SUMMARY:  Post-Serenity story.  When these five kinds [of spies] are all at work, none can discover the secret system.  This is called divine manipulation of the threads. -Sun Tze

*****

Most nights, when Simon went back to his bunk, Kaylee left her empty bed and retreated to the engine room.  Serenity was her constant, her confidante, and it didn't hurt she could get some maintenance work done when her girl was on slow burn.

Tonight, Serenity was a bit tetchy, complaining of congestion in one of her compressors.  Frowning, Kaylee crawled out the narrow tube toward the right thruster, searching for the obstruction.  When she saw the charred piece of metal, Kaylee swore a blue streak and tugged it carefully free, hissing as the metal seared her fingertips.  She wriggled back into the engine room and reached for the comm.

"Cap'n?" she asked, sending her message straight to the bridge, since he stayed there most nights now.

A moment, then Mal's voice, sounding a bit scratchy with sleep.  "Yeah, Kaylee?"

"We're gonna need a pit stop, sooner than later," she told him, a little embarrassed that this wasn't something she could check on the fly.  She hated letting the Cap'n down like this, but Serenity hadn't been forthcomin' with her troubles 'fore they took to the black.

"Be right there," he answered, and she knew better than to argue.  He'd want her to translate the problem into Cap'n Dummy talk because he wanted to know every last thing 'bout his ship.  She respected that, but sometimes it was hard to put into words how she knew things about Serenity.  Moments later, Mal stepped into the engine room, giving her an expectant look.  "What's the trouble, little Kaylee?"

"This," she answered, wrapping a rag around the still-cooling metal and holding it aloft.

Cap'n frowned.  "What's that?" he asked, pointing at it suspiciously.

"Dunno," she admitted.  "It was wedged up near the right thruster.  Little too barbecued for me to tell for sure what it is."  She'd examined it while she waited for him, and she still wasn't sure if it was a piece of the compressor, or scrap metal.  More important, she didn't understand how it got lodged where it did.

Arms crossed, he raised his eyebrows and leaned closer.  "You mean we accidentally burnt up a bit of the ship?" he asked, lookin' a bit dàchīyìjīng.

Kaylee shrugged, tracing the edges of the chunk.  "Hope not."

"Couldn't be we burned up metal floating out in the black?" he asked, then turned at the sound of dainty footsteps outside the engine room.

Inara paused in the entry, her gaze shifting from Mal to Kaylee to the bit of charred metal.  She looked glamorous as always, Kaylee noted, even in the middle of the night.  'Nara was naturally gorgeous, and even her nightgowns and robes were sensational, all gauzy fabric and sparkly beads and whatnot.  Sometimes Kaylee wished she could borrow some of Inara's things to wear for Simon, but she knew she weren't nearly pretty enough for such finery, and she was afraid it might remind Simon of all the fancy girls back home.

Lifting her eyebrows, Inara stepped into the engine room.  "That doesn't look good.  Is Serenity okay?"

"Mămă hūhū," Kaylee answered, absently reaching out with her free hand to pat Serenity's engine casing.  "We'll fix you right up, my girl," she promised.

"Yes, we will," Mal added, holding up a finger to Inara as he turned back to Kaylee.  "When will we be sure this is a piece of our ship?"

"I can't rule it out while the engines are burning," Kaylee admitted.  "We need to put her down somewhere so's I can crawl inside and take a look.  She's some better, with this out, but there's still something not right."

Inara brightened.  "We're not that far from Eunomia," she pointed out.  "Might be a good cover story."

"Ain't a cover story if it's true," Mal answered, still staring at the hunk of charred metal.  Then he frowned, jerking around to look at Inara.  "And how do you know about Eunomia?"

She merely lifted her eyebrows and gave him a withering look.  "I have information for you."

"You--"  Mal shook his head, then held up one finger and turned to Kaylee.  "We set down tomorrow morning, on Themis," he added with a warning glance at Inara.  "You can fix her up good?"

Kaylee glanced at Serenity's heart, nodding.  "I think so, Cap'n.  Would help if we landed somewhere with spare parts for sale."  Carefully, she laid down the charred metal, near the engine casing, just in case it was one of Serenity's parts.

"Themis," Mal noted with some irritation, "will have overpriced parts for aught-sevens and newer.  Gāisĭ core planets.  Can you make that work?"

In solemn tones, Kaylee noted, "She's got aught-eight engines now, sir."  Losing Wash and Shepherd and all the other innocents had been the worst part about that awful day, no question, but for Kaylee (and, she suspected, for the Cap'n), seeing Serenity torn apart had been near as traumatic.  Kaylee still had nightmares, and Serenity still ached, some nights, where she'd been ripped up.  They'd rebuilt her, sure, but she was still healing.  Kaylee and Serenity both.

Crossing his arms, Mal turned back to Inara.  "Now what's this about Eunomia?"

Inara gave him a haughty look.  "I contacted some people, and--"

"I don't remember asking for your help on this," Mal interrupted, flashing his best stubborn frown.

A bit belatedly, Kaylee realized her fingertips were achin' something fierce.  She held up her hand, frowning at the angry red of her skin.  "Ow," she murmured, lifting her fingers to her mouth, ignoring the sour taste of oil residue on her skin.

"No, you didn't," Inara told Mal.  "You're far too stubborn to admit that my contacts--"

"Your contacts," Mal interrupted, his tone scornful.  Kaylee rolled her eyes, knowing he was about to step in it.  Again.  Sure enough, Mal smirked at Inara and asked, "Let me guess -- he owed you a favor?"

Narrowing her eyes, Inara crossed her arms and answered haughtily, "My contact is a woman."

"Oh," Mal answered stupidly.  He blinked, glanced at Kaylee with wide, moonstruck eyes, then faced Inara once more.  "Okay, then," he answered with a shrug.

"Okay, then?" Inara repeated, incredulous.

"Yeah."  Mal nodded to emphasize the point.

"Gôushî bùrú"

"Maybe so," Mal shot back, "but that don't mean I aim to use you for your contacts."

Inara rolled her eyes.  "It's not using me if I offer my help," she argued.  "Don't be stubborn, Mal."

Mal's mouth dropped open as he stared at her.  "You think I need help?"

"Yes," Kaylee muttered, slurring a little what with her fingers in her mouth.  These two, she thought, were just as hopeless as Simon when it came to personal stuff.  Kaylee loved Inara like a sister, and Mal like a brother (once she grew out of that little crush), and she just knew they'd be perfect for each other if they'd only stop fightin'.

"'Scuse me?" Mal asked, rounding on Kaylee, eyes narrowing as she pulled her aching hand free from her mouth.  "You got something to add to the discussion, little Kaylee?"

Kaylee stood her ground, not nearly intimidated by his bluster as she once was.  "Seems you don't have much solid information on Eunomia yet, and you can't hardly do nothing without it.  If Inara can get what we need, where's the harm?"

"Where's the--?" Mal spluttered, an irritable half-smile on his face.  "She ain't a criminal, is where the harm is!"

"Gathering information on federal prisons isn't a crime, Mal," Inara interjected, arms crossed.

"Will be once your contact realizes you used that information to break someone outta jail!"  He shouted, rounding on Kaylee.  "And what the gorram hell is wrong with your hand?"

Embarrassed, Kaylee tucked her hands behind her back.  "Nothin', Cap'n."

"You hurt?" he demanded, moving closer and towering over her, trying to hide his concern behind his Exasperated Cap'n tone like always.

Inara pushed him aside and reached for Kaylee's arms, gently pulling her hands free.  "Did you grab that metal with your bare hands, mèimei?"

"It's nothin'," she demurred, flushing under their intense scrutiny.  Last thing she meant to do was trouble anyone.  Little ice and she'd be fine.

"Kaylee, you go right down and see that doctor of yours," Cap'n ordered, taking her by the shoulders and ushering her toward the hallway.

"No," Kaylee protested, feeling a flash of panic at the thought of intruding like that when he ain't ever invited her to his quarters at night.  "It's late.  He's probably 'sleep."

"He's a doctor," the Cap'n noted dryly.  "He's used to being woke."

Kaylee tried to grab the doorframe with her good hand, but the Cap'n gently pried her loose.  "I don't want to trouble him," she explained, still resisting as he ushered her out of her engine room.  "I'll see him in the morning."

"With fingers swelled up size of watermelons?" Mal asked.  "Not likely.  You can't fix Serenity if you can't use your hands."

"Cap'n--"

"Kaylee, I ain't playing with you right now.  You're hurt, you get the doctor to fix it, dong ma?"

Resigned, Kaylee nodded.  "Hâo de."  She gave Inara one last baleful look, then turned and trudged toward the guest quarters.

*****

Screams woke Zoe.  

She jerked upright in bed, and for that first, confused moment, she expected Wash to come bumbling awake beside her, hair sticking up at all angles, creases from the pillow pressed into his pale skin.  Then that brutal ache flared up, reminding her that he was gone.  She swallowed down the anguish and concentrated on the screams.

Sounded like River.  Didn't sound like she intended on stopping anytime soon, neither.

Zoe slid into her pants, shrugging out of the Hawaiian shirt she slept in and pulling on a thin blue sweater.  Her boots and thigh holster took several moments, but the war taught her the hard way that a little bit of extra time was worth it if you wanted to survive the ruckus what woke you.

Climbing her ladder, Zoe emerged into the hallway and found it deserted.  Gun in hand, she moved quickly toward the guest quarters, hearing a jumble of voices, now, in addition to River's piercing cries.  As she reached the hallway, the girl's screams subsided into whimpers, and Zoe could clearly hear Simon trying to soothe River.

Not wanting to crowd them, Zoe slowed in the hallway, stopping a few steps from the cabin entrance, beside Kaylee, who held a hand over her mouth as she peered around the doorframe.  "River have a nightmare?" Zoe asked.

"Oh!"  Kaylee startled, her entire body tensing as she turned to Zoe.  "Oh.  Zoe.  Yeah, River woke up screaming.  Simon and the Cap'n are in there with her."  With a nervous smile, Kaylee reached up and brushed her hair back from her face.

Catching sight of bandages on Kaylee's fingers, Zoe reached out, touching the girl's forearm.  "What happened?"

"Oh, ain't nothing," Kaylee answered, color rising in her cheeks.  "Just touched something I shouldn't have."

Zoe let the lie stand.  "Do you know what brought this on?" she asked, nodding her head toward River's quarters.  Zoe figured it was something to do with the prisoner she'd drawn, but with River, you never knew.

"Not sure," Kaylee answered.  "Simon and me were in the infirmary argu--" she broke off, dropping her gaze.  "Anyway, she just started screaming.  Something about Yeng-Wang-Yeh, I think."

Yeng-Wang-Yeh.  Zoe stared at Kaylee, caught off guard by the reference eight years later.  She hadn't thought of Yeng-Wang-Yeh in quite some time -- her nightmares these days centered on her husband bein' run through, plus some gratuitous war horrors tossed in for good measure.  Maybe River'd picked up on the captain's nightmares?  Zoe knew the outcome at Yeng-Wang-Yeh still haunted him.  They'd lost a lot of good soldiers in that battle, first real costly engagement the Captain'd been in charge of running.

"Is everything all right?" Inara asked, arriving near-silent on her silken slippers.  She glanced back and forth between Kaylee and Zoe, looking troubled.  "Is it River?"

Zoe pushed aside her reaction to hearing the name Yeng-Wang-Yeh and nodded.  "She woke screaming, I guess."

Inside River's cabin, Simon spoke in low, soothing tones, while Mal stepped out into the hallway, glancing over at Zoe, Inara, and Kaylee as he moved toward the infirmary.  His dark gaze locked with Zoe's for a moment.  "Just a bad nightmare," Mal explained, reappearing with a smoother.  "Help her sleep."

Mal stepped back into River's quarters, and Zoe frowned, holstering her gun.  "She hasn't needed smoothers in quite a while."

"No," Kaylee agreed, looking worried now.  "Simon will be upset."  She glanced at Zoe, her expression troubled.  "He still feels guilty that he can't fix her up proper."

"Ain't his fault the government twisted the poor girl's brain into knots," Zoe commented, leaning against the wall to wait for the captain.  Kaylee made a strangely bitter sound, but didn't answer aloud.  Zoe's gaze sharpened, and she studied the girl, taking in the nervous twist of her hands, the tense set of her shoulders, and the troubled look on her face.  Zoe knew how close Simon and Kaylee had grown, even if they tried to shield her from it.  She appreciated the sentiment, but Kaylee and Simon wĕn mŏurén in the middle of the cargo bay couldn't make her miss Wash any more than she already did.

Nothing could.

"Kaylee?" Zoe prodded.  "Everything okay?"

"Of course," Kaylee answered.  Girl was a terrible liar.  Also hated disappointing people, so Zoe kept silent until Kayleee continued, her voice low, "I'm just worried about Simon, is all.  He has River to see after, and then I go and wake him up for burnt fingers.  I told him--"  She broke off as Mal and Simon emerged, looking somber.  "Simon, is River--?"

"She's fine now," Simon answered shortly, not quite looking at Kaylee.  If she had to guess, Zoe'd say the two kids had been having a pretty significant difference of opinion before River's xiēsīdĭlĭde fāzuò interrupted.

Zoe exchanged a look with the captain, who seemed less than thrilled with the interpersonal dimensions lurking about.  "Sir?"

Running a weary hand through his hair, Mal gestured toward the common area.  "We got some things to discuss.  Might as well be now, seeing as how we're all awake already."

A year ago, Simon would've jumped in to apologize profusely for his sister raisin' a ruckus.  Now he simply nodded and followed the captain.  Inara moved to Kaylee, still lingering beside Zoe, and held out her arm.  Linking arms, Inara and Kaylee walked toward the common area, Zoe bringing up the rear.  They settled in quickly, Inara and Kaylee side-by-side on the couch, Simon stiffly upright in one chair, Mal and Zoe standing a meter or so apart.

"Way I see it," the captain began, "we got ourselves a problem."

Kaylee glanced around, unusually subdued.  She half-lifted a hand before asking, "Shouldn't we wake Jayne?"

Zoe lifted an eyebrow.  "Jayne sleeps with Vera tucked beneath his pillow.  You volunteering to go wake him?"

"Oh," Kaylee answered, slumping a bit against the pillows.  "Never mind."  She tucked her legs up under her, folding up into a ball, keeping her gaze on the floor.

"I'll talk to Jayne tomorrow," Mal said.  "But River ain't getting any better, probably because we're not far from Eunomia.  Seems to me she reads people stronger, closer they are."  He ignored the choking sound from Simon.  "This case, maybe she has a particular strong connection to this prisoner if they got similar cuts in their brains."

Zoe glanced around in the momentary silence, noting Inara's carefully schooled expression as she politely listened to Mal.  Kaylee kept shooting covert glances at Simon, who was typically oblivious.

"Wait," Simon interjected, holding up one hand, blinking rapidly as he tried to comprehend Mal's meaning.  "You can't possibly be suggesting that River and this... person are psychically linked."

"Don't know what to call it," Mal answered, "but you can't deny she seems a mite consumed with what's happening to him."  He paused, but Simon didn't offer any further protests.  "Least we can do," Mal continued, "is try to find out if this APP-whatever exists, and whether he's who River thinks he is.  Reality, bad as it was, seemed to help her a good deal with Miranda."

This silence had a very different quality, as if the others were all holding their breath, waiting for Zoe to react, to cry or scream or faint.  She ignored the flash of irritation and turned to Inara.  "Were you able to get intel on the camp-followers?"

The captain narrowed his eyes.  "So that's where Inara--"

Inara raised her voice and ignored Mal.  "Yes.  There are several whorehouses on Eunomia, and the clientele are mostly guards."

"Mostly?" Kaylee asked, hugging a pillow to her chest.  She stared at the floor, her body tense as Inara continued.

"Some of the more well-connected or..." Inara paused, apparently searching for the appropriate turn of phrase, then shrugged, "intimidating inmates are occasionally able to persuade the guards to allow conjugal visits," she answered, glaring at Mal when he offered a noise of disgust.

"But," Zoe pressed, "the camp-followers are in near-constant contact with the guards?"

Nodding, Inara agreed, "Yes.  Why?"

Taking a deep breath, Zoe straightened her spine and said, "Because I've got a plan."

*****

Eyes wide, Mal stared at his first mate in disbelief.  "Nī nēng zài shuō yībiàn ma?"  Because she had to be kidding.  Weren't a funny joke, mind, but a bad joke made more sense than an actual suggestion.  She couldn't be so addlepated as to think he'd let her do this.

Crossing her arms, Zoe turned to face him fully, and he knew he was in for a fight.  Some days, he missed the deference she'd shown during the war, but the small part of him that wasn't focused on her huāngmiù plan was relieved to see that old spark.  Zoe leveled her gaze on him.  "We need information."

"Right," Mal agreed easily.  They did need information.  Couldn't bust a figment of River's imagination out of prison.  Would be the height of stupidity to go sneakin' into a federal prison only to find out there weren't no such prisoner.  Bit tricky to explain if they were caught.

"We don't have any useful conduits of information the way things stand," Zoe continued, directing all of her arguments to him.  Mal wasn't sure if that was because he was the one in charge, or simply because her harebrained scheme had left the others speechless.  "We need hard information on Eunomia, and we can't easily send someone in as a guard," she added.

"Agreed."  All things being equal, Mal did his best to avoid contact with prisons and prisonkeepers.

"And time is of the essence," she pointed out.

Mal nodded.  "True."  Not only was River deteriorating, but they didn't have much coin and needed to get back to the border planets sooner than later for work.  Far as he was concerned, they'd pick up the gorram chickens on Themis and skeddadle for Beylix, and whatever information they got 'fore leaving would be enough.

"So," Zoe concluded, "I go in undercover and gather the information we need."

"See," Mal said, squinting a bit, "that's the part I don't get."  No way was he letting Zoe do something so wánquán yúchûn.  Gorram crazy scheme.

Zoe raised one eyebrow in challenge.  "What don't you understand?"

"You," Mal answered loudly, "volunteering to whore yourself--"

"Didn't say I was planning on whorin' myself," she interrupted, anger lacing her words now.

Shaking his head a bit, Mal said, "So you plan to go undercover as a whore, but not do any whoring?  Seems that last part would blow your cover."

"I can handle myself, sir," Zoe answered, her tone daring him to disagree.

Inara shifted, sitting forward on the couch.  "Zoe, I have to agree with Mal here.  Your idea is a good one, but it would require..." she shrugged, catching Mal's gaze for a brief moment, "active participation."

Nodding emphatically, Mal turned back to his first mate.  "And I ain't authorizing no active participatin'."

"We need information," Zoe pointed out, lifting her chin.

Mal stared at her in disbelief, wondering just when his first mate had succumbed to space dementia.  "Last time I checked, I'm still captain of this here ship, and--"

"I'm the best option, sir," Zoe interrupted, "with the least to--"  She broke off, shaking her head.  "I can do this."

And that's when Mal understood why she was so keen on this, and exactly why he couldn't let her go through with it.  Far too fatalistic for Mal's tastes.  "We'll talk later," he told Zoe, knowing she'd skin him alive were he to bring up Wash in front of the others, "but--"

"Listen," Simon broke in, lifting his hands in a peaceable gesture, "I appreciate the idea, but I'm really not comfortable with--"

"You're not doing this," Mal interrupted, ignoring Simon's protests and holding Zoe's defiant glare.  "And that's final.  'Sides," he added with a shrug, "you couldn't pull it off."

Now Zoe looked well and truly pissed.  "That so?"

"You move like a soldier," Mal answered, gesturing at the way she was standing:  tall, proud, and a mite daunting.  Wouldn't get any guards like that.  He'd seen the way soldiers watched her during the war, a whole lot of lust outweighed by intimidation.

"What does that mean?" Zoe demanded, ice forming on her words.

Cowed by her tone, Mal tried to backpedal.  "That you move like a soldier," he replied.  "Not like Inara with her," he shrugged, searching for the right word, "womanly wiles.  No one would believe you're a whore."

Zoe crossed her arms, cocking her hip.  "I'm not quite sure how to take that, sir."  

Inara, glaring at him from the couch, added, "Me, neither."

Too late, Mal realized he'd managed to offend both Zoe and Inara.  And given his luck, probably Kaylee, too, since she always sided with Inara.  "Um..."

"Since I move like a whore," Inara said in that cutting tone, "maybe I should be the one--"

"No," Mal interrupted, ignoring the red spark of rage her suggestion kindled.  "Neither one of you is going playactin' at being a whore down on Eunomia.  In case you didn't notice, Eunomia ain't the most hospitable penal moon in the galaxy, 'specially not the three weeks it spends in the shadow of Themis   People get a mite crazy going without sunshine days on end."

"I never thought about that," Simon mused.  "Seems like moons might not be the most optimal places to house potentially violent prisoners, at least not if rehabilitation is the goal."  Simon looked a bit startled by the glares he'd earned himself from Zoe and Mal both.  They'd spent a considerable amount of time in a prison nowhere near as accommodating as Eunomia after the war, and rehabilitation had never been the goal.  If the Alliance simply wanted to punish its prisoner, a cold, dark moon like Eunomia was probably just about perfect.

"Won't ever understand the aims of the Alliance," Mal said, "and I don't rightly care.  Inara?" Mal asked, turning to her.  Inara nodded, her gaze shifting to Zoe, who still looked too gorram defiant to Mal's eye.  He tilted his head.  "Zoe, we gonna have a problem?"

He could tell it chafed her, but Zoe lifted her chin and answered, "No, sir."

"I'll do it," Kaylee said in a small voice, pressing a pillow tight to her chest.

Jaw dropping, Mal turned to his tiny mechanic.  "The hell you will!"

"No," Simon chimed in all panicky-like.  "No, Kaylee, you can't possibly--"

"I can," she interrupted, chin lifting as she stared down the doctor.  "I ain't no blushing virgin, Simon.  I could probably move like a whore, like the Cap'n said--"

"Kaylee," Simon continued, his entire body leaning toward her as he pleaded with her, eyes wide.  "Please, this is ridiculous.  I don't want you to do this.  I don't want you in danger."

"But I want to help," Kaylee answered plaintively, and Mal could tell from the set of her shoulders that she was about to dig those tiny heels in.  Experience taught him long since that sunny as Kaylee was, she could be as stubborn as any woman in the 'verse when she set her mind to it.

"You want to help," Mal said, losing his patience for the entire situation, "you fix the gorram ship when we sit her down tomorrow, dong ma?"

A rebellious glint flashed in Kaylee's eyes as she met his gaze, but she lifted her chin and said, "Yes, Cap'n."

Still unsettled, Mal studied her for a long moment before gesturing toward their quarters.  "All I want to do is get some information to see if we can help River deal with this mollymawk.  That's all.  We can't get information without risk, well, then we live without information," he finished, figuring he'd work out a better plan before the morning and get the womenfolk off this whorin' idea.  But first, he wanted to have a little chat with Zoe.  "Zoe, a minute."

She stood still as the others made their way back to their respective quarters.  Mal couldn't help but notice Kaylee wouldn't listen to Simon's bleating, and he cursed shipboard romances.  Always complicated things unnecessarily, he mused, his gaze fixing on Inara as she glanced back at him before stepping out into the cargo bay.

"Yes, Captain?" Zoe prompted, hostility still in her tone.

Her anger made him uncomfortable, and that made him angry.  "You got a problem you'd like to address?" he demanded, arms crossed.

"No, sir," she answered blandly.

Mal narrowed his eyes, studying her inscrutable expression.  "You're still hurtin' over Wash," he said finally, and it was the first time he'd broached the subject of her husband.  "It's affecting your judgment.  I can't let it affect mine."

Zoe didn't answer, she simply stared at him for a long, unnerving moment before she turned and stalked off toward her quarters.  He had half a mind to go after her, but Mal knew he'd managed to cross a line.  Probably came damn close to getting himself clobbered, come to think.  "Wŏ bùzhīdào wēishénme nàyàng shuō," he muttered, heading up to the bridge.  

He'd deal with it tomorrow.

*****

Inara made her way up to the bridge in search of Mal, and found River instead.  "Good morning, River," she greeted, stepping through the hatch and moving closer to the girl.

River half-turned, and met Inara's gaze.  "I'm not crazy."

Inara blinked.  "I didn't think you were," she answered with only the slightest hesitation.  It was true; Inara considered River a girl with some serious emotional scars, but not the kind of dissociation that would keep River from healing.

"I feel things," River said, turning back to stare out at Themis, looming large as Serenity prepared for atmo.

"I know," Inara murmured, not wanting to interrupt if River were about to explain her connection to her mollymawk.

"Mice," River continued, her voice growing shrill.  "We were mice, all of us, caught in a cage.  Soft pillows and new reading screens, then mazes to run.  Push the lever, get a cookie."

Inara simply hummed a response, scarcely daring to move for fear of disturbing River's recollections.  Inara had no way of knowing how much of her time at the Academy River had been able to relay to Simon, but the least Inara could do was listen.  If River's words helped solve the mystery of the mollymawk, all the better.

But River turned wide, despairing eyes to Inara.  "He's in a new trap.  No pillows, no mazes.  Stronger.  Darker."  Abruptly, River pushed herself out of the copilot's chair and darted past Inara, disappearing through the hatch before Inara could react.

Serenity chirped a warning about atmo, and Inara looked to the control panel, a small frown on her lips.  She was quite skilled at flying shuttles; the closest she'd come to flying Serenity was standing on the bridge beside the console.  Guiding Serenity through reentry was not something she wanted to attempt.

"Did you say something to her?"

Startled, Inara whirled so fast she nearly lost her balance.  Serenity being tossed about by the heated gases of Themis's atmosphere didn't help, but she placed a hand on the pilot's console and glared at Mal as he stepped through the hatch and headed for the pilot's seat.  Irritated by his implication, Inara crossed her arms.  "I said very little to her.  River is troubled."

Mal snorted a laugh, but didn't spare her a glance.  "That's one word for it."

"She's not crazy, Mal," Inara warned.  "She's hyper-intuitive, at the very least.  If she says there's another former Academy student imprisoned unjustly, then there is."

"You think I don't know that?" Mal shot back.  The ship slowed as it pushed up against atmo.  Themis disappeared behind a curtain of flames.

"What do you plan to do about it?" Inara asked, gripping the console tighter now, as Serenity bucked and shuddered her way through the flames.

"What do I plan to--?" he exploded, shooting her a glare over his shoulder.  "I've got a ship I can barely afford to fuel, not to mention crew that prefer two squares a day.  Much as I'd love to tweak the Alliance by busting some low-level prisoner out of their jails, I don't have the resources.  Gorram it," he swore, bringing the bow down to the proper angle to ease the shuddering of the ship.  "Don't like the risk neither."

Steadying herself on the edge of the console, Inara snapped, "Are you finished?"  Serenity's flight smoothed out as the atmosphere around them cooled and allowed them entry.  Inara squinted against the bright sunshine.

"Little busy right now," Mal answered, and she could hear the smirk even though he refused to look at her.  "No time to spare for a lecture."

"I don't plan to lecture you, Mal," Inara said, suddenly tired of the conversation.  "And I wasn't suggesting you should plan a jailbreak.  I just wondered what you wanted to do for River and--"  

"I let that girl on my ship even after I found out she's lethal, and every day they're aboard, I risk the rest of my crew to keep 'em safe.  I took her word and flew through a pack o' Reavers to uncover horrors the like I can't remember seein' since the war, and I managed to get Wash and Shepherd Book and Patience and hundreds more killed in the crossfire.  That's what I do for River."

Mal stopped abruptly, breathing hard, still refusing to look at her as he steered the ship with his fingers clenched tight around the stick.

"Mal, what that man did, the people he killed, it wasn't your--"

"Enough," he snapped, his voice rough with anger.  "Just stop."

"I'm trying to help."  He didn't answer, guiding the ship toward the docks with a set jaw.  Inara sighed and turned away, "Never mind."

When she reached the hatch, she heard him sigh and curse under his breath.  With an annoyed shake of her head, Inara descended the stairs into the galley, pausing to straighten the chairs that had been jostled during reentry.  No one was in the common area, so she continued on to the cargo bay.  From her vantage point on the catwalk, she could see River curled up into a ball, tucked behind a precariously stacked row of crates.

Serenity touched down hard without Wash's light hands guiding her.  Down in the bay, Zoe stood with one hand on the cargo bay door controls, her expression grim, and Inara wondered if she was thinking of Wash, too.

"We're clear," Mal announced over the comm, anger still ringing in his voice.  Zoe opened the doors and walked off the ship to register Serenity with the dockmaster.  Jayne and Simon stood at opposite ends of the mule, with near matching expressions of impatience and irritation.

Inara watched without comment as Mal clambered down the stairs and stormed over to Simon.  He hitched a thumb toward the open cargo door.  "You're coming with me," Mal ordered.  

Simon looked surprised, glancing around for his sister and patting his pockets.  "But I--"

"River's fine," Mal interrupted, his tone downright unfriendly.  "I'm planning to get some meds this stop.  Could use that brain of yours 'less you've got something more pressing."

"That mean I'm free to find a bar?" Jayne wondered.

"No," Mal answered, rounding on him, "that means you and Zoe can go to Preethi's and get the gorram chicken back to the ship instead of drinking yourself under a table in some hellhole."

"Yessir," Jayne sneered, snapping his filthy boots together at the heel and snapping off a sarcastic salute that Mal ignored.

"Inara?"

Inara turned to find Kaylee standing behind her, bandaged hand clasped tightly in her uninjured hand.  "Kaylee.  I'm sorry, I didn't hear you."

"S'okay," Kaylee answered.  She glanced down at Simon, her expression troubled.  Then she straightened her shoulders, turned back to Inara, and tried to smile.  "Can I ask a favor?"

*****

Simon paused in the doorway to the cargo bay, watching Jayne drag the last of the portable chicken coops up behind him.  It was early autumn on Themis, still warm enough to work up a sweat dragging crates aboard.  Simon wiped an arm across his brow as Jayne set the coop down then leaned close and gave the oblivious birds a sinister smile.  "I'll see you later, tasty little birds."

Rolling his eyes, Simon turned back to the common area, smiling when he heard Mal warn for the fourth or fifth time, "You will not be eatin' any of our cargo," followed by Jayne's inevitable protest.  

Simon retreated to the infirmary, tearing open the last box and cataloguing its contents.  River appeared in the doorway, watching him with wide eyes as he carefully stored the glass vials in their proper place.  "Do you need something, River?"

She shook her head, her long hair swaying and dancing.  She was better today, Simon decided.  Maybe the smoother had done its job.  He'd checked on her as soon as he woke, made sure she was tranquil before he offered his help with the chicken-and-supplies run.  Mal had surprised Simon by purchasing medical supplies and a sizable collection of drugs on Themis, many of them designed to help soothe psychological trauma.

River smiled at him, her expression encouraging.  "She's okay.  She's braver than you think."

River's penchant for referring to herself in the third person bothered Simon, because it suggested her schizophrenia might not be the only psychological trauma the Alliance had induced.  She'd scoffed at his suggestion that she had alternate personalities, but...

River rolled her eyes at him.  "Not River," she said, pulling back from the door into the shadows of the hallway, her face upturned.  "Knowledge of the spirit world is obtained through divination."

Simon blinked, and glanced at his sister with consternation.  "Did Shepherd Book tell you that?"

With a put-upon sigh, River turned and disappeared.  Moments later, Simon heard Mal stomp along the catwalks, with Zoe's measured steps behind him.  "Inara!" Mal hollered.  "You open up right now."

"Sir," Zoe began, "you're--"

"I'll get to you in a minute," Mal interrupted, and it was the combination of fear and anger in his voice that drew Simon out into the cargo bay, dread pooling in his stomach.  Something had happened, and on this ship, that was almost never good.

Simon stopped on the floor of the cargo bay, looking up at the others on the catwalk, huddled just outside the entrance to Inara's shuttle.  Mal stood with his arms crossed, looking murderous, with Zoe at his shoulder, stoic and nearly unreadable.  A meter or so behind them, Jayne leaned his elbows on the handrails and spectated, practically bouncing with glee when Inara swept out of her shuttle, stopping short at the Mal-and-Zoe-shaped roadblock.  

All three of 'em started shouting, and Simon watched in stunned silence.  River slipped up beside him, lacing her fingers with his.  

"Natural science is discovered through inductive reasoning," she murmured into his ear.  "The apple and the tree.  The gravdrive and the mechanic.  Be strong, Simon, she is stronger."

"Bì zui!" Mal hollered, and Inara and Zoe subsided, both still looking a bit churlish.

Simon stiffened.  Kaylee?  Were they fighting over Kaylee?  He couldn't seem to move, or to speak, couldn't make himself demand they tell him where Kaylee was, because he had a really bad feeling.  He tried to remember when he'd seen her last.  In the engine room, expression grim as she repaired Serenity's compressor, but that was hours ago, before he and Mal had left on the mule.  Where--?

"She set sail for Australia," River explained, low enough so only Simon would hear.  "To help all the mollymawks.  Bi you zhi lu."

Frozen, Simon let River's explanation sink in, his unseeing gaze still on the trio of crew above.  Australia.  Kaylee'd gone to--  He shook his head.  "No," he whispered, panic and fear and anger fighting for dominance.

"Kaylee is an adult," Inara told Mal, her voice tight with anger and defiance.  "And she simply requested that I take her to the docks on the far side of Themis."

"How did--?  Who--?  Why would--?"  Mal broke off, shaking his head.

"Kaylee made several good arguments in favor of going to Eunomia," Inara began.

"Wŏ cái bùguăn ne!  What the hell were you thinking?" Mal shouted.

Simon felt lightheaded, like the ship had lurched suddenly beneath him even though they were still docked on Themis.  River's fingers squeezed his, pulling him toward the stairs to join the others.

"Good arguments!" Mal echoed, furious now.  "She's a mechanic, Inara!  Ain't got no business playin' at being a jiàndié!  Didn't I say last night--?"

"No," Inara interrupted, arms crossed.  "You didn't.  You told her to fix the ship, which she did."

"Wŏ kònjiàn tā jiù gàosu tā!" Mal shouted.  "I flat out said no, and you gussied her up and sent her down to Eunomia to make like a whore?"

"She's an adult woman," Inara yelled back, "and she can make her own decisions about how much she's willing to risk for the rest of us, just like I can.  You have no call to forbid her from doing her part.  And Kaylee's right about this.  She can pull this off, with her combination of innocence and sensuality--"

"Kaylee?" Simon managed, his voice barely a whisper compared to their hollering.  Still, all four of them turned his way.

River guided him up the stairs and onto the landing, where Mal, Zoe, and Inara joined him.  Jayne held back, looking down on them with hooded eyes as Inara explained that this búgù hòuguŏ plan was the best way to get information; that young, innocent, border-raised Kaylee was perfect for the role; that it wasn't dangerous in a conventional sense; that she'd wave them immediately if she had a problem.  

Simon couldn't quite concentrate on the argument escalating around him.  Kaylee was in danger.  And she'd chosen it willingly.  Somehow, he knew this was his fault.  For not arguing with her last night, for not sticking to her like a burr today, for not telling her he couldn't possibly lose her--

"You can calculate the laws of the 'verse," River murmured, her fingers squeezing his until he turned his blurred gaze to her.

"River?" he asked, getting past the shock enough to feel fury seeping in. "Can you feel her, River?  Is she okay?"

"She's brave," his sister answered, a beatific smile on her face as she leaned her head back and added, her tone solemn, "The enemy is knowable through spies alone."

The word hit him hard -- spies.  His little Kaylee was playing spy down on a penal moon.  Simon's knees betrayed him, and he sat down hard on the steel stairs, letting his head hang down between his knees.  "Wŏ yŏudiăn ĕxīn," he muttered.

*****

Glossary | Part One | End Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six | Part Seven

Firefly fic