They head back up to the bunker, flush with success, only to discover that their new lieutenant has been killed. The only other person who still seems to be alive is the shell-shocked soldier, named Bendis. As Zoe takes over communications, Mal tries to get Bendis going again. Bendis says they're going to die. Mal responds, "We're not gonna die. We can't die, Bendis. You know why? Because we are so. Very. Pretty. We are just too pretty for God to let us die." So that's why he let Simon stay. If prettiness is some sort of good-luck charm, then Simon is a horseshoe made out of four-leaf clovers. They hear the sounds of aircraft approaching. Mal assumes that this means their air strike has arrived to blow away their foes. Zoe, listening to the communication system, tells Mal that it's not them. She tells them that command is pulling out, and they're to lay down their arms. Mal looks confused and wonders what the sound is, then. He slowly comes to a realization and stands up behind the bunker. The Sad Fiddle Of Belief In God Fading plays as Mal watches dozens of Alliance ships descend into the valley. Bendis stands next to him, but is suddenly shot down. I guess he just wasn't as pretty as Mal. Mal watches it all in silent horror. And that's how the Battle of Serenity Valley wasn't won.

Cut to six years later, according to the captions. Mal spacewalks his way into the frame, upside-down, sealed in his environmental suit. He's floating outside a sealed vault. Zoe is spacewalking next to him, as is Jayne. He asks Jayne to "give [him] the sticky." Get in line, buddy. As Jayne silently floats over to hand him some sort of tool, we get a wider view to see that they're floating around what appears to be some sort of space facility. They make a big deal of the fact that there's no sound except for what we can hear from the crew's communicators. Yes, yes. We know that you know that there's no sound in space. The tool that Jayne gives Mal is some sort of goo gun. He spreads a clear gel around the outline of a closed hatch. Silently, of course. He pushes back away from the hatch as the gel starts to burn through the wall. He tells the others that once the hatch is gone, they'll get the goods and get the heck out of there.