Serenity Valley.
Everyone was off in their own corners of the ship as Wash started to approach the atmosphere around 60 miles above the Serenity Valley memorial's principal landing docks. Mal almost hopes that at least some of them are heading off toward Milliways at the moment, but he knows not to hope for everybody to do so.
And every name’s a father or a husband or a son
Mal's turning over a silver chain endlessly between his fingers, reading the tags - Reynolds, M / 57th Overlanders / Shadow - for the millionth time as he lets his legs swing beneath him while sitting on the crosswalk between the two staircases at the back of the cargo bay. He feels Serenity beneath him descending at a mildly steeper angle now, and if Mal closes his eyes the feeling of vertigo rushing to his head almost knocks him backwards.
or a daughter or a brother or a cousin to someone
Mal can't sit still anymore, even though sitting while Wash lands the ship would have probably been advisable; he stands just as the engines rotate toward the ground beneath them, and almost trips down the stairs. He reaches the bottom of the staircase, both booted feet landing with a solid thud, and Mal makes a beeline toward the cargo bay door controls. Even with the sound of the air through the engines that Mal always pays attention to when the ship lands, his footsteps echo in the bay, sounding like thirty men all at once.
or a name might be a classmate or a friend you may recall
Serenity finally comes to rest at port, a minute before Wash calls an all-clear to lower the bay door. Mal doesn't hear this. He's too busy staring out the small porthole in the bulkhead.
there’s nearly sixty thousand fallen names / still waiting at The Wall
Malcolm Reynolds' ship Serenity is situated at the far end of the eastern port control, with a view toward the two-story sandblasted building and the valley itself beyond. He can't lay eyes on the graveyard yet and for a moment he considers this a small blessing. All he can seem to focus on this very second is the lip of the valley, almost a straight drop twenty meters or so beyond the memorial building itself.
And every name’s a father or a husband or a son
Mal's turning over a silver chain endlessly between his fingers, reading the tags - Reynolds, M / 57th Overlanders / Shadow - for the millionth time as he lets his legs swing beneath him while sitting on the crosswalk between the two staircases at the back of the cargo bay. He feels Serenity beneath him descending at a mildly steeper angle now, and if Mal closes his eyes the feeling of vertigo rushing to his head almost knocks him backwards.
or a daughter or a brother or a cousin to someone
Mal can't sit still anymore, even though sitting while Wash lands the ship would have probably been advisable; he stands just as the engines rotate toward the ground beneath them, and almost trips down the stairs. He reaches the bottom of the staircase, both booted feet landing with a solid thud, and Mal makes a beeline toward the cargo bay door controls. Even with the sound of the air through the engines that Mal always pays attention to when the ship lands, his footsteps echo in the bay, sounding like thirty men all at once.
or a name might be a classmate or a friend you may recall
Serenity finally comes to rest at port, a minute before Wash calls an all-clear to lower the bay door. Mal doesn't hear this. He's too busy staring out the small porthole in the bulkhead.
there’s nearly sixty thousand fallen names / still waiting at The Wall
Malcolm Reynolds' ship Serenity is situated at the far end of the eastern port control, with a view toward the two-story sandblasted building and the valley itself beyond. He can't lay eyes on the graveyard yet and for a moment he considers this a small blessing. All he can seem to focus on this very second is the lip of the valley, almost a straight drop twenty meters or so beyond the memorial building itself.