The bed upon which River slept seemed to bob along as it was swept downstream, following the current. She awoke as water splashed on her face, as she opened her eyes she was immediately drawn to two brightly coloured fish that were swimming alongside of her. River giggled and dipped her fingers into the water, enjoying the icy cold sensation it brought. On looking up she saw birds swooping and dipping towards the water, her eyes following one as it smacked into the water at incredible speeds. However, as River settled herself aboard her bed-turned-boat, she noticed another figure sitting with her. Her head snapped round, and she screamed when she saw Darcie’s ghostly visage resting next to her. She was tattooed on her arms and the visible parts of her legs, symbols and words. Blue Sun. River violently turned in her bunk and was grabbed by Simon as she almost fell onto the floor. He hugged her tight and stroked her hair, muttering words of comfort to her. She heard nothing from him; she was instead drawn to the ghostly figure of a girl wandering about outside the room. River shook with fear, but found within herself the courage to pull away from Simon’s warm embrace. As her feet touched the cold floor beneath, the ship around her melted away to reveal a dark corridor. Boldly she stepped forward, walking along until the air about her was filled with the sound of sobbing. The voice was Kaylee’s, River was sure. Breaking into a sprint, River tore down the hall, the darkness twisting into a deep blue that broke upon her like sunlight in the morning. She blotted out the light with a hand, and as the corridor bent River could hear the sobbing slowly ebb away. On slowing to a walk she came across a small, huddled figure sitting alone on the ground. “Kaylee?” The mechanic’s tear-stained face looked up at River, conveying such a sadness that River too began to cry. She dropped to her knees and, on examining her face carefully, stopped crying and instead smiled softly. “Don’t doubt yourself Kaylee, you are smart, you can talk to machines and make them work for you.” “But I let the Cap’n down, I can’t fix Serenity, I made another mistake…I let him down again” She whimpered, sniffing intermittently. “Serenity don’t need fix’n Kaylee, you aren’t seeing the real problem, is all.” Kaylee glanced over at something which River couldn’t see, and with wide eyes she clambered to her feet and melted into the blue. The route too melted, turning into a dead end. River turned around to see that the corridor behind her had changed as well, the space had widened, a room had grown out of the nothingness. On River’s entry she began to notice shadows dissolving in and out of existence, some speaking with familiar voices. As she continued through the room one figure became as real as Kaylee, the beautiful glitter of one of Inara’s dresses beckoned to River and on approach the woman crystallised, snapped into perfect focus. “River, bao bei, what are you doing here?” She asked, her face a mass of concern and confusion. “What did you forget Inara?” Inara’s gaze faltered, she glanced at the ground rather than looking River in the eyes. “You shouldn’t be ashamed of wanting to stay, Serenity is special and Mal would be glad if you kept your home here. He’s too stubborn to say it himself.” She smiled and reached out for Inara, but paused as she saw something new in her. “You do remember, don’t you? The dust on your finger, on your dress, the empty bed?” The Companion glanced down at the dirt which marred the perfect gold of her garment, and too melted away. Beneath River’s feet the walkway seemed to be getting warmer, like a path well trodden. The Captain was standing at the end of the corridor, as River crept towards him another shadow placed a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t, Mal ain’t gonna want to hear from the likes of us, we ain’t but disposable go se to him” Jayne said gruffly. River looked up at him and gave him a broad smile. Sunshine fixed everything, he, along with everything here, was so dark and caught up in the nothingness that they’d forgotten how to smile. “You’re useful Jayne Cobb.” River said with a nod. He looked puzzled, but released her from his grip and turned away. Walls began to solidify around her; River could once again hear Serenity’s heart beating. Stairs presented themselves before her, however as she stepped up them everything except the Captain fell away, like sand draining away through the neck of an hourglass. Mal was left stood atop a precipice; his gaze was focussed out at a turbulent sea ahead. “I can’t do right by this crew” a voice next to her muttered. Now she too was standing on the edge of the cliff, below lay rocks, before her stretched an infinite sea. A blue sun was rising. Malcolm Reynolds was stripped bare for all to see. He’d been humbled, beaten down too much, River knew that he was contemplating letting himself drop into the rocks waiting maw. “I can’t think straight no more, guess there’s no reason why I should. Crew must be thinkin’ I’m insane by now.” River examined the Captain’s face intently before answering. “You don’t have to be a fortress.” He glanced down at her and turned his back on the vista. Behind them sat Serenity, its door wide open. The rest of the crew stood there, arms crossed, watching them both intently. “Darcie ain’t there.” “Odysseus ordered his crew to put bees wax in their ears to block out the sounds of the Sirens.” River said cheerfully, standing on her tiptoes so she could look down at the rocks without going closer to the precipice. “Wish you’d make some kind of sense once in a while” River frowned, turning back to him. “She’d do nothing to none of you if you all weren’t so broken.” Mal laughed. “That’s mighty odd coming from you” “I’m broke for a reason, you are broken ‘cos you choose to be.” She replied. She bent down and ran her fingers through the thick grass, but instead it was cold and smooth, like a metal grating. “Serenity isn’t broken, Jayne isn’t a mutineer and you should listen to Inara once in a while.” She raised a finger to quieten Mal as he opened his mouth in protest. “Listen, don’t just hear. You ain’t quite right, you know.” She added. As she stood the grass receded back into the ground, the dirt turned into metal and the cliff rushed in on itself and formed the familiar walls of Serenity. River staggered slightly, bumping into Wash who had suddenly appeared. “Hey hey, I’m not just a moving part you know!” He protested. “I’m a highly important member of the crew and shouldn’t be knocked about, dong ma?” River giggled, and followed Mal down the steps out of the cockpit. There he met the rest of the crew, assembled and seemingly ready to mob him. “Cap’n, you gotta listen to me” Kaylee began, but Mal raised his hand to stop her.

“Inara, you wanted to speak to me?”

The Companion looked slightly taken aback, but nodded quickly.

“I think we all have a serious problem.”