Their casual flirtation took an unexpected turn when Dr. Randall suddenly switched gears back to the boring topic of work. For a moment he thought he had somehow turned her off but quickly figured it was much more likely that she realized, as he did, that there was actual work to be done. They weren’t sitting in a bar in Miami after all…<br/><br/>He nodded his head as she mentioned the garden and although he wasn’t exactly sure how he felt about his armed soldiers taking on mundane tasks that were probably better left to the civilians, he smiled and agreed with her again. At least for the time being.<br/><br/>“I’m embarrassed to say I haven’t really had a chance to get to know too many of ‘em yet. But so far they seem competent and far more accustomed to the craziness of our situation than I am.” He said with a grin. Then Scott turned to regard Sgt. Walters as he told them of their opposite destinations.<br/><br/>“I guess we will finish this meeting another time?” He said as he stood quickly. Before he left he turned and smiled at Dr. Randall. “Doc; I’ll keep my eyes out for that coffee.” He said with a wink.<br/><br/>Scott followed Walters into the control room and Dr. Heath quickly brought him up to speed. The ship had a bridge, a main control room. They were working on getting a bit more control of the ships systems but it would take time. Dr. Heath wanted Scott to familiarize himself with the ships weapon systems and shields as best he could. This took several hours as Scott had never operated anything bigger than a crew served weapon before. However, he learned as quickly as he could.<br/><br/>He had finally decided to take a break and grab some food when he was summoned back into the main bridge. The room was packed with people trying moving around excitedly. Dr. Heath regarded him coolly before speaking. “Captain Scott, we just dropped out of hyperspace, as I’m sure you noticed, and there is a planet in range. She paused as if preparing to tell someone bad news, “Captain; we are receiving a radio signal from that planet. It seems to be an automated distress call…in English.”<br/><br/>Scott regarded her intently; was she joking!? Finally he shook his head as if to say no. The idea that there was a radio message from a planet in a different galaxy was odd enough… “Are you sure?” was all he could muster.<br/><br/>“Yes, we have triple checked it. There is no other explanation.” She responded quickly. It seemed for a moment that she didn’t know what to do but the moment passed quickly. “Captain, prep three of your team and take them through the gate. I’m sending Mr. Albrecht and…” Dr. Heath’s eyes narrowed in thought. “…and take Dr. Randall as well. See if you can find the source of the signal.”<br/><br/>Scott frowned, he didn’t want to argue with her in front of everyone but he felt he had no choice. “Dr; I think we’d be better off with a recon team first and then…” She cut him off. “Captain Hunter, we have just six hours before this ship jumps again. This is our only chance. Let’s make it count.” Her voice was commanding but polite. Scott nodded quickly. “Yes, ma’am.” Then turning to Walters, “Sergeant; grab McCormack and Spence. Gear up and meet me in the gate room. Go.”<br/><br/>Scott walked quickly toward his room to grab his pack, his mind was swimming with lists of equipment he wanted to bring and questions he still had. As he turned a corner he ran into one of the crew and almost continued walking before realizing who it was. He smiled tightly as he took a quick breath. “Yeah I do…” He took a quick breath. “Actually, they’re looking for you. We’re going through the gate. Get your gear and meet me in the gate room ASAP.” He turned quickly and sprinted down the hall to find his room, within a few minutes he was geared and after a quick stop at the supply hall he headed to the gate room to assemble his team.<br/>