PROLOGUE
Kim Li sat quietly in a meditative pose, on a rock, in the middle of his garden. The sand around the rock had been carefully raked to reflect concentric rings leading away from the rock, as if they were ripples in a pond. These rings gave the illusion of circles moving out to join other circles with their own centers. The rocks decreased in size away from the host rock where Kim Li sat. The rocks in their entirety described a curve, cutting a line through the sand to create a Yin Yang symbol, which was best observed from above.
Kim Li heard his guest approaching, but he did not acknowledge them. Their approach was a distraction, even though they were expected. He treated them as he did all distractions. He observed their presence in his head, counting the foot falls, noticing the thoughts their approach provoked, and realized he was drifting away from his goal. He didn’t scold himself. He didn’t allow himself to get angry. He simply returned to the mantra and descended back to the purer levels of thoughts. He did this until once again all his thoughts were refined. All was peace. He remained at peace until he became aware of the next stray thought. A stray thought that said his guest had waited long enough.
Kim Li stood, eyes remaining closed. He stretched, turned slowly, each foot placement and hand turn as if he were participating in a Tai Chi ritual. He jumped to the next rock, not opening his eyes, spinning, and leaped to the next rock, and in this manner went from rock to rock until he was on the path that wound its way through his garden. He followed the path, eyes closed, breathing deeply. He opened his eyes when his feet touched the wood of the bridge that crossed the gold fish pond slash mote. Once on the other side of the Bridge, he was ready to receive his guest, both mentally and spiritually. Fist in palm, he bowed to his two lead man, James Townsend, and his associate, Kelly Peirce. Then he recognized the man they had brought to him. Kim Li’s bow was not so deep to the third man, but sufficient to be polite.
“Thank you for seeing me, Niska,” Kim Li said. “Your invitation was hard to refuse,” Niska said
“This is strictly business,” Kim Li assured him. “You have had a number of setbacks since your encounter with this rogue, Malcom Reynolds, and you’re falling behind in your obligations to me. I want to know how you intend to repair the damage and return to a margin of profitably resembling your past performance.”
“I assure you,” Niska said. “My reputation is still strong and I will get even with
Reynolds for the damage he has caused.”
“I am not interested in your schemes of petty revenge,” Kim Li said. “I am only interested in profitability. I think your obsession with Reynolds is preventing you from focusing on your true goals, maintaining the territory I assigned to you. Now, if you’re unable or unwilling to return to the Path which I put you on, I am certain I can find someone capable of taking over your territory.”
“I wish to serve,” Niska assured him.
Kim Li nodded and motioned to one of his female servants. She brought a sword to him. She presented it bridged between the palms of her hand, bowing. He bowed to her, lifted the sword and slid it out of its scabbard. The metal gleamed as it turned in the sun under his inspection. He observed Niska was beginning to sweat, but he held his ground. He smiled pleasantly.
“Do you believe in a higher power?” Kim Li asked.
“No,” Niska said.
Kim Li nodded and gave a casual glance to James and Kelly, who suddenly took Niska by the arms and drove him to his knees.
“Wait, wait,” Niska cried.
“Perhaps your lack of belief in a higher power is why you are failing me,” Kim Li said.
“I don’t subscribe to a deity paradigm,” Niska said, whimpering.
Kim Li nodded. “Ah, perhaps we are just failing to communicate,” Kim Li said.
“Asking you if you believe in a higher power is not necessarily limited to deities, though I, personally, think you should reconsider the available data and philosophies concerning a supernatural or Supreme Being, and many lesser beings, but I am not pressing the point. I am just pointing out there’s always a higher power. Local police force will give you a ticket if you’re speeding. On this world, the police are a higher power than you. Local principalities, mother-nature, the Alliance, the military, these are all examples of higher powers that have an influence over your life and the decisions you make. You have to answer to them if you cross them. As good as your reputation was, there is always someone greater than you, and you’re fool if you think otherwise. Even I have a higher power that I must I answer to. It’s the way of things. No man is an island or a god unto themselves. We’re social creatures. We depend on networks. So, again, I ask you, do you believe in a higher power?” “Yes, yes,” Niska said.
“I’ve always liked your ability to see reason,” Kim Li said. “So, tell me about your higher power?”
“You are superior to me,” Niska said. “I answer to you.”
Kim Li placed the tip of his sword in a strategic point on Niska body, just below the shoulder bone.
“So, where’s my money?” Kim Li asked, applying pressure.
“I’m delinquent and beg for leniency,” Niska pleaded.
Kim Li added more pressure and the tip of the sword pushed into Niska’s body. He screamed and tried to back away, but was held firm by James and Kelly.
“Give me a time table for you getting back on schedule?” Kim Li asked.
“Six months,” Niska said.
Kim Li pushed the sword all the way through Niska’s body, without puncturing the shirt on the far side, just lifting it from Niska’s body. Niska screamed horribly and began to sob.
“I thought this sort of stuff was your forte,” Kim Li said, leaning in close to Niska. He put a hand on Niska’s face and used a thumb to catch a tear. “Could this be your true self? It’s to be suspected, I suppose. Most bullies usually can’t take what they dish out. I wonder if there is something I can do to help you grow into something more than what you are?”
Kim Li smiled, flexed the hilt of the sword, and then pulled it out real slow, enjoying the wailing. He took a towel from his lady servant, cleaned his sword, and returned it to its scabbard. He bowed to his servant, offering the sword to her in the same manner in which she had presented it to him, respectfully. Even gracefully. Kim Li waited for Niska’s sobbing to fade before he continued.
Kim Li turned to enjoy the breeze and the sun on his face, smiling up at the sky. He closed his eyes and took in a breath. “Breathe, Niska. The air is so much nicer after surviving a trauma. And the silence after a good cry is hopeful,” Kim Li said, motioning for James and Kelly to let Niska go. He watched Niska crumble to a heap on the path. “Especially if you learn from the experience. There are other ways to rule, Niska. It doesn’t have to be with fear and might. Give poor people credit, charging them just enough interest that there is hope that they can pay off their debts. And give them things to buy with that credit. That’s one way to rule. And celebrate them if they step up and pay off their debt, because you know they will be back. You can also treat those you serve with respect. You earn loyalty, but also you come to the realization that you serve them as much as they serve you. Just a different perspective for you to consider. This Reynold’s thing could have gone another way. He demonstrated his genuineness when he returned your money. He could have taken it and made himself scarce. That’s a person who would be loyal. And, given his propensity for barely making ends meet, there would have been other opportunities to call him to service. Never burn bridges when you don’t have to. You never know when you might need to return to the other side of the water.”
Kim Li petted Niska like he would a dog. “I don’t know if this is taking or not. And, it’s only a suggestion, Niska. Not telling you how to govern your territory. Well, as long as you maintain the profit margin that I have come to expect from you, I won’t tell you how to govern your territory,” Kim Li said. “So, I’ll return you to your affairs.” Kim Li bowed to Niska, bowed to James, and then bowed to Kelly. James and Kelly picked up Niska, who cried out in pain again, and they escorted him out.
CHAPTER ONE
Time and space hadn’t put enough distance between the crew of Serenity and events surrounding Miranda to lessen the pain of loss. To make matters worse, that fiasco had come with a bit of notoriety, something Malcom Reynolds had always, mostly, managed to avoid. Consequently, he was finding it more difficult than normal to find a legit paying job, or even one of his less ‘legit’ jobs that would have him and his crew once again running under the Alliance radar. Things were hardly better for Inara. Some of her regular clients had decided not to see her given the fact that she was in the news. Too many people hated the lime light and with her connection to the Serenity crew, and the very real possibility was that she was still being scrutinized by the members of Parliament and the Senate who were embarrassed by the Miranda Fiasco, as it was being called by so many, that the stigma, or paranoia, that they too would be scrutinized was too real. Many of the people who had harbored Serenity after a heist, or some other less ‘legit’ job, had been hit hard by Alliance. Hit hard meant many of them were wiped out to the last man and woman, and the ones that didn’t get hit were no doubt still scared of the very real possibility of repercussions falling their way. What it boiled down to was that Serenity was shy on friends and hard pressed for employment. So, whether these unnamed members of Parliament were actively engaged in putting the squeeze on Inara and Serenity by applying political pressure and influence to block them from work was irrelevant. They were working less and things were getting rough.
Technically, Doctor Simon Tam and his sister, River, were no longer wanted by the law. At least, publicly they had been removed from the most wanted list. Given his abilities and knowledge, there were a number of hospitals that would welcome him, even given his questionable status with the law. He had wanted to discuss this move with Kaylee, Serenity’s mechanic, but he was almost certain she would never leave the Captain or her work, especially now that things were really tough for Serenity as a whole, work wise, but also because of the death of Wash. Kaylee made no secrets that Serenity was her home and that the crew was closer to her than family. She would be hard pressed to leave at best of times. Knowing this only made it only harder for him to tell her that they needed to leave.
Simon found Kaylee in the engine room doing things which he found completely alien to him: mechanical things. Sure, he could see the analogy that Serenity was a living thing and she was just a doctor as he was, keeping the thing alive with the maintenance she performed. She was lying on her back when he found her in the engine room, tightening something with an odd sort of wrench. She really didn’t see him till she stood and turned around to stow the tool. She wiped her face, smearing the grease she didn’t know she had on her, smiled and kissed him as she went by.
“This is the only torque wrench I have that keeps its calibration,” Kaylee said, putting the tool up. Once she had placed it where it belong, she turned back to see Simon studying her. “What?” she asked. And then she smiled fiercely and hugged him. “Am I?”
“It’s official,” Simon said. “You’re pregnant.”
Kaylee screamed a happy scream and kissed Simon enthusiastically.
Simon kissed her back, but with less enthusiasm, as he wanted to be serious for a moment. “Kaylee,” he said. “Would you marry me?”
Kaylee’s eyes grew even wider and her mouth made a small O as she was so taken back and then suddenly she found herself nodding even more enthusiastically and then was hugging and kissing Simon so fiercely he could scarcely get his breath. “Yes, oh, yes, yes, yes,” Kaylee said, punctuating each yes with a kiss.
“Good, because I want you to come with me and River to Canton,” Simon said. “I have an interview for chief of staff at Trinity Hospital, the largest hospital on the moon.”
Kaylee acted as if she were sucker punched and backed away, shaking her head no. “We can’t leave the Captain and Zoe. Not in their current state.” “We can, Kaylee. They’re capable people,” Simon said.
“They need me,” Kaylee said.
“I need you,” Simon said. “They can hire another mechanic.” “They can’t hire another mechanic,” Kaylee said.
“No, probably not,” Simon said. “That would require them to actually pay someone.”
“My needs are met,” Kaylee said. “I have shared in the good times. I’ll share in the bad.”
“They’re all bad, Kaylee,” Simon said. “They’ve never paid you what you are worth, but that’s really irrelevant. I have a chance to make a good living, not just for me, but for us. For you. For the baby. You need to think of our child. We can’t raise a child in this environment.”
“Why not?” Kaylee asked. “What’s wrong with this environment?” “It’s not normal,” Simon said.
“For whom? You?” Kaylee asked. “What is normal, Simon? A baby born here will think this is normal.”
“And I don’t want a baby thinking this is normal,” Simon said.
“What, being surrounded by people who would love it and look out for it? This ship is more than just a family, it’s a village,” Kaylee said. “More like a circus,” Simon said.
“You take that back,” Kaylee said.
“You’re right. That wasn’t fair. These are good people. Well, except for Jayne, and except when they’re thieving,” Simon said.
“We have to eat,” Kaylee said.
“Yes, we do, and that’s why we need to go, so I can earn a living and feed us,” Simon said.
“I like my life here,” Kaylee argued. “Is your offer of marriage only contingent on me moving off so you can have status?”
“I’m trying to think of what’s best for us,” Simon said.
“Oh, no. Don’t make this about us when it’s about you. My life is good because it’s simple. I don’t need things or wealth or status to be happy,” Kaylee said.
“I don’t want to live the rest of my life on this ship!” Simon said. “Especially if I don’t have to. We don’t have to run any more.”
“Have you asked River what she wants?” Kaylee asked.
“I’m sure she knows I’ve been considering this move,” Simon said.
“Not the same as asking her what she wants, because I am betting she wants to stay here, on Serenity,” Kaylee said.
“She has to come with me,” Simon said. “So you’re not going to ask her, you’re just going to tell her,” Kaylee repeated. “She has to come and you have to come, because it’s the right thing for us all,” Simon said.
“We have choices,” Kaylee said.
“I refused to be trapped here,” Simon said, and then realized, partly by the expression of anger that flashed across Kaylee’s face, that he had misspoke.
Kaylee backed away, pointing to him. “No. Don’t even say that. We’ve all made choices here. You made choices. I’ve never done anything but be nice to you. I’ve never made any demands on you.”
“I know,” Simon said. “I’m sorry. Trap was wrong…”
“No,” Kaylee snapped. “It was the right word, so don’t try to soft soak it. If you don’t want to be here, then you move on and find your happiness elsewhere. Knowing you, though, I doubt you’ll ever find happiness.”
“What do you mean by that?” Simon demanded. “If you can’t be happy here, then you can’t be happy anywhere,” Kaylee said. “Why do you think poor folks who are unhappy continue to be unhappy even after they won the lottery? It’s because happiness is a choice. You said you’d be happy if you got your computer, you thought you’d be happy if you got a certain grade, you thought you’d be happy after medical school, you thought you’d be happy after you rescued River, you thought you’d be happy after River’s health improved, you thought you’d be happy after you were free of the law...”
“Stop this,” Simon said.
“No, you stop this,” Kaylee said. “Happiness isn’t a destination. It’s a choice.
You’re not even happy that I’m pregnant.”
“I am happy that you’re pregnant,” Simon said.
“No, you’re not,” Kaylee said. “You’re just falling back into your old routine of now I need particular home and a certain job and a certain level of provision and certain schools for the child because you can’t escape this brainwashed expectation of what life is supposed to be like as Doctor Simon Tam. You keep chasing this stuff and you will never be happy.”
“Are you saying you don’t want to marry me?” Simon asked.
“I’m saying I don’t think I can rise to meet your expectation, must less sustain it,”
Kaylee said. “People think I’m just naturally happy, just happy me all the time, but it takes work and effort and a certain perspective, and I don’t have the strength to carry your weight if you can’t choose to be happy in the moment wherever you are.” “I want you in my life,” Simon said.
“Do you? Do you, Simon? Or, do you just want the idea of me?” Kaylee asked. “Trapped?! Indeed. You’re a Doctor. If you didn’t want me or a baby, you know how to prevent them.”
“So do you,” Simon said.
“Yes. We both could have… and my fault in this is in believing you had settled in here and that this was our home. I will not let you use this or me as an excuse for being
‘trapped.’ Damn you, Simon. Get out of my engine room. And get your stuff out of my room, while you’re at it, because if you’re leaving, I don’t want to get any closer to you.” “Kaylee,” Simon said, moving closer to her.
“No!” Kaylee said, pointing at him and backing up. “Out. Now!”
Simon thought about saying something, thought about staying and trying to pull her into a hug, but decided she was not going to be reasonable. And he didn’t want to fight. He departed without any further words and Kaylee sat down in her hammock. She leaned into it and softly began to cry.