“Mal”. Kaylee yelled up from the cargo hold. “They’re here, I can see them coming, you should come down”.

Mal made his way down, his boots clanking against the dark iron of the steps of the stairway.

The man he had met yesterday, still wearing the grey suit that made him look so like an Alliance general was standing in the hold, in his arms was his daughter bundled up in a blanket, with them a dark coloured man, clearly a slave or servant of some kind, carrying a couple of cases and large rucksack type bags.

Mal sauntered towards them, eager not to appear too desperate for the money they needed so badly.

“Captain Reynolds”. The man greeted him with a curt nod of his head.

“Sir”. Malcolm responded.

“I take it my daughters quarters are ready?” The man demanded.

“They are sir, please follow me”. Malcolm replied. He led the way back up the iron stairway and into the section of Serenity that housed the passengers quarters.

He opened the sliding door to the largest of the ensuite passenger rooms and stood back to let the man, his daughter and the servant enter, before stepping inside himself. The man gently placed his daughter on the bed and bent down next to her softly muttering his farewells, Malcolm looked away uneasy at witnessing the mans last moments with his daughter. Finally the man stood up and turned to face Malcolm. “I trust you will take good care of my daughter, Captain Reynolds”. The man asked.

“That we will sir”. Malcolm replied as the man brushed past him, his servant following silently, pausing only to thrust an envelope stuffed with notes into Malcolm’s palm as they hastily made his way out of Serenity entrusting his daughter in the care of Malcolm and his crew.

Malcolm sighed heavily and stuffing the envelope in the back pocket of his