Chapter 8 – The Battle Begins

Fiona was excited at the prospect of seeing and hearing her sister for the first time since before her memory could reach back. She had no recollection of Miranda and her blood family from before then. She had her monitor free and ready to receive the wave from Reed with her sister. Elena. Ellie as she was now called. Aggie was coming over with Lance. In the spirit of friendship, family, and to help figure out the formula Fiona was risking it all to confess this new information about her past to Aggie and Lance. It was a terrible risk but if what Reed told her was true, if she didn’t have the medicine, she’d descend into madness until all her night terrors came true – meaning she’d be a murderer. No. She’d be something worse than a murderer, something more resembling a demon, a fallen angel, hell bent on the destruction of human kind. If Lance couldn’t help her, what would she do? Turn to the men with hands of blue? She shuddered. Why would they want to help her? In all the ‘Verse, generally speaking, she was a nobody. If these strange people were showing an interest in learning how her “impulses” were being quelled then perhaps they had more devious motives – control? Like how PAX was an attempt to control the population.

There was a knock at her door and Fiona snapped back to the moment at hand.

“Aggie! Lance! Finally you’re…” she exclaimed as she opened the door. “…here?” She was taken aback by who was standing at the threshold. It was two people but not the two people that she was expecting.

“Hello, Fiona,” the two men said.

“Agatha and Lance will not be joining you today. They are with us.”

Her heart sank as their blue-gloved hands reached for her.

***

Ellie sat with Reed and Dawn on either side of her in their room. They were sending a wave to Fiona. Not a call, but a video wave. She was very nervous. She hadn’t actually talked to her sister since the day they left Miranda. She was a bundle of nerves. Jayne was in the room as well but Dawn insisted he stay off screen in case anyone else, such as the Alliance, was watching.

“What’s takin’ so long, Reed?” Jayne asked.

He shook his head. “She isn’t picking up.”

Ellie cast her gaze down to the floor. “Maybe it is just too much for her to talk to me right now.”

“She wants to talk to you,” Dawn assured her.

“It’s a lot though,” Ellie admitted. “I mean the man that cured and raised her as his own daughter being killed. Learning about the PAX and what it did to us and that she’s still struggling with it. The existence of me.” She shook her head. “It’s a lot.”

“You don’t think something’s happened?” Jayne asked. It pained him to see the hurt in Ellie’s eyes. It was a lot for her take in as well, but she would try to mask it from everyone.

“I don’t know,” Reed replied.  “We need a plan. I mean it would be great to reunite the two of you but there is more at stake here. We need to clear your name and try to get the right answers.”

Ellie shook her head. “No.”

“No?” Jayne asked.

Ellie stood and began to walk out of Reed and Dawn’s room. “No. The Alliance will never clear my name. You are right, Reed. There is more at stake. You said Fiona is still on medicine that only Dr. Jiang made?”

“Yes,” Reed replied.

“Do you think the Alliance will actually try to use Fiona and those meds to try and temper the Reavers?” Ellie asked.

Jayne shuddered and shook his head. “That would be one helluva army for them.”

Reed shook his head and looked at Dawn. She had never seen a Reaver and no comprehension of the implications of such a thought.

“What do we do now?” Dawn asked.

Reed massaged his temples. He head was beginning to throb. “I don’t know. Can we talk to the Captain?”

“Sure thing,” Jayne replied promptly leaving to get Mal.

Ellie sighed deeply. “Do you think that’s why they kept Fiona and Dr. Jiang close by? Why Fiona was not sent with me to a foster home on Harvest? Because they wanted to use her later when they felt they could control whatever it was that makes Reavers Reavers?”

“That is a truly chilling thought, Ellie. But, I wouldn’t put it past them.  Look deep enough in history and the powers that be try to make it look like their enemies were the only ones ever experimenting with the idea of super soldiers. Even back on Earth-That-Was. Especially with the Industrial Revolution in the nineteenth century and the Technological Revolution in the twentieth century, the idea of super soldiers was pursued with zeal and with great cost.”

“And that is the truth,” Mal stated as he entered the room followed by Jayne and River. “So you’ve lost contact with Ellie’s sister?” Reed nodded. Mal turned to River and asked, “Think she was found out, River?”

River closed her eyes. They could tell she was concentrating hard. She was quiet and loose. Suddenly she became rigid and opened her eyes though all they could see where the whites.  Her normally big brown eyes were not visible. It made them all shudder and Ellie ran over to Jayne grabbing him around the waist and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

“What’s she doin’, Jayne?” she whispered to him.

He slowly shook his head, unable to look away from her. “I got no ruttin’ idea, girl. This here is somethin’ new.”

River’s arms reached out in front of her. She began to chant over and over, “Two by Two. Hands of Blue.”  Simon and Kaylee walked into the room and watched River’s trance. She began to step over to Ellie, reaching out for her.

“What is this?” Simon asked.

Ellie let go of Jayne to hide behind him and he gladly stepped between her and River. He didn’t fancy another trance-induced fight with her but he wasn’t going to risk Ellie being hurt. Kaylee started to grab River by the shoulders from behind but Simon stepped in front of her and shook his head. This was new. He had no idea what River was doing and if she was a threat to anyone.

River got closer to Ellie, though that meant getting even closer to Jayne.  Just as her  hands touched Jayne’s chest, Jayne stiffened, ready for a fight. River stopped moving and talking. She closed her eyes and when she opened them again, she was herself again. A tear streamed down her face and Simon embraced her from behind. She didn’t move from Jayne. She kept her hands on Jayne’s chest.

“I’m sorry, Jayne,” she said in a whisper.

“For what?” he asked, still standing rigid. “I couldn’t get past Harvest. The Alliance is there. They have Mattie’s blood.”

“Oh, that is so not good!” Mal said running for the cockpit. “River! Let’s go!” he hollered back to her and she followed.

“No, no, no…” Simon said, taking a seat.

“I don’t get it,” Kaylee said.

“Jayne,” Simon started with his face buried in his hands. “Jayne I had used some of that medical haul to cure Mattie.”

“Oh God,” he said staring at Simon, the fear showing in his eyes.

Ellie stepped forward and grabbed Jayne’s hand. “The genetic markers.”

“What?” Dawn asked.

Jayne looked around the room, unsure, for once, how to react. His glance fell to out the room. “Mal!” Jayne called running after him, Ellie following.

They joined Mal and River in the cockpit.

“Mal, what do we do? They have my family, they know we were there?”

“I realize that Jayne, we are heading to Harvest now,” Mal replied turning the ship toward the Red Sun system.

“River,” Jayne said kneeling by her seat. “River, what do they know? What are they doing?”

“It’s hard to see, Jayne. I… I…” she stared off a bit into the distance. “I can’t see it clearly. There is a veil, almost a wall, like…”

“Like they are blocking you,” Ellie chimed in. River looked at her and nodded.

“We are going in hot, Jayne. Arm up. Everything you have. Even the grenades.” Mal was slipping into soldier mode. Was there seriously about to be another battle he would have to face? How many would be lost this time? Was it worth it?

Mal’s thoughts wandered to those around him. He looked at River. Just a child. Yes, she was an amazing fighter and he knew he could stake his own life on that claim. But she was still just a child. She had hardly begun to live life. Would she ever be able to.

He looked at Ellie. Another victim of the state and their experiments. She had already survived hell and now she was heading back into it again.

He watched Jayne as the expression on Jayne’s face went from concern to fighter. He knew Jayne would have no problems going in guns blazing. But would he come out?

He thought of Zoe and the baby. Another family torn apart. This baby would never know his or her father. He wondered now if the baby would ever know the light of day. And Zoe, what would happen to Zoe.

 

Kaylee, sweet Kaylee. Simon. They were not fighters. What would happen to them?

Finally, Inara. Perhaps it would have been better if he had taken her back to the training house after Miranda. She would have been safe there. Sure, she would still be a whore, legal, but a whore nonetheless. However, she’d be safe. Now, well now, he just didn’t know.

 

His mind wandered from one possible scenario to the next. None of them had a good outcome.

“Captain,” River’s voice broke his train of thoughts. “Captain, we need to plan this before rushing in. Then those scenes racing through your brain will be less likely to happen.”

Mal looked around and realized it was just him and River. “Where’s Jayne and Ellie.” River raised her eyebrow and smiled. “Oh, right. Arming themselves. Dumb question.” He nodded. “Yeah, plan. Okay. Um, get Zoe up here.” River nodded and called for Zoe on the intercom. She arrived quickly and Mal informed her of the new information and the new course of action. The two of them began to come up with a strategy.

 

Back down in Reed and Dawn’s room, Simon explained to them about how Simon had treated Mattie with the new medication and that it meant they could be tied to being on Harvest. There was no telling what they would do to the Cobb family to try and find out where they were. Chances are, they were already attacking Dyton to find the supplier as well.

“Crew, passengers,” Mal called over the intercom. “Meet in the dining room. We have a plan. We need to eat and prepare. We’re going to war.”

Jayne and Ellie heard this as they were in his bunk, arming themselves to the teeth. “Good,” Jayne said. “I’m ready for this.”

Chapter 7 – Truth by Truth and Hands of Blue

Fiona was, once again, kneeling over that clean, twinkling river in the meadow on the edge of quiet woods. She watched as her reflection danced in the water. The sun was shining bright and an overwhelming calm enveloped her. She basked in the warmth of the sun, feeling as if it were her adopted dad wrapping his arms around her in a hug from the heavens.  She closed her eyes and whispered, “I miss you, Daddy.”

Fiona awoke from her dream and just lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. Her eyes drifted over to the painting, Peace River. Yes, it had to be her father sending her to that serene escape.  She got up and began to get ready for her day, starting with an injection. She noticed that she was getting low in her medication and would need to get more soon.  She had always gotten it from her dad and it was not a prescribed medicine that she could get from a pharmacy.  She decided that she needed to go back to the estate and get some from the stash there. But this raised a question in her mind: What would she do once what was at the estate ran out? She had to start investigating exactly what this medicine was and try to replicate it on her own. She had clues as he had taught her a little bit about it but she had no idea, truly, what it was and what it did and why precisely she needed it.

She got a cab and went to the estate. It was all hers now and she had considered moving back in until school was over, but school was just about done. There was no point in distracting herself from her studies by moving back prior to graduation.  It felt strange walking into this place. The servants were all still there, keeping the place up, but without On there, it still felt empty. She likened it to the hole she felt in her chest every time she recalled finding him in the back garden dead. There was a deep pain there but it didn’t feel new. It was like an old wound in her heart and soul had been ripped back open. But an old wound from what?  Fiona was finding more questions than ever and she was anxious to hear from Reed and Dawn. Maybe if she could talk to her sister she could get some answers about her past.

Fiona searched her father’s home office and found a key, an old skeleton key, in a drawer in his desk. She walked to a bookshelf, moved what appeared to be a knot in the shelf’s wood, inserted the key and turned. Then she pulled on a copy of Dante’s Inferno, though it didn’t come out all the way, and it snapped back into place. The bookshelf lifted a bit from the floor and swung open, revealing a secret room. She retrieved the key, putting it in her pocket, replaced the phony wood knot and entered the secret room.

She pulled a vile from a refrigerated cabinet. She drew the medicine out of the vile with a syringe and injected it into the pen she used to administer it to herself. She put the vile she used into her pocket so she could take it back to her dorm room and grabbed another vile, looking at it momentarily.

“What are you and what do you do?” she whispered to the clear liquid contained in the vile.

“That is an excellent question, Fiona,” came a voice from behind her, startling her.

“Who are you?!?” she asked as she spun around to face the intruder. She saw two men, well-dressed, standing in On’s office outside this secret room.

“It’s okay, Fiona. We used to worked with your father – both of them,” one of the men replied.

“What do you want?” she asked, suspicious of them, especially once seeing their blue-gloved hands. She had way too many questions about her father’s death and was cautious around strangers. And these men were as strange as one could get. Just seeing them made her skin crawl and made her want to run away from them. Running, right now however, was not an option.

“We are interested in the experiments that Dr. Jiang was doing on you and how he was controlling…” the man thought for a moment.

“…your impulses,” the second man completed the first man’s thought.

“Well, I don’t know quite truthfully. I will find out since he is no longer here to make this medicine.”

“We can help you,” they said simultaneously, making Fiona suddenly frightened. They weren’t scary looking – dressed like professionals, well groomed, polite. But, still, something wasn’t quite right. There was something intangible that was just off about these two men. She was uneasy around them and certainly didn’t want their help.

She smiled to try and mask her fear. “Gentlemen, I appreciate the offer. However, I’m graduating top of my class soon and am perfectly capable of managing this little, insignificant project on my own.”

“’Insignificant’? This is hardly…” began the second man.

“…’insignificant’,” the first man finished.

It was hard for her to look at them and hold her smile. The more they talked, the more creeped out Fiona became. She exited the secret room and closed the door knowing it locked automatically when closed. She kept the skeleton key in her pocket. She didn’t know how long they had been watching her and she hoped they didn’t see how she was able to open the secret door.

“Gentlemen,” she began again, trying to not appear frightened. “I must return to the university. I have my classes for today.”

“We’ll be in touch, Fiona. We want to help you. We want to help everyone,” the first man stated as she walked hurriedly past them and out of her father’s office. As creepy as they were, she was glad they were following her out of the estate. She didn’t savvy the idea of leaving them there to poke around.

She climbed back into the waiting cab and demanded to get back to the dorm hall as quickly as he could. “Run all the lights, if you have to,” she told the driver.

“Miss,” the cabbie began. “Miss, are you okay?”

She could see him watching her in his rear view mirror. Her eyes were tearful and a shaking hand covered her mouth as she tried to not cry. She nodded at him and just looked out the window, remaining silent for the trip back to the campus grounds and her dorm. As she was walking to her room she opened her watch and called Aggie, asking her to come over.

“Sure thing!” Aggie replied.

“Can you get Lance to come over, too?” Fiona asked.

“Lance? I suppose so. You finally ready to ask him out?” Aggie giggled.

“No, Aggie, nothing like that. I need his expertise in labs and biological chemistry.”

“Okay.” Aggie suddenly realized there was a slight panic to Fiona’s tone. “Are you okay, Fiona?”

“I’m fine. Just get here with Lance. I need help from both of you.”

“Okay. I’m on my way and I’ll call Lance on the way over.”

“Thanks.”

Fiona looked behind her hoping she wasn’t being followed, then she entered her dorm room. She emptied out her wardrobe and pulled some of the laminate off the back right corner on the inside. She retrieved the skeleton key and got some tape, taping the key to the bare wood. Then she got some glue and put the laminate back over it. There was an obvious bulge but she hoped being on the inside and behind clothes, once they were hung back up, that it wouldn’t be easily found. She had to protect her father’s lab and her medicine supply.

In less than an hour, Aggie and Lance arrived at Fiona’s room. She briefly explained that her medication was custom made by her father and that she needed more but didn’t know exactly what it was and what the makeup of it was. Lance agreed to do what he could to reverse engineer the formula. Lance asked exactly what it was her condition was that the medication treated and she admitted she wasn’t sure. She fessed up that she would encounter a lot of rage and fear if she missed a dose but she wasn’t sure the cause of those emotions. It was embarrassing to have to admit her faults and weaknesses to her long time med school crush but he was being very professional about it. He was surely going to be a great success in the medical field someday soon.

“One more thing, Lance,” Fiona told him before they left her dorm. “There were two men trying to get me to let them take my father’s medicine with them. Their appearance was impeccable except they both had blue gloves on. They creep me out. Please do not let them take this if they find you with it, okay?”

Lance nodded. “Sure thing. Probably some pharmaceutical reps hoping to take over whatever it was your dad was working on. Don’t worry,” he assured her. “Your secret is safe with me.”

***

Days passed and Fiona went on about her studies. She kept in touch with Lance on the progress of the discovering the medication’s origins and she didn’t see or hear from the creepy men in those days. She was glad but at the same time increasingly paranoid that they were there, watching, lurking just under the surface of her daily activities. Aggie had begun sleeping over in her dorm room to help keep her company and help her feel safe.

One afternoon, while Aggie was at class and Fiona was in her room studying, her watch chirped.  She answered it, “Yes?”

“Fiona, it’s Reed and Dawn,” came Reed’s voice.

Fiona snapped to attention. “Hi! How are the two of you? How is the investigation going?”

Reed smiled. “We have found your sister, Elena.”

“Really?”

“Yes, she’s fine. She’s safe. After hearing her and her friends out, we really don’t believe for a moment that she was involved in your father’s death. We are aboard the ship she’s on now.”

“How close are you?”

“We’re not. We’re out by the rim. For now I won’t tell you the location or the name of the ship. I won’t lie to you, Fiona. The situation is ugly, at best. Fatal for all of us, at worst.”

“Please tell me what is going on.”

“I’m not sure how to tell you some of what she’s said, Fiona,” Reed stated cautiously.

“Is she there? Can I talk to her?”

“We are all settling in for the night cycle aboard the ship. She’s retreated to the crew’s bunks for the night. I think being around us is hard for her right now.  She does remember you, very well. Maybe all too well.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Fiona asked, almost insulted.

“I wish I could see you in person to tell you all of this.”

“Stop stalling and please tell me what is going on!” Fiona demanded.

“I know why you take medication all the time.” Reed paused, unsure of how to tell a seemingly perfectly normal person that they are in truth a Reaver.

Reed began to relay the story of hers and Ellie’s situation on Miranda. Fiona listened, tears welling up in her eyes. She didn’t want to believe it but the rage, the hunger, the fear and the terrifying dreams were all too real, especially when she missed any doses of that medication that Lance was now trying to reverse engineer.

“Fiona?” Reed asked after there was a moment of silence. “Fiona, are you there?”

“Yes,” she said just above the sound of a whisper.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what else to say.”

“Don’t say anything. At least now I know the truth.” She cried for a brief moment then wiped her eyes. “What about everything else? Are you safe? What’s the plan next? Can I talk to my sister soon?”

“We are safe for now. I’ll talk to Ellie in the morning. I’m sure she would love to talk to you. She never knew that you were okay until recently. She found you but didn’t approach. She was afraid of ruining your life not knowing what you may or may not remember.”

“I don’t understand something, Reed,” Fiona began to ask.

“Yes?”

“How is she able to be okay without my father’s medication. Unless he’s been sending it to her all this time without me knowing.” The thought of him keeping such secrets from her, her origins, her sister, the ‘disease’, made her stomach turn.

“She isn’t a Reaver, Fiona. She was going to die of apathy, like most of the other folks on Miranda. Apparently, your dad was able to help her stabilize pretty quickly with prescription meds already available. But she’s been off them for years, not needing them anymore.”

A sudden shot of rage shot through her. “Oh, okay.” Or was it jealousy?

“I will call you tomorrow. I’m sure Ellie would love to talk to you.”

“Thank you… Reed… Thank you,” Fiona replied, someone zoned out as the call ended. She looked in the mirror across the room and stared at herself.  Who, or WHAT, was she? How is it there are such secrets about her and she was totally clueless? And why – WHY – was Ellie normal while she was struggling to learn about a medication that, apparently without it, she’d turn into some sort of evil monster?

Chapter 6 – A New Investigation Begins

Autopsy revealed that Dr. On Jiang’s brain had hemorrhaged out, and that he also suffered a massive coronary. Nothing was screaming “murder” except that a window on the side of the estate had been broken into. There were also rumors running on Ariel about Feds that had turned up dead from brain hemorrhage a while back but it was only rumor. No papers were ever filed as to why an entire precinct there turned up dead. Reed was being pressured by the commissioner, his ex-wife Mary, to file it as death by natural causes, and that suggesting such a connection would surely get him fired. He wasn’t seeing any other options but wanted to keep looking into it, even if it was ‘unofficially’ investigated.

All of this made him very nervous.  It wasn’t exactly well known but Reed was a Browncoat early on in the war. He went A.W.O.L. after the second battle where he watched his younger brother die in action. He figured it was better to be a partial slave and alive, than dead and… dead. Live free or die. What a stupid concept he had decided that was. There were still plenty that believed in that mantra, centuries after it was first uttered on Earth-That-Was; however, he wasn’t one of them. It did not escape him, though, that the Alliance was a tyrannical entity and he had no problems believing that they were perpetuating crimes again nature and humanity and covering it up.  Dr. Jiang’s death reeked of such stink, just as the deaths of the Feds on Ariel did.

“Reed,” Dawn said, walking into his office.

“Yes, Dawn.”

She handed him a new B.O.L.O. “This just came in.”

He read over it and his expression showed concern and even a bit of fear. “What in gorram hell is going on?”

“I don’t know I didn’t read it.” She was quiet for a moment then continued. “I’ve handed in my resignation.”

Reed looked at her, shocked. “Why?” he asked.

“Mary is giving me a really hard time and rather than deal with her harassment or be forced to not see you by the Department, I’d rather resign and tell ‘em all to kiss my ass.”

“I’m sorry, Dawn! I had no idea she was giving you grief.” He stood and walked from behind his desk over to her, embracing her. “Why didn’t you say anything to me before now?”

“I didn’t want you to worry. I’m a big girl,” she beamed at him. “I can handle myself. So what was the bulletin about?”

They both leaned against the front of his desk and he picked it back up. “Seems there was a shoot out on Harvest in Zhu Que system. A platoon of Alliance soldiers were killed. There was a house burnt to the ground and the bulletin is saying that that Elena Mae is the suspect. Here’s the catch, that burnt house was apparently Elena’s foster home.”

“Oh, this is getting interesting. What else does it say?”

“That there is a Firefly class ship that she is suspected of being on. A ship called Serenity. Apparently, the platoon commander called it in before the shoot out. Another crew member of Serenity, a…” he read for a moment, “…Jayne Cobb has family on Harvest. His family is being questioned right now.”

“Why would all that be sent here?”

“Well, because of Elena I suspect. She was spotted here not too long ago and is wanted big time by the Alliance.” Reed rubbed his chin, letting himself dwell in deep thought. “I want to go check it out.”

“What?” Dawn asked surprised. “You know you’ll never be allowed out there to investigate Jiang’s death!”

“Yeah, I know. And Jiang’s death is no longer being investigated. It’s being ruled as death by natural causes.”

“Oh, that isn’t even close to being right.”

“I know,” Reed replied as his intercom beeped. He pressed on it and replied, “Yes?”

“Fiona Jiang is here to see you, Detective,” came a woman’s voice from reception.

“Okay, show her in.”

“Yes, sir.”

“You want to be here for this?” Reed asked Dawn.

“Yes, definitely. I’m curious what you have to say about why his death isn’t being ruled as a murder.”

Within a couple of minutes, Fiona was walking into Reed’s office and her and Dawn were sitting down in front of Reed’s desk as he returned to his seat behind it.

“I have the official cause of death for your father, Fiona,” he stated handing her the death certificate.

“Natural causes?” Fiona questioned as she read the certificate.

“Yes. There is no evidence of poisoning, trauma or anything that screams ‘murder’. He bled out and had a heart attack.”

Fiona shook her head. It had been a torturous week for her, waiting for the autopsy. She was ready to bury him and find out who had done this and why, but now it seemed all she could do was bury him.

“This isn’t right,” she finally said.

“I have no evidence of foul play, Fiona. It doesn’t sit right with me either but unless something presents itself proving otherwise, I have no choice but to close the case.”

“You call this ‘justice’?” she asked, staring him down with tears and discontentment in her eyes.

“No, ma’am. It isn’t. But I’m just doing my job.”

“Well, your job sucks!”

“I agree, Fiona,” Dawn said. “I’m resigning but am looking to start my own private investigations. I’d be more than willing to take on your case.”

Fiona eyed her for a moment, thinking. She had the means. Her father was very wealthy and left everything to her. She could never work a day in her life and still live the life of an elite socialite. She nodded.

“Okay, Officer Chin.”

“Call me Dawn.  I have a lead already, too.”

“Who? Where?” Fiona asked.

“Harvest in Zhu Que. Your sister was spotted there and is suspected in taking part in a shoot out that killed an entire Alliance platoon.”

“You think she killed my dad?”

“I don’t know. But I intend to find out. Of course,” she continued and looked at Reed, “it would be nice if I had a partner.”

Fiona looked at him as well, waiting for his response.  His intercom beeped again and he answered it. “Commissioner Donovan is here to see you, sir.”

He buried his face in his hands and rubbed his eyes. “Fabulous,” he muttered. Then he answered the intercom with, “Okay, send her back.”

Dawn and Fiona looked at each other and Dawn explained, “His ex-wife.”

“Oh,” Fiona replied. “Should we wait outside?”

“Please,” he replied.  “Oh, Dawn, I think I will join you after all. I’m growing weary of the politics of this job anyway.”

Fiona and Dawn smiled and walked out together, just as Mary was walking in.

Mary stopped Fiona and said, “My dear Fiona! I am so sorry about your father. He was a great man and will be missed.”

“Yes, thank you. Too bad his murderer is getting away with it as well.”

“There was no murder, Fiona. I know don’t want to accept that but it’s the facts.”

“We’ll see,” Fiona said walking away.

Mary walked into Reed’s office, eyeing Fiona as she walked away.

“Okay, Reed,” she started. “Dawn is out of here.”

“I know. She told me.”

Mary noticed that Reed was throwing his personal effects into a box. “What is going on?”

“I’m quitting, as of right now. Screw an official resignation. I’m just walking off. Write it up however you want, because I don’t care anymore.”

“Is this case getting to  you, Reed?” Mary smirked.

He nodded. “Yes, it is.”

“Always the Browncoat. If you didn’t like all this then you should have let yourself get killed in the war like your helpless baby brother.”

Reed slammed the box on the desk. “You’re done! Get out!”

She laughed and left. “Good riddance!” she yelled across the station as she walked out.  Reed made quick use of this time, grabbing the files on the case and giving them to Dawn to photocopy before they left the police station for good. Their first order of business would be to get a license for private investigations and head for Harvest. He was ready to go without the license, but if he did that, then no one would tell him anything and the local authorities would likely not even allow him near the crime scene.

Dawn and Reed met Fiona outside the police station and went to a café for coffee to talk about the details of the new investigation and what costs would need to paid up front. Fiona was more than happy to go this route if the police were not going to investigate. She was also now very curious about this sister of hers. She’d not had any more nightmares but the story was developing very strangely. She didn’t want to believe that she had a sister that would cause her or her adopted father harm, but she didn’t know it for sure and she needed to nip this in the bud if she was going to move on with her life.

Over the next couple of days, while Dawn and Reed acquired all they needed to be licensed private investigators, Fiona began helping with the financial part of it all, especially getting them transport to Harvest. She had arranged for them to hitch a ride there on a passenger ship but also was purchasing their own personal transport ship once there. She found a decent deal on a ship on Harvest. It was small, but it would carry them across the Verse with no problems. It was found floating in space. The owner was never found though pictures of him and his mother were on the inside. After so many days of no one coming to claim it, the Alliance released it as abandoned and let the salvager that found it keep it. Now he was selling it after fixing it up a bit.

Fiona also continued with the plans for her party. She was obviously still sad about her father, but after she could bury him, she would be able to move on and become the successful woman he had always hoped she’d be. She was having a hard time managing without her father but Aggie and her other friends where there making sure she had all she needed.

Fiona met Dawn and Reed at the docks as they were heading out to Harvest.

“Thank you for doing this,” she said to them.

“It’s our pleasure, Fiona. Your father was a good man he deserves to having his death fully investigated. You deserve better answers,” Reed said giving her a hug, followed by Dawn.

“We’ll get to the bottom of this and we’ll track down your sister.”

“Yes,” Fiona said hesitantly. “My sister. I really can’t believe that someone related to me would be a risk to me, or my dad. If she’s innocent, don’t let them hurt her. Please? In fact, if you need to tell anyone that is friend to Elena who hired you, tell them her sister but don’t drop my name.”

“Okay. We’ll do the best we can, Fiona,” Reed replied. “But it wouldn’t be the first time that family was guilty of hurting and killing relatives.”

“I know,” Fiona acquiesced. “Well, whatever the outcome, I have to start working on moving on. I bury my father tomorrow. After that, I’m going ahead with my party. That should be a decent way to close this chapter of my life and start with being a doctor, picking up my dad’s work where he left off.”

Dawn smiled at her and said, “I’m sure he’s very proud of you. You are an intelligent woman and I know you will do his work justice.”

“Thank you,” Fiona said, her eyes tearing up a bit.  “Safe travels.”

Reed and Dawn boarded the ship and settled in for the trip to Harvest, reviewing what they had on Jiang’s death and what little they knew about Elena and Fiona.

****

Reed stood at the ruins of the burnt farm house. The bodies had been removed but you could still smell it. Death. What a terrible stench. Snow had covered the ground so they could not retrace steps but the official story stunk as bad as the scene.

It had been reported and filed that Elena arrived on Harvest aboard the ship Serenity, and that she attacked and burned down her foster family’s home. It was reported that Marcus Delaney had called in the incident before taking his platoon to pursue her into the woods, where the crew of Serenity overtook them and killed them.

Once Reed heard the name of the captain of Serenity, he knew the official story was bogus. He remember Malcolm Reynolds vaguely. Never met him in person but his stories were famous among Browncoats. Valor. Honor. Liberty. There is no way that Malcolm would have dispatched a platoon unless it was warranted. This situation was getting messier and messier the more he dug into it. It stunk of cover up and he began to wonder how all the pieces fit together.

“This is the direction of the firefight,” Dawn announced, following the indicated locations in the incident report in her hands.

“Okay, let’s go check it out.”

“Not sure we’ll find much.”

“Probably not.”  Reed joined Dawn and they walked into the woods. “What do we know about the family?”

“Says they were one of the foster families that the Core would send kids to.”

“What kind of kids?”

“Kids like Elena, I suppose,” Dawn answered.

“But what is so different that Fiona gets the golden ticket and Elena gets…” Reed looked around, “…this?”

“That is a good question. Also, one of the Serenity crew members, Jayne Cobb,” she said, Reed nodding. “Well, his family farm, just up the road, is also a foster home for kids from the Core. From what I gather, Cobb and Elena knew each other.”

“What is the Alliance doing with the Cobb family now?”

“Well the mother is claiming she hasn’t seen Jayne in ages and there is no evidence that they made contact while this shoot out was going down.”

“Do you believe that?”

“Not really, but she sure is protecting that crew. I suspect that if Elena is innocent, no one here will be willing to give her and Jayne and the Serenity crew up.”

“I’m not thinking Elena is guilty of the arson at all.”

“Same here,” Dawn said as she came to a stop and looked around. “This is it.”

They looked around to find only fresh snow. “Kind of hard to investigate anything in this snow.”

Caw! came a crow from above. Reed and Dawn looked up and watched it for a moment.

Finally Reed joked, “So, were you witness to the crime, crow?”

Caw!

“That was creepy,” Dawn said.

“Yeah,” Reed said with a nervous chuckle. “Let’s get over to the Cobb farm.”

After a bit of a walk, they arrived at the Cobb home. Alliance Feds were in the house, keeping the family apart, trying to keep them antsy and nervous, hoping to shake one of them up. After showing their credentials, the Feds reluctantly began to share information.

Dawn found her way upstairs and went into Mattie’s room. She had been told by Mrs. Cobb that he was sick with damp lung. “Hi, Mattie,” she said as she walked into his room.

“Hi,” the teen said shyly.

Dawn looked at the Fed in his room and asked, “May we have some privacy?” and showed him her P.I. credentials. He nodded and walked out and Dawn closed the door. “That’s better,” she said smiling at Mattie and sitting in a chair next to his bed.

He gave her a small smile in return. “I guess.”

“Mattie, right?” He nodded. “Mattie, my name is Dawn Chin. I’m a private investigator. I don’t work with the Feds or the police.”

“Okay,” he said.

“I want to ask you about Elena Mae.”

“What about her?”

“Has she been here recently?”

“No,” he answered quickly.

“What about Mrs. Cobb’s son, Jayne?”

“I haven’t seen my brother in a long time, ma’am. Why are all of you harassing us?”

Dawn looked at Mattie. He didn’t look as if he were someone that was sick. “Mattie, again, I don’t work with the people that are keeping y’all prisoner in your own home. I work for someone that has hired me to find Elena and not because we necessarily think she’s done anything wrong.”

“And…” he replied.

“And I see you are not sick. Did your brother bring you some medicine?” Dawn asked in a quiet voice – almost a whisper.

Mattie’s eyes watered a bit. “You can’t say anything,” he whispered back.

Dawn leaned forward, getting close to Mattie. “I’m not here to hurt anyone. I want to help with whatever is happening to Elena and Jayne.”

“They are innocent,” Mattie continued to whisper to Dawn. “Elena didn’t burn her home down. It was already fired before they got here. Ma knew something wasn’t right, we could smell the fire, but we didn’t know what was happening. If you ask me, that Marcus guy and his thug commandos burnt the house down. The Alliance is putting the heat on Elena, trying to call her a terrorist but she’s not a terrorist. I swear!”

Dawn could see there was no lie in Mattie’s head and heart. If Elena was responsible for any of this, Mattie certainly wasn’t privy to it. “I believe you, Mattie. I need to find them if I’m going to protect them. Do you know where they were heading?”

Just as Mattie began to open his mouth to speak again the door burst open. It was Reed. “The Alliance got a report of seeing Serenity heading for Whitefall. They are leaving in pursuit now.”

Mattie sighed a big sigh of relief. “Are they gone?”

“Yes,” Reed nodded. They have all left.

“Mattie, this is my partner, Reed. Reed, this is Mattie,” Dawn introduced the two.

“They were heading to Aberdeen to take a delivery there. Don’t judge them. It’s medicine that is badly needed and the Alliance won’t provide it, so the people there found another way to get it.”

“The black market,” Reed said.

Mattie nodded, “But if you harm them for it, I will come after you both.”

Reed smiled, “Mattie, I have no interest in black market issues. That’s not what I’m being paid to investigate right now.”

Ma Cobb walked in and asked, “What precisely are you being paid to investigate?”

Reed turned to her and said, “Elena’s birth sister has paid us to find her, and clear her name if she is innocent of all that the Alliance is claiming she’s guilty of.”

“She is innocent!” Ma Cobb declared.

“I don’t know what those people on the Core did to her before she came to Harvest but she was one sick little girl! All moon-brained and lost. We all helped her, my Jayne helped her – not the Alliance!”

“Why don’t we start from the beginning?” Reed asked.

Ma nodded. “I got dinner started. Let’s go down and have some tea and talk. I should warn you both, if you do Elena and Jayne any harm, you will have us to hide from!”

Reed raised his eyebrows, eyes wide, “Yes, ma’am.”  They all followed Ma down the stairs into the dining room, including Mattie. Ma told them about how Elena came to their town and how she and Jayne spent so much time together. She told them of how sick in the head she was and about the medicine they had her one and how she was able to come off it after Jayne spent a year with her, helping her learn to cope in general.

“Sounds like good people,” Reed said.

“They are!” Mattie said. “So what’s your plan now? How y’all gonna help them?”

“Well, I suppose we are heading to Aberdeen now. Thanks for your help,” Reed said as he and Dawn finished their cups of tea.

“You take care of my baby boy, ya hear?” Ma stated as she showed them the door.

“We’ll do what we can, Mrs. Cobb,” Dawn replied. “Thank you for  your time and help.”

Reed and Dawn were offered a ride to town with one of the farm hands taking them by horse and buggy. With the snow, they had no problems accepting the ride, explaining they had transport waiting for them in town.

They refrained from talking further until they were aboard their very own ship and out of Harvest atmo.

“So,” Dawn began, “what’s your gut telling you? Your instincts were always good.”

“I think the Cobb family is right. I think Elena is being set up for some reason. I don’t know what her connection is to Mr. Universe but I just don’t buy the idea of her being trouble.”

Dawn nodded. “Me, too.”

They spent the trip to Aberdeen researching Serenity’s crew, Reed talking about what he knew about Malcolm and Zoe, once he realized who that was. Fearless and loyal to the cause, Reed was certain that whatever they had been up to since the war ended would not warrant any real attention from the law. Sure they may have been some black market dealings but the Alliance made it hard for Browncoats to survive after the war. Malcolm was a good man. They also reviewed Jayne’s record, same thing only without being a former Browncoat. Seemed to go from job to job, being caught and bound by law every once in a while, though staying clean the past couple of years. Kaylee Frye was listed as the mechanic and she had no record with law at all.

Dawn about had a temper tantrum when she saw Inara listed as a passenger. That was the ‘hooker’ that Reed was seeing for a while when they had stopped dating for a bit. Reed refused to respond to her jealous rant and she finally moved on.

Next on the list were Simon and River Tam. Once listed as high priority fugitives they were dropped to the bottom of the list and no longer being actively sought. It didn’t mean they were in the clear just that at any time the Alliance felt it would be to their own benefit, they would pursue Simon and River again. Dawn noted that Simon was a doctor and stated that he was probably the one that provided the care Mattie needed to get better. She also stated that if any of that black market medicine had been used to cure him that it was a good thing he was still playing sick while the Alliance had invaded their home.

Serenity’s crew seemed to be formidable. Hopefully they would be able to track them down before the Alliance. Whatever was leading them to Whitefall was a God-send. It gave Reed and Dawn a huge advantage and head start, pushing them well in front of the Alliance in finding Serenity. They arrived on Aberdeen and Dawn was taken aback a bit. She had not been out this far before and the conditions were a bit shocking. The number of sick people was obviously a much higher ratio than anything Dawn had seen before. It wasn’t as surprising for Reed, brought up on the Rim, but it’d been a while since he’d witnessed such need.

“Wow, Reed,” she said, taking his hand. “If Malcolm is helping these people I don’t blame him for doing what he needs to in order to get the job done, ya know, getting medicine here.”

“Yeah, there is always a need for it out here beyond the Core.”

“So, how do we find them?” Dawn asked.

Right about then, a transport vehicle carrying four people came zipping past them in a hurry followed by a few men on horses, firing pistols at them.

“How much you wanna bet that’s them in the mule?” Reed asked running back to their own ship with Dawn close behind.

“Quick, let’s get in the air and we can follow them.”

“I’m going to do more than that,” Reed stated.

“What’s that?”

“Try to earn a little trust here.”

They took off and got between the mule and the horsemen, Dawn popped out of the hatch and fired rounds from a shotgun at them. Between the shots and the noise of the ship, the horses were spooked and threw their riders and ran off without them, clearing the way out for the mule. Within minutes, a much larger spaceship swallowed the mule and they took off for the sky. Reed followed them as Dawn secured the hatch again and belted in for a fast ride off Aberdeen.

Meanwhile, on Serenity, Mal, Ellie, Jayne and Simon hopped off the mule as River was piloting Serenity into space.

“What happened?” Zoe asked. Zoe was getting to the point where it was too dangerous for her to go on drops and pickups and with Ellie there, there was no reason for Zoe to go. Ellie was capable of filling that role for Zoe while she was pregnant.

“Well,” Simon began, “they didn’t like the idea that I had taken a dose, even though I gave them twice as much silver as it was really worth.”

“They need that medicine for their own, Doc,” Mal said jumping out of the mule. “Can’t blame ‘em for being mad for you takin’ what was rightfully theirs.”

“This isn’t going to ruin future jobs, I hope,” Zoe said with a bit of a scowl.

“I hope not, too, Zoe. We’ll smooth it out, even if I have to call on Badger for the favor.”

“Uck!” Jayne responded. “I don’t like owin’ that fool anything, especially favors.”

“I don’t either, Jayne, but we gotta do what we have to in order to keep flying.”

“Captain,” came River’s voice over the intercom. “We have company and they are hailing us.”

“Yeah, I bet it’s whoever helped us out down there,” Mal said trotting up the stairs.

Everyone rushed to the cockpit and Mal took his place at the lead console. He flipped the switch to accept the signal and greeted Reed.

“This is the Cap’n. Who do I owe the thanks to for helpin’ us out back there?”

“Captain Reynolds, my name is Reed Donovan. I’m here with my partner, Dawn Chin. We are private investigators and we are looking for Elena Mae and Jayne Cobb. We know they are with you.”

Mal paused, uncertain how to respond.

“Captain,” Reed continued. “Captain, we are here to try and help. I’ve been given permission to say to you that we were hired by Elena’s birth sister. We don’t believe the crap the Alliance is putting out against her. We want to help.”

“Fiona?” Ellie whispered, Jayne wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

“Right,” Mal replied. “Maybe we should talk. You have permission to come aboard.”

“What if it’s a trap, Cap’n?” Jayne asked.

Mal looked at Jayne and smiled, “Then I feel sorry for them because I know I can’t stop you from doin’ what you will do to protect Ellie.”

“Right,” Jayne said. “I’ll be in my bunk for a couple minutes.”

“Leave the grenades, Jayne,” Mal joked, with only a grunt as Jayne’s reply.

Mal saw River had a funny look on her face. “Hey, River, is everything okay?”

“Yeah, I just recognize that ship.”

 

Mal looked out the window, watching it approach. “I’ll be damned. That’s Early’s ship!”

 

“Don’t worry, Captain. I get that these people are here to help and will indeed help.”

Mal nodded. “Good. It’s good to have that heads up, River. Thanks.”

“Of course.”

Mal, Zoe and Ellie all went to the cargo bay to prepare to open the door from the now docked ship. Zoe had a gun trained on the door and Inara was above on the catwalks, also armed. Mal was training her with guns. She was as good a shot as she was a sword fighter. Kaylee was at the ready to blow the ship off Serenity if trouble was looming – a new system of electromagnetic repulsion that she had developed.

Once the chamber was pressurized, Ellie opened the door. They heard a few clicks and cocks behind them, knowing it was Jayne. Ellie grinned and shook her head. She loved Jayne for all his quirks. Reed and Dawn appeared, hands up.

“We are armed, Captain, but recognize this is your boat, your rules.”

“Good!” Jayne said, walking past Mal. He frisked and disarmed the couple before Mal could really say anything, but he didn’t say anything as Jayne was right to disarm the strangers for now.

“Well,” Mal said. “Now that that show is over, let’s have a chat, shall we?”

Reed nodded and the entire crew sat around the table in the dining room as Ellie and Inara began to make tea. Jayne sat across from Dawn and Reed, keeping a gun in each hand trained on them. Dawn was made nervous by this but it didn’t seem to bother Reed much.

“You must be Jayne Cobb,” Reed said to him.

“What of it?”

“Mattie and your mom asked us to tell you hello for them.”

“What you doin’ with my family?” Jayne grunted at them.

“We were there when the Alliance was there trying to interrogate them to get your location from them. They got some sort of intel that Serenity was heading to Whitefall and left. Mattie told us where to find you. He’s 100% better by the way. The pneumonia is gone.”

Simon looked at Reed. “Did the Alliance pick up on that?”

“No, he played sick to them,” Dawn replied. Simon sighed in relief.

“So,” Jayne said, holstering his guns, “Mattie is all better now?” Dawn and Reed nodded. Jayne looked at Simon and said, “Thanks, Doc.”

“Sure.”

River joined them as well. She said they were now on a course to circumvent the Rim’s perimeter to stay off radar until they could determine their next move.

“Good,” Mal nodded. “Gives us time to figure out what exactly is going on out there.”

Ellie and Inara served the tea and Ellie sat next to Jayne and they locked hands under the table.

Ellie stated, “You said my sister sent you. How is Fiona?”

“You remember her?” Dawn asked.

“Yes, of course I do!”

Reed looked down and back up at Ellie, “I’m afraid she doesn’t remember you. But she is concerned for your safety.  Her adopted father was murdered, though there is no evidence of murder. The case was dropped but it looks as if the Alliance might try to peg that on you, Ellie. Along with the Miranda message from Mr. Universe and the arson at your foster home.”

Tears were already streaming down Ellie’s face, though she wasn’t sobbing. Just sitting there, staring at her cup of tea, with tears staining her face.

“Geez,” Jayne said wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her into his chest again.

“I don’t understand something,” Mal said. “How is it a Reaver is able to live life and hire P.I.’s to hunt down a long lost sister?”

Reed looked at Mal, obviously confused. “I’m sorry… a what?”

Suddenly River, who had gazed off into space during the conversation suddenly broke in with, “A peaceful river has died. Two by two, hands of blue…” and she continued this mantra in a whisper.

“Oh, that’s not good,” Jayne said, remembering the encounter with the men in blue gloves back on Ariel. “River, are you sayin’ that those creeps killed Ellie’s sissy’s adopted dad?”

River didn’t respond to Jayne directly, just continued the mantra and walked out of the room, with Simon following her to monitor her.

“We are in a heap of trouble aren’t we?” Kaylee asked.

“It looks like it,” Reed replied. “But what were you saying about a Reaver?”

“Fiona is a Reaver,” Ellie said finally.

Dawn laughed. “Reavers, really? You believe all that?”

Reed patted her on the leg. “Yes, Dawn. They are real.” Then he turned to Ellie. “What do you mean Fiona is a Reaver? She’s in med school, is about top of the class. She’s planning her father’s funeral and a social party at the same time. She was planning this party for her 23^rd birthday because it coincided with her graduating from medical school. She’s one of the most well known socialites on all Londonium. None of that spells ‘Reaver’ in my book.”

“She takes medicine doesn’t she?” Ellie asked, then sighed. “Ugh! I hate telling this story. But I guess you need to hear it.”

As Kaylee and Inara started to cook supper, Ellie told Reed and Dawn about Miranda and their escape. She talked about her life on Harvest with Jayne and how he helped her get off the medication she was on. She talked about the transmission about Miranda and how it was fact, not some terrorist’s phony message. Mal explained his and the crew’s role in the Miranda message as well. Reed talked briefly about his short stint as a Browncoat, his leaving the war and becoming a cop and later detective on Londonium. Mal did notice Inara and Reed occasionally making eye contact and then quickly looking away. He decided he would have to ask her about that later. But for now, they were getting acquainted and trying to decide what to do from here. Mal offered them a more comfortable room on Serenity and they accepted, handing over payment right away.

Ellie left the table and went to her room, right next to wear Reed and Dawn were going to be staying. Jayne had followed her.

“Ellie, you can stay with me if you want to. You don’t need to be near them.”

“Thanks, Jayne. I might take you up on that.”

“Grab some clothes and let’s go.”

“Screw the clothes, let’s just go.” The pair walked back to Jayne’s bunk and retired for the night.

In the meantime, River was back in the co-pilot chair. She had stopped her mantra but was still upset about it. She had put the pieces together. Those men had killed that doctor, the peaceful river as she had been calling him all this time, for that was what his name meant. Why would they kill the doctor and not the Reaver daughter? What was in it for them? A new weapon perhaps? If they could calm and train a Reaver then even River would be no match. River had much to contemplate and she did so, as the rest of the crew began to settle in for the night.

Chapter 5 – The Snowy, Red Harvest

Ellie had made herself more than useful aboard Serenity. Cooking meals, even just staples tasted better how she prepared them. She kept Serenity more clean and tidy than it’s ever been. Bathrooms, cockpit, cargo bay, shuttles, rooms, bunks… you name it, she did it. More than once she was told by Mal and the others that she didn’t need to go to such lengths to earn her way back to Harvest. Her response was always, “I like to keep busy. Keeps my mind from wandering too far.” River and Inara had a habit of helping her out as she went about her self-imposed duties. They would laugh as they worked and laugh even harder when they played. Things were, for once, peaceful aboard the ship. No more hassles from the Alliance. Just a smooth trip from the Core to Zhu Que (the Red Sun system).

Jayne was excited to be stopping on Harvest, even if was going to be brief. He wanted to see how his mom and the kids were doing. Last he had heard, Mattie was still sick with “damp lung”. Simon had promised to do a thorough examination on Mattie and to give them medicine to help. Pneumonia could be a quick killer so if they waited any longer, Mattie would likely not survive.

Ellie also had found Shepherd Book’s Bible in Jayne’s bunk, of all places. There were marks all though it and pages had been torn out, but placed back in their proper spot. She was spotted frequently at the table in her downtime reading it. River would sometimes sit with her, talking about it and how it can’t be “fixed” (whatever that meant, Ellie had no idea). Sometimes Mal and occasionally Inara would sit with her and though Mal shrugged off most of what the Scripture said, he still listened. Something told Ellie he really wasn’t as agnostic as he liked to put off. Sometimes Jayne would sit with her and they would talk about Book and what he meant to him and the rest of the crew. Ellie and Jayne would work out together and talk philosophy and faith, subjects most of the crew had no idea Jayne would talk about. They didn’t know about the conversations he and Book had while working out or while snacking in the kitchen or during other downtime.

They began the approach to Dyton, the moon orbiting the tropical planet Greenleaf. Greenleaf was where plants with medicinal qualities were engineered and grown. There was an attempt to stamp out black market drug rackets, however, the tactic hasn’t worked yet.  They were to arrive on Dyton and take on a shipment of black market drugs to take to a place on Aberdeen in Kalidasa. Their plan was to stop on Harvest for a quick visit and to drop Ellie off there before going on to Aberdeen. Fortunately this was a prepaid run, meaning that the recipients on Aberdeen had already paid for the cargo, so they were going to receive payment in full while on Dyton. Jayne was ecstatic because it meant he’d be able to leave more money with his folks. He was also excited because Mal was letting Ellie join in on this run on Dyton so she would get a little money for her part in it as well. They weren’t expecting trouble, but, well sometimes trouble expects them and Ellie had proven herself a very useful asset.  Jayne, after all, was the one that taught her stealth, hunting, shooting and more.

Serenity landed on Dyton and Mal, Zoe, Jayne and Ellie headed out on the mule. They rendezvoused outside Capital City and approached a group of men on four wheelers.

“’Ello, Cap’n,” came the man apparently in charge.

“Good evening, sir. We understand you have some cargo to be moved.”

The man nodded. “Yeah, yeah we do. Badger says you’re de best in de business.”

Mal, Zoe and Jayne shot each other looks. “Thank you,” Mal nodded. “We do good work for him.”

“’At’s what he says.” The men pulled two large crates from two of the four wheelers. “Dese are some meds dat are needed badly on Aberdeen. Dey are, unfortunately, from a stock of plants dat have genetic markers.”

“I really don’t need to know all this,” Mal tried to interject.

“No, I fink you do, mate. You need to understand de trouble we’d bof be in if you happen ta be caught.”

“We don’t get caught,” Jayne defended. The little man looked at Jayne and smiled.

“He means,” Zoe broke in, “that we have what we need to scuttle anyone on our trail. We’ll get your goods delivered, sir.”

“Let me finish sayin’ my peace and den you can go,” he replied, his smile dissipating. “De Alliance ‘as been crackin’ down on de black market in medications. However, I still keep it up because I know dat dere are tons of people dat need it and de Alliance don’t give two scrapes about folks out here. Dis load here is for a flock of people that are sick from a curable disease, not unlike dos people on de mining planets. I make dis stuff cheap for ‘em and dey pay up front all nice and pleasant like.” He shifted his feet a bit. “If dey don’t get dis shipment, den dey die and I’m out of a client, follow me?”

Mal nodded, “I understand.”

“Good,” he replied. “Cause if dis goes smoove den I can promise you more work. My list of people I can trust is getting smalla and smalla every gorram day. I need ya help. I need ya skill.”

“You got it,” Mal replied, the two men shaking hands. Then Mal took payment and said, “Zoe, Jayne, get these loaded onto the mule, please.”

“Wait,” Ellie broke in. Mal’s eyes widened.

“What is dis now den, love?” the man asked, as his men placed their hands on their guns with Mal, Jayne and Zoe following suit.

“Easy now. We don’t want any trouble,” Mal said trying to cool the situation.

Jayne stepped in front of Ellie but she stepped around him.

“With all due respect,” Ellie began, “there is something much more to this story. You mentioned the genetic markers. Why? What’s important about them?”

The man signaled for his men to relax and they did, again, followed by Mal, Jayne and Zoe.

“Yeah,” he replied. “Yeah de genetic markers. Here’s de problem. Dey’ve put stuff in de water on Greenleaf dat is used for irrigation of de plants used in de manufacture of drugs. Dese markers de put in de water seem to be transferring to dose dat take de drugs. So, if de Alliance suddenly decides to start checkin’ people’s blood, dey might find dese markers which would mean trouble for us all.”

“I’m sure it’ll all be fine,” Mal assured him. “Pleasure doing business with ya,” Mal said with his usual enchanted smile.

The crew got back to Serenity and took off on a course to Harvest. It was quite cold on Harvest, now in the middle of winter on a planet with the coldest star in the verse as its heat source.  Simon packed a medical bag for all he anticipated he might need for Mattie and Ellie was in her room, packing up all she’d collected while on Serenity. Jayne knocked at the door.

“Hey, Jayne! Come on in,” she smiled at him. “Feels good to be home.” She suddenly stopped, looked up at Jayne and laughed. “I haven’t even stepped off the ship yet and I’m already happy to be home.” She noticed a half smile appear and then just as quickly disappear.  She sat on the bed and patted next to her, inviting him to sit down. “What’s wrong, Jayne?”

“I gotta admit it. I’m gonna miss ya,” he said his eyes down at the floor.

Ellie grabbed his hand. All the camaraderie they’d experienced since she joined them from the Core and she was now almost wishing she could stay on. No, she wasn’t almost wishing she could stay on, she was wishing she could stay on. She felt those feelings coming back that she had felt when she was hunkered down with Jayne in his bunk that first day on Serenity. She began to focus on his movements again. Something she had a habit of doing whenever he was around. She loved to watch how is muscles moved when he moved, how his chest rose and relaxed with every breath. She started to tune into his scent again. Sweat, guns, steel. There was something about his scent that drove her to want to be a little crazy, a little careless, a little… bold. It was dangerous for her to be bold with him right now. She was a wanted woman and if they were caught helping her, they’d be in trouble for sure. She focused back on his words again.

“Anyway, like I was sayin’, it’s been real good to see you again. I’m glad we were able to bring ya home.”

“Me, too, Jayne,” she said. She scooted up next to him and wrapped her arms around his neck and he embraced her. They touched foreheads, then noses. She could feel the warmth of his breath on her lips and he grabbed her by the waist, pulling her up against his body. After a very brief pause, they kissed. It was so soft at first. She could feel his chest moving with his deepening breaths and she could feel his heart beat a bit faster. Her own breaths were getting deeper as well and she felt as if her heart stopped beating all together. They grabbed each other wholly, completely and tightly and began a second kiss. His lips were softer than one might expect and his facial hair tickled her skin around her own mouth.  As they continued and passion began to rise, she could feel his tongue reach for her lips and tongue and she took his kiss in completely.

“Okay, we’re about – Whoa!” Simon started and stopped as he had just walked in on them. Jayne and Ellie stopped and looked at him, Jayne releasing a frustrated grunt. “I’ll wait outside the ship for you.” Simon promptly left the two alone again, closing the door behind him.

“What is with the timing people have on this boat?” Jayne asked to no one and looked back at Ellie, smiling. “You don’t have to go anywhere, ya know. You can stay with us.”

“No, Jayne. I really can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Well,” she sighed. “First and foremost, I’m a huge threat to your safety and the safety of this crew.”

“Not the first time we’ve carried fugies, Ellie. I can protect you.” Jayne was running his fingers through Ellie’s hair and caressing her face, neck and shoulders.

“I know, Jayne, but you shouldn’t have to. If you have too many things to watch, something will get missed. I don’t want to be a burden to anyone and I certainly don’t want to be a distraction. It would kill me if you got hurt on account of me.” The two embraced and kissed again. She needed to stop, though she certainly didn’t want to. “I really have to get off now, Jayne.”

“Well, I was workin’ up to that point, girl,” Jayne joked. “Don’t wanna rush it too fast, do ya?”

Ellie laughed and responded with, “You know what I mean!”

“Yeah, I know. I need to get to Momma’s and check on Mattie, too. Let’s go.” They held each other tight, as if this was their very last moment together ever again. Jayne slowly left the room, looking over his shoulder at Ellie, watching her as she started packing again, but not before giving him a long stare with a big smile on her face.

Ma Cobb ran out of her house, screaming praises as she saw her beloved son for the first time in ages. He was donning the famous hat she had knitted for him a while back and it tickled her to see him using it. Then she saw Ellie and embraced her.

“Oh, Elena, honey it is SO good to see you!” she exclaimed.

“You too, Ma,” Ellie said. “But please, it’s just Ellie now.”

“Oh, Miss Ellie, all growed up!” Ma Cobb teased. But for a split second, her smile dissipated and she looked over Ellie’s shoulder and around briefly. Ellie rose an eyebrow and eyed Jayne, who had also noticed the brief, odd motion.

“Ma,” Jayne got her attention again. “This here’s Simon. He’s the doc that will take a look at Mattie. Why don’t you show him the way?”

“Oh, Doctor! Bless you, youngen, for stoppin’ in and checkin’ on poor Mattie.”

“It’s not a problem at all, ma’am. I’m glad to help,” Simon said as Ma Cobb showed him in.

Ellie walked up to Jayne and asked, “What was that all about?”

“I don’t know, Ellie, but something ain’t right. Something just ain’t sittin’ right at all.” Jayne looked around, eyeing the surrounding areas. It was very quiet, with a light snow falling, adding to the couple of inches already on the ground. Ellie and Jayne just listened for a moment. There was no sound. None. It was unnerving. No birds, no horses, no cows. Nothing.

Jayne finally broke the silence. “I don’t like this. Why don’t you get back on the ship, huh?”

“No, Jayne. I can’t.”

“Why?” he looked at her, his eyes begging. He was worried about whatever was happening.

“I’m not going to put y’all at risk, I’ve already said that.”  She kicked the snow at her feet and just stared at the ground. “I’m going to walk over to my folks’ place.”

“I’m coming with you,” Jayne informed her.

“No, stay here. See to Ma and Mattie. Check in on the other kids.”

Jayne shook his head. “I don’t like this, Ellie.”

“I’ll be fine. Go.”

They wrapped their arms around each other again before Ellie walked out of the Cobb farm and headed toward her adopted family’s home. They were next door neighbors but being farms, it was a bit of a walk. She could smell something in the air that made her heart race as she got closer. It was the smell of fire, of burned wood, and of… something else, though she couldn’t put her finger on it. It was a vaguely familiar smell but still… it was just… terrifying.

“Nooooo!” she screamed as she saw the ranch house from the bottom of the hill leading to her home. It looked like a pack of burnt matchsticks, still smoldering. She ran to the rubble and began to wail as she found the burnt remains of her adopted parents, as well as some children, current foster children no doubt. That was that vaguely familiar smell – death and dismemberment. She could remember it all too well now, from her escape from Miranda and what the Reavers had done to people there. It was the smell of spilled blood – she could smell the copper and iron lingering heavy in the air. Despite her crying, she heard a twig snap off to the side of the property and she stopped to listen. There was another twig snap and without further warning, Ellie’s survival instincts kicked in and she fled. She wanted to run back to Jayne, back to Serenity but she knew she couldn’t. She had to lose them here and now. The time for grieving would have to come later.

She ran into the woods, the very woods she had wanted to die in all those years ago, the very woods that Jayne spent a year teaching her how to hunt and survive. This was her home, not the bundle of burning wood timbers on the hill where her now dead family lie. This was her territory and she had the advantage. She hid behind a bank of snow and settled her breathing. She was quiet and still as she heard footsteps approach. She smelled the air but knew that scent from anywhere.

“Elena?” came Jayne’s voice.

“Jayne!” she shouted and stood up, revealing her location. She saw he was alone and they ran to one another. Jayne held her tight.

“I saw the house. I am so sorry. You can’t stay here, you have to come with us.”

“No. No, I can’t. Maybe I should just turn myself in and be done with it. I don’t want to see your body being the next one dead because of me!”

“That would be a wise decision,” came an unfamiliar voice from behind Jayne. Jayne and Ellie both faced the voice to find a small platoon of soldiers watching them, guns on them.

“What do you want with her? What’s she done?” Jayne played stupid.

“She’s wanted for murder in the Core. I have a warrant for her arrest,” the commander informed Jayne.

“Well,” came another voice from behind Ellie, along with the sound of cocking guns. “That’s just too bad, Marcus.” It was Mal, with Zoe and River on either side of him, all three of them heavily armed.

The commander, Marcus, laughed. “Well, well, well. If it isn’t Malcolm Reynolds.” The men with him laughed as well. “Been a long time, Malcolm. Last I remember seeing  you, you were hightailing it off Hera, leaving the rest of us to surrender to the Alliance. Thanks for sticking up for us, by the way. It was fun being a prisoner of war.”

“I called for the retreat.”

“Air command called for surrender. You’re a traitor.” Marcus’s smile left his face and a bit of old hatred showed. Little lines and creases in his skin deepened, veins bulged from his temples and his eyes grew dark.

“I’m the traitor?” Mal asked. “Are you are or are you not now working as a thug enforcer for the Alliance?”

“I’m doing what I have to do. They offered me a chance to escape execution by using my skills as a tracker for them.”

“Seems the Alliance is full of spies and trackers.”

“Too bad the last one on you didn’t do you in.”

Mal grew quiet. During this entire exchange, Mal had kept Marcus’s attention on him. Jayne and Ellie, slowly, slipped into the woods and went around the platoon, coming up behind them. Jayne, naturally, was well armed and had handed one of his guns over to Ellie.

“You’re not taking anyone today, Marcus.”

“I’ll shoot Zoe first. Or,” Marcus said pointing his gun at Zoe’s belly. “Or maybe the baby. Never imagined Zoe being pregnant anyway. Always knew the two of you were…” BANG! Marcus screamed and grabbed his face. The shot had come from behind them and the unit turned to return fire – but all they shot was air. In the meantime, Mal, Zoe, and River all opened fire as well as Jayne and Ellie from their secured positions in the rear, and the entire platoon was laid to waste.

The popping sound of guns stopped and the silence that once filled the air returned. There was an occasional scream from Marcus, now laid on the ground, pressing the wound on his face to stop the bleeding. Slowly, the Serenity crew encircled the scene, guns still pointed on Marcus. There was red stained snow inside the circle the crew formed. More snow was falling, but it turned red as soon as it landed on the blood of the men just killed. That metal smell of death loomed again. There were other scents Jayne and Ellie picked up on – someone had lost their bladder control in the fire fight. Disgusting how people die sometimes.

Mal approached Marcus and kneeled at his side. “You will not pursue us,” Mal said. “You murdered innocent people up on that hill today. Your next words will determine whether you live or die right now.”

Marcus sat up, keeping his hand on his face. “I have never forgotten how you abandoned us, Malcolm. I have never forgiven you for it either. I will not give up and you will rue…” BANG!

Zoe’s gun smoked from its discharge and Mal just watched as Marcus bled out from the now gaping wound in his chest. Well, this creep assassin goon squad was dead, but it wouldn’t be long before the next one would be hot on their trail. They stood for a moment, after Marcus died, listening, watching. A crow could be heard a few yards away, coming to investigate no doubt. River watched as the bird hopped closer to them down the branch, the fluttered to a tree closer, overhanging the scene.

Caw! it cried. The crow and River made eye contact and the crew watched the odd scene play out. It was as if River and the crow were talking, telepathically to one another.

“We must go now,” River demanded. “They are approaching the Cobb farm.”

“What?!?” Jayne exclaimed. “They ain’t messin’ with my mama!”

“They won’t,” River assured. “Not as long as we are not there.”

“Well,” Mal started as he stood up, “reckon we better get gone then.” He pulled out his radio and commanded, “Kaylee, fire it up. We got trouble.”

The group trotted back down the road at a steady pace and found Simon waiting for them. He told them that Ma Cobb was spooked by something so the farm hands were getting the horses out to ride around and cover their tracks with. Simon stated that he gave Mattie a dose of antibiotics that should clear up the pneumonia but that he would have to fake his illness so that the Alliance would not know they had arrived. But there was a catch and he would explain it back on the ship. Mal was very uneasy with that declaration but Simon was right, they had to leave. Jayne and Ellie gave Ma Cobb a quick hug good bye and she assured Jayne that she could handle herself. She pulled out their own stash of guns to arm herself and the hands with.

“Wait,” Jayne said reaching into his coat pockets. “Here. Here are some grenades for ya, Ma.”

“Oh that’s my good boy!” she beamed at him.

“Love you, Ma!” Jayne said as the crew ran back to Serenity.

“I love you too, my boy,” Ma whispered as she watched them disappear into the increasingly falling snow.

Once they broke atmo, Mal went to the infirmary where he found Simon restocking his med bag.

“Okay,” he started. “What little catch do you have to fess up to, Doc?”“Mattie was very sick. I’m not sure he would have lived through the night had I not done what I did.”

“Okay, what did you do?”

Simon shifted and looked at the ground, then back up at Mal. Clearly this was not going to be pleasant. “I had to use a small dose from the medicine we picked up on Dyton, but I’m fully prepared to pay or barter for it back since it’s already been bought.”

Mal thought for a moment. Clearly, using paid goods that they are supposed to be delivering wasn’t in their playbook; however, if these folks were sick and more or less left to die by the Alliance, then perhaps they would understand one small dose going to a sick boy. Hopefully, it wouldn’t mean the death of one small boy in their own community.

“Well,” Mal said. “I will let them know that, and offer them your terms of repayment and restitution. Technically that’s theft since you didn’t have their permission.” Simon nodded. “Let’s just hope that if the Alliance sees Mattie improve that they don’t test him.”

“I’m sorry?” Simon asked with a confused look on his face.

“Those meds have genetic markers that will tie it back to Greenleaf. If there is no paper trail for that dose, it will cause the Cobb’s a world of hurtin’.”

“Oh my God,” Simon uttered. “I had no idea.”

“Well, Doc, it wasn’t your meds. You didn’t need to know the details since you had not bought it.” Mal left the infirmary and walked through Serenity. He began to wonder if these exploits of saving the Verse would ever end. First the war against the Alliance – lost, miserably lost.  Then the off and on again fight for survival – sometimes lost, sometimes won, if you’d call it that. Then the Tams and Miranda – a small win, but not enough of one, obviously. Now this, whatever this was.

Inara walked up behind Mal and wrapped her arms around his chest. “Zoe told me what happened. Are you okay?”

Mal turned to her and embraced her. “Yeah, we survived it. Is anyone following us?”

“No, River isn’t seeing anything on radar or in her head to indicate anyone is onto us.”

“I’m tired,” Mal said, desperation creeping into his voice.

“Well, come on then. Let’s go to bed. I’ll wash your feet.”

Mal smiled and looked deep in Inara’s eyes. “I love you, Inara,” he said.

She smiled and returned, “I love you, too, Malcolm Reynolds.” With that, they kissed and walked off to the captain’s bunk.

In the meantime, back in Ellie’s room, her and Jayne sat on her floor. She had collapsed as grief overtook her. She was crying and Jayne was holding her, rocking her and trying to comfort her. It was useless. Memories of Miranda flooded her brain as she saw the images of the burnt farm and family flashed. It was too much.

“I can’t do this anymore!” she cried. “I want it over, I just can’t do this!”

“Shhhh…” Jayne said. “Yes, I’m here for you and we can do anything together. I know it. We can beat this.” Jayne’s ever optimistic view of his own survival in tough situations had gotten him through a lot. However, this time he was doubtful. He’d never tell her this but Ellie was right about creating a weak spot. He was hiding his feelings, not something he was prone to do, from everyone. He felt better letting everything out on the table but he kept hiding things from the others, and even himself, because of Ellie. It wasn’t her fault, he just didn’t want to admit any weakness and that fact, along with the fact that he was hiding it, bothered him. Sooner or later, it would catch up to him at the worst possible moment and it would have the potential to reign terror down on him and his crewmates, his own ‘adopted’ family if you will.

Everyone retired for the rest of the night cycle aboard Serenity. They were heading to Aberdeen to offload the medicine for delivery and after that, no one knew.  It would depend all on the Alliance and their next move.

Chapter 4 – A Peaceful River Has Died

Fiona walked through the store with her friends, picking out jewelry for her upcoming birthday bash.  She was looking forward to this to impress a certain someone she was eyeing at university. She was following in her adopted father’s footsteps and becoming a doctor, but she also daydreamed of being a doctor’s wife and having all the luxury that came with it. Her and her crew had no problems drawing attention to themselves, laughing boisterously and trying on every bangle and necklace in their path. Fiona was the most noticeable out of the group, but not because of being loud, but rather her presence was just immense. Tall, fair skinned, big blue eyes and long, jet black curls fell over her shoulders like a waterfall. She walked tall and proud and carried herself well. Only those looking closely would ever notice that four times a day, she would give herself an injection. It was from a prescribed pen, so one might think it was just something like insulin. They never really knew the truth of it, and to be completely honest, Fiona didn’t either.

As they walked through the formal dresses, one caught Fiona’s eye. She was instantly drawn to it and without a word to her girls, she walked to it. She just stared at it for a moment, not noticing the words of her friends floating in the air behind her, trying to regain her attention. She stepped forward and reached out for the dress… a white dress, adorned with purple dots… She had no idea why she was so focused on it.  She felt the material and slid her fingertips down the bodice and skirt. Then something from the television drew her mind away from the dress.  Something about Miranda – whoever that was.

She felt a hand on her shoulder…

Without warning she turned to the person touching her and jumped on them with a snarling growl! She began ripping skin off with her fingernails and screaming wildly as her victim passed out from psychological shock. She looked at another friend, jumped her and continued her vicious and blood thirsty attack. When she looked up again, that white dress, the one with the purple dots, was splattered with crimson.  She let out a wail that pierced the television and it exploded in a fury of sparks and fire!

After one deep breath, she screamed, “ELENAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Fiona reached from her bed and smacked her alarm clock. What in the ‘verse was that?!? She thought to herself. As much as she wanted to sleep in, she wanted to go see her dad and ask him. Whenever she wasn’t feeling right or had a nightmare, he always had a way to calm her down and get her thinking straight again. She slipped out of her bed and threw on some clothes. Without paying as much attention to her appearance as she normally would, she left the dorm in a hurry to go home, hopping in the first cab she could hail down. She pulled a screen out from her watch and announced, “Call Dad.”

She waited impatiently as there was no answer.  When it wouldn’t connect, she announced, “Call Dad’s work.”

“Dr. Jiang’s office,” answered a woman’s voice.

“Rebecca, it’s Fiona. Is my dad there?”

“No,” Rebecca responded, suddenly anxious. “He’s not been in and he’s not answering his calls. We cannot reach him. I was thinking of calling the police to go check on him.”

Fiona thought for a moment, “No. No, don’t do that. I’m on my way over there now.”

“Oh, are you okay?”

Fiona sighed and massaged her temple with her free hand. “I… I don’t know. I just need my daddy. Thanks, Rebecca. I will call you when I see Dad.”

“Okay, Fiona. Thank you.”

She closed the screen back into her watch and began massaging both her temples. She had a building headache that going to migraine status very quickly. The cab dropped her off in front of a large estate building that was surrounded by well manicured gardens and accompanying fountains. She put her thumb to the lock and the door opened for her.

“Daddy!” she called out as she walked in. “Dad, where are you?” Fiona began to search the house, room by room. She grew more and more panicked every time she left an empty room.  Finally, on the second floor, something out the window in the back courtyard caught her attention. “NO!” she screamed, running back downstairs and out the back door.

She found the great Dr. On Jiang, her dad, laying on the ground in a pool of blood. All sense left her body and she trembled as she approached him, futilely checking for breathing and a pulse. She pulled open the screen on her watch and tearfully commanded “Call Emergency!”

Once they answered, she relayed the situation to them, but because of being overcome with emotion, her sentences were broken and the communications agent frequently had to ask her to repeat herself. This was maddening! All she needed was an ambulance to get her beloved daddy to the hospital so they could save him. She knew deep down that wasn’t possible. It was clear he was dead and had been for a while.

Time slowed to a crawl. She sat on the ground, holding her dead father in her arms, wailing and screaming in agony. Her head felt as if it would explode. The sun was bright, the colors and scents from the garden were overwhelming her normally dulled senses. She had forgotten to dose herself before coming over, as she had left her dorm so suddenly. She was missing the fact that she needed to be dulled again. She was so swallowed up by grief that police had a difficult time prying her from On’s dead body. Before long, she was in the kitchen, slumped on the table weeping uncontrollably. Her best friend, Aggie had been called and was now sitting at her side, cups of tea on the table going untouched.

“Ma’am,” the police officer stated trying to regain Fiona’s attention. “Ma’am, we have to know what you know.”

“I’ve told you already!” Fiona shouted through tears.

“Yeah,” Aggie started at the cop as she was rubbing Fiona’s back trying to comfort her. “She said she found him there, already…” she hesitated. “Well, you know. Why are you torturing her like this?”

“Why were you coming over?” the cop sighed, going nowhere.

“ What? Can’t a girl come see her daddy?” Aggie snarled back at the cop.

“Of course, but usually they don’t do it on a day they have classes,” she replied to Aggie. “Miss Jiang, I need to know what happened.”

Fiona sat up and wiped her tear-stained face. “I had a nightmare. I wanted to see Dad because he always helps me with my nightmares.” Aggie continued to rub Fiona’s back and nodded, a way of silently saying it wasn’t necessary unusual for Fiona to rush over to see him for help. “I’m sorry, I think I forgot to take my medicine this morning and I’m not right. I need to go back to my dorm room and take it. Can I go?”

The questioning officer looked past the girls at what must be her supervisor and he nodded. There was no reason to detain them as they were not suspects. The cop and her supervisor watched the girls leave in Aggie’s car.

“Keep an eye on them,” the supervisor, Reed, said.

“Think something isn’t right, sir?” Dawn asked.

“I don’t know. Can’t put a finger on it. I don’t think she’s involved but my stomach gets really sick when I get near her.”

Dawn nodded. “We’ll watch her carefully, sir.”  Dawn looked out into the courtyard and looked at the blood stain where On had died. “It’s a real shame. He was a great man. And that girl is supposed to be having this big party to celebrate her birthday and impending university graduation. I wonder if she will still go through with it.”

“Hell if I know. There is no gorram way I would,” Reed replied. “But then again we aren’t part of this crowd of elites, are we?”

“No, sir.”

“Nope. Not at all.” Reed was lost in his own thoughts for a moment. Then he said, “Find out where she came from. Everyone knows she was adopted but find out her history.”

“Yes, sir.” Dawn walked out of the house to head back to the station to begin her tasks of getting a tail on Fiona as well as digging into her past.

****

By the time Aggie and Fiona were back at the dorms on campus, Fiona was making all sorts of strange sounds. She sounded like an animal and it really freaked Aggie out.  She watched as Fiona was pulling at her own hair and rubbing her temples and arms, alternatively, so hard that she was leaving marks on herself.

“A…are you okay, Fiona?” she asked, helping her out of the car.

“Head hurts. Head. Just hurts. Real… bad…” Fiona stammered. Once the girls got into Fiona’s dorm room, she helped her with her injection.

“Aren’t you supposed to have had two by now?” Aggie asked.

“Just leave me… alone…” Fiona said through gritted teach, trying desperately to keep from losing her grip on reality.

Aggie hesitated as she didn’t want to abandon her friend after such a traumatic morning. “I’ll just sit over here, okay?”

Fiona looked up and eyed her wildly. “NO! Gorram it, you bitch! I said LEEEAAAVVE!!!”

Aggie was more than taken aback. She stood motionless for a moment, unable to process this sudden change in Fiona. Fiona was always well mannered and this was not like her at all. She stood still, mouth agape and eyes wide and tearing up. Suddenly, without warning, Fiona jumped at her, snarling at her.

“Leave! Go now!” Fiona screamed. Aggie screamed and ran from the room, leaving Fiona alone.  Fiona curled up in her bed and began to cry. The medicine was now pulsing through her veins, numbing her all over. She began shivering as a chill crept over her and she pulled her blanket over her body and up to her face. She covered her face with her hands and just sobbed. What was wrong with her? Why was she feeling such rage? Was it her father’s death? Was it the nightmare? Oh, she had forgotten the nightmare until just now. What was that terrifying dream about and why was it happening now? Why was her father dead and who killed him? Who would kill such a peaceful man?

As the medicine began to work its magic on her, calming her, she saw a vision. She felt as if she was transported to a land far away. Some place ancient. Like an ancient painting of Earth-That-Was.  She found herself walking through a meadow on the edge of a forest. There was a large, slowly moving river running through the scene.  Fiona approached the river and knelt next to it. She saw the water was clean and clear – so amazingly clear. It was peaceful and serene. She watched as fish swam by her. The sun warmed her back as she was leaning over the edge of the river.  The light from the sun bounced off the moving water and created a sort of dance of twinkles. The water was so soothing and inviting. She wanted to walk into the cool, crisp water and bask in the serenity of it all. But she awoke from her vision.  She sat up in her bed. She was calm, and sane.  She walked over to an easel in the corner, attached a canvas and began to paint the scene of that very peaceful river.

****

Dawn had already ordered a warrant to get surveillance on Fiona. She was now sitting at her desk, trying her best to find out where Dr. Jiang had gotten Fiona from.  All known orphanages had no record of her at all. They didn’t even know what her last name was to help aid in their search. She was known only by her current legal name – Fiona Jiang.

“Any luck,” Reed asked walking up to her desk.

“No, sir. None. I don’t have her birth surname, no registered orphanages in the entire star system have any record of an adoption to Dr. Jiang. Something just isn’t adding up at all.”

Reed nodded. “Yes, something isn’t right here.  Look at this B.O.L.O that was just handed to me.” He handed her the very same announcement that had been shown to Mal with Ellie on it.

“Wow!” Dawn exclaimed. “She looks like she could be related to Fiona!”

“Yes, that’s exactly what I was thinking. Elena Mae is her name. So try looking for a Fiona Mae and see what you can dig up. Something is really not adding up here. I don’t know if this Elena chick is responsible for the Doc’s death and if we need to be protecting Fiona from her or if there is something else going on.”  Reed pulled a chair up to Dawn’s desk and sat as she began typing away on the new search suggestion.

“So,” Dawn said waiting for a database search to complete. “You got a date tonight with your favorite hooker?”

“Be nice,” Reed replied cutting his eyes at her. “Besides, she retired.”

“Retired?  How old is this strumpet of yours, sir?”

“Stop ‘sir’ing me all the time.”

“Well, you are the one that said I needed to behave on the job as if it was all about the job, sir,” she said sarcastically. “You are the one that doesn’t want anyone else knowing about us.”

“It’s complicated, you know that. With Mary…”

“She is your EX-wife,” Dawn said in a harsh whisper. “There is nothing complicated about her leaving you. You are divorced. Move on already.” Dawn stared at Reed for a moment and then shook her head. “Nevermind.”

“No,” he said as he grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze. “You’re right. The fact that my ex-wife is police commissioner should have zero bearing on how I behave at work with you. Plenty of people on the force are dating or are married so I should not hide it as well.”

Before another word could be said, Dawn’s computer chirped indicating a hit on the name “Fiona Mae”.

“Wow!” Dawn said.

“What is it?” Reed asked.

“She was born on Osiris in 2496. Her birth certificate says her parents were Rickert and Joon Mae. It also lists Elena Mae as her older sister.”

Reed was listening intently. “Osiris, huh? Nothing else?”

“No, it’s just her birth certificate and nothing else. No school records, not medical records, nothing.”

“Hmmmm…” Reed was lost in thought for a moment. “What’s her first record here with Dr. Jiang?”

Dawn pulled up some printouts she already had and skimmed over them. “She first shows up here with Dr. Jiang just before her eleventh birthday in 2507. That’s when he also started his private practice.”

“His way of making sure he was home when she was. He seems like a real good sort of guy to raise an orphan. I wish I knew how he found her and I really want to find out what happened to her birth parents and I want to find out even more why the Alliance has her big sister on their most wanted list.”

“Well,” Dawn broke in with her own thoughts. “If Fiona was adopted, chances are Elena was too. She’s only two years older so they were both pretty young when Fiona showed up here with Dr. Jiang. Maybe I can find out where she ended up and we’ll take it from there.”

Reed nodded. “Okay, great. Please let me know what you find out, okay?”

“Will do.”

****

Fiona was heading over to Aggie’s dorm. She felt awful about how she treated her when Aggie had come to her aid. She let her previous actions swim through her head. She was now cleaned up a bit, looking more like herself. She was walking down the hall to Aggie’s dorm room when Aggie called out to her from the common room.

“Aggie,” Fiona said, looking at her own feet. “I’m so sorry about earlier.”

“No,” Aggie said embracing Fiona. “Sweetie, you have nothing to be sorry for. I understand. This day has spun more than once for you today.” Fiona wrapped her arms around Aggie and began to cry again. “Come on,” Aggie said as they began to walk to her room. “Let’s go talk about it all, okay?” Fiona nodded and the two walked down the hall with their arms wrapped around each other.

Aggie was like a big sister to Fiona. It felt weird sometimes. Like, she had a memory of a sister from before meeting Aggie, but it was vague and she couldn’t see this estranged sister’s face in her memory, it was all a blur. She couldn’t really remember much prior to her life as a Jiang. It never really bothered her, either. She figured if she couldn’t remember it, it must not have been very wonderful so she didn’t waste much time on it. She had a wonderful life with Dr. Jiang as her dad and she desired for nothing else outside of her current path, continuing in his footsteps. They walked into Aggie’s room and sat on her bed, still holding each other tightly.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me, Aggie!” she cried out.

Aggie began rocking her back and forth to sooth her. “You’re father was killed, Fiona. This is not an easy day for you, it wouldn’t be for anyone!”

“There’s more. There’s so much more and I need my daddy to help me!” Fiona just sobbed in Aggie’s arms.

“I know I’m not him, but I’m here. Just talk to me.”

Fiona composed herself. “It’s hard to explain and I don’t even understand it all myself.”

Aggie shrugged. “Tell me anyway. Maybe we can figure it out together.”

“Well, everyone knows I was adopted around the age of ten. I don’t know anything before that, it’s all too fuzzy in my head. I take those injections four times a day. They help keep me calm. When I don’t take them, I can become… well… like I was to you.”

Aggie was listening and had not let go of Fiona, still rocking her back and forth for comfort for the both of them. “Go on.”

“Well, last night, I had this night terror of a dream. We were shopping for the party and I went crazy. I was killing…” she stopped and broke her grip from Aggie, sitting up straight. The look in Fiona’s eyes scared Aggie.

“What?” Aggie asked. “What were you killing?”  No response. “Um, or who were you killing?”

Fiona’s big, blue eyes were so full of tears. “I was killing you!” she sobbed burying her face in her hands.

Unsure of how to take this rather disturbing piece of information, Aggie scooted back close to Fiona and started rubbing her back.

“It was just a dream,” Aggie said. “It wasn’t real.”

“I’m just so scared, Aggie. I want my daddy!” Fiona’s watched chirped. She wiped her eyes and opened the screen.

“Miss Jiang,” it was Reed.

“Yes, sir?”

“I’m Detective Reed Donovan.  I was wondering if we could meet, either her or at your place if you are more comfortable. I have some new information.”

She looked at Aggie and back at her watch. “I’ll come to you now.”

“Thank you, Miss Jiang.”

“Thank you, Detective.” She hopped off the bed. “I gotta get to the police station.”

“I’ll take you,” Aggie said.

“You don’t mind?”

“Of course not! I’ll contact my professors later explaining why I’m taking today, and the rest of this week off to help you!”

“Thank you!”

The girls rushed to the police station and asked for Reed. He and Dawn ushered them into an interrogation room, but only because it was quiet and they could talk.

“You remember Detective Dawn Chin from this morning?”

“Yes,” Fiona said as they all sat at the table.

“I’m going to show you what we have. Please tell us if anything comes to mind that can help us find who killed Dr. Jiang, okay?”

Fiona nodded.

“Here,” Dawn said, handing the B.O.L.O. of Elena to Fiona, “is someone you might remember.”

Fiona studied the bulletin and shook her head. “I don’t think so, who is she?”

“Her name is Elena Mae,” Reed replied. Fiona looked at her, clearly nothing clicking.

“Wow,” Aggie broke in.

“What?” Reed asked.

“Well,” Aggie began, taking the bulletin from Fiona, “she kind of looks like you, Fiona. I mean she’s got lighter hair and green eyes but the similarities are kind of creepy. Who is she, Detective?”

“We think she’s your sister, Fiona.” Reed waited for a reply.

Fiona shrugged, “I don’t know. I don’t really remember anything from my past. I’ve had no desire to find out either.” She suddenly made a face at Reed. “What has this got to do with my father’s murder?”

“Well, as you can see she’s really wanted by the Alliance. They are trying to say she’s connected with Mr. Universe and helped concoct the story about that planet, Miranda.”

Fiona’s brow furrowed.

Dawn asked, “Does that strike anything in your memory?”

“I’m not sure,” Fiona replied. “Maybe.” She struggled hard to remember but really couldn’t pull anything up. “I don’t know. Do you think she had something to do with my father’s murder? Why would she do that?”

“We don’t know anything at this point,” Reed replied. “We just noticed the uncanny look alike. We couldn’t find anything out about your past until we tried that last name, Mae. We found your birth certificate which listed your parents as well as Elena here as being your sister.”

“Wow,” Aggie said, deep in thought.

“Here,” Dawn said handing a printout of the birth certificate to Fiona. “This is what we found. We had hoped it would trigger some memory or something. We don’t suspect her of anything yet but we are getting a material witness warrant to bring your sister in. There are reports actually of her having been seen right here on Londonium.”

“Really,” Fiona said more than asked.

“Are you okay, Miss?” Reed asked, beginning to be perplexed at the blank stare Fiona was giving them, or rather past them, like she was staring at something on the wall behind them.

“Yes,” she replied, shaking her head as if coming out of a daydream. “I don’t recall anything but if I do, I’ll will definitely call you.”

“May we go now?” Aggie asked. “It’s been a long day.”

“Of course,” Reed replied. “Thank you, ladies, for coming down so quickly.”

Fiona was spaced out for sure. Elena. She recognized the name as being the one she screamed out in her nightmare. She was spooked and didn’t know what to think, say or do. She was so grateful Aggie was there to help her out.  She was exhausted and didn’t want to think on anything anymore. It was time for her to dose herself again and she wanted to just lay down and forget the world for the rest of the day.

Her and Aggie got back to her dorm room and she gave herself another shot.

“Oh wow!” Aggie exclaimed as she saw the painting of the river. “This is amazing! When did  you do this?”

“Today,” Fiona said, the exhaustion apparent in her voice. She collapsed on her bed and faced Aggie and the painting. “I think it’s my dad. I think he brought me to that place in my mind earlier today, in a vision. So when I came out of it, I painted  it.”

“That is amazing!”

“Yeah, he was amazing. Such a peaceful and serene man.”

“What makes you think it was him?”

“His name means Peace River.”

“Wow,” Aggie smiled sitting next to Fiona on her bed. “You want me to hang around until you’re asleep?”

“Yes, please.”

“Sure thing.”

“You know,” Fiona started, “I may have a biological older sister, but you are my real sister for all intents and purposes.”

Aggie smiled and rubbed her back.

“See? Like this back rubbing thing you do. It instantly calms me. I feel so loved.”

“You are loved, Fiona. I love you as a sister, too.”

The two stayed in that spot, with Aggie rubbing Fiona’s back, both of them staring at the painting Peace River until Fiona finally went to sleep.

Chapter 3 – Twelve Years Later…

“The Alliance is still stating that the broadcast sent out last week regarding a dead planet called Miranda is a doctored, false video transmission that was sent out by recluse and cyber terrorist known as Mr. Universe…” the clatter of the news being broadcast on every street corner filled Ellie’s ears and it made her queasy. She knew something that she wasn’t supposed to and didn’t know how to handle the situation she felt was coming at her. She felt dizzy and the world began to spin wildly. As she bolted for the first trash can she could see, she collided with someone and couldn’t hold back. They both came crashing to the ground and, in no time, were covered in Ellie’s up-chucked dinner.

“Oh! Watch it!” came a gruff voice. “Oh, man,” he grumbled. Despite his tone, he knelt and grabbed Ellie by the arm. “Are you okay?” he asked, pulling her from the ground.

Ellie nodded, keeping her head down. Attracting attention was something she did not want to do right now. She needed a safe place to hide out and wanted gather her thoughts, come up with a plan.

“Gorram, girl! I mean really! If you are goin’ ta get wasted so bad you puke, do it somewhere other than the sidewalk, aw-right?” He watched as she seemed to hide her face, but he did think something was familiar about her. “Here,” he said trying to wipe her clean with his elbow.

“No,” Ellie stated trying to pull away.

“Hey! I know you,” the tall man exclaimed.

Great, she thought. I’m toast.

“Elena?”

She looked up at the man and struggled to recall his vaguely familiar face.

“It’s me! Jayne!”

Ellie slowly looked up at the tall figure before her.

“Oh, girl! C’mon, now. You gotta remember me,” Jayne pleaded.

“Yes, Jayne. I remember you. How in the ‘verse could anyone forget you.” Unsure if he was given a compliment or not Jayne helped Ellie wipe herself as clean as possible. “Please, Jayne, don’t call me that. I prefer Ellie, or anything different at all actually.”

“You in trouble?” Jayne asked quietly, looking around for ‘trouble’ such as the Alliance or a rouge gang.

“I don’t know, but I think I’m fixin’ to be. It’s this whole Miranda thing.”

Ellie didn’t know Jayne’s roll in it, but since rumors were being perpetuated by the Alliance that it was a terror attempt at fearmongering, he wasn’t going to say anything about his part in it on the streets, especially not here on Hades, a moon in the White Sun system – The Core – the home of the Alliance.

“Jayne,” she said trying to stay quiet. “I need your help. I never thought I’d see you and here you are when I need to be underground.”

Jayne looked at her for a moment, remembering those green eyes. Ellie reciprocated the stare. She had forgotten how piercing his blue eyes could be. He saw the mess she was now and, though she was not a child anymore, she wasn’t much different than he remembered when he first met her. A scrawny brat with a few mental issues. He remembered how once in the woods, she would become more sane. She was at home in nature and here she was now, unable to keep her food down in a city on a Core planet.

“I can’t make promises, but I might can get you home again.” She nodded and the two hurried down to the docks. Ellie was stinking up their path, leaving a trail that no one would care to follow for the stink of vomit. In fact, people were getting out of their way. People were hollering at them that drunks didn’t belong and they needed to leave. Jayne would mutter under his breath that they were trying to leave. Ellie just kept her face down and pretended that she was drunk. She figured it was a better excuse for her being covered in vomit than the truth.

They turned toward the docking bay of a ship and approached. There was an equally imposing figure at the entrance to the dock wearing a long brown coat and two women on either side of him – one of them a short redhead with a friendly face and the other a pregnant woman that was staring her and Jayne down.

“Um, Jayne. I do hope you are not bringing a drunken whore on my ship,” the man in the jacket protested.

“Cap’n,” Jayne started, motioning for Ellie to stay put. “Cap’n, she ain’t drunk. She says she’s in trouble. I wanna help.” The trio Jayne was talking to stood, flabbergasted.

“Wait, what?” the pregnant woman asked. “You want to… help someone?”

“Oh wow!” the redhead giggled. “Now, see? There is a little good in everyone I think.”

“Everyone but the Alliance,” the man in the jacket retorted. “Jayne, we are just barely getting clear of the Miranda mess and you want more trouble on my boat?”

“She ain’t trouble, Mal. C’mon, man. She’s an old friend from back home. She just wants to go home.”

“I think I might actually tear up o’r this one, ladies,” the captain ribbed.

Getting tired of the scene, and nervous that it would draw unwanted attention since they dared utter the word “Miranda”. Ellie approached them.

“Captain,” she said looking Mal dead in his eyes. “I don’t mean any trouble for anyone, as my presence might risk that. I’ll be on my way.” She turned to Jayne and nodded, “Thank you, Jayne, for trying.”

“No!” Jayne grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back. “This ain’t right, Mal. I did stick with you and your suicide mission because I trust you. I had hoped I’d earned trust back. Why is your cause more worthy than mine, huh?”

“Cap’n,” the redhead stated, now with a tender look in her eyes. “Cap’n, she needs help. We’re headin’ to the Red Sun system. Harvest ain’t too far out of the way.” The captain was clearly unnerved and rolled his eyes.

“You got money to pay, stranger?” the pregnant woman asked. Then she glanced at Jayne smugly asking, “Or are you going to pay her passage from your cut, Jayne.”

“Sure,” he replied. The others went big-eyed and slack-jawed.

“No,” Ellie shook her head. “I don’t want to take from anyone. I have a little money on me but I can cook, clean, help with mechanic issues. If there are stops along the way I can earn my keep in whatever it is you do.”

A tall shadow befell the group from inside the ship’s cargo bay. A thin figure was silhouetted in the light. “She’s coming with us,” replied this young but monotone voice.

“Wait one minute, little albatross! This here is still my ship. We are just recovering from…” he began to stammer, “…from… well, you know! And now more trouble.”

The young figure inside the ship replied cooly with, “Trouble isn’t over yet, Captain. She will be needed. She is one of two clues to finish off this business with Miranda. A peaceful river has died and peace with it. We will need her in the end.”

Ellie was chilled to the bone with these icy words. What did she mean by “one of two clues” and finishing business with Miranda? What did these people know? What was it she being cryptic about a river and peace dying?

“I don’t want her having anything to do with that ugliness,” Jayne declared. “I just want her home is all.”
The girl giggled. “Jayne, you, on rare occasion, betray your primal façade and show the real you.” She looked back at the captain. “Captain, we must leave. Now.” She pointed to the entrance to the docks and they saw Alliance cops charging through security.

The captain sighed and motioned for everyone to come aboard.

“Okay, River. Get us off the ground.” He turned to Jayne and commanded, “Get her cleaned up. Since she has offered herself as a maid and cook, I want her to work now. I’m hungry.”

The pregnant woman smirked and shook her head, walking towards the cockpit with the captain and the girl they called River.

The redhead approached, with a huge smile on her face. “Hi,” she said with a bit of a curtsy. “I’m Kaylee. I’m sure I have some clean clothes that will fit you. Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Ellie replied. “I just got a little sick.”

“There’s a doctor on board if you need to see him.”

“Kaylee,” Jayne started. “I can help her just fine. She don’t need no fancy Core doc to get her feelin’ right.”

Kaylee rolled her eyes. “Why you gotta do that all the time, Jayne! You knock Simon down every chance you get!”

“It ain’t that,” Ellie replied. “I just don’t like doctors. Them and scientists kind of ruined me and… well… my whole family. I just don’t trust them. It’s nothin’ personal. Thank you for the clothes. It’ll be much appreciated.” The three walked to the bunks were Kaylee descended in her bunk to retrieve some clothes and Jayne showed her where to clean up.

Within an hour, the ship was already deep in space and Ellie was cleaned up and cooking dinner with the fresh food just brought on board at Hades. Just leaving the Core system made her feel immensely better. She was starting to get hungry again and that was a good sign. Before long, the crew was seated around the table and Ellie was serving them a delicious meal. Ellie saw the captain, Kaylee, River, Jayne, the pregnant woman, a well dressed man and a rather stunning woman all around the table. There was an empty seat next to the pregnant woman but she didn’t feel right just sitting without being invited.

“Wow!” the captain exclaimed. “I think you just earned your passage based on this one meal alone!”

Jayne beamed at her and nodded.

“Thank you,” she said quietly.

“I’m sorry,” Mal said in between bites. “I’m Malcolm Reynolds and this is my ship, Serenity. I know you have met Kaylee…”

Kaylee waved, “Hi!”

“…this is Zoe, she’s my first mate.” Zoe nodded.

“You obviously by some unfortunate turn of events already know Jayne…”

“Hey!” Jayne protested.

“This is River, my co-captain. I know she looks young but, well, she’s just… River.”

River sheepishly smiled at the captain’s lack of vocabulary and went back to eating.

Mal then turned to the beauty seated next to him, “This is Inara,” he said as he took her hand and lightly kissed it.

“This here,” smacking the well dressed man on the shoulder, “this here is our on board doctor, Simon. He’s also River’s brother.”

“Hi,” Simon nodded. “This is amazing. Where did you learn to cook? It reminds me of a place on Osiris.”

Ellie nodded. “Figures. My parents were from there.” She stood and began her own introduction. “I’m Ellie. Jayne knows me by my full first name ‘Elena’ though I really would rather not use it right now.”

“You gonna eat with us?” Jayne asked. Ellie just shook her head. As a servent, one does not eat with her employers. A vague and random memory from her previous life, when things were new and shiny.

“She isn’t her yet,” River said, sipping on the soup.

“What do you mean, River?” Simon asked.

“I think I know,” Zoe replied. She got up and ushered Ellie to the seat next to her. “You are not a servant. Please, sit down and eat with us.” Everyone in the room grew silent, sad even. Ellie sensed that it wasn’t her seat, really. That it belonged to someone else.

“He’s not physically here with us anymore,” River stated, with a twinge of emotion in her voice.

“She’s right,” Zoe said, smiling softly, but with her eyes watering. “And I know my husband would never want a person to be not invited to join us just because of our memory of him.”

Ellie was suddenly consumed by the tension in the air. It was hard to sort through the emotions darting around the now quiet room. There was anger, fear, frustration and an overwhelming sense of sadness and depression. But there was a lingering light of hope as well. These were good folk.

“Thank you,” Ellie said.

“What’s going on?” Zoe asked as they sat and the others piled food on a plate to hand to Ellie. “Jayne said you were some sort of trouble?”

“Yes, but I think plausible deniability would be safer for y’all.”

“Aw, Elena…” Jayne started until he saw the look in her eyes. “Sorry –Ellie – I just think that it can’t possibly be any worse than what we just went through.”

“I heard you mention Miranda. What have y’all got to do with Miranda?”

“She’s synonymous with Miranda – one in the same, her and the dark one,” River began in her apparently usual cryptic language. Then River looked directly at her, her big brown eyes seeming to burn a hole straight into her very soul. “You are you, but not yet. You are also a thing of Miranda.” River’s eyes teared up. “You fought the lying down.”

“Okay,” Ellie stated hands up in the air. “Enough, really. River, right? That’s enough. I’m done.” Ellie stood to leave, everyone staring at awe as River clearly was on to something.

“No,” River stood and protested. She shook her head. “You can tell us. I can’t see it clearly. What happened to you?”

Jayne was also on his feet. “I’m sorry, hun,” she said to Ellie. “River is psychic. She freaks me out, too.” Everyone sat back down. “You don’t have to say anything you don’t want to.”

“I beg to differ,” Mal finally said.

“Mal,” Inara interrupted. “Don’t push.”

“It’s okay,” Ellie conceded shaking her head.

Simon who was eyeing Ellie and River back and forth, trying to figure out River’s talk, finally asked, “Ellie, were you on Miranda?”

She nodded. “Yes. How do any of you know about it?”

“We were there,” Zoe said.

She shook her head. “No, you couldn’t have been. People died there. It’s dangerous!”

“Ain’t so dangerous now. Just sad,” Kaylee added. “Well the Reavers are what’s dangerous, but they ain’t on Miranda.”

“Reavers,” Ellie whispered with a sigh. “I’m sorry, I can’t do this right now.” Ellie shot up, took her dishes and plopped them in the sink. “I promise to complete my kitchen duties and clean up after y’all are done. I need to be alone.”

She left and disappeared among the crates in the cargo bay.

All eyes turned to Jayne.

“What do you know about this woman, Jayne?” Mal asked.

He shook his head, clearly confused about what just went down. “She was a girl, I think about twelve when I met her. I had come home for a while after a particularly successful job, just before the war. Mom needed the money because she was taking in more foster kids from the Core. That’s what Mom does, her and the woman that lives next to us. My dad and our neighbor worked welding jobs and kept up the farms while the wives help raise unwanted kids from the Core.”

This little bit of insight into Jayne’s past was more than anyone, even River, knew about him. This would explain why he sends a fairly large chuck of his share of jobs back home.

Jayne continued, “One day this scrawny rat of a girl is dropped at the neighbor’s house. She was a little nutty – not too far off from River’s condition when her and the Doc first boarded.” He shook his head. “She was heavily medicated. She popped more pills than an opiate addict. It was real sad to see her. She apparently had a hard time staying awake so she was on uppers but they would make her real bad crazy… what they’d call it…”

“Manic,” Simon interrupted.

“Yeah, that’s it. She was miserable. So one day, I’m out in the woods huntin’ rabbit for dinner and there she was. Just standin’ there, starin’ at me, like, as if she was pleadin’ for help. So I took her on the hunt with me. Every day after that, we’d go out and forage and hunt. I taught her how to move around without spookin’ the animals. We found plants that helped her so she could come off those stupid medications. For a whole year, Elena – er, Ellie and I spent every day together. She wanted to know it all.”

“So what happened after a year?” Inara asked.

Jayne shrugged. “The war had started and it hit home hard. Harvest was a real disaster money-wise. So, I left to find more jobs. Someone had to help support all them younguns.”

No one said anything for the rest of dinner. Was it because they were taking in Jayne’s side of Ellie’s story, or because Jayne was actually not just a hired gun, a mercenary? He was human. This was one of those rare moments when he showed his hand and bared his soul. It was these rare moments when Jayne unknowingly endeared himself to his crewmates and captain. This is one of the reasons that they kept Jayne on, not just as crew, but as family.

The crew slowly ate their dinner, but each one washed their own plates quietly, instead of leaving them for Ellie to do. Kaylee and Inara put away what was left and cleaned the cookware. No one was compelled to treat Ellie as a servant and they could tell that there was far more to Ellie than what Jayne knew. Heck, even River couldn’t pinpoint it. And that was frightening for them.

As everyone quietly went about their business, Zoe made her way to the cargo bay to check on the cargo, and on Ellie.

“I’m sorry for the trouble,” came Ellie’s voice from behind some crates. “I’ll go clean up the kitchen now.”

“Honey, you got nothin’ to be sorry for,” Zoe replied, holding her hand out to Ellie. Ellie took her hand and climbed down. “And the dishes are done, and the food is put away. We figured you needed some time.”
“Thank you.” Ellie thought for a moment. “I get the feeling that I was sitting in a spot at the table that ain’t been sat in for some time,” Ellie said.

Zoe nodded, “Yes, my husband. Hoban Washburne. We all called him Wash, but he was my man.” There were tears in Zoe’s eyes and she lovingly rubbed the baby bump. “I miss him so much.”

Ellie put her hand on Zoe’s shoulder. “I can understand the pain you feel. Not that it makes it better.”

Zoe nodded, “It helps. Why don’t we go to my room and have a chat.”

Once they were in Zoe’s bunk, sitting on the bed like tweens at a sleepover, Zoe told Ellie, in as short as way possible, about River and Simon and the mission to Miranda. She told of her husband’s miraculous piloting through Reaver infested sky and through the Alliance line waiting for them on the way to Mr. Universe’s facilities. She explained, with tears in her eyes how Wash died but then quickly talked about the battle with the Reaver’s and how Mal got the message transmitted. After a while, she just started to talk about Wash.

“I was a war hardened person. I was not man or woman – I was a soldier. Even though the war was over, I was still turned on like a windup toy that would never wind down. And when the Cap’n first hired him, he grated on my last nerve.” She giggled more to her own memories than to what she was saying.

“What happened? How did the two of you hook up?” Ellie asked, now relaxed.

Zoe smiled big. “I’m not entirely sure of that myself. He just kept trying to make me smile. When one method wouldn’t work, he would change tactics and try again. And one day it happened. He made me laugh. Something I wasn’t prone to do.” She reached over to her dresser and picked up a photo frame that had various images of him slowly flashing on it. She caressed it for a moment then handed it to Ellie.

“Wow,” she stated flatly. “You aren’t kidding. I never would have pictured him like this.” As the images flashed by, there were a few that showed him and Zoe together. Ellie teared up a bit and said, “But pictured together, it’s a perfect fit.”

Zoe began to cry a bit. “We really were!” Ellie scooted next to Zoe and embraced her. They leaned against the wall and watched the pictures flash together.

Zoe put the frame back up and looked at Ellie. “He was my hero. Sure he saved us with his talents drivin’ the boat through some fearful times, but, for me, he saved me from something more damaging to one’s soul. After the war, that hardened part of me didn’t want to feel anything again. Truth be told, I had wished that I had died stuck in that fox hole on Hera in the Battle for Serenity Valley. I woke up each day, did the tasks set before me, and went to sleep only to do it over again. There was no meaning in my life anymore. Wash rescued me from that. He showed me how to love again… how to live again. He was my knight in shining armor, as corny as that sounds.”

Ellie smiled through tears. “That’s kind of like what Jayne is to me. He saved me, too. In more ways than one.”

Zoe laughed. “I’m sorry,” she said, wiping tears from her face. “I don’t mean to laugh but this side of Jayne we’ve witnessed is not the Jayne we know.”

“What’s the Jayne you know?” Ellie asked curiously.

“He’s a mercenary. He’s someone I don’t like to have to trust too much because I think he’ll sell us out if the price is right.”

Ellie furrowed her brow and shook her head. “Noooo… No, that’s not Jayne.”

“It is, most of the time. But sometimes he shows something that seems more human. The Cap’n likes him and even trusts him, so I don’t question it.”

Ellie was disappointed in this view of him. Was it something he had hid from her all those years ago?
“Well,” Ellie said. “Jayne saved me from a very bad downward spiral. I really do think I would have died that first year if it weren’t for him taking the time to spend with me. My foster parents were kind people but they had other kids to tend to, all with their own unique problems. I was too much for them. I had decided that I would just disappear. Run into the woods and finally do what my body was struggling to do – to lay down and die.”

Zoe looked intently at Ellie. “You were on Miranda, weren’t you? You were there when it was terraformed and colonized.”

Ellie nodded and sighed. “I guess since I know you are the supposed ‘terrorists’ that got that message about Miranda from Dr. Caron out, it’s time I told everyone what my story is.” Zoe nodded and they headed to get Mal from the cockpit.

“Cap’n,” Zoe said. “Ellie wants to talk to everyone.”

Mal was distressed but Zoe hadn’t caught that fact until now. “It’s gonna have to wait, Zoe. I need you and Jayne in the cargo bay.”

“What’s wrong?”

“The Alliance wants to board us to confront Inara. She’s leaving the guild so they feel the need to strip her of her license right this moment.”

Zoe sighed and nodded. “I’ll get Jayne. Where’s Inara?”

“In her room, getting her things to turn over to them.”

“Can I help?” Ellie asked.

Mal looked over his shoulder at her. “No, if you’re in trouble with the Alliance, I don’t want you being seen at all. In fact… Hey, Zoe?”

“Yes, Cap’n,” she came back up the stairs. “Take Ellie to Jayne. Have him look out for her, keep her safe until this passes.”

“Aye, Cap’n.” Zoe walked down the stairs to Jayne’s bunk and shouted for him. He appeared, they exchanged a few words and Jayne went to the cockpit to get Ellie.

“C’mon, darlin’. Don’t need to be seen right about now, I reckon.” Jayne and Ellie went to Jayne’s bunk to wait out the drama.

Within minutes, Serenity was host to a crew from an Alliance ship. Needless to say, Mal and the crew were nervous about having them on board. So far, it didn’t appear that the Alliance was going to pursue them but that could change at any given moment. Since Mr. Universe had been labeled a terrorist (after his death and the transmission got out about Miranda) they could very well decide to classify Mal and the entire Serenity crew as terrorists as well. So far, that hadn’t happened and he looked to try and keep it that way. He and Inara, along with Zoe and Kaylee, were in the cargo bay. She handed over all of her papers and records as a registered companion.

It was surprisingly uneventful and Mal breathed a quiet breath of relief.

“Oh, Captain,” the officer said as his men were walking back to their ship.

“Yes, sir,” Mal replied approaching him.

“We have a bulletin for a fugitive. A possible connection with the terrorist known as Mr. Universe.”
Kaylee grabbed Inara’s hand and Zoe walked up next to Mal, with her cool, steady demeanor helping to distract from the sudden tension in the air.

He handed Mal a B.O.L.O. “This is her. Her name is Elena Mae. She’s from Harvest in the Red Sun system but she’s been seen inside the Core since that stunt with the Miranda hoax. She considered dangerous. She has mental illnesses and has been off meds for some time. We are recommending people only report seeing her and not try to subdue her themselves. There is no bounty because we believe she is too dangerous for anyone other than the Alliance to apprehend.” Mal and Zoe took the announcement and looked at it. Sure enough, it was Ellie.

Mal nodded and said, “We will definitely keep an eye out, officer.” With that the officer nodded and left. Once the Alliance ship was out of range, Mal got Jayne and Ellie with the rest of the crew together. “We gotta know what’s going on,” he had told Zoe.

“What’s going on is they are grasping. The big boys in charge know good and well we were the ones involved with the Miranda transmission. They know something. There is more and this girl is the new secret they are after.” Zoe implied.

“What in the world is with these kids being part of sum’ gorram conspiracy and how in the hell are they finding their way to my boat?” Mal rattled off, not really looking for or expecting an answer.

****

Jayne and Ellie climbed down into his bunk. It was chilly. The whole ship was. Space was quite cold but anything was better than being in an Alliance city on a Core planet. There really wasn’t any room for them to sit but on his bed, as his dresser and a reload bench took up so much of the available space.

“Gosh,” Ellie mused. “These are small. Is Zoe really going to have that baby here?”

Jayne nodded, “Yeah. Why not?”

“I don’t know,” Ellie shrugged. “Seems odd. Wouldn’t she want to have the baby somewhere with space and room and, well, not so cold?”

“You’d have ta ask her, Elena…”

“Please, Jayne. I’m begging you. Don’t call me that anymore.”

“Why? I mean Ellie is a cute nickname but I’ve always known you as Elena and..” he stammered a bit, “…and it’s pretty. Like you’ve always been.”

Ellie blushed a bit and replied, “Yeah, well. Thanks. But that innocence is long gone. Elena is a dangerous name to be carrying on your tongue, Jayne Cobb. I’ve grown up and I’m a danger to a lot of folks. I fear you and your crew as well.”

Jayne smiled at her. His hard features softened and he blushed a bit as well. “I have noticed that you growed up. And you are still as pretty as ever. And trust me, we are always in some sort of danger one way or another.”

“So I’ve been told.” Ellie was still blushing and Jayne was still smiling. “Zoe’s a great gal. I’m sorry about Wash.” The smiles on both their faces dissipated.

“Yeah, I am too,” Jayne said. “He and I would always rib each other and it seemed that we didn’t like each other, but I did like him. He was smart and funny, a good man to Zoe and always took care of Mal and the rest of us. I’m glad Zoe was pregnant before he passed. She was talkin’ baby talk after we helped a group of gals that were protectin’ one of their own who was giving birth to a boy that the sperm donor wanted to take for his own.”

Ellie reached over and grabbed Jayne’s hand. This was the Jayne she knew and remembered.

“At any rate, to answer your question,” Jayne started back up, “Zoe was born and raised on a ship herself, so I’m not thinkin’ it’s such a big deal to her to give birth on Serenity.”

“Oh,” Ellie giggled. “Okay, that’s – well, different.”

They were both smiling again and Jayne slipped his fingers through hers. He was taking in different cues from the environment around him – they way she smelled (he vaguely remembered it but it had changed, obviously since she was now a woman), the way she talked and moved, and now the way her skin felt. He could tell her mood by her manner, by her body language. She was uncomfortable and afraid. He could tell she’d been alone for some time, doing only God knows what, because she was so withdrawn. She would briefly look up at him and make eye contact but then would look down and away. He could only catch a glimpse of those green eyes of hers, which now seemed ancient and mysterious. He wanted to protect her instantly. Part of him remembered that little girl that struggled so hard to be normal, to be ‘sane’ and he had helped her then, and he wanted to help her now.

Naturally, having been taught by Jayne all those years ago, she was doing the same. She could smell his sweat and his breath all at once. She could smell the gun oil on the guns he must’ve had mounted on the wall by the bed, even though there was a blanket hanging, hiding them. She could smell gun powder and a stone for sharpening knives. She drifted from one scent to another as she simultaneously watched how he moved, how his mouth formed words as he spoke. She watched how his muscles moved in his neck and arms as he shifted positions on the bed. She was occasionally looking up at him to see his eyes but found herself suddenly shy every time they made eye contact.    He had eyes as blue as the deepest blue sky and he could burn you down with them if he wanted to. Right now, she couldn’t stand the idea that he might be able to find her secrets out – why, what would he think of her then? All these years have passed and she found herself wanting him to remember her the way she was when she was on Harvest, but also wanted him to see her as a woman too. A science experiment gone wrong can’t be seen as a woman, now can she? What kind of life would that be for him?

“Elena, Ellie… whatever,” Jayne started.

“Yes, Jayne?”

He reached to her with his free hand and slid a finger under her chin, pulling her face into his gaze. As soon as they made eye contact, she tried to look away again but he slid his hand to her cheek, not allowing her to turn away.

“Please don’t turn away from me again.”

Ellie reluctantly made eye contact with him again, but didn’t look away. It made her extremely nervous and she shuddered. Jayne ran his hand from her cheek to her hair and down her neck to her shoulder, with his other hand, still grasping hers. She was trying to not start crying.

“What happened to you?” Jayne asked.

Ellie shook her head and confessed, “I want to tell you but then I don’t want to. I’m afraid of what you will think.”

“Nonsense! Please all the sin I’ve committed in this ‘verse there is nothing that you can say that would scare me.”

Ellie nodded and started to cry. Jayne let go of her hand only to wrap his arms around her and pull her close to him. She buried her face in his chest, with his scent comforting her. He was strong and, at this point, was still willing to protect her. She could feel every strand and sinew of muscle and tendon tighten and move as he held her tight. She could feel and hear his heart beating, just a pace faster than normal. She heard air entering and leaving him as his chest rose and fell with each breath. She could feel something greater than just a person embracing her. Something more ancient, something more… well just more, like his very soul.  Once again, he put a finger under her chin and brought her face up to his. She shuddered again but this time with a pulse of ecstasy as she felt his warm breath on her face. He leaned in closer to her face and just as their lips started to meet, there was a pounding on the door that startled them both.

“Get up here!” Mal demanded.

Ellie looked down and backed away from Jayne, wiping the tears from her cheeks. Jayne looked in the direction of his door and rolled his eyes.

“What timing,” he grumbled. “Yeah, on our way up, Mal!” He turned to Ellie who was trying to compose herself. “You’re safe with me, okay? Nothing you say, will turn me away from you.” She nodded to him and they headed up.

Everyone was gathering around the table again and Mal handed Ellie the bulletin. “Zoe here tells me she’s already told you our role in the Miranda transmission so I know that you know the truth about us. Now we need to know the truth about you. Are you as dangerous as they say you are? Because if so, we’ve dealt with one loose cannon kid before, I think we can handle another.”

A bit shocked at Mal’s sudden turn in demeanor from appearing to be upset to joking she watched as he winked at River and her and Simon laughed out loud.

“Seriously, though,” Mal said with a more serious, but not angry tone. “We gotta know what we are up against. What’s your story, Ellie?

Zoe had sat in Jayne’s usual seat, allowing for Jayne and Ellie to sit where she and Wash always had. Something about her telling Ellie that Wash was her hero and then Ellie saying the same about Jayne, however disturbing that was, still inspired her to remember to love, not just Wash and their baby, but her crew, her family, as well. This included Jayne and now Ellie as well. Everyone sat down to hear her story.

“Doctor,” Ellie started. “Earlier you asked about my cooking and said it reminded you of Osiris.” He nodded as she continued, “Well, I mentioned that my parents were from Osiris. I am from Osiris. I have a younger sister as well. We moved…” she struggled for the words that the intently listening crew knew was coming next. “We moved to Miranda.” She began to get choked up again and Jayne started rubbing her back. Inara reached over to her and grabbed her hand, squeezing to let her know it was okay. She took a couple of deep breaths and proceeded.

“We moved to Miranda and at first, things were grand. It was a fantastic new place to be. Cities were built in no time flat, there was no shortage of settlers to this new beacon of civilization. My dad worked for Blue Sun of course, in one of their labs. He was George Mae and my mom, Gayle, kept my sister and me at home. Fiona is my little sister. I just found out that she is actually living on Londonium now. I was hitchhiking from planet to planet trying to get out of the Core when I bumped into Jayne.”

“What happened to your family?” Kaylee asked.

“Well, one day, Dad didn’t come home from work. Mom suddenly didn’t seem to care.”

“They laid down,” River interrupted.

“Yes, pretty much. I assume Dad never left his desk at work, because I haven’t seen him since the last day he left our home for work. Mom, pretty much laid down that same day, on the couch. For the next two days, she would get up to feed us but it was harder and harder for me to get her to do anything. After a week, food was running out and mom was pretty much not caring.”

Ellie was now uncomfortable and let go of Inara’s hand and left Jayne’s side and started to pace back and forth. “I was tired, too, but for some reason, I was able to carry on. I didn’t know what had happened truly to them until I saw that first transmission y’all sent about Miranda.” She started to cry but kept her composure. “All these years, I knew something wasn’t right but I thought…” she stopped to let out a cry. Then she rubbed her eyes and continued. “I thought they didn’t care about us anymore.” She took another moment to regain herself and sat back down, Jayne instantly grabbing her hand, his way of letting her know he was still there for her.

“Anyway,” she sighed. “One day Mom wouldn’t get up so I decided it was time to get food. There was a problem though. While my mom laid on the couch, dying slowly and not caring, my little sister, who was now ten years old, had become wicked aggressive.” The tension in the room changed. Everyone was suddenly sitting up straight and staring straight at her. “Fiona was trying hard to be a good girl, but she was incredibly violent and equally as strong. She was scratching herself until she bled and would bite chunks of skin off of me until I put a… a cage door of sorts, on her room. The day I was leaving, Fiona didn’t want to be left behind. She promised to not hurt me again, so I removed the make-shift cage door, dressed her up in her birthday dress she never got the chance to wear, did her hair and we left home.”

Ellie shifted herself in the seat, but Jayne never let go of her hand. “We saw what Miranda had become. It was empty and while out, we found a Research and Rescue ship in the Hippodrome. But there was no one there. No one alive. No one – intact. Fiona started to go wildly at the sight of the massacre so we got on the ship, I strapped her down, radioed for help and the Alliance remotely piloted, or something, so that we’d be safe. I was exhausted and laid down to sleep.” She looked at River, “I had laid down, in the end.”

No one talked or moved. Everyone hanging on Ellie’s every word. Inara and Kaylee and Zoe, as women tend to do sometimes, were tearful. Mal and Simon actually looked angry, but not at Ellie. At Blue Sun, at the Alliance, for it seemed their offenses against humanity knew no end. And River, well, River had these big open brown eyes. She didn’t know River’s story but she could feel the empathy and compassion from across the table. It was clear to Ellie that River had been a victim of the Alliance as well. And Jayne, Jayne just kept holding her hand, watching, waiting for the next part of the story.

“At some point before the boat had docked, apparently Fiona had broken loose of the straps and attacked me. She let go of Jayne’s hand and took off the sweater she had put on that she had gotten from Kaylee, and revealed a tangled mess of scars on her arms. Half the crew gasped, but Jayne didn’t. He had seen the scars long ago, though she never told him how she got them. “My little sister was trying to eat me alive. When they found us, I should have been dead. The PAX messed with my metabolism and it actually saved me from the blood loss. I was medicated to the point of not falling asleep all the time and once I started eating, I was sent to Harvest where I grew up from there.”

“What about your sister?” Simon asked.

“I didn’t know. They never told me, in fact, it was like they didn’t want to know I existed. When I saw the Miranda transmission, all those memories flooded back and I had to know. I managed to get to Londonium and found the doctor that treated me, Dr. On Jiang.”

“Yes,” Simon said. “I remember him, vaguely. Well know, very intelligent, very gentle.”

Ellie nodded, “Yes, and he had apparently cured my sister.”

“Cured?!?” the crew asked simultaneously.

“It would seem so. She’s apparently been living with Dr. Jiang all this time. She is planning a huge birthday bash for her upcoming 23rd birthday.”

“Did you talk to her?” Inara asked.

“No,” Ellie said flatly, shaking her head. “I don’t want to risk putting her off. If she’s on a medication regimen like I was, I don’t want to do anything that might mess her up.”

“So,” Mal finally said after a moment of silence. “I wonder what the Alliance wants with you.”

She shrugged. “I’m not sure. Maybe they figure that Fiona and I are the only two survivors of Miranda. If Fiona is being kept a close eye on, then they can control her, I guess. Me on the other hand, well,” she shrugged again. “Here I am.”

Foreword

I’ve started scribbling down a fan fic for Firefly. It’s a prequel and I want to publish as an ebook eventually if I can. I thought of it while listening to “Red Death Ball” by Hana Pestle. For now, I’m publishing here, on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Capn-Tight-Pants/127999340623247) and fanfiction.net (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7196977/1/The_Reluctant_Reaver). Please keep in mind while reading that this equates a first draft, which typically isn’t very fluid. Once it’s written, I will be able to put it together and fix flow and errors… any suggestions and comments are welcome! I hope that you enjoy it. Thanks!

“Red Death Ball” by Hana Pestle: