Destroyer of Nations

This is a fanfic of the TV series Firefly and some ideas from Halo, namely the Spartans and some other names and ideas. NO ALIENS! This story takes place after "Objects in Space".

The distant past...

The end of the twentieth century on that small planet on the galactic edge called Earth brought with it new hope, and new nightmares for the future.

With Man's first steps into the black ocean of space at the midpoint of the twentieth century, his technological achievements seemed to know no limits. The computer revolution in that period known as the 1980s brought with it further achievement and progression. As the twenty-first century dawned, the world became divided into several distinct factions, with the power to change their world...or destroy it.

In the year 2013, thenation-state known as the United States withdrew from the world body at the time, the United Nations, and consolidated itself with a great power to the East, that ancient nation, China, forming what would be known later as the Alliance. This union greatly upset the balance of power worldwide, and soon after, several Asian nations, such as Japan, a united Korea, Vietnam, India, Indonesia, and the Phillipines also entered into the Alliance.In the Western Hemisphere, it's neighbor to the North, Canada, joined with the former United States, along with Great Britain.

In response to this, many of the remaining European nations, African nations, and several South American states merged into one United Nations, all national borders dissolved. Finally, a third power emerged. Russia, once again under a Communist govermnent, gathered up the remaining countries not involved with the other powers, including many Eastern European countries that had been formerly under it's control during the first Cold War, and formed the Covenant, mainly under Russian control.

Soon after this dividing of theEarth into three camps, a second Cold War began, with all three powers watching each other closely and coming to blows on occasion. Worldwide travel was strictly limited. Eventually, after about twelve years of friction and buildup, Covenant forces began an attack on the other two powers, aiming at a blitzkrieg attack for global control that soon escalated into world war.

World War Three lasted for nearly five years, with the Alliance and the United Nations in an uneasy partnership for survival. The Covenant, toward the end of the war, and facing massive losses, used nuclear and neutron weaponry quite liberally, but the partnership of the Alliance and the United Nations still came out the victor. This victory was short lived, and could not be enjoyed for long.

Billions had died in the massive conflict, and soon, the Earth no longer became habitable. Mutations, sterility, freak weather, problems continued to increase, until it was decided that the Earth had to be abandoned, forever. New technologies had been developed during wartime, and the three powers had all built various colony ships and terraforming technologies. Near the end of the twenty first century, on October 4, 2089, Man left his cradle forever.

All three powers left for distant star systems, seperate from one another. Over time, these three groups reached their new homes, and started anew. The governments of the Alliance and the United Nations maintained sporadic contact, seperated by light years. Mostly, each power was left to it's own devices. Of the Covenant, that aggressor which facilitated that devastating war, no contact was heard. For all intents and purposes, they dissappeared into the black.

Chapter 1.

They had been following a distress call for several hours. The crew of Serenity were speeding back to the core planets from the Outer Rim with a delivery for Badger on Persephone. The aforementioned cargo was safely stowed in the cargo bay, and the crew were in their respective holes in the ship.

Wash was in the cockpit, playing with his dinosaurs. Suddenly, a screen beeped, startling him. ALERT, it said on the screen. UNKNOWN DISTRESS CALL 20 KILOMETERS PORTSIDE.

That message kept flashing in an urgent red. "Cap'n, you better come up here, this might beimportant." Wash had scrambled up on the intercom.

Soon after, Mal had come up to the cockpit, along with Zoe and Jayne. "Something so important I had to be pulled away from my meal, Wash?" he said, slight annoyance in his voice. The crew had picked up fresh produce on Boros, the planet where they had gotten Badger's goods.

Good food, not protein packs, was hard to come by, and everyone wanted to enjoy it without interruption.

"Unfortunately, yeah. Distress call, 20 kilometers portside. From what I can tell, this call has been playing for only a short time. A day, maybe."

A day?" Zoe said, leaning close to her husband. "How do you know it's not a trap, or if whoever sent it is'nt dead?"

"Because," he grinned, bringing up further information on his console. "One, the distress call is broadcasting vital data on the health of it's passenger constantly. That would be something too complicated forthe average pirate or thief to pull off. Second, along with life data, the message is also broadcasting a countdown."

"A countdown? I don't like the sound of that."Jayne said nervously. Bombs made him nervous.

"It's not a countdown to a bomb going off," Wash said, pointing to the rapidly descending timer. "That represents the time to total life support shutdown. When that happens, whoever's aboard wherever that signal is coming from will die." Wash and Zoe looked at the Captain. Jayne still looked suspicious.

Mal seemed to be considering in his mind. He looked up. "How far are we from this distress call?" he asked. Wash checked his screen. "About six hours. Five, if I push the engines hard." "Will we still have enough fuel after this stopover at make it to Persephone?" Zoe asked. Wash looked at the fuel cell readout."Yeah, if we do a hard burn to Persephone and get new fuel cells right after."Mal walked to the cockpit's exit, followed by Jayne."Alright, send a wave to Badger telling him we will be slightly delayed, about a day, maybe two." "Now," he cracked his neck and stretched. "let's do our good deed for the day."

Chapter 2.

The object was abouttwice as long as Serenity, and shaped like a bullet, Punching through space.It had no distinguishing letters or emblems or markings on it.

The crew had caught up to the small ship about 2 minutes ago. The ship's engine core seemed to be nearly burnt out, as the engines were erratically flickering, first a brilliant electric blue, then sputtering out. The crew were gathered in the cockpit, looking at the object.

Wash looked at his screens."The signal seems to be originating from the center of the ship. Infrared detects a power source on it's starboard side, probably a reactor. Based from it's power emissions, it's nearly depleted. There is also a concentrated cold area near the center of the ship, with a small, barely detectible heat source. I'm also detecting a great amount of mass in that ship."

Suddenly, there seemed to be a flash of light. "Look!" Kaylee pointed. The engine core flared to life one last time, propelling the ship another 100 or so feet, and then died out. The ship, it's foward momentum cut off, stopped and began to drift. There was a beep from the console. SIGNAL TRANSMISSION STOPPED.

Mal looked at Zoe and Jayne, who were looking at the ship. "Well, we're here. Let's get on as quickly as possible and get whoever is in there. Doctor." he said.

Simon looked up. "Whoever is in there is in some kind of stasis. How long can they survive without power?" Mal asked.

Simon looked at Wash's screen. "About a day, maybe two,if someone does'nt come along. Already, the cryogenic stasis is cooling. There is already a slight temperature increase in that cold area at the center. We should go as soon as possible."

That seemed to do it for Mal. He looked at Kaylee. "Mei mei, we need your considerable skill on this mission. I've never seen this kind of ship design before." "Of course,Cap'n. I'll get suited up." She then walked out of the cockpit to the storage lockers.

"Doctor, we will need you in the infirmary. Whoever is in that thing will probably need your tender ministrations." Simon nodded and left, to prepare the sickbay.

"Anything we can do?" Inara asked. She was standing with Shepherd Book near the exit. "Sorry. Companion skills or the Good Book are not needed right now." he said, a slight smirk on his face. Inara rooled her eyes.

"This is no joking matter. Be careful out there. All of you." she said. Zoe and Jayne had left, going to suit up intheir space suits along with Kaylee. mal looked at Inara and the Shepherd. "Now, now. No need to worry.When have I not been careful?" with a roguish grin, he walked off to get ready with the others.

Inara looked at his back, then at the Shepherd. She had a bad feeling about this.

Wash had put the ship in an equal spin to the object, and lined up to dock with a hatch on the port side of the ship...or whatever it was.

Mal was standing with Jayne, Kaylee, and Zoe. They were suited up, and they were all armed, except for Kaylee, who had her engineering tools with her.

River was on the scaffolding above, looking down on them as they made last minute adjustments to their spacesuits. She was wearing a bright sundress, as usual, and was wearing no shoes, as usual. She looked deep in thought, and her eyes were closed. Suddenly, she opened her eyes.

"Beware," she said, in a low voice. "the beserker lies still on his barge, given a Viking funeral. Do not betray the Destroyer of Nations a second time." She had a strange smile on her face, for some reason, which seemed to further creepify the mood. She continued to watch them, until Inara took her hand and led her away.

"Ookkaayy. That's her weird quote for the day." Mal said, sealing his helmet and walking with the others into the airlock. There was a sharp CLANG, as a seal was made, and a hiss of air, as all of the air was vented. The hatch opened.

There was no WHOOSH of air. Obviously the only life support on the ship was for the pod, which they saw up ahead.There was a dim bluish glow down the hallway. They walked into a wide, circular chamber, about 70 to 80 feet wide from it's midpoint, where there was a huge pod, easily 12 feet high.

Several computer consoles dotted the bulkheads, all dead. Zoe shined her light around the room, cutting through the darkness. The room was nearly filled to capacity with objects. Boxes, crates, various containers. At the far back ofthe room was athing that looked like a vehicle. From what she could see, it looked like a light jeep, with solid all-terrain wheels. It could seat two people, and had a platform in the back for a man to stand.

"Sir." she radioed, indicating the vehicle. Mal shined his light at the back of the vehicle. There was a swivel platform, and mounted on it was a gun of an unknown type. There was a long barrel, and mounted to it was a large scope of some kind, and there were power leads to a socket at the platform's base.

There was a computer terminal in a niche at the room's far end. The four of them approached the pod. There was a small computer screen on a pedestal on the side, and small green letters glowed in the darkness.

UNSC EXPERIMENTAL CRYOGENIC STASIS CHAMBER. SUBJECT: SPARTAN 117.

STATUS: POWER INTERRUPTION AT 1247 HOURS. 20.8 HOURS UNTIL RESERVE BATTERIES DEPLETE RESULTING IN BRAIN DEATH OF SUBJECT. DISTRESS CALL SENT UPON INSERTION INTO KNOWN ALLIANCE SPACE AT 0236 HOURS. DISTRESS CALL RECIEVED AND RESPONDED TO AT 0921 HOURS.

Mal was confused. UNSC, somehow, that name sounded familiar. It resonated with him of a time long ago, history lessons as a kid, or something.

But for the life of him, he could'nt remember specifics, only that the name sounded familiar. Weird.

He looked at Jayne and Zoe. They looked equally as confused by what the computer screen said. "Zoe." he said over the radio. Her helmet turned in the silent vaccum towards him. "Find this...ship's computer core and extract it. We'll examine it later, see if it reveals anything." She nodded silently and turned to explore the room further.

Kaylee walked over to the pod and wiped the mist and condensation from the glass front. "God," she gasped. "look at the size of him." she pointed.

The captain looked at the pod's interior. He was a big sucker, all right. In the pod, nearly taking up the entire space inside, was a massive figure, easily over 7 feet tall. He seemed to be wearing some kind of armored spacesuit or battlesuit. His body was covered in massive green metallic plates, formfitting to his legs, groin, knees, feet, arms, forearms, hands, chest, and head. He wore a visored helmet that was a shining green like the rest of the suit, except for the visor, which was a highly reflective orange-yellow color. One could not see at all who was behind the visor.

It gave Mal the willies. Jayne also looked somewhat disturbed. A first.

Zoe squeezed through the various containers back to the center of the room. She held a box made of some kind of crystal, that had various sockets and data terminals drilled into it. Mal looked at it. "Is that the computer core?" he asked. He had never seen technology like that before. None of them had.

"I guess. This was connected to the computer interfaces. Maybe big guy here could tell us how to access the information." she said, sticking a thumb at the man in stasis. "Yeah," Mal said. "I have a lot of questions for whoever this is too, like what all of these crates are, and that jeep."

He pried open one of the smaller containers, looked for an instant, and snapped it shut.

"Oh."

"Cap'n, what is it?" Kaylee asked, curious. "These are," he said, opening the container again. "grenades."

Everyone looked inside. The container was about 3 feet high by 3 feet wide, and filled to capacity with grenades that were as large as apples. Mal had a suspicion that all of these containers were filled with weapons.

He indeed needed to talk with whoever this was.

He looked at the computer screen on the pedestal next to the pod. The big guy's name seemed to be "Spartan 117", whatever that meant.

He looked at everyone. "Alright, here's how this goes. it seems like there's enough weapons here to fight a small war. We'll take all of this onto the ship. Shiny hardware like this," he patted a box marked BR55 BATTLE RIFLES x 6. "cannot be passed up. Zoe, Jayne, the three of us are going to get all of this stuff into the cargo bay."

"What about the jeep?" Jayne asked. He seemed to have taken a liking to that gun on the back. "We're taking that too." Jayne brightened at that.

"Now Kaylee," she turned from looking at the man to look at the captain. "Your job will be to find a way to get our friend here to the ship without waking him up from that pod." Kaylee looked at the pod. She would have to get some heavy duty power transfer interfaces to transfer power from Serenity's engines to the pod. That would be a bitch, but it could be done. Moving thatpod would also be a hassle. That guy in there, with that armor, he looked like he weighed a ton. He probably did.

"Well," the captain said, picking up a box marked M6D MAGNUMS x 6. "let's get to work."

Chapter 3.

Badger definitely was not going to like this.

Getting everything from the drifting ship had taken much longer than expected. Getting all of the weapons and other supplies onto the ship had been relatively easy, only about an hour or soto get everything.

They had found in the crates items marked "plasma grenades", "C4 plastique hi-explosive", "plasma rifles", "Jackhammer rocket launchers" (Jayne had a creepy smile on his face when he found that one), submachine guns of an unknown type.

Figuring out how to drive the jeep had taken a while, until Kaylee discovered that the ignition did not require a key, but used a computerised startup sequence. Driving it into the cargo hold was simple.

The most difficult part had been moving the pod while not interrupting the power and not waking up it's occupant. It had taken nearly 5 hours.

This little detour had put the crew way off schedule. It seemed like it was taking forever to finish was had been a little rescue mission. Finally, it was finished. It had taken over 8 hours, from the time they first heard the distress call, to find the ship and unload everything.

Everyone was tired. Mal had to eventually pull everyone onto this new job, hiding crates of highly destructive weaponry and equipmentaway fromthe highly visible cargo bay. Most of the crates had been hidden in the crew quarters and other holes hidden throughout the ship.

Inara, the Shepherd, Wash, Simon, and River had been called to help out, and all of this toil had tired everyone. Eventually, they were finished, and detached from the now empty and dead ship. It showly drifted away into the black, spinning into the void.

Everyone was sitting in the cargo bay, which was relatively empty except for the jeep, and the stasis chamber.

Wash had set the ship on autopilot for Persephone. Kaylee had hooked the pod up to the ship's engines, and their newest passenger showed no signs of stirring. Mal talked with Zoe and Simon. They decided that they would open up the pod in the morning, when everyone was awake and alert, to deal with whoever this new person was.

Everyone got up and began to walk to their respective rooms. Simon and River were walking together, when suddenly River stopped, and turned around, looking at the pod. "Can't wait till morning. The destroyer wishes to be free now. Been waiting too long to walk the earth again, to eat and sleep and fight and kill. Enough dreaming." She again had that creepy smile on her face again.

Everyone stopped as she began to walk back towards the pod. Simon walked over and grabbed her shoulder. "River, what are you doi-" he was cut off, as she grabbed his wrist and pushed a pressure point, deadening all feeling in his right arm, and he fell to his knees, holding his dead appendage and moaning. Kaylee rushed over and tried to help Simon back to his feet, as River unlocked the latches and locks on the chamber.

There was a high sound, like ice cracking, as the front of the pod swung open and the cargo bay filled with condensation and sub-zero temperatures. The vapor from the cryogenic system flooded the front of the pod, obscuring it's occupant.

Suddenly a dark shape stepped through, into the open of the cargo bay. He stepped down lightly, suprisingly making no sound for one so big. The figure hunched over for a moment. It seemed disoriented. Inara walked foward from the group at the back of the cargo bay, seemingly to talk to the figure. She was nearly on top of the armored stranger when he seemed to recover from his disorientation and stood at his full height.

A sudden look of fear flashed on her face as the man towered over her. He was easily over 7 feet tall, about 7'5, and massive. Not fat, but thick, solid. He looked like some kind of juggernaut in green plated armor. Although the cargo bay was near empty, he seemed to somehow absorb space, if that was possible. The room seemed smaller.

Everyone seemed to take a step back, even the Shepherd, except for River. The man looked up, seeming to scan the ship, although it was impossible to tell what he was doing under that helmet and that chilling visor. The helmet, the armor did'nt look frightening in it of itself. It was who was in it, filling the armor out into this man of steel, this Angel of Death, if one wanted to be overdramatic.

What was frightening was the visor. One could'nt look inside it at all. You only saw yourself, reflected in the glass of the visor. This somehow gave the man a look of soullessness, like a machine. The man's head turned. One could hear the low hum and click of the mechanical actuators hidden under the battleship-thick armor plates. He seemed to finish scanning his environment, and then looked at them.

Mal's throat swallowed. He had seen some terrible things in his life, his brother trampled to death in a childhood herding accident on the ranch on Shadow, and the horrors of war later in life. But this was the only time he had been truly disturbed.

Inara seemed frozen in place, could not move at all. The figure looked behind her at the rest of the crew, and then leaned down and looked at her.

Mal started to step foward, it looked like this stranger would hurt Inara, but he stopped himself. The stranger had not moved at all, except his head to look at his new surroundings, and his upper body, to look at Inara on a near equal level.

Inara forced herself to look up at the man. This was the first time in her life she had felt true fear. This newcomer unsettled her on several levels. He seemed to be studying her, as if the were some kind of rare animal. He did not look at her body, her curves, her silk dress, but kept what she presumed as eye contact with her.

Suddenly she jumped slightly as a low metallic voice issued forth from the stranger. It was a little higher than a whisper, but could be heard by everyone in the room. "IS THIS WHAT IS KNOWN AS ALLIANCE SPACE?"

She was unsure of how to respond to the question. Everyone knew this was Alliance territory. The whole system was Alliance. This was a basic fact, basic history.

A thought struck her. Was this visitor not from around here? She, along with Mal and many others had heard stories and long forgotten history classes saying that the Alliance was not the only power that left Earth in the Great Migration, that Man had also colonized other, more distant star systems, but those stories always seemed fantastical. This man was living proof.

"I-I.." she found that all feeling, all will had drained out of her, she could'nt speak at all. She looked back at everyone else, for some way to give her strength.

There was a lightning quick hum of servomotors as a massive armored hand lightly touched her cheek, with more gentleness and care than she thought possible. The hand turned her face back to that visor, which only seemed to show her frightened face, staring back at her. "I ASKED YOU A QUESTION." the metallic voice whispered again, the lightest trace of irritaion betraying it.

Suddenly, River walked over and pushed her aside to the floor. She seemed to struggle for a minute, thinking of what to say, or how to say it. "What are you afraid of, idiot?" she hissed.

Mal raised an eyebrow. This was a new development. This was the first time in well, ever, that he had heard that girl speak in a way anyone could understand.

"He's not going to hurt you. He's confused. Wants answers." she looked at him for a second. "Was a patriot once, but has nothing to believe in now. Thinkshumans are selfish, base. Not to be trusted. Duplicitous. Gave him a purpose, but then threw him away. Tried to dispose of him." she stiffened, as if in pain. "Your wrath was terrible. They cursed you. Called you the Destroyer of Nations, a mad dog, but you salted the earth with their bones."

This seemed to somehow incense the stranger. He was deathly silent, but stepped foward to River, eclipsing her in his shadow. A paw snaked out, quick as lightning, and lifted her by her thin dress into the air. The front of her dress was bunched up in his iron grip. Simon struggled to get up, but the pain from his arm was too much for him. No one else moved either. Even Jayne, who looked death in the eye on a daily basis, looked afraid. Inara looked at the scene. For some reason, River did'nt look afraid. In fact, she had a serene look on her face. Did she know something the rest of them did'nt?

The hand held her by her dress effortlessly, and the man again looked at her face, seeming to study her. He did'nt look at the rest of her at all. He seemed interested in her, not her body. That low metallic whisper again. "A PSYCHIC. INTERESTING. WHAT DO YOU KNOW, OR THINK YOU KNOW ABOUT ME, LITTLE FOOL?"

Somehow, although she was in this monster's grip, Mal thought this little 19 year old girl, who could be squashed in an instant by this guy, was in control, getting through to him. What surprised him was the fact that he identified River as a psychic so easily. It seemed more like it was that he was annoyed that she saw his secrets, rather than terrified or angered by it. Something for consideration in the future, he thought.

A slight grin broke on her face. " I know you're right." Now that was a surprise. Mal thought. Of all the things he expected her to say, that was not one of them. River continued. "They are highly devious. Liars. Hypocrites. Thieves. Scared little sheep. Bugs. Much ugliness in them.They are all of this and more, most of the time. For instance, that one over there," she pointed at Jayne, who stiffened as if he was a deer in the headlights. "tried to sell me and my brother on Ariel for a bounty."

Jayne seemed to further stiffen as first everyone else, Inara, Zoe, Kaylee, Wash, and Book, looked at him, accusatory looks on their faces.

The stranger looked at hin, studying him before turning back to River. "THEN WHY?" the voice asked. He seemed confused and angry, a bad combination. "WHY NOT DESTROY THEM, ALL OF THEM, IF NOT FOR YOUR OWN SAFETY? YOU ARE A SURVIVOR. I CAN SMELL IT ON YOU. YOU NEED NO OTHERS IN THIS WORLD." he said, before gently setting her down feet first on the cargo bay floor and letting go of her dress. There seemed to be a slump in the armored giant's shoulders, as if all the vitriol and anger drained out of him.

She looked at him. For all of his anger, all of his rage, he really was a lost soul. She touched his hand. "I have my reasons. Why not stay and find out?" she then walked towards the hold of the ship and her room. She stopped near the exit to the cargo hold. She seemed to be waiting for him.

Then, to everyone's surprise. The man began to walk foward, following River. She stopped at Simon, kneeling on the floor with Kaylee. She pointed at Simon. Suddenly, a massive arm reached down and pulled Simon to his feet. Kaylee sprang up. She thought this guy was gonna kill him.

Instead, the man looked at his arm. He then pressed, gently, considering the strength of his armor, on the same spot where River disabled Simon. There was a sharp jerk of Simon's arm. He felt af if an electric current passed through it. Then his arm felt tender and sore, but he could feel it again, which was a small miracle. The man then walked away, following his sister.

A faint clanging of metal could be heard as heavy metallic boots went down the steps to the guest quarters and River's room, then nothing. Everyone looked at each other. Several revelations had been made tonight. Everyone except Mal and Simon looked at Jayne, then at the hallway that the stranger and River had gone into. Jayne had an angry look on his face, but also shame. Everyone looked at each other. They did'nt know what, but something had changed tonight, the atmosphere or something.

Chapter 4.

After the incident in the cargo bay, there was much to think about. River, even though it looked like it was a great struggle for her, was speaking coherently. The fact that she and the stranger seemed to have things in common, to understand each other. The fact that she seemed to know he posed no threat to her. What seemed the most puzzling to Mal was the fact that she said that he did'nt trust humans.

What did that mean? He did'nt look at the guy's face, but Mal was sure that he was human also, so what could River have meant by that statement? Also the fact that she had taken the stranger into her room troubled him. After River and that man left, Mal told everyone to go to bed. This would be addressed in the morning. He did tell everyone to sleep with one eye open.

This situation was weird. Thank God that they were on their way back to Persephone and the Core Planets. It frightened him to think of somehing like this happening when they were on a long cargo run, far from any planet and people.

He sat on his bed in his cabin, thinking about this. It seemed to build, continuing to bother him. Finally, he threw on a shirt and headed up to the hallway. What surprised him when he got out was the fact that everyone else, except for River, was in the hallway also. They seemed to have the same idea he had, to check in on her or him. Zoe and Wash, Inara, Kaylee and Simon, who had one arm in a sling, and Jayne, who had fully dressed, and was holding Vera. He looked ready for action.

Shepherd Book was also there, looking nervous. He was holding a flashlight, as all of the lights were off. "Well, "Mal said, looking at everyone. "seems like you all have the same idea. Check on the little miss, make sure nothing heinous has occurred." everyone nodded. They all had nervous, scared looks, even Jayne, although he was trying to keep his angry face. Everyone walked quietly downstairs to the guest quarters. River's room was on the far left, and was completely dark and still. Everyone edged closer to her door, and then as quietly as possible, slid it open.

Book shined his flashlight on the bed. To everyone's surprise, River's thin, lithe body was under the covers. She semed sound asleep. The light shining in the room, or the eight people outside did not stir her in the least. She turned over in her sleep. Mal looked into the small room, using whatever little night vision he had.

There was a large dark mass in front of her bed, on the floor and leaning against the wall. It was completely silent. Book began to shine the light on that dark shape. One massive green plated leg came into view, then fingers clad in metal. The chest was shown, a mass of green steel. Finally, the light moved towards the head. The instant the light came upon that helmet and that visor, the helmet, which had been facing ahead, towards River, suddenly snapped with greased lightning speed at the intruders in the doorway, cutting through the quiet darkness with their probing light.

"SHUT OFF YOUR LIGHT." that metallic whisper issued forth. It was'nt a request.

Mal was about to say who gave orders on his ship, but the better part of valor stopped him. Book shut off the light. Everyone looked at each other. What now? They seemed to ask, silently.

There was a flicker of movement in the darkness. Everyone tensed up, as if expecting an attack. There was a short, sharp hissing sound. It sounded like something was being removed. Suddenly, twin orbs of bluefire stared back at them from the room's darkness. He had taken off his helmet.

His eyes seemed to glow in the dark. Mal was reminded of wolves he had seen on Shadow as a boy. At night, the darkness caused their eyes to light up, as their night vision kicked in. If you photographed one of those wolves at night, there was a very strange, glowing-eye effect on the photograph from the wolves' eyes. Everyone seemed to take an involuntary step back as his eyes were shown. The already strange atmosphere had just gotten creepier.

Suddenly, a low chuckle emanated from the darkness, from the man's direction. The chuckle sounded dark and husky. Then his real voice was heard. It was suprising how little distinction there was from the metallic quality of the voice from the armor. It probably had voice changing features and speakers.

The man's real voice still sounded low, not really above a whisper, but loud enough for everyone to hear. There was still a metallic quality to his voice, but it also had a hidden organic quality to it.

"Curious little scamps, are'nt you?" he seemed highly amused by the fact they all came to check on the girl. "Please, keep quiet. She's sleeping." another short chuckle issued forth.

Everyone looked at one another, not knowing what to do. He seemed to be running this show, and it was supposed to be the other way around.

It was Simon who finally spoke, also in a whisper. "We-we were concerned. Today has'nt exactly been normal."

"I'm sure, he said. "Sweet River here has been telling me the story of you. All of you, in fact. The story of the Alliance, the War for Independence, Browncoats, all of the important historical details. I've been out of circulation for quite some time. Coming here, it was a long journey This ship was'nt what I had in mind, but circumstances require me to be flexible." he paused, his wolf eyes settling on each one of them in the doorway in turn, and seeming to dismiss them in turn.

His voice then took a quasi-concerned tone. "The eyes? I'm sorry if they disturb you. Can't do anything about them, unfortunately. It's funny, you know. I showed her my eyes, she did'nt seem put off in the slightest. She smiled and said they looked loyal, sincere. She said they reminded her of a golden labrador she had as a child. I don't know what kind of animal that is. First time someone's called me loyal, or sincere, for that matter. Strange girl." his comment seemed to reveal that River was somewhat of a mystery to him.

Suddenly, the shape in the bed sat up. Mal quickly shut the door, bathing the room in darkness again. "John?" she said, in a sleepy voice. Everyone then heard the man, who's name now seemed to be John, say in a somewhat softer, but still edged voice, "Nothing is wrong. Something fell outside. Go back to your rest." There was a rustling of the sheets, as presumably River went back to sleep. Everyone looked at each other, and then began to edge back to their respective rooms. Stranger and stranger.

Chapter 5.

It seemed out of character for River to be so active this morning, about an hour before breakfast.

Everyone was watching as she was digging though one of the containers they got off the ship that was still in the cargo bay. Evidently, it contained clothes. She finally pulled out several black t-shirts, several cargo pants, also black, 2 pairs of large black combat boots, and a dark leather jacket. She seemed to be looking for clothes for their newest passenger. Then she rushed back downstairs, also carrying a pair of scissors in a pocket of her dress. Mal was about to say about how she should'nt have sharp objects when he realized that the girl seemed to have her mind back, somehow.

It seemed to still take an effort to talk clearly, make sure what she said did'nt come out sounding like nonsensical craziness. This all started with their newest arrival the day before. Mal walked back downstairs just as she slid open the door.

A pale hand reached out and took the clothes, and then she walked inside. Simon and Kaylee were sneaking peeks at the room, as was Book. About 20 minutes prior, a clanging, like heavy pots or metallic plates being thrown on the floor, came from the room. Shortly after, River went to the cargo bay.

A whispering was coming from her room. It was River. "You have to show them your face. Give them a measure of who you are, that you're trustworthy."

A short laugh erupted at this. It was John. "You're talking about trustworthy?" his voice had changed. There seemed to be a little more life in it. It did'nt sound quite as mechanical. "You should watch yourself. I'm being completely serious." there was a pause as something was zipped up. "If anyone's untrustworthy, it's them. They will always fear what they don't understand. Then they will always try to destroy what they don't understand." everyone listening stiffened and looked up when he said that.

"And what they don't understand is you and I. The fact that you're now cognizant again has thrown them for a loop. They all probably expected you to be out of your head for the rest of your life. And I don't see why I have to tell them specifics about myself. I'm not staying anyway."

"Just like a good soldier, right? Cut and run? Where will you go? You know nothing about this system, or this society." she responded.

"What's to know? All humans are the same, no matter where you go. They follow the same patterns of behavior, like bugs."

Mal sighed and walked up the stairs toward the kitchen for breakfast. Kaylee, Simon, and Book followed him. He looked at them. John's words had cut deep. Perhaps there was some kind of truth to them, however cynical and hopeless they sounded.

About 10 minutes later, everyone was at the table in the kitchen, except for River and John. They all had nervous looks on their faces.

Mal, Book, Simon, or Kaylee did'nt tell the others the specifics of the conversation they heard downstairs, but it was fairly obvious that John held a low opinion of them because they seemed scared of him. That seemed to be something he was used to.

The atmosphere was still. There was the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs, toward where they were. River came in and took a seat at the table. She was wearing a wine-red dress, and a pair of the boots that she had gotten out of the cargo bay earlier. No one said anything.

Was she here by herself? Zoe looked at her and asked "Where's your friend?" River suddenly looked towards the doorway. It was empty. This irritated look came up on her face. "Stop playing games, John." she said sharply.

A snapping sound could be heard, like someone cracking knuckles. John stepped into the light. He had been standing in the small space in the doorway connecting the kitchen to the hallway to the crew quarters. There was a dark spot that he had melted into, and then he melted out, into the light. Finally seeing him, without the armor, it was a surprise, but it was less than everyone thought. He was so young. He looked to be about River's age, maybe a year or so older. Certainly younger than Simon.

It seemed out of place to have someone so young, who was supposed to still be inexperienced about the world, be this frightening man. This stirred a thought in Mal. Was he really frightening, someone to be feared? He never actually did anything threatening towards any of them, they had all reacted to him in a negative way, except for River. He also looked so pale, like a vampire. Mal supposed it was being under that armor for so long. No sunlight.

He looked, even without the armor, to be the same size as Jayne, certainly more muscular. His hair was a dead white, and had recently been cut. Every inch of him looked ready for action. He walked with purpose, intent in each step. He wore a black shirt, a pair of black cargo pants, and combat boots. He made no sound as he walked over and took a seat next to River. He also wore a pair of dark, smoky sunglasses. It seemed to be a courtesy to the rest of them.

No one said anything. He and River took plates and began to put food on them and eat. He quickly saw that no one else was eating. He tipped his glasses down slightly. In the light, his eyes did'nt glow, they seemed this golden-brown color, surpisingly similar to that golden labrador we had as kids, Simon thought.

"Something wrong. All this is'nt half bad. Better than some of the field rations I've had in the past." It was Wash who finally spoke. "You were in the military? Please, tell us about it, if you want." he seemed a little interested. Mal and Zoe were military. Maybe this guy had more in common with all of them than they all thought. He closed his eyes for a second, as if summoning the information from the recesses of his mind. He then startes out, in a precise cadence, as if reading a file.

"Spartan-117, or John-117. Rank of Master Chief Petty Officer, in name only, in United Nations Star Command.. No last name. 117th success out of 5000 viables in UNSC Augment Project. Began training after final genetic fine-tuning at age 4. Trained in heavy and light weapons, guerrilla warfare, use of vehicles, space, aircraft, and land based. Stealth cross training in urban and wilderness environments. Zero-G combat. Sniping, close quarter techniques. Proficent in 37 styles of unarmed combat. High marks in demolotion and engineering. Proficient in computer technology and computer hacking.

Was made full soldier at age 16. Augments, later designated Spartans, were designed first to put down civil disturbances and insurgencies, rebellions, etc. Highest level black ops team.

Out of the 5000 viables, only 1,876 were successes, adapting to and embracing the genetic alterations. Was repurposed after beginning of Covenant invasion on the outer colonies in home system as autonomous black ops strike force against Covenant agressors. Participated in 127 battle actions in United Nations-Covenant war. 387 confirmed kills, unknown number killed due to demolition, assassination and sabotage missions against Covenant forces.

Became the last known Spartan as all others were presumed killed in action after military headquarters on planet Reach was glassed by Covenant ship bombardments." that seemed to be the end of all of his accomplishments.

Mal looked at Jayne and Zoe. They shifted uncomfortably. He was skilled on a level far beyond any of them. This kid would have no problem at all dealing with any of them. That was a disturbing thought. Inara asked him "What are Augments? I've never heard that term before." John spoke again. "In the embryonic stage, human DNA is extremely malleable. Take a prime specimen, already endowed with desired genetic traits, and further enhancement by skilled professionals creates Augments, superior to ordinary human soldiers."

Everyone took notice of this. "Superior? In what ways?" Zoe asked, a touch ofderision in her voice. "Reinforced skeletal system, reaction time over9 times faster than a human at their peak. A second heart for vastly increased cardiovascular functions. Advanced intellect, upper-genius level. Advanced musculature, at least 4 times as strong as the strongest human. Able to bend a rod of titanium, with enough effort. Eyes far more acute than any human. Able to see in the dark, limited thermal vision. Stomach able to metabolize many more kinds of food. Resistant to all known poisons and bio or chemical weapons. Accelerated healing factor, able to survive multiple gunshots unarmored."

This was a shock to Mal, to all of them. What would it take to bring him down, if it came to that? Thank God he's the last one, Mal thought.

Kaylee then entered the increasingly dangerous conversation. "So how did you come to be here? I've only heard stories about other human colonies. They seem so far away."

John continued. "They are. Covenant and United Nations star systems are somewhat closer to each other. Alliance star system is farthest away." he paused for a minute, deep in thought. It seemed to bother him to remember the circumstances that required him to make such a dangerous journey.

He continued. "Covenant forces outclassed normal human soldiers because they were similarly genetically altered. UNSC Augment project was the attempt to create superior soldiers to deal with civil unrest and rebellion, but were the only soldiers that could equalCovenant troops.

Covenant also had superior weaponry. Plasma weaponsUNSC human projectile weapons in terms of damage and lethality. They also developed anelectromagnetic system to deflect bullets. Took nearly a full clip to kill even one equipped with one of those systems. Technology was eventually reverse-engineered by UNSC scientists, and Spartan MJOLNIR power armor was developed. Has better, stronger version of electromagnetic system and other features. This turned the tide of war in our favor. After planet Reach ws destroyed,Iwas thelast confirmed Spartan in action." he seemed to pause at this, then continued.

"Eventually, thepush was made to theCovenant star system. I was sent in ascout ship to Covenant homeworld's surface. As I neared the planet, I dropped an experimental bioweapon onto the surface. After my mission was accomplished, I was shot at, by my own forces." Everyone except River seemed riveted. She had heard the story already.

"They used missiles, lasers, railguns. My ship was nearly cut to pieces. Barely made it to the surface. I found that the bioweapon had worked too well. all the forces, the entire population of the Covenant homeworld, was dead, because of me." He paused and looked at them for a second, then continued. "Eventually found secret base for secret Covenant technology testing. Found missile silos containing anew kind of weapon, the Nova Bomb. Used an unknown element called naquadah. It had enough force to destroy a planet. I contacted UNSC forces, wanted to know why I had been shot at."

"Calling United Nations Star Command. This is Spartan 117. Come in, please." John was confused. He had won. He accomplished his mission of dropping the payload, effectively ending the war. Why had they shot at him? Was something wrong with their friendly fire software?

It had taken him nearly 2 days to make his way from the crash site, to finding and infiltrating this base. He had passed through several cities, filled with corpses.

The bioweapon he had dropped had erased all human life on the planet. It seemed like all of the Covenant was genetically altered in some way. He saw dead Jackals in the streets in several cities he passed, along with Hunters, Grunts, Brutes, Engineers, and Elites. All of these humans had been altered for different purposes, thus the different UNSC military designations for them.

The Grunts were all clones, mass-produced cannon fodder. The Jackals were designed for sniping and stealth missions. They had shield versions of the electromagnetic deflection technology. The Hunters wore massive blue armor, and carried Fuel Rod Cannons. Brutes and Elites were on the same level, the Covenent equivalent of Spartans, and far more numerous.

The Elites had full body versions of the electomagnetic deflectors, and it took a LOT of bullets to overcome them. They used plasma swords and plasma rifles. Brutes looked like Neanderthals, and were... brutish. They were bezerkers, and carried bladed grenade launchers. As he walked through this emptied planet, he felt what could be termed as guilt, for the first time in his life. He had killed before in battle, but to do this... to put them all down, like they were rabid animals instead of people, something seemed unclean about it. They were invaders, killed millions. He tried to tell himself, but that gnawing feeling would'nt leave.

Finally the communications screen in the base's command center chirped to life. He was in contact with a UNSC battleship in orbit. The surprised face of General Hardigan was large and in color in the deserted Covenant command center.

"Spartan 117. You're-you're alive." his voice had a dead tone to it. He did'nt seem pleased. "What happened, General? I dropped the bomb, then my ownforces start shooting at me!" he was beyond angry. Hardigan had this sick grin on his face. "Of course they did, idiot. I told them to!"

"You told them to?" John repeated. Things seemed upside-down. "Orders from United Nations General Command. NO genetically altered anything is to leave this combat zone alive. Including you. Messing with the natural order is dangerous. The Covenant nearly won because they were superior to human soldiers. If we had'nt experimented on Covenant prisoners and discovered weakness in their genetic makeup, the weapon would'nt have been possible."

John was horrified, and angry. Many in the military had hated the idea of their own force of "freaks", but the Spartans had persevered. They hoped that they could prove themselves in battle. "All of the Spartans who died, for all of you. Their sacrifices were in vain?" he asked, steel in his voice. Hardigan sneered. "They served their purpose." "You've also served your purpose too, General." John said, a dangerous smile cutting through the agony he felt. "This base is tied into the Covenant defensive and offensive computer nets. That means I control all of their weapons." a terrified look erupted on Hardigan's face, on all the faces of the bridge crew.

John accessed the computer. Over half the planetary missile batteries were still active. He fed the coordinates of each UNSC ship in orbit. Hardigan saw him accessing the computers. "Triangulate his position and fire!" he screamed at the crew. "Too late, General." Hardigan looked at him, hatred in his eyes. It was like John was seeing the man for the first time.

John pressed the activation command. Over 4,000 hi-impact missiles flew from batteries on the planet's surface, and cut the 37 ships in orbit to ribbons. ALL HOSTILES DESTROYED, the command screen flashed in red letters.

He found that this did nothing to calm his newfound fury. If anything, the fire in him grew hotter. All the Spartans, Linda, Will, Fred, all of them, died to save something that did'nt value them at all, saw them as abominations, although they had themselved created them! He accessed the command net again. He found a file marked "Nova Bomb". It was a new kind of missile that could vaporise a planet. The Covenant planned to use them as a last ditch effort, if they lost, but never got the chance to launch them. John hated to see resources go to waste.

"They won't stop coming. They are all liars, charlatans. Nothing but hatred in their hearts for you. They'll tear you down and destroy you." What surprised him was'nt what he was saying, but that he was talking about humans in general.

He accessed the schematics. These missiles could cross interplanetary distances. He accessed thier programming and set the coordinates for the new military command center the UNSC set up, on Harvest, after Reach was lost. He fed Harvest's coordinates into a missile's onboard computer. He saw that there were 16 Nova Bombs ready for launch. He thought for an instant about using them all. Erase all of them, every planet left in the United Nations, like they would have done to him.

"No," he murmured. He keyed in the location of Harvest into one of the missiles. "cripple them for good. They'll never fight again. That'll do." He sent the commands to one of the silos. Finally, the final LAUNCH command popped up. He hesitated for a moment. his hand above the button. Was this what he wanted?

Once he did this, there was no going back. He would have to make his own future, with no support except for himself. Where would he go?

If he destroyed Harvest, there would be mass chaos and anarchy. Conflcts would inevitably arise among whoever was left in the aftermath, it would be a maelstrom of destruction and madness.

"Fuck it." he said, his voice quiet in the emptiness of the room.

He pressed the button. The room slightly vibrated and shook as a massive missile rose from a silo outside, carrying a deadly gift to finish it, once and for all.

Everyone except for River was staring at John. They were trying to understand the extent of his actions. What kind of hardships, carnage, would cause someone to do things as monstrous as what he did, if his story was true? It was Wash who broke the absolute silence.

"I've heard stories. Over 80 years ago, there was some kind of limited contact between the Alliance and other colonies. There were reports of some kind of a war between 2 of them, very bloody and violent. About 10 to 15 years after the start of that war, there were rumors that both sides had been destroyed. One side had been completely wiped out by the other side, and shortly after, a huge explosion which destroyed everything on one of their capital planets caused the victorious side to have violent civil wars and conflicts. Contact was lost soon after for good."

John shrugged his shoulders, as if he were unconcerned. Maybe he was. That was chilling.

"After I launched the Nova Bomb, I explored the base further and found an experimentalsleeper ship the Covenant had developed. I discovered that if they had won, the next step for the Covenant would have been to construct masssleeper ships and come here."

That stopped everyone. "Here?" Zoe said, shocked. "Here here?"

"I scoured the base and surrounding area for supplies, loaded them onto the ship, and set it so travel to this star system. The ship traveled at a quarter the speed of light. I set all the other Nova Bombs to detonate 2 years after I left, effectively disinegrating the planet."

John continued. "The purpose of the invasion was for resources. If the United Nations had not put up as strong of a fight as they did, it would have already been conquered and the Alliance would probably be at war with the Covenant right now."

That stopped everyone in their tracks. Was what John did necessarily wrong, or evil? The circumstances in which he committed those acts were extreme. Getting a read on him now, and understanding what he had been through, had he unknowingly saved the Alliance and all of them from war with a ferocious and technologically superior enemy? This Covenant made the Alliance seem like puppies, Mal thought.

The United Nations did'nt seem particularly noble either, Trying to destroy the people they themselves created to save them, trying to dispose of them like a bad casserole. Was it so out there for John to have a low opinion of humans? He had come from humans, but he was different from any human, or any beingin existence, and his superiors did not consider him or the other Spartans human, although they had given their lives for them. It seemed like he had been born to be a pariah, a sacrifice. Mal knew that something like that could cause great bitterness and rage in a man, twist him into something else.

The scrape of a chair on the floor broke Mal's thoughts. John got up. He got up and looked at everyone at the table. "I tire of this. I would prefer to leave the past buried. I plan to dissapear when this ship makes it's next stop. You may keep the majority of the weapons. I only require a few for my own personal needs. Have a good meal." he left the kitchen and headed downstairs, River following close behind him.

Chapter 6.

Serenity made planetfall on Persephone shortly after noon. Badger had waved them on approach that their lateness would be an issue he would address in their meeting. Nobody was looking foward to that.

When they touched down on the docks, Mal, Zoe, and Jayne left with the goods they were to bring to Badger. Everyone else was doing various odd jobs around the ship. Inara was cleaning her shuttle, Kaylee was calibrating the engines, Wash had been redoing the navigational array. Shepherd Book was helping Simon reorganize the infirmary. River and John were in the cargo bay.

They seemed to be deep in a conversation. They seemed to be talking about doing something, but the others could'nt hear exactly what. Suddenly, River ran to the engine room and grabbed a spanner from Kaylee's tool box. She then went downstairs to get their jackets from River's room. John had removed a plate from the cargo bay wall, that was a hidden niche. In it were about 12 crates from his ship, stacked up in the tight space. He looked at the labels for a moment, then dragged out 6 of them. River came back, holding their jackets and Kaylee's spanner. The sudden commotion brought everyone out, and they watched as River handed John the spanner. He detached the turret gun from it's mounting on the jeep, which everyone had learned was called a "Warthog".

He took the gun and stowed it in the niche with the rest of the weapons containers and sealed it with the plate again. They both loaded the empty back with the 6 crates, after taking of all the labels and markings off the crates, and then threw their jackets on.

River tossed the spanner back at Kaylee, who caught it, a quizzical look on her face. By this time, Book and Simon had come from downstairs. "We'll be back later," she said, jumping in the jeep's passenger seat as John started the ignition sequence. "have some business to take care of." with that, the jeep peeled off, dissapearing into the bustle of the docks. everyone looked at each other nervously. What possible business could River have, dealing with weapons? And with John? It was a mystery.

The three of them were in Badger's office, having spent the last 20 minuites listening to Badger lecture them, as if they did'nt know, as if they were complete backbirths, on the concept of being on time. His Cockney accent, native to anyone from Titan Colony, was in full force.

"I'm sorely dissapointed, boys and girl." he said, like some father with misbehaving children. "This job should have been simple. A simple fetch and deliver. A timetable was given to you, and I expected you to follow my guidelines." he poured himself a shot of bourbon. " I was very, very worried. I thought the Great Mal Reynolds had finally been pinched by the Feds. I was twisting in the wind with genuine concern and worry for a while. But here you are, 2 days late. But," he paused, taking a sip from his drink. "the merchandise is all accounted for, and in good order. So you will be paid. But lateness is a black mark in my book, so you will be paid only 70 percent of the payment."

"What!" Jayne started foward, anger bursting forth from him in waves. "The stuff is all accounted for. None of us touched it, or did anything to it at all. We did what we were paid for! We deserve the full price, you gorram fai weg dan!"

Mal pulled him back. Badger looked at him with amusement. "That kind of language is uncalled for. Be lucky I'm paying you at all, all the trouble I went through on what should have been a simple job. You'll take what I give you, and you'll like it." he snapped his fingers at an associate, who stepped foward with a bag of money.

Just as Mal was about to take it, a knocking came from outside.

One of Badger's men came in and whispered in his ear. Badger nodded and looked at the three of them. "I have two people, barely in their twenties, waiting outside. They have 6 crates full of merchandise they say I will be extremely interested in. One of them is one of the biggest guy my men have ever seen. The other is a pretty girl, half his size, doe-eyed, dark hair. They say they're with you."

Mal, Zoe, and Jayne looked at each other. River and John? What the hell were they doing here?

"We don't know of any such people," Mal said dismissively. Whoever they are, they're not with us." "Alright." Badger growled. He looked suspicious. His henchman from outside went back to the lobby, where River and John were. Why had they come?

Suddenly, a great commotion could be heard from outside. Fists connecting with faces and snapping sounds, like breaking bones, could be heard. Suddenly one of Badger's men came flying through the door, breaking it into many pieces. Outside the room, there was utter darkness.

Then out of the darkness came River. Her dress was slightly torn, but otherwise, she looked absolutely fine. A heavy scraping sound could be heard from behind her. Suddenly, one by one, 6 crates were slid through the doorway into a line. Then John walked in. He had a definite swagger in his step. He was wearing a white t-shirt, a black leather jacket, his combat boots with the dark cargo pants, and dark sunglasses.

River looked at everyone in the room, smiled innocently. She then began speaking in a Cockney accent, similar to Badger's.

"Sorry we're late, Captain. You all should'nt have left without us. That's bad form. We had to come here all by our lonesome." she said, mild reproach creeping in her voice.

Mal began to turn red. What game were they playing? Badger looked at River, recognition dawning on his face. "I know you. You're that chickie from their ship. I saw you a few months back, don't you remember?" River looked at him a minute. Slow recognition dawned on her face. She snapped her fingers. "You're that chap who smuggles things. Badger, right?"

" I do a lot more than smuggle things." Badger said, a touch of indignation in his voice. River continued. "Please don't blame the Captain for their being late with your important devivery. I was the one who had him make a detour to Shadow to pick up my fella here," she indicated John, who saluted.

"He waved me a couple of days ago with a business proposition that could mean a lot ofriches for a lot of people."

Badger leaned on his desk, intrigued. "Before any business, I want to know who you two are. I've never seen him before." he shook a hand at John, who was given a wide berth by Badger's men. He looked up and walked over and shook Badger's hand vigorously. "Sorry sir," he said, imitating flawlessly the same Cockney accent, native to those from Titan Colony, as River and Badger.

"Sometimes the little woman and I get wrapped up in the important things and forget the little things, like the social graces. You know how that is, right?" Mal, Zoe and Jayne seemed to fade into the background, as they were watching whatever this was that River and John were pulling on Badger. "I'm Harry McDowell, and this is Madison Sinclair. Pleased to meet you." This seemed to put Badger at ease, a little bit.

"Don't see too many people from the homestead as one should." He looked at the three of them, who were leaning on a wall watching this tableau. "You know them?" Badger asked. Mal spurred back to life. "Yeah, yeah. I know them. The girl's on my crew, just as she said, and that's her fella, just as she said."

The situation seemed to be changing. Into what, Mal did'nt know. Better to play along for now. Although, the accents those two were using were creepy. They were dead-on replicas of Titan colonists. He did'nt know that either one of them could do voices. "I detoured to pick up her fella at Shadow and some goods he had, would'nt tell me what was in them. She later told me that she had some kind of propostion for you when we arrived on Persephone, but neither of them would tell me what, so I would'nt let them come. Obviously I was wrong." Mal was spinning B.S. like there was no tomorrow.

River continued her simply beautiful performance. "Sorry for the brawling and commotion out there, but your guys are one aggressive bunch. You should've told him to expect us, Captain."

That reproachful voice again.

"I hope we did'nt seriously hurt any of them." Badger grinned and waved her off. "Don't worry about that. If my guys can get their asses handed to them by a girl half their size and one big guy, they have me, not some injuries, to worry about." he chuckled.

"Now, what is it you have to show today?" River sat down on one crate that was sitting on it's side. She lightly kicked backwards and the crate's lid opened, revealing the dark shapes of rifles. She bent down and pulled one out. Suddenly, Badger's guards pointed guns at her, John, and at Mal, Zoe, and Jayne.

"Hey, hey, hey." River said, mild irritation creeping into her accent. "The weapon isn't even on, and I'm not pointing it an anybody. Cool your jets." The bodyguards lowered their rifles.

"About 2 weeks ago, Harry found a cache of weapons in a long abandoned Alliance ship in the asteroid belt near Shadow. He was on an asteroid mining crew at the time and eventually found a small ship and got the goods planetside. He hid them and called me. This was his chance to get out of that dangerous mining work, and get him somewhare a little closer to me." she grabbed John in a familiar manner around his waist.

"I would get him and the weapons to a suitable buyer. I heard the Captain was making a delivery to a guy named Badger, who was supposed to be a facilitator. I managed to get a favor out of him to make a detour, and here we are." River smiled. "A facilitator. Me. I like the sound of that." Badger brightened.

He moved over to his minibar and poured bourbon on the rocks in 2 glasses. He returned and gave them to River and John. Mal, Zoe, and Jayne watched this, absolutely bug-eyed. This was light years better than how Badger treated them.

"Thank you kindly, Mr. Badger." River breathed. The man was entranced. Badger looked at the crates. "So. What are these? I've never seen rifles like this before." "That's because these are experimental prototypes. Plasma rifles the Alliance made during the War for Independence, but never mass-produced. The ship carrying them wascaught and crashed in the asteroid belt, so this is a case of finders-keepers. Would you like to try it out?" she tossed Badger the rifle.

He caught it, hefting it's weight. "Lighter than one would think." he said. He pressed what was an activation stud on the rifle's handle. The rifle suddenly lit up, a targeting graphic showing up on it's electronic scope, and an ammo count on a reader on the side of the barrel. Badger zeroed in on a metal table in the back room, which was empty, and fired. Badger had lightly held down the trigger, but blast after blast of white-hot energy shot out of the barrel, literally tearing apart the worktable.

It seemed to disintegrate into matchstick sized pieces of hot metal before everyone's eyes. Badger let go of the trigger, his eyes wide in awe. Mal, Zoe, and Jayne also looked shocked. Supposedly, these weapons were more than 80 years old, and created using techniques unknown to anyone in the Alliance. Despite their age, these weapons were still more advanced than anything anyone had ever seen.

John took the weapon and looked it over. "Sorry," a sheepish look on his face. "It was on automatic." Badger was at a loss for words. "I...I have no complaints. Let's see the other merchandise, please." Badger had a look in his eye. Mal could'nt identify it. It looked like joy, if one such as Badger could be joyful about anything.

The next 30 minutes were spent opening up the other crates and showing Badger and his men first Jackhammer rocket launchers, which they seemed very happy with. The rockets were in drum magazines and used a launching mechanism similar to an old-style revolver. It could shoot 2 rockets before the magazine had to be replaced.

The SP15 sniper rifles were accurate to within 0.3 millimeters of a target and could zoom over a mile towards a target.

The BR55 battle rifles used flat-point .50 caliber bullets, and could be reproduced easily.

The plasma grenades used an electrolytic liquid as the catalyst for a devastating, but small and controllable explosion. A neat feature that Badger and his men loved was that once primed, the grenades could stick to the target, the electrolytic explosive adhering the grenade to the target.

After all the demonstrations were over, Badger and his men were in a wide, open area of the room, sitting around a table laughing over drinks with River and John. They all seemed to be in uproarious laughter over some joke that Badger had shared.

Mal, Zoe, and Jayne looked bored. Thay had taken a seat in a dark corner of the room. They sat looking at each other. How had this happened? They seemed to be swept totally onto the sidelines once River and John, or Harry and Madison, the names they had given to Badger, came on the scene. What was all of this leading to?

Finally, Badger got up and everyone moved back to Badger's desk. Badger sat behind it, a depressed look on his face. "Now comes the part I hate getting to. Price. How much to get these unique works of destruction into my hands?" he said, slightly slurring his words. Mal, Zoe, and Jayne perked up. Money was being discussed.

John and River first looked at the three of them, a devious look in their eyes. Mal really could'nt see John's eyes, as he had worn his shades the whole time, but he could see wheels turning in his head. They looked at each other, then at Badger. River spoke.

"We've thought about it, long and hard. We think our price is fair, considering that these are the only kinds of these weapons in existence." A lie if I ever heard one, Mal thought. There were nearly 3 times the amount that they had shown Badger of each one of these weapons, plus ammunition, hidden in the bowels of Serenity.

"6000 platnium is our asking price." she said. Jayne nearly choked. Badger turned red. "Each." she added. Badger looked sick. Mal could'nt believe it. 36,000 credits, platnium, in all! 6000 platnium for each crate! One could buy 4 Serenitys, in mint condition, which Serenity was'nt, and still live comfortably for years. She really was crazy. Maybe John was too.

Coming in here, this fake act of pretending they were both from Titan Colony to get into Badger's head, it was ruined, with 7 little words. A look of deadly seriousness broke over Badger's face, cutting through the drinks. "You're crazy. You both are. You come in here with these toys, shine me on, and then ask for a gorram fortune!"

River and John looked at him, then at each other, then back at him. Suddenly, they both erupted in laughter, as if the funniest joke was said, instead of a dangerous situation emerging.

Badger kept growing redder. Suddenly, they both stopped laughing, and the room became deadly silent. River came up close to Badger and smiled at him. He looked off guard, confused. Suddenly, a look of utter rage and fury erupted on her face. Her right arm came up in an uppercut strike and sent Badger flying over the table.

A million dollar shot. He landed in a heap behind the table. His men started to raise their weapons. Badger put a hand up, stopping them. "Wow. That's the first time that has happened. 20 years in this business, I get tagged, more like shot at, by a girl not even a gleam in her papa's eye when I got my start," a look of utter amazement, perhaps even a little fear on his face.

"I think we can do business." he pulled himself back in his chair, and wiped the blood from his split lip on a hankerchief. That would leave a mark, maybe even a scar, but for some reason, Badger did'nt seem angry.

Again, Mal and the others looked... he did'nt know. It seemed like the levels of craziness kept being set to a new bar today. She hit him, nearly sent him into orbit, more like it. What were these two? Without fear? They seemed to be walking into the lion's den, and the lion escorting them out, giving them bags of money, and waving them goodbye.

River wiped her bloody hand on her dress. Her face lined out into normal again. "I'm sorry about that, but no one calls me or him crazy. No one." she said, a dangerous tone creeping into her voice. John adusted his dark sunglasses. "She's crazy like a fox, is more like it." That seemed to relieve the tension, and everyone began laughing hysterically, except for the Captain and Jayne and Zoe.

John asked "Do you have people to study these weapons, and produce variations for your organization?" "I'll find people." Badger said, wincing as he cleaned his lip. It was slightly swelled and red. "Anyone willing to do something as extreme as what just happened, I'd be proud to do business with," he wiped the blood from his lip. "Goddamn, woman. Hardest I've been hit in my life. Not even my dear old mother comes close."

Chapter 7.

"She hit him? In a room full of criminals with guns? She hit him?" Simon said in utter disbelief and shock.

It had been several hours after Mal, Zoe, and Jayne had come back to the ship, carrying 3 duffel bags full of more money than any of the crew had seen in their lives. Everyone had come up to the cargo bay when they came back. They all had questions.

River had left. Had they seen her? Why was she with John? They had loaded the jeep with weapons and took off. Where had they gone? Where did they get so much money from?

The 3 of them had gone to the deepest holes in the ship and stowed the duffels. They were hidden extremely well. Soon after, Mal had gathered everyone around the table in the kitchen/dining room, and told them a ludicrous story.

Just was things had seemed to be going badly for the 3 of them with Badger, River and John had arrived, looking to sell Badger some of the weapons they had gotten from John's ship. Both of them had given Badger fake names, and spoke in a Titan Colony accent, and quickly got very friendly with Badger, more friendly than any of them had ever been. They got Badger sold on the idea that the weapons were secret Alliance prototypes, untracable.

They told him that the weapons could be reproduced, giving Badger a great advantage in the future. "Wait," Book stopped the story. "River and John sold this man, a criminal, killer, and general shady character, advanced weaponry, and told him he could make more?" everyone looked in complete disbelief.

"That girl has changed," he said, worry in his voice. "I'm not sure if it was all because of this guy, if he's a bad influence or what, but she's different, that's for sure."

"What happened next?" Kaylee asked, concerned. "They then seemed to blow the whole thing. They asked for 36,000 platnium for the whole thing." Simon could'nt breathe for a second. "What! That's a fortune! You'd have to be crazy to ask that amount for anything."

"That's what Badger said." Jayne picked up the conversation. "That seemed to set the little lady off. She decked him. She was unarmed, and surrounded by men with ill intent, and she still hit him."

"She hit him? In a room full of criminals with guns? She hit him?" It was the present again. "Nearly sent him flyin'." Jayne said, sipping his beer.

"Thought we were goners for sure. Then that guy, John, tells a joke, and it's like nothing happened."

"What then?" Inara asked. Zoe answered. "Badger said some other stuff, and then had one of his men come out with 3 duffels full of cash. More money in one place than I've ever seen in my life. They toss them at our feet, and then, it looks like whatever this is is about to be finished. Then, it happened."

Zoe had a look of anger on her face. Just as they're leaving, John goes and says "Sir, it's my fault that the crew was late with your delivery. Please don't dock their pay because of me. They deserve the full amount for their work." Badger then gave us the other 30 percent of what we were owed. He then goes and then gives them another 100 platnium, "for spending money," and they leave, leaving us to get these bags back here!"

"The worst part was after they left." Jayne growled, emptying his beer."Badger insisted that on any future dealings with him, we bringthe two of themalong, and if they ever decide to leave and strike off on their own, we were to call him immediately, as he could do with 2 professionals like them! I don't know what happened. They just took the whole thing over, and swept us to the side, like we were nothin'! That don't sit well with me. Someone needs to tell that girl and that man their place in all this!"

Suddenly, a clicking sound, like heels on a metal deck, could be heard. "So, Jayne, tell us our place." River said, standing in the doorway to the dining room, leaning against John. "Tell us our place."

Chapter 8.

All eyes were aimed at the doorway, looking at River and John. They had undergone some kind of radical makeover.

River was wearing a women's three-piece business suit, black as night. She wore a dark red, a wine colored shirt, and a very tasteful dark tie laced with lines of gold. She wore dark, dynamite stilleto heels. Her hair had been cut above neck length, in a sexy low cut.

She wore dark lipstick and nail polish. All of these dark colors seemed to make her look more pale and ethereal than she really was. She looked at one point, the consumate professional, and on the other hand, sexy as hell.

Her current look put Inara in aclose second, Mal found himself thinking with some guilt.

John was also dressed in a business suit, an ice-white color. He wore a dead black shirt with a sky blue tie. He wore nondescript but moderately expensive shoes, not too expensive, but showing great taste. They were both wearing silver rimmed sunglasses, although River had taken hers off.

She walked to the side of the room and looked at all of them. Her brother looked floored. He had never seen her dressed in such a manner before. Jayne noticed for the first time that she looked like a beautiful woman, and not some waify kid.

"Looks like we intruded on a private conversation," she said, giggling and leaning on a counter against the wall. "What the hell went on today? You do not intrude on business conferences, you do not sell weapons, and you most certainly do not hit a crime boss." Mal demanded.

River grinned. "A "business conference"? Is that what it was? You know, Badger is right. You do put on airs, like you are better than other people." Mal turned red.

"And as for earlier, we accomplished in less than an hour to make literally a fortune, and to secure employment outside of this ship." Mal looked alarmed. He was sure they were out of earshot to hear Badger make them job offers. "We did'nt hear that part,"

River broke in. "But your mind will always tell me the truth, regardless of whether you want it to or not." she said, a sinister smile lighting up her face. She spun and modeled her outfit. "Like it? We saw these in the shopping district and just had to have them." Jayne stood up. "What's this we you're talking about? Have you forgotten what he is?"

River looked down and sighed. "Oh, Jayne. Your ignorance is exceeded only by your brutish charm. What can I say? He's kind of grown on me, and I already know he feels the same." she walked back over to him, and they put their arms around each other. "I'm leaving. When John leaves to go off and make his own way, I'm going with him."

Chapter 9.

It was Mal who first spoke up. "What do you mean, leaving? You can't leave. Have you forgotten the little matter of a huge bounty on your head?" "Oh that," it was John who spoke. "That's more than taken care of now. earlier today, we hacked into the main Alliance database and inserted a computer program that will invisibly but completely erase all references to River Tam from any computer anywhere in the Alliance.

It should be complete in about a day. When that happens, the program will then create 2 new identities, 2 new Alliance citizens. Harry McDowell, and Madison Sinclair, both from Titan Colony, both with no family. Madison Sinclair is currently part of a Firefly freighter crew, Serenity, and Harry was recently working in asteroid mining near Shadow, and recently left for other work."

"You what!" Mal said, openmouthed. "You fen huiwas broke into the Alliance FedNet! You could go to prison...forever for that! We could all be arrested!"

"Relax." River said."You'll give yourself a heart attack over this. Computers are even easier to fool than people. As for the weapons, Alliance technology is about 10 to 20 years behind of what the Covenant and United Nations were. What Badger recreates using what we gave him will be of inferior quality to the originals. We just stirred the pot a little. Made the game more interesting."

"What about Simon?" Kaylee asked. "If you erased all references to yourself, what happens to the bounty on him?"

River grinned maliciously. "This part is great. I had the program, while it creates the necessary electronic paper trail and identities for us, rewrite your entire history. By tomorrow, if you look up your file, there will be no bounty on your head, because according to any computer file, you and I, or rather, who I will be, have never met before I joined this crew."

"What do you mean?" Simon asked. He did'nt like where this was going. "According to your biographical data, recently updated, you were born an only child. Mom and Dad had you only. I also made a little addendum. The past 2 years we spent on this ship,you were hired from Ariel General Hospital by Captain Malcolm Reynolds to be his ship doctor, as he was in a dangerous line of work. You accepted, and have been on extended leave ever since."

Simon stood up, an angry look on his face. "How could you do something like this without at least talking to me! Legally, you're not my sister anymore! You took another name and gave up the one our parents gave us! And what if I don't want to go back to being a doctor at Ariel General!"

River's face darkened. Suddenly she snap kicked Simon, knocking him over the table. Everyone got up and looked at River and John.

"You ungrateful son of a bitch," she hissed, rage and vitriol filling her. "Don't tell me what to do! Don't ever tell me what to do ever again!" she screamed, lashing out with a straight hand, in a knife strike, at the big oak table in the room's center. The sheer force of her chopping blow split the table completely in half.

Everyone backed away from her and John, who was leaning against the wall. "Way I understand it, Mother and Father did'nt bother to even listen when you told them that something was wrong about the Institute, so fuck them. They can keep their name, for all that it's worth." she straightened and smiled.

"What right do you have to judge? Any of you, to what I want to do with my life? John was right. You all felt safe when I was off center, but now that I'm back on track, you all are having problems."

Inara stood up. "Now you know that is'nt true!"

"Yeah right," River said, disdainfully. "You don't know me, what I had to go through! You don't know him either, but I know you all think he made me this way." everyone shifted uncomfortably "Well for your information, he was not. He was the cause of why I wanted to fix myself, but he did'nt do anything. For several months now," she said, looking into space. "I found moments of stillness in all of this chaos in my head. With enough concentration and focus and will, I could function. It took a lot out of me, but it was possible. I just never had a reason to fully try until recently." she smiled and stood next to John. "With enough effort I could stay functional permanently. Several hours ago, I felt some kind of switchover, like fuses tripping in my head. I can feel it even now. Like boxes in my mind, opening up and showing me new tricks that the Alliance showed me. Look,"

She raised her hand and pointed it at the fridge, palm facing outwards. With a wave of her hand, the doorswung open and a beer hovered out, moving in a complicated arc following the movement of her arm, before coming to rest in her hand. The bottle cap then twisted off, landing in a perfect arc in the trash chute on the other side of the room. She drank deep from the bottle. "Mmmm. Nice and frosty."

John did'nt look suprised at this at all. He looked at her and said "You've improved. 2 hours ago, you would have had a nosebleed trying that."

Everyone was speechless, dumbfounded. Finally Mal looked at John and said "What do you know about her abilities? In fact, how do you know about psychics at all?" everyone stood up, as the table was splinters on the floor. "I'm very intimate with their kind.. Before the war, many experiments were conducted on criminals, lawbreakers, murderers, the like, on the prospect of psychic ability as amilitary weapon in the future. Many of these were failures, because the dangerous surgeries and treatments required were too much of a shock for many people. Those that survived were mostly uncontrollable, and killed anything in their sight. They were used as shock troops against the Covenant during battle."

Inara, Book and Kaylee looked horrified. Everyone else looked grim. "The data that was collected was used in part to create the Augments. About 20 percent of the Augments were further engineered to bring about instances of psychic ability. I have a little of it myself, a sixth sense or something. It's saved my life more than once."

Zoe looked at them. She knew they both wanted to go. He really had'nt coerced her in any way. She was doing this out of her own free will.

Zoe looked at River's face. She had seen the look on her face before, and she knew the feelings behind it. She had seen it in the mirror, on her own face, soon after she met Wash.

They seemed like an unlikely pair. She could probably take Wash out with both hands behind her back and only one leg, but he grew on her, quite quickly, to her suprise. He was persistent, and did'nt take no for an answer, and that was what won her over.

Perhaps it was the same for River. Both River and John came from similar backgrounds, and they could obviously take care of each other. They both had lethal skills and would protect one another. Perhaps it would make River happy, this stranger from the black, to make her feel really at home, feel wanted.

It was true, none of the crew really understood her, or what she had been through. She had been regarded as strange, something pitiful, due to what had been done to her, but someone never to turn your back on, as she was dangerous. In all the time Zoe had known River, when John came around, was the only time she seemed excited or animated about anything. He knew what she was, and still treated her as a regular person, maybe better, because he knew what it was like to be different.

In an uncertain voice, Zoe looked at John and said "Take care of her. She's kind of grown on us." everyone else looked at her, except for River and John, who nodded, as if in understanding.

She looked back at everyone and said "She does'nt want to stay here. She really wants to go with him. It would be wrong of us to keep her here when she wants to leave so badly. Maybe she's right. He maybe is the only one who can understand her. We lived with her for more than a year, and I can tell that she's not at home. Not at least, on this ship."

Mal looked at her and nodded. Thinking on what she said, he could see her point. Everyone did'nt follow the same path. Perhaps she was simply a traveler, warming herself by Serenity's fire, waiting for a companion to travel with to her ultimate destiny.

"We're going back to the Outer Rim in the morning, look up new work. You two can either get off here or get off at one of the moons on the Outer Rim day after tomorrow." River slowly blinked, and looked at John. "We'll wait." they then walked out of the kitchen, back to River's room, which would be vacant in a short time, Simon sadly reflected, a grip of sadness passing over him.

Chapter 10.

Several hours later, Serenity was headed out to the Outer Rim on autopilot. It was after midnight, ship time. Some of the crew were asleep, others were not.

River was sleeping alone in her room, John was in the cockpit. He had asked to study the star charts of the Alliance system. He was sitting in a chair, studying intently one of the monitors, displaying planetary maps, vital information, names, etc.

Mal, Inara, Simon, and Book walked slowly to the cockpit. Thay had business minded looks on their faces. They seemed to make no sound as they approached. Finally, John switched off the monitor and straightened up in his chair. He had his back to them. "I've been expecting you." they stiffened a little.

"One of the benefits of this," he tapped his head. "is that no one can sneak up on me. There was a buzzing in my head for a couple of minutes. Not really of something dangerous, but of importance." he got up and walked down the corridor, entered the kitchen, and sat down in one of the chairs.

The room had been cleared of the debris of the last table. There had been spare wood and building materials, so a new table, just as sturdy, had been made and now occupied the same spot. John leaned back ad put his feet up, just as the 4 of them entered the room.

He did'nt have his shades on, so they all saw those hunter's eyes, tracking them as they took seats opposite him. John seemed to know what this was about. He extended his hand, in a gesture of you-go-first.

Inara started. "Convince River to stay here, with us. She does'nt belong out there, alone. Yes, it's true, we really don't know her, or what she has been through, but we do love her. She's family. To all of us."

John took this in for a moment. He then blinked his eyes, in a disbelieving manner, He then turned his head upwards and laughed, long and hard. The laugh was full of mirth and amusement. Mal did'nt like it. It seemed like he was dismissing them. He then snapped his head back at Inara and his eyes took on a dangerous shine to them. "What do you think she is to me? Nothing?" he laughed again. "Let her go. You're not right for her. She deserves better than your pity. Much better."

"I-I don't pity her!" Simon blurted out. What John had said seemed to strike a nerve. "I love my sister more than anything in this world. If I did'nt care, I would'nt even be here.I would still be on Ariel, living a different life. But I'm here. Is'nt that a sign of my commitment?"

John chuckled at this. "Commitment? What is she, a duty you HAD to undertake? How little you understand. I'm sure you love her. But don't tell me that in yor heart of hearts, that there are times you wish, even a tiny bit, that you had moved on, continued as if she had not existed? Life would have been easier."

Simon was speechless. It was as if he had seen into his heart. There were many times when he woke up in the night, Kaylee nestled next to him, and he looked around, equal parts happiness and regret over what might have been twisting in his head. It took an enourmous will to suppress those thoughts.

"John," Book broke in. "What could you really give her that the rest of us have'nt or tried to give?"

"Understanding, Preacher." he looked Book straight in the eye. He found that the priest could'nt look him in the eye for long. That pleased him for some odd reason.

"That's all she wanted, from any of you. Everything else, could have gone to the wind, for all she cared. She truly has... a purity of heart that I've never seen before. All my life, I've been judged, measured, found unworthy by people who never knew me, or wanted to know me. I bled for people who did'nt care. She cares, heart and soul. I know that we can never be parted. She spins around in my head, and I spin around in hers. I never would have to say how I felt, because any words I said would be inferior comparisons. My feelings are clear and in color to her, as her feelings are to me."

Mal stood up, steel in his eyes. He walked to a part of the wall in the kitchen and removed a wall panel. One of the duffels of money was in there. He grabbed it and slammed it on the table. "There is nearly 15,000 credits, platnium in here. It's yours, no questions asked. just give her up, and never come back."

The words were barely out of his mouth when a flash of movement swept through the room. The table had been tossed against the wall with a brutal slam, and the bag of money was lying in a corner.

John had Mal in a steel grip by his throat, and held him at least 2 feet off the floor. John had a look of rage and hatred on his face. Inara tried grabbing his arm to free Mal, but he shook her off, like a bothersome fly.

He also kicked Simon back nearly 10 feet, after he tried the same thing. Book backed away a little bit.

"Good decision, Preacher." J

ohn looked at him a moment, before turning back to Mal, who could breathe, only barely. John's eyes blazed with an inferno.

"You son of a bitch," he hissed, coming in close to Mal's face.

"She should give you up, you charlatan! How dare you!" he tossed Mal to the opposite end of the room, where he fell into a heap, struggling to get up.

"What is she, a slave, that you can buy off me! I should kill you! You don't care. I value her.I can trust her with my life. Can you say that? No, you all are suspicious and afraid, like sheep. Maybe I should be like the Angel of Death, snuffing all your candles out, one by one." he hissed, rage clouding his face.

Inara stood up, her hair a mess. She looked at John, a look of desperation on his face. They had really made him angry. It really was a stupid idea to try this, she thought. How could they ask him to give River up? It was obvious to anyone with eyes that they had a mad-on for each other. No amount of money or pleading could break that.

"We-we apologize for offending you. It was our mistake. The way we feel about her is complicated. We do love her. Please believe that if you can believe anything. Love causes people to do stupid things sometimes. Can you understand?" "I understand," he growled. he cracked his neck. "perhaps one day, you will understand how much she means to me. I'd die before I let her go, and I know that she would say the same for me."

All the anger seemed to drain out of him, and he slowly walked downstairs, leaving the 4 of them in silence, struggling to pick up the pieces.

Chapter 11.

By midmorning, the ship had made it to St. Albans, a snowy planet on the edge of the system. There were several small, but flourishing cities and towns dotted over the planet's 4 continents. It was a thriving place for crime and profit.

It also had a suprisingly busy spaceport and dock. Fron the St. Albans spaceport, one could get passage to any world in the system. Everyone was gathered in the cargo hold. The door was open to the bustling dock.

River and John were dressed in jeans and leather jackets. They had taken half of the money from one of the duffels. Even with only half of one of the duffels, they had enough money to get by for quite a long time.

They had 2 duffel bags each, carrying clothes and some of River's things. John carried a duffel with some of the more lightweight weaapons, like 2 broken- down sniper rifles and ammunition, several BR55 rifles, assorted handguns, and other light weapons. They decided to leave the heavy weapons and explosives on Serenity.

They also left the Warthog, as it's turret gun and it's ammunition had been hidden in a safe place. River had said "We'll be able to get our own stuff in the near future. Considering your line of work, you guys may need all this hardware more than us."

They both were packed, and all that were left were to say goodbye. River was talking to Simon and Kaylee, while John was talking to Wash and Zoe. Jayne was sitting with Inara, Mal, and Book in a corner.

"So, what will you guys do?" River looked at her brother. Simon looked at Kaylee, who had a pensive look on her face. She looked as if whatever he decided, she could one day live with it. All her frailities, she was a strong one, River thought. "I've decided to stay. After all this time, I really can't think of anywhere else as home. As you said, things kind of grow on you. This ship has grown on me. It's exciting, in it's own way. I think that if I had gone back to my old life, I would'nt be having nearly as much fun as I've had." he pulled Kaylee close to him. She smiled, and cried short tears of joy before regaining her composure.

"What about you two? What are your plans?" River looked at John. "I really don't know. He's the first guy I've been with, and I'm the first girl he's been with in a relationship. He does'nt show it, but he's making it up as he goes along, just like me." she sighed for a moment.

"I suppose we'll make our way backto Persephone at some point, take up on Badger's offer for work." she looked at Simon's horrified look.

"Now come off it Simon. What other kind of work am I good for, othet than military work, which for obvious reasons I can't do? I kind of like the kind of work the Captain does, working for shady characters. It's exciting, and it pays well, better than any "real" job. And with our skills, we could write our own ticket. And think of this. We may come across each other again, on a job or something. Hopefully not on opposite sides." she smiled.

"We'll see each other again. You have only one sister. And I'm it, even if only you and I know it. This new identity will be a fresh start, for both of us. I'll have to do some slight cosmetic work, like hair color and the like, just in case anyone has hard files of me, on paper, but I'll be alright."

She embraced her brother and Kaylee, before waiting at the door. Wash and Zoe seemed to be finished talking with John. "Anything I should know about?" River asked. "No." John replied. "They were just telling me some things for us to get by without problems. "How a relationship works" or something."

"Were they?" River looked at Zoe and Wash." Somehow, I think we'll be all right." They approached the door. The Captain and the rest came foward.

"Well this is it."Mal said. He was wearing a collared shirt. There were marks on his throat from the night before, when John had grabbed him.

John looked at him. "You still doubt me." he said. Inara, Mal, Book and Mal had set looks on their faces.

"I've decided to leave my armor here, for now." this news surprised everyone listening. Why leave it here? He was the only one who knew how to use it. It was too big for anyone else. Why leave it?

John saw the confusion on their faces. "Call it a gesture of good will. A promise that you'll see River again. This is'nt goodbye for good. I could never give up a priceless tool as the armor forever, so consider it here, in storage, until I come for it again, with her by my side."

This truly was a surprise to Mal. Perhaps he had been completely wrong in his judgement of this man. He was honorable, in his way.

They had still had some doubts about what would happen to River alone with him, even after seeing their feelings toward each other. His promise seemed to put this to rest. He stepped foward and helf out his hand. John eventually stepped foward and took it, in a strong grip.

"I'll watch over the armor with my life, but I want you to watch over her with your life. Take care of her." John nodded his head in understanding, and finally, both he and River turned towards the door and walked out of the ship's warmth, into the white light and cold of St. Albans.

Watching them leave, Mal thought, no, he knew, this was'nt the last he or any of them would see of the two of them. Just as the two of them were tied to one another, there was a tie to this ship, a connection. They would be back, someday.