CHAPTER 7

The drop went smoother than Mal could have hoped for. No unkind words or bullets were exchanged. The coin was real, not counterfeit. Easy-peasy in the most unsettling of ways. Though his gut told him to press on to Persephone, Jackson begged him to stay aground just a little longer. It was the boy’s first trip to another world and he was itching to go off ship. He’d earned it after the scare he had earlier.

With Kaylee still holed up in the Infirmary, Mal had convinced Simon to stay until they reached Persephone. The young doctor grumbled angrily, but went along with it, making some excuse about catching up with his sister. Inara volunteered to stay with Kaylee while the rest went to town to relax and resupply.

“Breathe! Breathe real deep!” Jackson encouraged as soon as his toes touched dirt.

“I’m breathin’,” Mal assured.

“That’s 8,000 pollen spores right there,” Jackson laughed.

“We got a quota?”

Jackson ignored the remark, running ahead with Emma, picking up rocks and showing her the bugs. Zoë fell into step beside Mal, as natural as though she’d never left.

“We cross through Qian Chung territory to get to Persephone, don’t we, sir?” “I got friends there,” Cappy volunteered. “It should be smooth.”

“Should,” Zoë repeated doubtfully.

“Though having the Doc on board could get us a peck of trouble,” Mal commented. “The You Qian and the Qian Chung aren’t known for their tea parties.”

As they sauntered through town, River pulled Simon into an antique store. Mal paused and considered a broach in the window for Inara, but his thoughts were too much on supplies. They needed food stock.

“Daddy, look!” Emma cried excitedly, running up to him with a hissing cockroach.

“Why thank you, darlin’,” Mal smiled, taking the bug and tossing it as soon as Emma ran off again. Zoë laughed as he shuddered. “I hate those things.”

Cappy went suddenly rigid and put his hand out to stop them. Mal tensed too, his finger going to his gun. It wasn’t something he’d seen or heard, so much as felt. The e