On the beginning of the new year, I find myself in the cargo hold of a dirty old piece of space junk. I am surrounded by those who would once have caused me to cross a street, people I would never before have shared two words with. A thief, a mercenary, a smuggler, a "companion" and two fugitives are now the friends I share celebrations with. All of them are running from something, all of them scofflaws who make sport of eluding authorities, who pride themselves on gunplay.

Surely these cannot be my compatriots. Surely this is not the group I am to spend my sabbatical with. Men who view the Bible as no more than badly-written literature. No, this is a mistake. Oh, would that the others at the abbey could see me now.

I raise my glass, tapping my spoon against the wooden edge to lower the commotion in the cargo hold of Serenity. "If I may...?"

"You wanna speak, Shepherd," Malcolm Reynolds said, "just start a-talkin'. You'll find ears. I got two good ones you can use. Well... one good one. The other'n is kind of spackle-glued on..."

Inara laughed, covering her mouth at the outburst. Perhaps she'd had a bit too much to drink. Or perhaps the flush in her cheeks was from where the Captain's hand happened to be resting?

I smiled down at them and said, "Thank you, Captain. I simply wish to say... shall this coming year bring surprises, no more than we can handle. Obstacles, no more than we can overcome..."

"And womenfolk, no more than we can lay two-at-a-time!" Jayne helpfully interjected.

"The man is a poet!" Wash said, hoisting his glass. He quickly lowered his glass at the withering look from his wife. "Barbarian. Barbarian, I said, and I'll say it again, the... ruffian. With his lack of respect for the womenfolk and... You were saying, Shepherd?"

I smiled. "Perhaps it would be best said in true poetic form." I searched for the right words and then spoke: "Ming nian qi tian nian. Xin shi kong cuo tuo. Nu li jin jin xi. Shao nian you ke kua."

"Exuberance of youth," Jayne repeated in English. It still boggled my mind that this brute was bilingual. Almost everyone was, in this day and age... but it still never failed to shock me. He stumbled to his feet and shoved Kaylee's shoulder playfully, nudging her towards the doctor. "Hear that, Kaylee? You and the Doc oughta kiss at midnight. Shepherd here wants to live victoriously through ya."

"Vicariously," I corrected, immediately regretting it.

Jayne smirked up at me and said, "You said it, Shepherd!"

He took a swig of his drink and stumbled off towards the crew quarters. I had a feeling he had more potent spirits stashed there, saving the trouble of sharing with the rest of the crew. As I took my seat again, Captain Reynolds moved to my side. "You afraid that you may die before next new year?" he asked, referring to my quotation.

"Not if I can help it," I said. "But traveling with this crew, I've been shot, held hostage, questioned by the Alliance... things may be out of my control on this ship."

"Yeah," Captain Reynolds said. He finished off his drink and handed me the empty cup with a bright smile. "Ain't it great?"

NOTE: The quote in English is as follows:

"Next year, perhaps, my span of years could end, My fear is that I've just been marking time. So exert ourselves to the utmost here tonight, I still admire the exuberance of our youth!"

It's from a poem called "New Year's Watch" by Su Shi.