West's world

A series of short stories featuring Don and Judy West and their adventures with the Atlantis team, with appearances from other characters as well.

Day 1- Jumper 13

Don West awoke looking at a drab ceiling above him instead of the beautiful sky he and Judy had been living under for the last 2 weeks. They'd returned from the Mainland, to this their quarters in the city of Atlantis just yesterday. Today was his first offical day as a member of the Atlantis team. It was also the day he was going to be undergoing 'training' at the hands of Ronon Dex. The man was huge, intimidating and said very little. He had already held a gun on him then tried to strangle him, so they had not gotten off to a good start. Of course Ronon now knew he was no traitor, but he was still not going to go easy on him. Don knew that worrying about that encounter would achieve very little. It was better to just get it over with. He climbed out of bed and wandered off to the shower. Judy had left one hour earlier to start her duty with the botany team. He was sure his wife would enjoy studying alien plant life. As the water washed over him Don tried not to feel nervous about his own role in Atlantis. He had a mutant form of the ATA gene and thus was the most interesting thing around at the moment. He was sure the novelty value would wear off for the scientists and he'd stop feeling like he was some type of experimental creature, they could poke and prod whenever they wished.

Stepping out of the shower he dressed himself in uniform. Once he had checked that all his clothing was in order he braced himself and stepped out of his quarters and into the corridor. He made his way to Colonel Sheppard's office first to report for duty. There were just a few other people in the corridors and most of them stared at him as he strolled past. Don smiled ,nodded and kept on walking.

Finally he made it to Sheppard's office and stepped inside the doors. He looked at the man behind the desk, he looked harried and stressed. Something must have happened Don realized, as Sheppard was not sitting in his own chair, Evan was. Of course since he was on duty, he had better keep his address formal, "Morning Sir, Major Donald West reporting for duty", he stated. Evan looked momentarily startled, "oh gosh, I forgot you were due back on duty today Don", he remarked. "Things are a bit crazy at the moment , Dr Weir, Colonel Sheppard, Dr McKay, Ronon and Teyla were called away suddenly last night to deal with an offworld emergency, so that leaves me in charge of the base", Evan grimaced and indicated a pile of papers in front of him, "there's a lot to deal with, so I am prioritising". Evan paused and offered his friend a smile, "welcome back", he said, "sit down Don and for goodness sake drop the formality when we are alone." Don sat himself in a chair, "Colonel Sheppard left a schedule for you", Evan told Don. He rifled around amongst the papers, and was about to pull one out and start explaining it to Don when the door opened and a young female Lieutenant stormed inside. She was obviously agitated, "Sir, it's not fair, I just learnt that Iv'e been grounded. That jumper accident was not my fault. You have to put things right".

Don shifted restlessly, we knew this young officer had not even noticed his presence. "Lieutenant Jarvis", Lorne stated formally, "I have a meeting scheduled with you at 1300 hours. There are a few others things that I need to do before I review your case and make a decision". It defintely sounded like a dismissal, but Lt. Jarvis did not leave. "That's too long", she replied firmly, "everyone is already blaming me for the accident and that type of allegation is always very damaging. It's that bloody, umm", she coloured, "jumper 13 sir, that thing is unlucky". Lorne frowned in a way that did not bode well for this officer, "Lt. There is not such thing as an unlucky jumper", he sifted around amongst the papers and pulled out a small pile. Quickly flicking through the report ,he looked at highlighted portions, "It says the jumper has been fully checked and no faults were found".

The younger officer now looked like she was going to cry, "I know what it says but it also was not pilot error. Sir ,please I need someone else to check out he jumper". Lorne almost ground his teeth as he felt the pressure, soon he was going to have other people in here screaming at him to do something about their issues. "Lt. you are going to have to wait for Colonel Sheppard to return from offworld ,we haven't got any other pilot that can put a jumper through the rigorous testing..", he broke off and suddenly caught the eyes of his friend who had wisely not said one word so far. "I could take a look at this jumper Major," Don acknowledged, "testing craft was what I used to do in the air force afterall. So I am well qualified to deal with this matter".

Lt. Jarvis had gone a little pink as she noticed Major Lorne was not alone for the first time. "Lieutenant, this is Major West, he will help you with your problem. Major could you give me a report on the matter before 1300 hours please",Evan requested. 'Yes, Sir", acknowledged Don. With the others off world his encounter with Ronon had been postponed anyway so he might as well be of use. Now he thought about it, he wondered if he was at the moment technically the XO of Atlantis. Maybe he would not want that type of responsibility so he better not ask. He stood up and gestured for the young Lieutenant to walk in front of him. They left the office.

"So Lt. Jarvis, how long have you been flying",Don asked. "Already three years Sir", answered Lt Jarvis. "I qualified top of my class and since I also possess the ATA gene I was accepted for a posting here at Atlantis". I know my stuff sir", she stated firmly. Don accepted that, but knew it was his job to determine where the actual fault lay. They arrived in the jumper bay and the Lieutenant pointed at one of the squat little ships, "thats her number 13", she stated. "Only if you count from bottom upward", Don pointed out. "Yeah I guess so sir. It does sound like superstition and that is not something we should think about as pilots. But this jumper has already been involved in a few incidents", Kimberly Jarvis reported. "Tell me about them" ,Don requested "Well sir, a few pilots have suffered sudden loses of power with systems that just cut out without any warning", Kim explained. "Is that what happened to you Lieutenant", Don asked. "Yes sir, I was escorting a group of scientist back from P17745 when I lost control of the jumper, with the flight stabilisers losing power suddenly. The ride back became very bumpy and made most of them suffer motion sickness. Eventually I lost all ability to control the craft and made a hard landing. No one was actually hurt, but the scientist all complained that I'd done it on purpose", she explained. Don looked her over, "is there any reason why they would make a claim like that Lt. Jarvis" , he asked seriously. He was wondering about tension between scientists and military personal. The young officer coloured slightly, "yeah I supposed I have vented a negative opinion about scientists Major. But I would not put their lives in danger". Unfortunately what I said is probably in that report on Major Lorne's desk".Kim wished she could take those words back now.

"Thank you for telling me Lieutenant, I need to know details like that if I am going to help you", Don told her. Kim sagged a little as relief flooded over her. Finally someone that actually believed her and was prepared to do something to help. "Thank you sir, I honestly thought my career as a pilot might have been screwed",she told Don. "I will do my best to find out what did happen to your jumper Lieutenant", Don told her. He believed she was being honest with him.

Don walked around the jumper talking a good look at her. Of course she was the same as all the others so this physical inspection told him nothing. He just did it out of habit, to familiarise himself with the craft. "The only way to find out what is going on is to take her up and you can show me what happened", Don remarked when he'd finished his visual inspection. He entered the jumper and sat himself in the pilots seat. The young officer sat beside him and looked over at him speculatively , "you're that Major, aren't you", she said, "the one with the mutant gene". "Yes ,thats me",Don agreed, "don't be concerned about that it should not interfere with my ability to fly this craft". "I wasn't worried sir, more like curious", she told him as she gave him a particularly frank glance that was a little unnerving.

"Yeah I think others feel the same", Don stated. "For my part I would like to just do my job. So let's get on with testing this craft, he told her in that formal no nonsense voice of a commanding officer. She went a little pink he noticed."Atlantis control, this Is Major Donald West in Jumper 13 requesting clearance for a test flight", he asked. "This is Atlantis control Major West, clearance granted". Don flew the jumper up and out of the roof top, then set course for the mainland. "We will just do a few circuits and see what happens", he told his co pilot. She looked nervous Don decided. Of course if this flight went well it would raise awkward questions for her. So far the jumper had handled normally with no sign of any issues. Don set about trying out some standard manuevers. "Nothing bad is happening, I am so screwed", Lt. Jarvis stated after a few more minutes had passed. "I'll get sent back home and goodness knows if I will ever fly again".

"We have not finished yet Lt. ",Don told her," so don't pack your bags". He flew the jumper straight upward then dived it back down. He had just levelled out again when a warning light began to flash and he heard the change in the jumpers engines. "Well, well, that looks like a problem to me ", Don stated, as he felt the jumper slow. It then began to shake. Lt Jarvis was looking inside the panel trying to determine what the problem might be. "Everything looks normal in here sir", she remarked. The jumper shook even more violently, then suddenly the engines simply stopped and they dropped like a stone. "Oh hell", Don stated. He knew if he could not correct the problem they would end up in the ocean. Everything in front of him was dead and would not respond to anything he did to try and correct things. Lt. Jarvis was also having no luck inside the control panel.

It was time to call for help. "This is jumper 13 declaring an emergency, I have lost all power and are descending toward the ocean", Don told Atlantis control. "Well she is water proof, so we should be alright", Lt Jarvis announced as they fell from the sky. Her pinkness had failed and now she was pale and clenched the console in front of her tightly.

"Jumper 13, we will dispatch search and rescue immediately", Atlantis control told Don. The shaking increased as they descended and Don actually began to feel sick. Lt. Jarvis was now green and obviously trying hard not to vomit and embarrass herself. Don estimated they were only 2 minutes from impact when the engines suddenly fired again and the jumper rose upward .

Lt. Jarvis let out an audible sigh of relief. "'I agree Lieutenant, lets make our way back to the jumper bay", Don told her." My report will state this this jumper has an unspecified issue that makes it dangerous. I will advise that it be decommissioned until the fault can be found. You will be off the hook for the charge of pilot error, but I do suggest you try and smooth things out with those scientists as a bad working relationship could also reflect upon your record." He knew that all to well but did not share his own history with this young officer. He did not know her well enough yet to be trusting with personal knowledge.

"I understand sir, I will do as you suggest and thank you for helping me", Lt Jarvis stated. She was so relieved that she actually wanted to hug the young Major beside her. That definitely was not protocol though and she held off. She would buy him lunch or a drink or something later to say thanks.

Don kept an eye on the instruments as he slowed the jumper down again as they reentered the city limits. They were about 2 minutes away from the jumper bay when everything in front of him suddenly flashed red and the jumper vered off course. "What the hell", Don exclaimed. "Don't do that, get back on course". The jumper did not listen, stubbornly refusing every effort to return to the jumper bay. Instead it was circling the city and all the flashing lights meant something was seriously wrong. Don could hear another change in the jumpers engines, they were straining this time, like power was building up within them. "Every bloody system is rerouting its power to the engines", Lt Jarvis warned him as she checked the systems again. "If the power keeps climbing the engine will over load and explode". Since the city was only mere metres away that defintely would not be good. "Damn you",Don swore. He contacted Atlantis control again, "this is jumper 13, declaring another emergency, the jumper is locked onto a course around the city and the engines are overloading. The ship will explode in" , Don looked at his co pilot who held up two hands , "10 minutes". I recommended evacuating everyone you can from the northern part of the city." "We will work on the issue in the meantime in hope of correcting the problem". Don was surprised his voice was not shaking. "Acknowledged Jumper 13, keep this channel open and good luck", control told him.

Don could imagine that he had just crreated a chaotic scene within the city.

He was n't wrong. Evan was in the middle of a meeting with 2 angry people when he got the message that sections of Atlantis were being evacuated because a jumper was in trouble. He felt himself go cold all over. "What is the problem", he asked control. 'Major West states his engines are overloading. Our own readings confirm this. That jumper is effectively a flying bomb capable of taking out a fair portion of the City if it hits us"

Evan knew that Don was used to solving problems in earth aircraft and he would not have been worried about this situation had they been on Earth. But jumpers were filled with ancient technology that was barely understandable. With the limited time they had available the problem with the jumper may not be able to be solved. Evan swallowed hard as he thought about the fact that Don had only been married two weeks and he was going to have to be the one who told Judy Robinson what was happening.

"Everyone we need to evacuate now", Judy's supervisor Doctor Kyle told her staff. She quickly left the plant sample she had been studying and moved to join her other colleagues at the emergency exit. Judy passed the window as she went and took a look outside. She could clearly see a jumper flying erractically and looping closer to their location. "Looks like a pilot is in trouble", one of her colleagues muttered as she took hold of her arm and tried to move her forward. Of course that could be any pilot, but why did Judy have this cold feeling at the bottom of her stomach. "Well it can't be Sheppard, he's off world", a technician stated as he ran past.

That comment had her shaking violently. Her colleague saw her rapidly pale and quickly gestured to another workmate to help her pull Judy out of the laboratory. "What is wrong Mrs West", Doctor Kyle asked. "My husband is a pilot", Judy managed to stutter. Doctor Kyle had forgotten that fact. He made sure two people stayed with Judy while they hurried to a safe zone.

"We are going to have to disrupt all the systems", Don told Lieutenant Jarvis," unfortuntely we will lose any functionality at the same time". He looked down noting how close to buildings they were flying. The jumper was still flying a circuit, and the engine power continued to climb into dangerous levels. It was up to him as the highest ranked officer to decide on a course of action."When the jumper starts another loop there will be a moment when it is facing out toward the sea. It is at that point that flight controls will be disabled . Unfortunately leaving the ship on auto pilot is not going be of use. Someone has to be here on board to make sure the ship reaches the ocean ", Don looked over at her," 'You need to jump out", he told his young co pilot. "What sir", Lt. Jarvis stuttered. 'I can lower the back ramp and you can jump onto that flat building there on the next pass. At least I can control the height of our flight and can fly low enough so that you will not seriously injure yourself. Of course it is still risky but gives you a better chance than trying to survive collision with one of those buildings", Don told her.

Lt Jarvis stared at him. "Sir, what about you", she asked. "I will have to take my chances Lieutenant," Don replied in a voice that did not shake even though he was scared. Keeping a brave face counted for a lot right now. Kimberly Jarvis swallowed hard knowing that his chances of surviving were fairly low. "Respectfully, but no sir, if we work together we could disable things a lot faster", she said firmly. 'Don knew that it was just a matter of timing and they did not need two of them for that. She was just desparately trying to get both of them out of this alive. He knew though that if he let her stay both of them could die. As the ranking officer it was up to him to make the sacrifice."Jump out , that's a order", he told her.

He contacted the control room again, "Lt. Jarvis is going to jump from the ship right on top of that square building. Please dispatch a medical team to retrieve her", Don requested. "I will stay with the jumper and disable flight controls so that I crash into the ocean rather than the city". He did not ask for search and rescue to be called because the jumper would in likelihood explode seconds after impact. "Acknowledged and good luck", was all the control personnel could bring themselves to say.

Evan was updated on the jumpers status a few seconds later. He went white and honestly felt like he was going to pass out when he heard what Don had planned. "Isn't there anything we can do", he begged. "No, sir there is simply not enough time. The Major's actions will ensure the least amount of casualities", control told him. "Yeah but he's not going to survive, isn't that what you are telling me",Evan choked out. "I am sorry sir but the odds are against him", the control rooms officer voice was breaking. "The overload will reach critical point at the same time the jumper hits the ocean". The water will damper the effects of the explosion which will help us, but not Major West".

So Don was going to die on his first offical day on the base. This was terrible, he felt so helpless. Being in charge gave him access to many resources, but not one of them would help his friend. "Can you locate Judy West for me control, I will have to tell her what is happening", Evan requested shakily. How on earth was he going to tell her this piece of news. Control took a few seconds to act on his request. "Sir Mrs West has just been taken to infirmary, she just passed out a few minutes ago. I think she has probably already guessed what is happening".

Evan left his office at a run heading for the infirmary. He did not want Judy to be alone right now.

"We will be at that roof in two minutes Lt. Jarvis, I am lowering the rear hatch, prepare yourself", Don requested. Lt. Jarvis, looked at him for one second longer before moving to the rear. She grabbed hold of a handrail as the rear of the jumper opened. "Good luck Lieutenant", Don told her. "You too sir", Lt, Jarvis stated. She saw the building just a few metres below and launched herself out of the rear hatch without further thought.

Then she was falling downward and positioned herself so that when she hit the roof she rolled over, dispersing the shook effect. Landing upon her legs would have shattered them she knew. It still hurt when she hit the roof, all air was driven out of her lungs by the shock of impact. She could feel herself loose consciousness. "Breathe", came a reassuring voice next to her. A medic stood there with oxygen. She let him put the mask on her face . Then she raised her head high enough to watch the jumper , Major West had about another minute before he could act on his plan.

"Alright you shit craft", Don swore, "I am afraid I am not going to be kind. There is only one way to disable everything quickly enough". He drew the weapon that rested at his side. "The holes are going to spoil your looks", he stated. Don did not really know why he was talking to the craft. It did help him not panic though. "Take that you shit", Don fired a shot straight through the console where the flight controls were located. Horrible white ooze snaked upward and dripped from his hole. "That is bloody disgusting", Don swore. He fired another shot, with the same result. The third shot made white ooze splatter upward all over him.

It also fried flight control. All of a sudden the jumper lurched out of its loop and veered off toward the ocean. Don found himself holding on tightly to the seat as the jumper flipped upside down, the back upright again. His whole body was feeling like he was in a blender right now. It would only last a few more minutes though because the ocean was in front of him.

Evan held Judy Robinson's hand as he told her that Don was going to crash into the sea. She went even whiter and started to sob loudly. Doctor Beckett was on hand with a mild sedative. He took her other hand in his own and held on tightly. Looking over at Evan, he could see that the Major too was in shock. The only thing he could do for either of them was just be there right up until the end.

Don blasted another hole in the console, just to vent his feelings of anger and helplessness to the unfeeling piece of metal that was seconds away from killing him. "You are the worst piece of junk I have ever flown", he told the jumper. "So much for advanced technology". You should just stop this right now and prove me wrong". He knew it was just the thought of imminent death making him say all these weird things to a ship.

The engines were screaming now as the jumper barrelled toward the ocean. Don closed his eyes. He did not want to watch the craft hit. Seconds later he opened his eyes again as he realised everything had gone quiet. Miraculously the engines had just cut out. Of course momentum was still driving the jumper forward and he braced himself as it smacked into the water.

He felt himself get thrown around, but the loss of power meant nothing shorted out or exploded . When water did not come flooding in on top of him Don knew that the jumper had not suffered any structural damage upon impact. Both he and the jumper were still in one piece.

The jumper was floating upon the surface of the water. Don finally managed to move, his legs felt rather like jelly as he staggered from the pilots seat. Moving to the rear he found the manual release for the hatch and moved it downward. He found that the jumper was just about 1 metre from the edge of the City. Not having the energy to swim he waited for the search and rescue craft to come and get him.

"Sir, you will be relieved to know that the jumper lost power before it hit the ocean. Major West is on the way to infirmary for a check up now. He seems a little shaken but other than that he's fine", Control reported to Major Lorne.

Judy and Evan both found relieved tears within their eyes.

They did not see Don when he arrived as he was taken into isolation. Evan found out the reason a few minutes later. "He had this white liquid all over him. It was also leaking from bullet holes in the console of the jumper. We are just running tests now to determine what this substance might be. I would recommend grounding all other jumpers until be have finished our analysis", Beckett told him. "Physically Major West is fine, no signs of any injuries", the CMO added. "

Don had to endure more tests until finally he was given the all clear. 'You will stay for observation for a couple of more hours", Beckett told him. "That is standard procedure after an accident like yours. You were bloody lucky son", he added. Don knew that all too well.

He was taken out into the main part of the infirmary where his bed was placed next to Judy's. He reached across to hold onto her hand tightly. A short time later both of them fell asleep.

When he awoke, he saw Colonel Sheppard sitting at the foot of his bed. He almost jumped up and saluted. "So Major, you've just be initiated into the Pegasus Galaxy wants to kill you club", Sheppard told him. "We have all been through days like yours".

Don did not find that reassuring. "What happened sir, Don asked. "Well that jumper had been infected with some type of alien lifeforms that could mimic natural components of the jumper. That is why checks never picked up the problem. These life forms lived of the energy from the jumper until they were ready to undergo a metamorphic change. Kind of like a caterpillar to a butterfly, yet a little more like the movie Alien. If they had reached that stage they would have migrated from that jumper to the others and created a hell of a problem. You and your weapon were the only thing that stopped them." Sheppard offered him a smile, 'sometimes shooting holes in everything does work". If you had just pulled everything out, we might not be having this conversation." "Beckett says he will release you soon. I will postpone your training with Ronon until tomorrow afternoon". Sheppard moved off after that, probably for some relaxation time himself.

It seemed that he was just expected to get on with it, Don reflected. Was almost dying the norm here. He had better get used to days like today if it was. Judy might have to get used to them as well. He looked over at his wife's peacefully sleeping face and could not help moving over to give her a warm kiss on the cheek. "Welcome to the Pegasus Galaxy", he muttered.