The usual disclaimers. This is a work of fanfic, not intended to entrench on any parties registered copyright interests. With apologies to Joss Whedon, Sei Shonagon, Lord Byron, Machiavelli, and all other sources whose brilliance inspired this work. Thanks to Oldfan45 for his detailed editing work (he’s a god) and Mai who remains my constant source of support (she’s my muse).

Authors Note:. It’s been more than three months since I posted the last chapter of this piece. The people at my job just don’t seem to understand I have better things to do with my time. For those of you who have been following or have just started, the story thus far is this:

This story takes place a little less than 20 years after the end of the show. Mal and Inara finally got together and even had a child, Serenity. The Second War for Independence breaks out. Unfortunately, Mal loses Inara in the early days of the War. The circumstances leading up to her loss are such that Mal hates her memory and even their child. Mal and his new crew, including Wash and Zoe’s son, Josh, are a special forces unit known as the Suicide Squad. They specialize in “anarchy.” The remaining original crew including Kaylee, River, Jayne, and Serenity have been living on Mal’s home planet of Shadow. Tensions tend to run high on the home front. On the other side of the verse, old (Atherton Wing) and new enemies (Ambassador Kali and Chancellor Lang) conspire to crush the Independence and bring victory to the Alliance. As part of their mackintoshes, an invasion of Shadow is about to begin. This story takes place in the final year of the war with lots of flashbacks.

This story contains strong language, sex, drug/alcohol abuse, violence, adult themes, and permutations there of. If it were an episode, it would incur heavy fines from the FCC. It should not be read by children or those who take offense to the aforesaid subject matter.

I’m long winded and html illiterate, so the second half of this chapter is posted separately.

22. When I M