Falling for the Umpteenth Time By Ariel Dawn
Summery: Buffy takes that leap off the tower in ‘The Gift’ and ends up in a strange strange place.
Disclaimer: So Buffy called me last night to ask me to break her out of rerun hell and make it so that she actually did new stuff...alas I had to tell her that Joss owned her sorry ass, and that she blew it with Spike...boy did we have words over that.
Author’s note: Sort of a crossover with Star Trek, in that it takes place for the majority of the story in the Star Trek verse. However, it isn’t necessary to follow ST to understand this fic, the interaction between ST characters and Buffy and the scoobies is minimal. If you know the ST universe, assume that this is after Nemesis, on the USS Titan, I’ve meshed crews slightly (hey it’s my fic after all) and I don‘t do star dates, I never pretended to understand, so I won‘t try to prove that I do, that‘s why you‘ll see a lot of ****’s. I blame this plot on some late night TNG watching and possibly the bag of Swedish Berries I was eating.
Chapter 1: Kansas? This so is not.
Buffy hurt all over. The last thing she remembered was that she had jumped. Had she survived? She certainly hadn’t been expecting to. Not after all of Giles’ “The Blood must stop flowing” speech. She had said her goodbyes, like she was going to die. Gee, she would feel really stupid if she didn’t die after all. Cautiously she opened her eyes.
All around her she saw yellow stripes on the walls. All the walls. There was no door to be seen. Stiffly she rose from the floor. Yep, she hurt. Straightening her self up she turned all around looking for some way to get out of this.
“Gee I hope this isn’t Limbo,” Buffy thought out loud. “Where am I?”
“You are in Holodeck 2” came a woman’s voice from no where.
Buffy was surprised at the woman‘s voice, but pushed her shock back. This woman, who ever she was, could tell Buffy where she was.
“Holo-wha? Why am I here?”
“Unknown.”
“Great, just great. Who are you?”
“The main computer of the USS Titan.”
“The what?”
“The main computer of the USS Titan.”
“You said that already. How and When did I get here?”
“Lt. Elizabeth Summers reported for duty on Stardate ****, coming aboard while the USS Titan was docked at Utopia Planetia.”
“Huh? So how long have I been on this USS Titan thingy?”
“Since Star date ****, 2 years, 4 months and 17 days.”
“OH MY GOD!” cried Buffy. This was majorly freaky. “Am I dead?” she whispered.
“Negative.”
“Ok, well I guess that’s good to know. How do I get out of here?
To Buffy’s left the walls parted creating a break in the grid pattern of the wall.
“Great. You’ve been a wonderful help,” Buffy said sarcastically.
“You are welcome.”
Buffy rolled her eyes at the voice and headed to the door. Stopping at the door frame she peered around the corner to see if anything was coming. In both directions a hallway spread, grey carpeting, futuristic wall panelling. Completely out of a Sci Fi show. Suddenly someone came around a corner and walked towards her. Buffy ducked back into the room with the grid.
“Computer? I’m lost, how do I get home?” asked Buffy in a quiet voice. The computer seemed friendly, and she had this idea that it wouldn’t laugh at her.
Buffy realized that she had absolutely no idea how to get home, where her friends were. They could be in danger. What if the portal didn’t close? Was she in some hell dimension? She had never felt so lost before in her life. Even when she had been in that dimension of hell being used as slave labour she knew how she got there, She knew how to get out. This was a completely new environment for her.
“Lt Elizabeth Summers’ quarters are on deck 6. Follow the flashing panels.”
Buffy hesitantly walked out of the grid room and into the corridor. Sure enough there were wall panels that were flashing. She walked slowly down the corridor to a set of doors that read “Turbolift” on them. The doors didn’t open, and there was no door nob. Buffy stood there for a moment trying to figure out how to get in what she assumed was an elevator. Suddenly there was a ‘whoosh’ sound and the doors opened, to reveal a tall man in a one piece black and blue outfit.
“Ma’am” the man acknowledged her and walked on.
Buffy nodded her head at him and stepped into the elevator.
“Computer? Who was that man?”
“Crewman 3rd class Mark Bailey.”
“Do I know him?”
“Unknown”
The elevator made whoosh sounds and Buffy could feel herself being propelled up wards. After a few seconds the thing came to a halt and the doors opened to reveal yet another corridor. Sure enough the flashing wall panels were doing their job.
The panels stopped flashing outside another set of doors. Buffy peered up at the writing on the door.
‘Lt Elizabeth Summers’
The doors opened and Buffy stepped in. The first thing that Buffy noticed was the large window that showed nothing but a black sky with lights flashing by.
“Oh my god!”
“Computer? Am I in space? On a Space ship?”
“Lt Elizabeth Summers is currently in her quarters”
“Never mind.”
Buffy looked around her ‘quarters.’ In the room she was currently in was her couch from home, the red one, a comfy chair, grey like the rest of the room, and a glass coffee table, on which sat a computery looking thingy that sorta could be a PDA. To her left was a glass table and 2 metal chairs, they stood in front of large, well, computery looking thingy with a shelf. To her right stood a desk with what looked like a lap top on it. On the walls of the room were some of her weapons, her favourite axe and some swords. Buffy looked closer at her weapons. They definitely had to be hers, look even the short sword had a nick in the blade like her’s had.
Buffy walked towards a hallway that led off from the right. Buffy walked into a bedroom. The sheets were unfamiliar, but there on top of the comforter, was MR GORDO!!!!!!
Buffy launched herself at her pig. Gathering the stuffed object into her arms Buffy curled herself up into a ball on the bed. She didn’t know where she was, she didn’t know how to get home.
When Buffy woke up, and she didn’t know how long she had been asleep, Buffy took Mr Gordo and sat down at her laptop. There was no key board, no on switch. Just one big button. Buffy pressed the button and up popped a logo, stating ‘USS Titan, Starfleet, United Federation of Planets’
“Computer? I want to find out what I’m doing here.”
“Information on Lt Elizabeth Summers’ career can be found in her personnel file.”
“Ok, show me that.”
On the screen in front of her popped her picture, of her wearing a uniform similar to the one that Mark Bailey guy had been wearing, except that her turtle neck thingy was yellow, not blue.
SUMMERS, ELIZABETH ANNE, LT
BORN: 2356, STAR DATE ****, JANUARY 18
PLACE OF BIRTH: LOS ANGELES CALIFORNIA EARTH
ASSIGNMENT: CHIEF SECURITY OFFICER, USS TITAN
LAST ASSIGNMENT: DEPUTY SECURITY CHIEF, USS TITAN
ACADEMY CLASS: 2378
BIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS:
NEXT OF KIN: CAPT. HANK SUMMERS, COMMANDING OFFICER USS VANCOUVER, FATHER.
DAWN SUMMERS, SISTER, RESIDENT OF OXFORD ENGLAND, EARTH
JOYCE SUMMERS, MOTHER DECEASED STAR DATE ****
SERVICE RECORD:
STAR DATE **** ASSIGNED TO USS DESTINY, SECURITY DETAIL
STAR DATE **** RECEIVED COMMENDATION FROM LT ANDERSON
STAR DATE **** ASSIGNED TO USS TITAN, SECURITY DETAIL
STAR DATE **** RECEIVED GOLD CLUSTER MEDAL, FOR BRAVERY
STAR DATE **** PROMOTED TO LT JR GRADE
STAR DATE **** ASSIGNED TO USS TITAN, DEPUTY SECURITY CHIEF
STAR DATE **** PROMOTED TO LT
STAR DATE **** RECEIVED MEDAL OF MERIT, OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT
STAR DATE **** ASSIGNED TO USS TITAN, SECURITY CHIEF
Buffy stared hard at the screen. Then shook her head trying to make sense of it all. This would make me 26, she thought, I’m not 26, I’m 20. But it had her birthday right, and her family. What about her friends?
“Computer show me a personnel file on Dawn Summers.”
“There is no Dawn Summers in Starfleet.”
“Oh,” yeah that would make sense, it said that Dawn Summers lived in Oxford, maybe she was at university.
“Ok, how about Willow Rosenburg?”
“There is no Willow Rosenburg in Starfleet.”
“Xander Harris?”
An image popped up on the screen. Xander’s face smiled before her, dressed in the same uniform her picture had been dressed in.
HARRIS, ALEXANDER LAVELLE, LT
BORN: 2356, STAR DATE ****, AUGUST 7
PLACE OF BIRTH: SUNNYDALE CALIFORNIA EARTH
ASSIGNMENT: DEPUTY CHIEF ENGINEER, USS TITAN
LAST ASSIGNMENT: DIAGNOSTIC ANALYST, USS TITAN
ACADEMY CLASS: 2378
BIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS:
NEXT OF KIN: ANTHONY HARRIS, RESIDENT SUNNYDALE CALIFORNIA EARTH, FATHER.
JESSICA HARRIS, RESIDENT SUNNYDALE CALIFORNIA EARTH, MOTHER
SERVICE RECORD:
STAR DATE **** ASSIGNED TO USS VANCOUVER, DUTY ENGINEER
STAR DATE **** ASSIGNED TO USS T’PAU, DIAGNOSTIC ANALYST
STAR DATE **** PROMOTED TO LT JR GRADE
STAR DATE **** ASSIGNED TO USS ARCHER, DIAGNOSTIC ANALYST
STAR DATE **** PROMOTED TO LT
STAR DATE **** RECEIVED MEDAL OF MERIT, OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT
STAR DATE **** ASSIGNED TO USS TITAN, DIAGNOSTIC ANALYST
STAR DATE **** ASSIGNED TO USS TITAN, DEPUTY CHIEF ENGINEER
Xander was here, on this Titan space ship!
“Computer where is Xander Harris right now?”
“Lt Alexander Harris is in main engineering.”
“Great, how do I talk to him? Is there a phone around here I can use?”
Suddenly the screen in front of her changed and now displayed a series of buttons, one of which was labelled, internal communication system, and it was flashing. Buffy gave a quick look around her before pressing the screen.
“Xander?” Buffy said hesitantly.
“What’s up Buff?” came Xander’s voice.
“Oh my god! Xander I’m so glad I found you! Something’s horribly wrong!”
“I knew it! The program right? He never sends it to you perfect you know, you are his test subject. You would think that he’d fix the kinks before sending it. Listen, I’m really busy right now, stupid subspace transmitter is dead and the Captain is on our backs about it. How about I stop by after my shift? 2 hours?”
“Ok, Xander.”
“See you then, Buffy, oh, and replicate me some jelly doughnut goodness.”
“Sure Xander. Bye.”
Buffy exhaled and pressed the button on the screen to terminate her “phone call.” Now all she had to do was wait for two hours. She had absolutely no clue what Xander had been babbling about, but assumed he would explain it to her when he got here.
Buffy turned back to her screen. Time for more find that scooby.
“Computer, show me a personnel file for Rupert Giles.”
GILES, RUPERT EDMUND, ADM
BORN: 2325, STAR DATE ****, JULY 25
PLACE OF BIRTH: BATH ENGLAND EARTH
ASSIGNMENT: PROFESSOR OF HAND TO HAND COMBAT TRAINING, PROFESSOR OF EXOLINGUISTICS, STARFLEET ACADEMY
LAST ASSIGNMENT: CLASSIFIED
ACADEMY CLASS: 2347
BIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS:
NEXT OF KIN: ROBERT GILES, DECEASED, STAR DATE ****, FATHER
MARY GILES, DECEASED, STAR DATE ****, MOTHER
SERVICE RECORD:
STAR DATE **** ASSIGNED TO USS CAIRO, SECURITY DETAIL
STAR DATE **** CLASSIFIED
STAR DATE **** PROMOTED TO LT JR GRADE
STAR DATE **** CLASSIFIED
STAR DATE **** PROMOTED TO LT
STAR DATE **** CLASSIFIED
STAR DATE **** PROMOTED TO LT CDR
STAR DATE **** CLASSIFIED
STAR DATE **** PROMOTED CMDR
STAR DATE **** CLASSIFIED
STAR DATE **** PROMOTED CAPT
STAR DATE **** CLASSIFIED
STAR DATE **** ASSIGNED PROFESSOR OF HAND TO HAND COMBAT TRAINING, PROFESSOR OF EXOLINGUISTICS
STAR DATE **** PROMOTED ADM
So, not on the space ship, but looks like he’s in this Star Fleet thingy. Giles would know what to do.
“Computer, I’d like to call Rupert Giles.”
“Unable to complete request.”
“Why?”
“The subspace transmitter is malfunctioning.”
“Oh.” Didn’t Xander say something about that? Huh...ok, back to find that scooby.
“Show me the personnel file of ... Tara McClay”
“There is no Tara McClay in starfleet”
“Ok, how about Anya Jenkins?”
Anya appeared on the screen with her last years brown hair and in a uniform with a blue turtle neck thingy. Buffy peered closer and saw that Anya had something weird on her nose, a wrinkly bit of skin or something. Huh, seen weirder.
JENKINS, ANYA CHRISTINA EMANUELLA, LT JR GRADE.
BORN: 2356, STAR DATE ****, JULY 4
PLACE OF BIRTH: SJORNJOST, SWEDEN EARTH
ASSIGNMENT: STATISTICAL ANALYST, ASTROMETRICS DEPARTMENT, USS TITAN
LAST ASSIGNMENT: STATISTICAL ANALYST, USS DANUBE
ACADEMY CLASS: 2378
NEXT OF KIN: D’HOFF, RYN, RESIDENT, BAJOR, FATHER.
GERTA JENKINS, DECEASED, STAR DATE **** MOTHER
SERVICE RECORD:
STAR DATE **** ASSIGNED TO USS DANUBE, STATISTICAL ANALYST
STAR DATE **** PROMOTED TO LT JR GRADE
STAR DATE **** ASSIGNED TO USS TITAN, STATISTICAL ANALYST
“Lt Anya Jenkins is in Astrometrics”
“I need to talk to Anya”
Again the screen changed and the communication button started flashing. Buffy pressed it.
“Anya?”
“Buffy!”
“Anya, when do you finish your ...” Buffy tried to remember what Anya’s job was supposed to be “... Statistical analysing?”
“2 hours...as usual, are we having a gathering?”
“Yes, Xander is coming to my place, I’ve been told to get donuts.”
“Oooh! Excellent.”
“Great.”
“I must get back to work Buffy, these numbers aren’t going to sort themselves out you know.”
Buffy laughed and pressed the terminate button.
So, Xander and Anya...who else? Angel?
“Computer show me a personnel file on Angel, or Angelus”
“There are 342 persons matching that description.”
“How many are male?”
“27”
“Put them on the screen.”
Buffy spent the next 15 mins looking through the 27 files, none of which turned out to be her Angel. Buffy exhaled loudly. What was Angel’s real name? I’m sure he told me once. It’ll come to me while I’m not thinking about it. K, next...Riley?
“Computer show me a personnel file on Riley Finn”
FINN, RILEY EDWARD, LT CMDR.
BORN: 2353, STAR DATE ****, AUGUST 17
PLACE OF BIRTH: OTTUMWA IOWA EARTH
ASSIGNMENT: TEACHING ASSISTANT TO PROFESSOR MARGARET WALSH, COVERT TACTICS, STARFLEET ACADEMY
LAST ASSIGNMENT: CLASSIFIED
ACADEMY CLASS: 2375
BIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS:
NEXT OF KIN: ADM TERRANCE FINN, STARFLEET COMMAND, FATHER.
CAPT CATHERINE FINN, STARFLEET COMMAND, MOTHER
SERVICE RECORD:
STAR DATE **** ASSIGNED TO USS CONSTITUTION, SECURITY DETAIL
STAR DATE **** PROMOTED TO LT JR GRADE
STAR DATE **** CLASSIFIED
STAR DATE **** PROMOTED TO LT
STAR DATE **** CLASSIFIED
STAR DATE **** PROMOTED TO LT CDR
STAR DATE **** CLASSIFIED
STAR DATE **** PROMOTED CDR
STAR DATE **** CLASSIFIED
STAR DATE **** ASSIGNED TO TEACHING ASSISTANT TO PROFESSOR MARGARET WALSH, COVERT TACTICS AND PSYCHOLOGY, STARFLEET ACADEMY
So Riley’s where Giles is. And Maggie Walsh is still alive. Not that she wanted to see Riley anyway.
“Computer show me a personnel file on Spike..um, William the bloody?”
“There are 4000 persons matching that descriptor”
“Oh good lord.” Buffy laughed at what just came out of her mouth. Gilesism
“Computer, can you show me a picture of my sister? I mean surely I have family photos or something.”
The screen in front of her suddenly showed a list of photos. Buffy called up one and saw her sister‘s baby picture, just as she remembered it. Buffy willed herself not to cry. She had sacrificed herself for Dawn to live. Somewhere she just hoped that her Dawn was safe and happy.
tbc...
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