The Return Home – Part 17

Serenity was parked in an area of frozen tundra in northern Haven, sitting in a snowy featureless expanse, waiting for an Alliance fleet to arrive, waiting for Adam Cutter, and, they hoped, Shepherd Book and Kaylee’s father. Meanwhile, a Reaver fleet had arrived at Haven, destroyed the ten Alliance ships that were waiting for the main fleet, and were now bent on ravaging the planet. And if what the large Reaver Hopkins, former Colonel of the Alliance, said was true, they could expect the Reavers to come looking for them, looking for revenge on Hopkins and Serenity, Hopkins for his betrayal and Serenity for killing so many Reavers. More than one person on the ship thought as Jayne did: let’s just get the hell out of here! But Mal would hear none of it and anyone who broached the subject got a stern glare and a firm ‘no” from the captain. Thoughts of mutiny were on Jayne’s mind but if Book was with that fleet then Jayne was willing to stick around and see what happened. He just didn’t want to die in the process.

Nobody wanted to die but someone was dieing and there was nothing they could do for him and Simon felt this keenly, maybe as much as the Miranda people. Losing patients was never easy for a doctor and Simon had never really gotten used to it. It had happened and people had died while he cared for them and like he had said sometimes it was better to let them go. But that didn’t make it any easier.

Simon was standing by Drummond’s side in the infirmary, checking his vitals, when he final awoke, more then ten hours after surgery was over.

“Doctor,” he gasped and Simon quickly removed a ventilator so Drummond could talk more easily.

“I’m here, Professor.” He was all alone, Brenda finally leaving to get some food, while Simon had kept Angela sedated in a passenger room, for her sake as well as the crew’s, no one knowing if or when she’d turn back to a Reaver.

“Will I...live?”

“The bullet is out and you’re recovering but…Professor…I found…”

“Cancer,” Drummond said in a bare whisper, his throat raspy from the years of smoking. “It’s been many months since the pain started. The pancreas?”

“Yes. It’s advanced,” Simon answered and then said the dreaded word. “Terminal.”

Drummond let out a long sigh. “As I expected. The others…Brenda…Angela….?”

“They know about your condition and it hasn’t been easy for any of them. Most of them are resting or having dinner now. We are on Haven. There have been…other losses.”

“Tell me what has happened,” he weakly asked and Simon told him everything that happened as Drummond listened in silence.

“I’m sorry for the loss of two more of your people.” He looked and felt guilty as hell, the drugs he had given Forbes not working and he confessed his mistake to Drummond.

“No blame, Doctor. A long time ago we stopped blaming each other…it serves no purpose. What will Captain Reynolds do now?”

“We wait…for the fleet.”

“And Cutter. Reynolds won’t run?”

“No…time to face our demons as he says.”

“He’s right. Running only buys time, not freedom,” Drummond said and then he paused and seemed to be catching his breath, before continuing. “Cutter wants Serenity.”

“Yes. The ship is…special.” More than special, Simon thought, and it had been to Earth and back but that story would have to wait for another time.

“As I suspected. And you all want freedom. From what?”

Simon hesitated before answering and then decided that Drummond needed to know the truth.

“My sister and I are fugitives from the Alliance." Then he briefly told Drummond about River's situation. "And the crew is wanted for various…crimes…and Cutter ordered Forbes to kill us all…except Kaylee.”

“Ah, the mechanic. She has knowledge of the ship Cutter needs.”

“Yes, and we think they already have her father. He is a gifted mechanic like his daughter and they know a lot about...this ship. We need to show the galaxy that Cutter is a monster and created the Reavers. We need to take him off his high pedestal. When he is gone perhaps we can be free, the truth can come out. We need you to tell them what he has done.”

“And I will, if you can keep me alive long enough.”

“I’ll do my best.”

Drummond was quiet for a moment and then asked the most important question. “Doctor Tam, how much time do I have?”

No one, not even God knew that, Simon thought. Estimating when a terminally ill patient would die was not an exact science. “Weeks, maybe a month.” But Simon also knew he could be dead by tomorrow.

Drummond nodded and sighed and Simon sensed he was in pain.

“You need something…”

“No, I need a clear head. Angela, it must be time for her injection of serum.”

But there was no serum and Simon had to tell him. “Professor….your serum was left behind on Miranda by accident.”

Drummond didn’t say a word for a long moment, just stared at Simon, finally whispering one word, “Angela.”

“I have her sedated. Your logs show she had an injection of serum about 22 hours ago.”

“Oh, God…soon she will change.”

“Are you certain?”

Drummond looked at Simon in puzzlement. “I…no…I’m not certain. But…even if Angela is cured…there are so many others.”

“My sister and your people are trying to recreate it…but on Serenity we have no equipment. I might have the correct medicine and chemicals in stock, but we have nothing to help produce it.”

“Miranda. In my lab, we can do it.”

“We can’t. The Reavers will be all over that prison. We don’t even know if your serum or the lab survived. I’m sorry.”

“Call your sister and Brenda and…call everyone.”

“You need to rest. You’ve just have major surgery.”

“There is no time. Call them, call them all. I need to tell them about the serum. And…it’s time to make a new message, a new video.”

“Of what?’

“Me,” he said weakly. “Time I sent a personal message to Adam Cutter.”

****************************************************************

“Our long range scouts have reported in, sir,” said one his commanders to Cutter via vid screen on the bridge of the Dortmunder. “The reports are true. There are no signs of any Alliance vessels and twenty-two Reaver vessels of various sizes and classes are in the vicinity of Haven. Some are located near Coppermine, other are scattered around the planet. They appear to be attacking settlements. The scouts picked up emergency broadcast signals from several towns. I’m of the opinion that the Reavers do not know we are approaching.”

“Very good, Commander,” Cutter said. “When will we be within missile range?”

“Within the hour, sir.”

“Excellent. When within range of the planet begin destruction of those ships with long range missiles. Then move in and render assistance to the people of Haven.”

“Yes, sir.”

That was the plan, simple as it could be, destroy the Reavers from long range, don’t get close and allow them to use their weapons. Whatever they had could not stand up to the Dortmunder and the other four battle cruisers plus twenty gunships of various sizes that Cutter had with him. From long range they would begin to take out Reaver ships and then move in and mop up the remnants. Then they would move on to Haven and render assistance to the population. Finally, they would arrive at Miranda and wipe out any remaining Reavers and discover what happened there. Perhaps Forbes had already located the people who made the broadcast and dealt with them. Cutter’s three Operatives were most likely dead by now. If Forbes had failed to find those responsible for the broadcast and Serenity, then Cutter would have to deal with them himself.

Other matters were on his mind, and foremost was the implied threats from the Prime Minister. He had let the matter with Shepherd Book get out of hand. But soon that would be taken care of. Soon his assassin would kill Billingsworth. And then she would get new orders to kill Book.

*******************************************

“I don’t understand,” Book said as Billingsworth turned off the force field on his cell door.

“I just received orders from Cutter to release you,” the captain replied. “I don’t really understand it myself.”

“Well,” said Book as he stepped out of the cell. “I won’t look a gift horse in the mouth.”

“Walk with me Shepherd,” Billingsworth said and the two men strolled away from the prison area, talking on what had happened and what was going to happen. As they walked and entered the busier areas of the ship, people began to notice Book and started talking about him. Not many had seen him before but they all recognized a Shepherd’s garb and many assumed he had been the imprisoned preacher.

Behind them, trailing them while at the same time blending in with the movement of the troops preparing for battle, Jane Taggert kept an eye on Billingsworth and Book, waiting for a chance to strike the captain. She was small, dark haired, plain looking and vaguely Oriental. There was a Chinese ancestor somewhere in her past. The activity of the ship preparing for battle masked her movements behind the two men, one of whom she was going to kill.

Make it look like an accident, her master had said. Warships were dangerous places. Almost anything could happen. A man could slip and break his neck, fall down a set of stairs or an elevator shaft, choke on his food. And in battle, chaos reigned and in the confusion someone could easily die by “accident”. But she wasn’t going to take a chance on any kind of investigation. She had been better trained than Cutter knew. For close up kills that left no evidence, narcotics were the best method. Dr. Sexton on Athenian Island had taught the students the subtle art of poison, once a very popular method of assassination on ancient Earth That Was. In her uniform pocket Taggert carried a vial in a tiny needle that would freeze Billingsworth’s heart in a second and leave him dead the second after that.

She followed the two men for ten minutes while they chatted, until they reached an elevator bank and Book got on and then Billingsworth was alone. He started back toward the prison block and she easily slipped behind him again and in the hustle and bustle of the preparations for battle she moved among the crowds of soldiers. She searched for an opportunity to kill him but none presented itself and there were too many witnesses. Finally he turned a corner toward the prison block and the corridors were emptying. This area of the ship had cameras to cover the prison cells and she waited until she was certain they were in a place with none. He turned away from the prison cell corridor and seemed to be heading toward the observation room. No one was about and no cameras were in this corridor. She felt the opportunity was the best she would get on this busy day. She removed the small needle and vial from her pocket and hid it in the palm of her right hand, between two fingers, making it invisible. With her left hand she took a folded piece of paper from her right breast uniform pocket and called out his name.

“Captain Billingsworth?”

He stopped just before he reached the door to the observation room and turned and saw a young, dark haired weapons specialist approaching him.

“Yes, what is it?”

“Sir, I have a message from High Chancellor Cutter.”

Taggert stopped and stood at attention and handed Billingsworth the folded piece of paper with her left hand. He took the paper, opened it and it was blank.

In an instant many things came to Billingsworth’s mind. His years of police training and experience told him something was wrong. This trooper wore the uniform and badges of a weapons specialist, not a communications soldier. Second, Cutter would never send a written note; he would call Billingsworth to his office. Third, she knew exactly where he was and that meant she was following him. And finally, just before the needle struck home in his jugular vein and his heart exploded, Billingsworth thought that the intense burning light in the woman’s eyes spelled danger. Too late did his instincts tell him this and the speed and lethality of the attack left him dead and Taggert was gone before his body hit the floor.

Taggert returned to her quarters, thankfully finding it empty of the three other women she shared it with. She had thrown the empty needle in a garbage receptacle on the way, and then as she entered her quarters she took out her specialized comm device that linked her directly to Cutter. She keyed in a quick message and sent it to him.

“Mission complete.”

After a few moments came a reply, also written. “Excellent. New mission. The Shepherd.”

Jane Taggert wasn’t religious but to kill a Shepherd seemed beyond what she had signed on for. She hesitate a moment but then her training took over and she knew her master had a reason for asking her to do this.

“Yes, sir.” She wrote back and then wiped the memory of the device clean and put it back in her locker which she then locked shut.

“All hands, all hands,’ came a voice booming over the Dortmunder’s intercom system. “Man battle stations, man battle stations. This is not a drill, repeat, this is not a drill.”

Taggert hurried from her room toward her battle station at a portside missile battery. For now, she had to do her other duty least suspicion fall on her if she was missing. The training had always emphasized surprise, lethality, and anonymity. Shepherd Book would have to wait until the battle was over.

*******************************************

On Londinium it was late afternoon and Prime Minister Susan Blakely sat before her security council, which included Admiral Shin, three other military men, and four high level civilians, all members of her cabinet or of the Parliament. It had been a long day for Blakely, the morning conversations with General MacCready and Admiral Shin had left her distracted the rest of the day. Cutter had still not replied to her message and Shin had taken her aside before the meeting and told her the horrific news about the destruction of ten Alliance ships at Haven by the Reavers. He had just received the message from the fleet senior officer before leaving his office. She was stunned for a moment and then realized that the firepower Cutter had brought with him was necessary after all. Maybe there was no way to deal with the Reavers except with force. But she hoped Cutter would not be in charge when the fleet arrived at Haven.

“High Chancellor Adam Cutter must be asked to resign his post immediately,” she said as an opening to the meeting and the shock was evident on all faces except Shin’s.

“On what grounds?’ asked a senator, the same one who had supported Cutter in the last meeting over a week ago. Blakely knew Cutter had him in his pocket but she had to tell them, had to let them know what kind of monster Cutter was. These people in this room were the only ones in the whole Alliance who could take down Cutter. In another age and time a more direct method would have been sufficient but Blakely was not about to start palace intrigues and assassination plots on her watch as Prime Minister.

She began the tale of Cutter and the Reavers and Miranda. There was much disbelief about Cutter’s responsibility for the Reavers and someone even said the Reavers were just fairy tales. Blakely looked to Shin.

“The Reavers have just destroyed ten of our ships at Haven,” he said without emotion and there were gasps of surprise from the members of the council.

“The Reavers are real. And I believe Cutter is bent on destroying them and any evidence on Miranda of their creation and existence,” Blakely said. “Completely against my orders, but perhaps necessary in these changing circumstances. But there is an even more worrying aspect of Cutter’s duplicity.” And then she launched into the story of the secret training facility for assassins on Osiris. The evidence for Athenian Island and the program was overwhelming. However, as the senator pointed out, there was no direct evidence that Cutter was involved except for the statements of witnesses that General MacCready was now collecting.

“Senator, who else could have authorized such a facility and with such a purpose in mind?” she asked and the senator and no one else had an answer. But the senator knew he had to step up. Cutter probably had a bug in this room and was secretly listening to everything they said.

“But, Madam Prime Minister,” he began. “Surely the High Chancellor only had the safety of the Alliance and its people in mind when he did these things.”

“Of that I have no doubt,” Blakely said. “His intentions are not the problem. It’s his methods. Taking the most brilliant young people of our galaxy away from their families and turning them into killers is not the way I want to see this galaxy run. I call for a vote to ask for the resignation of High Chancellor Adam Cutter.”

Admiral Shin seconded the call for the vote and within five minutes all members of the nine person council had written down their vote in secret on slips of paper.

“Five to four in favor of asking for his resignation,” Blakely said in triumph as she counted the votes. That was it, Cutter was finished. She looked at them and they all looked frightened, all except Shin, who also seemed to be enjoying the moment. The senator spoke up.

“He is to be gracefully retired. Despite these “irregularities” in his conduct, we ask that the council seek no punishment for the High Chancellor in view of his long service to the Alliance.”

Blakely knew this was coming and knew she might have no choice in the matter. To publicly acknowledge that one of the Alliance’s highest officers was involved in such heinous crimes would shake the very foundations of the Alliance.

“Agreed,” she said and she sensed the relief flowing through them. “Admiral Shin, send a message to the fleet. High Chancellor Cutter is to relinquish control to the senior officer. He is to be confined to his quarters and not permitted to communicate with anyone. Order the fleet to investigate the matter of our ten destroyed vessels at Haven and await further orders. The fleet is to defend itself, but not launch any offensive moves toward the Reavers.”

“Yes, Madam,” Shin said and arose and left the room immediately.

“Who will…replace…the High Chancellor?’ the senator asked, hardly believing he was speaking these words.

Blakely thought for a long moment. This question hadn’t even come to mind and yet here it was. “We will have to make a clean swept of all personnel in the Ministry of the Interior. They are all too loyal to Cutter. We will bring in an outsider. Someone who I can trust. Please forward any suitable candidates to my office. And now, if you will excuse me, I have to compose a message for the High Chancellor,” Blakely said and then the council rose and filed out, some of them still not believing that they had crossed a threshold that may see severe repercussions. Cutter knew something about all of them. But those who had voted with Blakely also saw it as the only chance they’d even have to be rid of the man once and forever. He was far away, out of contact, and the time was ripe for his downfall. The only question was would he go quietly.

*****************************************

He would not. Cutter seethed with anger as he read the incoming message on his computer screen in his ready room just off the bridge. The council meeting had been bugged and Cutter’s techs had recorded and sent the full transcript of what had been said. Using the latest in message sending technology, technology only Cutter’s Ministry of the Interior knew about because it had been developed by them, Cutter received word of what had happened a full two hours before Shin and Blakely’s messages would arrive. Two hours to plan and decide what to do.

Blakely knew everything, knew about Miranda and his role there, knew about Athenian Island. Did she also know about River Tam? Nothing was mentioned of Tam or Serenity in the meeting. How could she know so much? She knew something had happened on Miranda, but how did she know he had been there and in charge of the operation? All the records had been erased more than a decade ago. Someone, a witness, pointed the finger at him. But there was no proof, not tangible. Also, no proof of his connection to Athenian Island. Nothing. Even River Tam’s thoughts had no validity in a court of law. And they would never put him on trial, even those fools in the Security Council knew to go public would mean the end of them all.

But now it was too late. He could not ignore the command that Blakely would be sending shortly. To ignore a direct order from the council was to be in mutiny. One thing Cutter prided himself on was loyalty to the principles of the Alliance. He would relinquish command when those orders arrived. He would retire and be cast out. His past had caught up with him. But he wouldn’t go without taking those responsible down with him. He sent a message back to his Ministry.

“Release to the press all classified information on the following people,” and then he listed all those at the council meeting, all except Shin and Blakely, who he had nothing on. As for the rest, they could all suffer thought the scandals that were going to result. Sex lives, drug use, illegitimate children, bribery, past crimes, all would come to light. Cutter didn’t care that they had voted five to four, that four people actually voted to retain him in office, didn’t care that the senator had defended him. They hadn’t protested vigorously enough, hadn’t done enough to defend him. It was time for them to feel the wrath of Adam Cutter.

Then his mind turned back to Tam and Serenity and suddenly Cutter took hope. As he thought on her he realized there was away to get back, to erase all his mistakes. The FTL drive and the Fryes. If he produced the first Faster Than Light Drive, then he would be hailed as a hero. As for his mistakes, the public would never know about them or the Alliance itself could collapse.

He hit the buttons on his screen for his fleet commanders. Once they were all on screen he gave new orders.

“I have received information that some wanted fugitives on a Firefly class vessel called Serenity are in this neighborhood. The capture of this vessel and its crew are of a highest priority. The ship is not to be damaged or the crew harmed. That is all.”

The commanders acknowledge receipt of his orders, all wondering what one little Firefly mattered with a Reaver fleet so close, but they would watch for Cutter’s prey. More than one commander joked with his subordinates that Cutter was still acting like a policeman, here on the verge of battle.

With some luck, if Serenity was nearby, all could be recovered, Cutter thought. He needed time, more time than the thin margin of two hours allowed. He called his senior communications officer to his ready room.

“Major, I want all incoming Cortex, deep space, subspace, and radio channels jammed. All comms traffic is limited to ship to ship within the fleet. Not one message is to reach this fleet from outside sources. Any messages from Londinium are to be directed to my ready room and are from my eyes only. Inform the fleet of this new order and then shut everything down.”

“Yes, sir,” the man asked, more than a little curious as to why but he did not question and left to carry out Cutter’s order.

“Now, Serenity, where are you?” Cutter thought, as he left his ready room for the bridge and the battle to come.

***************************************************

On Serenity, dinner was enjoyed by all and everyone praised Inara’s cooking. The table was full, the lounge was full and a few people even stood at the kitchen counter and ate. Every plate was busy and every glass and cup was being used. Then Simon appeared and said Drummond was awake and wanted to make a new video message. Brenda ran off to the infirmary without finishing her meal. The other Miranda people gulp their last few bites and drained their drinks and followed her. Then River stood and also followed.

“He also wants to talk to you about the serum, River,” Simon said as she walked past him.

“I know,” was all she said as she left and Simon just shrugged, wondering if a day would come when speech would no longer be necessary to tell his sister what he wanted. And then he saw Kaylee coming from the kitchen with a plate of food for him and he managed a smile for her as he sat at the table.

“How are you?” Kaylee asked as she sat next to him, worrying on her man, Simon looking so tired and she wondered when the last time he slept was. She also knew he wasn’t taking well the fact that he could do nothing for Drummond’s cancer.

“I’m good,” he said in a monotone and it was a lie.

“Don’t take all this on yourself,” she said to him seriously and she looked around the table at Mal and Zoe and Inara. “We’re all here. Talk to us.”

Simon just sighed and knew what she was talking about. “He’s dieing…and I can’t help him.”

They were all silent for a moment as Kaylee put a hand on his shoulder. “Folks die Simon. You can’t save them all.”

He could see in her eyes she was thinking about her mother and her death from diabetes and Simon flashed back to when Kaylee had almost died and she told him how she had seen her mother in a near death experience. If he’d even lost her or River he knew he might never get over it. “I know we all have our time to go. Just he gave so much to help the Reavers and now it may all be lost if he dies before the serum can be reproduced.”

“Maybe that’s for the best,” said Zoe without emotion. “If that Alliance fleet kills them all I ain’t gonna shed any tears. Things they done these past years…maybe they deserve to die.”

Kaylee just stared at her. “Zoe, I know most folks on the Rim got no love for the Reavers,” Kaylee said in a firm voice. “And we all certainly don’t, maybe me especially since I was their ‘guest’ for a short time. But they aren’t to blame for what happened to them. If there’s a chance we can cure them…we have to make it happen.”

“Kaylee…after what they did to you?” Zoe asked in wonder. “I mean…they didn’t hurt you, but…it must have been awful.”

“It was,” she said in a quiet voice. “But Reavers were once folks. And all folks got the right to live.” Then she couldn’t stand the incredulous stare Zoe was giving her and she turned to Simon. “Don’t they?”

“Most certainly,” he said and she felt better as he reassured her.

“First the Reavers have to be willing, Kaylee” Mal added. “Don’t think we’ll find too many more like Colonel Hopkins.”

“What did Drummond say about Angela and her problem?” Inara asked Simon, hoping to change the subject.

“He doesn’t know what will happen either.”

“Guess we’ll know soon enough,” said Mal as he stood. “Been almost 24 hours. And now its time to feed the…Reaver.”

They all grimaced as Mal picked up a bowl full of red, raw meat from the counter and a bottle of water and headed toward the fore hall. Mal had thought about letting the Colonel snack on Forbes’s bones but that was going a bit too far. He had managed to scrounge up some frozen beef for the Colonel and had it thawed out. As he came into the cargo bay Jayne and the Colonel were arguing.

“The best way to kill a man is just shoot him in the head,” said Jayne while pointing his pistol right at the Colonel’s head. “No brains, nothin’ else works.”

“Yes,” said Colonel Hopkins. “I would agree. Except the brains are very delicious. I wouldn’t want to damage them. And bullet fragments don’t make for a nice meal.”

Jayne didn’t have a comeback for that one except “Gorramnit, that’s creepifying.”

“Dinner time,” Mal said as he appeared and set the bowl of meat and bottle of water on a crate in front of Hopkins.

Jayne freed one of Hopkins arms and while Mal and Jayne kept guns drawn on him he had his ‘dinner’.

“Very good,” the Colonel said through blood red teeth. “Not as good as brains but…”

“Stop right there,” Mal said. “Don’t need that image in my mind.”

“Can I go eat now?” Jayne said, not at all put off by the sight of the Colonel munching on raw meat.

“Go,” Mal said and Jayne was gone upstairs without another word.

“He is afraid,” the Colonel said as he gulped some water. He had asked for wine or beer but Mal didn’t fancy seeing what a drunk Reaver was like, not one so big and strong at least.

“Who? Jayne? Guess you don’t know the man that well. Not much scares him except, well, your kind.”

“He’s afraid of this fleet, afraid to die.”

“Nobody’s gonna die except Cutter.”

“You don’t know what will happen. No one does. Not in battle.”

“That’s for damn sure,” Mal said thoughtfully.

“Your ship is very fast,” the Colonel observed. “Faster than normal.”

“Yeah, Kaylee made some modifications. We do leave lots of folks in our dust.”

“More than modifications. You forget, I am captain of a Firefly, too. We arrived here from Miranda in less than a few minutes. That’s impossible.”

“You’ve been in this quadrant for more than 16 years now. Lots of new stuff about the galaxy.”

“I’m no fool Reynolds. This ship has a super engine drive of some sort.”

Mal didn’t answer him for a few seconds. “Well….she’s fast.”

“What’s the plan?”

“Let Cutter destroy your rivals up there. Then…we talk.”

“With Cutter?” The Colonel seemed to grow a touch angry at this suggestion.

“Can’t fight his whole fleet.”

“No. But…what is between you and Cutter?’

“He sent that assassin, Forbes, after us. Fellow you wanted to munch on.”

“There’s more to the story, Captain.”

“Cutter wants something we got…and he’s got something we want. Least we think he does.”

Hopkins frustration was showing on his scarred faced. “Reynolds, I don’t care about your ship, or your super drive, or your crew or whatever Cutter has that you want back. I just want a piece of Cutter. What in the gorramn verse is the plan?’

Mal smiled and as he explained in detail, Hopkins first smiled, and then grinned and then was soon laughing in that demented Reaver laugh.

********************************************

Wash and Zoe sat on the bridge, examining the scopes for trouble, when trouble came.

“Incoming, high, looks like a Reaver,” said Wash with slight panic rising in his voice.

“Captain,” Zoe shouted into the comms. ‘We got an incoming ship.”

“Go to black!” Mal ordered through ship wide comms and then everything started shutting down. Kaylee raced to the engine room from where she and Inara had been washing dishes and hit the buttons to set the power to the bare minimums. Jayne sat at the table in the dark, not letting anything disturb his meal, even if it might be his last. On the bridge Wash and Zoe turned off everything except the visual scanning and in the infirmary Simon turned off all equipment except for the scanner for Drummond’s heartbeat.

“What’s happening?’ asked Brenda as the ship went eerily dark. The Professor had just finished making his video for Cutter when the order came.

“We go to black when trouble is about,” Simon said.

“It’s a Reaver ship,’ said River as she looked to the ceiling and felt Wash’s thoughts. And then in the darkness she grabbed the disk from the vid recorder and headed out of the infirmary before anyone knew she was gone.

Mal raced up the dark stairway, easily finding his way despite the darkness, his instincts for every turn and step on his ship honed by seven years of living here.

“What we got?’ he asked as he came onto the bridge.

“He’s just hanging up there,’ Wash said in a whisper. “I think he might have spotted us, but we shut down in time.”

“The snow,” Zoe said with worry and then Mal caught what she meant. They were in a field of snow. It was dark outside but if that Reaver ship had any visual scanning they would surely see the shape of the Firefly in the snowfield.

“Oh, no, here it comes,” said Wash as the Reaver ship suddenly turned and headed straight for their position.

“Fire her up!’ Mal commanded and as Wash reached for his power buttons and Mal reached for the intercom to yell to Kaylee, Zoe suddenly stopped them both.

“Wait! Missile coming in! Straight for the Reaver ship!”

They watched in amazement as the missile came out of nowhere and slammed into the Reaver ship, blowing it to million pieces in a bright orange fireball that lit the night northern sky. The wreckage fell about a kilometer away directly in front of Serenity, a brilliant shower of flaming metal and sparks raining from the sky.

“What the hell was that?” Wash asked in relieved surprise.

“That,” Mal said in a grim tone. “Was Cutter and the Alliance fleet.”

******************************************

The Battle of Haven was short and complete and that’s what Cutter wanted, the Reavers destroyed before Shin’s and Blakely’s orders arrived from Londinium. The Reavers stood almost no chance and Alliance missiles rained down on their ships before they even realized a fleet was so close. Reaver ships and their crews were too busy chasing Haven’s citizens or trying to pry them from their underground bunkers to understand they were under attack at first. Then as ship after ship was struck and exploded or fell to the ground, they understood they were under attack. Some turned to fight but were decimated before they got within range of their own inadequate missiles. Other’s fled toward Miranda and were run down and destroyed and still others chose to hide on Haven in gullies and ravines and even old mine shafts. It would be years before the last Reavers were found and killed on Haven but as a collective threat to citizens they would no longer pose a problem.

As the reports began coming in of the initial success, Cutter’s senior comms officer turned to him on the bridge. “Someone is trying to broadcast a fleet wide message on subspace, Cortex, and radio wave channels.”

“My ready room,” Cutter said and then left the bridge.

****************************************

As Mal said those words “Alliance fleet” Wash gulped and Zoe cast a stern look to her captain.

“The plan, sir? We stick to it?’

“Yup. Time to tell the verse about what Cutter did on Miranda. All power,” Mal told Wash and then he said the same to Kaylee in the engine room. Soon the ship was glowing with electricity again.

Mal took the vid of the woman scientist from his pocket and went to pop it into the vid machine behind the co-pilot’s station.

“Wait,” said a voice and it was River, just coming on the bridge. She handed Mal the vid disk. “Drummond’s message for Cutter.”

“You know what’s on it?’ Mal asked.

“I recorded it,’ she said. Mal thought for a moment and then just put the disk in the machine and played it. They listened and Mal knew it was better than what they had but decided to put the two together, with Drummond's message first."

“Ok, Wash. Maximum power, local burst, all channels.”

Wash made the adjustment for the Cortex message sending software and then nodded to Mal.

“Ready,” he said and then Mal hit the send button.

“Message being sent on all radio and subspace and Cortex channels,” Wash said and then his face grew pensive. “Wait a minute…some kind of interference. High frequency jamming beams, on all channels….coming from the quadrant facing the Core.”

“The fleet is jamming us,” said River and Mal’s plan went out the window with those words.

“Gorramnit all to hell,” Mal said though clenched teeth. “We gotta do something to let Cutter know we’re here and let his whole fleet know what he is.”

“Sir, I have an idea,” Zoe said and as she explained and they discussed it, a new plan was made. It was iffy and depended on Cutter doing what they wanted him to do but Mal knew it was their only chance.

Mal suddenly remembered something and yelled for Jayne as he raced to the cargo bay. He had realized he had left Hopkins all alone with one arm free. He drew his pistol as saw Hopkins free and sitting on a crate. Jayne was just a few steps behind Mal and also pulled his gun as he saw the situation.

“Hello, Captain. All is well?” Hopkins asked in a carefree manner as he picked his many gold teeth with a splinter of wood.

Mal glared at him. “What the hell you doing free?”

“Just let me shoot him now, Mal,” Jayne said with a grimace.

“It seems we are partners in this battle to kill Cutter,” Hopkins said. “If I am to trust you then you must trust me.”

Mal slowly lowered his pistol. “I reckon so.”

Jayne couldn’t believe his ears. “Mal, ain’t you forgetting what he is? He ain’t got control of his…his…urges!”

“I’ve eaten, I’m unarmed, and you have all the guns,” Hopkins pointed out.

“Even so,” Mal said. “Jayne’s got permission to shoot you first time you look at anyone and lick your lips or your stomach growls.”

Jayne grinned even more when Mal said this. “Right in the head,” Jayne said to the Reaver.

“Fair enough,’ said Hopkins. Mal told him what had happened and how the plan needed changing.

“By the by, that Firefly of yours on Miranda. It got power?”

“Certainly. But it’s not spaceworthy. That’s why I needed your mechanic.”

“Don’t need it to be spaceworthy, just need it to fly,” Mal said and then he explained the new plan. **********************************

In his ready room Cutter watched in shock as the image of Stanley Drummond appeared on screen. He was older, looked terrible and was propped up in the infirmary bed, but it was definitely Drummond. He began to speak slowly, his raspy voice bringing Cutter back all those years to Miranda.

“My name is Professor Stanley Drummond. I was a professor of science on Miranda many years ago. Maybe you don’t know about Miranda but Adam Cutter does. Miranda is the Reaver home world, my home world these past twenty years. Cutter, if you hear this, then know I am still alive. It was I who made the broadcast about the Reavers. Now I am dieing and my mission is almost finished. I have searched for sixteen years for a cure for the Reavers. Now I have found it. Too late for so many, but not too late for all. I will tell the verse how you made the Reavers, how you killed thirty million people, how you have used your post to perpetrate evil. Miranda was used as experimental testing ground, to make people lose their aggression, to stop all violence and crime once and for all. They used a gas that that made everyone passive to the point where they just lay down and died. But a small percent turned ultra violent, turned into Reavers. And Cutter is the one who authorized this experiment. Anyone who sees this message and records it please send it to Parliament, to the Prime Minister, to anyone who has the power to bring down Adam Cutter. For the people of Miranda and all those they have killed in their madness, bring Adam Cutter to justice.”

And then the message ended and was quickly followed by an image of a young woman in Alliance uniform, telling basically the same story as Drummond but with some more details and without mentioning Cutter's name. The message was more effective because of the images of the dead and of the woman's own death at the end at the hands of the Reavers. Cutter had seen this message in the past and had thought he had wiped out all records of the unauthorized expedition and this vid. Apparently, Drummond had found the crashed ship and a copy of the video on Miranda.

Drummond? All this time…he’s still alive! The last Cutter had seen of Drummond was when the fool had refused to evacuate from Miranda when they realized their plans had gone horribly wrong, as Drummond had predicted. His daughter had been one of the victims, killing her mother as they had slept in a protective sealed underground bunker Drummond had placed them in while he struggled in a government lab to find a way to reverse the sickness. His daughter had gone to look for help because her mother was ill with food poisoning. She took one whiff of the chemical filled air and 24 hours later was a Reaver. Drummond had found them the next day, his daughter sitting on the bed, gnawing on the bones of her mother, Drummond’s wife. She attacked him but his gasmask wearing body guards had beaten her off despite his screams for them not to harm her. She ran away from them and was lost in the chaos. He had almost gone mad and torn off his own gasmask and breathed deeply. But he didn’t die, didn’t collapse or turn into a Reaver and knew there must be a way to help them. More people began to appear who were unaffected and Drummond said they must have an immunity, that he needed time to find it, to help the others. But Cutter ordered the evacuation of all Alliance personnel before they too succumbed. Drummond stayed and he cursed Cutter and swore to find a cure. Now he is claiming to have it.

Too late for the Reavers around Haven. Their destruction had already begun. Cutter returned to the bridge and read all the reports of destroyed and fleeing Reaver ships and joined in the cheers as the bridge crew and the whole fleet enjoyed this victory.

The comms major approached Cutter and in a low voice whispered. “Sir, we have the location of the broadcast. It’s from Haven sir, the northern quadrant. Our long range scanners have picked up heat and power signatures. It’s a ship sir, Firefly class, broadcasting a transponder code for the vessel Constellation.”

“Very good," Cutter said and he grinned. Constellation, Serenity, it didn’t matter what name they used. They made the broadcast and they were there.

Cutter contacted the commander of a small gunship. “Captain, the Firefly vessel I want is in northern Haven. It may be using a transponder code for a ship called Constellation. Coordinates are being transferred to your bridge now. Proceed and kept an eye on them. Do not under any circumstances fire on that vessel.”

The captain acknowledged the order. Then Cutter thought on his other problem. Where was Shepherd Book? And why hadn’t Taggert reported his death yet?

*******************************************

“Shepherd Book?” came a voice and a soft knock on his door.

He was in the ship’s chapel in his quarters at the rear, thinking on what Billingsworth had told him after he had been released. A friend had messaged him with orders directly from Admiral Shin to protect Book and Frye at all costs. Apparently the Prime Minster was aware of the situation and ordered Cutter to release him. Billingsworth hadn’t wanted to say anything near the prison corridors because of the cameras and possible recording devices. He advised Book to stay in his quarters with the door locked until he could be moved to safety after the battle was over. Billingsworth had headed back to keep and eye on Jonathan. Now someone was at Book’s door.

“Yes? Who is it?”

“Patterson, Shepherd. Captain Billingsworth, he’s…dead.”

Book swiftly opened the door, and saw the worry and anguish in the young soldier’s eyes.

“Dead?” Book asked in astonishment. He had just seen him not thirty minutes ago.

“They found him on the floor in the corridor. Doc said it looked like a heart attack.”

“Dear Lord, please watch over such a fine man in his hour of need,” Book said as he crossed himself. Then he looked at Patterson. “Where’s the body?’

“Infirmary by now.”

Book came out into the chapel with Paterson trailing him. “You go back to the cell blocks and watch over Mr. Frye.”

“Shepherd…you don’t think it was a heart attack, do you?”

“No, I do not,’ said Book and as he answered a deep rumbling came through the ship.

“What’s that?’ Patterson asked in fear.

“I take it you’ve never been in battle son. That’s missile fire, outgoing thankfully. The other kind would be a lot more noisy and unpleasant. The battle has begun and we have much to do.”

*************************************************

“Alliance gunship coming over the horizon,” Wash said to Mal on the bridge. All hands had been told of the new plan and everyone was set. It had been an hour since the Battle of Haven had started and Mal felt it had to be now or never.

“OK, take her up,” Mal ordered and Wash did what he did best, fly Serenity.

She arose in a majestic ball of blue flame as the VTOL’s lit up the night sky and the snow melted in great swaths under her. Higher and higher she rose as Wash flew and Zoe kept an eye on the Alliance gunships position. As Serenity rose into the air and broke into the black of space the Alliance gunship hung back and did nothing.

“Hold position,” Mal said and they waited, five minutes, ten minutes and nothing happened. No one fired at them, no one tried to harm them in any way.

“Looks like Forbes told River the truth,” Wash said and then realized his slight error. “Well…I mean…he didn’t say it but…”

“I don’t care how she found out,” said Mal. “They want this ship. Ok. Wash, let’s moon ‘em.”

Wash smiled. “With pleasure.”

Mal grabbed the intercom. “All hands, prepare for jump.” And then he sat in the third seat and buckled in.

As Mal sat down a voice came through the comms, a voice none had heard before and none had expected so soon.

“Serenity, this is High Chancellor Adam Cutter. Captain Reynolds, it’s time we had a chat.”