“Will!” Mal’s voice barked over the intercom. “What in the sphincter of Hell is going on up there?”

William checked the readouts on the console in front if him. There was some damage to the starboard engine, but none of the diagnostics came back critical. Serenity was still space worthy, and that’s all that was important right now. “Not to worry Captain.” William called into the intercom as the ship bucked again. “Everything’s shiny.” He switched channels to the engine room before Mal could respond. “Kaylee?”

“It’ll be another minute, Will.” She answered before William could even ask the question.

The ship bucked again, and warning lights flashed across the panels in front of him. “We ain’t got a minute, love.” William struggled with the controls. “You’ve got thirty seconds.”

William looked over at River, who was sitting in the co-pilot’s seat. “You ready for this?”

She turned and flashed William a smile. “If we live long enough to do it, yeah.”

William made final preparations for the maneuver as the proximity alarm went off. He cut Serenity hard to the left and braced for impact …

Two weeks earlier

“Will?” Mal’s voice over the intercom roused William from his sleep. “Will, wake up.”

“I’m up.” He said groggily, sitting up. River stirred next to him and rolled over, but didn’t wake up.

“Got a wave for you here. I’m sending it down.” There was a short burst of static indicating that Mal had turned off the comm.

William got up and walked over to his console as the screen lit up. Yawning, he pressed a button enabling the speaker. “William, it’s good to see you.”

“Geoffrey. All’s well I hope.” William said between yawns.

“For Kara and I, yes, things are fine.” Geoffrey smiled, but William could tell there was something going on.

“But?” William pressed. “You made the call for a reason Geoffrey, what is it you need?”

“Not me,” Geoffrey corrected, “my niece.” Geoffrey looked uncomfortable. He never liked having to ask for help.

William remembered Geoffrey’