[FFML] [FIC][BtVS][SG-1][MAU] Repost: Worthless 3/?

[Gandalf The Green]

Saturday

Willow and Xander walked up to the Summers home. As neither believed that it
would be a good idea to have Buffy interrupt their discussion with Mrs.
Summers, Willow had agreed to cast a sleep spell on Buffy and silence spells
around her bedroom, which she did as they arrived.

Joyce answered the door and invited the young couple into the living room. 

Xander started the difficult conversation to come, "Thanks for seeing us
Mrs. Summers. There's a few things that we wanted to talk with you about,
most of them Buffy doesn't want you to know, but we felt that you need to
know."

Joyce responded, "I know she's hiding things from me, and she goes out after
she thinks everyone is a sleep. This has to do with that?"

Xander nodded and continued, "Well, it's a little difficult to prove in the
light of day, but I assure you that everything we talk about is the truth.
There are no drugs or alcohol involved, so that at least should set some of
your worries to rest. Truth is often stranger than fiction, and in this
case, scarier as well.

"To tell it the way it was explained to me, after I had already seen the
proof, the world is older than any of us really knows, and it started not in
paradise as is commonly believed but in nightmares of brutality, pain and
suffering. The Earth was over run with the creatures that we today call
demons. Demons are creatures that revel in debauchery and the debasement of
life. They are things that were not gifted from the creator with a soul.
They ruled Earth for untold eons until mankind rose up and drove them out.
They did not leave all together unfortunately, and as the last True Demon
left, it mixed its blood with a mortal human's and created the first
vampire. It was to fight these creatures that the First Slayer was called
and empowered with strength and speed beyond that which normal humans
possess. These gifts allowed the Slayer the edge she needs to kill vampires
and other lesser demons that still inhabit our planet to this day. There is
only ever one Slayer, and it is always a teenaged girl, usually called
sometime between 14 and 16 years of age. When one Slayer is killed, the next
is called. We don't know why a girl so young is called, nor do we know who
does the choosing, but we do know that they aren't mortal humans."

Joyce interrupted Xander at this point, "The current Slayer I take it is
supposedly Buffy? That would be the only reason you'd be telling me this all
now."

Willow entered the conversation at this point, "Yes ma'am. The problem is
that the Slayer is guided by a group of people called, uncreatively, The
Watchers. They are, as a group, stuffy shirted Brits who insist that the
slayer fights alone, and maintain the secrecy that they have kept for untold
years. Giles though is a real decent sort, he's her watcher, and doesn't
force Buffy to fight alone, but he does try to encourage the whole secrecy
thing. We were forced by circumstances to get involved, but when given the
opportunity to get out, found that we couldn't. We couldn't just walk away
and leave Buffy to fight by herself. So now, Buffy, Xander, and I each
dedicate our talents and abilities to keeping the Vampire population in
check."

Joyce weighed back in now, "You don't expect me to just take your word for
this do you?"

"Well, it would be nice, but no. While we can't really prove the existence
of Vampires in the daytime, as they do have decent survival instincts, we
can prove that the supernatural does exist. Willow is a very powerful Mage
who could shoot the hairs off a gnat's ass at a thousand yards, and I'm a
Psionicist and a fair to decent fighter," Xander answered.

Willow interrupted, "Xander I doubt that there is anyone in the multi-verse
more skilled and has more sheer power than you do. I'd put even money
between you and Superman."

Joyce looked a bit nervous at this, and Xander decided to skip the argument
with Willow over his self-depreciation. "Mrs. Summers, I don't think I'm
quite as powerful as Willow thinks, but I am quite powerful, and
multi-talented." He floated some drinks in from the kitchen for them all,
turned the radio on and changed the stations a few times before turning it
off. "What we haven't told you yet is that we weren't born this way, we have
altered ourselves using a bit of technology that I discovered a couple of
days ago. We like you, and your daughters, and want to see you around for a
great many years to come. This is why we are here this morning we want to
protect you. I feel that we, each of us individually, are our own best, last
line of defense. We want to offer you and Dawn the chance to use the device
we found to protect yourselves, your family, and when the need comes, to
protect others if you so choose. You don't have to get involved with the
fight against the darkness, but we would welcome the assistance."

Joyce sat there for a few minutes thinking. They could be pulling an
elaborate prank, but she didn't think so, everything seemed to fit together,
and the kids did seem to be telling her the truth, even what she didn't want
to believe. After all, who wants to believe that the boogieman is real, and
while he may not be in your closet tonight, he might just move in tomorrow
night. Xander proved that at least some part of what he said was true with
his telekinesis demonstration, but that didn't necessarily prove anything
else, just that he had some special ability. "You do realize that I'm going
to want proof, right?" She finally asked.

Xander answered with his normal smirk, "I would have been disappointed
otherwise, Mrs. Summers."

"Ok, for now, I'll accept what you've been telling me, although that may be
due to shock. Tell me about this device you found. What all can it do, what
are its limitations?" Joyce asked.

"Well, as far as Xander has been able to reprogram the MAU, that's what it's
called, it really doesn't have any limitations other than the user's
imagination. Whatever you can think of, you can become. I first started off
becoming a character called Yuri from the comic book "Dirty Pair." I still
have all her implants, including the computers and the battle drugs. I also
have her Pulse Pistol which has proven quite effective against Vampires. Of
course, bladed weapons are good against vampires as well. Last night I added
in two different, but related, schools of magic, or rather two different
ways of approaching the same kind of magic. I know Xander became a Neo
Human, and he's got Wolverine's claws and regeneration, and he told me that
he added in Son Goku's fighting skills." Noticing Joyce's blank look, she
clarified, "A Neo Human is a genetically modified race of super-humans
created by C.J. Carella for the Rifts RPG. Son Goku is the hero of the
Dragon Ball cartoon, he was a martial artist that was taught an extremely
potent form of martial arts."

"So, if I wanted a Green Lantern Corps Power Ring?" Joyce asked unsteadily.

"I'd be welcoming you to the Corps! Of course, I might suggest adding
something a bit more directly damaging against vampires, like pyrokinesis,"
Xander answered.

Willow added, "You may want to increase your natural healing as well."

"Ok then, how do we do this?" Joyce asked after making up her mind to get
involved, not just in her eldest daughter's life, but the fight itself.

Xander opened his backpack and pulled out the MAU in its storage form and
moved some furniture out of the way telekinetically. As he expanded it to
full size, he explained further, "The MAU, or Morphic Adaptation Unit, has a
few safeguards and limitations. First, it cannot create life. That said, it
can't make you pregnant, but it could make it so that the next time you had
sex, you would get pregnant, ignoring any contraceptives you may have used.
Second, it will not alter a body into a less fit state. It can't make you
sick, or create a plague that will wipe out all of mankind. It can't reduce
your intelligence, or alter your personality. It can make you comfortable in
whatever body you walk out with as though it were your own. Third, you've
got to be able to get it either into or out of the MAU for it to do
something." After thinking for a few moments he continued, "To operate the
MAU, you normally place your hand on the red palm print, and think of what
you want to become. So to start, let's think of the standard Green Lantern
Uniform."

What appeared on screen was Joyce, similar to how she currently looked,
except a fair few years younger, well into her twenties as Xander was the
one operating the MAU. She had also lost a bit of weight and picked up a
toned appearance in the Green Lantern Bodysuit. The uniform itself was black
overall as is tradition, with green gauntlets, a green mask that covered her
eyes and nose, green boots with a 3" heel. The chest bore the Green Lantern
symbol in a black sphere, which was in turn resting on a green mantle that
covered the shoulders. She looked good, but without revealing more than
necessary. Willow noticed that Xander had again, unintentionally used his
mental image of the woman, rather than what she really looked like. Well, at
least she thought it was unintentional anyway, Xander had never shown any
real interest in Joyce in spite of all his flirting. Willow got up quietly
and went to go get Dawn for the next stage in their plans.

"Next we add in the regeneration and resistance to disease and illness, and
remove the need to recharge the ring or repeat the Oath every 24 hours, as
they really can be a liability. If you wish for other things, we can add
them now, or you can add them in later, Lady's choice?"

Joyce decided to go for everything now, just to see if it really could do
all she wanted. "Go ahead and add in the pyrokinesis and heightened
reflexes."

Xander made the modifications he was bade, then added in a waist belt with
the Green Lantern logo and attached a pair of low-slung holsters. The right
holster contained a modified DL-44, similar to what Han Solo carried. The
left holster contained a lightsaber with a blade the same color green as her
costume. Before finalizing the changes, he also added into the left gauntlet
the function of a Starfleet Tricorder, a subspace communicator into the
right gauntlet, and the skills to use each of the devices as well as the
Green Lantern powers.

Joyce exited the MAU in the Green Lantern Uniform and gave Xander a Hug and
whispered quietly, "Thanks."

Xander replied in kind, "Always happy to help the women in my life to live
out their dreams."

Willow re-entered the living room with Dawn who froze seeing the Female
Green Lantern standing there hugging her Xander. It was just a bit unreal.

Joyce, noticing her youngest daughter frozen on the stairs, "Dawn?"

Things started processing for her again as she recognized the voice, "Mom?"

Joyce moved over to where Dawn stood on the stairs, "You ok honey?"

Dawn nodded, still just slightly out of it, "Mom? You're a Green Lantern?"

Xander chuckled, "She is now Morning Light."

Dawn turned to him, "What do you mean Xander?"

"I mean that she wasn't a Green Lantern before I arranged for the creation
of her Power Ring. Of course, we added a few things that most Green Lanterns
don't get."

"How? Why?" Dawn asked.

"Because Sunnydale is dangerous for those who don't know what's going on."

"Oh, you mean like Vampires and Demons."

Joyce looked sharply at her daughter and asked, "How do you know about that
stuff?"

"Please mother, it's rather obvious around Sunnydale, although most people
ignore the bad stuff they don't want to see. Besides, Buffy's the Slayer
that dates a Vampire, Xander and Willow have been in love since forever, and
my mother's the new Green Lantern. Being the 'Nosy Little Sister' has its
advantages. Perfectly reasonable." Dawn smirked, "Besides, I got my brains
from somewhere, it certainly wasn't from Dad, it's just too bad Buffy is
more like Dad than you."

Now Joyce was worried, but chose to overlook the sibling insults, "What's
this about Buffy dating a Vampire? I thought she was seeing that college
boy, Angel?"

Xander explained, "Angel is a vampire ma'am, and he's about 300 years old,
if I remember right. The difference between Angel and the average Vampire is
that the demon Angelus was cursed about 200 years ago. That curse gave the
original soul back control of the body. Personally, I think he's a broody,
cowardly, bastard, but that's just me apparently." Xander said morosely,
"The girls all think he's this dreamy romantic pretty boy."

"Yes, well, if I have anything to say about it, she won't be dating the
Undead any more, regardless of how dreamy and romantic she thinks he is."
Joyce said.

Xander spoke to Willow, "Will, could you and Mrs. Summers make a lunch run
for the five of us, while I explain a few of the most recent changes to
Dawn?"

They both agreed and departed while Xander and Dawn sat down. Xander
explained about the things that had happened during the week, ending up with
helping her mother become the first real Green Lantern. As they had been
friends for what seemed longer than the time they had actually known each
other, the explanation went quickly.

Dawn took a moment to assimilate everything, but responded, "And you're
going to let me use the MAU as well, right?"

"Yes, so long as I have your word that you won't try anything that might get
me in trouble with your mom."

"I promise that you won't get in trouble for anything I do Xander. You only
ever get in trouble for the things that you've done." 

"Yeah, but it usually involved you this past summer."

"Not my fault mom needed a sense of humor transplant, but she seems better
now that Buffy's home and school started again." Dawn looked at the MAU. "I
just put my hand on the print and think what I want?"

"Yep, simple as that. I don't need to, but that's just because I gave myself
that ability."

"Cool." Dawn put her hand on the palm print and thought of herself, and she
appeared on the display. Dawn added in all the standard Jedi abilities, all
the special Jedi Talents that she could remember from the comics and novels
she had read since getting to know Xander, and she figured most importantly,
she added in all the training that the Old Jedi Order provided. This
included all the various lightsaber forms. It also included the teachings on
the Jedi Code, but ignored the nonsense about suppressing one's emotions as
though feeling them would invariably lead one down the path of the dark
side. Humans were inherently emotional creatures, and need to learn to not
necessarily act on their emotions, but to recognize the emotions and
understand them, and in so doing, analyze why they feel the way they do and
what appropriate actions might be based upon those emotions, if there are
any.

She thought of what else she might like, and the image on screen aged
several years to about 17. Thinking that, yes, she might like to be a little
older, she kept the change. She added in the abilities of the Washu
character from Tenchi Muyo. She also added in everything that Gina Diggers,
also known as Gold Digger, and Bulma Briefs, from Dragonball Z, knew. On her
utility belt she created a Sorosuub S5 Security Blaster and a lightsaber
that would have a Cyan blade edge, but an emerald green core. She attached a
complete Starfleet medical kit as a backpack and put an advanced Tricorder
on her belt as well.

Before she finished, Dawn decided to get some really big things from the
MAU, more as a test to see if it would actually work than a true desire for
them, so she added a series of Capsule Corp Capsules. Inside the first
capsule she placed a custom built Imperial II Star Destroyer with a
manufacturing plant in its holds. This Star Destroyer was capable of
building anything, including other starships so long as it had access to the
raw materials it would need. It also carried all the most advanced Star Trek
technologies, all powered by two miniature stars. Instead of Turbo Laser
Batteries, it carried the same Type 12 phaser banks that the latest
Enterprise did. It had Quantum Torpedoes instead of proton torpedoes, and
was protected by Federation Shields. Internally, it was almost fully
automated, just like a Federation Starship and had transporters,
replicators, sick bays, science labs, and powerful Starfleet sensor arrays. 

The second capsule held a customized TIE-Defender with the Federation Phased
Cloaking device and a small living area behind the cockpit that wasn't much
more than a bathroom, a bed, and a few cupboards. It wound up making the
Defender about 20% larger, but with the pylons moving the maneuvering
thrusters further from the central core, it wound up increased its
maneuverability substantially. Using a Federation impulse reactor also
provided more power for shields, weapons, the cloaking device, and greater
sub-light speed and the oversized impulse driver coils should allow it to
hit 85 PSL as well as being able to enter hyperspace on its own. 

The third capsule contained several droids. She had an R6 series astromech
droid, which was similar to the R2 that most people would be familiar with
but was significantly more advanced. This particular R6 droid was modified
with a powerful shield generator, a DL-44 blaster pistol, a short-range
remote processor, a vocabulator, it's own built in Starfleet communicator,
and a built in tricorder. She thought it was too bad that nobody had ever
thought to create a man portable Starfleet shield generator. Dawn then
realized that it didn't matter and replace the regular Star Wars droid
shield with a Federation shield generator. Dawn added a pair of Droidekas
that would be slaved to the R6 along with 6 pit droids and 4 LE series
repair droids, all of which had remote receivers installed so that they too
would be slaved to the R6.

The fourth capsule contained a handheld computer that had all the data on
all the Sci-fi technologies that she knew of. Included were the sciences and
knowledge from Star Wars, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, Transformers,
Macross, Macross II, Macross Plus, Macross 7, Genesis Chamber Mospeda, Sol
Bianca, Super Dimensional Cavalry Southern Cross, Megazone 21, Armitage III,
Bubblegum Crisis, and Patlabor. Dawn also included the specifications on the
MAU. Ok, she had to admit it to herself. She was an anime addict, but that
was Xander's fault and she was fine with that. Then again, if you want
really advanced technology, as a sci-fi junkie, that was the place to find
it. The fifth capsule held a collection of speeders and swoops, again, some
of which were modified from their basic configuration.

Finally satisfied that she had added in everything that she wanted right
now, she pressed the little red button and hopped in.

Coming out of the MAU, she realized that she didn't just get an older body,
but her poorly thought instructions to the MAU early on had given her the
realization that she wasn't just Dawn Summers, but that she was also The Key
of Dagon, a mystical artifact that could create passageways between
dimensions. The Gina Diggers in her now thought it was hardly a surprise
that the monks had barely survived not just the Hell Goddess herself, but
the casting of the spell that protected the Key of Dagon as well. Not to
mention the fact that they Created Life in giving her a body, a major no-no
when it came to the so called laws of magic.

"Very cool Xander." She said grinning a mile wide.

Xander noticed the body that Dawn had exited the MAU in, thinking she was
hotter than Buffy, which was saying something in his mind. He realized the
thought was going to get him into trouble if anyone else heard it and
dragged it kicking and screaming back into his subconscious. "Um, Dawn, I
think this qualifies as something that your mom is going to try to skin me
over. You're supposed to be 12."

"Actually, I haven't been created yet. You can blame some Monks in Outer
Mongolia or something for that. The MAU just made it so that I knew myself,
and even that was a bit of an accident."

"Huh?" was his ever-intelligent reply.

"Ok, let me start with when I was telling the MAU what I wanted. I was
actually wondering what I wanted, and the MAU showed me in this body. I
thought it was kind of cool so I kept it, not knowing what else went on
between the ears. When I got out, I discovered that one of the basic wants
and desires of all humans is to know ourselves. In order to fulfill that
desire, I had to know that I'm the Key of Dagon, given human form and sent
here to Sunnydale in order to protect it from a Hell Goddess who will come
looking for it in several years. She will try to use the Key to get home,
and in so doing, destroy our planet. Dawn Summers is a temporal artifact of
a spell not yet cast. Of course, before they cast the spell that gave me
human form, they couldn't get my input on the subject. As such, I think I
should be able to choose to have an older body if I want one. From one
perspective, I'm as old as existence itself. From another perspective, I am
a 12 years old girl. From a third perspective, I don't yet exist. From a
fourth perspective, I am as old as I choose to be. Which one is more correct
when all four are Truth?"

"You know, I used to love watching all those time travel shows on Star Trek,
but you're giving me a headache. Is this going to cause a paradox?"

"Nope. Already done. Can't be done again. Can't be Undone. Ergo, no
paradox."

"Big word there, what all did you do?"

"Well, I always loved Star Wars, and lately you've gotten me hooked on anime
and manga, so I added in Washu, Gold Digger, and Bulma. I also added a few
other bits from Dragonball Z, like the capsules."

"I'll let you off that hook for now, but you explain it to your mother," who
took that as her cue to walk back into the house with their lunches courtesy
of Subway.

"Explain what to her mother?" Joyce asked.

"Food first mom, I'm starving!" 

"Dawn! What did you do to yourself young lady?" Joyce exclaimed once she
noticed the slightly different Dawn standing in the living room. Willow was
gaping at the girl as well, and she was busy having an argument with herself
about how Dawn was supposed to be 12, and Good Willows do not have dirty
thoughts about other girls. Besides, I have Xander now; I don't need a
hottie girlfriend. Stop that! That's Dawn you're drooling over! She kept
telling herself this. Just as she had every other time she had those
thoughts about other girls.

"Turns out I'm older than we thought. I would prefer to explain further
after food. Growing girl here!"

"I can see the growing part, what I want to know is why."

"Short answer is that I goofed with the MAU and was thinking about what I
really wanted, and it showed me myself at 17. After thinking about it for a
bit, I decided to keep it. Long answer after food!"

"You sure?" Joyce thought to herself well, we can let her play teenager for
now, and we can always turn her back later.

"Yes. Sandwich?"

Joyce caved in and she and Willow began unpacking everyone's favorites from
the bag. 

After lunch, Dawn suggested that they get Buffy up so she only had to
explain it once more, and Buffy was likely to be more problematic than her
mother. 

Willow canceled the sleep and silence spells and woke Buffy. Once Buffy was
awake, the story was explained to Buffy, including the fact that her two
best friends had gone behind the backs of both The Slayer and The Watcher,
and told The Mother about The Night Job. Proceeding on to the discovery of
the MAU and what the four of them had done with it. Dawn also explained the
unintended consequences that the MAU had on her.

Dawn had noticed the extra attention Xander was receiving as both Willow and
Xander kept sneaking peaks at her. It took her a little while to figure it
out, but once she did, she grinned to herself and began slipping coy little
smiles at both Willow and Xander. 

 

* * *

Once back in the living room, Xander made an offer to Buffy. "Buffy, you've
complained several times about having been called as a Slayer. I think that
you are correct that it should have been a choice, so now I'm going to give
you the opportunity that you've been complaining about. I'm going to let you
retire from being the slayer."

Buffy, shocked at the possibility, asked, "You can do that?"

"Well, I can't, but the MAU can. You may be the Slayer right now, but that
only makes you the weakest person currently in this house. Yes, I can use
the MAU to make you more powerful as well, but what happens the next time
you make a mistake? What happens the next time you decide that your way is
the only way, and everyone who doesn't agree with you is wrong? You were
called for a purpose, to kill vampires and demons. This purpose doesn't make
you better than everyone else, only your own actions speak to that. My
question for you, Buffy, is do you want to stay being the Slayer, or do you
want to get out of the fight against the darkness?"

"I, I don't know. If I stay a slayer, what do you intend to do?"

"Well, first, we decide as a group who the new leader is going to be. I
won't follow someone who won't listen to everyone's opinions as though they
don't matter just because they think that might makes right. Since there
isn't an apocalypse due for quite a while, I think we can put off making
that decision a few days. Second, if you can manage to get your ego in
check, I'll help you decide what other boosts you might find useful to the
slayer package. Third, I'd like to see what else is out there, is it just
this one tiny planet full of life, or are there others in the galaxy? I know
what Dawn's capsules contain, and I would like to see if they work, and what
can be done with them," Xander told the group. "Of course, if you choose not
to stay a Slayer, most of that remains the same, just whether or not you are
included in the big stuff or if you choose to live a normal life, provided
that you can do so in Sunnydale."

"Will you give me some time to think about it Xan?"

"Sure Buff, let me know when you've figured yourself out, k?"

Buffy nodded and walked out the back door to go think for a while, deciding
on what she wanted, now that she had a choice.

The rest of the group stuck around the living room discussing options, what
all they could do with the MAU and the things that they got from it. Xander
confessed to setting up the deal with Marty, and thought that he should
continue it, so long as Marty also helps give him information as to who's
doing what in Sunnydale. Assuming that the capsule idea works, and they can
get very big objects from them, they should maybe see about getting some
more property and setting up some legitimate businesses that will allow
these technologies to get out to the market, thereby making them all filthy
rich. Xander figured that they could go to Vegas and win a few Slot Machine
Jackpots on Sunday. That alone should earn them enough money to do as they
please for a while, and as long as they waste some of it at the casino, they
should be permitted to do it again in the future, should they need to.

With that as the next course of business, Xander hopped into the MAU and got
a package of his own Capsule Corp Capsules, including his own lightsaber
with a dark green blade, a tiny Type I phaser, and a Tricorder of his own.
The capsules contained Utopia Planetia shipyards, the Enterprise-E from the
most recent Trek movie, The Defiant with a Federation Phased Cloaking
Device, a brand new 1967 Shelby Mustang GT 500, and the corporate
headquarters for Capsule Corp. In the sixth capsule, he stored the SDF-2
Megaroad. The Megaroad was about 33% larger than the SDF-1 Macross, and
supported a much larger weapons array as well as a much larger complement of
starfighters and a higher colonist capacity. While she was only 1/3 larger,
she had double the combat capability. Xander didn't know if the systems
would be compatible with Federation Phaser strips, but he hoped so. He hoped
that most of the systems would be compatible. Xander stopped and stared off
into space for a moment. He was being stupid. He didn't have to leave it to
chance; he could simply MAKE the Megaroad and related Macross systems
compatible with Federation systems. Hell, he didn't even have to refit the
Megaroad after producing it, he could refit it himself now. So, he did.
Instead of rows upon rows of laser turrets, he replaced them with Class XII
Phaser Strips. Instead of the Pinpoint Barrier System, he added metaphasic
shields. He added vastly more effective inertial dampeners. And instead of
the huge number of missile launchers, he replaced them with Quantum Torpedo
Launchers. Then he swapped out the reactor that would no longer provide
sufficient power with a pair of Warp Cores and a large number of Fusion
reactors for back up power.

Upon Xander's exiting the MAU, everyone went out to the back yard to see if
the capsules worked, and if there was a size limitation.

Xander tossed his first capsule, the Shelby Mustang into the driveway, and
out popped the hot rod in an explosion of smoke. Satisfied, he invited Dawn
to go next, and she tossed out the capsule containing the speeders and
swoops. What popped out was exactly what she had programmed, several racing
swoops, several combat speeders, and even one speeder truck outfitted as an
APC.

Sufficiently impressed, Xander and Dawn talked briefly about the other
capsules and how best to deploy them as they were quickly running out of
room. Xander had the Defiant that certain fit their needs, but was larger
than the amount of space they currently had available. Dawn had her Tie
Defender, but it lacked transporters necessary to deploy anything larger. It
was the major hole in her otherwise solid plan. 

While Xander and Dawn were discussing the merits and flaws of various
methods of getting into space, Willow went back inside to use the MAU again,
having had the idea to add D&D Wizard magic to her repertoire. She included
a rather large set of spell ingredients and a complete set of spell books,
including several empty books. And just for the fun of it, and because she
didn't want to be left out, she included a Jedi package as well, getting a
lightsaber with a purple blade, a tricorder, and a BlasTech DT-12 all on a
utility belt. As capsules, Willow added a Merr-Sonn Underslung Rotary
Blaster Carbine, a Tenlos Disrupter Rifle, a SoroSuub Firelance blaster
rifle, a case of power packs, and a Type 3c Phaser rifle.

The four decided to take a drive out to the desert in Xander's brand new
Mustang and deploy the Defiant. He would fly up the fifty feet to the ship,
entering through the docking bay and take command of the vessel then
transport everyone else up so that they could collectively deploy the rest
of their assets, assuming of course that they worked. Dawn stored the
speeders back inside the capsule, and they all took off for the desert.

 

***

Xander alighted onto the deck of the Defiant Class Warship. Knowing
everything he did about the operations of starships as imparted to him by
the MAU, he spoke with authority. "Computer, Identify Harris, Alexander
LaVelle, Fleet Admiral. As of now, I am assuming command of this vessel."

The computer responded in the predicted voice of the dead writer's wife,
"Identity Acknowledged. Fleet Admiral Harris has command."

Xander walked to the transporter room, and operated the console to transport
the three women onto the ship.

Dawn, very excited by the experience, "That was so cool, Xan!"

Willow was looking a little green from being cut off momentarily from
*everything* and then reconnecting to it. "I think I'm going to be sick."

Joyce was impressed, but not as over awed as Dawn was. She realized that the
technology to make transporters work was very advanced, but didn't care as
much as her youngest did, that and she was concerned about Willow's
reaction. Joyce conjured a green bucket for Willow and handed it to her,
"Here sweetie, are you going to be ok?"

Willow nodded, "So long as I don't have to do that again. Next time, I think
I'll do it the magical way."

Once Willow was feeling better, Xander led them all to the bridge, and said
to his friends, "Ok, everyone Identify yourselves to the computer. Just say
'Computer, identify' followed by your name, last name first please."

Joyce started, "Computer, identify Summers, Joyce."

"Identity Acknowledged."

Willow was next, "Computer, identify Rosenberg, Willow."

"Identity Acknowledged."

Finally Dawn said, "Computer, identify Summers, Dawn."

"Identity Acknowledged."

Xander spoke to the computer again, "Computer, Register Dawn Summers as the
Chief Science Officer Rank: Lieutenant Commander. Register Willow Rosenberg
as Chief Magical Officer with the same rank. Register Joyce Summers as
Ship's Councilor Rank: Commander."

"Acknowledged, Ranks and positions registered," the computer responded.

"Dawn, would you care to take the helm?" Xander asked as he sat in the
Captain's Chair.

Dawn offered him a sloppy salute and a big smile saying, "Yes Sir!" and
hurried to the position directly in front of the captain.

"Willow, if you would care to, the normal science station is here, with
everything you know about computers, I'm sure you'll pick up the LCARS
system quickly." He gestured to the station directly to his left and
continued, "Mrs. Summers, feel free to sit where ever you'd like, The
Defiant was built as a warship, unlike most other Federation designs. If you
sit with Willow though, I'm sure that she can help you get used to the
computer system, if you need it." 

"Thank you, Xander," she offered him a small but warm smile.

Xander turned back to Dawn again, who had just finished re-configuring her
station to include most of the critical functions, including tactical,
navigations, and operations.

Dawn beat him to the punch however, and reported, "All systems operational,
and in stand by mode. Shields, Phasers, Quantum Torpedoes, Phased Cloaking
Device, Thrusters, Impulse Drive, Warp Drive, Standing by on your orders."

"Thanks Dawn, in that case, I think I'll make history by saying, Engage
Cloak and take us up. Oh, and before I forget completely, transport my car
to cargo bay one please?"

"Transport Complete. Cloaking Device activating. Engaging course for high
orbit, Thrusters at full." Dawn looked over at Xander, "You do realize, that
even remaining on thrusters, we have just broken every human speed record in
existence?"

"Yeah, not bad for an afternoon's work." Xander quipped back at her.

"The question is what do we play with next, and what do we do with it all?"

"How about your Star Destroyer?"

"Sure, if we deploy it inside the main asteroid belt, then it should have
sufficient resources to build whatever we want it to. The only real question
will be staffing concerns. The Defiant didn't have an Industrial Replicator
on board, so we can't just replicate some droids. Wish I had thought about
that."

"Don't worry about it Dawn, I can deploy the Sovereign class Enterprise, and
we can use the industrial replicators aboard her to make as many droids as
we need. And don't forget we still have the MAU to get any other models of
droids we need in the short term."

Joyce looked to Xander, "How intelligent are these droids Xander?"

"Well, almost all of them have human level intelligence. Of course, that in
its self is a significant range of intelligence. They are all capable of
following at least simple commands based on what they were designed to do.
Most can communicate in binary, though some models speak English, they all
understand it."

"Aren't we risking creating a slave race?"

"I don't think so. Very few droids ever develop sentience. It is possible
for the higher order droids, like protocol droids and some astromech droids
like R2D2. All of their reactions and responses are, for the most part,
programmed. I suppose it would be better to say that they simulate
sentience. For the most part, for a droid to develop true sentience would
require certain flexibility in their programming and a capacity to learn. It
would also require that they be treated like people, so that they
internalize that anthropomorphism. At least, that's the theory."

"What other options do we have right now?" Willow asked.

"A few, but I don't think any of them are any good." Joyce replied. "We
could hire people, but that would require larger amounts of money than we
have right now, and I don't know that I would really trust most people not
to abuse the level of technology that we have available, not counting the
MAU. We could also turn most of this over to the government and let them
worry about it, though they haven't proven themselves worthy of this kind of
technology either. Of course, we can also create the droids you were talking
about. That gets awfully close to slavery in my book."

Xander thought for a moment or two before responding. "I think that the only
option we have right now is the Droid option. If sentience becomes an issue,
we simply offer any droid who wants it its freedom, after a term of
service."

"Sounds reasonable for now Xander." Joyce said with Willow and Dawns
agreement.

"Good, Dawn, take us to the asteroid belt, but take it slow, I want to check
out the rest of the ship."

"Sure Xan, half hour enough?"

"Should be. I'm just going to go claim the Captain's Stateroom, and check
the armory. See how complete a job the MAU did. Dawn, you have the bridge."

As Xander left the bridge, he began communicating with the main computer,
memorizing the layout of the ship, and setting a few features, such as
making sure that the ship's clock was set to the twentieth century, not the
twenty-fourth. Xander quickly claimed the Captain's stateroom, and ordered
the computer to seal it if he wasn't inside. He expanded the MAU and had it
make him another capsule with Commander Data inside it. From the
replicators, he took a Fleet Admiral's uniform, circa 2375, with 5 silver
pips that he immediately donned, keeping his weapons belt. Data might
question the rank and uniform due to his apparent age, or the lack of it,
but would likely accept the rank for the time being. Hopefully it would give
him enough time to just get Data going along, and once he had achieved that,
momentum would carry them through.

Xander took Data's capsule down to the armory and picked up a case of
communicators, a case of the small type I phasers, and an additional
Tricorder for Willow, not having noticed what all was on her utility belt.
Proceeding from there to main engineering where he planned on using the
capsule.

"Computer, I want you to recognize this object. It is called a Capsule Corp
Capsule, or simply just a Capsule. For now, we will identify this as a Type
I capsule, meaning that it has no upper limit on storage capacity. I am
going to activate it shortly. Associated with its activation sensors will
detect a subspace event. This is the normal function of this device, and no
alerts are required, other than to the bridge duty officer and the standard
entry into the ships log."

"Standing by," the computer responded dutifully.

"Activating Capsule," Xander informed the computer as he pressed the plunger
on the cylinder and placed it on the worktable. Five seconds, and one cloud
of smoke later, Commander Data laid on the table.

"Capsule activation Sequence identified."

"Good. Computer, should you ever detect the activation of a Type I capsule
again, you are to immediately transport it to one hundred thousand
kilometers directly to port. This is a general order to be spread throughout
the fleet. A command officer or department head can over ride this order."

"General Order Acknowledged and will be transmitted to any Starbases and
Starships that come within range."

"Thank you. Now to wake sleeping beauty." Xander sat Data up on the table
and hit the activation switch in his lower back.

As Data powered up and began to move on his own, Xander release him.

"Excuse me sir, but where am I?" Data asked.

"Name, Rank, Status."

The android responded immediately, "Data, Commander, Second Officer of the
USS Enterprise-E. I appear to be fully functional."

"Good. My name is Fleet Admiral Xander Harris. You are currently in Main
Engineering of the USS Defiant, my Flagship, on route from Earth to its main
asteroid belt. This ship's current mission is to deploy two strategic assets
and secure their operation before returning to Earth under stealth. The
current year is 1998, and we have not traveled back in time. The Defiant is
currently the most powerful, and only, starship in known space. Do you have
any questions?"

"Yes Sir. How is it that a human who has yet to reach his majority has
earned the rank of Fleet Admiral?"

"Good question. What do you know of ancient Earth history, specifically how
human culture came to be?"

"I am familiar with the historical accounts as well as several of the
mythological accountings."

"Most of which state that humans began in a paradise?"

"Yes Sir, there are several, such as the Babylonian accounting which suggest
otherwise, but there are very few corroborating elements from other regional
accountings."

"Do any of them also include the driving off of demons and the creation of
vampires?"

"No Sir. May I ask why you are asking this line of question?"

"Because Commander Data, that is how humanity began, as slaves and cattle to
creatures that we currently call demons." Xander continued to tell Data
about the history of the world as told by the Watchers council. He continued
on to tell the story about how he came to involve himself in the fight
against the darkness, and how he had stumbled upon the MAU on Thursday
night. He told the Commander what he and his friends had done with it, and
what they had planned on doing with it. In the end, Data agreed to honor the
ranks and roles that the young man had assigned, and to assist in the
rebuilding of the Earth defensive network. Further projects would be
determined at a later date, however, Data wanted to be in on any exploring
that got done, as it was his primary motivation for joining Starfleet. While
he had not been as fascinated as his previous captain had been at the early
exploration of the Federation, it would be a worthwhile endeavor.

Dawn's voice came over the intercom, "Xander, you want to join us? We've
reached the asteroid belt."

"Be right there Dawn. Xander out." Xander turned to Data, "With me Mr.
Data."

"Aye Sir."

Xander and Data went back to the bridge. The women were surprised to see two
people walk onto the bridge, when one had left.

Mrs. Summers looked at Xander and the new person, "Xander, I thought the MAU
couldn't create life?"

"It can't. Mr. Data is not alive, as such, but he is sentient. I have asked
for his help, and he has granted it. He has agreed to follow my orders, and
honor your ranks as well. I think I'm going to promote him to captain of the
Enterprise and we should give him command of the Shipyard Star Destroyer,
under the general mission of establishing the primary defensive line around
earth."

Once the Star Destroyer and the Enterprise had been deployed, Xander and
Data transported over to the Enterprise where Xander assumed command,
promoted Commander Data to Captain, and then transferred command of the
Enterprise to Data. Xander spent some time entering a few droid designs into
the industrial replicators and left Data to secure the area, then to decide
how best to defend the Earth from a military standpoint from unknown
threats. Once Data had figured out a plan, Xander would use the MAU to speed
up the process as much as possible. Data should also take the opportunity to
get the Star Destroyer Shipyard up and running.

Once Data was settled in with a few droid assistants, Xander and the others
returned to earth.

Before splitting up for the night, Xander suggested that they go to Vegas in
the morning and have some fun and make a little money. Joyce objected at
first on ethical grounds, but Xander convinced her that they didn't need a
lot of money, just enough to get started, just enough to buy a few pieces of
property for their Earth based business fronts.

 

***

Cheyenne Mountain

A Major walked up to a desk, came to attention and waited to be
acknowledged.

The man behind the desk signed the form he was reading and noticed the
Major, "Yes Major?"

"General, Tracking reports a hypersonic signature outbound from the
Southwest united states. We had nothing on radar, or on infrared. We lost
the object completely once it left the atmosphere."

"I see. Was it one of the Starfall objects?"

"No sir. The object that left the atmosphere was much larger. According to
the computer's estimates, the object that produced that shockwave had to be
quite large, in the same range as an Arleigh Burke destroyer."

"You checked the computer for errors?"

"Yes sir. Self-Test showed clean. I've got a few of the physics guys from
downstairs confirming the numbers."

"Alright, be ready for it to come back, and make sure that my briefing
package for the president includes this new contact. It may not have been a
Starfall object, but it is possibly related."

"Yes Sir."

"Dismissed."

 

 

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