She slumped to the ground as the blow from behind connected with her knees. There was a gruff laugh from one of her attackers and she choked back the tears, which stung her eyes desperate not to give them the satisfaction of seeing her pain. One of them grabbed her by her long, wavy, blond hair and pulled so she was looking into his face. The sweaty man smiled at her and she spat hard at him. He let go of her hair and swung for her face but the man behind him in the shadows called "Stop! Not the face, they don't fetch such a high price if you damage the face." The sweaty man growled but stepped back but then turned swiftly and smacked her in the side of the head, which knocked down and out for the count.

***

The wave came to Serenity as she cruised through the blackness of space. Mal sat in front of the COM screen and was slightly surprised to see the face of Inara. He was about to make a wise crack when he noticed she looked deeply worried.

"What's up Inara, what can I do for you?"

"I'm sorry to have to be contacting you so soon but I need to ask for your help, I had been wanting to wave you with the good news that I'm ready to come back on ship but instead I come to you in need."

"Whoa, slow down 'Nara, please explain."

"Ok, I knew you still needed to find a pilot and I have a good friend who is one of the best pilots I have ever come across. I had contacted her and she had come to the compound to meet with me and catch up on old times and hoped to meet you when you came to collect me. While she was visiting she was in the temple meditating, a gang of mercenaries attacked and grabbed about five of the trainee companions and also Alana. She used to be a trained companion, could have been one of the best but she has a wild spirit and had always dreamed of being a pilot. I wanted to wave you to introduce you to her but now I have to ask for your help."

"And there I was hoping we could have a nice pick up without any peril, there is somethin' 'bout you and peril! And you already know I'm gonna help you so I just need to know if you have any ideas 'bout where they might have been taken?"

"We tracked the movement of their shuttle and they headed off west from here, I will send you the coordinates. Mal, please help her and the others, she is strong but I dread to think what they might be doing to her. The other girls... well they are only children, I suspect they are to be sold into slavery. You have to get them back, I'm begging you."

"Inara, I'll get them back and then we can discuss your friend, Alana, as a possible pilot. We will be in orbit in six hours. Send me the details. I'll wave you again when we're close." He shut off the COM and sat back in his chair. He sighed and contemplated seeing Inara again and all the old feelings which always erupted when their paths crossed. She had been gone for about a month and a half, back at the training house sharing her knowledge and experiences with the other companions. His mind wandered and he thought about what she had said about her friend being a trained pilot. It was true that there had been a gap it the crew since Wash was killed in the Reaver attack but he was not sure if he could just invite some stranger into the spot. Besides which Zoë was still grieving for her husband and as first mate she had a say in the replacement and so far she had blown any contenders out of the water. He shook his head and sighed deeply. Still sitting in the pilot's chair he leant back and shut his eyes.

There was a loud beeping which made Mal sit up suddenly. As his blurry eyes adjusted he realised he had dozed off, he saw the details which Inara had transmitted to him and that they were coming into the orbit of the blue planet that housed the companion training school. He leaned over and transmitted to the rest of the ship.

"This is the captain, we are coming into orbit so if everyone could hold onto somethin' and if Zoë and Jayne could get ready to go planet side so bring some nice weapons, but Jayne, no grenades please."

Mal smiled as he heard Jayne swear and grumble. Heavy boots came up the corridor and Jayne stood behind the pilot's chair and peered through the front window at the planet they were approaching.

"Where we headed cap'n? Looks familiar, we done a job here 'fore?"

"Don't get over excited Jayne but we are going to the companion training house."

Jayne grinned widely and was about to make an obscene comment when Mal punched him gently in the stomach to shut him up.

"Don't... We're workin' when we are down there, that's it. Inara's asked for our help and if this job works out we might get us a new pilot. Now get down to the cargo hold and make sure you and Zoë are both wearin' body armour."

Jayne's brow crinkled in confusion, "You thinkin' the whores are gonna get nasty?"

"Ain't the whores that worry me, it's the kinda person who kidnaps whores."

"Oh... Ok, I'll get down there then."

Mal turned back to the front window, grasped the steering wheel and began the descent into the atmosphere. The ship started to shake and he griped the wheel harder and cursed the loss of their dear pilot yet again. He thought of Zoë and the way she had picked herself up after Wash was killed. He knew she wasn't dealing with it but that had always been her way to lock up her feelings and ignore them; that's why Wash had been so good for her, he made her deal with her issues. Mal shook his head to get his mind back on the job at hand; he had to land his ship on the docking area outside the companion-training house without any mistakes. He always hated take off and landing in the firefly because controlling the angle of the engines was such a precise art. He again cursed their lack of pilot; he was the captain, he should be doing captainy things like ordering the crew about not trying to land a massive ship with half a mind of its own. The whole ship shuddered and clanged as he made it set foot on the smooth tarmac. He winced as the ship groaned her protests at his rough handling of her. He shook his head and then shut the engines down and headed down to the cargo bay doors.

***

"Sir, what's the plan? What are we needing weapons for at the training house?"

"I'm glad you ask Zoë, short answer is we're on a rescue mission from Inara, some mercs have taken some of the trainee companions and we have to get 'em back. We'll leave Serenity here an' take the shuttle. Kaylee, you run any repairs needed and get her refuelled. Simon, if you could make sure we are restocked on supplies both medical and food that would be great. 'Fore we go I need to talk to 'nara face to face."

He turned on his heel and strode out the now open cargo bay doors into the evening dusk and up to the entrance of the training house with Zoë and Jayne close behind him. Inara stood at the top of the stairs in a long golden coloured robe, with her long dark hair hanging loosely about her shoulders. Her lips were painted crimson as she smiled down at them but her eyes looked sad and haunted. She made a motion for them to follow her and she walked slowly into a sitting area in front of a huge Buddha sculpture. She gestured for them to sit and began making tea.

"Inara... This is nice an' all but I think we need to get the job done before we take tea. Give us the details; how many were there, how many were taken, how heavily were the mercs armed, did they say anything?"

"Ok Mal, there were five girls taken including my friend Alana. There were about eight mercs and they seemed to be quite well armed but not very disciplined. They got into an argument about how many girls to take. Some of them wanted more and the more senior ones pointed out there was only a certain amount of room in the shuttle. We monitored the shuttle's movement and have the coordinates for where it set down. It's a valley about twenty miles northwest from here, the whole area is quite scrubby and over grown so there is gonna be a lot of cover. I don't know how smart they really are but I guess they will have guards posted but I'm sure you can deal with that. Mal, please bring back the girls, they are only children, they won't be able to cope. I don't know what else I can tell you..."

She trailed off and looked up at them with a spark of hope in her eyes. All three of the fighters standing in front of her nodded and made ready to leave. "We take the shuttle, land as close as we can without 'em noticin' us. Jayne, you head off, scout out the area and take out as many guards as you can. Zoë, you stick with me an' we head down as close as possible so we can get the lay of the land. We stay in touch using the radio earpieces and, Jayne; you wait for my signal and then take out as many of those fay-ou brained mercs as you can as fast as you can."

They boarded the shuttle and Mal took the controls and guided the small craft away from the main ship and headed off towards the coordinates Inara had given them. He kept low and the lights off so as to avoid being easily seen in the evening light and brought the shuttle down in the next valley to where the mercs had landed. They disembarked and Jayne headed off into the undergrowth and within seconds was gone from sight. Mal always marvelled at how such a big man as Jayne could stealth track so well. Mal signalled to Zoë and they headed quietly towards the shuttle and the mercs camp.

Five mercs sat round a fire at the rear of the small shuttle laughing and drinking. As they watched them another merc came out of the shuttle and made it clear he was changing watch of the prisoners inside the craft.

Jayne's voice came over the earpiece, "Two down, Mal, no more out here, got a good position for them round the fire but the one in the ship might be harder."

"'K good work, be ready."

Mal signalled and he and Zoë inched closer so they could hear the conversation between the mercs.

"How're they'll behavin'?"

"Seem to 'ave calmed down since we took the mouthy one away from the rest. I hogtied an' gagged her, put her in the back storage room. She was screamin' like a mad bei bi shiou ren till I stuffed a rag in 'er mouth. Tell you though, I'd love ta stuff somethin' else in that pretty mouth instead!"

"Hell, she's so feisty she'd prob'ly bite it off! Ha ha!"

"Ha, yeah, she ain't like the rest of 'em in there... I swear she 'ad balls, I'd like to find out!"

"Yeah the rest of them just whimper like jien huo, which is kinda what they are... Ha ha!"

They all laughed and passed the bottles of liquor around. Mal and Zoë frowned at each other and nodded.

"Jayne?"

"Yeah Mal?"

"Now!"

The crack of the sniper rifle sounded and one of the mercs keeled over backwards. The merc sitting next to him looked round as a bullet caught him behind the ear and he pitched over sideways. The mercs looked round to see what was going on and Mal and Zoë leapt forward and started to fire and took out another one each as another bullet from Jayne took out the last merc standing.

"Only one left, on ship, Jayne, get your ass down here." Mal whispered and then signalled for Zoë to take one side of the shuttle doors and he the other. As they moved round a shot rang out and hit the dirt near Mal's foot.

"Wo da ma! That was close! Ready Zoë? Hurry up Jayne!"

There was a movement from inside the ship and Mal started to take aim but stopped when he saw the face of a terrified girl who could have been a maximum of sixteen. Her hands were tied behind her back and the barrel of a gun poked over her shoulder and was trained on Mal's chest.

"Get out of my way or I'll blast my way through. Quit pointin' those guns at me or I'll blow her a new hole in that pretty face."

At this point the girl began to wail and squirm even more but the man held her tight.

"Ok we're puttin' our guns away, Zoë put your gun away so the nice man can see we're cooperatin'. Let's back out into the open area outside of the ship an' we can discuss terms."

The merc nodded his consent to the plan and started to push his captive out in front of him.

"I can't get a clear shot Mal, needin' a distraction or summit'." Jayne muttered over the radio. Mal frowned and nodded slightly. He waited until they were outside of the shuttle bay then pretended to stumble which made the highly jumpy merc swing round and fire his gun in the direction of the movement. The shot impacted with Mal's shoulder and at the same time Jayne's bullet took out the merc right between the eyes and his grip released from round the girl and he fell backwards. The girl whimpered and swayed but stayed standing. Zoë leapt forward and put her arm round the girl.

"Are you ok? Come and sit here. Jayne, nice shot, now get down here to help us out."

"Is she ok?! I just got shot in the gorram shoulder!" Mal grumbled loudly.

"Be a man Mal, deal with it. We got to get these girls to safety and we got an issue. Shuttle only holds four people and we got eight to transport. We got two shuttles at our disposal but you can't fly with a bullet in your arm, I can take one but what about the other?"

"First off we need to free the other girls, see what shape they're in, then we can discuss our next move. Jayne, give me a hand, you're gonna need to carry the girls out since your 'distraction' got me shot in the shoulder. There should be three in the main hold and one more in the back storage room. Me and Zoë will go check on the three, you go get the one that's on her own."

Jayne nodded and they strode into the shuttle. Zoë and Mal went over to where the three girls sat tied together and began to unbind them. Jayne went over to a door at the back of the cargo and peered through the small window and could just make out a slumped shape on the floor. He released the lock and opened the door expecting to see another girl as weak and miserable as the rest. He grunted with shock as a pair of booted feet connected with his groin and he staggered backwards over the threshold clutching his injured pride. Mal and Zoë looked up to see their own merc bent over double and red in the face.

"Oh yeah, Jayne, I shoulda warned you she might be a bit feisty, that one's Inara's friend. Just tell her who we are, that we are here to help."

Jayne breathed out hard and stood up straighter and braced himself against the frame of the door.

"Now then Miss, don't fight me, been sent by Inara ta rescue you an' the other girls. I'm here ta help you so don't fight me again. Now I'm gonna pull that there gag outta your mouth so don't try to bite me or nothin', 'k?"

She nodded slightly and he gently pulled the rag out of her mouth. Her blue eyes studied him closely and he gulped under their intensity.

"Come on, let me carry you out into the open space, then we can be gettin' you untied, 'k?

She nodded again and Jayne bent down and lifted her easily and cradled her against his chest. She groaned with pain and Jayne became aware of the sticky wetness of blood on his arm. He hurried out of the room and laid her gently on the floor then took his bowie knife and sliced through the bonds round her ankles and wrists. As he was cutting he saw she had blood all over her back and flowing freely from a huge gash in the back of her leg. His eyes widened as he realised she had another large slice in the back of the left shoulder and several smaller cuts across the skin on her back, the fabric of her shirt was cut to ribbons and hanging off.

"Hey, they been cuttin' you up pretty bad, let me help you up, won't hurt you if I can help it. How can I be carryin' you when you're so cut up? I can support you though, lean on me."

She nodded again and he slipped an arm under hers and lifted her to her feet in one swift movement. She wavered and leaned against him, breathing deeply with the effort and the pain that passed through her in waves. Nausea flooded her and she swallowed hard and shook her head to fight off the urge to pass out. He held her tightly when he felt her sway and looked down and saw how pale she was.

"Wo da ma! Mal! Get your gorram ass over here, now! She's bleedin' bad, we gotta get her to the doc. Mal? Where in the ai yah tien ah are you?"

Mal's voice came over the earpiece; "Zoë and me've got the four other girls on our shuttle. There ain't room for you both as well. You gotta hold out 'til we drop 'em off and come back. Or you gotta fly that shuttle back to the trainin' house."

"I can't fly this hunk of feh wu!"

"I can... You just gotta help me into the pilots seat. I can fly anything so long as it's got wings and an engine. Help me up, now!"

Jayne shrugged and helped walk her through to the cockpit and over to the pilots seat. She winced and groaned with pain as he helped her sit down. The only way she could cope with the pain from her injuries was to sit right forward on the edge of the chair. She glanced over her shoulder at him and smiled.

"Hang on, let's get out of here then I can think about how much pain I'm in. My name's Alana by the way."

"Nice to meet ya, 'm Jayne. Now, you sure you can do this?"

"I was born to fly ships, I could do this with my eyes shut and an arm tied behind my back."

"Well, let's just get us back to Serenity an' you can maybe show me flyin' with your eyes shut and one hand tied behind your back when your not bleedin' heavily and can hardly stand, 'k?"

She nodded again and powered up the engines and gripped the control stick. Jayne expected the ship to lift off with a jolt but the take off was so smooth that he would never have known they were flying if he could not see out the window. The small shuttle surged forward and Jayne gripped the back of the pilot's chair to stop himself from being pulled backwards from the acceleration. Alana sat rigidly on the edge of the chair and tried to not be pulled by the force as well in case she leaned her shredded back against the plastic material. The small craft covered the distance between the campsite and the training house in next to no time. They covered the distance so swiftly that they were touching down next to Serenity, as the ships own shuttle was coming into land at the same time.