Guess They Were Right.
Chapter One: Phoenix Rising
Disclaimer: I do not own anything regarding Stargate Atlantis, the characters on the show, or any ideas related to the show. I only lay claim to Major Emily Shaw, as she is of my own design.
"Phoenix, all clear"
"Copy that Phoenix, you are clear to land"
"Copy that. Mama's comin' home early, boys"
A voice chuckled softly into her ears and she smiled, her hands flicking the switches and knobs almost absentmindedly as she brought the fighter jet into landing position. Within seconds she was touching down at 4 Wing CFB Cold Lake, Alberta, home of the 409 Nighthawks Tactical Fighter Squadron. The Nighthawks were the elite of all Canadian Air Force pilots; these were the pilots that flew the best fighter jets the country had to offer but more than that, they were the people that defended Canadian air space.
She taxied down the run way for a few minutes then came to rest right outside the hangar, where several cadets were flagging her to park. She came to a halt and then shut down the jet, the dim whirl of the engines quieting as the plane became dead. She pushed up her visor and detached her face mask, eager to get a breath of the fresh Alberta air. Although she loved flying more than anything, she also loved the feeling of the first breath of air after a really, really long flight. It took a few minutes but finally, her boots were back on the ground. Helmet in hand, she strode back into the hangar with the confidence that all fighter pilots exuded after a successful flight. She felt on top of the world, as she very well should.
Major Emily Shaw was one of the youngest female flight leaders ever to be appointed in the Canadian Air Force. After graduating from the Royal Military College with an undergraduate degree in Aeronautical Engineering and then both a masters and PhD in the same field, she was assigned to CFB Cold Lake where she quickly climbed the ranks to Major. Within five years of her appointment, she'd been promoted to Major and thus, Squadron Executive Office. It was good to be her.
"Major Shaw, nice flight. The trainees are coming along very well"
Two middle aged men strode out and met her just as she'd entered the hangar, her sunglasses barely pushed to the top of her head. Her eyes immediately went to the rank badges atop each man's shoulder but there was really no need. She recognized each of the men immediately.
"Lieutenant Colonel James, Colonel Rety" she said, coming to a stop as she stood rigid and saluted both of them.
"At ease, Major. I was just telling the Colonel that the rate at which these pilots are learning is quick remarkable" Lt. Colonel James said with an old world smile as she broke her stance and became at ease.
"Yes sir, Lt. Colonel. We've got an excellent team here this year and the pilots are very eager to learn. It's been almost too easy" she commented, withdrawing laughs from the other two participants in the conversation.
She knew both of the men on personal yet professional levels. When she arrived in Cold Lake just years ago, they'd both taken a special interest in her development. She'd been the only woman in the batch of thirty new pilots to be trained and when both men realized how exemplary her piloting skills were, they took her under their wings. Where other, higher ranking military officials were trying to stop women from becoming high ranking, both Lt. Colonel James and Colonel Rety cut down all the red tape necessary to allow her to become Major. She was now in charge of the entire 409 Nighthawks Squadron, and she'd learned everything she knew from the two men now presently standing in front of her.
"I'm glad you said that. Major Shaw, you've always appreciated being challenged, correct?" Colonel Rety inquired.
She shifted her helmet to her hip and nodded once.
"That is correct, Colonel"
The two men exchanged a glance, and then the Lt. Colonel spoke.
"Do you feel as if you are being challenged here, Major Shaw?"
She paused for a second. She'd been Squadron Leader for over two years now and she'd be turning thirty three in under a month. Although she fiercely enjoyed her position and the amount of responsibility given to her, she had to admit that the challenge of her position stopped about a year and a half ago when she'd got into the swing of things.
"I truly enjoy my position as Squadron Leader with the Nighthawks, Lt. Colonel. That being said, I do have to admit that my job does not pose much challenge to me anymore" she said in honesty.
The men exchanged another look but this time, they both had ever so faint smiles on their faces.
"We were hoping you were going to say that" Colonel Rety said.
She cocked her head slightly to the side and pursed her brow.
"Sir?"
Another look was exchanged and this time, Rety gave James a small nod.
"Colonel Rety and I got an interesting call this morning. From the CSA. Looks like NASA is recruiting for a new mission they have planned, something big. They want you" Lt. Colonel James said.
Her eyes shifted from the Colonel to the Lt. Colonel but her expression remained.
"Sir?"
"Major Shaw, it is of no secret to NASA that you are one of our best, if not the best fighter pilot Canada has to offer right now. That skill, coupled with the fact that you are both a woman and scholarly makes you a very desirable person to them. NASA asked specifically for you, something I don't think they've done in a very long time. It'd be prudent to think that they want you quite badly" the Lt. Colonel explained further.
"Did they give you any information about the mission?" she inquired, trying to make sense of it all. Why would NASA want her? They were a space agency and she was a fighter pilot.
"They could only tell us that you'd receive more information if you accepted a spot on their mission team" Colonel Rety said.
She looked down at her feet, head churning at a million miles an hour.
"Have they asked for anyone else?" she asked finally.
"Yes they've asked for three civilian scientists, a Captain Jacob Marks from CFB Trenton and a Major Toby Maguire from CFB Comox. But they insisted that they wanted you more than the others" the Colonel said, giving her a pointed look.
She looked between the men and then back out onto the horizon, her eyes whizzing around in a way that mimicked the way thoughts were whizzing around in her head.
"I know this must be very, very confusing for you Emily but opportunities like this do not come around every day. You've done quite a bit for the 409's during these past two years as Squadron Leader but both me and the Colonel have agreed that it is time for you to move onto your next challenge. We are assigning you to the NASA post, effective immediately" Lt Colonel James said, acknowledging his comrade with a head nod.
She nodded curtly once on instinct then looked down, trying to make sense of it all. She knew that the decision to go was not her's to make, but she didn't know whether or not she wanted to leave Cold Lake. She was a big deal here, whereas with NASA she would undoubtedly be just another major in a sea of other similarly ranked individuals. She didn't know whether or not she was ready to go back to being a nobody but apparently, she really didn't have a choice.
"Yes sir, Lt. Colonel sir" she said, giving another nod as she brought her eyes off the floor.
"You'll be flying out tomorrow, in Viper. We have a pilot in Colorado that will fly her back" Colonel Rety said as the men turned to leave.
"Colorado? Sir, NASA headquarters are in Washington, DC" she said, giving a quizzical look as the men halted.
"Yes Major Shaw, but they've requested you to report to the Cheyenne Mountain Complex in Boulder, tomorrow, by 0900. We'll see you off tomorrow morning" the Lt Colonel said as she saluted them both before they turned to leave.
She stood in spot for a few seconds as she watched them depart, trying to process what'd just happened. Her entire life had been flipped upside down in under 5 minutes and the best part was that, since she was military, she had to be okay with it. But was she?
"Yes, sir"
------
"How long are you going to be gone?"
She switched the phone to her other ear and cradled it in place with her shoulder as she continued packing.
"I don't know Mom, probably a while. I'm going to have all my mail forwarded to your place, okay?" she said, folding yet another pair of BDU's and putting them into her dark green camouflage duffle bag. She grabbed her final pair of fatigues, folded them, then put them in the bag as well. There. She was done.
"Sure honey, of course. Are we going to be able to see you before you leave?" her mother asked with a voice dripping in concern.
Her mother was never a fan of her desire to pursue a military career while her father had always supported her 100%. She was originally from a small, farmer's town just outside of Guelph called Elmira, but she'd always known that's not where she would be her entire life. By the time she turned 18 she was off to the Royal Military College for school and never looked back. She'd been one of the lucky military recruits, only being posted to one place instead of moving around every couple years. Her deftness as a pilot gave her career reassurance and there were only a handful of Hornet squadrons across Canada, the best being her very own Nighthawks. Although she was going to miss Cold Lake like hell, she was also quite excited to be moving on.
"Afraid not, I leave tomorrow" she said, pulling the drawstrings on the bag shut and then throwing it towards her front door. She moved onto her next bag which was half full with regular civilian clothes. She went over to her closet and pulled the dozen or so dresses, skirts, and blouses she had bought over the years and threw them on her bed, unsure of what to make of them.
"Okay then honey. Dad say good luck and call when you can, okay?" her mother said over the phone line, sounding as far away as she actually was.
Emily sat down on her bed and sighed, taking the phone from her shoulder and sighing tiredly, rubbing her eyes. She'd gotten home six hours ago and hadn't stop making adjustments to her life since. She had to cancel all her utilities, clean her apartment, get rid of anything that could spoil, and then pack. She also had to deal with a ton of administrative stuff back at the base tomorrow morning, such as promoting one of the captain's in the squadron to Major to take over her position as Flight Leader. There was so much to be done, she didn't know if she'd get it all done in time.
"I will Mom. Love you"
"Love you to Emily. Be safe"
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"So you're really leaving?"
She rolled her eyes behind her green aviators and shook her head, the long, straight sheet of mahogany coloured hair shaking in response to her head movements. She brushed some of it behind her ears and then turned around, her eyes finding the man who'd posed the query.
"Yeah Noah, I'm really leaving" she replied, pushing her sunglasses to the top of her head as she surveyed the young Captain in front of her.
She and Noah had always been close. The military didn't leave much room for personal relationships, so the few connections she had were with fellow military figures. Noah had been assigned to Cold Lake about a year after she'd arrived and quickly climbed the ranks, much like she did. They'd become close after she took a personal interest in his development and although they both felt as if they had something more than friendship, nothing had ever been made of it.
"Why?" he asked critically, his blue eyes piercing her with an unfaultable honesty. She'd always been a sucker for his eyes.
"I don't know Noah, you have to ask NASA. Anyways, that's not why I asked you to meet me here this morning. I'm promoting you, to Major. As soon as Viper's wheels leave the tarmac this morning, you're officially in charge of the 409's" she said, pulling the blue shoulder band with two thick gold bands surrounding a thinner band from her back BDU pocket. She removed his two band shoulder band and replaced it with the Major's insignia as the Captain mulled over the news of his promotion.
"I don't know if I'm ready for this, Major Sh---Emily" he said, catching himself at the last second as he realized that they were now the same rank. She smiled earnestly at him and then looked down.
"You're ready, Noah. I'd never promote you if I didn't think so. Major Noah Scott. Has a nice ring to it, if you ask me" she said, raising an eyebrow teasingly before reaching down to pick up her duffle bag. Promoting Noah was the last thing she had to do before heading off, and as she checked her wrist watch, she knew that her time on the base was up.
He beat her to it though, picking up her bag for her and slinging it over his own shoulder. Their eyes met for a few seconds, his sea foam blue ones locked on her brilliant hazel ones, and she smiled, breaking their eye lock as she looked down. She'd just looked back up at him when the alarm on her wrist watch beeped loudly, telling her that it was time to get Viper ready.
Viper was her plane, her very own CF-18 Hornet. It was said to be the best of the Canadian Forces' Hornet's, although no one quite new why. She liked to think that it was her piloting that made it such an exceptional plane, but that was just her. Viper had been the only plane she'd ever flown, although she suspected that was about to change. Noah accompanied her to the hangar and helped her prep the fighter jet, fuelling it and running through the system's diagnostic test before signalling to the technicians that the plane was good to go. After stashing her stuff, she hopped out of the cockpit and stood with Noah as she watched her plane get pulled from the hangar and onto the runway.
"I guess this is good bye" Noah said, turning to her.
She turned to face him as well and went up on her tip toes to give him a hug, her 5'8 frame dwarfed by his 6'4 one. As they released each other, she softly pressed her lips again his cheek and then returned to the balls of her feet, her sunglasses coming back over her eyes as she did so.
"I'll be seeing you" she said before picking up her helmet at the base of her feet and heading out. She'd barely taken three steps onto the tarmac when a slow yet loud cheer began to erupt from the hangar behind her. She turned to see the majority of the base standing behind her, hands coming together in cheer as she kept walking. She'd just reached Viper when she turned around, unable to keep the smile off her face as she surveyed the 500 or so odd personnel bidding her goodbye. She saluted them all and then climbed up the stairs to her cockpit, jumping in with an odd sense of nervousness.
She did the pre-flight diagnostic and when she was satisfied that Viper was in her best condition, she started the engines and signalled to the waiting techs that she was ready to taxi out. She steered Viper out onto the runway and then gave one last look at the base. Her eyes found Noah who was smiling at her genuinely before she sighed, took a breath, then focused on the task ahead.
---------
"Major Shaw?"
She jumped the last few stairs and landed on the tarmac, helmet in one hand, duffle bag in the other. She looked up from behind her aviators and saw a tall, friendly looking blonde woman in black military BDU's waiting for her just steps from where she was standing. Emily noticed a small, black name tag with rank and named in silver. Colonel Samantha Carter she read as she approached the woman slowly, hitching her bag over her shoulder.
"Yes Ma'am" Emily said, using her free hand to salute the Colonel obidently. The woman smiled and then turned, beckoning Emily to follow.
"I'm Colonel Carter and Welcome to Boulder, Colorado. Have you ever been here before, Major?" the woman called over her shoulder as Emily followed her across the tarmac and towards a single black SUV parked waiting for them.
"No Ma'am" Emily replied in turn as they reached the vehicle. The woman climbed into the passenger's side while Emily took the back seat, swinging her bag in along with her helmet.
"It's a short drive to the Cheyenne Mountain Complex, but I'll take the time to debrief you. Did either Lieutenant Colonel James or Colonel Rety tell you anything about the mission you were drafted for?" the Colonel asked as the driver pulled away from Viper.
Emily paused for a second and took a final look at her plane before responding.
"No Ma'am, neither did. They just said that it had something to do with NASA" she said finally.
"Please, just call me Samantha and while yes, NASA did recruit you, you will not be working with the Space Agency. You'll be part of a military contingency in a space mission, but we'll get to that later. How was your flight?" Samantha asked.
"It went very well, thank you. I'm going to miss that plane, let me tell you" she commented, already wishing she was still behind the control's of Viper.
"I know what you mean. I haven't flown a fighter jet in months and I miss it every day" the colonel said as they made idle chit chat for about twenty more minutes. Before she knew it, they were pulling into the mountain complex, the large half moon opening to the complex as ominous as a black hole in space.
"We just need to go through security but that shouldn't take long" the colonel warned as they exited the SUV and began the trek on foot into the complex. Emily tried to recall all she knew about the mountain barrack; her knowledge of it went as far as knowing that the complex housed NORAD headquarters, NORAD being the North American Aerospace Air Defence, the program that kept North American air space safe. Other than that, she knew of no NASA affiliation with Cheyenne, but for some reason, she'd been told to report here.
They went through security and she was given a temporary ID and key card to get around the base. Samantha left her after security and told her to get settled into her room before she was briefed on her assignment, telling a nearby marine to show Emily to her bedroom.
After a complicated walk down several different hallways, they came to a dorm looking hallway and eventually to her room number, 141, before he left her to be. Unlocking the door, she had to acknowledging how underwhelming the room was; furnished with only a bed, a small nightstand and a lamp, it was clear that she wouldn't be spending much time here. Almost on cue, a hand appeared and rapped loudly on the door, snapping her to attention.
"Major Shaw?" a friendly looking man said as he appeared in her doorway, Emily's hand immediately going to her forehead to salute but stopping when she realized it was just another Marine.
"I'm to accompany you to your briefing, Ma'am" he said as he waited patiently in her doorway, Emily dropping her bag on her floor, chucking her helmet onto her bed, before shutting the door and locking it behind her. He lead her down another series of hallways until they came to a nicely furnished meeting room, with warm coloured walls and a large mahogany table centered in the middle of it. In the room already was Samantha and 2 people she didn't know. One was a burly man with greying hair and a harsh face while the other was a younger looking lady with shoulder length wavy brown hair and a gentle smile, which was currently being projected in her direction. She took a deep breath, cleared her head, and then put on a smile as she entered the room to learn about just what exactly she had been drafted to do here.
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It didn't really feel like much of anything. Some people had said it hurt like hell, others said it was like walking through a waterfall, but most people said it didn't feel like anything. Guess they were right.
Her foot hit solid ground on the other side and her body followed soon after, the momentum of her step bringing her through the gate and onto the other side. Her eyes immediately began sweeping the room, not getting far before she was overwhelmed with it all. It was a large enough room with corridors going off in either direction to her left and right and a large set of stairs about twenty yards or so from where she was standing. They lead up to an upper level where several people were looking down on her from balconies, people who all had skeptical albeit friendly enough looks on their faces. Her eyes found the eyes of one man in particular before her attention was brought back to exactly what had just happened.
"Major Shaw?" a voice said, breaking her from her revere. She looked to the man in front of her who was smiling expectantly and she nodded, her hand going to her forehead obediently as she saluted the higher ranking official in front of her. She was still so amazed by everything around her that she didn't even realize how good looking the man was before he spoke again.
"I'm Colonel John Sheppard. Welcome to Atlantis"
((Author's Note: I'd really appreciate any words you'd like to share so please, leave a review =] Hope you enjoyed it! ))