Life As It Stands

"We are not permitted to choose the frame of our destiny. But what we put into it is ours." Dag Hammarskjold 1905-1961

A Home; Vancouver, BC

Dwayne Cassius Pride: We don't choose our destiny, only what we choose to put into it and our actions are what will define our place in history. Twinbrook is a radioactive swamp, the Simsians hit it with no less than five warheads, everything south of the 49th Parallel is now a teeming morass of radiation. Gibbs, my long time friend and I managed to get out of there. Evidently the Simsians felt that Canada was an ally and thus escaped the devastating rain of destruction. And we are recipients of Canada's magnanimity. We have found ourselves a home for as long as we are able to contribute to society here.

But what do we do about the friends that we've left in this radioactive wasteland? Do we leave them to their fate; allow them to perish? Or do we do everything in our power to extract them from the situation that they find themselves in? My friend Leroy Gibbs has always been a pragmatic man. He's not one to risk his life or the life of his team in a rescue operation doomed to fail.

But I know for a fact that he's not happy with the situation as it stands and if there was something that he could do, he would be doing it. I, on the other hand, am less of a pragmatist and more of an idealist. And I think that we can rescue those friends who are trapped there in Sunset Valley.

Dwayne Cassius Pride: Leroy, I think you know what I'm going to say.

Leroy Jethro Gibbs: (stares off at the TV)

Dwayne Cassius Pride: It just doesn't sit well with me knowing that our friends are stuck in Sunset Valley and we're not doing a darned thing to get them out.

Leroy Jethro Gibbs: You do realize that Sunset was hit by a 150kT warhead...it's now an irradiated ruin? We haven't had any readings from the ground and we could be sending a team in but is it worth it if they don't come out?

Dwayne Cassius Pride: They're our friends, Leroy.

Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Dwayne, I nearly put Rabb away for false attempted murder charges several years ago because the brass wanted someone's head, preferably his; the guy hates me."

Dwayne Cassius Pride: I thought that was water under the bridge once you got the real guy.

Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Trust me, Rabb has a long memory and he's not going to be happy to see me.

Dwayne Cassius Pride: People change...Leroy.

Leroy Jethro Gibbs: He might, but that still doesn't solve the matter about the radiation. From what reports I've been hearing they've been dropping like flies. Sunset's population is 1/5th what it was and of what remains, half of them are sick with radiation exposure. They only have a few days or weeks to live. Unless they were in a bunker at the time of the blast, they have no chance to get out of this alive.

Dwayne Cassius Pride: I've had dealings with Nakamura when he was posted to NAS New Orleans. He's resourceful. And I know he built a bunker on that retirement home of his.

Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Even if that's the case, the logistics are going to be a nightmare.

Leroy Jethro Gibbs: And I wouldn't get your hopes up either...

Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Because it just might be a futile attempt.

Dwayne Cassius Pride: I owe it to Nakamura to try. He saved my life

Leroy Jethro Gibbs: You never did tell me about that one...

Dwayne Cassius Pride: That's...a long story...that I'll tell you some day.

Bunker, Sunset Valley

Albert Jethro (AJ) Chegwidden: I could see that there was something eating away at Nakamura. He seemed tense and frustrated and he was taking his frustration out on the martial arts dummy. Meanwhile I could hear laughter coming from the two rooms that held our bunks. Evidently two of our younger people had gotten into a pillow fight.

River McIrish: There is no future for me in any other career than the military. The military is all that we have...here in Sunset Valley. I can't paint, there is no easel in here and it's a luxury that we have no time for if we want to survive. The ones who will regrow this planet will be the botanists, the gardeners, the military and the fishermen, provided that the fish aren't too irradiated to eat. But how to convince my mother, the famed newspaper article writer of that. I'd love a career in the arts, but there is no arts field any more, especially if we want to be able to live. I have no gardening skill, I have no cooking skill. Certainly I can learn, but with the amount of meals I've burned, I'll leave that to the people who know better than I, how to make a meal. I can't fish to save my life. So what else is there left, but to join the military and defend this facility. But it's going to be a hard sell. Mom has an aversion to the military, but she needs to understand that this is my life and that I have to do this for the sake of everyone else.

Fiona McIrish: I fear for my daughter going into the military. I don't want her risking her life. The military was what brought us to this point.But it's her choice. It's out of her magnanimous heart that she's putting her own life in danger to help others. River has always been that way. It's out of my hands and she is a grown woman. I just hope that the military takes care of her because in her, they have a good resource.