REPOST: Dauntless: Forgotten Heroes (1-3/?)

["Shadow" <Shadowlander1@xxxxxxx>]

Since it has been a while since I've updated this I thought it would be
best if I did a repost of the first three parts to refresh everyone's
memory of this odd and completely screwed up universe - enjoy. :)

Title: Dauntless: Forgotten Heroes (1-3/?)
Author: Shadowlander
Email: Shadowlander1@xxxxxxx
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters commonly associated with
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Star Trek: The Next Generation, or The Uncanny
X-Men and their sister team the New Mutants; they belong to others and
are used without permission. No copyright infringement is intended.
Archive: If anyone really wants to archive this one go for it just let
me know where it's going.
Dedication: To Quin who told me it couldn't be done - and naturally I
just had to prove him wrong about it. To Bill and Carol who not only
liked the idea but continued to demand more detailed notes about the
series. And to Kimber - this just may be the fic I get grounded over.
::rotfl::
Spoilers: Everything is fair game - but mostly it's an alternate
universe piece, just further proof that I do not handle boredom well.
Summary: Three alternate universes have come together to form one, now
one ship and crew have to fix it.

DAUNTLESS: FORGOTTEN UNIVERSE (1-3/?)

"Please tell me you are here to relieve me?" Douglas Ramsey asked the
tall dark haired woman that just stepped off of the turbo lift and onto
the bridge, mischief clear in his blue eyes as he suppressed a tired
yawn. He hated night watch especially when it was his turn to supervise
the monitoring of some random dwarf star in a remote sector of space.
Eight hours of watching a nameless star make colourful designs on his
sensor board, while he wasn't absolutely sure, he just knew watching
paint dry would be a hell of a lot more entertaining.

Cordelia Chase stopped in her tracks, cocking her head to one side to
regard the young man, "Actually... no", she said in a sickeningly sweet
voice enjoying the defeated groan she got in return. She just couldn't
help herself sometimes Doug was just too easy to torture, almost as fun
as that loser back at the Academy... Harris something or other.

"Just kill me now," he replied banging his head on his console in
defeat, just what he needed another eight hours of staring at
meaningless energy emissions from a star he had secretly begun calling
"the death dwarf".

"Cordy, quit torturing him, he's had a rough night," Kitty Pryde said
with a laugh from the helm station, "Blinky has been the most
uncooperative of dwarf stars lately. Doug is almost positive it was
telling dirty jokes about a tribble, a targ and a Romulan last night."
She teased referring to Doug Ramsey's unique ability to understand any
written or spoken language, which was a reason most of the crew called
him Cypher.

Whatever Cordelia was going to say was interrupted by a shearing pain
shooting through her skull, as if someone was hitting her repeatedly
over the head with a photon torpedo. With a strangled cry she collapsed
to the ground, her fall only being broken by Doug as he spun out of his
seat and caught her before she hit the deck.

"What the hell is going on?" Commander William Blood demanded jumping
over the tactical railing that separated the upper bridge containing the
weapons, engineering and environmental stations from the rest of what
was jokingly called the "pit" containing the helms and operation
stations. He had been quietly listening to the three banter back and
forth before shift change, something that had become almost a ritual on
the ship. While it may not have been strictly by the book, it did help
to bring the rather young crew together as a team.

"Not sure... we were just talking", Ramsey replied checking for a pulse
with one hand.

With a groan Cordelia opened her eyes settling her gaze on the Commander
leaning over her. "Spike," she whispered in fear before passing out.

******************************
Sickbay -

"She called you Spike?" Captain Erik Lensherr questioned his long-time
friend with an arched eyebrow. Unsure what to make of the recent turn
of events, he had been in his ready room going over the mountain of
reports from Starfleet Command that always seemed to pile up on his desk
when he wasn't looking, when the call of a medical team to report to the
bridge sounded over the ship's intercom.

"Aye mate", came the reply from the Commander, "no one has called me
that in over fifteen years, not since we shut down Maggie Walsh and her
little Initiative program." He finished with a sneer, his hatred for
the long dead woman and her "genetic experiments" clear in his voice.

"I know old friend and no one outside of the Brotherhood even calls you
by that name now," the white haired Captain agreed with a nod, forcing
aside memories of the inhuman experiments conducted in the name of
science by the deceased Walsh. He had lost a lot of good friends thanks
to that woman and her mad plan to make humans the most powerful species
in the galaxy. He still woke up at night reliving the day his best
friend died in his arms thanks to that woman. He had sworn that day to
get them all out of that hellhole and shut the lab down for good.
Because he was a mutant Walsh had reserved the most heinous experiments
for him, trying in vain to reproduce his talent of magnetism. "That
name has never been spoken on this ship... so where did Cordelia hear
it?" he wondered aloud, knowing that Starfleet Security had classified
the whole incident determined to keep the unsanctioned project far from
the public's eyes as possible. More out of respect for the people that
lost their lives thanks to the renegade scientist, then to cover their
own failure in not discovering and shutting down the program before Erik
Lensherr led a revolt capturing the lab and all the scientists.

"There is more mate, Rahne says the chit was terrified of me," William
Blood reported shifting uncomfortably at the thought. While he did like
to be feared, he was the great big bad after all, he didn't like that
fear coming from "his" kids, the cadets in the Academy's "hands-on"
training program. Torturing ensigns and green JGs was another matter,
they were supposed to know that was going on, and were fair game for the
legendary temper of William "Spike" Blood. Besides he knew full well
that his Captain would have no problem with beaming him into the nearest
sun if he even thought of giving the cadets too much of a hard time
during their first deep space mission.

"Terrified?" Erik questioned his silver gray eyes hardening a bit. "Did
you?" he asked making a motion with his hand over his face.

"No! That insane first officer of ours would put holy water in my blood
if I even thought about growling at the kids," came the response,
"besides I'm not in all that big a hurry to get a suntan." No matter
how many times he was told that the personal force field surrounding him
would protect him from the effects of direct sunlight, he was still a
bit leery about actually moving around in board daylight, a little
nagging voice in the back of his head telling him that the field could
fail and he would be a walking torch in seconds.

For the first time in several hours Lensherr found himself smiling at
his friend's words. 'I have a vampire as tactical officer', he told
himself once again awed by the fact that not only do the legendary
creatures of the night really exists; but one of them is like a brother
to him. "Don't worry William, I'll protect you from the wrath of
Natasha Yar."

"Oh sure... like she's afraid of you", the white- blonde haired
Commander replied with a smirk. Knowing full well that the human first
officer wasn't scared of any mutant, alien, demon, or vampire, no matter
how powerful they were. While apart of the centuries old vampire
respected that about the human, another found if infuriating.
Especially when he would attack her in full game face and she would
still wipe the deck with him, sometimes he was sure she had to be a
Slayer. She just had to; no human was that strong without a little help
from some supernatural force.

Doctor Beverly Crusher looked up as the Captain and the vampire
approached her, noting once again how much the two really did look
related to one another. 'Must be the hair and eyes', she reasoned
before shaking off her wondering thoughts.

"How is she?" Lensherr asked coming to a stop beside the bed holding the
young woman in question.

"She's in a near catatonic state... almost like she is under some kind
of telepathic attack", the auburn haired doctor reported in a steady
calm voice, putting her hands in her medical jacket. It never failed if
you wanted to be in the coldest place on a starship go to sickbay it was
always a degree or two cooler there.

"Telepathic attack? Cordelia is not a mutant or even part Betazed", the
Captain commented with a frown.

"And she has no sign of being psychic either, but she is showing all the
signs of experiencing some type of telepathic communication... her
brainwaves are off the scale", the chief medical officer commented
gesturing to the bio-sensor mounted to the wall over the head of the
bed.

"What the devil is going on?" Lensherr questioned his eyes hardening as
he looked at the near meaningless display for a moment. Someone or
something was attacking a member of his crew and he didn't like it... he
wanted answers and he wanted them now.

"Maybe I can explain that", a new voice said as a stranger appeared in
the nearly empty sickbay effectively getting everyone's attention. Out
of instinct the vampire called William Blood let his demon face surface
taking a defensive posture between the three humans and the stranger. A
deeper growl following his, as the young, medic who had been coming
around the corner from one of the labs, shifted forms from human to
werewolf ready to pounce at a moments notice onto the intruder.

"Security to sickbay!" Crusher called out moving closer to her patient
to protect her from the intruder who was dressed rather outlandishly.

"I assure you that I'm not here to harm anyone... my name is Whistler
and I need your help."

"You did this to one of our crew and THEN you want our help!" Commander
Blood growled in outrage, his demon roaring for the blood of the
garishly dressed creature in front of him. Out of the corner of his
yellow/gold eyes he could see the werewolf, Rahne moving into position
ready to take the intruder down at his signal.

"Steady", Lensherr ordered expending his magnetic force field around the
bed its occupant and the doctor ensuring that they would, at least, be
safe if there was going to be any fighting. "You have five minutes...
make sure you get to your point for boarding my ship without
permission."

******************************
{Security to Sickbay}
Commander Natasha Yar looked up from the science station with a frown as
the words sounded over the ship's intercom. 'Now what?' she asked
herself, quickly closing out the screen she had been looking over of the
latest readings from the dwarf star they had been monitoring. Within
seconds she was looking at a new screen, this one displaying what was
happening in sickbay, sometimes it was good being the first officer.

"What is that supposed to be?" the security officer, manning the
tactical station, questioned having also accessed the onboard security
monitoring logs from his post. "Commander the intruder appears to be
human," the officer reported after a moment, "a rather colour blind
human." He couldn't help but add, wondering if humans really did dress
like that or if the intruder was some type of deviant that escaped from
a mental asylum.

******************************
Sickbay -

The vampire growled lowly at Whistler, absently noting that the intruder
looked like something out of an old pornographic movie from the late
1970s. The security chief hated that decade, considering disco to be
one of the most heinous forms of torture ever devised by mankind, and to
think it was his kind that was considered to be evil. "Out with it you
wanker, I haven't eaten today," he growled, eager to drain the walking
fashion disaster after he amused himself with torturing him for a couple
of hours first. Granted the ship's doctor may not be too happy about
all the blood and mangled corpse he would leave behind, but Spike was
pretty sure he could distract the redhead with a smile or two.

Rahne Sinclair settled into a crouch ready to pounce, her enhanced
senses working in overdrive; trying to assess the influx of information
coming at her from all directions. The air was heavy with the scent of
magic, 'White magic', she noted almost absently, cocking her head to one
side to observe the dissipating portal Whistler had stepped through to
get on the ship. As for Whistler himself, the young werewolf noted the
faint glow around the oddly dressed little man, to her senses he
radiated a power that seemed to be a cross between good and evil.

"I was sent by The Powers That Be, they want you're help in fixing
something", Whistler said, after a moment silently cursing his luck in
getting this assignment, he just knew that these people he was supposed
to be working with were going to be difficult.

"And that would be?" Magneto asked, growing impatient and if he was
getting restless, he knew that Spike and Rahne were just about ready to
jump out of their respective skins and kill something or someone.

"The universe", came the soft-spoken reply.

Silence reigned in sickbay for nearly a minute, "Okay, can I kill him
now?" the vampire asked suitably unimpressed.

"Explain," Lensherr growled, choosing to ignore his security chief for
the moment. While on one hand he was more then willing to feed this
intruder to the vampire, on the other he would be no closer to finding
out what was happening to Cordelia if he did. His first responsibility
was to his crew, besides he could always let the vampire have him later,
once Cordelia was on her feet again.

After a deep breath to steady himself, he just knew it was going to be a
long day, Whistler began, "Approximately ten thousand years ago there
was an accident... something that should of never of happened, happened.
Five very powerful demons from across time joined forces and tried to
overthrow TPTB; only they failed. Instead of replacing the Powers they
tore a hole in the space/time continuum that had disastrous effects.
Three universes were instantly destroyed because of this, as a quick fix
TPTB combined the remnants of the three universes into one, to stop
further contamination of the space/time continuum. This reality is the
result of the tear, this ship and crew are not supposed to exist."

"This git is out of his damn mind", William Blood growled, deciding that
he was going to kill the badly dressed interloper slowly and painfully,
already picking out the rail road spikes from his vast collection to do
the torturing with. "He still hasn't explained what he did to Chase...
let me and Rahney have him for a bit, we'll get some answers out of
him."

"In her proper universe, Cordelia Chase works for TPTB, she is a seer
that acts as the link to the Powers for a souled vampire trying to find
redemption for his past crimes. In order for you to fix this mess, you
are going to need a link to the Powers as well..."

"And Cordelia gets volunteered", Beverly Crusher cut in with a sneer,
crossing her arms over her chest and giving Whistler a dirty look.
"Although I doubt she is going to be much use to us like she is right
now." She didn't care about any accidents that happened ten thousand
years ago or the fact that the life she was living was apparently wrong,
all that mattered was that one of her patients was in a near catatonic
state. She was half tempted to let the vampire torture and kill the
little man, hell she may even watch and take notes.

"Her current condition is due to the interference of one of the demons
that caused this mess in the first place. The last thing the five
demons in question want is for all of this to be fixed, to go back and
face judgment for their acts."

"And exactly where can we find this dead little demon?" Spike
interrupted with an evil look in his eyes. 'We kill the bugger
responsible for putting Cordelia in sickbay, then this worthless git',
he decided firmly.

"Cordelia will be the one to lead you to him and all the others, but
first..." Whistler said, indicating the unconscious young woman on the
bed with a nod of his head.

"If you can get her out of her current state do so... but slowly one
false move and you will pray for death", Lensherr growled, after a
moment seeing no other way out of the strange situation he and his crew
had just been placed in by these mysterious Powers That Be.

Whistler moved over to the bed, careful to keep his hands in plain site
knowing without a doubt that the vampire and werewolf would be more then
happy to tear him apart. Waving his hand over the still form on the
bed, the badly dressed little man give Lensherr a little grin and
disappeared in a flash of light, leaving a furious master of magnetism
and two creatures of the night determined more then ever to have his
head, behind.

"I am beginning to hate him", Rahne growled, her eyes flashing with
barely contained rage.

A movement on the bed got everyone's attention as Cordelia slowly
drifted back toward consciousness. "Hmmm... what happened?" she
questioned after a moment wondering how she got in Sickbay, the last
thing she remembered was being on the bridge about to relieve Doug
Ramsey at the Operations Station.

End Parts One - Three.


Shadow -
Dir. of Pub. Safety of the SECLGA and Chief Dungeon Keeper.
Vampire Teddy Bear and Flying Fox {Fruit Bat} of the Woods Outback.
The Big Bad and Little Comma.