Inara was very, very pale. She could feel it in her carefully maintained skin. It was a relief, however small, that she and the person on the other end of the commline were too far separated by space for visual contact. “Yes, yes of course, I understand. I’ll come as soon as I can.”

“You will come immediately, Inara,” the other voice said.

Hurriedly, Inara reassured her. “Of course, that’s what I meant. It is simply that I shall have to find passage somewhere—the captain of the ship I am sailing on will not go this far off his course for me, and my shuttle doesn’t have the range.”

A hiss of static filled the silence as Inara waited for the other’s response.

“There is an Alliance cruiser heading Coreward from a patrol near Three Hills,” Inara was told finally. “You will have to make your way to the outermost moon of Vaughan’s ring within the next twenty hours. Can your shuttle manage that?”

“Yes, yes it can.”

“Good. We will arrange for the cruiser to pick you up and deliver you here. Do not tarry. New Canaan Chapterhouse out.”

Inara blanched even further, if that was possible. Arranging passage for a short-range shuttle on an Alliance cruiser was one thing—pricey, but not extraordinary for an organization as esteemed as the Guild. But to have that cruiser add in an extra stop on its way… The Guild was in a hurry to hold her in its arms again after the years of freedom she’d enjoyed on the outer planets, and Inara couldn’t imagine it meaning anything good. On the other hand, there was something decidedly bad that she now could not stop imagining.

She swallowed hard. Well, there was nothing to do but to obey. She’d better go tell the captain. He would make a stink about her taking his precious shuttle so far away, but he would accede to her needs. He always did, in the end. No, what Inara most dreaded was saying goodbye to the crew, her family. She might not see them for some time. And if worst came to worst… Well, no point dwelling on that.

“Wash?” Inara asked as she entered the bridge and found only the p