Firefly: "Eden-Two"

Disclaimer: If I weren't just a poor college student and could finance the series myself, I would, but I can't. So all I can do is just play around in Joss Whedon's 'verse. Also, I don't know a lick of Chinese so I haven't bothered to put the translations because they're probably horribly wrong. If it were Japanese or Latin, well, that'd be another story...

Episode two of my second season of Firefly: After completing a job on Beaumonde, Mal runs into a man he helped during the war. The man, weary of the hard life after the war, is searching for the fabled planet Eden-Two. Unfortunately, he isn't the only one.

------

Captain Malcolm Reynolds dusted his hands off pleasantly as he finished up loading some of the cargo they'd be transporting on to Beaumonde. Kyo Nagiama, their new pilot and old friend, busied himself by working on the Mule as it remained parked on the roof Serenity. That meant a series of complicated harnesses to keep him hanging up in the air, which wasn't exactly Mal's idea of a good time.

"Doin' all right there, Kyo?" asked Mal, leaning against the crate he'd just loaded. Kyo dropped his hands from the underside of the Mule to look through the olive netting that supported him.

"Shiny," he smirked before reaching over to remove a tool from the box that was tied to the ridiculously high hammock.

"Don't be seein' the need to be messin' with the Mule," grumbled Jayne Cobb as he dragged two crates into the cargo bay of Serenity. "Better'n these here horses."

"Now, now, ain't no need to be takin' your frustrations out on them fine creatures," said Mal with an easy grin. He reached out and patted the strong neck of a brown stallion that stood to his right. Reminded Mal of his ranching days back on Shadow. Back there they hadn't a whole lot of A.T.V. transports to haul things, and so they mostly had to make due with wagons and horses.

"Don't be blamin' me neither," called out Kyo from above, who'd since returned to his labors. "I only said it might be possible to retro-fit the Mule with class-three foils and ridgeline suspensions. Didn't think River'd actually find me the parts out here on Whitefall. You'll thank me next time you need the speed to make a quick getaway. Which, y'know, will probably be the next job."

"Hey," barked Mal over Jayne's grunt of approval. "Things went right by us this time, didn't they?"

"Only because you weren't the one to get us the deal, sir," said Zoe as she stalked by them, her own arms laiden with supplies.

"Oh, I see how it is! Mutiny season, ain't it?" grumbled Mal good naturedly. "Well y'all can forget about them raises I've been talkin' 'bout!"

"As I recall it, sir, we were the ones doin' all the talkin', and it was you that did a whole lot of excuse makin'," smiled Zoe with a sweet smile that did not belong on her deadly face.

"I ain't heard nothin' 'bout no gorram raise," said Jayne with a confused expression plastered on his forehead.

"Joke," declared River Tam patronizingly as she glided down from the stairs and past Jayne. Mal smiled at the eye-roll she gave Jayne, and the smile grew wider when she sat herself down onto the crate Jayne had reached out to grab. The merc sneered at her before lifting it up easily, girl and all. Mal remembered Wash's joke about a ninety-pound girl beating up Jayne, and a tinge of a sadness marred the smile.

"Wait," River told Jayne just as they passed Kyo's harness. Kyo's hand was already out expectantly for a new tool from the box, which River provided without a word between the two. Mal was beginning to wonder about the rapport between the two of them, but so long as it caused no harm for the crew, he was fine with it.

"'Nara's comin' back, Cap'n," called out Kaylee as she stepped down from the stairs leading to the flight deck. Right on cue, Inara stepped out of her shuttle. They'd stopped on Whitefall many times before and Inara'd never found anyone remotely close to matching her tastes here. Still, she stated the need to finalize some Companion business in this sector, and Mal had no choice to agree. He'd save those questions for later on.

"I see things have been busy while I was away," she smiled sweetly as Kaylee ran up beside her.

"Not for all of us," said Simon as he emerged from the door that lead towards the infirmary. "Though that's obviously a good thing around here."

"Well, Doc, I say keep the cheer rollin' and help us load the rest of our cargo," said Mal before the led the horse back down the ramp. "You gonna be long, Kyo? I'd like to be takin' us out of Whitefall sometime in the next few minutes."

"I'll do it," said River, jumping down from the crate that Jayne had just set down. Before Mal could even say a thing otherwise, River had skipped off up the stairs faster than a rabbit.

Kyo slammed shut a panel on the underside of the Mule, shut the lid on the box, and released the pins supporting the net up near his head. Mal watched him flip down from the ceiling onto the stacked crates, holding onto the part of the net still clipped to the Mule to slow his momentum.

"I'll do it," he assured Mal before taking off after River. Mal couldn't resist looking over to see Simon's reaction, and was pleased to see the man taking a controling breath.

"Leaving so soon?" said a soft voice from his shoulder. Mal looked up after hitching the horse back to the wagon and making it secure. The now familiar, slender form of Whisper stood before him with a hand propped up on her hip. She'd changed clothes into something air that allowed for maneuverability, but still emphasized her small, thin shape. The gray duster was a new piece, however.

"Got a job to do," smirked Mal as he patted the horse one last time. "Reckon from how you seem to be smilin', so do you."

"Yup," she nodded enthusiastically. "Patience and her crew've been lookin' to take back this moon. The new order of things obviously don't want that to happen, so I'd say I've got me a steady job for a spell." Mal'd been disappointed to hear that Patience was indeed still alive. The coup hadn't managed to kill her, just sent her running for the hills.

"Thanks," said Mal gratefully while he hitched the horse back onto the wagon. "Didn't have to help us get this here job."

"Did," said Whisper pointedly as she climbed onto the wagon.

"Now see here, darlin', we made you a partner out of our little shindig at Ath's."

"Right, and you cut me in on the take," Whisper nodded on the bench. "But I ain't a part of your crew, Captain Reynolds. Splittin' the take's one thing, but givin' me a free ride off Persephone and to Whitefall counts as a favor in my book, and I repay my favors."

"Well s'long as we're even," said Mal in return.

"Take care of yourself, Captain, and give my regards to Kyo. Maybe one day I'll learn to fly, buy my own ship, and see you out in the black."

"You too, darlin'."

"And Jayne!" she shouted towards the hangar; voice hard but with a certain softness to her eyes. "I hope a fluffy, white bunny becomes your undoin'! Y'hear me, you kong-xin, ju-ren yan!"

Mal smiled as Whisper gave a loud snap of the reigns and steered the wagon back off to town. Once he made his way up the ramp and into Serenity, he retracted it and shut the bay doors with two buttons on the nearby console. He flipped another switch on the bulkhead and addressed the intercom. "All aboard. Take her off, Kyo--River--whoever."

"Sure thing, Mal," said Kyo over the static, and the muted whine of the engines activating brought a smile to Mal's face. He gave the console a nice pat as he shut off the connection.

"We really leavin' her here?" said Jayne, who'd siddled up all creepylike--in fact, downright Riverlike--next to Mal. After getting over his initial heart attack, he took in Jayne's furrowed brow and head nod back towards the doors.

"She ain't a member of the crew, Jayne," Mal told him. If he hadn't know the merc better, Mal would've sworn Jayne seemed almost reluctant to leave her behind. Funny, since the pair had done nothing but trade insults for the whole ride. "She got her own business that don't always run parallel to ours. In fact, more often'n not they intersect in the violent way."

"Well--yeah," said Jayne. Mal stopped and gave his hired-gun an appraising look. Jayne seemed to have sensed Mal's eyes on him and changed his confused face into a scowl. "Can't be takin' on no more strays like before."

"Right," agreed Mal, barely suppressing his amusement as Jayne trudged off; presumably to his bunk.

"Think someone might be harborin' a little crush, sir?" asked Zoe with obvious amusement. Mal gave her a smirk in return. Late night drinking sessions between himself, Zoe and Kyo had been theraputic for his first mate. He'd heard stories from her he'd never even known about--mostly dealing with Wash. Gave Kyo a good impression of the man that'd been good enough for Zoe too, as he still had some lingering disbelief about Zoe actually being married.

"Might be so, but the last thing we need is a bounty hunter attractin' more bounty huntin' friends," said Mal as he made his way up the stairs.

"Not disagreein' with you, sir," declared Zoe as she followed. "You reckon Fanty and Mingo are expectin' to be seein' us again?"

"No, and I personally can't wait to see their identical, pretty faces when I walk into the Maidenhead," said Mal with a broad grin at doing just that.

"Think it oughta be you to do the deal, sir?" asked Zoe once they reached the catwalk. "Prospector hadn't told them who was makin' the drop. After everythin' that happened three months back, maybe we should let Kyo come along to add a sense of credibility to us?"

"Credibility?" declared Mal, whirling upon her. He saw Zoe pull up sharply, but her eyes remained challenging and unwavering.

"You do remember what they said the last time, don't you?" said Zoe, not backing down in the slightest. "About how we handle cargo, and how our take got cut down? With everything that happened with that Operative, do you really think they'll be willin' to deal?"

"Ain't forgotten," said Mal, just as tightly, "and we ain't dealin' with them. We're just the delievery boys, and our cut's already been confirmed. Alliance killed lotta good folk lookin' to hurt us; leave it to them to spare the scum."

*****

"Listen up, people," said Mal at the bottom of the cargo bay once they reached Beaumonde. "Zoe, Jayne, you're with me to meet Fanty and Mingo to get paid. Kaylee, you and Simon go round up the supplies we may be needin'. River? Inara? Kyo? Watch the ship. Kyo, you be ready to meet Fanty and Mingo's men if they come for the cargo 'fore we return."

Simon frowned and took a quick glance over his shoulder towards River, who seemed to be beaming. "Are you sure it's wise for us to be out in broad daylight like that? The Alliance--"

"Checked the Cortex back on Whitefall," said Mal. "Ain't been a new bulletin posted out for you since--well, there ain't been a new bulletin out for you. Old one's still fine, but that's not gettin' much rotation neither. Figure it'll be all right for you two to take a quick stroll, long as you don't draw no attention to yourselves."

"It's fine, Simon," Kaylee cheerfully with a pat on his arm. "Shoppin' district ain't more'n two blocks from the docks. It'll be shiny, really!"

"All right, then. Let's get a move on!"

Mal lead the little procession through the brightly lit streets of Beaumonde. Last time he'd been here hadn't been for very happy reasons. At the moment, Fanty and Mingo were at the bottom of the people-he-really-wanted-to-see-alive list, right along side Badger, Niska, and YoSaffBridg. They'd always been fair and reliable with Mal before, up until they decided to take advantage of him. Part of that had to do with River and Simon being fugitives, but he couldn't blame everything on them. They'd earned their place as far as Mal was concerned. Fanty and Mingo should've had more faith in Mal and his crew.

The Maidenhead had changed since River's little outburst. Rather than locking down with tighter security, it had been done away with entirely. Apparently the consensus had been that the very existence of security was the problem, so every man was free to walk in with their arms on their person. Mal thought that was a particularly bad move, as he had the inclination to use those arms on Fanty and Mingo.

"I still say I should've brought alone a little more firepower," whispered Jayne into Mal's ears as they descended the steps.

"And I'm still hopin' this'll go off without a hitch," Mal told Jayne as he smelled something particularly fierce waff up from a tray.

Fanty and Mingo were seated in their usual booth with a hidden tunnel Mal hadn't known about the last time. With a hand on the end of his pistol, Mal strode purposely towards them as they glanced around nervously for their parcel. Mal had stolen a look at the cargo, and they appeared to be a veritable arsenal of guns. What the pair had in mind for them, Mal didn't know, but he suspected they were only passing them on to another party.

"Fanty," Mal said to the twin in the plum suit, startling them. "Mingo," Mal nodded to the one in the blue suit.

"Reynolds!" Mingo exclaimed in alarm, instantly breaking out into a sweat. "Fancy meeting you here again..."

"Easy, boys, we ain't here to kill you," said Mal with a disarmingly charming smile on his face.

"Much as we'd like to an' all," growled Jayne menacingly over Mal's shoulder, and quite suddenly the smile felt more real on Mal's face.

"We're here to do business," Mal told the twins as he took a seat. "Got some cargo for you from Whitefall."

"Y-you're the couriers?" said Fanty with apprehension. "That's--"

"--most unexpected," finished Mingo.

"So's the fact you boys seem to be in the need of weapons," said Mal, dropping into the chair while Zoe and Jayne flanked him. Fanty and Mingo exchanged a glance with each other that seemed to carry a whole heap of information, leaving Mal to wonder if they weren't Readers either.

"Time's have changed, Reynolds," said Fanty with a slight smile.

"Are changing," corrected Mingo with a smile of his own. "The broadwave three months back shook up the 'verse."

"Core worlds are still Alliance true. They think the broadwave was a hoax, but then again--"

"--they think Reavers are just cosmic legend."

"Outer Rim systems know better," continued Fanty, now looking pointedly at Mal. "They're mad--very mad--at the Alliance. Been a good deal of expeditions out to Miranda to see for themselves, and they're not liking what they see."

"Feds've been trying to rectify the situation by waging war on the Reavers," Mingo added, also looking directly at Mal. "Don't want Reavers expanding into the core, you see. The Rim systems haven't been taking kindly to that sort of favoritism. Word on the street is a rebellion's in the brewing."

Mal felt his blood run cold. The Independent Army hadn't all been Outer Rim systems; some sympathizers actually came from the Core worlds. A rebellion made up of just the Outer Rim systems would fair worse than the Independents--chiefly because they relied so heavily on supplies from the Core. It'd never work; it'd be suicide.

"Crazy, we know," nodded Fanty, "but profitable nonetheless."

"Feds are growing aware of this, but don't know how to handle it," smirked Mingo, as if the solution were the most obvious thing. "They're thinking about fortifying the Outer Rim systems in an attempt to solidify their hold out here--"

"--all under the pretense of dealing with Reavers," tsked Fanty with a disapproving shake of his head. "People are smarter than that, even way out here."

"They'll only escalate the coming war," finished Mingo.

"Which'll be a good thing for the Alliance," said Mal for the first time since their history lesson had started. Fanty and Mingo both looked at Mal in surprise. "Independents had support from Core worlds, and supplies and we couldn't overwhelm the Alliance. A simple rebellion won't even come close."

"A bug against a bear's got a better shot than the Rims fightin' the Feds," sneered Jayne in agreement.

"Rebellion seems to think differently," said Fanty pointedly, leaning forward conspiratorally. "'Sides, your Browncoats didn't have smugglers and thieves to back you up."

"Current's shifted some in the years following the war," supplied Mingo. "We feel a certain distance from the Alliance wouldn't be such a bad thing. A private planet where any underhanded dealing could take place."

"Great, a bad guy's safe haven," muttered Mal to the heavens. "Really think y'all could manage a planet on your own, let alone get along?"

"As long as everyone sticks to business," smirked Fanty.

"Speaking of which... Shall we?" said Mingo.

*****

"Somethin' on your mind, sweetie?" asked Kaylee as they strolled through the shopping district. Kyo's Wolfhound had provided them with plenty of spare parts for Serenity, not to mention the selling of its remains to Virgo back on Persephone had granted them a hefty sum of money. Raiding the late Atherton Wing's personal vault had added onto that as well. Kaylee couldn't help but smile as she looked down at baskets of fresh fruit sagging on her arms. They hadn't been this rich since Simon's Ariel job, which had been short lived thanks to Niska.

"Hmm?" said Simon distractedly, finally raising his head from his feet to look at her. "Oh, sorry. It's nothing." He shifted the packages around in his arms and resumed staring at his feet.

"Ain't nothin', Simon, I can see it written plain on your face," Kaylee told him pointedly. "Ever since Persephone, you've been actin' like someone's stolen your favorite teddy!"

Simon gave her a shy smile before bumping her hip with his. "That's not possible since it's right here," he told her, nodding at the teddy bear patch on her coveralls.

"Aww," said Kaylee, beaming at him despite the blush on both their cheeks. "But y'ain't distracting me with your sweet talk, hon."

Simon sighed in defeat and pulled up short on the street, standing just outside a sweets shop that sold all sorts of preserved fruits. Across from them was a media center that aired the latest Cortex bulletins, and Simon's current attention focused on those instead of Kaylee.

"It's River," he said at last, when Kaylee thought her arms might go numb from the loss of circulation.

"River?" frowned a completely taken aback Kaylee. "What's wrong with River? She's been shiny since Miranda!"

"All right, so it's River and...Kyo," Simon muttered the last name and a big, face-splitting grin appeared over Kaylee's features. It was so bright, it drew Simon's attentions away from the screens and forced him to ask, "What?"

"Nothin'," giggled Kaylee and then drew reticent upon seeing Simon's irritated face rear its head. At his persistant gaze, Kaylee gave a sigh of her own and decided to speak her piece. "It's shiny, Simon, really. If River's taken a likin' to Kyo, it means she's really doin' good, ain't she?"

"Maybe," Simon temporized reluctantly. "But we don't know the reasons why River is attracted to Kyo."

"Does she need any?" frowned Kaylee.

"Of course!" exclaimed Simon disbelievingly. "Kaylee you know River...sneaks. Spies, really. On us, particularly!"

The flush on Simon's face grew pinker by the second and Kaylee found it extremely hard not to giggle. Most memorable had been the time Simon was shirtless, helping her in the engine room, and Kaylee had spied River peering down from the ceiling of all places. Simon had given himself a nasty bump against Serenity's engine in an attempt to scramble away.

"Girl's just curious 's'all. Ain't never had a proper boyfriend, right? How could she when--well, y'know. 'Sides, it's not like she can't just read Kyo's intentions and judge for herself."

"A gift I find myself wishing I had these days," admitted Simon ruefully, returning his gaze over Kaylee's shoulder.

She laughed; she really couldn't help it when he was getting so miserable over nothing. "She's a genius and a Reader, and you're thinkin' 'bout second guessin' her judgement?"

"She's my sister--my younger sister," was Simon's reply, as if that was the end-all, final answer to any point Kaylee might come up with.

"A genius sister--a Reader sister," Kaylee retorted.

"Well that might be a problem too!" declared Simon, focusing back upon her again. "I mean what if--what if it's because--it might be--" Simon's face was turning a dangerous shade of red as he gestured futilly with his weighed down hands.

"What?"

"What if River's...curious...because of us," Simon finally managed to say. "What if she's just looking to add...another experience, or something!"

"River's a big girl," said Kaylee, laying her hand onto Simon's as best as she could manage. "Cap'n 'n' Zoe trust Kyo, and it hasn't been like he's been sleepin' with her already in the two weeks he's been here."

"But it's not...right," sputtered Simon, now grasping for reasons.

"What's not right?"

"Just doing...that," said Simon unhelpfully. "With no...no caring or attraction."

"You mean a one-night stand?" supplied Kaylee, to which Simon gave a reluctant nod--indicating that wasn't quite what he was going for, but close enough. "And 'Nara? You think what she does isn't right? Or proper?"

"Inara's different! She's a Companion! As much as our Captain loves to say it, they aren't exactly whores," said Simon. "They're cultured and do a lot more than just have...sex."

"But she does have sex with people and leave them; no emotional involvement," Kaylee countered. "Sometimes sex is just sex, Simon."

Simon simply gaped at her in disbelief, and Kaylee had a great epiphany that there were going to be some parts of her past she wouldn't be telling him anytime soon. Chief among those would be the circumstances surrounding her being hired by the Captain as the mechanic.

She watched apprehensively, hoping the question wouldn't come, but before he said anything he frowned in confusion over her shoulder. Kaylee turned to see the Cortex blaring a report on a small screen, but whatever it was about seemed to disturb Simon greatly. As if in a trance, he brushed past her and walked up to the screen.

"Simon?" she said worriedly, walking up beside him. "Simon, honey, what is it?"

Not getting a response from him, Kaylee tried her best to pick out the news report over the other screens.

"Once again," said a naseatingly pleasant and even voice, "we report that Mr. Gabriel Tam, father of fugitives Simon and River Tam, was arrested earlier this evening in a blackout zone on Osiris. Local law enforcement speculate that Mr. Tam was making attempts at contacting his children, and have been in contact with them for some time. Mr. Tam has since posted bail and charges are pending a federal investigation into the matter..."

"Dad," said Simon mournfully, but with an ironic sort of smile on his face.

Kaylee felt sorry for Simon, but then realized that bulletin might bring all sorts unwated attention to them with the Tam name, and possible his face plastered all over the Cortex again. "C'mon, sweetie, I don't think it's safe hangin' 'round out here with that goin' on."

"Right," said a startled Simon, as his mental faculties began to work. "And River will want to know--maybe."

"If she doesn't already with that big ol' brain of hers," teased Kaylee playfully and was rewarded with a slight, wan smile.

*****

Kyo worked under the Mule again. Engineering was certainly not his speciality, but years of caring for his own ship had taught him many tools of the trade. Kaylee was a genius at it, that much was obvious. The girl had a certain imagination that everyone else seemed to lack. She saw things no one could possibly conceive, and that made her brilliant.

Of course, Kyo could very well equal Kaylee's own brilliance, but that came at a price he wasn't willing to handle at the moment; a switch he wasn't willing to flick again. River was teasing that switch, though, with every probe she tucked into his mind, but Kyo kept a firm lid shut on those things. It wasn't yet time for that; but then, Kyo didn't know if that was for himself or for her.

He heard the shuttle doors open and knew River and Inara were exiting. The Companion had withdrawn River from the moment everyone had left. Or perhaps River had taken Inara aside. Kyo hadn't been quite sure as they were both chatting excitably up the stairs. In his profound experience, that meant bad news on his behalf.

Without satisfying his curiousity to look at the stairs as they descended, Kyo dropped his tool back into the box and admired his handiwork. The current Mule was a simple Starlight hoverloader manufactured by the Vortices company, which was miles better than the A.T.V. Mal had apparently been using before hand. With Kyo's modifications, the Mule could probably outrun the shuttle in dead heat and take a good deal more punishment. For good measure, he threw in a few hidden compartments after he'd minimalized the internals with better equipment.

"Have you spent the entire morning under there?" asked Inara with obvious amusement. He didn't trust himself to look for fear of some sort of trick, so he made himself slowly fasten the plate over the wiring.

"Pretty much," he smirked as he bolted down the first corner. "Wanted to wrap this up before Mal came back." After the steady clinking rhythm of his socket wrench filled the bay, he tacked on, "I could modify your shuttle, if you like. Give it a little more range to broaden your clientelle."

"Thank you for your offer, but I'm happy with my shuttle as it operates," said Inara politely, but the way she said it made Kyo smile in reply.

"And you have Kaylee to repair it for you," suggested Kyo as he began to work on the second bolt. "I'm hurt you don't trust me."

"I recall Jayne complaining very vocally about your driving," said Inara with a sort of verbal shrug. She was a very good Companion in Kyo's opinion, mostly because he found himself very engaged and at ease, and he was doing his best to avoid looking at her. Kyo smiled at the memory of Jayne, the large mercenary, heaving on all fours in the back of the shuttle before Mal kicked him out. "If your modifications are anything like your piloting, I'll choose to refrain myself."

"Suit yourself."

Silence settled over them again with the exception of the steady click of the wrench. Kyo clenched his jaw tightly as he worked. He realized she'd steered the conversation into his hands, leaving him with the obvious question of "How was your day in the shuttle?" He chose not to take the obvious question and instead settled into silence. Her dress was bright enough to be visible in the periphery of his vision, and he could tell she hadn't left. It was obvious she was going to wait him out for whatever reason.

"Checkmate," said River from his left, but beneath him. Her amusement was plainly evident in her voice and Kyo shut his eyes.

"Are you gonna tell me, or am I gonna have to actually turn and look?" he sighed and lowered his hand to rest on his chest.

"Not the question you're supposed to ask," River told him and he saw a flicker of movement from Inara's side. He assumed she was laughing.

"I'm skipping ahead," he told her.

"Yes, you're supposed to turn and look," said Inara. "When you look, you will ask."

Kyo sighed again and finished up fastening the plate. He set the socket wrench back into the tool box, shut it tightly, and rolled around on the net so he could look down at River. Naturally, the mesh of the netting obstructed his view a great deal, to which Inara huffed in exasperation. Before he could do anything, he felt the netting jostle and then the squeek of the pully as the net lowered towards the ground. He watched curiously as more of the cargo bay came into view until River's face finally appeared.

The black cord of the pulley drew his eyes down her form. Her hair that had fallen like a curtain around her face for the few weeks he'd known her was now pulled back into an elegant sort of bun, with navy wisps weaved threw them before ending in a bow as wavy as her hair. A light dusting of make up covered her face, enhancing the soft beauty already there. Around her lithe, elven body was a slinky, strapless dress of the deep, sparkling sea that accented her long lines. Down his eyes went, past the diagonal hem of the dress until they came upon her legs. He'd seen them before, as she had a plethora of other items that showed them off, but not like that; shiny and smooth like they'd been oiled. He couldn't help but smile as he noticed she remained bare foot, though a matching shade of blue polish could be found on each toe.

"So..." said Kyo, his eyes constantly roaming over the new River and taking in details he'd missed at first; like the delicate gold anklet, or the bangles along her slender wrists. His elbow was protesting the need to support his upper body weight on the unyielding metal floor, but he ignored it for the moment as he tried to wrap his mind around this. "This--ah--is what you spent all day doin'?"

"Yes," said Inara brightly, walking around Kyo's frozen body to stand beside River. "I thought River could use a lovely looking dress. Every young girl deserves something to make them feel empowered, don't you agree?"

"Whole--whole-heartedly," nodded Kyo, who was having difficulty keeping his mouth fully closed. Checkmate, indeed, a voice whispered in the back of his mind. "Don't you think--ah--it's a bit much for the ship? I mean--well--"

"Probably," admitted Inara, who seemed to be thoroughly enjoying herself. River, on the other hand, seemed be threatening to break out in a burning blush while she fidgetted with the bangles. She dug her toes against the floor, and in the process of rotating her ankle showed off all sorts of shapely muscles. "I grew out of this particular outfit, however, and it's more complimentary for River than Kaylee."

Kyo had to turn his back to River and pretend to fidget with the tool box, if only to give himself a moment to recollect his thoughts. He thought it wasn't fair to spring this on him, and this would undoubtably be the last time he spend the day with Inara and her wicked sense of humor. Beyond that, he knew River was beautiful for a multitude of reason--of course, knowing and seeing it were apparently two very different things.

"Well," said Kyo, with a little more clarity in his thoughts, "seems you caught me at a slight disadvantage. Two of you all dolled up, lookin' pretty, and me in a ratty, gray flightsuit, up to my elbows in grease."

"Are you asking for a makeover?" declared Inara teasingly.

"No!" said Kyo a mite too highly to be casual, and he growled at the double giggle he received. In exasperation, he stood up and turned around to face the girls. "I'm just sayin', that maybe we should give River an occassion to wear this thing again."

"And you can wear the black suit you have at the bottom of your trunk," added River helpfully. Kyo hung his head while Inara stiffled a laugh.

"This your way of askin' me out on a date, lai?" asked Kyo as he folded his arms across hist chest to pin her with a look. It was his new name for her, instead of "little bit." Mal switched between "little Albatross" or "little one," so Kyo had taken "little River," or "brook."

"You asked," she corrected in a matter-of-fact manner. Tugging at the fabric that hugged her hips, she did a graceful pirouette and added, "This was my answer. You were looking for an excuse to wear that suit, because you like it and you think you look good in it. I tend to agree."

"River," chided Inara gently, laying a correcting hand on River's arm. "That isn't what I told you to do."

"I know," nodded River and Kyo rolled his eyes to the ceiling; pieces clicking into place, "but I don't see the point. I know what he wants, and what he wants coincides with what I want. Shortest distance between two points is a straight line."

"But a spiral's so much more interestin'," protested Kyo with a cheerful smirk.

"Well, I'm sure being a Reader makes things simpler for you, but you must understand that other people might not be as receptive to the forward approach," said a very amused Inara.

"He's fine with it," said River simply, and as true as that was, it felt more than a little awkward to be discussed about in a very roundabout way.

This is what a ghost must feel like, he thought to himself as he observed Inara and River.

"Be that as it may, just keep what I said in mind for future reference," counselled Inara.

"Before this gets anymore awkward on my behalf...can we possibly switch subjects?" coughed Kyo uncomfortably.

Inara gave Kyo a look that made him instantly regret his words; mostly on account of the impish glow she seemed to exude like he'd fallen into a preconceived plan.

"Very well," said Inara wolfishly. "Shall we proceed to attraction through dance? Mr. Nagiama, if you please?"

"Aw, no!" protested Kyo loudly, dropping the rag he'd been using to clean his hands as he took a step back. "No! No, no, no, no, NO! I don't dance!"

"Yes, you do," said River with a slight incline of her head as she matched him step for step. "You like the slow dances, but not the fancy ones. Trip up the limbs, but you can hear the rhythm just fine."

"I think dancing is something every gentleman should know," Inara told him.

"Yeah, well, ain't never said I was a gentleman," said Kyo harshly, embarassment and mild amusement were washed out by a flood of anger and indignation that suprised Inara greatly. That door of his was opening a little too much, and he was falling back under its contents like an overstuffed closet. The comment had been made innocently by Inara, only now he'd drawn too much attention to that fact.

A small, cool hand wrapped around his own clenched fists and he looked up from the toe of his boots into River's face. There was a tickle of reassurance in that touch and a swell of comfort and understanding radiating into his skull from her eyes. "You are a gentleman," she told him emphatically, instantly understanding the real reason behind his irritation. With a much brighter tone, and a brilliant smile that sent his stomach fluttering like mad, she tacked on, "And gentlemen dance."

"Fine," he sighed in utter defeat. "Just lemme get changed."

"Good," beamed River as Kyo pulled away.

"Never again!" he called out over his shoulder as he stomped back towards the passenger quarters. "I'm not ever stayin' behind with the two of you again!"

*****

Mal watched as the last of the guns were unloaded off of Serenity. He leaned against the opening of the cargo bay as he surveyed all of Beaumonde. For once, he could smile at the neon lights of the dark metropolis without reservation. A job had gone well, and they had been paid reasonably. Added to the credits they'd stolen from Ath's private vault, they were set for a good long time. Part of the happiness was bittersweet, as Wash had always campaigned for a real vacation, but now that they have the funds...

He took a look over his shoulder into the inside of his beloved ship. River had been the big inspiration for a vacation with the way she'd prettied herself up. It was hard to think of her any older than the seventeen year-old girl she'd been when he'd opened up that box, but there she was nearing twenty. Hell, Mal remembered his own teenaged years and felt a great swell of pity for the girl who'd had none of it. Her normal life just stopped after fourteen, and she'd missed out on all the fun years in his opinion.

She tugged relentlessly at Kyo, who'd taken a seat on Jayne's press bench for another dance and Mal could see the boy's resolve begin to crumble. He'd seen it happen loads of times during the war, since the kid'd been barely seventeen himself when he volunteered for the Independents. Boy hadn't much of a normal teenager life either as a soldier in a war at that age. Mal could remember nights on leave when it was him, Zoe, Kyo, and sometimes Tracey or hell, even Monty, and they'd all be having a drink. Some pretty little slip of a girl would drag them away one-by-one, but Kyo always resisted the hardest and Mal had always seen why; boy couldn't dance with a girl to save his life, but there weren't no one better to dance with a ship.

Simon was glaring at Kyo something fierce, and Mal found himself amused at the overprotective doctor, but even more amused at the fact he happened to agree--somewhat. He had a policy about shipboard romances after all--namely that they should ever occur--but Zoe'd flouted that once, and Kaylee was doing the same. At the very least he'd make his rule known to Kyo and let him decide from there.

"Worried 'bout the Cortex, sir?" asked Zoe, who'd strolled out to the controls.

"Nah," said Mal with a shake of his head. "Doc's been learnin' what's what. Don't get me wrong, I feel sorry for the fella, but there ain't no way we'd make it to Osiris to help. 'Sides, it'd be the first things the Feds'd expect."

"I know, sir," sighed Zoe, leaning against the side of the box to observe the cargo hold as well. River was teaching Kyo how dance a number that reminded Mal of the shindig on Persephone and reflexively looked up towards Inara. She was smiling beatifically down at the pair of the cargo hold, and he began to think how much he'd like to dance with her again. "We stayin' on Beaumonde, sir? Or do you have another destination in mind?"

"Excuse me, are you Sergeant Reynolds?" said a voice that startled both Mal and Zoe. Mal turned around quickly, the palm of his right hand laying on the cool metal of his pistol as he looked towards the voice. He was an elderly sort of fellow wearning clothing that had a good amount of mileage on them. The cotton trousers, boots, and flannel shirt, coupled with a practical and patched jacket marked him as a farmer in Mal's eyes.

"It's captain, actually," he corrected the elderly man. "There here's my first-mate--"

"Zoe," said the man with a nod. "I remember, yes. Two o' you were thick as thieves if I'm rememberin' right."

"I'm sorry, and you are?" Mal asked the man, now utterly nonplussed.

"I knew you wouldn't remember me," the man grinned somewhat apologetically, his gnarled hands twisting around the handle of a thick, leather bag that banged against his knees. "Y'saved my life, way back when, on a dirtball of a moon called Plymouth."

"Well, yes, sir, I do happen to recall a stay on that very moon," nodded Mal, turning a glance to Zoe to see her nod in agreement. "Lotta things happened on that there moon, as I seem to recollect."

"You'd be right there, Sarge--er, Cap'n."

"As nice as it is to be reminiscin' 'bout the war an' all, can't help but thinkin' y'came for a purpose. I'd like to know what that purpose might be," said Mal tensely.

"Well, I don't mean t'take up too much of your time, Cap'n, but if this here be your ship, then I'd be likin' to book myself a transport," said the man nervously under Mal's stare. "I got the means to pay y'all for your troubles."

"That's very generous of you, sir, but we're not lookin' for passengers--"

"Please," interrupted the man desperately. He wasn't skittish, like he was being chased, because Mal had long come to know the difference. Still, there was an utmost quality of life and death in those bright blue eyes, untouched by age, that made Mal seriously reconsider. He gave a look towards Zoe who tilted her head and arched her brow as if to say "It's your call, sir."

They had enough money that an easy passenger trip would simply be icing on the cake, and Mal was thinking that such an old man wouldn't be too much of a problem. They'd be continuing a very nice streak if this job went without a hitch. Moreover, the man's eyes just looked at Mal like he'd be saving his life all over again.

"If you'll be so kind as to tell us where you're headed, we'll see if it's on our route," said Mal diplomatically.

"I need you to take me to Eden-Two," said the old man.

"W-where?" said Mal, slipping from a confident look into one of utmost confusion. He'd never even heard of that planet before a day in his life. Quite suddenly, Mal had that sinking feeling that things wouldn't be so easily as he'd originally thought.

*****

"My name's Eli Collins, and I was born on Plymouth. Now, when the good Lord granted us the talent to bring life to lifeless rock, somehow we got t'thinkin' he mighta been takin' a snooze when Plymouth was bein' terraformed. Ain't nothin' special to it, an' farmin' ain't come easy, but we manage--or we did, anyhow. Weren't lookin' to be involved inna war, but the war seemed poised to be involved with us. Ain't no one ever told us why the Alliance came callin' one mornin', but they did, and the Browncoats came soon after."

Eli took a drought of Kaylee's engine-fermented wine and smacked his lips appreciatively while everyone sat patiently around the mess table. Kaylee had decided it for Mal, as she always did. Man looked like he had a story that needed to be told, and Kaylee had been anxious to hear it. Jayne had grumbled fiercely against another passenger, fully remembering the last time they'd done it, but relented after Mal assured him there wouldn't be any strays.

"War hit hard," continued Eli with a gravelly timbre. "Orbital bombardin' 'nna trenches tore up the land real nice. Ain't nothin' grew after that, or mebbe somethin' will, but it took an awful lot to get it growin' to begin with. None o' us had time to be wastin'. There're dead to be buried and stuff to be packed. Lost my wife in the war, 'long with all my kin. Left with nothin' 'cept my life, and that I happen to owe to Cap'n Reynolds, here."

Mal's jaw tightened as Eli toasted to him with a tin full of wine. He looked around the table and saw admiration mingled with sadness in the faces of both Kaylee and Inara, but those weren't the looks he wanted to see. He preferred the ashamed, downcast looks on Zoe's and Kyo's face--the faces of losers who'd brought misery on the lives of a lot of good folk, and failed to protect them in the end.

"I tried my best to move on 'n' the like," said Eli thickly before swallowing down another mouthful of booze. "But like I said, God seemed to turn a blind eye to Plymouth. Our only port hadn't been used since the early days, and mostly we got by on what we grew. All my kin're dead so I hopped on one o' them mercy ships after sellin' out all my land." He gave a self-depricating snort as he refilled the tin with the bottle. "Seen myself fifty-some odd seasons in my life, 'n' not one o' those're spent off Plymouth. Space was a scary place to find myself in, and all these years later I still ain't got used to it."

"That why you lookin' to find this Eden-Two place?" inquired Kaylee from her spot across the man.

"Yeah, what's so special 'bout this place? They got...naked whores?" wondered Jayne down near the other end.

"Yes, miss, that'd be exactly why I'm goin'," smiled Eli kindly. "As to whether or not they got naked whores, I ain't rightly sure, but I know I ain't lookin' for that sort o' thin' these days. Gotta reckon no amount of sex is gonna make them nights disappear."

"Ain't rightly sure 'bout that," snorted Jayne disbelievingly and Mal felt like burying his head in his hands.

"Eden-Two's a myth," said Kyo with a shake of his head, from his shadowed spot in the lounge. "I've heard of people looking for it out in ports, and loose talk in bars. They say she's a perfect copy of the Earth-that-was--every landmass, plant, animal, vegetable and mineral--and I've heard a few people lost all their life savings lookin' for it. Supposed to be total freedom, though, seein' as how the planet should be large enough for people to go...anywhere."

"Got it on the up'n'up, son," Eli told Kyo with a voice full of conviction. "Ain't lookin' for y'all to actually take me to Eden-Two, just lookin' for y'all to get me to Wu Yo where I'll meet with a representative from Eden-Two. He'll take me there."

"And we'll do just that," said Mal to Eli, ending any possible objections from anyone. "Kaylee, whyn't you take Mr. Collins here to his quarters. Reckon it's been a right long day for Mr. Collins and he'd like to be gettin' some sleep."

"Appreciate it, Cap'n," nodded Eli before he polished off the tin.

"C'mon, Mr. Collins. Let's get you tucked into your nice comfy bed!"

"Mighty nice o' you to offer, youngin'," said Eli with a grandfatherly grin as Kaylee helped him to stand up. "Know y'prob'ly gotta lotta other stuff you'd rather be doin', 'stead o' takin' care o' a ol' geezer like myself."

"Nonsense," grinned Kaylee in her sweet way. "Why you remind me somethin' of my Pa, truth to tell!"

Mal waited until Kaylee and Eli were out of earshot before turning an inquisitive eye towards the rest of his crew. Simon had a frown on his face like he was working at a particularly difficult puzzle, and Mal sensed a question to be coming from him pretty soon. Zoe, Kyo, and Inara had equal masks of silent contemplation on the matter, while Jayne looked somewhat disgruntled--of what, Mal couldn't rightly tell. River was the only one who didn't seemed to be focused on what Eli had said as she traced her finger across the table in some design known only to herself.

"Questions?" Mal decided to offer up front.

"Why're we botherin' with this yan zui gan anyway?" Jayne asked irritably. "Whole thing sounds like some moon-brained idea she'd come up with." Jayne gestured towards River who seemed not to hear Jayne's comment. Simon certainly had and he scowled at it, while Kyo merely quirked an eyebrow.

"Like the man said: he ain't payin' us to take him there, we're just to take him to someone else," said Mal simply, spreading his hands out. "'Sides, he's payin' us with the rest of his life savings, and that's actually a considerable amount. Throw that ontop the cash we've already made for ourselves and we oughta be flyin' pretty for damn near a year!"

"Why us and not a conventional transport?" wondered Inara, a small crease of a frown formed between her brows. "Why pay with everything he owns?"

"'Cause he's not gonna need it in Eden-Two--if it exists," stated Kyo simply. "Stories I hear, Eden-Two's as low-tech as you can get. They got medical supplies and the like, but mostly everythin' else's farmin' or livin' off the land."

"Pi-hua, that ain't no paradise," scoffed Jayne. "No money, no whores, hell I bet they ain't even got booze!"

"Thus, we all come to know Jayne's version of heaven," stated Kyo with a bemused shake of his head. "You know, Jayne, it comes to my thinkin' that if it really was paradise, you wouldn't be needin' the money for the whores."

Jayne scowled and shifted uncomfortably in his chair as he took in what Kyo just said. "Yeah, I-I know that! I just wanted me, y'know, piles o' platnium for the hell of it! Can you just imagine ruttin' on a pile--"

"Please, stop," pleaded Simon with his eyes screwed shut.

"Believe Inara's question was 'why us?'" said Mal, deciding to retake control of the conversation before another spat broke out between Jayne and Simon. "Can't rightly answer that, myself."

"I'm not wholly convinced this Eden-Two might be a myth," Simon spoke up hesitantly, looking straight at Mal. "Miranda was certainly hidden."

"But Miranda was Alliance owned; they had the power to hide it in the first place," Zoe pointed out, her whole posture stiff. "Alliance don't sound like the type to set up a paradise like this. At least, they wouldn't feel the need to keep it such a big secret. Whoever made Eden-Two wants to keep the Alliance away from it."

"Yeah, and who'd have the power to do that 'sides the Alliance?" remarked Jayne.

"Ten kings of gold," supplied River unhelpfully, her eyes focused on her finger that was moving on the table. "Only three left now, but one of the ten could've been Adam to Eden."

"Moon-brained," muttered Jayne to himself.

"No, this one I think I actually understand," said Simon slowly, his brow furrowed but his eyes locked onto his sister's face. "I remember some of my history lessons back in school. There were ten conglomerates that financially backed the Alliance as we left the Earth-that-was. Those ten were responsible for the terraforming we have today. Over the years, some of the ten merged with other companies, until only three remain today. I think what River's saying is one of those ten could've built Eden-Two, and they obviously kept it hidden from the Alliance for whatever reason."

River smiled proudly at her brother before returning to whatever work she seemed to be doing.

"That don't answer all the questions, but we ain't here to argue the 'why' and 'whatfors,'" said Mal flatly. "Our jobs to get Mr. Collins to Wu Yo in one piece, which is easy enough. Kyo, get the course plotted. Rest of you, feel free to get some rest."

Kyo moved off first to head towards the bridge with Zoe and Jayne not far behind. Mal could hear the hinges open as the ladders to the crew bunks were opened, and the sound of heavy heels on rungs. River took off with her brother, presumably to head back to their respective dorms, leaving just Mal with Inara at the table.

"Why Plymouth?" she asked simply, a part of their new agreement. Mal took a steadying breath before looking up at her open and inquisative face.

"Some big-shot, purple-belly general looked at a map and said 'That, there seems like a good place to send people,' and then because they went there, we had to go there to fight it," said Mal with a great deal of false cheerfulness to hide his bitterness.

"That--that can't be the only reason," Inara stammered in blatant disbelief.

"Plymouth ain't had nothin' valuable, and wasn't strategic in any sense," Mal told her honestly. "It was just an innocent piece o' moon out in the black, and the Collins-folk were just innocent people. Ain't nothin' heroic 'bout a great waste of people."

"Mal," said Inara in the way people say things when they're at a loss for words, yet feel a profound sense of sympathy for a person--or, at least, feel the need to fix things and make it better. Wasn't a tone he needed to hear, least of all from her.

"That's the way things are, 'Nara," he said as he rose from the table and headed back to his bunk. "Ain't no power in the 'verse to make me feel any better 'bout them."

*****

It wasn't quiet. It was never, really quiet, but somehow tonight was louder than usual. Echoes of who'd been and who's here hounded her mind, and they never stopped. Space was never fully empty for River, not after they had opened her mind to everything it had to offer. Worse, because of the proximity, was being on Serenity. The voices never stopped, and River couldn't tell what memories were said or thought or were her own. Purging Miranda had put many things into focus, but things were still difficult after all these months.

Night used to be the hardest time for her. Her memories would mesh with the nonsensical dreams of everyone else, and turn into the most horrific of confusing nightmares. Some of that were the memories of Reavers and the eeriely peaceful corpses on Miranda. Understanding that had lessen the horrific nature of her nightmares, except for the men with hands of blue, but dreams were still confusing.

He was different. He had no dreams, only a strange cycle of calming vistas; places River had never seen, but were marvelous to experience. He also had a void in his mind, even when he was awake. A door with no key and no knob, but one that called out to her curiousity. She'd poked and prodded at it these last few days, and each time he'd quickly shut the door on her. No one else had that much control over themselves, nor were any of the crew ever aware when she peaked unintentionally into people's minds. He was special; unique; lonely--just like her.

Tonight was loud with images of gray moons, gunfire, screaming, blood, ships, prayer. Her rational mind told her it was Plymouth and the battle so adequately described at dinner through images rather than words. Too loud or disturbing for her to sleep. She needed peace; quiet; tranquility; beaches.

Simon's bunk. Kaylee was there because the bed was bigger, but she wasn't helping with her brother's sleep. He was thinking about their dad and torturing himself with worry as was his way. River had known, because he had known. Simon had been late on the secret, but she knew dad would be safe. Simon was less worried for their dad's health, then the circumstances of their parting. She thought he was silly. Things would work out. He would help.

It was to his room she was headed towards this night. River was happy there were no more crew quarters for him to sleep in. There'd been talk of him sleeping on the other shuttle, before Zoe suggested he take the Preacher Man's dorm. River'd been silent long before they'd taken her, and they'd only improved on that feature. Her feet never made a sound, and her breathing came so shallow it didn't even look like her chest rose at all. The door slid open easily under her touch, casting wedge of orange light from the hall onto his sleeping form.

River checked to make sure he was sleeping; there was no stirring; no hitch in his dream; nothing to indicate she'd disturbed him in the slighest. He was curled up in the fetal position, taking up only a small portion of the bed as if he'd been expecting her. The room itself was sparsely decorated; she knew this without needing the light. A few books; a poster; unpacked boxes; concealed weapons. What had filled the cramped living quarters of his Wolfhound, barely filled a sliver of space in the passenger quarter.

Flash. Bomb. Wife dying. Children crying as skiffs swooped across the sky. Sarge. Cross. Angels on high.

River whimpered as her waking nightmares were growing more intense. Moving hastily, she shut the door and slid beneath his covers. He shifted in bed slightly and she realized her bare feet were cold against his thighs. Feeling particularly brattish, she touched them firmly against his prickly thighs and was rewarded by drawing him further into a fetal position. Stiffling a giggle, River draped her arm around his chest to feel the steady rhythm of his heart, and pressed her forehead against the back of his neck to make his dreams hers.

It was a calm beach, like she'd hoped, looking like it belonged in a postcard or a vid capture, not like an actual fantasy or memory. River wasn't feeling particularly satisfied with that, as she realized that keyless, knobless door was slightly ajar. Smiling pleasantly, River decided to take a peak into his mind in a rare, unguarded moment.

There was a meadow on a clear day, full of white roses stiff as stone, and another batch farther away full of brown flowers. The sun shone brightly on her and warmed her skin with clarity. River bent over with her legs stiff to inspect flowers; simple roses full of sadness, but with a light freckle of happiness and family. Objects were never what they appeared to be, she knew, and those flowers whispered some of what she needed to know. She stopped beneath a strong, ashen tree with thick branches that sheltered the mini garden of twenty flowers.

River braced herself against the trunk of the tree and examined the twentieth flower; it wasn't a rose, but a multi-petaled flower with sharp edges. There was a spiral design to its petals, and it was colored every shade of blue imaginable. She didn't need to touch it to know what it was, and it made her smile uncontrollably as she noted it was the closest flower to the roots of the tree, with two brown flowers close behind. Lost in his memory, River laid her head against the tree and closed her eyes for a peaceful sleep.

*****

"Why ain't you usin' the mess table for that?" grunted Jayne while in the midst of doing pull-ups under the grating.

Kyo looked up from his position on the floor of the cargo bay to look at Jayne. He was kneeling on the ground with his feet tucked beneath his rear, and methodically taking apart his Peacemaker pistol. On a dirty, olive, army-issue blanket flattened before him was another pistol and a plastic case. Upon a smaller piece of cloth was a series of mini-tools, most of which Jayne himself owned.

"Light's better here," said Kyo, turning his attention back to the Peacemaker in his hands. Kyo snapped open the pistol by thumbing a latch before removing the cylinder. One-by-one, he removed the seven .50 caliber bullets from the cylinder, and laid them down onto the blanket. "Peacemaker's got a lot of fine parts, so I need a good deal of light to work with."

"Yeah, I bet," said Jayne, dropping down heavily onto the floor. Kyo watched out of the corner of his eyes as Jayne sat onto the edge of his press bench. Irritation was practically rolling off of Jayne and filling up the open space of the cargo bay. That wasn't the particular vibe that Kyo wanted to be in at the moment, considering he was pretty irritated himself, but what he said was true; the Peacemaker had fine mechanisms to dampen the recoil and lessen the weight, and Kyo had to make sure he didn't lose any.

"Mmhmm," said Kyo as he took apart the suppressor mechanism on the barrel. There wasn't much maintenance to do with the Peacemaker, unfortunately for Kyo. A little oil for some hinges and a quick clean of the barrel were the only things to be done. For the most part, he kept it in perfect working condition. At least, that's what Kyo thought. Without test firing the weapon, he wouldn't know if the barrel suppressor might need tweaking, or the energy-absoarbing grip needed replacing. Given the output of the handgun, it was likely to punch a hole in Serenity.

"Ain't you supposed to be flyin' the ship anyhow?" said Jayne before he hefted up two dumbbells; one in each hand.

"Ship's on auto," said Kyo absently as he snapped the Peacemaker back together. He cocked the hammer back and gave it an empty test fire, just to hear the heavy thunk of the hammer fall. He brought the cylinder up to his ear and proceeded to click each chamber pleasantly. Everything seemed to be working fine with no risk of a jam or backfire. "We'll hit Wu Yo by nightfall, their time and ours. Lanes are all clear of any ships or debris, and Serenity's proximity alerts are functioning. If anything happens, we'll know about it before it's a problem...hopefully."

A new set of footfalls echoed on the cargo bay floor, catching both Jayne's and Kyo's attentions. They were driven, purposeful, but the weight and length were all wrong for it to be Mal. As Jayne was sitting in Kyo's proximity, and Eli Collins was too old to be moving that sprightly, it just left one person.

"Have either of you seen River?" said Simon hesitantly. Kyo could imagine the look on the doctor's face, passing from Jayne's intimidating body working out to Kyo cleaning his weapons. He almost laughed.

"She's up in 'Nara's shuttle with them other girls--and Zoe," said Jayne with a mocking grin on his face. "They're doin' girly things."

"Ah--well," trailed off Simon lamely. Kyo shook his head slightly as he set the Peacemaker down to pick up the .33 semi-auto handgun next to it. He unloaded that one before slipping the slide off the barrel. Unlike the Peacemaker, which had been a relic from the war, the semi-auto was a custom job that Kyo had cobbled together. Ever since he'd became a freelance transporter, Kyo had used it as his back up pistol, and it'd proven its worth right up alongside the Peacemaker.

That too seemed to be in fine working condition, much to his chagrin.

"Can we help you with something, Doc?" asked Kyo when he realized Simon hadn't left.

"By 'we,' he means just him," grunted Jayne around a rep.

"No," said Simon as he walked over to take a seat on the stairs closest to Jayne. "I was just worried about River when I couldn't find her."

River. The girl had some serious boundary issues in Kyo's opinion, both of the physical and mental variety. Sneaking into a man's bed while he's sleeping certainly crosses some sort of line, and he more surprised than angry at her for doing it. He sighed as he reattached the slide to the pistol and loaded the fifteen round, extended magazine back into the grip.

Girl's got poor taste too, he thought as the slide locked back into place and he took sight at the closed, bay doors. She deserves somethin' better. Not something as lifeless as this gun.

That was the cause for most of Kyo's anger, and none of it was River's fault. It wasn't that he hadn't had relationships before, but none of them were meaningful. Most of them were of the "I might die tomorrow, so what the hell?" variety: One-night stands to everyone else. Nothing involved on an emotional level; nothing that required a person to be human.

River wanted more than just a one-night stand, even if she was curious about that aspect. She saw in Kyo what he didn't want her to see; understanding, guidance, companionship. It'd been different with the others who, like him, weren't human. River, however, was human; a real girl with parents and a brother, and probably more family. She deserved another human. He'd been curious, at first, but ill prepared for the scope and depth of her own emotions.

Besides, he thought bitterly as he snapped open his case, part of myself is to blame for what they did to her.

"What did you mean when you said they were doing 'girly things?'" Simon asked Jayne in the uncomfortable silence; punctuated by the clang of Jayne's dumbbells and the click of Kyo assembling his last gun.

"Don't much know, don't much care," said Jayne shortly. "But if it's anythin' like what happened yesterday, I reckon I'll be gone the moment that there door opens."

"Ha. Ha," said Kyo blandly before attaching the telescopic barrel onto the rifle. He could feel Simon's eyes boring into the back of his head, which further fouled his mood. "You're just jealous 'cause you can't dance."

"Hell, I can dance just fine, s'long as it's the horizontal kind," declared Jayne proudly. "Come to think of it, I can do it standin' up s'long as I got me a wall or a chair or--"

"Is this a custom from where you're from? Being this crude?" asked Simon with feigned politeness. Kyo couldn't help but smirk slightly at Simon's little dig.

"Ah, you're just jealous cause we can all hear you fumble your steps," sneered Jayne and Kyo could feel the anger and indignation--and even some embarassment--roll off of Simon like the heat of an open flame.

Kyo flipped a switch on the body of the rifle he cradled against his chest, and heard a compact compressor whine in activation. The noise instantly attracted Jayne's attention, like he knew it would. With a small amount of pleasure, he heard the dumbbells clang loudly onto the metal plated floors before Jayne stood up from the bench.

"Is that a Black Moon, Professor 90?" he asked with a hushed voice. The Pressure-Fired Sniper Rifle, P.F.S.R., or "Professor" for short.

"That it is," Kyo confirmed. In one smooth motion he rose to his feet, split perfectly apart to firmly support his weight against recoil. He braced the stock tightly against his left armpit and clamped his right hand around the secondary grip located under the compressor. It'd been a few years since he needed to use it, and so the sight was a little too far from his eye, and the grip was angled poorly in terms of his arm length. He'd definetely need to readjust everything, if not completely overhaul it.

"Damn, what's a pilot like you needin' the best sniper rifle in the 'verse for?" spat Jayne enviously as he moved closer towards Kyo.

Kyo reached up with his left hand to activate the computer-assisted sight, and watched as a screen flickered to life within the glass. He watched the orange-tinted glow and read the magnified read-outs listing everything as optimum. "Independents were a little short on hands, if you didn't know. Sometimes pilots would have to double up as scouts or snipers. We'd pick a spot to land; move out some; take position under cover; and pick off the enemy from afar. 'Course, I didn't have the P.F.R.-90 back then. We'd use the old Hauser models or S.R.s."

"Guessin' you ain't only did smugglin' to be tottin' that 'round," observed Jayne smartly.

"No," answered Kyo tightly as he screwed the sight to extend closer towards his eye so he wouldn't have to bend his neck forward so much. A rush of memories flooded through the scope of the bodies his bullets had hit; heads and hearts exploding with a violent burst of life and fire. They were such a raw, unexpected rush that he was sure River had felt it--if she hadn't before.

"Aren't you going to play with that gun like you did with his other?" asked Simon with a certain sense of distaste; not towards Jayne or Kyo, but to firearms in general.

"Nah," laughed Jayne, turning around to look at Simon. "Guns're to guys what them fancy dresses are to girls. We can appreciate all types, but don't mean they're all for us."

"That actually made sense," admitted Simon reluctantly.

"'Course it made sense," said a very affronted Jayne. "I know guns, which is more'n I can say for you, Doc!"

"My job is to save lives, not to take them," stated Simon, equally affronted.

"Ain't no excuse! Book was a damn Shepherd, but he knew how to handle a gun better'n you! Man never killed nothin' neither. You couldn't even hit one gorram thing on Niska's Skyplex! If the Reavers hadn't been so crammed--"

"That was you?" said Kyo, lowering his rifle with a great deal of surprise. "The way Niska tells it, he was overrun by whole army of rival gangs. Guess I can see why he never thought to share that piece of information. Heard that Mal dropped one of Niska's jobs, I'm guessin' the old psycho wanted payback."

"Damn straight," snorted Jayne humorlessly. "Cut off one of Mal's ears an' everythin'."

Kyo winced at that image and then hefted his rifle onto his shoulder. He walked over towards the green blanket and picked up the .33 semi-auto. Simon eyed him curiously as he continued towards the stairs. He stopped right infront of Simon and offered him the gun, grip first. Simon frowned at it and then back up at Kyo.

"Man's gotta learn how to care for himself," he told Simon evenly.

"Boy don't need to know how," Jayne argued, coming up next to Kyo to smile smugly down at Simon. "Damn sister of his's some sorta super weapon. He can let her do all the work while he's sittin' back like the pretty boy he is."

"That's not true!" snapped Simon, standing to challenge both men. "River might be doing better, but she's not cured, and she's certainly not invincible!"

"If that's the case then she could certainly use some help, if you should ever find yourselves off of Serenity," said Kyo, again offering the gun to Simon. "Moreover, who'll help Kaylee, huh?"

"Hey yeah, little Kaylee's taken a shine to you, so oughta know how to look out for her," said Jayne very seriously. "Can't be babysittin' you all the time."

"Listen," said Kyo before the doctor could come up with a retort, "you're a doctor; you know the best places to shoot a man to disable without killin'. All you need to do is work on your nerve and your aim. For that, you'll be needin' to learn how to shoot."

Very reluctantly, Simon took the weapon in his hands and juggled it slightly to get used to the weight. He turned it around in the light, like it was just another surgical tool for him to use. There was a good deal of fear and apprehension in his eyes, and Kyo knew he was thinking of the report of the gun and the kick of the recoil. All those things could overwhelm a man at first, but you get used to it.

"Next chance we get, we'll pick you out a gun of your own," said Kyo as a way to make peace. For better or worse, they were on Serenity, and it'd do no one any favors if he and the Doc couldn't get along. "Then we'll teach you how to use it."

"Now that'll be a fun day," grinned Jayne.

"Oh...yes... Fun..." was Simon's meek answer.

*****

"Oh this is so pretty, 'Nara. You have the best things," said Kaylee wistfully as she held up a forest green dress with shawl.

"Well, with our recent good fortune, mei-mei, I'm sure you can afford one," smiled Inara from over the engineer's shoulder. River hummed an off-tune song to herself from the spot on Inara's couch. Zoe, on the other hand, stood far away from the others with her arms folded across her chest. In fact, if Inara didn't know any better, she'd think that Zoe was trying to slink out of the shuttle ever so slowly.

"Aw, that'd be real nice, 'Nara, but I ain't got nowhere to wear such a fancy thing," said Kaylee sadly. "The shindig at Persephone was mighty nice, and I was mad at the Cap'n for so rudely stompin' on my daydreams, but he was right. This ain't the sorta thing I can wear 'round the engine room. The tassles might get caught on the catalyzer, or the compression coil."

Inara smiled sympathetically at the ever cheerful Kaylee, and even Zoe managed some of a grin at the image of Kaylee working in the engine room in a fancy dress.

"Then, mei-mei, you'll be happy to know you'll have an occassion to wear such a 'fancy thing,'" grinned Inara as she picked out a delicate red and gold wrap. "I managed to confirm our next port, after we transport Mr. Collins to Wu Yo."

"Where?" asked Kaylee excitedly, her bright eyes searching Inara's hopefully.

"Ambrosia," Inara managed to say shortly before she found herself wrapped up in a very energetic hug from Kaylee. Inara couldn't help but throw her head back and laugh in harmony with Kaylee's fit of giggles. Inara had told her many tales of the pleasure world Ambrosia, and the engineer had practically salivated over all the things offered.

"Did the Captain really agree to that?" asked Zoe skeptically.

"He did," Inara told Zoe, her smile never wavering. She turned to looked at River who, in turn, was looking intently at the gelatinous lamp near an alter. "Didn't he, River?"

Rather than tearing her attention away from the object, River merely gave a thumbs-up sign to Zoe.

Truthfully, Inara hadn't spoken at all with Mal about that particular subject, but River had told Inara that he was thinking about a vacation for everyone. Inara would suggest it after the job finished, and while Ambrosia was perhaps too much of a famous resort for fugitives such as Simon and River, she knew he'd cave in easily. After the Operative and Miranda, they could all use any sort of vacation with the money they'd saved. It'd also give Kaylee and Simon a chance at a real date--the same with River and Kyo. And as for herself and Mal...who knew?

"Hope y'all enjoy yourselves, then," Zoe nodded solemnly, her hand reaching up to fiddle with her promise necklace.

"Aw, Zoe, you're comin' with us too!" said Kaylee, crossing the length of the shuttle to tug at the stern Amazon's arm. "We'll pick you out somethin' pretty to wear when we land on Wu Yo."

"I don't go for all that fooferaw, Kaylee," Zoe told Kaylee apologetically. "You know that, hun."

"They have a variety of stores available to browse through," Inara added, knowing through her training that Zoe wanted to go more than she didn't in the shiftiness of her large eyes. "I'm sure we could find something that you would find suitable."

"Something slinky," River added, now inspecting Inara's incense collection. Inara saw the way Zoe tensed and swallowed heavily, along with the fresh coat of moisture covering her eyes. She knew something about that phrase had a connection to Wash somehow.

"C'mon, Zoe, you can think of it as a tribute to Wash or somethin'," Kaylee all but pleaded. "We won't leave you none, neither. You deserve a chance to, y'know, let your hair down."

"Maybe," said Zoe, but from the quirk in her lips Inara knew they'd won her over--not that it was going to be a hard battle to begin with. "Just as long as you don't pair me up with Jayne while the rest of you have fun."

"We wouldn't do a horrible thing like that," assured Inara as Kaylee fought off a fit of giggles; Zoe even broke into a full-fledged grin at that.

"This is gonna be so shiny!" squealed Kaylee to everyone's amusement before she returned to Inara's dresser. "I know Simon's been wantin' to break out some of his old suits again. Maybe we can eat at some fancy pants restaurant with a buffet!"

"Kyo has too, according to our gifted Reader," said Inara slyly as she sat beside River on the couch.

"Can't seem to recall Kyo ever havin' a fancy suit of his own," remarked a very amused Zoe, who now stood infront of River.

"He does," River assured them. "Bought it after the war, because he thought it might like to settle down somewhere nice. Thought he could exist in the heart of the enemy, but it only made him empty. Stars make him whole; makes him forget, just like the Captain. But unlike the Captain, the Wolfhound kept him alone and in the past--the better past, but still not the future. Serenity is a happy future for him."

Blowing right past most of the confused speech she gave, Kaylee picked the last phrase out to tease her with. "And does that happy future include you?"

"Hard to know for certain," admitted a very perturbed River with a tilt of her head, "but I think so. He cares, but he's very closed to me. It's very frustrating."

"Trust me, honey, I know the feelin'," said Kaylee sympathetically. "But, not that I'm doubtin' your Readin' skills here, but the two of you kinda seem like you got a...connection. Y'sure he's resistin'?"

"Yes, very forcefully," frowned River, now sitting back against the couch and staring ahead like she was working out a problem in a classroom. "He shuts the door to me so I can't learn, but I want to."

Inara's eyebrows raised. Usually River's speeches had a sort of double meaning, but with everything she'd seen between Kyo and River, Inara had to take the comment at face value. "Perhaps you're being too forward?"

"Ain't nothin' wrong with being forward," chirped Kaylee, somewhat affronted.

"Damn right," deadpanned Zoe with a curt nod.

"Maybe 'Nara needs to be forward," grinned Kaylee in a way that made Inara's eyebrow arch. "Seems to me we've all got our own relationships 'cept 'Nara, here."

"River--"

"Is already at your level, and seems to be headin' rather quickly to Kaylee's," said Zoe, her eyes glittering with mirth while her face remained neutral.

"You've been dancin' 'round with the Cap'n for so long, 'Nara," said Kaylee sympathetically, sitting down next to Inara. Inara all of a sudden found herself trapped between Kaylee, River and Zoe, and found the situation rapidly spinning out of control.

"Mal and I are working through things," said Inara, feeling her face heat slightly under the scrutiny--especially as River was a Reader. "Our relationship is more complicated because of our careers. We're coming to an understanding."

"Well at least you're admittin' things this time 'round," grinned Kaylee with a fair amount of cheek. "Things wouldn't be so complicated if the pair of you were just honest with each other, and not tryin' to be so sneaky!"

"Things are always complicated," said River sagely as she stared into the bottom of one of Inara's tea cups. Looking up towards everyone she added with a smile, "In a simplified way, of course."

*****

Mal stood behind Kyo on the flight deck. There was a lot less of the black and a whole lot more of a large, brown planet that he knew to be practically filled with mountains. Wu Yo was an unusual planet in the sense that the farms were located near the shores because the rest of the landmasses were all mountains. Prospectors of all types had been making pilgrimages to Wu Yo for years. Mountains meant caves, and many thought caves mean hidden treasures. A few actually struck it rich, but they were rare enough only to keep a spark of hope alive in others.

He didn't have to ask the question, but Mal did anyway; "How're we doin'?"

"Not gettin' a ping of any Alliance off the scopes," said Kyo, who double-checked the screens as he said it. "We got our confirmation for dockin' just before you came in. Everything's...shiny, which I've come to learn is somethin' that happens rarely with you."

Giving Kyo's smirk a mock glare, Mal retorted with "Ain't got time to play 'Who's the better captain,'" before giving the headrest of Kyo's seat a firm pat.

"Never let it be said that Malcolm Reynolds didn't know how to pick his battles," said Kyo, chuckling as he began to angle Serenity down.

"I've got my moments," grinned Mal right back, watching as the planet grew closer and closer. "They're not many, but they're there."

Mal gave the back of Kyo's seat a lingering pat to signify he was leaving the flight deck, and then made his way down towards the common area. Eli Collins sat there grinning happily as Kayle regaled him with more anecdotes about her home life. Simon was there as well, an arm around Kaylee's shoulders, reminding him he'd need that talk with both blossoming couples.

"Don't need to," River whispered to him right outside the door, making his heart stop as his body jumped.

"Sheng di-yu heng hou nao-jin don't do that, darlin'!" exclaimed Mal as he tried to compose himself.

River frowned skeptically as she leaned closer to peer into his eyes. "Heng hou nao-jin?"

"Could be," coughed Mal as he slipped away from River and towards the table.

"'Don't need to' what, sir?" asked Zoe neutrally as she began to turn on the stove. Mal's eyes widened before he could stop, but he did manage to hide the wince from Zoe's pointed glare. Now would certainly not be a good time to be honest with her of all people.

"To give The Talk," emphasized River as she slided around the counter to turn off the stove. "Don't need to cook tonight. We need to keep our appetites for something special."

"That so?" said Zoe, her eyes never leaving Mal's.

"Yeah, little Albatross, 's'that so?" he said uncomfortably, blatantly ignoring Zoe. "What's so special?"

"You'll see," said River in a sing-song voice.

"Anyway, Mr. Collins, we're touchin' down on Wu Yo as we speak," said Mal with a kind smile. "Should be gettin' yourself on to Eden-Two in no time."

"Thank you, Captain Reynolds," said the old man with a smile overflowing with relief.

"Just doin' my duty, sir," said Mal before he could even think it. He'd told the man those words ages ago on Plymouth after he'd managed to turn back a wave of Alliance from a fortified church.

"God was certainly smilin' over our shoulders," said Eli Collins, and Mal smiled tightly. He'd said those words to Eli as well shortly before he'd kissed his cross. He'd believed those words too, with every fiber of his being. But not after Serenity Valley; not after the wrong angels had come pouring wrath from the heavens.

"Best get your things in order, Mr. Collins," Mal told the man as politely as he could manage. Mal would've loved to have seen the expression on Book's face at this little exchange; the enlightenment it would've given the old enigma.

"I surely will."

Mal nodded and turned to head back towards his bunk with every intent on collecting his coat. Up on the flight deck, Kyo seemed to be focused intently on the burning glow out the window, but Mal got a feeling he'd heard the exchange clearly. Ignoring them all for the moment, Mal pushed open the hatch and climbed down to his little sanctuary. His brow knit as he sat at the edge of his bed, thinking back to Plymouth now that he'd opened the door. He couldn't imagine ever being such a loud braggart, so full of life and faith. It all felt like that was someone else and he'd just been a spectator.

When Kyo's voice sparked over the intercom, telling them all that they'd landed safely, Mal's head snapped up with unshed tears. He hadn't even felt Serenity touch down, a feat even River couldn't manage for all her brillance and smarts. Snatching up his well worn brown coat, Mal trudged back up the ladder and down towards the cargo hold. As he descended the stairs, Zoe pressed the button to open the doors. The whole crew had gathered to bid goodbye to Eli Collins--well, Mal doubted Jayne had visited voluntarily. He was only there because that's where his weights where.

"Well Captain Reynolds, it's been a pleasure to stay with you 'n' yours," said Eli Collins, blessing everyone with a broad smile. He was about to give his answer, when the doors opened completely to reveal a stranger outside.

The man was tall, wearing a white tunic, breezy slacks, and canvas shoes. He was easily as tall as Mal with bright, blonde locks, vivid blue eyes and rosy cheeks on his androgenous features. Only way to describe the man was pretty, and down right eerie with the way he stared at everyone knowingly. There was something about that look that reminded him of the overly polite Operative. That set Mal on edge immediately.

"A pleasure to see you in person, Captain Reynolds," said the man evenly, but slightly pitched towards kindness. "And you, Mr. Eli Collins, we are pleased to see you've arrived safely."

"Are you my guide, then?" said Eli with a voice shaking full of hope.

"Yes, Mr. Collins. My name is Gabriel, and I am a representative of Eden-Two. I hope you haven't eaten, I would very much enjoy your company for dinner. You may sample food grown right from Eden-Two. I can say with all honesty that you've not tasted anything like it."

"I--"

"Haven't eaten," declared River brightly, striding up to Gabriel. "Told them something special was coming."

"Yes, I thought you might, Ms. Tam. Your skills are extraordinary," said Gabriel, not in the least bit perturbed by River's nature. In fact, it was as if he was expecting her. "I trust that you trust a Reader's evaluation?"

"I sure as hell don't," growled Jayne, and the man looked as if every hair was standing up on end. Mal could identify with his trapped, uncomfortable look, because it mirrored Mal's internal emotions.

"Well who're we to refuse some good ol' home cookin'," said Mal with a false smile, feeling very glad that he was armed.

*****

Prospector's Hill was a town that Mal'd come to expect. Everything had a look that it'd been built in half-a-day, and expected to fall over by the next morning. People weren't meant to stay long on Wu Yo, but they did anyhow after they'd lost everything to the mountains. Jayne reacted accordingly with a bar every two stores and a bordello stacked right on top.

The man--Gabriel--looked so very out of place among the dusty destitute that ambled around the streets in the early evening. Loud ruckus came from every bar their passed, and from the alleys where winos already too drunk for the bars lamented their lives. Prospecting was too much of a gamble for Mal. He could understand it, but at the same time he couldn't.

A tiny shanty near the end of the lane is where Gabriel led them to. Mal had little hopes for what lay inside and chose to keep his hand firmly placed on his gun. Zoe and Kyo likewise had similar thoughts, and while Jayne kept his hand clear of his pistols, his fingers lingered very close to his knife. As much as he trusted his little Albatross, all of this seemed too good to be true. Turned out he should trust her more often as they were met with quite a surprise.

"Kong pa wo de yan lin ke neng zha, this is so shiny!" squeeled Kaylee happily. A very long table sat in the midst of a finely crafted room. Food of all sorts and varieties littered the tables, smelling so fresh that Mal didn't know if his mouth could hold the drool that came flooding out. The scent awoke a right powerful beast in his belly that threatened to claw through in an effort to get at the food.

"Please," said Gabriel kindly from the behind the high-backed chair at the head of the table, "take a seat. Enjoy yourselves."

Chicken, pork, beef, seafood, vegetables, bread, cheese--all of it was there in every variety; some Mal didn't even recognize. Everyone dug in with a relish, savoring every rare taste and spice like it was a last meal all around. Wine--honest to God, aged grape wine--was passed around to fill everyone's glasses. Mal had never tasted anything like this before in his life, and it certainly looked like Kaylee--well, Mal just wasn't going to go to those thoughts with his engineer, no matter how it'd been when he first saw her.

"So this Eden-Two really exists then," said Jayne around a mouthful of bread and meat.

"Indeed," said Gabriel with a patient smile, the only person--excepting Inara and Simon, but even they had a certain restrained abandonment--not gorging like an animal. "I'm sure you're all curious as to our existence. Seasoned spacers such as yourself, must think that space is not at all such a small area, and that you should've came across a hidden planet."

"Thought did cross our minds," admitted Mal, slowing down his eating just enough to speak and listen.

"Ten conglomerates financed the Alliance's expedition from the Earth-that-was," recited Gabriel like a schoolteacher. "After all, what good is a unified government, if there's no money to support its people? Those ten were responsible for terraforming each new world and moon they came across; each with a varying degree of success.

"Of all of us, Blue Sun had the greatest success rate. This is mostly due to their cost-cutting efficiency, and soon they had the most advanced planets and colonies of us all. Our company tried to play the quality over quantity game, by recreating the Earth-that-was down to the minutia. Our ancestors believed that if they managed this, they would solidify Eden-Two as the capital planet, and therefore have the resources of commerce to expand outward. None of us expected Blue Sun's efficiency."

"Effecient's a gorram understatement," coughed Jayne around a swig of wine. "Y'see their signs everywhere!" Least of all his shirt, but Mal brought no attention to that fact.

"There's a reason for that," continued Gabriel. "They began corporate takeovers; not always in the most honorable of fashions. Today they own eighty-five percent of the Alliance, with the remaining fifteen split between two other companies."

"And one is yours?" inquired Simon.

"No," smiled Gabriel sadly. "Our company fell bankrupt after the creation of Eden-Two. Blue Sun had already began their push for power, setting Londinium and Sihnon as the capital worlds. Our plans ruined, our ancestors decided to go into hiding than bowing to Blue Sun's wishes. The coordinates were made a secret to be passed down from family to family, from the original workers who crafted it with love. For years we've needed to keep this a secret."

"Why?" frowned Kaylee, fruit juices smeared around her lips and cheeks.

"Think of the symbollic nature of Blue Sun holding Eden-Two in the palm of their hands. They--the Alliance--would take credit for its creation, and at this point in its turbulent history, they could use a positive symbol to solidify their subjects. The positive support of creating possibly the largest new colony in the known system, would allow them to take over the final fifteen percent, which would leave them in control of everything."

"Seems to me you have an issue with Blue Sun," said Mal, thinking back to his conversation with Mingo and Fanty just a day ago.

"As you should as well, Captain Reynolds," said Gabriel with mild incredulty. "Ignoring the war, think of all that has occurred to you and yours just recently. The experiment on Miranda? The cover-up which cost you two valued members of your crew? Blue Sun. The Academy that performed horrific experiments on Miss Tam? Blue Sun. They've been behind many more monstrosities."

Mal looked down at his plate full of bones and scraps in contemplation, and so he missed Gabriel's pointed look at Kyo. River, however, did not and neither did Inara. Kyo studiously avoided Gabriel's interrogative stare by looking like he was more amused with Jayne's table mannerisms.

"Wouldn't happen to be financin' your own personal army, now would you?" inquired Mal sharply, looking back up towards Gabriel.

"You speak of the Rebellion," smiled Gabriel without an inch of association. Mal had to hand it to the man; if he didn't know better, he could swear Gabriel'd been trained as a Companion. "That is not our doing, nor is Eden-Two a base for their operations. We no longer seek to involve ourselves in the affairs of the 'verse, merely shelter the strays. If we involve ourselves in the Rebellion, that would bring far too much attention to ourselves. For the moment, the Rebellion is merely in its infancy. They're building up resources, looking for a solid foundation, until they can begin to recruit."

"For someone not interested in our lowly lives, you keep yourselves quite informed," noted Mal shrewdly.

"We must," shrugged Gabriel with his hands spread. "The Alliance's intelligence network is quite advanced. You experienced a small portion of it when you met the Operative. As we lack the Alliance's manpower, we must endeavor to be more thorough and alert to prevent them from finding Eden-Two."

"Don't sound like much of a paradise to me," sneered Jayne around a chicken leg. "Ain't much of a life stayin' on a planet lookin' over your shoulder. Least if you got a ship you can keep movin'."

Gabriel turned to Eli, who sat on his right, and laid a hand on the old man's shoulder. "The existence of our intelligence network, makes it so that good people, like Mr. Collins here, do not need to worry themselves. There is very little to worry about on Eden-Two. The land provides the food and the shelter, and we provide the medicine and the knowledge. After all, Eden-Two is modelled exactly on the Earth-that-was, and we still have a plethora of knowledge regarding the Earth-that-was."

"That must be very valuable history," Simon commented, apparently finished with his food.

"Valuable to us," was Gabriel's reply. "After all, there is only one twin to the Earth-that-was. Therefore, only we would have use for that information."

"You're being awfully open with us," said Kyo for the first time since dinner started. A silence fell over the table as all eyes turned towards Kyo. For his part, he didn't look at all abashed under the looks; he just kept his eyes firmly planted on Gabriel. "Don't seem like the sort of thing people as careful as you would do."

"Astute observation, Captain--"

"Kyo," he cut Gabriel off curtly. "I'm no more a captain than Mal's a sarge these days."

"Apologies, Mr. Nagiama," nodded Gabriel. "The answer is simple: We do not confide to people who we find incompatible to Eden-Two. This is your invitation, and it is an open one. We've observed you all for a very long time, and find you more than deserving of paradise. You don't need to accept right away. Anytime you feel too tired to continue your journey, we will find you and we will carry you to Eden-Two." That last statement was delievered directly to Mal, Zoe, and Kyo; the Independent's own unification cry.

There was a contemplative silence by all parties at the table before Gabriel took the opportunity to stand up from the table. "And now, I believe Mr. Collins needs his rest. He has a very long journey tomorrow morning, and the rest of you undoubtably have plans yourself."

"Pleasure for your hospitality," nodded Mal as he and the rest of his crew took their leave of Gabriel.

"That was shiny," murmured Kaylee sleepily as walked, leaning against Simon for support. Everyone was slow to their feet as they moved around on account of a heavier center of gravity. "I feel so sleepy."

"That'd be the--the trypto-tryptophan," hiccupped Simon as he unconsciously wrapped an arm around Kaylee's waist. They ambled along up in front with Jayne--who Mal was somewhat disgusted to notice kept his belt unbuckled and his pants unbuttoned, and kept running his hands across his distended belly--and River. River appeared to be the only one unaffected by the feast, but there was less of a spring to her light step. "It's in the turkey."

"Trypto-wuzzis?" rumbled Jayne deeply, half-stumbling over his own big feet.

"The tryptophan in the turkey," sniffed Simon with his eyes half-open.

"That's a lot of 't's," giggled Kaylee while lolling her head onto Simon's shoulder.

"It is a lot of 't's," agreed Simon readily. "Far, far too many 't's, really. More partial to coffee, myself."

"Oh that's just terrible!" laughed Kaylee before she slapped his chest limply.

"Can't have too much 't,'" Jayne told them leeringly. "'Course, it's only half as good without the 'a.'"

"That's just--" trailed off Simon, his face twisted in one of utter disgust that had the side-effect of being quite hilarious.

"Things seem to be going well for us," said Inara to his left. Mal shuffled his feet slightly to turn around and look at her. She too appeared to have suffered no ill effects from the meal, smiling as serenely as ever, but there was a wonderful glow to her cheeks and a contented glaze in her eyes. "I can't ever recall eating such a wonderful meal, even on Sihnon. I think everything I eat from now own will have to be judged against that."

"Can't say I disagree," nodded Mal in complete agreement, a cheerful smile plastered on his face. Kyo had walked up to Mal's right with Zoe behind him. Both had equally relaxed shoulders and faces, looking scores younger than they'd been, but their eyes were still alert. Mal was glad to have at least two professionals on his crew to act as a warning system--though himself and Jayne could shake off the effects quickly if trouble started.

"Got a course you want to be settin'?" asked Kyo, his right hand tucked into the pocket of his brown coat, while his left forearm rested on his reverse-holstered Peacemaker. Mal was about to answer when he noticed Inara and Zoe both looking at each other something fierce. Zoe looked inquisitively at the Companion, who actually appeared somewhat wrong-footed, to Mal's amusement.

"I've been thinking about that, Mal, and I think with our turn of good fortune we deserve a vacation," said Inara, arching her brow at Mal to challenge her obvious falter.

"Funny, been thinkin' along those same lines myself," nodded Mal, unable to keep the starlight sparkle of amusement from his uninhibited eyes.

"Ambrosia would be a lovely place to set down," Inara told him none-too-slyly.

"Whoa!" exclaimed Mal with a sort of nervous chuckle. He stopped, which caused Inara, Kyo and Zoe to stop as well. Kyo and Zoe looked amused, while Inara made no effort to hide the irritation lurking beneath her narrowed eyes. "Ambrosia? Ain't that a mite too close to the Feds?"

"It's on the same rim as Persephone," Inara retorted, getting right into Mal's face, which perturbed him some. "There are services available for all of us, and I have a Companion friend who works exclusively on Ambrosia. Simon and River will be safe."

"Really now?" grinned Mal, looking back over to Zoe, who Mal got an inkling was the reason behind Inara's fluster--that and the food. "Figure your friend got herself a magic wand to turn the Feds back."

"Wouldn't you like to know," said Inara disdainfully before she stalked off with the others; obviously in no mood for teasing. Zoe looked over to Mal with a question on her face, even though not a muscle had moved. Mal gave Zoe a wink that spoke volumes, which she answered with a curt nod before walking off after.

"Odd," said Kyo slowly. "Gabriel didn't mention anythin' about the Guild. He spoke an awful lot about Blue Sun..."

"Yeah, fancy that," said Mal, chewing it over some. "Mystery for another time, I suppose. Go on and set course for Ambrosia. Iff'n you think you can still fly."

"That?" said Kyo, gesturing over towards Serenity nested in the distance. "I can pilot that la ji ge in my sleep!"

"L-la ji ge?! You better not let little Kaylee be hearin' your words if you wanna be keepin' your tongue," warned Mal jokingly Kyo laughed back as they ambled, almost drunkenly back to Serenity.

*****

Kyo couldn't sleep. The existence of Eden-Two, the information Gabriel seemed to possess, it all swirled loudly around his mind. Kyo knew the evil of Blue Sun intimately, and the fact that a defunct corportion with just as much subterfuge lingered unsettled him greatly. Just because they seemed to present the opposing side of the spectrum, didn't mean they were saints. No world could live without rules, and that made Kyo curious about just how people lived their lives.

Worse was the fact that Gabriel knew him. His entire safety was built around his anonymity around the Alliance. Hell, he'd waltz right into the Core worlds and straight into the heart of Londinium without any Operatives swooping down on him. Technically speaking, he had no rights as an individual because he wasn't a real human--or even legally existed, for that matter. The thought of being subject to experimentation again chilled him to the bone.

Before, it'd only been the fear of death, but River... She was evidence that the Alliance hadn't finished; might never finish.

This had been, perhaps, the largest mistake he'd made. If it hadn't been Mal and Zoe, he would've never dismantled the Wolfhound and joined up with a crew. Part of that was the camaraderie Mal and Zoe offered. It was an anchor right down through his history, to the distant past when he'd only had himself and nineteen others. River was at the top of that line now. She was so very much like the other nineteen, but so very different.

"Now you're being noisy," said River, having that very irritating quality of sneaking up on him. Him. That shouldn't technically be possible. "Too much noise," she chided him with a tilt of her head.

"Sorry, lai," smirked Kyo at her from the chair just next to the door. "Won't be findin' any relief here tonight."

"No," agreed River, dressed only in a flimsy white nightgown. Kyo watched as she sunk down to the ground next to his chair, folded her arms onto his left armrest, and laid her head upon it. Some of her long, black tresses spilled over into his lap. As much as he didn't want to, he found himself running his hand through her thick, wavy hair. The silkiness of it sent shivers up to his elbows, and his stomach gave a longing twist when she purred contentedly.

"I couldn't read him," River told Kyo with her eyes closed and a smile on her face despite the subtle irritation in her voice. "He had a lock, not like yours. It had a knob, but I didn't know the combination. Too many variables to try at random."

"Is that so?" said Kyo, feeling even more perturbed now that he knew Gabriel had training against Readers.

"Doesn't matter now," said River sadly. "He's gone quiet. Taken the secret with him to the flames."

"What?" said Kyo, his voice barely audible over the hum of the ship. Kyo stopped running a hand through her hair and leaned forward. River's eyes snapped open as his hand rested on her cheek, and for a moment he found himself lost in the depths of her eyes that were as every bit as deep as the black.

"Fire from the sky, ashes on the ground," River lilted. "It's too late."

Kyo leapt from his chair and dashed off towards the flight deck. He knew what River meant, hell, he'd even carried out some of those very same orders during the war. Orbital bombardment from a frigate. Unless one happened to be underground, or in a very shielded area, there wasn't much hope in surviving. Kyo's feet pounded on the floor as he sprinted up the stairs from the lower deck to mess, before tearing down the hall, not caring who he woke up.

He didn't bother sitting in his chair as he hunched over the small keyboard to bring up news activity on the Cortex. As he typed in his search parameters with one hand, he flipped two overhead switches to bring the long-range sensors off of alert so that he could do active sweeps.

"Kyo? What the hell are you playin' at this hour?" demanded Mal, but Kyo wasn't fooled. There weren't a trace of fatigue in his voice. He hadn't any more luck sleeping than Kyo had. He was suprised, however, to see Zoe right behind Mal as they entered the flight deck.

"River," said Kyo, his eyes returning to scan the livid, blood red screen infront of him. "She said some things that got me thinkin'..."

"And you call stormin' about my ship as thinkin'?" asked Mal with furrowed brow.

"Tamade," cursed Kyo, before bringing his attention to the green screen that displayed the Cortex.

"What?" asked Zoe, stepping around Mal to look over the console from across Kyo.

"An Alliance frigate entered Wu Yo orbit not long after we left a couple of hours ago," sighed Kyo, feeling ten-times heavier than he should as he sank into the pilot's chair. He took a controlling breath, trying not to look at images of all the orbital bombardments he'd seen enter his mind. "The Napoleon carried out an orbital on Prospector's Hill. The nearby town, Slinker's Valley, investigated but...there's no survivors."

"Bu-ke-neng," said Zoe with a pained tone.

"Alliance ain't doublin' back for us?" asked Mal with his jaw clenched.

"No, sir," said Zoe, her face expressionless except for the shimmer in her eyes and the tightness of her lips. "They've left the system."

"They were after the usher," came River from the doorframe, attracting everyone's attention. "Scooped him off the streets like loose change and squeezed him tight. Wouldn't let the secret slip, no matter what they did. Made himself mute."

"Made him--"

"Bit off his own tongue," translated Kyo, rubbing his forehead wearily with his eyes closed. "Choked on his own blood."

"A whole gorram town!" choked Mal, his face contorted into one of righteous rage that Kyo'd seen multiple times during the war. "All for what?"

No one, not even River, had an answer to that--or at least, an answer that would sit well with their consciences. The three veterans remained as silent as a graveyard. Their thoughts were of those who'd died without knowing the reason, and for the injustice of it all. Eden-Two might not even be the paradise it claimed, but the Alliance were obviously afraid of it. So afraid they'd torch a town just to intimidate one man.

"Orders, sir?" asked Zoe, standing stiffly before the console; her face was blank and accepting, as it always was during the war.

"Keep course for Ambrosia," was all Mal could say. "Rest of the crew don't need to know this. They enjoyed Mr. Collins's stay and they enjoyed their feast. Hell, all of 'em are sleepin' pretty with their bellies full of a treat they might never taste again in their lives. No need to bitter it."

"If they enjoyed Mr. Collins's stay, sir, then they should honor his memory as well," countered Zoe.

"For all they know, the man went to Eden-Two," Mal called out to them as he turned to leave the flight deck. "No reason to make them believe otherwise." Kyo heard, rather than watched, Mal walk away moments before a bunk door slid open. A brief, expectant pause hung in the air until they heard the click of the door shutting.

"Mal's right, Zo," Kyo told her softly. "It'd only upset 'em all. Let 'em think...whatever. We can remember him fine."

"Oughta get yourself some sleep, Kyo," was all Zoe said before she walked out of the flight deck as well. Kyo heard the gentle open and close of her door before he sagged his shoulders against the chair.

The Wolfhound wasn't built to be lived in, and yet Kyo had for nearly six years. The bunk was no better than a closet, and he often found himself dozing at the controls instead of cramming himself into the glorified coffin. He was a pilot, and he belonged at the brain of the ship--any ship. Kyo laid out his hand on the console and felt the life vibrating through her; drew strength and peace from it. He saw what the ship saw; knew what the ship knew; and at that moment, it happened to be sweet nothingness.

He was startled when he felt River slid onto his lap. Her long, lithe limbs curled up upon his chest with a tranquil expression on her face.

"River," Kyo warned softly, grabbing her with his hands to push her away. She simply wriggled herself deeper against his chest, however, which also drove her deeper against lower portions of his anatomy. "River," he hissed a little more forcefully. "Sneaking into my room is one thing, but this..."

"Is the exact same," she answered with a verbal equivalent to a shrug. "I need to sleep and you help me sleep. Tiny fragile flower nestled safely under the shade of the big tree. There was a tree back home; out in our yard. Mommy would get mad because I'd get my dresses dirty. Simon would get mad because he'd have to climb up to get me when I'd climbed too high. Daddy was never home. Could never get mad because he never knew. He's mad now."

"Mad at himself," admitted Kyo, knowing he couldn't keep that particular secret from River. "Mad he didn't believe your brother when he had the chance, and now he's worried about you hating him. He doesn't want the two of you to die without him knowing that you know."

"Daddy ruined your plans. Got himself caught. You're a little mad yourself."

"Well, yeah, I told that bai-chi not to do anythin' to get himself caught," grumbled Kyo. "Had a perfectly good plan on how to sneak the two of you to see him, too!"

"I know," smiled River against his chest; it was an odd feeling on his part. No one had ever done that in his embrace. "But you warned him and he didn't listen. It's not your fault he couldn't listen, just like Simon never listens. You don't need to care like that. I know, you know."

"You still should talk to the man," retorted Kyo, his body tensing up in some measure of checked anger. "Man's your father and he's a right to know you know. You only get one set of parents, lai."

"Except you, who never had any," said River softly.

"Enough!" snapped Kyo irritably. He pushed River off himself and stood up. She let out a strangled yelp of surprise before she managed to correct her fall and land in a crouch. Kyo looked down and saw her face a mixture of surprise and hurt. Obviously she hadn't seen that coming. "I'll help you, River. You're doin' fine, but you've got control issues with your Reading abilities. It's nothin' a little concentration and practice can't help. Doc can stop his medications with you when I'm done and the sun'll be shinin' all pretty like, dong-ma?"

He waited until River gave a short nod in understanding. A part of his heart seemed to crumble at the hesitant, almost injured animal gaze she was giving him, but it had to be done.

"Good. Now River, I'm tellin' you this once: Stop tryin' to peek through the gorram door! There's reasons I keep that part of my mind shut, and ain't none of it anythin' you need to be seein'! Things I got locked up in there'll only give you nightmares; worse nightmares. Nightmares so bad the sun might never come back again. Dong-ma?"

Kyo knew what her first reply was going to be from the way she darted forward slightly with a tense look on her face. She was going to tell him No, but he let her see all the possibilities he was thinking over to make good on his claim. The most obvious--and, admittedly, only option--was to leave Serenity and never return. It was a painful choice, but one he'd choose in a heartbeat over harming her mental state further.

"You're just afraid," she accused him before storming out of the flight deck without a sound. Quiet ones were always the most deadly, he knew.

"Ai-ya tao shen, jian mei gu niang!" he cursed into the emptiness. Relinquishing himself to the fact that sleep absolutely would not come this night, he collapsed back into his chair and gave the console an affectionate pat. "You still love me, don't you, girl?" Serenity hit a bump of turbulence--which is doubly strange out in space--as an answer.

"Fine!" he grumbled at anyone and everyone as he settled back into his chair. "Fine..."

*****

Mal sat at the very edge of his orange desk chair. Ever since Kyo's announcement, he'd been doing nothing but sitting and contemplating Plymouth. That'd be another life he failed, though actually it was just a conclusion to a muck-up started ages ago. He buried the heels of his hands into his eyes until that sharp stabbing pain came about and he couldn't stand it any longer.

He wondered what Book would tell him at times like this. He wondered if Eden-Two was really the paradise Gabriel had made it out to be. He wondered if it was really better than the black. He wondered what it'd be like to be back on a farm again; back when he was a child on Shadow under his mother's heel. He wondered what Inara would tell him; whether she'd have more words like those she gave to him after Nandi died. He wondered if any of it actually mattered.

He wondered and wandered so much, but all the same he never went anywhere. All Mal could do was sit in his quarters and stare out at a drawer in his desk. Once. Twice. Thrice. A shaky hand reached out towards the flat drawer with an indent at the bottom. Finally he pulled it open. On the surface there was nothing special to it; a drawer full of yellowed parchment and battered, leather bound books. The finances of Serenity that he hadn't peeked at in going on five years, when he thought he'd run an honest transport. It was a perfect place to hide the most hurtful thing in his possession.

Mal slipped his hand past the paper and found it right where he'd dropped it. Out from under the finances--false, true and forgotten--Mal pulled out his modest, silver cross. If it weren't for the fact that it was a gift from his own mother, he'd have left it in Serenity's dirt. It was tarnished round the edges, and overall covered with a whole mess of his own flesh from rubbing or kissing it.

He stared into his hazy reflection through it and remembered:

"Well, Sarge, we're right grateful for your help," said a younger Eli Collins. Mal stood on the ramp of a Wolfhound, slightly disappointed that it wasn't Kyo who'd gotten the call to pick them up.

"Ain't no need to be thankin' us, none, Mr. Collins," smiled Mal, looking down at the man dressed in flannel and denim. "We just go where we're needed is all."

"Aye, that you do," nodded Eli, who looked around at the potmarked field where transports were landing and lifting off. "Shame to see you go, son. Mandy's done gone 'n' taken a shine to you. Got a feelin' me and missus are gonna be hearin' 'bout you for some seasons. Best win this war 'n' visit her quick, y'hear?"

"Can't make no promises, sir," laughed Mal, somewhat uncomfortably. "You tell little Mandy she keep bringin' that ray of sunshine she's been doin', the Lord'll provide her someone better'n me."

"Oh, I don't think Mandy'll buy that, Sarge," chuckled Eli, looking over his shoulder towards the home that had obvious burn marks, even from here. "But the Lord sure does provide, don't He? Like angels on high, you answered our prayers, Sergeant Reynolds."

"Wish we could be stayin' to secure Plymouth better," said Mal ruefully, surveying the damaged, mostly barren, rocky fields. He knew his farming, and the battle that'd scarred this moon wasn't likely to fade for centuries. They'd imposed a hardship on some already hard-up folks.

"Aw, go on, Sarge," said Eli, giving Mal a toothy grin--too happy to be alive to notice the tough times to come. "You got places y'need to be, folk who need protectin' like we did. Can't go on bein' selfish 'n' keepin' you to ourselves. I can manage me and mine, and the good Lord'll provide the rest."

"Sir?" came the stern steel of Zoe's voice, the most trusted person in his unit. "Jesse's itchin' to leave, sir. Says Major Grenner ordered us to regroup with the five-oh-two artillery, and the Washington just outside Whitefall."

"Monty and Kyo?" said Mal with an irrepressible grin on his face, one that Zoe mirrored in her own subdued way. "Well, damn if we ain't plannin' some sort of welcome for the Alliance."

"See, Sarge? Best get on," said Eli.

"Been a real pleasure, Mr. Collins," nodded Mal solemnly as he backed into the passenger compartment of the Wolfhound.

"No, Sergeant Reynolds, the pleasure's all ours," Eli told him sternly. "I suspect you ain't ever gonna know the impact you made on folks 'round here, but know we ain't ever gonna forget what you did for us. How you kept us sane in that there church while them Jackals nipped at our heels."

"May the Lord bless you and yours, Mr. Collins," Mal prayed as the ramp and doors folded in slowly on the compartment, limiting Mal's view of the burnt farmhouse and the lonely man at the foot of their ship. Mal continued to stare, even when all he was looking at was his reflection through the door.

------

Author's Notes, Justifications, and...well...Excuses:

Eden-Two is taken from a short lived, sci-fi show in the late 80s designed to promote toys (like most kids shows back then), called Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future. The reason this whole episode was written, was because Eden-Two's going to be creeping up more in my stories, along with the growing Rebellion and the Blue Sun. Poor little Serenity's going to be caught up in this little storm, and I needed to give Eden-Two credentials. It would've been too easy to have some shadowy figure trailing them throughout the whole story, so I just left them alone in thinking everything was really shiny up until the end.

I didn't mean for my OC to take up so much of the stage, but his story arc claimed dominance for the first few episodes, at least until his past gets revealed. After that, it goes back to being Mal's show, which is the reason I took the liberty to stick the cross back in among his possessions. They'll be an episode to expand on that. And yes, it has ties with the Academy, but no, Kyo was never a part of River's class. He's older than River.

Never got the visual companion or anything, so I don't know for sure, however in my mind Mule is capitalized as a proper name. Before Serenity came out, I wouldn't have thought to capitalize Mule; I thought it was like "car" or bike" or "shuttle," just a type of vehicle. After Serenity, when they've obviously upgraded the Mule, I'm left to assume it actually the name they made up for the transport.

Fluffy white bunny would be an oblique Monty Python and the Holy Grail reference.

The thing about Jayne not caring much for the sniper rifle is a bit of a lie. He's used one in "Serenity" the pilot, and actually seems to favor pistols over rifles if his wall is any indication--or the arsenal he lays out in "Heart of Gold." Somehow, though, I keep thinking he'd be more at ease with a machine gun than a sniper rifle.