Mal pushed his way through a crowd that was no longer quiet; some of the people had started yelling and shouting. They sounded angry, but he wasn't sure who exactly their anger was aimed at – if it was Kaylee or the jingchang meiyong de of a mayor. Whatever the case, he could feel there was a lot of tension on the rise and he needed to quell it before it escalated out of control.

He reached the front line just as Book did the same from the opposite side and Kaylee finally found her voice. "I only tried to help," she squeaked.

Wong wasn't listening. He was only steaming in his own rage, and he took another threatening step towards her. Mal stepped forward to intercept him and so did Book, while Simon had arrived and defiantly took up guard next to their young mechanic.

Wong shifted his attention to Mal now. "Why?" he screamed before the captain had a chance to say anything. "Why wouldn't you just leave us alone?"

"Oh, believe me, I've asked myself that question many a time," Mal replied. "If we had I'd be on my spaceship right now, sailin' through the Black without a worry. And you would all be dead."

The mayor was not impressed. "You killed them!" he shouted. "You made this happen!"

"We did not!" Mal yelled back, losing his last bit of patience. "She" – he gestured towards Kaylee who had gotten to her feet and sought protection closer to Simon – "tried to open the spillways to save your gorram lives. And she worked hard at it! She wouldn't give up, I had to pull her outta there."

Wong spun around to seek support from his people. "They're tellin' lies!"

Mal was ready to give the little weasel another piece of his mind, but Book gave him a look that urged him not to and he bit back his words and let the preacher speak instead.

"Please see reason," Book pleaded with the mayor. "Whatever your opinion is, it don't matter now. The