Ariel

The crew raids an Alliance hospital on the core world Ariel so Simon can get River scanned. Jayne tries to sell them out – and the men with blue gloves are already on their way.

Simon pitches the crew a job: on the wealthy core world of Ariel they will slip into an Alliance hospital posing as paramedics. The crew steals expensive drugs while Simon uses the equipment to finally give River a thorough scan.

The images show what the Alliance did to her: River’s brain was operated on again and again, and the amygdalae that filter emotions were stripped. She feels everything and cannot shield herself from it.

Jayne has secretly sold Simon and River out to the police, but then the men with blue gloves take over and kill the officers with a device that makes them bleed from the eyes and nose. The crew barely escapes. In the airlock Mal confronts Jayne and only lets him live when Jayne asks him not to tell the others what he did.

Written by Jose Molina. For the first time we see the Alliance’s wealthy core worlds – and learn more about what was done to River.