Daughter of the Ice
Prologue
The starship was drifting through space like a snowflake surrounded by meltwater, dark and broken.
The Commander of the Andorian Warship tried not to feel sorrow as he stared at it. After all, it wasn't one of his peoples' ships, in fact he'd never seen its design before. It was awkward looking, as if it was a new design, or the species was new to space travel. The ship's appearance wasn't improved by the severe damage it had suffered.
"Analysis." snapped the Commander, looking away from the pitiful sight.
"Several hull breaches, life support still active via auxiliary power, and- Commander! There's a single lifesign. It's weak but it's there."
The entire bridge crew looked at their commanding officer, whose antennas twitched in intrigue. He looked out at the small ship again, weighing the various options he had in his mind. He could ignore it and leave it to die, after all, this species was not one of their few allies. On the other hand, neither was it one of their enemies. But the Commander had been shown the hard way that it was unwise to trust any aliens.
So, reasoning it was better to know about this unknown species from a live one than a dead crew, he ordered his first officer,
"Assemble an away team. Take the biohazard suits and find the lifesign. Restrain it if necessary and inform it that as an intruder into Andorian space they are in our custody." He held up a strong hand to silence any response from the first officer, adding, "Feel free to use force if necessary. As much as is required."
His first officer nodded, eyes glinting in potential excitement at the idea of killing what could be another threat to their beloved planet and people. The Commander dismissed his first officer with a sharp jerk of his head. Then he handed over the bridge to his second, who leapt to his feet and plopped into the seat. The Commander decided he'd need yet another word with his second about decorum. The crew was still fresh and new and he was still new to commanding an entire ship. His second may have been a close friend, but that didn't mean he could act like he was at home.
Actually, having met his second's mother, he was pretty sure his second would never act like that at home.
In the commander's office, he picked up a pad on the crew's performance and began to go through it. The Imperial Guard needed regular updates and they could not be late. As he worked, he kept one eye on his ancient timepiece from home. It was a prized possession of his, elegant and beautiful, and measuring time to perfection by the constant rate of melting ice dripping from one glass dome into another and refreezing. His first officer would check in after about an hour.
His comm. went off in less than half that time.
"Commander Shran." Lieutenant Tarah's strong, drawling voice broke his concentration.
"Shran here."
"We've discovered the life sign, but…"
"But what? Is it a species we know?"
"Not according to the scanners, but…"
"But what Lieutenant?"
"Well, sir, it's… it appears to be a child."
Commander Shran's antennas stiffened in surprise, then squirmed in consternation.
This certainly changed things quite a bit.
More Soon.
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Night's Darkness