Children Of The Stars
Chapter 4

Dawn was slumped dejectedly against the outside wall of the castle. Xander had arrange the gathering in the biggest room of the whole place, problem was there was no door big enough for her big fat butt. 'Stupid giant-ism.' She grumbled and punched at the ground. Hurting her hand in the process. 'Oww... oww oww! Silly disproportionate strength to size thing.' Dawn cried out, clutching her hand and then shaking some feeling back into it.

'It is your own fault you know, should have know better.' A voice said pleasantly. Dawn looked up and saw who was speaking to her. A man with sandy blond hair and a large cigar was sat in between the battlements of the wall, just above Dawn's head. 'Hello,' he said with a smile. Dawn noticed he was wearing the same uniform as Xander's family. Only this was completely white.

'Who are you.' Dawn got to her feet and looked him in the eye. 'If you don't tell me I'll squash you.'

'Old friend of the family. Well Xander's family so I guess that includes you and your sister. So no squashing, deal?' He laughed lightly and chomped down on his cigar.

'You here to tell me what's happening inside?' Dawn then wrinkled her nose as he blew a could of smoke out. 'Those things will kill you you know.'

'A couple of yahren's late for that I think. No, I'm sorry but I'm sure someone will fill you in and your clever enough to figure most of it out. At least in theory.'

'Just what is that supposed to mean.' She huffed at him.

He just smiled back. 'Well your current situation doesn't exactly show intelligence now does it?' He held a hand out to stop her. 'Not that I'm trying to insult you and get squashed or anything but...' he trailed off and shrugged.

Dawn looked at him, darkly. 'Who are you?'

He just smiled back ruefully. 'You'd think it's silly.'

'With a sister called Buffy and a friend called Xander?'

He shook his head and tapped his chest with the same hand he had the cigar in 'Starbuck.'

'The coffee...?'

'I prefer ambrosia.' He interrupted absently. This earned a quick laugh from Dawn

'Been waiting to use that one?' she asked

It was his turn to laugh. 'See, you are a clever girl, why don't you use it more often?'

'Yeah right, clever.' Dawn shook her head and looked at her hand. 'Big ugly me's clever. I don't think so.'

He didn't say anything and she looked at the strange man. He was looking back at her intently. 'Dawn, you are intelligent and far from ugly.' he said eventually.

'Thanks, I bet you can be quite the stud if you tried.'

'If you were older I would have taken that as a challenge.' he winked. It was the sort of wink you had to laugh at and he knew it.

.'I wouldn't have been that much of a challenge. I'm a cheap date after all, three drinks and I was out of it.' Absently she wondered just why she was admitting this to a complete stranger

'Actually that second one was the one that did it. You've not that much experience in being drunk have you?'

'Well it wasn't my first time but...' she blinked, what was so important about the second drink and how did he know about it? She decided to ask the latter first. 'How you know that?'

He just smiled and she blinked again. A couple of things fitted together including the white get up. 'You're not...'

Starbuck smiled back. 'Well, sort of. Just not in the way you'd think.'

Dawn frowned in thought. 'Say I believe you. I thought you guys were big with whole Star Trek prime directive thing.'

'The what?'

Oh, pop culture right... I thought you guys,' Dawn pointed at the sky before saying, with air quotes; 'You know; "senior management" was in to the whole non interference stuff.'

Starbuck threw back his head and laughed. 'Senior Management! I like that! Well we are, we only step in personally when there's no one else that can and there's a big pot at stake.'

'So why are you telling me all this? Surely I'm not important enough to get a visit.'

'Ahh you'd be surprised at just how important what's going on around here truly is. But as for me, this is sort of a personal thing.' He chomped down again on his cigar for a moment. 'I don't like what happened to you so I've taken action.'

'Really, what?' Dawn couldn't help but look down at herself, hoping to see her body shrinking down to normal.

'Non interference remember. I can't even answer a question, well my name but that's it. Face it, you might as well be talking to a wall.'

That was a disappointment but Dawn did her best to hide it. 'So what? I'm talking to a wall.'

'Sometimes you need to go over things aloud. See how it sounds, even if it's just to yourself. You weren't talking to your friends and the wall wasn't going to strike up a conversation.'

'So you did and I've got to figure this all out myself.'

'No.' he shook his head. 'You can still turn to Xander, your sister, or the others. They might see something you missed.'

'Then I'll be known as "Three-drinks-slut Dawn. Hell I didn't even finish the last one.' She stopped again and ran it through her head, times like this Dawn wondered if the whole giant thing wasn't making her brain so big it took forever for an idea to flitter across it. Stupid brain. Then it came to her. 'The second drink...'

'Here it comes.' Starbuck noted absently.

'...That BASTARD!' Dawn shouted reeling back a fist, ready to take a chunk out of the battlements

'Ah, ah, ah. You don't want to hurt your fist again. Well if you do let me get off.' Dawn wasn't really listening, but lowered her arm.

'I can't believe he did that to me. I can't believe I didn't notice.' She spun around and slid down the wall, dejected.

'You didn't know. You didn't think he'd do that. Hey you were drugged. Pick one of those you can feel a fool. All of them and well what are you going to do?'

'Kill him?' she asked hopefully over her shoulder.

'Ahhh. Yes you could do that, but it might be a bad idea. You can't exactly sneak back there.'

Dawn grumbled and then muttered 'Good point. I thought you couldn't answer questions.'

'It wasn't a question and you would have figured it out. So I can tell you that much.'

'So I've got to decide what to do on my own.' Dawn realised disappointingly

Starbuck puffed on his cigar stub, finishing it off 'In his defence you were the one who asked him if he wanted a drink.'

Dawn looked up, 'As a friend.' she replied defensively.

'I'd think about that one.' Starbuck said and tapped her on the shoulder. 'You could always ask the wall. Here, have a fumerello, think you need this more than me.'

Dawn took the fresh cigar he'd tapped her with. 'Thanks but...' she stopped mid sentence, it was the right size for her. Looking around she found herself alone.

Xander looked out over the crowd of Slayers, Watchers and Witches. They all looked back, not to him but to the Commander in open mouthed shock as the old man told the story.

'Ten thousand yahrens ago the human race lived on a world very much like this one. The planet Kolbol. It stood alone in a giant cloud of dust orbiting a bright star.

'For three millennia humanity grew on that world and developed. We explored space and travelled to other galaxies, but a price. Our relentless pursuit of technology devastated Kolbol as slowly it became a vast desert where no life could exist. The twelve tribes of man, led by the Lords of Kolbol, left for a binary system with worlds enough to support our diverse cultures. While we could not recover Kolbol we could, and did, covert the worlds we found to support our form of life. The thirteenth tribe, made from members of all twelve, left for the one other planet known to support life as we know it. That world is Earth, your people are descended from those brave colonists almost seven thousand yahrens ago.'

Xander had heard it before. Something he noticed now was that the Commander had a catch hovering behind his voice. He couldn't blame him, he knew the real punch was still to come. Then he saw a hand waving, it was Faith. 'Yes young lady?' Adama acknowledged her.

'Sorry I gotta cry bullshit here. What do you guys really want?'

'Bullshit?' Adama asked and Xander winced.

'Feldercarb' the one eyed carpenter explained.

'Ahh. I see.' Adama said disappointedly.

'Yeah, whatever that is. You're spinning us a load of it, ten thousand years ago, aliens from another galaxy. What I really want to know is how you got Xander to buy into all this.'

'A round trip to the fleet Faith.' Xander explained, felling the weight of his Colonial jacket. 'I've seen it with my own eyes, when I had them. It's the truth, this is what we've, well at least what I've, been fighting to save the world for.'

'Invasion by an alien race? Still don't buy it.' She had pushed her way to the front of the crowd by now. 'If they really are like that why don't they come down here and blow us all up?'

'You weren't listening were you? They're on our side, or we're on theirs. We are all humans here. Their just not from around here' Xander turned his attention to the audience. 'There's no invasion or anything, It's a refugee fleet up there. Men, women and children packed together like sardines on ships barely able to fly. They're looking for help and Earth can't provide it right now.'

Faith was on the stage now. 'Xander it's all bullshit. There's no fleet, just these whack jobs with a bit of magic. What is your game huh.' She turned on the Commander again.

'You are a very cynical young girl. It is good you doubt my words however you have my oath as a colonial warrior that all I tell you here is the truth.'

'That's not worth anything to me.'

'Faith.' Xander said quickly. 'Back down, alright. Honour is a big thing to these people. The oath the Commander just gave means a lot.'

'Okay, prove it.' she challenged them.

'Well if the Commander appearing out of thin air didn't convince you I don't know what will.'

'Perhaps I do.' The Commander stroked his beard. 'I arrived here in a Viper. My pilot is still with it, just outside your castle walls.'

Buffy followed the group out of the castle, there was nothing there. Something Faith was quick to point out:-

'So let me guess, it's invisible? Or only your alien eyes can see this fantastic spaceship.'

'It's a mark two Viper, and yes it is camouflaged.' Troy said. Both he and Dillan were giving Faith black looks.

Then the ship appeared, Viper was a good name for it. A long nose stretched out in front of three rockets. A little fin, like a sharks, on the top and two short wings at an angle. Buffy was no expert in space ships but it looked like it could work. 'Care to take a ride Faith, if it's alright with the Commander?' Xander suggested.

'I'll take her.' Troy offered. 'Unless she is afraid.'

That wasn't the sort of challenge Faith could turn down, 'You're on Alien-boy.' she strode to the deadly looking fighter. Another Colonial, this one ark skinned and in the same sort of blue uniform as Adama got out and took off his helmet.

Troy nodded at the older looking man, 'Colonel Boomer.'

'Captain Troy, good luck.' He handed him the helmet.

Buffy sparred a glance over her shoulder, Dawn should be on the other side of the castle. Still it wasn't like her not to stick her big nose in. As soon as Faith got her little demonstration Buffy would have to talk with her anyway.

It was that or have Xander gripe at her about it.

'Alright, these look space-y' Faith said and pulled Buffy's attention back. She settled into the back seat of the fighter.

'Please don't touch the controls, at least not until we're in open space and we won't crash into anything.' Xander's father instructed her and pressed something. The glass top closed around them.

Buffy couldn't hear what they were saying, even with slayer hearing, but Faith's smirk wavered a little bit as she realised she was sitting in what was very possibly a spaceship.

'I suggest we all step back' Adama said. Every one but Andrew did, Xander corrected that by grabbing the Uber-Geek by the collar and dragging him away. Andrew said something about an X-wing and Buffy could see some similarity.

It was then the ship took off.

It's one thing to see a space shuttle take off on T.V. you hear about this roar they are supposed to make and you watch them fly strait up on a column of smoke and fire. Its quite another to watch something about the size of a car go from standing still to half a mile away in about a second.

As Xander let out a whoop Buffy wondered if she had ever felt this shocked before. As the Viper pulled up it kicked out a white hot flame and spun, Shattering the sound barrier along the way. By the time the sonic-boom hit the gathered slayers it was already a dot in space, indistinguishable from the stars themselves.

'Any more proof?' Xander's mother asked as Dawn came around the castle, eyes glued to the sky. Buffy looked around.

Andrew had fainted dead way, Xander was grinning. Half the slayers were blank faced with shock and the other half were looking at the Colonials.

'What the hell was that?' Dawn asked in shock

It was Giles that answered her 'That was a space ship taking off for orbit.' He took of his glasses and looked up and up 'You appear to have grown Dawn, you wouldn't happen to have upset your Thricewise boyfriend recently would you.'

Dawn spluttered indignantly 'bu... mhh... tuh... Spaceship far more important than my personal life Giles.'

'Hey Dawn-patrol, what's with that.' Xander had noticed something and pointed at her hand

It looked like a log of wood but it wasn't. 'Nice cigar Dawnie, so taken up smoking now.'

'No a friend, well sort of, gave it to me. Just because he did I don't have to...' Dawn trailed off before turning to the sky and shouting 'Oh nice metaphor. Great joke ha-de ha ha. I see that Starbuck again I really am squashing him, talking to the wall my ass.' She waved a fist in the air.

'What's coffee go to do with anything?' One of the Slayers asked but it was the reaction that name got Xander's family that shocked Buffy.

Adama stepped up, 'Starbuck, he's still alive after all this time? And on Earth?'

'Urm.. I don't know about that. Sir.' Dawn was kind of taken aback from seeing the Moses like Commander. 'He looked sort of like an angel, you know a real one. In white and all that. That doesn't sound as weird as I first thought it would.'

'Coming from a thirty metra tall young woman, weird an interesting concept.' Adama smiled

End Chapter 4