Chapter 8

Rose sat on the catwalk in the morning, enjoying the cool air that blew in the bay doors. Mal, Zoe, and Wash had left about an hour earlier, and Jayne and Book were working out in the small clearing outside the ship. Kaylee plopped down next to Rose with a sigh. "I swear, they must think I keep that cart runnin' with nothing but spit and a prayer, 'cause lord knows Mal never wants to pay for new parts." She glanced sideways at Rose, worry clear in her eyes. "You feelin' better this morning?"

"Loads, thanks."

"Good." She shifted a little, and spoke quietly. "I know the Captain can be a bit rude sometimes, but he's a good person, really. He's just bit a bit broke up since Inara left."

Rose raised her eyebrows. "Who's Inara?"

"She used to live here, with us. Rented out the shuttle over there." Rose glanced over to where Kaylee was looking, and saw a dark, empty doorway. Kaylee sighed. "I miss her."

"What happened?" Rose winced, remembering the ambush yesterday and the Captain's distinctly unsurprised response to it. "If you don't mind me asking, that is."

"Oh, nothin' really bad happened. Inara's fine. She's doin' great, even. She's a Companion, see, and she's back on Sihnon teaching others at the Companions Guild. She's got a good life there." Kaylee smiled crookedly. "Better than out here, I guess."

"I'm sorry. Sounds like you really miss her."

"We all do, but the Captain most of all. Those two were nuts about each other, they were just both too stubborn to do anythin' about it." She snorted. "Why do people do that?"

Rose bit her lip to hold in laughter as Simon walked below them and Kaylee immediately perked up. "I really don't know." She'd seen enough of the young doctor over the last few weeks to know that he was just as far gone for Kaylee as the mechanic was for him, but neither of them seemed to know what to do next. All in all, it reminded Rose fiercely of herself at age thirteen.

An engine roared outside, and Jayne shouted in indignation when the cart nearly clipped him as Mal drove it back inside. Wash leapt off it before it had even stopped, tearing through the bay to the stairs as the back.

Book hurried inside, his eyebrows drawn together. "Captain? What happened?"

"Real bad things, Shepherd. Jayne! Get that equipment back inside, we need to be out of here in five!" Rose hurried down to help them carry in the weights, watching the woods apprehensively.

Mal slammed the button to close the bay doors just the loud rumble of another engine began to approach. He spun to face Rose, looking incredulous. "I don't know what you did to piss Niska off, but he's not takin' any chances on you. Your two pals from yesterday showed up again, right in the middle of our pick-up. Damn near wiped us out. What the diyù did you do?"

Rose just stared at him, grabbing onto a crate to steady herself as Serenity lifted off with a roar. "I've got no idea, Captain. I don't even know who the bloody hell this Niska is."

"Sure. That's why he's sent a pair of bully-boys out to kill you."

"Look, literally the only thing I've been doing since I got to this place was look for the Doctor. I haven't a clue who Niska is, but if he's lookin' for me, there's a good chance he knows where the Doctor is. Please, Captain. Who is he?"

Mal's jaw tightened. "Somebody you don't want to get mixed up with. I've had the dubious pleasure of bein' his guest, and I just hope your Doctor's nowhere near him."

Rose paled. "What do you mean?"

Jayne snorted. "What he means is, last time we rescued Mal here from Niska we had to patch the pieces back together. It weren't pretty."

"Oh, god."

Mal glared at Jayne. "Now, there's no guarantee Niska's got your Doctor."

"He was told to find him, to hold him. The Storm is caged." They turned to see River sitting on the stairs, her dark eyes wide.

"River, is he there?" Rose's voice cracked. "Does Niska have him?"

"So much pain. Alone in the dark, frozen in silence." River grabbed her head, and Simon hurried over to her, wrapping his arms around her carefully.

"River, you're here. You're on the Serenity, remember? It's okay. It's okay."

"It's not okay!" She shoved him away and stumbled back against the wall, pressing herself close to the metal. She flinched and looked up, her eyes boring into Rose's. "He's in so much pain—his soul is screaming."

Rose's jaw tightened, and she turned to Mal, her eyes blazing. "Where is this Niska?"

He stared at her, looking skeptical. "What, are you going to go in there yourself?"

"You know I can do it."

Mal shook his head. "Maybe you could get in, but I saw how wiped you were afterwards. You ain't goin' after him."

"What do you want me to do? Give up on him?" She glared at him. "I won't do that. I can't."

Shepherd Book cleared his throat. "Rose, it's only through the element of surprise that we were able to rescue the Captain, last time. Adelai Niska is a very dangerous man."

She clenched her fists, glaring at all of them. Zoe was watching her carefully, though her brow was creased in worry. Kaylee looked close to tears. Simon kept his face carefully blank, but his hand tightened on River's shoulder. "Drop me off somewhere near him, then. I'm going after the Doctor."

Kaylee gasped. "Oh, Rose. Alone?"

"If I have to, yes. It's not a situation I'm unfamiliar with. But I'm not leaving him there."

Mal cleared his throat. "Well, how are you goin' to get him out, then?"

"I'll figure out a way."

He groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Well, damn. If you're goin' to be that stupid, we've got to go with you."

There was a long silence as they processed that. Jayne was the first to speak. "Am I missin' something?"

Zoe raised an eyebrow at Mal. "I'd say the Captain is, more like. Sir, we barely got out of there last time."

"Maybe, but we got out." Mal's jaw tightened. "I'm not much for leaving people behind, Zoe. Besides, I'm getting' a bit tired of Niska chasin' us around. Maybe it's time we take the fight to him."

"Shepherd's right, sir. We got in last time because Niska wasn't expecting us to do a frontal assault."

Rose spoke, her voice even. "I can get us in."

Zoe pursed her lips. "I suppose you have the schematics to Niska's Skyplex hidden in your luggage somewhere?"

"No, I don't. But you've been there before. You've broken in." She raised her chin. "I can get us to the door without anyone the wiser."

Mal frowned. "Can you hold it for that long and not pass out?"

"That time in the alley was spur of the moment. If I prepare myself, I can keep Serenity covered and help rescue the Doctor."

Simon frowned, looking back and forth between them. "What are you talking about?"

Mal turned to the others and grinned. "Folks, we've got ourselves a secret weapon."

Rose looked at the crew around her and swallowed. "You know River's been experimented on?" At their cautious nods, she continued. "What happened to me wasn't against my will, as it was with her. It was just as permanent, though. I can manipulate time. If I prepare myself, I can keep the Serenity in a time bubble to get us into Niska's Skyplex without anyone noticing. To anyone watching, it'll be as if we appeared out of nowhere."

Zoe gave her a considering look and turned to Mal. "Sir?"

"She can do it, Zoe. Should be impossible, but I've seen it happen." He grinned wickedly. "We get in there, get her Doctor, and finally take out that niánhuá yòushŭ. He's been runnin' free for too long, and it's about time we pay him a visit."

Jayne frowned thoughtfully. "That'd be one hell of an ambush."

"We ain't far from Ezra now. Kaylee, go tell Wash to change course. How long'll it take you to get ready, Rose?"

She straightened and nodded at him. "Give me a couple hours."

"Well, it's about 16 hours away as it is." He turned to the others and rubbed his hands together. "Let's get this cargo put away, people. We've got ourselves a battle to plan."

(diyù- hell)

( niánhuá yòushŭ- slimy weasel)