A.N. to catch up, start at the Prologue, and follow the links back here.

Chapter 2

Kaylee went to the Infirmary as soon as Serenity set down. Her hand was burned from grabbing the heat intake when the ship rolled, and she’d landed hard against the opposite wall when she let go, but Kaylee would yell at Mal later. There had been no fancy flying or hard stresses beyond the initial run, thankfully. The mechanical systems were fine and she’d found enough in-tact fuel cells to fix the life support, but half the electrical relays were shorted out, and they were blind as a bat. The grav boot had taken a hit, and Kaylee nearly cried because the thing was so gorram expensive she’d have to sacrifice repairs elsewhere for lack of money. The Captain set them down light as a feather, though, and as soon as he gave the go-ahead, Kaylee started assessing the damage, putting out fires, and tracing a path toward her children. It shook her enough when she’d heard Genny screaming and had run in on that horror in the cargo bay, but now Serenity was broken too, and the screams ripped through her. She shelved it though. There was peace on the ground. Fifteen minutes of terror at the end of an already long day, and now they could recover and repair. Weren’t too unusual. The kids’ voices carried from the lounge, words mixing with half-hearted chuckles. It was a memory game they played to pass the time when they had to sit still and keep quiet. Genny and Jamie were slumped tiredly in the chairs, slouched as much as possible with the safety harnesses on. Cole lay flat, still on the stretcher, tied to the table like Gulliver after the Lilliputians had gotten to him. The emergency lights were the only thing working in this section, but Kaylee would get to that later. The Infirmary was still. Zoë squatted in the corner, head in her hands, shoulders shaking intermittently. Inara stood by Michael, stroking his forehead, whispering prayers. Simon stood over River, holding her hand, and Kaylee shuddered because she knew that look in her husband’s eyes. “Mom?” Jamie called tentatively, and Kaylee donned a mask of composure. “Where’s Emily?” Kaylee asked brusquely. She’d put Jamie in charge of the little girl when the crisis started, because he was the only one, besides Jayne or Sky, that Emily listened to. “Uncle Jayne took her.” Kaylee rubbed her eyes, trying to clear the images from her mind. She could see burns on the bulkheads just behind their seats where the electrical relays had shorted. The ship was a hazard and a mess, but at least they’d set down. “It’s safe to unstrap now,” she told them. “Genny, I need you upstairs to get the computer running again.” Kaylee was good with mechanics, but computer engineering was her daughter’s special talent. Genny undid her harness and ran over to Cole, holding out the back of her hand so he could itch his nose against it. Cole smiled gratefully. “Now, Genny,” Kaylee said, more irritably than she meant to, then thought twice about sending her daughter out alone in the ship’s present condition. “Take Zoë with you.” Both Genny and Jamie looked at her, surprised by her tone, eyes wide and scared, wanting to obey, but needing reassurance. Dropping to one knee, Kaylee opened her arms and Jamie ran to embrace her. Genny came more slowly, but when she did come, she held tight. Kaylee didn’t want to imagine what it had been like for them, watching helplessly as little Michael fell and flattened poor Cole. “I’m right here for you,” Kaylee assured them. They were shaky, but still putting on a brave front because they knew there was work to be done. After too brief a minute of comfort, Genny went to the Infirmary and summoned Zoë. Before going upstairs, she locked eyes with her brother, and pointed to Cole, ordering, “Don’t leave him alone.”

*~*

It was calm, but in the eye-of-the-storm variety, not the after-the-storm. Whoever it was up there would likely be waiting, and with River, Michael, and Cole down, Simon already had more patients than beds. Mal pulled open the console, willing an easy fix into the parts, but all he got was a face full of sparks and ash. He’d noticed when the grav shorted, but forgot to think about it just before landing, and accidentally sent a whole shelf of equipment falling onto Sky, who hadn’t unstrapped her harness yet. She seemed more irritated than hurt, and she she waited for Mal to get the first aid kit for her. Knowing Sky, there was no telling if it was belligerence or legitimate injury. Jayne darted upstairs, holding Emily in one arm, a fire extinguisher in the other. Mal had already checked for wall-fires on the bridge and upper deck, but he didn’t stop Jayne from doing his own survey. “Power’s out on the lower deck,” Jayne reported, “Kaylee’s on it. What hit us?” “Something Alliance,” Mal answered. He searched for pen and paper in the mess of things that had fallen to the floor and started drawing the strange symbol from memory. “Some energy pulse weapon, though we ain’t seen one this powerful before. Something new.” Sky popped the seal on a chemical ice pack and held it to her forehead, commenting jadedly, “Or a new kind of Reaver.” Jayne tensed predictably. “Reavers?” Mal craned his neck and looked out the window again to the sky, ignoring Jayne’s reaction. It was hazy out and mid-day, but Mal wasn’t about to set the clocks back six hours to join world time. Irritated at being ignored, Jayne grumbled and handed Emily to Sky so he could tend to his wife’s wounds. Mal mulled over the new enemy. They showed up in the middle of a job, just after River went into a fit, then they didn’t seem keen on capturing, boarding, or breaking Serenity. “It’s quiet since the first shot. They didn’t even chase us down here. Didn’t even cross atmo.” “Like they’re toying with us,” Sky groused. “Or targeting,” Mal said. “It ain’t a secret that our boat houses a reader.” “You think someone is targeting River and Michael?” Jayne asked. Mal shook his head, and busied himself with repairs. “Just River. The rest of the ‘verse don’t know about Michael, and I mean to keep it that way. Readers are a rare commodity, and I ain’t giving the Alliance cause to come take him.” Sky sighed gravely. “Alliance don’t need a reason.”

*~*

The Infirmary was humid with sweat, tears, and residual panic, and Inara’s whispered prayers filled the air like cool, refreshing mist. Kaylee placed a hand on Simon’s shoulder and his head bowed in response. He was thinking up a storm, she could tell. He was pulling out all the stops of the imagination, not restricting himself to what he knew, but desperately testing what might be. With River’s perceptive ability, it always came to that. “They have her mind,” Simon said. Then he shook his head and tugged his ear, like he could pull sense out of the statement that way. “Any way I can help?” Kaylee asked. Simon touched River’s face. She looked so peaceful, but the remorse in Simon’s eyes spoke volumes as to the nature of that peace. “Simon,” Kaylee tried again. “There has to be … something …” He forced his thoughts into words for her benefit. He was trapped on River. “Cole is asking for you.” Cole hadn’t said a word of complaint, but Kaylee wasn’t trying to speak for the boy so much as she was trying to provoke a response. Her words had the desired effect. Simon looked over his shoulder where Cole lay in the lounge, duct-taped to the coffee table because Jayne had lacked a more creative restraint. “Get power to the bone scanner,” Simon said quietly, shelving his inner turmoil and focusing on his work. “Steady the power so I can run the instruments and start treating this …” He looked from Cole to Michael to River, gulping large breaths of composure. She grabbed his hand before he could dismiss her again. Stepping into his personal space, she cradled his face and kissed his cheeks, where she knew the tears would fall later, in private. “We’ll get through this,” Kaylee assured. “We always do.” Simon’s gaze drifted briefly toward River, then he ducked his head again, locking away any emotion. There was no soft smile at her words, and no glimmer of hope. He didn’t like being touched in these moments, but he was too kind to push her away. If it were anyone else on the table, he would’ve at least pretended to take comfort. But this was his own heart on the table. This was River. And this time, she might not make it.

*~*

“Can’t be Reavers,” Jayne said firmly, more to convince himself than anyone else. He walked quickly to the galley, pacing back and forth in the hall because Sky and Mal were moving slower. “Reavers don’t back off like that, even if their ship would explode.” It wasn’t easy pulling Inara and Simon out of the Infirmary, but Mal needed address his crew, and he needed to do it in a place where they wouldn’t be distracted. He didn’t have much to say, but any plan would keep for the moment. Anything in the galley that hadn’t been bolted down was now tossed to the left side of the room. “We don’t know a damn thing about second generation Reavers,” Sky pointed out, righting a chair for herself and sitting at the table. “They weren’t drugged into the life. They chose it.” “There’s no choice in it,” Mal said matter-of-factly. Sky made a face, but her words were as said as she wanted and she laid her head down on the table, burying her face in folded arms. Mal righted the other chairs in the room and kicked the dangerous stuff sideways. Jayne set a kettle to boil, and stood impatiently by the stove, urging Emily to stay still. The little girl wanted to walk around, but there was simply too much fallen and broken for her to be safe. Inara arrived next, walking stiffly, sitting cautiously. She met his eye only briefly, then focused on the table, whispering a proprietary ‘no, thank you’ when Jayne offered her tea. She was two steps from breaking, and as much as he wanted to hold her, Mal dared not touch her. “This isn’t like Reavers, new or old,” Mal said, continuing his thoughts to Jayne. “No one has followed us down to eat our spleens. Did River say anything?” Jayne shook his head. “Wasn’t that kind of fit.” “She said they have her,” Simon said, entering with Kaylee. “They have her and they’re here.” “Speaking in riddles,” Mal mulled, then cursed under his breath. Kaylee sat, but Simon went immediately to Sky, assessing and that cold, disconnected manner he had. He’d steeled himself and buried his soul so deep, they wouldn’t see it for days. The fact that Sky wasn’t swatting him away concerned Mal greatly. “How long will she be down?” Sky asked Simon, her voice muffled because she was talking into her elbow. “She won’t be helping to clean this mess, if that’s what you’re asking,” Simon said sardonically. “She’s sedated now. I wasn’t going to wake her until after Michael’s surgery.” Mal bristled and swallowed hard at the thought of his son getting cut on. Layering that with River’s warning, made it all the harder. “Best keeping River under anyway ‘til we figure out who has her and where.” Simon nodded and the room stood still waiting for Mal to lead the conversation to the next topic. He got a grip, figured out what needed doing, and shook off the distractions. “Get on with your work then, Doctor,” Mal dismissed. When Simon didn’t move, Kaylee placed her hand over his, but he didn’t respond. Jayne kicked him under the table. “Spit it out, doc. What do you need?” Jayne demanded. Simon pressed a finger to his lips thoughtfully. “Two … maybe three units of blood.” “Mine?” Mal checked. Simon nodded. “Guess I won’t be cleaning up neither. Set it up.” Simon left stiffly, then returned a few minutes later, while Kaylee was describing the extent of the electrical systems damage. Without a word, Simon set a bottle of painkillers in front of Sky, and then walked out again. Not missing a beat in her report, Kaylee took the bottle, and shook out three pills for Sky who lifted her head just long enough to swallow the pills, then laid down again. Kaylee was the most together of the bunch. Mal could see her brain working behind those eyes, figuring out her to-do list, determining what needed to be brought to his attention. She was goal-oriented, like him, and through the years, she’d figured out how to get exactly what she needed. “Genny’s on the computer fix,” Kaylee reported, and Mal raised his eyebrows in surprise. So far as Mal knew, Genny’s talent was handing the boys their asses in hoop ball. Fixing computers was of much more use to Mal. “Basic vid and geolocation are key,” Mal said. “If we need to run, we can’t be blind.” “She knows,” Kaylee said surely, and Mal could see the pride in her eyes. “Make sure the peripheral systems are ready when she is. Sky, you and Kaylee get the external surveillance up and running.” Sky lifted her head slowly, and didn’t protest. Mal continued, the ideas flowing more quickly now. “Jayne, take a trip around the block. Scout this area and see where we’ve landed. See if there are any settlements within spitting distance.” Jayne nodded. “’Nara, take the shuttle –” “Shuttle couplings are fused,” Kaylee interrupted. “Take the mule, then,” Mal said. “If Jayne spots a town, you go in and see if you can figure who hit us. Get a message out to anyone you think can help. The rest of you, if you need supplies, you have twenty minutes to make a list.” With that, Mal dismissed the crew, and he was glad to see them moving purposefully toward their tasks. They always knew what needed doing. These meetings were simply a matter of focus and motivation. Inara hung back after the others left, carefully moving the spent tea cups to the sink. Mal wanted to speak, but no words came to mind. “If you have any old friends on this world, now’s the time to call in a favor.” She couldn’t even meet his eye – not for more than a few seconds at a time. She wanted more. They both did. But now was not the time.

*~*

The back hatch of Serenity opened, letting in a swift cool, dry air that was tainted with ash. Strong winds whipped from the east, but the source of the smoke was well beyond the horizon. Jayne didn’t think the smoke thick enough to require a mask, but he found one for Emily anyway. She fingered the mask curiously and giggled when Jayne kissed her forehead. So long as he kept appearances, this would be a game to her. “Wen guo pi! What is that?!” Jamie exclaimed, covering his mouth with his sleeve and running to the entrance. Jamie had a sailor’s mouth on him and Jayne found that hilarious, if for no other reason than it riled Simon. He and Cole were cleaning up the mess in the cargo bay and helping Inara get the mule ready to go. Cole couldn’t do much with just the one good arm, and he limped to the door, leaning out to see the world. “Probably wild fires,” Jayne answered, though his attention was on the weapons closet and what firearm he should select for Inara. It was bad enough she was going out without escort, but without a sidearm was downright foolhardy. “Boys, stay inside,” Inara said sternly, coming next to Jayne, and selecting a dainty, snub nose revolver with an engraved, wooden grip. Jayne had never seen her use the thing, but figured folk responded to her when she brandished it because she didn’t look like she could handle it safely. Not that guns were safe by nature. He gave her a Delta Elite as well, though he knew she wouldn’t use it. Emily reached out curiously for the weapon, but Inara stayed her hand, saying simply “Not for babies.” Jayne couldn’t remember seeing Inara so shut off since little Zoë ran away. He was in no place to comment though – it wasn’t his kid lying near dead in the Infirmary. Quickly, Jayne shouldered his favorite sniper rifle, handed Emily off to Jamie, and motioned for Inara to follow him out. He squinted at the glare of natural daylight. Though the sun was high, the smoke had reddened it significantly, and set a haze over the sky. They’d set down on a plateau. To the east, black smoke rose from a deep valley, and to the north, a jagged mountain range was just visible through the haze. An aircraft rose from the south, close, but amidst the foothills, and made a beeline for the valley. “The primary settlement must be that way,” Inara said, watching the southern border, hoping for a more direct marking. The white ash clung to her hair and eyelashes, and dusted her clothing, making her look like an antique china doll just pulled out of the closet. Jayne agreed. The southern settlement was the one fighting the fire in the east, thus they must be harboring the resources. A second craft took to the air. “Can’t be more than fifteen miles out,” Jayne said. He didn’t like the idea of sending her off alone. Today’s luck simply was not in favor of that turning out well. At fifteen miles, if she radioed for help, there was nothing he could do. Until the shuttles were fixed, they only had the one mule. “If you want to stay –” “Mal assigned me this task for a reason,” she interrupted curtly, steeling her nerves, and heading back inside to get the mule. Jayne didn’t credit Mal with as much foresight, and was about to say as much when he turned and got a view of the exterior of the ship. The outer hull was riddled with stress fractures, and an entire chunk of the port side was ripped off completely. No wonder the grav boot failed! Adjusting his belt, and shifting the gun on his shoulder, Jayne circled the ship, cataloging the damages, and figuring out just how much of their luck quota had been spent on holding the pieces together long enough to get them safely to ground.

*~*

Mal grunted and groaned, but willed his way up the stairs, short two pints of blood, and seeing stars all the way. He wanted to get back to the bridge, more to have a quiet space to think than that there was anything needing doing. No telling how long he’d been passed out on the floor of the Infirmary, but Simon had been putting the final stitches on Michael’s belly when he came to. His little Michael… he needed to do something more than lie on the floor of the Infirmary, looking up at the gorram ceiling. No wonder River was so crazy! Mal needed to check the progress of the others. And he needed a tall glass of water. The galley was cleaner than before, and blurry until the cool water sliding down Mal’s throat brought the world into sharp relief. Maybe he’d check – Mal froze, ears alert, when he heard the stifled squeak from the hall. Poking his head out the door, he listened again. A muffled cry. The sounds came from the engine room. Moving quickly, Mal crossed the ship, jumping over the bundles of cable Kaylee had strung out, in attempt to restore the power downstairs. When he got to the engine room, his concern melted into incredulous annoyance. Genny and Zoë were wrestling, dancing dangerously through the maze of cables. The girls had been fighting a lot over the past month, and Mal didn’t particularly care what about. This was a dangerous place to roughhouse and they both knew better! “Knock it off!” he yelled, then placed a hand on the wall as the world went kind of spotted again. Genny squeaked as Zoë released her and the two girls went to opposite sides of the room, sitting huffily. Genny picked up a soldering iron and a circuit board and set to work, casting angry glances at Zoë. Zoë rested her chin on her hand and stared fervently at the engine. She didn’t offer an explanation – she never did. “Zo, what are you doing here?” Mal asked. “She’s my assistant,” Genny answered importantly. “Try babysitter,” Zoë goaded. Genny picked up a roll of tape and chucked it at Zoë, but Zoë ducked and snarled angrily. “I don’t need watching –” “Enough!” Mal said, and both girls stopped obediently, clearly simmering. There was no excuse for this behavior … excepting maybe the stress of the crash and seeing Michael and Cole nearly dying. Mal decided he’d only punish them a little for misbehaving. Little Zoë was itching to get out of the room and know what was happening outside the room. “Zoë, go to the Infirmary and help Simon.” Zoë grunted a stiff thank you and hustled out of the room. “Genny, what’s the status?” Genny took a deep breath and shook her head, like she was relieved to be rid of Zoë. “Internal mainframe needs replacing, so for the mean time, I’m wiring a portable networking unit to tap into the world aviation signals and paralleling all the handhelds so we can run off open source on the cortex.” Mal’s jaw flapped uncertainly. He hadn’t heard talk like that since Mr. Universe. “What’s that mean?” Genny smiled sweetly, and tucked her hair behind one ear, looking so much like her mom that Mal nearly forgave her previous indiscretion. “Give me another ten minutes and we can use the local lawman’s satellites to track the ship that shot us.”

*~*

Simon moved purposefully around the Infirmary, arranging and rearranging the supplies, never satisfied, because the items he was arranging were of no use in the current medical situation. Mal shouldn’t be upright, but short of medicating him into a coma, there was no holding him down, and Simon couldn’t afford to waste the meds. Sky had a concussion from the landing, but it was nothing she would complain about and unless she fell over in the course of her work, there was nothing much he could do beyond what he already had. Fortunately, Cole only had a broken arm, so he’d been able to reclaim the splints Jayne had so liberally applied and jerry rig traction for Michael. The younger Reynolds boy had regained consciousness after Simon’s surgery to stop the internal bleeding, but Simon had medically induced a coma. The boy’s shoulder was dislocated where Cole had tried to catch him, and Simon credited that move alone with saving Michael’s life. Both Michael’s legs were broken in multiple places, as well as two ribs, his left arm, and his sternum. The last was a result of the chest compressions from when his heart stopped. He should’ve just gone for the paddles. River was much more challenging a puzzle. She had suffered extreme neurological and physiological trauma with no determinable cause. Although he knew her current psychoactive meds were no longer effective, he considered administering them anyway, because he could see the first physical symptoms of withdrawal. Simon pulled River’s meds from the cabinet, and held the bottle of pale pink liquid to the light. He still had a six month supply of this one, and now it was completely useless. He put it back into the cabinet and closed the door. Then he opened the cabinet again, pulled out all the bottles, and started rearranging. Zoë stalked in, all fury and frustration, carrying a worn leather satchel that was her signature clothing item as much as Mal’s suspenders. Simon was pretty sure that over the last two years, he’d never seen her leave the ship without it. “Going somewhere?” he asked, not turning from the cabinet, though his hands slowed. “No,” she said angrily, pacing in the small space between the beds. “Baba spends all his breath telling me to grow up and I’m still stuck with the same job I’ve had since I was nine.” Simon smiled sympathetically. “You fought with Genny.” Zoë rubbed the back of her fingers against her forehead, desperately wanting to put reason to her actions. “It’s stupid, I know.” “Your dad caught you, didn’t he?” “She just gets under my skin sometimes.” Zoë sat hard in the middle of the floor, and rooted around her bag for a pen and notebook. When she pulled out a stack of papers too, Simon motioned with his hand for her to scoot closer to the wall and out of the way. Sometimes he wondered what his daughter did to provoke Little Zoë. But then, Simon had a little sister, and he knew some spats went beyond reason. “Watch the kids,” Zoë grumbled, making a face. “It’s been three hours and all I’ve done is hand her tools that she could very well get on her own. I’m sick of being useless.” “You won’t find much reprieve here,” Simon said, calmly placing the last of the bottles in the cabinet and closing it again. Glad for the company, he turned to face Zoë and leaned against the counter. “You’re just sitting here?” Simon shrugged helplessly. “Michael is stable, and there’s nothing else I can do until Inara returns with the new supplies.” “Did Aunt River wake?” “A few times,” Simon said. He had tried waking her briefly, after Mal had left, but she seemed completely hollow, as if someone else were watching him through her eyes. He’d shivered at the sight, and sedated her almost immediately. “She didn’t say anything,” Simon whispered. Zoë nodded thoughtfully, then turned her notebook to a fresh page. “Remind me what she said the first time.” Between Michael and River, Zoë had developed a special interest in bioethics and psychic research. No detail or tidbit of hearsay went overlooked in her investigations and she was convinced that some day, some benefit would come. Simon could already see the benefit, simply in the way she had taught her parents how to connect with Michael. She was her little brother’s protector and greatest advocate. Simon described River’s actions from the time she first passed out on the bridge to the chilling words she’d said before he’d drugged her. Zoë nodded as she wrote, then glanced sideways at the stack of articles she’d amassed. “Something this powerful,” she mused. “I can’t believe this is the first I’ve heard.” “It sounds like the first phase of some kind of mind-control weapon,” Simon said. Zoë pursed her lips and shook her head. “Readers have always been the vehicle, not the target of such things.” Still, she wrote the theory in her notebook. Simon liked that she was studious and that he could think out loud with her. It helped them both, not being useless. “Maybe someone is seeking out the vehicles,” Simon hypothesized. “On Earth-that-was, scientists used electroshock to stun the fish so they could get an accurate count on the population.” Zoë didn’t answer. She picked up the first paper on the stack and started reading. Simon had criticized her more than once for being wasteful, printing out things on paper. Now, with the computers had gone dark, he could eat those words. What he wouldn’t give for a hard copy of his medical notes for River – for the whole crew. Pulling up a chair, he held out a hand and Zoë handed him a few papers. He dropped those papers when River gasped and opened her eyes.

*~*

Please comment before reading Chapter 3