Crossing Lost: Getting Here is the Easy Part

After Mara left the small group to build her shelter, Quentin jogged over to catch up with George, who was meeting up with Daniel, Locke and Faith. George was determined to go back into the jungle to release the souls of those that had died in Mara and Faith's crash, and Quentin was certain that he wanted to be there when she did it. "The supernatural seems drawn to me it seems," Quentin thought to himself ruefully.

What Quentin heard when he caught up to the group made him stop dead in his tracks. Daniel had just said one word, but it was enough: "Vampires?"

Trying not to show his discomfort, Quentin joined the group as Faith rattled off the list of things that she knew to be real...vampires, demons, other scary movie shit. Quentin heard the unsaid "werewolves" among the list.

"Don't tell me there is a vampire on this island," Quentin said when Faith finished. "I mean, a polar bear can sorta be explained, a grim reaper would be expected being the carnage we all survived..." (not one so beautiful, however) Quentin added mentally, "...but a vampire? Or was one of those 'others' that attacked a few nights back sporting some extra sharp chompers?"

The warrior look and the knowledge of vampires made it all add up in Quentin's mind: Faith was a vampire slayer. Barnabas lived in fear of someone he had called "The Slayer" ever since he came back from a trip he and Julia had taken to California. But...weren't Faith and Mara headed to London?

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“Vampires,” Daniel repeated, once Locke made his statement about Emerson and California. Of course, it would go a long way to explaining some of the odd reports that came out of California – and other parts of the country – but that could never be tied to alien technology or interference. “I don’t suppose it’s so much of a stretch to see the truth behind the mythos. Every legend and every myth has some root basis or another. The earliest recorded demons could actually be seen in the –“

“Do you give yourself a hard-on when you talk like that?”

Faith’s question flew so far from the left field, that for a moment, Daniel could only gape at her as he felt his ears go red. “What? No!”

The young woman’s smug smile didn’t help matters any, but evidently she was done having her fun with Daniel so she turned to study Quentin. “I haven’t seen the signs of any vamps around. But don’t worry, if I do, I’ll take care of it.”

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“Do you give yourself a hard-on when you talk like that?”

ROTFLMAO!

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Quentin found it a little humorous how quickly Daniel slipped into 'teacher' mode when pondering the existence of vampires and such. Even more humorous was the manner in which Faith brought him out of it. Then she turned her gaze on Quentin, and with a quick comment brought Quentin back to the reality of the situation. If Faith was a vampire slayer, where did werewolves fall?

Quentin decided to go out on a limb and find out. If people were to somehow find out about his secret, it likely wouldn't go over too well, portrait or no portrait.

"You say that so nonchalantly Faith," Quentin replied with a large grin. "It makes me wonder what other kinds of things you've run in to. What happens if we get the whole Universal Monsters lineup after us? Something tells me that those guns Daniel and the seargent are carrying around don't have silver bullets in case we get jumped by the wolfman."

Quentin hoped that he had been successful in coming off flippant. The last thing he needed was them putting the terms 'wolfman' and 'Quentin' together and trying to see if Daniel's pistol would fire a home made silver bullet. Quentin was unsure if the portrait left him immune to silver, and he was certainly not in the mood to experiment.

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Faith tilted her head curiously at Quentin and gave him a sly smile. "That all depends on the wolfman. I knew a werewolf once; good guy, funky hair and cool nailpolish."

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Quentin did a double take. Faith knew a werewolf?? From her description, he seemed to have been one of her friends. That was a comforting thought, her profession didn't extend to eliminating lycanthropes. Not that it really mattered, it isn't like Quentin was a proper werewolf anyways...the portrait made sure of that. Thinking of the portrait brought a sudden sobering thought to Quentin's mind -- this place is obviously way off the beaten path towards weirdsville. What happens if Tate and Petofi's magic doesn't extend to this island? What day is it again?

For the first time in over a hundred years, Quentin began to dread the full moon. Not knowing exactly when it was due made things all the worse.

"Well, is that a fact?" Quentin quipped to Faith. "So, do the movies do the legend of the werewolf justice, or does he get a bad rap?" More flippancy. Somehow Quentin got the feeling that Faith wasn't buying the act...the look she had given him told him that she suspected something was up. Time to change the subject.

"So anyways... Daniel, will there be room for me on this expedition? Dr. Pierson had also shown an interest in making a trip out to the highlands in search of some herbal remedies, in fact I believe he was preparing medical supplies for such a trip." Quentin gestured over towards the infirmary, where Methos was trying his best to act nonchalant while gathering some basic first aid supplies. So far Dr. House was completely oblivious, too wrapped up in his withdrawal to notice anything else.

Quentin gave the group a large smile. Behind the smile, his mind was racing, hoping that his sudden panic was for naught.

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Something about Quentin was off. Her slayer sense was on alert, but not giving her that tingling hunt-and-kill vibe which was probably a good thing for Quentin. His flippancy about werewolves struck a chord with her and made her gaze at him consideringly - and not in a sexual fashion.

(Guess we'll know that jig soon enough when the full moon hits,) Faith thought.

Before she could answer the question, he turned to Daniel asking about the mission.

"That's up to Faith and George. It's their mission now," Daniel said simply.

"What?" George asked.

"Fuck no," Faith said at the same time. For the first time since running into the survivors of Tara's plane crash, Faith felt off center. She held up her hands as if in surrender, or more rather warding off blows. "No fucking way, Daniel. I am not a leader. I'm more of a go find it and fight it, kind. Sorta a private contractor. I don't lead people anywhere, and you don't want anybody followin' me anyway."

Daniel studied her for a long moment, the intense scrutiny in his eyes making Faith feel like she was being dressed down by Giles again. She forced herself to hold his gaze and not fidget, surprised that anyone, other than Angel or Giles, could make her feel the need to squirm. "But you know where the plane is."

(Damn, now I know why you're the Big Man on Campus,) Faith thought.

"Yeah, so?"

"You also have plenty of fighting experience, defensive and offensive?"

"I haven't exactly made that a secret, you know?"

"That makes you the most qualified to lead. And considering how George has business with the deceased, then she's - well, consider her your second-in-command." Daniel replaced his sunglasses, "From the sound of things, it looks like you might already have a team forming up."

Faith blinked at the man then looked around the assembly. "Is he always like this?"

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Blaise couldn't help grinning at George and Faith's reactions. Both ready to jump into the fray, but neither wanting to be in charge. They were more alike than they knew. Faith's aggressive gaze met his. "What's so funny, soldier man?"

Blaise's grin just grew broader. "The first rule of leadership--learn to delegate. If someone else can do the job as well or better than you can, let them do it. In this case, that means you and George."

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Blaise listened to the by-play without speaking. Grim Reapers, vampires, demons, and more ghosties and ghoulies. He thought that he should feel surprised or shocked, but frankly he wasn't. (Surprise fatigue,) he thought. He'd experienced this before, when he was first recruited for the Stargate program.

General Hammond had shaken his hand and welcomed him aboard. Then his aide had handed Blaise a huge stack of files to read. Summaries of key SG team missions; introductions to the Goa'uld, Tok'ra, Ancients, Asgard, Replicators, Ascended beings, and more. By the time he saw the Stargate itself in operation he'd been thoroughly jaded.

Still, something George had said itched at his memory. That--and the way she'd looked to Locke for backup and his calm acceptance to her revelation. Blaise snapped his fingers. "You knew," he accused Locke. "Didn't you?"

Locke just nodded calmly. "Yes," he said.

Blaise glanced at Dr. Jackson. "When we saw the pilot of 815 taken by the smoke thing, George insisted on looking for him. John accompanied her." Now he spoke to George. "You insisted that he might be alive, but you didn't believe that at all, did you?"

George squirmed under his gaze. "No..." she admitted. "But I wasn't about to tell you the truth, then."

Locke now. "So you saw her, what, collect the pilot's soul?"

"Reap," George said. Blaise glanced at her. Her initial anxiety had faded now that she'd made her claim. He nodded. "Reaped," he repeated.

Locke said, "I didn't see much. But based on what I did see and hear, I believe her."

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Locke was doing his best to hide his amusement as Daniel tried to digest the latest round of supernatural revelations. Then Faith insinuated that two "Watchers" didn't deserve to have their souls released. He told her quietly but firmly, "No one deserves that. No one." Next he turned to Daniel. "George is a grim reaper. I was with her when she freed the pilot's soul. He told us -- well, George, since I couldn't see or hear him -- about the instruments malfunctioning and being over 1,000 miles off course.

"Also, Emerson has fought vampires in Santa Carla. He said that the town is infested with them." Locke widened his gaze to include the others. "Apparently vampires like California." To Faith he added, "I've encountered a few grim reapers. No scythes or black robes. They're all quite attractive."

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Doctor Jackson still seemed to be struggling with the idea. Faith blathering on about vampires and demons and vampire slaying wasn't helping. It might well be true--probably was, George figured, given everything else--but it wasn't helping now. (Shut up, Faith!)

"Look," George said, "I know this is hard to accept, but listen. I reaped Major Powell on the beach after the crash. When people cross over, the doorway always personal. Powell walked through a doorway I've never seen before. It looked like...a big circle of water standing on edge. I don't know what the fuck it was, but he recognized it."

George caught Blaise's momentary glance at Dr. Jackson and knew she'd hit paydirt. "Powell wouldn't tell me what it was, or what the 'SGC' patch on his jacket meant, either. But I bet you guys know. How would I know about that if I hadn't seen it?"

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Daniel took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. Something, a memory, a tingling, tickled the back of his mind, a faint elusive bit of knowledge that filtered down from his time Ascended; but like smoke, he couldn't grasp it; like a shadow in the corner of his eye, it was gone when he turned to look at it. It was enough however to tell him that George wasn't delusional or crazy. She was what she was, and along with the other mysteries of the universe, this was not one that he could examine and pick apart at his leisure right now.

(Grim reapers exist, reaping the souls of the dead. I wonder if every system lord got their own personal one with all the sarcophagi floating around,) Daniel thought.

Vampires, demons, grim reapers ... Daniel felt the scholar coming out, and he forcibly repressed the urge to start interviewing George and Faith.

He looked carefully between Faith and George. He had no doubt Faith could handle whatever was out there in the jungle; George was determined, but she wasn't a fighter by any stretch of the imagination. They had been formulating plans for a salvage mission, so even if George was delusional or psychic (And you know she's not) then where was the harm?

"How soon would you be ready to lead an expedition, Faith?"

The warrior brunette shrugged, "Whenever. I'd kinda like to get some sleep tonight you know seeing how Mara and I walked all the way to your camp today."

"I'd like you to wait until the Doctor's team returns. I don't like the idea of having two groups out there. And it will be a team going," Daniel made it clear, mostly to Faith, that the last was not negotiable.

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Locke allowed himself a small smile from Daniel's graceful maneuvering of Faith and George into the mission leaders. He wanted to go as well, but needed to start digging the boar traps. With luck Dr. Pierson would declare him well enough to get back to work today. Staying on the beach with Daisy was more than enjoyable, but didn't feel like he was pulling his own weight.

Daniel had also maneuvered around George's question about Powell's SGC patch. Locke decided to give him a nudge. "Makes sense," he commented about not having two groups in the field. He studied the soldier/scholar for a moment. "What is this SGC, Daniel?"

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"Secret Government Compound," Daniel answered without missing a beat.

Faith snorted. "It's not so secret if you're tellin' us about it."

"It is if you don't know where it is," Daniel replied. He kept a straight face and didn't look at Blaise once. He knew that not a single person there bought that explanation. Daniel just hoped that they realized it was all the explanation that he was willing to give. It wasn't time yet to throw all his cards on the table; eventually, he knew that it would be ... but the longer he could avoid having to line fifty people up to sign non-disclosures, the happier everyone would be.

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Yeah. This was me too.

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George watched Daniel and Faith go back and forth on the topic. She was curious, but she didn't care all that much about it. When they were done, George looked at Faith. "I guess it's you and me, then," she said.

"...and Quentin and Dr. Pierson and probably Carlos," George added. She suspected Carlos wasn't about to let her go off into the wild without him. And that was fine by her.

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scarred-muse.livejournal.com

*nudge* ^.^

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At the name of Carlos, Faith's attention perked, "Who's Carlos?"

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Blaise said with a bright grin, "Carlos? That's George's new boyfriend."

He was rewarded with a deadly glare and laughed. "Sorry, George, but you blush so prettily." And she was blushing now, which really diminished the effect of the glare. But that was enough teasing.

Blaise looked at Faith. "Carlos is another survivor. He was alone in the jungle for the first few days, and only joined us here on the beach recently. Ex-military, too, so he's been a handy addition to the watch rotation. I expect he'll want to go along to keep an eye on George."

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Quentin noticed the signs of a cover story recited by rote in Daniel's answer to Locke, and wondered again where he recognized Daniel's name from. This time it came to him, and the memories the realization brought up made Quentin shiver.

Quentin gave Daniel his polished 'gotcha' smile as he spoke. "I've been racking my brains since we first met just *where* I had heard your name before Daniel, and I think I've got it. You're the infamous archaeologist that flamed out a promising career by suggesting the Egyptian pyramids were built as landing platforms for alien spacecraft."

Quentin was enjoying the looks that people were giving Daniel, but he was not finished. "So, can I assume that your association with the military and the intense secrecy that seems to surround those 3 letters means that your theory might not have been as far out as most people thought? I mean, on this island it seems all bets are off as far as what we should and shouldn't expect."

(OOC- Just wait til Quentin mentions his familiarity with Ra...then Daniel will *really* squirm)

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Hooray! Someone's finally putting Daniel on the spot! *bounces*

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What surprised Daniel was not that Quentin somehow knew of him, but rather than being startled, he was simply frustrated and exasperated. That was an ongoing annoyance with him; the fact that he *knew* he was right but couldn't tell the world at large.

Daniel gave a tired half-smile. "Actually the theory stated that there was evidence of a cross-pollination of early cultures that could possibly have been influenced by an external source, which is plausible when one considers the evidence that ancient civilizations, particularly Egyptian, is older than historians assert."

Daniel didn't actually expect that anyone heard much of what he said beyond the first few words, but it didn't really matter. He didn't know why precisely Quentin felt the need to bring up something of *that* nature, no matter what his suppositions. He certainly couldn't think that Daniel was going to tell a beach full of people, normal people with every day lives for the most part, that aliens had influenced early human development and visited earth for countless centuries.

"I currrently work for the United States Air Force in a linguistic capacity," Daniel went on. "Unfortunately a good portion of the work I do, including locations and bases, is confidential and protected under provisions of national security.

"My work, past or present, has no bearing on this island, however. But I would safely say that this place has proven to be unusual enough that we really should brace ourselves for the unexpected. But I think that most people have figured that out."

He gave Quentin a hard look. If Quentin wanted to spout theories, and debate Daniel in private that was fine. If he wanted Daniel to reveal the Stargate Program to the entire island, the man had another think coming.

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Quentin listened to Daniel rattle off the specifics of his theory on ancient civilizations. Quentin had, of course, read the entire paper -- after an encounter in Egypt about four years ago, he had sought it out. Most of the specifics had gone way over his head, but Quentin had been able to read between the lines. The "external sources" could only be aliens, the evidence of which Quentin had seen with his own two eyes.

As Daniel continued with his cover story, Quentin did his best to keep from rolling his eyes at the obvious obfuscation. It was obvious that trying to drag something out of Daniel at this time was a lost cause, and the look that Quentin earned put the exclamation point on that. Perhaps at a later time Quentin would bring it up in private.

"At least I was right, you are the person I thought you were. Secret government involvement aside, you are an expert in ancient Egyptian culture. One of these days I will have to ask you about Ra worship, and people coming back after apparently dying during a Ra worship ceremony."

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