Read: Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7 - Part 8 - Part 9 - Part 10

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Book paced within the confines of the small cell. Inara had refused to respond to the commander’s questions. She had not even acknowledged his own. Was it possible he had misread the companion? While it was rumored that some of the settlers on Libra believed in mercy killings, he found it hard to believe a cultured woman educated on a core planet could resort to euthanasia, even in desperation. Then again, few things Book had experienced since he left the abbey were easy to believe.

The shepherd cast another uncertain look at his cellmate. Inara remained completely impassive. Book turned away in frustration, suppressing the impulse to curse. How could someone who had just ended the life of an innocent girl seem so serene?

The sound of a muffled thud from just outside the cell interrupted his brooding.

Inara rose slowly, pausing to gracefully smooth out a crease in her plain wool dress. She turned toward the door as it slid open with a hiss.

A head craned into view.

"Time to go," said River.

***

"You could have said something," complained Book as he stepped over another unconscious guard.

"I couldn't risk it," Inara replied. "They were almost certainly recording our conversations.”

"Besides," she added, lowering her voice, "there was no guarantee she would come out of it. The drug is a last resort; although its effects are impossible to distinguish from actual death, it's not always...temporary."

"Don't be such a sissy," River called from beyond the next corner. "YOU weren't the one she killed."

“You would think that death and resurrection would be fairly routine subjects for a preacher,” added Inara as she passed the dumbfounded shepherd.

It took a few moments before Book realized that standing in the middle of an Alliance cellblock looking stupid was probably not the wisest course of action, particularly after a successful jailbreak.

With a self-deprecating sigh, Book hurried to catch up to the others. As he reached the end of the hall, Book turned toward the shuttle bay – but the long corridor was empty.

"River?"

"This way, hurry!" River was already headed in the opposite direction. Deeper into the ship.

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Continue to Part 12