Family Ties--

--This is taking place a few weeks after Objects in Space. Inara has yet to make a decision on whether or not she will remain with Serenity. Other than that, this is the typical type of story. I appreciate all patience while reading, since this is my first attempt at a fan script.--

OPENING SHOT: Typical opening music. Black space at first, but as the camera rotates, a few planets come into view. Then, Serenity glides smoothly across the shot in front of one of them, eclipsing it in a way that makes the light from the planet create sort of a halo around Serenity.

Cuts to shot of ladder leading to Wash and Zoe’s quarters. This cuts to a shot of Wash from behind, sitting on the bed with something in his hand. Light sobbing is heard. Camera slowly wraps around him, showing that it is a photograph in his hand. The photo contains five people. A much younger Wash, his parents, and what appear to be his two siblings, brother and sister, both younger. The brother is the youngest. Wash smiles at the photo, with tears in his eyes, and caresses the frame of the picture.

A metallic clank is heard above, and Wash hastily puts the photograph back in its hiding place: a duffle bag filled with miscellaneous electronic gizmos. The camera cuts to the ladder, where Zoe’s unmistakable boots are descending the ladder.

ZOE: Dear? You down here?

WASH: Yea, sweetie. Just changing shirts. I got a little mess on me during that surprisingly accurate reenactment of last night’s events during breakfast.

ZOE: I’m sorry. I didn’t know protein supplements could splatter that much.

WASH: It’s ok. Now I get to look dashing.

Wash is donning a new sweater. Very classy.

ZOE: Well, come on Mr. Dashing. Captain needs us up on the bridge. Seems he got the details he was waiting...(notices his eyes) you okay? Your eyes are little red.

WASH: Protein splatter. I’ll give ‘em another rinse. I’ll be fine.

ZOE: All right.

Wash glances back at the bag, and gives it a pat. Then zips it up.

Theme song.

Cuts to bridge, where Mal and Jayne are finishing up a transmission, apparently angry about some details about the job.

MAL: It’s absurd, Rourke! If you want the job done fast, and done right, you’ll let us get on with it with out the Ju wen xi shun addendums!

ROURKE: (On com screen) Malcolm, you know I can’t do that. How do I know that it will get there in time if you don’t prove it? It’s just a security measure. If you’re afraid your man can’t do it...

MAL: He’s more than qualified for the task. It’d be a waste of his time...

ROURKE: ...but not of mine. I need proof that my merchandise will get to Promas when it needs to. End of story, Malcolm. If you’re too high and mighty for a little test, I suggest you start looking elsewhere for work.

JAYNE: When we spoke with Hopper, ain’t none of this was in the description!

ROURE: Then Hopper is at fault for not specifying. Not me.

MAL: (pauses with a grimace on his face) Alright, Rourke. We’ll do the test. I’ll be touching down in 2 hours time.

ROURKE: Glad to hear it, Malcolm. See you soon. (Com out)

JAYNE: How could you cave to that little piece of fei yu’s demands? We don’t need this garbage!

MAL: ‘Fraid we do, Jayne. Kaylee told me this morning that the aft synchronizer is starting to cause problems, so we need the credit to fix it. This job will more than enough cover it...but these xi ya yun fu outer rim folk don’t trust a soul to run their property!

Zoe, Wash, and Kaylee enter the bridge.

ZOE: Problem, sir?

MAL: That obvious?

WASH: We heard yelling...assumptions were made.

JAYNE: Well wipe the grin off your face, Wash. This little problem concerns you more than any of us.

WASH: (smile fades) Concernswhat?

Cuts to dining area. Typical layout for crime planning. The rest of the crew gathers around, with the exception of River and Inara.

MAL: Well, this job started as a pick up and go cargo run. We were supposed to bring Rourke’s shipment to Promas, where Hopper’s men will grab it.

ZOE: And we’re not doing that anymore?

MAL: No, we are. Well, we might?

ZOE: Might, sir?

MAL: Rourke is a bit touchy about how his stuff moves. He’s a little nervous about making deadlines. Very proud of his reputation, and figures that we owe him a little test of our worth.

SIMON: What sort of test?

MAL: (pauses) Flying. Rourke won’t hand us the goods until he knows our pilot can make it quick enough.

WASH: What? That’s ridiculous! I just plot the courses. The ship is where all the speed is!

MAL: I know. But I also know that you can take this test of his no problem, so I says we complete Rourke’s little pop quiz with top marks, and get off world right away.

KAYLEE: Cap?

MAL: Yes, Kaylee?

KAYLEE: Well, you said that this fella has a reputation about this. But I think it’s safe to say that we have a rep for making jobs on time.

ZOE: What are you saying?

KAYLEE: Somethin’ just don’t feel right. Rourke would know that we can do this job no problem. I think he’s got something up his sleeve.

MAL: Can’t rule that out, but right now, we ain’t got any other choice. We’ll touch down on Ashfront in about 30.

WASH: Ashfront? I thought the job was on Bacchus.

MAL: Yea, turns out Rourke did some moving around in this system and forgot to tell Hopper. Luckily he told us, saving us a mighty fine mix-up goin’ to Bacchus. All right, lets get goin’.

Group disperses their separate ways. Wash remains at the table with a discerning look on his face. Zoe stops and sees him still sitting.

ZOE: Everything okay?

WASH: Ashfront. It’s my home.

ZOE: I know. Should be nice coming home.

WASH: Well, I haven’t been here in a mighty long time.

ZOE: How long is mighty long?

WASH: Eighteen years...give or take.

ZOE: Long time to be away from home. Any side trips you plannin’ on making?

WASH: I left for a reason, darlin’.

ZOE: A reason that you have yet to tell me.

WASH: Another day. (Rises from the table) I’d rather not cloud my mind before my little exam. Off to practice my technique. (Mimics holding a wheel as he walks off)

Zoe watches him walk away with a slightly concerned look.

Cuts to Serenity touching down on a landing pad near a stream. Hatch opens, and Mal, Jayne, and Zoe step out to meet their greeting party, standing in front of a few horses. Cuts to them from the front.

Rourke is a short, round man, with perfect circle spectacles. His manner is a bit twitchy, but it doesn’t affect his speech. His hair is combed, but has the look of hair that doesn’t have much time left. On his left is a taller man, with a shaved head, but a mighty fine beard. On his right, a muscular, dark skinned man, his hair pulled back in a ponytail.

Mal slowly makes his way down the ramp to the Ashfront turf, which is very similar to Earth That Was.

ROURKE: Captain Reynolds. So glad to see you, and a little earlier than expected!

MAL: Figured it would help our cause.

ROURKE: I said earlier than expected. But still not as early as I’d like. (Mal has a look of someone who had his balloon popped unexpectedly, but it doesn’t last.) This is Prowl (the bearded man), and Young (the ponytail guy).

MAL: My first mate, Zoe. That’s Jayne. And there’s (turns to the ship) Serenity.

ROURKE: Firefly class. I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for those vessels. It’s a shame they don’t have too many of them around any more.

MAL: Yea, she’s a beauty. If you don’t mind, I’d like to get this little test out of the way, so we can get down to business.

ROURKE: Of course. Which of you is the pilot?

MAL: Neither actually. He’s inside, piloting.

ROURKE: Of course. How silly of me. Well, if you three, and your pilot would meet me at the tavern down the road, we may begin discussing our...event.

MAL: Right.

Rourke and his men get on their horses and ride off.

MAL: Something tells me that today isn’t going to be an “easy job” day.

Cuts to cargo bay, with Wash descending the steps, as Mal, Zoe, and Jayne reenter. Shepherd Book and Simon are talking in the background.

WASH: Well, doesn’t he want to meet me? I got all dressed up! (Wearing exactly what he always wears)

MAL: He means for us to meet at the tavern.

WASH: Ah, the Bullseye. Watched many a ruffian be tossed out of there. You’ll fit right in.

MAL: Yea, well let’s just hope that you can pass his examination. Doc?

SIMON: Yes?

MAL: I’m trusting you and the Shepherd to watch over Serenity and the others. You keep that sister of yours from making off with, or becoming, my ship.

BOOK: I think Inara, River and Kaylee are currently having their “girl talk” in Kaylee’s quarters, but we’ll keep an eye out.

MAL: All right. Let’s move.

JAYNE: (to Wash) They got good drinks at this place?

Shot of the scenario panning around. Finally closing in on the Bullseye Tavern. Westerny looking place. The Mal, Zoe, Wash, and Jayne are riding the slightly charred mule up to the tavern, and park it in front.

MAL: (examining the front of the tavern) Definitely seems like our type of place. (Looks as though he’s reminiscing about the brawl in the beginning of Train Job)

ZOE: I’m just hoping that “our type of place” doesn’t mean, “A place where it’s easy to end up going through the window”.

JAYNE: Windows are pretty big.

All look at Jayne.

JAYNE: What? I’m just saying...

MAL: Let’s go.

Cuts to inside. Rourke, Prowl, and Young have a table near the back of the Bullseye. The three have clearly been here since they left Serenity. Young looks as though he has had a few too many, but is surprisingly quiet.

As the group approaches the table, Rourke shows some etiquette, and stands up for their approach.

ROURKE: Captain! You arrive at last. Please, have a seat, and a drink if you wish. I shall pick up the charge, of course.

JAYNE: My kind of fellow.

Cuts to inside of Serenity. Shepherd Book is browsing through his room, apparently looking for something.

BOOK: (Talking to nobody in particular) She’d know better than to come in here. Just silly that she did it again...

SIMON: (peeking through door) Shepherd Book? Is everything okay?

BOOK: Ah, Doctor. It appears that young River has once again, accommodated my bible. I fear that soon Jonah will suffer the unspeakable ripping wrath of River.

SIMON: Are you sure that you just didn’t misplace it?

BOOK: It’s my bible. It would be similar to you losing your medical kit.

SIMON: I see. Well, don’t you think we should ask River before jumping to conclusions? I mean, she has been down with Kaylee for most of the trip.

BOOK: I suppose. Well, let’s go find the estrogen party, and do some sleuthing.

Cuts to Kaylee’s quarters. Inara, River and Kaylee are giggling like mad, apparently having a wonderful time together. Each has a mug of tea. Kaylee seems less afraid of River than previous times.

KAYLEE: ...and I didn’t have the heart to tell him, since money was being scarce back then. All he had to do was switch on the secondary power generator, but I went into immense lengths, and made up a few names for some new parts that I replaced, and in the end, he paid for it all! I felt bad later, but my pa wouldn’t let me return the money. He said that I earned it, whether it was honest or not. It was like some crazy, mixed up life lesson.

RIVER: Maybe later, I’ll tell you some stories about Simon and me, when we were little.

KAYLEE: I can’t imagine Simon as a little boy. It just seems out of place.

INARA: Everyone was little, once.

KAYLEE: I know, but Simon doesn’t seem like he’d be comfortable as a little kid.

RIVER: He’d be embarrassed if I told you.

SIMON: He sure would. (From the ladder, as he descends into the room, Book following.)