A/N: Yep, I'm back writing chapters for this behemoth of a fan fiction after a brief (i.e. long) hiatus. For the full story, read my latest blog entitled: Antebellum: Back and with a Vengeance.

Since it's been a while, I encourage folks new to this series to start from the beginning just by clicking on my name up there. Or read my aforementioned blog which contains a chapter by chapter recap of everything that's happened so far.

In either case, enjoy, friends!

P.S. This one goes out to AgentRouka and everyone else who has been reading. Candle wax, friends!

Book One – Chapter Ten

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The stars were different. That put Mal’s stomach slightly to rest.

Everything else about Neo Sombra made him want to unload his newly acquired dinner all over the thick grass. The grass was thickest by the edge of the pond where Mal stood, so of course that made him the most sick. He remembered having a pond like this one very close to his mother’s house when he was little. He would often try fishing by there. There weren’t any fish in it, none measuring more than three inches or so, but he would pretend anyway as the moss on the surface slowly grew around his fishing line.

But the pond was gone. He was sure of it. And this was something Mal was having trouble reminding himself of at that particular moment. Looking into the water and seeing a different face than the thirteen-year-old face that had greeted him in the past made him feel better for seconds at a time.

The dinner was good. That is, the food was good. The atmosphere understandably was less than five stars. Mal did his part to stay quiet, and dutifully finished his meal, thanking his hostess, Carolina, every now and again. Jayne shoveled the steak into his mouth as if his paycheck depended on it. Kaylee chatted small talk with Carolina and James’ two girls, Julie and Emma. Simon and Inara, both being the well-bred Alliance-born citizens they were, were the pictures