The Return Home – Part 7

Wash and Kaylee sat on the bridge of Serenity, watching with disbelief as an Alliance missile streaked away from a pursuing gunship straight for Inara’s shuttle. The little ship banked and turned through the lower atmosphere of Persephone, amidst hills and tress, and still the missile chased it, gaining on it with impeding doom. Wash pushed the VTOL’s for full power and willed Serenity toward the shuttle.

“Come on!” he yelled as he twisted Serenity to follow. Zoe was on that shuttle and his brain screamed in despair as he watched the distance closing between the shuttle and certain death for his wife and shipmates

“It’s got a heat lock!” Kaylee yelled from the co-pilot’s seat. She had just arrived after telling Simon they had incoming wounded. Simon had raced to the infirmary to get things ready and she had come on the bridge just in time to hear Wash shout to Inara that a missile was chasing them. She immediately jumped into the co-pilot’s seat and took up a scan of the sensor boards.

“Not for long!” Wash grunted as he set Serenity hard over to the right on a parallel course with and behind the shuttle and then the missile caught the larger heat bloom from Serenity and switched from the shuttle to the larger ship.

“Now what do we do?” Kaylee said to Wash in a frightened voice as the missile lock tone beeped from the control panel,

Wash racked his brain. Missile is a heat seeker, needs heat, only heat is Serenity and the shuttle, need to provide…another source of heat! “Kaylee, do we have any flares?”

“Some….oh no…that’s crazy…I…I understand. I’ll use shuttle two's door!” Kaylee quickly said as she grasped Wash’s plan and then she grabbed the intercom mic. “Simon! Meet me at shuttle two’s entrance!”

She raced from the bridge to a locker under the stairs to the bridge. It was small and had some odds and ends Kaylee kept, including a flare gun with four rotating chambers she had. It was something she had picked up just in case they ever got stranded somewhere and needed to signal someone to find them. Now they needed it to save their lives alright, but from a deadly Alliance missile.

Meanwhile the two gunships had split apart, one chasing the shuttle and the other chasing Serenity. Inara’s passengers were tossed and turned as she moved the little ship around, tracer bullets flying past her machine and the occasional clang of metal telling them one or two hit it.

“Gorramnit!” Jayne yelled for the tenth time as he fell to the floor once again. This time he decided to stay there.

“Make for Serenity!” Mal said and Inara kept silent, concentrating with all her might on not hitting the ground. She could see Serenity ahead of them now, the missile still chasing it. She looked at Mal and he was steady as always and his calm demeanor helped her from letting her rising panic overwhelm her. And then came that damn beeping sound again!

“ New missile lock!” Mal shouted. “Hang on everyone!”

The came a series of hard bangs and clangs as a whole stream of Alliance bullets hit the shuttle, on the right side.

“We’re still OK!” Zoe shouted after she pulled down Inara’s drapes and examined the area hit. The outer hull was still intact as far as Zoe could tell.

Badger sat on the sofa, with a forlorn look on his face, trying to keep his balance and stop his elbow from bleeding. River was sitting next to him trying to help him bandage it with one of Inara’s scarves.

“We aren’t dead yet,” River said.

“No, little Miss Tam, we aren’t,” Badger replied. “But unless Mal got himself a cruiser in his coat pocket we soon will be.”

“What the hell?” Mal suddenly shouted as he looked out the window.

The door of the shuttle two’s entrance opened and he could see Kaylee hanging out, one arm holding what looked like a gun. The wind was whipping her hair around and Mal got a real bad feeling. Suddenly Serenity’s VTOLs shut off and Kaylee started firing flares from the gun. One, two, three, four bright flares shot out as Serenity banked hard to the right.

“Engine off!” Mal shouted to Inara, suddenly grasping what Kaylee was up to.

“What?”

“Just do it!” he commanded and Inara pulled the throttles all the way back. The engines sputtered and died and then they were falling and the ground was getting mighty close.

The two missiles in the air turned and followed the flares, one going off as it hit some trees and the second exploding into the side of a hill. Shuttle one neared the ground and slowed and more bullets hit in the rear with a deafening banging that had everyone flinching and ducking.

“Engine start!” Mal said and Inara throttled up the engines almost the same time as Serenity’s VTOLs came back on. Shuttle one barely cleared some tree tops and then Inara saw her chance, and she had only one shot as more bullets flew by, she aimed it and timed it perfectly and landed right on the right shuttle cradle of Serenity with a hard bang.

“We’re home!” she yelled into the mic for Wash and then she hit the switches to carry the shuttle into the ship to make a hard seal.

“We still got them gunships to deal with,” Mal said as they all got up and out of the shuttle and into Serenity.

As Mal opened the door on the far side he saw Kaylee and Simon, Kaylee reloading the flare gun, and Simon holding onto her with all his strength with one arm and a ship’s support strut with the other as she got set to fire again out shuttle two’s entrance.

“Kaylee! We’re here!’ he yelled and Kaylee said nothing, just grabbed the door and slid it shut, locked it and hit the seal buttons to make it air tight. She turned to Mal and the others, hair everywhere and Mal could see the look of relief on her face.

“Oh, Capt’n!”

“You did good, Kaylee,” he said. “Need you in the engine room.” And she came over and ran up the stairs as Simon started taking a look at the wounded. Mal raced to the bridge right behind Kaylee up the stairs.

“Doesn’t look too bad,” Simon said as he looked at Zoe’s arm and then he saw Badger.

“Doctor Tam, I presume,” Badger said with a tip of his bowler hat with his unharmed left hand.

“You know who I am,” Simon said as he examined his elbow. “Let’s get you two to the infirmary.”

And then Simon noticed River was limping. “You, too, sis. You can explain all your heroics later.” And the last was said with a disapproving tone.

They started down the stairs and more metal clangs and hits came as Serenity took some slugs from the pursuing gunships. Wash twisted the ship and moved it toward the high atmo and space now that he had everyone on board.

“Get us out of here, Wash!” Mal commanded as he came on the bridge.

“Going for…wait…we got a problem,” Wash said with worry. “No, no! We’re losing pressure!”

“Where?” Mal shouted as he looked at the damaged control panel to the left rear of the co-pilot’s seat. “Inara’s shuttle!”

Mal grabbed the intercom. “Jayne, shut and seal Inara’s shuttle! We’re losing pressure there!”

Jayne was just about to help River down the stairs with her injured knee when the call came. She grabbed the railing of the stairs as Jayne turned and slammed the door shut and hit the seal controls and after a few seconds got a green light.

On the bridge Mal saw the control board also turn green and turned to Wash. “Punch it!”

“Full burn!” Wash shouted to Kaylee through his comms and a few seconds later Serenity did a full burn in atmo, the massive orange and black plum of smoke and fire coming from the bulbous end of the Firefly, which the two gunships barely avoided as Serenity streaked into space. The gunships pursued by we’re soon so far behind their commanders gave up the chase.

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

“Serenity has escaped, sir,” Forbes said into his Cortex screen at Persephone police headquarters.

“Again. This is very disappointing,” said Cutter, his hawkish face with his round wire rimmed glass peering through the Cortex from across millions of miles of space, staring at Forbes like a professor looking at a student who failed an exam. Despite the distance from Londinium to Persephone, this was a face to face transmission. Unknowned to most people, the Alliance had the technology to boost wave transmissions to almost anywhere in the galaxy. The only problem was a delay of a few seconds from the sending and receiving.

“My apologies, sir,” Forbes said after the few seconds delay. “At least we now know River Tam is still with that ship.”

“At least. And your injures? How did you sustain them?” Cutter asked. Forbes had a black eye and bruised lips and a cut on his forehead. His more sensitive injuries Cutter could not see but Forbes’ nether regions were still going to be tender for days to come.

“In combat,” he said and then reluctantly added. “With Tam.”

Cutter raised his eyebrows. “So close and yet still she has escaped? A very worthy opponent. And Malcolm Reynolds? Did you meet him?”

Forbes grimaced at the memory of meeting Mal’s right foot. “Yes, sir. He had no qualms about killing my men without showing any remorse whatsoever.”

“Then we shall show them no remorse.”

“Yes, sir. I am open to any suggestions you have concerning the pursuit of Serenity, sir.”

“Rest for now Forbes. Tend to your injuries. By this time tomorrow or the next day I shall have some new information for you.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I’ll be touch,” said Cutter and ended the transmission.

So Forbes has failed at his first confrontation with River Tam. Five of his men dead, four wounded. Tam, Reynolds, and his band escaped from fifteen Alliance solders and two gunships. This Reynolds was more trouble than he expected. That ship was leaving a trail of dead, shot and battered Alliance troopers across the galaxy. And where was it going now? Forbes obviously had no idea or he wouldn’t have asked for his help. It was good that he wasn’t so cocky. He is learning from his mistakes. It wasn’t yet time to bring in some help for him but if he failed again Cutter would have to consider it. He tried to keep this Tam business as quite as possible but that was getting more difficult. If Serenity had an FTL drive, then they could be virtually anywhere in the galaxy by now. Cutter needed hard intelligence and there was only one place to get it.

He clicked on his secure transmitter and set a signal to a cruiser en-route to Londinium.

“Commander, what is your ETA?”

“Ten hours, sir.”

“Good. And the prisoner?”

“He has been sedated and kept in confinement. He gave my men quite the fight when we picked him up from the gunship from Taos. I have three men in the infirmary because of him.”

“That is of no consequence. Make sure no harm comes to him.”

“Yes, sir.”

Cutter ended the transmission and thought on how best to proceed with this prisoner. Interrogation was one of his specialties, and making a person breakdown and give up their secrets was a craft he had perfected over the years. But this man was a special case and for that he would need the new interrogation procedure which was just finishing its test run on a select batch of criminals slated for execution. This prisoner would not easily spill secrets about the only child he had and he was probably strong willed and proud. Pain would not do it. Threats against his life would not do. No, to break Jonathan Frye, Cutter would have to break his sanity first.

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

“Clear sailing,” Wash said as he examined all their sensors for any activity and saw nothing but transports and passenger ships, not knowing that Shepherd Book was on one of those transports that had taken off after the Alliance had allowed flights to resume after the gunship battle. Wash reached over to Gregori Kovalev’s laptop computer that was hooked into Serenity’s main engine and the Kovalev Drive and powered it down to fifty percent.

“Good,” Mal said wearily. “This shooting and running stuff is getting tiresome.”

“Can’t disagree with that. Where to, Mal?”

“Don’t know yet. Need time to think.”

Just then Kaylee raced onto the bridge and without a word went to the damage control panel.

“What happened to Inara’s shuttle?” she asked quickly and Mal explained how they got hit in the battle and how he noticed the venting from that section of the ship.

“We gotta land somewhere Capt’n, real soon,’ Kaylee said. “If there’s holes in Inara’s shuttle it could get worse and I don’t like that one bit. And we got hit in the back quite a bit, too.”

Wash started punching up nav screens. “Let’s see what’s close.” After a moment he saw something promising. “There’s little moon called Oxbridge, outer rim of Persephone system, got atmo, not too many settlers. Bit dry and dusty but she’ll do. Take about an hour at full power.”

“Make for it,” Mal ordered and Wash set the coordinates and then pushed the ship to full power. After he set the auto pilot he looked at Mal, just remembering he had said something about wounded crew.

“Who’s hurt?” Wash asked anxiously.

“Zoe got a scratch and…” and before he could say anything else Wash’s eyes filled with worry and he was up and headed to the infirmary without a word or a backward glance.

Kaylee still stood at the damage control panel, fussing over the colored lights, making sure they were indicating the true status of the ship. Mal stood and looked over her shoulder.

“Your idea or Wash’s? The flares.”

“Wash’s,” she said after a moment as she examined the damage control panel.

“Damn good idea. Saved our skins,” Mal said. “Lucky we had that gun.”

“Yeah, sometimes luck is with you and sometimes it ain’t,” Kaylee said and then she frowned and bit her lower lip.

“What’s the matter?” Mal asked, knowing Kaylee only got that look when something was wrong with Serenity.

“Think we might be venting rads from the tail end.”

“That ain’t good. Can you patch her up?”

She nodded. “Yup, but she won’t hold for long. Need to get into a shipyard, get an x-ray scan of all the outer hull where bullets hit her.”

“Kaylee, if you ain’t noticed, we’re not exactly in position to go stopping at any ship yards.”

“I bet there’s some not so legal ones about, Capt’n. Just...don’t know where.”

“I bet Badger does.”

She turned from the control panel and saw the hole in his coat just under his left armpit. Kaylee stuck a finger in and gave him a worried look.

“What happened on Persephone?”

Mal told her the story. “We got lucky.”

“This Forbes…River knows him?”

“Yeah. Old school chums.”

“How they know we was here? We said three days.”

“Been thinking on that. Not sure, but I think they spotted Jayne. The cops on Taos had a description of him and he looked that one copper in the face and screamed his name at him.”

“Capt’n, they weren’t there for Badger or you or Serenity, were they?”

He put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. “No, Kaylee. Forbes ignored all of us and went straight for River, not even helping his men.”

“He’s after River and Simon, ain’t he?”

Mal just nodded, not wanting to scare her but knowing she had to know the truth. “But we ain’t gonna let nothing happen to them.”

“I was hoping to be a bride by now,’ she said forlornly. “Now Shepherd’s gone and…”

“Don’t fret none. Be time enough for weddings when all this is over.”

And Kaylee felt a little better but still couldn’t help fret as a cold shiver of fear creep up her back, worried for her man and his sister. But the biggest threat to all of them was not even a concern yet on Serenity. They were totally unaware that all they’re secrets were slowly coming to light and that millions of kilometers away Kaylee’s father was a prisoner headed for the inquisition chambers of the High Chancellor of the Alliance.

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

Down in the infirmary Wash arrived just as Zoe got off the examining table after Simon stitched her arm up.

“Fancy flying, babe,” Zoe said he she gave him a hug but he was frowning and looking at her arm. “It’s nothing, a scratch.”

“A scratch?” Wash said with concern. “So bullet wounds are scratches now?”

“Simon, help me here?” Zoe asked the doctor in a mock pleading tone.

“Ah, yes, a scratch, just three stitches,” Simon absentmindedly said as Badger sat on the table next.

Wash seemed mollified by this and then he noticed Badger. “You better be worth this.”

Badger grimaced as Simon removed the makeshift bandage from his elbow. “Seems I’m gonna be bowing and scraping to you lot rest of my gorramn life.”

“Damn right you are,” said Jayne and then a look of puzzlement crossed his face. Simon and Wash and Zoe were here, Inara and River were sitting on the sofa in the passenger lounge, River with a bag of ice on her knee, Mal and Kaylee were upstairs somewhere, but where was…?

“Hey, where’s Book?” he asked Inara and she and River looked at each other and Jayne got a bad feeling. “We didn’t leave him behind, did we?”

“Sit down, Jayne,” Inara said very seriously and Jayne got a bad feeling as he sat.

“Book…decided to leave Serenity,” Inara said as gently as she could and even with all her Companion trading in the way she told it she knew that Jayne Cobb had been pole axed by the totally unexpected news.

“Left…you mean…for good?” he asked incredulously.

“Yes,’ said River. “He left you a letter.”

“What…a letter?”

“Said he explained it all,” River said.

“Wait here Jayne, I’ll go get it,” Inara said and Jayne sat in stunned silence as Inara left. Book gone…without saying goodbye or nothing.

“Wash, need you on the bridge. Zoe, you too,” Mal’s voice came through the intercom and Zoe and Wash left the infirmary and headed upstairs.

“He said he was sorry for leaving this way,” River said to Jayne.

“You saw him?”

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t you try to stop him, gorramn it?!?”

“Nobody could stop him.”

They sat in silence, Jayne brooding on why he had left. Of all the people on Serenity, Shepherd could be the one person Jayne could really think of as a friend. They were so different yet had bonded in some strange way. Jayne could talk to the Shepherd about almost anything and he would understand and offer advice. He knew Jayne’s vices and didn’t approve of them but he in no way ever tried overly hard to convert Jayne to the ways of the Lord. Jayne had religion shoved down his throat as a boy and hated it with a passion. But with Book it wasn’t about religion, it was about friendship. Jayne already missed him.

“Here it is,” Inara said and Jayne ripped opened the letter and inside was a smaller note sealed with some tape. On the outside, it said “Mal.”

“Guess that one ain’t mine,” Jayne said as he handed the smaller note to Inara and then began to read as she left to give Mal the note.

“Dear Jayne. I’m gone and perhaps we may never meet again. I’m sorry. I know you are going to be upset about the way I’ve done this. I suppose everyone is. But I didn’t want anyone trying to convince me to stay. It would have been too hard. Tell them all I’m sorry and will miss them a great deal. Let them read this if you wish. It has been a long time since I could call any place a home like Serenity was this past year. I suppose the abbey was but in reality it was a stop on my journey. Serenity has been home and you have been my friends and family. I know what I must do now and I need your help, just a little.

I’ve written two other letters and I need you to deliver them. The first is to Abbot Parson’s on Persephone and the second is to Winifred Collins on Sihon. You know the abbot, I’ve told you about him. Winifred was a woman I was in love with many years ago. It was during the war. We never married, mostly due to my faults, but we’ve kept in touch. She knows things about me, things you’ve asked many questions about, and she will tell you everything. Abbot Parsons also knows much of the story and he can tell you the rest. In my letters I’ve asked them to tell you everything they know. That’s why you must deliver them by hand. If I tell you now you may surmise things about me that I wish to remain secret for the time being. Why you, you may ask? Simple. I can call you my friend and I know more than any others on Serenity, you want to know the truth. That is my parting gift to you.

My turning to religion was a way to find forgiveness for what I did in my past. I think in some ways I did find that. But I have one more sin to commit and it is the most terrible sin of all. For you and the others to be finally free this must be done. I cannot explain more than this but I have a mission and I can only do this alone. To involve you would only endanger the crew more than I already have. By telling you where Miranda is I believe I have already done some harm. If I tell you what I am going to do and you are somehow captured or forced to reveal the truth then all will be lost. Someday, in the not too distant future I hope, the news of my deeds will spread like a breath of fresh wind through the galaxy and all will rejoice. I do this for you, and Simon and River, and Kaylee, and Inara, and Zoe and Wash, and Mal. But most of all I do it for me. It is the only way I will ever have any peace. Your friend, Book.”

Jayne sat for a long time, the letter opened in his hand. River was sitting nearby and was looking at him and he just handed her the letter without a word. When she finished Jayne finally found his voice.

“You know where he’s going and what he’s gonna do?”

“You know I do.”

“Then keep it to yourself. Book would never warn us less it was too serious to involve us.”

“I won’t say a word.”

River handed him the letter and Jayne took out his lighter and lit one end. “Best no one else knows either,” he said as he watched it burn and then he dropped it to the floor and stomped it out, afterwards scarping up the ashes with a magazine cover and dumping them in a small garbage can next to the sofa. Without a word he headed out toward the cargo bay.

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

“For me?” Mal said in surprise as Inara handed him the small note from Book. Zoe and Wash were in the pilot’s seats and Inara stood by while Mal quickly read the note.

“Mal. Sorry I left you all. I can’t say why just know I have my reasons. I wasn’t going to write but after I wrote the letter to Jayne I felt I had to tell you this. If you are set on going to Miranda I need to give you a warning. The Reavers are in orbit nearby Miranda, dozens of ships, and they will attack without mercy. Try to drop out of light speed as close as possible to the planet. Maybe they won’t notice you. And there is one more thing. The man in the Miranda broadcast, I know who he is, know that voice even after all these years. His name is Professor Stanley Drummond and he was the chief scientific adviser to the Miranda government during the pacification attempt. He told them it was lunacy and they ignored him. Why or how he survived I don’t know, but he was well-known in scientific circles twenty years ago and he will be believed. I’m sure some out there know it is him, recognize his voice, and are keeping silent to protect his family. He was originally from Osiris. Why and how I know this information, well, I’m sure you can make an educated guess. Find Professor Drummond, get him away from Miranda. Let the people hear him. It is the only way the truth will be known.”

Mal just held the note, staring at it, as his crewmates waited for him to speak. Finally, Inara couldn’t stand it anymore.

“Mal…what is it?”

“Book…he knows the man in the broadcast,” Mal said in awe as he handed over the letter to Inara. She took it and read it out loud and all four wondered who Book really was.

“I bet he was on Miranda when it all happened,” said Zoe.

“Yeah, but why?” asked Wash. “And how does he know so much unless he was…Alliance?”

“We’ve all suspected that,” said Inara. “Do you think he was involved in the events on Miranda?”

“Could be,” said Mal. “This simmering rebellion will boil over if we get Drummond out of there and people hear what he’s got to say.”

“If he’s alive,” added Zoe and no one questioned her skepticism.

“Wonder what Book wrote to Jayne,” Wash said next.

“Nothin’” said Jayne as he stepped on the bridge. “Just a goodbye, saying we was good friends and all that sentimental crap and that he was sorry and I was to tell you all he was sorry.”

No one believed him and he could see it in their faces. “Oh, and he wants me to deliver them other letters, face to face, no post. Where are they?”

“That’s it?” Mal asked suspiciously, ignoring his question about the letters. “Nothing about why he left or where he’s going?”

Jayne just shrugged. “Nothing specific and I ain’t one to make no guesses. He’s gone and that’s that.”

“Jayne, we need to know the truth,” Inara said in a tone that usually had men confessing their secrets.

Jayne just grinned. “I’ve been sleeping with whores for twenty years now, so none of that sweet talk works on me. Less of course you want to invite me to…”

“Jayne! Where’s that letter?” Mal growled in a pissed off way, more for the insult to Inara that Jayne being stubborn over this.

“I burnt it,” Jayne said and their looks showed they still didn’t believe him. “Go ask River, she saw me do it.”

“Why did you burn it?” Zoe asked.

“For your own good,” Jayne said. “Less you know the better. Where them other letters?"

“I’ll show you,” said Inara and Jayne followed her as she left the bridge toward the dining area, ignoring the glare Mal was giving him.

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

Kaylee fretted over her lady and examined the engine room over and over but could find nothing wrong. She just had a feeling all was not well but wouldn’t know till they landed. She then went down to Inara’s shuttle and made sure the seal was tight on the inner door. All the air was gone by now she guessed and she just hoped none of Inara’s stuff was damaged. They’d be landing soon anyway and again there was nothing she could do except take a spacewalk and she’d only do that if it was a do or die emergency. Kaylee decided to see how Simon and River were doing and went down to the infirmary as Simon was still fixing Badger’s elbow. River sat on the sofa holding the bag of ice on her right knee.

“How is it?” Kaylee asked with concern as she sat down next to River.

“Bruised and swollen, but not broken.”

Kaylee sniffed the air. “Something burning?”

“Jayne burnt his letter from Book.”

“What? How come?”

“So nobody would know what Book was doing.”

“Oh…I see,” Kaylee said quietly and then shook her head. “So no one…no, I really don’t see.”

“To protect us,” said River. “Less we know, the better.”

“Oh…but you know?”

River shook her head. “Nope. Not a clue.”

“Wait a second,” Kaylee said as she narrowed her eyes. “You always know, way before anyone else.”

“Kaylee, you don’t want to know. Not this time.”

“You mean he’s doing something…dangerous?”

“Can’t say,” River said and then pursed her lips closed tight.

“Come on…you can tell me!!”

But River kept silent and shook her head and then Simon came out of the infirmary. “Hey, Kaylee.”

She stood and gave him a kiss just as Badger walked out of the infirmary behind him. Kaylee wanted to get Simon to tell River to tell her what she knew but knew they shouldn't talk about such things in front of Badger.

“Miss Frye, how lovely to see you,” said Badger with his usual slimy charm. “Haven’t seen you since the big shindig.”

“Don’t remind me,” Kaylee said with a trace of annoyance. “Let’s see, you and your boys grabbed me by Serenity and held me and my crewmates prisoner for the whole night. Is that about it, Simon?”

“Sounds right to me," Simon said as he stared at Badger. He despised this little man but stitched up his elbow anyway, his oath as a doctor coming before all else.

“That’s all in the past, we all becoming friends here, ain’t we?” Badger said in a boisterous manner. “Besides, I seem to recall spending a pretty penny to get you your fancy dress”

“Yeah, you did. Still don’t make things right,” Kaylee said.

“Now we’re all in this mess together,’ Badger said. “So we got to work as a team.”

“Shut up, Badger,” Mal said as he came in from the cargo bay, still pissed about Jayne not telling them what was in the letter from Book. “You ain’t a member of this team and never will be.”

“Now, now, Mal, we was just getting re-acquainted here, me and Miss Frye and the Tams.”

“Me and you are gonna have a nice long chat,” Mal said to Badger. “Soon as we land on this little moon and get some repairs done. Meanwhile, you’re a guest. You stay in the passenger dorms and the lounge here and the dining room. Bridge and engine room off limits. Don’t touch nothing ain’t yours and we’ll all get along fine.”

“You’re the captain,” Badger said with just a trace of irritation creeping into his voice.

“And don’t forget it. Kaylee, almost time for landing.”

Mal left and then Kaylee quickly gave Simon another kiss and raced off to the engine room.

Badger sat on the sofa and grinned at Simon. “So, you and Miss Frye is it?”

Simon just sighed. “Yes, suppose it’s no secret.”

“Ah, young love, how nice,” Badger said and then got an uncomfortable feeling as River was staring at him.

“You ain’t from my home world, is you love? Had me fooled that time.”

“No, I ain’t love,” River said in an exact copy of Badger’s accent, which she dropped as she continued speaking. “And you know where we are from and who we are and exactly why we are on this ship. What’s the reward now?”

“400,000 credits,” said Simon, enjoying watching Badger squirm as River glared at him.

“Now, let’s back up a bit here,” Badger got out in a nervous voice. “I ain’t in the fugitive reward business. That’s for bounty hunters and other scum.”

“Well, just make sure you have your story straight when Mal starts asking questions,” Simon advised. “Because he promised Jayne he could torture you if he thinks you’re lying. And Mal is also prone to throwing people out the airlock if he doesn’t like them. I’ve seen it with my own eyes.”

Badger gulped. “Nothing but the truth shall pass my lips.”

“There’s always a first time for everything,” Simon said and then told River to come into the infirmary so he could look at her knee, leaving a very worried Badger alone to think on what he had to say to keep alive and get off this ship as soon as possible and back into business.

************************************************** Jonathan Frye also tried to figure out how to get of the mess he was in. He’d been walking back to his house from the factory when six armed feds took him into custody. At first he thought it was about what Serenity’s crew had done in the jewelry shop and the spaceport shootout so he went along quietly, knowing he had done nothing illegal himself. When he got to the police station he was allowed to wave Mary and tell her where he was and he might not see her that night and she understood. And then the real trouble started. He had barely finished the wave when he felt a pinch in his left arm and the whole world went black.

When he awoke he was being carried on a gurney along a corridor in a strange place. The ceilings and walls were metallic and then he saw an airlock and knew he was on a spaceship.

“What’s going on?” he mumbled. “I got rights.”

No one answered him and he drifted on the edge of consciousness. The airlock opened and the gurney was pushed through. On the other side several Alliance men awaited and someone handed over an electronic clipboard and someone else signed it and handed it back.

“Prisoner transfer complete,” said a voice then Jonathan felt a rage building in his heart and mind, pumping blood and adrenaline to his muscles.

“Prisoner!” he shouted and was up and swinging at the nearest head. One Alliance man went down out cold and another had a bloody nose before they reacted. He was off the gurney fighting like mad, swinging punches and kicking at knees and then everything went black again.

Now he was in another room, this one totally black, everything painted black or made from black materials and he was shackled to a metal chair in the middle of the room. Through blurry vision he could make out the details of the room. In front of him was what could only be described as a large aquarium. It was about forty feet long and twenty feet wide, the height of two tall men and it was filled with a translucent whitish liquid, not water, but not solid either. On either end of the aquarium were a set a stairs going up to a platform on each end. Hanging over the tank was a set of harnesses, on pulleys and cables and what looked like a deep sea diver’s helmet and an air hose. Both were totally black. And then Jonathan realized he was dressed in a black suit of some kind of rubber, all except his head.

He heard the sound of footsteps approaching and then Jonathan came face to face with a man he’d never thought he’d meet in his whole life. It was Adam Cutter.

“Mr. Frye, how good to meet you.”

“What the hell do you want?” Jonathan managed to get out, despite the dryness of his mouth, not giving a shit who this guy was, knowing he had rights and he was being unlawfully held. He wanted to say more but it took a monumental mental effort to even think about that and he just gave up as he realized he was drugged.

“Ah, straight to the point. Wonderful. I want information, information about your daughter and Serenity and what they have been doing and what they plan on doing.”

“Go to hell, you son of a bitch,” came the weak reply.

“As expected,” Cutter said without feeling and then he signaled to someone Jonathan couldn’t see. His chair was pushed to one end of the platform and his shackles were undone, Jonathan tried to fight but was almost paralyzed.

“Yes, we have been informed of your altercation on your journey here so we made no mistakes about your sedation,” Cutter said as Jonathan was half lifted and half pushed up the stairs. One of the men next to him took the diver’s helmet and put in on Jonathan’s head and sealed it shut. After he checked to make sure oxygen was flowing he gave Jonathan a big shove and Kaylee’s father went right into the tank.

The translucent material flowed and ebbed and Jonathan sank toward the middle but did not fall to the bottom and did not float back to the top. He was suspended in the middle of the tank. He turned his body and tried to move his arms like a swimmer but went nowhere.

“How long before he is ready?” Cutter asked one of the men. Despite his expertise in interrogation, he was so busy with police matters that he had no time to properly acquaint himself with this new method of uncovering secrets.

“The drugs should wear off in an hour and then he will become more aware of what is happening. After that, well, sir, it depends on the man. If he is weak and unsure of himself, lacking confidence, of low intelligence, a loner, no family, few friends, nothing to look forward to in his life, if he has a conscience, a sense of guilt, we will break him in a few hours.”

“And if not?”

“If he has a grounded life with plenty of friends and family and with hope for a future, with a religious background, a man people look up to and respect, who is sure of himself and his place in the world, well, sir, it will take a long time.”

“How long?”

“Days. But he will break. They all do.”

“Let me know when he shows the first sign of weakness,” Cutter said as he walked away, certain that he would have to manipulate Jonathan Frye’s descent into madness if he was to know where Serenity was going next. He needed that information, fast.

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

Serenity sat in a dry river valley on Oxbridge moon, repairs to the ship necessary after its close encounter with two Alliance gunships. Soon as they landed Kaylee got to work examining the ship’s hull and Inara’s shuttle and after a half hour inspection told Mal it would take the whole day to make repairs. There was no major damage but she needed to get the dents out and seal the few holes there were and set things right again. And she still wanted an x-ray done of the damaged areas. Mal told her to wait till after they had a bit to eat and heard what Badger had to say before beginning to work.

As they sat and ate a nice meal of chicken soup and sandwiches Inara and River made they started in on Badger.

“Tell us your story,” Mal said. “The truth. Was there a job for us?”

“No job, just what Cutter’s dog told me to tell you,” Badger said as he took a spoonful of soup. “My compliments to the chef.”

“Yeah, it’s…great,” said Mal as he took in another spoonful and Inara smiled, wondering if Mal could use some charm lessons from even the likes of Badger.

“He ended your guys?” Jayne asked with his mouthful of bread and Badger related how all his men were killed.

“Damn,” Zoe said. “He was that fast?”

“In a blink of an eye…poof, five of them laid out and my hand was pinned to my desk.”

“He was well trained,” said River and Mal knew he should have told her to keep her mouth shut as he saw Badger become instantly curious.

“Eh? Well trained? You know this fellow?”

“No,” Mal said hastily. “First time we met him. But if he's an Operative, they're all well trained.”

“Suppose so. Bit young to be an Operative. Anyways,” continued Badger. “Made me wave you and well, here we are, you all know the rest.”

“Harrow said he thought you were a prisoner,” Inara told him.

“Ah, Harrow, he’s a real gent, the fat bastard,” Badger replied. “Surprised he put in a good word for me. Good for business but he hates me worse than one of his ex-wives.”

“We paid him for the information,’ Mal said and Badger just laughed.

“Now that don’t surprise me one bit.”

Jayne smacked his lips and took a long drink of water and then looked at Badger. “How come they was waiting for us? We said three days, it was only one and half.”

Badger grinned. “Now, Mr. Cobb, you don’t think sonny boy Forbes actually believed that? He ain’t no slouch this one. Said he represents Cutter and I’m beginning to believe him.”

“Whatever he is and whoever he represents, he’s still out there looking for us,” Zoe said.

“Looking for the Tams, you mean,” Badger said and there it was, out in the open.

“He said that?’ Kaylee asked with worry.

“Not exactly, little lady, but he didn’t come all the way from the Core to look for a ship that’s been missing for four years unless he had himself a good reason. And I don’t suspects that reward is what he’s after either. What you two do to Cutter anyways got him turning over every rock in the verse looking for you?”

The last was directed at Simon and River. “Nothing of your concern,” said Simon. “And we don’t hide under rocks. Unlike some of your company I’m sure.”

Badger just grinned and ignored the insult. “Well, I suppose some things should remain secret. Like your missing four years. Come on, Mal. I know every shady deal maker and legal and not so legal cargo that’s on the move in this quadrant and got eyes and ears in many others. No one’s seen or heard of Serenity in four years. What gives?”

“Some day when we’re both old and without a tooth in our heads I’ll tell you all about it,” Mal said. “If we live that long. Meanwhile, to business. You’re going to get on a Cortex screen here after lunch and put the word out that Malcolm Reynolds can be trusted again. Say I did a few runs for you and all went well. Clear?”

“Most certainly, Mal,” Badger said. “Let’s just hope everyone believes me is all.”

Jayne gave Mal a dirty look. “We rescue this scumbag for nothing?”

“No, Jayne,” said River. “He’s just trying to cause dissension among us.”

Badger looked at her with curious intent. “Not on my mind at all.”

“Yes, it is,” River said and almost everyone else wanted to scream at her to be quiet but none could think of a way without making Badger more suspicious. “You are respected in the criminal underworld, can make all Mal’s problems go away.”

“I guess that’s to be seen,” Badger said as he turned to his food wondering just what was going on with this little girl. “Anything else I can do to pay for my deliverance from the Alliance?”

“Just one more thing,” Mal said to Badger. “These repairs Kaylee’s going make will be good but in space good ain’t good enough. We need to put down in a shipyard. Kind that don’t ask too many questions.”

Badger smiled. “I know one like that. Place you’ve been to before Mal if I remember your history correctly.”

Mal narrowed his eyes. What was his game now? “And where would that be?”

“Place with lots of blood spilled, Alliance and Independents," said Badger. "Hera, not a stone’s throw from Serenity Valley.”