullaby. "yǒu mā de hái zi xiàng gè bǎo," he sang softly.

Inara, from across the room, joined in, and Mrs. Tsu started again. "tóu jìn le mā ma de huái bào," they sang.

Kaylee, Zoë, and several more voices from the crowd joined in. Jayne looked around, then with some embarrassment, started singing as well. "xìng fú xiǎng bù liǎo."

Li Jie let go of his hostage. Book motioned for him, and the man ran toward Book. Book grabbed a cloth napkin from a serving table and pressed it against the man's bleeding face.

Li Jie took a couple steps toward his mom, his head cocked curiously to the side. He raised his arms and dropped the knife.

His mother smiled and started toward him again.

Jayne put a tranquilizer dart in his chest. Mal and Zoë rushed in and each grabbed one of his arms.

Li Jie snarled and fought back. Zoë was lifted off the ground for a moment, but managed to keep a hold of his fleshy arm. Mal didn't have a chance. Li Jie threw him off easily, but Mal jumped on him again. "Jayne, reload!" he yelled.

Zoë managed to get his one arm behind him, and she kicked at the back of his knee, to little effect. Li Jie got his hand around Mal's throat and lifted him off the ground.

"Shoot him!" Mal said hoarsely. He struggled, trying to pry his thumb off with one hand, while clawing with his other hand at the seam where metal met flesh at the shoulder.

Jayne struggled to load a second dart, while Li Jie began to squeeze. Mal's eyes rolled back in his head and he started weakly beating on the metal arm with his fists.

A gunshot split the air, and and Li Jie's head whipped back. Mal fell to his knees, gasping for breath.

Li Jie's father's face slid off of his, showing the bullet hole dead center in his forehead. He fell to the floor. His mother screamed, tearing away from Simon, and she ran to her dead son.

Mal, still gasping, looked up to see Wash standing across the room, smoke trickling from the barrel of the gun Mal had given River.


"Somebody had to do something!" Wash shouted back at Mal. "He was about to kill you!"

"I was evolving a plan!"

"You did say, 'Shoot him!'"

"I was talking to Jayne!"

"He was a Reaver, Mal, nothing good was going to come from this!"

"I have fifty thousand reasons to disagree with you! Reasons I had hopes of collecting on."

"Maybe I shouldn't have shot him! I'd love to see how you collected with your neck snapped!"

Kaylee tried to calm the mood. "At least we got the ship fixed up and restocked. She's never looked so good."

Mal turned on her, but before he spoke, Jayne said, "And they fed us. And I got me some new dancing threads. Ten thousand ain't so bad a payday."

Mal turned on him, but Jayne stood up. "What, Mal? Wash is right. If we just used a bullet instead of a tranq the first time round, she'd be grieving a son instead of a husband and a son. Only two things to do with Reavers. Run like hell, and shoot over your shoulder."

"You see, Mal —" Wash started.

"Wash!" Mal yelled. He looked around the room at all the faces of his crew. "Just —" Not a lot of sympathy there. "Just grab me some sky!"

Mal turned and left the room.

Wash stood, looking around at the rest of the crew. Nobody's eyes met his. Even if he had been right, fifty thousand credits was a lot. He sighed, and left, heading for the cockpit.

He sat in the pilot's seat, sullenly flipping switches and pressing buttons. At least he had the comforting familiar whine of Serenity's engines, and the vibration of her hull. He pulled back on the stick, and Serenity rose from the platform, heading off-world.

He felt soft hands on his shoulders. He didn't look. "It was a good shot though, right?" he said.

"It was a hell of a shot, dear," Zoë said.