The door burst open, startling the three eating their evening meal in the small, shabby hotel room.
"I have intel," Cameron announced, walking to the closet. Opening the door, she began removing the family's arsenal of weapons.
"Whoa, Tin Miss," Sarah exclaimed. "Just what do you think you are doing?"
"I need only to locate the current position of the Serenity and then we can launch an assault after factoring that intel."
"Cameron, Cameron, take it easy," John admonished the cyborg. "We don't know this Allison 2 is dangerous."
"She is a trained assassin in the employ of a smuggler. Other trained killers are part of the group. In addition to the killers, the group includes a skilled combat surgeon, a skilled engineer to maintain the ship and a companion. I have no idea what a companion is. The ship also had an ordained Shepherd, which evidently is a minister, on board."
Derek nodded in approval at the amount of information Cameron had gathered in such a short time. "Any information on the ship itself? How many weapons? What kind of defensive systems? Location and defenses?"
"I was unable to determine the exact location of the ship, the Serenity," Cameron monotoned, placing the family assault weapons on the closest bed before turning back to retrieve the cleaning kits.
Relieved, Sarah looked at the other two for support. "We can't do anything until we know the location of the Serenity."
"It won't be a problem," Cameron answered. "I will obtain that information during the lunch rush today."
xxxxxxxxxx
Serenity was quiet. The crew had settled in for the night shift, leaving River alone on the bridge. Looking out into the darkness from the bridge, she closed her eyes and checked off the crew's status. Mal and Inara were sitting in her shuttle, silent but fuming with each other. Simon was asleep in his quarters. Drifting off in the engine room, Kaylee was relaxing in her hammock. Zoe had cried herself to sleep in private, still mourning Wash's passing. Jayne, unconcerned by the threat of another River, was snoring in his bunk.
Opening her eyes, River relaxed and cleared her own mind, allowing herself to focus on a new approach in unraveling the mystery of the River who was not River. Reaching back in her recent memory, River carefully studied the fight in the bar. Focusing her memory on the three humans companions with the River who was not River, she pulled out everything she could. Separating it from the noise of her own fear and the clutter of minds from the bar.
Panic rose in her mind, forcing River to pause and push the feelings to the side. "Must read what can be read," she whispered, calming and steadying herself. "If River cannot read River, must read the others."
Starting with the black haired woman, River started in surprise. Quickly she pulled up walls to channel the thoughts of the woman into a protective box River could control. Starting with the woman's exterior, River approached slowly, turning the image in her mind.
"Pretty woman," she whispered, storing the fact. "Mother of the small man-boy. Fears for him she does. Fears machines, machines she fought like a soldier would." Waves of fear began to rush at River. Unwilling to experience a mother's fear, River closed the box and sat it aside.
Moving on to the bigger male, River repeated the process. "Dangerous this one is," she observed. The man was trying to relax and enjoy his drink while being alert to his surroundings. "Trained soldier."
Finally, River moved on the smaller male. "Worried is he, worried about his River," she whispered softly, watching the youth track the other River in the brief fight. "Protecting him she is," River exclaimed as she watched how her rival positioned herself between the youth and the threat of herself and Jayne.
"Prideful she is River who is not. Possessive." River opened her eyes and leaned back, letting her mind wander for a moment as she tried to take in what she'd just learned.
Closing her eyes again, River retreated back into her mind. Closing off the box of the protected male, River opened the box of the frightened mother. Slowly, the fear slipped out, allowing River to push it aside and sense the mother better. Fierce rage burned behind the fear, controlled by the need to protect, a need to fulfill and old obligation. So, old the mother could not let go. Most of all, she had to protect her son from all that she feared while helping face a destiny he did not want.
Carefully and gently, River closed the box and set the mother aside. With the same caution the little reader opened the box of the soldier. Reaching further in River found weariness like the mother felt only different. The soldier was tired of killing, fighting a fight he was not sure he could win but one he could never stop. Like the mother, he fought to protect the youth. Bitter, angry and filled with a horrible sense of loss, River quickly closed his box, not wishing to experience more.
River turned the box of the young male over, examining it. "Cute he is," she muttered, smiling to herself. Drawing a deep breath, River opened the box and let the boy out. Concern for the River who was not came out in huge waves. Pushing the red colored emotion aside, she looked deeper, surprised by what she found. Hope. A sense of what they were all running from, or towards, no longer mattered. Hope an impossible burden had been taken from him. Curious, River looked deeper and regretted doing so. Despair, hopelessness, fear and bitterness lurked in the recess of the boy's mind. Nightmares of old lingered just beneath the surface of his waking mind. Pushing aside what she'd found, River looked for more.
The boy surprised her again as she found unbounded love in the boy. Love for his mother, the fearful female warrior. Love for the male soldier who River now realized was his uncle. Explains much this does. Circling through the boy's emotions, River began to feel guilty. Loves his River he does but is confused by her, fears it is wrong. Fears what his blood family thinks but loves his River he does.
Satisfied with what she had learned, River closed up the boys box and took a minute to let her mind relax, shore up the mental defenses she'd been building to protect her healing mind.
Setting the three boxes of memories she'd created in a row, River pushed them together and looked at all three as one. Old they are. Older than Serenity. Older than the Alliance.
She sat up in the pilot's seat, pulling her knees to her chest.
"River she is not. Statistical anomaly she is. But why is River who is not here?"