Disclaimers: Everything belongs to Joss, except for one character of my creation.

As regards that character - hopefully she's not so much of an obnoxious Mary Sue that she turns people off, but the story basically wrote itself in my head and needed to get out. This is my first fanfic ever, and the first writing of any sort I've done in awhile, so all comments are appreciated!

Rated PG for most of the story, mostly for salty language. There is some sex, but not for a few chapters yet. I'll try to put a warning at the beginning before it happens! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alexandra Morgan was exhausted. She had traveled a long way, and she had a much greater distance yet to go. So far, her journey was proving to be a challenge. She had walked Persephone’s Eavesdown Docks for hours, searching the ships for one that would take her where she needed to go. The Docks were a chaotic, noisy and vibrant melting pot of humanity and cultures old and new. Horses pulled wagons on the dusty road only a few feet from starships on their landing pads. Open-air vendors hawked their cheap wares to the travelers, and the ships’ barkers their transportation to other worlds. Alex took in none of it. Her quest took all of her attention and energy; and that energy had long since begun to flag. She had traveled to Persephone from the spaceport on Boros, her home, in hopes of finding the long-range transport she needed. She had been at the Docks all day, going from ship to ship, looking at destinations, talking to barkers, trying in vain to negotiate what she needed. She couldn’t blame anyone for turning her down. Where she needed to go was a remote, inhospitable place that sane folk would go out of their way to avoid. But Alex had a job to do, and she was determined to get where she needed to be to do that job. So she continued to walk, to talk, to plead, anything she could. Eventually she took a rest. Her bags were weighty in the oppressive heat of the Docks. She shrugged off her worn canvas pack and sat down on it, her nurse’s kit between her feet. She was close to the end of the available ships. If she had no luck she would have to sleep at the Docks and try again in the morning. That thought was anything but pleasing. It had been tough enough to screw up the courage to do this in the first place, and if she had to sleep on it one more night she wasn’t sure she could go through with it at all. She looked around at the remainder of the rides. Older ships, no luxury liners—not that a classy ship would travel where she needed to go. Her eyes came to rest on one particular ship, an old Firefly-class transport. It looked like the med ship she had worked on during the war. Despite her weariness, she smiled. Now there’s a ship, she thought. Doesn’t look like much, but solid as a rock. Don’t see many of them any more. She sighed and rose to her feet, slinging her pack over her shoulder. It felt twice as heavy as it had just moments before. She would try the Firefly, just as she would try all the others, but she was beginning to lose hope that she would find a ride on this day. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Go to Chapter 2.