Defining Traitor Sequel to Relativity.

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Part Two of Four

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Part One

Part Three

Part Four

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Serenity landed on the planet listed on the coordinates of the letter, the hatch of the ship opening before the dust on the planet had even settled back to the earth. Jo walked out of the hatch alone, eyes rooted firmly to the ground of the planet. “Hey, Jo, wait up!” Mal called as the captain jogged to catch up with the girl. “Yeah, I admire this whole ‘I-can-do-things-by-myself’ attitude of yours, but when you’re on my ship, you have a crew to back you up, and you are to wait for them.”

Clearly, as one could tell by the look that Jo gave Mal, this statement slightly offended the young thief. She certainly didn’t appreciate Mal giving her an order, but to Jo’s surprise, the words that came out of her mouth were, “Okay. Thanks again for coming with me.” Whoa. Where did that come from?

The two stopped as they stepped onto the planet’s surface, Mal looked at Jo before nodding. They both looked up as Jayne and Zoe walked out of the ship to join them. Jayne looked around. “So . . . where exactly are we supposed to meet this guy?”

Jo looked around. “Well, Jayne, my hunch is that we should start with that building over there,” Jo said, pointing over toward a building that looked like a barn.

Jayne grumbled something unintelligible.

“Okay, so let’s go get this guy,” Mal said, Jo ignoring the death glare Jayne was throwing at her. The four set off toward the building.

The man was just minding his own business, sitting in a chair in the middle of the dark, musty barn and thinking about how much money he had gotten for this encounter. He heard a ship landing somewhere outside. Soon after, the doors flew open, four people walking in like they meant business. The youngest girl of the four walked right up to the man in the chair, grabbing his shirt and pulling him into a standing position. Mal, Zoe, and Jayne just stood back and watched.

Now, Jo may have been taller than her uncle, but she was still rather short. Some people let Jo’s height fool them, but most knew better. Jo could be pretty damn intimidating when she felt like making the effort. And right now . . . Jo was definitely making the effort. Even though this man whose shirt she was now twisting was a few inches taller than her, this man was feeling pretty intimidated. After all, he had expected someone to come in and ask for a letter, not come in and get so aggressive. “Um – Er – Who – Um – ” the man stuttered.

“Yeah, enough with the formalities,” interrupted Jo, her voice an angry sort of casual. “You the one that gave me that letter?”

The man’s eyes were wide, and he shook his head and held up his hands to show he meant no harm. “Look, kid, I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

Jo’s eyes blazed. The only one that could call her 'kid' and get away with it was Badger! OK, and sometimes Mal, but she knew it wasn't a sign of disrespect when Mal used it, unlike this guy here . . . and unlike Badger, for that matter. “The letter with the coordinates here, you hun dan! If you didn’t send it, who did?!”

“Wait, I have a feeling it was the guy that gave me the letter to deliver!” the man exclaimed.

“What letter?” demanded Jo.

The man dug frantically in his pocket for the envelope from the stranger, finding it and handing it quickly to Jo. “Here, take it, just don’t hurt me!”

Jo took one hand off the man’s shirt, keeping hold of his shirt with one hand as Jo took the letter. She looked at the envelope before putting it in her coat and turning a glare back to the man. What was this, some kind of sick treasure hunt? “Who gave you this letter?” Jo demanded.

“He told me not to tell you if – ”

The man shut up as Jo whipped a gun from her coat and put it against the man’s temple. “I’ll ask this again,” Jo said slowly. “Who?”

“He didn’t tell me his name!” the man pleaded. The gun cocked. “I swear! He just came and gave me money! I took it as a blessing! He said all I had to do was give a letter to someone that would come see me. He must’ve meant you.” The man eyed the gun with a whimper. “C’mon, I have kids!”

Jo glared at the man before removing the gun from his head, uncocking it and replacing it in her coat. She let the guy’s shirt go, the man breathing a huge sigh of relief. “If that guy comes back, I want you to get his name and tell him . . .” Jo looked back at the other three, who were watching calmly. Jo looked back at the man. “Tell him Josie’s looking for him.” With that, Jo turned and walked out of the barn. Mal looked at the man, who was still recovering from Jo’s hostility, before Mal nodded at Zoe and Jayne. The three followed Jo back toward Serenity.

As the hatch closed behind the four, Jayne walked off toward his bunk, grumbling something about expecting a shoot-off. Mal and Zoe stood in the middle of the cargo bay, Jo standing in front of them. She took the letter out of her coat, opening the envelope. A moment passed in which the letter stayed in the opened envelope. Mal and Zoe looked at Jo, who shook her head and pushed the envelope toward Mal and Zoe. “I can’t do it, I can’t read it.”

Mal nodded and took the envelope, taking the letter out and opening it. He read the first line. “‘To Miss Josephine Laronn.’” This made Jo’s head snap up.

“He knows my real name?” she asked incredulously.

Mal and Zoe exchanged a glance before Mal looked down at the letter again and continued reading. “‘I’m proud of you, Josie.’” Jo clenched her jaw. “‘I’m glad you want to know the truth. I am sorry I couldn’t meet you in person, but the time is not right yet. But keep going; the time will be right sooner than you think.’ And then there are . . . another set of coordinates,” Mal informed Jo.

Jo was flushed with anger. “The time isn’t right? What, do the planets have to be aligned for this guy?!” she ranted, throwing her arm up in the air in exasperation. Jo sighed and rubbed her forehead with her hand, looking as if she had a murderous headache.

Something in the envelope caught Zoe’s eye, and she took the envelope from Mal’s hand. She took something out of the envelope, looking at it. “Sir,” she said quietly, handing the other thing from the envelope over to Mal. Mal took it. It was a picture, and the scene depicted on it was disturbing. The picture showed Jo’s parents standing next to each other, both with very serious looks on their face as they looked at the other person in the picture. the other person was wearing an Alliance uniform. Mal shook his head and held the picture toward Jo.

Jo took it and looked at it, mouth hanging open. She went from flushed with anger to pale with disbelief.

At that moment, Shepherd Book walked down the stairs into the cargo bay. “Is everything okay?” he asked slowly. As he walked toward the three, Jo figured it was no use hiding it, so she handed the picture over toward Book. Book took the picture, examining it. He gave a small laugh. “Who gave this to you?” he asked, tone amused.

Jo looked at Book. “Um, I have no idea – why?” she asked quickly.

“This picture is clearly a fake, Jo,” Book assured her.

Jo went around so she could look at the picture while Shepherd Book was looking at it as well. “It is?” Mal asked, eyebrows going up.

Book nodded. “Yes, see the patch on the Alliance uniform?” he asked, pointing to the Alliance man’s arm. Jo nodded. “No man on the side of the Alliance would wear a patch like that, especially one with any power what so ever. Don't worry, Jo, this picture's fake.”

Okay, so Jo should have been happy at this point . . . Right? Wrong. Jo looked at Mal. “When we find this guy . . .” She didn’t finish the thought, due to a Shepherd standing right next to her. If it was any other situation, Jo’s first question would have been how a Shepherd knew that, but her anger at whoever was sending her on this wild goose chase was overwhelming her curiosity about Book. Jo shook her head and walked off.

“Jo, don’t you want your picture back?” Book called after her, holding up the picture.

“Keep it,” Jo called, not looking back as she walked up the cargo bay stairs. “Keep the letter, too.” With that, Jo set off to find Kaylee and River, maybe play some jacks or something.

---

Simon and Kaylee sat in the common room, Kaylee’s head resting lightly on Simon’s shoulder and her arms wrapped around his arm, her legs folded beside her. Simon was reading a book, looking up every once in a while toward the girls on the other side of the room. Jo and River sat across the room, sitting on the steps. They had some apples, which they were trying – and mostly succeeding – to juggle amongst themselves, throwing the apples back and forth in a joint juggling act. When one would drop an apple or goof up, they would both laugh and just start over. Simon smiled softly and glanced at Kaylee, who was watching River and Jo as well. Simon looked back at his book.

A few minutes passed before Wash’s voice rang through Serenity. “Um, Jo? Can you come up to the bridge for a moment . . . Mal, Zoe, you come, too.” The pilot sounded an odd mix of worried and confused. Jo frowned, cringing as an apple hit her head from lack of concentration on her part. Jo picked up the apple and handed it to River, standing up. Jo glanced at Simon and Kaylee, who were looking at her with confused looks. Jo headed off toward the bridge.

“Wash, what’s the fuss?” Jo asked as she stepped onto the bridge, sitting in the co-pilot’s seat. Zoe and Mal soon entered as well, Mal standing behind Jo as Zoe stood behind Wash. Wash blinked and looked at the second letter again, the one Mal had given him, looking at the coordinates on the bottom.

“This is where the letter says to go,” Wash said.

Zoe looked at her husband. “But there’s no planet here.”

“No . . .” Jo said, looking out the window in front of them. “But there is a big ship that looks to be Alliance,” she said slowly.

Mal and Zoe exchanged a look before looking at Wash. “Check the coordinates again,” Mal said.

“I checked ‘em four times, Mal!” Wash defended himself. “That ship is the place the letter lists!”

“Why that . . . ta ma de hun dan!” Jo exploded, staring at the looming Alliance ship. The other three stared at her. Jo looked at them and stood from the pilot’s seat. “This ass just wants to get to me, he’s trying to dig deeper and deeper! Don’t you get what he’s telling me?” Wash was the one that shook his head, not recognizing it as a rhetorical question. “He’s trying to send me there deliberately, trying to tell me, ‘Look, this is who your parents were working with.’” Jo let off a barrage of not-so-polite Chinese phrases before she cooled down and looked at Mal and Zoe. “I’m going.”

Mal jerked with surprise. “Are you feng le? It’s Alliance!”

“It’s a test,” Jo corrected calmly. “This guy wants to see how far I’m willing to go for the truth. Mal, I’m willing to go this far.” There was silence for a long moment. “But I’m going alone.”

Mal laughed. “Yeah, now I know you’re crazy.”

“I don’t want you guys setting foot onto an Alliance ship. You’re thieves.”

“So are you!” Mal countered.

“And you’re harboring fugitives, not to mention a highly suspicious Shepherd.”

Mal sighed. “We're not going near that ship, and you are certainly not going on your own.” Jo opened her mouth to protest, but Mal cut her off. “End of discussion, Jo.” Mal crossed his arms, showing he was serious.

Jo looked at the captain before sighing. “Fine,” she mumbled, walking past Mal with a very annoyed look on her face.

Wash looked at Mal. “Change course?”

Mal shook his head. “No, keep going. Don’t wanna look suspicious by running. Just keep going on course, we’ll be past soon enough.” With that, the captain turned and walked off. Zoe stayed with Wash, taking a seat in the co-pilot’s seat just to have some time with her husband.

---

Silence had settled over Serenity by midnight, but someone was still stirring. Jo slid the door to her compartment open noiselessly and peeked out into the hallway. Seeing nothing, she stepped quietly out into the hallways, sliding the door to her room closed silently behind her. She sneaked off toward the extra shuttle, being extra careful to open the shuttle and step inside without making a sound. She breathed a sigh of relief after the shuttle door was closed behind her. Was it just her, or was sneaking around Serenity much harder than it had been the last time she was on the ship?

Jo walked over toward the controls of the ship. “Not good to sneak out.” Jo’s heart scrambled into her throat, Jo stopping dead in her tracks before spinning on her heel. Who in the ‘verse said that?!

“Uhh,” said Jo.

“Cap’n said to not go, especially alone,” the voice continued.

“Um, is this my conscience, because . . . where have you been up until now?” Jo asked, looking around the dark, seemingly empty shuttle. A giggle came from somewhere, Jo breathing an even heavier sigh of relief before she put her hand on her hip. She recognized the voice now. “River, will you kindly come out where I can see you?” Jo said, her heart trying to climb back down her throat.

River stepped out from behind some boxes in the shuttle, a smirk on her face. “Scared you?” she asked as she skipped over to stand in front of Jo.

Jo nodded. “Yeah, that you did. Just don’t do it again.” Jo looked over at her friend. “So, do you always sneak around the spare shuttle, waiting for someone to scare the living daylights out of?”

River shook her head. “Knew you were coming.” Jo didn’t ask about the statement, because Jo didn’t doubt the statement. “Cap’n told you to wait or not go at all.”

A sigh came softly from Jo. “River, you of all people should know how important this is to me.”

“I know,” River said gently. “But it’s not safe, okay? You gotta trust Mal. If you want to go, you gotta get backup.”

Jo looked at River. “You aren’t coming with me,” she said.

River giggled. “Not me, silly.”

“Then who?” Jo asked doubtfully.

---

Wash sat in the pilot’s seat, leaning back and thinking about anything and everything.

“Wash,” a voice said from the doorway. Wash was yanked back into reality and spun his chair around. Jo and River stood in the doorway, looking at him. The two girls walked over to stand by Wash, Wash looking at them with a confused look on his face. “How do you feel about going on a trip with me?” Jo asked as River walked around the bridge, looking at all the controls but being careful to keep her hands clasped behind her back.

Wash looked at Jo. “What kind of trip?”

“To there,” Jo answered pointing out the window and to the Alliance ship that they were now slowly passing under.

Wash chuckled. “Are you joking?”

“No, that’s usually your job,” Jo answered.

“But why?” Wash asked.

“Can’t go without backup,” River answered from over in the co-pilot’s seat.

Jo nodded. “She means me, she’s not going. That would be just a tad too risky, even for my taste.”

“But Mal said – ” Wash tried to say.

“Mal said I shouldn’t go alone,” Jo finished for him. “I won’t be alone if you come.”

“Um, I have to drive the ship.” Wash was just grasping at straws now.

“Set it on course, then you won’t have to drive it. And besides, River can drive it if she needs to.” Wash got a pretty horrified look on his face. “I’m joking, Wash,” Jo assured the pilot. River giggled from her seat in the co-pilot’s chair. “So what do you say, will you come with me?” Jo asked.

Wash sighed and turned to the controls, setting the ship to stay on course. He stood up. “Zoe and Mal are going to kill me,” he said.

Jo grinned. “Yeah, that’ll be fun, but it can wait until after we get back. River, you should get to bed. We’ll be fine.”

“I know,” River said, standing and swiftly walking off toward her room as Jo and Wash headed toward the extra shuttle.

---

Wash and Jo were soon in the extra shuttle and detached from Serenity, heading toward the Alliance ship. Wash was driving the shuttle, leaving Jo to lean against the wall and watch through the glass as they went toward the Alliance ship. Wash glanced back at Jo. “Are you sure about this?” he asked.

Jo nodded calmly. “Yeah, Wash. This is something I have to do. But thanks for coming with me.”

“Oh, it’s fine,” he said, though his tone betrayed his anxiety. “Hey, I didn’t get a chance to ask you why you think Book is suspicious.”

Jo smirked and shrugged. “I’ve heard stories. Kaylee and River told me about his Ident Card after he got shot, about how well he handled a weapon when you guys went to go get Mal.”

Wash nodded quietly. “Yeah, he did handle a gun in a way that most Shepherds couldn’t,” he agreed.

Jo nodded as well. “So are you sure you want to actually go in with me? I won’t tell River if you decide to wait in the shuttle.”

"Doesn't matter if you tell. She'd know anyway. And Zoe wouldn't be too apt to let me survive the trouble we're going to get in if I didn't at least go in with you. No, no, I want to come in," Wash said, looking over at Jo. “You know one time, we came across this ship that had gotten hit by Reavers, and we found a survivor, then we got docked by Alliance. Dunno why, we were just trying to help the survivor, you know?” Wash gave a nervous laugh. “They kept asking me about my relationship with Zoe, not sure why. We – ”

“Wash,” Jo cut in, squinting a little. Jo hadn’t reacted to the story at all, seeing as how River and Kaylee had already told her this story. “Are you nervous?”

“What makes you think that?” Wash said, another nervous laugh being uttered by the man.

Jo shrugged. “Just a hunch.”

A voice came through the shuttle. “Unidentified craft, state your purpose for wanting to dock.”

“Someone said we needed to come to these coordinates to pick something up,” Jo promptly answered. It was a moment before the voice asked another question.

“Name?”

“Jocelyn.” Jo ignored the stare she was receiving from Wash. “Jocelyn Duncan.” Jo looked at Wash and shrugged. Jo spoke up again. “He may have only said my name was Jo.”

“Ahh,” said the voice from the Alliance ship, “so you finally arrive. I was beginning to think you had pulled out. He said you might.” Jo clenched her fist. “You’re clear for docking,” the voice informed.

---

After River was sure Jo and Wash had departed, she skipped through the halls of Serenity. She hopped up the steps, skipping over to the hatch to Mal’s room. She opened the hatch and leant over the opening, looking down into the dark of Mal’s room. “Caaap-taaaain,” River called down in a sing-song voice.

“Hmm?” Mal groaned drowsily from his room.

“Don’t worry, Jo didn’t go alone,” River called down matter-of-factly.

Mal was slowly being roused into a coherent state by this time. “Jo? Where’s she goin’ alone?”

“Well, she tried going to the other ship alone, but I made sure she took Wash,” River said, sounding pretty proud of herself.

In Mal’s groggy mind, it took a while for this information to register. Other ship . . . Mal scrambled out of bed. “What?!” he said, quickly trying to go up the ladder to the hallway. River stepped aside to let him up into the hallway.

“Don’t worry,” River told Mal. “Wash went with her, it’s okay.”

"River, she shouldn't have gone at all, even if Wash went with her!" After a moment, Mal added, "Especially if Wash went with her!" Mal turned, going toward Zoe and Wash's room. "When did they leave?"

“Too far gone, you can’t follow,” River said with a smile, as if she was just brushing this off as Mal being crazy again.

Mal sighed and opened the hatch to Zoe and Wash’s room, going down the ladder to inform Zoe. River rolled her eyes and turned, skipping back toward her room.

---

As the small shuttle docked onto the huge Alliance ship, three men walked toward the shuttle. Wash got out of the shuttle first, leaving Jo to roll her eyes and mumble, “Great. River had to send the one person with me that can bust my cover if he even starts talking.” Jo hopped out of the shuttle with a sigh.

The man leading the trio coming toward the shuttle was in a uniform that suggested he was in a position of authority. Jo glanced at his arm and smirked, seeing no patch. The two men behind the first man were in guard uniforms, each carrying a gun. “So you’re Jo Duncan?” the first man asked as he and the two guards stopped.

“That’s right,” Jo answered, she and Wash stopping a few yards in front of the Alliance three. “And who are you?”

“The name’s Blake Donovan, but you can call me General Donovan,” the authority man answered with a smug smirk as he looked these two over.

“Right, Blake,” Jo said coldly, staring at Donovan, “we’re just here to pick up a letter or something, then we’ll be on our merry way, so if you please.” Jo held her hand out.

Donovan arched an eyebrow at Jo’s hand before looking at Jo. “I’ll need you to prove you’re actually Jo.”

“Oh, come on!” Jo said, throwing the hand she was holding out up in the air with exasperation.

“Y'know, we really just wanna get out of here fast,” Wash said with a small laugh and a nod.

“Wash?” Jo asked as she looked over at the pilot.

“Because this is all just sort of - well, we think - a wild goose chase,” Wash continued, paying Jo no mind.

“Wash,” Jo tried again.

“I mean, this place is not really what we’re use–”

“Wash!” Wash jumped and looked over at Jo, who was glaring at him. Wash shut up and cleared his throat. Jo looked back at Donovan, who was looking at Wash.

“Who’s he?” Donovan asked without looking at Jo.

“He’s my chauffeur - feeling a little too protective, insisted on coming with this time,” Jo informed the man briefly, irritated by now. “Can you just give us the letter?”

Donovan sighed, pulling a letter out of his pocket. He didn’t want to have these two on his ship any more than he had to. It could dirty up his reputation, him being seen talking with the likes of these two. Jo snatched the letter and looked at Donovan. “So who exactly gave you this to give to me?” she asked, putting the letter in her coat.

“I can’t release that to you,” Donovan snarled. “Now get off my ship.”

“Our pleasure,” Wash said with a nervous laugh. “Come along, Jo, don’t wanna waste the man’s time,” Wash said, leading Jo, who was still glaring at Donovan, back toward the shuttle. Wash and Jo were soon on their way back to Serenity, Jo muttering something about ‘the nerve of that guy’. Wash didn’t feel like asking which guy she was talking about.

Wash looked over at Jo as the shuttle docked on Serenity. “Hey, is your name really – ”

“My name’s really Josephine Laronn, don’t worry. Just didn’t want the Alliance on my tail.”

Wash nodded and stood, going over to the door with Jo following behind him. They opened the door of the shuttle, stopping in the doorway. Mal and Zoe stood, Mal’s arms crossed and Zoe’s hands on her hips as they looked at the shuttle door. Jo gave a nervous laugh. “Hi, Mal,” she said, looking at the captain.

Wash looked at Zoe. “Hi, honey,” he said with an innocent smile.

---

Jo and Wash sat in the dining room, on chairs that were turned away from the table so Mal and Zoe could stand in front of them. Jo crossed her arms, Wash folding his hands in his lap and twiddling his thumbs nervously. Zoe and Mal had their arms crossed as well. “So what exactly were you thinking when you two decided to disobey a direct order?” Mal asked, irritation biting at his voice.

A defiant look flashed across Jo’s face. “Wash didn’t do anything!”

“It’s true, I didn’t,” said Wash, holding up a matter-of-fact finger. Zoe glared at Wash, the pilot shutting up.

Mal looked directly at Jo, focusing in on her and leaving Wash out of it. Mal figured that Zoe could handle Wash. “I told you not to go,” Mal reminded Jo.

Jo stood to meet Mal’s gaze. “Mal, you know how important this is to me! And don’t you even try to tell me that it’s not important to you, too. Besides, even if you’re telling the truth and you don’t care, I already paid you to help me with this. So if you aren’t gonna help me follow through with this,” Jo said, holding out her hand, “then give me my money back.”

“Jo,” Mal said, shaking his head. “It’s not that I want to keep you from the truth, you know I don’t want to do that. But you’re a thief, one that’s connected to another very well known thief. And that means setting foot on an Alliance ship isn’t a good idea.”

Meanwhile, Zoe was busy talking to Wash. “So you just thought this was a good idea?” she asked, looking at her husband.

Wash shook his head. “It was either she went alone or I went with her,” Wash tried to explain. “What would you have done?”

“I would have made her stay on the ship, Wash,” Zoe told him firmly. “You’re an adult, you could have done that.”

“But she has a dagger!” Wash tried to tell his wife.

At that moment, Simon and River wandered into the dining room. Simon frowned at the serious atmosphere in the room. River, on the other hand, smiled and ran over to Jo, hugging Jo with a laugh. Jo, confused, hugged River back before River let her go. River looked at Mal. “Told you it was okay,” she said as if Mal was an overreacting parent. Mal sighed and shook his head a little.

Simon frowned at his sister. “Told him what? River, what happened?” he asked, going over to River and Jo.

“River caught Jo trying to sneak out of the ship, so River made Jo kidnap Wash,” Mal explained.

“I did not kidnap Wash!” Jo said, glaring at Mal.

Simon looked at River. “You helped Jo sneak out?” he asked.

“You might as well have!” Mal told Jo.

“You should have told her to not go,” Zoe told Wash.

“He agreed to go!” defended Jo, still looking at Mal.

“She would have gone anyway!” Wash told Zoe.

“ENOUGH!” Everyone in the room stopped talking to give a surprised look to River, the one who had yelled at them. River let there be silence for a moment before looking at Jo. “Got the letter?”

“Um, yeah, they gave me a letter,” Jo said, remembering the envelope the Alliance man had given her. She pulled it out of her coat and opened the envelope, reading the letter inside. Her jaw dropped, and she stumbled back so she was sitting in the chair again. She put her hand to her forehead. River seemed to feel Jo’s pain, because River set her hand on Jo’s shoulder in a comforting manner.

Simon automatically went into doctor mode and hurried over to Jo, making sure she was okay. Jo was busy saying some harsh Chinese phrases, so she paid Simon no mind. Jo held the letter toward Mal. Mal took the letter, reading it aloud. “‘Josie – Wow, I’m surprised you didn’t give up when you saw the Alliance ship. But because you did go there, I can ask you this: What was it like to see whom your parents were working with? I hope you have a clear image in your head now. Have fun at your next stop.’ Then there’s more coordinates,” Mal finished.

“Those aren’t just any coordinates, Mal,” Jo said, looking at the ground. “Those are coordinates to Dyton Colony . . .” Jo looked up at Mal. “To my home.”

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Chinese translations

hun dan ~ “bastard”

ta ma de hun dan ~ “mother humping son of a b****”

feng le ~ “loopy in the head”

Chinese translations from Browncoats.com.