CHAPTER 4

Finally alone and nourished, Inara fashioned a brace for her hand, wondering if it was in fact broken. Her room was decorated with soft, warm colored fabrics and a comfortable bed. Similar to her shuttle, it had all the elements of a place of union, though she doubted this place was consecrated. Through the barred and sealed windows, she could see the night sky and again she wondered what world she was on.

The room filled with the constant hum of aircraft flying overhead. Jantis certainly loved his planes and kept them close. She watched as the ships danced around low atmo, burning fuel that would have been so precious on Serenity. If she could get on one of these ships, it would be so easy to escape… only with no idea of where she was, she had no idea of where to go or how far she was from safety.

Although exhaustion tugged at her body, Inara forced herself to remain awake long enough for a cleansing ritual. Finding no incense, she resigned herself to kneeling on a pillow, said a prayer, and then crawled under the bedcovers. Inara sank into the embrace of the silk sheets, feeling like a pampered prisoner.

As she drifted to sleep, an image wandered through her mind. Nia Stolte was here—Elle. Chelsea. Inara had told Jantis that she was dead. But if Elle had cheated death, there was still hope for her. Even with Serenity gone, Inara had hope. She would escape.

*~*

When Mal first stepped into City Hall, he longed for the expensive suit Simon had bought for him. The clean lines and spotless floors had all the starkness Mal had come to expect from a government institution. Determined not to blend in, Mal shook the folds of his browncoat, feeling the freedom. As it was after business hours, the building was empty, save for a security guard who boredly scanned the vid feed between bites of a large meatball sub. Mal and Zoë waited patiently outside the glass doors, and the guard only noticed long enough to chastise them for loitering.

“We’re here to see the mayor,” Mal informed the guard, who