“Didn’t nobody take a comm. with them?” Mal demanded.

“I didn’t think we needed to,” Hank admitted, his fingers flying across the controls, circumventing so many protocols that the ship was already lifting from the ground. “I mean, Philo Cobb had gone, I didn’t think –”

“Seems like not a one of us thought .” Mal was angry, but more at himself than his crew. He should have remembered, should have been less careless and made sure he had a comm. in his pocket, even if nobody else did.

Inara had been almost grey with worry as she explained. “She was feeling a little cabin fever, I think. She took some sandwiches, a flask of coffee and went out to read.”

“Didn’t she say where? Didn’t you ask?”

“Of course she did!” Inara’s eyes flashed with fire, but her hand was at her throat as if she couldn’t quite catch her breath. “She was going to walk to the springs in the foothills about three miles away. But when she didn’t come back for supper Monty and his men searched. There wasn’t any sign.”

“Where is he now?”

“Still out there. But it’s virtually dark, and if she’s hurt, can’t call out, they could pass her by within a couple of feet and not know she was there.”

“Can’t his sensors pick anything up?”

“No.” She swallowed hard. “Mal, what if –”

“Don’t. ‘Nara, just … don’t.” He knew she was thinking about the time Noni had gone missing, taken for the ‘pleasure’ of the monstrous Antony Han. “She’s just lost. That’s all. Girl can’t tell north from south, I’m guessing, and she’s probably half way to town right now. Someone’s gonna come across her, you’ll see, and then she’ll be brought back, her tail between her legs, givin’ everyone those puppy eyes.”

Inara’s gaze seemed to scorch across the Black, then she said softly, “Bring her home.”

Mal understood. “We’re on our way back, ‘Nara. We’ll be there ‘fore it’s light.”

Now he reached up and flicked the switch on the internal comm. “Kaylee. We ready to go to bu