Aberrant: StarGate Atlantis - [SFP#1] Law and Order: Atlantis [complete]

[BlueNinja]

Four Weeks Ago

LCDR McGillicuddy stood still with her mouth open, as the hospital technician swabbed the inside of her cheek with the q-tip, before putting it into the sealed tube. "That's all, ma'am. The lab techs back in Sydney will sequence your DNA, add you to the database, and if it comes up that you're a potential match, your command will get a phone call for you to report for blood samples." He smiled, dropped the tube and her paperwork in a padded envelope, and sealed it. "Any questions, ma'am?"

Tara shook her head. "No, thank you Petty Officer. Well, just one, actually. How often do people get called to donate bone marrow?" She self-consciously straightened her uniform and picked up her cover.

The hospital tech shrugged. "Honestly ma'am, I'm not sure. I handle the initial kits, and I've done probably a dozen blood draws for final testing, but I don't know how many of them were picked." He smiled reassuringly. "The procedure has advanced well beyond sticking a giant needle into your thigh bone."

"That's good to know, at least," she said wryly. Turning, she left the exam room and the hospital, putting on her cover and shrugging on her jacket against the colder Sydney air.

Two Weeks Ago

In her office, Tara sat staring at her computer screen. "Come on, load already!" She resisted the urge to smack the monitor.

From out in the main office, she heard a sudden raised voice call, "Attention on deck!" and the rattle of everyone coming to their feet at once. There wasn't anyone higher-up scheduled to be here today, and surprise visits from people with stars on their shoulders was never a good sign. A quiet murmur of voices was distorted by the door, and she slid her chair back a few inches, just in case.

A moment later, the door to her office opened, and two Admirals walked in. Her boss, the head of the Australian Royal Navy, Admiral Thompson, and an American, Admiral Mullen, the head of the American Navy. Tara shot to her feet, standing rigidly at attention. The two men dismissed their respective aides, both one-stars, who turned to stand outside the door.

The two four-star Admirals closed the door walked over, and sat down in the visitor chairs. "Sit down already, Commander," Thompson said, and Tara warily sank back into her chair. The two men glanced at each other, and Admiral Mullen reached into his jacket and pulled out a small, electronic device. He pressed a button on the top, and there was a sudden feeling of pressure filling the room. Both men yawned to equalize the pressure in their ears. "You're being provided with a unique opportunity, Commander," Thompson said. "At least, you are if things work the way we suspect they will."

Admiral Mullen pulled out another device from his jacket, a strange thing that looked like a New Age crystal paperweight wrapped up in copper wire. He handed it to her, and she turned it over, examining it. "Hold it in the palm of your hand. Then run it over your other hand." He demonstrated with empty hands.

Shrugging, she did as he asked, slipping two of the wire loops over her fingers and cupping it in her right palm, then held it an inch above the back of her left hand. The crystal flared with sudden light, and the scab line from a minor injury she received moving in to her apartment suddenly vanished, the scab flaking off to reveal fresh skin beneath. The light faded after a mere second, and Tara's jaw dropped. "That, that, that," she paused, and swallowed heavily, staring at the device in her hand. "What is this thing? How did that work?"

The two admirals shared a look, then Mullen extended his hand to take it back. "That crystal is a piece of alien technology. A small percentage of humanity has enough of specific genes, that allow then to manipulate this technology the same way the aliens do."

Thompson leaned forward. "As a routine, every DNA test from allied military forces is screened for this gene. If the person is deemed a good fit, they're re-assigned to top secret locations, to help work on evaluating this technology." He gestured at the office. "I realize you just arrived at this posting, Lieutenant Commander, but you're about to be reassigned again."

"I, ah, where, sir? And doing what?" She blinked several times, then shook her head, a few strands of red hair straying across her face to be brushed away a moment later.

Mullen placed the alien device back inside his jacket. "We have discovered the location of an alien planet that has, supposedly, been abandoned for centuries. An international task force is being put together to travel there and explore the capitol city. You'll be assigned as head of their Legal department, with a couple of trained servicemembers from various military branches under your control."

Thompson nodded. "Tomorrow, you need to pack only as many essentials as you can fit into your pack, then catch a flight to Cheyenne Mountain, in the US. You'll be undergoing a crash course in the alien language and a brief primer on their technology. Two weeks from now, you'll be travelling to another galaxy, to help explore a city that no human has set foot in before."

"What about my belongings, sir?" she asked nervously.

"They'll be boxed up and placed in storage. My chief of staff has already made the arrangements and obtained permission to enter from your landlord." Thompson stood, Mullen a moment behind him. "Oh, and before I forget, get these sewn onto your jumpsuits." He pulled a patch of Australian flag patches from his pocket, and handed them to her. "You're representing Down Under while you're Out There. From what your service record shows, I have confidence that you'll do an outstanding job of it."

She rose swiftly to attention as the two men turned for the door. "Yes sir, thank you sir." Once they were gone, and the door closed, and the sounds of work coming from the clerks out in the main room, she added, "What the hell, sir?"

One Day Ago

Tara sat in the holding room, staring at the American Lieutenant in front of her. "Yes, LT, you really do have to fill out a full will and testiment. Those aren't my orders, those are coming from your Colonel and Doctor Weir."

Ford sighed, and picked up the pen on the table. "It's not that I don't see the need," he griped as he filled it out. "I mean, I understand that we're travelling to a city that's been abandoned for centuries, if not longer. It's not going to be in good shape, and that's not even counting any possible hostiles we'll run into. But I just don't have anything worth specifying. Just send all my belongings back to my parents if I happen to die."

Tara resisted the urge to bang her forehead on the table. Admittedly, he wasn't the worst person she'd had to deal with today, and from the rumors she was glad that one of her clerks had dealt with Rodney McKay. "Please, LT, just get it done, so we can get it scanned into the system. Then you can go check your gear for the tenth time today, and I can start working on the civilians waiting in line behind you."

After another two minutes, he signed his name at the bottom, and she picked it up, skimming through his handwriting with ease. "Thank you, LT, that'll be all," she said, already turning her chair around to feed it into the printer. Next in line was one of the older scientists, wearing a flag she didn't recognize. "Alright, welcome to the legal office, I'm Lieutenant Commander McGillicuddy, feel free to call me Commander, or Mac. Have you done a will before?"

"Um, no," he said, taking the seat. "I'm Zelenka, from the Czeck Republic," he said, extending a hand, which she shook with a smile. "I can follow directions, if you tell me what you need."

Charmed, she leaned forward a little to start giving him instructions. People like him were making it mostly worth the sudden upheavel to come here. And that was before seeing the alien city!

Twelve Hours Ago

With a grunt, she set down the case, then slid her pack off to land on it. "Well, we're here," she said. The lights flickered a little, and it needed a good sweeping and dusting. But it seemed fairly secure, there was living quarters attached to it for her, and a dorm-style room across the hall for her staff, plus what looked like a secure records room. "Simons, set the rest of the cases in here. We'll clean up the living quarters first, then move out stuff and clean in here. We'll have a functional law office in no time."

"You really think we'll need it, ma'am?" the Master Sergeant asked her.

Popping open her canteen to take a drink of water, she grinned. "We've already encountered natives, Sarge. You've been in the American Army almost as long as I've been in the Australian Navy. What happens when you get troops stationed in a foreign country?"

He shook his head ruefully, sharing her grin. "They start marrying - or at least shacking up with - the locals." Taking a case from one of the junior enlisted, he stacked it on top of his own. "Point taken, ma'am."

"Still, beyond that, I've been told all of you will still be standing patrol watch, and Zelenka has already declared me his personal turn-on-the-Ancient-tech person." She stretched carefully, and put her canteen back on her belt. "How many more cases do we have to move?"

"Seven, ma'am," Graite said, taking a drink from his own. "Then we can get cleaned up, get a nap, and see about exploring a bit further."

"Sounds good to me," Tara added. In the hallway, they looked at the stairs. "Seven flights up to the gate room." With a sigh, she started up, her clerks following her. "On the bright side, at least we'll all stay in shape."