A/N: Hey All! This is my first fanfic.. so please be kind and not incinerate my ass with flamers…All mistakes are my own as I have no beta and I decided to take up a challenge issued by Poisonous Quills. Which is below:
"OC who didn't come through on any of the other pilgrimages, I don't care how they get there. Can be from any time, any place, any universe. Any genre."
Thus my story is completely AU as my character will be messing with the good people of Terra Nova! Now without further ado…Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own anything...
Personal Disclaimer to save unnecessary flames: This is Alternate Universe/Reality so it won't be completely true to the TV storyline...M rating is for future darkish themes of violence, mentions of torture etc... which in my opinion are not suitable for T rating even if it is tame in some peoples opinion :)
In 2016, Deep in the Jungle, two soldiers sat in the thick brush by an open clearing waiting for their ride home.
"I told you Wren I need more field experience" Mathews said. Agent Kate 'Wren' Renshaw rolled her grey eyes at Agent Mathews. The kid really liked to talk too much for his own good.
"And you got it so can you please shut your mouth so I can hear if our ride is close?" Kate snapped, she had spent three days in the jungle. All she wanted was a shower, hot meal, a bed and some silence.
"Is it your time of the month?" Mathews asked as he looked around the empty clearing.
"Wow you're so insightful. Tell me how you are still single" Kate deadpanned. She adjusted her beret on her head making sure her red hair was tucked neatly away in its bun for the third time. She'd clean her face in the chopper as she knew her superior would be waiting at the base for a report.
Mathews chuckled as he straightened his own beret. They weren't allowed tags or any other identification except for a chip in their left hand but always had to put on these hats.
They heard the familiar sound of the chopper, the thundering blades grew louder and closer.
"Black Hawk this Wren. I have sixty degrees, two hundred yards over" Kate said on her comm. A burst of static filled the air as the pilot keyed his own radio.
"Roger, Wren. This is Echo lighting up the LZ so we can give you a lift? Over" A male voice said over the comm.
Kate cracked open a flare and waved it in the air before marking the landing zone for the chopper. She stepped back into the tree line as the chopper land it barely touched the ground only hovering long enough so Kate and Mathews could jump on board.
Once they were in, she whirled her hand in the air signalling for them it was ok to depart as the crew chief slid the side door closed. She felt the familiar lift as the helicopter rose out of the clearing. She sank down into the webbed rear seat.
They were roughly 30 minutes into the flight Kate spent most of her time looking out the window glad the thundering sound of the chopper blades drowned out any opportunity for conversation. She was looking out at the jungle canopy in the moonlight night when her attention was brought to the front when the crew chief shouted.
"We're losing power!"
She had to have misheard the shout. After all it barely registered above the roar and vibration of the chopper's blades before the chief spun around to his instrument panel. She snapped her gaze to the cockpit, both pilots were furiously flicking levers and switches .
She didn't need to hear their frantic words. The choke of the engine as it cut out altogether confirmed her suspicions, as well as the sudden drop in altitude was felt to her core. There was no comforting roar of shopper blades moving, and everything was completely out as there was no power. Kate knew it was time to kiss her ass good bye.
85 million years in the past…
Commander Nathaniel Taylor and Lieutenant Alicia Washington were discussing OTG schedules when they heard a distant sound of something crashing. An alarm sounded and Radio sparked with chatter.
"Reilly to Wash, I'm at Tower three. I think I just saw a portal form and an aircraft come out. It just crashed into the jungle. South east from my location approximately 3 clicks"
"Reilly please confirm did you just say an aircraft came through a portal?" Washington asked looking at Taylor.
"Yes Ma'am" Reilly reported back. Wash and Taylor exchanged looks not sure what to make of the report but knew they had to check it out.
"Bring up the camera feed for tower 3" Taylor said to Wash. She moved to the side desk in Taylor's office and activated the holographic screen bringing up the footage from camera on tower three. Washington rewound the footage back 5 minutes and played it.
Taylor moved from his desk and joined her as they watched as true to Reilly's word. A portal opened and a Helicopter came out and fell into the forest. There was no explosion or fire but knew it wouldn't be long.
"Looks like a Black Hawk Helicopter, how is that possible?" Wash asked rewinding the footage and freezing the frame to look at the image. She remembered her father was an aviation enthusiast and how his idea of bedtime stories was talking about planes and helicopters that used to fly in the skies over 130 years ago before the air on earth became so thick with pollution.
"Best rustle up a group of soldiers and pack fire suppressant gear. We don't need the jungle going up in flames and threatening the safety of the colony" Taylor said.
"Yes, sir" Wash said with a curt nod. She relayed orders to soldiers on the ground with her radio as she left the office. Taylor watched the footage one last time before he called Jim Shannon and Dr Malcolm Wallace to meet him at the gate.
Kate kept her eyes closed and groaned as she had an agonising rhythm pounding in her head. It had to be her second worse hangover was like she had been chewed up and spat out. Oh man… she thought, she hadn't felt this bad since the one time she and brother had polished off a bottle of vodka at their friend Katina's wedding. Oh, I'm going vomit she thought as she freed her arms from her pack and rifle. Luckily the urge to vomit dissipated slightly as she thrust her hands out, searching for something to grab on to steady her aching, spinning brain and give herself some form of stability.
After a moment she pushed herself up from what appeared to be a rock to suck down a mouthful of air, but what she got along with it was the distinctive seer of smoke.
This was no hangover.
The Crash… her mind told her. She tried to scramble to her feet but ended up on her knees, cradling her forehead as she struggled for balance. That was when she felt something wet. It wasn't raining. She pulled her hands down and forced her gaze to focus on her shaking fingers. They were covered in blood.
Damn she thought as she knew it was her blood. There was no one around her. Mathews, where is he? She thought as she once again used her hand to steady her throbbing skull as she twisted her battered torso about, searching. If her eyes were cooperating as well as she hoped, those were trees wavering in and out of her view. Hundreds of trees but she couldn't see any chopper.
The smoke, follow the smoke Kate told herself as she could still smell it. She braced herself against the nausea and lurched to her feet, grateful she managed to remain upright despite her drunken weaving.
At least her vision was clearing. Wary of her tenuous grip on her balance, she began a slow, systematic three hundred and sixty degree search of the dense jungle undergrowth. She made it to one ninety mark before she spotted the small clearing the helicopter pilot had tried landing the chopper in. It was a good twenty yards into the brush. She could see the red and orange flicking across the top of the chopper. It was flames, she could hear them consuming the chopper, devouring the steel with a vicious rumble that kept her staggering forward until she was almost on top of the tiny clearing. But as she stumbled past the final trees, it wasn't the chopper that brought her to her knees.
It was Agent Mathews her partner, He laid on the ground his body twisted in an unhealthy shape. Kate swallowed the roiling bile as it threatened once again, knowing it was hopeless even as she slid her fingers down his throat and pressed into his carotid artery. She closed her eyes and bowed her head in grief. The ex-soldier come Agent who she had been working with for the last year was gone. Given the angle of the break in Mathews' neck, it would have been a miracle if he had been alive. Guilt seared through Kate, burning the pain from her head, leaving only the anguish in her heart as she cupped the Sergeant's face and gently closed those dark, unseeing eyes.
She chastised herself for letting him join the mission. She should have fought harder to go alone. It was supposed to be a low risk reconnaissance mission and if there was an opportunity to take the target down then to do so. It was one of the many annoying part of her job. Her contract with the Army was up and she had been approached by a recruiter who offered her the opportunity to train for specialised combat, anything she wanted to learn was open to her. She couldn't resist the chance as her army career had been lacking as women weren't allowed into many specialised fields. So she accepted because at first the idea of being able to become a more specialised soldier had appealed to her and the money was too good to knock back. She also was specifically chosen or so she had been told and it had made her feel special but after her third year of active duty that feeling disappeared.
Especially after all the hard work and effort she had put in transforming herself to meet their parameters and expectations to find out she was in their humble opinion, Kate was just a highly versatile weapon that they could use at their discretion. She didn't like the not knowing but after a while she had learned how to shut that voice down. She was paid to follow orders not think as her boss told her. So she sucked it up and wrote off the time as she had another two years to wait before she was free and she could move onto a less violent career path. That's if she didn't catch a bullet to the head or worse.
Mathews who was 4 years her junior in age wanted more field time, he loved the job but he was into the money which was why he wanted more hours in the field. He was young, if he lived he would have learned money wasn't everything. But Kate allowed him since it was a low risk mission and it turned out to be just that. They got what they wanted and left unnoticed. Kate didn't even get to fire one round from her rifle. The Helicopter ride back home however turned out to be far more hazardous. Kate had no idea what had happened one minute she was telling Mathews he was not god's gift to woman when the helicopter hit turbulence. Which was strange as they were at low altitude and then the engines stalled before cutting out completely then the chopper lurched going down.
She had been thrown from the chopper into the canopy which if she recalled correctly was not the easiest of landings but she wouldn't complain as she was alive and still in pretty good shape. She was lucky, unlike Mathews. Such a waste Kate thought looking at the man on the ground he looked so peaceful. Damn it there's no time to mourn! Kate thought as she willed her tears away. She would not cry. She needed to get to the chopper and hope there were other survivors. She lifted her chin steeling herself emotionally and once again hauled herself to her feet. She was grateful some of her strength was coming back. She'd need it for herself and anyone else who survived the Crash. As she looked up she saw the fires that had engulfed the crash were out.
Please, God, let the rest survive. She murmured it over and over as she pushed through the brush to crossed the clearing she had barely stepped near the wreck when she sensed there were other people around her. How did she miss their presence? She quickly pulled her side arm out and swung about instantly regretting the motion as it made her head spin. She pointed the weapon at the closest man who stood 6ft tall. He looked to be in his early 50's with white hair and beard. He had fierce blue eyes lines around his eyes and mouth that only served to give his handsome face strength and maturity.
Damn he looks good for his age Kate thought she had to mentally shake herself out of perving on the man. She told herself it was the concussion talking and she had to focus. She noted 9 other soldiers surrounding her with bigger weapons.
"State your name and rank" He ordered in a deep gruff voice. He obviously recognised she was a soldier.
"You first"
"I'm Commander Nathaniel Taylor. Now why don't you be polite and surrender your weapon soldier. We are friendlies" he told her, his American accent obvious as he drawled his r's.
"Tell me what the American Military is doing in this Jungle at this time" Kate paused to register it wasn't night by the hot humid air and the storm clouds she guessed sometime in the afternoon. "Of day and maybe I'll contemplate putting the safety on" Kate finished confused. She couldn't have been unconscious for over a day and not have been picked up by her own people.
"We could have shot you and asked questions later" A woman with black hair tied back into a high ponytail offered. Kate smiled at her, but felt her control slipping as her vision cloud with stars she was definitely going to pass out. She sucked in a long breath trying to clear the fog but failing to regain control.
"Wash" Commander Taylor cautioned in somewhat teasing tone. They had the upper hand and Taylor really didn't need to be shot by some slip of a woman before dinner.
The woman with striking grey eyes was a mess, her red hair was half up and out with twigs and dirt in it and she had a three inch gash above her right eyebrow that was bleeding heavily down her face, under the dirt and blood he could see she was sickly pale. Obviously from the blood loss and head trauma, she wore dark green uniform with no insignias or rank but the design was definitely military. Her eyes were becoming glassier by the second which meant she was probably going to pass out or vomit. He sincerely hoped for the former as he made his decision to move in.
"Just saying sir" Wash said. Taylor swung his weapon over his shoulder and held his hands out in surrender and took a step closer to Kate. He could see her swaying on the spot she was going to hit the ground any second and he preferred to catch the gun than have her pull the trigger while passing out.
"Tell you what? You should think about what you're doing. You're surrounded by my people. You have a nasty head wound-" He didn't finish as he saw her eyes roll up into the back of her head and her legs give way. He caught the gun hand and wrapped his other arm around her waist catching her and lowering her to the ground.
"Get the stretcher" Wash said as she moved to the woman's side as Taylor pulled the gun from the woman's hand and placed into the back of his pants.
"She is going to need stitches, I'll have to wrap her head before we move her Sir" Wash said as she inspected the deep head wound and the woman's vitals.
"She have any tags or ID on her?" Taylor asked.
"Nothing"
"Ok, you stay with her. When we get back to base I want her under guard and restrained" Taylor said.
"Yes, Sir" Wash said. Taylor nodded as he got to his feet and started throwing orders around to everyone to get into pairs and search the area for survivors. He turned to the wreck that had burned itself out. They'd have to collect the bodies for burial and return later a storm was about to start. He'd have to save decisions on how he was going to get the wreckage back to Terra Nova.
He looked down at the ground and decided to track the woman's path and see where she had come from maybe her tags were with a pack she ditched somewhere. He followed the drunken weave of footsteps and found a body of a young male who looked about the same age as Reynolds. He used his comm. unit and called for a team to pick up the body before he continued.
He walked another 15 yards before he found a backpack and rifle. He picked them up and made his way back to the clearing. Reilly and Dunham had packed up the young man's body into a body bag and lifted it moving back to the rover.
Thunder rumbled in the air above them. They had to get moving before the rain hit and washed out the roads. He was back in the clearing and found Wash walking over to him.
"The remains are packed up, and all the soldiers are accounted for in the rovers and I called base letting them know our eta and inform medical we have an injured" Wash told him.
"Good job, Wash. Let's move out" Taylor said gesturing for her to go first. He took one last look at the wreckage before moving to a rover and tossing the pack and rifle into the back before moving to the driver's seat.
30 minutes later…
"Dr Wallace have you had a chance to look at the footage I sent you" Taylor asked as he sat behind his desk in the Command Centre with Jim Shannon and Dr Malcolm Wallace.
"Yes it was quite remarkable and I have a theory but I need more evidence to prove it" Malcolm said.
"What theory?" Jim asked they were in the Command Centre discussing their new guest who was currently restrained to a bio bed under guard in the Infirmary under Wash and Dr Elisabeth Shannon's medical attention. The storm raged outside and thunder rumbled it was luckily they made it back to Terra Nova before the full brunt of the storm hit.
"I think she may have come through the time fracture from a different time than 2149 approximately between the years 2009 and 2020. I chose those years in particular as Black Hawk Helicopters were decommissioned from use in 2020 and 2009 because it matches the make and model I matched it using the 'Eye' to cross reference size and attributes. I'm running a search in the database for Black Hawk crashes and disappearances and also running facial recognition on our mystery woman concurrently to narrow it down. Hopefully there will be something" Malcolm said.
"I thought the time fracture only existed between 2149 and here" Jim said trying to wrap his head around the information he was told.
"No, the time fracture was only discovered in 2142 because we had the technology to find it and it took a year to stabilise it on our side at the Hope Plaza terminal so we could open when we wanted to. But that doesn't preclude it from no existing before we found it" Malcolm said, he looked quite pleased with himself for coming up with the answers.
"So the time fracture has been on Earth since now until it was discovered and it went completely unnoticed?" Taylor asked.
"Yes" Malcolm answered. At that moment his radio beeped. He moved over to the second table in the command room used to review files and camera footage. He tapped away at the holographic interface logging into his work station. Jim and Taylor moved to stand behind him and watched as Malcolm opened to files side by side. It was all declassified Military and Agency information.
"I do believe this is the woman in our infirmary" Malcolm said as he tapped the screen enlarging the military service record photo.
"Yes it is" Taylor said as he looked at the photo. He then turned his attention to the Military record that was filled with her expertises, training and no references to a personal life or family as she had left the army. After six months of no paper trail she appeared again which there were many mission reports with her codename in them as an active participant. All of them were marked declassified since the dates were over 90 years which was the length a document remained classified as it was covered by the classification act.
"Lieutenant Kate Renshaw. Honourably discharged 2009 from Australian Army. Six months later, employed by the Grey Group as an 'operator' Code name 'Wren'. They seemed to be some kind of gun for hire liaised with the Government of her country" Taylor remarked aid as he scrolled his side of the screen down skimming over the record.
"Operator? Is that a nice way of saying assassin?" Jim asked as he wasn't sure what he was reading.
"Not exactly-" Taylor started only to be interrupted by Jim.
"So she's a trained killer" Jim said.
"I'm a trained killer" Taylor told him. He would have to read the mission reports later and the psyops reports about her in the files. He noted she had high evaluation scores, and re-qualifications scores for weaponry and hand to hand combat. He had a feeling if she was going to a handful and had no doubt she would not believe anything they said. He would have to think of way to approach this so no one ended up with a black eye or worse.
"You're a soldier and before you bring Wash into this she's a soldier too. There's a big difference" Jim said.
"Perhaps we shouldn't form opinions until we have spoken to the woman. She may have become a Mercenary shall we say for very different reasons than to kill for money" Taylor said he wanted to give the woman the benefit of the doubt before labelling her a 'killer'.
"Ok, Benefit of the doubt" Jim said conceding there was a big difference between the social lore of 2016 and 2149.
"found a report here that says the helicopter she had assumed to have boarded disappeared March 22nd 2016. They recovered the Crew chief's remains and some debris. Something about Electromagnetic interference and heavy storm weather interfered with further search efforts to find the helicopter and the other remains. When the weather cleared up they couldn't find anything and assumed it was buried in a landslide. After a couple of months another Helicopter nearly crashed so the air space was labelled a no fly zone" Jim said as he read an old report that came up in the search.
"Well that coincides with my theory of there being another time fracture that wasn't discovered" Malcolm said a little too excitedly for Taylor.
"I'm so glad you're tinkled pink Dr Wallace. I'm sure Miss Renshaw will be happy to know she helped you in confirming your theory" Taylor said dryly as he skimmed the records in front of him.
"Well it is unfortunate that she won't be able to return to her time but just think what we can learn from her. She's a living and breathing Ancestor of ours" Malcolm said completely missing Commander Taylor's dry tone.
"Wash to Taylor" his comm unit buzzed
"Go ahead Wash" Taylor replied.
"Our newest Arrival is awake Sir."
"Ok I'll be there in ten, Taylor out" Taylor said he turned to Malcolm "I want all of this data restricted to senior officers only" he ordered Malcolm he didn't need the civilians finding out about her past and getting up in arms about her and her history. She was want for a better word 'stuck' with them with no way back to her time. He would prefer to offer her a second chance and a life of peace before throwing her in the Brig. Everyone deserved a second chance.
TBC~