Imperion Sequel – As yet unnamed
Chapter 1
The ship rattled as the shields absorbed another hit. Striya gritted her teeth and gripped the arms of the helmsman's chair. Behind her, Commander Eric Seymour calmly called orders to his bridge crew. They responded quickly and efficiently, taking their cue from him.
"Return fire, pattern gamma, forward phaser banks."
Atlas, manning the weapons console, released a tightly grouped burst of phaser fire from the forward banks.
"Report," Eric demanded, raising his voice above the din of the alarm. The chief science officer spoke without taking her eyes from the screen in front of her.
"That last burst of fire took out their life support system. They have approximately one hour of breathable air left."
"They're running, Commander. Do we pursue?" Striya asked.
"Negative. Stand down Red Alert." He pushed a button on the right arm of his chair. "All decks report."
In short order, reports flooded in. With minor damage to the outer hull of deck 6 and 14, they had come through the confrontation with the Klingon patrol relatively unscathed.
Begin repairs to the damaged decks." Eric commanded his chief engineer, then he pressed a button and said, "Well done, everyone. Thank you." He closed the ship-wide channel and stood up from the Captain's chair. "Any further sign of our quarry?" He asked. Bastet Yaray simply shook her head. "The long range sensors are still damaged from our battle with the Reaper last month. The engineers are working on repairing the damage, but until they are repaired, unless Khan comes looking for us, we have no way of finding him." Eric nodded, saying, "Keep on in."
The communications officer, Irdana, spoke then, announcing, "An urgent communication from Basil, Commander. He requests aid for the lunar settlements of Niw Dant."
"What kind of aid?" Eric asked, knowing the answer already.
"Fardir Raiders,"
Eric clenched his jaw and sighed, "Helmsman, set a course for Niw Dant." He returned to his seat, as Striya said, "Aye, aye. Course set for Niw Dant."
"Warp two, engage. E.T.A?"
"Three hours at our current speed." Bastet informed him. The ship shot forward, stars becoming streaks in the front screen. Striya set the ship on auto-pilot and disengaged from the system as the bridge door opened and Riksol, another Endrean pilot entered. On his heels were other crew members; it was time for a shift change. Striya smiled at Riksol, who nodded politely in return as he took her seat. Striya rubbed her temples, making her wat to the door. She followed the line of people to the galley. Eric tapped his fingers absently for a few minutes before rising from his seat again and saying,
"Atlas, you have control." Atlas nodded; standing and making his way to the captain's chair. He pressed a button on the back, standing aside as motors engaged. The chair expanded in all directions, in a few minutes becoming large enough for Atlas to use. The colossal cyborg sat on the edge of the seat. Silence reigned on the bridge. Eric smiled as he went to find Striya.
He found her in the galley. The galley was small but not cramped, even with the ship's entire company inside. Now, with a third of the crew on duty, it was populated but not crowded. Striya sat alone at a table near the window, sipping a cup of tea. She had grown fond of the beverage in the eighteen months they had been chasing Khan. Eric obtained his own meal and joined her.
"Hey, babe," he said, rubbing her neck as he sat down beside her. "Love the blue." Striya blushed, her blue skin darkening to purple around her face.
"I just felt like a change," she said, reaching over and filching a tomato from his plate. She popped it into her mouth and chewed before Eric could stop her.
"I was going to eat that," he said, spearing a piece of chicken with his fork.
"I know," she said, stealing another tomato. Eric grinned at her as she ate the second tomato. She grinned back, returning to her own meal of flatback and vegetables.
"We'll be at Niw Dant soon," She commented, glancing at her watch. "We really must do something about these bandits. I know, I know. They aren't our mission. But the Federation doesn't have the resources, with the war going on as it is. The outposts and settlements need help. And besides, they might have info on Khan." She finished her speech, looking up at him with an arched eyebrow. Eric pursed his lips and nodded slowly.
"You're right, of course," he said finally, putting his arm around her shoulder and kissing her temple. With his other hand, he retrieved his communicator from his pocket and flipped it open.
"Lieutenant Irdana, come in."
"Here, Sir." He communicator crackled.
"Send a message to Basil. Set up a meet, for after we've dealt with the Raiders at Niw Dant."
"Yes Commander. The usual location?"
"Yes, that will do. Thank you Lieutenant." He closed the communicator and set it on the table.
"Happy?" He asked, sincerely.
"Yes," Striya said, looking up at him. Eric grinned; his fork shot out, impaling the last piece of fish on her plate.
"Hey," she said, in mock indignation. "I was going to eat that."
"I know," Eric said before popping the tender morsel into his mouth.