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andverygingerWatching The Hunt for Red October this weekend really made me want to dabble a bit in the Jack Ryan sandbox I'd played in, back during my "JAG" fandom days. The fics I wrote back then -- they're okay. Going back and reading them now, there is so much I'd change. But what was then is done, and it's time to move on. Doesn't mean I can't bring the action figures back out once in a while.
This snippet messes with an idea I had a long time ago, when Executive Orders first came out. In the course of the novel, a reporter sympathetic to the Ryan administration breaks the story of Marko Ramius' defection, leading to a media circus of the first order.
To preface this, I have to say this is not your father's Jack Ryan-verse; I eventually dragged Jack Ryan, Thomas Magnum, Mulder, Scully, and lots of other folks into the same sandbox -- very "six degrees." You'll see a little of that in this snippet. What you'll also see in this snippet is that I've taken a few throw-away lines from Patriot Games and Without Remorse, and given a life and a name to Jack Ryan's younger sister. It's from her that I first got my pen name: I started being referred to as "Becca's writer," and finally just took the name as an online pseudonym. Is there a little Mary Sue-ness here? Maybe. Then again, Tom Clancy himself has admitted that Jack is his fantasy alter-ego. That being said, hopefully, as an OC, Becca Ryan isn't too insufferable. ;) I'd also like to think that, as I have aged and my own perceptions have changed, she's become a bit more mature as well.
What else? Ah yes. In this incarnation, Ramius still consults on the engineering, construction, and testing of US nuclear subs, but does so as a senior officer in the USN. Accurate? Probably not. On the other hand, I thought hiding in plain sight might be an interesting concept. It's something that hasn't changed since I started tinkering with these particular figures.
And yes, this totally ignores Teeth of the Tiger, which was published well after I started writing in the fandom.
Fic Scene: A Starbucks Kind of Morning
Author: Becca
Fandom: Jack Ryan/Tom Clancy (picking and choosing from film and books)
Summary: The captain knew it was going to be a very long day when she entered the office, clad entirely in black, sunglasses shielding her eyes, and a bright red Starbucks cup grasped in her left hand.
Follows on a previous scene, Bad News, in which older brother Jack provides a warning order.
Notes: See preface before. Posted un-betaed. Just...playing in the sandbox.
Captain Thomas Magnum knew it was going to be a long day as Captain (Select) Rebecca Ryan entered the office, clad entirely in black, her working khakis hanging over her back from a crooked finger. Dark sunglasses shaded her eyes and a bright red Starbucks cup stood out in her left hand. "Late night?" he ventured. He sipped his coffee carefully under the thick mustache.
She said nothing as she entered her office, but the senior captaion could feel the glare blazing out from the behind the shades. Hanging her uniform on a hook, she removed her glasses. "Early morning," she finally replied. The bright red cup, already empty, went into the garbage and she went for her first cup of office coffee. "The papers are about to launch a story on a...friend...and Big Brother felt I should know."
Magnum's eyebrows arched upward. "Friend?" He'd known Ryan for almost ten years, and had never really known her to date. Her hesitation and choice of words spoke volumes, however, and he found himself surprised. "Somebody important if he rates a story in several papers."
Becca frowned over her own mug, now leant back against the table that served as the liaison office "kitchen." "He was my CO."
The eyebrows arched a bit higher. He really had been out of the field too long. "Ramsey?" Ryan nodded. "Didn't know you two were...friends."
"When you put that spin on it," she replied, not missing his tone, "no, we're not. We're just -- friends." She sighed. "It's complicated."
With your commanding officer, it would have to be, he thought. Aloud he asked, "So what's important enough about a naval officer to warrant a story?"
Ryan hesitated. "He's...not from around here."
Magnum furrowed his brow. "Not from around here? DC-here or United States-here? We've got lots of people in uniform --"
Becca's eyes flitted about. Seeing no one in earshot for the moment, she interrupted her commanding officer. "Not many who drove Soviet subs for a living before taking the oath."
"You mean he...?"
"Yup."
"Damn."
"Yup."
"So Jack's worried about reprisals?"
Ryan nodded. "Mostly. And partially, I think, because he doesn't want me in the middle of it." She sighed with a frown. "It was a lot easier when I wasn't First Sister."
"It was easier for all of us when you weren't First Sister." Magnum smirked over his coffee cup. "Look, if you need some time, take the day. They're still chewing on the analysis down the hall, and I'm willing to bet it will be next week before they throw it back at us. Go home. Relax. Shoot something...whatever it is that you do."
"Okay, okay." The junior captain drained the last of her coffee. Placing the cup aside, she looked back to her CO with a taut smile. "Thanks, Thomas."
"No problem. Oh, hey, Bec?"
Pausing at the door, Ryan turned back toward Magnum. "Yeah?"
"Have a beer for me." He hefted his mug. "This stuff just isn't gonna cut it today."
She smiled. "One beer. You got it, sir. I'll be on the Crackberry if you need me." With one last wave, she slipped her sunglasses back on and disappeared out the door.
This snippet messes with an idea I had a long time ago, when Executive Orders first came out. In the course of the novel, a reporter sympathetic to the Ryan administration breaks the story of Marko Ramius' defection, leading to a media circus of the first order.
To preface this, I have to say this is not your father's Jack Ryan-verse; I eventually dragged Jack Ryan, Thomas Magnum, Mulder, Scully, and lots of other folks into the same sandbox -- very "six degrees." You'll see a little of that in this snippet. What you'll also see in this snippet is that I've taken a few throw-away lines from Patriot Games and Without Remorse, and given a life and a name to Jack Ryan's younger sister. It's from her that I first got my pen name: I started being referred to as "Becca's writer," and finally just took the name as an online pseudonym. Is there a little Mary Sue-ness here? Maybe. Then again, Tom Clancy himself has admitted that Jack is his fantasy alter-ego. That being said, hopefully, as an OC, Becca Ryan isn't too insufferable. ;) I'd also like to think that, as I have aged and my own perceptions have changed, she's become a bit more mature as well.
What else? Ah yes. In this incarnation, Ramius still consults on the engineering, construction, and testing of US nuclear subs, but does so as a senior officer in the USN. Accurate? Probably not. On the other hand, I thought hiding in plain sight might be an interesting concept. It's something that hasn't changed since I started tinkering with these particular figures.
And yes, this totally ignores Teeth of the Tiger, which was published well after I started writing in the fandom.
Fic Scene: A Starbucks Kind of Morning
Author: Becca
Fandom: Jack Ryan/Tom Clancy (picking and choosing from film and books)
Summary: The captain knew it was going to be a very long day when she entered the office, clad entirely in black, sunglasses shielding her eyes, and a bright red Starbucks cup grasped in her left hand.
Follows on a previous scene, Bad News, in which older brother Jack provides a warning order.
Notes: See preface before. Posted un-betaed. Just...playing in the sandbox.
Captain Thomas Magnum knew it was going to be a long day as Captain (Select) Rebecca Ryan entered the office, clad entirely in black, her working khakis hanging over her back from a crooked finger. Dark sunglasses shaded her eyes and a bright red Starbucks cup stood out in her left hand. "Late night?" he ventured. He sipped his coffee carefully under the thick mustache.
She said nothing as she entered her office, but the senior captaion could feel the glare blazing out from the behind the shades. Hanging her uniform on a hook, she removed her glasses. "Early morning," she finally replied. The bright red cup, already empty, went into the garbage and she went for her first cup of office coffee. "The papers are about to launch a story on a...friend...and Big Brother felt I should know."
Magnum's eyebrows arched upward. "Friend?" He'd known Ryan for almost ten years, and had never really known her to date. Her hesitation and choice of words spoke volumes, however, and he found himself surprised. "Somebody important if he rates a story in several papers."
Becca frowned over her own mug, now leant back against the table that served as the liaison office "kitchen." "He was my CO."
The eyebrows arched a bit higher. He really had been out of the field too long. "Ramsey?" Ryan nodded. "Didn't know you two were...friends."
"When you put that spin on it," she replied, not missing his tone, "no, we're not. We're just -- friends." She sighed. "It's complicated."
With your commanding officer, it would have to be, he thought. Aloud he asked, "So what's important enough about a naval officer to warrant a story?"
Ryan hesitated. "He's...not from around here."
Magnum furrowed his brow. "Not from around here? DC-here or United States-here? We've got lots of people in uniform --"
Becca's eyes flitted about. Seeing no one in earshot for the moment, she interrupted her commanding officer. "Not many who drove Soviet subs for a living before taking the oath."
"You mean he...?"
"Yup."
"Damn."
"Yup."
"So Jack's worried about reprisals?"
Ryan nodded. "Mostly. And partially, I think, because he doesn't want me in the middle of it." She sighed with a frown. "It was a lot easier when I wasn't First Sister."
"It was easier for all of us when you weren't First Sister." Magnum smirked over his coffee cup. "Look, if you need some time, take the day. They're still chewing on the analysis down the hall, and I'm willing to bet it will be next week before they throw it back at us. Go home. Relax. Shoot something...whatever it is that you do."
"Okay, okay." The junior captain drained the last of her coffee. Placing the cup aside, she looked back to her CO with a taut smile. "Thanks, Thomas."
"No problem. Oh, hey, Bec?"
Pausing at the door, Ryan turned back toward Magnum. "Yeah?"
"Have a beer for me." He hefted his mug. "This stuff just isn't gonna cut it today."
She smiled. "One beer. You got it, sir. I'll be on the Crackberry if you need me." With one last wave, she slipped her sunglasses back on and disappeared out the door.