15 Suddenly Early lets River go & clutches his head in agony. "Stop! Stop! Get out of my head". They all look at Jason & are shocked to see his eyes are completely dark. Jason stares down at Early. River stands aside to see what's happening. They then all see that Early is bleeding from every possible orifice on his face. Earlys screams rebound off the walls. Then, in a final display of horror, Jubal Earlys head explodes. The hands of blue, River & even the rest of the crew get splattered with little bits of brain & skull. They all look in disgust & shock at both Jason & the headless corpse of Jubal Early. The 2nd neat man then notices that he's holding one of Earlys eyes & drops it in horror. Then Jayne brings Vera to bear & lets off a couple of rounds. Distacted by the horror they just wittnessed, the hands of blue have no time to dodge the bullets & they fly right into their chests. As their bodies are hitting the floor, Mal rushes to the cargo bay door controls & opens them. In a sudden rush of air, the hands of blue are sucked out the door & into the vacum of space. Jason, still dark eyed, turns to face Zoe. "Untie Kaylee & get her in the engine room. We're not free yet". Jason then barges his way past the crew & makes his way to the bridge.

16 Jason marches onto the bridge & takes the pilot seat. Mal, Zoe, Wash, Simon & River follow him in. Wash thinks of letting Jason know who the pilot is. Jason then says "I know who the pilot is Wash. I have a quicker response time than you & with what I'm about to attempt, that is essential". Wash looks at a sensor display & says "There's a ship attached to the right docking port. What should I do about it Mal?". Mal thinks on this a moment. "Just disengage it. If we take it, they're bound to be able to track their own technology". Wash then adjusts the docking controls & the hands of blue ship Just drifts away. Jason then flips the com switch. "Are you ready down there Kaylee". Kaylees voice comes out over the com. "I'm down here now. What do you want me to do". Jason says "I need you to concentrate every ounce of power you can possibly spare to the engines for a prolonged burn at top speed". Wash looks at him in shock. "Are you nuts! That level of power will crack this ship open like an egg". Jason turns to face him. "I can strengthen this ship to tolerate the stresses. We need to get as far away from the hands of blue as possible". Wash looks to Mal & the others. Then Jason looks to them. "You must trust me. I know I freaked you all out back there, but we need to run.......NOW!". Mal looks at Wash & then speaks into the com. "Do it Kaylee". "Yes captain" comes the response. Jason then says "You might wanna hold onto something". They all then grab hold of what they can & wait for the jump. Then Kaylee says over the com "You're good to go". & with that command, Jason jams the controls forward in an almighty burst of speed. The ship moans & creaks under the stress, but stays intact. Then, to the relief of the crew, the ship comes to a halt. Mal, seeing that everyone on the bridge is ok, makes his way to the com & says "Is everyone alright down there". Kaylee then says "We're all fine down here cap. Nice manoeuvre Jason". Mal turns to speak to Jason, but finds him sprawled out on the floor. Simon rushes to his side & checks his pulse. River now looks distressed. "It's gone. It was a bright mind, but now it's gone out". Simon looks up to a distressed River & says "I'm sorry River, he's dead".

17 Jasons body is laid out on the infirmary table. Simon is examining him. Then Mal, Kaylee & River walk in. "Are you finished with him yet doc?" Mal asks. Simon pulls the cover back over Jasons body. "I'm done captain. I examined his brain. It was all burned & blackened. Almost as if his brain overloaded". River walks up to the body & starts stroking his face. "Too much power. It ran through his brain like electricity through water". Kaylee looks on in sadness. "He only wanted to live. But instead he gave his life to save us". River turns to them & smiles. "It was a happy death. He was glad to help us". Mal then asks "What will we do with him?". River looks back to the body. "He wanted to be free. Let him be free in space".

18 The entire crew is assembled in the cargo bay. Jasons body is inside the pressure room that leads to outer space. Shepard Book is saying a prayer. When he finishes, he invites River up to the console. "You were the closest thing to family he had. It is customary in funerals such as this for you to eject his body". With a tear running down her cheek, River presses the button & Jasons body drifts away. Everyone goes to leave, but Simon sees that River is still at the console. He walks up to her & puts his arm around her. "Are you gonna be alright". River looks at him & smiles. "I will be. I remember him, so he still lives". Simon & River then leave the cargo bay to continue running. But they feel safe in the knowledge that on board Serenity, they are free.........for now.

The End