This is a prologue to a series I'm writing to give you guys a little history on my character Annaleigh Men and a little of what Mal could have been like before the war. Chapter 1 is going to pick up almost where BDM left off.

NOTE: I’m just borrowing this ‘verse from Joss because a 14 episode series and a feature film aren’t enough to satisfy my needs! All of his characters, etc. belong to him, and the rest belongs to me.

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Prologue: What Was Then Is Now the Past

Shadow, 2506

Shortly after the beginning of the Interstellar Civil War…

The sun began to set low in the western sky over a heard of cows in a lush, green field on the Reynolds ranch. Annaleigh Men and her younger brother Joey were rounding them up with several other ranch hands on horseback.

Annaleigh was a beautiful young woman for the age of twenty. She was soft and innocent despite growing up on the ranch where good, hard labor was every day’s requirement. Her gestures and movements were usually delicate. Her physical strength showed through when she got to work with the animals. Her long brown hair was in a braid down her back, touching the top hem of her split riding skirt.

“Annaleigh, Mal wants to see you at Anderson’s Summit,” said Mama Reynolds through the radio on Annaleigh’s hip. She unclipped the radio from her belt.

“I can’t. I’m bringing in the cattle,” she said into the radio.

“The boys can take care of the cattle. My son says it’s important, he wants to see you up there,” replied Mama Reynolds. Annaleigh took a beat to consider.

“I’m going,” she replied.

Kissing sounds came a few feet away from her 16-year-old brother. “Your boyfriend wants to see you for a secret rendezvous,” he teased.

She gave him a look, and began speaking into the radio again. “Mama Reynolds, I’m thinking its time for Joey to learn a little discipline. I’m putting him in charge of the heard.”

“Alright. If he doesn’t do right, he’ll be was