Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the plot and characters that I wrote. Joss Whedon takes all the credit for his characters, setting, etc.

A/N: Since the story arcs of Mal and Inara intersect a lot, it would have been troublesome to break the events here into two chapters. So this time, I thought I'd write this chapter from both Mal's and Inara's perspectives. As always, I hope you enjoy this story. Feel free to comment and review.

Chapter 3

"Captain, I can't see anything wrong here," Kaylee told me in the engine room.

"No. The RCS thruster is misaligned. We'd get roasted if our re-entry goes wrong," River said again.

"Kaylee, I'd rather not admit that this girl was right when we're all dead. We'll go check, should take 'bout two minutes tops anyways." I couldn't believe this. The crew may have their quarrels with me, but the only real troublemaker was Jayne. And these two never disagreed. These girls, they were like sisters. They both knew the ship well, so why they were disagreein' was anyone's guess.

We checked over those gorram thrusters, which I thought were fine. After we'd finished, they were more in line than when we'd bought 'em.

"Okay, that's enough. Now I'm goin' t' make sure our prisoner's still here." Knowin' her an' her wiles, she's prob'ly found a way to escape by now.

"Whoever you are, I've got money if that's what you want," I said to the hun dan pointing his gun at me.

"Now that there's a temptin' offer," he said dryly, "but I'll have t' decline. 'Cause see, I'm the kinda person who stands t'gain if yer on my ship."

"Meaning?" I asked impatiently.

"Means you get on without fussin' 'fore I blow yer brains out," he said with his gun still pointed. I couldn't argue at this point, so I boarded. But my prospects of rescue were slim.

"Girl, would you jus' lemme check in on her?" I don't know what the hell was goin' on with my crew, but it was gettin' real old real fast. I could even have Simon check them for…well, I dunno, space sickness?

"You were correct. She's too dangerous, and she can't be trusted. There's an 82 percent chance she has escaped. She could be waiting in the shadows, ready to strike."

"An' that's why you're comin' along to stop her case she does." Yeah, that doctor's gonna enjoy examinin' these loonies after I check on Inara.

"Okay you, what's goin' on?" I said as a banged on her shuttle's door. But I got no response. "Hey, get up," I said louder. Still no response. "'Kay then, use your wiles," I said, cocking my gun as I open her door. I kept it pointed as I entered, but there was no one. I searched the place top to bottom and found no one. "An' what a jung chi duh go-se dway this day will be…" An' now I'd have t' tell my crew.

At this point, it was better to play along. I mean, these "attempted murders". People showing up out of nowhere. I could sense a connection somewhere in this, and I might find it if I stay.

"Keep movin'," my captor said, prodding me with his gun. We got to the passenger quarters of the ship. They shoved me inside one of the rooms and locked the door from outside.

It was one of the dirtiest, dingiest excuses for a passenger bunk I had ever seen. It had not been cleaned, and a layer of dust and grime had settled everywhere. Not wanting to ruin my shawl trying to clean this place, I wiped some dirt from the center of the room. I sat in that spot, and I just tried to clear my mind.

I couldn't believe my stupidity. Even though I escaped, I was on my own, and without a weapon. And now this person could pretend to be me since I'm not around. I couldn't believe it, but…I was beginning to act like Mal. I had just showed complete disregard for my own safety by getting into a situation I knew nothing about. Yeah, definitely Mal.

Unfortunately, there was nothing helpful in my room. I looked harder, and to my good fortune I found something that resembled a communicator. There was damage to the unit, but there was a slim chance I could repair it. If I could get a message to Serenity…but no, they may not be willing to trust me. But I'd have to try.

"She had it in her," Zoë said after I told her what happened, "an' I for one think she's innocent."

"Innocent or not, she's gone. An' no one goes AWOL on this boat without consequences. We find her an' force her to tell us what the hell she was tryin' t' prove."

Even if Jayne's leg was broke didn't mean he could be doin' none t' help. I could probably squeeze a couple'a handguns for whoever's replacin' him.

I walked in on him sharpinin' his knife collection, when he looked up an' said, "Oh, hey."

"Hey. I'm gonna need a couple'a pistols, seenin' as someone'll have t' fill in for you."

"Aw hell, Mal, lemme fight! I'm gonna go mad sittin' here, 'specially if the doctor's the only one here."

"Nope, Kaylee's gonna be checkin' in on you. Just cause doc's got more of a feel for adversity than her, not that it's by much though."

"Aw, whatever, my small guns are there," he said, pointing to a part of the wall.

"Thanks." I took the two I wanted. Before I left, I said to him, "You didn't have to do that. Back there. I'd…never ask that of anyone, not on my crew."

"I'd prob'ly get, uh, beat up anyway. Knowin' this crew, they'd blame me if you got hurt."

"Yeah. Well, just rest. The sooner ya get better, sooner the doc goes back to being a doc."

I was organizin' a search for our escape artist when a wave came. I answered it, but there was no video. The audio was so patchy, I couldn't tell if it was a man or woman. All I heard was, "Can any…me? There's no…ime…Londini…New Card…comp…south end. You…ans…there," before the message ended.

"Okay, weird."

I managed to get my last words to Serenity in when the com unit burnt out. I wouldn't be able to contact anyone else now, so I hoped I made the right decision.

A guard came by, and I had run out of patience. "Why should I be of interest to whoever you're working for?" I shouted at him.

"'Cause it's easier to go killin' with you outta the way," he said bluntly.

"Killing who?" I asked, scared about what I might hear.

"Now, I've said too much, an' I didn't sign up t' be no one's babysitter 'sides that. Now shut yer trap unless you'd rather get shot out our back end!"

This was hopeless. Escape was impossible at this point. Plus, I had no way to contact or warn the crew. I just hope that they figure out my message before it's too late.

Simon came to the bridge and said, "It sounded like directions. From what I could gather, the planet they were referring to is Londinium, and the city was New Cardiff. There's something about the south end they wanted us to see."

"Or it's another trap," I said skeptically.

"Could be, but I don't think that's likely. That wave was patchy, and just partially complete as a result. If our mystery person was trying to trap us, they would have at least made sure the message was clear."

"So what you're sayin' is we follow some stranger's instructions? With this ma fan to sort out? Inara may or may not have tried t' kill us, but she could still be in danger."

"And we have no plan. At least this could be a lead."

I thought about it. I wasn't gonna go chasin' after somethin', but I had nothin' else t' chase. "Then we'll take whatever we get." Over the com, I said to the crew, "We're departin' for Londinium, so no askin' questions. We're still deep in the Core, an' I'm edgy enough without all the complainin'. Kaylee, prep the ship." This better be the right choice. Otherwise, I wouldn't know who to blame: Inara, or myself.

To be Continued…