Red Veil chuckled gruesomely.

"You have sent the message then?"

Shang Yu barely held his dislike for Red Veil in check when he answered.

"Yes."

"Good! Knowing Malcolm Reynolds's reputation is a benefit in this case. Your sword should come to you in no time."

"If he cares about this companion, have we not ired him to the point of action. I mean, look what he..."

"There is not much Malcolm Reynolds can do with the pitiful crew he has."

"He did enough to you at one point. Did he not?" Shang asked with a little mirth in his voice. He, as a rule, did not like beating women, but he hated Companions. In Shang's book, no one was better than him. And, registered Companions seemed to think they were the best at everything. His own mother had attended the academy, but did not become registered. She met and married his father and passed on much resentment to her only son.

"The only thing Malcolm Reynolds did to me was harm my character. As you can see, I have rebounded solidly, and we are in the middle of taking care of him, no?"

"Well, I hope the man you sent after him knows how to take care of himself."

"There is no need to worry about Raven. His reputation is impeccable, as was his family's. And, he harbors no love for Malcolm Reynolds, I can assure you. Nor any member of Serenity's crew. Your sword will be returned to you in time."

"I hope none of the atmospheric disturbances we have been seeing delays Inara's shuttle. It would be a shame for such a beautiful message to get lost."

"She should be arriving soon, I am thinking."

* * *

Jayne, whose bleeding had already slowed, a sure sign that he had only been grazed, was still trying to puzzle out how he had been taken out so quickly. Recognition of this Raven character had been lost on him. He didn't see what Zoe and the Captain were getting so worked up about. But, it was enough to make Mal look a little afraid, and this scared Jayne mightily.

For the