Blown to Hell

Jaya watched the house carefully. Any moment, the family within was going to emerge. They would head to a rendezvous area, where they would be concealed and prepped for her *assassination* of them.

As the front door opened, Dr. Audra Welsh walked out, with a worried look on her face. Her eyes darted around, but she tried to maintain a calm exterior. Her husband followed holding the hand of their two year old son.

Jaya’s plan was to follow them to make sure they got to the rendezvous. But suddenly, she watched as the bodies fell over one by one . . . barely a sound was heard except for the lack of birds chirping. They had sensed what was about to transpire . . . and yet she hadn’t.

As blood spread out over the walkway, her stomach churned and her eyes misted. “My god . . .” she said to herself. She looked at the family . . . at the little boy and her heart ripped apart. “This can’t be happening . . . not again . . .” But it was. Suddenly, she brought her own rifle to the ready and used the scope to search the area the shots had originated from, but she could see nothing; just green vegetation. Suddenly, something did catch her eye. It made her heart stop. There, before the tree line, across from the house, in the direction of the shots, was *her* mark . . . Suddenly, overcome, she bent over and retched; the bile splattered on the ground at her feet. She grew light-headed and knew that she had to leave . . . She had to get out of there. Packing up her rifle quickly, she shifted her appearance into a woman with black hair and brown eyes and vanished into the trees. She had to get back to Sesshriani’s ship and get back to Serenity . . . she had to leave the tragedy she’d witnessed.

But there was one other thing she had to do. She pulled the communicator from her pocket as she continued to walk with a purpose. “It’s me . . . It’s been blown to hell . . . Send your people in . . . It was him.”

Without giving Alec a chance to reply, she closed the link and continued on.

Meeting Sesshriani back at her ship, Sessh got the distinct impressed Jaya didn’t want to talk and merely got the shuttle prepped to leave.

Jaya went to her bunk and collapsed, fighting off the tears that threatened to consume her . . . eventually, she fell into a fitful sleep.