009. If all of the strength and all of the courage come and lift me from this place

[gracefulwoman]

[a large inkblot on the page. Inara meant to practice calligraphy to calm herself, but dipped the brush and merely let it hover on the page, unable to bring a single character to mind. Eventually she notices the mess that she's making and puts the brush down. It's a long time before writing appears]

It isn't fair. It isn't

Not Wash. [this is

Comments

[qiuanyi]

[softly] ...You didn't know.

I'm...sorry you had to find out.

[gracefulwoman]

[Sad Inara is sad] I didn't...the last time I saw Wash he was moping Zoe's brow as she stitched the bullet wound that shiong-mung duh kwong-run Early inflicted on you.

[qiuanyi]

[wants to comfort, has no idea how :(] ...I see. [slight pause, as he scowls at the memory

and is a bit jealous, because when she goes home, Wash will be there]

He...he died a hero, if that helps.

[gracefulwoman]

[it's not much comfort, though, because she won't remember to appreciate him :(]

...I see.

Can you...tell me what happened?

Inara

[qiuanyi]

[...this is true :(]

...Miranda.

River...knew about that world, subconsciously, because of the minds she'd been exposed to. That's why t he Alliance was so desperate to get her back; no one was supposed to know about it. They tested a drug there, something to make the population mellow and docile.

It worked too well, and most of them died. The rest...became the Reavers.

Simon

[gracefulwoman]

[ok, give her a moment, that's a lot to take in]

...I see.

Inara

[qiuanyi]

[is why he's breaking it up]

...There was a recording, right before the end, exposing it all. Mal wanted to broadcast it, using Mr. Universe's transmitters. To show the universe what they'd done. [there's a trace of admiration to his grave tone, of awe]

Naturally, the Alliance was waiting for us. We'd disguised Serenity as a Reaver ship to get to Miranda, since the path was right in the middle of their territory.

So we used them. Wash led them right to the Alliance fleet, keeping us safe and aiborne before crash-landing on the station.

But...one of the ships followed us. Their harpoon impaled the ship, and Wash.

Simon

[gracefulwoman]

[And doesn't that sound just like Mal, and she doesn't know whether to be angry at his ridiculous sense of honor and right or equally awed, which, hey, par for the course where the two of them are concerned]

Was Mal successful? [which she almost doesn't want to know, because if he wasn't then Wash died for nothing and she isn't sure she could bear that]

Simon

[qiuanyi]

[finally, some of the pride and excitement shines through] He was. We were.

Simon

[gracefulwoman]

[small comfort, but she'll take it] Then..there's that, at least.

Inara

[qiuanyi]

[is glad he could at least offer that much] Yes. We changed the universe, Inara.

Simon

[gracefulwoman]

<[softly] Then, I...suppose it was worth it.

Inara

[qiuanyi]

[quietly] I like to think so.

Simon

[gracefulwoman]

[it's hard for her to think that way, of course, as she has yet to see that awful awful transmission, so it's hard to grasp]

Thank you, for telling me, Simon.