=/\=”This is Flight Control, you are clear of the Ark Angel. Good luck on the mission… we’ll see you back the starbase.”

A few moments later the ship went to warp and left the Fulcrum-class Runabout on its own.

A distress call had come in while the Ark Angel was returning to the starbase. A freighter was stranded and in need of repairs. The crew indicated they were in no immediate danger, so it was determined a runabout could be dispatched rather than rerouting the ship.

The only concerning part was the fact that the distress call cut out. That’s one of the reasons Security was part of the mission crew.

The Fulcrum-class runabout was in its Engineering Lab/Repair shop configuration and was loaded with as many tools, repair parts, and medical supplies as it could hold.

Even though Starfleet answered hundreds of distress calls a year, there was no such thing as a routine mission. The runabout’s crew needed to be ready for anything.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Izak stood in the cockpit of the Runabout and watched the Ark Angel go to warp through the the windows.

He was a little nervous to leave his department unattended, but he knew the Crewmen were skilled. It had taken time and effort, but he’d also developed some solid Shift Leaders over the last few months. And getting an infusion of experience from personnel transfers doesn’t hurt either.

He was about to head back to Engineering but turned to Lt Hegush first. “Sir, I crunched the numbers before we left. The freighter is .86 light-years away. If we push Warp 6 for a full 12 hours and then maintain Warp 5 afterward, we can reach her in 25 hours.”

It was never easy on a ship to run at maximum velocity, but Lt Waryn figured the Chief Operations Officer would want to get to the freighter quickly. Izak was confident he could handle the system realignments and minor repairs the stress would put on the runabout.

Lt Izak Waryn - Chief Engineer - U.S.S. Ark Angel