"~~" "Your move." " That's a bold move." " I live on the edge." "Nice work, dumb ass." "I've given some thought to moving off the edge." "Not an ideal location." " Might get a place in the middle." " Toast." "Toast." "Quiet." "Shut up." "I'm, uh" " I got words." "I'm saying this... is an "ass-picious" day." "We all know what day it is." "Suspicious?" "What day is it?" "A glorious day for all the proud members of the allied planets." " Unification Day!" " Yeah,yeah." "The end of the scumbag independents... and the dawn of a new galaxy." " Yeah." " Captain." "Just feel the need for another drink." "What month is it?" "Hey." "You gonna drink to the Alliance with me?" "Six years today... the Alliance sent the browncoats runnin'... pissin' their pants." "You know, your coat is kind of a brownish color." "It was on sale." "You didn't toast." "I'm thinkin' you're one of them independents." "And I'm thinking you weren't burdened with an overabundance of schooling." "So why don't we just ignore each other till we go away?" "The independents were a bunch of cowardly, inbred piss pots." "Should've been killed off of every world spinnin'." "Say that to my face." "I said... you're a coward and a piss pot." "Now, what are you gonna do about it?" "Nothin'." "I just wanted you to face me so she could get behind you." "Drunks are so cute." "Oh." "Jayne?" "Hey, I didn't fight in no war." "Best o' luck though." "Fine." "Let's do this." "Wash, we got some local color happening." "Grand entrance would not go amiss." "Is Jayne even awake?" "Whoa, whoa." "Ha-ha." "Oh, ho-ho." "There's just an acre of you fellas, isn't there?" "This is why we lost, you know." "Superior numbers." "Thanks for the reenactment, sir." "Hey, hey." "Them ain't "kosherized" rules." "I'm thinkin' somebody needs to put you down, dog." " What do you think?" " I'm thinkin' we'll rise again." "Every man there go back inside... or we will blow a new crater in this little moon." "Damn yokels can't even tell a transport ship ain't got no guns on it." "Blow a new crater in this moon." "My thanks, Wash." "Nice save, as always." " A pleasure." " And how are our passengers?" "They're fine." "So, what happened?" "Another terrible brawl?" " Oddly enough, there was." " Are you getting my wife into trouble?" "Wha" " I didn't start it." " I just wanted a quiet drink." " Funny, sir... how you always seem to find yourself in an Alliance-friendly bar come "U" Day... looking for a quiet drink." " See, this is another sign of your tragic space dementia... all paranoid and crotchety- breaks the heart." " Did we at least make a contact?" " Ladies and menfolk, we have ourselves a job." "Take us out of the world, Wash." "Got us some crime to be done." "~ Take my love, take my land ~" "~ Take me where I cannot stand ~" "~ I don't care, I'm still free ~" "~ You can't take the sky from me ~" "~ Take me out to the black ~" "~ Tell them I ain't comin'back ~" "~ Burn the land and boil the sea ~" "~ You can't take the sky from me ~" "~ There's no place I can be ~" "~ Since I've found serenity ~" "~ But you can't take the sky from me ~~" "River?" "River, it's okay." "It's me." "You know who I am?" "Simon." "Were you dreaming?" " Did you dream about the academy?" " It's not relevant." "If you can talk about what happened there" "I know it's hard, but the more I know, the faster you'll get better." "This isn't home?" "No." "No, we can't go home." "If we go home, they'll just send you back to the academy." "This is safe for now." "We're on a ship." "Midbulk transport." "Standard radion accelerator core... class-code 03-K64." " Firefly." " Well, that's something." "I can't even remember all that." " Need a weave on that?" " It's nothin'." "I expect that someone's face feels differently." "Well, they tell ya, never hit a man with a closed fist... but it is, on occasion, hilarious." "Hmm." "I suppose so." "So, the, uh-- the fight didn't... draw any, um, any attention?" "No feds." "Just an honest brawl between folk." "None of us want the Alliance on us, Doctor." "That's why you're here." "I thought I was here because you needed a medic." "Well, not today." "Mal." "Bad." "In Latin." " Shepherd Book." " Captain." " How's the girl?" " Still a little whimsical in the brainpan." "Seems calm enough though." " Mm-hmm." " That young man's very brave." "Yeah." "He's my hero." "Gave up everything to free his sister from that place." "Go from being a doctor on the central planets... to hiding on the fringes of the system." "There's not many would do that." "Suppose not." "There's not many would take him in either." " Why did you?" " Same reason I took you on board, Shepherd." "I need the fare." "There's neither of us can pay a tenth of what your crew makes on one of your jobs." "Are you referring to our perfectly legitimate business enterprises?" "I'm wondering why a man so anxious to fly under Alliance radar... would house known fugitives." "The Alliance had her in that institution for a purpose... whatever it was, and they will want her back." "You're not overly fond of the boy, so why risk it?" "Because it's the right thing to do." "Oh, would you look at this." " Kaylee." " I'm beginning to wonder if you yourself... know why you're doing it." "What about you, Shepherd?" "How come you're flying about with us brigands?" "I mean, shouldn't you be off bringing religiosity to the fuzzy-wuzzies or some such?" "Oh, I got heathens aplenty right here." "If I'm your mission, Shepherd, best give it up." "You're welcome on my boat." "God ain't." "Where in the hell's that girl?" "Do you want me to put it up?" " No, that's okay." " You have such lovely hair." "I'm sure the doctor would agree." "Who?" "Simon?" "No, he's much too" "I mean, I'm just- Do you think it looks better up?" "We can experiment." "We might even get wild later and wash your face." "You ever do this for your clients?" "Very occasionally." "Not all of them have enough hair to get a brush through." "Have you ever had to service a really hideous client... with boils and the like?" "A Companion chooses her own clients." "That's guild law." "But physical appearance doesn't matter so terribly." "You look for compatibility of spirit." "There's an energy about a person that's difficult to hide." " You try to feel that" " And then you... try to feel the energy of their credit account." "It has a sort of aura." "What did I say to you about barging into my shuttle?" "That it was manly and impulsive?" "Yes, precisely." "Only the exact phrase I used was don't." "Well, you're holding my mechanic in thrall, and, Kaylee, what's going on in the engine room?" "Were there monkeys?" "Some terrifying space monkeys maybe got loose?" "I had to rewire the grav thrust... because somebody won't replace that crappy compression coil." "Get the place squared away." "It's dangerous in there, and I ain't paying' you to get your hair played at." "We work before we play." " You're servicing crew now?" " In your lonely, pathetic dreams." "What do you want?" " We have a job." " Congratulations." "This job wouldn't be on a decently civilized planet... where I could screen some respectable clients, perhaps?" ""Respectable clients." "" That seems a contradiction." "Don't start." "There's, um" "We haven't got a location yet." "We'll be landing on a skyplex in a bit." " Run by a fella called Niska." " Never heard of him." "Well, I have, and while we're there, you'll stay confined to the ship." "Is the petty criminal perchance ashamed to be riding with a Companion?" "Niska has a very unlovely rep." "He's got work for me, fine." "But I don't" "I'm not sure you'd be safe." "Mal, if you're being a gentleman, I may die of shock." "Hmm." " Have you got time to do my hair?" " Out." "Is fine." "Crow, they can come in." "Eh, Malcolm Reynolds is which?" "I'm Captain Reynolds." "My first mate Zoe." "This is Jayne." "Very nice." "I am Adelai Niska." "You have seen Crow." "He loves to stand at the door to say, "Boo."" "We got word you might have a job for us." "Yes!" "Yes, an exciting job." "A train... has, uh, something I need." "You have worked a train before?" " We did a few." " Are you going to ask me what it is I need?" "As a rule, no." "Yes." "Good." "You have reputation." ""Malcolm Reynolds gets it done" is the talk." "Well, glad to hear that." "You know what is reputation?" "Is people talking." "Is gossip." "Uh" "I also have reputation." "Not so pleasant, I think you know." "Crow." "Now, for you, my reputation is not from gossip." "You see this man?" "Uh, he does not do the job." "I show you what I do with him... and now my reputation for you is fact." "Is solid." "You do the train job for me." "Then you are solid." " No more gossip." " Right." "Ooh." "You do not like I kill this man." " Hmm." " Oh, no." "I'm sure he was a... very bad person." "My wife's nephew." "At dinner I'm getting earful." "There is no way out of that." "So" " Oh!" "The train job." "Come in." "Here, in fifth car, two boxes." "Alliance goods." "You don't mind taking from Alliance, I think." "From your reputation?" "You get on train at Hancock, headed for Paradiso." "You take boxes off before you reach Paradiso... and deliver to Crow... here." "Half money now." "Crow give you other half at rendezvous point." "Anything goes wrong, then your reputation only gossip... and things between us... not so solid." "Yes?" " How long till we hit Paradiso?" " Another 20 minutes." "We should be in the foothills in five." "Let's get to work." "He's a psycho, you know." "Niska." "He's not the first psycho to hire us." "Nor the last." "You think that's a commentary on us?" "I just have an image in my head of a guy hanging from the ceiling." "I got an image of it not being me." "Let's do the thing." "Hi." "Shepherd." "Good day." "So... how do you think it's going?" "The caper?" "Mal knows what he's doing." "How long have you known him?" "I've been on this ship eight months now." "I'm not certain I'll ever actually know the captain." "I'm surprised a respectable Companion would sail with this crew." "It's not always this sort of work." "They take the jobs they can get, even legitimate ones." "But the further you get away from the central planets, the harder things are... so this is part of it." "I wish I could help." "I mean, I don't wanna help" "Not help help, but- Not with the thieving, but" "I do feel awfully useless." "You could always pray they make it back safely." "I don't think the captain would much like me praying for him." "Don't tell him." "I never do." "Go on straight through." "Keep moving." "Sir, is there some information we might maybe be lacking... as to why there's an entire fed squad sitting on this train?" " Doesn't concern us." " It kind of concerns me." "I mean, they're not protecting the goods." "If they were, they wouldn't be letting people past them." "You don't think that changes the situation a bit?" " I surely do." "Makes it more fun." "Sir, I think you have a problem with your brain being missing." "Come on." "We stick to the plan." "We get the goods." "We're back on Serenity before the train even reaches Paradiso." "Only now we do it under the noses of 20 trained Alliance feds." "And that makes them look all manner of stupid." "Hell, this job I would pull for free." " Then can I have your share?" " No." " If you die, can I have your share?" " Yes." " Hey." " Oh." "Hey, Doctor." "You really should just call me Simon." "Oh, I'll do that then." "So... what are we doing?" " Oh, crime." " Crime." "Good." "Okay." "Crime." "It's a train heist." "See, we fly over the train car." "The captain and Zoe sneak in." "We lower Jayne onto the car... and they bundle up the booty, and we haul 'em all back up." "Easy as lying'." " So you've done this before." " Hell, no." "But I think it's gonna work." "The captain when it comes to plans." "Uh, is" " You know, is there anything I can- something I should be doing?" "Staying the hell out of everyone's way." " No call to be snappy,Jayne." " Are you about to jump onto a moving train?" " Captain ain't around." "I'm in charge." " Since when?" "Just 'cause Mal says you're medic don't make you part of the crew." "You just play at figuring' what's wrong... with that moon-brained sister of yours till we call for you." "Dong ma?" "Right." "You shouldn't be so rude to him." " Why?" "'Cause he's all rich and "fancible"?" " He's not rich." "The Alliance crashed his accounts when he snuck out his sister." "Yeah, well, we could all be rich if we handed her back." "You're not even thinking that." " Mal is." " That's not funny." "He ain't stupid." "Why would he take on trouble like those two if there weren't no profit in it, hmm?" "Captain's got a move he ain't made yet." "You'll see." "Time for some thrilling heroics." "Niska's sources better be good." "Shining." "Find the cargo." "All hail the great Alliance." "Fifteen seconds." "Go!" "Go!" "Go now!" "Come on." " Aaah!" "God!" " Where are the others?" " They shot my gorram leg!" "Jayne." "Are they still on the train?" "Are they gonna be okay?" "Everybody off!" "." "Come on, come on." "Everybody off!" "." "This way." "Move it." "Our man didn't get a look." "Well, geez." "Can someone find out what they took?" "Randy." "Keep those people together." "Quiet 'em down." "It was the medicine, sir." "All of the supplies." "They stole the gorram medicine?" "We've been waitin'." "All of it?" "Every ounce." "It's all right." "Oh, God help us." "Son of a bitch." " What's the fuss?" " All-network alert." "Cargo theft." "Medical shipment lifted off a train in the Georgia system en route to Paradiso." "Six crates of Pescaline "D"." "Right." "That'll get you a tidy fortune on the black market." "Tag it received, bounce it back." "Locals can deal with it." "Sir, there is a regiment holding in Paradiso." "They were on the train headed to the installation." "Then get them back on the train and get it moving." "Who's holding them there?" "The sheriff requested a few to help him investigate" " These are federal marshals... not local narcotic hounds." "They've got better things to do... and so do we." "Gorrammit, let's get us movin'." "Now, I'm not" " I'm not finished." "Why you got us parked here?" "This ain't the rendezvous spot." " It is now." "Niska's people are waitin'." "They're not partial to waiting'." "Let 'em read a magazine." "We don't make the sale until Mal and Zoe are back." "These are stone killers." "They ain't cuddly like me." "I'm not flying anywhere without my wife." "She'll be okay." "She's with the captain." "There." "You see?" "Everybody wins." "Aaah!" "Doc, I need a pop to quiet this pain some." "All right, but what about the authorities?" "We're sitting here with stolen Alliance goods." "Won't they be looking for us?" " If they buzz this canyon, we'll hear 'em before they see us." " I figure we're good for a" " They won't stop." "They'll never stop." "They'll just keep coming until they get back what you took." "Two by two." "Hands of blue." "Two by two." "Hands of blue." "How's about you shut that crazy mouth!" "Is that a fun game?" "Now, I'm in charge here, and I'm tellin' you how it works." "We don't get the goods to Niska on time, he'll make meat pies outta the lot of us!" " I ain't walking' into that." " This Adelai Niska you're talkin' about?" "Now, how would a shepherd know a name like that?" "As I've heard it, he made a deal with the captain." "If the captain's not there to finish it... if Niska finds out he's being held... and may speak as to who hired him..." "I think we're better off being a little late." " This is a nightmare." " Nothing points to us yet, sir." "That ain't what I'm talkin' about." "Whatever happens, remember I love you." " Sir?" " Because you're my wife." "Right... sir." "Honey." "Car three, row 1 2." "Mr. and Mrs. Raymond." "Can you tell us what's going on?" "We've been here for so long." " Did someone on the train get killed?" " No, no, no, no." "Nothin' like that." "Uh" "Says there your fare's paid for by a third party?" "My uncle." "It was a wedding gift." "Wedding gift." "Spending your honeymoon in Paradiso?" "Actually, we're here looking for work." " That right?" " My uncle said... he knew a Joey Bloggs out here, said he might have an opening." " Thought we'd try our luck." " You a miner by trade?" "Either of you?" " Not really." " Hmm." "Haven't seen many folk choose this life weren't born to it." "Well, work is real scarce for a couple just startin' out." "How come there's so many sick here?" "Bowden's malady." "Know what that is?" "Affliction of the bone and muscle." "Degenerative." "Very." "Every planet that's been terra-formed for human life... has its own little quirks." "Turns out the, uh, air down underground... mixed up with the ore processors" "Perfect recipe for Bowden's." "Everybody gets it." "Miners, dumpers." "Hell, I got it." "I ain't ever set foot in a mine." "But it's treatable." "There's medicine." "Pescaline." "At least you can live like a person, you get it regular... but our shipment got stole right off the train you was ridin'in." "Which is why you won't be seein' a parade in town today." "Stolen." "Well, didn't I see an entire regiment... of fine, young Alliance federals on the train?" "You did." "Same regiment let their medicine get swiped right out from under their noses... then took off for their own camp without so much as a whoopsy-daisy." "That sounds like the Alliance." "Unite all the planets under one rule... so that everybody can be interfered with or ignored equally." "Alliance ain't much use to us out here on the border planets... but... they ain't the ones who stole the medicine." "I ever find those people... they ain't ever gonna see the inside of a jail." "I'm just gonna toss 'em in a mine... let 'em breathe deep for the rest of their lives." " Can't argue with that." " Hmm." "You mind tellin' me, uh, when it was... you last spoke toJoey Bloggs?" " Never did myself." " Right." "Your uncle." "Now, it was indicated to you that, uh,Joey had an opening?" "Any job would do." "That's funny your uncle never went to mentioning the Bowden's problem... or that Joey Bloggs... ate his own gun about eight months back." " Did he?" " Yep." "Blew the back of his head right off." "So... would his job be open?" "That's it." "We waited long enough." " Let's get this bird in the air." " No rutting way." " You should sit down." " We can't leave the captain and Zoe." "They ain't comin', we can't get 'em, so they're done." "Let's fire it up." " What's going on?" " We're takin' off." " We're not." " Captain'd do the same if it were us." "Not in a million years!" " Listen to me." " You know what the chain of command is?" "It's a chain I beat you with till you understand who's in command here." "Now, we're finishing this deal... and then maybe, maybe we'll come back for those morons... got themselves caught." "You can't change that by gettin' all... "bendy."" "All what?" "You got the-- the light from the console... to keep you-- lift you up." "Oh, they shine like... little angels." "Did he just go crazy and fall asleep?" "I told him to sit down." "You doped him." "It was supposed to kick in a good deal sooner." "I" " I just didn't feel comfortable with him in charge." "I hope that's all right." "So, how do we get the others?" "Jayne was right about them not making contact." "Chances are they got pinched gettin'off that train." "We can't just waltz in and pull 'em out." "Someone respectable enough might be able to." " What the hell" " Don't you dare speak to me!" "Sheriff, I want this man bound by law at once." "That's assuming he hasn't been already." "No one's been bound." "Not yet." "Thank God you stopped them." "Did you honestly think you could access my accounts and I wouldn't find you?" "And, Zoe, what would your husband say if he knew you were here?" "I" " I was weak." "So I take it they ain't newlyweds." "Hardly." "Malcolm's my indentured man with three years left in his debt." "I imagine we'll have to add another six months after this little adventure." "Pardon them." "Don't think a one of'em's ever seen a registered Companion before." "I apologize for my manner." " Not a bit." " Should I contact my ship?" "Do you need to hold them very much longer?" "Looks to me like we're about done here." "We had some, uh, unrelated trouble." " His story had kind of an odor to it." " Yes." "It's not the only thing about him that does." "Thank you very much, Sheriff." "Come along." "That's a hell of a lady." "Her files were all in order?" "I ran 'em twice." "Huh." "Let's get started with the rest then." "Hey." "How'd it go?" "She hit me." "We tried to get him into the infirmary." "He's just heavy." " Kept the engine running." "We're good to go." " We're not going." "Not" " What?" "Not" " Why?" " We're bringing the cargo back." " What?" "What do you mean, "back"?" "I waited for you guys!" "What are you talking about?" "What about Niska?" "Won't this put him in more or less a killing mood?" "There's others need this more." " Let's get it on the mule." " My shuttle's faster." "You risked enough flying in there once." "And I don't want to get slapped no more." "Far as Niska goes, we'll explain to him... the job went south when we return the money." "You wanna explain, now's your chance." "You didn't make the rendezvous." "Ran into a few complications." "You are thinking of taking Mr. Niska's money... and his property maybe." " Uh, interestingly, neither." " I don't understand." "Yeah." "Look." "Here's what it is." "Deal's off." "We changed our minds." "You entered into an arrangement with Mr. Niska." " There is no mind changing." " I'm afraid that's where you're wrong." "We" " We just" "We can't take this job." "So you just relax." "We'll get you the money Niska gave us, you return it, and we'll call it even." "There is no even." "Is that right?" "Nice shot." "I was aimin' for his head." "We'll have to drag 'em from here." "We can leave 'em just off the street." "Notify the sheriff once we're in deep, deep space." "Why not tell him in person?" "Got word of a ship not far out." "Came lookin'." "Didn't expect to find you comin' back." "Didn't expect to be comin'." "Nothin' missin'." "You were truthful back in town." "These are tough times." "A man can get a job." "He might not look too close at what that job is." "But a man learns all the details of a situation like ours... well... then he has a choice." "I don't believe he does." "Let's get these crates back to town, make ourselves useful." " Now, this is all the money Niska gave us in advance." "You bring it back to him." "Tell him the job didn't work out. " "We're not thieves." "But we are thieves." "Point is, we're not taking what's his." "We'll stay out of his way as best we can from here on in." "You explain that's best for everyone." "Okay?" "Keep the money." "Use it to buy a funeral." "It doesn't matter where you go or how far you fly." "I will hunt you down, and the last thing you see will be my blade." "Darn." " This is all the money Niska gave us" " I get it." "I'm good." "Best thing for everyone." "I'm right there with you." "You should've let me do this sooner." "I've had plenty worse." "It's just" " Ow!" " Sorry." "Just be careful." "Pretty fast thinkin', doping' up Jayne." "Can't say you made a lifetime friend." "I'll deal with him." "Yeah, I'm not too worried about you." " How's your sister?" " The same." "One moment she seems perfectly cogent, the next... she speaks nonsense." "It's like a child." " So difficult to diagnose." " Two by two." "I still don't know what the government was trying to do with her." " Hands of blue." " So I have no idea if they succeeded." "Two by two." "Hands of blue." "Two by two." "Hands of blue." "Sorry to keep you waiting." "There's always one crisis" " We're not interested." "We're here about a theft." "The medicine." "On that planet." " Word came up that was returned." " We didn't fly... 86 million miles to track down a box of Band-Aids, Colonel." "We're looking for a girl." "This girl." "Grr!" "Arrgh!"