They have just started to work on plans on how to spread their newfound knowledge when River makes a startling announcement; “I have decided to stay on Earth. I want to learn more of the galactic civilization. I also think I can be of more help to the rest of you from here, as I can study Blue Sun minds to discover details of their organization and feed Serenity data about their plans while staying perfectly safe.”

No amount of discussion can dissuade her, and she eventually convinces them that she can be of great value.

But as they plan, suddenly their chance for an organized passage home disappears! As they sit around the dining table, a shadow appears through the windows above them…

Mal looks up incredulously; “How shi sung chung! (Now here’s a happy development!) There’s a huge cruiser overhead – and it’s wearing Blue Sun decals!”

No one’s sure if Simon is serious as he asks; “What are they up to?”

Simon may have questions, but Zoë doesn’t. “I don’t know exactly, but I’m pretty sure it’s not a welcoming committee.”

Mal’s more concerned about what he is going to do. “It’s about a half hour to dark. Let’s sit tight, then it’ll be time for River, Jan, and whoever else is staying on Earth to get off, and we’ll make a run for it!”

But Jan’s answer is a surprise; “I want to come with you. What you’re planning is for a good cause, and life here is tedious. I need adventure. And with River leaving, you’re short a pilot.”

Zoë adds some reality; “Be careful what you ask for. We’re probably lookin’ at more ‘adventure’ than you can imagine.”

But it turns out Jan is just as adamant as River was, and he's soon convinced Mal that he's serious. Inara says "There must be something in that pilot's seat." Mal’s plan to get off Earth takes a combination of old and new tech; “Kaylee, set up the old drive – we need to light out quick – and we don’t want to be seen, so get whatever cloaking we’ve got ready to go. But don’t fire it up until we lift off. I want it all to be a surprise.”

Jan adds; “If we DO get off, I know of an unmapped cave on the back side of the Moon.”

“Ok – as soon as the Sun starts to set over those trees, putting us in blackness, we’ll lift off straight into the sunset. If we can get between the Sun and the cruisers, maybe they’ll lose us in the glare.”

It goes like clockwork, as Mal turns on full power in one motion. Serenity’s acceleration catches the cruisers off guard, and the little ship pulls away from the three confused pursuers, at least until they have to turn toward the moon – suddenly the cruisers’ sensors pick them up, and the chase is on! They make a swooping pass through the terraformed atmosphere, blinding the cruisers in their ion trail. As they fly out of sight of the cruisers. Jan cries; “There it is!” and Mal slams into a dive, pulling up just in time to settle into the cave.

As the cruisers sail by overhead, searching, Jayne says; “Zao gao (Damn it) Mal, I thought River was hard on this ship, but that was worse!”

Mal has his own opinion; “Maybe, but not as hard as that Blue Sun cruiser was intendin’ to be.

Now it’s time to make plans for their revolution. Jan is new to the ship, and while he’s more than willing to go on a real deep space adventure, he’s very pessimistic about how one old style ship with no built-in weaponry can get away from the Blue Sun cruisers, never mind actually lead a rebellion.

But Mal and Zoë are very optimistic. While the task seems difficult if not impossible, they have several advantages. They have incorporated a lot of new tech in their old ship, and Blue Sun has never faced opposition who really understands what’s going on. In addition, Blue Sun’s actions are restricted by a perceived need for secrecy, while the more people who know what’s going on, the better Serenity’s crew likes it.

Gradually, Jan comes to accept that it just might work, and in fact becomes enthusiastic. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

After a week or two, they have stored as much as they can and double checked all systems. Kaylee has Jan and Jayne helping to make sure both the cloak and the Near-Light drive are 100%, and Simon gives Inara the last of the treatments to overcome her Perma addiction. They’ve also got the beginnings of a plan, which involves turning Revelation into a huge communications link similar to Mr. Universe’s while Serenity drops off advanced tech and UniWiki terminals around the ‘Verse.

Finally, they’re on their way, cloaked and running as fast as Serenity can go. But they’re barely clear of Neptune’s orbit when the Blue Sun ships are on their tail again. And they’re faster!

As they run, River waves; “Mal, Serenity’s Near Light drive is still leaving that brilliant trail we had when we left the ‘Verse. You’ll have to be well away from the Blue Sun ships before you can use it!”

Mal mutters; “Dahng ran (Of course) - Kaylee, switch us back to the old drive. Jan, as soon as she does, make a quick 60 degree turn to port.”

It works, and the Blue Sun ships sail past, firing a few futile shots. The only problem is that it’s quite apparent that the ships had seen enough of Serenity’s course – they’re heading directly for the Oasis system.

Mal waves; “River, can you dig up any ideas what those cruisers are planning?”

River’s response comes very quickly; “Already know, Captain. They suspect you’re on your way to the ’Verse, but they’re sure that you’re heading for the Oasis system first. They’d much rather block you there, where they can do it more openly, rather than in the ‘Verse, where they’d be in danger of being discovered by the Alliance. They’re planning on settling down on Sentinel where there’s no possible chance of serious opposition from the Friends, then they’ll put out a sensor net and wait.”

Mal mutters; “How w'rin bu lai, Whai w'rin bu jwo. (Things never go smooth.) Now what do we do?”

Jan asks a logical question; “Why don’t we just bypass the Oasis system? There’s nothing we need there, and we have far more than enough fuel to make it all the way to the ‘Verse. And we’ll be at max speed. They’ll never catch us.”

“No, if we do that, their sensors will spot us, and they’ll chase us right into the ‘Verse. Being spotted by the Alliance might be bad, but nowhere near as bad as letting us spread our news everywhere.”

Then Simon points out another problem. “At the moment, we’re running much slower than they are, and if we have to wait until we’re completely out of sensor range before we can go Near Light, Blue Sun will have months to set up an ambush!”

Mal looks even more troubled; “Ma fahn. (Another complication.) We’ve got to prevent that. We’re nowhere near strong enough to take them on directly.”

But Zoë’s eyes take on a look of amusement; “Why doesn’t our resident Hero Jayne call his adoring subjects, and warn them about the Blue Sun ships and how dangerous they are? He could tell them how he’s convinced the Serenity crew to come back and fight with them. All they have to do is get whatever arms they have ready for another revolution.”