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

Voice

[breakingmyheart]

One of your crew was on board, approximately two years ago. She mentioned your name.

Voice

[useofaswhat]

My crew's been on here? First I heard of that. Who was it?

Voice

[breakingmyheart]

Inara.

[Sorry Mal, she'll recover soon but right now we're down to flat monosyllables because there are too many emotions trying to escape.]

Voice

[useofaswhat]

Oh.

[He sighs and his voice softens a little.] No surprise there. Inara keeps to herself, she ain't really one for sharin' her business.

Voice

[breakingmyheart]

I remember that about her.

[And now to desperately claw back some vague sense of professionalism.]

...sorry about....that. My name's Toshiko Sato. I work in the engine room here, and I've been a Warden for two years, on and off. Welcome to the Barge, Captain.

Voice

[useofaswhat]

Sounds like you knew her pretty well, or 's well as anyone knows Inara. [Even Nandi didn't seem to completely understand her, and she was the closest friend of Inara's he knows of.]

Ain't nothin' to be sorry for, it's good t'meet another warden. You mind if I call you Toshiko?

Voice

[breakingmyheart]

No, not at all, most people do.

It seems like you're already well-acquainted with the ship's layout.

Voice

[useofaswhat]

Heard about it, haven't gotten to walkin' it myself yet.

Voice

[breakingmyheart]

Ah. Well, nothing's far from anything else, you'll have a good mental map of the layout just from taking a look around.

Has anyone let you know what to expect in terms of floods and other phenomena?

Voice

[useofaswhat]

Good to know I won't be gettin' lost anytime soon.

Heard a bit. Still havin' some trouble believin' it, but I'll deal with that when I see it.