Chapter 28: Another Distress Call

The next day we left the Doevinski system. We’d disabled all their vessels, and left a hidden probe to collect information. Specifically, we wanted to know who visited the system after we left.

The hyper-drive cut in, and the Doevinski system was just an unpleasant memory. I wasn’t sure how traumatic it was on Jem and Laine, but I hoped they’d recover.

I went to the garden and sat and meditated in my usual spot. The flowers and plants had a pleasant fragrance that took my thoughts to faraway places.

I wondered how many more psychic threats were out there, ready to attack us. I never discovered if my fog could protect us from Uslu Braen. She was already dead when we arrived.

Later, Yuhi arrived. She looked at me and blinked. I looked at the space on the bench beside me, and she climbed up and sat next to me. Fortunately, she hadn’t come for a conversation. Or perhaps she sensed my mood and adapted.

We sat there in silence, alone with our thoughts. Then, Yuhi leaned towards me and held onto my arm. In my mind, I felt her reaching out to me, a psychic equivalent of a hug. I sensed this was something special, so I kept quiet and let it play out.

“Thank you for saving me.”

I sensed her words in my mind. Her psychic communication was much richer, more melodious than her speaking voice. It was something few would ever experience.

We sat together for a long time, enjoying our psychic intimacy, with nothing more said. I didn’t want to do anything to cause it to end.

Later, I stopped by the lido. Of course, Jem lay in her favourite hammock. Cathy was relaxing in a lounger nearby. It was pleasing to see something familiar.

I fetched myself a coffee from the food dispenser and took a seat at a table near Jem. A few sips of the brown liquid and I was relaxing in the warm tropical sun.

“Is everything alright?” asked Jem.

“Yes, everything is fine.”

Jem smiled. I sipped some more coffee and sighed. The warm breeze blew over my face.

“You know, it’s quite possible to suspend disbelief in here,” I said.

“Yes, it’s so peaceful here.”

I nodded.

Soon, I finished my coffee and returned my cup to the food dispenser. I could have stayed longer with Jem and Cathy, but my mind felt restless. There was always something to do. I couldn’t forgive myself if I failed to prepare for something important.

I nodded to Jem and left the lido.

I wandered along corridors, trying to think about what I needed to do next. It pleased me that Jem was in good spirits, relaxing, but we’d almost lost her and Laine. I felt responsible. We’d walked into a trap and only just survived.

It’s ironic that we had a large vessel, and should be able to deal with almost everything. I’d failed in my duty, and that bothered me to my core.

Suddenly, Saria was in front of me, talking to me. I didn’t catch what she said.

“Captain??” said Saria.

“Sorry, my mind was elsewhere. What did you say?”

“I asked when we could discuss tactics.”

“Huh? Sure, but I feel tired and hungry. I’m not at my best right now.”

She looked at me strangely.

“Captain, you’re showing symptoms of burnout. You’ve slept little since we lost Laine and the Commodore.”

“Can’t sleep yet. There’s too much to do.”

She took hold of my arm and guided me back the way I came.

“That can wait. You need to eat and then sleep. We’re travelling in hyper-space, and nothing urgent is happening.”

Saria had an iron grip on my upper arm, and a face that said it wasn’t open for discussion.

Before I knew it, we arrived at my cabin. She guided me to a seat at the table and fetched something from the food dispenser.

“This is a Quard favourite of mine, hot seafood soup. Eat!”

I looked at the bowl in front of me. It smelled inviting, so I picked up a spoon and took a sip.

“Mmm, that tastes good.”

She sat opposite me to ensure I finished my soup. She wore her no arguments face, mixed with something else that I couldn’t fathom in my addled state.

Soon, I finished the soup. I grinned sheepishly at her.

“Now get into bed. You must sleep before you can do anything else. Don’t make me stun you!”

I crawled onto my bed and was soon asleep. I was too out of it to notice Saria sitting beside my bed.

Much later, I awoke feeling refreshed. I got up and fetched myself a coffee from the food dispenser.

I sat at the table in my cabin and sipped my coffee. As I sipped, my head cleared. There was nothing urgent I needed to do. We had a few more days travel before we arrived at our next destination.

The door to my cabin was open, and Saria arrived and waved at me. I smiled at her, mirroring her own smile.

“Please come in, Commander.”

She stepped inside. I gestured at a vacant chair and she sat facing me.

“Captain, you’ll never guess what happened.”

“I don’t know. I might be psychic...”

“We received another distress call,” she said.

I sighed. No rest for the weary...

“Ouch! Have you changed course already?” I asked.

“Yes, Captain. Intercept in about four hours.”

“Would you like a coffee? It’s going to get busy later.”

“Yes, Sir!”

She stood and turned towards the food dispenser.

“Fetch me another, please. I think I’ll need it.”

Soon we were discussing new tactics for handling distress calls.

About four hours later, I sat watching the tactical display with Saria as we dropped out of hyper-space. We’d dropped out a distance from the source of the distress call.

“Captain, we’re now cloaked. I’ve sent probes out ahead of us,” said Saria.

“Excellent. I’ve activated my psychic defences to block any attacks. Yuhi, how are you?”

“Nothing so far. Of course, I can’t sense anything from inside your fog,” she said.

“As long as we’re safe...”

She blinked.

“Saria, activate dreadnought probe,” I said.

Soon, an image of a dreadnought vessel appeared ahead of us and nearer to the vessel in distress.

“Ship, relay our hail to the vessel via our probe,” I said.

“Confirmed. The channel to the transport is open,” replied Ship.

“Attention unknown vessel, this is the Baglogi vessel, answering your distress call. What is the nature of your distress?” I said.

A window popped open on the tactical display, showing the image of an Ori in a uniform.

“Hello, this is passenger transport Flbumtom, from the Ori Confederation. Is that Captain Brian of the Baglogi? I remember you on the holo newscasts,” he said.

“Yes, I’m Captain Brian. What can we do to help?” I asked.

“Oh, thank heavens!! Our hyper-space engines broke down, dropping us here in deep space. We also have an issue that I’d rather discuss in person. Are you able and willing to help us?” he said.

I gestured with a finger to the Ori and put the call on mute. I looked at Saria.

“Captain, you’re famous throughout the Ori Confederation,” she said with a smirk.

I sighed. You defeat some Lagaid pirates and everyone thinks you’re the solution to all their woes.

“Commander, what’s the current threat assessment?”

She studied her console for a moment.

“Captain, the probe confirms the vessel is a deep space passenger transport, with over two hundred passengers and crew. It has no armaments,” she said.

“Agreed. We proceed to the next phase. As allies, we’re required to offer help.”

“Yes, Captain.”

I unmuted the call.

“Sorry for the wait. What is your name and rank?” I asked.

“No, er, no problem, Captain. I’m Mart Narvy, first officer.”

“Very good, Mart Narvy. We’ll be sending over a shuttle. Please ready your shuttle bay.”

He nodded, and I closed the call.

“Ship, ask the Commodore to meet us in the main bridge.”

“Confirmed,” replied Ship.

“Saria, any change in the threat assessment?”

“No, Captain. The threat level hasn’t changed.”

“So we go over to investigate.”

She nodded.

Jem arrived.

“Commodore, we’ve received a distress call from an Ori passenger transport, with two hundred and eighty passengers and crew.”

“What’s your plan?”

“I’ll visit with Saria and Cathy in the shuttle. We keep Ship cloaked and well out of range of any attack.” I said.

“Agreed, Captain. Report in often. I need to know what’s happening.”

“Yes, Commodore.”

“Ship, have Cathy meet us in the shuttle bay,” said Saria.

“Confirmed,” replied Ship.

Saria and I left the main bridge.

The outer shuttle bay door opened, and our cloaked shuttle departed Ship. Cathy was in the pilot seat, with me in the co-pilot seat. Saria sat behind me, fiddling with her laser carbine.

We sped off towards the dreadnought probe, which showed an image of our vessel. If anyone tried to attack, their attacks on the hologram would be fruitless. This was part of our new standard protocols.

Once our shuttle passed the dreadnought probe, Cathy deactivated the cloak, so it appeared that we’d just left our vessel. This was the one unavoidable moment when we’d be open to an attack. Fortunately, no attack came, and we entered the shuttle bay of the passenger transport.

Inside, we landed on a marked area, and their outer door closed. Soon, the shuttle bay pressurized, and we left our shuttle via the airlock.