They had had a decent haul, as Mal Reynolds had managed to get, through some of Jayne's mates, a ship-load of weapons on behalf on Badger to a canyon on Bellerophon. When they arrived, only Zoë and Book remained on-board, as the rest of the crew, after having been aboard Serenity for several weeks, save a quick resupply stop on the way, were very keen to help move the cargo.

Book, in his quarters, heard indecipherable mumbling coming from the room opposite his. The priest moved quietly though the open door to his quarters, and slowly opened the door to the room where the noise was coming from. When the door was open far enough that Book could see through, he saw the back of a gas-mask in the room. Book then slowly closed the door, and jammed the door shut with a short length of spare piping that must have come from the reactor above him. He'll have to talk to Kaylee about that when she gets back. Still, he'd best wait for the captain to get back, as it wouldn't be long until his return.

Zoë was in forward hallway when she heard a foreign sounding voice coming from the closed airlock to the bridge. No-one had passed her, so, Zoë thought, the person would have had to have got there through the EVA hatch and the avionics bay beneath the bridge. Despite this, they would need a mighty fine ladder to do that, and it would have been difficult to put the ladder against the hull without making a noise.

After a quick trip to the armoury and taking her favourite shotgun, Zoë crept up the gangway to the bridge airlock, which she opened without a sound, but when she got onto the bridge, no-one was there, despite Wash's dinosaurs being moved from where they were when Serenity landed. Zoë proceeded to search the avionics bay, the EVA hatch, and the escape pod there, but found nobody.

Zoë had just turned around when there was a very large thump from the compartment with the forward thruster. Zoë made her way as quickly as possible, and found a man in a red jacket and bowl of a helmet so big that it covered his eyes, who had a rocket launcher over his shoulder.

"What are you doing here?" asked Zoë, cocking the shotgun..

"You explain that to me, you Communist maggot!" screamed Soldier.

"I don't have a clue. Now answer me - what are you doing here?"

"Of course you know why I'm here. I would be gibbing BLU maggots to pieces if you hadn't taken me. Where are the rest of the team?"

"There are more of you?"

"Of course there are."

Then, seemingly out of no-where thanks to his Cloak and Dagger, Spy spoke.

"Oh Soldier, who will they ever find to replace you? Anyone?"

"Who's there?" asked Zoë, spinning around quickly but finding no-one.

"A French frog who is someone I wouldn't mind dead."

As Spy hadn't decloaked and was standing in the bridge airlock, when Spy closed it, Zoë was shocked. However, when Soldier went to open the airlock, he found that Spy had locked it.

"Dammit."

Spy went over to where he had seen the handset which the Frenchman had correctly assumed was the intercom. He took it off, and began talking. However, Spy had not realised the Mal was returning, and that the Cloak and Dagger was running out of charge, resulting in a flicker.

Mal thought he saw something move around the cockpit of Serenity, which was still some distance away, so he called Jayne over.

"Jayne, do you see anything in the cockpit of Serenity?" asked Mal.

"No, sir, nothin's there. Your eyes must be playing tricks on you. If there is someone in there, I'll break his neck." replied Jayne.

In some respects, Jayne was right – bright lights after weeks of darkness did that to you.

Throughout Serenity, Spy's voice resounded.

"Gentlemen, which does not include the woman outside the bridge, nor any other crew-member of this ship, I think it would be a good idea if we convene in the galley, which is above the cargo bay, immediately."

Very shortly afterwards, all but Sniper were in the galley, as Pyro had been released from the room he had appeared and was imprisoned in. Sniper was concealed in the cargo bay with an earpiece and microphone, and Engineer was good enough to erect a Sentry and a Dispenser at a convenient position near the cargo bay airlock, despite having stuck a sign to warn anyone approaching that his Sentry was operating there.

"Now, we are on a spaceship. The rest of the crew will be coming sometime in the near future. Any suggestions?" asked Spy. Despite his orders, Zoë and Book had turned up, which had frustrated him.

"Captain Reynolds would appreciate your presence here more if Zoë and I were there to tell him that none of us here know why you had appeared on his ship, although, if Engineer is correct, we can tell him how you came to be on Serenity." replied Book.

"Good idea mates, but you two better get down here quick, they're coming." said Sniper through his microphone.

"Sniper, there is a switch on the underside of the Sentry. Flick it to turn it off." said Engineer.

"Good idea mate!"

Sniper managed to turn off the Sentry and hide where he was before when the airlock in the cargo bay opened.

The first thing that hit Mal when he got back to Serenity wasn't a bullet, but the fact that he now had a camper van, a pick-up truck, several potted plants, a BLU briefcase, a Sentry and a Dispenser, and some very confused doves in his cargo bay.

"What are these doing on my boat?" half asked, half exclaimed Mal.

"Do you think it was Badger? This has got to be his worst joke if it is, and I wouldn't mind killing him for it." asked Jayne.

"Badger doesn't have access to these sorts of items. He could do the plants and the doves, but nothing else." said Kaylee.

"Captain, I may have an explanation." said Book, from an overhead gangway.

"What is that, exactly?" asked Mal.

"Some men also came along with these items. They claim to be from 1968, and one, a relaxed and intellectual Texan, claims that there was some sort of electromagnetic pulse which caused them to be transported from their time to ours."

"1968. Humans were still inhabiting Earth That Was at that time, so these men, and some of the items here, would be very valuable if their story is true." considered Simon.

"Enough of that, let's pay these men a little visit. Maybe break a few skulls, show them they don't camp on Serenity." said Jayne.

"Keep yabbin' that big mouth mate, while you still have it." muttered Sniper as he flicked the safety off his rifle.

"I heard that, you gorram fool. And you best shut your mouth unless you want your skull smashed in, like any of your friends that threaten me." replied Jayne, who didn't know exactly where Sniper was among the clutter of the cargo bay, but would have gone searching for him had it not been for Mal.

"Stop it Jayne, or I will shove you out of an airlock into space. Let this Texan give me the full story before you go breaking anyone's skulls."

Jayne grumbled.

"Thanks mate." whispered Sniper, but wasn't heard by Mal, who it was intended for, or anyone else in the cargo bay.

A/N What are the reactions of Serenity's crew when they first see the RED team? Reviews needed, not just for encouragement, but also for the plot.