Zoe brought up the map on the cortex, Mal and Simon were huddled around her. "This is where all the disappearances are taking plade-right where Reaver territory should be," she said, pointing in an arch. Mal nodded. "But there ain't no more Reavers."

"Oh, there're Reavers alright, Sir, just from what I been told by the folks I talked to on Georgia and Newhall, these ain't normal Reaver attacks. Sometimes they attack, sometimes they don't. Ain't ever rightly heard of a ship of Reavers what don't attack a passing ship full o' regular folk. Reports are comin' in from all over this section of the rim about strange Reaver behavior. They ain't massacring people no more, they're taking people-kidnapping, Sir, just like they done with River an' Jayne." She sighed heavily. "An' whatever it is, that's causin' them to do this, is out there, in that quadrant, just beyond the rim."

Mal rubbed his chin in thought. "They wasn't after Jayne. They was after River."

"You thinkin' maybe they knew about her abilities?"

"That's impossible," Simon said, speaking for the first time, "the only ones who know besides ourselves are those who were in charge of the Academy and a very select group of Alliance officials. The only way they would know-"

"Is if they were psychic, too, Doc," Mal answered for him. "An' I ain't doubtin' they are. Whatever it was done took yer sister an' my mercenary ain't dumb-they know things, things they shouldn't an' they do things what ought not to be done. Like turnin' Reavers inta soldiers."

"Soldiers," Simon exclaimed. "That's absurd, Captain, Reavers do not have the mental capacity to-"

"That you know of, Simon," Zoe argued, "they were men once, too. They got the mental capacity to take orders. They just needed to be reminded."

Mal continued to stare at the cortex. "Zoe, how are we to do this? We knew what we were up against before, but now..."

"I'm waiting for more information from Beylix, Lilac-what's left of it," Zoe took a deep breath as she continued, "Mal, we may not be able to handle this one-"

"Crew's crew, Zoe," he said in a hard voice, "and crew don't get left behind. If we can't find anything useful...Just find me something useful, Zoe."

He looked around the black ring-shaped table, casting a hard look at each member of the Mark sitting there. "She possesses the abilities of those we have heard of farther into the galaxy."

"We knew that already, Lord Arkham," another man said coldly. "The question is whether or not we use her for testing or transfer her to the Hybrid Project. The same goes for the male."

"I am not unaware of this, Lord Malefice," he replied, his voice just as cold, "however, their behavior is quite unpredictable. The male is showing extreme resistance to the Reaver process and it is possible that he will have to be put down-"

"No," spoke another Lord, "his tissue regeneration rate is remarkable, not to mention his physical state is astounding. He fits all the qualifications for every single project housed here on the Shardak."

"Perhaps, he is too over qualified," said yet another Lord. Lord Arkham glared. "No human is too over qualified."

"Regardless, termination is out of the question," Lord Malefice said in a distant voice, "all that matters is that you assimilate him and present him to the Quarter Mark. As for the girl?"

One Lord snorted. "She's just as difficult, I've heard."

"That is to be expected. Perhaps she needs to spend some time with the soldiers while restrained," Lord Malefice offered as he twirled his glass in his hands, "it might help to show her she is no longer free to do as she pleases."

Lord Arkham blinked in shock. "You can't be suggesting-"

"I am not; the soldiers have been sterilized and given the order not to cause serious physical damage, there should be nothing to worry on-"

"No," Lord Arkham bellowed as he slammed his fist down onto the table. Lord Malefice raised an eyebrow. "It was only a suggestion, Lord Arkham. Nothing more. I can only council you on how to conduct your studies, as a member of the Mark, however, I must warn you that should you feel the urge to our expressed wishes often, you will be removed from you position and repleaced by someone of the Mark with the ability to keep their distance."

"I disagree because the consequences of such actions could impair certain aspects of her assimilation into the Ascillian society." He leaned forward. "Do not threaten me, Malefice, I was put into this position of power for a reason and you know it."

Lord Malefice shifted uncomfortably. "This may be so, but it does not mean one is not allowed to question your methods." Lord Malefice smiled. "Do not forget it is up to the Mark in its entirety as to the determination of her place. Once you have gathered your information on both the female and the male, you will transfer them to the Hybrid Project. That is after all, our primary goal."

Jayne leaned back into the corner created by the thick glass and the black, metal wall. Somehow, he was still alive. They had tortured him for hours, pumped the cell full of some gas that had only succeeded in causing him to blast all over the room. It was the second time they had done so. However, this time they sent no one in to clean up after him, afraid he would kill them. Sometimes, he thought he could hear them whispering in that little room they were in. Something about his increase in lung capacity, his tissue regeneration rate and his immunity to diseases that many others had shown no signs of immunity to his increased strength. He'd noticed that, too. He'd never been able to rip items that were bolted to the floor up before.

He wondered sometimes if River was still alive or she had died being tortured. Maybe they had given her to the Reavers. He pulled at his own hair thinking about it. He thought about it often, felt himself going crazy over it. He should have tried harder to keep them from being taken. Something moved behind the glass wall to his right and he didn't even bother to look up. He could smell her on the other side. They kept bringing in human girls; sticking them in the other half of the cell behind the glass partition. How he could smell them was beyond him. How he noticed the difference in pheromones was beyond him. Any time he inhaled them, something evil moved inside him, something dark waiting for its chance to rip him apart and take his place. He found the more he thought on it, the more it consumed him. He turned his thoughts back to River and howled at the violent images that flashed in his mind when he envisioned her. Then he smelled it, something funny. This gas was different then the last. The black created by the closing of his eyelids didn't seem as black as the darkness of his cell.

"Only hunch we got is to head straight past Miranda-"

"You ain't comin' with me, Zoe."

"Sir," Zoe said in a startled voice, "what do you mean not comin' with you?"

"I ain't losin' more crew than I already have," Mal explained, "we'll fly as close as we can without the rest a you gettin' pinched an' I'll take one a the shuttles out."

"And what then, Sir?" Zoe crossed her arms defiantly. "You'll fight them off all by your lonesome? Die tryin' ta do the impossible?"

"Zoe, how many times we done the impossible?"

"Do account for nothin', Mal, as we were all in it together," she argued in an even tone. Mal gave her a warning glare. "This ain't negotiable, Zoe. If I don't come back, someone has ta be in charge-"

"Mal-"

"You're stayin' behind and that's an order."

Zoe stepped forward then, hugging him. "Make sure you bring 'em home, Sir."

Slowly, Mal responded, his voice cracking slightly, "I will."

R-28678 was advanced. It was why he was put in charge of the entire Reaver army; why he had been given the order to persue the girl personally. It was an honor, he realized this. And, it was because he realized this that he knew he shouldn't be so easily dismissed out of hand. Inoculating him had been just as much of a mistake as Lord Arkham deciding to implement the Reaver program on the man. They possessed the same qualities. If they pushed the man too hard, he would become nothing more than an overpowered animal-a beast, unstoppable. It was stupid of Arkham to keep the girl away. He could see it in the man's feral, reddening eyes as he watched him through the thick, black glass. He could smell her, hear her, and it was driving him mad with uncontrollable rage. Injecting him with the same pacifying drug they had used on the Reavers had had the adverse affect and coupled with the vaccine, it was dangerous. R-28678 remained silent. Draw attention to his intelligence and he would become subject to testing once again. Ascillians knew better than to pick through the psyche of a Reaver-even the intelligent ones were insane. While he felt the Ascillians bringing about the destruction of their own race as well as that of his warrior clan, he couldn't stop them. He enjoyed the torture, the pain they inflicted. He enjoyed watching it.

What R-28678 didn't enjoy was knowing the man could smell him, sense him. He didn't enjoy the almost imperceptible growl that left his throat whenever they sent the soldiers in to restrain him. He knew where they were, could see them. R-28678 feared him more than the Ascillians.

A/N: Can I just say that I've been creeping myself out with this little foray into the darker side of the 'verse?

So the race of people referred to as the "Palemen" are called Ascillian (pronounced AS-KILL-ee-un). The Shardak (pronounced how it is spelled) is the ship they use to house those they kidnap and test. In case you're wondering how big it is, it's bigger than the alliance cruiser Dortmunder from the first episode of Firefly. Lord Arkham is the Ascillian in charge of all testing done on those brought to the ship. The Mark is a select council of the upper most Ascillian society. While Lord Arkham is in the Mark, he is of a rather low standing. The Quarter Mark is made up of the highest standing officials of the Mark itself. R-28678 is a Reaver, and in fact, a General over the entire Reaver army that the Ascillians have conquered. R-28678 is the only intelligent Reaver by human standards. While having been subjected to the vaccine along with the rest of the Reavers, he reacted to it differently and evolved past his rage to an extent. It should be noted that if he's afraid of Jayne, Jayne is going to become to be feared. Because of this, coming chapters may not be pretty. Fair warning.

The vaccine was created by the Ascillians to prevent tissue degeneration and promote accelerated tissue growth while inoculating those who were given it from all disease. It can be compared to the T-Virus from "Resident Evil", but with much more stable results among humans. While Ascillians are humanoid and closely resemble them, they do not completely share the same material genetics and therefore, the "vaccine," as they call it, attacks the body adversely rather than repairs it.

that pretty much covers everything I wanted to cover, but if you're a cheater, ask and I shall tell. Feel free to review.