This story follows my others, Firefly: After Miranda and Firefly: Family.

Firefly: Albatross

The ice was here, the ice was there,

The ice was all around:

It cracked and growled, and roared and howled,

Like noises in a swouned!

At length did cross an albatross,

Thorough the fog it came;

As if it had been a Christian soul,

We hailed it in God's name.

It ate the food it ne'er had eat,

And round and round it flew.

The ice did split with a thunder-fit;

The helmsman steered us through! ~The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (excerpt)

Introduction

History often records the turning point of an event, that moment when things took a turn for the better, or worse. Six months after the Miranda wave the protests and violence in the core reached a peak. The Parliament decided to act. Investigations were launched and quickly found answers.

The members of Parliament whom were for this horrible act were arrested, quickly tired and found guilty. They had knowingly approved of this terrible experiment and found ways to fund it. They had tricked the Blue Sun Corporation into thinking it was helping to create a treatment for the violently insane. These, so called, servants of the people were quickly taken to remote prisons to serve out the rest of their days in cells.

The brave crew which had revealed this dark secret to the universe, and allowed justice to prevail, was found and given the accolades they so richly deserved. Judas LaBoue captain of the cargo ship Figmentum and his brave crew had picked up a weak signal coming from the Burnham system. Fearing someone was in trouble they risked their lives sneaking past legions of Reavers. What they found on Miranda had shocked and horrified them. Once they found the recording from the research ship they knew they had to get it into the hands of the authorities. They left the planet and contacted the nearest Alliance ship. Unfortunately that communication was picked up by the Reavers, whom gave chase. The Alliance commander called in every ship he could and a trap was set above one of the Verse’s relay stations. The battle was fierce and many brave Alliance soldiers gave their lives in the name of justice. Captain LaBoue feared the Reavers might win and decided set his ship down on the stations surface, only to be followed by a number of Reavers. His crew fought bravely and was able to broad wave the recording, ensuring what ever happened in the battle above the truth would be known.

…of course those were the official stories. The truth was much different.

The members of Parliament which were arrested and found guilty were a mixture of troublesomely honest men and women and those that wanted out the limelight. As such some did end up in very nasty prisons on the edge of the verse. The others found themselves in facilities that were basically county clubs surrounded by fencing and barbed wire, serving to keep prying eyes out more then to keep people in.

Captain LaBoue was nothing more than an actor, a puppet. He toured the core telling his story and calling for peace now that the truth had come out and justice had been done. He even successfully ran for one of the then empty seats in Parliament.

So after months of a slow burn and an explosion of violence it took only a matter of weeks for the Parliament, and the power brokers within, to bring the flames to little more than embers. All the razzle dazzle would’ve made Billy Flynn very proud.

With the troubles in the Core and the loss of a number of ships the Alliance had had little choice but to pull some of forces back into the central system. The increased government influence that had been creeping in to the outer systems over the last few years was quickly swept away. In the Red Sun system this meant an increase of black market goods moving through the planet Greenleaf.

Where most of the ports on Persephone did only the bare minimum to hide their illegal dealings, Greenleaf’s ports keep up an immaculate appearance trying to signal that everything was on the up and up. Port Siracusa was the largest and most well maintained port outside of the Core. It was situated north of Greenleaf’s wide tropical zone. The port consisted of six massive docking rings, each one inside of the next. The outer part of each ring had a number of docking slots, while the inner part was home to warehouses and trading shops of all shapes and sizes. The two sides were separated by a wide street which allowed cargo and people to move around to the adjacent rings or into the surrounding city. The center of the port housed port control and many other official offices. You would not find any two-bit gangsters with makeshift offices here. Port control was very tight, everything was marked, labeled and inspected. Of course this was much like recent events in the Core, nothing but a show.

The truth was you could get almost anything into and out of the ports on Greenleaf for just a little extra coin. Corruption was ramped and everyone knew it. To keep everyone’s mouth shut, everyone had a share, and no one talked about how much their share was. The rich kept a low profile making it harder for the not so rich to come looking for bigger cuts.

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“Serenity, you are cleared to land at docking ring three, slot one forty three. Welcome to Port Siracusa,” the voice of a female port control agent announced.

“One forty three, got it,” Captain Reynolds said into the microphone before hanging it back in it back in place.

“I could do other chores,” River said as she piloted as Serenity towards its assigned landing slot.

“Just concentrate on landing my ship, lil’ one,” the captain replied. “Besides we’ve been over this. You have just as much responsibility for doing the chores as everyone else, including this one.

“Inara, doesn’t…nor you,” the young pilot argued.

Mal frowned at her continued protest, “Inara pays to stay on board, and I’m the captain.”

Serenity set down easily on the reinforced concrete pad. River quickly moved through the power-down sequence and brought the engines to their resting positions.

Before River could launch any further protests Mal turned and marched off the bridge saying, “best get some older clothing on, you might get messy.”

River frowned heavily in the pilot’s chair and mocked his words.

Mal was met by Inara as he descended the stairs into the cargo bay. She was wearing one of her more common outfits.

“You got your list?” Mal asked with a smile.

“Yes,” she replied matching his smile, “would you mind if I make a few substitutions?”

“What, the food we normally get not good enough?” the captain asked in a jocular tone.

Inara smiled again, “Different selections might turn out to be more appealing.”

“Find, just as long as you get enough and don’t go over budget,” Mal conceded.

“Very well, Captain,” she said wrapping her arms around him and pressing her lips to his.

“Get a room you two,” Kaylee smiled from below as she activated the Serenity’s bay door.

“How ‘bout the engine room, works for Kaylee and the doc,” Jayne mocked from his seat on the weight bench.

Simon entered the bay from the common area and asked, “Is there a reason you’re always so crude?”

“All of you gwan nee tzi-jee duh shr. Now you all got jobs so let’s get to doing,” Mal ordered as he followed Inara down the stairs. “Jayne, make sure…”

“Primer cord if they have any, got it, Cap,” the mercenary replied as he and the others headed out leaving only Mal in the cargo bay.

Mal couldn’t help but smile; it always made him happy when the crew was working like a properly greased machine. Kaylee was getting the ship fueled and checking on a few spare parts she needed to repair the Mule, Jayne was topping off the ship’s ammo stores, Simon doing the same for the infirmary supplies and Inara had agreed to pick up the eatables. Soon enough River would be doing her part, with a little oversight from Zoe.

Mal walked down to the edge of the ramp and watched as one of the dock officers finished imputing Serenity’s data into the nearby port control screen. The captain rolled up his sleeves to help combat the hot summer weather. It was not long before Mal saw the man he was waiting for headed his way.

Anatolia Bernoulli had thinning dark hair and tan skin. With his average build and height was unremarkable accept for his round belly which gave him a silhouette closer to that of pregnant women than an overweight man. He wore a light grey summer-weight suit much like the other traders walking the docks.

“Who’s that with Bernoulli, Sir?” Zoe asked walking up next to the captain.

Mal hadn’t noticed the younger man walking with Bernoulli. He was Bernoulli’s height and shared his dark hair and tan skin, but with a slimmer build and thicker hair. Instead of a suit he wore a powder blue polo shirt and tan slacks.

“Don’t know…where’s River? She’s got a job to do,” Mal stated.

“Right here,” River responded coming down the stairs. Her dress had been replaced with an old oversized tee-shirt and black spandex shorts.

“Malcolm Reynolds, been awhile,” Bernoulli said as he reached Serenity’s ramp.

“Bernoulli,” Mal simply replied.

“Mal, Zoe, I would like you to meet my son Aleksander,” Bernoulli announced motioning to the young man next to him.

“Hello, it’s a pleasure to meet both of you…and this would be?” the young man finished looking at River who had joined them.

“Pleasure I’m sure, this is River our pilot,” the captain replied.

“You’re young to be a pilot,” Aleksander said with a smile.

“Not so young,” River said returning his smile.

“This is all very nice, but I believe you have a job to attend to,” the captain said turning to River.

River rolled her eyes and started down the ramp with a huff. Zoe followed along saying, “Pardon us, gentlemen.”

As she passed, Bernoulli stopped her for a moment saying, “I heard, and I’m sorry about Wash. He was a good, good man.”

“Thank you,” Zoe replied and then went to catch up with River.

Mal cleared his throat loudly noticing Aleksander’s head had turned to follow River. The young man’s head quickly turned back around.

“I believe your wave said something about a job,” the captain started, “which was surprising considering you said you would never hire us again.”

“No, no I said I would never hire you to deliver anything with a deadline,” Bernoulli corrected. “Remember why that was?”

“Well...ah…”

“It was because you never once got me my goods, or delivered goods for me on time. Not once,” Bernoulli replied.

Mal smiled, “Yet here we are, you offering me a job.”

“That’s because this particular cargo doesn’t have a solid deadline,” Bernoulli replied.

“And what is the cargo?” the captain asked.

“Magnetic…I mean…” Bernoulli stammered.

“Gravitational fluid pumps and control systems,” Aleksander answered for his father. “They’re used mainly in ore processing. Strong gravity fields are used to keep molten ores under pressure which keeps them from cooling.”

“See my boy here studied engineering on Sihnon before deciding to truck out here and work with his father,” Bernoulli explained proudly. “Much to the annoyance of my ex-wife, that…”

“Dad!” Aleksander warned.

“Okay, so beside these pumps being all high tech what is it that requires us, rather than one of your other haulers?” Mal asked.

“Well for one I don’t currently have the pumps. About four odd months ago I dealt them to a start up ore processor on Lennox. They put a good sum down and were to make payments,” Bernoulli explained.

“Let me guess, that never happened. Now you want us repo your merchandise and deliver it to the new buyer,” Mal responded.

Bernoulli smiled, “Not just deliver, install and calibrate. That’s why my son will be going with you. Which is the other reason I called you Mal, after all is said and done there aren’t many I would trust with my boy.”

“That’s good to know. How do you know the pumps are still in the hands of the people you sold them?” Mal asked.

“I don’t for sure.” Bernoulli explained, “That’s why I haven’t promised anything to the new buyer. If you do get the pumps you will have to wave the buyer on Bellerophon.”

“Bellerophon, how is it a core planet can’t get pumps like this?” Mal asked skeptically.

“They can, but it’s a longer wait and a much higher price. Plus New Buffalo is not exactly on the same level as all those floating estates,” replied Bernoulli.

“With all that to considerer I’m starting to think your offer’s a bit low,” Mal smiled.

“Don’t dicker with me. The price is the price; I’m already taking a loss on the pumps. You can take it or leave it,” Bernoulli said not returning the captain’s smile.

“Fine, you got a deal,” Mal replied offering his hand, “so long as you re-think your stand on us being late those times.”

Bernoulli took his hand, “I’ll never mention it again…except when I do,” he finished with a smile.

“Looks like you’re sailing with us,” Mal said to Aleksander.

“I’m ready when you are, captain. My bags are just down the way.” The young man responded.

Suddenly a loud popping sound was heard from outside the ship followed by an equally loud scream.

“What was that?” Bernoulli asked.

A wide smile came over Mal’s face, “Sounds like someone just experienced a septic vac-line blowout.”

A few moments later an angry, very dirty, very smelly River Tam marched around from Serenity’s port side and up the ramp saying, “It’s not funny!”

The three men watched her for a moment as she headed towards the common area washroom before Mal turned back towards Aleksander and said, “Welcome aboard.”