Ok, lemme try and play catch up here. My husband came home for mid-tour leave from the middle east, so obviously my attention was elsewhere. I'm not even going to get into the multiple mistakes I've made that I've caught, and you guys have pointed out to me. I'm smacking myself in the back of the head for them plenty, fear not. If I was really any good at this, I'd be published, ya know? *Dreams of working for Wizards of the Coast or Bungie or Ubisoft one day*

Oh, Nammu, read through it again if you'd like. The troopers call Sgt. Manning 'Mom' and Cpl. Leth 'Mom Jr.' b/c those two men are always looking out for everyone else. Thanks very much for your review though. I always read everything you guys leave.

And a big thank you to all my loyal readers and reviewers. You guys are just awesome, and I appreciate it.

Once again, I own nothing but my OC's personalities. If I owned more, I'd be able to afford that 2010 Camero I drool over and dream about.

The sun wasn't far from setting by the time the town was cleaned out of any living threat. The bodies were piled high: Reavers in a one pile and townsfolk in another so loved ones could claim the bodies. Little comfort it was, as most of the corpses were mutilated. At the very least these people were afforded the emotional comfort of being able to say final goodbyes, and bury their dead. This was something that many from the UNSC could not claim. Planet glassing did tend to be so very final.

This was probably the reason the ODST's found it hard to feel too much pity for these people. Each of them had lost so much during the war with the Covenant, and equally seen enough to drive a man insane. During the clean up, they took a sit down, all except for Leth. The medic never missed a beat, and continued to make rounds with the injured. Manning took this time to brief the Chief on their current situation.

"The ship is almost completely inoperable. The frame work matrix for the cockpit was trashed in the landing. All of the computers work, but most of the power system is down. It would work with the proper repairs, but none of us have the know-how or the facilities."

The sergeant's visor was depolarized, and the Chief was able to see his facial expressions as he spoke. The NCO was open and forward. If there was any trace of the usual prejudice in him, it never showed. There was a mission at hand, and Manning was all business.

When it came time to give his side, John let Cortana do the talking. He was more interested in observing what was going on around him. This included her. He wasn't quite sure how to put his finger on it, or if it was just a figment of his imagination, but there was something off about her.

John was also attempting to assess the dynamic and the personalities of the ODST's that were there. If there was going to be territorial or attitude based issues, he wanted to spot them and avoid them.

"We have several wounded. Nothing too serious, except for Chief Thever. She was wracked up pretty badly in the crash. Our medic did what he could, and left her with the rest of Alpha squad. Sgt. Bastogne was a corps man and should know what to do. Don't think she can go too much longer without seeing a doctor, or more precisely a surgeon."

Cortana's voice piped through his speakers at the Sergeant. "If we can use power cells from the downed Falcon, I can compile a signal and message that would reach out further. If the UNSC traces your slip space trajectory, which they will, the ships will exit somewhere near the wreckage of the Dawn. From there we can lead them back to the crash, and get back to earth."

Manning quirked his eyebrow up. "Sounds like a workable plan. But there are a lot of variables and areas for error."

"I don't make errors Sergeant." She replied flatly. The air electrified slightly, and the next few seconds had an awkward feeling. Manning cocked his head ever so slightly in reply. If he were going to say something, it remained unspoken. John wondered if the sergeant had found something odd about the AI's retort, as he had.

The Spartan spoke, ending anything else that might have been said. "Take me back to the wreckage. We need to get that message sent, and the crew of Serenity has a doctor among them."

"Sir" Manning saluted and walked off.

Ross sat on the back of one of the warthogs with his legs hanging off, watching the progressing scene. An amused grin on his face was the only hint at what was going through his head. He'd been the only one to remove the helmet so far. He couldn't help but think about the interesting day they had just been through. All that excitement and no damn camera. If it was possible to give himself a swift kick in the ass, he would have. He had the mentality to be a shutter bug. Memories were very important to him.

A tightness in the chest reminded him that he had not been lucky enough to walk away from the crash unscathed. Adrenaline had apparently covered it up. He made a mental note to bug for some painkillers when they got better down time. A lazy glance over the shoulder had his eye's wandering, searching for Leth. The Doc was busy, and Ross's ribs could wait till later. The fighting seemed to be done and over with.

He leaned back against the turret propping. The afternoon sun felt good on his face, even if the dry planet's atmosphere could be a little stifling. A cool breeze played across the area, offering miniscule respite from the heat. Footsteps in the sand brought his attention to focus again. He peeked open a blue eye, and recognized Coopers face looking down at him through a depolarized visor.

"Sleeping on the job?"

"I need my beauty sleep for my date tonight."

"There's a woman that'll touch your pale ass?"

"Oh yea," Ross said with earnest," Your mom loves my pasty self. Say's the freckles turn her on."

Instantly the troopers arm reared back. Cooper pelted Ross with half hearted punches, laughing with every hit. The redhead curled up into the fetal position and kicked out in an overly dramatized way. He raised his voice to a higher, whinier pitch.

"Stop! That's abuse! Sibling abuse! I'm telling mom!"

"How very professional the two of you are." Dawkins muttered. The third man sat haphazardly in the driver's seat. His helmet was off, and he had lit up a cigarette. He had darker skin than Cooper, and if memory served correctly, hailed from central Africa. Ross looked him dead in the eyes, but said nothing.

The red head brought his legs over his head, and gave a small, half assed kick at Dawkins's head, punctuated by ," Ugnh!"

Dawkins and Cooper tried to cover their laughs, only just succeeding from preventing an outburst. It would have been pretty inappropriate considering the circumstances. Several towns people were already offering up dirty, offended looks. But like everything else, it was water off their backs, or sweat in this case. It would really take more than a few disgruntled civilians from a backwater world to make the troopers flinch.

Raines walked an even pace between the houses and buildings. He was trying to work his way back to the mongoose. The fact that he didn't remember the exact way back was annoying. Finding the way to the water tower by sight guide alone was below his usual ability.

People were weeping and grieving over their dead, and he didn't have the stomach for it. The expectation of desensitization of an obviously back water isolated colony was unrealistic in many ways. The expectation of Raines to give a damn that people who lived in this kind of danger where unable to defend themselves properly to avoid the grief, was highly unrealistic. If one lived in an area where this sort of thing was possible, then proper preparations should be made. Judging by the reactions before the attack, the settlers were more than aware of the danger posed by living here. Any resulting misfortune related to the danger should be expected. Whether or not they could do anything about it really didn't matter to him either.

How cold, he thought amusingly. A shake of the head moved the thoughts to the side. Irrelevant, and of no consequence. The turnaround a building looked familiar, and he remembered the mongoose was only a few yards away. Clean up your act, you can't use the age excuse in your thirties.

The wound on the inside of his thigh throbbed every time he walked. Doc Leth was right, stitches were needed. The dirty rusted blades of the Reavers probably weren't the most sanitary either, but the anti-septics in the temporary bandage would help. He certainly didn't want to depend on medical help from these idiots. Wind swept up dirt from the dry ground, but it didn't hide the gory litter. The bodies of the Reavers were still laying around the base of the water tower, lifeless because of his bullets. One was slumped against the front tired. He walked over, the nudged the body away with his boot.

A quick once over said the four wheeler was in good condition still. It revved to life smoothly, and purred like a cat in idle, waiting to be driven. Over the years, the little light weight vehicles had become his friend. He swung a leg over it, and revved the engine just for good measure. Squeezing the controls, the four wheeler pulled out quickly. He steered between the archaic buildings, heading back towards the rest of the squad. An urge to return to The River Tam was becoming an itch at the back of his mind.

"Do you think you guys could show just a little bit more respect?" The little medic grumbled. He popped his helmet off and blew out a large breath. Just another day..

"Tug on yer mouth zippers fellas, mom jr's here."

Leth's fist shot out, and connected with the inside of Ross's thigh. The resulting muscle spasm, and its pain was expressed verbally.

"Ahhh!! Oh sweet mother of jebus, you little prick!"

"Next time show respect for the dead, and their mourning families."

Ross narrowed his eyes and scrunched up his expression." So I'm supposed to act sensitized so I don't hurt people's feelings? Sorry man, I just spent the last ten plus years exploring the many ways explosives and bullets interact with living organisms. I didn't get to stop and think about it. I'm sorry for their loss, it's a nasty way to go, even from what I've seen my thirty some years. But I will not sit here and get all sad and weepy."

His friends words gave him pause. " That sounds like something Kevin would spit out."

Ross's blue eye's widened. "Oh balls, you're right. I need to find a TV and some beer quick like. I feel all unclean and shit."

"Whoa", said Cooper, "Niky Ross had a serious moment. I'm kind of scared."

The troopers chuckled. At one point Smith had joined them. Leth gave the kid a once over. Smith couldn't have been older than twenty five, and was only slightly taller with typical farm boy looks. He looked too nice to be a hell jumper.

"The five of you could show a little more respect, and try to be just a decimal quieter."

The men froze like they'd been caught red handed. The fact that it was Sgt. Manning standing behind them, and not the Master Chief did little to take the edge off. The NCO gave them room to be lax and jest, but when it was time to work he was all business.

"Pack it in. We're heading back to the Tam soon. Chief said he knows where a doctor is. I want both Hogs ready to go. One of you is going to have to ride with Raines back."

A unanimous "HIM" piped out of each of their mouths, and fingers pointed at someone else.

Manning slung his assault rifle onto his shoulder. "Ross, you're riding with him."

"What?"

"I heard your mouth over everyone else's."

Leth stifled a chuckle.

"Pffft, just as long as you promise to return my corpse back home to Cadence."

"He's not going to kill you, you big baby. Just be quiet the trip back."

Ross furrowed his brow and leveled the sergeant with a look.

"Well, slap some duct tape over your mouth then."

John picked Captain Reynolds out of the mix of men. If not for the defining facial features the man possessed, it might have been harder. The long brown coat Reynolds was wearing was in no short supply among the men and women who'd shown up. Brown was the common denominator.

Reynolds gazed up at him before John had even closed the distance completely. It's not like the seven foot green armored Spartan was hard to miss in the middle of a desert town.

"Master Chief." Reynolds nodded.

"Captain."

"You needing something?"

"There's injured back at the crash site."

"And I suspect you want our doctor to lend hand."

"It would be appreciated. A lift back to the wreckage of the Dawn is required as well." Cortana said dryly.

A look passed over the man's face. "And what would me and my crew be gaining out of this?"

Why am I not surprised? John thought sardonically. More and more he was getting a better idea of the kind of man Captain Reynolds was. Had they met under differing circumstances, the Spartan was sure it would have erupted into a gunfight. That still wasn't a completely offhand possibility.

"You get any salvageable material off of the Forward unto Dawn wreckage." Cortana answered.

John connected to his private channel, and asked," You're authorized to do that?"

She answered nonchalantly." Does it matter? Our main priority is to get home, and these back water rebels are the best option at the moment."

He didn't reply, but the course of action they were looking at didn't sit right with him.

The Captain looked thoughtful for a moment. "If you've got more of those guns we might have a deal."

"I believe we reached an accord."

"I believe so." The look on Reynolds face was unreadable, but he whistled sharply to gain the attention of his two men. Well, man and woman. Zoe had an inquisitive look her face, but said nothing.

The four headed over to the group of ODST's that were hovering on and around one of the Warthogs. A seventh one rumbled up on a mongoose. John spotted the sniper rifle, and thinner build of the man, and recognized him as the trooper that had been on the roof. His helmet was still on.

Sgt. Manning turned and nodded his head. "Sir."

The rest of them straightened up. A red-haired man slid off the back of the hog and cradled his helmet under his arm. Half of them were missing their head gear.

"We found a ride for now." Cortana offered.

Reynolds walked and stood beside the Chief. He took a look at the black armored soldiers that were staring back. The eerie similarity to Alliance troopers caused his blood pressure to rise a bit. Each of them looked like well built killing machines. But if these men were like the Chief, they didn't even know what the Alliance was. He hooked his thumbs in his belt loops.

"This is who's coming? Who was in charge here before big green?"

One of the men stepped forward. "That would be me. "

The Captain remembered him from before. The guy was from the 82nd, 105th or something like that. Mal took it, though he didn't had the foggiest what the 105th was, except some kind of military identification.

He nodded.

"Heard y'all need a doctor?"

"None of us. Our pilot back at the ship."

Jane snorted. "Buncha trained soldier's don't got a medic?"

What was probably the shortest man in the group straightened, and adopted an aggressive look on his face. "I'mma medic mate, not a fucking surgeon. Only so much I can do." There was an accent there that was so similar to a certain underworld rat they all knew. His ice green eyes stared down the big merc with unwavering intensity and the grip on the 12 gauge he was holding tightened.

The sergeant held up his hand to quiet the shorter guy. Defensive, Mal noted. "Who's this?" He gestured to the troopers standing behind Manning. "No one gets on my boat that I didn't meet first."

Manning whirled his finger. "Take'm off." In succession, with a few sighs, each of the troopers removed their helmets. This guy could be a way out of their predicament. Something as harmless as this was not too much to ask.

Mal made sure to get a good look at each of them, size them up.

The sergeant removed his own and spoke again. "Captain, that's Dawkins, Smith, Cooper," the dark-skinned man leaned on the red head, "Ross, Leth," The short guy with an accent similar to Badgers, "and Raines." The last one had black hair that looked out of regulation by any military standard, dual colored eyes, and scar that ran along the cheek bone and disappeared around the side of his head. The guy stared fixedly from Mal, to Jane, to Zoe, as if he was sizing them up himself.

Manning himself had a square set jaw and a strong face. The kindness in his features was only belayed by the total authority in his voice. "Alright. Why don't you show us where your ship is? Zoe, get on the comm and let Wash know to trace the location and get our esteemed Doc where he needs to be?"

"On it Sir."

Manning told him the Hog's would take the extra passengers, as long as no…evasive maneuvers had to be taken. The extra's could pile on the back with the turret gunner. When he told the men to gear up and get ready to leave, Mal caught the black haired, scarred man looking over them again. The guy donned his helmet and threw a leg over the four wheeler without a word. The redhead stuffed his own back on and jumped on back as the little engine fired to life with a small roar.

When Mal averted his gaze to something else, he noticed Sgt. Manning studying his face.

"Can I help you?" Did these people have eye problems?

The soldier grinned and shook his head. "No. You look and sound like someone I know."

Mal raised his eye brows and sucked on his teeth briefly. "That a good thing?"

Manning snickered. "Yeah. I guess you could take it as a compliment." The ambiguous statement hung in the air. Mal couldn't think of a reason, so it must have been something with greater meaning that he didn't quite get yet.

The guy placed his helmet back on and polarized the face plate, effectively hiding any further looks or expressions.

The Master Chief had already slid into the driver's seat, and Manning jumped in next to him. The shorter medic stood and gripped the framing in the back near the turret. He offered his hand out to Mal, who took it. With a great heave, Serenity's Captain was braced in the back of the vehicle.

Cooper was perched on the second Hog's roll cage topping, Smith and Dawkins below him. Zoe and Jayne climbed into the back.

The engines roared to life, dwarfing out the sounds of the mongoose. With almost obvious eagerness, the small four wheeler peeled out, carrying the two men. The Hog's followed, leaving quite a dust trail behind them. Cooper was silently thankful to be leaving. Everyone of them wanted this fubar mission over with, but he felt a special urgency. His contract with the UNSC was almost up, and he'd be sitting with his family right now, if not for the stop-loss. Just this one last thing, and he was free. They left the town without an ounce of guilt.

The sunset lit ride was beautiful, and a welcome distraction from the problems at hand. Stranded on a backwater planet with no ship or communication with command didn't set an optimistic or hopeful mood. But one had to start somewhere to resolve any problem. They'd been through worse, so how bad could it really get?

The loaded hogs rumbled on, but their passengers were silent. As the wreck of the Tam moved into the line of sight, Raines noticed a yellow hover craft sitting adjacent to the damaged bay doors. Two men sat in it, holding hands up and speaking to the Sgt. Bastogne. The sergeant had his rifle casually pointed between the craft and the ground. The mongoose pulled up first, but neither of its passengers moved.

Manning opened a comm link. "Stand down Bastogne; I think they're with us."

The setting sun glinted off the older sergeant's visor when he turned his head. "Well if you say so. The gun isn't moving."

The bodies piled out of the warthogs, and seemed to mill uneasily for several moments, waiting to see what their leaders did.

When the Chief exited, he drew the usual stares, especially from the two new men. The Spartan inclined his head towards Leth, who shouldered his bag and walked forward. The Irish man wasn't very subtle in what he wanted.

"Who's supposed to be the doctor out the two of ya?"

The blonde in the Hawaiian shirt pointed at the dark haired fellow in dressy cloths.

"You're with me. Hope you're skill matches those fancy threads you're wearing."

Simon jumped out of the mule and grasped his medical bag. He felt awkward moving through the small crowd of guys in black combat armor. It felt too much like being in the middle of an Alliance checkpoint. The faceless visors were intimidating and appeared coldly apathetic. He would have been lying if he said there wasn't a sense of relief when they were no longer in line of sight. Who were they, and where had they come from? They couldn't be Alliance, or the captain wouldn't have had things go the way they were. These guys also looked nothing like the part. He had to say though, their actions seemed to run with the typical foot soldiers: point your gun, be brash and rude, and demand answers. Even the medic had uncouth and borderline offensive mannerisms.

As Simon followed the surprising fast stride of the shorter man, he got a good look at the ruined ship. A part of the hull were the name was plastered was unintelligible. All he could make out was T River am. His mind lingered on it for a moment, but couldn't quite figure out why it was bothering him so. When the ship entered atmo, it had landed and skidded to a halt against an outcropping of rock. The amount of outside damage was a testament to this. It was a surprise so many of them had escaped unscathed. When he gawked at it closer, Simon realized it was some kind of drop ship.

The Sergeants stood talking to the Chief, occasionally pointing at something, while Mal tried to explain to Wash what was going on.

"Mal, what the hell happened? You might as well slap a neon sign saying "Come get me" on your forehead and fly into the nearest Alliance outpost."

"I don't much appreciate the tone you're taking with me."

"Oh I'm sorry, I'm just slightly worried about our new friends and the attention they're going to attract."

"I wouldn't call them friends." Jane snorted.

Wash rolled his head and eyes in the merc's direction. "Jane. Sarcasm. Look it up."

"Look. I aint all sure why I'm helping them, helping him." He jerked a thumb at the Master Chief, standing stoically and listening to whatever the Sergeants were telling him." But if you haven't noticed, these guys are high military, and high technology. Better than anything that ever come out Londinium's backside, goin off what I seen. Now we can leave them be, and like as ever the Alliance would eventually swoop in."

"And we would care why?" Jane mumbled, picking his teeth.

Zoe sighed, realization dawning. "Because then the Alliance gets their hands on the tech, reverse engineers it, and get all kinds of new gadgets and weaponry. We've only seen a fraction of what these guys have."

"We only seen a fraction of what these people got, and I'd like as not to discover it through other end reception." Mal remarked.

"Huh?" Jane grunted.

"Ain't you glad I pay you to think Jane?"

"So what do we do sir? We can't carry these people around like luggage. Wash is right. They're nothing but a big target, bringin more attention than we need."

"I know. But I wanna know where they came from. Some of the things Cortana has said have got me thinking."

"What do you mean?"

"I think they know more than they've said so far. I do not want to get into it here, but him and that AI acted just a bit strangely… then you might expect…"

The crew members raised their eyes at him.

"I guess it might be too much for us to avoid excitement at least once." Wash said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Wouldn't be right if we did."

Jane snorted.

Zoe shifted to stand next to her husband. "So," She said cocking her head to the side, "What do we make of them?"

Mal crosses his arms and glanced over at her.

"Buncha soldiers that got all turned about and lost, and need a ruttin baby sitter now. Ain't my problem."

"I meant their demeanors Jane."

"Oh."

"That Sergeant doesn't play around." They looked at the captain. "He's the real deal, and his men respect him. They look out for him. Did ya see the way they watched? And they don't like the Chief."

"Sir?"

"You didn't see it? The looks? Those men, do not care for the jolly green giant."

Wash jingled the change in pockets of his flight suit. "Unit rivalry?"

"Maybe."

"I don't like that tall one Sir." Zoe was blunt.

Mal lifted his brows. "Really now?"

"What tall one?" Wash asked dumbly.

She lowered her voice. "The one with the 50 cal rifle."

Mal looked around quickish. "Why?"

"There's nothing in his eyes."

"Well that's not very nice." Mal said matter of fact-ly. The automatic weapon in his arms was growing heavy. The sun was just a red line on the horizon now, and the evening wind was beginning to whip around them. He trailed his eyes out of the gaggle of his crew. The feeling of being watched was unshakable.

Glancing over his shoulder, Mal made eye contact with the scarred man. The dual colored green and blue eyes were hard and cold. Empty. It was the appropriate word to describe what Mal saw inside them.

The eye contact wasn't broken until someone shifted, effectively blocking their view of each other. A small knot was starting to form in Mal's gut. A distinctive dislike for that one soldier was beginning to root. He turned back to his crew. Watchful Zoe was keeping any threats under her gaze. Jane was busy picking his teeth, while Wash stood rocking on his heels. The nagging feeling that the excitement wasn't quite over crept into the back of his neck.

"I've done all I can, but she needs surgery if she's going to survive." Simon said, cautiously waiting for a reaction. He wasn't sure of the soldier they kept calling 'Doc' yet. The man had removed his helmet and helped with a surprising amount of skill. The pilot named Thever had been the first concern. She was sleeping now, pain killers taking hold.

The other two men weren't in such bad shape. Both had broken arms, and one had a shattered wrist.

"Thank you."

The words caused Simon to pause. It was the medic. "It's nothing. I'm a surgeon; it's what I'm good at."

"I believe in giving others their dues."

"Ah, well. That's a bit of a rare thing out here."

The shorter man grunted in response. He walked past Simon to where the private was sitting, and beginning to come down from his pain killers.

Simon turned his eyes to the man's face, and took a moment to study it. High cheek bones, a strong brow, and eerily pale green eyes gave him an overall rough and aggressive expression permanently planted on his face. The actions and care administered to his men told a different story though.

"What's your name?"

"Hmm?" he looked up.

"Name?"

"Cuiteis."

"Coor-taysh?" Simon stumbled over the strange pronunciation.

"Yeah." He focused back on his work, but kept talking." Just call me Leth or Curt though."

Simon motioned for the guy called Bassik to sit. His dressing had to be changed. "Odd name. No offense."

Leth snorted lightly. "It's old Irish Gaelic. That's why I just say use the English version or my surname. So, pony up doc. I gave you my name."

"Oh, Simon Tam."

The medic paused. "Tam? Really?" Curiosity laced his tone.

Simon instinctively froze. The old fear had seized him. He had to fight the urge to get up and move as far away from the soldier as possible. Could he know? Would he be after River? Were they in danger again? Adrenaline made his heart beat erratically. In a span of seconds, Simon felt as though he might have aged several years. He swallowed hard and forced out an answer.

"Yes." It sounded strained.

"You've got something in common with our ship. "

Simon was still again, relief and confusion washing over him like a cold shower. Leth must have looked up and seen the bewildered look, because he offered an explanation.

"Our ship right there is called The River Tam."

The Doctor furrowed his brow, and grasped for something to say that would appropriately express his lack of understanding. Adrenaline pumped again, for entirely different reasons. This time his mind was racing alongside his heart, searching for answers. From what he knew, the people were supposed to be from Earth that was, like the Chief had claimed. The entire idea was preposterous, and Simon had never made up his mind on the matter. Now this person was telling him the name of their ship was the exact same as his sister? It wasn't feasible.

"How is that possible?"

"Bloody hell if I know."

"Was that a person?" He had to know. There had to be a connection.

"Um, no, kinda. The River Tam was the name of the slip space routes used by Commander Tam during the war. She would go behind enemy lines to rescue survivors and refugees from planet glassings and covenant attacks. Did a lot even with the Cole Protocol in place. A lot of people would have died if it wasn't for her. She's one of many hero's of the war. In fact, Cooper over there was on one of her last trips, right after his planet was glassed."

"What happened to Commander Tam?" Curiosity got the best of him. The name even belonged to a woman.

"Not long after she rescued the Soma refugees, the Covenant caught up with her. Blasted her ship to slag. Took two capital ships to do it though."

Simons body bussed a little with the acquisition of this new information. "I have to speak with my Captain. If you'll excuse me." He stumbled to his feet towards where Mal was standing with the others. He moved right through the other soldiers as if they weren't even there.

Leth shrugged at Simons departure, but noted the anxiety that had begun to show.

They weren't in a good way, and that was putting the situation lightly. At the moment, they were stranded, and it looked as though the lead on what to do next was an anti-government Captain and his crew for hire. The sergeants had explained everything quickly and thoroughly. The only source of possible currency or trade they had in exchange for help was scrap from the Dawn that they really didn't have authorization over. Ultimately, John felt as though going to the governing body was the best option.

The likely hood that this government was well aware of its roots was high. However, when the first rebels separated from the rest of Earth it was fairly peaceful. There had been no other recorded confrontations since. The rest of Earth had assumed that they had died and gotten lost in the search for another place to live. John remembered the exact day this particular lesson had been taught. The topic it had fallen under was diplomatic success, failure, and situation elimination.

Curiously he wondered if the citizens, spread over dozens of planets, were aware as well. If one were to go purely off the behavior of the crew, the answer was more than likely a no. For the first time since he'd be brought out of cryo however, he felt more at ease. The familiarity of the situation had him getting back into a familiar set of actions.

When Sgt. Manning had finished his briefing of the crash site, John ordered him and the other to be at ease until they got word back from Captain Reynolds's doctor.

Movement from the corner of his eye distracted him from those thoughts. One of the troopers moved past him, heading back into the wreck. Cortana, who had been oddly silent, decided to make her presence known once more.

"John, we've got ships coming into orbit again."

"What kind?"

"It's not like the Reavers. The tags I'm picking up are more organized. They're from the Alliance Federal Law Enforcement. I take it the people really in charge are about to arrive."

John apparently wouldn't have to wait as long as he thought.

"Can you get into their comm chatter?" Technically these people were all rebels, and John was well within his boundaries.

"Can you flip a warthog?"

He grinned to himself. "Why are they here?" It was a possible late response to the Reaver attack, but a gut feeling had him thinking otherwise.

Cortana paused before saying, "They are responding to evidence of the crash landing of an unidentified ship by satellite. They're heading this way."

John didn't answer right away. He wrestled with the decision to tell Captain Reynolds, or keep quiet. The AI was able to read his mind though, just as he was coming to a choice.

"We should keep quiet about this."

It was not the decision he had reached. Cortana had been more cold than he had ever been able to recall. A creeping feeling from his instincts told him something was wrong. She had reached the age of rampancy for intelligent AI's, and the effects of the data from the Covenant city and encounter with grave mind were still unknown….

"No. I will inform Serenity's Captain."

If the AI might as well have sighed. "Fine. Tatsuo is informing the Hell jumpers communications guy right now anyway."

Was she being short with him?

As he expected, John heard Cpl. Cooper open communications on the public frequency that all UNSC personnel had access to.

"Master Chief, Sgt. Manning we have two unidentified ships entering atmosphere in approximately five minutes. They are sending out hails to the downed vessel that was reported in this area. Master Chief, what are you orders sir?"

The mention of Manning's name was not lost on John. Cooper refrained from totally acknowledging the Spartans higher authority without completely cutting out his sergeant, while still following the chain of command. Manning himself turned a helmeted head in the Chief direction, waiting for orders. From his left, Reynolds doctor was moving rather quickly past them, and towards his captain.

"Master Chief? Your orders sir?"

John shifted in his armor. "Hold your transmission."

"Yes sir."

John turned sharply towards the captain.

Simon didn't stop, and he didn't care that several people gave him funny looks.

"Captain!"

Mal continued speaking but looked up at the doctor. When Simon stopped in front of him, Mal asked, "Shuh Muh? "

"Do you know what the name of their ship is?"

"Umm," Mal turned to look at the hull for a moment before swirling back. "Not so much. I'm inclined to be caring…why?"

"The name of their ship, captain, is The River Tam." The statement was effective, and all of them turned to look at him, except Jane.

"Why would they name the ship after your gorram sister?"

Mal closed his eyes and Zoe rubbed her temples.

"Jayne, shut up."

"You're sure of this Doc? That's an awful big coincidence."

"Their medic told me. This is impossible captain. It has to mean something."

"It don't have to mean nothing. Simon, what are the chances?" Mal didn't want anymore excitement for the day.

"That is really odd Mal." Wash remarked. His face was scrunched in thought.

"Shi Ma? Well I'm not interested in what's odd. That feels all like a jar full with wasps that I'm havin no part of."

"Oh please, Captain, the wasps are already out. They have been since you picked the Chief up on that derelict."

Mal's face hardened at Simon's words. "Excuse me?"

"Who are you trying to kid. If you wanted absolutely no chance at anything like this, you would have left the guy floating on his wreck of a ship."

"I think you need to remind yourself who you're talking to."

"I think you need to wake up and see that something isn't right here. Since the day you brought him on board, something has been off. River's been spouting off strange things again-"

"Ain't that her nature?"

"- then these soldiers pop up out of nowhere with a ship named after the likeness of my sister? It's like these things are building in a crescendo. "

"And I think you could be a mite attention starved Doc. Might wanna look to your tone with me as well."

Simon didn't get a chance to rebuttal. Mal's comm buzzed to life with the frantic voice of Kaylee.

"Captain, we're humped. We've got Alliance ships hitting atmo in just a few minutes, and they're lookin for a crashed ship."

Mal's eyes widened.

"Ruttin Feds." Jayne muttered." We gotta make it back to the ship, get gorramn clear of this place."

"If we fire up Serenity before those feds leave, they might detect us."

"If they haven't found this wreck now!" Wash added.

"Wash, get the mule ready we're leaving- oh, speak of the big green devil."

The Chief moved towards them with fluidity. He didn't even bother to hide the unintentional eavesdropping.

"If you leave now, they'll suspect something." His voice was deep and gravelly as ever. He knew Reynolds had something to hide.

"Have you anything to hide Captain Reynolds?" Cortana added.

Mal smiled at the gold visor. "Course not. What in the verse would make you think that?"

If her avatar was visible she'd of leveled him with an all knowing smile. For the time she'd spent on their ship the last few days, Cortana had used it wisely. Hacking the Alliance war records on the cortex had taken a little longer than she would have cared to admit. Covenant computers had been more of a challenge in the past. As it turned out, Malcolm Reynolds and his crew were wanted for aiding the fugitives River and Simon Tam.. The arrest warrant had been rescinded about a year ago. That didn't stop the digital foot prints of the original from being there though. The Tam's were still wanted however.

Malcolm Reynolds war record was an interesting read as well. Other charges that had been brought against captain and crew over the years had been found, including illegal salvage, fencing, smuggling, and robbery.

Manning adjusted the gun slung on his back before speaking. " I don't know why you're jumpy, but they're coming here because of us and our wreck. The Chief is right. Dodging right now would put a lot of attention on you. If you play it calmly, you and your crew may go almost unnoticed."

"How do we know you won't start pointing fingers?" Jayne growled.

"How could anyone point a finger at you? I don't even know who the hell you are. Frankly, I don't give a shit. My mission is to get home, with him in one piece." He said incredulously and then jerked a thumb at the Chief.

"Chief you got five minutes before you're in their sights. Scanners have already picked you up." Cortana warned.

Mal darted his eyes from the black armored sergeant to the Massive green giant. "We got you off that ship… you scratch our backs…"

"And I'll scratch yours." It wasn't something Jon was unfamiliar with. Teamwork was deeply ingrained in him. He didn't care for Reynolds's anti-government sentiments, but the government in question were nothing but rebellious traitors. He could end up needing Reynolds's assistance if this encounter didn't go well. "Sgt. Manning. Tell your men to arm themselves with full ammo stocks and grenades. I want your sniper and explosives expert in good positions. That scope better have full view of this area and any flanking positions."

"Yes sir." Manning jogged off spouting commands, Bastogne following.

John buzzed Cooper. "Corporal send a response. Filter the information for anything secret or vital. Make no mention of the AI's. Wipe the ships data banks and pull Tatsuo's chip when you're finished."

"Copy that Sir."

"Master Chief, it is possible for me to set up a jamming program that will run on my command and block their communications. I can set it to self terminate on a timer."

"Do it."

"So much for cannibalizing the falcon for parts and power cells huh?" Cortana remarked.

Kaylee rushed to flip the switches, and make Serenity go dark. The canyon shielded the ship from view and any sensors. This time she made sure there was a ladder to get down. She moved through the door way, intending to go towards the cockpit.

"Stay there Kaylee." River murmured over the comm," The Captain will need us soon."

Mal saw the lights approaching first, then the sound. There was a knot in his throat that made it hard to swallow. Jane had been reluctant to hand over his weapons, but to be clutching illegal automatic weapons when in the presence of Alliance feds was not a good idea. They had settled on Jane and Zoe moving the mule to the other side of the wreck. Simon slouched deeply in the back seat, trying as best he could not to be visible.

Mal watched the troopers carry out their orders quickly, and gripped the handle of his pistol reflexively. The whole situation had the potential to go very bad. Adrenaline pumped through his blood and the captain of Serenity had to wrestle with the bubbling ire in his gut.

There was only one ship, and it was different than any other fed ship they'd seen before. The design was sleeker and mounted outer weaponry loomed over them on strategically mounted positions. The side of the ship had a curious tag however. In Chinese it read "Federal Street Judiciary Enforcement". It was far from any fed enforcement Mal had ever seen or heard of, and it caused a tingle of concern in the back of his head. Kaylee had said there were multiple ships. Only one had shown up. He hoped Karyn had mustered enough sense to leave or get out of dodge.

Over the PA system, a gruff demanding voice barked at them. "Drop your weapons."

The ODST's didn't move, but looked to their sergeants and the Chief. The Spartan had a newly acquired battle rifle clinging to the magnetic plates in his bad. The gun was hidden from frontal view because of the Spartan's size. The five troopers that were on their feet tightened their grips on their guns. Hell Jumpers would not be easily swayed into disarming.

The Chief was statuesque and firmly answered. "No."

"You will drop your weapons or be bound by Alliance Federal Law."

"We are not members of your Alliance nor do we fall under your jurisdiction. We intend no aggression unless it is forced upon us first."

"This is your last-"

The voice was cut off, as if something or someone had disrupted it.

"The communications jam isn't activated yet." Cortana hissed in the Chiefs ear.

"They're up to something." he muttered.

"You will go to 'at ease' and wait for the ship to land, and remain that way until an Alliance officer has released you from such. "

"Do it." The Chief told the troopers, and then added on the closed comm channel," Be ready for anything."

Ross leaned his head in towards Leth. "Does he remember that we're Hell Jumpers?"

The Irishman shrugged and slid his helmet back on.

The ship hovered, descending lower and lower and causing the wind to whip sand into the faces of anyone not wearing a helmet. A Chief Thever was being shielded by the medic; Mal and Wash were the only ones who had a problem.

The Alliance made sure to have the exterior lights blazing for an intimidation attempt. Little did they know the polarized visors filtered that problem out. The bottom hatch opened, and armored men ran out toting guns. They filed into two flanking positions on either side of the ramp.

Just like the ship, Mal mentally noted the armor was different. It reminded him of what the fed soldiers had been wearing on Miranda, only more intimidating in look. Down the middle of the line, waltzing in an arrogant fashion, was what could only be the officer in charge. The man's eyes scanned the area, immediately landing on the giant green presence of the Spartan.

"I am Captain Williams of the FSJE. You will identify yourselves now."

John bristled at the man's assumption of overall authority, but quelled the emotional response. Now wasn't a good time.

"Master Chief Seirra-117 of the United Nations Space Command. These are ODST's of the 105th."

Captain Williams shot a look at Mal and Wash. Mal developed an overly dramatic look and raised his hand. "Concerned civilians doing a good deed."

The Alliance Officer paid them no more attention, but looked back to the Spartan standing no more than ten feet from him.

"By law AE-315 UN-5 of the espionage and P.O.W edicts, Master Chief you and your men are bound by law. You and all of your equipment will be surrendered and transported to a holding facility where you be interrogated and further evaluation of the situation can be assessed."

Can you guess what will happen next? I love it when you people do that, esp. when you get it right! More action next time, promise!