Disclaimer: All recognizable characters, etc. belong not to me, but to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and Fox, and no money is being made here. The story, however, is mine.

“So lad, what’s your story?”

“Huh?” I looked up from my datapad at Tobias who had just sat across from me at the dining room table. We were currently en route to Ariel. We left Persephone as soon as we were able to fuel up. We were even able to leave orbit before the Dortmunder arrived.

Tobias continued. “What I find odd is that there is absolutely no record of this on the cortex. So a guy kills a guard, two top government agents, his crew totals an Alliance squad, you kill six more blowing the docks, all on an Alliance cruiser I may add. Then, you smuggle a girl and blow up three gunships… and no criminal report. What are you, some high-ranked turncoat the Alliance doesn’t want the public to know about?”

“This coming from an underground op with enough Alliance connections to turn himself into a knight,” I retorted.

Bill grabbed the seat at the head of the table. “You two seem like a perfect couple.”

Tobias sneered at Bill. “And to top that off, we’re en route to Ariel, a core world.”

Bill butted in. “On the plus side, that doctor was thrilled to have his sister back. Cute girl. Still in cryo, but her vitals are normal. They went on a Firefly to Boros. I instructed them to go as far away as possible.”

Just as he said that, Libby walked in. “I sent your wave out.” She then took the datapad from me and went through it.

“There’s something on Ariel I need,” I informed them. “We make a quick appearance, then boost for the border worlds.”

Tobias didn’t let up. “You never answered my question. What’s your story?”

“Everybody’s got a secret. Some secrets make good stories. Others, not so good.” I paused for a moment. “You two are welcome to stay. Make a living with us. Or I’ll have Liberty drop you off wherever you want. You choose to stay, I’ll tell you my secret, and my story. Of course, if you choose