The Story of the Ship
Edgar "English" Dickens was the original owner and Captain of the Monarch. A stout '03 Firefly transport ship that was once the glory of the shipping industry throughout the Core all the way to the Rim. When the war broke out, Dickens refused to choose sides. As a businessman, however, he did smuggle to make ends meet.
The Alliance caught up to him and crippled Monarch, as well as his leg. They left him and his XO stranded on a backwoods planet. There his wife was killed. For years, Dickens found solace in a bottle as he and his companion tried as best they could to cobble together Monarchs systems. Once accomplished, Dickens and his XO left the planet where his wife had been laid to rest.
Cleaning up his act, he recruited a crew. Mostly renegades, lost souls, and misfits. Including Waverly Ellis, a long lost relative. Ameri Webber, a strange and troubled girl. Tyr Berkana, a common thug that was loyal to his Captain. Rick Ryder, a renegade Alliance soldier. Jacob Manaan, a man with a price on his head. Jack O'trads, a whiz mechanic with a past. And, James Gunther, a man of many talents.
Others came and went, and soon tensions mounted. So much so, that Waverly struck out on her own. She salvaged a Firefly Transport of her own that was ravaged by Reavers, and with the help of the Monarch crew was able to get her limping again. She was re-christened Kestrel.
As the two crews parted, trouble followed both. Waverly was murdered. Dickens critically wounded in a raiding party. It seemed both crews were to be lost forever.
Rick Ryder, unable to let Dickens dream of the Monarch fly free, did not let Monarch go along the wayside. He gathered what was left of his crew, what little credits he had, and a prayed for a miracle. Soon the Monarch was flying again. They took whatever job would pay, and they took whatever passengers they could book.
Now, it seems the Kestrel has met her end, and due to fortunate events, Monarch was there for the rescue. The old crew and the new crew had been thrown together to fly the sky.
“I ain't one that's much on speeches, but here it is. I ain't gonna lay down and die just 'cause they tell me to. Dickens took care of us. He wanted this ship to be the haven for misfits that the Alliance over looked. We owe it to him to keep flying, and Gorram it that's my intention. We take what we can get, get what we can, and keep moving! Rest'll fall in from there I 'spect!"
- Rick Ryder before his untimely disappearance
Now it's 9 years after the Unification War... History sees that the Alliance is becoming more strict and secretive than ever. A man with a past is being called upon. With the promise that the children he had taken into his care would be provided for, he leaves the planet known as Haven. 3 Years after the Miranda wave sent forth by Malcolm Reynolds. A man who this warrior fought against in that gorramned valley. This old man knows that times are a changin'. He buys a legendary ship that's in disarray, from his long gone son, Xian. He takes a mission with a message from his buyer. “Need a crew. Then get to Hera. Pay your respects to half the men you put in those graves... Maverick.”
A new Captain. An uncertain future. The man only known as "Maverick" seeks the same goals as all Firefly captains. Get a ship. Get a crew. Get the guns to keep ship and crew. Get a job and make good. A man with a creed, "Sniff the air, don't kiss the sky. Can't trust nobody but your own."
Our Mad 'Verse
After the Earth was used up, we found a new system with hundreds of new Earths. The central planets formed the Alliance and fought a war to bring all the planets under their rule.
There was some disagreement on that point.
After the war, the losers of the conflict drifted to the edges of the system. Out here, people struggled to get by with the most basic of technologies. A ship could get you a job; a gun would help you keep it.
A captain's goal was simple. Find a crew. Find a job. Keep flying.
-The Late Shepherd Derrial Book
When humanity left the Earth-That-Was, the Anglo-Sino Alliance was formed of the last two super powers on Earth. The United States and China.
As other worlds and moons were terraformed, these two cultures blended along with all other surviving cultures. Taking predominance with the American old west style and Chinese philosophies, it is not uncommon for a person the wear a turban with a leather jacket, or a gown adorned with a gypsy sash. The world merely blended, almost instantaneously.
It is over 500 years in our future, The Earth, as we know it, is “used up” ecologically and resource wise the Earth is now gone. Humanity is now spread over 70 some worlds, terraformed by the finest tech we could create. Some of these worlds were lush and vibrant offering humanity. They were a haven the likes of which haven’t seen since the forgotten Earth. Other planets, not so much. The core worlds began to form a powerful alliance. All the while, the Independent Worlds intended to stay independent. And soon the League of Independent Worlds found themselves in a war with the better equipped and more numerous Alliance forces. The great war began...
Unification?
The war brought out great heroes with gallantry, such as the mustang Captain known as Malcolm Reynolds and his loyal NCO and partner, Zoe Alleyne. However, it also brought out the ugliness of humanity, such as the Operatives and the “Hands of Blue.” The war had taken away planets, such as the devastated Shadow. It had absorbed the Periphery Worlds under the thumb of the Alliance.
When all was said and done, it came down to one battle to end it all. Serenity Valley. Captain Reynolds lead 72,000 strong to retake Hera. If he crushed the Alliance here, he would turn the tide of the war. It was not to be...
The Browncoats fought valiantly, but they were outgunned and outnumbered. It was on that day that the Alliance finally delivered a crushing blow to the exhausted Independent forces. The legendary General, Richard Wilkins, flanked all of Reynolds' forces, and he dealt a masterful and cruel blow to the proud army. The surrender took place days after the battle. As the paper was signed on Serenity Hill, a sense of loss was tremendously felt. It did more than people would ever know. That day, the Captain and many others lost their faith in God. Others lost their faith in what they knew as right...
Miranda...
Since then, the Alliance and it’s silent partner, the Blue Sun Corporation, has had almost complete control of the known 'Verse. Some folk, however, fall through the cracks of an Alliance that concerns itself only with the welfare of the Core Worlds. The sad part is that it has dominion over 70 planets.
Three years ago, this philosophy was thrown back in their face by a little girl they turned into a science experiment named River Tam. She knew their dirty little secret. When Miranda was revealed, Captain Reynolds figured out that if we knew. If they knew... The Alliance could not save their already damaged reputation. He aimed to misbehave. On the planet we didn't know, called Miranda, he and Serenity's crew found the recording of what they did. Those gorram bastards created the scourge of the 'Verse. The Reavers.
After a valiant battle with Alliance forces and the Reaver parties, Mal gained access to Mr. Universe's wave broadcaster. With the Operative paralyzed after their battle, Mal did the unthinkable. He told the 'Verse the truth. However, he lost too many friends that day. Hoban Washburn, his pilot and comic foil. Shepherd Derrial Book, his loyal old friend and his heart. Mr. Universe, his brainy little buddy. As the last words rang from Mr. Universe, “You can't stop the signal, Mal... Nobody can stop the signal.” He was right. Many worlds saw that damning evidence of what occured on Miranda.
The Operative, humbled by seeing his world without sin, rebuilt Serenity. He tried to atone for his crimes. However, as Mal told him, “If I see you again, I'd have the inclination to kill you myself, if they don't.” The last words from that Operative, “There is nothing left to see...”
River Tam's Legacy
Three years after that wave, the Alliance has become more restrictive and secretive. They started losing influence over the Periphery Worlds. Hera revolted after they knew of the atrocities at Serenity Valley and Miranda. Other Worlds began screaming for freedom from what they viewed as an evil, incompetent, and meddling government.
More than ever, the Alliance is sending out more Marshalls. More soldiers. More ghosts. As the campaign to silence the dissenters begins, more Independent merchants and runners see this as an opportunity to start making that metal or that cashy money. It's a hard scrabble life these days, but the people are a bit more free than back then.
This brings us to now... Time for our own piece of the history. A chance to be a bit yu bun duh with your mistakes. A time to forge new legends.