stargateficrec | The Jenny Code (by Domenika Marzione) (T)

Show: SGA
Rec Category: Genfic
Characters: John Sheppard, Evan Lorne, Steven Caldwell, Elizabeth Weir, Ronon Dex, Teyla Emmagan, Rodney McKay, Radek Zelenka, several OCs.
Categories: Gen
Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence, minor character deaths.
Author on DW:

domarzione
Author's Website: see the AO3
Link: The Jenny Code (the first of 3 fics) - on AO3
Why This Must Be Read: This is a series, with the main initial fic told from several POVs (Lorne, Elizabeth, Caldwell and Sheppard), then a companion fic from Rodney's POV, and lastly a brief coda from Sheppard's POV as he battles nightmares in the infirmary. The series is about a disastrous mission where Sheppard and several Marines are ambushed and captured by the Genii, after which Atlantis undertakes a rescue mission. There's a ton of plot and drama, focus on the harsh decisions leaders sometimes have to make in terrible situations, and on the values and heroism of the Marines. It's filled with excellent characterization, and, as expected in

domarzione's work, features the usual cast of OCs - mostly marines, and Dr. Safir. As with all of the author's stories, there are bitingly realistic depictions of how the military functions - from strategy and tactics to internal politics and bureaucracy. The Jenny Code was reccd 13 years ago but the old link's expired and it deserves another mention. It's a tough read in places, incredibly well-written and very gripping.

Caldwell wrote some more, then flipped back to an earlier page in his notepad. "Staff Sergeant Talaveres said that there was no warning. 'They came out of nowhere.'" He looked up. "Well? How do thirty-two men appear out of thin air and surprise a platoon of experienced marines?"

There were two ways to take this question, as an accusation or as a request for a tactical analysis and Lorne honestly didn't know which one it was. Caldwell had already proven that there was no such thing as a bad time to disparage Sheppard's command as far as he went, but it could be an honest question from a man charged with coming up with a response to an attack he hadn't seen. Lorne had been in Medical for a few hours; he had no idea whom Caldwell had or hadn't spoken to already. With Sheppard and Maguire still out there, Lorne was the only officer who'd been on Malthusa and come back and even if he hadn't been in charge of anything but his own team until the shit had hit the fan, he would be expected to have answers.

"We've had men patrolling the perimeter for the last week," he replied, sitting up as straight as he could and wincing at the effort. And the answer, which he knew to be insufficient. He'd been trying to figure out what the hell had happened he'd lain in the infirmary, shirt cut open and blood in his eyes and mouth and on his skin and not all of it his. But he'd been unable to work out a scenario that fit the available data and didn't require a serious lapse on their part. "Doctor McKay and Doctor Ferguson had been trying to get the waystation's own defensive systems operational, but they were having trouble with the power supply, so we'd kept up the patrols. Sergeant Bispo's squad had just been...."

"The fire," Ronon said suddenly. "They set the fire in the granary."

"The fire had been out for hours," Lorne pointed out. He'd long since accepted Ronon as his superior in almost anything related to ground warfare and a diversionary fire certainly made sense in hindsight. But the smoke had long since cleared before the first shot had been fired..

"The Marines were still thinking about the fire," Ronon explained with a shrug only after Caldwell gestured for him to go on. "There was a lot of movement in the trees. Townspeople moving around because of the fire. Easy enough to blend in behind that."