Taste

The screens that weren't destroyed revealed nothing but static. The room was cold, though Mal could still taste the tension in the air. It wasn't from the others; didn't taste as thick or suffocating, like a too-sweet treat that bordered on being downright sickly. It was bitter and cold, the taste of tension slowly built-up that would release slowly as well. Something wasn't right... It was then that he saw the dark streak that crossed the concrete floor. Once he saw it, he knew what he would see. Still, he wasn't completely expected for the strong, heavy taste of grief when he saw Mr. U in the fetal position, head in the lap of Lenore, his love-bot.

He moved closer, still unable to believe it. How? Why? Mal blinked, swallowed, blinked again, looking into dark eyes that stared out, uncomprehending. As he started to rise, the bot moved, looked at him, and said his name. Mal froze.

"Guy killed me, Mal," the bot continued, face expressionless and tone neutral. "He killed me with a sword. How weird is that? I got...a short span here. They destroyed my equipment, but I have a backup unit. Bottom of the complex, right over the generator. Hard to get to. I know they missed it. They can't stop the signal, Mal. They can never stop the signal."

Mal put his hand on the shoulder of the Cortex genius. Even in death, he had helped them. Now Mal had to get to the backup unit and prove those words right. He moved fast, the clinging taste of grief slowly giving way to fresh relief. The crew still had a chance. They couldn't stop the signal. Gorram Alliance couldn't stop the signal.

Smell

The smell of fear overpowered nearly everything. The roars of the Reavers surrounded them, wrapping them like a blanket. The weak light flickered with the movements of the creatures outside, fighting to get in. Fear and sweat melded with the smell of death that came from the Reavers, as if they were showing the crew what was coming for them next, what they would face next.

River was still standing in the corner, hand moving to her head as she whimpered. "The Reavers. They're all made up of rage." She sunk to her knees, Simon at her side as always. He whispered reassurances, telling her to stay low as Jayne picked up the gun River had held. "She picked a sweet bung of a time to go helpless on us," the mercenary growled. Simon, anxious and worried for his sister, didn't seem to hear Jayne's comment.

As Zoe gave orders not to shoot unless the Reavers made it past her and Jayne, Kaylee knelt next to Inara. Fear and sweat both were coming off Kaylee in waves, making Inara wish she could just put her arms around the sunny mechanic and wipe out all the darkness that surrounded them. Kaylee wasn't shining. She was trembling.

"I didn't plan on goin' out like this," she whispered. "I think we did right, but…"

"No. I never planned…anything," Simon agreed, his voice light with grief as he looked at Kaylee. Anxiety and fear still surrounded the young doctor, though his feelings, for once, didn't seem to be centered on River as he looked at the red-haired mechanic. "I just wanted to keep River safe," he continued, determination in his tone. "I spent so much time on Serenity ignoring anything that I wanted for myself." Simon's brow was shining with sweat, speaking quietly as he looked back at Kaylee. He seemed…calmer suddenly. The anxiety had ebbed, as had the fear when the doctor's eyes moved to Kaylee. She looked at him. Inara let herself smile on the inside, the feeling warming her as Simon continued. "My one regret in all of this is never being with you."

"With me?" Hope flowed from Kaylee, a subtly hidden and quickly shattered emotion in her past dealing with the proper, polite, occasionally unarticulate doctor. "You mean to say, as…sex?"

Simon nodded, still calm as he looked at Kaylee. "I mean to say." The creaking of metal made Kaylee look away from the man she'd yearned for so long. Inara felt something else coming from Kaylee. Determination. Kaylee was safe from the darkness and hate of the Reavers around them, protected finally by the confession from the man she loved. The young girl's next statement proved it.

"Hell with this. I'm gonna live."