Dax Shrever POV
The crew of Serenity had been fed, and seemed to be very forgiving about the mix-up earlier. Night had fallen and we were huddled around a fire. The silence was broken by Mackenzie.
"The past can't really be kept secret anymore," she said quietly, "especially not with someone like Eric Shaw around. I'd rather you hear this story from me, than him." Everyone present was listening intently. No one moved.
"Mal left for the war when I was very young," she began. "When the war was over, I had not seen or heard from him for six years. I thought that he was dead. It was then that I met Dax," she said, glancing over at me. "He had a ship and a crew. He just needed a linguist, and someone to use guns as a means of persuasion." She smiled a little, memories turning over in her mind. "I took the job, and we began to annoy the Alliance as much as possible. Two years later, an anonymous employer offered us a very dangerous, but well paying job. We decided to take it. The employer gave sparse details, but they were enough to get the job done.
"We had to work extremely close to the Alliance on this one. I posed as a student in one of the Alliance schools, and gained favor with key people. Our instructions were to be unnoticed. We were to help him rescue a seventeen year old girl by the name of River Tam. She was his sister." Mackenzie paused here. She waited and let the information sink in. I watched Simon closely. He appeared enlightened, like he vaguely remembered us. Like we were shadows from the past. It hadn't been all that long ago, but I wouldn't have expected him to remember us. He had his own problems.
"Eric Shaw was working with the Alliance, and letting them know everything we did. We found out too late. Eric killed the crew, I was imprisoned, and Dax barely escaped with Simon and River." Pain appeared on her face, as if she were opening wounds just speaking of Eric. Pains like betrayal were not easy to forget. She continued, however, trying to appear as though nothing were wrong.
"I don't remember much of what happened to me the next few months. I just remember a lot of pain. I was tortured daily; they were always asking me questions. Then, the torture just stopped. They ignored me. I rested for a few weeks, regaining my strength and coming up with an escape plan. I did escape, but killed the Alliance minister who was so interested in me." She stopped. There was a pregnant pause. "I'm sorry," she said, standing. "I didn't mean for things to turn out like this." She walked off. Simon stood and quickly followed her. The girl he had been sitting next to, Kaylee, looked slightly bothered by that fact, but said nothing. Mal turned to me.
"How long was she in prison?" He asked me. I shrugged my shoulders.
"Several months," I said. His eyes had a dangerous look to them.
"And you didn't do anything?" he asked.
"Mal," I said, trying to calm him. "They moved her. I would have been able to get her out if I had known where she was." He stared at me intently for several more seconds.
"Thank you," he said finally, "for taking care of her." He stood, motioned for Zoe to follow, and disappeared as well. I had a feeling about Malcolm Reynolds. If he was anything like his sister, which from my observations he was, I had hopefully gained a powerful ally. Alliance retaliations were occurring, and stories were unfolding quickly. The worst was yet to come.
I stood and left the campfire. I went to go relieve Jayne of watching Eric Shaw. I didn't want to watch the son-of-a-bitch, but I didn't really trust anyone else to do so. When I approached the door, I heard voices. I had expected this; I knew that Jayne would be questioning Shaw. I didn't expect to hear Eric speaking so calmly.
"-over your head, Jayne," I heard him say. "The Alliance has heard all about you. They would be willing to pay you so much more. How much are you getting paid now?" There was silence. "Oh," said Shaw. "I see. You haven't received a pay-check in a while, have you? Just say the word, and everything can change." There were loud footsteps coming toward the door. Eric called out, "I know things about River Tam, Mackenzie Reynolds, and the Serenity crew you would never guess. Side with the Alliance before your friends turn on you."
I didn't wait to hear more from Eric. I opened the door. Jayne looked up, and exited the room as I entered. It was hard to tell what he was thinking, but I hope Eric hadn't gotten to him. Everyone had a weak spot, and Eric was good at finding them.
I sat across the room, as far away from Eric as possible. He looked up at me, smiling in that malevolent way of his. His lip was bleeding, and he had a few other bruises, but seemed to otherwise be unharmed.
"Tell me everything that you just told Cobb," I said. Eric began to laugh.
"When are you going to see, Dax? You're too late. You're always too late."
Mackenzie POV
I had known that telling the Serenity crew my past would be hard, I just didn't expect it to be as difficult as it was. Because of me, they were being tailed by Eric Shaw. Because of me, Simon's sister was beyond help. I needed time to catch my breath. It was dark, and I could barely see the dirt path, but I kept walking. I stopped and sat at the edge of a lake, one of the few bodies of water found here. I sighed.
I had only ever wanted to help and to make things better. All that I ever seemed to do was make things worse. There was the soft crunch of footsteps behind me. It was not who I had expected. Simon sat down beside me and sighed. I could tell that this was just as uncomfortable for him as it was for me.
"I remember Dax now," he said finally. Dax was the only one of our crew that Simon had met. I swallowed hard, trying to block out all of the different emotions rolling around in my head.
"So, you knew River, then?" he asked me. I nodded.
"I knew her just before she…" my voice trailed off. I had meant to finish with 'before she was tested and experimented on.' Words just weren't coming at the moment. "Simon," I said when I found my voice again. "I am sorry." He turned so that he could face me better.
"Why are you sorry? You saved her, didn't you? You put yourself at risk for me and for her," he said softly. I sighed. Being alone with Simon wasn't a good idea. He confused me. Not in a bad way, I just couldn't think straight. I didn't want to be attracted to him this way, either. I had seen the way that he and Kaylee were. I couldn't get in the middle of that. I had had that kind of relationship once…
I looked over at him. He had been silent for several seconds now, lost in his own thoughts. He was staring at the ground, but seemed to sense that my eyes were on him. He looked up, still pensive. Instead of lost in his thoughts, he seemed to be searching my face. He looked like there was some sort of answer he would find there. I concentrated on his eyes, sitting still. To do otherwise would invite further emotional confusion on my part as well as his. There were more footsteps that broke our silence. Mal and Zoe were headed towards us, Jayne running to catch up with them. Simon and I stood quickly.
"Mack," Mal said. "Let's-"
"Is it true?" Jayne called, out of breath. He quickly covered the short distance between him and the rest of us. Mal glanced over at him.
"Is what true?" he asked. Jayne held up a finger, and took several deep breaths.
"Eric Shaw," he said, "told me that Mack knew all of these Alliance secrets. He said she's a loose cannon. Said that she knows how to heal River." There was a sinking feeling in my stomach. Simon took a couple of small steps away from me.
"Shaw is lying, right?" Mal asked me. I nodded.
"I don't remember anything from when I was imprisoned. How could I know Alliance secrets?" Shaw was a good liar, but this move was a little bold, even for him.
"What about River?" Simon asked. "You don't know anything about her?" He seemed slightly angry, like he thought I was withholding information from him.
"Simon, I swear I don't know anything Eric claims I do," I said.
"If I may interject here, I think it's about time you and I had a talk with Eric Shaw," she said, addressing Mal. "We need to find out what he's told Jayne, too." Mal nodded. He looked over at me.
"And then I want to talk about Eric's information with you," he said. I nodded, though fear was settling in my stomach. Shaw was going to do it again. He was going to rip the crew apart.