I certainly hope you all enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. I was forced to compact a few episodes in this one, since with Faith on the good side, there was little material I could use. I expect the big fight with the Mayor will happen in the chapter after the next one, so expect a massive fight scene. I also have something special in mind for the SG-1 season finale as well. Also, I hope you'll approve on what was revealed in the end of the chapter. So, read and enjoy.
Chapter 15
The revelation that they were likely to face a Greater Daemon in a scant few months seemed to have a varied effect on the entire complex. The magic users were nervous, knowing well the power of the Old Ones. Xander's sermons became increasingly zealous, firing up his flock to new levels of fanaticism, aided by Cordelia. As she saw little combat considering that patrols were used to give the novice Sisters some experience, she decided to aid the group by bolstering the group's faith. The techpriests began working to the brink of exhaustion, and Willow had made plans to further expand the factory and add three more plasma generators to the three she already had.
Faith had doubled the training regime for the Sisters, and every night the compound was filled with tired groans echoing from the barracks.
As for Buffy, she was busy trying to find a way to stop the Mayor's Ascension. She knew that even if he was close, until he actually changed, they still had a chance.
"How is he doing?" Buffy stared calmly at Martin Kemp as the man rested on an operating table while Dr. Novak injected him with various substances. The only other woman in the Mechanicus group showed a remarkable skill and interest in the organic sciences of the Cult Mechanicus and as such served as the group's Genetor and Biologist.
"His body is adapting well to the genetic treatments, and the preliminary drug treatments have shown no side-effects other than what is to be expected." The woman replied as she moved one of her mechadendrites to take a blood sample. Unlike Willow's, her attachments were all implanted.
"How soon before he's ready for active service?" Buffy asked. This time, the woman stopped her work to look at her.
"Not in time to fight the Mayor. It will take at least six months to complete the genetic treatments, and then we have to train and program him, not to mention construct a stasis chamber and all the equipment he will need." Dr. Novak replied.
"Well, I had to ask. Keep working on him, then. Just because we can't use him now doesn't mean we might not need him in the future." Buffy sighed.
"You plan on using him against the Goa'uld then?" Dr. Novak asked curiously. An Eversor would certainly send a strong message to the parasites.
"There are a few demon dimensions that could use a visit from our large friend as well. At least those that don't rate a full invasion by the Battle Sisters." Buffy grinned. Once the Order was at full force and completely equipped, things would certainly get interesting. In fact, she already had a couple of targets in mind, she just needed the troops to raid them.
"You guys, we shouldn't have done this. We'll get in serious trouble." A voice whispered in the dark barracks of the Battle Sisters. The barracks were a large, two storey building with a separate building attached to the side that served as the mess hall. To give the novices a feeling of comfort, the barracks were fitted with simple plywood dividers that grouped two bunk beds on either side of the floor. There were even doors and two simple desks inside to make the sleeping area more like a room. A long row of windows on both sides provided light and a view.
Now, four girls were quietly sneaking back into their room after they had left the compound for the night.
"Come on, Abby. No one knows we snuck out. Our room is by the door and I even figured out how to trick the factory sensors." Another girl scoffed as she turned on the small lamp so they could get in bed.
"So, did you girls have fun?" The quartet froze when the light revealed Faith was sitting on one of the beds.
"Ma'am, we…" The apparent leaded began, but Faith simply raised her hand and the girl fell silent.
"I hope you understand how much trouble you're all in. Now, get to bed. I'll deal with you four in the morning." With that, Faith walked out of the room.
"We're toast. They're gonna kill us." Abby began to panic.
"They're not going to kill us. Will they?" Another girl whispered.
"I don't know, Tsuki. I just don't know. Come on. Let's at least try and get some sleep." While it was a good idea, the fear of the upcoming punishment kept the four up for the rest of the night, their minds conjuring worse scenarios with every passing moment.
The next morning, the Sisters were surprised when Faith ordered a full assembly in the main courtyard instead of simply dividing the daily training schedules, so they guessed it was something big.
"Sisters, I stand before you today with grave news concerning our Order. Last night, four novices decided to ignore the rules you all swore to follow and left the compound for an evening of fun in the city." Faith began. The shock of the news sent a wave of unease through the hundred or so gathered girls.
"I will ask them now to step forward." As the four hesitantly walked forward, they were shocked by the looks the other novices were giving them. There was no sympathy or support, only contempt and hatred in their eyes. Two novices even spat at their feet as they passed.
"Sisters, do not blame them. Yes, they broke the rules, but they are not at fault. I am." Faith said loudly, and everyone turned towards her with confused looks.
"Remember this saying. 'There are no bad soldiers, only bad commanders.' It is obvious I have failed to teach these four properly and as such, their punishment is mine to bear." Faith said firmly.
"Punishment?" One of the four managed to whisper.
"That's right, Lucy." Faith turned towards the large black girl that had become her room's leader.
"For breaking curfew you each get five lashes. For leaving the compound without permission, you get five more lashes." Faith said calmly.
"Forty lashes." Lucy's eyes were wide as saucers as she realized what Faith planned to endure.
"Don't do it milady. They are not worthy." One Sister shouted, earning murmurs of approval from the others.
"I would endure a hundred times that for any of you, and I know that each of you feels the same for your Sisters." Faith said firmly. "Let's begin then. Cordelia, do your duty."
The group watched as Faith moved towards the whipping post and Cordelia cracked the long whip in her hand a few times. As Commissar, she was responsible for administering punishments in the group, although so far she didn't have the need to exercise that part of her duties yet. Needless to say, she wasn't looking forward to this.
Just as Faith bared her back and moved to shackle her arms to the post, Lucy stepped forward.
"I am sorry milady, but I can't let you suffer for my shame. I was the one that convinced the others to join me, so I am the one that should get forty lashes, not you." The girl's tone was as hard as steel as she approached Faith and pulled her away from the post.
"I chose to follow on my own, so I should get an equal amount of punishment." Abby too stepped forward.
"Me too." Tsuki spoke up as well.
"I'll be damned if I let you all suffer. Count me in too." The last girl, Amber also stepped forward.
"So, you four finally understand what it means to be a Battle Sister." Faith smirked, shocking not only the quartet, but the other novices as well.
"This was a test?" Lucy exclaimed.
"Yes, and you all passed with flying colors. However, there is still the matter of your punishment. We'll forgo whipping this time, and assign you one month mess hall and cleanup duty." Faith laughed as the quartet groaned. It seemed her gambit had worked and she now had assured the loyalty of four of her subordinates, and also improved her image in the eyes of the other Sisters as well.
"So, you weren't going to let her whip you for real, were you milady?" Abby asked.
"If that is what it took to reach you, I would have endured all forty lashes without a second thought." Faith shocked them further.
"We are not worthy of such actions, milady, but I swear on the Golden Throne, we will be." Lucy said firmly, and her friends repeated the oath.
"Alright, everyone, check your schedules and get to training. Demons and aliens don't kill themselves." Faith barked and the novices dispersed. The quartet joined them, all hard feelings forgotten. After all, to err was human, just as it was human to forgive.
The weeks passed by in a frenzy of preparation and training, as well as lot of maneuvering by both sides. The Mayor was busy trying to maximize his chances for success and had begun gathering as many vampires and other lesser demons as he could and provided as much protection from Buffy's group as he could. Of course, he also had to sacrifice a certain percentage to ensure he got the artifacts he still needed to Ascend, and finding the right balance of recruiting and sacrificing minions was not easy.
A small distraction was the arrival of the Tollan and Orbanian experts to Sunnydale. While it would take at least a month or more to cover everything they needed to produce the necessary materials and how to assemble the ships, it was not a major disruption for the techpriests. The Tollan had also reported that they had focused a great deal of their efforts towards the orbital shipyard and were expecting to complete it weeks ahead of the preliminary schedule.
"So, you want a particle beam to get Jack back?" Buffy asked as she was contacted about the latest misadventure of SG-1.
"Yes. That's the only way we've come up to get back to Edora, and we thought that you'd be able to construct one faster than we could." Carter replied.
"It's not that complex. We can have a beam generator ready in less than a week." Willow informed her.
"We'll have one delivered in two weeks. Along with Kendra." Buffy grinned as she heard Carter gasp. "She's complete?"
"The Naquadah generators you have provided has helped us drastically increase our own power generation and with that, our production rates. There are still a few things to go over, but she's more or less fully operational." Buffy grinned.
General Hammond had decided to welcome his newest recruit properly, and had arranged all the SG teams in full dress uniforms next to the silo covering above the Stargate. Because of the size of the Dreadnought, they would have to lower her down the silo shaft like the Stargate. A room next to the Stargate was already prepared for Kendra's use.
A heavy transport truck rolled slowly towards the group, and from the occasional groan of its shocks, it was obvious it was badly overloaded.
"Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce Kendra Young." Dr. Felger pulled a rope and the tarp covering the back of the truck fell. A lot of eyes widened at the sight. Kendra's shell was made of black metal over fifteen feet tall. The legs were short and cylindrical, ending with four flat claws for added stability. The middle narrowed where the leg joints were, then expanded rapidly into the blocky torso. The torso had the faint shape of a neckless head with large, square shoulders. Her right hand was hanging almost to her toes, ending with four claw-like fingers arranged equally around the round forearm. On her left, instead of an arm rested a massive multi-barreled gun.
The Aquila stood prominently in gold on her chest, and her shoulders were adorned with the winged skull in silver. With speed and agility no one expected from such a bulky looking machine, she got off the truck and stopped before General Hammond and raised her right arm in an unmistakable salute.
"Kendra Young reporting for duty, sir." Her voice boomed from the external vox.
The General saluted back with a grin as he imagined what the Goa'uld would think of their latest trick. Already, the SG teams were inflicting heavy losses on the Goa'uld armies, and while the Jaffa losses were regrettable, their actions had strengthened the Jaffa rebellion as many had begun to question the Goa'uld's divinity.
"Let's get you down to the base, shall we?" A freight helicopter that was landed nearby lifted off and soon enough, Kendra was lowered down to the gate room and then walked into her new home.
"I take it you were impressed with Miss Young?" Dr. Felger was in the briefing room with the General as Dr. Angstrom was helping Kendra settle in.
"That I was. How would she rate in battle against Jaffa?" Hammond had a pretty good idea, but he had to ask.
"Staff weapons would cause only superficial damage. Even a staff cannon wouldn't do a lot of damage. Of course, sustained fire in a single area will destroy the armor, but she's not about to just stand there and let them shoot her. As for weaponry, her arms are modular, and we can equip her with a variety of weapons. For now, we only have the two she has on, but we will build more in the future. The power claw on her right can not only rip open a tank like it was made of paper, but it also has an integrated flamer.
As for the assault cannon on her left side, I'll just say that it is a large caliber weapon with a rate of fire of hundreds of rounds a second. It can also swivel up and down to allow her to target gliders and other flying targets." Felger replied smugly considering the general's awed face.
"I wouldn't want to go against her anytime soon. Tell me, what is the condition of the girl herself?" Hammond asked, and Felger's face instantly turned solemn.
"Not good, I'm afraid. Her body is badly injured. Outside her shell, she will die in minutes. A number of her vital organs are replaced with artificial ones along with ninety percent of her spine." Felger replied. "Even then, she refused to give in and die. She was determined to keep fighting. She has been an inspiration to us all. The Lady Inquisitor has also asked that in the unlikely event that she was destroyed, that the core tomb be recovered at any cost."
"Will she die if the machine is destroyed?" Hammond asked.
"The core tomb is very tough and it has an internal power source. It can easily withstand the destruction of the primary power core. Of course, it all depends on what destroyed her." Felger replied.
"Alright. I won't take any more of your time, then." With that, Hammond dismissed the man.
Several weeks had passed with little excitement, until one day Buffy was contacted with some important news. While surprising, she was not surprised at what the news were, and already her mind began working on ways to turn this situation to the benefit of her plans.
A few days later, General Hammond explained with some level of smugness to the detained group of men and women before him about their plan to expose and capture them. As it turned out, there was a clandestine group of agents from the NID along with supporters in the SGC that were operating in the galaxy stealing technology from every source they could, including the Tollan and the Asgard, which made said groups rather angry with Earth. Fortunately, General Hammond had come up with a plan, and with Colonel O'Neill who infiltrated the group had the guilty men finally in custody.
"So, I'm guessing they'll be going to jail for a long time." O'Neill said smugly at the fuming group before him.
"Actually, they're not." This surprised everyone in the room. "We're shipping them to Sunnydale. Inquisitor Summers was quite insistent that we deliver this group and Colonel Maybourne to her."
"What does she want with that slimy snake?" O'Neill frowned.
"She didn't say, but since they're one of our most valued allies, the President agreed to her request." Hammond replied.
"If we're lucky, she just wants some traitors to use for target practice." O'Neill said as the group was shipped off.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Sunnydale. I hope your trip was pleasant?" Buffy greeted the group once they had been dropped off.
"Let's cut the pleasantries. Why are we here?" Maybourne stepped forward. While he was grateful their intervention saved him from an impending prison sentence and execution as a traitor to the state, he wanted to know the alternative before he committed to anything.
"Is that any way to talk to the person that saved all your lives? But you're right. Let's get down to business." Buffy gestured to the table in the room.
"It is a simple fact that this world is under serious threat by hostile aliens. Allowing xenos to take control of Holy Terra is unacceptable. That is the only reason we have given such support to the SGC. As the first line of defense, they need the most support. However, we must also consider the billions of humans living out there. While we cannot and will not abandon them, we must prioritize or we will accomplish nothing." Buffy began.
"I still fail to see where we come into this." Mayborne commented.
"I'm getting to that. As you might be aware, aliens are not the sole threat to humanity, and that is where most of our attention has been. The constant demonic threat not only in this town but across the globe is something that must not be ignored. And the fact is, as an agent of the Ordo Malleus, I am better suited to combat said threats. To fight the Enemy Without, I need agents more suited to said task. And that is where you come in." Buffy saw the realization dawning in Maybourne's eyes.
"I want you to represent the interests of the God-Emperor and the Imperium of Man in this galaxy as an Inquisitor of the Ordo Xenos."