Grimm Tidings, Chapters 1 and 2
Originally posted by amycat8733 at Grimm Tidings, Chapters 1 and 2
Hi everyone!
Well, I have decided to venture into crossover land and so far the response has been awesome! This is a crossover between Grimm and Stargate Atlantis. I have written it so that you do not have to be familiar with both to get a feel for the characters (but it helps if you are).
Thanks to kickstand75 for exercising her beta skills on this.
Title: Grimm Tidings
Author: Amycat8733
Rating: T+
Pairing(s): John/Teyla, Nick/Juliette, Monroe/Rosalee
Characters: John Sheppard, Teyla Emmagan, Ronon Dex, Rodney McKay, Jack O’Neill, Richard Woolsey, Nick Burkhardt, Hank Griffin, Monroe, Juliette Silverton, Rosalee Calvert
Genres: SF / supernatural
Warnings: language, violence
Length:
Disclaimer: The characters and locales of SGA don't belong to me. For fun, not profit. I just swim in the pool. No borrowed OC’s were harmed during these productions.
Summary: A string of suspicious deaths cause two worlds to collide as Team Sheppard and Portland’s Grimm meet. Solving the crimes will take the skills of both teams and every ounce of courage they possess.
Chapter 1
Matt Brewer was a simple man. He’d grown up on this farm, married a local gal and they worked the land beside his folks until they died a few years ago. Now, it was just him because Suzanne had decided that there had to be more to life than just farming. She withdrew half the money in the bank accounts, took his mother’s antique jewelry and the sporty car he’d bought her last year, and left. Her mother had called a month after Suzanne left to tell him that Suzanne had been killed in a car accident. Apparently she’d been drinking and ran off the road. The car burst into flames. They had to identify her by dental records. Mrs. Holloman told him what to do if he wanted to claim the body, at which point he told her that since Suzanne left him that he didn’t want her back. Mrs. Holloman got so upset that she actually cursed him out before hanging up on him.
Looking out across the fields in the dim light of evening, he considered the future. He had left a good deal of the land fallow this year because he didn’t have enough money to pay workers to help with it. Knowing it would only get worse, he was seriously considering selling the land. He turned to go back into the empty house when movement caught his eye. Squaring his shoulders, he decided to go investigate, figuring that it was some fool kid that’d broke in looking for drugs or something to steal. Too bad Suzanne had already beaten them to it. Reaching the edge of the porch, he peered around, looking for the source of the movement he’d seen. After circling the structure, he was about to go inside the house when an indistinct white shape floated across his view. He turned, watching the shape as it floated towards the woods. The shape faded at the edge of the woods. Looking around in disgust, he figured that it was probably just a wisp of fog and that his imagination was playing tricks on him. Just as he turned to head into the house a heavy hand spun him around to face the ugliest person he’d ever seen. The guy had long white hair and Matt would swear that his skin was greenish, but it was hard to tell in the low light. The guy leaned forward, grabbing Matt by the shirt collar and ripped it open.
Matt swung at his hand. “Hey, what’d you do that for?”
The guy hissed. “Because I hunger.”
Matt attempted to shrug the guy off. “Well, if you’re hungry, I can fix you something. Got plenty of food inside. What would you like to eat?”
The guy smiled, revealing a mouth full of pointed teeth, just as he placed his right hand on Matt’s chest. “You.”
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Christine Appleton nudged the door to her apartment open, bags of groceries in each hand. She kicked the door closed, heading for her tiny kitchen. Depression set in as she put away her groceries. Everything was something that could be eaten as is or microwaved. Nothing had to be cooked and there had been a time when she would cook regardless of the time she got home. Those days were gone. Her boss was a prick; her job was now to do her own work and most of his while he screwed a succession of secretaries. He kept trying to get her to go out with him, but Christine knew that it didn’t matter what he promised, he would never keep a single word.
A slight sound warned her that she was not alone. Turning, she choked out an attempt at a scream. A man with long white hair and a pale complexion, dressed in dark clothing, stood in the archway to her kitchen. Staring at it, she heard a voice command her to her knees. A cold hand tipped with sharp nails gently caressed her face as sharp teeth were revealed behind parted lips. As she knelt in her kitchen, she opened her mouth to scream, but no sound emerged as the man placed his hand over her heart.
Minutes later, the man walked out, the door standing ajar but no one was alive to care.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Many miles away, a copy of the police report from the Brewer farm crossed the desk of Captain Paul Hardy. He read it and grimaced. He took a deep breath then picked up his phone and dialed a private number. “General, we have a problem.”
Chapter 2
Detective Nick Burkhardt had just gotten started on his day’s paperwork when Sergeant Wu walked in with a thick stack of files. Nick’s partner, Detective Hank Griffin was right behind him with two cups of coffee.
Wu waved the stack of files. “Guys, this one is weird.”
Hank handed Nick his coffee then dropped into his seat. “Weird, as in Ripley’s weird?”
Wu shook his head. “Nope, weird as in Twilight Zone weird.”
Nick shared a look with Hank. “How are they weird?”
Wu flipped open the top case file, flipping through a few pages until he reaches a stack of photos. Pulling one out, he handed it to Nick. “The victims all died of old age.”
Hank snorted, leaning back in his chair. “That’s not weird, that’s nature.”
Wu shook his head again and pulled out another photo. “Not when the victim was a 28 year old woman.”
Nick took the second, laying them side by side. The first photo is of a red haired woman, taken at a party. In the photo she was vibrant, laughing and very healthy looking. The second photo was a contrast. The figure had faded reddish-orange hair and was nothing but skin and bones.
“Wu, how far apart were these pictures taken?” Nick asked, looking up at the Sergeant.
“Twelve hours. Her roommate discovered the body this morning. The ME is working on the autopsy right now and said she’ll have something for you in a few hours.” He split the stack of files, handing some to both detectives. “Meanwhile, here’s your required reading. Have fun!” With a sarcastic grin, the Asian-American sergeant headed off.
Making sure the sergeant was out of earshot, Hank leaned across his desk towards his partner. “Do you think this is one of those cases?”
Flipping through a file, Nick shook his head. “I don’t know. It could be, but something is off, I just can’t figure out what.”
The two settled in, flipping through files and making notes. The more he read, the greater the feeling in Nick’s gut grew. There were a lot of things that didn’t add up, and he had a feeling they were about to get worse.
Nick looked at his watch as he set another case file aside. Noting the time, he stood, grabbing his jacket from the back of his chair. “Hey, Hank, it’s time. Let’s go see what the ME has for us.”
Hank stood, stretching as he grabbed his own jacket. “Gotcha.” He glanced at his partner as they headed for their car. “Nick, this is one crazy case. There are so many inconsistencies that it’s not funny.”
“I noticed.” Nick waited until they were in the car before he said more. “There are some things that are very consistent though. All of the victims died of old age, there were no signs of break-ins and they all had odd marks on their chests near the heart.”
Hank cut his eyes at his partner. He felt strange having to ask the next question, but it still needed to be asked. There were times, though, that he longed for the days when Nick was just a very good detective with a keen eye and a well-developed spidey sense. “Do you think it’s a wesen?”
Nick stared out the window, lost in thought as he ran through the wesen he knew of. His answer, though honest, did nothing to assuage his partner’s unease. “I have no idea.”
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Colonel John Sheppard was enjoying a peaceful day. He was happily married to the greatest woman in two galaxies with three beautiful children. Atlantis was where it should be - at home, in the Pegasus Galaxy. Their current planet, Tria was a beautiful place. It was about Earth’s size, although it was slightly more than two-thirds water. Moonrise was exceptional, and late picnics had become very popular as Tria had three moons.
They had only been on Tria for a short time. Lantea had been Atlantis’ first home in Pegasus and they had returned there after defeating Queen Death near Ice Planet Zero . However, the remaining Wraith had spread out, searching every planet for food, even planets they had previously culled completely or scorched. They had been discovered by a damaged cruiser that fortunately decided to be greedy and attempt to take the city instead of calling for reinforcements.
Their arrogance made it easy for the city to resist. Woolsey wanted John to shoot it down with drones, but John’s plan was to slip a group of pilots onboard, steal a few Darts and take the cruiser out with friendly fire. John’s plan worked, although one of the pilots was stunned before he could board a Dart. Fortunately, the rest of John’s team, along with Lorne’s, had insisted on coming along to cover the pilots while they hijacked the Darts. McKay had refined his control program from a few years earlier by using some of the technological knowledge that he’d acquired during his time as a Wraith, even designing a connector that would interface Earth tablets with the Wraith tech.
After taking out the cruiser, it was decided to move the city again in case any other ships came to investigate. After consideration, they decided on the Ruatha system. It had many of the same qualities as Lantea, but it was in a sparse area. The Wraith, even when starving, tended to avoid areas with few planets as the cost was seen as too high for the amount of gain. It also helped that Tria had been seeded as a landing site for Atlantis. There were no large, dangerous creatures roaming the mainland and a sizeable amount of the vegetation was edible. There was also plenty of arable land, which could be farmed once Praxis finished building the coloni mechanae that would be doing the work, as they were unwilling to import farmers until they had assembled substantial planetary defenses and had some method to evacuate personnel quickly.
Therefore, it was really no surprise when an unscheduled activation was announced partway through the morning. John had just finished the weekly briefing for the Gate teams and was headed for his office to catch up his paperwork. Letting out a sigh, John headed for the Ops deck. “Salawi, do we have an IDC?”
Lydia Salawi glanced over at the terminal that displayed the incoming codes. “IDC belongs to Stargate Command. I’m receiving an incoming signal.” She listened to the message for a moment. “It’s General O’Neill for you, Sir.”
John took up station behind her, tapping his com unit to the command channel. “This is Sheppard. I’m presuming that you didn’t call to wish me a happy Fourth of July, Sir.”
He heard Jack chuckle in his ear. “Nope, although the fireworks from Pike’s Peak were spectacular. I’m afraid that I need your team to take care of a problem.”
John groaned inwardly. “What kind of problem?”
“It seems that we may have … missed … a Wraith here on Earth.”
“Son of a bitch.” John uttered softly but with deep feeling.
“Exactly.”
“Why has it taken this long to be discovered? I thought all the wreckage was tracked, bagged and tagged?”
Jack sighed. “We think this Wraith was ejected before it crashed and was missed by the clean-up crews. I’m sending all the information we have.” Jack paused. “I understand that McKay and Zelenka recently got the bio-scanners fully operational.”
John nodded even though the General couldn’t see him. Remembering the General’s dislike of wordy explanations, he decided to keep it simple. “Yes, Sir. No more mandatory quarantines. The scanners can now detect harmful pathogens as well as disguised life forms.”
“Excellent. I’m sending the data packet now.”
John glanced down at the terminal in front of him. “Packet received, Sir.”
“How soon can you be here?”
John thought a minute, calculating times. “We can be there in 12 hours. Teyla and Ronon are off-world overseeing a trade agreement renewal and are due back soon.”
“I’ll see you when you get here. O’Neill out.”
As the wormhole vanished, John dropped his head for a moment, fingers massaging the bridge of his nose. Straightening, he crossed the bridge to Woolsey’s office. Woolsey was seated behind his desk, a cup of coffee in his hand, staring through the window to the Gate Room and beyond. Not wanting to startle him, John tapped on the door frame.
“Yes, Colonel?” Woolsey asked as he straightened in his seat.
“Just got off a call with General O’Neill.” John pointed over his shoulder at the Stargate. “Seems they have an unwanted visitor that they need my team’s help to get rid of.”
Woolsey frowned. He disliked having Sheppard off world as the city always felt … on edge. He had an idea as to how to fix it, but the time was not yet right. “Why your team? Surely Stargate Command has plenty of troops that can kill a Wraith.”
John leaned against the doorway. “They do, but only Teyla can sense them, plus my team has the highest kill count when it comes to Wraith.”
Woolsey sighed. Sheppard had a point - his team were the best equipped to handle a wraith, especially one loose on Earth.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Nick and Hank walked in just as the Medical Examiner was finishing the autopsy on the latest victim. She looked up at the pair as they stopped near her station.
“Hello, boys. Come to see our newest odd one?”
Nick nodded seriously. “Yes, ma’am. What do you have for us?”
The ME finished jotting down her notes before answering. “Well, this is definitely odd.” She pointed to the draped body on the table. “This was a female, age 28. She was found dead early yesterday by her roommate.” She pulled back the sheet, revealing the body.
Hank looked at the body then shot the ME a skeptical look. “She might have been twenty-eight … about a couple of thousand years ago.”
The ME shook her head in disagreement. “Nope, checked that in case this was a prank. She has modern dental work.”
Nick examined the body, looking for clues as to the perpetrator. “Were there any unusual marks?”
The ME nodded. “Just this one.” She pulled the sheet down just enough to reveal the mark. On the woman’s left chest, above the heart, was a black area the shape of a hand.
Nick cocked his head as he committed the details to memory. The print looked familiar, but he would have to check the journals to be sure. “Thanks, Doc. Send us the report when you’re done.”
She covered the body and signaled one of the orderlies to take it to the refrigerators. “You got it, Detective.”
Hank waited until they were back in the car before he questioned Nick. “You suspect something about the marks.”
Nick stared out the window, thoughts flying. “Yeah, I do, but I need to check the journals.”
Hank sighed as he turned the car towards the storage lot where Nick’s trailer was. “Guess we better stop at Starbuck’s - this is gonna be a long day.”
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
When the Atlantis Expedition originally arrived in the city, they didn’t have a lot of power so everyone was grouped into a rather small area. Once they had a bit more power, people started spreading out, but they were still rather cozy. Now, with three ZPM’s and a larger population everyone was really spreading out. There were areas that still hadn’t been explored, but the entire city was structurally sound now.
Tired of the traffic flow past his office and the tight space, John had recently moved his office. He designated the smaller office he had formerly inhabited as the office for the Officer on Duty. His new office was up one floor and much bigger. It looked out over the Gateroom but was now off the beaten path. His new office had several advantages, one of which would come in handy. The room had three view-screens so he could put up multiple images as well as small duplicates of many of the consoles from the Ops Deck. When he moved in, John suspected that it was an Auxiliary Control Room but Atlantis informed him that it was his Ancient counterpart’s office. Settling down behind his desk, he closed the reports he’d been working on and called up Jack’s packet.
Reading over the reports, it was easy for John to pick out this particular Wraith’s pattern. It was definitely a Blade - probably middle-aged as a young one would be too eager to hunt and would gorge itself. Looking through the photos, he noticed an anomaly. Tapping a few keys on his tablet, he put the images on the screens. Enlarged, the anomalies were even more obvious. Some of the pictures had the traditional Wraith feeding mark - the bloody oval with the equally bloody claw marks above it. The other pictures had a different mark - a black handprint. The placement was similar, but the second set of prints was not Wraith - the print was too slender. Great, that meant there was already a problem.
Pinching the bridge of his nose, John leaned back in his chair, eyes closed as he chased the headache away. After a few moments, he stood, heading to check on the kids. Torren was now five and the twins were just a year old. The SGC hired a teacher a few months ago so Torren and the other children could receive a formal education. When the issue of their education came up, John had remembered that Dr. Graham’s wife was a teacher. After signing the non-disclosure agreement, she had jumped at the chance. The State of Colorado believed they were being homeschooled by a tutor, which was actually the truth, just not all of it. Joseph and Charin weren’t quite old enough for a full day of learning, but they were receiving lessons.
Stopping in the doorway to the Teaching Room, John’s face softened as he gazed on his children. Torren looked so much like him that it was hard to believe that he wasn’t John’s blood kin. Joseph and Charin were fraternal twins, but fortunately their differing sexes changed their looks just enough to downplay the twin-ness.
“Daddy,” Torren cried as he spotted John leaning on the doorframe.
“Da,” the twins ran across the floor and latched onto his legs, Torren following behind them.
John dislodged the twins and knelt to their height to encircle them in his arms. “Hey guys, how’re my kids doing?”
“We’re fine Daddy. We missed you whole bunch.” Torren matched deed to words and wrapped his arms around John’s neck as the twins babbled away.
“Are you behaving for Mrs. Graham?”
Torren nodded, suddenly shy.
“They are all very well-behaved, Colonel. I wish every child that I have ever taught was as good as yours.” Sandy Graham said as she walked over.
“Thanks. We’ve tried very hard to instill good behaviors in them.”
Sandy smiled. “Well, you’ve both done very well. They are a testament to the old adage that it takes a village to raise a child.”
John rubbed the back of his neck. “Occupational hazard.”
She clapped her hands. “I presume you came for snack time?”
John nodded.
Sandy picked up Charin as John hoisted Joseph to his hip and they headed across to a table. He got the kids seated while she retrieved the munchies. John sat at a kid-sized table, eating Goldfish crackers, apple slices and drinking milk and couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.
Hi everyone!
Well, I have decided to venture into crossover land and so far the response has been awesome! This is a crossover between Grimm and Stargate Atlantis. I have written it so that you do not have to be familiar with both to get a feel for the characters (but it helps if you are).
Thanks to kickstand75 for exercising her beta skills on this.
Title: Grimm Tidings
Author: Amycat8733
Rating: T+
Pairing(s): John/Teyla, Nick/Juliette, Monroe/Rosalee
Characters: John Sheppard, Teyla Emmagan, Ronon Dex, Rodney McKay, Jack O’Neill, Richard Woolsey, Nick Burkhardt, Hank Griffin, Monroe, Juliette Silverton, Rosalee Calvert
Genres: SF / supernatural
Warnings: language, violence
Length:
Disclaimer: The characters and locales of SGA don't belong to me. For fun, not profit. I just swim in the pool. No borrowed OC’s were harmed during these productions.
Summary: A string of suspicious deaths cause two worlds to collide as Team Sheppard and Portland’s Grimm meet. Solving the crimes will take the skills of both teams and every ounce of courage they possess.
Chapter 1
Matt Brewer was a simple man. He’d grown up on this farm, married a local gal and they worked the land beside his folks until they died a few years ago. Now, it was just him because Suzanne had decided that there had to be more to life than just farming. She withdrew half the money in the bank accounts, took his mother’s antique jewelry and the sporty car he’d bought her last year, and left. Her mother had called a month after Suzanne left to tell him that Suzanne had been killed in a car accident. Apparently she’d been drinking and ran off the road. The car burst into flames. They had to identify her by dental records. Mrs. Holloman told him what to do if he wanted to claim the body, at which point he told her that since Suzanne left him that he didn’t want her back. Mrs. Holloman got so upset that she actually cursed him out before hanging up on him.
Looking out across the fields in the dim light of evening, he considered the future. He had left a good deal of the land fallow this year because he didn’t have enough money to pay workers to help with it. Knowing it would only get worse, he was seriously considering selling the land. He turned to go back into the empty house when movement caught his eye. Squaring his shoulders, he decided to go investigate, figuring that it was some fool kid that’d broke in looking for drugs or something to steal. Too bad Suzanne had already beaten them to it. Reaching the edge of the porch, he peered around, looking for the source of the movement he’d seen. After circling the structure, he was about to go inside the house when an indistinct white shape floated across his view. He turned, watching the shape as it floated towards the woods. The shape faded at the edge of the woods. Looking around in disgust, he figured that it was probably just a wisp of fog and that his imagination was playing tricks on him. Just as he turned to head into the house a heavy hand spun him around to face the ugliest person he’d ever seen. The guy had long white hair and Matt would swear that his skin was greenish, but it was hard to tell in the low light. The guy leaned forward, grabbing Matt by the shirt collar and ripped it open.
Matt swung at his hand. “Hey, what’d you do that for?”
The guy hissed. “Because I hunger.”
Matt attempted to shrug the guy off. “Well, if you’re hungry, I can fix you something. Got plenty of food inside. What would you like to eat?”
The guy smiled, revealing a mouth full of pointed teeth, just as he placed his right hand on Matt’s chest. “You.”
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Christine Appleton nudged the door to her apartment open, bags of groceries in each hand. She kicked the door closed, heading for her tiny kitchen. Depression set in as she put away her groceries. Everything was something that could be eaten as is or microwaved. Nothing had to be cooked and there had been a time when she would cook regardless of the time she got home. Those days were gone. Her boss was a prick; her job was now to do her own work and most of his while he screwed a succession of secretaries. He kept trying to get her to go out with him, but Christine knew that it didn’t matter what he promised, he would never keep a single word.
A slight sound warned her that she was not alone. Turning, she choked out an attempt at a scream. A man with long white hair and a pale complexion, dressed in dark clothing, stood in the archway to her kitchen. Staring at it, she heard a voice command her to her knees. A cold hand tipped with sharp nails gently caressed her face as sharp teeth were revealed behind parted lips. As she knelt in her kitchen, she opened her mouth to scream, but no sound emerged as the man placed his hand over her heart.
Minutes later, the man walked out, the door standing ajar but no one was alive to care.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Many miles away, a copy of the police report from the Brewer farm crossed the desk of Captain Paul Hardy. He read it and grimaced. He took a deep breath then picked up his phone and dialed a private number. “General, we have a problem.”
Chapter 2
Detective Nick Burkhardt had just gotten started on his day’s paperwork when Sergeant Wu walked in with a thick stack of files. Nick’s partner, Detective Hank Griffin was right behind him with two cups of coffee.
Wu waved the stack of files. “Guys, this one is weird.”
Hank handed Nick his coffee then dropped into his seat. “Weird, as in Ripley’s weird?”
Wu shook his head. “Nope, weird as in Twilight Zone weird.”
Nick shared a look with Hank. “How are they weird?”
Wu flipped open the top case file, flipping through a few pages until he reaches a stack of photos. Pulling one out, he handed it to Nick. “The victims all died of old age.”
Hank snorted, leaning back in his chair. “That’s not weird, that’s nature.”
Wu shook his head again and pulled out another photo. “Not when the victim was a 28 year old woman.”
Nick took the second, laying them side by side. The first photo is of a red haired woman, taken at a party. In the photo she was vibrant, laughing and very healthy looking. The second photo was a contrast. The figure had faded reddish-orange hair and was nothing but skin and bones.
“Wu, how far apart were these pictures taken?” Nick asked, looking up at the Sergeant.
“Twelve hours. Her roommate discovered the body this morning. The ME is working on the autopsy right now and said she’ll have something for you in a few hours.” He split the stack of files, handing some to both detectives. “Meanwhile, here’s your required reading. Have fun!” With a sarcastic grin, the Asian-American sergeant headed off.
Making sure the sergeant was out of earshot, Hank leaned across his desk towards his partner. “Do you think this is one of those cases?”
Flipping through a file, Nick shook his head. “I don’t know. It could be, but something is off, I just can’t figure out what.”
The two settled in, flipping through files and making notes. The more he read, the greater the feeling in Nick’s gut grew. There were a lot of things that didn’t add up, and he had a feeling they were about to get worse.
Nick looked at his watch as he set another case file aside. Noting the time, he stood, grabbing his jacket from the back of his chair. “Hey, Hank, it’s time. Let’s go see what the ME has for us.”
Hank stood, stretching as he grabbed his own jacket. “Gotcha.” He glanced at his partner as they headed for their car. “Nick, this is one crazy case. There are so many inconsistencies that it’s not funny.”
“I noticed.” Nick waited until they were in the car before he said more. “There are some things that are very consistent though. All of the victims died of old age, there were no signs of break-ins and they all had odd marks on their chests near the heart.”
Hank cut his eyes at his partner. He felt strange having to ask the next question, but it still needed to be asked. There were times, though, that he longed for the days when Nick was just a very good detective with a keen eye and a well-developed spidey sense. “Do you think it’s a wesen?”
Nick stared out the window, lost in thought as he ran through the wesen he knew of. His answer, though honest, did nothing to assuage his partner’s unease. “I have no idea.”
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Colonel John Sheppard was enjoying a peaceful day. He was happily married to the greatest woman in two galaxies with three beautiful children. Atlantis was where it should be - at home, in the Pegasus Galaxy. Their current planet, Tria was a beautiful place. It was about Earth’s size, although it was slightly more than two-thirds water. Moonrise was exceptional, and late picnics had become very popular as Tria had three moons.
They had only been on Tria for a short time. Lantea had been Atlantis’ first home in Pegasus and they had returned there after defeating Queen Death near Ice Planet Zero . However, the remaining Wraith had spread out, searching every planet for food, even planets they had previously culled completely or scorched. They had been discovered by a damaged cruiser that fortunately decided to be greedy and attempt to take the city instead of calling for reinforcements.
Their arrogance made it easy for the city to resist. Woolsey wanted John to shoot it down with drones, but John’s plan was to slip a group of pilots onboard, steal a few Darts and take the cruiser out with friendly fire. John’s plan worked, although one of the pilots was stunned before he could board a Dart. Fortunately, the rest of John’s team, along with Lorne’s, had insisted on coming along to cover the pilots while they hijacked the Darts. McKay had refined his control program from a few years earlier by using some of the technological knowledge that he’d acquired during his time as a Wraith, even designing a connector that would interface Earth tablets with the Wraith tech.
After taking out the cruiser, it was decided to move the city again in case any other ships came to investigate. After consideration, they decided on the Ruatha system. It had many of the same qualities as Lantea, but it was in a sparse area. The Wraith, even when starving, tended to avoid areas with few planets as the cost was seen as too high for the amount of gain. It also helped that Tria had been seeded as a landing site for Atlantis. There were no large, dangerous creatures roaming the mainland and a sizeable amount of the vegetation was edible. There was also plenty of arable land, which could be farmed once Praxis finished building the coloni mechanae that would be doing the work, as they were unwilling to import farmers until they had assembled substantial planetary defenses and had some method to evacuate personnel quickly.
Therefore, it was really no surprise when an unscheduled activation was announced partway through the morning. John had just finished the weekly briefing for the Gate teams and was headed for his office to catch up his paperwork. Letting out a sigh, John headed for the Ops deck. “Salawi, do we have an IDC?”
Lydia Salawi glanced over at the terminal that displayed the incoming codes. “IDC belongs to Stargate Command. I’m receiving an incoming signal.” She listened to the message for a moment. “It’s General O’Neill for you, Sir.”
John took up station behind her, tapping his com unit to the command channel. “This is Sheppard. I’m presuming that you didn’t call to wish me a happy Fourth of July, Sir.”
He heard Jack chuckle in his ear. “Nope, although the fireworks from Pike’s Peak were spectacular. I’m afraid that I need your team to take care of a problem.”
John groaned inwardly. “What kind of problem?”
“It seems that we may have … missed … a Wraith here on Earth.”
“Son of a bitch.” John uttered softly but with deep feeling.
“Exactly.”
“Why has it taken this long to be discovered? I thought all the wreckage was tracked, bagged and tagged?”
Jack sighed. “We think this Wraith was ejected before it crashed and was missed by the clean-up crews. I’m sending all the information we have.” Jack paused. “I understand that McKay and Zelenka recently got the bio-scanners fully operational.”
John nodded even though the General couldn’t see him. Remembering the General’s dislike of wordy explanations, he decided to keep it simple. “Yes, Sir. No more mandatory quarantines. The scanners can now detect harmful pathogens as well as disguised life forms.”
“Excellent. I’m sending the data packet now.”
John glanced down at the terminal in front of him. “Packet received, Sir.”
“How soon can you be here?”
John thought a minute, calculating times. “We can be there in 12 hours. Teyla and Ronon are off-world overseeing a trade agreement renewal and are due back soon.”
“I’ll see you when you get here. O’Neill out.”
As the wormhole vanished, John dropped his head for a moment, fingers massaging the bridge of his nose. Straightening, he crossed the bridge to Woolsey’s office. Woolsey was seated behind his desk, a cup of coffee in his hand, staring through the window to the Gate Room and beyond. Not wanting to startle him, John tapped on the door frame.
“Yes, Colonel?” Woolsey asked as he straightened in his seat.
“Just got off a call with General O’Neill.” John pointed over his shoulder at the Stargate. “Seems they have an unwanted visitor that they need my team’s help to get rid of.”
Woolsey frowned. He disliked having Sheppard off world as the city always felt … on edge. He had an idea as to how to fix it, but the time was not yet right. “Why your team? Surely Stargate Command has plenty of troops that can kill a Wraith.”
John leaned against the doorway. “They do, but only Teyla can sense them, plus my team has the highest kill count when it comes to Wraith.”
Woolsey sighed. Sheppard had a point - his team were the best equipped to handle a wraith, especially one loose on Earth.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Nick and Hank walked in just as the Medical Examiner was finishing the autopsy on the latest victim. She looked up at the pair as they stopped near her station.
“Hello, boys. Come to see our newest odd one?”
Nick nodded seriously. “Yes, ma’am. What do you have for us?”
The ME finished jotting down her notes before answering. “Well, this is definitely odd.” She pointed to the draped body on the table. “This was a female, age 28. She was found dead early yesterday by her roommate.” She pulled back the sheet, revealing the body.
Hank looked at the body then shot the ME a skeptical look. “She might have been twenty-eight … about a couple of thousand years ago.”
The ME shook her head in disagreement. “Nope, checked that in case this was a prank. She has modern dental work.”
Nick examined the body, looking for clues as to the perpetrator. “Were there any unusual marks?”
The ME nodded. “Just this one.” She pulled the sheet down just enough to reveal the mark. On the woman’s left chest, above the heart, was a black area the shape of a hand.
Nick cocked his head as he committed the details to memory. The print looked familiar, but he would have to check the journals to be sure. “Thanks, Doc. Send us the report when you’re done.”
She covered the body and signaled one of the orderlies to take it to the refrigerators. “You got it, Detective.”
Hank waited until they were back in the car before he questioned Nick. “You suspect something about the marks.”
Nick stared out the window, thoughts flying. “Yeah, I do, but I need to check the journals.”
Hank sighed as he turned the car towards the storage lot where Nick’s trailer was. “Guess we better stop at Starbuck’s - this is gonna be a long day.”
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
When the Atlantis Expedition originally arrived in the city, they didn’t have a lot of power so everyone was grouped into a rather small area. Once they had a bit more power, people started spreading out, but they were still rather cozy. Now, with three ZPM’s and a larger population everyone was really spreading out. There were areas that still hadn’t been explored, but the entire city was structurally sound now.
Tired of the traffic flow past his office and the tight space, John had recently moved his office. He designated the smaller office he had formerly inhabited as the office for the Officer on Duty. His new office was up one floor and much bigger. It looked out over the Gateroom but was now off the beaten path. His new office had several advantages, one of which would come in handy. The room had three view-screens so he could put up multiple images as well as small duplicates of many of the consoles from the Ops Deck. When he moved in, John suspected that it was an Auxiliary Control Room but Atlantis informed him that it was his Ancient counterpart’s office. Settling down behind his desk, he closed the reports he’d been working on and called up Jack’s packet.
Reading over the reports, it was easy for John to pick out this particular Wraith’s pattern. It was definitely a Blade - probably middle-aged as a young one would be too eager to hunt and would gorge itself. Looking through the photos, he noticed an anomaly. Tapping a few keys on his tablet, he put the images on the screens. Enlarged, the anomalies were even more obvious. Some of the pictures had the traditional Wraith feeding mark - the bloody oval with the equally bloody claw marks above it. The other pictures had a different mark - a black handprint. The placement was similar, but the second set of prints was not Wraith - the print was too slender. Great, that meant there was already a problem.
Pinching the bridge of his nose, John leaned back in his chair, eyes closed as he chased the headache away. After a few moments, he stood, heading to check on the kids. Torren was now five and the twins were just a year old. The SGC hired a teacher a few months ago so Torren and the other children could receive a formal education. When the issue of their education came up, John had remembered that Dr. Graham’s wife was a teacher. After signing the non-disclosure agreement, she had jumped at the chance. The State of Colorado believed they were being homeschooled by a tutor, which was actually the truth, just not all of it. Joseph and Charin weren’t quite old enough for a full day of learning, but they were receiving lessons.
Stopping in the doorway to the Teaching Room, John’s face softened as he gazed on his children. Torren looked so much like him that it was hard to believe that he wasn’t John’s blood kin. Joseph and Charin were fraternal twins, but fortunately their differing sexes changed their looks just enough to downplay the twin-ness.
“Daddy,” Torren cried as he spotted John leaning on the doorframe.
“Da,” the twins ran across the floor and latched onto his legs, Torren following behind them.
John dislodged the twins and knelt to their height to encircle them in his arms. “Hey guys, how’re my kids doing?”
“We’re fine Daddy. We missed you whole bunch.” Torren matched deed to words and wrapped his arms around John’s neck as the twins babbled away.
“Are you behaving for Mrs. Graham?”
Torren nodded, suddenly shy.
“They are all very well-behaved, Colonel. I wish every child that I have ever taught was as good as yours.” Sandy Graham said as she walked over.
“Thanks. We’ve tried very hard to instill good behaviors in them.”
Sandy smiled. “Well, you’ve both done very well. They are a testament to the old adage that it takes a village to raise a child.”
John rubbed the back of his neck. “Occupational hazard.”
She clapped her hands. “I presume you came for snack time?”
John nodded.
Sandy picked up Charin as John hoisted Joseph to his hip and they headed across to a table. He got the kids seated while she retrieved the munchies. John sat at a kid-sized table, eating Goldfish crackers, apple slices and drinking milk and couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.