As always everything belongs to Joss. All of these are written in chronological order, but can be read as stand alones (only vague references to other installments). Ratings are shiny, comments are shinier!

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Intro -

Inara sighed, pulling her shaw tight around her shoulders as she stepped outside. It wasn't so much cold outside, but there always seemed to be a pervasive chill in the air no matter where she went. Breathing deep she watched the changes in the ion cloud as the sun set behind it. Like the aurora borealis from Earth That Was, the sky shimmered as the sun grew closer to the horizon. The constant humming and crackling of the atmosphere seemed to mellow into shades of greens and yellows. Once it set there would be only flickers of the constant electrical storm that never reached the surface. The night sky jarred her, but twilight comforted. Leaving the MedCen (where only proper food available was offered at virtually anytime), she headed away from the service bay where Serenity was slowly healing from her battle wounds. It only took Inara two days since arriving that she found her a secluded spot where the lights of the Alliance wouldn't interfere with her meditation and communion with the lights in the sky.

With so much to absorb and sort through she was grateful for the time afforded from being temporarily stranded. It gave her an easy excuse to ignore any one of the many unknowns that seemed to be pushing in on her from all sides. It gave her an ironic sense of freedom to have this time. Any other place in the Guild's easy reach she would have found herself surrounded by well meaning, and not so well meaning, peers either offering comfort or subtly fishing for clues of the past month. Well meaning or not, neither would have afforded her the privacy and such a sheer expanse of time to really think. And with the Miranda broadwave she was sure that in any of those numerous places in the 'verse she would have found herself in some uncomfortable scenes of reckoning. She sighed r