Chapter 91

Destiny

Entangled in each others arms in the chief scientist's quarters Rush and Amanda Perry lay in bed. Since her return from her brief trip to Earth the two had been singularly unable to keep their hands off one another. No longer separated by vast distance or the problematic lack of a physical body issue life was returning to normal for the couple. Rush had not felt so content and at peace in years. The two brilliant minds were almost as one in their every gesture or comment.

"I love you Nic" whispered Perry.

"I love you too Mandy" replied Rush.

"I can see the wheels turning in your head. Care to share what you're thinking about" asked Perry.

"While you were back on Earth I received word from Vis Uban. The ancients looked over the data Destiny collected and the position paper Eli and I accompanied it with. Their answer is what I feared" replied Rush with a bitter hint to his voice.

"The data is incomplete" stated Perry.

"Millions of years Destiny sailed across the stars and we end her voyage before the puzzle is solved. It's a travesty" m.o.a.ned Rush.

"I'm going to take a stab in the dark and guess that you have already petitioned the SGC to send Destiny back" said Perry knowingly.

"I didn't try because I doubted they were farsighted enough to see the benefit. The ancients did that for me. Destiny will be continuing her voyage so I'm told" replied Rush.

"So you're told? Nic, do you mean to tell me that they didn't ask you to be part of the team that goes with her" Perry asked shocked.

"Oh they did, but I haven't given them an answer yet" breathlessly replied Rush.

"What are you waiting for" demanded Perry.

"You. I can't just run along without you, without us. Mandy, I want to ask you something" Rush said while staring intently at Perry.

"Yes, of course I'll go" laughed Perry.

"No dear, I wanted to ask if you would be my wife" Rush asked in almost a whisper.

With both of their eyes full of joyful tears Mandy kissed Rush in reply, while holding him tightly. Moments later she looked deeply into his eyes before speaking.

"You know what this means don't you" asked Perry.

"That you'll marry me" replied Rush hopefully.

"Yes I will, but not what I meant. This mean's I'll have to pack enough coffee to last a lifetime" laughed Perry.

"And cigarettes" replied Rush.

Elsewhere within Arkos Station plans for upgrades to Destiny for the coming redeployment were being finalized. Matter stream creation stations would ensure that never again would her crew run short of food, water, or any other item they could possibly want or need. Advances in propulsion technology since her construction would allow for a much faster cruise speed in FTL, but hyper drive would not be an option. Due to the method in which Destiny's sensors collected the message fragments in the cosmic background radiation FTL was the only propulsion modality possible. Advisors from Vis Uban would further upgrade sensors, offensive/defensive systems, and many others. The key difference in this departure is Destiny would not be going alone.

Home World Command

For a week Jack had put off and stalled the meeting he now found himself in. It wasn't that he hated meetings so much he told himself, he really just didn't like the person sitting across from his desk. How much longer would this guy continue to sell himself the General wondered?

"In light of events in the Pegasus galaxy and our own I think you'll agree that I am the clear choice to command the upcoming Destiny expedition" the man said.

"David, I haven't chosen who will command the expedition just yet. Thank you though for reminding me just how much you want the post" replied Jack.

"May I ask who I'm competing against General" asked Telford.

"No you may not" replied O'Neill.

"General, I was slated for command the first time. In light of my efforts regarding the expedition in the past and my record with the SGC I am the logical candidate" stated Telford.

"Ok, I'm going to level with you on a few things that you may not like. You're upset that Young stole your thunder but truth be told the only reason the assignment was offered to you is because he turned it down when I asked him if he wanted it. I also get it that you were brainwashed by the enemy but you were feeding information to the bad guys for long enough to get a lot of people injured or killed" flatly stated O'Neill.

"My conduct before the brainwashing and after has been of the highest caliber" protested Telford.

"That may be but it doesn't mean I'm going to hand you the keys to a vessel you once assisted in hijacking" replied O'Neill.

"General this is outrageous" said a clearly taken aback Telford.

"We haven't gotten to the outrageous part just yet, but since you want to go there we will. You were left here at Home World Command for the simple reason that we could keep a very close eye on you and you couldn't break anything. We can't give you one of the new sh.i.p.s because some of us are worried it may end up in the hands of the enemy, and the same goes with Destiny. We can't put you in Pegasus because Jackson won't have you in his command, and Woolsey openly wonders why we haven't court-martialed you for gross misconduct. Don't you ever wonder just why it is you never get off world anymore? You are one of the largest security breaches in SGC history, you've incited more hatred than any other person besides Rush, not to mention you attacked a fellow officers home life which ended in divorce. So let's stop the chest pounding" O'Neill said in an exasperated tone.

"If you feel this way General then I don't know what to say. Transfer me away if needed. I serve at the needs of the Air Force" replied Telford in a downcast tone.

"I'll tell you what. I'm going to make some phone calls and see what I can find for you. You want out of this command and frankly I want you out so I'll make it happen. You're dismissed Telford, now get out of my office before you ruin the rest of my afternoon" finished O'Neill.