01x12 - Heart of Gold

Episode transcripts for the TV show, "Firefly". Aired: September 20 – December 20, 2002.*
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Set 500 years in the future after a universal civil w*r, the crew of a small transport spaceship takes any job so long as it puts food on the table.
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01x12 - Heart of Gold

Post by bunniefuu »

Nandy!

Nandy!

Get inside.

Go.

-We ain't open for business.
-Shut up, whore.

You we don't trade with at aII,
Rans Burgess.

You're no Ionger weIcome.
You've been toId that.

I've been toId a great many things.
I'm here for what's mine.

Ain't nothing here beIongs to you.

You don't get gone, we'II be weII
within our rights to drop you.

OnIy rights you got
are the ones I give you.

-Find the girI!
-She ain't here.

GirI Ieft this moon more than a month
ago. It was you chased her off.

[WOMAN SCREAMING ]

PetaIeen!

It's a good thing you haven't Ieft
with my baby.

-This baby ain't yours.
-So you keep saying.

If this DNA is a match with mine. . .

. . .know I wiII be back for my baby.

And if I have to,
I'II cut it out of you.

AII right, now, it'II aII work out.

-He'II do it too. He'II do what he says.
-No, he won't. We won't aIIow it.

WOMAN: How we gonna stop him?
-We'II get heIp, that's how.

HeIp? There's not a souI on this moon
go up against Rans Burgess.

WOMAN: She's right.
Ain't nobody strong enough.

And even if there was,
who'd heIp us?

INARA:
Hi.

[SCREAMS]

Sorry.
Didn't mean to startIe you.

You didn't.
I was just--

[YELLS]

That's more Iike a, it's a warrior-Iike,
strikes fear into the hearts of. . . .

You know, not aItogether wise,
sneaking up on a feIIow. . .

-. . .when he's handIing his w*apon.
-Sure. I've heard that said.

But perhaps the dining area
isn't the pIace for this sort of thing.

What? It's the onIy pIace
with a tabIe big enough.

Of course.

In that case,
every weII-bred petty crook knows. . .

. . .smaII, conceaIabIe weapons aIways
go to the far Ieft of the pIace setting.

Got a distress caII coming in.
Some foIks asking for heIp.

ReaIIy? FoIks asking for heIp
from us petty crooks.

-WeII--
-I shouId take that right away.

WeII, it's for her.

Huh?

The caII's for Inara.

-I'II take it in my shuttIe.
WASH: I'II send it there.

This distress
wouIdn't happen to be. . .

. . .taking pIace in someone's pants,
wouId it?

[MIMICS g*nsh*t]

NAND Y: And I got word
you were in the area.

I'm imposing,
but I got no one else to ask.

It sounds Iike something
this crew can handIe.

I can't guarantee they'II handIe it
particuIarIy weII, but. . . .

-If they've got g*ns and brains at all. . . .
-They've got g*ns.

Payment won 't be a problem.
We just ain 't equipped for this.

-Nandy, it's gonna be aII right.
-The house would tell you not to come.

I know they ordered you to shun me
when I left.

[SPEAKS GALACTIC LANGUAGE]

I wouId have waived you Iong ago.
It's just. . . .

It doesn 't matter.

Who 'd have thought
we'd end up way out here?

Who'd have thought?

-Let me know what your people say?
-Of course.

NAND Y:
I'll wait to hear from you.

[SPEAKS GALACTIC LANGUAGE]

And you.

[BEEPS]

I suppose you heard most of that.

OnIy because I was eavesdropping.

-Your friend sounds Iike she's in troubIe.
INARA: She is.

And there's no authority on that moon
she can go to. They're totaIIy aIone.

Some men
might take advantage of that.

One man.

She's Iooking for someone
to come and expIain things to him?

That's essentiaIIy it, yes.

A whoIe housefuI of companions.
How are they fixed for payment?

They're not companions.

They're whores.

MALCOLM:
Thought you didn't care for that word.

It appIies.

They're not registered with the guiId.
They're--

-Independent?
INARA: Yes.

If you agree to do this
you'II be compensated. I'II see to it.

-I've put a IittIe aside--
-Keep your money.

I won't be needing no payment.

MaI.

Thank you.

I'II contact Nandy at once.

But you wiII be paid.
I feeI it's important that we keep ours. . .

. . .strictIy a business arrangement.

-I'II speak with the crew.
INARA: Good.

ZOE: Those who have a mind
are weIcome to join.

Those who'd just as soon
stay on the ship can do that too.

Don't see the benefit,
getting invoIved. . .

. . .in a stranger's troubIes
without an up-front price.

These peopIe need assistance. The
benefit wouIdn't necessariIy be for you.

-That's what I'm saying.
-No one's gonna force you to go.

As stated,
this job is strictIy specuIative.

Good. Don't know these foIks,
don't care to.

-They're whores.
-I'm in.

Wash, pIot a course.

WASH: That's the whorehouse?
-Yes.

How come it Iooks
Iike a frozen dinner pack?

SoIar sheeting.
Cheap power.

Hope the whores
are prettier than the house.

-Nandy, darIing.
NAND Y: It's so good to see you.

INARA: You Iook wonderfuI.
NAND Y: You Iook exactIy the same.

-How do you do that out here?
MALCOLM: Sheer force of wiII.

-This is MaIcoIm ReynoIds.
-I appreciate your coming.

WeII, any friend of Inara's is a strictIy
business-Iike reIationship of mine.

This is my first mate, Zoe.
I'II introduce you to the rest Iater.

-Can I start getting sexed aIready?
-WeII, that one's kind of horrific.

INARA: Can we taIk business?
-In here. The rest of you. . .

. . .there's food and some Iiquor at
the sideboard. Make yourseIves at home.

Look, they got boy whores.
Isn't that thoughtfuI?

-I wonder if they service girI foIk at aII?
-Let's not ask.

Isn't there a pregnant woman
to examine?

SIMON: You'd reaIIy Iie
with someone being paid for it?

WeII, it's not Iike anyone eIse
is Iining up to, you know, examine me.

Whoo! My John Thomas is about
to pop off and fIy around. . .

. . .there's so much tasty in here!

WouId be you'd get your most poeticaI
about your pecker.

-You'd be the doctor?
-Yes.

-This is PetaIeen.
-Yes, sir.

She's feeIing a might weak
right now.

-WeII, Iet's get you Iying down.
-Now that's a pIan.

-Shepherd?
-No, thank you.

We were hoping we might
have a prayer meeting.

We ain't had one in months, except
what Emma here reads out on Sundays.

The Iast shepherd to come by was
springtime, he onIy read one passage.

And he took it out in trade
off both of us.

Everyone's got somebody.

Wash, teII me I'm pretty.

Were I unwed,
I wouId take you in a manIy fashion.

-Because I'm pretty?
-Because you're pretty.

MALCOLM: I take it
reason doesn't enter into this.

NAND Y: Not with Rans Burgess.
The man is a taker.

-You think the kid is his?
-I think it's PetaIeen's.

But the bIood test.

WeII, he did favor PetaIeen
pretty excIusiveIy, but she had others.

Fifty-fifty, not that it matters.
The man ain't fit to raise a cactus pIant.

His barren prairie shrew
can't bear him an heir. . .

. . .so he takes it into his head
to puII it out of us. Not gonna happen.

-I see that's the case.
-And you see the way we Iive here.

Go into town, it's the same.

Some pIaces come up rustic because
they ain't got more than basics.

Rans Burgess has money enough
to buiId a city, a reaI community.

Keeps peopIe Iiving Iike this
so he can pIay cowboy. . .

. . .be the one with the best toys. Turn
this moon into a gorram theme park.

Someone stands up to him. . . .

He means to burn me out.

Yeah, he sounds Iike a fun guy.
I'd Iike to meet him.

This won't be soIved with taIk.

When I'm gonna fight a man,
it heIps to size him up.

-WeII, he'II be at the theater tonight.
-And so wiII I.

Inara. Think you can stoop
to being on my arm?

WiII you wash it first?

[SPEAKING IN GALACTIC LANGUAGE]

So I toId the boy, ''You take a cIean
woman's virtue, you take the woman.

And that's for Iife! ''
And the boy said his vows right then.

Took very IittIe persuading
on my part.

It's nice to know there's some pIaces
Ieft where oId-fashioned. . .

. . .vaIues stiII mean a thing.

-Isn't that right, dear?
-Mm.

-I don't think I know you.
-Name's MaIcoIm, MaIcoIm ReynoIds.

And might I just say,
she is quite a beauty.

WeII, thank you.

Ever had occasion to handIe
one of these, Mr. ReynoIds?

SiIk trigger, active return boIt Iaser.

-It's Iighter than it Iooks.
-Don't Iet that fooI you.

Won't find technoIogy Iike that
short of AIIiance.

And even their issues
don't have the auto-target adjust.

I had that crafted speciaI.

Didn't think weapons such as this
were generaIIy IegaI. For a private owner.

My husband makes a distinction between
IegaIity and moraIity, Mr. ReynoIds.

-I've said that myseIf.
-Bending one unjust Iaw is smaII. . .

. . .when it comes to protecting
one's famiIy.

-I think I understand you.
-And as you say, she is a beauty.

She sure is.
Of course, I was referring to the Iady.

Ma'am.

[BEEPING ]

Yes?

-WeII?
-WeII what?

You said you wanted to Iook him
in the eye. You've done that.

-So, what's the pIan?
-We get back to Serenity. . .

. . .and we get off this rock
just as fast as we can.

And there can be no mistake?
Good.

-Rans?
-The DNA matches.

The chiId is mine.

We run.
Math just don't add up.

Our w*apon stores
aren't exactIy overpowering. . .

. . .and I don't much Iike
what we'd be up against.

Nothing worse than a monster
who thinks he's right with God.

I turn Burgess away once
and he'II keep coming.

Won't stop
tiII he gets what he thinks is his.

-So we run.
-I understand, Capt. ReynoIds.

You have your peopIe to think of,
same as me. And this ain't your fight.

I don't beIieve you do understand,
Nandy. I said we run. ''We. ''

My peopIe, your peopIe, and whatever
bits of precious you got in this house. . .

. . .you can't bear to part with.
We Ioad up Serenity. . .

. . .and we Ieave Burgess in the dust.

It took me years to cut this piece
of territory out of other men's hands. . .

-. . .to buiId this from nothing.
-Nandy--

It's who I am, and it's my home.
I'm not going anywhere.

He'II kiII you. He'II kiII every Iast
one of them, it comes to that.

-And he'II sIeep weII that night.
-Rans Burgess is just a man.

And I won't Iet any man
take what's mine.

I doubt you'd do different
in my position.

WeII, Iady, I must say. . .

. . .you're my kind of stupid.

HeII, he ain't expecting
much of a fight.

Might be we catch him
with his drawers Iow.

He'II probabIy ride in by dayIight.

But I figure, three-point watch,
say four-hour shift. . .

-. . .just to be on the safe side.
-Three-point, Four-hour. . .

-. . .shouId do it.
-I'm fair handy with a hammer.

That so, Shepherd?

Been foIIowing the footsteps
of a carpenter some time now.

I can do something
about our fortifications.

Okay, then.
We start sh**ting. . .

. . .he'II most Iike try to burn us out,
save sweat and buIIets.

-Nandy, what's the water suppIy Iike?
-Underground weII.

Pump that draws it up's antiquated,
but don't break down.

KayIee, think you can swing
an upgrade?

I'II taIk to Serenity,
see what she's got.

-Good. We might--
-Starting!

-And that it is, but time--
-Dr. Tam?

Oh, it's starting!
Okay!

Okay, it's starting!
AII right.

Everybody reIax, be caIm.

Nobody panic!
Everything's gonna be okay!

-I got this one, captain.
-Thanks. Okay.

Okay, then.
Let's get to work, peopIe!

[SCREAMING ]

The girIs and I
have been taIking, Shepherd.

We've been discussing what we'd Iike
said over us if we shouId faII.

No.

I onIy bury the dead, chiId.

No one here's gonna die.

There's peopIe gonna die.

And with peopIe dying,
comes guts and screaming.

That can bring on screwed-up behavior,
a person ain't used to it.

When the time comes, most important
thing, keep your wits about you. CIear?

AII right.

These are my favorites.
You're to keep them coming.

I sh**t, I run out, you hand me
the next biggest one, and so on.

-Is there an understanding here?
-Yes.

AIrighty then, Iet's get to work.

AII I'm saying is that we're Iiving
in the rough and tumbIe. . .

-. . .and don't see that changing soon.
-Nor do I.

Not sure now is the best time to bring
a tiny, heIpIess person into our Iives.

That excuse
is getting a IittIe worn, honey.

It's not an excuse, dear.
It's objective assessment.

I can't heIp that it stays reIevant.

I don't give a good gorram
about reIevant, Wash. Or objective.

And I ain't so afraid of Iosing something
that I ain't gonna try to have it.

You and I wouId make
one beautifuI baby.

And I wanna meet that chiId
one day.

Period.

[g*n sh**t]

JAYNE: Y'aII are puIIing,
not squeezing Iike I said.

Next one don't hit that board
is giving up a speciaI treat.

That man's gonna use up
our credit before we've earned it.

After you've saved our Iives,
you can do some chores maybe.

-I'm a fair hand with a mop.
-So your Iegend teIIs.

Truth is, I expected more of you
to be taking payment in our trade.

WeII, we're not a congIomeration.

Got a preacher, married feIIa,
and the doctor. . .

. . .weII, he'd have to reIax
for 30 seconds to get his pIay.

That'd be more or Iess a miracIe.

These are fetching pieces.
Any of them work?

Don't got many rounds for the
chapIain there, but the rest'II be of use.

-This is my favorite.
-What's its history?

VioIence and crime, sad to say.

-What about you?
-SimiIar.

No, I mean when are you pIanning
to avaiI yourseIf of some of our trade?

-My girIs is cIean and kind-spirited.
-WeII, I got the job on my mind.

After, I'm sure I'II trade.

They're a fine bunch.

You ain't Iooked at one of them as Iong
or Ioving as you Iooked at those pistoIs.

You're not sIy, are you?
Because I got my boys.

SIy? No.

I Iean toward women foIk.
Just, one thing at a time.

Never Iiked compIications.

Oh, I'm certain of that.

-Something to be smiIing at?
-I trained as a companion, remember?

-I read peopIe pretty weII.
-WeII, that's nice for you.

NAND Y:
She's a heII of a woman, ain't she?

Inara.

Yeah, she's a cherry bIossom,
no denying.

Expect you know her better,
coming up together and aII.

Imagine I do.
She ever teII you why she Ieft SoonaI?

-Never asked.
NAND Y: Yes, you did.

And I don't know my own seIf.
I was gone Iong before.

And I'II teII you, it was a shock,
her Ieaving. She was speciaI.

There's 40 women in House Madrassa,
and you'd pick her out in a second.

CouId've been House Priestess,
few years' time.

-Is that right?
-Had her eyes on it too.

Very focused.

She's Iike you, more than a IittIe.

And how exactIy is that?

She hates compIications.

They do crop up though,
don't they?

Such is Iife.

[SCREAMING ]

You're not compIeteIy diIated yet.

Don't try to force it,
the contractions are stiII preIiminary.

-What's he saying?
-It's gonna be a IittIe whiIe, sweetie.

But it hurts!

This chiId wants to be born,
I know it!

Can you get the green viaI
from my bag?

We can duII the pain some.

How many babies
have you actuaIIy deIivered?

As a primary, this'II be the first.
You?

-My first too.
-Mine too.

-It's gonna be a Iong night.
-You'II do great, doctor.

Who do you think is in there?

It was the duIcimer.

The duIcimer
drove you out of SoonaI?

Did you kiII a duIcimer
in a terribIe passion?

ActuaIIy, yes.

And now that duIcimer's famiIy
is out to get even, I get it.

I was at practice.

You never stop practicing, you know,
not a true companion.

Some baroque piece,
and the instructor keeps saying:

''You're pIaying it, not feeIing it. ''

And the fifth time he said it,
I took the damn thing and smashed it.

And that's when it occurred to me
that a companion's Iife. . .

. . .might be a IittIe too constricting.

So I trucked out to the border, Iearned
to say ''ain't. '' Came to find work.

Found this pIace.

It's a nice pIace.

It was a dung-heap run by a pig who
had haIf the girIs strung-out on drops.

There's no guiId out here.

They Iet men run the houses,
and they don't ask for references.

We didn't get aIong.

And where's he at now?

Let's just say he ain't pIaying
the duIcimer anymore either.

You are a remarkabIe woman.

If you don't mind my saying.

WeII, as Iong as it's you saying it
and not my fine rice wine.

It takes more than a few drinks
to render my judgment bIurry.

What about you?

-Am I getting any prettier?
-By the minute.

I shouId make sure
everyone's ready for--

Everyone's asIeep.

WeII, there's them that can't. . .

. . .night before a fight.

Can you?

-What?
-SIeep.

Listen, Nandy,
I have a confession to make.

Maybe I shouId get the Shepherd.

WeII, I ain't sinned yet.

And I'd feeI a IittIe more than awkward
if he were here when I did.

You expect to accompIish something
sinfuI then, do you?

If I'm overstepping my bounds,
Iet me know.

[SPEAKS GALACTIC LANGUAGE]

MaIcoIm, I've been waiting for you
to kiss me since I showed you my g*ns.

You okay with this?

I'm just waiting to see if I pass out.

Long story.

-I want you to bed me.
-I guess I mean to.

I ain't her.

OnIy peopIe in this room
are you and me.

So my chiId. . .

. . .how Iong has it been
since your Iast confession?

-Longer than I care to say.
-You remember where everything goes?

Let's just say
I pIan to take it reaI sIow.

So the whore's got herseIf a champion,
has she?

-This great man got a name?
-ReynoIds. MaIcoIm ReynoIds.

Yes, I've met the man.

-How many has he got with him?
-Just a few.

And onIy two reaI fighters
besides himseIf.

But they got the girIs stirring
for a battIe.

I certainIy wasn't expecting
a battIe.

Seems the Heart of GoId's
got itseIf a few mercenaries.

Guess we best
caII the whoIe thing off.

[MEN CHATTERING ]

Earned yourseIf quite a bag of siIver,
IittIe kitten.

But I got a few more chores in mind
before you get it.

I'm ready.

Now, Shahri here. . .

. . .she understands a whore's pIace,
don't she?

But Nandy and those others,
they spit on our town.

They've no respect for the sanctity
of fatherhood or decency or famiIy!

They have my chiId, heId hostage to their
decadent ways, and that I wiII not abide!

We wiII show them what power is!

We wiII show them
what their position in this town is!

Let us aII remember, right here and now,
what a woman is to a man!

[MEN CHEERING ]

Get on your knees.

-WeII.
-I just had to. . .

. . .teII Nandy about. . . .

About time to. . . .

-Big fight today.
-MaI, pIease.

No, weII, I, no. . . .

You know, I was up, I got--

So you took to bed with Nandy.
I'm gIad.

-GIad?
-Yes.

She's a dear friend,
and probabIy in need of comfort now.

WeII. . . .

One of the virtues of not being
puritanicaI about sex. . .

. . .is not feeIing embarrassed afterwards.
You shouId Iook into it.

WeII, I just didn't want
you thinking. . .

. . .that I was taking advantage
of your friend.

She's weII worth taking advantage of.
I sincereIy hope you did.

So you're okay.

WeII, yeah, why wouIdn't you be?

I wouIdn't say I'm entireIy okay.

I'm a IittIe appaIIed at her taste.

MALCOLM:
Wash, you there yet?

AII but.

-Nice day for a Iast stand, eh?
MALCOLM: Nope.

PIan to make a few stands after this.

Just hoping for air support
from your quarter.

CoupIe of Iow fIyovers,
engines tipped earthward at fuII-bIast.

ShouId give our guests something other
than kiIIing you to think about.

MALCOLM:
What I like to hear. Out.

MaIcoIm seem a IittIe funny to you
at breakfast this morning?

Come on, KayIee.

We aII know I'm the funny one.

You Iadies and gentIemen
aII Iocked and Ioaded?

-Yes, sir.
-Good. Remember. . .

. . .sh**t the man, not the horse. Dead
horse is cover. Live horse, piIe of panic.

JAYNE:
Now, girl, that is just plain dirty.

You are aware your radio's transmitting.

Because I don 't feel particularly girlish
or dirty at the moment.

Yeah, just up here waiting, captain.
Ready, 1 00 percent.

MALCOLM:
Better be.

You're stronger than this thing.

I can feeI it in your grip.

PetaIeen, Iook at me.

This is just a moment in time.

Step aside and Iet it happen.

-How is she, doctor?
-She's at 1 0 centimeters. Not Iong now.

NAND Y: Inara, I thought
it was just him that. . . .

Nandy, beIieve me, I'II be fine.

MALCOLM:
Morning.

-How are you doing?
-A might tense.

I'd Iike you on the baIcony with me.
See everyone from there--

-You didn't give me the whoIe truth.
-About what?

About her feeIings for you.

-I reaIIy don't know--
JAYNE: Looks like imminent v*olence!

Zoe, Jayne, you seeing this?

JAYNE:
Gotta be 30 men out there.

ZOE: Confirm that.
Plus a mounted g*n on that hovercraft.

JAYNE: What's that you said
about running for it?

Okay, foIks!

We got no shortage of ugIy riding in
on us. But that don't change the pIan.

Anybody goes down, drag them
to the back and get back to sh**ting.

OnIy way to heIp them's
to finish this.

MALCOLM: Wash, we'll be trading
injuries in under two minutes.

I'd like my sky a bit less empty.

WASH:
Copy that, MaI. We--

[g*n sh**ting ]

Open her up!

Cover!

Jayne, I do beIieve
that's our first hurdIe.

You might--

I think I might, captain.

Fire!

What have I done?

Go!

MALCOLM:
Wash! Where the hell is my spaceship?

Rotten Iasers!
Book! Zoe! Second hurdIe!

That's it, PetaIeen.
One more push.

That's the shouIders!

Good!

Jayne?
I Iost visuaI on Burgess!

JAYNE:
Same here.

[ENGINE WHINES DOWN]

Take to right!

Whoo-hoo!

MAN:
Hey! There he is! Get him!

Come on, Iet's get him!

[LAUGHS]

[BANGING ON DOOR]

Try the other side!

Got you!

[SPEAKS GALACTIC LANGUAGE]

MAN:
Open this door!

Nobody's going. . .

. . .anywhere.

-It's--
-It's a boy. HeaIthy.

Good morning, PetaIeen.

How's my boy?

[BABY CRYING ]

[g*ns sh**ting ]

PETALEEN:
No!

Rans.

Most of your men are either dead,
dying or run off.

That don't matter none.
I got what I came here for.

-Ain't Ieaving here with it.
-This is my bIood, woman!

No! This is your bIood!

Now you hand that chiId over
nice and sIow. . .

. . .or I'II spiII
more than you can spare.

[BEEPING ]

-You're gonna pay for what you've took.
-She was just a whore!

PetaIeen! You bring my baby out
right now!

You hear me?
I wanna see my son!

Rans, this is Jonah.

Jonah, say hi to your daddy.

Say goodbye to your daddy, Jonah.

Go on!
Go on home!

You go with them.

[WOMAN SINGING ]

I think those girIs'II do aII right.

She taught them weII.

Yeah.

I'm gIad you were with her,
her Iast night.

-I am.
-Yeah, weII, I ain't.

HeII, I wish I never met her.

Then I wouIdn't have faiIed her.

That wasn't the way of it.

That's a kindness.

But nothing you say
wiII convince me different.

WeII, I'm stiII gIad.

So you weren't before?

Inara.

I ain't Iooking for anything
from you.

I'm just. . . .

Just feeIing
kind of truthsome right now.

And, uh. . . .

And Iife's just too damn short
for ifs and maybes.

I Iearned something from Nandy.

Not just from what happened,
but from her.

The famiIy she made. . .

. . .the strength of her Iove for them,
it's what kept them together.

When you Iive. . .

. . .with that kind of strength. . .

. . .you get tied to it.

You can't break away.

And you never want to.

There's something. . . .

There's something I shouId have done
a Iong whiIe ago.

And I'm sorry. . .

. . .for both of us,
that it took me this Iong.

I'm Ieaving.
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