Angel watched as Gwen took the map to speak with Malthesar and a few other people who had been described as 'members of the Security Council'. He had the feeling that their position was more comparable to the FBI than to the LAPD. Several of them went into the room, bending over the map, while others remained outside, looking menacing.
Security... That should mean that they'd be well informed about the capabilities of their enemies. Angel walked closer, trying to look non-aggressive. "Could you tell me some about the combat abilities of the Dominionites?"
One Security Advisor looked at him, and gave a small sniff. "The Dominionites are stronger and faster than a human. You would be out-matched. For your safety, you should remain on the Protector."
Angel repressed the urge to snarl at the Thermian. "I am not human, I am a vampire."
"We are unfamiliar with this term." That Thermian was still giving him the dismissive eye. "You should remain where you are safe."
"What is the difference between a human and a vampire?" A second Security Advisor spoke, his expression blandly curious.
"Among other things, I am stronger and faster than a human. I can tell that while you are shaped like humans, you don't smell like humans." He held to his temper. Must not annoy the guards, especially when he had no idea what those little things at their belts were. The device could be a cell phone, or a scanner, or a hand held laser to disintegrate people.
"Dominionites are also stronger and faster than Thermians. We are somewhat stronger than humans. Is your strength greater than that of a Thermian?" The calm one asked.
"I haven't had a chance to find out." Angel commented, arms folded over his chest. "Possibly I could find a place to spar with someone?"
Tilting his head, the calm one appeared to be thinking about the situation. "Yes, it would be a prudent idea to determine your capabilities before a possible combat situation. If you are notably stronger than a human, you may be an advantage on a landing party, despite your lack of formal training at the academy."
Angel waited, reminding himself that these people were aliens, they shouldn't be expected to know everything about Earth. Jason wasn't in charge, which might be a good thing, these Security Advisors and Malthesar were, although he didn't know the details on the breakdown of power. "Where would be a good place to find out?"
"There is an area designed for exercise and hand to hand training. Follow me." With those words, the calm one started to walk out of the room.
With a small shrug, Angel followed. He was curious how a Thermian would hold up in a fight, and if they had any peculiar advantages or disadvantages that a human wouldn't have. At the very least, it would be better than lurking in gleaming metal corridors, wondering why indeed there was the mallet-choppy hallway.
Angel followed the Thermian down several hallways, with a few turns and a descent in the turbo-lift, which seemed pretty much like an elevator to Angel. More gleaming, identical hallways, and then a double set of doors opened onto what looked like an ultimate gym, created specifically to tempt health-fiends. There were several rows of gleaming, sleek exercise machines, some clearly based on weighted resistance, others reminding him of the exercise bike that had sat unused in a corner of Buffy's house. There were others that he couldn't identify, but surely had some sort of arcane, exercising purpose. There was also a large, open area with a different sort of floor covering, and a wall lines with mirrors.
As Angel followed the Thermian onto the mats, he could see the reflection of the Thermian frown, apparently alone on the matting.
"Why did you not follow..." Turning around, the Thermian jumped at the sight of Angel right behind him, his skin momentarily taking on a distinctly blue tone. He looked at Angel, and back at the mirror, the motion looking as if it should hurt his neck. "But you... you are not in the mirror. Why do you have no reflection?"
"I'm a vampire. No vampire reflects, although I don't understand why." Angel shrugged, not wanting to get into the mystical explanations that he'd heard before. "Are there any rules to be aware of before we get this started?"
"As this is for evaluation purposes, there should be no intention of extensive damage. The goal is not to break bones, tear tendons, or to leave any sort of nerve damage. Release holds on a request, and permit the fallen to regain footing." Pausing, the Thermian seemed to be mentally reviewing something. "And we should try to avoid killing strikes."
Angel nodded, "That seems fair enough."
With a huff of air, the Thermian moved forward, attempting to grab Angel. Reading the intent, Angel twisted out of the way, deciding to take the first few moments to evaluate how fast and agile his opponent actually was.
For several moments, it went that way, with the Thermian trying to seize Angel, and Angel avoiding. Gradually, Angel started to toss a few punches, establishing the reaction time and where the Thermian seemed swiftest to block. He was faster than a human, but seemed to have the same sensitive areas. He also kept trying to rely on the mirror to help him find Angel when he wasn't in the direct line of sight.
After several minutes, the Thermian managed to catch Angel, and flung him up and backwards, something that probably would have hurt a human badly. Grinning, Angel turned it into a backflip, landing on his feet for a single moment before lunging forward. "That's impressive, humans of your size can't pull that one off."
As the sparring continued, Angel came to the conclusion that the Thermians were stronger than humans, but not as strong as a newly risen vampire. They were however, as fast as a fledgling, something that should give them a definite advantage. Of course, skill and experience still counted for a lot...
He was grinning contentedly right up to the point where the arm that he'd grabbed suddenly turned into a blue tentacle. Angel was so startled that he let go, the Thermian spinning to the floor with a grunt.
"Wha... A tentacle?" Angel was now trying to make sense of what he'd just seen. "How?"
Carefully, the Thermian picked himself up from the matting, brushing at his uniform as if removing flecks of lint. He wasn't looking at Angel. "We do not look like this in our natural form. My people... we have a limited metamorphic ability. I apologize, I was distracted, and my shape slipped."
"You mean... when we first arrived, after being... what was the word? Digitized? Those were also Thermians?" Angel thought back to the odd octopus-looking creatures that had pointed their hair-dryer like devices at the newly arrived people.
"Yes." He still wasn't looking Angel in the eyes. Could he be embarrassed?
"Huh." Angel considered. There had been a lot of tentacles, that would definitely be an advantage in a fight. And if they were like the octopus types on Earth... "Do you actually have solid bones, or are they cartilage?"
Startled, the Thermian looked up, his eyes a spinning dark blue. "They are a stiffened cartilage while in human shape, and rather less stiff in our natural form. Our.... Our tentacles can not be broken in the same manner as a human arm."
"So, looking human on the ship is a matter of protocol?" Angel guessed, trying to sort this out.
"Yes." It was as if the Advisor was relaxing, slowly concluding that he wasn't about to get into trouble.
"The people that we're going to fight... They won't be as concerned with proper protocol. They might be willing to fight in their Thermian shapes." Angel commented. "What should I know about fighting a Thermian in their other shape?"
"There are not the calcified bones, as humans have. The tentacles are longer, giving a greater reach, though it is more difficult to do fine manipulations. Weak points..." He paused, as if uncertain of the wisdom of revealing his people's weaknesses. "Go for the eyes, or the place where the tentacles join together to form the central body mass. It is... sensitive. The head is also more vulnerable, but the tentacles are flexible enough to defend it well. In our natural shape, we have a greater length of reach."
"How much greater?"
"I am unfamiliar with the human units of measure." He paused, took a deep breath, and his body blurred, until he had entirely transformed into the octopus-like form, a deep blue in color. The tentacles curled around his body, which sat lower to the ground, and his head wasn't as high. A series of squeaks and chirps emerged. After another pause, tentacles on either side extended out stiffly, revealing a total tentacle-span of close to twenty feet.
"Okay..." Angel nodded, containing his surprise. "That's close to twenty feet. Are you pretty much the normal size for an adult Thermian?"
There was that same blurring, and he returned to his human form. "Yes. I am of average size for a Thermian. You... are not disturbed?"
"I've seen stranger occurrences. The fact that you can either look like a pale man or a blue octopus isn't a problem." Rubbing at his wrist, Angel paused. "Are all Thermians blue?"
"No, no... we come in many different colors. It was simply decided that our human shapes should have a similarity to them."
"Ah. I guess that makes sense." Angel nodded. "Considering the circumstances that led up to the Goriknak, they probably have other vampires working with them. A vampire doesn't have the same set of vulnerabilities as a human. Solid bones, yes, but we're tougher than humans."
"What are the vulnerabilities of a vampire?" He sounded curious.
"Fire or sunlight will burn us, not like a human, but much faster. Enough to destroy us if we aren't careful. You can't choke a vampire, we don't really need to breath. Strong pressure on nerve points will work on us as easily as a human. Decapitation will kill a vampire... When a vampire is killed, we... turn to dust. So, if a vampire is still there but not moving, he's either unconscious or faking, but not done for." Angel decided to leave out the whole part about crosses and holy water. That would probably just be too complicated.
"What effect would a laser have on a vampire?" The advisor seemed more comfortable now.
"I don't really know, science isn't my strong point. Maybe you should ask Willow... the Handmaiden." Angel commented.
End part 25.
Willow watched the surgery carefully, part of her rather disturbed and another part curious. She'd wanted to be a doctor when she was younger, wanted to be able to make injuries and illnesses better. Of course, she'd never lost a patient in her imaginings, and hadn't given any consideration to the idea that sometimes people die, that no matter how hard you tried, there were limits to science and the healing ability of the body. But this.... This procedure was not limited by human technology. They were actually rebuilding his knee, and applying some sort of pale green fluid to the ligaments and tendons.
"The fluid will help maintain the flexibility, and will encourage a rapid healing." One of the nurses spoke, dropping the emptied container into a gleaming trashcan. "There will also be treatments to lessen the pain, enough that he will be able to continue normal exertion, and his knee will heal completely."
"If he goes on a landing party, there could be trouble." Willow offered, frowning at Jason. "Will that damage his knee further, if he's in a fight?"
"Unless there are strong attacks directly on the knee, there should be no further damage." She paused, and held out a small gauzy pad to the doctor. "But it will be more sensitive."
As the surgery was completed, Willow waited against a wall, watching as Alex came closer. He had a bit of tension around his mouth, as if the blood had bothered him more than he wanted anyone to know. Smiling, she reached out, touching his elbow. "Hey. How about we go sit down, have a little coffee?"
Alex nodded, and then paused. "As I recall, the coffee aboard the Protector was... I will say that the tea was better. But there were some lovely desserts."
"Might I join the two of you for some conversation?" Doctor Teirell's voice was calm, and he was removing the apron-like protective drape that he'd worn for the surgery. "I have a few questions about the quantum manipulation."
Alex shrugged, and murmured, "That sounds reasonable enough. Perhaps the conversation should be somewhere more private, that we might not bore the rest of the crew?"
Part of Willow was disappointed, having hoped for a bit of time alone with her boyfriend. Then they could have some kisses, and snuggle. But they weren't in LA, they weren't even still on Earth, but were orbiting over the planet. "Hopefully they're questions that I can answer."
There was a bit of quiet while they made their way to a small lounge that looked as if there had been a wedge of leftover space, and the designers had simply stuck in a couch, a small table, and a pair of chairs. There was a small drink dispenser along one wall, and Alex promptly asked it for three cups of tea.
Willow settled on one end of the couch, watching as Dr. Teirell took one of the chairs. Alex sat beside her, passing her a tea, and placing one on the table for the doctor. She wondered if he would really be asking about quantum manipulations, if he knew that the 'historical broadcasts' were fake. And she wondered just how bad this crisis would get.
"Allow me to be.... Direct." Dr. Teirell lifted his cup, sipping a little of the hot beverage. "Before this mission, I spoke with Commander Malthesar. I am aware of the reality behind the original broadcasts, and the... validity behind them."
Alex winced, and glanced at his hands.
"I was a bit disturbed by that news, actually." He put the tea down, and folded his hands. "But the majority of the crew... think the broadcasts are real. They see you as heroes, and it is important that they keep the hope that your... that the presence of the heroes they think you are inspires. I find myself wondering how real the later broadcasts are, though the Fangor Beast... It raises questions."
"They are intended for entertainment." Alex spoke softly, looking slightly to the left of the doctor. "I have noticed the way the crew reacts to us, and I... would not want to disappoint them. Perhaps you can help me figure out a few minor things, so that I won't accidentally make things worse?"
"Of course." Teirell nodded, and then looked at Willow. "How real are the Princess and the Handmaiden?"
Willow sighed, and debated a sip of the hot tea, purely as a delaying tactic. "She's not really a princess, and she doesn't rule a planet, or even part of it. But she does get the visions, and they do show glimpses of the future. We don't know how the Fangor Beast got onto Earth, but that was real."
"And the Handmaiden? The green bolt?" Teirell was looking at her intently, his knuckles even paler.
"I don't work for her, but she is my friend. The bolt was real. It's a result of the quantum manipulations that I mentioned." Willow took a careful breath, and made his tea float off the table, lifting it to about eye level. "Some things are easier than others, but none of it is simple to explain."
For a moment, he just stared at the floating cup, before his hand reached out, passing below and then above the cup. "Amazing... This is a result of the quantum manipulation? How rare is the ability to do this? Can you teach others?"
"Well, not everybody seems to be able to learn to do as much with it, although I'm not sure if that's unequal ability or unequal effort that they put into it." Willow tried to consider how she should phrase the rest. "I know that the ability isn't limited to humans, because several other types of sentients that live on Earth have demonstrated the same abilities. I've never had the chance to try to figure out if people from somewhere other than Earth could learn or possess the abilities. I could see if I can spot anyone with the potential, but I'm still only learning myself, so I don't know how good of a teacher I would actually be."
"You can make things float, and send blasts of damaging energy... what else can the quantum manipulations do?" Dr. Teirell sounded fascinated.
"In theory, it can be used to heal injuries or illness, to delay time for an individual if they've been severely injured or poisoned, to start fires, create light or dark, to read minds, make barriers or break them, to hide things from sight, to enhance or inhibit certain types of efforts... Just about anything. But I can't do most of those things." Willow sipped at her tea, and floated Dr. Teirell's cup back to the table. "Most of them are too complicated now, or take more power than I can muster. Generally, a big thing takes more energy than a little thing, like floating a cup. And everything takes control, which takes practice. Otherwise, the cup might float, but not even, and then you'd have hot tea spilling everywhere, and that would make a mess, and possibly burn, and... I'm babbling. Sorry."
"Anything..." He repeated, his eyes getting a slightly glazed look, as if he was simultaneously awestruck and deep in thought of the possibilities. "Are there other limits, beyond the amount of power required and the need for control?"
For a few moments, Willow considered the spells and rituals that she'd done in the past. "There are ways that things can be... recorded. A pattern to follow to make things happen, but... Those can be modified. Certain techniques can help lessen the energy demand. People working together can do more than people working independently, but it's harder to mesh the efforts. And you have to be able to visualize exactly what you want, and if you can't control your emotions..."
"What if you can't? What if your emotions are unchecked?" The question was soft, as if he knew the answer would be unwelcome.
"Bad things can happen. Things could fall, or malfunction. Batteries will be dead, or empty. Nightmares can be shared." Willow pulled her knees up, and rested her chin on them, remembering how bad things had been when Oz had left. "Things can happen that you say or think about, but don't really mean."
For a few moments, the only sound was the soft hum of the ventilation fans. Then, Dr. Teirell spoke again, the words emerging slowly. "It does sound like a formidable, versatile, and dangerous ability."
End part 26.
Cordelia sipped at the murky not-coffee again, wondering if there could be a simple solution to the emotional tangle between herself and Jason. She was suspecting that the answer was no. No easy solution, because this was real life, not a television show. Maybe if they... no, after they both survived this mess, they'd have to have a talk.
For a moment, it was as if the air had changed, the texture somehow different, and then it felt like her skull was crushed inwards, along with flaring arcs of red and gold light and white stars.
A pair of Thermians, streaked with dirt staggering from a shuttlecraft, guards trying to help them. The security people were hit in the back of their heads and stuffed into the shuttlecraft. A disk was inserted into one of the computer accesses, and her stomach tightened at the image, and for a moment, she had a clear glimpse of the translucent green miniature CD in the intruder's hand...
Everything blurred, and there were flickering stars, and she was seeing a cavern below LA, with vampires attacking the landing party. One of them grabbed Jason, breaking his arm to force him to drop the blaster, and then ripping his throat open. A giant insect-like man was blasting at the others with a laser, the red beams almost the shade of blood....
A Thermian in a command uniform walked onto a panicked bridge, restoring calm with a few orders. He stepped into Malthesar's office, pulled a smaller blaster and fired a golden beam at Malthesar, who changed into a red octopus before disintegrating into a shower of red sparks.
Gasping, she tried to sit up, her eyes throbbing from the vision. Everything hurt, as if she'd been flung through space, which she knew hadn't happened. Her hand had a different pain, sharp and wet from where it lay in the spilled puddle of her so-called coffee. She could still feel herself trembling, and there were hands trying to help her up. "I need to talk to security."
"I think maybe you need a doctor." Fred Kwan's calm voice offered.
"No, I need to see security." Cordelia paused, feeling the way everything hurt and her hand was still feeling painful and burned. "Okay, have the security guy meet me in the medical area."
Cordelia let them help her towards the medical bay, trying not to move her throbbing head or look at the light. Had their footsteps echoed this much before? Had the lights been bright enough to leave purple-gold spots as after-effects? Was the ship tilting? Something told her that the answer to all three was 'no'.
"I have requested that a security commander be present to speak with you. And two doctors. Was that... it was one of your visions, was it not?" Laliari's words were quiet, as if she was uncertain how to react to the visions.
"Yes. And it's important, some of it happened on the ship. We have to prevent it." Her stomach heaved, and Cordelia hoped that she wouldn't throw up. The visions hurt, and the closer together they were, the worse they seemed to hit her.
"Can someone tell me why I'm here? I was at the gym, and now...." The voice wasn't familiar, but the man didn't have what she'd started to think of as the 'Thermian accent'.
"I guess they brought up Guy." Fred's comment didn't make much sense.
"A guy? Yeah, but..." Cordelia winced at the light, and closed her eyes. In a soft whisper, she asked, "Can I get some water?"
Laliari's voice sounded farther away as she said "The Princess had another vision, it seems to have unfortunate side effects. She needs attention, and there may be a burn on her hand."
"Guy Ingersoll. He was... he's our Head of Security, back in LA. Just like Alex is our doctor." Fred's voice was low, either in an effort to prevent the Thermian's from over-hearing or to try to spare her aching head. "Maybe they think he can help with the problem."
That same doctor was there again, frowning as he seemed to scurry towards her. A cool class of water was pressed into her hand, and something was hovering near her, like a silver hummingbird that beeped. From a bit farther away, someone's voice said "The recordings are being downloaded now, Doctor. There was intensive cerebral activity, and a lingering chemical imbalance. Shall I begin treatments to restore the proper electrical and hormonal balance now?"
"Gather your treatments. Highness, can you tell us what you experienced?" The doctor's voice was calm, and he was looking into her eyes, a taut frown on his bland face.
"There was the moment of warning... It comes right before a vision. Sometimes it's a few moments, other times it's less. I didn't put the coffee down in time..." She glanced at her hand, relieved that there weren't any blisters. "The first image was a shuttle craft in a landing bay. Two Thermians got out, and their uniforms were dirty. I think it was a pair of security guys that went to talk to them, and they got clubbed in the back of the head, stuffed into lockers, and the intruders had some sort of disk that hey put in the computer terminal."
"I'll have a few words with the boys about that." Guy's voice was thoughtful. "It's one of the oldest tricks in the book... they really should know how to deal with it."
The doctor made a hmmm noise, and poked her ear with something cold that made a small clicking and a beep. "Please go on."
"The next image was of our landing party, complete with Jason... I mean, Captain Taggert."
"What happened to Commander Taggert?" The doctor corrected the rank with a small smile.
"A vampire was there, and he broke J... the Commander's arm before ripping his throat out. And a giant bug looking guy had a laser rifle." Cordelia sipped at the water, hoping that it would settle her stomach. It tasted like metal, and seemed to cling to her throat.
"That would be a Dominionite." The man spoke again, and then in a less confident voice continued. "Didn't we blow those guys up the last time?"
"There are always more of them. Their larvae mature rapidly." The doctor hardly seemed to think before he spoke. "Was that the entirety of the vision?"
"There seem to have been three spikes of activity, sir." The nurses voice again, sounding entirely too calm. "I have the rebalancing treatments ready."
"Another Thermian... He was on the bridge. Everyone was panicking, until he said some things, restored order. Then he went into Malthesar's office and shot him with a little gold death ray." Cordelia shuddered, her muscles aching in dull protest. "His uniform looked a lot like Malthesar's except the piping was orange."
"This is... Nurse, please begin the treatments, immediately. Rest assured that everything will be taken care of, Princess Mirabanna." The doctor had that sort of calming tone that she recognized from numerous emergency room trips.
Cordelia sighed, hoping that whatever they were using to sedate her wouldn't upset her stomach any further. And that the security guy could deal with everything. And that Jason wouldn't get his throat ripped out by that vampire...
End part 27.
Alex sat beside Willow, wondering what emotions were clouding her eyes. He knew that she felt uneasy about the pressure of the safety of the universe resting on this ship, and being expected to help. He knew that the possibility of a relationship between Angel and Gwen worried her, though not the details. Was she troubled by Jason's knee repairs? By the synthesized food served on the ship? The potential danger from the renegades? Or was it something else?
Dr. Teirell excused himself with a murmured politeness that he paid little attention to. He just nodded, reaching out to take Willow's hand in his own, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles. Her hand was shaking, not enough to see, but he could feel it. "Willow? Talk to me."
"They want something big. I mean, he didn't come out and say that they need some big mojo to drop the bad guys, but... He's hoping. And even if they don't want me to blast their enemies, he mentioned teaching others. I can't teach them, half the time I'm not even sure what I'm doing myself." She put down the teacup and wrapped her arm around him, clinging to his side. "What if I mess things up?"
"Willow... All you can do is your best. While I would dearly love to be able to say follow this script and everything will come out properly in the end, this... This is real. We don't get a script, and we don't have a guarantee that everybody will live happily after. But if we all try, if we work together... Maybe we can do this. And I'm here with you, I believe in you." He hugged her, trying to offer as much comfort and reassurance as he could.
"Promise?" Her voice was soft, muffled by his shirt.
"I promise that I'll be here with you. That I believe in you." For a moment, he closed his eyes, wanting to believe that everything would turn out well. That just like one of the old episodes, in the end, the good guys would triumph, evil would be vanquished, and nobody would be seriously hurt. "And I think Cordelia and Angel believe in you."
For several long moments, they sat there, holding each other. Then, Willow sighed, and loosened her grip. "I suppose we should be doing something to prepare. Maybe preparations for the landing party?"
"Should I go with you, or... I don't know, wander around hoping to see if any Thermians might have something to tell me they could learn magic?" She was trying to smile.
"As much as I'd like you to go with me..." Alex paused, thinking about her earlier words. Magic to create barriers. Hmmm... "Would it be possible for you to do something, some sort of protection for the landing party? Something to make them harder to hit, or more resistant?"
Willow opened her mouth, closed it again, and sipped at her tea, looking as if she was turning the idea over in her mind. "I... I'm not sure. I know that I could do something if I was there with them. Or if they were only a little bit away. But for them down there, and me up here... I don't know. I'm not even sure if I can do something to protect against whatever alien technology weapons they might have. But it's a good idea."
"Good. Perhaps I should see if Jason has recovered, or if Angel has any cautions about where they might be lurking?" Alex leaned forward, kissing her cheek.
She sighed, and nodded. "I guess that would be the responsible thing."
"We'll have a nice dinner when this is over. Just you and me, some take out, and a crackling fire." He offered, for a moment wishing that the nice dinner could be now. "And if I don't go now, I'll forget that we're supposed to be the responsible adults, with duties and a history of helping people."
He made himself walk away, heading first to check on Jason. The time for romance would be after they survived this, after the bad guys were defeated. Slowly, he walked back to the medical area, hoping that Jason was recovering well. And that nobody expected him to try anything technical and medical. Just because he'd played one on television, that did not make him a doctor.
As it turned out, the medical area was abuzz with activity. Cordelia had apparently had another vision, and was currently reclined on one of the beds, seemingly asleep. Guy Ingersol was there, gesturing as he spoke to Fred and a pair of Thermians that he didn't recognize. Several of the medical staff were conferring in a corner, glancing occasionally at Cordelia. Jason was on another bed, rubbing at his eyes and yawning.
"It appears that your sedatives are wearing off. How do you feel, Commander Taggert?" He allowed a bit of irony to creep into his question, hoping that one of the real doctors would come and take over the post-operative check up.
"Uuuggh." Jason made a face, and moved his jaw from side to side. "I feel like my head's full of cotton and my tongue's growing fur."
"Perfectly normal after-effects of the sedative, sir." A nurse spoke, making a few notes on something like a translucent clipboard. She pulled out a little light, shining it into Jason's eyes before making another note. "Any nausea, dizziness, or changes in vision?"
"No." He rubbed at his head, wincing. "The lights feel very bright. Will I be ready for the landing party?"
"There will be vampires." Cordelia's voice was very clear, despite the fact that she was laying on a bed. Apparently, she had only been resting her eyes. "Nasty, cranky minions who will want to hurt you."
"Just because you work with a vampire doesn't mean that the city is crawling with them." Jason was scowling now, but there was a hint of sparkle to his eyes. Did he take some sort of perverse pleasure in arguing with Cordelia?
"No, Captain." Cordelia's voice was just as sharp as ever. "I had a vision - vampires, an orange octopus, and an overgrown bug-man with a laser rifle. I suppose if you're that desperate to get yourself killed, you can just rush in, but generally the visions are in order to try to prevent people from dying."
"err..." Jason blinked, and a shiver passed over him. "That's Commander."
"Perhaps if the security detail is briefed on the proper tactics to use against vampires?" Alex suggested.
"Right. Vampires... wait a minute, vampires?" Guy looked around, glancing from Alex to Cordelia. "She mentioned vampires earlier, but could someone explain what's going on?"
"It's quite complicated." Alex sighed, rubbing at his temple. He was getting a headache, and this latex headpiece was really starting to make his scalp itch. "Why don't I explain what I can while we go figure out who's going down as security?"
end part 28.