The crew stared at her, amazed. Simon's mouth had dropped open.

'You…you can't be serious.' He said, after making sure his jaw hadn't really hit the floor. Belle nodded. Looking up, Mal saw her shocked face, starting to run with tears, reflected in the shuttle window. Realisation flashed across her face.

'God, my team!' She said, running out of the shuttle. Mal and Zoe exchanged glances.

'Her team?' He asked his first mate. She shrugged, before running off to follow Belle. River and Jayne quickly followed. Simon tried to get up, but he made a grimace and sunk back onto the bed. He looked up into Kaylee's face with a playful expression.

'I might be needing some help here.' He said.


Mal followed Belle through the big, spherical chamber, through another door and into what looked to be a control room. It was much smaller than the main room, but still spherical. In the centre was a raised platform, with stairs running down to a walkway below. On this raised platform was a chair, with numerous buttons on a console around it. Belle went and sat in said chair, pressing what seemed to be random buttons and typing a code in on the keyboard. The section of the wall directly in front of her lit up, becoming a screen. Mal watched as words appeared on it, indicating that the entire station was saving power. With a couple more button taps, the screen turned from dark red to bright blue, beginning its power-up procedure. Belle leant back, satisfied.

'You mentioned a crew?' Mal asked. Belle looked round, apparently not having noticed him before.

'Yeah, I did.' She told him. There was a pause.

'What about them?' He said.

'They're waking up.'

Kaylee helped Simon hobble across the main chamber. At the centre, Simon rested on the chair, hesitant to actually sit in it.

'Trouble?' She asked. Simon rubbed his back, aching.

'Yeah. Belle hit me hard. Back. Aches. Ow.' He said. Kaylee came and sat with him, holding him too her shoulder.

'Come on, you'll be all shiny in no time.' She said. She tilted his face up, grinning. 'I know just how.'

Simon felt her lips touch his, the warmth of his breath spreading over his bruised body. He opened his mouth, feeling Kaylee push her tongue inside his head. He obliged by following suit. After a minute, Kaylee pulled back, smiling.

'All better?' She asked. He nodded. 'Shiny.'

'That doesn't mean you have to stop.' He said, pulling her warm, loving body back towards him. Politeness be damned, he thought, passionately embracing her, kissing her, his sliding up beneath her top, reaching to remove her bra. There was a cough, someone clearing their throat. Behind them stood a large, muscular man, looking bemused.

'Oh, don't mind me.' He said in a thick Irish accent. Simon and Kaylee stared at him. Simon slowly removed his hands from beneath her top. The man smirked. He saw the chair they were perched on, and the lack of its former occupant. 'You guys seen Belle?' He asked. They nodded. They stared still more.

'She said something about her crew, then ran off.' Kaylee said. The man nodded.

'Thanks.' He said, wandering off. They watched him go.

'Wasn't he…you know…' Simon began.

'Naked?' Kaylee finished.

'Yeah.' Kaylee grinned her wide, playful grin.

'For a big man, he was kinda lacking, wasn't he?' She asked.

'What?' Simon replied, confused.

'You know, he was lacking where it counts.' She said, her grin growing wider.

'What?' She nodded suggestively. 'Oh.' Simon's grin matched hers. 'Oh.'


The big Irishman walked in, yawning, stretching, his muscles flowing under his skin. Belle turned around.

'Hey, General.' The big man said. Belle smiled broadly.

'Hey, Captain. Welcome back. You're the first up, you know.' The man returned her smile, but with a hint of mischief.

'Early bird gets the biggest gun, ma'am.' Belle stared.

'Er, Captain?' She said, indicating his obvious lack of clothes. Mal walked up the stairway, looking at the disc Belle had asked him to retrieve.

'Hey, Belle, got this disk here. Green lights all around, so it should wo-' He noticed the naked man. 'Hiya.'

'Morning.' There was an awkward silence. Fortunately, Mal had the perfect icebreaker.

'Mine's bigger.'


Kaylee and Simon, unabashed and ignorant of their previous encounter, began their ritual of love again, albeit actually in the chair this time. No matter how creepy it was, Simon thought, his arse really ached from the armrest. Kaylee was on him, holding him tight. He reached up her back, removing her bra. She had hooked her legs round his back, kissing him tenderly, then passionately, then back to tenderly, teasing him to unleash himself on her. She knew he was hurt, but she also knew he was holding back, waiting for the right moment. Didn't want to spoil her just yet. He reached into her jumpsuit, pulling it down with her underwear. She pulled down his trousers and underwear, as they held one another, feeling the heat of their genitalia. She smiled down at him.

'Ready?' She asked. He stroked her breasts, kissing her lips.

'Do you have to ask?' He asked. She felt him get closer, beginning to unite their two bodies into one sweaty, warm, passionate mass. There was a commotion from behind a door as a man and a woman walked passed, arguing. Simon and Kaylee stopped dead in their rhythm.

'I'm telling you, if you tuned up Endgame, you could provide enough energy for a galaxy.' He told her with a Russian accent. The woman scoffed.

'That's a load of BS Nikolai, and you know it.' She said, laughing at Nikolai's argument. She spoke with a strong Australian accent. 'Endgame can't be tuned up. It's stuck like that, you've seen the blueprints.'

'Fine. Be like that.' He said, walking Belle's room. They stopped at the door. 'Hey, you see the copulating couple over there?' The Australian woman nodded.

'Yeah, I saw. Good pair of tits on her.' She said, before walking through. Simon and Kaylee breathed out.

'That was…weird.' Simon said eventually. 'But, you know, she's right.' Kaylee looked at him, curiously.

'Really?' She said, intrigued by his comment.

'Yeah,' He said, cupping her breasts, stroking her nipples. 'You do have a good pair.' She laughed, ramming her tongue down his throat.

'We should take this somewhere more private.' She said, stroking his hair.

'Where do you suggest?' Kaylee grinned. She knew the perfect place, and whispered it into his ear. Needing no encouragement, he lifted her up, putting himself inside her. She moaned. 'You really know how to make a girl happy.' Kaylee told him, as he carried her, still thrusting, into Inara's shuttle.


As the dressed Irishman, Russian, Australian and, Mal thought, judging by her accent, Englishwoman gathered in what Belle revealed to be the control room. While the Irishman, who according to Belle was known as Hannigan, talked to Jayne about many ingenious ways to kill people, Belle, Nikolai, and the Australian who introduced herself as Alice, tried to explain to Mal and River about what in the name of Hell was going on.

'Could you explain what in the name of Hell is going on?' Mal asked. Belle sighed. She told him. She told him about how they had been part of a government operation called ATLAS. She told him how she'd been fatally wounded in battle, and then put in a special medi-cryo so they could heal her without her dying on them. She said how they had been a team of five: Belle, the marksman, Nikolai, the engineer, Alice, the pilot, Hannigan, the gunman, and Jack, the leader. Jack, Mal thought. Whoa, Jack!

'Jack?' He asked. Belle sighed.

'Yeah,' She said, a tone of sadness entering her voice. 'He was my husband.'

'Really?' Mal needed to make sure. 'Big? Rugged? Bleach-blonde hair?'

'Yeah,' Alice blurted in, ''cept he made a right cock-a-doodle and went postal.' Mal stared at her. It appeared that even in the future, when near-enough the entire population can speak both English and Chinese, people still can't understand the Australians.

'Come again?' Mal asked. Alice sighed.

'He went insane and became psychotic.' Nikolai said plainly. Mal had enough information.

'We met him.' Belle stared at him.

'You WHAT!' She nearly screamed.

'We met him.' Mal said. 'Tried to murder my crew, which is how Kaylee got that shoulder wounded.' The three stared, transfixed by this news. Meanwhile, Hannigan droned on, blissfully unaware.

'It doesn't matter much it costs, the 8306 Assault Rifle is a work of art!' Jayne said, using the tone that art critics usually reserve for Picasso. 'It fires faster, is a thousand fold more accurate than anything else on the market, and has a grenade launcher affixed! You just can't go wrong!' Hannigan nodded sagely. Jayne stopped, noticing the silence. 'What's up, Mal?'

'Just tellin' them 'bout Jack.' Mal said. Jayne nodded, uncaring.

'I remember Jack.' Hannigan said. 'Nice man. Bit loopy. Good teeth.' With that last comment, they launched back into their fevered discussion about guns. There was an awkward silence among the less violence-oriented. Alice laughed.

'Yeah, I remember Jack. When you two were still together, you used to be at it like animals, all day long.' Alice said. Belle looked embarrassed.

'Shut up.' She mumbled. Jayne shushed Hannigan, listening intently.

'Yeah,' Alice continued, 'Just like those two in there.' She thumbed in the general direction of the door. 'Going at it.'

'Great tits.' Nikolai added.


When they entered the shuttle, Inara was monitoring the radar transmissions, trying to wave another ship, unfortunately to no avail. She heard them enter, and popped her head round the side, seeing them entangled in each other. Giggling silently, Inara heard the two lovers go at it. There was moaning, and screaming of names. More moaning. Then, climax. It sounded beautiful. How it smelt, on the other hand, was another matter entirely. Inara looked back again. They were both lying there, kissing, not even stopping, just resting.. They rested for a couple more seconds before launching back into it. Inara couldn't help but be fascinated. She'd heard of that position, and the exquisite pleasure it brought, but the last time she'd attempted it her client nearly broke his back. She looked away, respecting their privacy. She mentally sighed as more moaning, groaning, shouting, proclamations and…noises came from the bed. It would take ages to get the smell out, she thought. But as for the stains…