Firefly is the property of Joss Whedon and his new secret masters, blah blah blah. You know the drill.

Thanks to Guildsister and for beta reading. Feedback will of course be appreciated.

Once again, I'll be making the assumption that Mal and Zoe knew each other previous to the war.

At some point in this chapter, it may seem that Mal is acting out of character. Do not let this concern you, as there is madness to my method. :P

Previous works:

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Any luck yet?" Mal asked Kaylee, who was attempting to counter the virus.

"The anti-virus software don't even faze it," Kaylee reported. "I've tried a few tricks I know. But everytime I start makin' progress, it's like it figures out what I'm doin' and stops me cold."

"Can any of the programs still run?" Zoe asked.

"Nope. Ain't even got our NavSat connection. Can't be sure where we're goin' now"

Mal looked out the canopy and got an all too clear idea of where they were going. Specifically right smack dab in the middle of one of the larger asteroids. As they got closer though, he saw they were heading towards a cave-like entrance. Serenity flew through the twisted passageway until they came to an airlock. Once Serenity had attached to it, the radio came to life and a voice stated, "Zoe Warren is to come in alone and unarmed. Failure to comply will be considered as hostile intentions and will be responded to accordingly."

* * * * *

Zoe reluctantly handed over her sidearm to Mal before going through the forward hatch. As was so ofte