"The Prometheus missed their scheduled check-in." The General announced from behind his desk.
Sitting across from him, Jack and Daniel both visibly reacted; however, Jack spoke first. "Do we know why?"
"No. They were supposed to report in last night. But we still haven't heard from them.
"Damn it." Jack hissed. "So many things could have gone wrong. The hyperdrive. The Goa'uld. ---"
"It could also be something simple like a communications malfunction." Daniel tried to calm his friend.
"Doctor Jackson's right. The hyperdrive was working fine during all the previous check-ins. And from all reports, the System Lord's fleet isn't anywhere near their planned flight path. If we don't hear from them before the next scheduled cool-down period; we'll do what we can to find them." Hammond offered.
The other two men silently acknowledged the plan.
"Moving on." The General broke the silence. "How did dinner go last night?"
*** *** ***
A young African-American woman wearing a nurse uniform waited patiently until the elevator doors opened revealing Willow and Kennedy already aboard. "Oh hi there." The woman politely greeted as she stepped into the lift and the doors closed.
"Oh Hi Diana." The witch happily responded.
"Yeah Hey." The slayer also returned. "Infirmary?"
"Yeah, I got called in. One of the other nurses had some kind of family emergency."
Kennedy hit the appropriate button to take the nurse where she needed to go and the doors closed.
"So, did you really take sg-1 to a demon restaurant?" Diana opened the conversation.
"Ah yeah. They seemed to enjoy it. Daniel nearly went ga-ga over the different demon species there." Willow answered.
"So it was a nice place?"
"It was. You know you should get Derrick to take you there. The food's great and you don't need a reservation." Willow suggested.
"I might do that." Diana considered. "What about the fight? Were they really vampire mobsters or is that just base gossip?"
"No they were real. In fact we're headed to see the General about it now." Kennedy responded as the elevator stopped and the doors opened.
Daniel was coming toward them from a distance as the nurse stepped out of the car.
Kennedy held the doors open with her hand. You gon'na be off duty in time for tonight ain'cha?"
"I don't think so. But the guys are still free so have fun." Diana finished and walked off to report for duty.
Daniel unnecessarily pushed his glasses up at overhearing part of the conversation. "Tonight?"
"Yes Diana and some of the guys were going to show us what passes for fun around here. What, you think that sg-1 would be the only friends we made here?" Willow admonished.
"Uh, no. I guess I just never thought about it." The archeologist admitted. "But I guess you would rather spend time with people closer to your own age."
"Yeah, I mean we like you guys an' all, but we don't exactly have the same definition of fun." Kennedy pointed out.
"What about you? You O.K?" Willow asked.
"Huh?" the man looked confused.
"You're coming from the infirmary."
"Oh. Yes. Just a check up on my leg. Looks like I'll be back in action soon."
"Well that's good."
"Yeah great news, but we're holding up the elevator. So, going down?" Kennedy asked.
"No, up actually. I'll catch the next one."
"O.K. Seeya 'round then." The brunette removed her hand letting the doors close.
*** *** ***
Knocking came from outside Hammond's office door.
"Come in!" the Base Commander answered from behind his desk.
Kennedy opened the door, with Willow behind her to see Jack also in the room standing next to the General. "You wanted to see us?"
"Yes, come in… And close the door."
"Uh-Oh, this sounds serious." Willow suspected doing as the General asked. "If you're upset about what happened last night ---?" She rambled out.
"No, no. The way I hear it you handled things pretty well." Hammond assured calmly. "But you're right, this is serious. Please, have a seat."
Both girls anxiously sat opposite the General.
Hammond sighed. "We did some checking. I thought you should know what we found out." Hammond picked up one of two folders in front of him and opened it. "Douglass Martin has a record going back all the way to when he was twelve years old. Mostly petty theft at first then he was arrested for burglary at age fifteen spent three years in juvenile detention until his eighteenth birthday. At nineteen he was arrested for assault but the charges were dropped. By twenty-two he had been suspected, but never charged, with four different murders. And apparently went to work for Stefan Zorichov eight years ago. As for Stefan Zorichov," Hammond opened the second file. He emigrated to the U.S. from Hungary about twenty years ago when he was twenty-five. He's been investigated by the F.B.I. several times for extortion, racketeering, gun running, money laundering and murder. But every time they get a witness or an undercover agent in place they either turn up dead or disappear completely."
"Sounds like your stereotypical mobster." Kennedy didn't sound concerned.
"The point is that these people don't take threats to their business lightly." Jack pointed out. "We need to know how you plan to handle this."
"Not much to do right now. The ball's kind 'a in his court. If this guy does try somethin', we'll just have to deal with that when it happens." Kennedy offered.
"That's it. You're just going to sit back, wait and see?" Jack belittled.
"What would you have us do? Sneak into his house in the dead of night and murder him in his sleep." Kennedy shot back.
"Of course not! But we still need to be prepared if he does try anything."
"He's right Kenn, it wouldn't hurt to be prepared." Willow acknowledged.
"I think that's all the Colonel is suggesting." Hammond offered trying lower the rising tempers.
"We can contact Giles. See if he can dig up any more information. If Zorichov is connected enough to have vamps working for him he might have a reputation. Maybe get a better idea of how he might react."
"Fine." The slayer relented. She noticed the two men's inquisitive looks. "Friend of ours. Well connected." Kennedy quickly added before either man could ask the next obvious question.
"Is there anything else you wanted?" Willow asked.
"Actually, yes. The Prometheus missed its last two check-ins. We've tried to contact them but with no success. We asked the tok'ra to send a ship to retrace their route but all their ships are tied up right now. They did promise to send the first one that becomes available but that could be a while. I was wondering if ---."
"I could do something?" Willow finished. "I'd love to; but I've never even heard of a locator spell designed to find something in outer space. It's just too big and there are no real directions out there. North and South, left and right don't mean anything. And any maps would be so small of a scale and only two-dimensional ---. I could try to find a spell, but that could take time even if one exists. As it is, the best I MIGHT be able to do is narrow it down to a few million miles in every direction. But if they're still moving, ---. You probably have a better chance of finding them without my help."
"I think I understand." Hammond accepted trying to hide his disappointment while the hope also fell from Jack's face.
"I really am sorry General. It's just beyond me." Willow apologized. "Which makes the fact that I'm about to ask for something a little awkward. I was hoping you would allow me to get in the labs."
"Why do you want in the labs?" Hammond inquired.
"Are you kidding?! Where else am I going to get to work with neat alien stuff? I have other skills besides magic ya know."
"What skills?" Jack asked.
"Oh Will's not just a witch. She's also a science nerd." Kennedy bragged.
*** *** ***
"Would you stop and listen to me?" Chloe stood between her fellow researcher and the plasma cannon preventing him from getting to it.
"This is going to work. I know it will." Felger tried to get around her with the tool he planned to use but she stepped in his path.
"No it won't Jay."
"Yes it will." He faked left then quickly dodged right getting past the short blonde.
Chloe spun around and quickly caught up snatching the instrument from the man's hands. Think about what you're doing."
"I have, now gi'me it." He tried to take his tool back.
"No!" Chloe Held on tight refusing to let go.
"I said gi'me!" Jay pulled harder but Chloe still held on.
"And I said NO!" she yanked back.
"Ah excuse me." The familiar sound of Colonel O'Neill's voice caused the arguing pair to stop before an all out tug of war could start, and look toward the entrance where the man himself stood with Willow and Kennedy beside him. "Alright kids, what did we learn about sharing?"
"Awww did you haf'ta stop'em? I was starting to enjoy the Fred and Ethel act." Kennedy whined.
"Colonel O'Neill!" Felger nervously declared.
"Felger. Chloe." Jack acknowledged.
"Hi Colonel." Chloe answered politely.
"What are you ---? Any word on Major Carter?" Felger abruptly asked.
"Not yet. Will some one tell me what's going on here?"
"Jay wants to increase the threshold on the plasma cannon's power regulator.
""It'll increase the beam's output."
"Raising the threshold will also increase the risk of a power overload. The best way to increase the output is to increase the efficiency of the conversion process.
"We can insulate against ---."
"That's enough. You really don't want to risk getting on the General's bad side again not to mention mine do you?" Jack challenged.
"What exactly does it do?" Willow was intrigued and walked across the room to inspect the piece of equipment the scientists were arguing over. The same one she had noticed her first time in the lab.
"It emits a concentrated beam of plasma that ---."
"It doesn't work." Jack interrupted.
"What are you using to catalyze the conversion process?" Willow inquired with interest.
Kennedy recognized the shift in her girlfriend's demeanor. "Ah, Will, don't forget that we're ---."
"Yeah, Yeah, this won't take long." The witch waved off her girlfriend's reminder.
"But Will, we were suppo--. Oh who am I kiddin'." Kennedy faced Jack. "Come on, her science side is showing. What else you got to do 'round here?" She walked out the lab's double doors expecting Jack to follow.
Jack glanced back at the three people who seemed engrossed in discussion then followed her outside.
*** *** ***
The band playing on stage was decent, not great, but good and the dance floor was fairly full of young people bumping and grinding to the loud, fast music. Willow and Kennedy were no exception. Alternating red, yellow, green and blue lights flashed by the couple as they moved. The redhead's back was pressed against the brunette's front. The slayer's sleeveless arms circled the witch's bare waist holding her close but still allowing her freedom to move however the music drove her. In return the witch reached behind her caressing the outer sides and backs of her girlfriend's leather clad thighs. Both lost to the feeling of each other's movements.
Over at one of the tables three young men sat watching the action on the dance floor.
"Those two seem to be enjoying themselves." A tall lanky man with high cheekbones hinting to a partial Native American heritage commented.
"They seem to enjoy putting on a show too." A well-muscled redhead added.
"Yeah, it's also good to see someone in the know willing to hang out with us lowly Airmen too." The African American answered. "It's too bad Diana had to work or we'd be out there too."
This elicited a chuckle from the redhead. "Man, Derrick. You got it bad. Look around. There are plenty of fine women here. Dance with one of them."
"Oh No. Our new friends may like us, but they are still women. And I'm sure Diana is going to get a full report on what we all do tonight. If they told her I was getting' cozy on the dance floor with some other girl ---. Well she does know how to use all those surgical tools."
"Or. She might just convince Willow to turn you into a toad or somethin'." The first man suggested.
"Hey, Eddie that'd be somethin' to see." The redhead snickered.
"Remind me why we're friends." Derrick scolded.
The song ended and the two women they had invited to this club came back to the table.
"Whew! That worked up a thirst! This round's on me. Anybody else want something?" Kennedy offered.
Eddie held up his beer bottle. "I'm fine."
"Same here." Derrick answered.
"How 'bout you Chris?"
"I'm good."
"Will?"
"Coke." The Wiccan smiled as way of saying please.
"Be right back then." The slayer headed toward the bar.
Willow dropped into the only open seat. "It's hard to keep up with that girl at times." She puffed tiredly.
"You don't seem to mind it though." Eddie teased.
The woman smiled. "I don't."
*** *** ***
Kennedy got to the bar and attracted the Bartender's attention. "Two cokes." As she waited for her order she felt a familiar twist in her gut. Quickly glancing around, her eyes fell on the source of her internal alarm. A pretty brown-haired woman about her age was smiling and cozying up to a handsome and stout twenty-something looking vampire. "Damn it!" she breathed.
"Here you go." The bartender set two tall glasses of iced coke with straws on the counter.
"Uh thanks." She handed him a single bill and took a drink in each hand.
Making her way back to the table, she set the drinks down, still watching the vampire. "Be right back." She told her friends and without further explanation, pulled a stake from her denim jacket hanging on the back of Willow's chair and started toward the couple.
Willow, recognizing the shift from Kennedy to slayer, jumped up and reached out catching the other girl's hand. "What is it?"
"Vampire. I'll take care of it."
The three men at the table took notice but didn't interrupt.
"Want me to come?"
"It's just one. I'll be right back." Kennedy said with certainty and pulled her hand out of Willow's grasp and headed through the crowd toward her target.
"You're not worried?" Derrick questioned the witch as she sat back down.
"Nah, this happens all the time."
"Not to me it don't. I don't know about the rest of you guys but I want to see this." Derrick declared.
"Hey I'm in." Chris supplied.
"Me too. I mean how often does a guy get to see a real live vampire? Eddie chimed in.
"Actually never." Willow informed. "Technically vampires are already dead.
Eddie cocked his head with a snort wearing an unspoken 'Smart-ass' expression. Then he got up to leave while the two other men followed.
Willow thought about it then shrugged to herself and hurried to catch up.
Halfway across the room Kennedy saw the vampire lean down and whisper into the girl's ear. The girl giggled in return and took the vampire's hand following him toward a side door.
Willow spotted the slayer's head bounce among the multitude of clubbers then followed her gaze to a couple just as they exited a side door. The same door her lover was now headed to.
Kennedy burst through the door to find the vampire with his back to her feeding on the girl who struggled uselessly against the creature. "All right that's enough. Let her go!" She stepped closer to challenge the monster.
"Yes Michael let me go." The young woman said casually without worry or fear. Michael released the woman and stepped to the side as he turned to the slayer still wearing his human mask and a wide grin. "Now that our prize is here there's no longer any need to keep up the ruse." The woman's grin matched the vampire's.
Realization dawned on the slayer. Movement to the right caught her attention and she saw two bulky brown-skinned demons with thick necks walking toward her. Glancing to the left another demon of the same breed also advanced. Behind her a fourth demon dropped from the club's second story roof blocking the door she had just come through. "Crap."
*** *** ***
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I know. I know. I'm sorry it took so long but research takes time. Plus the number of re-writes. I hope it was worth the wait.