CHAPTER 3

Mal checked that Zoë and Inara were armed and ready behind him, Cappy on the catwalk, sniper rifle ready. As soon as he tipped open the door, he was blown backwards by a blast of air – they’d over pressurized their airlock! By the time his head was up, there were ten of them, mostly young, strong, carrying weapons and egos that were bigger than they could handle. Clearly, they went for quantity of bullets, not quality of shot, and that was a tactic Mal could not respect. “There’s a tax for traveling our territory,” the leader sneered as Mal came slowly to his feet. He was a punk kid and even if he weren’t, he surely behaved as one. His sleeveless shirt showed off a fire-breathing dragon tattoo – the mark of the Tao Wu. “You didn’t post a sign.” “I’m telling you now, old man.” “You come here to talk me to death, boy.” “I came to find out why you’re encroaching on my territory. You some Parliament spy?” “I ain’t never worked for the Alliance,” Mal assured, adjusting the sit of his brown coat on his shoulders. “Yeah, well we fought long and hard to be free from them. I bet they put their spy gadgets on here and you don’t even know it.” Mal’s blood boiled at the gall of this kid who’d been naught but a sapling when Mal was fighting with the Independents. Kid probably didn’t even know there was a war. Didn’t know of any time outside of Alliance rule. He was an opportunist, using Miranda to turn Independence into something it never should have been. Mal clenched his fists, tightened his jaw, and held his tongue. The kid circled haughtily, edging his way deeper into the hold. Mal held his ground. “I bet this fei wu ain’t even worth the fuel we spent to chase her. I’m afraid you’ll owe me for that too.” “Let me on my merry so I can earn my keep. Can’t take taxes from the destitute?” “Oh, so you do have cargo hidden in here. Let’s see it.” Mal brushed back the side of his jacket and laid a hand on his pistol. “We ain’t what stands between you and your next conquest. Tell me, how many planets and moons do you need before it become enough? How many do you want to unite under your control? Ten? Fifty? A hundred? How many before you become just like the Alliance you claim to hate so dearly?” The anger and cynicism dripped from his voice and he could see the kid getting unnerved. The kid threw a punch, but Mal easily caught his fist, holding it in a death grip. His companions inched closer, their weapons coming to ready, but Mal didn’t flinch. “You need a lesson in manners, boy.” “Not from you,” the kid leered, pulling a gun and burying it in Mal’s stomach. The first shot exploded and the kid dropped to the ground, an unpleasantly debilitating hole gouged through his brainpan. Mal’s first reaction was to drop, roll, and draw his pistol, aiming for the kids with machine guns first. He caught the first in the shoulder and by the time he found the second and third, they’d already fallen by another weapon. Zoë looked calmer than ever, stoically picking off the assailants one at a time, aiming right between the eyes and hitting every time. He felt the burn as a bullet grazed his hand, and fired again. They were retreating. Now all he had to do is hope they didn’t break Serenity in half. He pressed the door to Serenity closed, fighting the pressure gradient, creating a wind-tunnel effect, and slammed on the comm button. “Kaylee, I need some wakeup juice!” “Triggering now, Captain!” “River, get us out of here!” Serenity rolled and slid, hull scraping, right out of the jaws of death, making a mad dash for the next territory over and the first alternate route. The Tao Wu were supposed to be the weakest. Where in the tian xiao de did the get a shark ship?

*~*

Serenity was released and on the run, and Zoë was glad because she didn’t want to stay in this space any longer than absolutely necessary. This was not what she had in mind for Jackson’s first space voyage. “Zoë, where are you going?” Mal called as she dashed up the stairs. “To find my son.” “He weren’t up there when this happened. Come ‘ere.” Worriedly, Zoë followed Mal through the back of the ship, toward the engine room. Turning down a narrow crevice, toward one of the access paths for the extenders, Mal then stopped half-way in. He gave four syncopated taps on the wall panel and a moment later that rhythm echoed from the other side. Half-smiling and pointing at the wall, Mal tipped open the paneling to reveal a huddled Emma and a very panicked-looking Jackson. Zoë rushed to her knees, scooping her boy up in her arms, letting him cry on her shoulder. For her part, Emma seemed nonplussed and nuzzled her daddy playfully when he picked her up. As Zoë soothed and rocked Jackson in her arms, she looked at Mal and wondered how he could put his little girl through this.

*~* Go to Chapter 4