Chapter 9 – Atlantis
Gibbs, Abby, and Jon beamed into the Atlantis gate room as soon as they arrived in orbit. Gibbs immediately identified the confident brunette as Dr Weir. She was flanked on her right by the slouching form of LtCol Sheppard and on her left by the distracted form of Dr. McKay. Both men had the air of desperately wanting to be somewhere else.
“Welcome to Atlantis,” Dr Weir greeted them. “I’m Dr Elizabeth Weir. This is LtCol John Sheppard, our military commander and Dr Rodney McKay our scientific chair.”
Gibbs returned her polite smile with an outstretched hand, “Special Agent Gibbs. Agent O’Brian and Ms. Sciuto. From NCIS,” she took his hand with a firm grip. “I hope we won’t be too much trouble for you. I know you have an important job to do out here.”
“Of course not,” Weir replied casually. “If you don’t mind, we weren’t told of the reason for your investigation. I’m more than a bit curious.”
Gibbs gave her a crooked grin, “I’ve been asked to review the disappearance of Lt Ford.” Gibbs took note of how LtCol Sheppard immediately tense up. Anger and guilt radiated from him in waves.
McKay’s reaction was more vocal. “What? He died like a year ago…I can’t believe this. Just like the military…I don’t have time for this.” He abruptly turned to Dr Weir, “I’ll be in my lab following up on the Wraith ship interface…Of all the half-assed…” he mumbled to himself as he abruptly stormed off.
Dr Weir sighed in tired resignation, “You’ll have to excuse Dr McKay. He can be…difficult on most days…”
“And today is apparently worse then most,” LtCol Sheppard quipped with a feral grin.
Dr Weir shot a searing glare at the colonel before turning back to Gibbs. She had lost her polite smile and was showing a more wary expression. “Why don’t we take this to the conference room?” she said as she gestured for them to follow her.
Gibbs glanced back at Abby and was unsurprised by her open expression of awe at the city. His brief glace around the room had automatically noted the firing positions and the obvious sentries. Looking around again, he found the place to be beautiful and strangely serene. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting from an alien city, but this peaceful calming architecture was definitely not it. He gave Abby a full grin before checking up on Jon.
Jon didn’t look awed or excited about his surroundings, which Gibbs had expected. But he did look distracted, which Gibbs hadn’t expected. He was staring at a spot on the floor with his hand half raised in an unconscious gesture. Then he shook himself and turned away from the spot before becoming preoccupied with another undistinguishable spot, this time on one of the walls.
“Probie?” Gibbs asked gently.
Once more Jon shook off his preoccupation and turned to Gibbs, “Sorry. Pretty isn’t it? Well, shall we?” he said gesturing after Dr Weir and LtCol Sheppard. Gibbs narrowed his eyes and then nodded and quickly followed Dr Weir to the large conference room.
Once everyone was settled into their chairs, Dr Weir leaned forward and addressed the team, “I’m sorry if your reception was a bit tense in the gateroom. It’s just that we were caught by surprise. Aiden was a good man and a close friend.” She gave them a sad smile, “We are still mourning his loss.”
Gibbs saw the politician’s answer for what it was and nodded. He had expected nothing less from Weir. She was an experienced diplomat. But he could see that Sheppard didn’t agree. His whole body continued to radiate hostility.
Gibbs nodded and kept his face impassive, “I understand. I’m not here on a witch hunt. I’m here to be the advocate for the family.” He noticed Sheppard flinch. “They are questioning the military’s story and have enough political clout to kick up a fuss. Since Lt Ford was a Marine, NCIS has been asked to review the case from an impartial point of view. Adele Ford, the lieutenant’s grandmother, deserves to know that everything possible was done for her grandson.” Gibbs was discreetly watching Sheppard and saw him glance down and away in shame. “President Hayes agrees and has given me full authority to re-investigate this case…and frankly, the reports I’ve seen so far are so full of holes that I have to assume you people are trying to cover something up.” Sheppard’s head snapped up, his eyes burning with outrage.
Dr Weir immediately tensed and glared at him, not in rage but in anger and grief, “I can assure you that we are not.” She said with deliberate precision.
Gibbs interrupted her, “Yet Lt Ford was never charged with assault, kidnapping, attempted murder…” he chuckled grimly trying to goad Sheppard into a stronger reaction. “…hell, you can’t even be bothered to list him as AWOL.”
Sheppard exploded out of his seat, eyes blazing, “For someone who ISN’T on a witch hunt, you sure are trying to find one.” He turned to Dr Weir, “I won’t stand by while they…” he gestured angrily at Gibbs. “…destroy Ford’s name. I’ll be in the training room if you need me,” he said with barely controlled rage before storming out of the room.
Dr Weir turned her angry stare back to Gibbs. She regarded him carefully, before rising slowly and leaning forward on the table. “Special Agent Gibbs, I don’t care for your accusations or your tone. Lt Ford was an honorable officer who served his country and this expedition well until his accident.” She paused holding his steady gaze, “I have prepared a room for your interviews to the specifications you sent. I’ll make sure my people show up for their interviews. But if you conduct your interviews in this tone, I can’t be sure that they will cooperate. I’ll have the sergeant show you to your assigned quarters.”
“I appreciate that…I don’t believe using kid gloves. I will find the truth whether you like it or not,” Gibbs said as he rose, matching her stance and meeting her eyes. “Good men go bad everyday and many a fine officer has crossed that very fine line.” He watched as the knowledge seeped into her eyes and her anger faded a bit. He nodded, “Here is my interview list. I want to get started first thing in the morning.”
He handed her the handwritten list and watched her as she scanned it. Her eyes briefly narrowed as she took in the list. Interesting, she wasn’t happy about someone on the list. He continued, “Abby will work with your scientific team starting with Doctor Beckett. I want her to review his processes and his results. O’Brien,” he stumbled over the cover ID, “will act as our liaison.”
Dr Weir looked back up and glanced at each of them, “Alright. I’ll make sure that they show up for their interviews and I’ll try to get them to cooperate. All that I ask in return is that you keep an open mind.” She waited for his nod before she turned and left.
Silence reigned in the conference room after she left. Gibbs slowly turned and quickly scanned his team. Abby’s eyes were open and unsure, but she nodded when he looked at her. She would follow his lead. Jon on the other hand had leaned back casually and looked at ease. But Gibbs had spent his time on the ship studying the kid, trying to get a feel for him. This was the front he presented to everyone he didn’t trust. It invited the ignorant to underestimate both his intelligence and knowledge.
Jon noticed Gibbs watching and dropped the front as he leaned forward, “Well played, Sir.”
Gibbs nodded in response and gestured at Jon, “Play up the dumb-friendly-probie bit. See what you can learn about Sheppard. Feel him out. He was too angry. I didn’t get the sense that Weir was hiding anything, but anyone who has played in politics as long as she has would have learned to hide her responses. Let me know what you find.” Gibbs turned to Abby, “Abs, I want you to do the same with McKay and Beckett. Ooh and awe over their toys…toss in a bit of flattery. I want to know if you sense that anything is off.”
“Oooh, role playing,” Abby said with a grin. “Mission accepted, Sir,” she said with a cocky grin and a crooked salute. Jon also nodded his assent.
“Good. I’ll continue to play the hostile investigator. That should direct most of the animosity my way. We’ll compare notes later,” Gibbs replied before he headed out of the conference room both Abby and Jon following him out. They easily found the assigned sergeant waiting in the hallway.
--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG—SG
Jon tried to stay focused as they walked to their quarters but he was finding that more difficult than he thought. He could feel the city like a low level electric current. He wasn’t prepared for the deep reaction he felt as he stood surrounded by the Ancient Technology. It whispered its secrets to him like long forgotten memories. Broken panels and failing light screamed for attention next to the more subtle systems.
He almost sighed in relief as they passed out of the central control tower and into one of the residential sections of the ship. The main systems of propulsion and life support muted their shouts for attention.
Once they reached their rooms, Jon felt an overwhelming need to reach out to the city. He had actually started to reach for one of the hidden panels before he stopped himself.
“Jon,” Abby asked tentatively. “Are you okay?”
Jon shook his head, seeing Gibbs and Abby looking at him strangely. “Sorry.”
“That’s the second time you’ve zoned out. What’s going on?” Gibbs asked with a strange look.
Jon sighed, “It’s the city.”
“What about it?” Gibbs prompted.
Jon rubbed his hand over his face and let out a huff in frustration, “It’s hard to explain. I can feel the city. It’s sort of…talking to me…but I can’t quite make out the words. It’s like I’m remembering something…”
“Right…the city is talking to you…” Abby said with complete skepticism.
Jon smirked at her and let his hand touch the wall panel he had resisted. Immediately a force field separated their quarters from the rest of the section. He closed his eyes briefly and soon the dry water fountain in the corner began to trickle a steady stream of water and an odd soothing music began to fill the hallway. Colored lights began to dance in the fountain in harmony to the music. He opened his eyes and let his hand fall away from the panel.
“Wow!” Abby replied in awe. “How’d you do that?”
He shrugged, “I have the ATA gene. I just didn’t think the city would be quite so…distracting.”
Gibbs was watching him with a considering look, “What else can you do?”
Jon smiled, “I can probably access just about any system in the city. The protocols are wide open right now. Hell, I could force a complete computer system lockout if I needed to. I can definitely access anything in the database including surveillance footage and computer logs.”
“Do they know you can do this?” Gibbs asked.
“No, when we built my cover ID we left out the ATA gene. They will most likely assume that I don’t have it,” Jon said grinning.
“Alright. Get me any surveillance footage you can from the computers and find us someplace to setup shop,” Gibbs replied with a suppressed smirk.
“Yes, Sir,” Jon replied with his own grin.
--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG
TBC
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