"Wrong question. You should be asking, what am I?" "You’re a girl." Scoffs Jayne as he looks at me. Vulgar mind this one. He's thinking of how my black hair would look if it were not in a bun but let loose. He wants to take off the tattered clothing that I am wearing to see the muscular, curvy body that it does not hide. Amazing that he wants to know how my legs would feel around him, since if placed in just the right spot and with the right amount of pressure could suffocate him. Simon wasn't too far in thinking of him as an ape-man thing. Yet, simple is the best way to describe this one. He knows what he wants and that's that. How easy his life must be. Living in the moment. Although I don't like where this moment is taking him. Mal, in the meantime, rolls his eyes and then focuses back on me. "What are you?" He asks. I look at him and see the black that envelops his mind. Strange that he would live in such darkness. He doesn't even know the real darkness. He's lost. "I am classified as a hybrid. River was supposed to be the first one of our kind, but the experiment went sour, due to their incompetence." Simon scoffs as he looks at me through narrow eyes. Kaylee holds his hand as she takes a seat next to him. River is huddled against the paneling of the ship averting her eyes from me. River! "How easy for you to speak of her as a lab rat." Simon says through clenched teeth. "We are what they made us." I say as I sit down on the crates. "They made her into a reader." Simon replies repulsively. "That was just a lucky mistake." "Lucky!" He shouts at me getting up. "Lucky - that they made her into this warped girl, who feels everything. Lucky - that they took my sister and experimented on her. Was it luck that got her through those days in there? Was it luck that she was taken to that school and was forfeited her right to live normally?" Pointing his finger at me he walks toward me. "You are here to take her back, otherwise how did you get out? That place," he said with a disgusting tone, "was a stronghold. We barely made it out. How is it that you got out so easily?" "Lucky because one small mistake and she wouldn't be here. Lucky because that's what kept her valuable to them and let her live another day. Lucky because with this ability it opened up the Links channel. Lucky because this was all that they were able to do to her. As for my escape did I say it was easy?" I reply simply as I look at him. "You can fear me, you can hate me, I even give you leave to kill me," I say as I gesture toward Mal and his gun. "They will still come after you. I just thought that if I'm going to die anyway, why not die the way I want. River was the closest person I have ever had in my life. If you choose to accept this information or not, it is up to you. Do not think that I came to harm River. For if that was my "mission" I would have done it already and I would have killed all of you in instant." "Stimulating." Mal interrupts, "Now can you kindly explain to me what is a hybrid?" "A hybrid is an experiment," I say looking at Simon, "that can accomplish virtually anything. They are successful in all fields of specialty as oppose to just one. In short, I am the perfect weapon." "Oh, well, great," Mal says throwing his hands up, "and you think that I will just let you ride on my ship and pose a threat to my crew because you know River?" "Like I said I'm not asking you to trust me, but you don't have much of a choice as an Alliance ship is about to dock here in 10 minutes." Everyone looked at me skeptically. "Yeah, sure, I don't see any Allian…." Mal stops short as the ship comes into view. "Jen dao mei tzuh muh luh?" "They're not here for you although if you don't take me I can easily report you to them," I look at him waiting for his response. He's a fool if he doesn't agree to taking me along. "I thought you didn't want to harm River," Simon says icily. I simply shrug. "You must be the Captain." The paying passenger says as he comes out into the cargo bay. He extends his hand to Mal. "Huh," Mal replies looking at him warily. "Oh, uh, Cap'n this is Derek and his daughters Chloe and Payton. They're the passengers for this flight." Clearing her throat she ventured on, "aside from Dustee." "Ah. Well, best we get on our way," Mal says as he shakes Derek's hand and heads to the bridge. On his way he grabs my arm and drags me along. "You are not to leave my sight, is that understood?" "Yup," I say with a small smile. As we reach the bridge I notice a plethora of plastic dinosaurs and palm trees. They didn't want to remove them. It's part of the history of the bridge. Even as Mal sits in the seat, a pang of hesitance is in him. He knows that the seat doesn't rightfully belong to him. It belongs to the one who owned these plastic toys. Yes, Mal is lost. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> After takeoff, Mal puts the ship on auto pilot and guides me down to the dining area. Already in the room are the passengers as well as everyone in the crew, except Simon and River, although they don't need to hide now. Derek already saw them and doesn't have a clue as to who they are. I could mention this, but I don't care to. Mal give us the brief announcement of the time for dinner and where we can and cannot go. Sensing the tense atmosphere Derek leads the children back to their rooms. I hope they know many games if they are planning to stay there for the duration of this flight. "Cap'n, do you think it wise that she is with us?" Zoe asks, looking sternly at me. For not being experimented on she does fit the word of warrior very well. I imagine to regular people she could be very intimidating, however, I am not a regular person so I don't see why she is wasting her time trying to intimidate me. Oh, well, her energy is the one that's being wasted. "I'm very sure it's the stupidest idea yet," Mal says as he pours himself some liquor and takes a gulp, exhaling deeply once he swallows. I notice I am standing as straight as a tree. I'm not in the Academy anymore, why must I stand like a statue here? I head to a chair and sit down. Even this feels weird. Sitting erect in a chair. I try slouching but nothing comes naturally to me. I observe Kaylee, who is reclining on the seat. I try this and although its better it still feels odd. I can feel their eyes on me but don’t care as I try another position. "How did you escape?" Simon asks incredulously as he enters the dining area, breaking my reverie.