Chapter 2 – Marking Territory

The sunset was glorious on Miranda, a planet a few decades old and yet barely touched in the grand scheme of things. The light was bright, piercing and not at all diminished. The tarnish of the human race's shame did nothing to it. Harry sat astride his broom, one foot resting on the shaft so he could rest his chin on his knee, his arms loosely wrapped around the one leg as the other dangled free. Muggles did not make ghosts, but he felt the weight of this planet's dead. He and Sirius had buried so many people- a simple task with magic- but the cause of the nameless masses was an altogether different matter.

The Pax. A drug in the air, a pacifier, intended to calm the population down, mute the aggressor in all. Hundreds of thousands were dead because the drug worked too well, and thousands more were dead because innocent people came into contact with the drug and had the opposite reaction. They became something other than a person, something monstrous. Sometimes Harry wondered if what the Reavers became wasn't just the mask being torn off to reveal what human kind really was. The werewolf infection had a similar effect on those unfortunate enough to be bitten, and most blamed it on the wolf- but wolves hunted like any other predator, unless they went mad: Hunt and kill enough to eat, and then do it over again. Humans, though, humans had all sorts of reasons, excuses for their atrocities. 'Justifications.'

Tom Riddle had been a little orphan boy who liked to hurt things, make others feel the hurt he felt. He'd masked that well, growing up to become a force of nature; first a compelling and persuasive young man, then a mad zealot with an ax to grind. People had followed him, hung their own justifications out in the air like a flag so that they could commit their own barbarisms. Before the fanatic adoration took over, the movement held enough monetary and political backing, in fact was popular in the circles of the influential, it survived its fledgling years, and grew into something strong enough to remain even after the Wizarding Society was split by war. This movement survived it's head being blown out of the water by a baby protected by his mother's love, and even continued despite the world of crazy that was Voldemort on his return. Hell, the government had even fallen to the Death Eaters. That was a mess Harry was grateful to have escaped- political maneuverings. Harry shuddered. Had Dumbledore ever considered that? Propping Harry up as a political puppet, making him dance the marionette's piece? Of course he had, and had probably realized, just as Harry had, that the man the cautious boy had grown into didn't like to dance when the strings were plucked. What roles would Hermione and Ron find in that new world? The Weasleys? They had been so steadfastly loyal to Dumbledore through it all…

What great men were in this universe, Harry wondered. Did they do as Dumbledore did; smile benevolently behind the mask of a slightly off old man who had done great things, all the while manipulating the threads to send hundreds to their deaths, if not thousands, so that an ideal could come to reality? Perhaps something similar, but Harry believed Albus Too-Many-Names Dumbledore was one of a kind.

"Thank Merlin for that." He muttered, his eyes catching movement in the clouds to the northwest. A few seconds later he was able to distinguish the ship as it glided gradually lower. Were they Reavers? They'd had their fair share of scouting parties come in, which they had avoided except for when boredom had really gotten the best of them. Reaching into his pocket with an almost careless accio, he closed his hand around the communicator device.

"Padfoot?"

"I hear you, pup."

"We've got an incoming ship."

"Oh, is there? Hm, I never would have known…" His godfather sounded… prissy… not altogether a common tone for the man to take. "Except these damned muggles want the whole damned world to know when a ship's coming into atmo. The lights and sirens went off like a cannon blast a quarter of an hour ago."

Harry looked down at the communicator quizzically. Most often being the cause of loud noises and chaos, Sirius' reaction wasn't the peevishness of school girl who jumped when someone said 'boo.' Usually. "What's got your nose out of joint?"

"I was napping, damnit. A good nap. Good dreams, too-"

"Aaaand that's all I need to know, thanks. Can you hail the blessed thing and find out if we're expecting our usual bundles of rage?

"Your mind is in a filthy place- you should be ashamed of yourself. What blackguard got away with corrupting your little ole innocent head?"

"You've met him," Harry replied, matching Sirius' mischievous tone. "He's a real arsehole- filthy minded as you wouldn't believe. He also has a habit of dicking around instead of doing responsible and reasonable adult-type things."

"Mean streak a mile long and fathoms deep." Sirius grumbled. "I'm going, I'm going. You heading back?"

Harry grinned, deciding not to answer. Angling his broom up, he got himself going to a good clip before shrinking the vehicle and sticking it in his pocket. Waiting until the momentum of his climb had just about reached its peak, he apparated into the room he and Sirius had set up as their base.

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"What the rutting hell has happened here?" Jayne asked, muttering a few expletives under his breath to add effect. Mal caught Kaylee eyeing the gunman thoughtfully and quickly hid his grin. He wondered how long it would take her to start trying to curb the crew's language. Jayne had been right; Kaylee's temper was imitating a cornered badger's as the weeks trucked on. Simon's hunted look hadn't lost its value in entertainment yet. Shaking his head at his thoughts- of course it wouldn't!- he turned his attention to the cause of Jayne's outburst and frowned. There hadn't been ships and planes jutting out of half collapsed buildings last time they were here.

"Were it the Reavers, Mal?" There was fear in the man's voice, not that anyone could blame them for that. Reavers were a terrifying story when that's all you knew them as. Brushing up against them deepened that dread, but surviving the onslaught of them as they had in Mr. Universe's home… Mal knew how many of his crew woke up screaming, knew the look in their eyes when a long night had passed with little sleep. He also knew how trigger happy Jayne became when scared- thankfully not a common occurrence.

"No… no food source here. They ain't interested in the dead."

"It looks like someone's been practicin'." Kaylee said slowly, frowning at the ships. "They shoulda fixed the ships before they flew them…"

"Who would be that stupid?" Jayne asked. "Other than the Reavers- they fly broken ships all the time. Gorramnit, Mal, it's the Reavers. They're here."

"Jayne, you're scaring the children." Zoe deadpanned, her eyes on the terrain around them. Jayne scowled at her, but removed his finger from the trigger, thankfully.

"I hope the one who crashed these ships ain't the pilot you're so set on, River. We're in a world of hurt if we've wasted resources to pick up that poor a pilot." Mal sighed when River's only answer was a sunny smile, and a perky, "Almost there!"

Suddenly the cortex buzzed. "Gorram, we're being hailed." Jayne said in amazement, missing River's irritated look. He'd been the most vocal- as per usual- about how bug-nut crazy it was to follow the bug-nut crazy girl into this part of the 'Verse a second time, with his usual charming language and careful attention to peoples' feelings. For a while there it seemed likely that she would grab up a knife and show them all that, once again, the volatile, uncouth lout did look better in red.

"Firefly class- oh, bugger the technical shite." The screen hazed, then cleared to reveal a pale, dark haired man with crystalline gray eyes that held a hint of the hundred-yard stare Mal was quite familiar with- the gaze of a soldier. "Hope you folks aren't shrieking bundles of rage- still reasoning humans aboard?"

"Most of us," Mal said drily. "Heard tale there might be a couple of folk stranded here, maybe lookin' for some work."

For some reason, the man looked absolutely flummoxed, unable to speak. His eyes moved from Mal, to Zoe, to Jayne, Kaylee, Simon, River and back to Mal. There was a sudden crack, which the crew jumped at but garnered no effect from the man. "Merlin's soiled underpants, it's the crew of Serenity."

Another person came into view then, a younger man with midnight black hair and startlingly green eyes that held the same trace of wariness the older gentleman's did. After a moment he nodded. "Captain Reynolds, be welcome. Did you mention work? Or at the very least a ride?" There was a rueful quirk on the man's lips. "Quite honestly either will work, we're eager to be off this moon." Then his eyes shifted to their pilot, and he smiled warmly. "River Tam, this is a surprise."

When River had brought up Miranda Mal had felt a headache begin, a headache that had stayed with him at an annoying, but consistent level. That headache doubled now, and began to throb. Any more of this and he'd have a full on eye tick going, which was going to make him cranky. "It's been a whole bushel full of surprises, sure 'nough. Why don't you enlighten us on how you seem to know us? And my pilot, that's a wonder in itself."

The one who had originally hailed them leaned back in his chair and templed his fingers, a look of innocence on his face that would have stood through an interrogation. "Well, Captain, you'd be surprised what's been left around for two enterprising-"

"He means bored." The younger man interjected with a shrug.

The first went on as if he hadn't been interrupted. "-men to find. We've had some time to ferret out a secret or two. If the Alliance had two brain cells to rub together… but I suppose those in charge of the Pax Project disappeared when it went south… it wouldn't surprise me if they got ahead of themselves, silencing the ones who would have known this planet had a whole slew of little stories to tell-"

"Padfoot, the point?" The younger man leaned back on the desk, eyes studying the crew.

'Padfoot-' whatever the hell kinda name that was- sighed like a toddler who was resigned to his toys being taken away. "I'm not too shabby with breaking into things, and Harry, here, is a regular boy-wonder. A little bit of application, a whole hell of a lot of free time, and boredom got us into this buggering system- Anyway, the security on Miranda is top notch- match the times and it's easy enough to link the security feed of the crew of Serenity with the shocking news from eight months ago." He shrugged. "As for how we know River, well, she saved my godson's life, and my own- we owe a debt of gratitude, and more, Miss Tam." For all the poised nonchalance and dismissive humor displayed in the man's body language, facial expression and voice, the last was said with a quiet surety that sold Mal to the fact that either this man was a stunning actor, or he was one of those that took his oaths and debts as seriously as life or death, and considered this debt amongst the highest.

Mal nodded slowly. Hadn't he wrestled with trusting two strangers enough to take them on as crew the entire way here? Two indebted to River: River had saved their lives, well, he'd known that, but it hadn't seemed… beholden before now. He was uncomfortable with their foreknowledge of his crew, uncomfortable with their secrets and the secrets they held of the Alliance. The last secret unturned had been costly to his crew, and their brief crusade had resulted in tears and in blood. The part of him that would protect his crew 'til death didn't want any part of those secrets, and these two… they looked like trouble. Not the thieving, back stabbing, sell your-own-mother kinda trouble, that was Jayne's department, but the kind of trouble he'd seen in his reflection during the war, and not often since then. That breed of trouble was a more persistent one, based on morals that weren't rotted and riddled with holes, a willingness to step onto the battle field because they believed strongly that someone needed to make a difference, and the cause was worth a try.

It was more than one man could know about another with just a look, but that was Mal's gut feeling about these two- and River vouched for them. River, who could read a man's thoughts and emotions, knew their urgings almost before they did.

She was watching him intently, waiting for his decision and knowing it would be made before he ever let them on their ship. Her expression was unreadable, without encouragement or anxiety. He gave her the slightest nod and turned to the two men who'd fallen silent and watchful on the screen.

"I'm ignoring a lot of things that make me twitchy, but you come with the highest recommendations, and River here thinks that you'll help us out and fit into our crew to boot. Let's meet."

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Harry stayed quiet while Sirius gave directions, waiting until the man shut the com down before allowing himself to worry his bottom lip with his teeth, a habit he'd formed when trying to solve a problem. Sirius swiveled the chair towards him and raised a brow. "The bloody crew of Serenity, Harry- and River. What odds?"

"She was not surprised to see us." Harry muttered quietly.

"No Leginimens I've ever heard of could read thoughts in the next room without some type of connecting focus. Worlds away? It would have to be- what reason would they have to come back, otherwise?" Sirius shook his head.

"How could she reach into another… what? Time? Dimension? Without a doubt, our world isn't anywhere close to this one."

"Is there magic here? In this universe? Try as I might, I just can't reconcile our wizarding culture with times like these…"

They fell silent, each in their own thoughts. "Occlumency won't work on her." Harry said finally, reluctantly. Sirius gave his godson a commiserating look- it had been hard on the young man to realize his childhood idol, his potions master and his mortal enemy all had their sticky fingers inside his mind since he stepped through the doors of Hogwarts. A natural Occlumens Harry was not, and he'd had to work tirelessly to be able to lock those festering busybodies out of his head. His hard work had paid off; Harry was a very strong Occlumens now, and to the young man's disgust, a natural Leginimens. Having someone with the capabilities to rifle through his mind unchecked was not going to be easy on him.

"Come on, pup, let's go meet our crew, and see what we can do for them."

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She had told Mal that she was ready, that she'd be okay. Why shouldn't she be? Her husband hadn't died here. On this planet she'd still been a wife who was also a soldier, and her husband had been toting his gadgets and toys while she carried her gun with lethal intent. The trip here hadn't shaken the belief that she could handle being back. In the Black, Miranda was simply the last planet her husband had been alive on. As they touched down, she was keenly aware of River's ephemeral features, acutely in tune with the fact it was a young slip of a girl in the pilot's seat, not her man. The dinosaurs were still there, a memorial of sorts for Wash, the silly fool. He'd loved those damned toys so much…

No, she didn't have time to be a silly female. Perhaps there had been a time, early in life, which tears had come naturally and expressing emotion had been as easy as breathing, but her life had forged her into a strong woman, and it was all she knew how to be. She could not afford to break.

Even as she thought it, she laughed at herself, silently, not a flicker of an eyelash to give herself away. She might fool a lot of people, but Zoe couldn't fool herself- Wash's death had broken her. She'd put the pieces back together over the last few months, but they sat like a shattered plate painstakingly pieced back together- tilt the table and she'd tumble apart again. It was time to do the job. She could cry later.

She looked up and found Mal watching her sidelong. He hadn't pressed her, bless her friend, but he'd made it clear that he was there; ready to be whatever she needed him to be. Zoe needed him to be the Captain for now, so she gave him a cool nod and waited for his orders.

He nodded back, and turned to the rest of the crew, frown lines lacing his forehead and deepening the corners of his eyes. "There's nothing for talking this over more- we've talked it to death. Let's go see how these folk mesh with our crew- and see if this pilot can do what he says he can. River, anything else we need to know?"

River gave them an enigmatic smile. "They're magical."

Simon gave her a concerned look, and Zoe could almost see him trying to weigh which worried him more- the possibility her sanity had loosened enough to believe in magic, or the worry of an older brother when he suspected his younger sister had gone out and experienced more than he thought she should. They still didn't know a lot about what the young woman's life had been like in that facility, but Zoe doubted she had much of a chance to experience the small adventures teenage girls often longed for. Mal simply huffed- he'd always been good at taking the odd in stride, and he'd gotten better at accepting River on her terms in the last few months.

"Okay," The captain said, shaking his head in bemusement. "I won't ask what you mean by that, I don't think your brother could take it if you explained…"

Jayne leered, Kaylee chuckled and Simon choked. River just rolled her eyes and muttered a few choice Chinese phrases that made her brother's eyes bug out and Jayne to whistle appreciatively. River landed the ship quickly ran through the shutdown procedure, ignoring Mal's increasingly demanding gaze. When she stood he stared at her flatly. "Where do you think you're going?"

She flashed him a wide-eyed innocent look that was convincing in a curiously unbelievable way. "Off the ship. To see if these folk mesh."

"You're our pilot, our getaway driver. What happens if we get in a bind and you're with us instead of revving up our escape?" Mal asked patiently, apparently settling down for one of his and River's chats, the type that meant he was going to get bulldog stubborn and River was going to run the logic train off the tracks and dance in crazy town at the same time. Lots of things became either entertaining or maddening in the Black- this was one of those circus acts that continued to get better each time it occurred.

"We're interviewing a new pilot. We're on a deserted planet. The only danger we have here is of these two hijacking our boat- what if they got on while I was still here? Held me hostage and made me fly off without you? It's not something they will do, but if something does occur, wouldn't you rather see how our new and more reliable pilot reacts?" River's mouth pulled at the last- she hid it well, but she hated her crazy more than anyone else, even Simon. Her reasoning skills- genius, really- was still there, but there were times that she got so lost in all the muck let loose inside her head that she completely lost her grip on reality.

"We don't have a new pilot til I say we do- and even then, River, he's a second pilot, not a replacement. We'd've been in a world of hurt without you these past few months, we still will be."

Something flitted across River's face, gone before Zoe could identify it. She shook her head and turned for the door, saying over her shoulder "They will mesh well, and bring much to our crew."

Zoe glanced at Mal and saw his thoughtful frown, and wondered if he'd understood that fleeting expression. He straightened and flashed her a grin, waving to the rest of the crew. "Fine, you all get a holiday. Let's go."

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Kaylee was increasingly uncomfortable as they walked. As she became heavier with Simon's babe- and didn't that thought thrill her every time she thought of it?!- the need to pee often increased, and the time frame between knowing and having to go became shorter and shorter. She should have gone before they left the ship, but the excitement of meeting these mysterious friends of River's had been too much for her to think of such mundane things. That and the mood swings had increased dynamically- she hadn't been one for rages and tantrums, not ever, but she'd misplaced her favorite wrench just the other day and had screamed at Simon- then burst into near hysterical tears over both the screaming and the losing. Simon said it would go away after the babe had come, and she sure hoped that was true. She was excited over the possible new comers to the crew- things had become so stagnant after Shepard Book and Wash's deaths- and Inara- Kaylee tucked that name away for a little longer. She could share Inara's story with the crew soon…

Simon reached for her hand, and she realized her cheeks were wet. She offered her man a watery smile, and silently blessed her pregnancy again. How much of her grief had the other's tacked onto her raging hormones? She'd always been such an open book, but she'd promised to keep the secrets, and the letters, until the right time, which wasn't now. No, she was happy about the new blood to the crew because she was afraid if they continued on uninterrupted that they would all get stuck- they had loved their lost members desperately, and would always miss them- Kaylee was too familiar with losing loved ones to pretend they would ever 'get over' their friends' deaths, but she also knew they couldn't be allowed to drown in it. Hopefully these two men would breathe some new life into their little ship full of ghosts.

As they'd walked, Kaylee had been looking around in interest- the bodies that had been prevalent on their last trip weren't in sight. She wondered if that was because this was a different city, or if the two men had done some grave digging, which would be a fine and righteous thing to do. The ships protruding from the buildings, from a closer vantage, didn't seem as if they'd been flown into the buildings- save one or two- but rather drawn to them. Those ships had the signs common to Reavers: the containment for radiation broken or non-existent, brownish-red grime splattering the exteriors, parts missing or the ship seeming piecemeal. It was impossible to determine how recent the crashes were, but Kaylee had a sneaking suspicion the two they were here for were responsible for the crashed ships- how had they survived the Reavers? Surely some would have survived and come pouring out? Movement caught her gaze, and she turned to observe the two men as they stepped out of one of the buildings.

She wasn't the only one to notice, and as Zoe and River turned to stand with Kaylee, Zoe murmured a quiet "Captain" to grab Mal's attention.

Kaylee was struck at how the two moved- the older man with shoulder length black hair and gray eyes had an aristocratic bearing that somehow melded very well with that languid, fluid stride- he swaggered without looking overconfident or over extended. The younger man's- Harry- movements were more familiar to Kaylee- she'd seen that contained prowl every time Zoe went out on a job, and she knew from experience the type of explosive movement that could come out of that indolent stride. Considering River's past, she wasn't surprised to see that these two were natural fighters.

And… there was something more to Harry, more than the way he moved. The man he'd called Padfoot put her in mind of Zoe, head on a swivel, eyes assessing, confident in his own abilities but not languid with them. But Harry… same confident competence as the older man, but… She couldn't quite put her finger on it. Maybe it was an extra weight in the vibrant green eyes. Perhaps it was the tilt of the chin that wasn't quite arrogance but wasn't far from it. Then she glanced at Mal, and let out a little "oh" of surprise.

River moved up next to her, close enough that Kaylee would be the only one to hear her whisper. "Two alpha dogs thrown into the same pen. Which one will mark territory? Which one will give way?"

The mechanic snorted, eyes twinkling. "Do you think they'll pee on the ship in an effort to establish territory?" Then her eyes widen as she felt her bladder contract. "Oh god." She pushed past Mal just as the two men stepped up to them, shaking their hands with a frenzied cheerfulness. "HiI'mKaylee. Itslovelytomeetyoudoyouhavearestroom?" The two stared at her, obviously trying to decipher the words that had run together in her urgency to get them out.

Harry grinned. "Yes Miss, inside the building we just came out of, first right."

"I like you already." She took off, leaving a flummoxed group of men in her wake, and hiding her smirk. Hard to follow that little scene up with a display of dominance, and she ended up marking territory first.

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Hello, and hasn't it been a long while since we've seen each other? I apologize in the delay, and I hope that the above was worth the wait. I can tell you that your persistence, praise and patience (and perhaps a dab of impatience) has helped lead me back to the path of this story. I'm looking forward to the long haul with it, but I have to warn you, with the craziness that is life, it'll probably be paced at a shamble. Happy Thanksgiving!