stargateficrec | Agent Afloat Atlantis by Mhalachai (PG-13)

Show: SGA

Rec Category: Crossover
Characters: Ziva David, John Sheppard, Team (both of them)
Pairings: some Ziva/Tony
Categories: Gen, Crossover, H/C, Action/Adventure
Warnings: None
Author on LJ:

mhalachaiswords
Author's Website: on Wraithbait, Twisting the Hellmouth, AO3...
Link: Agent Afloat Atlantis

Why This Must Be Read: I hadn't even realized Mhalachai had written this story when I began reading it, but when I finally took note of the author's name, it really didn't surprise me. Mhalachai writes exactly the sort of crossovers I love: inventive, plausible and seamless.

This is a crossover with NCIS, told mostly from the perspective of Ziva David, who gets assigned to Atlantis as an agent afloat (much like the title indicates). Ziva's characterization is perfect and she's definitely an interesting choice of character through whose eyes to see Atlantis and its crew. Especially since John obviously doesn't really know what he's supposed to do with her at first. Now all of that is great and I found myself enjoying the story immensely, but then Mhalachai decided to take it one step further and bring the story back to Earth and tie it to NCIS in a way that's an absolutely wonderful blend of both shows.

Ziva lets her eyes slip to the passing scenery on the other side of the tinted bulletproof windows. She had seen the whispers between Jenny and Ducky and Gibbs over the past few months, how Jenny's hands were beginning to shake, how she would walk into things, how her body grew gaunt and her eyes hollowed with illness.

Ziva should have given the pendant to Jenny months ago.

"I suspect she was dying," Ziva says, because there is no shame in staring death in the face and choosing to destroy one's killers in the final moments. "She wanted it like this."

And Michael does not contradict her, because he knows Ziva has no reason to lie about such things.

"What is this mission my father has prepared for me?" Ziva asks into the stillness. "I will need to return home to gather supplies."

"We have been to your apartment and have packed your personal belongings," Michael says, reaching into a briefcase by his feet. "You will not return there."

Ziva's hand clenches on her lap. These men have been through her home, have touched her personal belongings, and the thought makes her skin crawl. "Where are we going?"

"The airport," Michael says. "You are booked on a commercial flight to Colorado Springs. The plane leaves in two hours."

Ziva turns her head, confused. "What is at Colorado Springs? My target?"

Michael sighs. "This is not an assassination assignment, Ziva," he says in a long-suffering voice. "You will be an observer for the Israeli government. Think of it as a continuation of your position at NCIS. An investigator."

"What will I investigate?"

Michael hands her a single page, stamped at the top with the seal of the United States Air Force and a red caution of top secret. "Atlantis."

Ziva frowns at the paper. "What is Atlantis? A codeword?"

With a glance at his watch, Michael settles back in his seat. "Atlantis is a project run jointly by the American military and the United Nations," he says with just a hint of impatience.

"Weapons development?"

"Of a sort." Michael keeps his eyes on Ziva's face. "Atlantis is the name of an operations base in another galaxy. The Americans have been running a secret interstellar exploration program out of Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado for the last decade. We have not been able to get an operative inside the base until now, even though the Israeli government is made privy to all developments as part of our agreement with the Americans."

Ziva's fingers crumple the paper as the car accelerates into a merge. "A base in another what?"