Part IV - Happily

There were men waiting for Serenity when she landed at the rendezvous co-ordinates; three men–two heavy lifting types, and one slim and bored looking assistant. The cargo was loaded onto an anti-grav dolly, and flanked by Jayne and Zoe, Mal was escorted into town.

Paquin was a civilised sort of place–miles ahead of most of the frontier towns where they did most of their business. Not as posh as a core would, but then, few of the planets on the Rim could come close to the opulence of Ariel or Osiris. The people they saw on the street seemed well-fed and groomed. Badger would have been entirely out of place, though Mal could easily picture Wash and Kaylee just fine, milling through the bustling streets which were crowded even at this early hour. Mostly, folks seemed to be in a hurry to get on with their business.

The transport took them trough the wide boulevards to what looked like the city centre. Office plazas gave way to elaborate parks, and he could see statues and fountains here and there. The sounds of the city faded as they pulled up to the magistrate's estate, and Mal felt his stomach lurch, seeing a purple belly who guarded the main gate. But he reminded himself that he had legitimate business–well, business anyway–with the magistrate of Han Province. The Alliance soldier didn't even spare Mal and his companions a second look as they were taken around the back to the delivery entrance.

The magistrate's estate was walled, lush gardens surrounding the clutch of single storey buildings connected by small stone and wood bridges. Koi swam lazily through the stream that wound its way between the teak and rice paper walled buildings, their golden scales shining in the early morning sun.

They were deposited in an ante-chamber while, Mr. Bored informed them, the cargo was inspected. Zoe sat on a bench, back straight, dark eyes surveying the landscape. Jayne, on the other hand, lounged in a chair that looked like it had cost as much as all of Sere