Disclaimer: See previous chapters.
Pairings/Characters: Brittany/Santana, Quinn, Rachel, a bunch of OC's, others mentioned.
Word Count: 7,031 ( 7 of 9 )

"What do we have?" Quinn asked, joining Brittany and Santana on the command channel, automatically assuming command in the impending crisis.

"The cruise ship that stopped in Cancun disappeared while crossing the Bermuda Triangle," Brittany said. "It's been missing for two days."

"Anyone we know on it?" Santana asked. "What! I need to know how angry I should be," she said.

"The Gleeks flew home when it stopped in Rio," Brittany said. "So, just a bunch of those pseudo-spies and a few Apocalypse tourists who optioned to take the cruise ship home. And the crew, of course."

"Do we have any idea where it went?" Quinn asked. "Any theories?"

"We're scanning for it now," Santana said. "If it's on the planet, in pieces larger than a football, we'll find it. Eventually. Very big haystack, even if it was in one piece."

"So, who took it?" Quinn asked. "Our favorite evil villains? Someone else? Santa Claus?"

"I don't think Santa steals cruise ships full of foolish people," Santana said.

"Brittany?"

"Right. The Men in Black up to their old tricks. This time, they'll probably blame us."

"Of course," Santana said. "Where's the short one?"

"Doing her job. Dealing with the President," Brittany said. "He called her as soon as the disappearance hit the cable news."

"We don't answer to him," Quinn said warningly.

"No, but he's an ally," Brittany reminded them. "An important one."

"The Queen is important too," Santana said. "To our little Quinnie, anyway."

"Not relevant," Quinn said. "Unless one of you think the Queen is behind this?"

"Of course not, Sir Quinnie," Santana said, laughing.

"You're luck this isn't one of Artie's virtual reality comms," Quinn said. "You'd so get your ass kicked."

"Whenever you feel ready," Santana said. "I know just the place. Your anime armored ass is going down."

"Ladies, enough with the alpha-ness," Brittany said loudly. "Time to find that cruise ship. And Rachel wants us to join her, the President, and Coach on her private comm. Artie will handle the switch."

"Coach? This is going to be a blast," Santana said.

"If we survive," Quinn muttered.

"Switching over... now," Artie said.

"Mr President, you now have the entire Council, and our Chief Investigator, here," Rachel said. Lady Air, our Fleet commander, Lady Hand, our Force commander, and you've met the Shadow of the Council. You already know Sue, Lady Sylvester."

"Ladies, what can you tell me about this disappearance," he asked.

"We're currently looking for it," Santana said. "As soon as we find it we'll deal with whomever took it. Easy."

"The cruise line wants their ship back," he said. "The public wants the people back. The French Ambassador's niece was on that ship."

"The cruise line is no longer a problem," Brittany said. "The public will have to be patient. We'll keep an eye out for the niece though we can't make any promises. We should know something before the end of the day, Mr President."

"We don't own a cruise line now, do we Britt?" Santana said, rare disapproval clear in her voice. "We can't buy our way out of every problem."

"We don't have disaster insurance," Brittany said. "And not even Lloyd's of London will insure us right now. So, it only makes sense to be self insured. But no, we now own a cruise ship, not the entire company."

"What are we going to do with it?" Santana asked.

"Not important right now," Quinn said. "I'm sure we can do something with it."

"They're getting clever," Brittany said. "They're trying to bankrupt us with schemes like this. But we can keep it up longer than they can. They don't have our resources."

"You know who is behind this," the President said.

"Little men, in black suits, who think they should run the world," Sue said, her voice dripping with disdain. "You're familiar with their type, Bud. Remember Saigon? And Budapest?"

"It's the same people?"

"Unlikely. New group following the old playbook. Obviously someone forgot to burn every copy," Sue said. "They never learn. The Ladies here outclass them. They remind me of us in our prime, except they've been trained by the best."

"We'll keep you informed, Mr. President," Quinn said. "If you'll excuse us, we have a ship to find and an annoyance to squash. Lady Sylvester will be you informed."

"Thank you for your time," he said, clearly relieved. They all murmured a response.

"The line is now clear," Artie said a minute later.

"Well, that went better than I expected," Rachel said. "Thank you Ms. Sylvester. It would have been impossible without you."

"Bud and I go way back, though he'll never admit it," Sue said. "You just need to know how to handle him."

"So, do we have a location yet?" Rachel asked.

"We know where it disappeared from down to the last inch," Santana said. "Then the trail just ends, as if something was shielding it."

"Do the Annoying Ones in Black have that kind of tech?" Quinn asked.

"Shielding's easy," Santana said. "You just need the right material to put between yourself and the scanners."

"I thought our scanners could see through any material here," Rachel said. "It must be something from a different planet, or something unusual."

"Obviously, since they've found a way to block us," Quinn said. "Artie?"

"Rescanning using new parameters," Artie said. "Lady Rachel is correct. In order to block our scans they need something not found on this planet or a combination of materials."

"So, something made out of a rare metal, like from an asteroid?" Rachel asked. "Didn't an asteroid hit the Yucatan millennia ago?"

"The one that supposedly killed off the dinosaurs?" Brittany said. "Yes, but it shouldn't affect our scanners. They're using some kind of active shielding."

"How would they know to shield against our scanners?" Rachel asked.

"Probably guessed," Santana said.

"Or they have access to old Clan tech. There is a lot of equipment that isn't accounted for. When the original Clan leadership disappeared, their equipment went somewhere," Brittany said. "Luckily, ours is much more advanced, several thousand years newer than anything they might find. And better than anything they could build with known Earth tech."

"And... got it," Santana said. "They're definitely using an old shielding frequency. Now that we know it's there we can easily penetrate it, right Artie?"

"Correct, Lady Air."

"This means we should be able to find old Clan artifacts also, right?" Rachel asked.

"Yup," Brittany said. "Now that Artie has the frequency, we should find anything that was hidden using the old tech."

"Huh," Santana said. "Scanning the Clan annex. There's a large area setting off our sensors, northeast of the Cancun beaches."

"How big?" Quinn asked.

"Big enough to hide a small cruiser," Santana said. "It's right within the area we've claimed."

"So, no fighting over it," Rachel said.

"We'd win," Santana said. "They've just been lucky."

"No contest," Quinn added. "Our tech beats their tech."

"So, when can we go look?" Rachel asked.

"After we get that cruise ship back," Quinn said. "Which means..."

"Oh, right," Rachel said.

"We need to know where it is so we can plan," Brittany said. "And we're going to need med support. They've probably been keeping them under using that nerve gas. Clan can recover quickly from that, but normal humans? They're going to need a hospital."

"Is it a Clan invention?" Rachel asked. "If it affects us less?"

"No," Artie said. "The available samples contain no Clan chemicals. Humans invented this."

"What about Quinn's mother?" Rachel asked. "She hasn't completely recovered from the gas yet."

"They gave her a large dose. It would have been worse," Brittany said. "She's not full Clan but her family line is strong."

"Which means?" Quinn asked.

"We measure Clan genetic strength in family lines," Brittany said. "All Clan families interbred with natives but some did it earlier than others. The further back you go, the less genetic strength a family line has. The Mayan priestesses and princesses have stronger family lines because they stayed purer genetically speaking for much longer. After a certain level, a family line may no longer be considered Clan genetically if the genetic drift is too great."

"Do we have any non-genetic Clan descendants?" Rachel asked. "And, if we do, how do we integrate them back into the Clan?"

"Artie?"

"Lady Memory, several family lines have been detected that are close, but are still several generations away," Artie said. "The only way to stop the genetic drift is for these families to join with clan families with stronger genetics."

"Which we can't force," Rachel said. "Is there any kind of treatment that can be offered to strengthen a genetic line?"

"The idea may have merit." Artie said. "Research will be required."

"How do we compare?" she asked. "Quinn's great-grandmother was a priestess, and Santana would have been one herself, so I assume their family lines are strong."

"Lady Air's family line is still ninety percent pure," Artie said. "Lady Quinn's family line is sixty percent pure, as is yours. That is rare for members of the Diaspora. Most diaspora family lines have fallen to twenty five percent pure."

"What does that mean?" Quinn asked.

"Priestess Sophia is studying this issue," Artie said. "Her current belief is that Lady Quinn and Lady Memory belong to multiple family lines that have merged."

"Can't you tell that with your advanced tools?" Santana said. "I know we aren't exposing most of the fancier tech to this planet, but you should be able to build very accurate charts of all Clan and human family lines so we don't have to guess."

"There was some concern among the Clans, much as with what you term 'cloning', that the Confederation not interfere with the family lines. Lady Sophia, as the Clan head priestess, has the authority to look at Clan family lines in the way you are asking. We do not."

"Does my cousin know this?" Santana asked.

"Not until she becomes one of the Nine," Artie said.

"Not until?" Rachel asked. "Could she become one of us? And which Council role?"

"Her selection must be approved by the Confederation," Artie said. "But she shows all of the signs of one suited for the Council."

"Isn't that our decision?" Quinn said, "As the current members of the Council, don't we have a say over who joins us?"

"That is only true of a full Clan Council of Nine," Artie said. "If you wish to begin the process of elevating her to the Nine, you must request it."

"And her role?" Rachel repeated. "Would her in that role serve an important purpose?"

"The Head Priestess has traditionally filled the role of Weaver," Artie said. "The Weaver looks after the spiritual health of the Clans."

"So, do we need religion right now?" Santana said. "And what religion?"

"The Clans are not traditionally religious," Rachel said. "At least not the way we have it on Earth. It is more of a general belief in something beyond physical life. Something spiritual but at a personal level. Or at least that is how I interpret things." "Well, that's nice and vague. I vote no to religion as a Clan thing," Santana said. "We don't need the messy thing right now."

"I think we need a spiritual person," Quinn said. "Someone who can guide our Clan through any spiritual awakenings that will inevitably happen. But I agree, no organized religion. Our people are aware that such things exist but, since they aren't asking for it, I see no reason to give it to them."

"And those with an existing religion?" Rachel asked. "What do we do with the thousands of people who do believe in or need a religion in order to express their spirituality?"

"Weak," Sue said. "Weed them out. Cannon fodder."

"Coach Sylvester!" Rachel said, gasping in horror.

"Lady Sylvester has made an important point," Artie said. "You need to deal with your people who need a connection to the universal oneness. If they are not provided some guidance, they will be a weakness. And this world seems to have a heavy resistance to follow those who do not believe in some deity."

"That's a polite way to say some people go bat-shit crazy if they can't go to church, and pray to their god," Santana said. "So, do we need an official religion so we're like everyone else? Yes or no?"

"Yes, but no human sacrifices," Rachel said.

"No on the human sacrifice," Quinn said. "No beef with God."

"Female goddess, no living creature sacrifices," Brittany said. "With different aspects based on the Nine."

"What?" Santana said. "Why?"

"We need something, right?" Brittany said. "We all agree on that."

"Yes..." Santana said.

"So, we take the pre-Christian Mayan religion and tweak it a bit. Do a bit of a sex change on some of the big gods, since they were male. It'll feel realer and we just have to say that the Mayan religion has drifted away from the original and we follow the original. It'll be easier for our people and Clan descendants. And our people already sort of worship us."

"Um... Okay," Rachel said. "But I don't want to be worshipped."

"Don't worry, Shorty, you'll like it when it's the right person," Santana said.

"So, do we want to add a fifth to the Council?" Rachel asked. "The Weaver? Can we trust Sophia? Santana, she's your cousin."

"She's good people," Santana said. "Healthy ego but no megalomania. If you need a second opinion, ask my mother."

"Anyone else have an opinion?" Rachel asked.

"I'm with Santana," Brittany said. "No signs of nastiness anywhere in anything she's done or written."

"Fine with me," Quinn said. "I'm going with agnostic myself - there's some kind of higher power out there, in my educated former Christian opinion, but I've had enough of the ones we grew up with. They don't make me happy."

"Coach?" Rachel said. "Do you want to offer an opinion? You're not officially on the Council but you may see things we don't."

"Not an evil bone anywhere," Sue said. "Tricky, like all intellectuals, but she believes her mumbo-jumbo. She won't turn this Clannish thing you are building into a holy war. She listens to what you really say. Might take some convincing."

"Okay. Artie? Can you start the process?"

"Yes, Lady Memory."

"Good meeting," Sue said. "Need to get back to work turning soldiers into peacekeepers. Ladies, later."

"Lady Sylvester has now turned her attention elsewhere," Artie said, after a brief pause.

"Artie, you make an excellent meeting coordinator," Brittany said, with a giggle. "So, mastodon in the room," she said. "What about Sue?"

"What about her?" Rachel said. "I've always found her scary but every Clan member I've asked likes her. They all love her blend of crazy bluntness."

"She's an original," Quinn said. "Finding out her stories are true, that she was a Seal, and knows the President, surprising but not a shock."

"Has her own agenda," Santana said. "She's with us, but she's still loyal to her idea of country."

"So, no taking over the world," Brittany said.

"Not as such," Santana said. "Has anyone told her why we're really doing this? Other than basing the Clan here to keep the peace in this part of the Galaxy?"

"Not that I'm aware of..." Quinn said.

"No," Rachel said, "but I haven't spent much time with her."

"She's been fully briefed," Brittany said. "We need her cooperation and it was the best way."

"Oh," Rachel said.

"And she agreed?" Santana said. "She hasn't said anything."

"She's a realist, most of the time," Brittany said. "She doesn't expect to live long enough to be a part of the world we'll need to defeat the Enemy."

"Why not?" Rachel asked.

"She's already in her fifties," Brittany said. "We have her doing an extremely dangerous job."

"She'd in charge of our police force for the annexation," Rachel said. "How dangerous is that?"

"Coach leads from the front," Quinn said. "But she isn't Clan. Or even descended from one of our lines. We've got her in one of the best hard suits we could make but some of the more advanced protective features only work for Clan."

"We don't do suicide missions," Rachel said, appalled. "Fix this!"

"I'm sure Coach will be tickled that you care," Santana said. "But it's her choice. She wants to go out doing something worthwhile, and helping create a safe place for the Clan that will protected this world and our corner of the galaxy is something she feels is worthwhile."

"I don't like it," Rachel said.

"You don't have to," Quinn told her. "But I'm sure one of your epics about her deeds would be welcome, though she'd never thank you."

"One of my epics?" Rachel said, trying to be nonchalant. Suspicions about Brittany aside, she hadn't realised that any of them knew about her efforts to write inspiring tales about them for their people.

"Yup," Brittany said. "That would be brilliant! And I bet that Sue-groupie who works for the president would be a great source of Sue-isms."

"She has groupies? That aren't Q-troops?" Santana said, smirking.

"No teasing," Brittany said. "I'm sure Coach doesn't know and wouldn't be happy to find out."

Rachel watched Quinn inspect her team before they loaded onto the transport. There was something about watching the way Quinn seemed to memorize her troopers before a battle that Rachel couldn't resist watching. Especially when the chance of disaster was so great.

They didn't expect a lot of resistance from the Men in Black but there were too many unknowns. There were no guarantees. They knew they would be facing some Clan tech but not how much. Or even what it was, other than it should be based on older, obsolete designs.

"Looking good," Quinn said, nodding. "Remember, we want the passengers alive. All known passengers have been entered into your recognition systems. All identification cues for the Men in Black have also been entered."

"She has a certain something when she does that, doesn't she," Brittany said, standing next to Rachel. "Makes you want to pop her out of her suit and lick her all over."

"No. No!" Rachel said, protesting. "There will be no licking of any Quinn parts."

"No worries," Brittany said. "Plenty of time. Clan means a long life. Council of Nine means an even longer life."

"What do you mean?" Rachel said, unconsciously licking her own lips as she continued to watch Quinn.

"You realize that there is rarely any turnover in a Clan Council, right?" Brittany said. "Unless something kills us, we're going to live for quite a long time."

"So, the original Lost Clan Council members were killed? They didn't die of old age," Rachel said.

"Yes," Brittany said. "We will age, but slowly on a galactic scale. If Artie's calculations are correct, compared to standard humans we physically age one hour for one year of real time."

"That means... I can't do that kind of math in my head," Rachel said.

"A really long time," Brittany said. "And it will be lonely if you don't have someone to share it with."

"I have you, Quinn, and Santana," Rachel said. "And Artie, of course."

"You have us as friends," Brittany said, poking her. "But don't you need more? Your parents won't live as long as us, even with the advanced Clan medicine. Who's going to kiss you, hug you, sex you?"

"I don't know," Rachel said, her eyes being drawn back involuntarily to Quinn as she made her way down the row of armor clad troopers.

"Thought so," Brittany muttered. "You might want to let her know before someone else attracts her attention."

"Let her know what?" Rachel asked, glancing at Brittany.

"You're worse than she is," Brittany grumbled. "You both need to get your acts together."

"What acts?" Rachel asked, certain she was missing something important.

"Argh!" Brittany growled. "I have to get ready. Santana is saving you a seat."

"Saving me a seat?" Rachel said, puzzled, watching her stomp out of the drop ship dock. Turning back to Quinn, she noticed that all of the troopers had boarded their drop ships, and Quinn was headed her way.

"What's wrong with Brittany?" Quinn asked.

"I don't know," Rachel said, startling herself with how loud her voice was. "Make sure you come back in one piece," she added.

"That's the goal," Quinn said, smiling mischievously. "It would set a bad example for the others if I didn't."

"Well, I want you back in one piece also," Rachel said. "I haven't finished your epic yet and I'd hate the last sentence to be 'and she died a glorious death' or words to that effect."

"Don't the heroes of Clan epics do that? Go out in a blaze of glory?"

"Not fighting pesky little men with deplorable taste in clothes," Rachel said. "These aren't epic worthy foes, they're thieves."

"Okay, though thieves are just as if not more dangerous. Professional soldiers tend to retreat or surrender when an over whelming force attacks. These thieves are like cornered rats. Vicious to the end."

"So be extra careful," Rachel said. Stepping inside Quinn's personal space, she tugged on her helmet seal, attempting to pull Quinn down to her level.

"What are you doing?" Quinn asked, leaning forward.

"Good luck kiss," Rachel said, taking advantage of Quinn's unintentional closeness to kiss her cheek with a hum, ignoring the taste of the face cream all troopers wore to protect their skin in their hard suits over extended periods of time.

"Um, thanks," Quinn said, blushing faintly, to Rachel's interested eyes. "Need to get going, we're on a timetable."

"Go!" Rachel said, stepping back. Nodding, Quinn reached up and finished activating her suit, causing the helmet to drop down and cover her face.

Rachel waited until Quinn was aboard the drop ship and the door was closed before leaving the docking bay.

"Said your good-byes?" Santana asked, after Rachel had slipped into the observer chair on her command deck.

"Goodbyes?" Rachel said.

"Gave her a kiss and sent her on her way," Santana said. "Typical."

"Yes..." Rachel said. "It seemed liked the thing to do at the time."

"Good for you, munchkin," Santana said. "Make yourself comfortable, it's all up to the Q-troops from here."

"Can't we help?"

"We already did," Santana said. "The shield over the cruise ship is lit up like the Empire State Building at Christmas. Q's troopers will slide right through it."

"Oh," Rachel said. "And Brittany? Where's she?"

"With her tech kids, waiting for the all clear," Santana said.

"Does she usually wait for Quinn to finish?" Rachel asked. "Doesn't she have all of that ninja spy training?"

"A battlefield is a very different kind of place from where she usually operates," Santana said. "Britt is too valuable to risk in something like that except in an emergency. She specializes in sneaking in, doing something, and sneaking out without being seen."

"Do you ever want to go in with Quinn's troopers?" Rachel asked.

"Not happening. Me no likey. I did it once on a training jump," Santana said. "It was wild but it isn't my place. Quinn just seems to have a sixth sense for maneuvering through that kind of chaos. Makes me want to throw up."

"I'd like to do it at least once," Rachel said. "To know how it feels for all of them."

"Plenty of time for that," Santana said. A loud gong sounded, and activity in the command center increased. "Hold your hats people, the Q's are about to drop!" The large screen in front of them lit up, showing a large island in the middle of a larger body of water. As they watched, there were brief flashes of light, each followed by a clear ping.

"Gold Team through," A calm voice began. "Red Team through. Blue Team through. Green Team in place on the outer perimeter. Shadow Team in place. Medi Team ready."

"So much for the excitement," Santana said, glancing at Rachel. "Now we wait to hear from Q."

"Can we listen to their comm channels?" Rachel asked. "Or watch their video?"

"We could, but we won't," Santana said.

"Why not?" Rachel asked. The entire Clan was never out of communication.

"Too confusing," Santana said. "And Q wants her troopers focused on the fight and not worried what others might hear or see them do. And it's too tempting for us to want to interfere. But don't worry. Artie does a great after battle analysis from all comm traffic. Video and audio. Wrapped up in a neat little bow. I'm sure you've seen them."

"Is that how those videos are created," Rachel said.

"If we're lucky, Q will feed us some battle video, once things calm down."

Quinn could feel the buffeting as her hard suit cleared the shield. It wasn't a perfect resonance match between her suit and the older shield but close enough. In the back of her mind she could hear the clear ping of each trooper as they followed her and the other team leaders through the shield.

Down below them was a large, rocky, volcanic island. As she made her controlled descent, Quinn started sending video back to her command center for them to analyse for any potential surprises. And any tech that had escaped their scans. There had been almost nothing in the pre-attack scans. Just some conventional guided missiles and guns. Brittany had been unwilling to speculate about the lack of any Clan tech, beyond the shields.

Hitting the ground with a soft thump, Quinn checked the location of all her troops. This wasn't a full troop drop, or even close. But she automatically checked off where each team had converged.

"This is Top," she said, "Anyone catch a glimpse of that cruise ship?"

"Nothing on my scanners," Pin said. "But there is a large cavern that I can't read."

"Same, boss," Whist said. "There seems to be a large concentration of life signs coming from it."

"The techs are reporting camouflaged movement on the north end of the island," Bobbi said.

Quinn hooked her command channel into the tech feed. "What can you show me," she asked Master Tech Jantel.

"Boss, it's reading like mechs from the Tiger Clan, from the Blue Sky wars," she said. "Here are the stats." Jantel dumped the profile of a large mech, twice the size of current clan mechs used on hostile surfaces, to Quinn's comm.

"That's large," Quinn said. "How many do you see?"

"A ten pack," Jantel said. "They're using an older shield frequency. But not the same one as the island shield."

"Life signs?" Quinn asked, grimacing. Her troopers could easily handle a ten pack of suits meeting that profile but the mech pilots would suffer a lot of damage.

"Human," Jantel said. "All male."

"Okay. Blue Team Leader, they're all yours," Quinn said, sending a suggested attack plan.

"Got it Boss," Blue Team Leader replied. On her command screen, Quinn watched Blue Team as it moved to the north. The Tiger Clan mechs flickered in and out of her screen before finally solidifying. "Good job Jantel. Anything else catch your attention?"

"Thanks Boss. There's a heavily shielded area near that cavern. Reads like one of those Soviet fission plants. Leaking harmful material across a broad spectrum. No life signs."

"Okay, get a decontamination team down from Fleet to clean it up. Titan team will provide cover."

"Got it Boss," Jantel said.

"Fleet?" Quinn said over the command channel. "Titan will provide cover for the decon team. Titan Team Lead will co-ordinate."

"Affirmative, Lady Q," the Fleet battle coordinator responded. "Decon Team One, with Titan Team cover and coordinate."

"Boss?"

"Yes, Bobbi?" Quinn said.

"Looks like they weren't expecting any company," Bobbi said. "The only real resistance has been that Tiger mech ten pack the Blue Team is clearing. We've rounded up all of their other surface guards without a fight."

"Have we found an entrance to the cavern yet?" Quinn asked. "Or any sign of that ship?"

"The Shadows have found two different entrances," Whist said. "One big enough to drive a cruiser through and another smaller one." Quinn's screen shifted to display the two doors.

"Let's join Lady Shadow at the smaller one," Quinn said, after sending a query to Brittany for her status. "Looks like they're about to break through."

"Yes, Boss," Whist said.

After sending a battle plan update to her command center, Quinn led the way to a large clearing on the west side of the island.

"Hey, Britt," Quinn said, stopping next to Brittany. "You have something for me?"

"Typical Men In Black construction," Brittany said. "Booby trapped. We'll be through it shortly." She waved at two of her staff

"What about the other door?" Quinn said.

"That is a horse of a different color," Brittany said, "to borrow a phrase from the little people."

"Little people?" Quinn said, glad her helmet covered her face. Brittany's thought processes often baffled her.

"Munchkins," Brittany said, giggling. "The other door, on the other hand, is a Type III Tiger Clan blast door."

"Which means..."

"That this entire island is most likely a Clan artifact. The Men in Black found it and have been making use of Clan tech."

"But that means they have Clan blood," Quinn said, "to use Clan tech."

"No," Brittany said. "They've apparently been able to reverse engineer ancient Clan tech. Something that doesn't require Clan blood."

"Do we know what they've reverse engineered?"

"Shield controls, mech controls, possibly other control tech," Brittany said.

"Controls. So not the underlying tech?" Quinn said.

"Not to be too snobby, but even thousand year old Clan tech is still beyond the scientists of this world. They've just figured out how to turn some of it on."

"Good," Quinn said. "So, they somehow found this island and turned it into a base of their own. And Blue Team is fighting humans in Tiger Clan mech, that they found on this island. Which means, unless some of them have Clan blood, they don't stand a chance."

"Exactly. More or less," Brittany said.

"Boss?"

"Yes, Pin?"

"That ten pack is down," Pin said. "They had no idea how to fight."

"Casualties?"

"Ours - none. Them - two fatal. They over-wound their mechs."

"The Men In Black haven't been a challenge for my troopers yet," Quinn told Brittany. "The island appears to be ours. We just need to get inside this."

"They're a secret organization," Brittany said. "Large scale maneuvers against opponents in alien armor? Not their strong point."

"So, the door. Should we be opening the other one first?" Quinn asked.

"It would take a Fleet cruiser to burn down those doors," Brittany said. "And everything on the other side. Or the combination. We want the passengers alive. This way is faster."

"Okay," Quinn said. "What do you need from me?"

"Phila and Dot have been training with us for just this kind of operation," Brittany said, waving at two of Quinn's troopers in the clearing. "They know our methods."

"So, step back and let you do your thing?"

"You know me so well," Brittany said, her grin obvious from the sound of her voice, even through her helmet.

"No casualties?" Rachel said, reading the after-action report. "Not even a clumsy trooper tripping over their own feet?"

"None of my troopers are clumsy," Quinn said, glaring at her from across the long table.

"Why all the Tiger Clan tech?" Santana asked. "Shouldn't it have been Dragon Clan tech?"

"I'd like to know that also," Quinn said.

"Artie?" Brittany said, raising her voice. "Can you explain that one?"

"From the base records, it appears that the Dragon Clan was not large enough to fulfill the commission and a contingent of Tiger Clan troopers were hired to make up the numbers. The island was their base."

"That's good?" Rachel asked.

"Yes," Santana said.

"The access protocols were slightly different at that time," Artie said. "Any knowledge of Tiger Clan tech your Men In Black have won't apply to current Dragon Clan tech."

"So, we still have that advantage," Brittany said. "Our tech is newer, faster, and more reliable."

"Have all of the passengers recovered?" Rachel asked.

"There are several still in comas," Brittany said. "The medi-techs are not sure when or if they'll recover. The rest have been sent on their way."

"And the French Ambassador's niece?" Rachel asked.

Brittany giggled. "She's petitioned to stay. She's become attached to one of the Medi staff."

"Oh," Rachel said. "So, I should expect to hear from her uncle?"

"Yup," Brittany said, still giggling.

"How many Men In Black did we catch?" Santana asked.

"Fifty," Brittany said, serious again. "Mostly minions."

"Has anyone asked that we turn them over? Government agency? Government? The UN?" Quinn asked.

"Not a peep," Brittany said. "If they know we have them, they aren't admitting it. Our jail cells are getting a bit overcrowded. We're going to have to start freezing them."

"Freezing them?" Rachel said. "Isn't there a better way to deal with them? And how many of these people do we have?"

"This is our first real 'catch'," Brittany said. "They usually resist and end up dying. And if we don't freeze them, we need to house and feed them. Freezing's a better option, long term. Once someone's put 'in the freezer' it takes almost no energy to keep them there."

"Well, we need to plan ahead," Rachel said firmly. "We can't freeze them and forget that we have them. Someday, someone will want them back."

"So, no 'freeze and forget'," Santana said. "Got it."

"Is the ship salvageable?" Quinn asked, pulling up a 3D image of the battered looking cruise ship.

"It would need some serious work to be sea worthy again," Santana said. "They really did a number on it to get it into that cave."

"What did they want it, and the passengers, for?" Rachel asked, chewing on her lip. "Didn't they know these were not the spies they were looking for?"

"Cute," Santana muttered, glaring at her. "Brittany?"

"We're still analyzing the intel we pulled," she said. "But it appears that none of the minions on the island knew why the ship was taken there. They were waiting for orders when we shut them down."

"So, they wasted a base," Santana said. "Maybe a distraction?"

"I haven't detected anything else going on," Brittany said. "But, if it was, it must have served its purpose."

"Was there any useful info on the Lost Clan on the island?" Rachel asked the other three. "Historical records?"

"Anything not nailed down, they took," Santana said. "The only reason those Tiger Clan mechs were still there, beyond the obvious, was that their power source was on the island. Take them away from the island and they stop working."

"Is that a common design?" Rachel asked.

"Not for us," Quinn said, looking up from her tablet. "Our tech is all self contained and flexible. But that generation of Tiger tech appears to be tethered to a place for power. Which is fine for defensive purposes. As long as your base is under your control, your mechs never run out of power."

"Okay," Rachel said, making a note on her tablet.

"Why do you want to know this?" Santana asked, curious.

"Just thinking," Rachel said, blushing. "The more I know, without the really tough science, the better I can document things."

"So you're turning this little adventure into another one of your epic poems?" Brittany asked. "Do we get to hear it this time?"

"When it's done," Rachel said. "Of course."

"Well, if you can make that dud of an op exciting, you'll have earned your wings, Clarence," Santana said.

"I'd prefer non-exciting ops against the Men In Black," Quinn said. "Exciting ones mean we missed something."

"So, we're done with this? What did the Pres have to say?" Santana asked.

"Thanks," Rachel said. "Not much else he could say. We got back the ship. Got back the passengers, though not quite in original shape. We used it as PR so people think we're being good citizens of the planet. Which we are. The President gave a speech thanking us."

"All according to plan," Brittany added.

"What about other Lost Clan tech?" Santana asked. "When are we going after it, now that we know how to find it."

"I'd like to check out that area off Cancun first," Brittany said. "It's the real mystery. We've found a few small caches of things, mostly broken weapons and personal tech but no records."

"I want to come with," Rachel said.

"Are we going to make a big production out of it?" Quinn asked. "Gold Team can participate if you need hands."

"Okay, let's plan this thing," Santana said. "Let's keep this to ourselves, Clan comm, for now. No need to set off a gold rush on old Clan tech. We already have the Men in Black out there looking for more tech to exploit."

"A little PR might be good, actually," Brittany said. "Let people know that there are Lost Clan artifacts out there, and that they only work for Clan, which is mostly true. We can even offer a finder's fee, within reason."

"Won't that put our people at risk?" Quinn asked. "Someone's going to get kidnapped and experimented on to see how this 'Clan only' tech works."

"We already have that problem," Brittany said. "I think we can use this to our advantage."

"I vote no on getting kidnapped again," Rachel said, frowning.

"That's what your bodyguards are for," Brittany said. "Remember? It won't happen again."

"So, do a doc on this new discovery, but don't mention the 'Clan Only' aspect?" Santana asked.

"Yes," Quinn said. "We'll just say it's broken. Or needs special power or new batteries. Or something less risky." The others nodded in agreement.

"Who do we have who can do it?" Santana asked. "We want the human touch. No offense intended, Artie," she added.

"Understood," Artie said.

"Artie," Brittany said. "Gleek Artie."

"Do we have to pay him?" Santana asked. "I'm sure he owes us. For something."

"We bought his production company," Brittany said, with a giggle, "though he has no idea."

"Britt?" Santana said carefully, holding up her hands to stop the others from speaking. "What did we agree on?"

"No more buying hotels, restaurants and other things that Quinn might have to destroy?" Brittany said.

"That too," Santana said. "We can't keep buying things. People aren't going to like it if we end up owning the whole planet."

"If we're going to have camera people running around, we need to control them," Brittany said.

"Shorty?"

"I think it will be useful," Rachel said. "We can do better video and sound, because Clan tech is so much better, but we need experienced technicians. Camera-people, directors, producers. We can train our people the technical parts but they need someone to learn the emotional part from. Owning Artie Abrams Productions gets our people that."

"Q?"

"Leave me out of it," Quinn said. "No untrained, embedded reporters are going on drops with my troopers."

"You too will be assimilated," Brittany said, before giggling.

"Embedded reporters? Do we need something like that?" Rachel asked.

"No," Santana said. "We already have Artie making action reports from ops recordings. We talked about that. We record everything already."

"Oh, right," Rachel said. "So, we're only going to have G-Artie make movies or documentaries for viewing by others. Non-Clan."

"G-Artie?" Santana asked.

"Glee Artie," Brittany said. "I wish I'd thought of that," she said, pouting.

"So, propaganda," Quinn said. "I have no problem with that, as long as Brittany keeps her wiz kids under control. No budding Leni Riefenstahls. We want Truth, not brainwashing."

"Leni who?" Rachel said.

"Infamous Nazi filmmaker. She's in the restricted section of our Earth video library," Brittany said. "No, we won't do that. And G-Artie wouldn't do that, even if we asked him to."

"So, who is going to contact him?" Santana asked.

"I'll do it," Brittany said, making a note to herself.

"Good," Quinn said. "Anything else?"

"Things to do, Places to be?" Santana asked.

"Private dinner with my mother and sister at my sister's beach house," Quinn said, standing.

"How are things going with them?" Rachel asked, as they also stood up to leave.

"Okay, I guess," Quinn said. "She hasn't gotten used to my priorities being different, and she wants grandchildren."

"Not impossible," Brittany said. "We still have Artie's asteroid sitting in that time loop if you really wanted to take a break for children. But maybe you should let your sister take care of that."

"You forget, there's something missing," Quinn said. "Who would I have children with?"

"We're Dragon Clan," Brittany said. "Who isn't a relevant question when it comes to children. It's a 'when' and a 'whose genetics' if you really want them."

"Children can wait," Quinn said, grimacing. "I'm not ready. Maybe after we deal with the Enemy and can relax."

"I'm not sure I want to wait that long," Rachel said. "But I'm stuck on the 'who' also."

"Solution!" Brittany said, jumping up and down excitedly. "You two can make babies together. They'd be so cute!"

"No," Quinn said, blushing. "We're not going there." Nodding to the others, she slipped out of the conference room.

"No," Rachel echoed in a low voice, her eyes following Quinn as she disappeared down the corridor.

"It'll work out, Rach," Brittany said, hugging her. "You two will make wonderful moms."

"You're going to have to take charge if that's your goal," Santana said bluntly, gesturing in the direction Quinn went. Grabbing Brittany's hand, she led her off in the opposite direction.

"Artie? My bodyguards and I have a meeting at the university. We should be back in a couple hours. If anyone asks," she murmured in a low voice before also leaving the room.

"Of course, Lady Memory," Artie said, to the empty room.

Important Note: [4/2/2014] The last 2 chapters of Book II ( 9 + Epilogue) aren't quite ready to go yet (This whole thing was written for NaNoWriMo 2013 and the last couple chapters were a bit incoherent when it ended), but hopefully both should be posted some time between Easter and (US) Mother's Day, if not sooner.