Disclaimer: While the characters (at this stage at least) are my own, the 'verse, all planets and ships are property of Joss Whedon.

COME ABOARD SIR

It was a cold day, the coldest on record in fact, as the young Ensign Forest pulled his greatcoat tightly around his thin frame and made the short walk from his barracks to the doors of the shuttle craft. He had signed up just two days earlier to join a fledgling fleet; anyone who had paid any notice to current events knew something was brewing. Relations between the newly formed councils of the boarder and the central beurocracy of the allied government were rapidly deteriorating, representatives from border worlds were meeting in secret and were drafting a declaration of independent rule which may soon be presented to the Allied Government and as a result many were preparing for war. Battalions of men were being trained in secret on the vast open plains of newly terra-formed worlds, and above the more loyal planets a fleet of ships was being constructed, either fitting existing commercials with weapons, or building newer ships in secret.

Eager to serve the rapidly forming independent movement, Forest had joined as soon as he was able, and now two days after his 17th birthday he prepared to board his first ship, the ISS Jackson, a newly commissioned warship. He shivered as he made his way up to the small shuttle craft. His mind reassured itself it was just the cold, but deep down he was nervous; all his life he'd been planet side except one brief orbit around his home world, and now he was about to jet off into the black as a fighting officer aboard an Independent warship. Looking back he could hardly believe it, his father was now a respected doctor on Ariel, one of the central planets, and here he was dressed in the dark brown uniform of the new Independent fleet.

He hated breaking atmo and the sudden rush of speed as he hit the escape speeds, leaving the upper layers of gas around the planet. With his eyes tightly closed he waited for the shaking to stop. Once he opened them he could see through the front window of the small craft the huge expanse of the black and he couldn't help but be struck by what he saw. Looking forwards he could see, looming before him, the huge bullet shaped ship which was to be his new home. "What do you make of her?" The young ensign to his left, who had boarded the shuttle with him, asked eagerly.

"Seventy two heavy guns and two fighter squadrons; she's certainly a fighting ship" he replied citing the stats he'd read once he'd heard of his commission, "Ensign Forest" he smiled, offering his hand to the officer.

"Ensign Sawyer" his companion replied, firmly shaking Forest's hand. The small shuttle pressed onwards towards the mighty vessel, entering the massive landing bay, which slowly began to retract into the bowls of the ship. A welcoming voice echoed over the tannoy announcing that pressure was normal, and the doors of the shuttle opened and the three young officers within stepped out into the vast hanger. In front of them a broad shouldered, older officer stood ready to greet them.

"Come aboard sir?" Forest stuttered nervously touching the brim of his hat and hoping to make a good impression. His companions followed his lead, all handing their commission papers to the officer of the watch.

"Granted, I'm Second Lieutenant Blake, welcome to Jackson. Ensign Simpson will show you to your bunks"

"Aye-aye sir" the young men responded almost in unison.

They followed Ensign Simpson down the endless maze of corridors and stairs within the huge ship. Forest could hardly believe the sheer size of the vessel in which he stood, with approximately 1000 hands aboard, the Jackson was certainly one of the largest ships in the fleet. While Forest thought that they were heading aft, he had become somewhat disorientated by the seemingly endless number of turns and bends they had taken in their journey from the port landing bay and wouldn't be able to say for sure where-abouts they were in the bowels of the vessel.

Finally Simpson stopped, pointing to an open door, "Welcome home," he huskily said, pointing into the small room. Tentatively Forest stepped through the doorway. The ensign's berth was small; a table which occupied the centre could hardly seat the 9 men who were to sleep in the tiny bunks around the walls of the berth. The atmosphere was thick with tobacco smoke and at the end of the room an older looking man sat with a pipe puffing clouds of thick smoke into the air. Forest walked over and sat on an unoccupied chair, the other two new comers followed his lead sitting at the small table. "Going to introduce us to the new meat Simpson?" the older ensign sarcastically smiled, pointing the end of his pipe at the three newcomers.

"This is Ensign Sawyer, Ensign Richards and I'm Ensign Forest" he spoke before Simpson had a chance, gesturing towards his new comrades, "and you would be?"

"Was I talking to you ensign?" He snapped, "I'm Ensign Meade"

Forest reeled a little from the unexpected outburst but as Meade went back to his pipe and book, he brushed it off and smiled turning to Sawyer.

"So where are you from?" he asked, eager to acquaint himself with the other new ensign. "I was born on Hera" he smiled "how about you?"

"Dyton colony," Forest replied

"I thought there was a bit of an accent there" Sawyer joked "You play cards?" Forest smiled, for many years he'd been an avid bridge player, his father had taught him the intricacies of the game, and he'd played competitively many times.

"I play a bit," he replied, finding it advantageous to keep his trump cards hidden. Sawyer smiled, taking a deck of cards from his pocket and began shuffling them on the table. Once he was satisfied he offered them to Kretshcmer, who smiled back taking the deck and dealing it into four neat piles. The older Ensign Simpson and the other newcomer sat with them, each taking one of the piles. Forest looked carefully at his hand, it wasn't the best he'd ever seen, but it was far from the worst. He looked across at his partner, Sawyer, waiting for Simpson at his left to make an opening bid. Before he could however a loud whistle came over the speakers, echoing throughout the ship. Simpson immediately rose, putting his cards face down on the table.

"Come on gentlemen" he said to them

"What's going on?" Forest asked as he joined rising from his seat.

"Captain's coming aboard"

The crew were assembled in the hanger as the single shuttle came in to land in the bay. Once it had touched down the bay retracted, the hanger deck shaking as the massive mechanism pulled in the landing platform. As soon as it had clicked into position the door of the shuttle opened, the officers and men on the deck stood to attention as the captain came into view. Captain James Whitehead was an older gentleman, who'd served the Alliance fleet as a commander before the tensions began to rise. He'd been quick to accept the commission of captain in the newly forming independent fleet. Slowly he walked towards the assembled officers, looking closely at each of his lieutenants stood in order of seniority. "Welcome aboard sir" Lieutenant Blake touched his hat to the captain; as officer of the watch it was his duty to welcome Whitehead back to his command.

"May I present Ensigns Sawyer, Richards and Forest sir" he indicated the three new faces to the captain.

"Pleasure to meet you" Whitehead said finally, after examining the young officers. "Back to your stations" he added, indicating the end of an age old welcoming ceremony. "Please, follow me" the captain spoke directly to Forest as the officers began dismissing their units, summoning the new recruit off to the side.

The captain's room was at least twice the size of the ensign's berth, and was normally occupied by only one man. Despite its size it was modestly decorated, a shelf of books occupied the centre of the far wall, and in the centre of the room was a desk and chair. Whitehead lowered himself into the chair while Forest stood nervously. "I knew your father, he was a good man. It puzzles me somewhat, what the son of an alliance surgeon sees in the life of a Browncoat military officer, but that's not mine to judge. There's a war coming, and we need all the men we can find. I do however need to know that your loyalty lies only with the independence, that you are committed to our cause."

"I am sir, I want nothing more than to serve for the independent cause."

The older man gave him a rare smile, "that's precisely what I wanted to hear. Incidentally, how does your father view your decision to sign up."

"I believe he sees what the Alliance has become sir. I hope he will be proud."

"I'm sure you will make him so. Obey orders and do your duty, and pray we make it through the coming months and years alive and perhaps we shall see good things of you, Ensign Forest."

"Yes sir, I will sir" he replied quickly

"Good, you are dismissed Mr Forest" the captain smiled, offering a half hearted salute. Forest obediently stood to attention, his steel heals clicking together just has his hand reached his forehead in a flat salute, his whole body straight as an arrow. He turned a perfect ninety degree angle and took his leave from his captain.

WAR

Two days after coming aboard ISS Jackson, ensign Forest was becoming more and more familiar with his role on the ship, at the bottom of the ladder of officers, and above the hands and NCO's from whom he was to learn the complexities of space flight. Still in orbit around Newhall , the crew had been running drills in preparation for the war everyone was predicting. Today there was to be more gun drills, Jackson was primarily a carrier ship, deploying short range fighters and skiffs to patrol the black, but it was more than likely that her own guns would have to be brought to bear at some point, so her crews had to be ready.

"RUN OUT!" Forest yelled. The hands prepared the guns for firing, pushing them forwards into the airlock holes.

"SEAL ESTABLISHED SIR" the gunner announced as the barrels clicked into place. "STAND CLEAR!" Forest shouted, "FIRE!" the pins clicked, had the guns been loaded the twenty high explosive shells would have just left the ship, and hurtled through the black and hopefully made contact with a target. "Very good gentlemen" Forest congratulated his team, he was coming to understand that the 3 second improvement could mean everything in a battle situation, not to mention the 40 platinum Ensign Sawyer now owed him for bettering his gun team. "You're all dismissed" he smiled, happy that his watch was finally over.

He wearily trudged the now familiar trek from the gun decks back up to the Ensign's berth where it was his intention to further acquaint himself with his bunk. As he entered the small room he was greeted by Sawyer who was grinning as he ran to meet his comrade.

"The Alliance rejected our declaration" he said quickly, "not just that, but they stormed our fortress on Shadow. It means war Paul, we're at war". A smile came to Forest's face as he heard the news steadying himself on the frame of the door.

"This is so da bianhua!" he shouted. The tension of the slipping peace had become almost unbearable, but it had all changed now. He was finally going to be able to put his training to use. Shaking his ecstatic friend's hand he was suddenly rejuvenated and the last thing he wanted to do was sleep.