"Did Landry tell you what was happening?" Cameron Mitchell asked as they stepped out of the elevator.
Daniel Jackson said, "Not a thing, aside from there being an emergency meeting. Guess we'll find out soon."
If there was one thing Cameron Mitchell was good at, it was rolling with the punches. Stuck on a Jaffa-controlled planet? No problem. Out of phase? Not too bad, as long as he ate something first. Meeting alien civilizations? Par for the course for Stargate Command. Today, however, General Landry had not been as forthcoming when he called Cam over the phone. Just a quick "Get to the Board Room" without any explanation. 'This should prove interesting,' he thought as he took a sip of coffee.
Sam was already there, reading the supposed file on the subject. Vala and Teal'c were absent, both off-world for a diplomatic mission. Cameron just barely made it to his seat before General Landry entered the room. "Good morning, Doctor Jackson, Colonel Mitchell."
"Mornin', sir. What exactly is happening today?" Cameron asked.
"We have a spaceship that crashed near Bella Lago, just outside San Diego. Dr. Lam and SG-2 were sent to retrieve the ship and cordon off the area. Thankfully, there were very few witnesses. This happened two days ago."
"Why was Dr. Lam sent?" Daniel asked.
"Well, obviously, the crashed ship had a pilot. She was found unconscious with a badly mangled leg. That itself was the result of a chunk of the outer hull trapping and collapsing on top of her."
"Ouch," Cameron muttered.
"The ship was unusual in its design, resembling something out of a 1950's tv show-style rocket rather than an actual one. What's even more bizarre is that the spaceship's planet of origin seems to be none other than Earth."
The resulting silence was deafening.
"We're sure about this?" Cameron said. "This unknown spaceship is actually, one hundred percent, made from Earth material?"
"Dr. Lee confirmed it after the team sent over the samples. Especially after going through the ship's computer and other surrounding tech. The majority of the interface was written in plain American English," Samantha stated. "I'd been going over it myself once I heard. So far, as unbelievable as it sounds, there's no gainsaying the evidence."
Cameron directed the conversation back to what he considered important, "What about the pilot? What's her story?"
"That's where things get a little stranger." Landry picked up the remote and pointed it at the screen behind him. The team could now see a recording of the pilot lying in a hospital bed wearing the typical gown for patients, except she wasn't human. She was fast asleep, face tilted to the right. She was about the size of a growing teenager. Her head was surrounded by a bob-cut of beach blonde hair, but her face and hands were covered in white feathers. She had no visible earlobes and the glaringly obvious feature was…
...her beak.
Cam blinked. "It's a duck...or a goose?"
"A duck," Landry stated. "She was the only one aboard the ship when it crashed. So far, we've got absolutely nothing to go on. Given the amount of pain she's in, we've had to keep her under heavy sedation. Also, due to her species and physiology, the hospital at Edward's had to call in a veterinarian to help with the amputation of her leg." Cam winced. "After we had the vet sign an NDA, of course."
"Where is she now?"
Landry answered, "They moved her to Peterson early this morning. Carolyn's running a few more tests to stabilize her leg, even if it is slightly out of her expertise. They should both be here in an or two. SG-2 is still at the crash site in Bella Lago, picking up what's left of the debris and preparing it for transport to Area 51, along with the items on her person."
Samantha was staring at the table, having long divested the file from her sight. "Exactly how did the ship crash in San Diego in the first place? You haven't mentioned that, sir."
Landry frowned. "Well, that was a bit remiss of me. My apologies, colonel. We're not quite sure how the ship appeared, but it happened just minutes after a geomagnetic storm erupted over the San Diego skyline. There seems to be no rhyme or reason as to why the storm occurred in the first place. It was pretty spontaneous. The crashed ship that appeared as a result is just another anomaly Dr. Lee can't readily explain."
Sam was silent for a few minutes and, after a quick glance in her direction, Cameron could almost see the gears turning in her head. He mentally groaned. There was another scientific mystery for her to solve.
In any case, he didn't feel like sticking around. "Permission to question the pilot, sir?"
Landry turned toward him. "Keep it brief, Mitchell, and also keep in mind that this pilot is not a prisoner and this will not be an interrogation. Start with finding out who she is. Any other questions are deemed irrelevant until I send the word. Is that clear, colonels and doctor?"
A chorus of "Yes, sir" answered him.
"Good. Dismissed."
He kept a sharp eye on the duck woman as she was moved into the infirmary, still unconscious. Whether or not she posed a threat was still unknown. She was lightly snoring, her hair slightly askew from the pillow and her beak opened with saliva hanging from it.
He bit back a laugh, given that the infirmary wasn't really an appropriate place to laugh (unless Daniel and Vala somehow both wound up in here), but because he didn't want to wake her up unless it was actually necessary. He actually found it fascinating that this duck displayed such human tendencies.
"How is she, Doc?"
Dr. Lam looked up at him. "Stabilizing. She seems to be a quick healer and she'll be waking up in a few minutes anyway. Do you plan on staying?"
"Until General Landry tells me otherwise, yeah."
"Try not to disturb her too much, then. She still needs rest."
"Understood."
With that, she left on her other rounds. Cameron once again directed his gaze to the patient, and not a moment too soon.
She was now nipping her bill slowly and her eyes started to crack open. They were quite larger than a normal duck's, almost human-shaped, with green irises and wide pupils. She coughed a bit before turning herself onto her back. Her eyes widened a bit further when she spotted him and sat up, a bit too quickly. She groaned, dispelling any notion to Cameron that she was unable to talk. It was obvious she had a headache when she raised a hand to her forehead and lay down again just as quickly with another groan.
"Be careful there. Crashed spaceships aren't easy to walk away from," Cameron quipped.
She removed her hand and gave him a look that promised vengeance if he made another joke. He had no idea ducks could make such a stare.
He dropped it. "Sorry about that. I'm Colonel Cameron Mitchell, United States Air Force. Secondary CO of this base. What's your name?" He raised his hand for a shake.
She eyed it warily, then glanced around the room as though someone else would be able to help her. Seeing no one nearby, she looked at him again and, still apprehensive, shook his hand firmly.
In a clear and strong voice, she said, "My name is Della Duck."
Apologies if the words and actions of the characters may feel a little stilted. I've had a lot of things going on recently that haven't made it easy for me to just sit down and write something, especially when dealing with multiple viewpoints. Feel free to comment on anything you think might be in need of improvement. It'd be greatly appreciated!
