DISCLAIMER: The Firefly characters and locations featured in this work of fiction are the property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy Inc and Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. I'm just borrowing them for a while. (No breach of copyright intended.)

PERSPECTIVE: Inara

Mal promised that he’d be gone for a little while. It had been nearly an hour since he uttered those words. Inara was asleep in her bunk when Mal arrived. He refused to explain the situation. She refused to take orders until he explained himself. He wouldn’t listen. She wouldn’t either. Mal insisted that she take the shuttle and leave. She couldn’t. She wouldn’t, and now stood in the isolation of her suite. Inara could sense something lurking behind the shuttle door. A faint sound of fingernails scratching against metal came from the other side. Only a few metres of bulkhead separated her from what lay beyond. The scratching ceased. Inara took a deep breath. She turned to face the other side of the room. The familiar décor had quickly lost its charm. Her private companion sanctuary had now turned into her very own prison. Inara sat down on the floor. There wasn’t a gorram thing that she could do. A few minutes passed, but it felt more like an eternity. The tension built up inside. She couldn’t wait any longer. No matter how much Mal had warned her to stay in her quarters, she had to do something. Inara rose to her feet and eased open the airlock. Whatever had wanted to get inside decided to leave for now. She pushed it open a little further, looking through the gap onto the balcony. It was empty. The metal door suddenly swung back against her face. She screamed and tried to force it shut. Inara leaned against the door, unable to hear anything over the pounding of her heart. A loud bang came from the other side. Inara screamed once more. The hairs on the back of her neck now standing on end. She moved away from the airlock, sat back down on the floor and hugged her knees into her chest. Another bang came from behind the doorway. Inara flinched, her eyes now firmly fixed on the door. Her eyes began to fill up with tears. She sat quietly for a moment, listening intently. There was nothing but silence. Inara wiped the tears from her eyes and started to giggle. She was beginning to lose grip of her emotions. Something that she had learned to control so well as part of her companion training. The airlock handle began to slowly twist open. Inara’s breath quickened. There was no way out…