Icarus

The whole compound rattled, as if caught in an earthquake. The hum of the machine grew steadily louder and louder. Energy flowed down through the conduits and concentrated at a single microscopic point. So much power, more power than in a fleet of ships. Sefton could feel it in the vibrations, a deep inevitable power that he had tamed. He watched the monitor, eyes flickering anxiously over the every changing flow of data. As the numbers ran past, you could feel him willing the machine to work. It was almost tangible. Here was the greatest most complex machine ever conceived, and something was wrong. Sefton could see it in the numbers. He recognized the signs, but maybe this time would be different.

The lights began to flicker and the deep hum became a hysterical whine, the sound of mechanical death. As the alarms began to blare, the men in white coats began to hustle to and fro like desperate bees. Sefton remained still amidst the chaos of rushing bodies and blaring sound. He remained still even as the machine powered down and the monitor darkened. Then the machine came to a final halt and there was silence.

"Sir," one of the technicians approached nervously. "The power matrix has overloaded. We're need to replace some of the circuitry."

"See to it," Sefton said never taking his eyes from the black screen.

"Also sir, one of the biological components has burned out. A replacement is necessary."

"That can be arranged," Sefton snapped. The technician retreated in a hurry. "No change," Sefton muttered. "I need that box!"

Serenity

Kaylee found the Doctor staring into the engine. She paused at the hatchway. It seemed almost sacrilegious to interrupt him, the little man alone with the mechanical dance of Serenity.

"Am I in your way," the Doctor asked. Kaylee jumped startled. How had he known she was there? She shook her head slightly.

"Not at all," she moved to join him. "I just need to check in on Serenity. She gets cranky if I don't fiddle with her."

"Yes," the Doctor agreed. "they always do. Don't stop on my account. By all means fiddle away." The Doctor smiled softly. Kaylee beamed.

"You ever been on a Firefly before," she asked as she crawled under the engine.

"Not in centuries," the Doctor answered. "There's nothing quite like a Firefly. Old and outdated, they'll still be flying, when all the stars go black."

"Serenity sure is a beauty," Kaylee agreed. "Could you hand me that." She pointed to a wrench. The Doctor leaned over and handed it to her with an ironic smile.

"You've rewired the starboard flux," the Doctor said gazing into the heart of the ship.

"Yep, Serenity wasn't happy with the old system."

"Serenity wasn't happy?"

"She usually tells me when something's bothering her."

"Does she now," the Doctor said. "That is a rare gift."

"It's nothing special. I just listen to what the machines have to say."

"Yes, there aren't many who can do that."

"Sure there are. Lots of folks can talk to machines."

"But not many are willing to listen," the Doctor said. He fished something out of his pocket. It could have been a screwdriver. He poked it in among the wires and it let out a high-pitched whine.

"What'cha doing," she asked.

"The Secondary grav boot's out of phase." The whining stopped. "so I reversed the polarity of the neutron flow."

"You're making that up," she leaned over to inspect it. "Oh…shiny!"

"Yes," the Doctor smiled. "it is isn't it?" He got up slowly and with a tip of his hat was gone. The engine continued to turn, round and round.

Icarus

The floor was cold. Ace stirred and suddenly she was awake. They say that pain is nature's way of telling you you're still alive. Personally, Ace thought that pain was nature's way of telling you that it hurt like hell. Slowly, painfully she rose into a sitting position. The room was empty. Sterile white walls and a door protected by a force field. She could see the telltale fuzziness in the air. Try to walk through the door and it'll burn your skin right off. Ace took a deep calming breath. How long had she been out? Time was very important. The Doctor would have to hurry if he wanted to rescue her. Great! Sit and wait like a princess in the tower? Not likely. Like she had said, Sefton wasn't half as scary as a Dalek.

But she hurt, a deep lingering pain. The man knew his torture. Just push a button, how much more efficient. No nasty blood stains to clean up. Ace groaned. She was so tired, weak and drained. Her eyes were so heavy. No! Must not sleep, must not sleep. What would the Doctor do? Screw that, what would she do? Actually it didn't matter which question you asked, the answer would be the same: escape. Yes that's right…must escape. There's no such thing as a perfect cell. Just the small problem of the force field. Ace snorted. Suddenly the field snapped off. Two men entered. One kept his gun trained on her, while the other set a bowl down in front of her none too gently. Then they were gone, as quickly as they had come. She sniffed the bowl experimentally. Chicken soup. Sefton had sent her a bowl of chicken soup with rice! Ace threw her head back and laughed.

Serenity: Inara's Shuttle

The smell of fresh tea filled Inara's shuttle. She put the pot down in front of the Doctor.

"The tea ceremony is an ancient Companion ritual," she told him. He smiled bashfully. His hat rested next to him.

"I'm honored," the Doctor said. He seemed uncertain, as if he wasn't quite sure how to treat her.

"Are you nervous Doctor?"

"A little."

"It's just tea," she said. He smiled slightly.

"I admit I was not expecting to find a companion of this…boat." He spoke as though the vernacular was new to him, as though he was just testing it out. Inara had noticed that before. He was different. Mal thought he was from the Core. Made sense, and he could almost pass. Inara knew better. She had been trained to read people, from their body language, from their words. He felt wrong, as if he was an actor who had been playing a part for so long that he'd almost forgotten it was all pretend. It was something ancient and sad…and familiar.

"Time plays cruel tricks, none of us are where we thought we'd be." She smiled softly at him, innocent.

"No," he agreed. "no we aren't."

"I invited you here because…"

"You were curious," he said.

"Lonely," she corrected.

"If you're lonely you can always talk to," he paused. "Jayne." She just looked at him. He smiled. "The captain, I'm sure would be delighted to…"

"Mal an I are complicated." He didn't say anything, but then he didn't need to. "I've heard stories about you Doctor."

"Stories?" His eyes were shadowed.

"Whispers of a Doctor with no name, sometimes called the Oncoming Storm…"

"Oh," his voice gave nothing away.

"Where exactly are you from, Doctor?"

"Here and there," he answered waving his hand around vaguely.

"I've heard the stories Doctor. You're more dangerous then you let on. Whatever you're up to, keep her out of it." Inara's voice was hard.

"Who?"

"Kaylee," she said.

"I'm just being friendly," the Doctor protested. He leaned forward and clasped the teapot. "Shall I be mother," he asked.

Serenity: The Tam's Quarters

River was sitting on the bed with her legs crossed.

"I don't trust him," Simon said. "For all we know he could be Alliance."

"Silly, he doesn't sing with the chorus."

"Right," Simon said.

"Too busy, minds on the mission," she continued.

"Mission," Simon's voice was sharp. Mission meant an agent.

"It's all in the cards; Aces are wild."

Simon sighed. "Still, I think you should stay away from him River," she closed her eyes. "River do you understand me. He might not be safe."

"No one's safe. Old man keeps secrets from his god. Mal means bad in Latin."

"River," Simon started, exasperated.

"He understands she said, eyes still closed.

"What?"

"They're shouting in his head too: the dandy and the clown, teeth, curls and cricket bats. There is a place of silence for him…and for me."

"Ok, so what are you doing?"

"Meditation, find the center where the fish are dancing."

Simon frowned "When did you learn to meditate?"

"The Doctor showed me," she answered, then her mind was elsewhere, dancing in the black.