"The Message" is the twelfth episode of the science fiction television series Firefly created by Joss Whedon. It is the second of three episodes (Trash, The Message and Heart of Gold) that were not broadcast in the original 2002 Fox run.A former Independence soldier, who had served with Mal and Zoe, returns in a dramatic manner, with a vicious Alliance officer chasing after him for some unusual smuggled goods.