“Did you think we’d be back here?” 

Raan grunted, arms folded over his chest as he looked out at the small ship in dock below them. “Do you mean here in this corridor on DS17 specifically?”

Dayne Bennett, Raan’s long-time friend and the only chief engineering officer that he’d trust, his willingness to blow his own ship up notwithstanding, sighed. Raan practically heard him roll his eyes as well. 

“Here. Looking at the Resolute. Did you think you’d command her again?”

“Nope.” Raan shrugged. “But we go where we’re told and she’s a damn tough little ship.”

Bennett came to stand beside him, the two llanarians blocking the view for anyone else. 

“She is that,” he admitted. “I’m glad to be back. Hope the other guy didn’t mess with her systems too much.”

“She’s supposed to be in good condition,” Raan said, turning and heading off down the corridor. Used to him, Bennett trailed after. “Apparently they had a bit of a rough go in the whole Underspace thing, but repairs are complete and apart from resupply, she’s ready to go.”

“Good, good.” Bennett had produced a padd from his thigh pocket and was rapidly going through what Raan assumed were engineering reports. “Looks like she hasn’t had any alterations. The last captain left her pretty much as she was… That damn replicator on four is still playing up though.”

Raan’s lips quirked up at the corners. He had his own theories about that replicator, but all of them would have a counselor side-eyeing him. He knew better than to attract the attention of a counselor, so he kept them to himself. 

“Crew list seems mostly the same,” he told the engineer as they made the transport over to the ship, and was greeted with a familiar face at the transport controls. “Chief, long time, no see. How are things?”

The transporter chief smiled. “Captain Mason! Grand to see you again. Welcome aboard.”

Raan inclined his head, offering up a small smile of his own. “Thank you. I’ll be doing my rounds to get reacquainted with the ship later, you can bring me up to speed with your daughter. Third year in the academy, right?”

The chief’s smile broadened, and she nodded. “Yes sir, she is.”

The two officers swept out of the transporter room and Raan took a breath. Even the air felt familiar. Coming back to the Resolute was like slipping on a comfortable overcoat. 

“Well, Engineering is calling my name,” Bennett said, raising one eyebrow as he looked at Raan. “Drinks in the Pit later, boss?”

“Absolutely. I even have some rot-gut being shipped over. Courtesy of Illis.” 

“Tell your sister I love her!” Bennett called over his shoulder as he hung a left toward engineering. 

“Tell her yourself,” Raan called after him. “I heard she’s looking for a fourth husband.”

“I’m mad, not suicidal,” Bennett’s reply was muffled as a door shut somewhere. 

Raan chuckled and carried on, heading toward his quarters and, after that, the bridge. 

It didn’t take him long. 

While not the smallest ship in the fleet, the Resolute was still… tiny. Less than 200 metres long and 62 wide, she had 95 souls on board. He’d once tried to run in the corridors and gotten dizzy with how tight the circles were. Not to mention a unit like him trying to run in the itty-bitty corridors. He’d given up after he’d nearly squashed a couple of ensigns. 

He ran in the holo-deck now, usually with someone shooting at him just to keep it interesting. He really hated running. Dressing it up as combat training was just common sense as far as he was concerned. Plus, Harlow sent him the most interesting programs. Quite why his sister delighted in programming holo-deck programs where she tried to kill him over and over again was a mystery, one he wasn’t going to think about too deeply… or tell the aforementioned counselor about.

Reaching his quarters, he stepped through and stood in the middle of the small space. Like the ship, it was tiny. A combined living space and bedroom, which had been partitioned off with a bookcase by a previous CO at some point to give a modicum of privacy. He smiled as he saw the two heavy lounge chairs he’d had installed during his previous tenure as the CO. Big and comfortable, they’d been uprated for even Llanarian frames. For anyone from another species, they were practically mini couches on their own.

His belongings were in the middle of the room, transporter tags still in place. He moved across to them, unhooking the tags and sliding them into his pocket to return to the transporter chief later. Then, he hauled the biggest of the chests across the room into the bedroom area. It was easy to manhandle into place next to the bed, where it would serve as a bedside table and an impromptu weapons cabinet. The bio-lock on the side meant his personal weaponry was more than secure and, more importantly, was easy to hand in an emergency. 

And one thing he’d learned during his time in the fleet… keep your friends close, your enemies closer, but definitely sleep with a knife under your pillow. Or in this case, in your bedside cabinet.