Shadow of Doubt

FADE IN

EXT. SPACE

A blue world, MIRANDA, pull back as NARRATION starts:

NARRATOR (V.O.)

Miranda, the planet with the secret that burned River Tam’s brain, the secret testing ground of the Union of Allied Planets attempts to end aggression. Thirty million people dead. The survivors turned mad, savage by the chemicals used in the testing, turned into Reavers.

EXT. A SMALL TOWN - DAY

Reavers are attacking and slashing, killing, eating people.

EXT. SERENITY - SPACE

NARRATOR (V.O.)

Unknown to all until the Firefly class ship Serenity and her crew, sheltering River Tam and her brother Simon, braved both the Reavers and the Alliance to broadcast a recorded message from Miranda’s lost search and rescue team.

INT. MR. UNIVERSE’S LOWER BROADCAST STATION

CAPTAIN MALCOLM “MAL” REYNOLDS plugs in the video disk, hits keys and plays the broadcast as the OPERATIVE watches.

NARRATOR(V.O)

But the Alliance did not take the revelation of this secret too kindly. Especially those who betrayed them.

Hold on Operative’s face and then cut to:

INT. COURT ROOM

Operative’s face, bruised and cut, like he was in a recent fight. Pull back to reveal him sitting in a chair, chained and cuffed, with six armed men surrounding him and pointing weapons at him. A panel of three Alliance high officials which we’ll call JUDGES, in regal attire, two men, one woman, question him.

JUDGE 1

Are we to understand that you had the Tams?

JUDGE 2

And let them go?

OPERATIVE

In a manner of speaking…yes.

JUDGE 3

Was this before or after the broadcast about Miranda?

OPERATIVE

After. She was no longer a threat. The secret was out. Your secret.

JUDGE 3

And your fleet? You had more than twenty ships. What of them?

OPERATIVE

Many were destroyed by the Reaver fleet but we were ultimately victorious. This is pointless. The Tams are no longer a threat. The whole galaxy knows that you, we, created the Reavers.

JUDGE 1

We have taken care of that.

OPERATIVE

Of course. I saw the broadcas