I own nothing except the ideas of how I am planning to merge two divergent worlds into a hopefully coherent story.

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Jayne's eyes narrowed as he studied the crowd around the dock while the rest of the crew prepared for the trip to Lord Harwick's nearby warehouse. The meeting for the new job was scheduled for 2hrs from their current time, and Mal wanted to scope the area out before hand in case of any potential issues with Harwick's rivals. Especially that bastard Atherton Wing, who everyone knew would be baring a grudge but were not sure if he had the guts to force a confrontation interfering with Harwick's business again after the loss of prestige he suffered losing to Mal in the duel on their last landing. If he had some semblance of brains and was still in the loop of knowledge about the coming and going of vessels on this world, he would know they had landed and that his best chance for revenge without having legal issues from Harwick directly would be to try and ambush the crew either on the docks or while travelling to or from the warehouse.

Jayne spotted several bounty hunters and mercs apparently wandering around minding their ow business, some of whom he recognized from previous encounters in various port side bars. He was not able to spot any of the really low rent scum that would most likely put innocent bystanders at risk, the ones eh did see were all fairly professional who usually stayed withing the lines of the unwritten rules of the loosely affiliated hunter guilds. No innocent lives, no open warfare in large populated areas, and no fire fights on the docks.

A tap on his shoulder caused him to tense and look to his left, where River was standing, dressed in a fetching little number she'd picked up back on GreyMalkin. It was similar to something Zoe would wear, but instead of black and browns, it was in a dark red and black. Red leather trousers, with a matching red vest, both with black trim. The pants had padded patches at the knees and pockets. A black long sleeved tshirt with built in elbow padding, lines with red piping. A gun belt with a pair of pistols at each hip and a large knife at the small of he back. Her black combat boots also sported knife sheaths with the hilts of a pair of matching stilettos pocking up to near her knees. She also sported a shoulder rig which had a large calibre pistol under her right shoulder, a short sword along her spine and empty, but available attachment points for at least 3 grenades. She also had a strap over her left shoulder for a long rifle they had picked out from the weapons the Creed clan had been sporting during their attack back at his parents place. It was a trophy taken from the leader of the attack, a psychotic bitch of a woman who had been among the worst of the clan.

"Hear anything, feng le?" Jayne asked with a lack of affection in his voice. It was work time, and he knew that the little bit was aware that they needed to project an aura of menacing competency.

River scanned the crowd with her newly awakened abilities as well as her incredible advanced training. She spotted several potential targets and points of danger, but nothing that were currently involved in any thing that involved the ship or the crew. They all had other concerns, many of which were of the criminal and potentially deadly variety, but none involving anything of interest to Serenity or her crew.

"We are clear at the moment. There are several individuals who would likely align against us if given the proper incentive, but no one is currently working against our interests." she stated quietly, knowing the large man at her side would hear her. "Knowledge of our landing has begun to spread, however. I suspect that any potential danger would take place after the meeting with the client and on the return to the ship. I can see several quite likely spots for ambush cover along the most common routes to the meeting point."

Jayne nodded as he tapped his com piece twice, paused then three more times in the signal they had agreed to earlier. Behind him and River he heard the mule start up and slowly make it's way out the ramp, loaded with Mal and Zoe. Wash was still on Serenity's bridge with Book. Simon and Kaylee would be leaving shortly for a little shopping to hide that fact that thanks to the upgrades at GreyMalkin, the ship was fully stocked on most supplies and there was enough for several months of travel. Serra, having retired her Inara person from the Guild, was now travelling under the auspices of a Negotiator and had lined up a contract for a job to close some kind of land deal between one of Harwick's companies and another Lord, on the opposite side of the moon from the lands near Wing's holdings.

As the mule hovered past the pair of heavily armed predators, they easily leapt into the seats behind Mal and Zoe, eyes constantly scanning the crowd. They would not take the chance of being complacent and missing a threat just because they were the best at what they could do, even if what they could do was not that nice.

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Atherton Wing paced his office irritably. He'd just received word that the source of his most egregious loss of face had landed once again and was once more entangling himself in a deal with Atherton's rival, Harwick. He had called for his head of internal security aka his chief corporate assassin. He wanted Malcolm Reynolds dead, and he wanted his ship torn to shreds. There had been some odd issues with the Alliance issuing then retracting warrants for the entirety of the ship and crew under Reynolds, and that nonsense broadcast about the Alliance creating Reavers. Like those monsters really existed. Low rent computer manipulation and cinematic effects, easily ignored as fake and false propaganda.

The door to the office opened and Wing turned angrily to face the person entering. "It's about time, Johan. I have a job that needs to be done, quietly. I want it done neatly, no side casualties, but I need it done in such a way that while my enemies know I was responsible, no one can prove that I was behind the . . . situation."

Johan Der Vinter smiled. This was the type of job he enjoyed and excelled at. "Of course, Lord Atherton." He nodded curtly towards his employer. "I have just the crew to handle the situation."

"You know the target? They are heavily armed, and by all accounts quite skilled at surviving these little . . . events."

Johan nodded. "Worked with Cobb about 12yrs ago. He's decent hand but not the brightest. Heard of Reynolds and his right hand, Allen. Typical Browncoats, think they mean but comes down to it, just soldiers on the loosing side. Rest of 'em nothing special. Non fighters and nobodies. Easy targets. Have a crew board the ship, take it up and set it on course to the sun. Have my ship pick us up in LLO. Land it in the same berth they were in, show that we took 'em out but not a speck of proof you had anything to do with it. Anything comes up with feds, just have to claim saw a bounty and thought it was still in effect. Only found out after that it was recalled."

Atherton nodded. "I want the whore to suffer greatly for her transgressions against me."

Johan blinked. "Whore?"

A sneer crossed Wing's face. "Inara Serra, travels with Reynolds and refused my contract to side with that mongrel bastard. Humiliated me in front of my peers. I want her death to be especially gruesome and painful."

Johan pulled out a small device from his pocket, scanning the list of names tied to the ship owned and operated by Reynolds. "There is no whore or companion listed on the manifest, Lord Wing. There is a Negotiator, but records indicate that the Companion Inara Serra retired from active role to take on a position as a teacher and instructor at the Guild hall on Sihnon several months ago."

Wing frowned and paced for a few moments. "I don't believe that. This negotiator, it must be her. She must have changed her name and taken a new position due to her improper relationship with Reynolds. The Guild would not allow her to remain on their rolls if she was involved on a personal basis with a client."

"If this negotiator is Inara or not, she is travelling on Reynolds ship and that means she is a dead woman. If it is Inara, I want her death to be especially painful and I want it recorded. I might not be able to be there or openly claim credit, but dropping a vid of the bitch's painful death will remind some of my . . . associates that it is unwise to trifle with my demands."

"Johan grinned as he made a not in the device. "I have just the crew for the job, and they are actually on that side of the moon at the moment. I'll relay a message to them to grab her make her death . . . memorable."

Atherton smirked nastily as he anticipated the pain and fear of his revenge on his enemies. Sadly for him, things were not as they had been and he would soon be the one filled with fear and pain.

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River stumbled as a flash entered her mind distracting her from movements.

A grimace crossed her face as she looked around spotting her partner as he stood at the opposite side of the pen from where she was with the Captain. Somehow she drew his attention, and she waved her hand in a quick series of motions that passed on that she needed to speak more directly with him. He spoke quietly to Zoe standing nearby as she supervised the loading of the sheep and pigs into the moving trailer that was hooked to their mule. Captain Mal was talking to Lord Harwick about details of the shipment for both this load of livestock and also an equally prosperous but less odorous and arduous load of some specialized household equipment. A flick of her wrist drew his attention as well and he turned to her, pausing in mid sentence.

"What is it lil' bit?" Mal asked with concern at the expression on her face.

"Trouble from stage left, Captain." she stated, deliberately falling into her previous broken colourful language, which was a sign of how serious her information was. "Peace is threatened to break, and the prodigal daughter will be prevented from returning to her family."

Mal had long learned how to decipher River-speak, helped by some predesignated code words, and swore. He turned to Harwick even as he lifted the radio from his hip. "Sorry Lord Harwick, might need to get a movin'. Seems some idjit decided now was a good time to try and hit my ship and crew."

Harwick frowned at the situation. "Do you need any help, Captain? While we are doing business and you are under my contract, you are also under my protection and care. I suspect that your friend here indicated somehow that that spineless coward Atherton is again attempting to interfere with both your crew and my business."

Mal blinked and glanced at River who nodded. "Yeah, but how'd ya' figure that, Lord Harwick? Not many make sense of little River when she drawls on."

"stage left, Captain. Clearly a reference to the famous quote of 'Exit stage left'. As is leave the stage from the wings... as in Atherton Wing. I assume that it is a code phrase you devised."

Mal chuckled even as he struggled with the radio dial before River took it from his hand, set it correctly and handed it to him. "Yes and no, sir. Let me just be moment. Wash, pick up, now."

A static, tinny voice came back almost immediately. "Wash is in the engine room with Kaylee right now, Captain. What is wrong?" the voice on the other end was the Sheppard's and Mal heave a sigh of mixed relief and frustration.

"Ships about to be hit, get Wash to bridge and airborne, we are about an hour out by mule. Prep the boarding defenses." Mal looked again to River, "how long we got, lil' bit?"

"Not long enough, Captain." River said as Jayne reached them from his jog across the pens. "There are only 2 options and both will expose a lot more then we would have liked." She gave him a significant glance and Mal swore.

"Shuttle?" he asked quietly,sighing again as she shook her head. "Sheppard, you lead the defences on the ship. Looks like we are about to make some more news and break some minds. Wash there yet?"

"I'm here Captain." the blonde's voice came back. "What do you need?"

"Wash, you're going to need to haul ass and get to Inara as fast as you can." A glance at River, who's hand flashed a few fingers. "You got about 12 minutes to get all the way over to far side of moon and help her. Woman can take care of herself, but not if she doesn't know there's a threat coming."

"12min? It will take that long to warm up the engines on the shuttle and 4 times that to get clearance for us to take off."

"Not the ship. Not the shuttle. You, Wash. You are only thing fast enough to get there."

A pause. "Oh. . . . Oh, I see. Well, I guess it has been a while since we've shaken the foundation of society, so what's one more time." Another pause. "I hope that material on the suits Jayne's parents made works the way they said. What about the ship and you guys?"

"Simon and Book can hold the ship with Kaylee, but I'm sending Zoe ahead by air. Jayne and River will ride with the mule and the cargo as best they can. I'm gonna hitch a ride with Lord Harwick in his little skiff and make my way a little behind the mule, make sure there are no surprises from behind."

"Alright y, I am heading down to change and head out. Est 10min travel time if I don't pull a bug on a windshield."

Mal cut off the radio, handed it to River to have her turn it off and then when she handed it back, slid it into the holster. "Lord Harwick, I hate to ask..."

"You don't even have to, Captain, let's get moving. I am curious though, how is your second going to go ahaed of us and the mule? I assure you, my skiff is one of fastest on the market..." he trailed off to stare in awe as Zoe slowly floated by on a gust of wind some 10 feet off the ground. "How..."

Mal grinned. "I'll explain as we go, sir. Zoe, head to the ship as fast as you can. Might not be as fast as that husband of yours but yer still faster in the air then t anything we have available right now. Simon and Book will hold the ship, you take out any attackers from behind and hold them until Jayne and River get there. Harwick and I will deal with any stragglers."

"Yes sir," Zoe stated before she shot up rapidly climbing several hundred feet and then zooming off at near supersonic speeds. The trip that would take Jayne and River on the mule an hour, would take her less then 20min.

Harwick was in a daze as Mal lead him to the skiff while Jayne and River raced to the mule and started off themselves. Seeing the twitching of the man's face, Mal smirked cockily as he started the skiff. "I know ya got questions, sir, and like I said, I ain't aiming to lie to ya' about this, but this is a long story and we need keep a sharp eye out. If that bastard feeling ballsy enough to try and take my ship at port and to some how take out a Negotiator while she's in a session, means he's got a real crew of experienced cut throats doing his bidding. The type that can plan and get away with stuff on a civilized world like this means money, equipment, and training. Gonna need you to keep an eye out for any stragglers following the mule while I watch the scanners for any tricks ahead of them."

"But your 2nd, Mrs Washvurn. . . . she was flying... without a shuttle or a pack or anything..." Harwick's eyes were unfocused as he was stuck in a loop of seeing the beautiful but deadly woman escaping the bonds of gravity apparently under only her own power of will.

"Well, it's like this, Har, back on Earth, people were only just starting to discover the wonders of evolution and some still denied it, but it weren't just the birds and bees that were evolving..."

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AN

and another chapter done, had most of this down as early as nov, but RL kicked in last few months and just could not psych up energy to finish. Spent a week in April in hospital with swelling in certain male only organs that went from say, size of walnut to say size of a coconut. In sports terms pingpong ball to large softball/5lbs bowling ball. Swelled up in about days, could not wear anything more constrictive then a toga for a week, nor could I sit, stand, close my legs, walk, bend over, use washroom...

enough about that.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter, i am trying to again get back into the swing of writing this and other stories.