A Fool's Errand

[Rebecca Talon]

Rebecca stared out of one of thousands such windows on the old USS Tigris, now TAS Tigris. This particular window was located on the empty officer's lounge.

The Tigris was one of the few Pythus Sector ships still around. Not even her mighty Erebus survived. Perhaps that was fitting. A grand old lady the Tigris was. As an engineer she loved the graceful curves of the hull, and the powerful heartbeat that took the ship past the speed of light by many thousands of times.

But, she felt an ominous dread, as she stared out into the nothingness of space. They had to rescue Jack, or at least try. So, why was that Alfred, Lord Tennyson poem running through her mind?

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volley’d and thunder’d;
Storm’d at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came thro’ the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.

[Nick Ryder]

Nick walked into the lounge with a briefcase and saw Becca looking out the window. "Penny for your thoughts?" he said as he took a seat at a curved table and opened the case. "Once more into the breech..." he muttered and looked at a number of padds. "I'm pretty sure Kinsey is going to try and stop me from going on this operation. Jack was the same way when it came to Kinsey more than once. Those two are more alike than I think even they realize. Moment I met her, I knew she was going to be family, that and Jack never actually had a girlfriend that wasn't just using him."

Pulling off his leather jacket, he reached behind the bar and grabbed a bottle of tonic water and sighed. "I know I shouldn't be in the thick of it, but... no one knows this sector like we do. How it changes around you and one minute it's the 2380s the next it's the 2370s again and then it's the 2390s or the whole makeup of the Fleet itself changes. Could be why we still look damn good for Dominion War vets."

[Rebecca Talon]

She sighed and sat next to him. "Lots of things my friend. Primarily how I feel this mission, if we are on it, will end in tragedy. 'The Charge of the Light Brigade' keeps running through my mind.

"'Cannon to right of them, cannon to left of them, cannon in front of them volleyed and thundered; stormed at with shot and shell, boldly they rode and well, into the jaws of Death, into the mouth of hell rode the six hundred', she recited.

"Is this paranoia, or the ijulna telling me our fate?" Shaking her head, "I just don't know, but I learned long ago to listen to these feelings."

[Nick Ryder]

"I know what you mean..." Nick agreed and nodded his head. "But I'm not going to sit back and let my daughter in law risk herself again. We already lost her once. And I'm not risking you either, just got you back. I kinda like second chances at life to last more than a minute y'know?" he took a sip of his tonic water and grimaced. "I'm pretty sure Kinsey will find some way to keep me out of this. I can sense that much. My wife will probably aide her in it too. But we're two of the only people still alive that have been able to survive Pythus, we know how to react. And I should have dealt with Dominus when I first encountered him, but I was badly beaten and weakened. I'm in better shape than I've been in a while. I'm also far more attuned to the Iljuna. I'm not resisting it anymore."

[Angel Ryder]

"You just want to be a magical space wizard with your laser sword." Angel said as she walked into the lounge. "I get it dad." she said with a smirk and pulled off her high heels and tossed them in a replicator and hit reclaim. "President Price wanted me to inform you that he'll send whatever help you need but it's off the books. You make too much noise, he can't claim knowledge. So you are kinda on your own. Former Presidents should be doing book tours or interviews or speeches at luncheons. Not taking command of their old starships. You're just lucky the Tigris-A is ready, shocking this bird stayed together for as long as she did, considering the abuse you gave her."

"Yeah... heh... rammed it into a few ships, half blown up, sheared off it's nacelles at least a few times." Nick said and laughed. "I think maybe my ready room door is all that's left of her when she left space dock."

"More than that... but yeah... I get it dad, I really do. Seraphim's barely been mine for five years and I've gone through three saucers, three sets of warp nacelles, two full warp cores and at least a couple hundred phaser strips." Angel said as she sat down and closed her eyes. "Naval Command wants to storm Pythus you know. I had to talk them down. Said we're sending a special ops team to assess. It took a lot to not remind them that I helped lose the sector in the first place and spent the past... very very long time in stasis. Speaking of... sleeping on the same ship for a long time. I do hope that you remain on the ship. We didn't spend a lot on telepresence systems and holographic interfaces to have you go into the field when you don't need to. We've even taken your LMDs out of storage. And IRIS pulled out an old BECKI android frame out of the archives and gave it some mods to look like you Becca. Don't risk your lives more than you are already okay? I only just got you both back. You die, I'm going to borrow Jack's time machine and kick both your butts. So if you ever remember a beating I gave you two... that was because you did something stupid."

[Rebecca Talon]

"I can't wield the ijulna through a robot. No, I'm useless in that capacity. I might as well stay home an knit. Sorry Ang, but I have to physically be there."

[Angel Ryder]

"Well, then at least wear some freakin' SKIN armor." Angel said as she looked at Becca. "Saved Ethan, saved me. Wear it. Besides, the more sheer under suit looks incredibly sexy if you're wearing nothing under it. By the way... very very good chance that I might give you another grandchild dad... and Aunt Becca... next kid I have, you're the Godmother."

"Sure you aren't already?" Nick teased.

"Your lips to God's ears..." Angel said with a wink. "So... is this going to be what you two do now? Doc Savage type adventures of daring do, rescuing captured scientists, fighting evil space wizard monks and generally being the polyglot Buckaroo Banzai of Terra Alpha?"

[Rebecca Talon]

"Well, I am a 'space wizard' so, yes I expect so. And, to that end I am expecting my first grandbabies, and I intend to be there for them."

[Angel Ryder]

Angel then looked at Becca and realized something. "Grandbabies... you realize we're BOTH going to be grandmothers? The hell did that happen?"

"When a son from the future and a daughter from the future love each other very very much..." Nick said with a smirk.

"It's weird, I never quite thought of it like that, I mean you've always been like... Aunt Becca. Weird." Angel shook her head and laughed. "Anyway... yeah Nathan and I are going to be trying quite a bit. After spending the past few decades in stasis, I'm not wasting time. Besides... I did a lot on my last maternity leave. Can't always be 'on mission' forever and Nathan's the last male Morris, so I'd like to give him a son."

"Speaking of 'last' you know I'm going to be entirely annoyed if we go through all this and Jack pops up here in his pod or something like 'oh, you were going to rescue us? Dreadfully sorry'." Nick said in an approximation of Jack's accent. "Still, Pythus has been something I've wanted to forget for almost twenty years once I got it out of my head. And this time we don't have the Rangers helping us out, they're... who knows where the hell they wandered off to again. And I doubt the Migs will help since Pythus isn't near their space. Although last time I served with a Mig..."

"Was that the dude that sorta looked like a wrestler?" Angel said with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah the same, they also had these suits of armor, kind of where we stole some of the ideas for our own." Nick blushed slightly. "Let it never be said I don't take inspiration when I see it."

"I think the line is 'let it never said I don't steal when it's handy'" Angel teased and rested her head on Becca's shoulder. "Speaking of stolen... got some of your gear in your quarters that I ah... borrowed after you died. Used to have it in a display case in my ready room but since my ready room on the new ship is nowhere near as big as the old one.."

"Kitea's like twice the size why is it smaller?" Nick gave her a look. "Seriously?"

"Well I have an entire deck to myself... Nathan's got the big ready room, I got a closet on the bridge essentially. Technically the Kitea IS his ship, but it's my flagship, so fleet operations will happen on my deck. Christening ceremony is in three weeks, you both are going to be there. So... that's your timeline. Three weeks. Find Jack, get back here. Takes longer than that... leave a team in sector and get home. President Price wants Kassie back at her desk and he wants this bird back in Terra Alpha space in case the Dominion come back around. I spoke woman to woman with Riker's wife Deanna, they're going to keep a ship from the New UFP on our outskirts. Maybe two. OG Tigris may be needed. Just because Rexi got a shiny new Excalibur doesn't mean this bird is getting decomm'd. So don't. Blow. It. Up." she pointed her finger at them both. "I know how you two are on ships. Because I'm the same way. Malone joked that he should follow behind in the Independence."

[Nick Ryder]

"Yes mom." Nick said with a smirk. "Told you this girl would be me someday."