Me again! This is a much faster update than last time, and I have to warn you all this is a fairly somber chapter, because it has pretty much no dialogue and Mal's perspective is kind of serious. But I promise a funnier one next time.

-StarDrop5

Chapter 6

The yellow sun of Kerry rose over Serenity, accompanied by much complaining.

Mal had insisted that they wake up at the crack of dawn to go explore the burned-out village for clues, and he had decided that it was unfair to Zoe and Jayne for they to be the only two to be woken. So he'd gotten them all up and now there was a sleepy, grumbling crew sitting at the dinner table waiting for orders.

"Right, o sleepy crew, let's get this mission underway. Kaylee, ya know you're staying behind, right?"

Kaylee nodded solemnly, and was about to say something when he cut her off. "I need you to have the mule ready to come get us at a moment's notice. You'll bring Simon and River with you, and they'll both take guns. Inara, you get your shuttle ready to fly in case something really bad happens."

The crew members concerned all nodded, and Mal turned to Zoe and Jayne. "Bring guns. Big guns. I got a bad feeling this is going to go diyu zai yige tilan."

"Yessir."

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They set out, unburdened by boxes or cows this time, across the lumpy brown surface of Kerry. Jayne looked like a walking weapons factory, with every gun he could find strapped to him. It looked like he'd forgotten about his broken little handgun, or at least put it from his mind for the moment. Trying to find places on his body to put every sharp object on the boat was too interesting to think about that.

Zoe had a machine gun strapped to her back, and her normal cowboy-style pistol slung in a holster at her waist. She probably had more lethal things on her somewhere, but unlike Jayne she had concealed them.

Mal observed his microcrew as they walked along through the dust, noting how tense Zoe's jaw was, how tightly she held onto the hilt of her pistol, and how hilarious Jayne looked as he clanked his way along. They were nervous, just like he was, but unlike them he would not let it show. If they got into trouble, it was up to him to keep a level head on Jayne, and to keep his own level head so that he could help Zoe with things like tactics. It was tough being a captain.

A voice crackled through the radio that hung from his belt and he plucked it up and said, "What's wrong? Has something happened?"

Kaylee sounded worried. "Just wanted to see how it was goin', that's all."

"Kaylee, try not to radio me unless it's something serious, kay? Ya got me all worried there." He tried to say it like he hadn't been worried before that, to reassure her, but she still sounded uneasy as she agreed.

"Sir? We've reached the village."

They had indeed crested the very hill that had been their viewpoint to the village last time they had come. The 'village' wasn't much any more, just a swatch of blackened earth, filled with mounds of scorched timbers and cloth, and occasionally what looked like bleached bone, sticking out between the wood and dust. The faint scent of smoke filled the air.

To Mal, it smelled like danger, but he didn't say anything about it. The three trooped down the hill and stepped into the piles of ash, examining and peering through the wrecked homes, looking for a cause for the deaths of the innocent people, looking for a reason for the firebomb that had caused so much destruction.

Mal wandered away from the others, heading towards a structure that looked more intact than the others. It had part of a roof, and the walls looked relatively stable. He entered through the dark hole of the door, peering into the dusty gloom.

It wasn't a house, but a storage shed. Rusted tools and battered boxes that had escaped the fire lay about the area, and in morbid curiosity he knelt next to he nearest box and picked it up. He lifted the wooden lid and-

"Put your hands in the air or get a bullet in the brain!"

It was a trap. Of course. Now he understood it all.

It had taken him far too long. The answer to who it was who would destroy a village, after already killing all the residents, was chillingly clear. Only someone who knew that he would come back to find out why the destruction had happened would set such a trap. Someone so twisted that they would kill a village of innocent people- children, even- just to get at him.

He turned. Of course, it was just a hired grunt, but he knew who was behind the mess now. He could only hope that Zoe and Jayne were as of yet safe.

"Oh, darn! I have been CAPTURED! MAYBE I should have been MORE CAREFUL and HID amongst the RUBBLE! How foolish of me to come all this way without making a CALL to KAYLEE!" he pretended to be shocked and not very bright, and as the grunt was shocked and not very bright, he figured it had worked.

He staggered through the ashes with a gun at his back, where he met with another gunman. There appeared to be only two, and they'd probably been sent to just get him. The thought gave his strangely calm mind some relief- Zoe and Jayne were probably safe, and hopefully they'd heard his advice.

One familiar journey in a rocket speeder later, and he and his two surly companions landed exactly where he'd expected them to. He was duly blindfolded and led away, and he felt like he knew where he was going- it was no surprise, because he'd been here before.

The blindfold was removed to reveal familiar surroundings with familiar psychopaths around him. Or just the one psychopath.

"So, Malcolm Reynolds," said the familiar pea-sized-glasses-wearing figure, with the familiar undefinable accent and the familiar enjoyment of torture. "I see you have not changed."

Yep, Mal thought, he was in big trouble.

"And neither have you, Niska."

Ahahahaha! Didn't think that one was coming, did you? Hey, when I started writing the story, I had no clue who to pick either. But seeing as this is set after Miranda, I figured the Alliance would be a bit more subdued- you know, like they aren't going to torch a village of innocents. No, there's only one Firefly nutball nutty enough to do such a thing.