We see a solar system; a sun like
our own, surrounded by many
more planets than ours, they in
turn surrounded by moons.

We see a terraform station; a
bunker-like complex many miles
across, air billowing from it,
electricity running over it.

We see a futuristic megalopolis,
gleaming and cool.

We see an empty desert plain, then pull out to see the entire
planet — and further, to se we're
on the edge of the galaxy.

During this a woman steps in
front of the last image and we see it
is on a wall screen in a:

EXT. CLASSROOM - DAY

It's a group of twelve-year-olds,
serious and well dressed. They sit on
their heels under a sparsely elegant
tent, small wooden desks with
embedded screens in front of them.
The tent is on a lawn surrounded by
lush foiliage. People walk about and
vehicles glide quietly overhead. A
utopian vista.

RIVER is a dark, intense little
girl, writing with one hand and
"typing" with the other. (Typing
consists of holding a long wooden
stylus and tapping either end
down different columns of chinese
characters on her desktop
screen.) She is a good two years
younger than the other kids.

She violently PLUNGES the stylus into the girl's forehead —

INT. LAB - DAY

And we FLASH CUT to the actual
present: a 16 year old RIVER
sitting in a metal chair, needles
stuck in her skull (one right
where the teacher had stuck her)
being adjusted by a technician.
A second monitors her
brain patterns.

The lab is cold, blue, steel.
Insidiously clean.

DOCTOR MATHIAS is not instantly
likable — nor gradually, for that
matter. A cold man, and more than
a little satisfied with himself. He
carries a clipboard as he addresses
the GOVERNMENT INSPECTOR,
observing.
And making him a little nervous.

The Inspector is in shadow, but his
uniform indicates substantial rank,
as does the eagle-crested baton —
no longer than a ruler — that he
clutches in one gloved hand.

River starts convulsing, mewing in
misery. The Inspector starts forward,
slowly.

The Inspector steps into the light.
He is rigid, cold, staring at the girl
with no emotion at all. His name,
as we will very soon learn, is
SIMON.

He drops to one knee, slamming his
baton to the floor.

ANGLE: THE BATON

As the top pops off like a bouncing
betty (the grenade), flying up and over
Simon and River's heads and then
bursting forth in a flat circle of blue
energy that bisects the room, flowing
through the staff's heads and knocking them out.

Simon rushes to River, gently
removes the probes from her head
and swabs her, whispering:

SIMON
River. Wake up. Please, it's Simon.
River. It's your brother. Wake up...

She begins to stir as a noise
moves him to the door, looking
out and removing his uniform to
reveal an orderly's tunic beneath.

River is suddenly next to him. He
jumps a little.

A beat, as they face each other,
Simon fighting emotion.

INT. GUARD STATION -
CONTINUING

As the guard looks at a monitor. He
mostly resembles a secret service
man — more bureaucrat than
thug. A second man rolls into
frame on a chair behind him, also
watching the screen.

INT. RESEARCH CENTER
CORRIDOR - CONTINUING

Simon walks River through the
corridor. They approach a pair of
double doors.

Simon turns suddenly as he hears
footsteps, people heading at them
from the other side of the doors.

But River has, impossibly, scampered
up over some lab equipment to the
dark top of the corridor, where she
holds herself in a perfect split,
feet against the walls and outstretched
hand holding the sprinkler for support.

The doors burst open and two
doctors pass by, hardly noticing the
lone orderly. Passing right under
River.

EXT. VENTILATION SHAFT -
MOMENTS LATER

Its small, 15 feet by 15 feet. Goes a
long way up and a long way down.
One wide hinged window looks in
on the hall inside. Simon and
River appraoch with quiet haste.

They slip through the window.
Simon shuts it, wedges his baton
into the handle as the SECURITY
AGENTS APPROACH. They fire at
the glass, but their lasers have
no effect.

Wind whips River's hair about as
she looks up to see a small patch
of daylight visible ten stories
up. Sees the sky blotted out
by a small ship that hovers
above them.

EXT. ABOVE LAB FACILITY - VFX

THE SHIP is floating over the
grass of rolling hills, the city
gleaming far beyond. This facility
is well hidden.

EXT. VENTILATION SHAFT - DAY

A gurney-sized section of the ship's
belly detaches and drops down ten
stoires, cables spooling it out of
the ship. It comes to Simon and
River and stops suddenly.

He is standing by the window —
and the Secuirty Agent is right
behind him,PUNCHING the window
with all his might.

Simon helps River onto the gurney,
then jumps on himself as the
Security Agent cracks the glass.
The two are whisked up in the
gurney, River on her knees, Simon
standing beside her holding one of
the cables —

The action freezes.

The action REVERSES, taking us
back to the moment of Simon
and River on the gurney just
before it rises.

There is a motionless beat. River
frozen in that crouch, and he steps
through what we now see is a
hologram of the event. The
Government's man. We'll just call
him THE OPERATIVE.

He is thoughtful, a little removed.
Wire-rimmed glasses, a suit too
nondescript to be a uniform, too
neat to be casual wear. He is in:

INT. INSTITUTE RECORDS
ROOM - DAY

— which is long and bare but for
drawers of holographic records, a
set-up for watching recordings
(where the image of Simon and
River floats), and a table with
computer and chair. The Operative
crosses to the table, looks over
some papers.

CLOSE ON: THE OPERATIVE'S GLASSES

As Simon's history files down in
print and pictures — graduation,
security photo from his medical
internship — over one lens of the
Operative's glasses.

Doctor Mathias sotrms in, two
security men (not the ones from
the opening) and a nervous young
female intern following. Mathias
looks greyer and more gaunt than
when we saw him last.

Mathias looks at the hologram —
realizes which one it is.

He places his hand on a screen as
he says it. Mathias looks at the
readout, and drops the bluster.

Mathias looks uncertain.

He touches a small control stand
near the hologram and the holographic
image jumps to the Doctor and Simon
in the lab, Mathias repeating:

The air rings crisply as the Operative
pulls out his sword.

The agents move. He slices the throat
of the one behind him with true grace,
thrusting at the second as he's
pulling out his gun and pinning his
hand. A moment, and the dying agent
reflesively squeezes the trigger,
shooting his own arm.

The Operativae pulls out the sword
and the agent falls as quietly as
the first.

Mathias bolts but the Operative
pins him to the wall. He bunches
his fingers and jabs the side of the
Doctor's spine. Mathias stiffens,
suddenly, agonizingly immobile.

The Operative steps back, observes
the Doctor's rigid grimace for a
moment. Almost ceremoniously, he
drops to one knee and holds the
blade out to one side, hilt to the
floor and point tilted toward the
doctor. The Doctor stares at it in
horror as his paralyzed body begins
to tip over toward it.

The Operative turns toward the
terrified intern at the door.

He's almost startled when the Doctor's
body drops into frame, slowed suddenly
by the sword. It squeaks down the blade,
the Doctor unable to cry out, as the
Operative whispers to him:

Mathias is dead. The Operative pulls
the sword out as the body rolls over.
As he wipes the sword down:

She goes. He approaches River, very
close, staring...

The noise is sucked suddenly out
of the room as we black out.

SERENITY

... becomes the name painted on
the side of a spaceship, with the
same in Chinese behind it.

EXT. SPACE, ORBITING THE
MOON "LILAC" - DAY

We move away from the ship. The
name is on the nose, under the
bridge. It sticks out from the body
of the ship like a craning neck.
The body is bulbous, with propulsion
engines on either side and a giant
glowing back.

There are two small shuttles tucked
in over the 'wings' of the engines.
It's not the sleekest ship in the
'verse, to be sure.

As it hits atmo, the propulsion
engines take over and she starts to
rock a bit, noise filling our ears.
Camera comes around the front, at
the windows and into the bridge, to
see the Captain, MALCOLM 'MAL'
REYNOLDS, standing and watching.

At that moment, a small piece of
the nose breaks off and goes flying
past the window.

INT. BRIDGE - CONTINUING

[Note: the following sequence will
take us through the ship in one
extended STEADICAM shot.]
The bridge is small: two pilot seats
on either side, and a tangle of wires
and machinery all about.

Mal wears the knee-length brown coat
and boots of an old Independent. Gun
at his hip. He's not unlike the ship —
he's seen a bit of the world and it
left him, emotionally at least,
weathered. Right now, though, he's
mostly startled.

He's addressing the pilot, WASH.
Flight gear and a hawaiian shirt, toy
dinosaurs populating his station —
no old soldier, but just as startled.

The ship bucks —

Another buck —

INT. FOREDECK HALL -
CONTINUING

The camera leads Mal down. On
either side of the hall are ladders
leading down to crew's personal
quarters.

The hulking mercenary JAYNE is
coming up out of his bunk as Mal
passes. He carries a number of rifles
and grenades.

First Mate ZOE enters from the
lower level. Her mode of dress and
military deference mark her as a
war buddy of Mal's.

All that plays in the background
as we lead Mal into the:

INT. DINING ROOM -
CONTINUING

It's the communal space of the
ship, homey and messy. There is
food left lying on the table. Mal
swipes a dumpling from a plate,
pops it in his mouth as another
jolt rocks him and sends most of
the tableware clattering to the
floor.

He enters:

INT. AFT HALL/ENGINE ROOM -
CONTINUING

The hall leads to the rust-brown
chaos that is the engine room.
Working around the engine in a forest
of wires, sparks and smoke is the
sweetly pretty mechanic, KAYLEE.
She passes Mal with a slightly
impatient smile as he stands in the
doorway, raising his voice above
the din.

Steam and electricity shoot at him,
backing him up.

He turns to see Simon behind
him. Simon is more seasoned than
before, but still contrasts the
Captain entirely in dress and
manner. He is implacably proper.
Also pissed.

Simon nods, the ship jolting again.

He heads down a side corridor
that has steps leading down to:

INT. PASSENGER DORM -
CONTINUING

Simon is right on his heels as we
lead them down the stairs:

The passenger dorm has a timeworn
warmth that most of the ship
shares. Except, of course, for the
sterile blue of:

INT. INFIRMARY - CONTINUING

Into which the two men step.

Simon jabs the inoculation needle
into Mal's arm.

He starts away, Simon still keeping
pace.

INT. CARGO BAY - CONTINUING

They enter the biggest space on
the ship. Giant doors sit at the
front, which will open upon landing
to reveal a lowering ramp.
Catwalks surround the space,
leading up in the front to the
foredeck hall. We've come all the
way through Serenity.

Simon starts up the stairs. As Mal
walks on, we tilt up to see the
Mule, a four-man hovercraft
hanging from chains near the
ceiling. Jayne and Zoe are tossing
duffle bags into it.

The camrera picks up Simon's feet
as they enter foreground on the
catwalk, and track with them to find:

She's lying on her side, looking
straight at us. A loose summer
dress draped over her small frame.

EXT. LILAC - DESERT GULCH - DAY

Serenity settles gently down as
the cargo bay door opens.

INT. CARGO BAY - CONTINUING

The chains are hoisted back up
into the ceiling of the ship. The
Mule floats just above the floor,
Jayne throwing extra clips in the
container next to River in the
back. Simon is handing River her
boots, which she hands back.

River puts on a huge pair of
goggles, looks at her brother.

He peels out, leaves Simon fuming —
and realizing he's still holding
River's boots... Kaylee sidles up
to him...

Kaylee watches him go, a tad forlorn.

EXT. LILAC - DAY

We see the town sprawled before us,
as the Mule heads in.

The town embodies the lives of
folk out here: adobe and wood mix
with metal and plastic — whatever's
on hand to build with. Right now
the streets are mainly empty.

EXT. TRADING STATION - CONTINUING

The Mule pulls up, Zoe hitching it
as they speak:

Mal turns back to River.

INT. TRADING STATION - DAY

We are in a camera's eye view,
right above the door.

The door slams open, Mal and
Jayne stride in, Zoe following and
whipping her hogleg right at camera
without looking. Reverse to see
the camera is also a small screen
with "Welcome to Lilac" on it for
the millisecond before it's blown to bits.

There's mayabe fifteen people in the
place: store workers, farm-folk, and a
couple dirt-poor kids. It's a
combination post-office, general
store, bank, and most other things.

Two men who appear to be farm
folk rush Mal and the others. Mal
draws on the elder one and he
stops dead in his tracks. Mal's
gun is long, not unlike Cival War
era issue, but very much new in design.

The other tries to tackle Jayne,
which is not necessarily a great
idea. Jayne clotheslines him so
hard he spins right upside-down
— and Jayne grabs him by the legs
and CRACK! — bounces his head
right off the floor, knocking him
out cold.

The guy who rushed Mal complies
along with everyone else. Jayne
dumps his catch on the floor and
rips open his dirty shirt to reveal
a private security uniform.

He takes a shiny official pin from
the guard he's clocked and looks
up at Mal, who motions for Zoe to
open the front door. She does, and
River steps in.

ANGLE: RIVER'S BARE FEET — walking
slowly among the hunched-over
customers as Mal addresses them.

As he is speaking, Jayne scrambles
to the back office, finding the
small vault locked.

River suddenly looks around, perturbed.

CLOSE ON: a YOUNG TOUGH.

River looks up at Zoe, alarmed, and
silently points to the young man.
He is slowly reaching for the
weapon in his belt.

He finds Zoe's sawed-off nuzzling
his cheak.

He drops his weapon, slides it
across the floor.

Mal moves to the Trade Agent.
Hauls him up, tosses him toward
the vault. Zoe and Jayne follow.

The old man punches in the code.

What opens is a tiny wall safe.
Bundles of bills, some scattered
coin. Unimpressive. Jayne and
Zoe are behind the captian,
peering in.

Mal reaches in, pulls a lever and
the floor opens, a six foot hole
appearing, stairs leading to a
corridor, all gleaming metal and
blue light. Zoe smiles. Jayne peers
down as Mal addresses the Trade
Agent.

The voice of a young GUARD comes
up from below.

Jayne impatiently fires a burst of
machine-gun fire down into the hole.
A beat...

Mal looks at Zoe and they head down into:

INT. VAULT - CONTINUING

Which is as modern as something
off the Central Planets. A short
corridor leads to a real vault door,
that the guard is already opening.
Behind that door, a few bags of
the real deal: neatly stacked cash,
waiting to be robbed.

INT. TRADING STATION - CONTINUING

We move in on River as something
crosses her face. Worry.

EXT. TOWN - DAY

A WOMAN carrying a bucket and her
nine year old SON are looking at the
trading station a few buildings away.

She turns and right by her, in the
shadows, is a man.

Mostly. He is hideously disfigured,
a combination of self-mutilation
and the bubbling red of radiation
poisoning. His clothes are rags,
his eyes pinpoints of glazed madness.

A blade blurs through frame...

INT. TRADING STATION - CONTINUING

River SCREAMS and flops onto her
back, pinned by revelation.
Others look at her, concerned, as
Jayne makes his way to her.

He holds her, as she whispers, wide-eyed...

INT. VAULT - MOMENTS LATER

Zoe is hauling out the last of
five bags as Mal talks to the
guard, holding his gun at him:

He is already loading up with
bags as Mal thinks quickly.

Mal is in his face, dark and huge:

EXT. TRADING STATION - DAY

The doors burst open, Jayne and
Zoe coming out first, Mal behind
with River in hand. She is freaked,
in her own space. Jayne and Zoe
throw the bags on —

— and jump on themselves, Mal
scanning the area as he hands River
up to Jayne's care. As the craft powers
up, slowly moving, the young man
Zoe kept from trying to pull his
weapon bursts out of the station,
grabbing the back of the Mule.

A Reaver craft ROARS over their
heads. It's nearly the size of Serenity.
Torn apart, belching smoke — a
welded conglomeration of ruined
ships, painted for war. Predator,
pure. It disappears over the rooftops.

Zoe's face is set with unhappy
determination as she floors it, shooting
out and leaving the young man in the dust.

As they move from him, four
Reavers jump out of the shadows
and grab the young man. Mal
unhesitatingly draws his gun. He
nudges a lever with his thumb and
a cartridge pops back.

Mal fires twice. The young man takes
both bullets in the chest, slumps down
dead.

EXT. THE EDGE OF TOWN - DAY

As the Mule shoots past the last
building, we see a skiff shoot out
from behind the buildings of the
adjacent street, right abreast of
our gang.

EXT. THE CENTER OF TOWN - DAY

We see the church as the first
ship and an even larger one come
to hover over it, Reavers dropping
down on cable lines to swarm into it.

A Boot, with metal hooks sticking
out of the heel like claws, drops
right in front of frame, and the
Reaver starts running toward the
church as well.

ANGLE: As a woman is dragged
screaming inside a dark doorway.
ANGLE: A man comes out of his
house with a rifle — and a female
Reaver dives at him with impossible
speed, tackling him.

EXT. DESERT - CONTINUING

The Mule and the skiff are booking
through the rocky terrain. The skiff
swings closer, but Jayne peppers it
with automatic fire and it swings
away. There is sporadic return fire.

River is squashed down on her back
being very small.

Mal says nothing, keeps firing.

INT. SERENITY: BRIDGE - CONTINUING

Wash is in a frenzy of switch
flipping, prepping for take-off.

We intercut Wash and Zoe at this point:

EXT. DESERT - CONTINUING

EXT. SERENITY - CONTINUING

As she lifts off and starts heading
toward the others.

EXT. DESERT - CONTINUING

The Mule rockets over frame followed
hard upon the skiff. A short arrow
pins the ammo container shut just as
Jayne is going to open it. He tries
to pry it loose, stands to get leverage —

A harpoon thwinngs through the air
from the skiff and SHHNNK! Goes
through Jayne's leg. The harpoon
grips the leg and pulls —

Jayne goes flying off the back of the
Mule, Mal just grabbing him as the
harpoon line reels slowly tighter —

Jayne grabs the Mule, legs dangling,
pulled out between the two vessels
as Mal slams a new cartridge into
his pistol.

Mal steadies himself and takes aim,
seemingly at Jayne —

Mal fires. Again. Steadies himself
for one more...

The line holding the harpoon is
split by Mal's third shot.

The Mule surges forward as Jayne
drags on the ground. Mal hauls
him in as River bounds into the
front to make room.

And River is holding out his
weapon before he can ask for it.

EXT. ANOTHER PART OF THE
DESERT - CONTINUING

Serenity rushes across the desert
floor, not much higher off it than
the smaller crafts.

INT. BRIDGE - CONTINUING

Wash hits the com.

INT. CARGO BAY - CONTINUING

Simon is next to the huge sliding
doors at the front, hits a couple
of buttons. The doors pull open,
as the huge ramp beyond them
opens down, letting in a rush of
wind and light.

EXT. DESERT - CONTINUING

Zoe sees the flats ahead. She veers
into some rocks, breaking them
loose. The rocks bounce at the
skiff and hit an engine, forcing it
to veer behind a rise.

EXT. DESERT FLATS - CONTINUING

The Mule reaches the flats, away
from the rocks.

The skiff reappears, far behind
but coming fast. Zoe throws the
wheel and the Mule comes hard
about, fishtailing slightly as it
faces the oncoming skiff.

ANGLE: THE SKIFF

As it heads for the Mule —

ANGLE: THE MULE

As it heads for the skiff — and
Serenity swoops down out of the
sky, bay doors open and comes
right up behind it — The Mule
swallowed by the bigger ship —

INT. CARGO BAY - CONTINUING

And only its forward momentum
keeps it from being squashed as it
flies backwards into the bay, narrowly
missing Simon and smashing back into
the staircase, sparks and people flying —

EXT. DESERT - CONTINUING

Serenity tries to get altitude — but
slams right into the oncoming skiff,
tearing it apart —

INT. CARGO BAY - CONTINUING

A flaming portion of the top flies in,
skids to the floor as small fires erupt
from the Mule as well — Simon pulls
a lever and jets of CO2 shoot out of
the floor.

Simon hits the button to start the
outer ramp closing, then runs to the
Mule. The CO2 stops and he finds
River sitting in her seat, completely
unharmed. Zoe is climbing painfully
out of the other seat, Mal and Jayne
both having been thrown.

Kaylee runs in to see how everyone
is. She goes to Simon.

A bloodied Reaver POPS into frame
from under the skiff-top. He lunges
for Mal, baring sharpened teeth —

Mal spins and draws, fires into his
belly as Jayne and Zoe both fire at
the same time. The freak takes too
long to go down, but down he goes.
Dies sitting against the skiff top.
Everybody takes a moment to look
at each other.

INT. BRIDGE - CONTINUING

INT. CARGO BAY - CONTINUING

Simon suddenly punches him in
the face, causing Mal to stumble
back, and Simon to shake his hand
in pain.

A beat.

She is looking at the Reaver.
Everyone does, for a moment.

INT. FOREDECK HALL - MOMENTS LATER

Mal and Zoe enter from below.

They stop by Mal's room.

Wash enters from the bridge.

She's not happy with the reply. Mal
climbs down to his room as Wash
reaches Zoe, slides his arms around
her. She nestles into him...

INT. MAL'S ROOM - CONTINUING

Once alone, Mal lets his own
disappointment show. He pulls off
his holster and drops it over a
chair. Kicks the toilet closed and
sits on his bunk.

The place resembles a submarine
cabin, with charts and clutter,
ancient maps on the walls. Mal
moves a bunch of papers off his
bunk and a picture slides out. Hits
the floor and starts moving; it's a
snapshot-movie of:

INT. INARA'S SHUTTLE - DAY

We're close on a beautiful woman
who looks at us with amused exasperation.
Behind her is an opulently dressed little
shuttle.

The picture pans over to the bed —
which River is bending over and
sniffing curiously. Inara is packing
things up.

Inara shoots an uncertain look at the
camera — and the picture freezes, goes
back to the beginning. During all this,
Mal has picked it up. He looks at it a
moment, tosses it aside. Looks around
at nothing much.

INT. CARGO BAY - LATER

We see the doors in the floor slide
open, a second set below. Pan to
see, for a moment, the dead
Reaver's face.

Kaylee is opening the doors with a
keypad on a cable. Jayne drags the
corpse closer to the doors as
he continues:

He dumps the body in, she starts
the doors closing.

ANGLE: RIVER is up on the catwalk,
secretly watching them.

She looks up toward one of the shuttles.

INT. COMPANION TRAINING HOUSE - DAY

And here she is, moving back and
down into frame, her eyes half closed
in passion. She settles on a cluster
of brocaded pillows, and we see
another head lowering in for a kiss...

Come around to see it's another lovely
young woman — and that there is a
group of ten others watching intently,
all in saris, on their knees. Two
handsome young men with shaved heads
in the back, also on their knees.

Inara stops before the kiss, smiling
and coming back up. She speaks to the
girls (We hear only soft music) as
she repositions the one she's with,
lowering again; showing her the motion
of surrender as if it were a dance step.

EXT. COMPANION TRAINING HOUSE - DUSK

Inara looks out at the mountains.
The space she's in resembles a
Tibetan monastery, if slightly
more opulent.

Widen to see she is with
SHEYDRA, a somewhat older
Companion, the woman whose
voice we heard. She hands Inara
a drink.

INT. COMPANION TRAINING HOUSE - DAY

As they talk, we see a couple more
quick flashes of life in the house.

From above, we see Inara walking
amongst a group of girls practicing
calligraphy on sheets of parchment
laid out on the floor.

EXT. COMPANION TRAINING HOUSE - DAY

INT. COMPANION TRAINING HOUSE - DAY

Inara adjusts a girl's bowmanship,
as two more behind her practice
theirs — all with no arrows.

EXT. COMPANION TRAINING HOUSE - DAY

Inara nearly spills her drink.

EXT. BEAUMONDE: ATOLL PLAZA - EVENING

Serenity touches down on the
crowded atoll amidst a number of
other, equally disreputable ships.
The place is filled with every
kind of immigrant culture and
shop imagineable.

Among the various vignettes we
briefly capture is a very proper
Asian woman walking by a slovenly
Caucasian, who call out to her in
Chinese:

EXT./INT. SERENITY - EVENING

The ramp is open and everone is
filing out, ready to hit the town.
Kaylee is talking to Simon, who has
River in hand.

Mal passes between them, paying
no heed to their moment. We follow
him to see the others ahead, the
same disreputable man accosting Zoe:

Kaylee looks Simon over one last time...

She turns and heads off. Simon
starts in the other direction,
but River looks after her and
the others.

He's heading off and doesn't hear:

INT. THE MAIDENHEAD - CONTINUING

We start on a CorVue screen,
showing a news report. On the
screen is a shot of the town our
gang robbed, now half of it a
smoking ruin.

During this we come around to
see that the screen has a blinking
light behind it, come THROUGH
the wiring of the back to look out at
the bar, with the word "recording"
in the corner. Every screen is a camera,
even down here.

We pick up Mal and Kaylee heading
down into the bar. Cutting away
from the camera's view, we can look
two stories straight down as they go,
to a close group of dark tables and
booths and a second screen playing
in the corner.

They have reached the guncheck,
where Jayne and Wash have
already checked their guns. It
works like a lunch automat: Mal
sticks his gun in a drawer, pulls
out a chit — the drawer closes
and rotates, revealing another
empty one. A large bouncer with
a shockrod watches impassivley.

For a moment, Mal is too shocked
to react. Kaylee storms out.

MINGO is young, tough — somewhere
between a gangster and a fur-trader.
Sounds lower-class British, or
something like it.

FANTY moves out from behind
Mingo to reveal that he is
Mingo's identical twin. Apart
from slight differences in dress,
they are indistinguishable.

They leave and the four remaining
men sit. Fanty tosses a few coins
to a saloon-girl, who does a
little fan-dance...

ANGLE: THE CORVUE CAMERA'S
POV of the men is conveniently
blocked by her little dance.

Mal's foot nudges a duffel bag of
money to Mingo's foot.

ANGLE: RIVER has entered, is
looking about.

Jayne sees her, nudges Mal, who
looks and turns back to business.
We stay on her as she wanders
around the perimeter of the
bar, vaguely listening in on
Mal's deal.

Ths is all background noise to
River, who has moved to the CV
screen, on which is a commercial.
It's animated, goofy, cartoon
animals and anime-style Asian girls
all transforming to insane fantasy
figures as they sing about:

We push in, the light from the CV
on River's face, pushing to
EXTREME CLOSE UP, all noise but
the jingle fading out, finally that as
well, just the hum in River's ears.

And she whispers:

She turns and looks back at the
crowd.

ANGLE: her jacket, as it slips to the
floor.

What happens next happens very fast.

She strides silently to the first table
— two men drinking quitely -- and
she slams her foot into one's face,
then whips it back into the other's,
knocking them both unconscious as —
— people are turning, just registering
that this girl —

— kicks the table into a card player
even as she sweeps a bottle off it
behind her — the bottle hits a man
behind her square in the face, a
man she never even looked at —
people are rising, fleeing or pushing
forward —

She's taking out a group of four,
high kicks and perfect precision —
Two men come form either side,
one whipping out a knife — she
does a perfect split, grabs his wrist
above her head, using his momentum
to stab the other one — The
bouncer reaches her and she
wrests his shockrod from him, uses
it on him, on the three men who
cluster in front of Fanty and Mingo
like secret service — the fan-
dancer is bolting and River hurls
the rod at her head, knocks her cold...

ANGLE: Mal and Jayne as they look
past the fan dancer.

Mal hands the money to Fanty and Mingo.

She's everywhere. On tables,
chairs, under your legs, using the
room itself to take out every single
person there. One man hides behind
a wall — impossibly, she swings
her leg around the corner and nails
his face.

Jayne grabs her from behind —

She grabs his crotch and squeezes
— his grip loosens and she spins,
facing him, and flat-heels his
nose with her palm, twirling into
a gut kick that doubles him over,
dispatching of another while she
cracks Jayne's head with a small
table —

Somebody pulls a gun and she snaps
his elbow, causing him to scream
out even before he shoots himself
in the gut —

Mal frantically wrests a gun from
the vending locker as River
knocks the other guy's gun in the
air, kicks someone else and then
catches it, whips it around just as
Mal comes up with his, they are
pointed right at each other —

And River drops to the ground,
fast asleep.

There's a beat. Mal looks around
the bar. He and Simon, who has
run up to the entrance, are the
only ones standing.

He looks down at River. She lies
unconscious, helpless.

EXT. SPACE - VFX - NIGHT

We see two sleek warships glide
silently into frame, followed by a
third, bigger ship. This is the
Operative's vessel, and it is
everything Serenity is not: sleek,
predatory, icy cool.

He looks over at the Ensign with a
small, strange smile on his lips —
as his glasses are covered by text.

His glasses stop scrolling and
Mal's military file opens, a picture
of Mal in one lens.

CLOSE ON: THE LENS of his glasses.
On it is a slowly moving picture of
INARA.

INT. STORAGE LOCKER - NIGHT

River is still asleep, Mal finishing
chaining her wrists. She lies on her
side, breating evenly.

Mal stares at her a moment, then:

INT. DINING ROOM - CONTINUING

He exits to find the whole group
waiting for him, sans Wash.

Mal grabs him and throws him
against the wall, in his face.

INT. STORAGE LOCKER - CONTINUING

River's eyes open.

INT. DINING ROOM - CONTINUING

Simon looks at Kaylee, the truth of
Mal's words hitting him.

Mal looks at Jayne, at all of them.
Doesn't have an answer.

Mal steps aside. Simon enters the
locker.

INT. STORAGE LOCKER - CONTINUING

River mouths the next words right
along with Mal:

INT. DINING ROOM - CONTINUING

EXT. SPACE - VFX - NIGHT

The camera swoops in at a sparking
ion cloud, then through the cloud
at a barren, metallic satellite
moon. Then further in to reveal a
sprawling — and completely empty
— communications complex. Giant
satellite dishes everywhere.

INT. MR UNIVERSE HQ - CONTINUING

Inside, we find an unkempt young
man. Also sleep-deprived, over-
caffeinated and kinda sweet. This
is MR UNIVERSE. He is alone but for
his mannikin-like Love-bot, Lenore.

He's surrounded by screens, computers,
feeds — machinery that looks both
ultra-modern and long neglected.
All the screens play different
images — it's a mediaverse.

INT. BRIDGE - CONTINUING

As he watches the security feed of
River's fight his image becomes a
vidscreen. He's addressing Wash,
Mal and Zoe.

We intercut between the two spaces:

As he continues, footage comes
up on a monitor behind him: His
wedding (in this very space). He
steps on the cup, tosses confetti,
waves at the camera... Lenore is
unmoving — in fact it's not clear
whether she DOES move.

Mr Universe works the screen. The
image rewinds and stops on River
coming up to it, looking at it. She
whispers the word, "Miranda",
and starts to move away.

He pulls another screen close,
starts working that one.
Matching timecodes, he pulls up
the commercial.

Mr Universe has a third screen
showing the commercial as well
— and it starts breaking down,
bursts of (non-Matrixy) code
showing through. As he does so:

Mal, Zoe and Wash look at each other.

INT. STORAGE LOCKER - NIGHT

River stares at us, impassive, as
the camera pulls away from her to
reveal Simon, who is cleaning
blood off her face.

She starts tearing up, breathing
faster... Simon runs his hands
through her hair.

She shoots him a look.

She reaches out and touches his
face, affectionately.

She thinks.

And she starts laughing. Quietly at
first, then louder, then almost
uncontrollably, screaming in his face:

SMASH CUT TO:

Black Silence.

INT. CAVE - VFX - DAY

It's pitch black here, til Serenity's
lights throw a hard relief on the
rocky wall. She flies in after, slow
and steady, revealing herself to be
in a huge mineshaft.

INT. MINE CAVE - DAY

THE RAMP lowers to reveal
Shepherd BOOK, a working-class
preacher and former crew member.
A couple of miners pass behind
him. Book smiles as the Serenity
crew comes out to meet him:

EXT. MINING CAMP - DAY

We see the camp: a few shacks
and a working mine (and one
small patch of ragged vegetable
garden), as our group come down
to it, greeted by a few miners,
including an eight year-old boy
that rushes to Kaylee...

ANGLE ON: A CANNON mounted
at the edge of town. The guy
manning it sees them arrive, also
goes to greet them.

INT. COMMUNITY KITCHEN - NIGHT

We see the gang sitting and eating.
Comfortable, even laughing a bit.
Jayne presents Book with a couple
of cigars. Kaylee hoists the boy on
her lap.

EXT. MINING CAMP - NIGHT

Most of the camp is asleep. Jayne
and Kaylee sit with a few miners
as Jayne plucks out a tune on
something that very closely
resembles a guitar.

Mal approaches Book on the edge
of a rise overlooking the others.
Mal has a bowl and chopsticks.
Book is finishing:

As Book replies, puts out his cigar,
saving most of it for another time.

INT. STORAGE LOCKER - NIGHT

As he continues, we see an image
of him watching over the sleeping
girl, his mind racing.

EXT. MINING CAMP - CONTINUING

As he continues, we see:

EXT. COMPANION TRAINING HOUSE - DAY

Inara stands waiting, her back to us,
in front of the very fista we first saw
her before.

The Operative comes slowly up the
staircase, stands before her.

EXT. MINING CAMP - CONTINUING

He walks away, offering this:

Mal watches him go, thinking.

EXT. CLASSROOM - DAY

The Teacher from the very
beginning is standing in front of
River, whose desktop screen depicts
a single, dark planet.

Little River is working away, not
paying attention.

River looks up, scared. All the other
children wordlessly get up from
their seats and lie on the floor
next to them.

She starts to lie down herself, right
on the grass.

INT. STORAGE LOCKER - NIGHT

River starts awake.

INT. MAL's ROOM - CONTINUING

Mal does too, shirtless on his bunk.

He pops up, turns to the screen as
the white noise becomes:

INT. INARA'S ROOM

(Coverage for vidphone only.)

BACK IN MAL'S ROOM

REVERSE ON: Inara on Mal's screen.
We see her from about chest level
up. She, presumably, sees the same.

INT. BRIDGE - CONTINUING

Zoe and Wash are secretly watching
both Mal and Inara on two different
screens, smiling at their formal shyness.

Jayne enters, wondering what's up...

INT. MAL's ROOM - CONTINUING

INT. BRIDGE - CONTINUING

There is a general groan among the
audience, which now includes
Kaylee as well...

INT. MAL'S ROOM - CONTINUING

Now that they're both done lying,
Inara smiles blandly, nods. An
awkward beat.

She disapears. Mal thinks a moment.

INT. BRIDGE - MOMENTS LATER

Mal comes up in, buttoning his shirt.

Guilty glances.

EXT. SERENITY - DAY

The ship moves gracefully over
the mountains.

INT. BRIDGE - CONTINUING

He starts out, turns back to Zoe.

EXT. SERENTIY - DAY

She is nestled in a gorge, overhanging
rocks all but burying her from view.
The shuttle on the right lifts off
from the side of the ship and glides
off, keeping low.

EXT. COMPANION TRAINING HOUSE - DAY

A line of young trainees files by in
robes and red shawls pulled over
their heads — one trainee a good
deal larger than the others.

INT. INARA'S ROOM - LATER

She is kneeling in front of a statue
of Buddha, lighting a few incense
sticks.

The room is sparsely lush — not
as opulent as the shuttle where
she entertained men, but still
beautifully furnished and draped.
A lace curtain hangs in front of
the light, casting its pattern in
shadow over everything. Including
the rather large figure in a red
shawl who kneels beside Inara.

Mal sheds his shawl and robe. Inara
kneels at the alter, picks out
another incense stick.

The Operative moves further into
the room. Whenever he moves,
Mal counters.

The Operative is stopped by this.
Unhappily, he continues:

Mal pulls a small device, clipped
wires sticking out all around it,
and tosses it to the Operative.

Mal smiles — then glares at Inara,
mouthing "Hey!"

He draws and shoots the Operative
in the chest. The Operative goes
down as Mal grabs Inara, moves for
the doorway.

The Operative is on him in a
second, choke-hold from behind.

He tosses Mal hard against a wall,
spinning and blocking a blow from
Inara — she is clearly trained in
martial arts, but he flat-heels her to
the ground within seconds.

Mal is going for his gun again, turning,
and the Operative kicks him in the face,
sends him back, gun flying. Mal gets to
his feet and they square off. Mal
breathing hard, nose dripping blood.
The Operative perfectly poised, waiting.

They come at each other. The
Operative is the much better
trained — he's fluid, his blows
sparse and deadly. Mal is more
bluster and determination, and
the Operative's precision is
wearing Mal down.

Mal punches wild — the
Operative counters with a spin-
kick to the head that sends Mal
to the ground not far from Inara,
breathing hard. He tries to rise
again, painfully, but Inara places
her hand on his arm.

The Operative goes to his briefcase
by the door, pulls out his sword. His
face has taken on that remote kind
of fascination as he looks at it.

He turns to look: the incense stick
burns away — rather like a fuse —
and FLASHES in an explosion of
light and sound.

It's a flash-bomb: The Operative
sails back as everything goes
smoky white and the sound dies
to a tiny buzz.

The Operative tries to get his
bearings — and four armored
soldiers are in his face, asking
him for orders... Mal and Inara
are gone. He motions for the men
to follow them.

INT. COMPANION TRAINING HOUSE - CONTINUING

Inara leads Mal (who is reholstering
his gun) down some steps and along
a corridor. The sound is still tinny
and weird.

They come down the shallow
stone stairs — she presses a hidden
lever and one stone landing slides
under the stair above, revealing
a trapdoor. They start down it.

EXT. SIDE OF MOUNTAIN, BY
MAL'S SHUTTLE - DAY

Mal and Inara move quickly down
the mountain. They look to see that
Mal's shuttle has three Alliance
guards waiting by it. Mal ducks
back out of sight, pulls a fancy-
looking grenade out of his pocket.
Pops the top and hurls it over
at the foursome.

CLOSE ON: THE GRENADE, as a
series of bars of light go out
one by one, counting down —

Everybody dives for cover. The
moment they do, Mal and Inara
race into the shuttle, Mal
sweeping up the grenade just as
the last light goes out and
nothing happens.

One soldier turns to look and Mal
shoots him back down as the
door shuts on him and Inara.

INT. SHUTTLE - CONTINUING

Inara pushes into the pilot's seat.

He nearly falls over as:

EXT. MOUNTAIN RANGE - CONTINUING

The shuttle shoots straight up,
spinning and heading out.

INT. SHUTTLE - CONTINUING

Inara stares straight ahead, relaxing
her grip on the controls. Mal is gone.

EXT. SPACE - VFX - LATER

We are below Serenity as her bay
doors are closing, six little
objects floating out of her belly like
roe. These objects are roughly the
size of pony-kegs, and clearly home-
made, parts welded together almost
haphazardly. They all spark silently
to life — and shoot off in six
different directions, as Serenity
herself fires up her Firefly effect
and burns away from us.

EXT. COMPANION TRAINING HOUSE - DAY

The Operative sips tea and rubs
his temple.

The Operative looks more
unhappy than angry.

EXT. CLASSROOM - DAY

The teacher and students sleep as
River — as we saw her in the institute,
older, with blood seeping from the
needle-holes in her head — makes her
way through them.

Slowly she looks down at her desk.
On it is the solar system, glowing
lines connecting all the stars and
planets. She becomes wide-eyed,
breathing hard as it pushes in to
one system, one planet...

She looks over to one side of the
tent, and we see:

INT. LAB - CONTINUING

Her POV is of the lab. There stand
some five older men in formal dress.
They stare at her, impassive.

INT./EXT. FLASHBACKS

We see flashes of corpses, lying in
houses, in city streets—

EXT. CLASSROOM - DAY

River gets more and more agitated —
and a REAVER is next to her in frame,
grabbing her throat, bearing his
sharpened teeth to bit off her face —

INT. STORAGE LOCKER - DAY

And River awakens. A moment to get
her bearings, then her eyes narrow
with intent.

INT. PASSENGER DORM - CONTINUING

INT. THE OPERATIVE'S SHIP,
A DARK CABIN

As Inara continues, we see: Fanty
and Mingo, tied to chairs. Light
spills onto their bruised faces as
the Operative enters.

INT. PASSENGER DORM - CONTINUING

INT. STORAGE LOCKER - CONTINUING

River is near the ceiling, keeping
herself up in a split again, feet
against the walls. There is a wire
mesh cover to the light, and she
has bent part of it out, is working
it inside the lock of her shackles.

INT. PASSENGER DORM - MOMENTS LATER

The argument continues. We are
on Mal, who is trying to hide his
increasing agitation.

Whip off to Mal and Inara:

Mal stares at him.

He stalks upstairs. There's a quiet
moment.

Mal turns, eyeing her.

Mal walks out into the cargo bay,
Inara following, over:

INT. CARGO BAY - CONTINUING

Inara tries to catch up to —

INT. DINING ROOM - CONTINUING

Jayne is looking at the storage locker
door. A beat.

He moves to the aft hall, shuts and
locks the door. Goes back to the
locker and starts to unlock it,
pulling his gun.

He opens the door and she is on
him in an instant, whip blow to
the throat, the nose — he fires
wildly as she jumps on him,
wraps her arms around his neck
and topples him back —

INT. AFT HALL - MOMENTS LATER

The crew enters, drawn by the shots.
Mal is first — can't open the door.
Looks in to see an unconscious Jayne...

Everyone piles out the other way.
Simon remains, to look in the window.

ANGLE: SIMON'S POV: There is Jayne,
not moving — and River pops up
right in front of us.
He starts, then waits as she opens
the door.

She elbows his throat viciously. He
drops to his knees, shocked and
gasping, as she spin-kicks him to
the ground. He doesn't move. She
looks at him a moment, then takes off.

INT. CARGO BAY - MOMENTS LATER

Mal is throwing his shoulder against
the bolted door to the upstairs. He
gives up, looking around.

She tosses him a bolt remover. He
starts pulling a bolt out of a panel
on the wall, tells Zoe:

He pops the panel off and starts
wriggling in among the wires.

INT. FOREDECK HALL/BRIDGE - LATER

A floor panel hinges open, Mal
pulling himself up. He moves quietly
to the bridge, gun drawn.

He enters to find River frantically
punching up coordinates on a big
Cortex screen she's pulled out by
the copilot's seat. She whips Jayne's
gun at his face, never looking at him.
A moment, and Mal lowers his own gun.

It's a planet. Matches the one
from her dream.

INT. BRIDGE - LATER

Everyone has gathered. Wash is
piloting now, as they are in atmosphere.
River is by Simon. She moves restlessly,
upset.

She hits some commands on the
screen, pulls back to reveal a
couple of other planets near
Miranda.

He looks at his monitors, looks ahead...

EXT. MINING CAMP - DAY

The ship swings around a mountain
to come into view of the camp.

It is a world of fire.

Every building burns, some blown
right apart. Bodies litter the
scene, not one of them moving.
There's a grounded Alliance ship
not far from the cannon that shot
it down.

INT. BRIDGE - CONTINUING

We see Mal's face as the sight hits
him like a gut-punch.

EXT. MINING CAMP - MOMENTS LATER

The crew pours out even as the
ramp lowers, going off in all directions,
calling out to people. Jayne checks the
perimeter, River moves slowly, staring
at objects, at details. Kaylee heads for
the burning church.

She stops, looking at the ground by
the steeple. There is the body on
the ground, face down. The child
she played with at dinner. Kaylee
stares, at first uncomprehending.

ANGLE: MAL, moving in the other
direction, approaches the cannon,
Jayne behind him. He stops and sees:

Book, lying by the cannon, torn up
badly from the waist down.

He moves to the Shepherd, grabs
his searching hand.

Book coughs up blood, grabbing
Mal. Urgent, almost angry.

Book grabs Mal's face, talks as
though replying to something:

His breathing becomes laboured.
Hitched.

Stopped. His hand slips away, his
blood leaving a distinct print on
Mal's face.

Jayne and Simon run up, Simon
slowing down — going to the
Shepherd, but entirely aware he's
dead. Zoe and Wash join them as
Jayne looks around him, Mal still
fixed on Book.

Zoe realizes:

She turns to Wash.

SMASH CUT TO:

INT. BRIDGE - LATER

Silence.

Every Cortex screen is on, each
looking at a different place. Every
one shows fire, destruction or the
snow of an interrupted signal.

Mal stands alone amidst the
screens, saying nothing. After a
long moment, all of the screens
hitch, the images replaced by
identical images of the Operative.
He looks solemn.

Mal flicks a switch and every screen
goes dark.

EXT. MINING CAMP - MOMENTS LATER

Mal comes striding out, where the
crew have been gathering bodies,
laying blankets over them.

And everybody (save River) is
talking at once:

And in the middle of it, Mal pulls
his gun. Jayne, the most in his face,
steps back, hand on his.

He walks through the group, toward
the smashed cockpit of the Alliance
fighter. Struggling to get out is
the badly wounded pilot. He sees
Mal coming and raises his hands in
surrender. Mal shoots him in the head,
turns back.

He grabs a body — drops it at Zoe's
feet as he heads toward the ship.

He passes River, and we hold on her,
watching him.

EXT. SPACE/SERENITY BRIDGE - NIGHT

CLOSE ON THE BODIES as they BURN,
flames passing over them and
suddenly flickering out as dark
falls. They are patches of
leathered flesh stretched over
bone — monsters, screaming
soundlessly in the nothing of
space.

We arm past them to the windows
of the bridge, looking at Mal,
watching, with Zoe behind and
Wash at the helm.

And we pull back out to see the
whole of Serenity for the first
time: It is hardly recognizable.
Charred corpses on the nose,
Cannon atop with a space-suited
corpse draped within, long scars,
welded-on parts and war paint...
the trail of green light burns out
with sporadic bursts of vapor.
It looks, for all the world, like
a Reaver ship.

INT. CARGO BAY - CONTINUING

Mal comes down the stairs to the
catwalk. He hesitates, then steps
into the shuttle.

INT. SHUTTLE - CONTINUING

It's dark in here. Mal stands with
his back to the door, no light on
his face, shaking. Not crying, but
overcome.

He looks up: she's in the corner
looking through that trunk of
hers, hands on a long oilcloth
wrapped around something.

She puts it down and crosses to
the bed. He sits by her.

A beat. He doesn't look at her
when he asks:

She does look at him.

Dissatisfied, Mal rises.

They both want to say more. They
don't. He goes.

EXT. SPACE - VFX - NIGHT

Serenity flies, silent.

INT. FOREDECK HALL/BRIDGE - NIGHT

The group make their way toward
the bridge. Those close enough to
get a view out the window are
looking freaked — those already
on the bridge are stock still.

Pressed up against the glass of the
window is River, just staring.

EXT. SPACE - VFX - CONTINUING

Reverse to see: an armada.

The black sky is filled with what
must be ninety ships in a vague
cluster, as Serenity breaks frame
headed toward them. Most of
them hang still in the air. Some
move swimmingly about. Some
turn in gentle drifts, as though
looking around.

INT. BRIDGE - CONTINUING

They all wait, tensed up, as they
approach the armada...

EXT. SPACE - VFX - CONTINUING

And arrive, moving slowly
through the ranks of ships.

Serenity passes a large, bizarrely
shaped ship. It turns, as though
watching her. But lets her pass.

Another minute, and Serenity is
through the Armada, headed for
the small planet just beyond.

INT. THE OPERATIVE'S SHIP - BRIDGE - LATER

The Operative stares blankly at
the Ensign.

The Ensign just looks uncomfortable.

INT. SERENITY: BRIDGE - LATER

Kaylee, Simon and River have left
the bridge. The clouds fog the windows,
so nothing below is visible.

EXT. SERENITY/MIRANDA - DAY

As she touches down, filling the
frame. After a moment Mal, Zoe and
Jayne emerge from the airlock in full
suits, armed. Zoe reads a handheld scanner...

Mal pulls off his helmet. Breathes,
looking around him.

WIDER ANGLE: They're in a CITY.
Gleaming metal, spread out for
miles in every direction. Portions
decimated by fires long since cold,
others overgrown with weeds, but
mostly intact. But silent, as if
trapped in amber.

Out of their suits now, Mal, Zoe and
Jayne take point as the entire crew
walks along the street, looking about
them. They enter a dark tunnel and
motion detectors throw on cold lights.

She moves rapidly, gun out, to:

ANGLE: A SKELETON
Face-down on the ground, clothes
tattered. She examines it as Mal
approaches, waving the others back.

They look at each other... then move
on, the group following up some
stairs off the road...

ANGLE: the group, from high above,
as they make their way through the
sterile scape.

Mal steps under a block of some
kind — another motion detector
starts a commercial banner running
sputteringly over his head — it
quickly dies.

Jayne approaches a downed hovercraft...

Inside are two skeletons: a grownup
and a small child. Clothes in better
condition, and again no sign of violence.

ANGLE: RIVER is quietly becoming
more and more upset.

CLOSE ON: KAYLEE walks in front
of an office building, staying away
from the cars as she hears:

Kaylee takes another step — and
the corpse of a man is pressed up
against the glass wall right behind
her. Mouth open, skin dead blue,
terribly skinny... a thing to haunt.

But she looks —

— and steps back, horrified, as the
others approach.
It's an office. About half the
employees are there, in chairs or
on the ground, all in the same
state as the first fellow. We see
ANGLES of the corpses as the
gang evaluates...

They notice River now, in the
middle of the street, keening. She
drops to her knees, clutching her
head. As she speaks we see, as she
sees:

INT./EXT. FLASHBACKS

FLASHES: bodies. In homes, in
piles: an entire world, gently dead.

EXT. CITY - DAY

EXT. LANDING STRIP - DAY

It's small — landing is easier in
cities with flying vehicles. At the
end of a short runway, tipped and
damaged, is an Alliance Research
Vessel. The gang makes its way
towards it.

INT. RESEARCH VESSEL - DAY

It's a mess, doors pried open, signs
of violence but no bodies. The gang
walks through it, looking around.

River pulls away from Simon, suddenly
determined. She approaches a console,
and a small disc-like object. She
turns it slightly —

A hologram squawks to life amidst
them all. First we see images that
resemble the flashes from River's
mind: Corpses, everywhere. We
hear and then see DOCTOR CARON
standing exactly where she was
when she recorded this message...

(As she speaks, we see angles of
everyone watching, taking it in...
River silently mouths every word.)

There is a loud bang somewhere behind
her — she starts, gathers herself.

The bang again.

She whirls, grabs a gun and fires
— then aims the gun at her own
head — but a Reaver is on her,
knocks the gun away and bites her face —

She screams continuously as the Reaver
tops her, biting at her and tearing at
her clothes, at her skin.

Wash does, nobody saying anything.

Mal walks outside.

EXT. RESEARCH VESSEL - CONTINUING

He takes a few unsteady steps
away from the vessel. Inara
appears behind him, follows — he
holds a hand out behind him,
seemingly to make her stop, but
then he grabs her shoulder, holds
her for support. She puts her
hand over his.

He looks at her, folds her into his
arms. Brings her face to his, not
kissing but touching, pressing
into each other with the urgency
of pulsing, necessary life.

INT. RESEARCH VESSEL - CONTINUING

River falls to her knees, vomiting.
Simon goes to her, puts his hand on
her back, lets her ride it out.

She looks at him, wet eyes full of clarity.

Wash pulls the recording cylinder
out of the console.

INT. SERENITY - DINING ROOM - NIGHT

The cylinder is on the table. Mal
stands at the head, looking at his crew.

He pauses. Everyone waits.

There is a beat as he eyes them all.

By way of emphasis he takes a big
swig of something in a clay jar.
Mal takes in the fact that Jayne
has spoken for them all. Jayne
slides the jar over to Simon, who
catches it —

Simon drinks during this, then
looks at the jar suspicioiusly.

She doesn't notice the reactions
to her sudden clarity — she's still
somewhat in her own world.

He takes a long moment, his jaw
tightening imperceptibly.

EXT. SERENITY ENGINE - VFX - DAY

CLOSE ON: One of Serenity's jet
engines, as it FIRES up.

EXT. CITY - DAY

Serenity is taking off, leaving the
dead place behind.

INT. MR UNIVERSE'S HQ - CONTINUING

He's talking with Mal and Wash
again, very animated.

DROP BACK WIDE to see: The
Operative, the Ensign and eight
soldiers are in the room, visible to
Mr Universe but not to the screen.

A beat, and he turns in his chair to
the Operative:

The Operative stabs him through,
face clenched with intensity. Mr
Universe looks at him, "what the
hell'd you do that for?", and The
Operative's expression softens, also
becoming confused.

He pulls his sword out and looks at it,
surprised by the display of emotion,
as Mr Universe slumps over.

He sets himself — job to do. To the
soldiers:

EXT. SPACE - VFX - NIGHT

We are amongst the Reaver armada.
Serenity slices quietly through
the ships, as we come around and
see Miranda receding in the distance.

Serenity drifts through the armada —
and suddenly another ship fires up,
running next to her...

The two ships pace each other,
another vessel coming about as
though staring at Serenity, who
comes closer and closer to frame,
till we see:

EXT. SERENITY/CANNON - NIGHT

The suited corpse draped on the
cannon. It suddenly moves: it's Mal.

He swings the cannon round and
fires at the ship pacing them. It
BLOWS, fragmenting into burning
bits that spiral into other ships,
causing two smaller ones to blow
as well.

Mal swings around and fires at
another ship.

EXT. SATELLITE - VFX - NIGHT

In close orbit waits the Alliance
force, at least fifty strong, and
clearly with high tech firepower.
We move in on the Operative's
ship, in the middle of the cluster.

INT. THE OPERATIVE'S SHIP - BRIDGE - CONTINUING

As the Operative waits with the others.

EXT. SPACE - VFX - CONTINUING

It's the Operative's POV: the
swirling Ion cloud as Serenity
breaks through and heads at us,
fully Reavered out.

INT. THE OPERATIVE'S SHIP - BRIDGE - CONTINUING

He looks confused, then smiles at
the ruse. Hits the com:

EXT. SPACE - VFX - CONTINUING

As Serenity gets a bit closer, FIFTY
REAVER SHIPS suddenly burst from
the cloud, also heading straight at us.

INT. THE OPERATIVE'S SHIP - BRIDGE - CONTINUING

The Operative — and everyone
around him — goes bug-eyed.

EXT. SPACE - VFX - CONTINUING

Serenity suddenly lists hard to
port — until she's almost upside
down — the Alliance ships FIRE,
missing Serenity but tagging a
few Reaver ships, none of whom
have slowed down —

INT. SERENITY BRIDGE - CONTINUING

Mal is back on the bridge as we look
out at the upside down Alliance fleet,
missles just passing us —

Zoe and Mal shoot a look at Jayne.

EXT. SPACE - VFX - CONTINUING

Serenity slips right under the
Operative's ship and ducks and
weaves between dozens more.
The Reaver force hits the Alliance
head on — and several ships do
just that, smashing into bigger
ships kamikaze-style, everything
exploding —

The fleet mobilizes, blasting
Reaver ships, circling around, and
an air war begins, a frenzied, balletic
ecstasy of destruction that the
camera hurtles through as ships and
parts of ships fly at and past it.

ANGLE: SERENITY

She nearly makes it all the way
through the Alliance fleet before
a barrelling chunk of debris —
which is twice their size — forces
them to come hard about and
remain in the fray.

INT. BRIDGE - CONTINUING

Mal looks out at the chaos...

They are suddenly JOLTED by a
glancing blow from another ship
— Wash struggles to control her --

EXT. SPACE - VFX - CONTINUING

Serenity makes her way past the
carnage and heads down toward
the tiny satellite moon.

INT. THE OPERATIVE'S SHIP -
CORRIDOR - CONTINUING

As the vessel shakes, clearly
breached, The Operative runs
through the smoky hall. He stops
to pull a laser side-arm from a
dead soldier. Moves to a pair of
doors that open onto standing,
almost formfitting one-man cockpits.
The first is open, the bloodied
Ensign trying to get in. The
Operative helps him in, puts his
hand on the release lever and
shuts the door, opens the second
and drops in. The door shuts and
he yanks his release lever.

EXT. THE OPERATIVE'S SHIP - VFX - CONTINUING

The Dart disengages and bullets
down towards the surface. As it
moves from the Operative's ship, we
see that a Reaver vessel has
smashed into the main viewshield,
and the ship is spinning, explosions
popping silently all over it. The
Ensign's dart is only partially
disengaged when it explodes as well.

EXT. SERENITY - VFX - CONTINUING

She continues down, the metallic
expanse of Mr Universe's little
moon complex sprawling below
them. A moment after Serenity
blows through frame, so does a
Reaver ship.

It fires an electronic pulse at
Serenity and sparks fly.

INT. BRIDGE - CONTINUING

Sparks — and arcs of electricity --
are everywhere here. Kaylee jumps
back as she is electrocuted —
Simon runs in and pulls her out,
slams the door shut on the erupting
fires.

INT. BRIDGE - CONTINUING

He and Wash are frantically
flipping buttons — the ship whirs
to a semblance of life —

EXT. LANDING STRIP - VFX - CONTINUING

We can see it, a long strip, which
halfway along becomes a kind of
hangar. Serenity arcs at it
uncomfortably fast.

INT. BRIDGE - CONTINUING

Wash is fighting the stick with
extreme concentration as Zoe
pulls out a seat as well, straps in.

INT. DINING ROOM - CONTINUING

Jayne, Simon and Inara pull
harnesses not unlike "Batman the
Ride" seats from the ceiling, help
the others in.

EXT./INT. LANDING STRIP/HANGAR -
VFX - CONTINUING

And Serenity HITS the ground —
the landing gear folds and snaps
under the weight — the ship
keeps going, now inside the hangar,
heading towards the entrance to the
facility, slowing, fishtailing and
coming about a full one-eighty —

A standing beam shears off one of
the side thrusters —

INT. BRIDGE - CONTINUING

The team are shaken badly —

INT. DINING ROOM - CONTINUING

— as are the rest --

INT. LANDING STRIP - CONTINUING

— she goes beyond the strip and
crashes down into the pedestrian
area, so that the nose is sticking
back out at the runway but the
body of the ship is hidden from it.

INT. BRIDGE - CONTINUING

There is a moment of quiet.

A massive harpoon CRASHES
through the windwhield and
impales him to his chair. It's as
thick around as a telephone pole.

Wash has time to open his mouth
in surprise before he is dead.

She moves to him —

MAL rips her away and to the floor
as another projectile slams
through the window into the wall
above them.

EXT. LANDING STRIP - CONTINUING

We see the ship that fired the harpoons
as it has entered from an opening in
the roof of the hangar. A second Reaver
vessel enters frame from above, about to
land next to it.

EXT. SERENITY - MOMENTS LATER

The cargo bay door opens — just the
little door housed inside the ramp
— and Jayne comes out with his
biggest gun. He looks up, toward the
edge of the runway, but no Reavers
have arrived yet.

The entire crew piles out, all heavily
bedecked with weapons.

INT. BLACK ROOM/INNER HALL - MOMENTS LATER

A small double-sized doorway leads
to the "Black Room", which is the
entrance proper to the facility.

Mal hits the button and huge, thick,
blast doors open from the sides AND
the top and bottom, creating the
effect of a square hole getting
bigger. The hall itself is smaller
than the black room, but still has
the arrows on the ceiling, that
point to an elevator some fifty
feet away.

Zoe slows, looking around her.

Nobody (but River) realizes he
wasn't there. Zoe is dead calm.

Everybody takes that in, Kaylee's
eyes welling up.

We hear savage SCREAMS from
the hangar, they're approaching.
Mal moves to the door, Jayne
beside him.

ANGLE: HIS POV

Reavers rush toward them.
He turns to Jayne.

Jayne smiles grimly, tosses Mal a
grenade as he pops his own and
fastballs it at the Reavers.

It explodes in their midst, smoke
and man-parts flying about. Mal
rolls his a shorter distance, then
slams the door shut.

ANGLE: THE GRENADE

Explodes, raining a bunch of
equipment — and part of a catwalk
— right in front of the door. In
the black room, the door nearly
buckles from the explosion. Everyone
takes positions behind the crates.
Zoe stands calmly, her back to the
door, loading her sawed-off.

She looks up at him.

He takes off — passes Inara, the
two of them holding a look for as
long as they can. Then he's in the
elevator and gone.

Jayne moves over to Zoe.

He looks back at their army: A
companion, a doctor, a mechanic and
a more-than-usually out of it River.
A beat, and he looks back at Zoe with
forlorn hope:

INT. MR UNIVERSE's HQ - MOMENTS LATER

The elevator stops and Mal makes
his way to the island of screens and
machines in the center of the space.

The first thing he takes in is that
every broadwave port has been
destroyed. The second:

ANGLE: MR UNIVERSE is lying
dead, eyes open, half draped on
his equally still lovebot. A trail of
blood shows he crawled from his chair.

Mal comes close. Nothing. He starts to
move away again and the lovebot turns
her head, her eyes focusing with an
audible whir. She speaks with
surprisingly realistic expressiveness,
and a warped, computery version of Mr
Universe's voice.

Mal stops.

She turns back, powering down.
Recording over.

A beat, and Mal takes off.

INT. BLACK ROOM - CONTINUING

Inara is on her knees, unwrapping
the oilcloth we saw in her shuttle.
River is in the corner, clutching
her head.

A BANG as a body slams against
the door.

Jayne moves past them to Zoe,
takes position by her.

Simon moves to Kaylee, who is
shaky as hell. The bangs on the
door continue.

She looks at him with soft surprise.

Kaylee snaps her cartridge home
with way more precision than we
might expect from her, takes
steady aim at the door.

Simon looks at her a moment, then
turns his attention to the door.

Inara comes up into frame with
the contents of the oilcloth: a
bow and arrow, which she pulls
back with focused grace.

ANGLE: THE DOOR starts to come
off its hinges.

INT. MR UNIVERSE'S HQ - CONTINUING

A panel is kicked in from the ceiling
and the Operative drops down, having
clearly entered from a different location.

He looks around, carrying a laser-
pistol. He moves past Mr Universe
and Lenore —

INT. BASEMENT, OVER THE GENERATOR -
CONTINUING

Mal has reached it and surveys
the situation.

Before him is a railing, and he
can look down on the generator
shaft. It's miles deep, with
machines rotating and grinding,
and arcs of electricity ricochetting
around it.

On the other side is a platform,
with the broadwave console
sitting behind a clear plastic
partition. Cables and chains run
along the ceiling, around a series
of ladder rungs.

INT. BLACK ROOM - CONTINUING

The door is pried partially open —
enough for one Reaver to squeeze
through and charge.

Zoe stands up and shoots him in
the head. He arcs back hard as the
second comes, Zoe shoots him,
calmly walking toward the door —

But she is in a trance, and we see
beneath the calm, to the bubbling
magma of rage that keeps her firing,
single shots, each one a kill, till
five men down and she's out of ammo.

The sixth comes at her swinging a
blade and she blocks, the precision
of military training still in her
as she flips him, wresting the
blade free and swinging it down
out of frame, bringing it up
bloody, swinging again as the
door bursts open and she's rushed
from behind —

But Jayne totes an automatic,
sprays killing fire on the lot,
moving forward himself —

She looks up, almost confused —
and one of Jayne's targets comes
back off the ground and slices at
her back with a blade, she
screams as he cuts deep — and an
arrow lodges in his neck.

Inara pulls up a fresh arrow,
shaking only slightly.

INT. BASEMENT, OVER THE GENERATOR - LATER

Mal is on the railing, reaching for the
'rungs' on the ceiling just above him.
He can almost get them — one wrong
move and he pitches into the jaws of
death...

A laser shot nails him in the lower
back — he arches, legs sliding off
the rail — he falls and hits the rail
with the backs of his legs, flipping
painfully onto his face as he falls,
mercifully, back onto the platform.

The Operative comes around some
equipment for a closer shot as Mal
gets shakily up.

There's no wise-ass attitude in
him now. They stand, facing off at
ten paces.

The Operative raises his gun — but
Mal is the quickdraw master, shoots
the gun out of the Operative's hand
and gets two hits to the chest
(armored) before he makes it to cover.

He drops out his cartridge and slams
another in.

The Operative hides behind some
machinery. Tries to peek out at
Mal — and more shots send him
scrambling back to cover.

Mal holsgers his gun and jumps for
the rung above him, starts going
hand over hand to the island,
moving as fast as he can.

The Operative sees his moment,
dives for his gun — but it's been
ruined by Mal's shot. He looks over
at Mal with death in his eyes. He
runs at the railing, vaults off it,
and grabs a chain — it snaps and
he swings, grabbing another.

He reaches Mal and double kicks
him from behind — Mal flies off
the rung but grabs a chain — he
tries to kick at the Operative, but
the guy is frikkin' Tarzan, he
climbs up and pulls a lever releasing
one end of Mal's chain — Mal goes
swinging, smacks into the wall six
feet below the platform.

He scrambles up just as the Operative
swings himself toward the platform
from above.

INT. BLACK ROOM/INNER CORRIDOR - CONTINUING

Jayne is still firing continuously as
he drags Zoe back to the barricades.
Simon moves to help — Kaylee firing
now, squinting with effort — and
pulls open the cut back of Zoe's
shirt, checks the wound.

Simon pulls a spraycan from his
bag, sprays the wound with a
foam that hardens instantly into
an elastic covering.

There are a few gun shots (as well
as nail-balls and blades) from the
Reavers. Jayne switches weapons,
tossing another to Zoe and opening
fire —

He takes a hit in the shoulder,
grimmaces and keeps firing.

River watches, the gun limp in
her hand. Kaylee grabs it and
starts another round — but she's
peppered with dart-like projectiles.
She screams and drops the weapon,
pulling the projectiles from her —
Inara helps her up, pulls her back
as Zoe shouts:

Everyone stumbles or is dragged
into the inner corridor. Inara hits
the controls and the doors start
to close, from each side and
above and below. Then, when
the hole is maybe four by four,
they stop.

He tosses it through the hole.
Zoe doesn't even flinch from the
blast as she thinks.

She tries to stand, fails.

Inara is by the elevator, pounding
for it to come.

Kaylee cries out and Simon moves
to her.

He stands, looking around him. His
bag is over by Zoe.

and SHKOWW!, the bullet takes
him in the belly — everything
suddenly moving very slowly as
he spins slightly, one foot lifted, a
confused expression on his face —
then speeding right back up as he
slams down on his back, gasping for air.

River's mouth opens in a scream
she doesn't make.

Blood spreads from Simon's belly.
Inara rushes to him, grabs cloth
and puts pressure on the wound,
puts Simon's hand on it.

She is by his side, takes his hand.
She has a kind of serenity to her,
like she understands something now.

The lights go out. Everyone looks
around them. Jayne fires again, but
all the sound has bled out save
these two.

She stands as the emergency lights
come on, giving her face an unearthly
glow as she looks down at him.

She's running so fast, nobody has
time to react til she DIVES through
the hole in the doors, then Simon
SCREAMS her name, the scream following
us back into the Black Room where
River lands in a perfect roll, comes
up in a room full of Reavers.

Without a moment's hesitation she
makes it to the panel, gets the doors
closing. She dodges a blade, but a
blow to the back of the head shakes
her. She weaves around a couple of
Reavers to get to the closing doors,
but at the last second her ankle is
grabbed and pulled out from under her.

The last thing we see is her being
dragged back as they swarm over her.

ANGLE: THE BLAST DOORS, as they
shut with a shuddering KLUNG.

INT. BASEMENT, OVER THE GENERATOR -
CONTINUING

Mal gets up the chain to the platorm.
The Operative is on Mal before he
gets his footing, tackles him as
Mal's gun goes skittering over the
edge into oblivion. There is a
railing here or Mal would go over
as well — but he comes back with a
couple of hammer blows, gets the
Operative off him.

They square off, Mal stumbling back
into a tool chest, knocking over
tools and computer parts.

The Operative reaches behind him
and pulls his sword gracefully from
the holster under his jacket.

Mal produces his weapon: a tiny
screwdriver.

He hurls a toolbox at the Operative
and rushes him, gets inside sword
range and tries for the neck with
the screwdriver — the Operative
blocks it and works the sword
point against the edge of Mal's
stomach. Starts pushing slowly,
despite Mal's resistence, and
breaks skin.

Mal looks at the Operative a
moment — and the sword slides
all the way through Mal's belly.
Mal's eyes go wide.

He headbutts the Operative
viciously, then punches him so
hard he staggers back, losing his
grip on the sword. The Operative
responds with a spin kick — Mal
holds up the screwdriver and the
Operative swings his foot right
into it, gasping as Mal pulls the
screwdriver — and leg it's stick
in — back as he rockets his fist
into the Operative's chin.

The Operative goes down hard,
dazed, as Mal grabs the sword
still in his belly.

He pulls the sword out, grimacing.
Holds it over the Operative. The
smile gone.

He stabs down at his foe's face —
but the Operative rolls out of the
way, kicks Mal from the ground and
is up in a second, grabbing Mal's
sword hand — the sword drops --
and punching him repeatedly in his
stomach wound.

INT. INNER HALL - CONTINUING

The gang is subdued — because
they are all of them injured and
Simon is slipping away. Jayne looks
at Zoe.

INT. BASEMENT, OVER THE GENERATOR -
CONTINUING

Mal goes down hard, spitting up
blood. He sees the sword, moves —
but the Operative kicks him in the
face. Picks him up, Mal too tired to
throw a decent punch.

The Operative spins him and DIGS
his bunched fingers right into the
same nerve cluster that he paralized
Doctor Mathias with. Mal goes rigid,
his face a rictus of pain.

The Operative goes near the railing
and retrieves his sword. Mal
trembles, trying to move — but
nothing happens.

He lunges — and Mal twists gracefully
out of the way, grabbing the Operative's
swordhand and pulling it forward —
while driving his elbow into the
Operative's neck with staggering force.

The Operative drops the blade,
mouth open, stumbling back,
unable to make a sound.

Mal spins him, grabbing both his
arms and working his own through
them in a twisted full nelson —
then bringing his arms up suddenly,
the Operative's mouth going wider
as we hear his arms crack.

Mal drops him sitting against the
railing, picks up his sword, saying:

He squats down, looks the
Operative in the face.

He reaches over the railing, pulls
the back of the Operative's jacket
through and shoves the sword
through the fabric, pinning the
Operative in his sitting position.

He moves to the console, starts
prepping it.

He inserts the disc, turns it
slightly. It hums to life.

He hits "send all". The cylinder
lights up and the broadcast
begins. Here it is projected as a
two-dimensional image on the
clear plastic partition, right in
front of the Operative.

There are images first of the city
— of bodies, on the street, in
homes and offices... image after
image, just as we saw on the
research vessel — and in River's mind.

Mal hits the controls and a ramp
extends towards the other side.
He begins to cross. Never even
looks back.

On the Operative, trapped, watching
in growing horror...

INT. BLACK ROOM - CONTINUING

CLOSE ON: A Reaver in EXTREME
SLOW MOTION. Face full of fury,
he is swinging his blade in a frenzy
of hate.

And a small hand smashes that
face so hard that teeth fly — the
Reaver clearing frame to reveal:

River.

She is bloodied, but not killed.
She's as she was in the bar — moving
faster and more efficiently than
anyone can, ducking and weaving
and gutting and kicking and there
are piles of Reavers already, she
never breaks concentration as she
uses their own blades against
them, throws them, does everything
in her power to stay one step
ahead of — or above -- the mob.

She slams backwards into a wall
opposite the blast doors — and a
grappling hook punches through
it, just missing her.

INT. BASEMENT, OVER THE GENERATOR -
CONTINUING

The Operative watches the end of
the broadcast. We are on his face
through the clear plastic, so the
images projected on it blur right
before him: the Reaver, Dr. Caron
— and her screaming doesn't stop
til something is shoved in her mouth.

INT. INNER HALL - CONTINUING

The gang is still trying to patch
themselves together when the
elevator doors open. Mal staggers
out, holding his bleeding side.

Zoe looks at the badly wounded
Simon, is about to give a report —
and the doors start to open
behind her.

Everyone turns to look, those who
can feebly raising weapons, as the
square iris of the opening blast
doors widens to reveal River,
standing alone. She is holding two
Reaver blades, is bloody but
unbowed. And the only one alive.

We hold on her a moment, then
the wall behind her is ripped
completely away.

Behind it, grappling hooks chained
to a huge tractor pull the wall away
as through the smoke come some
fifteen Alliance soldiers, who line
up, rifles trained on our gang...

Mal and the others tense up. River
turns slowly to face the soldiers,
blades still gripped... A soldier
levels his gun at her, sweaty and
frantic... others still shouting...

INT. BASEMENT, OVER THE GENERATOR -
CONTINUING

The Operative sits in silence, the
voices coming over his com:

INT. BLACK ROOM - CONTINUING

CLOSE ON: THE SOLDIER'S FINGER,
SQUEEZING THE TRIGGER...

BLACK OUT.

EXT. DESERT PLANET - SUNSET

We are close on a gravestone. It is
rounded, looks more like a bell
than a headstone. It is topped by a
jar built into the stone. The jar is
weathered tin at top and bottom,
but glass in the middle. Inside the
glass we can see one of those
slightly moving photos. It is of Mr
Universe and his lovebot, and the
name Mr Universe is carved roughly
in the stone beneath.

The camera moves to the right and
we see another such stone, this one
bearing the image and inscription:
Shepherd Derrial Book.

The third is Hoban Washburne.
Wash.

The camera contines moving right,
but the next stone houses a small
home-made rocket with pieces of
paper taped to it instead of a
picture-jar. And fixing another
slip of paper to it is River.

She moves away from the stone as
Mal does likewise. They're flanked
by the crew: Jayne, Inara (to whom
Mal moves), Simon, who stands
holding River before him and hand
in hand with Kaylee. He has a
crutch supporting his other side.

There is a moment, then they all
move aside, saying nothing.
Between them walks Zoe, in a
simple white funeral gown, holding
a burning taper.

She stands at the stones a moment,
then holds the taper to the rocket
fuse. Stands back with the others.

The rocket shoots up into the dark-
ening sky. They all watch its sputtering
tail a moment, then it explodes in
a series of fireworks.

WIDE ON the group, as the fireworks
go off over their heads.

We are close on another explosion
when it becomes:

CLOSE ON: A BLOWTORCH spitting
sparks. Widen to see:

EXT. REPAIR YARD/SERENITY - DAY

Zoe is harnessed to the nose of
the ship, welding on a replacement
for the very window the harpoon
that impaled Wash came through.

INT. DUCT INSIDE SERENTIY - DAY

We are close on River as she works
inside the crawlspace just above the
engine room, replacing wires.
Some of them run to a computer
screen that she checks and adjusts.

EXT. REPAIR YARD/TOP OF SERENITY - DAY

Mal and Jayne hold onto the cannon
as a crane is lifting it off the top
of the ship.

Close on Mal as he watches it go...

WIDER ANGLE:

EXT. REPAIR YARD - CONTINUING

And here we see the whole ship for
the first time, harnessed by the
wings above the ground so she can
be worked on all over. The cannon
is being hoisted away from her as a
crew of repairmen wheel new landing
gear under her belly.

INT. ENGINE ROOM - DAY

Kaylee, deeply greasy, tweaks a
part on the engine and crosses to
the back where Simon, shirtless
and not entirely ungreasy himself,
is wrenching a bolt into place
above his head. A moment looking
at him and she can't help herself -
she slides her arms around his chest...

EXT. SERENITY - DAY

On a scaffold, Inara repaints the
name on the nose with elegant precision.

INT. ENGINE ROOM - DAY

Kaylee and Simon are just making
out like fiends, work completely
forgotten. With nothing resembling
elegant precision, they sink out
of frame to the floor.

A beat, and River's head appears
from the crawlspace above, looking
down at them with detatched curiosity.

EXT. REPAIR YARD/SERENITY - DAY

It's raining as Mal is hauling in the
last of the repair equipment. The
camera moves around him, skirting
the ground of the junkyard, till it
lands on a figure in foreground,
standing watching him from some
twenty feet away.

Mal stops, doesn't turn. Hand near
his gun.

The Operative stands just under the
canopy of the nose of the ship,
framed by the rain behind.

Mal looks at him a moment, then
picks up his gear to head inside.
The Operative starts away into
the rain, then stops to lookup up at
the nose of the ship.

ANGLE: the newly painted Serenity,
standing tall in the rain.

Mal hits the button to close the
inner doors, steps inside as they
slide together. Glances at the
Operative, unimpressed.

The Operative watches the door
shut. A moment, and he goes.

INT. CARGO BAY - CONTINUING

Mal stows the gear as Zoe appraches.

A beat between them before:

INT. FOREDECK HALL - CONTINUING

Mal comes in and runs into Inara.
Jayne passes through as they talk,
eating a bowl of rice and heading
down into his bunk. Pays them no
mind. Neither do Simon and Kaylee,
in the dining room stowing supplies.

He looks at her, a smile in his eyes.

He turns and heads into the bridge.

INT. BRIDGE - CONTINUING

Mal eases himself into his seat.
Takes a moment to adjust one of
Wash's dashboard dinosaurs, then
looks to his left.

River is in the copilot's seat, looking
intently at the screens and buttons.

She is flipping switches without
even looking, as the ship hums to life.

EXT. SERENITY - VFX - CONTINUING

Her engines fire up and tilt. She lifts
gently off the ground.

INT. BRIDGE - CONTINUING

Mal looks slightly, only slightly
nonplussed.

He looks out at the rain on his
windows, at his screens, taking
her up as he says:

River also looks out at the sky.

EXT. SERENITY - VFX - CONTINUING

As we shoot up with her through
sheeting rain, towards the top of
the sky.

EXT. SPACE - VFX - MOMENTS LATER

We are looking down on the storm
clouds as Serenity bursts out of
them, comes at us, flared by the sun
behind the planet as she passes us,
her Firefly effect lighting up, about
to shoot off into the heavens —

There's a spark and a piece of
paneling pops off, whips at camera,
blacking out the frame.