Chaos Theory – Re-keyed. Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Neon Genesis Evangelion/Stargate SG-1/Star Wars/Star Trek/Halo/Lord of the Rings Crossover...
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Title: Chaos Theory: Re-keyed
Rating: PG - Language and Violence.
Genre: Crossover
Author: PitViper
Date (Part Ten): 2009-10-31
Summary: This is a BtVS/NGE/SG-1/SW/ST/LotR/Halo crossover. Based on the Halloween costume episode. Very AU. The Key's spell goes both forwards and backwards in time… what happens when it interacts with Ethan's Halloween?
Disclaimer: I don't own it, wish I did. I'm not making any money off of it – so please don't sue me. BtVS is the property of Mutant Enemy and 20th Century Fox. Neon Genesis Evangelion is the product of Gainax and ADV Films. Star Wars is owned by George Lucas. Stargate SG-1 belongs to Double Secret Productions and Sci-Fi channel. Lord of the Rings is the property of J.R.R. Tolkien and his family. Halo is owned by Bungie. And Star Trek is the property of Paramount Pictures (Who obviously understand nothing about Gene's vision of the future)
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Chaos Theory: Re-Keyed
Part Ten: No Win Scenario...
"My favorite word in the English language is the word 'Impossible'. Every time someone describes
something with that word, I smile and nod, and try to keep from laughing on the outside. Why,
you ask? Because there are very few things in this universe that are actually 'impossible', and
we, as a people, are no where near intelligent enough to have run across any of them. In fact,
telling any of the people I know that something is impossible is the fastest way I know to get them
to prove you wrong."
- Jim McNeil, Interview with Time Magazine shortly after the completion of the Orbital Ring,
December 14th 2008.
The universe is alive with choices. Every decision, every action, every consequence is just one expression of the manifold choices present in every instant of every atom and molecule of the universe. As such, there are as many universes as there are choices – existing in a vast spectrum which includes the endless Nothing, and the equally sterile endless Everything.
One might be prompted to ask: "How can Everything and Nothing be identical in any way?" To understand this, one must first understand that they are simply an expression – and the total of these expressions is the true source of their identity. And the Nothing is simply an expression that is almost identical to the Everything – the only difference is energy. But the energy of the Everything is useless – it is constant, continuous and omnipresent. Where as the Nothing is the same, only without the energy – constant, continuous and omnipresent.
They are, surprisingly, the closest expressions that can exist next to each other and still remain both distinguishable and indistinguishable. For if one were to open a gateway from the Everything to the Nothing, energy would follow its natural course. The Nothing would become the Everything, and the Everything would become the Nothing. The portal would close leaving an Everything and a Nothing.
To a normal outside observer, the two extremes complete the Mobieus – the infinite loop of eternity. To those powers more perceptive of the multiverse, they are the beginning and the end of a thread – and there are many times many such threads in the realities they perceive.
As such, each thread defines a different color, yet another expression in an infinitely vast multiverse that exists beyond even the perceptions of those we would call God. We, in our existence, are but shadows walking through a multitude of choices, narrowing the Possibilities until we can make a decision we can live with.
'There were... Possibilities. Always possibilities...' Jim McNeil thought as he looked at the holographic projection. "Its a little... overbearing, don't you think?"
Xander quirked an eyebrow, "And a massive flying fortress like Avalon is subtle?"
Jim chuckled, "Point. But this is something completely different." He walked around the hologram, "That's a phase cannon large enough to slag a continent in a single shot – and that's not the half of it."
"Aye, ye' have combined it with an electromagnetic barrel almost a kilometer long, and the ability to fire kinetic weapons with a two meter diameter. Accelerating an inert slug ta that speed... ye' can crack the mantle of most any planet. God forbid if you put an antimatter core in there."
Xander himself narrowed his eyes a bit, "The design is sound... and the hull's good for the primary cannon. The Alteran's had something similar – a Caseim Beam – both the Ori and the Alterans used it to deadly effectiveness against the each other, and against the Xa'Nel. I'm hoping that the Phase technologies the Federation uses can make it even more effective against the Xa'nel." He paused for a moment, then grinned slightly, "Besides, its the basic tenant of the Halycon Class, a ship built around a MAC – in effect, a flying gun. To use a Jack-ism, we need big, honking space guns, cause if the Xa'nel put boot to ground, our asses are already kicked."
Jim nodded, "On that, I agree. But their vessels are massive constructs – and have significant amounts of firepower. Not to mention numbers – once they decide to invade, they can deluge us under a mountain of hardware. We're going to have to expand as much as possible, making allies across as many star systems as we can. It wasn't just the Alteran's numbers that repelled the Xa'nel, it was the sheer size of the Empire. Even if the Milky-way had fallen, the Alterans could have tapped the resources of almost six other galaxies. They had fall-back points that the Xa'nel couldn't reach within twenty lifetimes, but that the Alterans could strike from within days and weeks. We need that kind of infrastructure to be able to win."
"It's not about winning right now." Jack broke in, "It's about being able to hold the line. Fly under the radar as much as possible, and see what we can scrounge up from around us. I'd love to be able to conduct surgical strikes against their infrastructure with small teams – preferably involve some of the locals and get them to fight back. We might be able to delay them from their primary invasion, which we know will happen sooner rather than later."
A tone sounded in the room.
Jim looked up to Xander, "Its time. They've been in there for almost four and a half hours. Are you sure that you want to do this to her?"
"She wanted a go." Xander sighed, "I've got a feeling its both the Slayer and her possession that makes her want to do this – but she needs to see what it will be about."
Jim nodded, "And we need to be sure. Given her possessor, I'm glad Leonard is actively monitoring her progress. I wouldn't put it past her to slice the system to make the damn thing predictable enough to win."
"We'll see..." Xander said, moving towards the exit.
–
Elizabeth "Buffy" Anne Summers looked up at the Master situation console. Siri's memories washed over her as she studied the rather deceptively calm world map. She didn't mind the break, though. So far the simulation had been four hours of relative relaxation – something she hadn't had in a while.
"Commander," A voice said from the pit surrounding the command dais, "We're getting unusual readings from North Korea..."
"Define unusual." Buffy queried.
"I don't know... Started about two and a half minutes ago. It doesn't look like tech, doesn't look like magic..." The operator was furrowing his brow... "Oh god..."
Suddenly the activity map lit up and focused in on Tokyo, an aerial map appearing with the details of the massive city. Suddenly several blocks ceased to exist in a blinding white flash.
Buffy stood up, "What the hell was that?"
"Thermonuclear detonation, estimate approximately one point five five kilotons." One sensor operator said.
"Dirty as hell too." One of the science officers said, "The material is disproportionate to the size of the detonation – and contaminated. It looks like a home-brew nuke gone bad."
"Any information on the sensor readings in North Korea? That's too close to be a coincidence."
The sensor operator shrugged in his seat, "Nothing, it was an energetic event, but not identifiable with anything in the database."
"Prepare two medical teams and a hazmat team for immediate dispatch to Tokyo. Prep for transporter evac of the most seriously injured, how many can we safely get, Tactical?"
"Nothing within five hundred meters of the kill zone. We might be able to save 20 percent within one kilometer, 40 percent in one point five. 60 in two. Past two klicks, though, we'd be able to save more with the teams. I'd recommend beaming everyone within the point five to two klick radius and setting the secondary arrays to removing radioactive material from the atmosphere."
"Do it." She said without hesitation. And keep an eye on North Korea, I want to know the second we get anything odd."
The command team nodded.
Tactical announced the transport of the emergency teams. "Teams one and two are on-site. Tac-ops are on their way now."
The tactical map showed the blue icons for the two medical teams – each team comprised of 20 field doctors and 80 assistants of various specialties. The hazmat team was a specially chosen team of knights, numbering about 150 personnel. Their equipment would be able to deal with almost anything that might threaten the rescue and clean-up operations.
"Ok, eyes sharp people, we want to make sure that we get as many as we can."
"Yes ma'am..." The operators replied in unison.
"Sir, Energy spike... Make that four energy spikes, coming from North Korea!" One of the sensor operators shouted.
"Shit, I've got a match, Subspace displacement device, there's no way to shield against that with the equipment the teams have!"
"How the hell did they get one of those things!" Another tech shouted as the Science officer turned around to watch the main screen.
"Commander, I've estimated the devices were..." The science officer was interrupted by several flashes on the screen.
Buffy paled, "They targeted our teams!" She paused for a moment, "Can we shield against those devices?"
"Energy Spike!" A random tech reported.
"Negative." The science officer said just as the entire room shook.
"Hard radiation in sectors twenty seven through thirty three, sub-levels twenty one thru twenty four, and a secondary detonation surface level, above ground facilities contaminated, transporter arrays damaged and inoperative.
The science officer turned back to his readings for a moment, before calmly reporting, "There is an instability building up in the EPS grid."
Buffy shouted, "Dispatch emergency personnel and shutdown the affected portions of the grid."
"All remote commands are being rejected by the computer systems, we're having a problem with theta-gamma radiation interaction – its destabilizing the EPS grid and interfering with remote computer commands." A tech replied.
Another commented loudly – likely an engineer who knew what their equipment could handle, "Engineering teams would be useless, the radiation is too high for them, and the grid is destabilizing too quickly."
"Override, command authorization sigma sigma three – shutdown all primary power generation." Buffy ordered.
"That will leave us defenseless!" A tech screamed.
'Tell me something I don't know,' Buffy's mind supplied, then she put her reasoning to voice: "If those reactors detonate, we're all dead, along with everything else for six hundred kilometers. Shut it down!" It would have been pointless to tell them that even at full power, the facility's defenses had been breached easily by whatever this was.
The science officer nodded, "Main power shutting down now. We are now running on emergency power throughout the facility."
"Energy Spike!" It didn't really matter who had said it.
Buffy closed her eyes, as she heard the displacement of air in the room. One second later, her world was filled with light that quickly faded to black.
The computer announced coldly, "Simulation ended, 21 20 18 point 43. Simulation Result: Mission Failure."
When Buffy reopened her eyes, looking around at the completed holodeck, and her comrades that had appeared now that the simulations were complete. They all had shadowed expressions on their faces, the most dour being on Xander's. But it wasn't disappointment, how could it be? There was no way to win. Something in the Force told her that even if there were a path to victory, it would have been noticed by the others and squashed ruthlessly.
"It wasn't what I expected." She said harshly, summoning as much calm as she could. Four hours shouldn't have been enough time to become attached to the holographic team that the simulation had provided to her, but... she was their commander and she had failed them spectacularly. She let the anger and the rage bleed off into the Force, as her possession had been trained. It took her a few moments longer than Siri would have – if only because Siri didn't have to deal with a warrior spirit unused to losing. But eventually she succeeded and sighed, "But there's no doubt that that was the infamous No-Win test."
James nodded, "Its a test every commander faces. For fleet- we tend to focus on fleet conflicts – Through the use of the Kobyashi Maru. The aggressor is always different, Romulan, Klingon, Breen... It depends on the person, their psych-analysis, and what they fear in an enemy. The Marines and planet-side forces also have their own variations. The computer analyzes your strengths and weaknesses and comes up with a general situation. We then fine tune it."
"Cadets are never told exactly how the psychological analysis works," Leonard noted calmly, "Sometimes they go their entire careers without ever knowing the reasons behind the test. Most of those who do understand the the test end up becoming Commanders and Captains in their own right. Since you've experienced command situations that were similar, we felt it best to give you some background on the test."
"The reasons for it are sound," James continued, "While you know I personally don't believe in the no-win scenario, its still a possibility every commander might face. Its not a test of ability, but instead a test of character. Will you freeze, or will you spend every last millisecond trying to figure out a way to limit the casualties? I think you knew what you had to do no matter what, and your orders were the most appropriate given the situation. The optimal solution would have been, however, to beam a tactical team to general coordinates in North Korea to investigate the energy readings. It wouldn't have changed this outcome, but the team would have had a chance to eliminate the offensive weapon the enemy developed."
Buffy was ready to open her mouth, to ask what the hell that thing was, but Leonard cut her off, "The subspace inverter was originally developed thirty years before the matter transporter. It was based on analysis of subspace bubbles conducted by Zefram Cochrines' team working on warp theory. It was abandoned because of molecular distortion caused by the externally affected bubble. It was lethal to lifeforms and equally disruptive to complex technology. The primitive thermonuclear devices, however, would be relatively unaffected by the displacement – even using a very early model of the inverter technology."
Jim came up to Buffy, "There was nothing you could have done."
Buffy nodded, "Do we have a defense against that technology?"
"Aye, although its rather crude. Such an inverter takes a good three minutes to initially power up. Our sensors are set to detect this and we'll transport a photon torpedo right down their throats." Tim said quietly.
"Our allies who start research down this road will be instructed not to pursue this technology, because it is a dead end for now and too dangerous. They'd have better luck refining Anti-Matter on their own." Jim added, "As for the test, you kept your cool, and made decisions to try to save as many people as possible. Now the rest is up to you. Do you think you can handle command?"
Buffy took a deep breath, "I'll have to think about it a bit, maybe... maybe meditate on it."
Leonard spoke approvingly, "A very wise decision, Commander. A very wise decision indeed."
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Author's Notes:
Sorry for the delay, but real-life makes it difficult to find the time to do the fun things in life – such as writing for the heck of it. :) Still, here is the next chapter and I hope you enjoy it.
I've had a couple reviews (and a really inventive one describing the "God Emperor's" views on the concept of the Federation and Earth Alliance.) Just because the charter was for the "Earth Alliance" don't assume that this is the same EA that was in the B5 universe. After all, G'Kar (or the closest thing to him on this particular earth) is writing it! :) And as for the Federation playing keep away with the governments and powers on Earth, lets just say that they will give advanced tech out – but if you think that these people are going to give away tech that these governments can easily use in their little planet-side squabbles, think again.
As for equating the Alterans with the Forerunner – lets just say this: the Atlanteans were not the Alterans that built a galaxy-spanning civilization. They were the defeated remnant of a species that broke in two and continued to kill itself until one side created a weapon the other couldn't fight – a plague that ravaged world after world until all that were left were a few survivors trying to find a way to beat a disease that would kill every last one of them given enough time. The Flood is too similar to the Alteran/Ori plague (and the Wraith, if you think in very general terms) to dismiss out of hand. And the Alterans and Forerunner both built massive and long-lived facilities that survived millions of years with out their presence. It was the obvious link and while I admit it was the easy way out, its not the central point of the plot I have going with this series.
I think that the next post will be a historical excerpt from my Tech Manual – the thing I'm using to keep this universe straight and get the background info under control. I'm going to have to beef up the notes and such, but it should make for a decent interlude.
Later and thanks for the reviews!
P.V.