Starship Ours

Posted on Tue Jul 7th, 2026 @ 4:17am by Ensign Henry Taylor & Crewman Erika Yang & Tessa di'Orion

Mission: Die Hard: Chimera Edition
Location: USS Chimera Sickbay

"Remind me again why you volunteered us to finish up securing Sickbay?" Henry said, packing up the last of the supplies on the self in the storage room they were in. "I like to think I have a good work ethic, but we could be checking into our suite right now."

Tessa smiled at him. "Because I got Kally to agree that we won't be bothered until the ship is ready to leave, once we're done with all this. And I have plans for you, mister, I hope you've been taking your vitamins."

Henry sighed and smiled. "I suppose a weekend off is a worthy tradeoff," he said, leaning over and kissing her cheek. "All right, I'll start loading up the next cart and get it down to the shuttlebay." He looked around at the room and at Erika, helping them finish up. "Do a final check of the storage rooms and the back room, and start sealing off any sections we've definitely finished. The sooner we can clear Sickbay and finish up in the labs, the better."

"And then the sooner we can get to that suite you were talking about." She nuzzled his nose with her own, then followed it up with a kiss on the tip of it, "But I need to check something else out first."

"Sounds good. After this I'll need a long hot tub soak and then a comfortable bed." Henry squeezed her hand and picked up a storage container, carrying it back out to Sickbay.

Tessa giggled as she watched Henry carry the storage container of plasma out of the room and looked over to Erika. "Can I ask you a favor? I need to go to Kally's office, I have to plan a party pretty soon, or at least I want to plan a party for Henry, but I need a lookout for when he gets back while I look through the photo albums for some pictures of him here in sickbay. Can you help?"

Erika tried not to laugh at Henry and Tessa's shenanigans. It was cute in a new-relationship kind of way. The romantic side of her hoped it would continue for a while. The practical side found it tedious. The writer in her was curious how far they'd take things in front of her.

Tessa's request was sincere and earnest, and Erika couldn't help but smile. "Yeah go on. I'll unlock the door, lock it behind you, and signal you if he's coming."

“You’re the best!” Tessa wrapped her arms around the nurse in a tight squeeze, “I really hope to find some fun images, he’ll love that I went to all the trouble!”

Unfortunately for Tessa, Henry came back more quickly than they'd expected. A very quick message from Erika to the console Tessa was working on. Back; will try to get rid.

Henry walked back into Sickbay and saw Erika putting together another box. "Okay, I think we're about set. We've the plant in Kally's office and the few boxes from the Back Room left, and then we can get going." He looked at Erika and smiled, but stopped when she put a hand out to halt his progress.

"I never did ask you what you think of my new look," she told him, referring to the hairstyle she was trying out, and standing so he'd need to move away from Kally's office door. "Bradley thinks it looks awful, but Peter just starts mumbling when I ask him about it."

"Well, I'm pretty sure everyone knows I'm partial to blondes," Henry said, with a chuckle. "But, honestly? I liked your natural color." He glanced around the room. "Tessa still packing up the last of storage?"

“Yeah, but she has it under control,” Erika answered.

"I should give her a hand. We're just about done," Henry said, heading towards the back.

“Wait!” Erika interrupted. “Ummm…have you seen the antigrav?”

Henry looked around then smacked himself in the forehead. "Damnit," he sighed. "I left it in the shuttlebay." He looked around helplessly. "Can you give her a hand with the last of the things? I'll get it loaded and back down there when I get back."

“You got it.”

"Thanks, Erika. Be back shortly," Henry said, rushing back out the door.

“Phew.” Erika sighed and got back to work, happy to have gotten rid of Henry so Tessa could finish up.

A moment later, the doors to Sickbay opened again and two men stepped inside, weapons drawn. "Hands where we can see them," one said.

“What the hell?!” Erika exclaimed. “Who the fuck are you?”

"Come with us, and you won't be harmed," one of them said, but his voice had an edge to it. They'd already been burned and they had no intention of getting attacked again.

“Okay okay!” suitably cowed, she put her hands above her head and followed their directions.

In the office behind them, Tessa heard the unfamiliar voices and ducked down. They weren't anyone she'd ever heard before and that danger sense Cass had instilled in her as a child tingled.

"Is there anyone else in here?" The other demanded gruffly out of Erika

There is, she thought. But they don’t know that. “No,” she answered firmly. “Just me.”

Tessa glanced at the concealed hatch she knew was in the wall behind Kally's desk and quietly crawled towards it opening it with quick moves and crawling in, closing it behind her before she paused.

One of the two walked over to the office window and glanced in, "No one here. Let's go." They led Erika out of Sickbay, keeping a safe distance as they took her to the mess hall with the others.

From her spot in the Jeffries Tube, Tessa waited and thought for a minute. If they knew there had been two people in here, why hadn't they hunted her down? Maybe they thought it had been Henry and Erika? She felt bad for Erika being taken, but her mind fixated on Henry. Surely they'd taken him, too. They took her Henry. If anyone had seen her face in that moment, they would have shuddered.

She would get her Henry back, one way or the other. There was just one stop to make. She needed weapons.