No one spoke aboard the ship unless they had to Talking wasted valuable air. The silence created a disturbing atmosphere, and many paranoid glances were thrown over the crew members' shoulders. Jayne kept to himself, religiously polishing his guns to a mirror shine. Kaylee remained in the engine room, making sure it kept running and making futile attempts to repair the atmo feed. Simon, Inara and Book took shifts watching over River, who was being kept drugged under Mal's orders. The psychic girl's frantic screams and gibbering would use up air, as well. Zoe and Mal made the rounds between the crew, attempting to keep up their morale. According to Wash, Theseus, a small, nearly uncharted, and recently terraformed moon, was their best option at the moment. Going as fast as the now-frail engine core would allow, Serenity would reach the icy ball of rock in just over two days. There, they could dock at the local colony, make repairs, and buy the parts Kaylee needed to fix the atmosphere.

Malcolm and Zoe passed each other in the hall leading from the cargo bay to the cockpit. The second-in-command grabbed Mal's arm and stopped him for a moment. "Sir," she said softly. "Theseus has only been colonized for a few months, tops. They can't have many supplies to spare. What if they don't have the parts we need?" Mal's reply was nonchalant, his face impassive. "Then I reckon we stay docked there till some other ship comes around. Hopefully a one way colony ship, so we can take the atmo filter with no complaints. It'll be either that, or-" "An Alliance resupply vessel," Zoe concluded. "Sir, if we run into Alliance, with a blown atmo, Badger's stolen goods in out bay, and…" she looked meaningfully in the general direction of the medical bay. Mal followed her gaze and took her meaning. "There's lots of places for them to hide on the ship. And if worst comes to worst..." Zoe raised an eyebrow at her captain. "If worst comes to worst, then what, sir?" Mal shrugged. "Then…we're screwed."

Two days later, Serenity was mere minutes away from entering Theseus' atmosphere. Wash gripped the steering column. "Alright, everyone," he said over the intercom. "We're about to enter the atmosphere. Fasten your seatbelts. Could get a little bumpy." He turned his gaze back to the viewport, but as he did so, his eyes caught a warning light on the console. "Oh, 青蛙操的流氓." He activated the intercom again. "Um, Mal, get up here. And everyone else, you REALLY want to fasten your seatbelts right about now." In seconds, the captain was on the bridge, accompanied by Zoe. "What is it, Wash?" Mal demanded. The pilot kept his eyes on the bluish, cloudy atmosphere of the planet. "Ion storms, sir. Must be a side effect of the terraforming. Going through that will fry any electrical systems we have." Mal's eyebrows rose slightly. "ANY electrical systems?" Wash nodded, not taking his eyes off the planet. "Navigation, autopilot, engines, landing gear, that old toaster. It'll all be gone. I'll have to make a blind crash land." "That's suicide," Zoe said, her voice far too calm. "So's staying up here," Mal countered grimly, looking over Wash's shoulder. They had less than a day of air left. While attempting this landing might result in death, not landing would mean death was certain. "Do it," the captain commanded. Wash gritted his teeth and plunged into the cloud-filled atmosphere.