Part I

"No word from them?" Wash asked Zoe nervously.

"Nothing from Mal, or Kaylee, since they signalled that they were on the move from their assigned chambers," Zoe said, looking at Serenity's comm screen. "Inara sent a generic query signal through, but I pretty much had to assume that was for Mal, and he doesn't seem to have replied."

"I really don't like this," Wash muttered. "Jorge took his ship in. Why can't we?"

"If things start to look bad enough that there's nothing to lose by abandoning the plan... then we can try it," Zoe muttered. "For now - just have patience. Radio silence can be tough to take, especially if you're not seeing action yourself. We don't know. Things might be more or less on track."

"No, it's not going smooth," River said, in an odd imitation of Mal's speaking cadence and tonal patterns, though it wasn't really an imitation of the sound of his voice. "Why can things never go smooth?"

Zoe turned around to glare at River. "Doing that, it's not helpful."

"Okay, what about if I go down to the passenger's head and leave the hand dryer air blowers on all the way?" River countered.

"Still not the best idea I've ever heard in the 'Verse," Wash decided, "but if it would keep you out from underfoot, my vote is 'go for it.'"

"Nah, that wouldn't keep me engaged for long," River decided after a long, thoughtful moment. "You're stuck with me."

Wash sighed and checked the passive sensors again.

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"Mal Reynolds," the muscular, well armed woman said in a despairing groan. "You didn't just do what I think you did?"

"You're a smart lady, Allena," Mal answered evenly. "If you think that I did something, then you're probably right."

"Trying to lock us out of the lab with the goods in it?" Allena bit back. She had very short, orange-golden hair, and bright hazel eyes that seemed magnified by her spectacles, which were strapped around her head with a black rubber band - presumably so that they wouldn't fall off in the midst of a rough-and-tumble when she'd