Unfinished Business

Chapter Two

“Where is Muir?” Simon asked as he spooned out a dollop of brown paste-like protein into his bowl. It was supposed to have the flavor and texture of meatloaf, according to the directions on the packet, but the result was more like wet cardboard lightly flavored with garlic and beef bouillon than actual food.

“Gorgon system,” Mal supplied. “Big 2.1 Jovian planet, moons aplenty. Same system as Ita moon.”

“They’re real nice there,” Kaylee assured him. “And Muir is beautiful – about the only place with real live giant redwood trees – saw ‘em, last time we went through.”

“Buncha gorram freethinkin’ treehuggers, y’ask me,” growled Jayne as he wolfed down the brown substance. “Good beer, though,” he added.

“Muir is actually somewhat special,” Inara interjected, ignoring the mercenary’s comment. “It was settled about the same time as the later Central planets, only way far out from the Core. But unlike most worlds, it wasn’t built by a commercial terraforming company. Instead a private foundation, the Muir foundation, built it as a natural refuge for flora and fauna of Earth-That-Was. The people of Muir regard Nature as the perfect expression of God’s desires, and see Man’s loss of Earth as a divine punishment for lack of good stewardship. So they plan to re-create the old biospheres of Earth-That-Was and try to slide back into a primitive tribal existence.”

“You’ve been there?” Simon asked, surprised.

“No, I just caught a special on CV,” admitted Inara.

Mal chuckled. “Yes, it isn’t likely that the Ambassador would go there. Too much local competition,” he said.

“There is a priestesshood of sacred prostitutes that call Muir home,” explained Inara, blushing slightly. “They see the Companions’ Guild as a betrayal of the Goddess’ gifts, so it is said. There have been . . . incidents. By law, Companions are expressly forbidden to practice their trade there.”

“No honor among whores, I guess,” Mal muttered.

“They ain’t proper whores,” complained Jayn