DISCLAIMER: The Star Trek characters are the property of Paramount
Studios, Inc. Other aspects of this story belong to Fox Studios. The story
contents are the creation and property of Djinn and is copyright (c) 2000 by
Djinn. This story is Rated PG-13.
The Next Evil Thing
by Djinn
The huts stood seemingly
abandoned. No footsteps stirred, no
voices echoed. Nothing disturbed the
furniture, books, clothing. Yet the planet
was not deserted. Something was
there. As the breeze billowed curtains
through still-open windows, it seemed to carry a voice that hissed,
"Soon."
******************************
"Energize." Kirk's command echoed in Christine's ears as
the transporter took them. She was
surprised to be included on this mission, but McCoy was at a medical seminar
and M'Benga had just gotten off shift.
She was the most logical choice.
I'm even starting to think like Spock.
Pathetic, she thought wryly.
The team consisted of the
Captain, herself, and a hefty security detail.
They were responding to a distress call on a world that had only
recently been colonized by the Federation.
The first families had moved to Alpha Nu-M about five months ago. Their reports had come in regularly, and more
colonists were preparing to make the move when Star Fleet lost all contact with
the colony. The
The landing party
materialized in the center of the settlement.
The security detail fanned out for defense as Christine scanned the
area. "Still, no life signs,
Captain."
Kirk studied the area. "There should be over a hundred people
here. What the hell happened?" He led the group to the nearest hut. Two security men entered first, then the rest
followed. Christine felt shock and
dismay when she saw the three bodies lying on the floor. She began checking for cause of death.
"Miss Chapel?" Kirk was obviously impatient for her
determination.
She turned her scanner off,
studied the bodies. "They died of
exsanguination, sir."
At his surprised look, she
turned the corpse's head to the other side, exposing marks on the neck. "No blood."
"You mean like a
vampire?"
She rose. "Or someone trying to make it look like
one. I'd like to check the rest of the
buildings."
As she hurried to the next
hut, Kirk caught up with her. "We
don't believe in vampires, do we?"
"I'm sure Mr. Spock
could give you a list of every known species that was remotely close. As well as every legend of vampire-like
creatures."
His hand on her arm stopped
her progress. "That's not an
answer, Chris."
She mentally shook
herself. "Of course, we don't
believe in them. Vampires don't
exist."
The scenes in the rest of the
buildings were the same, very pale bodies strewn everywhere. Christine sighed as she rose from the last
one. "Same as the rest, sir. And with most of them there is no sign of a
struggle. No tissue under the nails, or
defense wounds. They died without
fighting back."
"Is this everyone?"
"No sir. I've cross-checked each body against the
colony records. There are roughly twelve
people unaccounted for. Five males and
seven females. Varying ages and family
groups."
As they walked back out of
the hut, the setting sun spread golden-red light over the settlement. Christine moved toward a building in the
middle of the camp. "The body in
here is the most recent kill. I'd like
to beam it up for an autopsy."
"Do you think that's
wise? Couldn't you do the exam down
here? I hate to risk infection in case
this thing is contagious."
"This isn't a disease,
sir. These people died because someone
killed them. That killer, or killers
possibly, are probably still here. I
think we should get back up to the ship."
She couldn't help but notice that the sun was nearly gone. "We should leave now, Captain."
"What has you so
spooked?"
Before she could answer, a
shout came from behind them. They turned
in time to see one of the security officers fire on something hidden behind a
hut. The guard yelled, "Let go of
her!" and fired again.
Kirk and Christine and the
rest of the landing party began to run toward the officer who was now standing
very still, as if mesmerized by whatever was behind the building. In the murky half-darkness, a figure stepped
out, dropped the body of a female ensign and advanced on the man. Three phasers lit up the area as other
security officers fired. The beams had
no effect.
"Phasers on kill,"
Kirk yelled, as Christine backed away from the group and ran to a wooden chair
sitting in front of a nearby hut. She
upended it and broke off two of the legs just as the phasers lit up the
night.
"Stop firing, it doesn't
do any good," she yelled, as she ran past the group to stand between the
still unmoving man and the thing advancing on him.
She heard Kirk exclaim,
"Nurse Chapel, what the hell do you think you're doing?"
"What I'm best at,"
she said bitterly, as she launched a shattering kick at the vampire. The force of it propelled him back against
the building. Before he could recover
she was in front of him and slammed one of the chair legs into his chest. She pulled it out as he exploded into a cloud
of dust.
The man standing behind her
shocked awake the moment it happened.
She grabbed him and dragged him toward the rest of the party. "We have to get out of here…now!"
Kirk didn't hesitate. "
As they rematerialized on the
transporter pad, he turned to her.
"You have a lot of explaining to do."
******************************
Light from the planet's two
moons spilled over the settlement. Only
the body of the Star Fleet ensign gave evidence to the recent struggle. A young man rose from her side where he had
been studying her neck wounds. He looked
around angrily at the woman standing next to him.
"I told you all to stay
put. What was Caleb thinking coming out
here alone?"
She cringed away from
him. "I'm sorry, Master. I tried to stop him but he wouldn't
listen. He said we didn't have to wait
for your permission to feed. Not when he
had mastered the charming. He said we
didn't need you."
"Well, he was wrong,
wasn't he, Sabine?" The young man
walked over to a broken chair picked it up and sniffed at it. Then he threw it aside and turned back to the
woman and the ten others that stood a bit removed. "He was wrong. And now he's gone. I wasn't trying to control him or any of
you. I was trying to protect you."
"Protect us from
what?"
The vampire's nostrils flared
as he caught a scent from the chair.
"From the Slayer."
******************************
"Ok, one more time,
Christine. You're a _Vampire
Slayer_?"
Kirk and Christine were with
Spock in the captain's quarters.
Christine had barely convinced Kirk not to go running back down to the
planet. "Not at night, sir,"
she had told him. "It's too
dangerous." Kirk had finally agreed
and had dismissed the security detail and ordered the transporter chief not to
beam anyone to or from the planet without his express permission. Then he had called the bridge and asked Spock
to meet them in his room.
Now he and Spock were looking
at Christine incredulously. Spock
finally spoke. "Computer, check data banks for occupational
definition: Vampire Slayer."
"There are no references
for the term."
Spock turned to her. "It would seem, Miss Chapel, that your
job does not exist."
She shook her head. "Wrong, Spock. Computer, check all files for "Chosen
One or Vampire Slayer." Cross
reference against myths and legends, and/or unsubstantiated rumor."
"Working. File found.
Vampire Slayer. A legend. Origin:
Earth. Text of legend: 'As long as there have been demons, there has
been the Slayer. One girl in all the world, a
"So, Christine, this is
what you do in your spare time? Slay
vampires?"
Christine sighed. It was going to be a very long night. "No.
I'm a retired slayer. I don't do
this anymore. That's one of the reasons
I like it here in space. No
vampires. Or at least not until
today."
Spock gave her a puzzled
glance. "The computer said one girl
with the strength and skill. Forgive me,
Nurse, but you do not appear to be especially strong or skilled in
combat."
"You should have seen
her on the planet, Spock. She seemed
pretty damn capable down there."
Christine nodded. "I'm probably stronger than you,
Spock. I've never actually gone up
against a Vulcan so I don't know for sure, but I imagine it would be an
interesting fight."
"I have seen you in the
gym, Miss Chapel, you do not seem particularly coordinated, let alone
physically powerful."
"You've never seen me
alone in the gym, Spock. Tell me, how
many times has the punching bag been broken in the last few years? And nobody confessed did they?"
Spock raised an eyebrow. "I am to accept that was you?"
"What is your problem
with this, Spock? Meet me in the gym
sometime at mid-Beta shift. There is
usually no one there then. We can go at
it till you believe me, how's that?"
Kirk raised his hands. "Let's just assume for now that what you
say is true. That the thing down there
was a vampire. And that there are more
of them. There were no life signs when
we beamed down, yet we saw something that appeared to be living...at least
until you came along." He grinned
at her. "If we can't find them on
sensors, how do we stop them?"
"You don't. I do."
"Just you, against
eleven of them?"
"Twelve. There's the thing that made them too. It worries me that there were thirteen of
them. That's a mystically significant
number. This original vampire may have
had a plan, maybe there was an astral convergence or something coming up. He, or she, will need a new thirteenth and
will take it from us if he can."
Spock was watching her
intently. "How do we know what this
creature has planned?"
"I've never heard of a
vampire this far out in space. Or
anywhere in space for that matter."
She shook her head in frustration.
"We could contact the Watcher's Council. See if they have any idea. But I doubt they'd cooperate. There's no love lost between us."
"But you had a watcher,
didn't you, Chris? The legend said there
was one for each Slayer, if I understood correctly?"
"My Watcher is dead,
Captain. He..." She trailed off, unwilling to hash up old
memories. "I've lost touch with the
Council of Watchers since I joined Star Fleet.
Retiring didn't make me very popular."
Kirk thought for a
second. "Okay, then explain to me
exactly what we're up against."
"What we've got is a
master vampire and twelve, now eleven, fledglings. They are pure evil, even the young ones. There is no reforming them, or putting them
back the way they were. We slay them,
end of story. But it probably won't be
easy. They can't be captured on
sensors...at least not the way we currently have them configured. Maybe not at all. I had heard once that a technology existed to
sniff out vampire and other demon pheromones, but if so, it's been lost. What you have is me, and my ability to sense
them, which frankly is not going to work unless I am down there with them. And I don't plan to go down there until we
even the odds a bit."
She paused, mind racing as
she tried to order her thoughts.
"We may be able to track them by monitoring the animals in the
vicinity, looking for struggles with no apparent cause showing up. Without people around, these vamps are going
to be hungry. Spock and I can work on the
details for the scanners. We should also
rig up a holding pen that would serve as an interrogation space if we capture
one. With a little persuasion, our
captive may tell us where the we can find the nest." She turned to Spock. "If I want to beam the vampire directly
from the planet to the brig, is that possible?"
He raised an eyebrow. "Site-to-site transporting requires
pinpoint accuracy." He watched as
she frowned. I assume that you would
prefer that the vampire not be able to leave the transporter pad while awaiting
transfer to the brig?"
She nodded. "I imagine most of the people that would
end up as its dinner if it gets away, would prefer that too."
Spock ignored her
sarcasm. "It is possible to set the transporter so that
whatever is caught in the beam is immobilized until the second transport
is completed. It is a security protocol, often used when transporting
someone or something dangerous."
"That'll
work." Christine felt long
abandoned energy flood her body. It was
already preparing to fight. She got up
and began to pace, to give the surge of adrenaline an outlet. "I'm most worried about the power that
the vampire we met showed. The ability
to mesmerize is not a normal skill. As
far as I know, only one line of vamps manifests it. Which means that we are facing one of
Drusilla's get, and they tend to be very clever and extremely
vicious." Christine closed her eyes
for a moment, again unwilling to dredge up old memories. "Drusilla was killed after the Eugenics
War, but her progeny apparently live on."
Spock interrupted, "This
bothers you on a personal level?
Why?"
She turned; surprised that he
had picked up on her worry. "You're
right. I thought I had killed the last
of them. I took some heavy personal
losses doing it. The thought of another
one of these monsters loose. I don't
like it."
"But this ability? How do we fight it?"
"Again, Captain, I don't
think you can. Spock will probably be
immune. But any human that goes down
there, any normal human, they'll be sitting ducks. On the positive side, I doubt that too many
of the new vampires have mastered the skill.
The one I killed last night may have been overconfident because he had
gotten the hang of it early. He was
probably challenging his sire in some way.
They aren't real bright when they are young."
Kirk nodded. "So we wait…until daylight?"
"Not just wait. I want to get the sensors reconfigured, set
up a holding pen, and I think it would be useful to test Spock's reflexes in
the gym. He may be the only backup I
have."
Christine did not think she
had ever seen Spock's eyebrow go as high as he lifted it when he replied,
"Test _my_ reflexes?"
She laughed at his
reaction. "I promise not to hold
back if you won't?"
Kirk grinned. "Mind if I watch? Since there is nothing for me to do but
wait?" He rose and gestured for
them to proceed him out of his cabin, seemingly all seriousness until he could
no longer hide another mischievous grin.
******************************
The gym was deserted as
Christine had predicted. Spock and
Christine went to the dressing rooms to change into exercise gear, as Kirk made
himself comfortable in the spectator area.
Christine returned first and dropped a bag on the floor in front of
him. "Captain, there are some things
you can do to help. You saw me stake the
vampire on the planet. That is one of
the surest ways to kill them. But a
sword would also be useful."
"I thought the stake had
to be wood?"
She nodded grimly. "It does. But beheading works too."
"Hence the
sword." He nodded
understanding. "I think I might
know where to find you just the thing."
"I need wood too. And it has to be real."
"We can gather some from
the settlement at daybreak. Fashion some
stakes while you are getting the other stuff done."
"Good idea. You should know that the vampires don't go
dormant during the day. They just can't
be in direct sunlight. They are most likely
in a cave or underground bunker somewhere, but don't take any chances with the
huts. There was sufficient furniture
outside the dwellings and in the common areas to make more than enough stakes
for our purposes without risking going inside one of the buildings."
She sensed rather than saw
Spock walk up. He was obviously trying
to be very quiet, as he made no sound on the soft mats. Turning to him she caught his expression of
pure disbelief. "Still don't
believe me, huh?"
"I'm afraid not, Miss
Chapel. I am not sure why you would come
up with such an involved fantasy as this, but I believe you need help."
"Fight now, talk
later," she replied, leading him onto the mats and moving into a circling
pattern. He immediately shifted into a
defensive stance. She let fly a sharp
jab, which he parried easily. She could
see surprise register on his face at the skill she had just shown. You ain't seen nothing yet, big fella, she
thought, slipping almost unknowingly back into a younger, wisecracking persona.
She moved to the right,
feinted, then moved to the other side and let fly a controlled kick. Spock dodged, but not in time, and the blow
connected soundly, knocking him off his feet.
He was up in a flash, but she saw his surprise at the power of her
kick. He was much more wary as he moved
around her, seeking an opening.
"Don't hold back,
Spock," she urged, as he moved in and connected a hard blow to her
chin. She recovered almost instantly;
moving to pummel him with a quick series of jabs and kicks. He flew back, landing on the far side of the
mat. He stayed there, scrutinizing
her.
"You should not be
standing after the blow I just delivered.
I should not now be on the floor.
This is not logical."
"You're right,
Spock. It isn't. It's mystical. And you can't hold back. Fight me for real."
He rose and stalked toward
her. Out of the corner of her eye, she
saw Kirk leaning forward as he watched them spar. She moved to meet Spock halfway and they
circled for a moment. Then he was at
her, this time not holding back. They
traded blows, fists and feet impacting flesh.
Grunts came from both of them as neither gave ground. Finally they separated.
Spock looked as savage as she
had ever seen him. "It would seem
you are not stronger."
She gave him a cocky
grin. "Hate to disappoint you
but…" she said, as she launched a solid kick to his chest. Again he flew back, only this time he landed
hard against the wall. He sat,
momentarily stunned as he fought to stay conscious. She did not insult him by rushing to his
side; the healer in her was subsumed by the warrior. She waited as he rose slowly and made his way
back to her. Smiling wolfishly, she
nodded approval. "You'll do."
Their eyes met and held. Something flared for a moment between them
until the sound of applause startled them back to reality. Kirk was making his way over and had clearly
enjoyed the little match.
"So, you really are a
slayer. I'm impressed. And glad you didn't want to fight
me." He grinned at them both. "I'm off to find a sword."
Spock raised an eyebrow.
"I'll explain
later," she told him, then turned back to Kirk. "We'll need some crosses. Find them or make them. They still prove effective against most
vampires."
Kirk smiled again. "Yes, ma'am. When this is all over, I expect to hear some
really juicy stories about your life as a slayer. Is that clear?"
She grinned back at him. "Crystal, sir."
As he made his way out of the
gym, she turned back to Spock.
"I've brought some stakes.
Let me show you how to dust a vamp, okay?"
She moved off to the bag she
had dropped near where Kirk had been sitting, but Spock reached out and touched
her arm. She looked at him in
surprise.
"We have time for that
later. Right now, I need to understand
more. I am having a difficult time
integrating this new persona into the Christine Chapel I thought I knew. Will you tell me more of your life as a
slayer?"
"It's a long story,
Spock."
"We have all
night."
"Let's get the things
done we need to, then I'll tell you everything."
"Acceptable. So, how does one dust a vampire?"
******************************
Hours later, after a short
session in the gym and a longer one spent reconfiguring the sensors and
refitting a room in the brig, Christine escorted Spock into her quarters. Formality forgotten after their long evening,
they both sprawled in her living area, she in a chair and he on the couch.
"Are you tired?" he
asked watching her stretch.
She closed her eyes for a
moment, assessing her energy level.
"Not really. Too much
adrenaline going right now. It's
interesting. I thought after all these
years, I wouldn't be able to just slip back into being the Slayer."
"When did you
quit?"
Her look darkened. "When I was twenty-five. I was called at fifteen."
"You were little more
than a child then?"
She shrugged. "It's the normal age, between fifteen and
seventeen. One slayer dies, another is
called."
"But you live. Does that mean that no one replaced
you?"
Christine let out a long
sigh. "It's confusing and
convoluted. I don't know that I can
explain it very well."
He settled back into the
couch as if trying to get sore muscles into a comfortable position.
"Did I hurt you?"
"I am not permanently
damaged. Were you still holding
back?"
She gave him a little
smile. "Maybe just a little."
"I suspected as
much. You do not appear to be at all
injured."
"One of the perks. It takes a lot to lay me out. In fact, most slayers are never seriously
injured…well, until they're killed, that is."
"How many slayers have
there been?"
She shook her head. "Countless. A depressingly large number. The average slayer doesn't live much past
eighteen."
"And there is only one
on Earth at a time."
"That's the way it
always was, slayers were normally so grievously injured that there was no way
to save them. But in the late twentieth
century, all that changed."
He looked puzzled. "I do not understand, what
changed?"
"There was a slayer who
dared to be different. You see, in the
past, slayers tended to work alone. They
had their watchers, but they fought alone.
This slayer had friends…friends that helped her fight evil. She was killed once and left for dead. One of these friends revived her. But something strange happened. Even though the first slayer still lived,
another slayer was called. Apparently no
slayer had ever come back from the dead before."
"So then there were
two?"
She nodded. "Until she was killed and her death
called another slayer."
"But there were still
just two?"
Christine nodded. "Then the second slayer was injured in a
fight with the first slayer." She
saw Spock's eyebrow rise and shook her head.
"It's too long a story for tonight. Anyway, she should have died from injuries
sustained in the fight, but was instead kept alive by machinery long enough for
her body to repair itself. But in the
meantime, since she was unable to fight, another slayer was called, this time
halfway across the world. The Watcher's
Council didn't realize for years that a third line had started. That slayer and her replacements fought
without a watcher the entire time."
Christine shuddered at what the girls must have gone through, the lack
of preparation for the kind of evil they would come up against. She knew from her history they had all died
quickly. It was not something the
Watcher's Council liked to discuss.
"You keep saying *was
called* but you never say by whom?"
Christine shrugged. "Nobody knows who activates a
slayer. Some call them the Mystical
Forces for Good or The Powers, but nobody has ever seen them."
"If temporary death can
cause a slayer to be called, could you create an army of them by medically
causing death and then resuscitating?"
She snorted. "They tried that. It never worked. Apparently the Powers knew that there was no
real danger of the job going unfilled.
They also don't call a new slayer if the current one is just slightly
injured and out of commission for a short time.
Like I said, it is a mystery."
"Why did you quit?"
She shifted in her chair,
trying to beat back the memories of her past.
"I need to start a few months before that. I was twenty-four. Pretty old for a slayer but I had been
successful and lucky and had friends to help me. Despite everything, slaying was my
destiny. I was good at it. And part of me enjoyed it. Then I fell in love."
"With Roger
Korby?"
She shook her head
violently. "No, Roger was my
watcher. We were close but he was more
like my father. I met a young man at
university. He was sweet, and kind, and
so smart. His name was Marcus. He was studying medicine. He didn't know anything about my being a
slayer. It was the first relationship
that I'd had that was clean of it. And
the more time I spent with him doing normal human things, the more I wanted
out."
"So you quit? Just like that?"
"The Council was
livid. But at this point there were a
handful of younger slayers. I had fought
for them for ten years. I felt entitled
to a life. Roger was disgraced, of
course. The Council fired him. Which was just a formality since he probably
wouldn't have been assigned another slayer anyway. He tried to talk me out of it, but I wouldn't
be swayed. Marcus and I were going to
make a life together. We were so in
love."
She stopped as her voice
choked up and she blinked back tears.
"I haven't thought about this for so long."
Spock sat quietly as she
fought her emotions.
She wiped her eyes
roughly. "Then it all ended. A master vampire, one from Drusilla's
line…"
"The vampire you
mentioned?"
She nodded. "He called himself Anticles. He was very powerful. I'd been up against him several times. Never better than a draw. Usually, I would kill off his brood, and then
he'd just go out and make more. He had
moved back to
"What did you
do?"
She looked at Spock. He did not seem shocked by her tale of
vengeance. "I went back to San
Francisco. Back to Roger. He saved me.
Brought me back to life. We'd
been together for so long. Knew each
other so well. I didn't love him the
same way I loved Marcus, but I did care for him. When Roger told me he loved me, asked me to
marry him, I said yes. I owed him so
much."
"Then he
disappeared?"
"Yes, and I was alone
again. My mission became to find
him. And I did, sort of. The rest you know."
He took a deep breath. "So you never slayed again? You chose to stay with medicine?"
"Until last night, I put
away that part of me, pretended to be weak and silly. But the nursing, I never pretended at
that. I loved it because it was so
different from the killing. It brought
me a sense of peace."
"You pretended
well. I assumed you were a fearful and
weak person physically, although I have always admired your integrity and
emotional strength."
"I couldn't let anyone
know. They would have treated me
differently. I gave all that up. Until tonight that is."
"You did the right
thing. You saved the landing
party." He rose to leave but
stopped at her chair as she let out a bitter laugh.
"I know. But now I'm Christine the Vampire Slayer
again. Guess you can't fight your
destiny?"
Christine was surprised to
feel his hand on her shoulder. A feeling
of support suffused her whole being. She
looked up at him questioningly.
"You are not alone in
this, Christine. I will fight with you
and we will stop these things."
She momentarily covered his
hand with her own and felt again a surge of emotional steadiness. "Thank you for accepting what I am,
Spock."
He removed his hand and gave
her a miniscule smile. "Infinite
diversity in infinite combinations. If
it ever fit a situation, this would be it." She laughed as he walked to the door and
turned back to her.
"Goodnight,
Christine. Try to sleep. I appreciate your willingness to share your
story with me."
"Sleep well, Spock. Thanks for listening."
He nodded, then was
gone. Christine sat for a moment
remembering the touch of his hand, the warmth she had felt from him. We're both full of surprises, she thought, as
she dragged her finally tired body to bed.
******************************
Christine woke several hours
later. Must patrol, she thought
groggily. Then remembered where she
was. She got up and buzzed the science
department. "Anything show up on
the sensors, Mr. Caldwell?"
"Not yet, ma'am."
Damn, they should be
feeding. She decided to go spell
Caldwell for a while. He was surprised
to see her but gratefully headed off for an unexpected break. She sat for a while getting a feel for the
readings. Come on, do something. For about half an hour the life signs stayed
stable. Caldwell had come back and was
sitting with her at the screen. Nerves
screaming in bored stress, she was about to leave when they both noticed a
sudden rise in one of the readings.
"Looks like we got
one!" Caldwell exclaimed.
Christine reached over and
paged Spock. "Meet me in the
brig. It's show time."
"Understood."
She turned back to the
excited young officer. "Ok, nice
and steady like we discussed. Make sure
it is a wide beam, I don't want just half of this thing showing up. Hold it in the buffer so we can study
it. Then, once I'm in the brig, use the
protocols Spock gave us to hold it on the pad as you get ready to beam it to
the brig. It cannot get loose, is that
clear?" At his nod, she gave the
word, "Energize."
Caldwell studied the
data. " Nothing but the animal we
were tracking is registering on our sensors, but there's a whole lot more room
being taken. I think we caught
something."
She grinned at him and took
off at a run for the brig. She met Spock
coming down the opposite hallway.
"Ready to play?"
"Play? You realize your enthusiasm for this is somewhat
disconcerting."
She mock pouted, as she
entered the room. "Old habits,
Spock." Her new pen was standing
ready. Crosses were on three sides. "Okay, we should have something
soon."
Caldwell's voice rang over
the monitor, "I'm beaming it in now."
"Understood,"
Christine responded.
A second later, the
transporter delivered the panicked vampire.
In full demon face, the vampire launched herself off the herbivore she
had been feeding from and fled to the back, and cross-free, area of the cell. Christine dropped the energy shield and
entered the room, Spock behind her holding a cross and a bottle of clear
liquid. The vampire hissed at them.
"Hi. I'm the slayer, and you are?" Christine walked over to the vampire who
struck out at her and found herself kicked back against the wall without ever
having touched the slayer. "Now,
now, now. I can see you are shy. From your appearance, I'd say you are Sabine
Devereaux. Or were Sabine. Let me explain something to you. You are going to die. It's how you die that you get to
control. There's the fast way or the
slow way. Tell us what we want to know,
and you get the quick flight back to hell."
She could see that the
vampire believed her. "The Master
will avenge me."
"Funny you should
mention him. I'd really, really like to
know more about your Master. Like his
name, for instance?" Christine
leaned up against the wall, arms crossed.
Spock still stood near the door.
Sabine sat silently.
"It's really brave of
you to protect him. I admire that. But it's his fault that you are in this
situation. You don't owe him
anything."
"I am his lover."
Christine smiled
sympathetically. "Sure you
are. And just how long do you think he
will wait until he takes a new one."
"He will mourn me."
"Like he's mourning the
other vampire I killed?"
Sabine's face fell and
changed back into a normal human visage.
"Like Caleb, I disobeyed him.
I wasn't supposed to leave the cave, but I got so hungry."
"Of course you did. He should have let you feed. Now look at where you are."
Sabine looked at Spock. "What's in the bottle?"
"Brought you something
to freshen up with. A little holy
water..." She trailed off
ominously. "Sabine, it doesn't have
to be this way. Tell me his name."
"Markosius."
Christine scowled. "Named himself after the wolf
demon? How arrogant. Why is he on Alpha Nu-M?"
Sabine seemed to have
abandoned the concept of protecting her sire.
"He didn't mean to be here.
He was supposed to be shipped to the dark side of the Moon. But his minions screwed up. Landed him here. He escaped about a week ago. Had been locked in his shipping case for
months. Really angry and really
hungry. Killed most of the colony and
then turned the rest of us."
"Why?"
Sabine looked confused. "I don't know. I guess he was lonely?"
Christine tried another
tack. "Why thirteen of you?"
The vampire shrugged. "Something about a convergence or
convention or something…"
"Weren't really
listening, huh?"
"He does tend to go on
sometimes, and we've been so hungry."
"Where does he make you
stay?"
Sabine looked stubborn
again. Christine looked over at Spock,
motioned him to come forward. Sabine
started talking before he took his first step.
"It's a cave, just outside of town.
There are some tunnels we've dug that take you into the settlement, the
main one goes up into the hut where you killed Caleb."
"I should have known, he
appeared out of nowhere seconds after the sun went down. Where are the other entrances, Sabine?"
"One is in the community
building near the well, the other is the cave opening in the hills."
Christine motioned to Spock
and he moved toward them again. Sabine
sprang up and faced him, turning her back to Christine.
"You said if I helped
you, I wouldn't suffer."
Christine brought the stake
down and the vampire disappeared.
"And I wouldn't lie about something like that."
Spock studied her. "That was kind of you. She never saw it coming."
"They're the monsters,
Spock. Not me." She motioned him out of the cell. Stepped over the herbivore and went to the
wall communicator. "Caldwell?"
"Here."
"We got what we
needed. Thanks for your help."
"Anytime,
Ma'am." She could nearly hear him
sitting taller in his seat.
She took the water bottle
from Spock, opened it, and drank deeply.
Seeing his shocked look, she said, "What? It's only tap water." She gave him an evil grin. "Come on, we have a nest to find."
******************************
Kirk sat in his chair,
staring at the screen, waiting for the light of this system's sun to cross over
the settlement. He turned at the sound
of the turbolift opening. Spock and
Christine walked in, both wearing baggy coveralls and bandoleers of what looked
like modified engineering utility belts.
Crosses filled some of the slots.
He presumed the rest were for the stakes that he and the landing party
would make as soon as they got down to the planet. "You two look ridiculous."
Spock looked insulted, but
Christine just laughed. "If it
works, I don't care how it looks."
She caught Uhura's startled
glance and made her way over to her friend's station. "Nyota, I will explain everything. Just not now.
Will you trust me?"
Uhura nodded slowly. As Christine squeezed her hand, she said,
"You do look pretty stupid."
"You're a real
pal." Christine turned back to
Kirk. "Captain, Mr. Spock and I
were coming up with a plan, you know, to flush the vamps from their nest. And I was wondering if the armory had any
flame-throwers that we weren't using?"
Kirk swiveled to face
her. "Flame-throwers?"
"As far as we could
tell, Sabine was telling the truth about the entrances. I'd rather fight the vamps in the hut than in
the cave. If we have a couple security
details fill the tunnels and part of the cave with fire, that should force the
vampires out the only other way, where we'll be waiting."
"Wouldn't it be easier
to just flush the whole cave with fire?"
Christine shook her head
grimly. "It would but then we will
never really know if we got them all.
And we have to get them all.
Success will be seeing eleven vamps go poof."
"You are very scary,
Miss Chapel. And yes you can borrow any
flame-throwers we have." He reached
down and picked up a scabbard that had been lying between his leg and the arm
of the chair. He tossed it to Christine
who caught it easily. "I even
sharpened it for you. I think this
should do the trick, if you can find a place to put it under your
utility-belt-from-hell."
She laughed, as she pulled
out the sword. It was sharp and
strong. Smiling grimly she replied. "Thank you."
Spock coughed discreetly, and
Kirk shot him an innocent look.
"You are going to have to find your own sword, Spock. Sorry."
They turned to watch as the
sunshine spread over the planet. Kirk
called down to the transporter room, "Are the security details ready to
go?"
Scotty's voice came back,
"They are sir. And they're wielding
some pretty big firepower for such a wee jaunt."
Kirk looked at Christine as
he rose.
She shrugged. "I figured you'd say yes. Didn't want to waste daylight rounding up the
flame-throwers."
"Better to ask
forgiveness instead of permission," he asked, shaking his head in mock
disbelief as the three of them entered the turbolift.
Christine and Spock briefed
Kirk on their plans as they made their way to the transporter room. "We'll help you fashion stakes, then we
can commence cleaning out the cave."
"I'm a little unclear on
the plan for the cave. You flush them
out; they run to the hut. And then
what? Eleven angry vampires in one
building? How are you going to fight
them?"
Christine scowled at
him. "The way you explain it the
plan does sound asinine. But that's how
we have to do it. Captain, just one of
these creatures can make hundreds more.
We have to know that we got rid of them all. You saw the carnage here. Imagine what would happen on a populated and
undefended world."
He grimaced. "Ok, Chris. Just be careful."
"I didn't get to be an
old slayer by being stupid, Captain."
"Or by being a fashion
plate either, apparently," Kirk countered.
Spock rushed to her
defense. "If she is effective,
fashion is irrelevant."
"You take her home to
mom in that outfit and see what kind of reception you get."
"Why would I take her
home to my mother wearing that?"
Christine mock frowned at
them both. "Knock it off, you
two. We've got business to attend
to."
Once the transporter room
doors opened, they were all seriousness for the men and women assembled for
security detail. A decidedly odd-looking
security detail, each member wearing a cross, some carrying flame-throwers, one
member sporting a machete.
Christine walked up to
him. "Could I see that?" He handed it over and she inspected it
carefully before handing it back. "Very
nice, Ensign. I like to see initiative,
even if you probably won't get to use it."
"Thank you, Ma'am."
Kirk moved to the pad.
"Okay, let's get going. Mister
Spock and Nurse Chapel will take the first team, I'll follow with the
rest. Remember that phasers have no
effect on these things. Sunlight is more
effective than any weapon you can devise, so stay in the open and away from
doorways or windows. If you hear or see
anything, let Nurse Chapel, Mr. Spock, or myself know immediately. Any questions?" When there were none, he motioned the first
group up. "Keep your eyes open out
there."
When the pad cleared, he and
the rest of the security team followed their shipmates to the planet.
******************************
Christine sat with several
others in the common area, all of them fashioning stakes out of foraged
furniture. This has got to be one of the
strangest landing parties in history, she mused. She looked around for Spock. He was standing with the captain near the community
center that held one of the tunnels.
They and several other teams were scanning the area for any other
possible tunnels. No one wanted to be
surprised today.
She checked the other teams
scattered around the area. They also
seemed absorbed in their duties. Feeling
that she was being watched, she glanced back at Spock. Their eyes met and he nodded
supportively. Smiling back, she returned
to her work.
An hour later, they were
certain that there were no additional tunnels.
They also had a pile of stakes.
She and Spock spent some time loading up their utility belts with them,
while the others took several for defense.
"Okay, I'm going to go
over this once more. If you have any
questions, now is the time to ask…during the fight will not be. Understood?" Seeing everyone nod, she continued. "Those outside, stay in the sun. Do not go near the doors or windows unless I
tell you to. A vamp in full daylight
will burn up in about five seconds. If
you do find yourself engaging with a vampire, the stake goes in the heart. Aim for the center of the chest and you'll
have it. You can go through the back,
but you have to hit hard. Remember to
pull the stake out if you can,or it will disappear with the vamp when he turns
to dust. If you lose all your stakes,
run for daylight. No heroics, no
hand-to-hand. Everyone
understand?" Again the group
nodded.
Spock stepped up. "Those on flame-thrower duty keep a
solid wall of fire going down the tunnel from tunnel opening to cave
opening. Do not neglect the ceiling of
the tunnel. When you get to the main
cave, stop and cover the opening. Allow the flames to extend into the
cave. This should be enough to get the
vampires moving to the open tunnel. Do
not advance unless you get a signal from us.
If you definitely see a vampire die in the flames, notify us at
once. Nurse Chapel will be keeping track
of the ones we have destroyed."
Christine turned back to Kirk
and some additional security officers.
"Sir, I'd feel better if you were on the ship."
"And miss this? Not on your life." He smiled at her. "Don't worry, I'll stay out here with
the stakes and the relief forces."
She nodded and turned back to
the assembled group. "Ok. Flame-thrower group one, get ready for beam
over to the cave entrance. Let me know
when you are in position at the opening."
She called the Enterprise and ordered transport. The group disappeared. Moving toward the community building, she and
Spock got out their phasers and began to cut large holes into the sides of the
building. As sunlight took over the
space, they could see there were no vampires waiting for them. "Ok, team two, into position."
She looked at Spock, who met
her gaze calmly. "Are you sure you
want to do this?"
"I will not let you
fight this alone."
She smiled bitterly. "But that's what slayers do…fight
alone."
"Not anymore." Their eyes met and held for a long time. Finally, he said, "Shall we?"
She turned to the first of
the last two groups. "Team three,
you're with us. You're for back up only. Do not engage unless Spock or I appear to be
in serious trouble. Oh, and you'll be on
stake duty. If you see anyone getting
low, get more from team four. Ok, let's
do it."
They approached the hut where
the first vampire had appeared. Team one
signaled they were in position at the cave mouth. She gave them the go ahead and nodded back to
Kirk, who sent team two into the community building. Christine and Spock carefully entered the
building. Won't be long now, she
thought. Team one immediately reported
that they had taken a sentry in the tunnel.
One down, ten to go.
Team two reported that two
vampires had been sighted, but had fled before the flames. A few more minutes passed, then Christine
sensed something coming toward them. She
noticed Spock perking up but was unsure if he had heard something or was just
reading her own body language. "Get
ready," she whispered.
Two vampires rushed them, the
first one moving to the side and Christine let him go as he unthinkingly ran
out the door. A puff of dust was all
that remained. Nine to go, she
thought. But they probably won't all be
that easy.
Spock had lost his first
stake during the scuffle, but smoothly pulled another out and stabbed it into
the other vampire's chest. Dusted, she
thought. Eight.
Four more vamps stormed the
room. These were more cautious. They circled back to the side of the hut in
an attempt to cut Spock and Christine off from the door.
"Nice try,"
Christine mocked, as she kicked out at the closest. The next one lunged at her but she grabbed
him and threw him through the doorway.
He crashed into several security officers who were standing too close to
the door, then burst into flame. Seven.
"Back off!"
Christine yelled at the detail and did not stop to see if they obeyed. Spock was trying to hold off the three other
vampires and was not doing so well. She
kicked one into the wall and staked the next one from behind. Six.
Spock was grappling with the
fourth as she turned back to the downed vampire. She heard the sound of a vamp dying. Way to go, Spock. Five.
Her vampire flew at her and
as she moved to counter, she felt hands grabbing her arms from behind. More
vamps had arrived. The one in front of her began to pound her. Spock moved up
and staked it from behind. Four.
"Thanks," she said,
as she flipped the vampire holding her over her shoulder. A back kick stopped another vampire from
moving on her. She surveyed the scene. Three to two.
But where was the Master?
Everyone she had seen so far had been a colonist. The sentry in the tunnel would have been one
too; no old vampire would rush fire. She
unsheathed her sword. Finally there was
a little room to use it. Two of the
vampires backed away, but one looked at her curiously. She let the sword fly, cutting the vampire's
head off. He was dust before he even
knew what had happened. Three.
"Impressive," Spock
complimented.
"Nice sword. I'll have to remember to thank the
Captain." As she sheathed the weapon, the other two vampires moved back
toward the tunnel.
"Oh no you
don't." Christine pulled a stake
out and circled around, trying to cut them off without leaving her back to the
opening. They hissed and attacked. These two were better fighters than the
others. Christine found herself
distracted fighting one and keeping an eye out for the master vampire. Finally she got an opening and rammed the
stake in. Two.
Spock was looking a bit the
worse for wear as he closed on the vampire, but he still managed to stake her
quite efficiently. One.
They both stood catching
their breath. The security guards
outside were yelling updates to team four.
They waited for Markosius to appear.
She tried to sense him but was having difficulty narrowing in.
"Where the hell is
he?"
Suddenly a handsome young man
stepped out of the tunnel. "I am
here, my darling."
Christine felt suddenly
faint. "Marcus?"
"It is I,
Christine. And my, how strong and vital
you look. So much the slayer. A pity you never told me about that part of
your life. How different our lives might
have been, had I known, been truly prepared for what went bump in the
night." He laughed, not sounding
particularly sorry about the way things had turned out.
Her world spinning, Christine
watched her lover turn to the security guards outside. His eyes caught theirs and his voice dropped
to a soothing tone. "Everything is
fine. You are still waiting for the
vampire. There is nothing to
see."
The guards did not move. He spoke specifically to one of them. "Tell the other teams you are still
waiting. Tell them to maintain their
position." The man did as
instructed.
Spock moved forward. "I cannot allow this to continue."
Marcus whirled on him. Seemingly against Spock's volition his eyes
rose to meet those of the vampire. There
was a struggle for a moment, then his expression went slack.
Marcus turned back to
her. "So much for your new
watcher. Or is this your new lover…and
next unwitting victim?"
It's not Marcus. It is _not_ Marcus, she repeated like a
mantra, trying to see the vampire for the demon it was and not her lost
love. "My _victim_?"
Marcus laughed cruelly. "Like me, my love. Sacrificed on the slayer altar."
"I didn't kill you. Anticles did.
I thought you had burned up."
Marcus shook his head. "No such luck. Anticles had a more fitting revenge in
mind. Made me just like him. Imagine a slayer with a vampire for a
boyfriend. Just too rich." He smiled at her. "So what do you think? The years have been kind to me, no?"
He hadn't changed at all of
course. Same bright blue eyes, same
shock of thick brown hair. Same innocent
face. So beautiful. And now so deadly. "I think you're hideous," she said
and pulled the sword out of the scabbard.
"Oh bravo. So dramatic.
But you can't kill me. You love
me." As if to prove it, he walked
toward her, arms outstretched. "Go
ahead, Christine. Kill me."
Christine felt her instincts
war with her heart. Everything that was
the slayer screamed at her to strike.
And everything that had mourned and missed him forced her to stay her
hand. She began to tremble.
Marcus laughed and kicked the
sword out of her hand. It flew across
the room and landed in the far corner.
His hands grabbed the utility belt.
He pulled it roughly over her arm and head and then tossed it aside with
the sword.
Fight him. Must fight him. But she couldn't, this man had been an
innocent. It was because of her that he
was what he had become. "You let us
kill all your brood. Why?"
"Don't need them now. Only wanted them to take advantage of the
convergence in case rescue didn't come.
But I knew Star Fleet would send a ship out. A ship that will take me wherever I want to
go. Imagine a starship full of
vampires. Whole worlds will fall before
us." He moved in close to her,
began to caress her face. "And the
irony of this all. Who should show up
but a slayer? And the slayer is
you? Oh just too funny."
"I'm not laughing,
Marcus."
"No, but you're also not
fighting me. You will make a suburb vampire,
Christine. And that one." He pointed at Spock. "That one will be your first
meal."
His face transformed into
something hideous. As he leaned in, she
felt his breath on her neck. Something
rose up in her, and for a moment the slayer within her resisted his control,
but he was too close. She couldn't stop
him.
*Christine.*
The voice in her mind shocked
her. She looked over. Saw Spock standing behind Marcus, a stake in
hand. Instead of taking the shot he held
the weapon out to her.
*Kill him.*
She felt Marcus stiffen as he
saw her reach for the stake. He pulled
away and backed into Spock, who grabbed his arms. Astonished eyes met Christine's. "You will not kill me."
"Wanna bet?" She slammed the stake into him and watched
him explode into dust. In a second, she
heard the security men outside return to normal and start calling to her.
"Stand down," she
yelled to them. "We did it. They're all gone."
Spock was calmly dusting
himself off. At her questioning look,
he spoke. "I was never affected by
him. But it seemed that you had to face
this yourself. And that you might need
the element of surprise. It seemed logical
to pretend, so I did."
"But you spoke to me in
my mind. How?"
He brushed some errant vamp
dust off her shoulder. "I do not
know. We have been working together so
closely over these many hours. I believe
we developed some sort of synergy, a form of mental connection. In any case, I believed it would work, and it
did."
"Yes it did. I'd be dead, or worse actually, if not for
you."
He motioned her out of the
hut. "We would all be dead if not
for you. So I would say we are
even."
She gave him a tired smile as
they went to give the captain a full report.
******************************
Hours later, Christine sat on
the couch in her darkened quarters, staring at nothing, trying to not think of
the day's events. Even now she could not
relax. Her slayer senses were invoked
again. It might be days before they went
off alert. Like now. She heard footsteps approaching her door
several seconds before the chime rang.
"Come."
Spock stood silhouetted in
the door. Without asking, he palmed the
lights up to quarter strength. He walked
over to the chair and dropped into it.
"You are troubled?"
"Just thinking of what
I've lost…again. Everyone that I love
dies. Everyone that loves me dies. It's the slayer's lament."
"You didn't kill him,
not the first time."
She sniffed
unbelievingly. "He would never have
been a target if he hadn't known me. I
was crazy to even think I could have a
normal life. I didn't even take the most
basic precautions with him. I could have
at least given him a cross to carry. But
I just walked away from my old life and never thought that it would come back
to haunt me."
Spock shifted in the chair,
arranging himself in a more comfortable position. "You were not to blame, Christine. You had the right to a normal life. That you were not allowed it was not your
fault."
She leaned her head on the
back of couch and studied him. "Do
you know, Spock, that I think you are the only person here that isn't either
awestruck or intimidated by me now. Even
the Captain appears to be treating me differently. Like he has a…" she trailed off.
"A crush? I think he does. He loves warriors. You know that. And your performance today was most
impressive."
"You weren't so bad
yourself."
"We were a good
team."
She leaned forward. "We were. And that surprises me, Spock. I didn't think you would be able to kill with
such ease. I mean, I'm the slayer and
I'm supposed to do it, but I still feel guilty."
"Because you are a
healer now?"
She nodded and turned
away. He sighed and then rose and walked
over to the couch. Sitting down next to
her, he waited till she turned her face to his.
"Perhaps we should think of this in medical terms then."
She shook her head. "I don't understand. I'm not supposed to take life, I'm supposed
to preserve it."
"Every time we eradicate
a disease we have successfully stopped another life form, a virus or a
bacterium, from living to its full extent.
In most cases we kill it. We do
it because it threatens our life. Even
Vulcans fight disease knowing full well that they kill a life form."
"Yes, but that's
different."
"Marcus killed an entire
colony in less than a week. No disease
that I know of is that efficient. Even
the worst plagues don't kill everyone.
How could we not stop him? We
*were* preserving life. The needs of the
many, Christine, outweigh the needs of the few."
She nodded. "I never thought about it that way. I always thought they were polar opposites,
the slaying and the healing."
"They are the same. Just as you are the same women you were a
week ago. I just know you better
now. We all do."
"And the whole world
will too as soon as Star Fleet gets the Captain's report. The Watcher's Council will just have one more
reason to resent me."
Spock half-smiled. "I
believe that Jim forgot to mention in his official report the reason for your
starring role in the mission. The
security men only know that you and I led the attack. They do not know why you were involved. To be honest they saw very little of the
battle. With no bodies, who can say
exactly what we were up against? We
called them vampires for a frame of reference, that's all. Your secret is safe, Christine."
She felt tears
threatening. "I didn't expect
that…"
"I told you that you
were not alone. I did not mean just for
the duration of the battle."
He held his left hand out,
palm facing her, fingers spread. She
hesitated then placed her right hand against his, allowing their fingers to
touch. He startled her by dropping his fingers
down to intertwine with hers. Again the
sensation of pure support and caring flooded her.
His eyes fairly sparkled as
he said, "It is a logical arrangement.
I could use an exercise partner."
She chuckled. "Okay.
As long as you promise not to hold back."
He tightened his
fingers. "Agreed. You on the other hand, are encouraged to
restrain yourself."
She laughed outright, a rich
sound that seemed to fill the room. He
pulled her in closer. She relaxed
against him and rested her head on his chest.
She realized she was suddenly very tired. As her eyes closed, she thought she heard,
*You have not lost everyone that cares for you, Christine. I am not going anywhere.*
FIN