Back In My Verse

For minutes there was ringing silence. Inara put her hand on Mal’s. Several more minutes crept by and Simon walked gravely to Ian’s body and drew a sheet over him. Zoe instinctively clasped Wash’s hand in hers and Book stood with his bible on his chest, arms crossed.

Serenity’s hum drowned out Kaylee’s footsteps as she entered the waiting room adjoining medlab. She took in the serious scene and stopped short of entering the medical bay. Nervously she stood on her toes and wrung her hands until Mal looked her way.

“What’s wrong Kaylee,” Mal asked softly.

“Ummm,” Kaylee bit her lip, “I think something’s happen’ outside. Serenity seems to be able to detect gravity again and…what exactly happened here capn’?”

Mal nodded to Book who walked over to Inara and put his arm around her. He then turned to Wash and Zoe, “We need to get up there to see what’s what.”

The three briskly exited the medical lad and headed for the bridge. Kaylee turned and headed back to the engine room. Jayne’s voice echoed up from his room under their feet, “Could someone tell me what’s going on up there?!”

His answer was the sharp crack of Malcolm’s pistol and the round careening off the walls of Jayne’s room. “Dammit Mal I’m gonna shoot back ifen you don’t stop that!”

“You seemed to have finally gotten through to him,” Wash raised his eyebrows and smiled.

As they entered the bridge the view out of the windows had changed dramatically. The universe they’d left was back in its shimmering grandeur. Only now the two warring ships were closer than ever. Myriad of the colossal energy beams blazed back and forth in an intricate destructive dance between the vessels. Wash winced at the intensity of them. With stab a breaking wave of light filled the cockpit making everyone stand in brilliant contrast. Without warning Serenity shuddered violently and rocked to her port side. Mal saw the space directly in front of the windows distorted around a spherical object that whizzed by them.

“What the hell was that,” Mal sh