Whatever you do
I'll do it too
Show me everything and tell me how
It all means something
And yet nothing to me
I can see there's so much to learn
It's all so close and yet so far
I see myself as people see me
Oh, I just know there's something
Bigger out there
I wanna know, can you show me
I wanna know about these
Strangers like me
Tell me more, please show me
Something's familiar about these strangers like me
Later that evening, after they'd given Cordelia time to get situated in her quarters and to shower and change, the officers were assembled in the main conference room. Cordelia looked up and down the length of the big table, nervous at the silence, so full of questions about Doyle. "So they put you in charge here?"
He seemed to go sheepish under her scrutiny. "Yeah…guess they ran out o' choices." He chuckled to himself lightly.
She effectively smacked him in the shoulder. "Don't say that. I know you, Doyle. You deserve to be here. And in charge, too."
He looked down at the conference table, but didn't argue with her. He remembered how futile it was.
Maj laughed at his superior's silence. "Man, I like her."
Doyle coughed, a look of disapproval communicated between himself and his 2IC. "Um, well, we'll catch up ina bit then, Cord. I s'pose we need to get ta th' business at hand first."
She nodded. "Right. Of course. Helping the helpless, priority one. So, what's the mission statement for this place? What demon butt are we kicking?" All heads turned towards her. She looked around. "What?"
Doyle scratched at the back of his head. "Um, things are a bit different here than back in LA, Princess."
"Yeah? How?"
"Well, if you'd take a look around… you're the only human here."
She did take a look around. "And there's you, you big dummy."
He sighed and shifted into his Brachen form. "Not really."
"Well, that." She dismissed it with a wave, and he wondered why it didn't make him feel as good as it might have three years ago. "I thought I told you, I don't care about that."
He shifted back to human features anyway. "Well, the demons here… well, not technically all demons, but not human, I guess."
Her eyes narrowed at his elusiveness. "Spit it out, Doyle. What's up?" She tapped her index finger on the table for emphasis.
"Well Cord, it's not the demons that're the problem here in Kaylorin." He scratched at the side of his arm. "It's actually the humans."
She looked at him for a moment, to make sure he wasn't joking, eyebrows jumping upward (to her credit) only a fraction of an inch. "I see…" she looked around at the colorful assortment of officers. "Which explains the Giant Lizard, I guess…" she looked over at Aun. "He looks kind of grumpy."
Gwyn looked slightly annoyed at the new arrival's bluntness. She found it grating. "His brother just died."
Cordy's hand went to her mouth. "Oh, I'm sorry." She looked at Doyle. "I think you better tart talking before your whole team here hates me."
"Um, yeah. Actually, Maj has a slideshow." He gestured to the giant wolf.
"Wow, prepared."
"It's better than me gettin' everyone confused, I s'pose."
Maj nodded to Kal, and Cordelia watched as a robot straight out of Transformers got up and hit the lights. She bit her tongue.
Maj leapt from his chair and gestured towards a very tall winged guy, who pulled down a projector screen. Another nod and the blue-skinned girl that obviously didn't like her much flipped a button. A hole opened up in the center of the table and a projector looking type thing was raised up. With the push of a button it flickered to life.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thirty minutes later, the lights were turned back on. Cordelia blinked, and all eyes turned on her.
She held out a hand. "So let me get this straight. You're fighting a war in this dimension because hundreds years ago, all the humans got infected by some big, dark evil?"
Doyle nodded. "Sorta like the story o' the creation o' the first vampire on earth… gettin' fused wid evil and becomin' a demon an' all that… 'cept here it happens to be that the humans haven't turned all bloodthirsty an' pale."
Cordy nodded. "So I saw. They're just…evil. And what, the people… er… things… inhabitants… of this dimension coexisted with them here like people and vamps back home for like, half a millennium?"
Doyle nodded. "Good guys, bad guys just goin' 'bout their business."
"And then one day one of the humans just got all inspired and was like, 'hey, let's rule this dimension'?" she asked, making a fist and pounding it on the table for effect.
"Seph," Maj nodded, naming the ancient aggressor that had embroiled the world in war and destruction.
"And so the good guys rally the troops and the other…inhabitants…living here to fight back against him?"
"Held their own fer 'bout a century…then things started gettin' bad. Powers had to intervene or this dimension and the immediate ones below an' above it would be sucked right into nothin'."
"And that's when the whole, 'bring in fighters from other places' idea kicked in?"
"And it's why you'n me and the rest of us are here, babe," Maj finished with a little wink.
"Yeah, so they bring guys like us in, and we lead them, and fight and stuff… and it's been like this for two hundred years?"
Everyone nodded.
Cordelia stared straight ahead, eyes growing larger. "Wow. That sucks."
Maj snorted. "I have said I like this girl, right?"
"Numerous times, sir," the cyborg responded automatically.
"Okay, so now I've got the whole thousand year history. Fill me in on what's been happening since you got here, boss." She tapped Doyle on the leg, and he started a little at the contact.
"Oh, lately? Yeah… well, when I got here after that night on the Quintessa…" he trailed off, a distasteful expression on his face. "Er… when I first got here, th' commandin' officer, General Fessing was just planin' on launching some big battle attack plan, thought he'd end the whole thing in one swoop an' slaughter the whole o' the humans."
"And, it didn't work, obviously. What happened?"
"'E got killed," Doyle sighed. "I warned 'im not to go on with th' plan, cause there were too many things in 'is strategy that could go awry if the timin' wasn't just right And o' course it wasn't right, so the whole op got blown to 'ell. Fessing died on the retreat. Sad day. Had to find a new leader…"
"And everyone picked you," she finished for him, her russet eyes shining up into his in an uncomfortable mix of faith in his ability and pride in his accomplishments.
He swallowed and looked down at the table. "Yeah. You know, after I got some basic trainin' in. They figured some new perspective would be good fer leadership."
"Then what happened?"
"Well, then General Doyle here's been our leader since. After the battle of Fessing's Folly, we were seriously demoralized… Doyle here led us on a successful offensive a month after and made us feel a damned sight better about ourselves," Maj grunted.
She smiled luminously. "Always the hero."
He cringed slightly.
"Anyway, about a week before you got here, thought we got hold of some reliable info…"
Doyle and Aun both gritted their teeth as Maj began to explain the most recent of the recent events.
"…but we got ambushed while we were preparing our own ambush and all hell broke loose. Battle only ended yesterday morning, after we managed to drive 'em back to their camps. But a lot of soldiers were killed." The Colonel paused for a breath and looked at his reptilian friend sympathetically. "Then we got news of you coming from Whistler, and voila! Here you are. Didn't know you'd already know the General, though."
"How do you know the General?" Gwyn asked.
"Old friends," Doyle responded right away. "Used to work together." He made as if that was the gist of the story, but Cordelia would have none of it.
"We used to work together for the Powers. He used to get visions from them to give to our friend Angel… one of Earth's champions. A few months after we'd met…uhm… " she paused, "…well, he got killed. Or, we thought he got killed, which obviously he didn't, 'cuz…" She waved a hand up and down in front of Doyle, "…here he is. We'd thought he'd died…we were so sad. He sacrificed himself to save us all…"
Doyle coughed. "Well… per'aps we should get started on reorganizin' now, yah?"
The look in his eyes begged for no protest, and dutifully, the officers turned straight in their chairs. Cordelia shrugged and followed suit.
Doyle cleared his throat. "Well… we've obviously got a new officer to deal wid here…Cordy, we um…we actually started commissioning' soldiers to come down an' join a new regiment for you to take over…" his face screwed up a little at the thought. "Um… it should be ready after you've been trained fer field duty…"
"With all due respect sir, she's human, isn't she at risk for infection, or at least, getting mistaken for one of the enemy and shot at by our men?" Tauri asked, looking over at the small girl. He noticed her studying his wings with fascination, and tucked them closer towards his back.
"Actually, she is not completely human, at least, not according to my sensors" the robot-thing interrupted. All heads turned towards her again and she offered a weak smile.
She looked at Doyle, whose emerald eyes had doubled in size. "Cordy?"
She managed to appear sheepish and defiant all at once. "Yeah…well, after you…left… the Powers needed someone to get the visions…"
His jaw dropped. "Oh Princess, I'm so sorry…I didn't…"
She shook her head. "No, Doyle, it's okay. It was a good thing. I got to help Angel and…"
"But the visions were never meant fer 'umans…couldn't take 'em."
She nodded. "I know… the Powers wanted me to give up the visions…I was never meant to have them. But I couldn't…I guess I was afraid Angel wouldn't need me anymore, and they just…"
"Made you demon," he finished for her.
"Part," she corrected, smiling, trying to chase away the shadow that had crept onto his face, bathed it in dark. "And hey, no tail, so it's all good…" she turned towards the Lizard. "No offense."
"None," he responded.
"What kind of demon?" Doyle asked, almost afraid.
She frowned. "I'm not really sure. They didn't really tell me. I glow though."
Everyone turned towards the robot. "Kal?"
It stood up. "I will check my database, but I will require a small blood sample."
Doyle sighed, and looked toward Gwyn. "We might as well give 'er the complete physical while we're at it. Better way to assess 'er skills, I s'pose."
At his cue, everyone got up and filed out of the room. Cordelia stood up and looked in his direction, the appropriate expression of dread on her pretty features. 'Physical?' she mouthed in his direction.
Her managed a small smile and a shrug. "Welcome to my world, Princess."
Whatever you do
I'll do it too
Show me everything and tell me how
It all means something
And yet nothing to me
I can see there's so much to learn
It's all so close and yet so far
I see myself as people see me
Oh, I just know there's something
Bigger out there
I wanna know, can you show me
I wanna know about these
Strangers like me
Tell me more, please show me
Something's familiar about these strangers like me