Archangel Forty-Two

Author owns no rights to Firefly, and no copyright infringement is intended. Fanfic only.

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Serenity, with River now at the helm, settled gracefully onto the street where she had rested during the battle. Mal had the ramp down as soon as it was safe to do so.

Civilians streamed off the ship, eager to see what was left of their homes. Some were angry, others still in shock. Simon’s tale of how the Alliance had been involved in the reaver attack had spread like wildfire, and coupled with the absence of the Alliance during the protracted battle, not to mention the fact that browncoats had come to their rescue, had left many formerly loyal citizens in turmoil.

Mal had taken less than a dozen steps when he saw the Operative heading for him. Instinctively, he reached for his gun, but the motion stopped when he saw the burden that the man was struggling with.

“I realize, Captain,” Book huffed slightly, never halting, “that you will want to kill me. May I ask, however, that you wait long enough for me to get Cobb to young Mister Tam? I do believe he might be the man’s only hope.”

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Monty surveyed the damaged on Hammurabi with a grimace. The battle had been brutal. And costly. At one point the reavers were right outside the bridge of the cruiser, but Monty and his contingent had hit them from the rear, diverting them from the ships control center.

It had taken over an hour of fierce and constant combat to halt the reaver advance, and well over two more to scour the ship for the remaining devils. He was satisfied now, however, that the ship was safe. He walked to the bridge, where the crew were still showing signs of their close call.

“Captain, any word from the planet?” he demanded at once.

“The planet is secured for the most part, sir,” the Captain replied at once. “There are still some isolated areas of fighting, from what we can catch, but the brunt of the assault has been completely broken.”

“Excellent. Have a shuttle prepared for me as s