Chapter 32: Confronting the Past

'I never thought I'd stand here again...' Simon looked up at the house that sat on a small rise before him... his parent's house. The home in which he grown up in... and which he had been kicked out of when he became 'deluded' about the state of his sister River. To be fair he had gone willingly, frustrated with his parents because they would not believe his concerns about River, and her treatment. A few short months later he had gotten her out, had the last of his accounts confiscated, and was on the run.

Now he was back. He allowed his eyes to roam about the area, seeing the changes. Even here there had been violence as the rule of the black hearted Alliance was cast down. The main casualties were the automated 'Public Security Towers' that had been fitted on the street corners. After everyone had seen what they were really capable of, nobody had wanted armed gun turrets overlooking their homes. A couple of burned out ground vehicles showed that not all the towers had been taken out before they could deploy their weapons. Simon felt a shiver run down his spine as he imagined the oceans of blood that might have coated the very streets he had played in as a kid.

Other victims included the struts of the 'energy barrier' that had surrounded the grounds. Now many of the poles were broken and bent, shutting the system down for good. Apart from that though his parent's home seemed to be intact, untouched by the break down of the world around them.

A touch on his arm made him turn his head to see River at his side, her face fallen and bleak. She hadn't seen this house for over six years. Back when she'd been nothing more than a truly brilliant child.

There's was nothing child-like in her gaze right now. Simon hadn't told her, but she had learned all the same, about how their parents refused to believe him, trusting the government explicitly. They had refused to even consider the possibility that her letters were really a message, a desperate cry for help hidden underneath normal pleasantries. They were convinced that it had been another one of her 'silly games', like when they had been small children.

Kaylee was stood a couple of steps behind them, silently watching. She knew this was a difficult and emotional time for both of them. She knew that as much as she had needed to see her parents, Simon needed to see – confront, more like – his own.

Simon and River looked at each, and for a long moment they remained like that, seemingly sharing that special communication that siblings had. Then Simon looked once more towards the house, and began to step up the path. Silently the two women followed.

Reaching the door, Simon hesitated. It was only when Kaylee slipped her hand into his and gave a small, reassuring smile that he reached out and rang the bell.

For several long moments nothing happened, then a shadow moved up on the other side of the door. Kaylee found herself taking a deep breath as the door was opened.

Despite her cheerful, sunny nature, Kaylee found herself taking a dislike for Simon's father on sight. He had a hard edged face with a narrow chin, hooded eyes and dark hair that was starting to go grey. For a few seconds he looked at them without recognition, but then he narrowed his eyes at Simon.

"Hello father." Simon began.

"What do you want son? Haven't you shamed us enough?" He looked like he was about to continue, but then he noted the young woman to Simon's left. "River?" He asked while his eyes widened slightly. "What... why aren't you at the academy?"

River's face lost its neutral expression, and her eyes narrowed. "That... torture centre is the worst place in the 'verse Dad. Simon helped me to escape, and I'm never going back."

Gabriel frowned. "What about your education child? You won't make it anywhere in the world without a full Alliance education..."

Simon shook his head. "Father... haven't you been watching the news? The Alliance is gone."

Behind Gabriel his wife approached hearing the exchanged words. She silently stood just behind her husband's shoulder as he tried to refute his son's words.

"No, it can't be gone son. Those barbarians from the outer planets could never bring down..."

"Barbarians?" Simon cut in sharply, stunning his parents. He gestured to Kaylee, who still had an arm hooked through his. "This is Kaylee. She's from one of those outer planets. Would you describe this beautiful woman as a Barbarian?"

The Elder Tams both looked at Kaylee, who blushed slightly under their gaze.

At last Regan Tam answered her son's question. "No, of course not." From the look in her eyes, she was already warming up to the young woman before her.

"Besides, surely the Alliance were the barbarians." Simon continued, focusing solely on his father. "Father, they were developing, and deploying, biological weapons, genetic technology and cybernetic monsters. They were taking normal people and turning them into weapons, less than human. They had towns that had contact with the Colonials wiped out from orbit. Haven't you been listening to what's been happening lately?" For Simon, his question echoed their conversation from when he had tried to convince his parents that River was in danger. And just like then, his fathers face was impassive, stony.

"You should know better than to believe that propaganda put out by those... people." His father countered.

"It's not propaganda Father. I've seen those things with my own eyes." There was a deadly seriousness to his tone, combined with a total lack of emotion, that reached both Gabriel and Regan Tam much more profoundly that any amount of shouting would have.

For several long seconds no one spoke, an uneasy silence hanging in the air. Kaylee watched from the sidelines the expressions on the four faces around her, wondering who would crack first.

In the end it was Gabriel who broke the silence. "So is that it? That all you came to tell us?"

Simon sighed deeply. "No. I came back because... actually, I'm not sure why." He frowned, clearly unsure as to why he was still standing there. He looked across to River, who had a familiar look on her face, one that he had had directed at him many times in the past.

"I see I was right. You are lost without River..." Gabriel cut in harshly.

River stepped in now, her eyes blazing. "Simon helped me, when no one, even you, cared to." While their parents gaped, River continued. "I was the one who was lost, adrift within my mind and those of the people around me. Just pieces of wood, floating in the ocean. Battered by waves of emotion, lost without direction or the means to find one.

"Simon came for me, came when I thought no one would. He gave up everything, to find me broken. He never gave up hope of bringing me back. I owe him more than you could possibly know.

"He cared for me, when you didn't." Both parents flinched at her last words.

Leaving them speechless, River turned to Simon. "Come on Simon. Let's go home. Our real home, Serenity." As she stepped down from the doorstep, Simon could see on his parents' faces that they had recognised the name. Whether it was the name of the infamous valley, or the ship named after said valley, he couldn't say.

Drawing Kalyee a little closer to him, Simon looked his parents in the eye.

"Well, goodbye." Was all he said, as he handed to his mother a slim black case with his free hand. As she took it, Regan Tam gasped slightly: Simon had used his left hand, and the wedding band on his ring finger gleamed in the light falling from within the house.

Gabriel Tam was quick to see why his wife had reacted as she had done so. "And when did this happen then?" He called as Simon turned about to follow his sister, Kaylee turning with him.

Simon didn't face him to reply. "Little over a year ago now. While we were away... on the other side of the 'verse." It was only after he said it that he realised that he had used Mal's expression for the universe. Shrugging internally, Simon began to walk back down the path. Kaylee looked over her shoulder back at his parents to give a small smile as she walked with him.

Gabriel snorted as he closed the door quickly, before making his way back to the paper he had been reading... even though it was out of date. The Government had controlled the press, and now with the Alliance's fall, the press had to restart from scratch.

Regan however remained by the door, holding onto the package Simon had given her. After several long moments, she opened it. What she saw inside caused her to gasp once more, and tears formed in her eyes.

There were two large photos on the inside faces of the folder, facing each other. One showed Simon and the young woman who had been beside him just now, dressed for a wedding. She knew without question that it had been theirs. So focused on her son and his bride, she didn't notice the other people stood around and behind them. Nor the mecha-organic being that was just visible on the far left of the shot.

The other photo showed the two of them again, this time with the young woman sat in a bed, Simon standing behind her. She looked tired in the extreme, but overjoyed. Simon's face echoed hers.

The reason for those feelings was clear. In the woman's arms were two bundles. Newly-born children.

X-X-X-X-X-X

Mal was watching every door as he strode down the corridor, Zoe following him just over his shoulder. Jayne was staying with the lift, while Starbuck & Boomer waited with the Landram. Hopefully, if everything went smooth this would be simple meet, pick up and go job. Still, Mal was uneasy. Nothing involving the Alliance ever went smooth.

The flat where they were to meet this Alliance Cabinet person was surprisingly located right in the heart of a seedy Blackout Zone, those sectors of an Alliance run city where the criminals gathered, where shady deals were done, where the Alliance Federals feared to tread. Most had been isolated from the cities' power grids in an attempt to force the under classes out of their holes, an attempt which had backfired on the Feds, as they lost the ability to monitor the people within. However many people avoided the regions for the same reason as the feds did; they were dangerous places, best stayed the hell away from.

Mal had noted that while everywhere else in the city the people were taking out the towers, they had not touched one on the boarder of the zone. They feared those within more than the Government.

Those same qualities however also made these regions useful for underground resistance to the Alliance, though from what Mal had gathered, over the last year those groups were getting caught attempting to leave the zones, or boxed in within them.

"Seven-nine-one, here it is..." He spoke aloud as they reached the door to the apartment that they had been directed to go to. After sharing an uneasy glance with Zoe, he rapped on the door.

For a few long moments there was nothing, before the sounds of footsteps behind the door could be heard. A shadow cut off most of the weak light that escaped from under the door, and then it opened.

Mal's eyes widened in shock at the person that was on the other side, and his hand snapped to his gun. The person also looked shocked, one hand shooting out to the side.

They ended up both with a gun to their heads. 'De-ja-vu...' He thought to himself. Zoe, seeing Mal draw, also brought her gun to bear.

"What are you doing here Malcolm Reynolds?" The woman known to them as Saffron challenged angrily, eyes flaring.

"I could ask you the same thing Yo-Saf-Bridge." Mal answered calmly, never taking his eyes off the backstabbing seductress, even when he noted movement deeper within the small apartment.

"I see you've already met my little sister." Trusting Zoe to keep an eye on the harridan in front of him, Mal looked up at the person who had spoken.

Looking at her, he knew instantly that she was Saffron's sister. She had the same facial structure, the same lean yet full figure. Yet she was clearly not a twin either. She was a few inches taller, closer to Inara's height. The face was a little narrower, while the hair was dark. Also, unlike Saffron, she was dressed in a conservative woman's business suit over a simple cream blouse.

"I take it you're the minister we're supposed to collect?" He asked, directing his words over Saffron's shoulder.

"That's correct." She replied smoothly. "I have to admit I am surprised that you'd be the ones to come down here." She smiled slightly. "Do you have any idea how much trouble you caused for some of my former colleagues?"

"No. And frankly I don't really care either." He was about to say more, but Saffron spun around to stare at her sister.

"You INVITED them here?" She said icily as she stepped a few paces towards the other woman. Mal followed her in, letting his gun drop to his side.

The Minster's face fell into an exasperated look. "Mei mei, I own this place, remember?"

"Okay!" Mal cut in, stepped between the two siblings. "Lets just grab whatever you need and... tzao-gao..."

Mal had turned to regard the minister, and had seen something that sent a chill up his spine: a red spot moving up her arm and over her shoulder.

The red spot of a sniper rifles targeting laser.

As the spot moved up her neck, he threw himself forward. "Zoe!" He yelled as he tackled the minister around the waist, knocking her backwards. He had barely struck when he heard the crack of glass, the sound of something zipping past. Something was shattered on the other side of the room.

The other two women were not slow. Saffron threw herself into the corner between the door and the window, while Zoe spun around and looked out into the corridor.

Rolling off the minister Mal reached down and yanked the radio from his belt. "Jayne! Wake up, we've got trouble." Peering through a couple of old ornaments on the window sill, he tried to locate the sniper. He may as well have blown in the wind. The next building over was a dark slate...

A flash was his only warning, and Mal dropped downwards. Just above his head the ornaments shattered, raining him with fragments of china.

"Time to move." He commented, before crawling underneath the window to reach the other side. Glancing over his shoulder he saw that the minister, despite the fear clear on her face, was copying his actions.

"All clear... so far." Zoe told him as he scurried to her side. Nodding, he turned back to face the other two.

That's when things went from bad to worse.

The window that the sniper had shot through now shattered as a figure swung in from above. The minister, caught directly underneath, curled into a ball as the glass rained down on her. The figure was dressed in black, with an assault weapon slung across his chest. Even as he unclipped himself from the tether he was unhooking his weapon.

Mal didn't give him the chance to bring it to bear. His gun snapped up and roared, the bullet catching the guy in the chest as he turned. Zoe also fired, putting a heavy slug into him too. The guy staggered back before falling over. Mal wasn't sure if he was dead, but wasn't about to stick around to find out.

"Let's go!" He snapped, reaching out and pulling on the minister's suit collar. As she stood she gasped, before reaching out and swiping an old capture from a small table by the door and stuffing it inside her jacket.

With Zoe leading the way they hurried down the grubby corridor. Mal brought up the rear, watching their six. He was the first to hear a distinct buzzing sound.

"Seeker!" He yelled, squinting hard trying to work out far behind them the mini-missile was. Ahead he heard Zoe mutter a curse under her breath.

"Jayne, call the lift! We've got a Seeker on us!" She snarled into the radio she had brought up from her belt.

They entered the central lobby area, on the other side of which the elevators were placed. The middle one was open, Jayne stood in the doorway. The four of them raced across the space, the whine of the incoming seeker driving them on. "Go, Go!" Mal yelled as Saffron slipped in past Jayne. That missile sounded like it was right on their heels. Jayne pulled back into the lift as the minister reached the doors. She slipped in between Saffron and Zoe, leaving just enough room for Mal. He half jumped forwards just as the doors started to close, yanking his coat forwards to prevent it getting caught. Landing on both feet, he looked over his shoulder as both sets of doors closed.

A loud bang resounded from the other side, and the whole elevator rocked, but the doors held, and the second after they began to descend back to ground level.

Mal sighed in frustration. "Why does it never go smooth?" He moaned.

X-X-X-X-X-X

"Sir, target has escaped the floor and is heading down in a lift. The seeker detonated on the outer doors."

"Understood. Team Gamma, move to intercept them at the front door."

"What of their transport?"

"Try to capture it if possible. The technology would be of great use to us. Eliminate the crew."

"Aye sir, Gamma team moving in...Gorram it, they're already outside! Taking fire! They're on the move!"

"All teams mount up! We need to catch them before they leave the area!"

X-X-X-X-X-X

Apollo and Sheba were sat together in the rear cabin of the Darkstar, uniforms half undone, when the comm system squawked. Suppressing a sigh of frustration, Apollo leaned away from his wife to answer.

"Apollo! We could use some support about now!" In the background behind Starbuck's voice both the Colonials could hear the chatter of local small arms. Frustrations forgotten, both sprang up, fasteners closing rapidly.

"How bad is it Starbuck?" Apollo asked.

"We've got four ground vehicles and a trio of skiffs chasing us down. And there appears to be a low level aircraft involved too."

"Hang tight, we'll be there in two minutes." Apollo told his old friend as he dropped into the pilots seat, his fingers of his free hand dancing across the controls. In seconds a rising whine resounded around them as the lethal gunship came to life.

"Patch me through to Wash and Miranda." He called over his shoulder.

"Already got them." Sheba answered. On the screen before him Apollo saw images of Miranda and Wash appear side by side. Inara could be seen standing behind Wash in Serenity's cockpit.

"I just got a call from Starbuck." Apollo began without preamble. "They're in trouble. While we're helping them, keep an eye open. While this might just be some local trouble, I have a feeling it is not."

Miranda nodded. "We'll be ready for anything."

Apollo nodded then cut the line. Taking a grasp of the controls, he fired the gunship's thrusters.

From outside the Darkstar jumped a few feet into the air, the nose leading the stern a bit. The engines flared, spitting out bright plumes of blue-white thrust that nearly brushed the ground as the gunship leapt forwards, away from the nearly empty landing pad and off towards the city.