Thanks to: Davelister, Darklight, YoraththeWolf, Dogbertcarroll, Anime-Ronin, Zeon, Genesis, JA Baker, Eternally Lost Zeppo, and Davis, I appreciate the reviews
Davelister: I have no doubt we will eventually see Sgt. Johnson at the least, but I think I am going to leave Foehammer out as I am taking up the story after the events of First Strike, which means the time difference would be too big.
YoraththeWolf: Read on.
JA Baker: Thanks for the review, and I'm looking forward o the next chapter in your story as well.
I have decided to at the very least hold off for a while on the SG-1 crossover, as I already have lots of plans that don't require them. Sorry it took a while to get this chapter out, but I think you'll enjoy it, so maybe it was worth the wait.
On a side note: Whoo! Go Team Canada! Way to kick the crap out of those Russians! About time we got a gold! (Worold Junior Hockey)
Anyways, that all so on with the story!
Chapter 5
Career week had been particularly... interesting. Xander had been constantly patrolling, taking out demons and vampires at a ferocious pace. Meanwhile Buffy had fought off a couple of assassins, and saved Angel from another Slayer, Kendra. Giles and Cortana agreed that it would probably be for the best to keep Kendra in the dark about Xander, and as a result Xander had not met her, instead staying out of the way while letting Buffy and Kendra do their jobs. Now, with the main danger gone and the assassins dispatched, Xander was looking forward to a nice, quite weekend. The USS Patrick Henry, a Nimitz class aircraft carrier, was making a stop in port for a few days, and Giles had assured Xander that this would make for a relatively quiet weekend. Vampires knew that dead sailors brought more questions, and more scrutiny to their little haven, so they stayed quiet while the Navy was in town. Xander was looking forward to relaxing, and maybe even getting a full 8 hours of sleep.
Cortana was getting frustrated. The mysterious Covenant style hacker had attempted several times to reappropriate funds from various areas, and though Cortana was able to stop him, the connection was always terminated before she could get a solid fix on his position. She had tracked it to somewhere in California, but could do no better than that for the time being. She had, however determined that he was looking for the technologies necessary to construct a rudimentary plasma weapon, something that added more confusion to the situation. First off, why would a Covenant agent of some kind be operating in Sunnydale, and secondly what possible use could they have for 20th century human plasma technology. Granted, it was further along in this reality, in fact it was as good if not better than the 25th century humans had in her reality, but still completely obsolete compared to the Covenant. Little did she know, she was about to get her answer.
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Though Warren's attempts to obtain more funds through the internet had been thrwarted by a mysterious force, he was unconcerned. He had all the parts he needed to complete his prototype. And with the arrival of an aircraft carrier in port, well, he would soon have all the funds he needed. Warren activated the power module then closed the access hatch. His creation lurched forward, then stood up smoothly and appeared to stretch a little in a very lifelike way. It looked down at Warren. "How may I best serve the glory of the Covenant?" It asked in a booming voice.
Warren just grinned.
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The next day Xander was awoken by the hologram of Cortana, shaking him violently. "Wake up already!" She said loudly, giving him one last shove. "We have a big problem."
"What's going on?" Xander asked while yawning. "More Covenant appear?"
"Yes and no." Cortana replied, tossing him a shirt. "None of the wards that Giles and Willow put in place have been breached, but the USS Patrick Henry was robbed last night."
Xander stood straight up. "What?! Someone robbed an aircraft carrier? What did they steal, a plane?"
"No, money." Cortana replied. "Most aircraft carriers have several million dollars in small bills onboard. In the case of the Patrick Henry, a little over six million dollars."
"Okay, but I don't see why this is our problem." Xander replied. "Can't we leave this to the navy?"
"Well normally yes." Cortana replied. "However, since in this case eight sailors were killed with what appears to be a plasma weapon of some kind, then no I think we should get involved."
"Oh. Crap." Xander said as the realization sunk in.
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The Scoobies looked at the holographic images Cortana had extrapolated from pictures of one of the dead sailors with unmasked disgust. "Look at the pattern of burning across the chest, almost as though the plasma had struck him and splashed across his chest, there is even some on his arm." Cortana commented calmly. "Interesting."
"What does that tell us?" Buffy asked, grimacing at the sight of the charred flesh.
"It tells us that while advanced, this plasma weapon is not quite up to the standards of normal Covenant technology." Cortana explained. "While the plasma splashing over the flesh would cause great pain, it means that the weapon lacks the power to put down a target with just one shot. The plasma rifle, and to a lesser extent the plasma pistol, are designed to deliver a concentrated burst of plasma that burns deep into a target, causing great internal damage and killing faster."
"So that's good right?" Willow said. "That means that the Covenant aren't here, though I guess we would already know that because of the wards that Giles and I put up but they've never been tested so-"
"Well you could look at is as good or bad." Cortana said, cutting off Willow in mid babble. "One the one hand, no there aren't Covenant forces running through Sunnydale unchecked, on the other hand..."
"It means that someone has plasma technology and isn't afraid to use it to get what they want." Xander finished.
"There's more." Cortana added. "For the past couple of weeks I've been tracking a hacker who's been trying to steal money over the Internet."
"So?" Buffy asked. "Don't people do that like, everyday?"
"Yes, but normal people don't use Covenant code algorythms." Cortana replied. "I've stopped him every time, but before I found out what he was doing, he stole all the information he could on plasma technology."
"But if the Covenant are as advanced as you say, what would anyone with knowledge of them need with human plasma technology?" Giles asked. "It seems as though they would be taking quite a step backward."
"True, but at the same time plasma technology has come along a lot faster than it did in my reality." Cortana replied. "The plasma cutter is a recent invention in my reality, as where it is a common tool today. With some rudimentary knowledge of Covenant technology and the research from this reality, it would be possible to make a fairly effective plasma weapon."
"So where is this hacker?" Xander demanded.
"I don't know." Cortana confessed. "He's enabled a kill switch that cuts his connection every time I mess with something he's doing. I've been able to track him to California, and if this is any indication he's probably in Sunnydale, but I haven't the slightest clue where."
"So when he figured out that he couldn't get money over the Internet, he waited until the Patrick Henry stopped here, then robbed it where he knew you couldn't interfere." Xander reasoned. "Now we have a homocidal maniac on the loose with six million dollars, and plasma technology. This is not good."
"With that money, I have estimated that he could make at least one thousand units." Cortana said. "Enough to equip a small army."
"This doesn't make any sense." Oz said. "What good is weapons for an army without an army?"
"I agree." Xander said. "We're missing something, I just wish I knew what it was."
"Wish I could stay to help, but I have to go." Buffy said. "My mom wants me to meet her new boyfriend, Ted." She made a face at his name. "I can't believe my mom is dating someone, it's something I so do not want to visualize."
"See you later Buffy." Xander said, distracted by the holograms. "What could I possibly be missing?"
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Warren looked at the millions of dollars in front of him greedily. This money represented all he had, and was still, working for. He looked up at his creation. "You have done well, 01." He said, nodding his thanks. "Soon ranks of your brothers with rise and together you will take this town and this filthy planet, razing it for the glory of the Covenant."
"I live to serve." Was the machine's simple response. "How may I serve the Covenant best in the mean time?"
"For now we will wait." Warren replied. "The area is already under close scrunity from the Navy, no need to draw more attention to ourselves until we are ready. However, there are some parts that I require. I will need you to acquire them, but do it discreetly. Do not kill anyone unless you absolutely have to. Do you understand?"
"Understood." Warren's soldier replied. "What do you need to acquire?"
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Buffy rushed into the library, on the verge of tears. "Buffy, what's wrong?" Asked Giles, looking up from the book he was researching.
"I... I..." Buffy said, her lip trembling. "Ted hit me, and I was really mad and sorta hit him back and he, he fell. He fell down the stairs."
"Is he okay?" Xander asked.
"He's dead." Buffy answered quietly. "I killed him."
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Xander had taken over patrolling duties for the night while Giles and Willow tried to console the distraught Slayer. He was walking through the industrial area of Sunnydale when he caught a blip of movement of his HUD. It was large, slightly larger than a human and moving quite quickly. He turned a corner and was shocked to see an Elite carrying a clump of mechanical devices that could be batteries of some kind, actuators, circuit boards and other such things. The Elite placed the pile of stuff in a wheelbarrow, then stiffened as it saw Xander standing there observing him. Xander swung his battle rifle off his shoulder and took aim, firing a quick three round burst that caught the Elite in the chest. To his surprise, the bullets bounced with a succession of sparks, rather than hitting shields.
"Cortana?" Xander asked. "What's going on?"
"I don't know." Cortana said. "I have never encountered an Elite without shields before. Maybe his shield generator malfunctioned. Xander and Cortana cut their debate short as the Elite removed a crudely constructed plasma weapon from the wheelbarrow. It was larger than a normal plasma rifle, and lacked casing. Tubes and wires were visible leading to the muzzle. The Elite fired a shot that struck Xander in the leg, exploding over his shields in a blue blast. The damage to his shields was minimal and Xander returned fire, unleashing four bursts of fire on the enemy. The bullets all sparked as they bounced off, leaving dents in the armour of the Elite but no other damage.
"What the hell! I thought this thing cut through Elites like a hot knife through butter!" Xander hissed.
"Well there's only so much I can do!" Cortana shot back. "It's not my fault you people are still using cordite to fire bullets! Besides, Covenant armour isn't supposed to be that tough."
Xander could not reply though, as he was shocked by what he saw. The Elite had put the weapon down and was running, fleeing the scene with his stolen mechanical swag. He took off after him, but the Elite was as fast and had a head start. Xander soon lost in a maze of factories and transformers. "Okay, what the hell is going on?" Xander asked rhetorically. "An Elite running away? That doesn't happen. Grunts? Sure. Jackals? It's possible, but an Elite?"
"I know, it just doesn't happen." Cortana said. "And those bullets should have put him down, especially without any shields. Elite armour generates a shield, and other than that is strictly a denotation of rank. And what would an Elite want with a bunch of human electronics?"
"Not to mention that gun. It looked like it was put together in someone's basement." Xander commented, turning around and heading back to his patrol route. "Let's finish our patrol, then we'll go talk to Giles, see if the wards were breached."
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Warren looked at the parts that his lieutenant had collected. "Hmm, most of this will be useful. These circuit boards are garbage though, they've all been broken. What happened?"
"I apologize." The Elite replied. "I was forced to make a hasty escape, and in my rush they must have been damaged."
Warren examined the Elite closer, noting the small dents that covered his chest plate. "Security guards caught you?"
"No, I was intercepted by a warrior of some kind." The Elite replied. "His armour appeared to be protected by a shield of some sort."
Warren narrowed his eyes, then turned around and sorted through a pile of books on his desk, retrieving The Fall of Reach. "Was this him?" He asked, pointing to the picture of a Spartan of the front.
"His armour differed slightly from this." The Elite replied. "Perhaps a newer version."
Warren cursed. "I should have known my luck wasn't that good. It just has to be a Spartan, too." He spun around and examined the armour again, noting the areas where the shell had cracked and the Kevlar skin was visible underneath. "Still, if he couldn't even destroy you it may not be as much of a problem as I would expect." Warren considered. "Go recharge, I will need you at full capacity soon."
The Elite bowed. "I live to serve." He said.
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Xander had arrived at the library just in time to be dragged out of it by Willow, who declared that they were going to Ted's apartment. Apparently Giles had eaten a cookie made by Ted, and his drastic mood change had caused Willow to investigate. Apparently they were laced with chemicals. Upon arrival, they found some shocking things, not the least of which were the four wives in the closet. While this was horrifying, what was more interesting to Xander was the apparent discovery that Ted was a robot. "I can't believe someone has the technology to make such a lifelike robot!" Xander exclaimed. There was something that was nagging at the back of his head, but for the time he chose to ignore it. "We better get to Buffy." He said. "If Ted's a robot, then…"
"He's not really dead! Oh god!" Willow said. She and Xander rushed out of the house and ran to Buffy's house, only to see Buffy standing over the now faceless Ted. Where his face should have been was a mess of wires and metal. Buffy was breathing heavily and had a skillet in hand. Xander turned to see that Joyce was lying unconscious in the living room. "Come on." He coaxed. "We better get him out of here before she wakes up. I know Cortana would want to see this."
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"Remarkable." Cortana commented. "Such advanced mechanical design. Look at all the design of the hands, especially. I can't believe any of you primitives would be able to construct such a complex piece of machinery."
Xander ignored the barb and examined the structure of Ted. She and Cortana had stripped away the rest of the artificial skin, leaving only the mechanical skeleton and placed it in Xander's warehouse/lab. A though suddenly burst into his head like a bomb. "If someone built this, would it be possible that someone built the Elite too?" Xander asked. "I mean, it wouldn't really have to be more advanced. Hell, Ted fooled all of us into thinking he was human. Just slap some armour plating on him and he's a robotic soldier right?"
"It would explain a lot." Cortana mused. "I had already considered the possibility, and I feel that is the most likely scenario. I've already created several mags worth of armour piercing rounds, take those with you for your next patrols. With any luck they should do the trick against the mechanical Elites."
"You mean Elite, right?" Xander asked.
"I'm assuming from our experience the other night that whoever stole the money is the one controlling that Elite, and now that he has the money he'll try to build more of them." Cortana replied. "So no, I mean Elites."
"That's a pleasant thought." Xander replied. "Not enough that I have to fight demons and Elites, now I have to fight damn robots too." He grumbled as he left the lab, leaving Cortana to continue her examination.
"I'll keep my ear to the ground." She called as he left.
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Xander sat down across from Buffy in the cafeteria. She was picking uninterestedly at a salad. "Hey." He greeted glumly. "How's my favourite Slayer doing today?"
"From the sounds of it, better than my favourite Spartan." She teased. "You and Cortana have a fight or something?"
"Nah, she just told me that someone in town is probably building an army of robotic Elites." Xander replied.
"Like Ted?" Buffy asked.
"Except bullet proof." Xander confirmed.
"Hey, whatever it is, we'll deal with it." Buffy said. "You've been doing your own thing lately, but we're still a team."
"To be honest, I don't know if you can help me with this." Xander replied. "It's not that you can't take care of yourself, you're just not really equipped for this kind of fight, and it's not really your fight anyways."
"It wasn't really your fight when you and Willow decided to help me." Buffy countered.
"This is different." Xander replied.
"It's always different Xander!" Buffy replied angrily, though she kept her voice low. "What the hell Xander, over the last couple of weeks we've barely seen you! Other than training with me the only person you let help you with anything isn't even real, they're just a damn computer program!"
"Cortana is a hell of a lot more than that." Xander replied, his own anger rising. "And yes, I don't want you to help. You know why? Spartans by nature aren't team players Buffy. Normal soldiers help us, they die, so we work alone."
"Like Slayers do?" Buffy asked. "You know, for someone who's helped me get rid of the notion of being a lone wolf you are being a pretty big hippocrate."
"It's different!" Xander said harshly. "The council wants you to work alone because they think having a life outside slaying will distract you. I work alone because I can do things no one else can. You may be strong and fast, but plasma still burns you just as bad as anyone else!"
"That's bullshit!" Buffy said loud enough that a few students glanced over. "You're holding out on me Xander, I know there's more to it than that."
"Look Buffy, just drop it." Xander pleaded. "I don't want to get into this with you."
"Then I don't want to be around you Xander." Buffy replied angrily. "When you're willing to cut the crap let me know." She picked up her tray and stormed off angrily.
"Smooth." Larry called from another table. Xander shot him a death glare, then turned and gazed unhappily at his now unwanted lunch.
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Willow looked up as Xander walked into the library. "Is Buffy here?" He asked warily.
Willow shook her head. "She was here earlier, she looked pretty mad. What happened?"
"We got into a bit of an argument." Xander replied, sighing.
"Want to talk about it?" Willow asked.
"Not really." Xander replied. They fell silent for a moment before Xander spoke up. "She's mad because I've been doing my own thing lately."
"Well, you have been kinda, well, lonery of late." Willow said.
"I just don't want you guys involved in my fights." Xander said. "Spartans don't work well with others."
"I think Buffy said the same thing when we wanted to help her at first." Willow countered.
"But it's different!" Xander exclaimed. "None of Buffy's enemies shoot plasma weapons or needlers."
"No but some are just as dangerous." Willow said. "Come on Xander I know there's more to it than that. You think you can keep secrets from me? I've known you for waaayyy too long."
"Someone once taught the Master Chief about the difference between lives spent and lives wasted." Xander said quietly.
"So you're worried that our lives will be wasted?" Willow asked.
"No, I'm worried that I won't hesitate to spend yours, Buffy's, or mine." Xander replied. "I don't ever, ever, want to be in a situation where I have to spend one of your lives, do you understand?"
"I do, but Buffy won't." Willow said. "Every time we patrol with her she feels the same way, Xander. It's part of being a leader."
"I'm not a leader." Xander said. "I don't want that kind of responsibility."
"No one does." Giles said, emerging from his office. "That's how you separate the heroes from the rest of us, they are ones who ignore what they want and take that responsibility anyways. Buffy has already done that and you're going to learn to do it too."
"Why?" Xander demanded. "Why can't you just let me work alone?"
"Xander, like it or not we are in this together." Giles replied. "Any time something Covenant related occurs, we are in uncharted waters. The only one qualified to lead us through them is you. Even Buffy accepts that. Why do you think she listened to everything you said when the two of you encountered the Hunters? "
Xander stood silently, considering Giles' words. "I need to take a walk." Xander finally decided. "Maybe go kill something. I'll see you guys later." Xander walked out of the library lost in thought.
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When Xander returned Buffy was kicking the crap out of a punching bag that Giles was futilely attempting to keep stationary. When Buffy saw Xander enter the library she redoubled her efforts, sending both Giles and the bag several feet back with a powerful sidekick. Giles dropped to the ground, gasping for air. "Xander!" He called. "Sweet merciful god! Train with Buffy, I'm going to sit down, see if perhaps my vision will return to some semblance or normality."
Xander grabbed to bag and stood steady as Buffy wailed on it again. "I thought I told you to go away." She said angrily, stopping for a moment.
"I'm sorry." Xander said. "Really, I shouldn't have been so condescending before."
"Look, I just want you to be straight with me." Buffy said.
"The truth is, I don't know if I'm ready to lay down your life." Xander said. "How do you do it? Lead us into battle every week, knowing that one of us could be killed at any time?"
Buffy's expression changed to one of understanding. "It's not easy." She said softly. "I can't guarantee that anyone will survive and I can't always protect those that I care about."
"It's not even my life I'm worried about." Xander continued. "And I know on the battlefield I won't hesitate to send any one of you to death if it makes the difference. It's afterwards I'm worried about. How could I live with myself?"
"Honestly Xander I don't have all the answers." Buffy replied. "You just do your best, you know? We've all accepted that we could die doing this, and I don't think any one of us would hesitate to sacrifice ourselves if it meant saving the rest of us. I understand now why you were cutting us off, but you can't. The fact is, we're safer together than we ever will be apart. You and Willow taught me that a long time ago."
Xander gave Buffy a smile, though he still didn't agree with her entirely. Spartans worked with other Spartans or they worked alone, everyone else was little more than a liability. Still, if they were unwilling to sit on the sidelines, there was little he could do. "Thanks Buffy." Xander said, feigning cheerfulness. Inside, he felt as though he had lost.
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One Week Later
Warren examined his creations. He had now completed all the robots he could, a total of thirty at a cost of roughly $200000 a piece. Regardless, he now had a force large enough to accomplish his objective. "Brave Covenant warriors." He said loudly. "Our time is at hand, we will take this planet for the glory of the Covenant!"
"We live to serve!" Thirty Elites replied loudly.
"Your first objective is the military base just outside of town." Warren said, pointing to the moderate sized base on a map. "Try to do as little damage to the base itself as possible, as I will make it into our headquarters and the weapons stockpiled there could prove useful."
"Sir." 01 said. "If we should run into the demon?"
"The Spartan could not even eliminate you, 01." Warren replied. "Your combined might will crush him easily. Now go, secure the base! Eliminate all soldiers who resist!"
The group of Elites turned and quickly left, slipping outside in the cover of night.
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Xander and Buffy were patrolling when Xander saw something extremely alarming appear on his motion tracker. "Multiple contacts!" He shouted. "Buffy! Get out of sight!" Buffy leapt up and pulled herself onto the roof of a single story building while Xander drew his rifle to the ready position. From around the side of a building came a massive group of Elites, Xander estimated at least twenty-five. "Cortana?" He asked.
"My guess is robots." Cortana replied. "You would never see that many Elites normally.
Xander popped an AP mag into his rifle and stood ready. He fired, catching the lead Elite in the arm. It swung back from the impact and Xander saw that the bullets had done some damage, it was now moving in a jerky fashion.
01 looked down at his left arm, which while damaged, was not his weapon arm. "28, 29, 30. Destroy the demon!" It called. Three Elites broke off from the group and levelled weapons, firing blasts of plasma towards Xander while the rest of the group kept heading for the base. Xander's shields dropped about twenty five percent, and he levelled his rifle and returned fire, hitting the middle Elite in the chest. Though holes appeared, the damage did not appear to be serious. Xander fired the rest of the clip into the robot, running to avoid plasma blasts as he did. Finally, just as his gun clicked empty, the robot shorted and went down, covered in holes from head to toe. The other two hardly noticed, continuing to move forward and bombard Xander with fire. Xander ducked behind a dumpster and reloaded. He waited a few seconds for his almost completely drained shields to recharge, then swung around and brought his rifle to bear, firing three three round bursts all aimed perfectly at the head of one of the robots. The bullets tore through the fake skin and punched holes in the metal skull, damaging several key systems. However, the robot refused to go down, firing erratically with decreased accuracy.
"God damn these things are tough!" Xander said angrily. He fired another burst, hitting the head again. This time, the structure couldn't take the stress and the entire skull popped off the robot, which promptly dropped to the ground. Xander again popped a fresh clip into the rifle, then turned and ran at the last robot, ignoring the fact that his shields were dropping fast. He set his weapon to full auto and kicked the plasma rifle out of the robot's hands as his shields dropped entirely, then put the muzzle of the rifle right up against the chest of the robot and held down the trigger.
In a matter of seconds the clip had emptied itself into the robot's gut. The Elite's mechanical innards had been blasted into shrapnel. Fluids seeped out of the numerous holes in the chest, then the robot simply seized up entirely, still standing.
"Nice work." Buffy said from the roof.
"The problem is there are 27 more of them." Xander replied grimly. "We need to find out where they're going."
"Not going to be a problem." Cortana told him. "I'm picking up transmissions, it looks like the military base just outside of town is under attack."
"They're attacking a military base?" Buffy asked.
"Not just attacking, conquering." Xander said. "There's no way those army boys will hold off twenty seven Elites, I almost got toasted by these three."
"So what are we gonna do?" Buffy asked. "We can't just let those army guys die."
"I don't have the firepower to take on that many." Xander said. "Maybe if they weren't so damn tough, but…"
"I think I can help you out." Cortana said. "Let's head back to the warehouse. Buffy, go get Giles and meet us there."
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"So are you planning to tell us just how we are going to take on twenty seven Elites without an army?" Xander asked. Giles and Buffy were standing beside him, looking around the lab in a state of awe.
Cortana, who was in front of them, simply stepped forward at opened the garage style door in front of her. Inside was a Warthog.
"I figured you needed a set of wheels, and while I was at it, I figured I might as well built you a set that can mount a mini-MAC." Cortana said with a smirk.
"Mini-MAC?" Giles asked.
"Magnetic Accelerator Cannon." Cortana replied.
"In other words, a big honking gun." Xander said.
"Big enough to punch a bowling ball sized hole in, oh, say, a robot Elite?" Cortana said.
"Okay." Xander decided. "Giles, you drive. I'll take the gun."
"What about me?" Buffy asked.
"Ooh, he saved you the fun job." Cortana said.
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The twenty-seven Elites had congregated in the middle of the base, which now lay strewn with bodies. Several soldiers who had surrendered were now lying face down on the ground. Smoke curled from the three gun emplacements that the robots had been forced to destroy, but otherwise the base was quite intact.
The front gate was also intact, at least, it was when the Elites had taken the base. With a mighty roar the Warthog smashed through the wooden gate and screeched to a stop a couple hundred feet away from the group of Elites. One of them stepped forward and raised his weapon to fire.
Inside his helmet, Xander grinned. "No chance buddy." He pulled the trigger on the mini-MAC and with a strange fwooshing sound a cannonball sized projectile flew towards the Elite at unbelievable speed. It hit him in the chest, sending him flying back and tumbling head over heels. When the robot stopped rolling, it was little more than a tangled mass of metal. The others, who had been watching, turned just in time to see the rocket strike another Elite. He, and the Elite beside him were blown apart by the shaped high explosive charge in the nose.
From her perch in the Warthog, Buffy grinned. "Cortana wasn't kidding, you did save me the fun job. Thanks Xander."
"Anytime." Xander replied simply, firing another round and eliminating another robot. Now, they spread out and began to fire at the Warthog. "Keep us moving, Giles!" Xander commanded. "Circle the base or something, we're sitting ducks!"
Giles floored it and the Warthog fishtailed a little before straightening out. Xander kept firing, picking off the Elites one by one with grim accuracy. "Buffy, nail any that get too close!" Xander shouted over the noise of the engine. He fired another shot, taking a robot's head clean off.
Plasma fire rained over the base, and the occasional bolt struck the truck, boiling away some of the titanium A that protected the frame of the truck. The captives, now realising that the fight was bock on, ran towards the armoury. One of them emerged with an LAW, took careful aim and fired, blasting away an Elite that was focused on the Warthog.
One of the Elites ran in front, taking aim and firing at the windscreen of the truck. "Get down!" Xander shouted at Giles, who ducked under the dashboard as plasma splashed over the glass, melting it down and leaving fizzling holes in the hood. Xander aimed and fired, missing just to the left and punching a five foot deep hole in the concrete. Giles, who had not taken his foot off the accelerator, hit the robot at over one hundred kilometres per hour, sending it flying then running it over again and crushing it under the mass of the two-ton truck.
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Warren, who was watching the battle unfold through the eyes of 01, screamed in rage. "Abort!" He shouted into the microphone. "All Elites are to retreat!"
"Understood." Came the reply from 01.
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"Hey, they're running!" Buffy said happily. The eight remaining Elites were hightailing it out of the base as fast as they could, leaving behind strewn mechanical parts and a cheering group of ragged soldiers. Xander managed to pick off one more before they were out of sight.
"Let's chase them!" Buffy shouted.
"No!" Xander said. "It's bad enough that we just drove a Warthog through a military base, I'm not taking through the town as well. We'll get them next time. Nice work, everyone." Xander looked at Giles and Buffy with pride, and a little more battlefield respect than he had before. Maybe working as a team won't be so bad, Xander thought.
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Warren screamed in rage. More than three quarters of his forces had been wiped out in a matter of minutes, and he didn't even know who had done it. "I swear, with the great prophets as my witness, I will kill that fucking demon!" He screamed to no one.
End chap 5
Hope you guys liked that chapter, sorry again for the wait. Anyways, thanks for reading and please leave a review!