They finally arrived back at Odyssey. Wash carefully docked the shuttle into Odyssey's holder and shut it down. He turned to Kane.

"I'll head up to the cockpit now and make sure everything's going good." Wash opened the doors and started to climb out.

Kane waited till Wash and Jayne left the shuttle before he spoke to Jade.

"Alright, Jade," he began,"we need to do this. If you like, we get rid of Jayne and Sanka for a bit. It's up to you, but I want to get this done now."

Kane still had a lot of things to resolve. He still had to find Ramona and Joe. He still had to find out how to get onto Osiris other than as a convict. He had to find out what those deadly rocks were that he was carrying. And, of course, the issue they were discussing, find out why the Alliance would send out an operative to collect Wash.

Looked like a nice relaxing weekend was out of the picture for the time being.

Jade nodded in agreement with Kane and the two left the ship. Jade was not comfortable with all of this, but then again, neither was Kane. However, the thought of having an operative sneak up on them again with a less beneficial outcome was even less desirable to Kane.

Jade went to the infirmary to prepare while Kane went to find Sanka and Jayne. Once Kane had found them he sent Jayne out to locate the best bar for business in the area with express orders to be absolutely sure it was the best bar (in other words, try them all and don't come back till you do). Next, he located Sanka and asked him to sell off some of the parts that were of no use to Odyssey and to take his time to get the best price (once again, don't come back till you get top dollar.

With this done and those two gone, Kane locked the outer doors of the ship. He entered a key code to prevent anyone from unlocking easily.

He then turned and began to work his way to the bridge in search of Wash.

XXXXXX

Jayne was enjoying his job immensly. He never thought that Kane would actually give him a license to go out and get drunk. Among other things. After checking out a few bars, he settled on one and dug in.

Maybe life on Odyssey wouldn't be so bad after all.

XXXXXX

Wash was checking the wiring underneath the console when the Captain walked in. Wash scooted out from beneath and stood up, dusting off his cargo pants.

"What's up, Captain?" He said, flipping a couple switches on the board.

After a long pause, Kane responded to Wash, "I need you to come with me....to the infirmary."

With that, Kane turned and left the bridge, expecting Wash to follow.

Wash blinked. The infirmary? He thought to himself. He shrugged. Oh well, I'm sure he's got his reasons. He gave one more look at the console and followed the captain out.

Reaching the infirmary, Wash looked at Jade, who was standing with Kane.

"What's....going on?" Wash asked nervously.

XXXXXX

Jayne was laughing loudly at a couple jokes someone had made. He tilted back his pint and took a big swig. The liquid made him feel very warm inside and he burped. A couple of the men laughed and patted him on the back. Jayne grinned at them, and held up his glass.

"A toast!" He cried, and the chorus of voices agreed with him.

"A toast!" They all said.

Jayne waited until it got quiet. "A toast...to all the good men and especially the women in this bar! You are all good friends!" He tilted back his glass to another round of cheers. He was making fast friends in the Ariel bar. Jayne looked around slowly and spotted a young woman sitting at a table. He hopped down from his bar stool and made his way over to her. She eyed him as he came closer, and he plopped down next to her.

"How'd you like to have a drink with me?" He asked, slurring a bit. She wrinkled her nose ever-so-slightly at him. Her red hair was pulled back in a bun, and she blinked slowly.

"I don't think so." She said. Jayne leaned back in his chair.

"You can't be serious, you know who I am?" He said, taking another drink. "I'm the Hero of Canton! Let me buy you a drink!" He said, motioning to the bartender. The man saw Jayne's wave and nodded, preparing another drink.

Jayne turned to talk to the woman again, but stopped short when he saw a very large, very hairy man sitting next to him. Due to his drinking, Jayne wasn't able to stop the punch that landed across his face. Jayne flew back onto the ground, hitting his head and dropping his glass. He was up in an instant, becoming more sober as the seconds past. He adjusted his shirt.

"So...you wanna piece of me?" Jayne said, growling at the man. The man stood up slowly, showing his large muscles.

"You keep your filthy mitts off my girl." The man said, his voice deep and threatening.

"I didn't know she was yer girl." Jayne said, motioning to the girl who was standing to the side. "She's sittin' around like a common girl. I didn't know she was with no one." Jayne said.

That was the wrong thing to say. The man shot forward again, but this time, Jayne was ready for him. Jayne pulled back his hand and landed a solid blow on the man's jaw. The large man landed on the ground, and Jayne jumped on top, forcing his hands onto the man's neck, holding him in place. He leaned forward to whisper in the man's ear.

"Nee tzao se mah?" When the man didn't answer, Jayne continued. "I ain't wantin' to kill ya, seein' I've got my captain waitin' back at the ship I'm on. He prob'ly won't want me stirrin' up any trouble." Jayne let up on the man's throat, and he gave a cough. Jayne stood back up and gave a wink to the woman.

"I think I'll be goin' to the next bar. I see my company ain't wanted in here." Jayne said, walking out. He left a bar full of quiet people.