Ship of the Line: Infinity

Disclaimer: I own Nothing!

Chapter 3: Intermission

"Talking"

'Thinking'

"Non-Human Talking"

'Non-Human Thinking'

Buffy couldn't stop herself from letting out a sigh as her eyes settled on the view of the full moon. She had just finished talking to her librarian of a mentor, along with her willow shaped best friend, and finally her cursed white hat vampire of a love interest. Yet at this moment her mind couldn't stop thinking about the young man that had done his best to stand at her side. Before this night she had written him off as nothing more than the lovable goof. At least for the most part, in the back of her mind the memory of what could have happened was still spreading its poison. The young beauty couldn't help but hold herself tighter as she relived the moment that had scared her in a way she hadn't thought possible. She had been fighting the creatures plaguing humanity for a good amount of time before that dark moment.

Unfortunately having to face her good friend, along with the unexpected threat of being raped, was something that had shocked her in a way she had never felt. It was something that no amount of training would have prepared her for. Mainly due to the fact that at the time her Xander shaped friend had shown no signs of being such a threat. She had previously tried to understand that it wasn't him completely in control. Giles had even done his best to explain how Xander hadn't had much say on what his body was doing. His words would have worked if she had never noticed the shame her friend would sometimes gain in his eyes.

It usually happened when he would lose himself when checking her out. Which was always a bit flattering, but at the same time, it had made her wonder why he kept looking like he was full of guilt. This being more true when he would clearly force himself to look away. It hadn't taken her long to developed an idea on what might be going on. A part of her wonder if Xander had kept his memory of what happened, or perhaps he had slowly regained it and now felt worse than shit. As his friend she wanted to clear the air with him, along with making it clear to the lovable goof that she didn't hold what happened against him.

Yet at the same time as a young lady, one that had such a threat nearly become reality, it was something that made times between them to be extremely uncomfortable for her when it was just the two of them alone. Not to mention the amount of trust in their friendship that she felt had been destroyed during his possession.

However most of that mentality was thrown out of the window after the recent events of All Hallows' Eve. She now personally understood how helpless one can be when something else takes over your body. She had fought as hard as she could to regain control from the useless princess. A princes that had gone out of her way to make the local slayer look and act ridiculously weak. But in the end her enchanted slayer strength and mental fortitude had fallen short. She had been forced to watch as her body kept making a fool of itself. The only good point was that she had been given front row seats at seeing the man that Xander could one day become. With the right training and effort, if only her Xander shape friend was willing to do it.

Captain Lasky had quickly become a rock and someone her costumed persona had been able to latch on to. She had seen his actions as he protected not only her, but also Cordelia and Willow. The way he took command, the way that he was able to work on making a solution after taking in all of the information currently available. It was something amazing, in front of her was without a doubt a true example of what a soldier should be. And it left her speechless at how right it felt to see her Xander shape friend do such things. She knew that it was Captain Lasky in charge but she couldn't stop thinking and feeling that it had been Xander the whole time. It had been amazing to see him disable Cordelia's attacker before ushering her indoors. And then a blush developed on her and Cordelia's face when Xander...the young blond shook her head as she corrected her thoughts.

It had been a thoughtful and natural gentleman's move when Captain Lasky had quickly taken the sofa's blanket and given it to Cordelia to help cover her modesty. The rest of the night had been a blur, as her body was forced to take a seat as the Captain coordinated with his ship, along with his new personnel that now found themselves on an earth they didn't recognized. They had apparently been working on clearing the area of hostiles as soon as possible. Yet at the same time the Captain had made it clear that damage to the locals was to be kept to a minimum. She was glad to hear that no deaths by firearms had been reported yet. Still a part of her knew that things wouldn't be that simple. There was no doubt that the darkness surrounding Sunnydale was doing everything in its power to hide the madness that had just happened.

She couldn't help but wish that the stupid noble she had gone as would have been brave enough to follow the Captain and his soldiers to space. She had no doubt that Cordelia and Xander were having all kinds of fun. It also didn't help that she had seen Cordelia smiling, which was a smirk in a way that only a cheerleader could make and recognize. The beauty of a defender was upset when her traitorous body, a slayer's body, was suddenly and instantly filled with fright as the drop ship came to pick them up. She knew that the Queen of Sunnyhell had been internally laughing at her moment of weakness. Leaving Buffy to swear to do everything in her power to get some form of revenge on the brunette. The same brunette she knew she would have dethroned if she didn't have to deal with her duties as a Slayer.

A sigh of irritation left the pouting lips of the bleached blond as she thought about what the massive ship was now doing. She couldn't believe how her costumed avatar had decided to take off running and screaming about dragons. When clearly it would have been better to stay with the man who made her feel the safest she has in a long time. Of course she wouldn't admit it to anyone, but it had been fun to see Angel and Captain Lasky duke it out. A shame that Cordelia had gone and called the fight to a stop after Captain Lasky had hit Angel in the nuts to get an advantage. Then again she didn't want to know what kind of damage, the larger than normal pistol the Captain carried, was capable of doing to a vampire like Angel. After all, the man came from way in the future, that meant that future weapons designed to fight powerful aliens should be able to do quite a bit of damage to a supernatural being of equal strength. She quickly made a mental note to look into the games that Willow had said Xander's costume had been based off.

Still it had been humbling to see a well trained human being able to fight a vampire. She easily remembered when Captain Lasky had told them to be quiet and stay in the living room. Apparently he had been able to sense when Angel had made his way into her home. None of the girls knowing that the captain had gained a warning from the AI that had been monitoring their temporary shelter.

Cordelia and her body had followed the Captain to the kitchen to see him pointing his large gun towards the door before Angel had even walked in. It had only been thanks to Cordelia drawing the Captain's attention that allowed the resouled vampire to get the jump on the futuristic soldier. Her love interest, yet not boyfriend, had knocked the gun out of the captain's hand only to receive a punch to his face. The Captain had reacted with speed and reflexes she had never seen in a human before. The initial punch had dazed Angel long enough for the Captain to get three more hits in before the vampire decided it was time to stop playing the part of a punching bag. Angel had quickly caught the next punch to his face only to be shocked when he received a low kick to the back of the leg that made him take a knee. Lasky then went on to deliver a stronger punch that Angel had turned into a roll to gain some distance. After that Angel had gone on the offensive with speed and strength that a normal human wouldn't be able to match. Unfortunately no one had told the vampire that his Xander shaped enemy wasn't a normal human. While Captain Lasky had been unable to deliver more hits on the vampire with the suddenly wounded pride, the UNSC Captain had been able to dodge if not deflect most of Angels attacks. It was only grazing blows to his body that had been able to land. And lucky enough for the space captain, his uniform had enough armor and padding to make such strikes something he could ignore. It had completely shocked everyone in the room, especially Angel, when Lasky had drawn him into a feint that ended with a boot to the groin of the vampire. Buffy made a mental note to remember such a technique in case she was ever dealing with a stronger than normal enemy. Especially after seeing it take down and leave open a master vampire of Angel's caliber. A small smile graced her face as she remembered the Xander like smirk that had developed on the captain's face. She had no doubt that her goof of a friend had enjoyed seeing his body take the fight to a vampire and temporarily come out on top. Definitely no doubt there, it was especially satisfying for Xander thanks to the opponent his body had faced. It had been made clear by both males, on multiple accounts, that there was no love between the two men.

Still she knew that this conflict was going to increase the tension between the two. She had noticed that Xander had gained a boost of confidence after the Hyena incident. And now she knew that Xander would be even more confident, since from what she understood Captain Lasky was just a normal guy. He wasn't a genetically enhanced super soldier, nor did he have some kind of super power. He was just a normal guy that went through the usual human drama and came out greater than before. Willow had explained a lot about the man, even if Buffy wasn't really sure what her ginger haired friend had been talking about. But she got down the important stuff down and that was more than enough for her. Lasky was from a family of soldiers, his father and brother had lived and died protecting humanity. His brother's early death had caused him to nearly to be kicked out of the space academy… she thinks it was the space academy… the slayer decided it would be easier to assume it was a space academy.

She blew the bangs out of her hair in annoyance as she tried to keep up with her facts about Halo and its universe. Taking a moment to gather her thoughts, she once more focused on what was important. Lasky had found love in the academy and that love motivated him into becoming dedicated once more, unfortunately the Covenant had attacked before things could really get better. As his school and classmates were getting destroyed by the alien forces something amazing happened. A living legend had literally appeared before him.

Buffy had to pause because she remembered that Willow had made it clear that at that point of time the Chief's legacy was just getting started. Buffy still couldn't believe the things that Willow said about the newest group of warriors to carry the tittle of Spartans. It also didn't help that Giles made it clear that the Spartans of the past had played a great part in taking down demons threats. Along with being one of the most powerful and militaristic nations of its time. So for her watcher to say that the Chief and his brethren were carrying on that tradition, while living up to the expectations of their historical predecessors, it was something that left her feeling a bit lacking. Just like with herself, the Chief wasn't given a choice when it came to his destiny. In fact he had it worst.

Both had been trained by shady organizations and both were to fight for the future of humanity. Both would never again be considered just a human and it hurt Buffy to know that even in the future, humanity was still unfriendly to those that were different. Yet the Chief didn't take that to heart, he understood and accepted the fact that his happiness had to be sacrificed for the good of humanity. In the end he soldiered on with his head held high. He took the fight to a collection of over powered, highly advanced and ridiculously numbered amount of aliens.

And after many years of fighting they had learned to fear him, the Covenant Armada that had never met its equal on the ground or space, had found its boogieman. And its name was Master Chief Petty Officer Sierra 117 or as he was commonly known to the Covenant … Demon.

A smile grew on her face as she took in the fact that such a legendary hero would be given the same classification as the creatures of nightmares. She hoped that one day she could be a fourth as incredible as the Spartan. Sure she knew it was silly that he was only a character of a video game and she shouldn't really be taking his story to heart. But hearing about his actions made a spark of hope to grow within her. The chief had made it clear that one didn't have to stop fighting just because the odds seemed impossible. That with dedication and a clear goal anything can be done. She wondered if one day she could inspire others in the same way that the Chief did. Never knowing that she had already began to change others for the better.

It would be a long time before she learned and acknowledged that she was such a hero. Even if she had it easier to fight the darkness that preyed on the inhabitants of the Earth, it did not change the fact that she was there to finish the fight. Of course when such knowledge finally makes its way into her bleached head, she will find herself being constantly reminded by one Cordelia Chase, that they had to pretty much take her kicking and screaming to such fights. Because even if the blond slayer wished to be a better person and fulfill her destiny with her head held high. It does not change the fact that she is only a young girl barely entering into her years of womanhood. And unfortunately for the protectors of humanity, life was going to continue to test them and each new challenge would be harder than the one before.

+-*/\*-+

One Rupert Giles wasn't sure on what he should do and what was the right thing to do. What should have been a calm and easy night for his charge had become a terrible nightmare of chaos. His mind was still going on over the madness that had plagued the town they were currently stationed at. To make matter worse it was his own dark past that had came back and bit them in the ass. A flicker of rage would fill his eyes as he remember his former friend being the cause of so much suffering. And to make matters worse, the one young man that he owned so much to might be forever gone from their reach or dead. He hated feeling such helplessness and he had sworn so many years ago to do everything in his power to prevent such things from happening. Unfortunately for him and his Slayer the situation wasn't stacked in their favor.

The man wasn't a fool, he had done his research and his father made sure to teach him the true way of a successful politician of their hidden world. He knew why Buffy and himself had suddenly been transferred to a hell mouth. The fact being that the Watcher's council was hoping for their demise. Since they couldn't legally or illegally kill them, due to certain organizations and individuals keeping their eyes on the Slayer. The Council in all their wisdom had gone out of their way to give them am unspoken suicide mission. It was common knowledge that slayers weren't known for lasting longer than a year when placed on a hell mouth. The mystical power that would radiate from her body, along with the title of a slayer, was usually more than enough to attract demonic and monstrous entities to her location. But on a hell mouth, such effects were kicked up several levels. In fact Sunnydale's watcher had nearly filled out twice as many diaries in this one year than the last five did with eight slayers. And they had more or less ten years to get such things done. In fact most of the wandering slayers tended to take on one or two vamps at a time. But Buffy had somehow, through luck and the assistance of those that cared about her, been able to face multiple groups of attackers. Along with some creatures that he personally knew the Council would usually call in special teams to help. The whole mess with the Master should have been something, that at any other time, would have caused the Council teams to yank Buffy out of America and put her in the protective custody of a certain organization back in England. One that he wasn't too comfortable in naming. Due to the fact that he might bring down some kind of headache on himself and the council. And no matter how much he hated the idea of those above him signing off on Buffy's Death Certificate, he still felt that unleashing a certain individual on them was taking it to the extreme.

Giles let out a sigh once more before cleaning his perfectly condition glasses. He put them back on before hurrying to finish going over the information he was able to gain from Ethan's work. He was going to ensure that such a thing never happened again.

+-*/\*-+

Willow Rosenberg was not happy in fact she was infuriated. The most important person in her life was no longer on the same planet as her. He had left their home's planetary domain in order to goof around. She had no doubt that her Xander shaped crush, was at this very moment taking that UNSC work of art and doing anything and everything he ever wanted to do when it came to being in space. But she would wait, and when he came home she was going to left him have it. She would make him regret leaving her behind, but he would truly suffer for having the balls to go into space with one Cordelia Chase. In fact this action of betrayal was so great that she had half a mind to destroy his membership in the We Hate Cordelia Chase Club.

She swore to herself that it would take a lot of work and begging on Xander's part to calm her fury down. It was bad enough that he had been drooling on Buffy since the moment she showed up. Not to mention the cruel and heart breaking things his Hyena possessed body had said about their potential for a relationship. She didn't want to be stuck in the friend zone, she refused to let such a thing happen. She would rather go gay than spend too long without a chance of becoming the future wife of her Xander shaped one true love. She was going to make sure that her goof of a best friend was not only going to pamper her for the sins he just committed, but also start seeing her as something more than a friend or sister figure. Soon her mind went into thinking itself to sleep, yet at the same time she started to plot out ways to win the love of her best friend.

+-*/\*-+

{ Within the realms commonly known as Slipspace. In the UNSC Flagship named Infinity to be precise}

The crew of the Infinity along with all the A.I. in it were left completely speechless. Was it because they had discovered something terrible at the other side of the rip in space they had created? Perhaps it was because a new and incredible technology had been discovered. Or maybe Andrew had secretly added enough Star Trek gear to accidentally create replicators on the Infinity? Nope, in fact what had them completely speechless was something so plain and boring that they couldn't believe such a thing was happening. In fact nothing and no one could believe the most recent order that had come from their newly promoted Admiral.

"Now that we have successfully entered slipspace, and ensured our survival its time to take it easy." Xander said with a smile as he gained looks of disbelief from his crew and the A.I's around him. In fact the lesser AI's had dimmed the colors they were using to represent themselves. "In fact why doesn't everyone take this down time to catch some Z's."

"Are you kidding us?" Cordelia asked with disbelief and the bit of anger that had just filled the crew. They were expecting a great adventure in space, not nap time.

"Why would I bother to mess around?" Xander asked with some confusion. "To be honest there really isn't much for us to do at the moment." Xander said before working on the holotable. "This night has been crazy enough for us not to go out of our way and push ourselves when it clearly isn't needed. Most of us can probably keep going without sleep and hunger for a few days. But we aren't at a level of urgency to do such things. We might as well as take advantage of the situation and enjoy this moment of rest."

"But what about trying out the Spartan deck?" Cortana asked with the tone of a child that had just had her new favorite doll taken away. Out of the entire crew she was clearly the most excited at the chance of pushing the Spartans to their limits. Something she had been wanting to do for a long time. Mostly out of curiosity on the condition of the new Spartans. The rest of her motivation being her desire to brag about her caveman. Even if the model she was currently partner with had some variations than the original.

"Perhaps the admiral is right?" Roland said drawing all attention to himself. Making sure to ignore the look of betrayal he was getting from his feminine intellectual counterpart. "Our crew has been struck and changed by an unknown phenomenon. A bit of rest would probably do their body and minds some good. At least until we can have them go through a proper physical and other necessary medical checks."

"Which is why I had the Engineers set the Sentinel factory to create Medical Drones along with one Medical Elite Drone. We will be having everyone checked out, along with finishing the preparations of the Spartan deck. In fact I'm sure there is going be all kind of surprises waiting for you guys at 0800." The admiral said with a smile on his face.

"Surprises?" Cortana asked with a hint of excitement on her face. The AI's face quickly becoming one full of mischievousness as she thought about what her Admiral could be planning. The pack being unsure of what their boss had planned since they didn't know what kind of madness he was cocking up.

"You better not make me do something stupid." Cordelia nearly growled making the Cordettes nod their heads in support.

"We should give Xander the benefit of the doubt." Johnathon said making Xander smile at him.

"Glad you feel that way John-o. Because I plan to have you, Lance, Katrina, Blayne and Kyle help me out for the next hour or two. The rest of you will be going to the armory and getting into something more comfortable. Roland would you be so kind of helping them get out of their gear, store their weapons and find their living quarters." Xander said with a happy tone in voice making the other unsure if they should be kept in the dark.

"Right away sir." The Infinity's AI said before making holographic lights come on and guide the confused and unsure teens into following the Admiral's instructions. In the end most decided that a bit of true rest wouldn't hurt. Along with knowing that they can squeeze the others for any of the information they might need.

"What about me?" Cordelia asked as she stood while the others left. The young beauty failing to notice the two spartan team leaders had also decided to stay to listen to his words. Tor since he wanted to be helpful and figured he could do their first night watch. Larry staying behind because he felt that as a spartan leader he needed to know what was going on. He didn't want to be kept out of the loop, especially when he had made it clear to noble team that he wasn't sure on following Xander. He wanted to trust the guy but his new instincts were telling he had to do everything possible to ensure the well being of his team.

"What do you mean?" Xander asked with confusion once more. Making the brunette sigh while being reminded that unfortunately Xander was still an idiot when it was the most convenient for him.

"Even though Queen C hasn't officially been promoted, you still have her as acting captain of the Infinity." Larry said with a bit of a growl in his tone. He didn't like the idea that Xander's second in command being someone he knew he couldn't intimidate when he was just a normal human. And after hearing that she had been involved in the recent supernatural based war of shadows, he knew that there was going to be less of a chance of intimidating her. Not to mention that it seemed that Cortana was taking a liking to the Queen of Sunnydale High. It was going to be hard to go against someone with that kind of backing.

"Acting Captain?" Xander asked before blowing a light raspberry at the idea of Cordelia having complete control of his ship. The Infinity was his, in fact the closest in line to inheriting it was going to be Roland. At the moment Xander didn't trust anyone else with Humanity's newest flag ship. What self respecting captain would give up his command to an untrained civilian. What he had Cordelia do was no more than what a father does when he sits a kid on his lap while driving into their home's garage after a trip around town. Sure the child likes to think they are in control of the car but its the father that still has his foot on the gas or brake if needed. It was nothing more than an illusion of power. Its why Cortana had guided Cordelia through the Infinity's maiden voyage into slipspace. He couldn't believe how quick some people were able to jump to conclusions.

"She's no where near close to dealing with such a responsibility. Then again to be honest I'm not even sure if I'm truly ready. But we will be finding out in a few hours." Xander said with a serious voice. "In fact out of all of us I know I'm the least qualified for what we plan to do. This kind of thing is way more than any teenager should be dealing with. Buffy had it bad being the Slayer, but all of this..." Xander said before moving his hand to gesture towards all of the Infinity.

"One fuck up can cause all kinds of damage not just to Humanity but the planet as a whole. There is always the chance that if we bite off more than we can chew, we might end up bringing genocide to the planet. And if there is anything that I learned from these new memories, its that there is always something bigger and stronger out there. We can never prepare enough much less let our guard down." Xander said with a tone full of uncertainty. Making the Infinity's crew to look at him disbelief.

"When I forced a master level vampire into betraying the origin of his vampiric bloodline, all I could think of was getting the Buffster the hell out of that lair. And even then we failed and had to bring her back from the hands of death." His words making Cordelia and the others to look at him with disbelief. "But now, as I use Lasky's knowledge to plan for the future... the more dark it seems to get." Xander paused as he looked onto the screen that was showing the last image they captured of the earth. He had kept it around so that he could always remember what he was fighting for. He turned to look at those that were to follow him.

"Right now there is a balance and an unspoken treaty among demon kind and those humans in the know. We wont just be tilting the balance towards humanities favor. We're going to shatter the scale completely and who knows what kind of chaos that going to cause until the universe resets itself."

His words bringing a silence to the bridge. As everyone in the room processed and began to imagine such scenarios. Roland being worried that they might run into the Covenant before this version of Humanity was ready. The Spartans wondering what kind of monsters the darkness could be keeping from their plane of existence. They had played enough video games to know that there is always some kind of super boss hiding for the perfect moment to strike. The girls worrying about the millions to billions of lives that can be lost if they accidentally triggered some kind of catastrophe. At the end it was an unexpected source that decided to nip this in the bud.

"We'll just have to face those dangers head on." Katrina said with a confidence and determination she never showed before. Xander had easily noticed that many of the people he knew had changed for the better thanks to the spell that had been used on Sunnydale. "You said it yourself Admiral, Humanity is going to make its own destiny. We won't be fearing the darkness and we won't be abandoning the innocent. Is it going to take a lot of hard work? No doubt. Is it going leave us wishing we had just stayed ignorant civilians? More than likely." The young woman said as she did her best to keep her leader motivated. Out of everyone in the Infinity it was Xander that they couldn't afford to lose his inner strength. She knew Roland had been right when he named Xander as the father of a new age. Because no matter what happened, no matter how amazing the others would become, it is all going to happen while under the orders of their new leader. He was going to carry the burden of everything and it was going to be their jobs to help ease it as much as they can.

"She's right boss." Tor said after making his way to stand next to Xander. The leader of Blue team placing his hand on the Admiral's shoulder in support. "Doesn't matter how deep in shit we end up in. You can always count on the members of blue team to be the first to start to dig us out of it." Tor-117 stated with confidence. Xander couldn't help but smirk at the fact that he wasn't the only one embracing the conflicting memories that was becoming easier to assimilate.

"We can make it happen. It won't be perfect but we will do our best. And it won't just be us, once we start recruiting we will be able to find those that we need. One day we will have at our side the people that will have the answer we won't be able to make on our own. Not to mention the fact that once Rosenberg gets on board things are really going to start kicking off." Johnathon said with a smile as he also showed the same sign of support as Tor. Only to feel like he made a mistake when he saw Xander turn completely pale and then fill with fear.

"What's wrong Xander?" Cordelia asked with some worry, she wasn't sure why he would have such a sudden change. Only for her to remember that Willow had been a real ghost and they had yet to check if she was even still alive. "You don't think that Willow's dead, do you? I mean I knew she was a ghost but there is no way she stayed one."

"Maybe she got turned back to normal?" Blayne asked with a hint of confusion. "Isn't that what was suppose to happen to us?"

"And considering she was still on earth, its safe to say she received a stronger dosage of what hit us earlier." Lance added making Xander begin to calm down and regain his color.

"It would explain why none of you fully returned to normal or stayed as the personalities you had dressed as. If something has the power to modify a normal human into a Spartan, add its memories and skills, and finally not kill said person in the process. Then there is no reason to believe it couldn't undo its changes. When I had detected that energy pulse I had raised the Infinity's shields to its max. Unfortunately the pulse was coming much faster than the time I would need to inform you and wait for a command." Roland added making Xander blink a few times in confusion.

"What do you mean?" Cordelia asked with some confusion.

"UNSC AI tend to think much faster and much more complicated than any human can ever hope to match." Johnathon said as his inner geek showed itself to the world with pride. "In a single second they are able to handle multiple task that entire teams of human computer technicians won't even be able to start to even acknowledge much less comprehend."

"The greatest allies humanity had against the covenant was the A.I. they had manufactured with their own hands. They were valued as a trump card that made them, as respected and feared by the covenant, as the Spartans themselves. It is why the UNSC made sure to do everything it could to protect their AI partners along with improving the technology towards maximizing their durability and quality." Xander said with respect towards the government, military and leaders of humanity in the Halo universe. Neither the books or the games showed humans abusing or mistreating an AI. And that was something he was planning on continuing, he had no plans to see the path of Skynet ever becoming a part of their reality.

"Then that means that Cortana, Roland and the others are our equal. And not something that can be used, and then thrown away." Larry said with awe, his eyes quickly widening a bit.

"We have just as much rights in the UNSC as any other member of the military. Civilian AIs are protected just as equally as any other Citizens of the UEG. We can even vote." Cortana said with a smile.

"That is amazing, I figured that a desperate humanity would have been a bit more harsh in their treatment of your brethren." Tor said with awe in his voice.

"The scientist that created the process of making true AI, made it clear that they had no plans of enslaving us to the will of humanity. They had done a lot of work and called in all kinds of favors to ensure we would be given a fair chance. To this day there is a council made up of humans and AI to continue keeping our peaceful coexistence." Roland said with pride.

"That's great, I would have hated to hear otherwise."Katrina said with a smile.

"I'm glad you guys were willing to share with us more about your universe… but this isn't going to distract me on why you started freaking out Xander." Cordelia said with a smile before glaring at the admiral of the Infinity that was trying to make himself look busy, while he was tinkering with his new favorite holopad.

Xander couldn't help but to continue messing around with his new pocket supercomputer. While he had been adjusting himself to Lasky's memories, he had learned that the military and government of Halo had used technology that was at least ten years ahead of the public. And when he took into account that the Infinity had been Humanity's greatest creation at the time. It was safe to say that the Captain of the Infinity had all the greatest toys a geek would ever want.

"To be honest..." Xander said while returning his eyes to the device in his hand. "When John-o brought up Willow, it hit me that I left my bestest friend back on earth. I'm not worried about her being alive because my heart feels that she's okay. What I am worried about is what she is going to do to me when we get back."

Larry and Blayne busted out laughing as they imagined the adorable mousy redhead ripping Xander a new one. It was no secret at their high school about the feeling the young genius had for the class clown. Even Tor, Lance and Kyle couldn't help but smirk as the girls giggled at the righteous feminine fury that was going to befall their new leader.

"Sorry about that..." Johnathon said with a smile that clearly showed he didn't mean his words. Causing the Zeppo to give him a weak glare.

"Sir… Is this Willow someone as important as Buffy Summers?" Roland asked making the humans to turn to him.

"Willow is their third musketeer." Cordelia said with a smile. "If Buffy was the brawn, she was the brains. That girl is too smart to be stuck in such a small town like sunny dale." Making the A.I. to be surprised at the praise the former cheerleader had for the young woman that was clearly close to young man that they had approved of. This being more true, since they had noticed that the brunette did not have the best relationship with the self labeled Scoobies.

"If I were to link her to anyone that you would know, then I would compare her potential to that of Doctor Halsey."Xander said with clear pride. The two were unable to hide their shock, since his words of praise were clearly very high. And yet they knew that out of all the teens on the Infinity, he was the one that had adapted the most to the changes. Not to mention he was the most dedicated to the duties they planed to face. Its was why they knew that the young man meant every little thing he said. He was clearly laid back and easy to get along with, but there clearly was some things he knew needed to taken seriously.

"I see…it will be interesting to meet someone so highly gifted." Roland said with a smile. He wanted to get to know more about the young man he was entrusting humanity's future with. The AI felt that this would be a good way to study Xander in a more natural environment.

"I think it will be all kinds of fun." Cortana said with a playful smile. "I think its time for us to start preparing for tomorrow morning."

"Yes. We have been distracted long enough. And I for one would like to get this over with and see if we can get in touch with our families." Katrina said with a tone of worry and one seeking approval. Her words making the admiral pause before he smiled at the young ODST.

"Roland would they be able to make some calls after ensuring they use the safest channels possible?" Xander asked his new right hand.

"We will be able to bounce any signal we send from either Gilgamesh or Miku's ship. This would be the safest and most efficient way to do it."

"However it would only allow two member of the crew to make a call. Sending any information through slipspace is complicated when there hasn't been a proper beacon network set up. I'm sure in time we will be able to properly seed Sol for us to communicate with ease….Hmm I'll add it to our to do list." Cortana added making Roland nod his head.

"In the meantime well have the others take turns using the lines. The problem is how do we keep them from getting in trouble with their folks." Xander said with a bit of worry for his crew.

"Don't fry your head trying to over think things. Just have them tell their parents that once things started getting crazy that they all went to my place, since its one of the safest places in town. I was planning to have an after party there, thanks to my parents being out of town. It would be the most believable excuse we can make."Cordelia said making the others to look at her with awe for coming up with such a solution.

"Queen C is right boss. It isn't much of a secret that some of the most fun that teens can have is at one of her parties. Parents wouldn't really question one of us making our way over." Tor added making Cordelia fill with pride.

"It would also stop any of our classmates from asking unnecessary questions."Kyle pointed out making Xander agree with the members of blue team.

"We can even add that she invited people, that she normally keeps away from, thanks to her being impressed by the quality of their costumes."Larry said with making Cordelia nod her head again.

"It does seem to be something that she would suddenly do." Kyle added, making the cheerleader to give him a weak glare. He gave her a shrug of his shoulders for her effort.

"I'll be taking our navy cadet to the side in order for us to make a list on how the crew will call home." Cortana suddenly cut in with a smile while making a face that showed she might be up to some mischief. Roland and Xander weren't sure on leaving the two on their own but they had other things to focus on.

"Let's get things started Harris. Now that you brought up the need to sleep, I'm kind of wishing I had gone to bed." Larry nearly whined making Xander to give him a deadpan look.

"Fine...Roland go prep the Spartan deck for our arrival." Xander said making the AI to nod its head before it disappeared.

+-*/\*-+

Drifting through the stars of the milky way, a lone ship was doing it best to remain as undetected as possible. A certain individual, that belonged to a race of powerful, intellectual and yet desperate humanoids, was busy going over the data that his computer had just picked up. According to his scans, the star system that had recently started to catch his attention, had suddenly unleashed a pulse of power that his people weren't too comfortable when dealing with it.

"Magic… and from the Tau'ri home world." Loki said to himself and he finished going over the report his computer had given him. His eyes focusing on the data before him as he read about the ridiculously high amount of energy. He knew that a normal being wouldn't be able to command such power unless they were using a dimension rip. "This is something that can not be ignored… I will have to contact Thor. I'll deal with the fallout later." The Asgardian said out loud to himself. He knew that they were going to be nearly interrogating him on why he had been so close to a star system they weren't really suppose to be monitoring. He hoped that the potential danger of a dimension rip being tampered with would be enough to lessen his would be punishment. He quickly began to set up a probe to head towards the sol system. He had to make sure that someone or something wasn't going to put this underdeveloped galaxy in danger.

'It would seem that Thor and the others won't be able to turn a constant blind eye to the Goa'uld and their petty war games. Its about time we dealt with those arrogant parasites. I hate having the ability to do good but having to hold myself back due to our precious rules. Allowing Sentient life to develop on its own is good, but there has been times that we shouldn't have remained in the shadows. The abuse and enslavement of the Tau'ri is a perfect example.' Loki thought as he went over all the memories of the mistakes that could have been prevented if his people had not been shackled by their own rules. Or the fact that they apparently lacked the ability to change those troublesome rules.

"They have come far in the little amount of time of self rule they have been given. The Tau'ri have a lot of potential..." Loki thought with a hint of fondness in the tone of his voice. Ever since learning about their existence, Loki has made it a hobby of his to keep an eye on the young race that has gone through so much. They were very entertaining and naturally curious. Which was a very interesting combination with they way the Tau'ri would interact with others and their environment. "If only I could deal with them in the open, it would make my work far more simpler. That and helping to curve their war like nature. That would atleast allow Thor to ignore what I do as long as I turn in some proper results…"

+-*/\*-+

Eyes were quick to dart around the screen that was showing something that its owner couldn't believe.

"Not bad for a bunch of nerds and outcast… Right Cordy?" Cortana asked the first UNSC Recruit that was watching the different members of of the ODST run through an obstacle course. Her new third favorite human couldn't help but silently nod her head. Cortana watched as Cordelia struggled to accept all the things they had been watching since the training drills had started. In fact the brunette had nearly missed out on lunch from being left speechless at seeing the Infinity crew work out. It had shocked her when Cortana had woken her up to inform her that the rest of the crew had already been up and training. In fact she was horrified to learn that some of the newly made soldiers had been training since what should be five in the morning. As she watched them train that shock had quickly turned to awe. It was incredible to see what humanity was able to accomplish in the future.

As she watched from the Spartan's deck command tower, she knew that there was no doubt that the Spartan II's had gained the most physical amplification from their magical enhancement. With the Spartan Three's coming in second place with the ODST members bringing up the rear.

Cordelia and the others had been left completely speechless when Xander, and his overnight crew, had revealed an obstacle course that Cordelia was sure would make ninja warrior engineers full of envy. It didn't help that the Zeppo once again had his Hyena smirk on his face.

He then shocked the human members of the crew by informing them that the obstacle course had been designed and approved by Doctor Halsey herself. Which Cordelia now knew was a big deal thanks, to Cortana giving her a crash course on what the AI felt the cheerleader needed to know.

Apparently the impressive doctor had designed the course with not only her favorite Spartans in mind, but also just about anyone. The woman had planned to push the obstacle course as a more efficient way to test out the potential of a recruit. Rather that wasting time by having them do repeated work outs. It would test their speed, strength, reflexes, stamina, analytic skills and finally their heart according to what Xander had explained.

And after seeing just about everyone making their way through it, the brunette had no doubt that the doctor had hit the bull's eye once more. Cordelia watched as each person went and completed the course. With everyone's time being different along with the condition they came out in. Her eyes easily noticing how each fighter was able to bring their own specialty out to light.

Tor had been the most balance of all the Spartan Two's. Rhonda was the fastest with Heidi being the most accurate. Kyle was the strongest, since she had seen him knock down a door to get into a room instead of hacking it. While Dale had blown his way through a wall. She was still trying to get over the fact that apparently they had been carrying real ammunition and explosives.

Larry had shown brains she knew he didn't have before. Aura was showing a familiarity with tech that would rival Willow. Percy was clearly trying to out shoot Heidi. Blayne had shown some interesting uses for knives that allowed him to make up some of his short comings. And Gwen, she was the most impressive after Tor when it came to overall score. Still it went without saying that when the two came out from their run Tor's armor had much less damage to it.

And now she watched as the more human of the crew took their turns. Her eyes going over Xander's form as he made notes on his pad. The young admiral clearly making observations, with Roland inputting his opinion when the AI had caught something Xander had missed. The two working with an ease that she hadn't seen Xander display since before Jessie's death. She was surprised at how natural the two looked when working together. Yet at the same time it seemed to fit the two of them.

"You should take a seat." Cortana suddenly said making Cordelia turn to the blue tinted A.I.

"I've prepared a series of test that would test your full capabilities, while at the same time taking into account, the fact that your basic knowledge is much lower than the era that the Infinity comes from." Cortana said with a supportive tone that clearly showed she wasn't looking down on Cordelia.

"Thanks, how long do I have to finish these test?" The brunette asked.

"You have five hours to finish the academic half. You'll be running the gauntlet in order to test your physical abilities. You'll have lunch in between the two events. After you finished with the gauntlet you'll have a thirty minute break before we go over a personality exam. Most of these test will allow us to test out your abilities to be an officer in the UNSC. Once you pass then no one will be able to question your potential. In order to prevent any hint of favoritism, all the A.I's and the Admiral have done their best to make this as difficult as possible for someone in your situation. It should be done by the time that Xander plans to have us start our first patrol in real space. And don't think for a moment that you have the house against you. All members along with future members of the UNSC will also be taking these same test. Only difference being that the Admiral has decided to let them do the physical part first." Cortana couldn't help but giggle mischievously as she thought about the future reactions of the Infinity's crew when Xander dropped that little surprise on them. She couldn't wait to record all of their faces for historical documentation.

Cordelia took in the words of the A.I. before looking towards Xander. She caught him looking at her before a smirk formed on his face. A small blush developed on her cheeks when she saw him give her a light smile. One that was perfectly matched and synced with the one from Roland. Clearly the two had no doubt on how successful she would be. Something that Cordelia wasn't too sure of herself as she listened to Cortana explain the parts of the exam. Not to mention the doubt that had developed in heart when she had heard the others expressing their disapproval of her becoming a ranked officer.

"Lets get this over with." The brunette said making Cortana smile at her with pride. The A.I. soon pointed towards a desk that had a lone holopad sitting on it. Cordelia noticed that it looked much more plain that the one Xander was currently using. Her eyes rolled as she figured he wasn't going to give her one similar to his until she had proven herself.

'You better be able to pay up Harris once I pass these stupid test. There is no way in hell that your going to be sporting better gadgets than me.' Cordelia thought to herself as she accepted the challenge that the Infinity's Admiral had placed before her.

+-*/\*-+

{Back at Stargate Command}

"General we just detected to ships with UNSC markings making their way to the Earth Poles." A technician at a monitor screamed with urgency to the man that was over watching their current attempts to find the massive super carrier that had been orbiting their planet.

General wasn't sure if he wanted to thank the young man or make him drop and give so some push ups for the unprofessional manner that he reported in.

"The readings confirm that its the Heavy Frigates that the Infinity houses within its hull." Carter said as she went over the data that was being delivered. She quickly compared it to the information they had gained for the gaming company that had designed the Infinity.

"Looks like they don't have any plans to make it into the atmosphere of the Earth." Jack said as he watched two videos of the smaller UNSC ships take orbit over the North and South poles.

"Wonder why they stopped?" Daniel asked allowed since he can't figure out why they would be orbiting over a nearly barren area.

"They are taking a defensive position." Teal'c said as he noticed the common formation when watching over a planet while having limited ships. "With an additional two ships it would the ideal amount to protect a planet like the earth.

"Protect… what could they be possibly trying to protect us from?" Jack asked with uncertainty. He still wasn't sure the ships they have seen would be able to match what the Goa'uld's have in their disposal.

"Let us pray that it won't be something that makes things more complicated for the earth." General Hammond said with a serious tone that made the members of SGC-1 agree with him.

+*/\*-+

Gatsuberk: Sorry for the late update… unfortunately life has been a little hard for my family. My dad has been fighting cancer for the last ten years of his life. Worst part is that it happened after the poor man retired. Long story short... since the start of June it was made clear that he wasn't going to be with us for long. What should have been an estimated year of life quickly deteriorated to mere months. He passed away and was buried in mid November… I'm going to try to get back to my writing but I don't honestly see that happening any time soon. Please bare with me, because I do wish to continue, its just a little harder to do so now than when I was first starting to get back into it. Thanks for everything and remember...Read, review and enjoy. Lataz… P.S. I apologize to you grammar nuts in advance.