River sat alone on the bridge of Serenity at the pilot’s console. Her eyes were closed. She was listening to Serenity. Hearing the ships thoughts and feelings. Serenity was scared as they drove down to the planet.

Don’t be afraid, River told her. Daddy won’t let you die. I won’t let you die.

I nearly died on Miranda.

You survived. You went into the darkness but came back into the light.

The other one didn’t though. My guide died in the darkness.

He is here with us now. Part of you, part of me, part of us all.

But he is gone, never to be in me again.

Ni shi cuo.

***

Lieutenant Ursula Kalip sat in at the pilots console in the cockpit of their ship, and thought about what was about to happen in the next… she checked the chronometer… 45 minutes. She would launch the mark 6 EMP missile and 15 seconds later the warhead would detonate taking out every single electronic system in a 3 kilometre square area. Serenity would then set down, rescue the prisoners and fly off again. Simple. It was what would come after that would be more difficult.

It was only after they had brought the information of the former Alliance Operative, that she had proposed this plan to the Colonel. He had told her that it would detract from their primary mission on the core worlds. She had told him that they might be able to get Malcolm Reynolds to join them with an operation like this. With him in their side they could get access to River Tam. This had piqued the Colonel’s interest. She knew that he had been annoyed when they had let her go to Persephone to be with her brother, but they had little choice. They wouldn’t have been able to deal with the girl in her state when the Doctor broke her free from the Academy. So they sent to her brother hoping to catch up with her later. Well after this she would be put to use that the IID, no, the Independent Revolutionary Army had in mind for her. A physic and assassin was very useful when you planned to wage a war to bring down the government.

She smiled to herself and checked the ch