Crandall was a tall man, almost as big and broad as Jayne. He looked liked he’d been through just as many bar fights, too, judging from the somewhat broken nature of his nose. Which made his choice of clothes all the more surprising. He was dressed in slacks and a sweater that wouldn’t have looked out of place on the young doctor. His age, though, Mal would put at near his own, and the idle thought occurred to him that he’d probably fought in the war.

“Captain Reynolds.” Crandall smiled.

“That’s me.” Mal walked down the ramp, leaving Zoe and Jayne standing at the top. He didn’t hold out his hand. “Got your goods right here.” He looked past Crandall towards the two men waiting by the small hover. “Only it looks to me like you’re gonna have to come back for ‘em. They won’t fit into that little thing.”

Crandall’s smile didn’t waver. “Well, that’s what I’d like to talk to you about. Can we go inside?”

Mal didn’t move. “It’s a nice day.”

Crandall shrugged. “As you say.” He gestured over his shoulder to his hover. “This is my personal vehicle.”

“Nice.” Mal didn’t mind making small talk, as long as it didn’t go on too long. “So you’re getting something bigger to come?”

“There is a slight problem with that. These goods are destined for my storage facility in the mountains.” He glanced towards the smudge of dark blue on the horizon. “And there would normally be no problem with my men taking it there, except our mule is out of action at the moment.”

“Fixable?”

“We’re waiting for a part. So I was wondering if you could be presumed upon to deliver the goods direct.”

Mal nodded slowly. “Might be able to. If we land my boat close by –“

“Sorry,” Crandall interrupted. “My facility … well, it sits into the mountain itself. There’s nowhere to land a ship within a fair distance.”

“Shuttle?”

Crandall shook his head. “Don’t you have a ground vehicle that could make it?”

Mal glanced over his shoulder at the hover mule hanging in Serenity’s cargo hold. “We do, but …”