Chapter 23: Distress Call

After her bout, Saria returned to sit with us. She’d changed back into her away team uniform.

“Welcome back, Lieutenant!” I said with a grin.

She smiled at me.

“Thank you, Sir!” she replied.

Ambassador D’Duck looked upon her differently now.

The tournament occupied the rest of our day. Several Hengemai visited us to congratulate Saria. She had earned something of a celebrity status. I was glad to sit back and let her soak in the praise.

Finally, the tournament ended for the day. We stood up to leave the stadium.

“Thank you for an enjoyable day, Ambassador,” I said.

“You’re most welcome. I thank you for your visit,” he said.

“We should return to our vessel,” I said.

“I understand, Captain. I hope you can visit us again soon. And on your visit next, we look forward to your Lieutenant attending the tournament,” he said.

“I will make a point of visiting when we are nearby,” I said.

The ambassador escorted us to a waiting ground transport, which took us back to the spaceport and directly to our waiting shuttle.

One of the female Hengemai aides approached us with a hand scanner. Saria and I held out our right arms.

“We have updated Your ID to include your status as allies. We will update the ID of others from your vessels when they visit in person,” said the ambassador.

I nodded.

“Thank you for a pleasant visit. Until we meet again,” I said.

We stepped through the airlock.

We took our seats inside the shuttle and I did my usual pre-flight checks. I got departure clearance from Hengemai system control and we took off from their spaceport.

I left the shuttle on autopilot, then I turned to Saria.

“Mission accomplished. We got our alliance with the Hengemai, thanks in part to you,” I said.

Saria blushed.

“Thank you, Captain. To compete in the arena was a dream come true. I’d heard stories of their prowess in martial arts. I never dreamed I’d ever compete on their home planet,” she said.

“You carried yourself well, earning the respect of our hosts. They even invited you to return,” I said.

“I am still in shock, I never considered my skills were at their level,” she said.

“Apparently their fame exceeds reality. Did you learn much of their techniques?” I asked.

“Their techniques are sound. I think for the first point she was unfamiliar with me. After that, it got harder,” she replied.

I nodded.

“You earned their respect. That was worth more than my talking or even our references,” I said.

She smiled.

“My former instructor on Quard would be proud to learn about this,” she said.

“You can tell him or her the next time we visit,” I said.

“Perhaps I will,” she said.

By now our shuttle was approaching Ship. The outer door to the shuttle bay was open, and we entered. The door closed, and we waited while the bay pressurized.

After decontamination, Saria and I took the elevator to the main bridge. Jem, Laine, and Mina greeted us as we stepped out.

“Congratulations on your victory, Saria!” exclaimed Laine.

“You heard about it?” asked Saria.

“We watched the fight on their system network. They broadcast it, complete with commentary and slow-motion replays. You were awesome!” replied Laine.

“Oh wow, I saw none of that. It was a last-minute thing. They invited me to fight in a demonstration bout,” said Saria.

Mina brought me a coffee from the food dispenser. After two days planet-side, without coffee, it was just what I needed.

“Well, you impressed them, and they granted you honorary champion-level status,” said Jem.

“I hope you don’t mind, Commodore. We’d just about completed the alliance, and I thought a friendly match would be good,” said Saria.

“It played to our advantage. The Hengemai take their martial arts seriously, and her performance impressed them. The ambassador said it confirmed that we were trustworthy beings,” I said. I took a sip of my coffee. Ahh!

Mina smiled at my reaction.

“Lieutenant, you did well. You fought with honour, impressed the Hengemai and helped earn our alliance,” said Jem.

Saria smiled and blushed.

“Ship, did you receive the agreement document?” I asked.

“Confirmed,” replied Ship.

“Commodore, our business here is complete,” I said.

“Good job, Captain. Ship, please get clearance from Hengemai system control and take us on to our next destination,” said Jem.

“Confirmed,” replied Ship.

Isn’t it now my job to tell Ship. Ah well...

“We have the next two days as rest days. See you all for dinner this evening,” said Jem.

I took my coffee and sat on the sofa with Jem. The others left the main bridge.

Our departure was uneventful. Our next stop was the Yastri system.

About three days later, I awoke in my cabin.

I did my morning routine and got myself a coffee. I sat on the side of the bed and took a sip of my coffee.

“Ship, any updates?” I asked.

“We are on course for the Yastri system. All systems are functioning normally,” replied Ship.

I contemplated going back to sleep. Jem had encouraged me not to hide from the crew, so I took my coffee and left my cabin.

I took the elevator down to the cargo level, where Mina’s lab and the garden were. I visited the garden.

The lighting inside the garden matched Ship’s time, so as it was daytime, the lights were on to simulate daylight. I made my way to the back, to my favourite bench, and sat down to enjoy the rest of my coffee.

Sitting here, I looked at the flowers and plants everywhere. The garden helped me decompress after missions. The last one was easier than most. We made new friends. I didn’t know when we might return. The galaxy was huge, and we were finite.

“Good morning, Captain,” came a familiar voice to my left.

“Good morning, Mina. How are you today?” I asked.

“I’m great, thanks. Would you like another coffee? I have a food dispenser next door,” she replied.

“Sure,” I replied. I stood and followed her through the connecting door to her lab.

She fetched two fresh cups and handed me one.

“Mmm, perfect!” I said.

She smiled.

“What’s new in here?” I asked.

“Ship informed me that my plants create a noticeable abundance of oxygen. The life-support system is siphoning off the extra for us to breathe,” she replied.

“That’s awesome!” I said.

“Other than that, I’m just tending to various plants. Sometimes you have to wait for them to grow,” she replied.

“Understood,” I replied. “You know our next destination is the Yastri system. It might have interesting plants.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” she said.

“Attention, Captain,” interrupted Ship.

I looked at Mina. Ship wouldn’t interrupt unless it was important. We were in the middle of nowhere, en route to Yastri.

“Go ahead, Ship,” I replied.

“I have detected a distress call,” replied Ship.

I shrugged at Mina. My vacation was over.

“Ship, change course to intercept. Ask the Commodore to meet me in the main bridge,” I said.

“Confirmed,” replied Ship.

I held up the coffee towards Mina.

“Thank you for the coffee,” I said.

She smiled. I left the lab.

I arrived at the main bridge about the same time as Jem.

“Did Ship explain the situation to you?” I asked.

“Yes. Ship, how long until we reach the source of the distress call? What else can you tell us?” asked Jem.

On the tactical display, a map showed our position and the relative position of the source of the distress call.

“Estimated arrival in just under three hours. The distress call does not include details, but there’s no star system nearby,” replied Ship.

“So, it’s likely to be a vessel,” I said.

“Confirmed,” replied Ship.

“That’s a long way from anywhere. Does it match any known transport routes?” I asked.

“Negative, Captain,” replied Ship.

I looked at Jem. She smiled back.

“Ship, prepare a redshirt probe. When we arrive, stay cloaked and launch the probe. If we encounter hostiles, I want them shooting at the probe and not shooting at us,” I said.

“Confirmed,” replied Ship.

“Also, when we arrive, launch defensive probes to surround the area. The danger could be from either the vessel or from somewhere else. I don’t want to get caught in the middle of nowhere unprepared,” I said.

“Confirmed,” replied Ship.

“Ship, summon all crew to the main bridge about ten minutes before we arrive,” ordered Jem.

“Confirmed,” replied Ship.

“Would you care to join me for breakfast?” asked Jem.

“Sure,” I replied.

We left the main bridge.

Nearly three hours later, we returned to the main bridge as Ship dropped out of hyperspace. The tactical display showed a vessel directly ahead of us.

“Status report, Ship,” said Jem.

“The redshirt probe is active, as are the defensive probes. The vessel is drifting in space, and we are matching their course at a safe distance,” replied Ship.

“Is the vessel still sending out a distress call?” I asked.

“Confirmed. The distress call repeats every few minutes. It is most likely automated,” replied Ship.