It was late in the evening when Mal and Simon returned to the ship, accompanied by Peter. They were met by Zoe and Jayne, who were prepping the cargo hold for take-off. Zoe straightened when she saw the captain walk up the ramp.
"Sir," she inquired with a raised eyebrow. "Why is he here?" She nodded her head in the direction of Peter. Mal continued his long strides across the cargo hold and stopped at the comm channel.
"We all prepped for take-off, Jayne?" he asked as he walked.
"Yeah, cap'n," Jayne replied eyeing the newcomer with a look of suspicion.
"Good," he hit the comm button and his voice echoed across the ship. "This is the captain speaking. We'll be taking off shortly. Kaylee, prep the engine, River meet me on the bridge. Captain out." He turned and looked at his second in command. "Zoe, after we break atmo, I want you to assemble the crew in the dining hall. Got a job we need to discuss." He walked out and onto the bridge to prepare for take-off, where he was met by River a few minutes later.
"You want me, Captain?" She asked. Mal sat in the pilot's chair and looked at her. He motioned for her to take the seat next to him and they began the take-off sequence. Mal was silent for a moment, unsure as to how he should break the news to her. River could sense he was uncomfortable.
"Is this about Peter Petrelli, Captain?" she asked. Mal nodded and turned to face her.
"Yes," he began. "But mostly it's about you. Seems Peter has a grand plan that he wants our help with. It's a plan to put a serious dent in the Alliance and destroy the Academy. I know it's gonna be tough for you, little one. You've made a lot of progress and I'd hate to see that progress destroyed. But I think we need to do this. I need you to trust me, albatross." River paused a moment. She could feel Mal's thoughts swirling around her.
I'd give my life to protect you and keep you safe..
"I haven't been little for a long time, Captain," she said. "I'm a big girl. I can handle it." Mal smiled at her and turned back to the ship.
"I reckon you ain't little. You've become one heck of a fine lady and you do Serenity proud. But I want you to know that I ain't gonna force you to do anything you don't want to. You think on that a bit, River." He stood to leave. "Come to the dining hall after we break atmo," he said as he walked off the bridge.
River sat contemplating his words. She knew far more that she let on. Serenity had already let her in on the secrets Peter had shared with Her so many years ago. Secrets about the Company and the Alliance, secrets about the Blue Hands. Two by two, hands of blue. River knew Peter had a plan, but the man was like a brick wall and the only way she would get through the wall would be with a steamroller. Sighing, she returned her full attention to the take off sequence. Everything would be clear in a few hours, she knew that much. She just wasn't certain she would like the clarity.
A few hours later, the crew gathered around the table in the dining hall. Mal eyed them carefully, gauging potential reactions. Zoe was stoic, as usual. He knew she would be suspicious of Peter and his plan, but would ultimately follow her Captain's orders to the end. That's what he liked about Zoe. She was loyal. She trusted him, even if she didn't always understand. Jayne might be a harder sell. He was suspicious of everyone and didn't much like jobs where they didn't get paid. But he would fall into line. Mal treated him better than any employer had before. Jayne had found his home on board Serenity, even though he would never admit it. It wasn't him Mal was worried about. It was his pilot, River. He had spoken to her earlier on the bridge as they prepared to leave dock. He told her that they had a plan and she might not like it much, but he needed her support and trust. He was counting on her and knew what the heavy weight of that responsibility would do to her. Mal looked over at her, standing in the corner. She was staring at Peter, sitting on the couch steadfastly ignoring her. Feeling Mal's gaze on her, she turned and looked. He smiled, in what he hoped was a comforting fashion, before he turned and addressed the crew.
"Have a little introduction I'd like to make," he began. "This here's Peter Petrelli. Seems he's partially responsible for breaking River out of the Academy a year ago. Seems like he also needs our help with a little job, which I've agreed to. He can probably explain it better than I could." He indicated for Peter to take the floor, then went to stand beside River, a subtle move that went unnoticed by everyone except Zoe and Peter. Peter gave a little smile, then stood and began to speak.
"Captain's right. I have a job that I believe only this crew can accomplish," he began. "There's no easy way to explain this, so I'll just be blunt. Blue Sun Corporation is a front for a much larger and insidious company that has existed for centuries. This Company identifies and marks individuals that carry a specific genetic marker and determines whether these same individuals are capable of being subverted to their cause." He eyed the crew carefully. Jayne was the first one to break the silence.
"You weren't kidding when you said you'd be blunt," he stated. "But I'm not getting what this has to do with us." Peter nodded acknowledging Jayne's question.
"Then let me explain," he replied. "Before the Alliance was created, the Blue Sun Corporation existed. It might not have been in its present form, but it was there. It has always been there. Almost every Alliance Parliament representative has ties to Blue Sun. In essence, Blue Sun is the Alliance. They control manufacturing, labor, and basic governmental processes. That is how they are able to take these individuals and perform experiments on them. They are above the law because they create the law."
"River carries this genetic marker, doesn't she?" asked Zoe.
"Yes," replied Simon. "That's why the Alliance was interested in her and sent her information on the Academy."
"An Academy sponsored, coincidentally, by Blue Sun," continued Peter. "They were able to manipulate her DNA to bring out this marker. She was intuitive as a child, but they were able to make her psychic. She had an astonishing ability to learn, but they were able to manipulate her muscle memory to copy everything she saw. They created the perfect soldier, a fighter who could out maneuver and out think any opponent. But we were able to rescue her before they finished their work. Not everyone in that facility was so lucky. I estimate that there are at least twenty individuals that are still contained within the facility, undergoing training." Peter paused to allow this to sink in.
"You mean to take it down, don't you?" asked Zoe. "You want to destroy the Academy."
"I do," Peter replied. Then he carefully outlined his plan to the crew. It involved himself and River infiltrating the Academy and bringing down the core computer mainframe. Doing so would effectively shut down the electronic trigger signals that were broadcast to the minds of the Academy subjects. Once these signals were stopped, the behavioural modification program would be rendered useless. When River heard this she began to shake. She leaned into and buried her face in his chest.
"Please no, don't make me go back. Can't face them again. Please," she pleaded as she cried. She buried her face into Mal's shoulder. He reached an arm around her and placed his hand on her back.
"Hey now, little albatross," he said in a soothing tone. "This is your chance. Your once chance to get revenge on the people that did this to you. Only you can end this. But you won't be alone. I won't let you do this alone. I'm gonna be right there with you."
"I need to show you something." Peter stated, focusing his gaze on her. As though she had no choice, River felt drawn to him and stared into his eyes. She shuddered slightly as she felt his mind penetrate deep into her psyche, pulling and tugging at images and memories that she had long since buried. River began to shake as he delved further and further into the deep recesses of her mind. As he pulled, River pushed, until they were playing a game of tug-of-war with her mind. She screamed when he pulled a memory of the Academy to the front of her mind.
"God no!" River screamed. "Stop! Please stop!" She fell to the floor and continued to scream. Mal knelt down beside her, then looked up at Peter. The rest of the crew looked to be in shock, unsure of what was taking place. Only Mal seemed aware that it was Peter having this effect on River's mind.
"Gorram it! I don't know what the hell you're doing, but you better stop now if you don't want to be on the other end of that airlock!" He yelled. Then, as suddenly as she had begun, River stopped screaming and was silent. Mal stood up and punched Peter in the jaw, knocking him backwards. Peter didn't even flinch as he fell to the floor. In fact, he began to chuckle as he stood.
"You think that's bad Captain Reynolds?" he said. "Well, it can get a whole lot worse." Peter stood and looked around at the crew who were shocked at the display he presented. "For the past four years, the Alliance has been manufacturing soldiers. Soldiers loyal only to the Alliance with abilities beyond what you or I could comprehend. Some of them are imbued with super human strength, others with unique muscle memory enabling them to copy any movement they see once. Some of these soldiers have incredible psychic powers. River was the star, she was their prodigy. But make no mistake, a run-in with any of these individuals could have devastating consequences. Imagine never being free of your worst nightmare, being forced to relive it over and over again until you're screaming to your God to kill you out of mercy. Can you live the rest of your life in Serenity Valley, Mal?"
Mal lifted a shaking, crying River into his arms. "I already told you we'd help you. You violate any of my crew again and I'll personally see to it that you find yourself on the other end of that airlock, dong ma?" He carried River out of the dining hall and headed toward her room. The rest of the crew dispersed, thinking hard on what Peter said and what just occurred.
Peter knew everything was happening exactly as it should.