What was on the other side of Serenity Valley? by SoupCatcher

GENERAL DISCUSSIONS

What was on the other side of Serenity Valley?

POSTED BY: SOUPCATCHER
UPDATED: Saturday, July 10, 2004 09:52
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Thursday, July 8, 2004 2:35 PM

So one thing I've always wondered was what exactly Mal and the Independents were protecting by holding Serenity Valley. It's clear to me that this battle was more in the way of a siege (Vicksburg) than two armies on the move locating each other almost by chance (Gettysburg). The Independents had the advantage of choosing terrain and fortifying and the Alliance had no choice but to conform to that battle plan and attack. But why? What could be so important on a planet(my assumption here since we never learn if Hera is a planet or a moon - I could be wrong on that one) that you tie up a large number of troops in defense? And with the ability to use space, why not just avoid a geographically fixed enemy?

I've included some relevant quotes from the scripts that have Serenity Valley information in them. On a side note, I have no idea whether Joss gave this any thought so this is more in the way of brainstorming interesting alternatives rather than trying to nail down cannon.

My own personal ill-formed speculations on this are that a combination of factors - high value target possibly an underground complex, limited Alliance air support due to length of war, Independent extraplanetary anti-aircraft installations, Alliance troops landed in large numbers a good distance away and then left with surface based air support to engage the Valley on foot - led to the critical ground engagement of the war.

"In the war to unite the planets, The Battle Of Serenity was among the most devastating and decisive. Located on Hera, the valley was considered a key position by both sides, and was bitterly fought over. The Independent Faction, with sixteen brigades and twenty air-tank squads, held the valley against Alliance forces for almost two months, until superior numbers and a brilliant deep-flank strategy by General Richard Wil--"
Simon's amazingly informative yet still quite compact dictionary

"The Alliance said they were gonna waltz through Serenity Valley and we choked 'em with those words. We've done the impossible and that makes us mighty. Just a little while longer, our angels are gonna be soaring overhead raining fire on those arrogant cod, so you hold!"
Mal from pilot episode

"Hey, listen to me. Bendis, look at me! Listen, we're holding this valley no matter what."
Mal from pilot episode

I shaved off my beard for you, devil woman!

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Thursday, July 8, 2004 3:22 PM

SHINY

I believe there was a secret underground companion training center in Serenity Valley...

"I left my heart in Serenity Valley"

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Thursday, July 8, 2004 3:44 PM

DRACOS

It's where the writer's room was located.

"Dont ask me silly questions.
I wont play silly games."
-Blaine
--------------------------------------------------
"Somebody tries to kill you you go ahead and try to kill them right on back!"
-Mal
--------------------------------------------------
"I'm gonna kill you with my tea-cup."
-Riddick

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Thursday, July 8, 2004 10:48 PM

RUTHIE

This has worried me, too - with the ability to attack from space, why should anything be held on the ground?

My best idea is that it was some sort of valuable mining or industrial complex, buried underground with the only entrance going through Serenity valley, so landing directly on it by air would not be possible, and too valuable to be simply destroyed by bombing etc.
So Serenity Valley marked the route from the nearest site to land spacecraft (Firefly class transports seem able to land on most terrain, but perhaps the craft used by the allience couldn't cope with the rocky terrain we saw in Serenity Valley)

So what could be so valuable to both sides?

Suppose that what was buried at the end of Serenity Valley was the Terraforming complex for the planet Hera. That, if this was switched off, the planet would rapidly revert to it's natural state, and humans would no-longer be able to live there.
Assume Hera was a main stronghold of the Independant movement.

So the politics would go somehthing like:-
Allience "We have control of everything - you would not even have a planet if we decide to turn off the Terraforming equipment"
Independants "That's our equipment, and you're not touching it"
Allience "We'll just walk in and take it - we are STRONG"
Independants "Oh no you won't - we'll hold Serenity Valley against all costs"

So, the battle would be partly a show of strength on the part of the Allience, to prove to ALL planets that may be thinking of independance that the Allience had both the will and the power to destroy them.
Simply destroying the terraforming equipment by bombing it would have destroyed the whole planet, and so may well have created MORE bad feeling against the Allience, but placing their operatives in a position to switch off the equipment, and then spend a week negotiating NOT to, as part of the peace treaty (while, of course, our heros lay defeated and disillusioned) may have been a more effective political solution than the simple military one of destruction.

Just as, in today's warfare, we have the capability of using a nuclear bomb to wipe out an enemy, but instead choose to use the less militarily effective, but more politically sensible, methods of airstrikes and ground troops.

Well, it's the way I've made it make sense in my mind....

*******************
Ruthie
*******************
By the data to date, there is only one animal in the Galaxy dangerous to man - man himself. So he must supply his own indispensable competition. He has no enemy to help him. (R.A.Heinlein)

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Friday, July 9, 2004 2:38 AM

DRACOS

Well that actually makes a lot of sense but with the way the worlds all appear there's no need for sustained use of the terra-forming equipment. They get set up with a full atmo' fill the ground with the right nutrients melt some ice and plant some trees. It creates the full eco-system humans need to survive on a planet. Perhaps that isnt how it works in this particular 'verse though.

"Dont ask me silly questions.
I wont play silly games."
-Blaine
--------------------------------------------------
"Somebody tries to kill you you go ahead and try to kill them right on back!"
-Mal
--------------------------------------------------
"I'm gonna kill you with my tea-cup."
-Riddick

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Friday, July 9, 2004 3:45 AM

PURPLEBELLY

Quote:
Originally posted by Ruthie:
So what could be so valuable to both sides?

All your points are valid and well made. The other consideration is that this is a civil war, fought for Unification, and boots on the ground are probably the only way to achieve that intimate level of control. All war is hell, but this is the Inner Circle.

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Friday, July 9, 2004 4:13 AM

SIGMANUNKI

I forget which ep it's in, but I remember that that planet being a strategic position in the war. Also, the forces fighting there where minimal and the Alliance had to wait for re-enforcments to win.

I'd bet that the Alliance in there arogance droped off what they thought to be a more than sufficient force to defeat the Browncoats and then the cruser moved on to other battles.

Plus, sheilding things to survive re-entry would be costly and the weapons inaccurate, so, they wouldn't want to chance that unless they were able to sac whatever was there and in war taking the enemies weapons is key (and money saving).

It's too early for me to fully develope this idea (just woke up). Sorry for the ramblings

----
"Canada being mad at you is like Mr. Rogers throwing a brick through your window." -Jon Stewart, The Daily Show

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Friday, July 9, 2004 4:14 AM

RELFEXIVE

I'm not sure about the "protecting the terraforming plant" idea, but I certainly agree that it makes sense that they would employ air strikes and ground forces rather than Big Sticks or Orbital Weapons. Neither of those leave much behind in the way of stuff to be had when the victorious forces take control of the area, whether that be resources or prisoners to be paraded on the Cortex.

Maybe it was the Independant command bunker or something. Or maybe... they had to show they could beat some important Independant general, who so far had won all his battles (or at least not lost them). By beating him, they demoralised the Independant cause and heralded the end of the war.

Mal: "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."

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Friday, July 9, 2004 4:32 AM

CHRONICTHEHEDGEHOG

I see it as a strategic location in the grander scheme of things.
Many battles take place in space however, you need to get to the places first, which means having places to stop and refuel, repair and upgrade the ships you have. Hera, being at the frontline of the independent movement is where they do all this, lose Hera, lose the ability to repair, lose the war. Now, you can't just go in there and bombard the place with ships based weapons because their air defence is too good, and they'd all just head underground anyway so you send in troops, hundreds, maybe thousands of them, to swarm the valley and destroy the installations that are there.

check out my WIP firefly roleplay system at www.estador.co.uk/firefly

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Friday, July 9, 2004 4:34 AM

HERO

Wow, they other side of Serenity Valley. Depends on your point of view.

1. Hope
2. Freedom
3. Death (for so many on both sides of the conflict)
4. Peace
5. Slavery
6. Victory
7. Sunnydale
8. Serenity (the ship)
9. Utter Defeat
10. Fox network executives who liked Firefly (all killed after the battle).

H

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Friday, July 9, 2004 4:53 AM

CYBERSNARK

Hmm. Maybe what the Browncoats were protecting was their orbital defense setup. Maybe a surface-to-orbit missile-launcher, or even a full starport.

The Alliance couldn't bomb from orbit, 'cause that would put them in range. They needed the troops to get through the valley and take/demolish the launchers so the Alliance starships could orbitally bombard the planet into submission.

Kinda like in Command & Conquer, when you have to use ground troops & artillery to take out SAM launchers before you can call in an air strike.

-----
We applied the cortical electrodes but were unable to get a neural reaction from either patient.

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Saturday, July 10, 2004 9:52 AM

HOBBES

I have to agree that Hera had some importance in the overall position of things. Additionally if Serenity Valley mounted ground based railguns, missiles, particle beams, plasma beams, Grasers, bosers, etc... then it makes sense that they were able to hold out, Because...

If either side controlled the high orbital then they could deploy a variation on Project Thor.

(Take big iron bars. Give them basic sensors and steerable vanes. Put bundles in orbit. If you see a target call it down in the basic area. Small computer has silhouette data (i.e. tanks, artillery, APC's, etc...) and laser illumination abilities. Drop say 20 thousand over an armor division and goodbye armor division.)

If either side did deploy Project Thor or something similar then the other side is stuck with infantry weapons versus tanks, APC's, heavy artillery, etc.

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