Continuity: Takes place in season 4 of Buffy. Everything remains the same, with the following exceptions; after the death of Maggie Walsh, Riley is made head of the Initiative and given the task of hunting down and eliminating Adam. For a back story reason I have yet to decide, the Scoobys' are aware of Tara as a witch and friend of Willow, but not of their growing relationship.

Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the vampire slayer, any associated characters, places, events and any other materials related to it. They are the creation of Joss Whedon. I thank him for creating this marvellous universe, which we can all enjoy. I also do not own the other series mentioned in this story (I know that I should name it, but I don't want to spoil the surprise!), including characters, places, objects, institutions and other materials related to it.

Spoilers: Anything up to the end of "The I in Team" of season four of Buffy.



Chapter 1: "Impact"

Silently, she moved through the shadows, not making a sound. Stalking. They were near, she knew it, knew it in the core of her being. There, a whimper in that clearing. Swiftly yet silently she moved through the trees. The darkness caused by the overhanging branches parted as she grew nearer the clearing, bright moonlight shining down, casting an eerie light over the events unfolding before her eyes. There in the centre of the clearing was Willow, tied to an old tree stump. And there, over to the left, was Xander, Anya and Tara, held within a magical cage. Around the perimeter stood a dozen robed demons, with a thirteenth crouched in the centre of a circle of candles, intoning some spell or other. She knew that she, and definitely Willow, didn't want to find out what it would do. Probably something extremely unpleasant. She moved. Darting into the clearing, she threw the two daggers' she'd had in her hands, heard the satisfying thud of them meeting their marks. Two of the demons keeled over, the daggers' protruding from their foreheads. Now the others responded, charging towards her and drawing vicious looking short-swords from inside their robes. She ran at full pelt straight towards the demon in front of her. At the last moment she leapt high into the air, twisting in mid-flight and drawing the sword from its sheath on her back. Even as she landed facing the demons back she was swinging the sword in a vicious arc that connected solidly. Before the creature's head had hit the ground she had turned to face a new threat. Two demons were running at her from different sides. She turned and faced one, wielding the sword high over her head. As soon as it was close enough she brought the sword down, cleaving his head in two. At the same moment her right leg snapped backwards, catching the demon in its chest and knocking it back. She pulled the sword free from the dead demons head. As soon as it was out she swung around, the sword flashing in the moonlight as it decapitated another demon. The demon she had kicked staggered to its' feet just in time for her fist to connect with its' face, followed by a swift kick to the abdomen and then her sword pierced it's heart. As she withdrew and whirled to face the remaining demons, the chanting grew louder. Instinct told her that whatever she was going to do would have to be done soon or it would be too late. The remaining demons had formed a wall, shielding old-chanty from her attacks. Suddenly, the clearing was filled with a flash of green light and one of the demons keeled over, the blade of one of his fallen brethren sticking out through his chest. Distracted, the demons magick had weakened, allowing Tara to break the spell holding her and the others. Then she heard Xander screaming and saw him run towards one of the demons and leap onto its' back. It staggered about, trying to shake him off. Then Anya started clubbing it over the head with a thick branch. Caught off guard by the sudden assault, the demons turned to face this new threat. Taking her opportunity, Buffy charged, the sword cleaving through the air once again, decapitating another two demons. Then another sword flew through the air, impaling a demon, which had been about to decapitate Anya, in the back of the head. She looked over and saw Tara staring intently at the fallen creature. Man, I love Wiccans', thought Buffy. A roar snapped her attention back to the battle. A sudden thump and a sigh of relief told her that Anya and Xander had dealt with their foe. That left two more and old-chanty. The demons started and turned around as a voice came from the shadows: "Did I miss all the fun?" "Spike! Keep these two busy - I have to get to Willow!" "Oh good, it's being sooo long since I had a fight! I was getting bored" quipped Spike, wading into the two demons, fists flying. She heard the satisfying crunch of bones breaking. She broke into a run and leapt over the fight, landing four feet behind the last demon who had stood up and was advancing on the unconscious form of Willow, a vicious looking dagger in his right hand, a small silver bowl in his left. "Hey, Chanty!" shouted Buffy. The demon whirled around, just in time for her fist to connect with his face. He staggered back, the bowl and dagger falling to the ground. In the background she heard a snap, followed by the sound of a body hitting the dirt. So it wasn't Spike - he would have just made a WHUMPF! noise as he exploded into dust. So she carried on, whirling into a roundhouse kick that snapped the demons head back. He staggered again, falling to his knees. The sword swung down and then his head was rolling at her feet. She turned around in time to see Spike put his fist through the last demons chest and rip it's heart out. He turned to face her and held out the heart: "A present for you luv." He grinned. "Spike, that's revolting." she said, a look of disgust marring her pretty face. "Hi Buff." a weak voice said behind them, stopping Spike in mid-sentence. Buffy turned round and there was Willow, leaning on Tara. "Willow! You're alright!" She cried, folding her friend into a gentle hug so as not to hurt her. "Yeah, just a little dizzy, that's all." the red-haired Wicca said, right before she slumped, her legs giving away beneath her. "That's it, you're going to Giles" from her tone, everyone knew Buffy wouldn't take no for an answer. Plus, she was right.

**********

He stood and stared into the darkness, classical music playing softly in the background. Six months. He still couldn't believe it. Six months it had taken to repair the damage done, both to the ship and the family that was her crew. Many of that family were gone, never to grace her deck plates again. So he stared, lost in his thoughts. Suddenly he was thrown to the floor by a violent jolt. As he staggered to his feet he looked into the darkness, only it wasn't. The black had been replaced by a bright, strobing green light. Everything shuddered again. He strode through the door, into the nerve centre of HIS ship. His crew looked up from their duty stations momentarily; glad to see that their captain was all right. "Status" that one word brought a curt yet polite and concise reply from his Executive Officer. "Very well. Transfer auxiliary powe..." Suddenly everything was bathed in a green light that grew in intensity and then vanished in a sudden and extremely bright flash. At the same instant, they were rocked by another jolt; this one so violent that everyone not sat in a chair was thrown to the floor. Then the lights flickered once and failed...

**********

As Giles pottered in the kitchen, rustling up another round of tea no- doubt, Buffy walked over to where Willow lay on the sofa. "Well, Tara, is she going to be ok?" Buffy asked anxiously. "She s-should be" replied the shy Wicca. "Should be! Can't you just cast, like, a healing mojo on her or something?" She demanded. Anya looked up from the heavy, leather bound book she was reading. "Hey, she did her best. Which is better than yours' - all you do is stab things!" she said, calmly and evenly. Oddly, Buffy found this angered her more. Why couldn't she scream like anyone else? "Ha! This from little miss 'I used to curse men just for the fun o..." her tirade was interrupted by a voice from the sofa "Now, now ladies. Calm down, the young luv needs her rest, not you two silly sods bickering all day." "Spike!" Buffy said sharply "will you keep out of this?!" "No." the bleached-blonde vampire said flatly "Look, you know I'm right luv. Plus I'd really like some peace and quite myself." She was about to argue with him when Giles came in carrying a tray of tea, setting it down on the coffee table, which, Buffy supposed, was inaccurately named because a cup of coffee had probably never graced its surface in all the time it had resided at Giles' place. "Here, drink this" he said, handing a cup to Willow, who had propped herself up. "Ah, here are the cookies" he said as Olivia entered the room carrying a second tray. She sat it down next to the first, and then sat herself next to Giles, slipping her hand into his. As the gang swooped down on the plate like a swarm of locusts, Spike slipped into the kitchen for a few moments and returned with a mug of blood. As he sat down on the couch the door to Giles' apartment opened and Riley entered. He glared at Spike and then turned to face Buffy. "Still harbouring a hostile, Buffy?" "Riley, he helped save Willow. I think he's earned a bit of our trust. I think he's changed." Spike snorted, pulled a cigarette from it's pack and placed it to his lips. As he flicked his lighter open Giles cleared his throat. "Would you mind not doing that in here" he said. Spike looked at him sharply. "What, you didn't object to the blood before" Giles sighed and pushed his glasses back up. "I meant the cigarette, you bloody idiot" Spike looked down at the cigarette in his hand "Oh, right" he said, placing the fag behind his ear. He looked around the group and stood up "Well, I'm going to do a sweep. That little scuffle has got me all worked up. See if I can find something to beat up." Riley stood as well "I think I'll go with him - make sure he doesn't cause any trouble." Buffy glared at him for a moment then he disappeared into another room. A minute or two later he re-appeared, decked out in full military combat gear, complete with M16 and one of the Initiative's taser guns. "Okay, lets' go" He said, heading for the door. Spike smiled and followed him out the door.

**********

The entire bridge was filled with thick, black, acrid smoke. As he staggered to his feet, he put a hand to his head and felt blood against his fingertips. He coughed in the smoke. "Emergency lights" He spoke into the air. At his command, thin red lighting strips around the edge of the ceiling came to life, bathing the scene in an eerie, crimson light. He reached down and helped his first officer to his feet. He turned to face the front of the bridge, where his second officer had regained his post. "Report" He demanded. "Captain. All the primary systems have been disabled by whatever phenomena struck us. I am attempting to reroute and gain access to the secondary systems. I have access. I am attempting to clear our view now." The captain looked up at the snow-covered image on the screen before him. Slowly the picture cleared, leaving behind the image of a pure, blue/white globe, sparkling like a precious jewel in the infinite, inky blackness of space. "Is that Earth?" the captain asked as the smoke lingering in the air began to clear. "I believe so sir. I am attempting to raise Starfleet command now." The man's fingers flew across the panel in front of him with astonishing speed. He turned to face his commander "Captain, I am not detecting any transmissions on any Starfleet frequencies." The captain looked around at his executive officer. "Any ideas, number one?" "One, captain" he checked a small panel on the arm of his chair "According to stellar records, we ARE orbiting Earth." The captain looked relieved, for a moment he thought they'd somehow being pulled to another world. "But the year is 2001" The captain slumped into his chair. "Well, that answers where we are. But not how we get back to where we belong." "Captain." "Yes, Mr Data" the captain answered, turning to face his second officer. "Using the records from our recent encounter with the Borg, it will be a relatively easy task to create a temporal vortex back to our own time. However, damage to various systems integral to the generation of the vortex will take at least 1sixteen hours to repair." The captain took all this in his stride. "Very well. Make it so. I'll be in my ready ro..." "Captain" Mr Data interrupted "I am detecting the presence of a Starfleet comm-badge on the surface" "What? Are you sure Data?" asked the first officer. "Definitely, Commander Riker. I am narrowing the location now. The signal is coming from a small town on the California coastline." "Why didn't we detect it straight away?" Riker asked. "The signal is very weak Commander. I only detected it because I boosted power to the sensors in order to detect any residue of the phenomena which brought us here." "Very well" spoke the Captain "We had better investigate. Counsellor, you'll accompany myself and Doctor Crusher to the surface." He tapped the badge on his left breast "Doctor Crusher, report to transporter room three." "Captain, the transporters are off-line. Repairs will take at least eleven hours." Data informed him. "Did you here that, Doctor?" he asked. "Yes sir. Shall I meet you in the shuttle bay?" "Ten minutes. Data, will you transfer details on the signals point of origin to the shuttlecraft? Number one, you have the bridge." With that he turned and strode to the lift, an attractive woman falling into step with him. Once they were in the lift he said "Shuttle bay one" and the doors closed.

**********

"Stay here while I open the door, Will" Buffy said, heading for the dorm room they shared. She unlocked and swung the door open, and then she headed back and helped Willow into the room. "Buff, you don't need to coddle me," Willow protested as she was tenderly set on the edge of her bed. "Yes I do" came the reply "because you're like a sister to me." and then she folded Willow into a gentle hug. "Ouch. Sore here." "Sorry Will. Here, lie down and rest." Buffy gently laid her friend down and then closed the door. Silently she padded over to her own bed and lay down. She thought to herself 'I'll just rest for a moment'...

********** Spike and Riley finished their patrol and stood on a small hill overlooking the town. As they gazed into the clear night sky, a flash of green light drew their attention. "What the bloody hell?" Spike asked no one in particular. "I don't know" Riley answered, scanning the heavens around where the flash had been. "It doesn't match the position of any known satellites." "You know all that, up there?" Spike asked, starring intently at Riley's' head. "Yep, you'd be amazed at what privileged information the head of a secret government installation has access too." Riley answered. "I think they'd be amazed at what you're with-holding from them. Fancy hiding a hostile, tut tut." Spike teased. "Oh they know all about you. You're under constant observation." Spike stood there for a moment, stunned into silence.

**********

"Opening bay doors" spoke the feminine computer voice. Picard sat in the pilots' seat, with Crusher next to him and Troi behind. "Thrusters online. Impulse engines standing by" he spoke through the routine launch checklist as a matter of course. With a gentle hum, the small spacecraft lifted from the deck and slowly edged forwards. It slid through the atmospheric shield into the darkness beyond. It accelerated away from the star ship and then it's shields started to glow as it entered the atmosphere. The tiny craft levelled its' descent once it was safely inside the atmosphere. At that moment, the clear night sky was split by a searing bolt of blue/green energy that struck the tiny craft, passing through its shields like they weren't even there. Inside, over the din of emergency alarms and a series of small explosions from the rear equipment trunk, Picard had to shout to be heard. "We're hit! Engines offline! Stabilisers offline! We're going down! Everyone, brace for impact" Trailing smoke, the stricken craft hurtled towards the ground, the lights of a small town in the distance growing ever nearer...

**********

Riley and Spike trudged through the grass, heading down the hill back into town when the air was filled with a growing whine and suddenly something screamed over them, trailing thick smoke as it disappeared towards the woods. "What the bloody hell was that!" shouted Spike. At that moment they heard a crash, not more than half a mile away by the sound of it. As they turned and started running in the direction of the crash, Riley spoke into a small radio, requesting a full search team to come to his assistance. Together, they ran into the trees. After a couple of minutes they could smell burning. Then they came upon a scene of absolute devastation. Something had ploughed through the young trees that had been planted by the students of Sunnydale High only two years earlier. Slowly, they walked down the trough ploughed out by whatever had come down here. In the darkness ahead they could see an odd shaped object. About the size of a school bus, it looked like no aircraft either of them had seen before. In the almost claustrophobic quite caused by the devastating impact scaring away all the wildlife in the immediate vicinity, the gentle hiss of a hatch opening seemed almost deafening by comparison. Riley levelled his rifle as the hatch settled to the ground. Smoke poured from the interior of the craft, then a balding man staggered through the smoke, followed closely by two females. "FREEZE!" shouted Riley "Put your hands in the air!" seeing the gun aimed straight at him, the man complied, the two women following his lead. "Spike." Riley spoke "check them for anything that looks like a weapon." Spike started forwards and then stopped in shock. "Bloody hell" was all he could say "What?" demanded Riley. "Look at what they're wearing" Riley took a step forward, his gun still trained on Picard. Then he stopped as well. "I think bloody hell covers it. You." he turned to Picard "What is your name?" "I cannot divulge that information." he replied, his voice firm. "Let me help with that, then," said Spike. Slowly, he circled the small group, addressing each in turn. "You are Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Federation Star ship Enterprise. You, you are Doctor Beverly Crusher, chief medical officer of same and the captains bit of fancy and finally, you are Counsellor Deanna Troi of the Enterprise." He smiled crookedly at the shocked expressions on their faces.



To be continued in the next chapter, "Illogical Explanations" Feedback: Of course! Any comments, including constructive criticism are welcome. Please don't send abusive comments if you don't like the story - tell me WHY you don't like it. Politely. Cheers.