blog # 22

The sun is almost blinding as it gleams off the hard metal shell of the  Firefly, a ship that is primarily used for smuggling goods between planets.  Its many engines slow as the ship lightly lands on the hot, sandy earth.  One can almost see the heat waves radiating off the ground.  A whole crew jumps off the ship as soon as it lands, hoping they didn’t run into anyone looking for a fight.  Thankfully, they found no one and they can now do their job with ease.  The ship’s captain, Mal, scopes out the land and makes a plan.   As he tells the crew what the plan is, he recruits one of the crewman to help.  Zoe, a former warrior, looks like someone you don’t want to run into when she’s having a bad day.  The crew starts the plan.  Mal and Zoe walk off towards a small settlement just over the hill.  They are going to a train station and buy a ticket.  Once on the train, they find a seat and don’t make a fuss so as to not draw attention.  As soon as the train starts to move, they stand up inconspicuously and walk through the cabins, heading to the back of the train.  When they reach a certain cabin, they are unexpectedly met by an entire cabin filled with Alliance soldiers.  The Alliance is the big, juggernaut of a government who controls the main planets.  Mal and Zoe fought in a war of Independence a few years back against the Alliance and lost, but still remain faithful to the cause.  When they see the Alliance soldiers, it seems as if any normal person would call of the mission.  But Mal is different and chooses to continue.  When they get to the second-to-last cabin, Mal and Zoe throw a fogger and sneak into the last cabin, a storage cabin.  Once there, they open the ceiling and unexpectedly, the ship is waiting for them with a big, long hook protruding out of it.  They hook is lowered into the train and Mal and Zoe attach the goods to the hook and it seems like they can’t also go with the ship.  So they improvise and just let it go and sneak back into the passenger cabin so that they don’t get caught.  The soldiers sweep the cabin and realize something is gone.  Everyone on the train is questioned, including Zoe and Mal.  Obviously, they act cool under pressure and no one suspects a thing.  But as they get to talking to the mayor of the city, they learn that what they stole for a crime lord are medications that are much needed for the masses of sick people that they are surrounded by.  When Mal and Zoe get back to the ship, they decide to take back the goods, even if it meant angering Niska, the crime lord.  When Mal and Zoe are taking the goods back, they run into the mayor.  For a second, it is thought that the mayor isn’t going to forgive them for stealing the goods but then returning them.  But all is okay because they are forgiven.  In the end, Mal and Zoe return safely to their ship and all is forgiven by the mayor.  But the same can not be said about the crime lord.