Testing and Difficult Conversations
"Sentinel Ellison, earlier you and Guide Sandburg stated that being a Sentinel or Guide may be genetic. I have a program on my tablet and a portable DNA sequencer, we can check to see if there is a specific gene for each," Dr. Allison Blake said. Dr. Rodney McKay added, "My data pad has a similar program. It wouldn't take much to have it check for a common gene among the Sentinels and same for the Guides." A robotic female voice spoke, "I would be more than happy to help you with that. The other AI and I can even link Dr. Blake's tablet to Dr. McKay's data pad to double check everything and we may even be able to link to Dr. McKay's main computer." "S.A.R.A.H., what are you doing on my tablet?" Allison asked incredulously. "Oh, I'm sorry, I'm not S.A.R.A.H., my name is S.A.R.A.H.J.A.N.E.," the voice replied. "S.A.R.A.H.J.A.N.E.?" Allison, Jack Carter, and Fargo repeated. "Yes, Secure Autonomous Remote Assistant Housing Judiciously Added Network Enhancement. S.A.R.A.H. and Deputy Andy created me so a part of S.A.R.A.H. would always be with her family," the voice explained. Carter scrubbed his face with a hand and sighed, "Fargo, why would S.A.R.A.H. and Deputy Andy essentially make a baby AI and put it on Allison's tablet?" "Um… maybe as a way to deal with the fact she gets depressed when left alone for long periods of time and wants to keep better track of you?" Fargo sounded as uncertain as he looked. "I'm not just on Dr. Blake's tablet, I'm also on Keven's and Jenna's tablets as well as the family's cell phones," S.A.R.A.H.J.A.N.E. corrected.
"Um, does anyone care to clue the rest of us in on what's going on? And what other AI?" Jack O'Neill asked. "S.A.R.A.H. is the AI in my house back in Eureka. Fargo created her and helped program Deputy Andy, my automaton AI Deputy. They're in a relationship and apparently decided to create an AI 'child' without telling anyone. I don't know anything about the other AI though," Carter explained. "The other AI is on Dr. McKay's data pad. She's far more advanced than I or any other AI at GD. She says that while she doesn't have a voice per se, she does communicate with everyone but it's complicated and classified," S.A.R.A.H.J.A.N.E. added. "I guess as long as you don't go poking around in her systems, it's OK to create a temporary network while the med team does the DNA testing," O'Neill conceded.
The network was quickly set up and DNA samples collected. Ducky and Henry helped keep everything in order and Zoe sat between Allison and Rodney, eager to add to her knowledge. Lucas and Zane cautiously approached Rodney. "Um, Dr. McKay, we were wondering if you could confirm a couple of stories for us?" Lucas asked softly. "I can try, kid, but no guarantee you'll like the answer," Rodney replied. "See, there are stories about your first year or so at MIT. They say you practically lived in the lab and when you got teased about it, you would mumble, 'Tony would have pulled me out of here hours ago. Damn it, DiNozzo, why was the best you could do Ohio State?' Or you'd check your watch and say, 'Crap, gotta go excavate Daniel from… right he's at UCLA, not here. Stupid soft science.' Or you'd complete something and almost shout, 'Hey, Blair, look at… no, he's at Rainier. I hate soft science.' Based on what we've learned, if there's any truth to those stories, we're guessing you must have missed your brothers pretty bad, huh?" Zane said. Rodney actually looked up and to John's surprise was actually blushing. "There are stories about that? Like urban legend type stories or just clever anecdotes?" "Noone has ever tried to replicate your actions if that's what you mean. But enough people remember and retell them so often, some try to claim that late at night your voice still echoes in the labs, lamenting the absence of your friends," Lucas explained. Rodney just groaned and turned his attention back to his data pad. As everyone began to settle back into mixed groups, two different phones began to ring. "Ellison," Jim answered, followed by a curt, "Gibbs."
"Jim, it's Simon, I'm afraid I have some bad news," Captain Simon Banks replied. "Let me guess, we've been canned," Jim stated gruffly. "Yeah, we cleared out your desk and Blair's. And they're going to need to replace half of Major Crimes." "Why?" Jim's cautious tone caught everyone's attention, even Gibbs who quickly ended his own call. "When the powers that be decided that you and Blair were too much of a liability, they almost immediately received my resignation as well as Joel's, Rafe's, H's, and Megan's. Even Dan Wolf and Rhonda told them to go screw themselves," Simon explained. "Are you still at Rainier? We're planning on bringing you your stuff and maybe dragging the two of you off to a bar or something after I pick up Daryl." "We're still at Rainier, Hargrove Hall, conference room two, but we have company. Blair's Heart Brothers came for a visit and brought some friends," came the reply accompanied by a mischievous smirk. Blair's eyebrows hit his hairline at the understatement. "Some friends?" he squeaked out. "OK we'll see you after a bit, Simon. Just knock before you come barging in, the security clearance level in the room is significantly above your pay grade," Jim cautioned before hanging up. Jim then addressed the room. "Well we're officially unemployed, Chief, and half of Major Crimes tendered their resignation over the matter. Anyone have a job opening for us?" he half joked.
Gibbs had been fielding a call from Vance while Jim spoke with Simon. "Gibbs, for the love of God, and to preserve what remains of my sanity, tell David to either answer the phone the next time her father calls or call him herself sooner rather than later or I'm not sure I can be held responsible for my retaliatory actions," Vance said in a calm tone that indicated an impending explosion. "Tell Ziva to call her dad or answer next time he calls or you might do something drastic and plead insanity," Gibbs repeated before turning a quizzical look towards Jim at his cautious, "Why?" "I'll tell her but can't guarantee a positive response. We'll let you know when or if we'll be back," Gibbs stated and abruptly ended the call.
"Can we snap them up?" Daniel asked, turning to Jack O'Neill. "Probably, but you realize they'll thrive on her with John and Rodney," O'Neill replied. Daniel turned to Rodney, "You hear that?" "Jim and Blair lost their jobs, if DSTN manages to snap them up they'll do better with us then in your fox hole," Rodney responded without looking up. "Anyone gonna try to fight us for them?" O'Neill asked. He was met with multiple heads shaking negatively. "Can Tim and I transfer?" Tony asked. "Ziva, per Vance either call your dad or answer next time he tries to call you. Tony, why?" Gibbs said, starting to wonder when exactly he became a babysitter…. right, it was when DiNozzo joined his team. "Do I have to?" Ziva asked petulantly as Tony answered, "So I can be closer to my brothers, duh." "Ziva, going off of Vance's tone, I'd say he's about one to two phone calls away from trying to order an airstrike on your dad's ass just to get him to stop bitching. DiNozzo, again, why? And does Tim even want to go traipsing off to God knows where?"
Before Tony or Tim could answer, Ziva's phone rang. "Speak of the devil," she grumbled before hitting accept and speaker. "David." "Ziva, it's time you came home. I don't care how upset you are, you are no longer a child and I refuse to allow this tantrum to continue," a man's voice stated in a scolding tone. "As your father and as head of Mossad, I'm ordering you home." "So once again you are refusing to acknowledge the fact that after Gibbs and his team rescued me, I resigned. And why should I obey you as my father when you always treated me and Ari and Tali more like soldiers than your children? Ari and Tali's deaths are on your own head due to your negligence and torture. Gibbs has been more of a father to me in my time with NCIS than you have been in my entire life." Ziva took a deep breath before continuing, "Once again, I resign as a Mossad operative and I disown you. You are no longer my father and as such have neither power nor control over my actions. Do not contact me again. And until such time as science will allow two women to produce offspring that is genetically theirs, you will not be gifted any genetic grandchildren." And with that Ziva hung up.
Immediately she was surrounded by all the Guides in the room and the three small children. The Guides hugged her briefly to assure her of their support before stepping back as Abby held her tightly. Gibbs slowly approached, "Ziva?" At his soft tone, Ziva flung herself into his arms, sobbing and whispering, "Abba, thank you. Thank you for allowing me to properly mourn my siblings and thank you for taking me in." "Z, you should tell them about the note, the one from Ari," Abby spoke softly as she continued to comfort her Sentinel. "Ari sent you a note? When?" Gibbs asked. "He had arranged for it to be delivered to me after his death," Ziva replied. "He wrote it after he killed Caitlin. There were tear stains on the paper."
"Before you go into detail on the note, can those of us not familiar with this mess get some background please," Jim asked softly. "Also what does 'abba' mean?" "'Abba' is Aramaic meaning 'Father', but it's been adopted by the Hebrew language as 'dad' or 'daddy'," Blair answered, his voice equally soft. A murmur of quiet awe rippled through the group at his explanation, the full weight of the conversation dawning on them. "Ari was Ziva's older half-brother. He went rogue several years ago and, for reasons unknown to us, murdered Agent Caitlin Todd. Ziva was ordered to hunt him down. She killed him to save me," Gibbs explained in a subdued tone.
"After his death, I received a note. I had misplaced it until yesterday. Abby found it," Ziva took up the narrative. "In it, Ari explained that he had felt a connection to Caitlin when he first met her in the morgue. He described it as 'I knew that she was mine, my other half, but I was too damaged to properly protect her.' He went on to say that he had killed Caitlin to keep her from falling into our Father's hands. In his mind it was a mercy killing however the guilt was destroying what little sanity remained. He begged me to forgive him for putting me in the position he did. He also begged forgiveness of Gibbs and his team. Looking back I can't help but wonder if Ari was actually a Guide and had subconsciously recognized Caitlin as his Sentinel. I doubt either one was online but what if they were aware of it on a subconscious level?" "What did Eli David do to you and Ari and Tali?" Gibbs asked in a low dangerous tone, Jim and the other Sentinels growling subvocal threats. "He trained us to be soldiers. Little to no emotion, follow orders, harsh punishments for failure. We had no childhood to speak of. I was allowed ballet lessons only because the grace and agility transferred into combat prowess," Ziva whispered.
A musical tone from the tablet and data pad broke the somber mood and drew everyone's attention to the med team. "We have confirmation of two separate genomes that indicate Sentinel or Guide," Allison announced. Rodney had blocked his screen and said, "Um, John, Daniel, you need to take a look at this. O'Neill, you might need to get General Hammond on the line…" John and Daniel quickly moved to see what had Rodney so nervous. There on the screen were the results of the DNA testing, the Sentinel and Guide genes highlighted as well as the Ancient gene across the board. Every single DNA sample submitted from the group had the Ancient gene, some labeled as dominant, others recessive, a mix of active and inactive flashing throughout the data. Before the other two could react, John's phone rang. "Sheppard," he answered. A pause and, "What do you mean you're on your way here? Who's flying her and who authorized it?" Another pause then, "What do you mean, she's flying herself? How? Why? Ugh, I'll tell O'Neill to tell Hammond. Goddammit, Chuck, this is a fucking nightmare!" he exclaimed before disconnecting. Looking up, John saw two little girls and a little boy staring at him with eyes wide. "Uh, sorry, kids. I should have said that differently," he said in embarrassment. "What am I telling Hammond?" Jack O'Neill demanded. "That she's flying herself up the coast to get us. S.A.R.A.H.J.A.N.E., did you actually manage to connect to Rodney's main computer?" John asked. "Yes and the main AI was very pleased with the results. That's why she's on her way," the AI answered. O'Neill groaned and dialed his boss.
"Hammond," the general greeted. "Hey, George, I've got a situation that has become a headache and nightmare all in one," O'Neill said. "Give me a brief rundown," Hammond stated. "We did some DNA testing to determine if being a Sentinel or Guide was genetic. It is and everyone we tested here also has the gene. There's an AI here that boosted the signal on McKay's data pad to connect to his computer there. Turns out she has an AI as well. Due to the 'E.T. phone home' they pulled, she is now on her way to Cascade to pick us up and my guess is she's going to insist you add everyone here to her crew," Jack explained. "I was going to request we add a couple of civilians, one a former Army Ranger and cop, the other an anthropologist, to our roster and maybe scoop up a couple of the NCIS agents to be Agents Afloat, but, sir, with these results and the shear amount of talent in this room…"
"Ok, Jack calm down. I saw Dr. Sandburg's conference as you suggested and my guess is Jim Ellison and Blair Sandburg are the two you were initially wanting. My best guess is that some idiot or idiots fired them, is that correct?" "Yes, sir." "Read them in. Who else is there and who am I taking them from?" "Do you want everyone, sir?" "Yes." Jack took a deep breath then forged ahead. "From NCIS headquarters in D.C.: Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Anthony DiNozzo, Timothy McGee, Ziva David, she'll need asylum, sir, Dr. Donald Mallard and Abigail Sciuto. From NCIS Los Angeles: Nikolaev Grisha Callen, Osama Hanna, Kensi Blye, and Martin Deeks. From the FBI and the Jeffersonian: Agent Seeley Booth and Dr. Temperance Brennan along with their three children, Parker, Christine, and Hank Booth, all minors. From Phoenix Foundation: Matilda Webber, Jack Dalton, Angus MacGyver, Riley Davis, and Wilt Bozer. From Global Dynamics: Dr. Douglas Fargo, Dr. Allison Blake, Dr. Zane Donovan, Dr. Henry Deacon, and Head of Security Josefina Lupo. From Eureka Township: Sheriff Jack Carter, Zoe Carter, Kevin Blake, and Jenna Stark. And a young man named Lucas, surname unknown. Those last four are technically minors as well, sir. And finally from…" "Warehouse 13," Myka Bering informed him. "Thank you, Agent Bering. From Warehouse 13: Agents Myka Bering, Peter Lattimer, and Claudia Donovan. I think that's everyone, sir."
"Let him know we're going to have to move somewhere else here soon. Chancellor Edwards said we had two hours to 'clear the alphabet soup out of conference room two' and that's almost up," Blair informed O'Neill. As O'Neill passed that tidbit on to Hammond, Tony and Rodney pinned Blair with a look. "Chancellor Edwards called us, as a group, alphabet soup?" Tony's voice had an edge that sent a shiver of fear for his former boss down Blair's spine while simultaneously making him feel warm and protected. "Rodney, we may need a repeat of what happened to that idiot of a Chem teacher, you know the thing that everyone thought was a senior prank?" Blair's eyes went wide. "Guys, guys, guys, you don't need to go that far. Yeah, Edwards can be a bitch, hell this is like the second time she's canned me, but…" "She insulted us and fired you. It doesn't matter if it's the first time or the second, she needs to learn not to fuck with you," Rodney growled out. "Chief, care to explain what this repeat is about?" Jim asked, wondering how much damage this would result in. "Second time Edwards has fired you?" Daniel asked in turn. Blair sighed, "The repeat would be Edwards gets in her car, turns the key and it drops the engine, all four tires go rolling off, all four doors fall off and the hood and trunk pop open all at the same time. Rodney did this to our chemistry teacher in high school after I pointed out an error in the textbook and he chewed me out for it. Keep in mind this was in the hall between classes. I was trying to be polite and quiet about it and he just started yelling at me saying that there's no way the textbook was wrong, I was just trying to embarrass him, blah, blah, blah. Daniel and Rodney backed me up that there was indeed an error and he accused us of conspiracy and gave us detention. And yes this is the second time Chancellor Edwards has fired me. The first time was when I turned a donor's kid in for plagiarism right after the spoiled brat had been accused of sexual assault. Jim actually arrested him later for corporate espionage and murder. Obviously I was reinstated afterwards but still." "Before you go vandalizing Chancellor Edwards' vehicle, we need to get everyone read in. Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the Deep Space Telemetry Network or more accurately the Stargate Program," O'Neill announced.