Nothing In The 'Verse
Episode 42: Drag The Waters.


TRIGGER WARNING for mention of rape.


En route to Athens. Georgia system.

Dani stirred in her sleep, tightening her arm around Lori. Something had disturbed her, something on the edge of her consciousness...

She bolted upright, realizing there was a figure sitting cross-legged at the foot of the bed.

"Hello, Kaasan," Sara's voice whispered. Only Dani could tell this didn't sound like Sara at all, she had a whisper that sent ice and fire flowing through her veins all at once, seeming to trigger a fight and flight response at the same time. She clenched her sheets in her fists, trying not to tremble with the effort to remain in place.

"Are you... Shrike?"

Next to her, Lori sat up as well with a gasp. Dani reached out a hand to grab on to her arm tightly and keep her in place.

The girl at the end of the bed clapped her hands lightly as if in glee. "Oh, you figured it out right away! I always knew you were a smartie. This'll make things much easier." She unfolded herself gracefully and flowed onto the floor to walk around, her movements lithe and fluid like that of a panther from Earth-That-Was.

A predator.

"How are you here?" Dani whispered hoarsely.

"I figgered somethin' out, while I was sittin' alone in the dark," Shrike mused, her words dripping like venom in their bitterness. "She won't let me out much anymore, but I figgered I c'n get control when she's sleepin'." She spun and graced the two women with a manic smile, sharp as a razor. "Ain't that wonderful?"

"Shrike... please don' do anythin' on the ship... to my family," Dani pleaded quietly but firmly.

The girl in Sara's body threw back her head and gave a peal of laughter. It was so similar to Sara's laugh, but instead brought to Dani's mind images of bloodthirsty Reavers for some reason.

"Oh, Kaasan... you don' have to worry none about me," she grinned, teeth shining white in the dim light. "You neither, Red. Y'see, I know Sara, how she'd react if'n I were to hurt another of ya. She'd kill herself right away, an' then I won't be 'round neither." Dani's eyes got wide at the revelation.

"So, no, won't be no hurtin' of family. This is jus' me, stretching my legs, as it were. I jus' wanna let y'all in on the secret." She giggled again, the sound scraping along Dani's spine.

"Why are you tellin' us?" Dani asked.

"'Cause, an' here's the best part, you can't let Sara know 'bout it!" The girl hopped up and down on her toes, immensely amused. "If'n ya tell her, she'll never sleep again!" Then she stopped, as if listening to an unseen voice. "Well, she's startin' to stir. Better get back into her bunk. Mebbe we'll talk again, yeah?" With that, she scrambled back up the ladder, no sound at all to betray her passage.

"I'm gonna have nightmares now," Lori whimpered.

"C'mon, wo de ai (my love)," Dani said grimly. She got up and pulled on a few clothes, leaving her feet bare.

Lori complied, throwing on one of her dresses without bothering to fish for underwear. "What're we doin'?"

"May not be able to tell Sara, an' I agree with that, but we can fer gorram sure tell Em. Now's a good as time as any, when everyone else's asleep."

The couple padded down the hallway and then the stairs, barefoot and holding hands. Lori was still shaking slightly from the experience.

Dani left her in the lounge and walked a few more meters back to the rear quarters, climbing quietly up the ladder above Mike and Julie's room. Though her attempt at silence was likely a moot point over Mike's loud snoring. Sounds like a gorram freight train in there.

"Em?" she whispered quietly, tapping on the door. She heard a rustling and then it slid open a couple of centimeters. Her niece peered out blearily, hair a tangled mess.

"Hrumerf?" Emily asked in a confused mumble.

"Sorry baobei (treasured one)," Dani chuckled. "We gotta talk. Join us in the lounge when yer ready."

"Ermgeherd," her niece replied, and slid the door shut.

Laughing softly, Dani walked back to join Lori on the couch, snuggling up to her tightly.

"She gettin' up?" Lori asked skeptically over a wide yawn.

"Hope so, I'll go check in a few if she ain't moved any."

It was only a matter of seconds, though, before the door slid back again and Emily climbed out and down the ladder from her bunk, taking care where she stepped.

"Whazzup gu ma (aunt, father's sister)?" Emily asked, scratching her tousled head. Dani held back a snicker at Emily's sleeping attire. It was a skimpy nightie that left very little to the imagination. She caught Lori's open-mouthed stare and reached over, gently closing her jaw.

"So, Em," Dani began. "We had an... interesting visit tonight..." She trailed off at the sound of another door sliding open.

Maribelle walked over from the other side of the crew quarters, looking concerned. "Hey, what's going on?"

Dani laughed softly. "Sorry to be so, um, loud."

"Yeah, well you were kind of broadcasting strongly there," her empathetic sister-in-law murmured, walking up to the lounge. "Okay if I sit in?"

"Yeah absolutely," Dani replied, looking around at the others for confirmation.

Meeting only sleepy nods, Maribelle eased herself into a chair. "Em, sweetie, aren't you cold?"

"Nah," Emily replied, smiling. "Almost never get cold."

"Well, your girls're sayin' otherwise," Dani grinned, eyeing her niece's protruding assets and tossing her a throw blanket. "Here, at the least you c'n stop givin' my wife palpitations."

The other girls snickered at Lori's discomfiture. "I'm not... aahh, bi zui (shut up)!" the freckled woman blushed.

Still grinning, Dani leaned over a planted a wet kiss on her lover's lips. "Alright then," she started again, "as I was sayin', we had a visitor tonight..."

After her tale was finished, the other two women sat there thoughtfully while Dani wrapped her arms around Lori. Her wife was shaking again after hearing about the visitation once more.

"So, I know this's gonna sound strange," Emily began, hitching the blanket up on her shoulders, "but when was the last time ya had Sara out on a mission where she could kill someone?"

Dani looked at Emily, blinking a few times."Um. Awhile? We're tryin' to keep her away from that..."

Maribelle, however, was nodding thoughtfully. "So Shrike hasn't been able to get out, and she's feeling constrained. That's why she's acting out now, even with the new medication."

Lori looked over at Maribelle. "Thought ya weren't all that familiar with the head stuff?"

Maribelle smirked back. "Kids."

"Oh, yeah," Dani laughed. "Okay, I'm followin' ya now."

"Right," Emily nodded eagerly. "So let her out, let her exercise some, as it were. Give Sara the chance to do what she's done before, an' Shrike might be more, well, satisfied."

Dani sighed, rubbing her eyes tiredly with one hand. "Yer right, it sounds strange. But it makes a whole mess of sense, too." She stood up, still holding Lori's hand and pulling her to her feet. "Alright, thanks for the talk, girls. I'll have a word with Keith, see what he thinks, an' get her more involved-like."

"With that note, I'm heading back to bed," Maribelle yawned, stretching. "See you in the morning."

"Oh, yeah," Emily exclaimed. "Been meanin' to ask, c'n I join yer tai chi sessions?"

"Sweetie, it's not an invite-only shindig," Dani laughed as she headed up the stairs with her wife in tow. "We'll see ya there, if'n ya c'n still get up in a few hours."

Athens. Georgia system.

After dropping off their cargo, the ground team headed to a local bar for Jess to drum up some business. They weren't sure of the local temperament, so Cali was left behind, much to her disappointment.

The bar was a bit run-down but clean and sparsely populated at this early hour. Surprisingly it also had no name. Everyone just called it "The Bar," and that seemed to be good enough for the residents of the small town.

In the corner of the establishment there were a couple of card games, seven-card stud poker from the looks of it, going on that Sara was watching with interest. One in particular was catching her eye as she looked on, grinning.

"What'rya so amused at, baobei (treasured one)," Dani murmured over her drink.

"Big fella over there with the funny hat," Sara said, indicating the large man wearing a bowler hat a size too small for his head. "He's been cheatin', but he's not bad. Don' think the others are catchin' on."

Just then one of the other players threw his hand down in disgust. "That's it, I'm out," he said as he rose from his chair with a huff. The big guy grinned and looked around the sparsely-populated bar, seeing Dani looking on. "Hey there, lil' lady, care to join in? We're short a hand. No-limit."

Dani eyed the rather large pile in front of the man, and the smaller piles in front of the other two. Looked to be a goodly number of credits, but not enough that would hurt too badly to join in. "C'n you beat 'im?" Dani whispered to Sara.

Her daughter looked up with wide eyes, and then grinned. "Oh yeah. I c'n beat 'im."

"Dani..." Jess murmured warningly.

"S'okay, Jess," Lori interjected with a wink. "She c'n take 'im."

Sara grinned at the show of confidence as she rose from her chair with Dani to walk over to the table.

"Tell ya what, boys," Dani said casually, "I'm not much of a player, but my nu'er (daughter) here is pretty decent. I'll bankroll her."

The man barked out a laugh. "Ni zi (little girl), you think you c'n play wit' the big dogs? I don' think so."

"Well," Sara drawled, "if'n yer afraid of lil' ole me, I s'pose it won't hurt yer rep too badly..."

The man gave another booming laugh. "Alright, girl, I like yer spunk. Have a sit."

Dani bought enough chips to get Sara started, and then pulled a chair over. She spun it around to sit on it backwards and settled in to watch the show. The rest of the crew moved over with their drinks and ordered up snacks to enjoy the entertainment as well.

After an hour Dani decided that they should really pay a visit to the casinos on Persephone. Sara cleaned up. Keith answered her whispered question to assure her Sara wasn't cheating so far as he could tell. "But she's really good, so I don't know if I could even tell if she were."

The other two players were barely holding on as Sara was obviously concentrating on the big man. He had taken his bowler hat off some time ago and loosened his collar, scowling in concentration as the little girl sitting across the table took him to the cleaners.

Eventually there was a very decent-sized pot in the middle. It was enough to put the big man back on his feet if he were to win it, and he obviously felt confident in his hand. His four cards showing were a three of clubs, three of spades, seven of spades, and nine of spades. Dani wasn't sure if he were going for a full house or a flush, but either one was a decent hand, if he weren't bluffing.

"Fifty," he grunted, pushing in his last five chips.

Sara glanced down at her cards. She had mostly garbage showing, a four of hearts and another of spades, a six of clubs, and a ten of hearts. She pushed in fifty of her own, and then, grinning, added another ten. "Raise ten."

The big man growled low in his chest. "That's not playin' fair," he grumbled.

The other two players at the table shrugged simultaneously, having bowed out early on in the hand. "Way I recall it," one of them said nonchalantly, "you did the same thing to the last guy."

"Fine," he snarled, reaching into his rear pocket and pulling out a rumpled sheet of paper. "I'll call with this. Genuine treasure map."

"Really?" Sara asked skeptically. "A treasure map? Ya 'xpect me to buy that?"

"You sayin' I'm lyin'?" the man asked dangerously.

Sara glanced back at Dani, who just shrugged her shoulders same as the other two men had. "Up to you, nu'er."

Sara sighed and turned back to the table. "Well, okay, just the once then. Check."

The man turned over his cards, grinning widely. He had a ten of hearts, a Jack of spades, and a King of Spades. "Flush, King high," he said triumphantly.

Sara quirked her eyebrow. "Not bad," she said dryly, flipping her own cards over.

Four of clubs. Four of diamonds. Ace of diamonds. "Four fours," she smirked, and raked the pile towards her.

The big man gaped at her incredulously, clenching his fists in front of him.

"Now' fore you start to thinkin' 'bout losing yer temper," Sara commented nonchalantly as she started stacking her chips up, "do keep in mind my family sittin' behind me that might take exception to ya."

He glared over at the other four Favour crewmembers, all of whom were wearing almost identical smirks. Grumbling under his breath, the big man left the table without further incident and exited the bar.

"That was nicely done," one of the men chortled.

"Well, he was cheatin', after all. I'm jus' better at it," Sara replied nonchalantly.

The two men looked at each other, and then back at Sara. Dani tensed in her seat, but Sara forestalled any confrontation.

"So how much was yer ante? I'll pay ya back now."

Both men shared a laugh. "That's... right generous of ya, ni zi (little girl)," one of them smiled.

After she was done doling out the chips, she took her stack over to the bar to cash herself out, and then returned to Dani with the money and map in hand.

"That's all yers, nu'er (daughter)," Dani grinned. "You c'n pay me back the ante, but the rest belongs to ya."

Sara grinned widely. "I oughta do this more often!"

Lori laughed, linking her arm with Sara as they headed back towards their old table. "Only if'n I get to join in next time!"

"Oh yeah, we'll take 'em all on!" Sara chortled, sitting down. She pulled out the map and unrolled it, peering at the contents. "So what's all this then," she mused.

She was still looking it over when the others ordered another round of drinks, and eventually peered up at Dani.

"Hey, Kaasan," she began. "Y'all called yerselves Browncoats, right?"

"Yep, both Lori an' I," Dani answered easily.

"An' did y'all have, like, a fleet? I mean, 'sides the unarmed ones you flew?"

"Sure," Dani replied thoughtfully. "Had a bunch, mostly converted bulk freighters with slapped-on guns an' missiles an' such."

"Gunboats?" Sara asked, peering at the map again.

Dani frowned. "Yeah, usually the smaller transports, like ours, had the same done, bolted on some guns an' missiles an' they could take on the bigger Alliance ships. Why are ya all interested in this, sweetie?"

"Well," Sara began, leaning back in her chair, "would it be of interest to find a whole mess of mothballed gunboats that were bein' kept around for the Browncoats to use again someday?"

"Wai sheng nu (niece, sister's daughter)," Keith interjected, "are you telling us that map is for the lost Echo Base?"

"Oh! Yeah, it sez that right here," Sara murmured, glancing back at the map.

"The what now?" Lori asked Keith curiously, glancing at Dani who shrugged back.

"Echo Base," Keith said musingly as he looked over Sara's shoulder. "Rumored to have been a stash of old gunships, mostly Firefly Mark III's, fully armed and armored. They were hidden away after the Battle of Sturges, along with a lot of other arms. Captured Independents confirmed it's existence but nobody knew the location..."

"Till now!" Sara said triumphantly.

"Well, hold on now," Keith said cautiously. "This has some of it... the start of the trail, and where to find more... and then the last location relative to the final clue..."

"Wait, so this's a treasure hunt an' a scavenger hunt?" Sara asked, eyes sparkling. "Niubi (fucking awesome)!"

"Seems that way," Keith grinned, leaning back again.

Sara tossed her map onto the table and climbed up on her chair to stand over the rest of her family's heads. "I'm hirin' the crew!" she shouted triumphantly. "We're goin' on a hunt!"

"An' what're we gonna do with a mothballed fleet of gunships?" Dani asked, laughing. "I mean, don' wanna burst yer bubble nu'er, but those ships ain't gonna sell for much, compared to what it'd take to retrieve 'em."

"Not necessarily," Keith interjected. "Alliance has been looking for this stash for some time. Pretty sure they still have a standing reward listed for verifiable evidence of the location."

Sara's crestfallen look immediately reversed itself. "Right! Let's go, Capt'n, we gots treasure ta find!" She hopped down amongst the crew's laughter and rolled the map back up, sticking it in her waistband. She grabbed her roll of banknotes and stuffed it into a pocket, the obvious bulge showing.

"Alright, folks, ya heard our client," Dani smiled. "Let's get a'movin'."

The five crewmembers walked out of the bar and towards the landing pads. They didn't get far before they were confronted by several armed locals, led by the large man who had lost the map to Sara.

"Well," Lori sighed. "Can't say I'm surprised."

"Nope, not 'specially," Dani grinned.

"I want the map back, an' my money," the man snarled. "In fact, all yer money will do jus' fine. But I'm gonna gut the lil' smartass there fer sure"

Keith glanced at the others. "So, how do we want to play this?"

"Sara, you up to some action?" Dani asked cautiously.

"Yep," Sara smirked. "Kinda lookin' forward to it, actually."

"Right then," Dani directed towards the man confidently, thinking back to Emily's advice. "Here's the deal. You an' my nu'er, one on one, blades only. No holds barred. Loser's side walks away."

The big man barked a laugh. "Oh yeah, that'll work fer me." He handed his sidearm to the thug next to him and pulled out a very large knife. "C'mere you lil' biao zi (bitch). Time ta bleed."

"Dani, are you sure about this?" Jess whispered worriedly as Sara handed her pistol and the map to Lori.

"Have a lil' faith, Jess," Dani murmured back. "This'll be good for her."

Sara stood there in the middle of the street, looking up at the man who towered twice her height over her. A slow smile spread across her face. "You ready for this, piyan (asshole)?" she asked with a dark giggle that sent chills up Dani's spine.

God Em, I hope yer right 'bout this, Dani thought with a slight trace of worry for her daughter.

For a man his size, he moved fairly fast, but it wasn't nearly fast enough. By the time he lunged downwards with his enormous knife, Sara had pulled out both shivs and slashed twice, tumbling to the side. The man looked down, stunned, as blood ran down both thighs from the wounds. He whirled around to catch the small girl, but she was already moving behind him, digging her shivs into his back, using them to climb up. He reared backwards, screaming in pain, as Sara reached the top to slide one lithe hand around his throat, opening it up ear to ear.

The man's scream cut off suddenly with a gurgle as he stumbled forward, wide-eyed, and fell flat on his face, dead. Sara rode the body down and hopped off lightly, wiping her blades on his torso before returning them to her sleeves.

"Well, boys," Dani smirked to the other incredulous armed thugs. "'Less you wanna be next, ya might wanna be on yer way now."

To a man, they turned tail and ran as if pursued by the shades of hell itself.

Sara calmly retrieved her items from Lori and the group resumed their walk, though Jess looked at Sara a little bit askance.

"So how d'ya feel, sweetie?" Dani asked casually. "Good to stretch yer legs a bit?"

"Yeah, Kaasan, it did," Sara responded slowly. "I mean, not like I gotta do it all th' time or anythin', but I feel like... I dunno, a kinda pressure lifted? I don' think I'm explainin' it right..."

"No, nu'er, I think you said it jus' fine," Dani said with satisfaction.

Inbound to Hera. Georgia system.

"So, this is weird," Lori commented, sitting in the nav seat.

"Yeah, shoulda figured somethin' like this would pop up," Dani sighed.

"How d'ya mean, Kaasan?" Rain asked from her chair. "Is it this abandoned base we're headin' towards?"

"Sorta," Dani said distantly. "It's near where we ended the war. Never thought I'd see this battlefield close up again. 'Least it's not the same base as the one I spent time in the brig at, this one's an army one, not sure why'd it be there, but that's what the map sez."

"Well, alright," Rain said nonplussed. "Want me ta take us in?"

"Sure nu'er, you got this," Dani smiled over at her.

Rain picked up the mike. "Hera control, this is Firefly transport Fortune's Favour, requestin' clearance to land."

"Roger that Firefly transport, cleared for pad eighteen, follow the beacon down."

Rain steered the ship to line up with the assigned beacon. "So, how's Aunt Kelly doin'?" she asked casually as she worked the controls.

Dani glanced back at Lori. "She's doin' better," she finally answered. "Gonna take awhile to heal."

"Been a week since we picked her up, she still confined to the infirmary?"

"Yeah," Dani replied to her daughter, eyeing her curiously, "but I don't think she could move much even if'n she wanted to. She took a whole lotta damage."

"An' what're we gonna do with her once she heals?" Rain asked, a trace of tension in her voice.

"Hey, sweetie," Dani said softly. "What's on yer mind, huh? Ya know ya c'n tell me, right?"

Rain sighed heavily as she adjusted the levers for the thrusters, pivoting them downwards as they approached the field. "I jus'... she's my Aunt Kelly, y'know? An' I know she did a lotta bad stuff, but she did some good stuff too, right? She saved yer lives a buncha times, an' ya said she was tryin' ta keep me off the bad guy's radar... I jus' don' think she's a bad guy herself anymore."

"Have you been talkin' to her?" Dani asked quietly but without accusation.

"No, but I've been hanging' out in the lounge when Aunt Maribelle's been in there," Rain replied a little sheepishly. "An' she don't feel like a bad guy, 'kay? She jus' feels... I dunno. Sad."

Dani sat there, lost in her thoughts, as Rain brought the Favour down for a smooth landing. Finally, as the ship settled down on her landing pads, she stood up and placed a hand on Rain's shoulder.

"I really wanna believe her, baobei (treasured one). An' I wanna believe she's not a danger to any of us. An' I do trust yer judgement, really." She paused for a beat. "Mebbe after we finish this job, we'll all sit down for a chat. Figure what we c'n work out. 'Kay?"

"Jus' give her a chance, Kaasan," Rain replied softly.

"I'm tryin', baobei," Dani whispered before leaving the bridge. "I'm tryin'."

Lori had already walked back towards the shuttles, and Dani caught up with her there. The ground team, minus Keith, seemed to be standing around the airlock for shuttle two.

"Um, what's goin' on, folks?" Dani asked curiously.

Jess shrugged. "Keith couldn't get green lights. Mike is in there now looking."

The mechanic in question emerged then, shaking his head and followed by Keith. He spied Dani and chuckled ruefully. "Sorry to say this, Dani-girl, but two's shot. Busted thruster. Gotta take it to a shop, nothin' we c'n fix here."

"Ai ya, huai le (shit on my head)," she cursed. "Guess we c'n take it to Osiris, Tom'll give us a decent deal on the repairs." She let out a sigh and turned around to face the other side of the ship. "Well, guess we're in for a bumpy ride. Let's get shuttle one movin'."

Abandoned Independent Forward Base Tango. Hera.

Dani stumbled out of the shuttle on weak legs, and fell to the ground as Lori exited behind her. The two collapsed in a heap.

"I think my insides are jelly," Dani moaned.

"I c'n still feel the floor vibratin'," Lori moaned back.

Sara walked out, shaking her head. "Y'all are such babies. It weren't all that bad."

Dani lifted her head to glare at her daughter. "If'n that's so, why ain't Keith an' Jess come out?"

Sara shrugged as she walked towards the lone building that remained on the base. "Mebbe they decided to take a nap."

"Ya gonna let her show us up?" Lori asked from the ground.

Dani let her head fall back again. "Thinkin' 'bout it."

Lori snorted. "C'mon, bang jiar (lover), can't let her have all the fun."

"Oh, fine," Dani groaned as her wife helped her to her feet.

Their walk became less staggered and more normal as they approached the three-story building. Sara was stopped, peering curiously around, and looked back at their approach.

"Someone's been here recently," she commented.

"Huh," Dani replied intelligently. I think my brain's still a lil' mushy. "Well, you take the lead, nu'er."

"You got it," Sara grinned as she slipped inside.

The inside of the building looked to be pretty well ransacked by looters since the end of the war so many years ago. All the windows had been broken out, and the doors kicked in. They moved through the levels of what appeared to be a typical military office building, searching each room, but there was very little left. There was an elevator which didn't work anymore and a stairwell on one side of the building leading up all three levels. Each floor had a central hallway with rooms opening off on each side, and a pair of trashed bathrooms on every floor as well. The second floor contained a lunch room, but even the sink had been removed from there.

Finally on the third floor they came across what had been a file storage room. It was located on the far end of the hall from the staircase, and it was trashed as well. Filing cabinets were still there but overturned with files dumped on the floor everywhere.

Against the wall was one solitary filing cabinet still standing. Dani bent over to inspect it.

"Looks like it's secured to the wall... got some dents in it from hammers." She stood back up. "These look like normal locks to y'all?"

"Nope," Lori smiled. "Looks like they wanted ta keep it pretty gorram secure."

Sara looked at the cabinet curiously. "Some of that looks fresh, y'know? Mebbe the same folk who were here recently?"

"C'n you scout about real quick, sweetie?" Dani asked as she activated her comm. Sara gave her a nod and scurried off. "One, this is Two. Would appreciate yer presence on the third floor. Anytime yer willin' an' able, 'course."

"Two, ever been told you sound like Mom sometimes?" Keith grunted over the comm.

"Bite yer tongue, didi!" Dani exclaimed. "I've shot folks fer lesser insults!"

Keith barked a laugh in reply. "We're on our way."

"Never heard ya talk much 'bout yer parents," Lori commented curiously.

Dani sighed. "Didn' really get along with them as much as Keith did. He could do no wrong, sometimes. Y'know? An' after I moved off to Jiangyin, we jus' talked less an' less... an' then after I joined up, they stopped altogether."

"They still alive?" Lori asked softly.

Dani shook her head. "Gorram shame, but they never got ta meet their grandkids." She shrugged. "Their loss. I gots a lotta family, not gonna mourn the ones who didn't want me none."

Lori just gave a noncommittal grunt, but was spared further comment when Keith and Jess arrived.

"Is Four out scouting?" Keith asked curiously as he approached the filing cabinet. Jess turned to stand guard at the doorway, peering down the dark hall.

"Yep," Dani answered. "Said there were recent marks, mebbe someone nearby."

Keith nodded, and withdrew his tools. "Pretty gorram complex for a military office building," he murmured in a quiet baritone as he set to work.

After maybe fifteen minutes he was able to pop the lock. It took more effort to wrench the drawers out as the frame had become warped from the abuse. Once they did, the three crew members started going through the musty folders.

"Looks mostly like troop movements and such," Lori said, flipping through her stack.

"Yeah, that an' supply requests," Dani commented, dropping another stack to the floor.

"Got it," Keith grunted, pulling one folder out and letting the rest drop back into the cabinet. He held it up for the others to see. It was clearly marked on the outside, 'Echo Base', in large letters.

"Well, that's kinda obvious," Dani said dryly.

Keith flipped it open and began to read. "Yeah, I see it... okay. Oh." He stopped suddenly and glanced up at Dani.

"Um, what is it, didi? Yer makin' me nervous with that look of yers..."

Keith sighed and closed the folder in his hands. "It's the next stop, where the trail leads. Silverhold."

Dani sucked in a breath. She'd not really avoided the planet on purpose, but truth be told, she'd not been on the planet since her abduction. And she supposed Jess had a hand in that too, as none of their cargo had sent them there.

She cleared her throat as Lori slipped her arm around her waist, squeezing gently. "Well, we haven't been there since... Yeah. It's been a spell." She glanced up at Jess, who was watching her warily.

Jess gave a nod, confirming her suspicions. "Yes, I've been avoiding it. Thought you might tell me if you were ready."

"Well," Dani sighed. "Guess now's a good a time as any."

"You sure 'bout this, beautiful?" Lori whispered, concern in her voice.

Giving herself a shake, Dani started towards the door. "Let's jus' get movin'. We c'n talk 'bout it on the ship, yeah?"

"Okay, wo de ai (my love)," Lori murmured, still holding on to her wife and walking with her.

They had just reached the first floor again when Sara's voice came over the comm. "Four here, got someone pokin' around the shuttle. Looks like an ex-military-type o' fella."

"Alright Four, hang back and keep him in sight, we're coming out now," Keith murmured, drawing his sidearm at the same time everyone else did.

The four crew walked out of the doorway warily, seeing only the one man standing near the shuttle hatch. He was a fairly tall man, just a bit shorter than Dani or Keith. He wore the ubiquitous long brown duster so common among ex-Browncoats, pushed back to reveal his Moses Brother's service pistol, but his hands remained at his sides. Dani could see he wore service trousers and boots, and a simple black tee shirt on top.

He gave an easy grin as the four approached, guns drawn but unthreatening. "Howdy," he drawled. His clean-shaven face was weathered from the suns of a hundred worlds, and his hair a sandy blond kept fairly short.

"What c'n we do fer ya, pengyou (friend)," Dani asked.

"Well, I'm sorta hopin' we c'n help each other out. Y'see, I'm a bit of a historian, an' I been searching around for clues to a lost bit o' lore. Been camped out here for a day now, trying to get into a certain cabinet up in that building, an' y'all got the looks of folk that managed to get it open." He laughed ruefully. "If'n ya did, ya saved me the trouble of headin' back to town fer explosives, I was plumb outta patience."

Dani felt a little silly holding her gun out when the man seemed to be the peaceable sort, so she holstered it. After some hesitation, the others complied as well, though Keith kept his hand on his. "So, then, what 'xactly are ya lookin' fer?"

"Well, I 'spect same as y'all are. Echo Base?" the man grinned. "Oh! Dangit, where are my manners. I'm Bill. Bill Hicks."

Dani stepped forward, shaking his hand, and introduced the team. She noted that Sara was still staying out of sight, so she didn't remark on her presence.

"Now then," Keith murmured, "what do you know about Echo Base?"

"Same as most folk, I reckon, only I gots a lil' more insight. See," Bill grinned at them, "I'm a bit of a subject expert, as it were. Been hired by a wealthy collector, wants ta track the cache down."

"Subject expert?" Jess asked curiously.

"Right," Bill nodded amiably. "Used to be a Browncoat, as y'all might have noticed. Worked in supply, an' I seen a few of the missives that referred to the place. I know it exists, an' I gathered 'nuff clues to lead me here." He smiled disarmingly again. "So, we want to pool resources? I c'n let y'all in on the take if'n ya like."

Dani raised her eyebrows and looked around. Lori seemed to favor the idea from her smile, but Keith was looking very intently at Bill. Or, rather, at his chest where a tattoo was peeking out over his tee shirt.

"You said you were supply?" Keith asked in his quiet baritone.

"Tha's right," Bill chuckled. "Jus' a clerk, really."

"Interesting tattoo for a clerk," Keith smirked. "Looks to be a flaming drop-pod and crossbones, right, Marine? One Hundred and Second Battalion, Force Recon. I know all about you hun dans (bastards), some of the most rabid pro-Independents around. Still are, aren't you?"

Bill's easy-going facade faded as Keith talked, to be replaced by a scowl. "Right, ya got me there, huoban (buddy). An' I'm noticin' yer tattoos as well, I'm guessing Alliance Spec Ops, right?" Keith nodded, hand still on holster but not drawing his gun. The tension ratcheted upwards as all five of them waited for someone to break and start with the violence.

Bill smiled hard. "Look, it don' hafta be this way. I c'n see some of y'all are Browncoats. My employer, he's got a hankerin' for the good ole days, an' is part of something special. Y'all c'n be part of this, too. Whaddya say, move on over to this side an' we all win."

Dani snickered. "Obviously ya missed the details some, if'n ya ain't figgured the big guy here is my brother."

"Alright," Bill sighed as he pulled out a small device from his coat pocket. It had a rather large blinking button on it. "Now, I didn' wanna hafta resort to this, but since y'all are bein' unreasonable, here it is. I gots an explosive device in the ground at yer feet. Same one I was gonna use on the cabinet, I lied a bit 'bout that, already had it an' ready to blow the lun dong shi (piece of crap) in there up. But now, I need the paper y'all gots. So hand it over."

Dani glanced over at Keith, and they shared a nod. "Take him, Four," Keith murmured.

At that, a knife came whistling down from the roof of the shuttle, straight through the wrist of the hand that Bill was holding the detonator with. He yelped in pain as the tendons were severed and he lost his grip, the device tumbling to the ground.

A second later he was flat on his face as Sara landed on his back, driving her blade into the base of his skull.

She rose, dusting herself off and cleaning her blades after withdrawing them. "Didn' seem so tough t'me," she smiled.

"Nope, ain't nobody as tough as you, baobei (treasured one)," Dani grinned as they headed into the shuttle.

Silverhold. Red Sun.

Rain had been looking sideways at her Kaasan all day, noting her tenseness. She didn't ask about taking the Favour on down to the surface of Silverhold, just went ahead and did the landing herself. She noticed that Dani hadn't really made any comment at all since she sat down earlier, just brooded out the viewport.

Keith walked onto the bridge and stood behind them. "It's time, jiejie."

Dani gave a nod and got to her feet. Lori and Jess had both walked in, concerned looks on their faces. "I need... didi, c'n y'all hit the next spot without me? I gotta go back to... there."

Lori gave a soft cry and walked over to hug her wife tightly. "You don' hafta do this, zhi'ai (most beloved)."

"Yeah, I do," Dani said softly into her lover's red hair.

Lori looked up then, her warm brown eyes burning fiercely. "Then yer not doin' this alone."

"Right," Keith agreed, and Jess nodded as well. "We're all going with you. We can hit the spot later, there's no rush."

Dani gave a sniffle, her eyes filling with tears. "Thanks, y'all. It means the 'Verse to me, really."

"An' yer a lan ren (loon) fer thinkin' we'd let ya go alone," Lori smiled, sniffling as well.

"Alright then, let's get this done," Dani said determinedly.

Warehouse District. Silverhold City.

"I dunno if'n I c'n do this," Dani whispered, standing in front of the door. The five crewmembers had entered the derelict building, both Keith and Sara leading them up unerringly to the room where they had found Dani just over a year ago. She was trembling slightly, and Lori grabbed hold of her hand, squeezing.

"I toldya 'fore, you don' hafta, lian ren (sweetheart)," Lori murmured. "We're here for ya, but nobody's gonna think less of ya none if you turn around now."

Dani gave a slow, shuddering exhale. "Yeah, I might think less of mysel'," she murmured, and reached forward to push the door open.

"Little suka (Russian: bitch), you think I play here? Let me show you how serious Yuri is. Hold her down over the desk, boys..."

The voice echoed down from the past, and Dani gave a gasp. She was shaking like a leaf, and could almost feel the ghost of intense pain between her legs at the memory, but took a step forward anyways. Lori was clinging to her hand, providing an anchor, though she still felt herself being swept backwards in time.

Everything was red, the pain wouldn't stop, everywhere on her body was pain, she was bleeding and he kept hitting her and hitting her and it wouldn't stop, oh God please make it stop just kill me now please please please...

Dani gave another startled gasp as a small hand slipped into her other one, Sara grabbing hold and providing another anchor. Then Jess and Keith stepped forward, each one laying a hand on one of her shoulders. She took another shuddering breath.

It's in the past, it's all in the past, that wang ba (son of a bitch) can't hurt me no more...

She realized she was standing over a pair of bloodstains on the dusty floor. In front of her was the only remaining furniture in the room, the desk. Dani took a deep breath and stared at it, hard. It's just a desk. Just an object. It has no power over me. To her relief no more visions or voices flashed across her consciousness, and her breathing settled down into a normal rhythm.

"Okay," she nodded, giving a tremulous smile. "I'm okay, thanks y'all. C'n I... see where he died?"

"Right here behind the desk," Keith rumbled as walked around the furniture to stare at the ground. The others let go of her too, except for Lori who still clung to her reassuringly.

Dani walked over to stand next to her brother, and looked at the large stain on the floor. It seemed darker than it should, somehow, as if it could reflect the blackness of the evil man's soul whose life was ended there.

"Only time I ever wished I was a man, so's I could piss on his grave proper-like, as it were," Dani murmured with a small twitch of her lips, almost a smile.

"Could do it for you," Keith offered.

"Nah, s'okay," Dani grunted, turning to leave. She stopped, though, next to Sara in the middle of the room. Her daughter was staring at another bloodstain on the far side. "Who died there?" Dani asked curiously.

"You almost did," Keith answered in a quiet baritone.

Sweet Buddha, the stain was even larger than Yuri's... And then she really noticed Sara, who was standing there with her hands wrapped around her middle, rubbing her arms, unable to look away from the stain.

"Oh, honey," Dani whispered brokenly, and leaned over to wrap her own arms around the small girl. "I keep forgettin' that this is jus' as hard on y'all as well. I'm sorry nu'er, you too didi."

"I ju's got you as a Mom, and then almost lost you again," Sara whispered back, a tear trickling down her cheek. "An' this was one of the times I really let... her... out, willingly. I had to get you outta here."

Dani turned Sara around so she was looking in her eyes instead of the stained corner, cupping her daughter's face and wiping the tear away with her thumb. "An' you know I'd do the same for you, right? Nothin' in the 'Verse would keep me away, an' I'd go to any lengths. Any. You know that, right? So there ain't nothin' to be ashamed of."

Sara nodded and smiled up at Dani. "Izzit okay if'n we leave now?"

Dani smiled back at her, grabbing hold of Sara's and Lori's hands to walk out of the room, closing it behind her forever. She didn't look back, but did call out over her shoulder, "How 'bout you didi, you alright?"

"More than," Keith grunted, his arm around Jess and walking behind them.

An hour later, the crew were back on the ship, having found the next clue rather easily. It was in a public records office, of all places, and had a rather simple code that revealed their next destination.

Dani was just as happy to leave the planet behind, though she no longer felt haunted at the thought of Silverhold. Guess that's what ya call healin', she mused thoughtfully to herself, on the bridge again. Someday mebbe I'll talk ta Em about it. Someday.

Ithaca. Georgia system.

The planet Ithaca had a large moon called Priam circling it, but it was close enough in size and mass to make them more like a double-planet. It was an oddity in the 'Verse, to be certain, to see another planet looming so close by in tandem orbit.

The ground team didn't dwell on it much as they assembled in the cargo bay. Ithaca was a populous planet, but fairly rural. Rain would bring the Favour in to drop the team off, and then head towards a clearing nearby that didn't seem to be owned by anyone.

"Touchin' dirt in three... two... one..." Rain's voice came across the ship's intercom. Then there was a slight bump, and Dani hit the door release. They were out in a flash, Cali closing the doors behind them and the Favour sailing back off again.

"Right, this should be an easy one," Keith rumbled as he led them into the forest. "Bunker entrance is right through here."

"Ooohhh, spooky forest," Lori grinned humorously.

"Mebbe the bunker's haunted," Dani grinned back.

"The ghosts of past supply officers, worn down by their heavy burdens," Jess sighed dramatically.

Sara giggled, skipping ahead. "An' they lie in wait fer unsuspectin' folk like us, so's they c'n eat our souls!"

Keith gave a labored sigh. "I need to do more solo missions."

Independent bunker ruins. Ithaca.

"Well, that was boring," Sara commented dryly as she dusted the cobwebs off her shoulders.

"An' no ghosts, sorry hon," Lori smiled. "But 'leastways we got what we needed."

"We know the final spot now, right didi?" Dani asked curiously.

"I think so," Keith said slowly as he peered at the sheet in his hand while they walked along. "I'll need the original map, I think there's some coding here. But yes, looks like it should be in the Motherlode asteroid belt."

"We're jus' skippin' all over the place," Dani laughed. "Georgia to Red Sun to Georgia an' then back to Red Sun again. Better be a decent reward to cover fuel costs!"

Sara froze suddenly, her head cocked to the side. "Company," she whispered.

The team stopped, unlimbering their long arms and straining to hear. From their right they heard a branch crack, and some rustling to their left.

"Move, now," Keith ordered, and the group took off again rapidly towards their landing zone.

"Home, this is Two," Dani panted into her comm. "I think we're gettin' a bit of local color, could use a pickup right soon."

"Sorry Two, was jus' about to reach out to ya. We gots a bit of a problem ourselves," Rain's strained voice came back.

"What?" Dani barked, picking up her pace. Just then shots started whizzing by as the pursuing groups caught sight of them. Keith stopped, dropping to one knee and raking the forest to either side with his assault rifle. There were several startled yelps, the bandits obviously not expecting heavy automatic return fire, and they dropped to the ground. Spinning back to his feet, Keith raced back after the ground team.

They reached the clearing and headed towards a small outcropping that would provide them some shelter. Behind the ridge was an indentation, maybe an ancient meteor crater that was now overgrown with grass. The team threw themselves down, sticking their guns up over the edge and waiting to see their targets approach.

"Home, say again," Keith rumbled urgently. "What's the trouble?"

"Well, seems like we gots these bandit-type folk out here, an' they set an explosive charge against the hull. Sez they're gonna blow a hole if'n we don't let them in an' give 'em the map."

"Map?" Dani growled. "Must be the same si pi yans (damned assholes) that Bill was workin' with."

"No worries," Rain responded with forced cheerfulness. "Mike an' Cory already loaded up in shuttle one, an' they're headin' towards ya. Y'all get back here an' c'n deal with these bendans (idiots)."

Just then they heard the shrill whine of a shuttle approaching. Dani looked up to see the approach, but could immediately tell something was wrong. The shuttle was visibly wobbling now, worse than before. "Gao yang jong duh goo yang (motherless goats of all motherless goats)," she groaned. "I thought it was shakin' worse the last time!"

Then there was a loud snap, and the port wing went flying off, smacking the side of the shuttle on the way. Smoke started to pour out the side, and it began to spin towards the ground.

"Ai ya, huai le (shit on my head)!" Lori yelped as it started heading their way.

They didn't have any chance to get away, with bandits in front and a shuttle descending on their heads. Fortunately either Mike or Cory managed to regain some semblance of control and it veered to the side, down into the depression to land with a loud crunch of metal.

Dani was off and skidding down the slope, frantically racing to reach the shuttle. "Oh God, please be okay, please be okay..."

As she reached the bottom, with Sara on her heels, the hatch popped open and smoke poured out. Two coughing forms stumbled out to retch on the ground.

"Mike! Cory! Y'all alright?" Dani shouted in concern, sliding to a stop and grabbing hold of the filthy Mike.

"Qiang bao hou-zi de, qing wa kao de liu mang (monkey raping, frog humping son of a bitch)!" Mike gasped. "That was a close one, Dani-girl!"

"Gorram right!" Cory sighed, rolling over onto his back. "Nice flying, huoban (buddy). I don't think I could have pulled that off."

"Ah," Mike said diffidently, waving away the praise. "Weren't nothin', ya coulda done the same easy. 'Fraid it ain't gonna fly again, though."

"Ruttin' hell," Dani groaned. "An' now the Favour is all alone."

"They gots guns, an' they're smart," Mike reassured Dani as he spat out a black wad of phlegm. "Have some faith, Capt'n."

"Two, we're coming down," Keith reported into the comm. "This position isn't working, they're going to flank us and take away what little cover we have. Can we shelter inside the shuttle?"

Dani looked over at the smoke pouring out of the shuttle's hatch. "Um, no can do, One. But we can hide behind it. 'Least until they flank us again."

Keith sighed. "Best we can manage. We're just going to have to hold out."

"Who are these piyans (assholes)?" Sara asked irritably as she helped Cory to his feet to get into cover.

Fortune's Favour. Ithaca. Georgia system.

Cali, Rain, and Emily were by the ramp controls, holding their guns nervously and trying to decide on their next course of action after having been told the bad news by Keith. Cali was all for a commando sneak around the side, exiting from the top airlock. Rain preferred to let them in and then deal with them. Emily, clutching the Beretta sidearm she borrowed from her mother, who was hiding with the boys to keep them calm, was asking if they could just copy the map before handing it over, when Maribelle entered the cargo bay.

The blond ship's doctor wore her heavy Nova pistol on her belt and strode determinedly from the ship's aft. She stopped next to the three younger girls.

"Go ahead and open it," Maribelle said, her voice hard with tension.

Cali reluctantly pressed the button to open up the ramp, and six rough-looking men strode up and inside, a couple of them with guns out but not pointing anywhere just yet.

Before they could say anything, a soft but commanding voice rang out from behind the assembled Favour's crew, "You picked the wrong ship, boys."

Glancing over their shoulders, the girls saw Kelly standing there, tiny and barefoot in a hospital-style gown. Her left arm was in a sling and a large white bandage swathed the side of her neck. Her right hand was concealed behind her back.

The group of men laughed raciously. "Shenme ta ma de (what the fuck) is this?" the man in front asked humorously, glancing around at his buddies.

Her hand moving in a blur, Kelly whipped her gun out and around, cleanly shooting down five of the men standing there, right between the eyes.

There was a moment of shocked silence as the bodies hit the deck in crumpled heaps. "Ta ma de (fuck me blind)," Rain murmured reverently.

The last man standing, the apparent leader who had spoken up before, recovered and went for his gun, but before it could clear the holster Kelly put another bullet through his kneecap. He let out a short scream of pain, collapsing to the deck as his gun skidded away from him. Kelly calmly dropped the empty magazine from her gun and then transferred it to her left hand in the sling, holding it by the barrel. "Reload," she murmured in a quiet voice.

Maribelle threw her a new magazine, and Kelly caught it deftly. She inserted it into the magwell and grasped her little Astra with her right hand again. Jamming the butt of the gun against her thigh to secure the mag, she flicked the slide release to send it forward and chamber a new round as she limped over to stand in front of the prone man.

"Who sent you," she asked in a quiet and emotionless voice, pointing the gun down at him.

"Qu si (go die / go to hell)," the bandit snarled, glaring up at the diminutive woman with hate-filled eyes.

Kelly calmly transferred her aim to his other kneecap and fired again. The writhing man howled again in pain.

"Who sent you," Kelly repeated in the same inflectionless voice, sounding almost bored.

He lay there, grimacing in pain and shook his head determinedly.

Another shot, this time to the right elbow joint, shattering it beyond use.

"Yeaaargh, alright, alright, you feng li biao zi (crazy bitch)! Roberts! Paul Roberts, right hand man of Baron Cromwell here on Ithaca!"

Kelly nodded slightly, and then delivered a final shot to his forehead. She clicked the safety on as she turned towards Maribelle. She limped over to her friend and handed the gun to her, grip first.

"I'll be in the infirmary," she said quietly, and slowly made her way to the back of the cargo bay.

"Right," Maribelle murmured, gazing at her retreating back. She gave herself a shake, and then turned back to the other three girls, still staring in shock. "Let's go ladies, we need to get these bodies off the ship so we can get moving. Keith can get the bomb off the hull once we pick them up."

Rain, Cali, Em, and Maribelle proceeded to haul the bodies off of the ship as quickly as they could.

"Hey, jiejie (older sister)," Cali whispered while they worked their grisly task.

"Yeah, meimei (little sister)?" Rain whispered back.

"Aunt Kelly's one huaidan biao zi (badass bitch)."

"Zhe ta ma de (fuck that)," Rain said wonderingly as she glanced over her shoulder at the rear doorway that Kelly had walked through. "She's a real sharen bu zhayan (stone cold killer)."

As Emily and Maribelle pitched the last body out of the airlock, Rain slammed her fist down on the controls to raise the ramp and seal things up.

"Right," she said determinedly. "Cali, get yer pigu (ass) to the engine room. Aunt Maribelle, stay here an' work the controls. Em, with me. We gots a crew to rescue."

Cali gave a whoop of glee, racing off to the rear stairwell. "Yes! Time ta be big damn heroes!"

"C'n ya do this?" Emily asked worriedly as she jogged up the steps behind Rain.

"Biao jie (older female cousin, mother"s side), watch an' learn," Rain grinned over her shoulder.

She dropped into her pilot's seat and buckled herself in. "Strap in, Em," she ordered. Her wide-eyed cousin complied, sitting down in Dani's chair.

Rain reached up and pulled down the mike. "Engine room, you all set meimei?"

"Ready when y'are, jiejie!" Cali came back excitedly.

"Alright," Rain exhaled, centering herself. You c'n do this. Flipping another switch, she addressed the ship. "All hands, we're liftin' off. Brace yerselves, it might get a tad rough." She replaced the mike in the holder and pulled the lever to rotate the engines into takeoff mode.

"Here we go," she said softly. I'm comin', Kaasan. She eased the thrust levers forward and the ship started to gain altitude. Rain took her hand off the levers to flip a switch on her console.

"Alright, Em. I jus' transferred the personal comms to yer station. See the unit above yer head, with the mike?" Emily nodded, looking up. "'Kay," Rain continued. "Flip switch number three, that'll give you the others. We're Home, you wanna talk to Uncle Keith, he's One. So flip the switch an' then say, 'One, this is Home, gimme a sit rep.'"

"'Sit rep'?" Emily asked curiously as she picked the mike up.

"Situation report," Rain explained, levelling out the Favour and heading towards their crew's last known location.

"Right," Emily said determinedly. She flicked upwards with her hand and spoke into the comm firmly. "One, this is Home, sit rep please."

"Home, we're pinned down," Keith came back immediately. "Still at last location. Zero in on our comms. Bandits on ridge overlooking the wreck of shuttle one."

"Tell 'im 'affirmative'," Rain said absently as she peered at her scanner. Should be comin' up on their position in jus' a few seconds...

Ithaca. Georgia system.

Dani huddled behind the wreckage that was currently sheltering her. She couldn't get a decent bead on anyone, they kept popping up and down like gorram gophers from Hera. Why anyone thought it'd be a good idea to re-engineer lil' burrowing critters is beyond me, she thought idly.

She could see Lori trying to ease herself into a better position with only limited effectiveness. To get there she'd have to expose herself to more gunfire. "Five, keep yer head down darlin'," she yelled over the pinging of bullets off of the metal around them.

"I'm tryin', Two," Lori responded testily. Just then a shot ricocheted off of the strut next to her head, and she jumped back, landing back behind the shuttle wreckage again with a yelp.

"Five, you okay?" Sara called out anxiously.

"I'm fine, jus' bruised my bum," Lori laughed sheepishly.

Just then the team heard Emily's voice over the comms, and Keith's reply. Lori crawled over to Dani's position, snuggling in next to her. "Is Rain flyin' in fer a pickup?" Lori asked.

"Seems like it..." Dani trailed off as she heard, in the distance, the whine of a Firefly's engines.

Just as Emily's answer of "Affirmative" came over the comm, Dani looked up to see a welcome sight. Rain was bringing the Favour in at almost treetop-level, skimming the surface. She adjusted the engines at the last minute to halt almost on top of the bandits encircling them, causing several to tumble out of position from the engine wash. Lori quickly brought her rifle up to her shoulder and, peering through her scope, added her fire to Keith's and Jess's in taking out all the targets of opportunity.

After maybe ten seconds, Rain smoothly pivoted the ship around, sliding the Favour sideways and circling the shuttle crash to settle in behind while the ramp lowered. They could see Maribelle at the controls to the bay doors gesturing frantically.

"Everyone, inside now!" Keith barked, and they all scrambled madly for the safety of the ship. Once everyone was aboard, Keith turned to Maribelle and gave her a thumbs up. "Home, we're all aboard, let's get out of here!"

"Roger that, One!" Emily's voice called back excitedly.

Laughing, Dani leaned over to store her shotgun in it's usual alcove behind the door controls. "I gotta say, that was impressive as diyu (hell)," she said, and then paused, looking at the floor. "Um, Maribelle, why're there bloodstains on my deck?"

"Long story, Captain," Maribelle smiled somewhat wearily. "We'll get to it later."

"Right..." Dani replied, shrugging as she headed up towards the bridge, Lori behind her.

When she got there, she saw Emily bouncing in Dani's seat excitedly, and Rain grinning broadly from hers as she brought the Favour towards another safe place to land. Spying the lanky captain, Emily spun around to face her.

"Aunt Dani! That was so niubi (fucking awesome)!"

"You're tellin' me!" Dani laughed. She leaned over behind Rain and gave her a peck on the head. "Nu'er (daughter), that was incredible. Couldn'ta done it better mysel'."

Rain looked up at her with a smile that lit up the bridge from the wattage.

"Alright, y'all have the bridge. Next stop is, well, I dunno fer sure, deng yi miao (hold on a sec)..." Dani grabbed the mike in front of her that Emily had replaced and flipped the switch for the ship's intercom. "Didi, where we goin' next again?"

"Asteroid belt," Keith replied. "I'll be there in a minute to give the coordinates after I look at the original map again. It's in the Motherload, though, so you can head for Red Sun. Also, I heard from Maribelle who's behind this mess. I'll put in a call to the local Feds on our way out."

"Right," Dani said lightly as she replaced the comm. "So head on over there after he an' mebbe Mike get whatever it is scraped off of our hull, an' Keith'll set ya straight in a few."

"Wait, you're jus' leavin' me in charge still?" Rain asked curiously.

"Sure," Dani grinned. "The two of ya gals gots everythin' under control. 'Sides," she said, grabbing Lori's hand, "my wife has a sore bum that needs attention."

"Any excuse ta get inta my pants," Lori giggled as they left the bridge.

Dani could hear Emily laughing. "Wo kao (holy shit), are they always like that?"

"Every ruttin' chance they get," Rain groaned good-naturedly as she settled the Favour back down again..

Motherlode Asteroid Belt. Red Sun.

"So," Dani said humorously.

"Yep," Lori replied, smiling slightly.

"I jus' don'... I don' get it," Sara practically wailed despondently.

Keith and Jess stood there, arms around each other and at a loss for words.

They had finally reached the final coordinates, and sure enough, there was a hollowed-out asteroid at the end. It was air-tight and even had good atmo inside. They found a docking port and eased on in, Keith disabling what security they came across. After about a kilometer's walk to the core, the hallway spilled out into a cavernous room. It could easily have held an entire fleet worth of ships.

Only it was empty.

"Where're my ships?" Sara shouted out angrily, her words bouncing off the walls.

"I'm sorry, nu'er (daughter)," Dani sighed, ruffling Sara's head affectionately. "Mebbe they were already stolen, or they never made it here."

"We did see some store rooms on the way," Jess commented as the group turned to leave. "I think there were some rations inside."

"Ew, rations that old? They were nasty even when fresh," Lori said as she wrinkled up her nose.

Sara stopped at the doorway and turned once more to face the room.

"Worst. Treasure hunt. EVER!" she screamed, and turned in a huff to follow her family back to the ship.


NOTES: Whew, that was another long one! Maybe I should have broken it up into two parts, but oh well, there just wasn't a decent place to do so.

Title track Drag The Waters by the excellent and ground-breaking heavy metal group Pantera. Killer guitar and bass chords. Perfect music to write to.

And theradvlad, thanks as always for the encouragement!