Hetter looked into the engine room, seeing the spinning heart of Serenity. It made him feel nauseous. A young woman, who he remembered from the aborted mealtime, was leaning into the housing. He coughed.

Kaylee stepped back. "Oh. Hi. Um, you ain't allowed in here."

"I'm not inside," he said, smiling at her. "I'm very carefully not inside."

She was taken aback, a little. He seemed almost friendly. "Well, guess you ain't." She smiled a little in return, but went back to her work.

"I was wondering …" Hetter went on.

"Wondering what?" She forced the injector nozzle back into place and stood up, wiping her hands on a rag that left more grease than it took off.

"Whether you and your husband would care to join my wife and myself in a small service."

Kaylee's open face, never that good at dissembling, showed her surprise. "Oh. Well … I …"

"It would only be short. Half an hour or so. Outside. On God's good earth."

"Oh. Look, Mr Hetter, I … it ain't that I ain't grateful for the offer. But I've never been that religious, and –"

"Then it would be good for your soul."

"Yeah, maybe it would, but … I got work to do." She waved her hand around the small room. "I keep her running. The Cap'n kinda relies on me."

The smile switched off and his mouth tightened. "I see."

"Look, I …"

"No. I quite understand. I thought, an honourable married woman like yourself would be pleased to have the company of those less … ungodly than this crew."

Kaylee bristled. "They're my friends, Mr Hetter. And I gave you the benefit of the doubt yesterday, on account of you being tired and all, but I'm not having you talk that way about my family."

"Family? From what I can see your family are sinners of the first order." His lips twisted into a sneer. "And the captain allowing that biao zi on board –"

"Now that's enough," Kaylee said firmly, picking up her wrench and holding it in front of her like a shield. "Roxanna's a nice lady. I ain't gonna have you talking about her like that."

"She's carrying a bastard!"

"Well, I weren't married when I had Bethany!"

Hetter stared. "You admit to being a –"

"Hold it right there," Zoe said, coming up behind him. "One more word of the wrong kind outta that mouth and I don't care what the captain says. I'll put you out the airlock. Only I might just wait until we're back out in the black."

Hetter glared at this Amazon, her dark face hiding her emotion, but her eyes spitting fire. "You're threatening me?"

"No. Just warning you."

She wasn't armed, but Hetter was under no illusions that she couldn't take him apart if she wanted.

"When a man speaks the truth, he doesn't expect to be threatened."

"The truth." Zoe took a step closer. "Well, Mr Hetter, you see a ring on my finger?" She held up her left hand. "And that little baby you might have seen before? He's mine. I'm not married either. So you want to speak the truth to me?"

Hetter opened and closed his mouth several times like a fish, then drew himself up to his full height. "Yi jiao tu," he said, then walked past her towards the stairs.

"Rather be that than like you," Zoe said after him. She turned back to Kaylee. "You all right?"

"Shiny," the young mechanic said. "He really makes my skin creep."

"Me too."

"When do they get off?"

"Just a few days."

"I'm thinking I might be eating in my bunk for a while." Kaylee gave a rather shaky smile.

"No. You don't give in to people like that," Zoe said. "Saw enough of them during the war, trying to make the men feel less than worthwhile."

"But the Cap was religious back then …"

"Different kind of religion. What he was came naturally to him, and he made you feel like you could win. Men like Hetter, all they could say was that we'd get our reward in heaven after we lost in this life."

"Still makes my skin creep."

---

Feel them. Feel them coming. Getting closer all the time. Too far to be seen but getting closer with every heartbeat. Closer with eyes that burn red and teeth that bite flesh. She hasn't seen. Too close, not able yet to throw herself willingly into the dark. Too cluttered. But she's important, caring, loving, needing … Family. So many on board who need. Such small lives to be snuffed out in an instant. Need to help. Need to cut through the masks and ties and self-hate, even if …

Jayne looked up in surprise from where he was reassembling Vera. His flesh and blood girl had sat up. "River?"

She spoke with both her mind and her voice. "Freya. Close. There."

Up on the bridge Freya suddenly leaned forward from her position behind Hank and brought up an empty area of space on the screen.

You sure?

Look.

Freya felt the young psychic in her mind, directing her, forcing her to look further, to see … "Cao."

"Freya?" Hank asked, staring at the screen. "What is it?"

---

"How soon're they gonna get here?" Mal asked urgently.

"Minutes. We picked 'em up coming in from the farside. You ain't gonna get back in time."

"Take off."

"Already done it."

Mal nodded, hearing Serenity's engines overhead. "Get out of range, then wait for my signal to come back and pick us up."

"Mal, Frey says they're really bad guys."

"Then you make sure they don't see you."

He let go of the com button and turned to Harris. "Can you delay them? Until we find someplace to hide?"

Harris nodded. "Of course. But where –"

"The shelter," Simon said, running through into the bedroom again. "Is it still there?"

"Yes, of course." Harris went to the front door. "We'll do what we can." He left.

Mal followed the young man. "Shelter?"

"Where we hid from the Reavers."

"I don't know about that, Simon. I'd rather we took our chances in the hills –"

"Do we have time to get there?"

Mal took a deep breath. "Probably not."

"Then the shelter looks like our best option. Our only option." He finished packing his bag. "Do you think they saw Serenity?

"Hope not."

"Can't you …" He nodded toward the com unit still in Mal's hand.

"Short range, Simon. 'Sides, don't want our friends to hear us."

Mal. A soft caress in his mind. For no good reason other than it felt right, Mal turned to the window and looked up into the sky.

Xin gan?

They didn't see us. They're landing in the town. Hide. The caress became lighter than a feather.

"They're coming," Mal said. "Okay, doc. Where's this shelter?"

---

"Frey? What the tyen shiao duh is going on?" Jayne asked, leaning through the bridge doorway. "What we taken off for? And what's River going on about?"

"Unwanted visitors down on Corvus." She glanced back at him from where she was standing at Hank's shoulder.

"Reavers?" Jayne hated Reavers with a vengeance.

"Worse."

He didn't want to ask what could be worse than cannibals. "You want I should get the girls ready?"

"I'm not sure … although …" She thought a moment.

"You making a plan?" he asked dubiously.

"Shh."

"Only your plans don't go that much better than the Cap's on occasion."

Hank waved his hand. "Jayne, shut up. She's thinking."

"I was just saying -"

"Get the shuttle ready to launch," Freya said suddenly. "Is River okay to move?"

"Well, not sure she's walking anywhere by herself, but I can carry her. You want I should put her in with Kaylee?"

Freya shook her head. "No. I need her up here." She looked down at Hank. "Keep the planet between them and us."

"Wasn't going to do anything else," the pilot assured her firmly.

---

Simon led the way into the doctor's surgery, then through a door and down steps.

"If this shelter's just a cellar –" Mal began.

"It isn't." He pulled on a hidden lever, a bank of shelving moving smoothly and silently aside. "Go on."

Mal nodded, heading into the darkness in front of him.

---

"Gentleman. It's unusual to have visitors in our small town. How can I help you?" Eli Harris smiled genially at the two men who'd stepped out of the gleaming black spaceship.

"We're looking for two fugitives. A man and a woman." The first spoke quietly, an air of natural authority about him. The second stood in the background, but scanned the curious faces of the crowd, his oddly gloved blue hands by his side.

"Well, like I said, visits are rare. Ain't had any strangers drop by for a few months, maybe near enough a year. We're kinda out of the way, and there ain't much here that anyone'd want, so –"

"These people." He held out two plastifilm warrants. Simon Tam, said one, while the other was for River Tam.

"What're they supposed to have done?" Harris asked.

"They are enemies of the Alliance. But specifically they are wanted for treason and terrorism." He took a step forward. "There's a large reward offered for their capture, and for those who have aided in their escape."

---

"Think they'll sell us out?" Mal asked, feeling vulnerable and trapped, a bad combination, despite the lights Simon had switched on as the door closed.

"After what we did for them? No." Simon sat back on a box, his eyes closed.

"Memory's a funny thing, doc. 'Specially if someone's pointing a gun at you."

"They won't," Simon assured him.

Mal, remember to breathe. Freya's mental voice was almost amused.

"And that don't help," Mal complained.

"What?" Simon stared at him.

"Oh, it's Frey. Being a pest." Mal touched his temple.

That's that I'm here for. Now she was laughing.

"You know, I'm beginning to see why Hank doesn't like enclosed spaces," Mal muttered, ignoring her.

---

"You have a doctor, I believe."

"Had. He died this morning." Harris heard the general gasp from the townspeople gathering behind him.

"We would like to see the remains."

"Now, that's downright unchristian of you folks."

"We don't intend to interfere with him. Just pay our respects." The man almost smiled. "Perhaps we can assist in finding you a replacement."

---

Mal, stay very quiet. They're coming to the house.

"Mal, I was wondering about –"

"Don't. Not right now."

"What? I was just –"

"They're coming."

---

The man in the bed was definitely deceased. Not even their sophisticated little scanner could detect even the smallest sign of brain activity.

"See, now I told you he was dead," Harris said. He followed the two men through the house and they looked in all the rooms. "And this ain't respectful."

They went outside.

"We will search the rest of the town."

Harris strode around them, standing in their way. "Excuse me, but by whose authority? 'Cause I'm Mayor here, and I don't recall you asking my consent."

"I don't need your consent. This is by the authority of the Alliance."

"Really. Well, I ain't seen any proof of that. Not one bit."

The second man reached towards his inside jacket pocket.

"You complete that little manoeuvre and you'll lose it." Harris's voice was suddenly strong, punctuated by the sound of a dozen rifles being cocked.

"Do you really think you can stop us?" the first man asked, looking at the crowd behind him, the guns facing his way.

"Stop you? Hell, we already have." Harris stepped forward. "Now, I told you. We ain't seen any strangers for weeks. You seem to be saying we're all of us liars. A whole town. You really think that's possible?"

They glared at each other, neither giving an inch. Then …

"We will be back. With a cruiser. And lots of men. If there is anything untoward in this town we will find it, and you will be prosecuted with the full might of the law."

Harris shook his head, sighing. "Son, we ain't got enough to worry about illegality. Even the stills we got in the hills ain't producing anything of value no more. So I'd appreciate it if you and yours would leave us all alone in peace."

The man looked at his companion. "We will be back." They strode towards their ship.

"And when you do we'll make tea," Harris called.

---

The wall opened, sliding away, and Mal gripped his gun just a little tighter, aiming right where a head was about to appear …

"Mal, you shoot me and I'll be gorram annoyed." Jayne's voice.

Mal let out an explosive bolt of air from his lungs. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Freya's idea. Can't land Serenity again on account of them hwoon dahns sitting out there in their little boat, so she decided we should come and get you."

"We?"

"Sir, are you coming or just going to stand there and argue?" Zoe looked around the edge of the door.

Mal was shocked. "What? Don't tell me you got little Ben on your back like a papoose."

"He's with his father back on board the ship. Which is where we should be. Coming, sir?"

"Where to?"

"The shuttle."

"Frey?"

"Yes sir."

Mal hurried up the stairs. "That woman …"

Harris was waiting for him. "They've gone, but I'm pretty sure they ain't gone far."

"No, I conjure you're right." Mal held out his hand. "Thanks."

"No need. You did right by us, back when … when we had that trouble." He wouldn't use the word, in case in brought the Reavers back down on them. "We remember things for a long time, captain."

---

They jogged along a dusty path, keeping in single file. Except when Jayne hurried up to Mal's side.

"Why didn't we just kill 'em, Mal? I coulda done it myself. Two bullets."

"And bring the wrath of the Alliance down on these people?" Mal shook his head. "They didn't do anything except help us. If we'd killed those Blue Hands I wouldn't give them a snowball's chance in hell of coming out of this in one piece."

"Blue Hands?"

"Yeah."

"After River?"

"And Simon."

"Still say I shoulda killed 'em," Jayne muttered, falling back.

Less than ten minutes later they came in sight of the shuttle, sitting in a clearing barely big enough to take it.

"Good pilot," Mal muttered.

"Freya, sir," Zoe said.

"She's here?" He was shocked.

"Said no-one else could fly in as the way we needed to, unless it was Wash. And as that's highly unlikely …" She activated the door control, and Mal was inside immediately, going to the small bridge.

"What in the name of Buddha do you think you're doing?" he asked, glaring at the woman in the pilot's seat.

"Saving you."

"Saving me." He shook his head.

"Saving you. And Simon." She began the start up sequence. "Now shut up and let me get us off the ground."

"And when we take off they're going to see us, chase us, catch us … you seeing a flaw in this plan?" Mal asked, his sarcasm spilling over.

"No they won't. They're not here."

"What?"

"They've gone."

"How do you know that? What did you …?"

"Cry Baby," Freya said, reaching over and firing up the small craft's engines. "Slightly adapted to give a similar signature to the ship out there."

"So you're telling them there's one of their own in trouble?" Mal couldn't help smiling. "Good plan."

"I learned from the best."

"Thanks."

"Did I say it was you?"

"Fine. And I still want to know how come you didn't tell me about your little plan in the first place." He tapped his temple. "You were in there, dropping little sarcastic comments all the time."

"Sar …" She turned in the seat to stare at him. "I like that. There I was, trying to be helpful, to keep your spirits up, and you call me sarcastic." She shook her head, turning back to stare at the stars. "I'll have you know it took a lot out of me to do that. To focus enough so I could see what was happening, River telling me about the Blue Hands, and fly as well, and talk to you ..."

He was immediately contrite. "You joking still, or did it really …"

She dropped her head for a moment. "Really did. It's not exactly my area of expertise, not like River. She could've put the thoughts into your mind from half a system away. Me, it hurt."

He went down onto his heel to look into her face. "Sorry, ai ren."

She smiled at him. "Just glad to have you home in one piece." She leaned down to kiss him, but the comlink interrupted.

"Frey?" The young mechanic's voice sounded … odd.

"What is it, Kaylee?"

"Roxanna's in labour, and … Oh, Frey, it's going wrong."