Life’s Too Short- Part Twenty-Five

AN: Sorry it's kinda short; I'm sleepy and I have next to no time to write, but I wanted to get back into the habit of posting weekly if I can. The poem is Shakespeare's Sonnet 116, and the little rhyme Kaylee recites is my own (pathetic, okay) creation.

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“Jayne? Zoe! Bridge, now!” Mal’s voice rang through the air, shattering the uneasy silence. He was sitting in the pilot’s seat, Inara curled up in the copilot’s chair. There was a new, softer peace between them, but Mal was filled with too much adrenaline and nervous energy to enjoy it as much as he normally would. With a series of clangs and bangs, Jayne made his way up the stairs to the bridge. Zoe followed at a more stately pace, her dark eyes unreadable. She positioned herself behind Mal’s chair, cutting a lean, determined figure with her arms crossed and her chin set.

“We’ve found a contact on Persephone, one who we think is dealing directly with Saunders,” Inara said. “If we can find-” Just then, Simon ran up the few steps leading to the bridge and skidded to a halt, breathing hard.

“What have you found? Do you know where River is? What’s going on?” Kaylee appeared in the doorway behind him, her cheeks flushed from running.

“We heard ya shouting, Cap’n. What’s up?” Mal rolled his eyes expressively, and glanced at Inara. She began again.

“We think we know where River’s going. She’s going to find a man named Kyle Tremain, on Persephone. He’s connected to Saunders.”

“How do you know River won’t go directly to Saunders himself?”

“I doubt she’ll just charge in. Besides, chances are she doesn’t know where Saunders is.”

“How does she know where this Tremain person is?” Mal tilted his head.

“Well, he does Saunders’ dirty work. So he’s probably lookin’ for her, meaning he’s probably thinkin’ about her real hard. Being a Reader an’ all, she’s probably picking up on that. Either way, Tremain can lead us to Saunders.”

“Persephone,” Kaylee said, looking around at the faces turning her way. “Tha