DR: Another week, another chapter...

Zeke: 'it's the season to be jolly...'

All: KNOCK IT OFF ZEKE!

Zeke: (wide eyed) But... it's Christmas!

DR: Not quite. And besides, I can't stand carol singing...

Chapter 18: Homecoming Queen

The gathering grew, until by the evening it was a celebration of the whole extended Jamison, Kaylee's mothers, family. They were celebrating not only Kaylee's return home, but also the news of her own children. The two toddlers were the centre of much attention, at least until early evening, when Vega and Miranda joined them. They had left the Fury on the edge of the farm, but had brought the Blade Raptor in to the edge of the party area. Small for a zoid, it had still dominated the scene. Quickly though Kaylee's family accepted the metal beast and drew in the two young pilots.

There was further excitement a little later when the whine of high performance engines was heard overhead. Colonel Achilles himself had come down to the surface, bringing his personally customised Viper III-B instead of a shuttle. When asked why, his answer was that he 'Felt like taking the fighter-bomber for a spin'.

From where he stood, near the edge of the gathering, Achilles watched everyone enjoy themselves. Wash and Zoe were sitting together; she wrapped in his arms, their son Kyle on her lap. Mal had been dragged into the dancing by Inara, though Achilles noted that he didn't put up that much of a fight. Flitting between the other dancers was River, able to, for the moment, put aside her anger.

Kaylee, with Simon at her side, was in the middle of a gathering of the women, her sons in her arms. Looking between the faces, Achilles could see the linage that had given the young woman her features. She was sat in the centre of the group, raised up on a high chair like a queen.

Vega and Miranda were slightly off to one side, spending some more time together. Achilles smiled to himself. He had known what Vega had planned, even as he had told him that the Zoids were free to roam the surface of the moon. The way they stood together suggested a mental, if not yet physical, intimacy between them.

Speaking of the zoids... Achilles looked over to where the Blade Raptor stood, partly lit by the light of the fires. He'd brought his fighter to rest at the Zoids feet, the firelight reflected in the canopy. He smirked when he raised his eyes to see a dark shadow just behind the Raptor, marked only by two mutely glowing red triangles.

He smiled and talked with those who approached him, but a part of Achilles couldn't fully immerse himself in the celebration. Partly it was simply that Athena wasn't here, and without her it just didn't feel right to him.

There was also the nagging knowledge about the Alliance they had recently acquired.

Gregory Lee Frye stepped over, to stand by him, watching his daughter play with her kids. "Mind if I ask you something?" He said after a moment.

"You may."

"Is it true that you wiped out an Alliance fleet a couple days ago? The news service has been running that headline for the last two days."

Achilles sighed. "Sort of. We were forced to engage a fleet, and during the course of the battle, we disabled most of the ships. We only outright destroyed one craft, and that ship was trying to ram us. The fighters, well..."

Gregory nodded. "I understand. I used to be a fighter pilot myself. Before the 'Alliance' grounded me."

Achilles looked towards him. "I take it from your tone you fought for the Independents?"

Gregory nodded. "Yea..." He paused, then seemed to decide something. "Colonel, there's been a growing undercurrent of concern and resentment for the Government ever since that 'Miranda Broadcast'. The people are beginning to question the government, and your ships arrival has only added fuel to the fire. There's talk amongst the former Independents of a new movement, to break the outer planets away before the Alliance can sink their claws any deeper."

Achilles faced the older man fully. "Tell me more."

X-X-X-X-X-X

The next morning the four ships prepared to depart. The two transport craft assigned for the zoids were the first to lift, Vega riding with the Fury; he was nervous about enclosed spaces, perfectly understandable really, considering his past. Achilles was the next to lift, his Viper rocketing for the heavens. Serenity was the last to lift, mainly because they had to almost pry Kaylee out from within her mothers encircling arms. Simon received the usual Fatherly advice and threats concerning harming his little girl, and then they lifted, with a substantial amount of fresh produce.

There was a surprise waiting for them in orbit; pacing alongside Thunderchild was a Colonial transport. Mal smiled when he saw the words written on the side of one of the huge containers.

"'Colonial Movers... we move anywhere.'" He chuckled.

The consoles chimed, and when Wash put the transmission up, Achilles smiled at them.

"Our friend here has just arrived from home on a courier run. We've almost finished unloading. She's brought spare parts, fuel, supplies... and mail. Alpha bay is clear for you to land and collect your share."

Smiling widely, Wash brought Serenity around to begin the approach.

X-X-X-X-X-X

They gathered in the dining area, sat around the table. All their eyes were on the box that was sat in the middle. They had already loaded all the other small crates containing sundry supplies like food, but this box held personally addressed items. Vega was sat with them, next to Miranda.

As Captain, it fell to Mal to deal out the items within. The first one was a letter addressed to all of them. Unfolding it, Mal began to read it aloud.

"'To Mal and Crew,

'It's been very quiet around here since you guys left. Hope you are staying out of trouble...'" Chuckles rose from around the table as Mal paused. "'...and things are going smoothly. When we heard that Cain was sending a ship with supplies for Achilles, we asked to send these along for you. Figured you'd want some news about things back here.

'First off, we're back into the contests. It got just too boring just sitting around all the time. We're not as active as we had been, but it's enough. The kids are growing quickly, Janet's on her feet now, and Leanne is crawling so quickly Brad jokes that she's a miniature Lightning Saix! There's some of those captures of yours for you to see.

'Naomi's pregnant again! She and Brad are hoping for a son, though everyone else suspects they'll get another girl.

'The biggest news though, is that Stoller and Cassandra are officially a couple now! Though they've been together for a while now... They've finally seen what we saw a while ago. They're taking things slowly for now.

'Apollo and Sheba send their regards. Their daughter is growing well, and is getting along with our children. Looks like they'll be friends for life. Apollo asks that you guys try to keep Starbuck out of trouble, and away from the local women! Cassie seconds that last bit very firmly!

'The zoids miss Fury and the Blade Raptor. Iggy's been morose about them ever since you left! She's becoming a right mother hem for the others. Except Liger Zero. Not sure how to describe their relationship...

'Stay safe, keep flying, and come home soon.

'Love,

'Blitz Team.'

Each of them received small packages containing gifts. Inara smiled when she opened hers to reveal a set of perfume; those used on Zi were much subtler than anything in this system. Wash got another zoid kit; Zoe just shock her head in amusement as he began to inspect the contents right there.

Kaylee however got what everyone else considered the best item. Simon explained that just before they left, he had wandered into a jewellery store in the Ancient City... the same one used by Bit, Brad, Leon and Jamie. He had ended up ordering a necklace for Kaylee, for their first wedding anniversary. Since they had left before it could be finished, He'd asked Masters to pick it up when done. And now it had arrived.

The necklace was a pair of simple fine chains – one silver, the other copper – that came together at the clasp, and looped through a small broach that hung at her throat, in which sat a gem. Simon had originally asked about a Ruby, but the jeweller had none of the required size. All his stock were already cut in larger sizes; breaking one down to fit would lose him a lot. But he had some slivers of Zoid Magnite, fragments too small for industrial or zoidian use, on which his son had been experimenting.

Now a finely polished nearly flat disc of the precious crystal sat in Kaylee's broach. Unlike regular Zoid Magnite, this sliver was red instead of blue. A note with it stated that the crystal structure, and the impurities within, had been altered with harmonic microwaves. Once Simon had closed the clasp, she had twisted in his lap to drag him into an intensive kiss. Then, grinning widely, she'd all but dragged him to their bunk.

Mal got several new sets of pants, prompting some jokes about his older ones. Mal glared, but couldn't refute that his formal pants were getting too tight. Nobody wanted to know what the Blitz had sent Jayne, but judging from the look on his face, he wasn't amused.

X-X-X-X-X-X

Gregory Lee-Frye smiled happily as he headed into town. The visit by Kaylee and her friends – and family – had done more than brighten his days. There was spring in everybody's steps now. While he would never be totally comfortable on the ground, Greg was able to live with it better.

He glanced over at his wife sat besides him, as she smiled happily. It had been a long time since she had been able to accompany him on a run to town. Over the last couple of years, he'd had to use the two horses that the farm owned. Bred for staying power rather than speed, they could work tirelessly all day, but they were not able to haul a heavy load at speed. The trip to town had been a four day round trip, not including the time spent trading wares and seeking the supplies they needed from time to time.

This time however, they were set to not only do the whole trip in two days, but also make more money. 'And all thanks to this.' He thought, patting the panel of the Colonial Sled that they had graciously left him in trade for some fresh foodstuffs, as well as some up to date local knowledge. The tracked vehicle reminded him of old pickup trucks, only with a open cab, smooth running tank tracks and a quiet engine. The load area was packed full of produce, as was the cart that he normally used, hooked onto the rear. They had even set up a solar energy collector and converter to keep the Sled running for decades, and tucked away within the driving away was a full manual, just in case he needed to do a spot of maintenance.

Looking ahead, he saw a few ships of smoke drifting upwards. 'Must be the aftermath of that celebration...' he thought. The previous night, the second after Serenity had left, there had been dull rumbles and a green glow coming from the direction of the town. Greg put it down to some obscure Chinese holiday; the town had a very large Chinese population, and they were always setting off fireworks at the slightest invitation.

As they got closer, the smoke showed no signs of dissipating. There was more now, and Greg began to feel worry. A glance to his left revealed that his wife too was growing concerned.

As they made the penultimate turn, Greg cursed. The hills that they had to go round had hidden from sight a number of billowing smoke plumes, the thin, broken whips of which they had seen before.

Taking one hand off the controls, Greg reached down besides him and brought the shotgun he'd placed there up onto his lap. His wife had also armed herself with the old service pistol she had been issued with. While she had never fired it in anger, she had received basic training before becoming a medic during the war.

They were expecting to find the town damaged, the signs of a Reaver attack, but what they saw as they crested the hill shocked them to the core.

The town was gone. Gaping craters with glass smooth surfaces covered the ground. A deep trench had been dug that went all around the towns' perimeter, and slashed across it in several points. There was nothing standing, just thin streams of smoke rising from the still glowing hot ground. The residue heat had been a slap in the face as they arrived. The ground outside the trench ring was charred and blackened; bushes and trees now just charcoal limbs.

The only man made structure that still stood in fact was a chunk of the school, which had been a little ways outside the town itself. The trench ran right through the front half, while the rear half was gutted by flames.

As they looked out over the charred plain, Greg felt his wife's hand crawl to and grip his own.