Note: Story isn't over just yet, got another couple of chapters left.

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Mal leaned his head back against the consoles and squeezed his eyes shut. Shit. What was it about this 'verse that seemed to only grant him five minutes to catch his breath in between catastrophes? He stood and spoke into the tiny camera.

"Uh, sir? I'm gonna have to find the captain, I can't authorize that on my own," said Mal with his best insecure grin. It didn't take much acting at that very moment.

" You will immed- "

"I'll be right back, I'll let 'im know you're in a real big hurry." Mal clicked off the feed and the screen went black.

"Okay, Kaylee. We're about to break atmo, it's all we gotta do. They can't follow us off planet, they ain't feds, just local cops."

"I can't do that," she whispered. "Don't know how."

"Well, you been doing shiny. This won't be no different," said Mal firmly.

Kaylee shook her head. "Mal, I can't do it. I do something wrong, we all burn up. It's not just flying, it's entry angles and calculating trajectories and burn rates and-"

Mal cut her off. "Fine." He grabbed the microphone above his head. "I need Wash on the bridge, ma shong. You get up here too, Zoe."

A few seconds later Simon's voice came across the system. "Uh, captain? Wash has a serious head injury, he's in no shape to be walking up there."

"Well, grab him by the ankles and drag him up here then!" Mal roared. "I don't care what you have to do to him, get him on the bridge! "

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As Wash and Zoe made their way upstairs, Book emerged from the shuttle. "I'm afraid I brought trouble with me," he told Simon. "Anything I can do to help?"

"Well, assuming we don't get blown up, I'm going to need to get Jayne into the infirmary. Care to give me a hand?"

Book nodded, and together he and Simon carried the still unconscious Jayne into the infirmary, carefully