The Operative awoke with a groan.

His lids lifted, and he saw the whelps still curled on the bed asleep. Though there was noise coming from the helm, and he stiffly rose, dizzy from wear and tear, and limped to the cockpit. Tasya was there, conversing with someone on the screen.

"I know times are tense, I'm merely asking for sanctuary." She pleaded. "Please, my father was Shanghai Murphy and my mother was Oksana, Li Ten sheltered their crew numerous times. They personally dealt with Etsuko Yuriko in terms of their docking clearance..."

"Yuriko is no longer with us." The strong jawed man answered tersely.

"I have a man in grave need of your physic and two young children in need of proper care. This ship is near drifting and we are a long way from any other form of safety. Qing sheng suo." She pressed.

There was a pause. "Very well."

"Xie xie." She turned off the screen and grabbed the steering yolk, not even glancing over her shoulder. "You should lay down."

"I'm quite alright." He forced out.

"When we touch down they're possibly going to cut a few ounces of dead and infected flesh from your side and there will be limited anesthetic if not purely holistic medicine involved." She announced bluntly. "Go lay down."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She wasn't on Serenity.

It was somewhere else. Somewhere like Serenity. Another Firefly, another warm and protective metal spirit. On the helm, the black in front of her and inviting in it's freedom, Boston on her shoulder, her own brown coat swathing her in it's silent statement. Turning, she found them behind her. People, without faces, young, men and woman alike, all standing there, as if waiting for her.

Fiyero stepped out from behind the group, smirking, eyes ablaze with his mischievous brand of excitement. "Hoist your colors."

River awoke.

Boston was a vibrating mound of fur smuggled against her as she found herself wrapped in the warmth of furs and cloth that covered her bed. Per usual, she was without clothes, though her li