The following is the result of a writing exercise. I wanted to see if I could write a plot for an episode of Firefly. When writing the following, I approached it as if the series were still being produced and I wanted to create something that could actually get produced. Something that could theoretically be accepted by M.E. I focused on making it an encapsuled show, low on expensive special effects. I tried not to introduce any guest star roles, preferring instead to focus on the nine principal members of the ensemble. I figured that if one were to try to impress a producer, the object would be to tell a story that would be inexpensive to produce, but would still be a powerful story that took advantage of the most obvious tools at the disposal of the cast and crew. The following is not intended to be a script. It's a summarization of the plot. In theory, if the plot idea were actually accepted by M.E. then I woulda fleshed it out more. Anyway. Here it is. An episode of Firefly that'll never fly. Makes some tolerable fan fiction at the very least.

Firefly "Insurgence"

Written by: Zach Garland WRITERS DRAFT: December 25th, 2003

PLOT SUMMARY: The story starts with River trying to get the gang to play with her. She repeatedly asks people if they wanna play. Being the only slightly insane child on a ship filled with adults has taken its toll. She's noticeably bored. She wants to play with somebody. Anybody. Everybody's busy. Wash and Jayne are on their way outside in environmental suits to do some maintenence on the hull, and neither of them are happy with each other. Zoe's on the bridge she'll be monitoring them and catching up on her waves (email) while she's at it. We see them leave out the airlock and may hear their voices on intercom. Definitely on the bridge. Maybe elsewhere on the ship. Mal & Book are in a serious discussion about something in the dining area and try to ignore River when she tells them she wants to play. Kaylee and Simon were talking but when River walks up, Kaylee nervously excuses herself and says she forgot something important in the engine room.

River actually shows herself to be more sane in this opening sequence than we've seen her before. Simon is worried River might be upset that Kaylee doesn't play with her like she used to. River responds flatly and honestly. Kaylee doesn't trust her because she killed three men without looking. She shrugs. "Can't look. Dying people scare me."

Simon equates River's more mature attitude toward her emotions to a new cocktail of drugs he's got her on. She disagrees, says she's "rerouting the almond through an asyncopated temporal amygdaloid substitute." When she gets a blank look from Simon, she admits, "I wasn't using it anyway." Simon asks. "using what?" She says, "the substitute." He doesn't get it. She's grown impatient. "No one wants to play." She goes off in a mild huff.

The last shot before we go to commercial and end the teaser, slow zoom and pan through the bridge from the door to Zoe alone in the room looking at a viewscreen. We hear Jayne and Wash arguing still outside but Zoe has fallen silent. As we close in on her she's illuminated only by the stars outside and the viewscreen in front of her. She's looking at it and we see her face trying to reveal no emotion, even when she's completely alone. Her face looks defiant. It's pained. We do see tears streaking her cheeks. Her eyes are moving as if she's still reading. Then her eyes look away and out towards the expanse of stars, becasuse she can bare no more. Just before we go to commercial, we hear Wash over the intercom. From her silence, he senses something is wrong.

When the boys come back from their spacewalk, she meets them on the other side of the airlock. She calls for Mal. She tells them what she's learned. Zoe learns from a wave, of an insurgence on a rim planet. A fellow browncoat who stays in contact with Zoe informs her of the death of some mutual friends, and a political quagmire on the planet which is fast becoming a repeat of the mistakes made in Fort Sumter on both sides of the Civil War siege (April 1861). The Alliance forces on that planet have been cut off by a small but defiant detail which is now calling upon all Independents in the sector for aid.

Mal & Zoe know the names. The last remnant high command Independent officers have banded together to make that rim planet their final stand. They are trying to re-energize the Independent Rebellion against the alliance. Zoe wants to join the fight. Mal does too, but he's also got a hunch there's something funny about it. Simon and Jayne agree for what may be the first time in their lives. They don't want to get involved. The others in the crew are less certain in their opinions one way or the other, but fall upon a spectrum that leads to an indecisive crew. Mal explains that it would be voluntary. That they would let anyone who doesn't want to participate to leave on Inara's shuttle. Inara initially objects to that, but falls short explaining why. Her reflex reaction embarrasses her. She was thinking of joining them, then stopped herself. She leaves confused. After a moment of arguing among the others, Book excuses himself and follows after her.

Zoe reminds Mal this is not a democracy. Mal looks over the preliminary reports and gets a hunch there's something wrong. He can't put his finger on it, and agrees the decision is his to make, but that he wants more information, so Kaylee suggests they check public trans on the Cortex. While Mal and Kaylee work on that, Simon & Jayne work up a plan in secret to get Wash on their side, because if the captain gives the order and the pilot refuses to plot the course or go that way, then they have a chance of mutiny. When they confront Wash with their plan, Wash points out to them that he's not the only pilot on this ship. Zoe could get them there too, and he's not going against his own wife. Meanwhile, Zoe feels out Inara and Book, inferring that they each did not seem as obviously for the Alliance as she might have assumed. Both describe their apprehensions, but also admit that in the brief time they've been on Serenity, they understand that not everyone should be required to bow to the Alliance without little things like liberty, respect of independent thought and privacy. So, Zoe thinks that Mal, Book and Inara are on her side. If she can assure either Kaylee or Jayne also want to go help the Independents, that's the majority of the crew. Book reminds Zoe this ship is not run by democracy. She agrees, but she also knows her captain.

Kaylee and Mal pour over the Cortex. Actually Kaylee pours over it, and Mal kibitzes over her shoulder. Kaylee explains that this Independent rebellion is being led by someone who was a colonel during the War. Mal recognizes the name. People thought he was dead. Kaylee explains that when rumors surfaced that he was not, the remnants of browncoats began coalescing at this rim planet. In a matter of weeks they managed to amass a ragtag army of ships and men right under the nose of the Alliance outpost satelite that circles the planet. However, the Alliance found out and reported it to the central command. There's an armada of Alliance ships on its way to quelch the resistance. Some of the men Zoe & Mal knew from the War are already reported dead but more recent information is sketchy. Either the space station has been blown out of space by the Independents, or the Armada's already there and the uprising is already over. Depends on whose wave you believe. Mal doesn't like it. He still can't put his finger on it but if it's the real thing it sounds like it's too late to go and help. More than likely it could be a trap - the Alliance setting up false hope to lure remnant browncoats into a trap. They've done it before.

Then Kaylee shows him a series of waves which have Mal's name on them. She finds out there's a faction of browncoats and others who talk about Mal like he's some kind of hero. This is not an incredibly large number of people, but it's a devoted following. They know about some of the adventures the people of the Serenity have had. Sketchy facts coupled with extravagant tall tales. Shades of Jaynestown, only Mal's the one with a metaphorical statue of mud. Of course, this sways Mal's egocentric opinion. He calls for everybody to gather together in the Dining Area.

In a meaningful speech, Mal reiterates that he's taking Serenity into the insurgence, and they don't know what they're gonna find but he's gotta show. They may not survive. He promises to drop anyone who's decided not to go off a nearby planet. Simon & Jayne resist and Wash weighs in on their side. Inara and Book size up with Mal, but insist that they should enter the situation as a neutral party, and seek diplomacy. Zoe stifles a laugh and insists there's no negotiating with the Alliance. If they let one planet have liberty, they'll have to let them all have liberty, which isn't going to happen so long as the Alliance exists. Simon uses this as defense for his argument. The Alliance is too big. What will taking a stand at the rim planet resolve? How can it do anything but insure all their deaths, or worse for him and River - get captured. The gang then looks around. Where's River? Simon shrugs and assumes she's still in their room.

Then we hear River's voice on the intercom. Her words are cryptic and more scary than ever before. "You want to war? I want to play. Let's play." Commercial. We're at the halfway point.

The last half of the story is this set up. River has hidden herself somewhere in the ship. She controls the ship. She explains to them that Serenity has spoken to her and Serenity decided they're not going to fight in any war because she's just a cargo ship and she doesn't want any guns. River quotes a lot in this. Sometimes randomly and sometimes purposefully.

RIVER: " 'It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it.' General MacArthur." JAYNE: "I'm gonna ((mandarin for 'kick your ass')). You know who said that? Me."

Jayne starts by saying something to the effect that he's going to wring her neck. Simon instinctively punches him. Then realizes too late what he's just done. Jayne turns on Simon and almost punches back, but then River playfully reminds Jayne she can kill him with her brain. Jayne changes his demeanor and decides to change sides. He actually starts helping River by the end of the episode, especially when he realizes she wants the same thing he does - not to go to the war. They just have different reasons.

The gang tries to stop River and she thwarts their every attempt. This of course upsets them all and scares them. Any wounds that happen are self-inflicted. River starts things by playing it as a game but she's serious when she says she's not going to allow Mal to join the fight. Towards the end he has a meaningful argument with the disembodied River. Why won't she let him fight? "Because you won't get yourself back that way. That's how you lost you... You're helping me get me back. I want to help you get you back."

They never find her. They find evidence of her. They learn she's been spending her free time exploring the nooks and crannies of Serenity. She shows a greater knowledge of the ship than Kaylee could ever hope to have, which makes Kaylee feel uncomfortable and insignificant. We also get indications of what Blue Sun was programming River to be. A spy of some sort. Perhaps an assassin. The gang finds this disarming. Mal tries to organize the group and starts up a plan, but as the gang each go off and follow his orders, River is perpetually one step ahead of them. She cuts them off from one another, does things that make it impossible for them to do what Mal wanted them to do. She manages to do this without ever permanently damaging property or hurting anyone. And she has great fun while she's at it. Disturbingly so.

Zoe learns too late that River's really just buying time. That she's tapped into the Cortex and is waiting for evidence that the war is over. Simon observes in River's behavior that the cocktail is wearing off. That she'll soon need a booster shot. He camps out in the infirmary at one point, thinking she'll have to return there eventually. The others are thwarted by River at every turn, just when they think they have the upper hand. Then they turn on one another and lash out in frustration. River then comments as an outsider, critiquing the weaknesses in the crew and that "we need to work on that. Elsewise we're Reaver fodder."

Mal eventually finds out the truth. River suspected as he did that the whole thing was a ruse. She finds proof that it was an Alliance trap, shows that to the rest of the crew, then she gives control of the ship back to Mal, now that he's got enough information to make an informed decision. She announces she's ready to stop hiding. She'll accept their violent behavior now. She fully expects repercussions and gives herself up without fear of reprisal but accepting their short-sighted lack of comprehension as a given. She accomplished her goal. The Serenity didn't get involved in the Alliance trap, so she finished what she set out to do.

She reveals herself at the end, of her own accord, on her own terms. They find her in the cargo bay, standing in the middle of the room. No evidence how she got there or where all she'd been. Like any good magician, she doesn't reveal her secrets. She's greasy and smelly and her clothes are torn. It looks like she's crawled through the bowels of the ship. Like she went through hell and back to make this point. To find another way other than violence and a bitter end for Serenity's crew.

Zoe is livid, and attacks River, thinking Mal would want River to suffer for taking his ship away from him. River holds her own in the fight. Zoe never touches her, but gets damn close. River also never punches back, but it's clear she didn't have to. Mal steps in and defends River, aiming for a more diplomatic solution to the showdown. This causes a bit of a rift between Mal & Zoe that has not been seen before. Zoe really has to pull herself back in order to follow her captain's order. The rest of the crew is upset with River and think she should be punished for what she did, but Mal & River have come to an understanding. They have an exchange similar to the Mal/Marshal exchange at the end of Train Job. Mal acknowledges that River could have done a lot of things that she didn't do, and the method to her madness was in the best interests of Serenity and its crew. River says, "Serenity required an advocate. I had to speak for her."

"But you didn't tell me." Mal points out.

"Nobody listens. I had to show."

"River. Next time tell me. Don't show me. Tell me first."

"Okay."

"Understand?"

"Yes."

"Comprehend?"

River nods. Fighting back tears. Without warning, River lunges at Mal and hugs him tight and lovingly, like a little fearless girl would hug Santa Claus. This stuns everyone. It's a sweet but also awkward moment. Mal looks at the others in the room, then he reluctantly pats her back lightly, returning the hug.

And we go to black credits on that image.