You can't take the sky from me
Sergeant Malcolm Reynolds, age twenty-five, is tired. While he still firmly believes that the Alliance should be sent packing, the constant pressure of battle is starting to wear on him.
The New Kashmir campaign was a draw, although Mal and Zoe were both promoted for their actions on behalf of the Browncoats. Then came the Dawn campaign on Helios, and the Battle of Sturgess. The latter was short, only one week, but extremely bloody, with heavy casualties on both sides. It was so bloody, in fact, that Mal still hadn't learned which side won. Now he's on Hera, part of a Browncoat operation to secure the spaceport at Serenity Valley. Being so close to a large number of ships has reawakened his old dream to fly to the stars. When this is over, Mal promises himself, I'm gonna buy me a ship. I'm gonna buy a ship and make my living in the black, and no one and nothing is gonna tell me what to do.