Tarburst was a top-secret government project that was supposedly intended to find a cure for victims suffering from an alleged symptom known as Afghanistan War Syndrome. Dr. Phillip Heller was recruited to work for the project by the head, Jordan Jones but Heller disappeared and later went into hiding after learning he was actually building a weapon. This prompted Jones to enlist the help of NCIS Forensic Scientist Abigail Sciuto who was brought to the building under an FBI escort.