12

In that fuzzy, indefinable space between the Rim worlds and the Central planets was a lone brown dwarf star, scarcely more than a big jovian that hadn’t quite made it to stellar greatness by igniting a robust fusion reaction. It was called Leda.

It was being studied by astrophysical researchers, however, because there was some speculation that with some effort it could be “heated up” using gravitational mechanics, producing a red star that would be bright enough to justify terraforming a few of the six major planetoids that orbited it. Study had been ongoing for over a decade, now, and no concrete plan had yet been forthcoming. But the Alliance Solar Institute had credits to burn, so they didn’t mind staffing a small research site in the system.

That didn’t mean the system was unusable, however. While a brown dwarf might not be an ideal star under which to form real habitable worlds, there was nothing wrong with the number of asteroids in the system—many of which were impressively rich in rare elements. Combined with its strategic location, Crossroads Station – run by the Humboldt Corporation under contract to the Alliance Shipping Authority – was a moderately busy port. Over seven thousand miners, spacers, foundry workers, researchers and attendant merchants made their home here. And while Alliance patrol boats did come by periodically, Crossroads was still a decent place for a smuggler to put in to resupply, transfer cargo, hire crew, and refuel – if they were subtle about it.

It was here that Serenity docked to rendezvous with their contact.

“I’m still not happy about this,” Kaylee said, pouting, as she helped Mal wheel the huge crate through the serviceway between cargo locks.

“You’ll survive,” Mal grunted, secretly grinning at his engineer’s discomfort. “You want to entertain the alternative?”

“Ain’t like we can hang ‘em on a hook or nothin’ ‘till we get back,” Jayne growled. “If we bother to come back, that is.”

“Jayne Cobb, don’t even think about jokin’ like that,” Kayle