"SERENITY" (2005)

SERENITY

Written

by

Joss Whedon

Jan 19, 2010

We see the Earth.

White pops blossom on the surface -- they could be nuclear explosions from this distance -- but moments later ships, huge, intricate space-freighters come roaring from the surface, passing camera with a thunder of gas and flame.

We hear a woman's voice:

We see a solar system; a sun like our own, surrounded by many more planets than ours, they in turn surrounded by moons. The ships roar past us toward the system.

We see a giant terraforming station; a round, bunker-like complex many miles across, air billowing from it, electricity running over it. The planet it is buried in is shaking, transforming.

We see a futuristic megalopolis, gleaming and cool.

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

During the above the picture of the galaxy becomes a little fuzzier, transparent -- and we see the woman speaking the voiceover. She is a TEACHER, and as she steps through the picture we widen to see:

It's a group of ten-year-olds, very serious and well dressed. The class has the sparseness both of the modern and the older Asian aesthetic. One window shows they are high up in the gleaming city we saw before, the occasional commercial vehicle flying by.

Her meaning is clear in her tone. (Though people often talk in Chinese here, it is never subtitled, as it is always phrases such as this, where the sentiment is conveyed through the tone. Mostly, it will be used for greetings and cursing.)

The kids pipe down.

We see her for the first time: A dark, intense little girl, who happens to be writing with one hand and "typing" with the other as she speaks. (Typing consists of holding a long wooden stylus, pointed at both ends, in the middle and tapping either end down different columns of chinese characters on her desktop screen.)

She is still doing her other two tasks as she speaks. The teacher gently takes her stylus from her.

River looks up, frightened.

River says nothing.

She violently PLUNGES the stylus right into the little girl's forehead --

And we flash cut to the actual present, an older, sixteen year old RIVER sitting in an operating room reclining table, actual 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 everything you might fear of science: cold, blue, steel. Insidiously clean.

2ND TECHNICIAN She's dreaming.

2ND TECHNICIAN Off the charts. Scary monsters.

DOCTOR MATHIAS is not instantly likable -- nor gradually, for that matter. A cold man, and more than a little satisfied with himself. Behind him stands a 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.

2ND TECHNICIAN Confirm delcium, eight-drop at 16:28 on subject oh five eight dash six, River Tam.

The first technician leans over River, clamps on wrist restraints.

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.

Simon starts toward her, slowly.

The door opens and an orderly wheels a cart of supplies in. He looks shaggy and suspicious, and the Doctor eyes him for a moment. The orderly moves to the back of the room and crouches down, restocking the lower cabinets.

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 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 all on their asses.

They stir, but not much. Blood drips from their noses.

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

He whips his head around to see:

ANGLE: THE ORDERLY

Who was bent over, and is now creeping for the alarm.

Simon races across the room as the orderly breaks for the alarm -- Simon slams into him and knocks him against the wall, the two of them tumbling -- Simon grabs a metal tray and line-drives the guy's head with it.

He stares a moment at the unconscious man, seemingly shocked, then stands quickly, 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.

As a guard looks at a monitor impassively. 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.

The first rises, putting his hand on the monitor, revealing that he wears tight blue gloves.

Simon walks River through the corridor quickly and without hesitation, even though it's sometimes a maze. They approach a pair of double doors.

He looks at her a moment.

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 -- male and female -- pass by, not bothering with Simon the orderly except to say:

A beat, and River drops into frame beside him. He takes her hand and they go through the doors.

This area is larger, with 'patients' sitting silently at tables, doctors and orderlies coming and going. One patient is crying uncontrollably -- an intern ministers to him.

All of this is backed by windows (and a pair of glass doors) looking into the ATRIUM: a space of no more than twenty feet by twenty feet, with a few depressing ferns giving it its name.

Simon and River arrive at the other side of the room, start making their way toward the atrium.

ANGLE: THE SECURITY AGENTS

As they round the corner from one side, see Simon and River. They reach into their jackets and pull out laser guns.

AGENT #1 All exits are secured. Don't hit the girl.

He fires --

ANGLE: HIS POV

As Simon is momentarily obscured by a passing intern -- who is shot clean in the head with a laser burst and goes down without a squawk.

Simon and River duck and run, the security agents still firing.

Simon bursts through the doors, dragging River with him. He wedges his baton between the handles as the agents approach. They fire at the glass of the doors, but their lasers have no effect.

River looks around her, looks up. The Atrium is really a glorified ventilation shaft -- a small patch of night sky is visible ten stories above them. Wind whips River's hair about as she sees the sky blotted out by a small ship that hovers above them.

ANGLE: THE SHIP

Is not unlike a helicopter in design: small sleek, and quiet.

A section of its underbelly, slightly larger than a gurney, suddenly detaches and drops down the full ten stories, four cables spooling out of the ship to hold it. It comes to within three feet of the ground and stops suddenly.

He is standing by the window -- and a security agent appears right behind him, PUNCHING the window with all his might. He does this again and it cracks. Again, and the cracks web out around him.

Simon helps River onto the gurney, then jumps on himself as the Security Agent SMASHES through the glass. River stares at him a moment and then is whisked up in the gurney, still on her knees, as Simon stands beside her, holding on to one of the cables, the two of them moving up at breakneck speed, the Security agents scrambling through the window and shooting at the bottom of the gurney to no effect.

AGENT #2 Scramble the birds, subjects are airborne.

The gurney is retracted back into the bottom of the craft, and as it flies off we see a vista of the city at night. It's a wonderland of light, with enough craft flying about for ours to get lost among them fairly quickly.

We see all this from just over the rooftop of this industrial complex. The city, the lights, the disappearing ship.

The action freezes.

The action REVERSES, taking us back to the moment of Simon and River on the gurney just before it rises. Her hair whips in the wind with that unsettling backwards pull.

There is a motionless beat, just River frozen in that crouch, and JUDE steps through what we now see is a holograph of the event, his face emerging from her own.

Jude is the Government's man. He is thoughtful, a little removed. He wears wire-rimmed glasses and his hair trimmed neat. His suit is too nondescript to be a uniform, too neat to be casual wear.

He crosses away from the holograph and we go WIDE to reveal that we are actually now in:

-- 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. Jude crosses to the table, looks over some papers.

CLOSE ON: JUDE'S GLASSES

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

The door at the other end of the room opens, and Doctor Mathias storms in, two blue-handed security men (not the ones from the opening) following more slowly, and a young female INTERN closing the door, looking nervously out of her depth.

Mathias looks a bit more gray, a bit more gaunt, than when we saw him last.

Mathias looks at the holograph -- realizes which one it is.

Mathias sticks the card into a computer slot, pulls it out. His eyes go wide at what he sees. Jude presses a thumb to the screen, causing a verification beep.

Mathias looks uncertain.

He touches the computer screen and the holographic image jumps to the Doctor and Simon in the lab, Mathias repeating:

He shuts it off.

He still has that sadness in his voice. Then, all business:

The doctor doesn't know what to say for a moment -- Jude is suddenly much less self-effacing. The energy in the room has changed. Jude starts tidying up his shining metal briefcase.

The air rings crisply as Jude pulls his sword from the briefcase. The doctor watches silently as the short sword slides down to become longer, like a stiletto.

He sweeps the neck of the first agent, slicing his throat with true grace, thrusting at the second as he reaches for his gun and pinning his hand to his heart. He pulls out the sword and the man falls as quietly as the first.

Mathias breaks to get past Jude, shoves the table at him, but Jude is like oil, he cuts the Doctor off and pins him to the wall. They struggle a moment and Jude bunches his fingers and jabs the side of the doctor's spine. Mathias stiffens, suddenly, agonizingly immobile.

Jude 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 he paralyzed body begins to tip over toward it.

A moment, and Jude turns toward the terrified intern at the door.

Terrified, she nods.

He is 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 Jude whispers to him:

Mathias is dead before Jude finishes. Jude pulls the sword out as the body rolls over. As he wipes the sword down:

She leaves and he approaches the holograph, comes very close to River's face, closer still...

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.

It's black out here, and silent, but as soon as this ship hits the atmosphere of the small planet below it, daylight and a deluge of noise will hit us.

We're still moving 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 two propulsion engines sticking out on either side and a giant glowing butt in the back. Green vapor trails of energy flow from the butt. The discerning eye might spot two small shuttles tucked in over the 'wings' of the propulsion engines. The overall effect is of a formidable, if somewhat bedraggled, insect.

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. The camera comes around the front, at the window into the bridge, to see the Captain, MALCOLM 'MAL' REYNOLDS, standing at the front, watching.

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

[NOTE: Our introduction to the ship and its crew will have the distinction of taking place in one extended shot, starting here on the bridge.]

The space is small -- two pilot seats on either side, and a tangle of wires and machinery all about. A group could gather here, but it feels more like a cockpit than the bridge of any great ship.

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, who sits in the pilot's seat. Flight gear and a Hawaiian shirt -- not so much the old soldier. Just as startled, though.

The ship bucks --

Another buck --

Mal hits the com.

But the com sparks at him, making him jump. Mal is already on his way out.

The camera has come around and is leading 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.

Mal's 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:

Which is the communal space of the ship. The dining room table is a big oak plank nailed to the ugly, functional metal table beneath. Vines have been stenciled on the walls. It's homey.

So homey, in fact, that 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:

The short hall leads to the rust-brown chaos that is the engine room. It's round -- at the very center of the glowing 'butt' we saw from the outside -- and the engine turns slowly in the middle of it. Working around the engine in a forest of wires, sparks and smoke is the mechanic, KAYLEE.

She's way too young and sweetly pretty to be this good at fixing engines. On the other hand, right now the place doesn't exactly look ship-shape. She passes Mal with a slightly impatient smile as he stands in the doorway, raising his voice above the din of the overworked engine.

She starts fiddling with machines.

Another figure, that of Shepherd BOOK, an itinerant Preacher, emerges from behind the engine. The collar says Preacher, but his sleeves are rolled up and he's as greasy as Kaylee.

She mimes hitting herself in the head repeatedly --

Steam and electricity shoot at him, backing him up.

He turns and we see Simon standing right behind him. Simon is a little more seasoned than the last time we saw him, but he still contrasts the Captain entirely in dress and manner. He is still implacably proper. Also pissed.

Another shake, but Simon never takes his eyes off Mal.

Where he's heading is down a side corridor that has steps leading down to:

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

The passenger dorm has a time-worn warmth that most of the ship shares. Except, of course, for the:

Into which the two men step. Like Simon, this space has the cold blue precision we might associate with the Alliance. Mal rolls up his sleeve as Simon rummages for a hypo.

Simon jabs the inoculation needle into Mal's arm.

He starts back into the passenger dorm and right into:

The biggest space on the ship, this is where goods are transported. Giant doors sit at the front, which will open upon landing to reveal a lowering ramp. There are also smaller bay doors in the floor. Catwalks surround the space, leading up at the front to the foredeck hall. We've come all the way through Serenity now.

Simon looks at the Captain a moment, then starts up the steps to the catwalk. Mal moves to the middle of the bay and looks up. As the camera begins to rise, we tilt up to see the Mule, a four-man hovercraft hanging from chains near the ceiling. Jayne and Zoe are tossing duffel bags into it.

The camera 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.

The camera finally settles, as River continues to stare.

Serenity settles down, fairly gently, as the cargo bay door at the front begins to open.

The chains are hoisted back up into the ceiling of the ship. The mule floats just above the floor, Jayne piling in next to River in the back. Everybody is moving and talking at once.

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

Zoe taps her ear-piece.

Wash is still at the helm:

Simon moves next to the front of the craft.

He peels out, leaving Simon fuming.

The ship, and smoldering Simon, dwindle in the distance as the craft glides along the desert.

Jayne, in the back with River, lets out a big-throated war- whoop.

Simon watches the mule go. Kaylee sidles up to him...

It's pretty easy to tell what an awful crush Kaylee has on Simon. Unless, of course, you're Simon.

He looks into her eyes.

He stalks off. She watches him go, crestfallen.

As the mule shoots through small gulches, headed for the still unseen town.

ANGLE ON: RIVER -- as she stares over the side at the ground passing beneath them.

Zoe looks ahead as Mal drives. They hit a decent bump -- even hovering, they're rocked a bit.

As they talk, Zoe pulls out a piece of clear acetate, with diagrams on it that shift at her touch.

A beat, as Mal tries to maintain his deflated cool.

We see it sprawled out before and below us, just as the hovercraft comes into from one side and stops, the gang also observing, Zoe checking against her map.

The town is set out like a spoked wheel: streets radiating out in a circle around the center, which is a large church. The place embodies the lives of folk out here: adobe and wood mix with metal and plastic -- whatever's on hand to build with. The only pristine edifice is the Church, perfectly round and rising some two stories above the rest of town. Right now the streets are mainly empty.

Zoe checks her map once more. Points.

Mal turns back to River.

A beat as she pulls off her goggles, looking about her.

BOOM! The door slams open and BOOM!, Zoe shoots out the camera above her head with her sawed-off as Mal and Jayne stride in behind her.

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

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 Civil 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 an Alliance uniform.

He looks up at Mal, who motions for Zoe to open the front door.

She does, and River steps in.

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

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

ANGLE: RIVER

Suddenly looks around, perturbed.

CLOSE ON: a young tough.

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

He gets his gun out and finds Zoe's sawed-off nuzzling his cheek.

He drops his weapon, slides it across the floor.

Nobody moves.

River has been furrowing her brow, suddenly points to an older man in front of her. Mal looks at her, "are you sure?", and she nods with comical emphaticness.

He kneels by the old man...

He hauls the fellow up, tosses him roughly toward the vault. Zoe follows, Jayne staying with the populace.

The old man punches in the code. The vault opens slightly.

ANGLE: FROM INSIDE THE VAULT

Which is just a tiny glorified wall safe. We see a couple of bundles of bills, some scattered coin. Really unimpressive. Jayne and Zoe are behind the Captain, peering in.

Mal reaches in, and up out of sight. Pulls a strong lever down -- as soon as it clicks into place the floor -- right by where Zoe and Jayne are, 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 agent nods. Mal leans over the edge.

The voice of a young Alliance grunt comes up from beyond where the stairs lead.

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

As if in reply, the guard's shotgun slides down to the bottom of the stairs. Mal looks at Zoe and they head down into:

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.

We move in on River as something crosses her face. Worry. Something not right.

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

She turns and right by her, in the shadow of the church, is a man.

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

We get about three eighths of a second to see this before he buries a blade in her face.

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...

Zoe is hauling out the last of five bags as Mal talks to the guard:

He barrels down into the vault corridor.

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

Mal is in his face, dark and huge, a completely different presence:

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 Zoe's care. As the craft powers up, slowly rising, the young man Zoe kept from trying to pull his weapon bursts out of the station. Our gang is just starting to head out as he comes up to them, tries to grab on the back --

And as he says it as Reaver craft ROARS over their heads. It's nearly the size of Serenity, but it's nothing like her. Torn apart, belching smoke -- a welded conglomeration of ruined ships, painted for war. Predator, pure.

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

A smaller craft, a skiff about twice the size of the Mule, shoots out from around a corner and follows the mule. It's also tricked out with paint and skulls, and has a swamp-boat canopy on top, so we can't see the people riding it very well

The skiff slows as it comes abreast of the young man. He tries to run back into the store but a dark figure from inside the boat literally harpoons him, pulling him back toward the craft.

But Mal has drawn his gun. He nudges a lever with his thumb and a cartridge pops back slightly with a whirring click.

ANGLE: THE YOUNG MAN

Kicking and struggling as arms grab him to pull him into the skiff.

Mal fires twice.

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

From the side, a Reaver comes SCREAMING at them on foot. He is inches from them when Jayne whirls and fires one of his more impressive rifles at the savage, knocking him back.

ANGLE: THE EDGE OF TOWN

As the mule shoots past the last building, we see a second skiff shoot out from behind the buildings of the adjacent street, right abreast of our gang. The two vessels fly side by side, the first skiff shooting into frame behind, following.

ANGLE: THE CENTER OF TOWN

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.

The mule and two skiffs are booking through the rocky terrain. The skiff abreast of the mule swings closer, but Jayne stands and 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, fires at the one behind them. It's getting closer.

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

We intercut Wash and Zoe at this point:

On Kaylee and Book, as they take that in.

As she lifts off the ground and starts heading toward the others.

The skiff behind is closer still. Mal fires at it but the hull is bulletproof.

Jayne does better with his monster-rifle, as he hits the hull on the other skiff and black smoke pours out of it.

A harpoon thwinngs through the air from the following skiff and SHHNNK! Goes through Jayne's leg. The moment it goes through, four little arms open up, so when the line is pulled taught, 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, holding on, legs dangling, pulled out between the two vessels as Mal slams a new magazine into his pistol.

The front skiff suddenly veers at them and SLAMS into the mule, Zoe barely keeping the thing from flipping -- which she does with one hand, the other busy shooting at the skiff.

Mal steadies himself and takes aim, seemingly at Jayne --

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

ANGLE: THE LINE holding the harpoon is split by Mal's third shot.

The mule surges forward as Jayne, no longer stretched between the ships, is suddenly dragging on the ground, holding on with even greater difficulty. Mal holsters his gun, hauling Jayne back in as River bounds into the front to make room.

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

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

Wash pilots with serene precision as Simon enters the bridge at top speed.

Simon takes off.

Zoe looks over as the skiff next to them catches fire badly from Jayne's engine hit. It shakes, then veers straight at us.

ANGLE: FROM BEHIND THE BURNING SKIFF as it heads for the mule at an angle, getting closer, closer -- and a wall of rock comes between them, the skiff hitting it and exploding.

ANGLE: FROM ABOVE

We see the rocks -- a V jutting out from the ground, creating two paths. The mule continues safely on the left as the fire and debris of the exploded skiff force the second one on to the right.

ANGLE: THE DESERT RAVINE

As the mule bombs past camera -- and a few seconds later the skiff comes over the low ridge, bouncing into rock walls but staying on course after the Mule -- and firing guns now, the up-close kill no longer such a priority.

Wash hits the com.

Simon looks very concerned about that idea, but he moves 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 huge amount of wind and light. Simon has to hold on, waiting.

The mule reaches the flats, away from the rocks.

She 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 is swallowed by the bigger ship --

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 --

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

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 walls, creating even more chaos for a moment.

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.

ANGLE: THE RAMP

As it closes, a HAND grabs the edge of it, and impossibly, a bloodied REAVER starts painfully pulling himself over.

Kaylee runs in, with Book in tow, to see how everyone is. She runs to Simon.

He doesn't say anything else 'cause Kaylee is looking at the ramp, suddenly white --

Mal and the others look as the Reaver is still struggling to get himself over the closing ramp --

Zoe, pissed and limping, hoists her sawed-off -- and a second bloodied Reaver POPS into frame in front of her from under the skiff-top. He's on her in a second, knocking her over and pinning her, rearing back to show his burnt and mutilated face, his sharpened teeth -- he bites down and Zoe screams --

Mal grabs him, forearm around the throat, pulls him back, the Reaver thrashes like an animal, Mal pulls his gun and pumps three bullets into his back while still holding him.

Same time, Jayne grabs one of the weapon he left behind and plugs the last Reaver, which stops it halfway over the ramp -- which continues to close, cutting the thing in half.

When it closes, the light and wind do as well. Mal lets the last Reaver drop to the ground, where it twitches, taking too damn long to die.

There is a beat.

Mal moves to the com. Hits it.

He turns to help Zoe up, but Simon and Book already have.

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

A beat.

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

He and Zoe head toward the front, to the stairs leading to the bridge, as Simon and Jayne head out the other way. Book and River remain, lost in very different thoughts.

There's something in her tone...

They get up the stairs and enter:

They stop by Mal's room.

She's not happy with the reply. Wash enters from the bridge as Mal starts for his room.

He kicks the door open and climbs down. Wash reaches Zoe, slides his arms around her.

She rests her head on his shoulder. Eyes still on Mal's room.

She turns into him and kisses him. Smiles.

We see the doors in the floor slide open, a second set below. This is a much smaller bay than the ramp entrance. Pan to see, for a moment, the dead Reaver's face. So unpretty.

Jayne is opening the doors with a keypad on a cable. He and Book start dragging the corpse and a half closer to the doors.

Book pulls out his bible as Jayne tips the bodies over into the little airlock.

He hits the button, shuts the doors.

Simon is packing up some medical supplies as Kaylee follows him about the room, all atwitter.

He stops to look at her. She goes shy of a sudden, not meeting his eye.

They've gotten a bit close. Simon thinks better of it.

Kaylee looks down, defeated.

We drop back outside to see River sitting by the cargo bay, watching the whole exchange unseen.

After a moment she goes into the now-empty cargo bay. Picking her way around the banged up Mule, she heads up the stairs and down the catwalk. Touching the ship, looking about her. Every touch conveys some memory or energy to her -- a gamut of emotions plays over her face, but the greatest feeling is of comfort. She is, in her own way, at home here.

She comes to the first shuttle, stops. Enters.

This was, once upon a time, occupied by a Companion. The beautiful decorations have been stripped, almost nothing left of the woman who lived there.

There is still the hard metal frame of what was a bed, places where curtains hung, a couple of incense sticks on the floor. Nothing has been touched or cleaned since the move.

River wanders about, muttering various phrases as she stops in places, soaking up memories...

She touches the bed, lowers herself onto it, touches the air above her, supplicant.

She looks over to see the Captain in the doorway, looking not at all comfortable.

She says nothing, forcing him to make more talk:

She's up and past him with crisp efficiency.

He lets her go, looks back at the shuttle. After a moment, he steps in, looking around.

He reaches over and picks up a half-burnt incense stick from the floor. He sees:

ANGLE: A PHOTO

Stuck halfway under the bed frame.

Mal pulls it out. On the back is a small web of circuitry. He flips it over and on the front is a picture of INARA, a remarkably beautiful woman, in this very space back when it was done up nicely. The moment Mal runs his thumb along the side of the picture it starts to move, and we see, held in his hand, a small scene from the not-too-distant past:

Inara throws a sardonic look that hides regret well.

And the capture runs out, phasing back to the beginning.

Mal looks at it a moment.

He holds the incense up to his nose, breathes in the smell. Runs his hand along the girder above her bed.... closes his eyes, brings his face close and smells her on the walls --

Mal starts back, tries to think of something to pretend to be doing.

Mal stands there.

We see only the snowy mountains in the background, framed by a very Asian-looking roof and pillars. From bottom of frame she rises, climbing steps we don't see, every inch of her steeled with poise and resolve. Her beauty is fluid, her dress elegant, a sort of sari slung over her bare shoulder, but as she crests the staircase and approaches camera, we can see nothing ingratiating in her stare.

As she nears, we find ourselves at waist level, until her hand all but fills the frame, clenched tight.

It opens and a silken kerchief unravels before us. Covered in blood.

We widen to find this woman, INARA, standing before a seated military thug named OBUN. Two of his men, clearly of a local and disorganized militia, drape themselves nearby. To one side stands an older woman, as elegant as -- if more austere than -- Inara. This is the House Priestess, GHEYDRA.

They speak Portuguese, and it is subtitled.

He smiles. It's not overly attractive.

He storms off. Gheydra pulls Inara down a corridor.

They walk down the corridor, passing a class where girls are learning a sensuously ceremonial dance, all in saris and holding fans.

She leaves. Inara watches her, still almost bewildered.

Serenity touches down on the crowded atoll amidst a number of other, equally disreputable ships.

The whole place is filled with every kind of immigrant culture, and every kind of shop imaginable. But all contained on an island not three miles square.

EXT/INT. SERENITY - EVENING

The ramp opens as Mal is talking with Book. The others approach, ready to hit the town.

Simon comes abreast of Mal, River in hand.

Wash, Zoe, Jayne and Kaylee blow past, talking amongst themselves. Simon tries to catch Kaylee's eye, but she's not letting him.

He heads off. Simon starts in the other direction, but River pulls after Mal and the others.

Disreputable and rustic, it doesn't attract the meeker of tourists, but neither is it unpleasant. The sign that hangs above the entrance has the same timeworn dignity that distinguishes Serenity herself.

The place is lit in pools, people keeping mostly to themselves. Maybe twenty customers total, giving themselves up to the sins of liquor, cards and the occasional flesh trade. Were a fight to break out, it would not be news.

We are at the bar, as Jayne is grudgingly giving up his guns to the gun-check girl. A sign behind her says: NO FIREARMS OR EXPLOSIVES ALLOWED. Pan over to find Wash cheerily bringing five mugs over to the table where Mal and Zoe wait.

Jayne joins them.

They all turn to see:

ANGLE: IN THE CORNER is the big CorVue screen, showing a news report. On the screen is a shot of the town they robbed, now half of it a smoking ruin.

Mal turns up a little drive-in type speaker box at their table to hear:

ON THE SCREEN we see a crappy image of the guard from the heist.

Kaylee joins them, cheerily.

They raise their glasses.

They clink, and everyone moves to drink -- and Kaylee tosses her entire pint right into Mal's face, soaking him.

For a moment, Mal is too shocked to react.

MINGO is young, rough-edged -- somewhere between a gangster and a fur-trader.

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

The three of them leave and the four men sit down to the aforementioned business. Mal tosses a small bag of money to Mingo.

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.

Jayne, meanwhile, has taken to looking about. His attention is drawn by:

ANGLE: THE CV SCREEN

On which comes a commercial. It's animated, goofy, cartoon animals and anime-style Asian girls all transforming to insane fantasy figures as they sing about:

As this inane jingle continues, we see:

ANGLE: JAYNE

Humming along, delighted.

ANGLE: RIVER

Staring, entranced.

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

And she whispers:

She turns and looks back at the crowd.

What happens next happens very fast.

She strides silently to the first table -- two men drinking quietly -- 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 the back of 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 --

Now we're moving; people are rising, fleeing or pushing forward --

She's at the card table, taking out a group of four, high kicks and perfect precision -- one man stands and she kicks his chair around and into his shins, his neck slamming down on the back as she vaults over him --

Two men come at her from either side, one whipping out a knife -- she does a perfect split and grabs his wrist above her head, using his momentum to make him stab the guy coming at him --

Fanty looks at Mal, who fights to get back to the bar. Fanty looks around and she is on him, knocks him head first into Mingo's head, takes a moment to grab a plate from a table and hurl it into the back of someone's neck just as he's fleeing --

She's everywhere. On tables, chairs, under your legs, using the room itself to take out every single person there.

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 two others while she finishes Jayne off with a small table swung at the back of his head --

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

Mal dives behind the bar as River knocks the gun in the air, kicks someone else and then catches it, whips it around just as Mal comes up with his own gun, they are pointed right at each other --

And River drops to the ground, fast asleep.

There is a beat. Mal looks around the bar. He and Simon, who has run up to the entrance, are the only ones standing. (Most everyone else is alive, but hardly moving.) Mal is shaking only slightly.

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

Jude is watching a few different screens, all depicting the River fight from the angle of a cheesy security cam, with "Maidenhead, Atoll Plaza, 19:27 -- Property of Beaumonde Lawforce" running below...

A young ENSIGN approaches Jude.

He works the console, brings up a still of Mal (as Mal carries River out), then a police photograph.

The word "Serenity" appears on the screen.

He looks over at the ensign with a small, strange smile on his lips -- as his eyes are covered by text running down his glasses lenses.

ENSIGN

Sir?

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

The Ensign gives no sign of noticing that Jude occasionally free-associates thus.

CLOSE ON: JUDE'S EYE

As we RACK FOCUS from his eye to the lens of his glasses. On it is a slowly moving picture of INARA.

River is still asleep, Mal finishing chaining her arms behind her. She lies on her side, breathing evenly.

Mal stares at her a moment, then:

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

Wash enters from the bridge.

Simon waits even longer than usual to answer.

River's eyes open.

ANGLE: RIVER

We see her superimposed next to Mal, mouthing his words:

There is actually a moment of quiet consideration.

A beat, Simon really doesn't have a reply.

Mal steps aside. Simon enters the locker.

We see the vastness of the universe, then the camera swoops in -- too fast to be a ship or POV -- at a sparking ion cloud, then through the cloud at a barren, metallic satellite moon. Further in to reveal a sprawling -- and completely empty -- industrial complex.

Still moving in, we discover an extremely unkempt young man. Also sleep-deprived, over-caffeinated and kinda sweet. This is MR UNIVERSE.

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 media-verse.

The dominant color in his world is black, and though he stays in his little space, the room itself is vast, overlooking bigger machines long since fallen into disuse. The most striking elements are Mr Universe himself and the robotic, mannikin-like "Lovebot" that is perched immobile on his cot.

As he rolls towards camera in his chair his image becomes a vidscreen and we find him addressing Wash, Mal and Zoe.

We intercut between the two spaces:

He slides his chair to a bank of screens, starts punching up information.

He watches the annoying commercial on one screen and a stream of code on the other.

He turns back to look into the screen, at the gang, with excitement in his eyes:

River stares at us, impassive, as the camera pulls away from her to reveal Simon, who is cleaning blood off her face with a cloth. After a moment she says:

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

River points her finger at Simon's head, pretending to shoot -- and there is a loud BANG!

RESUME SCENE:

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:

Black Silence.

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

She settles slowly, and we begin to intercut with the conversation that takes place right outside her moments after: Mal facing off with DRESDEN, a weathered and decent miner.

She kisses his cheek a bunch, drops down.

ANGLE: A SIX YEAR OLD BOY peeks out from behind a rock.

Kaylee spots the boy as the others file down off the ramp, greeting Dresden familiarly.

She picks him up. He's shy but pleased.

During this we focus on:

ANGLE ON: A big-ass cannon mount sitting in the cave. The group passes it.

The mining camp is a series of walkways connecting tin shacks and silos, right on the mountainside. Lights burn in a number of the shacks.

Everybody (minus Simon and River) is heading down to the main house, greeting old friends, talking amongst themselves. Mal and Dresden hang back, walk more slowly.

Pointing in the sky:

Dresden smiles, heads off. Mal looks at the night sky, the two directions Dresden pointed. The lack of options.

Inara is in the corridor, hurrying to the meeting place where she was with Obun. With her is a young COMPANION.

Inara comes out and stands waiting, her back to us, in front of the very vista we first saw her appear before.

We hear footsteps. Many. On the march.

Uniformed Alliance soldiers, faces half hidden by tinted riot faceplates, come up into view in two columns, on either side of Inara.

They pass her, never looking at her, continuing beyond as Jude comes more slowly up the staircase, stands before Inara.

She looks at him, at the constant line of marching men, back at him.

Her face hardens. The cavalry has not arrived.

The Teacher from the very beginning is standing in front of a screen depicting a single, dark planet. She looks inquisitively at:

Eight-year-old River is working away, not paying attention.

River's head shoots up -- she looks at her teacher with horror.

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 floor.

River starts awake. Looks around, quietly. Stares toward the door.

Sitting before her is Mal, thinking exactly that.

He gets up to leave.

He turns back.

He goes. She watches him, then looks down at her shackles.

Mal shuts the door behind him, sees Book approaching.

He exits into:

And kicks his door open, climbs down into:

He pulls down his suspenders and pulls off his shirt. Wipes his brow with it, tosses it on the floor.

The place ain't too tidy. It resembles a submarine cabin, with charts and clutter, ancient maps decorating the walls.

Mal grabs a bottle of something unscrupulous, downs a swig.

Wash is in the pilot's seat, and Zoe is straddling him. Playing with his hair -- as much affection as steamyosity.

She kisses him.

There is light and static from one of the screens, a message coming in.

They look, both a tad perplexed.

Mal moves to one wall, pulls out the toilet, begins unbuttoning his pants --

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

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

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

Book enters, wondering what's up...

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

Who's for an uncomfortable beat?

She disappears. Mal thinks a moment.

Mal comes up in, buttoning his shirt.

Guilty glances.

He exits.

We hear the ROAR of a giant freighter passing through atmosphere high above the planet. It passes camera and we see the giant sun-like engines spewing flame. We also see Serenity right behind it, practically being furnace-blasted as it follows.

Mal, Zoe and Wash are in the bridge, trying not to look directly at the light. Also sweating.

Wash hits a couple switches and and Serenity goes dark.

Serenity drops like a stone. An even rockier ride than the one in the beginning.

Wash hits the jet thrusters -- which are on the steering wheel -- and pulls up slowly.

The thrusters slow the decent, the ship leveling off and swooping gracefully over the snowy mountains.

He starts out, turns back to Zoe.

She is nestled in a snowy gorge, overhanging rocks all but burying her from view. The shuttle on the right -- Inara's old shuttle, in fact -- lifts off from the side of the ship and glides off into the distance.

We see a couple of guards looking out over the mountains. Behind them a line of young trainees files by in robes and red shawls pulled over their heads. Though the girls are out of focus, the discerning eye might notice that one of them is a good deal larger than the others. The guards, fortunately, discern nothing.

Mal makes his way along a hall. He looks into a chamber and a guard sees him -- he gut-punches the guy, rips his helmet off and swings it around, cracking him in the face with it and sending him sleepy-bye.

Catches the body and drags it out of sight.

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

The room is sparsely lush -- not as opulent as her 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 woman in red who kneels beside Inara.

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

Jude moves further into the room, depositing his briefcase on a chair. Whenever he moves, Mal counters.

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

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

He draws and shoots Jude in the chest. Jude goes down in a heartbeat as Mal grabs Inara, moves for the doorway.

Jude is up and on him in a second, choke-hold from behind.

He tosses Mal hard against a wall, spinning in the same motion 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 Jude kicks him in the face, sends him back, gun flying. Mal gets to his feet and the two of them square off. Mal breathing hard, blood dripping from his nose. Jude perfectly poised, waiting.

They come at each other and we see that Jude is in fact the much better trained -- he is fluid, his blows sparse and deadly. Mal is more bluster and determination, though he's veteran enough to go for the right blows.

Jude gets Mal from behind, bunches his finger to punch into the nerve cluster like he did with Mathias, but Mal launches them both back onto a stool, smashing it as they hit ground -- with Jude on the bottom.

But Mal's advantage lasts all of a second. Jude is on him again, and his precision is wearing Mal down. He finally spins in a 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.

Jude goes to his suitcase, pulls out his sword.

The sword lengthens in his grip. His face has taken on that remote kind of fascination as he looks at it.

Jude turns to look -- and the incense stick burns away –- rather like a fuse -- and FLASHES in an explosion of light and sound.

It's just a flash-bomb, but Jude is knocked on his ass as everything goes smoky white and the sound dies to a tiny buzz.

Jude tries to get his bearings -- and four armored soldiers are in his face, asking him for orders --

He looks over and Mal and Inara are gone. He motions for the men to follow them.

He gets to his feet, tries to shake it off as the men move out.

Inara leads Mal (who is reholstering his gun) down some steps and along a clearly out of the way corridor. All the sound is still tinny and weird.

She rolls her eyes, keeps moving. A soldier comes abreast of them -- Mal pulls Inara out of the way and exchanges fire, downing the man. They enter:

Where they move past a shocked groups of girls clearly not paying attention to their Dulcimer lessons. Two more soldiers appear behind a screen --

The girls fall screeching to the floor as he shoots both soldiers through the screen and drags Inara after him out of the class.

Mal and Inara move quickly down through the snow. They look to see:

ANGLE: MAL'S SHUTTLE has four 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.

Mal tosses her the "grenade" --

-- and starts punching in the ignition sequence. Inara pushes into the pilot's seat.

He nearly falls over as:

The shuttle shoots straight up, spinning and heading out.

Jude steps out into the light, still shaking off the effects of the bomb, as two Alliance fighter ships roar through frame, taking off after the shuttle.

The snowy terrain bullets by as Mal and Inara continue talking:

The shuttle whips by, followed moments later by the much sleeker fighter ships.

She banks, hard, Mal again nearly losing balance.

The shuttle slips between two peaks -- the two warships passing by and circling back, losing their momentum a tad.

Mal's voice comes on:

She's in that low chasm, and she slowly rise...

The shuttle moves in and out of sight, racing to Serenity.

Mal stands in the doorway by Inara, who is all concentration.

As it comes atop Serenity and drops into place with killer precision.

The two warbirds comes racing into view -- and Serenity's back lights up -- exploding in fire and causing the snow to turn into a snow storm and an avalanche, destroying the little ships as the Firefly rockets off into the distance.

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

As Serenity burns away from the planet.

Mal's back, rubbing his spine.

The question is so loaded that Mal cannot reply for a moment -- and in that moment, the door opens. They head out to see:

Zoe is right there, Book and Kaylee approaching from the bottom of the cargo bay. Kaylee at top speed, Book not so much. Jayne also wanders down from above.

She throws herself into Inara's arms, kissing her a bunch of times.

Inara greets Simon, who is standing guard at his sister's 'cell'. They clasp hands, formally but with great warmth. They speak only in Chinese.

He looks back at the cell.

Inara kneels over the sleeping River, brushing hair from her face, as a tense Mal watches from the doorway.

The whole group is present.

As she speaks, we see (though the audio is unchanged) a silent tableau of:

Fanty and Mingo, tied to chairs, as Jude enters the room, staring at them dispassionately.

BACK TO SCENE:

He stands, really taking the floor.

Again, a tableau:

Mal, sitting alone, unsettled in his thoughts.

BACK TO SCENE:

They do.

Tableau:

River lies with her head to the ground, wide awake. Listening?

BACK TO SCENE:

They disperse. Mal looks around at his ship, wondering what the hell he's doing.

Widen to see he's standing in front of the mine shaft hole that sticks out of the mountain, one of the main housing units next to him. He speaks into a hand-held com, a few of his people coming and going from the mine entrance behind him.

Serenity hovers above, some thirty yards back.

INTERCUT WITH:

Mal is on the bridge with Wash, Zoe, Inara and Kaylee. They look down right at Dresden in front of them.

A beat from Mal, disappointed.

The rocket arcs around the mountain, trailing smoke.

And the rocket passes by them, right over Dresden and into the mine.

And the explosion shakes the earth, sends a monster plume of fire and smoke out the entrance, knocking Dresden and several others back on their asses.

The warbird comes from the back of the mountain - small, sleek, silent but for its guns, which spit out at Serenity. She backs up -- literally -- as fast as she can, the gunfire causing no significant damage.

ANGLE: The Warship turns to the camp and starts STRAFING it, mowing down everyone in sight.

Dresden pulls a miner to his feet -- and they are both gutted by gunfire.

The warbird fires poppers -- smaller missiles -- at the camp, and one by one the shacks explode.

ANGLE: THE LITTLE BOY that Kaylee picked up when she arrived. He is swept up by his mother as they race into a shack -- which explodes seconds later.

Kaylee SCREAMS.

Wash hits full power, the ship jolts forward, burns toward the warship, it turns, guns blazing -- and Wash banks like a racer, SLAMS the side of the ship into the warbird.

Everybody goes flying.

The warbird's wing is crumpled and sparking, but it's still capable, still firing in a stuttering arc.

Jayne comes in, gun drawn, and pulls open the storage locker door.

The door swings open. The cell is empty.

He turns and River knocks his gun aside -- he fires once as she jabs his throat and throws him over the kitchen table.

More gunshots are heard.

She takes off to check it out.

As Serenity rears back and rushes the warbird again –- missing. It continues to destroy every vestige of the camp.

Zoe enters, gun drawn. Jayne is on the floor, gasping for breath.

Simon is trying to keep the place from falling apart. He turns to see River.

She jabs his throat viciously, kicking him in the side of the head and sending him unconscious to the floor. Looks down at him just exactly like a cold killer, then takes off.

Zoe moves about the space quickly from wall to wall, looking out for River. Ready to shoot.

Serenity rises above the Warbird. It's unaffected by the burn of Serenity's engines, and its guns tilt up to fire into her belly.

Wash flip the switches.

Serenity goes dead and simply plummets down on top of the warbird, hitting the ground and crushing the other ship.

As EVERYBODY is knocked off their feet by the explosion.

Mal rights himself, hits the com.

He starts punching up screens -- pulls down a large collapsible one above the copilot's seat.

The ramp comes down and Kaylee and Book come racing out.

Zoe comes in as Inara kneels over an unconscious Simon.

Jayne enters, still groggy.

He moves out quickly. She moves out more slowly, Inara tending to Simon.

Mal and Wash are silent, looking at all their screens.

He heads down the ladder in the front of the bridge. Mal continues to stare at the screens.

REVERSE to see: every one of them is filled with an image of flames and destruction, or simple static.

And after a moment, every one of them becomes an image of Jude.

His image winks out before Mal can think of an answer.

Mal stands, pondering, and his own gun is suddenly leveled at his head.

Instead, she circles him cautiously, hopping into the co- pilot's seat and working the screens without even looking at them.

Zoe enters at a run.

She sees the sitch, levels her own weapon on River.

Something comes on the big screen: the solar system. Then the edge. Then the last planet out, which is dark. Text runs next to it.

She moves forward, slowly. Eyes on the screen.

River is bundled up in the chair, not looking at anyone, quietly crying. Simon steps in, unsteadily. River moves quickly towards him, but he instinctively jerks away and she stops.

River has left Mal's gun on the console and the moment she steps away Mal takes it and holsters it, coming forward and touching River's arm.

She looks around, wincing, unable to answer.

The image shows Miranda and a few other planets and moons. Wash points to a small moon on one side.

This last because he has rather suddenly exited.

Mal exits the front of the ship, the others from upstairs hesitantly following. The ramp is down. Book is already coming back up, shaking his head: no luck. Jayne is further behind, supporting a crying Kaylee. Simon kneels over the body of Dresden. He's also dead.

He surveys the ship -- part of the Alliance jet that it squashed is sticking out the side, including the smashed cockpit.

Mal starts giving orders rapid-fire.

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 forward, through the group, toward the smashed cockpit.

ANGLE: THE COCKPIT

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 walks to one side, grabs a body -- it's Dresden's. He drops it at Zoe's feet as he heads into the ship.

Book is with Simon and Zoe. They are roping the bodies, all lined up, together. He is dragging them into the line, then reading over each.

A beat, as they consider... it's too horrible.

She cinches a knot tight, moves to the next body.

The three are quiet, and continue work.

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 in at Mal, watching, with Zoe behind and Wash at the helm. We get close enough to bring up dialogue.

Mal is still looking forward as he tells Wash:

He leaves the bridge and as he does 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.

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

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

He looks up: and there's Inara, sitting on what was once her bed, only slivers of light cutting across her.

He looks around.

He smiles as well --- a moment between two weary warriors.

That was more serious than either of them expected. A moment, and he rises, quietly flustered.

He leaves.

Serenity flies, silent.

We are pulling back. There is still no sound but score as the group, variously, make their way toward the bridge. Those close enough to get a view out the window are looking somewhat freaked -- those already on the bridge are stock still. The last to enter frame, as she is pressed right up against the glass of the window, is River.

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 just turn in gentle drifts, as though looking around.

Each is different -- each a hodgepodge of pillaged ships, all painted and stripped to look as predatory as possible. They range from tiny warships to whale-like carriers five times Serenity's size. And one or two of them were once Fireflies.

Three ships suddenly peel off -- and head just past Serenity, on a raiding mission.

As the gang reacts, and Mal switches off the lights in the cockpit.

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

And arrive, moving slowly through the ranks of ships.

ANGLE: WASH

Steers very carefully.

ANGLE: SERENITY

As it passes a large, bizarrely shaped ship, the ship turns, as though watching it. But lets it pass.

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

Everyone looks around them, unable to believe that nothing happened, and there is a ROAR --

-- that is just the ship in Miranda's atmosphere.

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

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

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

WIDER ANGLE: Serenity is parked in the middle of a CITY. Not as big as Sihnon, but less rustic than anything else we've seen. Gleaming metal, spread out for miles in every direction. Small portions have been decimated by fires or explosions long since cold, others are overgrown with weeds, but most of the city is intact. So silent, as if trapped in amber.

CLOSE ON: the three, looking about.

Out of their suits now, Mal, Zoe and Jayne take point as the entire crew walks along the street, looking about them.

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.

ANGLE: JAYNE

Is by a downed hovercraft. Inside are the skeletons of three people: two grown-ups and a small child strapped in the back. 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 glassy-eyed corpse of a man is pressed up against the glass walk 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 the building.

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, whose desk was on a dais, hence his being at eye level when he is still in his chair.

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 Simon and the others rush to her.

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.

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 cylindrical object about the size of a can of tennis balls. She turns it slightly --

A hologram not unlike the one Jude watched in the beginning of the film squawks to life amidst them all. They start, moving out of it, and Watch. DOCTOR CARON, a sort of Jane Goodall-looking female scientist, is standing exactly where she was, leaving her 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.

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. Holds her, looking out at nothing.

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 takes the recording cylinder, pulls it out of the console.

The cylinder is slammed down on the table. By Mal, who stands at the head of the table, looking at his crew.

He pauses. Everyone waits.

There is a beat as he eyes them all.

By way of emphasis he loudly cocks his big-ass rifle. Mal takes in the fact that everyone assumes Jayne has spoken for them all.

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

Mal looks at her.

He takes a long moment, his jaw tightening imperceptibly.

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

Serenity is taking off, leaving the dead place behind.

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

DROP BACK WIDE to see: Jude and twenty soldiers are in the room, visible to Mr Universe but not to the screen.

Mr. Universe hangs his head as Mal's image winks out and Jude approaches him.

The men start smashing things. Sparks fly. Jude addresses his ensign:

He exits frame and the camera pushes in on the despondent Mr Universe.

Jude's sword lunges through his belly, stopping his mouth. A moment, and Jude pulls the sword out again, leaving a shocked Mr Universe gasping his last.

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

Jayne and Book silently check many many weapons.

He looks over at Jayne, goes back to work.

Wash is piloting, Zoe beside him. They look out into the sea of ships, tense and quiet. After a while...

Wash thinks about it.

Serenity drifts through the armada -- and suddenly another ship fires up, catches up next to it, other ships passing between as the Reaver ship paces Serenity...

Wash watches his screen as Zoe watches through the window.

Kaylee is working with great focus.

Jayne is laying out weapons as Mal's voice comes over the com in here.

The two ships pace each other, another big vessel coming about as though staring at Serenity, who comes closer and closer to frame, till we see the suited corpse draped on the cannon.

It suddenly moves: it's Mal.

He swings the cannon round and fires successive, percussive bursts 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 on the other side, at the biggest ship he can find, causing a couple of internal explosions but not destroying the vessel.

It is a wonderland of flame and chaos -- but it is silent, except in:

Where Wash and Zoe shake from the concussive waves of the nearby explosion.

Mal looks as every ship in the armada starts to turn towards them --

-- and a piece of exploded ship spins flamingly right at his head -- He ducks down in the gun turret --

And the Firefly effect lights up, Mal watching from down low as the glow plays off his helmet -- and the Reaver armada is suddenly receding incredibly fast behind him.

ANGLE: THE REAVER SHIPS

They start off after Serenity, a few of them firing missiles ahead of them. Most of them will take some time getting up to speed, but some rip out with bursts of fire. One in particular, let's call it HUNTER, is the most sleek (though stripped) and powerful of the fleet. Two sections of it open up and reveal engines as unfathomable as the Firefly's, whirling and spewing dark red energy -- and then it bolts out past the others.

Mal grabs what is clearly a home-made device, about the size of a coffee can (but not an actual coffee can, it should be noted). He twists a couple of wires and tosses it up -- the ship leaves it miles behind in an instant.

ANGLE: THE DEVICE

As it starts to glow -- and the two missiles fired go straight for it and explode -- at least one ship flying into the explosion and also blowing up. A moment later, other ships skirt it, heading after Serenity -- then the Hunter, gaining on them all.

She actually bumps one ship out of the way, sending it spiraling.

ANGLE: MAL

Seeing the Hunter bearing down on them.

He pops up and swings the gun at the back, firing on the Hunter -- a couple hits, mostly impacting on the surface, not much damage.

Gun turrets open on the hunter -- Mal targets them, knocking one out before it can fire. The second rakes Serenity -- some damage, but it misses Mal, who takes it out -- but the Hunter is getting closer --

Book is looking at a read-out of damage...

And in a second she's grabbing a chain and hitting a lever, being pulled up to the ceiling, where she kicks off a panel and wriggles into the crawlspace above.

INTERCUT WITH:

Wash hits the com:

Mal fires -- and runs out of ammo. The Hunter is practically right on top of them now.

He starts to climb out of the cannon turret -- and a hatch opens on the bottom of the Hunter. Three metal discs the size of land mines fly out, attached to cables. They lock onto Serenity's hull magnetically, and before Mal can make a move three Reavers in spacesuits slide down between the ships.

They carry mean-looking blades, and even their suits are creepy: a hodgepodge of items stolen or ripped -- physically ripped -- off, still caked with blood. Metal "claws" duct- taped to their knuckles and knees.

The Hunter backs off a bit as the cables snap free at the other end. Mal scrambles toward the front of the ship, but the closest Reaver takes his free-floating cable and whips it around Mal, pulls him back and off his feet. Mal just manages to grab the cannon barrel, but it continues to arc around and the Reaver gets in close and swipes at him with a blade. Mal goes around once more and this time he's ready -- he brings up both feet and kicks the Reaver in the helmet, sends him flying back into nothing -- as Mal swings back the opposite way from the force of it.

At that same moment the second two converge -- Mal gets his footing enough to grab the hand of one, stop the blade from piercing his suit -- but the other one swipes and cuts a deep gash in the chest --

Mal looks down to see his inner lining is still intact. He twists the hand of the one Reaver and shoves the blade into the stomach of the second. Air rushes out and the Reaver thrashes in agony and sudden frozen death. Still Mal grapples with the last one...

The Reaver gets in close, smearing its horrible, bloody face all over its faceplate, baring sharpened teeth at Mal. It's stronger than he is, and begins to twist the blade back at Mal.

Zoe looks at her screen.

Kaylee works with fierce concentration. She drops a tool -- we hear it clatter far below.

Mal is up against the turret -- can't keep this guy off much longer --

We see past Zoe and Wash to what looks like a small dust cloud approaching --

Mal stops pushing and drops to the roof just behind the cannon turret.

The Reaver brings back his arm for the death blow -- and a tiny, silent puff hits it. He looks ahead and suddenly his helmet and suit are dotted with tiny holes, the glass cracking and exploding out as tiny pebbles go through him at four times the speed of a bullet.

Mal stays down, the meteor dust impacting harmlessly on the turret as the Reaver floats off, all dead.

Kaylee finishes the fix and we see wires glow with new life.

Wash banks hard, out of the tiny minefield of rock.

Mal crawls to safety, pulling open the hatch and plunging in headfirst.

As he dives in, we see the armada behind, not gaining, but not going away.

Zoe looks at her screen, at the following ships.

Serenity flies, the Reavers follow. We come around behind them all to see the luminescent ION CLOUD dead ahead.

In close orbit waits the Alliance force, at least fifty strong, and clearly with high tech firepower.

We focus in on Jude's ship, in the middle of the cluster.

As Jude waits with the others.

It's pretty much Jude's POV: the swirling Ion cloud as Serenity breaks through and heads at us, fully reavered out.

He looks slightly confused at her appearance. Then smiles at the cleverness. Hits the com:

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

Jude -- and everyone around him - goes big-eyed.

Serenity suddenly lists hard to port, dropping down until she's almost upside down, coming at the Alliance ships as they FIRE, missing Serenity but Tagging a few Reaver ships, none of whom have slowed down --

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

Zoe and Mal shoot a look at Jayne.

A lot happens now.

Serenity slips right under Jude's ship and ducks and weaves between dozens more. A couple of them fire, but hit only their own ships.

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 barreling chunk of debris -- which is twice their size -- forces them to come hard about and remain in the fray, dodging everything the chaos of battle can throw at them.

Mal looks out at the chaos...

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

ANGLE: A REAVER SHIP has piggy-backed onto another ship with magnetic grapplers.

We see a very short, frantic view of Alliance soldiers being cut down, dragged off, skinned, raped --

Serenity makes her way past the carnage and heads down toward the tiny satellite moon -- with an Alliance warship in pursuit.

Jude watches his screen as his ship efficiently mows down Reavers -- He's only concerned with Serenity.

Jude looks up --

ANGLE: THROUGH THE WINDOW we see a Reaver ship heading straight for them.

Jude blinks once.

Then he bolts for the side hall -- the Reaver craft explodes through the window, filling the bridge and Jude is pulled violently BACK toward the bridge but the security doors SLAM shut, cutting him off from the depressurized chaos as he slams backwards into them and falls painfully to the floor.

Serenity has reached Atmosphere, is bucking in the clouds. Whip behind it to see the warship in pursuit. From it we hear, static-y and broken:

He takes the copilot seat, starts working buttons.

We see the shuttle on the left start to move out away from the ship. A moment, and it disengages -- flying back off the ship like an ejector seat, spinning wildly --

ANGLE: THE WARSHIP

We see from in the cockpit the clouds rushing at us.

And the spinning shuttle whips at us and smashes everything to blackness.

The Reaver ship is stuck in its head as it drifts, the battle raging behind it --

As the ship shakes violently, Jude is walking quickly to a door marked: DART. Below that: Authorized Personnel Only. Jude puts his thumb to a panel and the door slides up to reveal a standing, almost formfitting one-man cockpit.

As the Dart disengages and bullets down towards the surface.

As she continues down, the black, metallic expanse of Mr Universe's little moon complex sprawling below them. A moment after Serenity blows through frame, so does the HUNTER.

The hunter fires an electronic pulse at Serenity and sparks fly.

Sparks -- and arcs of electricity -- are everywhere here. Kaylee jumps back as she is electrocuted -- Book grabs her and pulls her out of the room just as Simon runs in from the hall and slams the door shut on the erupting fires.

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

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

Inara and River come up from below. Inara hits at the wall and an emergency seat folds out – Book and Simon starts hoisting a dazed Kaylee onto it as River unfolds three more --

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

And Serenity HITS the ground, moving forward in what would be a perfect 747 landing if, like a 747, this ship had wheels.

As it is, it's insanely jolting -- the landing gear folds and snaps under the weight -- the ship keeps going, now inside the hanger, heading towards the entrance to the facility, slowing, sparks shooting out behind it, slowing, fishtailing and coming about a full one eighty as it stops a very few feet from the wall.

There is a moment of quiet.

And the ROAR and light of the Hunter setting down at the entrance shuts him up.

We see the ship about to touch down, engines folding in like an egret's wings. A second Reaver vessel enters frame from above, about to land next to it.

The inner doors open and the entire crew piles out, all heavily bedecked with weapons.

After everyone is off, Mal turns and looks at the ship one last time.

He takes off.

MOMENTS LATER

The gang races through a large room filled with stored parts and huge machines. A small double-sized doorway leads to the "Black Room", which is the entrance proper to the facility. Mr Universe has it lit entirely with black-light, with a huge spray-painted glowing orange arrow on the ceiling pointing toward the inner hall with the word "Deliveries" beside it.

Wash hits a 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.

Inara helps her off to look it over.

He turns to her.

We hear savage SCREAMS from beyond the storage chamber –- they're approaching.

Mal looks around him at his crew.

Everyone complies save Zoe, Jayne and Wash. Mal looks at Zoe.

Mal moves quickly to the door to the storage chamber:

ANGLE: HIS POV

Reavers rush toward them.

He turns to Jayne.

Jayne smiles, 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 much 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 back room, the door nearly buckles from the explosion. everyone takes positions behind the crates. Mal moves through them as Wash tosses him the cylinder.

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

Zoe looks over her bunch: Wash, Inara and Simon are all nervous but competent. Jayne has adrenaline waterfalling all over his fear -- he's got a grin on, can't stop moving about. Kaylee's petrified. River appears to be thinking about something entirely not this, and Book... he looks lost. Zoe moves to him.

ANGLE: KAYLEE AND SIMON

She tries sighting -- wipes the sweat off her shooting hand...

He smiles at her, and she is a mite comforted.

The door bursts open, the first Reaver trying to get through -- and four people shoot him at once.

The elevator stops and Mal gets out, moving quickly, military style, looking for any Alliance troops. He encounters none, and 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, to make sure. Nothing. He starts to move away again and the lovebot turns her head, her eyes focusing with an audible whir.

When she speaks, it is 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.

More Reavers are coming through the door, our gang still holding them off noisily but efficiently.

Wash comes up and fires, plugs one in the head -- and is surprised by return fire. Everyone ducks down.

But more cover fire from the Reavers allows a couple to get in. They race across the room -- til Zoe pops up and plugs 'em simultaneously with two guns. She drops back down --

He pops it and tosses it just as more breach -- the blast takes most of them out, but one flies forward, skids and comes up right in front of Kaylee, hacking at her as she fires wildly, scoring wounds but not the kill -- he finally drops over the barricade and Jayne stands, firing, and picks him up to throw him off --

He twists and slices Jayne right up the back just as Book puts a gun to his ugly, cut-up head and fires.

Jayne drops to the ground, screaming -- Simon moves to him --

Jayne does, and Simon rips the shirt open, examines the bloody gash.

Simon's bag is over by Inara.

She reaches in and pulls out a spray can, tosses it to Simon.

Simon sprays the wound with a sort of foam that hardens instantly into an elastic covering.

And so they are, a good six of them pouring in and rushing the gang. The gang fires on them, scores a couple of kills, slows others down. But they're gaining ground.

River watches, the gun limp in her hand.

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

He looks around, carrying a laser-pistol. He moves past Mr Universe and Lenore -- who focuses again, her head turning as he passes, stopping him with:

Mal has reached it and surveys the situation.

Before him is a railing, and he can look down on the generator shaft. Not surprisingly, it's miles deep, with machines constantly rotating and grinding, and arcs of electricity ricocheting around it. Big ol' death pit.

On the other side is a small island of a platform, on which sits the console to broadcast the message from, protected by a clear (but unbreakable) plastic partition. There are cables and chains running along the ceiling, but the only feasible way across is a series of ladder rungs over the pit. There is a slim, rail-less catwalk running across the middle. It can rotate to form a bridge, but the controls on this side are shot. It's forty feet to that and forty feet from that to the 'island'.

He looks over and some ten feet to his right there is a conveyance, a large metal bucket -- big enough for a man –- on a pulley chain. Mal rushes to it. He pulls the chain and the bucket swings out over the chasm.

He heaves the chain to bring the bucket back -- and it snaps, the bucket falling into the crushing jaws of machinery.

One of the Reavers jumps over the barricade and engages Zoe -- she fights with trained precision and puts him down, blade in his own gut, but is tackled by another.

Book grabs a big weapon and comes up firing like a precision machine, cold fury on his face. One gets close to him and slices his face -- he puts it down before the blood fills his vision and he stumbles back and falls.

Jayne jumps up and grabs one of the crates, lifts it with impossible strength and ramrods though the bunch of them, blocking the door with it and turning to fight more of them, as animal as they.

ANGLE: ZOE

She's on her back, just holding off the Reaver, its blade and teeth inching towards her...

Wash turns and blasts the thing instantly. It flies off her.

They pop back up, firing.

ANGLE: SIMON AND INARA

They've come forward, are pulling Book to safety --

Simon stops to shoot an approaching Reaver.

ANGLE: WASH AND ZOE

Still firing.

They exchange a look. And Zoe takes a bullet in the shoulder. Wash stares for a moment, uncomprehending, as she falls -- then returns fire, screaming:

Mal makes his way, hand over hand, along the horizontal ladder. Legs swinging out over the abyss. He's only just about to reach the first catwalk and he's in a lot of sweaty pain.

He hears a clatter behind him and he swings himself, jumps for the catwalk as laser-fire grazes his side and blasts all around him.

He rolls, comes up to find Jude facing him, blaster recharging, cold fury etched on his face.

There's no wise-ass attitude in him now.

Jude raises his gun -- but Mal draws faster, shoots the gun out of Jude's hand and gets two hits to the chest (armored) and one graze on the head before Jude makes it to cover.

He drops out his magazine and slams another in fast as thinking it.

ANGLE: JUDE is behind some machinery, wiping the blood from his temple. He attempts to peek out at Mal -- and two more shots send him scrambling back to cover, thinking.

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

Jude sees his moment, dives for his gun -- but it's been ruined by Mal's shot. Jude looks over at the struggling Mal with death in his eyes. He runs at the railing, vaults off it, and grabs a chain -- it snaps, swings him to the catwalk. He jumps off and starts going hand over hand -- but not on the rungs Mal is struggling with. His way is more dangerous, less reliable, and faster.

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

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

Kaylee is peppered with dart-like projectiles. She screams and drops her weapon, pulling the projectiles from her -- Inara helps her up, pulls her back as Zoe shouts:

He moves inside to the control panel as everyone else stumbles or is dragged into the inner corridor.

The doors start to close, from each side and above and below. Then, when the hole is maybe four feet by four feet, they stop.

He moves to the control panel -- and a small, home-made device is tossed through, bounces off the floor...

She rushes forward as he dives back -- and both are almost caught in the little bomb's blast, go flying and fall badly. From their moaning, they look to live.

ANGLE: they are still open. Whip from them to see the control panel blown out.

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.

He points at River, still by herself, still uninvolved.

She looks down at her gun.

Jayne shoots the first Reaver that tries to get through. He looks at River, bobbing his head and happily singing:

Kaylee cries out and Simon moves to her.

He smiles at her.

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

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 - this is the worst wound yet.

Inara rushes to him, as does Wash.

She is by his side. Takes his hand, the others working but giving the two of them their space. She has a kind of serenity to her, like she understands something now.

The lights go out, leaving the place terribly dim. Everyone looks about them. Jayne fires again at the entry, 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 land 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 KLUNNG.

Simon tries to cry out her name again, but can't get the breath.

Mal gets up the chain to the platform. Jude 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 Jude off him.

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

Jude reaches behind him and pulls his sword gracefully from the holster under his jacket. It extends to full length.

Mal gracefully produces his weapon: a tiny screwdriver. It doesn't extend so much as just sit.

He hurls a toolbox at Jude and rushes him, gets inside sword range and tries for the neck with the screwdriver -- Jude blocks it and works the sword point against the edge of Mal's stomach. Starts pushing slowly, despite Malls resistance, and breaks skin. Mal looks at Jude a moment -- and Jude slides the sword all the way through Mal's belly. Mal's eyes go wide.

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

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

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

He stabs down at Jude's face -- but Jude rolls out of the way, kicks Mal from the ground and is up in a second, grabbing Mall's sword hand -- the sword drops -- and punching him repeatedly in his stomach wound. Mal doubles over -- then brings his head back up in a backwards headbutt to Jude's chin. Jude staggers back, and the two of them rush each other again, more animal than ever --

The gang is subdued -- because they are all of them injured and Simon is slipping away. Jayne looks about him at clanging noises.

Wash drops back onto his elbow, defeated. Book speaks up from his corner, still unable to see...

Mal goes down hard from a blow, spitting up blood. He sees the sword, moves -- but Jude kicks him in the face. Picks him up, Mal trying to punch but losing steam -- which Jude shows no sign of doing.

Jude spins him and DIGS his bunched fingers right into the same nerve cluster that he paralyzed Doctor Mathias with. Mal goes rigid, his face a rictus of pain, leaning slightly back against the plastic partition in front of the console.

Jude goes near the railing and retrieves his sword. Mal trembles with the effort of trying to move -- but nothing happens.

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

Jude 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, Jude'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 Jude in the face.

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

He moves to the console, starts prepping it.

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

He hits "send". 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 Jude.

There are images first of the city -- of bodies, on the street, in homes and offices.... image after image.

Mal hits the controls from this side and the catwalk begins to rotate so he can get across. He never even looks at Jude.

On Jude, watching...

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 is just like we saw her before in trigger mode -- 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.

But she gets cut -- a deeper gash than the scrapes that run along her arms and legs. She stumbles -- but only for a second, gathering herself and countering even as the world gets warpy in her eyes.

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

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

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

Everyone who can take that in, does.

Zoe looks at the badly wounded Simon, is about to give a report --

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 door 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 a group of Reavers come right at the room, screaming -- and are mowed down from behind.

Mal moves forward, those who can stand do, and River slowly turns as the shooting continues until there's nothing but dead Reavers and smoke.

Through the smoke come some fifteen fully armored Alliance soldiers, who line up, rifles trained on our gang...

River lets the blades fall from her hands. The others put their guns down.

The soldiers are amped and clearly confused, shouting over each other:

CLOSE ON: RIVER

As she stares down a SOLDIER, who tightens the grip on his rifle...

Jude has managed to lift his arm enough to speak into his palmcom. There is a world of weariness in his voice:

Our gang can hear him from the dozen or so helmet mics:

ANGLE: THE SOLDIER'S TRIGGER FINGER

Squeezes inadvertently, we hear a small click --

And it eases off.

Medics come rushing in as River drops gracefully to the ground, exhausted. One looks to her, two more rushing to Simon and the others.

They talk medic talk as Mal hobbles over to Inara, sits by her. She rests her head on his shoulder as he looks at Zoe.

Mal rests, satisfied. Looks at Inara.

We see Jude in profile, still sitting, the camera moving slowly away from him. He is very much alone.

It is raining softly as we look out at the city, panning over to find a newly patched up Serenity, Mal finishing a weld job on her side. He steps back to look, then heads around the front and onto the ramp, dumping his equipment.

Mal turns and there Jude stands, at the bottom of the ramp. His clothes more casual than we've ever seen, his whole demeanor changed.

Mal turns to go back on the ship. Hits the button for the inner doors, which start closing between him and Jude.

The doors shut between them. The ramp begins to close as well, and Jude walks slowly away.

Mal turns to see Simon and River standing behind him. Simon has his arm around River, and both seem very at ease.

Kaylee is working alone, limping slightly. Simon enters, also moving carefully. Kaylee tries to avoid his eye as he leans on the engine near her.

She turns, wetness filling her eyes, as he smiles at her.

She smiles, could light up a city. They kiss, and about time too. She pulls back, breathless.

He tries to reply. He does try.

Inara, Book, Zoe, Wash and Jayne are all in mid-discussion.

Book's expression is memorable. Zoe puts her hand to her heart.

Mal and Inara ignore the others. She speaks so quietly...

Mal exits to the bridge.

Mal eases himself into his seat. Takes a moment, 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.

As her engines fire up and tilt, and she lifts gently off the ground.

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.

He pulls back on the steering column, feeling her go.

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

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