Don't Talk to Strangers (War Saga I)
David J. Duncan
March 2002

Rating: R.  Violence, language

Summary: A message for peace is twisted to suit the interests of
Lousain, 
Dahak, and the Spirit of the Abyss.  The battle with the Magog
introduces the crew from the Andromeda Ascendant to Dave and his
allies.

Notes: The characters from Forever Knight belong to Sony Tri-Star.
The characters from Xena: Warrior Princess belong to StudiosUSA and
Renaissance Studios.  The characters from Hercules: The Legendary
Journeys belong to StudiosUSA and Renaissance Studios. The characters
from Andromeda belong to Tribune and were created by Gene Roddenberry.
In addition, these characters are the property of the owners/creators.
All other characters are fictitious and are of my own creation.
Please send comments to dante0220@yahoo.com.

Introduction

[Queen's Hut, Amazon Village 82AD]

Gabrielle, Bard-Queen of the Amazons, writes....

The prophecy, which we all thought had been prevented, did come to
pass.  The storm clouds of doubt and discord mounted on our horizon,
threatening to destroy everything.  According to our mystic, Nai-Jin,
a deadly alliance had been forged in the dimensions beyond.  This
agreement meant to be the end of all.

This scroll tells of the first wave of this attack.  Ironically, it
started with a message, seeking peace....

Chapter 1

[Dahak's realm]

Within the fiery underworld, Dahak squirmed in discomfort on his
throne.  His plans were failing.  Despite his best efforts, the
carefully crafted missions he had sent to the outer world had failed
miserably at the hands of Xena and Hercules.  On the last expedition,
he had sent his newest follower, the vampiress, Divia, to resurrect
his daughter, Hope, and destroy any opposition.  Ironically, a mortal
fool had performed her first task, inflicting the demon-child on the
world once again.  However, Xena had found a way to revive herself,
standing firmly against the deadly duo.  Worse still, she had allies
including Gabrielle, Hope's traitorous mother.  Battling for hours,
the dark agents were defeated and nearly eliminated before he pulled
them to safety.

A scream echoed through the flames.  "Hope has to learn that she
cannot fail me," he stated.  "As a good father, I must discipline
her."

"Indeed." Divia winced, rubbing the scars from her own fiery torment. 
"But you know best, Master."

The hideous lizard-like face contorted itself into a grin.  This one
had finally learned some respect.  "She has potential," he thought.
At the right moment, he would send her out again to do his bidding.
For now, she needed to observe how true darkness was perpetuated.
"Are you here to praise me, Divia, or was there something else?"

The former Roman scowled.  As much as she needed to play this game,
she hated how he'd rub her nose in it.  "There are two entities to see
you."

"Yes, I know.  Go!  They approach even as we speak."

She ground her fangs, the crass dismissal grating at her gut, but
forced herself to do as he bade.

A minute later, the two visitors appeared in front of him.  One was a
glowing ebony energy-being with white pinpricks for eyes and hate
spewing from it.  The other appeared mortal, standing about 6 feet in
height with pathetic pink skin and jet-black hair.  As with his
companion, this one's eyes literally glowed with dark power.

"The Spirit of the Abyss, I trust?  That is what you're calling
yourself these days?" Dahak growled.

The energy being roared, the unearthly noise unintelligible even for
Dahak's ears.

["Use telepathy," the host urged.]

[The ebon one repeated itself, "Yes, that is what my followers call
me."]

["Very good," Dahak replied.]  Turning to the other, he asked, "And
you are Lousain of the Dark Lands?"

"That is I," the dark haired one acknowledged with a fierce grin.  "I
appreciate the invitation, Dahak.  What is the matter of our
business?"

"Revenge," the lizard-thing hissed.  "Revenge against our enemies!
Dominion over the world above!"

["And beyond," the Spirit added.]

"Yes, that's all well and good, but I'll need time to completely
revamp my armies.  It's taken me almost fifteen Earth years to do so,"
the Dark Lander noted.

"If you agree, I'll do it in an instant," Dahak indicated.  "You're
the mightiest wizard of the Dark Lands, Lousain.  I want you with me
especially given the mortals we must face."

"Outside of the rabble from Nurrengard, there are only a few from the
outer world whom I care about," the wizard argued.

"Such as Dubois?"

At his host's utterance of that name, he roared in displeasure.
"Cursed interloper!  I would see him dead and in torment!"

"You may yet get your chance.  Join me and together the three of us
will conquer and have our way!"

The other two visitors looked at each other.  For a moment, telepathic
jabbering went back and forth between them.  Then, they turned to face
Dahak once again.  "We will help you," the wizard agreed.

["My forces are ready," the Spirit indicated.  "They await the
signal."]

["And they shall have it," Dahak crowed.  "Yours will be the first
wave, and my forces will be second.  Will that give you sufficient
time, Lousain?"]

["It shall," Lousain indicated to them both.  "I await word from you
both."]  With that, he vanished in a burst of bloody red heat and
light.

Dahak smiled in grim satisfaction.  Soon, the first wave would move,
and the mortals themselves would be the ones who would cause it to
happen.

Chapter 2 [Tucson]

After an exciting late May and early June, the Dubois family enjoyed a
quiet summer.  Life became routine while everything seemed normal.
The group shared the solstice celebration with Cybelle who was named
the new High Priestess of Althanor at that celebration.  Several
cookouts and trips to Tanglewood had also paved the way for a
wonderful summer as well.   Finally, Dave and Angie had continued to
practice with their powers, bringing them more under control.

****

A somber cloud layer dominated the early morning sky on August 1st.
For the Duboises, it was another early morning like any other.  Angie
had her reports to do and rounds to perform.  Dave had two classes
from the second summer session classes to teach and an almost
completed book manuscript waiting in his office.

"It's been a great summer," he remarked, sipping on his french vanilla
coffee.

"It has, hasn't it?" she asked.  "No super villains.  No kidnappings. 
No mutant witches attacking us."  Then, a wry smile crossed her face.
"And no suicide attempts on your part.  You must be ready to go into
withdrawal by now, aren't you?"

"Withdrawal?" he probed.  "Over what?"

"Your weekly dose of trouble," she baited, kissing him on the cheek.

"Hey, dull's been good," he commented.  "My classes have gone well,
and if things stay quiet, I might be able to get this book off to the
publisher before Labor Day."

"Dull's good?" she chuckled.  "I never thought I'd hear you say that."

"I've never had my students involved like that before in a mess," he
stated, staring at her.  "Oh sure, there were the Alti crises, but
give the hag credit, she let the kids go before we danced.  Those
bozos in the raincoats didn't care one way or the other."

The oncologist rubbed a sudden phantom itch on the back of her neck.
Two months earlier, she and one of the new students had been
kidnapped.  In the process, her father-in-law had stuck her with
something to knock her abilities offline.  Only with some outside help
did she get that stuff out of her system.  "You can say that again,"
she groused.  "Well, we need to get into work."

"Already?" he asked, looking at his watch.  Sure enough, it was 8:15. 
"Dang it.  Reality calls."

Putting on her overcoat, she wondered, "Do you want to go to the radio
telescope demonstration tonight?  I hear it's going to be quite the
show."

His eyebrow twitched skeptically, "Princess, it's only a first
attempt."

"It's history in the making, Mr. Historian.  I thought you'd like to
be there to chronicle it.  Think if Marco Polo and Henry the Navigator
were like you right now..." she lectured.

"What about the twins?"

"What about them?" she asked. "It'll be dark.  They'll sleep through
it."

"If you say so.  How about Eve and Francesca?" he relented.

"They're coming as well.  It should be a lot of fun." She grinned,
savoring the victory.

"Okay.  Well, I'll meet you at the hospital after my 4:30 class.
Shall we?" he noted, opening the door.

"We shall," she concurred, stepping through before he closed and
locked it.  

Life had been good for them and they wanted it to continue in this
fashion for some time more.

****

Across town, Tracy Brown stepped out of her shower, stretching her
arms toward the ceiling.  The previous night's shift had been a tough
one.  Two more homicides on the southwest side of town brought the
number to seven with the same m. o. over the past few months.  Of
course, she, Schanke, and Nick scoured the scene looking for clues,
but came up with precious little.  Even Nick's enhanced senses had
found next to nothing in terms of answers.  Whoever this perp was, he
certainly knew how to cover his tracks.  

Covering herself in a cotton bathrobe, the blonde detective ambled out
into her living room.  There, on the couch bed, her new roommate,
Javier Vachon, lay watching her every move, admiring her beauty.

"Hey," he greeted.  "I didn't want to ask about your night before you
took your shower."

"Smart move," she chuckled, sitting down beside him.  "I feel
civilized after my cleansing session." 

"Oh, so your beast retreats during the daylight and the steamy shower,
eh?" he kidded.  "Maybe I ought to take you to the Amazon rainforest?"

The thought of being with him in that wild place entranced her.  While
she knew he was teasing, Tracy had determined that one day she would
hold him to a romantic getaway of that nature.  Natalie was still
raving about her weeklong getaway with Steve Petersen.  Since that
time, the pathologist appeared to be positively radiant.  "Thank God
that Nick's relationship with Alyce Harris is going well.  I would
have hated to deal with him getting jealous," she thought, frowning.

"Thinking about Miles and Natalie again?" the former conquistador
interjected.

"I can't help it, Javier.  They're both my friends.  It just seems
funny to see them with other people after they were on again, off
again for so long," she sighed, rubbing his arm.

"They're big kids, Trace.  Hey, everyone's a lot happier.  That FBI
guy's making the coroner happy.  And I don't remember Miles being this
upbeat in Toronto.  Believe me, the Community's very happy with Nick
and Alyce right now, especially LaCroix."

"Yeah.  Keeping him satisfied is a good thing, I'm sure.  At least his
feud with the Duboises has subsided a bit," she assumed.

"Oh, it's still going.  They just declared a truce for a little while
both sides deal with the aftermath of the Dijon mess and the
kidnapping crisis.  Something'll happen and the Old Roman will be at
their throats again," he noted.

She thought of Xena taking on the Elder.  Ramirez was eating nails
now.  What would he do if that mess got started again?  Recalling
Reese's reaction to the first face-off between the two ancient
adversaries, she was glad that nothing had happened for a while.

"You're too serious," he cracked.

"Oh really?" she giggled, her eyes sparkling at him.  "And what are
you going to do about it?"

"Watch me," he directed.  Grasping her arm, he tugged her toward him.

She didn't resist, choosing instead to fall into his embrace and
snuggle with him under the covers for the day in an attempt to work
out the kinks so to speak.

****

Within the loft, Nick stared at the ceiling, wondering what that night
would bring.  As with his friends, the last two months had been
enjoyable for him.  Without the usual villains taking aim at the Old
Pueblo, life became fairly normal for the TPD.  For the most part, the
detectives went back to their routine homicides.  However, the latest
string of murders baffled him.  Why weren't there any traces of
evidence at the scene?  It was almost as if the perpetrator had wiped
the areas clean before he and his partners arrived.  "Sooner or later,
he's going to slip up, and then we'll nail him," he told himself.

"Nick?" Alyce's voice murmured sleepily next to him.  "You still
thinking about that case, aren't you?"

"Sorry, can't help it," he responded glumly.

"I know.  You really care about your life and the job.  That's what I
love about you." She smiled, kissing his cheek.  "Still, you haven't
slept in days.  Please try for me."

"All right," he agreed, closing his eyes and drifting off into an
uneasy slumber.

 
Chapter 3

Dave sat in his office, pouring through sources and taking careful
notes.  It had been a productive day.  Both classes had been very
responsive and had in-depth questions for him.  The meeting with the
librarians produced several promising ideas for further study.
Finally, in the past hour, he had stumbled across a major find for his
manuscript.  All in all, it had been an excellent day indeed.

Then, the familiar buzzing sounded in his head.  "Leave it to Angie to
send me a subliminal message," he chuckled.  The clock on his desk
indicated 4:30.  "Time to go."  Picking up his coat and umbrella, he
locked the office door and walked out the side door where Eve and
Francesca were waiting for him.

"We were wondering if you'd remember," Francesca teased.  "You were so
intent on your research."

"The wife sent me a reminder if you get my drift," he noted.  "No, she
wants to do this.  I think it's a historical event as well."

"Hopefully, this first contact will be one of peace," Eve wished.
"May Eli make it so."

"There's enough lunacy here on Earth for us all," he agreed as they
passed the Economics Building.  "A few more allies never hurt anyone. 
Besides, a peaceful contact would be a good example to follow here."

"Amen," the former Messenger said serenely, sharing in his hope.

****

Several hours later, Angie stood under the darkening skies, staring up
at the stars.  Since she was a child growing up on the farm, the
question of who was out there had always percolated in her mind.
"Maybe Dr. Farnsworth's project will bring some sign to us," she
hoped.

["I wonder what kind of trouble is beyond that ring of stars?" Xena
asked.]

["Xena, there's not going to be any trouble," the oncologist
asserted.]

["C'mon, Angela, that's incredibly naive coming from you," the warrior
replied evenly.  "I'm not saying that there won't be any good people
out there.  I just find it easier to prepare for the worst and hope
for the best.  I just feel uneasy about this for some reason."]

["It's not like Ares is lurking up there," Angie gibed.]

["You could be right.  It could be worse than him," Xena retorted, a
smile tugging at her mouth in spite of herself.  "Well, I'll be close
by in case you need me."]  With that, she went silent.

The doctor walked back over to where her family and friends waited for
Farnsworth to start the demonstration.  It wouldn't be long now.

In fact, a young Native American man stepped onto the podium at that
very moment.  Paul Farnsworth had labored on this project for many
years through his graduate studies and early career as an astronomer. 
Now, the machine was ready, and, as with his colleagues, he wanted to
find other peaceful peoples to communicate with.  Looking at his
watch, he saw that it was 9PM.  "Ladies and Gentlemen, Fellow
Colleagues, thank you for coming out tonight for this demonstration.
For countless millennia, our forefathers stared up at the sky,
wondering what lay beyond our planet, asking about their neighbors on
other worlds and galaxies.  These questions have served as the basis
of our science fiction and fantasy.  Tonight, we take the first bold
step toward finding our neighbors.  This device, the Farnsophone, will
send a signal deep into space.  Unlike conventional radio messages in
the past, I've found a way to encrypt messages into a focused laser
beam.  In this fashion, the signal will travel at light speed,
crossing greater distances in less time.  Perhaps now, we can all hope
for a response in our own lifetime.  If you're all ready, I've
prepared a message.  'Hello from the planet Earth.  We send you
peaceful greetings and wish you well.  Could you respond and let us
know about yourselves?  We would like to meet you.  Thanks.'," he
announced.

Francesca observed the proceedings carefully, knowing that Gabrielle
would want to transcribe these events on the "electronic scroll" for
posterity.

Eve silently prayed, hoping for a amiable response.

Dave hugged his wife, wanting the best for her sake.  Despite this
optimism, he shared Xena's fear.  "Why is it that I get this feeling
that we're about to open a Pandora's box?" he thought to himself.

Even if he had wanted to stop Farnsworth, the latter had already
pushed the button, sending the message shooting into space. There was
no going back now.

****

[Dahak's realm]

The demon lord grinned as he sensed the doubts coming from his
adversaries.  "Soon, it'll be too late for you to stop it," he
savored.  Then, the light beam shot up into the heavens.  

[Turning to the Spirit of the Abyss, he urged, "Now, redirect it to
where your masses will see it!"]

The dark deity screeched in pleasure as it refracted the message beam,
redirecting it through a convenient portal in the slipstream.

"Peace indeed," Dahak laughed.  "They'll get peace all right.  The
peace of oblivion."


Chapter 4 [The Sans Mar Cluster, 2.3 million light years from Earth
and about 10,000 years in the future]

Far away across the vastness of space,  a lone ship moved at sublight
speed through the heavens, insuring that all was well.  The Andromeda
Ascendant, despite her age, still held respect throughout known space
and with all peoples.  As in the glory days of the Commonwealth, the
vessel represented the federation's beauty, grace, and power.  Now,
even as it conveyed the small crew and her captain, Dylan Hunt, around
the galaxies in a quest to reforge its reality, threats constantly
popped up on the radar.

In the command center, the first officer, Beka Valentine, sat behind
an impressive array of instrumentation, guiding the ship's passage.
The former spice runner cut an impressive figure with her well built
frame and single blonde ponytail running down her back.  Her icy blue
eyes cut into the depths portrayed on the screen.  Despite the fact
that all appeared to be quiet, her instincts told her that something
was about to rear its ugly head.

On the platform beside her, a massively built male also kept watch on
things.  Tyr Anasazi of the Kodiak Pride was a mountain of a man with
a fierceness to match his prowess.  Always looking to protect his
self-interests, the Nietzschean remained on alert for any
irregularities. "So do you think the Phalondrians will sign our
Captain's charter?" he asked skeptically.

She raised an eyebrow at him.  For the past four hours since they had
been on shift together, he hadn't paid any attention to her, much less
said anything.  "They should if they know what's good for them.  Their
technology's just coming up to snuff, and they'll need all of the help
they can to defend themselves."

"Another worthless people for Dylan to pander to," he snorted, making
a minute adjustment to keep them on course.  "I'd say that only the
strong survive."

"Nietzsche?"

"It sounds like something he might have said," he stated, always
reveling in quoting the guiding force of his civilization.

At that moment, the image of a thin yet well-built woman with chin-
length black hair and piercing eyes appeared in front of them.  This
was the ship's 'spirit', and she commented, "Actually, Tyr, I believe
that you're referring to the ancient Earth belief of 'Social
Darwinism'.  Charles Darwin, an evolutionary scholar, preached that
philosophy, not Nietzsche."  As she made this observation, a slight
smile spread across her face, anticipating his reaction.

Beka smirked.  She loved it when the chocolate-brown giant was wrong,
especially when the AI corrected him.

He simply growled and shook his head silently.  Between the fire in
his eyes and the smoke coming out of his ears, no words were
necessary.

Andromeda shrugged. "Everything seems to be all right here.  I'll see
what Dylan's doing."  With that, she vanished into thin air.

"Stupid ship," he muttered almost inaudibly, forcing himself to keep
his eyes straight ahead.

****

Two levels down, Dylan Hunt dribbled a basketball on the hardened
concrete floor.  The recent string of negotiations with the
Phalondrians and Kelsarians, while productive, had left him exhausted
and in serious need of downtime.  With each impact of vinyl against
floor, each swish through the net, the brown-haired, blue-eyed
survivor of the original Commonwealth began to unwind.  But, as his
ship's avatar often reminded him, he was only human.  Sometimes he
wondered why the powers that be had placed him on the great stage.
Why had fate held him on the event horizon, keeping the Andromeda from
the crushing grip of the maw?  Why did it now fall to him to hold off
the Magog advance?  Sighing, he took another shot, clanking it off of
the rim.

"Figures," he groused.

"You know, if one hits on every attempt, life wouldn't be challenging.
That's not the way that the Divine does things," a low, gravelly voice
interjected.

Dylan chuckled, "I'm always amazed by your sense of timing, Rev."

Rev Bem nodded as he approached the captain.  Despite the thick fur,
intense eyes, fangs, and claws, which he shared with his Magog
brethren, the Wayist priest pursued peaceful pursuits, choosing to
reflect on the inner peace of the universe.  Oftentimes, when his
companions felt frustrated, he would counsel them.  In doing so, he
would help himself as well.  "Are we not all where we're supposed to
be?  The Divine would say yes.  Do not beat yourself up, Dylan."

"I know.  It's my job to rebuild the Commonwealth," the human
commander sighed, hitting a jump shot.  "I wish I had some more help."

Rev supposed, "Sometimes, one needs to be the first in a line of
defenders.  When one builds a house, what must be laid first?"

"A foundation."

The Magog grinned. "And how do you start a foundation?"

"By laying the first brick maybe?" Dylan asked perplexedly.  "And your
point is?"

"Precisely!" Rev exclaimed.  "And it has fallen to you to be a teacher
of the Old Ways.  You must remind people of their heritage, of the
glories embedded in the Commonwealth.  If it wasn't time for such
things, Dylan, you wouldn't be here right now."

"And if I didn't need an example in that regard, nor would you,
right?" Dylan smiled, a friendly jab coming through in his response.

"I only do what the Divine wishes me to do, Dylan," Rev replied.
"Perhaps, I was meant to guide you.  Perhaps, you were meant to guide
me.  No matter, my friend, we take this trip together wherever it
leads us."

"You don't know how much I appreciate that," the captain assured his
crewmember.  "No, over the past two years, I've learned that each of
us has our own purpose in this endeavor.  I don't know, nor can I
worry about, what those roles are, but I'm happy you all are here."

"As we are to have you with us," Rev concurred.  "Well, I'll leave you
to your basketball."  With that, the Wayist shuffled out of the room
and down the hall.

Dylan continued his game of horse for a few more minutes, still
thinking about everything.  However, Rev's advice had helped him to
relax and reminded him that the crew was there to help him despite
their various agendas.

At that moment, Andromeda's image appeared in front of him.  "Dylan?"
she asked.

"Andromeda," he acknowledged, cutting a shot short.  "Anything the
matter?"

"No, everything's quiet.  I was just wondering how you were doing,"
she noted with concern.

"I'm okay," he feigned, adding a smile for show.  "You know me, tough
as nails."

Her eyes narrowed as she assessed her captain's body language and
vital signs.  Despite the fact that he wouldn't admit it, she knew
that he was on the brink of exhaustion.  Both he and the crew needed a
shore leave badly, but with all of the negotiations, he wouldn't allow
it.  Sometimes, she wished she had more say in what went on.  "Still,
Dylan, I wish you'd consider taking a rest.  The crew could use a
breather as well."

"After the next destination," he affirmed.

Her right eyebrow arched skeptically.  How many times had she heard
that one before?  "I'll hold you to that."

"Okay," he relented, putting the ball away.  "Give me a few minutes to
get cleaned up, and I'll relieve Beka and Tyr."

She nodded and vanished into thin air.

Toweling himself off, he made his way toward his quarters, wondering
what would happen next.

Chapter 5

An hour later, Dylan walked out onto the command deck.  Everything
still looked normal, yet he began to feel uneasy.  Somewhere in the
darkness, the Magog lay in wait for them and every other unsuspecting
world that happened to fall into their path.  "Status?" he requested.

Beka replied flatly, "Nothing new, Dylan, just stars and space.  When
did you want to go to slipstream?"

"In a few minutes," the captain indicated.  "Are you picking anything
up, Tyr?"

"Nothing that would disagree with the First Officer's assessment," the
Nietzschean reported with a frown.

Then, the alarm claxons sounded loudly and the lights flickered on and
off.  On screen, Andromeda said, "Dylan!  We've got trouble.  Incoming
Magog swarm ships from slipstream."

"Wonderful," Tyr muttered, his fingers running across the keyboard,
readying the weapons for the impending assault.

"Harper, Trance, and Rev Bem to command on the double," Dylan
commanded into the intercom.  "Code Black."

Beka glanced over her readouts.  The incoming fleet had 30 ships,
however, the world ship was nowhere to be seen.  "I wonder where their
home base is?"

"It's a scouting party, still thirty of those ships is enough to keep
anyone occupied," Tyr added condescendingly.  

The captain studied the screen in front of him.  The enemy fleet had
assembled in front of his ship, ready to advance at their signal.  As
he heard the remaining crewmembers take their positions, he still
feared the size of the force in front of them.  

Then, a loud screeching noise sounded throughout space, leaking
through the hull, and causing the group to hold their hands over their
ears.

The thin, human engineer, Seamus Harper, winced, recalling that the
noise was actually the Spirit's method of communication.  "What's it
saying, Rev?"

The Magog stammered from his knees, "I..It's telling the others to
follow the path.  There's a world it wants them to attack."  

"There are no worlds around here," Beka wondered.  "Where?"

Then, they saw an enormous slipstream portal open in back of the Magog
armada.  Turning, the ships pushed through it, disappearing from view.

"Dylan, my scans are detecting something unusual about that portal.
It seems to be radiating strange energies, almost like those from the
nexus," Andromeda's robotic avatar reported from the secondary weapons
position.

Trance Gemini, the purple-skinned medical officer, scanned the
probable futures for them all.  In them, she saw them fighting these
invaders on a familiar world, yet something was very different about
it.  "Dylan!  They're going to invade a planet."

"Tell us something we don't know, Trance," Dylan sighed, still trying
to decide what to do.

"No!  They're going back in time to invade a planet before it can
defend itself!  We have to help them!" she pressed.

The captain glanced at his medical officer cautiously.  Even though he
knew she could see possible futures, he was wary about risking their
safety in any event.  Still, he was bound to protect any planet
against Magog incursions.  "That's all I needed to hear.  Rommie, can
you follow the Magog?"

"There are enough of a residual energies from their slipstream
signatures for us to do so," she reported.

"Do it," Dylan commanded.  "Beka, go to slipstream."

The first officer nodded and lowered the overhead equipment into
place.  Then, pulling a lever, she saw the glowing portal appear in
front of them.  "Hang on, everyone."  With that, she sent them all
into slipstream, rocketing across light years and back through time
itself.

Chapter 6 [Tucson]

Additional note: For those folks not on the Forever Knight Fanatics
list (and why not?), the second encounter between Dave and Divia came
in "Gate Crasher (or Proving One's Point)" from June 2001.  This is
available on the "Story Emporium site".)

Even as Farnsworth's message headed into space, LaCroix read the
evening edition of the local news.  The coverage of the event splashed
across three pages, calling it "a new era".  The vampire DJ frowned at
the use of this invitation.  After two millennia, he certainly knew
when to leave a sleeping lion to its own devices.

Then, the buzzer sounded, cutting into his reverie.  "Ah show time,"
he realized, taking another sip of his bloodwine.  Placing the
headphones on his head, he started, "Good evening, Gentle Listeners.
This is the Nightcrawler, and once again, I shall patrol the night
with you all.  It's history time, once again.  The topic for tonight's
discussion is trust and opening your arms to the unknown.  When is it
wise to do so?  Did Julius Caesar not keep Antony too close?  Look
what happened to him-stabbed in the back.  What a pity.  Then, we all
recall the lesson of the Trojan Horse, do we not?  Did not the saying
'Beware of Greeks bearing gifts' come from this episode? Apparently,
we have forgotten this simple truth for tonight, an all-knowing
professor has sent an open invitation to those beings beyond the pale.
I think we're too occupied with our science fiction these days,
thinking that we're the ultimate power in the universe.  My Children,
that is the stuff of pure folly and nonsense.  What do you think?  The
lines are open."

At that moment, the lights started to blink on his board.

"Ah yes," he crooned, picking up the phone.  "You're on the air."

"Thanks," the listener, a young woman, replied.  "One of my professors
at the U of A was just talking about that very thing today, but it was
a medieval example during the Crusades."

The DJ frowned, guessing at whose student the caller was.  "Go on.
Please share the lesson with us."

"Well, Dr. Dubois mentioned an instance where the Crusaders went to
Byzantium to help the emperor regain his throne," she continued,
fumbling with her notes.  "Anyhow, from what I understood, they
weren't paid well enough, so they sacked the city, and ruled it
themselves for 60 years."

"Yes, the so-called Fourth Crusade," LaCroix chuckled.  For all of his
faults, Dubois certainly could tie historical examples into current
issues.  Continuing, he complemented, "That is a very apt example
indeed.  I should speak with him about it if the opportunity presents
itself.  Thank you for the call."

" 'Speak with him when the opportunity presents itself'?" a female
voice mocked within his head.  "Really, Lucius, you do need some
originality with your lines."

The Elder looked about anxiously.  "Nonsense," he told himself.
"Purely trite rubbish."  The voice had been Divia's, but she was stuck
in Dahak's realm.

"Whatever," he muttered, taking a nervous gulp of blood and continuing
on with the show.

****

A few hours later, the former general descended the staircase at the
front of the El Gato Negro, trying to seem more secure than he really
felt.  Despite appearances, the other immortals gave him a wide berth,
knowing that anything dire enough to bother him could be fatal to them
all.

Janette, however, stood her ground.  In her previous vampiric
incarnation, she had experienced these moods and knew it was best to
allow him the illusion of security.  "Care for a drink?" she asked,
placing a goblet on the counter.

"Oui," LaCroix agreed, still glancing around.  Whatever was playing
with him still remained just on the edge of his senses.  "Janette,
tell the others to leave."

"What?" she argued.  "LaCroix, this isn't the Raven, and you are no
longer my master!  You cannot!"

"DO IT!" he snarled, vamping out.  "We're all in danger!"  Then, as
the front door swung open, he felt the vibrations once again.
Turning, he probed the area around him, feeling the tell-tale
vibrations.  A quick look toward the entrance verified that his worst
nightmare had returned.  "Divia?"

"Yes, Father," the blonde girl snickered darkly.  "I'm back."

"Who?" Janette asked.  

"It's a very long story," Divia chuckled, zipping to the bar.  Once
there, she reclined against it, staring into her protégé's eyes.
"Would you care to tell her, Father, or shall I?"

"Leave her out of this," he demanded.  "I'm your target."

"Yes and no," she snickered, grabbing his wrist in a vise like grip.
"I will kill you, Lucius, but before I do, I have a bit of work yet." 
Smiling ferally, she wrenched her victim's wrist behind his back, and
asked Janette,  "You smell of Nicholas.  Are you his?"

"What is it to you?" the lady of the night argued, feeling under the
counter for the alarm button.  Finding it, she pressed down hard on
it.  Whoever this brat was, she meant trouble.  

In the space of an instant, Divia had flung her former father across
the length of the room and grasped the bartender by the throat.  "Yes,
I'm trouble all right.  Did you ever wonder who had brought him
across?"  Seeing the other's eyes bulge in surprise, the Pompeian
continued, "I'm his mistress who he betrayed!"

"You...are a rotten little...girl," the general gasped, struggling to
stand.

"You made me in your image after all," she chuckled, tightening the
grip around Janette.  If her victim were Nicholas' protégé, then he
would be here soon.
****

Meantime, Nick, Schanke, and Tracy sat at their desks, going over
reports.  As usual, Ramirez's nerves had them all on edge, urging them
to get their paperwork finished.  

"Cripe, I wonder what else can happen," Schanke groused.  "First, Myra
has her problems and now this!"

At that moment, Nick's cell phone went off.  Looking at the display,
he saw that it was from the bar.  "Great."

"What's up?" Tracy asked.

"There's trouble at the Gato," the vampire detective explained.  "Stay
here."  Jogging out the door, he rounded the corner of the precinct.
Once in the alley, he took off for the bar.

****

Meanwhile, Dave and Angie were driving back from the Tucson Mall after
a nice night of shopping and dining.  They had spent more than they
could afford, but after everything, they felt a splurge was in order. 


"That dinner was great, Dave," she sighed, rubbing her stomach.

"Glad you liked it," he chuckled, turning left onto 14th Street.  For
some reason, he felt compelled to take the "scenic route."  

The oncologist noted this occurrence as well, but made little of it.
"Going towards the El Gato Negro, are we?  Honey, remember the last
time we stepped into a vampire bar?"

"I figured we'd drive by it," he said, stopping in front of the
tavern.  But, at that moment, he gripped the wheel hard.  "Grrr," he
growled.  

Recognizing the signs, she rubbed his shoulder in an attempt to calm
him.  "What is it?"

"Trouble," he slurred, a smile spreading across his face.  

[From within her head, Xena advised, "I'd say he's right."]

"Duck into the alley and do your thing.  If my intuition's right,
we've found trouble," he urged, pulling aside a blanket and grabbing
his quiver and bow.  "We're goin' on Brat Patrol."

"Right," she agreed, guessing at his meaning.  Once she had rounded
the corner of the building, she pulled the sword, changing into the
Warrior Princess.  "David?" she called.

"C'mon!  I'm waitin' on ya!" he declared, clearly struggling to
maintain control.   "We've got a certain Roman kid to crush."  Looking
up to the sky, he saw Nick descend toward them.  "She send you an
invite too?"

The detective nodded.  "I can feel her both directly and through my
links to LaCroix and Janette."

"And there's a score to settle," Dave growled, rubbing his knee for
dramatic effect.  "Let's go."  Focusing, he pushed the doors open
telekinetically, allowing them to enter.  Leading the way, the
professor felt his surroundings.  He felt plenty of icy spots around
him, but there was one in particular which grabbed his attention.
"Divia!  Come out, Bitch!"

From the bar area, she called, "I'm here, Mortal!"  After he had found
her, she tightened her grip on Janette's arm, challenging, "Why don't
you come closer?"

"You think I'm afraid of you?" he snickered.  "Besides, I brought help
as well."

At that moment, the familiar whirring noise filled the bar, caroming
off of items and overhangs, blurring over the scene before flying back
out the door.  

"Xena," Divia hissed, a fang filled grin spreading across her face.
"Dahak will reward me well!"

"Don't count your chickens before they're hatched," he asserted,
firing a special shaft.  Upon impact with the bar, the garlic cloud
rose, aggravating her and her prisoner. "That's something to jar your
memory," he chuckled.

Divia growled discontentedly.  Despite the fact that she wanted to
inflict serious mental duress on both Nick and her father by hurting
Janette, she owed Dubois for their previous encounters.  "Fine!" she
stated, releasing her grip and watching the other vampiress fly away. 
"Now, I'll take you."

From the corner, LaCroix staggered to his feet, asserting, "Dubois,
this is my fight, not yours."

"As if you can take her," Xena doubted, rubbing salt in the wound.
"Come with me and Nicholas."

The Roman general snarled his displeasure at her statement, but
couldn't debate it.

"You too, Janette," Nick added, pulling her out of the bar.

With everyone clear, Dave focused on the threat levitating above the
bar area.   He knew the Child wanted his shot at the other Abused
Twin, but not yet.  Not after the knee rehab.  Channeling his
energies, he peppered the air with mini blasts, irritating the blonde
berserker.  "That's something new I worked out at summer camp.  And
here's the kicker," he announced, firing a big blast which caught her
square, stunning her.  

The vampiress stood; her eyes, a pair of ruby red pools and her fangs
descended.  She had forgotten how this mortal could cause pain.  But,
at that moment, she heard something like a throat being cleared just
before cold steel sliced through her neck, decapitating her.

"Nighty, night," Xena growled, frowning at the corpse as it vanished
into smoke.  "Make sure to give our regards to Dahak."  Looking
around, she asked, "Is everyone all right?"

The assembled vampires glanced at each other.  The intruder had
injured some, but they would heal.  Yet, they hated the thought of
owing their continued existences to Dubois and the warrior.

"That was too easy," Dave noted, helping Janette back through the
doorway.  

"When you double up and have talent not to mention brains," Xena
agreed, allowing a smug grin in LaCroix's direction.  "You can get out
of these messes."

The Elder grit his teeth, displeased at the outcome.  "You...have my
thanks," he forced himself to say.

"Don't mention it," Dave replied.  Quick looks from Nick and Xena cut
off further responses as Tracy and Schanke rushed in.  "Hey, guys, you
missed all of the fun."

"So what happened?" the blonde detective asked.

"Divia," Nick told her.  "She's gone."

"Yeah, well we thought so before as well," Schanke told his partners. 


"Dahak pulled her back to him," the Warrior Princess disagreed.
"She'll be back."

"Well," Tracy concluded.  "All's well that ends well.  Come on, Nick. 
Ramirez'll want a report."  With that the three detectives departed,
Nick sending a final glance in Janette's direction as he left.

Janette offered, "Would you both like a drink in appreciation?
Nicolas says that you do take one every once in a while."

"I'll take a Bass Ale please," Dave requested.

"You wouldn't have any strong red wine, would you?" Xena added.

The bartender gladly served them.  After she had done so, the
medievalist raised his glass and toasted, "To the Community.  May you
accept that we are your friends."

"I'll second that," his companion stated, before glaring at LaCroix.
"In most cases."

Slowly, the collected immortals joined their new friends in the toast.


Despite the good feelings in the room, Dave stared out the door at the
evening sky.  For some reason, he still felt as if the threat here was
a diversion.  The real issue loomed out there, waiting to rear its
ugly head in some form or another.

Chapter 7 
[Dahak's realm]

As the battle ended in the club, Dahak nodded with satisfaction.
While he had hoped Divia could have caused more damage, her
distraction had bought some time for his forces to reach the world
above.  Glancing at his colleagues, a toothy grin spread across his
features.  "Soon," he promised.

["My forces are on their way," the Spirit advised.]

["Very well," the one in charge agreed.]  Then, he noticed his agent
approach slowly.  "Divia, well done."

"Well done?  But I failed you," she wondered curiously.

"A minor setback.  But, you forced Dubois and Xena to intervene in
Lucius's territory, thereby increasing the latter's ill will, and
further splintering any potential alliance.  I do wish you had
eliminated your protégé, his son, and the others, but that will happen
in good time.  Now, go rest and heal.  I will need you soon."

"Very well," the blonde girl agreed, bowing as she backed away.

Dahak looked at his allies and widened his smile a bit more.  It
wouldn't be long now.

****

[Space, between Jupiter and Saturn]

In the midst of the inky darkness of space, the glowing portal opened,
allowing the Magog fleet to streak into the solar system and make a
direct line for Earth.  At light speed, the small armada crossed the
expanse in a few minutes, entering the Earth's atmosphere soon after.

****

Two minutes later, the Andromeda Ascendant pierced the fading portal
in pursuit.

On the command deck, Dylan surveyed his crew.  The ride through
slipstream had been unusually rough as unexplainable energies had
buffeted them the whole way.  Now, back in normal space, he turned to
the ship's robotic avatar, requesting, "Rommie, where are we?"

For a full minute, Rommie surveyed her charts and silently conversed
with the ship's master AI.  "Impossible," she muttered.  "My reading
indicates where we are, but the star alignments are all wrong."

"Bring in on screen," Beka advised.  "Let's see it for ourselves."

Meeting the request, the ship's main screen flashed on, presenting an
image of the space in front of them.  "That looks like Jupiter and
Saturn in front of us.  We're in the Milky Way galaxy, in the Sol
system."

Trance noted to herself, "We've come back in time.  That's why the
formations are off."

Harper's eyes bulged as he came to a realization.  "Rommie, can you
chart the Magog's progress?"

"Certainly," the robot agreed, pressing a few more buttons and
projecting a schematic of the invaders' route, leaving little doubt
about their destination.

"Aw crap!" the engineer exclaimed.  "They're heading for Earth!  It
wasn't bad enough those creeps wrecked things before.  Now, they'll
wipe out my planet all together!"  Turning to the captain, he stated,
"We gotta stop them!"

Dylan's brow furrowed.  On the one hand, they shouldn't go in alone
against a whole fleet of swarm ships.  On the other hand, this was
Earth.  Bad enough that Harper bore the scars from previous encounters
with the furry berserkers.  But this wasn't a decision he could make
for the others.

Rev stepped forward, suggesting, "Is it not a bigger sin not to act
and allow one's home to be ransacked than to die in defense of it?"

The engineer gripped the rail beside him tightly.  As his stress grew,
he could feel the larvae within him start to move.  "Hey, shut up in
there!" he ordered.  "Bad enough we have to deal with your full grown
counterparts out there!"  

Tyr nodded, a smile forming across his face.  Since their odyssey
aboard this ship had started, he had regarded the little man as weak
and cowardly.  Now, in this dire moment, the engineer showed some
backbone.  As such, the Nietzschean refused to let the opportunity
pass unrewarded.  "I say we attack as well."

"If we let things go now, it'll affect the future," Trance added.

Beka grit her teeth, looking at her companions.  It was up to her now.
While chasing down a pack of Magog wasn't her idea of a good time,
Earth was still Harper's home.  That, combined with Trance's last
comments, suggested that this instance would play a role in their
future.  "What the Hell," she relented.  "We have a job to do, right?"

Dylan sighed deeply.  Whatever else they did, this group certainly
knew how to hang together.  "All ahead full, Andromeda.  We have a
mess to deal with."

From the air, the AI's voice agreed, "Aye."

****
[Amazon Village]

After hours of struggling with her own feelings, Gabrielle had finally
drifted off to sleep.  While nothing had happened since the duel to
merit attention, she still felt uneasy.  Finally, her body told her
enough was enough, collapsing onto her hammock with the grace of a
sack full of potatoes.  Within minutes, she was snoring away.

The new noise stirred Xena from her respite across the room.  "By the
gods," she groused to herself.  "She may be queen, but she still
snores like the old Gabrielle."  Rubbing her head, the warrior-
counselor stood and walked outside.  As with her friend, she was
troubled as well, but she knew why she felt that way.  Hours before,
Angela had called on her to help David and the vampires against Divia.
"Dahak has finally returned," she mused, knowing full well that the
prophecy was coming true despite the professor's efforts to reroute
history.  "They need to know."  

Then, Eve came running down the path along with Nai-Jin, the mystic.
The two women nearly fell over with exhaustion.

"Mother," the princess huffed.  "There have...been more...visions.
Nai...Jin..."

"Is the queen available?" Nai-Jin asked.  "Begging your pardon, Xena,
but we must convene the council."

The Warrior Princess's eyebrow arched and she frowned.  "This is about
Dahak and Divia, isn't it?"

"That's right.  The battle will happen soon between you, the dark
haired one, and the child-vampire," the mystic noted.

"It already did," Xena countered.  "Angela brought me into the mess
last night.  Divia's been taken care of, and Lucius owes us another
favor."  A slight smirk pulled at the sides of her mouth.

Eve shot her a glare.  Despite their current situation, the elder
vampire and his daughter were still family to her.

"Relax, Eve.  Nothing happened to him except for his ego.  We pulled
him out of there before anything went down, and Dahak pulled Divia
back to him again," the councilor explained.  

"There's more," Nai-Jin advised.  "An invasion is under way.  Your
friends must be warned."

Xena scrunched her brow, asking, "Invasion?  What?  Are you sure?"

"I saw fire and fury falling from the stars," the mystic continued
fearfully.  "A response to a light from the mountain."

"Light from...?" the warrior asked.

"Mother, the message that was sent into space.  Remember?" Eve
reminded her.  "What if somebody answered it?"

"Yeah, but as an invitation to be conquered," Xena hissed, turning
back toward the hut.  "Does Cybelle know about this yet?" Not hearing
any response, she continued, "I'm gonna tell Gabrielle so we can get a
message to David and Angela."

"Get a message?  How?" Nai-Jin probed.

"Trust me.  They have a direct link," Eve replied, heading into the
shelter behind the Thracian warrior.  

Inside, Xena stirred her companion from dreamland. "Hey, up and at
'em, Gabrielle.  We've got a situation on our hands."

"Uhh...what's it now?  Can't Varia do it?" she murmured sleepily.

"Not when it involves Angela and Francesca," the warrior asserted,
rubbing the other's arm.

Hearing those two names, the Bard's eyes snapped open. "Xena, what's
going on?  What's wrong?"

"The prophecy's under way, my Queen," Nai-Jin informed her, bowing at
the waist.

"But nothing's happened yet!  If...I..." Gabrielle protested before
glancing at Xena.  The other's expression tipped her off that
something was up.  "Nai-Jin, can you round up the other councilors?
Eve, you can stay."  When the mystic had departed, the Bard's eyes
blazed blue fury as she exclaimed, "What happened last night, Xena?  I
should have known when David and Angela got back late."

Xena looked at Eve for help.  The latter shook her head, telling the
other, "Sorry, Mother.  This one's yours."

"There was a spat at Lucius's bar last night.  Divia showed up,
looking for trouble.  David and I took care of things.  Hey, it was on
the way home for us," the warrior explained.

"On the way home?" the Queen supposed, folding her arms over her
chest.  "And I gather you had a few rounds too while you were at it?"

"And what were we supposed to do?  David and Angela were in the area. 
She called on me at the last minute.  Maybe we could've called
Francesca, waited for Deirdre to show up, and had her teleport you
there.  And Janette gave us one drink apiece in gratitude for doing a
good job."

Gabrielle snickered, " 'A good job'?  And what about Lucius?"

"Oh, he's okay other than his pride that is," Xena pointed out.  "Hey,
we kept the peace and...showed him who's boss."

The former Messenger shook her head, knowing that a few more such
demonstrations might spark another confrontation.  "Shouldn't we call
the council?" Looking in the corner, she saw the mists collecting,
allowing Deirdre to enter the area.  

"So you know already?" the priestess asked, gaining her bearings.
"Althanor's already preparing.  Aunt Cybelle wanted to know when your
council was going to meet and if she could attend."

The Amazon queen nodded, "We will meet within the hour.  Meantime, can
you stand with your parents?"

"They're being watched even as we speak.  With your indulgence,
Gabrielle, I'll go to them," Deirdre stated.

"Go tell your aunt about our meeting.  Then, we'll see you in
Arizona," Gabrielle agreed. After watching the girl disappear the way
she had come, the queen asked, "Ready, Xena?"  A determined smile had
formed on her face, letting the other know that all was well once
again.

"Right," Xena concurred, sitting on the floor across from her
Potadeian companion.  Holding hands, the two concentrated, allowing
their collective consciousness to flow forth, seeking their
"roommates".

*****

[Tucson]

Dave sat in his study anxiously trying to read an article.  For some
reason, he couldn't sleep.  "Get a grip, pal," he told himself.
Getting up from his chair, he wandered from room to room, checking on
the others.  The twins slept uneasily, but at least they were
sleeping. Hearing the coffee maker start up, he wandered into the
kitchen.

Hearing him approach, Angie turned from the conversation she was
having with Francesca.  "Oh, Honey," she sighed.  "You looked so
intent on your work, I didn't want to disturb you."

"You know I'm never too busy for you, Princess," he replied, kissing
her cheek.  "What's up, Ladies?"

"You don't feel it?" his wife wondered.

"You mean like trouble's around the corner?" he supposed.  Nodding, he
added, "Yeah, his Darkness has been doing back flips inside of my
head.  I just hate to see you so nervous is all."

"There's a reason for that feeling, David," Xena's voice announced
from thin air as she and Gabrielle appeared in front of the couple.
The two phantasms looked at them earnestly.

"We took care of things tonight," he argued.  "Didn't we?"

"Apparently not," Gabrielle replied, eyeing both him and Xena.
"According to our village mystic, more trouble is coming your way."

"From above," Xena added.  "Angela, I want you to get ready.  Before
the night's through, we'll be facing another crisis.  Deirdre will
take the twins to Althanor for their safety."

The oncologist looked skeptically at her husband.  "I knew the peace
and quiet couldn't last."

"That'll take care of my withdrawal symptoms," he chuckled before
setting his most earnest expression on his face.  Then, he clenched
his teeth, growling, "Arrghh...They're here."

The others glanced around.  All was still quiet.

Rushing outside, he surveyed the late summer sky, seeing several
shooting stars streaking toward the desert west of town.  "Break out
the heavy gear, Ladies.  We got uninvited guests."  Allowing himself
to slip, he growled, "Ah hate them folks!  Ah'm goin' to get Steve an'
Natalie."  With that, he sprinted off across the complex.

After passing him halfway, Eve rushed to her friends' side.  "You
know, don't you?"

"Yes," Angie replied grimly.  "Eve, can you get the twins up?
Francesca and I are going to do our thing. "

"By all means," Deirdre exclaimed, coming out of the fog in back of
the group.  "Where's Papa?"

"He's getting Steve and Natalie up.  More than likely, he's letting
Nick know as well," her mother guessed.  Feeling through their link,
she nodded, "He's just told them and he's on his way back.  Let's get
back inside."

Racing back into the apartment, the group shut the door and secured
the windows.  A minute later, Dave and Steve had joined them.  With
everything secure, Angie and Francesca "did their thing", allowing the
two warriors to take their place.

Dave inventoried his shafts carefully.  Fortunately, he still had the
incendiary stuff not to mention the other special materials, which he
had mixed before their last incursion.  "I'm set here," he told them,
putting the quiver on his back and testing the bow's strength.

Hearing a buzzing, the agent answered his cell phone.  After a brief
conversation consisting of several "uh huhs," he hung up and told the
others, "Nick'll be waiting for us on the Ajo Road in ten minutes.
Let's go."

"Eve, go with the others," Xena directed.

"Mother!" the Amazon heiress protested. "No, this is my home too!"

"And you are my heir!" Gabrielle argued.  Yet, seeing the other's
resolve, she did a U-Turn mentally as she realized, "Sorry, I can't
tell you what to do, Eve.  Just be careful."

The former Messenger nodded silently as Deirdre came back into the
room with her sisters in tow.  "Be right back," the latter indicated,
disappearing into the mist.

Across the room, the medievalist struggled with his emotions.
Whatever it was, the hate radiated from the visitors in strong waves,
making it impossible for him and his Dark Twin to resist.
"Are...we...ready yet?" he snarled low.

Coming back out of the fog portal, his daughter shook fearfully for a
second before replying, "Let's go, Papa.  Right this way."

"Now we're talkin'," he agreed darkly, leaping into the mists.  The
others followed after him, dealing with their own uncertainties about
what lay ahead.

 Chapter 8

After receiving the call from Natalie and Steve, Nick had zipped
westward from his apartment at top-flight speed, heading for the
designated meeting spot.  As with his friends, he too had felt the
thick pallor of evil descending upon them all and had spied the
streaking objects across the sky.  A minute later, he landed at the
10-mile marker outside of town, glancing around at his surroundings to
make sure that he wasn't seen by anyone.

The desert night seemed calm and cool, a light breeze blowing through
the remainder of the day's heat.  Yet, nobody was there.  "This is the
spot," he told himself. Then, he saw the mists form in front of him
and watched as his companions spilled forth from it.  

"Sorry we're late," Dave apologized.

"No problem.  I just got here myself," the detective indicated.  "Did
you see those things in the sky?"

"We did," Xena verified, stepping forward.  "From the trajectory, I'd
say they're close by."

Eve stated, "Umm, everyone, I think a bit of caution might be in order
here.  There were several of those fiery streaks.  Judging from the
evil emanating from them, I'd say whoever or whatever they are, it
means trouble for us." Saying that, she began to rub her temples.
"Sorry, I have a bit of a headache."

"Are you all right?" Xena inquired.

"I'm fine, Mother.  Really," the Amazon heiress explained.  "Deirdre,
can you pop us over there for a closer look?"

The priestess nodded, "Absolutely."  Summoning the cloud portal, she
whisked them away.

Dave glanced at Nick, noting something strange about the former
Messenger's aura.  Granted, with all of the static present from
whatever it was, such readings were difficult.  Yet, he could swear he
felt a second presence in there, fighting with her.  "Livia," he
muttered.  "Great, that's all we need right now." A slight snarl
escaped his lips at the end.

"What is it?" Nick pushed.  

"Nothing," the professor fibbed, jumping through the portal.  If they
survived this confrontation, the situation would be dealt with at that
point, but first things first.

The vampire detective stepped through as Deirdre sealed things up
behind them.

****

[Space, Just on the dark side of the moon]

The Andromeda rapidly approached the Earth.  At its current rate, the
vessel would enter Earth's atmosphere in 10 more minutes.  Despite the
speed, however, nobody felt good about that fact.

"Status report, Andromeda!" Dylan ordered, looking at the displays.

The ship's intelligence appeared on the large screen, reporting, "The
Magog have landed, Dylan.  From the historical maps I've pulled up
from Old Earth, they're in the Southwestern United States of America. 
Sensors are also reading weird sources of energy and life forms which
are appearing and disappearing nearby."

"Mr. Harper, do you remember any of your history lessons?" the captain
requested. "If so, what do you know about that place?"

Harper glanced at the screen and the map, which Andromeda had
provided.  "It looks like Tucson, Arizona, Dylan.  We had a resistance
camp near there.  Rommie, what year is it?  Have you figured it out
yet?"

"According to my best estimates, I'd say it's Old Earth year 2000 CE.
Why?" the robot replied.

The engineer winced, complaining, "Crap.  That's what I figured."

Beka urged, "Harper, what is it?"

Harper gulped.  "Well, if that's Tucson and it's about the year 2000
or so, then that means there are other things down there too."

Tyr jumped in.  "Such as?  I suppose you're going to tell us stories
about vampires or some such ancient Earth nonsense?  This is serious,
Boy!"

"They were real!" Harper shot back.  "And better yet, there are a
couple of powerful mutant guys down there too...including one with a
very mean streak.  Geez, I hope I'm wrong."

The Nietzschean snickered, "Vampires and mutants?  Ha!  Come, we've
got Magog to kill.  I'll see you at the armory."  With that, he left
Command.

"Trance, can you and Rev stay up here and help Andromeda with the
ship?" Dylan requested.  Seeing them nod, he continued, "Good, Rommie,
Beka, Tyr, and Harper will accompany me down to the surface in the
Marrou."

The purple health sciences officer's eyes glazed over for a second.
When she had snapped out of it, she detailed, "Dylan, please be
careful down there.  I don't know why, but Harper's right.  Something
else besides the Magog is down there.  I can feel the anger surging
from that point that Rommie indicated earlier."

Dylan scrunched his brow as the foursome left the area.  "Bad enough
to run into Magog with guns," he mused. "Nasty mutants and vampires
would really suck."

****

[The desert]

For almost twenty minutes, the swarm ships had been dormant on the
desert floor.  At that point, the doors opened, allowing about two
hundred and fifty of the furry brown invaders to spill forth, sniffing
the air about them.  According to their sensors, the major human
population center lay about four Earth miles away.  The lights just on
the horizon verified this.  The meat would never know what hit them.

Meanwhile, Dave and the others crouched on an outcropping above the
ship, concealed by Deirdre's fog. The situation definitely looked bad.

"What're the odds?" Xena asked.

"They outnumber us forty five to one," Dave snarled.  "Whatever they
are, this isn't going to be easy."  Surveying the area, he noted the
ships.  "Hey, do those look like UFOs to you?"

When the three women from Antiquity stared at him in confusion, he
elaborated, "Spaceships."

"If you're into science fiction," Nick gathered, following his
friend's meaning.  "I take it you want to go after them?"

"We'll blow them to Hell and back," the professor determined.
"Hopefully, we can buy some time for Steve and the others."

"How do you know they don't come in peace?" Eve interjected, despite
knowing about the prophecy.

"You heard Nai-Jin," Gabrielle disagreed.

"Besides, this can't be all of 'em.  They have to have some buddies
somewhere," her warrior companion chimed in, drawing her sword.

Eve dropped back a step and sat down.  The pounding in her head was
getting worse.  "I...I think I'll stay here.  Sorry."

"I'll take you to Althanor.  You don't look so good," Deirdre noted,
waving her hand and revealing another passage within the portal.  "Be
right back."  

The Warrior Princess shook her head with worry, hoping her daughter
was okay.  "Better that she's not here anyhow," she thought
protectively.

Within a minute, the priestess had returned.  "Eve's resting and Aunt
Cybelle's waiting for the word from us.  Papa, what do you think?"

Dave exhaled deeply and said, "Let the cover dissipate.  Let's see
what they do.  Just be ready to get us an escape route."

His daughter nodded nervously and complied. 

As the fog lifted, the invaders howled below.  Their ship's laser
cannons tracked them and fired a blast, missing them narrowly as it
scored the stone just behind them.

"That's our cue," Dave grinned, stringing an arrow and lighting it.
"Here we go.  Ready?"

The others nodded silently.  

"For Earth!" the professor yelled, firing the lit arrow into the
creatures' midst below.  Serving up volley after volley, he saw the
incendiaries hit their targets, engulfing several Magog in flame.
"Aliens flambé," he remarked.

"My turn," Xena declared, flinging her chakram into the fray.  The
circular weapon whizzed through the enemy ranks, ricocheting off of
several heads, fatally wounding still more in addition  to striking
the back of one ship before returning to her hand.

"Good work," Dave complemented.  Looking at Nick, he produced what
looked like two aerosol cans, asking, "Can you fly over them and drop
these surprises?"

The vampire nodded, reluctantly taking the devices.  "On them or their
craft?"

"Them," the professor agreed quickly, urging him onward.

With that, Nick took off over the developing scene below.  As the
lasers beneath him fired dangerously close, he had to maneuver
carefully.  Spotting the aliens beside the ship, which Xena had
damaged earlier, he dropped both bombs on the mass of the invaders
below.  Like Eve, he hated to take life. However, as a Crusader, his
mortal training took over, recalling the time spent in a Muslim prison
and his time spent in the Levant.  "For the defense of our home," he
told himself, trying to justify his actions as he streaked away.
Seeing Deirdre's new protective cloud, he whisked inside of it.

As he did so, twin explosions rocked the landscape, momentarily
deafening all of the party and taking one hundred and fifty of their
adversaries in one great burst of light.

Dave ground his teeth fearfully.  Nuclear fallout was definitely not
what he had in mind, especially this close to Tucson. Still, no
mushroom cloud or anything similar appeared after several minutes much
to his relief.  However, stretching out with his senses, he discerned
that some invaders had survived the blast and headed toward their
position.  "Damn!" he hissed.

"There are more of 'em, aren't there?" Xena guessed.  Then, she spied
their slightly singed adversaries coming up the trail behind them.
"Don't look now!"

"Hairballs on a bad day," the medievalist growled, readying another
shaft and firing into the advancing horde.  This new force rapidly
surrounded the quintet. 

"Deirdre, go!" Dave ordered.  "Get reinforcements!"

"Papa!  I won't leave you!" she argued.

Xena glared at her.  "Your mother agrees.  Get going and bring help!"

The Althanorian heiress said reluctantly.  "I'll be right back."  With
that, she vanished into the mists.

As the Magog moved in, they were determined to avenge their comrades
by killing the humans. That purpose set in their minds, their hate
spilled out over their intended victims in waves. One managed to
scratch the professor, drawing blood.

Already fighting with himself over this psychic intimidation, Dave
stumbled backward.  Two of the invaders advanced on him, intending on
making him a host for their eggs.  "Awright quit it!" he growled.
When another swipe cut into his leg, he screamed in pain, allowing his
personas to swap places.  With a powerful burst, the aliens lost their
grip, impacting on the stone cliff face behind them.

"Ah told ya, no means no!" the Child roared.  Reaching out through the
advancing host, he felt the dark energy coming from beyond.
"Assholes," he spat, firing off psychic blasts.  "Ya'll are feedin'
me!  Get while the gettin's good!"

For their parts, Xena and the others held their own against the army,
dispatching them with cold efficiency with sword, chakram, javelin,
and superhuman blows from above.  Despite their smaller numbers, the
group forced the Magog back down the mountain and toward the remaining
ships.  

This counterattack stunned the Magog.  No human force had ever
attacked them planetside in this fashion before.  In addition, the
dark haired one's rage made it difficult to focus on the Spirit's
mission.  The attackers retreated back to their ships, taking off to
rendezvous nearby and rethink their strategy.

Chapter 9

While the activity went on west of town, Tracy sat at her desk in the
bullpen, twirling her pencil moodily.  Once again, her oh-so-reliable
partner, Nick, took off to deal with a problem with no calls or any
word, leaving everyone to wonder where he went.  In addition, their
combined paperwork sat in a great stack on her desk, beckoning to be
done.

Schanke plopped himself down in his chair adjacent to her, wondering,
"Any word from him yet?"

"Nope."

"Man-o-man, I thought he was over this," Schanke groused, gulping from
a Styrofoam cup of lukewarm coffee.  "I just took a trip over to the
museum.  Alyce didn't know anything either, but wanted to know when we
did discover something."

"Surprise.  Surprise," she mumbled sarcastically.  "I don't suppose
that anyone bothered to try the Duboises yet?"

"I did.  No answer at their offices or at home.  Too bad," he noted.

"Yeah.  This time, I'm sure they're in the middle of the disappearing
act," she theorized.  Then, hearing the front doors to the precinct
bang open, she turned to see Officer Jerry Bennett stumble into the
bullpen, looking absolutely bewildered.  

The officer hurried up to Chris Novak's desk where he nearly collapsed
either from fright, exhaustion, or some combination of the two.
Everyone in the vicinity except for the two detectives huddled around
him.

"Officer Bennett?  What is it?" the desk sergeant asked.

Bennett huffed, trying to get his breath.  "I...I've never seen
anything like it.  A big flash in the sky west ...of town...."

"And an accompanying boom of some kind?" Ramirez asked, approaching
his subordinate.  Seeing the other man nod an affirmative, he
continued,  "It's been all over the police band, Amigos.  Has everyone
been accounted for, Sergeant?"

"Only Detective Miles is unaccounted for," she replied, glancing over
at his partners.

"Any word?" the captain pushed. Taking their lack of response as a
negative one, his face turned a fiery shade of crimson.  "When you do,
I want to know about it!"  With that, he marched back into his office,
slamming the door behind him.

Tracy winced, glancing at Schanke nervously.  They needed to find
Nick, and they needed to do so now.  Grabbing her coat, she started to
move away from her desk.   However, a familiar figure slipped
unnoticed through the door, across the room, and downstairs toward the
exam rooms.

"C'mon, Schanke," she urged, heading for the stairs as well.

"But, we need to get out on the streets to look for Nick!" the
souvlaki-loving detective protested.

Motioning with her eyes toward the stairs, she mouthed 'LaCroix'
before taking off.

Suddenly understanding her, he rushed closely behind.

****

Natalie examined her latest homicide case carefully, hoping to find
some half digested pills lying in the cadaver's stomach.  From the
blood work, she'd discovered that a lethal Phenobarbital dose had
killed this victim. Maybe if she found something, she could stop
worrying about Nick and the others for a while.

Sitting on a stool, Steve completed a conversation with his boss on
his cell phone, disconnecting and putting the device back in his
pocket.  For about the past 15 minutes, weird reports had been coming
into the downtown office about the lights and loud explosions west of
town.  Seeing as that was the general vicinity that his friends headed
in, he figured that they had something to do it.

"So what's going on?" she asked him.

"Hmm?" he wondered, turning his attention to her.

"With the phone.  That sounded like a pretty heated discussion with
Bennett," she presumed.

"Yeah," he agreed.  "It was.  The office has received reports of weird
lights and explosions west of town."

"Oh," Natalie realized.  "I hope the others weren't too close."

"Knowing Dave," he assumed.  "He was pretty close to ground zero.  I'd
bet he had a role in setting it off."

"Get out of here!" she scoffed.  "Why would he do that?"

"If they were in serious trouble and there was no other way, yeah,
Dave would do it.  I remember one time when we were working together. 
The people we were chasing trapped him in this area and flooded it.
Rather than drown, he plastered a big chunk of that stuff of his
against the wall, lit it, and blew himself an escape route," he
recalled.  "Of course, the idiot burned himself badly and his ears
rang for nearly a week after that, but we got the job done."

Her eyes bugged out in horror.

The agent shrugged, saying,  "All in a day's work for him."

A voice from the doorway snickered, "I knew Dubois was a sadist, but
never imagined he would do something like that."

Turning, the duo found LaCroix standing there, a big grin across his
face.  

"Do you enjoy eavesdropping?" she asked, trying to ignore the Elder.

"I do not eavesdrop, Doctor," the vampire informed her indignantly.
"I merely acquire information wherever it is available.  Speaking of
which, I was wondering if you could tell me where Nicholas was.  I've
been getting the most interesting feelings through our link."

"Sorry," Steve stated, eyeing the vampire carefully.  "I don't have
any idea."

"I assume he's with...your hardheaded friend?" LaCroix baited.

"I'd say you're getting warmer," the agent continued cryptically.
"But as to where that is, your guess is as good as mine."

"We'd like to know as well," Tracy interjected as she and Schanke
entered the area.  

"Detective Brown, good evening," the Roman greeted.  "So, you have no
idea either.  Hmm, interesting."

"We've been hunting for him ourselves," Schanke informed him.  "But
when Tracy saw you, we figured you could tell us."

"Normally, that would be a logical assumption," the General admitted. 
"Still, with all of the intense hatred seething in the air, I can't
tell."

Natalie glanced at him skeptically.  

"No, Nat," Steve countered.  "Dave was complaining about that earlier
tonight.  He was having a hard time maintaining control.  What did you
mean, LaCroix, about 'interesting feelings'? "

The immortal arched his brow with amusement.  For once, the FBI
admitted that it didn't know.  "It was beyond his usual fretting about
right and wrong.  Nicholas was concerned about taking a life and
recalling his mortal experiences during the Crusades," he recounted.

"Taking a life?" the coroner asked.  "Meaning?"

"Meaning, if I knew, I wouldn't be standing here, now would I?"
LaCroix continued, evading the query.  He stared to the  northwest,
grinning, "Well now.  Whatever the situation was, it's gone.  If you
would excuse me, I must be going."  With that, he took off, streaking
from the room in a flash.

"That was special," Steve sighed, looking at Tracy and Schanke.  "I
don't suppose that Ramirez told you to find Nick, did he?"

"You know he did," Tracy affirmed, putting her coat on.  "And if
you're going to look for the Duboises, we're coming with you."

"I don't..." Steve started to say, but Tracy's expression stopped him
midway.  "Okay, but be prepared for the weird.  Let's go.  Natalie,
I'll be back."  

The ME nodded as she watched the trip leave the exam room, heading for
the stairs.  It had been a long night and it was about to get much
longer.

Chapter 10

The Eureka Maru streaked through the atmosphere, its crew hoping to
join the battle before it was too late.  From previous experience,
they knew that the Magog tore into their opponents leaving few, if
any, survivors.  

"Approach from the south," Dylan indicated.  

Beka agreed, veering the craft in that direction.  Then, the sensors
spotted something.  "Dylan!  Damn, something big just went off over
there!"

"How far?" the captain asked urgently, worrying that time had already
run out.

Rommie scanned the readouts over Beka's shoulder.  "About nine
thousand meters straight ahead.  At our current rate and speed, we'll
be there shortly."

Putting on as much speed as she dared, the pilot pushed her ship
across the desert sky.  Reaching an area just west of what appeared to
be an ancient Earth city, she saw a group of swarmships streaking back
into the night sky.

"I don't believe it," Tyr muttered.  "Magog running.  What could do
that?"

"I think we're about to find out," Dylan declared.  "Take it down,
Beka.  Everyone, let's scout around, but be careful."

Once the Maru had touched down on the sandy plateau, the captain and
the others walked out into the desert night.  

"Anything, Rommie?" Beka wondered.

The android scanned the vicinity with her internal sensors.  For
several seconds, her dark eyes didn't pick up on anything.  Then, on
the ridge to their right, she hit paydirt.  "Dylan, there's something
on that ridge."

He nodded.  Prepared for anything, he readied his force lance and
glanced around.  "Excuse me!" he called out.  "I'm Captain Dylan Hunt
of the starship Andromeda Ascendant.  We're here on a peaceful
endeavor."

For a long moment, a silence hung heavily over the Sonoran desert.
Then, a mist began to collect about the group and quickly intensified
until it obscured everything around them.

"What is this?" Tyr growled, aiming his laser pistol all around him,
his eyes darting from place to place within this sudden cover.

"Relax.  It won't hurt you," a female voice replied.  Stepping into
their view was a young woman of about five feet in height, slender
build, clothed in a flowing emerald dress, and painted with some sort
of ritualistic symbols on her brow.  "My companions and I wish to know
your purpose here."

"As I said earlier, we're here for a peaceful purpose.  We tracked a
fleet of Magog swarmships to this spot and thought you could use some
assistance," Dylan replied officially.

Deirdre nodded.  She sensed the man's sincerity and knew she could
trust him.  From the two women, she picked up strange vibrations.  And
the towering black man, she detected an intense darkness similar to
her father's.  "Thanks.  I think we got rid of them for the moment,
but the more allies, the better, right?"  Motioning to a spot on her
left side, the mists parted a bit, revealing where Dave, Xena,
Gabrielle, and Nick stood watching them.  "These are my companions.
My father, David Dubois, Xena, Warrior Princess and Amazon Councilor,
Gabrielle, Amazon queen, and Nick Miles, detective."

"Pleased to meet you all," Dave acknowledged, scanning the newcomers
carefully.  His senses told him that they were trustworthy.  

[From within his head, the Child advised, "Watch the man-mountain.
There's something about him."]

The medievalist silently concurred with his inner personality,
exchanging glances with the two women warriors.  "And you said you
were from a ship of some sort?"

"The Andromeda Ascendant," Rommie replied.  "A flagship of the Systems
Commonwealth."

"Systems what?" Gabrielle asked.

Xena kept a close eye on the others, locking glances with Tyr as well.
As with the professor, she didn't trust him either.

For his part, the Nietzschean scoffed, "What are you looking at,
Little Man?"

"Excuse me?" Dave coughed, a tremor of anger shooting down his spine. 
"Who are you calling 'Little'?"

"This is pointless," Xena indicated as she tried to intercede.
Staring at the alien, she directed, "Back off!  Believe me, I'm really
not in the mood to calm him down right now."  Drawing her sword, her
eyes darkened, burning into the taller man's brain, and letting him
know that she wouldn't be messed with.

"Right," he laughed, training his pistol...only to have it ripped out
of his grasp, turn in midair, and point itself straight at him.

A sinister snicker arose from the medievalist.  "She warned ya.  Now,
play nice, or ah'll blast ya to Hell."  His right eye was now closed
and a wide leer had spread itself across his face.

For her part, Rommie detected changes in his metabolic rate, but there
was something else.  His energy signature was different, darker than
just about anything they had met except for the Spirit of the Abyss.
Whatever he was now, the Earther certainly had enough power to thrash
Tyr.

"Tyr!  Stand down now!" Dylan ordered.  "I said I don't want any
trouble!"

The mercenary nodded grudgingly, growling at the professor.  "This
isn't finished."

The other man stated darkly, "Whatever.  Come near me again, Big Man,
and ah'll kick your tail from here to Chattanooga."  A dark growl
escaped his lip followed by another low throaty chuckle, unnerving
everyone around him.

Xena stared at Dylan and Beka, experiencing the most incredible case
of deja vu.

"Is something else wrong?" the first officer asked.

"You both remind me of people I know," the warrior told them.  For
some reason, the captain reminded her of Hercules, but that idea would
need to be pursued later.

Nick nodded, surprised how much Beka resembled Tracy.

"I'm sure," the captain replied albeit a bit confused.

"Dylan, I'm sensing a metal conveyance approaching from the east,"
Rommie announced.

"Damn!" Dylan cursed.  "Everyone to the Maru now!  You folks can come
too if you want."

Xena and Gabrielle glanced at Dave, wondering if they should do so.

The medievalist looked to his new companions.  Despite the hulking
man's threats against him and the Child, he felt he could trust them. 
"Let's do it.  From what I can tell, our friends are still around if
you get my drift."  Rubbing his head, he inquired, "Do you have
anything for a headache?"

"I think Trance can find something, David," Rommie stated.  "Come."

Just as the group was entering the Maru, Tracy's car screeched to a
halt beside them.  "Hey!" she called, jumping out and running toward
them.

Beka winced.  "Now what?"  Turning, she aimed her lance at the voice
only to stop dead in her tracks.

It was an identical twin looking back at her.

For a long second, the two women studied each other, each pointing her
weapon at the other and not flinching.

"Trace, stop it!" Nick yelled.

"Nick?  Are you in there?" she called.

"Yes, either come on or let us go deal with our problem," her partner
said.  

The blonde detective didn't know what to think.  Still, her curiosity
over who this "evil" twin was pushed her forward into the ship.

As soon as she was in, the airlock sealed, and the ship took off.

For their part, Schanke and Steve tried to chase them down, but were
left staring skyward, wondering what was going on.  

"Geez!" the detective muttered to the agent who was equally
flabbergasted.  "I wonder how I'm gonna explain this to Ramirez?"

Steve had no answer either.  He just stared into space, wondering if
his friends were going to make it back.

Chapter 11

Beka piloted the Maru straight up through the Earth's atmosphere and
into space.  Wherever the Magog went, it was fairly certain they would
regroup and return in earnest.  Accordingly, they needed to get back
to the Andromeda as quickly as possible.

Peering through the front window, Dave asked, "Where are we headed
anyway?"

"Our ship," Dylan replied.  "We need to take stock of the situation."

" 'Your ship'," Xena repeated.  "There's no water near here."

Tyr said almost flippantly, "We haven't needed water to travel in
quite sometime, Milady."

Picking up on his cynicism, the Warrior Princess glowered at him.
Perhaps he was a great warrior, but he had proven to be a royal pain
in the ass to that point.  "How much longer?"

"We'll be there in just a few minutes," Beka replied, already
beginning the docking preparations.  As they approached the moon, she
skirted the orbiting chunk of stone and indicated, "Take a look out
the front window.  That's our ship."

The Earth group stared through the glass at the colossal sight in
front of them.  The ship in question was at least 5 stories in height
and twice that in length and floated in space effortlessly.

"That's the Andromeda Ascendant," Dylan noted.

"Impressive," Dave nodded with a whistle.  

Rommie glanced at the professor with wry amusement.  "Thank you," she
said appreciatively

"For what?" Xena asked.

"For his whistling at me.  I'm choosing to take it as a complement,"
the metallic avatar informed him.

"You?" he asked.  Then, focusing on the android, he sensed an energy
flow between her and the larger ship, tying them together somehow.
"Somehow, you and the ship are one."

"Perceptive," Beka complemented.  "It usually takes a while for our
guests to figure that one out."

"So is that where we're going?" Tracy asked, albeit a bit nervously.

"Settle down, Lady," her futuristic twin told her.  "Nothing's going
to happen to any of you."  Seeing the rear doors of the bigger ship
open, she steered towards the exposed area.  Guiding the Marrou into
the hanger, she shut down the engines.  "And that's all, Folks."
Unstrapping herself from the pilot's chair, she headed for the exit.

"This way," Dylan indicated, following his first officer's path. 

Nick glanced at Tracy and then his other friends.  While they still
weren't sure about the captain, they had to trust him.  After they
followed him out of the ship and into the ship proper, the vampire
inquired, "So what now?"

"Rest up, eat, or whatever you want to do to relax.  Mr. Dubois, I
want you to go with Rommie to sickbay.  My medical officer should take
a look at those wounds," Dylan mentioned.

"If that's not any trouble to you," Dave replied.

"No trouble at all," Rommie assured him.  "Follow me please."

"I'd like to go with him as well," Xena indicated.  "Gabrielle, why
don't you go with Nicholas and Tracy? I'll let you know if anything
happens."

"Right," the bard agreed and followed the others down the hall.

The warrior took a long look as Captain Hunt led the others out of
sight.  Then, turning, she sprinted down the hall to catch up with
Dave and the android.  If they were going to do something to him, she
wanted to be there for Angela's sake as well as her own.

********

A few minutes later, Rommie stopped in front of a metal doorway.
Pressing a button, the door slid open, revealing another room.  "After
you," she indicated to the professor and the warrior.

Looking at each other, the two visitors warily followed her
directions.  Once they entered the room, they saw that the area was
filled with computer equipment, blinking lights, and in the center, a
rather plain table.  At the far end of the room, a woman, or rather,
what appeared to be a woman, despite her purple skin and tail, typed
away on a keyboard and scanned the readouts next to her.  

"Who's she?" Dave asked.

"Ah, that would be Trance, our medical officer," the avatar noted.
"She will want to take a look at you."

"Hi there," the purple one greeted.  "Good to have you onboard.  Is
there anything I can do for you?"

"Umm, I was wondering if you might to look at this wound?" the
medievalist requested, pointing at his left leg.

"Okie dokie," Trance agreed, patting the table.  "Can you get up there
for me?  Thanks."  As with her patient's unease about her, she was
also getting strange vibes from him.  Recalling Harper's words from
the command deck, she thought about who and what her patient was.
"Just relax," she forced herself to say as she started the scanning
procedure.  As the diagnostic proceeded, she saw the disturbing
results.  The computer picked up on dark energies.  Something not so
nice lurked just under the surface.  Glancing over at her fellow
crewmember, she continued treating his injury.

****

Meanwhile, Dylan, Beka, and Tyr had led the others onto the command
deck.  For the newcomers, the complex machinery and the view of space
through the front window were awe-inspiring.  

Harper smiled at them and said, "Howdy, folks, welcome to the
Andromeda, badest ship in the known worlds."

Nick took a look around at everything.  Despite everything he had seen
in his eight centuries of life, nothing had prepared him for this
sight.  "This is fascinating, Captain." 

"Thank you," Dylan smiled, taking his post above the pilot's chair.
"Actually, Beka's a great pilot and Andromeda's always keeping an eye
out.  Aren't you?"

"I try," Andromeda's voice echoed throughout the chamber.

"Who said that?" Tracy wondered nervously.

Gabrielle tensed as well although she wouldn't let on about how
nervous she really was.

For her part, Beka shook her head.  "She may look like me, but she
ain't anything like me.  That's for sure," she thought.

At that moment, Andromeda's image appeared in front of the group.
"Sorry," she apologized.  

"Is this a usual thing?" the bard asked.

"Yes," the captain said.  "This version of Andromeda is the artificial
intelligence for the ship.  In a nutshell, she's the ship."

"So, she's the ship's voice box and brain?" Nick deduced.

"Exactly, Sir Nicolas," the image replied.  Seeing her guests'
wonderment, she continued, "I scanned my historical database on your
civilization to deduce your identity, matched your appearance against
those in my files, and made a conclusion."  Glancing at Gabrielle, she
added, "And you are Gabrielle of Potadeia, a province in northeastern
Greece and Amazon High Queen.  You are a famous bard, companion to
Xena of Amphipolis, the Warrior Princess of Corinth.  Your companions
downstairs with my avatar are Xena and David Dubois, noted medieval
scholar.  Correct?"

Gabrielle gasped, "That's right."

"That's our Andromeda," Harper chuckled.  "Omniscience is a virtue."

"I'm hardly omniscient, Harper," she retorted matter of factly.  "But
I do have a great deal of information on all of you.  Since our
return, I've confirmed my initial readings of you all. "

"So, you're from the future?" Tracy pushed.

Dylan glanced at his crew and seeing their reactions, replied, "Let's
just say we're from another star system.  Mr. Harper, however, is from
Earth as well."  A beeping came from his console, which he answered,
"Yes, Trance?"

"Dylan, David's been looked at.  Should Rommie escort them to
command?" the medical officer inquired.

"Yes," he agreed.  "I would like to talk with both of them."

"We'll be right there," Rommie chimed in as the connection concluded.

"It seems your friend is going to be all right," Dylan indicated.  

"As much as he can be," the mercenary piped in derisively.

"Tyr," Dylan hissed, shooting the Nietzschean a glance.

"Hey, Tyr, no offense, but you might want to lay off of him," the
engineer suggested, a slight shudder passing through his thin frame.

"I concur with your engineer," the vampire added.  "If you rattle his
cage, Dave'll make you sorry for it."

"And I agree with Nicolas," Andromeda contributed.  "Based on my
records, Professor Dubois has two very distinct personalities.  The
one we're seeing right now is the dominant adult.  However, my sensors
and Trance's scans have picked up on a locus of dark energy inside of
him.  The secondary personality, seemingly an eleven-year-old boy, is
a source of anger and resentment.  From the record, he can and has
released his wraith on those around him."

The visitors nodded, once again amazed at the AI's diagnosis.

"They say children should be seen and not heard," Tyr growled.

Just then, the doors parted, allowing Xena, Dave, and Rommie to enter
the command deck.  As with their friends, the two newcomers were
awestruck with the complexity of this area.

The professor, however, shot the Weapons officer a dirty look
indicating, "Captain, one should be careful of how he or she speaks
about those around him, don't you agree?"

Despite the volatility of the situation, Dylan managed a smile.
Dubois certainly wasn't going to back down from Tyr in any event.
"I'd agree."

"Besides, Unter, you might be surprised at how well a mongrel such as
myself can handle myself against a pure-bred," the medievalist snarled
darkly.  Seeing the other's surprise, he pressed further, "Andromeda
indicated that you were Nietzschean.  Yes, I've read all of
Nietzsche's works, mein Freund.  As Machiavelli might say, never
confront an opponent until you know them.  Trust me, Big Man, I've
seen my share of Nazis, and while I disagree with the philosophy, I
would like to be your friend.  But, be advised, I'm not afraid of
you."

"I would teach you the error of your ways," Tyr growled and started to
advance.

Dave grinned wickedly and focused.  Suddenly, the bigger man flew
upward and impacted into the ceiling with a great deal of force.
"Speaking as a teacher, that's an object lesson.  Trust me, you don't
want to mess with me.  Leave me alone."  Releasing his grip, he
allowed Tyr to hit the floor.  

Seeing the captain's discomfort, he stated, "Sorry, Captain Hunt, but
I won't be attacked or insulted.  And I was in complete control.  He
doesn't want to face me if I should lapse."

Glancing at Harper, the angry mercenary asked, "So this is your nasty
mutant.  Why don't I see any vampires?"

Rommie looked at Nick who was not amused by the larger man's comments.
A slight nod from her told him he had the floor.

Stepping across the room, he told the Nietzschean, "That would be me."
For added emphasis, he allowed his eyes to turn yellow and his fangs
to descend.  "And if you cause my friend any grief, you'll have me to
deal with as well.  Got it?"

Tyr shook his head silently.  He didn't enjoy being threatened by
anyone especially one smaller than himself.  Finally, he said, "You'd
best watch your back, monster."

Nick glared at him once again for renewed emphasis.  Then, he allowed
himself to return to normal

"Is there a place where I might talk with your crewman there?" Xena
requested firmly, her eyes narrowing into slits. 

"I was about to go for a workout, Milady.  Would you care to accompany
me?" Tyr invited.

"Fine.  I could use the exercise," she agreed.  

The Nietzschean smiled and motioned for her to follow him.

"I'll be back," she assured the others.  "Gabrielle, why don't you
come with me?"

"Don't worry, Dylan.  I'll keep an eye on them," the AI assured him.

"Fine," the warrior agreed, heading out through the doors.

"Meantime, is there a place I can meditate?" Dave asked.  "I want to
calm down a bit.  Back on Earth, I always loved plants and gardens."

"If you don't mind, Rommie can take you to see my plant collection,"
Trance invited.

"Thanks," the professor agreed.  "Mr. Harper, want to come along?"
Seeing the sheepish look, he added, "I don't bite.  At least, when I
haven't been provoked."

Harper nodded in agreement, saying,  "Okay, meantime, I get to show
you why they call me a super genius!"  Running into the corridor, he
called, "C'mon!"

"Is he always like this?" the professor asked.

"That would be him," Dylan indicated.  "Meantime, have a good
meditation session."

The professor smiled in gratitude.  Exiting through the door, he left
the captain, first officer, Nick, Tracy, and AI all wondering what was
going to happen next.  True, the Magog had retreated, but sooner or
later, they would be back and in force.
"They say children should be seen and not heard," Tyr growled.

Just then, the doors parted, allowing Xena, Dave, and Rommie to enter
the command deck.  As with their friends, the two newcomers were
awestruck with the complexity of this area.

The professor, however, shot the Weapons officer a dirty look
indicating, "Captain, one should be careful of how he or she speaks
about those around him, don't you agree?"

Despite the volatility of the situation, Dylan managed a smile.
Dubois certainly wasn't going to back down from Tyr in any event.
"I'd agree."

"Besides, Unter, you might be surprised at how well a mongrel such as
myself can handle myself against a pure-bred," the medievalist snarled
darkly.  Seeing the other's surprise, he pressed further, "Andromeda
indicated that you were Nietzschean.  Yes, I've read all of
Nietzsche's works, mein Freund.  As Machiavelli might say, never
confront an opponent until you know them.  Trust me, Big Man, I've
seen my share of Nazis, and while I disagree with the philosophy, I
would like to be your friend.  But, be advised, I'm not afraid of
you."

"I would teach you the error of your ways," Tyr growled and started to
advance.

Dave grinned wickedly and focused.  Suddenly, the bigger man flew
upward and impacted into the ceiling with a great deal of force.
"Speaking as a teacher, that's an object lesson.  Trust me, you don't
want to mess with me.  Leave me alone."  Releasing his grip, he
allowed Tyr to hit the floor.  

Seeing the captain's discomfort, he stated, "Sorry, Captain Hunt, but
I won't be attacked or insulted.  And I was in complete control.  He
doesn't want to face me if I should lapse."

Glancing at Harper, the angry mercenary asked, "So this is your nasty
mutant.  Why don't I see any vampires?"

Rommie looked at Nick who was not amused by the larger man's comments.
A slight nod from her told him he had the floor.

Stepping across the room, he told the Nietzschean, "That would be me."
For added emphasis, he allowed his eyes to turn yellow and his fangs
to descend.  "And if you cause my friend any grief, you'll have me to
deal with as well.  Got it?"

Tyr shook his head silently.  He didn't enjoy being threatened by
anyone especially one smaller than himself.  Finally, he said, "You'd
best watch your back, monster."

Nick glared at him once again for renewed emphasis.  Then, he allowed
himself to return to normal

"Is there a place where I might talk with your crewman there?" Xena
requested firmly, her eyes narrowing into slits. 

"I was about to go for a workout, Milady.  Would you care to accompany
me?" Tyr invited.

"Fine.  I could use the exercise," she agreed.  

The Nietzschean smiled and motioned for her to follow him.

"I'll be back," she assured the others.  "Gabrielle, why don't you
come with me?"

"Don't worry, Dylan.  I'll keep an eye on them," the AI assured him.

"Fine," the warrior agreed, heading out through the doors.

"Meantime, is there a place I can meditate?" Dave asked.  "I want to
calm down a bit.  Back on Earth, I always loved plants and gardens."

"If you don't mind, Rommie can take you to see my plant collection,"
Trance invited.

"Thanks," the professor agreed.  "Mr. Harper, want to come along?"
Seeing the sheepish look, he added, "I don't bite.  At least, when I
haven't been provoked."

Harper nodded in agreement, saying,  "Okay, meantime, I get to show
you why they call me a super genius!"  Running into the corridor, he
called, "C'mon!"

"Is he always like this?" the professor asked.

"That would be him," Dylan indicated.  "Meantime, have a good
meditation session."

The professor smiled in gratitude.  Exiting through the door, he left
the captain, first officer, Nick, Tracy, and AI all wondering what was
going to happen next.  True, the Magog had retreated, but sooner or
later, they would be back and in force.

Chapter 12 [Workout area/Gymnasium]

Fifteen minutes after the incident on the Command Deck, Tyr led Xena
and Gabrielle into the gym.  "Here's where we let off some tension as
the need arises to do so," he indicated.

The two female warriors studied the area.  Despite the ship's
sophistication, they noted that the athletic gear was similar to what
they had on Earth, most notably the basketball hoop.  However, they
didn't come down here to play that game.

The Warrior Princess stared at the mercenary.  For some reason, he
seemed eager to test his skills against her.  "His funeral," she
quipped.  "So, which weapons will we use?"

"Staffs," he said, picking out two metal poles with padded ends from
the wall display and flipping one to her.  "We wouldn't want anyone to
get hurt now."

She glanced at Gabrielle, shaking her head.  Some men could be such
chauvinists.  "No, we wouldn't," she replied mock-pleasantly, readying
the weapon.

He smiled and did likewise.

For several minutes, the two adversaries circled each other, watching
the other's moves, and focusing on the slightest flinch.

Tyr lunged first, swiping his staff at her midsection.

She grinned and leapt straight up in the air, easily avoiding the
attempt.  A back flip later, she landed behind him and swung quickly.

As if he had eyes in the back of his head, the Nietzschean parried and
swung behind himself.

Back and forth, this dance went-alternating the advantage between Xena
and Tyr.  For the better part of two hours, neither could find an
opening in the other's defenses.

For his part, Tyr mentally noted the Thracian warrior's abilities.  As
he had informed Beka sometime ago, human females were beneath his
breeding stock.  This one and possibly her friend were obvious
exceptions to that rule.  "Tell me, why do you accompany that man?
He's obviously not as good a fighter as you."

"I have my reasons," Xena cracked.  "And as for his fighting skills,
you'd be surprised at what he can do in a battle."

"I'm sure," he supposed, feinting with his staff yet again and
enjoying this experience.  It had been quite some time since he had an
opponent of this quality to spar with.


****

Rommie pressed a button on the wall halfway down a metallic hallway,
opening the door.  "Here we are," she told Dave.  "Follow me."

As he walked into the room, the professor admired the scene in front
of him.  The room held many types of plant life.  Many smaller plants
were on tables while larger trees shaded spots on the floor beneath
them.  Other floor spots actually had grass growing on them.  "Wow.
I'd swear I was back on Earth," he admired.

"I'm sure Trance would appreciate hearing that," she replied
pleasantly.  "Was this what you had in mind?"

He nodded, indicating,  "Yes.  Thank you.  I wish there could be some
music, but this will do nicely...."

"I might be able to arrange something.  What is your pleasure?" she
asked.

"Either some medieval chant or Celtic chant?" he requested.

The avatar closed her eyes, and started humming to herself.  "Let's
see...Both are possible.  For the former, do you have a particular
artist in mind?"

"Hildegard von Bingen.  She's a twelfth century abbess and did some
powerful chant," he noted.

Rommie smiled and located the woman in question in her database.
"Yes..." she concurred and, as the music started, asked, "How's that?"

He took a deep breath, relaxing himself.  "Much better.  Thank you.
Are you sure this is okay with your Medical Officer?"

"Of course," the guide agreed.  "She agreed to it.  I'll let her know
you're in here."

"Thank you," he said, sitting down in a lotus position and closing his
eyes.  Hearing the robot leave and the door slide shut, he exhaled
deeply, allowing the chant to wash over him, sweeping all of his
concerns away.  For several hours, his consciousness floated on air,
moving on the peaks and valleys of the arias.

Then, he felt a presence behind him.  "Deirdre?" he asked.

"Yes, Papa.  It's me," she said.  "Are you all right?"

"I'm a little banged up, but otherwise, I'm hanging in there," he told
her.

"Well, I'm sorry that I can't stick around.  It seems that we have a
crisis of our own in Althanor to deal with," she explained.  "I wanted
to drop off a bottle of enhanced cow blood for Nick and see how you
and Momma were holding up."

"Thanks, Dee-Dee," he stated, kissing her on the cheek.  "I'll let
your mother know.  By the way, what's going on back there?"

The priestess squirmed uncomfortably.  Since her transformation, she
had been amazed at how much he knew about what troubled her.
"Nothing.  I'm sure Auntie will let you know when you're finished with
this situation."

He stared at her, a slight bit of disapproval creasing his features.
Whatever was going on in the hidden realm, he wanted to help.
However, she was right.  "Okay, I'll accept that for now, but when we
all get back, your aunt and I are going to have a chat."

She nodded nervously before saying, "O..Okay, Papa.  Good luck."  With
that, she disappeared through the portal.

Dave shook his head, wondering just what was waiting on deck for them
if and when they were finished with the Magog.  Deciding not to worry
about it until the current situation was dealt with, he settled back
into the meditative trance.

About an hour later, he felt another presence in the room.  Opening
his eyes, he asked, "Who's there?"

"David, it's Trance.  I just wanted to see how you were doing." Trance
replied, walking through the area, an ear tuned to the music.

"I'm feeling much better.  Thanks," he noted.  "I hope you don't mind
if I had Andromeda improvise a bit."

"I like it actually," she complemented.  "It's soothing and peaceful. 
Does it help you to keep the Other in check?"

"It relaxes us both," Dave nodded, standing up and smiling at the
purple woman behind him.  "Anything new on our furry friends out
there?"  

"They're still out there somewhere," she reported.  "Actually, if you
don't mind, I have another friend I'd like you to meet."

"Okay," he agreed guardedly.  "Where?"

"He's out in the hallway.  Rev Bem?" she indicated.

"Yes?" the Magog priest replied, entering the area.  "Pleased to meet
you, David."

The professor hissed, "He's one of them."

The Wayist sighed deeply.  "Yes and no.  Yes, I am a Magog.  No, I am
no longer one of them.  I travel a different road now.  The Divine
shows me ways to deal with my nature on a daily basis.  Based on what
I've seen from you, you should not lump me in with my brethren."

Dave bowed his head and apologized, "My apologies."

"I accept," the priest noted.  "I want to be your friend.  Hopefully,
that'll be possible."

"Of course," the medievalist agreed, gripping the other's hand.  "And
thank you."

"You're welcome," Rev expressed.  "Now then, Trance and I were
wondering if you'd like something to eat.  Besides, our engineer, Mr.
Harper, would like to speak further with you as well."

"If that's okay with you," Trance added.

"Sure.  Lead on," he stated, following the others out of the plant
area and into the metallic hallways once again.

****

Beka frowned as she stalked out of the observation deck.  Sure, Dylan
had instructed her to make sure that their guests were comfortable,
but did that look-alike Earther have to be so irritating?  No sooner
did she get into the deck then the questions started coming in rapid
gauss gun fashion.

"Problems?" Andromeda's image asked as she appeared in front of the
first officer.

"Rommie...I..." Beka started to complain and bit her lip.  "It's that
woman!"

The AI realized, "Ah, you mean the one they call 'Tracy'.  Yes, she
looks like you, but doesn't act like you.  It bothers you, doesn't
it?"

"Damn right it does!  How can she be so...so...infuriating?"

"Now, Beka," the image said soothingly.  "Remember that different
environments lead to different outlooks.  She's from the past and has
spent her entire life on Earth.  You, on the other hand, have
experienced much more than she ever will.  I wouldn't be so hard on
her."

"That's easy for you to say," the former spacer ranted, crossing her
arms.

Andromeda smiled.  It wasn't often that Beka got so frustrated over a
guest.  She really did care even if she wouldn't admit it.  Then, she
picked up on another behind her.  "What do you think, Sir Nicolas?"

Nick approached them with a great deal of uncertainty.  While he had
been in space before with the Duboises, he was still adjusting to this
situation.   "About what?"

"How do you deal with her?  She's so infuriating!" Beka complained.

The vampire detective chuckled, "With a great deal of patience.  Yes,
Tracy has her faults, but so do we all.  Besides, you do remind me of
her."

"WHAT??" she bellowed, drawing her force lance and aiming it at him.
"You take that back!  I'm nothing like her!"

Andromeda looked at Nick and requested, "Can you please not aggravate
her like this?  I do need her to pilot us later."

"If you say so.  Personally, I think that's a very Tracy-like
reaction, Beka," Nick said, throwing another verbal jab.  "Crossing
the arms and fuming at me.  On that note, I'm heading back to the
Infirmary.  Deirdre popped in and left a bottle of cow blood with
Trance for dinner."  Zipping off in a blur, he left the two women to
themselves.

"Blood," Beka winced.  "Ugh."

"He is a vampire, you know," the image informed her.  "Would you
rather I not let him into the blood bank, tell him to starve, and have
a potential predator on the loose in here?"

"No, I guess not," the first officer sighed, disengaging her weapon.
"I guess I'd better be getting back up to Command."

"I'll see you there," Andromeda concluded, vanishing into thin air.

As the first officer prepared to make her way there, claxons and
lights began flashing.  "Andromeda!  What's going on?"

Dylan's voice rang out over the speakers.  "All hands to command!
This is a Code Black situation!  The Magog are back!  I repeat: the
Magog are back!"

Beka groused, "Looks like the fun's over."  Then, collecting her wits,
she raced up the corridors toward command .

Chapter 13 [Tucson, The Morgue]

For almost two hours, Natalie waited for word on Nick and the others. 
To pass the time, she tried to stretch out her reports to no avail.
Finally, she took a deep gulp from her lukewarm coffee cup and slumped
into her chair.

Ten minutes later, Steve and Schanke walked back into the area, each
wearing a look somewhere between utter amazement and outright concern.

"What's wrong, guys?" she inquired.  "Where's Trace?"

"She disappeared along with Nick, Dave, and our two femme fatales,"
Steve said, sitting down.  "They flew off in some sort of sci-fi type
spaceship.  Weird."

"Yeah, I didn't get a clear look," the souvlaki-loving detective
concurred, shaking his head.  "By the time I got there, they were
already streaking off into the sky.  There was a lot of damage
though."

"With our resident crew on site?  Why am I not surprised?" the ME
supposed sarcastically.

"The ground was scorched badly and fires burning everywhere.  It
smelled of burning fur and flesh.  From the telltale splatters
everywhere, I'd say Dave had a hand in it," the FBI agent recounted.

"So that was the explosion from earlier tonight," she realized.  "Does
Ramirez know yet?"

"Nope," Schanke informed her.  "We came right down here."

The coroner sighed and rubbed her forehead.  This was another fine
mess, which Nick and Tracy had stumbled into.  Given the way that
Ramirez was feeling about the situation, they might be in trouble when
they returned.  "Guys, what have you gotten yourselves into?" she
wondered.


****


[Fine Arts Museum, Campus]

Alyce sat at her desk, typing away on an exhibition report.  The
Sandoval exhibit had been wildly successful among the students and the
local community.  Now, as the display was being disassembled, her
enthusiasm grew toward her next project.  As soon as this report was
finished, the next item-a collage from ancient Mycenae on loan from
the Metropolitan Museum-would be next.  Based on how many questions
had already been asked about it, she estimated that the show would be
an even bigger hit than the last one.

Just as she hit the save button, the curator felt a familiar vibration
across her consciousness.  Turning, she saw LaCroix standing there,
staring at her expectantly.  She asked, "Yes, what can I do for you?"

The Roman Elder smiled at the fledgling's show of strength.  "I...was
wondering if you had seen Nicholas within the last few hours?" he
inquired.

"No, he's working," she said.  Then, she scratched her head,
wondering, "You know, as much as I hate to admit it, I've been having
the strangest feelings over the past few hours."

"Really?" her "father" replied curiously, his eyebrow arching.
Apparently, Janette had been right on target.  The curator had formed
a bond with his wayward child.  "And what pray tell are you feeling?"

"Something strange and it seems fuzzy as if he's far away.  He's in a
place totally made of metal.  Detective Brown's with him as are David,
Xena, and Gabrielle not to mention some others whom I can't place."

He nodded.  Her senses were rapidly developing.  Apparently, he had
underestimated her.  That was an error he wouldn't duplicate any time
soon.  "I have felt similar things through my link with him, my Dear."

"Really?  Come to think of it, I felt an overwhelming pang of guilt
from him.  I wondered why that was," she worried.

He sighed, "Oh, that's Nicholas:  a vampire who won't kill and has
pangs of conscience when he must do so.  Do yourself a favor, Alyce,
do not fall into that particular trap."  A threatening glimmer in his
eyes let her know that he meant business.

She suppressed a shudder, recollecting her thoughts before replying,
"So, does anyone know where he is?"

"No, he's vanished along with the others," he admitted uncomfortably. 
Admitting that Nick was beyond his reach was not one of his favorite
things.  "However, for the moment, he is alive.  That I can assure
you."  Turning, he concluded over his shoulder, "If he does show up,
you will let either Janette or me know, won't you?"

"I'll tell her," the curator declared, albeit more securely than she
felt.

"You do that," he hissed, noting the rebellious streak in his
"daughter".  Apparently, her time around the Duboises and Nick had
filled her head with the wrong kind of ideas.  "I shall have to
instruct her differently when the time is right," he noted.  After
all, as his unwitting pawn in the great match to reconvert Nick, her
obedience was crucial.  Finally, he zipped off into the moonlit sky,
streaking toward the downtown area.

"I wish he'd leave us alone," she sighed wishfully although she knew
that such thoughts were futile.  The old Roman regarded the whole town
and the vampires in it as his dominion.  At some point, she wished
that Xena would deal with him once and for all, leaving them and Eve
alone.  

Then, she felt another essence within the darkened corridors of the
museum.  "What is she doing here?" Alyce wondered and hurried off to
investigate.


****

After Deirdre had dropped her off at the office, Eve had wandered
across the grassy mall area to the museum.  Even after she had left
the battlefield, the pounding in her head had increased, now bordering
on being unbearable.  Finding an open side door, she slipped into the
facility and groped her way through the halls and down the stairwells.
It was almost as if something was guiding her to an exact spot.

"What is this?" she muttered, rubbing her temples.  "Eli, give me
strength."

Finally, she stopped on the bottom floor.  There, she looked at the
case in front of her.  Within it, were an old breastplate, a white
cape, and a sword with only a few spots of rust on it.  The placard
read "Military Implements, Roman first century AD, soldier unknown".

"Soldier unknown indeed," another voice cackled behind her.

The former Messenger froze at the sound behind her, instantly
recognizing it.  Turning, she saw Livia's image materialize in the
darkness.  "What is it?" she demanded.

The commander laughed.  "Such a tone, Sister.  Can it be that the meek
Messenger girl now has a backbone?"

"You'd be surprised," Eve asserted, trying to ignore the drums beating
in her brain.

The image said,  "I'm sure.  Maybe those Amazons have a use after all
if they can toughen even you up a bit."  Allowing a sarcastic, sweet
smile to linger a moment, thus irritating the other, she continued,
"You must realize now that my way is the only way."

"No!" 

Livia sighed impatiently.  As much as she found these games amusing,
the time was coming when she would have to take matters into her own
hands.  While she had been taking back pieces of the mental landscape
from her "sister" most unnoticed, Gabrielle knew about her presence,
and she had felt the touch of David Dubois' Child persona earlier that
night.  Soon, Xena would know as well and she couldn't allow her
Mother to stop her plan.  "I'll have to bring Lucius into this," she
told herself.

"You can't!" Eve protested, her face turning white.  "They'll kill
each other!"

"Oh, Sister! You are so melodramatic!  I have no wish to see our
mother or brother killed," the conqueror cracked.  "I just need her
and the others occupied for a little while is all."  Turning, she saw
Alyce approaching in the darkness.  "Well, well...Lucius's fledgling. 
Come forth, I know you're there."

Alyce stared at the two Eves or rather, what appeared to be two Eves,
in utter dismay.  "What is this?  Who are you?"

"I'm your unknown soldier," Livia explained with a notable shrug added
for emphasis.  "Ask the one you call LaCroix about me."  With that,
she disappeared into the darkness.

As her other half vanished, Eve fainted.

The curator hurried over to the Religion professor's side, easing her
to the floor.  "Eve, can I get you something?"

Eve shook her head.  "No, I...need to let Mother know...about her."

"Her?  Who is she?" Alyce demanded.

"My darker side...Livia...Livia of Rome," the former Messenger stated
weakly before blacking out.

The fledgling felt her indecision paralyzing her.  What should she do?
And why did the spirit...Livia...mention to talk to LaCroix about her?
For a long ten minutes, she pondered the possibilities, trying to
determine where would be the best place to take her, knowing full well
that her friend couldn't be left alone tonight.  "I know," she
realized, taking off into the night sky.

****
Meantime, Natalie peered through the microscope at cell samples taken
from her latest "patient".  According to the report, the deceased man,
Art Lawmuller, died of poisoning.  Her analysis indicated arsenic, and
the toxin showed up in the enhanced view.  "Well, at least we know
what got him.  Now, it's a question of who did it," she concluded,
proceeding over to her cabinet where her pathological tools were
stored.

"Natalie!" Alyce exclaimed panickedly, rushing into the room with an
unconscious Eve in her arms.

As much as she was still a tad bit sore concerning the whole mess with
Nick, the coroner saw the fear in the fledgling's eyes.  Her first
thought was that she had drained the Religion professor, but, from a
cursory view, there were no fang marks in the neck or the telltale
bloody streaks.  "What happened?" she decided to ask, wanting to know
more.  Moving Lawmuller onto a nearby gurney, the ME cleared room for
her friend.  "Can you put her on the table?"
 
Alyce nodded, placing their associate on the table with great care
before noting, "Well...I was upstairs working on the write up for our
last exhibit.  Then, I sensed that someone was in the museum.  I flew
all around, trying to find the person.  Eve was on the bottom floor,
looking around."

"At this time of night?" Natalie wondered.

"It was strange, Natalie.  Do you know the Roman exhibit with the
breastplate and banner?"  Getting a nod, she continued.  "Eve was
fixed in on it.  There was something else there as well.  A spirit of
some kind, but it looked just like her, and told me that she was our
'unknown soldier'," the curator continued.

Nat paced about the room, trying to put together the pieces that the
vampiress had dumped in front of her.  Steve had taken her to see the
exhibit just two days earlier.  At that point, she had felt as if she
should've known who the person really was.  Now, from the long
forgotten lectures in her Classics class at UT, she remembered.
Looking up at Alyce, she said, "I know who your spirit is.  She's..."

"Livia," LaCroix interrupted, entering the room purposefully.  "I knew
it was only a matter of time before my sister's true nature came back
to the fore.  I felt something unusual, a ripple the likes of which I
haven't felt since before Vesuvius."  A warm smile crossed his lips.
With his stepsibling's return, he could turn the tables on Xena and
Gabrielle and eliminate Dubois once and for all.

"Are you sure?" Alyce wondered, forcing herself to feel more secure
than she felt.

"I'm quite sure," the Roman growled, advising his "daughter" to show
some respect.  Leaning close to Eve's sleeping form.  "It'll be an
easy matter to convince her of her true nature now."

"If we let you," Natalie contradicted, placing her hand over the
former Messenger's eyes.  

"Don't defy me, Doctor," LaCroix snarled, pulling the barrier away
roughly.  "Bad enough you would deny me Nicholas, but my sister as
well?"  Allowing his eyes to turn yellow, he continued, "I THINK
NOT!!!"  

"Let her make the choice, LaCroix!" the curator protested.

Ignoring the younger vampire, the former general continued to advance.
At that moment, an explosion came from the back of the room, filling
the area with a thick green herbal mist.  Then, a sharp pain came from
his side as a crossbow bolt imbedded itself in his side.  His senses
screamed at him.

"Get away from them," Steve hissed.  "Just because Dave and Xena
aren't here doesn't mean you get a free shot at her or any of us!
Call me their stand in, but you aren't going to get anything here
tonight!"

The Elder ripped the projectile from his side angrily, growling, "You
should've minded your own business, Petersen.  True, for tonight, I am
weakened by your cowardly attack, but I will not forget this matter." 
With one last look at Eve, he took off.

"I hope he stays away," Steve muttered, dropping the weapon on her
desk and embracing the coroner tightly.  "Are you okay?"

"You showed up just in the nick of time," Natalie indicated, shaking
in fear.

"I'll say," Alyce concurred.

"Good thing Dave let me borrow a few of his choice weapons and that I
was on my way back here," the agent added.  "So, I heard him saying
something about Eve and Livia.  Is the other personality that close to
the surface?"

"They were arguing back in the museum," the curator reported.

He stated with great concern.  "Dave doing that 'he said-he said'
number is enough for all of us.  Having Eve and Livia doing the same
thing can't be good."  He made a mental note to relay the information
onto his missing friends upon their return--if and when they did so.

Not for the last time did the trio look skyward, wondering about the
others, and hoping that they were all right.  Whenever they did finish
their business, they were needed on Earth once again.  

Chapter 14 [Space]

Hearing the claxons blaring and lights blinking, everyone assembled on
the command deck, nervously awaiting the news.  As the others joined
him, Dylan was keying in something on his console and staring at the
diagnostic screen in front of him.  For her part, Beka studied her
readouts as well.

"What is it?" Tracy asked.

Nick extended his senses beyond the Andromeda out into space.  At
first, he felt nothing, but then,  he brushed up against a darkness
floating out in the void.  "Yes," he agreed.  "You feel that, Dave?"

A low throaty growl served as a reply. The professor could also feel
the Magog's presence, the latter prodding his inner darkness into a
frenzy.

The captain noted this reaction, asking Andromeda while motioning with
his eyes, "Status report?"

The female image appeared in front of him, saying, "He's in control
for now.  However, I sense the darkness surging forth from within him.
Dylan, if the Magog attack, he will change."

Harper shuddered wordlessly at his post.  The history vids had
recorded Dubois' infamous tantrums for posterity.  Accordingly, the
engineer had no wish to be at ground zero when their guest lost
control.

Trance studied the professor as well.  Suddenly, she saw a possible
future where they were fighting the invaders hand-to-hand on the ship.
A mass of the furry aliens surrounded the professor, attacked him, and
caused the change.  She felt the psychic blasts charging the air and
his scream deafen her.  Then, she returned to the present.

"Here they come!" Tyr stated, only allowing the slightest bit of
concern to crease his features.

"Battle stations!" Dylan ordered.  Turning to his guests, he stated,
"Usually, I'd order all of my guests back to quarters, but since all
of you have encountered the Magog before, you can stay for the fight."

"Tracy, I think you should go down below," Nick indicated.

"What?" his partner argued.  "No! I want to stay here!  I can defend
myself, you know!"

"I think that's a good idea," Rommie agreed.  

The blonde detective grinned at her partner, apparently satisfied at
being included in the operation.  

On the monitor, they saw the battered yet still awesome armada
streaking toward them.  Eighteen ships strong, the invaders were
determined to wipe them off the galactic map.

On Dylan's mark, Tyr and Beka fired salvo after salvo of missiles,
mines, and laser blasts into the fleet, managing to cut the enemy
numbers in half.  A third round took out three more.  However, the
sensors alerted them that the remaining six ships had attached
themselves to the hull and were punching their way through.

"Damn," Beka hissed.  "I thought we just left this dance."

"Tyr, you have command.  Beka, come with me to the weapons locker,"
Dylan commanded.  "How about all of you?"

"Unless you've got some body armor, I think we're good to go," Dave
said, checking his arrows over.  While he would've liked to have more
shafts in his quiver, he had enough to start with.

"I think we can manage that.  Follow us," the first officer told them.

****

Five minutes later, Dave, Nick, Tracy, and Gabrielle were fitted out
in standard High Guard battle armor.  Tracy and the Bard-Queen also
received a force lance, as had Xena. 

"Nice," the Warrior Princess admired, twirling the metallic rod.

"I'm glad you like them," Rommie commented.  "Because the hull's been
breached on Decks 35-38.  Whether we like it or not, the Magog are
here."

"Then, let's party," Dave said eagerly, readying his bow and rushing
out into the passage.

"Is he always like this?" the captain asked.

"Uh huh," Xena agreed, allowing herself a knowing smirk.  "C'mon,
let's get after him."

****

The Magog poured into the six holes, advancing toward an encounter
with the humans.  Somehow, the meat had offended the Spirit.
Accordingly, they had to die.  For several levels they trudged
forward, battering a few servobots here and there with the sheer
weight of their numbers.

Finally, just before Deck 25, they stopped, sensing the familiar
darkness in front of them.  

In response, Dave lit a napalm bomb and threw it up in the air.

"Is he nuts?" Beka wondered aloud.

"Watch," Xena noted grimly, her hand firmly placed on her chakram.

As the canister reached its highest point, the professor latched onto
it with his mind.  With his psychic powers, he hurled the incendiary
device forward.  

Just as it reached the Magog, it exploded, catching the lead invaders
on fire, and causing them to retreat in pain.  As they did so, several
others shared their fate.

"My turn," Xena said almost eagerly, whipping her signature weapon
into the horde. The chakram whizzed, ricocheted, and struck at the
fuzzballs with a mind of its own.  Even though they remembered this
infernal thing's effectiveness, the Magog lost another ten members
before it returned to her hand.

At that point, the invaders retreated back down the hallway.

"Dylan," Rommie informed the captain.  "They're splitting up."

"Then, so will we.  Tyr, Harper, and Trance can handle command, but
you might want to go help him.  Xena, Gabrielle, you're with me.
David, Tracy, and Nick can go with Beka.  Good luck, everyone," the
captain wished.  

"Right," his first officer agreed, leading the professor and vampire
toward Engineering.

"Well, Ladies, I guess it's time to go hunting," Dylan told his
remaining companions.

"Don't worry.  We're good at it," the warrior advised him, drawing her
sword and following his path.

Chapter 15

Tyr's eye scanned Andromeda's internal monitors. The infernal Magog
were coming closer and he knew his side arm wouldn't take all of them.
Worse, Harper was starting to panic over in the corner.  Not that he
blamed the little man after their last experience on the Worldship--
having yourself implanted with their infernal brood was not a pleasant
feeling--one that he knew all too well.  Still, if they were to
survive, everyone needed to keep their heads on straight.  "Harper,"
he muttered callously.

"What?" the engineer replied.  "I'm here...really, I am."

"Then act more like it."

"That's easy for you to say.  You're a Nietzschean, the perfect
fighting machine.  Us poor Earth types aren't as capable as you are,"
Harper spat back.

"Funny, our guests seem to be able to hold their own against the
Magog.  Do the same, Little Man!" he ranted.  "Stand and fight!"

"Tyr," Rev interjected, interrupting his meditation.

"What is it, Creature?"

"Yelling at Harper won't do any good.  In fact, it's just making him
less composed," the Wayist advised.

The mercenary snorted, "If it weren't for your brethren, we wouldn't
be in this mess!  We stand and fight."  Glancing over at Trance, he
added, "What are your thoughts on the matter?"

"I think we need to be careful," she replied, her earlier vision still
imbedded in her consciousness.  "Besides, I wouldn't be too excited
about the way David is handling the Magog right now.  He's paying a
heavy price, wouldn't you say, Rev?"

The priest said,  "Indeed.  For every blow he strikes, that man loses
another step to his inner darkness.  Soon, I fear, it'll surface."

"Whatever," Tyr replied, batting his hand in the air between him and
the others.  "Power is meant to be used."  Turning back to the
console, he pushed, "Ship!  Where are the others?"

Andromeda's image appeared before him.  "The Magog have split up into
three groups, as have our friends.  One group is heading this way as
is my avatar.  Dylan is leading the two ancient warriors down one path
while Beka takes David, Tracy, and Nicolas down the other.  Be
patient, Tyr.  We'll soon have enough to deal with."

At that moment, the doors slid open, allowing Rommie to pop in before
they snapped shut.  "We only have a few minutes before they get here,"
she reported, setting down the bag in front of the others.  "Here are
some weapons from the armory."  Reaching in, she handed everyone save
Rev a pair of gauss guns, a force lance, and some body armor.  "Get
ready quickly!"

Everyone slipped into their protective suits and readied their
weapons.  The silence seemed deafening.

Then, the banging started on the doors, quickly putting dents in them.
The Magog were there.

****

Dylan's party moved down toward Medical, wondering when they were
going to run into their furry friends.  While the trio could hear the
invaders' growls echoing off of the walls, they couldn't see them yet.

"Remember," he urged, holding up his lance.  "Snap your wrist and it
expands out to full length."  Doing so, he held the extended weapon in
the air.  "The firing button's on top."

"Right," Gabrielle agreed, copying his motions.

"Got it," Xena concurred distractedly, listening to the noises ahead
of them.  "They'll be here any second."

On cue, the fur brigade spilled into the passage, growling and
slavering over their potential meals.  A few fired laser bolts.

He shook his head and glanced up at the roof.  "I still say Magog with
guns suck." Readying his weapon, he yelled, "All set?"

The Warrior Princess grinned ferally and releasing a sharp 'shiiii-
yaaaa', launched herself into the midst of the demonic aliens, cutting
and slashing as she went.

Likewise, the bard bashed and blasted her share of heads.  

For a minute, he allowed himself to watch the two longtime partners at
work.  "They're something else," he told himself, snapping back to
reality.  "I wish I could've seen her and Tyr going at it."  Yet, for
some reason, they did seem familiar almost as if they had fought
beside each other before.  "C'mon, Hunt, figure that one out later,"
he admonished himself.  Aiming and firing rapid successive shots, the
captain began to claim pelts of his own.

****

Beka crept along the hallway leading to Engineering.  As with the
other party, they had been hearing the Magog's echoes for quite a
while.  However, she didn't know what creeped her out more: the Magog
or the fact that a vampire, her twin, and a borderline psycho were at
her back.  "Get a grip on yourself, Beka.  Remember, they're on your
side," she thought to herself.

Nick glanced down the passage and stated, "They're getting close."
His eyes turned yellow and he allowed his fangs to descend. 

Tracy shuddered at the sight of her friend's reaction.  Being around
Dave was bad enough, but when Nick vamped out, she wasn't sure that he
could keep control.

Dave had his weapons prepared. Within his head, he heard the Child
screaming for payback.  As he had felt earlier, these aliens had a
familiar feel to them.  While he had not faced them before, they felt
familiar--almost like the trolls from the Dark Pit.  "Yeah, they're
both mindless beasts," he snarled to himself.  

"Are you all right back there?" the first officer inquired.

"Oh, never better," the professor grinned wickedly.  "Just looking for
some furry ass to kick."

"Be careful what you wish for, Chief," she muttered.  "You may just
get it."

At that moment, the invaders rounded the corner, facing them.
Smelling the meals, they approached.

Beka backed away a few steps, grabbed her laser pistols, and began
firing a swath into the Magog.  "Uh, guys, now would be a good
time..."

Fighting back a momentary wave of fear, Tracy aimed her gauss gun,
firing a few volleys and taking out several invaders in the process.

Nick threw himself into the horde, allowing the Vampire full reign.
Snapping necks, slashing throats, and crushing skulls, he took a toll
on the forces in front of him.

The medievalist fired a few shafts into the wall of fur, but it seemed
for every one he dropped, a dozen took their place.  He couldn't fire
any of his really toxic weapons without taking Beka out as  well.
"Only one way," he told himself, concentrating.  Pointing, he fired
mind blasts into the Magog, pummeling them.  

However, a few slipped by his defenses, pinning him in the corner.
One tried to spray acid in his face, but Dave turned away just in
time.  The substance still burned at the side of his face.  "That's
it!" he growled, allowing the Child to surface.

Summoning up a massive burst, the supposed prey sent his attackers
flying in all directions.  "'Bout time," he snarled.  "Ah was
wonderin' when ah'd git mah turn!"  Bellowing a roar into the horde,
the Child allowed his anger to seep into them.  "Didn't learn from the
last time, did ya?" he chuckled darkly, firing a massive pulse into
the left flank, smacking them back against the far wall.

Remembering what Andromeda's scan had indicated earlier, Beka asked
Nick between taking down Magog, "Is that?"

The vampire watched his friend for a second before saying to her,
"That's his resident Child.  Stay out of his way!"  Having said that,
he went back to his grisly work.

Firing four more times and dropping three more aliens, she told
herself, "Valentine, remember, stay out of his way."

For almost an hour, the battle raged, but there was no doubt.
Finally, the trio stood in the midst of their handiwork.  Around them,
better than one hundred and fifty Magog lay dead.

"Ya'll okay?" the Child asked, rubbing a few gashes along his arms and
legs.

"Fine," Nick concurred.

"Body armor does wonders.  Now, let's see if the others need help,"
she instructed, leading them toward Command.

****

As with Beka's group, Dylan, Xena, and Gabrielle disposed of their
adversaries after a fashion.

"I gotta hand it to you two," he complemented.  "You know how to
fight."

"Practice makes perfect, Captain.  I'd say the same about you.  In
fact, you remind me of someone I once knew," the Thracian warrior
noted, sheathing her sword.

"Well, we can talk about it later," the High Guard survivor replied,
retracting his lance.  "Let's get to Command!  This way!"

With that, he took off toward the nerve center of the ship followed by
his two allies.

****

Meanwhile, Tyr and Rommie were holding off the insurgents from the
Command area at blaster and lance point.  However, as this was the
biggest group of the three, the furry mass began to drive the android
and the mercenary back.

Just as the two defenders' backs were pinned to the door, they heard a
different snarling above the din and saw as Beka's group began tearing
into the invaders' flank.  A moment later, Dylan's sortie joined them,
attacking from the other side.  

Given that this was their first battle together with the others,
Rommie marveled at how the newcomers had quickly adapted the
Highguard's classic triangular attack pattern, utilizing it with
deadly effectiveness.  Between Nick's quick killing blows, the
Andromeda's crew's laser blasts, Xena's sword and chakram, Gabrielle's
staff and force lance not to mention the Dark One's mindblasts, the
tide of battle quickly turned.  Within a couple of hours, the fighting
was finished.

"Andromeda," Dylan requested.  "Status report?"

"All of the Magog are dead, Dylan.  We did it," the android reported. 
Glancing over at the enraged professor, she inquired, "This is what I
sensed earlier, isn't it?"

"Yeah, ah guess," he snarled.  "Just give us a minute."  Focusing and
taking several short breaths, the two personalities flip-flopped
again, allowing Dave to surface.

Glancing around him, he realized what had happened, "We did it, didn't
we?"

"We did," Beka complemented, giving him a smile.  "Although, you had
me a little nervous back there."

Imagining what she had seen, the medievalist shrugged and stated,
"You should try it from my point of view sometime."  Wincing, he felt
the pain coming from the gashes in his arms and legs, not to mention
the usual telltale headache.  "Do you think your purple friend could
help us out a bit?"

"Of course," Trance agreed, looking at Xena, Gabrielle, and him.
"I'll have you three patched up in no time.  Follow me."

Watching as his guests headed for medical, Dylan shook his head,
admiring how they had handled themselves in the crisis.  Having allies
like these, no matter what the time period, was a valuable thing.
With that, he followed Beka, Tyr, and Rommie back into Command to
assess the damage.
Chapter 16

A few hours later, Trance had finished patching everyone up.
Fortunately, nobody had more than a few scratches and perhaps, a minor
gash or two.  Given what the group had just faced, that seemed
relatively minor.  Still, before Dylan would bring anyone back, he
insisted that they all receive medical attention. 

Once they were finished, the group headed back up to command.  

There, Dylan was reading a report during that time.  Seeing his guests
enter the area, he asked, "How are you doing?"

"Okay," Gabrielle agreed.

Tracy shot her companions an anxious look.  As banged up as they all
were, she would have liked to have a patented excuse for Ramirez.

Nick shrugged.  He was sure he wouldn't hear the end of this situation
anytime soon from Vachon or anyone else for that matter.

Dave looked at the blue patches on his arms and thighs.  Once they had
returned home, he would keep them obscured even if that meant wearing
a coat during the heat of the day.  Still, that was a small price to
pay considering what they had gone through. "So, what about all of
you?" he asked.  "How are you going back home?"

Andromeda's image flashed in front of them and answered, "The portal
is closed.  We're stuck in this time."

Everyone looked at the captain whose face looked ashen.  If they
couldn't get back to the future, his dreams of a renewed Commonwealth
would be gone.

Xena stepped forward.  "Maybe we can get you all home," she suggested.
Seeing the others' confusion, she turned to her "roommate's" husband
and asked, "Do you think Cybelle can help?"

"Maybe.  But she'll need help," he said.  "Let's see...."  He
meditated for a second and smiled.  "She'll help."

****

Three hours later, Nick, Tracy, Xena, Gabrielle, and Dave stood on the
desert floor along with the three head priestesses of Althanor.  The
latter had been deeply communing with the energies surrounding the
Andromeda Ascendant.

Then, Genaria stated, "Let it happen now."

Deirdre added, "The time is right."

Cybelle, the head priestess, nodded and held up the jewel in the
ornate crystal necklace to the sky, saying,  "Let it be so."  

From the three women, a beam of energy shot into the night sky and
into the spot where the Spirit's portal had formerly been and, with
their help, reformed. Then, they saw a silvery streak, almost like a
shooting star, zip across the heavens and vanish through the brightest
star.

"They made it," Deirdre noted.

"Okay, then it's time to go home," Dave indicated, seeing the pink
just appearing in the eastern sky.  "Right now, I want to sleep for
about two days."

"Fine," Nick agreed.  "As long as we get back before sunrise."

"Consider it done," Cybelle replied, waving her hands and covering
them in the mists. With the adventure finished, it was time to rest
before resuming their normal lives.

****
 
[Dahak's Realm]

The Spirit hissed in discontent, not bearing to witness his Magog
scouts' decimation at the hands of Hunt and his allies.  ["Curse them!
They failed me!  How could that happen?"]

Lousain shook his head.  "Maybe if you had planned better.  Dubois and
his associates are more powerful than they look."

["Maybe if you would like to try next,"] the energy creature spat.

Dahak brought his claw down on the armrest of his throne.  ["Enough!
I will not tolerate any more of this dissension!  Lousain, your
opportunity will come."]

"Hopefully, your agents will do their job better than that one's," the
wizard responded.

"Mind your tongue.  The Magog did their job wonderfully.  Just as with
Divia, their secondary goals were met even in defeat.  Dubois' anger
was nudged just a bit higher.  The former Crusader was forced to shed
blood, violating his principles.  Lucius is a bit more distrustful.
And we have forced Eli's Messenger to the brink of fighting a loosing
war with her Livia persona.  As the mortals would say, this is but one
move on the chessboard.  They took a few pieces, but we can still win
the endgame," the head demon explained.  "Have patience."

The Spirit released an incomprehensible scream.  Losing almost 2000 of
his followers on a moral victory was too high a price to pay.  To
justify the fallen Magog, the plan had best work.

At that moment, two demons burst into the scene, kneeling before their
lord's throne.  "A thousand pardons, Your Wickedness."

"What is it?" the ruler demanded.  "This had better be important!"

"It is," the second intruder stammered.  "Hope...she...escaped the
torment area."

"WHAT?  HOW DID SHE ESCAPE?" Dahak bellowed.

"After the session was over, the guards saw her writhing on the
ground.  They turned their backs for just a second, and she blasted
them unconscious before disappearing," the two recounted.

"And where are the guards now?  Have them brought to me!" the master
ordered.  "Careless fools!"

The two vanished quickly and headed off in search of their doomed
comrades lest they be next.

Dahak stewed for a long minute.  Another unexpected development,and
this one could ruin everything.  Then, he began to chuckle
confidently.

His allies exchanged skeptical thought transmissions, thinking that
the dark lord had lost it.

Sensing what they were thinking, Dahak said, "No, this is working out
perfectly.  If Hope goes where I think she's going, this could work to
my advantage.  Yes, she could be the perfect wedge between Xena and
Gabrielle.  Thus in one stroke, I would reclaim my daughter, corrupt
Eli's Messenger, and their mothers in addition to destroying the
Amazons!"

After a minute, the others got his point.  Sometimes, it wasn't the
winning, but what you did with losses that really counted.

Conclusion [Tucson, The Next Night]

Dave sat in his office, peering over his notes for the upcoming
lecture in an hour.  It took the entire day for him to get his head
together after the space trip.  No matter how many times he took such
adventures, he couldn't get himself to focus the day after.

A knock at the door grabbed his attention.  "Yes?" he asked.

"Dave?  It's Natalie.  Can I come in?" the coroner requested.

"Sure. The door's open.   I've got class in just a bit, but feel
free," he agreed.

"Thanks," she concurred, entering the room anxiously.  "So, how are
you and Angie?"

"We're rubbing our bruises," he replied, rolling up his sleeve and
showing the wrapped forearm.  "We had some uninvited visitors to deal
with."

"Uninvited?" she asked.  "What was that explosion from the other
night?"

"A napalm blast.  We needed to take out a big bunch of those 'guests'
out," he commented.

Her mind flashed back to LaCroix's comment from the other night.  "And
Nick dropped it, right?"

"He did," he admitted.  "I didn't want to make him do it, but there
was no other way."  Seeing her start to flush from anger, he
continued, "Now wait a damn minute!  Don't start!  We were
surrounded."

"You sure there was no other way?" she snapped.  "Nick's been slipping
backwards lately.  The more he kills, the more the vampire comes out. 
If this keeps going, he'll be back to his old medieval self."

"Don't push it, Natalie," he growled, sipping from a lukewarm cup of
coffee.  "Nick's a big boy. If he chooses to help, that's his choice. 
I regret having to put him in the middle of that mess, not to mention
having to bring the Child out two more times to deal with the Magog,
but if we didn't, we'd be in even more serious trouble right now."

She frowned, folding her arms across her chest before wishing,  "I
hope that's the end of it."

"Me too," he sighed hopefully.  "But who knows what tomorrow will
bring?  Meantime, I have Eve's lecture to cover in an hour.  By the
way, what's going with her anyway?  Francesca said she was sick."

The coroner laughed sarcastically, "Sick?  Oh, she's more than sick."

"Nat, what's going on?  The other night I was getting some weird vibes
off of her.  It was like looking at myself."

"I would say so," the ME agreed.  

"I sensed Eve and Livia," Dave continued.  "And I'm sure that LaCroix
knows by now too.  I want him out of this matter."

"Too late.  After Alyce brought her down to the Morgue, it was all we
could do to keep LaCroix from taking her right there and then.
Fortunately, Steve showed up with some of your toys.  Dave, you and
Angie need to know that Eve's struggling to hold off Livia.  If she
lapses...." Natalie reported.

"I don't want to know about the fight between her and Xena," he said
knowingly, rubbing his temples.  "And if LaCroix gets involved, it'll
get ugly."

"Bringing you and Nick into it, I'm sure," the pathologist sighed.  

"Like I'm going to let his Arrogance come between Xena and Eve?  Not
bloody likely.  Besides, I owe that son of a bitch big time," he
vowed. "Sorry to cut you short, but I do have a class.  Can you talk
with Angie about it?"

"Absolutely," she agreed.  "I'll go speak with her and Francesca right
away.  And Dave, sorry about accusing you before.  I just care about
what happens to Nick and Eve."

"I know.  No need to apologize, Nat.  We'll take care of it," he
advised.  "Thanks for coming by and for being a good friend."

"I'll see you later," she concluded.  "And you're welcome."  With
that, she left the office, allowing Dave to make his final
preparations.

****

[El Gato Negro-Later that Evening]

For Nick, it had been a long night.  No sooner had he walked into the
Precinct than had Ramirez lectured him and Tracy about their
disappearing act during the previous night.   Then, Schanke, Steve,
and Natalie wanted to be filled in about those events.  Finally, the
usual paperwork sat in a pile on their desks, waiting for them to
return.  For several hours, the two partners plowed through the forms
before she suggested that they head over to the El Gato for a break.
Desperate to get out of there, he agreed.

As soon as the two partners entered the club, they felt the vampires'
attention turn to them.  Making their way down the stairs, the duo
made their way over to the bar.  Admittedly, for Nick, it was a
strange feeling to openly walk into the Community's central meeting
place with her after evading her on so many other occasions up in
Toronto.

Seeing Vachon over in the corner, she told him, "If you need me, I'll
be with Javier."

He nodded and watched her cross the room toward her roommate's table. 
"At least, they can be open about it," he said to nobody in
particular.

"As should you, Nicolas," Janette cut in, placing a glass in front of
him.  "We've been sensing...strange things from you."  

"Janette, it's good to see you too," he stated while taking a gulp
from his glass.

"I'm sure," she continued.  "Tell me, have you been by to see Alyce
yet?  She was very concerned when you disappeared."

"I'll call her when I get back to the Loft," he promised.  Yet another
detail left unresolved.  He shook his head, a pained expression
painted clearly on his face.

"You do that, mon Cher.  But, I am concerned about you, Nicolas.  Last
night, we picked up on something strange from you.  A crisis of
conscience, perhaps?" she asked, trying to prod him onward toward a
resolution.

"You might say that.  I was in a situation where I was forced to kill
to protect everyone here.  It was a situation I thought I had left
behind," he revealed angrily.

"But you did so during the Crusades, did you not?  You are a killer by
nature, Nicolas, therefore killing is what you are...your modus
operandi," she debated.

"No.  I will not stoop to that ever again," he denied fiercely,
draining his glass rapidly.

"Tell that to the poor cow whose blood you're devouring, Nicholas,"
LaCroix indicated, sauntering up to the bar.

"Go away, LaCroix.  I'm not in the mood," Nick dismissed.

A flash of anger briefly surged through the Roman.  "Such rudeness
from all of my children.  I shall have to teach them respect at some
point," he noted before continuing, "I was...simply going to
complement you on your accomplishment."

"Killing isn't an accomplishment!"

"When are you going to learn, Nicholas?  You are a vampire and, just
as Janette pointed out, killing makes you what you are," the Elder
sighed, sipping from his own bloodwine.  "Besides, last night was a
truly wondrous night between you and my sister."  A knowing and almost
cocky smile spread across his face.

"Eve?  What about her?" Nick demanded.

"Oh, now you're interested, are you?" the Roman chuckled.  "Well, it
seems she has an internal conflict."  Seeing the look on his former
protégé's face, he pressed on.  "And I think you know what I'm talking
about.  Soon, I'll have Livia back in my corner."

"I've heard that one before, LaCroix.  Do yourself a favor and stay
away from her.  As much as you repulse me, I don't want to see you
impaled on the end of Xena's sword," the former Crusader warned.

The General arched his right eyebrow in amusement.  "As if I would
allow that to happen.  I do appreciate your concern, Nicholas.  Truly,
I do.  However, I would advise you to stay out of the conflict when it
happens.  Who knows what can happen in the heat of battle?"

"Either way, you're going to hurt for it, LaCroix," Nick prophesized. 
"No matter which one takes Livia if and when she takes over, the other
is still capable of besting you."

"If you're speaking of Dubois, we've already had this discussion,"
LaCroix noted, growing more terse.  "I do hope to meet him...and have
the honor of killing him.  Don't worry, I'm quite well prepared this
time."

Nick shook his head and stood up.  Seeing Tracy waiting for him by the
door, he got up without a word and followed her out of the front door.
While it was true that he had needed to kill for the sake of self-
defense, he wasn't proud of having to do it, nor did he need LaCroix
rubbing it in at that point.

After the younger one had left, Janette leaned across the bar,
suggesting, "Perhaps you shouldn't rub it in so much, LaCroix.
Remember, one draws more flies with honey rather than vinegar."

The Elder shrugged.  While it was true that he needed to control
things, perhaps it wouldn't hurt to let things develop a bit more.
Accordingly, he said thoughtfully, "I suppose you're right.  Yet,
Nicholas does need to realize who and what he is.  I fear that we
aren't done with this particular mess, Janette.  No, Divia's
appearance and disappearance not to mention the situation in the
desert were too convenient.  Dahak has returned and we shall see more
of his gamesmanship yet."

She shook her head, stating,  "I hope we'll be ready."

"We must be, Janette," the Roman declared, getting up from his stool. 
"There is too much at stake for us to be otherwise."  Stepping out the
front door, he looked around to make sure no mortals were nearby and
took off into the night sky for his abode.  While he had gains to
consolidate, so many other things still hung in the balance both for
him and for the others.  A turning point was coming.  And once again,
nothing would be the same.

THE END (for now)

(I hope you enjoyed this piece!    Comments, of course, can be sent to
dante0220@yahoo.com .  If you liked this story, please feel free to
look at the other pieces of the Dubois Chronicles on my "Story
Emporium" site (http://Dante_6.tripod.com/stories/dubois.html or
http://dante6.fanspace.com/dubois/dubois.html ).  The next segment,
which will be entitled "Something Wicked This Way Comes" (Part 2 of
the War Saga) will be in the Amazon Scrolls.  Part 3 will be back here
in the regular "Duboisverse".  Thanks for your interest!)

Back to the Dubois Chronicles