TITLE: "NEEDS MUST"

AUTHOR: Alison M. DOBELL

FANDOM: "FIREFLY"

PAIRING: No specific pairing.

RATING: PG-13.

STATUS: SEQUEL to "UNEQUAL PASSIONS"

ARCHIVE: Yes. Just let me know where.

FEEDBACK: Welcomed.

EMAIL: AlisonMDobell@aol.com

WEBSITE: http://carlajane.50megs.com/Ali00.html

SUMMARY: "Serenity gets boarded. Regan Tam realises

that not everything is going her way."

The usual disclaimers apply. The characters and 'Firefly'

are the property and gift of Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.

No infringement of copyright is intended.

"NEEDS MUST"

"Firefly" story

Written by Alison M. DOBELL

* * * * *

Commandant Gregory Bliss was a big bluff man with the face of a fool and the eyes of his accomplice but Malcolm Reynolds had no intention of underestimating the man. To rise to the rank he had, Bliss must have the kind of smarts that did not show on his face. Either that or the blank display was a front, an affectation used in the same way a limp or lisp might be adopted to garner sympathy or throw someone off track. If the War had taught Mal nothing else it had cautioned against accepting the obvious as fact. The eyes could deceive. Sounds could be manipulated. Stories fabricated. Identities lost, found or completely created like mist conjured out of the atmo of a cloudless sky. He was ten times grateful that he had ordered River into hiding just before the purplebellies boarded his boat. Mal was not so sure about the five crew additions that didn't appear on his books. All depended on just how thorough these *tamade hundan* intended to be.

"Captain Reynolds, I will ask you again. A courtesy if you will. Where is River Tam?"

The Captain shrugged, Zoe and Jayne only remaining seated because moving about would make the purplebellies even more jumpy and trigger happy than they were now. "Not here, not that I know what in the nine hells you're talkin' about."

The man produced a picture, the