The three ships were well enough on their way towards Ichus IV, though it would be a couple of days, even at their top speed, until they arrived. Onboard the Argus, the crew decided to enjoy some downtime while traveling to keep themselves occupied, as traveling could be boring. Racketball was the favorite of a few of the members. However, the three usually played it weekly. At the same time, they were initially assigned to Saratoga, though a few people who had used to play with them were missing. The three of them decided to keep it going as it was enjoyable.

“Hey, now!” Nessi said as the ball came towards her. She just about threw herself towards the ball to hit it before it went out of bounce. She wore a tank top and shorts, and sweat was pouring off her face. Her shirt had become stained, as they had been playing for a while.

“I can’t help it if you’re so horrible at playing,” Llaxia teased as if she weren’t breaking any sweat like Nessi and William, even though she wore sweatpants and a regular t-shirt.

Nessi chuckled, shaking her head. “We will see about that when I win.”

“Right, you think you two will win; you are delusional,” Bosan replied, who had been wearing nothing but shorts. Though he hadn’t been able to beat Llaxia since they started playing, he hoped he would get that one lucky shot one of these times.

They all laughed together just as Nessi hit the ball, and she got a point before either could react. “HA!” Nessi replied, doing a little dance. So who’s going to win? I seem to have more points.” She said, chuckling as she saw William grab the ball.

“That was just a lucky shot,” Bosan replied before hitting the ball in her direction.

Nessi hit the ball at just the right moment, sending it toward him, but instead of hitting it, he missed it. The ball hit him in the upper chest, sending him sprawling backward. “Are you alright?” Nessi asked as she ran up to help him get back to his feet, feeling horrible at him for getting hurt.

Rubbing his chest where the ball had made contact, which now was a round red spot, Bosan replied, getting up from the ground and looking at Nessi, who was profusely apologizing and feeling horrible that he had been hurt. “Nessi, it’s okay; things happen, ” he said, reassuring her that he was alright while rubbing the area of his chest the ball connected with.

“You should get that looked at as it looked like that hit pretty hard just by the sound it made when it connected,” Llaxia commented, looking at him.

Looking at her, he just brushed it off, “I’ll be alright, Llaxia. I will just have a killer bruise by morning to show off,” Bosan said as he half-grinned before laughing. Walking over to the side of the room, he grabbed a towel, wiping the sweat off his face before draping it across his neck and holding the shirt he had come with before taking it off. “I am going to shower and return to the bridge. Great game as always,” Bosan said before he called for the holodeck doors to open, walking out, leaving the two women behind.

Nessi and Llaxia looked at each other briefly before grabbing their towels as they exited the holodeck, ending the program. “Dinner later?” Llaxia asked as they walked down the corridor towards the turbolift that would bring them to their quarters.

“Sure,” Nessi replied with a smile.

“Great, my quarters at say 1900 hours?” Llaxia asked.

“I’ll be there,” Nessi said as they parted ways, but not without a kiss. They began to form a relationship back onboard Saratoga, and they were both happy to be able to continue that growth on the Argus. They both seemed delighted and took things slow and steady as things progressed.

The gentle hum of the warp engines could be heard within the engineering as officers were busy keeping things going while the ship was at warp. Zhayva had been working at a console, ensuring the upgrades that were in progress before they departed were completed successfully without causing many issues. She’d been so engrossed in the console that she didn’t hear or see anyone enter engineering and walk right up to her.

“Hey,” Zain Kraha said with a smile.

Zhayva had been so focused on the task that when she heard him, she jumped a bit, a little screech escaping her mouth. “Don’t do that!” she exclaimed as her heart rate increased, and she tried to get it under control.

He couldn’t help but let out a chuckle before responding. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“I am sure you didn’t,” she said, lightly punching his arm. She laughed right along with him before turning to see the progress of the updates for a moment before looking back at Zain. “I know you didn’t come here just to scare me?” She asked.

“Well, that was just a funny unintentional byproduct,” he began with another chuckle. “No, I came down here to see if you want to go to the lounge to get something to eat. Take a break, as you’ve been busy for several hours, and you deserve one.” Kraha said.

She scrunched her lips together, she thought, before looking at a nearby engineer. “Ensign, can you keep an eye on this upgrade? It has about fifteen minutes left?” Zhayva said as the Ensign looked up from her console and nodded, walking over to her current location. “Ensure it keeps within standard parameters and everything checks out afterward.”

“Aye, sir,” the Ensign replied.

Turning back to Zain, she said, “I could use a break, so let’s go.” They both turned to exit engineering, making their way toward the turbolift. After a few minutes, they entered the lounge, which seemed pretty empty. Only a few officers were chatting while eating or enjoying a drink and some downtime.

Jeesa Atur was sitting near a window in the corner of the room, looking out with a cup of hot tea, lost in thought. She was new to Triumph after being transferred from Saratoga, so she hadn’t made many friends yet. Though relatively quiet and usually stuck to herself, she was always unsure how others viewed her. She had a great personality and would be more outspoken when comfortable.

Zhayva, on the other hand, was a very outgoing person with a bubbly personality that made it easier for her to make friends with just about anyone. She noticed that Jeesa was sitting alone, and they walked up to her and, with her usual smile and positive attitude, spoke up. “Hey, do you mind some company?” Zhayva asked with a bright smile as Jeesa turned to look at the two.

“Sure,” Atur replied with a soft smile.

The two sat down with the food they had gotten before they headed over to her table, “Everything alright?” Zhayva asked as she could tell she seemed distracted and out of place.

“Oh yeah, I’m just watching the stars and enjoying some quiet time,” Atur replied.

“I get that. We got to enjoy that while we can, as I believe things will only get crazy once we arrive at our destination,” Kraha said, looking at the two before taking a bite of his food.

“You can say that again,” Zhayva replied, which got her thinking out loud about what she intended. It is concerning that the Orion Syndicate is getting bold enough to catch the attention of Starfleet again after being quiet for so long, acting in the shadows.”

“Indeed,” Atur agreed, and Kraha nodded in agreement. They continued to chat for a while, talking about anything and everything they could think of, making Atur feel more like she belonged and was making friends with the Triumph crew. 

Things had been relatively quiet on the bridge of the Triumph, with nothing much happening as they traveled. Commander Trol was sitting in the command chair as Captain T’Prel had been in her ready room for the last few hours. However, things would not remain quiet for long when Khadija Crayton heard her console beep, and looking concerned, she looked back at the Commander. “Sir, I am picking up a distress call from a freighter near Ichus IV.”

Trol sat up straighter as she looked at Crayton before tapping her commbadge, “Captain to the bridge.” She said before ending communication.

A few moments later, T’Prel exited her ready room, looking at Trol. “Report.”

“We have received a distress call from a freighter, audio only,” Crayton spoke up before she played the audio.

“We…under attack…need…assistance,” came through as most of the transmission broke up.

“That is all I could clear up,” Crayton replied.

“Are we able to ascertain where the freighter is?” T’Prel asked.

“They are near Ichus IV,” Crayton said.

“Contact the other ships to increase speed to maximum warp,” T’Prel ordered before turning to Zann Raro. “Increase the speed to maximum warp. Once we are thirty hours out, go to emergency warp.” T’Prel ordered.

A few moments later, all ships increased their speed. She knew the Argo would be the first to arrive, followed by the Argus and Triumph shortly after.

“Should we go to red alert?” Trol asked.

“Red alert, bring weapons online, and have the other ships do the same,” T’Prel ordered as the red alert klaxon started going off before she silenced the alert, though the lights continued to flash. A short time later, the doors to the turbolift opened to reveal Zain Kraha and Jeesa Atur entering and taking their stations. They were both briefed on the situation.

“Weapons are online and ready,” Kraha said after taking over.

T’Prel nodded before she took her seat and sat there as tension was high as they traveled, wondering what they would walk into and if they would find a freighter still in one piece when they arrived. She tapped her commbadge, “Bridge to Lieutenant McDermott,” she said, waiting for a response.

“Go ahead,” McDermott replied from the other end.

“I need you to prepare the Crimson Knights for departure once we arrive,” T’Prel ordered.

“Understood, expecting trouble?” He asked.

“There is a possibility. I want to be prepared to launch the squadron quickly if necessary.” T’Prel said.

“You got it. We will be ready and waiting.” McDermott replied.

“Good,” T’Prel responded before ending the communication and sitting back in her chair. Thoughts began to run through her mind of many different scenarios that they could find when they arrived, though she braced herself for the worst-case scenario.