Firefly

Plot Summary 

 The end of the brawl

Mal, Zoe, and Jayne go inside the Serenity. Jayne remarks how the locals couldn't see how their ship had no guns. Mal walks in on Inara brushing Kaylee Frye's hair. He tells Kaylee to clean up the engine room. After she leaves he warns Inara Serra about Adelai Niska. Around the same time River Tam wakes up from a nightmare so her brother, Dr. Simon Tam, tends to her. Mal talks to Shepherd Book, in the kitchen, about why he stays on and tells him it's useless to try and convert him to religion.

 Preparation cap

Inside of Niska's base Mal, Zoe, and Jayne meet Crow before entering. Niska talks heavily about reputation thus he shows a man hanging upside down that Crow tortures behind a closed door. Niska's point is that while he gives the money up front he expects a job to be finished. Mal agrees to the terms so Niska shows the job. The job is a train robbery of Alliance property.

 The jump

Mal and Zoe are on the train. They pass through a car that's filled with Alliance guards. They make it through another refugee car until they find their mark. On Serenity Kaylee explains what they are doing to Simon. Wash pulls the Serenity above the train so Jayne jumps down with a cable. They attach the cable to the cargo as an Alliance guard walks in. Mal and Zoe set up a trap, they use the guard's disorientation to incapacitate him. Jayne goes inside the Serenity with the cargo. Mal and Zoe go back into the refugee car. They throw 2 gas canisters and hide inside the chaos.

The Serenity touches down inside a canyon. Jayne insists that they drop off the cargo while the rest of the crew resists the idea. Simon dopes up Jayne to subdue him and relieve him of pain from a gunshot. They leave Jayne on stairs in the cargo hold.

Meanwhile in the town Mal and Zoe pose as husband and wife. They find out that the cargo they stole was medicine for a disease prevalent on the planet. They meet the Sheriff who interrogates them a little about why they are there. He's suspicious of them but they are not locked up. Inara shows up and slaps Mal. She tells the Sheriff that Mal is her servant and that Zoe is married to someone else. Since she is a respected courtesan she is able to take them without question.

 "I was aiming for his head!"

Back on Serenity Mal tells the crew that they are returning the medicine to the town. That's when Crow and some other thugs turn up at Serenity's front door. Mal tells them that the deal is off so Crow throws a curved knife into Mal's shoulder. They have a bit of a firefight in the cargo hold until Jayne shoots Crow in the knee.

Near the town Mal and Zoe have the cargo. They plan to drop it off at the town entrance but the Sheriff is waiting nearby. His posse looks ready to shoot Mal but glean his intention immediately. They take the medicine quickly and leave Mal be.

 Serenity is a firefly class star ship.

Afterward Mal talks to Crow about giving him the money back. Crow defiantly tells Mal that it doesn't matter and that he will hunt him. Mal kicks Crow into the nearby engine that's on. Without missing a beat he begins his same speech with the next thug. Immediately the thug agrees to the deal.

The episode ends with River murmuring about “two by two, hands of blue”. On an Alliance vessel is two agents wearing blue gloves asking about River from the local authorities.