The explosion echoed round the complex, setting up vibration and counter-vibration in the walls and ceiling. Mal brushed the light dust from his coat and glanced at Zoe. “You think … Frey?”

“I imagine so, sir.”

Yes, me , he heard without the use of his ears.

There was a slight red tinge to her thoughts which he associated with pain. You okay, xin gan?

Shiny. Just somewhat … bruised.

He knew she was lying a little. You sure?

Trust me. My good looks aren’t affected. And before you ask, Alex is fine too.

With you to look after him, I'm not surprised . He looked up at his first mate. “Yeah. Freya.” He grinned and thumbed the comlink. “Hank. You there?”

“Not sure where else I’d be.”

“Is the jammer down?”

There was a pause while he obviously checked. “It’s down.”

“Then get that stuff sent before the Alliance take it into their heads to do the same.”

On the bridge of Serenity, Hank peered up into the sky. “Oh, I think they’re going to be too busy for that,” he said. “Looks like the fight’s started.”

There wasn’t much to see, just occasional flares in the sky as Alliance two-man gunships were taken down, EMP pulses scrambling their onboard systems. One had fallen close by, exploding into bright glory on the Valley bottom, and he’d said a brief prayer for the men on board.

Deep below the ruins of the Abbey, Mal closed his eyes briefly. “Just … get it done. Then get my boat out of there.”

“Mal –“

“No time for discussion. Not telling you to leave, ‘cause I know you won’t. Just get Serenity someplace safe so you can come back for us later.” He smiled a little. “Besides, you might need to perform a heroic rescue.”

“How heroic?”

Out of the corner of his eye Mal could see Zoe shake her head at her husband, exasperation written clearly on her otherwise stoic face. “I’ll let you know. Do the job, Hank.”

“Yeah.” The comlink clicked off.

No-one spoke for a moment, each seeing the battle going