The women were waiting as Hank brought the shuttle in, barely having docked before Simon had the door open.

“Honey, do you have –“

Kaylee held out the stretcher and he smiled. “Thanks.” He disappeared back inside and a minute later Jayne came out backwards, manoeuvring the girl through the hatch. Mal had the other end, and Simon was at her side.

“Get the infirmary ready,” Mal said to Freya, who nodded and ran off down the steps.

“Who is she?” Inara asked, looking down at the teenage girl’s face as she was carried past.

“She’s got no ident on her,” Hank said, coming out of the shuttle. “Nothing except this.” He held out a small piece of metal. “No idea what it is.” He hurried down the steps.

Inara took it, turning it over in her fingers, then glanced sharply at Jayne and Mal lifting the stretcher carefully down the last few steps towards the infirmary.

Zoe looked at the Companion. “Do you recognise it?” she asked.

“I … don’t think so,” Inara said slowly, handing it over.

Zoe looked at it lying in the palm of her hand, an oblong of dull grey, the numbers 9503 inscribed on one side, and some form of glyph on the other. “A dog tag?”

“Maybe. Probably.” Inara flashed a smile and followed the others.

“Don’t you believe her?” Kaylee asked, standing close to Serenity’s first mate.

“Not sure,” Zoe admitted. She glanced at River. “Can you pick anything up?”

River shook her head. “Not from either of them. But Inara’s been practicing.”

“Practicing?”

“Building walls to keep me out.” River wasn’t embarrassed in any way, just stating the facts.

“You can do that?”

“I can teach you if you want.”

“Do I have things I don’t want you to read?”

“Hank …”

Zoe glared at her while Kaylee stifled a giggle.

---

Freya scrubbed up to help Simon, while Mal stood in the corner, ready to assist when needed.

“I don’t know how she survived as long as she has,” the young medic said, looking at the scans. “She’s got severe bruising internally, some bleeding … I’ll n