Blue Sun Room FICTION - GENERAL

Firefly: After Miranda Part 10 & Epilogue

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

The fate of the orphans and Serenity's crew is decided.

CATEGORY: FICTION    TIMES READ: 3894    RATING: 9.0 (PG13)    SERIES: FIREFLY

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- 10 -

It wasn’t long after Simon finished setting the Captain’s nose that Deputy Skip arrived at the Sheriff’s office with the rest of the orphanage workers and word from the local doctor. Doc Brown had confirmed what was expected.

“What is going to happen to those kids,” Kaylee asked as the Sheriff was releasing them.

“Don’t know right now, I guess everyone will have to pull together and care for them. It will be hard, town don’t have much of anything. Lots of time it is hard enough for everyone else to get what they need. We always thought the Orphanage was doing alright, getting stuff from other places. Guess we were wrong. ” the Sheriff responded.

“There is another way,” Mal commented.

Mal went on to tell the Sheriff about the training house and how the companions guild could provide for the children while they were looking for permanent homes. Mal understood that neither the town, nor any else on Whitefall had much in the way of extra resources. The orphanage itself had become a simple dumping ground for unwanted kids for most of the moon. After some thought the Sheriff decided that the town council would have to decide. That council meeting happened the next night.

**********

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The town council along with most of the town assembled in the church. The Sheriff was the first to speak after the opening formalities. He went over the recent event including the evidence against the Preacher and his men.

Mal went next. The Captain was a bit nervous, it did not help that Inara had suggested, vigorously, that he wore his suit. Luckily for Mal the town members were not hostile. Mal explained how Serenity would take the kids to the training house. He said he understood that some would think taking the kids away from their home world was wrong, but after their treatment they might deserve what they could get elsewhere. Part of him might not have agree with that sentiment, if he still had the part of him. Mal’s sentimental side was left in the valley.

Once Mal was finished Inara sp

Comments
Tuesday, 04 October 2011 19:02
Interesting, end there. I especially like the little scene between River and Jayne at the end.
Tuesday, 04 October 2011 19:59
Glad to see the crew were able to persuade the townsfolk to help the orphans, though it was the elderly shopkeeper who turned the tide. I feel so bad for Zoe in her grief. A little bit beset by typos--did Bytemite's typo monster visit your household?--the one that jumped out at me was Inara giving the girls reading lesions. Nice satisfying end to your adventure. Your epilogue, however, seems to me to be a teaser...for your next story, perhaps? Yes?
Tuesday, 04 October 2011 20:10
The typo monster is everywhere and no where... waiting. Like the snowman in his snowcave.

Hmm. I confess to mixed feelings about this one. I have no problem with companions or the training house, and I even see the point of the argument. Might even be that aside from the nonsense Mal tosses at Inara everyday for whatever reason, he has no problem with the profession either.

But there's this chapter called Orphan Train I read once in a story by Gillian Rose, The Misfortune, that kind of was about the system people in a frontier setting used to have to settle for in regards to caring for orphans. While that system wasn't perfect -far from it, and also was a hard life, at the same time Mal made an argument about taking children from their homes and the world they knew that struck me as very poignant, considering the loss of his own homeworld while he was away.

I dunno, let me think about it.
Wednesday, 05 October 2011 13:13
Sorry for the typos, my proofreader has been sick and I really wanted to post this. I will be editing it when he gets back to me.

Bytemite, I don't think Mal's problem with Inara's profession is with what she does but more the pomp and circumstance that surrounds it. I don't even think he is trying to insult her when he calls her a whore. It is more that his is trying to remind her of what she is under her fancy training.

As far taking the kids, for me Mal is practical first and foremost. He might not like some of what the Guild and the Companions stand for, but he realizes the kids have a better chance of a good life there. I think much of the sentimental side of Mal is dead. When he was talking to Saffron about growing up on Shadow it did not at all seem like he was lamenting. So I don't know if leaving the kids just because that is their home world would even come into his mind.
Wednesday, 05 October 2011 16:44
I think Mal realizes that the children will have more opportunities to find families through the Training House. He may not always agree with what and how they do things there, but he can’t ignore that the Training House is well connected and has never given him cause to think that they would mistreat the children, as they were being treated on that moon. Plus, in an earlier chapter, didn’t Sheydra send Mal to investigate the orphanage in exchange for Inara? Well, not to “own” Inara, but a good will exchange to create trust between the two, a job.

Agree with Mal’s penchant for practicality.
Wednesday, 05 October 2011 18:17
In that case, perhaps it depends on how much Mal views this as an Independence (intentionally capitalized) issue.

Perhaps I'd feel better if they had asked the children what they wanted. It might not be practical, considering the circumstances, but it's hard to imagine Mal not putting up at least a token resistance about rural rim kids being corrupted by core values, and whether they'd get the kind of respect in the core they would get in their home community.
Wednesday, 05 October 2011 19:36
If anything Mal mave have been more apt to take the job as to not upset Inara. Sheydra is her friend after all. More I imagine that it was simply because of kids being hurt and they did get paid. Even if it was not that much.

The Training House may have core values, but it is not in the core. (At least it would not be if I had to pin down a location.)
Wednesday, 05 October 2011 20:43
Mal describes it’s location in TLB as on a crap ass moon with no work, an outpost, no one goes to, so my take on the Training House is that it's neutral territory for Mal and Inara, the families would more than likely be up and coming rim inhabitants, since it’s not in the core. Also, Mal just doesn’t seem all that threatened by Inara teaching there or the little girls training under her. In the 194 page script for Serenity, at the end, Mal’s the one to suggest they go back, defend the house, take their ease there for a while, enjoy the spoils… jump on Inara’s fluffy bed:)
Thursday, 06 October 2011 01:21
Okay, most of the typos should be gone. Damn that was a lot. New rule, never try to proofread when your two year old is awake and fighting with your one year old.

At some point I plan to revisit this story, so when I do I plan to take some of what Byte said into consideration.

Next up I will be working on the next story, Firefly: Family
Sunday, 06 November 2011 18:18
Update 11-06-2011

Corrections and a bit of a rewrite.

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