Chapter One

'Big Damn Heroes'

Mal hated the snow and the cold.

Kneeling in the crunchy stuff, as he was just then, trying to keep his fingers from freezing to the metal and ceramic parts of his rifle, really brought that feeling home. He hated the snow and the cold... but you did what needed doing, and saved the complaining for later. That was the only way to get through times like this.

"Do you see 'em yet?" Jayne asked over the radio, and not for the first time, either. Mal shook his head in irritation; for a man who prided himself on his skill as a sniper, the big man could be as impatient as a five-year-old. Of course, the nature of the enemy likely wasn't helping any; Jayne was brave, but also easily spooked by things he didn't understand. This time around Mal could completely understand that feeling; there were a lot of things here he didn't understand his own self. Still, it was a Captain's job to project confidence to the troops... even when he wasn't feeling much of it himself.

"Not yet," he said, never taking his eyes off the mouth of the canyon as he spoke, the radio earbug he wore automatically keying on at the sound of his voice. "Settle down, Jayne. They'll get here when they get here." He hesitated, then gave in to his own tension. "Zoë," he murmured quietly. "Anything?"

"Nothing, Sir," came the calm response. Not that she had a good view of the approach; his second in command was tucked into a rocky niche about forty meters further up the canyon, at the base of the left-side wall. Her hiding place hadn't been chosen to provide a clear field of fire, like his and Jayne's, and he didn't much like how isolated and vulnerable she would be when the enemy finally arrived.

You do what needs doing, and save the complaining for later, he told himself again. Zoë was where she needed to be, to do the job. Still, if only Kaylee had been able to find even another fifty meters of usable wire in Serenity's storage compartments....

Mal lowered hi