Commander Rayu’s ready room was a bit smaller than some. However, it was comfortable with her desk near the middle of the room. It was in the shape of a half circle. Two chairs adorned the front where guests could sit along with a bit more oversized chair behind the desk for her. Near the far wall next to the window were a large bookshelf that reached the ceiling with a couch next to the window and a sofa next to it. Then in front of the couch was a glass coffee table that was in the shape of an oval. She had it adorned with elements of her personal belongings to make the space feel relaxing.

Rayu was sitting on the sofa looking out the window as they traveled at warp towards their destination. Lost in thought with a PADD in her hand thinking about what lay ahead of them. She had been studying the SS Valkyrie an Antares-class freighter whose engines had all of a sudden stopped working. Many thoughts had crossed her mind as she wondered what the cause was with very limited information. Wondering if they were hiding something from them. 

The Knight dropped out of warp at their destination, which caused Rayu to seamlessly snap out of her trance as the stars were no longer flying by at the speed of light. She sat there for a few more minutes just looking out to see the freighter sitting there dead in space. Standing up from the chair she was sitting in she began to walk towards the door just as Sreivik came over the comm channel letting her know that they arrived at their destination.

Rayu walked out onto the bridge and looked at the viewscreen that showed the Valkyrie. She looked over to her science officer. “Are you picking up anything on sensors that could explain their problems?” Rayu asked as she wondered if there might have been a firefight and they were afraid to admit it.

Ledire Turi tapped a few buttons. “I am not detecting anything out of the ordinary.”

Working her jaw as Raya Isha took her seat thinking before turning to Sreivik. “Hail the Valkyrie,” she ordered as she adjusted in her seat.

“Aye sir,” came the reply.

The screen changed to the view of the bridge of the Valkyrie which looked as if they had been through hell and back. Sitting in the seat that was stationed in the middle of the bridge, which she assumed was the ship’s captain was a middle-aged Orion woman. Rayu Isha was getting a feeling that something was off about the woman, she couldn’t place it but it felt as if she was hiding something more than just a ship that had broken down. She looked briefly over to Piyu Jaiett whose eyes widened in disbelief giving the feeling that he felt the same way she did. “Commander Rayu Isha of the USS Knight, we have responded to your call for assistance. Who do I have the pleasure of speaking with?”

“Captain Tashu,” she simply replied. “We are grateful for the assistance as we need to be on our way as soon as possible.”

“I will send my engineers over to repair your engines,” Rayu replied with a reassuring smile even though deep down she knew something wasn’t right. She would start investigating while their engineers worked on repairing the ship.

“Thank you,” came the reply before Tashu ended the channel.

Rayu worked her jaw before puffing out her cheeks and blowing air out. Something was definitely up that didn’t sit well with her. “Piyu, Th’atiarian, and Turi can you come with me to my office?”

The four of them walked into Rayu’s ready room and each took a seat. “Who here was getting that feeling that Captain Tashu is hiding something?” Rayu asked looking at the three of them as they nodded in agreement to her question.

“What do you think they are trying to hide?” Sehl asked.

“That’s what I would like to find out,” said Rayu. She looked outside the window so that one could see the ship through. “I don’t know if they are trying to hide how they lost their engines or they are trying to hide what they are transporting.”

“Do you think a Federation cargo freighter is hauling something illegal?” Piyu spoke up.

“That is a possibility,” she replied which brought her to why she called Sehl and Ledire in here. Looking at the two, “I need you two to work together to figure out what they are hiding. Though I would like you to do so without tipping them off where they react in a way we don’t want.”

“Understood,” they both replied in unison.

“I hope we don’t find anything and it’s just nerves,” Piyu stated.

“One can only hope,” Rayu responded before letting out a deep breath that sounded as if it was a sigh. “Dismissed.” The three of them stood up from their chairs and walked out of the ready room to begin their work. Rayu rubbed her hands on her face, beginning to wonder if things were only beginning. She hoped they wouldn’t find anything out of the ordinary and could just get their engines running, letting them be on their way.

“Commander Rayu to Lieutenant Pazal,” said Rayu as she tapped her commbadge.

“Pazal here,” came the reply.

“Get your team ready and head over to the Valkyrie. They are expecting you,” she ordered.

“Understood sir,” replied Pazal.

“Report anything unusual you find. It doesn’t matter how unimportant it might be,” Rayu ordered, wondering if they could find out anything from their end.

“Do you think there might be some foul play here in regards to what happened?” Pazal asked as Rayu heard the tone of her voice change which was that of confusion coming from that question.

“I am not entirely sure but I have a feeling they are hiding something,” Rayu replied.

“I will report anything out of the ordinary, and give a full report when repairs are complete.”

“Thank you,” Rayu replied before the comm channel ended leaving her sitting there in silence. Standing up she walked over to the window for the second time staring out at the ship. Thoughts ran through her mind wondering what was going on, things were not as they seemed and she was determined to get to the bottom of it while still assisting them.

Walking out of her ready room she needed to go for a bit of a walk to help clear her mind. “Piyu, you have the bridge,” Rayu said as he just nodded in agreement before she walked into the turbolift and towards the holodeck where she would bring up her favorite program. Here she would spend the next while unwinding and clearing her mind of everything, giving her a clear mind to be able to focus fully on this mission with an open mind and not just jumping to conclusions before the investigation was completed.