001 ✫ Video

[useofaswhat]

Afternoon, folks. – Evenin', now. [The man on screen clears his throat and nods in greeting, a little awkwardly. (And no, he's not actually wearing a floral bonnet. Today.)] This Admiral fella wanted a handful o' help and thought I was the man to give it so wǒ zài zhèlǐ. Name's Captain Reynolds, Mal if you ain't one to stand on ceremony. I'm sure it's fine to meet you all, and if it ain't, you go ahead an' let me know. [There's a smile purely for the sake of decorum, which drops off his face almost immediately as his eyes rake over something off-screen, as if reading.]

Let's see what we got here, then... Prison ship, eight levels and two additional restricted areas, complete with library, common rooms, medbay, an' my personal favorite, fully stocked kitchen. Probably serves better'n protein too. Laundry services, showers, art therapy facilities, and gardens included. Now that don't sound like any prison I ever been to. Hell, y'all even got a bar? Got quite a slick operation here, real nice 'n cozy.

But it still ain't as good as my boat.

Comments

[persuadeyou]

Ouch. Lying already?

I'm still waiting to hear where you're from, Captain.

[useofaswhat]

Still honest enough to say it's a lie.

And you can keep on waitin'.

[persuadeyou]

Just curious about your universe.

New York City, 2010. Is that familiar?

[useofaswhat]

From old history books, it sure is.

[persuadeyou]

Then maybe I should be asking when you're from.

[She's stalked all the replies she can see already, this is for show now.]

[useofaswhat]

Now that, I got no issue tellin'. Just came in from 2517.

[persuadeyou]

Xie xie.

Does everyone speak Chinese in the 26th century, then?

[useofaswhat]

[As if it's the most obvious thing in the world:] Shì.

[persuadeyou]

Only the English- and Chinese-speaking people of the world lasted that long, or is this just a really weird fad?

[useofaswhat]

No, folk speak other languages here'n there, they just ain't common.

[persuadeyou]

Sounds like an interesting universe.

If I ask about your ship, am I going to get another run around?

[useofaswhat]

Interesting's a word for it.

Depends what you're askin' about her.

[persuadeyou]

Space travel isn't exactly normal in my time. Can't say I even know what to ask. [Which means free reign to brag a little. She isn't sure if he will, though.]

[useofaswhat]

One more holdover from the depths of history, gotcha.

You gotta have some startin' point. Now You put me on the spot an' I don't rightly know what to say, 'cept you won't find a better bird in the 'verse.

[persuadeyou]

Why is she some much better?

[useofaswhat]

'Cause she's a sturdy, tough little thing been in the sky longer'n I been alive, an' I'm bettin' she'll outlast me too.

[persuadeyou]

That's a hell of a ship. We tend to recycle anything older than four years.

[She really doesn't actually care about Serenity at all, but inflating egos is an easy way to get in good with people.]

I've never been in space before this. The deck completely terrified me at first, I thought I was going to die.

[useofaswhat]

She ain't as disposable as the newer models.

[She's doing a good job at buttering him up, but it might not go as far as she thinks.]

It can make you a mite twitchy the first couple times, but it ain't so bad. Prefer it to bein' dirtside, personally.

[persuadeyou]

It was mostly the apparent being exposed to the vastness of space that worried me.

[useofaswhat]

You got nothin' to worry about, providin' you don't take a walk outside.

[persuadeyou]

Have you been up to the deck yet?