Darth Tic-Tac--I've given up trying to figure out why this one isn't getting more reviews. I have more people reading it that Heaven Falls. Oh well, I don't hijack stories for reviews, so I'll keep posting and hope those reading continue to enjoy.

Thank you for the view.

Chapter Ten: A River of Tears

Walsingham stood on the periphery of the burned out Academy with his hands behind his back.

The Operative did not make a sound as a Blue Sun forensics team scoured the building for evidence of who was behind the assault on the Academy. Additional Blue Sun security forces formed a perimeter guard that Walsingham and his men were not allowed to enter.

The fact the facility exploded was not surprising—all such facilities were equipped with self-destruct mechanisms to contain any internal security breaches. The one time one of the aliens nearly escaped, Blue Sun had lost almost forty contractors and agents, and ended up having to bomb the building anyway to contain the breach.

In this case, according to Walsingham's contacts, this was not an internal breach. And the damage was much, much more severe.

"Operative," the Blue Sun senior agent said by way of greeting. She was a woman approaching forty with the outward appearance of a fit thirty-year-old. "We have this situation under control. Parliamentary interference is not needed at this time.

"Parliament is naturally concerned, however," Walsingham said. "Your company's reports on the matter were vague at best. We know this was the Academy. So what was lost?"

The Blue Sun agent said nothing at first.

"Agent," Walsinghman said, "Parliament cannot just be dismissed or ignored, and I am their Operative. Tell me now, or tell me later under Parliamentary arrest and interrogation. Either way, you will tell me."

"We've lost almost all the samples," the Agent finally admitted.

"Parliament is less than pleased by that news," Walsingham said.

"As is my employer." She looked over her shoulder at the line of Blue Sun soldiers, and then turned back to Walsingham and his own squad of Alliance special forces men. "You should stay out of this, Operative. We've sent out more contractors, and we've activated Cain."

Walsingham did not bother to hide his surprise. "When was this?"

"Only an hour after the fugitives escaped," the Agent said. "That stunt they pulled over the city was too much for us to handle, and we know your superiors are upset to say the least. Over a thousand civilians were injured, a third fatally. My employer felt Cain had the best chance of tracking them."

Walsingham said nothing more for a time as he continued to watch the forensics team. When he did finally break the silence, it was in a pensive voice. "I understand you may be missing a contractor. Any word?"

The Agent's eyes widened. "How do you know about that?"

"We have our sources. Have you found him?"

"Not yet, but we will." She stiffened as if receiving a signal. "Now, Operative, if you will excuse my, I have work to do."

She turned and left. The captain of his unit stepped forward. "Do we need to instruct the Blue Sun guards about jurisdiction, sir?"

"Not today," Walsingham. "I have what I need. Let's go."

Nine people sat and a tenth stood around a table in the galley of Serenity looking at an eleventh in open displays of shock and disbelief. On one side of the table sat Kaylee and Simon, Wash and Zoe, Jayne, Mal, Inara, Book and River. Afolabi stood against the far wall behind the others, but was no less spell bound. On the other side sat Jedi Master Quinlan Vos.

Vos finally stopped talking, and the only sound was the distant thrumming of the ship's engine, and the faint whine of the coolant system of their fridge that had been threatening catastrophic failure for two months.

"Okay then," Mal summed up. He looked around at the rest of the crew. "So, any questions for Mr. Jedi man here?"

Seven hands lifted up. River, Book and Afolabi made no move.

"It's hard to believe," Simon said. "If the galaxy was that crowded, why only now? We made the passage from Earth hundreds of years ago, why weren't we contacted then? And why aren't they just contacting us? Why the subterfuge?"

"The Republic was in turmoil," Vos surmised. "The Clone Wars has been raging for nine years and was engulfing almost all of the Rim Worlds and many of the Core Worlds as well. I don't know why you weren't found before, but my guess would be this is an extreme outer rim system in the Unknown Regions, where the Republic has not had a large presence. For all the civilizations we have, space is still vast. Without hyperspace travel or holonet-level subspace communications, you would never have been found."

"Okay, so there are aliens in the Alliance kidnapping and torturing kids and the Alliance knows all about it," Mal summed up. "What do we do about it?"

"Put our tails 'tween our legs and cower like dogs," Jayne said. "Ain't nothin' we can do 'bout this 'cept keep our heads low so they don't get shot off."

"There is something else that is bothering me about what you said," Book announced. He turned and looked pointedly at River. "You said he spoke to River directly. That he knew her, and that she was almost ready. Ready for what?"

"From the mouth of a Sith, it can be nothing good," Quinlan said. He looked at all of them, one face at a time, until his eyes settled on River. "I don't understand how they pried your mind open to the Force, child. I feel Lorana Jinzler's Force signature in you, but there can be no denying you have power. If you are to have any chance of surviving, you must be trained to wield that power."

Jayne snorted. "'Cause she just ain't crazy enough."

She slowly turned around in her chair and stared. Jayne sat up and looked as if he were about to bolt. "I really can kill you with my mind," she said.

"Yes, you can," Vos said. The others turned and stared, shocked at his confirmation. "But to kill like that invites the Dark Side of the Force. Once you start down that path, forever will it dominate your destiny. Give into it enough, and you become no better than the Sith. You may become Sith."

"You mean she wasn't kiddin'?" Jayne asked.

"She has the power of the Jedi," Vos said. "But without the training. In rage, she could kill with her mind. But she will not do that. Her mind may have been corrupted, but her soul is still pure."

"That's sweet," Mal muttered. "She's a good kinda crazy. Fine. What about the rest of us?"

"We need to find a place and lay low," Zoe said. "Someplace the Alliance wouldn't think to look."

Mal stared across the room. "You ain't thinkin' it."

"Sir, Mr. Afolabi here marked most of our safe havens when he was after us. The Alliance knows. Badger turned on us. Manty and Fango don't trust us. There's nowhere else."

Afolabi in the corner opened his mouth to correct them regarding Badger's current state of being dead, but then decided it was not important.

"Whare are you thinking, then?" Inara said.

Zoe and the Captain continued to stare at each other for the longest time before Zoe finally spoke aloud the thought that seemed to be clouding the air. "Shadow."

"I thought Shadow was a dead world," Kaylee said. "Didn't it get blasted during the Unification War?"

"Like nobody's business," Mal said. "Alliance wrote it off and no one there thought to correct them. And for good reason. It's not a good place to be."

"No one would look for us there," Zoe said.

With a long string of Chinese curses, Mal threw up his hands and walked out of the kitchen. "So if it's a good place to hide," Simon ventured, "why is the Captain so afraid?"

"Because it is the home of the one person in the whole 'verse he is truly afraid of," Zoe said. "His mother."

"What are you doing?"

River stopped mid-stride. She and Quinlan had been meditating in the cargo area when she unexpectedly jumped to her feet and stared walking away.

"Meds," she said, and then she continued on her way. Behind her, Vos stood and followed her.

Her brother was waiting for her in the infirmary with the syringe already waiting. He hated having to give her shots but just didn't have the means of producing the medicine in pill form. Simon looked up in surprise when Vos stepped in right behind River.

"Quinlan," he said. "Are you injured?"

"No, I'm curious about these 'meds' you are giving River. What is their nature?"

Simon bristled, and then took a deep breath to overcome his initial reaction. "If you must know, she's receiving a combination of agents including an antipsychotic, a mood stabilizer, an anxiolytic agent and an antidepressant. It's a cocktail I've been balancing for her particular metabolism. Without the medications she becomes violent both to herself and others."

With his explanation complete, Simon completed the preparation of the injection and nodded to his sister as she climbed up on the table. Suddenly the needle flew from his fingers into the Jedi's waiting hands.

"Mr. Vos, I really appreciate your concern," Simon said, knowing better that to threaten a man who single-handedly wiped out the Alliance academy. "But I am a very good doctor, and I have been treating my sister for over a year now."

Quinlan put the syringe down on a nearby counter. "I feel your love and dedication to her, Doctor. I do not doubt your motivations or your qualifications. But your medicines do not help the problem. They cover it up." The Jedi placed his palm against River's head. She closed her eyes and leaned into the contact, much like a cat leaning into a stroke. "Her mind has been ripped open to the Force using someone else's genetic and…cerebral material. She's suffering memories of Lorana's last moments. Of pain that no living person would ever experience and live. Your medicine can't help that."

"But you can?" Simon said hotly.

Vos dropped his hand. River opened her eyes and stared at the Jedi. "My knight in shining armor," she said in a sing-song fashion. "I think he can. I want him to try."

Simon sighed and turned to start putting the many viols away. "I can't stop you, Mei Mei," he said. "But I will be monitoring you very closely. If things start to feel wrong, you need to tell me."

River nodded. To Vos, Simon said, "Some of the drugs I've been giving her do have an addictive quality. There may be some withdrawal symptoms that simply can't be helped." He looked at both of them. "The next few days will be very difficult."

"With the Force, all things are possible," Vos said calmly.

Six hours later, during the middle of the ship's sleep cycle, River sat up in her bed in a cold sweat. The drops of cold rolled down her skin like icy, grasping fingers. She looked up and saw how the shadows leered at her. They spoke harsh, guttural words to her. They wanted to consume her. To sacrifice her to something even darker.

With a terrified whimper, she curled up on her cot and tried to cover herself. Her eyes sought Kaylee's bunk, but it was empty. The mechanic must have been in Simon's room.

The shadows lunged and roared. She covered her eyes and cried out. Then she felt a large hand on her shoulder. It was not a shadow. It felt warm and real and alive. She leaned forward and a pair of arms enveloped her. "Make them go away," she cried.

Quinlan's deep, soothing voice washed over her. As if singing a lullaby, he said over and over again:

There is no emotion, there is peace.

There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.

There is no passion, there is serenity.

There is no chaos, there is harmony.

There is no death, there is the Force.

Perhaps an hour later, Kaylee stepped into the room to discover Quinlan Vos sitting on River's cot, with River curled up like a baby on his lap wearing only her sleeping shirt. It was at once touching, and slightly unnerving to see how gently the large man held her.

"Uh, Mr. Vos?" Kaylee whispered.

"Dr. Tam warned us of withdrawal symptoms," Vos said quietly. "She has had a difficult night. But she is doing better now."

Kaylee couldn't help but smile as she sat down. "I'd say. She's a bit shiny on you."

She was expecting Vos to smile. He did not. Instead, he stared into the middle of the room as if somewhere else. "You okay?"

"Just remembering everything I have lost," he said softly. "Not even the strongest of Jedi are immune from pain."

Kaylee stifled a yawn. "You just treat her right, no matter what."

The Jedi did smile then, and even chuckled. "Don't worry, child. I'll not harm your friend. Just the opposite. It is my hope when all is said and done, very little will be able to harm her."