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 swore angrily as he spun the wheel to steer the mule around another pothole caused by a rocket. It had been less then 10min into the return to the ship that a couple of land vehicles had dropped from the back of a transport vessel and started firing at them. Jayne had been forced to cut loose the trailer container their future cargo of livestock about 10 km back, and hoped that they would be able to recover them. Not just for themselves and the loss of the payment (they were still well into the black after GreyMalkin and money was not a concern) but to keep their local contact Harwick from suffering the loss of revenue from the sales. Part of him wondered about his life, how he could be more concerned about potential lost revenue for an ally, then for his own and his mate's safety, but then he and River were far from typical people and their particular skill-set meant they were not in all that much danger. Despite the 2 dozen men trying to blow them up, shoot them or otherwise cause them a painful and bloody death.

"Girl, you wanna do something about them fools?" he asked as he slammed the brakes, allowing another rpg to fly past the nose of the mule and explode several meters off to the side. He started forward again while reaching for the radio. "Mal, where you at?"

"About 2klicks back. Had to stop and take out a 3rd truck that was going after the cargo. Harwick has a speedy little toy here, but it's not armed. Lucky your girl insisted on passing me a spat of grenades. Able to stop that truck and are coming up. Not sure what we can do though. I ain't got more then my pistol and we ain't armoured against heavy weapons like those rockets and heavier machine guns."

"Just buzz them a bit and draw their eyes, little bit can start picking them off if she ain't having to duck every other second." Jayne replied as he made

another swerve to avoid some of the fire from the pursuing vehicles.

Behind him in the back seat of the hover mule, River was reloading her scoped long rifle, a .3006 cal hunting rifle with a 5x scope and laser sight. She was removing the standard rounds and replacing them with HE explosive tipped rounds designed to take out light armoured craft. Once the magazine was fully loaded, she clipped it into place and tapped Jayne on the shoulder to indicate she was ready.

Jayne grinned wildly as he heard the airborne skiff bearing Mal and Harwick scream by overhead, Mal leaning out the open door to take pot shots at the men standing in the back of the trucks. Mal's luck held and he managed to hit at least three of the bastards before they even realized he was there. Jayne swung the mule to the left, and River popped up from behind the side wall to quickly aim and fire off several rounds as the mule continued turning a 360degrees just as she ducked back down to avoid any return fire.

There was no reason to look to see if her shots had been good as one of the trucks engines seemed to burst into flame from a minor explosion and Jayne knew she must have hit the battery cell. The other started to slow as well, as her rounds there had cleanly entered the driver's skull between his eyes, setting his head and the back of his seat on fire.

The man in the passenger seat frantically grabbed the wheel while trying to dislodge the corpse of his fellow and simultaneously pat out the burning and melting vinyl seat. It took him a minute or two but he was able to move the body out of the way and take over the driver's position behind the wheel in order to keep up the pursuit even as the second truck was rolling to a stop and the men in it scrambled to disembark as the small fire in the engine started to blaze strongly and approach the fuel cell. Within another minute, the flames reached the volatile core and the air and ground shook as a massive shockwave expanded from the vehicle as it exploded, sending the scrambling men to the ground, pieces of truck shrapnel dealing death to many and pain to all.

Jayne chuckled as he watched this in the rear view mirror, admiring the work of his beloved feng le. "Beautiful." he commented quietly as the girl popped back up and took some more shots at the one remaining truck, but due to bad timing not hitting anything more vital then the gunner manning the mounted mini-gun and another 2 of the men taking shots at them.

River ducked behind the seat again, and turned to face him with a saucy grin. "Not the time to be flirting, man ape." she said with a prim tone. "Though I appreciate the acknowledgement of my appearance."

Jayne chuckled again at her words. They both knew that he had been talking about her shooting and the results, but he was not about to deny that she was the damn shiniest thing he ever done seen. And the little minx knew it. "We'll talk about that later, darlin'. Still got some killin' to do." he replied, once more spinning the craft in a 360 degree turn while pulling out his friend Lux and firing a full clip at the vehicle, managing to take out one of the tires and causing some damage that made it's engine start sputtering. Not enough to stop the thing, but would likely make it hard to work the higher gears and slow it down.

As he returned to facing the correct direction, he again took up the radio. "Mal, River and I can handle these idiots. Get over to Serenity and Zoe as quick as you can. A lot more bodies then I would have thought and they still have that heavy transport. Don't know if Zoe can bring that down on her own. Might need you and yer luck."

"You sure, Jayne? Know you hate to miss a party."

"The girl and I have a party right here. We'll take these out and make out way to the ship best we can. We just too slow on the ground right now. You and Harwick best chance to help out Zoe and the others."

"See you at Serenity then." Mal stated as he instructed Harwick to make best speed to the docks where his beloved home was being attacked. After these threats were dealt with, he and his were going to be paying a little visit to one Mr Atherton Wing to explain in great, painful detail why attacking his family was a very, very bad idea.

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Zoe Washburn was outwardly stoic as she manipulated the wind and atmosphere around her to travel at speeds nearing 800mph towards the dock yards where her home awaited. Inwardly she was marvelling at the fact that she was able to perform this miracle thanks to her genetic heritage that she had never known until several months before. While never the flyer her beloved husband was born to be, she had always enjoyed being in control of flight, and this was the ultimate expression of that control. But more then flight, this ability presented her with something that she had wanted her entire life, something she had fought and bled for and thought lost after the defeat of the Browncoats: freedom.

Here, in the sky, soaring under her own power and will, she was totally free. Free of the burdens of her position as Mal's second and watchdog. Free of expectations as Wash's wife. Free of society's attempts to force her to play a role that she could not-would not- allow herself to fall into. She allowed a small grin to appear on her face as she spiralled through the air, several miles up, using her ability to allow her to gather air enough for her to breath at an altitude normally lethal to human life.

She started to slow as she approached the settle meant and found a spot that would allow her to remain hidden as she landed near to Serenity's dock. She landed at decent speed to avoid being seen, and took a moment to get her bearings once on the ground. She drew her mare's leg shotgun and made sure it was chambered, while also checking her secondary sidearms, a matched pair of 9mm Glock 19gw. Just the right size for her hands with their modded grips and with extended magazine that carried 15 rounds plus 1 in chamber giving her 16 shots each before a reload was needed.

Cautiously she made her way slowly towards the ship, looking for signs of hidden dangers. For once, she wished she had River's gifts as the girl would immediately know who and where the threats were. Meanwhile she had to take her time and use her knowledge gained through years of war and strife to discern the most likely ambush and hiding spots for an attack on the ship.

She spotted several out of place heavily armed men and women hanging out in hidden spots that offered good view of the ship. She made a circuit around the ship, keeping well clear so as to not be spotted by the crew casing out her home. Once she was sure she had as good a count as she could get, and having counted at least 2 dozen targets, she made her way to a closed off alley and pulled her radio out of her pocket, keying in the code for the bridge. "Simon, Book, you there?" she asked quietly.

The reply was immediate, as the Shepard's voice came back over the device. "Zoe, what's going on?" he asked with concern. "We sealed up the ship and activated the defences as Mal requested but we are in the dark here."

"Don't know for sure, but pretty sure that this goes back to that hundan Wing. I spotted at least 2 dozen mercs out here, which means likely at least another dozen or so I didn't spot all creeping their way to Serenity. More then I can take out on my own. Gonna need you and Simon to help deal with them, even if it just means taking out some kneecaps."

There was silence for a few moments before Book spoke again. "Do you have a plan?" a resigned tone in his voice and though he didn't say anything, Zoe could hear the resolve in voice and knew that more then kneecaps would be shattered if needed.

"Get Simon to go up top through the upper airlock and he should be able to reach out and feel the metal of their weapons. We don't need to kill them if we can stop them from being able to attack. If he thinks his control is good enough, he can bend or bust up the firing pins on as many of the guns as he can. Leaves them with only hand weapons, which is where you and I can come in. I can take some out with lightning or just shoot 'em and take 'em out while you cover me from the gangway."

"I will arm myself and make my way into position. Simon is on the way and will do as best he can for your plan." Book replied and Zoe nodded grimly.

"5min countdown then, unless they start things off." Zoe stated as she replaced her shotgun and instead drew a knife as she silently crept up on one of the more distant and less well hidden targets.

"5min." agreed the Shepard as he ended the connection in order to make his way to the cargo bay and the small armoury there to arm up and prepare himself mentally for his role in the defence of his home.

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A dark skinned figure leaned lightly against a door frame not far from the docks. He was wearing a poncho that covered his form without restricting his movements. Strapped to his back and hidden was a long thin sword while his waist sported a holster with a pair of pistols and shorter knife. He watched the flow of foot traffic as people went about their business on the busy Ariel streets, while keeping one eye on a not quite familiar ship in the nearby distance.

'What has changed your mind, Malcolm?' he thought to himself as he discretely studied the ship, having already noticed several armed figures closing in on the vessel. 'Clearly you have armed Serenity and modified it into a quite effective war machine. But what has pushed you to take this step?'

The man who had taken the name Javert noticed movement nearby and without outward movement, focused on the source. His eyebrow rose as he spotted Zoe Washburn slinking into view behind one of the armed thugs loitering too casually, the sun glinting off the blade held in her hand. He watched as she reached out, gripped the man's chin, yanked him back and flashed forward with the blade, striking true between the 3rd and 4th rib, killing the man instantly as blade pierced his heart.

He remained motionless as Mrs Washburn dragged the corpse to the ground behind some crates before slowly making her way forward. He would have remained watching if not for the fact that a 2nd shadow peeled off from behind the warrioress and started to talk her in the shade. Making a split second decision, he moved quickly but silently, now following the 2nd figure as it slowly closed in on the unaware woman who was stalking a different target.

Just as Zoe reached for her target, the shadow figure pulled out a rather wicked looking serrated Bowie style knife. Javert drew his sword and as Zoe's own blade struck true, he moved, and his blade pierced the body of Zoe's unknown attacker. The figure arched and gasped and Javert realized that it was a woman as he saw the end of his blade punctured through her breast as she gasped out her last breath.

Zoe spun in place, hand raising and sparking with electricity as she heard a gasp behind her. She paused, holding in her electrical blast in surprise at seeing a woman standing within feet of her with at least a foot of metal blade sticking out of her chest and her hand dropping a vicious blade. Behind the woman was a figure hidden by a poncho, but previous experience gave her a good guess as to the identity of the man who had potentially just saved her life.

"Javert." she stated simply, nodding in thanks, her hand coming down and her other wiping her blade clean on the shirt of the dead man she'd killed.

"Mrs Washburn." Javert stated as simply, pulling his own blade and cleaning it on the body of his victim. "A nice day for an ambush. Whatever had Malcolm done now to attract this kind of attention?"

Zoe chuckled softly as she stood from her crouch after ensuring both bodies were out of side from the casual passerby's. "Nothing new, this is old business, as best we can tell." she replied as she watched the dangerous figure facing her replace his blade into its sheath, but not relaxing much. There was a complex history with this man and even-or possibly especially- unarmed, he was one of the most dangerous men she had ever met. She didn't know if she could take him hand to hand, even with her special gift unless she surprised him.

"Ah, yes. Mr Wing spreading his reach again." Javert nodded as he fell into step with the smaller woman. "Malcolm must have suspect this could happen. Is that why he has armed his beloved Serenity?"

Zoe glanced sidelong at the man as he now followed her towards her 3rd target. "No. More of a case of tired of being hunted with no means of protecting whats ours. Found a safe haven and able to talk some sense into him." Her hand drifted to her gun as memories of months of pain and sorrow surfaced within her. She might have her husband back, but this man and his relentless crusade to hunt them down had been directly responsible for his death.

"I regret deeply that my actions have caused you so much pain, Mrs Washburn." Javert stated, seemingly reading her mind. "I can not express enough regret nor do I expect your forgiveness for my actions. I can only give my word that if I had known at the time what I know now, I would never have performed those actions that have wounded you and your crew. I believed in my cause, just as you and Malcolm believed in yours. The fact my cause was a lie, does not excuse me from my actions but I hope it can explain them. I will spend the remainder of my life regretting those actions and attempting to feebly make amends for them."

Zoe snorted and continued to fondle the grip of her pistol, the desire to empty both clips into his face warring with her need to remain unnoticed until her crew mates were in place to defend their home. "Nice honeyed words full of go se. I should shoot you and leave your body to rot... but I have more important things then a hundan like you to worry about. Wing's got a large crew getting ready to attack my home. You want to make some amends? You help me kill these bastards and maybe I let you walk away to kill you some other time."

"I am under your command, Mrs Washburn." he stated as they paused under cover of a cart. Seated in the driver's position was the next target, a man smoking a truly foul cigar with a large bore rifle, another Callahan similar to Jayne's favourite girl but in far rougher shape. Zoe smirked as she noticed the weapon and thought to herself that Jayne would kill the hundan simply on principle for mistreating such a fine piece of weaponry.

She glanced at her pocket watch, a last gift from her father that she had carried through the war. "We have 2 minutes to get into position." she eyed the former Operative for a moment, trying to decide just how much information she should give him regarding the rest of the changes in the crew. She pointed to the man on the cart and Javert nodded, His hand flashed and his sword was sheathed in the man's back, perfectly placed to kill him too quickly for him to make a noise. The body slumped and Zoe hauled it down quickly behind the cart out of sight.

Zoe checked the Callahan to see if it could be salvaged but the weapon was on it's last legs. It would likely fall apart after a few more shots and it would be more expensive to fix then the weapon was worth, even for Kaylee or Jayne.

As she noticed the thugs starting to more blatantly close in on the ship, she had to make a decision. "Javert, some things have changed and you are about to get a crash course in an even wider world then you ever knew. Tell me, you ever heard of a little moon named GreyMalkin?" she felt a surge of smugness at the shocked and frightened look that came over the normally expressionless face.

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Johan frowned as he hung up the call from man he'd had watching Reynolds loading of the livestock. He stood and angrily paced the bridge as he struggled with the news that 2 of the 3 trucks had been destroyed in less then 10minutes with all hands lost. More then 20 men dead, not counting the losses already on the 3rd truck. What the hell had happened? How the hell did Reynolds pull this off? He should have gone with his first idea and just had all the mean attack the damn ship once Reynolds crew was back on board instead of splitting his crew into teams to go after them separately.

He made his way back to his seat and grabbed the radio receiver again, this time making a call to the team he'd sent after the negotiator. "James, what's your status?" he demanded angrily.

It took a moment for the reply to come back, due to the distance and relays needed to bounce the signal half way around the moon. "We are on line and approaching target." James stated. "Is everything cleared with locals?"

Johan swore under his breath at being questioned by his subordinate. "Yes, locals are all bought and paid out. You are clear to make your attack as messy and public as possible. Collateral damage is expected. We want people see what happens when they fuck with our employer."

"Understood." James stated. "We land in 2min and will take over the building within 5. We are still good on having some 'fun' with the target?"

"Absolutely." Johan smirked as he wished he could be among the men taking part in the coming 'party'. "From what I've seen, the woman is a hot piece of tail, make sure as many of the boys enjoy her talents as possible and that she is left alive. Not necessarily in one piece, but the boss wants her to live a long life knowing that she is going to be suffering and all because she spurned the boss."

"We'll do our best, chief, but can't promise one of the boys might not get a bit too rough with the piece of fluff." James stated with a chuckled.

Johan frowned as he replied angrily. "If the bitch dies, every man who is on your crew dies, painfully. Make sure they understand this James, or you are the 1st to suffer Wing's wrath."

"Understood. We are landing now. I'll report once mission is over."

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Wash pushed himself harder, trying to gain more speed as he flew through the air. His wings flapped at a furious pace as he exerted himself more then he had previously had the chance to. He had tried radioing Inara but had had been unable to get through, which meant she had already been attacked or was in the of a session and could not take outside calls. He somehow innately knew he was travelling well over mach 3, or nearly 2200mph and usually he would have been ecstatic at the speed and height of his flight, but he was too concerned for his crew mates to enjoy the moment. He had been in flight for over 5min now and was still too far away at his speed to reach Inara in time. He needed more speed, but the best option was to gain altitude and go to LLO. But he had not grabbed a breathing set and would not be able to survive the lack of air and the cold.

He calculated that at his current speed he was still 10min away. He just hoped that even surprised, Inara would be able to hold on until he got there to back her up. The woman was a walking weapon, just like the rest of her family, but she wasn't immortal and could be taken by surprise.

He continued to do his best to accelerate, hoping to be able to save his friend and any potential casualties from the attack that was about to take place.

'Wings don't fail me now.' he though as he felt himself reaching 2500mph. 'I'm coming Inara, hope you can hold them off.'

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AN well another chapter done, hope everyone is dong well... an early bday gift from me to you on my upcoming 44th bday, celebrating 25yrs of my fanfiction writing and 1st published story.