CH 3 – The Kindred are nothing if not colorful. Their membership is drawn from all walks of life, from all nations, and all creeds. And with each generation the blood of Cain is thinned. The weak serve the strong and the machinations of the elders who play their games of power.

Sam was able to plot the address into her GPS. It wasn't a long drive. As she went back into the city of Colorado Springs she found herself driving into a more and more seedy area. The buildings started to show more and more graffiti and broken windows. And all the people she passed were often gathering in darkened corners or huddled under sparsely placed street lamps.

This reminded Sam how different she had grown up compared to most of the world…scratch that most of the galaxy. Americans had a high standard of living compared to most of the world, and Sam had grown up the daughter of a well respected Air-Force Col. then later General. The rest of the Galaxy humans had been living as slaves in mud huts, or in the equivalent to the dark ages. Normally driving through such rough and uneasy surroundings should have filled her with the anxiety to not stop let alone come here at all. But she drove on following the GPS's instructions.

Eventually she turned down was appeared to be a dead end. A brick wall was ahead of her with a dirt parking lot to the right and an old, wooden biker bar to her left. A painted sign above the door had a cheesy devil face and under it was DEN in big red letters over a yellow background. Sam looked around from her car and finally drove into the parking lot. Her car, a 2009 Ford stood out next to an old rust colored betel, and a station-wagon of all things. Getting out Sam half expected to see shadowy figures leering waiting to strip her car down for parts or steal it altogether.

"Looking for me?"

"Wohhh!" Sam jumped spinning around. Liam stood perfectly still all in black. His black leather coat made his form seem more elemental rather than corporeal. Hell he looked like a vampire. His sunglass covered eyes stared at her. "Where the hell did you…" she looked around, he hadn't been there a second ago, she was sure. "How…"

Liam shrugged. "Some of us have a better knack for sneaking than others. You'll learn your own way eventually." He seemed to be smiling. "Come on, time for you to mingle with the rest of the children." He walked past her expecting her to follow.

The Bar was old. Opening the door Sam was instantly assaulted with smells of smoke, and music coming from an old jukebox. The wood floor was creaking with the people inside walking around. Surprising, Sam saw more than just bikers. There had been several motorcycles out front but inside there were far more people than vehicles in the parking lot or on the street.

Liam stopped just inside the door and let Sam come up next to him. They looked around in the dim light. No one seemed to pay them any mind. Sam had been worried her cloths, a light green shirt, jeans, and leather jacket would look to civil for a biker bar but instead there were plenty of people dressed much the same.

There seemed to be a main room, with the bar on one end with stools, then there were booths on the far side. In the middle were other tables and chairs. People, all sorts moved around. Some were smoking and drinking bears, others playing cards. A old TV on the far wall was showing some kind of game and several people cheered for something. Liam looked over at Sam. "Surprised I take it."

Sam frowned, "Uh, and where are all the vampires?" She said. The noise wasn't overly loud now that her ears had grown accustomed to it but there was still a lot of commotion going on. All she saw were some old bikers, a few kids; some looked like they could be in college or even high school. There were also middle aged men in suits or sports jackets that could be any kind of professionals. Sam really didn't know what to make of the place.

"Look again," Liam said. "Take a good look and listen."

Sam scanned the common room again. Some kids were drinking and laughing, A few bikers booed at the TV. A table was surrounded by a mixed group of younger and middle aged people, some in cloths that looks like they had seen better days and others dressed much like her or at least on the higher financial scale. But then she started noticing things. The bikers at the bar weren't drinking bear. Their pitcher was empty and the bartender wasn't refilling it. The group in the back by the TV was covered in smoke from cigarettes and cigars but there was no movement of air or anyone coughing or showing any sign of discomfort.

And the table of mixed people that really shouldn't be sitting together were all very, very somber and quiet. Their faces and other exposed skin were pale or ashen depending on the person's race. It was only the college kids at the side where were laughing so hard and drinking that seemed to really be alive. Oh my god, Sam realized, the room was full of vampires. Scattered humans were here and there but the ratio of them to the vampires was more than six to one.

"Welcome to Elysium," Liam said and walked further in. Sam followed slowly but sped up to keep from being left behind.

"Elysium," She said when she caught up to him. "That's a safe place right? Like a safe house."

"No, it's a place designated as neutral territory where there is no violence between Kindred." Liam corrected her. "It's where we can come and be ourselves and blow off some steam. It's important for the young ones too because it helps them bond further with their brude mates as well as give the clans a chance to mix where they would otherwise stay separated."

They were approaching a back door. "But there are humans here." Sam said her head nodding towards the college crowd. Liam had made it clear the point of the "Masquerade" the tool by which vampires moved among humans and helped perpetuate the now myth that vampires weren't real. Break that and its instant death. So how could they be themselves with humans around?

"Only on this floor," Liam said. "The upstairs is only for us. Besides the occasional human gives the opportunity to grab a snack should someone feel like it. That's what the back room is for."

Liam pushed through the back door and went up some narrow stairs avoiding the rest of the back room. Sam did see before following a young man…scratch that again, a young looking vampire kissing the neck of a girl who was moaning softly. She ducked up the stairs un able to watch.

Getting up the narrow stairs they both came onto a second floor with a low ceiling where there was another bar. The sounds from downstairs could be heard through the floor but only faintly. It was much quieter. Here Sam again started noticing things. The few tables were filled with vampires, mostly young men and few women. There were fewer middle aged people and nowhere near the kind of lively banter that the downstairs had.

Sam smelled blood. Looking around several of the floor's occupants had cups filled with red liquid and openly drank from them. Liam walked around and came to a corner table that had five young people sitting around it. They all had their heads down contemplating their red drinks and one had a small bowl of pretzels. Silently she came up to them and stared at them till they one by one looked up to acknowledge his presence.

Sam came up behind him but didn't get too close. She didn't know what this was about. Instead she looks at the group at the table. They were all in basic cloths and jackets. But she saw baseball bats, and knives in hilts tied to their thighs or leaning up against the table. One was nursing a bad cut on the side of his face. She realized then that Liam was talking and listened in.

"A rough few days." It wasn't a question. There were grumbles and nods. "Where's Oliver?"

A young black man stared up at Liam, his eyes started to glow a kind of amber color. "He's dead. But you knew that didn't you. You guys always know when…"

"Hey," A woman put her hand on the man's arm. "Not his fault," she said. Sam watched the woman's face and realized she was a woman at all but a girl…or what had been a girl. Her face was round and smooth but her eyes. There were dark circles under them and a kind of…aged feeling there that Sam got. She couldn't be more than sixteen. Of course for all she knew anyone here could be over a hundred years old. Vampires didn't age, at least not physically anyway according to Liam.

"Yah," the man didn't stop. "Then whose fault is it? We go out every night to fight their stink'n war and they sit back and watch playing their god damn chess games, and –"

Liam then silenced him by placed his hand quietly by the young man's forearm. "John," he said very quietly, "Be very careful what you say next."

John, as his name turned out to be, became very quiet and his eyes turned back to the dark brown they had been. His head bowed and he stared back at his drink. The girl looked up at Liam and shrugged. "We've been on the south side for the last four days. The raiders keep testing the main roads. We have no choice but to fight them or let a Pack get into the city."

Liam nodded. "Good that you don't. Otherwise there might be little point in keeping any of you around." Liam said. His voice wasn't harsh but the statement itself was so cold and carried a unconcealed threat to it. Sam knew there was something here that she didn't understand…and wasn't sure she wanted to.

"Mango," Liam was talking to the girl. "what are you carrying these days?"

The girl, Mango, it seemed, pulled out a large K-Bar knife and a small hand gun. "38. Special."

Liam looked at the weapon. Reaching under his coat he pulled out a far larger pistil. "Take this, Desert Eagle, 45. Better range and more stopping power for the next War Ghoul that tries to eat you."

Mango reached or the weapon and held it in her hands carefully inspecting it. It was clear she wasn't afraid of the gun but also that she wasn't well trained in handling it. The way she popped the small snub hand gun has shown that. "Thanks," She said.

"You're welcome." Liam answered.

"Who's she," another male vampire asked. He was looking behind Liam at Sam. She came a little closer and smiled.

"Hi there," She said. "I'm Col. Carter. Nice to meet –"

"She's a Ventrue," the young man announced to the table interrupting her. He shook his head. "God Damn, what the hell do you want now? It's our fucking night off."

Sam suddenly felt very angry but before she could tell the punk off Liam stepped in. "Nice call on her clan. But you are wrong as to why she is here. Samantha is not part of the Prince's staff nor does she have any connection with the leadership. She's a fledgling, like all of you."

"Fuck that," John said. "We ain't been fledglings since Justin and Amber got wasted. Fuck you."

Liam stared at John again. Silently she just stared and the dark skinned young man grew even paler than before. "John" Liam finally spoke, "you are going to let your Brujah blood lead you into saying something foolish."

The air around the table grew pregnant and heavy with the silence that followed. Liam broke it again by talking to Sam. "Samantha, let me introduce some of Colorado Springs' finest protectors. It is because of them that you and most of the city can sleep at night."

Sam nodded as if she understood. If this had been a table of young marines she would have said something like thank you for your efforts and keep up the good work but Liam had basically put her on their level so that kind of seemed like a bad idea. That was something else she was going to have to talk with Liam about; was she a child in vampire society. She was well into her 40s and Liam was younger…well looked younger than her. How did vampires figure maturity? Mango for example seemed to be much older than she looked.

"So you just got embraced," Another male vampire at the table asked. He was leaner and smaller than the others. "I can smell the sunlight on you."

Sam blinked surprised by the statement. "Uh…yeah, about a month ago."

"So you are new." Another female said. She was sitting next to Mango. "I'm Kim, by the way. This is John, and Chris" she pointed to the smaller boy. "And the loud mouth is Punk, and this is Mango."

Sam graciously nodded. "Call me Sam."

"Sam," Kim repeated. "So what got you recruited into the illustrious ranks of the undead?" She spoke easy enough but Sam could tell there was something to the question. Kim was fishing for information other than just what she asked.

"I was attacked," Sam said. "When I woke up the Camarilla found me."

"You didn't have a choice," Mango said, more to herself. She looked at Liam who nodded silently. Mango turned back looking at Sam, "Shit."

"Yeah," Sam said grateful for the sympathy.

Liam silently excused himself. Sam blinked before realizing he was leaving her. Mango also noticed and commented "Smooth isn't he. Have a seat you can wallow with the rest of us."

Sam silently sat down at a spare chair and moved up to the table. This should have been an opportunity to learn more about what being a vampire was supposed to be like but her mind was a total blank. Looking around her, Sam, only saw young miserable faces. She could relate to that; who would want to be a vampire, but with this group there seemed to be a lot more.

"So, you are all protecting Colorado Springs from the Sabbat?" She asked clarifying Liam's earlier statement.

Five sets of eyes all stared at her. "Yeah, where you been, Babe?" Punk broke the silence with his sarcasm. "Been burying you head in the sand with all your Blue Blood buddies?"

"Punk, shut up," Mango said. "She just sat down."

Punk turned on her. His eyes going amber and glowing in that lightless way vampire eyes seem to. When he spoke his mouth had fangs showing. "You know I'm sick of you, you little Bitch. Always butting in when it doesn't concern you."

The girl put her hand on the table showing it was missing two fingers. "Punk, who saved your ass yesterday? The only bitch here is you."

The young man jumped up his chair falling back. He growled showing teeth and Mango was right up with him also showing her fangs. For a second the two of them were ready to go after each other. A sudden click loud enough for everyone to hear it drew all attention.

Sam looked behind her and saw a far table where Liam was now seated. A thin man in a pretty nice three piece suit was seated at it playing cards. One hand was holding a large revolver. She smiled at her and his eyes were a beautiful gold, not yellow but bright gold. "Now, now, children, we don't fight here." He said in a distinctly southern accent. He wasn't speaking loudly but in the quiet upstairs his voice traveled. "We wouldn't want the Keeper of Elysium to come on up here and kick us all out now do we?"

Punk growled while Mango quickly sat down. The southern man smiled even more. He didn't show his fangs but there was something knowingly evil about it. His eyes were still gold. "Let's go on outside and I'll be your Huckleberry. That's just my game." He put his cards down on the table.

Punk stopped making noise then slowly bowed his head and closed his eyes. He sat down. Sam turned from the boy back to the Southerner. "Well now, we'll just put our game on hold then." The man's eyes turned brown and he went back to his cards.

Sam turned back to the table and the young vampires. She had now figured that most if not all here were Brujah. What that really meant she wasn't sure. She knew they were a clan and that Liam said they were ill tempered as a general rule but not much else. Taking a risk she started asking questions. That was why Liam had brought her here.

She started with, "Who is that?" she indicated the southern man across the room.

"That's Doc," Kim answered. He was contemplating her drink. "He's a Toreador but not like the rest of the pretty vamps."

"What makes him different?" Sam asked.

"Well for starts he isn't all talk like most of them are. They pull strings but don't like to get dirty," John said. His voice held contempt. "They get others to fight for them." Sam figured he meant others like the small group seated at the table.

"But Doc, is different," Sam supplied.

"Yeah," Kim said again. "He is fast, like really fast with is guns. I've never seen him get into a fist fight but once I heard he got six Sabbat with just one of those pistols he has. And he comes down here to slum with the rest of the damned." That last part was said in a way that made Sam think Kim believed it. Were they all damned?

"What about you all?" Sam said trying to keep the talk going. "You're all Brujah right. So how do you figure into all of this?"

Punk snorted. "You haven't figured it out yet, Blue Blood? We're the cannon fodder." Seeing the look of ignorance on Sam's face seemed to provoke him. He leaned in closer to Sam. His sarcasm was gone and raw hatred could be heard in his voice. "We're the fuckers the Camarilla uses to throw to those Sabbat bastards. Figure once they empty their guns into us then they have a fighting chance." With that he grabbed his drink and stalked off going downstairs.

Mango looked at the empty chair and said nothing. Sam didn't want to pry so she asked something else. "Is it really that bad, the Sabbat trying to take the city, I mean? I've heard it said but…"

Chris answered. "Yeah, it's bad. In the last months raids are coming almost every night and the packs are getting more and more viscous. They used to be just hit and run but now they fight and try to claim any little bit they can. Like there was something here they want now. And they want it bad."

Sam thought about that. The Stargate, she didn't know why but that had to be it. Someone, one of the Sabbat leaders wanted the gate but why now? And why was it important to turn her into a vampire?

"Thinking about something?" Kim broke Sam's concentration.

"Huh…oh, I was just thinking about this last month. A lot of stuff I never even knew before. Seems kind of…I don't know. How could I have missed it? You know?"

Everyone nodded if only slightly. "Yeah," Kim said. "We all get that. I lived her my whole life and never even thought about vampires being real."

Sam and the group talked a little longer. Sam learned that the previous Prince had allowed a few vampires to embrace on mass. Something that was never allowed. The new vamps had then been taken and divided into groups to patrol the outside of the city. It was clear they were meant to just fight but Sam was appalled by first how they hall all been just suckered into becoming vampires. Almost none of them had had a choice and those that did hadn't known what they were agreeing to. Then the lack of training or any preparation for them. Dear god, from what Sam was hearing they were being sent out to die nightly. Those that did survive had thought they seen everything. That was until Hadrian had attacked from Denver.

"Never saw what some of those Denver Kindred could do." John said. "The Sabbat likes to throw the newbies out in packs of five or six but Prince Hadrian's vamps…hell I think most were ghouls, they were something else."

"They attacked you?" Sam said. It was hard to think about but she understood it. They were all supposed to be on the same side but if the Prince of Colorado Springs hadn't wanted to work with Hadrian than something drastic would have had to be done. And I wouldn't have had those Camarilla vampires on my ship if Hadrian hadn't attacked Colorado Springs.

"Yeah," Chris said. "I thought I knew tough. Those guys, walked right over us. We tried holding them off. Thought they were Sabbat but they had called us to surrender. Sabbat don't do that. But then our boss said keep fighting so we did." Chris just shook his head.

"I'm sorry," Sam said. "Denver just took over."

"Everyone that survived has a different story," Kim answered. "Some even say they saw Prince Hadrian march on up and cut the Toreador Prince's head right off. Others just remember getting bullets and stakes in them till after the fighting was done."

Sam looked at Mango who was silently looking into space. "Where you part of that?" Sam asked.

Mango looked up. Her eyes focused on Sam. "Yeah. I was."

Sam saw the look in the young girl's eyes. She wasn't staring into space. Sam turned following her gaze…she was looking at Liam still sitting with Doc, sipping from a glass. She turned back to Mango. "You fought Liam?" Sam said surprised. She shouldn't have been. It made sense if Liam was working for the Denver Prince. Sam had just never thought about it. She never really thought of it at all that vampires had invaded at all. So Liam would also be new to Colorado Springs. I wonder why he didn't go back to Denver.

Mango snorted, an act that required her to actually breathe. "Fight," She shook her head. "Justin and Amber, fought him." Mango took her cup of blood and downed it in one gulp. Suddenly she didn't look like a girl at all. Just someone too old for their skin. "I'll see you all back at the Haven." She walked around the table and to the stairs but stopped before passing Sam. Looking down she gave a sad smile. "You know, if you ever feel like you need to talk I'm staying at the South Haven. It's a old motel six, room 203." With that she walked off leaving Sam with John, Kim, and Chris.

Sam turned back to the table a little bewildered by Mango's actions. John said nothing and just got up to follow. Chris watched him leave. Turning to Sam he shrugged and drank the rest of his blood. "Mango has this love hate this going on with Sage."

"Why?" Sam asked. Vampires didn't have romance, or so she thought. Suddenly she made the connection. John had said Amber and Justin died. Could Liam have been the one that killed them?

Finishing his blood Chris put it on the table. "He killed our sires. John was there too." He stood up, all of five foot and maybe 4 or 5 inches. "Then after the fighting he took a bunch of the local vamps. No one knows what he did but Mango was one of them. When she came back she was a lot tougher, and she had always been pretty tough. Kind of why she is the oldest of us. Been Kindred for going on six months now." Christ then shrugged and left.

Kim stretched. "You know I should go to. But it was nice talking with ya." He got up. "Come down more often and we'll let you buy us a round." She slid into a jean jacket. "Who knows, before too long I'll probably be calling you Boss seeing as your Ventrue and all." She smiled indicating she was trying to be humorous and then left.

Sitting alone at the table Sam looked at her watch and blinks. It was almost 5:30 in the morning. She got up and saw Liam was already heading down the stairs. She fell in behind him. Without turning he spoke while they were still on the stairs, "Learning anything useful?"

Sam nodded "Yes, a lot. I didn't know the Camarilla used kids to fight their battles." She didn't hold back the contempt she felt. And to think she had actually thought something of Hadrian. He might not have been the one to give the order but he was still using these kids and that made him just as bad. Liam didn't say anything. He just led her back through the bar and to the outside.

Once they were out into the cooler night air he headed for her car. Once there he turned on her not angry but his voice held authority in it. "And what do you think war is, Fledgling? You should know by now that no one is safe from it no matter how hard the warriors try to prevent collateral damage. And the young will always be the first sent in to fight. Humans do the same thing and you know it."

Sam did know that. A lot of her Marines had been young, some so much as 18 or 19 years old. The thought of Lt. Hailey who was now a member of SG-8 came into her mind. She was just in her twenties and exploring a dangerous galaxy. But that still didn't justify embracing children just to fight and die. And she said as much.

Liam glared at her hard from beneath his dark sunglass…or she thought he was glaring, it was hard to tell. "There is a reason its them you know." Sam shook her head. If there were real soldiers out there than they should fight not children, who were tricked into this life to begin with. "The Sabbat feed on their captured enemies or worse gives them over to the Tzimisce to be warped into war ghouls or something else equally as horrid. These vampires are young and even more important their blood is thinner than most. That group you met tonight are all 12th and 13th generation." He must have seen that Sam didn't get it. "If they are drained then there isn't much the Sabbat can gain from them. They're weaker than the rest of us simply because their blood is weak."

Sam's eyes grew wide. Weakness depending on generation…generation from what? A Source, was there a source of vampirism? What generation was She? And what happened if your blood was too thin? But she didn't voice the questions in her head instead she asked another one. "Then why aren't they trained, better yet why not embrace someone that can actually fight. They would be the same generation right, blood just as thin?"

Liam sighed. It could have been out of exasperation but Sam thought it sounded just tired. "Why do so many parents now a days treat their kids like shit?" He said. "Why don't people take responsibility for their mistakes anymore? And probably most important, its just easier to control a child than a adult. Look at me and you. If you were just ten years younger wouldn't you be more willing to just do what you were told?"

Sam mulled that over in her head. Ten years ago she had been a Captain. She was just 32 and still learning so much. Yeah, she would have been more willing to be molded depending on what the authority figures in her life told her. In those 10 years at the SGC she had become a lot stronger, as both a leader and as an individual.

He just stared at her. Finally Liam did speak but his voice was very different. "Can I ask you something, Samantha?"

Sam was taken aback. Liam never asked to ask a question, and his tone was softer like he really was sincere. She nodded her head unsure of her own voice.

"Is there nothing about being Kindred that appeals to you? Nothing at all?"

"No," Sam said. It was such an obvious question that she couldn't really be sure he asked it. "No, there is nothing. I'm lying to my friends, my government. I know about things that scare me and Ca –" She stopped before saying how she had used powers she didn't understand on Cassandra. Liam still didn't know she was living with her.

Liam listened without interruption. A sad smile came to his lips. She really wished she could see his eyes right then. Quietly he spoke as if he wasn't speaking to her, "I guess I never really knew just how different I am to so many of you. Maybe I was lucky. I never thought about it like that." He gave her a nod of his head then was back to his normal self. "Remember this place, it could be helpful to you. And prepare yourself."

"For what?" Sam asked.

"You're going out on patrol with the cannon fodder. You start Wednesday night. Get some rest and practice your aim." With that he turned to leave.

"Wait, what? I can't go and…what about the SGC?"

Liam turned around from a few steps away, now his smile was more sarcastic. "You didn't want to help with its defense so you will make yourself useful another way. The Prince gave you a choice."

"No he didn't. He just told me –" But Samantha didn't finish the sentence. Hadrian had warned her. He said she wouldn't stand in his way. And now she wondered what would happen if she disobeyed this order as well. She didn't want to find out and there was no one she could turn to, to help her.

When Sam looked back for Sage, he had disappeared as if he had never been just a few feet from her. Looking around she tried to see him in the dark but there was nothing. The thought of trying to sniff him out came to her but it was brushed away by how absurd that was. She got into her car and started back home. Hopefully she would be able to get some sleep. It was now Sunday and she knew Monday was going to be tough enough. And who knew what Wednesday would bring.

Note: wow, okay, enough back story right, time to get some action. I've been reading some of the other vampire books and I must say they can be confusing and long winded. So I'm sticking with that style I guess…

Well Introduced some new characters, most won't be important to the story. Still trying to get Daniel and Vala back in the story but having a little trouble thinking of it. Should see them in the next chapter. Also I'll make a point of getting some action. Time Sam used her new Cainight powers to kick some ass.

As always, anything that needs explaining please let me know, and anything you like or want to see more of also write me. This is mostly a Samantha Carter story so I will be doing my best to make her more central.