It was all about connections. Who had them, who didn't and what they could do for you.

Edward Hale sat behind his dark cherry desk, using the toe of his fine Italian leather shoe to idly twist the high back leather chair back and forth. Sunlight filtered in the necro-treated glass window pane which looked out across the city of Cleveland beneath him. He steepled his fingers together, gazing solemnly out over the busy streets of Cleveland while Marcus and Caroline waited.

Finally, Edward spun the chair around and slid up to the desk. "I believe that you have something for me, Marcus?"

Prompted to speak, Marcus, Edward's administrative and personal assistant stepped forward. He flipped open his tablet notebook, "I did as you asked, Edward, and ran a check on those names you provided." Marcus paused. When Edward said nothing, merely raised his eyebrows in prompting, the vampire continued. "Daniel Jackson, Ph.D. He is a discredited archeaologist. He expounded on theories that human civilization was older --"

( Read more... )

Who: Xander
When: The morning after Welcome to the Hellmouth
Where: Various Locations in Slayer Central
Invited: Everyone!
Status: Incomplete

The house was alive.

Not in any true sense of the house being a living, sentient entity, which was sadly always a possibility on the hellmouth, but alive in the sense that the denizens within were awake and in motion. Having a room at the top of the house, and farthest from the kitchen and dining room was only a mild blessing. Xander was not always immediately awakened by the sound of the girls rising, but eventually the playful – and sometimes not so playful – bickering made it up to his ears. Voices rose and fell, showers turned on, toilets flushed and there was that wonderful, aromatic smell of coffee tickling away the last vestiges of sleep.

(  Resisting coffee was no mean feat, )

The women moved like dancers, grace in motion. Circling around, back to back, both executed high kicks, dropped down into a crouch and delivered sweeping kicks before twisting, turning and switching places, bringing down their weapons of choice, an axe and a mace, down into the skulls of their enemies. Both bodies twitched a moment before going still as the women panted and watched.

"Little help here!" The call came a few feet away, and with nods of acknowledgment, the two women, one swarthy, athletic and brunette, the other tall, cocoa skinned with piercing green eyes, turned and jogged to the sound of continuing battle.

"Thought you had this, Xan," the brunette called out as she literally leapt into the center of the circle of four shambling zombies circling a dark haired man with an eye patch. He fended them off well with a lead pipe, but it was easy to see that he was tiring and didn't have the stamina – or the skill – of the two warrior women.

"I had one," the man, called as he scored a hit with the pipe. One zombie, a burly former football player type by the look of him, stumbled backwards, right into the taller woman's mace. It sent a huge chuck of his chest flying right onto the man she was supposed to be helping.

"Oops, sorry Xan."

"Great. Zombie juice. You know it takes forever to come out right?"

The head of what had once been someone's grandmother rolled to his feet. The mouth continued to move and the man drove his pipe into the skull. "Hate it when they keep talking."

In quick, fluid motions that would have done a martial artist proud, the remaining zombies were dismembered and left as twitching bits on the ground all around.

"So, yet another order of live action Night of the Living Dead," the man dropped the pipe to the ground, wiping his grimy hand on his ruined shirt. He pulled a face at the realization of what he'd done. "Anyone seeing a trend?"

"More than I like," the lithe brunette kicked at a piece of zombie. "These were faster. And they're getting stronger."

The man focused his one eye up at the overhead moon. "God, I just love the hellmouth in spring."

Chloe checked the "christmas tree"--two rows of lights on the console just below the cockpit window. The row of white lights were dark; the green lights glowed sleadily, showing Chloe that all of the lifeboat's hatches were securely sealed. "We're buttoned up tight," she said to Cassandra. "Why 'christmas tree'?"

"It's what they called it on submarines in World War II," Cassandra said off-handedly. "Now what?"

Cassandra was sitting in the co-pilot's seat. Chloe was in the pilot's chair doing her first non-simulated take off. She was plenty nervous about it, too. Jon and Cassandra's assurances that she really couldn't screw up too badly--certainly couldn't hurt them--because of built-in failsafes didn't help all that much. Even if it was only embarrassing, it would be--well, embarrassing. She'd never hear the end of it, especially from Jon. Which is why Cassandra had locked him out of the cockpit.

"Chloe?"

Right. What next? "Ah...power up to zero bouyancy?" It wasn't bouyancy, per se. They weren't floating on water. But activating the lifeboat's inertia-less drive and bringing the ship to zero gravity status amounted to the same thing. At Cassandra's nod, Chloe reached out and touched the correct control. The sudden floating sensation in her belly told her she'd succeeded. Gravity no longer had a hold of it. Were she standing outside, Chloe could have pushed the ship through the air-- slowly, because it's mass was still there. But she could have done it.

"And now I activate the ship's cloak--" Chloe did so. "--and take her up," Chloe continued. She flexed the fingers of her right hand and tightened her grip on the stick.

"Not yet," Cassandra said. "What are you forgetting?"

"Oh--uhm...I don't know," Chloe admitted.

"Check your flight path for obstacles. A collision with another aircraft won't harm the lifeboat, but we don't want to hurt anyone else."

"Right, right," Chloe said, feeling abashed. She studied the console for a moment, then touched a control. A wide, pale green cone filled the space in front of her, showing all the possible paths she could take. Half a dozen blinking red lines snaked through it, accompanied by constantly changing fields of data, warning of potential collisions. Chloe touched another control, locking those paths out--if she tried to steer a course that would cause a collision the autopilot would intervene.

"Now you fly," Cassandra said.

Chloe smiled, excited by the opportunity despite her worries. She swallowed once, adjusted her grip on the stick and pulled back. The lifeboat lifted off at a steep angle, though not at great speed. The constellation of other aircraft swung through the green cone as her vector changed, some vanishing off one side while others came into view. When Chloe was free of the ground and accelerated the green cone narrowed as her maneuverability decreased.

The sky darkened rapidly and within minute the lifeboat was in complete vacuum well above the earth. Chloe felt a sudden desire to turn and make for the moon. After a moment's thought, she gave into it. It took the Apollo astronauts three days to get there. The lifeboat could do it in a fraction of that time. The detour wouldn't take long, so what the hell....

Who: Ami
When: The morning after leaving the Middle Ages
Where: Sleep cubicle, the cockpit
Invited: Everyone!
Status: Incomplete

Medieval England had been educational, enlightening, and engaging. Ami had been excited to "live history" for all of a few hours. The sights, the sounds and the smells – that she would be ever so happy to forget – granted new levels of understanding to her academic knowledge. Soon, however, trudging through dirt "road" often layered with horse manure, batting away fleas and flies and other insects, grew less and less novel. By the time they were able to squirrel away shelter in what was supposed to have been a barn for the night, Ami had been more than ready to leave the past behind.

No pun intended.

Certainly, she'd experienced similar in third world countries and relief areas, but somehow those experiences didn't seem as "raw" as "living history." One thing for certain, those authentic "recreations" would never quite live up to the real thing. (And that's a very good thing, indeed.)

( Read more... )

Who: Ami
When: Day 2 onboard the lifeboat
Where: The galley, the sleep capsules
Invited: Everyone
Status: Incomplete

Despite her late night, Ami woke early, or at least earlier than the rest of those on the lifeboat. Sometime during the night, she'd awoken feeling cramped and claustrophobic. She crawled out of Jon's cubicle, leaving him sated and sleeping and looking all of his not so young years. Tired and fully sated herself, Ami's modesty was forgotten and she curled up in her own capsule completely naked and dropped back to sleep. She thanked her lucky stars that when she woke again and peeked out there was no sign of any of her travel companions awake.

Ami took a shower, dressed and then headed to the galley. Once a pot of coffee was brewing, she started on breakfast - eggs, bacon, sausage and toast - and waited for everyone else to wake up. The possibilities of exploring a different time period loomed before them and the more Ami tried not to think about it, the more she did think about it and the more excited she grew.

(C'mon you lot,) Ami thought, taking off the bacon and piling it onto a plate. (I want to get going already.)

She peeked around, hopeful that a capsule would open. Three of them remained sealed up nicely and Ami sighed and turned back to cooking. She had coffee and bacon, what more did they need?

Who: Chloe
When: Bedtime, Day 1 on the Lifeboat
Where: The Sleep Capsules, specifically Chloe's
Invited: All (in various capsules)
Status: Complete

Dinner had been pretty good. Just spaghetti and tomato sauce, but filling and tasty. The conversation was pleasant as well, at least once they got off the subject of knowing when and if Cassandra might really be dead. Chloe couldn't help but wonder what it would take to kill her. Cassandra knew of others like herself; she at least knew the score. Chloe was unique. Or at least if there were any other Kryptonite-powered mutants back home with abilities like hers, she'd never heard of them.

( Time to call it a night and break in the sleep capsules )

Who: Cassandra
When: The Next Day
Where: The Ship, Taiphani Island
Invited: All Play!
Status: Complete


Cassandra stood in the cargo hold of the as yet unnamed ship. She checked off the last of the items they'd bought, "borrowed" or outright stolen on the Tablet PC she'd liberated as well. A checklist of what they had available along with notations of where exactly it had been stored would be invaluable. The last items to be wheeled onboard were several mountain bikes, along with spare parts and patch kits for the tires. She'd considered motorcycles, but the bikes didn't require fuel. While not as versatile as horses they also didn't need food and water, or require grooming or cleaning up after.

( Just About Ready To Go At Last )

Who: Cassandra Sugarbaker
When: Later That Same Day
Where: Someplace Private
Invited: All Play
Status: Complete


They adjourned to George's room. This was one conversation that nobody wanted to hold in public. They also raided the bar in the corner; Cassandra had reconsidered her choice not to drink. This sounded like as good a time as any for alcohol. Jon's announcement that there was a vehicle available to the travelers had been...surprising. Once everyone was settled in a chair, the sofa or the bed, Cassandra broke the silence.

"Let me get this straight," she began. She looked at Alt!Jon and "Megabyte" Damon, who'd showed up a few minutes earlier. She recognized him from the photos on Chloe's tablet. Another of the survivors from The Island. "You're telling us that there just happens to be a...spacecraft here--"

( This is one weird-ass planet you've got here. )

Who: Chloe Sullivan
When: Two days later
Where: Outside the TARDIS
Invited: All Play!
Status: Complete


All good things must come to an end, and Chloe's reunion with George and Daniel came to an end that morning. Chloe had showered and was toweling her hair dry. Daniel was shaving and George was still in the shower. Someone knocked at the door. Chloe walked over to the door and peered through the peephole. Cassandra stood in the hallway dressed in jeans and a blouse. Chloe slipped the security chain off and opened the door. "Hey, Cassandra," Chloe said, "Come on in."

( Stay tuned for more Alternities! after these exciting messages... )