Londinium Times, July 12, 2518

MORE QUESTIONS ABOUT MIRANDA BROADWAVE

Less than a week has passed since the so-called Miranda Broadwave. Alliance officials continue to insist that there remains no truth to the claims that elements within the government or its armed forces had any role in the creation of the Reavers, or the deaths of 30 million people on the planet of Miranda.

Outside Parliament, a spokesman for the Department of Internal Affairs, Paulo Murray, issues the following statement: "It is extremely disheartening to witness how many people have bought into the claims made in this terrorist action. There is no truth whatsoever as to any claims that Miranda was the site of a colony, let alone one where a chemical resulted in 30 million deaths. There is no truth in the claim that the Alliance is responsible for the Reavers, which, as I may remind the public, do not exist. While the Union of Allied Planets acknowledges the dangers of space-travel beyond the border worlds, exaggerations of space piracy have led to these dangerous tales entering the public's imagination. We stress that the Alliance Navy remains diligent in ensuring the safety of the 'Verse, whether it be acts of piracy, terrorism, or any other action that threatens humanity. Rest assured that the so-called Miranda Broadwave is nothing but the latest act of dissidents seeking to undermine the peace and security of the 'Verse, and to open old wounds from the Unification War of seven years prior."

When pressed on rumours of an Alliance naval engagement in proximity to Fury (a gas giant located in the Blue Sun system), Mr. Murray refused to comment. In the meantime, rumours exist of Alliance Army units departing the core systems to border worlds, in what Major General Whedon has described as "deployment to bring additional security to the far-flung domains of the Union of Allied Planets."

Sihnon Daily, July 21, 2518

(Translated from the original Mandarin)

SPACE BATTLE AT FURY CONFIRMED!

Yesterday, footage uploaded to the Cortex via the salvage vessel Orpheus appeared to confirm that a space battle did indeed occur in the proximity of Fury. The footage showed a debris field spread out across the Fury planetary system, though in particular close proximity to the moon of Siren (an uninhabited blackrock). While rumours of a space battle in the system have been spreading throughout the 'Verse over the last week or so (spurred in no small part by claims from the inhabitants of Fury's other moons), this footage is, as of this time of writing, the only known confirmation. Observers have noted the debris field correlates with classes of warship used within the Alliance Navy, yet also smaller, non-military craft. Observers have also noted that the markings on the hulls are consistent with imagery described in survivours of Reaver attacks.

The Sihnon Daily received no response from the Alliance Navy Press Corps when asked for comment. In the meantime, with riots having sprung up in numerous border and rim worlds, some are asking how long the Alliance's silence can remain.

Osiris Sentinel, July 22, 2518

REAVERS, MIRANDA, AND A NEW WAR?

Earlier today, Admiral Radivoj Lindholm issued a pre-prepared statement to the Osiris Sentinel and other news affiliates gathered on IAV Baverdan.

"The Alliance Navy can confirm that on the eighth of July, a space battle occurred between an Alliance Navy battle group and a Reaver force. The Reavers attacked unprovoked, and their origin cannot be ascertained. While the battle group suffered heavy losses, the Reaver force was defeated, with all hands lost. The Alliance Navy can now state that without doubt, Reavers do indeed exist. However, we stress that all citizens bear in mind the following:

First, there have been no Reaver sightings reported since the Battle of Siren. While the Navy will continue to operate in the rim and border worlds, we will not be issuing a moratorium on space travel. While space piracy remains a very real threat, we believe the issue of the Reavers may have solved itself, given their utter obliteration at Siren. We may never know why the Reavers attacked our ships, but if there is some comfort to be taken from this tragedy, it is that the sacrifices of the brave men and women of the Union of Allied Planets Navy have made the 'Verse a safer place.

Secondly, despite the rumours floating around the Cortex, there is absolutely no truth in the claims that the planet Miranda was ever settled by Alliance colonists – Miranda never made it past the terraforming stage and has been an uninhabited blackrock for over a decade. Nor was any kind of chemical substance released that resulted in the deaths of 30 million people. The so-called Miranda Broadwave is being treated as an act of cyber-terrorism, and the Alliance Naval Intelligence Service is working with Interpol and other intelligence agencies to bring the perpetrators to justice. The motive for this group's actions are unclear, but rest assured, they will be found and made to answer for their crimes. We will not comment on speculation that this group operated on the behest of nascent independence movements or were attempting to bring about a war of secession.

Thirdly, the Alliance Navy will continue to operate in the rim and border territories. While there have been no further Reaver sightings since the Battle of Siren, we cannot assume that the issue of the Reavers has evaporated. I want to remind the members of the press that the Navy is operating under the mandate of protecting the citizens of these territories. The duty of the Navy is to protect all citizens of the Alliance, whether they be on Londinium or Beaumonde. While the Alliance Army has made planetfall on a number of worlds, we have no plans to enforce martial law, or curtail the rights of any Alliance citizen. However, we must stress that we will be keeping a heavy force present in the region of Blue Sun – as this was the site of the Reaver attack earlier this month, we are treating this region of space as highly hazardous. If any Reaver ships remain, or if any Reavers return to Alliance space, we have reason to believe that this will be the first point of contact."

The admiral at this point allowed questions, though refused to comment on why Alliance warships were gathered at Fury in the first place, how many ships had been assigned to track down the perpetrators, the rumours that the commander of the group at Siren has defected, or even aided the so-called terrorists in leaving the moon. When asked about the so-called New Resistance, Admiral Lindholm issued the following statement:

"I would like to remind the members of the press that there is no New Resistance. The term "new resistance" is nothing more than a slogan for agitators that have bought into the Miranda Broadwave. While Naval Intelligence will be monitoring these groups carefully, we want to stress that no, there is no risk of a new war, and yes, we will continue to allow freedom of protest to occur. Bear in mind, the scars of the Unification War still run deep – over one-hundred million people lost their lives in that conflict, and no-one wants to see such a tragedy repeat itself."

At this point, the admiral took no further questions.

A/N

So, this story has been a very, very long time in the making. Excluding initial drafting, the writing process took about...two years, four months. Dunno if time translated into quality, but that isn't up for me to decide.

That said, there's some things I feel compelled to say. First, per my usual approach to multi-chaptered work, this shares continuity with other multi-chapters I've written in the same setting. However, there's a fair bit of linkage with this story and Seven Deadly Sins, another Firefly story I wrote. If you haven't read SDS, you should be able to understand all of this. However, you'll (hopefully) get more out of this if you have.

Another point is that this story does take liberally from other canonical Firefly works, most prominently Leaves on the Wind. It's partly inevitable, given the post-movie timeframe the Dark Horse comics covered before they lost the rights. So, all due credit goes to the respective authors, as there's some sections in this story that transcribe scenes from the comics verbatim, as well as the film novelization (you'll recognise the scene if you've read it).

Anyway, that's it for now.