Part II

Mal wasn't taking any more chances while they were on Rutledge. It might have just been a thief, but the chance that someone might have figured out that Simon and River we're on board was something he couldn't risk. The ship was sealed up tight unless they needed to get supplies and no one left the ship alone. 5 days later with the repairs completed, and no further incidents, Serenity departed from Rutledge.

"So where to Captain?" asked Wash as he sat down at the helm.

"Let's head towards Persephone we haven't been there in a while, and Badger might have some work for us. Shave as much time off of the trip as ya can." said Mal as he started to walk off the bridge.

"I'll shave the flesh from your bones!" yelled Wash.

"What?" Mal turned around and then saw Wash's T-Rex cutting down a helpless stegosaurus. Mal walked away just shaking his head. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

River sat down at the table with Simon, but she didn't eat the food in front of her. "Not hungry Mei-Mei?" asked Simon, she just smiled in response and started counting.

"10…9…"

Meanwhile Zoe and Mal are walking towards the cargo bay.

"8…7…"

Jayne stretches after lifting weights for a while. The doc had decided that it was safe at this point as long as he kept using the crutch to walk.

"6…5…"

Then there was a soft bang on the far side of the cargo bay. It was so quiet that not everyone would have heard it, but Mal, Zoe, and Jayne all homed in on it right away. Jayne reached under the weight bench and pulled out a shotgun and quickly loaded it as he stood up.

"4…3…"

Mal and Zoe were in the cargo bay with Jayne now and when another soft tap was heard they all looked towards the back right hand corner. Mal signaled for Jayne to move left ready to fire as they moved towards one of the hidden compartments of the ship.

"2…1…ready or not here I come."

Then the compartment cover was kicked off.

"I give up don't shoot." said the man inside.

Mal and Zoe both stood there in shock as Aaron crawled out before them. A few moments later the entire crew was downstairs to meet this unexpected guest. Jayne was a reluctant to put away his gun, but under a strong glare from Mal he finally took his aim off of Aaron and put it down.

"Not the reception I was hoping for Sarge." Aaron motioned towards Jayne.

"It's a better response than most stowaway's get." said Mal.

"Look Mal, I remember what happened the last time we had one of your rutting army buddies on board and I ain't anxious to go through that again. Let's get rid of this one now."

"Who's gonna take me out crip you?"

"What the hell did you call me?" said Jayne as he tried to rush at Aaron. Before anything could happen Wash, Book, Simon and Kaylee latched onto Jayne while Zoe and Mal stepped in front of Aaron. "Let go. I’m spacing his ass right now!" yelled Jayne.

"Nobody is getting spaced. Least not right away." said Mal. "though ya might do better not to get Jayne angry. His temper is a bit hard to control."

The others let go of Jayne as he stopped struggling at Mal's words.

"Jayne you promised me you'd use the crutch till your leg is ok." said Kaylee as she picked it up.

"Yeah you should take it easy wouldn't want you to hurt yourself." Aaron only grinned as he continued pushing Jayne's buttons. The others once again jumped over and held back Jayne.

"Jayne you promised me. Please let it go." said Kaylee as she tugged on his arm. Jayne looked down at her and casting one last dangerous glare Aaron's way he turned around cussing as he stormed towards the exit of the cargo bay. As Jayne got to the wall he punched it denting the side. Then he walked through with Kaylee shooting daggers from her eyes at Aaron.

"Aaron, we've been friends a long time." Mal said once they had left. "That's why this is really gonna hurt." Aaron looked over at him, just as Mal's fist slammed into his face. "Sneaking aboard my ship is one thing, but attacking my crew is another. I want to make something abundantly clear, I won't let that slide."

Aaron rubbed his jaw as he got up off the floor. "I guess I deserved that one…"

"Should I turn around Captain we're only a few hours from Rutledge we could go back and make a deposit in the bank of less trouble for us." said Wash.

"No that'll only make us later for our meeting with Badger. We keep going, but if you don't want to find yourself on the wrong side of an airlock you'll watch yourself onboard my ship." said Mal coldly. "Don't think that coming back from the dead is gonna impress me any." Then they all moved up towards the kitchen as they entered the room River slid into a seat at the table. Wash and Zoe stood next to Aaron against the counter as everyone, but Jayne and Kaylee stepped in.

"I guess other than Zoe everyone needs a little introduction this is Aaron Lawson. He's an old friend of ours. This is Shepard Book, Inara, Simon, River, and Wash. Wash is Zoe's husband by the way." said Mal grinning.

"Husband?! You mean you don't love me anymore Zoe?" He said it with a clear hint of sarcasm, but Wash didn't look amused.

"Obviously your not remembering what happened the last time you tried to make your move on me Aaron." said Zoe smiling.

"How many weeks we're you in the infirmary again?" asked Mal. "I have trouble remembering, I just remember laughing at you constantly for near a month."

"I'm curious." said Book. "How is it that you managed to escape from that gunship before it blew?"

"Well, after Mal's help I had the time to get onboard, but I wasn't planning on taking it too far, I just wanted to give the other gunships something to chase while I found a way back to my ship. I set the autopilot as soon as I got inside. Then I put on one of their suits and took a swim back towards the station. When I saw the cruiser blow it up, I figured I'd have a better chance of getting away if I let them think I was dead. So I hid onboard the first ship I saw. I didn't realize it was yours till I was already inside."

"They peeked again." said River. "They know where you are hiding…" Aaron finally looked at River not knowing for sure why, but the girl bothered him. "Two by two… hands of blue…" As soon as she said that his eyes burned with Rage.

"She's a reader!" yelled Aaron. He rushed from the counter charging at River. Before he could get his hands on her Mal, Simon and Zoe all got a hold on him and pulled him away. Aaron struggled against them, and then saw his chance. He turned his body slightly and knocked Simon off balance, freeing up his right arm. He caught hold of Mal's pistol and quickly took aim at River. Before he could fire, a shot from the other side of the room knocked the gun from his hand. Aaron looked towards the shooter just in time to see Jayne's crutch shatter on his face.

"Ah that felt great!" said Jayne with a huge grin on his face.

"Oh yeah great hunny, but I asked you not to fight right now." said Kaylee.

"In his defense." said Zoe as she let go of the now unconscious Aaron. "He did use the crutch."

The talking stopped quickly and Jayne's grin left his face as River wrapped her arms around him sobbing. Jayne looked more than a little uncomfortable at the position he was in. He looked to Kaylee, but she was only smiling. This wouldn't be good for his rep…

"Thank you Jayne." said Simon as he walked over and pulled River away.

"No problem…" then he quickly hardned his face. "But I ah… I didn't do it to help ya understand… I mean he called me a crip! I just wanted to hit em…" Kaylee just rolled her eyes at the disclaimer.

"Well even still thank you." said Simon as River continued to cry.

"Anytime, I love my job." he grinned then he turned to Mal. "Please tell me I can send this rutting bastard to take a swim."

"Not yet, but we'll keep that option open…" then Mal looked over at the frightened look on River's face. "Course that option is starting to sound more than a little appealing to me."

"Alright, but if ya decide to kill em I call dibs!" ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aaron opened his eyes several hours later and realized he couldn't move. He was tied down tightly to a chair in the middle of the kitchen. He tried to find a weakness in the bonds, but couldn't. "Zoe hasn't lost her touch." he thought as he looked around.

"I'm curious." said Book as he noticed that Aaron was awake. "Why a man such as yourself who obviously is opposed to the alliance would be so anxious to kill someone else who suffered by their hands."

"Cause she's not a victim you rutting idiot! She's the reason they can find our underground cells. Ya can hide from technology but not a reader. She ain't nothing but a tool, a weapon. You've gotta kill her before it's too late!"

Book closed his bible and walked out of the room not listening as Aaron continued to yell warnings at him. Was River a reader? Probably the girl seemed to know things she shouldn't be able to know, but she was very much a victim. He wondered what horrors Aaron could have seen to push him to the point where he would kill a young girl in cold blood. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Well I find myself in a difficult position now." said Mal as he stood in the kitchen with Aaron still tied to the chair. The rest of the crew was there also and Jayne continued to menacingly sharpen a knife the entire time.

"You’re an old friend and I hate to dump you out on such a cold night, but you've also tried to kill two people on my ship. Give me a good reason to consider allowing you to keep breathing." said Mal as he got right in front of Aaron.

"Because I'm not the one you've got to be worried about Sarge… I've seen what her kind can do first hand. The Blue Sun doesn't let a tool go to waste or leave a weapon running loose. She's out here for a purpose and maybe it's to finish off the rest of us." he shut his eyes then as he told them about his more personal encounters with readers.

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(Just a quick note, I tried to do this part as if it was Aaron just telling a story, but it never sounded right to me. I was hoping to avoid a flashback, but it seems to be the only way I can get it to sound how I imagine it. So anyway it's gonna be in a flashback format, and just assume that he's telling the crew the story.)

They had been working hard for weeks for this Sabotage mission. It wasn't often that they had the ability or opportunity to hit the Alliance this hard. The Alliance cruiser, Winchester, was due in the space doc for routine upgrades and repairs. It had taken a lot of careful planning and cautious movements to get enough explosives hidden in the airlock. As soon as it docked, the Alliance would be in for quite a surprise. Aaron took a moment to look around at the other members of his crew. They'd been running together for a year now, all of them had fought in the war. None of them could accept the outcome. They had done a few odd jobs here, mostly theft and interrupting supplies sent to Alliance bases, but this was their first chance to really make an impact. They watched intently, as the cruiser got closer and closer. Then the cruiser docked without setting off the explosion.

"Way to go Chase you idiot ya must have wired it wrong. Two months of recon work and you rutting blow it." yelled Evan as he slammed his fist against the table.

"No it can't be I triple checked those charges. The second the docking latch was attached it should have blown." said Chase as she looked around the room.

"Could they have found the charges?" asked Sarah as she stopped monitoring the alliance chatter for a moment.

"I don't know, but we'll have to figure they did and that they know we're here. Break up the base and get everyone to the ships. We're gonna get out of here while the getting is good." said Aaron as stood up from his seat. Then there was the sound of gunfire. He and his crew fought with everything they had, but in a few moments they were overrun by feds.

Aaron almost laughed when the pompous marshal demanded his name and anything he knew about other anti-alliance cells. The marshal raised his hand to strike Aaron, but as the door opened he stopped.

"That will not be necessary. We will take it from here." Two men entered then they wore black suits and their appearance seemed to be designed to be forgettable. The only thing that stood out on them was the blue gloves that covered their hands. Aaron looked around the room at the 30 other members of his team that had been taken. He put on a confident face hoping to reassure them that they'd get through this.

"Which one should we take first?" asked the first man. They looked around the room and then their eyes fell on Chase.

"She will do fine." They walked over and yanked her up. With her arms handcuffed behind her she didn't have anyway to fight back as they took her to the exit. It was then that everyone in the room saw the huge vidscreen light up before their eyes. It showed a room with only one chair in it at first, but then the door opened and everyone watched as Chase was dragged inside and strapped into the chair.

A moment later 6 people were rolled into the room in wheelchairs. They looked like they couldn't be older than 16 or 17… still children. At first it was just silence, and then Chase shut her eyes and began to shake violently. The young girl to the left began to speak out loud reading off the names of every member of the group. She went on talking about associated groups and where they could be found, about the past plans successful or not, along with future ones.

Then the boy next to her began talking about Chase's family about stories she'd never told. Secrets Chase didn't want known, Chase was convulsing as everything she'd ever known was laid out in the open. Tears we're pouring from her eyes, as she begged them to stop. It went on for hours as they ripped every memory whether it was important or not from her. Every fantasy, every fear, every dream was examined in excruciating detail, all the while Chase would let out pained screams as they raped her brain. Finally, Chase slumped in the chair, and they stopped talking. She continued to cry and sob for a few seconds. Then there was nothing in the universe but her scream. It was a scream filled with more terror and pain than any human being should be put through. Chase's agony was burned into the memories of everyone there. Her body writhed in pain, while the 6 children only stared at her. Then blood began to slowly seep from her nose and ears. It even burst from her eyes, until at last with one more scream and convulsion she sagged in the chair dead. The children were rolled from the room then and the vidscreen closed in on Chase's face before it went black.

No one spoke, there weren't any words to comfort each other. Everyone sat in silence, but as the doors opened again. Aaron felt fear, praying it wouldn't be his turn. He watched as one by one for 15 days his crew… his friends… his family were taken from him and reduced to nothing with cruel efficiency. Some resisted longer than others some even managed to stall the readers for a few moments. The end result was always the same. Men and women went into that chair but only empty corpses got out. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aaron looked up at the faces of Serenity's crew as the description he just gave them sank in. "I watched what they can do… and then I felt it for myself…" ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aaron had no intention of going quietly. He slammed his shoulder into the first guard that came at him and then drove his forehead into another's nose. Aaron fought with every ounce of strength he had as more and more guards poured into the room. 10 guards finally dragged him beaten from the room and strapped him to the chair. Aaron screamed every curse and insult he could remember as the 6 were wheeled into the room. He strained and struggled against the straps, and then felt the burning of their stares as they broke through his skin and traveled through him. He shut his eyes fighting to hold off them off. The pain only increased as he resisted. Soon Aaron was in so much pain he couldn't remember what it felt like without it. It felt like the pain would go on forever and then it ended as his life slipped from him.

He woke up sometime later, but years of training had taught him to keep his eyes shut. Three men were speaking off to his left.

"Will he recover fully? No permanent damage?" asked the first.

"No brain damage, and yes but it will be weeks before you can place him back in interrogation."

"He nearly died. If that had happened we wouldn't be able to get his information. We will have to correct the reader's techniques to deal non-lethally with heavy resistance."

"He must have been an aberration. The others provided no difficulty for the reader's to break. The bodies have been disposed of. With the added intelligence we've gained our strikes against the resistance movements will be lethal indeed."

The door to whatever room he was in opened then and he heard them leave. Slowly opening his eyes and seeing that no one was around he tried to get loose. He was strapped down tightly, but the tray of operating tools was just with in reach. He managed to get a hold of a scalpel and a moment later he was free. Aaron stood up and lost his balance for a minute. His head was exploding in pain. Then he slowly made it to the door. When he opened it there was a federal marshal standing guard. Before the fed could say anything Aaron sank the scalpel into his throat and silenced him forever. Aaron ran through the halls not daring to stop, and then he heard it, an alarm and the footsteps of rushing guards. He ducked down several sets of stairs, but the sounds of running followed him everywhere. Until he ended up in the vehicle holding area, one of the hospital's ambulances was right there and it looked like it was about to take off. Aaron ran towards it and dove in just as the door closed. The ship took off moving fast, but one scalpel stab later and he was at the controls getting as much distance between himself and that place as he could. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aaron shut his eyes and looked away from Mal and Zoe as he tried to push away the thoughts of his dead friends. "I crashed in the woods and managed to use what supplies were on the shuttle to make it to a town. I tried to get in touch with other resistance groups, but anytime I made contact the Alliance struck them down." Aaron glared at River with hate in his eyes. "Your not human… you’re a monster."

"My sister isn't a monster." yelled Simon. "You have no idea what she's been through."

"Aww isn't that nice. You want to protect her, but who's gonna protect everyone else from her. Think about how the Alliance is going to be once they can enforce their laws by thought. You think your lives are hard now? Wait a year or two. We'll see if you're able to smuggle anything past a checkpoint then. Of course the alliance will be able to play it cheap on jails and federal marshal's too. Why have armed guards when you can just blow up someone's brain? They are using these freaks to take out anyone opposed to the alliance. Don't fool yourself they'll be after you too." He said as he looked at Mal.

Shepard book stood up from the table then and walked over towards Aaron. "Actually son, I'm afraid they haven't used River to destroy your friends. They've used you."