Firefly: Albatross - Introduction
Friday, March 30, 2012
The crew of Serenity finds its next job while events in the Core unfold.
CATEGORY: FICTION TIMES READ: 4186 RATING: 9.0 (PG) SERIES: FIREFLY
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 comm
"You can't take the sky from me!"
"You can't take the sky from me!"
Good conversation setting up the job. Something tells me the kid is going to cause complications.
What do you think are some of Simon's most notable character traits and motivations? I'm writing a brief consideration of Simon from an outside character's POV, as part of a longer scene. The outsider knows Simon somewhat but not fully (knows he's a doctor, knows he helped his sister when she was in an unhappy situation, but is not aware of the full extent of how bad that situation was, or the specifics of it). What would this outsider notice as being remarkable about Simon? What makes Simon tick?
My thoughts are that Simon would clearly appear to be someone who cares. The doctoring is not just a job, it's more of a calling. Simon feels he has an obligation to use his medical knowledge and skills to try to help people if he possibly can. While he's not really arrogant about his intellect or abilities, he is very confident in them; he knows he is no slouch. This might appear as arrogance to others.
Thoughts?
2 days ago, 9:20amHmmm...I would say to someone who doesn't know him, Simon would appear (at first) to be not only somewhat arrogant, but also cold, uptight, and somewhat short in his manner with people. Think of how he is at the beginning of the pilot ep, how the rest of the crew sees him - of course a lot of this is Simon being paranoid about being caught, but still. He is not a person who's comfortable in unfamiliar situations. But when he's in his element, as we see in Ariel, he is very confident and might well make people around him feel stupid without meaning to (I suspect that's a lot of his problem with Kaylee!). I think he's the sort of smart person who forgets that not everyone around him is as intelligent as he is.
One of his biggest defining qualities, imo, is that he's very protective...obviously this comes up most in regards to River, but I think the same would hold for anyone Simon saw as weaker than himself or in need of protection, especially anyone under his medical care. But on the other hand, I think if Simon sees someone as a threat to himself or River, he could be surprisingly ruthless in dealing with them, after all this time on Serenity. He's also very determined, responsible, trustworthy, and capable - but he isn't terribly charming, and he's much more of a natural observer than a participant. He's also far more logical than he is intuitive or emotional, except when it comes to River or others he loves, which means it takes him a while to understand why people do the things they do.
Obviously what parts of this would come through depends on the scene in question; Simon in a medical setting of any sort will be very different from Simon trying to pass himself off as a smuggler, for instance! And both will be different from the Simon who's Kaylee's boyfriend (if that's how the 'verse works in your stories, of course), etc. But you know that.
Hope that's a little helpful, at least!
2 days ago, 9:57pmOh, thank you. Yes, the logic and caring I had put into the scene already...but I had forgotten how easily Simon can make others feel stupid...surely one of the reasons he engendered so much hostility early on. Also, that he can come across as ruthless is a point I had not fully explored. Very helpful thoughts!
Yesterday, 7:03am
So now, third try on this...
Liked the history lesson with its touches of humor. Snickered at the name of LaBoue and his ship Figmentum. Good set up with the new job. I wonder what kind of trouble the crew will get into now. Mal knew about that septic vac line, didn't he?
(crossing my fingers as I press submit and hoping it gorram works this time)
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