Firefly was slowly flying onto the surface of Erza. "So, here's the plan. We pick up the goods. We fly south of the planet for three days, where the buyer will pay us for our high standard delivery service. Are there any questions?" Mal asked. "How much are they paying us?" Jayne asked. "Enough to retire" Zoe said. Everybody around the table were amazed and excited. Everybody smiled and started to raise their glasses. "Why this called for a celebration!" Hoban shouted.
"hang on, shouldn't we wait until we finished the job first. I mean we have had jobs that have gone south?" Kaylee asked. Mal smiled and walked over behind her chair as he said "this is a girl with the screws screwed in her head." "Well, I am a mechanic" she smiled, looking up at him. He kissed her head as he said. "We should arrive in the next few minutes, so station's everyone." The crew ran into action.
Hoban, Zoe and Mal ran into the control room. Mal grabbed the microphone and announced "ladies and gentlemen, and Jayne. Please buckle up or have fun with the bruises you will endure." The ship spent two minute travelling into Erza's atmosphere. "Why is it always so rough when we land on planets!" Mal shouted. "Its just the glory of our ship Mal" Hoban shouted, trying to steady her.
Once the ship landed, everybody unbuckled and climbed onto their flying mule. "So, we are in the city centre and should be back within the hour" Mal announced. "Think again" Hoban shouted from above the stars. Everybody looked up at him. "What, why honey?" Zoe asked. "Have you seen the state of the city!" he walked over and opened up the deck doors. The crew were shock by what welcomed them.
There was nothing but smoke fire and rubble. The sky was dark and red. The crew walked out of their ship onto the devastated planet. "What happened here?" Kaylee asked. "War." Everybody turned back to see River and Simon, behind her. "War, you mean the alliance?" Zoe asked. "This was more than a war. It was genocide" Mal said.
Simon and River walked off the ship and stared out to the view. "Are there any survivors?" Kaylee asked. "Who cares. We're not retiring anymore" Jayne moaned. Everybody stared at him. "Are we?" he asked, hopeful. "Not anymore. I guess this didn't happen too long ago. We should get going" Mal said, walking back onto the ship. The crew followed him and got ready to take off.
"Well, that was just crap" Zoe said. "What do you think happened? The alliance? Civil war?" Zoe wondered. "Who knows. There are no survivors and I think its best if we get the hell of this rock" Mal said, closing the back.
Wash flew the ship off the planet. He set course for the centre planet Bellerophon for another job. "Right, it's a two day flight, so we have time to kill" he announced, when he entered the kitchen for dinner. No one spoke. They all wanted to ask the same question. What the hell happened on Erza? But the tension in the room was about to get a lot worse.
"Someone is on our ship!" River said, looking all around her. "What?!" Mal shouted. "Oh, she's scared" she continued. "River where is she?" Simon asked. She was looking at the ceiling as she said "In the air vents!" she then jumped and crawled in the air vents herself. "Spread out around the ship, find this women now!" Mal ordered.
River crawled through the vents and found a black figure speeding through. "She is here!" River shouted. Jayne was below the vents. He shot his gun in the vents. "Missed!" he heard river shout. "I don't ever miss" he grunted. He was suddenly knocked down. "What the hell?!" he looked up to the figure, running around the corner.
"She's going to the engine room!" he shouted, for the crew. Kaylee slowly picked up a large spanner and walked around the engine room. She suddenly heard footsteps in the vents. "River is that you?" she asked. Suddenly a black blur, shot from the air vent and into the control room. Kaylee tried to hit the women, but she was too fast and ended up hitting the engine and causing it to spark. "Captain!" she shouted, devastated she damaged her ship. "You have to get her!"
Mal was in serenity's storage deck. He walked down the stairs with his gun ready. He heard knocking on the vents. "River?" he asked. She jumped down next to him. "Where is she, little one?"
River looked around. She then pointed to the corner, next to controls. He couldn't see her, but slowly walked down there. "Alright. I don't do stowaways on my ship. If you try anything, this bullet will be in your brain" he said. He turned the corner and pointed his gun at her.
He stopped stunned, when he didn't see a woman in the corner. Instead he saw a small child, curled and pushing herself into the corner. Her eyes were red from crying. She was covered in dirt and sweat. The crew walked into sight. Looking down at this young girl.