If someone told me five years ago, I'd be a smuggler, I would have told them they were nuts.

Five years ago, talk of independence was in every bar, on every street corner and local newsfeed. Times were optimistic - probably a little too optimistic. The Carolina colonies declared independence, along with Shanghai Three. My planet was talking about joining them. Imagine the thought of being able to control our own destines and make our own laws. We wouldn't be in indentured servitude, shipping the best of our planet back to Earth to make some corporate executive rich. Power to the people, nothing to lose but our chains...

Should have known then we didn't have a chance. We may have had the will, but the Alliance had the guns - and will is a pretty poor defense against those. The Alliance didn't particularly care how many people they sent to get killed, either. They knew we couldn't afford the casualties, and they had surplus population. They wanted to prove they owned us. People are property, especially those of us who are terraforming new planets to give their industrial base more resources.

Well, they do own us. Guess the war proved it. Give it a couple decades, and even the bit of freedom I have now with Serenity will be gone. I'll take what freedom I can while I have it. Inara may be fine with living in a golden cage, but I'm not. She doesn't get it, and I can't blame her.

The War taught me what freedom would be like, and once you've tasted that, you can't live without it. I lose Serenity, I lose my freedom. If I don't have freedom, I'd rather not be alive. Pretty simple, really.

In the meantime, I have cargo, I have a destination, and I have a job waiting when I get there. I reckon it's the most I can ask for and the best I can have.