Chapter Three
The first thing Kathryn did when they finally reached 1630 Revello Drive was collapse on the couch in exhaustion. It had been a hard fight just getting here. The moment they entered the town proper, they had been attacked by vampires and minor demons. They had converged on the first fresh blood they had scented in centuries like a swarm of rabid locusts. She knew that her companions had questions, even Tuvok, but for the moment, they were restraining themselves.
"Captain, according to these readings, the beacon is in this domicile." Tuvok stated. "It is coming from up those stairs."
"Check it out while I catch my breath." Kathryn said. "Seven, keep an eye on the windows, will you?"
"Of course, Captain." Seven responded.
After a few minutes, Kathryn stood and wandered around the house. Running gentle fingers over familiar surfaces like she had done on her beloved ship before she had beamed down to the planet. Entering the kitchen where she had sat up with Buffy when she couldn't sleep even after a night filled with fighting. She opened the refrigerator, and blinked in surprise. There was food and drink inside. Quesadillas and a chilled café con leche, along with reheating instructions. Her mouth immediately began to water.
"Ohhh, thank you, Dawn." Kathryn said, grabbing the tupperware and opening it. "Seven, do me a favor and scan these for the replicators, will you."
With a raised brow, Seven complied with the request, as well as checking to make sure it was safe, as Kathryn turned on the ancient Earth-style conventional oven. She had followed the captain as she moved around the domicile with familiarity. It made her curious, but she knew that the captain would explain when she was ready.
"Captain, I believe you should see this." Tuvok called down from upstairs.
"Be right there, Tuvok." Kathryn responded, putting the food in the oven and setting the timer. "Come on, Seven."
"Yes, Captain."
The two women climbed the stairs and made their way to Buffy's room, where they could see Tuvok standing in the doorway. He stepped aside as they approached, and Kathryn froze at the sight before her. There, in the center of the room, was her bat'leth. She had never expected to see the weapon again after she had been killed in that final battle. She approached the showcase slowly, resting her fingers on the glass in reverence.
"It appears as if the showcase itself is the beacon." Tuvok reported. "Captain?"
"I was sent here to Sunnydale with this bat'leth." She told them softly. "It was Kahless' contribution to the battle. I wasn't allowed to bring modern weapons, and even if I could, they could only use weapons considered ancient even in their time. I could use this because, even though it is a future weapon, it is still just a bladed weapon. I taught Buffy how to use it."
"Buffy?" Seven asked, her voice as soft as the captain's.
"Buffy Summers, Dawn's sister." Kathryn pointed to a picture on the dresser. It showed the brunette they had met outside of town hugging a shorter blonde, who was obviously older. "She was a young woman grown old before her time."
She opened the glass door just as the timer went off. She looked towards the door, then back at the case, clearly torn. Finally, she sighed and closed the case again. It's not going anywhere, she assured herself. "Let's eat."
- - - BtVS - - ST:Voyager - - -
"That was... interesting." Seven commented.
They had just finished the quesadillas. Kathryn had convinced Seven to try the dish, but Tuvok declined. Kathryn was currently sipping the cafe con leche, sitting back in her chair. She had told them more about her time in Sunnydale with the Buffy and the Slayers, even explaining the significance of the black robed creatures that had caused her to pick up their pace when heading for the house. There was an inflection in her voice that caused Tuvok's brow to rise slightly, but he kept silent.
"You care for this Buffy Summers?" Seven was not so discreet.
Kathryn nodded. "I do. She taught me almost as much as I taught her. I remember sitting on the back porch with her, just looking up at the stars. I missed being out there, even though it had been my choice to accept the Admiralty promotion. I was telling her stories about the couples that had formed over the years on Voyager, and she asked me if I had had someone back then. I told her that the captain didn't fraternize with her crew. When she asked me why, I explained the reasons behind the rule. Do you know what she said?"
Seven shook her head, intrigued despite herself.
"She said that didn't make any sense. She said that rules like that don't apply if we're cut off from everyone else. Alone, with only ourselves to rely on, we had to make our family where we could."
"Is this why you are proposing the changes?" Tuvok asked.
"Partly." Kathryn nodded, her gaze distant. "I saw the way they lived. In world full of people, they were just as stranded in Sunnydale as we are here in the Delta Quadrant, even when the town was full. Instead of holding herself apart, Buffy and her friends drew closer. It was... definitely something to think about." Finally, she focused on her officers again. "Come on, let's get loaded up and keep moving. Buffy's weapons chest is also in her room."
Back in the upstairs bedroom, Kathryn pointed out the weapons chest before opening the showcase again and removing her weapon. The moment she touched it, more memories of her time with Dawn and the other great powers of this dimension formed. An agreement after she had been killed from the blow that was meant for Buffy. Leaving the other two rummaging through the chest, she went downstairs into the living room for more space. Starting out with a simple exercise, she swung the bat'leth to familiarize this younger body with the weight and feel of the Klingon weapon. The longer she wielded the weapon, the smoother the movements became, until she was once again moving like the Master she was. Finally coming to a halt, oddly unfatigued despite the complicated kata she ended with, she noticed that Seven and Tuvok had at some point come downstairs and had been watching her. Both had raised eyebrows, which Kathryn interpreted as surprised curiosity.
"I've learned a lot of things during that first life." Kathryn shrugged. "Are you ready to head back out?"
Chakotay to Away Team. Please respond.
Kathryn tapped her communicator. "Go ahead."
Are you all right, Captain? We've been trying to hail you for over an hour, since we start those strange life sign reading converging on your location. We've lost the transporter lock and can't beam anyone else down to you. We've also lost function of the docking bay doors, so we can't send a shuttle.
"I guess I should have expected something like that." Kathryn sighed. "I understand, Chakotay, thank you. Looks like we're not leaving until this thing is played out. Continue to track our positions and monitor our life signs. The moment the transporters come back online, transport all Human and Vulcan based energy signals directly to Sickbay. We're about to head back out, so we will most likely lose communications again."
"Aye, Captain." They could almost hear the First Officer grinding his teeth in helpless frustration.
Shaking her head, knowing that he was going to make an issue of this when they finally returned, Kathryn put it out of her mind as she went back upstairs to get a few more weapons for herself.
"Captain." She heard Tuvok call her from downstairs. Something about the inflection in his voice made her hurry. "I have been monitoring the activity outside the perimeter of the gate. They have been moving about in restless, undisciplined patrols, but now they seem to have vanished."
"I concur." Seven added. "It is as if something has chased them away."
"Oh, that can't be good." Kathryn said.
- - - BtVS - - ST:Voyager - - -
Below the surface, a soul stirred, reacting to the pure evil manifesting above ground despite the deeply induced sleep of stasis. In the centuries between the time they entered the Great Sleep and the present, evolution moved on within them, regardless of the changes in their essences and uninhibited by the stasis that bound them. The spirit of Buffy Summers, the oldest and the strongest of the beings known as Slayers in another universe, was drawn from the comforting oblivion of her dreamless sleep as the manifesting of the most ancient of her enemy came to this place where they did not belong.
'Buffy, you have to come to me now.'
'Dawn?' Buffy mumbled sleepily as her spirit stepped away from her still slumbering body. 'Where are you?'
'Buffy, Kathryn needs your help.' The Key ignored the question as irrelevant. 'As usual, The First is cheating. Only vampires and lower level demons were supposed to be formed on this temporary world. He has created several Turok-Han to tip the scales of the fight in His favor.'
Buffy's eyes widened. The previous hazel color had changed during her alteration to a deep amber color. Then, just as quickly, those eyes narrowed and her teeth bared in a snarl. "That son of a bitch. Where is He?"
"I will take you to Kathryn and her companions. You can join with the Admiral to fight the First, but you cannot do it on your own. The First is more powerful here, and will be fighting personally, not through a chosen champion."
"Just take me to her. We'll handle the rest."