“Have we replied to the distress call yet?” Kqinara immediately asked this of her executive officer as she boldly marched onto the bridge with a commanding presence. She often held a more casual attitude in the comfort space of the science labs, but her demeanour became stiffer when she entered captain mode. 

“Not yet, captain. It was sent as a recording and not an open channel. I figured it best to not reply until you made that call.” B’Timo looked over his shoulder and then followed the figure of Kqainara as she assumed her command chair near him. 

“Play the call.” Kqinara ordered as she settled into her command chair, crossing her legs and gripping her armrests to maintain an erect posture. 

“To anyone within range. I am Governor Lanon of the colony world Ni’lan. We require immediate medical assistance. I am attaching a status report to this distress call. Please. Help if you can.” It was audio playback only, the voice of a middle-aged man who had a desperation in it elevated the tension of the air on the bridge of Pathfinder, making it feel thicker somehow. 

“Medical assistance….” Kqinara held back a sigh and instead bit her bottom lip gently in contemplation. “Any further details attached in that status report the governor plugged?” 

“It’s surprisingly vague, Captain.” The voice of Lieutenant Commander Tahn replied from behind them.

“Ni’lan is a relatively new colony by our standards, inhabited by a race called the Hulan. A humanoid species of migrants from outside of Federation territory. Their homeworld suffered some sort of catastrophic event sixteen years ago. Their species are spread across the quadrant now on various outlying colonies like Ni’lan. Not much is known about their culture, they are somewhat known to be xenophobic. Interestingly enough, they’ve become known for cultivating and selling a type of sweet corn that was native to their homeworld… Oh….” Tahn continued on, giving some context to the governor and his people but had stopped suddenly. 

“Commander?” Kqinara leaned forward and turned her head to look back at the Barzan officer. 

“The population of this colony is around sixty-five thousand, captain. The report, while vague, indicates that several thousand colonists have expired, and whatever is happening has inflicted thousands more into some sort of sickness. The medical system on Ni’lan has completely collapsed.” Tahn looked up from her console and made eye contact with the captain. 

“We are not a medical vessel. This is well out of our ability to handle.” Kqinara stated the obvious. The Pathfinder was not a first responder vessel, nor did it have medical facilities to handle such a disastrous situation. 

“Captain. We are the only federation vessel within days of this colony. There is an Echelon class vessel that can assist, but they are two days behind us if we set the course at maximum warp now. An Olympic-class can be there in another three.” B’Timo spoke up. He agreed that their own capabilities were limited but wanted to provide some context for Kqinara, namely that they were in a position to offer something to the Hulan. Further help from the federation would take longer and likely cost more lives. 

“Damnit.” Kqinara sighed now, not being able to hold it back any longer. The decision was made for them now. They needed to offer what assistance they could.  “Lieutenant Sinclair. Set course for Ni’lan colony world, maximum warp and engage when ready.” 

“Course set and engaging, captain. We should arrive in nineteen hours.” The young voice of Eddie Sinclair replied, and the familiar hum of the Pathfinder jumping to warp with haste filled the bridge for all to hear. 

“Doctor Caade. Prepare your team for mass casualty response and maximum-level isolation protocols. There is no telling what we are walking into. Take whatever resources you need from other departments to assist in this. You have nineteen hours to be ready.” Kqinara ordered over the comms to her chief medical officer.

“We will be ready, captain. As… uh… ready as we can be.” The voice of Lieutenant Caade replied, a slight shake in his tone. 

The task was beyond what they would typically offer,  but it reflected their mission profile and location in remote and far-out areas of Federation territory where they were conducting research activities. This would not be the first time they would be stretching their capabilities as a ship and crew, but Kqinara certainly hoped a start like this was not indicative of what was to come in their journeys yet-to-be together.