Chapter Fifty Two: Circles within Circles
"You're sure?" asked Buffy, raising her voice to be heard over the sound of the wind rushing past them.
"I'm sure," replied Phoebe from her position in front of Buffy on the back of the dragon. "I saw Dawn there. If we go back to the city we'll see her again. She's still part of all this. We've got to go back to the city and join up with all the others."
"And she's alright?" asked Buffy. "She's gonna be alright?"
"As much as any of us are alright," said Phoebe. "She looked alright to me. I suppose whether we stay alright depends on how we tackle things when we get there. We've got to find some way to shield the planet from the Goa'uld attack."
I wish I'd seen my sisters in my vision thought Phoebe. They must be OK she told herself. I'd know if they weren't wouldn't I? But a lot of what's happening seems to center on Dawn. And as usual we only get bits and pieces of the picture, just enough to move us around the chess board.
Xander rode as the third passenger aboard the dragon carrying Phoebe and Buffy. Angel, Connor and Drusilla were on a second dragon flying closely behind them.
"Just wait until I tell Anya about riding on a dragon," said Xander. "I'd like to see her top that."
"You don't think she couldn't?" said Buffy. "I bet you she's ridden on dragons before." Or she'll claim she has, Buffy added silently to herself. Anya could be a valuable source of information about things nobody else remembered but she could also tell the most unbelievable stories. Of course that didn't mean they weren't all true given that Anya had been a demon for many centuries, but Buffy had her doubts.
"She'd better be there, that's all I'm saying," said Connor. "I told Dawn I'd keep her safe and now she's disappeared. As soon as we can we should all go back home. There's way too much magic around this place. It's a danger to all of us. The sooner we get away from it the better."
"Didn't you bring her here to get away from the magic back in Sunnydale?" asked Drusilla.
"Yeah and look how well that's worked out," said Connor. "There are other ways to deal with Wolfram and Hart to stop them messing with us. That's something I'm gonna see to when I get back."
"Well if we don't stop the Goa'uld here we'll soon have to face them back home as well," said Angel. "And if they take over Kallistien they'll have all the Kallistien witches working for them. With their help they'll be able to take over a lot more places, including maybe the Earth."
"Ah, the good old domino theory," muttered Drusilla. "You should stand for election."
Angel didn't reply to that comment. He knew Drusilla realised the truth of what he was saying. She didn't like to show it too openly but Drusilla's point of view was now very different ever since Willow had given her a soul. Drusilla wanted to help the Kallistians as much as anybody else.
The journey continued for a while in silence. Xander was the only one enjoying the flight, everybody else was lost in their own thoughts. How much longer thought Buffy, impatient to arrive back in the city. What we need is a Whitelighter to orb us all over the place. We were really spoilt by having Tara around. That brought another concern to mind. I hope Tara's OK, wherever she is. Hell, I hope everybody's OK.
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"Back in Sunnydale?" said Lilah into the phone. "You're sure...? No, no objections. But I would have thought those school kids might object if they found out... Oh, right... Well if you put if off much longer it'll be too late. Have you seen the news lately? Well I'll be there with my people tomorrow ready to go. If you're not ready you'll be responsible for the consequences and you'll have all the explaining to do."
Lilah put the phone down and looked at Colonel Maybourne who was sat in a chair in front of her desk. "They're stalling," she said. "They don't want to go through with it until their people get back from Kallistien but they're running out of time. Their people don't even know they should be rushing back home and they've got no way to get word to them. And anyway they're pretty busy right where they are just now."
"You said Sunnydale," said Maybourne suspiciously. "Back in Sunnydale. What did you mean by that? Whatever you do with the Gates has to be in Sunnydale or at the SGC or both so it shouldn't be a surprise you have to go to Sunnydale."
"Yes, why Sunnydale?" said Lilah half to herself. "I suppose because that's where the witches have their base and as you say that's where they have their Stargate. They hope to be able to control things there. Are they in for a surprise. Anyway it suits us just as well. It'll mean everything the other side gained last time will be out the window. Even if we don't get everything we want they'll be literally right back where they started and we'll be ready to make our next move."
"The other side?" queried Maybourne. "Who exactly is on the other side? The other side to you that is? And what do you mean by the last time?"
And why do you think I don't know you're hiding a lot of things from me he added to himself. All the cryptic remarks are meant to get me to ask questions he realised, just so Lilah can make herself look good.
"You know who the other side are," said Lilah. "Those witches and their friends including that whole gang of people who are stuck on that other planet. Once this is finished they'll have no way back, I'm glad to say. Things will be a lot easier without them to get in everybody's way all the time."
"And the last time?" repeated Maybourne.
"You were there when Hammond turned up," said Lilah deliberately not mentioning anything about the closure of the Hellmouth which was what she had really been thinking about. She wasn't sure how Maybourne would react to talk of a Hellmouth.
Lilah and Maybourne were back in her LA office in the Wolfram and Hart building. She was no longer being actively sought by the SGC. After Leo had told General Hammond what was really happening he had called off the search for her. By now Colonel Maybourne had been released since it had not been possible to prove he was acting against the SGC or against his orders.
"Do you mean the Gates will stay shut? Because I thought the whole idea was to open them up again," asked Maybourne. "That's certainly what I want."
"Don't worry," said Lilah. "The Gates on Earth will be OK. But I don't think it'll bother you if the SGC stay where they are permanently."
There were times when Maybourne wondered whether everybody would be better off if he just pulled out his gun and shot Lilah Morgan dead. This was one of those times. But then again Maybourne had seen enough strange things by now to know that a bullet in the heart wasn't always fatal. Lilah was just the person to have protection ready against that sort of thing.
Maybourne regarded himself as a patriot even if others had a different opinion of him. Yes, he was ruthless and he would love to see the SGC replaced by something better, something accountable to the NID, but that didn't mean he simply wanted to settle scores with them and see them dead.
Yet again Lilah had assumed that his loyalties and his aims were as dubious and frankly evil as her own. Although he did not react to this he was getting sick of it. As far as he was concerned, if it was a choice between Lilah Morgan and Wolfram and Hart on the one hand and the SGC on the other he would take the SGC every time. There were lines he and the SGC would not step over. Not the same lines of course but lines. He was sure the same could not be said about Lilah Morgan and whoever were the powers behind Wolfram and Hart.
"So how do you plan to achieve that?" asked Maybourne. "If the Gates start working again they'll be able to dial home like they usually do."
"You'd think so wouldn't you," said Lilah. "But I can guarantee that won't happen. When we've finished, the planet of Kallistien will be cut off permanently. Either that or there won't be a planet of Kallistien any more."
She's lying thought Maybourne. She's very good but she's lying. She must be, her lips are moving. But what is she really up to? Is Hammond right? Does she actually want to destroy the Earth? Or destroy the world of Kallistien and the millions of people on it? Is she that big a maniac? And why does she want to involve me again?
"Well I didn't come here just to be somebody you could boast to like a third rate B-movie villain," said Maybourne. "For the moment let's assume you're gonna pull this off, just the way you plan to. Why do you need me? I'm certainly not going to have anything to do with destroying a world full of people."
"Maybe I just wanted to say sorry for leaving you in the lurch the last time?" suggested Lilah, unconvincingly.
"Try again," said Maybourne. He didn't believe it and he knew Lilah didn't expect him to.
"OK," said Lilah. "Let's assume things go down the way we want them to. What are you going to do next?"
"Continue as a loyal hardworking officer of the NID," said Maybourne. As if I'd tell you anything else he added to himself.
"If SG-1 and all those other US personnel don't get back from Kallistien, don't you think things will look bad for the SGC?" asked Lilah. "Won't there be an inquiry? Won't somebody, like say General Hammond, have to take the blame?"
"And how will it be Hammond's fault?" asked Maybourne, interested in spite of his scepticism.
"Hammond has been working with witches and other dubious characters," said Lilah. "And as a result he has compromised the working of the Stargates. That's what it looks like doesn't it? He's had witches casting magic spells on his precious Stargate and look what's happened. It doesn't work any more. He's been messing with things he shouldn't have touched and the people he trusted have disappeared."
"If what Hammond's done results in the loss of valuable people and a downgrading of our capacity to defend against the Goa'uld, don't you think that would be grounds for a wholesale change in the control of the SGC? Especially if an organisation like the NID were to issue warnings ahead of time, just so you could say 'told you so' after it all goes down."
"I see your point," muttered Maybourne. It was something he had already thought about. He knew it could be a big opportunity to close down the SGC for good. He had already spoken to Kinsey about what to do if the Stargate closure was permanent. He knew that Kinsey was already applying pressure in his own way.
But whatever happened it wouldn't be as straightforward as Lilah was suggesting. If he knew Hammond, he had already covered himself by clearing everything with senior command or even direct with the President. As Kinsey himself had said, it might not be possible to shift Hammond until the next President took office.
Lilah could see Maybourne was now thinking furiously. As usual she was working on several levels. Keeping the NID and the SGC at odds had been one of the more successful long term objectives of Wolfram and Hart. Keeping that particular pot boiling would help prevent either organisation from devoting all of its attention to other matters.
But if Wolfram and Hart's main plan for the apocalypse succeeded there wouldn't be an NID, an SGC or even a US of A she thought. All their petty bickering and plotting would be swept away along with everything else. But no harm in having a backup just in case.
Because if for some reason the Earth was not destroyed the second prize for Lilah and Wolfram and Hart would be the loss of the people currently exiled on Kallistien. Lilah was certain that there was now no way they could get back, whatever happened, so that part of the plan would be a success even if the apocalypse was averted again.
Once the dust settled, the Wolfram and Hart influenced NID would be in prime position to take advantage of the SGC's alleged failures. And that would lead, sooner rather than later, to Wolfram and Hart controlled Stargates.
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"I've got it," said Sam looking up from her control board. Sam, Jack and Teal'c were currently in the Control Room of the Goa'uld ship that they and the others had captured.
"Well don't give it to me," said Jack. "Anyway I've already had it."
Sam gave Jack one of her long suffering looks. Teal'c just looked at him and raised his eyebrows in his best Mister Spock manner.
"I know what we haven't allowed for," continued Sam. "I know just what Apophis is going to do. Trouble is I don't know how we can stop it."
"Apophis will fire off all of his missiles at the planet immediately before he evacuates the crews of his ships through the Stargates," said Teal'c. "That is, if he cannot stop his ships being pulled back to the planet and the Stargates do indeed start working again."
"That's just what I was going to say," said Sam. "You've not been taking lessons in mind reading from the witches have you?"
"Coincidence," said Teal'c. "The thought has only just occurred to me. There is no possibility of Apophis surrendering himself or his ships."
"I think you guys are partly right but if I were Apophis there's something else I would do," said Jack. "I'd send part of my fleet on ahead to attack the planet with missiles. A sort of kamikaze unit. They would try to take out whatever it is that's pulling the Goa'uld fleet back to the planet. If it doesn't work and they just crash onto the planet he's no worse off than he is now. But if it does work Apophis and the rest of his fleet will be able to break free and do whatever he wants."
"And if he does have units on the moons he might order them to attack as well," said Sam.
"Yeah, so we could be faced with a serious attack on the planet before too much longer," said Jack. "Anybody thought of any way to stop such an attack? We won't even have this ship for very much longer."
"No, I am afraid I have not," replied Teal'c. "Not beyond sending a warning to the planet with a hope that the witches will somehow be able to block or divert any attack."
"OK, we'll do that of course," said Jack. "If we get the chance we'll also use the missiles we've got on our ship to take out as many Goa'uld missiles as possible. But that won't be enough to stop a major attack by the whole Goa'uld fleet, not by a long way."
"Maybe the people down on the planet, Willow, Phoebe and the rest, can find a way to reverse that force somehow," suggested Sam. "If it's strong enough to pull in ships from so far away it should be plenty strong enough to push away any missile barrage."
"We should also prepare our shuttle ships to take part in the defence," said Teal'c. "We can deploy them as a screen across the path of the incoming missile barrage. But that will only be sufficient to stop a small part of the incoming missiles."
"A question Major," said Jack to Sam. "Let's suppose Apophis does fire off his missiles and let's suppose a lot of them get through any sort of defence we can put up."
"This ship will probably have been destroyed by the time any missiles from his main fleet arrive sir," said Sam.
"Agreed. But those missiles might be subject to the same force that's pulling in all the ships. It might just pull them all down onto the same spot," continued Jack. "If that happens is it a good thing or a bad thing? Obviously it'll be a bad thing for anybody near the explosions but won't that leave most of the planet untouched? We could suggest an emergency evacuation away from the impact point to save as many people as possible."
"I'll have to do some calculations to be sure sir," said Sam. "But I think that sort of scenario is just about the worst possible thing that could happen. If the missiles all hit together and make up one big explosion it could just about bust the whole planet wide open. It might make a much bigger explosion than the meteorite hit that destroyed the dinosaurs. Even if the planet was still there afterwards there would be nothing left alive and what was left of the planet would be uninhabitable."
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"Well it seems straightforward enough to me. Lissie's here, she's got the Key," said Daniel." He turned away from Giles towards Lissie: "You have got the Key with you haven't you?"
"I know where it is," said Lissie. "But I'm not agreeing to anything yet. Not before I know more about what's going on around here."
"OK, let's assume Lissie can be persuaded to help save her home planet," said Daniel. "She gets the Key, the sisters do their magic and goodbye to the Gou'ld. Problem solved."
"But we don't know how that will affect Dawn," said Giles.
"You said Dawn's Buffy's sister right?" asked Daniel. "And she looks a lot like Lissie. I'm guessing you think that's more than a coincidence."
"We know that Dawn is linked to the Key," began Giles.
"Hey, no more secrets," said Faith. "We're all in this together. We were told Dawn was the Key. Some old time monks used to look after the Key back on Earth. They said they did some hocus-pocus on it to change it into a person. Dawn's the person."
"So now we have two Keys on this planet at the same time," said Piper.
"Or rather the same Key twice," said Paige looking at Lissie. "And two people who look much the same, except Lissie is a few years younger."
"We know the Key's a very powerful article," said Prue. "If we have it here twice we might get double the affect we got back in the past."
"Which might be very dangerous and not what we want," said Giles. "And the affects might be multiplied rather than simply added together. The Key is a very dangerous tool. It can be used to open up all the portals to the Hell Dimensions at the same time. If that happens everything and everybody will be destroyed. And then there are the problems with the Stargates."
"Problems with the Stargates?" asked Daniel. "What problems?"
"They've all stopped working," said Giles. "Or rather the ones we know about have stopped working and none of your SG people can get any response out of them. Some of the witches have tried magic on them but that doesn't work either. The whole Stargate network might have shut down. We have no way of knowing. We think it might be something to do with the Key because it happened just after Dawn came through the Gate into the city. We can't just use the Key without knowing exactly what we're doing and what the consequences will be."
"Nobody's using the Key," said Buffy walking into the room. "And that's final."
"What if the only alternative is to have this planet destroyed by the Goa'uld?" asked Daniel. "The Goa'uld have got some major firepower on their ships. If they get to use it there'll be nothing left here but cinders, and that'll include your sister as well as all the rest of us."