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The [i]Ionera’s[/i] first flight through deep space, or “shakedown”, went perfectly. All systems remained in the green and there were no alerts from MIRAGE or any of the ship’s lesser VI’s the whole time. Power levels were consistent with exact expectations and the ship core and power distribution were flawless. Structural integrity was robust, requiring no last moment tweaks or makeshift rigging from Temash. Sensors, shielding, weapons, and environmental functions were all clear. For most of the flight the crew just manned their stations and stayed attentive, though they did have stray moments to ponder or interact with each other if they wished.

Over the passing hours the MIRAGE AI maintained a vigil on the signal that presumably was coming from the [i]Prudent[/i]. There was no outgoing recorded message or a code of any sort, meaning the signal was most likely from a simple distress beacon. MIRAGE pointed out that considering the signal was being sent by the Starfinders themselves, that the [i]Prudent[/i] may have been destroyed or “commandeered” and the Starfinders were out in space aboard escape pods or some other miniature craft. The [i]Prudent[/i] was a merchant ship after all, a direct target for pirates or other ne'er-do-well‘s. Though MIRAGE also said that the [i]Prudent[/i] could have just experienced a massive system failure and the Starfinders or someone else aboard activated the portable beacon as a call for assistance.

Just under ten hours later the crew had their answer. The [i]Ionera’s[/i] sensors detected a large object as the source of the signal which MIRAGE immediately identified as the [i]Prudent.[/i] Soon enough the ship came into physical view; an elongated freighter of a crude-looking “bulky” design. At a glance the [i]Prudent[/i] looked more like an old warship that had been retrofitted rather than a standard build merchant vessel. As the [i]Ionera[/i] approached it was obvious that the [i]Prudent[/i] was dead in space. The engines were dark and there was no visible light anywhere on the exterior. At first it seemed that most probably the [i]Prudent[/i] had just suffered a malfunction, that is until MIRAGE provided an unsettling status report from a quick scan. “Scans show that the [i]Prudent[/i] is completely without power. I am reading only five life signs aboard the [i]Prudent[/i]; one in the bridge, one in the engine area, two in the lower hull, and one in what appears to be an observation platform. Given its size and estimated requirements there should be anywhere from thirty to fifty life signs rather just five. The distress signal is coming directly from the life sign near the engine compartment. This confirms that the source of the signal was from a long range portable device.”