Fork in the Road

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based on the world of Firefly by Joss Whedon

Somewhere in the depths of space.....

The room was bathed in the shelter of darkness, the only light coming from a small lamp on the large desk, which stood in the middle of the room. The wooden door opened to reveal a small man, his hands shaking as he approached the occupant of the desk. Smoke forced upward by the solitary fan in the ceiling hovered for a second as it dispersed.

“You wanted to see me, Sir.” His voice squeaked as he talked and jumped when the one he was addressing cleared his throat.

“Am I to understand that we have lost Project Cat 1313 again, Alfred?”

“Yes, Sir.” Alfred frowned.

“And is Cat still traveling with the other one, the one it recovered from us?”

“Yes, Sir. They are on the firefly transport called Serenity.”

“Malcolm Reynolds' ship. We should have killed him when we had the chance. Damn operatives can't be counted on for anything.”

“Yes, Sir. We have established a location on Cat, though. It will be landing in Santo within the next six hours.”

“Has the serum been recovered from Green's office?” Alfred nodded and then held up one of the vials of purple liquid. His boss laughed. “That will slow it down considerably.”

“It strips it of the weapon's 'other' abilities, as Green said it would and will make Cat easy to wound...”

“And even easier to kill. I want your troops armed with this. Needles filled to the brim. Tell them to use it as soon as they get a bead on Cat.”

“Do you want it killed, Sir?”

“No, unless they have to. The other one could pose a threat as well. How long ago was Cat given the antidote?”

“Its last injection was seven months ago. Next one should have been given a month ago.”

“Good. It won't take long for it to lose complete control.”

“Won't that be dangerous?!”

“Only if you're within biting range.”

“So what do I tell my men? How do they track it on a planet like Santo?”

“Follow the dead.