Forum: scifi.stackexchange.com
Tags: <firefly><character-development>
Title: What was Shepherd Book's past in Firefly?
Question: The one big question I've always had remaining about the Firefly series was, what was Shepherd Book's past? It's obvious he wasn't always a preacher, but what was he?

Answers:
sents: text: TL;DR:
text: Book's official status within the Alliance (and therefore on his ident chip) was that of a retired Alliance commander.
text: This would result in VIP treatment at most Alliance facilities.
text: I'll outline his entire known history below.
text: Most of this is outlined in the comic " The Shepherd's Tale ", which is essentially Book reflecting back on his life while dying at Haven.
text: Spoilers!
text: Early Life Originally named Henry Evans, the man we know
text: as Derrial Book was born on a border planet to an abusive father.
text: At the age of ten, he ran away from home and became adept at survival on the streets.
text: He eventually garnered some reputation as a thief & criminal, but ended up joining the growing Independence Movement.
text: Life as a Browncoat
text: In the four years before his Alliance assignment, Evans quickly became known for his vicious skills in combat - easily (and brutally) taking down entire squads of Alliance soldiers during missions.
text: When the Browncoats began looking for a long-term operative who could infiltrate the Alliance military as a double agent, Evans volunteered.
text: He needed a new identity, so he murdered a random citizen named Derrial Book and took that name as his own.
text: Life in the Alliance
text: Once in the Alliance, Book began a "meteoric" rise through the ranks.
text: He was seen as totally committed to the cause and earned a reputation for using savage tactics against the Browncoats, quickly becoming known as a master interrogator.
text: Because of his rising rank & influence, Book found himself increasingly able to both damage the Alliance plans as well as cover up losses or information leaks.
text: He quickly became a vital asset for the Browncoats, but also one of their most guarded secrets.
text: Retirement Book eventually found himself in command (or perhaps XO) of the IAV Cortez , an Alliance cruiser which oversaw an operation intended to end the Unification War in a single stroke.
text: Book himself was in charge of the operation, which involved committing massive resources into striking multiple targets at once.
text: Due to Book's involvement, however, the operation was actually a huge ambush.
text: Numerous forces were lost, including the total destruction of the IAV Alexander and all 4000 crew.
text: Considered one of the largest defeats in Alliance history, the entire operation was swept under the rug and Derrial Book was quietly discharged from Alliance service.
text: Life at the Abbey With the Independent Movement crushed soon after, Book wasn't sure what to do with himself.
text: He wandered the outer territories, weary of his life and drowning his sorrows in alcohol.
text: At one point, he finds himself at a church and comes to see religion as a way to atone for the many people he had killed throughout his life.
text: It apparently worked, as he eventually ended up at the Southdown Abbey on Persephone.
text: Book finally found peace tending the Abbey's garden, but knew he couldn't stay there indefinitely.
text: Life on Serenity
text: After an unknown amount of time at the Abbey (but presumably several years), Book decided to leave and get back out into the galaxy.
text: The Abbey had access to the Cortex, and Book had tired of watching others suffer along the rim.
text: He announced his intention to carry the Lord's message out to others, and this leads us directly to his introduction in S01E01 "Serenity".
text: As for your specific question, his ident chip reflected his official status with the Alliance - a retired Captain or Commander.
text: Especially in a medical situation like that, a status like that would require any Alliance officer to render immediate assistance.
answer_details: author: scifi.stackexchange.com/users/20557/Omegacron
score: 41
sents: text: Well, I did decide to get the book, and so here's the answer.
text: Spoilers!
text: Shepherd Book was abused as a boy, and lived on the street for a while.
text: He wasn't born under the name Shepherd Book, BTW.
text: He joined up with the independence movement, and volunteered to be a spy on the Alliance.
text: He was an officer until he led a brilliant defeat, after which he was discharged.
text: He later lived in a monastery for a time, and became the preacher we all know:-)
text: I'm not quite sure what I think of it, but there it is, so...
answer_details: author: scifi.stackexchange.com/users/98/PearsonArtPhoto
score: 36
sents: text: The lead villain in Serenity commanded the respect from the alliance forces that Shepard Book did once they saw his ID.
text: I wonder if there is still something we don't know about him, perhaps he too was one of the fixers.
answer_details: author: scifi.stackexchange.com/users/2398/mggates
score: 6
sents: text: Henry Evans had a troubled childhood and was a criminal for a time before enlisting with the independence movement.
text: As a member of The Independence he volunteered to spy on The Alliance.
text: He killed a man named Derrial Book assumed his identity to enlisted in the Alliance Military.
text: While still working as a spy for The Independence he quickly worked up the Alliance ranks to become a prominent officer.
text: At a key point during the war he intentionally lost a major battle dealing a crushing blow to the alliance and leading to him being discharged.
text: This loss was so crushing that the alliance made a point to wipe all record of it out.
text: Meaning on paper shepherd Book is nothing but a retired prominent Alliance officer.
text: After being discharged he "found god in a bowl of soup" while at a soup kitchen and decided to join an Abby.
text: He eventually left and ended up boarding Serenity.
answer_details: author: scifi.stackexchange.com/users/17187/Jobe
score: 3
sents: text: From the episode with the bounty hunter it does make it seem like he was once him self a bounty hunter and then became a preacher.
text: That would also explain why the alliance gave him treatment.
text: He may have done some bounty work for the alliance, as you all know the bounty hunter does say " that man is not a preacher".
answer_details: author: scifi.stackexchange.com/users/8987/Daniel
score: 1
sents: text: I think it's more plausible that he might be former Allience 'non-existing' agent, just like one that was chasing Firefly crew in 'Serenity' movie.. it would fit to how he was treated by cruiser crew and his skills in ( presumably) combat and firearms
answer_details: author: scifi.stackexchange.com/users/16745/Hary
score: 0

Summary of the answers:
Shepherd Book wasn't born with the name Shepherd Book. He was abused as a boy, and lived on the street for a while before joining up with the independence movement, and volunteering to be a spy on the Alliance.
He joined the independence movement and volunteered to be a spy. Moreover, he was abused as a boy and was homeless for some time.