Title: Take Arms

Series: What Dreams May Come 5

Author: Xandria

Fandom: BTVS Highlander and Star Trek

Summary: An alternate ending after Lover's Walk. Xander joins the Maquis

Archive: Go for it, just let me know where.

Rating: MA Swearing!

Feedback: Does the Colonel serve chicken? Does Maccas serve beef? No wait…

Spoilers: Buffy up to Lovers Walk

Disclaimer: They ain't mine, they were never mine, but the plot is mine and if you try to rip it off I will send my attack squad of rabid teletubbies (who I also don't own), and my flock of Outer Mongolian Vampire Skunks (who I do own) after you!

Date: 28/10/99

Thanks to Lady X for betaing.

By Xandria

Alpha Quadrant

"You're too young, kid. Get out of here."

I stared at the barman in outrage and surprise.

This little mudball of a planet had an age limit? The same little backwater of a planet I had been stuck on for three weeks trying to contact the Maquis wouldn't give me a drink? Four centuries old and I still had to prove I was old enough to have a bloody beer!

"Oh come on. I'm older than I look. All I want is one drink and then I'll leave." The barman pulled out a club and I left right then. I may heal fast, but I'm not stupid. Except when I 'm pissed off like I was then.

So I walked up the street muttering to myself and waving my arms, getting louder and louder as I worked myself up.

"Stupid bloody planet. Bloody age limits. If that twit knew how old I was he'd die! I'm certainly old enough to have a bloody beer! Bloody Maquis! Bloody Spike. Stupid bloody game! Bloody Cardassians! And bugger all blood sucking leeches and parasites to hell! Just once I'd like to walk into a bar and not have to prove my…"

I stopped suddenly as I realised I was no longer alone but had an audience. Several men and women had surrounded me and were grinning in a way I didn't like.

"If this is a robbery you're wasting your time. If this is a fight then I am in the mood." I don't like killing but sometimes I do like to fight. Then one of them spoke.

"That won't be necessary Mr Rosenburg."

And someone shot me.

I woke up with a headache and a stiff neck. Laying there, I tried to sense what was going on around me without opening my eyes.

"Mr Rosenburg…" I jumped up and faced the speaker in a crouch, ready to fight, the pain forgotten.

"What do you want?" Hey, it's not original but I wanted off this stupid planet. Any longer and if Spike were looking...I wanted a drink for that encounter.

"You were looking for us, I believe?" The speaker moved forward so I could see him more clearly. He was a Bajoran with black hair and brown eyes and a large scar on the right side of his face.

"Maquis! Why bring me here like this? You know I want to join you."

"So you wouldn't be followed if you are a spy. So you wont know how to find us if we decide you're no use to us."

"Swell. Look, I just want to do something. What the Federation did was wrong. No one power, or two, should have the right to decide people's lives like they did. No one should wake up to find out they wasted their lives working on something their own government just took away from them. No one should wake up to find out their home isn't any more because somebody far away decided to sign a piece of paper."

"Fine talk. What can you do though? You look as if you've only just left home"

"Well, I'm a lot older than I look. Who would suspect a kid of spying? I am very good at fiddling records and changing identities, hiding things. I can fly, I am good with machines, and I can fight."

"Prove it." I stared at him a threw a pile IDs at him.

"Okay. Heres my Federation ID. And my Klingon one. Heres a Romulan one. I forged them. These are all in the relevant records, I put them there." The Bajoran stared at the Ids then handed them to an Andorian next to him.

"Check these out. So who are you?"

"Alex Rosenburg." Beran stared at me and almost smiled.

"Follow me." He led me to an eating area where we sat down and talked. We were lingering over coffee when he called over two men to join us. One was an Indian with a face tattoo. Probably from Dorvan IV I guessed. The other looked like a bigger version of Mr T.

"This is Anu Dinot and Chakotay." Both were big, broad men and I suddenly realised why they were called over.

"Just Chakotay?"

"My people only have the one name." He smiled. My people, if you could call Immortals that, had many names. I'd been Xander, Alex, Giles, Will, even Oz.

"Mr Rosenburg wants to join us, so he's showing us what he can do. I want to see if he can fight as well as he says."

"Which one" I said.

"Anu is…"

"Beran you can't! Do you want to kill the boy?!" Hah! I was around when your ancestors were still on earth! I guess ol' Beran doesn't want me to get in.

"Okay" I said. They all looked surprised at that. I still look like a skinny 18 year old while Anu was over six feet and built like a tank.

"Chakotay's right, I could really hurt you."

"No really. I know what to do." I widened my eyes and looked innocent. I also looked too dumb to know what I was getting in to. It's a great defence, they always underestimate me then.

We walked over to an empty cargo area. Chakotay tried to persuade me not to fight but I ignored him, doing a brief warm up before nodding to say I was ready.

Anu roared, then ran at me, arms outstretched. I let him grab my arm and used his momentum to whirl him around before picking his hand off and letting him run into the wall. He shook his head and stood up, approaching me more slowly this time.

He tried to punch me and I easily dodged the fist, grabbing it in my left hand. Anu tried to pull it away but couldn't. I smiled then grabbed his arm up above the elbow before flipping him. I kept a hold of his arm and used it to pin him on the floor. He struggled but could not move.

"Don't move, a dislocated shoulder is very painful."

Anu froze.

"Mr Rosenburg I do believe you could be useful to the Maquis."

I grinned and let Anu up.

"Is this the beginning of a beautiful friendship?" He just looked at me blankly while the two humans tried to stifle a laugh. Bajorans!

Delta Quadrant

Five years later.

I had been on many missions for the Maquis, mainly spying. Unfortunately my last one had gone wrong. I spent six months in a Cardassian prison before being rescued. They discovered my secret and tortured me to death in different ways, to see what might kill me. Then Chakotay and his ship rescued us.

So I asked to be a member of his crew on his ship instead of spying. He agreed so I get to fix things up instead of blowing them up in engineering. I don't know if I can handle anything more than that, yet.

I don't mind being 70,000 light years away from Spike anyway. Still, apart from the Kazons (what a psycho race), it seems quiet out here in the Delta Quadrant. I like the quiet. At the moment I need the quiet too.

But isn't it just my luck that there's another Immortal on board Voyager?

=30=