Chapter Nineteen: Some Rules have to be Bent

"Get down!"

Mal heard the distant voice and did as he was told. He crouched just as a mighty explosion surrounded him. His hands automatically covered his head, and he slowly looked to see what had happened. All of the Alliance men had been blown to bits. How did that happen?

"Now, that's a bomb!" a female voice added enthusiastically.

He glanced and his jaw dropped. "I thought you were hit with those paralyzing darts."

Simon's contact gradually got to her feet and showed Mal her back. "I was. My people tipped me off. They knew that I had the information for you, and I knew that they have those new darts. The needles aren't very long. I have a vest on."

"Why didn't you tell me that? Why'd you have to wait and make me think I was as good as dead?"

"I needed them to get into a group so I could use my new bomb. Neat, huh? Come on. More will be on the way. I'll give you a hand."

They went into the humble home and she led him into a secret cellar. The entire room was lined with fancy guns, knives, swords, axes, bombs, and battle gear. Mal whistled. "Alliance must of paid you a fortune."

"No way. This was bought with my money. I have winning horses, remember? Thank Buddha for gambling addicts. Well, not really. That'd be harsh of me to say. Take what you want. You're going to need it. I'm guessing that you're going back to Mr. Universe's place?"

"How'd you know that?" he wondered as he happily started grabbing weapons.

She rolled her eyes. "I know everything. So do the Alliance. They'll be waiting for you, so be ready for a fight."

He finished gathering supplies and sighed. "You confuse me. If you're part of this peaceful Unity thing, how is it you're packin' this much heat?"

"Though I'm a Buddhist and a member of the Unity, some rules have to be bent. They need enforcers for peace at any cost, and I already know I'm not getting to Nirvana anyways. I might as well make a difference and hope I come back as a decent person and not a dung beetle. Now, the Alliance have new weapons and new tactics, yet there's one thing that hasn't changed: their arrogance. Hit them where they live. Get their ships and officers first. Wreck their morale. Then, you'll get your girl and end this war."

"Thanks," he smiled. "What's your name anyhow?"

"Amelia. Hurry out of here before the rest show. I'll handle them."

He laughed and lugged the heavy pack of supplies up the steps. "I'm sure you will."

As he ran for the shuttle, he heard bombs in the background. Smirking, he started for the black and got in touch with Serenity. "I've got it. Meet up as planned. What's your situation?"

"We're fine, sir. River went after Simon and Jayne. They're leading her around, but she's taken a few shots at the shuttle in the hopes it'll crash. They don't have long. Kaylee says that one more hit could cripple their engine."

"Tell them to get back to Serenity now."

Narrowly, everyone returned to Serenity with River in pursuit. Mal told the crew what happened, and they prepared a loose plan. Jayne was like a kid in a candy store with the weapons Amelia gave them, and Zoe was almost as excited. Kaylee merged the data from Amelia with the data they collected. Upon reaching Mr. Universe's moon in a brief amount of time, agitation rose as they got closer to the complex. This was it. This was the moment. It seemed ironic to end the war on the same moon that started it in the first place.

"Remember the plan and your vests," Mal emphasized as they landed. "If the plan goes pear-shaped, remember the basics: don't get took or killed, and get the message all over the cortex. We good?"

Everyone nodded and they carefully lowered the ramp. Jayne and Zoe went first, but the place was still. No one seemed to be around. The complex stood as it always had. Jayne looked to Mal. "You sure they're here, Mal?"

"They're hiding. Waiting on us. Be alert."

Briskly, everyone went towards the complex. They could hear River's ship set down not too far from their location, so they picked up the pace. Just as they reached the door, two Alliance ships appeared from thin air. Simon knew exactly what happened. "They finished their mirrored ships. It's a cloaking sort of device. There could be more of them out there."

"Shiny," Jayne grumbled. "Time for the plan?"

As the Alliance began to shoot, Mal glared at him. "Yeah."

Jayne got Kaylee inside of the complex. Zoe stayed on the door so that Mal and Simon could split. Simon went to one of the ships and Mal went to the other. The doctor held his own long enough to toss a very strong explosive onto the ship. He ran as fast as he could and hit the detonator. The ship fell to pieces. Mal did the same thing with the other vessel. It went sky high and the soldiers appeared to pause. Amelia's advice was certainly coming in handy.

Unfortunately, Simon was right. Two more ships popped up on either side of the complex. Mal and Simon made another bomb run, which left them both with plenty of scrapes and bruises this time. No other ships presented themselves, so Simon ran inside to help his wife while Mal and Zoe covered the soldiers. He made sure to shoot the higher ranking officers first. Soon, their small army was left with few commanding officers. They became distracted and disorganized.

However, Mal was concerned about one thing. "Have you seen River?"

"No, sir. Her ship is right behind Serenity. I don't see any activity."

"I don't like that. Not one bit. What is she up to?"

Inside the complex, Kaylee was piecing Mr. Universe's equipment back together. The Alliance had thrashed the backup generator after Miranda. The repair was harder than she thought it'd be, and that equaled more time to fix it. Simon came bounding in and was able to give her a hand, as much as he could, and Jayne stayed alert.

"So far, we're good," he told them with a tiny yawn. "Mal and Zo must be doin' well if we ain't gettin' soldiers in here. Kind of wish I'd swap with Mal. More activity."

"You mean more Zoe," Kaylee giggled. "Stop talkin' so I can focus."

He made a face, but Simon could tell that he was blushing. Kaylee's head was buried beneath the console and Simon was on the floor to piece together a chip that had broken. Jayne was picking his fingernails with discontented sighs upon the wobbly walkway. Suddenly, Simon saw something through the glass floor. He stood up with fear in his eyes.

"River's here."

"What? There's only one way in," Jayne disputed as he turned to look.

There, far beneath them within the generator, was River Tam. Since it was wrecked, the fan blades were not spinning. She ran across them and shimmied between cables and wires. Somehow, she slid through a vent to reach the base of the contraption. And, she was clearly coming for a fight. She had guns, a sword, and several knifes attached to her with belts and suspenders. Her purple dress flowed with every motion. Jayne's jaw hung in disbelief.

"Gorram. Look at her go."

"Do something!" Simon cried. "We have to get this done so we can get her back!"

"What do you want me to do? I'll have to shoot her, or slice her, or make her fall—do you want that? This weren't in the plan. Mal was s'pposed to handle River and I was s'pposed to handle the soldiers."

"This is my sister, Jayne. She's trying to kill us and the only way we can hope to get her back is to send this message and wait. She can't stop us before we can stop them."

"How can I stop her? She'll keep comin' unless she's dead!"

Kaylee had enough. "Stop! I am trying to fix this. This ain't a shiny working environment. Just keep River busy, Jayne. And don't hurt the generator. Simon, get back to the chip…" she paused and they blinked at her assertive tone. "Move it!"

Jayne turned and shot at River's hands. She easily dodged the blow and pulled a gun to return fire. Jayne narrowly avoided falling over when she hit the bottom of the wobbly walk. He moved to solid ground and kept shooting. She managed to avoid every single bullet. Jayne almost took a bullet between the eyes, but he ducked just in time. River was moving closer and closer and Jayne couldn't manage to hit her.

So, he called Mal.

"Mal! Gorramit, get in here!"

The captain paused his fire, they were down to the last batch, and answered carefully. "What did you do?"

"What? I didn't do nothing! It's your reader girlfriend. She's in here and she's climbing up the wires to get to us. We ain't nearly finished with the repair. I tried to shoot her, but she's one of them witches that know where I'm gonna aim or somethin'!"

"You tried to shoot her?"

"Well, how else am I gonna slow her down? I'll switch with you. Just take care of her."

Mal didn't have to tell Zoe that he was going to go. She kept shooting and Mal ran inside while plucking those special darts from his chest. Thanks again to Amelia for the tips and gear. Once he reached the generator, Jayne ran past him to get outside. Mal leaned over the railings to find River only ten feet from reaching them. Her gun was still drawn, but she didn't point. She only ascended the cables quicker.

"Kaylee?" Mal inquired.

"Almost, Cap'in. Simon's almost done with the chip. Once I revert the flow of the—"

"Yeah, okay. Do that. And quick like. By the way, is this cable important?"

Kaylee glanced. "I don't think so. Seems like it's not connected to anything."

"Good."

Mal cut the cable that River was climbing, and she leapt to another one with ease. He cursed and drew his gun. Like Jayne, he attempted to hit her in an arm or a leg. She dodged and kept moving. He continued to shoot, and it did seem to stall her slightly. Simon handed over the carefully arranged and fused together chip, and Kaylee inserted it. She did a few more things and the fans and screen came to life.

"Kaylee, good work! You're the best!" Mal exclaimed as he briefly embraced her. Simon glared. "Sorry, doc. I didn't mean to touch your wife. Get out of here. Get to Serenity and wait. I'll send this and handle River."

Simon nodded and took Kaylee's hand. They ran off as Mal entered the message and sent it to all screens just as he did before. This time, the Operative wasn't on his tail. River leapt onto the generator with him. She tried to run by him to pursue Simon and Kaylee, but he got into her way. Soon, punches were thrown and kicks were made by both of them.

The captain managed to keep up with the young assassin by some miracle, though her training was about to make things worse. He had stalled her too long and attacked her too much. By default, he was meant to be eliminated. Her hands drew her sword and she prepared to take the swing. Now, Mal knew that she wasn't going to stop. No matter what, he was not going to kill her. How could he live with himself if he did? He couldn't even bear the thought of living without her in general.

So, he stayed still and shut his eyes as River swung the blade.