Persephone

Eavesdown Docks

With a final spark, the door to Serenity ’s shuttle two cracked open, the seal made by the magnesium strip having been seared apart by the flame from Jayne’s torch. A pry bar was jammed into the opening from the outside, and then joined by another from inside, and between the combined forces of Jayne and Harvey the door was forced open.

“Fancy meetin’ you here, Jayne,” Harvey quipped as he stepped, blinking, into the sunlight. “What’s a brute like you doin’ in a trash heap like this?”

“Gettin’ your ass free is what,” Jayne replied, hoisting the torch rig up onto one shoulder. “Where’s the Doc?”

“Right here,” Simon replied, stepping through the opening, his face a mixture of anger and loss. He looked around. “Where’s the Captain?”

“Mal’ll be around in a bit. He’s got some business to attend to.”

“Business?” Simon asked.

Jayne nodded. “You’ll see.”

Opening his mouth to reply, Simon was cut off as a ship passed overhead, the roar of its engines making all talk impossible.

Harvey looked up at the ship hovering overhead, and his jaw dropped in surprise. The ship was a Firefly, but the similarity between Serenity and this ship ended there. She looked brand new, but nearly every inch of her was covered with heavy protective plating. The port and starboard engines looked larger, and given the number of additions on the Firefly, it seemed that the engines would have had to be upgraded. Twin barrens poked out from underneath the bridge, rotating on hidden swivels. On either side of the cargo door, Harvey could see a pair of missile launchers slightly concealed behind movable plating. Along the underside were two doors on either side of the secondary hatch. Harvey could only guess what they concealed. The Firefly drifted a bit to the right, and began to settle to the ground.

“Whoa,” was all that Harvey could say.

Jayne snickered. “Nice, ain’t she?”

Harvey nodded.

* * *

On Board Vengeance

Somewhere in the Black

Soul f