GALACTIC CODE

It was weak, but it was definitely a distress signal. Lieutenant Simmons found it while running a routine system check. Pushing buttons, he tried to get a stronger signal. Yes, there it was, definitely a call for help.

Pushing the call button, he said, "Captain to the bridge, Captain to the bridge."

Hitting a button to record the signal the Lieutenant Simmons waited for the Captain to reply.

"What is it Simmons," the captain's voice came over the comm.

"We have a distress signal coming from the Omega Quadrant."

"Distress signal? From whom?"

"Not sure yet Ma'am, but it's getting stronger."

"Are you recording the message?"

"Yes Ma'am."

"Okay, I'm on my way. Contact headquarters and let them know what's going on. And get the bridge to their stations. I want to know everything there is to know about this signal."

"Yes Ma'am."

Lieutenant Simmons turned off the com link and turned to the ensign on deck.

"Get the bridge duty on deck. I want everyone to their posts before the Captain gets here."

"Aye, aye, sir." Ensign I'tak called the next duty roster and relayed the orders.

Simmons sent a message to headquarters, but they were lightyears away from headquarters, it would take a while to be received.

Captain Raleigh, captain of the USF Indianapolis, (SC875), arrived on the bridge and went to the Lieutenant's station. The science and communication officers were already at their stations.

Raleigh turned to the communication officer. "Can you get a better fix on the signal, Rodriguez?"

"Aye Ma'am, its five parsecs from our present position and it's definitely a distress signal. I haven't been able to decipher what language, but the coding is very similar to a universal SOS signal," said Lieutenant Rodriguez.

The captain turned to her chief science officer who was reading the instrument panels at the science station.

"Can you tell me anything about it yet Marshall?"

Lieutenant Marshall turned from the readings.

"I'm getting energy readings of all kinds; some I haven't even seen before. And there is more than one ship, I think. We're still too far away, but I think there may have been an accident or some kind of trouble. I'm reading a neutron signal from a broken warp drive. I'll know more when we get closer."

The captain hit another button.

"Engine room, give me warp six."

"Aye captain," came over the comm.

"Navigation, plot a course to that signal and get us there."

"Aye captain," Lieutenant Carson, the navigation officer, replied pushing buttons on the nav panel to lay in the course to take them to the Omega quadrant.

Turning to the captain he said, "Course laid in, Ma'am."

"Good job, now I want a boarding team assigned."

Turning to her number one officer and second in command Captain Raleigh said, "Edwards, head the team. Get whomever you want and get ready for boarding as soon as we get there."

"Aye Ma'am," Lieutenant Commander Edwards replied hitting the com button on the captain's chair.

"Lieutenant Stevens and Parsons, meet me at the hatch for boarding."

*****

The Indianapolis reached the coordinates and came to a stop. On the view screen they saw a debris field from a ship that looked like it got hit by something big. Another ship, floating in space as if dead with no signs of damage, was next to the debris field.

The science officer was reading the energy fluctuations and found the broken warp drive, floating a few hundred feet out from what was left of the busted-up ship, spewing neutron radiation. It was still hard to tell what had happened, but a warp drive would only be in that condition if the ship had been blown up. And there was on faint life sign coming from the other ship. But why wasn't there any damage to that ship?

The boarding crew was waiting at the hatch, Lieutenants Parsons and Stevens, security. As soon as the captain gave the order, the Indianapolis would move to the strange looking ship to board it.

*come to me*

The captain watched the scene on the view screen. The shielding from the Indianapolis would protect them from all the radiation, she wasn't sure about the readings they couldn't decipher. But their duty was to rescue anyone if they could. It was standard Galactic Code.

*come to me*

A buzzing noise began to ring in her ears, but she ignored it.

"Number one, prepare to board on my mark. Be careful, we don't know what's on that ship."

"Aye Ma'am, boarding crew standing by," the first officer, Edwards replied.

"Bring us about and alongside to the other ship, impulse power," the captain said.

"Aye Ma'am," navigation replied punching in the coordinates and pulling the lever to impulse power.

The Indianapolis moved closer to the ship, dodging the debris. Docking at what looked like a door the tube was extended and the magnetics were activated keeping the boarding tube on the side of the other ship.

*come to me*

The first officer led the way and reached the door. He motioned a technician forward who put an apparatus near the door mechanism. Flashing green lights blinked and then they heard the lock open. The technician took the machine off the handle and went back to the Indianapolis closing the starship's hatch door.

*come to me*

Edwards shook his head to clear it of the buzzing noise. He took hold of the handle and turned it to the right.

The door swooshed inward and some atmosphere escaped. Their environmental suits would protect them from almost anything, but their readings only confirmed that the air was breathable and no unusual energy readings could be found except for the faint life signal.

Stepping through the door the boarding crew looked left and then right. The corridor turned into a curve and was out of sight on both sides. You either went left or right. There was a sign with markings, but they couldn't read it. An arrow pointed in one direction with the alien language and an arrow pointed the other way with different markings.

*come to me*

"Where's the signal coming from? Which direction?"

Lieutenant Parsons looked at his hand-held scanner and found the signal, stronger now. Now he could hear the buzzing noise. It was giving him a headache.

"To the right, sir."

"Okay," said Edwards and led the team down the right corridor.

They came to a set of double doors. Stevens scanned the sensor pad and unlocked the door which swooshed open disappearing into the wall. They had found the bridge.

*come to me*

They all held their scanners, and dividing the room, each went different directions in the round area scanning and recording everything they found. Edwards found the stand, in the middle of the bridge. Wrapped in a silver sheeting, a small humanoid, the size of a five-year-old, could be seen. Pointing his scanner at the humanoid he saw there were life signs. It was still alive!

Touching his helmet communicator, he reported back to the Indianapolis.

"Captain, we've found the life sign. A humanoid wrapped in a metal framework of some kind, attached to five metal struts that go into flooring of the deck."

"Can you tell what species?"

"No Ma'am, but I think you might want to send a medical team over here."

"On their way."

Edwards went to the humanoid and touched its forehead. The eyes opened and stared at him.

*come to me*

Now the buzzing was louder and all three men were affected by headache and nausea. Parsons fell to the floor unconscious.

A metal arm came out of the wall nearest him, reached out and picked him up. It moved to the wall by the large viewport and a hidden panel slid open. The metal arm placed Parsons into the cavity and held him there until a pole came out of the cavity wall and pierced his left temple and another one on the right pierced his right temple. The heavy-duty cloth of the environmental suits was not dense enough to stop the tubes.

Other rods pierced his body in other places and then tubes were inserted. A greenish liquid was pumped into him and the cavity closed hiding Parsons from sight. The other two men, passed out by now and on the floor, were picked up by other arms and treated the same way in other hidden cavities.

The humanoid, wrapped in the silver sheeting never moved.

*two more is needed, only two more*

It waited for the others to arrive. All it had to do was wait, enough energy to last a long time.

*come to me*

THE END