'War Stories' by Cheryl Cain

Serenity arrives on a dusty world, where Mal hopes to sell some of the drugs they recently stole from St. Lucy’s hospital. Wash becomes jealous of his wife’s relationship with Mal, and so fixes things so that he can take her place accompanying the captain on the venture. Meanwhile, Inara meets with her latest client, who – to the surprise of the rest of the crew – turns out to be a woman. Mal and Wash meet with their contact, only to see him shot down by a group of armed men; they are then taken prisoner and brought before Niska, the mobster Mal double-crossed during the recent train job. While Mal and Wash are brutally tortured, Zoe and the others attempt to locate their crewmates; having traced her husband and the captain to Niska’s skyplex, Zoe offers the mobster money in exchange for their release – only to be told that the cash is only enough to free one man, and that she must choose which one…

Nathan Fillion (Captain Malcolm ‘Mal’ Reynolds), Gina Torres (Zoe Washburne), Alan Tudyk (Hoban ‘Wash’ Washburne), Morena Baccarin (Inara Serra), Adam Baldwin (Jayne Cobb), Jewel Staite (Kaywinnit Lee 'Kaylee' Frye), Sean Maher (Doctor Simon Tam), Summer Glau (River Tam), Ron Glass (Shepherd Derrial Book), Katherine Kendall (Councilor), Rolando Molina (Black Market Buyer), John Dunn (Torturer), Michael A. Benit (Viktor), Adam Pilver (Vanilla Husband), Jason Van (Man), Johnny Shakespeare (Torture Victim), Michael Fairman (Niska)

Directed by James A. Contner
Produced by Ben Edlund and Gareth Davies
Executive Producers Joss Whedon and Tim Minear

TX (US): 15th November 2002

Notes:
*Featuring Captain Malcolm ‘Mal’ Reynolds, Zoe Washburne, Hoban ‘Wash’ Washburne, Inara Serra, Jayne Cobb, Kaywinnit Lee 'Kaylee' Frye, Doctor Simon Tam, River Tam and Shepherd Derrial Book