Story: The Lethe, pt. IX

Sorry, this was supposed to be on Wednesday. Had a crazy week. Here it is.

“Message from the dockmaster, Captain,” Lieutenant Marquél announced, “he wishes us good luck and Godspeed.”
“Signal our thanks, Lieutenant.”
“Aye, sir.”
The Hyperion continued maneuvering for a couple of minutes before settling into orbit around the planet Mars. At that point, the visitors rose from their chairs and began to make their way to the exit from the bridge. A few felt the need to stop and say something to Dobbins. Most simply spoke the usual words of congratulations and well-wishing. Yentzen gave Dobbins a caution, “I don’t know what happened to the Lethe, Captain, but knowing the Generational ship designs the way I do, be prepared for something unusual, something slightly bizarre. I hope I’m wrong, but I have a sense of foreboding that the lack of communication from the Lethe is far more serious than simply a malfunctioning hyperwave array.”
Dobbins shook his hand. “Thank you, Mr. Yentzen. I hope you’re wrong, too, but one way or the other, hopefully we’ll find out soon.”

Over an hour past before all of the visitors finally departed. By that point, Dobbins was about ready to throw the stragglers out of the airlock himself. He normally was not an impatient man, but the dour arrogance of the European Prime Minister taxed him greatly. She had almost left the bridge when she decided that she wanted a tour, even though she had already received one earlier in the day. This time, she expected another, conducted by the captain himself. Upon hearing of her request, Dobbins did his best to get out of the unpleasant task of showing her around.
Dobbins nearly lost his patience when the head of the Hegemony spoke up. “Madam Minister,” the Head said graciously and gently, “you’ll have to permit the captain to conduct the tour on a different day. He has a critical mission that he must embark on without delay. I’m sure that he will gladly show you all the corners of this ship upon their return from successfully completing the mission.”
The Prime Minister seemed satisfied with those assurances, although she still slowly made her way to the docking port where her shuttle waited.
When the final shuttle had cleared the Hyperion, Dobbins gave the order to break orbit. The Hyperion’s sublight Ion Drive engaged, emitting a bright blue glow from the rear of the ship. The Hyperion slowly slid away from Mars and began to follow the Lethe’s course.