Episode: The Train Job

Inside a seedy bar, Mal, Jayne and Zoe play a game of Chinese checkers. As they do so, a belly dancer slips Mal a piece of paper. A short time later, a loud drunk, Lund, addresses everyone in the bar, toasting Unification Day and the proud members of the Allied planets. Mal approaches the bar and strikes up a conversation with Lund, who insults the Independents.

When Lund spins, Zoe swats him with her rifle, sending him to the ground. A fight ensues, and the threesome soon find themselves standing on the edge of a cliff, surrounded by Lund's thugs. Suddenly, the Serenity rises from behind the cliff, and the thugs back away when Wash's voice sounds on the loudspeaker, threatening to blow them all away. Mal, Jayne and Zoe board the ship, and Mal produces the piece of paper, explaining that they have a new job.

The Serenity heads back into space, and eventually arrives at it's destination: A large space station run by Adelai Niska, a seemingly harmless-looking old man who wouldn't think twice about torturing an enemy. He is protected by his enormous bodyguard, Crow. Niska tells Mal and his associates that their mission is to rob a train carrying two boxes filled with Alliance goods. Mal is paid half his fee upfront; the other half is to be paid once the stolen merchandise is delivered to Crow. Dressed in civilian clothes, Mal and Zoe make their way to the city of Hancock. There, they board the train, which is bound for the town of Paradiso. As the journey gets underway, Mal and Zoe rise from their seats and head for another car…which turns out to be filled with Alliance soldiers. Mal and Zoe continue to the next train car, where Mal tells Zoe they'll continue with the mission as planned despite the unexpected presence of soldiers.

As the train continues its journey across a desert, Wash positions the Serenity above it, and Kayleee prepares a cable and winch near the airlock door. Mal and Zoe enter a storage area and locate the two boxes. The pair then pop some rivets on an overhead panel, creating a large hole in the roof. Jayne jumps out of the airlock door, taking a cable with him, and lands atop the train. The two boxes are placed inside a cargo net and readied to be hauled out of the storage area.

At that moment, an Alliance solider, or Fed, opens the door to the room, triggering a gas canister that Mal and Zoe had rigged. The gas blinds the soldier, and during the confusion Jayne and the cargo are lifted out of the storage area and into the Serenity above. Mal overpowers the soldier, then releases more gas into the train, allowing he and Zoe to blend in with other passengers.