"You'd think that they'd never seen a woman before," Beka muttered under her breath.
Trance smiled knowingly, pushing past the stunned wall of warriors, Harper right behind her.
"Buffy, that was phenomenal, where did you learn how to do that?"
"Here and there. Some my Watcher taught me, the rest I picked up on the fly, watching Xander's action films and just doing whatever feels natural."
"Xander," asked Harper.
"One of my best friends back home, you and he would have gotten along great, you're so much alike," she remarked with a grin.
"Oh," slightly disappointed that once again, he had been delegated to 'friend' status with a woman, but nothing gets him down for long. Noticing the pensive looks of the Neitzscheans, Harper was struck with the wonderful feeling he got when provoking Tyr. This'll be oh so much fun, he thought gleefully.
"So Buffy, I was wondering, about your whole Slayer thing and all," he began grinning, "is it some genetic thing or is it just some whole mystical legacy that makes you so super strong and damn near invincible."
"I actually never really thought about it, I always assumed that, Slayer died another was called but…" she started, remembering her dream. Connected…by blood, by bone, and by our souls. "I never really checked to see, I mean, hey human here, but…anyway, how could I even check. Back in the day a DNA test was pretty damn expensive."
The Neitzschean's came to sudden attention, speculatively looking from Harper to Buffy.
This was the first the Orca's had heard of Buffy's special skills, having only seen the barest indication while she was on board their ships and today. To both clans, this woman was clearly a superior example of the human gene pool, and they were willing to overlook her homo sapien status and start to court her if her genes proved suitable. But to learn that she was even better than what they had only previously witnessed, that she was stronger, more able…like them, begged further investigation.
"Really," asked Dylan, interested in their discussion.
"Yeah, I mean, you only did it if you were going on Jerry Springer or something and wanted to find out if your baby was really yours and not your down home, two-headed cousin's from Oklahoma, who liked to lick his feet for fun every Fourth of July."
"Okay," Dylan said, trying to figure out if what she just said was in any way English.
"Cool," enthused Harper.
At least he got my joke, Buffy thought, taking a look at the stoic Neitzscheans.
"DNA tests have become more standardized since the twenty-second century," Rommie inserted, ever helpful. "If you want, we can run a scan. I'll just need a sample of your genetic material."
"Ummm," Buffy began, not exactly thrilled with the thought of being poked and prodded.
Seeing her discomfort, Rommie quickly reached into her pocket and removed a tube. She approached Buffy and gave her a light tap on her forearm with the device. Buffy jerked back, unhurt but perplexed.
"What did you…?"
"I just extracted a small amount of blood. The barbaric form of tissue removal more common for your time has been greatly updated to be as unintrusive to the body as possible."
"Okay, but you could have asked first."
"Sorry," Rommie replied unrepentantly.
Trance hurriedly ushered Buffy out of the room.
"Come with me, you must be starved. Did you even remember to eat lunch," Trance gently scolded her.
"It's not going to be like breakfast is it," Buffy asked worriedly, thinking of what constituted for food that morning.
Beka grinned, "No, the chemically processed, nutritionally balanced, and artificial swill served for breakfast is undoubtedly incomparable to that the thing we call lunch, which closely resembles dinner, which is just one step away from breakfast."
"Oh joy," Buffy said faintly.
Harper and Beka shared a mutual laugh, continuing to banter back and forth as Buffy reluctantly walked behind Trance.
The two tagged behind her, leaving Dylan to deal with the overbearing Neitzscheans alone. Rommie followed in their wake, bringing the sample along with her to the Medical Deck for analyzation.
"Wait…" began Guderian, stirring from his thoughts, wanting to know more about the girl and about the results of the test.
What just happened here, thought Dylan, watching the Neitzscheans look after his retreating crew.
In Dylan's quarters that night…Dylan is speaking with Rommie, venting.
"Damn those Neitzschean's," he grumbled from his relaxed position on a chair. "All they wanted to talk about after you left was Buffy. They were intrigued by her, and both Alphas want to be informed of the results of the test. How did that go by the way?"
"Quite interesting, I informed Buffy of the results before she went to sleep," Rommie reported from her seat across from Dylan. "She is human, just more so."
"More so," he responded, wearily raising his head.
"Yes, as I said, she's human, standard double helix, matching pairs in all the right places, but with a couple big differences. Her DNA is perfect; usually, one has junk DNA, superfluous, coded for nothing. Yet she doesn't, each strand is specifically coded for some unique purpose, which I can't seem to figure out. And although her genes do consist of the double helix structure, it isn't just one single strand. There are hundreds of separate strands, each perfectly coded, flawless. But, in every other respect, she registers as a perfectly normal, human girl. If one didn't think to look, if she was never tested like this before, than no one would have ever known."
Dylan becomes alert, "How did she take the news?"
"She was fine, but I don't think the significance of her uniqueness has sunk in yet."
"If the Neitzscheans find out, they'll be all over her. And I don't think we could handle the fall out if she does choose to be with one of the Prides. Make sure that they…"
"I don't think that it's possible to keep it from them," Rommie said, intently listening to some internal communiqué.
"What?"
"I've just been hacked!"
Great, just great, Dylan thought, rubbing his eyes, this is all I need.
"Be prepared Rommie, all hell is about to break loose."
Meanwhile…God, thought Buffy, rolling over on the bed. Sleepless, after her meeting with Rommie.
So I've got kicked up DNA, so what?
But is it just me, or do all Slayers have it. I mean, I've been stronger, better since going through the portal. And what was that the Tara said last night…you were not the first to reject us, but you were the first to accept us…does that mean that when I accepted my Slayer half I changed? Became more like what the First was? What does anyone really know about the Slayer, why we even exist, how we even exist?
Ah! This is just too much…I wish Willow was here, and Giles and… Buffy wiped her eyes, furiously rubbing away her tears. This is no time to feel sorry for yourself; you've got bigger problems. Like finding a way home…after you've destroyed whatever it is you were sent here to destroy.
Maybe that's it, she thought, abruptly changing her train of thought. Maybe They…whoever, whatever They are that sent me here…maybe if I annihilate their Big Bad, then They'll send my back, send me home.
She cheered, then after all this is done I can start to worry about my chromosomes or DNA or whatever. I'm still human, I'm still me…Willow and Giles and I can worry about the rest later.
Satisfied that she had her plan, if not any of the absolute answers she thought, Buffy drifted off to sleep.
In Charlemange's guest quarters on board the Andromeda…Ugh, he thinks, violently turning in bed, stretching his arms behind his head.
Why does that woman plague me so? She's just another girl. A nagging voice contradicts his statement, emphasizing her importance to him. Not to his Pride.
And why should I care that Guderian and his men, even my men, find her so…worthwhile.
She's just a girl…vibrant, alive. So alive. I want to grab her, take her away from here, from all this, and just keep her safe. Make her mine.
"Rrrrrrrr," his twisting form giving forth an inarticulate sound of irritation. He calms his breath, trying to ease his aroused body. Frustration does not a happy Alpha make.
Am I crazed? Or has she put a spell on me and on all the other men she meets, he thinks jealously.
Well, they can't have her, he snarled, mentally rendering the men limb from limb. She's mine…she was always mine…how dare they… He starts, back tracking until he processed his last thoughts.
Mine…what am I thinking. My wives are barely gone and I find myself…infatuated with a human. A girl I've never met before.
A faint stirring from the crib beside Charlemange interrupted his ruminations. A faint glow illuminated his naked figure as it arose from the bed. Charlemange bent down and picked up Traed; he had taken charge of his son and ordered his mother to rest, giving Sophia a reprieve for the night.
Gentle and loving behind closed doors, where no one could see his weakness. He quieted the babe, rocking him back to sleep, wishing that he could bring back Elsbet, bring back his family, for him and his son.
As Buffy slept on, unplagued by prophetic dreams, Trance watched over her.
She approached the sleeping girl, coming to sit beside her. Somehow able to not set off Buffy's hair trigger senses. Trance reached out a pale hand and smoothed back honeyed tresses.
"You must be prepared for what's to come. I will try to help, but it is up to you to defeat him. Remember, if you need help, if you feel like there's no hope, reach out for us."
Trance leans down to bless the sleeping figure with a kiss on her forehead.
"We are always with you, my sister."
Note
The thing with Buffy's DNA, I got the idea from The Fifth Element, and a little bit from Dark Angel I guess…I wanted the most perfect of DNA strands for Buffy, the coded thing just kinda happened…then I remembered it was like Max from Dark Angel so…I'm just borrowing their ideas and melding them into my own for this story…