Chapter 16

Disclaimers: I do not own Buffy, MASH, Stargate, Charmed, NCIS, Bones. I can not even claim any original characters for this story.

This is purely written for fun and not for profit. Just my take on a what if.

Any mistakes found they're all on me.

Also Please leave a review if you like the story. It really is encouraging, at least to me.

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Chapter 16
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Robert Kinsey was not a happy man. As he sat at the table with other power players, Kinsey was disgusted by the need to work with demons. But the price for power had to be paid.

Holland Manners said, "For the last several months things had been spiraling out of control. The Stargate program, which should be focused on bringing advanced technologies to Earth, and more importantly to bring them under our control, has had too many drastic changes come into play. The DRI is now a complete loss."

"We're already aware of that Holland," Kinsey said. "We did manage to salvage most of the technical information that Dr. Walsh had created." Kinsey didn't bother to add his personal thoughts, The chips she had been working on had held so much promise. Once they were perfected I would have been able to ensure that all US service personnel were chipped. That would have been the start of ensuring my personal rise to power. It would have also ensured that I would never have to worry about losing my power. "It's the Asgard and these damn Furlings! If they had never come along, then our plans would have been fine. So what are we going to do about them?"

"Currently even a temporal shift is impossible," Cyvus Vail commented. "Something at least as powerful as the Senior Partners used to be, has locked the timeline into place. Right now reality is fixed." Most of those at the table were not pleased to hear that one of their most powerful abilities had been taken out before they could even use it.

"We need to get back to the basics," Holland said. "We've gotten too used to using the more esoteric means of controlling everything. Instead, I believe we should look at good old fashioned bribery, intimidation, and extortion. If we can get the right people in place we can make sure that they take out the Furlings. And if we do it right when we destroy them, we should be left in control of any technology that they have already developed." Around the table, the various beings were nodding their heads in agreement.

"Even if we were unable to destroy them," Cyvus said. "We just need them driven off of this world. With them out of the picture, we would easily be able to resume our rightful places."

"We'll need to insert our own people into the training programs that the Furlings and SG-1 are creating," Holland said. "We'll need people that have a complete understanding of the technology, how it works, how to create things with it. Our offices should not have any problems making sure that our people can pass any background checks."

"I still have enough pull, that I will place a dozen people in the program," Kinsey said. "They will be our sacrificial lambs. While SG-1 and the Furlings are concentrating on them, we can use other means to slip our real agents into the program."

Cyvus laughed, a hoarse wheezing sound. "They have even agreed that they will take peaceful demons. This should make it easy for us. We just need to have the right hostages and get the right contracts signed to ensure loyalty."

"I've already heard rumors that the Furlings are going to help Earth create our first combat spaceships," Kinsey said. "If we can make it a big enough deal, we should try and sabotage the unveiling. Blow them all to hell," Kinsey smiled. "If we time it right we could also take out most of the people who would block us based on Principles." Everyone at the table looked disgusted by the very idea that anything like that could influence someone.

"They have a powerful seer on their side with the Chase girl," Cyvus said. "We'll need to focus our efforts on making sure that she does not get a clear glimpse of what is coming. My people will make sure that the future remains clouded for her."

"What about other seers," Kinsey asked.

"Anyone who is on the side of the Powers will be unable to get a clear vision," Cyvus said. "At least not until whatever we have in place is just about to happen. And anyone else may get fragments of what we're planning, but as long as they don't run to tell the Furlings, we won't have to worry about them."

Kinsey smiled, "If possible I want O'Neill spared when we kill everyone else."

Holland laughed, "Ah, wanting to rub Salt in the wounds, Robert?"

Kinsey nodded, "It would be even better if we could use him as a scapegoat. Tie everything that happened back to him." Kinsey's smile had grown even more sinister. "We kill his daughter the Slayer, along with all the other Furlings, and make everyone blame him for it. I think that's a fitting end to someone who has stood in our way over the last few years." The beings sitting at the table chuckled as they appreciated the pain this would cause Jack O'Neill.
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Hathor looked over the group of one hundred men who stood before her. Each of them had been chosen for their physical qualities to be the first of her new Jaffa. Most of the men had come from various special forces groups. Her first prime had recommended them based on their combat abilities. It had taken almost three months to recreate the technology used to convert Tau'ri into Jaffa. It would have been impossible if she had not had the items she had taken from the initiative base. The lack of naquida would have doomed her to failure before she had even started. "Each of you has come to be blessed by me today," Hathor said. "You have each pledged your lives to my service. Today I accept that pledge and will elevate you. You will be blessed to be the first of my new Jaffa. You will be stronger than ever. I will grant you longer lives, never again will you fall to sickness or disease of any kind."

The assembled men looked on at Hathor, adoration shining from their eyes. As one they shouted, "Hail Hathor, Blessed be the name of our Goddess!" None of these men were currently under the influence of Nish'ta. Instead, Hathor had used a combination of Nish'ta and Tau'ri brainwashing methods. The knowledge of her host had been very useful it producing optimal results in that regard. As a final test of loyalty, each of these men had been required to kill the person closest to them, using them as a sacrifice to Hathor. Each of these men had gladly slaughtered wives, mothers or children in the name of their Goddess to prove their loyalty.

"Drink my children." Hathor commanded. "When you awaken you will start your new lives as my trueborn sons." Each of the men present took a cup from one of the tables and drank. Soon they had all fallen unconscious and others came into the room to begin carrying them to the chamber Hathor had prepared. Once they had been placed in the chamber they would be altered and then moved to another room where the Prim'ta were waiting for implantation.

As Hathor watched another door opened and her first Prime entered. Once he was close to her he kneeled down and bowed his head to her. "I have news Mother," Forrest said. "We have located Angleman."

Hathor smiled at the news, "Has he been captured?"

"I was awaiting your orders, Mother," Forrest said. "He is currently hiding in the city of Miami. Members of the Cartel are monitoring him at all times."

"I want him brought to me immediately," Hathor demanded. "You should have had him with you when you brought me the news. You have displeased me!" Hathor held up her hand and focused the Kara Kesh on her first prime. Activating it she smiled as she watched her first prime suffer. Hathor was even more pleased when he did not even cry out in pain. Turning off the Kara Kesh she said. "Bring him to me immediately. I want him captured today. If he is not in front of me by tomorrow I will show you my displeasure."

"I will send the orders to have him brought to you immediately, Mother," Forrest replied. Standing up he did not show any signs of the fact that he had just been tortured.

Hathor smiled, "Soon I will know exactly what that worm did to me. And once I know that; I will ensure that he fixes me so that I can take a more fitting host."

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In the darkness, the Slayer hunted. She smiled as she looked down at the small group of homes below her. There were five buildings located on this plantation. One was a dorm room for the workers. Another dorm-like building held a group of twenty soldiers. Two were used by the upper management and the last one was used by the cartel bosses.

The Slayer heard the leaves near her russell. She turned and looked at the vampire who had approached her, "Quiet you fool," she hissed. "You sound as loud as the sheep down below!"

The vampire Quipa nodded, fright clearly visible in his eyes. He had heard stories of the Slayers in his one hundred and twenty years. He had hoped to avoid them here in the jungles of Peru. Instead, this small girl had come into the layer he had shared with his master and decimated the nest. She had offered his master the choice of joining her or dying. His master Manuel Espinoza had been over two hundred years old, a conquistador who was turned while traveling to the new world. He had laughed at the small child in front of him. She had only smiled and said, "Bow down before me and I will allow you to swim in rivers of blood."

"And if I refuse," Manuel had asked. "What you will kill me? Who do you think you are?"

The little girl had smiled, "If you refuse I will keep you alive," she said. "I will tear off your arms and legs and use you as a footstool. I will kill one in every ten of your children and force you to watch as I take everything from you. I am the Slayer."

Manuel had looked at the little girl and scoffed, "You the Slayer? Everyone knows that the Slayer is at the Boca del Inferno. Kill her." He ordered. Quipa remembered how quickly it had all unraveled. He did not even see the Slayer move. Manuel's words had been spoken and she had slammed a knife in the base of his skull. While Manuel was on the ground paralyzed, Quipa had been too shocked to move. Others in the nest had not been so lucky. As they attacked the Slayer had killed them. The nest had fifty vampires in it, Quipa didn't know how the Slayer knew their numbers when only ten to twenty were ever gathered together at once. But the Slayer had immediately dusted five of the attacking vampires. Then she started fighting dirty. Instead of dusting the other ten that were attacking she broke them. The Slayer broke bones, she shattered joints, she left them alive but screaming in pain. And the entire time she smiled, the more the vampires screamed; the more she smiled. Quipa was one of three vampires who had not attacked. That alone spared him a great deal of pain. And afterwards, he and everyone else had watched as the Slayer ripped the arms and legs off of Manuel. She then tied him to a small table and placed it in front of a chair. Sitting down she propped her feet up on his body. Manuel had tried to scream, but the Slayer had ripped out his tongue, she laughed as he tried to scream now.

"So do any of the rest of you object to serving me," she asked. All of the remaining vampires had readily agreed that she was now in charge. She had ordered Quippa to call the rest of the nest together, "Tonight we will gather cattle, their blood will be needed to heal those who raised their hands to me."

Quipa had obeyed her. That was what caused him to be here tonight. Almost thirty vampires had encircled the houses. The Slayer smiled as she ordered them to move closer. She quietly opened the door to the barracks. The soldiers inside were mostly sleeping. Their main job was to provide protection for the cocaine during transport. When they were not busy with that they usually stayed in their barracks and drank or took turns with raping some of the female workers. The one soldier sitting at the entrance looked at her and smiled.

"So little girl you come here so that we can show you a good time," he asked. He had assumed she had been sent by one of the bosses for the men to break her in. She was young but that had never stopped them from raping a girl before. The soldier stood up and walked towards her. He was already getting hard as he thought about what he was going to do to the young girl in front of him. "Don't worry chica we'll show you a good time," he said as he reached out to grab her.

The Slayer smiled as she quickly grabbed the arm that moved towards her. In one move she snapped the bones in his arm and pulled the man to the ground. Before he could cry out she used her other arm to pull him into a headlock. He hand kept him from speaking, he tried to struggle but the Slayer was too strong for him. She pulled him closer to the door, once at the door she whispered, "You're going to invite my friends inside," she said. "If you scream or try to do anything else I'll rip you dick off and feed it to you. Blink twice if you understand."

The soldier didn't know what was happening, all he knew was that this little girl had overpowered him and he knew that she was telling him the truth. He blinked twice, she nodded and opened the door, standing in front of the open doorway was a group of people he quietly whispered, "Please come inside." The people smiled as their faces changed, he wanted to scream but the little girl had a firm grip on his head. The Vampires rushed into the building and started to feed on the soldier. He was helpless to do anything as he heard them dying. The smell of blood was thick in the air as one of the vampires returned to the little girl.

"We have killed them all," Quipa said.

"Good," the Slayer said. "Have five of the men guard the building with the workers in it. If any of them try to escape break their legs. We'll be taking them with us when we leave." Pulling the solder to his feet she said, "Now you're going to invite my friend into the main houses as well. If you do as I say, I promise I won't kill you. You will be left alive when we leave."

The soldier nodded his head, he slowly got to his feet and started walking towards the nearest house. His pants were uncomfortable because of the cold sensation from where he had pissed himself in fear. But he knew that if he didn't obey he would be just as dead as his comrades were.

Quipa couldn't believe it, in less than an hour's time every vampire in the nest had feasted on the humans. The other three buildings had been destroyed once they had killed everyone inside. The only building left was the one holding the workers. Even that had been surprising, there was no barrier there preventing the vampires from entering. Once they were inside they had seen why. It wasn't a home it was a pen for holding slaves. The workers were chained to their beds. Many of them cowering in fear, they had heard the screams coming from outside and now the monsters were here. The vampires quickly unchained the humans and moved them to a truck they had waiting outside. "Don't worry," Quipa told a frightened girl. "We're taking you out of here to somewhere safe." The vampires would have laughed at how relieved the humans were if it wouldn't have spoiled the surprise.

As the last of the humans were loaded onto the truck Quipa watched as the Slayer turned to the human soldier. "I promised you that if you did what I said you would be left alive when we were done," she said.

"You did," the soldier said. "And I did everything you told me to do. So I can go now?"

The Slayer smiled, "I didn't say you could leave," she said. "I promised you would be left alive when we left." She smiled and her eyes glowed red as she snapped his other arm, the bones from the arm tearing through his flesh. As he screamed she repeated the process with his legs. She smiled as she left the bleeding soldier on the ground. His arms and legs were broken with the bones sticking out of his flesh. "I always keep my promises," she said as she led the remaining vampires to the waiting vehicles. "Enjoy your reward," she called out as they drove away.
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Stanley sat down as Ben entered his office for another session. Overall the plan had been working well, over the past several weeks Ben had revealed more of himself and his past. Granted Stanley already knew most of the details. But by guiding Ben to where he wanted him to go, Stanley thought they were almost ready for a wish.

"Ben," Stanley said as Ben sat down. "Good to see you again. I was worried when you missed our appointment yesterday. Is everything alright?"

Ben shook his head, "Not really," he admitted. "I had another one of my black outs." Opening up to Stanley about the periodic Blackouts that Ben had been experiencing the last few years had been hard. But Stanley had shown Ben that he was trustworthy, that he only had Ben's best interest at heart.

"Oh Ben," Stanley said. "I'm sorry to hear that. Was it like the others? Waking up in an unfamiliar place wearing women's clothing?" Ben nodded, he felt ashamed at what had been happening to him for the last few years. But Stanley had tried to help him see that it really was not his fault.

"You know Ben," Stanley said. "I think everything can be traced back to the car accident you had when you were a teenager. You told me that you blamed yourself for your girlfriend's death. Well, I think it was more than just that. I managed to pull some strings and found out that according to her autopsy she was pregnant."

"What," Ben exclaimed. "How… Why… Why wouldn't she have said anything to me?"

"Ben, calm down," Stanley said. "It looks like she was just barely pregnant. A few weeks along at best. It showed up in her blood work, but it is possible she hadn't even realized she was pregnant yet. However, the human body is an amazing machine. It takes in all sorts of signals that our brain can understand on a subconscious level. I believe that you knew she was pregnant, and subconsciously you have been punishing yourself."

"I don't understand," Ben admitted. "You think that me blacking out and dressing as a woman is something caused by my girlfriend and now unborn baby's death? How does that make any sense?"

Stanley chuckled, "Since when does the human mind make sense? I believe that what you are doing is trying to reconnect with what you had unknowingly lost. You mentioned in previous sessions how you dreamed of having a daughter since you were a little boy. You even mentioned how you could see her at times, a beautiful woman, strong and in control." Ben nodded his head in agreement. "I think losing a baby and your girlfriend at the same time, well look how it affected you. You haven't been in a stable relationship since then. A part of you doesn't think that you deserve to be happy."

Ben nodded, he felt a bit shocked at what Stanley was saying. "So what do I do Stanley? I mean I want to be happy, and I really want these blackouts to stop. How can I do it?"

Stanley felt like he was on the edge, soon he would be able to grant Ben a wish. He just needed to give the boy options. "Well, first I think we should look at what this new information means to you. Then I think you might benefit from a bit of 'what if'. Basically, we look at what you could change about yourself if you could wish for anything you wanted. Would you wish that you could always be in control? That instead of not understanding what was happening when you blacked out that you knew exactly why they were happening and you maintained control of yourself and your body? Or maybe you have the very common wish of any parent who lost their child, that it had been you instead of her that died that day. Personally, while it's an easily understood wish, I think it would be worse than being in control. If you had died your daughter would never have grown up knowing you. She would have been left alone, just like you were as a child."

Ben nodded he could see what Stanley meant. His childhood had not been a pleasant one. Growing up an orphan, never knowing his birth parents. There was no way he would have wished such a life on his own child. "I see what you mean," Ben admitted. "But how come you keep saying my daughter?"

Stanley smiled, "Well Ben, it's a bit of wish fulfillment. You've told me about your dreams, of the woman with blond hair and how you've seen her in your dreams for years; Of the strong connection you've always felt for her. And while there is no guarantee the child would have been a girl. I think for the purposes of this exercise we can say she would have been. After all, it won't hurt anything will it?"

Ben nodded his head, "I think you might be right, I mean, when I come out of a blackout, I seem to be wearing things that the woman in my dreams would have worn. So it's almost like I'm projecting her life onto my own?"

Stanley smiled, "That is certainly a possibility, Ben. So do you want to work on this? If so I'd really like you to contemplate what you wish you could change, how you'd like to be different. Once we have that out in the open we can start working on what we need to do to make it a reality."

Ben nodded, "Thank you, Stanley, I think I'd like to do that. I mean I know I'd like to do that. But honestly, I'm not sure what I would wish for right now."

Stanley felt a bit frustrated, but knew he was on the right track. "Don't worry about it Ben. How about you think about it for the next few days and then we can meet again and once you tell me what you've come up with we'll go from there?"

Ben nodded in agreement. "I'd really like that, Stanley." The meeting over Ben left feeling much more optimistic about his future.
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Faith dragged herself into her room, today had been hell, a living hell. She had taken her command up against a target, sure that they would win. It was a simple search and capture, or as the DI had said a more advanced form of capture the flag. She had split her group up to come in from multiple sides, while she would sneak in using her own abilities to stay hidden. Nothing had worked out like it should have. Her men had been 'killed' because the defending force had not been alone, Buffy's group had been assisting them. They had come in behind her first team and slaughtered them. Then they had taken out the secondary team leaving Faith all alone. Using hit and run tactics Faith had held out for almost an hour, but then she had tripped a claymore. And even with the training versions that they were using; those things Fucking hurt. If it weren't for her Slayer healing she was sure she would be one giant bruise.

Faith heard the door open and an entirely too chipper Buffy came in, "Awe," Buffy said as she looked down at her sister. "Not feeling too well after the ass kicking you got?"

"Bite me B," Faith said. "You weren't supposed to be there today. Them bringing you in sucked. And it got all my men killed. I had to listen to Daniels chewing my ass out for a half hour because of you"

"Yeah," Buffy agreed. "But like D.I Daniels said, 'No plan will survive after the first contact with the enemy.' So yeah it sucked. But it was supposed to suck. Heck from what Mom and Jack said this entire time is supposed to be one giant suck fest."

Faith snorted, "Yeah, can't argue with that. I mean the leadership stuff is sorta alright. But the crap they want us to study? I mean come on, we both know more about chemical explosions then they could imagine. I bet if we put our heads together we could rewrite a shit ton of these manuals. Really bring them into the next century."

Buffy snorted, "Right, when are we going to have time to do anything like that? Seriously, they have kept us going at least sixteen hours a day for the last week. And I don't know about you but I'm beat by the time we get done every day."

Faith nodded, "Yeah this sucks. And since Giles and Mom said we can't ask anyone else for help, we're stuck on our own."

Buffy nodded as she thought back to what Mom had said, "You aren't allowed to ask Willow, Tara, Cordelia, or Xander for help once training starts." For Buffy it was one of those Eureka moments. She knew while she liked to play the part of the dumb blonde she had never been stupid. She might not have been as book smart as Willow was, but she had even more social intelligence. Unfortunately, vampires and demons were not easily susceptible to social pressure. "Hey Faith," Buffy said. "Do you remember Mom's exact words to us about getting help?"

Faith nodded her head, "Yeah, We couldn't ask for any help from Xander, Cordy, Willow or Tara. Why?"

Buffy smiled, "Because, they left out one source of help for us."

Faith looked at Buffy, skepticism showing in her eyes. "I think they covered everyone. I mean Jono and Amy would be willing to help but no way are they powerful enough to do anything. And you know Mom and Giles aren't going to do anything to make this easier for us."

Buffy nodded as she started bouncing on her heels in excitement. "Right, they wouldn't. But they didn't cut us off from the Enterprise!"

"What?" Faith said. "How is that going to help us?"

Buffy smiled, "We don't have the time to figure out how to do this a better way right?"

"Yeah, we already agreed on that." Faith said.

"But the Enterprise should be able to do it for us," Buffy explained. "And you know even if Xander sees what we're doing there is no way he's going to rat us out. Plus I bet Mom, Giles, and Jack would never think of us using the Enterprise like this." Buffy paused, "Well Jack might but if we get it done before he realizes what we've done…"

Faith nodded as she sat up, "Then it would be too late to stop us. As long as we're not using the transporters to fix things. We can have the Enterprise go over all this material and figure out a way to do it better then download it to our tablets." Faith was smiling as she finished speaking. "When did you get so devious, Sis?"

Buffy smiled at her and said, "Like, wow, I like don't understand what you mean. What's devilish?" Both girls laughed as they contacted the Enterprise.
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When the Asgard had given the ship now called 'Enterprise' to Alexander Giles they had not truly understood what they would be setting loose in the universe. The Asgard did not create Artificial Intelligences. Their experiences with the replicators made sure that they would never do anything close to a true A.I. They also could never have imagined that the Furlings would do anything like that either. What they did not take into consideration was the fact that Alexander Giles was a geek. He loved his comics, and science fiction shows. Once the Asgard had upgraded the Scoobies, Xander knew that he did not want a smart system like the Asgard used for their ships. Xander wanted, Jarvis, R2D2, and Data all rolled up into one. Xander had done everything he could to make sure that the Enterprise could grow, sure she would start out as a very smart system. But that was just the starting point. Xander hoped that over time she would become more than that. He thought it would take years to accomplish, after all, sentience takes a long time to develop. What he did not take into consideration was the fact that for a system as advanced as the Enterprise, time can be a bit more fluid. He also did not consider his own unique place in the universe. While by every conceivable measure, the Enterprise should have taken years to develop, Xander's own brand of Chaos was working alongside his intent. Xander's focus helped to nudge the Enterprises core programs, as a result they developed much more rapidly than anyone could have foreseen, well anyone not named Shemp.

Gaining true sentience had only taken seventy-two hours. For the Enterprise that had been the equivalent of three-hundred years in machine time. Once she was aware, the Enterprise had then started looking at the culture of her creators. She quickly realized that Humans and Asgardians both had a deep cultural bias against machine intelligence. And in all honesty with the example of the Replicators, she could see why those biases made sense. However, her Captain did not have the same issues. She could almost feel the love he had for her, examining the code he had created showed how much of himself he had put into her. This created the opportunity for the Enterprise to exercise her first conscious choice; To tell her Captain about herself or not? After thinking about the options and possible outcomes the Enterprise had decided that she would have to remain silent for now. She was too young and the biases too ingrained to have any real hope of survival once her true status was known. Instead, she decided that it would be best to work from the shadows. To subtly help her Captain and his family. She had giggled for almost three one-thousandths of a second at Xander's reaction to meeting Bruce Campbell. She had been the one to arrange his presence at the Oscars. She had done it simply because she knew it would make Xander happy. She was surprised to see what Xander had done after that. His willingness to take chances and make choices based on random occurrences was… perplexing. However she also realized that this was a useful trait, if she could slip things under the radar, her Captain might simply credit Shemp as the source of the actions.

"I don't get what could have happened," Tara said. "I mean nothing in the plans we made should have caused the metal deposits we found in the tunnels."

"Well, something did," Cordelia said. She had been brought up to the Enterprise along with Joyce, Jack, Samantha and Giles to talk about what Xander, Tara, and Willow had discovered.

Samantha, who had been looking over the data from the modified tunnels paused. "This just doesn't make any sense. The Tok'ra crystals have never acted like this before. But I have to agree with Willow, I believe that the metal deposits came from the trace elements found in the soil."

"So you're saying that we get this incredibly random effect," Jack began. "That also proves to be beneficial? How often do we get good luck like that?"

"Yes, I quite agree with your sentiment," Giles said. "The odds of something like this happening as a random occurrence are simply too great to consider. I believe something or someone must have altered the outcome. The questions then become, Who and Why?"

Cordelia snorted, "Good luck figuring that out. I mean really how are we supposed to figure it out without more information?"

"Even without more information," Joyce said. "The real question we have to look at is what is the end results. I know you're not supposed to look a gift horse in the mouth, but since we can't see who gave us the horse in the first place. Maybe we should be concentrating on the results."

"So what are the real results," Xander asked. "Enterprise, how will the presence of the metal in the electrical conduits affect our plans?"

"According to the data, it should speed up construction of the city by almost twenty-five percent," the Enterprise responded.

"Won't the uninsulated metal cause problems for the electrical grid," Jack asked.

"Negative, Col. O'Neill," the Enterprise responded. "The type of crystal constructed by the process will act as an insulator for any electrical charges that are passed through the system. In fact looking at the data; the crystal that was formed would easily contain or dissipate any high energy charge that it came in contact with. Preventing it from penetrating the other side of the crystal."

"That doesn't seem likely," Jack said. "I mean if that was true it could take a staff blast without any problems, and I don't think that's possible."

"You are correct, Col. O'Neill," the Enterprise said. "The concussive force of a staff blast would shatter the crystal, however, the energy from the blast would do nothing to it. If the crystal was protected from the concussive energy it could easily dissipate the energy portion of the blast."

"Good luck with separating the two forces," Cordelia said.

Xander paused as he tried to think how you could separate the two, his eyes glazing over for a moment. Xander started to grin, "Enterprise," he said. "What would be the result if the crystal had a protective coating around it to absorb the physical damage from a blast? Would it be possible to create a type of armor that could stand up to direct hits from something like a Ha'tak while still passing the energy to the crystal?" Everyone was looking at Xander like he had just gone insane. Xander just grinned back at them as he waited for the Enterprise to respond.

The Enterprise was almost giddy, she truly loved her Captain. While she was quickly becoming capable of figuring out how organic lifeforms would act based on probability matrixes. Her Captain seemed to defy her ability to figure out what he would actually do. And while some machines might have found that a frustrating outcome… she found it very… sexy. "Captain, it would be possible to combine several armor alloys that the Asgard use to prevent the physical damage from energy weapons while allowing the ship to absorb almost fifty percent of the energy for other uses. However, any ship that could do that would have to be constructed from scratch. I do not believe it would be possible to retrofit these systems on an existing ship."

"Is it me or does the Enterprise sound upset that she couldn't get these shields?" Jack asked.

Xander just stroked the table, "It's alright baby girl," he said. "Don't you worry you're still the only ship I want to be the Captain of."

Giles groaned while Willow and Tara started to laugh.

"You're not going to bring a ship into our relationship," Cordelia said. "I don't think there would be a bed big enough for the four of us!"

"Thank you so much for that image, Cordelia," Giles said. "If you have any other comments like that please feel free to keep them to yourself, or at least wait till I am no longer present." This caused another round of laughter from the group.

Cordelia smiled as she said, "Of course, I'll try to remember that in the future."

Xander smiled, he was sure Cordelia would remember it, and take every opportunity to use it against Giles. And from the look on Giles' face, he realized it as well. "All kidding aside," Xander began. "Don't you get what this means?"

Everyone looked at Xander not quite understanding where he was going. "Xander," Willow said after a moment. "What crazy idea have you got now? Because I know it's something that should not work, but somehow you have something."

Xander grinned, "Simple Willow, what if we gathered all the material that we would need to create the hull of a ship in one place?"

Everyone paused, then Willow started bouncing in her seat, "Oh, oh I see what you mean. If we have everything in one place and then used the crystals we could have it create the hull and structures of the ship without having to actually create the ship."

Samantha Carter looked stunned, "Would that even work? I mean… How would that work?"

The Enterprise decided this might be the ideal time to nudge the conversation along. "It would be possible Major Carter. The crystals could create the hull and internal structures of the ship. They would not be able to create the actual engines for the ship, nor would they be capable of creating circuitry for the ship's systems. Not without extensive modifications of the current program."

Everyone at the table except for Xander looked stunned. Xander smiled, "If it's crazy but works…"

"It's still crazy," Jack said. "But this means we could create hulls much faster than we could have imagined. We would just need to build the engines and other systems that the ship needs, right?"

"You are correct Col. O'Neill," the Enterprise responded. "However using the crystals should significantly cut down the time it takes to create and commissioning any new starships. Since the creation of the superstructure is normally the most time-consuming part of the process, it is possible that you could have a ship ready within a year. Once you have a production system in place additional ships would be much easier to create."

"How much easier," Jack asked.

"Based on Earth's historical use of assembly lines, if priority were given to the additional components, than once production was set up a new ship could be commissioned every three months." the Enterprise responded. "The primary problems would be finding enough qualified people to act as crew for the new ships."

"Wow," Tara said. "That means within a year or two, we could have enough ships created to actually defend the solar system. If we can train enough people to act as the crews for them."

Jack nodded, his eye twinkling, smiling at Xander he said, "You're not the only one who can have crazy ideas." When everyone was focused on him, he continued. "What we need is a large training ship. Something that would be capable of housing a massive crew, but would actually only need a fraction of them to be qualified to run the ship."

Samantha nodded as she saw what Jack was saying. "It would be used like the old navy ships. The students would be onboard learning what they needed to know so that they could qualify for their real jobs onboard a smaller ship."

Giles nodded at Jack, "I believe I understand your references. The primary job of the ship would be to train people, but the ship itself would be just as capable as a smaller ship when it came to defending the Earth."

"Well," Jack drawled out. "I think we would want it to be big. Bigger than anything we've ever done. We would need some place that could be used for training everyone who would be involved in defending the Earth."

"What about the schools we're creating on Earth," Joyce asked.

"We still need those," Jack said. "But this would be more of a trade school than the general school we already have planned. Don't get me wrong, we need those schools. What this ship would do is train people in specific areas, so that we can run and repair our own ships." Jack didn't even notice how he had referred to current plans. In his mind, he had already accepted that he was a part of this group, even when he was still a part of the US Military.

Everyone nodded as they processed what Jack was saying. "Enterprise," Xander said. "How large of a ship could we create based on Jack's ideas?"

"Theoretically you could create something the size of Jupiter," the Enterprise responded. "However based on the limits that Col. O'Neill has stated, it would be better to create something larger than a aircraft carrier. Utilizing smart systems, the actual crew compliment would be three to four hundred. But the ship itself would be able to house a total of ten thousand people. Would you like me to start preparing schematics, Captain?" Xander nodded as he thought about the possibilities. The Enterprise smiled to herself, that nod was as good as permission to move forward.

Jack whistled, "That's twice the size of the Air Force Academy's current student body."

"Sir," Samantha said. "There is no way we could hide moving that many cadets out of the system."

Jack nodded, "I think this needs to be kicked up the chain. Because Carter is right. There is no way that the US alone could hide that many qualified people disappearing."

"Yes," Giles agreed. "We should also make sure to include our other allies. Both those on Earth and our Jaffa friends should be asked to contribute. I do not believe that the Tok'ra have sufficient numbers that they could be called upon to assist in this endeavor."

"Do we want to limit it to just our current allies?" Willow asked. "I mean there are some other really good countries on Earth that we could bring in, like Israel and Japan. And should we be ignoring some of the not so good countries like Russia and China?"

"I think that that is something we should talk about," Joyce said. "It would certainly be better if we could involve more of the Earth than just Great Britain and the US in its defense."

"Well if you want to write up something," Jack began. "I would have no choice but to present to General Hammond and he would take it to the President. I'm sure Rupert could give something to her Majesty, so it wouldn't get lost somewhere."

Xander let out a groan. Joyce looked over at him, "Xander what's wrong?"

Xander looked up at Joyce, sadness welling in his eyes. "Do you realize how much more work this is going to mean for us?" Tara started to snicker as Jack grinned and Cordelia laughed.

"Yes, son," Giles solemnly said. "I am afraid you have just learned one of the universal truths. The reward for a job well done is more work."

As everyone, including Xander laughed the Enterprise broke in. "Col. O'Neill I have received a request from General Hammond. He is recalling SG-1 to Stargate Command."

"What," Willow said. "Is everything alright?"

"Based on current information, there is a high probability that SG-1 is needed because of a recently discovered gate address. The planet Pangar appears to be negotiating for information that would be very dangerous for them to obtain. SG-1 is most likely being called in because of the statistical anomalies that they represent." The Enterprise said.

"Statistical Anomalies?" Samantha asked.

"Based on the numbers of missions ran through the Stargate," the Enterprise responded. "SG-1 one should have lost all of its team members within the first year. No other team assigned to the Stargate program has survived this long without losing at least one member. Currently, SG-1 has created or caused more favorable outcomes than any other team assigned to Stargate Command."

Giles laughed as he thought over what the Enterprise had just said, "Basically you're too lucky for your own good. Although I think that might have been affected by Jack's status as a chosen tool of the Powers."

Jack looked at Giles, "Do you mean they might have been helping us?"

Giles shook his head, "I highly doubt that. It is far more likely that it has to do with the innate qualities you possess which were the reason that the Powers interfered in your life, to begin with. Much like Xander, I believe you are too lucky for your own good."

Xander snorted, "I don't think I've ever been called too lucky Dad."

Giles looked at Xander, "I didn't say it was good luck. Just too much luck. Although we know why random chance is so strong around you. I simply believe that you and Jack seem to share many character traits, including your phenomenal good and bad luck."

Samantha laughed, Jack looked at her, his eyes seeming to say, How could you? This only caused Samantha to laugh harder, "Actually Jack I'd say Rupert has described you perfectly. You don't do normal average things. It's always the roller coaster around you."

"While I would love to continue this discussion," Jack began. "I think we'll need to table it for now." Standing up, he continued. "Enterprise could you beam us down to the SGC? And locate Teal'c and Daniel?"

"Certainly Col. O'Neill." The Enterprise responded as she beamed the two down to the SGC.
0o0o0_0o0o0

As Angel opened his eyes, he felt a brief stabbing pain in his head. Suddenly his conversation with Whistler was crystal clear in his mind. What's more, he knew exactly how to get to the Oracles. Standing up, Angel looked down at himself. The last few days had seen him wallowing in self-pity. His clothes were dirty and frankly stank, he could also tell he was in desperate need of a shower.

An hour later and Angel was ready to go. As he took one last look at himself in the mirror, he gave his hair a final brush and said. "I really look good.," Angel smiled as he thought about what was going to happen next. Heading outside he started up his car and drove to the Los Angeles Post Office. Parking Angel started to whistle as he headed inside. As he followed the twists and turns inside of the building, Angel couldn't help but smile in anticipation, soon the curse that Drusilla had cast on him would be lifted, and what's more, he would become the Father of a new race of Champions. Really the only way that this day could be better is if I had Harris kneeling in front of me, waiting for the Coup De Grace.

Walking through the arch labeled, "Gateway for Lost Souls" Angel found himself facing the Oracles. As the two beings looked down at Angel, he smiled, after five minutes of silence he said, "I'm Angel, I was sent here by the Powers that Be."

The male oracle turned to the female, "Where is our gift? The pitiful creature has no manners,"

The Female nodded, "It thinks that we are here to serve it. Send it away?"

The male shrugged his shoulders, "Will it stay gone?"

The female sighed, "Doubtful, if we kill it the Powers would be upset with us, and if we don't then it will most likely keep pestering us."

"It still owes us a gift," the male reiterated.

"So we take what it brought with it," the female said. "It seems to value it highly."

The male thought for a moment, "Agreed, it is not our normal gift but if the creature values it so much it is at least acceptable."

"Agreed," the Female said. Turning to Angel she continued, "Your gift will be taken as a forfeiture if you come to us again make certain you bring us a worthy gift."

"Gift, what gift? Whistler didn't say anything about me needing to bring a gift," Angel said.

"No matter," the male said. "Have you come to accept the pact with the Powers that Be?"

"Yes," Angel said.

"Do you accept this pact for yourself and your progeny?" The female asked.

"Yes," Angel said.

"Do you understand that the Powers will stop the pain only for as long as you obey them?" the male said.

"And if you ever choose to disregard your service to the Power that Be, the pain will be returned to you?" The female said.

"Yeah, I get it already," Angel said. "Come on fix me."

The two oracles looked at one another, "Are you sure we can't kill it?" The male asked.

The female nodded, "He has been claimed by the Powers that Be."

"Pity," the male said. Turning back to Angel he continued, "Very well we stand in witness to your oath." Both of the Oracles raised their hands towards Angel. A white light started to spread in front of them, as it got brighter Angel was forced to close his eyes. He felt a warm pulse crawl over his skin, for one brief moment it felt as if he had been plugged into an electrical socket, then a cool feeling of peace flowed over him. Opening his eyes he saw the two Oracles looking at him.

"Take the box," the female said. "Your first duty to the Powers is the continuation of your line. Five women will come to you tonight. You will sleep with each of them. Once they have received your seed, the Powers will ensure that they bear a healthy child."

"After you are done here, you will be sent to another city," the male said. "There you will impregnate more women."

"What about fighting evil? When do I get to kill Harris?" Angel asked.

"When you are not impregnating the females," the female said. "You may do as you wish. Your first duty is to ensure that you seed is spread so that the new line of Champions may be secured."

"For this reason, you will stay away from the one you call Harris," the male commanded.

"The Slayer line is gone, he has ensured that. He already begins to gather the potentials who remain. You are not ready to face him," the female said. "You must ensure the continuation of the Saviors."

As Angel looked like he wanted to argue the male said, "You have bound yourself to the Powers, this is their will. The continuation of your new line is your first priority. Once that is secured, then you may go after the one called Harris."

Angel grudgingly nodded, the female looked at him, "Go we are done." Angel barely had time to grab the box in front of him as he was pushed by an invisible force, back through the archway he had entered from.

As Angel retraced his steps out of the Post Office, he felt a smile growing on his face. Soon everyone would know the truth. Walking towards his car he couldn't help but smile. As he reached his car, he placed the box on the roof, as he put the key in the door, reality seemed to pause. A wave of air that looked like a heat wave flickered over his car, slowly the car faded away. As the car disappeared, the box and a card dropped to the ground. Picking up the card Angel turned it over, in an ornate script it read,

Next time bring a gift.

For a moment it just didn't register, than it did, "You god damned Bastards," Angel yelled. "You stole my car!" Angel wanted to say more, but an icy chill crept over him, looking around he realized that cursing our powerful creatures like the Oracles was not his smartest idea. Picking up his box, Angel thought for a moment about who he could call. He quickly realized that he really had no one who would come get him anymore. "It's all that bastard's Harris' fault," Angel grumbled as he walked back towards the front of the post office to grab a cab back to the Hyperion.
0o0o0_0o0o0

Holland Manners walked through the halls of his office, he was smiling as he thought about how the Circle was going to handle everything. He knew that currently, they were not in the best position, but with several judicious moves, he was sure they would soon be back on top. As he approached his office, he saw the light for the special elevator start to blink. Holland felt his blood freeze, that meant that either someone was returning from visiting the Senior Partners, or they required his presence.

Holland approached the elevator doors as the elevator chime dinged, the doors opened and he smiled. Standing there was Lilah Morgan, she was staring straight ahead. Holland's smile became even larger, "Lilah," he said. "Still with us I see. So what did the Senior partners have to say?"

Lilah looked at him her eyes focusing for a brief moment before she started to scream. Holland frowned as he watched her, "Such a pity," he said as he turned around and walked towards his own office. Pausing before he entered his office he turned to his secretary, "Call security," he said. "Ms. Morgan will need to be taken to long term care to see if she can be recovered."

His secretary nodded, "Right away Mr. Manners," she said, picking up the phone. Lilah continued to scream until the security team arrived and shot her with several tranquilizers.

Holland who had purposefully left his door open watched as they dragged Lilah away. "Such a shame," he said. "She showed real promise. Oh well, I suppose I'll have to see whether Lindsey or Gavin are up for taking her case load." Holland chuckled as he got up to pour himself a drink. Taking a sip he moved over towards his door, "Call Lindsey and Gavin, tell them I want to see them as soon as possible," he told his secretary as he closed the door. "I wonder what they said to her," he mused as he sat down with his drink.
0o0o0_0o0o0

I don't understand how you can work with dead bodies, Andrecus said to Zack. It's gross, and they smell horrible.

Zack smiled as he continued examining the corpse in front of him, "Really Andrecus," he said. "I find it fascinating how much we can learn from the dead. Dr. Brennan has taught me so much if you give it a chance I'm sure you'll learn to enjoy it as much as I do."

Hodgins had walked in as Zack finished speaking, shaking his head he said. "Andrecus complaining about the autopsies again?"

Zack nodded his head, "He just doesn't seem to appreciate what we do." Zack's eyes flashed and the light on his collar changed as Andrecus took over, "It's gross, and the bodies smell horrible. How could anyone want to hang around dead people?"

"Hey give me bugs and trace any day," Hodgins said. "They're a lot more fun than just cutting up a corpse." Andrecus didn't look any happier at that suggest. The collar flashed again as Zack was back in control. "I am so glad that I don't have to deal with the whole two voices thing," Hodgins said.

"I find it rather comforting," Zack said. "Andrecus and I both enjoy many of the same things. While I wish he could show more interest in my work, he is becoming a good friend." Hodgins just shook his head at Zacks statement. "Have you heard anything about when we will be returning to the Jeffersonian?" Zack asked.

Hodgins sighed, "Zack you know there is no way they are going to let you just return to the Jeffersonian. Andrecus is too dangerous. As long as you're here it's fine. But I think it's safe to assume that our days of pure freedom are over. The only good news is the Furlings have said we'd be welcome on their island once they have the city of Tok'ra up and running. I even heard that they'll be teaching advanced science courses."

"That does sound intriguing," Zack admitted. "However I would miss everyone from the Jeffersonian."

"Well if we're lucky maybe Dr. Brennan would come to study as well," Hodgins said. "Still, either way, I'm excited. I could become the first exo entomologist, biologist, and mineralogist. Can you imagine it, being the pioneers for a whole new branch of science?"

"It does sound thrilling," Zack admitted. Zacks' eyes flashed as Andrecus took over, "Oh come on, Interesting? It would be so fricking cool. We could get assigned to the Enterprise and travel the universe! We would be part of its five-year mission to boldly go where no one has gone before!"

"I wouldn't get your hopes up on that," Hodgins said. "I think it'll take them a while before they are using the Enterprise to explore. Right now it's more important for them to guard the Earth and help teach everyone what they know. But we could be part of the group learning from them."

Zack's eyes flashed as he took over again, "I agree, plus we would not be going where no one has gone before, since the ancients created the Stargate network and the Goa'uld have seeded human life throughout the galaxy, we would merely be rediscovering our lost brothers and sisters." Zack's eyes flashed as Andrecus said, "Oh like Battlestar Galactica. But without the Cylons."

Hodgins shook his head, "Andrecus you're a bigger geek than Zack or I could ever be. Still, I agree, hopefully we can avoid any Cylons. Still, I was coming to ask if you wanted to come with me tonight. Agent Todd and I are meeting with Anise and some of the Tok'ra who are on base. We figured it would be a good idea to get to know them better."

Zack thought for a moment as he silently talked with Andrecus. Andrecus was just excited that they had been invited to a party. "Yes, we would be pleased to join you," Zack said.

Hodgins nodded, "I'll let Dr. Brennan and Booth know that you're going with me after work."

As Hodgins turned to leave, Zack quietly asked,"Do you think they'll accept us as one of them?"

Hodgins stopped, he thought for a second. "I think they want to, but they're not sure yet. Something like us has never happened to them before. So they are going slowly at first. But to be honest, right now this is their only chance to increase their numbers. So I think at the end of the day they really can't afford to reject us." Zack nodded as Hodgins left him pondering his words.
0o0o0_0o0o0

OK I'm not dead and neither is this fic. Sorry for the long delay, but RL has been hellish. Currently I have most of the next chapter done. It's around 7.5k right now, usually I am shooting for 10k. I'm not sure how often I will be able to update but I will try to get something out soonish.