Realm of Souls

By Paradox761

Paradox761

(BtVS/Sailor Moon/Star Trek/Highlander, Xander/Ami)

Summary: In the wake of the events on Hardcross Station, Xander finds himself pursuing John Dallas as well as the secrets of the mysterious sword, Soul Vessel, all while trying to adjust to his new life aboard the Discovery. A mission to a primitive planet my hold the key to unlocking that mystery, but personality clashes with their new part-demon mission specialist and a chance meeting with another Immortal and a group of mercenaries may complicate things. All the while, John Dallas is planning his endgame.

This story is a sequel to "The Last Slayerette"

(3/?)

At the briefing the next morning, there was a buzz in the air. It was a mix of excitement and apprehension. But despite that, or maybe because of it, there was also a general feeling of duty and professionalism. There was no more arguing or questioning motives, it was all business. Everyone was aware that the stakes had just gotten a lot higher, and they were pulling out their A-game. It made Xander glad to see that no matter what color their uniforms were, these men and women were Starfleet, and that meant that they would always give one hundred and ten percent to get the job done, no matter what it was, no matter what the odds.

Lt. Commander Brubaker was at the head of the room, going over the results of the scans that he had taken of the spire from the Jakul village. "Our initial scans didn't pick up much more than slightly elevated background radiation. It wasn't until we switched to the deep tachyon scan that we started to get a look at the inside of it. It's heavily shielded. Whether that's to protect from radiation or to conceal what it is, I don't know."

"So the radiation levels inside are higher?" Ami asked.

Brubaker nodded. "Hawking radiation and neutrino levels are both high." He touched the screen and the image changed to a cross section of the spire. "Some of the structures here I recognize but most of them are too alien for me to even begin to guess what they do. This looks like a capacitor of some kind, and this area could be a force field generator."

"So the spire itself is a mechanical device of some sort, it isn't just built around some natural phenomenon?" Counselor Dennan asked?

Lt. Graav shook his head and spoke up. "There was nothing in my scans that would indicate any natural source for that type of radiation."

"It's technological," Brubaker continued. "But I wouldn't call it mechanical. There are no moving parts as far as I can tell. And I can't discern a power source of any kind."

"Could it be geo-thermal?" Ami asked. "Does the structure extend underground at all?"

"Several kilometers at least," the alien technologies officer answered. "We can't be sure exactly, something in the bedrock kept interfering with our scans."

"I had the same problem," Graav added. "I'd love to do a full geological survey of the planet, but that would require a lot of digging and a lot of time that we don't have. All of my preliminary scans showed nothing out of the ordinary, but there's more here than meets the eye."

"Do you have a theory, Commander, as to what the device in the spire is exactly? What its purpose is?" Ami asked Brubaker.

"I believe that it contains a micro-wormhole or dimensional tear of some kind. The purpose of the device seems to be to absorb energy of some kind, store it, and then transmit it through the wormhole. Where that wormhole leads, we have no way of knowing."

"The Realm of Souls," Boon said aloud. All eyes turned to her.

"This is just a theory of course, it's impossible to say for sure unless I could take scans while this thing was in action," Brubaker said.

Boon shook her head. "We checked already, there are no recent dead in the village so it doesn't look like we'll be able to witness a death ceremony any time soon."

"We can't even be sure what exactly activates it," Brubaker said. "The presence of a body on the altar, the words that are spoken, it could even be powered by the collective telepathy of the Jakul themselves. We have no way to know." He turned to Boon. "Could we ask the Jakul to just go through the motions, see if that activates it?"

Boon again shook her head. "They would consider that to be…in poor taste."

"We'll have to make do with what we have. Thank you, Commander," Ami said. Brubaker nodded and retook his seat. "Lt. sh'Dane, why don't you give your report next."

The Andorian shen nodded and stood, making her way to the front of the room with a PADD in her hand. "Well, the first major discovery that we made regarding the Jakul language is that although they have only one spoken language they have two distinctly different written languages. The hieroglyphs that they use on the icons that they wear around their necks are part of a language that they refer to as high script. It's more formal and the Jakul use it for writings that are official, or special. The inscription on the spire that the priest speaks during the death ceremony is in high script. The second written language is called common form, and just as it sounds, it's used for common day-to-day purposes. It's a standard alphabet style language, completely unlike the hieroglyphs."

"But, there's no real cultural diversity among the Jakul," Dr. Treezil commented. "Not enough to see completely different language forms like this."

"Exactly," sh'Dane agreed. "And the two forms have no commonality, which you would expect had they evolved on the same planet from the same species. I think that this is further proof that these spires were built by an alien race."

"How can the two forms have no commonality if they are both used to write the same spoken language?" Xander asked.

"It's analogous to taking a word in Andori and spelling it phonetically using Klingon characters. A Klingon could read it, but it wouldn't mean anything to him. Just like the inscription on the spire doesn't mean anything to the Jakul. At some point in their past, they adopted the language to their own spoken language, either by assigning sounds to the symbols randomly, or else they knew the sounds the characters made and used them accordingly. Hopefully it's the latter, that will give us a chance to decipher the original language and translate the writings on the spire and some of the other ancient artifacts in the village."

"That would also mean that the Jakul had contact with the race that built the obelisks," Boon added.

"I'm running the hieroglyphs through the linguistics database now. If the spire-builders had contact with any other planets in the region and influenced their languages, hopefully we can find enough commonality for a translation."

"Thank you, Lieutenant," Ami said. "Nice work."

The young linguist beamed. "Thank you, Captain," she said before returning to her seat.

"Dr. Kur'Woo, anything unusual turn up on your medical scans?" Ami asked the Efrosian medical officer seated at the other end of the table.

"The Jakul possess a very interesting brain chemistry," he started. "The neural pathways that are created whenever they learn or experience something new seem to trigger an endorphin response. I think this is why their society has evolved so quickly. They literally get a rush from learning and expanding their minds."

"What about their telepathy?" Ami asked.

"Remarkable," Boon answered. "I thought I understood what the Kob'ya was, but nothing prepared me for experiencing it."

"So, you felt drawn to the spire the way the Jakul do?" Ami asked.

"Not drawn to it necessarily, but I understand why the Jakul do. When I was near the spire, I felt my abilities…intensify. It's hard to explain, everything became more clear and vibrant. It was an amazing experience. For the Jakul who experience a sense of community and belonging through their telepathic bond with each other, intensifying that further would be…transcendent."

"It's possible that the spire contains some sort of technology that increases telepathic ability," Brubaker said. "There's enough inside that thing that I can't identify that I certainly can't rule it out."

"Could this have been done on purpose to attract the Jakul to the obelisks by these…spire-builders?" Ami asked.

"God, are we really going to call them that?" Xander asked.

Ami looked at him. "NegaVamps," she said with a cheeky smile.

"Touché," Xander said.

"It seems likely," Boon said between strange glances at Ami and Xander. "Today on the planet I intend to find out as much as I can about the Jakul's recorded history, if they have any knowledge of their species making contact with these aliens."

"I'd like to join you if I could," Dr. Treezil asked.

"Of course," Boon said, nodding toward the Denobulan anthropologist.

"So would I," Dennan spoke up with a cheery smile. "Sounds fascinating."

"The more the merrier, Counselor," Boon said.

"I'd like to bring down some more equipment and try to get a better scan of the spire," Brubaker said. "Dr. Kydir, if you would assist me."

"Of course," the Vulcan answered with a solemn nod.

"Very well," Ami said. "Anything else?"

"I'd like to remain onboard and complete a more in depth analysis of the data that I collected yesterday," Dr. Kur'Woo said. "I already have a full set of scans so there isn't much more I can do on the planet."

"Agreed," Graav said. "There isn't much more that I can do on the surface either. I will use Discovery's sensors to take more planet-wide geological scans."

"And I'd like to tour some more of the ancient sites in the village to try and find more examples of the original hieroglyph language," Lt. sh'Dane said.

"All right," Ami nodded. "Xander, you wanted to say a word about the new security measures."

Xander nodded and turned to the group. "Keep in mind that just because you can't see any security officers doesn't mean that they aren't around. We're keeping a low profile so as not to scare the Jakul and hopefully lure in the mercenaries. If you run into any trouble just shout, someone will hear you and respond. If any of you want to request a security escort while you're on the planet please see either me or Lt. Gibson. Also, if you see or hear anything unusual, or if you see any technology that doesn't belong to us or the Jakul please let someone in security know immediately. Just keep in mind that our main priority here is the safety of the Jakul. We've done enough damage here, we don't need to make it any worse. Any questions?"

None were forthcoming. "Very well," Ami said. "Dismissed."

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The Alien Technologies Lab aboard Discovery was a small space, but it was well organized. The domain of Lt. Commander Kevin Brubaker, he took pride in his work, and he took his job seriously. In the center of the room there was a project table. Xander had once heard Brubaker describe it as a bio-bed for technology. Currently sitting on the table and attached to its sensors was a rapier, with an ornate hand guard and a tassel attached to the pommel. Soul Vessel, the sword supposedly contained the quickenings of a thousand Immortals, killed by John Dallas. Most of the research thus far into how the sword worked had been conducted in this room. Brubaker and his team didn't know anything about Immortals, all they were told was that the sword somehow contained the life force of close to a thousand beings, and to figure out how it worked without destroying it. So far, they had been less than successful. It contained some kind of capacitor, but no discernible power source. And what attracted the quickenings to the sword in the first place, instead of being absorbed into the nearest Immortal? They didn't know. Xander looked down at the sword and found himself wishing, and not for the first time, that he hadn't killed Steven Hardcross, the device's inventor. But at the time he had had no choice.

Ami and Dr. Boon were standing around the project table with Xander while Brubaker sat at one of the consoles behind them, readying his instruments to gather as much data during this procedure as he could. Xander looked up and made eye contact with Rachel Boon. In just a few short days she had gone from antagonist to unlikely ally. He saw in her now instead of arrogance, determination. Instead of short-sightedness, compassion. In the look they shared it was clear that they were both thinking the same thing. They hoped that she could help.

"We're ready," Brubaker said from his console.

Xander nodded. "Are you ready?" he asked Boon.

"I think so. I've never tried to make telepathic contact with a sword before," the quarter-demon answered.

"Whatever information you can give us will be helpful," Xander said.

Boon took a deep breath before reaching down and placing her fingertips on the side of the blade. They were there for just a moment before she jerked both her hands away as if she had been burned.

"What happened? Are you okay?" Ami asked.

"I'm fine, sorry. I just…wasn't expecting such a strong reading. I just need to…put up a few more mental guards." She closed her eyes and after a few seconds, she placed just two fingers on the blade. She winced slightly, but didn't pull away. Her face was scrunched in concentration. "Pain…loss…it's like listening to hundreds of voices screaming at once, I can only make out some of it." She placed two fingers from her other hand further down the blade, closer to the hilt. Her eyes stayed closed but her head was moving back and forth as she tried to focus. "Confusion…anguish…I don't, I can't…I don't understand…too much…"

"Rachel, can you hear me?" Ami asked. Boon didn't respond. Ami looked over to Xander, a concerned look on her face. "If she becomes overwhelmed she may not be able to find her way out, she won't be able to break contact."

"Her heart rate and respiration are both elevated," Brubaker said from his console. "We should have had a medic on standby."

Ami tapped her combadge. "Medical team to the Alien Technologies Lab."

"What…what do you want?" Boon said suddenly. "What happened to you?" She looked scared.

"Rachel, you have to try to break the connection," Ami said to her. If the half-Betazoid heard her, she gave no indication.

"There's some kind of energy surge in the sword," Brubaker said. "I can't pinpoint where it's coming from."

Xander looked at Boon. He felt guilty for having put her in this position, and he wanted to help her. He wasn't thinking clearly, and he did something enormously stupid. He touched her. "Rachel," he said, as he raised his arm toward her.

"No, Xander don't!" Ami called out. But it was too late.

His hand touched her arm, and in that instant Xander was no longer standing in the Alien Technologies Lab. He was no longer in his body as far as he could tell. He was floating, formless, in an empty gray void. There was a sensation at first that he could only describe as immense pressure, even though he had no physical body to feel it. His non-telepathic brain tried to sort through the information that it was receiving and interpret it. After what could have been a few seconds or a few years, the pressure became noise, and then voices. Hundreds of voices, talking at once. Some were screaming, some crying, at least one was laughing psychotically. Around him in the gray void he began to see a mist. And then slowly the mist broke apart into many separate shapes, and each of those shapes started to solidify into a figure. They were human, but they were still gray and faded, like they were made of the mist. He saw men and women alike. Some held swords and still appeared to be locked in combat. Some wandered aimlessly, like they didn't know where they were. Some of the figures were headless, and most of them appeared to have gunshot wounds on their bodies. This was the source of the voices as they shouted in anger or cried in anguish.

At first, they didn't seem to notice him. And then suddenly, he locked eyes with one. It was Steven Hardcross, his clownish red hair now the color of dishwater. Contempt and hatred burned in his eyes as he stared daggers at Xander. He looked down and realized that he had a body now too, gray and translucent like an old faded film. And then, as if they shared a single consciousness, all of the figures turned to him, staring at him like he was the source of their ire. He tried to speak but found that he had no voice. The hoard closed in around him, pressing in on him, clawing and swinging at him. He felt his mouth open in a soundless scream. And then, just as suddenly as he felt himself appear in this place, he felt himself being pulled away, like he was deep underwater and his body's buoyancy was pulling him rapidly toward the surface.

Xander's eyes opened and he inhaled sharply. He was lying on the floor in the Alien Technologies Lab with a confused looking med-tech kneeling over him with a tricorder in his hand. "He's alive! But, there was no brain activity, no heartbeat, no respiration, I don't understand…" he trailed off as he stared intently at his medical tricorder. Xander sat up but stayed on the floor for the moment, his head was swimming. Ami and Boon were at his side in moments.

"Thank you, Lieutenant," Ami said, dismissing the med-tech. "Everything seems to be fine now, you can go. Why don't you run a diagnostic on that tricorder, it must be malfunctioning."

"Aye, Captain. I will," he said. He ambled out of the room, still looking at the device in his hands and shaking his head.

"How do you feel?" Ami asked.

"Like my head has just been sucked through a black hole," Xander answered. "What happened?"

"I'm a touch telepath," Boon answered. "So when you touched me…"

"I saw what you saw," Xander said in realization. His face fell. "Then it's even worse than I thought."

"What did you see?" Ami asked.

Xander paused, trying to find the words to describe it. "Purgatory," he said.

"Not necessarily," Boon said. "What we saw could have been…telepathic after images. This sword has been used to kill so many, it makes sense that there would be an impression left behind."

Xander shook his head. "Immortals aren't telepaths."

"Maybe not consciously, but you're certainly not entirely human either. The properties of these…quickenings are still largely unknown, at least scientifically speaking. It's possible that they could leave a psychic impression of some kind."

Xander could tell that she was just trying to make him feel better, that she didn't really believe what she was saying. He appreciated it, but at the same time he didn't need platitudes, he needed answers. "I may not be a telepath, but that didn't feel like an impression to me, it felt like the real thing." Rachel didn't disagree.

Xander raised his arms up, Rachel and Ami each took one and helped him to his feet. He felt dizzy for a moment, but shook it off. "So what about you?" he asked Rachel. "How did you break the connection?"

"When you connected it provided a…distraction. Without the…entities focusing on me, I was able to regain my control. You saved my life," she said with a soft smile. "For a non-telepathic brain like yours to experiences such a high level of stimulus, I'm surprised you weren't killed in the process."

"I believe I was, actually," Xander said. "But I got better." He looked around and noticed for the first time since he woke up that the three of them were alone in the Alien Technologies Lab. "Where's Brubaker?"

"He picked up a power spike from the sword during Rachel's contact, he's analyzing the data now," Ami answered.

Xander nodded. There was a quiet determination in his eyes, and a sadness. Ami was worried for him. She knew that whatever he had experienced had only deepened his resolve to free the lost souls trapped in the sword.

"Well, I guess there's nothing more that we can do then," he said. "We should get down to the planet."

"Are you going to oversee security again?" Rachel asked.

"No, I'm going to do a little recon. Talk to the villagers, see if any of them have seen anything or anyone unusual."

"If you don't mind a little free advice," Rachel said. "Take something with you that they've never seen before, something unusual. You'll endear yourselves to them by sharing with them new information and a new experience, they'll be much more eager to return the favor. Not that they would hide something from you intentionally, but they may be more apt to reveal something that they themselves might not even realize is important."

Xander smiled thoughtfully. "I think I have just the thing."

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When Xander walked into the village with Scooby by his side, he was expecting some interesting reactions. Surprise, alarm, maybe even fear. He knew the Jakul would be curious but what he wasn't expecting was the sheer delight that the strange animal seemed to engender. No one seemed the least bit afraid. And Scooby, while wary around so many strangers, was very well behaved in return. He took his cues from Xander and from the Jakul themselves and didn't see any of them as a threat. In fact, his initial trepidation faded rather quickly and he seemed to enjoy the extra attention.

He moved through the village, trying to appear casual, talking to people as he went. He kept his eyes open, observing the strategically placed security personnel. A few of them nodded to him in passing, signifying that everything was fine. He talked to the Jakul. He managed to nonchalantly probe them for information about what they had seen or heard. So far none of them had seen anything unusual in the village, apart from Scooby of course. It made Xander nervous. It wasn't like Klingons to slow play, which meant that Banner was more than likely pulling the strings. And Xander wasn't sure if he could predict the other Immortal's next move.

At some point Xander found himself outside of the blacksmith shop. He could smell the acrid smoke from the primitive stone forge and hear the sound on metal striking metal. Xander had an interest in metallurgy, specifically sword making, but he found the process in general to be fascinating as well. He was curious about how the Jakul had developed the knowledge and techniques involved so quickly. The building was made from stones and mortar, the only one like it that he had seen in the village. He stepped inside, Scooby at his heels, and found the blacksmith. He was tall, with deep red skin and yellow eyes. He was shirtless, apart from the crude leather apron that covered part of his midsection. Xander could see the necklace hanging from his neck displaying the small wooden icons that the Jakul used as symbols of their life experiences. Some of the icons on his necklace appeared to be metal. He was pounding his hammer against a red hot piece of iron on his anvil, what appeared to be a bladed farming implement of some kind. After a few more hits, he took the item with the tongs that he was holding and dunked it into a bucket of water. Steam rose up and filled the room. At that point he looked up and noticed Xander. "Good day," he said with a smile.

"Good day," Xander replied.

"I'm pleased to welcome a starfarer into my humble shop. What can I do for you today?"

"My name is Xander. I'd like to…share experiences," Xander said, using the phrase that he had heard other Jakul speak. "Our goal here is to learn as much about your people as we can, and I'm traveling through the village today speaking with people so that I can do that."

His smile seemed to grow. "Wonderful!" he said. "I see that you travel with an animal. What a majestic creature, what is it called?"

"He's a razor-cat, and his name is Scooby. He has been my…companion for many years."

The blacksmith approached, taking a knee in front of Scooby he stroked his flank gently. "A remarkable animal," he said, rising to his feet again. "My name is Dern," he said, holding his hand out in a stilted gesture. Xander assumed that he had seen the motion before, possibly among the crew of the Pennsylvania. He reached out and shook his hand.

"I'm curious how your people developed the way to create and work metal the way you do," Xander said. "It's something that the group of starfarers that were here seventeen years ago didn't report seeing. Did someone from their group explain the process to your people?"

"I do not believe so, though I was young at the time. I learned the trade from my father, who in turn learned from a metal worker from a different village. His name was Loosis, from the village Ky'lan. It's about a two day journey from here, in the direction where the sun sets. The legend goes that Loosis was a stone worker, and that one day while travelling through the mountains to search for materials, he was given the knowledge. Some say it came from the Kob'ya, Loosis was fond of saying that it came from the rocks themselves. He was kind of an eccentric old man," Dern said with a fond smile.

"Interesting," Xander said. Several theories came to mind. If the Kob'ya truly did strengthen the Jakul's telepathy and their sense of community with each other, maybe it created a hive subconscious mind of sorts. A group think that allowed new ideas to be created and processed at a rate far quicker than a single mind. Or, perhaps this Loosis character simply found something in the mountains that came from the spire builders, something that inspired the idea or even explained the process fully. Xander made a mental note to locate this nearby village and perhaps pay it a visit as well if time permitted. There may be more left behind on this planet by the spire builders than just the spires themselves.

"Jalen," Dern called out. "Come out here, we have a visitor." From a back room in the shop a young boy emerged. Xander realized that it was the same boy that he had met the day before in the village square. "This is my son, Jalen. Jalen this is…"

"Xander!" the boy said excitedly.

"We met yesterday," Xander said. "So, how are things working out with your new pet?"

"Great! Is this your pet? Wow!" The boy ran over to Scooby and started petting him. He purred and leaned his head into Jalen's touch.

Xander smiled. "His name is Scooby."

"You should come home with me so they can play together! Father, can we? I finished stacking the wood."

Dern smiled at his son. "Okay, Jalen. That is, if Xander wants to go with you."

"Sure, I'd love to."

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The more time he spent in the village the more Xander found himself admiring the Jakul. They lead simple lives, but they lived them to the fullest. They didn't fear things that were different, they simply sought to learn about them. Always seeking to expand their knowledge but never forgetting where they came from, clinging to the values that were important to them. Hard work, loyalty, community. In a way they were all like Jalen, children filled with wonder, with a bright future ahead of them. He wondered what their society would be like by the time Jalen was a man. Would they reach an industrial age by then, develop electricity and machinery, build a transportation system maybe or build sailing ships and explore their world's oceans? How long before they reached the stars? Or would they even get the chance. He knew better than anyone what a harsh galaxy surrounded them, how easily they could be taken advantage of by some superpower. Xander had opened Pandora's box here, he just hoped that he would be able to close it.

"What's your ship like?" Jalen asked, breaking Xander's introspection.

"The Discovery? Well, she's 345 meters long, has 15 decks, weighs around 700,000 tons…" He trailed off when he looked down and saw Jalen's confused expression. "She's a great ship, and she's got a great crew."

"How many people are on it?"

"About 150."

"Are you all from the same planet?"

"Oh no, there are many different species serving aboard Discovery. There are over 150 planets in the Federation, all working and living together."

"Wow! Do you think the Jakul could join the Federation someday?"

Xander smiled. "It wouldn't surprise me in the least."

Jalen smiled too and skipped a little as he walked. "So, what does your ship do?"

"Well, we're a science ship. So we fly around and explore, discover new things and study them, try to understand them better. That's why we're here now, to try to understand your people and your planet better."

"Are you a scientist?"

Xander laughed. "No, I'm not. My job is to keep everyone safe on the ship, to protect them."

"Protect them from what?"

"Lots of things. Space can be a pretty dangerous place."

"I never thought that learning new things could be dangerous."

"Well…it's complicated. The purpose of Starfleet is to explore, to learn new things. Yes, sometimes it can be dangerous, but it's worth it. Because we get to meet people like you."

Jalen laughed and skipped again. They were close to his home now so he ran ahead to tell him mother that he was there. Xander stayed outside where he found the goat-like creature from the day before, a togar if he recalled correctly, inside of a small pen. Scooby and the togar sniffed each other. A moment later Jalen came skipping out of the small structure that was their home. He ran to the pen and started petting the creature inside.

"Hello, Xander," Jalen said. It took Xander a moment to realize that he was talking to the animal. He smiled. "Mom said it's okay to let him out as long as I make sure that he doesn't run away." Xander nodded. There was a large field next to the small home. A small portion of it looked like it was cultivated for planting, but most of it was just covered with grass.

Xander reached down and stroked Scooby on the side of the neck, then leaned down to him. "This one's not food, Scoob. Play nice." The big cat just purred before following Xander the goat-thing out into the field.

"I think they like each other," Jalen said.

The two talked for a while while they watched the animals play. Xander managed to subtly ask if the boy had seen anything unusual recently in the village, but again the answer was no. Xander learned that in addition to the blacksmith shop, Jalen's family also farmed a bit and traded what they grew in the village market for whatever else they needed. The boy was happy to help his family, but his interests lied with broader things. Discovery, exploration, he talked of venturing outside of the village with his friends and exploring through the hills, of traveling with his father to other villages. It seemed like more than even the other Jakul, Jalen craved new and different experiences.

"So what do you want to do when you grow up?" Xander asked. "Be a metal worker like your father?"

"I don't think so," Jalen said. "I want to do something that no one's ever done before. I just don't know what that is yet."

"I'm sure you'll figure it out."

"Jalen!" the boy's mother called, coming out of the small wigwam structure. "It's almost time for evening meal, can you go get your father please?"

"Yes, mother." He returned his pet to its pen, and then Jalen, Xander and Scooby made their way back to the village. Dusk was approaching and the sun hung low in the sky, casting an orange glow on everything.

They were close to the village square when Xander heard an unusual high-pitched whine. It took a half a second to realize that it was a transporter, and another half second to process that it wasn't the sound of a Starfleet transporter. Xander turned toward the noise in time to see six columns of orange light materialize in the town square and turn into six Klingon warriors brandishing disruptor pistols. Another couple of seconds passed before anyone else seemed to notice them as they started making their way toward a group of Jakul that were congregated near the marketplace. A red energy beam lashed out from somewhere and struck one of the Klingons, knocking him to the ground. And that's when the shooting started.

"Get down!" Xander yelled to Jalen, pushing him away as he drew his own phaser and ran toward the melee. Scooby was fast on his heels. Starfleet security seemed to come out of everywhere to attack the Klingons and it was clear that they weren't expecting such a force or they would have sent more men. Xander's hidden security measures had succeeded in drawing out the Klingons, unfortunately it drew them into a direct attack.

A preprogramed series of taps on his combadge instantly opened a channel to all of the security personnel that were planet side. "Stay between them and the Jakul!" Xander said. "Keep the combat close so they can't use their disruptors!" Xander already saw disruptor bolts ripping through the air, he had no idea if any of them were making contact with anyone. He got off a shot with his own phaser, striking a Klingon in the shoulder before there were too many Starfleet security officers in the way. He holstered his phaser just as he reached the nearest Klingon and threw a haymaker at his head. With his other hand he grabbed the warrior's wrist and kept his disruptor pointed at the ground. He landed two more punches before the Klingon shoved him to the ground. He stood over him then, disruptor at the ready.

"Scooby, vampire!" Xander yelled. The razor cat leapt into the air and landed on the Klingon's back, sinking his teeth into his shoulder. The warrior cried out in pain as he crumpled to the ground. Xander reached into his sleeves and pulled out two throwing knives from the bracers that he still wore under his uniform jacket. He lashed out with his foot, sweeping the legs out from under another nearby Klingon, knocking him to his back. Xander threw himself on top of the mercenary and plunged one of the knives into the shoulder of his shooting arm, causing him to drop the disruptor pistol that he held. The Klingon struck Xander with his fist and he shoved him off of him with his other arm. Xander scrambled to his feet, throwing the other knife before he was even all the way up. It struck the Klingon in the thigh. Growling again in pain, the Klingon reached down to pull the knife free. Xander pulled is phaser, which was set to heavy stun, and fired it. The Klingon collapsed, unconscious.

Xander looked through the ruckus at the rest of the Klingons and saw Discovery's security officers handling them. Lt. Gurf was grappling with one who was sporting some rather nasty looking claw marks across his face, no doubt courtesy of the large Caitain's own talons. Another officer, a Vulcan, was taking down another Klingon with a nerve pinch. Xander saw only one Klingon now that wasn't unconscious or engaged, sneaking away in the chaos, making his way toward a crowd of aghast Jakul onlookers, his disruptor at the ready. They weren't looking to kill, Xander realized. The weapons were for intimidation. They wanted to kidnap a Jakul. The probes from Discovery along with the transporter inhibitors kept them from choosing a different village on the planet, they thought they could make a quick assault and leave with their quarry. And if Xander didn't do something fast, he realized, they still might.

Xander ran toward the Klingon and dove at him, tackling him from behind and sending them both tumbling to the ground. His disruptor flew out of his hand. They rolled together on the ground until they finally came to a stop with Xander on top. He drew two more throwing knives from his sleeves and held them in a downward grip, ready to bring them down. The Klingon tapped the communicator on his arm and spoke one word. "Extract!" In an instant all six of them were awash in orange light, and then gone as the transporter took them. Just as quickly as the assault had begun, it was over.

"How did they get through the transporter inhibitors?" someone asked.

"They must have personal pattern enhancers," someone else answered. "That's why they couldn't just beam anyone up, they had to come down to plant the enhancers."

"Check to see if anyone needs medical attention!" Xander barked. "And contact Discovery, see if they can track those transporter beams and find that ship!" The officers scattered, carrying out their orders. Xander looked around himself to see if he could see anyone injured and realized that he didn't see Jalen anywhere.

"Jalen! Jalen, where are you?!" Xander rushed back to where he had been standing with the boy when the Klingons first beamed down, looking frantically for where he could have hidden. "Jalen!" He heard a moaning sound and his head whipped around to the source of the sound. On the ground, between a log building and a barrel that looked to be setup to collect rainwater, he saw a pair of legs sticking out. Xander rushed over and pushed the barrel out of the way, hitting his knees he lifted the limp boy up to him. There was a small burn mark on his chest and he was barely breathing. Xander slapped his combadge. "Medical emergency, two to beam directly to Sickbay!"