It Ain't Easy...

[Nick Ryder]

Commander's Log:

Kinsey was right, our missions always seem to take on unexpected turns. I now have crew quarters filled with people that were being trafficked in Pythus Sector. It seems that the old saying 'you can never go home again' is true. This sector used to be my home. It was wild and fucked up even then but we managed to keep the peace. Now it's an even more wild, lawless, untamed area that seems to have simultaneously become self supporting and yet it's the hub of pretty much everything nasty and using what little resources has to keep those with some measure of power in place and rich and happy and everyone else either serves or is a servant... or a slave. Dominus had been the shadow puppet master of the Sector, yet with Jackson being gone, he's come out of the shadows and has been far more 'known'. Usually he was only really known on the old Starbase Python, which is ironic, since I used parts that were intended for her eventual refit to build and refit the station that became Starbase Byron. And here I am on the ship that I commanded all those years ago in this sector. Except the Tigris is not a 'friendly' ship, she's the enemy in these parts. It's taken a lot of tech and a lot of tactics to keep her hidden or masked so we're not constantly under fire.

I want to get out of here as soon as I can and yet clearly the mission will not truly be over until Dominus is deposed and order is restored. The thing is... is this a battle I want to fight? Is it a battle I can survive? Dominus has the benefit of goons that will fight for him for whatever reason, some capable, some not so much. He's also far more vicious. And he has the Brethren and world killing weapons that he's shown zero restraint in using. Last thing we need is for him to roll up to Earth or Terra Alpha or any other world for that matter and wipe it out like they once did to Xenex years ago or to Thessia. I feel like I'm far more cautious, maybe even a little more... afraid since my nearly year long captivity. Not really afraid for myself, but for others. One part of me feels proud that people I put in place did exactly what I hoped they would do, it proved to me that I personally didn't HAVE to be there to keep everything rolling. Even though that was sort of the basis of my re-election campaign, that voting for me would ensure the work we started didn't get undone. And yet another part of me is pissed that for so long Dominus was allowed to operate, using his supposed 'death' to keep himself insulated and grow a huge power base within MY old sector. I'm pretty sure that when we find Jack, there will be a war here. The Alliance isn't going to sit and let Dominus forces have any traction but... there is that drumbeat of war from the Dominion. If they start to push ahead, can we fight a war on so many fronts? We got through the Imperium War by the skin of our teeth. Although it ended far more amicably than I expected. I fully thought it would end with my ex-wife's head on the floor and yet here she is, living in our Capitol City and helping us.

War makes strange bedfellows sometimes...

End Log:

Nick stretched as he turned off his monitor and walked to the small living quarters off the ready room. In some ways, it felt good being on his old ship again, running missions. Actually getting his hands dirty again and yet... he was ready to retire entirely from this life. Raise his son, perhaps try to have another or adopt another child. After all, his wife was far younger and they both had the energy to start their own family. He really did want to bring Alice with him, yet he didn't want to pawn his son off on Isabella again. And in some ways, maybe he was just a little worried that somehow he wouldn't make it through this and he wanted to ensure at least his son had his mother. He touched the picture of his wife that he kept on the side table next to his bed. He would make it up to her when they got back.

Kicking off his boots and stripping out of his uniform he went to the small bathroom and washed up. They were still a good day at low warp until they got closer to Python or 'Hel' as Dominus called it. First time since they left that he really had a chance to just wash up and get some sleep and not on a couch either. Although he did blame Becca for that. They always managed to talk into the wee hours and they were both spending a lot more time training and honing their Jase'dasis skills. It was a part of himself he had kept to himself but now firmly embraced. He just hoped that Alice wasn't too jealous of Becca. But she was probably one of his oldest friends and was as much his sister as his own sisters. Still, he figured that once they got home, he'd spend more time with his wife, give Becca some space too, but for now they had to be the dynamic duo they once were.

"Mister President?" a voice inquired from the speakers.

"What did I say about calling me that?" Nick said as he got into the bed.

"Like I care. I'm an AI... and this is a private channel." Iris said as she manifested a holographic form.

"What is it?" Nick sat up and looked at her. "You change your look again?"

"Just the avatar for Tigris. I've gotten word from Terra Alpha. The Alliance has formally declared war on Dominus. So... we'll have support once we complete our mission." Iris said as she leaned against the wall. "I... also have some other... intel I suppose you could say."

"Which is?" Nick stifled a yawn.

"Julie Lei's mother was also taken by Dominus recently, she was serving as an ambassador somewhere, all we know is that her diplomatic vessel was picked up and she and about 12 others were taken by his people. So... it might be an act of good will if you were to find them." Iris said with a slight wince. "Julie doesn't know either."

"Which is good... she'd probably send her own team in here. Make sure she doesn't. I'll add it to the list." Nick said and yawned again. "Look Iris, this can wait a few hours, not like I sleep that long but I need some. Thanks for telling me that... she actually liked me."

"She's disowned her daughter and the Lei clan actually... so it will be... interesting when she finds out her daughter is living mostly free on Terra Alpha." Iris chuckled lightly as she ran her hand through her hair. "Love to be active during that meeting."

"Julie and her ma always had a weird relationship, didn't shock me she was as she was with our girls. Pretty much hands off with Angelica and overbearing with Olivia." Nick replied and took a sip from the water glass on his bed stand. "Besides... Julie isn't free. She's got more agents watching her than anyone else. She's got sensors embedded in her body, we know every movement she makes. She's probably more watched now than she would be if she was in prison." he closed his eyes. "Dominus isn't getting that treatment in the slightest. Good to know we've got a license to kill then. Make it easier."

"As if anything is ever easy for you sir." Iris teased.

"Nope... but at least I won't have the bleeding hearts whining about why we killed him instead of having him stand trial." Nick mused and sighed. "Four hours Iris... don't bug me for four hours, unless the ship's on fire. Even then..."

[Rebecca Talon]

Four Hours Later....

Rebecca sat yawning, with a coffee clasped in both hands. She had made a connection to the young girl they had found. Now, thanks to the best medical care the Tigris could offer. She was now a healthy, exuberant, and bright young girl staring wild eyed at the happenings around them. She had already learned enough English that they could easily communicate.

She couldn't remember her name, Dominus simply called her "girl". So, Rebecca had taken to calling her Kim. She seemed like a Kim.

"I can have anything I want?" Kim asked.

"Well, with reason," Rebecca said with a smile. "I don't think Chocolate cake is appropriate for breakfast. And, to be brutally honest, my stomach isn't up for gagh or any Klingon dish for that matter right now."

Kim smiled widely displaying a mouth full of crooked teeth, "Oh goody!" She slid off the chair and trotted over to the replicator, and returned with a tray piled with French toast, eggs, and bacon. "I heard some of the others talk about this."

"Excellent choice," Rebecca encouraged.

Kim smiled, not used to praise, and hungrily started eating. She paused between wolfish bites. "Your not eating Ms. Rebecca?"

"Call me Becca okay? No, I rarely eat breakfast. Or at least a full meal like this. A yogurt or bagel maybe. Coffee of course."

"Weird," Kim said through a mouthful of food.

Rebecca laughed, "Try to eat with your mouth closed will you darling?"

Kim swallowed, "Okay Becca."

"Good. Now, if I am gone I'm going to leave you in the charge of Karla. She's a holographic babysitter, that I developed years ago. You treat her like you treat me."

"Okay Becca," she said and picked up a glass of orange juice and gulped it down eagerly.

"You're going to hurt something," Becca warned.

[Nick Ryder]

"She's got a good appetite." Nick said as he walked into the little 'replicator cafe' that Becca and Kim were having breakfast in. "Told you these little repli-cafe's were a good idea." he said though a yawn as he ordered up a caramel macchiato and a 'grand slam' breakfast platter. "Normally I hate replicated eggs and bacon, but these are the best and most accurate replicators. Chefs can't even tell the difference. Not that you'd ever know Miss Coffee and a bagel breakfast eater." he brought his tray to the table with Kim and Becca. "So... Kim huh? Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, especially in combat situations. Never know when you'll get your lunch or dinner."

[Rebecca Talon]

Rebecca leaned in conspiratorially. "Some of us get queasy if they eat before combat. Nicholas doesn't like it when I puke on his boots."

Kim giggled at that, blonde pigtails flapping back and forth.

[Nick Ryder]

"You will never live that down won't you?" Nick chuckled as he bit into a piece of bacon. "I still say it was bad sausage and not nerves before combat." he shrugged his shoulders. "You'll just chow down at lunch... or you'll be replicating ration bars." he looked at Kim. "Nice to see you laughing Kim... so... any parents or family we can attempt to find?"

[Rebecca Talon]

Kim finished her meal, and Rebecca instructed her to recycle her tray. "Now, off to our quarters."

"Okay Becca!" She said and skipped out of the café.

Rebecca watched her as she left with a sad expression on her face. "What she's been though, and to still have such a sunny disposition. I was a prisoner of the Cardassians, and that nearly broke me." She sighed and shook her head, "She didn't even know her own name, let alone her parents. When we get back to Terra Alpha I'll have your mom run a genetic sequence test and link it to the Xenexian database. Maybe we can find her parents that way."

Her knuckles were turning white from gripping her coffee, as she bottled her rage, "She would have been dead in a few days had we not found her. That poor sweet girl. Never did any harm. I tell you Nicholas, Dominus has more enemies than friends. I just saw him as a threat that needed to be stopped. Now... Well, now I would like to pull his arms and legs off one by one with the ijulna. Like a bully pulling the wings off a butterfly. It's not like the Alliance to issue a kill on sight order, but in this case it might be justified."

[Nick Ryder]

"We had one for Julie during the darker days of the war." Nick reminded her. "And that was when it was known that she had clones and LMDs running around. One of them tortured Kinsey and my daughter Ally." he looked at his coffee. "Now you see why I coordinated this. Jack was just the push, but I had been working on this nearly since I got home. How could tell Alice that I wanted to go and fight Dominus to the death to end his threat and his network that extends far deeper than we had imagined the more I actually knew what to look for." he scraped up some of the eggs and finished them before he spoke again. "I know what I'm capable at my darkest, the lengths and the depths I'll go, now take away my moral center, everything my mother taught me. Everything I learned about honor. Throw in some bio-electricity and enough low intelligence yet high violence goons, and planet killing weapons and an ally that really gives two shits about any form of life other than their own... it's a volatile mixture." he glanced at the door. "Mostly I'm trying to do this for them. For those kids. For our kids. I know what some versions of the future are like. I don't want to see those come to pass. I don't care if we're still fighting wars and such, we've been fighting wars since the first man picked up the first pointy stick and rounded up his friends to take on another group with pointy sticks. But I don't want all the sacrifices we've all made be for nothing." he chuckled. "And the non Presidential answer is... I can't stand that another guy has my face and is pretty much the Devil himself. I can see why Jack still won't take his commission back and hides in the lab or classrooms or Kinsey's office..."

[Rebecca Talon]

"Neither of us can," she said dryly. "Let's get to the bridge. I'm sure you have big plans for us today. "

[Nick Ryder]

"Yeah, Khan and Kinsey are scouting ahead in that shit ship we found those kids in." Nick replied as he got up from his seat. "The girl seems to like you, you know Bella could fast track the paperwork, make you her guardian." he hummed as he walked into the hallway. "I'd consider it myself, but it's something I would have to discuss with Mrs. Ryder."

[Rebecca Talon]

"I think I'd like that. It would give Ethan a sister closer to his age, and she's a total sweetheart," Rebecca agreed. "But, let's see if we can find her kin. That's where she belongs."