Back Onboard

Posted on Sun Mar 5th, 2023 @ 1:27am by Captain John Theisman & Lieutenant Commander Ryssa Toric

771 words; about a 4 minute read

Having somehow escaped the clutches of both his wife and the security and medical teams placed to guard him, and from what he wasn't exactly sure, John had finally reached the shuttle pad at the Starfleet Headquarters Compound and secured passage to the Utopia Planitia shipyards in a runabout. Naturally, being a captain who was in a bad mood and had a general expression that simply said Dont push me helped. The short flight to the shipyards and the docking slip where the Hyperion waited passed quickly. He waited while the pilot hailed the Hyperion and informed them that their new captain was ready to beam over.

Ryssa was taking her turn on the bridge watching the ships come and go through the forward viewscreen. She may or may not have been playing starship bingo as she did so. When the message came through she sat up and looked at her control panel. "The what?" She pushed the button to answer. "This is the Hyperion. Which captain are you referring to?" One was on board, and the other was recovering from a serious injury. There couldn't be a third. Could there?

The pilot looked up towards John, who shook his head. "It's a surprise, Ensign. Don't ruin it," he said. The officer nodded and turned back to the communications panel.

"Hyperion, all I know is that I'm transporting your commanding officer. I was given my orders from Admiral Harris herself," he said.

"All right." It wouldn't be the first time something odd happened around here. "Permission to come aboard. Tell him I'll meet him in the transporter room."

John grinned as the communication channel ended and he moved to the runabout transporter pad. Finally ready, he nodded and waited as the transporter beam hummed him away from the runabout and materialized him in the transporter room on the Hyperion. "Ah, good to be back," he muttered to himself.

Ryssa entered the room and stopped, staring at the person on the pad. "Captain. I'm happy to see you here, but are you well enough to be here?" She shook her head. "Sorry, sir, but they said you needed months to recover and here you are."

"Some of the reports regarding my injuries were probably spun wildly out of proportion, and there is a long story as to that," John said as he offered Ryssa a reassuring smile. Her concern was appreciated more than he would let on. "I'm still on light duty until I'm cleared for full active duty, but Admiral Harris didn't see a problem with me getting back on board and taking, as she said it, my rightful command back."

A smile spread across her face. "I'm glad to hear it." She liked Captain Wolfe well enough, but under the circumstances, Captain Theisman deserved to be here. "Will your wife be coming aboard as well?"

John winced at the mention of Mara, and it was mostly a reaction at just how cross she was going to be with him for escaping the clutches of both her and the medical team. "Yes, that life plague that has been bound to me will be coming as well," he answered. "At this point I'm not sure if I can successfully go anywhere without her. The fact that I made it this far tells me that I'm certain to face the very jaws of death when she does arrive," he said.

Ryssa wasn't quite sure what to make of that statement. "I guess all I ccan say is good luck. Umm...your ready room is as you left it. Is there anything you need at the moment?"

"My pain meds, a cup of really hot coffee, and protection from my wife when she arrives," John said with a half smile. "When she does arrive, just let me know. I'll be in my ready room getting back up to speed on everything. And commander, I want us to be ready for departure in 48 hours. Can you see if we'll be ready by then?"

"Aye, sir. I'll inform you when your wife arrives and make sure the crew prepares for departure. I'll let you deal with the rest." She smiled, pleased to see the captain back and mostly fit for duty.

"Good, good," John said with a small nod. "I'll leave you to get everything ready while I go hide from the wife. Oh, and let's hold a senior officer briefing tomorrow morning so we can get all caught up before we depart. Say, 0900?"

Ryssa nodded. "Yes, sir. Good luck." It was good to have something productive to do, and to be heading back to space.

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