Disclaimer- All the characters and such below belong to Joss Whedon, with the exception of my character Noah Star

Note- A comment asked me why I gave my character a boy’s name. To be truthful a character in a book I read was girl/goddess and her name was Noah. As I read the book I realized how well suited it can be for a girl. But that’s just me. On with the show!!

Noah lay in her bed that night, eyes closed, breathing shallow, listening silently to the ‘surface’ thoughts of the crew. She’d met Zoe, Wash, Inara, and Shepherd Book over dinner and was now more thoroughly acquainting herself with the crew.

Telepathics were more commonly known as ‘Readers’ which was an inappropriate term, since you couldn’t read someone thoughts as if they were written down on paper. It was like just listening to them talking to themselves. Noah had grown up with the ability, and had honed it through a life in the streets. Listening to thoughts made her confident, in control, she could predict movement before a person had time to move, and she could smudge their memory so they had no clear description of her. Crucial in the assassination business.

She listened for a while to Book praying to his god, then drifted over to Inara’s thoughts. The mysterious Companion intrigued her, and from the way they bickered it seemed she and the Captain had secret feelings for one another. Inara was reading before she went to bed, a book of seduction, Noah pulled out of that quickly, she knew everything she needed to know about that particular topic.

She decided to investigate River, as she searched for the girl’s mind she was instead encountered by a voice.

*Listening* it said, sounding suspiciously like River *Listening to the people. It’s time to sleep. No worries when sleeping.* Noah was sure it was River. It alarmed her, she could usually sense other Readers.

*River?* she asked into the darkness.

*Here.* Was the reply.

*River are you a Reader?* There was a long silence befo