Here's a question...

POSTED BY: FireflySheila
UPDATED: Sunday, November 20, 2005 05:13
VIEWED: 1986
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FIREFLYSHEILA

Sunday, November 20, 2005 4:43 AM

For those of you who like to pick at the whys and wherefores... where do you think a guy like Mal got the cash to buy a ship like Serenity? I mean, she probably wasn't very expensive compared to other ships, but I imagine that even a cheap ship would set you back a bit. A noncom officer on the losing side of a war doesn't have a whole lot in the way of disposable income. And he probably didn't get paychecks regularly when the war went bad. No doubt the salesman only took Alliance money anyway; politics be damned if it's a question of hard currency.

Yet in "Bushwhacked" Mal says Serenity is "bought and paid for." He isn't in hock for her; she isn't going to get repoed. So he paid for her in full. He didn't steal the money--he might lose her later if that was the case, and he wouldn't risk that--so where did he get it? What do you think?

SCHOONER

Sunday, November 20, 2005 4:56 AM

One possibility is that the Alliance paid out some reparations for the bombing of Shadow, where Mal's from. His mother owned a cattle ranch that employed about 40 people. Sounds pretty sizable. After the war and the destruction of Hera, part of the negotiations may have been offering any next-of-kin money as apology. Probably not a tenth of the value of the land, but enough for Mal to buy a spaceship that doesn't fly.

Also, check out the excellent fic "Treasure of Lei Fong Wu", in the Blue Sun Room. ScrewTheAlliance offers a good explanation for where the money came from, and why Mal was listed as a Captain in the BDM.

FIREFLYSHEILA

Sunday, November 20, 2005 5:07 AM

You think he'd accept that money?

GYPSYLIFE

Sunday, November 20, 2005 5:13 AM

I had always thought that it was just one really big "job" and thats how Mal got the idea for the kind of work they do. I'm wondering if he didn't steal the money to pay for her. I mean Mal's philosphy (I think) would be like it's money, just cause it wasn't mine to begin with doesn't make it any less the case. It's still good for spendin'. But I still think it was just one "job".