—- USS Falcon, Bridge —-

“Sir we are picking up a distress signal,” Lieutenant William Hume said glancing up from the security station, looking at from the computer and glancing at Captain Paul Aike who was sitting in the middle of the bridge in the central command chair.

“On screen,” Aike said, looking away from the PADD that he had been reading. He set it on his arm rest and straightened up.

“It’s a recording sir, audio only,” Hume said, then played it.

A voice filled the room clearly being translated by the ship’s computers, as a few words came out as static. 

“This is the space vessel Argus we have crashed and require rescuing,” the message said and then repeated. 

Aike gave Hume the signal to shut it off, “Alright, let’s call back our crew from the station. Prepare to leave.”

Hume’s elder sister Lieutenant Commander Victoria Hume objected. She was the representative of the Division’s commander while Captain Radak was on Starbase 86 on medical leave. She tried to seem casual as she contradicted the captain, “Sir, that message may be years old, and we are not in any condition to go off to where ever it may be. Our orders are to do a milk run to the starbase and head back.”

“We can’t not respond to a distress call. I want to know where it’s coming from and what we can tell about this ship Argus,” Aike said, “We leave in three hours. Unless Admiral Picard himself calls me and tells me to stay put we’re going. Understood Lieutenant Commander.”

Victoria Hume nodded but did not look pleased. They were on a mission to show the flag, and it was hard to show the flag when your ship broke down and needed to be rescued because you’d gone on an unnecessary rescue mission. They’d just been pounded by two stolen Klingon warships, they should not be making jaunts to play hero.

“Attwell tell the station we’ll be leaving,” Aike said.

His First Officer nodded, “Yes sir.”

“Let engineering know we’ll be warping out they have three hours to get us ready to go,” Aike said.

—- USS Falcon Briefing Room —-

Two and a half hours later the senior crew of the ship were in the main briefing room discussing the mission. 

“Any worries Mister Winfield?” Captain Aike asked his Chief Flight Control Officer.

“As long as the engine doesn’t fall out the bottom of the ship we should be fine. The planet is in unexplored space, and no in the Federation, but we won’t be crossing into Breen territory either. We have star maps of the area thanks to the Ferengi,” Lieutenant Thomas Winfield said.

“Weapons are back online, but I should point out that we are not ready for another fight,” Murf said, the Chief Engineer looking less than pleased at this sudden change of mission, “We’ve had warp since we first left Starbase 86 but I don’t think we have the resources if we have to take on a large number of survivors.”

“What can we tell about the signal,” Aike asked.

Since the Falcon still had no science department, aside from Medical, Commander Ashley Attwell answered that question.

“Argus is a popular name in Greek myth, still used on earth. The language the broadcast was in fact has semblances to Ancient Greek and Ancient Latin,” Attwell said.

“So the ship is human?” Aike asked.

“The ancient Greeks did not have starships,” Attwell said, “The Argo was the name of the ship used in Greek myth by Jason and the Argonauts. Could be some relation.”

The captain looked at his Chief Medical Officer, “Doctor Njord you haven’t said much.”

“We have medical supplies, and doctors. Until we know what the situation is I can’t say much. I’m a doctor not a fortune teller,” Njord said.

“Alright since we’ve let the station know we’re going, and nobody has called to tell me not to rescue this ship, we’re leaving in thirty minutes,” Aike said dismissing the room.

—- USS Falcon, Bridge ——

As the Excelsior-II class ship pulled away from the orbit it had established around the starbase the crew was hard at work continuing on repairs. On the bridge things seemed normal, but other parts of the ship the operations and engineering teams were hard at work. At the bridge engineering terminal Lieutenant Murf the ship’s chief engineer was hard at work dispatching teams across the ship. 

She glanced up, updating the First Officer Commander Ashley Attwell on the situation, “Warp engines are operational, deflector shield is at maximum. If you need shields they’re at forty-six percent but by the time we reach our destination they should be back to full power. The remaining issue is weapons are non-operational and we don’t have full use of sensor arrays.”

“Not great,” observed Attwell.

“Not what I’d want flying into unknown space on a rescue mission,” Murf said.

“Okay, noted do what you can with what we have,” Attwell said, the Captain wanted this mission to work as as ill-advised as she thought it was she was going to make sure it worked.