application ;; ataraxion

[bribed]

P L A Y E R I N F O R M A T I O N
Your Name: Gadgets
OOC Journal: gadgetsandgears
Under 18? If yes, what is your age?: --
Email + IM: felidae.tigris@gmail.com | gadgetsandgears
Characters Played at Ataraxion: Jaye, John “Reaper” Grimm, Carolyn Fry



C H A R A C T E R I N F O R M A T I O N
Name: Jayne Cobb
Canon: Firefly / Serenity
Original or Alternate Universe: Original
Canon Point: Between the end of Firefly and the beginning of Serenity.
Number: Random!

Setting:

"After the Earth was used up, we found a new solar system and hundreds of new Earths were terraformed and colonized. The central planets formed the Alliance and decided all the planets had to join under their rule. There was some disagreement on that point. After the War, many of the Independents who had fought and lost drifted to the edges of the system, far from Alliance control. Out here, people struggled to get by with the most basic technologies; a ship would bring you work, a gun would help you keep it. A captain's goal was simple: find a crew, find a job, keep flying." - Shepherd Derrial Book, opening narration

"Here's how it is: (The) Earth got used up, so we (moved out, and) terraformed a whole new galaxy of Earths, some rich and flush with new technologies, some not so much. (The) Central Planets, them as formed the Alliance, waged war to bring everyone under their rule; a few idiots tried to fight it, among them myself. I'm Malcolm Reynolds, captain of Serenity. She's a transport ship, Firefly class. Got a good crew: fighters, pilot, mechanic. We even picked up a preacher for some reason, and a bona fide companion. There's a doctor, too, took his genius sister from some Alliance camp, so they're keeping a low profile, (you understand). You got a job, we can do it, don't much care what it is." - Captain Malcolm Reynolds, opening narration

History:

ＰＲＥ－ＦＩＲＥＦＬＹ
Not much is known about Jayne’s life before he joined the crew of Serenity. We know that he has a mother named Radiant and a sibling named Mattie who has a condition called “damplung”. We know that he has been a mercenary for some time, that he didn’t go to school (or at least didn’t stay in it), that he sends money from his jobs back home to his mother and once had six assassins after him. We also know that he didn’t fight in the Unification War on either side, Alliance or Independent. What we do know is that he joined the crew of Serenity while working for someone else, having used his exceptional skills to track down Mal and Zoë. Upon cornering the pair, Mal used some quick talking to persuade Jayne to join the crew; he was only being paid 7% and had to share a room before. Upon shooting one of the men he was with in the leg, Jayne goes with them.

１: ＳＥＲＥＮＩＴＹ
An unspecified amount of time in the future, Jayne helps the crew pull some cargo off a derelict ship and heads with them to Persephone. The man who hired them, Badger, goes back on their deal. Jayne nearly shoots him, but Badger has plenty of men and Jayne’s outnumbered. He does, however, call him a “puddle of piss” and proceeds to bitch about how he feels Mal is running away and how they aren’t getting paid. The crew takes on passengers on Persephone; the clumsy Lawrence Dobson, Shepherd Book, and Dr. Simon Tam. They then proceed to ship off in an attempt to sell their goods to a woman called Patience on Whitefall, who had once shot Mal, telling the passengers that they were ordered to drop off medical supplies by the Alliance. At dinner, Jayne is forced to leave the table after saying Kaylee wishes Simon were a gynecologist and upsetting her, snarling that Mal doesn’t pay him to “talk pretty”. Soon after, however, Wash discovers someone sending the Alliance a message. He’s able to stop it, but they don’t know how much has gone through. Mal suspects Simon is the mole -- but upon confronting him, Dobson arrives. He’s the Alliance mole, and he’s here to arrest Simon, not Mal or the crew. However, he accidentally shoots Kaylee in the stomach before Book, of all people, takes him out. Simon threatens not to operate unless the ship runs from the Alliance, who have ordered them to dock -- and they run. While Simon operates on Kaylee, Jayne can be seen watching from outside the infirmary window, worried. However, Mal returns to the cargo bay to see just what the Alliance wants Simon for, opening the large crate that he’s brought with him on the ship and revealing a young woman who was in cryogenic sleep: Simon’s sister, River.

Simon explains the reason he and his sister are fugitives: River had been in some sort of an Alliance school where she was experimented on. Simon left his job and spent his money to help her. Mal decides that they can drop the siblings off on Whitefall, and goes to take care of Dobson -- or rather, he tells Jayne to take care of Dobson. He says that Jayne only has to scare him, to which Jayne replies “Pain is scary”. He goes in to interrogate the man, finding out that his name is Lawrence... and discovering that the Alliance doesn’t know anything about the crew. He’s visibly disappointed by how easily Lawrence folded and how badly he lied about the Alliance knowing anything. However, Dobson tries to bribe him, and the screen cuts before we discover how Jayne responds. Soon after, a Reaver ship and Serenity cross paths; they don’t run, because if they run, the Reavers have to give chase. Still, nothing happens and they’re able to land on Whitefall. Jayne buries the goods and then takes up a sniper position by knocking out Patience’s men, and after a firefight, the crew is paid. Jayne rejoins them, only to reveal that Wash contacted him: the Reavers followed. Back on the ship, Dobson has escaped and knocked out Book, is holding River with a gun to her head, and Simon has a gun pointed at Dobson... badly. Luckily, Mal, Zoë, and Jayne get back to the ship, Mal shoots Dobson (he and Jayne throw the body off), and after Jayne carries Kaylee to the engine room and helps her, Serenity outmaneuvers the Reavers. Mal later asks Jayne if Dobson tried to make a deal with him, and Jayne says yes, but upon being asked why he didn’t turn on Mal, says the money wasn’t good enough. Mal asks what will happen the day the money is good enough, and Jayne simply replies that it’ll be an interesting day. After Jayne leaves, Simon is invited to stay on the crew as a medic.

２: ＴＨＥ ＴＲＡＩＮ ＪＯＢ
The crew has been hired by a man named Niska to still cargo from a train. Niska has a harsh, cruel reputation -- which is confirmed when he shows them a man, his wife’s nephew, dead in a room behind his desk. Still, they take the job. Mal and Zoë board the train, while Jayne is dropped down on top of it from Serenity to take the cargo. This succeeds, but an Alliance patrol officer interrupts them. Jayne is shot in the leg before being pulled back to the ship and Mal and Zoë are left behind. They eventually end up discovering that the cargo is medicine for the townsfolk. However, on the ship, Jayne is insisting that they leave them behind and go to meet Niska’s men as Simon tries to treat his injury. Book points out that Niska may react poorly if he finds out that Mal has been captured and that it’s better to wait. Jayne is quiet for a while, but eventually heads to the bridge and tries to order everyone to leave... only to start speaking nonsense and fall unconscious, as Simon has drugged him. Inara fetches Mal and Zoë, and Mal informs everyone that they’ll be returning the cargo and giving Niska his money back. Niska’s men show up, however, and demand a fight -- Jayne, who was carried part of the way down the stairs to the infirmary but was left behind because he was too heavy, manages to shoot one. The cargo is returned and one of Niska’s less thuggish men agrees to bring the money back to him.

３: ＢＵＳＨＷＨＡＣＫＥＤ
“Bushwhacked” is the second ‘incident’ with Reapers in Firefly. The crew is all playing a game together when a proximity alert comes up and a body slams into the ship. There’s an abandoned ship floating in the black, and while at first Jayne wants to move on, his tune changes when Mal points out that if there aren’t survivors, there could be valuables left behind. The go to explore the ship, Jayne helping out Simon’s slight fear of space before he heads over with Mal -- and then tricking him onto the ship, which has been completely abandoned, seemingly in the middle of dinner. There are no clues until River points out the bodies hanging upside-down in the cargo hold. Jayne is in the kitchen of the ship and is attacked from behind, shooting blindly; the others come rushing to find him, and follow the trail of blood to find a survivor, babbling nonsense, in a vent. They take him to the ship and examine him, and Mal informs everyone that the ship was attacked by Reavers. Most of the crew returns to the ship (though Jayne protests, not wanting to go anywhere near bodies that Reavers messed with) to unload the cargo and give the bodies a funeral of sorts. Wash and Kaylee stay behind to disable a Reaver booby trap, with Mal not telling the others about it, even when they return. Before they can continue on too far with their journey, they’re intercepted by an Alliance cruiser. Simon and River hide outside the ship in spacesuits, while the rest of the crew puts the cargo out and stands in the hold to meet them. They’re taken into custody for questioning, though Jayne just sits there with his arms crossed, drumming his fingers against his arm. The Alliance Commander intends to detain them all, as the survivor has split his own tongue -- he thinks that they’ve tortured him. The reality is that the man is becoming like a Reaver, driven insane because they made him watch what they did to the others on the ship. The new Reaver proceeds to kill the medics attending to him, however, and flees back to the ship. Mal convinces the Alliance Commander to go back over to Serenity with him to stop the Reaver, and they’re allowed to go on their way afterward -- though the Alliance keeps the cargo.

４: ＳＨＩＮＤＩＧ
The crew lands on Persephone, where it appears that the party of the season is happening. Kaylee admires a dress in the window, and when Mal upsets her, Jayne has to ask if she’s mad. The two of them are then approached by Badger, who has a job for them: there’s a man who wants to smuggle some property off-world to sell it, but he won’t deal with Badger directly. Mal, however, might have a better chance. (The pair also laugh at a comment by Badger that makes it sound like he’s had his hands on testicles.) While at the party, Mal punches the man Inara is with and ends up having a duel scheduled for the next morning. Badger shows up to make sure the crew can’t rescue him, though all of them -- including Jayne, who is the one who comes up with the idea for a distraction of some sort -- get together to try and work on a plan to get away from Badger and his men to find Mal. They don’t manage to get it together until Mal comes back with Inara: wounded, but alive, and with the smuggling contract -- which means a herd of cows.

５: ＳＡＦＥ
Unloading the beef cows on Jiangyin goes well once Mal has sent Simon and River off, even if Jaye likes to smack the cows instead of leading them. However, the buyers are wanted by local law enforcement, and Book gets shot. At the same time, Simon and River are kidnapped. Mal has to leave them behind to get Book medical attention at an Alliance cruiser, something Jayne celebrates, as he thinks this means Simon and River are out of their hair. He even goes through Simon’s things, wearing his stethoscope, taking his money, and pulling out a book and pretending it’s the man’s diary. Book is only helped after the Alliance officials see his identification card, and they go onto the ship. Jayne remarks that it “gives [him] an uncomfortableness”. When they’re done, he points out that life would be simpler without fugitives living on board -- Mal goes back to get them anyway. It turns out that they’re just in time, as the people who kidnapped them are ready to burn River because they think she’s a witch, and Simon is ready to burn with her. Jayne gets to hang out of the ship again, and Mal says that he didn’t want to come anyway and therefore instead of God’s will, the people should be worried about Jayne’s will, as “he’s looking to kill some folk”. Back on the ship, Jayne hastily returns Simon’s things, encountering him in the hall and awkwardly saying welcome back before moving on his way.

６: ＯＵＲ ＭＲＳ． ＲＥＹＮＯＬＤＳ
The episode begins with a covered wagon moving through some water, only to be stopped by men on horseback, who apparently want to rob it. The driver lifts his head and is revealed to be Jayne, while the woman next to him is... Mal in a dress and a bonnet. They bicker with each other as a married couple would before turning their guns on the men, who decide to attack, only to be caught off-guard by Zoë, who was in the back of the wagon. The entire crew then celebrates with the town that night, with Mal and Jayne drinking together. Jayne is given a rain stick, something that nearly moves him to tears at the time. Mal dances with a girl who had given him a flower crown and something to drink. The next day, after the ship leaves, they find the girl on board -- apparently the crown, wine, and dance were a marriage ceremony, and the girl (Saffron) is now Mal’s wife. Jayne wastes no time in staring down her dress at her breasts, though when she starts crying at Mal, attempts to comfort her by lightly rubbing her shoulder with his knuckles. He also attempts to trade his favorite gun, Vera, for her with Mal. Luckily Mal’s a better man than that, as Saffron hijacks the ship after dosing Mal with narcotics spread on her lip and kicking Wash in the head, taking a shuttle and leaving the ship so that it’s heading in the direction of an electric net. Jayne shoots out one of the circuits with Vera when they’re close enough, disabling it, and also the nearby window that Saffron’s partners are behind, killing them. Mal then tracks down Saffron, knocks her out, and gets the shuttle back.

７: ＪＡＹＮＥＳＴＯＷＮ
The crew is going to set down in Canton, on Higgins’ Moon. Jayne nearly destroys the infirmary to find some tape, in order to smuggle a gun in, as they aren’t allowed there. Mal doesn’t let him, even after Jayne explains that he may have some enemies there. (He also whimpers when he rips the tape off his skin.) On Canton, Jayne wears all sorts of layers, goggles, a hat -- anything that can help disguise who he is. He’s nervous as Simon attempts to pose as a buyer, saying that he’ll get them all killed; Jayne wants off the moon. Just as Wash says no one will remember Jayne, they find a ceramic statue of him, name and all. Jayne has no idea why there’s a statue of him here, and explains that he did a job and stole from the magistrate up on the hill, but that the job went south and he had to run. He tries to get everyone to move away from the statue, becoming increasingly more twitchy. The crew heads to a bar in the worker’s town where they’re supposed to meet their contact, drinking Mudder’s Milk: alcohol mixed with protein, vitamins, and carbohydrates. He also scares a small boy who’s staring at him away. As their contact moves away, one of the crowd starts to sing a song... about Jayne, who is completely confused the entire time. Jayne realizes that when he had to drop the money to stay airborne, the money all fell down among the workers. They exit the bar, only to find that the boy from before has gathered a crowd: he recognized Jayne, and they all shout his name. Jayne runs back into the bar, hat off, only to be recognized again, have his Mudder’s Milk knocked out of his hands, and is given “the best whiskey in the house”. Jayne starts to get into the celebratory spirit, drinking and toasting with the Mudders. Mal decides to use Jayne’s new celebratory status to get the goods off the planet and to their client, arranging a celebration for the next day. Jayne finds out about what the Mudders did after he left, visibly touched when he’s informed that they had a riot after the magistrate tried to tear down the statue of him, and proceeds to hug the people he’s speaking with.

The magistrate discovers that Jayne is back in town and goes to release a prisoner, Stitch -- and gives him a gun, telling him that Jayne is back. Stitch was his partner four years ago, and was pushed out of the shuttle by him when things got bad, resulting in the loss of his eye and his imprisonment. In the morning, Jayne comes down with a woman and is brought off with Mal. Simon stays behind after a dressing-down from Kaylee, who he accidentally insulted. Mal fills Jayne in on the plan, though Jayne is suddenly unsure if they should use his new fame to trick people, realizing that he may have really made a difference in the lives of the Mudders. He’s sent off to the town square while the others go to get the cargo. Inara is with her client, the magistrate’s son, and he informs her that he has to go to a criminal hearing -- one about Jayne, though she at first thinks he’s talking about Mal. She finds out that Serenity had been port-locked from him. Back in the bar, Stitch finds Simon and attacks him. Simon’s saved from having his eye cut out by hearing Jayne’s name being chanted and drags him out. Jayne gets to give a speech, which is... incredibly awkward, but at least slightly motivational, even surprising Kaylee and Mal. Then Stitch shows up with his Simon hostage. They face off and Stitch reveals what Jayne actually did, saying that “you protect the man you’re with, you watch his back”. Stitch goes to shoot Jayne and a Mudder jumps in front of him, saving his life, which prompts Jayne to throw his knife at Stitch and leap on him, killing him. He goes to the body of the Mudder next, asking his body why he did it and what’s wrong with him after he realizes the Mudder is dead. He then shouts at the Mudders, saying there aren’t people who drop money on them -- that there aren’t people like that, just people like him. The boy from before hands him his knife and Jayne shoves down his statue. They all return to the ship, Inara having convinced Fess to get Serenity out of landlock. In the cargo hold, Jayne talks to Mal about what happened in Canton. He says it doesn’t make sense, asking why the Mudder died for him, saying that none of them understood what happened and were probably putting the statue back up. It bothers him, and Mal says that it’s not about Jayne; it’s about what those people need. He says it doesn’t make sense again and looks down at the cargo hold.

８: ＯＵＴ ＯＦ ＧＡＳ
Much of Out Of Gas is a flashback, covering how Mal got the ship and met the crew. Jayne’s flashback is covered previously. However, part of Out Of Gas includes how Mal got shot in the stomach (some passersby give him a part that Serenity needs to work and shoot him to try and take the ship, but Mal grabs his gun and gets them off the ship before bleeding everywhere to try and get the part in) and why he’s the only person on the ship. The crew has gotten together to celebrate Simon’s birthday. Jayne tries to get Inara to tell some funny stories about being a Companion, though she refuses. Simon is about to blow out the candles when the power goes out. There’s an explosion and Zoë knocks Kaylee out of the way, getting injured in the process. Jayne helps seal everything off to contain the fire, and has to stop Simon from going to get medical supplies to help Zoë or else they’ll all die, as the fire is being vacuumed out the airlock. When they get Zoë into the infirmary, Jayne goes inside to watch and wait, worried, asking if Zoë will make it, and steps back when Mal orders Wash to the bridge (with Wash up against the wall). Kaylee reveals that life support is down, and Jayne points out that most of the oxygen that was in the ship went out with the fire. He then stops Mal and Wash from shouting at each other, which gets them to stare blankly at him... until he points out that they’re using up the oxygen. Mal orders everyone but him off the ship and into the shuttles, into two separate directions, to try and maximize their chances of survival. Jayne goes with Inara in her shuttle, along with Kaylee and Shepherd Book (Mal also warns Inara not to trust Jayne and not to let him take over, though he does say he’ll be useful if they run into trouble). Jayne converts what’s left from below-deck (which he’s closed up) to the bridge and eve preps a space suit for Mal for when the oxygen runs out before he leaves. When everyone returns and Mal wakes up in the infirmary, Jayne’s outside the door talking to River and Inara. Jayne also, rather defensively, says that their shuttle would’ve been back first but that Inara’s done something to it, as her shuttle smells funny (she says it’s incense).

９: ＡＲＩＥＬ
Jayne is cleaning his weapons when this episode opens, whining that he can’t get off the ship at Ariel. He reveals that he doesn’t know what meditating is, saying that it would beat “just sitting” until Wash points out that it is just sitting. River suddenly walks up and slashes Jayne across the chest with a knife, prompting him to hit her, knocking her to the ground. Simon stitches Jayne up as he tries to convince Mal to leave Simon and River on the planet, saying that if they don’t get off the ship, River will hurt someone else. Mal defends them, saying they aren’t getting left behind and that they’re part of his crew. As Inara leaves the ship, Jayne and Mal play horseshoes until Simon interrupts, saying he has a job he wants them to pull. Jayne tries to turn it down before Simon even explains it; he wants them to break into the hospital, steal drugs (which is the payment), and get him and River in so he can examine her in the diagnostic ward to figure out what was done to her. Simon explains how to get in, Jayne posing with Mal and Zoë as paramedics with “dead” River and Simon, which involves a lot of memorizing and big words. Jayne also picks up the uniforms, I.D. badges, and key cards for the heist. Mal asks Jayne if he’ll have a problem with Jayne and Simon, and Jayne says that it’s a good plan, though he doesn’t like Simon any more -- just that the money helps (and that he might give Simon a tattoo while he’s unconscious). He stays with River and Simon to guard them and get them to diagnostics while Mal and Zoë get the medications. There’s just one problem: he’s sold them out to the Alliance.

Jayne is twitchy, River scaring him when she wakes up. They go through the recovery ward, Jayne trying to get Simon to keep River quiet, but she points out that the doctor is going to harm his patient. A Code Blue is called and Simon goes to help the patient, leaving River with Jayne, who is awed by Simon’s actions in saving the man’s life. They then get to diagnostics, where it’s revealed that the Alliance cut into River’s brain multiple times and stripped her amygdala: she feels everything instead of being able to filter it out. Jayne really starts to regret the fact that he’s sold them out, as River will end up going back to the people who did that to her, but starts to push them into leaving out the back instead of staying the 20 minutes they’re supposed to have. They’re caught by federal marshals outside and arrested, but instead of being rewarded, Jayne is also arrested for aiding and abetting fugitives -- the officer who arrested them wants the reward for himself. They’re taken to processing, where Simon says he appreciates Jayne trying to get free; they don’t know that Jayne turned them in. River starts talking about Christmas and Jayne tries to get her to shut up by threatening her, and they’re transferred to a holding area -- until Jayne beats the shit out of armed men while his hands are cuffed (Simon helps) and uncuffs them. Jayne wants to go out through the feds, but the Hands of Blue arrive, who kill the feds with their weird stick things that make blood pour out of orifices blood should not pour out of. Simon, River, and Jayne hear the screaming and go the opposite direction, following River to a locked door, which Jayne tries to break open. Luckily Mal and Zoë are on the other side and bust it open. Everyone returns to the ship, unaware of what Jayne did. Simon thanks him, saying Jayne was amazing, and Jayne responds awkwardly, saying Simon’s part of the crew. Mal has Jayne help him with the cargo but knocks him out; he’s figured out what Jayne did. When Jayne comes to, he’s in the airlock with a communication device; Mal’s on the other side, and opens the door to the outside. He yells that being sucked out the door is no way for a man to hide, begging that Mal shoot him if he wants to kill him. Jayne apologizes for calling the feds, saying that the money was too good and he got stupid, and asks why Mal’s taking it personally. Mal explains that if Jayne turns on any of his crew, he turns on Mal. Jayne accepts this and asks that Mal lie to the others so they don’t know what he did, and Mal shuts the airlock door, saving Jayne’s life -- and tells him that next time Jayne decides to stab him in the back, he should have the guts to do it to his face.

１０: ＷＡＲ ＳＴＯＲＩＥＳ
Remember Niska? (He’s from “The Train Job”.) Well, he remembers the crew of Serenity, and he wants to make them pay for not pulling off the job. Jayne doesn’t play a large part in this episode, though he does ogle Inara and her female client before saying “I’ll be in my bunk” (to jerk off, you know, in case you didn’t get the reference). He goes with Book and Zoë to find Mal and Wash, recognizing the tracks left by the transport that took them, realizing it’s Niska who took them. He also points out that Niska might be a bit pissed because they shoved one of his men in their engine. Jayne goes with the others to get Mal back, after trying to convince Wash and Zoë not to because they’re going to get killed. Book, Simon, and Kaylee get armed to help, and then Jayne arrives, decked out in weapons. Once inside, he even moves to shoot the man who tortured Mal as they fight. Zoë stops him, but then Mal says he doesn’t need to do it by himself, so Jayne, Zoë, and Wash shoot him. He also walks in when Mal and Zoë are pretending they’re going to sleep together, saying that it looks “downright unsettlin’” and then taking Wash’s abandoned soup after giving Mal a friendly slap on his (still injured) chest.

１１: ＴＲＡＳＨ
Mal’s former “wife”, Saffron, shows up with a plan to steal an antique gun. Jayne gets to tell Simon and River to stay put so they don’t run into Saffron, since she’ll turn them in. River says that Saffron can’t be trusted, and Jayne says that as a rule, he says “girlfolk ain’t to be trusted”... which prompts River to point out that Jayne is a girl name, and prompts Jayne to say that if “she starts in on that girl’s name thing, I’ll show her good and all I’ve got man-parts”. Simon calls him crude and Jayne leaves, saying he was going to leave them cards before shutting the door. River says that Jayne’s afraid, has been since Ariel -- afraid they’ll “know”. During the job, Jayne gets electrocuted while helping reprogram a trash dispenser with Kaylee, who grabs him before he can fall off Serenity. Book pulls him back into the ship and Jayne wakes up medically paralyzed for a spinal injury back on Serenity, where he’s confronted by Simon and River. Simon asks how much Jayne was offered to sell them out and says he doesn’t care what Jayne has done, that he’ll never hurt him while he’s on the table in the infirmary, but also that he’s going to trust him and that Jayne should do the same. River adds that she can kill him with her brain.

１２: ＴＨＥ ＭＥＳＳＡＧＥ
Serenity stops and gets mail! Jayne gets supplies (with a discount for “his intimidating manner”) and gets a letter from his mother that he (slowly) reads outloud, revealing that he sends money home to her and Mattie. He also gets a hand-knitted hat from her, which he proudly wears. Mal and Zoë get a package as well -- it’s a dead man they served with in the war, who has left them a message asking to the pair to deliver his body to his family. On Serenity, the crew deals with it in their own ways; Jayne is lifting weights, and realizes Book is there, saying a few words. When Book says he doesn’t know Tracey’s denomination, Jayne says it’s good, that the Lord should look after the dead. Jayne then asks if Book would like to do a set of weights, saying he gets to do the urge to “do stuff” after seeing a dead body (that he didn’t kill himself), and Book thinks that Jayne likes to do things that prove he’s alive after seeing death. “My kind of life don’t last long, Preacher, so I expect I’m invested in making good sport of it whilst I can.” He then asks Book if he’ll read over him when he dies, and Book begins to say that he suspects Jayne will be around long after the rest, but then River comes and lays on the coffin. An Alliance ship suddenly arrives. The crew thinks they’re after the gun that was stolen in the previous episode, but they’re actually after Tracey, the dead man. Surprise, he’s just fake!dead because he’s smuggling organs inside himself! (Jayne at first suspects gold, before it’s discovered that Tracey is alive. It evens out though, because Jayne also has to catch his vomit in a pan.) The ship hides, but they have to leave their hiding space and go to let the feds board the ship. Tracey flips out and takes Kaylee hostage. Jayne comes up behind him and Mal shoots, and it’s revealed that the Alliance soldier can’t use his Alliance authority, as he’s participating in illegal organ smuggling -- which was the reason they were letting him on the ship in the first place, because he couldn’t do anything. Oops. Tracey dies for real and they deliver his body. At the funeral, Jayne (who has been wearing his hat for the whole episode, save for when he takes it off during Tracey’s message) takes his hat off and even cries a bit.

１３: ＨＥＡＲＴ ＯＦ ＧＯＬＤ
Inara gets a call from an old friend, who’s running a whorehouse, asking for help. She takes the plea to Mal and he agrees to help, refusing any offer of payment. Jayne doesn’t want to help at first, since there’s no benefit for him, but then Mal informs them that they’re whores and he immediately agrees. He has sex while he’s there, taking a liking to a blonde prostitute whose hair he brushes. When they decide to defend the place from a local man who wants to take “his” baby from one of the women, Jayne teaches his blonde friend how best to help, saying that when people start dying, screwed up behavior starts to come out, and instructs her on how to keep him armed... with sex interludes, sometimes when his transmitter is actually on. He also teaches many of the prostitutes how to shoot, and takes out the gunner on the hovercraft, as well as many of the other attacking men. When the fight is won, Jayne helps round up the rest of the men. He also attends Nandi’s funeral.

１４: ＯＢＪＥＣＴＳ ＩＮ ＳＰＡＣＥ
In the beginning of this episode, River is walking around the ship. She hears Jayne and Book talking, Jayne asking if Book has ever had sex and joking about Jayne taking up a religious life. She also hears his thoughts; “I got stupid. Money was too good.” Moving on, River eventually finds one of Jayne’s pistols and is standing with it in the cargo bay. The crew panics and Mal ends up getting the gun back, discovering it’s loaded and the safety is off, while River runs away crying. Mal confronts Jayne about the weapon, and he points out that none of his guns could breach the hull, and that it isn’t his fault. He also reminds everyone about the time River cut him, though he’s more or less told that he can be spared. Kaylee reveals that River shot three people with her eyes closed on Niska’s station. Jayne tries to say that Kaylee saw it wrong. “What, she killed them with mathematics. What else could it have been?” Kaylee then says that Jayne and Mal couldn’t have done it, but River did. Jayne also points out that River not understanding what she did isn’t exactly a comfort, and asks if Mal is saying that River is a witch. When Mal says that River is a Reader, psychic, Jayne says he doesn’t like the idea of someone hearing what he’s thinking (Inara says that no one likes the idea of hearing what Jayne is thinking). Jayne also asks what they plan to do about it, and Mal says that he isn’t going to make a decision until he’s thought about it for a while and sends everyone off to bed. Other than that, Jayne is asleep throughout this entire episode as Early is on board, because he’s a winner. At the very end, Jayne tries to comfort Book about being taken out by Early and complains that he missed the whole thing as they go to lift weights.

Personality:

“Jayne for me is the role of a lifetime...he could be good, funny, bad, selfish or a slob-that guy can do no wrong!” - Adam Baldwin

ＴＨＵＧＧＩＳＨ ＭＥＲＣ

The immediate impression most people get when they look at Jayne is the exact impression that he wants them to have: a thug. It’s apparent in how he walks, how he talks, in the clothing he wears and the multiple weapons he has on hand at any one time. Jayne Cobb is a fighter, a man who enjoys violence and has enough of a temper that he usually manages to find it. When the people of Canton reveal that they had a riot for him, he’s visibly moved: it’s the deepest sort of sentimentality for a man like him. He enjoys weapons, too; he has a collection of them right up against his bed, within easy reach, and does his best to take care of them. This love for violence sometimes makes him cruel; Jayne is not above digging in where it hurts the most, such as bringing up the war and the Battle of Serenity Valley with Mal. He’s a mercenary: he has to be cruel to survive. You don’t last long with pity.

It’s possible that the only thing that makes violence better is getting paid for it. Jayne joins the crew on Serenity because Mal offers him a bigger cut and his own room, and in the very first episode he’s offered a bribe to turn on Mal. He doesn’t take it, but when Mal asks, the reason isn’t something sentimental; it’s because the money wasn’t good enough. (Well, perhaps there’s some sentiment lingering; the man had shot Kaylee, after all.) When the crew passes by a ghost ship, Jayne doesn’t want to go over until it’s pointed out that there could be valuables left behind. In this universe, money is power. More importantly, money buys you food, weapons and ammunition, and it keeps the ship flying.

Of course, sex could make violence better, too. In addition to his weapons collection, Jayne has a collection of pinups hanging up over his bed. Upon seeing Inara and a female client, he informs everyone within earshot that he’ll be in his bunk; when Kaylee talks about how it’s been ages since she’s had sex, Jayne is definitely interested. He also offers to get naked as a distraction; in addition to sex, it’s possible the man just likes walking around without pants on. In “Heart of Gold”, Jayne wants nothing to do with helping Inara’s old friend and her girls until Mal informs them that they’re whores -- and immediately starts getting poetic about how beautiful they all are and how much his dick likes them. He’s crude, as well; upon learning that Simon is a doctor and seeing Kaylee admire him, he says that Kaylee just wishes Simon was a gynecologist. He also informs River that he’ll show her his “man-parts” when she says that Jayne is a girl’s name.

By no means a coward, there are some things that Jayne is afraid of. The first is a rather practical fear for someone who lives almost completely in space, on the Outer Rim -- Reavers. These people mutilated themselves, flew in ships with radiation leaks, and began to prey on other humans in a variety of horrific ways. Almost ironically, another of his main fears is the girl who knows the secret behind the Reavers, though unconsciously (until the events of Serenity): River Tam. While not afraid of her when she’s behaving normally or just being weird instead of all-out crazy, River has physically injured him before and is deadly with a variety of weapons. She can also read people’s minds and thoughts, something that Jayne has said he doesn’t like. Jayne’s third main fear seems to be dying by being “spaced”, or let out the airlock instead of in a fight of some sort (unless that fight is with Reavers, or River).

ＰＵＢＬＩＣ ＲＥＬＡＴＩＯＮＳ

Jayne’s outward appearance of of a thug is useful for his job on the ship. Mal needed another fighter, a person with skills like Jayne -- and besides, recruiting him meant that he and Zoë got out of a tight spot. Jayne does his job very, very well. When he wants something, he’ll fight and intimidate people in order to get it. He’s the muscle, burying cargo before it’s given to another party so that they have to pay the crew in order to get it. Having Jayne around is handy in a tight spine, if nothing else because the man just looks like he could break you in half. He’s also stubborn; if Mal tells him to back down, it’s usually quite clear that he doesn’t want to. This gives anyone trying to short change them the rather clear impression that Jayne will have no problem “dealing” with them if things don’t go their way -- and he wouldn’t have a problem with it, either. Jayne is quite stubborn; he holds onto his grudges until something big enough is revealed to make him second-guess himself or holds onto a course of action until enough logic is poured in to make him see reason or Simon drugs him and he passes out.

An excellent fighter, Jayne is not the brightest person on the ship. Due to his difficulty in reading the letter his mother writes him, it’s likely that he didn’t receive much of an education outside of killing things. While he has his own sort of wit, able to trick Simon (sometimes easily), other things simply fly over his head -- for example, the term “been in congress with” or the fact that he can hear Mal through his transmitter because Mal is standing right next to him. While his lack of formal education isn’t as much as a hardship out in the black, his rather poor social skills are. As previously mentioned, Jayne is often crude; however, his crude comments and jokes (which are, at times, dark -- likely because it’s better than crying about possibly dying) can offend just about everyone around him, even when he’s not actively trying to antagonize people. However, he’s quite practical: his fears all have a basis in actual danger, and he’s tactile, preferring to be in touch with his surroundings instead of being taken by surprise. Despite his issues with people (or perhaps because of them), when asked by Simon what Jayne’s job on the ship is, Mal replies with “public relations”.

It’s been said time and time again that the crew of Serenity is a family, and that includes Jayne. He may not necessarily be a close or particularly well-liked family member most days, but he’s still part of the crew. When Kaylee gets shot, Jayne is angry, but also hovers outside of the infirmary while she’s in surgery. He teases her quite a bit, sometimes stepping over the line, but she’s like a sister to him. Mal is like a brother, someone to compete with, someone who’s more successful and has to keep Jayne in line before he gets into trouble. When things are at their toughest for Jayne, he goes to Mal for advice. The two do get along, despite some appearances and Jayne’s habit of poking Mal where it hurts; after celebrating a job well done (in which Mal wears a dress and a “pretty floral bonnet”), the two can be seen sitting next to each other, drinking together, and laughing. They’re also similarly clueless about women. Simon is an interloper, but fills in the role of younger brother nicely -- or brother-in-law, as Kaylee is clearly interested in him. Jayne antagonizes Simon quite a bit, to the point of cruelty; Simon and River are, as fugitives, threats to the ship and to his family. Still, they are occasionally able to be civil to one another; they simply clash most of the time, quite possibly due to the different changes in their upbringing. However, Jayne’s closest relationship on Serenity is arguably with the most unlikely of characters: the preacher, Shepherd Book. The two can often be seen having conversations or working out in the cargo hold. Adam Baldwin is quoted as saying he has always thought of Jayne as a man of God; perhaps this is what allowed the two to start talking, while Book’s patience and lack of judgment may have kept the friendship going.

ＨＥＲＯ ＯＦ ＣＡＮＴＯＮ

Jayne begins to really remember that there’s good in the universe when he returns to Canton, seeing how he’s inspired the people there. He’s become a hero to them, he’s someone celebrated: he’s a symbol. He begins to feel bad about using their feelings for him and his actions for the job, touched by how unselfish they think they are, and touched even more when a Mudder saves his life. He doesn’t understand it, doesn’t understand why someone would die for someone else. He even talks to Mal about it, saying it doesn’t make sense. Later, after Ariel, Jayne attempts to make up for what he did to River and Simon; to Mal, the crew, the entire ship. He buys apples as an apology without saying anything. Even during Ariel, he begins to show remorse; he starts to second-guess himself, but the lure of money is too strong. It’s not until Mal confronts him and nearly kills him that he really realizes that what he did was truly wrong, that it hurts everyone he cares about.

In addition to his family on Serenity, Jayne has his family back home. He sends his mother money to take care of herself, as well as to take care of Mattie. His mother knits him an orange, slightly goofy looking hat in return. Instead of hiding it away, Jayne immediately grins and jams it on his head; it’s from his mother, and so he’s going to wear it. Adam Baldwin says that he’s always thought Jayne was a man of God. He knows what’s right and does have morals, no matter how much he keeps that fact hidden. Jayne’s secretly sensitive, trying to comfort crying women and crying at a funeral. He’s protective of his people and doesn’t quite understand the good in people, because the universe can be so horrible, though it still touches him deeply. It makes him think, makes him be more like the folk hero the people of Canton thought he was. Maybe Jayne actually wants to be more like that hero.

Abilities, Weaknesses and Power Limitations:

A mercenary by trade, Jayne is extremely skilled with all sorts of weapons, including his fists and anything in the immediate vicinity. He’s also an excellent tracker and has a variety of survival skills, both “typical” survival skills and more space-oriented ones. He can speak both English and Mandarin, or the Firefly versions of them (which is more like one language), as well as play guitar, ride a horse, herd cattle, and various other practical skills.

As previously mentioned, however, Jayne is not great at people nor at “book smarts”. He has a habit of saying what he thinks without thinking about how others may take it, or showing much remorse (if any) when they’re upset, if he even understands why they’re upset. In addition, he’s often a slave to his own greed; it can cause him to make foolish decisions, such as attempting to sell out Simon and River on Ariel. Despite his skills as a mercenary, Jayne’s only human.

Inventory:

+ 1 cunning hat
+ 4 t-shirts
+ 2 wifebeaters
+ 2 jackets (green, brown)
+ 3 pairs of pants
+ 1 pair combat boots
+ 1 pair fingerless gloves
+ 1 weapons cleaning kit
+ 1 belt with sidearm holster
+ 1 large knife and sheath
+ 1 Callahan Fullbore Autolock named Vera
+ 1 modified LeMat revolver

Appearance:

Jayne is played by Adam Baldwin. He’s 6’4”, muscular, has dark brown hair and blue eyes.

Age: Early forties.

AU Clarification: N/A

S A M P L E S


Log Sample:

Jayne Cobb is not exactly a patron of virtue. He’s not even, strictly speaking, a nice man. But he is human, and he is pretty damn sure that waking up buck-naked in a tube, only to be spat out on the floor while covered in blue goo, with a new ruttin’ tattoo to boot, is against humanity. It ain’t nowhere near as bad as cuttin’ into a girl’s brainpain (or trying to sell her and her brother out, a little voice in the back of his head reminds him, and Jayne hushes it by accidentally hitting his head against his tube as he tries to stand up), but that don’t make it right. Makes it all manner of wrong, actually, especially when he looks down and notices the new ink on his skin; he’s got tattoos, but this one is just stupid. Numbers? The hell’s that supposed to mean?

Prison, maybe, his mind supplies helpfully, but Jayne’s pretty sure he’d remember getting arrested or having someone board the ship. There are ways the Alliance could take a man without him fighting, that’s true -- Alliance don’t believe in fighting fair, not that he always does either, but he’s never been too stealthy outside of tracking anyway -- but this doesn’t look quite like an Alliance prison, either. It’s a ship, he thinks; set up like a ship, even if there are no windows, but he thinks he can hear the purr of the engines. Still, it ain’t Serenity. There are plenty of naked folk about, men and women -- and kids, which immediately makes his mouth turn down. Most are headed for the showers, but a few are headed somewhere else first. Jayne follows them, finds the rows of lockers, notes people matching their numbers with them. Ah. Time to find his, then; see what they’ve left him in this here not-exactly-prison. A gun, hopefully. Pants, maybe. He’ll take what he can get.

Comms Sample:

Last time I was this ruttin’ drunk, Mal got married to a-- a-- [ there are some words there that sound vaguely like butchered Mandarin; it’s a futuristic dialect, but the man speaking it is also so drunk that it sounds like the communicator can’t quite translate it. ] An’ I passed out.

But he did later, ‘cause he kissed ‘er on the mouth.

[ The device suddenly turns over, Jayne staring down at it. From the look of him and the several empty bottles sitting next to him -- on the floor -- he’s been drinking for a while. Reaching for another bottle of something that looks extraordinarily cheap, he takes a swig, then sighs. ]

I miss my guns.