A/N I probably shouldn't be starting another story when I just started updating again but I'm hoping the variety of writing for two different favorite shows of mine will keep me engaged and excited about writing. Anyways, here's my take on Firefly. Leave me a review of your thoughts/ideas/questions etc. I try to respond either in author's notes or dm's as much as I can so question away. Thanks!

Katia Miller moved through the crowd quickly, trying not to draw attention to herself. Just being out in the open in a place like Persephone was tempting fate enough as it was. All she had were the clothes she was wearing, a few odds and ends in the bag thrown over her shoulder, and enough money to (hopefully) book passage on a ship. She didn't much care for the destination, she just needed to leave. Her dark brown hair covered her face as she walked through the crowd, decreasing her chances of being recognized, while her loose shirt and leggings tucked into brown boots were nondescript enough to let her pass under everyone's radar.

She wandered around lost in thought toward the docked ships. Katia noticed too late that her wanderings had led her into an alley a little ways off from the main hub. The quiet should've clued her in immediately, but it wasn't until she walked into something solid that she broke out of her thoughts. She looked up startled and met the eyes of the man in front of her. "Hello, little lady. What brings you to these parts," the man asked with a smirk as he ran his eyes over her body. The look in his eyes as he met hers again made Katia shiver in distaste. Katia replied, "Nothing, sorry. I was just leaving." Katia turned to walk away, but before she could, the man had grabbed her arm and pulled her closer to him. "Where do you think you're going? You know these parts ain't exactly safe for a young girl as pretty as you to go wandering around in by herself."

Katia scoffed at his statement. She muttered, "Thanks for your concern, but I can take care of myself." She tried to wrench her arm out of his grasp but her struggle was futile. The man tightened his hold and pulled her even closer to his body.

The man barked a malicious laugh at her statement. "Oh, a feisty one. You know," he leaned in closer and breathed in her ear, "I like it when they put up a fight."

A voice behind them said, "Then you're going to love me." The man was ripped away from Katia, the force of which caused her to stumble over her own feet and fall to the ground. She quickly looked up to see someone in a long brown coat punch the guy who had grabbed her, talking about manners and such. Katia was helped to her feet by a beautiful woman dressed in leather. She noticed another man standing behind her, though he seemed way more interested in the fight than he was about why it was happening. Soon, her assailant ran off and the man with the brown coat watched him leave before turning back around to look at Katia.

Katia realized that the two men and woman must be together which made her feel a bit outnumbered. She knew that they had just spent time saving her from who-knows-what, but it wasn't completely out of the realm of possibilities for them to be expecting something in return. Her savior walked towards her slowly. They scanned each other, trying to figure the other out. He soon stopped in front of her and asked, "Are you alright?"

Katia looked up in surprise. She was not expecting that. "Yeah, I'm fine. A little dirty but I'll be ok."

The man nodded. "Good." The two stood there awkwardly for a second, unsure of what to do next. The woman, who had moved behind him, cleared her throat. He turned and looked at her expectantly. The two had a silent conversation before he turned back to Katia. "Right. Well, I'm Captain Malcolm Reynolds, this is my first mate Zoe Washburne, and my uh, he's uh, that's Jayne Cobb."

Katia smiled, albeit a bit nervously. "I'm Katia Miller."

Mal stuck his hand out to shake hers which she gladly accepted. "Nice to meet you Katia."

Something he had said clicked in her mind as their hands separated. "Wait, did you say captain?"

Mal nodded. "Yup, I'm the captain."

Katia continued, "So you have a ship."

He responded more warily now, "Yeah."

"And you're leaving?"

"Yes."

"Are you taking passengers?"

Mal smiled slightly. "Can you pay?"

She hesitated briefly before responding. "Yeah."

Mal asked, "How much do you have?"

Katia countered, "How much do you want?"

Mal smirked slightly at her answer. "Where're you searchin' to go?" His smirk disappeared when she said, "As far from the Core as I can get."

After a moment's hesitation, Mal answered, "Well… I think we can work somethin' out. If you don't mind taggin' along, we got a few more supplies to stock up before we head back."

Katia said, "That's fine. Thanks." She shrugged her bag a bit higher on her shoulder and stepped back slightly, allowing Mal and the crew to walk past her.

Mal was a might conflicted about their new addition. Coming out of that meeting with Badger, he was definitely looking for a fight and this one practically fell into his lap. He's not quite paranoid enough to say it was set up, but her not namin' a destination was suspicious, not to mention her lack of specifics regarding payment. However, that didn't stop him from accepting what she had anyway. It wasn't chivalry so much as his deep, deep down need to help folks, and he could tell that she needed help. As they made their way through the market, Mal looked back at her often, whether it was to make sure she was still there or just to watch her, he didn't quite know himself. He could tell she looked uncomfortable though so he hurried them along best he could until they had what they needed.

Katia listened to them as they talked about their next move. They didn't seem to have any qualms about discussing their business in front of her, unless they forgot she was even there. They eventually made their way to a ship where a bubbly young woman was welcoming another man on board. He hurried on his way after a quick greeting from the girl. Mal indicated for Katia to stand next to him while Zoe and Jayne continued on. Mal was about to introduce Katia to the girl with the pair of buns on her head when a large crate was driven onto the ship. The trio looked up to see a man standing across from them, wearing round red glasses and looking decidedly out of place. Katia's eyes widened in recognition as she heard the man introduced as Simon; she studied his face to confirm his identity before quickly looking down. She knew he wouldn't recognize her, but her instinct was to curl in on herself for protection anyway. Simon made his way into the ship and Katia made to follow, giving him a wide berth until she heard the captain call out her name.

"Katia, this here is Kaylee, our mechanic. Kaylee, this is Katia. She's joining us for a spell."

Kaylee smiled widely and stuck a hand out enthusiastically. Katia grasped her hand and shook back. Kaylee's smile was infectious as she said, "It's nice to meet you Katia. Welcome aboard."

Katia smiled, "Thanks." Then everyone walked further inside the ship. Kaylee showed Katia to one of the guest compartments before leaving her to unpack. Katia still didn't know where they were going but she didn't mind. She was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that she was leaving. She might actually be able to run away from her problems for once and that made her instantly smile.

She stayed in her bunk while they took off. This wasn't Katia's first time flying, but she could never quite get used to the taking off and landing parts of the journey, although this one was smoother than most. Serenity must have a good pilot.

Mal walked past her room. He stuck his head in quickly to say, "There you are. Need you in the common area for a quick rundown of rules and such."

Katia nodded quickly, "Ok." She stood and followed Mal out with a small smile. Being off planet, floating through the black just made her feel so free. It's a feeling she couldn't truly describe, but she absolutely loved it.

Mal said, "Meals are taken up here in the dining area. Kitchen's pretty much self-explanatory, you're welcome to eat what there is any time. What there is is pretty standard fare I guess, protein in all the colors of the rainbow. We do have sit down meals, next one being at about 1800."

Kaylee said, "I think Shepherd Book has offered to help me prepare something."

Katia looked over at the kind looking older man standing across from her. Mal asked, "You're a shepherd?"

Book replied, "Thought the outfit gave it away. Is it a problem?"

Kaylee, trying to keep the mood light, said, "Of course not, it's not a problem cause it's not." Katia noticed that Mal wasn't quite as sure as Kaylee was, but he replied with a rather somber no before continuing, "As I said, you're welcome to visit the dining area any time. Apart from that, I have to ask you to stay in the passenger dorm while we're in the air. The bridge, engine room, cargo bay, they're all off limits without an escort."

Simon said, "Some of my personal effects are in the cargo bay." He seemed almost physically uncomfortable being away from his things.

"I figure y'all got luggage you're gonna need to get into, since we're done here, we'll be happy to fetch them with you," Mal replied. "Now, I have to tell y'all one other thing, and I apologize in advance for the inconvenience. Unfortunately, we've been ordered by the Alliance to drop some medical supplies off on Whitefall, fourth moon in Athens. It's a little out of our way, but we should have you on Boros no more than a day off schedule."

Katia's hopeful mood instantly soured at the mention of the Alliance. If this ship takes orders from the Alliance, I'm not as safe as I thought.

Matching her concern, Simon asked, "What medical supplies?"

Mal hesitated before replying, "I honestly didn't ask."

Zoe chimed in, "Probably plasma, insulin, whatever they ain't got enough of on the border moons."

"Alliance says jump."

Simon conceded, "Alright."

"Zoe, you wanna take em to the cargo bay?"

"Yes, sir."

Mal continued, "Anything else you need, just ask we uh, live to serve." Katia watched as the rest of the passengers followed Zoe back down to the cargo bay. She didn't have anything other than what was in her bunk already so she stayed in the common area, wandering around slowly to get a feel for the space.

She listened as Mal asked Wash, the pilot, "Send word to Patience?"

"Ain't heard back yet," Wash replied. "Didn't she shoot you one time?" Katia looked up quickly with wide eyes. Mal stopped at the doorway and said, "Everybody's makin a fuss." At that reply, she snorted. The captain quickly turned around and stared straight at Katia. From the widened eyes and slight twitch of his lips, she could tell that he had thought he and Wash were alone. He cleared his throat to try to ease the tension that had settled in the room then asked, "You don't need to get anything from cargo?"

Katia shook her head. "Nope, just got the one bag in my room."

"Oh." Mal stood awkwardly. Neither of them knew if they should talk about the conversation she had just heard or let it be. After a minute or so, Mal said, "Well, I think I'll head there anyway, make sure everything's taken care of."

"Alright," Katia said. Just as Mal was leaving the room, she called out, "Captain?" He paused and turned. "This mission isn't really Alliance, is it?" The sour look on his face made her instantly regret asking. He stormed over to her. Before he could say anything, she said, "Sorry, I just overheard your conversation with Wash, and Alliance don't generally send any old transport over to the outermoons with supplies. They don't care that much beyond the core. And I won't say anything to anyone else about it either way. Ain't none of my business. Sorry."

Before he could reply, Katia ducked around him and headed towards the bunks. Mal quickly shook his head before walking to the cargo bay. That girl may prove to be more trouble than she's worth.