based on the world of Firefly by Joss Whedon

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"Reavers are just ghost stories parents tell their kids to keep them from going into the black." One of the privates teased the others that sat around the fire, what were their names again? Oh, well, it really didn't matter. Most never made it past their first front line battle. Still, they were talking about something that perked her ears up and for Cat, those subjects were few and far between. Usually the troop's prattle was nothing more than puppies yapping to her, barking on and on about what they would so after the war was won. Foolishness, though helped along by an equally optimistic commanding officer.

In a way, she sincerely hoped the Independents won, but as a predator, her view was clouded by the facts, something Cat could see even in Zoe. The dark woman had become more set on just making sure Mal and she came out of the war alive, which was a good aim since it had basically become Cat's main goal as well. She defended the men mostly because that was asked of her.

"How do you know they don't exist. Awful lot of black we haven't discovered yet, and how you do explain some of the ships they've found...tore up and covered in blood." The conversation brought her back to reality and she growled a bit, something dark in her stirring at the subject they were speaking of.

"Everyone knows it's some Alliance conspiracy to keep prying noses away from experiments they are housing. I mean look at the woman Sarge...." The private cast a glance to Cat, her eyes shifting away, all the while her other senses keying in deeper to the noise coming from his mouth. "Well, you know what I mean."

"Cat saved our lives several times as of late and we are eating better than we have ever since the war started. Think I'd be more grateful, instead of critical." Tracey, she could remember his last name, approached the fire, tossing another log sending sparks in the air. He had defended her, which for Cat was something of a n