CHAPTER ONE "Look, alls I'm sayin is that if our contact didn't supply us with accurate information, we're humped." Mal said in a tense voice. Mal, Zoe and River stood in Serenity's cargo bay, gathered loosely in a circle. Both nodded in agreement and Zoe responded first by saying “I got a good feeling bout’ this one sir. Even though I’m not one who usually bases her decisions solely on feelings, I say we go for it.”. River nodded in agreement, asking Ready?”. Both nodded in unison. Smiling, River said “Hold on!”. Raising her head and closing her eyes, everything around the three began to slow down, eventually coming to a stop. Leveling her head, River opened her eyes to reveal only the whites. Opening her palms and raising her arms slightly, everything around them began to shimmer and change shape. They were entering the etherverse. Everything around them, even the deck plates they stood on, morphed into a grey haze. The haze quickly changed into a fuzzy, dimly lit room. After a brief moment of adjustment, the details of their surroundings began to form. River focused her eyes and lowered her hands to her side and everything came into instant focus. They stood in a small, secluded alcove that exited into a large warehouse. River taking the lead with Mal in the rear, they headed straight down a long, dim hallway between massive shipping containers. The hall led them to a brightly lit door with no markings. Looking back and nodding at the others, River reached down, turned the handle and pushed open the door. They stepped out into a bustling throng of people, traveling in either direction down a large thoroughfare. They moved to the right and set out at a brisk pace through the people packing the hallway. Zoe and Mal never saw the two forms standing silently in the shadows on either side of the door. They remained unmoving, continuing their silent vigil. The group walked about three hundred yards and reached a booth, also bearing no markings. Standing sentry were six armed guards, very wary of the crowd passing them by. Clad in black silk pants and tunics they were armed only with menacing Chinese swords of some ancient descent. As River approached the two nearest guards, they simply bowed their heads, stepping silently aside. The remaining four guards followed suit and the group passed through another unmarked door. Entering an empty hallway lit by a yellowed flourescent light, they followed River to a secluded alcove at the end. Stepping inside the little nook, the other two stood still as River began to raise her palms and head upward. After a moment of silence she leveled her head, again opening her eyes to reveal only the whites. Opening her palms and raising her arms slightly, everything around them began to shimmer and morph into a grey haze. As shapes began to form and come into focus around them, River focused her eyes and lowered her hands to her side. They stood on the deck of another cargo bay, much smaller than Serenity’s, about the size of a short range recon shuttle. "Exactly where we should be." Zoe said with a smile. Turning to face one another, Zoe and Mal now stood tall in the dark brown uniforms befitting decorated officers of the Independent military forces. Having re-entered this verse in the same place and in the same garb in which they had left it in, made things a little easier. Suited up in their official Independent’s dress uniforms, they turned their attention to River. Having stood by quietly watching, she smiled coyly as if enjoying some inner joke, then calmly addressed the two. “I must return to the etherverse. I am seeking someone and I must leave now to track him. I promise to return at the appointed time...soon.” she soothed. Both nodded in response, having expected as much. River closed her eyes, raising her palms and head up... then simply faded away!

CHAPTER TWO “Ready?” Zoe asked Mal, who replied “Affirmative.”. Opening the shuttle door and stepping out, they exited into another bay. This one, however was so vast that they could not see the ends of it. Surrounded by ships of various size and shapes, the hangar was large enough to house a thousand Serenity’s. Stepping forward to a door near the end of their landing pad, they entered a lift. Once inside they began to mentally prepare for the tasks ahead. The lift finally began to slow as it neared it’s destination. Coming to a stop the door opened and Zoe led the way into a large, well lit bridge. Heading toward a chair in the center of the room, an officer on her side announced as he stood up to full height “Captain on deck! Attention!”. The whole bridge crew turned, snapping to rigid formation. hands at their heads in salute.

“As you were.” Zoe responded to the crew. Mal immediately headed to a station to the captains right, relieving the current weapons officer by announcing “Tactical chief reporting for duty.”. After a few moments, a bridge officer approached the captain with a small hand held view screen. “These are the latest war reports sir. Gains, losses, operations currently being carried out and operations on the deck.” he announced, turned and strode back to his station. After briefly examining the reports, Zoe stood up and announced loudly, “Set course for the Du-Khang engagements. Give me maximum burn until just before we reach atmo. I wanna pop in on those bastards like a summer shower, givin’ em’ no time to prep.” Turning her attention towards the helm, the pilot turned around to reveal a smiling Wash, or at least this verse’s version of him, who responded “Yes sir, just awaiting the coordinates.”. Zoe marveled at how this was the same person, yet not the man who was her husband. She really missed him. These alternate realities were more than a little tricky sometimes, she thought.

Taking her seat again in the Captain’s chair, Zoe began to enter the coordinates into a console at her arm. Mal, nearby, was hard at work at his station. After a few moments he looked up smiling and said “Captain, we have the codes uploaded and the fleet will be ready to launch upon arrival. The three Alliance encampments will be fully engaged about 85 seconds after launch. I have three of the monitors trained on each site so that you can see it as it happens.”. She nodded her approval and said “Thank you Sargent.”.

After nearly a 2 hour journey they were about to drop out of a hard burn in the middle of three major enemy fortifications. “Stand ready.” Captain Zoe ordered. After a few tense moments of silence, Wash announced “Atmo in 3...2...1. Bay doors are open and the launch has commenced. All ships are dispatched and en route.”. Mal was furiously shouting orders into a microphone attached to his headset. He stopped, called to the captain and announced with a wide grin “Team Alpha hits Du-Khang 1 targets in 30 seconds, Team Beta hits Du-Khang 2 targets in 34 seconds and Team Charlie hits Du-Khang 3 targets in 36 seconds. Action is on vid.” Zoe tapped the com on her arm console and began giving orders to the various teams, sending them to the most potentially troublesome areas. Staring at the monitors, everyone watched as Team Alpha dropped over the lip of a valley right on top of a small airfield. This was Du-Khang 1, their first line of defense. On the Captain’s orders, the communications tower went up in a huge ball of bright orange flame as the first strike ship opened fire. That was quickly followed by a successive series of explosions as row upon row of Alliance space craft and barracks housing pilots and crew, were bombarded by concussive rockets from the attacking Independent ships. The outer phalanx of Independents pulverized the few surface to air fortifications there were. As this base was supposed to be a secret, there were fewer protective weapons in order to minimize detection. However, this base was no longer concealed, giving the Alliance troops little to defend themselves in this full on assault. Du-Khang 1 was completely leveled within two minutes.

Turning her attention to the other monitors she watched as Team Beta was about to engage Du-Khang 2, a small weapons manufacturing facility. This target was a little more fortified than the first, but stood no chance all the same. Zoe called for 47 ships to drop straight down, raining the righteous justice of the Independent cause on everything in their paths. The enemy stood little chance. With long range missiles destroying the gun placements, attack fighters systematically leveled all 28 structures until nothing was left but a cloud of smoke and dust. As the fighters retreated, mission accomplished, Alliance munitions still popped and spattered like a small fireworks display. Zoe let her attention linger on the vid image, smiling with satisfaction at the utter devastation left behind.

Looking at the last vid feed, she ordered the opening shots fired on Du-Khang 3 by Team Charlie. Speaking calmly into her com unit she said “Level the DAMN anti-aircraft guns and mobile S.A.M. units, then scram before the big ones hit.”. Du-Khang 3 was a well guarded repository with warehouses and a train full of munitions that would have been delivered to the nearby airfield (that was just destroyed). The arms and ammo would then have been sent out on various Alliance vessels, to go to waiting troops in the few persisting military engagements. Instead, 50 low flying Independent attack ships slammed into the defenses with the ferocity of a tidal wave. Pulverizing the half mile perimeter of anti aircraft weaponry and ground units, the depot and train were waiting targets as the attack ships retreated. An additional 40 ships, long range bombers, had already released their volleys. Life in that valley ceased altogether when those charges struck the ordinance awaiting shipment.

With the Independent fleet returning to the waiting carrier ship and a guaranteed celebration, Captain Zoe watched the monitor with a solemn happiness. The explosion was probably big enough to see from space, she thought. She knew the cost that had been paid to gain their vital edge. The information they had carried over from the last verse had not only proven accurate, their timing had proven to be damn near perfect. The Alliance munitions plant had manufactured long range, space capable, nuclear warheads. These arms were about to go out to their troops, who were desperately in need of big victory. With so many losses under their belts, she knew the Alliance was desperate enough to violate the Weapons Covenants and use nuclear arms now. She knew what her objectives were and she knew what she had to do in order to assure the continued success of the Independent military campaign against the rag-tag Alliance forces.

There was still the distinct possibility of Jayne crossing over to this verse as well. Assuming he didn’t jump over into one of the Du-Khang engagements, he posed the possibility of a sincere threat to the Independent military forces. If it was as she feared and he did cross, the intelligence he possessed would definitely be passed to the Alliance forces. His knowledge would give him access to the Browncoat’s computer mainframe, providing him access to almost anything he wanted! The problem with the Alliance in this verse boiled down to a lack of honor. They had become terrorists here, taking civilian lives in most of their cowardly acts of defiance. The two governments had gotten along well for many years, co-existing peacefully with plenty of room for both to expand. Had the Allied governments not chosen to provoke a war between themselves and the Independents, things would be much different here. Reinforced by a false sense of superiority and a nasty dose of self righteousness, they didn’t want to co-exist with their Browncoat neighbors. When the war started, Alliance forces were quickly crushed and scattered, leaving behind enemy cells to wreak what havoc they could. This was their current situation and Jayne was 100% Alliance here. He became a different person in this verse and any tactical knowledge he brought with him would cause some trouble. If he could gain access to the net, he would cause some big trouble. As Zoe sat contemplating the possible scenarios Jayne might bring to the playing field, Wash broke her out of her thoughts by stating “Carrier Vessel I.F. Shadow requests the destination to be entered once the fleet is back on board, Sir.”. She calmly replied “Tell them to set course for base 498. Establish orbit then release and deploy ships according to protocol.”. Persephone was a major hot spot for Alliance terrorists and she knew that the Jayne in this verse had contacts there. Any information he could use against the bases there would be exploited to it’s fullest potential. Persephone was Independent territory, full of heavily fortified complexes and key military installations. It was also a large contributor to the Browncoat military forces, with many of the companies serving military contracts. To top it all off, it was home to Zoe and her troops, Mal and Wash among them. Zoe knew she had to get her forces back home and make things as secure as possible.

CHAPTER THREE Alone in his cabin onboard Serenity, with the door to his bunk securely locked from the inside, Jayne sat quietly sharpening some of his favorite knives. Not hearing the momentary glide of metal on metal, the sword drawn was masked by his knife on a wet stone. Jayne had no chance to reach for his gun in front of him. With less than a foot between his hand and his piece, he felt the sharp press of cold steel on his adam’s apple. Surprised, but smart enough not to move, he waited. After a few seconds of stillness, he felt the pressure of the blade ease up on his throat. As he began to contemplate what his next move was going to be, the hilt of the sword shot forward to clip him in the back of the head. Jayne’s massive frame sagged forward onto the bed, breathing, but motionless. With the door still locked, the stranger closed his eyes, rolled back his head and the whole room began to shimmer.

Waking slowly, with no sense of time and a massive ache in what felt to be the back of his brain, Jayne still knew exactly where he was. He was in a safe house, at the Eavesdown Docks on Persephone. He could smell the dampness and hear the sounds of the wharf. This was one of the few places he came into this verse through, and it was the last place he had left it. He didn’t always understand the time and spatial mechanics of verse jumpin’, but that didn’t dampen his appreciation for it one iota! You arrived at the same place you left and that made sense enough for him. With his vision adjusting and his surroundings coming into focus, Jayne could make out the shape of a man sitting across from him. They were inside a large storage container, the only light provided by a few small holes rusted along the roof line. “So what took you so long to get me?” Jayne asked the man, a hint of humor in his voice. The problem here was that the Jayne in the other verse didn’t like to come to this place of his own accord. It always took a “retriever”, as they were called, to bring him over. Jayne didn’t posses the powers to make such a transition possible, but his friend and benefactors here in this verse, did have such abilities. Jayne’s retriever was his friend in this verse, and they were bitter enemies in the last, making their reunions a little strange. The man stood, nodded and replied “It took me some time to track and retrieve you, Sir.”. With a big smile Jayne asked sarcastically “Didn’t make it to hard on ya’, did we?”. The man nodded again, replying evenly “No more than usual.”.

Standing to join his comrade, they turned around to face a large set of double doors, barred from the inside. Standing still, with their ears pressed to the doors, they listened and waited. After a few minutes of silence, Jayne quietly lifted the bar locking the doors and pushed one open. It was twilight, giving them the coming cover of darkness under which to move. With their overcoats wrapped tightly around their bodies and their hoods pulled down over their heads, they set out on their trek. Not wanting to look as if they were in a hurry, which of course they were, they moved at a steady and measured pace. They had been picking their way through the docks for about two hours, when they heard a familiar voice come from the shadows to their left. “Container six, Dock 219.” was all that was whispered. Neither man gave any sign that they had heard the message and kept on walking without a word. Jayne was aware that they were under surveillance and had been for most of their time on the docks this evening. If he had not been feeling watched, he would have felt a bit funny. After passing through a few unseen checkpoints, which were well concealed metabolic scanners hidden along various paths, their identities were confirmed. It was a lengthy procedure, but quite necessary in these times of war. Jayne was proud of his men for all they had accomplished under the thumb of the Independent regime. He was also happy to see that safety protocol was being followed so rigidly. The two men kept walking for about 30 more minutes, their course casually veering away from the wharf region towards the interior of the massive port. Reaching a long row of blue shipping containers, covered with white Chinese writing, they headed towards the middle of the column. Stepping between two of the containers they walked to a door in the side of one. Lifting the latch and opening it, Jayne was greeted with multiple gun barrels, cocking into readiness. Seeing who it was, the weapons withdrew as the two men stepped into the murky darkness of yet another oversized shipping vessel. Following two men to the back of the container, Jayne and his companion watched as what appeared to be a large stack of old boxes began to raise up, revealing a staircase concealed underneath. The two men who opened the hidden door took the lead and began walking down the stairs, with Jayne and his companion right behind them.

Jayne had been recalled to this place for a reason, for a mission. He was an Alliance Special Operations Commander and he was fighting a losing war. Some agents of his enemies had crossed over to this verse to complete a mission of their own. Through means not limited to borrowing, begging or stealing, those agents had learned of the whereabouts of three key military installations belonging to Alliance forces in this verse. These strongholds were some of the last productive bases and now the enemy knew exactly where they were positioned. Jayne was aware that they would be unable to stop the superior forces of the Independents and that their secret bases were sure to be demolished. As it turns out though, the enemy wasn’t the only faction to garner classified information. Although Jayne’s alter ego, of the last verse, wasn’t the most stand-up of fellows, he did possess strong loyalties to his shipmates and a distinct dislike for the Alliance. That is precisely why it required a retriever to help him cross to this verse. Once over though, he became the type of bad guy the other Jayne only dreamed about.

As the four men walked along an underground corridor, walls wet with water dripping down from the overhead bays and estuaries, Jayne contemplated his place in the scheme of life. Lives, actually, as he had managed to tap into something so incredibly vast. He had no moral hang-up’s about the vermin he called Independent’s while he occupied this verse. He knew that they were scum to be wiped from the face of his pond and that he was charged with just that mission. Now he just had to figure the best possible way to do that.

CHAPTER FOUR He was a young man in appearance, maybe in his early thirties. He was in incredible shape, his muscular form seemingly chiseled from marble. He emanated a maturity that belied his age, which he used to his advantage whenever possible. He had many names, but the one he used in this ‘verse was Lord Brahma, The Creator. Here he was a powerful Hindu deity in a reality where the remnants of the nation of India ruled all. There was no AngloSino Alliance to rise to power here, as all were under the rule of his unholy empire. This is not to say that he was only worshiped as an idol, although he was, but that he was literally a God in this place. A Dark God, he was very unlike his counterparts from other realms. Here he relished in pain and suffering, treating them as if they were a path toward enlightenment. “Through concentrated suffering comes a clarity unlike any other”, he taught to his throngs of eager followers. “In anguish you will see the light”, was also one of his favorite teachings. The temples were soaked in the blood of those sacrificed in his name, helping assure his place as the strongest of all the Gods in this ‘verse.

Stretching out on a bed of pillows, which was actually part of an enormous gilded throne, he casually began to get up. Running the fingers of one hand through his tightly cropped black hair, he rested in a leaning position on his other three hands, his legs crossed in the lotus position. Head slightly tilted back and eyes closed, he listened to the morning as intently as if it were his first. Teetering there halfway between sleep and waking, he slowly opened his eyes to reveal two deep dark pools, akin to black pearls. Dressed in only black silk pants, he slid his feet over the edge of his royal perch to land noiselessly in a pair of woolly slippers. Pulling himself into an upright pose, he caught a glance of his reflection in a mirror on a wall nearby and marveled at his own beauty. It was a wonder, he thought to himself, that he was not worshiped on more worlds.

Rising from his pillowed resting place, he stood and embraced the day with all four arms outstretched. Reaching over to a chair back at his bedside, he retrieved a long robe of matching black silk and donned the flowing garment. Down the front of his robe was the image of a swan, bleach white against the pooling black of his silk. This beautiful creature embodied him in so many ways, he thought vainly as he dressed. Divine even amidst such dark elements, graceful at all times, the swan was his character. Walking down the dais from his throne, he strode noiselessly toward a large set of double doors directly in front of him. Moving through the twenty by twenty foot room, with cathedral ceilings so high you could scarcely see them, he marveled at his power and opulence. As he walked, Lord Brahma trailed a shadow behind him revealing four heads (three of which were only visible when he wanted them to be). Attaining the double doors, he reached forward with all four arms and flung open the entrance to his royal chamber.

Stepping out of his bedchamber he entered another large room, lit by vertical slits in the wall which allowed the morning light to pass through. In the center of this chamber was an altar, fitted with iron cuffs at each corner. Making his way toward the sacrificial table he could smell the sweat of those who served him and the blood of those who had died for him. The floor around it was stained with the obvious success of his reign of pain, which he relished as he passed it by. These aromas filled his senses, making him giddy with purpose and drive, causing him to step up his pace.

It was a God’s right and duty to make his people stronger, to weed out the weak and inferior. Those who did not fit into his world order eventually found their way to one of his ceremonies. Unfortunate as that may be for them, their sacrifices were necessary to further the lives of the devout. Brahma had even had a hand in helping to create suffering and pain in other realities as well, to his immense satisfaction. He found that many people from other worlds were very drawn to his teachings, even inspired by them. He had won many converts to his dark practices under some guise or another and enjoyed returning periodically to watch the handiwork of some of his former star pupils. They tended to be artists in some sadistic campaign. He knew he inspired greatness in his subjects and that made him proud. One of his favorite converts was a warrior poet with some barbaric tastes, named Shan Yu. He came from a very violent world, with warring factions competing for control of everything. Before he had reached manhood he was already familiar with not only the concepts, but also the realities of death, devastation, war and power. As Lord Brahma often could, he sensed the suffering in that kindred soul. Luring the young Shan Yu to the etherverse was easy, as his life barely had an anchor in his ‘verse. There he learned from the Dark Lord, gaining insight beyond his years, as well as a taste for the cruel and unusual. Shan Yu was returned to his ‘verse when Brahma felt satisfied with his students abilities, becoming a dictator that ruthlessly controlled his countrymen and women. The name of Shan Yu still elicits fear in that backward little world, he thought to himself with a grin.

That was the same ‘verse, he suspected, that she had emanated from. That thought made his smile fade instantly. Oh, the girl who had escaped his grasp. He had tried to make her one of his disciples, but his followers had failed for reasons unknown to him. He had spent rivers of blood and years of meditation in an effort to understand the elusive girl who had resisted so strongly. His people felt his pain, he made sure of that. He knew she also possessed great might, but he had not anticipated just how powerful she really was. She had even managed to expose his plans of mass subjugation in her ‘verse. He had it all worked out, with key members of Parliament acting directly on his behalf. He had a drug created, administered to a test planet and the results were smashing! Then she came along. She exposed the origin of his minions, the aptly named Reavers, dealing him and his followers a crippling blow and weakening his presence in that ‘verse. He was not directly linked to the incident, so the key players would remain a mystery for now. How the girl had managed to do all that, however, was still an enigma to him. Now that he had her scent, though, he intended to find her and have some of his questions answered. When next they met, he thought with a passion bordering on lust, she would pay dearly for her open defiance. If done properly, she would not anticipate it. He had recently learned that he had a perfect resemblance to someone very close to her. So close, in fact, as to be the only family she had left. And that she would never expect. The other Gods were truly smiling on his plans, he thought to himself. As if they had a choice!

STAY TUNED FOR CHAPTER 5 AND MORE TO COME! IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU HAVE READ, LET ME KNOW. I LOVE TO HEAR FROM FELLOW BROWNCOATS.

cmndraverhart@earthlink.net

also check out my updated Serenity page at: http://home.earthlink.net/~cmndraverhart1/