MEI LI DE LI WU [BEAUTIFUL GIFT]

Welcome back to the Ghosts of Serenity storyline. Fair warning, if you read this story first, it probably won't make a lot of sense. The original story is a bit further down the list, "Ghosts of Serenity" by Archer, and follows on through up until "And Still We go On."

(Note on that... due to what I think is a glitch from my Mozilla browser's habit of storing passwords and cookies, some of my earlier stories have been re-named to the names of more recent stories. I've got to see about fixing that.)

On a more personal note, this is the part where I gush shamelessly about my partner in crime on this piece. This story would not have been written without Defender. I would have written a story of some variety, but nothing that would have come out as well as I feel this has. Most of the ideas that drive this piece came from her, the result of two weeks of brainstorming, discussion, write and re-write. It's been educational and a lot of fun working with her. If you don't already follow her stories, I'd recommend you scroll on down and check out Big Damn Heros, Everyday Hero, and Lost Kin for starters, and work your way up. She's been my Big Damn Hero all the way through this thing.

Finally, a big thanks to Wulfhawk for his excellent beta of the story, fast and informative. I hereby declare a 24 hour moratorium on all Okie jokes from my part of Texas, in his honor. (Man, that's gonna be hard.)

Legalese. Joss owns Firefly, via Mutant Enemy. The story is ours, no posting, publishing, or selling without our express permission.

Chinese Glossary

mei li de li wu [beautiful gift]

bun tien-shung de ee-duai-ro [Stupid inbred sack of meat]

PART ONE

Jian-ku snarled in frustration, working the hoe back under her left shoulder as she attempted to root out the nasty collection of tangleweed that had made its way into kitchen garden behind the house. Three times already this morning, she'd unthinkingly raised the stump of her right arm in an e