Usual disclaimers apply: I don't own the 'verse. Kudos to those who do.

I'm hoping to have the flashback last about five installments (of which this is the second). Please comment -- criticsm is good, guidance is better.

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She made no sound as she stole up the stairs and toward the left. She took care going near the hatch doors, realizing that if anyone woke she’d have to think fast or start talking. She wasn’t entirely sure about these people yet.

She smiled at the wreath of white Christmas lights around on of the hatch doors. Whoever had strung them was obviously proud to live in that room. She read the hand-painted sign over the door as she passed it. Kaylee. La belle nom, she thought.

There was a sudden sound behind her---a clanking of sorts---and she realized that someone was at work in the far back room of this hall. She wasn’t quite sure what was in that room, but she thought it best to work herself away from the light and the noise. She continued, making absolutely sure that she made no sound that couldn’t be covered by the sounds of the ship itself.

As she stepped into the large room on the left (she gathered it was a kitchen of sorts, evidenced by the large table in the middle of the floor), she swept the space with a couple of well-timed glances. Though dark, it was illuminated by the expanse of stars that lay just outside the window.

There were hundreds of them, she thought. Maybe thousands. She allowed herself a small smile as she saw the brilliance of these tiny lights. She had spent much of her life in cities, in the Common. While she could find all sorts of uses for the crowds and the structures and the objects that it provided, she knew without a doubt that the sight of these stars in the black was worth more.

She broke her eyes off from the intoxicating sight. Back to business.

She began going through the tiny lockers on the right side of the wall. There she found a number of pla