This is the refurbished verson thanks to BlueEyedBrigadier. I hope for more help in the future from everyone.

My name is Malcolm Reynolds. I perform a "vital” task out here on the black…I am a smuggler; if you need it and no one else can get it, I can. To others, I'm Captain Reynolds, the man that captains the Firefly-class cargo ship Serenity. To many, my friends once knew me as Sergeant Reynolds of The Balls and Bayonets Brigade. Really, I’m just ‘Mal’…but I can’t help thinking on the odd occasion ‘WHO IN THE HELL AM I?!”

"Captain...Captain...CAPTAIN!”

Mal awakened to the familiar title being yelled over the intercom, and after a few grumbles and a quick search for his suspenders still connected to his pants, he was ready for action. In a flash, Mal was on the bridge of Serenity with River, who was sitting in the pilot’s chair with her knees at her chest and hands at the controls.

"Little Albatross, what’s with the awful big noise?"

"Reavers."

After hearing one of the most dreaded words in the English or Chinese dictionary, Mal went right into battle mode, looking over the radar and threw the window…no Reavers anywhere.

Feeling a bit shaken and an emotion he could only describe as hope – since he had forgotten what hope was a long time ago – Mal spoke again.

"Uh…River? Are you sure it’s Reavers and not scary monsters?" Mal made claws with his hand as he said the words ‘scary monsters.’ River didn't say anything, just looked up at Mal with wide eyes so black with fear.

"Right…of course. So how long do we have before...”

"One hour, 15 minutes and 44 seconds 43 seconds 42, 41, 40 until they see us. If nothing is done, then in...”

“Don’t say it! I know…you stay here to try and lose them. I'll round up the crew and get a strategy going.”

"Yes, captain."

************************************************************************ 8 minutes later, the crew began to arrive in the cargo bay. First to meet up with Mal was Zoë, before being followed quickly by Kaylee and Simon – Mal noting in the back of his mind they were coming from the direction of Simon’s room – and then Inara. Jayne appeared last, strapped down from head to toe with what this former soldier estimated was his entire collection of weapons. Mal gave thought to saying something about the sight, but realized his merc’s paranoia might just be their saving grace.

"As you all know, we have a Reaver problem. They’ll be on us in about an hour, depending on whether River can lose them, giving us time to come up with something...any ideas?”

The crew looked at each other, no one saying anything due to the morbid novelty of knowing in advance a Reaver ship was on the warpath. No one ever had a chance to plan for a Reaver attack…one’s options usually were “run like your pigu was on fire” or “get raped, skinned and eaten (in that order, if one was lucky).

"How about a cry-baby?" suggested a nervous Simon Tam, trying to help out even though he was completely out of his element. Kaylee, on his arm giving support, piped up with "Make them think there’s an easier lunch around?”

"Nice plan Doc, but Reavers don’t use radar or communication on those flying deathtraps they use as ships. They just hunt with their eyes," said Mal, before starting to pace and mutter about wishing they had somewhere to hide nearby. Mal knew such wishing was wasting air, since the nearest thing to a hiding spot for them was a sun. Jayne scratched his goatee while watching Mal wander up and down the cargo bay floor, grunting suddenly as a violent idea popped into his head.

“We could load the last few Cry Babies with exploding stuff! Ya know…make some home made mines? Might stop the Reavers…or least give Moonbrain a chance to hide us."

Before Mal could give the idea some time to sink in, Serenity started to buck around and it quickly became obvious that they had no time for another plan.

“Goramit, I thought we had an hour! Jayne? Zoë? Get the last of the cry-babies together and fill ‘em full of anything that will make a nice bang, dong ma? Kaylee, get to the engine room, cuz I get the feeling Serenity’s gonna need a push! Doc, you get to lend a helping hand so that push gets to your sister when she needs it. And Inara? Start the launch prep for your shuttle…this goes south, you need to get who you can outta here!”

Mal turned and headed off to the bridge before Inara could say anything, her anticipated protests echoing in the dark corners of his mind not tied up with the current problem. Reaching the bridge, Mal found his young pilot in the same spot he had left her, but the teen’s feet were now planted solidly against the deck plating, in addition to the fact River’s eyes were full of unrestrained fear as if the Devil himself had just dropped her a WAVE to invite her ‘round for tea.

"River, I thought you said we had more time?!"

"We do.”

"Uh…then what’s with all the shaking my boat is doing right now?"

"Isn’t them."

"Oh…good…so who-"

"Others."

"Other?"

"New type of Reaver…didn't feel them…I think it’s a trap!"

Mal sunk into the co-pilot’s chair and took a second to think about the impossible idea of Reavers actually making plans for hunting people, before he was almost thrown to the deck as River quickly pushed down on the flight stick and forced the aging transport into what would have been a suicidal dive had it been attempted in an atmosphere. The move still wasn’t enough to shake the two Reaver vessels on their tail. A plea of “Captain? Do we have a plan?” in the scared tones of his pilot swiftly registered in Mal’s head.

"Let me just check on that, little albatross" said Mal as he grabbed the internal comms. "Zoë? How we doing on those mines?"

"Good, sir. We have enough explosives to outfit 8 cry-babies as mines."

"Mind getting two of those beauties ready?”

Turning back to the young woman beside him struggling between flying his ship and wanting to curl into a ball from fear, Mal yelled "River, get as far from them as you can!” before activating the mike again to say “Zoë? Give me a shout when you and Jayne have dumped the mines!" Both women responded in unison with a firm “Roger.”

Behind Serenity, the two Reaver ships were getting impatient over their continued inability to catch up to the juking transport long enough to launch their magnetic grappling hooks. Soon, the two hunters were physically crashing into one another in the hope of edging close enough to satisfy the bloodlust that drove their crews to feed and clothe themselves with their victims. Mal had just noticed the new development when River spoke over the noise filling the cockpit at the same time Zoë’s voice came over the ship’s intercom.

“Captain? This is as far as I can get! They are about to deploy their docking claws!”

"We’re clear!"

Registering both announcements at once, the captain braced himself against his console and bellowed "RIVER! UP NOW!"

River pulled hard on the controls, sending Serenity careening upward as Mal screamed "See you in hell!” while hitting the blue button that would cycle the cargo bay airlock. Swiftly, the booby-trapped satellites rushed into the Black and into the path of the pursing ships, the leading Reaver vessel striking the first cry-baby head on and causing the explosives to detonate. The explosion set off the other bomb and knocked the first ship into the path of the vessel following it, with the second Reaver ship plowing into the first.

As River took the opportunity presented to her and flew Serenity from the crash site, Mal released the breath he had been holding before inhaling deeply as he let the events of their latest near-death experience sink in. Mal had just finished exhaling another breath when his pilot spoke up.

“Some people like to walk in the rain, right Captain?

“That’s right, lil’ albatross…wait, what?

Mal turned his head to look at the young woman flying his boat, shooting her a puzzled glance until it was interrupted by a beeping coming from his console. Looking back at screens in front of him, his features rapidly blanched as the information in front of him caused a wave of nausea to race up into his throat.

Behind them, the Reaver ships had pulled apart from each other and began the pursuit again in earnest. As the radar screen kept telling him that the two ships were gaining on Serenity, the only thought in Mal’s mind was that he failed to protect those under his command again. Faces raced through his vision, the aged features of Shepherd Derrial Book being quickly followed by those of Hoban “Wash” Washburne, the soldiers under his command during the war and finally the various faces of his remaining crew. Jayne…Kaylee…Simon…River…Zoë…Inara.

Before Mal could properly register it, a blinding light filled his eyes and his head quickly started to feel like a log being splintered by an axe