A/N: This is just a little musing that hits me everytime I watch 'Serenity'. It' not my usual style of writing, and it's not really a story either, although I hope you enjoy. Please note, this only really makes sense if you've seen both the pilot of 'Firefly' and the movie 'Serenity'. All reviews welcome.


As ships blast off from the docks around him, a single solitary man waits for life to begin.

Calm and controlled, wearing civilian clothes for the first time in years. Dark skin glistening in the yearly morning light of the docks, tightly curling hair cut short, brown eyes empty. Defeated. Lost.

He had been a man whose life had revolved around his ideals, beliefs that he was willing to die for.

Everything he was, everything he had trained for were wrapped up in those ideals. Ideals he would kill for.

And killed he had. Men, women or children; innocent or guilty, it had not mattered. Not for his faith. Dozens had died by his hand, probably hundreds. And he had never felt any remorse.

Who he was, the very core of his being had been those beliefs, that the Alliance was the future. That no matter what they asked of him, it was worth it. Not for his future, but for the future of the 'verse.

A perfect civilization, brought into being by the righteous Alliance. And he was their 'man'.

An Operative.

A true man of faith.

Then one day, his world had come crashing down. He had learned of the twisted minds behind true Alliance power. The corruption deep inside. Rotten. Festering. Worthless.

Where his absolute faith had once been, was now emptiness.

He was now a shadow of a man.

There was nothing left to see.

So here he stands on the docks, starting on the journey to find who he is, to find out if faith can ever be found again.

Drifting on life's currents, he travels far, and many years pass. He meets many new friends and learns of true freedom, happiness and faith.

He is no longer a shadow of a man. He has found his path. It is to help others find theirs.

So he finds himself once again on the docks, though this time it is not himself he searches for, but other lost souls.

He is once again wearing a uniform of sorts, his hair is longer, and his eyes are no longer desolate, but instead full of hope.

"You're gonna come with us," a young woman tells him, smiling wide.

"'Scuse me?" He asks, surprised by her forwardness.

"You like ships. You don't seem to be lookin' at the destinations, whatcha care about is the ships, and mines the nicest," she replies, pointing at the ship behind her.

"She don't look like much," he says, intrigued enough to hear what she has to say.

"Ah, she'll fool ya,"

He gives her a dubious look.

"Ya ever sail in a firefly?"