Chapter 5

"I thought I told you to stay put, miss." There was no mistaking the blue uniform of the Alliance guards, even though Kaylee's eyes were still adjusting to the sudden light, "I apologize for not being able to find your friend, but an alarm went off in the saloon, and the only other guard on Cheyenne isn't answering his radio."

"Mal," Kaylee couldn't help but whisper. Should she stall the guard to give the captain more time, or use it as a diversion to get Simon back to the ship? The guard's radio crackled with static, but Kaylee could make out faint bits of a sentence being said, "Situation... neutralized. Minimal casualties at the... Report to saloon... doctor needed... at fueling station..."

"I... of course. She's probably already gone back to the..." Kaylee didn't get a chance to finish her sentence; as the Alliance guard had already turned and started running for the town.

Kaylee squinted in the light and waited a few seconds, pondering the last part of the message, before turning to the cave entrance, "Simon," She helped the doctor steady himself before continuing, "I think I know where to find River."

River's first question once they reached the fueling station was, "Where's Simon?"

Malcom didn't have time to respond as he jogged up the ramp and hit a button to radio the bridge, "Wash, do we have power yet?"

"Just about, Captain." Came the pilot's cheery reply, "I think you'll be surprised when I tell you that Sheppard Book..."

"Never mind about the preacher, Wash." Malcom cut in impatiently, "We need to get Inara back here now, and get in the air as fast as we can."

"One moment..." Wash paused to locate Inara's shuttle, "She's still in the town; we could be interrupting something important."

Mal didn't have the time, and, frankly, didn't want to be reminded of what Inara was in the middle of, "Just call her back." He switched off the radio and walked briskly down the ramp to confer with Zoe.

"Sir, we can go back to the mining shafts to see if Kaylee and Simon have found their way back yet."

"And if they're not there?" Malcom answered tensely.

After a pause, Zoe replied, "We'll have a better chance of seeing them if we go now."

The Captain answered by drawing his gun and stalking off back to town, his coat billowing behind him in the wind.

"Easy flying, Captain. No one's following us."

Malcom clicked off the speaker in the dining room and sat back down on the head of the table. There was a drawn-out silence, until Jayne slammed his cup down on the table after a swig.

"So whatever happened to the gorram rocks? I was of a mind that I would be gettin' paid my fair share this month."

"A better question would be how did we manage to get away in time after an encounter like that." Zoe answered with slight surprise.

"River, whatever happened with your rock you used to knock out the Alliance man?" Simon had been following the story closely ever since he and Kaylee had boarded the ship.

"I gave it back to him." River answered, staring off into space.

"You fixed the fuel leak up nicely, Sheppard." Kaylee interrupted the conversation with her compliment, "Where'd you learn to do somethin' like that?"

"I believe it was the same place I learned to send out mock Alliance signals through two-way radios." Sheppard Book said with a sly smile.

Kaylee and Simon exchanged a look, but said nothing.

Seizing the opportunity, Jayne cut in to point out the downside, "Those repairs must've cost ya somethin', preacher." He took a quick drink from his cup, "Where d'you suppose we're gettin' the money for that?"

Malcom couldn't resist, "I bet Inara's sufferin' from our failure, too. After all, didn't your client pay for a full session?"

"Our appointment was canceled due to... unfortunate circumstances." Inara kept a straight face, but there was a glint in her eye as she pulled out something from under the table, "However, not all was lost."

She opened her palm and produced the small stone that had been in the vault of her client's house. Inara thought twice about giving it to Malcom; after all, it was companion policy not to steal, but technically the crystal was rightfully hers, since David had never officially canceled.

If the Captain was surprised, he must have had a hard time hiding it. He glanced around the table, and for the first time really looked at his crew; taking in all the emotions radiating from each person, the tensions, the arguments getting ready to burst at the seams.

He got up slowly, walked to the other side of the table and stood by Inara, and picked up the crystal. After turning it over in his hand a few times, he pocketed it.

"We'll get by."