"War Stories" is the tenth episode of the science fiction television series Firefly created by Joss Whedon.
Unfortunately, crime lord Niska chooses this moment to exact a brutal vengeance for Mal's refusal to complete an earlier job.
On Serenity, as Simon reviews the data he collected on his sister, Shepherd Book looks over his shoulder, musing about a "warrior-poet" named Xiang Yu.
Back on Serenity, Kaylee playfully chases River around the cargo bay for an apple she stole, despite Jayne having contributed a crate's worth to the ship's stores.
Amid the noise, Inara urges Mal to respect the privacy of her imminently arriving client, a local councilor of some political importance.
Mal vetoes Wash's idea to improve their profit from the medicine sales by bypassing the local middlemen, then begins cutting his own apple.
Seeing his abductor distracted, Mal gets up effortlessly despite the hours of pain he's endured and proceeds to beat a terrified Niska before his torturer interferes, allowing the crime lord to escape.