Dark ‘Verse

Part 1: Pension

The Operative sat at his tribunal meeting. Unlike what was seen in movies of the past, it was a simple setting. The Operative sat at a chair at a long rectangular table alone on one side while three members of the Alliance Parliament sat at the other. The three were indistinguishable from one another with their suit and ties. But one thing was clear and similar between the three of them: The Operative’s death was on their minds.

The Operative sighed for a moment. He had lived the life he expected to have lived and it was ending the same way he thought it would: by violent death. But this time the environment was different. He was being put to death, not receiving death in combat, like he always thought he would. By letting River Tam escape and Captain Mal Reynolds live and reveal the deep dark secret of the galaxy and the Alliance, the Operative had failed and thus was going to be put to death.

He frowned for a few moments, if not seconds, but then remained as cold as he always was. He never let emotions get him that much. His arms still hurt from what Malcolm Reynolds did to him. But though Mal angered him more then anyone else ever had since he was a boy, the Operative felt a somewhat deep respect for Malcolm, er, Mal Reynolds for beating a clearly better opponent in himself. Mal, as their last meeting suggested, did not share the same respect.

The members of Parliament went about their business and talked as if the Operative wasn’t there. Then, after a few moments, they spoke.

“Operative. . .,” the Operative blanked out the name. He didn’t even know it was his he hadn’t heard it in so long. “You had a reasonably easy task to fulfill. Why was it not completed,” said the first Parliament member with a very neutral tone.

“I plan to make no excuses on my failure sir. I plan on moving on from this.”

“I figured,” said the second Parliament member. “We obviously can’t deal with things past. The Alliance is in a load of trouble and to blame it on you would be too easy. Ma