CHAPTER THREE:

Best laid plans…

"…All I remember is feeling numb when the Arcadia and other ships were declared missing. I saw what I was feeling mirrored in Buffy's and Faith's faces. It didn't seem real to any of us. Each of us dealt with the grieve in different ways. I was surprised by Faith, for the longest time she refused to give up hope. Buffy took it the hardest…she would have shut down if it hadn't been for Spike. He knew all about how she cared for James {Wright}, but he didn't care because he'd always loved her. He kept her from going over the edge until Cleveland. That was the proverbial final nail in the coffin for her emotionally. When Spike sacrificed himself to stop the Turok-Hans and close the Hellmouth, she stopped caring or at least she didn't show it outwardly anymore. Even Angel couldn't get her to come out of the shell she wrapped her herself in. That was probably one of the main reasons behind his decision to try and take out the Circle of the Black Thorn and hurt Wolfram & Hart. She was more than ever focused on her mission. To describe it in plain terms, she became more Slayer and less Buffy. In a strange way that was actually a good thing as she was ready to deal with what we had to face after the White House and Boston..."

— Willow Rosenberg

oOoOo

To the "Powers That Be" time had no meaning. Five years may as well have been five minutes as they watched events unfold across the galaxy. They may have been completely alien when compared to humans, but in terms of dealing with worry, confusion and uncertainty they shared similar characteristics.

"The path is not unfolding as it should be! Without the evolution of the Invid, all is at risk now!"

"He hoped to return to her as he was…his love for her is strong."

"The Shapings showed him what would happen if he returned when he wanted to!? They showed him what he needed to do and yet he refused to take the final step. I do not understand what he hopes to accomplish by choosing this course of action?"

"Human emotions have always been difficult to control and predict…"

"Yes, but his actions have created a chain reaction of events that could lead to disaster! The course of action he has chosen to follow will in all most likelihood cause her death...they could both die!"

"Yes I know, but the Regess would not force him down a path he was not ready to go on. He has to choose to take that final step. There is still hope...even now the Shapings hint at a possibility."

"What possibility?"

"It is still unclear, but the Shapings hint at something even grander than we could have even hoped for if it all unfolds…"

"I am not as optimistic as you..."

"Maybe you, as the humans say, 'should take a leap of faith'. Events are now beyond even our ability to influence. We can only watch and wait to see how they unfold."

oOoOo

With the force of thrust and gravity pushing Samantha Carson, who once went by the surname of Finn, back into her seat, she found herself gripping the armrest of her seat so tight that her knuckles were turning white. She could feel her nerves and stomach tightening, but she wasn't sure if it was from this being her first time taking a shuttle into space, the mission she was on or a combination of the two. Her mind was overflowing with thoughts as she went over the plan, trying to look at every angle and cover every contingency. Her thoughts were interrupted as she felt a touch on her hand. Looking down she saw the hand gently squeezing hers and her eyes followed the arm back up to the person sitting beside her who was giving her a reassuring smile. Samantha returned the gesture by squeezing the redhead's hand and smiling back.

After what seemed to be an eternity, the g-forces eased and Samantha was able to move a little more easily as gravity lost its grip and weightlessness took over. Her traveling companion leaned over, "See that wasn't too bad...it's worse when somebody is shooting at you," the redhead whispered into her ear.

Samantha tried not to laugh too hard, looking over at Willow who was giving her a smirk. She suddenly felt calmer with Willow holding her hand. She would have preferred Riley here with her, but that wasn't going to happen under the present circumstances. She felt Willow squeeze her hand again and felt lucky to have her as a good second choice.

To say that the last few years had been insane would be a complete understatement. Looking back she knew that General Coulson had put a lot on Riley's and her shoulders when he'd basically given them the order to hold out until the Arcadia mission returned. That was never going to happen now and as a result a lot of good and innocent people had been killed, with the situation growing more desperate. They now only had themselves to try and pull out a victory against overwhelming odds. When this had started, she realized that sacrifices would be required, but she had no idea what she would be required to do or how her life would be turned upside down.

Willow leaned in again whispering, "We'll be docking soon."

Samantha felt her warm breath on her neck and her skin flushed and pulse quicken. That was another aspect to how everything had turned upside down for her in the last few years. That had been another "sacrifice" she'd been forced to make, but considering the circumstances it had at least been one of the more enjoyable ones. She and Riley knew how fast the situation was deteriorating after the White House attack with the President and SECDEF dead. They knew it was only a matter of time before it got worse, they just hadn't even considered the possibility until half of Boston was lying in ruins. They both knew that they had to have someone inside that could have access to the information that they would need to help with their fight. Riley knew that it couldn't be him and they couldn't be sure of whom else they could trust to handle what was required. That left Samantha, but the problem was that she would be easily suspected because of her marriage to Riley.

It had been a hard choice and Samantha had cried hard while her husband consoled her about what she had to do. The next day, she contacted the FBI to report that he was plotting with Buffy and the other Slayers for further attacks against the government. It would have been a hard sell job, but the bullet she put into his shoulder and the graze she took from his weapon helped to convince the authorities. Even after that, they knew that act alone probably wouldn't be convincing enough. They had to do something else to make Samantha's cover airtight. It could be done, but it would require sacrifices to be made.

She still had nightmares about Robin Wood being gunned down in the streets during that FBI raid. Riley had discussed it with Robin first and explained the situation along with the risk. Robin had accepted it without a second thought as he knew what was necessary and what the stakes were. All Samantha had done was pass along information about a "Slayer safe house" to the FBI. They had hoped that with enough warning everybody could get out and getaway, but the timing was off and the FBI hit the house early. Even after all this time, she could still feel the guilt gnawing at her, but she pushed it down as she focused on the bigger picture and what would happen if they failed.

What followed next for her was just as hard. She public denounced her husband as a traitor followed by an equally public divorce. That had been her lowest point, when she had to say such vile hateful lies about the man she loved. She couldn't even keep her wedding ring as the sentiment might have drawn suspicion. That had sealed Samantha's credentials with those in charge. The only problem was keeping her in contact with the rest of the resistance. That's where Willow had come in.

Riley had setup fake identifications for everyone and along with Willow's magic they'd been able to hide most of the people from the police, intelligence agencies, military, The First Evil and its helpers. Willow became a courier between Samantha and Riley to pass information back and forth. To not draw any unwanted attention or suspicions on their interactions, Samantha and Willow, using a fake persona, pretended to be involved with each other engaged in an on-again, off-again relationship. It had been different and uncomfortable for Samantha to play the part — showing the close displays of affection in public — at first.

Willow and her had been doing this "act" for nearly four years now, she couldn't recall exactly when it stopped being just an act. She still remembers the first time that they actually had sex together behind closed doors. There was friendship, tenderness and sexual desire between them, but they knew that there was no love. The sex, as well as enhancing their cover, was a release, an escape for both of them from the pressures and darkness that surrounded them daily. Samantha still loved Riley and she knew that Willow was still heartbroken over Kennedy disappearing with the Arcadia mission. They were both lonely and just trying to grab on to something to hold on to keep their sanity and keep going. Samantha was jolted back to the moment as the shuttle shuddered as it hard docked to the space station.

"This will work? Won't it?" Willow asked hesitantly, taking some deep breaths to calm herself as the realization of what they were about to attempt hit home.

Samantha gazed into her eyes trying to give her lover some reassurance, even while she was filled with her own doubts, "It'll be fine."

oOoOo

Samantha tried to appear nonchalant as she made observations of the security setup of the space station and the space ship. They were challenged at a number of security checkpoints as they were lead, by armed guards, to the conference room aboard the USS Valley Forge. She wasn't concerned about her and Willow's cover story, they had spent the last couple of years getting things into place and Willow's bona fides would stand up to any deep check. She was a little surprised to see all the personnel dressed and armed with REF equipment.

Ever since Kinsey had taken power, he'd locked down access to REF weapons, ammo and other equipment. What equipment that had been left behind when the Arcadia and the other ships left was being strictly controlled. That was one of the traitorous acts that her husband had committed before going underground. Riley had "liberated" several crates of Gallant energy weapons and Wolverine assault rifles with ammo along with and more importantly Protoculture energy cells and extra mini-missiles for use with Cyclones.

She had heard rumors that Kinsey was putting together a sort of "Praetorian Guard" that would be equipped with Robotech weaponry, acting as his personal bodyguard. This was one of the more troubling developments that had forced her, Riley's and the other's hands. Kinsey and his supporters were planning for the long term as they had cancelled the midterm elections back in 2006 due to "ongoing security concerns". That several outspoken candidates that were vocal in their opposition to President Kinsey had either died in "accidents" or mysteriously disappeared contributed to validating the security concerns. Several Senators and Congressmen challenged the cancellation in the Supreme Court, but it became obvious that Kinsey had the majority of the justices supporting him.

When General Coulson had left on the Arcadia mission, he had taken steps to ensure that his people had control of the orbital space station and the small fleet of light cruisers. For the first couple of years when Kinsey was assuming and consolidating his power base, he'd left the space forces alone, but Samantha had heard of plans in the works to get his people in control of the space station and the ships under US control. That had been one of the main motivating factors in going ahead with this plan.

She was still noting details as their escort admitted her and Willow to the room. Seeing Captain Lynch standing as they entered, Samantha was relieved as there was always a risk that he'd been compromised and that they were walking into a trap.

"Ms. Carson," the Captain said as he shook her hand.

"Captain Lynch, good to see you. This is Ms. Willow Ross, she's a technical consultant that works with both DARPA and NASA," Samantha said.

She saw the look of hesitation in the Captain's eyes, "It's okay Captain, Willow is very familiar with what's going on. She's here to advise and report back to Riley on your status."

"Okay," Lynch said showing an obvious sign of relief as he offered seats to the women to take around the small conference table, "You probably want to know our status?"

Willow spoke, "I've been keeping abreast of your status reports, some of the reports are...um...strange."

Lynch sighed as he wasn't sure if the two women would believe him, "I've talked to the Captains on the European, Russian and Chinese ships and they will either help or stand down...the problem is with the cruisers Enterprise and Saratoga."

"What's the problem with them? I thought we had our people onboard those ships?" Samantha asked with a concerned face.

"We did have our people aboard, until a week ago, both cruisers had their crews pulled and replaced with new people sent straight up from the surface," Lynch answered.

"Shit!" Samantha swore, "Why the hell are we just hearing about this now?!"

"It was done with no advance warning and the orders came up with the replacement crews. I haven't been able to get messages down to the surface to let you know..."

"Can we get these crews to join us or at least stand down?" Willow asked mirroring Samantha's concerned look.

Lynch shook his head, "No way... I tried engaging the Captains in conversation and feel them out, but from what I was able to find out was that these people were hand-picked by Kinsey, It's only a matter of time before my crew and myself are replaced as well..."

Samantha read Lynch's face and could see that something else was bothering him, "What else is wrong?" she asked.

Lynch exhaled a deep sigh, "I-I don't know...there's something off about all those people. They keep to themselves, barely coming off their ships. We also see boxes marked food being loaded on the ships, but..."

"But what, Captain?" Samantha asked, getting a really bad feeling.

Lynch's eyes darted around the room nervously, "I got one of my crew to look inside one of those boxes...when he opened it all he found was sealed bags of blood..."

oOoOo

Technical Sergeant Cathy Mah tried stifling a yawn as she stared at her monitoring display console. The Sergeant was attached to the 20th Space Control Squadron at Eglin Air Force base. Her job was to detect, track, identify, and report all near earth objects (NEOs) and deep space objects (DSOs). To her it was just another standard shift of looking at the space surrounding Earth.

She'd submitted a request to serve on the space station or one of the cruisers, but those position slots were highly coveted. She'd resigned herself to the harsh reality that looking at a display screen was the closest she was ever going to get to space. Thoughts of her future were interrupted as a warning alarm flashed on her console.

What the hell? she thought as she quickly typed in commands to bring up more information and also check her console to make sure that it was working properly.

As she read the results displaying on her screen, she got a strange feeling of dread as she reached for her phone to alert her supervisor.

oOoOo

"So Howard, where do we stand on our push to repeal the twenty-second amendment?" President Robert Kinsey asked looking at his Chief-of-Staff seated on the other side of his desk in the oval office.

"It shouldn't be a problem, Mr. President. We've laid all the ground work for it and the House Majority Leader will introduce the motion in two weeks. We already have the two-thirds majority support in both houses, so passing it shouldn't be a problem."

Kinsey could read the man's face and saw the nervousness there, "What's the problem, Howard?" he asked in tone that implied a lot.

The Chief-of-Staff gulped as he knew what happened to those that failed or held back information — even bad news — from the President, "S-Sir... it's nothing. Just a few Senators and Congressmen have been raising questions about why Presidential term-limits need to be repealed. Also we've getting a few calls from a number of Governors as they've gotten wind of this too. They're asking for a constitutional convention to discuss repealing the amendment since the mid-term elections were cancelled."

Kinsey's face took on an angry look which caused the Chief-of-Staff to gulp again and fight to control his growing fear, "What the hell!? Have you told them that the country needs a strong hand during these uncertain times?"

"Y-Yes, s-sir!"

"And they're still calling me...my presidency into question!?"

"Y-Yes, s-sir!"

Kinsey sat back in his chair fuming as he thought about how those insignificant "people" would dare oppose him. A smirk came to his face as he planned how he would deal with this opposition.

"I want a list of everyone...and I mean everyone that is actively opposing me on this."

"Y-Yes, sir!"

"I mean, I want everyone who has even raised a voice of doubt or questioned me..."

"S-Sir?"

"I think that it's time to clean house...get rid of those that are holding us back. Understood?"

"Y-Yes, sir! Y-You're right as always...we need to remove anyone against us."

"Excellent Howard, I want that list by end of today," Kinsey said with a wave of his hand dismissing his Chief-of-Staff.

The man blinked as it took him a moment to realize that he was being excused. Nodding his understanding, he got up to leave. The President spoke again, catching him by surprise causing him to turn to face him so quick that he almost lost his balance.

"Howard... I want you to find me another intern."

"S-Sir?"

"I broke that redhead last night, she just couldn't handle everything I wanted to do," Kinsey said with a smirk, "This time I want something younger and blonde...and flexible. She has to be flexible," he added as his smirk grew into a more sinister looking smile as he saw his Chief-of-Staff's face go white.

The President tried not to laugh as he watched the man scurry off out of his office. Leaning back in his chair, he started dreaming of where he was going to lead the country and what he was going to do to the intern tonight. He felt his pulse quicken in anticipation of both desires.

Hmmm...the oval office is soundproof... I should really play in here one of these times... It would be just the damn mess to clean up afterwards...

His daydreams were interrupted by his phone ringing. Kinsey's smile started to fade and he was tempted to have the person that was disturbing him killed as he picked up the handset, "Yes?"

His smile completely disappeared as he listened to the report being given to him.

oOoOo

"Vampires! They put frigging vampires aboard those cruisers!" Samantha said not believing what she was saying.

"Are you sure it was blood that your crewman found?" Willow asked feeling the same disbelief.

"Y-Yeah...he took a photo of one of the bags as he knew that no one would believe him without evidence... W-What do you mean v-vampires?" Lynch asked hesitantly.

Samantha swore again, "It's exactly as I said...vampires. The undead that feed on blood! Damn it! We should have seen this move!"

"You're kidding...right?" Lynch asked looking at both women strangely.

Willow sighed deeply, "I wish we were... I—"

The communication panel interrupted what Willow was going to say, "Captain to the bridge!"

Lynch got up, quickly picking up the handset from the com panel, "Lynch here...what is it?"

Samantha and Willow watched as the Captain's eyes went wide in surprise, "I'm on my way!" he said with urgency in his voice that surprised and worried both women

"What's the problem?" Samantha asked as she watched Lynch hang up the handset.

Lynch looked at her as if she was from another planet, "You need to come to the bridge with me...something...something is happening," he said as he moved towards the conference room door.

Samantha and Willow looked at each other in confusion, but didn't hesitate as they followed the Captain to the bridge.

oOoOo

Everyone stood to attention as Kinsey entered the situation room. He quickly waved everyone to take their seats as he took his seat at the end of the table, "What's happening?"

"Sir, as we reported earlier, fifteen minutes ago our deep space radar and other sensors started picking up anomalies nearly half-a-million kilometers past the moon. They appear to be getting stronger and more pronounced," reported an Air Force General.

"Do we know what it is or what's causing it?" Kinsey demanded in a hard tone.

The Air Force General's face was filled with nervousness, but he knew what would happen if he held back bad news, "Sir, everything seems to indicate that we are seeing the beginning of a space-fold transition...a very large space-fold transition."

It took a moment for this news to sink for the President, "Y-You're saying that something is arriving?"

"Yes, sir."

"Y-You're saying t-that the A-Arcadia and other s-ships are c-coming h-home?" Kinsey asked feeling his world start to crumble around him. For a moment he debated clearing the room, so he could talk to his master and get directions.

Damn it! I am the President of the United States... I should be able to deal with this...

"I can't say with one hundred percent certainty. The event forming fits the profile, but this is much larger, sir."

Kinsey could feel the sweat rolling down his back. If the Arcadia and the other ships returned they could make a play against him. They had enough firepower to force him to surrender and he knew that damned General Coulson and Captain Coleiro would force him to step down once they found out what had been going on over the last few years.

I still have one card left to play, he thought trying to figure a way out of his dilemma.

"General, order the Enterprise and Saratoga to move out and take a position close to that space-fold point. Once the Arcadia arrives, they are to fire everything they have on the Arcadia and other ships to destroy them!"

"S-Sir?"

Kinsey knew that he could count absolutely on the crews of those two cruisers. It was the other ships he wasn't certain of. He'd always suspected that Coulson had filled space command with his people. It had taken time, but he'd just started weeding out anyone that was suspect and put his own people in place. There were no doubts about the loyalty of the people on the Enterprise and Saratoga.

"You heard me General! The commander of the Arcadia was involved with a Slayer and that makes him complicit with their terrorist organization! If we allow them to establish orbit there is no telling what destruction they could unleash on all of us!"

"Yes, sir!"

oOoOo

Samantha and Willow followed the Captain on the bridge. They were surprised by the sense of urgency that the bridge crew was moving around with.

"Report!" Lynch ordered.

One of the bridge officers stepped forward, "Sir, we've detected a gravitational disturbance forming just past the moon."

"What kind of disturbance?" Lynch asked as he sat in his command chair.

"Sir...it appears to look like the beginning of a space-fold transition."

Before Lynch could say anything, Willow shouted out, "The Arcadia...is it the Arcadia!"

Samantha saw the hope flare across Willow's face. She was suddenly struck by the same feeling of hope. Thoughts raced through her mind.

They've returned... They came back...

"We don't know if that's them, so let's not jump ahead of ourselves," Captain Lynch said quickly trying to keep everyone focused on their jobs as he could see the excitement race through his bridge crew, "We do this by the book...we have an unidentified object, possibly ships about to execute a space-fold into our space."

"SIR!"

"What is it?" Lynch asked trying to figure out what was going on now.

"Enterprise and Saratoga are heading towards the space-fold co-ordinates... I'm detecting increasing power levels... SIR! They're powering up their particle beam turrets!"

"Damn it!" Lynch muttered.

"Warn them off! Tell them to stand down until we can form the fleet up!" he ordered.

"Sir, they're not responding!"

Lynch swore to himself, "Okay, contact the rest of the ships. Have them form up on us and we'll take up a defensive position just within weapons range of the co-ordinates... Weps."

"Sir?"

"Get me a missile lock on both the Enterprise and Saratoga! Bring our particle beam turret online and make sure that we have a lock as well on both ships!"

"Sir! We're receiving orders from Space Command to move up and support the Enterprise and Saratoga. We are to fire on any ships that appear!" the communications officer reported.

Lynch took a deep breath as he knew this was the moment where things went to hell in a hand basket, "Ignore those orders... Tell the Enterprise and Saratoga that if they fire on the Arcadia and any of her escorting ships, we will fire on them and destroy them."

He saw his communications officer staring at him in shock, "Send it!" he ordered as he knew that he was crossing a line from which there was no return. He just hoped that everything worked out.