The path was forward was up in the air; both suspended as a walkway over the chasm between the stasis cell blocks and figuratively. The Operative worked his way down the ledge towards a restricted section of prisoners. Rarely had his training ever failed him, but an unsettled feeling that his mission might be compromised was rapidly becoming very familiar to him. Moments later, it blossomed into confirmation and certainty.

Empty. He had found no one in the holding area waiting for his interrogation as he requested, not the crew of Serenity , or River Tam's parents, or the students of the Academy. Now once more his quarry was two steps ahead of him. The pod was drained, abandoned, and shattered in an impressive display of force, as though the former resident had a grudge against the very glass of their prison.

He seldom knew aggravation like this. From the moment he had been assigned to track down a wayward empath from the Osirius facility, he had been confounded at every turn, even after the Miranda broadwave and now that his objectives had changed. He had granted them amnesty, and that had been a mistake. They were a liability now, if they ever told their story, and they had stolen the weapon he was after.

Thieves are never rogues amongst themselves , he thought wryly.

- - - - -

Weren't bad escaping when there weren't bullets flying at them. Only one of them hurt was Mal, but that was just in keeping with the idiot ways. The captain always puffed himself up and told Jayne that he meant 'idiom ways' whenever he said that, but Jayne thought his take worked fine. So long as he didn't have a gorramn harpoon stuck out of his leg, or really anyone but him. Or Kaylee. Girl looked nervous as a hair trigger. More so whenever they passed more of them strange and creepy stupefied soldiers.

He wanted to grudge that against the captain, tangling the girl and all of them in this business, but the man was looking kind of pale at the moment. They hauled Mal's sorry hide up