Where did Mal get the money for Serenity?

POSTED BY: ncbrowncoat
UPDATED: Monday, June 14, 2010 14:40
VIEWED: 12464
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NCBROWNCOAT

Tuesday, February 19, 2008 5:51 PM

This question came out of the Destruction of Shadow thread (thanks guys, I got more info and opinions that I thought I would!).

I have a theory but because I have to go back to work, I'll post it this evening.

Have a good time!

http://fireflyfaninnc.livejournal.com/

FARFLY

Tuesday, February 19, 2008 6:35 PM

I suspect that buying a used Firefly isn't any more difficult than my buying a brand new 66 Chevelle 396SS when I was out of work. Car (or space ship) salesmen only care about the sales commission, not whether you can afford it.

Or maybe Mal was just a great Amway salesman?

NCBROWNCOAT

Wednesday, February 20, 2008 1:05 AM

Well, you have to pay something down at least, even if you finance it. And of course the salesman would take his commission.

I say no to the financing. Mal is a Browncoat, and not too friendly with the Alliance, much less Alliance bankers. I don't think any banker would lend him the money unless he had a substantial down payment and the proven ability to make the payments.

I work at a community bank and especially now your credit has to be sterling and your credit report blemish free. For a commercial loan the requirements are more rigorous, or you need a cosigner with assets. The only person who could cosign would likely be Monty.

Others have mentioned that Mal and Zoe could have worked as cargo hands, mercenaries etc. They could have even worked for Monty as he seems to have much more experience in hauling.

I don't think so. It would take years for Mal to gather up enough money to even buy a clunker like Serenity. Then he'd have to fix it up.

Others have suggested that maybe they had a rich job or Mal got some sort of back pay or settlement for the destruction of the ranch at the end of the war. I don't think so. He wouldn't touch money gained that way.

My best theory is that Mal got the money from his Ma in a roundabout way. I think I'm giving away a future fic here but here goes.

Mal's Ma is a very astute businesswoman. To run a ranch with more than a dozen hands suggests that the Reynolds ranch was of some size. With a ranch comes a bank account. At least one and maybe more than one.

Cattle would be sold, supplies bought,and salaries for the hands paid and the credits had to go somewhere. Having that amount of cash on hand would be tempting even for the most honest hand.

So the ranch had a bank account, most likely frozen at the beginning of hostilities. At the end of the war, the account was unfrozen, with of course a fee taken by the bankers or they wouldn't be bankers.

It was just enough for Mal to start looking for a space ship to take him to the Black and think about refitting it and hiring a mechanic and apilot. It likely took every credit Mal had, hence the need to find work as soon as Serenity was space worthy.

We don't have canon on this so lots of ways to buy Serenity are viable. What do you think?

http://fireflyfaninnc.livejournal.com/

NBZ

Wednesday, February 20, 2008 1:15 AM

I would go for "he stole it". No, not the ship - the money.

MOLOTOV

Wednesday, February 20, 2008 1:53 AM

I find it much more easy to believe that after the war, Mal put all his chips in for one big desperate job, in hopes it would secure him a way to stay apart from the alliance for the rest of his life.
I'm also fairly certain Mal would have paid cash, as having a bank account is a great way for the alliance to get a trace on any former independents, especially since he didn't change his name after the war.

GROOSALUGG

Wednesday, February 20, 2008 4:27 AM

Well, since this is in the "Angel" forum, I'm gonna theorize that the Ariel branch of Wolfram & Hart gave him the money...

NCBROWNCOAT

Wednesday, February 20, 2008 7:41 PM

I don't know how that happened...maybe terrifin' space monkeys?

http://fireflyfaninnc.livejournal.com/

AURAPTOR

Sunday, June 13, 2010 12:56 PM

Could be any number of ways.

He might have been in on some not so petty thieving , during the war, though the pre-Serenity Valley Mal doesn't fit the bill. All of honor and what not, as Tracy put it.

Could be there was some ( and I shudder to think ) Alliance " Marshall " type plan, where $$ is given to enterprising ex Browncoats to help get them back on their feet and join the economy as a part of the productive work force.

That, or he could have gotten some $$ from his farm, back on Shadow. ( Not real up on the status of his family, who's still alive, if they still have the farm, etc.. )

" Being correct does not excuse a violation of form " - Ducky, NCIS.

" ...the whole point of swearing is that it ain't appropriate. " - Kaylee

ZZETTA13

Sunday, June 13, 2010 2:10 PM

It is my understanding that he stored a sumable amount of wealth pulling the gold teeth fillings out of the mouths of dead Alliance soldiers ( just jokin)

Since I’m not up to par with many of the FF fans here, just a guess would be that maybe his family was forced to sell off a portion of their ranch after the war, or maybe Mal had stores of hidden currency place on other planets ( like Jesse James had after the Civil War).

Also, like was said in OMR, that the parts themselves were worth more than the sum of the little transport . How much could that broken down, unspaceworthy , heap of flying metal be worth at that time?

Good thread!

Z

NCBROWNCOAT

Sunday, June 13, 2010 2:33 PM

If you all remember, Mal's home planet is now uninhabitable and everyone on it killed thanks to the Alliance so I don't think the farm was sold to any one.

I still hold to my original theory that Ma Reynolds had a bank account some where that was unfrozen. And I still have to write the fic.

http://fireflyfaninnc.livejournal.com/

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