AN: Just a quick FYI; I love to write in First Person, and I love jumping into each character's head. It can be confusing, I'm sure, but just enjoy the ride. I think I generally make it clear which person's head you begin to occupy. Every chapter will go through each character at least once. Also, I've started to include the Chinese "swear words". A nice site to visit with the phrases I'm stealing directly from Firefly is the one listed on my profile wont let me post the link here, poo). With that said, enjoy!

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"We lost another one." I mumble as I enter the helm, bypassing Zuko and Katara on my way to the pilot's chair. "That little mishap back there may have cost us passengers." I say with a glare at Katara, she rebutting with a stuck out tongue.

"Not my fault the landing gear didn't work." She snapped, turning towards a panel in the ship to press a few buttons, doing her routine maintenance work. "Maybe if someone actually made the mechanic work." I raise a brow at her and was about to refute her remarks, but my eyes met with Zuko's and I decided not to start an argument in front of him. I was still skeptical about him. He made me nervous.

"It doesn't matter. It's fixed now." I grumble as I stand to leave already. I'm not in the mood for our usual bickering anyway.

"When are we getting off this rock?" Zuko asks as he picks at his fingernails with a knife.

"Whenever we get us paying passengers. It'd help if you were actually out there trying to get some." He raised a brow again and smirked.

"Yeah, I'll go try to get some, alright. That's a good idea, Captain." I shot him a warning glare when I notice his eyes shoot towards Katara's backside. Not willing to risk it, I grab onto his arm and tug him forward. "What's the big idea…"

"Shut it, Zuko." I growl, leaving the helm as I glance back to see Katara just shaking her head.

"Boys." I hear her mutter before we're out of the room, heading for the stairs. I've let go of Zuko's sleeve as he yanks it away from me.

"I'm not like your other lackeys, you know, you can't just shove me around!" Zuko snarls as I squint my eyes at him daringly.

"No, but I do pay you, so if you'd like your money, then perhaps you should start pulling your own weight around." He was about to retort when voices from below caught our attention.

"See, like I said, there's plenty of room!" I lean over the railing to get a view of Suki guiding a young man onboard, the male's shoulder-length hair dangling in his eyes as the locks cascade over a green headband. I steal a glance to Zuko, whose one eyebrow is raised. "We can put your crate right here, and I assure you it will be safe." The young man nods in approval as his gaze finally finds itself in our direction, as I raise a hand in a simple gesture of hello.

"Joining our ship?" I ask confidently as I head to the stairs. The man takes another look around the hull and nods.

"I think so." He states almost dully. "It will do." He turns on his heels and heads back to the ramp, motioning to someone else, as the sound of a transport engine is heard starting, followed by the small vehicle heading up the ramp and into sight. On the small cart behind it was a large metallic box, the young man placing a hand on it as he followed it into the hull, Suki directing the transport vehicle to the spot for a drop-off.

"What's this?" I ask, now on the same level as them, the sounds of Zuko's footsteps following me.

"It's nothing." The male responds, as he begins unlatching the straps in an almost too gentle way.

"Afraid ya gonna hurt the big metal box?" I ask sarcastically as he ignores me, Suki now at my side and elbowing me swiftly, making me moan as I send her a glare. She's right though, I need to be on my best behavior, just until we get into the air, then I can belittle them all I want. That's my way.

"I'm headed back out there." Suki announces, waiting for the newcomer to give her a nod, then she turns to me. "Be nice." She warns as I roll my eyes.

"Yeah, yeah." She heads down the ramp, back into the sunlight, as I glance towards Zuko, his arms folded across his chest, eyeing the passenger up and down. "So, what do you do?" I ask as I head over to the metal crate, leaning against it as he finally untied the last restraint, his eyes landing on my hand with a slight panic as I removed it, hesitantly. His body immediately relaxed as soon as I stepped back.

"I'm a doctor." He says distractedly, heading to the driver of the transport to tell him to raise the truck bed to slowly lower the crate. Zuko and I exchange glances before looking back to the strange boy.

"Like, of medicine?" I ask as he looks at me oddly. "It's a valid question." I try to defend myself as he raises a brow, looking me up and down for a moment.

"Yes."

"We don't have a doctor on this boat, so that'll be nice." I watch the crate get tilted upwards at an angle until it's sliding off the truck onto the floor, the good doctor struggling to let it settle gently as we just watch. "So, what's in the crate? Supplies or something?" He doesn't answer at first, making sure the other side is lowered equally cautiously, and then he straightens himself out, looking back to me.

"Yes, supplies." Something in his voice unsettles me as my eyes narrow, another exchange of glances with Zuko as he nods a fracture.

"What kind of supplies?" I ask as my own arms fold across my chest. I've been in the business long enough to know when someone's trying to keep something from me. You learn fast, or else you end up dead.

"You know, like medical supplies." My brow raises as he stands in front of us, his feet shifting slightly. He finally heads up to the driver and settles the bill, as the transport slowly turns itself around and heads down the ramp again.

"Well, this is Appa." I motion widely with my hands. "Welcome aboard." I offer my hand and he hesitantly takes it as he shakes. "I'm Sokka and this is Zuko." The two men exchange a shake, as I watch Zuko's eyes close into slits, letting the younger man know he's being sized up, as the other man shows his worry, not used to being stoic in times of panic.

"Haru." He replies, removing his hand from Zuko's grip. I slap the boy on the back in a hearty greeting, knowing it would frighten him. He's a timid boy…reminds me of a rabbit.

"Haru! Glad to meet you."

"Cap'n, got another one!" I turn around to see Suki hauling luggage as an older, rotund looking man follows her, his face full of warmth and knowledge as he gazes about the ship with slight awe.

"Welcome!" I greet, heading over to help Suki with the luggage, even if she was doing fine on her own.

"Thank you." He said jollily. "Fine ship you've got here." I grin at him as I hand off the bags to Zuko, who I know was glaring at me, but I didn't care.

"Take those to this gentleman's room." I command, not bothering to wait for his complaints. "So, guess we're ready to head out then." I say to Suki who nods then heads to the stairs. "Sokka." I greet with another extended hand, the older man instantly returning the gesture.

"Iroh." He said happily as we shook hands. I clasp my hands together, making a slight clap sound as I look to both men, trying to seem as welcoming as possible.

"Well then, how about a tour?"

-----

"What do ya think it is?" I ask as I watch the Captain shove a chunk of fresh bread from the market the size of his fist into his mouth.

"Ueh, ut oud ee au ee ed." I feel my mouth drop and twist with my face in confusion.

"What?" He holds up a finger as he finishes his gluttony.

"I said, 'well, it could be what he said.'" He answers with a smile, shoving more bread in his mouth.

"You know as well as I do that he wasn't being all that truthful." I say, putting a chunk of my own bread into my mouth, though in a much more applicable portion.

"Why does everyone always have to be lyin' to you boys? Maybe he's just shy." I glance to Suki and frown slightly. She's so gullible. "Besides, a doctor can't lie." My eyes meet with Sokka's and we both begin to laugh.

"What, you got a crush on the good doctor already?" Suki pouts slightly as she throws a heel of the bread at him. "Hey, that's edible, you know!" He quickly snatches it up off the ground, blows on it, and begins to tear pieces off with his teeth like a dog chewing on a bone.

"I don't even know the guy to have a crush on him. I just don't think he's trouble." She says thoughtfully.

"Everyone's trouble." I comment, jumping off the counter to stretch a little.

"That's because you hate everyone." She hisses slightly, standing as well.

"Not everyone. Just all of you." I reply, and though I mean it sarcastically, my tone doesn't exactly relay that. Can't say it's not entirely a joke.

"Nice." I hear from the doorway as I turn to see Katara entering. I decide against leaving just yet as I lean back against the counter again, right in front of the bread bag. "You guys leave me any?" She asks, glancing around the kitchen, as Sokka pointed her in my direction, her blue eyes locking with my own. "You stealing all the bread, Zuko?" I raise a brow and smirk slightly mischievously as she approaches me, but Sokka's head whips towards us and I back away, letting her get to our precious cargo. It's rare we have any real food onboard, but it's rarer to get some time alone on this hunk of metal.

"What do you think about the new guy?" Suki asks of Katara as she absently examines the ends of her hair.

"He's cute." She replies, taking a seat at the table with a fist full of bread, my eyes narrowing at her comment. He's not that attractive…is he? "I don't know, haven't really talked to him much."

"See, even Katara doesn't make snap judgments!" Suki exclaims as Sokka just rolls his eyes, and I push away from the counter again to head out.

"Yeah, well if you don't, he might just make his own snapping." I grumble as I pass the two girls.

"Of necks." Sokka finishes as I stifle a chuckle. And he's our captain. It's amazing he hasn't been killed off yet.

"We get the point." Katara says dryly.

"Well what about Iroh? Neither of you have said anything about him."

"I don't like him, either." I comment from the doorway, the new development in conversation making me pause. Suki looks at me with accusing eyes, and her mouth gaping in a 'how?' kind of way. "Beady eyes. Can't trust a man with beady eyes."

"His eyes are the same color as yours, and they're not beady." She snaps.

"Well, more the reason to be skeptical." I reply.

"It's true. The man could be Fire Nation, so we better watch what we say around him." Sokka mentions with a hand on his chin. Perhaps the captain hadn't noticed the golden eyes. I'll admit I hadn't, either. It definitely makes one weary of his presence. I should know.

"I think he's sweet." Suki says almost dejectedly as she rests her head on her crossed arms. Just as I was about to open my mouth with some snide remark, alarms sound over head and we all exchange a quick look as Katara darts from the table, past me, towards the helm. As the others begin to follow her, I turn and run down the hall as well.

-----

"Ai ya. Women wanle." I mumble as I hear the others clamor into the small cockpit, all lining up behind me, peering over my shoulders. "Do you mind giving me some room here?" I shout, as they all back away, my attention never leaving the radar screen, watching a much larger object close in on us. I plop myself into the chair and swivel around to the other side, flipping some switches up to turn on some of the exterior cameras until I spot it; "Fire Nation." I exclaim as Sokka steps up beside me, leaning on two hands placed next to the monitor as he peers into it.

"Ai-yah. Tyen-ah..." I look up at him as his mind churns for a few moments, the sound of another arrival into the room makes us both turn to the door; Haru standing in the frame, two hands on either side of the doorway.

"What's going on?" Sokka stands and struts over to the man, looming over him threateningly as he pushes the young male into the wall of the hallway.

"You're gonna tell me." He demands as Haru only looks at him with confused eyes. "Why is there a Fire Nation ship following us?"

"I-I don't know!" I can hear the boy exclaim as I've turned my attentions back to the controls; a red light flashing next to the communication screen tells me they're trying to tell us exactly why they're here.

"Captain." I call out as Zuko heads into the hall to keep an eye on the foreigner, the sound of a gun being cocked is heard as a slight echo. Sokka arrives at my side and nods for me to put them through. I take in a deep breath and flip the switch, the image of a general in full Fire Nation Army regalia appears with no distortion; they're close.

"Captain Sokka, I presume?" He nods but says nothing in return. "Are you aware of the fugitive you are harboring?" Sokka's face stays like a stone slab as he shows no emotion. More often then not, that very face is the cause for many fights, but right now, I'm really glad he's capable of it.

"No, sir, I do not believe I know what you are talking about."

"Don't think we are fools, sir. You took on passengers back on New Omashu, and one of them happens to be a wanted fugitive from the Fire Nation. Do you not conduct background checks on those you allow onto that junker?" Sokka runs a hand through his hair as he shakes his head.

"Junker!?" I hear Suki exclaim behind us, Sokka raising a hand to silence her.

"We were in a hurry. Give me a few moments to check into this situation, and then I'll get back to you." Sokka's hand shot forward to flip the switch.

"Don't you want to know the fugitive's name?" The general asks, his eyes squinting at Sokka, who's hand pauses as he finally shrugs. "Haru. He's Earth Nation, and he also has a large crate with him, which is stolen Fire Nation property." Sokka nods once then flips the switch, looking to me for a moment, as I recognize that look in his blue eyes; he's pissed. He turns on his heels and heads for the young man in the hallway, as I begin to stand, hoping no blood will be spilt over this.

"See what happens, Suki, when you blindly trust people because they 'seem nice?'" Suki's head drops as Sokka storms past her, shoving the man into the metallic wall again. "Mind tellin' us what's going on?"

"N-nothing! I have no idea what they're talking about!" I'm now on my feet, looking at the situation before me, squinting at the stranger. I glance back to the hub to see that little red light blinking again.

"Captain, they're calling again." I remark as I take my seat, swiveling back to the console to begin pressing a few buttons to keep us on track, the other ship's size now causing a slight turbulence.

"They can hold." I hear him say. "We're gonna take a look at that crate of yours." I ignore the red light as best I can, as the others leave the cockpit to follow my determined brother.

-----

I arrive just as the whole group is coming down the hall, heading for the stairs to the hull.

"What's going on?" I ask Sokka as he storms past, a stranger straggling behind, struggling in Sokka's grasp. "What's happening?" Sokka shoots me a glare.

"About time you wake from your beauty rest." He snaps as he passes me to begin down the steps. I grab onto Suki's arm as she snaps out of a daze.

"Can you tell me why there are alarms and Sokka's parading that man around like a child?" She looks to me with worried eyes.

"Fire Nation ship." It's all she has to say as I glance back towards the control room. I look back over the railing into the hull as the three boys get to the bottom, an older man just appearing from his passenger cabin across the ship, rubbing his eyes. He, too, looks down at the scene below as Sokka's shouting at the newcomer, pointing at a metal crate as the other man pleads with him, though his nerves getting the better of him; Zuko's well-aimed loaded pistol not making the situation any less tense.

"P-please, I'll do anything, just don't open that crate!"

"Watch me." Sokka snarls as he begins to press buttons on the panel, and then unlatches six airlocks around the lid. From up here, I can hear the hiss of the change in compression as a fine mist escapes. I'm griping the railing in anticipation as Sokka takes one last glance to the man, Zuko holding him back by an arm, but the man has given up, staring at the crate with as much fascination as the rest of us. Sokka's foot rises and he kicks at the lid, sending it clamoring on the metal floor with a horrific screech; metal scraping metal. The crate is a cloud of more mist-like substance as Sokka leans over it, but I can't see anything. He uses a hand to wave at the obstruction and leans in closer, until suddenly jerking back, jumping away from the crate. "Oh, juh jen sh guh kwai luh duh jean jan...What is this?" He asks, his eyes not leaving the crate. The smoky mist clears and I can see what appears to be a faint outline of a human body, curled up inside. "Who the hell are you?" Sokka bellows as he approaches the boy, who's only staring at the crate.

"Please, I need to check vitals!" He pleads as Sokka begins to pace slightly, a hand running through his hair. "He wasn't supposed to be disturbed until next week!"

"Yeah, this is disturbing, alright." Zuko says dryly as Sokka paces back the other direction. Suddenly, echoing through the hull, a shriek sounds out with a gasp for air as the person in the crate jolts upwards in complete shock. My eyes narrow as I watch the person, the boy, crawl from the crate onto the cold ground, his skin a pale blue color; it's amazing he's alive.

"It's alright." The newcomer says to the boy, Zuko releasing him in his shock as he gawks. "Don't panic." He says, kneeling down next to the bewildered male.

"Captain!" All of us turn our heads to Katara's strained voice as she comes onto the walkway in a hurry, leaning over the railing to look for Sokka. "They're getting mighty impa—" She's shouting, until she notices the naked stowaway. "What the hell?" The boy is staring up at her and her back at him until both tear their gaze away, her attentions going back to Sokka. "They've locked onto our ship and are demanding action!" Her 'or else' tone makes us all uneasy as Sokka looks back to the boy, dumbfounded.

"We can't let them have him." I hear the dark haired man say as Sokka only stares. "He's worth more then you can imagine." Sokka finally snaps out of his daze with a shake of his head.

"Don't care. He's not worth my crew's life or my ship." He struts past the two and eyes Zuko, a silent command to keep an eye on them, as Zuko raises his gun again. I turn to the stairs as Sokka jumps up them.

"We can't just hand them over." Suki pleads as I try to figure out how a boy would be so important to the Fire Nation.

"Sokka, something's not right about this." I finally say as he shoots me a look.

"Don't get involved, Toph."

"Since when do you ever bow to the Fire Nation's commands?" I spit as he stops in his tracks, spinning on his heels to look me in the eye.

"I'm sorry, when did you become Captain of my ship?" I feel my lips purse and my eyes narrow. "You wanna be chased around by them?" My brow furrows for a moment until I finally look away; no. "That's what I thought."

-----

I'm squatted next to this boy, this complete stranger, yet I feel as though I've always known him. One look into my eyes and I see the intelligence and knowledge I could never dream of. This is him, I know it.

My heart is beating so hard I can barely hear anything else. I can't allow them to give us to the Fire Nation. I begin to look around, remembering the mention of an emergency shuttle; there, to the right, the doorway accessible by the overhead catwalk. If I could get him to his feet, just help him up and somehow get us up there, we could try to get away. I swore to protect him, and I'll do anything to keep that promise. He's our only hope.

I know the trigger happy guy behind me is calm and steadfast, and I know we're alone in this hull. All I need is some sort of distraction, something to take him off guard. As if answering my prayers, the ship suddenly rattles and shakes as alarms begin to sound; we've been hit. They're not messing around. Quickly, I swing a leg around and further add to Zuko's loss of balance, as he tumbles over, his clumsy finger tugging on the trigger as he goes down, firing a few shots into the hull, and a scream is heard. I try to ignore it as I stumble over him to get the gun, a swift jab to his jaw shooting pain through my right hand, and it was enough to warrant him useless for a split second as I snatch the gun, clamoring to my wobbly feet, pointing the cocked pistol at the red eyed scarred man with a split lip.

"You'll regret that." He snarls as I glare at him.

"Suki!" I hear someone shout as my eyes travel up to the catwalk, then freeze in terror. The random shots…what was she doing in here? Suddenly I'm collapsing to the ground as the scarred man had swept his foot under my own, knocking me flat on my back, the gun clumsily skidding across the metal floor. I hear him scrambling for the gun as I roll over to crawl after him, grabbing onto his heel and trying to hold on, but a swift kick with his other boot sends me yelping in pain as I pull back my beaten hand. He's now towering over me, gun in hand.

"Told you."

-----

There was a burst of pain, sharp and acute at first, but as I fell, the pain seemed to drift away. Engine room, I needed to be in the engine room. We were hit, Appa would need me…but I can't seem to move. My limbs aren't responding to me, just laying there. I can see my hand next to my face, but it's not responding.

"Suki!" I hear being shouted, and Toph's face appears over me, her unusually colored eyes looking down at me frantically. My brain starts to search for that conversation we once had about them…something about being born blind. Must be nice to have rich parents that can afford anything, including vision. The smell of her clean hair reaches my nostrils and I can't help but smile.

"Toph, you smell good." I say as she frowns.

"Don't talk, hun, don't try to move, I'll get you help." She disappears from my vision as my head lulls to the side, looking down into the hull. That new guy has Zuko's gun. That's got to be pretty embarrassing for him. "You, come watch her, and use this to put pressure on the wound." I hear Toph say, her voice soothing as my eyes feel like closing now. A sharp sense of pain shoots through my body as my head turns back involuntarily to see the source.

"Don't move." He says, the old man with the kind face. He offers me a sad smile and I return the favor.

"You have nice eyes, too." I say as my head rolls back to the metal floor. The doctor is now on the ground and Zuko's hovering over him…how'd I miss that? I try to keep my eyes open, but I'm so sleepy. So…so…sleepy.

-----

"Young lady, don't you fall asleep!" I say as I lift her head towards me, her eyes wanting to roll backwards. "Hey, yeah, you, wake up!" I say as commanding as I can, her eyes trying to focus, but she's struggling. "Try to move your toes, just concentrate on moving those toes!" I glance to her feet, but nothing is moving.

"I can't." I hear her voice whisper. My eyes land on the blood soaked cloth in my hand, there's a lot of it, oozing over her torso to drip through the metal grate below us, down onto the hull floor, where the trigger happy moron stands with the determined young doctor. Doctor!

"Captain!" I shout out, seeing the man clad in a black leather jacket jogging towards us, the young lady who appears to be misplaced on this vessel in her fine silk robes following behind.

"Suki." He says, a slight panic in his voice, the woman crouching at Suki's side with new cloth to release my station.

"Captain, he's a doctor." I say, motioning to the men downstairs.

"Yeah, and?" I squint my eyes; is the man daft?

"Well it appears to me that you have a young lady in need of a doctor right now." He glances up to me, realization evident in his eyes. "I'll tell you right now; if you allow Fire Nation to secure him, they won't bat an eye at a request to use their onboard facilities. They'll take what they want and leave her to die." His eyes narrow as he looks back to Suki, her hand in his going limp; she's lost a lot of blood already.

"Tzao-gao!" He spits as he stands and peers over the railing. "Get his ass in the infirmary!" I glance down to the girl laying on the cold metal as the other woman looks up to me, thankful.

"Let's get her there too. A doctor will need his patient."

-----

I feel like sending my fist into the wall, but seeing as they're made of metal, I determine that's not the best idea. I like my knuckles to be in tact. None the less, I leave the catwalk and storm back to the cockpit.

"Fire her up." I bellow, Katara glancing back at me, surprised.

"What?" She reiterates.

"You heard me, we're getting out of here." I head for a panel and begin flicking switches to ready the warp drive. Things were going so well, too.

"They'll follow us." She says as though I'd forget.

"Then do your best to lose them." I spit back as her eyes narrow at me then return to her controls. I grab a hold of the ship's mic and flip it on. "Hold onto something, everyone. Zuko, I need you in the engine room!" I toss the mic down and run out of the hull, into the kitchen, onto the catwalk, seeing Zuko heading up the stairs in an equally quick pace, and reach the heavy metal sliding door that leads to the engine room, pushing it aside to feel the gush of hot stale air hit my face, smelling of sulfur, smelling like Suki. I ignore all this and head for the side panels where we keep reserve tanks of power, carefully removing one of the orange labeled tanks as Zuko arrives behind me, immediately heading for the engine itself, holding open the reserve power doors so I can slide it in. As soon as I have it locked in place, Zuko begins to slowly raise two sets of levers as I grab the intercom to the hull. "Let's do it, Katara." Before I could manage another thought, I'm thrown to the back of the engine room, something jabbing my back as the combination of fabricated gravity and actual light speed makes me completely immobile, and a glance to the other side of the room shows Zuko wasn't as unfortunate; he managed to strap a leather belt around himself to keep stable. He flashes me a mocking smirk just before I tumble to the floor.

Sometimes, I hate that man.

-----

AN: So, I think I've laid down which of our favorite Avatar Characters are doubling as a Firefly character. If you didn't catch it, let me list them out in a more followable fashion:

Sokka Mal

Katara Wash (and sorta doubles as Zoe)

Toph Inara

Zuko Jayne

Suki Kaylee

Haru Simon

Aang River
Iroh Shepherd Book

I'll admit some characters don't quite fit…like Katara as Wash/Zoe…but for the story's sake, they still have to be brother and sister, so it would only make sense that Sokka/Mal's right hand gal is also similar from Firefly. Plus, who else could be Wash? Kinda ran outta options. I guess Jet…but I'm not a Jet fan dodges the shoes being thrown at her And I know, Suki isn't quite hyper enough to be loveable Kaylee, but again, something had to give…But feel free to flame away! Or review, those are fantastic, too