Well, after the long dry spell that precluded the previous chapter, I was surprised how quickly I managed to get this one out. Not much action yet, but I feel this chapter will set the tone for the future interactions between the US and the New Imperium. So, read and enjoy.
Chapter 23
A few days had passed since the Order of our Valiant Sister had attacked Pylea, and Buffy couldn't be happier at the results. Already the largest deposits of useful resources nearest to the capitol had been located, and plans were being made for their exploitation while Imperial priests and missionaries were busy educating the local humans about the Emperor and mankind's divine destiny. Also, using a combination of magic and technology, they had begun to construct a permanent portal to Pylea to facilitate a better transfer of goods and personnel to and from this dimension.
She was also pleased with the test of the Eversor unit, and she was already making plans on future missions for the devastating warrior.
However, the string of good fortune seemed to come to an end when she experienced a peculiar dream that night. She saw a little girl, singing a creepy nursery rhyme about Gentlemen, right before she saw a creepy looking figure looming behind her. Feeling a bit shook up, she went to the monitoring centre in their HQ.
"I have seen nothing out of the ordinary all night, milady, and the patrols have reported nothing either." The Sister on duty reported. Despite this, Buffy didn't feel very reassured, and the rest of her sleep was broken and fitful as her senses kept telling her something was wrong.
When she woke up the next day and found herself incapable of speech, the sense of unease only increased, and the fact that every single member of the base had also lost their voice didn't help much.
"The satellite has not noticed any new demons coming into town, or any larger gatherings of inhuman creatures all week. This means that whoever is responsible for the loss of our voices may be employing mystical means to hide their movements." Willow spoke, using the vox unit she normally used to speak binary to report. They found quickly that while natural voices were silenced, artificial voices had no trouble speaking.
"By silencing the town, they've effectively crippled our patrols, considering we rely on vocal communication to coordinate our movements into town." Buffy was also capable of communication, even if hearing her voice in your head was not the most pleasant sensation.
"We can still patrol, milady." The most senior Sister used the hololith to write out her words.
"We can't risk sending out armored units in case civilians see you, and it's too dangerous to send you out without armor. Therefore, I am suspending patrols for the time being." Buffy let out a silent sigh. This whole situation was one huge clusterfuck. 'And just when things were starting to look up.'
"How are we to determine the culprits behind this attack, then?" Willow asked.
"I'll be patrolling, with the Sisters standing by. Once I've located the culprits they'll move in via teleport and we'll clean them out." Buffy commanded.
That evening, Buffy went into town, dressed casually with a few daggers hidden about her person while her trusty bolt pistol was safely hidden inside her purse. However, despite her best efforts, the night bore no fruit, as her elusive prey not only managed to avoid her thanks to whatever method they used to conceal themselves from their scanners, but they appeared to be one of the demonic creatures that were invisible to her psychic senses.
It was a surprising revelation to discover that not every demon left a trace in the Warp, and Buffy was cursing up a storm when she realized she would have to run all over town and hope she stumbled onto whoever was behind this whole mess.
After spending a few hours of sleep in the morning, she was given more bad news. Two people were found this morning with their hearts cut out which left Buffy in a positively murderous mood. For months she had managed to prevent even a single human from dying from demonic causes in the city, and now something just waltzes in and kills two people while she was out on patrol no less.
The following night, Buffy went out once more, determination burning in her eyes as she stomped across the vacant streets of Sunnydale. 'Whoever is behind this will die very, very slowly.' With thoughts of slow deaths through torture swarming through her mind, she continued her hunt for her elusive prey.
This night her fortune seemed to turn for the better, as she saw strange figures around the city clock tower. With an evil grin, she ran forward, her bolt pistol barking loudly into the silent night, leaving three shambling figures in pieces on the tarmac. The suit wearing figure that seemed to be leading them turned around just in time to get the butt of the pistol in its toothy face before three rounds turned his head and torso into a pool of blood and meaty chunks.
Turning to the tower, she was about to activate the homing beacon for the Sisters when she sensed humans rushing towards her position, no doubt attracted by the loud gunfire. 'Fuck. I guess I'll just have to do this the hard way.'
With that, she rushed in, firing her weapon at anything inhuman while she used a large dagger to fend off anything that came too close for her pistol. A few minutes later, she managed to fight her way to the top, where she found three suited demons along with a dozen of their shambling underlings. As she inserted the final clip in her pistol, she cursed herself for not taking more ammo when she caught sight of a small box which she recognized from her dream. In a flash, she had raised her gun and hit the box, shattering it to bits and releasing a misty substance that quickly dispersed. A moment later, she felt her voice return, and with a roar she rushed forward, eager to slaughter every last one of them. Said roar turned out to be more than enough as the loud shout caused the demons' heads to explode, leaving her standing in a room full of corpses.
"Well, that was unexpected." Buffy commented.
"You can say that again. Turn around slowly and drop your weapons." An unknown voice spoke behind Buffy and as she turned, she caught sight of a half dozen soldiers all aiming their guns at her.
"Who the fuck are you?" Buffy frowned. She knew every hunter group in the region, and none of them operated in Sunnydale.
"We're the ones asking the questions, lady. Now, drop your weapons." The leader of the group snapped.
"What do we do with her?" One of the men asked his leader once Buffy's knife and gun were taken from her.
"We take her back to base. You saw how strong she is. There's no way she's human." The leader replied. Buffy scowled at that comment, but allowed herself to be led away. After all, while the soldiers had taken one of her knives, she still had four more as they didn't want to risk searching her, and she still had her necklace and its conversion field generator, which would give her an edge in case it came to a fight.
"Whoa, look at this thing. It gives the phrase 'hand cannon' a whole new meaning." One soldier examined the bolt pistol, clearly impressed by the large caliber weapon.
"Maybe the eggheads will figure out how to copy it and get you one." Another soldier joked as the group walked away from the clock tower.
Her surprise when she was led into a rather large underground complex was quickly hidden as she realized that the people leading her were not some private operation. This was a government backed installation, and that little discovery sent the wheels into her mind into overdrive as she contemplated the situation.
"Riley, you better have a very good reason for bringing a civilian here." A woman in a labcoat greeted the squad.
"I do, ma'am. We found her in the city clock tower, fighting over two dozen subterrestrials." The man identified as Riley began. "And she was winning."
"Interesting. I don't think it will do much good to ask what you are, then?" The woman approached Buffy with an intrigued look in her eyes but remained at a safe distance.
"I am many things. Before I answer you, may I ask one question?" When the woman nodded, Buffy continued. "Is this facility backed by the US government?"
"I don't know why you'd care about that, but yes." The woman replied.
"Excellent." Buffy grinned and activated the homing beacon in her bracelet. A moment later, several flashes of light deposited a dozen armored Battle Sisters around her, all of them aiming their weapons at the shocked soldiers and scientists around them.
"Are you alright, milady?" One of the Celestians asked as she raised the heavy bolter in her hands towards the squad surrounding Buffy.
"I'm fine. Move out and secure the facility, while I have a chat with our hosts." Buffy grinned at the looks of complete shock of everyone present.
"Now, you said this is a government backed installation. I find that surprising, considering my alliance with the US explicitly states that I must be informed of any such facility in this city. I guess the memo got lost in the mail, huh?" Buffy smiled, but the grin didn't reach her eyes.
"I don't know what you're talking about." The woman in charge finally found her voice.
"Perhaps you do and perhaps you don't, Maggie Walsh, but either way, we'll soon know the truth. Now, you will tell me everything." Buffy grinned evilly as her eyes began to spark with energy.
"That's everyone, milady. We have also cleared out the demon filth they've managed to gather." One Sister reported to Buffy an hour later, leading the last group of staff of the Initiative.
"Well done, Mary. Please take Dr. Walsh away from the others and grant her the Emperor's mercy. I'm afraid she was too stubborn for her own good." Buffy spared one last glance at the vacant-eyed drooling woman at her feet before the Celestian dragged her away.
"What should we do with the rest, milady?" Another Celestian asked.
"Keep them under watch for now. I need to speak with the president first before I make any decision." Buffy replied and returned back to base to arrange a meeting with said man. Due to her position, it was quite easy to arrange something, and the next day she found herself in the oval office, sitting across the US president.
"Inquisitor Summers, to what do I owe this unexpected visit?" The president asked.
"I am here to discuss the Initiative." Buffy began. "Which is a US government backed demon fighting organization currently based in Sunnydale."
It took a few moments for the words to register in the man's mind, but when they did, his face paled. "What do you want?" The president sighed as he rested his head in his hands.
"I see you understand the severity of this situation. This is after all a major breach of our alliance, which I can easily use to reclaim every shred of technology we've shared with you, and also take control of the Stargate program." Buffy smirked.
"I don't remember anything like that in the agreement." The president frowned.
"You really think I would leave an asset like that in the hands of a non-allied power? The Stargate is too important to my plans to simply leave it with you after such an obvious breach of a very beneficial alliance. However, I am willing to overlook this indiscretion provided we can come to terms on an additional agreement." This time, Buffy's expression turned predatory as if she was saying 'You'll give me everything I ask and there's nothing you can do about it.'
"First off are the members of the Initiative. I want them all transferred under my authority and moved to New Cadia via Stargate. I have big plans for them. As far as any relatives are concerned, they're dead." Buffy began.
"That won't be easy, but doable. What next?" The president sighed, knowing that was the least of the demands.
"I'd like to renegotiate the amount and cost of the raw materials you're providing to us, as well as request the following amounts of foodstuffs delivered to our complex in Sunnydale." Buffy handed him a list containing various long-lasting produce.
"You could feed an army with this much supplies." The president exclaimed.
"What I want it for is not your concern." Buffy grinned. The supplies would go a long way to win over the people of Pylea. "Let us move on to the final request I want. As you know, the Goa'uld have two major advantages over us. They have more ships and vast armies of Jaffa. With the shipyards on Tollana, we will soon overcome the first, but on the ground, we're still far too outnumbered. Even elite soldiers like the Battle Sisters will fall against such numbers. I propose the formation of a penal legion that will offset this advantage and also take on the brunt of the System Lords' armies."
"And where do you intend to recruit these soldiers?" The president asked.
"The US alone has a prison population that is counted in the millions. A few thousand convicts won't even make a dent. The best choice would be repeat offenders, criminals that are serving twenty years or more. If they survive ten years of service, they'll have earned a full pardon. Consider that the carrot for them." Buffy replied.
"And what would the stick be?" The president frowned.
"The Commisars attached to their legion, of course. Their guns will keep them in line, along with other methods. We know how to keep such scum in line, Mr. President." Buffy shrugged.
"Still, what you propose will not be easy to organize or keep secret." The president pressed on.
"There will be plenty of time to iron out the details, Mr. President, considering it will take us several months to arrange all the assets necessary. We are talking about thousands of hardened criminals all gathered in one place with access to weapons." Buffy grinned.
"Why does that fail to reassure me?" The president snapped.
"Once they leave Earth, they are no longer your concern. They'll follow orders even if we have to shoot one in ten of them to keep them motivated. Scum like that is available by the truckload anyway." Buffy shrugged, showing the usual Imperial contempt for lawbreakers. After all, in the Imperium, the law was set by the Emperor himself, and to go against it was to go against Him.
The president was shocked for a moment by such callous outlook on human lives, but he then reminded himself who he was talking to. It seemed he discovered a new facet of Buffy's person with each of their meetings and it seemed the position of strength always seemed to shift away from him. "I guess you leave me no choice."
"I'm glad we could come to an agreement, Mr. President. We can iron out all the details at a later date. Have a nice day." With that, Buffy stood up and vanished in a burst of light.
The president took a few minutes to compose himself before he called his secretary. "Tell Senator Kinsey to get his ass over here yesterday."
An hour later, a somewhat confused senator sat across the president, wondering why said man was glaring at him.
"Senator Kinsey, you're probably why I called you here so suddenly. Tell me, do you know anything about a covert project called the Initiative?" The president was watching carefully, and so managed to catch the slight widening of Kinsey's eyes.
"I am unaware of any project of that name, sir." The senator replied quickly.
"Considering your position in the NID, I find that hard to believe. Either way it doesn't matter, since I was discussing the project with Inquisitor Summers an hour ago." The president said with an icy tone.
"And how did it go?" The senator was unpleasantly surprised to learn that the Imperials had gotten wind of the project, but the full implications were yet to hit.
"I got bent over sideways you stupid twat. How do you think it went?" The president roared, breaking Kinsey's train of thoughts.
"Wha-" Kinsey tried to reply but the president cut him off. "You knew for a fact this facility's operations were in direct violation of our agreement with the Imperials and you did nothing about it. Now they have us by the short and curlies and there's nothing we can do about it."
"Now, I want this to be crystal clear, and make sure every single person in the NID knows this. Sunnydale is off limits. You don't go within a hundred miles of the city without a damn good reason and even then, you let them know about it a week in advance. Am I understood?" Kinsey could only nod and left as quickly as he could. It seemed Dr. Walsh fucked up really badly despite all the precautions they had taken to keep the Initiative off the Imperial radar.
While Washington DC was rumbling with the aftershocks of Buffy's visit, just twenty hours later saw the entirety of the Initiative personnel transferred to New Cadia via Stargate, where they were personally greeted by Harry.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to New Cadia. I can tell you right away to forget your old lives right away. The people you were on Terra are gone. From now on, you are who we tell you to be. For all technicians and scientists let me introduce Magos Osbourne, who will be your new superior. As for the military staff, this is Colonel Makepeace who will be your new commander, with a few exceptions. Riley Finn, Forrest Gates and Graham Miller, step forward." Maybourne grinned at the still bewildered group of people he was handed by Buffy. True, it would take some time to get them up to speed, but they were skilled and in time, they would be loyal. Right now, the threat of death would keep them in line.
"You three have been handpicked by Lady Inquisitor Summers to begin specialized training. Gentlemen, let me welcome you to the Vindicare temple."
AN/ The idea of certain demons having no presence in the Warp came to me from the episode with Buffy's demon roommate, which was a soulless demon, which would make her invisible to Buffy in a way similar to a Pariah, but I felt that the effect is not as pronounced considering even non-psykers can notice the unnerving presence of Blanks. As to how the Gentlemen managed to disable the Imperials so effectively, the simple act of disrupting communications can cause havoc in even the most organized and disciplined army, and they were relying too heavily on their vox units. I hope you liked the way the Initiative and Kinsey got owned.