Jayne Cobb had a lot of grit behind him. He'd breathed it as a boy, bounty hunting for varmints around the spaceport where his folks lived, the soot from the old factories thick enough that it fell like snow – in inches. If you weren't strong and didn't watch yourself, or didn't have someone looking after you, way you ended up was shanked behind the speakeasy or conscripted for the ring fights. Kind of place where you grew up fast or died young.

Most people wouldn't think it to look at him, but he had his fetters same as everyone else. Had a kid brother to look after, sickly sort, born wrong on account of the air. His pa used to say both his sons been poisoned, but that made no sense to him.

Never really seen eye to eye, even when he'd caught up in height. The old man had a stubborn and old fashioned streak. Kept him in his nowhere job metalworking, off and on because of his bad arm always flaring up from that old lathe tweaked him the once. Man was well liked, friendly with just about everyone on the docks, but closed off too. Cared for the family in his own way, though they never had much, so Jayne was running with the gangs before he'd gone through the mill. Almost come to blows a few times over his peccancy and mama had to come between them.

Then there came a month they couldn't scrape together for Mattie's medicine. He'd messed up a job trying to earn some cash, and hidden out with some of his girls he'd befriended. Turned out they'd been playing him for a while, knocked him out and tied him up for the thugs to fetch back to the boss. Was his own pa pulled him out of the brothel, and went to settle up on his behalf. Told Jayne to get off world, so he took his money with him and went mercenary. No loyalty to anyone, except when there was.

He was about ready to shake the dust from Ezra off his boots too. Driving over miles of dunes under moonlight, blowing cigar smoke to the wind hadn't eased his temper any over them being stuck and being broke an