Author: Bobby Cox smeghead_76@dodo.com.au
Disclaimer: Some of the characters are mine. Some aren't. The 'verse in which this is set, however, belongs to Peter F. Hamilton (the 'Night's Dawn' trilogy 'verse). There may or may not be characters and situations belonging to ME productions and the team that writes Buffy. I'm just covering my arse there. No money will be made from this, but if someone *thinks* it's good enough to make money, I'd be flattered :)
Summary: This is a parallel story to 'In Their Shadow' by rei_ite (and later on, myself), and provides back-story for Xander's activities on Earth. Basically, vampires and the Light Bringer sect - a Satanic cult (no, really!) - are starting to bump heads with each other in the Downtown section of the Los Angeles arcology. Normally, the authorities wouldn't pay too much attention to something like this.
However, when the fighting spills over to the Uptown sections...
AN: The follwing text formats will be used for datavises and affinity:
Affinity will be represented as such: AffinityDatavises will be represented as such:{Datavise}
'At the time, I was sort-of unimpressed that one of my officers had been leaking information to an outside group. However, when I found out what sort of information Matthews had been leaking, it was a different matter. She'd been sharing information that, at the time, we'd thought we had no real use for, but, in light of the Harris file, turned out to be suspected vampire attacks.
'I was also kind of embarrassed that she'd been a Slayerette for four years... which I'd never noticed. I thought it was my job to figure that sort of thing out.'
-Captain Matthew Henderson, LAPD (2614)
Abandoned building, Downtown district
Sunnydale Dome, Los Angeles arcology
8th June, 2614
The Marine squad was in deep trouble, and everyone knew it.
The initial assault on the vampire nest had gone well, with entry simply being a matter of blasting several large holes in the building's walls with electon-explosive charges. Assault mechanoids had gone in first, and had started eliminating every vampire they encountered, and even when the vampires had managed to close to close quarters, the mechanoids had managed to hold their own.
Even though the vampires had managed to reduce the mechanoids' numbers by half, by the time the Marines had arrived on the scene - having mopped up behind the mechanoids - all of the attacking vampires had been dusted.
Then the vampires had revealed their secret weapon. The first - and last - sign of trouble had been a barely-auible whine, before a maser cannon nearly as powerful as those found on armed starships had opened up on the mechanoids, destroying them all in a matter of seconds.
The Marine squad had ducked behind whatever cover they could, although two hadn't been quick enough, and had been vaporised when the maser cannon was turned on them. With no clear targets, the maser cannon gunner ceased fire, not wanting to burn the building down around them. The thermal dissipation circuits built into the Marines' combat armour would have protected them from the effects of the flames, denying the vampires even that sort of victory.
Having found cover, the Marines waited for the inevitable assault. Roaring, the first assault wave of three dozen vampires charged the hunkered-down Marines who, with the threat of the maser cannon countered by the fact that the gunner would have to shoot through friendlies - and even if the gunner had been willing to kill allies, there was no clear line of sight to the Marines - popped up and began co-ordinated fire, guided by linked tactical and fire-control programs.
Alex trained his gaussgun on a knot of vampires and sent half-a-dozen EE and fragmentation rounds their way. The eight vampires vanished in a cloud of rampaging electrons and razor-edged carbotanium fragments, and when the smoke cleared, only dust remained. The other six Marines in the squad - including another gaussgunner - added their own maser fire, EE grenades and incendiary rounds to the firestorm.
None of the vampires reached the Marine position, and the Marines ducked behind cover once more just in time to avoid receiving more maser fire. Another roar indicated that another group of vampires was attacking, and once again the Marines popped up to open fire. The attacking group was larger this time, and a handful survived to reach the Marines.
Dropping the gaussgun, Alex drew a fission blade and a stake. With two smooth motions, he decapitated one vampire and rammed the stake into the other's chest. As the dust of the two vampires that had attacked him settled to the ground, he cast a quick glance at the rest of his squad.
What he saw made him grimace. Although all of the vampires had been dusted, two more Marines were down, both with broken necks. Note to self: the neck guards on our combat suits protect us from bites and having our throats torn out, but don't prevent broken necks, Alex thought as he recovered the gaussgun and resumed his position in cover.
We really need to take out that bloody maser cannon, he added silently. But now that we're down to five against God-alone-knows-how-many vampires, our chances aren't good.
Yet another roar announced a third assault wave, larger than the first two combined. The five surviving Marines poured a veritable storm of fire into the charging vampires, but over half survived to reach the Marines, and a bloody melee erupted once more.
With boosted musculature and unarmed-combat programs in primary mode, the Marines didn't go down easily, but down they went, nonetheless. As it happened, Alex was the last one on his feet.
As he staked a vampire and decapitated another, he felt a pair of hands clamp onto his shell helmet and twist violently. The valency generators built into the combat suit meant that his neck wasn't broken instantly, but the amount of force they were being subjected to was well beyond their design tolerances. As they burned out with a pop, Alex twisted in the same direction that his head was being turned in and staked the vampire that was attempting to break his neck.
But that meant that Alex was now badly off-balance, and not even his unarmed-combat program could restore that balance in time. Another vampire grabbed his head and twisted violently, and this time, his combat suit wasn't able to help.
As Alex's neck broke with a loud SNAP, the vampire dropped him to join in the victory howl that was now resounding throughout the building.
Fuck, Alex thought as the world went black around him...
****
Training area, Asteroid 'Gallipoli'
O'Neill Halo, Sol system
8th June, 2614
The technician stepped forward as Alex began to stir, unplugging the cables that connected the virtual reality taksuit to the training base's AI that was running the simulation.
Once all the cables had been unplugged, Alex started to peel the suit off, changing into an olive-drab jumpsuit handed to him, which he accepted with a nod and word of thanks. "Okay," he said disgustedly, "which demented bastard came up with that little scenario?"
"I did, Corporal," Captain Edgar said from where he was standing near the console, observing each squad being put through its paces.
"In that case," Alex said sourly as he fastened the jumpsuit's seal, "let me say just one thing: you're a demented bastard, sir."
Edgar grinned and replied, "Why, thank you, Corporal. Your approval means a lot to me." Turning serious, he continued. "That was one of a number of worst-case scenarios I had designed, although at least there weren't any demons involved. What did you think?"
"I'm sure my next-of-kin will appreciate that, sir," Alex said sourly. "What did I think? Lemme see, screaming hordes of vampires - just how many were there, anyway? - crap intel... and let's not forget the starship-grade maser cannon providing fire support and which had us pinned down and unable to move in about fifteen seconds. All in all, an display of applied sadism that would make an inquisitor proud. You sure you weren't one in a past life, sir?"
There were chuckles from everyone present. Even Edgar grinned before replying, "That last group that attacked you was the last of them, Alex. In fact, your squad did much better than anyone else."
"We still died, Boss," Alex pointed out.
"True," Edgar replied. "But I designed that scenario to be unwinnable, and your squad came fairly close to winning it."
"Does that mean we win a prize, sir?"
"Well, since it's the end of the training day, I think someone might buy you a couple of beers."
Alex brightened slightly at that. "Free beers are always welcome, sir. I just never thought I'd have to die to get them."
****
'Grunt's Boozer', Asteroid 'Okinowa'
O'Neill Halo, Sol system
8th June, 2614
Once the company had returned to the asteroid that served as the barracks and equipment store for their brigade, and cleaned and stored all equipment, it was time to relax and discuss the day's training.
The nine squad commanders in Edgar's company were clustered around a table in a semi-quiet corner of the boozer, comparing their experiences over a pint or two, while the rest of the enlisted soldiers did the same all around them.
"How's it feel to be dead, Alex?" one of the squad commanders asked.
"Strangely loud, Lucy," Alex replied with a grin. "'Here lies Alexander Matthews'," he said as though quoting an epitath - which, in a way, he was. "'And here... and over here, as well.' We got ripped apart in the tank today. I hope we don't run into something like that when we deploy into LA."
"You did better than I did," the squad commander, Lucy Matheson, responded. "At least you managed to actually get into the building."
"Yeah, I heard about that. What happened?"
"Let me put it this way," Lucy replied. "You got the screaming hordes. I got the heavily armed ones."
"Ouch," Alex said with a wince, draining his pint before refilling it from one of the jugs sitting in the center of the table. "All of a sudden, what happened to me doesn't sound too bad."
"Fuck you, Matthews," Lucy said, giving him the finger.
"Why, Corporal Matheson. Is that a proposition?" Alex asked with a grin-slash-leer.
"You wish, boyo," Lucy said, laughing. "I'd rather take a gaussgun to bed."
Alex and Lucy got along like a house on fire, and Lucy could only be described as 'attractive', even with her hair cropped almost to her scalp to allow her shell helmet to fit more snugly. There were no hard and fast rules regarding relationships between Marines - particularly Marines of equal rank - but there were semi-official guildelines. Anyway, Alex and Lucy preferred the level of friendship they had, and weren't too keen to go any further.
"Let me guess," Alex riposted. "It lasts as long as you want it to, doesn't roll over and start snoring as soon as it's finished, doesn't hog the covers, and doesn't make you sleep in the wet spot."
"Hey!" Lucy protested, while the other squad commanders at the table snickered. "Stop stealing my lines!"
"Sorry, Lucy," Alex said, not meaning it in the slightest.
Any reply Lucy might have made was pre-empted by the arrival of the Duty NCO. "Hey, Alex," he said, brandishing a flek. "Message for you."
While on-duty, Marines were forbidden to receive messages from external sources, or send messages, for that matter. Any messages intended were instead received by the orderly room and stored on a flek until the recipient went off-duty.
"Thanks, mate," Alex said with a grin. "I'll be sure to have a beer for you."
The DNCO glared at Alex for a moment before turning on his heel and leaving. "Quit picking on the poor schmucks who have to work while we have fun, Alex," Lucy said with a grin.
"I can't help it, Lucy," Alex protested. "It's just too much fun."
"Yeah, yeah. Who's the message from?" Lucy asked. "Is it a red-hot sensevise from your girlfriend?"
"Is that a note of jealousy I detect in your voice?" Alex teased before picking up the flek from where the DNCO had dumped it on the table, and taking it over to one of the message reading stations lined up along one wall.
When he returned to the table, his expression was that of someone who wished to inflict a long, drawn-out death on someone. Slumping into a chair, he grabbed his nearly-full pint and emptied it in a series of convulsive swallows before grabbing a jug with the obvious intent of drinking himself into oblivion, and relying on a medical nanonic and detox programs to ensure that he would be fit for duty - if not polite company - in the morning.
These plans were short-circuited, however, when Lucy grabbed his wrist. "What's wrong, Alex?" she asked, totally serious.
"Some bastard tried to kill my sister," he snarled. "Killed three of my friends when the buildng they lived in was blown up with sub-nuclear devices."
"Jesus, Alex, I'm sorry," Lucy said with an expression of horror, a sentiment that was echoed around the table.
"Where'd they get sub-nuclear devices from?" someone else wondered. "And plural?"
"Three of them, to be exact," Alex muttered, still fuming. A sudden crunch caused everyone's glance to Alex's hand. Without noticing, he'd crushed the flek.
"Jesus," Lucy muttered. They'd met Amanda at various functions hosted by the company, and to hear that someone had tried to reduce her to her component atoms with sub-nuclear devices came as something of a shock. Who'd want to kill her? was a common thought.
"I don't know who'd be responsible," Alex growled. "But he'd better hope that I never find him."
"Same here, Alex," Lucy said, with the others at the table backing her up.
"Thanks, guys," Alex said. "That means a lot to me."
"Hey, what are friends for?"
At that moment, Captain Edgar appeared in the doorway, and the room fell silent as the Marines inside turned to look at him. "If I can have your attention for a moment," he said. "I've just received a report from the Los Angeles arcology. Apparently, someone's detonated a number of sub-nuclear devices within the Sunnydale Dome. The target seems to have been the Slayers and their support group, the Slayerettes."
When Edgar made that announcement, the squad commanders found themselves staring at Alex. "Alex," Lucy said slowly. "I'm probably jumping to a conclusion here, but I've got to know... since your sister is a Slayerette, does that mean you are, too?"
The question was asked quietly, but it was loud enough for Edgar to hear. Walking over to the table and taking a seat next to Alex, he asked quietly, "Is that true, Corporal?"
Alex briefly toyed with the idea of lying, but immediately discarded it at useless. Not trusting himself to speak, he simply nodded.
"Why didn't you say something?" Edgar asked, somewhat incredulous.
"Up until you accessed the Harris File, would you have believed me, sir?" Alex asked in response.
Edgar couldn't deny that point, but it still came as something of a surprise. Shaking his head as if to clear it, he said, "Well, along with the report came orders. It seems that the LAPD is starting to have trouble with the vampire population within the arcology, particularly the Sunnydale Dome.
"At the moment, there's enough equipment ready for one company to be deployed, and we've been picked." He raised his voice so that everyone in the room could hear him. "We leave in ninety minutes, so get yourselves sobered up and ready to go."
As the room erupted in a flurry of activity as Marines finished their drinks and headed off to use medical nanonics to filter the alcohol from their bloodstreams. The NCOs, however, remained behind briefly at Edgar's signal.
Once they had the room to themselves, Edgar turned to Alex and asked, "Well, you've had experience at this sort of thing. Any suggestions?"
Alex thought for a moment before replying, "What we did in training should work pretty well, unless we actually run into one of the situations in the scenarios you devised, sir. Patrolling as platoons might be a good idea as well." He paused and shrugged. "It all depends on the situation on the ground," he added.
Edgar nodded. "That sounds reasonable," he said. "Now, I think we'd better get moving ourselves."
****
LAPD Precinct Headquarters
Sunnydale Dome, Los Angeles arcology
8th June, 2614
The trip down from the O'Neill Halo had been a quick one. Govcentral override authorisation codes had allowed the Marines to commandeer as many lift capsules on the Supra-Brazil orbital tower as they had needed, and a vac-train to Los Angeles had been waiting for them when they'd reached Earth's surface.
Six hours after they left the O'Neill Halo, the trucks carrying the Marine company and their equipment were pulling up outside the Sunnydale Dome Precinct Headquarters. {Wait here}, Edgar ordered. {Matthews, you come with me,} he added, as he climbed out of the lead truck's cabin and headed up the steps leading to the main doors, with Alex falling into step beside him.
A couple of questions later, they were entering the operations room, and caught sight of Captain Henderson standing in the middle of the room, watching the main screen as more and more suspected vampire attacks were plotted. Henderson saw them and advance to greet them with an outsretched hand. "Captain Henderson?" Edgar asked, more out of formality that anything else. "Luke Edgar, Govcentral Marines," he introduced himself, shaking Henderson's hand. "This is Alex Matthews, same," he added as Alex and Henderson shook hands.
"Matthew Henderson. Good to meet you," Henderson said. "We could really use some help around here right about now," he added, indicating the main board.
"What's going on?" Edgar asked.
"There's a rash of abductions going on throughout the dome," Henderson replied. "It seems that the local vampire leader wants to build his numbers up after last week's battle. We're trying to respond, but because the abductions are taking place at pretty much random locations, and at all levels, we're having some difficulty."
"We'll do what we can," Edgar said. "But, at the moment, there's only my company available. The rest of the brigade should be ready before too long, though."
Henderson nodded, accepting that. "I'd call in help from the other domes, but vampire activity seems to be picking up there as well. And from what I've heard, police forces in other arcologies have their hands full, as well." With the important preliminaries out of the way, he was able to turn his attention to Alex. "Matthews, huh?" he asked. "Any relation to Amanda Matthews?"
Alex nodded. "She's my sister," he replied. "How is she?"
Henderson's face was grim. "To be honest, not good," he answered. "The last time I saw her, she was in the cafeteria," he added.
Glancing at Edgar, and receiving permission with a nod, Alex excused himself and set off in search of his sister.
Once he'd left, Henderson turned to Edgar and said, "If I had to guess, I'd say he's a Slayerette, too."
"Good use of those police instincts," Edgar said with a smile. "He is, indeed, which came as a bit of a surprise."
Henderson snorted. "You shouldn't feel too bad about not noticing," he said. "I, on the other hand, should be ashamed of myself for not noticing anything about his sister being a Slayerette. After all, that sort of thing, is my job."
Edgar grinned. "Maybe she thinks she'll get your job once you get fired for incompetence," he said.
"Perish the thought," Henderson replied, before gesturing at the main screen. "Shall we get to work?"
"Yes, let's."
****
Amanda was clutching a cup of coffee in both hands, as if it was a lifeline, while behind her eyes, the events of the last twelve hours replayed themselves. She was so deep in thought that she didn't notice when someone sat down next to her. "Hey, sis," she heard a quiet voice say.
That got her attention. "Alex?" she said in a near whisper, whirling around on her seat. Sitting next to her was...
"Alex!" she exclaimed, hurling herself at him while, unnoticed, the coffee cup went flying.
"Oof!" he grunted as he caught her and wrapped his arms around her in a huge hug as Amanda sobbed quietly.
"Hey..." Alex said, trailing off, not knowing how to continue.
"It was horrible, Alex," Amanda sobbed. "He destroyed our home and he killed Judy and Michael and Matthew and he nearly killed the rest of us and..." she was forced to stop when she ran out of air.
"We'll get the bastard," Alex said softly.
Amanda made no reply, insteading continuing to weep while he just held her. A voice from the door got his attention. "'Manda? What's goi-" Turning his head, he saw Cat standing in the doorway, an expression of surprise on her face. "Alex?" she asked quietly.
"Last time I checked, anyway."
A fraction of a second later - using her Slayer speed - she was sitting on the other side of him, hugging him firmly. "It's good to see you again, even if the circumstances suck," she said quiety.
"Hey, I was only gone a day," he protested.
"Yeah, but it's been a bad day."
Alex could only nod at that. "True," he said. "But look on the not-so-dark side. We've got professional help now, which might make things a little easier."
"Why do I get the feeling that we're really, really going to need it, though?"