When they arrived within hailing range of Miranda, everyone who could fit on the bridge was there.
"There's more than I expected," said Marcus.
Mal said, "Not as many as last time. That's good."
Jayne grunted in derision, and said, "Do ya think they see us?"
River said, "Pain. Confusion. Suffering. Anger. Hate. None of it is directed at us more than anyone else."
"They aren't suspicious?" asked Ben.
"They are all suspicious of us," said River, "but no more than they are of anyone else. Two of them are closing on us."
Mal hit the intercom switch. "Nobody look out the windows. Kaylee? How are the engine modifications?"
"Kaylee is busy, Captain," said Father Riley, "but our 'leaks' look pretty convincing to me. We can still restore full engine power within ten seconds."
"Steady as the she goes, then," said Mal to River.
"Aye, Captain," she said, without the salute. She winced at something only she could 'hear.' "Captain," she continued, "you may want to take the co-pilot seat. The... voices are getting very loud."
Mal slipped into the co-pilot position. "Got it."
"Captain," said River, wincing again, "fly casual." Simon suppressed a laugh.
Several Reaver ships moved toward them. Two of them got too close and collided. Fire erupted from each as their atmosphere burned away.
River winced, and turned her chair around. Simon knelt to slip and arm around her.
"It's okay, Mei-mei," he said. "We'll be through it soon."
Mal steered a middle path between the other ships, but couldn't manage to get far enough away from a large stationary vessel.
They held still and quiet as Serenity passed well within grapple range, but nothing disturbed their flight.
Amanda called down the passageway in a very loud whisper. "Duncan, do you sense anything? Does anyone?"
"I don't," Duncan said, in a normal voice. He added, "They can't hear us talk across space, Amanda."
She looked sheepishly at the others on the bridge.
"Old habits die hard, I guess."
Serenity finally slipped past the Reaver ships and fell toward the planet. River pulled herself together, and took over piloting until she gently set them down at the airfield on the outskirts of the settlement of Southwark.
From the ship, Miranda looked the same as it had before. They could see the mummified bodies through the windows of the nearby buildings, and various crashed cars sitting in the sun.
The fields near the landing area were full of weeds and other plants. Mal knew the plants wouldn't be good to eat, since Blue Sun only sold hybrids that didn't breed true. Anything to fatten their bottom line.
The radio crackled. "There's a very low level of Pax in the air. We're good for several hours at least, and we won't be noticeably impaired for over a day. We should have plenty of time."
Mal acknowledged Michelle's report. Michelle and Jayne had volunteered to check the air outside. Michelle had turned out to be a meteorologist, and she had somehow convinced Jayne to protect her. Mal did not want the details.
The rest of the crew were watching through various windows, just to make sure no Reavers were around.
"It's strange," Michelle continued, "I would've thought there'd have been more Pax. Some of the atmosphere plants must be failing."
"Is the air pressure down?" asked Jayne. "It seemed okay last time we were here."
Michelle looked at her sensors again. "No, air pressure reads 'nominal sea level.' The air plants are working; the Pax just isn't being pumped into the air."
"That's odd," said Ben. "Alliance records showed that there should be plenty of Pax."
"Perhaps some things were damaged during the collapse?" said Inara.
Michelle knelt and picked up some dirt, and let it trickle through the fingers of her suit in front of her sensor.
"There's still Pax in the soil," she said. "It doesn't break down very fast." She popped the seal on her helmet, and took a deep breath. "In my opinion, we may even have as long as a week before we feel the effects, although we should keep the ship sealed up as much as possible."
She and Jayne came back into the ship to stow their suits as the crew assembled. Mal was surprised to see Inara with them, carrying her bow.
"You shouldn't do this," he said. "It will be dangerous."
"More dangerous than Reavers? Or the Operative?" she said. "If I'm staying with you, Mal, I'm helping. You think I can't handle it?"
Mal was about to argue with her, but decided to say something else. "I think you can handle it," he said. "But if something happened to you, I don't think I could."
She held his head between her hands and kissed his lips. "We need to be brave," she said, "and we will be."
"Fortune favors the bold," said Marcus, overhearing them. "In Rome, we said 'Deos fortioribus adesse' — it means roughly the same thing, only with Gods. We had a lot of Gods."
Ben Adams added, "Nos morituri te salutant?"
Mal said, "What…"
Inara translated, "'We who are about to die, salute you.' The motto of the Roman colosseum."
"Cheerful," said Jayne. He strapped grenades to his belt. He looked at Mal as if daring him to say anything. Mal shrugged.
Michelle touched Jayne on the arm. "Don't blow his head off."
"Huh," grunted Jayne. "Don't think I ever tried to not kill a guy before."
Ben Adams spun the chamber of his gun, and holstered it. "That's a good policy," he said, before Amanda could interject.
Duncan called for attention. "We'll take the lead," he said. "No sense any of you getting shot if we can help it. If we go down, only take shots that leave you with cover. If he approaches one of us with a sword, do your best to shoot him. If we're down, we'll wake up in a minute or so, so no heroics. He may not even be here."
"He's here," said Jayne. Everyone turned to look at him.
"What makes you say that, Mr. Cobb?" asked Duncan.
Jayne snorted. "If the man's sane, he'll be here because we landed and he'll be keepin' track of ships. If he's a Reaver, he'll be here because he knows the area, and the good places to ambush us."
Kaylee said, "Is that right?" She looked around. "He's right, ain't he? Wow."
"We hired him because he's a tracker and a sniper," said Mal. "Best remember that, little Kaylee."
"I thought he was public relations," said Simon, with a smile. Jayne sneered at him, but without any anger.
"Okay, then, you're with me up front," said Duncan. "You call out any likely spots for an ambush, and we'll be ready for him."
"We're sure he's a Reaver, then?" asked Annie.
Duncan nodded. "He would be attracted to any ship that landed. He would sense our Quickenings and be watching. He doesn't know Michelle, but he knows Amanda, and he's met most of us. If we don't see him or hear from him within a minute or two after we leave the ship, he's a Reaver."
Annie nodded, sadly. "Poor Nick."
Mal said, "Simon, Kaylee, keep the ship locked up. Don't open up unless we come running. If Nick or anyone else tries to get in, radio us immediately."
"Don't you worry about that, Captain," said Kaylee. "I'll yell so loud they'll hear me in Londinium."
There didn't seem to be anything else to say. They filed out the door. River gave Simon a hug, smiled at Kaylee, and followed everyone. Simon locked the cargo door behind them.