And here we have the next chapter. Thank you all for your reviews.

Covenant's Fall

Summary: Sydney and Vaughn head off to find Irina, but old enemies haunt their steps. Alternate Season 4.

Rating: PG-13 at the moment.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything included in this story except the occasional concept.

Chapter Four

Olivia Reed stared at him. There was undisguised loathing in her eyes.

"You killed my daughter."

It was a statement, not a question.

Vaughn treated it as such, and did not respond.

Olivia stood up and began to pace. Chained to the chair as he was, Vaughn could not follow her movements past a certain point. "You know that I am going to kill you. And that, even if I did not, Mr. Sark would. I did not know that he and Lauren had grown so close, but it is gratifying that my daughter had some of the happiness that I was denied." Her voice sharpened. "And then you took it all away from her. Her honour, her dignity and finally her life. And for what? Closure? Absolution?"

Her voice rose in pitch. "I have killed more in the service of the Covenant and its goals than you have or ever will at the CIA. There is no such thing as forgiveness. Not in heaven or on earth. But at least I served a purpose beyond the preservation of the mindless obedience of the orders of your superiors, as did Lauren." She slumped back into her chair, and her voice dwindled to a whisper. "Before you killed her."

Vaughn stared at her. "But the Covenant has only existed for a few years. How can you have killed that many in such a short time?"

Olivia blinked. "How did Lauren manage to get killed by such a fool? The Covenant has existed longer than your pathetic country, and will endure long after it has fallen into dust." She waved away his objection. "The current form of the Covenant, with its cells and its terrorists is more recent, yes, but the core of the organisation is old beyond any other organisation save one that exists today."

"It began over seventeen hundred years ago. Alexander the Great destroyed many irreplaceable documents when he burned Persepolis. When the House of Sassan came to the throne of Persia, they knew that as much as possible must be saved. It was Kartir, mobed-e-mobedan under Shapur I, who first founded the Covenant. He started it to preserve knowledge, any knowledge."

She broke off, noticing Vaughn's puzzled look. "Mobed-e-mobedan was the chief priest of the Sassanid religion, better known as Zoroastrianism."

Vaughn nodded, wondering why Olivia was telling him this, and then realised that she probably felt that it would not matter. He would be dead before long, certainly before he could tell anyone.

"The Covenant continued throughout the reign of the Sassanids. It was made up of members of the Magi, the priests, who would go in search of knowledge, and bring it back to be recorded. However, in the early seventh century, the Muslims invaded. The Persian Empire collapsed into blood and fire, and the religion of Zarathustra was swept away. The Magi who formed the Covenant fled north, with as much as they could save from the destruction. In time, they came to what would become Russia."

Olivia saw Vaughn's moment of realisation. "Yes, and that is where the core of the Covenant has remained ever since. The Magi survivors integrated into Russian families, so as to preserve what they could of the glories of Persia. Gradually it declined, and all that was left was the knowledge. Each family preserved what it could, and added to it. They married their children into the nobility of other countries, to gain more, and more. Eventually the network spread across all Europe." She smiled proudly. "I can trace my descent back to one of the first members of the Covenant."

Her face darkened. "And then came Rambaldi. The Covenant first heard of his designs through a Cardinal sympathetic to the cause. He was invited to join us, an almost unheard of honour in those days. He refused. He did not want to be bound by our rules and restrictions on knowledge and its acquisition. He wanted to be free to build what he wished. And he did. Even today we have not found everything he built, nor do we expect to."

Vaughn looked at her. "He would not join, so you had him executed. Nice."

Olivia shook her head. "No, Rambaldi was executed by the Papacy, and his work scattered. Some of his papers and machines came to us, either directly or through the Medici. They were most helpful. Others were lost, including his more powerful devices. Through the years, we gathered all we could. I am told that it was difficult at times, for many rulers wished to wield the might that Rambaldi's creations could bestow. This continued until 1917. When revolution broke out in Russia, the Covenant originally supported the Tsar. Then Lenin gave us an ultimatum: support the Bolsheviks or be annihilated. The leadership of the time had no choice: they could not risk the destruction of their gathered knowledge. Hence Lazarey's opinion of us. He perceived it as a deliberate act of betrayal. They sent away what they could, and served the Communists as spies. That was how Stalin acquired the Rambaldi box. And so it went on for eighty years. Then the USSR disintegrated, and in the confusion, the Covenant vanished. The leaders decided that they must never be helpless again as they were before the Bolsheviks. So they split up the gathered knowledge. Some of it lies below us, in the vaults of this stronghold. They also allowed many former KGB to join us, and set up the origins of a network of legitimate businesses that would help to support us. It was but a short step from that to the cells and the terror."

Olivia laughed. "You believed that the terrorism was the Covenant's primary aim. For some it is. But the true purpose is the gathering of knowledge. There is an internal struggle in the Covenant now. The old families against the mercenaries and those who would use our knowledge for their own ends. The leadership favours the newcomers, for many of them are newcomers themselves."

Vaughn could not believe what he was hearing. "But why? If information is all that you are after, why the secrecy and the plots?"

"Information is a weapon like any other, Agent Vaughn. It can be used in a variety of ways. It has to be acquired in ways that are unpleasant. For centuries now we have focussed on finding Rambaldi's machines, because they represent the means to extend our reach. After all, information must be used. The Covenant's goal is to use it as Rambaldi himself intended. Of course that is a much debated issue among the leadership. Some believe one thing, some another. At the moment the more radical factions are in control. Lauren would have tipped the balance back in our direction. But now the time has come."

Olivia stepped in close to Vaughn. "You see, we have the means to Rambaldi's endgame in our hands. We found his hidden laboratory."

Vaughn knew that this could not be good. "And what was in Rambaldi's workshop?"

Olivia's face shone with transcendent joy. "The means to undo everything that you and the CIA, most notably Sydney Bristow, have conspired to put in our way. Il Rinato. Soon, Agent Michael Vaughn of the CIA, soon we will have it all."

CIA Temporary Headquarters:

"Agent Bristow, Agent Bristow!" Marshall ran up to Jack and Dixon as they stood outside his office.

"I've found them, Agents Vaughn and Bristow – Sydney I mean, because you are here, so how could you be there? You are not lost I mean."

Dixon sighed. "Marshall, where are they?"

"Ah, oh yes. Sark took them to a chartered plane, and I managed to hack the server of the company that own it. He took it to Central Africa. I have exact co-ordinates!"

Jack nodded. "I will assemble a team and get going."

Dixon and Marshall watched him go. "I wouldn't want to be the Covenant." Both men turned to see Weiss behind them.

Dixon agreed. "Any progress on finding those nukes, Agent Weiss?"

"Yes, half were sent to somewhere in Russia, the others to Central Africa."

Dixon sighed. "Tell Jack to watch out for them, he is to recover them if possible."

Covenant facility, Central Africa:

After his interrogation by Olivia Reed, Vaughn had been thrown back into his cell. When she had finished telling him about the Covenant, Olivia had begun a more traditional torture session, including knives and the same electrical device that Sark had used on him. Sark had watched for a while, before going off to finish setting up something.

An hour or two later, a pair of guards came for him again. This time he was not taken to an interrogation room, but to some sort of science facility. Waiting for him were Sark, Olivia, and a man Vaughn recognised as McKenas Cole, who he had thought to still be imprisoned. Vaughn was gagged and tied to a chair again, with a guard pointing a sub machine gun at his head.

One half of the large room was occupied by what Vaughn assumed was Il Rinato. A segmented sphere, its surface covered with glass tubes, made of some sort of metal, sat atop a base consisting of three arms that held the sphere in place. Various wires led from the sphere and its base to a variety of computers and electronic equipment.

The Covenant leaders took seats alongside Vaughn, with Sark the nearest.

"Enjoy the show, Mr. Vaughn. I know that I will."

Meanwhile, Olivia and Cole were talking.

"It was good of you to approve this and then come all of this way to see it, McKenas."

Cole laughed. "It was my pleasure Olivia. It was a black day for the Covenant. It would be excellent to set that right, and it allows us to test Il Rinato. It was a golden opportunity." He reached out and kissed her hand mockingly. "Besides, how could I miss a chance to enjoy your company?"

The technicians were finished with their adjustments, and looked to Olivia for instructions. "Julian, I think that you should have the honour."

Sark stood and went over to the machine. "As you wish." He threw the main switch.

Green liquid began to flow through the tubes on the sphere. It rose until it floated between the tops of the embracing arms, then it began to spin slowly. Vaughn could now see that it was a larger version of the device that Gerard Cuvee had been using in Kashmir, complete with the use of nuclear cores to power it. He started to have a bad feeling about this. The device in Kashmir had been used to keep an orchid alive for centuries. What purpose could this one have? It was much too large for a single flower, large enough to contain a… person. Vaughn's mind reeled at the thought. It was impossible. Not even Rambaldi could do this.

The sphere spun faster and faster. A green light engulfed it, generated from the tops of the pylons that surrounded it. It sounded almost like the beating of a giant heart. The Covenant members present were clearly in awe of it, leaning forward eagerly to watch it work. The scientists stood at their terminals, manipulating the machine. Sark just stood there, his face expressionless. But later, Vaughn would have sworn that he saw a tear slide down Sark's cheek, or it may have just been the light.

Suddenly there was a flash of blinding white light. By the time Vaughn could see again, the sphere had settled back on its plinth. The sickly green glow was gone, and no liquid moved in the tubes. Everything was as it had been. For a moment, nothing happened, and Vaughn dared to think that it had not worked. Then a segment of the sphere cracked open, steam hissing out from within. Sark and two techs went over, prising it open further until Sark could see into the depths of the sphere.

He stood for a moment just gazing inside it, and then he gestured for Cole to come and join him. Cole glanced inside, and laughed.

"It worked! Olivia, come see!"

And she did. She staggered slightly when she gazed upon the contents, but she quickly caught herself.

"Well, what are you waiting for, Julian? Help the lady out." That was Cole again.

Sark reached into the sphere, extending his hand. Vaughn saw another hand appear and take it. Without much visible effort, Sark pulled the owner of the hand out. Before Vaughn could see clearly who it was, Cole and Olivia had blocked his view. Their voices overlapped so that he could not hear what they were saying. Cole sounded ecstatic as did Olivia. He did not think that whoever had been in that chamber had said anything. Sark sounded the same as ever.

And then they parted like the Red Sea, and he gazed upon the contents of the sphere. She leaned on Sark, as thought she had not quite remembered how to walk. Her skin was paler than usual, although it was already starting to return to its normal shade in places. Her hair was exactly as he remembered it, although it was plastered to her head. Her breathing was shaky but starting to return to normal. Her eyes were focussed on him.

There was a triumphant smirk on Sark's face, one mirrored on those of Cole and Olivia Reed. "Did I not tell you, Michael, that everything that you had done to stop us would be undone? Everything?"

Lauren stood before him, alive. His worst nightmare, the one that kept him from sleeping at night. He had seen this moment a hundred times before, the accusation in her eyes as she had died at the bottom of that pit now there in her living eyes as well.

Vaughn could not think. His mind went blank. Sark led Lauren past him and out of the lab, but the memory of her gaze remained with him until he was tossed back into his cell. As the guards left, one shouted back: "I would get some sleep if I were you. Your execution is at dawn." But sleep eluded Vaughn, and every time he closed his eyes, all he could see was Lauren's accusing eyes staring into his very soul.

A/N: All of the history in here with the exception of the Covenant's role is correct. For those who are interested, the Sassanid Empire lasted from 225 AD to 657 AD. Shapur I was its second ruler.

Lauren's resurrection was always part of the plan, and the Rambaldi machine in question will be featured again. As Cole said, this was just a test. Next we will be visiting Sydney and seeing what Irina had to say. And it may not be what you think.

Just a little teaser for the next chapter: Sark levelled the gun at her head. "I have been waiting for this moment for three years."