Follows Firefly: After Miranda which starts here:

http://www.fireflyfans.net/bluesun.aspx?bid=23512

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- Introduction -

Lord, I am walking your way.

Let me in, for my feet are sore, my clothes are ragged.

Look in my eyes, Lord, and my sins will play out on them as on a screen.

Read them all.

Forgive what you can, and send me on my path.

I will walk on, until you bid me rest.

As she sat staring at the cortex screen River Tam could hear the Sheppard in her head reciting that pray. Right now she imagined it was for the people that were being hurt or killed in the core…because of them…because of Miranda.

The wave had been seen by billions of people. It started a fire, which only smoldered at first. People were shocked at what they heard and turned to the government for answers. The Alliance government denied the event, called it a hoax. This worked, for a time.

Then the family and friends of the hundreds of young men and women that were lost over Mr. Universe’s moon started to ask questions. Each of them had gotten a different story regarding some accident that took their loved one's life. Putting those stories together, none of it made sense. So more questions were asked, more stories were told. The fire grew hotter.

A partial transmission picked up by a freighter was released. It sounded like a battle involving many of the ships that were said to have had accidents. It also mentioned Reavers. The government tried to erase it but no matter how many Cortex sites they took down it seemed two more would popup.

Finally the smoldering fire got air and as fires do, it erupted into a blaze. A young member of Parliament had started to demand answers. He was what you would call an honest man. He wanted to know the truth about Miranda and he wanted to know what Blue Sun’s role had been if any. Two days later he was killed when his hover cars mysteriously crashed and caught fire. Protest broke out. There were too many questions, to many things that did not make sense.

The first shot came during a large protest just outside Parliament. History will state how it happened depending on who writes it. The truth was that a young federal solider got nervous and shot a man who he thought was pulling a gun. In reality it was simply the man’s wallet. With that shot the blaze became a firestorm.

The protests intensified on each of the core planets, as did the government’s response. Curfews in some places, martial law in others. Citizens looking for answers clashed with police. They wanted answers not just for the event surrounding Miranda, but for many others things they had been told in the past. The wave was a spark in a gas filled room.

The further away from a fire one gets the less one can feel it. So it was outside the core. The Rim Worlds hardly noticed a change. Some good stopped, for a while, only to be replaced by illegal ones. On the Rim it was life as usually.

The Boarder Worlds were aptly named. They did not just lie in-between the Core and the Rim, but also were a melding of those two vastly different realities. Many of the Boarder Worlds had initially supported the Independents in the war. That changed quickly as the rich and powerful that controlled these worlds figured out that they could make more money under Alliance rule. They did so by supporting illegal trade to and from the Rim. It was only recently that the Alliance had started to crack down on those activities on the Border worlds. Now with the Alliance focusing its attention on the problems in the Core those crack downs stopped.

You may think that it would follow that with the Core ablaze the Boarder Worlds would be ripe for revolt. You would be wrong. A vast majority of the people that remained on the Boarder Worlds did so for a reason, they could make their living as well. Some moved to the Core, others pushed out to the Rim, the ones that remained liked the status quo that existed before the crack downs. They did not want to live under the constant watch of the Alliance, but they did not what the daily struggles of the Rim. Of all the Boarder Worlds, Persephone was the antithesis of this ideal.

Orbiting the proto-star Lux, Persephone was one of the outer worlds within the Core system. The rich and well to do had all the comforts of the Core, plus some that you couldn’t get there. The rest of the world worked for the rich in one way or another. See it was the rich and powerful that allowed the smuggling in and out of the many ports. That was how the rich made their money. Every two-bit thug had to pay some other two-bit thug for protection, all the way up to the elites. Those elites would then use those thugs to move what they had off world, to the rim. It was this movement of goods that Serenity hopped to once again take advantage of as it headed to that much striated world.

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Mal slowly slid out of bed to answer the incoming wave, trying not to disturb Inara. The air of his bunk was chilly against his bare skin. Only half awake he hit the button to accept the wave.

“Captain Reynolds, I heard you were headed to Persephone…are you naked?” a familiar man wearing a bowler asked.

Mal looked down at himself then back at the screen, “Um, it appears I am, Badger. Now you were saying.”

Badger frowned, “Well, put some pants on.”

“It’s the middle of the night, if you have some business to discuss get to it.”

“Okay, Captain, when you land come and see me so I can tell you about the cargo you are going to be taking for me,” Badger said smugly.

“I might, depends on the cargo and how much.”

“You don’t understand, Captain, you don’t have a choice.” Badger said seriously.

“Last time I checked I didn’t work for you.”

“You do now…unless you want trouble at the docks. I hear those federal port inspection can be rough.”

Mal’s expression dropped, “You going to make threats now, Badger?”

“Not a threat, just the reality of what could happen…I’ll see you when you land,” Badger finished just before ending the wave.

“Wuh tzai chien shr ee-ding ruh dao shuh-muh run luh bah,” Mal mumbled to himself as he bent down and picked up his pants.

“No you don’t,” Inara ordered from the bed, her eyes still closed.

As Mal turned to look at her she lifted open the covers revealing her own bare skin. The Captain dropped his pants and quickly got back into bed.

“Didn’t I warn you about giving orders on my boat,” Mal asked as he wrapped his arms around a very warm Inara.

“Remind me again in the morning,” she smiled, her eyes still closed.

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“I thought you weren’t going to ask her to do anything like this unless the ship was in danger.” Simon said as he followed the Captain into Serenity’s cargo bay.

“Is what I said,” the Captain responded stopping to face the doctor, “what you don’t get is the ship is in danger.”

“From a two bit thug that wants us to do a job?”

“No, from the fact that he thinks he owns us, from the fact that he thinks he can threaten us. See sooner or later he is going to make good on one of those threats because he thinks we can’t touch him.” Mal explained, as he continued into the cargo bay.

“So threatening him is going to make him not want to respond?” Simon quizzically asked.

“Were just going to make it clear to him that we are not to be pushed around, and we’re going to do it in private. That way he does not have to prove anything to the other people he bosses around. See men like us don’t like to have enemies that can make things less smooth,” the Captain continued as he reached the end of the bay and hit the controls to open the ship’s door.

“All the same, Jayne is far more threatening than my sister,” Simon argued with a slight bit of anxiety in his voice.

Mal turned and placed a hand on Simon’s shoulder, “That's true, until she puts down a room full of people with her bare hands. She is also a reader and can keep us out of trouble. At some point, Doc, you have to let her be who she is.”

Simon’s eyes fell a little, “She will always be my sister.”

“I know, but she's the ship's pilot and member of this crew.”

“We’re ready, Sir.” Zoe announced as she walked up to the two men.

“Good,” Mal started as he took his hand from Simon’s shoulder, “and where’s River?”

“Right her, Captain,” the girl announced as she came down the stairs.

The others looked up at her; she had traded in her usually dress for something a bit more suited to the task at hand. She wore form fitting pants much like Zoe’s, but with extra pockets on the legs, that were tucked into her combat boots. A dark gray tee shirt could be seen underneath a khaki colored work jacket. The belt and holster was slung around her hips, with a large silver pistol fitted perfectly in its place. On the opposite hip was a large throwing knife. Her hair was pulled into a loose ponytail at the base of her neck.

Simon came to realize that the innocent little girl who had gone off to the Academy a handful of years ago was gone. Before him now was a very capable young woman. He knew she did not need him to protect her anymore.

“I still do, Simon,” River said to him, “I will always need my big brother.”

“Well I hate to break up this touching moment, but we got things need done.” Mal commented.

With that the Captain, Zoe and River headed through the Eavesdown docks.

Even at night the docks were a busy, bustling place. All manner of folks went about trading, selling and other such business. Mal knew of the troubles brewing in the core and kept a sharp eye for anything out of the ordinary here. The only think different was what seemed to be a lack of Alliance Feds about.

Soon enough the three members of Serenity’s crew arrived at Badgers makeshift office.

“Captain Reynolds, I’m glad you decided to show up,” Badger said from behind his cluttered desk.

“Here because of business, Badger, no other reason,” the Captain commented as he sized up the situation.

There were two of Badger’s men standing behind Mal and the others. A dark skinned man with dreadlocks stood behind River, who was to Mal’s right. Zoe was to his left and had a stocky balding man just behind and to her left. A fat bearded man sat in a small room directly behind Zoe. A fourth man stood in the corner to the right of Badger’s desk. All o the men were well armed.

“Really, Captain, I suspect it’s because I told you to be here,” Badger said smugly, “and you, love, I thought you were just a passenger,” he questioned River.

“Last time I was,” River responded matching Badger’s accent.

Mal slowly started to move towards Badger’s desk, “We don’t take orders from you.”

“You do now,” Badger said as he got up as started around his desk, “the way I see it you don’t have much of a choice.”

Mal quickly positioned himself to meet Badger face to face, and to ensure that Badger would be blocking his own man’s view, “I think you should focus on business and not trying to be more then you are.”

“…and what I’m I, Captain?”

“A trader, a business man…you’re not some gangster that is going to push my crew and me around.”

“Is that a fact?” Badger asked growing angry.

“Yes, it is. You’re going to provide us with the proper…respect.”

As soon as the Captain started to utter his final word River sprung into action. She quickly spun and connected with a roundhouse kick to the side of the dark skinned man’s head, stunning him. As she delivered her kick she drew the knife from her belt. As soon as her foot landed she threw the knife across the room burying it in the forearm of the balding man near Zoe. The man’s hand went limp, and he was unable to grip the handle of the Uzi he carried. She then quickly delivered another kick to the dark skinned man which knocked him out.

Zoe also took action, drawing her Mare’s leg and pointing it at the fat man in the smaller room.

Badger’s man behind him was unable to do anything before Mal drew his pistol and pointed at him. The Captain’s outstretched arm was right next to Badger’s left ear. Mal’s gun was actually behind Badger’s head.

“River…guns” Mal ordered.

River quickly collected the weapons from Badger’s men. She unloaded each and tossed the ammo in one corner and the guns in another while the Captain and Zoe covered the room.

Mal still had his arm extended right past Badger’s ear as he stared at him. Badger saw the Captain’s face grow more serious and dark clouds roll into his eyes. For the first time in his life Badger was afraid of Malcolm Reynolds.

“Here how it is, me and mind have been through far too much to be threatened by the likes of you,” the Captain started. “The way I see it you have two choices. One, decide that we are going to do business. You offer the jobs and we take them or not. If we do, we get paid what is agreed beforehand. If we don’t, well we walk and that is that.”

Badger swallowed hard, “what’s the second option?’

“You try and screw with us and we leave you bleeding so the vultures can pick your bones.”

“Well then, since we’re men of business …” Badgers voice trailed off as he waited to see what the Captain would do.

The Captain smiled and slowly holstered his gun, “Good, what is the job you got to offer?”

Badger slowly returned to his desk, “Sir Warwick has some more…cargo, he wants to sell off world.”

“You mean like last time?” the Captain asked as Badger sat back down.

“Yes, but this time my take will be thirty percent,” he commented as the smug look returned to Badgers face.

“That’s an amusing figure,” the Captain started as River sat down on the corner of Badgers desk. “As I recall the last time we had to haggle the price and I had a man shot.”

“Well this deal is solid. Seems someone is very interested and willing to pay a premium…thirty six per.”

“That’s a bit high, what makes you think they are not just trying to get the merchandise there and then just take it?” the Captain asked.

“They had to bid on it. Seems that this little town on Blackwood came into some money awhile ago,” Badger commented flashing a smile at River, “Plus, I’ve dealt with the buyer before.”

Zoe recognized name and thought they may have had some roll in the event Badger was speaking of. She looked over to the Captain, but he gave no signs. River sensed Mal knew what badger was talking about. Badger had no idea what had happened of that Serenity’s crew had been part of it. You see it was on the moon Blackwood in a small town called Gold that the crew had helped a group of whores.

“Twenty five percent…if the price stays put. We have to haggle you get the standard.”

Badger frowned as River rolled her eyes at his smile, “Know the price is good, agreed.”

River got up from the desk and spun around to face the man that still had her knife imbedded in his arm. She quickly yanked it out as the man shouted in pain.

“Here is the rest of the information, Captain,” Badger said as he hand Mal a small piece of paper. “You going to pay for my man to get fixed?”

Mal looked over at the man, “No, next time leave your goons outside.”

As they left River turned and added, “…or get better ones.”

Once they were gone Badger smiled, “I think she likes me.”