Firefly: The Next Generation (IC)

(This RP is only open to people who have already posted in the OOC for now)





The Battle of Boros
Georgia System
2541

As the sun set in the Borosian sky, the light filtered through the thick smoke in the air to create a reddish haze. Flames and explosions and exchange of weapons' fire plagued most of the planet while ships armed for war filled the skies, firing down upon enemy strongholds and troops unfortunate enough to be caught out in the open. Shouts of officers giving orders and cries of dying soldiers could be heard in every direction, and the blood-soaked ground was littered with corpses and debris.

The Army of the Republic of Independent Worlds fought wearing modified battle armor in red, yellow, or brown, while the Alliance Army displayed blue and purple on their armor. The elite Special Forces of the Republic Army wore a brown coat of arms on their shoulders, and took the nickname of the Independent soldiers in the Unification War – Browncoats. Among their ranks was Corporal Kylar Washburne, who had seen far too much for a man of only twenty-two.

His silver-blue eyes looked out from inside his helmet as Kylar and eleven other Browncoats sat strapped into the seats of their transport shuttle. The vessel had departed from a larger battleship in orbit along with a dozen others to drop teams in several locations on Boros. Kylar's shuttle flew over the carnage in Mander City and landed down in a large parking lot.

“Alright, go, go, go!” yelled Captain Yanes, the leader of their team of twelve. He and Lieutenant Brenly were the only two officers – the rest were enlisted men. Once they were all off the shuttle, Yanes waved to the pilot who took flight once more and returned to the battleship to transport another team to a different location.

Before the shuttle had dropped them off, Yanes had explained that the drop zone was about a mile south of Fort Aberdon, where a group of Alliance officials and high-ranking officers were holed up. Their mission was to make their way to the compound and force the enemy out into the open where they could be captured or eliminated.

“Okay, we will proceed north until we see the tip of the compound,” explained Yanes, “and then we will split into three teams and approach the facility from the south, the north, and the west. I will lead Red Team, Brenly will lead Blue Team, and Lebreicht will lead Green Team. Green Team will take the west and hack into the door panels, which will provide access for the other two teams. Then we will storm the facility and force them to surrender. If they don't much like the idea of turning themselves over, they might be a little more willing with a few bullet holes in 'em.”

The group ventured north, and then splintered into three groups as planned. “Washburne, you're with me,” Yanes commanded. Kylar nodded and circled around to the north wall with Yanes and two other soldiers. When they got the clear and the doors were unlocked, the four men stormed the building, taking cover from fire directed at them from guard towers. They dispatched guards as they ran through the interior courtyard, and Kylar felt the vibration of his assault rifle as he held the trigger.

Before long, the three teams converged on the central building and busted down the door. But they did not find the people inside that they had expected – instead there was an enormous bomb that suddenly began counting down from ten. “Shit, it's a trap!” yelled Yanes. They all turned to run but then, in a sadistic twist, the counter jumped from five to zero and released a huge explosion of energy.

“Aargghhh!!!” Kylar yelled out as he felt a burning sensation, a blinding light, and the force of the blast sending him flying through the air and slamming into a wall with a loud thump. He could see nothing but darkness and could hear nothing but a loud ringing in his ears, and then it faded to nothingness.



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“Well, well, look who's finally awake,” said a voice as Kylar opened his eyes. He was strapped to a hospital bed in the infirmary of an Alliance ship. “You've got burns on your chest, back, and legs, and your rib cage was fractured, but luckily I was able to save your life.”

“Who are you...” Kylar asked in a hoarse voice. The older man smiled.

“I am an Alliance medical officer, that's all you need to know.”

“Why did you save me? What about my team?”

“Oh no, your team is dead,” the doctor explained. “I was only interested in you. Most of your team died in the blast, but there were a few survivors – I killed them, though.”

“You son of a bitch!” growled Kylar, trying to break free from his restraints. The doctor smiled wider.

“Now, now, there's no need for that language,” he said cheerfully. “I did save your life, after all. Granted, I just wanted you alive so I could sell you to the Niska Syndicate, but I still saved you nonetheless.”

“The Niskas?” Kylar's heart dropped. He remembered hearing about how Adelai Niska had tortured people, including his father and Uncle Mal.

“Ah, yes, you've heard of them?” the doctor smiled again. “You have every reason to be terrified. No doubt they will put you through hell.”

“Why...” asked Kylar quietly. “Why are you selling me to them, and what do they want with me?”

“The old man Niska died some time ago,” explained the doctor, “but his oldest son wants to settle a debt owed to his father by Malcolm Reynolds.”

“I see,” said Kylar, “He is hoping that he can get to Mal through me. But why is the Alliance involved with the Niskas? Don't you already have enough money? Why are you selling me to them?”

“I have more money than I could ever spend,” explained the doctor. “What I am after has no monetary value, otherwise I would have just purchased it. The Niskas were very clear that they would only give me what I seek if I helped them get Malcolm Reynolds.”

“And what is it that you seek?”

“That's for me to know,” replied the doctor with a smile. “One of my associates was able to get me a registry of all Republic soldiers in the area and I just barely noticed your name. I was actually looking to see if Reynolds had rejoined the Army, but you'll do for now. I'm sure the Niskas will torture his location out of you and use you for ransom.”

“So my entire team is dead and I am being sold to a crime family...”

“Yep, pretty much,” laughed the doctor. “Now go back to sleep until we arrive.” Kylar tried to resist, bit he was given a tranquilizer and soon passed out once more.



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When Kylar regained consciousness again, he found himself strapped to a new bed in the Skyplex orbiting Ezra. There were several old men standing over him, all sons of Adelai Niska. The oldest smiled and held up a small black remote.

“Hello, Mr. Washburne,” he said politely. “I would like you to tell us where Malcolm Reynolds is.”

“I'll tell you,” started Kylar, “right after you kiss my gorram ass! Arrrgggghhh!!!!” His sentenced ended with cries of pain as the elder Niska used the remote to send electricity through Kylar's body.

“Answer me!” demanded Niska, no longer polite. “Tell me where he is and I will end your suffering!”

“But I was just beginning to enjoy it – aaarrggghh!!!!” He was shocked again.

“Tell me!!!” spat Niska. “Tell me right now!”

“I'll tell you...” he began, “that you would look beautiful in a pink dress and – aaaarrgghhh!!!” This time, Niska was so angry he stopped asking questions and just kept shocking Kylar over and over again for three hours straight until he lost consciousness once more.

“Throw him in a cell and have Mikaela bring him some food,” Niska said to his men. “We'll give him a few days to recover, we'll make him comfortable, and then we will rip that comfort away and torture him again. We will record it and send it to everyone we know in the hopes that it gets to Reynolds.”

Kylar was placed on a comfortable bed in a cell and after a while he woke to find a blonde teenage girl staring at him through the bars of the cell door. She seemed a bit shy and revealed she was there to bring him food and make sure he was comfortable.

Over the next few days, Mikaela grew less shy around Kylar, and would sometimes talk to him through the bars and he would tell her stories about himself and the old crew of the Serenity. She seemed to tear up when the men came to drag him back to the torture chamber, and he imagined she had her face buried in her pillow somewhere bawling her eyes out. He felt more sad for her than himself.

After thirteen hours of torture and no new information from him, Kylar was flung back into his cell and the Niskas sent the video off. Weeks passed and they never came to torture him again, waiting to see if Mal would show up. During that time, Mikaela kept taking care of him, and she revealed that she detested what her family did to him and others.

“You can always leave,” he said to her with a smile. “Just follow your heart.”

She seemed scared that her family would come after her.

“You know, whenever we felt oppressed by people like the Alliance, we said a little chant,” he explained. “It might help you stand up to your family. It goes like this: Take my love, take my land, take me where I cannot stand. I don't care, I'm still free, you can't take the sky from me. Don't let your family take the sky from you, Mike.”

Her eyes seemed to light up as he told her the chant, and he smiled brightly at her. Then, she turned and ran away. A minute later, she came back and unlocked his cell door, telling him to hurry up and escape. He asked if she wanted to come along, that he would protect her, but she said she wasn't ready to just up and leave yet. He nodded, thanked her, and then ran down the hallway. Before vanishing through the doorway, he turned back at the girl and grinned.

“Remember, Mike,” he said. “No one can take the sky from you. Not ever.” And then he was gone. After stowing away aboard a merchant ship, Kylar made it back to the Republic and informed his superiors about what happened. He was soon assigned to a new team and helped provide security for a team of engineers that began reprogramming the Alliance cyborgs. His success on this mission helped get him promoted to Sergeant and he began leading his own four-man team until the war finally ended.



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Persephone
Lux (protostar), White Sun System
December 2543

As the transport shuttle landed at the spaceport, Kylar stepped off onto the pavement, wearing civilian clothing with a large bag thrown over one shoulder. He looked up and grinned as he saw a woman with dark skin and silver hair smiling at him. “Mom!”

“Oh, Kylar!” she ran over and hugged him tightly. He dropped his bag to the ground and held onto her for dear life. “I missed you so much, son! I'm so glad you have returned to me safely.”

“Me too. I love you, Mom.” They returned to the family home and Kylar enjoyed a home-cooked meal for the first time since Mikaela had brought him food at the Skyplex.


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Doctor Kwan's Office
Persephone
February 4th, 2545

“That is some gorram trash, Doc!” said Kylar angrily, biting back tears. “You are not telling me my mother is going to die – that's bullshit!”

“I'm sorry, Kylar,” Doctor Kwan explained, “but she has the Phantom Fever. No one has ever survived it...”

“Can't you do something? Anything?!”

“Unfortunately, we don't know what causes the Phantom Fever,” said the doctor, “hence its name. It's very rare, but when people do catch it, it acts like an invisible virus – the symptoms are there, but nothing in the bloodstream shows there is any illness. The symptoms come out of nowhere and usually destroy the immune system and death usually occurs shortly after... I'm sorry, Kylar.”

“No!” he cried. “I can't deal with this shit right now!”

But unfortunately, he did have to deal with it, because just a few short weeks later, Zoe passed away. She managed to live long enough to see his twenty-sixth birthday on March 22nd, and then died seventy hours later. He screamed into his pillow and stayed in his room for three days before calling the extended family and telling them.

“I'm taking mom to Mr. Universe's Moon to bury her next to dad the first week of April. If anyone wants to come with me, meet me on Persephone.”


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Persephone (Spaceport)
Early Afternoon
April 5th, 2545

After doing his final inspections of Warlock, Kylar stood with his arms crossed, leaning against the side of the ship with the hatch open and the ramp down, waiting for the others to arrive.

Alexa "Wash" Tam

**Beginning of the War**

Alexa walked into the flight academy, and took a deep breath before knocking on the door of the Headmaster's office. Her heart was pounding in her chest. She was scared, but taking a deep breath calmed her down. She hadn't heard from Kylar, her 'cousin' and best friend from childhood, nor had Zoe. If that was bad news to her, she wanted to be in the skies, in case people needed her.

The door to the Headmaster's office opened, and he smiled down at her. "Come in, Miss Tam," he told her. Nodding, she stood up and walked in behind him. She sat down a little slouched in the chair he indicated. He sat behind his desk and began to look over the file she had sent over.

"So, Miss Tam, you have an impressive record here, from your prior teachers," he said finally.

"Yeah? All it takes is a lil' hard work," she said. "That's somethin' to be proud of, but not really."


"Yes, but they say you have a way with ships."

"Musta got it from my momma," She said, shrugging. "Momma was a mechanic aboard a Firefly."

"Duly noted. Welcome aboard."

Wash smiled.


**25412**

"Captain, we're about to fall outta the sky!" A general barked at her.

"General, with all do respect, we can't do much with Capissen 38 engine!!" she snapped back. The ship was gone for good. "Plus, you got a lazy ass mechanic! Shung shen de gao wang, if my momma was on this ship, she'd whoop all of your asses!"

Shouting profanities as she tried to pull up out of the atmosphere, her eyes watering. This was the third and best ship she had piloted, and she didn't want to see it go down.

"Well, is there something you can do, Wash?" A timid and naive lieutenant asked fearfully.

"No, gorrammit," she growled softly. "There ain't a damn thing I can do, the engine just fell right out, like I said it would."

She could feel the heat searing through the hull.

"We need to evacuate, right now. Or otherwise we'll all be meat for the Reavers," she said. She could almost feel them coming, just like her Aunt River. "Now MOVE!"

People were running and screaming, and she volunteered to go down with the ship. General wouldn't hear of it. She could feel herself dying. . .

She woke up, in a small hut. "Where am I?"

"Alive, good for you, child," an elderly woman said. "Where were you?"

"The ship that blew. . . I was it's pilot. . ."

"Oh, child, that sounds awful. Pretty thing like you shouldn't do that."

"I do it because it's what's right," she growled.

"You need a ship to get home. Where do you live?"

"My folk live on Persephonne," she said.

"I have a shuttle you can use."

"Xie xie."


Wash arrived a few hours later, and ran to her parents. "Momma, Pappa!" She cried as she hugged her parents.

"Oh Wash. . .Wash, I'm so glad you're alive!" Simon Tam cried as he hugged his only child.



**April 5 2545**

Wash landed her ship and disembarked before her parents. She found Kylar and she nearly stopped in her tracks. He seemed so much older, so. . . soldier like. His eyes looked haunted, like her father's were sometimes, like Aunt River's.

She walked over to him cautiously. "Hey, Kylar. Long time no see," she said softly, looking at him. "I'm sorry. . ."

Kylar looked up as Alexa approached, and allowed his lips to curl into a small smile. He hugged her tightly and then waved as Simon and Kaylee disembarked their ship. "How have you been, Alexa?" He saw her frown -- when they were kids, she had tried everything to get Kylar to accept her nickname as Wash, but he would still call her Alexa just to piss her off and it was a habit he never broke. Deep down, part of him didn't want to call anyone but his father Wash.

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Wash shook her head and frowned as he called her "Alexa". She kind of understood why, but never really did.

"Just makin' a livin' for myself," she said, shrugging. She hugged him back and saw Joseph appearing and speaking. "Hey there," she said affectionately, absently punching his shoulder. Joseph was the only one she did that too. She noticed the containers. "What the xian sa da do you got in there? Bombs?"

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Wash chuckled and shook her head. "Yeah, you're probably right. Just a habit of mine, and you know I was jokin'." She stretched. "Your dad here yet, Joseph?"

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Wash nodded. She was a daddy's girl herself, and she understood Joseph being a momma's boy. "I don't think anyone has seen Mal in almost a decade. I know I sure didn't, I was busy during the war. Haven't really seen Inara either." She pulled an apple out of her pouch as well as a knife and began to eat, using the knife to cut open the apple.

A small shuttle touched down near the other ships. It powered down after landing. Its door opened up and Jayne Cobb emerged. He was accompanied by a young man with long, black hair and blue eyes. Jayne approached the rest of the group.

“‘Sup, fellas?” he asked. “Long time, no see.”

Wash held up her knife with a bit of her apple on it. "Hey, Jayne, glad you could make it!" she said, grinning as she ate the bit of her apple on her knife. "Who's the kid behind ya? Looks like he's never been on a central planet before," she added, chuckling.

“Guys, uh, this here’s Jesse Connors. He’s my son.”

“Wait,” said Simon. “Jayne had a kid?!” He looked around to the others. “PLEASE tell me I’m dreaming right now!”

“Jayne’s had sex?!” Kaylee asked in mockingly shocked tone.

“Haha,” Jayne retorted. “But yeah, this here’s my kid. Uh, Jesse. These here are my old friends and, in sorta way, my family.” He gestured to each of them as he spoke. “These two here are Simon and Kaylee. That’s their daughter Alexa; we call her Wash, after someone else in our group who died. That’s Joe, Mal’s kid. And that there’s Kylar. He’s the one who’s mom, Zoey, just died.”

“Erm. Hi everyone. I’m Jesse. People call me ‘Wolf.’”

“Wolf?” asked Jayne. “Who calls you that?”

“People who know me.”

“I know you, and I don’t call you that.”

“You just met me five hours ago.”

“Don’t matter. You’re my blood.”

“Am I?”

“You said you were.”

“If I’m your blood and you care about family, why didn’t you ever come back?!”

“I didn’t know you existed! It’s not my fault your mom got pregnant!”

“Not your fault she—? It’s like, FIFTY PERCENT your fault! At LEAST!”

“Do you want a repeat of what happened at the port?”

“Sure. Need I remind you that I was kicking your ass?”

“Need I remind YOU that you caught me off guard?”

“Throwing the first punch does NOT mean the same thing as catching someone off guard!”

Simon tapped Kaylee’s shoulder and whispered to her as the two continued to argue, “Remember all those years ago when we went to that mud planet where everyone revered Jayne as a hero?”

“Yeah?”

“I take it back. THIS must be what going mad feels like.”

“I dunno. I think it’s kinda cute that Jayne went and had himself a little one. I mean, just look at them. Fightin’ all angry-like. It’s like they’re perfect for each other.”

“Well maybe you shouldn’t’ve come with me!” Jayne yelled.

“Well maybe I shouldn’t’ve!” Jesse yelled back.

Wash rolled her eyes. "This is gorram wonderful," she breathed quietly, shaking her head. She instantly didn't trust Jesse, but it wasn't because he was Jayne's son. She trusted Jayne with her life. But she disliked the way Jesse looked, he looked so green, and those who were green were dangerous.

She looked over at Joseph and Kylar and beckoned them closer. "I don't trust the new kid," she said softly. "Too green for us three."

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Mike

The busy spaceport hummed with activity, much of it legit, some of it a cover. Mike readjusted her knapsack on her shoulders, and dusted off her coat, the little habitual touches checking to make sure her knives were precisely where she needed them. She hoped she didn't need them.

She knew where the ship was, the Warlock, one of the old Fireflies, but she took her time getting there. It had been a long time since he'd offered to take her with him. Maybe he didn't remember. Maybe he didn't really mean it. Maybe he wasn't the same person he had been, maybe he had changed. She certainly had. Maybe she had missed her chance.

Maybe she didn't deserve a second one.

She had been so scared, so confused. Her father had wanted her to understand the family business. Wanted her to learn to be hard, to be tough, to take things from people to make the family greater. She'd learned more about her father and her family than she ever wanted to know. She'd learned that betrayal of blood was punished by blood. She wanted to be someone else.

It was hard to make the decision to leave, but so easy in practice. She took a shuttle to the nearest moon and got a bagful of credits - the Niska daughter got what she asked for, without question - and left. It was harder to truly get beyond the family's reach. Persephone was busy enough it would take them time to figure out she was here. Not much time, but time enough. Either he would take her in or she would keep running.

She stood a bit away from the Firefly and watched the family reunion, not wanting to break into the tight knit circle, feeling exposed, one of the few stationary points in the busy flow of the 'port. Her eyes went wide at the tussle between Jayne and Jesse. She worked up the courage to walk to the ramp, nervously tucking a long lock of hair behind her ear. She tried to find a moment, a lull in the conversation, a place for her in the circle.

"Corporal Washburne? I was sorry to hear about your mother. Please let me offer my condolences for your loss." She bowed for a moment before meeting his eyes again, "I'd like to come with you now." The words were go soft, almost formal, but they held so much hope.

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"Wash smiled warmly at the woman who just appeared. She guessed it was someone he had met in the war, since she referred to him as Corporal Washburn. She almost winced at the sound of it, even though she too had been in the war.

She shook her head as Joseph began asking questions. "Relax, Joseph, I'm guessin' its someone he met in the war. Stop askin' her questions, can't ya see she's nervous enough as it is?" She gave another smile to the newcomer. "Welcome."

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Mike

"Good morning, how are you? How is it you know Kylar?"

She never could really bring herself to think of him as Kylar. She tensed up at being questioned, and examined, by the unfamiliar man. She restrained herself from another paranoid check of forearm and lower back and settled for shrinking back into her jacket and looking up at him wide eyed.

"Relax, Joseph, I'm guessin' its someone he met in the war. Stop askin' her questions, can't ya see she's nervous enough as it is?"

She managed a small smile back at the flight suited woman and nodded to... Joseph.

"Welcome."

She relaxed a notch at the kind words and was grateful for tensions easing.

"It's alright. It is hard to know who your friends really are, I'm sorry, I don't mean to cause trouble. I'm... you can call me Mike. Corpr-Kylar and I spent some time together during the war. I was hoping..." she looked to Kylar," I was hoping I could make myself useful with you now."

Kylar looked up as Joseph approached them. "Hey, Joe, how you been?" They clasped arms like brothers would. "The three of us together again, just like the old days on Serenity, eh? Now we just need River to tell us to sit down and pay attention, ha!"

As Joseph said he missed his mother, Kylar felt a sharp pain in his chest, but he forced his despair back beneath the fake smile. He remembered how Joe was a momma's boy and Alexa was a daddy's girl and realized, he wasn't anything -- both his parents were gone now, yet his friends still had theirs -- they couldn't possibly know his agony. They were like family, but in terms of blood, he was alone -- an orphan. He had never known his father and he had barely seen his mother during the war. He suddenly felt like a stranger, a cold feeling creeping over him. Maybe he never had any family to begin with -- maybe Alexa and Joseph and all the others were just wounds waiting to fester, waiting to burn his soul as they all left him, one by one...

Kylar shook his dark thoughts away temporarily as he saw Jayne and his apparent son close in on them. "Hey, Jayne."

He didn't participate much in the bantering back and forth, and just nodded when Alexa mentioned Jesse was too green for them. He was only vaguely listening to what everyone was saying, and then suddenly he saw a young blonde girl approach. Her gorgeous blue eyes and smooth, pale skin immediately softened his heart, and he instantly recognized the girl who had helped him escape years ago from the Niska Skyplex -- he could never forget that face, those kind, caring eyes that had wept for him when her father and uncles had dragged him off to be tortured.

Mikaela had spoken, but Kylar found it difficult to form his thoughts into words. He heard Joseph and Alexa talk with her for a moment, and then finally found his voice.

"Mikaela, it's good to see you," he said, gently shaking her hand, not sure how else to greet her. "And actually, they made me a Sergeant shortly after I escaped. I hope they didn't punish you too harshly for helping me? I shouldn't have left you, I should have taken you with me... I'm sorry..."

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Wash had seen the pain in Kylar's eyes and instantly knew what he was thinking. She watched the reunion between the newcomer and him, and her heart broke even more. Being an empath like her aunt, she could feel the anger and concern radiating from Kylar, and it was overwhelming. Looking at Joseph, she gave a small nod and distanced herself a little bit and took deep, calming breaths.

Before Alexa stepped away, Kylar introduced them to his old friend. "Joe, Alexa, this is Mikaela, an old friend from the war, as she said," he explained. "Mike, these are my two oldest friends. They are like my brother and sister."

After a couple minutes of breathing, Wash felt better. She made her way back to her group and family. "Hey. I'm Wash. Its a nickname, Kylar's only one who don't call me that, but the man has his reasons and I respect that." She playfully punched Kylar's shoulder, teasing him.

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