Well, it's been a long time since the last chapter, and I apologize for that, but as you know, RL is rarely fair. I hope you enjoy this chapter, although I feel that parts of it were a bit rushed. Also, I have to point out a mistake in the last chapter, when I wrote Daniel instead of Jonas. So, read and enjoy.
Chapter 34
"I'm surprised you allowed things to progress this far Cordelia. This is hardly a minor issue." Buffy frowned as she stood next to her friend and looked down at a small baby sleeping in a crib before them. On the other side of the room sat Angel, looking nervously at the two women that were currently debating the fate of his newborn son.
"I was too busy with more pressing issues and Angel assured me that the matter was being dealt with." Cordelia responded.
"There's no need to assign blame. We need to decide how to proceed." Buffy sighed.
"You're not going to kill him, are you?" Angel asked softly. The way Buffy's hand rested on her inferno pistol did nothing to ease his anxiety.
"Not without proof of demonic taint. I will take him to Sunnydale where he will be tested thoroughly. If he is free of corruption, I will return him to you. If not, I promise you it will be quick." Buffy replied softly.
"Do what you must." Angel bowed his head, knowing that to protest things would be futile and only cause further trouble for himself. His one hope was that his son was indeed free of his taint.
Still, there was also a sense of relief when Buffy vanished with his son. Already, several different factions had engaged them, hoping to gain control of his son, and only the forces that Cordelia managed to gather and organize were the reason why they weren't successful yet.
He took a look out the window and shivered at the thought of facing the enemies waiting outside without Imperial protection. On one side stood a group of various demons and vampires, hired by Wolfram and Hart to kidnap his son, and on the other was a group of humans led by vampire hunter Daniel Holtz that was an old enemy of Angel.
Both sides were kept at bay by a pair of heavy bolter turrets that Cordelia had installed and hid with magic. Their effectiveness was proven beyond any doubt when they surprised the attacking demons and managed to halve their numbers before they managed to retreat and regroup. The vampire hunters arrived soon after, and after seeing the turrets, decided to bunker down and wait for an opportunity to attack.
Of course, Cordelia had no intention of giving them this opportunity and was already in the process of preparing her soldiers to push pack the invaders. Down in the lobby of the Hyperion hotel while the self-titled 'Cordy Crushers' were preparing for the fight, several members of the Imperial Adeptus Magicka were blocking magical means of teleportation as well as hiding the battle from the eyes of mortals.
The combination of the turrets and the Crushers charging out proved too much even for their determined adversaries which retreated rapidly when faced with the deadly Imperial weaponry the Crushers possessed.
With the imminent threat gone, Angel could only wait and hope that Buffy would return his son to him.
Buffy returned hours later with baby Connor held in her arms and placed him gently in his crib.
"I wouldn't touch him for now. He was held by Faith." Buffy warned Angel who nodded in understanding. Anything Faith touched was imbued with a residue of her holy energy and as such was absolutely lethal to demons. Fortunately for him, the energy faded away after a few days.
"So, does that mean he is not tainted?" Angel asked.
"He is completely human and uncorrupted. Congratulations. I'm sure he'll grow up to be a fine man." Buffy smiled assuringly to a very relieved new father.
"I know he will. I still can't believe how long it's been since the last time we spoke. How are you handling things?" Angel finally took a good look at his former flame and noticed just how tired she looked.
"It's not easy, but I'm on top of things. I just wish the universe stopped throwing me curveballs." Buffy grinned.
"Don't we all. So, you want to stay for a drink?" Angel offered.
"I'd love to, but I can't. Some other time perhaps." Buffy smiled and teleported away.
Meanwhile, on New Cadia Harry finally caught a break in the Dark Eldar issue.
"It seems the emergency beacon network was not a total waste of time and resources. Gather anyone that can leave in ten minutes." Harry turned to Xander who simply nodded and walked towards the Stargate, using his helmet's vox to gather his team to investigate the world that had activated its distress beacon.
The beacons were a measure Harry introduced to alleviate the lack of effective communication with the various worlds under Imperial control. Since almost two-thirds of the planets were primitive worlds that in most cases didn't even know how to operate the Stargate, a different system was introduced. A powerful subspace beacon was shipped to every Imperial world, and the planetary leader was given a ring that could activate the beacon if the world was ever attacked.
By the time the departure time arrived, Xander was standing next to two squads of Battle Sisters and four squads of Optrisian storm troopers. Xander of course loomed over them in his terminator armor, holding a giant Nemesis halberd and a twin-linked Storm bolter strapped on his left arm.
"If we encounter Dark Eldar, strike hard and fast. Shoot them until they go down, and then shoot them some more just in case. Now, what is the mark of the xeno?" Xander roared.
"To be Unclean, that is the Mark of the Xeno." The soldiers roared.
"To be Impure, that is the Mark of the Xeno." Xander continued.
"To be Abhorred, that is the Mark of the Xeno." The Sisters joined the prayer.
"To be Reviled, that is the Mark of the Xeno." The group now spoke as one.
"To be Hunted, that is the Mark of the Xeno."
"To be Purged, that is the Fate of the Xeno."
"To be Destroyed, for that is the fate of all Xenos." The prayer ended just as the Stargate activated and the soldiers rushed through and once on the other side headed at a rapid pace towards the settlement under attack.
Halfway there they met with their prey, a group of Dark Eldar leading a group of battered and chained humans towards the Stargate.
"For the Emperor." Xander roared and charged the Wych leading the group, forcing her to break away from the group. The four Warriors quickly took cover behind the many trees in the area, or in one case behind the slaves, while the half-dozen Mandrakes charged the Imperial troops, weaving through the shadows of the trees with great speed.
The Imperials quickly dove into cover as well, their greater numbers allowing them to pin the Warriors while the Mandrakes weaved through the weapons fire and headed towards the Sisters while the Optrisians kept the Warriors busy.
One Mandrake fell to weapons fire before the group could reach the Sisters, but the others managed to reach them and the Sisters were forced to counter with their melee weaponry. Power and chainswords met vile Eldar blades, the two groups crashing into each other amidst a cloud of las, bolter and splinter shots, the powered armor of the Sisters whining from the strain of countering the Mandrake's unnatural strength.
Meanwhile, Xander was standing alert as the Wych was slowly circling him. While he had greater reach, power and armor, she had much greater speed and agility, not to mention the fact she held a pair of razorflails in her hands.
At some unknown signal, the Wych exploded into action, her sword-like weapons extending into long chains that snaked towards Xander with deadly intent. Xander jumped to the side, flicking his spear to deflect one of the blades while avoiding the other blade and moving to strike at the Wych. She managed to avoid the diagonal strike and moved to retract her blades, hoping to hit Xander from behind. Xander managed to avoid one of them, but the other struck his halberd, the top third of the razorflail wrapping around the haft of the weapon.
The Wych realized she wouldn't win in a tug-of-war with a Terminator and quickly released the tangled blade, launching a strike with the other one, hoping to land a hit while Xander was busy removing her weapon from his.
To her surprise, Xander twirled his halberd around, launching the loose end of the razorflail over his head and swinging down at its owner.
The Wych still proved her skill as she managed to get away from the surprise attack with only an inch long cut on her shoulder.
"A good move. You would have been popular in the arenas." She gave him wide grin.
"You will never know, for you will die this day." Xander stated calmly.
"The day is not over yet, and even if I die, I intend to bring you with me." The Wych smirked and launched another strike, this one a feint that allowed her to retrieve her second razorflail, but she was forced to jump back as Xander's halberd came down hard at the spot she occupied a second ago.
"You are already dead, Xeno. Do you know what the biggest difference between this galaxy and the one we come from is?" Xander opened fire with his storm bolter, but the Wych was agile enough to either avoid his fire or deflect it away from her body.
"She Who Thirsts cannot reach us here." The Wych grinned. Her group was overjoyed when they discovered they were finally free from their greatest and most hated enemy.
"Exactly. There are no daemons in the Warp here." Xander grinned behind his helmet as he raised his hand and launched a wave of psychic force at the Wych, throwing her through a tree and embedding her into a large boulder.
"That was a really lowhanded move. I was right. You would have been huge in the arenas." The Wych laughed as blood gurgled from her mouth.
"Vile to the end. Your race is truly beyond salvation." Xander snapped and buried his halberd in her chest, the energies of the force blade burning a hole that almost completely destroyed the Wych's torso.
Once the Wych was dead, Xander returned to his squad in time to see the last Mandrake being put down. All of the Warriors were dead as well and his team moved to see to the dead and wounded.
"Did we lose anyone?" Xander asked the Sister Superior leading the squads.
"Two Sisters fell to the beasts, and another lost an arm when she was shot from the Warriors. We had to amputate it to prevent the toxin from killing her. The rest are in good condition." The Sister replied.
"Their sacrifice will be remembered. What about your squads, Captain?" Xander turned to the Optrisian commander.
"We lost a full squad milord, and three others had to have limbs amputated to prevent them from dying from the toxin. Also, half of the prisoners were killed in the crossfire." The captain reported stoically.
"The loss of loyal Imperial soldiers and citizens is always regrettable, but sometimes unavoidable. Tend to your wounded, captain. You have my personal assurance they will receive the best care and augmetics we can provide, and that the fallen will receive a hero's burial." Xander placed his hand on the man's shoulder.
"Thank you, milord. Alright men, form up, we need to escort these people out of here. Gather the fallen and wounded and take the Xeno corpses as well. We should bring some trophies back after all." The captain barked and his men rushed to obey.
This victory galvanized the Imperials. Seeing the Dark Eldar corpses made it clear they were not fighting invincible demons, but creatures of flesh and blood that could be killed.
"This was just what we needed to get the people's morale up. Hopefully this will get the bloody xenos to think twice about attacking us again." Buffy grinned as Xander reported to her. He was back on Earth to see how things were as well as to check on his two young pupils.
"They'll probably turn their attention on non-Imperial planets." Xander pointed out.
"As callous as it may sound, we don't have the resources to aid them at this time." Buffy sighed.
"Well, we can still…" Xander paused as the door behind him opened and he turned to see a blond girl with an armful of papers walk in.
"Oh, I didn't know…" The girl stammered when she saw Xander, but a single raised hand from Buffy silenced her.
"It's alright Tara. Are those the reports I requested?" Buffy asked.
"Yes, milady. I have organized them by order of importance for you. Do you require anything else?" Tara placed the papers on the desk and stood before it, waiting for a response.
"Nothing for now, Tara. Carry on." Buffy gave her a small smile. Tara simply bowed and walked out.
"Timid little thing, isn't she?" Xander commented.
"She's also very skilled and competent. I'd never catch up on my non-Inquisitorial duties without her help. I actually sent Giles a fruit basket a week ago as thanks for recommending her." Buffy laughed.
"Giles recommended her? Why?" Xander was surprised. The Watcher was busier than ever organizing and overseeing the Adeptus Magicka, and they rarely saw him.
"He said that I badly needed an assistant, and she was falling to pieces in the sanctionite program." Buffy replied.
"So, she's a witch?" Xander frowned.
"A fairly powerful one, too. That can be an asset if necessary as well." Buffy nodded.
"Well, I better see what Dawn and Cassie are up to." Xander stood up and walked away.
A few weeks later, the permanent members of the UN Security Council met for a very unusual meeting.
"I apologize if I sound skeptical, General Hammond, but your story sounds too unbelievable to be true." The British representative commented.
"We have proof, of course." Hammond signaled to one of the soldiers by the door and the man rushed outside. "Please allow me to introduce the honorable Por'O T'au Shaserra."
All the representatives froze when the rather tall gray-skinned and hoofed alien walked in and bowed before them.
"I greet you all. May our meeting today benefit the Greater Good." The Water caste ambassador spoke a fluent, if slightly accented English.
"Please, sit down, ambassador." Hammond broke the silence, allowing the representatives some time to recover.
"I believe you've made your point, General Hammond. Any other surprises you intend to spring on us?" The French representative was the first to recover.
"We have also invited a representative of the biggest non-hostile civilization in the galaxy to attend as well. They should arrive as soon as I signal them." Hammond took out a device from his pocket and pressed the single button on it as soon as the representatives gave him permission.
In a flash of light, Buffy appeared, wearing a rather simple set of carapace armor adorned with the Aquila and a red cape with the Inquisitorial symbol on it.
"May I introduce Inquisitor Elizabeth Summers, Master of the Administratum of the New Imperium of Man." Hammond surprised the group with his declaration.
"Thank you for your invitation, general." Buffy sat down calmly, but a careful observer would notice a faint narrowing of her eyes when she saw the Tau ambassador sitting in the room.
"Inquisitor? That is a peculiar title. There is no religious freedom in your territories?" The British representative asked her.
"The purpose of the Inquisition is to seek and root out all those who actively seek to harm the Imperium. We do not oppose different beliefs provided they meet those criteria." Buffy replied calmly.
"How big is this Imperium of yours?" The Chinese representative asked.
"We either control or influence dozens of worlds and millions of people, and our technology is the most advanced in this galaxy." Buffy replied.
"And what is your stance regarding Earth?" The Russian asked.
"If you're asking if we would take military action against this world, then the answer is no, unless you provoke us first. We are of course willing to discuss an alliance with any Earth nation willing to do so." Buffy smirked at the US members.
"The Tau Empire is also willing to extend a hand in friendship to all those seeking the Greater Good." The Tau spoke up as well.
"That is most generous of you, but I think we should first deal with the issue of the Stargate program before we can discuss possible diplomatic arrangements with your respective governments." The French representative cut in.
"Of course, ambassador. I am merely here to observe the proceedings and see if we can reach a mutually beneficial agreement afterwards." Buffy smiled.
"The fact that the US has exclusive use of the Stargate will not sit well with my government." The Chinese member pointed out.
"Nor with mine. I believe I can speak for all my colleagues when I say that we want to be a part of the action." The Russian stated, receiving nods from the other members.
"My government is open to the idea of international cooperation. Turning the Stargate program into a joint operation between our nations will benefit us far more than if we remained alone." Major Davis replied.
"What about the various technologies you've acquired thanks to the Stargate? Would you be willing to share them as well?" The Chinese pressed Davis.
"Everything we are permitted to share, of course. Some of the technologies in our possession are only loaned to us, and we'll have to talk with their owners before we can share them." Hammond answered him. The Chinese representative frowned a bit but nodded in acceptance a moment later.
"I propose we form a new organization that will be responsible for the organization, funding and oversight of the Stargate program, with members from all nations involved in the project. I believe my country is not the only one that would like to bring some of our allies into the program as well." The UK member proposed.
"I agree, but such actions should be made cautiously. If word of this leaked to the public, things would get messy fast." The French added.
"Then we are in agreement? We will establish an international agency to manage the Stargate program?" Davis looked at the representatives which nodded one by one. "While the agency is being established, perhaps it would be a good idea to send some of your teams to train with our SG teams so they can get a feel of what they can expect out there?"
"A good idea. I will talk with my superiors and arrange for some of our best men to join the program." The Russian smiled. The generals at high command would be in for a huge surprise when he told them about this.
"Gentlemen, would you be willing to discuss possible diplomatic relations with my government now?" Buffy decided it was time to join the talks again.
"The Empire would also be interested in pursuing stronger ties with your world." Shaserra also spoke up.
"Perhaps if you could tell us more about your governments so that we know just what sort of relations to pursue?" The French asked.
"I have prepared a document that should provide you with a short summary of Imperial organizations, culture, laws and some of our most used civilian and military technologies." Buffy passed out several data pads to the representatives.
"I too have prepared some documents to help you understand my people and the Greater Good." The Tau handed them some files as well, and the representatives spent some time reading them.
"Your government is incredibly strict and harsh in its punishments." The UK member turned towards Buffy.
"Compared to the old Imperium, we are very liberal actually. I assure you, every law and penalty currently enforced in the Imperium has been discussed at length by the High Lords. We have strived to maintain a clear and well defined legal code that even uneducated people can understand and follow, which was necessary considering half our population is still living in the middle ages. We are of course working on improving their conditions, but it will take several generations before these worlds can rise to a more advanced cultural and technological level." Buffy replied.
"I am still uncomfortable with the fact that democracy does not exist in the Imperium. And is it true that your religion deifies your leader?" The French asked.
"The God-Emperor is a godlike entity. That is an undeniable fact, as are His actions and sacrifices for the betterment of humanity. Those who offer homage to Him do so freely and willingly. We force no-one to follow our religion, only that they do not actively oppose it." Buffy replied.
"Considering my experience with you gue'la, I wonder how much of your statement is true." Shaserra commented.
"Believe what you will. The only thing you can be certain of is that if we find out where you are hiding, we will kill every last one of you." Buffy smirked.
"I expected nothing more from one of your blinded kind. It saddens me that you are so unwilling to see the Greater Good." The Tau sighed.
"Don't patronize me, Xeno. Your Greater Good is nothing but lies." Buffy snapped.
"I think we've gotten a bit of topic here. Maybe we should…" Hammond was cut off when a flash of light deposited a young girl in the room.
"Tara? Why are you here?" Buffy did not expect her assistant here, especially since she gave her the day off.
"We received a priority black message from Inquisitor Maybourne, milady. I am the only one authorized to receive and transport one." Tara handed her a pad.
"Why in the Warp does he need to send a black message?" Buffy frowned as the pad verified her identity and began decrypting the high priority message.
The members of the UN Security Council were quite surprised when Buffy released an angry snarl, accompanied by a bright glow in her eyes and the sound of twisting metal and broken glass as the pad in her hand was crushed in half.
"Tara, return to Sunnydale and tell Harry to get Xander and Faith on the site immediately. Quarantine everyone who visited the village and tell Larry to check them all ten times if necessary. Once that is done, tell Harry to find them at all costs. I don't care what project he has to put on hold, but tell him I want them found. And finally, tell Willow she has one month to finish the Cimmerian project. She has my permission to use any means necessary to do so." Buffy snapped orders at her assistant.
"But milady, the project was estimated to take at least a year and…" Tara froze at the look Buffy sent her. "I will inform the Inquisitor and the Fabricator General of your orders."
Tara bowed and disappeared, leaving a room of confused ambassadors and one seething Inquisitor.
"Did something bad happen?" Hammond asked after a minute of tense silence.
"A planet we recently contacted was found slaughtered by the missionary that was assigned to it. The entire settlement was obliterated." Buffy sighed.
"We were told you had trouble with Dark Eldar raiders. Were they responsible?" Hammond asked.
"No. We have a new player in the galaxy it seems." Buffy's face turned grim. "The forces of Chaos have come to destroy all we've accomplished."