TITLE: "THE SMALL PRINT"

AUTHOR: Alison M. DOBELL

FANDOM: "FIREFLY"

PAIRING: No specific pairing.

RATING: PG-13.

STATUS: New. SEQUEL to "KITH AND KIN"

ARCHIVE: Yes. Just let me know where.

FEEDBACK: Welcomed.

EMAIL: AlisonMDobell@aol.com

WEBSITE: http://carlajane.50megs.com/Ali00.html

SUMMARY: "The drop goes without a hitch but Mal learns

you can rarely, if ever, make up for lost time."

The usual disclaimers apply. The characters and 'Firefly'

are the property and gift of Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.

No infringement of copyright is intended.

"THE SMALL PRINT"

A "Firefly" story

Written by Alison M. DOBELL

* * * * *

Destiny. Not a name that left shivers of joy on his tongue when he said it. Less now that he could see it for himself. It was a dry dust bowl of a planet with downbeaten unhappy inhabitants clinging to the remnants of their pride. Fitful rags clothing meagre frames. Trying to hide the stark angles where ribs jutted out from too spare flesh. He tried not to notice how emaciated they were, their pleading eyes too proud to beg outright. He knew that look. Had tasted the ashes of that dispair too many times to mistake the bitterness of it now. It left him sad, depleted, shamed that human beings could do this to each other. Worse than rutting animals. At least animals would only kill you and feast on your flesh. Rule of the jungle. Survival. Nothing personal. This was a measured cruelty, slow and exacting. Then he saw something. A glimpse. A spark. Not even a spark really, more a remnant of a once bright ember. An afterglow. Only it lacked warmth. Vibrancy. They were people with the life sucked out of them. Empty shells but somewhere in their miserable existence memories clung of what was. It was all they had. And it hurts him. On some deep dark level he wished he could just take them with him. Find them a better place, a better life, but that was not what he was here for. And dust bowl o