INT. SERENITY CARGO BAY

View across upper area from port catwalk to starboard. A friendly ruckus can be heard below. View travels downward to see Kaylee, Jayne, River, and Zoe engaged in a rousing game of volleyball.

Mal and Simon stand off to the side, waiting to sub in. The gray rubber ball that serves most sports purposes on Serenity is being bounced back and forth over a makeshift net strung between the catwalks.

Paul sits high on some crates as an impartial judge. Inara sits next to him, dangling her legs and laughing occasionally at the antics beneath her.

Jayne serves the ball. Kaylee, his teammate watches it fly over her head then the net. Zoe bumps it back up, River then setting it close to the net with disgusting precision. Zoe leaps through the air and spikes the ball at Jayne's feet.

JAYNE: Gorram, girl! That ain't fair!

MAL: What ain't fair is your apparent lack of knowledge of the bump, set, spike theory. We're gettin' killed “man they call me.”

SIMON: Time to sub in, I think.

Jayne grumbles as Mal steps in. Simon replaces Zoe, high-fiving as they pass. Zoe wipes her face with a towel as she climbs the stairs to the fore passage.

Kaylee kicks the ball under the net to Simon, who picks it up and dribbles it twice. He's obviously handled a ball before.

SIMON: Eight serving two.

Simon lofts the ball and pops it over the net, more horizontal than vertical. Mal bumps it up, Kaylee sets, and Mal taps it over the net. It falls near River.

SIMON: Mei-mei!

River seems to wait til the last possible moment, then taps the ball up into the air with an impossible reach shot. Simon doesn't have to move his feet to set the ball. Mal and Kaylee scramble to set up a defense as the ball drops near the net.

River appears to float through the air as she leaps up to the net and hammers the ball directly at Mal.

Mal reflexively strikes the ball, sending it straight up high til it almost touches the mule hanging from the winch. It's still in-bounds.

MAL: A-ha!

K