REGULAR CAST

• Nathan Fillion as Captain Malcolm “Mal” Reynolds
• Gina Torres as Zoë Alleyne-Washburne
• Alan Tudyk as Hoban “Wash” Washburne
• Morena Baccarin as Inara Serra
• Adam Baldwin as Jayne Cobb
• Jewel Staite as Kaywinnit Lee “Kaylee” Frye
• Sean Maher as Dr. Simon Tam
• Summer Glau as River Tam
• Ron Glass as Shepherd Derrial Book

GUEST CAST

• Doug Savant as Captain Harken
• Branden Morgan as Survivor

CO-STARRING

• Jared Poe as Ensign
• Lancer Dean Shull as Radio Operator

SYNOPSIS

Most of the crew is playing a basketball-like game when an alarm goes off. Wash heads out to find out what it’s all about and literally runs the ship into a dead man in space. Beyond him is a ship drifting without control. There’s no distress signal and no one seems to be answering his hails. Mal decides to head over there and find out if anything aboard can be salvaged.

Mal and Zoë suit up in space gear and enter the deserted ship. They find no one onboard, but it seems like whoever was there left in a hurry. The ship appears to have been a transport vessel for several families of settlers looking to make a new life for themselves.

As Simon is checking on River, who is still having nightmares and that wacky tendency to babble, Jayne arrives to tell him that Mal wants him on the deserted ship and to suit up and meet them there. Simon suits up and heads over there – only to find everyone else out of their suits (apparently the air was breathable) and no one expecting him, except Jayne who is laughing at his own sense of humour. Since Simon is there, Mal sends him off with Kaylee to look for materials to salvage from the ship.

Jayne patrols on his own as Zoë and Mal search for more valuable items. They discover a locked area, which, lo and behold, contains some Alliance containers – provisions for the families to start their new lives with on a new world. They also discover that the families did not abandon ship as previously assumed – they hang dead from the ceiling, all of them tied together. Mal knows what did this.

River is found aboard the ship (she was drawn there by “voices”, she tells Simon) as Mal attempts to contact Jayne to tell him to get the others and get off the ship, but Jayne is attacked from behind. The others find him unharmed, but the trail of blood on the floor suggests his attacker did not fare so well. Mal pulls a frail and somewhat psychotic looking fellow out from behind a grate and knocks him out. He’s a lot smaller than Jayne thought he was.

Back on Serenity, the crew speculates as to what happened to the man and how he survived aboard the ship while the others were all killed. Inside the infirmary, Simon treats the man and Mal, looking disturbed, has Simon dope the survivor. Mal orders the others to stay out of the infirmary and tells them Reavers are responsible for the deaths on the deserted ship.

Gathered in the mess area, Mal says that the Reavers made the sole survivor watch as they murdered the others and now he’s become like them – nothing. Reavers seem to be somewhat of a legend… men who drifted to the edge of the system – to nothingness and became just that. Mal still wants to go back aboard the ship and salvage what they can. Jayne is not so thrilled to go back, in fear that Reavers will be returning. Book wants to go there to help put the murdered people to rest. Simon volunteers to help. Mal gives them permission, then takes Kaylee, Wash, and Zoë with him to the cockpit.

There they discover Mal’s suspicions (which he did not voice to the others) were correct. The Reavers left a booby trap that has attached Serenity to the other ship and pulling away would cause the hull to burst. Kaylee, being the smart thinker she is, has a solution, and pulls it off beautifully, freeing the ship.

Just as the crew seems to be scott free and ready to go, they run into another problem – a huge Alliance ship, which orders them to release control of their helm as they are about to be docked and boarded.

The commander of the Alliance ship says they are searching for two fugitives – a brother and sister (Simon and River) and prepares to head onto Serenity. Mal has all of the salvaged materials pulled out of hiding, and orders a very reluctant Simon to get River. Book reassures Simon to trust Mal. As the Alliance commander and soldiers come onto Serenity, there appears to be no sign of Simon and River. Mal deftly answers the commander’s questions, but the entire crew is taken onto the Alliance ship for questioning as Serenity is to be searched – top to bottom.

The commander is not successful in his interrogations of the crew, but decides to assume they are responsible for the murders on the transport ship. Just as he is ready to take Mal to the brig, it is discovered that the ship’s survivor, who has gone completely mad and severed his own tongue, as well as harmed some Alliance doctors, is on the loose. Mal tells the commander he knows where the man will go and the commander allows Mal to take him.

They head back to Serenity and arrive just after Simon and River have come back onboard. They were hiding on the hull of Serenity is space suits. River warns Simon not to go back, but he ignores her somewhat incoherent mumblings, and is about to run into the Alliance (and the psycho man), when he hears them coming and smartly hides with River. Mal enters the mess area first, and sees where River and Simon are hiding. There’s no time for anyone else to spot them though, as the crazy survivor attacks the Alliance soldiers, and is about to kill the commander, when Mal manages to save him and kill the crazy guy.

Serenity and her crew are all together and ready to head off – though without their salvaged materials as the Alliance soldiers blow up the deserted ship, presumably in fear of the Reavers returning. Simon and River managed to remain undiscovered… for now.

CONTINUITY

GOOFS