Storm of Shadows

by pjmb13

The arrival of the REF cruiser Arcadia heralded a new age for humanity. When the Arcadia left to explore the galaxy, there were great hopes and expectations. Now the forces of darkness have made their move. Faith, Buffy with a few allies find themselves engaged in struggle for survival, but neither side knows is that a greater struggle underway is about to arrive on Earth's shores.

10. Brave new world

(updated 10-16-2020)

CHAPTER TEN
Brave new world

Prisoner Identifier: B511E6D4-6C48-4A01-8A3F-ED6056706434
Species: Human
Sex: Female
Status: Interrogation Ongoing
Notes: The organic is trying to resist our attempts at questioning her. During several interrogation sessions, the human female invoked curses and kept calling for someone called "D'Hoffryn". From interrogations conducted on other human prisoners, we have learned this human has personal information and knowledge regarding the Alliance's senior commander. Further questioning is necessary until we have obtained all necessary information to develop a psychological profile of our adversary. For future reference regarding this species, we achieved excellent results when employing heat and cutting during questioning.

— excerpt from Haydonite interrogation report recovered during the liberation of Praxis

oOoOo

Staring into the fridge, Faith couldn't decide whether she wanted a beer or a soda. A quick glance of the clock told her it was barely past noon. The thought of drinking now brought on memories of how her mom would be drunk before lunch time—on those days she got up before noon.

She shook her head slowly, recalling all the times she swore that she would never end up like her mom, but that didn't matter anymore. Her mother was dead along with a good portion of Boston for now several years past.

The power flickered, indicating that the power might go out again. She sighed, choosing the beer and closing the fridge door quickly. Opening the beer, she took a long swig, enjoying the coolness on her throat as she made her way back into the living room.

Despite the power outages and brownouts, the TV was still going strong, due in part to the battery backup supply Andy had rigged up. They kept the TV going to keep up-to-date on the latest news... that is what news there was available.

Faith found it strange they actually still had power. From all the apocalyptic alien invasion-type movies she'd ever watched, it was always the valiant humans losing power at the beginning of the alien invasion. The situation could be a lot worse... she still had cold beer while Earth was being occupied by aliens.

She leaned back on the couch, watching the news stream of constant updates on the availability of food and water at stores and distribution centers setup across the state. Between this information would replay the Governor's announcement mobilizing the Texas National Guard to assist and help maintain law and order during this emergency.

Not that the National Guard was going to do anything to stop the invaders, if the amateur video footage of the aliens occupying Corpus Christi was any sign.

The video was getting constantly replayed over-and-over again. Faith—like many others—found it strange the aliens landed there to build their base. She'd figured they would have preferred one of the bigger cities or a military base to use.

When she first saw the video, she watched in disbelief, almost refusing to accept that this was happening. She shuddered involuntarily as the armored alien soldiers disembarked from their spacecraft. To her they looked like something right out of a Hellmouth.

The camera person caught the alien soldiers corralling and force marching those unlucky bystanders off towards an unknown fate. Things then quickly got out of hand when a group of pickup trucks came roaring in and screeching to a stop. A group of good old boys then piled out, all of them carrying weapons.

Faith still couldn't wrap her mind around what those people were thinking they could accomplish when they started firing on the aliens. Despite the camera shaking and video quality, the footage vividly caught the aliens' devastating response to this attack.

Tired of seeing the same information repeat over-and-over, Faith started flipping through the channels with the remote. Most of the channels were only static with the satellite network gone. Her constant channel surfing paid off, finally getting a clear channel.

An older man's face filled the TV screen, and as the camera pulled back, it showed the man holding a bible with an enormous cross behind him. The man shouted to the camera, "The Lord God will judge man for his sins, and forced into a reckoning in these last days..."

Faith rolled her eyes, Oh sweet Jesus, we can't get any real programs or news, but someone can broadcast this stuff during an alien invasion!

She considered changing the channel, but since she had little luck finding anything else, she left it on for entertainment value.

Faith slowly sipped her beer while the TV preacher continued his rant and rail against humanity and all its sins. His voice distorting as he shouted into the microphone, listing off every sin and immoral activity.

As the preacher continued his rant, Faith—for fun—mentally checked off the sins she'd done and the ones she hadn't. From the preacher's long list, she found there were very few she hadn't done. The boredom of watching this loser rant finally got too much, Faith's hand was reaching for the remote.

"Man became prideful and boastful of his technology and the things he could invent. The Internet allowed for the evils of pornography to reach the most innocent of us. We thought our technology would save us... raising it to have a higher place than God. Look what it brought us! We thought we could travel out into his domain... amongst the heaven and stars. We sent nothing but sinners out there, and now we are being punished for our sinful pride. The sinners of the Arcadia Expedition have brought down God's anger on the rest of us! We face God's wrath for their sins! Their deaths are atonement for violating God's will—"

Faith flipped the finger to the now dark TV screen. She figured turning it off was better than having Andy come home to find his TV smashed in from a beer bottle. Even with the TV off, the preacher's words still echoed in her head, making her want to scream. She slammed back the last of her beer, grabbing her helmet, and heading out the backdoor to grab some fresh air and clear her mind.

Sitting on her Cyclone, she debated about where to go or what to do. Besides wanting to ride and clear her mind, she realized she needed to contact the others. She hadn't been in contact with Buffy, Giles or Riley since the Haydonites invaded. She needed to find out what was going on and what they were going to do.

With all the satellites gone, her satellite phone was useless. That didn't mean they didn't have any backup communication channels. It was just that these other communication channels were riskier to use, and only for extreme emergencies.

I think this counts as an extreme emergency, Faith thought, starting up her bike. She pulled out of the driveway, quickly gaining speed while heading down the road.

Need to put some distance between here before I make my call, she thought, leaning into the bike and gunning the accelerator.

The Cyclone roared and exploded forward. As she raced down the road, she tried keeping her focus on the road, and not let the thoughts bouncing around her head distract her.

oOoOo

The directors of the CIA and FBI were feeling decidedly uncomfortable, sitting in front of the President's desk in the Oval Office. It wasn't the room or the fake smile President Kinsey was giving them that caused their discomfort. What concerned and alarmed them was the cloaked Haydonite, hovering behind the President's chair.

Kinsey noted their worried looks, but he didn't care about their worries or problems. Unfortunately, he still needed these men... their success would build him up with the Haydonites. Plus, there was the bonus of using them as scapegoats if anything went wrong.

"Gentlemen, Rector Nunan is here because I want to show him we have nothing to hide. We will grant him our full co-operation in this matter," Kinsey said, flashing his trademark smile, "Think of it as assisting a colleague. He's a member of the Inquisitor sect, which he explained is their equivalent to our military intelligence. Isn't that right, Rector?"

"Yes, you are correct, Mr. President," Nunan replied.

Both directors tried to contain their surprise at how the President and the Haydonite were interacting with each other. They both recognized what Kinsey was doing. Despite any misgivings and concerns, they recognized this was not the time to voice objections about collaborating with the enemy. The directors would discuss the President's collaboration much later in a long and private conversation.

The FBI director spoke first, placing the file folder he was carrying on the President's desk, "Sir, this is he file on everything we have on Faith Lehane. Other than a few unsubstantiated sightings, the trail's been cold on her for the last couple of years."

The CIA director nodded, adding his file folder to the pile on the desk, "We have nothing much more to add beyond some background material related to the Arcadia. The last few years, the woman has been a ghost."

Kinsey leaned forward, his smile fading, replaced by a more serious expression, "Gentlemen, that is about to change. Your priority, as of this moment, is to locate Faith Lehane. You will use and do whatever it takes to get results. You will leave no stone unturned, and if needed you will combine your resources to find her," he ordered, using a low hard voice.

The CIA director's discomfort grew with these orders as he glanced at the FBI director, "Uh, excuse me, Mr. President. I have to remind you that the CIA cannot by law operate domestically."

Kinsey eyed the man as if he was demented, fighting the urge to laugh in his face, "You both seem to believe that we are working under the old rules. Gentlemen, those days are over and there are new rules and powers in play here. No more reporting to Congress or following the constitution. There is now only the Haydonites and getting results for them. Do either of you have any problems with this new arrangement and this request?" he growled while studying their faces.

"N-No, sir," both men replied, each struggling not betray any inner doubts and turmoil.

"Excellent... Now, get out of my sight and find her!" he ordered, dismissing them with a wave of his hand.

Leaning back in his chair, Kinsey smiled, watching the men rush from the room, Hmmm... I could get used to being the head lackey. There are certain perks with the position.

"You handled that very well, Mr. President. I will inform Prelate Dejan of your invaluable service in this important matter," Nunan said, moving around to the front of the desk.

Kinsey bowed his head in obedient respect as the alien left the Oval Office. Even then, the President's thoughts still raced, trying to figure out why the Haydonites were so eager to find this Slayer.

I need to check with my own sources to see what they know, he thought.

The door had barely closed behind the Haydonite when a familiar voice caught Kinsey by surprise, "I'm impressed Bobby...! Way to handle the situation and take advantage of it! You're looking very Presidential... considering the circumstances."

The First using the form of Kinsey's predecessor stood leaning against the window, flashing a lifeless smile. Kinsey took a deep breath to regain his composure, "Now, you show up! I could have used your help days ago!" he hissed.

The First Evil's face took on a more serious expression, "Watch your tone with me!" he snarled, causing Kinsey to recoil in fear. But then just as suddenly the smile returned, "Considering the pressures you've been under, I'll let that little slip of the tongue slide... this time."

Kinsey sniveled, "Y-Yes, Master. Thank you, Master. How may I serve you?"

The First eyed the President, giving the cowering human a smirk, "You're doing perfectly, Bob. What's your take on this whole Faith business?"

Kinsey breathed a sigh of relief with the topic changing, "The aliens are hiding something or they have some other agenda. That bitch, Faith, was screwing the Captain of the Arcadia before they left. They were pretty hot and heavy."

The First chuckled, "Yeah, I heard about the surveillance tape. It's supposed to be some pretty Grade-A porn."

Kinsey laughed, "Yeah, it was pretty good."

"So Bob, the question we need to ask is why these aliens are so hell bent to get a hold of her? Coleiro and the others are dead, so why single her out?"

Kinsey grimaced as his thoughts raced, "I'm still trying to figure out that angle. Whatever their reasons are, we need to find her and figure out why they want her and wring as much advantage out of this as we can."

"That's the spirit, Bob!" smiled The First, "I knew you were the right man for this job. But I don't think we can rely too much on the help around here. Some of them aren't taking too well to the new reality, and they might not appreciate what you're doing. A few of the more ambitious ones might look at the change in the power structure and decide this is their opportunity to make a play for the big chair."

Kinsey considered The First's advice and warning, "I take it you have some suggestions?"

The First Evil gave Kinsey another smile, "Of course, Bobby! Otherwise, I wouldn't be here. I'll make sure my people's priority is locating that bitch. It will still be difficult because of that spell that Rosenberg witch cast to hide them, but now we don't have to show any restraint in how we find her."

The First noted the smile growing on Kinsey's face, "It's a brave new world out there, Bob. Even with these aliens, there is still an opportunity for us to get what we want. Time is winding down for humanity, even if there is only us and these aliens left in the end!"

oOoOo

Faith lost track of how long she'd been driving before finally catching sight of the roadside diner. This one showed more promise, with a smattering of trucks and cars parked out front compared to the other diners and gas stations she'd driven past that were closed.

She pulled into the parking lot, sitting there studying the diner for any potential threats. With no obvious signs of trouble, Faith dismounted her Cyclone and strolled into the diner.

Even trying to appear causal, she drew stares from the few patrons scattered around the diner. She took a seat at the far end of the counter to watch the entrance.

The waitress finally sauntered over, "What can I get for you?"

"Just a coffee, thanks," replied Faith.

Faith tried to maintain her air of casualness while studying the diner and its patrons. The waitress returned with a cup of coffee, "Is your payphone working?" Faith said.

The waitress eyed Faith before answering, "Yeah, despite everything happening, the phones are still working."

Faith grabbed a twenty-dollar bill from her pocket, sliding it across the counter, "I need some change. I need to make a call."

The waitress took the bill, again eyeing Faith as she headed over to the cash register. For Faith, it seemed to take forever for the waitress to return with her change.

She paid for her coffee, leaving a decent tip, and made her way over to the payphone on the wall by the diner's washrooms.

The reassuring sound of the dial tone greeted her when she lifted the receiver. She plugged coins into the payphone's coin slot, punching the number on to the keypad from memory.

The line crackled and buzzed, followed by an automated voice telling her the number she was calling was subject to long distance charges. She didn't worry about this because she'd plugged in more than enough money to cover for the message she needed to leave.

The line seemed to ring forever before it finally picked up, and the brief recorded message played, "Please leave your message at the beep."

Faith couldn't help smirking, recognizing the distinctive English voice as the answering machine beeped, "I'm leaving a message for the librarian. Tell my sister I'm well and I'm staying with my friend. I would really like to see everyone and know that you're all well. I'll try and call again," she said, cupping her hand over the handset.

With her message delivered, she hung up the phone and went back to the counter to finish her coffee. She noted the looks she still got from the other customers, but having sent her message reduced some of the anxiety weighing on her.

Her only concern over using this emergency dead drop was how long before Giles checked the messages. The code she used wasn't perfect, but Buffy would understand and know where she was staying.

Not that Faith had gone into any long discussions about Andy with Buffy. She'd told Buffy about Andy, asking if something ever happened to her that someone would let him know.

The realization hit home of how she wanted him to know if anything happened to her. It wasn't like he could do anything to change it. She just didn't want to leave him hanging, spending the rest of his life wondering. She wanted him to have closure.

The more she thought of Andy, the more her inner turmoil grew. She couldn't deny her feelings for him, but there was still a hesitation to say anything to him. With knowing that Paul was never coming back should have given her closure and let her move on, but there was the old fear of getting hurt again. The temptation to not go back to Andy's flashed in her head.

It would be the easy thing to do... just run away and hide, she thought, staring into her coffee cup.

Yes, it would be easy, but the more she thought about it, she realized it wasn't what she wanted. The past weeks with Andy had been good. Despite the alien invasion, she hadn't felt this normal and close to someone since Paul left.

Doubts still filled her thoughts as she left the diner and mounted her Cyclone. She realized she needed to do something regarding Andy. With the Haydonites entrenching themselves, and solidifying their hold on Earth, God only knew how long they had. The urge to get back to Andy now gripped her as she gunned the accelerator, peeling out of the diner's parking lot.

oOoOo

Andy fidgeted over the stove cooking dinner, using it to distract himself from his worried thoughts. He'd been out delivering emergency supplies to some of his neighbors around town, then took a detour over to Fort Hood to check on one of his friends based there.

It surprised him to see the Army base still operational with all its troops and weapons still in place. But his friend—Mike Dixon—quickly brought him up to speed on the current situation and the reality they all faced.

Mike gave him some more information about the invasion, along with the latest rumors of what the aliens were doing in the areas they occupied. It was more than a shock for Andy to hear that the aliens didn't consider the US military anything more than an annoyance to them.

His friend told him there were already a few cases of desertion... people just not showing up or just walking away. Andy quickly recognized the aliens didn't need to force the dismantling of the military. The way things were going, the military would probably fold up in less than a year. The officers and NCOs were holding the units together and maintaining discipline, but the long-term outlook didn't bode well.

All this weighed on Andy's thoughts when he arrived home... to find Faith gone. A mix of disappointment and worry gripped him, not knowing where she'd gone or if she was even coming back. He briefly considered calling his sister, but he wasn't in the mood to get a lecture and hear her gloat. Unsure of what to do, he took the only option available... he fixed dinner in the hopes she would return.

The sound of her Cyclone pulling into the driveway was an emotional weight off him. He resisted the urge to run to the door like some love-sick teenager. They were both adults, and they needed to trust and respect each other if they were going to have any future together. He kept his eyes on the stove, fighting the urge to turn around as he heard the door open.

"Hey there," he said, keeping his eyes on the cooking food.

"Hey," Faith replied, standing in the doorway studying Andy's back. The entire ride back, her thoughts were only about Andy and how she wanted to get back to him as quickly as possible. She finally had a clear idea of what she wanted.

"Go for a ride?" he said, trying to maintain his nonchalance.

Despite his act, Faith caught the anxious tone in his voice. A wave of guilt washed over her, realizing she'd screwed up, "Sorry, I should've left a note. I went out looking for a phone to leave a message at a number we have to leave emergency messages at," she replied sheepishly.

Andy turned to face her, "You could have called from here."

Faith shrugged, moving closer to Andy, "Didn't want to risk it and compromise us. I had to drive several hours away, used a payphone at a diner. They shouldn't be able to trace it back here."

Andy sighed, realizing she was right in wanting to not compromise the house, "Sorry, I'm not really into all this cloak and dagger stuff. I'm more of a fix'er upper and blow things up kind of guy," he said, adding a smirk.

Faith moved close, wrapping her arms around his neck, "You're also some nice eye candy too," she smiled.

Andy, gazing into Faith's eyes, returned the smile, "How about we talk about this more in the bedroom?"

"Good call. Better make sure you turn off the stove. We don't want to burn down the house," she said, leaning in to kiss him.

They hungrily kissed each other, running their hands over each other as they staggered to the bedroom. In the bedroom, Faith quickly pulled off Andy's shirt, running her hands up and down his chest. He returned the favor pulling off her shirt fast and hard, dropping it to the ground not wanting to waste their hunger and desire for each other. They hurried to the bed, losing themselves in their passion.

Caught up in their passion, they didn't see Faith's pendant snagging on her shirt when Andy pulled it off. The chain clasp broke, and her pendant fell to the bedroom floor unnoticed...

oOoOo

In a secure conference room at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, the directors of the FBI and CIA were meeting. Despite the positions they held, each man was nervous and unsure, but they recognized the dire situation they, the country and the world were in.

"Dan, I don't like this! Things are getting out of hand with Kinsey. It was bad enough before the aliens got here. We still had a chance with Congress and the constitution to limit him," the director of the FBI said, shaking his head.

A grim expression filled the CIA director's face, "I know Brad. We were banking on Coulson's people to force a showdown with him. With the evidence we have, we could have forced him out."

"Are you sure that he doesn't know about the evidence?"

"If he did, we would've already disappeared or suffered a massive neck trauma accident."

The FBI director rubbed his eyes, "I still can't believe everything that's happening... Is it true about London?"

"Yeah," muttered the CIA director, "We got a garbled message from our station there before they went off the air. They reported the aliens were sweeping up everyone... killing anyone who resisted. We've gotten reports that you can see the smoke from all the fires in Calais."

"And we've got those bastards building a base in Rockville! They might as well be on the White House lawn! Those poor bastards... nothing is getting in or out of there now," the FBI director said, shaking his head.

"What the hell happened to our country, Brad? How did we let it get this bad?"

A knock on the door interrupted the FBI director before he could reply. The door opened and the CIA director's secretary poked her head in the conference room.

"Sorry to disturb you, sir, But I thought you should see this right away. General Leahy from the NSA sent this over. He said it's important."

The CIA director nodded as the secretary hand him a file folder stamped 'Top Secret'.

"Thanks, Janice," he replied, waiting until his secretary left opening the file folder, and quickly skimming its contents.

"Anything the Bureau needs to worry about?"

The CIA director sighed, "It's something we all need to worry about! The NSA is still monitoring all the land lines in the country. They have a list of phone number flagged to watch for any activity. Most of the numbers being monitored have had little to no activity over the last several years. That changed today... one of the flagged numbers received a call today. Voice analysis identified Faith Lehane as the caller."

"Jesus!" muttered the FBI director, "Did they trace where she called from?"

The CIA director nodded, "Yeah, it came from a payphone in some roadside diner near Tyler, Texas."

"Texas? Did they pass the info on to Kinsey?"

"No," the CIA director said, "General Leahy is sitting on the info."

A worried expression filled the FBI director's face, "Can you trust him?"

The CIA director nodded, "I read Leahy in on what's going down. He's in agreement with our position, but he wants to take a wait-and-see attitude. His focus is on dealing with the aliens. From what I've heard, the NSA is planning to grab tech and weapons from the Haydonites to use against them. They're putting together some black sites using people from DARPA along with some other scientists and engineers to work on new weapons and reverse engineer what they can grab."

The FBI director shook his head slowly in disbelief, "So what do we do about Faith?"

A grim expression filled the CIA director's face, "We sit on this information for now. We need to know why the Haydonites are so damned interested in finding her. If they want her, then we sure as hell want to keep her out of their hands. I've got a few channels and sources I can use to get the word out to the right people to let them know what's going on. We know Kinsey has his own connections, so make sure you use only people you absolutely trust. We keep everything compartmentalized or otherwise we're all dead!"

oOoOo

Faith lay there with Andy's wrapped around her, running her hand along his chest. A momentary sense of being overwhelmed gripped her as she struggled with a surge of thoughts and emotions inside her.

Andy sensed something wrong as he stroked and caressed her hair, "You alright?"

Faith sighed, "I'm okay... I need to tell you something."

Her tone set off a sudden anxiousness and nervousness, but he pushed through it, "Whatever you need to tell me, I'm all ears."

"What you told me that night... the night I found out about the Arcadia," she breathed.

Andy's heart was pounding. He hadn't shown the greatest sense of timing, declaring his love for her on the same night she found out about the destruction of the Arcadia Expedition. His timing sucked, but he didn't regret telling her how he felt.

"Yeah," he muttered, trying to keep his nervousness in check.

Faith sighed again, pushing through her own anxiousness and nervousness, "I've only really loved one guy. Paul was someone I wanted to have a future with. He was the guy I wanted to be with..."

A surge of disappointment gripped Andy as she continued on, "He's gone now. This time you and I have spent together has been great..."

She paused, taking a deep breath, turning to meet Andy's eyes, "I didn't think I could love anyone else, but I love you," she said, giving him a gentle smile.

It a moment for Faith's words to sink in, and for him to believe this wasn't a dream. As it all sank in, a huge grin grew on his face. He pulled Faith closer, kissing her long and passionately.

This time, Faith didn't hold back or hesitate, returning the kiss with the same passion and love...

oOoOo

Outside in the night, standing across the street, a shadowy figure studied the house. A huge sinister-looking grin filled the face of the figure watching the house. Everything was coming together, despite having to deal with the inconvenience of an alien invasion.

The First Evil whispered towards the house, "Sleep tight, firecracker. We'll be seeing you real soon."