Firefly, season 2, Episode 1: Grey

The following takes place two years after the events of Serenity. Yes, Wash isn't dead. I don't care what you say, Wash is awesome and he's staying, damnit!

Mal, Zoe, Wash, and River are inside the helm of Serenity. Wash is in the pilot’s seat with Mal and Zoe standing close behind. River is in the copilot seat.

Mal: Come on Wash, get us out of here!

Wash: There’s not a lot that I can do at this point!

Zoe: Sir, the Reavers are gaining on us!

All see a wormhole ahead.

Mal (In bewilderment): Is that—

Wash: Our way out!

Zoe: Sir, we have no idea where that could take us. We could end up anywhere.

Mal: It’s either that or Reavers! Wash, gun it! (Over loud speaker) We will be passing through a wormhole with an unknown point of exit momentarily. Everybody please hold on to something.

The entire ship is illuminated, and Serenity passes through what appears to be a tunnel of hallucinogenic colors. When the ship emerges, they are in space that is devoid of anything but stars. Jayne rushes into the wheelhouse, followed by Simon and Inara.

Jayne: What in the gorram hell was that?!

Wash: Some nice flying is what that was!

Zoe: I knew you could do it baby.

Simon (Looking out at the stars): Where are we?

River: Somewhere new.

Camera pans from cockpit to ship exterior dramatically. Cue theme song.

Mal: So Wash, where are we, exactly?

Wash (Glancing at radar): Beats me cap’n. But being that we just ran through a wormhole and all, I’d say we’re somewhere in the vicinity of this area. (gestures at a poster depicting a picture of the expanding universe on the wall)

Simon: So in other words, we’re humped?

Wash: Yeah, we’re pretty much humped.

Inara: Is there any way that we could go back through the wormhole?

Zoe: We would be back in Reaver territory.

Jayne: Then what do we do? (Panicked)

Mal: We keep flying till we hit something.

Inara: If we don’t run out of fuel first.

After hours of drifting, the crew is in various parts of the ship, each dealing with their stress in their own way. Simon is organizing medical supplies with Kaylee close by. Jayne is tending to his vast arsenal of weapons and Inara is meditating. River is staring off into space, not looking at anything in particular. Wash is wearily sitting at the helm with Zoe leaning on the back of his seat. Mal is worriedly looking out into the distance from the center of the cockpit. Suddenly, a blip appears on the radar.

Mal: Did you hear something?

Wash quickly looks at the radar screen, and there is a cluster of faded green dots on its edge.

Wash: It looks like we’re coming up on some sort solar system. Small one by the looks of it.

Serenity enters the solar system. At first, they pass a few gas giants. As they come closer to the center, the planets become more recognizable. First they pass Saturn, with its iconic ring on display, then Jupiter.

Wash: Is this what I think it is?

River: I remember this from my studies! That’s Jupiter.

Zoe: But that means we’re heading straight for—

Mal: Earth That Was.

After they pass Mars, an audible blip appears on the radar, this time in red.

Wash: I’m picking up a power signature, but it’s not much.

Mal: Get me a visual.

Wash: We’ll need to get in closer first.

In the distance, a space station emerges. Positioned about halfway between Earth That Was (which is still too far away to be seen clearly) and Mars, it resembles a massive gyroscope. Wash closes the distance between Serenity and the station. As they get closer, they can see the words USG Vertigo inscribed on the rim. The satellite appears to be partially in ruin.

Zoe: I don’t like the looks of that thing sir.

Mal: We don’t have a whole lot of options here Zoe. We’ll just have to tread carefully is all. (Over the intercom) Can I have the rest of the crew up on the bridge?

Simon, Inara, Kaylee, and Jayne join the rest of the crew in the cockpit.

Mal: Kaylee, you think we’d have any luck findin’ fuel cells inside that thing?

Kaylee peers through the glass at the satellite for a few moments.

Kaylee: I ain’t seen anything like that before cap’n, but if there’s so much as a half dead battery in there, I can use it.

Mal: That’s what I like to hear. Jayne, Zoe, Kaylee, suit up. Wash, take us down.

Camera view of Serenity docking on the USG Vertigo. Launch doors open, and Jayne, Zoe, Mal and Kaylee emerge from the ship in full space suits. They walk out into a large metallic docking bay lit only by flashing red emergency lights. Across the corridor is a thick metal door with an illuminated biohazard sign on a cracked video screen to the right.

Mal: Looks like its flu season here people. Keep your hats on.

The crew walks up to the doors that will take them into the Vertigo. Jayne hands Mal the “sticky” used in season 1 episode 1 and a hole is burned through the door in short order. As soon as the door is open, a gust of air rushes from the hole, filling the vacuum that was present in the launch chamber. The camera cuts to River, Simon, Inara and Wash in the cockpit. As soon as the door is melted open, River jerks back, as if she has been hit.

Simon (Concerned): River, what’s wrong?

River (Voice shaking): They shouldn’t be in there. Tell them to come back.

Inara goes to comfort River as Simon goes to the intercom.

Simon: Mal, River is getting some pretty bad vibes from the station. Are you sure we can’t just find what we need in the launch room?

Kaylee (Over speaker): Ain’t nuthin’ in here but metal and wires Simon. If we leave now, Serenity’ll be dead inside of three hours. We gotta head inside.

Simon: Just promise me you’ll be careful.

Camera cuts back to the launch room, where the Kaylee is stepping over the threshold into the Vertigo.

Kaylee: I always am hun.

The crew is now inside the Vertigo. They are standing in a metal corridor lit by the same flashing red biohazard lights. The crew continues down the corridor in single file, Mal in front, followed by Zoe, Kaylee, and Jayne at the rear. The corridor forms a four way intersection. Mal reaches the intersection and stops, looking to the right, then the left. When Mal looks to the left, his eyes widen, his expression surprised. We see Mal’s face as he stares down the corridor, but can’t see what he’s looking at yet.

Mal: Low whistle. Looks like we missed the party.

The camera is positioned on the floor, presumably where Mal is looking. We can see a twisted, grisly hand at the bottom left of the screen, and see Mal walking towards the camera, followed by the rest of the crew. The camera stays focused on Mal as he comes closer, and when he comes to a stop, pans around for the audience to see what he has been looking at. There is a pile of roughly thirty corpses in front of a doorway on the left hand side of the hallway. The door itself has been ripped from its hinges, and there are metal boxes blocking the bottom half of the door from the inside. The bodies are riddled with bullet holes.

Jayne (Uneasy): Reavers?

Zoe (Whispers): I don’t think so. Reavers tend to leave their victims less… intact.

Kaylee takes a step towards the bodies, but Jayne holds her back.

Jayne (Whispers): Gorramit girl, can’t you take a hint?

Kaylee looks at feet, embarrassed.

Mal (Whispers): Jayne, hand me your flashlight.

Jayne hands Mal a flashlight from his belt, and Mal tosses it across the doorway. The hall erupts in rapid gunfire. It’s silent for a few moments.

Mal (Speaking Loudly): Who the hell is in there? Another pause. Mal: I ain’t gonna ask you again!

Male voice from inside the room: Are you recon? You guys are a little late!

Mal: We ain’t recon son, and I wouldn’t get my hopes to high on them showin’ up. The verse was lookin’ pretty empty when I was out there.

There is another pause.

Voice: Who the hell are you?

Mal: Hows’ about we put our guns down, you invite me inside, and we’ll talk this out like rational, civilized folks. Besides, my feet are gettin’ tired of standin’ next to your pretty little welcome mat. (Nudges corpses hand with toe of boot.)

Voice: Are you clean?

Mal: Well I ain’t showered since last night, but--

Voice: I mean have you breathed the air!

Mal: Oh. No, I’ve been in full suit since I stepped off my ship.

Voice: Are you alone?

Mal: Yes.

Silence.

Voice: You can come in. But keep your hands where I can see ‘em.

The Mal steps over the boxes and enters the room, alone. Inside, we see a hospital bed positioned so that it is facing the door. There are boxes inside with contents spilled on the floor, such as IV bags and oxygen tanks. A figure in a dark space suit is standing in front of the hospital bed aiming what appears to be an advanced AR-15. His face is covered by a helmet which loosely resembles a fighter jet pilots mask.

Man: Weapons on the ground. (Gestures with rifle)

Mal slowly removes his pistol from its holster, places it at his feet, and kicks it over to the man.

Mal: Now I think you owe me an explanation. What is all of this? What the (speaks Chinese) happened here?

Man: What happened is a carrier got through our security checkpoints. Damn virus spread like fire in a gas soaked tinderbox. I don’t know how you got here, but you might as well turn around and head back, because you’re not finding a cure here.

Mal: A cure for what?

The man cocks his head to one side, clearly confused at Mal’s question.

Man: The East Olympus Virus?

Mal: Come again?

Man: Where the hell are you from that you’ve never heard of the EOV? Damn bugs nearly wiped out every planet we’ve colonized. (The man raises his gun so that he is now looking down the scope, directly at Mal.) I think you’d better start explaining yourself. Right now.

Mal: That sounds dandy, but the thing is, I’ve never been too keen on having people so rudely demand things of me. Particularly when they’re pointin’ guns at my person.

Jayne, Kaylee, and Zoe step across the threshold, all pointing their guns at the dark figure.

Zoe: You’ll be wanting to put that down now.

The man drops his rifle, and sits on the hospital bed with his hands behind his head. Mal retrieves his own gun from the ground and casually slips it back into its holster.

Mal: At ease soldier. What’s your name?

The man lets his hands fall to his sides, and a weary tone overshadows his voice.

Man: Sergeant Greyson.

Mal: What’s goin on here Greyson? And this time, start at the beginning.

Greyson: The whole thing started with the water crisis I guess. After those colonists left two hundred some odd years ago, we had room, but we didn’t have clean water. We managed for a few centuries without too much of a hitch. Then, all of a sudden, the media starts talking about Mars, trying to convince the public that it’s just some big red water fountain, that’s gonna hydrate the planet, bring us world peace and god knows what else. So the government caves under public pressure, and sends a mining probe over to Mars to get a sample of this “holy water”. They hack off a chunk of ice and bring it back to a lab on Earth. Problem is, the ice wasn’t the only thing they brought back. As soon as they melted it, the virus was free to go where it pleased. And it found a convenient little host pretty quick: the scientists that melted it. (Greyson pauses, clearly exhausted, before continuing.) I saw it on the news first. They loved to show it with maps, big red zones marked “quarantine”. Tellin’ everyone to stay indoors, not to worry. It didn’t matter. We died by the millions. This (gesturing around) was our last ditch effort. A lab, a sanctuary, floating out here, away from all the madness.

Kaylee: So what happened to all of those people out there? (Gestures towards to doorway.)

Greyson: The EOV is a tricky critter. See, it doesn’t kill the people it infects. Can’t spread the virus if you’re dead. It reproduces best in an adrenaline rich environment. The first symptoms are different for everyone. For some it just feels like an energy boost, gets ‘em all wired. Others get real paranoid and nervous all of a sudden. They start shoutin’ and yellin’ until all they can do is scream. It takes a day or so, some quicker, some more slowly, but in the end they’re all the same. They turn into Screamers. (Greyson pauses, leans over, and picks up a bag of fluids. He then reaches around his side and removes an empty sack from his suit, reattaching the new bag in its place.) People started turnin’ on each other, killin’ and cannibalizing. You’d be surprised how many bullets a man will take before he goes down if his body is producing ten times the adrenaline that it’s supposed to.

Mal: Why didn’t this EOV get you?

Greyson: Look at me! I’ve having my food pumped directly into my stomach for over a month now. I piss in a bag strapped to my hip! I haven’t so much as exposed my skin since the virus broke out on this ship.

Jayne grunts and adjusts his grip on his gun.

Mal: Are there any other survivors?

Greyson: There were some. Not a lot, but some. Most were picked off by the Screamers before I found this little haven. Others… (Greyson nods his head to the left. The camera pans to the left and we see the body of another man dressed similarly to Greyson, lying on the ground with a handgun in his fist and an exit wound in the back of his head.)

Zoe(to Mal): Sir, we really need to get movin’ if we’re gonna find any fuel cells before Serenity goes dark.

Mal (to Greyson): Do you know your way around this ship?

Greyson (Nods): Like the back of my hand.

Mal: Our ship needs fuel cells. Now none of us are goin’ anywhere unless we can get our hands on some, but if you could take us to a few, we might just be able to sail off into the sunset. If you’re done pointin’ guns at people, you might even be invited.

Greyson: Can’t do it. It’s a suicide mission. There were over a thousand people on this ship when the virus broke out. You can bet that most of em’ are still runnin’ around out there in packs.

Jayne: Damnit, you’re gonna die in here or out there. Wouldn’t you rather die on your feet instead of rottin’ away in here, till ya run out of slurry bags and starve?

Greyson: I would rather die on my feet. Not without my feet, or my legs, and arms like you will when you rush out there and get ripped limb from limb by Screamers.

Mal: Suit yourself son.

Mal turns around and walks out the door and to the left. Jayne and Zoe follow close behind.

Kaylee (to Greyson): I’m real sorry about your friend. (Kaylee follows Jayne and Zoe out.)

Kaylee (to Mal): You didn’t exactly try your hardest to convince him to come with us.

Mal: Kaylee, I’ve seen fellas like that in the war. They just give up, lose their fight. I guarantee that a day or two from now, he’ll be lyin’ on the ground next to his buddy.

Kaylee: It’s just so sad. He could’ve come with us. Now he’s gonna die alone.

Greyson: Hey!

Crew turns around to see Greyson standing on the mound of bodies, rifle in hand.

Greyson: You’re going the wrong way! (He turns around, and starts walking in the opposite direction.)

Kaylee (Smugly smiling at Mal): You need to have a little more faith in people captain.

Camera fades out. When it fades back in, Greyson is leading the crew down a slowly curving corridor. The mood is tense.

Greyson (Voice low): What’s left of my ship is about five clicks down the ring. It’s in pretty sorry shape, but if what you need is anywhere, it’ll be there.

Mal: These gorram lights are really starting to get on my nerves. Whoever made this hunk o’ metal could’ve at least designed some lights that don’t give people seizures.

Zoe: (Grunts in agreement.)

Greyson: Well, I guess you just can’t get all the little details right when—(Greyson stops short and motions for silence.)

Jayne (whispering): What’s goin’ on?

Greyson points in front of him. The camera turns to where he is pointing, and we see a figure hunched over the remains of a grisly, shredded body, audibly consuming it. The figure is wearing a torn, discolored lab coat on its shoulders. Kaylee makes a face of disgust and looks away.

Jayne (whispering): Great. We dash through a wormhole to escape from Reavers, and then we get trapped on a satellite filled with even more Reavers!

Greyson (whispering): What the hell is a Reaver?

Mal (whispering): That’s a story for another time son. Now what do we do about that fella up there?

Greyson (whispering): It’s occupied now. I’ll try to take care of it quietly.

Greyson places his rifle on the ground, and begins to stalk towards the occupied Screamer. As he nears his target, he draws a large kukri blade from over his shoulder. The steel of the blade makes a hissing noise at it leaves its sheathe, and the Screamer whips its head around and looks at Greyson. This is the first good look that we gets of a Screamer. Its eyes are extremely bloodshot, and its skin is clammy and thin. The veins are very close to the surface, and the blood inside them appears darker than normal. Its jaws are open so wide that it is practically unhinged and its mouth is red with blood. Its hair is matted and greasy, and its khaki pants are shredded below the knees. It then emits a blood curdling scream as it rises and sprints towards Greyson throwing itself into a flying tackle that sends him sprawling. Greyson grabs onto the Screamer by the lapels of its lab coat and rolls on top of it. He raises his kukri and sends it slamming through the forehead of the writhing monster. There is a wet ‘thunk’ and the noise abruptly stops.

Greyson (panting): Shit! We need to move.

The group starts sprinting down the hallway. From all around them, more screams can be heard from different points around the ship. After a few moments, a sizeable group of Screamers has formed behind the crew. They are very fast, and are quickly gaining on the team.

Greyson: In here! (Gestures towards a random room off of the hallway.)

The team turns the corner and enters the room. Greyson slams headlong into a Screamer, knocking them both down. Jayne slams a metal door shut behind them and throws the crossbar. Bodies can be heard audibly slamming against the door. Zoe puts down the Screamer in swiftly and decisively with her repeater. In the room there are white cupboards and shelves, some that have the doors ripped off of them. On the lab table is a person in restraints. The person has blood shot eyes and veiny skin. There are chunks of flesh taken out of him and he is decomposing. Next to the table are many needles on a cart. Kaylee averts her eyes.

Zoe: Jayne, put a blanket over him. (Motions to the body on the lab table.)

Jayne looks away and pulls a sheet over the body.

Mal: So what do we do now?

Greyson: We keep moving. (Waves towards a door on the far side of the lab.) Through here.

The door is beginning to rattle on its hinges, loudly, and the frenzy increases on the other side. The crew runs through the door only to find that it leads to a small supply room.

Jayne: We’re gonna die.

Greyson shoulders his way through the crew into the room, and begins rummaging through the cabinets frantically.

Greyson: Ha! (He emerges with a tray of test tubes that are filled with a clear liquid.)

Mal: What the hell is that?

Greyson: Heart medication. We might survive this if I can just—Yes! (Greyson snatches an AED from the wall. Zoe looks at Mal dubiously.) Everyone get inside. Now.

Greyson grabs a beaker and, using extreme care, begins to pour some of the heart medication into it. When the beaker is about halfway full, he walks to the doorway to the supply closet, and gingerly sets the beaker a few feet in front of the door. He then opens the AED, submerges the electrodes into the heart medication, and takes the AED itself behind the door.

Greyson (explaining as he works): I had a friend back when I on active duty in Brazil, before I joined the space nav program. He had some kind of heart condition, angina I think. Anyways, every chance he got, he’d take this ointment and smear it on his chest. One day, guy gets the urge to smoke while he’s halfway through applyin’ his ointment. Guess he still had some on his hand when he was lightin’ up. The crossbar of the door begins to protest loudly. Greyson continues working. Next thing I knew, there’s this great big flash, and his entire hand is on fire. Apparently, the active ingredient in heart medication is nitroglycerin.

Kaylee: Shiny!

Greyson stands, apparently satisfied with his work. Suddenly, the crossbar snaps, and about a dozen Screamers come surging through. Greyson jumps back behind the door, pulling it shut behind him.

Greyson: Clear!

He throws a switch on the AED. There is a resounding explosion on the other side of the door. When the dust settles, the screaming has stopped. Greyson opens the door and looks down at the carnage. The room is now a charred, bloody mess, and there is no movement among the pile of dead Screamers.

Greyson: My buddy’s hand never did work right after that. I guess I should thank him if I ever run into him again.

Mal: Pretty impressive. Could we get movin’ now? I don’t fancy waitin’ around for any more of those things to come runnin’ on account of that explosion.

Greyson (nods): We should be fairly close by now.

The crew follows Greyson out of the room, and they continue down the hall. The mood is subdued and wary for the remainder of the trek, and the entire team is on edge. They see no more Screamers before Greyson motions for them to stop at a door labeled Cargo Bay. The door is ajar.

Greyson: Here. Take whatever you can get, I suppose. But don’t be long. It’s only a matter of time before a few Screamers happen by us again.

Mal: Jayne, Kaylee, head to the engine room and see if you can’t find some fuel cells. Zoe, you’re with me.

Through the door, the cargo bay is similar to the one that Serenity is docked on; only it is cavernous. It appears to be roughly the size of two football fields. There is a wide, flat, rectangular spaceship lying on the ground. Although the rear of the ship is intact, the front is in ruin. It looks as though it has suffered damage from an explosion. Kaylee and Jayne make a beeline for it, entering through a large hole that is torn in the front left portion of the ship.

Mal (to Greyson): You weren’t kiddin’ about the ship bein’ in sorry shape. What happened?

Greyson: Some doctors tried to leave when shit hit the fan. This wasn’t looked upon to kindly by the people that were already gone. You won’t find any food in there. Me and mine cleared out what we could a while back, and the Screamers got the rest. Never did check the engine room though.

Zoe (to Mal): It wouldn’t hurt to double check sir.

Mal nods.

Mal: We’ll be back in a few. If it looks like we’re about to get another visit from our excitable friends, you come runnin’.

Greyson: Best of luck.

Mal and Zoe head towards the ship. Inside, it is dark and quiet. Mal takes out a flashlight and walks towards the rear with Zoe close behind. They sweep through the ship, and eventually make it to the engine room, where they see Jayne shining a flashlight on something that Kaylee is working on with a large wrench.

Mal: How we lookin’ Kaylee?

Kaylee: Shiny cap’n. These fuel cells ain’t like anything I ever seen in a ship from our parts, but I should be able to run Serenity off em’ for a few days at least.

Mal: Good, finish up and—

Sporadic gunfire echoes across the cargo bay, followed by multiple enraged shrieks. Mal, Zoe and Jayne all turn around.

Mal: Kaylee, you might wanna hurry that up a bit.

Kaylee: Just few more moments’ cap’n.

More gunfire.

Mal: We don’t have a few moments Kaylee!

Jayne: Gorramnit girl, hurry up!

Kaylee jerks the wrench and a luminous cylinder about the size of shoebox falls into her lap.

Kaylee: Got it!

The crew dashes out the ship to see Greyson rapidly retreating from a horde of Screamers. They are flooding through the door now, and although many are dead, they are clearly overwhelming Greyson. Mal, Jayne, and Zoe begin to fire upon the Screamers, but even their assistance is having little effect on their sheer numbers. Greyson soon reaches them, and they all run from the Screamers while firing frantically.

Mal (shouting over Screamers and gunfire): We got the fuel cell! Do you have an out?

Greyson (shouting): We need to head for the cargo bay doors! If we open them, we can jettison the Screamers into space! (Greyson’s gun clicks empty, and he throws it to the ground.)

The team makes it to the edge of the cargo bay where there is a small control panel nestled in the corner of the wall. Greyson hammers a passcode into the control panel, and slams his palm on a large red button. Sirens blare, and the section of the wall closest to the team begins to move outwards, opening the cargo bay to the vacuum of space. Jayne, Mal, Zoe, Kaylee, and Greyson are wrenched from the cargo bay and thrown into empty space, along with the Screamers. The camera zooms in for a close up on Mal’s face.

Mal (over radio): Uh, Wash? We’re gonna need a lift.

Camera fades out. When the camera fades back in, the crew is in the cargo bay of Serenity removing their space suits. Simon rushes in from the rafters above. He runs over to Kaylee and wraps her in an embrace.

Simon: Are you alright? When I saw all the bodies, I didn’t know what to think. What happened? (Simon looks up and notices Greyson standing in the corner of the room.) Who is that?

River walks in from the stairs and silently observes the scene from the balcony above.

Kaylee: That’s Sergeant Greyson. He’s the reason we came back with this. (Kaylee gestures at the fuel cell which is sitting on the floor.) Oh, I need to hook this up! (Kaylee’s space suit is only half off, but she grabs the fuel cell and dashes off towards the engine room.)

Wash (over intercom): Is everybody alright?

Zoe removes her suit and walks over to the intercom.

Zoe: We’re all here. I’ll come up in a moment.

Wash (over intercom): I await you in anticipation m’lady.

Jayne strips off the last of his space suit.

Jayne: I gotta piss like crazy. (He walks off.)

Mal (to Jayne): Thanks for the update. Zoe, tell Wash to turn around and start headin’ back for that wormhole. With just the one fuel cell, findin’ it again’s the only way we’re gettin’ home.

Zoe: Will do sir. (She walks up to the wheelhouse.)

Simon walks over to Greyson, who is still awkwardly standing in the corner, and extends his hand.

Simon: I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced. I’m Simon Tam, the ship’s physician.

Greyson unplugs the respirator tube from his mask and removes his helmet. When he takes it off, we can see that Greyson is a younger man, somewhere between twenty five and thirty. He has tangled blonde hair and a short beard/mustache. His eyes are bright green, but are deeply shadowed from fatigue. His face is drawn so that his cheekbones stand out sharply. He looks malnourished and tired.

Greyson: You’d be the first person here to tell me their name. Your captain and I never got around to formal introductions. (Greyson shakes Simon’s hand.)

Mal finishes removing his space suit and walks over to Greyson and Simon.

Mal: And I apologize for that Greyson. Name’s Mal Reynolds. Now we’ve been formally introduced. (Mal sniffs.) Son, you might wanna think about takin’ a shower.

Greyson’s mouth flickers with a ghost of a smile, if only for a moment, before turning somber once again.

Greyson: You have no idea how amazing that sounds to me right now sir.

Mal: Up the stairs and into the saloon. There’s a door on your right. I’ll have someone send you some clothes before you’re through.

Greyson nods in understanding and quickly walks off. River is staring at him hard. Her eyes do not leave him until the door closes behind him and he’s out of sight. River then walks down to Mal and Simon.

Mal: Somethin’ wrong little one?

River: He sees stars. In his head.

Simon: What do you mean he sees stars River?

River: I mean he sees every star. All of them. Without looking. He hasn’t been to most of them, but he knows where they are. Like memories. (She cocks her head to one side, looking perplexed.) It’s strange.

Mal: Well that’s somethin’. So you’re tellin’ me that this kid has maps in his head?

River: In a way. It’s hard to explain. It’s less like he’s looking at a map, and more like he just understands where things are. Like instincts. You know?

Mal: Hmmm. No wonder he became a navigator.

The lights flicker momentarily.

Mal: Looks like Kaylee got the cell hooked up. (To River) Did you feel anything else about him? Is he trustworthy?

River looks contemplative. Then she cringes.

River: I think so. But his mind is scarred after the things he’s seen. I didn’t dig too deep. There was a lot of pain.

Mal: The man has seen some things.

Simon: He could have PTSD. I think I might have a few meds that would help with that.

Mal: I’m gonna check in with Wash. Simon, see if you can’t put some clothes out for Greyson. You look to be about his size.

Mal turns around and heads upstairs, through the saloon, and over to Inara’s shuttle. He quietly opens the door to see Inara meditating with her back to the door. Moving stealthily, Mal starts to walk into the room.

Inara: You’re not fooling anybody you know.

Mal smiles wryly.

Mal: We found a fuel cell.

Inara: Yes, I assumed as much when the power rebooted.

Mal: Should be more than enough to get us back to the wormhole.

Inara: I’m sure it will be.

Inara calmly rises from her meditative position, extinguishing some candles in front of her as she does. As always, she is graceful and effortlessly beautiful. She then turns around to face Mal.

Mal: I was in a lot of danger out there you know.

Inara: I’m sure you were.

Mal (walking towards Inara): Almost lost my life once or twice.

Inara: Are you sure you’re not exaggerating?

Mal (now standing right in front of Inara): You could at least pretend to be concerned.

Inara (playfully): I’m never concerned with you Mal. You’re like a cockroach. No matter how many times you get stomped on, you always crawl out from under some boot.

Mal (leaning in close): Cockroaches have feelings too you know.

Inara: Yes, they must be quite offended that they were just compared to you.

They kiss deeply, then embrace.

Inara (softly): I was worried you know.

Mal (chuckling): Well you make a good show of hidin’ it.

Inara breaks from the embrace, smiling.

Inara: Maybe meditating is just my way of coping with my worry. Would you rather I paced back and forth through the halls whenever you’re gone?

Mal: No no no, of course not. (Mal smiles.) Just right when I get back.

Inara hits Mal playfully on the arm.

Mal: Oh, by the way, we took on a new passenger from the Vertigo. Soldier type, calls himself Greyson.

Inara (teasing): This Greyson wouldn’t be interested in visiting me, would he?

Mal: Careful when you’re juggling my heart Inara. If ya’ drop it, it just might break.

Inara: I’ll keep that in mind.

Mal: I should head up to check on Wash and Zoe.

Mal turns to leave.

Inara grabs Mal’s arm as he starts to go, and pulls him in for another kiss.

Inara (whispers): Your heart is always first.

Mal smiles, then walks up to the cockpit. When he enters, Wash’s seat is turned completely backwards, and he and Zoe are passionately kissing. However, when Wash hears Mal enter, his eyes snap open, and he quickly turns his seat around.

Wash: Uh, hey cap’n. I didn’t see ya’ there. We’re right on course. Should be approaching the wormhole zone within the hour.

Mal: It’s a good thing I came up here when I did, or we’d be right on course for one of these planets.

Wash: It’s okay Mal, I’m a great multi-tasker. Just ask Zoe.

Zoe: My husband is a great multi-tasker sir.

Mal: Zoe, could you find me Greyson. I’d like to put his navigation skills to the test.

Zoe: Will do sir. (She leaves.)

Mal looks out into the blackness of space.

Mal (to himself): God, I hope we can find this thing.

A few moments later, Zoe returns with Greyson. He is now wearing a dress shirt and a pair of black pleated dress pants. He looks very uncomfortable, but much cleaner. His overgrown hair is tied into a short ponytail, and he has shaved his beard and mustache.

Mal: You look better.

Greyson: I feel better sir. I most likely smell better too.

Mal (smiling): That’s a fact. Come here Greyson.

Greyson walks over.

Mal: We’re on the lookout for a wormhole. The one that we popped out of to be exact. But it’s a mite tricky to find an honest to goodness wormhole in this day and age, so Wash and I were wonderin’ if a navigator such as yourself could help us out.

Wash: Hi. I’m Wash.

Greyson: It’s a pleasure Wash. (To Mal) Well, I can certainly give it my best shot. (He walks to the front of the cockpit so that he is standing beneath the window. Then he points towards the right into empty space.) It’s right there.

Wash (whistles): Man, this kid’s a real prodigy. Where’d you say you found him again?

Mal: Son, there’s nothin’ there.

Wash: Not to mention the fact that we’re still a good half an hour from being within a hundred clicks of where we came out.

Greyson: No, it’s there. Stop the ship, I’ll show you.

Wash looks incredulously at Mal, but Mal nods. Wash shrugs, and pulls back the throttle. Serenity comes to a halt.

Mal: I still don’t see anything.

Greyson: Orient the ship about sixty-seven degrees to the right, and ten degrees up.

Wash complies. When he does this, the wormhole materializes in front of the ship, seemingly out of thin air.

Wash: (Speaks Chinese in disbelief)

Zoe: Where the hell did that come from exactly?

Mal just looks into the wormhole and smiles.

Wash: How did you know where that was?!

Greyson (calmly): I’m a navigator. It’s my job to know.

Mal: Wash, I think you know what to do.

Wash (still in awe): Yes, sir!

Wash fires up the throttle, and Serenity charges towards the wormhole. Once again, the entire ship is bathed in light, and when they emerge, a rocky planet is floating in the distance.

Wash (looking at the radar): It says we’re heading for Boros! (To Greyson) How did you do that?

Greyson: I didn’t do anything. Wormholes aren’t static. The universe is expanding, and they tend to expand with it. Since they exist in two places at once, one end usually moves differently than the other. Makes it hard to predict where they’re gonna turn up.

Wash (shaking his head): That was somethin’ else.

Mal: Take us down Wash. I think we all need to stretch our legs a little.

Wash: Will do.

The camera flashes outside to see Serenity extending her landing legs as she approaches a large docking field of dark brown stone. There are some other ships there already. The camera flashes back inside Serenity’s cargo bay to the crew preparing to leave the ship. Mal is throwing his brown trench coat over his shoulders as he walks down the stairs with Zoe and Kaylee in tow.

Mal (to Kaylee): Take the mule down to the local market and see if you can’t find some more fuel cells and whatever else Serenity might be needin’. Boros ain’t exactly a central, but it’s better off than most other border planets. You should find most of what you lookin’ for.

Zoe (to Kaylee): You might wanna think about stopping at the local market on your way back too. I’m certain that we’re low on protein, and we’ll definitely be wantin’ more carbs.

Kaylee: Will do cap’n. (She runs off to lower the mule.)

Mal and Zoe walk down Serenity’s wide gangplank and stop when they get on solid ground.

Mal (peering into the sunset): We should poke around and see if we can’t scare up some work. Buyin’ new parts for Serenity’ll leave us high and dry.

Zoe: Malcovitch is active around this part of the verse’. Could be he has a few spare jobs lyin’ round.

Mal shakes his head.

Mal: Malcovitch is out. He was pretty sore when we turned down that human trafficking job a couple months back.

Zoe grunts in agreement. She pauses a moment to think.

Zoe: What about Lionel? He’s been itchin’ to get his freight movin’ to the central planets again ever since Vearon declared that embargo on the Alliance.

Mal: That he has. But no, I respect what the government on Vearon is tryin’ to do. I’m not gonna interfere with their makin’ a statement against the Alliance.

Zoe: Sir, if we don’t take the job, somebody else will.

Mal (voice hard): I said no Zoe.

The mule roars out of Serenity with Kaylee driving. Simon and Inara are laughing about something in the front seat. River and Greyson are in the back. The mule zooms off to the right, and when it disappears in the distance, Mal and Zoe are left standing in an awkward silence.

Mal: Claire Slaterson had a deal set with some colonials on Vearon. Pretty big from what I heard. Movin’ a lot of construction materials. Persephone’s a little out of the way, but it’ll be good money.

Zoe is silent for a few moments.

Zoe: Sounds like a plan sir.

Jayne and Wash walk out of the ship.

Wash (to Zoe): You ready for a night out in the big city honey? I heard they have grilled chicken sandwiches out here that actually taste like chicken. Should be fun.

Zoe: I wouldn’t miss it for the world baby. Zoe leaves with Wash, and doesn’t look back.

Mal frowns.

Mal: Jayne, got any big plans for the night?

Jayne: If gettin’ shitfaced is a plan, then yes. I have huge plans.

Mal: Maybe I’ll join ya’ later.

Jayne: Whatever.

Jayne walks off, leaving Mal acutely aware of how alone he is. Now in a sour mood, he spits on the ground, and turns around, walking back into Serenity. The camera fades out. When it fades back in, we see Mal sitting alone in the saloon of Serenity, slouched at the table with a half empty bottle of whisky. He looks angry. Mal gets up, shoves the bottle across the table, and pulls his coat on. The camera flashes to Mal storming through the lamp-lit dirt roads of the small town across from the airfield. Mal stops when he sees the mule parked in front of a building with swinging bar doors and boisterous, upbeat music playing loudly from within. Wrathfully, Mal stalks up to the bar and throws open the doors, barging through. Inside, he stops. The music is even louder. The bar is filled with bright lights and dirty, happy people. Most of them look to be miners. Across the room, Zoe is standing behind Wash with her arms around his shoulders and a large grin on her face. Wash has a glass in one hand, and is winding back to throw a dart with the other. Jayne is sitting on a barstool to the right of the room with a pint in his hand and a busty woman on his lap, guffawing. Mal slowly walks in, his angry expression slowly turning into a smile. He looks to his left and sees Simon and Kaylee dancing in the center of a crowd of rhythmically clapping miners, Inara among them. River is sitting at a table with Greyson in the back corner. He has exchanged Simon’s awkward clothes for some green cargo pants, combat boots, and a light brown canvas military jacket. She is leaning in to hear him talking over the noise. Mal walks across the room to them. When he’s almost there, River breaks into a fit of laughter.

Greyson (to River, chuckling): No, I swear to god, that’s what he said! (Greyson looks over and sees Mal standing there.) Hey Mal. I was just telling River here an old story from boot camp.

Mal: That’s just fine son. (To River) Do you mind if I borrow him for a minute?

River (still giggling): Not at all.

River walks over towards the dance floor, wiggles her way through the clapping crowd, and pushes Simon out of the way so that she can dance with Kaylee. Mal takes a seat across from Greyson and leans in to talk to him.

Mal: You did good today son. Saved our lives more than once I believe.

Greyson: I think you would’ve done the same in my position sir.

Mal: Maybe so. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that none of us would be here right now if not for you. I just wanted you to know that I appreciate that.

Greyson: Thank you sir. That means a lot.

Mal: Not that it’s any of my business, but it seems to me that you don’t exactly have a place to stay as of yet. And you know how to shoot a gun.

Greyson: I do sir.

Mal: I’m not finished. You think on your feet, and you work well under pressure. But most important, you didn’t let me and mine walk through that ship blind and alone, even when you were sure that by helpin’ us it’d be the end of you. If you were lookin’ for a home, you’d find one on Serenity, as one of my crew.

Greyson looks off into the distance, contemplating. Then he looks over at the dance floor, and sees River. She is now the only one dancing, gracefully spinning across the floor. Without looking away, he replies.

Greyson: You’ve got yourself a navigator sir.

Mal (standing): Welcome aboard Sergeant Greyson. (He extends his hand. Greyson stands up and takes it.)

Greyson: My friends call me Grey.

The camera fades out. Cue credits.