Simon glanced again at the monitors, noting the worryingly low outputs and the erratic heartbeat. Things didn’t look good. The whole crew was worried, apart from Jayne of course, and with good reason. Mal was seriously injured and it was very possible he could die.

He hadn’t been able to find out all the details but Simon knew it had something to do with their deal at Highwater Falls, one of the few outer worlds that wasn’t a total step backwards into history. It wasn’t as modern as the Alliance worlds of course, but it was almost homely and the people had been friendly. What had been even more personally satisfying was how River has responded to the lush surroundings. The tumbling waterfalls that had given the settlement its name were a peaceful place and River had sat for hours just watching the water. She had been unnaturally still and for a time Simon had just sat with her, holding her hand in companionable silence, enjoying the peace the surroundings seemed to instil in her. When he has asked why she was so calm, River had responded cryptically as ever about the land being clean.

The deal had been simple. They had been told to pick up some goods and ferry them from a distant moon to the colony, where they would be transferred on elsewhere. The money had been very good for such a simple job and Mal had been suspicious, but interested nevertheless. Of course when the cargo had turned out to be slaves who were being sold on to a mining colony for indentured servitude, he had been less than cooperative. He had set the slaves free, kept some of the money for his trouble, and given the rest back. For a thief and rogue, Simon had noticed the Captain was unusually honest at times. It was a strange kind of honour he seemed intent on upholding, but for whose benefit Simon had no idea. Their temporary employer, a burly fellow named Barney Braws had been less than satisfied and had promptly shot Mal in the back as he had walked out of the bar. Now Barney lay dead with a smoking hole in his chest thanks to the ever-w