Disclaimers: Everything belongs to Joss, except for one character of my creation ----------------------------- **Mousing over the Chinese should reveal the English translations on most browsers. If not, translations follow the story. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mal and Jayne entered the tavern, a typical crowded, smoky room with the bar and tables in the front and pool tables to the rear. Mal went to the bar to order beers, and Jayne headed back toward the pool tables. He was passing the CorView monitor on the wall beyond the bar when something caught his attention and he stopped. “Prison Break and Riot” the graphic read, and the vid feeds were from the prison moon of Zargon. He stood watching the screen as Mal came up behind him with the drinks. “Hey Mal,” he said, “That nurse we took to Zargon apiece back? The one you, uh, got busy with?” He shot a cockeyed grin at Mal as he spoke, then nodded toward the monitor. “Told ya she was gonna get herself killed. Lookit, the whole place is burnin’.” He took his beer from Mal and walked off toward the pool tables, shaking his head. Mal stood, staring at the screen, watching the carnage unfold. Shots from cameras mounted inside the prison walls alternating with wide overhead shots of the area told the story. Masses of frenzied men violently battling. Buildings in flames. Sounds of screams and gunshots. Over it all, the dispassionate voice of the news anchor droning on. Mal’s eyebrows knit into a frown as he gazed at the screen, his mind turning over. Then he slowly put his beer bottle down on the end of the bar and began backing toward the door, pulling his two-way from his pocket. “Jayne!” he called across the room. Jayne was chatting up two guys at the pool table, trying to get a game going. “Jayne!” Mal yelled again, and Jayne looked up. “C’mon, we’re outta here!” “Mal—what?” Jayne began, but Mal had already turned and was running out of the bar, keying his radio as he ran. “Wash!” he shouted into the radio. “Wash!” He was running as fast as he could toward the dock where Serenity stood waiting. “Get everyone back to the ship. ‘Wave Inara soon as you’re on. Tell her to get to the ship, guhn kwai ”! We’re outta here!” Wash answered, sounding incredulous. “What? Mal! No!” his disembodied voice protested. “We just ordered dinner!” “Wash!” Mal barked. “I know who tried to ‘wave us—we gotta go!” He stuffed the radio back in his pocket and ran for the ship.

CHINESE: guhn kwai! = hurry! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Go to Chapter 4.

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