The Battle of Serenity Valley
They surveyed the sordid planet.
"Shall we descend, sir?" General Richard Wilkins was a good military man, even if he was a bit hasty.
The man who stood behind him, also a general, though of a higher rank, looked down upon the Planet Hera. The battle had lasted for 7 bloody weeks. And General Wilkins was here to finally finish it.
Wilkins gazed down and sneered.
"Got to hand it to those Browncoat Bastards, they are tough." He said, glaring down at the battlefield. The planet was quite small, so the battlefield was just visible from the black.
"Shall we descend, sir?" He asked again, glancing at his superior with frustration on his face. It was obvious he wished to enter the fray. The General had to admit, Wilkins' deep-flank strategy was brilliant. There was no way they could lose. But the decision to attack still rested with the General.
"Yes." He finally decided, turning away from the window. Wilkins spoke into a com-piece and informed the pilot about the decision. The General sighed.
"Serenity Valley. They vowed to hold it, and by God they have. I feel almost sorry for them that it has to end like this. Serenity. Hah." He laughed bitterly.
"Sir?" Wilkins asked, an eyebrow raised. This strange General had been assigned to come with for the strike at the Independents. He had come to watch Richard Wilkins in action, apparently, evaluate his battle prowess. He was a strange man; religious, too. Wilkins didn't trust religious men.
As the fleet descended upon Hera, heading for Serenity Valley, the General felt a strange sadness within him.
"Those men…" he began, staring into space.
"Those men are expecting reinforcements."
"Indeed, sir, the men's morale soared when they heard that we were coming and-" The General cut him off.
"Not our men. Theirs. The Browncoats."
"Oh." Wilkins said, his frown deepening.
"Our spies have told us that they were expecting reinforcements." The General continued.
"That's how they've managed to hold out for so long. They have hope." He continued, and turned to General Wilkins, and stared him right in the eye.
"You know, General, without hope, a man is nothing." His eyes swung back to the rapidly approaching battlefield. Those below must be hearing the approaching ships. The General felt another pang of sadness. To raise their hopes so, and then to dash them….it was inhuman.
"What is it like down there?" He finally asked, in order to distract himself from his inner pain.
"One of our planes just went down a moment ago. Those sons of-"
"Language, General, language. Speak befitting of your rank."
"Yes, sir. I'm sorry, sir. Those…soldiers," He almost spat the word,
"They must have captured one of our artillery guns. They don't have sufficient firepower to blast our aircraft. Fluke, I'm guessing. Won't happen again."
"I see."
After another moment of uncomfortable silence, the General continued his epiphany.
"Not only are their reinforcements not coming, but we are. Can you imagine what that does to a man? It's just not right….those poor bastards."
"It's what they deserve, sir. Independent scum…it's what they deserve." He was saying it to convince himself, as well as the General. After a moment of uncertainty, he regained his patriotism, and frowned once more. If one of his soldiers had spoken about the Browncoats that sympathetic way…they would have been punished.
They had arrived. The battlefield was dirty, bloody and dark. Like all battlefields were. The General could barely hold his disgust. This wasn't right. It wasn't right!
"Give the order to fire." The General said with an involuntary shudder, and Wilkins nodded, and left the room. It was all the General could do not to weep there and then. And in that moment, he realized his military career was over. Never again. As the planet below him burned, Derrial Book mourned. He mourned for the decision he had made, and for those below him. Never again would he kill. Never. He would turn to something else…something…beneficial, to mankind. Not this…slaughter. Perhaps some sort of volunteer service. He would undo the evil he had committed in his life.
And that day…a thing both great and terrible happened. For as the Alliance cannons rained fire upon those poor souls before, and the spirit of those men was brutally and terribly crushed, the fate of two men were altered completely and utterly; two men who would, because of this change, do immensely important and great things. One man would turn to the Book, whilst the other would turn within himself. One of these men stood above, in a great warship, whilst the other stood below, in the dirt. And both men stared in horror as the Alliance ships destroyed the remains of the Browncoats on Hera. Both stared in horror at the end of the Battle of Serenity Valley. Both men were destined to meet once more.
And both men were bound by Serenity.