Chain of command by SittingDuck

GENERAL DISCUSSIONS

Chain of command

POSTED BY: SITTINGDUCK
UPDATED: Thursday, May 27, 2004 04:01
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Wednesday, May 26, 2004 4:09 AM

Not the one that Jayne uses to clobber Wash, but the actual chain of command. When Mal and Zoe are out on a job (which is frequently the case), who's in charge of Serenity? Obviously Jayne thinks it's himself, but that seems to be similar to the way Brainy Smurf always thought he was in charge whenever Papa Smurf went on one of his forays.

BTW, if what I just said stuck an image in your head of Jayne flying out of Serenity and landing on his head some distance away, well tough noogies.

You have the right to the remains of a silent attorney. If you cannot afford one, tough noogies!

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Wednesday, May 26, 2004 4:19 AM

JEBBYPAL

I'm thinking that when it was just Wash and Kaylee being left behind, it wasn't an issue. After Inara and Jayne joined the crew, of course jayne assumed it would be himself -- think everyone else thought it would be the person flying the ship! Now w/ simon, river, and book too.....I'm thinking that it's not been clarified seeing as only simon is technically crew there I think. However, I'd still make a safe guess and say it would be a combo of book and wash

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Wednesday, May 26, 2004 4:27 AM

HOAGIE

As far as actual seniority goes i am thinking Wash would be in charge. Mal and Zoe come from a military background and Jayne, while part of the crew, is still a hired gun. since Wash is the pilot and is in it for the common good i think that the mantle of third in command would fall to him. (having an in with the first mate don't hurt.)

Jayne thinks that he is third in command since he is the biggest and gets taken on outside jobs more, but at the same time no one seemed to object when Simon drugged him so i'm thinkin' that Jayne is alone in that belief.

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Wednesday, May 26, 2004 5:08 AM

HKCAVALIER

How's about nobody? It's not a military operation, it's the place where some people live. Seams to me, the question only matters if Zoe and Mal are gone-gone, as in dead-gone, and the crew has to decide what they're gonna do. Then it's trouble. Jayne would try to take command/ownership of the ship, claiming that he'd brought the most money to the gang and therefore had a right to it. He'd be ready for Simon, so no doping him out of the action. The one person he'd never count on crossing him is Book and you gotta believe that if Zoe and Mal were dead we'd get to know the real Shepard Book but fast. So, Book. It's been my theory that Book has been getting close to Jayne specifically so that he would be able to control him when the

hits the fan. Oh, and Wash, as far as I can see it, has absolutely no interest in command. Of course there's "no power in the 'verse" can stop River, so maybe once she's feeling better she would jump in and run things "with her mind."

HKCavalier

Hey, hey, hey, don't be mean. We don't have to be mean, because, remember, no matter where you go, there you are.

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Wednesday, May 26, 2004 5:26 AM

BROWNCOAT1

May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one.

Seems to me it would be Wash, as he is the pilot, as well as Zoe's husband and a regular crew member. He has also been around the longest.

"May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one."

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Wednesday, May 26, 2004 5:38 AM

SHINY

If there were some kind of emergency, I would listen to Book. Assuming you can knock Jayne out first. ;)

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Wednesday, May 26, 2004 7:52 AM

HUMBLE

I wouldn't trust Jayne to be in charge of himself, let alone Serenity. If anything, once Simon gets more of feel for how things run onboard the ship, I think he would be a good candidate for third in command. He's smart, brave, and creative for illegal activities. Also, he doesn't back away from a fight even if it's the Captain he's fighting. (As opposed to Zoe's near-blind following of Mal.)

Time to commit a crime. T.T.F.N.

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Wednesday, May 26, 2004 4:47 PM

LJOSALF

Well, you would think that Mal would have made it clear who he expected to be in charge if both he and Zoe were off-ship and incommunicado, even if it were on a job-by-job basis. 'Course maybe he doesn't want that much order in his life after 6 years (or more) of military life.

It is pretty clear that Jayne believes himself entitled to be at least 3rd in command because he does the dirty, dangerous work just like Mal and Zoe. He talks back to Mal and Zoe in the early episodes, more as an equal than as a hired hand. I mean, we all laugh at Jayne doing math in Serenity, but his point is that he is a shareholder in the ship--or at least believes that his deal with Mal makes him one whatever Mal's understanding of their arrangement is. The little rebellion Jayne got in The Train Job when he tried to exercise what he thought was his right to command likely gave him some pause. Getting sent off out of the way to the derelict ship in Bushwhacked probably did as well. Jayne is completely serious about trading for Saffron and Mal cuts him off at the knees--and you can see that Jayne doesn't really get why. And so on. Bit by bit Jayne is getting demonstrations that he is not trusted and not valued as highly as he thinks he should be. He probably feels that he knew what his position was on board Serenity before the passengers came aboard, that everything started to change after that, and he likely resents it, singling out Simon (and River) as the focal point of the change. Following the disciplinary resolution of his abortive attempt to get rid of the Tams and make a tidy profit to boot, Jayne has become more conciliatory toward Mal, less challenging, more unsure of his place. It's bound to be galling.

As for who is putatively in command when Mal and Zoe are unavailable--clearly it's a kind of democracy. The crew resolves it for themselves on a case by case basis because Mal has neglected to do so. Bad Mal! No biscuit!

Ljosalf

The voyage of discovery is not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.
Marcel Proust (1871 - 1922)

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Wednesday, May 26, 2004 5:01 PM

GUNHAND

Offically no one. Even though Jayne thinks he is, he isn't.

But I'm gonna go out on a limb here and risk some tough noggies but I'm gonna say Book. Don't make faces. He hasn't really had to step up to the plate yet but even Mal listens to his advice and institutes his plans. He's also the one that organized the "noncombatants" in War Stories.

So I'm thinking Book is someone that if he wanted/had to step up people would listen to him. Even Jayne.

EDIT: Doh! Shiny said Book first, so I agree with Shiny then.

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Thursday, May 27, 2004 2:48 AM

KARENKAY99

Quote:
Originally posted by SittingDuck:
When Mal and Zoe are out on a job (which is frequently the case), who's in charge of Serenity?

good question. maybe it's a democracy. after simon drugged jayne they all stood around and discussed what they should do next.

also, i've always wondered who was going to fly the ship in war stories when zoe is preparing to take the money back to niska and says ...

"Wait a reasonable amount of time, but
if you don't hear back, I want you to
take Serenity and get out of this
quadrant. This don't play out right,
there's no guarantee he won't come
looking for the rest of you."

i never pictured jayne as a pilot. maybe kaylee could fly it good enough to get them out of there (she had never even been up in one but maybe she learned). or as someone said, maybe book might step up and reveal a little more about himself.

i wonder if zoe was looking at someone when she said that. guess i'll just have to rewatch. :-)

"They say the snow on the roof is too heavy. They say the ceiling will cave in. His brains are in terrible danger."

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Thursday, May 27, 2004 4:01 AM

KUGELBLITZ

It is a SHIP.

Technically pilots are responsible for navigation, on ships. The Captain is in charge and so on. Pilots do not get to be in charge, they simply control where the ship is going so it doesn't wreck.

Now, on an aircraft, the pilot is boss (this is a simplificatgion, as multi place aircraft can have senior officers in non flying positions). The question is, which form are we using here? In one, the pilot is an adjuct to movement, not command (which could explain Wash's neutrality), in the other he is boss. Either way, Wash ain't runnin anything.

"We are exporting democracy because we have all of this unused democracy lying around at home. Why not make some money doing it?"

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