To an outsider the next few days would seem fairly uneventful but for the crew they are monumental. River and Max spend just about ever waking moment together. They are inseparable. River's happiness has relaxed Simon to the point he is almost unrecognizable. Kaylee is enjoying the new Simon particularly his new adventurous side. He never used to appreciate how much Serenity's engine room excites her. Zoe has been sober for 2 whole days. Jayne practically lives in the kitchen. Inara and Mal hold hands and sneak kisses ever now and then. To this crew, the whole world has changed. Mal is actually starting to a positive outlook. He should have known better.
A few days out from Persephone on their way to the Rim, Mal and Inara are sitting together on the catwalk. For the ship, it is the middle of the night so they are alone. There is no sign of the two very worldly people they are normally. They are like nervous teenagers with tender kisses and wandering hands.
Their private moment is interrupted by the ship's nav computer signaling that a ship has just entered scanner range. Pulling away from Inara, Mal jumps up and runs to the bridge to check it out. Inara carefully composes herself and glides behind him. She tries to squash her flash of jealousy. She knows she will never be able to compete with his ship.
On the bridge, Mal can see it is an Alliance cruiser. Cursing his luck, calls to River's quarters "Darlin, you are needed on the bridge."
The cruiser hails Serenity forcing Mal to run or answer. Deciding running is probably not a good idea, he answers "This is Serenity. What can we do for you all?"
"Captain Reynolds so nice to meet you. I am Captain Pike of the Vengeance. We are conducting routine checks for smugglers. I know it is a bother but I am required to check every ship even though the man who brought to light that awful Reaver's business I am sure has nothing to hide. Prepare to be boarded. Please remember that if you try to run, I will have no choice but to blow you out of space." the Captain on the screen tersely says. The Captain's smile is like that of a shark that has just scented blood in the water.
"Happy to oblige." Mal cheerily answers. Once off the com, he has something else to say "Shit. (keys the com system) Zoe, check the cargo. Make sure the ports are closed good and tight. I don't want to give the Alliance anything to find."
River arrives on the bridge with Max in tow. Mal explains the situation to which Max tells him "Relax. I will deal with this." Max then hails the cruiser and demands to speak with the Captain Pike.
When the Captain appears on the screen, Max says "My authorization is sending now. You will delete all records of this encounter and avoid interfering in my affairs again. Is that clear?"
The Captain is clearly angry but what he reads on the screen convinces him to obey. With a curt "Of course. It will be as you command." the Captain cuts the transmission.
The cruiser immediately makes a course correction and starts a hard burn in another direction.
"There. No problem." says Max with an easy smile which just doesn't look right on his face.
"You told me you were an assassin. You left out the part about being an Alliance operative!" Mal says angrily. He should have listened to his gut and never let Max on his ship. He is ignoring the fact that his gut initially told him to trust Max.
"I am not an operative. I am something else. I guess extremely useful freelancer might be a good description." Max replies.
"You work for the Alliance. Is that the real reason you are here? To spy on us." Mal inquires. His anger clear in his voice.
"I never lied to you. I am on vacation for the next few months. I didn't plan my encounter with River. Am I evaluating the crew that blew open the Reaver Scandal for the Alliance? That is not my mission but I will certainly share my opinion when asked. There are elements of the Alliance government that are very grateful for what you did. Not everyone in government is evil. I am sorry you are angry and if you want me off at Persephone that is fine." Max states.
"Persephone is not our next stop. Ezra is." Mal tells Max. Mal knows he can't beat this man but he will be damned if he will back down on his own ship.
"We both know that Captain would have found your cargo. He was looking to cause you trouble. He would have ripped your ship apart trying to find something to nail you on. I helped you. Not just for River but because you are a good man. Don't be unreasonable." Max says.
"If Max leaves before Persephone so does River" River says from the pilot's seat.
Her comment touches Max in a way he never felt before. It just pisses Mal off. "Not even in control of my own ship" he mumbles. For the room he says "Fine. Persephone is fine." he then storms down to the cargo bay to pace off some of his frustration and collect his thoughts.
Inara glides after Mal. She perches at the top of the catwalk and just stands while Mal paces, kicks, and mutters to himself in the cargo bay below. She loves and hates this side of him. He is so ornery but strangely she finds that part of his charm. When he has finally calmed down, she waits for him to come to her. They both know to get to the mess, his cabin or the bridge he has to go by her. He has to come to her.
All the while he is ventin, Mal knows she is there watching him. She doesn't run to him. She lets him do what he needs. He loves her for that. A very, very tiny part of him wishes she would just tell him everything will be ok but the rest of him ignores that part.
Realizing she has him trapped, he paces for a few extra minutes just so he doesn't appear to run to her. When he goes up the catwalk as nonchalantly as he can manage, he tries not to meet her eyes but fails. How can he not look into her eyes. Those magnificent pools are more beautiful than all the stars in the verse.
Inara finds herself blushing from the intensity of Mal's stare. He makes her feel like a school with that look. She doesn't bother with words, they just get in their way. She lightly touches his cheek and gives him a quick kiss.
Even though her lips barely brush his, Mal finds his breath sucked right out of his lungs. His head swims for a moment and by the time he has recovered she is gliding down the catwalk to her shuttle. His eyes follow her longingly and the gentle smile she gives him when she turns her head to look back at him just before she goes into her shuttle tells him he is welcome to follow her.
As much as he would like to, he decides he is not some lamb to be led around on a leash. Completely ignoring the parts of him screaming that this is the day he has dreamed of so many nights in his lonely bunk, Mal heads back up to the bridge.
There he finds River using her feet to fly while she half stands in her seat to lean back and kiss Max. He knows they know he is there but they ignore him. 'Damn, I should never have let him on this ship. I am losen control of everything.' Mal thinks to himself. A bit overwhelmed by his break thru with Inara he had hoped to hide up on his bridge but with that stolen to him, he needs to find somewhere else to go.
"Don't worry Captain. You can have the bridge" River says out of no where. After setting the autopilot, she gentle pulls Max after her and off the bridge.
He knows she can't help reading thoughts but there are times he finds it down right annoying. "If he don't know what goin on in his own head, why should she?" he says to no one. He settles in and tries to lose himself in the black. It at least won't talk back to him.
Inara does not exactly wait for Mal in her shuttle but she does stay awake a little longer than normal just in case he stops by. The fact he never comes to her is a bit of a relief. Where as sex would be a wonderful release, it also brings complications. She knows how hard this is for him. It is hard for her too. Love is a dangerous thing to a companion. She knows as long as she is a companion they can never truly be together but a companion is who she is. She spends the rest of the night lost in her thoughts trying to find a way to be true to herself and the man she loves.
Mal never does find his bunk but that is ok. A missed night of sleep won't trouble him too much. Yawning he heads to the galley for some more coffee. He sees Zoe sitting at the table staring at a bottle of Vodka. Without a word, he pours her a cup of coffee and slides it to her.
She catches it but doesn't drink. She looks up at him. When their eyes meet Mal can see her battle is not over yet but his encouraged to see some of her fire back. He misses Walsh too. He wishes he could make her all better but that is not how the verse works. Just have to keep fly en. No matter what. Raising his coffee cup in mock salute, he heads back to the bridge.
An hour later the smell of breakfast cooking greets Mal's nose. He follows it back to galley.
There Zoe has prepared eggs, bacon, toast, and even pancakes. She meets his eyes and says "I was up. Mite as well be useful." She flips a pancake on to a plate and hands it to him. He scoops some eggs and grabs a piece of bacon before he sits down at the table.
"Sum tin sure smells right good" says Jayne as he enters. He quickly helps himself his plate overflowing with food. He wastes no more and just digs right in.
Jayne's entrance draws a look between Mal and Zoe. They both smile at the fact that they have never seen Jayne up this early. It is a nice moment when everything is as it was. Mal is sad to see the pain creep back into her eyes as she turns back to cooking. Neither feels the need to mention the lone tear rolling down her cheek.
When River and Max get up, they spare once more in the cargo bay. Mal watches from the catwalk sipping his coffee. This match has more friendly and suggestive moves. It is more play than true work out for them. Mal doubts anyone else could match their play. When done they go to shower.
Simon watches his sister spare with Max and it reminds him of when she used to dance. He is so glad River is happy and doing so well. He hopes Max will stay forever but he is concerned that Max will be gone all too soon. He debates talking to River about this but decides not to ruin her fun. She is a smart girl. She knows Max won't be here forever. Still it is a big brother's job to look out for his sister. The smell of breakfast drags him out of his thoughts and up to the galley.
Kaylee knocks lightly on Inara's shuttle door and announces "Inara. It's me Kaylee".
Inara opens the door with a her usual smile but Kaylee can tell she didn't sleep last night. Inara goes back inside and sits down. Kaylee follows and sits on the sofa. She looks around nervously trying to find a way to start the conversation.
"So what brings you to my shuttle?" Inara asks to break the ice.
In a dark room in the worst part of what passes for the capital of Ezra a twitchy little man is telling a another man "I swear the info is good. He is coming. I wouldn't dare bring this to you unless I was sure."
"Thank you. It is good to see some still understand respect. Others need a firm lesson. You may consider your debt canceled once he is in my possession."
"Thank you, Thank you" the twitchy man says as he backs out of the room.
"Get your best men. I want to arrange a proper greeting for our friend." The other man says to his bodyguard.
"Yes, Niska" the body guard replies.
It is a bright sunny day when Serenity lands at the rendezvous point. Mal is tired but the bright day helps him wake up. He walks down the gang plank with Jayne at his side to go meet the contact. He never notices the camouflaged men lying in wait. As soon as he and Jayne clear the ship, the shooting starts. The first round catches Mal in his gun hand. The second hits him square in the chest. Instead of seeing his inners spill out, Mal sees a globe of gel on his shirt. 'Oh crap. Stun rounds' he thinks right before one catches him in the temple. Jayne fares slightly better being more awake and alert. He takes several hits but manages to grab Mal and start back up the ship shouting for help the whole way.
Zoe comes running and starts laying down cover fire. She gets off several rounds before a square canister lands in the bay. The flash knocks her down and blinds her.
Jayne was looking right in Zoe's direction so while he is not knocked down he is blinded. He loses his grip on the captain as he stumbles into the bay.
Simon runs to check all the noise. He sees what is going and runs for River's room. He pounds on the door shouting "We are being attacked."
The door to her room practically explodes open and a sweaty Max bounds past Simon. He is putting on his armor as he runs. River throw on some clothes and runs after him.
In the cargo bay, Max makes his way to the door using the cargo crates as cover. He senses River coming behind him and throws her a gun without ever looking back. She catches it easily. He then signals for her to take position on the far side. All Simon can do is hang back and watch.
Max slips over to one of his crates and pulls a few things from it. He signals River to provide cover fire and then jumps thru the ship's hatch. He rolls and is up moving as soon as he lands. It only takes him a second to pick out where their attackers are. He throws his surprises to either side. The grenades he throws are a combination of flash and shrapnel. It is enough to take the pressure of his flanks. Leaving him free to focus his fire on the men in front. The men in front were not prepared to charged and their stun round don't seem to be slowing the guy charging them. They frantically try to switch clips but Max kills them before they can. He turns his attention to the other side knowing River can more than handle her side.
As soon as the grenades go off, River makes her move. She slides out to one side of the ship. A short run puts her along side the right flank of their attackers. She emptied her pistol during her run so she lays into them with her hands and feet.
When it is all over, River and Max have killed 15 men. The one they initially kept alive, Max executed after he was done torturing him for information.
River addresses the rest of the crew while Max piles bodies. "It was Niska who sent them. He wants Mal bad." she explains.
"What about our contact?" Mal asks.
"Niska's people killed him." River calmly replies.
"Zoe, get on the wave and let Badger know the contact is dead but don't go into too much detail. We don't know who done this officially." Mal orders
"Yes sir" is her crisp reply. It is good to hear more of the old Zoe in her reply.
Straining his arms while trying to keep his eyes on Niska, the twitchy little man finds it impossible since he is hanging from a meat hook. Still he tries to save himself. "I swear. I told you all I knew. I didn't know nothing about new crew. I don't know how they knew. Please. I swear. I swear." he begs.
"You are lucky. I believe you." Niska says.
The twitchy man visibly relaxes until he sees Niska nod to his man. The man approaches and the twitchy man screams for a moment as the other man's knife slices into him.
"I think a different approach is called for. Find the companion. We can use her to get to him." Niska orders.
Inara pilots her shuttle to the landing pad on the estate of her latest client. Persephone is not the Core but at least it does have some decent clients. She knows Mal was unhappy that she took any clients but he needs to learn to accept this part of her. Being a companion is who she is not just what she does. She still remembers the hurt look on his face when she told him she intended to find clients. She wished he had fought with her but he just withdrew. He left her shuttle with only saying "A person got a right to earn a living, even whores." His cold words tore into her heart. He avoided her the rest of the return trip to Persephone. She can admit she is too proud to go after him and that she wished she did. 'Damn him! He has no right to mottle her up so.' she thinks.
As she is landing she notices something odd. Her client is holding yellow orchids but he knows she is allergic to them. Sensing something is not right, she scans the surrounding area more carefully. There are too many people in the area to be just his normal staff. Clearly, he is risking himself by trying to warn her but what can she do that won't endanger him? Thinking quickly, she cuts thrust on one of the shuttle's engines. This sends her into a slow spin which appears uncontrolled. To those on the ground it simply looks like she lost an engine. She broadcasts a distress call and angels the shuttle down towards the building across the way. She scrapes the shuttle a bit on the side of building for effect before setting down. She can hear the emergency crews approaching and as she hoped her client's company fades away.
Climbing out of her shuttle, she waves across to her client. She will make sure he knows the full extent of her gratitude later. Right now, she needs to warn Mal. She is sure Niska just tried to strike at him again. She picks up her com to call Serenity and is surprised to hear it beep with a call from Serenity. Answering, she says "Mal?"
"Mal is on his way to you in the other shuttle. He totally freaked on poor Kaylee when he heard your distress call. He took Kaylee and Jayne a lit out of here to your location. Don't worry I sent Max to keep them out of trouble." River informs her.
His heart is in his throat until he sees Inara sitting outside the shuttle. In his hurry to get to her, he lands the shuttle hard. Before Jayne can even complain about the landing, Mal is out the hatch.
Sure enough Mal's shuttle is pulling up even before the emergency crews can. With the engines still running, he jumps out and runs to her. "Are you ok?" he asks.
"I am fine but we have a problem. I am pretty sure Niska just tried to grab me. If Tom hadn't risked himself to warn me, I would be Niska's prisoner right now." she replies.
"Niska." Mal growls.
In Niska's office a man screams as he dies. Even this favorite sound does nothing to calm him, Niska is furious that his men failed him again. He will have his revenge no matter what it costs him. Suddenly, a smile appears on his lips. "Yes, that just might work." he thinks and then he laughs dark and evil.