The Return Home – Part 1

Having just been sucked clear across the galaxy through Gregori Kovalev’s wormhole, Serenity and its crew were confronted by two startling facts. Four years of their lives had somehow disappeared while they traveled to Earth and back again and right now a very large and ominous looking Alliance cruiser was filling the cockpit windows, asking for Serenity to identify itself, and launching small fighters towards her. This might have been just another routine inspection for any other Firefly class transport, but Serenity had four things on board that if found might just put everyone in deep, deep trouble, the kind of trouble that gets you killed.

First, they had the Kovalev Drive, hooked up to Serenity’s engine, which was responsible for this mess in the first place. Next, all the gold and jewelry and stuff they had stolen from Earth, which might take some explaining, especially since some of the gold bars were mark “Bank of Australia”. Of course, there was the continuing problem of the Tam siblings, wanted fugitives that they were. And worst of all, a shipment of arms. It was the cargo of arms that was the worst because shipping weapons other than those needed for defensive purposes was a death penalty offense under Alliance law.

Everyone was on the bridge except Kaylee and they all just stared out the windows, too shocked by this sudden change in events to speak for a moment. Simon put a protective arm around River as their worst fears about the Alliance were suddenly coming true. Then Kaylee’s voice came through the intercom from the engine room, breaking the silence.

“Bridge, what’s going on? We home?”

Mal snapped out of it, grab the intercom mic. “Kaylee, get ready for full burn.”

“But Capt’n. What’s happening? We still….”

“No time to explain, Kaylee. Get ready!” Mal shouted as he looked at his pilot next.

“Wash, plot us a course out of here.”

“Where to? I mean, I don’t even know where we are right now!”

“Suss it out and then get us anywhere!” Mal shouted, and then turned to the others.

“Zoe, you get everyone set up in defensive positions in the cargo bay and get ready for a fight in case they board us. They find them guns we’re all for the firing squad anyways.”

“Ain’t going down without taking a few of them with me, sir,” she said with determination.

“Simon, get the infirmary ready in case someone gets hurt,” Mal quickly added. “Book, you got permission to say a prayer or two for us cause I ain’t got the time or inclination.”

“Think I’ll do my praying with a gun, Captain,” said Book with a calmness that surprised them. “We’ll be in the cargo bay.”

Everyone started moving off the bridge except Inara who looked at Mal with something close to despair in her eyes.

“We can’t fight them,” she said, almost pleading with him.

“Firefly class transport, please respond or we will be forced to take action,’ came the voice over the radio again. They were always so pleasant on the comms, thought Mal. It was just when you met them face to face that their true colors showed.

“Patch me through to them, Wash.” Mal said to his pilot and then he turned to Inara. “Fighting them ain’t the plan. Running is. Just need time.”

He spoke into the mic in a very calm and pleasant tone that belied all his fears. “Alliance cruiser Independence, this is Firefly class transport Serenity. Our transponder is in need of repairs. Over.”

“Roger that, Serenity. Move to one of our docking stations and make preparations for an inspection, over.”

“Independence, may we be informed of the reason for the inspection? Over.”

“Serenity, you are in no position to ask for explanations. Move your ship to a docking station and prepare for a boarding party, over.”

“Roger that. Serenity out,” Mal answered wearily. “It ain’t one thing, it’s another.”

“They can’t board us,” Inara said with fear. “Not with the guns, and Simon and River, and that gold and jewelry, and all the things in the engine room.”

“They ain’t gonna. Wash?” “We’re exactly where we are supposed to be, where we entered that wormhole, what was it, oh yeah, four years ago. We’re about two days from Greenleaf. Got us a course plotted there now, Mal,” Wash said. “But…

“No time for buts,” Mal switched to the intercom. “Kaylee, ready for that burn?”

“Yes, Capt’n, but we’re gonna create…”

“Then hit it!”

Two Alliance fighters were just approaching Serenity when suddenly it turned and shot away at incredible speed. A large milky white bluish cloud formed in the distance and then Serenity disappeared before the astonished Alliance fighter pilots’ eyes.

****************************************************************** Kaylee had raced to the engine room after they had come through the worm hole, fearing that the stresses her beloved engine had gone through had caused some damage. With a sigh of relief she realized all was well and the Kovalev Drive was still intact. Then Kaylee suddenly realized that the Drive hadn’t disappeared as Gregori theorized, and that, as she had told Book, she remembered everything. She called the bridge to find out where they were and what was happening. Then came the Capt’n’s call for a full burn.

Full burn? What in the verse was going on?

Kaylee’s mind raced as she answered the Capt’n and tried to remember all that Gregori and Tanya had said about the Kovalev Drive. It was still hooked into the nav system and the radon flow was connected to the super inductor which was connected to the Kovalev Drive for the full burn mode. In that case when she hit the full burn they would…create another wormhole! Who knows where they’d end up!

“Kaylee, ready for that burn?” came the Capt’n’s question over the comms.

“Yes, Capt’n, but it’s gonna create another wormhole!”

But her last words were lost as he pressed the talk button and she caught the end of his transmission, “…hit it!”

Oh God, what do I do! There must be trouble or he wouldn’t have asked me to do this. Kaylee knew that the Capt’n was in charge of the boat but she was boss in this end of her beloved Serenity. But he asked for a full burn and she knew she had to give it. She pushed the power levels to full burn settings and then suddenly had an idea. As the radon accelerator core fired up to full burn it began to pump radon ions into the super inductor and the super inductor drove the ions through the Kovalev Drive to make the wormhole. Serenity built up speed, approaching light speed and she just knew that wormhole was forming out there again. Everything was shaking and Kaylee could barely maintain her footing. She grabbed the sides of the engine casing and it was so hot if she wasn’t wearing her gloves she would have burned her hand. Even with the gloves on, she almost screamed in pain from the heat being generated all around her. Kaylee reached for the super inductor and at the last moment she switched the coupling pumping radon ions into the super inductor and pumped them directly into the Kovalev Drive.

With a flash and a bang, the radon ions filled the Kovalev Drive directly from the engine’s nuclear core and spun the engine at astonishing speeds, shooting the radically altered and accelerated radon ion flow out the bulbous tail of the Firefly. At the same moment Kaylee was flung back from the engine and slammed hard against the wall, falling to the floor unconscious.

***********************************************

“Four gorramn years! How can it be?” Jayne growled through clenched teeth as they made their way to the cargo bay.

“It’s related to Einstein’s theory of relativity because…” River began before Jayne cut her off.

“Time for being a big brain later, little River. Now it’s time for guns and knives and fists.”

They reached the cargo bay and Zoe opened the weapons locker by the stairs, handing out guns to them all and extra clips of ammo. Simon always felt uncomfortable holding a gun, more so since he killed Chin.

“I’ll be in the infirmary,” he said, looking at River. “Be safe.”

“Hell, Doc, she killed more Alliance guys on the moon than any one of us,” Jayne said with almost pride. “Must’ve been four or five anyways.”

Simon stared at River. “I didn’t know that.”

“They wanted to kill us” River replied without shame or remorse.

Zoe could feel Simon’s pain at knowing his sister was a killer. But he knew she had killed before, at the Skyplex, and he shouldn’t have been too surprised since they suspected that’s what the Alliance had turned her into.

“We’ll watch her Simon,” Zoe said. “Best get to your station.”

“Let’s pray we don’t need you,” Book said to him as a worried Simon went off to the infirmary.

“Move these crates for cover,” Zoe said as they stated taking up positions in the cargo bay. “We ain’t opening the door but they may be able to pop the ramp open or cut through it.”

After a moment they were ready, Book and Zoe on one side of the cargo bay, Jayne and River on the other, all behind crates and metal storage containers.

“We can’t win,” Book said after a long moment of tense silence.

“We’re dead anyways if they board us and find all those guns,” Zoe grimly replied. “I’m going down fighting, not at the end of a rope or in front of a firing squad.”

“Can’t disagree with you on that point,’ Book replied as he checked his magazine and leveled his automatic rifle toward the cargo bay doors.

“Just shoot and reload,” Jayne said to River, offering advice. She just rolled her eyes.

“I think I know how to kill someone by now,” the teen said sarcastically.

“Kills a few purple bellies and she gets a big head,” Jayne mumbled to himself.

Then they could feel the ship accelerating, and everything began to shake and rattle.

“We’re running,” Zoe said with glee, hoping to make good on their escape and live to see another day.

But the ship continued accelerating and then they all got a bad feeling as they realize what was going to happen.

“The wormhole!” River shouted and everyone dropped their guns and grabbed onto something for dear life.

*********************************************

“No, no, no!” Mal shouted as he, Inara, and Wash could clearly see the wormhole forming in front of them. “Strap in!”

Mal sat down in the co-pilots seat and Inara sat in the third seat, both struggling to get their seatbelts on.

“This can’t be happening!” Inara shouted. “Power down, we can’t do this again!”

“No choice,” Mal yelled above the growing din. “Here we go!”

“Oh God, there goes another two years!” Wash said as they were on the verge of being sucked into the wormhole. And then, it was gone and with a flash and a loud metallic groan from the ship they appeared above a large planet that filled the cockpit windows. The laptop next to Wash automatically slowed the engines to fifty percent power and the ship seemed to heave a sigh of relief as it slowed and settled.

“What in the verse…?” Mal said as he and Wash just stared out the window. Then something dark and large flashed right by them and a loud angry female voice screamed over the radio.

“Get that bucket of bolts out of the way flyboy! You almost rammed us! Where the hell did you come from? Over.”

“Sorry,” Wash replied through the radio after recovering from his surprise. “Had a nav malfunction, got it under control now. Sorry. Over”

“You better have or we’ll report you and get your license revoked. Out!” They could see a large bulk transport off to the port side, twice the size of Serenity and of a much newer model, as it maneuvered for atmo entry.

Mal was just staring at Wash. “What? Oh, where are we? Just a sec…ah, Greenleaf? No, that…yes, we are at Greenleaf. That can’t be!”

“I thought you said it was two days away!” Inara asked in disbelief

“It is…I mean was…we…jumped right to it. The date, check the date on the Cortex!”

Mal flipped switches and hit keys. July 21, 2522. “Same date.”

“Bridge, cargo bay. We good?” Zoe asked through the comms.

Wash answered. “Ah, good as in clear of the Alliance, yes. Ah…you guys better come up here.”

“It must’ve been Kaylee,” Mal said. “She did something.” He undid his straps, stood, and grabbed the intercom mic from Wash.

“Kaylee, report.” No answer. “Kaylee, report.” Still no answer. Inara undid her seatbelt.

“Something’s wrong. Get Simon!” she said to Wash with fear and then she and Mal raced to the engine room as Wash called for Simon to meet them there.

Kaylee was unconscious, lying on her back next to the engine, a trickle of blood coming down her forehead, her legs and arms splayed about her. Mal’s heart leaped to his throat but then he saw she was still breathing.

“Doc! Get the doc!” he yelled as he bent over Kaylee.

“Kaylee! Kaylee!” Inara shouted, but there was no response from the unconscious mechanic.

Running feet came down the hall way and then Simon was there by them, examining her, all professional even as his mind reeled with worry.

“She’s hit her head, unconscious. Get me the stretcher.”

Mal reached for the intercom and told Jayne to bring the stretcher from the infirmary. As Simon wiped the blood from her forehead and sought the source of the cut, Kaylee stirred.

“Owww,” she said in a weak voice. “What happened?”

“You had a fall or something,” Simon said. “Don’t move. Stretcher is coming. Let me check you for anything that’s broken.” Slowly he checked her neck, arms, legs and ribs and all seemed fine. The Jayne and Book appeared with the stretcher and Inara stepped back to let them in.

“Sure is hot in here,’ said Jayne as they moved to get Kaylee.

“Rads!’ Kaylee said in panic. “Get out! Now!”

“Not without you,” Simon said and then they lifted her and all exited the room, Mal slamming the door shut behind them.

***************************************************************** “I poured the radon ion flow straight into the Kovalev Drive,” said Kaylee as she lay on the infirmary table while Simon bandaged her forehead and then ran the scanner over her. Everyone was here except Wash.

“And got your self a nice dose of ions while doing it,” Simon said as he looked at the scanner results on the screen. “Fortunately, not too high but I’m going to check your blood just the same. Scanner readings are sometimes not so accurate.” He took a needle and began to draw blood from Kaylee’s arm as she winced in pain from the needle jab.

“What about the rest of us that were in the engine room?” Inara asked, worried on getting radiation poisoning.

“We were only there for a moment so should be fine,” Simon replied and Inara and the others breathed easier.

“I don’t get it,’ said Zoe and asked a question they all wanted to know the answer to. “What happened to the engine? How did we get to Greenleaf so fast?”

Kaylee sighed. “It’s hard to explain. See the…”

“Save it for when you’re feeling better,” said Mal suddenly, not sure he’d or anyone else would understand anyway. “What I want to know is can you do it again? I mean, much more safely next time.”

“Ah, sure, Capt’n. I think.”

Mal grinned and everyone wondered what had gotten into him. All except River and Kaylee.

“An FTL,” River said with awe.

“Yup,” said Kaylee with a grin.

“What in the verse is an FT…whatever?” Jayne asked in exasperation at all the egg heads and their secret knowledge.

“An FTL,” Mal said. “A Faster Than Light drive.”

No one said a word as the meaning of this dawn on the rest of them.

“So…we can outrun the Alliance?” Jayne said first. “Anytime?”

“Sure,” said Kaylee. “Anybody, anytime, anywhere.”

“And we can get cargo from here to there in no time at all?” Zoe asked next with a big smile.

“Yes,” said River. “Fast as the speed of light.”

Book had to be the one to shatter their dreams once more with a bit of reality. “I hate to say this but, a lot of folks like to have this. And the one who made it.”

Simon and Mal both had the same thought at the same time and looked at Kaylee. “I didn’t make it,” she said with a touch of worry. “Gregori did.”

“But he isn’t here, Kaylee. And you are,” said Book. “We must keep this a secret as long as possible. I think using it is very unwise.”

Then there was a babble of voices as everyone offered their opinions and counter opinions, the din soon driving Simon to uncharacteristic rudeness.

“Shut up!” he shouted in Chinese and they all stopped and stared at him. “Ah, sorry. But we got more important things to think on first. One being Kaylee’s health. So please take this discussion elsewhere.”

Mal nodded. “Doc’s right. Upstairs, dining room.”

“I think we could all use a drink and a bite to eat,” Book suggested.

“Amen to that, brother,” said Jayne as he went out the door.

Everyone except Simon and Kaylee started moving out and toward the cargo bay. Mal hung back after they had left.

“Join us when you can, Doc. Kaylee, get some rest.”

“But I need to explain…”

“Get some rest,” Mal ordered again. “You can explain later. My head’s going to hurt just from hearing River explain why we’re missing four years.”

“Four years!” Kaylee said in surprise. “It was just two!”

“It’s four now,” said Simon and Kaylee was too shocked to say anymore.

Mal moved to leave and then stopped in the infirmary doorway. “By the way, Doc, that’s the last time you tell me to shut up on my ship. Dong ma?”

And he left before Simon could even think of a reply.

***********************************************

Wash put Serenity in a deep space orbit around Greenleaf, not wanting to get too close to the traveled space corridors where an Alliance patrol ship might ask too many nosy questions. Everyone gathered in the dining room, except Kaylee, and all were full of questions as Book and Inara prepared dinner.

“River, can you explain about the missing four years?” Mal asked first and all went quiet as River spoke.

“It’s called time dilation and is related to Einstein’s theory of relativity. As an object moves faster from its point of origin it reaches a point where time seems to slow for it while for those at the point of origin time goes on as normal. So, while we were moving through the wormhole it appeared that four minutes had passed to us while in reality two years had passed outside the wormhole. That’s a rather simple explanation. If you want something more complex…”

“No, simple is how I like it,” said Mal and he actually understood what she had said.

“I’m getting another headache,” said Jayne. “More crazy theories.”

“It’s not crazy,” said Inara from the kitchen area. That surprised them all. “What? I do have an education. Companions are trained in all areas of knowledge. The better to understand our clients.”

“And I thought it was all about getting their money from their pocket to yours,” Mal said as he sipped some coffee.

Inara shot him one of her mischievous looks and all the others knew another verbal bout was afoot. “Of course, Captain, but not all men are interested in just carnal pleasures.”

“Any man ain’t interested in sex ain’t a man,” Jayne said as he gave a sideways look at Mal.

“Okay, enough of this,” Mal said knowing sex was a topic Jayne would love to spend hours discussing, especially why Mal wasn’t getting any from Inara. Mal cursed his weakness for saying what he had said to Jayne about Inara under the truth serum on the moon. Mal shook off these thoughts and turned to Simon. “Doc? You’ve been quiet. What do you think?”

“It’s a theory…but it seems to have some truth to it, as we can see.”

“Why didn’t Kovalev tell us?” Book asked as he brought over a pot of soup from the stove and everyone began filling bowls. “Surely he knew.”

“Maybe he just wanted some guinea pigs for testing his engine,” Wash offered. “And remember, he thought he was going to be coming with us. I think we might have opted to stay on Earth if we knew the real truth.”

“It doesn’t matter now,” said Mal. “Question is, what do we do about it?”

Jayne stared at him like he was crazy. “We use it of course! All kinds a rich folks out there be separated from their wares while we leap to the next job, leaving every cop in the verse eating our rad dust!”

“Would be nice, Jayne,” Mal said. “Except popping in out of places bound to get noticed sooner or later.”

Wash had a perplexed look. “You know, before we left Earth, Gregori asked Kaylee and me to destroy the drive if was still intact when we got here. He worried on the Alliance getting their hands on it.”

Zoe weighed in on this issue. “He ain’t wrong about the Alliance or any others wanting this engine drive. We use it, people gonna know something ain’t right. Already flashed our ass at one Alliance cruiser. Bet right now they got a lot of higher ups saying they must have seen things. But they’ll think on it and then they’ll check the vids from the cruiser and their tracking system and all the sensors. Soon they’ll be looking for a Firefly with a little extra boost.”

“And that ain’t good,” Mal said as all went quiet. “Let’s eat. Think better with a full belly.”

All began to dig in as Mal pondered what they said, his soup in front of him untouched. Everyone else was eating and then Inara brought over the second dish, a rice and vegetable pilaf on a big platter and placed it on the table. She sat next to Mal and gave him a little grin.

“Not hungry?”

“Thinking,” he replied and then knew what had to be done. “Okay folks, listen up. We lost four years. First thing is we gotta find out what happened in those four years. Soon as dinner’s done let’s get on the Cortex and get our bearings. Second thing, we need a transponder. Alliance seems to have issued something new that we don’t have so we gotta get one. Wash?”

“Yeah, sounds right. It’s just something that identifies us as a friendly member of the great Alliance. Course to get one, we might need to have an inspection, and lots of Alliance types around.”

“We steal one or buy one,” Mal said and that ended that topic. “Next, the Kovalev Drive. For now we keep it.”

That brought a smile from Jayne and serious looks from Book, Zoe, and Simon.

“Captain, I believe that is a mistake,’ Book stated firmly.

“Ain’t gonna use it again real soon, Shepherd and maybe not at all. Kaylee has to get on her feet and figure out if what she did is possible again. Then we have to vent the radiation from the engine room. That means we make for Greenleaf. Someplace out of the way Wash, but close enough to a town or city we can get us a transponder, some fresh food, and maybe even a line on another shuttle.”

Simon then brought up a subject that was weighting on his mind. “Do you think the Alliance would be still looking for us after four years?”

Mal pondered this. “Could be. They wanted River in a powerful way. Still don’t know why?” This last was directed toward River.

“No,’ said River quietly as she picked at her food.

“We’ll know more when we check the fugitives’ list on the Cortex,” said Zoe.

Mal took a mouthful of food and then stood. “Can’t wait. Time to find out what’s what. I’ll be on the bridge.”

The others began to look at each other and then gradually they began to eat faster and faster, all except Jayne, and then Zoe stood before she had finished and went to the bridge, then Inara, Book, Wash, and River all left, dinner plates and soup bowls only half empty, until only Simon and Jayne were left.

“Not interested in the news?” Simon asked him.

Jayne shrugged as he wolfed down his dinner. “It’ll still be there when I’m done eating. Food comes before everything. Except sex. And making money. Maybe killing someone I don’t like. Speaking of sex, you been getting…”

“Stop right there,” Simon said with a touch of anger.

But Jayne kept going on about his favorite subject. “I mean, she must be a wildcat, all those months without getting none.”

“You never listen, do you? What Kaylee and I have is none of yours or anyone else’s business. You don’t hear me asking what happened between you and Christine.”

“Well, if you insist. She was hot, I mean, I love blonds, and she had this body, …”

Simon just groaned and stood as Jayne continued his stories. He tried to shut out the crude banter as he got a plate from the kitchen and put some rice pilaf on it. “I’ll be in the infirmary,” he said.

“Hey, I ain’t doing the dishes,’ said Jayne. “Think it’s your turn. “

“Well, why don’t you take my turn since I’ve got to look after my 'wildcat'.”

Jayne laughed. “I knew it. Sure, I’ll take your turn. But you owe me.”

********************************************************************

Kaylee sat up on the infirmary examining table as she ate the food Simon had brought her. He explained what they had discussed as he looked at the blood sample he had taken from her earlier. Kaylee began talking about want she wanted to do now that they were home.

“And then I want to wave my daddy, let him know I’m still in the verse. Gonna be quite the shock. Bet he can get that Kovalev Drive running in top shape. If the Capt’n let’s us keep it. Guess I owe daddy a few birthday presents. You should wave your parents, too. Maybe Alliance ain’t looking for you and River no more. Wouldn’t that be nice? So when do we land on Greenleaf?” she asked but Simon didn’t answer. “Simon?”

“Ah, sorry, one second,” he said real quiet and then he reached into a cabinet, looked over at the vials and bottles of medicine they had taken from Earth. He found what he was looking for and then opened it and took two pills.

“Take these,” he said as he handed them to a surprised Kaylee.

“How come?” she asked and Simon just smiled, but she knew his heart wasn’t in it.

“Nothing to worry about. Just a precaution because of your exposure to the radon ion flow. “

She froze and her eyes widened. “You said I was safe.”

He sighed. “Kaylee, it’s just…a little higher than safe….not a big dose, but more than is healthy. These pills will help but…”

“I’m gonna die?” she said as tears almost started flowing. Now it was Simon’s turn to be surprised.

“No, no! Not at all! Just you might feel a little sick and this will help you, prevent vomiting and diarrhea. Those are the two most common side effects of radiation poisoning.”

Kaylee looked at her dinner plate and put it down. “I ain’t so hungry anymore.”

“No, you have to eat Kaylee. It’s important not to get weak. After a few days you’ll be fine.”

“Okay, I trust you” she said as she popped the pills in her mouth and Simon brought some water from the sink.

As Kaylee began to eat again, with a little less gusto, she suddenly got a bad feeling. “Simon, this rad poisoning, can it prevent me from having…babies?”

“Oh,” he said his mouth agape. “Babies?”

“Yeah, babies. Cause someday I wanna have some.”

“Some? You mean more than one?”

“Sure. Why not? Verse is big enough for some and more than one. You mean you don’t…want to?”

“No, no, I mean yes, I want to have…babies…but….we just… I mean….look, there will be no babies born while we aren’t married that’s for sure!” Simon said with determination.

And Kaylee’s eyes nearly popped out of her head. “Are you asking me…?”

“No! I mean…yes, I mean…oh God….”

She smiled at him, almost enjoying watching him squirm. “Its okay, Simon. It’s bit too soon for that anyways.”

He sighed with relief. “Yes, not that I wouldn’t…”

She put a finger to his lips. “Shsssh, before you talk yourself into trouble. Now, Doctor your patient had a question. About babies.”

“Ah, yes. There shouldn’t be any long term side effects. I’m not a gynecologist but your ovaries and Fallopian tubes and uterus look healthy on the scans I’ve done. If there is any irregularity with your menstrual cycle, let me know.”

“Course I’ll let you know. We’re lovers now. You’re gonna know when I can and when I can’t.”

Kaylee snaked an arm around Simon and pulled him closer to where she was sitting on the examining table.

“Kaylee, I don’t think we should…”

“Just shut up and kiss me, Doc.”

In the middle of a nice long smooch Mal’s voice broke through on the intercom.

“Simon, best get to the bridge. And Simon, bring River’s medicine.”

**************************************************

Mal had been first on the bridge and began punching up the Cortex screen from the co-pilot’s seat immediately. After he logged on he went to the Great Galaxy News report, or GGN. He went through the screens, scanning for the news and what he saw was not good, not good at all.

Zoe was next on the bridge and she knew something was up from his look. “What happened?”

“Seems that some fools have decided to begin a resistance movement against the Alliance.”

“Is it war?’ asked Book as he overheard this last and then soon Wash, Inara and River were there, too.

“Nope, not yet,” said Mal. “But on the rim planets they been blowing up power stations and wrecking trains, knocked a few Alliance patrol ships out of the sky, been killing and putting the fear of God in purple bellies everywhere. GGN says its just some minor incidences, terrorists they call them, but sounds like more than minor.”

“This is just awful,” said Inara sadly.

“Now we know why they issued transponders,” said Wash.

“What started it again?” Zoe asked.

Mal shrugged. “Don’t know exactly. GGN ain’t giving away too much on that.”

“Of course not,” Zoe snorted. “Alliance propaganda station they should call it.”

“Let’s wave Mr. Universe,” said Wash as he sat in his chair.

“Wait a minute,” Mal ordered him. “Let me check the fugee list first case anyone is tuned into our wave number.”

Mal hit more buttons and found a list of wanted fugitives that the Alliance posted for police and bounty hunters and for generally beating the bushes in case some civilian wanted to collect a reward for turning in a fugitive.

“Yup, here they are,” Mal said with a sigh as everyone’s heart sank. “Simon and River Tam. 400,000 credits now.”

“You would think they’d have given up after four years,” Book said with frustration.

“They never stop looking,” said River. “Two by two, hands of blue, they find you.”

They all got a little creeped out by that and we’re staring at River.

“Well, they do,” as all she said. Inara gave her a hug.

“It’s going to be all right,” the Companion whispered in River’s ear.

“No, its not,” River whispered back so no one else heard and Inara got a cold feeling all over as she stepped back from River and just looked at her.

“Mr. Universe, Mal?” Wash asked.

“Do it,” Mal said after a moment. “But just his regular broadcast, not a wave.”

Then Mr. Universe’s broadcast beam came into the ship and all stared at the scenes and took in the news, as Mr. Universe saw it. Jayne made his way to the bridge just as it started, forgetting his promise to do the dishes for Simon almost as soon as he had made it.

There was some stuff about fuel shortages that the parliament was covering up, another thing about corrupt elections held on Persephone, and one more item about a scandal involving an attempt to start up a new version of the Olympic games before Mr. Universe got to what Serenity’s crew was interested in.

“The puppet show of the Parliament has warped your minds with lies about the current insurgency. The rebels have struck hard and fast in many outlying rim worlds and the Alliance is even thinking about pulling out of some not so vital areas. Here is amateur video shot of an attack on an Alliance convoy on what shall remain an unnamed world to protect those involved.”

Then there was a jerky image as if someone who was carrying the camera was running. The noise of a battle filled the air, and many guns were firing and small explosions were heard. The camera person took cover behind some rocks and then they could see some trucks, a few burning, others with Alliance soldiers outside, firing everywhere, then some soldiers were falling, screams coming, and then the video was over.

“Gorramn it,” said Jayne as the broadcast ended. “They playing for keeps.”

No one said a word, fascinated by this news as Mr. Universe’s voice came back on screen. “So why now, many are asking. Why rebel after almost eleven years of peace? In a word, just one word, the name of a planet, the discovery of the Reaver home world and the crimes that were committed there. Yes, believe the Parliament or believe us, but it does exist and Miranda is its name.”

“Miranda,” River said in awe. “Miranda.” then she started shaking and let out a hideous scream and fell back on the floor of the bridge, eyes bulging as they crowded around her.

“Miranda,” was all she said over and over as Mal reached for the intercom and called her brother to the bridge.