CHAPTER THREE
He looks kind of sexy for a pirate…
"My history with women wasn't a pretty one. Mostly bad choices, and stupid mistakes on my part, littered the desolate garbage dump I called my love life. The only relationship until then I could even call close to 'successful' was with Anya and look how that turned out! With the situation we faced and a house full of teenage Potential Slayers, I'd pretty much resigned myself to being 'Mr. Bachelor' for whatever time we had left. What I'd hadn't expected was for the big guy upstairs to take pity on me and drop another chance in my lap."
— Xander Harris
oOoOo
Xander tried keeping his concentration on the road, but with only one eye now his night vision and depth perception were off. It also didn't help that his dead eye still ached and throbbed, getting occasional flashes of light when he closed his good eye, adding to his discomfort.
He risked a glance over at Dawn, still unconscious in the passenger seat of the car. A wave of guilt washed over him again at having drugged her, but Buffy had asked him to do her this favor. She wanted Dawn safely away from Sunnydale, yet it still didn't ease his growing guilt.
There was also the little matter of how Dawn would react when she came to… Summers women tended to get a little violent. He hoped the letter from Buffy would explain and minimize any repercussions.
Xander realized his growing guilt wasn't only limited to drugging Dawn. He was also leaving at a crucial time in their battle against The First Evil, Caleb, Turok-Hans and the Bringers.
That's one long list of enemies, Xander thought, trying to keep his focus on the road. He kept telling himself he wasn't running away, he did this because Buffy asked him and trusted him to protect Dawn. Yet, a part of him kept saying he was running out on all his friends when they needed him the most. Dawn's stirring back to consciousness interrupted his guilty thoughts.
oOoOo
As she regained consciousness, Dawn slowly became aware of her surroundings. The drowsiness competed with the funny taste in her mouth as a flash of incoherent images and memories filled her head. The last thing she remembered was outside helping Xander search for something in his car, then something went over her nose and mouth, and then nothing.
Her eyelids weighed a ton as she struggled to open them. She took a moment to gather her senses and realize she was in a moving car with Xander driving. For a brief instance, she didn't recognize him because of his eye patch. Then it all came back… how he'd lost it and how she'd felt seeing him injured. His voice caught her attention.
"Hey, Dawn. Dawn, you awake?"
"What happened?" she said groggily, slowly regaining her senses.
"Um, I thought you might say that."
The drug's effects still pulled on Dawn as she tried shaking them off, "Actually, I meant to say what the hell happened?" she said.
"It was chloroform."
"Color forms… what?" Dawn said still groggy.
"Chloroform. Are you still loopy?" he asked.
"Sorry about that. Someone knocked me out with chloroform. Xander, where are we going? What's going on? Talk to me," Dawn said, experiencing confusion and alarm as she regained her senses, and trying to figure out what was happening.
Xander didn't hesitate, handing the letter to Dawn, keeping his eye on the road, "Away."
"What's this?"
"Just open it."
Dawn opened the letter and read it. Her anger grew as she figured out what was going on and who was behind this idea. As she continued reading her sister's letter, she glimpsed a stun gun sticking out from underneath her seat. With Xander focused on driving, her hand moved down, brushing against the stun gun. She would give him a taste of his own medicine.
"Jesus… what the hell is that!" he exclaimed, looking at the sky rather than on the road.
Thoughts of stunning Xander faded as Dawn looked up and saw a fireball streaking across the sky. Her mouth hung open in awe as the large fireball left a trail of flames across the night sky.
Xander pulled over to the side of the road to better view the display. He figured it was a meteorite, but he'd never seen one like this before as it moved fast across the sky, roughly parallel to them as it descended. A brief sense of alarm and worry filled him as it drew closer, but curiosity won out as he exited the car to get a better view. He barely noticed Dawn joining him to watch the light show.
Their curiosity and awe turned to surprise and shock when they spotted a piece break away from the main fireball, seeming to hang in mid-air. Xander had difficulty focusing with just the one eye, but he swore something else broke away from this smaller piece.
He figured the meteorite was breaking apart when a white parachute blossomed in the night sky, proving him wrong.
"Xander… is that a-a…?" Dawn stuttered, staring up at the descending parachute.
"Yeah, that's a parachute!" Xander said, shaking his head in disbelief. He realized the parachute was coming down in the forest not too far from them.
"Should we go check it out? Maybe they need help?" Dawn said, keeping her eyes glued on the parachute.
"Yeah… Yeah, I think you're right," Xander muttered as the parachute approached the forest canopy. He wasn't sure, but it looked like a person attached to the parachute.
A surge of excitement and curiosity pushed him to dash into the woods, but his old soldier memories from Halloween held him back. He popped the car's trunk, realizing he needed to be smart before rushing headlong into the woods. Rummaging through the trunk, he grabbed a pair of flashlights, utility knife, and first-aid kit along with some leftover nylon rope.
Dawn eyed him strangely as he held the rope in his hand, "Xander, what're you planning?"
"It's just something I recalled from my soldier memories. We may need the rope to help whoever or whatever is on the end of that parachute get down if they're stuck in a tree," he said.
"Oh," Dawn replied, admiring Xander's knowledge while loathing her own ignorance. She took the flashlight he offered, falling in step beside him as they headed across the road, into the woods, towards the descending parachute.
oOoOo
Cassie blinked, trying to focus her eyes as her head throbbed, disorientation threatening to overwhelm her. She finally realized she was hanging upside down from a tree about five meters off the ground. A sigh of relief escaped her, knowing she was still alive. Another sigh of relief escaped as everything seemed in one piece as her arms and legs responded. She figured the effects of the rapid re-entry into the planet's atmosphere and ejection were behind her pain and disorientation.
Okay, ace… now get yourself right-side up, and down from this tree, she thought, trying to push away the throbbing pain in her head. A warm wetness on her face caught her attention as her vision blurred even more. The realization sank in she'd injured herself either during re-entry or during her landing in the trees.
Her mind wandered, replaying the events that brought her here. A chill ran down her spine as she recalled the screams filling the radio channel before a wall of white engulfed her fighter. She'd figured she'd died, but then found herself drifting in orbit around a white and blue planet. There wasn't time to ask questions as the planet's gravity grabbed her fighter. The battle damage to her engines prevented her from staying in orbit, and she could only attempt a controlled re-entry as her fighter caught the edges of the atmosphere. The re-entry started good, but the battle damage must have been worse than she suspected as the Alpha shook itself apart in the upper atmosphere.
I must have hit my head on something, she thought, becoming more sluggish as her vision got worse. Cassie's training told her she needed to get down from the tree, but her body wanted her to close her eyes and rest. She debated what to do as they both sounded good.
Beams of light cutting through the forest caught her attention, momentarily focusing her thoughts. Dread and hesitation grew as the lights cast shadows closing on her position.
If it's the Invid, they wouldn't be so subtle… They would torch the whole forest down to get me…
Her fear faded as the lights grew closer and she made out the silhouettes of people.
They look human…
Cassie realized her injuries were bad and she couldn't get down on her own. She took a chance, waving her hand slowly to attract their attention. When a light shone on her, she heard voices which relieved and surprised her.
"Xander… over this way!"
"Are you all right? Can you hear me?"
Cassie wanted to respond, but it was hard to focus now. It took all her effort to wave weakly again.
"Xander, it looks like they're hurt!"
"Yeah, it looks like I can get up this tree. I'll get up there and tie this rope to them. Once I cut them free, I'll lower them down to you. Be ready to grab on and ease them to the ground. Remember, handle with care, we don't know how bad they're hurt."
"Gotcha."
Everything moved slower than normal as Cassie drifted in and out of consciousness. It was like watching a slide show as she heard someone struggle up the tree beside her. A man's voice filled her ears as strong hands grabbed her.
"Are you all right? Don't worry, I've got you. We'll get you down."
She barely felt the rope being tied around her as darkness clouded her eyes. The strong pair of hands turned her around, and she got her first glimpse of her would-be rescuer. He looked to be a human male, but it was the eye patch that caught her attention. She recalled the stories about pirates from her childhood.
He looks kind of sexy for a pirate, she thought, finally losing consciousness.
oOoOo
Xander's muscles strained as he lowered the pilot … at least he assumed she was one from her helmet and uniform … down from the tree. It was obvious she was a woman because it was hard not to notice the tight fitting flight suit, hugging all her curves in all the right places. He pushed his lecherous thoughts aside for the moment. He couldn't afford any distractions as he struggled with the obviously injured pilot and trying to keep himself from falling out of the tree.
When Dawn signaled, she'd gotten a hold of the pilot, Xander heaved a deep sigh of relief, letting out more rope as she laid the pilot on the ground. With the pilot down, Xander now focused on getting himself down. He barely avoided slipping several times, but reached the ground safely.
Another sigh of relief escaped with his feet back on solid ground. He didn't realize how hard it would be to keep his balance with only one good eye. Xander joined Dawn, kneeling next to the unconscious pilot, checking her out. The pilot's chest moved up and down which was a positive sign. He couldn't help himself as his gaze lingered over the pilot's chest.
"Xander!" Dawn said, shaking her head at his lecherous behavior.
"W-What! I-I was only making sure she was breathing!" he stuttered embarrassedly.
"Men!" Dawn muttered with disgust.
She did another look over the unconscious person, "I don't see any obvious injuries," she said.
"Want to give me a hand with this helmet?" Xander asked.
Dawn nodded, and he tried to get the helmet off, fumbling his first tries to remove it. He finally realized the helmet connected to the pilot's flight suit, forming an air-tight seal.
"Easy…" Xander said, detaching the helmet from the suit. He held the pilot's head as Dawn helped him ease the helmet off.
They both grimaced, seeing the blood covering the pilot's face. Dawn had Xander hold a flashlight while she checked and cleaned the wound with gauze from the first-aid kit.
A few minutes passed by as Xander watched Dawn administer first-aid, "So what's the prognosis Doctor?" he asked.
Dawn shook her head, "She's breathing, and it looks like she might have a concussion. I think the bleeding has stopped. She's still unconscious, should we call for help? We can't leave her here."
Xander had been contemplating the issue as his eyes again settled on the unconscious pilot. He'd studied the pilot and several things were bothering him. The pilot's flight suit wasn't like anything he'd ever seen before, and he'd lost count of how many times he'd watched "Top Gun". Together the helmet and suit almost looked like a space suit. He also didn't recognize any of the insignia on the pilot's flight suit… the letters 'REF' on one of her shoulder badges being a couple mystery to him.
The last thing that bothered him was the pilot herself. Not that she was a woman, it was her apparent age. The unconscious woman looked to be only a few years older than Dawn… maybe twenty-one… twenty-two at the most. There was also the pilot's hair… he knew purple hair, even if cut short wasn't military standard.
"What do you suggest?" he asked, not sure what to do next.
"We take her back home. Then we can figure out what to do next," Dawn suggested.
Xander sighed, shaking his head, "No way! That's not an option. I promised Buffy to get you away and keep you safe!"
Dawn looked up, meeting his good eye. He saw the fierce determination in her face and sighed in defeat, knowing she was just as stubborn as her sister.
"Tell me honestly, you didn't want to stay and help the others? Tell me you aren't feeling anything about running away?" she asked.
A flash of anger filled Xander at her insinuating question. He wasn't running away… he was only doing what Buffy had asked him to do. Yet, her words struck hard as they reminded him of the lurking guilt eating at him. He took a moment to catch his breath and calm down before he said something he would regret. His mind considered the options they had, studying the unconscious pilot.
Buffy won't be angry with me. We rescued someone that needed our help, and we couldn't leave them here. Yeah, I'm sure she'll be okay with this… I hope…
oOoOo
To say Buffy was angry when Dawn walked back through the front door was an understatement. The anger gave way to shock and confusion as Xander followed through the door carrying an injured and unconscious woman wearing a strange outfit. Dawn snapped everyone out of their shock and surprise to help, putting their new house guest in Dawn's room.
Buffy grew only more confused as Dawn and Xander retold their story of the fireball in the sky, the parachute and their discovery of the young woman. She wasn't alone as Giles and the others gathered mirrored her confusion.
"So, is she with the military?" Giles asked.
Xander shrugged, "She's with somebody's military," he said, placing a small metal case on the dining room table.
He added, opening the case, "But, I don't think it's any military we're familiar with."
Everybody stared at the open case and the contents inside.
"What's this?" Buffy asked.
"It's a survival kit. When pilots eject, they have supplies attached to their ejection seat and chute. Basic stuff… food, water, rescue beacon and radio…" Xander replied.
"Is that a gun?" Willow asked with wide eyes.
Xander shook his head, "Looks like one, but it's not like anything I've seen before."
"It looks like a blaster from Star Wars," Faith blurted out, catching everyone by surprise. An awkward silence descended over the room as everyone gave her strange looks. The looks made her uncomfortable, and she tried to deflect, "Uh, I saw the movie in prison…" hastily adding, "There wasn't anything else to watch."
"It looks more out of Star Trek than Star Wars," Andrew interjected, adding his geek knowledge to the conversation.
Xander smiled, shaking his head, "Anyway, as Faith and Andrew have pointed out, this weapon isn't like anything I've ever seen before… there are no bullets."
"So, she's an alien?" Anya blurted out, getting stares from everyone.
"What? Well, she has to be an alien… did you not see the purple hair!" she said, answering the looks she got.
"I kinda like the look," Faith said, grinning, getting a few strange looks herself.
Giles stepped in, "Uh, yes… This is all well and good, but all we have here is circumstantial evidence at best," he said, studying the case's contents. He picked up one of the food packages, giving it a closer study as he pushed up his glasses. He read the small print on the package several times to make sure he hadn't made a mistake or was hallucinating.
"Packaged for the Robotech Expeditionary Force in Monument City, Earth. Best before 06/27/2049."
Buffy picked up on the change in Giles's demeanor, "What's wrong?"
"Uh… nothing. I think we should hold off on any conjecture or guesses until our guest is awake and we can ask her some questions," he replied. He tried to wrap his mind around the wording he'd read. The production information and expiry date on the package sent his mind racing, considering possibilities and raising only more confusing questions.
