ENTER THE STALKERS 3: RAINBOW SLAYER

The Merry Prankster

Chapter Four: Eye of the Storm

Rainbow Headquarters

Hereford, England

0430 hours

September 21, 2000

(Wandererverse)

Let's see, St. Wolf should be back from vacation by now. I can't wait to see how he responds to my question about how he managed to get his hands on a Jedi Knight. Clark was reaching for the phone when a loud knock sounded at the door.

"Come in."

Annika Lofquist stuck her head in and responded, "We have a situation in Japan. It just came in over the wire."

Closing his eyes for a second Looks like that call will have to wait for now. "Okay, Have the team assemble in the briefing room in one hour. Was there anything else?"

Annika walked over to the desk and handed her boss a sheaf of papers. "Here's what we have so far."

Rainbow Six picked up the first printout and thought back to recent events. Three major terrorist attacks, now four, all within the last two months. Although they have taken place in different parts of the world and by different terrorist groups, I still have this nagging feeling that they are connected in some way. If this keeps up, I may have to ask Wanderer for help. He was leaving the office and gave a visible shudder as he finished the following thought. And, I know he will be quite happy to remind me of it at some future date when he needs more 'boy scouts' for another of his good deeds.

+++

The briefing room was crowded with various members of Rainbow. The talking quickly ceased when their leader and the woman known as 'Control' walked into the room.

Control started off the briefing by turning down the lights. The projector turned on and a picture of a super tanker filled the screen along with a picture of several armed, oriental men with masks covering their mouths. Looking up from her notes, the young woman began.

"Operation: Arctic Flare"

"Japanese terrorists have seized a PetroMech oil tanker off the coast of Japan and are threatening to destroy it with explosives. Your mission is to board the vessel and neutralize the aggressors before they can trigger the explosive devices…."

Clark had been waiting off to the side, waiting for his turn at the podium.



"Good work in Los Angeles. Intelligence is still trying to figure out how a small-time, regional group like the Islamic Vanguard managed to launch an operation in the States. It's pretty obvious they had help - we just don't know from where. The people holding the tanker are rabid anti-nuclear types. They won't hesitate to blow the ship if they suspect you're on board. If that happens, the resulting oil slick will foul the plumbing of at least three nearby seawater-cooled reactors and bring down half of Japan's power grid. You'll have to hit them hard and fast." Finishing his talk, Clark was quickly replaced by a Englishman of African descent.

John Burke, the picture of stuffy Englishmen, adjusted his glasses for a moment and complemented the operatives on the recent operation in LA.

"Intelligence is still trying to figure out how a small-time, regional group like the Islamic Vanguard managed to launch an operation in the States. It's pretty obvious they had help - we just don't know from where.

Now, the people holding the tanker are rabid anti-nuclear types. They won't hesitate to blow the ship if they suspect you're on board. If that happens, the resulting oil slick will foul the plumbing of at least three nearby seawater-cooled reactors and bring down half of Japan's power grid. You'll have to hit them hard and fast.

The hostages are held in two groups in the stern of the ship. The leader is on the bridge - he's the one who'll blow the ship if he finds out you're on board. You'll be inserted near the bow to minimize the likelihood of detection. No heartbeat surveillance this time, I'm afraid - you'll have to locate the hostiles the old fashioned way. Are there any questions? If not, then if you will pull out the yellow folders on your desk……."

+++

The briefing concluded, the various Rainbow operatives began leaving for their assigned areas. Waiting until everybody to leave the conference room, Arkadi Novikov, approached Clark and asked him, "Have you had a chance to talk to 'the Wanderer' about what went down in Los Angeles?"

Rainbow Six shook his head, "Haven't got around to it as yet." The Russian operative began to speak but was silenced with a held hand, "Don't worry, I'll give him a call as soon as I get back to my office. You had better get your gear together."

"Yes sir. It will be interesting to see what the man has to say about it." observed the Russian operative.

Interesting indeed. I can't wait to see what excuse Cherokee has for this one. If it's like any of his others, it will be a doozy.

++++

317 Bryant Terrace

Sunnydale, California

1330 hours

September 21, 2000

(The Wandererverse)

Steve St. Wolfe dropped the suitcase on the living room floor and turned to his companion. "It was great to get away from the rat race for at least a little while."

Buffy wrapped her arms around his shoulders, whispered, "Honey, you don't know how right you are. Two weeks without facing a single demon, vampire, or world ending apocalypse. It's a shame that we have to get back so soon."

"You know, Qui Gon hasn't gone back to LA. I'm sure he wouldn't mind holding down the fort for a little longer while we take care of some more pressing matters."

"I was thinking the same thing." agreed Buffy as they resumed unloading the car.

+++

Willow was manning the computer room when someone called in on the secure line. Answering the phone, the redhead listened for a moment before replying. "If you don't mind, I'm going to put you on hold for a minute while I get Steve."

+++

Steve and Buffy were in the kitchen fixing a quick lunch when Willow walked in and smiled.

"Welcome back. Did you two enjoy your vacation?"

Steve gave Buffy a warm smile before returning his attention to Willow. "Thanks. It was definitely a lifesaver. Was there something else you wanted?"

"Yeah, some guy name John Clark is holding on the secure line."

"Did he say what he wanted?" asked Steve.

"He only said that there were a few things he needed to get cleared up. If you don't mind me asking, who is he?"

Steve responded on the way out the door, "The man is the head of one of the newest counter terrorist groups, named Rainbow. Back during the eighties, he was probably the C.I.A's best field agent. I was honored to have been given the opportunity to work with him back during the Cold War. He is one man you want on your side."

+++

Picking up the phone, Steve answered, "Hey Clark, good to near from you again. What did you want to talk about?"

In a quiet voice, Rainbow Six responded, "Cherokee, I'm going to cut to the chase. Was there anything about your agents that you forgot to mention the last time I called?"

"Could you be a little more specific?"

"How about one of your people making like a refugee from a popular science fiction movie." answered Clark.



Steve sat down and rubbed his head. If it's not the Twin Towers of Tactlessness then it has to be my little brother.

"This is something that I cannot get into over the phone, even if it's on a secure line. Why don't you come over and I fill you in personally."

"I wouldn't mind doing just that. But something just came up in Japan that's demanding my full attention. You can bet I'll be taking you up on the offer as soon as my latest situation is taken care."

"If you need anything else just give me call." Offered Steve

"Don't worry, I will."

+++

"Honey, what did Clark want to talk about?" asked Buffy as she and Willow walked into the office.

Steve stood up and shook his head, "Clark was talking about one of our people acting like a refugee from a science fiction movie."

"You don't mean?" commented Willow

"Saint pulled a Luke Skywalker at the museum." added Buffy.

Steve nodded and gave them a evil grin, "Yup. So, I offered to explain the situation if he would come over."

The two ladies looked at one another and as one asked, "Setup?"

"Setup" confirmed Steve.

+++

Serrania Avenue Park

Los Angeles,

1800hrs

September 21, 2000

(Wandererverse)

"Jessica, I believe it is time for us to head back to the Heart residence." Stated Obi Wan/Ben Quigby as he looked at his watch.

Jessica reached into her bag and threw out another handful of breadcrumbs to the waiting ducks. "Just a few more minutes. I still have some breadcrumbs I need to get rid of."

"You had better make it fast, JD and the Sloans are expecting us for dinner at seven o'clock." reminded the Jedi.

"There, that's the last of the crumbs." stated the young lady as she stood up.

It had been pretty quiet in Los Angeles during the two weeks following the terrorist attack at the museum and the city had gotten back to normal. Earlier that day, Jessica Jade had stopped by the Heart residence to see if Katie would mind going to the local park for a local music concert. As it turned out, the Amazon had already made plans with Anthony and was unable to be there. Fortunately, Obi Wan had finished his meditation early and was more than happy to come with her.

The two were walking through a patch of woods on their way to the front gate when Jessica began suspect something out of the ordinary. Turning to the young Jedi, she asked, "Ben, where are the other people?"

A sinking feeling overcame the young Jedi as he looked around. That's strange, the park was full of visitors a short time ago. I have a bad feeling about this. Composing his thoughts, he responded. "I do not know. While I do not see any other people, I cannot shake this feeling that we are not alone."

Suppressing a shudder, the young lady followed her companion towards the entrance. It was not long afterwards that the young man stopped dead in his tracks and looked towards his right.

"Ben, what are you looking at?" asked Jessica.

Obi Wan held up his hand and continued peering towards a nearby clump of woods. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that there are Trade Federation battle droids nearby. But that is unlikely since the Federation has neither means nor motive to interfere with this planet. reasoned the Jedi.

The girl continued walking towards the car when she detected movement from the corner of her eye. "Ben, what was tha………" Her question ended quickly as what appeared to be ten robots emerged from the woods. Those look exactly like those battle druids from the last Star Wars movie. Whoever made those costumes will certainly deserve first prize in the next convention. thought the young lady.

Obi Wan opened his jacket and reached for the silver cylinder, hanging from his belt. Drat, there is no way I get through this without Jessica seeing what is about to happen. Oh well, looks like I will just have to use 'The Force' to erase her memory afterwards. In a calm voice he commanded "Jessica, when I tell you to, I want you to run to the car as quickly as possible."

Jessica looked back to her companion and remembered Waitaminute, the Star Wars convention has already happened for this year. Why are a bunch of yahoos dressing up like Star Wars characters when there won't be another convention until next year? Noticing the silver cylinder in Obi Wan's hand, she asked, "Uh, Ben why are you wearing a lightsaber replica on your belt and more importantly, who are those guys coming over here?"

Obi Wan responded through clinched teeth, "Now is not a good time Jessica."

"Oh really, and when will be a good time? In fact, why don't you." Beams of light flashed by her head followed quickly by the snap hum and glowing blue blade of Obi Wan's lightsaber. "OH. MY. GOD!!"

"Get out of here!" shouted Obi Wan as he quickly parried four shots.

Jessica took off towards the car while taking quick glances over her shoulder as she ran. What the hell is going on here? That Ben Quigby better have a good explanation for this or I will kick his butt into next week. thought the young lady.

Obi Wan sensed his companion's flight towards safety and he moved cover her retreat. The young Jedi quickly fell back on his training as he rushed the oncoming druids. The druids quickly concentrated their fire on the Jedi and tried to overcome his defenses.

Halfway towards his opponents, Obi Wan thrust out his hand towards the farthest group and used 'The Force' to throw four battledroids against a nearby restroom. Crashing into the brick wall, the four druids did not get back up.

The remaining six also advanced towards the Jedi and were quickly within melee range. At that distance, the druids were no challenge to Obi Wan and he quickly turned them into scrap. Just how did functioning battledroids get here? thought the Jedi.

A twig snapped and he quickly turned around to face his wide eyed companion. The young lady looked first at his still activated lightsaber and back to the destroyed robots. She slowly turned back to the Jedi and with a raised eyebrow asked, "Would you care to explain why you are carrying a weapon that only exists in a movie." Before he could answer, she waved her arm towards the druids, "And, while you're at it, you can also give an explanation for the rest this."

Obi Wan gave her a slight grin and waved his hand in front of her face. In a monotone, he said "There was no lightsaber or druids. All you saw was a group of actors getting ready for a movie."

"No there wasn't. You had a lightsaber and those are battle druids from Star Wars." countered Jessica.

"You didn't see anything. Nothing happened on your way back to the car." suggested the Jedi.

"Nice try Jedi boy." responded the red head teenager. "Looks like the Jedi Mind Trick doesn't affect me. Would you like to try something different?" Jessica asked with a grin.

Obi Wan groaned at the thought running through his head. This is great. It would be my luck to find someone else who is resistant to the mind trick.

"You know, your entire family looks like characters from The Phantom Menace. There is no Ben Quigby is there?" Before Obi Wan could answer, she continued, "I bet your real name is Obi Wan Kenobi, isn't it?"

With a sigh he answered, "You are not to reveal this to anybody. If word got out, you would be putting your friend's lives in danger."

Jessica held up her hand to reassure the Jedi. "Don't worry, Obi Wan. In public, I'll still refer you as Ben. But, in private, Lets just say I want to savor the thought of actually dating Obi Wan Kenobi. By the way, does Katie know about you?"

"Yes, as does the rest of the family." admitted Obi Wan. The Jedi replaced his weapon and pulled out a cell phone. "If you don't mind, I have some calls to make about getting this mess cleaned up."

"You go right ahead, my knight in not so shining armor. I'll be waiting in the car." responded the red head as she walked back towards the parking lot.

Obi Wan watched the girl as she moved out of sight. Finally he started dialing the first of many numbers. I had better call JD and tell her what's going on. Master Jinn is still in Sunnydale. I had better take Jessica up to him and get him to replace her memories. Hopefully General Gordon will be willing to spare a clean-up crew to take care of this mess. If that doesn't work, well, there's always Zed and Section 6.

Someone picked up on the other line and Obi Wan began speaking.

***

AMC Promenade 16

Los Angeles,

1800hrs

September 21, 2000

(Wandererverse)



"Here let me help you with that." offered Saint as he reached over and helped his date into her jacket.

Katie rewarded him with a slight smile. "My, aren't we being the gentleman tonight."

Gesturing towards the theater, Saint remarked, "You know, I wouldn't be surprised if 'Gladiator' doesn't get Best Picture this year."

"True, but we are going to get the general's view on it since he was at the real event."

"In my experience, such reviews can take away from the enjoyment. All I can say is that I'm glad we saw it before we talked to him."

The theater had been crowded that night and the two teens were forced to park a couple of blocks away. Saint turned to his date and nodded towards nearby woods. "The parking lot is just on the other side of this group of trees. Why don't we cut through them and save us some time."

"Okay, just remember Mom wants us home by seven o'clock. She hinted that she had something special planned for supper."

While walking through the woods, Saint began to get the feeling that something just wasn't right. Katie noticed his discomfort and asked, "Is there something wrong?"

"Do you hear anything?"

The Amazon paused and glanced around. "No. Not a thing. Why, is there something I'm missing?"

Saint motioned for her to pick up the pace. "This is the middle of September in California. Where are the crickets and other insects? Heck there hasn't been even a gust of wind to break the silence. It's almost as if…."

A moment later, a hunched over creature loped into sight. It appeared humanoid, yet was hunched over and walked with a queer shambling gait. When the creature was a hundred yards away, it lowered it's hood revealing an almost frog like face. The unblinking eyes locked in on the two young people.

A chill ran down Saint's spine, I have a really bad feeling about this.

The young man closed his eyes and reached out through the Force. Hmm, looks like there are more of these creatures coming up. thought the Jedi. He grasped the hilt of his lightsaber and whispered to Katie. "Katie, you packing any weapons?"

Katie nodded, "Yeah I still have my micro uzi. Why are you asking?"

"Because it looks as if we are about to have some unwelcome guests." answered Saint. "Get ready."

The creature reached inside his trench coat and began pulling out a shotgun while yelling in a guttural snarl. "These are ones, the master said to eliminate. GET THEM!"

Katie winced at the frog man's voice. It reminded her of someone gargling pebbles. In one smooth move, she fired a ten round burst at the lead frog-man. Eight rounds slammed into the creature, throwing him to the ground. It did not get up again. An approaching mechanical sound drew her attention. Turning to face the new threat, she paused. What the hell are THEY doing here? thought the Amazon.

With a rebel yell, Saint somersaulted into the midst of the creatures. The creatures were expecting normal humans, not an acrobatic swordsman and were unable to coordinate their defense.

Saint ducked a swinging club and cut the legs off the wielder. Spinning around he sliced a rifle in two, along with the arm of the creature. A third creature tried to stab the Jedi with some kind of spear, only to run through for his trouble.

Katie recognized the approaching battle druids just as they began shooting at the two teens. "Hey Saint. Looks like you brought more friends from the other place."

Saint briefly turned back towards Katie as he cut another creature into two parts. He quickly analyzed the threat and called out. "Katie, aim for the center torso, where the tow armor sections meet. That area can't stop a bullet."

"I'll do just that" replied Katie as she dropped behind a conveniently placed wall. She quickly dropped the nearest druid with a well aimed burst.

Saint dispatched the remaining frog creatures and rushed the druids. Half of the druids switched their fire to the young man while the others tried to kill Katie.

Putting on an extra burst of speed, Saint reached the first druid and slashed him from head to toe. A second nearby druid followed the first bisected by a sweep from the saber.

Two droids began circling behind the teenagers. Noticing the move, Saint held out a hand and Force pushed them into a nearby tree.

Katie quickly replaced the spent magazine yelled out to her date, "Duck!" A three round burst eliminated that threat.

+++

A dark figure watched the ongoing battle with a growing sense of trepidation. This is not going according to plan. Damn that crazy Arab. I never should have listened to him when he said that we would be facing a mere boy and his girlfriend.

Jebediah Marsh could not believe the ease in which the two had taken down his Deep Ones and battle droids. As the last robot fell into a pile of scrap metal, the Department Satan agent began to move quietly back to his car. I didn't sign up to get killed. Besides, I kinda feel that our heroic leader needs to know about this.

+++

Katie immediately homed in on a noise off to her right and spotted the departing agent. Giving chase, she yelled back, "Anthony, I've got the last one."

Saint stooped down and examine the nearest body, Now where did you come from buddy? More importantly, who are you working for and what does this mean. The Amazon's warning got through his thoughts and he immediately got up and ran after his girlfriend.

The Scoobies reached the parking lot just in time to see the enemy agent jump into a black sedan. They ran to their car, only to discover all four tires had been slashed.

"Damn, and I had just bought a new set." cursed Katie. Turning to her companion, she asked "Got any ideas on how we are going to catch him with four flat tires?"

Saint looked around and spotted and antique car show being held across the street. An evil grin slowly appeared on his face as he glanced over some of the assembled cars. Katie recognized the expression and asked, "Okay, what are you up to? You have that look so don't try and deny it."

"Just wait here. I'll be back with our replacement wheels. Trust me."

"Oh Shit."

+++

Katie sat down at the curb and waited, If that boy is not here within a couple of minutes, when I get my hands on him I will….

Her introspection was interrupted by the blast of a nearby car horn. Looking up, she could only think. Now where did he steal that from and will I be getting another one of JD's famous motherly talks over this? thought the young lady.

The object of her surprise had driven up in what could only be described as something out of an old Humphrey Bogart movie. Upon entering the car show, Saint had been drawn to the 1936 Ford Hot Rod owned by some famous author. The two door coupe was painted a bright purple with real white wall tires that dated back from a time when white walls had full white sides. She was forced to admit that her date certainly knew how to pick out a car.

Saint held open the passenger door and motioned for Katie to get in.

"Who did you steal this from?" asked the suspicious Amazon.

"I did not steal it, Katie." argued Saint. "After showing the owner my government id and explaining why I needed it, he insisted that I take it. He only insisted on two things though."

"Oh, and what were they?"

"That I call him 'Dad' and bring the car back in the same condition I found it in. He was a really nice guy. In fact, I wouldn't have been surprised if he wanted to get involved in the action."

"If you step on it, we might be able to catch up with the guy."

Saint drove out of the parking lot and onto the main drag. Upon reaching the street, he quickly accelerated past fifty miles per hour. A white faced Katie turned to him an asked, "Have you been taking driving lessons from Shaw?"

Saint Shrugged, "No, this is just how I normally drive when the police aren't around."

"Better not let Mom hear about that. By the way, I noticed that the bad guy was turning onto the highway out of LA."

"Don't worry, we'll get him. The old guy insisted that this was the fastest car at the show. Apparently, he tweaked up the engine so it will do over 150 mph."

Saint shifted and pressed down the accelerator and began weaving in and out of traffic. Katie screamed, "LOOK OUT!" as they narrowly missed an eighteen wheeler that had shifted lanes suddenly. I think I will double check my weapon and not look at the brightly colored blurs on either side of the car.

The Ford Hot Rod was slowly gaining on the fleeing sedan when Saint checked the rearview mirror. "Uh oh" murmured the Jedi-in-training.

"What uh oh. What have you done now?" asked Katie.

"We have company coming up behind us real fast." answered Saint.

The Amazon looked behind them and spotted the two cars gaining on them. Normally, the two cars would not have gotten much attention except, they were matching Saint's maneuvers and the people inside were wearing black robes. Not to mention the fact that each car had a man leaning out the passenger window, pointing a gun at them.

"Looks like our boy picked up some friends." Katie observed nonchalantly.

"Looks like." responded Saint as he swerved to avoid a green VW Beetle that had somehow gotten in front of them. "Hey Katie, why don't you try to dissuade them from getting any closer."



The Amazon decided to take out the car to the right and snapped off a couple of bursts as it came into range. The brown Mustang swerved but continued the pursuit. The mustang returned fire and a stream of tracers flashed by Anthony's head.

"I don't think that worked." commented Saint.

"You think. Keep your eyes on the road and drive, Flyboy."

The pursuing cars continued to get closer as Katie traded shots with them. Something just doesn't feel right. thought Katie. She turned around just in time to see the two semis just ahead. "Uh Anthony, just what are you up to?"

"I'm going to use those two rigs as cover."

"You are going to do WHAT?" screamed the terrified teen.

"Don't worry, I've done stuff like this before. The bad guys will be crazy to follow us."

Katie put her head in her hands, groaning, "That's because you are already nuts to try something like this. If I live through this, I swear I'm going to kill you."

"Promises, promises" responded the Jedi as he drove between the two trucks. The second pursuer in a late model BMW pulled up beside them, the drive sticking a pistol out the window. Saint waited for the right moment and slung the Hot Rod over to the right. The blow caught the Beemer and pushed it into a spin.

An explosion off went off behind them and Katie turned back to see the truck roll right over the German car. The rear wheel giving a quick bounce as it went over the car. The smashed Beemer continued its spin into the retaining wall and exploded.

Katie stared at the exploding car and winced. "Anthony, you might want to try and keep the collateral damage to a minimum. It is possible to cause a mess too big for even St. Wolf to sweep under the table."



"I'll try, but thats up to Tweedle Dumber back there." answered Anthony. "Look at the bright side. Traffic is low at this time of day and the other drivers are staying out of our way. Besides that Mustang is coming up."

A hail of bullets flashed over Katie's head and two holes opened in the windshield. Katie returned fire and emptied her magazine at the other car, hitting the passenger side.

Saint peered in the rear view mirror to see the passenger slump down, his rifle dropping from nerveless fingers. The driver continued the pursuit and came up on the other side of the car. Katie released the spent magazine and looked for a spare, yelling, "I'm out of ammo. Looks like it's up to you."

Saint nodded and began swerving from one side of the road to the next in an effort to shake their pursuer. A bridge appeared in front of them.

Katie felt the car slow down. Turning to her companion, she yelled out, "What do you think you are doing? We are slowing down!"

"I'm letting him get closer." responded Saint.

"You're doing WHAT?" screamed Katie.

"Don't worry, I have this under complete control."

Oh Shit, I'm going to die. That smartmouthed Jedi wannabee is going to get me killed. moaned Katie.

Gozilla, Katie's guardian spirit, stuck his head out of her purse, You finally figured that out? With his driving, I figured the odds of us surviving this are….

Katie looked down at Godzilla, telling him Oh shut up!

Saint allowed the Mustang to get beside them. Just as they crossed the bridge, Saint threw the wheel over, catching the other car on the front left fender. The resulting collision caused the other driver to lose control and crash through the guardrail.



Confirming that there were no other pursuers, Katie sat back in her seat and looked around for the car they were following. "Anthony, do you know where that black sedan went?"

"Sorry, I sorta lost it about two miles back when we were taking care of those other two."

Katie looked at a nearby road sign and noticed that the chase had taken them near Sunnydale.

Saint pulled off the freeway at the Sunnydale exit, commenting "Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. As long as we are in the neighborhood, we might as well report to St Wolf in person. Besides, it means that we won't have to face your mother so soon."

"Point." conceded Katie.

***

Woods south of town

Sunnydale, California

1800 hours

September 21, 2000

(The Wandererverse)

"You were right. This is the perfect place for meditation." commented Cain.

Qui Gon smiled as he continued to reach out through the Force. "Thank you, but you should be thanking Shawukay. She was the one to point it out to me a couple of weeks ago."

The Shao Yin priest looked around, noticing the lack of sounds. "Do you feel anything unusual?"

"Now that you mention it, there does appear to be a lack of animal noises."

"It is almost as if…." Cain stopped and looked over to the South"We have visitors."

A group of vampires appeared at the edge of the woods and began stalking the two masters. Qui Gon turned to the priest, suggesting, "How do you feel about taking care of some of Sunnydale's less upright characters?"

Cain smiled, "It has been some time since I dusted a vamp and I could use the practice."

The two began advancing on the undead when Qui Gon paused and activated his lightsaber.

Noticing the weapon, Cain inquired, "What is the matter?"

"I sense a presence just out of sight. It is one that I have not faced since leaving my home universe."

A moment later the first group of battled droids walked up behind the vampires. The undead stepped aside to let the mechanical beings pass.

Cain raised an eyebrow at the new arrivals, commenting, "Well this puts a kink in our plans."

"Fortunately, these are not the most powerful opponents from my home universe. At least we don't have to face destroyer droids."

"Why is that?"

Qui Gon explained, "They have energy shields that block most projectile and energy weapons."

"Oh. Let us worry about that when we have to. For now let's just take down these walking tin cans and blood suckers."

The two men nodded and continued their advance on the enemy.

***

403 Washington Street

Innsmouth, Massachusetts

1900 hours

September 21, 2000

(The Wandererverse)

"So how did the operation go?"

Jebediah Marsh stormed into the office and stalked over to the liquor cabinet and poured himself a stiff drink. Taking a deep breath, he turned around to face the Department Satan leader. "It was a total disaster."

Omar looked up from the papers and inquired, "What happened?"

"What happened? What happened? I'll tell you what HAPPENED!" screamed Jebediah. "We had our asses kicked is what happened. You said all we had to face were a few teenagers and old men. You said it would send a message to this Wanderer character and weaken his organization. We lost everybody involved but for myself."

Omar's eyes turned red as he grabbed his subordinate by the lapel. "What do you mean we lost everybody? I was told that those robots would make our teams unstoppable."

"Well against normal people they might have been. Unfortunately, those weren't normal people we were going up against."

"In what way?" asked Omar.

"We had three attacks timed to go off simultaneously so the enemy would be unable to combine his forces or get help. Unfortunately, at least one person in each of the targeted groups was a Jedi Knight or at least something similar. Since those people were swinging laser swords and jumped around like gymnasts on steroids."

"At least now we have some idea of the Wanderer's increased capabilities."

"Yes we do. Now all we have to do is somehow acquire another batch of droids so we might have a chance at accomplishing our mission." agreed Jebediah. The mutated human began pacing in front of the window, thinking out loud. "I thought those new battle robots were familiar. Those were the same droids in that last Star Wars movie."

A cloud descended over features as the implications sank in. "If those were real Jedi Knights and those droids are the real things, then ….." He turned slowly around, facing his superior with a look of concern, "If you got those druid from who I think you did, then you had be extremely careful. That person is not going to be very happy over you losing his assets in such a manner."

Omar stood up and walked towards the door, "You may be right but he is not here is he? You can rest assured that my ally is nowhere close enough to do us great harm. You stay here and wait for further instructions. I'm expected back at our main base shortly and will decide on our next move. We will win in the end."

Jebediah watched from the window as Omar drove off. You Fool, you don't know who you are playing with. I only hope your so-called leadership won't end in this organization's destruction.

+++

Unnoticed by both men, a lone figure stepped back into the shadow. Hearing every word, the woman thought to herself, It won't be long before Palpatine makes his move to renegotiate our little alliance. I can't wait to see the fireworks.

Discord smiled as she considered the future. At last we shall reveal ourselves to the do gooders, at last we shall have revenge. A faint laughter could be heard as the goddess vanished from sight.

+++

317 Bryant Terrace

Sunnydale, California

1900 hours

September 21, 2000

(The Wandererverse)

Qui Gon noticed Brian Jessup playing with Duke in the living room. Sticking his head in, the Jedi master asked, "Hello Brian, are Stephen and Buffy back yet?"

"Yes sir, they just got back this afternoon. Last time I saw, they were in the kitchen grabbing a bite to eat. Would you like me to tell them that you're here?"

"The Jedi master shook his head, "That's alright, I was going to get something to drink anyway."

Qui Gon looked back at Cain and motioned towards the kitchen. The two men walked in as Steve was handing a sandwich to Buffy. Looking up, the Wanderer smiled, "Thanks for helping out while we were on vacation. Shaw and Faith didn't give you too much trouble, did they?"

The Jedi master held up his hands, "I was happy to assist in whatever way I could after all that you have done to make my companions welcome. As for those two young ladies, they were on their best behavior. It is refreshing to see the young people such as they helping out."

Buffy raised an eyebrow in disbelief, "Faith didn't make any wisecracks or try to embarrass you while we were gone?"

"No, she didn't make one inappropriate remark. Well, at least in my presence." confided the Jedi.

"You can't be talking about our Faith?" questioned Steve.

"Faith, the girl who can embarrass Madonna." added Buffy.

Qui Gon thought for a moment before responding, "No, she was acted very properly. I was concerned at first, based on your warnings. However, both Faith and Shawukay were well behaved."

Steve and Buffy looked to each other and thought, Now what are those two up to? Faith has got to be setting somebody up for something.

Finally, Steve asked Qui Gon, "Was there something else you wanted to talk about?"

Caine spoke up, "We were about to begin meditating when we were attacked by a medium sized force of vampires."

"That doesn't seem so bad" observed Buffy.

"Ordinarily, I would agree with you" added Qui Gon. "However, the enemy did not limit their forces to Sunnydale's peculiar brand of nightlife."

"In addition to the vampires, we were also attacked by battle druids," stated Cain

Steve quickly swallowed the bite of food, "You mean the battle robots from the other universe?"

"Yes, those were battle druids of the type I had fought back on Naboo" confirmed Qui Gon.

"That is something new. Any idea on how they got here?"

"I wish I could help you with that. However, I do know that this particular brand of druid doesn't operate on it's own. There has to be some kind of controller either from an orbiting ship or nearby station," reported Qui Gon.

"I would say that this is an interesting coincidence. However, I don't believe in coincidences." Steve looked at his watch. "Lets see, Xander, Cordy, Shaw, and Faith should be by any minute now."

"Honey, don't forget Robin and Liam," added Buffy.

Cain rubbed his chin in thought, "I believe it would also be wise to call Zed at Section 6 and General Gordon at Bureau 13."

Qui Gon nodded in agreement, "I agree but there was something else that I should tell you about."

"Oh, and what was that?" asked Steve.

"Anthony had what I believe to have been a Force vision. A look at what is to come so to speak. The ability to catch glimpses of the future is one of the many abilities a Jedi Knight has. Right after the museum incident, he had a dream after passing out. In his dream, he saw battle droids of all types in Sunnydale."

Cain considered that piece of information, "If what happened tonight is any indication, then perhaps young Anthony's dreams are coming true. I would suggest that we have Anthony come up any tell us about this dream in person."

Steve nodded, "Qui Gon, why don't you call your student and get him up here. I have a feeling that we will need that information as soon as possible."

The slamming of the front door ended the conversation. Buffy looked out the kitchen door and said, "They're here."

"Buffy, lets get everybody in the living room." ordered Steve.



***



Xander pulled back the window shade, "Hey take a look at that car!"

Cordelia Chase came up from behind and looked out the front window, "Where did Anthony and Katie get an antique car in that condition?"

"I don't know, but I wouldn't mind finding out for myself" added Faith.

***

Saint pulled into the driveway and turned off the engine. He leaned over and asked his companion and her guardian spirit, "You guys alright?"

Godzilla looked up from Katie's backpack, Let me take a bite out of his butt. He has been asking for it all day.

I agree but now is not the time. Maybe later. ordered Katie as she gathered up her backpack and followed her date into the house.

Saint had not taken two steps into the house before Xander yelled out, "Hey Saint, where did you steal the car?"

The Jedi in training stared at his companion, who only gave a sweet smile in return. Barely suppressing the desire to scream out, he responded "For the last time, I DID NOT STEAL THE CAR! The owner let me borrow it to take care of some bad guys."

Robin stuck his head out from the kitchen, "I take it you've heard that line before?"

Saint gave Katie another disgusted look before replying, "You could say that. Why does everyone assume any good looking set of wheels I drive up in has to be stolen?"

"The company you keep?" offered Xander. "Besides, Steve has assembled the gang in the living room."

"Thanks Xand, has anybody heard from Obi Wan? He was taking Jessica to some function of some kind."

"Cordelia spoke up, "I remember Willow saying something about him calling to say that they would be dropping by some time today."

Saint gave a heartfelt thank you and followed the others into the living room. Upon entering the room, Saint noticed the Wanderer and his teacher discussing something. He was approaching them when St Wolf looked up and grinned, "Love the car. Where did you steal it from?"

Saint closed his eyes and slowly counted to twenty, thinking I am not going to scream, I am not going to scream. The assembled scoobies sported wide grins as Saint controlled his emotions. "For. The. Very. Last Time. I DID NOT STEAL THE FRICKING CAR!"

"Anthony, remember negative emotions and losing one's temper are but small steps on the path to the Dark Side." chided Qui Gon.

Saint held up a hand and in a much calmer voice replied, "Sorry, it's been kinda of hectic day. Katie and I were attacked on our way out of the movie." Looking around the room, he asked "Where are G-Man and Ms. Calendar? They really need to hear this."

"Don't worry they are will be here in a moment. We'll fill them in when they get here." added Qui Gon.

"Okay, there were a couple of unusual things about our attackers. First there were two distinct types of opponents."

"Was one of those groups composed of battle droids from Star Wars?" asked Cain.

"How did you know that? There weren't any witnesses" questioned the young Jedi.

"We were also attacked by battle droids this very evening," confirmed Qui Gon. "There may be a pattern."

"You could be right about that, but the other group of attackers was just as weird. I have never seen anything like them before. They were some kind of mixture of frog or man. I mean, they walked like men, sorta and carried normal weapons. But they weren't normal."

Steve rubbed his chin, "That is interesting. Looks like we have some new players." He turned back towards Willow, "Do you think you can dig up some more information on these creatures, Saint met up with?"

"I'll see what I can," offered Willow.

The red-haired Wiccan began to move back towards the computer room, when the phone rang. Buffy picked up the phone and began talking to the person on the other end. The color drained from her face as she was heard to murmur, "They didn't, Oh My God, they wouldn't?"

"Honey, who is on the phone?" asked Steve.

"It's Horace and he is not pleased," answered the Slayer. "You might want to take it in the computer lab. Oh, and Horace said to bring Master Jinn as well."

The Jedi master stared at Saint with a look that screamed, What have you done this time?

Saint held up his hands and began promoting his innocence. Letting off a heavy sigh, the Jedi followed the Wanderer into the computer room.

***

Steve took a deep breath before entering the computer room. Walking over to the computer, he flipped a switch and a three dimension image of Horace Gordon, leader of Bureau 13 appeared in the middle of the room. The leader of Section Seven did not even have time to extend his greetings before Horace yelled out, "JUST WHAT THE HELL KIND OF THREE RING CIRCUS ARE YOU RUNNING OUT THERE?"

Steve winced, and sighed, "Okay, what have Faith and Shaw done THIS time?"

"Neither of them was involved in this latest incident. Instead it concerns that teenage light saber swinging smartass you took in this summer."

I know it has something to do with that car, I just know it thought Steve.

Qui Gon, could feel a headache coming on as he asked, "What has my padawan learner done this time?"

The image of Horace seemed to settle on the Jedi Master as he answered, "Oh nothing much, just a short fight in the middle of downtown LA. Fortunately, he and the Heart girl were able to keep the initial battle in a secluded part. That was not the problem."

I know I'm going to regret asking thought Buffy. A sense of approaching doom filled the Slayer as she asked, "What did Saint and Katie do that made you want to scream."

Horace gave them a death grin as he linked a news broadcast, "This was just taken by a LA news team. Why don't you sit down and watch."

Anthony and Katie, sensing something was not just right, decided to poke their heads in to see the image of their previous car chase fill the screen. Anthony turned to Katie and nonchalantly observed, "Well that didn't take long, did it?"

Katie didn't even bother answering him. Instead she hit him upside the head.

Can I bite him now? asked Godzilla.

If he keeps up with this act, you betcha. responded Katie.

+++

Duke padded over to Godzilla and asked Why do you want to bite Anthony?

That maniac scared the crap out of me with his driving on the way up here. If I didn't know better, I'd say he was taking driving lessons from Shaw.

Duke chuckled as he walked off, You had better hope that's all he gets from her and not her or Robin's sense of humor.

Gozilla shook his head in an animal version of resignation, It's too late. He already has a warped sense of humor.

+++

Buffy looked stunned as she wished out loud, "Oh God, They didn't."

Qui Gon watched, his face a mask of stone, "They did."

Steve chose to bury his head in his hands and moaned. Horace stopped the feed just as the second bad guy drove off the bridge. The Bureau 13 leader noticed the two enter the room and stated, "Now that the Two Forces of Destruction" are present, I have the chance to find out what were you two thinking?"

Saint shrugged, "Taking care of the opposition in the shortest amount of time."

"You do realize that your little hijink was recorded on every major news channel. It made OJ Simpson's low speed chase look like something out of the Saturday morning cartoons."

Saint smirked, "Come on now, based on some of the other incidents your people have been involved with, I wouldn't be surprised if you haven't already buried it by making it to be part of some new motion picture."

"Anthony.." warned both Steve and Qui Gon.

Horace shrugged, "You guessed right on that. It's going to be released as part of some upcoming film called "The Fast and the Furious". But that doesn't let you off the hook boy."

Saint took a deep breath and argued, "With all due respect, General Gordon, I did everything within my power to keep this from getting blown out of proportions. Katie and I kept the initial fight well away from wandering eyes. The chase itself began as a normal lag pursuit of the only bad guy to get away from that fight. It's not my fault that the baddie had two friends coming to help him. Once, they started shooting, Katie and I were forced to honor the threat."

Steve reached over and pulled Saint back. "Okay, how much is this going to cost me?"

"The boy was right. We were able to convince the networks that this whole

incident was a series of stunts for the new movie."

Katie, sat down, murmuring, "That's a relief."

"Don't be so sure young lady," countered Gordon. "I talked to your mother

before calling here."

"You didn't.." argued Katie.

"I did and let me say she was not pleased one bit. By the way, she asked me to tell you two to wait till she gets there."

"She's on her way?" asked a sickened Jedi-in-Training.

"And quite anxious to talk to both of you."

Katie turned and slapped Saint again, "That's for ticking mom off and getting her up here. I do not look forward to having another of her motherly chats."

"Look at the bright side. We have at least an hour to get our wills made out," offered Saint.

""I am so dead" moaned Katie. "But you are even deader."

Steve took one look at the two teens and shook his head. Finally, he turned back to the image, "Was there anything else?"

"Yes, tell your people to try keeping the damage to a minimum or at least the within same location. Cleaning up after both those two and Obi Wan was not a simple job."

Qui Gon looked up, "Obi Wan was involved in an incident today?"

Horace nodded, "Yes, he called a few minutes ago and asked if we could do a clean up. It appeared he ran into more battle droids of the type your other student fought."

The Jedi master turned to Steve and observed, "It would appear that the attack on Cain and myself was not a random event."

Steve nodded, "Three attacks involving Star Wars battle droids on different team members at the same time. This does look fishy." He turned back to the hologram, "If I didn't know better, I would say these attacks are related somehow. Can I get back to you Horace? I have a feeling that we need to talk to Obi Wan about this."

"Just let me know what you find out," ordered Horace. "I'll call Zed at MIB and let him know what's going on."

Saint watched as the image of the Bureau 13 leader faded out and commented, "Something Wicked This Way Commeth."



Katie and Buffy shared a disgusted look before turning as one and slapping the young man.

"Stop stealing famous quotes," hissed the Slayer.

***

Willow looked up as the door to the computer room opened up. Katie and Anthony do not appear to be in a good mood. I wonder what happened in there?

"Katie, what did General Gordon want to talk to you about?"

The before mentioned person gave the Jedi-in-Training a death glare. After a few seconds, she turned back to the red haired witch. "Let's just say, Grasshopper's driving caught the wrong people's attention."

Saint shrugged as the other's attention turned to him, "He called Katie's mom and she is on her way."

Robin placed his hand on Saint's shoulder and asked in a sincere voice, "Would you like me to notify your next of kin?"

"That's alright. I think I can survive one of JD's talks. I've been through enough of them in the last few years." Saint confided confidently.

Xander shook his head, "You do realize you are talking about JD Heart, the mother of your girlfriend?"

Saint was about to make a comeback, when a car pulled up in the driveway. Xander pulled back the curtain to see who it was and yelled back, "Obi Wan and Jessica just pulled up."

Obi Wan and Jessica were on their way to Sunnydale as soon as the calls to MIB and Bureau 13 were finished. Throughout the trip, the fiery red head made it perfectly clear to Obi Wan what she thought of his attempt to hypnotize her and deceiving her in general. This continued even as the two walked up to the front door.

The assembled Scoobies listened in as Jessica gave the Jedi a piece of her mind. The girl was able to verbally tear apart the young man piece by piece. Saint leaned over to Katie and whispered, "She has been spending way too much time at your mom's place. At the very least, we should get JD to control her language around young minds."

"You should be talking," countered Katie. "Obi Wan told me about your first meeting with Colonel O'Neal."

Saint shook his head in resignation as the new arrivals entered the house. Jessica paused upon entering the living room, taking in the assembled Scoobies and their visible weapons. Raising an eyebrow in a show of suspicion, she turned her head and asked, "Was there something else you forgot to mention, OBI WAN?"

The others listened as the fiery redhead tell Obi Wan what she thought of his attempts to deceive her. Willow and Xander winced at some of the girl's more colorful descriptions. After fifteen minutes of animated discussion, the leader of Section Seven decided to take action. In a calm voice Steve inquired, "Are you finished? We really have some pressing business that needs to be taken care of. If you have any more questions, you should ask JD. She should be here in within the hour."

Faith turned to Shaw and quipped, "Looks like someone else needs new batteries."

A visibly embarrassed Obi Wan walked over to Qui Gon and pleaded "I tried to use the Force to make her forget."

"But she turned out to be a resister. Then, you bring her here in hopes I can succeed where you failed." chided the master Jedi.

Obi Wan nodded his head in defeat and slumped into an easy chair. Saint could not resist the opportunity and yelled out, "Hey Obi Wan, looks like you need some remediation in the area. Perhaps Master Jinn could spare a couple of days to refresh your memory."

Xander nodded in agreement, "It's only fair. I mean, if Anthony has to take them for flunking out in the museum then you should too."

This time Obi Wan shot the death glare at the two hecklers as the others snickered. "Actually my memory is well enough as it is. However that is not the main reason for my bring Jessica up here. We were attacked at the park earlier today."

"Yes, we know" countered Steve. "Horace called right before you arrive and gave us the lowdown. It would appear that the bad guys have gotten their hands on some weapons from your home universe."

Qui Gon nodded, "Yes my former student, Anthony, Katie, Master Cain, and myself were also attacked by enemies composed at least in part of groups of battledroids."

Xander's joking attitude fell away as he asked, "Does this mean Palpatine has decided to stick his fingers in Earth?"

"It could very well be" conceded the Jedi Master. "However, we should wait until Mister Giles and Ms. Calendar arrive before we go any further."

+++

While waiting for Giles and Jenny to arrive, Willow had decided to do a computer search to see what she could discover about the fish creatures that had attacked Saint and Katie. Jackpot! thought the Wiccan as she printed up the information just in time for Giles and Jenny to walk in.

"Hey guys, I found out something about the creatures that attacked Saint" offered Willow.

Steve quickly briefed Giles and Jenny about the latest attacks and subsequent phone calls. The librarian pondered the information for a moment before asking Willow to continue.

"I did a search for anything about creatures matching Saint's description and came up with a statement recorded by a writer named HP Lovecraft back in the late 1920s. Apparently, Mr. Lovecraft met a gentleman who had an encounter with these creatures in a little town in Massachusetts named Innsmouth. 'I think their predominant color was a grayish-green, though they had white bellies. They were mostly shiny and slippery, but the ridges of their backs were scaly. Their forms vaguely suggested the anthropoid, while their heads were the heads of fish, with prodigious bulging eyes that never closed. At the sides of their necks were palpitating gills, and their long paws were webbed. They hopped irregularly, sometimes on two legs and sometimes on four. … Their croaking, baying voices… held all the dark shades of expression which their staring faces lacked. … They were blasphemous fish-frogs of the nameless design - living and horrible-."

Saint nodded, "Yup those were the creatures that attacked us."

Qui Gon rubbed his chin in deep thought. "Did your sources give a name to this type of creature?"

"Yes, according to Mr. Lovecraft in his book 'The Shadow Over Innsmouth', he named these creatures Deep Ones. They are an amphibious, marine race that serves a creature named Cthulhu and two beings known as Father Dagon and Mother Hydra. Deep Ones are worshipped by some groups of humans, because they are capable of breeding with humans. Apparently, deep ones are immortal unless slain and so are their hybrid young. Thus giving a form of eternal life to their worshipper's children. Most of these cults were located in the South Pacific. However, most of the tribes worshipping the creatures vanished sometime during the nineteenth century. According to Mr. Lovecraft, sailors from New England got involved and introduced the cult to North America, somewhere around Boston. My sources also mentioned something about a government raid on that town, named Innsmouth, sometime in the late nineteen twenties. The report on that raid is still marked top secret. But I was able to learn that the Feds captured several residents who reportedly had somewhat fishy features."

"Could these residents be examples of the hybrids, Lovecraft mentioned?" asked Obi Wan.

"Could be, All that I know for sure is that a force of Marines and Federal Agents raided several locations with town, while the Navy sent a submarine to shoot a newly developed deep diving torpedo at something."

"There could be a Deep One city offshore" offered Katie.

"If that's true, then our enemies are working with them. Combined with the battledroids, we are living in interesting times" observed Saint.

"I would recommend that we discreetly make a more thorough investigation of these developments" suggested Giles.

Shaw added, "You might want to give Bureau 13 and MIB a heads up and see if they can help out. If the Feds were involved, you can bet Bureau 13 was up to it's neck in it."

Steve looked over to Qui Gon and asked, "Most of what we know about the battledroids that attacked you comes from watching Star Wars. Do you have anything you can tell us about their capabilities and more importantly, how to destroy them?"

The master Jedi pointed towards Saint, "I believe it would be more appropriate to have my student answer that question since he has used Earth weapons against them."

Saint shrugged as the spotlight shifted towards him. "Actually, there are a few things you should know about the standard run of the mill battle druid. They are controlled by a remote transmitter. Basically, whoever is running the show tells them what to do via wireless link. Jam the signal or destroying the transmitter will cause the droids to shut down. While they are armored against most projectile weapons, they do have an achilles heel on the torso, where the armor doesn't reach. Hit them there, they don't get back up."

Buffy noticed the Jedi in Training hesitate for a moment and inquired, "Something is worrying you and it's not those droids."

"Well, if the bad guys have managed to somehow link up with Palpatine, then those battle droids may be the least of our worries. The Trade Federation had a whole range of fighting robots back on Naboo."

"We know. We all saw Episode I." countered Cordelia.

"True, then you know they had something called a destroyer druid. Basically, it is bigger rolls around and has two pulse lasers built into it's arms. More importantly, it has energy shields that stop most bullets and blasters."

Faith innocently asked, "Then how do we take them out?"

"A sudden shock or blow will disrupt the shields long enough for the other weapons to take them out. Back on Naboo, I used standard frag grenades to blow down their shields long enough for my buddies to finish them off with blasters."

Steve took it in and decided, "So we make sure everybody has a couple of grenades when patrolling."

Saint nodded, "That would be a good idea." He turned back towards Qui Gon and Obi Wan, "We had better give Colonel O'Neal a call and ask him to send over the Mausers. It looks like we are going to need them."



"Mausers?" asked Shaw.

"Yeah, Mausers" conceded Saint. "What I am referring to is a weapon that was already in the works when I went to that other universe. One of the men who stayed behind got involved and pushed it into production status. The Mauser 960 Assault System is a pulse laser rifle about the same size of a G-36 assault rifle. In addition to the laser, the weapon has an auto grenade launcher strapped to the bottom of the barrel sorta like the US Army's M-203. The big difference is that this has a six round clip. In close combat situations you can strap on a vibro bayonet that is the next best thing to a light saber in a knife fight. I managed to bring back a couple of them when I got back to Earth. The tech boys back a SG-1 were drooling over them, so I left the weapons with Colonel O'Neal."

Suddenly serious, Xander inquired, "What kind of rounds does it use?"

"The usual standard grenade loads, HE and smoke, The good thing is that it will take the standard issue 40mm grenades. As long as we have access to US Army stores, there should be no problems."



The conversation turned to Obi Wan and Jessica when Saint remembered, "Oh, I forgot to mention that there is a ultra violet/low light level sight on top for night fighting."

"You have some nice toys," commented Xander.

Saint responded, "And if you are very nice, I'll let you play with it. You know, I wouldn't be surprised if General Gordon has gotten his hands on a batch by now."

Obi Wan quipped, "Well, he has had enough time to examine the ones we brought with us."

"I'll place the call after we get through" offered Steve.



Moments later the doorbell rang and Buffy got up to answer the door. Katie leaned over to see who it was. Anthony was discussing the revelations about the Deep Ones when he noticed Katie turn a pasty shade of white and mutter, "I am in deep shit."

"Uh Katie dear, what is it?"

Katie gave Saint one of those 'If looks could kill' stares "Mom and Steve are at the door and they do not look very happy." If we live through this, I will kill you" threatened the Amazon.

***

TBC

Authors Notes: I was reading some of my old 'Call of Cthulhu' RPG books a while back and became inspired to add some more villains to the enemy line up. Imagination kicking in, I decided to have Bureau 13's nemesis, Department Satan be allied to some of the diabolic creatures introduced in the old HP Lovecraft stories.

Those who played the Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear computer game will recognize many of the locations for the various operations. The story will pretty much follow the game time line but for a few details. The main one will have multiple terrorist attacks going off at the same time. Rainbow will be hard pressed to deal with the outbreaks, so a few of the situations will be handled by Section 7 at the request of Mr. Clark.

The world is becoming a more dangerous place for the good guys. You can expect Palpatine and his apprentice taking a more active role on Earth during Chapter 7: Operation Arctic Flare. One thing I am considering is to have Palpatine take control of Department Satan through Darth Agonius. The question will be how much time and resources does the Emperor-to-be spend on this endeavor. Also, what should be the composition of the force sent by Palpatine to Earth?

Any comments and critiques are both helpful and appreciated. What do you think about where the story is going? Which parts were liked or disliked? I just need some feedback to gage where this is going. One last thing, did anybody recognize the owner of the antique car acquired by Saint?

Anyway, enjoy the story and I should have Chapter 5 out sometime in July depending on how classes go.

Merry Prankster, out.