Distress call

A distress signal is any signal that requests assistance. It is typically sent by an individual or group that encounters a problem they cannot handle on their own. The purpose of the signal is to summon those who can help. Perhaps the most famous distress signal is "SOS", which dates back to the early 20th century, when broadcast signalling was still a new science. An international convention met to debate and select a "universal" distress call, and "SOS" was selected by most. It would not truly become universal until after the year 1912, when The RMS Titanic, an ancient water-going vessel, sank after striking an iceberg. Her radio operator was forced to send several types of distress signal to ensure the meaning would not be lost.

In the 23rd and 24th century, starships, starbases, and colonies can emit distress signals which are carried in space or through subspace to anything which can recieve it. This can include other ships, bases, and colonies.

In 2266, the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) detected an Earth style SOS while hundreds of light years from Earth. The source was revealed to be a ground station on a planet that was an exact copy of Earth. (TOS: "Miri")

Because of tense intergalatic relations, distress signals between races may or may not recieve a response. In several cases, a Federation ship has crossed into, for example, the neutral zone, to answer a distress signal. However, extreme care is taken in these situations, as some enemies will emit distress signals to lure starships in and attack them.

Starfleet General Order 6 requires its officers to respond to distress calls made by Federation citizens It is Starfleet's policy however, to answer all distress signals.

The Federation planetary distress signal is an emergency transmission that is to be used only when a Federation world is under imminent threat. Prior to transmission of a planetary distress signal, the head of council for the Federation planet must declare a planet wide state of emergency.

The planet Earth has only used the planetary distress signal twice in it's history.

The first time the planetary distress signal was transmitted was in 2286, when a massive alien probe of unknown origin arrived in the SOL system, and began transmitting a signal that had a disruptive effect on power systems, and began ionizing the planet's atmosphere.

All earth orbiting space stations and starships were quickly rendered powerless, and the planet's power generating systems quickly shut down. Within 2 hours, the president of the Federation Council declared a state of emergency. Massive weather systems caused by the drop in air pressure caused widespread damage across the planet. 376 people died as a result of the weather and power loss.

Six hours into the crisis, the Federation president transmitted a planetary distress signal. The following is a transcript of the message.

"This is the President of the United Federation Of Planets. Do not approach Earth. The transmissions of an orbiting probe are causing critical damage to this planet. It has almost totally ionized our atmosphere. All power sources have failed. All Earth-orbiting starships are powerless. The probe is vaporing our oceans. We cannot survive unless a way can be found to respond to the probe. Further communications may not be possible. Save your energy. Save yourselves. Avoid the planet Earth at all costs. Farewell..."

The crisis was relieved by a group of Starfleet officers who were returning from Vulcan. One of the officers analyzed the transmissions of the probe and determined the transmissions were directed to an extinct species of whale. The officers managed to retrieve a pair of the whales and delivered them to earth. The probe shut down its transmissions and left the system.

The second time that the planetary distress signal was used on Earth was in 2373, during the second Borg incident. A Borg cube traveled through the federation, and destroyed a large amount of the Federation's defenses. The Federation president issued a state of emergency when the Borg cube entered the SOL System.