Chapter 24: Distress Call

A few days into our trip, I was meditating in the garden when Ship alerted me.

“Captain, I’ve received a distress call,” said Ship.

It was standard procedure and interstellar law to respond to distress calls.

“What information do you have so far?”

“The call is from a system close to our present location. I can plot a course to get us there within one day.”

“Change course to intercept. Do you have any specific details?”

“Only a damaged vessel, one crew in need of rescue.”

“Once you change course, please inform the Commodore and the crew.”

“Confirmed,” replied Ship.

I stood and left the garden. Jem would want to discuss the course change with me. I also expected Saria to be interested, since a distress call could be the bait on a trap. Pirates often used them to lure unsuspecting vessels. If it was a pirate, it was in our mandate to deal with them.

As I walked along a corridor to the lido, Saria caught up with me. She smiled and nodded. We didn’t need words or psychic talents. We both knew of the distress call and where we were headed.

Jem often relaxed in the lido between systems. Saria and I arrived together through the double doors.

Jem wasn’t relaxing in her usual hammock, she was standing by the food dispenser.

“Can I get you a coffee?” she asked.

“Yes please, Commodore,” said Saria. I grinned.

“Three cups of Brian’s favourite brew,” said Jem.

She brought the coffee to a table, where we sat down. Protocol was more relaxed during transit between the stars.

“I understand we’re responding to a distress call,” said Jem.

“Yes, Commodore. You know as much as I do ... A damaged vessel, one crew. We don’t have enough information yet to confirm if it’s genuine,” I said.

“Commodore, we’re prepared for an ambush,” said Saria.

“Of course we are, Lieutenant. We’ll also be ready to help any vessel in distress,” said Jem. I grinned.

“Yes, Commodore,” said Saria.

Without further intel, we could only make general plans. Within a day, we’d know more.

Soon, Jem returned to her hammock, and Saria went off to the firing range for some target practice.

I left for a walk around the lower decks. When my mind was busy, a walk was a productive use of my time.

Less than a day later, the hyper-drive went offline, and Ship decelerated to sub-light speed as we arrived in the system.

“Ship, engage cloak, deploy cloaked probes,” I said.

“Confirmed,” replied Ship.

“What do we know about this system?” asked Jem.

“An unimportant system, with no habitable planets, Commodore,” replied Saria.

“We’ll wait at the edge of the system while our probes find the source of the distress call,” I said.

A moment later, Yuhi collapsed.

“Yuhi!” cried Cathy.

Both Cathy and Laine rushed to her side.

“She’s not breathing!” said Laine.

“Crap!” said Jem.

“Lieutenant, please continue the search for the vessel. I’ll take her to the medical bay,” I said.

I reached down and scooped up Yuhi in my arms. She wasn’t heavy.

“Cathy, please come with me,” I said.

We left the main bridge and hurried to the medical bay.

In the medical bay, I placed Yuhi on a bed. Cathy helped connect Yuhi to a ventilator.

“Ship, I know little about Gober physiology. Can you scan her and explain what’s wrong?” I asked.

“Confirmed. She’s in a coma. You did well to bring her here,” replied Ship.

Cathy studied a display.

“She’s breathing with the ventilator. Her pulse is weak, but stable,” said Cathy.

I sighed. It was a bad time for complications.

“Cathy, please see what you can find out about her. It’s strange that she took ill as soon as we arrived here,” I said.

“You’re psychic. Can you sense anything?” asked Cathy.

I tried to reach out, sensing for anything.

“No, nothing,” I replied.

“Can you sense anything from Yuhi?”

I focused on Yuhi for a moment.

“She’s there, but I can’t seem to reach her.”

“Captain, I have limited data on Gober physiology. If her condition persists, we might have to contact the Gobers for help,” said Ship.

“That makes sense, but we’re not on good terms with the Gober authorities. They would arrest us if we visited their system,” I said.

“I could build a cloaked vessel and send it to Gober Prime. Once there, it could infiltrate their network and get the information,” said Ship.

“That would further damage our standing with the Gober authorities if we add espionage to our crimes,” I said.

Just because you have the capacity, doesn’t mean we should do it.

“Confirmed,” replied Ship.

“If I understand their customs, they won’t want to help Yuhi. They don’t appreciate failure,” I said.

“I don’t like their customs,” said Cathy.

“Me nether. For now, we’re on our own. We’ll try our best to cure her ourselves,” I said.

On the main bridge, Jem and Laine sat watching the tactical display. Saria stood by her tactical console, directing the search.

“I’ve found it, Commodore. It’s a small scout class vessel, barely larger than our shuttles,” said Saria.

“Any other vessels in the system? Any mines or other traps?” asked Jem.

“Negative, Commodore. I was wrong to pre-judge the situation. It’s a genuine vessel in need of our help.”

Jem tilted her head to one side. “Hmm, yes, your assessment is correct. No deception here...”

Laine stared at Jem.

“Ship, hail the vessel,” said Jem.

“Confirmed,” replied Ship. A moment later, the image of a female appeared on the display. She was tall, slender, and rather alluring.

“Thank you for responding to my distress call. I was worried nobody would answer. My name is Uslu Braen,” she said with a smile.

Jem stood up and faced the tactical display.

“We always answer distress calls. I’m Commodore Jem. How can we help?” said Jem.

“My hyper-drive engine has stopped working. I can’t figure it out. Perhaps you could take me to a space-faring system, where I can get a repair?” she asked.

“Of course, we could fit your vessel in our shuttle bay. Or we could try to repair it for you...” said Jem.

“Oh, no! Please just transport me and my vessel,” said Uslu Braen.

“Your sub-light engines are working? We’ll come alongside and you can navigate into our shuttle bay,” said Jem, smiling.

“Thank you, Commodore. I’ll be ready when you arrive.”

Jem turned to Saria. “Please uncloak and take us alongside. Open the shuttle bay for her.”

“Yes, Commodore!” answered Saria.

Soon, Ship uncloaked and closed the distance with the other vessel.

In the medical bay, Yuhi’s condition hadn’t changed. We tried all we could think of, to no avail.

“At least she’s stable. Perhaps she just needs rest,” I said to Cathy.

“I can watch her while you return to the main bridge,” said Cathy.

I smiled. “They can do well without my presence. Besides, they’d call if they had news,” I said.

Cathy sighed.

“Yuhi mentioned no condition or illness to you?” I asked.

“No, nothing. As far as I know, she was healthy when she joined us.”

“We should collect medical data on all the crew. Then we could have regular medical consultations to be proactive,” I said. We’d been running without a program, but I saw the need.

“We should recruit a doctor. On Earth, they have them aboard all sea-going vessels,” said Cathy.

“Perhaps we’ll find someone soon. Who knows who we’ll meet on the next planet we visit?”

“They need to be skilled in multiple species physiologies.”

“Agreed.”

“Attention, the Commodore requests your presence in the shuttle bay,” said Ship.

“I’m on my way,” I said.

Cathy nodded to me. She was going to remain here.

I met Jem, Saria, and Laine outside the shuttle bay. It was in the process of re-pressurizing.

“Captain, how’s Yuhi doing?” asked Jem.

“She’s in a coma. Cathy is with her,” I said.

Jem nodded.

Soon, the green light came on and the doors opened. We entered as our guest was exiting her vessel.

Jem stepped forward, ahead of us. “Welcome aboard,” she said.

The tall guest turned to face Jem directly and smiled. “Thank you. My name is Uslu Braen. I’m most grateful for your arrival,” she said.

Jem smiled back. While they made their small talk, I glanced at her vessel. There was no obvious external damage, such as from weapons fire. Perhaps it was a simple malfunction.

I turned my attention back to our guest, who was talking with Jem, Saria, and Laine. They were getting along well.