Blood in the Stars
A/N; Please read the message in bold at the top of my profile regarding updates. Please enjoy.
Chapter 7; Murder, Mayhem and Madness
Vetegal
Harry dumped his two bags of clothing and equipment on the deck of the Serenity's cargo hold and Luke dropped his next to it. Alex was staying on Vetegal to oversee the repairs to the Prism but Harry didn't want to leave Luke on his own without a chaperone for the time being and it would take a month to get to Londinium and back again. Together they walked up through the ship as they felt the engines come to life with a bit of a nicer tone then Harry had heard from it before. Grier and Patrick had been working on the old Firefly for two weeks to get it serviced and to get new parts into it.
"Wow, I haven't heard her purr like that in years." Malcolm smiled at Harry as he and Luke entered the small cockpit. River was in the co-pilot's seat with her brother, Simon, behind her. Zoe was leaning against one of the walls with a complacent smile on her face. The only two on the ship that were missing were Jayne and Kaylee who Harry had smelt on the way up. They were probably in the vicinity of the engine compartment.
"We all set to go?" Harry asked. Malcolm nodded. "Good, can I borrow the doctor for a moment?"
"Sure." Malcolm shrugged. Harry turned and left the cockpit with Simon behind him.
"I can't imagine anything you'd want to see me about." Simon commented but Harry just shook his head and headed back to his bag and once there pulled out a flask with a short span power pack attached to it. "What's that?"
"Fresh blood." Harry announced emotionlessly. "Luke and I just fed but, well, Luke might need to drain a whole person once and a while but I don't. This is what's left over."
Simon made a dramatic effort not to swallow but gave in. He'd gone a little on the pale side. "Would it help if I told you we caught the two of them about to rape someone?"
"Maybe a little." Simon nodded.
"Think of it this way." Harry sighed. "Malcolm, Jayne or Zoe would have just shot them dead. Luke and I at least put them to good use."
"Good point." Simon shook his head. "So why do you need to keep that?"
"I can last two weeks easily but Luke can't push much past a week and won't be able to for a few hundred years yet." Harry told him. "Unless you want him staring at your neck for several days before he jumps you?"
"No." Simon shook his head going pale again.
"This is keeping it warm but can you cryo it?" Harry asked. Simon nodded and look the sample. "Poor Luke."
"Poor Luke?" Simon frowned.
"That's going to taste horrible cold." Harry sighed. "I hate drinking from a flask."
"Well unfortunately the live specimens are off the menu." Simon told him with a straight face.
Harry laughed and put an arm around Simon's shoulder and steered him back towards the med bay. "Was that a joke from the little doc?" Harry chuckled. "Maybe you're not such a stick in the mud. I could have some fun with you." Harry winked at him and Simon blushed furiously when he worked out Harry wasn't making gestures at his blood which just made Harry laugh all the more.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
A week later
Harry spent most of the time on the trip in the cargo bay with Luke training him to use all of his body's new abilities especially the speed and endurance. When they'd started the trip Luke had been unable to beat either Malcolm or Jayne in a fight because he couldn't tap into that potential on demand. His mind just wasn't used to thinking that way in a fight. Once he did finally tap into it nobody on the ship but Harry could beat him even if they all ganged up on him. The only exception was River who, though just as slow as a regular human, was capable of blocking strikes made at lightning speeds and attack at just the right time to get through Luke's defences. It was incredibly impressive and Harry could see why the Alliance had taken such an interest in her. She still wasn't good enough to get a strike in through Harry's barriers who could change his defences in the split second it took for her to make a strike but that would come to Luke with time and practice.
Right at that moment though he was sitting in the pilot's chair doing his stint of watching that the autopilot did its job and that nothing jumped out in front of them. At the moment there was absolutely nothing in sensor range and even the long range gravity sensors that used the effected light of stars to detect ships didn't have anything. That was one of the things with space, it was so vast that you could spend months crossing the system and never run into anyone on sensors.
"Hello, Malcolm." Harry greeted without any other sign that he'd known the man had arrived. The door had been open into the corridor but he'd been able to hear his footsteps.
"How'd you know it was me?" Malcolm asked and took the co-pilot's seat across the cockpit.
"For starters your footsteps are different to everyone else's on the ship. Then there's your breathing pattern, that's unique too." Harry paused as if considering. "Then your heart rate and your scent."
"Heart rate and scent?" Malcolm raised an eyebrow.
"I can hear your heart beating." Harry said simply. "If I wanted to I could hear everyone's heart beat in this ship."
"That's creepy." Malcolm pointed out.
"It also means that I can find somebody hiding in a crowd by the way their heart skips when they're nervous or anxious." Harry explained. "It's a hunting thing that comes with being a Vampire."
"What about scent?" Malcolm asked. "Is that just what cologne I'm wearing?"
"Actually if you were wearing cologne it would be a pain in the arse." Harry chuckled. "Every person has a different scent. It's how dogs can track a person from an item of their clothing. It also means I can tell what you've been doing as your scent changes slightly. If you're nervous or frightened your scent changes. If you're aroused or ill as well."
"Aroused?" Malcolm raised his eyebrow at him again.
"Don't worry, Malcolm, I know you're not now." Harry laughed. "It's a little distracting though on this ship when Kaylee and Simon are around each other. You might not have noticed the trouble that Luke was having last night when we were playing cards and they were flirting with each other."
"Oh god." Malcolm laughed in amusement at Harry and Luke's predicament.
"It gets worse." Harry laughed. "Our hearing is good enough to hear them all through the night and they stink of it today."
Malcolm laughed. "Maybe you should have a talk to them?"
"Thanks Captain." Harry rolled his eyes. "I'm not having that talk with them."
Malcolm laughed again and Harry chuckled along with him. Something drew his attention and he became serious very quickly in concern and Malcolm frowned at him at his sudden change. Harry licked his lips and Malcolm recognised that his fangs had lengthened. "What is it, Harry?"
"Blood." Harry hissed already getting to his feet. "Jayne's blood, quite a bit of it."
"I should call the doc." Malcolm told him.
"First we have to find Luke." Harry hissed and was out of the door with Malcolm right behind him.
"Why?"
"Because it's been a week since he's fed and he'll be able to smell that easily." Harry told him. "He might..."
Malcolm grabbed his radio from his belt. "Jayne, where the fuck are you?"
"At the bottom of the cargo hold ladder thank you boss." Jayne told him.
"Doc, you hear me? Get your butt down there now." Malcolm almost shouted into his radio.
"How'd you know I was hurt?" Jayne asked though now that he wasn't pretending it was obvious in his voice.
"Harry can smell it." Malcolm said sharply. "Anyone seen Luke?"
"No boss." It was Kaylee. "I'm with Jayne, his leg's pretty bad but I haven't seen... Luke?"
The change in tone told Harry everything he needed to know. Luke had shown up. Harry took off faster than Malcolm could follow and in seconds was in the cargo bay. He came out on the top floor and paused for a half second to take in the scene. Luke was closing on Jayne and Kaylee slowly and his fangs were out and his eyes were solid silver. Kaylee was trying to help Jayne shuffle back but his leg was snapped clean through and there was a lot of blood on the floor. Harry pulled his eyes away from the blood and took in Zoe as she ran in through the side door along with Simon.
Harry vaulted off of the top even as Zoe pulled her pistol and nervously aimed it at Luke. It was an idea but unfortunately wouldn't do her much good. If she shot him he'd completely lose himself to his instincts and would bite Jayne just to survive. Harry landed smoothly between Luke and the two on the ground and Luke's instincts screamed at him that Harry was going to take away his prey and he leapt forwards.
Harry caught him with ease and held him in place but Luke was strong like this and he struggled with all of his strength and that was enough strength to open a bay door while in space. Harry braced himself and threw Luke backwards and into the wall and with a blur had him pinned in place. His own fangs were bared and his own eyes burned silver from not only the fight but also the strong smell of fresh, hot, revitalising blood that filled the entire cargo bay.
Luke stilled as he felt his Sire so close but he was trembling with the need to feed. Harry held him with his left arm and knowing that only the taste of blood would allow Luke to calm down he brought his right arm up across between them and bared his wrist. Luke didn't instantly work out what was happening but Harry leant down and sliced his own wrist with his fangs. Blood welled up and the smell of Harry's blood, so much more powerful that Jayne's, was enough to have Luke biting down into Harry's wrist and drinking the blood.
Luke could easily survive for more than a week on Harry's blood but Harry would need the blood in the flask after this. He let Luke drink until Harry could feel him relaxing and he could smell the effect drinking his Sire's blood was having on Luke. It was the most powerful sensation a Vampire could experience and this sort of act invariably led to sex with most Vampires. It didn't matter whether you were mated to the Vampire or not but it was something that couldn't be escaped.
When Luke sighed and pulled his head away from Harry's wrist and put more of his wait against the bulkhead. Harry turned in Luke's arms and put his back to the other Vampire who clung to him hiding behind him half in shame for what he'd nearly done to Jayne and also to hide his arousal. Harry looked at the entire crew now in the cargo bay. River was sitting on one of the walkways with her feet swinging off the edge. Malcolm stood nervously somewhere between Harry, Luke and Jayne whilst Zoe stood by the door with her pistol still in her hand. Kaylee and lastly Simon were busy with Jayne.
"You won't need that pistol anymore, Zoe." Harry told her and she nodded and tucked it away in its holster, trusting Harry. "He's over it but this place smells too much of blood for either of us. I'm going to take him to the pod for a few days until the air is purged enough."
Malcolm nodded. "Use number one, we keep it shut off from the ship in case of an emergency. The smell shouldn't be in there. Is he going to be alright?"
"This is one of the dangers of space flight for us I'm afraid." Harry shrugged. "I can feed him like that if necessary but it only means I have to feed instead. Can you get the doc to bring up that flask I gave him once Jayne is sorted out?"
"Sure." Malcolm nodded and Harry wasn't surprised that he knew of the suspended blood in his med bay. Malcolm glanced down at Harry's wrist which made Harry look down at the blood still seeping from Harry's original cut. Luke's incision had already healed over. Harry brought his wrist up to his mouth and licked off the blood and the cut sealed over within a couple of seconds as his saliva sped up the healing process even faster.
Harry ignored the way that Luke had his arms around his waist and turned within them and pulled Luke away from the bulkhead now that the more obvious signs of his arousal had faded and walked him out of the cargo bay and shut the door behind them. He led Luke up through the ship to the compact pod bay and opened the door and put Luke inside before following him in and shutting the door. The air in the pod was only tainted by the slightest amount of the scent of Jayne's blood from when Harry had opened the door but it was easily ignorable. The pod was clearly the one that Inara used and instead of hard benches there were soft sofas fixed to the deck as well as a side compartment with a small shower. It was nice enough.
Harry put Luke down on the bed and sat beside him. Luke didn't say anything and merely sat up and put a leg on either side of Harry and hugged his back and pressed his face into the back of Harry's neck. "I'm so sorry." Luke sobbed.
"There's nothing to apologise for." Harry shook his head. "Maybe for scaring the shit out of Jayne but you were only doing what your instincts demanded of you. Why don't you try to sleep?"
Luke sighed but lay back on the bed and rolled onto his front, trying to get comfortable. Harry leaned around and kissed Luke on the back of the neck and just sat beside him and rubbed Luke's back soothingly.
The door cracked open ten minutes later and Harry smelt Simon in the corridor. He got up quickly and went out of the pod and shut the door behind him and Simon handed him the flask. "Thanks." Harry told him before opening the top. His eyes turned to silver as he smelt the blood, kept fresh by the cryo but still cold. He drank it down as fast as he could to avoid the urge to throw it up but it was enough to keep him going. They'd have to hunt when they got to Londinium.
Simon accepted the flask back without comment before speaking. "Jayne'll be fine. Just a broken leg and I don't think he's ever been so scared in his life."
"Unfortunately when you're the top of the food chain you do tend to scare the prey." Harry told him bluntly.
"I think Jayne get's what happened and nobody's going to blame Luke for what happened." Simon assured him.
"But they would blame him if he'd actually done it." Harry pointed out before he popped the door open again and walked inside, shutting it again to stop the smells from getting in. He locked it so there'd be no surprises and then made his way back to the bed.
"What did you do to me?" Luke groaned into the pillow.
"Do to you?" Harry frowned thinking for a moment that he meant being turned into a Vampire but then he realised that Luke was talking about the lingering effects of feeding from Vampire blood. "Oh." Harry chuckled. "When you feed you always get a little turned on. I'm sure you've noticed. But when you feed from something as potent as another Vampire's blood, especially from a willing Vampire, and especially from your Sire, it's kind of hard to not end up like that."
"You git." Luke grumbled before trying to get comfortable.
Harry stood up and pulled off his jacket, shirt, trainers, socks and trousers and pulled up the blanket and got under with just his boxers. "Heat will help." Harry told him. "Luke, trust me." He continued when Luke didn't move.
Luke sighed but got up and stripped down. He paused when he was just in his boxers and glanced at Harry. It was already blatantly obvious what was down there by how turned on Luke was so Harry just shrugged. "You'll soon realise that there isn't much point trying to hide that sort of thing. I can smell it on you as obviously as you could smell that blood in the cargo bay."
Luke shrugged and pulled off his boxers and then got into the bed with Harry. Harry pulled him closer and Luke turned into him, curling up to his side and putting his head on Harry's chest. Harry rubbed his hand up and down Luke's naked back and merely listened to his heart beat. There was easier ways to rid Luke of his arousal but Luke wasn't comfortable with their relationship as of yet. He was still trying to work out if they were lovers or friends or father and son. In reality there was no father and son just two Vampire joined by an undying link forged by their similar blood and driven by the need to never be alone.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
A few days later
Harry woke up feeling the heat of Luke's body against his side and he held his breath so as not to wake the other Vampire up. It was so good to have another Vampire around, somebody that Harry could actually try to become close to. He'd been close with crew members before but he'd always known that eventually they would leave him but with Luke that was different. Not only was Luke immortal but he was extremely tough to kill, just like Harry. Then again out in space they were just as easy to shoot as anyone else, that was how his friends had finally met their ends over the centuries.
Luke woke and froze for a moment before moving closer if such a thing was possible. Luke had been fondling Harry most of the day before, getting used to the way that a Vampire body responded to such things and he'd gotten over any shyness he might have had whilst being locked away in the pod with nothing to do but talk and be with each other. Harry had spent hours telling Luke about the way that Vampires had lived together on Earth, about their customs and traditions and Luke had merely absorbed it all. The beautiful thing about this situation was that Harry and Luke were the only Vampires left so it was up to them how things happened but they were still slaves to their instincts and even more so than their blood thirst was their desire for body contact of any kind.
Harry kissed the top of Luke's head and Luke shifted to lie on Harry's front, bring even more of their skin into contact. Harry knew that it would still be hours before Luke was happy to go back out into the Serenity but this time it was by choice and not necessity. Luke hadn't finished exploring his new instincts completely yet.
They showered in the pod and then ventured out into the Serenity. Luke smelt the air and nodded in satisfaction that there wasn't any Jayne's blood still in the air and he focused briefly. "They're in the galley." Luke told him. Harry nodded having already known that but pleased at the progress that Luke was making.
They found their way to the galley and Harry slipped along the wall without being noticed even as Luke coughed to draw attention to himself and then stood very still as everyone turned to look at him. "You don't have to stare at him you know." Harry spoke up as he appeared on the other side of the room and sat down between Malcolm and Zoe. "I know he's gorgeous but all the same." He muttered making Zoe laugh and Malcolm and Jayne glance at him. "What? I'm a Vampire. Like we care?"
Luke laughed and slowly sat down between Kaylee and River and turned to look at Jayne. "Hey now!" Jayne raised his hands. "None of the mushy 'Sorry I tried to eat you stuff'. It's too early in our relationship buddy."
Luke flashed him a smile and then nodded. "I'll ask first next time." Harry laughed again.
"Now that we've established the food chain again..." Malcolm paused. "That being humans eat normal food and Vampires keep to themselves. We're closing in on Londinium in a few days and I want to know how you plan to get us past the patrol ships and down into dock."
"That's easy." Harry shrugged. "I had the dock hardwire a toy into you power grid, it'll make the ship appear to be nothing more than another scout. With a few access codes stolen for us by Reggie we'll be able to enter the atmosphere. Then it's just a case of flying over the Ministry low enough to jump out. The ship can hide in the asteroid field with the same little toy and we can steal ourselves a pod to get out once we're done."
"Okay, that sounds good apart from one minor detail." Jayne pointed out. "The lowest permitted traffic over the Ministry is two thousand yard and if you use any electronics to slow you down the automated systems will shoot you down and if you try to parachute you'll appear on their sensors."
"All good points, which is why we'll free fall." Harry grinned. "We being Luke and I since none of you can survive a mile drop."
"And you can?" Simon asked.
"It might jar a bit." Harry admitted with a shrug at Luke. "I mean I broke an ankle doing it once before."
"If having a Vampire on my ship wasn't bad enough, he has to be a thrill seeking one." Malcolm sighed and rubbed at his head.
"Is he talking about you or me?" Luke asked with faked innocence.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
Londinium
The Serenity flew low over the city, it had gotten in under the guise of a scout ship returning to the capital world and they hadn't had any trouble. Flying low over the Ministry meant that the sensors would log them but again that was automated and it would only report a scout ship passing over head. Harry stood on the very end of the cargo bay door as the tall buildings passed by underneath. He knew the city well and knew exactly when to jump and so did Luke though he was looking extremely nervous as he looked at the two thousand yard drop onto the hard metal top to the Ministry buildings.
"Are you sure about this, Harry?" Luke yelled over the wind.
"You think I'd jump if I wasn't?" Harry laughed. In truth he was enjoying himself. It wasn't often that he could be a real Vampire and actually act like it.
"Good luck guys!" Malcolm yelled over the wind from near the edge of the bay itself.
"Just remember to bend your legs when you hit the building!" Harry yelled with a big grin on his face before he glanced over the edge, saw that it was time and straightened up and dove straight off of the edge. His jacket whipped around him and turned him over but he was a Vampire and he instinctively straightened his dive until he was feet first and he held out his arms to keep himself that way up as the ground quickly approached. He glanced up about a hundred feet to where Luke was falling and as he watched Luke instinctively found the same position.
At almost three hundred feet per second they fell down to the top of the building which was almost five hundred yards from the ground and two thousand yards from the Serenity. They covered the distance in just under twenty seconds and Harry hit a split second before Luke. He bent his knees and rolled forwards and felt pain lance up his legs but the effect faded within a few seconds. Luke gasped but came out of it unharmed.
"Hey! What the...?" A soldier gasped but he never finished his astonished cry when Harry blurred and grabbed him by the throat and sunk his teeth into his neck. He drunk quickly and could hear that Luke had taken out the second roof watch keeper in the same way. Any lingering damage to their ligaments from their landing vanished with the fresh blood. Harry dropped the dead body against the wall of the watch house and Luke did the same. They were at war and that would mean deaths on both side and nobody in this star system was better at killing than Harry and the newly changed Luke.
"See, wasn't that fun?" Harry asked him.
"You don't have to be so happy about it." Luke told him referring to the two dead bodies.
"Another couple of seconds and they'd have shot you." Harry shrugged. "Besides, I was referring to the sky diving."
"Let's just get going." Luke suggested and Harry grinned and took off running. Harry knew the shortest route from the roof to the Prime Minister's Office and as they approached only thirty seconds later they could hear several voices inside. Harry could hear five different voices but that didn't mean there weren't more and he didn't fancy stopping to count breathing patterns. They stopped in the reception area and Luke knocked out the receptionist with a well placed blow to the head long before she'd seen either of them appear. They'd knocked out eight people on the way here and it probably wouldn't be long before somebody found out that something was wrong. They'd be gone soon though with or without leaving more dead bodies behind.
Luke tensed up suddenly and Harry turned from listening to the voices to look at him. "What is it, Luke?" Harry asked being able to hear Luke's heart beat speed up. His link to him was screaming at him that Luke was in pain. "Luke?" Harry tried again. "I need you paying attention, what is it?"
"My father's in there." Luke's voice was barely above a whisper. Harry was shocked, not once had Luke spoken about his family. Harry had known that Luke was ex-Alliance but not how he'd been selected to be tested upon.
"Is that going to be a problem?" Harry asked.
"Depends on what he knows of what happened to me." Luke hissed and Harry saw his eyes change to their silver colour.
"Stay out of sight once I'm inside and I'll find out." Harry told him and slipped over to the door. He cracked it and slid inside, silent as a ghost. Instantly he switched off the lights and in the few seconds before their eyes began to adjust to only the light through the windows both Harry and Luke were inside. Harry stopped in front of the window but Luke stayed to the shadows.
"Who's there?" Someone called in fright and somebody else leapt to their feet. There were eight of them sitting along a long conference table. The curtains had been closed so there was still very little light in the room except for that from a hologram hovering over the table.
"Well I did send an RSVP." Harry pointed out before moving with a blur as they all turned to look at him. "Give me a single reason not to just simply kill you all?" Their heads snapped around to him again.
"You can't!" One of them, the one at the end cried.
"That's not a reason." Harry scoffed. "A reason is 'I have a son' or something like that. Then again that won't help you either. The way I see it I'd be doing him a favour."
The Prime Minister at the end of the table leaned forwards and hit a button on the console and the lights flashed on. "I'm calling security." He announced and made to push another button.
Harry was forwards in a flash and he pulled the Prime Minister back into his seat with a hand on his shoulder. "The next one to reach for that console gets a bullet in the brain." Harry announced dangerously and it took them all of a second to notice his silver eyes and his lengthened fangs. "Besides, everybody else in this building is already dead. Nobody noticed those thousands dying, nobody's going to notice you eight either."
"Who are you?" One along the left asked.
"No, what are you?" Another made to stand but then thought better of it and sat.
"Very good. A cookie for the brilliant Minister." Harry mocked. "I'd be what they call a Vampire."
"Impossible." A new one mocked and laughed.
Harry shrugged and in a second was around the table. He hoisted the man up from his seat with one hand and threw him clean across the room and into the window which spider webbed with cracks but held. The man crumpled to the ground unconscious. "Any more objections or would you like me to drain one of you?"
"What do you want?" The Prime Minister asked.
"I told you that in my message just before your Super Carrier and her escort ran into my mine field." Harry shrugged.
"That was you? We'll have you arrested!"
Harry shook his head and rubbed at his head before looking up at the one that had spoken. "Are you really that stupid?" Harry asked. "Arrest me? Do I look like a fucking human to you? I feed off of you guys! And really? You sent those ships there to wipe out a planet of humans."
"Putting them down just isn't an option." The Prime Minister seemed to be keeping his cool for the most part but Harry was sure that would change soon enough.
"Ah, so you do know how to listen." Harry mocked. "And putting them out of their miserable really is an option. All you have to do is incinerate them. Unfortunately not much else will work. I'd know. They're created from my blood."
"Not all of them are like that." A new man spoke up for the first time. Harry looked at him, he was wearing a senior military man's uniform.
"Oh you mean the one you turned with a pure sample of my blood rather than synthesised." Harry mocked. "No I suppose he's different. Quite good to keep around actually. He's good company. How'd you choose him anyway?"
"He's my son." The officer told him.
"So he volunteered did he?" Harry asked but the man seemed to miss the dangerous hint to his voice and he definitely didn't notice the figure walking up behind him.
"It was an honour for him to serve the Alliance. It was a decision I made for his benefit. He might not have agreed but in time he will see the advantages of it and when he returns to the right side he'll..."
"He'll what, father?" Luke hissed from just behind him. "Help you do what? Kill my Sire?"
"We created you, not him." The Prime Minister spoke up.
"You created a monster!" Luke hissed and lifted his father from his chair and held him clear off the floor by the neck. "Harry saved me. He helped me accept what I've become."
"Son..." Luke's father gasped out. "Come home... To your brother!"
Luke snarled and even if Harry had wanted to he probably couldn't have stopped what Luke was about to do. Luke threw his father straight into the shattered window and he crashed through it and out over the five hundred foot drop. Harry winced but his hearing didn't leave much to the imagination about what had just happened.
"You killed your father!" The Prime Minister was unnerved by that. Unsurprisingly.
"If he didn't, I would have." Harry told him with a toothy grin. "When you turned Luke he became family to me. That means any betrayals to him carry over to me and I don't take any form of betrayal lightly. So as I see it you have only one way to leave this room alive."
"What...?" One asked.
"You didn't think I just came to chat did you?" Harry mocked. "You have one chance and one chance only to order the destruction of the Ghouls. And you have exactly three minutes to do it so I'd suggest you start now."
"We plan to bring peace and unification to this system with that army." The Prime Minister told him.
Harry rolled his eyes. "The people don't want you telling them how to live." Harry shook his head. "They want to feel like they have a choice and forcing them to obey with an army of Ghouls isn't right and I won't allow something created from my blood to do that to the worlds that can't protect themselves. I've let your little Alliance survive the centuries but I'll tear it down if I have to. Starting from right here in this room and then with everyone that tries to take your place until somebody rises to the top that has some ounce of common sense. Even if that person is merely a clerk now."
"You're wasting your breath." One of them told him with a sneer. "Nothing can bring down the Alliance."
"Actually that little thing with the Reavers nearly did it. How many millions left the Central Planets after that little titbit came to light?" Harry laughed. "So what will it be, make the order or one of you dies."
"You said we had three minutes?" One asked.
"I said he had three minutes." Harry shrugged and hoisted the one that had sneered at him to his feet. "You lot are superfluous."
"Killing us gains you nothing." The one under his hand gasped out though Harry could smell the fear on him.
"Hello! Vampire!" Harry mocked before his head snaked forward and quite liberally tore out his throat. He didn't need to feed again. He threw the body back into his chair and his blood flooded down his front and onto the table. The remaining five at the table tensed in their chairs and one looked about ready to throw up. "Technically, I suppose, that was a waste."
"There are five more of them." Luke pointed out logically.
"That there is." Harry nodded just as an alarm started ringing. "It looks like they just found our friend down on the concrete. I still recon we've got a few minutes before they work out it was from here that he fell from and then a few more minutes before they realise that they can't reach your security."
"They'll slaughter the two of you." One glared as he stood up. Luke blurred and was behind him in a moment and he grabbed him and sunk his teeth into his neck and drank from him.
"Are you going to make that order?" Harry asked him but only got silence so he drew his pistol and without further ado he shot the last two in the head. Luke dropped his own prey and Harry sighed and finally turned to the Prime Minister. "Well I honestly didn't expect this to go any differently, why else do you think I skipped lunch?"
"You can kill me but that gains you nothing more than a cheap snack!" The Prime Minister glared at him with true, unadulterated, hatred in his eyes.
"I'm not going to kill you, Prime Minister." Harry mocked. "That's too easy. You're going to be staring into madness for the rest of your life with only horror to keep you company. You created a horror and so you're going to live it. Besides I want this message to stick."
Before the Prime Minister could speak Harry hoisted him to his feet and sunk his teeth into his neck and let the Prime Minister feel his mind, let it overcome him and splinter his human mind into a million fractured pieces that could never be reassembled. He'd be little more than a raving lunatic for the rest of his life. Harry dropped him to the floor and turned to Luke who was merely watching with silver eyes and an angry look at the world he'd once been a part of.
"Come on, babe, time to go." Harry told him and turned to the window. He paused at the edge and eyed the unconscious man by the edge and then shoved him with his foot over the edge and down towards the crowd below. "Below!" Harry yelled and received a slap on the arm from Luke for being childish. "Quickest way out I think."
Harry took a step forwards and was suddenly freefalling feet first for just under five seconds before he landed just beside the new splattered corpse. Luke landed with a thump beside him and the crowd took another second before they started screaming. Luke sighed and started forwards and soon both had vanished into the panicking crowd and were impossible to find in the city.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
Harry let Luke lead him through the city for eight miles on foot ignoring the emergency ships flying all over the city, searching for whoever or whatever had attacked and slaughtered the Ministers. He knew Luke was taking them to his family but Harry made no motion to stop him, if seeing his family allowed him to move on then that was a worthwhile delay in their escape.
They stopped in front of a large estate in the nicer residential district but Harry knew that nobody had lived there for months. "Your father must have moved them after you escaped." Harry spoke up and moved up to Luke's side and studied him. He was crying. "What are you going to do if you find them?"
"If you destroy the Alliance I don't want them to be a part of it. Nathan's only ten." Luke told him. "How do we find them?"
"He'll smell like you." Harry told Luke bluntly and walked into the house, smashing through the door easily enough. He found what was obviously Nathan's room and ran his fingers over the dusty counter. It was an old trail but Nathan had spent so much time here that he was able to pick up his scent since it was so similar to Luke's. Luke watched him from the doorway silently but followed him out into the hallway and up onto the roof where Harry merely shut his eyes and let himself relax. It was almost impossible to track someone down like this but Harry was a predator that preyed on humans, designed to work in secrecy and once he had a scent he could invariably follow that person to the ends of the solar system. Space was a small obstacle though.
"Nathan's still on Londinium, not much more than a few miles away." Harry told Luke before stepping off the edge of the building and onto the walkway up to the front door. "Let's go." He muttered to his friend before speeding up into a fast run that covered the distance in only a minute. They arrived at a smaller house but still just as nice but Harry could easily smell Nathan's presence here, a fresh scent. Luke sighed in relief as he recognised the voices inside.
"Don't kill either of them." Luke warned him.
"Luke..." Harry sighed. "I wasn't going to kill your mother and brother. I'm not that heartless."
"Just checking." Luke grinned at him before walking up to the front door and opening it. Harry followed him silently and they turned into the living room to see that both Luke's mother and brother were watching the TV. An emergency broadcast about the assassination of the Prime Minister and those he'd been with. There was a video of the second body falling from the wall quickly followed by two other figures but it was taken from a distance so to viewers the two figures merely merged into the crowd.
"What these creatures are nobody seems to know." The reporter on the scene was saying. "Only that they showed no mercy."
"Vampires are what they are." Luke spoke up and his mother and brother jumped at the intrusion but they soon recognised Luke as they stood and spun. Nathan leapt forwards and grabbed Luke around the waist even as their mother froze and went pale.
"Luke." Harry sighed. "She knows what your father did to you."
Luke looked up at his mother and narrowed his eyes. "You let him do this to me?"
"I don't know what you're talking about. Who are you?" She asked Harry.
"Tell the truth!" Harry hissed lacing his words as an order.
She gripped her head and gasped. "It was for the good of the Alliance. It was an honour for you that we couldn't pass up."
Luke hissed and wrapped his arms around Nathan who was trying to get away to find out what was happening. Harry knew what Luke wanted so it was he that spoke up. "Nathan, go upstairs and pack whatever you want to take with you. You're coming with us."
"What?" Nathan frowned. "Mum? Luke?"
"Do what Harry says, Nath." Luke whispered and pushed him off towards the stairs. Nathan paused at the doorway but then ran up the stairs.
"Luke..." His mother made to move closer but Luke hissed at her. His eyes turned silver and his fangs elongated. She staggered back in shock and gasped in horror.
"You shouldn't be scared." Luke told her. "You let them do this to me. You let father volunteer me for it without even asking me."
"Who are you and what have you done to my son?" She rounded on Harry.
"His blood had to come from somewhere." Harry shrugged.
"Blood?" She frowned.
"Looks like dear little mother didn't know what father volunteered you for." Harry shrugged. "Still, she had to know you wouldn't like it or they would have asked you."
"That's right." Luke narrowed his eyes.
"You were willing to lose one son, now I'm going to make you lose the other." Luke hissed at her. "I'm taking Nath with me."
"You can't do that!" She denied him.
Luke took a few steps forwards so fast that only Harry could follow him with his eyes. He was inches from her before she could even flinch. "I can do what I want and I don't trust the Alliance not to try again and I don't trust you to protect Nath so he's coming with me and Harry where I can keep him safe."
"You're a monster!" She hissed.
"No, deary." Harry sneered. "The Alliance were monsters and now they're insane, bled out in their office or splattered on the plaza."
She stared at Luke in shock. "You killed your own father?"
"He was willing to kill me first to create an army to slaughter millions." Luke hissed. "You should be glad I don't kill you too."
"What would that gain you?"
"This again?" Harry laughed. "We're Vampires. Blood is like air to us, you have it and we need it."
"Besides it would make sure that Nathan stays safe." Luke glared at her. Harry turned to look at Nathan who was standing in the doorway again with a rucksack over his shoulder. He was pale but surprisingly calm.
"Luke, we're leaving." Harry told him before moving up to his side. He snapped out a hand faster than his mother could see and touched the side of her head and stunned her with a bare thought, sending her crumpling to the ground. "You'll never see her again, either of you."
"I know." Luke nodded and turned to his little brother and crouched down. "Nath, are you alright?" Nathan nodded and jumped up to his brother again and hugged him. "We're going to take you away from here now, Nath. Where they can't do to you what they did to me."
"We'll be able to move faster if you carry him." Harry announced.
"My father should have a pod nearby for official use." Luke told him even as he straightened up and pulled Nathan into his arms with ease. "It'll be in the hanger beside the house."
Harry nodded and moved towards the door and walked over to the garage like hanger beside the house. He broke through the looked door as if there was no lock and checked the pod over externally to make sure it was in one piece while Luke took Nathan inside. He hit the roof release and ducked into the pod and up into the cockpit while Luke just sat with Nathan inside talking to him quietly though Harry could have heard if he wanted to.
They were in the air in seconds and out into space. They were pinged by one of the space stations but Harry sent an automated message back saying the ship was rendezvousing with a military ship and since the pod's ID code was a military one they ignored him from then on. It would only be a few seconds though before one of the military ships in orbit that were on high alert realised that the pod wasn't heading for any of them but by then Harry would be out of reach and they wouldn't fire thinking that there was nowhere for the pod to go since they wouldn't be able to pick up the Firefly until they registered one of the asteroids moving away from the belt.
As they moved into the asteroid field Harry used his eyes to try to spot the Serenity visually since all he could see on the pods scanners were asteroids. He flew the ship through one of the few channels that Malcolm could have navigated his ship and as he watched he spotted the Serenity moving out from behind one of the larger asteroids. Almost instantly the pod's proximity alarm picked up the moving object on an intercept course but Harry silenced the alarm and guided the pod up to the opening pod bay on the side of the Serenity and slowly docked her. To the military ships around Londinium the pod flew into the asteroid field and vanished but it wouldn't be long before the Serenity was spotted as an asteroid on an exit course. He shut the pod down once it was folded into the side of the ship and then headed down to where Luke was opening the hatch.
"We haven't been formally introduced." Harry told Nathan and held out a hand to the small boy. "My name is Harry."
"Nathan." Nathan told him quietly. "Are you like Luke?"
"Yeah." Harry nodded. "I'm helping him learn what it's like."
"He said you're really old." Nathan told him and Luke looked up and shrugged.
"Try six hundred odd years, Nathan." Harry laughed. "Come on, let's go meet the crew."
"Is this your ship?" Nathan asked in excitement.
"No." Harry shook his head and Nathan's smile vanished. "Mines much bigger than this one but it'll be a couple of weeks before we're back on Vetegal."
Harry led Luke and Nathan out of the pod and into the corridor where they were met by Malcolm, Zoe, Jayne, Simon and Kaylee which meant that River was flying. "You seem to have picked up a stray." Malcolm pointed out. "We didn't discuss rescuing anyone."
Nathan attached himself to Luke's side and the young Vampire rested an arm around his shoulders and glared at Malcolm. Harry stepped in. "He's Luke's kid brother." Harry told him sharply.
"Ah, well that explains it." Malcolm nodded accepting it easily. "Welcome to my ship then, kid."
"His name's Nathan." Luke told them.
"My name's Captain Reynolds. This is my first mate, Zoe. My Engineer, Kaylee. Doctor Simon Tam and crewman Jayne. Doctor Tam's sister River is up in the cockpit." Malcolm introduced quickly. "Kaylee, take Nathan and Luke to the spare cabin."
Harry gestured for Luke to go knowing that Malcolm wanted to talk to him about something. Luke walked off with Nathan under his arm. "How much trouble did you get in down there? The news is littered with it. Two dead Ministers on the plaza, another five dead and you turned the Prime Minister into a lunatic. And you were filmed jumping from a fifty story building."
"In my defence it wasn't me that put the first one out of the window." Harry defended. "That was Luke."
"And why did he do that?" Jayne asked.
"It was his father." Harry shrugged.
"He...?" Jayne gaped. "Threw his own father to his death?"
"The bastard lost the right to be his father after donating his eldest son to medical experimentation." Harry hissed as his eyes turned silver and his fangs showed. "His father admitted to volunteering Luke to become the test rat with my blood to see what would happen. If I hadn't have shown up with you guys and freed him he probably would have broken out and ran murderous throughout that world. His mother was in on it too though she didn't know it was Vampire blood they were testing. Luke wanted to get his brother out so we did."
"And all the dead bodies you left behind?" Malcolm asked.
"I went to send a message. I gave them ample chance to order the destruction of the Ghouls but they ignored me. There's no point fighting a war with these guys when watching me kill Ministers isn't enough to change their minds." Harry told them simply.
"And when they're replaced by the same sort of people?" Zoe asked.
"Then I'll go back there and kill them too." Harry pointed out. "And again and again until one of them realises that they can't beat me like this."
"And when their armada arrives above Vetegal?" Simon asked.
"That's why we've got to get back there and pick up the Prism." Harry told them. "There are a few things on the outskirts that I need to pick up for this war."
"A few things?" Malcolm asked.
"A few things from Earth." Harry said simply. "Then this becomes war. Reggie sent out a call to arms against the Alliance in my name before we left. Any person willing to fight against these Ghouls will show up on Vetegal and after Ghouls start wiping out planets then more and more will join."
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
Three weeks later
Two weeks from Londinium to Vetegal and then a few days to bring the Prism back from her repairs and now after a few more days of travel to the outskirts of the system the cargo ship slowly slipped around a small moon. The Serenity was latched to the thin joining section and her crew were in Harry's cockpit along with Luke and his little brother as they approached the surface of the moon and to a place that Harry hadn't been to in fifteen years. Not since getting a crew for the Prism again and returning to handling cargo.
The lights of the Prism pushed out ahead of them across the barren surface of the moon where the sun's rays were too dim to light it up even the scarcest amount. Harry slowed his ship down to a bare crawl and the lamps suddenly had nothing to light up as the ground fell away into a large chasm like valley. The Prism slowed to a complete halt just off the edge of the cliff and Harry reached up to the console and brought the lamps to their full blinding brightness and suddenly the darkness of the valley was pierced but it wasn't empty.
Two ships sat on the surface, larger than anything they had ever seen before. Larger even than the big cities on Londinium. Huge megaliths of power that the lamps traced with white light, showing huge engines, a large bridge across the front of the closest. These had cargo bays big enough for Harry to land three Prisms and that was with room to spare.
Guarded and hidden by Harry and his friends and now just Harry. Kept running for hundreds of years on this desolate and forgotten moon, on the edge of civilisation. These were just two of the four ships that Harry had kept that had brought humanity to this system after the exodus of Earth.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
End Chapter
