Title: Voyage of Serenity - Intro

Author: Chris Dupre aka UntrainedApe

Disclaimer: Firefly characters belong to Joss.

Notes: suggestions and comments welcome. Chinese speech from characters is denoted with <>

-------

EXT. TENT CITY - NIGHT

The tent city of the nomads of Medway seems to stretch on forever. The tents are strung with multicolored lights and ribbons that give the city a festive, almost holiday sort of feel.

EXT. TENT CITY - OPEN AIR MARKET

Spencer Frye is in the center of the frame. He is an rather tall young man, sharply dressed in a suit that seems a little too small for him. There is a book in his hands that he has grabbed out of a flea market style bin. We can't see the cover, only the sinopsis written on the back. He is staring at it with a mix of shock and childlike awe.

SPENCER Zoe, get over here! You've got to come see this!

Zoe steps into the frame behind him, wearing a full length Muslim chador. Only her eyes are exposed. She lifts a hand out of the garment and slaps Spencer on the back of the head.

ZOE My name is Niri, Mr. Shabbaz Sheik Mohammed. Is it possible to go anywhere without you threatening to blow our cover?

SPENCER Whatever. Look.

He holds the book up to her face. Her eyes go wide.

ZOE Oh god in heaven...

SPENCER Allah.

ZOE Is that supposed to be who I think it's supposed to be?

SPENCER No doubt.

ZOE A bit exaggerated, to say the least.

Inara and River appear in the frame opposite Zoe. Both are wearing similar chadors.

INARA Dear husband, Alisha and I have gathered the provisions we will need for -

RIVER It is not a very good likeness.

River presses her hand to the cover.

RIVER They are all flat, no volume.

Spencer raises the book up over his head.

SPENCER Shopkeeper! How much for one of these?!

INT. SERENITY - CARGO BAY

The cargo bay door is open. Mal and Jayne are sitting on a stack of crates, looking bored.

JAYNE Explain to me why the kid gets to play the part of the honorable Mr. Shazzam and we're stuck on this boat doing a whole lot of nothing?

MAL I thought the reason would be obvious. Nobody knows who he is or what he looks like. It's the safest way to play this.

JAYNE (snorts in disgust) Here I was thinking being among the most known outlaws in the 'verse would be glamorous.

MAL (shakes head) Just makes us easier targets for headhunters and Alliance cronies. At least the notoriety has brought some work along with it. People fancy celebrities.

Cut to a look outside the open cargo bay door. The mule pulls into view, with Spencer at the controls. He jumps out excitedly and starts running towards the bay.

JAYNE Bout time.

The captain and Jayne start walking out to greet them.

MAL Spence, I don't know if your aware of this, but the mule goes IN the ship. We want to take it with us when we leave, you see.

Zoe climbs into the drivers seat that Spencer has abandoned and begins to bring her in.

SPENCER Heads up, cap'n.

He throws the aforementioned book at Mal when he's about ten feet away. Mal catches it one handed and examines it curiously. Spencer throws another copy at Jayne which hits the big man in the chest and thumps to the ground. Jayne gives him a dirty look and then swipes up his copy.

Move to a look at what Mal is holding in his hand. The legend on the large paperback reads VOYAGE OF SERENITY. Below it is a Frank Frazetta/Boris Vallejo style picture. The man at the center is topless save for a pair of suspenders, long flowing hair and rippling muscles making him look more like Brad Pitt than Malcolm Reynolds. A long haired beauty is hunkered at his knees, arms around his waist submissively. She is wearing nothing but bikini style briefs. Assembled around the main figure is the rest of the crew: a stereotypical dark skinned amazonian warrior woman; a bookish but athletic looking young man with a collared shirt open at the front and a briefcase in his hand; a somewhat dumpy but not unattractive girl wearing stained overalls and glasses; a serene looking older man with hands folded behind his back and the hint of an aura surrounding him; a huge brute with a long, braided beard; and a (relatively) svelte and handsome looking guy zipped up in a flight suit. Above them all is the figure of a naked girl, floating in the air high above. Her arms are spread wide and her head tilted back as if in rapture. Her hair floats in the sky as if it were beneath water, and power seems to radiate from her figure.

Move to a close up of Mal's face. His expression is simply a total WHAT THE FUCK.

MAL Isn't that something.

INT. SERENITY LOUNGE

Kaylee and Simon are sitting together on a couch.

KAYLEE It was a tight fit, squeezing Spence in that suit of yours.

SIMON Remind me to burn it when your cousin gets back.

KAYLEE (feigning insult) What are you trying to say? Us Fryes have plenty good hygiene. We scrub in all the right places, you should know that.

Simon doesn't respond to the thinly veiled come on. He seems a bit tense and distant.

KAYLEE (sighs) You don't have to be worrying all the time, Simon. She's a big girl. Not exactly helpless in a tough spot, to boot.

Simon gets up from his spot, pacing.

SIMON (shakes head) She doesn't have control over her military conditioning, at least not from what I've seen. Besides, River's not bulletproof. She's just as fragile as anyone else.

KAYLEE We're all taking chances here.

Simon is silent for a few moments, pondering.

SIMON I wonder if it will ever end.

KAYLEE What?

SIMON The running, the hiding, the never knowing where your going to end up. It doesn't seem like it's likely to.

Kaylee reaches out and pulls him gently back down to the couch.

KAYLEE Best not to think about tomorrow so much, just think about right now. Right now there's nobody around, it's quiet...

They kiss each other. Kaylee begins to tilt back, stretching herself horizontally on the couch. Simon follows her movement, still kissing her and -

MAL (over com) Kaylee, everyone's back. Fire Serenity up if you please.

They break apart. Kaylee looks dreadfully disappointed.

EXT. SPACE - PLANET OF MEDWAY

Shot of Serenity breaking atmo and flying past the camera.

INT. SERENITY - DINING ROOM

The crew is all seated around the dining table. No one has touched their food, they are all to busy flipping through their individual copies of VOYAGE OF SERENITY. Spencer is wearing a cracked crash helmet on his head, as he often does.

MAL So if that is me, can somebody tell me who the lady resting her cleavage on my knee is?

SPENCER I think that's supposed to be Inara.

Mal shoot a playfull smile in Inara's direction. She rolls her eyes in response.

SPENCER Unbelievable. I'm not even in this gorramn thing.

ZOE Did you know that Jane has killed a hundred men with his bare hands?

JAYNE Not too far off. Just have to round the number up a bit.

SIMON And apparently my sister can kill people with her thoughts.

Jayne starts a bit at that.

RIVER Not contiguous with reality. Silly little work of fiction.

Kaylee seems concerned as she flips through the pages. She keeps out of the conversation.

SIMON Well, this is rather...turgid stuff.

Curiosity overcomes Simon's usually reserved manner. He leans over to Inara, pointing at a specific passage.

SIMON Is that even possible?

ZOE Page number.

SIMON Sixty seven.

Everyone frantically flips their book to page sixty seven, except for Jayne, who is still looking at the pretty cover.

Mal reads for a moment and then slams his book closed.

MAL (somewhat chagrined) Alright then. I think we've all had ourselves a good peek, what say we eat before our grub gets too cold.

INARA (too quickly) Yes, let's.

Everybody reluctantly puts down their books and begins digging into their food. Jayne gets up from his chair and heads for the kitchen.

JAYNE I think I need a drink.

They eat in silence for a bit. Jayne begins rummaging through the kitchen cupboards.

ZOE Sir, I can't help but think this new development complicates things even further.

MAL (sarcastically) You're taking a mighty dim view of our situation, Zoe. What's the bounty up to last we heard? Ten million on each of our heads? This bit of dime store publicity is gonna only increase or net worth. I'm guessing we hit twenty million by the end of the month. Breaking records and setting precedents, that's what we're all about, folks.

Zoe looks at the captain intently, questioning silently.

MAL Still, I've been thinking it might be best to lay low for a spell, once we've delivered the goods to Dorian. We'll have plenty of coin to settle in someplace quiet. Not sure where that's going to be, though.

JAYNE Spence, I thought I told you to grab some brew while you were out. Where's it at?

SPENCER Sorry Jayne, I was going to. Then I remembered Mr. Shabbaz is a devout Shia. Can't be seen buying alcohol.

Jayne returns to the table grumbling.

SIMON Seems like a big risk, selling this pulp. The Alliance is going to come down hard on anyone they find trafficking it.

MAL Take a closer look, doc.

He lifts up VOYAGE OF SERENITY, revealing the spine. The Blue Sun logo is stamped at the top.