Bone Break
…
Place in timeline: Season 6, Episode between 8 and 9. The episode after Brennan over identifies with the doctor victim and confesses to Booth, but he turns her down since he is still with Hannah. I'll try and follow the timeline, yeah?
…
SHOCKING NEW HISORICAL DISCOVERY?
The expedition to the new landmass to the east off of Japan only just found suddenly appearing on satellite- discovered randomly by a couple students playing on Google Maps®- has at last let slip some information on its findings.
Assistant Daisy Wick of the Jeffersonian, assistant to the lead on the case Dr. Temperance Brennan- author of recent top selling 'Bone of Contention' and top forensic anthropologist in the field- has revealed to a flock of reporters some information on this astounding island closed off since its widespread news famous discovery.
Wick told us, that deep in the heart of the American-claimed island (bringing rising tension with the Japanese) where the FBI had taken over and entirely blocked out its location and visibility on the Google maps, something truly extraordinary has been found.
A village of some kind, perhaps. Completely encased in ice! So near the equator they found a mass of ice? Scientists are baffled, and it's a miracle how this stayed quiet for the past few months. It seems, though, that this was all the information we got before disgruntled FBI agent, partner to renowned Temperance Brennan, believed inspiration for Brennan's book character Agent Andy Lister, came on sight and removed Wick before any other questions could be asked as they boarded their plane to return to the island.
What exactly have the FBI and Jeffersonian found on this island, which Wick called 'the discovery of the century?'
Only they know just what is on the codenamed 'Ice Island'.
…
"Look at this! They called me disgruntled! I can't believe this!"
"Calm down, Booth. I'm sure they only meant that you looked aggravated, aggressive, and deeply bothered at the situation."
"Oh, jee, thanks, Bones. Just what I needed to hear. That's literally the same thing."
That said, the irritated man in the suit gruffly slapped his newspaper down onto the metal table.
"Ah- Booth, don't place foreign objects on the sterile surfaces!"
"It's a table, bones. A newspaper, and a table. Neither is foreign, both come straight from Washington."
"Booth. You know what I meant."
"Yeah, yeah, no newspapers on the table. Just say it like that, nice and simple, big words are so…"
"Big?" she smirked slightly, glancing up from her work.
He paused. "…yeah." and turned away.
Her smile disappeared and she looked back down. She swallowed lightly. Hannah hadn't harbored feelings of anger at her for confessing, but Booth wasn't nearly so forgetful of, so it was hard to make amends and just move on.
Silence engulfed them both. A long, awkward silence.
"So, uh… whatcha got there, Dr. B?" Hodgins asked, breaking the intensely loud silence. He had been there to collect some of her notes, only a few minutes, to hear Booth ranting and the ensuing painfully quiet silence. They had forgotten Hodgins was even at the file cabinets in the corner until he spoke up.
"Bones. Of course." She said with a breath, forcing away the awkwardness. "Found at the edge of the pit, not in the ice."
"So what's the deal, why isn't the ice melting?" Booth chimed. "It's been months and its summer, what's with the mega glacier? I'm sure as hell melting out here."
Hodgins perked up. "I don't really understand it either. The ice scrapings took ages to pry off just for the testing, the ice was so hard. But the Mobile Mass Spec picked up only the typical H-2-O and traces of isotopes and chemicals and elements found around China or Japan, minus the volcanic elements that involved in shaping Japan. There's nothing out of the ordinary to be identified, but the ice harder than steel- broke a few picks getting the shavings."
"That's… impossible. How can ice be harder than steel, but no strong elements be present, only basic H2O?"
"I don't know." Hodgins sighed. "It's unprecedented. The tech team dislodged a chunk after a few weeks, and right after it was disconnected, it started melting. They broke it in half just by dropping it."
"That- That's astonishing!"
"Right? But how?" Hodgins shook his head, "I just- I can't wrap my head around how."
"I'm sure you squints'll figure it out." Booth sighed, "as long as the squinterns keep their mouths shut."
"Hey, man, I warned you about taking Daisy. Should have taken Clark, or Wendell, even Fisher. They'd keep their mouths shut, at least with you threatening to shoot them. But no, had to take Daisy." Hodgins chuckled, finally finding the notes he needed.
"Shut it before I shoot you."
"Shutting up, oh FBI oppressor."
"DOCTOR BRENNAN! BOOTH! HODGINS!"
Booth charged out without even a moments hesitation, gun at the ready, at the panicked sound of Camille Saroyan and a large amount of other shouting. Hodgins and Brennan exchanged a look as they rushed out behind him.
Cam was moving quickly toward them, as Booth looked around for something to shoot at. She made it to the trio, taking a deep breath, "HEAT SIGNATURES."
"What?" Brennan asked, brow arching.
"I-In the- the ice! Wendell was working with the techs- doing scans, so many scans- heat signatures!"
"What kind?" She asked. "Volcanic activity?"
"Not possible, there's no volcanic soil or residue anywhere around-" Hodgins started to dismiss.
"Bodies!" Cam interrupted sharply. "The shape of bodies, the signatures. They look like bodies."
"We've seen eroded signs of villages and life, bodies are to be expected in the ice- albeit I share your concerns. If they are decomposing and releasing heat it is very very strange." Brennan pointed out.
"No. No, no, no no no." she shook her head, motioning to the stampede of scientists milling about mostly in one direction, toward the main pavilion platform they had set out. "Come, come on, let's go, let's go, go go go."
Cam took off and the left over scientists exchanged glances again, speed walking after their boss, Booth on their heels and gun put away again, not entirely sure what was happening.
When they arrived, Wendell, Fisher and Clark were moving around haphazardly with a group of FBI techs working on the raised platform of computers and what not.
Sliding her card she stampeded up the stairs when Cam went up without doing so, setting off the sirens. They all hurried up the steps and onto the platforms, trying to avoid the agents keeping other scientists at bay and the various tech squad people trying to record and observe and all other things. Brennan quickly caught pace with Wendell, looking for answers in someone other than a floundered Cam.
"What's happening?"
Upon her appearance he looked up, relieved. "Oh thank god- thank anyone you're here, Dr. B."
"Thank cam. What's happening?"
He turned and quickly moved to a set of monitors holding up various radars or scan information. He directed her to the first one, with multiple blips of lighter green-blue, yellow, orange rainbow mosaic people in a mass of darker blues of cold ice.
"I noticed the original scans had specs of color in them and re-took the infrared at those places with greater care, and higher concentration. Angela sent them back to me after her scanners worked out any kinks or anomalies- these are human bodies." He motioned to a close up of one of the bodies, full of colors. "The heat levels are indicating a living being, rather than decomposition."
Fisher came out of nowhere, and Brennan also noticed a few of the techs, Cam, Booth, and Hodgins crowding over their shoulders.
Fisher pointed to another monitor. "We were so boggled we started running every scan we could come up with- the location of all the bodies are surrounded by this unknown, high powered field that's been mucking up some of the other scans, and we picked it up with a magnetic field scanner."
Before he could say the next thing on his mind, Clark popped in, too, "I was writing out some information on the scans when I detected movement, Doctor Brennan."
He pointed to a grey-black screen, "this is live footage."
It was moving. The same heat signature close up, just near the edge of the field, was moving.
"This is the movement of the chest. Expanding." Brennan murmured. "It's breathing! The body- the body is breathing!"
Everyone went silent. They stared at the platform, the techs stopped working, and even the FBI guys looked on in total confusion and awe.
Cam looked around, then at Brennan. "Tell me it's all wrong. That it's not possible. We don't have protocol for this, what would we do?"
"It is impossible." Brennan said, but shook her head slightly. "Yet… its right here. On this screen."
Brennan turned to her 'boss'. So proclaimed as, anyway, not really.
"We need to start digging. There's no protocol, so let's get to this. Now, as soon as possible."
Doctor Saroyan looked back for a minute, and then nodded slowly. "Have all your interns running as many tests as possible, give them full control of the rest of the techs I'll call Angela to head the tests up. I'll also call in for some drills."
"Diamond drills." Fisher interjected, looking at the mountain of ice, glowing unnaturally blue (they had originally assumed toxic or radiation and had warn suits upon first visit, but all results were non toxic and no sign of out-of-the-ordinary radiation). "The ice is strong- unlike my crippled, dry soul."
"No time for that." Wendell said, grinning, "We get to make history!"
"That we do. Start the tests." Brennan ordered.
They exchanged looks before hustling to start up a sort of plan, when Brennan called, "And make sure Ms. Wick stays on this island, or the whole world will know more than we do about the project."
"I'll make sure she stays here." Cam responded. "I'll assign her to work under Hodgins for now."
"Aw, what did I do to be punished?" said bug and slime man complained, then muttered hed be in his tent working on the foreign pollens they had found in the ice.
Brennan looked around, "Mr. Bray."
Wendell looked up from the conversation, "Yes, Dr. B?"
"Where is Mr. Vaziri?"
Wendell paused, and then answered, "Dr. Saroyan asked him to catalogue the bone corpses you had already finished, he should be in the Limbo Tent."
"I've told you not to call it limbo at the lab. Don't call the tent limbo, either."
"Yes, Dr. Brennan."
Temperance turned and moved down the stairs, starting into the mazes of tents that she had been living amongst for the last month she had become as familiar with as Washington.
She stopped at the tent she was sharing with Angela; not a camping tent, but like all the other tents a room-sized portable pavilion with a rug rolled over the floor. Travel hammocks, mini fridge, desk, stockpile of quick and easy Top Ramen for those late work nights and a small fire hearth with a grill over it for quick water boiling. The place was much nicer than most trips to sites Brennan took.
Of course there was an open platform out to the southern area of the set up, were there was open grass and trees, where food was served on a schedule, but it was too far a walk when Brennan was in the middle of work and realized she hadn't eaten that day. Half the time it was too late for any food to be left, anyway. Angela, being pregnant, also had cravings for ramen and chocolate syrup in the middle of the night.
Brennan was gathering her notebooks from the few boxes under her hammock when the tent's front flap opened, and Angela shuffled in, round in her 7th month. Most everyone kept saying she should go back to the states soon, but when Angela kept reminding them that she was needed to keep all the equipment going full speed (and that they had premium tech and gear, better than most hospitals, on site as well as multiple doctors with advanced medical knowledge so having her kid out here really would be like any hospital), she soon got her way and was still on the island eating chocolate-smothered beef flavored ramen in the middle of the night and talking baby names as Brennan wrote up reports and kept her journals up-to-date.
"Sweet heart, there you are! You've been hearing what's happening, right? The breathing and the heat?" Angela moved, quicker than any pregnant woman should, to Brennan's side.
"Angela, calm down." Brennan said, containing her own excitement at an astounding discovery like this. "Cam needs you heading up the scans and tests before they mess up your programs again like last week."
"Is Fisher trying to work the Angela-tron again?! I swear, if breaks my machine-"
"No, no, we won't let him near it. Calm down and work, okay? I have to go find Mr. Vazari, I'll need all my top interns working on this. Would you mind telling the next intern you see to continue the catalogs?"
"Sure, sweety. Good luck. And Remember, 2 weeks, we all fly back to the states. Taffet's final appeal is coming, so be wrapped up, ready to leave, that Monday. Okay?"
Brennan nodded. "I'll be ready, Angela. I'll be there no matter what."
"Good. Let's hope she doesn't get an Insanity plea."
They both parted to get to work shortly after.